PopCult Reviews

Media Moment (03/27/20)

We’re in for a very strange restructuring of the film calendar. Wonder Woman 1984 has been delayed from its May release to August, a month not typically seen as where studios put big tentpoles. Black Widow has been moved from late April to November (likely Thanksgiving) for its release. Production for The Batman has been indefinitely delayed, so that should come out in late 2021 or further at this point. Despite all of this, filming for Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness is set to still begin in June. It appears that this current phase of the MCU is very dependent on certain movies & shows releasing at certain times in relation to each other. Strange is set for release in May of 2021.

TV Review – Best of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Part 3

Past Tense Part 1 (original airdate: January 8, 1995)
Past Tense Part 2 (original airdate: January 15, 1995)
Written by Ira Steven Behr, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and René Echevarria
Directed by Reza Badiyi and Jonathan Frakes

Star Trek has always lightly touched upon economics, but it never really got serious about it. In The Next Generation, Picard greets Samuel Clemens, who has been transported through time and explains how in the 24th century, there is no longer currency, and people work for the pleasure of exploring their interests. All the basic needs of food and housing have been met. It’s an idyllic future and not one that is impossible if humanity would just get their act together. It’s also something explored in this very relevant two-parter from season three of Deep Space Nine.

Movie Review – Adaptation

Adaptation (2002)
Written by Charlie & Donald Kaufman
Directed by Spike Jonze

The first thing you need to know is that there is no such person as Donald Kaufman. Writer Charlie Kaufman completely fabricated his identical twin brother for the purposes of this story and then included him in the writing credits. Adaptation is a movie intended to mess with your head and not hide its commentary on storytelling, films, and narcissism. To say what this movie’s plot is about is near impossible as it composes so many layers and goes deep into the mental recesses of Kaufman.

Short Film Showcase 2020 #2

Here is another batch of great short films. We start off with Rakka, a short piece made by director Neill Blomkamp (District 9). This serves as both a piece of world building and a proof of concept for a potential larger film or series. The production value here is quite high.

Movie Review – Lorenzo's Oil

Lorenzo’s Oil (1992)
Written by George Miller & Nick Enright
Directed by George Miller

In the 1980s, young Lorenzo Odone suddenly began having strange fits and seemed to be gradually losing his faculties. His parents Michaela & Augusto, were baffled and went to numerous medical experts. Eventually, they discovered Lorenzo suffered from adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a condition where a build-up of fatty acids damages the myelin sheath on the nerves and results in seizures & hyperactivity. There were no cures, treatments, or effective therapeutics, and the Odones were offered only hospice to ease Lorenzo’s death. They didn’t settle for this and began teaching themselves everything there is to know about the condition and the brain. Eventually, they discovered that extracts isolated from olive and rapeseed oils would stop the deterioration.

Comic Book Review – Jupiter's Circle Volumes 1 & 2

Jupiter’s Circle Volume 1 (2015)
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Wilfredo Torres

Jupiter’s Circle Volume 2 (2016)
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Wilfredo Torres & Chris Sprouse

While the present-day Jupiter’s Legacy is put on pause, Mark Millar takes us back to the glory days of their parents in the pages of Jupiter’s Circle. This mostly serves as a critique of the Golden Age of Superheroes with archetypes standing in for Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, et al. If you have read a postmodern comic in the wake of Alan Moore’s Watchmen, then I can’t imagine anything here will shake you up too much. It’s pretty much as expected, an emphasis on the personal lives and tribulations of the superheroes. This is essentially Mad Men as a story about men and women in capes and tights.

TV Review – Best of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Necessary Evil (original airdate: November 15, 1993)
Written by Pete Allan Fields
Directed by James L. Conway

In the early seasons of Deep Space Nine, writers got a lot out of the Bajoran/Cardassian conflict, and this episode is no exception. Tonally, Necessary Evil presents itself as a noir centered around Odo as the gumshoe. A woman whose husband used to run a business on Deep Space Nine pays Quark to retrieve a lockbox hidden inside the walls. A stranger shoots Quark during his job and leaves the Ferengi comatose. Odo is on the scene and starts interviewing people who were on the station back during the Cardassian occupation to discover what was in the box and how it ties into his own past under Cardassian rule.

Movie Review – Lost in Translation

Lost in Translation (2003)
Written & Directed by Sofia Coppola

There’s time in life where you become vulnerable to ennui, the sense of listlessness. From when you are a child to an adult, you will periodically reach points where you question what you are doing and where you are going in life. What compounds that ease would be to feel disconnected from your surroundings, unable to communicate how you feel with others. In this time of social distancing and mandatory isolation, these feelings can be heightened. We don’t know what next year will be much less the next day. Sofia Coppola crafted a story of two people in this state, trying to make sense of life and find a direction.

Movie Review – Emma.

Emma. (2020)
Written by Eleanor Catton
Directed by Autumn de Wilde

Comedies of manners are always a popular subgenre of film & television. Shows like Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm center their entire premise around social misunderstandings and conflicts centered around etiquette. The master of this narrative is Jane Austen, whose body of work was mainly concerned with the comedy and drama that comes out of what most people would see as everyday interactions. Her novel Emma has been adapted many times, so the question for this film is, what makes it unique from the others?

Movie Review – Queen & Slim

Queen & Slim (2019)
Written by Lena Waithe
Directed by Melina Matsoukas

Queen & Slim is presented as a story of legendary figures who don’t realize that they will become icons. They are unassuming people, but the filmmaking informs us through its cinematography and a musical score that this is important. The first moments of the movie undercut these elements, two people sitting across from each other in the middle of an awkward Tinder date. It’s clear the situation is not going well, and they likely won’t see each other again after this. We learn a lot about Slim (he prays before he eats, he chose a little corner diner for their date) and Queen (she’s a lawyer whose client was just executed, she rolls her eyes at Slim’s prayer). The aftermath of the date becomes the inception of the entire film, a traffic stop by a police officer with ill intent on his mind.