VIOLENT NIGHT | SLOW HORSES Season 2 | HUNT
Pop Culture Weekly Round-Up 02/12/2022
Happy Friday everyone! This week’s newsletter has some thoughts on the silly but very entertaining flick, VIOLENT NIGHT, and the Apple TV+ series SLOW HORSE is back for a second season. I also talk about the South Koren movie HUNT which was directed by the SQUID GAME star Lee Jung-jae. As always there is a playlist with five songs I was listening to during the week.
QUICK THOUGHTS
VIOLENT NIGHT follows a group of mercenaries that invaded a mansion belonging to a rich family on Christmas Eve and holds everyone captive. But they are not prepared for a surprise enemy: Santa Claus! He shows up in the scene and demonstrates why this Nick is not a saint. Yes, this is just as absurd as it sounds. It adds nothing new to the "naughty Santa" trope in general. There is no character or story development, and the 1h52m length was a bit much. However, I had a lot of fun watching this flick. VIOLENT NIGHT is hyper-violent, silly, entertaining, and occasionally funny. Features some crazy and bloody R-rated strategic killings, and it is a genuinely enjoyable way to welcome in the holiday season. David Harbour is a festive treat. For me, this is A new Christmas Classic.
SLOW HORSES is back On Apple TV+, and the discredited MI5 agents are all still losers, misfits, and boozers. This new season skips the introduction and jumps right into the action - An elderly Cold War-era British spy is discovered dead on a bus. According to the official report, a heart attack. But Jackson Lamb ( Gary Oldman) is not buying this version of the story and he is worried the spy was murdered. What I liked about SLOW HORSES is that the series emphasized localized, street-level stories rather than the overblown, globally focused theatrics that frequently dominates espionage thrillers. I also really enjoy the lowlifes from Slough House. They are not as skilled in their jobs as they believe themselves to be and to demonstrate how brilliant they are, they make some silly missteps. And that is hilarious to me. the performances are all around great and Oldman is even better this time around. The series has only 6 episodes and it is a quick and fun ride. I highly recommend it.
HUNT is set at the peak of the Cold War in South Korea. And Lee Jung-jae from SQUID GAME starred, co-wrote, and directed the film. I love South Korean films and TV shows and I truly believe that the next new wave of entertainment will come from Asia. But unfortunately, despite its overabundance of insane action sequences, Jung-jae's movie is emotionally flat. The film follows two KNIS agents, working independently to find a North Korean mole within the organization. They then discover a terrible secret during their investigation and are forced to face an unbelievable assassination plan against the president of South Korea. I was intrigued at the beginning of the movie, but then I kind of lost interest due to everyone's motivation being so unclear. Also, the action was too frenetic and sometimes confusing. Jung-jae's lack of experience is most apparent in the writing. The script is quite complicated. Espionage stories are by their nature intricate, involving countless pseudonyms and double-crosses. And because he tried to clarify everything in detail, he made the film very difficult to watch.
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.
I'm glad I saw this today! "Slow Horses" was one of my favorites last year. I'm excited to red that it's back.
Also really looking forward to hearing that new Go! Team record when it comes out.