Jack's Typewriter

[Update: 02/02/21. This post was made prior to the public allegations made against Marilyn Manson by Evan Rachel Wood and five other women. Like many fans, I am saddened to see the cycle of abuse continue and I sincerely hope that justice is served. While it is important to see that art is judged independently of artists,  I wish to express my support and respect for the women who have come forward and distance myself from their alleged abuser.] "I Was A Snake But I Didn't Realise You Could Walk On Water, Without legs." (The Fall, Genesis. Manson inverts the walking on water miracle, replacing Jesus Christ with The Serpent) Marilyn Manson has proven just how much more he has to offer. This is a blow by blow review of all 42.27 minutes of the God of Fuck's latest instalment,  We Are Chaos , released 11/09/2020.  01. RED, BLACK AND BLUE Ever the polemicist, Manson titles his first track, Red Black And Blue -- a bruised corruption of the Star-Spangled-Banner. His album&#

It's no wonder Manson is excited about his upcoming  2020 album . He's already called it a masterpiece and after hearing his single, 'We Are Chaos', I can believe that we really are looking at one.  On first listen, I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with the twanging of an acoustic guitar rather than the much heavier openings we have come to impute from Manson. He has delighted us in this way before, however. In 2019 he released a cover of Johnny Cash's folk ballad, 'God's Gonna Cut You Down', and before that, several acoustic tracks on The Pale Emperor (2015). He gave us then, a preview of a tone which reeks of the American Gothic -- a tone he's returning to now. There's a lot peering out at us in 'We Are Chaos'. From behind the cloistered bass drum, there are guitar slides, tinkling piano notes and a distorted voice message which swims straight out of 'The Telephone' (1990, The Beaver Meat).    (Marilyn Manson and

    Screenwriter M.R. Carey spares no time in plunging into this zombie-ridden post-apocalypse. Carey’s delightfully freakish twist is that his child protagonist, Melanie, is a ‘hungry’ (Carey’s byword for zombie) who maintains human intelligence. She resides on the last citadel of humanity, a bleak military base-cum-research facility, and is kept along with other children like herself to be studied and eventually chopped up by steely, no-nonsense scientist Dr Caldwell (Glenn Close). Angel-faced Melanie and her friends attend school on the base. Their benevolent teacher, Miss Justineau (Gemma Arterton), treats them with compassion unlike Sergeant Parks (Paddy Considine) and his chums who refer to the children as “friggin' abortions”. The film opens as Justineau conducts an animated class reading of the ancient Greek myth, Pandora’s Box. Melanie’s eager hand-raising earns her an approving pat on the head from Justineau, a move that triggers the children’s feeding instin

Director Kenneth Branagh transforms himself into Agatha Christie’s Poirot in this star-studded update of the 1974 adaptation. But this take on the famous Belgian detective looks more like a mash-up of Guy Ritchie’s swashbuckling Sherlock Holmes and a human Mr Monopoly than the familiar character. The neat, black Suchet‐stache is replaced with a lavish greying creation while the characteristic limp is switched for some serious skill at hand-to-hand combat. Much like Poirot’s new look, the film is extravagant and ostentatious . Everything is a treat to look at. The costumes and sets beautifully complement the trail of luxury train-carriages that are The Express. Taking their places in the dining carriage, and at the cordovan bar, is a glittering cast of familiar faces: Michelle Pfeiffer as Caroline Hubbard, Johnny Depp as Ratchett and Judi Dench as Princess Dragomiroff. It’s let down by what little is shown of the landscape outside of the train itself. The CGI mountainside is no