New summer movie releases? It's more likely than you think.
This week saw two interesting offerings from veteran directors to varying levels of success, plus an outstanding album promoted by Queen Bey herself.
Hello, friends! Good to have you back. Let’s get right into it! Here are a few things in pop culture that I’m interested in this — well — last week:
MOVIES
Da 5 Bloods, dir. Spike Lee
Though Christopher Nolan and the merry band of misfits over at Warner Brothers insist that they can open a summer blockbuster in theatres by July, even the Academy has acknowledged that the American movie-going experience will not return to normal any time soon.
Of course, the companies most equipped to handle the task of releasing movies during this time of social distancing are streamers, specifically Netflix. No strangers to exclusively releasing films by acclaimed directors on its platform, Netflix appears to have had a hit on their hands; after its Friday release, Spike Lee’s Vietnam drama Da 5 Bloods was, according to them, Netflix’s #1 trending movie all weekend.
Now, we know from prior duds like Murder Mystery or Six Underground that a Netflix original movie does not exactly have to be a knockout masterpiece to have a lot of eyeballs on it at launch time. It’s lucky for all of us, then, that Da 5 Bloods is a knockout masterpiece.
Lee’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning BlacKkKlansman follows five black Vietnam war vets as they return to Vietnam for the first time since the war to recover the remains of their slain squad leader — as well as a significant amount of gold that they had buried and intended on fencing.
The film is an absolute firecracker. It courses with righteous rage while also thoughtfully and poignantly exploring the sacrifices of black GIs who gave up everything for a country that failed and continues to fail to live up to its promises. It shows that the scars from a futile war like Vietnam — the death and destruction, the tearing apart of families, even the racial slurs that all those involved learned from each other — do not go away when the fighting ends. They fester and grow, eventually matching in toxicity the cancerous Agent Orange that wafted through jungles, villages, and the lungs of soldiers and civilians alike.
The film’s crown gem is a virtuosic performance by Delroy Lindo, whose character Paul arguably carries the most of these scars of anybody in the film. Lindo’s performance is indescribably excellent, and in my view is the most obvious Oscar-worthy performance of recent times.
That Da 5 Bloods communicates all of these complicated ideas so clearly and cogently while violently twisting in tone and plot is no small filmmaking feat. Lee has made a film that is about 30 different films all at once. It is at once war movie, a boy’s trip comedy, a heist movie, a family drama, and a Shakespearean tragedy. The result is, if not entirely cohesive, remarkably coherent. It is an ambitious and veteran film, made by an ambitious and veteran director. Simply put, Da 5 Bloods is a singular achievement that further entrenches Lee’s status as the most vital voice in American cinema.
Stream Da 5 Bloods on Netflix.
The King of Staten Island, dir. Judd Apatow
Another major studio release this past weekend, Universal’s dramedy The King of Staten Island, starring Pete Davidson and directed by veteran Judd Apatow, feels like an experiment.
In many ways, it is. Universal’s continued experimentation with video-on-demand releases during the Covid-19 pandemic hit some snags with this one, with a bizarre studio mixup confusing many potential ticket buyers as to whether or not it would be screened in theatres. It’s also an experiment in Pete Davidson’s ability to open a studio film — which, in my view, is successful — Davidson buoys the film with charisma and impressive acting chops.
But while the performances from Davidson and his co-stars Marisa Tomei and Bill Burr (what!?) are great, and those performances ultimately make for a pretty good watch, the film itself feels messy, bloated and unpolished — which is surprising coming from such an experienced director and writer such as Apatow.
Then again, Staten Island doesn’t feel like Apatow’s movie. It’s Davidson’s. It is quite autobiographical, and he is credited as a co-writer on the film. His character Scott mirrors Davidson’s life rather closely in some areas. Scott is battling with mental illness and severe trauma relating to the tragic death of his firefighter father, and all anybody seems to be able to talk about is whether or not he’s an irredeemable asshole. Pete Davidson has openly battled with borderline personality disorder and suicidal ideations, clearly carries trauma from the death of his firefighter father (named Scott) at Ground Zero, endured a very public breakup with one of the world’s most famous women, and all America seems to talk about is whether or not he’s an irredeemable asshole. Or ugly.
This feels like a very personal work for Davidson, and he clearly had significant creative influence on the film. There’s a lot to like about this movie, and there are some very poignant scenes meditating on trauma and growth. If it is actually his film, it’s an impressive if flawed offering from a rookie screenwriter. But it also has its share of rookie mistakes — and lags rather badly at times throughout its much too long two hour, seventeen-minute runtime — which are all issues that Apatow should have learned from by now and corrected. The King of Staten Island shows great promise, but sometimes feels like a missed opportunity.
Rent The King of Staten Island on your preferred Video On Demand service.
MUSIC
Ungodly Hour by Chloe x Halle
Sisters Chloe and Halle Bailey, teen viral sensations turned full fledged sensations, released their sophomore studio album as Chloe x Halle on Friday. Ungodly Hour, released on Beyonce’s Parkwood record label, is a terrific album, showcasing slick production, impressive lyricism, and clear vocal talent.
It makes sense that Beyonce is the one that discovered and championed the duo. Ungodly Hour feels influenced and inspired by Bey’s catalogue in all of the best ways. Production-wise, it’s evocative of her generation-defining record Lemonade.
Boosted by standout tracks Do It, Ungodly Hour and Wonder What She Thinks of Me, Ungodly Hour deserves to make both Chloe and Halle household names, just in time for Halle to star in Disney’s next probable live action misadventure. But hey, if even Beyonce couldn’t singlehandedly fix — or justify the existence of — last summer’s The Lion Kingit seems only fitting that one of her proteges is next in line. I know I’ll be watching.
That’s all for this week. Until next time, friends.