THE HARDER THEY FALL | ARMY OF THIEVES | SWAGGER | FAIRFAX
Pop Culture Weekly Round-Up 29/10/2021
Hello everyone, I hope you’re all well. The sunny days are gone and it’s rainy and grey here in Lisbon. So my weekend will be filled with Horror flicks and the new season of NARCOS: MEXICO. Anyway, this week’s newsletter has thoughts on the Amazing Netflix Original film THE HARDER THEY FALL. I “visit” the coolest street in Los Angeles, Fairfax, and share my thoughts on the new Amazon’s Prime Video animated series that share the same name as the trendy location. I go through the basic rules of a heist movie and how ARMY OF THIEVES is still a fun flick even though has zero original ideas. I talk about how well done the new Apple TV+ series SWAGGER is. And then I rave about my idol and social assassin, Larry David, and how funny the first episode of CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM’s new season was. As always, there’s a playlist of five songs I enjoyed last week.
Quick Thoughts
SWAGGER - This Reggie Rock Bythewood's drama, stars O'Shea Jackson Jr. as a coach working in the high-stakes world of top youth basketball. The show was inspired by NBA superstar Kevin Durant's experiences. There are certain series that take a few episodes to get into their flow, and SWAGGER is one of them. But when it picks up it does not hold back. The show characters' have rough, dark realities. And there are plots including sexual assault, child abuse and, cyberbullying. A show that isn't as solid as this one could crumble under the weight of all these serious themes. But although SWAGGER has a few bumps in the road, it handles the majority of these difficult storylines, as well as its protagonists play basketball. If you are a FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS fan you will definitely like this show too. SWAGGER premieres on Apple TV+ with its first three episodes today, October 29, before transitioning to its weekly schedule.
FAIRFAX - Amazon’s new animated series explores the world of hypebeast culture (streetwear obsessives) and clout-chasing through the eyes of four super psyched middle schoolers. The series creators Matt Hausfater, Aaron Buchsbaum, and Teddy Riley have called their show “a love letter to kids today—the generation that will most definitely save the world from global warming if they don’t die from eating Tide Pods first”. FAIRFAX is amusing, hilariously chaotic, has a very cool animation style, and features a stellar voice cast. At times the show seems more concerned with constant name-dropping than with being consistently meaningful. But overall, it does a fantastic job criticizing but at the same time appreciating the community it's portraying.
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM - It is hard to believe that CURB premiered 21 years ago. But somehow Larry David, the star and creator of the show, who plays a fictional version of himself it’s still relevant. Season 11 premiered last Sunday on HBO and I picked 5 moments that made me laugh hard while watching the first episode.
1 - Starting the season with a dead man in Larry’s pool was weird but his reaction to it was priceless.
2- Larry pitching a show, called “Young Larry,” to Netflix was hilarious. LD as a young man in Brooklyn, trying to become a stand-up comic while working as a chauffeur to a blind woman? I would totally watch that!
3 - The brother of the dead man blackmailing Larry and forcing him to cast his daughter, Maria Sofia (Keyla Monterroso Mejia), in the “Young Larry” show was a brilliant idea. Also, she is very funny and does “bad acting” so well.
4 - Larry David speaking at Albert Brooks’s "live funeral" and not taking it seriously at all was great. But exposing Brooks as a “ COVID hoarder” was even better.
5 - Once again Jon Hamm steals the show. His explanation of why the movie based on Larry went away (The audience didn’t really respond to the main character) was really funny.
Anyway, Season 11 had a great start and I can’t wait for what comes next.
61 Days of Halloween - Well, I’m sad to admit that I kind of failed on this challenge. Halloween is around the corner and as I write this on Thursday, October 28, I have watched 39 horror movies. I know that is not even close to the 61 movies I said I would watch. But I still have a few days to watch some spooky flicks. However, I will definitely fall short of my goal.
ARMY OF THIEVES - This is a prequel to Zack Snyder's ARMY OF THE DEAD and follows Small-town bank teller Ludwig Dieter. He is lured into the adventure of a lifetime when a mysterious woman recruits him to join a squad of Interpol's most wanted criminals, aiming to steal a series of famous, impossible-to-crack safes across Europe. ARMY OF THIEVES is lighthearted and unapologetically silly. Heist movies tend to be formulaic and clichéd, and this movie leans heavily into the genre's aesthetic. You've got the standard perps: The assembling of a team of highly skilled specialists, the double-cross that turns out to be a triple-cross. And the scheme that appears to have failed only to reveal that the collapse was always part of the master plan. However, Director Matthias Schweighöfer's stylish filmmaking and some wonderful performances by the witty and nice cast make ARMY OF THIEVES the exact definition of an entertaining Netflix flick.
THE HARDER THEY FALL
When criminal Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) learns that his nemesis Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) is about to be freed from jail, he gathers a gang to track down Rufus and get vengeance. Nat has his lover Mary (Zazie Beetz), his right and left-hand men, hot-tempered Bill Pickett (Edi Gathegi), and the fast-drawing Jim Beckwourth (RJ Cyler) among those traveling alongside him. Rufus Buck has his own ruthless squad too, which includes Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield), and they aren't worried about Nat and his gang.
THE HARDER THEY FALL was a fantastic experience for me. Everything was nicely put together. The cast is absolutely awesome, Regina King and Idris Elba are outstanding. And Jonathan Majors is the epitome of perfection. While LaKeith Stanfield and Zazie Beetz are both cruel, but hard to dislike. Also, RJ Cyler's comedic timing is amazing. The film’s cinematography is absolutely gorgeous. And the music was another element that struck me. The original soundtrack is just stacked with great artists such as Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, and Lauryn Hill. So many great tunes!
The film is jam-packed with interesting characters and fast-paced action, and it redefines what a Western represents in today's cinema. Jeymes Samuel, the writer-director, pays homage to classic films while also expertly reinventing the genre for today's audiences. I thought the film was immensely refreshing and I totally recommend it.
Top 5 songs
These were the 5 songs on heavy rotation in my house last week. You can listen to them on Spotify or YouTube.