By: Henry J. Fromage –
This week was another mix of some of the most acclaimed films this year so far and streaming series with lots of buzz.
369. Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood
I don’t know why I was so reticent to give Richard Linklater’s latest a watch despite it being so accessible. Maybe I just presumed it would be too kidsy with that “I was a kid who secretly was the first person on the Moon because they made the capsule too small” plot, which does feel a bit extraneous when you see that Linklater’s primary interest is lovingly rendered (the rotoscope is a masterful choice for this) autobiography of his space-obsessed suburban Houston childhood. This is how you funnel nostalgia into making something new. A Toast.
370. Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey
There is a lot that is deeply wrong about Jeff’s family and their fundamentalist Mormon sect, but it only takes two seconds of hearing his disgustingly halting yet silky smooth voice to understand with no further context that you’re in the presence of a predator. Rachel Dretzin & Grace McNally do a good job differentiating this series from documentaries like Prophet’s Prey and books like Under the Banner of Heaven by focusing on the victims delivering their own stories. It’s a harrowing portrait of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, ravaging for far too long. Two Beers.
371. Obi-Wan Kenobi
Redlettermedia does a good job breaking down why this series was simultaneously pretty good (loved the light saber showdowns), inessential (Star Wars didn’t hint at a lot happening in this period), and even lightly legacy-tarnishing (legends often look a little less legendary under the light). Better than Boba Fett, but not quite its own thing in the way The Mandalorian managed to be right out of the gate. Three Beers.
372. Mind Over Murder
I tried this HBO series on a whim, looking to scratch that true crime itch. I was surprised to see a few episodes in that this story of the slaying of a sweet grandma by the ‘Beatrice Six’ in small-town Beatrice, Nebraska was directed by Nanfu Wang, chronicler of Chinese societal ills like the One Child Policy in One Child Nation or COVID in In the Same Breath. It’s already clear she brings an interesting perspective on things, and I’m looking forward to being able to finish out the series since it’s clear it’s going some strange, sad places. [Later Note: it definitely did- it took a few episodes for Wang to find her story, but she definitely does.] Two Beers.
373. Moon Knight
Now, I should have expected that a TV series that attracted Oscar Isaac to star had a little more going on than your normal Marvel world-building, but I was still surprised by how bugfuck this multiple-personality, multiple-plane of existence story about the human avatars of ancient Egyptian gods in eternal conflict and/or severe mental illness was going to be. Just let it take you along for the ride. Two Beers.
374. Ms. Marvel
I also liked this newest Marvel series, although I far, far preferred the intercultural, intergenerational comedy hijinks centering on this “brown girl from Jersey City” (an ebullient Iman Vellani) trying to find her place in the world to the superheroics, which feel secondary in many ways. This could have been an absolutely stellar film about a Pakistani-American teen coming of age, but it’s plenty fun in this form as well. Three Beers.
375. A Chiara
Jonas Carpignano has struck upon a style that works, and the further he explores this vein, the richer and deeper it proves to be. Here he once again centers his film around an Italian non-professional teen, fills out the supporting cast with their family and friends, and tells a crime and coming of age tale so suffused with authentic detail that it feels as grounded and naturalistic as a dramatic film can just about possibly get. Two Beers.
