adaptation – Page 3 – PopCult Reviews

Movie Review – Steel Magnolias

Steel Magnolias (1989)
Written by Robert Harling
Directed by Herbert Ross

The stage play-to-screen adaptation is fascinating to me. Works produced initially in the theater are restricted by money & the physical space. The original stage production of Steel Magnolias took place entirely in Truvy’s beauty salon, but we expect more movement and locations for a film. I’ve never seen a production of the play, but I felt I could still see the seams where new things were sewn on, and that wasn’t bad. It highlights how much more narratively developed the women are in this story than the male characters who don’t appear in the play. The film is much stronger when the story focuses on the relationships between the women. It falters a lot when it shifts focus to their interactions with the men.

Movie Review – Drugstore Cowboy

Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
Written by Daniel Yost and Gus van Sant
Directed by Gus van Sant

Gus van Sant joins a growing list of directors who came to the forefront in the late 80s/early 90s, and I’m not sure how I feel about them. Previously, I’d discussed this about Steven Soderbergh and sex, lies, and videotape. On the most recent episode of the podcast, we reviewed Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, and I remarked how I’m very up and down with his body of work. For Van Sant, My Own Private Idaho will forever be an impossible film to beat. It is a full-fledged American cinematic masterpiece, so I was very interested in stepping back into the film just before and seeing what he had made. A considerable section of his fanbase declares this as their favorite of his movies.

TV Review – Foundation Season One

Foundation Season One (AppleTV+)
Written by David S. Goyer, Josh Friedman, Olivia Purnell, Lauren Bello, Leigh Dana Jackson, Marcus Gardley, Caitlin Saunders, Sarah Nolen, and Victoria Morrow
Directed by Rupert Sanders, Andrew Bernstein, Alex Graves, Jennifer Phang, and Roxann Dawson

You’ve bought a reprieve, but war with Empire is inevitable. In the meantime, remember this day, remember what we’re striving towards. I know a thousand years can seem like an eternity, but it’s the blink of an eye when measured against the whole of human history, and it could so easily slip through our fingers if we’re not vigilant. – Hari Seldon (Jared Harris)

Movie Review – Jackie Brown

Jackie Brown (1997)
Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino

Saying a lot has been written about Quentin Tarantino’s films would be an understatement. I think it would be safe to say that Jackie Brown is the film the least written about or regarded with the least awe. It was the filmmaker’s follow-up to Pulp Fiction, and such “next movies” can fail to live up to eager fans’ expectations. Brown is a far more muted picture than we have come to expect from Tarantino. There are a few loud stylistic flourishes, but for the most part, the picture is entirely character-driven. The result is something that still feels very fresh despite being made twenty-five years ago. Other movies will age poorly, but Tarantino’s work always feels like it could have been made today.

TV Review – Irma Vep

Irma Vep (HBO)
Written and directed by Olivier Assayas

I can’t say I have ever been enamored with the work of Olivier Assayas. I’ve seen several of his films: Irma Vep, Summer Hours, and Personal Shopper. They are not bad films by any means, but I never fell in love with his work like I have with other directors. Having just recently watched and reviewed the original Irma Vep, I decided to check out his 2022 television adaptation of the film, wondering why he would choose to revisit this and what the project would add to the original movie. Once again, I walked away, unsure how to feel. I was not unimpressed but certainly not head over heels.

PopCult Podcast – Dune Part 2/Polytechnique

It’s all things Denis Villeneuve this week. We watched his latest, the second chapter in a legendary science fiction saga. Then we went back to see a film that garnered his first major attention.

PopCult Podcast – Mami Wata/Poor Things

In Nigeria, a woman attempts to keep her community together as massive fractures form. In a strange fantasy world, a woman attempts to figure out who she is as she speedruns through human development.

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.

PopCult Podcast – Miracle on 34th Street/The Shop Around the Corner/Christmas Sitcoms

We went to court to learn if Santa was real. Then it was quick stop to pick up some things at a general store in Budapest, before heading home to watch some classic Christmas episodes.

Movie Review – The Quiet Girl

The Quiet Girl (2022)
Written and directed by Colm Bairéad

This one got me. I could feel the lump in my throat during the first moments. By the final scene, I was a sobbing mess. Why? The Quiet Girl is a film of tremendous emotional depth, a story about empathy & human connection. It’s also a meditation on how the circumstances of life are simply not fair. Children are born to bad people. Good people lose their children in tragedies. It doesn’t feel right, but it happens. The universe can be a cold place. Yet, humans are capable of bringing great warmth into it. On top of the story, it’s a story spoken in Irish, a language moviegoers don’t often hear, a delicate, lyrical way of speaking that adds to the tenderness of the picture.