Comedy & Movie Reviews 2022

Woof-o-meter :-
0-Die Bastard : 1-Crap : 2-Rubbish(watchable) : 3-OK : 3.5-Nice : 4-Good : 4.5-Very Good : 5-WOW

Other Movies seen, but at home - Other Movies

Comedy         - 86
Movie            - 40
TV audience  - 13
Lecture           - 5
Online show   - 9
No show(fail) - 5
Cost                - $2832 (tickets - $2458 : food - $374 : travelling not included)

29.12.22 : Erskineville Comedy Club : The Hive Bar
On first appearance it didn't look like it's was going to be good, ie, it's small, but it turned out to be quite fun. Only 16 people turned up, but because it's a small room it was a capacity, and to cap that off it was a crowd that knew the score, ie, it's a cheap night, so they put the effort in to enjoy themselves. One guy peeked my inelegance and he was a guy that was on Farmer Wants A Wife - I think his name was James O'Connor -, and he did some clever mind stuff. Ben Ellwood "Angriest man in Sydney" was also good. Small room, good crowd, regulars comics from Powerbomb, and better than the price would suggest. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5 - $12
                   

22.12.22 : The Very Merry Christmas Eve Eve Eve Bonanza : Comedy Store
Bec Charlwood(MC), Aleks Milinkovich, Sian Smyth, Sandeep Totlani, David Smiedt, Gus Tate, Steph Broadbridge, Sean Woodland
I was a bit worried because there were a lot of names I've never heard-of, but it was packed, and it was very funny. The standouts in order:- Sean absolutely killed, David, and Bec. Good. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.75 - $27 + $3

17.12.22 : Powerbomb Comedy at Staves Brewery : Staves Brewery
It's about what you would expect from a small comedy room. I found the MC and the girls the most interesting, but the night had that end of year winding down feel, ie, everyone's gone on holidays and there isn't many people around. Crowd : 3 - Me : 3 - $16 + $10
                 

15.12.22 : The Big Thursday Showcase : Comedy Store
Bart Freeman(MC), Annie Boyle, Jack Wright, Michael Hing, Dan Rath, Brodi Snook, Sam Taunton
The comics were just as good as last time, it's just that the crowd wasn't as good. Even though the Enmore Comedy Club show is the same show as this one, it's the bigger and more vocal crowd that makes this one better, ie, a bigger/louder laugh-track -. Even with the depleted crowd/laughs, it still was better than ECC, ie, more atmosphere. Dan Rath was again super funny/crazy - he's like an even more extreme lateral-thinking James Acaster rofl -. Bart Freeman(MC) killed it also. I like deadpan female comics, eg, Amanda Gray, and Annie Boyle is another. Ouch! Michael Hing did such a long set, I think I just saw most of his new show, ie, now I don't know if I'll go to the full show. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.75 - $27 + $3

13.12.22 : Dragon Friends Season 8 - Live D&D Comedy Show : The Vanguard
This is another place that advertise one price, then jack-it-up at the door without telling you they are going to jack-it-up at the door. Well at least I saved myself $31, plus it looked smaller and more crowed than I remember, plus you are probably obligated to buy a drink because it's more a restaurant/bar than a show venue, ie, higher overall price,. DF do 10 shows a year and I was paying $250pa, but now it's going to be $300pa next year so I think I better save that so I can redistribute it to somewhere better, ie, more OS comics or more Comedy Store The Big Thursday Showcase nights. 0 - $4
                                   I got you a pic of Camperdown Memorial Rest Park

09.12.22 : Taskmaster AUS S01E07 - live recording : NEP Studios Sydney Eveleigh
Hosts: Tom Gleeson, Tom Cashman. Guests: Luke McGregor, Julia Morris, Jimmy Rees, Nina Oyama, Danielle Walker.
Even though some of the tasks seemed mundane/simplistic, eg, do something unique for the first time that you will never do again for the rest of your life could be answered with a unique face-pull, overall it was nearly as funny and the very funny 1st ep. What was weird was they didn't give/record the overall series scores, but then I realised they might be keeping that a secret so the studio doesn't let the cat out of the bag before the series gets aired. I'm even betting they record the awarding of the golden head without a studio audience for that exact reason - lol -. Another good thing about this recording is there are no time wasting pickups(re-records for mistakes) at the end. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.75 - $0 + $4
                     

08.12.22 : ITS ComFest - Night 1- Main Theatre - All Nighter : ITS - Improv Theatre Sydney
And to think I gave up Taskmaster for this - Taskmaster sold-out in days and is the hottest ticket in town -, ouch!. After the Plonk Family Band cancelled I had little interest in this night, but because of the $40 I had to go. I did have a slight interest in finding out what Hing's Instagram Show was about, but I kind-of worked it out beforehand and realised it's a game I'm not that fond of.
SLOT 1: The Instagram Show with Michael Hing - making scenes from someone's Instagram pics. Improvisers are fond of this game, but the inspiration is usually from unremarkable stuff, eg, the news, an ordinary persons' pics, so most of this Improv ends up being uninteresting.
SLOT 2: Smackdown Finals - 4 teams do short scenes one at a time until their accumulated time reaches their allotted 10min limit. There were no pros so about 25% of it was good.
SLOT 3: Plonk Family Band - This was cancelled and replaced with another show, but it was getting late and I was pretty much drifting in and out because there wasn't much I found interesting, so I skipped this one.
I just have to realise that there isn't much I find interesting from this level, so it's kind-of not worth going to these. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 2 - $40
                     

06.12.22 : Taskmaster AUS S01E03 - live recording : NEP Studios Sydney Eveleigh
Hosts: Tom Gleeson, Tom Cashman. Guests: Luke McGregor, Julia Morris, Jimmy Rees, Nina Oyama, Danielle Walker
Not as good as yesterday, and no-one stood out as funnier than anyone else, but it still was good enough. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.75 - $0 + 4
                   

05.12.22 : Taskmaster AUS S01E01 - live recording : NEP Studios Sydney Eveleigh
Hosts: Tom Gleeson, Tom Cashman. Guests: Luke McGregor, Julia Morris, Jimmy Rees, Nina Oyama, Danielle Walker
The recording is as much fun as watching it on TV. There is a big crowd of Taskmasters fans, so there is a lot of cheering when a guests get something right, and a lot of oohing when they get something wrong, ie there is a lot of atmosphere that makes it super fun. Standouts were Nina Oyama, Danielle Walker, and Tom Cashman, who were so quick and clever with the comebacks that they had Tom Gleeson cracking-up with laughter, ie, he didn't have time to be "HARD" - lol -. Good. Crowd : 4.5 - Me : 4 - $0 + $4

02.12.22 : Rhys James - Spilt Milk : Comedy Store
He's good, he has this fast constant, lots of material, delivery, ie, no time to get bored even if you don't laugh. There's also the new/exotic/famous thing, ie, you're more enthusiastic with known OS comics because they are rare down here, but he couldn't do much Australian stuff - other comics' take of us is usually the best part -, because he's literally doing the fly in fly out thing, ie, no time to look around - in SYD he only walked around The Entertainment Quarter -. The first 2/3 was good, but it was a very obscure/weird subject, ie, Wim Hof's cold showers. The last 1/3 is the silly girlfriend/relationship stuff that is funnier, because you know about it and can relate. Good. Crowd : 4.25 - Me : 3.5 - $42 + $3
                       

01.12.22 : Rock With Laughter : Rock Lily, The Star Sydney
Steve Philp(MC), Billy Darcy, Hamish ?, He Huang, Marty Bright, Sean Woodland
The comedy was good, it's just that no one turned up. 15 people made the room look empty, but the weird thing was that the whole casino was empty. Last time I was here I had to battle through people waiting in ques for food, this time the inside restaurants were empty. I don't know if the other new casino stole everyone, but it doesn't look good for this show. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.5 - $0 + $12
                   

29.11.22 : 2022 Murray Lecture - Superhero bats: can bat genomes help us live longer? : University of Sydney

Professor Emma C. Teeling, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., MRIA, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin
Bats appear to have resistance to many viral diseases such as rabies, SARS and Ebola-like viruses and are the suspected reservoir species for a huge diversity of newly discovered viruses, including Sars-CoV-2. Their innate immunity looks to be different to other mammals, perhaps playing a role in their unexpected longevity.
It wasn't as meaty, ie, technical, as I would like. The last Murray Lecture was about birds, something that I don't really have an interest in, but because there was so many technical facts it was quite interesting. This was more like a concept, ie, there might be something in studding bats to increase our life span, but the research is so new that there are no facts to substantiate it yet. Oh well, them's the breaks. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 2.5 - $0 + $4
                     

28.11.22 : Question Everything Ep10 studio recording : ABC Ultimo
Guest celebs: Carl Barron, Mel Buttle, Blake Freeman
It's rare that a TV studio recording is super funny, but this was so funny it was like a real comedy show. I thought getting Blake Freeman back on was a mistake, they keep harping on about his "categorise everything into 4 categories(dog, cat, bug, water) routine" that I thought they were going to do it again, ie, a joke a 2nd time is not funny anymore, but they only played it as a short game just to entertain us, ie, not for TV, and in fact Blake was so quick with the come-backs it was pretty impressive, ie, not just a one trick pony. Carl Barron is the king of the inane, ie, he is the Seinfeld of the mundane happening - lol -, and was also super funny. Mel was also good, but with the other 2 stealing the show it seamed lesser. Super good. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.75 - $3
                   

25.11.22 : Seriously Red - movie
Drama : A realtor pursues a new career as a Dolly Parton impersonator.
The logic of being a copy/mic is lost in the translation, ie, why is being method 24/7 is a bad thing, but but fun, sweet, and very nice. I was a sucker for the singing because it was very similar to the originals, but overall I thought it was very good. 3.5 - $9 + $4

24.11.22 : The Big Thursday Showcase : Comedy Store
Typical Century Venue, nowhere on their website do they say that they won't honour their advertised $27 ticket at the door. Wasted 2 hours travelling there and back. CV is a monopoly in SYD, like Apple, so they can treat customers like dirt and get away with it. Crowd : na - Me : 0 - + $3
PS : I got you a pic of tonight's ARIA award ceremony red carpet.

