Ken and Robin Consume Media: New Neal Stephenson, An Aptly Named Action Movie, and a Classic M. R. James Adaptation
December 10th, 2024 | Robin
Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.
Recommended
Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point (Film, US, Tyler Taormina, 2024) In the long-gone days of the late flip phone era, an extended Italian American clan gathers for a raucous holiday celebration. Observational ensemble drama evokes the loving chaos of family events and a nostalgia unstuck in time. Producer Michael Cera appears in a small role as a befuddled policeman.—RDL
Destroy All Neighbors (Film, US, Josh Forbes, 2024) Put-upon sound engineer (Jonah Ray) spirals into hallucination and murder when the EDM beats jackhammering from the apartment of his grotesque weirdo new neighbor (Alex Winter) interfere with the creation of his prog rock masterpiece. Witty, amiable gore comedy shambles to the beat of its own oddball drummer.—RDL
Kill (Film, India, Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, 2023) Commando (Lakshya) boards a train seeking to elope with his sweetheart (Tanya Maniktala) only to wind up fighting his way through an entire bandit clan. Though this aptly named revenge actioner leverages the limitations of confined space fight choreography, its chief innovation is to show the emotional impact of the death toll on the villains as well as the heroes.—RDL
Polostan (Fiction, Neal Stephenson, 2024) Russian-American Communist cowgirl Aurora (aka Dawn Rae) returns to the Soviet Union to assist the Revolution as a spy. Told in overlapping flashbacks from 1919 to 1933, running through the Bonus Army March and the Century of Progress World’s Fair among other things, this first volume of a trilogy is a peak Stephenson blend of background crunch and driven characters.—KH
Support the Girls (Film, US, Andrew Bujalski, 2018) On a bad day in an Austin Hooters-style restaurant, accumulating crises test the unrewarded competence of beleaguered manager Lisa (Regina Hall.) Observational workplace ensemble drama finds a transcendent nobility in the neverending struggle against everyday bullshit.—RDL
Whistle and I’ll Come To You (Television, UK, Jonathan Miller, 1968) Fusty academic (Michael Hordern) staying in a Suffolk hotel digs up an old whistle that tests his disbelief in the supernatural. Assigning himself the daunting task of rendering M. R. James prose cinematic, Miller zeroes in on the very English auditory realm of non- and sub-verbal utterances and mumblings. First aired as part of the Omnibus anthology series, this paved the way for the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas series, the early installments of which North Americans can now find on Shudder.—RDL
Good
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (Film, US, Guy Ritchie, 2024) Desperate to break the U-boats’ stranglehold on Britain, M (Cary Elwes) recruits maverick Major March-Philipps (Henry Cavill) and his team to scuttle the Nazi supply ship in neutral Fernando Po. Rousing action film never quite manages to hold or maintain tension (never Ritchie’s strong suit, Wrath of Man notwithstanding) but looks great throughout (Ed Wild shoots in a lively supersaturated 70s palette) and zips along through a two-hour run time.—KH
Okay
Abigail (Film, US, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett, 2024) Professional heisters (Dan Stevens, Melissa Barrera, et al.) snatch a little girl for ransom and take her to an old mansion chosen by their client’s cut-out (Giancarlo Esposito) but things aren’t as they seem. The first surprise (she’s a vampire!) is revealed in the trailer and the poster; the film takes too long to get to the second, and really could use a third one to pick up the slack. I enjoyed Stevens and Barrera, and am a sucker for the premise, but this is a high Okay at best.—KH
