Simon Maltman Blogs

  Here are some of my favourite books, music and screen from this year. Yes 2020 has been rather rubbish- but at least we had these...  Books The Last Crossing- Brian McGilloway Blacktop Wasteland- SA Cosby  Dead Girl Blues- Lawrence Block  Our Little Cruelties- Liz Nugent  Sing Backwards and Weep- Mark Lanegan Screen The Boys The Walking Dead  The Comey Rule  Borat 2 The Mandolorian  Cobra Kai  Music  Mark Lanegan- Straight Songs of  Sorrow  Paul McCartney- 3 Therapy?- Live Best of Nick Cave- Live- Alexandra Palace  See my books here -  Books  

Free Fire: Movie Review A shootout, a shootout and er a shootout Free Fire is a tricky one. It is not a bad movie. Part of the problem is though, that perhaps it doesn’t know quite what to be. It’s very, very funny in places; but it’s not a comedy. It’s got all the elements of a thriller; but not particularly thrilling. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good enough movie, but it could have been better, perhaps if the tone had been altered. It doesn’t manage to be a belting black comedy as successfully as Very Bad Things for instance, or more recently, The Nice Guys . The set up is that we have various parties coming together, to carry out an arms deal. Chaos ensues, along with many double crosses and many, many Mexican standoffs. To be fair; the majority of the movie is one protracted shoot out. In saying that- it is handled well and it is hilarious in places. Some of the best lines were given to Sharlto Copley and Michael Smiley. The cast in general are good, and it is an ...