23.11.22 : Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery - movie
Comedy, Crime, Drama : Famed Southern detective Benoit Blanc travels to Greece for his latest case.
The reviews give both movies very high marks, but I don't find them that compelling. The 1st havf was pretty uneventful, but it does pickup in the 2nd half. More a time-filler for me rather than anything I needed to see. Ok. 3.25 - $10 + $5

22.11.22 : Question Everything Ep9 studio recording : ABC Ultimo
Guest celebs: Wendy Harmer, Dan Ilic, Bec Melrose
None of the guest were especially funny, but then again seeing a lot of theses recording makes the novelty wear thin. It was ok. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3 - $3
                      

18.11.22 : Guy Montgomery - Watch Me & My Huge Muscles Get Ripped For Summer : Factory Theatre
I thought this was a trail show with written material, just not tested to see if the jokes produce any actual laughs. Well it wasn't even that, it was was a totally improvised show using suggestions from the crowd written on bits of paper in the hopes of finding enough material for an actual trial show. I've seen other comics do these improvised shows to find material, eg, Adam Hills, and most of them aren't that funny. Well this was the same, and in fact I don't think these shows find any material judging by the lack of laughs - lol -. It's ok, just a bit disappointing for people expecting actual jokes rather than what was practicality just a conversation with a comic. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3 - $22
                  

17.11.22 : The Big Thursday Showcase : Comedy Store
David Smiedt(MC), Brett Blake, Madeleine Stewart, Andrew Wolfe, Tom Ballard, Waka(JPN), Ray O'Leary(NZ), Conor Burns(SCO)
I have to buy tickets in bulk to save money - if I buy the 60 tickets individually at Century Venues it would be $300 of dead money in transaction fees -, and since I used to go to a lot of cheap Thur shows in the past, I decided this would be a good way to pad-out the transaction fee. Even though the Enmore Comedy is closer and easier to get to, and can have the same comics, it kind-of feels hollow afterwards, ie, not as much fun, where as this Thur show at the Comedy Store just feels better/funnier. Another point was I wanted to see Ray O'Leary(NZ) live, but it was Andrew Wolfe that stole the show. David Smiedt(MC) was good, and so was Conor Burns(SCO). Good. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.75 - $28 + $4

15.11.22 : Question Everything Ep8 studio recording : ABC Ultimo
Guest celebs: Paul McDermott, Charlie Pickering, Alex Lee
No one stole the show - maybe Charlie did a bit more -, so there was nothing that stood-out. This one didn't seem as much fun as others - last week's was hilarious on TV so should've been fun live -, and one of the problems was there was a lot of old references that everyone has forgotten, ie, the crowd didn't react/laugh at stuff, eg, I forgot Gremlins was a movie so didn't get the joke until it was mentioned they mustn't get wet, and by then the joke was gone. There was also a lot of old historical or obscure/niche references that no one knew, so again people didn't react/laugh. It was good to see Paul again - I was in this studio for GNW v2.0 recordings -, but every joke was either very dark or very obscure so not the typical lol stuff, which was weird because in every GMW recording he was the life of the party, even more than the pro standup comic Mikey Robins. The whole recording was pretty out there, with everybody riffing to some very weird places, ie, it was up and down. It's not really a live comedy show so it's par for the course, and there was a lot of stuff recorded so it should be fine for TV. PS: Again with Alex Lee - lol -, ie, I always seem to get her in every TV show live recording session. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.25 - $4

12.11.22 : Elena Gabrielle : Comedy Store
"Sharp!" is the first word that comes to mind. She's Australian, but has been doing comedy in Europe, mainly Germany, for the last 5 years, and it's stories that are quite direct, tell it like it is without beating around the bush, ie, blunt but in a fun way. There was a lot of female bodily functions, which I love but shrivels the a-holes of soft-CK men, and a lot of dating, relationship, sex, stories with every facet of the rude, crude, and disgusting. Nearly all of it is 3.75, with a slight taper to 3.5 just at the end. Very good.  Crowd : 4.25 - Me : 3.75 - $36 + $4
                  

11.11.22 : Gary Meikle(SCO) - 2.5 : Comedy Store
I went into this one totally blind, ie, no research, so I had to catch-up on the fly - some stuff I didn't figure out lol -. First thing it wasn't advertised he was Scottish, yet alone from overseas. Overseas is a big plus because people do things differently in different countries, so the stories are quite different/fresh/new. When I got back I read the blurb - lol - and he classifies himself a edgy, but edgy is more on the dark less funny side where as this was more bawdy, rude, animated/dynamic, ie, a lot of fun. He did a big show, ie, 1h30min, and it was good/fun. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 4.5 - $41 + $4
                   

09.11.22 : Bros - movie
Comedy, Romance : Two men with commitment problems attempt a relationship.
This is not a traditional RomCom, ie, warm & fuzzy with pretty people, it's more edgy and real, but not real real. Basically the main character is cynical and self-centred and out-spoken, ie, not lovable, but thankfully it's not serious real. Some parts are good, some parts are ok. 3.5 - $9 + $4

08.11.22 : Dr Peter Domachuk Memorial Lecture 2022 - Sharp and Fast: University of Sydney
Sharp and Fast: The unexpected story of how some of the shortest events ever created are delivering the world’s most precise measurements.
Professor Andre Luiten FAIP GAICD FTSE, Director of the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) and Chair of Experimental Physics at the University of Adelaide.
Optical Frequency Combs are a way of measuring and producing more accurate frequencies over a larger spectrum than with electronics. Basically because of the accuracy you can fit way more different frequencies in a fixed spectrum(electronics achievable spectrum), and because of the larger spectrum you can have way more frequencies beyond that fixed frequency. As an example we currently we have 96 different frequencies lasers through one fibre in the backbone of our NBN, but with a Optical Frequency Comb you can put something like 16,000,000 frequencies through an optical fibre. OFCs can detect chemicals way more accurately, ie, it can detect sickness in your breath. It can find and measure planets with way more accuracy and at a much further distance. And it can massively increase the rate of data in communications. Pretty interesting. 3.5 - $0 + $4
PS: Dr Peter Domachuk was a gifted student, and later a researcher, that did a massive amount of work over his brief 33 years on the planet, ie, writing 17 papers with concepts that are being used in current research, in that short of a period, is pretty prolific.

04.11.22 : Micky Bartlett(N.IRE) : Comedy Store
He's fun, very animated, dynamic, affable, ie, good, it's just that I couldn't hear that well. I don't know if it was because he talks so fast, or the accent, or the sound was bad, or because I was under the speakers, or that I had to wear earplugs because it was too loud, but missing crucial punchlines that the crowd was laughing heavily at was a downer. My score would've been higher if I could hear, but from the sounds of everyone else laughing so much you should find it good. Crowd : 4.5 - Me : 3.5 - $29 + $4
                  

04.11.22 : Black Adam - movie
Action, Adventure, Fantasy : Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the Egyptian gods--and imprisoned just as quickly--Black Adam is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world.
The Black Adam character is awesome, ie, dead-pan delivery is very cool/sarcastic/humorous, it's just that the Justice League was a bit annoying. Basically they have 2nd rate super powers so are ineffectual, but the most annoying thing was the arrogance of the leader character - the actor was too good, because I hated him lol -. The story is something different, but it probably won't appeal to many, ie, a bit hard to follow because bits are missing in the 1st run through so as to add mystery, so you have to wait for the 2nd run for things to be fully explained. 4 for the Rock, but 3.25 for the movie. 3.25 - $12 + $4

03.11.22 : The Infinite Monkey Cage Live : Factory Theatre
Prof Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince host with Claire Hooper, Dieter Hochuli and Mariella Herberstein as the panel.
If you were expecting a talk from Prof Brian Cox, this is not that, it's the hosts asking occasional questions with the experts doing all the talking. Pretty much everything Prof Brian Cox does is mild, so it pretty essential to have the comedians to add a bit of excitement with levity and to keep things on track if it gets bogged down with stuff that is too technical. Spiders are probably not a good subject for an Australian audience because we already know a lot about them, ie, things we didn't know probably would've been better, but it was interesting enough. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.5 - $6
                      

01.11.22 : Question Everything Ep6 studio recording : ABC Ultimo
Guest celebs: Mark Humphries, Luke Heggie, Kirsty Webeck
Most will say Mark stole the show, but for me it was Luke because we have the same construction background so the references are closer to home. It's kind-of up and down in laughs, ie, like every TV recording, but overall it's fine to watch. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.25 - $0 + $4

25.10.22 : Question Everything Ep5 studio recording : ABC Ultimo
Guest celebs: Matt Parkinson, Alex Lee, Nathan Valvo
From my vague memory - lol -, I think series 1 talked about more serious "fake news" stories, where as this series seems to be closer to The Glass House v2.0. Though not as funny as The Glass House v1.0, there seems to be enough funny material for a 1 hour show, or at least 45min for a commercial TV station when you consider ads. Even though it's usually Nathan Valvo that steals the show, or Matt Parkinson that stole the show last time, it was Alex Lee that was on fire - why do I keep getting Alex in TV recordings lol -. I probably still prefer Celebrity Letters And Numbers as a more entertaining live TV recording - maybe playing the games fills time better lol -, but with this short record time, ie, 6pm to 7:30pm, it's probably my second favourite because something is always happening/being funny. TV recordings aren't usually as funny as a comedy show, but this one is pretty good so I'll probably go to more, ie, it's worth going for the entertainment. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.5 - $0 + $4

21.10.22 : Damien Power - Encore : Comedy Store
A lot of it is clever and fun, but there was a few times at the end he gets intense/serious/angry/less funny. The first 15min was crazy funny(4.25), with the middle 30min good(3.75), but because I'm too woke I sensed the last 15min was a bit angry(3.5), ie, not the fun stuff that the rest of the show was. Crowd : 4.25 - Me : 3.75 - $37
                   

18.10.22 : Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon - movie
Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller : A girl with unusual powers escapes from a mental asylum and tries to make it on her own in New Orleans.
It was labelled as Sci-Fi so I was expecting it to be more than just a girl with a super-power running into low-life and giving them their comeuppance when they try to do her wrong, but that was exactly what the whole film was. Nothing clever, and if I watched it on TV I probably would've quit half way. It never got better. 1 - $10 + $4

17.10.22 : Ticket to Paradise - movie
Comedy, Romance  : A divorced couple teams up and travels to Bali to stop their daughter from making the same mistake they think they made 25 years ago.
The trailer looked very predictable and lame, so I was hoping that it would have enough humour to make it tolerable. Well it wasn't humorous, and in fact it was so slow and boring with nothing happening that it was tedious. I had better things to do so I left after 1 hour. 1 - $9

14.10.22 : Kinne Live - Encore : Comedy Store
I can't say I found the TV show that interesting, but then again I never gave it a chance because I only saw bits channel surfing, so I though I would give it a try and go to a live show and see if I liked it. Well it looks like I don't like the sketch stuff, because his live standup is pretty good. This show had two sketch videos and a song that I didn't like that much, but then again I couldn't hear them so that's probably why - lol -. The comedy is "blue collar", out west, worker stuff, ie, the simple everyday stuff, so it has decent amounts of laughs. Good. Crowd : 4.5 - Me : 3.75 - $43 + $4

12.10.22 : Dragon Friends Season 8 - Live D&D Comedy Show : Comedy Store
The Dragon Friends return an orb containing the body of Patrina, which should stop the war between the factions. They were rewarded with a dragon egg to power the time machine back to their own timeline, but during the trip Freezo has a dream where a demon from his "Summon Demon" spell appears. When they awake from status they discover that angry demon has taken over this timeline.
It wasn't high laugh level, but at least it was story all the way instead of nothing happening d!ck jokes for 2 hours. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5 - $26

10.10.22 : See How They Run - movie
Comedy, Mystery : In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered.
They use these little hooks to make what is an everyday whodunit more exciting, which is a plot inside the story, ie, the director adapting the play to a movie is trying to make the movie more exciting, which is one of the hooks, ie, a whodunit in a whodunit play. Other hooks are, and overly enthusiastic side-kick constable, sending up the whodunit genre, etc. It all sounds clever, but I didn't find it that compelling. It's ok. 2.75 - $11 + $4

10.10.22 : Wog Boys Forever - movie
Comedy : Steve is still single and working as a taxi driver. Brianna Beagle-Thorpe, the Minister for Immigration, hatches a plan with her brother to exact their revenge on Steve for destroying their late mother Raelene's political career.
Usually when a performer tries to restart a show after 2 decades it doesn't work anymore. ie, you forget what hooked you in the first place and now it looks outdated, also it might be a cash grab that isn't written that well. Even with those negatives, if it's stupid I will find it ok, and this one starts better than stupid, ie, it was funny. After the start it turns to story, ie, not especially funny, but there are a few gags along the way so it's fine. There is also a problem for the new/young, because they are not going to get the stereotype references - they may get the Greek ones, but they're not going to get the Yugo's, ie, reorder words in a sentence and always finishing sentences with "fucken", because there were never that many around -. Overall I found it funny enough, so I liked it. 3.5 - $11 + $4

09.10.22 : Lawrence Mooney - Embracing Your Limitations : Comedy Store
As soon as I saw Lawrence advertised I quickly snapped up a ticket without any research, then the day before the show, which was weeks latter, I read the blurb and it said it was a boring book launch and not a standup show, and that's when I realised I probably wasted $50 because they are usually pretty mild. Thankfully this was not like most book launches, he did a 30min killa standup set with all new material, eg, a funny history of Lawerance's book reading from a child, a summation of the book, ie, give-up on the hard things in life, plus how he got a race horse. The second half was the book launch and questions, with Kate Langbroek hosting. Pretty good, as Lawrence's shows usually are. It ended funny/strange with Lawrence running out to man the merch desk, so there wasn't that much audience clapping, ie, it should've been more. Crowd : na - Me : 3.75 - $50 + $4

