This is the way back for 'THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU'

This is still the way for a galaxy far, far away.

By TIM DAVID HARVEY

Every year where I live, in Yokohama, Japan, they go all out, like Tokyo a train over, when it comes to celebrating May the 4th (be with you). This year was no cosplay exception, with seemingly everyone about town in some sort of Star Wars costume. But the biggest attraction was a big Baby Yoda, meditating like he did with those 'My Neighbor Totoro' dust bunnies for that sweet Studio Ghibli short.

It may always be Baby Yoda for me, but The Child still takes the biscuit...with the most adorable force. 

Grogu, the cutest thing in cinema since Disney neighbour Marvel's Baby Groot in 'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2.', deserves his name in laser bright light credits, alongside 'The Mandalorian'. After three-seasons of the hit Disney + show, and seven years since the last Star Wars movie ('The Rise Of The Skywalker'), despite many spin offs and shows on the Mickey Mouse streaming service, 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' is now in theatres, looking to out moonwalk 'Michael' and do a deal with 'The Devil Wears Prada 2'. All before 'Supergirl' and the 'Doomsday' of the new 'Avengers' movie takes superhero flight for the rest of the calendar that will surely belong to 'The Odyssey' of Christopher Nolan.

Yet, there's nothing like a big box-office blockbuster on an incredible IMAX screen to get your summer started. As Jon Favreau, who did for The Mandalorian and Star Wars what he did for Iron Man and the M.C.U., is back in the saddle with his Russo Brothers like partner Dave Filoni to bring George's Lucasfilm vision back to Hyperspace. As soon as that iconic Mando music comes back in, for his theme tune, you just know it's on. 

Critics may be complaining (no wonder I switched from reviews to column writing), but Star Wars hits all the right Cantina notes with this Mando lore. The opening act, teased on Disney Plus for the last month, white walks with the best snowscapes seen on scenes. And that cliff face will kick you right into the reason you purchased that IMAX seat, and not for one of the cool limited-edition posters. A couple of dogfights and barroom brawls later (not to mention an arena for gladiators) and you'll be so glad the chrome dome is back on the head of the new Reed Richards of 'The Fantastic Four', Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin...even if his legions of fans may deem that "monstrous."

Stuntmen Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder also deserve their due as Mando, like the Grogu puppeteer's and Werner "you are cowards" Herzog do for the cutest creature creation. Who would have thought that some old green goblin would be everyone's favourite Christmas present, like Buzz Lightyear, returning for 'Toy Story 5' this summer? Yet this kid is more than alright. We could watch his sneeze snow and tap his father's helmet all day long. But the beautiful bond, that will reduce you to tears is much more than that, patting down mud. "The old protect the young, and then the young protect the old," is one of the best lines since "this is the way", and any other Star Wars soundbites you love ("I know"). Even if Seth Rogen probably wouldn't agree. And that's ok, this is his way.

Mando and Grogu may ride again, but some are missing in the fold. Like a fired Gina Carano, who didn't last that long on Netflix, either, and the late, great Creed of Carl Weathers with the 'Predator' hand clasp. But there is a new cast of characters to add to your rogues gallery of favourites. Most notably, in size at least, being 'The Bear's' Jeremy Allen White offering more humanity to a Hutt. Some call it a curious choice for the Emmy winning star of 'Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere', but who else would pass up the chance to play The Boss and a space slug?

Elsewhere there's strong support from 'Dune' actor Stephen McKinley Henderson who always brings heart to everything he does. Whilst the iconic 'Alien' actress Sigourney Weaver adds an X-Wing pilot to her resume, doing for this franchise what 'Terminator' legend Linda Hamilton did for 'Stranger Things', or what Weaver did for Marvel's 'Defenders'. The biggest surprise, mind you, might be one of the greatest directors of all-time Martin Scorsese playing a chimp like shopkeeper cooking up something to rival Favreau's favourite grilled cheese sandwich from 'Chef'. Armed with more hands than Marvel has movies. Absolute you know what.

