June Round-Up
"I’m Anxiety. Where Can I Put My Stuff?"
GREETINGS & SALUTATIONS
In this edition:
Joy and Sadness meet Anxiety
Tarantino X 2
Sun’s out, back’s out
First, I’d like to say HELLO to my new followers and subscribers! Welcome!
(And a huge thank you to
for recommending me on her page - thank you so much, Jo! You’re a superstar!)Right: June. Back to school for the final seven weeks before the summer holidays, and the usual struggle to reconnect with writing! But, while riding the wave of striving and feeling like I was failing, an unexpected idea popped up for the end of Backstabbers 2 which would serve the third instalment brilliantly.
See, this is the thing about writing: sometimes (i.e. a lot) it just takes time. When I see George R. R. Martin fans giving him grief about finishing Game of Thrones I get defensive for him: Ideas seem to present themselves when they’re ready. I’ve no idea where ideas come from, but when this new idea popped into my brain it provided the necessary “OOOOH!” for part three. It’s the engine which has (so far) been missing. So now I can’t wait to get into that!
Another distraction has been pain: Back pain, to be precise, which has made it very difficult to sit in a chair for too long (this has been plaguing me since 2016), so I’ve been visiting an osteopath for some back-cracking fun! The pain is slowly getting better (I think?), and I’m certain I will be fully functioning soon. I hope.
I’ve also been adapting my one-person-play Ducks into a television series called Happy Happy Joy Joy: It’s a sort of High Fidelity-meets-Fleabag about two people in their mid-forties dealing with mental health issues who move back in with their parents. I’m three episodes in (of a planned six) and so far, so good. I think.
CINEMA
INSIDE OUT 2
The first Inside Out is a classic, so any sequel faces a tough challenge. Part 2 has a good stab at trying to recreate the original (story-wise, it’s a re-tread): Puberty strikes and a bunch of new emotions take over Riley’s control room, but it’s mostly Anxiety vs. Joy, which leads to the original emotions being kicked out and needing to find a way to seize control before Riley loses who she is. There are some nice new additions like the belief system, but the first film was more imaginative, funny and emotional. Alas, there is no Bing Bong moment here, but the ending does carry emotional weight.
VERDICT: Mixed emotions.
THE BIKERIDERS
Gang movies (whether we’re talking gangster films like Goodfellas, Carlito’s Way or more subversive stuff like Fight Club) contain the usual tropes - usually ‘The bigger the thing gets, the more it goes wrong’, and The Bikeriders is no different. You can see where it’s all heading from a mile off, so you might as well just enjoy the performances.
Mike Faist is a photographer journaling the progression of a biker club over the years, so the start of the movie has a documentary vibe at times. He’s primarily interviewing Jodie Comer’s Kathy, girlfriend/wife to one of the rebels-without-a-cause. Austin Butler is broody Joe Cool for the whole film - the rebel you can never truly know - so he never gives much away in terms of character. Tom Hardy’s gang leader is the most interesting role: a paternal, King-figure who can’t stop the tide.
There’s been a lot of talk of Hardy’s accent (I thought it was perfectly fine) - I did have more of an issue with Comer’s cartoony Loony Tunes “Owww a wiseguy!” accent: That said, the older Comer’s character becomes the more her accent settles down, and she excels in the more dramatic scenes.
There’s a supporting cast of quality actors (including Norman Reedus in heavy make-up) who have their moments but never enough to get a sense of who they are. But, like Hardy says at one point: “You can give everything you have to something but it’s still gonna do what it’s gonna do.” There’s an inevitability about the whole story, but the more the gang declines, the better the film becomes.
VERDICT: You have to give it a bit of throttle to start it but once it kicks in it ticks over nicely, guv.
HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA PART 1
Whenever Kevin Costner directs a film there are the usual comments on ego, how it will end in disaster etc… But I’ll say one thing about him: When he goes all in, he puts his money where his mouth is (Costner used over thirty million dollars of his own money to co-fund this project). Horizon is part one of a planned four movies, telling multi-strand stories about life and death in the Old West. The first thing of note about this movie is it is three hours long. And a lot happens. And around twenty minutes in something big happens: But you still have no idea of whose story it is (other than a few recognisable faces, whom you presume will be the main character/s).
There are some well-executed set pieces and intense moments, but there’s a nagging sense of mini-series about it. There are so many characters coming and going it is hard to get a sense of where the story is going, and the film doesn’t so much as end but roll into a weird montage/advert for part two.
