(Mini) Sunday Spotlight: The Kite String Tangle

A bit of a different twist for the (Mini) Sunday Spotlight today, kicking off his career in 2013 Danny Harley AKA The Kite String Tangle (TKST) where he won a Triple J Unearthed comp, then the rest is history.

Releasing a string of singles (bad pun I know for a Sunday) recently it's time to look back at the career thus far from The Kite String Tangle.

My favourite track came from an EP Vessel, Arcadia, it was honestly the perfect break up song.

After releasing a debut album we also got a mini album titled, In A Desperate Moment. Not a huge commercial success but one for him and his fans alike.

Continuing to show Brisbane is a perfect launch pad for new Aussie talent how about you discover or rediscover (in today's case) your favourite new act now.

Cinema Slut #2019 - Dark Phoenix

It's not often a superhero film goes into any school holiday period as a box office bomb, however that
is what is starring Dark Phoenix down the barrel.

Titled as the X-Men Beginnings films, this is the fourth in the series following X-Men: Apocalypse in 2016.



Primarily focusing on Jean Grey / Phoenix played by GOT alumni Sophie Turner.

We've all seen this before, good guy/girl hero goes bad, the bad needs to be extracted, team unite and conquer. That is the plot in a single line.

Unfortunately I was late to the Dark Phoenix train, it has come up against huge competition, Toy Story 4, Aladdin, Rocketman, Men in Black so it's not had an easy run.

IS the film, good, bad or indifferent? Really no new ground is covered, no new territory explored, it's just like any other superhero film/TV show you have ever seen before. The problem is it has a killer cast and they just feel wasted in this run of the mill superhero soap opera.

2.5 stars for some good action sequences and the stellar cast in a not so stellar film!

Australian Drama Catch Up

So Wentworth had a big banger of an episode one, now midway through it's seventh season, it could have it's best episode yet this week.

Keeping the season to a tight ten episodes is already paying off, we saw another major character bite the dust in episode four, so episode five was a real whodunnit.

The problem is so many people wanted Kaz dead. Also being the top dog means the biggest role in the prison is now maybe.... Marie Winters.

Allie is (too quote the wonderful film The Favourite) cunt struck by Marie and Will Jackson maybe too.

So with Wentworth killing more major characters, a male hooker with a bucket list by Liz turning into a nightmare and Rita/Ruby playing with fire.

Wentworth is exceptional and I have to give props to Five Bedrooms, it's audience has come along for the ride, it's actually grown it's audience as the season comes to a close next week.

Five Bedrooms has almost ditched it's least exciting character played by Hugh Sheridan whilst featuring a few Wentworth stars along the way. Hi Liz and Allie!

Channel Ten has really excelled with Australian dramas in the free to air market, Playing for Keeps for a surprise camp hit last year and Secrets & Lies was a real hidden treasure.

I cannot wait for next Tuesday's sixth episode of Wentworth whilst I am excited to know if Ten will take a punt on a second season of Five Bedrooms ahead of it's conclusion next Wednesday.

STAN it's up to you now, you haven't delivered much new Australian content this year, so come on what y'all got? Cause Bloom was kinda average.

Cinema Slut #2019 - Child's Play

OK, I do like horror films, right now we are spoilt for choice, with two toy killers released in two weeks, the first to hit the silver screen is a remake of the 1988 film Child's Play.

Yes Chucky is back but with technology on his side, making it a bit more exciting, with a slight point of difference from previous films.

Aubrey Plaza is the IT girl at the moment, landing a lead whilst clearly never going to die in this slightly more adult version of the crazy doll killer.


I was really underwhelmed by this film, you could tell from the very start who would die, just not the gore porn way they would go.

Yes it lacks suspense but makes up in the horror genre with gory kill scenes.

Will a sequel be on the way? Maybe it's $10M budget will be easy to make a profit on, some of the horror film homage is cute but overall this film is pretty under cooked. 2 Stars.

(Mini) Sunday Spotlight: Hatchie

Harriette Pilbeam AKA Hatchie is today's (Mini) Sunday Spotlight. Following her debut EP Sugar & Spice in 2018, last Friday Hatchie gave us her debut album Keepsake, it also scored the feature album on Triple J.

Three singles in, we are well and truly ready for some Keepsake. Not to mention the early Hatchie, you can still listen, discover and download right HERE.

