Out of This World
A few issues ago, I mentioned my newfound admiration for Sparks, due totally to Edgar Wright’s documentary The Sparks Brothers. Now, in select theaters, the movie musical Annette, written and scored by Sparks (Ron and Russell Mael) is out. Directed by French art-house auteur Leo’s Carax (famous for Holy Motors (2012), which I have yet to see), Annette follows the turbulent romance and lives of Henry McHenry, an abrasive stand-up comedian played by Adam Driver, and Ann Defrasnoux, a beloved opera singer played by Marion Cotillard. It works as a clear and harsh critique of American mass media culture, but also dabbles in the surreal.
Anyone familiar with Carax’s work will be able to anticipate how strange Annette is. Carax and the Mael brothers find music in everyday phrases and words, so many of the musical interludes are just repetitions of one short turn of phrase (not unlike the Sparks song, “My Baby’s Taking Me Home”), as if the chorus took over an entire song. This simplicity serves in direct contrast to the larger then life story of fame and tragedy to the point that Annette almost feels like an ironic take on the musical genre (especially since a number of untrained singers do sing a lot of songs). To be fair, the film is very funny, Simon Helberg’s supporting role as “My Conductor Friend” is a standout in this regard.
In that sense, the ultra strange storyline becomes less important as the way the story is told. Isn’t that how so much art can be interpreted? What makes some of Van Gogh’s best pieces isn’t the content of the image but how the content was presented. Any musician can make a song about being in love, so Sparks makes the love song in Annette be the two leads singing the phrase “We love each other so much” over and over (once while Driver’s character is going down on Cotillard’s). Its modern in that gets to the point, funny in that it is so reductive, and it’s sweet because it is sometimes feelings are just that simple. In a big weird world that’s hard to understand and throwing you unexpected twists, like what Annette constantly does, it’s sometimes best to just to express yourself clearly and with as much feeling as you can.
Annette is in select theaters and (as of yesterday) available for streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime
After Everything
After many delays, the fourth part of the Neon Genesis Evangelion “rebuild” series has been released in America. The series of films, starting with Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, were originally set to be an abridged feature film version of the television show, Neon Genesis Evangelion1. The story follows Shinji Ikari as he is forced to pilot a mysterious giant robot called an Evangelion to combat strange monsters called “Angels”. The idea of retreading the show was quickly ditched with the second film, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance where an unexpected apocalyptic event occurs and sends the storyline into uncharted territory. Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo introduces this new ravaged world and sets the stage for the finale, Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon A Time.
For most of Evangelion, it has depicted these cataclysmic battles in the mindset of catastrophic global stakes or very emotionally deep and personal battles, but here “life” isn’t just depicted as “all of humanity” or “your life as you know it”. The first act showcases a peaceful life amongst the survivors of the end of the world. Life is community and what we do for each other. Things like having people to say “Good morning”, “Good night”, and “Thank you” to and having a place where you say “I’m home”. Unlike any other part of the series, it shows not just a way of life worth protecting, but a life worth living outside of giant monster battles. Even the traumatized and guilt-ridden Shinji finds hope, not for humanity, but for himself in this survivalist village.
The film does descend into giant mech battles and a fusion of Judeo-Christian-sci-fi gobbledygook that doesn’t matter or make sense, but the final moments of the film return to the introspective vibe that works and offers some sort of redemption for all its characters. You can always come back from a dark place. The original show was, reportedly, made when it’s show runner and creator, Hideaki Anno, was going through a difficult bout of depression and his work is a clear reflection of it. Here, as with the show’s original ending, Anno tells the viewer that anywhere can be heaven if you choose to be alive. In Evangelion: 3.0+1.01, he chooses to emphasize that a community and being with those who love you can be that heaven.
Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon A Time, as well as the other “rebuild” films, are available for streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime.
