THE WITCHER Season 2 | SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME | SWAN SONG | NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Pop Culture Weekly Round-Up 17/12/2021
Hello everyone. What a week! So many new great movies and series coming out this month. I can barely keep up watching them all. In this week’s newsletter, I share my thoughts on season 2 of THE WITCHER and on the new MCU blockbuster, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME. Two very anticipated releases coming out on the same day. But don’t worry, I don’t want to ruin the experience for anyone, so I promise that would be no spoilers. I also talk about the new Apple TV+ film SWAN SONG, The underwhelming new Guilhermo Del Toro cinematic experience, NIGHTMARE ALLEY, and my favorite TV show at the moment, SUCCESSION. And as always there is a playlist with five songs I enjoyed last week.
Quick Thoughts
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME - Spiderman was the only comic book hero I was familiar with before this whole MCU craziness. So I'm still interested in his movies, even though I'm not really invested in the rest of the MCU. I don’t hate it, I’m just not overly excited about it like most people are. Anyway, this time around the identity of Spider-Man is exposed, bringing his Super Hero obligations in conflict with his everyday life and putting people he cares about in danger. When he asks Doctor Strange to restore his secret, the spell that the Sorcerer Supreme casts goes wrong and creates a hole in their reality, unleashing the most deadly enemies that have ever faced Spidey in any universe. I’m conflicted about this flick. It has all the weaknesses and strengths of the MCU. The action scenes felt more intense and visceral than the previous movies of the trilogy and the performances of Tom Holland, Willem Dafoe, and Alfred Molina are great. But especially Dafoe. He is truly a force of nature and in the middle of so many celebrated actors, he managed to steal the scene every time he was on screen. Also, the fan service in this movie actually has a purpose. However, the plot is so basic. And it has some terrible writing, even for the MCU’s standards. A lot of the jokes didn’t land at all for me and I thought the tone was all over the place. SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME aims for the sky and it has an interesting setup. But the execution was a little sloppy. Maybe due to the excess of villains and way too much CGI. The movie is being called a “soft reboot” for the franchise by some critics. And its ending does raise plenty of questions that will be probably answered in the many upcoming Spider-Man movies.
SWAN SONG The debut feature film from writer/director Benjamin Cleary explores real concerns of humanity and individuality. SWAN SONG, is a beautiful, emotional journey seen through the perspective of Cameron (Mahershala Ali), a loving husband and father who is expecting his second child with his wife Poppy (Naomie Harris). When Cameron is diagnosed with a terminal illness, his doctor (Glenn Close) offers him an alternate method to keep his family from grieving. Mahershala Ali finally gets a leading role, and he gives a powerful performance that reminds us why he's one of the most talented performers of his time. SWAN SONG is set in the near future and is an absolutely touching film that made me wonder. It is an aesthetically and conceptually stunning film. The art direction for the near future style is both entertaining and exciting. The film feels like a blend of BLACK MIRROR and EX MACHINA but with a more tech-positive perspective. It is a slow burn though. But I really enjoyed it.
SWAN SONG is available today, December 17 on Apple TV+
SUCCESSION Season 3 - Wow just wow! The third season was a masterpiece in plot development. SUCCESSION is something absolutely unique because its creator and writer, Jesse Armstrong, mixes dark humor and drama so well. A scene in this show can be as suspenseful as an epic thriller and funny as the best comedies movies. It has some fantastically acting as well. Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong both gave outstanding performances. And the same can be said about Kieran Culkin in his portrayal of Roman, whose wit and oddities provided most of the head-shaking moments on TV this year. As the season progressed, the stakes got higher defying expectations and generating existential dread for the Roy siblings' future. SUCCESSION is, without a doubt, the finest thing on television right now.
NIGHTMARE ALLEY - After charismatic but down-on-his-luck Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) makes an impression on clairvoyant Zeena (Toni Collette) and her has-been mentalist husband Pete (David Strathairn) at a traveling carnival, he and the virtuous Molly (Rooney Mara) create a golden ticket to success, using his newly acquired knowledge to defraud the wealthy elite of 1940s New York society. Stanton prepares to deceive a dangerous businessman (Richard Jenkins) with the help of a strange doctor (Cate Blanchett), who may be his most difficult opponent yet. The magic of Guilhermo Del Toro’s previous work isn't fully captured here. NIGHTMARE ALLEY has a multi-layered screenplay, a superb ensemble cast, and outstanding cinematography. However the characters are a bit flat, the pacing is sluggish and drags on. The film is overly long in my opinion and numerous scenes could have been cut or at least trimmed. Overall, I thought it was ok. Beautiful to look at but it takes forever to get to the very predictable fall of Stan. And to be honest, I had lost interest by the time it happened.
THE WITCHER Season 2
Fans of THE WITCHER should celebrate since the fantasy drama is officially back on Netflix with new episodes. The series is based on popular book series and video games of the same name. The action takes place in a magical world where a mutant character known as Geralt battles monsters and demons.
I have never read the books or played the games so I had no idea what I was getting into when I started watching the show in 2019. Season 1 left me with mixed feelings. The utilization of multiple timelines to tell its convoluted plot arc confused me. But gradually it gained pace with each episode and it grew on me. And I’m glad to say, after watching 6 episodes out of its 8-episode run that was given to me for review, that the show's rising in quality trend continues.
The second season is considerably easier to follow because there are no narrative gimmicks to throw the viewer off. Simply said, there are two separate story threads here. On the one side, Geralt (Henry Cavill) and Ciri (Freya Allan) are developing their relationship following their encounter at the conclusion of the first season, while Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) is trying everything she can to go forward with her life while she is in a tricky situation.
Visually, THE WITCHER excels once more, especially when a monster temporarily takes over the action. The set designs and costumes are great. And the writing is pretty good too. There are treats on all levels, and the viewers have many choices when it comes to storylines in the universe that the series presents to them. Personally, I am more interested when the show focuses on magic, adventures, and action than when the race war takes center stage. But it is undeniable that political discussion is an important storyline for the show as well.
Obviously, I still need to see the two remaining episodes to be able to say it more definitely, but I thought that the second season was superior to the first, which I had previously appreciated. It's not that there are so many differences from its predecessor, but it's evident that lessons have been learned from what didn't work so well before. It pushes its protagonists beyond the versions we met in 2019 into new territory. And I have the impression that it will only continue to develop even more in the next seasons.
THE WITCHER season two returns today, Friday, December 17
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.