The Quite Nerdy Blog

I love Arcade Fire. At this point, I think they might be my favourite band. Their music has this incredible range, where it can be anthemic and euphoric, but also full of anguish and fear. The sounds then get filtered through these lyrics about suburbia, Greek myth or technological paranoia, which are all subjects whose exploration I adore. Over five albums, they've done outstanding work... Except that there's a sixth album, never before given an official release, an album that might be my favourite. That album was their score for the 2013 movie her  and next month, at long last, it is getting a proper release, both in physical form and on streaming platforms. As someone who pre-ordered the vinyl as soon as this news came out, let me explain to you why it is so wonderful. First actually, I should probably set up the film her , in case you are unfamiliar. It's a story set in a near future, about a man named Theodore who falls in love with his sentient operating system. On th

Writing a review of Malcolm and Marie , even in my amateur capacity, feels like a slightly futile gesture. It's a film constructed around how pointless film critics are and how they'll almost always be more dedicated to showing off to other film critics than in actually giving the film they just watched a fair shake. If you've seen the trailer for Malcolm and Marie , you might be shocked to realise that's what the film is about, which is fair, especially since it also isn't really about that. On a basic level, it's about a couple, who return from the premiere of Malcolm's new movie. Marie is upset because she wasn't mentioned in his speech and so she has a bone to pick with him. That's it. This is a movie about pretty people dealing with petty problems, a subgenre of film I'm pretty fond of. The problem with Malcolm and Marie though is that it isn't just that, it's also trying to be some great thesis statement on film, filmmakers and how