From Brisbane, the city of Bigsound Hatchie has a big, bright and beautiful career ahead of here, catch up and discover Hatchie for yourself now.

For fans of Cocteau Twins, The Sundays and Kylie Minogue discover your favourite new artist now....

Grand Hotel

Starring Aussie Lincoln Younes as Danny, Grand Hotel commenced on ABC (USA) this week to a fairly decent audience. With just under 4 million viewers the show opened up to ABC's best summer drama launch in around 4 years. Well done.

Produced by a crew of folks however former Desperate Housewife and Devious Maid Eva Longoria Bastón's name stands out.

Whilst we are speaking of Devious Maids, Roselyn Sánchez also makes a return to Summer trashy dramas. You can read a full recap of episode one HERE or check out the trailer below and see if this tickles your future viewing pleasures....

Cinema Slut #2019 - Rocketman

After being released for a month, it's finally time for me to see a midweek private screening of Rocketman.



After the huge hit movie based on Queen, it's not surprising another act is on the big screen, this time it's Elton John. Starring superstar and Kingsman Taron Egerton leads an all star across the musical journey that was Elton's John monster career. From hits like Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting to Don't Go Breaking My Heart, no doubt the soundtrack to this film will also bring in some decent coin.

Not to mention Elton's back catalogue being rediscovered from existing fans to an entire new base of fans worldwide.

Throw in a Game of Thrones star as vile music manager John Reid, Richard Madden proves there is a popular life after the hit HBO series.

The movie is great, ticks all the boxes, has huge musical sequences and scenes like last year's smash hit Bohemian Rhapsody. That film has now taken close to one billion dollars in box office, yes BILLION.

Will Rocketman take that? Time will tell, but critics love it and honestly it is a fan pleaser from the intro.

I enjoyed this, it had solid performances and a great finishing few tracks, Elton is still standing, Rocketman however is a solid 4 Star film, well done all.

HBO's Euphoria

HBO farewelled the nudity fuelled medieval hit Game of Thrones recently, now to push the nude envelope is Euphoria on HBO.



Euphoria launched this week with loads of news articles about the contents of the show. The nudity, the sex, the drugs.... Zendaya (The Greatest Showman) is the lead Rue in the Sam Levinson creation. Based on the Israeli show of the same name this show is a modern day Skins, in the USA.

The themes are heavy, the show is extremely fast paced making Euphoria a big addition to the already crowded drama pack on Sundays. Currently The Chi (just concluded it's second season, third coming) has been playing out on Showtime, next week City on the Hill (previewing in Australia on Stan) takes over whilst TNT is screening camp action drama Claws, but on HBO joining Euphoria is the brilliant second season of Big Little Lies.

Who said HBO would sink after GOT, these two shows are fascinating and real tales. No dragons, no Jon Snow, just love, lust, some romance filled with lot's of messy drama that goes along with relationships.

Kids and relationships, apps, school, nude pictures, drug fuelled parties all featured in episode one.

Man I can hardly wait for episode two. Summer Sunday's in the USA, dope!

Euphoria is one to watch, check it out now on Foxtel in Australia...

(Not at the) Cinema Slut #2019 - Always Be My Maybe

I was desperate to watch this over the June long weekend but got caught up on my USA Summer series, other Netflix stuff whilst not to mention rediscovering Stan.

However this weekend gone (ahead of Melbourne AKA Australia All Over Part II for Autumn/Winter 2019) I finally found the joy of Always Be My Maybe.

Now like recent Netflix films, would this be worth the price of a cinema ticket?



Yes and no. It felt like it was a little to close to trying to remain PG/family friendly when it could have gone from Adults Only comedy. Much like Wong's Netflix stand ups maybe she should pick a lane.

That was my only issue with Crazy Rich Asians, the film starred so many Adult comedy stars, that the PG rating at times held it back. I understand that was for box office success, however Always Be My Maybe does not need that box office figure.

There are so many moments of joy in this film, however the laughs are a little light, but when they arrive, it's Wong and Park's outstanding delivery.

Wong and Park have a real spark on screen whilst the inclusion of Keanu Reeves is a win for the filmmakers the joke passes faster than his screen presence.

Daniel Dae Kim is so easy on the eye, however I feel the Brandon character does not get the development it deserves. There could have been more humour there.

I sound like I am being hard on the film, maybe because I had huge expectations with my favourites Wong and Park in lead roles.

