Better Late than Never on "Challengers"

RD has been on my case for some time now to watch the movie "Challengers". I kind of just let it fly by the wayside because I was not all that interested in some tennis movie that may have adult themes. It just didn't really float my boat. But I had some free time last week during the day to watch. I reluctantly hit play, the movie is just a hair over two hours, which always gives me pause, but I settled in for the duration and I'm here to say, this movie rips.

I loved it . It is a very well made and well acted movie. I was talking to myself while watching, saying, "RD was right. This movie is rad". I don't know why I had any previous hesitations, besides what I mentioned, but I'm glad I didn't let that stop me from finally streaming it.

For people that may not know, "Challengers" focuses on three tennis phenoms. It tells us the story of how they met and where they went after that meeting. We first see the two main guys, Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor, involved in what looks like an intense tennis match. We then see that Faist is this super successful tennis player, and he is married to Zendaya, who is his coach. O'Connor seems to be down on his luck. He's clearly talented, he is playing in a professional tournament, but he sleeps in his car, his credit card gets declined at a motel, he eyeballs a lady's breakfast sandwich until she gracefully offers him half. He is down, but not totally out. The lady tells O'Connor that Faist is playing in the tourney, and this is where we get our first flashback of the movie. We get to see that Faist and O'Connor are old friends. They played doubles together when they were younger.  They were roommates at a tennis boarding school. They do pretty much everything together. This is where we meet young Zendaya, who is a tennis wunderkind. People are at this next generation tournament to watch her. She is the star. Then the horiniess of this movie comes into play. These three actors have a ton of chemistry and it shows, especially in these flashback scenes. The whole plot is basically that these two dudes love Zendaya, and they are constantly fighting for her attention. Sure, they're best friends, but things change when a beautiful and successful person enters their lives. They play for her number. The three of them have a hard core make out session in the hotel at this tournament. She winds up dating O'Connor's character for a good long while. Zendaya and Faist go off to Stanford while O'Connor turns pro. O'Connor and Zendaya are still together during this, but when she realizes she can't control or coach him, they break up. She then brutally injures herself. This is when Faist enters the picture as her guy. All of this is shown in flashbacks, and those are intercut with the two of them, in the current day, playing each other in the final while Zendaya watches. Zendaya and Faist marry and have a kid. She likes this because she controls every aspect of his career. She is in charge of his every move. I like that they show how much stuff goes into being a pro, and that most of it is done behind the scenes. Zendaya even handles all of the marketing that goes into her husband's career as a pro. but O'Connor being at this tournament just brings up old feelings and old issues. Him being there is forcing Zendaya to revert to her old days. She sneaks out to be with him the night before the final. She clearly doesn't love Faist anymore. He wants to retire and says as much, which is why Zendaya leaves to be with O'Connor. O'Connor and Faist have it out in the sauna the day before the final.

All of this may sound boring, but the way it is put on screen is so cool and so unique. And then you add on the Trent Reznow score to this movie, and that took it over the top for me. I said to my dad and another brother of mine, after watching the movie, that I think Reznor is the best at scoring movies right now. I like others, but there is just something about the way he uses music to heighten a scene. The score is so awesome and adds a whole other layer onto this kickass movie.

I loved "Challengers". I was wrong to shove it aside. I should have watched it sooner. But I did finally press play and I had an absolute blast watching this movie. I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't seen it, or give it a rewatch if you already have. This movie rules. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "The Drama"

I was being told, and read some recent reviews about the movie "The Drama" that I had to go and see it. RD told me about it. My mom told me about a group of her friends who saw it. The reviews intrigued me. All of that was more than enough to go watch the movie.

I went to a matinee yesterday, and me and the two couples in the theaters sat back and watched an interesting, unique and different movie. My review will be spoiler free by the way, so have no fear reading ahead. I do recommend you go into this movie as blind as possible. That is, by far, the best way to go watch this movie. And before I really get into it, after much thought, I think this is a very, very good movie. I spent the majority of my afternoon thinking about the movie. I texted RD afterwards telling him I didn’t fully know how I felt about it yet. But I came to the conclusion last night that if it was still in my mind it must have been effective. It was and I enjoyed my watch.

