BODIES BODIES BODIES | LOCKE & KEY Season 3 | A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
Pop Culture Weekly Round-Up 12/08/2022
Hello, everyone. Happy Friday! I’m back to give you some Pop Culture recommendations for your weekend. This week I share my thoughts on two series. LOCKE & KEY on Netflix just had its last season released last Wednesday. And Amazon Prime’s A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN which is much better than I was expecting. I also talk about the new A24 film, BODIES, BODIES, BODIES. A super fun slasher movie. And as always there is a playlist with five songs that I was listening to during the week.
QUICK THOUGHTS
LOCKE & KEY is a Netflix fantasy show and its third and final season premiered last Wednesday, August 10. The Locke family has fought the demonic Dodge over the course of the previous two seasons with the use of many magical keys. They successfully defeated the demon at the end of Season 2, but at the price of Tyler Locke’s girlfriend's life. Season three picks up two months after those happenings and since the series only had 8 episodes instead of the traditional 10, the writers had to go straight to the point. Without giving too much away, the season finale balances action and some emotional bits too. The 18th-century soldier Frederick Gideon, who has been transported to the present as an Echo in the cliffhanger season 2 finale, represented a new threat for the Locke family. And that turned the whole season into a thrilling war between both the Lockes and Gideon. My few gripes with this last season were that it seemed rushed and some characters, that were normally very smart in previous seasons, made some foolish decisions. Also, although this season's new keys do offer interesting elements we haven't seen before, they primarily serve only to make the finale work. But on the other hand, the show had some good visual effects ( better than many blockbuster movies we have seen lately) and some good performances. Especially from the young actor playing Bode. He really got to show some range this time around. I understand that fans of the comic book on which the show is based, are mostly unhappy with this Netflix version of the story. The streaming service transformed the original material which is full of horror elements and a lot of violence into a young adult adventure. But I enjoyed the first two seasons and I’m satisfied with this season finale since everything was nicely wrapped up for everyone by the end of episode 8.
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN is a new series on Amazon Prime that is heartfelt, funny, and genuinely showcases lgbtq+ people. It's been 30 years since Penny Marshall's 1992 movie, which carries the same name as this series, chronicled the struggles of numerous female baseball players during the height of World War II. I honestly didn’t remember much of the movie so I re-watched it before starting watching the series. my conclusion was that Marshall’s movie is lovely but the amazing way that the show explores sexual identity and race, which the film merely alluded to, made the series much more important and interesting to watch than the movie was. Although the series addresses the difficulties that many LGBT women and women of color faced in the 1940s, it never comes across as condescending. It actually makes a great job conveying a sense of joyful excitement while telling stories that were both accurate and sincere. I enjoyed A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN much more than I thought I would and I think you guys will too.
BODIES BODIES BODIES
This is an exciting and hilarious movie. A funny take on backstabbing/sham friendships, and a party that has gone out of control. Everything can happen when a bunch of wealthy 20-somethings prepares a celebration during a hurricane in a remote mansion and a party game goes horribly wrong.
BODIES, BODIES, BODIES is directed by Halina Reijn and Stars Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Pete Davidson, Rachel Sennott, Lee Pace, Myha'la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, and David Conner O'Malley.
The movie is a brilliant commentary on the internet era disguised as a slasher. A Gen Z take on a very tired horror genre centered around beautiful people acting recklessly. The whole cast gave outstanding performances that helped sell its massive, dramatic turns. I like Pete Davidson’s brand of humor and was expecting him to steal the show. But even though he has some great moments, Rachel Sennott is the one which totally makes her presence be noticed.
The movie is cleverly written and has infectious dialogues. I’m pretty sure that a lot of the lines in it will be quoted by many of us and most definitely will be turned into memes. I also really enjoyed Its ferociously dark sense of humor and the cinematography. Although she didn’t reinvent the wheel, Reijn has created a frenetic pace movie that keeps the momentum going and is a lot of fun to watch. But at the same time, she did a great job maintaining the film’s delicate balance of being funny and unsettling. The best way to describe it would be SCREAM meets CLUE.
Overall BODIES, BODIES, BODIES is a brilliant whodunnit with a very clever script and an amazing soundtrack. Director Halina Reijn and this killer cast have done a great job creating a super fun horror comedy.
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.
Great lineup this week! Definitely plan to check out ALOTO series as well as Bodies Bodies Bodies (and I'm not even a fan of those types of flicks). Playlist is poppin--thanks for all the Friday vibes!