NOPE: Not Over Primetime Emmys
Or; No More Playboi Carti Or Travis Scott Concerts Until We Figure This Out
We’re back after a long hiatus! I took some time off for my anniversary and my birthday, and a lot happened we must discuss. So let’s go!
20 different Marvel projects were announced at ComicCon and somehow not a single one was Morbius 2: Electric Morbaloo.
In celebrity news, JLo and Ben Affleck were married in an intimate Vegas wedding this past week. I was shocked by the impulsive decision until I saw this pic.
This woman is GLOWING. Good for her. Honestly I’m kind of mad we may never again see Existential Dread Affleck because it made me feel seen. Here’s the hits:
In music this week, I listened to one of the most musically interesting albums of the year (Steve Lacy’s Gemini Rights) and listened to one of the most musically dull albums of the year (Lizzo’s Special). Sorry.
The Rolling Loud festival took place in Miami this past weekend and the worst of the worst were in attendance. Kid Cudi walked off stage mid-performance after insisting he would leave if fans kept throwing objects on stage and towards the rapper/singer.
It was so sad to see the crowd’s blatant disrespect. And then, the next day, as if he was summoned, Travis Scott appeared alongside Future, in one of his first major appearances since the Astroworld disaster.
There’s too much TV, so trying to pick the best of the best, you’re gonna piss some people off. The Television academy attempted to do just that as the nominations for this year’s Emmys were announced this past week. The usual suspects were present, but newcomers broke through the mold, as some veterans were pushed to the side.
In drama series, the long-running NBC show This Is Us was snubbed in its last season. Yellowstone (TV’s highest rated show, Paramount+’s saving grace, and the only show that every white dad in America watches) was also sidelined. Replacing them were newcomers Yellowjackets, Squid Game, Severance, and a surprise nom for Euphoria.
In comedy series, ABC’s hit comedy Black-ish was denied nominations in major categories, and the brilliant third season of Atlanta was denied a Comedy Series nom as well. Instead, long-running comedies Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Marvelous Ms. Maisel made the cut (sigh). But the lineup for Comedy Series is also stacked with Abbott Elementary, Barry, Hacks, Only Murders In The Building, Ted Lasso, and What We Do In The Shadows; which are all excellent.
White Lotus deservedly received the most nominations for a limited series, with almost all of its featured cast receiving a nomination. We are so close to a Jennifer Coolidge Emmy win and it feels so good.
The last thing I want to report on the Emmys is the devastating news that Jerrod Carmichael’s special Rothaniel was denied a nomination in Variety Special, and instead Dave Chappelle’s dumb transphobic romp The Closer was nominated. Take that hurtful nonsense how you will.
Nope is the third feature film from one of modern horror’s (and film overall’s) current “it” boys, Jordan Peele. Peele needs no introduction at this point. His specific brand of thought-provoking, entertaining thrillers have made him a household name. There’s so much of this film which deserves to be discussed without avoiding spoilers, but I will tiptoe around the elephants in the room without revealing too much, because (as the withholding trailers telegraph to the viewer) the less you know, the more enjoyable Nope is.
Nope follows the Haywood siblings (played by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer), who are the last remaining owners of a family horse ranch in SoCal, as they investigate strange happenings after the sudden death of their father (played by the iconic Keith David in an all-too-small cameo). With the help of quirky electronic store employee Angel (Brandon Perea) and pretentious cinematographer Antlers (Michael Wincott), the group discovers the origins of the chilling occurrences.
This is the most Spielbergian Peele has been. Influences from Spielberg’s early blockbuster work are evident as the protagonists learn to deal with the unnatural beings before them. It boasts some of the more interesting and visually stunning creature design in recent memory, and incredible cinematography that takes full advantage of the lighting and scale of the expansive SoCal valley in which the film takes place. It really has the most beautifully composed shots of any of Peele’s films, thanks to legendary DOP Hoyte Van Hoytema.
The cast is well-suited to Peele’s script, but the MVP is definitely Kaluuya, as his character awkwardly weaves through the narrative, not looking anyone in the eye and responding deadpan throughout; but Kaluuya is such a naturally gifted and interesting actor to watch on screen that no matter what, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.
Character development took a backseat to atmosphere and plot. No single character’s point of view developed in an interesting way to me, except that of Steven Yuen’s Jupe, whose arc develops in a fascinating way during a pivotal shift in the film.
Even through shifting expectations and underwritten characters, the visual langauage of Nope and the incessant chucking of interesting ideas were enough to keep me invested for the full two hours.
The major theme of the film is spectacle; the human nature to both consume and create it, and the repercussions of those urges. Many have pointed out the lack of social commentary in Nope, with his previous works explicitly commenting on race and class in America. Yet I left this movie thinking about it even days after seeing it, as the parallels which Peele draws for us slowly make themselves clear.
Peele continues to pleasantly surprise me with every new effort, and that’s all I can ask for really.
Nope was made for the theater experience, so please follow suit and see the spectacle of it all.
That’s it this week. I’m gonna go to sleep now.
This week’s Prelude is dedicated to that goodfella Paul Sorvino, Steven Yuen, and to viewers like you thank you.
Here’s this week’s Offering: