SOUND OF METAL | BLACK BEAR | ANYTHING FOR JACKSON |THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT
Pop Culture Weekly Round-Up 11/12/2020
This week went by so fast for me. But I still have time to watch a few films and catch up with my new favorite TV show. Anyway, I hope this newsletter will help you to find some good entertainment for your weekend.
Films
SOUND OF METAL
SOUND OF METAL fallows Ruben Stone (Riz Ahmed), a drummer in a hardcore metal duo that is thrown into free-fall when he begins to lose his hearing.
This is very a depressing film but man, it is so good. There's a whole lot more here than just a musician losing his hearing. The film also touches on other issues like addiction and addictive behavior. Also, I really enjoyed how SOUND OF METAL subverts expectations. At some point, I thought the film was going on a cheese route, and honestly, I was disappointed for a minute there but to my surprise, it never happened.
Riz Ahmed's performance is gut-wrenching. One of the best performances of the year. You really get the sense of him going through all these emotions while dealing with a life-changing situation. I hope he is recognized this award season.
The film makes a strong case for why representation matters as well. I loved the scenes with the hearing impaired community. It was lovely to see them on the screen sharing beautiful moments with Ahmed
The ending will probably annoy some people. But it worked for me. So simple but so powerful
BLACK BEAR
A filmmaker (Aubrey Plaza) at a creative impasse seeks solace from her tumultuous past at a rural retreat, only to find that the woods summon her inner demons in intense and surprising ways.
I love a good, weird movie. And BLACK BEAR doesn’t shy away from being different. I don’t want to give too much away. You should go in as blind as possible. But let’s just say, this is probably the most meta film I saw this year. It deals with the process of creating art. And how it can hugely vary for different personalities.
Aubrey Plaza is great, as always. And her performance in the second part of the film is unlike anything she's ever done before. Christopher Abbott is phenomenal, too. They. have great chemistry together.
But just so you know, this film will be challenging for some people. And you will be left with a lot of questions and different interpretations in the end.
ANYTHING FOR JACKSON
A satanist couple kidnaps a pregnant woman so they can use an ancient spell-book to put their dead grandson's spirit into her unborn child. But they end up summoning more than they bargained for.
This totally exceeded my expectations. One of the best horror/comedy films of the year. It was beautifully executed, with beautiful cinematography and a very talented cast. I really appreciated the dark humor throughout the film and I genuinely got spooked by the creepy moments.
My only gripe about the film was with the vague ending. But it was a really fun watch!
TV shows
THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT
Kaley Cuoco plays a flight attendant who is a reckless alcoholic. And it’s all fun and games until she wakes up in a Bangkok hotel room with a dead man in her bed, but with no memory of what happened.
I’ve watched all the 7 episodes available and I have been thoroughly entertained so far.
Cuoco does a great job. She's an alcoholic with irrational behavior and she always digging herself in deeper troubles no matter how many lifelines she gets. I also really like the visual style of the show. It has amazing cinematography and the use of split-screen is fantastic!
Is THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT prestige TV? Hell no! But it’s entertaining AF.
Euphoria - Especial Episode
Trouble Don't Last Always is the first of the two one-off special episodes before the second season of Euphoria starts next year.
I truly enjoyed this episode. It basically deals with the aftermath of Rue’s relapsing into drugs after being left by Jules at the train station at the end of season 1.
Trouble Don't Last Always was a perfect reminder of why this show is so good. It was heartbreaking, beautifully shot, and had some of the best-written dialogue I've seen between two TV characters. Zendaya really acted her heart out.
Some people may find it slow and boring compared to how frenetic this show normally is. But I think it helped Rue to catch her breath after everything that happened to her in season 1. Looking forward to seeing the second special episode.
Top 5 songs
These were the 5 songs on my heavy rotation this week. You can listen to them on
1 - Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - Nun With A Mother f*&*g Gun
2 - Hayley Williams – Dead Horse
3 - Run The Jewels feat. Royal Blood - The Ground Below
4 - Viagra Boys — Creatures
5 - Grandson - In Over My Head
I spent a lot of time last week listening to Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross' film scores when I was racking the David Fincher films. And Nun With A Mother f*&*g Gun, from the WATCHMEN TV show, is so good. Hayley Williams’ solo album is one of my favorite albums released this year. And Dead Horse is a great song. Her appearance on Tiny Desk this week was awesome and one of the highlights of my week. You can see it here. Run The Jewels never disappoints. The Ground Below makes me wanna go for a run and I hate running. Viagra Boys, Creatures has a cool 80s vibe and some amazing lyrics to go with it. Grandson is a Canadian-American singer/songwriter and his debut full-length album Death of an Optimist has many catchy songs like In Over My Head.