With Parasite still on my mind, I decided to go back and rewatch Snowpiercer the other week since both Bong Joon-ho movies deal with such similar themes around class. Snowpiercer, obviously, does it in a much more action-packed way, but the big picture is very much the same: an upper class surviving off of a lower class, who slowly fight their way up.
The most fun thing about Snowpiercer is something I actually wish it did more of: building such brilliant, strange, self-contained worlds within each car. The ones that Bong focuses on feel so vibrant and full. You really get an understanding of who lives in each car and the culture they’ve created for it. But as the movie goes on, it rushes through so many of them, and I wish there was more time to linger.
What I think really holds Snowpiercer back, though, is the lack of a main character. Sure, we have Chris Evans leading us through the film… but who is he? What does he want? Why should we care? He has no traits other than being a leader — at least until near the end of the film, when he’s given a lengthy monologue about his past that, in a worse movie, would be famous for how laughably bad it is. The character works well enough to get us to the front of the train, but not enough to connect us to the film’s message in the way that the family members in Parasite do.
Check out nine trailers from this week below.
Snowpiercer
TNT has been very slowly putting out new looks at its TV adaptation of Snowpiercer. It looks good! It seems like the show is sticking very close to the film adaptation so far, though, and I’d really like to see what else it has to offer. It premieres May 17th. (P.S. I swear I’d planned to write about the film before I saw this!)
Hollywood
Netflix has a new limited series coming up that fictionalizes the early days of Hollywood. It’s from Ryan Murphy, which means it’s filled with bright colors, beautiful people, and lots of style. The show seems to pay particular attention to LGBTQ actors and people of color, which could let it tell a more interesting story than the many other films and shows that have mined this era of moviemaking. It comes out May 1st.
Love Life
With roughly a month to go before the service launches, AT&T is starting to give us a first look at HBO Max’s debut series. It’s going to be interesting to see how they compare to the typical HBO fare. From this first look, it seems like Love Life — which stars Anna Kendrick and is executive produced by Paul Feig — shares HBO’s typical high production quality, but it comes with maybe a little more wide audience appeal than, say, Girls or Euphoria. The show debuts May 27th, alongside HBO Max.
I May Destroy You
For comparison, here’s what a real HBO series looks like. I May Destroy You is a new series created by and starring Michaela Coel about a celebrated writer dealing with the aftermath of sexual assault. It looks stylized and personal in a way that Love Life just does not. It debuts some time in June.
All Day and A Night
Netflix has a new feature from Black Panther co-writer Joe Robert Cole. The film looks beautifully shot and has appearances from Jeffrey Wright and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. It comes out May 1st.
Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill
I don’t usually post stand-up trailers, but this is a big one: Netflix has Jerry Seinfeld’s first stand-up special in 22 years. How’d Netflix nab it? My guess is that it probably has something to do with Netflix buying the rights to Seinfeld next year. The special comes out May 5th.
Quiz
AMC has a new miniseries coming up about a scheme to cheat Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and win the top prize. The series stars Matthew Macfadyen and is based on real events in 2001 that led to a conviction. The series debuts May 31st.
The Great
Hulu has a new look at The Great out this week. It basically looks like “The Favourite the TV show,” and I am very ready for that. It debuts May 15th.
We Are Little Zombies
I don’t know, man.
