This week on the show, we’re covering the just-released thriller Eileen, starring Thomasin McKenzie and the incomparable Anne Hathaway, which Matthew first saw at Sundance 2023, and then finally follow up with Taika Waititi’s latest sports underdog story Next Goal Wins.
Continue reading “Podcast: Eileen & Next Goal Wins”
Let’s get this out of the way: I did not like this movie. Todd Phillips has made a movie about a horribly abused man who lives in a world full of assholes and who also has mental health issues and who also has a condition who also has some terrible impulses and through the course of the movie starts acting on those impulses, and places the blame literally everywhere but on him, but doesn’t really make a compelling argument about any of these ideas.
Joker is an essay without a thesis or a joke without a punchline. There’s a lot going on but no actual payoff. I couldn’t tell you who Joker is actually for, but I worry that one of the worst crowds on the internet is going to hold it up as inspirational.
In a word: yikes.
Liam Neeson is a celebrated actor. He’s been in epic romances, costumed adventures, and important historical dramas. Lately though he’s carved out a niche for himself as a slightly older action star. There’s only one reason why this works: Liam Neeson is great. The movies he’s making are kind of dumb, heavy handed, and full of plot holes, but for some reason they just kinda work. _Taken_ is probably the first (and best) example of this. _Non-Stop_ is just the latest.
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