One Large Poppington Please: A recent movie round-up
This month I have been a bit of a movie hound (when am I not?). But truly, I’ve been to the movie theater three times in the past ten days. I am currently enjoying the cinema landscape we’re navigating in the post “best year in cinema in a long time” world.
So, I’d just like to give my thoughts on a few movies you can catch in theaters or streaming or just like…can hopefully eventually see?
Challengers. I know I discussed when it came out around a month ago, but I’d like to reiterate that this movie rules. I have not stopped thinking about it in the intervening month. I have long held the belief that queer people should make sports movies because they understand the inherent homoeroticism of sport and masculine competition. And boy howdy did Luca Guadagnino prove me right. This is a movie that looks great, sounds great (if not too loud at times), and will make you want to get up and fucking play tennis (or pickle ball if you’re a certain friend of the Pop). More than Dune, this movie cements Zendaya as someone who can genuinely—grippingly—play movies beyond the teen milieu. It also serves as a reminder that Josh O’Connor is zaddy. (Watch God’s Own Country immediately, I’m begging). I have an intense need to see this one again and again and again and again. Also, if you aren’t listening to the soundtrack, I implore you to. Yeahx10 got me through a lot of administrative work today…
2. I Saw The TV Glow. For every Challengers, there’s this creepy pasta movie. I Saw The TV Glow is a movie that might as well be a music video or a liminal space compilation set to bisexual (and trans) lighting. This, in part, makes perfect sense considering the filmmaker, who directed the music video for Lucy Dacus’ “Night Shift,” which is set in a very vibey, not-quite-derilect hotel. The movie is very focused on making its viewers a tad bit uneasy, but the commentary it offers falls flat. It approaches some interesting ideas about gender and the way media can make you feel seen and even transform you, but it ultimately stops short of the finish line. There is so little happening and what is happening is quite one note and if that note isn’t for you…you’re shit outta luck. The music is good and it is a joy to see Sloppy Jane play w. Phoebe Bridgers for a full song and watch Snail Mail’s Lindsay Jordan act her little heart out and it’s even cool to see Bridget Lundy Payne commit to the bit, but the movie has very little more to offer than the screenshots that would circulate on Tumblr if this came out a decade ago. Admittedly, this is the same commentary given about a Poppington fav, Saltburn. So perhaps, it just isn’t for me and I should leave it there.
3. Babes. Babes was not the movie I was expecting and it’s not the kind of movie I traditionally super love, but I’m glad I saw it. This is a movie that centers around motherhood and all of its glory and grossness, backdropped by a rich, complex story of found family. It’s also full of body humor and pussy jokes and a weird shroom sequence. This movie is an obvious spiritual successor to its star and writer’s earlier works (Broad City, cough cough), as well as movies like Baby Mama and Bridesmaids. However, it also has the tender heart that more recent “grown-up” comedies have had. I’m so happy to see Michelle Buteau shine as an actress and she was perhaps the most surprising thing about the movie. The other performances are fine, but hers is unexpectedly good. Better than it needed to be, that’s for sure. Don’t watch this one with your mom, but like, watch it with your older siblings if they’re cool.
4. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Having never seen a Mad Max, hot damn was this fun. You really don’t need to know anything to go into this and enjoy it. Much like Dune Part II, this is a really exciting sci-fi action movie, the likes of which we haven’t had since Star Wars. It’s a little long at times, but the action sequences are just so freaking cool and the looks are gag-worthy and…Chris whatever is hot! And knows what movie he’s in. Watch this in theaters because it will not hit the same at home on your couch.
5. The Worst Person in the World. Okay this is not new, but I haven’t talked about it on Poppington before and I watched it for my birthday with two Poppington advisors (and one of their bfs). This is an absolutely breathtaking portrayal of what it’s like to feel lost in your twenties and (just assuming this’ll be the case) your thirties. It is funny and tender and deeply moving, while still being absolutely stunning to look at. Very rarely do I get interested in movies that more or less center on straight relationships and this is one of the rare exceptions. This remains one of my favorite movies to have come out in the past five years. If you didn’t catch it when it came out, stream it now.
Those are my big 5 for the past month. I could, of course, talk about the six Star Wars movies I watched or my rewatch of May December, but I wanted to highlight four things you could actually see now and one that you just really should.
My apologies for the sporadic schedule as of late. I’m still getting my footing with my new job and the confluence of many hobbies, trips, and life responsibilities. I hope to be back next week, but if not, it won’t be too long. I promise.