In many ways, Paul Thomas Anderson’s first film is similar to Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown in that they’re both slow-burning character studies that have the hook of being a crime thriller (there’s also the fact that Samuel L. Jackson plays the antagonist in both films).
Philip Baker Hall’s Sydney feels like an unusual character at first, taking random bum John underneath his wing, mentoring him in gambling and helping him form a romantic relationship with a cocktail waitress. Sydney’s intentions aren’t disclosed until three quarters into the film when it is revealed that he murdered John’s father during his career as a gangster and is looking to atone by providing a father figure for the younger man. The scene that proves to be the most interesting on rewatch is when Sydney is forced to deal with a botched hostage situation that John orchestrated. Sydney’s attitude is that of a frustrated parent, berating John for his stupidity but bailing him out regardless.
A decade from creating his most famous picture There Will Be Blood, PT Anderson faced massive strife from his producer Robert Jones and Rysher Entertainment over the film’s length and title (it was originally named Sydney, but was changed to Hard Eight due to concerns that viewers would mistake the title for the city in Australia). The film’s original ending had Sydney killed by the victim of John’s failed hostage situation upon exiting the diner where the film’s opening scene took place. Instead, the ending is much more ambiguous and open-ended. Sydney sits at the table alone after assassinating Jimmy and notices blood on his cuff link, which he quickly covers with his sleeve. For readers of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the symbolism is both on the nose and fitting for the movie’s theme; as much as Sydney tries, he will never be rid of that “damned spot”.
Recently, a disgruntled Naughty Dog employee has leaked a debugged version of The Last of Us Part II online, pretty much giving away the game’s plot, level design, cutscenes, etc. In response to this leak (presumably), Naughty Dog has announced a new release date for The Last of Us Part II on June 19.
I may or may not have discovered a spoiler about the plot that I hope to God isn’t true. Suffice it to say, this blog post is both a way for me to share my frustrations with the online community as well as to warn fans of the game to steer clear from sites such as Youtube, Reddit and ResetEra. Please respect the wishes of the developers, programmers, art directors, basically everyone who has had a hand in this game and don’t look for these spoilers. In the event you can’t help yourself, please don’t spoil the game for anyone else.
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There was a certain point during the movie where I wondered if somewhere there was a longer, more detailed cut of the film that J.J. Abrams cut down in post-production. Right from the traditional opening scrawl, the film thrusts us into the action without giving us enough time to slow down. The film tries to sell Rey, Finn, and Poe as the new Luke, Leia, and Han, but not enough screentime from the previous films was dedicated to showing these characters interacting. Finn is mentioned as having a crush on Rey, only for that subplot to go nowhere beyond a few scenes where he attempts to convey his feelings to her (to say nothing of his relationship with Rose, whose character only receives a minute and a half of screentime after her role in The Last Jedi).
The first half feels like a series of fetch quests with no room for reminiscence by the characters. New characters are introduced only to vanish until the climax. The major story beats feel like a retread of the original films (The Force Awakens at least had the excuse of being the first new Star Wars in a decade). Rey is related to the Emperor! Rey is tempted by the dark side! Rey has conversations with the ghost of her deceased mentor! If The Last Jedi was a subversion of the standard Star Wars tropes, The Rise of Skywalker tries too hard to come back to them. Another problem the film has is the number of times it teases the death of a certain character, only to reveal that they’re still alive.
The performances range from good to stellar. Ian McDiarmid returns to his role as the Emperor with the same menace he brought before. Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver are able to convey so much of their relationship with just their facial expressions and the late Carrie Fisher is as sterling as ever, even if her scenes feel hastily cut and edited. Abrams’ large-scale set-pieces are always welcome, yet too often it felt like I was watching a video game adaptation for the film, as cliché as that statement sounds.
I’m usually on the fence when it comes to superhero movies, given the argument over whether or not they can truly be considered great cinematic art. Regardless, Avengers: Endgame is a truly remarkable finale to ten years worth of storytelling.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood(Quentin Tarantino)
If there’s one director whose work I’ve sought out this year, it’s definitely Quentin Tarantino. The ultimate lover of all things cinema, his penultimate flick is basically a love letter to the golden age of movies. And what a love letter it is.
Parasite(Bong Joon-ho)
Bong Joon-ho’s Palm d’Or-winning film tells a tale of class-based differentiation while also being a family drama, a comedy, and a horror film all at once. Go see it while it’s still playing in limited theaters.
