JULIA | SLOW HORSES | MORBIUS | THE BUBBLE
Pop Culture Weekly Round-Up 01/04/2022
Happy Friday, everyone! I’m back to give you guys some Pop Culture recommendations for your weekend. This week I share my thoughts on the uplifting series JULIA on HBO Max. I ramble about two movies, the supervillain origin MORBIUS and Netflix’s THE BUBBLE. I also talk about the new Apple TV+ series SLOW HORSES and as always, there is a playlist with five songs I listened to last week.
QUICK THOUGHTS
SLOW HORSES is an Apple TV+ series adapted by Will Smith (not the actor who slaps comics but the writer that co-wrote the HBO sitcom Veep) from the first book in Mick Herron’s British espionage series of the same name. The show is a tangled conspiracy mixed with some office comedy, plus a slight sprinkling of grimy reality and nihilistic elements which sometimes feels a little bit over the top. But the series is mostly a fun, snarky, yet low-key adventure across London's neighborhoods and gray/rainy days. It's as much about pub meetings, workplace spats, and pointless stakeout discussions as it is about espionage. It is also an absolute blast to watch Gary Oldman, who plays Jackson Lamb, being completely obnoxious to his team. Oldman seems to be having a lot of fun playing this part as well. He portraits a legendary spy who oversees the little office known as "Slough House," an outlet where MI5's worst agents, those who have messed up to an almost unimaginable extent, are sent out there in the hopes of quitting in disgrace. Slow Horses is a fun watch thanks to a terrific collection of twists and surprising events masterfully delivered by the writers and actors.
MORBIUS is another soulless, bloodless, and dull comic book adaptation. Jared Leto plays a miserable vampire and even though he is not great at doing it, his performance was an upgrade compared to his latest one in HOUSE OF GUCCI. The premise of the movie is predictable, the pacing is inconsistent, the dialogue is poorly written, and the characters are uninteresting. It's your typical supervillain origin story, complete with all the ingredients you would expect. But the action scenes are a disaster, and the CGI and other graphics are horrible as well. Honestly, there is nothing good about this movie, in my opinion. MORBIUS is solely for huge superhero enthusiasts; if you don't have that kind of fandom on you, stay away!
THE BUBBLE is Judd Apatow’s first streaming film for Netflix and it is a giant mess. The flick focuses largely on the pandemic and half-assed TikTok jokes (so Boomer of him). I was initially excited when I saw the stellar cast ensemble for this movie which includes Karen Gillan, Keegan-Michael Key, David Duchovny, Maria Bakalova, and Fred Armisen. But not even all the Hollywood stars in the world would save this train wreck of a movie. THE BUBBLE follows a group of actors put into months-long confinement to make a franchise movie. Like the other Apatow’s flicks, this one is way too long and totally overstays its welcome. The excessive 126-minute runtime is unnecessary and feels like a bunch of bad SNL sketches put together. There's always some good old-fashioned nepotism in the movie. Apatow’s wife, Leslie Mann, and his daughter Iris Apatow have significant roles in THE BUBBLE. This movie will probably please a lot of people. But it didn't work for me at all. THE BUBBLE feels like it was created for a certain period of time, 2020 in this case, and now that we're almost in the mid of 2022, it just doesn’t make any sense. It is a hot mess in my opinion. But it will most likely join the other very terrible movies on Netflix (RED NOTICE, BIRD BOX, 6 UNDERGROUND, etc…) to become one of the most-watched movies on the streaming service. Go figure.
JULIA
JULIA explores the story of Julia Child, the famed cookbook author and tv host who revolutionized the way Americans thought about food, television, and even women. The series recounts Child's remarkable journey, from the publication of the groundbreaking “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” book in 1961, which has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide, to her uplifting story of a woman who found fame in her 50s. The show also provides some insights into her personal life and her struggles to create the hit television show that made her a sensation.
I went into this series with zero expectations. I also had no idea who Julia Child was. And after I watched the first episode all I could think about was “this lady sounds like Mrs. Doubtfire”. But after I finished the second episode I was totally sold on the show. JULIA is a pleasant and heartwarming series. A lovely look into Child's life and career. When we first meet Julia (British actress Sarah Lancashire) and her husband, Paul (David Hyde Pierce), they are having a fork in the road moment in their lives. Despite their profound love for one another, Julia is reaching menopause, and the choice to postpone having children has now been established as a final decision. But then her cooking book becomes a surprise success and she ends up having a chance to host her own TV show.
Throughout the 8 episodes, we get to watch Child and a group of friends, and coworkers persuade WGBH in Boston to broadcast her groundbreaking show, "The French Chef”. These development situations, with their constant debates and negotiations, are a lot of fun to watch. Most of the station producers are white males, and it is interesting to see their smug arrogance and sexism having to be put aside because of Child’s success.
JULIA isn't perfect, but in a world where most of the popular TV shows are all about backstabbings, bleakness, or superheroes, it's great to see something that's just pleasant. JULIA is the real comfort television, with great acting from top-notch performers. So, I would suggest you to relax and enjoy the series with some good food and a glass of wine.
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.
First person I have ever heard say they didn’t know who Julia Childs was. She’s great, though, right?