It’s like Costner is trying to make the ultimate Western, covering all aspects of the history of that era… in this case, it is too much/not enough: Yes, things develop and you get an idea of the main three story strands, but it’s all set-up for part two. If you consider a saga like Lord of the Rings, you get to know who the characters are and how the story affects them. With Horizon, a lot of the characters feel like typical Western stereotypes who have stuff happen to them, but there’s precious little character to go on (save for Costner). It’s not a bad film by any means - there is a lot to like about it - but to watch a three-hour film and still feel like you’re waiting for it to kick in makes me wonder if it wasn’t better suited for television. Part two is out in August, and a lot is riding on it.
VERDICT: Yeeeeeeeeee————(part two) HAAAAAAAAW!
KINDS OF KINDNESS
Yorgos Lanthimos delivers three Lynchian Black Mirror-esque stories featuring the same core ensemble (Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, and Mamoudou Athie) in different roles.
The first story is the best, depicting a man with no control over his own life. The deadpan, slightly off dialogue is (at times) reminiscent off Fry & Laurie’s Tony & Control: overly-polite, mundane dialogue (Some of the line delivery is just brilliant).
The 2nd story is less involving: Emma Stone’s character returns from being a castaway on a desert island - but her husband doesn’t believe it’s her. It doesn’t have the polished feel of the first story.
The third story is almost too close (in terms of story) to the first part, focusing on Emma Stone’s member-of-some-weird-cult seeking a woman who can bring people back from the dead. It has moments of greatness but there’s a sense of all the weirdness not amounting to much (weird for weird’s sake).
There are a few gross-out scenes which are just that, as opposed to shocking. But: When it works, it really works, usually when there’s some truth in the bizarre goings on.
It’s a film which sticks in the mind. I’ve been trying to make sense of it ever since, finding unifying themes and motifs such as being exiled from God, meat/flesh, how much people weigh, dogs - and it is as random as that. So probably not everyone’s cup of tea, but always gripping, whether it’s the visuals or performances. I wouldn’t be averse to more of this but with a less blurry form.
I loved the first story (which I found very creatively inspiring), and if the other two parts had hit those heights Kinds of Kindness would have been a stone-cold classic on par with David Lynch at his best.
VERDICT: Kind of brilliant, kind of okay.
IF
After a nice set-up, comparable to the start of ‘Up’, IF tells the story of what happens to Imaginary Friends when we stop believing in them, which is a nice premise but it's in search of a more cohesive story. There are lovely moments, it looks great and is perfectly nice and watchable - but there’s a sense of covering old ground (hello ‘Monsters Inc.’, ‘Up’, and even a touch of ‘Inside Out’), and the plot’s primary focus often feels as if it’s trying to elicit emotions and tears, rather than the story naturally provoking such responses - but, damn it, it does jerk the tears at times (inc. a lovely scene with the perpetually brilliant Fiona Shaw reliving her youth as a ballet dancer).
On the whole, it’s a pleasant enough, enjoyable film with its heart in the right place, but for all the ideas and potential it does seem to skim them all without truly getting in too deep.
VERDICT: Almost.
ROBOT DREAMS
Oscar-nominated and much-raved about Spanish animation which tells its story without words. It’s a simple tale with a nice premise, but it never really reaches beyond cute and cosy. There’s a “grown up” graphic novel feel: The animation is nice, with an eye for detail, but the simple plot is mostly uneventful and never really goes anywhere. Had this been a 30-minute short it would have been a classic, as it does have a lovely, bittersweet ending. It’s a chilled, laidback affair, and the early 80’s setting paints a backdrop for the AIDS epidemic, but the storytelling does go around in circles when it could have been saying a lot more. Also, the robot reminded me too much of Bender from Futurama, not to mention the “Broken Robot” episode of said television show!
VERDICT: Dream on, dreamer
AM I OK?
This was a very pleasant surprise, as the title and poster image don’t sell the movie. Dakota Johnson and Sonoya Mizuno play besties who go through a crisis: One is given the opportunity of a better job in another country. Hardly a ground-breaking plot, I hear you say. Yes, it is reminiscent of FRANCES HA, but without the “Aren’t I cute-siness”, and GHOST WORLD, but without the bleakness. What makes this film fly is the chemistry between the two stars - there’s a nice contrast between Johnson’s more-reserved and uncertain Lucy, and Mizuno’s confident, go-getting Jane. Mizuno (a regular in many Alex Garland projects) and Johnson are great together, and the direction by Stephanie Allynne and Tig Notaro is on point and the film doesn’t outstay its welcome (1h 26! Thank you!). The last half hour lacks a dramatic punch, but the film is an easy-going, naturalistic look at friendship and feeling directionless when everyone else seems to have it all figured out.