Us(Jordan Peele)
Jordan Peele’s second film isn’t as genre-bending as his first film, telling a more straightforward slasher flick in lieu of Get Out’s blend of black envy, trauma and racism. Despite this, the confidence of Peele’s vision as well as the dual performance of Lupita Nyong’o makes this as good of a sophomore effort as I’ve ever seen.
The Irishman(Martin Scorsese)
Scorsese’s three and a half hour epic is a farewell poem to the gangster genre he helped to bolster with some of its’s greatest films. From the story to the performances to the editing, The Irishman deserves serious consideration as this decade’s The Godfather. And yes, I’ve seen it in one full sitting.
Honorable Mentions:
Spider-Man Far from Home(Jon Watts)
The first MCU film to be released following Endgame is an entirely different beast from the ones that preceded it, borrowing heavily from the teen comedies of the 80’s for a more light-hearted approach. It definitely pays off.
Joker (Todd Phillips)
Whether or not you think this is a good or bad film, no film this year has generated as much controversy as Todd Phillip’s take on the infamous comic character (I even wrote my term paper on the film!). That, along with Joaquin Phoenix’s operatic performance, grants this film at least a spot in this section.
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (Vince Gilligan)
Vince Gilligan’s conclusion to Jesse Pinkman’s story sets out to exactly what it promises to do, with the same level of craft that was given to it’s parent show.
Ford v. Ferrari(James Mangold)
One of the ultimate “bro” movies, with great chemistry between Christian Bale and Matt Damon
Television
Total Count: 16
Lodge 49 (AMC)
The second season of AMC’s regrettably cancelled oddball dramedy is one of the most purely optimistic shows I’ve watched in a long, long time. Boasting a cast of fully-realized characters that are simply looking for direction in their lives, Lodge 49 has a little something for any casual TV viewer, whether it’s the larger mystery surrounding the titular fraternal order or simply watching the characters bounce off of one another.
When They See Us (Netflix)
Based on the infamous Central Park Five case, Ava DuVernay’s four-episode miniseries is grueling and uncompromising in every facet of its production. The finale, featuring Jharrel Jerome playing an older version of his character, is a bleak yet rewarding episode of television.
Barry(HBO)
It could’ve been so easy for Barry to fall into the same rut so many sophomore seasons of television do. Bill Hader’s masterful black comedy crime drama had such a tightly knit first season it could’ve ended with that and no one would’ve begrudged it. Season 2 of Barry manages to dig deeper into the titular character’s psychology through the writing and Hader’s performance while deepening the supporting cast in a way that manages to feel like a logical continuation from where the previous season left off.
Better Things(FX)
Pamela Adlon’s one-woman show seems poised to become the new Louie, ironically fitting given her involvement with its disgraced creator on both shows. Fears that Better Things wouldn’t be able to sustain its quality after CK’s departure proved unfounded, as Adlon’s autuerial vision served its audience the best season yet in terms of filmmaking and structure.
Russian Doll(Netflix)
Created by the collaborative team of Natasha Lyonne, Amy Poehler and Lelsye Headland, Russian Doll‘s eight-episode sci-fi loop is easily to digest in the list of Netflix originals that suffer from bloat and demands multiple rewatches to fully admire it’s audacity.
Watchmen (HBO)
Not content to rest on his laurels even after creating one of the best television shows of all time, Damon Lindelof caps off the decade with a nine-episode miniseries that serves as an unofficial sequel to Alan Moore’s groundbreaking comic book. With an amazing cast, excellent writing and flawless direction, Lindelof stays true to the source material while also taking liberties with it to tell a touching story about racial tensions and what it means to wear a mask.
Mr. Robot(USA Network)
I was lukewarm on Mr. Robot for the first two seasons, but a quick binge of Season 3 in time for the fourth and final season made me much more amenable to creator Sam Esmail’s vision. Known for its homages to the styles of Fincher, Kubrick and Hitchcock, the final season of Mr. Robot goes all out in terms of visual and narrative structure, bolstered by Rami Malek’s unforgettable lead performance.
Honourable Mentions:
The Magicians(Syfy)
Season 4 wasn’t as tight or consistent as Season 3 was, but it still boasted one of the series’ finest hours, “The Side Effect”, as well as the most emotional rendition of “Take On Me” I’ve ever seen.
Cobra Kai(YouTube Premium)
By far, my guiltiest pleasure of the year, the YouTube Premium’s second season lacks the shock-of-the-new Season 1 had, but is still as enjoyable to watch, thanks in no small part to the performances of William Zabka and Ralph Maccio.
