🍿37: Everything Everywhere All At Once

This week, Michelle Yeoh saves the world in this week's jaw-dropping feature, we explore the origins of the infamous Wilhelm Scream and a whole lot of movie headlines!

May 19, 2022

“I know kung fu.”
~ The Matrix, 1999

Show us some love…

If you do just one thing today, could it be clicking the little heart just above this week’s quote? Some of you ‘Like’ SP every other week, without fail — and SP loves you for it! — but we’d love for just a few more.

Why? Well, the lovely people at Substack are more inclined to notice newsletters with high engagement rates, making them more likely to feature and promote small publications like SP, when they get lots of likes and comments.

We’ve had quite an uptick in subscribers recently — just topping 150 🥳 — and there’s always a spike when Substack features us on their homepage or in an article, as they did when they featured our collaboration with Stygi at Midweek Crisis in this article.

Speaking of collaborations, a long-term supporter of Salty Popcorn reached out with their own review, which will be published in a bonus edition next week. Want to know what film they’ll be reviewing? Scroll to the bottom of this week’s issue.

Now for the headlines:

The teaser trailer for the anticipated Prey dropped this week… I won’t spoil it by reminding you what it’s about. Watch it here.
Disney is planning a reboot of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Read more.
Pixar has announced its next feature, Elemental, which is due to be released next year. Read more.
Christopher Walken is set to star in Dune: Part Two in the pivotal role of Emperor Shaddam IV. Read more.
Ryan Gosling is set to star in a film adaptation of the 1980’s TV show The Fall Guy. Read more.
And finally, yesterday MGM dropped the teaser for George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing, starring Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba. Watch it here.

Salty Popcorn is 100% free but you can support this independent publication by paying just £5 per month. In return, you’ll be the first to access upcoming premium features.

Upcoming Releases

Brian and Charles

UK: 17 June // USA: 17 June

Based on the 2017 short film of the same name, Brian and Charles follows Brian (David Earl), a lonely inventor in rural Wales, who spends his days building quirky, unconventional contraptions that seldom work. Undeterred by his lack of success, Brian attempts his biggest project yet…

Spiderhead

UK: 17 June // USA: 17 June

Two inmates form a connection while grappling with their pasts in a state-of-the-art penitentiary. The prison is run by a visionary (Chris Hemsworth) who experiments on his subjects with mind-altering drugs.

Fact of the week

You may or may not recognise ‘The Wilhelm Scream’ and even if you do, you might not know it by its official name. This sound effect of a man crying out has been used in more than 400 films and TV shows.

Interestingly, the sound effect is named after a character named Private Wilhelm that was shot by an arrow in the 1953 Western The Charge at Feather River, but its first appearance came two years prior in a Western titled Distant Drums. Since then, it’s become a kind of in-joke with moviemakers and film-lovers alike.

If you’ve never heard of the Wilhelm scream, I think you’ll be amazed at how often you have heard it…

Review: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Star rating:

4.5 (out of 5)

Where to watch:

USA: Only in cinemas

UK: Only in cinemas

Runtime:

2hr 20m

Director(s):

Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert

Blurb:

Michelle Yeoh plays Evelyn, the unlikely and unassuming hero who wants nothing more than to file her taxes but is tasked with saving not just the world, but every world in every universe. It might not sound like a typical film to feature in SP, but this blew me away.

Note: This is one of those films I think you’ll enjoy more without having recently watched the trailer.

The review (NO spoilers):

When I first saw the trailer for Everything Everywhere All at Once, I scoffed and rolled my eyes. This film didn’t appeal to me at all and I was particularly sceptical of the high praise it was getting from audiences and critics. But they were right - this film is a sensational cinematic triumph, and it swept me off my feet.

While the trailer and marketing make it feel like a film for fans of the MCU, I’m much more inclined to agree with Jamie Lee Curtis who sparked an internet debate when she said it “out marvels any Marvel movie”.

Everything Everywhere takes ridiculousness to the extreme, which is clear in the trailer and while that’s something that put me off initially, everything comes together and works astonishingly well. This film is so wonderfully weird that I was waiting for something even stranger to happen next. Despite how ludicrous it all is, it keeps you wanting more, which is a testament to its artistry.

Unlike many films that strive for surrealism, Everything Everywhere is neither silly nor pretentious. Instead, it’s charming, heartfelt and very, very funny. There’s only so much to say about Everything Everywhere without spoiling it, but if you’re anything like me, it’s going to be quite different to what you’re expecting.

I like to think that one of the clearest indicators of a good film is the range of emotion it can pull from an audience. For instance, while there are many comedies that can make you laugh and dramas that can make you cry, there a very few films that can do both - Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of them.

Scroll down to see what’s coming in the next issue.

If you liked Everything Everywhere All at Once…

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

2000 | UK: Netflix // US: Peacock / Amazon Prime ($2.99)

There’s really nothing like Everything Everywhere, it’s easily the best multiverse film I’ve seen and I’ll refrain from recommending Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - though that’s definitely worth a watch.

Instead, let’s celebrate Michell Yeoh and her martial arts expertise with this award-winning classic, which swept four of the 10 Oscars it was nominated for.

In the next issue:

True Things

UK: 1 April // USA: 1 April | Watch the Trailer