ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA | HELLO TOMORROW! | SHARPER
Pop Culture Weekly Round-Up 17/02/2023
Hello, everyone! It is Friday and I’m back to give you some Pop Culture recommendations. In this week’s newsletter, I share my thoughts on the underwhelming new ANT-MAN flick. These Marvel movies keep getting worse and worse. But you guys probably know by now that I’m not invested in the MCU at all. So take this criticism with a major grain of salt. I also talk about two new Apple TV+ releases. The series HELLO TOMORROW! and the A24 film SHARPER. And as always there is a playlist with five songs I enjoyed last week.
QUICK THOUGHTS
SHARPER pulls viewers into the seductive yet dangerous world of elaborate cons targeting the wealthy elite of New York City. The film is driven by twists and turns as alliances are formed and broken, and it's never quite clear who is conning whom. While the plot gets overly convoluted at times, the film was executed well. And in my opinion, it is an entertaining caper film that upends expectations and has us guessing right until the end about the true motivations and endgames of its compelling, morally ambiguous characters. lead Julianne Moore is perfectly cast as a 'brilliant flim-flam woman' navigating high-stakes cons among Manhattan billionaires. Director Smith keeps the pacing brisk and the dialogue clever in this suspenseful tale of scam artists seeking to game the system in New York's moneyed circles. Is SHARPER an amazing, super-fresh film? Well no, but it is a good and fun watch and I recommend it.
HELLO TOMORROW follows the story of a group of traveling salesmen hawking lunar time-shares, and while it starts off with promise, the story fails to deliver. While the visuals and special effects are stunning and add an extra layer of depth to the show. The characters lack adequate development and the plot goes in circles, leading to a show that quickly grows tiresome. The concept of a retro-future is cool, and fun and also makes the world of HELLO TOMORROW come alive, but without a compelling narrative, the show is left solely with unrealized potential. It is a shame but I do not recommend this series.
ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA tries to go bigger with the introduction of the 'Quantum realm,' a mysterious new place in the Marvel universe. However, more size-changing action scenes and some not-so-great CGI aren't enough to make up for a predictable plot and unfunny attempts at humor. Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly have superhero chemistry but are let down by a bland script that recycles familiar conflicts and twists. Several compelling new characters are introduced from the comics but not given enough development. While some of the storylines show how far the franchise has come, the movie plays it too safe by sticking to the formula of the first two movies. Unless you're a die-hard Marvel fan seeking to keep up with the ever-expanding MCU, ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA doesn't bring enough freshness or thrills to justify another sequel its existence. If you are curious about this new MCU entry just wait until its release on Disney+ since this flick is definitely not worthy of a trip to the theaters.
TOP 5 SONGS
These were the 5 songs on heavy rotation in my house last week. You can listen to them on Spotify and YouTube.