🎬 "Forget it, it's too risky."
Unlucky for some - welcome to the 13th edition of The Reel!
Estimated reading time: 6 mins 53 seconds.
A live recording of Hamilton recently debuted on Disney+.
In case you’ve been living under, beside, or in and around a rock, Hamilton is a Broadway musical from superhuman composer and lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda, which has set the world alight since its debut in 2015.
A modern juggernaut, records broken by Hamilton include earning $3.3 million for an eight-performance week in 2016, a Broadway record for eight shows.
Its $600 million lifetime gross pales in comparison to The Lion King musical, however, which has grossed over $8.2 billion dollars since premiering in 1997, making it the most financially successful entertainment event of all time.
ABOVE: “Look, Simba, everything the light touches is our kingdo- oops wait no that’s the other one. America forever!”
Some readers of this blog will know that I, too, have tasted success on the stage, most notably as Lieutenant Schrank in Trinity Musical Theatre’s 2017 production of West Side Story.
I’m sure you all remember it.
ABOVE: That’s me in the middle with the fedora. Who thinks that hands on hips is an intimidating look? I did, apparently.
Some qualitative feedback from that seminal run:
“Absolutely outstanding.” - My mum.
“What accent was that? Were you American?” - Also my mum.
“You left the toilet seat up again.” - This one’s from my mum.
“Your mother and I have been talking, and we think it’s time you move out.” - My dad.
That’s showbiz, baby. Everyone’s a critic.
Time for some reviews!
This week: West coast tensions, East coast disappointments, and the future of pop music.
🏘️ Ballsbridge this ain’t.
Boyz n the Hood (1991), film, directed by John Singleton.
One might forget Ice Cube’s chops as a dramatic actor, with his unending parade of angry performances in recent box office comedies.
But he’s one of several gut-wrenching performances in this classic crime/coming-of-age drama, Boyz In The Hood.
ABOVE: The titular boyz. Pictured, here, in the hood.
We follow a group of affable young boys in L.A. grow into unique, challenged young men, shaped by the environment and influential figures around them.
Cuba Gooding Jr. stars as clean-cut Tre, a product of his strict, loving father Furious (played by a not fat Lawrence Fishburne). Gooding Jr. brings humour and charm to what could be a forgettable role, Ice Cube is invigorating as Doughboy, and Fishburne is the cream of the crop as the wise, cool Furious.
ABOVE: When your name is Furious Styles, you can make anything cool. Even stress balls.
The “hood” plays as much of a role as the actors, and its streets are dangerous. Literally. When popping out of a BBQ to visit his father across the street, Tre saves a child from being knocked down, is confronted by a junkie, and has a gun pointed at him - all in the space of 3 minutes.
ABOVE: “Whoah whoah, Mamma Mia and Mamma Mia 2 are equally good, now let’s just leave it at that! It’s been 6 hours!”
The film crackles with an electrifying intensity from the off. It’s no surprise that this made first-time Singleton the youngest ever nominee for the Best Director Oscar (aged 24, and the first African-American nominee).
With a show-stopping ending that is no less tragic for its predictability, Boyz n the Hood is a film that more than deserves its revered, hallmark status.
Look out for: The first sparks of stars to come. Aside from the aforementioned fellas, we also see key performances from Regina King (recently the face of the Watchmen TV series) and Nia Long (among many other things, Big Momma’s House yeow).
If you liked this: Cube’s son O'Shea Jackson Jr. is as close to a clone as we’ll see in cinema, when playing his father in the excellent Straight Outta Compton. Singleton’s later efforts never came close to Boyz…, though Four Brothers is passable.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
✝️ Bless me, Father, for I have wasted my time.
The Sinner: Season 2 (2020), series, developed by Derek Simonds.
If ever a show encapsulated the phrase “quit while you’re ahead”, it’s The Sinner.
The great first season was followed by a worse second, and then the horrible excuse for entertainment that is this, the third season.
ABOVE: The morning after the night before. The dread of deciding which to check first - your account balance or your WhatsApp?
Bill Pullman’s troubled detective Harry Ambrose is back, and this time it’s suburban pretty boy Jamie (Matt Bomer) with whom he locks horns and battles wits.
Oh! My! Filler! I was regularly astounded at how this show managed to make 55 minute episodes where absolutely nothing happens.
