1990s – Page 7 – PopCult Reviews

PopCult Podcast – Babe: Pig in the City/Happy Feet

George Miller, creator of Mad Max, has made some pretty good family fare. This week we look at one which is a pig’s wild adventure in urban environs and the other is a jukebox musical about penguins.

Movie Review – Chronicle of a Disappearance

Chronicle of a Disappearance (1996)
Written and directed by Elia Suleiman

I don’t have a large platform, though it has grown significantly in the last year. I don’t assume that many eyes see what I do here. However, I feel an obligation to do something regarding the ongoing genocide of Palestinians, something that began in 1948. Because I focus on media, I thought a film series spotlighting Palestinian cinema might do some good. At minimum, it would elevate some pieces of art that deserve to be seen. In early 2020, when the Trump administration assassinated Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani, I saw a rise in the old Islamophobia I remembered seeing in my college days. In response, I did a series spotlighting Iranian films. I’m glad I did. I think Iranian filmmakers have been doing incredible work for a long time. With the vitriol and rancor towards Palestinians eclipsing anything I saw in 2020, I decided to do this.

Patron Pick – Girl, Interrupted

This special reward is available to Patreon patrons who pledge at the $10 or $20 monthly levels. Each month, those patrons will pick a film for me to review. If they choose, they also get to include some of their thoughts about the movie. This Pick comes from Bekah Lindstrom.

Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Written by James Mangold, Lisa Loomer, and Anna Hamilton Phelan
Directed by James Mangold

I was surprised when I saw this film was directed and co-written by the filmmaker behind such pictures as Logan and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. A memoir adapted to film about an emotionally troubled teenage girl living through the tumult of the late 1960s didn’t seem like what I expected from Mangold, but I learned Winona Ryder brought him onto the project. She got the ball rolling on this film after reading the book of the same name by Susanna Kaysen, who Ryder would play in the picture. I wish I loved this movie, but I would be lying. The subject matter should make me invested, but ultimately, the directorial choices and the acting, in particular, held me back from becoming emotionally invested. Ariana said while we were watching that the acting reminded her of a slightly more mature Disney Channel original movie.

TV Review – Knowing Me, Knowing Yule

Knowing Me, Knowing Yule (1995)
Written by Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Patrick Marber, and Rebecca Front
Directed by Dominic Brigstocke

The British have a word: “prat.” The definition I could find states: “very stupid or foolish.” I don’t think many characters could serve as a living definition of that word better than Alan Partridge. Partridge is the creation of actor/comedian Steve Coogan. This perennial television host is meant to encapsulate all the phony, idiotic behaviors your average TV presenter exhibits in the UK. I don’t think it’s too far off from some of America’s hosts.

PopCult Podcast – The PopCult 2023 Halloween Spooktacular

It’s night of classic tricks & treats as our intrepid hosts dress up and go door to door. It seems like some of what they find is well worth the effort, but other things are getting some houses tp’ed.

Comic Book Review – Batman by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale Omnibus

Batman by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale Omnibus (2018)
Reprints Batman- Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special, Batman- Madness–A Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special, Batman- Ghosts–A Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special, Batman- The Long Halloween #1-13, Batman- Dark Victory #0-13, Catwoman- When in Rome #1-6 and a short story from Superman/Batman Secret Files & Origins 2003
Written by Jeph Loeb
Art by Tim Sale

There is no dearth of Batman comics at DC these days. Since his debut in Detective Comics #27, followed by a media push with his 1966 TV series and the cultural phenomenon of Batman 1989, the character has only seen his presence grow. It makes sense that DC Comics would publish so many Batman-related books because they ultimately sell. However, with such an increase in quantity comes a lack of quality. The incredible Bat-books are not typical, so when you find them, they shine brighter than the rest. Writer Jeph Loeb & artist Tim Sale not only created one of the best Batman stories of all time (The Long Halloween), but they followed up with two more fantastic mini-series (Dark Victory and Catwoman: When in Rome). This omnibus collection combines those three plus the one-shot Halloween specials that started it all, making for one of the best value oversized collections you could pick up.

PopCult Podcast – Little Shop of Horrors/The Faculty

We continue our Halloween celebration with two creepy tales of invasions from beyond. In the first, our aliens strike in the form of flesh-eating plants. In the second they take on the role of authority figures in a high school.

Movie Review – The Silence of the Lambs

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Written by Ted Tally
Directed by Jonathan Demme

There are many glaring omissions in my film-viewing life, and this was one of them. I’d seen bits & pieces of The Silence of the Lambs over the years. Channel surfing in my twenties led me to see Clarice & Hannibal’s chats in prison, Mr. Lecter’s fantastic escape, and Clarice’s showdown in the labyrinth of Buffalo Bill. Yet, I had never seen the picture from start to finish while having seen the sequel Hannibal, 1984’s Manhunter, and the second version of that in Red Dragon. I’d also watched the first season of Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal. It seems silly that I’d never managed Lambs in total, so I decided to amend that for the horror season. Was it good? Of course, it was. It was also a reminder of how much this film impacted the crime/thriller genre for the rest of the 1990s and into the 2000s.

Movie Review – The Exorcist III

The Exorcist III (1990)
Written and directed by William Peter Blatty

Exorcist II: The Heretic was a disastrous flop for Warner Bros. During the premiere, the original novel’s author recalled laughing out loud moments into the film starting. It seemed he would have his response in the form of a third film only years after the comical sequel. Even the first film’s director, William Friedkin, was on board with Blatty’s concept and how it would continue the story. Then creative disagreements broke out and came to the point where Friedkin left the picture.

Patron Pick – Philadelphia

This special reward is available to Patreon patrons who pledge at the $10 or $20 monthly levels. Each month those patrons will pick a film for me to review. If they choose, they also get to include some of their thoughts about the movie. This Pick comes from Bekah Lindstrom.

Philadelphia (1993)
Written by Ron Nyswaner
Directed by Jonathan Demme

I don’t really gravitate towards “issue” films. You know, the type of movie. It’s centered around a pressing social issue and dramatizes it in a way that appeals to mainstream audiences. These types of films often shave off the rough edges to not make the audience feel too uncomfortable. That defeats the purpose of bringing up the topic in the first place. Feeling discomfort when contemplating something like prejudice is the correct way to feel. We must examine our unconscious biases to become better people, open our arms wider, and accept people for who they are. I’m not saying it is always easy, but it is necessary to be the best version of yourself and help humanity as a whole. Philadelphia was a film I wrote off as that sort of “issue” movie. I’ve never entirely understood Tom Hanks’s appeal so that probably moved me away from it too. Boy, was I wrong about this movie, though still correct regarding a few things.