For people who may not know, "The Drama" stars Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as a soon to be wed couple. The movie takes place the week before the wedding. It starts out like any other romantic comedy about a young couple in love. We have the meet cute, the first dates, the lead up to everything and it is very sweet. I especially liked the dance scene. The two of them were preparing for the wedding day, they were working on their first dance with their instructor and it was very sweet. Zendaya and Pattinson clearly liked working with one another. They had tremendous chemistry.

Everything is going all well and good until they are at a tasting a few days before their nuptials. Then a conversation between Pattinson, Zendaya, Alana Haim and Mamoudou Athie happens. Haim plays the maid of honor and Athie plays the best man. The conversation seems to be pretty mundane but then some stuff is revealed and the movie follows the aftermath of the news. This is where the movie goes from solid to very, very good. This is where the main actors shine. Robert Pattinson does a remarkable job here. He gets to use his regular accent. He gets to play this intellect who has this massive news dropped on him and you can tell it is just eating him up. He doesn't know how he should react and Pattinson does a good job of reflecting the nerves and agony that this is causing him. Pattinson has proven his worth as an actor, and this performance is just another notch in his belt. Ever since "Twilight" he seems to take on good challenges for him and he has done a solid job of transforming into his characters.

But this is Zendaya's movie all the way. She is the star. She is the main person we are following and she absolutely nails it. I went from feeling bad for her to being mad at her to taking her side. All of this occurred in my head for the 100 minute runtime. That is the sign of an actor doing awesome work. I had only seen Zendaya in the "Spider-Man" movies or "Dune", both of which she is very good in. But she also has a clear person she is playing and she does that very well. In this movie she gets to play something totally different and wholly unique to her. She gets to dive deep into some dark stuff and she nails it. I was super impressed by her work here. She proves she is an actor worth watching. She may be one of the better actors out there now and this role shows that tenfold. I would not be shocked if she was mentioned in awards talk at the end of the year. Zendaya does some masterful work here.

"The Drama" walks a tightrope of how to deal with massive, unsettling news being dumped on a group of people. It deals with the gossip and the aftermath very well. I appreciate that there are some writers, directors and actors that are willing to try something different. I recommend this movie and I recommend going in knowing as little as possible. That's the best way to watch. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Dune: Part 2"

I have just returned home from seeing "Dune : Part 2".

I have been really anticipating the release of this movie. I watched the first, new "Dune" during the pandemic. It was released to streaming, and I took advantage and watched that movie in my home. I loved it. I was glued to my screen. I did not look at my phone once. My wife would come in and out of the room and ask questions and I would answer, and then rewind and rewatch what we may have missed. The first new "Dune" was also my first time I found myself cheering for Timothee Chalamet. That movie made me a fan, and I have not looked back. I also watched David Lynch's "Dune" during the pandemic. I did not like that version at all. It was a slog. It was boring. And it was nonsensical. So I've done the necessary homework. My dad joined me this morning, he watched the first new "Dune" on Wednesday, and we set off for a 10am screening.

I want to say, the theater was as clean as I've ever seen a theater before. The crowd was delightful and pleasant. The staff was dynamite and helpful. The Galleria 6 Cinema here in Saint Louis did their job perfectly. There were only two previews, only one commercial, and by about 10 after, we were in the world of "Dune". And from there on out I was in awe of what I was watching.

First off, this cast is incredible. Chamalet is back and does an even better job in this movie. Zendaya is given much more to work with in this sequel and she does amazing things. I was rooting for her character the entire movie. Javier Bardem was more involved, did a great job and even provided some laughs. Rebecca Ferguson did a phenomenal job with her arc in this movie. The whole Harkonnen family was terrifying in all the right ways. Stellan Skaarsgard is back and he is even more scary as the head of the family. David Bautista is back and he is cowardly and in over his head. And Austin Butler is the nephew who is the villainous of all the villains in this movie. He was scary as hell. Florence Pugh and Christopher Walken do some pretty good things here. Pugh figures to have a much bigger part in the third installment of this franchise. Josh Brolin returns and he is having a great back half of his career. And there's all the side characters and minor part actors who do some wonderful things in their very minimal screen time.

