PopCult Reviews

TV Review – Succession Season One

Succession Season 1 (HBO)
Written by Jesse Armstrong, Tony Roche, Jonathan Glatzer, Anna Jordan, Georgia Prichett, Susan Soon He Stanton, Lucy Prebble, and Jon Brown
Directed by Adam McKay, Mark Mylod, Adam Arkin, Andrij Parkeh, Miguel Arteta, and S. J. Clarkson

American television has a history of focusing its dramatic television shows around the wealthy. Look back at programs like Dallas or Dynasty, glamorizing the soap-operatic lifestyle of the rich and powerful. Today, we have “reality” television programs that consider themselves “aspirational,” look at Bravo or E! In the same way, that shows like Duck Dynasty exist to mythologize and push a false narrative of “working class,” the shows about the rich are intended to teach people that these grossly extravagant people earned their money fairly and lead such satisfying, full lives. Writer-director-producer Adam McKay has had enough of glamorizing the rich and decided to make a series that subverts our expectations.

My Favorite Music of 2019

I am still working on finding the right language to use when talking about music, but I still find the best way to share why I love a song or album is to just present you with it. Here are some tracks I listened to a lot this year. There’s some pop music you’ve probably heard mixed with a lot of tracks you probably missed. I’ve also included a few music videos I enjoyed as well.

My Most Anticipated Films of 2019 – A Look Back

Blossoms (dir. Wong Kar-wai)
Changed to a web series, yet to be released.

Brightburn (dir. David Yaorvesky)
Great concept, terrible execution. Check out my review.

Climax (dir. Gaspar Noe)
Some people love it, others despise it. I found it entertaining and wonderfully weird. Check out my review.

Comic Book Review – Doomsday Clock

Doomsday Clock (2017 – 2019)
Reprints Doomsday Clock #1-12
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Gary Frank

In 2016, when DC Rebirth hit the stands, it became clear that DC Comics was working towards some crossover between their universe of characters and the Watchmen reality. For the next year, the event was teased in smaller stories, but the details remained obscure. What we knew was that Doctor Manhattan has some role in the New 52 reboot of the DCU, a 2011 line-wide decision to try and revitalize the characters. It appeared to be an in-universe way to explain why such drastic changes happened and why certain characters vanished.

Best of the 2010s – My Favorite Television Part 4

555 (2017)
John Early and Kate Berlant became two of my favorite comedic talents during the 2010s. They met while doing stand up in New York and shared the same sensibilities. That leads to some of the best videos on YouTube and eventually, this limited series on Vimeo. 555 is five episodes centered around people who work in the entertainment industry. They are at different levels from a child actor to two self-centered executives to actors in a class. The other common thread is that these people are insanely self-absorbed and will passively-aggressively try to one-up each other to the point of absurdity. There is a beautiful line that gets crossed in every episode where it goes from awkward to the stupidest people in the world trying to impress each other. No one else can hit this type of comedy as well as Early & Berlant, and I want more.

TV Review – The Mandalorian Season One, Episode Eight

The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Season One, Episode Eight – “Chapter Eight: Redemption”
Written by Jon Favreau
Directed by Taika Waititi

It comes down to a shoot out in the streets, a showdown with the man in black, the sacrifice of one to save the rest. The Mandalorian gives in to its Western roots most completely in this season finale. Dyn Jarren is pinned down in a cantina with Cara Dune and Greef Karga. The odds are not in their favor as the Imperials set up some devastating weapons. But we know that despite how many times he gets knocked around or has his ass handed to him, Jarren always seems to luck out.

Movie Review – Little Women (2019)

Little Women (2019)
Written & Directed by Greta Gerwig

There is a moment early in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women, where aspiring author Jo and her new friend Laurie are dancing on the front porch of the house where a party is taking place. The characters are lost in the silly joy of the evening in a way that is entirely genuine. The music is playful alongside them, and I couldn’t help but find myself smiling, totally absorbed in that piece of the story. This is how it feels throughout this version of Louisa May Alcott’s novel, a celebration of life that doesn’t hide the fact that bad things still happen. How we use those tragedies to inform our understanding of ourselves is what matters.

Best of the 2010s – My Favorite Television Part 3

Over the Garden Wall (2014)
Born out of the inspiration that Adventure Time brought to Cartoon Network, Over the Garden Wall is a mini-series following two brothers wandering through a mysterious forest and encountering strange people. The series was created by Patrick McCale, who had previously worked on Adventure Time and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. Over the Garden Wall is a deep dive into the Americana aesthetic of the 19th & early 20th centuries. Many musical numbers consist of pre-1950s phonograph recordings. You’ll be reminded of early animation from the 1920s & 30s in many of these episodes. There’s such a remarkable charm to this show that few animated series possess. It’s funny while being genuinely terrifying at moments, enigmatic and wistful. It’s a program that understands what nostalgia actually is and how that feeling is different from reality. Our protagonists drift through abstract forest landscapes emerging into the dreams and fantasies of others, interacting for a while before being pulled into another story.

Comic Book Review – Black Hammer Volume 4: Age of Doom Part 2

Black Hammer Volume 4: The Age of Doom Part 2 (2019)
Reprints Black Hammer: The Age of Doom #7-12
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Dean Ormston & Dave Stewart

What makes someone a hero? A colorful costume? A suite of superpowers? A catchy name? Jeff Lemire brings us a story about the ultimate sacrifice to give up your life and hopes to save the rest of reality. He plays with the metafiction of writing superhero comics, revealing a world where ideas never came to fruition. The continuity reboot also gets examined as we see what happens when our heroes forget who they were and have to rediscover their heroic identities.

Movie Review – Starfish

Starfish (2018)
Written & Directed by A.T. White

One of the best ways to bring people into a fantastical story, such as in the science fiction or horror genre, is to ground that narrative in human conflict and emotions. We can’t relate to being in the middle of a world-ending cosmic event or being chased by otherworldly monsters. However, the audience can connect to feelings like loss, guilt, the list goes on. Starfish, despite being a sometimes surreal movie, keeps its feet firmly planted in the realm of the human psyche. Now, if it succeeds in conveying a compelling narrative to the audience is another question entirely.