08.10.22 : Powerbomb Comedy at Staves Brewery : Staves Brewery
I was feeling tired, stiff, and sore, from house repairs due to the rain, so when the 1st intermission was taking an extra long time, ie, it's usually a short 5min, I thought I would spilt. Same as usual. Crowd : 3 - Me : 3 - $16 + $9

06.10.22 : Rock With Laughter : Rock Lily, The Star Sydney
Mick Meredith, Marty Bright (MC), Jamal Abdul, Jenny Tian, Tom Witcombe, Bec Melrose
Well that was a write-off. Due to the rain so many train services were cut, that the train turned up 1hr late, and on top of that, the train stopped in a holding pattern before Redfern because the tracks were underwater. The show finishes at 9pm, and it was 8pm when it was announced the last 3 stations had to be travelled at snails pace, so I estimated I would get there so late that I would be lucky to make the last 30 min. So I turned around at Redfern and went home. They even had the nerve to charge me for that trip - lol -. Crowd : na - Me : na - $0

30.09.22 : Jenny Tian - Chinese-Australian : Factory Theatre
I've seen short sets and that made me want to see a full show, but it's taken years to do that because they always sellout. Well this one didn't disappoint, because what was supposed to be a trail show, ie, half-baked, was a fully polished show packed with material, ie, no dead spots, and to top that it was very good. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.75 - $17
                   

29.09.22 : Guneet Kaur - Manic Pixie Dream Goblin : Factory Theatre
I saw a short set at a standup night and thought it was very good, unfortunately I didn't find the full show as good. It's plenty fine, it's just that me nor the crowd laughed that much, ie, it's more interesting than funny. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3 - $12
                   

29.09.22 : Amelia Navascues - Blurrier IRL : Factory Theatre
It has a bit of attitude so it's not totally delightful, and it has a lot of material, it's just that I was drifting in and out. It's not that the material was not my demographic, it was general stuff, it's just there was something not that interesting for me. The crowd on the other hand had no problems, because they were laughing at all the way through. It's ok, it's just that I wished I could concentrate. The crowd was a bit reserved because they only clapped a 3, but they laughed a 3.75. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.25 - $12
                   

28.09.22 : Alex Jae, Daniel Townes, Luke Heggie & Steph Broadbridge - Grow Up : Factory Theatre
On one hand it's good value with 4 comics for the price of 1, but on the other hand it's trial material that isn't that funny. It was the first show of the run so it was pretty loose and not super funny, but for $12 there's no complaints. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5 - $12

28.09.22 : Emma Holland - Rusty : Factory Theatre
I don't see how this is a work in progress trial show, because it's a fast paced, full-packed, intelligent, and very thought out, ie, it's already polished. Good. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.75 - $12
                 

26.09.22 : Dr Karl's National Science Week Comedy Hour - Reschedule : Comedy Store
After I bought the ticket I kind-of realised I shouldn't have bought the ticket, and that's because a vaguely remember the paid show being nearly the same as the free University of SYD Seymour show - 2 lost pandemic years makes you forget things -. Thankfully it didn't seem the same as the free show, but it had the big repeat of "Diet coke makes you drunker" that seems to be in every second show from the last 10 years, ie, I've heard it a lot. Basically all the Karl shows are pretty good, it's just that it's a lottery if there will be a long-winded repeat - only applicable if you see a lot of them -. Crowd : 4.25 - Me : 3 - $30
                   

24.09.22 : Eliane Morel - Disenchanted: A Cabaret of Twisted Fairy Tales : Sydney Fringe online
I bought a ticket for the online show "Being Frank", but that got cancelled, twice, so they sent me a link 1 week latter to this show. It's a produced vid about an alternative reality in 4 children's tales/stories, ie, it's a different viewpoint by a different character in the story. Like there was Cinderella from the viewpoint of the ugly sister, where she told the story with Cinderella being that bad person. Or in Jack and the Beanstalk the Golden Goose had a good life with the giant, but was a slave to Jack. I found it pretty nice. 3.5 - $10

22.09.22 : Blank! The Musical : Factory Theatre
The old "Blank! The Musical" name sucked me in because it was always done by veteran pros, but this is done by new players that aren't as good. They just don't have the skill to inject comedy into a show, like in the show a stranger in town is accused of the murder, yet no-one thought of doing the easy callback and mentioning Where the Crawdads Sing(2022) - I was writing the jokes lol -. Good Improv makes the audience think, and because they did what was basically just a conventional simple story, there was nothing to do, ie, no thinking required, so I pretty much tuned-out by half way. If you're used to this level you will probably find it ok, but when you've see 5 start Improv you can't go back. I think this happened last time, ie, no pros, it's just that I forgot we lost 2 years so I didn't remember, and I guess no more Blank! The Musical for me. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 1 - $12
                   

22.09.22 :  Ruven Govender, Christian Elderfield & Victor David - Curb Your Xenophobia. : Factory Theatre
I picked this because it was 3 comics for the price of 1, but when I got there I started remembering that I've been to this show before. I guess that's what happens when you forget you haven't been to shows for 2 years. Basically only Christian Elderfield is good, with the 2 new-ish comics being ok. It's ok. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.5 - $17

22.09.22 : Kento David - Homos In The Mist : Factory Theatre
I picked this one because it sounded like we would learn stuff about the Gay style of life, and even though it was more interesting/informative than funny, it was still an ok show. Basically we find out that being Gay is not as glamours as everyone thinks, eg, after they go out to dinner their colons are full, so they need an enema before sex. It's interesting/informative, and a bit darker than you would expect, but I found it ok/good to watch. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.5 - $12
                   

21.09.22 : Dane Simpson - Didgeridoozy : Factory Theatre
It's good, it's just that I didn't laugh that much. This is probably due to me knowing most of the material from TV specials. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.5 - $20
PS: I think I should've taken a day off, because whether is was fatigue from going out so much, or the shows didn't click with me, but none of the shows tonight really grabbed me. 
                

21.09.22 : Demi Lardner & David Correos : Factory Theatre
It was in that Demi style of chaotic scattered short skits/gags that are more amusing than actually funny. There were problems, like videos didn't work - who said Mac aren't crash prone lol -, and the skits/gags weren't super funny, but on the other hand the skits are so short you don't notice they weren't that funny. When they tried to fix the video they did standup to fill time, and it was these actual jokes that were funny. It's good, in a scattered sort of way. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5 - $12

21.09.22 : Juliet Rae Timmerman - The Big Holiday Spectacular Showcase : Factory Theatre
I should've researched this show, because it was a send-up of the Scientology initiation/grooming procedure. The problem for me was I don't know much about Scientology, other than they are all crazy nut-jobs, and that meant I didn't know what was send-up and what was real, ie, it was more a factual documentary - lol -. Basically the crowd were laughing at the crazy idiotic goings-on, while I'm just thinking these crazy procedures are probably what really happens. ie, actual real facts. It was probably better than I realised due to me not knowing stuff, because the crowd seemed to laugh a lot. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : na - $12
                 

20.09.22 : Barrel o' Laughs at The Beresford : The Beresford
Al Del Bene(USA) , David Smiedt, Chris Radburn, He Huang, Sean Woodland, Steph Broadbridge, Tommy Dean
I wasn't keen because I don't find Al Del Bene that funny, but when I saw the rest of the lineup was mainly veteran pros, I figured they would make up for him. Pretty much all of the comics said they were expecting a few people in a dingy pub, due to not being here before, but when they saw a large crowd in a nice room they kind-of stepped up and powered through the unresponsive audience and delivered some high level laughs. The new comics were good, the veteran pros were super good, Al Del Bene did a totally new routine and was also super funny, it's just the headliner did a slow-ish subdued set that pulled it down from a 4 to a 3 at the end. Maybe Tommy Dean is out of practice from not doing gigs during the pandemic, but then again he has switched to a subdued delivery compared to when he started. It was still a good night. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.75 - $24 - $11

18.09.22 : Tom Ballard & Tommy Dassalo - Greatest Hits (Pending) : Factory Theatre
I figured two for the price of one would be a winner, and yes it was quite funny. It was basically their trails shows combined, and even thought it was new material it was good. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.5 - $15

18.09.22 : Marcel Blanch-De Wilt - Everything I Was Too Afraid To Do : Factory Theatre
This show felt so loose that it felt like it was all made-up on the spot, but it was the chaos that made it good. The show was actually written and goes along the lines that it is a Gala/standup night with multiple comics, but the kicker is that Marcel plays all the other comics - lol -. And to top that it uses the irony of repeats, ie, jokes usually come in 3's, but this one repeated the same joke 5 times - lol -. It was fun. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5 - $17

18.09.22 : Stella Umeh - Saturday Night Stella : Factory Theatre
Even thought the material/stories are more along the lines of the conventional stuff, ie, daughter/husband rather than Olympics/Commonwealth Games achievements, it was delivered with so much vigour it was a lot of fun. She's got that natural showman style that is very animated/physical/dynamic, and that makes it quite endearing. As for the Olympics/Commonwealth Games achievements, the stuff that made me want to see this, it was pretty much glossed over in 5-10min, and even though we missed out on that stuff it was still pretty good. It ended weird, ie, abruptly, so the crowd didn't get to applaud much, ie, it should've been a higher score because I overheard conversations on leaving that said it was very good. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.5 - $17 overcharged $5
                     

16.09.22 : Nikki Osborne - Too Far : Comedy Store
It's good, because it's not PC at all - lol -. The only repeat was a few bits about her husband, otherwise it was all new to me. She did a pilot for Channel 10's Pilot week “The Bush Blonde VS The World” about being a bogan PM. She started a naughty Only Fans to raise money for the koalas. And there was more stuff about her kids and husband. The whole crowd was old people, which don't make as much noise as younger people, ie, there was more laughs than they gave credit for, ie, the crowd score would've been higher for the laughs we got. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.75 - $40 + $4
1- standup, 2 - husband giving sexy position advice for Only Fans, 3 - Bogan PM

14.09.22 : Dragon Friends Season 8 - Live D&D Comedy Show : Comedy Store
Strad's cult prepare for war with the religious order due to the DFs killing a priest.
Pretty much the same as last time, ie, not much story, not much happened, not that interesting, and not that funny. In fact I tuned-out in the last 30min because it was just a nothing filler scene for 2 guest players. It's kind-of hard to tell what's going wrong because it's hard to tell what used to make DF funny in that past, because it's kind-of a chicken and egg problem. Like is it the players coming up with stuff that made it good, or is it the story that forces them come up with stuff. And now that there is hardly any story, there just isn't much to make them improvise much. Basically unless there is more story/situations/mysteries/tricks you're only going to get dick jokes. You can say it's all the DM's fault for not forcing stuff to happen, but even the players are too lazy to keep/play their characters thesedays. Dullsville. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 2.75 - $26 + $4

13.09.22 : Barrel o' Laughs at The Beresford : The Beresford
Matt Okine, Daniel Townes(MC), Andrew Barnett, Bec Charlwood, Cam Knight, Fady Kassab, Frida Deguise
I thought it was better than last week because it had a better lineup, but then it all ended very disappointingly. We had the same problem with the unresponsive audience, and even though they did laugh and the pro's better jokes, it felt like they didn't give the newish comics anything. It actually felt like a race thing, because they did laugh a lot for newish white comics, but not so much for the 2 Leb comics that do pretty good elsewhere, ie, it was mainly dead silence with only me laughing. That aside, the main problem was that the headliner wasn't funny. It's hard to explain how hilariously ROFL "FIRE" Matt was at every show in the past, even the small ones, but with this one it was nearly all dead silence. There was like 15min just talking about which joke to tell next, which was not funny at all, and even the delivery was slow with Matt stopping in silence to ponder something totally unrelated to jokes. I'm not sure what happened because Matt kind-of disappeared from the scene years ago after getting a real job on JJJ morning shift, but at the start of this show he kind-of said he thought he kind-of retired. Either way, from what I saw tonight this was not the same Matt from the old days. His set kind-of killed the whole night it was that disappointing, and the crowd also noticed it with nearly no laughs and not much applause at the end. It totally fizzled-out at the end and left a dead/sour feeling at the end, ie, it wasn't worth coming. Most of the show 3.75-ish, but the end was closer to a 1. Crowd : 3 - Me : 2.5 - $24 - $12

