TODAY’S FILM

Mortal Kombat, dir. Paul W. S. Anderson (1995)

Yesterday’s recommendation wasn’t Paul W. S. Anderson’s first foray into video game adaptations! Almost a decade earlier, he directed this joyously kitsch version of Mortal Kombat for the big screen and man, where to begin?? Despite borrowing from the then-nascent mythology of its source material, the production roams semi-plotless from set piece to set piece. The result is unintentional comedy, for sure – but resistance is futile. It’s cheesy, the effects don’t hold up that well and the dialogue could have used some work, but it’s fun all the way through. Watch out for Christopher Lambert playing a thunder god wise-guy style! You can buy or rent it on YouTube.

TODAY’S RECORD

The Beat Is… by Alphabeat (2010)

Alphabeat came onto the scene with an album which took the best elements of 60s pop and infused them with a spotless sugar-high production. For its follow-up, they shifted gears and instead looked at dance acts like Ace of Base and Snap! for inspiration. The result – The Beat Is… – is an all-killer-no-filler pop treatise, in which almost no notes are out of place. All the highlights – “DJ”, “Hole in My Heart”, “Chess”, “Heat Wave”, “Always Up with You” and “The Right Thing” – are made to stick to your brain and never let go. It’s an impeccably written, recorded and mixed affair: an album of hits made with a deep knowledge of pop. Check it out on Spotify.