OZARK season 4 (part 2) | SHINING GIRLS | HATCHING | UNDONE Season 2
Pop Culture Weekly Round-Up 29/04/2022
Happy Friday everyone! I’m back to give you guys some Pop Culture recommendations for your weekend. I had a tough week, Spring has arrived here in Lisbon and my allergies are acting up. But somehow I still managed to get things done. Anyway, in this week’s newsletter, I talk about the second half of the final season of OZARK. I absolutely loved this show throughout its run and I will miss the Byrde family and their shenanigans. I also have some thoughts on two other series. The gritty and dark SHINING GIRLS on Apple TV+ and the mind-bending and visually stunning season two of UNDONE on Amazon Prime. I also talk about the Finnish horror movie HATCHING. Which is weird but very entertaining. And as always there is a playlist with five songs I enjoyed last week.
QUICK THOUGHTS
SHINING GIRLS is an Apple TV+ series that follows Kirby Mazrachi (Elisabeth Moss) who had her life turned upside down by a horrific attack that left her emotionally and physically scarred. When she finds that a recent murder is related to her assault, she forms a partnership with the experienced but troubled reporter, Dan (Wagner Moura), in order to find the man behind those crimes. SHINING GIRLS is a murder mystery at its essence. With a serial killer named Harper (Jamie Bell) on the loose and Kirby and Dan both being untrustworthy narrators, viewers are taken in a variety of directions, and it's a thrilling trip. Moss' ability to play a woman who has been driven to her limit is seen once again in SHINING GIRLS. Kirby is bright and competent, but she has no idea what she's up against. She is trying to confront and make peace with her past, but it is hard for her to do that when she can’t fully comprehend her constantly shifting reality. The series has a compelling story with outstanding casting, but there is still something clearly missing in terms of the "how" of everything. The plot drags in the midpoint, and when we finally get to the last episode, it feels a little hurried. Certain storylines are left unanswered and I think the writers did that because they want us to come back for a second season to get those answers. However, I was intrigued by the story and I think it is totally worth watching it.
HATCHING is Finnish filmmaker, Hanna Bergholm, feature directorial debut. The film has a bizarre subject and is darkly hilarious but also frightening. It tells the story of Tinja (Siiri Solalinna), a 12-year-old gymnast who is constantly trying to impress her image-obsessed mother. One day Tinja finds an abandoned egg in the woods surrounding her picturesque house. And what hatches from this egg is shocking. This is such an unsettling flick. But I really liked how it keeps you interested throughout. It has a creepy atmosphere, awesome production design and the cinematography is great too. HATCHING reminds me of '80s horror creatures movies. Mostly because the monster is brought to life by a mix of CGI and puppetry that reminded me of David Cronenberg’s work. Though some of the performances weren’t particularly subtle or believable and the storyline is a bit chaotic, the movie was generally pretty good. HATCHING doesn’t hesitate to go off the rails, and its unusual subject provides a unique perspective of the perils of social media and parental high standards.
UNDONE is a trippy sci-fi epic created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg and Kate Purdy. The series follows Alma Winograd-Diaz (Rosa Salazar), a young woman that in the first season awoke from a car crash to find herself stranded in time and space. Alma started to wonder about the basis of her reality, unsure if she was dealing with a paranormal situation or simply exhibiting symptoms of mental illness. UNDONE is incredible and without spoiling what happens, season 2 explores Alma’s family heritage. The time travel concept takes on a few intriguing new elements this time around and becomes an addition to the protagonists' ongoing unhappiness. The series is also visually stunning. With the creative use of the rotoscoping animation technology, UNDONE is unique like any other show on television. To achieve that, the show’s cast members perform the scenes for animators, who create backgrounds and character animation over their performance. Overall this second season is heartwarming and a fantastic allegory of mental health. It also has a fascinating mystery and touches you in unexpected ways— Raphael Bob-Waksberg once again (he’s also behind BOJACK HORSEMAN) created something special.
All eight episodes of Undone Season 2 are available Friday on Prime Video.
OZARK season 4 (part 2)
It is finally here! Part two of the season finale of one of my favorite TV shows has dropped on Netflix. It has been a very wild ride since the first episode of the first season. So needless to say that I was very excited for the second half of the fourth and last season of OZARK.
By now, you all should know that the show follows Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) a father who relocates his family to the Missouri Ozarks when a money-laundering plan goes wrong. In the first three seasons, we saw Marty and his wife/accomplice Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) having to deal with the Mexican cartel, violent hillbilly gangs, crazy farmers, and sketchy FBI agents. But this time, things got really out of their control. In the second half of Season 4, the Byrdes are attempting to leave their life of crime behind them, but Ruth (Julia Garner) sets off on a quest for vengeance that will surely have deadly consequences for someone.
I can’t remember the last time I watched a season of a TV show that had so much tension. The last two episodes alone are breathtaking. I’m not going to spoil anything but, I’m pretty sure the final episode will be divisive. Especially the last 10 minutes. But I really enjoyed the whole season and I’m very happy how they ended the series. For me, it was a bitter-sweet time. I'm pleased that the last season had a satisfying conclusion, but I'm sad that the show has come to an end. OZARK had such a good run but I appreciate them ending it instead of dragging it out for money and ruining the series.
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.
+1 for Ozark! Some of the tightest writing since "The Americans." We are thinking about ditching Netflix, but now need to wait a little bit. Lol.