Welcome back! Thank you to everybody who has subscribed, shared or just stopped by to read. It was a bit risky to launch something at the peak of the Christmas season but it’s been fun trying to figure out where I might take this newsletter in 2024. This week’s Conor Culture Rundown is an interesting mix of stuff. My hope is to try and have these culture rundown posts go live regularly on Friday once life returns to a bit of a normal schedule. But for now, enjoy!
READ: “The Last Action Heroes” by Nick De Semlyn
Empire magazine editor Nick De Semlyn takes us through a roster of Hollywood action movie icons in this entertaining look at a very particular kind of filmmaking. Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger anchor the story somewhat as their respective journeys are revealed in punchy detail and we see how they helped birth a new wave of action movies in the 70s and 80s. The book also tracks the careers of names like Jackie Chan, Jean Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris and Bruce Willis. There’s a nice mix of cultural insights and gossip as the book grapples with how the various action stars strike lucky at different times with their biggest hits and also gets in the feuds, bloated budgets and mishaps that befall many of them. The book’s ending felt a tad abrupt and much like the action movie scene of the mid 70s - early 90s women don’t get much of a look in throughout. However as someone who didn’t know much about the movies discussed beforehand I found this to be a really entertaining read.
WATCH: REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SYDNEY SEASON 2
Stateside there’s always a few Real Housewives shows in rotation with Bravo smart enough to have shows in production year round. Australia has made some decent stabs at the franchise over the years. The first 4 seasons of Real Housewives of Melbourne were great but an attempt to revive the show in 2021 felt like a misfire. The Sydney edition aired one season in 2017 that was so toxic it never got picked up for a US airing. It seemed unlikely to return until this year when Australian streaming service Binge revived the show. Two previous cast members from season 1 were brought back but for the most part it was a gang of new faces with no references to the previous season. The show is a bit more of a slow burn compared to other RH shows but I found the glam locations, cast dynamics and overall vibe really compelling. I watched it weekly and you could feel the show building momentum up to a truly great cast trip in Tokyo. Two cast members were standouts for me. Caroline Gaultier served fashion and one liners sure but she was also warm, honest and soulful. I also loved the glamorous and powerful Terry Biviano who was brilliant at the big Tokyo dinner and has the kind of presence you can’t take your eyes off. The success of the show in Australia led to a last minute plan to do a reunion special. With just two weeks to pull it together it felt like a bit of an awkward add on to the season. The cast members had to stop the host from moving on to another topic so they could actually discuss certain issues and the rhythm felt off. Still, I’m hoping they can keep the momentum going and have the group back filming soon as it feels like a 3rd season could be something spectacular. If you’ve been mainly checking out the US shows then this season of Sydney is a fun way to get a new take on the franchise.
WATCH: GODZILLA MINUS ONE
Godzilla has been rebooted in Japan in recent years with successful films re-imagining an iconic figure in Japanese pop culture. This prequel, set in a post WW1 Japan, has been a box office smash not just in Japan but worldwide pulling in over $80 million off a budget of just $15 (a fraction of the hundreds of millions a US Godzilla film would use). Setting the tone with a chilling opening sequence, this is a film that makes Godzilla genuinely frightening and develops into a drama about the guilt and trauma suffered by those who go to war. Shikishima is a young fighter pilot who is racked with guilt for not trying to stop the Godzilla attack we see in the opening of the film who then returns to a hometown ravaged by air raids. He takes in a woman who found a baby abandoned during the raids and begins a job as a minesweeper alongside former naval personnel (And one over-eager colleague who never went to war) but Godzilla, who has mutated due to US nuclear tests, re-emerges and heads towards Japan. As his attacks escalate, a plan to defeat Godzilla is hatched by the minesweeper crew who are left with minimal resources as the US are unwilling to offer support. The film is earnest and almost sentimental at times but it’s so well executed you can’t be but swept up in the proceedings. The story is not subtle in its anti-war messaging but there’s something stirring and moving about a film so explicit in denouncing war and violence especially as we see it play out in headlines and our phone screens in the present day. It’s beautifully shot, has an excellent cast and has a visual flair that stands miles apart from humdrum American action movies. Following a year of headlines about how Marvel and DC films have underperformed, this movie is an example of life left in blockbusters when they are well executed. I saw it at Lighthouse Cinema on New Year’s Eve and the audience applauded as the credits rolled. Beforehand I don’t think I would have understood that impulse but having nearly cried numerous times throughout (!) it made sense to me. Even if you think this genre isn’t for you, this powerful film is the kind of cinematic experience you can’t miss.
OTHER STUFF
As I was reading “Last Action Heroes” I decided to give Rocky a go. It had aired late one night on RTE so was able to record it and watch it during the break. Sadly it didn’t really grab me very much. The pace felt a bit slow and really it’s only the final 30 minutes that crackle with the energy and tension you want from a film like this.
”Scrooged” is a Christmas film I notice people reference every year. Gave it a watch mid-Christmas (it’s streaming on Prime Video) and while I enjoyed parts of it I didn’t come away from it feeling like I’d seen a Christmas classic. The 80s take on A Christmas Carol has some strong ideas, making Scrooge a surly TV executive and letting Bill Murray chew the scenery throughout. I found it a bit too dour and slow for a comedy. It was neither truly dark enough or funny enough to land in either camp for me.
I saw a trailer for Shudder’s “It’s A Wonderful Knife” awhile back and thought it could be a fun slasher movie take on the Christmas movie. The result was less then enjoyable. An attempt to mash up “Scream” and “It’s A Wonderful Life" it’s a bland, poorly realised slog with only a scenery chewing performance from Justin Long giving it any life.
“Godzilla Vs Kong” was on TV over the break (it’s streaming on Netflix at the moment too) and having seen the other films leading up to this team up I was curious to give it a go. There’s a lot of creaky plot stuff mashing the casts of the previous Godzilla and Kong movies together but it pays off for the sequences were the two titans meet. They’re shot with style and energy and make the rest of it worth it. Compared to Godzilla Minus One it falls short but as a popcorn film it’s fun. Another sequel, Godzilla X Kong: New Empire is due in March.