The Handmaid's Tale Season 2 Finale

If you haven't watched it on Hulu/SBS on Demand, don't read this, simple.

So from Season One, the book season, the show has upped the game and gone from ten episodes to thirteen. Tonight we watched episode thirteen and it was gripping AF for the entire hour.

This season has had HUGE moments, slow moments and lots of BUILD.

Eden was one of those huge moments, Serena's wake moments and the trip to Canada. The show has been brilliant in it's second season, the show itself is brilliant, critics love it and unlike a lot of dramas of late on Australian TV week to week, this is one of those water cooler shows.

Now, tonight, Aunt Lydia, WTF? June/Of Fred WTF? and that last scene! Serena is truly done by the end of the episode, she is broken and less one finger. I want so much for Serena to completely go full blown rebel.

Elisabeth Moss has seriously landed the role of a lifetime, it's honestly one of the biggest TV dramas right now and Hulu are just so lucky to have a massive hit on their hands. In Australia SBS has scored big time with the show. Along with Optus's fuck up of the World Cup, SBS will have a huge week with the final of Handmaids Tale and Croatia Vs France.

I can hardly wait for season three and I am so happy the show got an early renewal. Hulu would have been mad not to keep this tale of power and fear going.

Where will we land in season three, will Trump still be president or has equally bad, scary AF Pence taken over? Joking but America kind of is heading this way right? Well maybe Middle America. Like when Kanye was cool, Middle America packed in.....

OK, I loved this hour of TV it was up there with a Wentworth finale, this was good shit. Well done and thank you for the last twelve weeks/thirteen episodes.

(Mini) Sunday Spotlight: Kota Banks

Hailing from Sydney's North, Kota Banks has released a couple of singles and boom last Friday we saw an entire Mixtape, Prize released and streaming online.

Following Zoom and Holiday NLV Records signed artist delivers brilliant pop music with an edge. At only 23, this Australian/Italian singer/songwriter has a bright future on the Australian pop scene, she has not only performed on large live stages but written tunes for other artists Cxloe, Supercruel and Singapore’s pop sensation Tabitha Nauser.

Australian music is bringing out some many amazing talented new artists right now and Kota Banks is at the top of that list. Appearing on Triple J Unearthed and scoring a feature on the brilliant Friday Night Shuffle this past Friday, Banks could very well be you're next favourite Summer Festival artist. Find more Here on JJJ Unearthed

Next Sunday another fab Australian new artist, Odette, but for now let's dip into some new music with Kota Banks!

Album of the Year Updates incoming...

So far this year I have one solo album standing out above the rest, it's from VANCE JOY and his second release, Nation of Two.

It's the mid point of the year and reflecting on the first half of 2018 it's easy to say this year has had some top releases and some FLOP releases, however let's focus on the positive.

Here is a look (and listen) to some of my favourite albums of the year, maybe not Album of the Year worthy but still fairly top notch.

VANCE JOY released his album Nation of Two at the tail end of Feb, 2018 and was easily the best release of the first three months however THE WEEKND delivered a top notch EP, My Dear Melancholy out of nowhere at the end of March.

In April we received CARDI B to the world, but better than that and having way more game, KALI UCHIS released her debut Isolation. Packed with guests this was a damn fine release. KYLIE's Golden album fell from the charts almost as quickly as it rose to the top of them, whilst JANELLE MONAE released an outstanding piece of work, Dirty Computer.

POST MALONE broke records with his release Beerbongs and Bentleys, whilst LEON BRIDGES continued to shine with his May, 2018 release Good Thing.

ARTIC MONKEYS album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino was meet with mixed reviews, whilst critics remained moist for COURTNEY BARNETT's second album, Tell Me How You Really Feel.

By late May/June CHVRCHES delivered pop magic on Love is Dead, PUSHA T started KANYE's 7 track album release frenzy and THE PRESETS Hi Viz was outstanding. THE PRESETS really returned to form, earning a feature release from me on Flashing off the Record, a Triple J album of the Week and well sold tour across the nation.

LYKKE LI shook me with RnB, urban vibes and beats whilst THE CARTERS aka JAY Z &  BEYONCE gave us one of the best singles of 2018 to date, APESHIT. Their collaborative album
Everything is Love was solid, only 9 tracks, but solid AF.

DRAKE, FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE and GORILLAZ concluded a strong June, 2018 with DRAKE breaking all sorts of records and following up a pack of hit singles with a two side album release, brilliant.

July is shaping up to be another huge month with albums from THE INTERNET, AMY SHARK and TIM CAMPBELL on the way. Joking about the last one BTW.

So 2018 has survived up some top records, Vance will be joined soon by another nomination or two, so keep your eyes on Flashing off the Record.

RELATED AUDIO:

The Affair Season 4.

Season 4 (maybe the last or if Showtime gives it another go, the fifth will be the final) The Affair is now back on airing until mid August. What perfect Winter viewing, well in my books :)

Noah, Cole, Vic, Alison, Helen and some others are back for another ride of adultery and difficult adult relationships.

I have always like this show, the last season in Paris was a bit all over the shop, but the introduction of the handsome AF Vic is a good one for me, sad thing is he is dying. That is not really a spoiler as you get the picture in episode one.

Episode two jumps back to Cole and Alison, trying to be business savvy and by episode three we are back in LA (yes LA, this show has jumped all over the shop) with Noah, Helen and Vic. Noah is trying to stick his dick in somewhere else he shouldn't so some things never change.

The show is fairly slow paced and we still jump around from the different perspectives, so the original element of the show is still there four years in.

Will the show get a fifth and final year? Time will tell, Showtime are usually pretty kind with renewals (except for White Famous recently) so I will keep an eye out.

In the next week we get a couple more exciting series, Sharp Objects, a mini series from HBO and Hit the Floor returns but on BET this time around.

The Affair, it's on now and as usual lot's of drama about, lot's just across two of the former democratic States of America.....

Movie Matinee Madness - Sicario: Day of the Soldado

After the powerful 2015 Sicario film, a few years later we get a great sequel.

Building suspense, jumping from drama to drama this film uses powerful music and brutal scenes to bring you the viewer right into the drama at the US border and beyond.



With a powerful and frightening suicide bomber scene early on in the film, I was on edge for the majority of the film.

Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin lead this brutal tour de force to the frontline of the US/Mexican border drama.

With people smuggling more the focus in the second film, drugs take the back seat and the stakes are even higher with human lives literally on the line.

If you enjoyed the first film, you will enjoy this and by the ending and reading the Wiki page, a third film is also in the works.

Sicario Day of the Soldado is not perfect but I enjoyed it and after Adrift it was actually a perfect weekend of films. 3.5 tense AF stars.

Movie Matinee Madness - Adrift

The movie poster looks like another Nicholas Sparks novel, ehhhhhh, the trailer is what this is all about and man this is a powerful film, plus it's a true story.

Well there is some creative additions to the film, however it's mostly Tami Oldman's tale. Actually until the credits rolled I never knew before entering the cinema this was a true story, good to go into the cinema knowing little about the film.

I am trying to read up less and less on the films I am going to see and I can tell you know, it's a good way to go.



Shailene Woodley is fabulous, she was part of that amazing series Big Little Lies and now she is a dreamy leading lady on the sea. I love her, love this role and she shines as a true survivor. So much so she could have joined Kelly, Michelle and Beyonce (Queen Beyonce) in the DC line up.

I highly rated this film, I popped off and saw two films over the weekend and both were actually good, but this was a surprisingly good film. I was moved, engaged and so into this at sea drama. Well done all, a great film, a tough tale to tell and well edited to keep this around 90 minutes.

4 Stars.

(Mini) Sunday Spotlight: Jorja Smith

At only 21 Jorja Smith has worked with Drake, Stormzy and Kali Uchis just to name a few. Imagine where she will be at 30. That said at the start of June her debut record was released after a string of singles and features.

Smith also worked with Lamar on this years sensational Black Panther soundtrack. So this Sunday let's celebrate an artist with a huge future ahead of her.

If Florence and the Machine is more you're thing, in about ten minutes (depending on when you read this) I will pop up a large full blown Sunday Spotlight on Flashing off the Record.