Alex | Pop Culture Brain
popculturebrain
Joined 2015
94
Movies36
Shows555
Episodes
- Materialists
A romantic drama as suspenseful and compelling as a thriller. Kind of revolutionary in how it wasn't revolutionary at all.Materialists - Ironheart
A lot of good moments, performances, and surprises but pretty rote for this genreIronheart - Happy Gilmore 2
History is littered with terrible comedy sequels, but Adam Sandler somehow just defied the odds. I watched Happy Gilmore 2, which is now on Netflix, so here's the good and the bad without spoilers. This is easily Adam Sandler's best original comedy in decades, a delightful return built exclusively for fans. It's juvenile and silly in the best way possible, but it never forgets the heart. I laughed a lot all throughout, and I thought it had the perfect blend of callbacks and new jokes. There's a ton of quick running gags and even more wacky physical comedy. Sandler leans into his mature, curmudgeon persona, but remembers that Happy Gilmore is also a sad sack who's dealt with a lot of tragedy. Golfer John Daly has a very funny supporting role. Christopher McDonald is great once again as Shooter McGavin. They give him a new dynamic in this film that I really appreciated, and there are so many fun cameos from celebrities, pro golfers and Adam Sandler's friends. It feels like the golf community really embraced the sequel, which made sense for the story. Happy's sons are also hilarious, and the movie has a couple of great needle drops. As for the bad, the third act tipped a little too far into surrealism for my taste. Sandler's wife and daughters aren't the best actors. There are a lot of clips from the first movie to jog your memory, which felt very redundant to me. And likewise, there's a lot of repeated exposition, but maybe the most frustrating thing about this is that the movie’s on Netflix and not in theaters, because I think it would have played great with a huge crowd. Anyway, if you love the first movie and you're open to some silliness, you will love this. He absolutely nailed it.Happy Gilmore 2 - The Fantastic Four: First Steps
What does Fantastic Four mean for the future of Marvel? Who cares, was it a good movie? I saw The Fantastic Four First Steps so here’s the good and the bad without spoilers Here’s the headline: This movie felt like old school Marvel - phase one Marvel When the studio introduced underserved characters, built interesting worlds around them. And told compelling stories that weren’t bogged down by the future or the past Despite the fact that the Fantastic Four have appeared on film many times before They’re presented here with novelty, heart, and reverence, a giant galactus step in the right direction And that started with the incredible production design The movie’s retro futuristic style was worth the price of admission alone Hands in hand with that was the rich and textured world building Other Marvel movies have the advantage of a world that already exists But here they had to start from the ground up and it felt refreshing, interesting, and lived in Likewise, I loved the unabashed science fiction, cosmic tone The movie didn’t shy away from comic book weirdness, it embraced it to its advantage But they didn’t forget to make the movie be about something And the themes of family, doing good, and citizens standing up for each other really resonated “We don’t trade lives” definitely echoed in my head throughout Michael Giacchino’s score was excellent, epic, and intricate The cast had great chemistry With Pedro Pascal being the highlight for me He really popped Also shout out Julia Garner who was menacing and emotionally complex behind a literally cold steel character And props to the filmmakers taking some risks and doing some things that we've never seen in a Marvel movie before From rebooting the characters without an origin story to introducing a whole different world The level of difficulty here was high and they cleared it no problem As for the bad, the second act took place entirely in CGI space world Which to me was less interesting and a bit messy compared to the Earth bound stuff In general, the movie had a lot of great CGI, though a few wonky moments took me out of it And I was distracted whenever Vanessa Kirby and Joseph Quinn's accents would slip These days it seems everything is riding on every new Marvel movie Is Marvel good is Marvel bad is Marvel back is Marvel cooked And I’m getting tired of these sweeping generalizations The only generalization I can make here is I think this is a great movie and I had a great time watching itThe Fantastic Four: First Steps - Stick
A pretty good Marc Maron delivery systemStick - Tucci in Italy
He’s back and more Italian than ever.Tucci in Italy - Eddington
I hate to say it, but maybe A24 should stop writing Ari Aster blank checks. I saw Eddington, so here's the good and the bad without spoilers. In case you're not aware, Eddington is Ari Aster's new neo western set in a small New Mexico town in the summer of 2020, and it's one of those uniquely frustrating movies because you can see the wasted potential. Aster puts forth a lot of interesting ideas in this darkly comic, skewed mosaic of America during lockdown. He evokes the tension and paranoia of that time pretty well, albeit with very broad strokes and the actual plot mechanics, up until the third act, are surprising and compelling, even as he relies on archetypes and tropes. There's also that welcome dash of Aster's signature eerie weirdness, which I really appreciated and Joaquin Phoenix is solid. So is Pedro Pascal. Aster also builds a strong sense of place with the New Mexico setting. But that's where I run out of compliments because this movie is kind of a mess. In the end, Aster can't cohesively land on what he's trying to say. He's just throwing everything at the wall and hoping it amounts to something. There are scenes and sequences where I was absolutely riveted, and then other stretches where I was completely disengaged, put off by the excessive, self-indulgent filmmaking. And just when you think, okay, he's finally nailed down the big idea behind this movie, he invents some surreal nonsense in the third act that completely undercuts the first two thirds of the film. I still think Aster is a director to watch, but maybe he just needs a good editor.Eddington - Sacramento
