You've cat to be kitten me right meow
This week, we’re talking all about fake cats (jungle and Jellicle alike), the early return of Veronica Mars, a whole lot of Comic Con developments, some interesting Netflix news and a whole, whole lot of trailers.
It’s a cat! More specifically, my in-laws’ cat Noodle.
Welcome back to Jacob’s Letter, a free pop culture newsletter full of puns and badly-PhotoShopped dog (and now, cat) photos.
I’ve recently started freelancing again, and it’s been fun. I already write this newsletter and other blog posts for free, so why not get paid for some of them? Soon you can see my pop culture musings over at Book and Film Globe. Read more on what I reviewed for them this week in the “Letter of Recommendation” section further down in the newsletter.
There was a lot that happened this week in the pop culture world. The “Cats” trailer dropped. Mahershala Ali is going to be the new Blade. Natalie Portman will play Thor. Apparently the nerds are getting a new “Star Trek” show (he said while analyzing San Diego Comic Con news for anything “Star Wars”-related). And oh yeah, a new “Lion King” movie came out, for better or worse. It’s all just a scroll away.
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Cats don’t dance
So, normally this would go into the “Trailer Park” section, but I have no choice but to share the first trailer for the feature film adaptation of “Cats,” because if I must bear this uncanny valley cross, I cannot do it alone.
Reader, I kid you not, after this trailer showed at the beginning of my Friday matinee screening of “The Lion King,” the woman next to me murmured, “Oh…that shit ain’t natural, that ain’t right.”
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Indeed, it ain’t right, and even though I have seen a community theater performance of “Cats” before (that I slept through), I have many questions about this movie. Namely:
Why is the Taylor Swift cat wearing heels when the other cats look like they’re not wearing shoes?
What is “digital fur technology”? Why does it look so scary? Will “Cats” be a horror film?
Why does James Corden look like The Penguin?
Why are the male cats clothed, but the female cats are shirtless? Are they naked? Why does Judi Dench’s cat, who I assume is covered in fur, wearing a fur coat? What does this imply about the cat ecosystem?
Why are the sets so big?
Do these cats know they’re cats?
What kind of a “new life” are these cats running toward? What will we “believe” in when this film is released? Cats?
What are these cats genuflecting at when the trailer ends? Some kind of cat deity? WHAT IS THE PLOT OF THIS MOVIE?!
Why do I watch this damn thing every time it pops up in my Twitter feed? Why?
Movie review: Be prepared…to be disappointed
More cat news! The new “Lion King” is a technical marvel, with a fraction of the wonder of the original. Don’t lionize these dead lion eyes. Read my full review at jakeharrisblog.com.
My rating: 1.5 dead lion eyes out of 5
Suck it nerds, I’m goin’ corporate
San Diego Comic Con 2019 was this past week, and, as predicted, a whole lot of nerd dreams came true. I don’t have time to go into all of the details, but here are the high points:
“Veronica Mars” was dropped early. All eight episodes are on Hulu RIGHT. NOW. I am mostly angry about this news, because I am still making my way through season 2 on my rewatch. But it also just makes me happy to see the internet excited about one of my favorite shows.
Marvel unveiled its Phase 4 slate, mere weeks after “Spider-Man: Far From Home” came out and mere hours after it was announced that “Avengers: Endgame” beat “Avatar” to become the highest-grossing film ever (not counting inflation). The conglomeration of media continues apace. Here’s what Marvel has on deck until the end of 2021:
Black Widow, starring Scarlett Johansson and Rachel Weisz and directed by Cate Shortland, arriving in theaters on May 1, 2020.
The Falcon & Winter Soldier, coming to Disney+ in fall 2020.
The Eternals, starring Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek and directed by Chloe Zhao, arriving in theaters on November 6, 2020.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, starring Simu Liu and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, arriving in theaters on February 12, 2021. Shang Chi will be Marvel’s first film with a lead character of Asian descent.
WandaVision, coming to Disney+ in spring 2021.
Loki, coming to Disney+ in spring 2021.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch) and directed by Scott Derrickson, arriving in theaters on May 7, 2021.
WHAT IF ...?, an animated series featuring voice acting from MCU characters, coming to Disney+ in spring 2021.
Hawkeye, starring Jeremy Renner (hopefully he’ll also do the theme song), coming to Disney+ in fall 2021.
Thor: Love and Thunder, directed by Taika Waititi and starring Natalie Portman (as the first female Thor), Tessa Thompson, and Chris Hemsworth, arriving in theaters on November 5, 2021.
A film wasn’t announced, but Mahershala Ali is the MCU’s new Blade.
Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy 3 were also confirmed.
Finally, MCU czar Kevin Feige also confirmed rumors following the Disney/Fox merger that Marvel would be pursuing films about the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. Because we haven’t had enough X-Men movies lately.
Sturgill Simpson was also at SDCC to announce his new album, “SOUND & FURY.” If it seems weird that an alt-country star would take to SDCC to announce a music project, you’re right. But then Simpson said the album would accompany an anime film released on Netflix bearing the same name, and it all makes sense.
“We went in without any preconceived notions and came out with a really sleazy, steamy rock n roll record. It’s definitely my most psychedelic,” Simpson said at SDCC. “And also my heaviest. I had this idea that it’d be really cool to animate some of these songs, and we ended up with a futuristic, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, samurai film.”
Simpson’s career trajectory is fascinating to me, and I fell like the man has earned the right to do whatever bizarre project he wants. I’m not really an anime person, so I don’t know if this trailer is good or not, but I’m excited to see what it ends up being.
“Star Trek: Picard” is coming to CBS All Access in early 2020, and will star Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard and will feature a lot of characters from “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” As previously stated, I’m a “Star Wars” person, but I’m sure this “Picard” news is big.
And the reason is…editing
TW: Suicide
Two years after Netflix aired the controversial, graphic suicide scene in “13 Reasons Why,” the streaming service has decided to edit that scene after “ongoing debate about the show.”
Here’s Constance Grady from Vox explaining what’s now different about the scene:
The original cut of the infamous 13 Reasons Why episode depicted Hannah, the show’s troubled heroine, getting into a bathtub and slitting her wrists with a razor, with the camera lingering so that every detail of what she was doing was clear.
The new version, however, has removed those details. Now, we instead see Hannah looking into the bathroom mirror before climbing into the bathtub, and then move from that sequence directly to the moment in which her mother finds her dead body.
“Our creative intent in portraying the ugly, painful reality of suicide in such graphic detail in season one was to tell the truth about the horror of such an act, and make sure no one would ever wish to emulate it,” the show’s creator Brian Yorkey said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
It’s a sensitive issue, and all talk of censorship aside, I think a show that’s a revenge fantasy about making sure the people who contributed to your suicide never forget it would maybe spark some imitators, especially among young people. But apparently Netflix signed on for a third season of “13 Reasons Why,” so those who wish to watch the show can watch if they want. Season 1 was not my cup of tea, precisely because it seemed to revel in the effects of the suicide it depicted.
Only rapper still care about an album
Ladies and gentlemen, we are officially on Chance 4 watch. Chance the Rapper’s first album (or, as he colloquially calls it, an “owbum”; he categorizes his other three releases as “mixtapes”) comes out on Friday, and it’s called “The Big Day.” Lil Chano revealed the title and album art on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon last Tuesday.
The Grammy-winning “Chance 3” (AKA “Coloring Book”) gets a lot of rotation in this house, as does previous mixtapes “Acid Rap” and “10 Day.” Hopefully this lives up to the hype.
‘I was a highwoman/Along the harmonies I did ride’
A few weeks ago, Amanda Shires teased she was starting a supergroup called “The Highwomen,” a joking reference to “The Highwaymen” of the 1980s. Now, the long-awaited supergroup is finally here. Composed of Shires, Maren Morris, Brandi Carlile and Natalie Hemby, the Highwomen released their first single “Redesigning Women” on Thursday. I’m not really a fan of the hokiness of the lyrics, but the music video is fun, and if the harmonies on this song are any indications of what’s in store when the album drops on Sept. 6, I’m excited.
In other cool country music news, the first singles from Miranda Lambert’s new album came out this week. “It All Comes Out in the Wash” hearkens back to “Famous in a Small Town” with its down-home country aphorisms, and “Locomotive” is a guitar-riven romp descended directly from “Gunpowder and Lead.” Looks like she wasn’t kidding about the direction of her new album.
Trailer Park
Want more trailer news for all the movies coming out this summer? I have just the thing: Read my summer movie preview here at jakeharrisblog.com.
“The King’s Man”
For all those who may not have known that “kingsman” came out of “king’s man,” here ya go. This features none of the original cast members from the original two “Kingman” movies, instead focusing on a group of World War I-era soldiers and kingsmen led by Ralph Fiennes. I’m interested to see how the series’ James Bond-type gadgetry will show up in an early 20th century setting.