11.09.22 : Guy Williams - Comedy Plus Time Equals Tragedy : Factory Theatre
It kind-of felt like something different, ie, different material/attitude/delivery. It was kind-of like an angry delivery where he abuses/roasts everyone - lol -, and it was kind-of about roasting/abusing anti-vaxxers/climate deniers/truth deniers, ie, nut-jobs, but then again he was roasting/abusing everyone, eg, Australians, etc. There was also a lot about his heroes when he was young now being pedos. It's different, but it's good. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.5 - $15
                    

10.09.22 : Wicked Women of Comedy : Newtown Hotel Cinema Room
This had 2 comics from the previous show, ie, repeats. 3 new-to-me comics - probably seen them before but forgot -, of which 2 were good/interesting, ie, they had new female stuff that I didn't know and that made it interesting. And there was another from PowerBomb Comedy that was also good. Except for the repeats from 30min ago, ie, too soon lol, it was quite good. Crowd : 3 - Me : 3.25 - $19
                     

10.09.22 : Best of the Fest @ The Cinema Room : Newtown Hotel Cinema Room
I should-of gone to the Crazy Asian show in the next room, because you could hear them through the wall and it sounded like they were having more fun - lol -. In fact it was a makeshift room in a busy pub so there was a lot of outside noise, but that wasn't a problem with earplugs because they dampen out the non dominant sounds. Nearly the whole lineup were comics from PowerBomb Comedy, so it was that mild newbie level, but there were 2 that were good. Ok. Crowd : 3 - Me : 3 - $19 + $4
                 

06.09.22 : Barrel o' Laughs at The Beresford : The Beresford
Simon Kennedy(MC), Dave Hughes, Chris Ryan, Floyd Alexander Hunt, Luke Heggie , Pat Golamco
Everyone was ok, but I mainly came for Dave, and even though he did the same routine as he did at the Comedy Store, he did a much more angry version/delivery, and that made it even funnier. It's a pretty fancy/posh room, you get allocated a seat even with cheap $20 general admission - you might not see that well but at least you can sit down -, and there was a lot of people, but the problem was that the crowd was kind-of dead. It's kind-of like the crowd only came for dinner and chats with friends, ie, not a real comedy crowd, because jokes that would work every time at the Comedy Store didn't get many laughs. And because there is no natural audience laugh track, it kind-of made them a less funny. The laughing got better latter so it wasn't totally devoid of laughs, ie, it was still fun, it's just that the crowd could've done better. You'll have to ignore the crowd score, because if they did their job it would've been a 4. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.75 - $24 + $12

04.09.22 : Ryan McGhee - The Scottish Kiwi : Factory Theatre
This was straight standup, and it was good/funny because there are actual jokes and he's such an affable, friendly, dynamic, fun performer. It was a lot of fun. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.5 - $12
                     

02.09.22 : Beth McMullen: Hateable Face : Factory Theatre
I guess Beth's statement to the audience at the end sums up the show " You've probably been sitting there for 1 hour confused and hating this", because that's kind-of what it was like. It's not hateable, it's just that it's very busy/confusing and probably only a few people can relate to what was going on. I can see the construction, ie, using the 12 steps from AA and substituting "hateable face" for the alcohol parts, but it's the technical thought process of the explanations that I didn't click to. Basically it's too much work trying to figure out the statements, so it's easier to just sit there and let if flow over you. The 1st 20min I wasn't there, ie, too busy, but then she started talking about her Husky dog and I got interested again. But even that was a bit confusing because she referenced the dog as The WooHoo, ie, you have to remember The WooHoo means dog. Then the 12 steps were solved from the point of The WooHoo, ie, do what the dog does, and again I had trouble seeing the relation. It's not a lol comedy, but it's not a weird Fringe show, but it's too technical/confusing to be funny. I'm indifferent to this. Crowd : 3 - Me : 3 - $18
                   

02.09.22 : Laura Hughes Presents: Laura Hughes, Laura Hughes & Some Other Laura Hugheses : Factory Theatre
If I realised I was going to see Laura 2 days in a row I probably wouldn't have bought this ticket, ie, repeat jokes, but I did the lazy thing and just bought a ticket for a familiar name - I should really go for new names because they could be something new/different/surprising -. That being said, at least I knew this was a new written show, ie, why I bought the ticket. There was a couple of repeat jokes from last night at the start, but the crux of the show was that Laura Hughes is a common name so we got to meet 6 different Laura Hughes', ie, character based comedy. It was ok, but the problem for me was that I didn't know some of the exaggerated stereotype characters, so didn't really click that much with some of them, ie, some didn't make me laugh. It's ok. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.25 - $18
               

01.08.22 : Rock With Laughter : Rock Lily, The Star Sydney
Cameron James, Ciaran Lyons (MC), Andrew Hamilton, Elliot Stewart, Laura Hughes, Bec Charlwood
All the other comics were new comics, but they seemed funnier than usual. Cam was the headliner, and he's always good. Good. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5 - $0 + $12
                          

31.08.22 : Annabelle James & Mike Crowley - What's Mine is Yours : Factory Theatre
This one was actually standup, and I picked it because there were 2 comics on the bill, ie, most newish comics have trouble delivering a full 1 hours show so I figured 2 would use their stronger stuff because they only have half the time each. I don't remember faces that well but I remembered Annabelle routine, and it's ok. Mike's set was a bit more full-on, ie, disgusting/risque, so an old person, ie, Annabelle's mum had to leave - lol -. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.25 - $16

31.08.22 : Ashley Apap - Ouch! : Factory Theatre
It's kind-of that story/theme show, be it that it's a sad medical one, that is delivered in multiple ways, ie, game show, musical, etc, so as to not get boring. It's kind-of that Fringe show level, ie, not lol funny but ok to watch. It's nice enough. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3 - $13
                  

26.08.22 : Nick Cody - Classique Cody : Factory Theatre
The show was advertised with 2 names, "Classique Cody" and "Warm Up Show", so I don't know if this was meant to be a trial for some new stuff or just his old show. I think it was mainly his old stuff, because I did remember a lot of it. Good, plus it was quite cheap. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5 - $10
                        

20.08.22 : Tahir – Humans Scare Me : Comedy Store
This must be the first show that Thair wrote - lol -, because this one has planed sections where as all the others seem to be 80% ad-libed/improvised crowd work. The 1st section he got a late-comer on stage and impro-ed an interview where he was a supposed celebrity. The 2nd was crowd work. The 3rd he got an audience member to impro a story by using sounds/suggestions he made for different plot points - it was kind-of like Theatresports where the cast play the scene and a audience member does the sounds -. The 4th was a magic show, but by "the worse magician in the world", ie, a very funny comedic magic show where you could see how the tricks were done - rofl -. And the 5th was a grouped as a Social Media section that was about internet scams and people's bad/stupid comments about his shows. His old shows are always a lot of fun, and this one is a lot of fun, but in a different way. Very good. Crowd : 4.5 - Me : 4.5 - $40 + $4 + $4.

16.08.22 : Arron Chen - Special taping: Comedy Store
There's a few good ones, but overall it's more similey chuckles. I don't know if it's just me, because the crowd was laughing, but it kind-of gets disappointing when you see a bunch of only ok shows in a row. Not super, but it's ok, and at least it was cheap-ish. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.25 - $24 + $5
                   

12.08.22 : Rove McManus - Loosey Goosey : Comedy Store
I can't say Rove is a super funny standup, but he's affable and nice and that's kind-of good enough. I don't think he is an actual standup, because the only other time I saw him do standup was on TV, and he said he wasn't a real standup. It was kind-of observational stuff, but it was of the non-remarkable, ie, simplistic/basic stuff, without much of a punchline. From memory the TV routine was actually quite good, ie, better than this routine, but this routine was good enough for my first time live with Rove. That being said the crowd seemed to like it a lot, but that might be because of seeing a cleb artificially boosting their response, ie, enthusiasm. Crowd : 4.5 - Me : 3.5 - $40 + $5 + $5
                     

12.08.22 : Good Luck to You, Leo Grande - movie
Comedy, Drama : Nancy Stokes, a 55-year-old widow, is yearning for some adventure, human connection and some sex--some good sex.
It's kind-of comparing what is acceptable/taboo of the old generation to the new generation, and why they are doing it. It remind me of the girls telling me their stories when I use to be around the sex worker scene - my friend was a door spruiker for strip clubs in King Cross and he introduced us to a lot of people -. Very nice/interesting. 3.5 - $11 + $4

10.08.22 : Dragon Friends Season 8 - Live D&D Comedy Show : Comedy Store
I don't know if it was because I sat somewhere different and couldn't hear, or it just wasn't that good, but I didn't find it funny. What was worse was I found it not interesting, so there was no engagement and I never paid enough attention to follow the story, ie, I'm not sure what happened.  Dragon Friends was usually a level above Beef Babes, except the eps where Alex would come up with some clever scenario or play the character directly and do what they would do, but this was like one of the dull Beef Babes eps. As far as I followed, the ep had 30min of silly character names, they went on a mission to get bread to feed the starving, and Strad turned up at the end - I don't know why as I wasn't following, but it was the only interesting 10min -. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 2 - $26 + $4

09.08.22 : Win The Week S2E2 studio recording : ABC Ultimo
Guest celebs: Cal Wilson & Ellen Fanning
It was about the same as last week, it's just now I knew the exact start time so was able to leave 1hr latter, and it was a quicker recording that ended ½hr sooner, ie, 5.5hr door to door wasn't as bad/tiring. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3 - $0 + $8 + $4

08.08.22 : Bullet Train - movie
Action , Comedy, Thriller : Five assassins aboard a fast moving bullet train find out their missions have something in common.
It's kind-of like that Theatresport game where each player has their own story that has to converge with the other's stories at the end. Not as fun/funny as the trailer suggests, but it's ok. 3 - $11 + $4

07.07.22 : Rock With Laughter : Rock Lily, The Star Sydney
Don't you hate it when they change something without telling you. I've been here like 50 times and never needed a ticket, and that includes last month, but tonight you needed a ticket. Waited 45min for any no-shows, gave up, then dipped. Wasted 3hr and $7 travelling so I got you a pic of Darling Harbour at night - lol -.