It is great seeing different faces as leads, Wong is outstanding and Park really is handsome AF. By far the best Netflix film I have watched thus far, 3.75 Stars. Almost 4 but there was just a consistency issue when it came to the laughs..

(Mini) Sunday Spotlight: Hayden James

Songwriter, record producer Hayden James like me calls Sydney home, following a number of stellar singles, a debut album finally landed last Friday, Between Us.

It's a wonderful collection of 11 tracks, a few guests and as of June 2019 four blockbuster singles with more to come.

Launching into the clubs back in 2013 with Permission to Love, Hayden gave us a five track EP that August, however after that things slowed down a little.

He teased us with Something About You in 2014 whilst in 2016 he gave us Just a Lover. It's been a while between drinks for sure, however it's been worth the wait.

So move that coffee table aside, press pause on whatever you're watching on Netflix or Stan and dance your Sunday away to Hayden James.

Pose | Season Two, Episode One

Pose is back bitches, airing on Foxtel in Australia or FX in the USA. Season one was groundbreaking, another gem in Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk TV crown. The show received rave reviews, won a bag of awards and launched the careers of a few TV newcomers.

I loved all of season one, reviewed the season twice and now it's time to take a look at the Vogue tribute episode. Episode one of season two kicks off with a strong political message to deliver. The Aids crisis is in full swing and the House of Evangelista take the battle to the tone deaf church.

Oh religion, what joy you bring to so many lives, not to mention all the judgement.

It's funny when you look back on history, see who was on the right side of it, then wonder, why do people still give up their Sunday mornings? Weird.

Nevertheless, Pose kicks off with a bang, debuts with a similar audience to episode one last year, with some stellar take downs and some damn fine voguing.

The majority of the strong cast are back, Kate Mara and Evan Peters are out, however leads Mj Rodriguez, Billy Porter, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore and Ryan Jamaal Swain are all back.

Check out a wee trailer about the second season, this is lit, Pose tackles multi social issues and looks a million bucks. Supremely made TV, this is a real hit series.

Strong Female Leads

It's a huge time right now for strong female leads right now on the small screen. The Handmaids Tale is back, slaying it, three episodes deep in season three and the question remains will June find happiness.

On the local front Wentworth is packing a punch with season seven, two episodes in, the show feels fresh, usually when a show clocks up seven seasons it starts to feel stale, however Wentworth is as fresh as ever. Despite no real new characters (except the creepy new Dr Greg Miller) the new stars from last season (Porter, Purcell and Hick) have all found their feet/part of the prison make up.

Queen of the South also returns in the USA, unfortunately in Australia we need to wait for a while, then the entire season is dumped for streaming on Netflix. This show has jumped around a lot, Teresa Mendoza finds herself with new challenges minus her main challenger seasons one-three Camila Vargas.

Over on HBO they have been hyping it for a while, now it's here Big Little Lies season two is back, with the addition of heavyweight Meryl Streep, yes Meryl mother fucking Streep.

Claws streaming weekly on Stan takes us back to the nail salon for a third outing, I for one cannot wait, bring on 4pm!

Not to mention still streaming on ABC iView Killing Eve and on Netflix the sex She's Gotta Have it. Yes it's the Queens Birthday Long Weekend, Queens unite, YASS!

Cinema Slut #2019 - Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is packed with TV stars, from Bloodline and Friday Night Lights lead Kyle Chandler, Bates Motel scream queen Vera Farmiga, HBO's Silicon Valley chief nerd Thomas Middleditch, Netflix's Romeo in She's Gotta Have It Anthony Ramos to mention a few.

The bad news, the film is not good.



Australian winter/American summer it's wall to wall blockbuster with not an award winning film in sight.

I'm sure the 2014 Godzilla reboot was much better than this, not only that but Kong: Skull Island (also in the MonsterVerse) was way better than this, way better! A sequel Godzilla Vs Kong is on the way next year so no doubt next June-August we will see another monster smash or failure like this.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters could be a lot better with it's amazing cast, however it's very average, too much CGI, overall way too long and not the best movie out this long weekend.

2 Stars.

Cinema Slut #2019 - Red Joan

Netflix movies are sometimes dismissed as well Netflix movies, nothing special, but what happens when a screen legend stars in a movie that simply should be dismissed?

It's time to get down and discuss new spy thriller Red Joan.