Bojack Horseman(Netflix)
The decision to split the final season into two halves causes Season 6A to feel more like setup than anything else, losing the experimental edge of the previous seasons’ standout episodes, but manages to mark Bojack’s redemption with a sense of finality all while reminding us that our favorite talking horse won’t be getting the classic Hollywood ending he wants (nor does he deserve).
Game of Thrones(HBO)
There are indeed a number of issues with the final season of HBO’s juggernaut fantasy epic that prevented it from making it onto the full list. In spite of this, it’s still impossible to deny that this was one of television’s biggest shows, both in terms of scale and in how people discussed television as a community.
Video Games
Death Stranding(Sony)
Hideo Kojima’s new project isn’t just a videogame. It’s also a fully motion-captured interactive movie and a statement about the condition of the world today. It’s far from perfect and the only reason I can see myself going back to it in the future is to gather all of its collectibles, but this is without a doubt my pick for Game of the Year as well as a a game that will hopefully inspire future game developers going into the next decade.
Judgement(SEGA)
SEGA’s spiritual successor to the Yakuza series doesn’t do much to differentiate itself from the former, but still proves to be a lot of fun with a gripping murder-mystery and numerous side activities. Hopefully, this will be the stepping-stone for a new game series.
Resident Evil 2 Remake(Capcom)
2019 was a Renaissance year for Capcom, releasing a complete remake of Resident Evil 2 as well as Devil May Cry 5. Similar to the GameCube remake of the original, Resident Evil 2 Remake keeps what made the original PlayStation game so successful, but also manages to make the gameplay much more accessible for it’s audience by using the control scheme that made Resident Evil 4 the high peak of the franchise.
Sekiro Shadows Die Twice(FromSoftware)
The fact that I’m not even halfway through the game should prove to be a testament to the game’s difficulty as well a reason to exclude this game from being eligible for my list. FromSoftware’s samurai action-adventure game is every bit as challenging and rewarding as it’s earlier work, borrowing from previous games while introducing enough new mechanics to make it its own thing.
Parasite tells the story of the Kim family, an impoverished family of four whose only form of entertainment is the wifi they can just barely bum off of their upstairs neighbor. Salvation comes in the form of the Parks, an extremely wealthy family that are conned into hiring the family’s son, Kim Ki-Woo, as a math tutor for their daughter. Seeing a way out of their financial situation, Ki-Woo is able to get his sister Ki-jeong a job as an art tutor and before long, the family is scheming to get the Parks’ driver and housekeeper fired for the parents to swoop in and take their place. To say anything more would spoil the best part of Parasite but suffice it to say, it’s completely earned and shows just why this film deserved the Palme d’Or.
This is admittedly the first film by Bong Joon-ho that I’ve seen but what struck me the most about his direction is how fluid and economical it is. There’s not a scene that goes by that feels overdrawn or unnecessary and he manages to tackle a variety of different genres, whether it be a screwball comedy, heist or disaster film. To say nothing of the screenplay co-written by Joon-ho and Jin Won Han, which draws an excellent discussion on class warfare and the differences between the Kims and the Parks. In their own way, both families are equally reprehensible and pitiable and are played by a stellar cast, with special notice going to Cho Yeo-jeong and Song Kang-ho.
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I will be updating this blog with lists for my favorite TV shows, video games and possibly movies I’ve watched this year. These could include entries that haven’t been released in this specific year.
I decided to post some of my thoughts on the Season 2 premiere of Lodge 49.
* The opening scene is appropriately insane. The in media res is one of the more tricky storytelling devices but in the case of this show, it only fuels excitement for what’s to come. My favorite part was the running Omni Capital Partners mascot with his head(?) on fire.
* Dud’s snake bite has apparently healed during the time he was recuperating from the shark attack. The pool shop is now being run by a hopelessly out of touch upper middle class family. From a thematic standpoint, these changes help put a pin in Dud’s Season 1 storyline.
* Speaking of new beginnings, Shamroxx is condemned after a brief and hilarious scene involving a rat infestation at the place. I really don’t see any reason for this was done other than to have an excuse to have Liz’s former coworkers around for more comic relief.
* Dud meets Daphne Larson, a pro-bono lawyer who offers her services to help Dud get reparations for his injuries.
* Just like Dud, we’re left in the dark about what went down between Ernie and El Confidente, but whatever it was, it’s enough to make Ernie distance himself from both the Lodge and his promise to Dud. Brett Jenning’s monologue about the difficulty of returning to a normal life after daring to strive for something greater hit hard. As Dud shows in the final scene though, for some people it isn’t so hard.