Scored by 'Sinners' winner Ludwig Göransson and what sounds like a Lady Gaga number, some say 'The Mandalorian' should have never shown his face again. Others think this merely plays like a couple of episodes of the TV show tacked together. More like the other way 'round. These shows were always known to be filmed on the same cameras as Scorsese cinema. We all know what the real "Asset" of this Star Wars lore is...especially when he finds some similar minded and sized friends, but under the hood, 'The Mandalorian' and his foundling, have so much more humanity and heart. And there's art in the ultimate space western for the best science fiction of our past, present and any future you can think of.

There is no way quite like this.

TV REVIEW: PARADISE - Season 2

3.5/5

Paradise Lost

8 Episodes. Starring: Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, Sarah Shahi, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Krys Marshall, Charlie Evans, Aliyah Mastin, Percy Daggs IV, Enuka Okuma, Thomas Doherty, Cameron Britton, Shailene Woodley & James Marsden. Created By: Dan Fogelman. On: Hulu & Disney +.

Ready for another season in 'Paradise' on Hulu and Disney Plus? This eight-episode wonder of a second series, from the 'This Is Us' creator/actor team of Dan Fogelman and Sterling K. Brown, will leave you thinking it's some sort of 'Lost' and 'Wayward Pines' hybrid. Or 'Prison Break' in reverse. And if you thought you heard that cover of the classic Phil Collins (there's even a President that looks like him, here, now the Cyclops of James Marsden has stepped down) song too many times, wait until 'The Final Countdown' of an epic, 'Exodus' end. Under the dome of the first season, we got to see the divide between the haves and the have nots, reflected back to the turbulent times we live in right now, like a mirror to the future. But this season, those locked below decks in the Titanic are coming up from the bowels of the ship for air.

Cliff-hangers rarely literally throw you out of a plane, but that's where Sterling K. Brown ('The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story', 'American Fiction', 'Black Panther') left us, out of 'Paradise', to end the first season. Now, the multiple Emmy and Golden Globe winner has to leave his kids (great performances from Aliyah Mastin and Percy Daggs IV) as he looks for their mother and his beloved, Enuka Okuma. The great Brown, knows how to bring 'Waves' of lump in the throat emotion, even to more straight-forward scripts, and it's this nuance that helps propel a narrative that's anything but linear. Meanwhile, there's a power struggle inside the bunker, now the great Marsden is reduced to a recurring role. His son, Charlie Evans, isn't, mind you, maturing before us. Julianne Nicholson's Sinatra wants things done her way, but Sarah Shahi is determined to make her think about what she's done and the consequences of her actions. Not just that, agents Krys Marshall and a livewire Nicole Brydon Bloom, could give Eva Longoria in 'The Sentinel' or Taye Diggs in 'The West Wing' a run for their guns.

Flashbacks and more back story than the notebooks of 'Wonder Man', for a show sandwiched between the marvels of that and the second helping of the Disney 'Daredevil' from Hell's Kitchen, 'Born Again', help with depth and the introduction to some welcome guest stars. All whilst seemingly setting up more in a stepping stone of a second season, which takes tricks and tips from 'Prison Break' in extending its sentence. 'Mindhunter' and 'The Umbrella Academy' star Cameron Britton ('A Man Called Otto', 'Mickey 17') can bring a mix of sweet and sinister, like no other, and here he plays a postman that compels like Costner. Whilst Thomas Doherty's (a 'Descendant' of many a Disney movie) Dylan gives more life to the outside in this post-apocalypse that looks like ides this March. That's where he meets superstar Shailene Woodley ('The Fault In Our Stars', 'Divergent', 'Big Little Lies') on horseback, holed up, with people storming the gates of Graceland, as an Elvis tour guide. The scene-stealing best in show has barely been better, too. 'Paradise' find even more, with another way to turn trouble into television drama of the highest third season order. Ready to go deeper underground? TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Lost', 'Wayward Pines', 'Prison Break'.

