Overall, this was a slow but significant week of pop culture watching. Sure, I only saw four films, but they were a significant four films, including a screening for review of T2: Trainspotting, which you can read about right here. I had trouble articulating my thoughts on the film, as I felt it had severe flaws, especially compared to the original, but was still entertaining and enjoyable. I think I articulated that pretty well.
I also made two trips to the theater, once for a classic and once for a film I just saw a few weeks ago. I ended up taking a trip to the theater with my cousin, aunt and grandmother for a second viewing of Beauty and the Beast, this time in IMAX. It’s an excellent case for the beauty of IMAX, even if I didn’t see anything to change my mind one way or the other overall. As for the classic, I finally saw Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless all the way through. This is a significant one for me, not only because I loved the bits I saw, but because Breathless was the favorite film of Brad Brevet, the critic who inspired this site. And it didn’t disappoint. I may not have loved it as much as he did, it was an undeniably great film, with some of the most ingenious editing of all time in its nihilistic fervor. And I finally managed to convince my parents to check out Hunt for the Wilderpeople, my #7 film of last year, and I can confirm that this film is still great, and my parents agree.
Television viewing was pretty disappointing, as many of my favorite shows have ended or are on hiatus. I’m still watching Feud, which had one of my favorite episodes yet in their most recent showing, and Making History is finally starting to mix things up, which is to its benefit. Modern Family went conceptual with four five-minute vignettes, and while it wasn’t as stunningly great as “Connection Lost,” it was still entertaining. Bob’s Burgers had an episode so great that not only did I love it, but my hard-to-please father lost it multiple times. And finally, we need to talk about Dr. Ken. If you’re wondering if the show about Ken Jeong’s days as a doctor is any good, here’s all you need to know: the hospital Ken works at is called Welltopia. This is a terrible show, and I actively try not to watch it. However, due to nothing being on this Friday, I checked it out for the second season finale. And it may have been the weirdest half-hour I’ve ever seen. I think it must be the series finale, because it involves Ken auditioning for Dan Harmon for a show about a community college, and despite having a terrible audition, his meltdown makes Harmon cast him because: “You can’t act, and you’re mentally unhinged, but I like to challenge the audience. Actually, I like to hold them hostage and batter them with things the aren’t comfortable seeing, so you’re perfect for the role of the deranged Spanish teacher.” And Alison Brie plays a student who is weirdly infantilized. What an odd episode of television.
Oh, and speaking of Dan Harmon’s dark sense of humor, I did manage to see one more thing. After a year and a half hiatus, Harmon released the newest episode of Rick and Morty on April Fool’s Day, shown back to back on TV and online for six hours. Without any advertising or anything. What a ballsy move. Not only do I respect that, but the episode is one of their strongest yet, brilliant in any way. I’m sure I’ll be writing about this more in the coming weeks, but if you missed out, I’m sorry for you on that front.
What about you, dear readers? Did you manage to see the Rick and Morty premiere? Anything in theaters or on TV? Let me know in the comments!
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