02.08.22 : Win The Week S2E1 studio recording : ABC Ultimo
Guest Celebs:  Kumi Taguchi & Mark Humphries
I didn't find it that fun - it hardly had any laughs -, and it by the end it got tiresome - it could've been me, but more on that latter -. Series 1 had dull bits, but in this 2nd series they pretty much changed everything - I think for the better -. Like in the "betrayal" section, there was this slow long-winded conversation where the lowest point scoring team decides if they want to dump their celebrity and swap them out for another celebrity, ie, too much umming and ahing, where was this one they activate the "betrayal" button and first to buzz gets to swap - there is more swapping/action, and it's a lot quicker -. They cut-down the "writing-down" answers section, which is better, but they kept the boring re-show the answers again. And they got rid of the boring "non-celebrity" special questions section. The "it could've been me" might be because I switched to public transport and it's 7hrs door to door, it's a late recording that ended at 9pm, the smoke they pump around is hard on the eyes, breathing, and muddies what is a dynamic and vivid set when clear, and stinking of cigarette smoke from waiting at bus stops. Steve Philp did a good job of hyping the crowd, so they sounded enthusiastic all the way, but for old war-horses like me it makes me question my idea of coming every week. I think it needs more work, ie, decide if it's a comedy show or a quiz show, but we'll see after the edit - I didn't like the recording of the 1st ep of series 1, but after the edit for TV and it ok -. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 2.5 - $0 + $7 + $4
                                                 Comparing NO-smoke, to smoke filled

30.07.22 : Powerbomb Comedy at Staves Brewery : Staves Brewery
Jack Wright(MC), John Cruckshank, Lucy Henderson, Bridget Hassed, ?, Fady Kassab,  Thomas Orr, Freddie McManus, Dave Henningham.
Everyone was ok, ie, no unfunnies, but the standout was Fady - he's one of those old time really funny comic's -. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.5 - $16 + $10
                    

29.07.22 : Press Play - movie
Music, Romance, Sci-Fi : A young woman has a chance to save the love of her life, when she discovers that the mix-tape they made together can transport her back in time.
It was so slow, dull, and predictable, I was seriously thinking of leaving after 10min, but I thought I better stay for my compulsory 30min viewing/does it get better test. Well after 30min it does get better/cleverer/interesting with the time travelling mixtape, and that made it worth staying to the end. It's not high level Sci-Fi, or anything, but the last 1 hour was interesting enough. 3 - $10 + $4

26.07.22 : The Gray Man - movie
Action, Thriller : When the CIA's most skilled operative-whose true identity is known to none-accidentally uncovers dark agency secrets, a psychopathic former colleague puts a bounty on his head, setting off a global manhunt by international assassins.
I wonder why this was pulled from nearly every cinema after a few days, because I found it quite good/exciting/entertaining. Everything I would expect from a good secret agent action film where the main lead is better and smarter than all the so called expert assassins. 3.75 - $10 + $4

21.07.22 : Dave Hughes - Live : Comedy Store
Dave hasn't done standup for a while, so he's doing this bunch of shows as a trial/warm up for the up-coming tour. I remember after years of The Project he quit and came back to standup, and the first show back was a bit rough, ie, not as funny. But after another year of touring he was back to 5 star Dave, so it's probably wise to do these shows. The material is the same as usual, ie, disrespectful/annoying kids, wife, and general public - I actually remembered a few gags -, but the start was all new "rona" stuff, ie, lock-down, masks, losing gigs, etc. The shows was good, but the crowd was a bit weird. Like I would expect Dave's crowd to be bigger than Wil's, because he's a bigger star, but it was a bit smaller. And even though I found him funnier than Wil the day before, the crowd wasn't as loud - they clapped louder than Wil at the end, so it was probably them being quiet -. He was shaky at the start, ie, not as funny, but 10min latter he was as good as ever. Crowd : 4.75 - Me : 4.5 - $32 + $4
                        

20.07.22 : Wil Anderson - Wilogical : Comedy Store
This might sound like a downer show, but trust me, Wil's take on this was quite humours. This show was mainly about anti-vaxxers/deniers/froot loops - he moved to Mullumbimby to isolate from the virus and wound up in the heart of the nut-jobs -, how he's not coping with the world's problems, ie, war/climate-change/anti-vaxxers/etc, his move to the farm due to the lock-down, and the loss of all gigs when everything got cancelled.
I was expecting the worse, ie, he had lost his sharp/fast wit, but he's just as good as he was in the old days. Wil takes a lot of weed due to the pain of a worn hip joint, and when I saw him slurring and losing words on an episode of Gruen I feared he had fried his brain, ie, pot-head, but he was a fast as he was in the old days. Thesedays I've kind-of been priced out of most venues - $60-$100 + $6-$9 transaction fee for big stars is steep when don't have an income -, so when a bunch of cheap shows turned up here I kind-of figured I had to go, because I'm never going to be able to afford the Pros at other venues anymore. Very good. Crowd : 4.5 - Me : 4.25 - $32
                       

19.07.22 : Falling for Figaro - movie
Comedy, Romance : A brilliant young fund manager leaves her unfulfilling job and long-term boyfriend to chase her lifelong dream of becoming an opera singer in the Scottish Highlands.
I should've read what the story was about because I was expecting a "boy meets girl in a foreign country" thing, ie, simple, when it fact it was something better, ie, more substance. Probably not executed perfectly, but it's pretty nice/good. 3.5 - $10 + $4

15.07.22 : Sam Campbell - Companion : Comedy Store
I could hear the crowd laughing a lot, but for some reason it just didn't click for me it. It's weird because he killed it at 04.06.22 : Powerbomb Comedy at Staves Brewery, but it was only one joke from that and maybe another two, that made me laugh. It wasn't bad, it's just strange because he nearly always makes me laugh a lot. Crowd : 4.5 - Me : 3.5 - $18 + $4
                     

14.07.22 : The Phantom of the Open - movie
Comedy, Drama, Sport : Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist, managed to gain entry to The British Open Golf Championship Qualifying in 1976 and subsequently shot the worst round in Open history, becoming a folk hero in the process.
It's sweet, gentle, kind, and nice, and if you like a simple little film with those nice but mild attributes, you should like this. 3.75 - $10 + $4

13.07.22 : Dragon Friends Season 8 - Live D&D Comedy Show : Comedy Store
It was another "d!ck joke", ie, superfluous simple joke episode, but it was better than the other DJ episodes. The others have a DJ, and then big spaces of no laughs. This one had constant DJs, so you were laughing pretty much throughout, ie, you didn't notice it was only bout getting Baston to a doctor - there was a tiny addition to the story at the end -. If you look at the other seasons it was story with the occasional side Improv thread/gag, but this season is all side Improv thread/gags, with the occasional bit of the story. At least I laughed. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.75 - $25 + $5

12.07.22 : Thor: Love and Thunder - movie
Action , Adventure, Comedy : Thor enlists the help of Valkyrie, Korg and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster to fight Gorr the God Butcher, who intends to make the gods extinct.
It was crazy and idiotic........... and that's why is was sooo good - lol -. Straight away I knew the comedy was too good to come from anyone in Hollywood, so I pretty much figured it was Taika Waititi again - that and the NZ accent on Korg. lol -. I saw one review and it said it was average, and the public might not get the gags, but if you're into Improv, you'll get all the cleverness, ie, they had goats pulling a ship, but to make if funny they used screaming goats, like in that fake Youtube vid - lol -. Great fun, and not a long movie, ie, no dull bits. 4.5 - $10 + $4

07.07.22 : Rock With Laughter : Rock Lily, The Star Sydney
Sean Woodland(MC), Jacques Barret, Concetta Caristo, Christian Elderfield, Jamal Abdul, Andrew Barnett
I don't know if it's because I thought this show closed down permanently, or I just forgot to check if it started again after it closed for renovations, but by dumb luck, and boredom, I was deleting old bookmarks and found this had started again. The annoying thing is I don't know how many shows I've missed, because I don't know when it started again. This is mainly a pro show, something we don't get much anymore on this side of the harbour, so it's better than the average bear. But it's also a free show, ie, when a crowd doesn't pay they have less invested, so the crowd can be pretty dead. This was the biggest crowd I've seen here, but as usual they were quiet. That being said, I didn't laugh as much as the quality of the comics would suggest, ie, they are the better ones, but it was still good, ie, better than the new comic nights. It also has be benefit that it's short, ie, 7:40pm - 9:05pm(1hr 15min) with break, so it doesn't get boring or tiresome. The only sad thing was that Amanda Gray was billed, ie, a favourite, but she didn't show. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.75 - $0 + $12

02.07.22 : Powerbomb Comedy at Staves Brewery : Staves Brewery
Cameron Duggan(MC), Marty Bright, Jake Howie, Rosie Piper, Jack Wright, ?, Tom Cashman, ?, Ellen Mahoney, Jacob Perry (? = couldn't hear name).
Some comics thought the crowd hated them because no one was laughing, but in reality they weren't bad, and in fact I only found one guy to not be funny. Standout was Jake Howie, who I didn't like last time but now find very funny, and good was Jack Wright, Tom Cashman, and Jacob Perry. If you are tolerant it's fine, because it's a cheap show. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5 - $16 + $10

01.07.22 : Felicity Ward - She's Back Baby! : Comedy Store
That was a bit depressing, because I didn't find it that funny. Depressing because I don't know if it's me, ie, I've lost my funny-bone, or Felicity has changed and doesn't do the stuff I like, ie, I've lost one of my favourites. It's probably a bit of both, because I don't find live comedy that funny anymore - the only thing I'm finding very funny thesedays is certain Youtube comedy creators -, and Felicity has seemed to change from the non-serious stupid stuff to the real life "had a baby" stuff. I could hear people laughing a decent amount, and I overheard people saying it was good when leaving, but when I looked around during the show I didn't see many people in the front half laughing. Crowd : 4.25 - Me : 3.5 - $35
                       

15.06.22 : Jurassic World: Dominion - movie
Action , Adventure, Sci-Fi : Four years after the destruction of Isla Nublar, dinosaurs now live--and hunt--alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history's most fearsome creatures in a new Era.
This franchise has always had weak story-lines, so they have to use gimmicks to make it entertaining. The first had the gimmick of CGI dinosaurs, which wore out pretty quick, but this one has the gimmick of nostalgia, by bringing back the original cast. Well the nostalgia didn't add anything, the CGI dinosaurs are passé, and the story wasn't that interesting, so it was boring Basically I was bored until 1 hour in when the action started, but even then they constantly used the same film scenes from the first movie, eg, big dinosaur head next to tiny human, so you are constantly reminded of how past the use by date of the franchise is. Uninteresting. 2.5 - $10 + $3

11.06.22 : Powerbomb Comedy at Staves Brewery : Staves Brewery
Lauren Bonner(MC), Kevin Jin, Ryan Sim, Tom Cashman, Ben Searle, Bridget Hassed, John Cruckshank, Kimberly Rose, Suren Jayemanne.
There was no one that was bad, and there was a high proportion of good comics, plus the small crowd was pretty good, so it was good overall. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.5 - $16 + $10

08.06.22 : Dragon Friends Season 8 - Live D&D Comedy Show : Comedy Store
I can't say much happened, and I can't say I laughed that much, but there was one point where the audience laughed a decent amount - I didn't hear what it was so didn't laugh -, so I guess it was ok. Overall 95% of the story was the Dragon Friends locked in a dungeon trying to escape the firing squad, with a 10min twist at the end. Basically not much world building. On a side note, Edan Lacy is leaving the Dragon Friends/moving to another country, and they say it's temporary, but usually when people leave the country it ends up being permanent - boohoo -. I was a bit tired, so yawned a lot, and I couldn't hear everything that was going on, so I was probably one problem. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : na - $25

04.06.22 : Powerbomb Comedy at Staves Brewery : Staves Brewery
MC: Jacob Lingard(?), Jenny Tian, AJ Lamarque, Tom Walker, Sam Campbell, Rosie Piper, Bec Melrose
Jenny, Tom, and Sam, were very good, with Sam absolutely killing it. I was thinking the first half was a bit short, but then we find out they are doing 3 sets of 3 comics, and it was while waiting at the 2nd intermission that I figured, if I leave now I can make the MotoGP qualifying. I had seen all the comics I wanted to see, and couldn't see any others I recognised besides the regulars that I've seen before, so I split a bit early. What was more of a problem, is that only 14 people turned up, ie, not good if you want to keep this night alive. One of the better ones. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.5 - $16 + $10
                     