DUAL REVIEW: BTS - THE COMEBACK - LIVE/THE RETURN - A DOCUMENTARY

4/5 (The Comeback)

4/5 (The Return)

Back To Seoul

62 Mins (The Comeback) / 93 Mins (The Return). Starring: RM, Jin, J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, Jung Kook & V. Directors: Hamish Hamilton & Cameron Whitelaw (The Comeback) / Bao Nyguen (The Return). On: Netflix.

Switcheroo. Last week, Flea, candid and compelling, offered moving stories about his late, great guitarist bandmate in the Netflix documentary 'The Rise Of The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother Hillel'. The same time RM, Jin, J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, Jung Kook and V of South Korea's very own leading K-Pop act BTS made their long-awaited after their mandatory military service. All for 'Arirang', their highly-anticipated, brilliant, brand-new album, featuring the streaming single 'Swim' and the 'Body To Body' opening dancefloor number. Giving us 'The Comeback' live on Netflix in the same weekend. Much like how fellow boy band phenomenon Harry Styles gave the streaming service 'One Night In Manchester' to coincide with his solo release, 'Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally'. This New Music Friday, Flea blew the trumpet on his first ever solo album, 'Honora', in honour of the bassist's family. All on the same day we got ready for 'The Return' of BTS again, in their new Netflix documentary film. Don't call it a comeback...that was so last week.

Netflix may have lost out to Paramount when it came to the acquisition of Warner Bros. (thanks a lot, Trump), but look what else they've picked up. Most recently, not only being the only streaming provider to televise this year's World Baseball Classic, they also gave us the MLB opening night between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants. But it's the N x BTS deal that may just get an ARMY of new subscribers following. Disney used to be the Kingdom of BTS. From the 'Monuments: Beyond A Star' series detailing their hiatus, alongside the 'Permission To Dance' swan song live in LA, to all the documentaries about the solo work of J-Hope ('J-Hope In The Box') and Suga ('Road To D-Day'). Not to mention the hugely popular 'Are You Sure?!' travel series by Jimin and Jung Kook, which just sky-dived its second season in Switzerland. Yet that was the past and the best to come that was promised. And kept, as we see the future now, live on everybody's favourite streaming service that belongs to their best friend.

Now, what better way to debut their return record than with a homecoming in Seoul, South Korea, like no other...live? How about in the heart of the city, live from Gwanghwamun Square? The iconic temple that feels like a gate to the city featuring brushstrokes of projection mapping, added on to it for the effect at night, similar to what the digitally iconic TeamLab Borderless did to Kanazawa Castle and more, here in Japan. Classic, like the traditional dress of women singing the album title name's folk song as they sway in love, sorrow and endurance. Yet when the silhouettes of the magnificent seven appear on the map of the heart of Seoul, you just know it's on, like one of their biggest hits. Performing powerhouse records like 'Mic Dop', 'Dynamite', and other smooth like 'Butter' numbers, to go along with instant classic choice cuts off the new album. "Swim...swim." All as RM coolly took a seat, like this was a 'Yet To Come' performance, thanks to his going hard in rehearsals leaving him down on one knee, in matrimony with the Boyz II Men ballad seat.

In the engaging 'The Return', a documentary directed by Boa Nguyen ('Live From New York!', 'Be Water', 'The Greatest Night In Pop'), BTS debate whether they are using too long a sample of 'Arirang' in their album lead off track 'Body'. But as they sing, "my beloved/Who leaves me behind and departs/Your feet will tire/Before mine ever do," it's clear to hear that in-yun in 8,000 past lives, these boys would still be together. Most break...not this bulletproof squad. Candour and conviction are matched with a camaraderie that shows even the military couldn't tear apart what was already an army. And when they reunite on a beach, live online for their legions of fans, BTS behind the scenes like when Jimin asked Jung Kook if he was sure, you just know this one is more than just seven strong. Sealed with viral moments and a labour of love and trust of the process in a studio setting in Los Angeles, California. All the way back home across the shore and a live, studio plugged version of 'Swim'. A new lap for a group that has already taken its victory one and is about to run, run, run together again. The return has come all the way back. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'BTS - Monuments: Beyond The Star', 'BTS - Permission To Dance: On Stage - LA', 'Are You Sure?!'