Funny, honest, succinct study of becoming a father.Sacramento - Superman
You hear that sound? It's millions of movie fans and hundreds of studio employees unclenching their butts. I saw Superman, so here's the good and the bad without spoilers. Look, this movie should not work. It's aggressively all over the place, and yet James Gunn has actually done it. He's saved the future of superhero movies. How did he do this? By kickstarting his DC universe with a wildly entertaining Superman movie that balances the new with the familiar. And what I'm most thankful for is that he didn't insult the audience's intelligence. Gunn dropped us square into this new DC universe en media res, with everything already happening. And then he threw the kitchen sink at us. Dozens of characters, histories, locations, relationships. And he was just like “Strap in! You'll get it.” And the magic trick of the movie is that we do. With heart and humor, Gunn has invited us into his playground, and it’s as off center and quirky as you'd expect from him. Like this movie has genuine body horror throughout, but it's still relevant and evocative of Superman's grandiose canon. I'm just really impressed he was able to marry these two tones. It's new and old, broad but specific, grounded but funny. Its central messages of doing good, being kind, and helping the disenfranchized are spot on. The villains are disturbing and compelling. Nicholas Hoult is so good as Lex Luthor. The supporting cast and many characters are defined, not just plot devices. Oh, and did I mention Krypto, the very good boy? There's great use of the classic Superman theme, plus Gunn’s signature needle drops, and his action sequences are as thrilling and as well staged as ever. Plus, the CGI looks pretty good. As for the movie's flaws, the plot is kind of rickety. Some of the techie sci fi nonsense in the script felt a little muddled. And like I said, there's a lot going on here, which worked for me, but I could see it frustrating others. The bottom line, though this is a good time at the movies that actually gives me hope for the superhero genre.Superman - North of North
A warm hang with a distinct setting, rich characters and some interesting surprises. Moderately funny.North of North - Somebody Feed Phil • Season 8
Stupid Richard made his brother travel the world again and eat amazing food. Honestly, how dare he.Somebody Feed Phil • Season 8 - KPop Demon Hunters
Tuneful, thrilling action, creative animation, needlessly complicated plotKPop Demon Hunters - Jurassic World: Rebirth
It goes back to basics, delivers big thrills and Spielbergian vibes, but the human element didn't work fully and there was some cartoony cgi.Jurassic World: Rebirth - The Ballad of Wallis Island
Funny, tuneful, heartwarming, and heart breakingThe Ballad of Wallis Island - Squid Game • Season 3
In the end Squid Game got to have its cake and eat it too Squid Game’s 3rd and final season dropped today — did it stick the landing? I watched every episode so here's the good and the bad without spoilers I have a feeling these final episodes are going to be divisive But in my opinion creator Hwang Dong-Hyuk gave us a thrilling and epic conclusion That was exactly on theme for what this show is To the very end, Squid Game remained utterly compelling and captivating As the defining anti-captialist story of the streaming era It never shied away from exposing the darkness of humanity, but also the hope These 6 episodes were excellently paced with the right amount of breathing room vs propulsion It did start out a little slow but from episode 2 on, it never took its foot off the gas Just absolutely relentless, you’ll have trouble not hitting next episode The games were as diabolical, psychologically complex, and disturbing as ever And even this far into the show, it still managed to shock and surprise me at times Episodes 2 and 5 are especially brutal and well constructed The show also continued to be really good at juggling dozens of characters and their arcs And the sets and production design remained massive, colorful and upsetting As for its flaws, definitely refresh yourself on the characters and story from last season - as there’s a lot going on and not much hand holding to catch you up There was some wonky CGI in moments that took me out of it And some questionable acting from the same characters that gave us questionable acting in season 1 Ok I do want to talk about the ending which is obviously a spoiler So spoiler alert spoiler alert stop watching now if you don't want spoilers I think people are going to have trouble with Gi-Hun’s decision And that the good guys didn’t clearly triumph over the bad guys in the end But to me, this was always where this show was heading The theme of this show reflect two sides of the same coin On one side, you have Gi-Hun’s parting words: Humans are… Telling us that everyone deserves fair treatment, dignity, and to not be crushed by the system And on the other side, Hwang is telling us: The house always wins And he’s forcing us to sit in the grey area And the show’s very last scene - featuring a surprise cameo from Cate Blanchett Doubles down on the message Because it reveals that the games will go on, now in the United States And it slyly also teases the future of this franchise Netflix and David Fincher have been developing an American spinoff for quite some time So perhaps Blanchett will be a part of it? So in the end Squid Game got to have it both ways It told us there is no hope, but humans deserve a chance AND this is the end, but it’s not really the endSquid Game • Season 3
