BLACK BIRD | THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER | MOON, 66 QUESTIONS
Pop Culture Weekly Round-Up 08/07/2022
Hello dear friends. It is Friday and I’m back to give you some pop Culture recommendations for your weekend. This week's newsletter has some thoughts on two very different movies. The formulaic Blockbuster THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER and the Indie film MOON, 66 QUESTIONS. I also talk about the chilling Apple TV+ miniseries BLACK BIRD which has some amazing performances from Paul Walter Hauser and Taron Egerton. And as always there is also a playlist with five songs I enjoyed during the week.
QUICK THOUGHTS
THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER is brought to you by Taika Waititi and the Guns N’ Roses record label. So, I was looking forward to watching this movie. I did not care for the first two Thor flicks (the second one is unwatchable IMO) but I really liked RAGNAROK. I think Taika found the perfect tone for Thor with that movie. So I was excited about LOVE AND THUNDER but unfortunately, the movie did not live up to my expectations. Even though I liked a few of the comedic bits, I thought that overall it was way too goofy and messy. There are a few funny cameos and some emotional scenes in the third act but that was not enough to save this mess. I think Taika got overly confident and flew too close to the sun. However, I’m glad that the Guns N’ Roses members will probably make a ton of money from this movie since their songs are all over it. They totally deserved this bag. Also between this movie and season 4 of STRANGER THINGS, Dio fans are having a great year. Anyway, l think if you are super invested in the MCU you will watch this movie regardless of what I think about it. But if you are not, I would suggest you wait until it’s released on Disney+ or just completely skip it. There is nothing fresh or original in it anyway. Just the old and tired Marvel formula but more colorful.
MOON, 66 QUESTIONS follows Artemis, a twenty-something, who, after years apart, unwillingly decides to come home to Athens to take care of her father whose health has recently deteriorated. She attempts to understand this man she never really knew as she compassionately cares for him. This is the feature debut of Greek filmmaker Jacqueline Lentzou and she did a great job. The combination of arthouse and the regular movie always intrigued me and this is a wonderful representation of this kind of film. MOON, 66 QUESTIONS is a visually breathtaking film that takes the audience on a journey into the psychological turmoil experienced by the father and daughter. However, it is a slow burn and takes a lot of patience from the viewers. I really liked it but if you don’t enjoy slow films or reading subtitles, you’re not going to have a great time watching it.
BLACK BIRD
BLACK BIRD is a new mini-series on Apple TV+ Inspired by actual events. It was developed for television by the great crime writer Dennis Lehane and based on James Keene’s memoir “In With the Devil: A Fallen Hero”. The series stars Taron Egerton as Jimmy Keene, Paul Walter Hauser as Larry Hall, and features one of the last performances by Ray Liotta,
Keene, a drug dealer who had been sentenced to 10 years in a minimum-security prison, is given an opportunity: his sentence would be commuted if he made friends with Hall while he was in a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane. His mission is to befriend suspected serial killer Larry Hall, and obtained information that would help defeat Hall's appeal against his conviction for kidnapping a teenage girl, an appeal that looked to have a good chance of success.
Set during the 1990s, the miniseries is a combination of prison drama, serial killer stories, and police investigations. BLACK BIRD is meticulous and gathers strength throughout the course of the show. I truly enjoyed the overpowering sense of dread brought on by Jimmy’s life in prison and the ferocity of the crimes for which Larry has been found guilty. The two lead actors' performances were excellent, too. Paul Walter Hauser is chilling as Hall. He is quite creepy but also strangely kind. Taron Egerton gives a similarly excellent performance. He delivers Jimmy's emotional journey perfectly. Jimmy goes from being absolutely insufferable to a really vulnerable man after his whole life was turned upside down.
BLACK BIRD is a really good mix of fiction and real-life events. It focuses on the drama and long dialogues over cheap shock values. and Even though you know the outcome, it continuously maintains suspense throughout the series. It reminded me a little bit of the great show Mindhunter that was canceled by Netflix last year. And Anyone interested in true crime should watch it.
BLACK BIRD will launch its first two episodes today, Friday, July 8, on Apple TV+, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday.
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.
Wow! I'm so glad someone gave you a shoutout yesterday on substack. I thoroughly enjoyed this post and am looking forward to checking out Black Bird and Moon. Also going to forward to my son, who shares my love of good music & film (although he is one of those diehard MCU fans). Thanks for the playlist, too...perfect for a Friday!