REVIEW: MERCY

3/5

The Mercy Seat 

100 Mins. Starring: Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Kali Reis, Annabelle Wallis, Chris Sullivan, Kylie Rogers & Kenneth Choi. Screenplay: Marco van Belle. Director: Timur Bekmambetov. On: Amazon Prime Video.

Just mercy. That's all that 'Guardians Of The Galaxy', 'Jurassic World' and 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' franchise face, Chris Pratt wants in this A.I. sci-fi movie (I promise this review wasn't composed by Chat GPT...it wouldn't have this many errors) that speaks to the changing, terrifying times we live in. 'Project Hail Mary', the new Phil Lord and Christopher Miller space movie, based on 'The Martian' novelist Andy Weir's book, starring Ryan Gosling, just gave Amazon MGM Studios it's biggest opening ever. See it in all its big-screen, IMAX glory, as Gosling tells us it's their (moviemakers) and not our (the audience) jobs to get us back in theatres. I must admit, if I knew it was a Prime movie going in, I may have waited for streaming (we see you...or wait to see you, Chris Hemsworth's 'Crime 101'), because I sympathize with his bicycle riding (not for health) teacher. But I'm glad I didn't. On the other hand, Chris Pratt's 'Mercy' is worth the home viewing seat wait.

Not quite, the 'War Of The Worlds' Ice Cube franchise melting bad, 'Mercy' is a pretty decent movie. Captured with that 'Searching' screenlife genre that doesn't completely sap the life out of storytelling when done correctly. Pratt's ('Passengers', 'The Tomorrow War', 'The LEGO Movie') cop character has been accused of murdering his wife ('Peaky Blinders' star Annabelle Wallis...'The Immortal Man', Cillian Murphy, may have something to say about all this), and now he is literally at the mercy of 'Mission: Impossible' franchise star Rebecca Ferguson's (who actually is in 'Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man', on Prime Video's Netflix rival, this week) A.I. judge. He's got 90 minutes, or around this film time, to get his guilt level below 90%. Otherwise that digital courtroom chair he's sitting in will turn into an electric chair. With shades of 'Minority Report' and all those Philip K. Dick science-fiction stories that came before, Timur Bekmambetov's movie (off a slick, Marco van Belle script) has something to show and tell. Even if it comes at you more like the algorithms of modern-day pop-ups you just want to block.

Accept these cookies though, Bekmambetov ('Night Watch', 'Wanted', 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter') is the master of his screenlife domain ('Unfriended', 'Searching', 'Profile') no matter what you think of last year's 'War Of The Worlds' ("it's you...IT'S YOU!"). At least there isn't much Amazon product placement here, even if there are cool drone bikes, although it feels like they're resisting temptation as best they can. The real stroke though is the theatre between the charismatic Chris and Ferguson, serving looks and intelligence that is anything but artificial as she excels in playing a non-human in this art with smarts. Staring straight at you and boring holes in us at a thousand yards. There's also great support from 'True Detective: Night Country' partner Kali Reis, the Taserface of 'This Is Us' star Chris Sullivan, and the generations of Marvel Morita's, Kenneth Choi. Yet it's 'The Whispers' of young star Kylie Rogers ('Miracles From Heaven', 'Collateral Beauty', 'Beau Is Afraid') who offers more heart for this digital age. But what about the questions of how dependent we are on artificial intelligence these days, and how this assist could end up stealing our personal information if we don't take care of our privacy settings? The 'Mercy' seat is waiting for us. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Minority Report', 'Searching', 'War Of The Worlds'

REVIEW: PROJECT HAIL MARY

4/5

The Rocky/Grace Picture Show

156 Mins. Starring: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz & Lionel Boyce. Screenplay: Drew Goddard. Directed By: Phil Lord & Chistopher Miller. In: Theatres & On: Prime Video.