02.06.22 : Celebrity Letters And Numbers S03-04 - live recording : NEP Studios Sydney Eveleigh
Guests : Dave Thornton, Alex Lee, Sami Shah - Dictionary Corner : Bridie Connell
Prize : Hing's tween chain-wallet(wallet with hanging chain.
The crowd wasn't as good as yesterday, ie, vocal, but I can't really blame them, because it wasn't as funny. Still for me, these live recordings are more fun than what gets put to air, ie, it gets over sanitised and winds up a bit dull after the edit. From what I can gather this set of recordings cover season 3 and 4, which everyone was saying will be put to air over the next 2 years. This seems strange, because there are 12 eps in a season, and I can see 24 on the schedule, but 6 were missing from the booking system. I don't know if they were cancelled, because 18 known eps ends up being two 9 ep seasons, ie, weird, or whether they were just recorded with no audience. Crowd : 3 - Me : 3 - $0

01.06.22 : Celebrity Letters And Numbers S03-04 - live recording : NEP Studios Sydney Eveleigh
Guests : Ben Lee, Alex Lee, Hamish Blake - Dictionary corner : Carlo Ritchie.
Prize : Hing's glasses from when he was 6 years old.
They must butcher Carlo's bits in edit, because in the TV show he seems quite dull, but live on set he is the funniest person there, ie, he does a lot of ad-lib stuff, and in one spot he had everyone gagging with laughter. He was doing alcohol related words with a mock set of drinks, and because of OHAS all the glasses were glued to the tray. So he pours a martini, and promptly picks up the glass with tray attached and has a drink - real rofl stuff -. This recording was pretty good. Sorry no pics allowed. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.75 - $0

31.05.22 : Top Gun: Maverick - movie
Action , Drama : After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy's top aviators, Pete Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him.
It's kind-of clunky-weird at the start, ie, weirdly bad music and a director that doesn't seem to have finished his cinema courses, but after 30min it's fine. The  middle section is kind-of real reality based and ok. But the end is Hollywood "over-the-top" crazy reality that is quite fun. Definitely not a 90 like most reviewers gave it, but it's decent enough. 3.5-3.75 - $10 + $3

27.05.22 : Interceptor - movie
Action , Adventure, Drama : One Army captain must use her years of tactical training and military expertise when a simultaneous coordinated attack threatens the remote missile interceptor station she is in command of.
Now I know why this film isn't playing at other cinemas, it's a B-grade TV movie, ie, it's Netflix. It's a modern B-grade action TV movie, ie, the action/special effects is decent for 2022, but the acting, dialogue, logic/happenings is bad - thankfully not Battleship(2012) or Pacific Rim(2013) bad -. I also had trouble hearing the main actor because she has such a strong ascent, but that's probably due to age and hearing loss. Ok, if you don't have any expectations. 2 - $10 + $4

26.05.22 : Last Seen Alive - movie
Action , Mystery, thriller : A man whose soon-to-be ex-wife mysteriously vanishes at a gas station. The film delves into the town's criminal underbelly while running from the authorities in a race against time to find her.
It's not so much a action film, but more a harrowing/upsetting drama. I can handle the kidnapping of an innocent in an action film, because it's short, it has a reason/purpose, and you know they are going to be saved by the end, but when you have sleazy characters, with no reason for it, the hopelessness and injustice gets harrowing. Couldn't be bothered sitting there for 2 hours upset so I split at 1 hour and just read the rest of the story on Wiki. 1 - $9

25.05.22 : Celebrity Letters And Numbers S03-03 - live recording : NEP Studios Sydney Eveleigh
Guests : Gen Fricker, Harley Breen, Concetta Caristo - Dictionary Corner : Andy Saunders
Prize : Hing's 3D Magic Eye book.
It's hard to compare the recording to what is transmitted on TV, ie, long but funnier Vs short but sterilised for TV, but I think the recording was funnier than the TV show because it has all the rude ad-lib stuff that gets cut for the overly sensitive winging TV audience. What I noticed about this recording is it's more pedantic than other recordings I've been to, ie, if there is a slight wording mistake it gets re-recorded, which is not really a problem because they don't reset the recording but rather just say the line again straight away, ie, no stopping. Sorry forgot to take a pic - doh -, but the gossip in this series is Lilly is 33 weeks pregnant. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.5 - $0

24.05.22 : How to Please a Woman - movie
Comedy, Drama : When her all-male house-cleaning business gets out of control, a mature woman must embrace her own sexuality, if she is to make a new life for herself.
It's a fun little film. Nice. 3.5 - $10 + $3.50

24.05.22 : Cracking Comedy in Aid of Women and Children First : Leicester Square Theatre - NextUpComedy live stream
Vix Leyton (MC) – Welsh comic. Podcast 'The Comedy Arcade'. Nominated Leicester Comedy Awards.
James Acaster – Best Comedy Nominee Edinburgh Fringe 2012-16. Podcasts Off Menu with Ed Gamble
Daniel Foxx
Sindhu Vee – Live at the Apollo, House of Games, Sex Education
Mike Wozniak – Man Down, Taskmaster, winner Amused Moose Laugh Off 2008
Jenny Ryan
Maisie Adam – Mock the Week, Have I Got News For You, QI
Elf Lyons – The Stand-Up Sketch Show, Culture Hour, The Dog Ate My Homework.
Nathan Caton – Don't Hate The Playaz, Channel 4's Comedy Gala, Russell Howard's Good News.
Olga Koch – nominated Best Newcomer Edinburgh Fringe 2018, Best Show Leicester Comedy Festival 2020
I was watching and kept getting constant déjà vu, to the point I was wondering if this was live or just a Nextup on-demand video. And that's when I worked out that most of the comics were in the last special, and that they were doing the same routines. It was fine, but for me you can imagine why it was a bit familiar. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.5 - $21

22.05.22 : Madeleine Stewart - So Brave : Factory Theatre
I'm kind-of used to young comics having slow and sparse sets, ie, not much material, but this show is insane how much material it's got. It's along the lines-of US comic levels of material, just constant line after line. It had a bit about disabilities, but mostly was about here sex life. This is not delightful, ie, not that funny but nice to watch, this is actually lol comedy where you actually laugh. Super fun, and quite impressive for someone so young, ie, she has the skill/material of a next tier comic. Crowd : 4.25 - Me : 3.75 - $20

22.05.22 : Ashley Fils-Aime : Factory Theatre
That's weird, I don't remember any shows in this container that were good, ie, they seen to relegate lower comics here, and now there has been 2 in a row. When I saw "from Haiti to Miami to L.A", I thought it would be worth the a risk on an unknown because they've done the US circuit, ie, they have to be good. And this guy was exactly what I was expecting, ie, a fast-talking US comic with a lot of material that is seriously funny. Lots of good simple stuff - I like jokes that aren't serious -, ie, moving to Australia and all the weird stuff we do, and the immigration stuff, ie, hoops you have to jump through, of moving here and getting married to an Australian. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.75 - $20
                     

21.05.22 : Powerbomb Comedy at Staves Brewery : Staves Brewery
Fiona Cox(MC), Harry Jun, Ange Lavoipierre, Laura Coleman, Jack Wright, Jackson Stewart, Nat Damena, Rohan Arneil, . That was a level higher than normal, and actually it turned out to be a bit of a bargain due to it being quite good. Fiona has this subdued delivery, but I kind-of like that because it reminds me of Amanda Gray. Other standouts, ie, they were good, were Harry, Jack, and Nat. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.75 - $16 + $10

20.05.22 : Father Stu - movie
Biography, Drama : Follows the life of Father Stuart Long, a boxer-turned-priest who inspired countless people during his journey from self-destruction to redemption.
It takes a while to get used to the character because he has this dumb confidence that borders on arrogance, ie, it's annoying. He is also charming, and those bits are quite fun. It's a bit up and down, ie, some chuckles, lots of long unremarkable/mundane, and some dark, but overall it didn't have enough to be entertaining/compelling. 2.5 - $9

19.05.22 : Daniel Townes - Grinding : Factory Theatre
I was just thinking how all the good mid-tier comics from 10 years ago would crush it today, because the level of funny comics have dropped down to such a low level, and it's Daniel Townes that was one of those comics from the past. Unfortunately it just wasn't as good as his old material. This one was pretty much all about people he knows/saw dying, which isn't a deal breaker because Daniel can turn-it-around with gags, it's just that the whole thing just wasn't that funny. I think at best it was a $25 show, but the added transaction fee made this a $35 show, and it just wasn't at that level. I was dreading this being a repeat, now I wished it was a repeat with his South African travel story, his airport story, even his uvula story. Pretty disappointing. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3 - $35.50
                     

19.05.22 : Chris Nguyen - It's Pronounced Nguyen : Factory Theatre
I wanted to go - someone new -, then I didn't - it's in a horrible shipping container -, but then I went, and it was pretty good. I've never heard of this guy, and it is his first solo show, but Asians usually do this good self-deprecating humour so it was worth a shot, and in fact the chuckles are so consistent throughout the show it got fatiguing, in a good way. Something that actually makes you laugh, ie, not just feel good. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.75 - $15

18.05.22 : Floyd Alexander-Hunt - Highly Strung : Factory Theatre
The face belies the filth, ie, looks wholesome, but says very rude stuff, and that makes it more funny, eg, "I have a double degree in music............................and sucking cock", but overall it's pretty delightful, ie, maybe not lol funny, but super nice/charming. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5 - $20
                 

15.05.22 : The Game is Afoot! An Improvised Sherlock Holmes Mystery : Factory Theatre
I made a mistake with this show, because I should've also gone to the show the day before. That was the best thing I've seen this year - actually the past 3 years -, because it was like the old days with the GOAT's of Impro. I can't say they were at their 5 star peek like in the 90's/00's - you need to do Improv on a regular basis or you lose your sharpness -, but it was a great/fun show. That was a good shot in the funny bone. Crowd : 4 - Me : 4.25 - $20

12.05.22 : Greg Larsen - We All Have Bloody Thoughts : Factory Theatre
It's taken something like 5 or 6 year to finally see a Larsen's show, and that's because the 3 or 4 shows that were advertised in that past were all cancelled and pulled at the last minute before I went to them. The first time I saw Greg on TV was a swipe left moment, and that's because he didn't look like a jolly giant, but more an angry white guy with an agenda. But after seeing his comedy that switched, because it was along the lines of quirky/crazy Uni student humour - it's the stuff that really appeals to me -. Well he was good, but it wasn't quirky/strange stuff, more conventional storytelling stuff. I liked it, I just wished I laughed more. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.5 - $34.50
                      

11.05.22 : Heath Franklin - Renaissance of Stupidity : Factory Theatre
Heath Franklin as himself has never been as funny as his Chopper character, but this show seems a level lower than that. This is a first run mid week trial show, so you shouldn't expect perfect, but I don't see how it's going to be much better tomorrow. Old Heath was always in control, calm, and without much emotion, ie, usually subtle snide remarks. This Heath is more angry/emotional and direct. As an example, current Heath says "the Beatles are f@cked, they sole all their music from Chuck Berry. Where as old Heath would've said :"Didn't Chuck Berry write some good songs, like Love me Do(a Beatles song). Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 2.5 - $32.50
                   

10.04.22 : Dragon Friends Season 8 - Live D&D Comedy Show : Comedy Store
Usually by this point in a season it's kicked-off with something interesting/exciting, eg, flying a out of control ship upside-down while. This ep was just taking a letter to an opposing army's King. There was no Dungeon Daddy Dave, and I don't really like the ones when Dave is not DM-ing. Basically Dave is the only one smart and quick enough to tax the Improv skill of the others, and even though we don't like it when the Dragon Friends lose, it's kind-of a necessity to make things more interesting, ie, no conflicts and there is nothing to generate emotions that make it memorable/substantial. It's kind-of why all the talent/quiz shows look for a tragic back-story. Basically the night was no Dave, less d!ck jokes, and more talking, be it directionless talking - maybe not directionless, more small talk with no substance -. Maybe the same level as last ep, maybe a bit less, but something around that. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.25 - $25