* Similarly, Sonya Cassidy’s performance hit hard, particularly her scene with Reese where she confesses that she has no idea what she wants to do with her life now that her father’s debts aren’t holding her back financially.
* Scott’s already making a poor impression as the Sovereign Protector, forcing everyone to pay their bar tab in the wake of the lodge’s probational period. Connie’s storyline is less clear about what it is meant to entail, other than delving into the history of the Lodge.
* This show is great with small details, from the reappearance of the Omni Capitols mascot on Liz’s new boss’ desk to the owl Dud seemingly buys at random from Burt’s only to gift to Alice at the end of the episode.
Truly special television makes you think. I can’t see myself rewatching When They See Us anytime soon, but it still spoke to me regarding its themes of racism and injustice. While Lodge 49 is a much more lighter show (figuratively and literally), it still reached out to me with its nuanced take on what it means to live your life desperately searching for a purpose.
Lodge 49‘s protagonist is a laid back ex-surfer named Sean Dudley, played by an ever charismatic Wyatt Russell. Virtually homeless ever since his father’s passing and subsequent loss of his house, Dudley stumbles upon a ring that leads him to the Order of the Lynx, a fraternal order dedicated to the studying of alchemy. There he meets Ernie Fontaine, a plumber who is the practical inverse of Wyatt but is also filled with a longing for a more meaningful life, overlooked at work in favor of his much younger co-worker. Rounding out the ensemble is Dudley’s sister Liz, a former lawyer-in-training who now works at an Irish-themed breastaurant.
Disillusionment is a major theme in Lodge 49. A promising surfer whose career was cut short due to a snake bite, Dudley drifts through life aimlessly, racking up debt at the local pawn shop and sneaking into his former house to go swimming. He sees the Lodge as a means of attaining purpose and becomes one of its most devoted disciples, treating it more as a religious experience than a simple club . Liz is haunted by her late father’s unpaid debts and is clearly unsatisfied with slaving away at Shamroxx. The most stable of the characters in terms of finances, Ernie is carrying on an affair with his high school sweetheart, Connie, who’s a member of the lodge alongside her husband, Scott, the latter who’s competing with Ernie for the title of the next Sovereign Protector
The story moves along at a leisurely, dream-like pace. Anything close to a main plot comes in the season’s second half, when the lodge’s current Sovereign Protector Larry passes on and the members are faced with the likeliness of the lodge being shut down by Lodge 1. The show’s theme of disillusionment continues with the revelation that Larry was the one responsible for the lodge’s financial problems. The airport manufacturer Orbis hangs over the characters like a specter, being another reason for the character’s financial problems and teasing a mystery in the form of a mysterious “Captain” (played with wonderful charm by Bruce Campbell) who is revered as an almost God-like figure that could help save the lodge, only to prove himself to also be a false idol who is fittingly impaled on a narwhal tusk.
The season finale acts as a cleanser for our characters. Dudley finally takes steps to better his own life and comes to peace with his father’s possible suicide, Liz clears her father’s debt, Ernie comes to terms with his now defunct relationship with Connie (who is dying of cancer) and Jocelyn, the emissary sent to close the Lodge, makes an impassioned speech that convinces the board to keep Lodge 49 open. In the season’s final scene, Dudley returns to the water only to be attacked by a shark (paying off a theory Dudley made about how his father may have died). Dragged to the shore and surrounded by his friends, Dudley sees his dad smiling proudly and then smugly tells a terrified Liz, “I told you it was a shark.”.
Just to make something clear right off the bat, I wasn’t one of those people who thought that the first season of Stranger Things was the best television I have ever watched…. in fact, I didn’t get around to watching it until its second season came along. Expectations can be a bitch when it comes to generating hype. On one side, you have viewers who praised Ozark as the new Breaking Bad. On the other side, you have the TV critics that derided it for attempting to replicate the success of that show and becoming nothing more than a shallow copy.
This was basically the case with Stranger Things. Don’t get me wrong, the first season of Netflix’s ’80s throwback got much better reviews than Ozark, but there were still the well-respected critics of that strained to make it clear not to herald it as the next coming of television. So I pretty much pushed the show into the backlog of shows I was already planning on watching until the second season showed up a year later. Looking at the general consensus of Season 2, which was much more shakier than Season 1, I figured I’d blast my way through all 17 episodes just to see what I thought. And I pleasantly enjoyed it. It wasn’t mind blowing television , but it was an enjoyable blend of 1980s pop culture that didn’t take itself too seriously.