Come with me for the best Hail Mary play since a football pass, or 2Pac song. We already knew mainstream, but nuanced, novelist Andy Weir is right with the teen dreams of Ernest Cline to be today's Philip K. Dick and Isaac Asimov when it comes to science-fiction writing. Making movies with Ridley Scott and Matt Damon's 'The Martian', surviving life on Mars by harvesting food from farm fertilizing farts. That big blockbuster, is met with this beautiful one, 'Project Hail Mary', as Weir brings more realism to a potential extinction level event, like he did maintaining meal prep on the red planet. Yet this Drew Goddard ('Cloverfield', 'World War Z', 'Daredevil' (see you tomorrow)) adapted screenplay is a lot more fun than the real-world implications of our end of days. Thanks to the lovable directing duo of 'The LEGO Movie', '21 (and 22) Jump Street' and the 'Spider-Verse' chronicles, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. And their kaleidoscope of versed images.

Cloudy, with a chance of asteroids, this project follows the legendary likes of the inspired 'Interstellar' and the cerebral 'Ad Astra' in its, "in space no one can hear you scream...because they've become a 90-year-old in what for you, was nine minutes", ideas. Yet it shares more in common with Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey', or Denis Villeneuve's 'Arrival'...but we will get to all that. The ninth highest-grossing film of 2026, so far, it's just been out a weekend, and it's only March, is also the best Amazon MGM Studios movie since the 'Air' of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck recruiting Michael Jordan to Nike really took off. Come fly with this, mind you, on the biggest interstellar IMAX screen of space before it goes to Prime Video streaming war with Netflix and Disney Plus. With Paramount out the bag Netflix was about to offer it, it's anyone's game now and, Amazon has already come prime with Chris Pratt's 'Mercy' and Chris Hemsworth's 'Crime 101'. Forget about the 'War Of The Worlds' product placement debacle.

Yet this is not a Chris (although he has a Lebowski cardigan to rival the cable knit of another Marvel man, Chris Evans in 'Knives Out'), but Ryan Gosling ('La La Land', 'Drive', 'Barbie'). A handsome Hollywood heartthrob playing way too good looking everymen (or Ken), like 'The Fall Guy' stunt, now he's happy and settled down with actress Eva Mendes (meeting on their best movie, 'The Place Beyond The Pines') and their family. Here, 'The Notebook' and 'Blue Valentine' star is a teacher like 'Half Nelson', wearing a yellow slicker that's a drain away from being grabbed by Pennywise. But he's already had 'First Man' astronaut experience. Let alone, science-fiction pedigree, with the brilliant 'Blade Runner 2049' sequel before his very own Star Wars vehicle. He'll need it, as he wakes up alone, like Chris Pratt on 'Passengers', with no memory of who he is, how he got here, or why? Looking like Jesus, and all set to be a saviour. He could pull a Pratt 'Passenger' move and rudely wake the rest of his crew up, but they now belong with the stars.

Heart-breaking, healing and hilarious, 'Project' will leave you crying with longing, and then so, with laughter. And the great Gosling plays it all perfectly, with heart, and the new trademark family movie fury, a la, Tom Hanks. There is a cast and crew, to go with the hot topics from his space storage closet, however. 'Anatomy Of A Fall' and 'The Zone Of Interest' star Sandra Hüller is just incredible after her own year, three years ago, in 2023. Best karaoke since Bill Murray in Tokyo. Whilst there's a buddy Costco comedy brewing with the always great Lionel Boyce, of 'The Bear' and Odd Future fame. But the real scene-stealing star of the show doesn't even have a face (hey, it worked for that dog (was it?) in Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'). All credit to the puppet mastery and voice work of James Ortiz (soon to be the Andy Serkis of his collective craft) as the cute character creation Rocky, and a performance that will have you jumping for joy with your hands in the air at the top of the theatre steps. These two won't only try to save the world together, they'll also remake 'La La Land' promotional posters, with a dance just as iconic. Now, that's a sequel I want to see. Make that another 'Hail Mary' that lands. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'The Martian', 'First Man', 'Interstellar'.

