🎬 "You poor little fella."
The Fox and the Hound (1981). Welcome to the 14th edition of The Reel!
Estimated reading time: 7 mins.
An itch I’ve had since the beginning of lockdown was finally scratched last week: going to the cinema.
ABOVE: Ah, sticky surfaces, stale smells, and fumbling around in the dark. Just like my teenage bedroom!
But how did that experience compare to the norm?
Let me tell you:
There was no pic’n’mix (understandably). Instead there was the option of pre-packaged selections (much mix, no pic), split into “sweet” and “sour”. I went for “sour”, which was about as sour as a Weetabix, and roughly 40% chocolate. Who selected these contents? Please dismiss them with immediate effect.
There were no new releases (again, understandably). Our choices included Batman Begins, Despicable Me and the first Harry Potter. Three Knuts and a Sickle for whoever can guess what we saw.
There was virtually no one there. I counted 8 other people in our screen.
It was an enjoyable experience nonetheless, the highlight of which was one person standing up and shouting “F*ck Slytherin!” during the pivotal House Cup ceremony scene.
Nobody laughed.
I personally think it was the funniest thing I’ve ever done.
Time for some reviews!
This week: Creative mastery, immortal assassins, and one very secure room.
🤳 Move over PWB, there’s a new sheriff in town.
Chewing Gum (2015), series, created by Michaela Cole.
I May Destroy You (2020), series, created by Michaela Cole.
As a man firmly in his mid-20s, I get a frequent sense of inadequacy when seeing the exploits of others.
This was not the case in my teens. Seeing a fresh-faced 22-year-old tearing it up on a rugby pitch once filled me with hope.
“That could be me one day!”
Now, however, I think it’s safe to assume that I won’t be capped for Ireland in my lifetime.
The same is normally true for creative excellence, but watching Michaela Cole instils in me more awe than malaise.
ABOVE: The new Phoebe Waller-Bridge? She just needs a $20M-a-year exclusive deal as she’s all set.
Cole is a creative tour-de-force. Similarly to Phoebe Waller-Bridge, she wrote and performed a successful one-woman stage show, which she then adapted for television.
That was 2015’s Chewing Gum, a colourful sitcom set in a block of London flats. Cole plays Tracey, a young woman from an intensely religious family who wants to have sex, party and learn more about the world.
ABOVE: Not even the most pious among us would dare question Queen B’s divinity.
Cole’s performance and writing are manic and energetic, punctuated with London slang and swiftly escalating situations.
The religious and shackle-breaking elements swiftly fall to the wayside, but the strength of Cole’s writing and quirkiness still sit it a cut above the rest.
I May Destroy You is a different beast entirely. Coming five years after Chewing Gum, the only similarity is its pop-art title card, which matches the bubblegum colour scheme of Cole’s first effort.
Here Cole plays writer Arabella, a cooler, more mature and confident character than Tracey. Arabella suspects she has been spiked and sexually assaulted on a night out, and the series follows her search for the truth.
Ostensibly a comedy-drama, I May… goes further to explore the trauma and fallout of sexual assault than any series before it. It is devastating, melancholic, and honest, while still managing to be darkly comedic.
ABOVE: Finally, a show that includes phones for what they are in millennial life: ever-present in every single situation, always.
Primarily dealing with consent and sexual assault, the series also comments on race, social media, dating apps, cancel culture and more. You’d think such a range of topics would be covered thinly, but each is captured and explored incredibly well.
The most common adjective people have for this series is “powerful”. That only scratches the surface.
The best series I’ve watched this year.
Look out for: One 2004 flashback episode contains a rake of classic bangers, including the timeless “Babycakes”. My personal favourite YouTube channel, Kurzegaut, also makes a few appearances - this video in particular has a crucial role in Arabella’s development.
If you liked this: It’s easy to suggest Fleabag, as the similarities between PWB and Cole (and indeed Fleabag and Chewing Gum) are many. However, I May Destroy You is truly without peer, based on Cole’s real-life experience of sexual assault. Read this article about the impact it’s had on some viewers.
Rating: Chewing Gum ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I May Destroy You ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
⛏️ C’mere t’me, ye aul guard ye.
The Old Guard (2020), film, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood.
There was a time when comic books and superheroes were not cool.
In fact, quite the opposite.
I know this as I myself was (and still am) a comic book fan, and I was (and still am) not cool.
