comedy – Page 10 – PopCult Reviews

Movie Review – It Must Be Heaven

It Must Be Heaven (2019)
Written and directed by Elia Suleiman

Like most artists, Elia Suleiman has specific elements he wants to continually examine, looking at them from different angles and revisiting images from his past to see if time has changed their meaning. After watching four films from Suleiman, I see how some critics would say he keeps making the same movie to an extent. These movies will always have Suleiman playing some version of himself. The persona he presents will be a nearly silent, deadpan one. The story will be told in vignettes that work in isolation but can also be viewed collectively to make something more significant. Suleiman is playing the Holy Fool and, through that lens, can observe the world in ways the rest of us cannot.

TV Review – The Venture Brothers Season Six

The Venture Brothers Season Six (Adult Swim)
Written by Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer
Directed by Jackson Publick & Juno Lee

If you weren’t around or paying attention when these seasons were aired initially, you wouldn’t understand the vast chasms of time fans had to wait for the next installment. The time between the end of season one and the start of season five encompasses eleven years. A lot happened in the world and in popular media during that time, and often, it took a little while for the show to reflect those changes. One thing I wondered when I sat down to finally watch the entire Venture Brothers series was if, at any point, the emergence of the Marvel Cinematic Universe would play a role. With season six, we finally got to that point. It is, in my opinion, the superhero season.

PopCult Podcast – Fallen Leaves/All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt

We’re back with our first two films of the year. One is a Finnish working class romcom inspired by old fashioned movies. The second is a dreamlike expressionistic exploration of a Black woman’s life in Mississippi.

Movie Review – Divine Intervention

Divine Intervention (2002)
Written and directed by Elia Suleiman

Santa Claus runs across a hill near Nazareth in a panic. He’s pursued by a gang of knife-wielding youths. He runs out of steam. They catch up with him. Everything moves so quickly. Santa looks down. The hilt of the knife extends from his chest. He stumbles back. Collapses. That is how Elia Suleiman begins Divine Intervention, another of his vignette comedies. Is this a heavy metaphor about Western culture being driven out by the Palestinian youth, a shocking, dark comedic scene to grab the audience’s attention, or both? My answer is yes.

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 – Dream Scenario

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 Matt Harris.

Dream Scenario (2023)
Written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli

I first encountered filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli in 2022 when I saw his film Sick Of Myself. While it was a stylish satire with such a specific tone that showed Borgli’s control of his picture, the underlying themes were troublesome. In that film, the director appeared to be mocking visibly disabled people on the internet. He frames it as two horrible humans feigning disability for online attention, but the big wrinkle for me is that people with disabilities are never shown in any other light. I would conclude that he’s rolling his eyes at online influencers who are rabid attention seekers? I would hope he wasn’t suggesting that people who are openly disabled online are vapid? This film also has some ideas I’ve been wrestling to pin down.

TV Review – The Venture Brothers Season Five

The Venture Brothers Season Five (Adult Swim)
Written by Doc Hammer & Christopher McCulloch
Directed by Christopher McCulloch

If you make it to season five of The Venture Brothers, you must enjoy the show. Coming off the incredible high of the season four finale, I was interested in seeing where the show went next. Season three had been concerned with building out the world and many supporting players, with Hank & Dean getting little screen time. Season Four allowed the brothers to develop into more complex characters, especially Dean, as he faced the challenges of being a grown-up. Season Five is a happy medium between these: the brothers keep developing as characters, and our supporting players pop up consistently. Doctor Orpheus and his Triad comrades are the only characters who don’t get much attention.

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.

TV Review – Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Chrimbus Special

Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Chrimbus Special (2010)
Written by Tim Heidecker, Jonathan Krisel, Doug Lussenhop, Jon Mugar, and Eric Wareheim
Directed by Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, and Benjamin Berman

I can’t say I “got” Tim & Eric the first time I saw them. That was in the context of their first show for Adult Swim, Tom Goes to the Mayor. It would be discovering their follow-up, Awesome Show Great Job, that cemented them as some of my favorite modern comedians. I would eventually revisit Tom Goes to Mayor and appreciate it immensely. I still see how their tone & style of comedy might not be for everyone, but it certainly keeps me laughing. I decided to revisit this exceptional episode of their series where they invented their own grotesque take on Christmas.

PopCult Podcast – May December/The Holdovers

It’s Haynes & Payne back at it again! In our first film, we follow an actress as she attempts to understand a couple whose lives are swamped in scandal. In the second, three people find a connection while spending the winter holiday at a boarding school.