ABOVE: “Excuse me, sir. Do you have a moment to talk about Jesus Christ?”
Just when you think the non-existent plot may be ratcheting up a notch… Actually no, scratch that, you never think the plot is ratcheting up a notch.
Because there is no plot!
There’s not even a notch!
Leave your ratchet at home, gang, this one’s a lost cause!
Don’t get me started on the central “friendship” between Harry and his suspect Jamie. I’ve never seen someone make more bad decisions than Detective Ambrose in this bungled investigation. And I maintain a detached interest in US politics!
ABOVE: I wish I stopped myself when I was on the precipice of watching the first episode. Eyy, got em!
There is a central theme of theological pessimism which had potential to be interesting if handled better.
However, this was handled about as well as any form of ball, by me, in any form of sport (i.e. poorly). When you get to the scene with Harry, Jamie and the hole, you’ll know what I mean.
Do not pass Go, do not collect $200, go straight to jail, no possibility of parole.
Look out for: Muddled metaphors and mixed-up motifs. From a strange nursery rhyme that Jamie sings to himself, to a boring child’s paper game, the writers throw a heap of assorted shit at the wall. None of it sticks.
If you liked this: There is so, so much better fare in the police procedural/tortured detective space. Broadchurch, The Killing, and The Reel’s all-time favourite, True Detective. You’ll have a better time watching an episode of CSI: Vegas while dancing barefoot on Lego.
Rating: ⭐
⏩ Quickies
Short and snappy reviews for a short and snappy time:
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020, film, dir. David Dobkin): ⭐⭐
Co-written by star Will Ferrell, and it shows. This is peak Ferrell frat humour, from extended, bizarre dialogue to man-child characters and aimless pastiche. Runs out of steam (and ideas) fairly early on, but the “21st Century Viking” is worth the price of admission.
ABOVE (Eurovision Song Contest): Thor meets Selena Gomez.
Still Life (2013, film, dir. Uberto Pasolini): ⭐⭐⭐
A strange, poignant little film. A civil servant, played by Eddie Marsan, has the unenviable job of locating the next-of-kin for the solitary deceased. It’s impressive how this manages to make you feel so much with so little, and stay with you longer than you expect. Good, but could have been great.
ABOVE (Still Life): Has there even been a more accurate depiction of life in the civil service?
Athlete A (2020, film, dir. Bonni Cohen & Jon Shenk): ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reviewing documentaries should perhaps be a separate conversation to films, so different are they as mediums. This is one of the good ones, though by “good” I mean “a horrific true story done justice by the filmmakers and conveyed well enough to have meaningful impact on the viewer.” Though that’s probably not snappy enough for the DVD cover.
📃 Quote of the Week(s)
“Any fool with a dick can make a baby, but only a real man can raise his children.”
Who else but Furious Styles in Boyz n the Hood! The Reel once called Williams in Enter the Dragon the coolest man in film - that position may have to be revised.
ABOVE (Boyz n the Hood): He’s trying to free our minds, but he can only show us the door.
📅 Previously, in pop culture…
Landmark events from the last two weeks in film and TV histoire:
Jul 1 - American screen legend Marlon Brando dies in 2004, aged 80.
Jul 2 - Airplane! is released in 1980, forever changing popular assosiciation with ordering a coffee “black.”
ABOVE (Airplane!): Surely this can’t be serious? Well it is serious. And don’t call it Shirley.
Jul 11 - Orange Is the New Black premieres on Netflix in 2013. It goes on to become the first series to be nominated for both comedy and drama Emmy awards.
Jul 13 - The Hollywood sign is erected in LA in 1923. It originally reads "Hollywoodland" but the last four letters are dropped after renovation.
✅ Th-th-that’s all, folks.
Thank you very much for reading!
As restrictions continue to loosen on COVID-19 lockdown, it’s important to remember a few golden rules.
Wear a mask in shops and on public transport.
Don’t have parties (unless I’m invited).
Continue to share The Reel!
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My thanks this week to Reel stalwart Grainne Denihan for her suggestion of Still Life!
If you’d like to get in touch, you can find me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and you can reply directly to this email. 🤙
Thanks again, and I’ll see you in two weeks!
xxx
Previous Reels:
🎬 Jun 25 - Everest, Top Gun, Star Trek, Skyscraper.
🎬 June 10 - He’s Just Not That Into You, Little Fires Everywhere.