Pictured: Alex Gogarty in the year 2043, with his prized comic book collection. Not pictured: His wife, as she does not exist.
While my interests haven’t changed, the invasion of comics into popular culture has exploded since the early 00s. The Old Guard is one of umpteen recent comic book adaptations, with even umpteener on the horizon.
Not strictly a superhero tale, Greg Rucka’s original series followed a team of immortal mercenaries operating in the shadows of the present day. The film, scripted by Rucka, is a faithful adaptation, its cast led by all-time bo$$ b*tch Charlize Theron.
Much like Umbrella Academy and The Boys, The Old Guard has a limited existing fanbase - it doesn’t have the weight of a Marvel or DC universe behind it.
In the case of the former two, this allowed for creative freedom and a refreshing approach. Unfortunately in The Old Guard’s case, we got the opposite - a derivative and bland action film.
ABOVE: Jean Wick.
The pacing is irregular, the soundtrack is clunky, and everyone aside from Theron might as well be called Exposition Source 1, Exposition Source 2, Exposition Source 3, ad infinitum.
That said, there are some excellent action scenes for the layman.
Not much else for the geek.
Look out for: Greg Rucka is an excellent comic writer, but his dialogue does not translate to the screen. When Andy, Nile and Booker are hiding out in an old house, listen to the conversation they have before and during the next fight scene. It’s like someone asked Siri to write an action screenplay.
If you liked this: If you’d like to read an actual comic (and please God do, then I’d have someone to talk to) Rucka’s Gotham Central and 52 are top notch. The best superhero action on screens these days can be found in The Boys - season 2 is out next month.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
⏩ Quickies
Short and snappy reviews for a short and snappy time:
Line of Duty (2019, film, dir. Steven C. Miller): ⭐⭐
Has anyone else watched this?! If so, please DM, because it is one of the most bizarre films I’ve ever seen. Preposterous plot and uninspired dialogue (“I love it when a plan comes together!” 😑) are interspersed with jarring violence and faux-wokeness (are they criticising or championing streamers? I can’t even tell). Worth watching for its weirdness.
ABOVE (Line of Duty): “Rachell!! RaAaCchHeELlLlL!!!”
Panic Room (2002, film, dir. David Fincher): ⭐⭐⭐⭐
David Fincher could create tension with three cream crackers and a bar of soap. In a lesser filmmaker’s hands, this would be a by-the-numbers thriller. But with Fincher at the helm and the legendary Jodie Foster starring, every scene is taut and gripping to the point of discomfort.
ABOVE (Panic Room): “Now go left, and yes get the fruit! Go go go- ah you hit yourself. Can I play?”
This is Where I Leave You (2014, film, dir. Shawn Levy): ⭐⭐
It’s clear what director Shawn Levy and writer Jonathan Tropper are trying to achieve here: a touching comedy-drama centered on a sprawling, dysfunctional family, in the vein of Altman or Anderson. Perhaps that worked in the novel on which it’s based, but not for this. Tired, unfunny, and unoriginal.
📃 Quote of the Week(s)
Biagio: “I don’t drink.”
Arabella: “You don’t drink? What happened?”
In I May Destroy You, Arabella channels every Irish person ever with her instant confusion at someone who doesn’t drink.
📅 Previously, in pop culture…
My apologies in advance for some morbid August landmark events:
Aug 5 - Marilyn Monroe dies of a drug overdose in 1962.
Aug 9 - Sharon Tate is murdered by the Manson gang in 1969. This is given the Tarantino revisionist treatment in 2019’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
ABOVE (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood): This ending was the saving grace of a disappointing film.
Aug 11 - In 2014, Robin Williams commits suicide at the age of 63.
Aug 15 - The Wizard of Oz premieres in 1939. And nobody died!
✅ Th-th-that’s all, folks.
Thank you very much for reading!
As we inch closer to new films being released in cinemas, all eyes are on Christopher Nolan’s Tenet on August 26th.
That’ll be the plat du jour on the next edition of The Reel. Know someone who might be interested in reading a review of said film?
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Thanks again, and I’ll see you in two weeks!
xxx
Previous Reels:
🎬 July 15- Boyz n the Hood, The Sinner, Eurovision Song Contest.
🎬 Jun 25 - Everest, Top Gun, Star Trek, Skyscraper.
🎬 June 10 - He’s Just Not That Into You, Little Fires Everywhere.