Hello there! I hope you guys had a great week. This newsletter has some thoughts on A QUIET PLACE PART II, CRUELLA, MASTER OF NONE Season 3, and, as always, there’s a playlist of 5 songs worth your time. Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.
FILMS
A QUIET PLACE PART II
The sequel to the 2018 blockbuster horror film, A QUIET PLACE, is finally here. The sequel's release date was first set for May 15, 2020, but we all know what happened. John Krasinsk is back as director and co-writer. And even though e had an exceptionally high standard to live up to, but he certainly did so.
I was so excited when I saw that A QUIET PLACE PART II was coming out this month. After seeing the first one, and really enjoy it, I couldn't wait to see what would happen next in this horror movie series. The movie follows the same characters and events as seen in the first movie. It is set a year after the first QUIET PLACE, and civilization is even deeper into chaos as various groups fight for what little remaining resources. I don’t want to spoiler anything so I will only say that In this sequel, the Abbott family is faced with some very interesting new challenges.
The film is well-paced and suspenseful, and it will make you jump out of your seat at least once per scene. It's also an excellent continuation of the series, and I'm happy that John Krasinski decided to direct it as well as star in it again. A QUIET PLACE PART II is a very satisfying sequel.
CRUELLA
Okay, I’m not a kid anymore. I don't have kids and I don't have a dog. So I'm certainly not the target audience for this movie. However, this new live-action version of Disney's classic villain is, for lack of a better term, interesting. But also a little dumb. I’d say amusingly dumb. it's definitely different than we've seen done before in the other live-action remakes that Disney has released lately. I particularly liked the movie aesthetic and the 70’s punk rock vibe that it gives.
CRUELLA is very silly and forgettable. The storyline is nothing to really write home about. It's very basic and formulaic. Typical Disney. But the movie is nowhere near as bad as some people have been describing it. The acting is fine and you can't fault the actors for playing their characters the way they did. Emma Stone, for example, has a very over-the-top performance as Cruella de Vil. But somehow, it works.
I'd say that CRUELLA is just another OK flick. If you're looking for a crowd-pleasing movie, this is for you. There were a couple of aspects that I thought were disappointing, but at the end of the day, it's a decent movie It doesn't have much substance but I thought it was entertaining, with a couple of laugh-out-loud moments.
TV
MASTER OF NONE - Season 3
I have to start this by saying that you shouldn’t go into MASTER OF NONE third season expecting it to be similar to previous ones. And if you are expecting to find out what happened to Dev and Francesca after the season two cliffhanging finale you will be very disappointed. This season is called MASTER OF NONE PRESENTS: MOMENT IN LOVE for a reason. Because it is completely different in style and tone from the previous seasons.
The thing is, Aziz Ansari’s life took a weird turn in 2018, and he needed to take a break and put the spotlight on someone else for a while. So focusing on Denise’s story was a way for him to somehow keep the show going. I am always open to hearing stories about any kind of interesting people, POC, LGBTQ+ or otherwise. I think it’s important to see these kinds of stories on TV. Denise and Alicia showed perspectives that don’t get much play in the mainstream. I loved that. Aziz wrote and directed every single episode in this season. I liked what he did with the photography and aesthetics. And I enjoyed the static long takes. I think it was a great way to use visual storytelling.
Overall, I enjoyed this season. And I think Aziz did a good job venturing into new territory. But I understand why a lot of people are upset about this season. because it's not at all what the first two seasons established. Aziz took a huge risk here doing what he wanted to do and I respect that.
Top 5 songs
These were the 5 songs on my heavy rotation this week. You can listen to them on Spotify and YouTube.
1 - Olivia Rodrigo - good 4 u
2 - Twenty One Pilots - Formidable
3 - lil aaron ft LiL Lotus - THAT ONE SONG
4 - POORSTACY - Public Enemy
5 - royal & the serpent - phuck u