GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY | WEDNESDAY | BLOOD RELATIVES
Pop Culture Weekly Round-Up 25/11/2022
Hello, everyone! I’m back to give you guys some Pop Culture recommendations for your weekend. In this week’s newsletter, I share my thoughts on two Netflix productions. The amazing GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY and the underwhelming Addams Family spin-off WEDNESDAY. I also talk about the low-budget but very sweet film BLOOD RELATIVES. And as always there is a playlist with five songs I enjoyed this week.
QUICK THOUGHTS
GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY is extremely enjoyable and I'd say it's probably superior to the first KNIVES OUT. Rian Johnson's films continue to be super clever and stylish. All can I say without spoiling anything is that GLASS ONION is a wicked and tangled comedy with a stunning twist. It has an excellent screenplay, a great score, amazing cinematography, and outstanding production design. It expands on many of the concepts from the first movie with a mystery that is even more intricate. There are many entertaining characters and scenes, and also some fantastic cameos. This is undoubtedly one of the year's best ensembles, and the acting is up to the standard that everyone should be expecting. Daniel Craig, who reprises his role as detective Benoit Blanc may be the main character, but Janelle Monáe is the star of this movie. GLASS ONION One of the most entertaining movies I've seen in 2022. After many misfires this year, Netflix finally gives a great film. GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY is landing in movie theaters today, November 23. And will be available for streaming on Netflix on December 23.
WEDNESDAY is a Netflix spin-off of the Addams Family. It follows Wednesday Addams' years as a student when she attempts to master her emerging psychic abilities. Well, I really wanted to like this series, but unfortunately, I'm not happy with the final results. I try to be open-minded about it, but now that I've seen the whole thing, I can say that it's just your standard CW teenage drama with some supernatural beings. The writing is terrible and I cringed at the awful dialogues as adults tried to use today's youth slang. The CGI seems cheap and you can see the direction the story will take after the 5th episode. Yes, I understand that WEDNESDAY targets adolescent girls who want to feel unique. But I expected something better than this. Especially because Tim Burton was involved in it. The only good thing about this show is Jenna Ortega. She completely dominates the screen and makes the best she can with the little they give to her. Overall, the series seems like a clever idea that was unable to fully realize its promise. I do not recommend WEDNESDAY unless you are really into teenage dramas like RIVERDALE AND SABRINA.
BLOOD RELATIVES is a cheesy but snarky vampire comedy. Francis is a 115-year-old Yiddish vampire that still looks 35. He has spent decades driving his beaten-up muscle car through American backroads by himself and avoids attention for understandable reasons. His life completely changes when a teenager named Jane appears one day. She claims to be his daughter, and she has the fangs to back up her claim. The upcoming road trip between the two will reveal whether they are willing to compromise or even alter their behavior for a happier life. Although some would object to BLOOD RELATIVES being more cheesy than freighting, for me it was a welcome change of pace. Yes, it has a vampire protagonist but the movie comes out more as a sweet family storyline. It thrives at twisting typical vampire narrative cliches to produce a touching father-daughter relationship. It is not a perfect movie but any means. However, It has a certain odd appeal along with some nice laughs that helps a lot in the making up for its flaws. I can totally recommend BLOOD RELATIVES and I'm looking forward to seeing whatever the writer/director/actor Noah Segan will create next.
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.
Looking forward to seeing Glass Onion this weekend!
Always look forward to your reviews and recommendations. I still haven’t seen Knives Out but I am guessing that it is not necessary before watching Glass Onion. I see that the star of Blood Relatives was in Knives Out so like that tie in. Is there a direct tie to Wednesday as well?