Don’t Look Up (2021), Leonardo DiCaprio, (Netflix)
Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio are the stars of new drama/comedy/sci-fi movie Don’t Look Up.
Directed by Adam McKay; at the centre of the story are two low-level astronomers who must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet; the kind that will completely destroy planet Earth.
Great title for a movie about an ‘end of the world event’ coming from above, right?
I’m very ready for the comedy and drama that this wonderful cast is going to deliver. I’m also happy to see that Lawrence is back.
Starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Benedict Cumberbatch, and directed by Jon Watts, Spider-Man – No Way Home, a.k.a. Spider-Man 3, has a rather good-looking new trailer.
One that has amassed more than sixty-six million views since its release three weeks ago.
Tom Holland has played Spider-Man for nearly four years, and only now am I ready to watch his first movie as the webbed crusader. Wait, I’m sure ‘webbed crusader’ isn’t right. Anyway, I haven’t watched a single Spider-Man movie since Tobey Maguire played the much-loved superhero between 2002 and 2007. As for why that is, the trailers starring Andrew Garfield just didn’t feel as though there was enough newness to them for me. And it certainly didn’t feel as though enough time had passed to consider the new releases worthwhile.
Fast forward to now, it’s arguable that fourteen years is more than sufficient time between Maguire’s films and Holland’s Spider-Man No Way Home. However, more than the years between the movies, I finally have a Spider-Man trailer that offers me something intriguing enough that I want to watch the story all over again. I’m certain there’ll be a semi-healthy level of newness to enjoy, even if it is only technological, though I’m thinking it’s not.
The thing that has me most curious is the idea of a world where Spider-Man’s identity is no secret to anyone. Then there’s the enlisting of Doctor Strange to get things sorted – lastly, the suggestion that Strange’s involvement is just ‘too dangerous‘.
Based on what many have been saying, I’m sure I won’t regret it when I start watching Spider-Man – Homecoming. Fingers, toes and everything crossed.
How do you tend to decide when to give up on a TV show/series? I usually quit for typical reasons. For example, there’s an actor in the show that I find annoying; that’s a generally typical reason, right? Another would be if the story is silly and not in an enjoyable way. Or the writing is lacking, the location, music, plus the editing is uninspiring.
Additional explanations for why I’ve had to abort viewing sessions include the subject matter leaning too far into the dark side, and I’m neither in the state or mood to endure the onslaught.
I’ve even been known to watch and enjoy all of the first season of a series, only to realise that I must have been especially vulnerable and needy at the time. Because now that season two is here, I find the show thoroughly annoying, plus I’m having difficulty figuring out how I could have liked it so much the previous year. This latter predicament has occurred just once, and the unfortunate series in question was New Girl. (2011-2018)
More recently, I’ve started watching a show I’ve heard so many people talk about positively. Successionis the name, and it’s an HBO drama series about a family known for controlling the largest media/entertainment company in the world. It’s specifically about how things change when their father steps down as the head of the company.
Succession (2018), Jeremy Strong, HBO
I’ve progressed as far as finishing episode one of the first season – and watched one-third of episode two.
Starring Brian Cox, Sarah Snook, Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin, the talented cast is certainly more than capable. The writing is noticeably good, and the theme tune (which happens to be my favourite thing about the series so far) is just perfect. As such, my aversion to continuing withSuccession might be that I do not want to see families in serious conflict right now. Especially considering how much the anxiety-inducing sibling relationships in Succession leave much to be desired.
I’d probably have relished the chance to watch all of Succession if I’d come across it at a time when I was still super curious about the dynamics of various kinds of families, particularly those that are different from my own. The truth could also be that I’m mistakenly feeling too well-versed in the ins and outs of the human condition, and too sure about how this story is going to turn out.
The other option is that perhaps I’m just not connecting well enough to any of the seemingly unsympathetic characters, yet, and I’m being judgmental. Whatever the truth may be, what I do not want is to quit Succession too early. Could I hold on for the corporate dramatics? Or have I seen a fair amount of that in other shows like Suits (2011-2019)?
Have you watched Succession? Is it worth continuing with the series? Which shows have you had to quit early recently and why?
The Matrix Resurrections (2021), Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Warner Bros. Pictures
The long awaited forth instalment of The Matrix finally has a trailer, and good/promising are the words.
The Matrix Resurrections, an action/sci-fi film directed by Lana Wachowski stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
Very little about the original Matrix movies comes to mind when I try to remember. I’ll be watching because of Reeves, the promise of great special effects and the fact that this is one of the major movie events of 2021. One I just happen to be rather curious about.
I’m hoping like crazy that this will be worth the wait. And in between, I plan to rewatch the first, second and third Matrix movies.
Jessica Henwick, Neil Patrick Harris, Jada Pinkett Smith, Ellen Hollman, Telma Hopkins, Max Riemelt and Daniel Bernhardt also star.
Jake Gyllenhaal, Ethan Hawke, Bill Burr and Paul Dano are the stars of director Antoine Fuqua’s latest, The Guilty.
An action/thriller, the story follows Joe Baylor (Gyllenhaal), a demoted police officer assigned to a call dispatch desk. Baylor finds himself conflicted when he receives an emergency phone call from a kidnapped woman.
I sometimes say things like: ‘I didn’t know I missed (insert name of great actor) until this new trailer.’
Today is different because I’ve actually been needing an intense Gyllenhaal film for a while now. And knowing that Fuqua, the director of the excellent Training Day (2001) and The Equalizer (2014), is behind this film has me a little more excited.
I look forward to learning just how likeable Gyllenhaal’s character is by the end.
Byron Bowers, Riley Keough, Bill Burr, Peter Sarsgaard, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, David Castañeda, David Castañeda, Terence J. Rotolo, Edi Patterson, Adrian Martinez also star.
