09/23/22
This week: Our favorites from TIFF, the Irish series you should not miss, and a playlist for everyone ready for fall.
TRENDS THIS WEEK:
Youtube Blackpink - SHUT DOWN
Letterboxd BARBARIAN
Spotify Harry Styles - AS IT WAS
Netflix DO REVENGE
Twitter Telfar
Trailer THE LITTLE MERMAID
Shopify It’s Been A Week
Life & Culture
Starting a few months ago, multiple authors shared that they saw a large increase in numbers of readers returning their books on Amazon—potentially thanks to creators on BookTok sharing “hacks” with their followers, explaining that Amazon allows readers to return ebooks even after reading them. And Amazon is now cracking down on the phenomenon, with The Authors Guild announcing yesterday that the bookseller agreed to change its policy on ebook returns. Amazon will now only allow automatic returns on ebooks that customers have read less than ten percent of.
San Francisco’s police department just got a lot more powerful. The city’s board of supervisors voted this week on a measure that gives the police access to private video surveillance cameras across the city. While the police department won’t have constant access to the tapes, it will be able to access the footage in circumstances like the investigation of crimes, including misdemeanors and property crimes.
—Darlene Kenney, Director of Brand Marketing
TikTok
Gen Z is skipping Google when it comes to searching for answers, and instead turning to one of their favorite apps…TikTok. As Nailah Roberts, a 25-year-old who searches TikTok for restaurant recommendations, told the New York Times, “On TikTok, you see how the person actually felt about where they ate.” I’ve also found myself using the app as a way to get suggestions for things, from hikes to movies to travel destinations. There's no other type of content that gives you a better picture of something than video, and TikTok is optimized for uber-specific content searches.
Now, for my own TikTok recommendations this week…I was fascinated by this video that transports us to a busy NYC street in 1911. If you want to see more, check out this lengthier video from The Museum of Modern Art. It highlights life in New York at the time, from a team of cameramen with the Swedish company Svenska Biografteatern. I also loved this video of two dudes at the airport who were very much on the same wavelength, and this sweet video of two men connecting over bowling.
—Darlene Kenney, Director of Brand Marketing
Film
The film team just returned from the Toronto Film Festival, and while we feel bad talking about movies no one else has seen yet, here are a few films to look out for in the coming months!
THE INSPECTION was a particular fave, a semi-autobiographical story about a young gay Black man (Jeremy Pope) who signs up for the Marine corps, in part as an attempt to win approval from his very religious mother (Gabrielle Union). It's a very strong and moving debut feature from Elegance Bratton.
Next, Ruben Östlund has hit another home run with TRIANGLE OF SADNESS, his first English language feature. It is a laugh-out-loud funny indictment of the human desire for power (or at least proximity to power), with fantastic performances from Harris Dickinson, Dolly De Leon, and the late Charlbi Dean. I don't want to say more than that because I went into it totally blind and am so happy that I did!
Finally, Sarah Polley's feature WOMEN TALKING manages to make two hours of—quite literally—women talking feel gripping and cinematic. While the titular women belong to a Mennonite community and their conversation centers around whether or not to leave their abusive and repressive community, the themes of questioning one's faith, cycles of abuse, and female empowerment feel wildly universal.
And so you can mark your cals: THE INSPECTION will be released by A24 on November 18th, TRIANGLE OF SADNESS will be released by Neon on October 7th, and WOMEN TALKING will be released by United Artists on December 2nd.
—Julia Hammer, Director of Production
Last weekend, I caught Buster Keaton's THE GENERAL (1926) (trailer here) on the big screen at the Hollywood Legion, with a live piano accompaniment by Cliff Retallick, an introduction by Buster's great-granddaughter Keaton Talmadge, and a post-screening Q&A with Retallick and two Buster experts: International Buster Keaton Society president Patricia Eliot Tobias, and Slate's Dana Stevens, who just wrote the literal book on the guy. As a fan of early screen legends like Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd, I'd always wanted to see a silent comedy with live music in a theater full of people, so experiencing that for the first time was a total joy. When I wasn't laughing along at Keaton's impeccable physical comedy or signature deadpan delivery, I was gobsmacked by the pure spectacle of THE GENERAL; after the screening, Tobias and Stevens discussed the technical mastery (along with the occasional wildfire and many an injury, of course) that went into filming the iconic train sequences. It's a hilarious film, sure, but it's also an incredible action movie, without which BULLET TRAIN probably wouldn't be playing in your local theater right now. I highly recommend finding a Cliff Retallick-accompanied screening to attend—he IMPROVISES his scores in real time, by the way—and checking out Stevens' book CAMERA MAN: BUSTER KEATON, THE DAWN OF CINEMA, AND THE INVENTION OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.