10.05.22 : Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - movie
Action, Adventure, Fantasy : Dr. Stephen Strange casts a forbidden spell that opens the doorway to the multiverse, including alternate versions of himself, whose threat to humanity is too great for the combined forces of Strange, Wong, and Wanda Maximoff.
They seem to write big/long/travels-a-lot stories for Dr Strange, and that makes it more interesting than a normal action film. This one is no exception, and in fact is probably the biggest Dr Strange story so far. You can tell it's good/interesting, when the time just flies by. 4 - $10

07.05.22 : Powerbomb Comedy at Staves Brewery : Staves Brewery
Kyle Legacy(MC),Andrew Hamilton, ?, Kathryn Mae Thomas, Billy D'Arcy, Tom Witcombe, Andrew Hastings, Bonnie Tangey, Ryan Sim - list probably wrong because we have to clap when they announce the names and you can't hear them -.
The crowd can be a bit subdued here - probably because they can only react to the level of the comedy, ie, mild comedy mild clapping -, but Kyle Legacy(MC) forced them to have fun with his wicked "say what you see" crazy ad-lib crowd work. The other standout was Bonnie Tangey, with her comedy stylings of delivering crazy sh!t with a dead-pan straight-faced - it's a bit like Elliot Goblet -. As for the rest they were ok, but there were two repeats that I pretty much remember their whole routine. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.25 - $16 + $10

06.05.22 : Mike Goldstein – Still Got it! : Factory Theatre
He kind-of has that air of fast talking, lots good jokes in rapid succession, NY comic, just not fast, and not as many good jokes. I have seen him once doing a short set, and I think he was ok - it was 2017 and I don't remember -, and on TV he does come up with killer one-liners, there's just something about his face that I find a "deal breaker", ie, the appearance on not being funny, so I thought I better see his whole set and see if he's any good. Well he's kind-of good, ie, better than a young comic, just not as good as a pro comic. Basically anyone that sees him will have a good time, ie, won't be disappointed. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.5 - $30
                 

05.05.22 : Ahmed Zubb – The Kebab Panel Project : Factory Theatre
Ahmed Zubb and friends are back this time they're all on a Panel. With a show called 'The Kebab Panel Project', it's a talk show panel program featuring Ahmed Zubb(Rodney Todd), Craig Andersen, Belinda Andersen-Hunt, Will Erimya and Eric Hutton, and with surprise guest Tahir. It's always good, because it so scuff, ie, a lot is improvised. As an example, I don't know the crowd response because Ahmed made everyone walk out at the end without clapping - lol. Guaranteed fun, because it's stupid. Crowd : ? - Me : 3.75 - $20

05.05.22 : Steph Broadbridge – Hotchick/tired mum : Factory Theatre

It was mainly standup, with a few comedy songs thrown in. For me it's about the level I would expect for a new-ish comic, but the crowd liked it a lot because there was more than the average applause at the end. I was pretty distracted/depressed, so you can ignore my score, but the thing I liked was when she did a song singing bad reviews that here psychiatrist got. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3 - $15

04.05.22 : Sara Pascoe - Success Story (work in progress) : Enmore Theatre
It's gotta be the bargain of the festival. Sara Pascoe, ie, famous, intimate room, she's good, and only $25. Even though it was a work in progress, the main gist of it was that she wanted to get on TV from a child. Crowd : 4.25 - Me : 3.75 - $26

01.05.22 : Kevin Jin - Country Boy : Enmore Theatre
It's ME, not Phil Wang - lol -. I've seen the guy like 100 times doing announcements at the Sydney Comedy Festival and he seems pretty fun/affable, but I haven't seen him doing comedy - I did see him once doing a story night -. So I figured I better find out if he's good incase I've been missing something worth seeing. Well he's good, it's just that it's a bit hard to explain. It's like the actual gags are only ok, ie, not super, but his natural personality/delivery is so good that it makes up for the gags and makes the show quite good. You won't be disappointed because he's a lot of fun, it's just that you'll only laugh at about 75% strength. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5 - $25
                                          

30.04.22 : Thao Thanh Cao - Marmalade : Enmore Theatre
It's nice enough, it's just that it ends sad, ie, has a serious message. The first half is comedy, but the second half turns into "truth bombs", and it's kind-of a bit too real to be funny, eg, fleeing Vietnam and nearly dying when their boat runs out of fuel and is lost at sea for 42 days, racism, nearly bleeding to death as a baby because the talcum power had the blood thinner/anti coagulant Warfarin in it. Fun, and then not so fun. Ok. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.5 - $ 32.35

28.04.22 : Danielle Walker - Nostalgia : Factory Theatre
It's all the bat-sh!t crazy stuff her family gets up to. Basically to country folk it's everyday occurrences, but to everyone else it's some pretty weird stuff, eg, her grandfather digging his own grave when he's not dead, and then using the grave for a swimming pool. It's not one of those super laugh shows, but it still is very good, ie, super nice/sweet. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.75 - $ 25
           

27.04.22 : Dr Karl’s Fact vs Fiction : Seymour Centre
It started with Dr Karl showing the differences between science, pseudo-science, and deniers, ie, science fact based that self corrects, where as the others can just make any sh!t up. The rest was mainly about viruses and the paleo diet, ie, there is no paleo diet, because different areas of the planet had different diets, ie, you eat what you can find because food is scarce in the wild - you wonder why people die of hunger when they get lost in the bush, considering paleo is all around them lol. Some bits Dr Karl probably went too in-depth for a general audience, but overall it was good. 3.5 - $0

26.04.22 : David O'Doherty - whoa is me : Enmore Theatre
Opps, I stuffed that one up - lol -. To save the transaction fee I buy the ticket at the box-office on the night - transaction fees would add $200 to the $1K I spend per year at Century Venues -. Last time I got a good seat at the front, but unfortunately this time there were no good seats available - I've got long legs and a short trunk so I am too low in seats and can't see -, So I pocketed the $50 and left. The problem was on the way home I remembered that I got there late last time when they were releasing the unused complimentary seats near the front. Basically I got there too early this time rather than trying at the last minute. Oh well, them's the breaks.

26.04.22 : The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent - movie
Action, Comedy, Crime : In this action-packed comedy, Nicolas Cage plays Nick Cage, channeling his iconic characters as he's caught between a superfan (Pedro Pascal) and a CIA agent (Tiffany Haddish).
I thought it would have been funnier, but the first half had enough amusing bits to make it ok. Unfortunately the second half turned into an unspectacular action film, ie, not funny, and that kind-of made it a bit uninteresting. They tried to add something quirky, ie, an imaginary younger Cage playing his ego, but they should've really kept up the stupid stuff in the 2nd half and it would've been better. 3 - $10

23.04.22 : Powerbomb Comedy at Staves Brewery : Staves Brewery
Eric Hutton(MC), Thomas Orr, Maddie Southall, Sath Nadesan, Gerard McGowan, David Woodhead, Guneet Kaur, Laura Coleman - list could be wrong because I'm not good with names/faces -
There was only one that was mild, with all the rest being good, and in fact you could see a few get better with all the practice of multiple appearances since the room started, ie, they didn't standout at the start of the year, but were natural/comfortable and on-fire tonight. There is a problem of repeats with a regular crowd, ie, they remember the jokes, but when they get good like that it seems like a new routine. I would like to see Eric do the old stuff - it's been a decade or two so no one's going to know it -, because the few times I've seen him lately he hasn't been as killa as back then. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.5 - $16 + $10

20.04.22 : Fern Brady(SCO) - Autistic Bikini Queen : Comedy Store
There was a bit I remembered from somewhere - maybe Live at the Apollo - about her wanting to be unplugged if in a vegetate state. There was also stuff about her, strict Catholic upbringing, boyfriend, and being on the spectrum. Not laughtastic - could just be me -, but it was nice enough. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5 - $31.50

19.04.22 : Everything Everywhere All at Once - movie
Action, Adventure, Comedy : An ageing Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save the world by exploring other universes connecting with the lives she could have led.
The trailer didn't look good at all, but because the Sci-Fi concept of switching characters from different universes looked interesting, I thought I would give it a chance. Well I think they needed to workshop it more so it's more coherent and obvious of the character swaps, ie, they use a head jerk rather than something like a flash of light, because it looked like a bunch of random scenes tenuously linked together. PS : It's better if you know this before seeing the movie, but the mechanism for the switch is, think of yourself in the other universe, do something weird/painful/disgusting/gross to shock yourself, and press the green button. It's also verging on surreal, and I don't like surreal because it's an easy get-out, ie, why think of a reason why something is happening when you can say a bagel did it. Basically the whole film feels like a art student project than a anything special. 2 - $0

13.04.22 : Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - movie
Action, Adventure, Comedy : Albus Dumbledore assigns Newt and his allies with a mission related to the rising power of Grindelwald.
Long, slow, dark, depressing, and political, without much that is fun/interesting, eg, the first action/fun bit is over 1hr in, with the only other near the end. Harry Potter was cute and fun, this is basically like others in the series, ie, not compelling/interesting, so it becomes just another forgettable film. 2.75 - $10

09.04.22 : Powerbomb Comedy at Staves Brewery : Staves Brewery
Concetta Caristo(MC), Robyn Reynolds, Joe Shaffer, Bridget Hassed, Marty Bright, Ben Ellwood, Andrew Hastings - the posted list changed on the night, so some are missing/wrong -
Joe Shaffer and Ben "angriest comic in SYD" Ellwood were the best, with all the others being ok/decent except for one. I guess we kind-of wished it was funnier, but that's the level to expect for the price point($15). The problem is when you go to a new room you laugh more because of the novelty/first time excitement, but if you keep going to the same room, that wears out and it winds up standing on the laughs it produces, ie, a room gets a big crowd when it opens, but if it's not super funny the crowd will taper. To be fair the crowd was quiet tonight, which is expected due to the above, but it was kind-of ok. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3 - $16 + $10

08.04.22 : The Lost City - movie
Action, Adventure, Comedy : Two robbers steal an ambulance after their heist goes awry.
It has the same feel as the old Sandra Bullock comedies, eg, Miss Congeniality(2000), it's just that it's not as funny/good as them. Brad Pitt's 10min part was the best part of the film, ie, funniest, but overall it was fun-ish enough. 3 - $10

07.04.22 : Ambulance - movie
Action, Crime, Drama : Two robbers steal an ambulance after their heist goes awry.
I don't think anyone knew what the mess was, because it a total mishmash, ie, a Dog Day Afternoon(1975)/Fast & Furious with lame gags. If you're young you won't know enough to pick the dumb happenings, but for everyone else there was some pretty dumb happenings in front of the camera and behind. Basically it's shaky-cam, car crashes, and plenty of shooting to cover up that logically it's pretty dumb, eg, organising a party while being shot-at in a bank robbery. I found it annoying and a bit tedious. 2.75 - $9

05.04.22 : Dragon Friends Season 8 - Live D&D Comedy Show : Comedy Store
Got attacked by a plant. Got a red dragon egg. Talked to young, different dimension, Strad. And went far forward in time, without getting enough info to work out what's going on. There's no meat to get you truly engaged, so it was the same as last time, ie, hit-n-run d!ck jokes. If you look at the Beef Babes when Alex Lee started this very clever intricate protection racket thread, it was amazing because you had to think, but this one just horny plants, ie, funny enough, just not anything mentally stimulating for an audience. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5 - $25

04.04.22 : Morbius - movie
Action, Adventure, Horror : Biochemist Michael Morbius tries to cure himself of a rare blood disease, but he inadvertently infects himself with a form of vampirism instead.Not as good as the first Doctor Strange (2016).
Not as fun as the first Venom (2018), so it's somewhere behind those 2. Decent pacing between action and information, and coupled to that it wasn't that long, ie, no time for boring bits. It's ok. 3.5 - $10

