Ken and Robin Consume Media: Oddity, Woman of the Hour, and Alan Moore’s Magic 101
November 5th, 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
The Abandoned (Film, Taiwan, Ying-Ting Tseng, 2022) Aided by a tentative rookie (Chloe Xiang) and a victim’s impulsive boyfriend (Ethan Juan), a grief-stricken cop (Ning Chang) investigates the slayings of foreign workers who have fled their visa requirements. Tense serial killer policier paints Taipei’s underbelly as a place of dread and fleeting beauty.—RDL
Bed of Roses (Film, US, Gregory La Cava, 1933) Cynical ex-con (Constance Bennett) reels in a stuffy, rich publisher (John Halliday) but pines for a down-to-earth barge captain (Joel McCrea.) Economically told wisecracking Pre Code romantic drama.—RDL
Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance, and the Future of Evolution (Nonfiction, Jonathan B. Losos, 2017) Lizard-wrangling biologist shows how DNA analysis and experimental studies have established convergent evolution, the tendency of species to arrive at similar solutions to the same environmental challenges, not as a quirky occurrence but as the baseline. Illuminating throughout, including the section where you discover that everything you thought you knew about the Burgess Shale has now been upended.—RDL
The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic (Nonfiction & Comics, Alan Moore & Steve Moore & divers hands, 2024) A big and beautiful introduction to (and defense of) the magical arts, comprising among other things précis of the Kabbalah and Tarot, magical geographies and summonables, 50 “Lives of the Great Enchanters” in comics form, and several “rainy day activities” sections that provide beginning magical instruction. Really most comparable to other wide-ranging introductions to the field such as Richard Cavendish’s Black Arts (also Recommended) but also valuable to (and fun for) the scholar or fan of Alan Moore.—KH
Oddity (Film, Ireland, Damian McCarthy, 2024) Blind psychic proprietor of a curio shop specializing in cursed items (Carolyn Bracken) shows up unannounced at the home of her dead sister’s doctor husband (Gwilym Lee), intent on identifying her killer. Weird tale of revenge and the supernatural filled with unexpected turns and shot with exacting control.—RDL
Wingwomen (Film, France, Mélanie Laurent, 2023) Longtime high-end heist partners, collected Carole (Mélanie Laurent) and vulnerable Alex (Adèle Exarchopoulos) agree to steal a painting for their increasingly unhinged boss (Isabelle Adjani.) Glamorous hangout movie with inventive action set pieces celebrates the bonds of female friendship.—RDL
Woman of the Hour (Film, US, Anna Kendrick, 2024) Struggling actress (Anna Kendrick) reluctantly agrees to appear as a contestant on The Dating Game, unaware that one of her prospective dates (Daniel Zovatto) is an active serial killer. Judiciously understated true crime drama uses a chronologically fragmented structure to depict the ambient menace fostered by predatory men and its confining effect on women.—RDL
Okay
Anora (Film, US, Sean Baker, 2024) Smitten stripper (Mikey Madison) marries rich man-child (Mark Eidelshtein) scrambling the minions of his Russian oligarch parents into dismayed action. Unnecessary scenes and repetitive story beats weigh down this realist romantic farce, Madison’s star-making performance notwithstanding.—RDL
