PopCult Reviews

Movie Review – Time Bandits

Time Bandits (1981)
Written by Terry Gilliam & Michael Palin
Directed by Terry Gilliam

Over the last 20 odd years, I’ve held varying opinions on the work of Terry Gilliam and Monty Python. I can’t say I was ever a superfan of either, but I certainly have enjoyed pieces of their work. For a long time, I counted Brazil as one of my favorite films ever. The more I rewatched it, the more I cooled on that opinion, and I still regard it as one of the best movies to come out in the 1980s. I think the problem I have with Gilliam is the inconsistency of his work, especially within a single film. There will be moments of sheer brilliance followed by sloppy, amateurish content. I always feel like I am on the precipice of greatness watching his pictures, only to walk away with the sense that some vital component was missing. I first saw Time Bandits on television when I was a child, and it left an impression on me to the point that specific images were seared onto my brain after a single viewing. Revisiting the movie, I found it once again had great ideas but poor execution.

Movie Review – The Great Muppet Caper

The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
Written by Tom Patchett, Jay Tarses, Jerry Juhl, and Jack Rose
Directed by Jim Henson

By 1981, the Muppets were a scorchingly hot media franchise. Puppeteer Jim Henson had been growing a collective of fellow puppet enthusiasts since the 1950s. In the late 1960s, he was a major creative force in developing Sesame Street. Throughout the 1970s, Henson pitched the Muppets with a series of television specials. American networks weren’t interested in developing the concept into a television series; however, a British producer was. The Muppet Show debuted in 1978 on ITV and was later aired in first-run syndication on CBS. This led to the Muppet Movie in 1979, and it was clear a sequel would be in the works. Jim Henson had great ambition not just for these characters but the art form of puppetry.

Comic Book Review – Crisis on Infinite Earths Part 1 (of 9)

Crisis On Infinite Earths Part 1 (of 9)
Reviewing stories found in DC Comics Presents #78, Crisis on Infinite Earths #1, All-Star Squadron #50-52, Fury of Firestorm #41, Infinity Inc. #18, and Green Lantern #194
Written by Marv Wolfman, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Dann Thomas, and Steve Englehart
Art by Curt Swan, George Perez, Mike Clark, Arvell Jones, Rafael Kayanan, Todd McFarlane, and Joe Staton

Worlds lived. Worlds died. And nothing was ever the same again. It began with The Flash #123 (Sept. 1961) when Barry Allen discovered another Earth vibrating at a slightly different frequency than his own. This was labeled Earth-2, and here he met Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash. Garrick had become the Flash in the 1940s; historically, he was the first to bear the name. However, Garrick was a fictional comic book character in Allen’s world, the character he took his name from. This team-up would lead to an annual event in the pages of Justice League of America where the team would cross worlds and help out their allies in the Justice Society combatting their mutual villains.

Weekly Wonderings – June 1st, 2021

June is set to be a busy month for us. We’re waiting for the announcement from the European Union on Americans entering the region so we can arrange a move date (likely in July). This month I turn 40, which means I have some special blog series coming. Starting tomorrow, I will be doing a Flashback to 1981, rewatching and reviewing movies that came out the year of my birth. Starting on the 21st, my birthday, I will be doing a four-part “My 40 Favorite Movies” series. This was pretty difficult because my first draft of the list had over 200 films on it, so I had to spend May paring that down to the top 40.

May 2021 Digest

Features
My Favorite Richard Jenkins Performances
Patron Pick – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Science Fiction Masterworks – Previously Reviewed
Documentary Round-Up – May 2021
PopCult Podcast Episode 4, Episode 5

Science Fiction Masterworks – Previously Reviewed

This last month saw us take a look at many science fiction classics but there are so many I’d previously reviewed and wanted to highlight them here. Below are excerpts from my reviews with links the full write-up. Much like the Horror Masterworks series, I have more films on the list for Science Fiction in a future second series.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, dir. Stanley Kubrick)

From my review: It’s an understatement to point out what a technical achievement 2001 represents. Even today, almost every special effect and model stands up. This is a gorgeous piece of cinema that makes sure to communicate the scale and scope of man, his constructions, and the celestial bodies. Kubrick also understands the connection between outer space and our perception of the divine. The planets and moons are presented in a quasi-religious fashion with a soundtrack of meticulously chosen classical pieces that convey that awe. My particular favorite is Gayane’s Adagio by Aram Khachaturian used when the audience first sees Discovery One. I absolutely love the lonely lamenting tone of the piece, matching the distance Bowman & Poole are from their homeworld, adrift in the quiet darkness of space.

Documentary Round-Up – May 2021

Hemingway (2021)
Directed by Ken Burns & Lynne Novick

In college, I was assigned some Hemingway to read for the first time. If I remember correctly, the first piece I read was “Soldier’s Home” and then “Hills Like White Elephants.” It was explained to me by an English professor that one divided among academics & students was Hemingway vs. Faulkner. I always felt a greater affinity to Hemingway. I can’t say I read much beyond his short stories or knew much about him as a person. There was a consistent viewpoint that he was a misogynist, but I found his stories haunting & heart-aching. Two decades later, I watched this documentary and learned how complex he truly was.

PopCult Podcast Episode 5

This episode it’s a conversation about Top 5 Movies from Our Childhoods with Ariana. She goes with movies that awakened her bisexuality I go with films that inspired me to love the medium. We follow that up with a review of Clifford (1990) and a conversation about the late Charles Grodin and his films.

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.

Patron Pick – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

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

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Written by Lawrence Hauben & Bo Goldman
Directed by Milos Forman

The United States has had a profoundly complicated relationship with mental health for the entirety of its existence. Mired in the regressive repression of religion, it was seen as proper to punish those with mental illness for behaviors outside of their control and often their understanding. What existed even further beneath the veneer of tough Christian love was a focus on conformity and the expulsion of the aberrant. Those who would not conform to societal norms were verboten, sent off to die inside mental hospitals where they would be brutalized into complete psychological oblivion. This ideology inspired author Ken Kesey to write his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Late nights sitting up with patients at the Menlo Park Veterans’ Hospital led Kesey to believe these people were not insane. Instead, they did not behave within the conventions society had deemed proper, and so they had to be extricated from public existence.

Movie Review – Moon

Moon (2009)
Written by Nathan Parker
Directed by Duncan Jones

As referred to previously, cinematic science fiction has a clear demarcation line as pre- and post-Star Wars. In making Moon, first-time feature director Duncan Jones was intent on creating a world that felt like those earlier films, making sure characters took precedence over special effects. You would be right to think the setting of Moon resembles Ridley Scott’s worlds from Alien and Blade Runner. This is a very industrial world; the shiny veneer of the future was worn off a long time ago. It also evokes that sense of loneliness I’ve mentioned when discussing The Man Who Fell to Earth and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Jones is another filmmaker who sees space as a very vast and empty place.