REVIEW: PEAKY BLINDERS - THE IMMORTAL MAN

4/5

The Fallen Son

112 Mins. Starring: Cillian Murphy, Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, Sophie Rundle, Barry Keoghan & Stephen Graham. Screenplay: Steven Knight. Director: Tom Harper. On: Netflix.

Blood is blind, as the sins of the father are visited on the son for 'Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man', in cinemas and on Netflix. The Steven Knight classic creation (directed by Tom Harper), that has inspired more barbershop crewcuts and flat caps than an old man's pub, getting the BBC Films treatment, much like Idris Elba's 'Luther: The Fallen Sun' in 2023. And akin to that tweed coat and red tie, the suited and booted in the face crime drama feels more like the series it is and always will be, but is great to be shown on the big-screen. 'Peaky Blinders' left our screens about the same time we stopped wearing masks, after six seasons and just over a decade. The last we saw of '28 Days Later' franchise face, Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby, he was an MP for the Labour Party. Since then Murphy's law ('Batman Begins', 'Inception', 'Dunkirk') saw his win a Best Actor Oscar for Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer', by order of the Oscar Academy. An immortal man, indeed.

Yet Cillian returns to the character we know him best for, the Birmingham city gangster, taking out the trash. Albeit looking a little salt and pepper different under that cap (like I can talk). Tooling around his home like Christian Bale's Batman in 'The Dark Knight Rises', writing his memoirs, dressed to the pistol like Daniel Craig, or a Bond audition he swears he's busy for. Crafting character confliction like no other (that used to be his 'Inception' co-star Leonardo's art), haunted to those old blue eyes by the crimes he's committed and the mistakes he's made. The Howard Hughes exile won't last long, mind you, as he's brought back into the fray. And what an entrance to the bar top, as The Garrison is back open for business. Stick a pin in this explosive scene being one of the most epic entrance's in the franchises formidable fire and brimstone run. But what would bring the iconic Tommy Shelby back? How about a dynamite Barry Keoghan? Who is he? The trailer already tells you, but if you're saving it, I'm mum, like the late, great Helen McCrory.

Polly, Arthur and all the Shelby's before are more than missing in action in this big-screen bluster. Yet Keoghan ('The Killing Of A Sacred Deer', 'The Banshees Of Inisherin', 'Saltburn') makes up for all of that like the actor of the moment that he is. A wowzah of a wild-card shooting from the hip, and a big-name who has already shown he's about to hold all the cards as The Joker in 'The Batman' sequel. But this livewire is just like the 'Eternals' star joining Thor and Hulk (AKA Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo) as a blonde bike bomber in 'Crime 101'. Barry looks born to don the cap, and his chemistry with Cillian was already set with what they shared on a boat to 'Dunkirk'. Thick as thieves, or thick as pig s###? As these two get down on the mud before Murphy's Shelby rides through the city on the back of a horse, caked in it, and covered with the reaching palms of his constituents. Now, that's how you look like the legend that you are. Barry may bring it, but Cillian has cultivated it for a decade now. And when he dons the military fatigues you know he's bringing a war with him. Armed or not.

