🎬 "They bought it. Incredible!"
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). Welcome to the 15th edition of The Reel!
Estimated reading time: 6m 40s.
Christopher Nolan’s Tenet was released last week.
It might prove to be one of the most confusing big-budget films ever made.
Nolan has a history of difficult rides. Inception is an obvious precursor to Tenet, but the latter’s time-bending narrative makes the former look like child’s play.
ABOVE (Inception): What walking down Harcourt St feels like after a few too many shandies in D2 hahah amiright.
After months of pandemic troubles, something a bit easier on the brain might have been more appropriate, and welcome.
However, it is not the most confusing piece of video I have ever seen.
That accolade belongs to this Starburst ad:
Next time someone tries to tell you how Tenet works, tell them you’re a little lad who loves berries and cream.
Then we’ll see who’s really confused.
Time for some reviews!
This week: Aforementioned incomprehensibility, a very naughty, very sexy Northerner, and some particularly potent power-pills.
🤿 A man, a plan, a canal, Tenet.
Tenet (2020), film, directed by Christopher Nolan.
One positive element to Tenet’s opening is that it did indeed open. After numerous delays, we finally have a major new release in cinemas.
One negative element is just how difficult it is to understand.
I saw it twice (once with subtitles), and still needed to do some online research to decipher what actually happened in this spy action bonanza.
ABOVE: Robert Pattinson coming straight out of the Trinity arts block.
John David Washington (son of Denzel, very strong genes) stars as a CIA agent drafted into a secret war against mystery antagonists, with some kind of time travel at the heart of the conflict.
Washington has received flak for his somewhat bland, emotionless performance. Indeed, much of the film has been said to be quite lifeless.
We must, however, put this into perspective. The majority of these characters are seasoned professionals accustomed to life-threatening (and indeed world-threatening) situations - don’t expect them to shit themselves every time they see a gun.
ABOVE: Check out Lidl’s new mask range, now with built-in oxygen supply!
The film is a visual masterpiece. From stunning Bond-esque locations to bombastic action scenes, there is never a dull moment on-screen.
Unfortunately, where your eyes will feast, your ears will explode.
It is loud. In my first viewing, at least 60% of the dialogue was either muffled or completely inaudible. In a film that uses phrases like “temporal pincer movement” as frequently as my nephew picks his nose, it’s fairly important that you can hear everything being said.
ABOVE: Me and the missus on a wompy one in Italy, big ups Leo for the green list.
If you can invest yourself in it, it is really an excellent film. The first act is as good as any spy movie from the last 20 years, and the ending (without spoiling) is satisfactory and rewarding.
Just be sure that your physics knowledge and lip-reading skills are up to scratch.
Look out for: Ludwig Göransson’s booming score is a more-than-passable Hans Zimmer impression (just a pity that it’s the only thing you can hear). Robert Pattinson is swiftly becoming every Basic Film Boy™’s favourite actor - expect that to intensify with his starring role in The Batman next year.
If you liked this: Eliza Debicki plays a very similar role in The Night Manager, an enjoyable series with considerably more accessible secret agent hijinks than Tenet. Want some more Nolan madness to tickle your brainwaves? Forget Inception - Memento is his next best mind-melter.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
⛏️ We are ready, we are ready, for The Fall.
The Fall: Seasons 1-3 (2013-16), series, created by Allan Cubitt.
Everyone loves an antihero.
Ryan Reynolds has broken box office records as Deadpool, Clint Eastwood has made a career of playing morally dubious leading men, and there’s something awfully alluring about that Despicable Me fellow with the wonky nose.
The Fall’s Paul Spector, however, takes it to a new level.
ABOVE: Why does his beard make him look like that, and mine makes me look like I don’t use electricity?
The aggressively good-looking Jamie Dornan plays Spector, a mild-mannered therapist in Belfast who we discover, in the opening scene of the series, to be a truly evil, ritualistic serial killer.
Over the course of three seasons, Spector is hunted down by British police bigwig Stella Gibson, played by the aggressively good-looking Gillian Anderson.
Never has a series made me question my judge of character quite like this one. Despite knowing that Spector is a sadist and murderer, we still root for him to wriggle his way out of every brush-in with the law.