“Monos”
This film looks gorgeous, but gives absolutely nothing away in terms of plot, so here’s a description form Neon Studios:
MONOS, Alejandro Landes’ awe-inspiring third feature, is a breathtaking survivalist saga set on a remote mountain in Latin America. The film tracks a young group of soldiers and rebels -- bearing names like Rambo, Smurf, Bigfoot, Wolf and Boom-Boom -- who keep watch over an American hostage, Doctora (Julianne Nicholson).
With a rapturous score by Mica Levi (only her third, after UNDER THE SKIN and JACKIE), director Alejandro Landes examines the chaos and absurdity of war from the unique perspective of adolescence, recalling LORD OF THE FLIES and BEAU TRAVAIL in a way that feels wholly original.
Sign me up.
“IT: Chapter Two”
I realize that I’ve written about this trailer before, but I’m just really excited about this movie. This final trailer looks like it highlights some more of the book’s earlier bits about grown life in Derry, while highlighting the new cast of the Loser’s Club as adults. Plus, it looks terrifying.
“Top Gun: Maverick”
I wanted to hate this so much. Watching “Top Gun” reruns on cable with my dad was a formative experience for me, and any sequel would feel like a cash grab.
Well, this does feel like a cash grab, but so help me, by the time Maverick says “Maybe so, sir. But not today” to Ed Harris doing his best Tom Skerritt, I was fully prepared to give this movie my money. Plus, after the heights Tom Cruise went to in “Mission: Impossible — Fallout,” how could you not see what type of stunts this man is willing to do in the name of entertainment? Love him or hate him, Cruise is one of the few actors working today who embodies the term “movie star.”
“Hustlers”
Based on a New York Magazine article about real strippers who stole from real Wall Street brokers and featuring an all-star cast, “Hustlers” looks like the winner of Fall Movie Season 2019: A fun, funny heist movie that has something to say about the real world.
“Creepshow”
The Stephen King renaissance continues apace, with this streaming anthology show coming to Shudder on Sept. 26. Most King adaptations are hit-or-miss, but I trust Shudder to capture the zany, gross and fun spirit of the original film.
Letter of Recommendation
Movie: I thoroughly enjoyed “Wild Rose,” director Tom Harper’s sweet song of a film about a Scottish country music singer (“Chernobyl”s Jessie Buckley) trying to atone for her bad life choices and make it big in Nashville. Buckley does all of her own singing, and the film features covers of songs from Chris Stapleton, Wynonna Judd and John Prine. If it’s playing in an indie theater near you, check it out. Here’s a full review I wrote for Book & Film Globe.
Music: I had never heard of Rod Melancon before last week when I stumbled upon a review of his latest album, “Pinkville.” After listening to that album a few times, I’m wishing I had known who he was a lot sooner. “Pinkville” is a loose rock concept album about a high schooler trying to leave his small Louisiana town, with odes to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Bruce Springsteen thrown in. Think Drive-By Truckers as performed by Danzig. Try not to smile at lines like “I know karate, and voodoo, too.”
Listen here:
Book: NPR host Linda Holmes’ debut novel “Evvie Drake Starts Over” is the perfect summer romcom read. It’s got baseball, witty dialogue and a seaside town that makes you want to move to Maine. I’ll have a full review at Book & Film Globe later this week, but you can order the book here or pick it up at your local bookstore, or order it at your local library.
Comic Book: Another comic store recommendation that I added to my pull list last week, writer Greg Rucka and artist Mike Perkins’ “Lois Lane” sidelines Superman to make Lois’ investigative journalism the true focus. Plots about Russia, collusion and the White House abound, with plenty of “All the President’s Men” references. On stands now.
Friday News Dump
A list of online stuff I really liked this week:
The library I volunteer at and frequent in our section of Dallas is situated in a weird spot. It’s right at the edge of a fairly affluent section of rowhouses and townhomes. But it’s also pretty close to some busy streets where many homeless people stay, which means that the library functions as much more than a place for me to check out books and movies — it’s a resource for homeless people, it’s a haven for discriminated LGBTQ folks, it’s a stop off for people to just sit under the A/C for a while in the summer. This story from NPR illustrates the growing function of libraries in America’s big cities. (Via Colin Dwyer in NPR)
The advent of streaming has made movie theatrical windows shorter, and has also killed off another great communal experience: randomly finding a movie on cable. (Via Mike Ryan in Uproxx)
Taylor and I use Slack to communicate a lot, and apparently, we’re not alone: families are starting to use business tools like Slack and Asana at home, in the name of efficiency. (Via Taylor Lorenz and Joe Pinsker in The Atlantic)
The subject of “The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven” has recanted his tale and left his family. But the way that his story impacted his family and Christian publishing is far from over. (Via Ruth Graham in Slate)
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See you next week,
Jake