Brutal and beautifully shot and slow burning, yet life learning, 'The Immortal Man' plays a blinder for 'Peaky' lore and disorder. 'Dune' and 'Mission: Impossible' series star Rebecca Ferguson ('The Greatest Showman', 'Life', 'Doctor Sleep') is as underused as she is underrated, yet undeniable. Bringing it recently with Netflix's 'A House Of Dynamite and Amazon MGM Studio 'Mercy'. And most of the Shelby clan may be floating down a canal, but Sophie Rundle is still here and leaving her mark. Elsewhere 'Adolescence' Emmy winner Stephen Graham steps in for a recurring big name, similar to Tom Hardy. Giving us a glimpse of the old Liverpool docks in this great British drama of decades gone that also pays tribute to BSA munitions factory female workforce, who refused to go home when bombs were being dropped all around them. 'Peaky Blinders' has always brought the big names and guns. Sam Neill and Claflin, a brutalist Adrien Brody, and Anya Taylor-Joy. The great Tim Roth is no exception either, shooting it out with Shelby. All for an epic end that will live on in the bleak midwinter of immortality like Nick Cave's red right hand. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Peaky Blinders', 'Oppenheimer', 'Luther: The Fallen Sun'.

DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: THE RISE OF THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - OUR BROTHER HILLEL

4/5

He Was Red Hot

95 Mins. Starring: Anthony Kiedis, Flea & John Frusciante. Director: Ben Feldman. On: Netflix.

Dave Navarro, Josh Klinghoffer, Will Ferrell? California's band, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, have had more legendary former members than there are Lakers jerseys in the Los Angeles' rafters. Such is the nature of line-up changes in rock music, that feels like a sport in itself, the Grammy museum being just across the road from the purple and gold home in Figueroa. No past member, mind you, save the returning John Frusciante, was more of an iconic influence than late, great guitarist Hillel Slovak. The man that the great Frusciante based his own freaky styles on. He's here, on record, to tell you as such. One of the great guitar Gods we lost tragically in 1988, when he was just 26-years-young.

Next New Music Friday, Flea will finally give you his own solo project, 'Honora', that we just have to honour and trumpet. Set to be an instant classic like its iconic album artwork of record dedication love in black and white. The first RHCP release we've been peppered with since 2022's double-delight return of 'Love Unlimited' and the 'Return Of The Dream Canteen'. And this documentary, 'The Rise Of The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother Hillel', directed definitively by Ben Feldman, is the perfect precursor to this. Even though the band's official Instagram confirmed that this doc was actually unofficial, despite testimonials from Anthony Kiedis, Flea and John Frusciante...this was before the great Chad Smith's time to shine on the skins. Streaming on Netflix, for their own big weekend, after hitting a home run with the World Baseball Classic, following their strike-out on the Warner Bros. deal. Giving us not only their long-awaited 'Peaky Blinders' movie, 'The Immortal Man', but 'The Comeback' of South Korean pop juggernaut BTS for 'Arirang'.

Slovak was a sweet, sensitive soul, who was taken far too soon by the influence of drugs. In those LA times he was a rider of the storm, without a shirt, like the murals of the legendary Jim Morrison that open the doors to Venice Beach...wide. Hillel would journal like a beat poet and even scrawl sublime sketches that will remind you of the art of John Lennon...all in his own style, mind you. He had such an inspired impact on others. Especially Anthony and Michael...just wait until you hear the story of how he became "Flea". And why for this rise of the Red Hots is this film the perfect set-up for Balzary's solo set, next week? Because Hillel was the one who told Flea he should pick up a bass and slap it, like Este or Ami. Seeing Flea get emotional will break your heart in an utterly moving and sad story as Kiedis gets candid and compelling, too. Hillel Slovak appeared on four Chili Peppers albums, appearing on one track of the magnificent 'Mother's Milk', and the crosswalk with their sock of c###s out, 'The Abbey Road E.P.', but his memory and impression is still on the strings, punctuating their percussion to this day. The Red Hot Chili Peppers don't rise without their brother. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Devo', 'Keith Richards-Under The Influence', 'Red Hot Chili Peppers: Woodstock '99'.