AM I OK? is currently streaming in the UK on NOW.
VERDICT: Much better than OK!
TELEVISION
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON
By now you’re either a fan of Game of Thrones or not, and season two of the spin-off kicks off with its usual mix of dragons, scheming and characters you love to hate. Episode one has proved to be a bit contentious with some (due to a gruesome murder: not so much the murder, but who and how), accusing it of shock tactics for the sake of it, but GOT has always been about death and how all of the characters are expendable.
VERDICT: Business as usual.
I AM CELINE DION
Now I will be the first to admit that I’m not exactly the target audience for this, but what I do like is insight into other people’s lives. This documentary charts Dion’s life after her diagnosis of stiff person syndrome, and as you would expect, it is sad and very moving at times. It’s hard to watch someone who has such a passion for what she does be robbed of that one precious thing. It’s an interesting insight into the life of a “diva”, and you do get to see the “normal Celine”.
VERDICT: Don’t think twice!
GLASTONBURY 2024
There a some years which feel like classic Glasto, with stand-out performances, decent sound and a solid line-up. This year was not one of those years, unfortunately. I watched all of the BBC coverage, and except for a few (Sugababes, Keane, Shania, Michael J. Fox/Coldplay), there wasn’t much that was memorable. There also seemed to be a lot of issues with in-ears/sound. It’s a matter of personal taste, of course, but this year (on the whole) wasn’t for me.
VERDICT: Next year…
READING
QUENTIN BY TARANTINO by Amazing Ameziane
This was a lot of fun: A graphic novel biography charting Tarantino’s rise to fame, with QT narrating his own story. For anyone who knows QT’s story, there’s little new in terms of revelations, but the way the info is presented is just terrific. The art and design is what works here, and I’d like to see more of it!
CINEMA SPECULATION by Quentin Tarantino
Whilst I’m talking about QT, I thought I’d mention his book CINEMA SPECULATION. I’m about 120 pages in or so, but it is such a great read. Part observation on cinema history, part autobiography, it charts the movie taste and influences of Tarantino, and so far I’m loving every page. QT talks about films which either I’ve never heard of or films which I have seen and can be considered ambivalent towards, but he talks with such love you can’t help but get swept up in it.
For a majority of the book he looks at films from the seventies (Deliverance, The Getaway, The Outfit), and once again expresses his dislike for 80’s movies. I get his point: the two decades are wildly contrasted, but to dismiss the 80’s as if it was the worst decade ever feels like an odd hill to die on (Are you really going to sling out Blade Runner, The Thing, Aliens, The Untouchables, American Werewolf, Back to the Future, Batman, Beetlejuice, Spinal Tap, Withnail and I, Heathers, The Empire Strikes Back, Southern Comfort, Die Hard, Predator, Robocop, Spielberg...?) For me, it was a decade of imagination, wonder and dare I say it: FUN! For me, it was inspiring. Somewhere, QT is shaking his head, but if he’s up for writing a part 2 focusing on the 80’s, I’d read it!
LISTENING
It’s Glasto time again, and REM have shared their 1999 Glastonbury show!
PLAYING
Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order
It’s an oldie, and one of those games I started playing years ago, had a break, and then had no idea where I was or what I was meant to be doing. But I started playing it again, and it has proved to be a lot of fun. Yes, it is one of those games which tests your frustration levels (and the swear jar), but there are some great Star Wars moments in it (breaking into and driving an AT-AT? Yes please!).
Fallout 76
Yes, I’m always playing this piggin’ game, but a new map expansion was released a few weeks ago - SKYLINE VALLEY - the first and hopefully not-last map expansion for the game. And it’s about time.
Thanks to the popularity of the Prime TV series, the game finally gets a bit of love from Bethesda, even if it does slightly pander towards newbie players who joined because of the TV show (there’s a chipper, go-getting character straight out of the Lucy MacLean-mould). The expansion is fairly easy to complete (26 new locations, some new annoying bad guys and a weird storm in the sky), but it was fun to go exploring somewhere new after years of hanging around locations that I know better than my own house.
Finally, here’s what else has kept going (musically) this month: For a few days an anomaly occured in the sky over the UK - The sun, I believe it’s called. And then it went away again. But in hope of something resembling Summer, here’s a playlist!
So fling open the windows, switch all the fans on, swap the winter duvet for something thinner and top up the ice pops in the freezer! Enjoy!
Thank you for reading Short People!
It would greatly help if you could share this post on your socials. If you’re a writer on Substack, please could you add Short People to your recommendations.
If you enjoyed Short People, please spread the word!