Mikey Madison and Cristin Milioti I have important business to discuss with you
Media Recap (Week of 11/11)
This week in media consumption:
Music
FKA twigs - Drums of Death
Finally, a Ma’s Basement-approved single from FKA twigs’ new album. This is cheating a bit since I already knew I liked this one from the Eusexua music video, but I’ll take what I can get. The glitchy dance pop of M3LL155X and LP1 is why I fell in love with twigs’ music to begin with, and no one else does it like her. Caprisongs was good, but this song feels like a return to form. Fingers crossed that the rest of the album sounds like this.
Addison Rae & Arca - Aquamarine / Arcamarine
It’s been so fun lately to watch Addison make creative decisions that don’t really appeal to everyone, but she clearly just enjoys putting out content with people she admires and enjoys being around, and I respect that. Some people seem to think it’s very targeted branding, but to me, it feels authentic. An Arca remix of Aquamarine has a target audience of like 5,000 total people, but thankfully I am one of those, and the results of this were better than I could’ve expected. This version feels a bit more in line with the dreaminess that made Diet Pepsi so irresistible. My preferred way of listening to this would be windows down, driving across the MacArthur Causeway into Miami Beach, no traffic. The music video really sells this one.
TV
Twin Peaks: The Return
The blueprint for lots of recent surreal tv dramas like Atlanta, Barry, The Curse, and Severance can be found in Twin Peaks: The Return. Whereas I loved all of those, I thought The Return suffers from a major lack of plot development. It is so threadbare and abstract, it might as well be a collection of still images. I don’t even think I liked how this looked; I know I shouldn’t compare the two, but the ultra-digital sheen of this looks so bland compared to the striking visual warmth of the original show. When the effects go for avant-garde, it ends up looking more like a high school editing project. It’s clear that the creators didn’t just want to make another Twin Peaks, but did we really have to “Poor Things” Kyle MacLachlan? But by far the biggest crime: these episodes should never have been an hour long. Lynch loves his long takes, but WOW is he testing my patience here with the amount of unnecessary dialogue and dead space. A great ending, but at the cost of 18 grueling hours of content. As challenging and genuinely strange as I thought this was, I still enjoyed the experience. On a positive note, there are some great new characters and guest appearances (especially loved Naomi Watts and Robert Knepper), and I love the overall themes of nostalgia throughout the show. I would definitely rewatch but in a few years and on 5x speed. Three words: Agent Tammy Preston.
The Penguin (Episodes 1-6)
After a Twin Peaks-induced break, I’m back watching The Penguin. It’s been a pretty straightforward crime story so far, but Episode 4, a backstory into Sofia Falcone’s life and experience at Arkham, was terrifying and excellent. Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone is the hottest woman on television in 2024. In a season of some of the most incredible outfits I’ve ever seen, her in the silk dress and gas mask is a future Halloween classic waiting to happen. This show is not afraid to kill just about anyone off, so with only two episodes left, I’m scared to see who goes next. Colin Farrell get behind me.
Real Housewives of Salt Lake City (Season 5, Episode 9)
SLC is making television history every episode. This week, it was “17C-gate”. There’s rarely a feeling better than knowing you chose the right housewife to be a fan of, and Lisa Barlow has been the gift that keeps on giving in season 5. There is rarely a dull moment this season, and even though I think bringing a cast of housewives on yours and your wife’s 10-year anniversary was a nightmare idea, I loved the addition of the husbands on the Palm Springs trip. Defending my hot, rich wife who is consistently loud and wrong to a table full of dinner guests… when will it happen to me? This season got me to watch the official After Show, which is the best thing I can say about a Bravo show.
Movies
Conclave
I thought this was well-made and well-acted from Ralph Fiennes (per usual, what can’t he do?), but so heavy-handed that I almost groaned at times. The release coinciding with the U.S. election was not by chance. The ending was very unexpected and a nice twist, even if I did completely misunderstand it.1 Between this, Immaculate, and Heretic, religious thrillers are having a big moment in 2024. Can’t say I don’t understand why!
The Apprentice
For a political drama, this was a nice, low-impact watch. I know this movie was controversial, but dare I say it really didn’t even paint Trump in a worse light than if you just watched CNN for five minutes? Although I wasn’t aware of a lot that happened in this movie, the overall message is “Donald Trump is bad”, which like…yeah, I could’ve guessed that. Not too sure why this was made, but really excellent performances from Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong, unique cinematography, and a perfect soundtrack saved this from being forgettable.
Anora
I was surprised by Anora. I obviously knew it was going to be good, but wasn’t expecting the hybrid of whirlwind romance/slapstick comedy/character tragedy that this turned into. Honestly, if a piano fell out of the sky and landed on Ani’s head Looney Tunes-style at some point I wouldn’t have been surprised. I’m never one for rom-coms, but I was so invested in the romance at the end of this that seeing the real couple not together was causing me physical pain in the theater. Igor made me proud to be bald and (allegedly) Russian, which is the highest compliment I could ever give someone. The soundtrack had me scratching my head at times, but I love the idea that Ani only dances to white rappers (Brooke Candy and Iggy Azalea music takes up more screen time than I was expecting), and All The Things She Said was perfect music placement. Anora has the textbook definition of a jaw-dropping ending—ask anyone in my theater, which was completely silent as the credits rolled. I’ve been thinking about this movie ever since. Rewatch coming soon.
Sports
Bills vs. Chiefs
After a season of the Kansas City Chiefs performing what can only be described as witchcraft and brujeria to get to 9-0, they have finally been taken down by the Buffalo Bills. You already know it doesn’t take much for me to say kind things about Josh Allen, but his 4th & 2 touchdown is easily one of the best plays I’ve seen all season. I was jumping up and hollering in my living room. This was a game I would have loved to see in a crowd, but it looks like both teams are playoff-bound, so I’m sure I’ll have another chance here soon. @buffalobills Instagram admin please answer my DMs.
For You Page Roundup
Lamelo Ball Fine
Today, the funniest headline I’ve seen in months popped up on my timeline. $100K is not enough. He needs to be imprisoned too. #LOCKHIMUP!
Hope everyone has a good week :)
No spoilers but I did think they mutilated the Pope at the end. This is absolutely not how it ended but part of me still believes I’m right and no one is addressing it.