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Showing posts from January, 2019

BLAND FAITH (THIS IS US)

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And so, the movie I've been dreading all year has finally arrived. As his 'X Factor' show blasts onto ITV for a tenth series,  Simon Cowell  has been adopting similar blitzkrieg tactics in our cinemas. A documentary about the 'X Factor's' most famous alumni, the world's biggest boyband, One Direction has invaded multiplexes. And with that comes the horrible realisation for mums and dads everywhere that there's no avoiding seeing Commandant Cowell's smug, 'cat that got the cream face' puffed up on a 9 by 21 metres screen. One Direction's fanbase stretches from primary school kids right up to teenage girls. So in the McGinn household, like many homes across the planet, we're occasionally treated to inane One Direction trivia gleaned from TV shows and magazines such as Liam Payne has a phobia of spoons. I've been resigning myself all summer to the inevitable trip to the multiplex to see Morgan Spurlock's  One Di

WHY WOULD I BE FAMOUS? (BROS: AFTER THE SCREAMING STOPS)

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 “I made a conscious decision because of Stevie Wonder not to be superstitious.” "The letters H.O.M.E. are so important because they personify the word home." “I’m a Londoner. Embankment. Big Ben. Cab drivers.” The wit and wisdom of Matt and Luke Goss has been the talk of social media in Britain ever since their warts and all documentary was released in cinemas three months ago. The Bros documentary 'After the Screaming Stops' has amused audiences and critics for weeks - especially after it aired on BBC4 over Christmas and was made available for streaming on the iPlayer. So why has it captured the imagination of fortysomethings who never really understood the Goss twins' stratospheric fame in the late 1980s and millenials who have never even heard of them? Focussing on the stresses and strains of the estranged brothers during rehearsals for a reunion concert in London's O2 Arena, Joe Pearlman and David Soutar's documentary sometimes feels