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Romper Stomper is one of the best Australian films ever and a fantastic repudiation of fascism and it's rhetoric. With today’s political undertones globally, I believe the film remains relevant, and it helped establish one of the greatest Australian actors of all time to boot. Russell Crowe plays a Neo-Nazi leader named Hando, however he is not the protagonist, despite being the starring role. That role goes to Daniel Pollock, playing questioning Nazi, Davey, Hando's right-hand man. Both performances are great, with Crowe stealing the show with a brutal, muscular weight to his actions, while also getting to the heart of fascism by playing him as an overgrown child constantly throwing tantrums. Sadly Pollack died before the movie's release, but his performance is nuanced and sympathetic, as he questions the extreme violence the gang wreak upon the streets of Melbourne. The first line spoken is by Hando: “This is not your country”, spoken to a young man from Vietnam. He then ...

There's something about licensed games that fascinates me. The act of translating an experience from one art form to another has made for some wild pieces of capital-infused art. Ever played the Napoleon Dynamite PSP game? What about Pimp My Ride: The Game ? Sword Art Online is a franchise that, in my opinion, is simply not very good. It's a power fantasy dressed up in conceits that try to be profound but often are just an opportunity to show off how cool and badass protagonist Kirito is. What started as a somewhat interesting exploration of speculative game design quickly devolved into Kirito being a cool badass who always saves the day by the second half of season 1. By extension, the viewer feels like that vicariously, but that power fantasy robs the series of being able to investigate the nature of the worlds created. So, if it's going to lean into the power fantasy, a game based on a show about games should work.  The strangest part of SAO: Lost Song is that it does w...

The Beach Boys are a curious artifact. Despite Brian Wilson's excessively brilliant songwriting, they are often seen as markers of an Americana gone by. They suffer from cultural cringe, respected enough in their time to inspire Sgt. Pepper, but trapped enough by that era that listening to them in 2022 feels outdated. Their barber-shop melodies coupled with the awkward stage presence of Wilson leaves them feeling like a relic. So why go back to their 1971 album? Put simply: it rips. Being an Australian, I am well familiar with cultural cringe. Our biggest export is Crocodile Dundee, still the highest grossing Australian film. While Paul Hogan has damned me to a lifetime of hearing "shrimp on the barbie" while traveling in the US, The Beach Boys have given me some incredible songs so I suppose it evens out. Surf's Up is an elegaic mediation on climate change, at a time when climate change wasn't even considered a real thing. The opening track "Don't Go Nea...