2021 – Page 14 – PopCult Reviews

Weekly Wonderings – May 3rd, 2021

We’re into May, which means a brand-new month of stuff on the blog. All throughout May, I’ll be reviewing Science Fiction Masterworks. Like I did with horror in October, these are science fiction films considered to be exemplars of the genre or movies I feel capture the essence of some science fiction element. I’ve already reviewed The Day the Earth Stood Still and Terminator 2. Coming up will be Akira, Solaris, Fantastic Planet, Videodrome, Predator, They Live, Gattaca, Aliens, Robocop, Forbidden Planet, Planet of the Apes, The Man Who Fell To Earth, and Moon.

Additionally, I have a round-up post planned of all the Science Fiction Masterworks I’ve previously watched and reviewed on the blog. Top 5 Science Fiction Movies will also be a segment on the upcoming episode of the PopCult Podcast. Patrons over on Patreon have already gotten early access to that segment over the previous weekend.

April 2021 Digest

Features
Patron Pick – Chef
PopCult Podcast Episode 2, Episode 3
Book Update – March/April 2021
My Favorite Richard Jenkins Movies

My Favorite Richard Jenkins Movies

It’s my 2,000th post on PopCult, and I thought I should celebrate it by looking at the best performances of Richard Jenkins. His birthday is on Tuesday, May 4th, and this year he’ll be turning 74. Jenkins was born in DeKalb County in Northern Illinois. His dad was a dentist, and his mother was a housewife, giving Jenkins a reasonably typical childhood in the 1950s. Jenkins discovered acting in high school and pursued it in college at Wesleyan University and then worked with a theater company in Rhode Island. Jenkins stayed with the Trinity Repertory Company until 1994, making his time with them twenty years. The last four years of that time he spent as their artistic director. What I love about Richard Jenkins is how he is a consummate character actor. He rarely steals the spotlight, but when his characters are given a focus, you are floored. Jenkins does comedy just as well as he does drama which is a rare skill in performers. Here are some fantastic performances he’s given over the years.

Book Update – March/April 2021

The Glassy Burning Floor of Hell: Stories by Brian Evenson

I am a big fan of Brian Evenson’s short stories, having read A Collapse of Horses and Song For the Unraveling of the World. He exists in that space that perfectly defines weird fiction. It’s not quite horror or science fiction or fantasy but a great amalgam of them all. This book isn’t officially out until August, but I came across a post on r/horrorlit linking to Edelweiss where they were offering a free copy-protected Kindle download. It definitely appears that the text isn’t officially formatted entirely yet. However, the writing is so good any visual blips fade away. The stories here are just long enough, never overstaying their welcome and unsettling the readers perfectly.

Weekly Wonderings – April 26th, 2021

I am starting to feel the excitement and anxiety of the move more. This weekend it was announced that Europe would be allowing U.S. citizens to enter the country sometime this summer which lines up perfectly for the rough timetable we have. It sounds like there will be a standardized vaccine certificate needed, and we both have had our shots, so just waiting to learn how we apply to receive those credentials. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to make such a significant change, but I know it will be worth it. I talked with my wife this weekend and said I don’t think I can spend the rest of my life in the United States. It just doesn’t seem this country is interested in fixing health care problems, racism, and everything else that is plaguing us right now.

Movie Review – Mortal Kombat (2021)

Mortal Kombat (2021)
Written by Greg Russo and Dave Callaham
Directed by Simon McQuoid

I was never a Mortal Kombat fan. In our house, we had an NES for the longest time and only upgraded in the late 1990s to a Playstation. I haven’t really enjoyed the fighting games I have played. It’s a genre that doesn’t appeal to my sensibilities. I get bored with those kinds of games a few minutes in but can click away for hours at Civilization or some tycoon management sim. However, because I was the right age for it, I know a decent amount about Mortal Kombat just through culture osmosis. I can’t say I had any expectations for this adaptation, and it definitely met the bar I set for it.

PopCult Podcast Episode 3

The latest episode of the PopCult Podcast is here.

I change the format up by cutting the solo segments with me and keeping as all conversation between myself and Ariana. The episode clocks in at over an hour and a half so there’s a lot still there. We start things off by sharing our Top 5 Underrated Movies lists and then have a conversation about the highly controversial Them (Amazon Prime).

We’d love to know what you thought of this episode so leave your comments here or leave a voice message on our Anchor page. We might share your comment on an upcoming episode of the show.

You can listen to the podcast here or on Spotify or Google Podcasts.

TV Review – The Falcon and Winter Soldier Episode 6

The Falcon and Winter Soldier Episode 6 (Disney+)
Written by Malcolm Spellman & Josef Sawyer
Directed by Kari Skogland

So the second MCU mini-series on Disney+ has come to an end, and I was severely underwhelmed by this one. If you have been following my reviews here, you already know I have had significant problems with the show on character & thematic level. All of my dislikes sort of came together in this disappointing final episode which goes back to well-tread moral territory that Marvel has trafficked in since they became filmmakers. There is the illusion that progress is being made, but any rudimentary look at what actually happens in this episode affirms that nothing has really changed.

Weekly Wonderings – April 19th, 2021

The journey of our eventual move keeps trucking along. This week has seen a significant upsurge in selling off furniture and belongings. I’ve been selling board games on eBay; I sent one out this morning with two more going out tomorrow. We have a person coming over to purchase a coffee table and couch. It’s feeling nice to see things emptying out. Once pretty much everything is clear, then we have some house flippers interested in buying the place. I have no problem pitting them against each other and see what the best bid we can get is. We get these mailers every week, and we’d much rather do this than go through the realtor situation.

Movie Review – Violation

Violation (2021)
Written & Directed by Madeleine Sims-Fewer & Dusty Mancinelli

I have not seen A Promising Young Woman, but I think this film covers the same ground and goes a lot more extreme than what I know of that picture. It isn’t a success, though, and ultimately I felt very cold and unmoved, which was not what I expected going into the film. Violation is undoubtedly stylish in its structure and visual choices, and I think they distracted from the humanity of the characters for me. I’m never one to shy away from a brutal and incendiary film because, at the end of the day, it will evoke some emotion. Sadly, what I felt most after this picture was boredom and a distance from the characters. There are some fabulously well-acted moments, but overall, the movie falls apart.