—Alicia Devereaux, Development Assistant
On a whim, a friend and I decided to watch RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD (trailer here). Neither of us knew anything about Rambo minus the occasional scene played in Alamo Drafthouse or various pop culture references to the character. I had seen more recent ads for the newer films in the franchise, so I went in with the idea it would be a bit cheesy, 80’s-style action film with Sylvester Stalone looking cool, killing people with a heavy machine gun. Little did I know, this is a top-tier 90-minute action movie that has everything this genre should have. It contains a great supporting cast in the form of Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy, and David Caruso, as well as a thrilling score on par with TOP GUN and ALIENS. As John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) crosses the landscape of the Pacific Northwest forest, cinematographer Andrew Laszlo paints the perfect backdrop for a cinematic and beautiful sequence of cat vs. mouse. The practical special effects cement the world that these characters battle in, and create a number of strong action sequences that force you to lean in. The extra weight in both the story and the performances turns a cheesy action prompt into a hit classic that I recommend everyone see.
—Jackson Ingraham, Executive Assistant
TV
BAD SISTERS (trailer here), a new Irish series on Apple TV+, deserves so much more attention! It almost feels like a parody of BIG LITTLE LIES in its premise, which is simply four sisters plotting to kill their unbelievably awful brother-in-law. But in all the hijinks and absurdity, the series keeps each sister emotionally grounded and sympathetic, making you root for them with every plan gone wrong. If the concept feels familiar at first glance, I promise that you’ll get a strong sense of the specific, darkly funny tone as the series progresses. Without spoiling anything, the end of episode three in particular is so brutally hilarious that you will have to keep watching to see how the sisters' mess unfolds.
—Dustin Sloane, Development Coordinator
Music
The fall solstice is just around the corner so I thought, what better way to prepare for the season than to make one of the most depressing playlists of all time? The playlist includes many mid-tempo folk rock/r&b songs by artists such as Phoebe Bridgers, Weyes Blood, Frank Ocean, and more. It will make you feel a plethora of different emotions ranging from feeling nostalgic of simpler times to excessive navel-gazing that might make you spiral out of control and contemplate the meaning of life (hopefully not the latter). I tried to add a good blend of some indie classics that some of us may recognize, and also highlight some emerging pop artists that you might not have listened to before. I highly recommend putting on a pair of your favorite headphones and going on an afternoon walk while listening to the playlist for the full effect.
—Saad Hamid, Digital Intern
Several PS Weekly contributors still listen to 5 Seconds of Summer in the year 2022, but it looks like I am the only one who’s brave enough to admit it. If you need a refresher, you most likely know this four-piece band—that inexplicably has one more second than member – from hearing their biggest hit YOUNDBLOOD at your dentist’s office. Before that, they broke out as openers for One Direction who attempted to revive pop-punk long before Machine Gun Kelly and Olivia Rodrigo came along. In my opinion, 5 Seconds of Summer are the kings of comfort music. Their songs are…. to put it gently, inspired by nearly every pop-rock band that came before them (blink-182, The 1975, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco — you get the point.) But in their broadly commercial sound, they’ve maintained a consistent output of nostalgic familiarity for nearly a decade.
Their fifth album, titled—not a joke—5SOS5, dropped today and brings more of the same in the best way. You get their signature Hot Topic-meets-Dollar Tree sound in songs like ME MYSELF & I, CAROUSEL, BEST FRIENDS, and YOU DON’T GO TO PARTIES. But the band does veer into new lanes on 5SOS5: BAD OMENS is a more mature, The Script-esque offering, HAZE sounds like a hidden gem found on Harry Styles's USB drive, and the breezy FLATLINE is a fun “fine, here's our SUNROOF” moment.
Aside from also-confusingly-not-a-quintet Maroon 5, 5SOS is the only band in 2022 that makes music for the adult contemporary radio station your bus driver played in middle school. If you’re looking for this vibe, hope you have fun catching up on 5SOS’s 5 albums!
—Dustin Sloane, Development Coordinator
Have a great weekend! And as always, be kind, stay healthy, and stay creative. ツ