The NBA playoffs seem to have had an effect on my writing in May, as I just didn't have anything too great to say about anything that came out this month. Hence, this is the first time I haven't had anything written between Monthly Haul posts. So it goes. COVID restrictions are being lifted left and right, and I was able to get the movies a bunch, but nothing stood out enough to warrant its own dissection. The same goes for the books I read, and there wasn't much music released (outside of some promising singles) that sparked inspiration, either. Nevertheless, we've got stuff to cover, so let's chat about it, shall we?
What I Read
Megan Rapinoe - One Life One of the most upfront and in-your-face athletes you'll ever see, Megan Rapinoe's memoir is very much an accurate portrait of the woman behind the persona. Offering an unflinching look at her upbringing, the drama involved with her time at US Soccer, and the USWNT's fight for equal pay, and even her relationships past and present, Rapinoe often comes back to the theme of taking advantage of the one life she's been giving. Despite the fact that she's likely to need to write another book to cover all she's yet to accomplish, One Life is a great way to see how one of the most influential figures in sports got to where she is today.
Ta-Nahesi Coates - Between the World and Me After hearing so many great things about this book, I completely understand why it's among the required texts for understanding what it means to be black in America. A hybrid of Coates reporting what he's seen from the world around him, and the heartbreaking he's endured personally, Between the World and Me functions not only as a letter to Coates's son, but a message to all of us that there is still much work to be done in the fight for equality in this country. Black lives matter.
What I Listened To
Waterparks - Greatest Hits I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting older and more cranky with the youths, or if Waterparks are too far up their own ass that they can't see that they don't need to have 17-song albums, or if I'm just not in tune with what their fans want from the band, but I just can't get into this album. There are definitely some bright spots, but the idea of spending an hour of my time listening to Greatest Hits wasn't too high on my list of priorities this month. I might get to it before the end of the year, but the more likely outcome is that I'll be listening to the singles "Numb" and "You're be Paranoid Too (If Everyone was Out to Get You)," both of which are going to be on an inevitable greatest hits album (not this one, like a compilation... you get it) once that gets made. Enjoy it, kiddos!
What I Watched
Tom Clancy's Without Remorse Based on the last few years he's had, it would have been understandable for a Hollywood studio to assume that the mere presence of Michael B. Jordan would elevate your movie to greatness. It's a lot of what Without Remorse hinges upon, but just like the last few movies the Rock has made, we're starting to see that the presence of one of the planet's biggest stars does not automatically equate to success. Without Remorse is a complete mess outside of its committed star, and wastes so much potential in Jodie Turner-Smith (who you hopefully remember from 2019's stellar Queen and Slim). There's a groundwork laid here that may end up leading to sequel, which will have one of the lowest bars to clear this side of the Mortal Kombat franchise, but there's really not much I can say to get you to want to see this one.
Wrath of Man I guess Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham have been a thing before? I was unaware of this, but their cohesion on Wrath of Man is evident. It's a slow start to the movie, but things pick up nicely once Statham gets to showcase his badassery. With a non-linear storytelling style and a few twists to subvert your expectations, there's enough here to give you a fun, thoughtless experience at the movies.
Spiral; From the Book of Saw Perhaps a little too true to the formula of the Saw franchise, Spiral is still miles better than nearly all of the other films in the franchise. Chris Rock's fingerprints are all over this thing, and he and Samuel L. Jackson provide more than enough to keep you interested all the way through. As a huge fan of this franchise, I was excited to see that this movie strayed away from the gore enough to focus on the lore behind the world that's presented, and despite a bevvy of one-dimensional characters, we see some good development if they decide to keep this iteration of the franchise afloat. I think it's best we leave it here, though; let Spiral be a more fitting ending that Jigsaw or Saw: The Final Chapter would have been, and let's put this thing to bed.
A Quiet Place: Part II Biding time until he's inevitably announced as the MCU's Mister Fantastic, John Krasinski is building a hell of a rapport as a director. He's spent much of the press tour for his second installment in the Quiet Place saga talking about how he wanted to avoid the pitfalls that sequels often run into, and he's masterfully steered the ship away from all of them. Paced by great performances by Millicent Simmons and Future Oscar Winner Noah Jupe, the tension, pace, and heart that set the first movie so far ahead of the pack in the horror genre are all here. One can only hope that a third project is approved, and that newcomer Cillian Murphy's character is still involved.
Bo Burnham: Inside Vulnerable in a way that will make you feel like it needs to be a performance, Inside is the only comedy special that you'll need to watch to remember the feelings of the COVID nightmare we've been living in over the last year. Burnham's still mixing up silly tunes ("White Woman's Instagram") with his biting commentary on celebrity (several sketches, all of which are great), but there's also plenty of interludes that put you up close to the madness of the special's creation that makes this feel like a higher piece of artwork than you might expect from a comedy special. If you've seen Burnham's feature film debut Eighth Grade, you know he's got skills behind the camera as well, and those skills are on full display as he turns the entry room of his home into all kinds of stages with varying atmospheres. This is a triumph, and it could very well be the best work Burnham's ever done. Trust me, that's incredibly high praise.
Looking forward to next month:
I am in the middle of a moral crisis about whether or not I respect myself enough to skip F9, the latest installment of the franchise whose longevity makes the least sense to me. Early reviews have not been good, and I've never really been that big of a fan, but we'll see. I'm much more excited to see In the Heights, which I think could be a sneaky threat to win the Summer Box office battle. A couple emo breakthrough bands have albums out, as we'll see Rise Against's new album this week, and AFI's new album next week, and I'll likely give those a shot. We'll also get the first look at the new-look Atreyu's album Baptize, which has had some great moments on the singles released thus far. I'll be on the beach for a week this month, so I'd imagine I'll have more than a couple books to talk about as well. Let's bring in the summer with a bang!
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