26.03.22 : Powerbomb Comedy at Staves Brewery : Staves Brewery
I thought I wanted to go, but when I got there I wasn't in the mood - I was put in a bad seat and I wanted to leave -. I thought I would tough-out the first half and leave latter, but it turned out too good so I came round. It looks like they are not doing the lineup list anymore, probably because it's organised on the night, but there was Eric Hutton - he was ok -. Jenny Tian - I've been trying to see her for the last 2 years but she's always sold out, and who was good -. But it was the sound guy - can't remember his name - that ad-libed a set to fill in for a comic that didn't turn up that was crazy good. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5 - $16

23.03.22 : Self Care Comedy : Naked Comedy Productions live stream
DeAnne Smith(MC), Jared Goldstein, Tessa Skara, Teresa Lee, Hannah Pilkes,
Last year I watched part of a show when it was free, and it was the usual for a online streaming comedy show, ie, mild. So I thought I would wait until it was at it's best, ie, with DeAnne Smith, before I would judge if it was worth watching, and it wasn't too bad. It's kind-of hard for a streaming comedy show when there is no audience, ie, no crowd laugh track, to be really funny, but this seemed a bit above the usual. 3.5 - $15

22.03.22 : Dog - movie
Comedy : Two former Army Rangers are paired against their will on the road trip of a lifetime. Briggs (Channing Tatum) and Lulu (a Belgian Malinois) race down the Pacific Coast to get to a fellow soldier's funeral on time.
They usually have a dog for cuteness and comedy, but this one they were for a serious angle, eg, suicide, mental illness, trauma, etc, so it was no fun at all. 2 - $10

22.03.22 : Suspiciously Cheap - March 21st - Streaming Tickets : NextUpComedy live stream
MC Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Maisie Adam, Tarot, Leila Navabi, Phil Wang,
I was hoping it would be funnier with more Pro type comics, but it was mild. Phil was kind-of ok, but if it's not super funny I don't really react. At least it's no effort doing the online thing, except for the 6am start - lol -. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3 - $11

12.03.22 : Powerbomb Comedy at Staves Brewery : Staves Brewery
Suren Jayemanne(MC), Becky Lucas, Laura Coleman, Stephanie Broadbridge, Chloe Maddren, Aaron Chen, Luke Joseph Ryan, Cameron Duggan, Andrew Hastings.
Aaron was very good, but Luke was amazing when he riffed his whole set using everything in the room. Overall the whole night was good. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5 - $16

11.03.22 : Off the Rails - movie
Romance , Comedy : Three fifty-something women set out to repeat the European inter-railing adventures of their youth, after their close friend passes away leaving them rail tickets, and a final request: to take her teenage daughter with them.
It's one of those mild, little, nice films, without anything outstanding. It's pretty predictable/contrived, ie, a boat conveniently parked to sail the required distance, but it's ok enough. 2.75 - $10

10.03.22 : Book of Love - movie
Romance , Comedy : Two writers thrown together on a book tour in Mexico.
It's a nothing movie. ie, you would never miss it if you never saw it. The major problems is that it's not interesting, just like the book in the movie - lol -, and when the whole story is given to you in the written description before you get there, there just isn't any surprises. No magic in this romance. 2 - $10

09.03.22 : Dragon Friends Season 8 - Live D&D Comedy Show : Comedy Store
It's hard to tell how things are going from the first episode, ie, the season usually starts slow, but this one was exactly like last season. The story also continues on from last season. All the other seasons, except for the last, had a lot of story, ie, intrigue, mystery, tasks, double-crosses, battles, etc, but last season it switched to less story and a lot more simple riffing. The story based ones did have side riffs, but those usually had more substance, eg, in one season they had to get to the top floor of a casino, but it got side-tracked into this wonderful riff of getting one million dollars, and that all being bet on a roulette spin. This episode was more along the lines of simple gags, eg, how should a virgin should make love d!ck jokes. It's kind-of still funny, but it wasn't as intricate as some of the others. You can always tell how good this show is by the audience laughs, and the audience laughed a bit in the first half, slumped a bit in the middle of the second, and laughed a bit at the end. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5 - $25

09.03.22 : Stand Up for Ukraine : The Comedy Store(UK) - NextUpComedy live stream
Sarah Keyworth(MC), Joe Lycett, Nina Conti, James Acaster, Nish Kumar, Sindhu Vee, Alistair Barrie, Olga Koch, Dimitri Bakanov
Nina Conti was brilliant, ie, it's like she has turrets, and it's the randomness that I like. Nish Kumar was unusually political, ie, he's usually the nice guy, that doesn't do confronting stuff. Those were the standouts, but even the rest were good. Pro shows are way better, which should be obvious because it's the same at live show. I've seen the small shows on NextUp and they weren't that good, but I wanted to see how a Pro show would translate in a stream - I'm still contemplating buying a subscription to NextUp -, and it seems to be quite decent. Doing Zoom live-streams with people at home doesn't seem to work that well, but streaming a show with a live audience is actually a decent option if you can't go to a show. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.75 - $21.10

08.03.22 : The Batman - movie
Action, Crime, Drama : When the Riddler, a sadistic serial killer, begins murdering key political figures in Gotham, Batman is forced to investigate the city's hidden corruption and question his family's involvement.
It's the usual dark and brooding, but it's done differently, so it feels different, ie, they used more atmospheric visuals to portray more of a dark/hopeless feel. Coupled to the mystery that was the Riddler, it made it quite interesting for the full length. Could of done without the current trend of the superhero being the bad guy in the public eye, ie, somehow fighting criminals to save innocents is what proves he is a public menace, but overall it was quite good. 3.75 - $10

28.02.22 : Uncharted - movie
Action, Adventure : Street-smart Nathan Drake is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor "Sully" Sullivan to recover a fortune amassed by Ferdinand Magellan, and lost 500 years ago by the House of Moncada.
It's not even close to the old mystery treasure adventure movies, ie, it's not intricate/clever or that much fun. It's ok if you want a very dumbed-down second rate treasure film. 2.75 - $10

15.02.22 : Blacklight - movie
Action, Thriller : Travis Block is a government operative coming to terms with his shadowy past. When he discovers a plot targeting U.S. citizens, Block finds himself in the crosshairs of the FBI director he once helped protect.
Nowhere near as good as his intriguing thrillers, eg, The Commuter (2018), Non-Stop (2014), but miles ahead of the boring The Marksman (2021). It's ok. 2.75 - $10

11.02.22 : Marry Me - movie
Comedy, Music, romance : Music superstars Kat Valdez and Bastian are getting married before a global audience of fans. But when Kat learns, seconds before her vows, that Bastian has been unfaithful, she decides to marry Charlie, a stranger in the crowd, instead.
It's at the PG level, ie, mild, simplistic, and nothing outstanding, but it's ok. Probably because it was a lot of the same thing, but I wished it was shorter. 2.75 - $10

10.02.22 : Jackass Forever - movie
Documentary, Action, Comedy : After 20 years, the Jackass crew is back for their final crusade.
I wished they played more pranks on each other, because that was funnier than the stunts. I remember I didn't like one of the movies because it was too violent, ie, it sucks the humour out of the stunt, but this one only had one so it wasn't too bad. It's ok, but I feel it's on it's last legs, ie, we've kind-of seen it all before 3.5 - $10

07.02.22 : Moonfall - movie
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi : A mysterious force knocks the moon from its orbit around Earth and sends it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it.
It's a modernised, cr@p, B-grade disaster movie, ie, moronic Armageddon(1998). I could handle the dumbness of the main story, the the side story of "family getting to safety" was grating, ie, it went from a 3 to a 2. These days when I see HB Brothers, ie, China/Hollywood, at the start, it feels like it's synonymous for dumb. I don't mind dumb action, but this was too dumb and janky. 2 - $10

04.02.22 : The King's Man - movie
Action, Adventure, Thriller : In the early years of the 20th century, the Kingsman agency is formed to stand against a cabal plotting a war to wipe out millions.
The Kingsman films haven't been anything special, but this WWI history based realistic film is even more of a drag. The franchise is supposed to be a fun secret agent action film, but some bright spark tried to portray the futility of war in gritty realism, and that killed all the fun out of this movie. To show how un-fun it was, they killed a main character in an ironically pointless realistic WWI trench scene, and on top of that, the first bit of fun/crazy action only happened 20min from the end. What a total un-fun drag. 2

02.02.22 : Comedy Knockout at Backyard Comedy Club : NextUpComedy live stream
All the newbie comic competition shows have problems - RAW doesn't have enough laughs for such a long show so it gets fatiguing -, and I guess these competitors are used to this format, but from the outside it is a bit weird. First round(1hr) is 12 comics doing 2min each, but battling in pairs with an applaud-off to pick who goes through. Break(¼hr). Second(½hr) round is the 6 qualifiers doing 2½ min. Break(¼hr). Third(½hr) is the 3 qualifiers plus one of the losing competitors, that was picked by the audience, doing 5min each. Problems :- Too many breaks make the show quite long at 2½ hours. The first round has such short sets (2min) that most didn't know how to start fast, ie, they didn't do much. You see the same comic multiple times, ie, some had three goes. Overall it suffers the same problem as most newbie nights, ie, not enough laughs. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3 - $12


01.02.22 : Suspiciously Cheap - January 31st - Streaming Tickets : NextUpComedy live stream
MC Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Darren Harriott, Fatiha El-Ghorri, Tarot, Sara Barron, Steen Raskopoulos
The whole comedy landscape has changed in Sydney, ie, I might not be able to participate anymore, so I thought I would try one of the better online streaming comedy nights from the UK as a look at the future. I wanted to see one of their big pro comedy shows, but I couldn't get a straight answer on how it was going to be streamed so I tried a cheap night as a test - they send a code and you make an account to login and watch -. New material nights are hit-and-miss, ie, the jokes aren't proven to actually be funny so might fall flat, and it's hard to watch comedy at 6am, but even considering all that it felt below par - not boring bad, more disappointed there was nothing to laugh at. I've seen Kiri, Darren, Sara, and they were good in other shows, but tonight they were very mild, and in fact the only shining light was Steen at the end that was genuinely funny. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3 - $12

23.01.22 : The Running Joke Digital Comedy Club - Omicron Edition : live stream
Daniel Muggleton(MC),
Bec Melrose [Question Everything, Tonightly with Tom Ballard]
Rohan Ganju [Gocsy's Classics, Comedy Central]
Dan Rath [MICF Best Newcomer Nominee 2019]
I think the honeymoon is over, ie, the novelty is gone. It's wasn't super funny, but now that they are repeating the lineup from 5 months ago it makes it even less funny due to people remembering the jokes - this happened at the Oatley Hotel because of the repeating lineup -. With only 18 viewers, down from 35 last week, I don't see this continuing much further. It WAS ok for $10, but I don't think it is now. 2.5 - $11

16.01.22 : The Running Joke Digital Comedy Club - Omicron Edition : live stream
Daniel Muggleton(MC),
Lizzy Hoo [Australia Debates, Oxfam Gala]
Pernille Haaland [West End, BBC, BBC3]
Mel Buttle [Bake Off Australia, The Project]
Online is probably always going to have the problem that's it's not going to be as funny, ie, hardly any audience laugh-track, but it was ok. 3.25 - $11

12.01.22 : The Matrix Resurrections - movie
Action, Sci-Fi : Return to a world of two realities: one, everyday life; the other, what lies behind it. To find out if his reality is a construct, to truly know himself, Mr. Anderson will have to choose to follow the white rabbit once more.
If you want a different story that continues the lore, it's ok, but if you want an action film to the level of the others, it's not the same, ie, it's mainly slow moving story without the increditable/memorable dramatic action scenes. Basically the old ones did more with less, ie, they used less people, carefully choreographed each action movement, and filmed it at an angle that made it very dramatic. This one was just mass swarms with nothing that stood-out. The story is ok, but I could've done without the Forth Wall stuff, ie, he is a game developer writing the 4th game of his Matrix series. It's ok, but I would rank it at the bottom with the 3rd. 3.5 - $10
PS, did anyone notice Neo has the same name as the MySpace founder Tom Anderson - lol -.