Released in the UK in April earlier this year and September last year at the Toronto International Film Festival, Red Joan has been met with very average reviews.

Mine too for this Dame Judi film will be a simple pass mark of 2.5 Stars. Why?

Well this could easily have been a BBC TV movie, it's a simple story which at times drags and forgets to inform the viewer of all the key plot points.

This movie will get a limited release around Australia for which some states have a long weekend. By next weekend I assume this will get very few screenings around the nation.

Red Joan is in a word, average, Dame Judi I expected more...

Blindspot Season 4.

Returning in 2020, yes 2020, we have a bit of a wait to see how the tattoo's wrap up. Yes Blindspot concludes with it's fifth and final season. The fourth season has been interesting, it started later than most US shows in the 2018-2019 season, and it was literally one of the last to wrap it's season.

Blindspot has been a bit of a ratings failure, it also struggled to perform next to it's Friday TV partner, The Blacklist.

NBC has a problem, it's the number one network in the states right now with some heavy hitting dramas (This is Us, all the Chicago shows) but it has some deadwood and Blindspot is one of those.

Like poor Midnight, Texas ill fated second season before it on Fridays, Blindspot joins the junk pile concluding midseason next year. Possibly filling in for The Blacklist over the Christmas/New Year period or maybe held to the doomed USA Summer season.

So the finale? The drama and the double crossing. I have included a link (like I have for many of the other finales) HERE for a those like me who found the stop, start nature of this season a little confusing.

22 episodes of some US shows is way too much, this season of Blindspot was solid from mid October to early December, vanished till January, had a few gaps, then ran solid again Feb to April before the final three episodes were pulled and held to very late May.

The show was 18th out of 20 shows on NBC, even a show in the top 10 got cancelled but this somehow survived for it's fifth and final.

So back to the big finale, SPOILER ALERT, this could have been the end, they clear the decks basically, four major lives are in the balance and tattoo lady AKA Remi or Jane or born as Alice is the only one standing in Iceland.

I am looking forward to seeing this one wrap up, it's kind of a one and done or two seasons and done story. The main part of the show (like on The Blacklist with the actual blacklist) the tattoos have taken the back seat a bit lately.

Blindspot has it's fun, good action scenes from episode to episode, although this show is fully baked now. The US networks need to learn in the fast moving TV world, it's probably better to close off a show, leaving viewers wanting more, rather than being a top rating show to a Friday night filler.

Blindspot returns at some stage in 2020, other NBC mentioned shows above return in September/October this year.

(Mini) Sunday Spotlight: Steve Lacy

At only 21 Steve Lacy is i one of the worlds coolest bands, The Internet as well as just releasing his debut album, Apollo XXI.

Steve has also worked with a pile of your favourite artists including and not limited to, Kali Uchis, Syd (also from the Internet), Vampire Weekend, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Solange and more.

Steve's album is a chilled out, fun affair and if you have ever listened to the Internet you know they know how to party.

Based in LA, Steve Lacy is one talented singer/songwriter and producer, take a listen to some of his choice cuts below while maybe discovering your new favourite album of 2019.

* (Mini) Sunday Spotlight takes a break next weekend due to the long weekend in Sydney, Australia.

Cinema Slut #2019 - Brightburn

What would happen if Superman was bad? Brightburn that's what!



Hooray I finally made it back to the cinema! YASS!

So Brightburn was not my number one choice for the weekend however it ended up passing with flying colours. Unfortunately I am currently smashing through the third season of Slasher at present on Netflix so I am a little over gore porn and man o man does this have some gore porn. Inflicted by a child too!

So in a world of so much Avengers, a new X-Men movie incoming next week, Spiderman 100 on the way, its refreshing to see a MA, horror meets evil version of a well known super hero.

It's not big budget like Deadpool, however there are a few F words in the film for good measure, but the violence in this film is extreme.

Like real extreme.

OK Elizabeth Banks is superb as BB, Brandon Breyer AKA Brightburn's mother and we get to the point fast, like real fast. This film is an hour and a half, like half the time of the last Avengers film, this film also has something new to say.

Is the world so scary as well right not that horror movies are literally everywhere! This, Annabelle Comes Home not to mention another version of Chucky. Like WTF.

Anyway this film is worth the price of the ticket, it's shocking in parts and maybe a movie 2019 needs, wake up world, shit is getting real. Brightburn gets an unexpected 3.5 Stars.