It’s a testament to Dornan’s performance, previously a male model superstar with few acting credits to his name.
ABOVE: “Who’s a sexy, competent and inspiring garda, who’s a sexy, competent and inspiring garda, na na na na!”
Despite the gripping plot, the series is remarkably formulaic. Once you’ve seen one episode, you’ve almost seen them all:
Stella gets in trouble for her unorthodox methods.
Two disparate scenes are juxtaposed (a murder with sex, a conversation with a body dissection).
Spector kills someone.
Repeat for most episodes.
However, the care and detail afforded to every element of police procedure, without any handholding for the audience, is laudable.
ABOVE: You couldn’t manage her if you tried! Also, what are your thoughts on electricity?
Best of all is the way in which Spector is presented to us. No punches are pulled with his murders, nor are we spared touching scenes of him interacting with his family.
It’s this element that edges The Fall above most of the standard crime dramas that you’ll find on Netflix.
Look out for: How much the child actors age between seasons 2 and 3. If we are to believe the chronology of the show, the poor things must have gone through puberty in about six hours. Also, Aisling Bea gives a dramatic turn in one of her earlier TV roles (c’mon Ireland).
If you liked this: I would happily watch Gillian Anderson watch paint dry, so it’s a bonus that her performance in Sex Education is such a delight. For another murder mystery where the killer is revealed early on, watch Al Pacino and Robin Williams in Insomnia (bloody Christopher Nolan again!).
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
⏩ Quickies
Short and snappy reviews for a short and snappy time:
The Interpreter (2005, film, dir. Sydney Pollack): ⭐⭐⭐
If the life of an interpreter was really this interesting, I wouldn’t have given up German after the Junior Cert. Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn are smooth in this stylish, unremarkable thriller. Threatens to be great at times, but settles on middlingly good.
ABOVE (The Interpreter): [In French] “I can’t be quite sure, but I think he said: “F*ck you, Deputy Stagg, f*ck you.””
Project Power (2020, film, dir. Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman): ⭐
What a colossal waste of time. Netflix serve us up yet another dud of an original action feature. Unlike The Old Guard, which at least had some striking action scenes, this looks like it was made using in-game footage from Grand Theft Auto III. Avoid.
ABOVE (Project Power): Donald Clarke of the Irish Times gave this four stars. Out of five. Four out of five. Are you well?
Love on the Spectrum (2019, series, cre. Cian O'Clery): ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Did you ever watch and enjoy The Undateables, but worry it was exploitative? This is the show for you. Hilarious without being inappropriate, Love on the Spectrum follows autistic youths in their search for love, profiling each individual and their families as much as the dates they go on. Warmed my ice-cold heart.
📃 Quote of the Week(s)
“I’ve already decided on the perfect wedding ring for my partner. In the form of a crown.”
Michael in Love on the Spectrum sets the bar for all future grooms.
📅 Previously, in pop culture…
Landmark events from the last two weeks in film and TV histoire:
Aug 27 - Walt Disney's Mary Poppins premieres in Los Angeles in 1964, in the most delightful way.
Aug 28 - English actor Ed Skrein pulls out of a role in the movie Hellboy in 2017, after whitewashing criticism.
ABOVE (Hellboy): Skrein received plaudits for pulling out of a role that was originally drawn as a Japanese-American.
Aug 29 - Netflix is founded by Marc Randolph and Reed Hasting in 1997, as an online DVD rental business.
Sep 4 - In 2006, legendary Australian naturalist Steve Irwin (The Crocodile Hunter) is attacked and killed by a stingray, aged 44.
✅ Th-th-that’s all, folks.
Thank you very much for reading!
Do you think Tenet is the stupidest film ever made?
Are you repulsed by Jamie Dornan’s looks?
Would you like to get to know me a little better, and just see how things go?
Please get in touch!
I’m always open to feedback and movie/TV suggestions. 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!
Basic Film Boy™ 2843, signing off.
xxx
Previous Reels:
🎬 Aug 19 - Chewing Gum, I May Destroy You, The Old Guard.
🎬 July 15 - Boyz n the Hood, The Sinner, Eurovision Song Contest.