Season 3 deals with the concept of growing up and moving on from childhood. Mike and Eleven’s relationship is still going strong and they’ve been spending more time with each other than with their friends, as Will bitterly points out in the premiere episode. Add in the Lucas/Max relationship (which sadly doesn’t get nearly as much of a spotlight as Mike and Eleven’s) and Dustin’s camp romance and poor Will* is left in the lurch, trying to relive their glory days of playing Dungeons & Dragons in a basement. Having served as the show’s resident punching bag for the past two seasons, Will is thankfully spared a third time yet he still must face up to the fact that his friends and their priorities are changing, whether he likes it or not.
The same applies to the rest of the characters as well as the town of Hawkins itself. A new mall has opened up, putting Joyce’s store out of business and forcing her to confront the very real possibility of moving her family to another town. Jonathan and Nancy are out of high school and are working at the local news post, where Nancy is repeatedly harassed by a blonde creep who would be best friends with Joey from Mad Men Season 4. Elsewhere we have Steve Harrington, whose success peaked in high school and is now scooping ice cream with former classmate Robin. And finally, we have Hopper, whose overprotectiveness of Eleven and fears of being distant lead to him putting a wedge between her relationship with Mike.
The looming threat of the Mind Flayer ends up drawing all of the characters together once more and forcing them to put aside their differences to deal with a more important threat. If the first two seasons mainly riffed material from Spielberg, then this season borrows from the works of David Cronenberg and John Carpenter, with a splash of James Cameron thrown in for good measure. Rats explode into puddles of gore in a manner similar to Scanners and eventually fuse into a pulsating red monster straight from The Thing. A subplot involving the Russian government leads to a Terminator-esque assassin pursuing Joyce and Hopper throughout the back half of the season.
If I had to name one thing about Stranger Things that I like other than the action scenes, it’s the unexpected character pairings. Steve and Dustin were a comedic highlight last season and the Duffer Brothers give them their own storyline separate from the main path in which they investigate a secret military base with the help of Robin and Luca’s sister Erica. Maya Hawke plays the role beautifully, acting as the straight man to Steve’s oaf and Erica serves as the group’s Wolverine, showing herself as wise beyond her years while clashing with Dustin over what the critieria for being a nerd actually constitutes.
Another pairing that was fun to watch is the one between Eleven and Max, the only two females of the Party. Watching Max encourage Eleven to do normal “girl” stuff such as go shopping and torment their on-and-off boyfriends is such a joy to watch. The same can’t be said for the pairing 0f Joyce and Hopper, which once again is a “will-they-won’t-they” dynamic that makes Hopper an even bigger asshole than he was before as he pettily needles Joyce for not showing up to a date.** Fortunately, we have Murray Bauman and newcomer Alexei to save this subplot as they start off as firm enemies only to slowly bond over the luxuries that America has to offer.
Unfortunately, not all of the characters get the same kind of focus. In addition to the aforementioned neglect of the Lucas/Max relationship, Nancy and Jonathan start off with the season’s weakest storyline as they attempt to navigate life post-high school, which is soon forgotten once about they’re caught up to date on the Mind Flayer. Too often, it feels like a commentary on how women are treated like in a male-dominated workplace (once again, Mad Men). Billy, who served as a mostly one-dimensional bully last season, is given more depth as he is forced to suffer the possession of the Mind Flayer and relive memories from his tragic childhood in a sequence that doesn’t even attempt to be subtle. Cary Elwes plays the slimy Mayor Kline but he never truly comes into his own as a character and is mainly an excuse to cheer whenever Hopper and Joyce decide to punch him.
The season ends with a suitably climatic confrontation in the Starcourt Mall with giant monsters, fireworks and best of all— a hilarious rendition of the theme from The NeverEnding Story. By the end of the battle, Billy and Hopper are dead (though let’s be honest, the latter will probably show up next season one way or another) and the Byers move away after the closing of Joyce’s store. Eleven, once again an orphan, receives closure for her relationship with Hopper in the form of a letter that encapsulates the season’s themes of growing up and dealing with change. As the door closes for good on the Byers’ house, so does another season of Stranger Things, which for better or worse, once again accomplished what it set out to do.
*It’s pretty clear they’re setting up for a future storyline in which Will identifies himself as gay.
**This might just be me, but David Harbour’s acting whenever he’s supposed to be angry, mainly with Joyce and Eleven, gives me the impression he’s literally one drink away from behaving like an abusive parent/spouse.
Thoughts on Things That Interest Me 