The Stranglers - Live at The Apollo 

Shudder’s Host (not a particularly original title, I must say) attempts to bring the spooks to “the quarantine generation” by presenting us with a scary Zoom call during lockdown.

The film seems like an extreme interpretation of the conspiracy theorists that exist in real life. And then, there’s the twist.

“And I think to myself….what a wonderful world”. Louis Armstrong sang about this notion via his classic 1967 song, an ode to witnessing elements of our life that should be but some reminders of exactly what that concluding line of each verse indicates. Now we see our contemporary realities and, just being honest, it makes a sentiment like this seem SO overtly far away….perhaps even impossible….to accept or believe could be. It sounds harsh, but again, so much of what is occurring speaks not to beauty, but bedlam.

Set against the backdrop of the Jim Crow era, the film offers layered representation.

'The Lovebirds' is one of those movies that has a very direct appeal when it comes to its comedy. There isn’t a singular style, so much as tidbits of various ones here and there.