Join us every week for a trip into the weird and wonderful world of trailers. Whether it’s the first teaser for the latest instalment in your favourite franchise, an obscure preview for a strange indie darling, whether it’s good, bad, ugly or just plain weird – your favourite pop culture baristas are there to tell you what they think.
Is there a correct version of Hercule Poirot? And, if so – who is it? If you haven’t already done so, make sure to check out Alan’s Six Damn Fine Degrees post on just this question!
Talking of right and wrong, true and false: our most recent podcast episode deals with just these issues, looking at two films and one TV series based on or inspired by actual events. As Leonard Nimoy once said: “The following story of alien encounters is true – and by true, I mean false. It’s all entertaining lies, but in the end, isn’t that the real truth? … the answer is no.”
And this finally takes us to our regular weekly trailers.
Mege: This looks like Gaspar Noé did a remake of Michael Haneke’s Amour, doesn’t it? It’s a big surprise that Noé, the boundary-breaking director of some of the most extreme movies I can remember (Into the Void, Irreversible, Climax) takes on a family drama that could be by Mike Leigh. But why oh why do I have the ominous feeling that something bad is about to happen, something on a par with Haneke? Or worse?
Matt: I watched Star Trek: The Motion Picture as a teenager, and although I was the kind of teenager who enjoyed 2001: A Space Odyssey, I found ST:TMP to be too slow, too much in love with its images, stretching a story that could’ve easily been an episode of Star Trek over more than two hours. Was I just too young? Is the first Star Trek film worth revisiting? If it is, the best format is likely to be the upcoming Director’s Cut in glorious 4K… because if I’m going to end up just as bored as I was the first time, at least 4K is probably the best way to enjoy the spaceship porn. (What? I like a good spaceship as much as the next man!)
Sam: It‘s the first (and to my mind still) best pop song in my memory: “Take on Me” by Norwegian boy band a-ha was everywhere in 1986, when my perception of music began as a child. Now, a 2021 documentary tells the rocky story of this pop phenomenon: the daring start without a dime in London, the instant success with the aforementioned song, then the trials and tribulations of in-group fighting and competition. Since their spectacularly intimate 2017 MTV Unplugged Concert, I became convinced that their songwriting and performance skills had been greatly underestimated and I think this documentary will be evidence to that. Take on me again, please!
A Damn Fine Cup of Culture 