🍿82: Leave the World Behind
This week, world-famous brownies, an egg and an underwhelming feature review.
“I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to.”
~ Donnie Darko, 2001
Who you gonna call…?
This week’s SP has been written mostly from bed, by a guy high on hot toddies (yes with whiskey) and cold and flu medicine. But, as I’ve said more than once this week, no sickness shall stand in the way of Salty Popcorn — it might just be responsible for a few more typos than usual.
To stay entertained, I’ve been catching up on the latest season of Rick and Morty in between YouTube clips of James Acaster. As much as I’d love to take this opportunity to finally watch Akira Kurosawa’s Ran, I’m not sure I’d be able to give it the attention it deserves.
On the topic of Feudal Japan, we’ve started watching Blue Eye Samurai on Netflix. It’s a blood-thirsty tale of revenge boasting stunning animation and awesome fight scenes. It’s quite a contrast to the animated show Undone that we recommended last week, but it’s still well worth the watch.
And finally, the other show (yes we’re watching a lot of TV at the moment) that’s consumed TV nights over the past couple of weeks or so is Better Call Saul.
Having recently rewatched Breaking Bad for the first time since it finished 10 years ago, it felt like a good time to give Saul another chance. I can’t remember why I stopped watching it before, but I was wrong. It’s quite a different show to Breaking Bad but I daresay it’s just as good — and I’m looking forward to watching El Camino between seasons four and five.
Now for the headlines:
Barbie and Oppenheimer lead the pack for Golden Globe nominations. Read more.
Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale are set to star in Cold War drama Best Of Enemies. Read more.
Christopher Abbott will replace Ryan Gosling in Blumhouse’s Wolf Man. Read more.
Sir Ian McKellen has reprised his role as Hamlet for a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s classic, one that’s both age- and gender-blind. Read more.
And finally, Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall won the award for best film at the European Film Awards. Read more.
Upcoming Releases
Civil War
UK: 26 April // USA: 26 April
Written and directed by Alex Garland, A24’s latest release, starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Cailee Spaeny, could be its most blockbuster-looking movie yet.
You’ll never guess what it’s about…
The Settlers
UK: 9 February // USA: 9 February
Directed by Felipe Gálvez Haberle, The Settlers is Chile’s official entry for Best International Film at the Oscars.
While accompanying a British soldier (Mark Stanley) and an American mercenary (Benjamin Westfall), marksman Segundo (Camilo Arancibia) comes to realize their true mission is to “remove” the indigenous population.
Fact of the week
The 1979 film Alien had one of the most revered teaser trailers in cinema history. But what many people don’t know is that the trailer was made with little more than an egg sitting atop a try of uncut brownies.
I’ve struggled to find absolute verification for this week’s fact, but I really want it to be true — but it’s the kind of thing you can’t unsee.
Review: Leave the World Behind
Star rating:
2.5 (out of 5)
Where to watch:
USA: Netflix
UK: Netflix
Runtime:
2hr 21m
Director:
Sam Esmail
Blurb:
Based on Rumaan Alam’s book of the same name, Leave the World Behind follows a family whose weekend away is upended when two strangers arrive at night, seeking refuge from a cyberattack that forces everyone to come to terms with their place in the world, as it falls apart.
The review (NO spoilers):
Like many films that walk the line between sci-fi and speculative fiction, the foundation of Leave the World Behind is built on a great concept but is poorly executed.
Much of the first act focuses on the group of characters trying to decide how much they can trust each other, while trying to bring the audience in on the decision-making. Now I’ve not read the book, but it’s my understanding that this is a significant part of it. In the film, however, it feels like a futile attempt to stir tension — futile because the trailer gives more away than it should.
There’s a moment where you’re left thinking whether everything that’s happening is real or not. But if you’ve seen the trailer, you won’t think about it for very long.
The film’s one saving grace is Mahershala Ali who plays G.H., the only likable character that’s worth caring about. His performance transcends that of his co-stars — to the point that I wish it was all just about him surviving the apocalypse.
Amanda (Julia Roberts) is the epitome of a “Karen,” to such an extent that the film’s biggest mystery is why and how she ever married the sweet but bumbling Clay (Ethan Hawke).
Aside from the indirect spoilers and badly set expectations, it all feels a little dull and low-stakes. Some scenes are good, but it’s not a film that needs to be two-and-a-half hours long.
Scroll down to see what’s in the next issue.
If you liked Leave the World Behind…
Children of Men
2006 | UK: Prime Video (£2.49) // USA: Prime Video ($3.79)
Also based on a book, Children of Men takes a more existential approach to the apocalypse by asking what would happen if all of humanity were infertile.
The trailer is about a minute too long in my opinion, so maybe just watch half of it.
In the next issue:
Maestro
UK: 20 December // USA: 20 December | Watch the Trailer
Leave that film behind ;)