Estimated reading time: 6m 42s.
What do TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Netflix have in common?
Well, aside from being internet apps, with incredibly high user bases, and the potential to destroy modern society as we know it, they also now all host short-form video content in a personalised feed:
If you're sick of Shorts, tired of TikTok, and all Storied out, then pop into Netflix and have a few Quick Laughs™️! Only recently added to Android, these lil' clips will make you laugh so quick and so hard, you’ll forget there’s a world outside to explore and real human connections to make!
I’ve watched Quick Laughs only once, and for a total of about 5 minutes. TikTok, on the other hand, has a hold on me unlike any other app, human or goddamn thing in the world.
Until QL can serve me up disparate humour of the highest quality like this, I’ll be sticking with couch boy and the rest of Gen Z.
This week: Funny boys, funnier girls, and an extremely unfunny sand party.
🍻 Beer is the mind-killer.
Dune (2021), film, directed by Denis Villeneuve.
Not to get all “wElL aCtuAlLy I’vE rEaD tHe BoOk” on you, but may I first inform you that I have actually read the book Dune?
Now that we’ve established that I consider myself to be better than you, may I say that Frank Hubert’s 1961 novel has its slow moments and is rarely accessible, but is an undeniable masterpiece of science fiction.
Dune the movie is exactly the same, and perhaps even better.
The first of two parts (second one confirmed this week), Dune is a thematically sophisticated, visually stunning and beautifully designed film.
Timothée Chalamet leads an utterly ridonkulous cast in a tale of warring royal houses and interstellar political intrigue set on an inhospitable desert planet, with a good old-fashioned “Chosen One” prophecy thrown into the mix.
Chalamet is particularly brooding among a cast that is mostly brood; Jason Momoa brings some welcome warmth as charming warrior Duncan Idaho, but it’s a terse affair aside from that. Star Wars: The Force Awakens this is not.
Speaking of warriors, you might as well call French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve the hitman, because he does.
Not.
Miss.
His filmography is looking destined to be the cinematic equivalent of ABBA Gold — 100% bangers, bar none:
Dune may well be his crowning achievement to date.
It’s not an easy slog at times, and the dense terminology makes some of the concepts difficult to grasp (unless you’ve read the book like me 😎).
But if you like sci-fi, cinematography, sexy young men, or good films, then you will love this shit.
Look out for:
Poor Zendaya only gets 7 minutes of screen time in the film, so she fails to make much of an impression. Rebecca Ferguson as royal matriarch Lady Jessica is much more the female lead, and a brilliant one at that. Oscillates between steely and tormented with every scene, and is never less than believable.
If you liked this:
Apple TV’s much-fêted sci-fi series Foundation is 8 episodes deep and rapidly fading into obscurity, but it’s worth checking out for some more lovely visuals and epic scale. Trinity College Dublin (alma mater of The Reel and where he learned how to pretend to be pretentious) features in episode one!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🤠 Cowboys, Ted, a bunch of cowboys.
Ted Lasso: Season 1 (2020), series, developed by Jason Sudeikis.
This Way Up: Season 1 (2019), series, created by Aisling Bea.
When I was 16 I had to teach a group of pre-teens how to sail, off the coast of Ireland, in extremely stormy conditions, on my own, through Irish.
I did not know how to sail.
I decided to demonstrate for them in a boat while they waited on the shore (and I brought one of them on the little boat with me, why??).
As you might imagine, upon unfurling the sail, myself and poor Diarmuid were instantly swept out to sea. We had to be rescued by someone on a powerboat.
The premise of Ted Lasso is not dissimilar — Jason Sudeikis stars as an amateur American football coach completely out of his depth, hired to manage fictional English football team AFC Richmond in the Premier League.
Ted Lasso suffers majorly from what I call the “Michael Scott syndrome”. In The Office (US), at least 75% of the best comedy comes from Steve Carell’s lead character. In Ted, 95% of the same comes from Sudeikis. He is hilarious, but when he’s not on screen you can call this show Neymar, because it takes a dive.
Of much better quality is (cmonireland) Aisling Bea’s brilliant series This Way Up on Channel 4.
It gives Fleabag a run for its money in the emotions department, and might actually be funnier than Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s modern classic.
Bea, who is fast becoming a national treasure, writes and stars in a comedy-drama about London-based sisters Aine (played by Bea) and Shona (played by the incredibly consistent Sharon Horgan). The chemistry between these two is poppin’, like one of those Willy Wonka crackling chocolate bars but actually nice and doesn’t want to make you shit yourself.
Ted is amiable if inane, but This Way Up is truly brilliant. All bias aside, of course. ☘️
Look out for:
Does a more putrid theme song exist than Ted Lasso’s, written and & performed by Marcus Mumford? A show’s theme should establish the tone of what’s to come. The only tone this establishes for me is that broken glass looks delicious and maybe I should eat it.
If you liked this:
Everything Sharon Horgan touches turns to gold, no more so than the peerless Catastrophe. Keep your eyes peeled for Jason Sudeikis in the never-televised SNL skit “Dear Sister”, which justifiably became one of the show’s most successful sketches due to the power of l’Internet.
Ratings: Ted Lasso ⭐⭐⭐, This Way Up ⭐⭐⭐⭐
⏩ Quickies
Short and snappy reviews for a short and snappy time:
Jumanji: The Next Level (2019, film, dir. Jake Kasdan): ⭐⭐⭐
When he’s not pumping iron, featuring in rap songs, or getting up at 4.30am yesterday, Dwayne “Lil Rock Boy” Johnson can usually be found in some kind of jungle environment. Call me a basic bitch but I love these films. They aren’t challenging and they have Jack Black, and sometimes that’s all a guy needs.
28 Days Later (2002, film, dir. Danny Boyle): ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Zombies, and soldiers, and baddies, oh my! The spookiest I got last weekend was watching this alone well after 9pm. It actually is quite scary, but then again it does take verrrry little to scare this little soldier. (The Forbidden forest scene in Philosopher’s Stone? No thank you, I’ll stick to Friends.)
The Guilty (2021, film, dir. Antoine Fuqua): ⭐⭐⭐
Not to get all “I’vE aCtUaLlY sEeN tHe oRiGiNaL” on you but as someone who has actually seen the original and therefore thinks he is much better than you, may I implore you to watch the vastly superior Den skyldige instead. This is pretty good for a remake, but why wear Roy Benz when you can wear Ray-Bans?
📃 Quote of the Week(s)
Aine: “A man goes mental, and all of a sudden, he's Bob Dylan with a fucking guitar. But a woman has one more emotion than she should, and all of a sudden, I'm Lindsay fucking Lohan.”
Can I get a holla for male privilege? Aisling Bea in This Way Up.
✅ Th-th-that’s all, folks.
Thank you very much for reading!
Like Marmite, mustard or murder, this blog isn’t for everyone. If you have suggestions on how to improve it, I’d love to hear it!
For any feedback or comments, you can find me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and you can reply directly to this email. 🤙
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Thanks again, and I’ll see you in two weeks!
Gogzibear
xxx
📅 Previous Reels:
🎬 Oct 13 - No Time to Die, The Many Saints of Newark, Stath Lets Flats.
🎬 Feb 10 - Nomadland, Sound of Metal, WandaVision, Babyteeth.
🎬 Jan 27 - The Mandalorian, The Prom, Captain Fantastic, The Boys.
📒 Catalogue:
You can find a list of all previous review scores (and opening movie lines!) here.
🎙️ Podcast:
I’ve also published 10 episodes of my film review podcast Movies (And A Rap) — you can listen on Spotify here.