The Price of Freedom
Most superhero films nowadays are criticized for their poor choreography, bland visual aesthetic, bloodless action, and sexless characters (and rightly so). James Gunn’s latest film, The Suicide Squad2, follows a rag-tag group of super powered (or otherwise exceptional) prisoners forced into military service in exchange for their freedom. It has ultraviolent and choreographed action scenes with a distinct visual style. Suffice to say, it’s is a breath of fresh air that has less visual similarities to other superhero movies as it does to something like Scott Pilgrim vs The World or pulp adventure novel covers.
Despite Gunn’s seeming insecurity about his superhero work, Gunn has proven to be the only working super hero movie auteur that I like (until Sam Raimi comes back) for the sole reason that Gunn’s background with Troma movies and schlocky indie pictures like Super and Slither lends a sort of crassness and alternative style to his work. The Suicide Squad is no different, but like his PG-13 Guardians of the Galaxy films for Disney-Marvel, he’s afforded a large budget that grants him more freedom to do bigger and weirder set-pieces and create impressive (and, again, weird) visuals.
The Suicide Squad isn’t just good because it’s different though. It’s good because it’s a crass blockbuster that’s a ton of fun that also speaks to a certain level of anti-US interventionist ideals. Exercising unwilling control over anyone, whether it be through blackmail, captivity, military might, or alien mind control breeds anger and resentment. Nearly all the characters, protagonist and antagonist alike, are fettered by some sort of control (some traumatized by it) and most are by government agencies. Even the fictional Latin American country the film is set in is in the middle of a violent regime change due to the populace’s anger toward the totalitarian government. Only one character, the empanada filled3 and fascistic Peacemaker (John Cena), willingly gives up his agency to blindly (and violently) follow the orders of his US government masters and the film does not regard this Boy Scout behavior fondly. The ability to live one’s life freely, no matter how coarse, boorish, or goofy one is, is the sweetest freedom and the violent anti-heroes at the center of the film and director James Gunn4 find that in The Suicide Squad.
The Suicide Squad is in theaters now and available for streaming on HBOMax.
Stray Observations
At the recommendation of several sources close to I Liked It!, I watched Pig (2021) starring Nicolas Cage. A contemporary update of the Greek tale of Orpheus, but set in the Portland restaurant scene where a man seeks out his stolen truffle pig. It’s a deeply affecting meditation on the concept of love, lost or otherwise. One of the best films of the year. Pig is available for digital rental.
Disney-Marvel’s latest blockbuster effort, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings hits theaters next week. Some controversies surrounding it, like a Disney CEO calling the all Asian cast and crew production an “interesting experiment” or how Shang-Chi’s father in the comics was Fu-Manchu5, has brought to light Hollywood’s history of Asian representation in film. Mel Magazine ran a really wonderful article chronicling these recent changes in Asian representation, but made the bold statement that “Harold and Kumar did more for Asian-American representation than Shang-Chi ever could.” It’s a good read that talks about how “Shang-Chi, [an Asian] superhero whose power is being really good at kung fu, is nothing new”, but Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle is groundbreaking for Asian diaspora by depicting the protagonists as “dirtbags”. Worth a read.
Haven’t been struck by any particular albums or artists lately, but here’s a few tracks I’ve been regularly jamming out to:
A grungy new collaboration between two movie soundtrack legends, Trent Reznor and Danny Elfman, titled “True”. Wild that these two giants are working together. I hope there’s more to come.
A friend of I Liked It! sent over the song “Tim I Wish You Were A Girl” by Of Montreal from their album Cherry Peel. It’s a cute little ditty about the entangling and confusing feelings associated with intimacy, sexuality, companionship, and gender. Mostly though, its nice acoustic earworm with a sweet loving sentiment.
