šæ53: Causeway
šæ53: Causeway
This week, an unlikely face appears in Indiana Jones and a change to SP's schedule puts Jennifer Lawrence in the spotlight.
āEvery night I cut out my heart. But in the morning it was full again.ā
~ The English Patient, 1996
We interrupt your scheduled programmingā¦
This week, Elizabeth Banksās latest film, Call Jane, was intended to be the feature review for this issue of Salty Popcorn. However, it wasnāt until after the last edition was published that we realised Causeway, starring Jennifer Lawrence, was being released on the same day on Apple TV+.
As weāve mentioned before, keeping on top of all upcoming films isnāt easy. Thereās not one all-inclusive list of every release and the problem is magnified by the number of streaming platforms making their own productions.
SP is committed to bringing you honest reviews of the latest and greatest films we have access to, so while Call Jane looked good, Causeway looked better. Was Causeway as good as we hoped? Youāll have to read the review to find out.
Now for the headlines:
This morning, Pakistan reversed the ban on its own Oscar contender, Joyland, following widespread criticism. Read more.
Mixed reviews are surfacing following the early screenings of writer-director Damien Chazelleās (La La Land, Whiplash) latest film Babylon, starring Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt and Tobey Maquire. Read more.
While rumours have been popping up for years, it looks like Disney is now seriously considering making a third The Princess Diaries film. Read more.
Brendan Fraser has said he wonāt be attending the Golden Globes next year even if heās nominated, because of his relationship with Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Read more.
And finally, Quentin Tarantino has announced plans to shoot an eight-episode TV series next year. Read more.
Salty Popcorn is 100% free, but if you enjoy SP, please consider buying us a cinema ticket for just Ā£5 per month - or a bunch of tickets for just Ā£30 per year. Thank you!
Upcoming Releases
The Whale
UK: 03 February // USA: 09 December
Brendan Fraserās highly anticipated return to the silver screen sees him play an obese and reclusive English teacher who tries to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter (Sadie Sink) for one last chance at redemption.
Joyland
UK: 24 February // USA: TBC
As the happily patriarchal Rana family craves the birth of a baby boy, the youngest of the Rana men secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and finds himself falling for a fiercely ambitious trans starlet.
Fact of the week
Did you know Daniel Craig played one of Indiana Jonesā earliest adversaries? Thatās right, Craig played German Officer Schiller in the spin-off series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
Although you wouldnāt know heās German from the accent, Schiller and Indy have a good old-fashioned punch-up in an almost laughable scene that lasts close to three minutes!
Itās not easy to see Craig up close, so hereās a photo of him in costume.
Review: Causeway
Star rating:
3.5 (out of 5)
Where to watch:Ā
USA: Apple TV+
UK: Apple TV+
Runtime:
1hr 32m
Director:
Lila Neugebauer
Blurb:Ā
Lynsey (Jennifer Lawrence), a US soldier, struggles to adapt to life as a civilian following the traumatic brain injury that forced her to return home from Afghanistan.
The review (NO spoilers):
In this sombre slow-burning drama, Jennifer Lawrence plays a traumatised soldier with a brain injury that finds hope, help and friendship in an unlikely companion (Brian Tyree Henry).
Lawrence and Henry have great chemistry on screen and itās their shared scenes that mark the highlights of this film. This is more a testament to their performances and ability to work together than it is to the script. Penned by award-winning author Ottessa Moshfegh, thereās nothing inherently wrong with the screenplay, but there is something missing.
The filmās entire mood can be quickly described as solemn and I canāt help but think it was meant to have a greater emotional impact. There were a few moments, one in particular, where I thought: āI should be feeling something here. My eyes should be welling up,ā but I wasnāt and they werenāt.
Itās a delicate production full of subtlety, which for me shares a closer resemblance to a poetic novel than an A24 drama. It took this LA Times review by Katie Walsh for me to realise that Lynseyās army assignment as an engineer working on a dam is a metaphor for her fighting to hold back the emotion of her trauma.
Iāve never been that good at recognising and interpreting metaphors, which might be what Iām missing in this film. Still, Iād have liked to dive deeper into the thoughts and emotions of the characters, rather than skimming across the surface.
Scroll down to see whatās in the next issue.
If you likedĀ Causewayā¦
Joy
2015 | UK: Disney+ / Amazon Prime (Ā£3.49) // USA: Amazon Prime ($3.99)
While Iām not the biggest fan of her most recent films, thereās no denying that Jennifer Lawrence is a fantastic actress, which is why this week Iād like to highlight what I think is one of her best films, one that doesnāt get half the attention it deserves.
With Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper starring in supporting roles, Joy tells the story of Joy Mangano, a real-life inventor and entrepreneur.
In the next issue:
Bones and All
UK: 23 November // USA: 23 November |Ā Watch the Trailer
Paper boy š§”