PopCult Reviews

Movie Review – Billy Madison

Billy Madison (1995)
Written by Adam Sandler & Tim Herlihy
Directed by Tamra Davis

I loved this movie when I was 14-18 years old. It had been almost two decades since I last watched it, and I was wondering if it would hold up. The Adam Sandler presented on movie screens then was very different from the version of him we get now. Most of the time, you get Sandler in an adult/parent version of his old persona, more cooly disaffected and still yelling a lot. Other times you get a performance that challenges your preconceived notions of him (Punch-Drunk Love, Uncut Gems). But this was the baby Sandler, fresh off of Saturday Night Live and playing a particular Generation X comedy schtick.

Media Moment (04/09/20)

We are in Hell at the moment. Well, the verge of falling into the pit. Between corona and the bubbling up of a new Great Depression, times feel rough. Here are some tv shows you should binge during this time of isolation. They may not make you feel better, but they are damn good and quality television.

Dark (Netflix, two seasons, the third season coming this summer)
Dark is a German production about the small town of Winden. The city was plagued by child disappearances sporadically since the 1950s and another one has just occurred. The series follows teenager Jonas whose father has just committed suicide. Jonas is dealing with his personal grief as well as the unfolding mystery in his hometown. Dark will absolutely surprise you with where it goes, but it can scramble your brains with the twists and turns. Every episode is actually fast-paced and chock-full of character development and information. If you were a fan of the strange places Lost went to during its six-year run, then Dark will scratch that itch.
Check out my reviews of Season One and Season Two.

Comic Book Review – The Wicked + The Divine Book 2

The Wicked + The Divine Book 2 (2015)
Reprints The Wicked + The Divine #12-22
Written by Kieron Gillen
Art by Jamie McKelvie, Mat Lopes, Stephanie Harris, Kate Brown, Brandon Graham, Matt Wilson, Leila Del Duca, and Tula Lotay

My big question reading through The Wicked + The Divine is “why?” Why are these gods returning? I assume that will be answered before the series is over, but not having some progress towards this makes it a little frustrating. One thing that does move the reader toward a better understanding of individual characters by giving spotlights and backstories to them. We get to see Tara; finally, a god spoken about but absent in the first collection, and her origins are quite interesting, primarily how she interfaces with her audience and deals with being a goddess.

Movie Review – Kindergarten Cop

Kindergarten Cop (1990)
Written by Murray Salem, Herschel Weingrod, and Timothy Harris
Directed by Ivan Reitman

I am an elementary school teacher. Recently, I began thinking about the way my particular pocket of education is portrayed in film. You can find lots of movies about high schools and teenagers, but what does Hollywood say about the younger kids and their teachers. So, while we are trapped inside avoiding the vile corona, I will be watching about half a dozen movies that touch on elementary school, reviewing them as films and then analyzing them as a teacher. To kick things off, we have the oft memed Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Kindergarten Cop.

Twin Peaks: The 30th Anniversary

It was thirty years ago tonight that the world was introduced to the small town of Twin Peaks. I was only eight years old going on nine when I sat in my living room in Smyrna, Tennessee, and watched this scary, funny, strange thing unfold before me. I couldn’t quite understand it all at the time, but I knew there was something powerful in what I was seeing. This was like watching a fairy tale, the world was somewhat familiar but also another strange place. For the next thirty years, I would find myself obsessed with the show.

Movie Review – Gretel & Hansel

Gretel & Hansel (2020)
Written by Bob Hayes
Directed by Oz Perkins

We all know the impact of the Brothers Grimm and their collected and retold fairy tales. The tropes in these narratives have permeated not just popular culture but the human psyche as well. The stories speak to something very primal in us all, our first exposure to horror when we are children veiled by the sweetness and light of cherubic illustrations. But we all know when you look at the core of these tales, they are dark and twisted, warnings from ancient times to kids about what they should be scared of. Hansel & Gretel is one of the primary stories that have manifested itself again and again. Here, director Oz Perkins reimagines the story with Gretel as the elder sibling whose journey into the woods parallels her own frightening path into adulthood.

Movie Review – System Crasher

System Crasher (2019)
Written & Directed by Nora Fingschedit

This is a difficult movie to write about because it touches so close to the things I encounter in my daily life. I am a public school teacher in the United States, licensed for elementary education. I have taught 3rd grade for the last five years out of the nine I’ve been a teacher. Before that, I worked as an AmeriCorps reading tutor, substitute teacher, and student-teacher since 2006. No matter what public school you enter in this country, there is a very high chance you will encounter at least one student the breaks all the supports in place, a child that feels wholly broken. This is almost always a result of abuse that stems from the parent’s psychological condition, poverty conditions, or a mix of both. System Crasher is the story of this student.

SXSW Short Film Festival @ Home – Narratives Part 1

Still Wylde ***
Directed by Ingrid Haas

Gertie finds out she’s pregnant and breaks the news to her boyfriend, Sam. They go through the typical fears and excitements of parents to be. The short is an emotional roller coaster that veers between both comedic and dramatic. These are definitely late Gen X/Millennial people, and the comedy comes out of the social signaling of those demographics. The ending, however, suddenly shakes off those tropes and reminds us how some experiences are universal, no matter when you are born. It’s a fine short film, but a little light sitcom-y for my tastes.

My Favorite Screwball Comedies

The Palm Beach Story (1942, directed by Preston Sturges)

From my review: This is the ur-text of screwball comedies, every core element boiled down to its purest essence. There are pratfalls galore, windows getting smashed, and people confusing each other for others. It exists as both an ode to the comedies of mixed-up identities from Shakespeare and commentary on the late stages of the Great Depression. This film will inspire future pictures like Some Like It Hot and Intolerable Cruelty, but it doesn’t put on airs of being profound or world-changing. This is a pure character-centered comedy that understands how important it is to have a diverse variety of roles.

Movie Review – Unfaithfully Yours

Unfaithfully Yours (1948)
Written & Directed by Preston Sturges

At one point in his career, Preston Sturges was the third highest-paid man in America. He knew his value by 1944 at Paramount and began making more demands, throwing his weight around. After some poor business investments in Los Angeles, he started borrowing more money from family and friends. His good friend Howard Hughes even bankrolled Sturges’ venture as an independent filmmaker with California Pictures, a pay cut but also a higher level of control that made others in Hollywood envious. With all this success and prominence came a decline in quality and consistency. Sturges worked best when he has a force to butt heads with, but given complete artistic freedom, he began producing subpar work. After a series of flops, Sturges was no longer a creator people sought out, and he would have one more moderate hit before everything came crashing down.