Someone on twitter posted a silly tweet about the Wings song “Magneto And Titanium Man”, a song that I listened to a lot in high school that I had more or less forgotten about. Love the goofyness of this and I agree, “Kevin Feige [President of Marvel Studios] is a fucking coward for ignoring this track”
Almost wrote a whole article here about my experience rewatching Ringu (1998), The Ring (2002), and Scary Movie 3 (2003) and how memetics factor not only into the plot of Ringu and The Ring, but how the opening scene of all three is a great demonstration of it. I’ve been wanting to write a whole piece tying together folklore, urban legends, memes, and the internet using The Ring as a foundation, but I haven’t done much more than a well-researched drunken rant to my friends about it. Maybe I’ll include it in a special Halloween/October issue down the line. Anyway, Ringu and Scary Movie 3 are classics, but The Ring is one of my all time favorite horror movies ever. The Ring is available for streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Been a fan of the guitar virtuoso St Vincent since hearing the track “Digital Witness” from her self titled album in 2014, so I’m naturally excited for any upcoming projects of her’s. Just the other day, a trailer for her music documentary, The Nowhere Inn, was dropped and it is…stranger than expected. It’s a surrealist horror thriller. I’m excited. Watch the trailer below:
Caught a matinee of Don’t Breathe 2 (2021), the sequel to the 2016 inverted home invasion horror-thriller Don’t Breathe. While the first film had a small band of amateur thieves finding out that the blind man (Stephen Lang) they’re trying to rob is actually a deadly killer, it’s sequel has the cruel antagonist as its hero trying to protect his daughter from kidnappers. Those who have seen the first film are likely to feel a little squeamish about the idea of the rapist-murderer being the protagonist this time around, but that’s seemingly the point. The director of the first film and writer of both, Fede Álvarez told Total Film that “People are concerned he’s an antihero…He’s more of an anti-villain” and that the goal of the film is to try to trick you into sympathizing with the morally complex characters. Conversely, Lena Wilson of the New York Times calls the narrative “rancid” in her excellent, but brief review of the film and I’m inclined to agree. It depicts cruel men exercising their will on the world through grisly force with a little girl at the center and it’s hard to identify with any of them. Still, Don’t Breathe 2 is a thrilling watch in action body-horror exploitation film kind of way.
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One of the greatest anime series of all time, Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-1996) and it’s feature length conclusion Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997), should, in my opinion probably be watched by everyone. Don’t let the cool robots, strange monsters, and Old Testament inspired lore distract you, the show is about depression and trauma and seeing how these various characters navigate that during global and personal crises. Both the original show and the original film are available for streaming on Netflix.
I must mention that this new film is a sort of a do-over of the much maligned 2016 David Ayer film Suicide Squad, even featuring a few actors reprising their roles. Ayer’s film isn’t very good, but I’ve seen it a half a dozen times only because it has a very simple drinking game to go along with it: 1. Drink whenever a licensed song plays. 2. Drink whenever there’s a flashback. 3. Drink whenever Harley Quinn is referred to as either “hot” or “crazy”. 4. Drink whenever a new character is introduced. And 5. Finish your drink when Will Smith says “What are we, some kind of Suicide Squad?”
John Cena, while shooting this film, ate an empanada on camera in the background of some shots. To maintain continuity, he had to eat empanadas during every take that day. Apparently, he had to eat a lot of empanadas. As a result, we have this great photo from in between takes of John Cena sadly holding an empanada.
Funny that Gunn makes a movie critical of the Military Industrial Complex and celebrates individual freedom during his brief separation from Disney-Marvel (who’s movie scripts are famously run by the Department of Defense for approval). Really funny.
You read that right! Famous fearmongering racist caricature Fu-Manchu. They’ve replaced him in the feature film with The Mandarin. Those of you who have seen Iron Man 3 may remember that The Mandarin was totally reimagined from the comics version, basically another racist Chinese caricature, as a Middle Eastern caricature played by Ben Kingsley. The infamous twist in Iron Man 3 is that The Mandarin was never real and he was just some actor hired by a weapons manufacturer to instill racist fear into America so we have no issue spending billions in military spending. Simply put, Iron Man 3 took a racist comic book character that was used to legitimize fear of China and used it to show how those racist caricatures can be weaponized to legitimize contemporary wars. Gotta say, I’m a little cheesed that Disney-Marvel has retconned this by revealing that there is a real Mandarin and he’s…an evil Chinese man who’s really good at kung fu. Go watch Iron Man 3 on Disney+.