Then we have the direction. Denis Villenvue is the best sci fi director in the game right now. I trust him with any material he decides to work on from this moment on. And then there's the stuff on screen. This is an epic in every sense of the word. It was close to three hours but never felt long. The scenery, being pretty much nothing but sand, was mesmerizing to look at on a big screen. The sandworms were the coolest thing I have seen in a movie in a long, long time. I was enamored with those things. The CGI and the massive amount of people in the movie was a triumph all its own.

The story was pretty great too. The majority of the movie is a war movie. There are a bunch of battles. There are moments of strategy. There are training moments. There is hand to hand combat. There are soldiers hiding and attacking from everywhere. It was awesome. And, near the end, although it is what I consider to be the main story, it becomes a religious story, and the problems that lie within following one person. It was interesting to see the movie take this turn and everyone involved pulled it off with grace and professionalism.

I loved this movie. My dad did too. I couldn't believe that they exceeded my high, high expectations. I cannot recommend this movie enough. That is why I left my review so vague. I think you should try and see it in a theater too. I'm not a big theater goer, but this movie needs to be seen on a big screen to get the full effect. "Dune: Part 2" is amazing. Go see it. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Dune"

Yesterday I watched "Dune". We got back from our trip earlier than we thought, my wife and I had already decided to move our date night to Sunday since we were gone Friday, and it was my turn to pick the movie.

I have been pretty pumped for this movie since I first heard about it over a year ago. I have seen bits and pieces of David Lynch's "Dune", and it is not a good movie. It has some great ideas, but it definitely falls off the rails. I have seen most of "Jodorowsky's Dune", and that is a great documentary and I would love to see his version. But that would have also been a crazy movie. I have never read the book, but I am somewhat aware of the story. But what made me want to see his one so much, why I was so excited, was the fact that Denis Villenuve was directing it. I loved "Blade Runner 2049", "Prisoners" is a tough watch, but a good movie and although I have never seen it, and RD despises it, "Arrival" won itself some awards. Villenuve has a very good eye for directing these big, lavish features. He has a good vision of how to show these vast landscapes. "Dune" was no different.

This is, hands down, one of the most beautiful looking movies I have ever seen. The landscape was beautiful. The worlds that were created looked so real. Maybe they looked real because this movie was shot in some beautiful places. I read they shot some in Norway. I have to assume that is where they got the water planet, and it looked glorious. I also read they shot in Abu Dhabi and Jordan, and that is most definitely where they got these seemingly never ending deserts. The deserts used in "Dune" were so big and so expansive and looked amazing. It was an incredible treat for your eyes. The set designs, while minimal, were just as beautiful. These futuristic homes and planets were perfectly constructed. I was blown away by how pretty this movie looked.

The acting was just the same. Timothee Chamelet, who I have not been a big time fan of, was very, very good in this movie. He is the main character and I loved watching his story unfold. I also bought his performance tenfold. He committed and he totally stuck the landing. Rebecca Ferguson was perfect as the mom trying to help her son, but also her people. Again, I bought her story. I loved her passion and ability to fight and stick her neck out there. Oscar Issac was a bit more subdued in this role, but he also did such a good job. He had very good vision as a leader and a father. He is a totally dependable actor. Josh Brolin was badass as the leader of the army and the weapons expert. I love this newfound fame Brolin has found the past five years, and he has more than earned it. Jason Momoa was also very good in his role. He can be hit or miss, but he hit in this one. It was a perfect role for him. Sharon Duncan-Brewster, who I did not know, was excellent. She was smarter than anyone else in the desert and she knew it. I found myself actively rooting for her. Dave Bautista and Stellen Skarsgard were creepy looking, ruthless and scary as hell. I found myself kind of sitting back in my chair every time they showed up on screen, which I believe was their job. Javier Bardem had two of the best scenes in the movie, and I have found that I really enjoy his acting. And Zendaya was really good in a very minimal role until the very end of the movie. Everyone in this movie totally nails it. The casting was tremendous. They totally stuck the landing.

While this movie is confusing, "Dune" is a confusing story, I cannot stop thinking about it a day later. I just keep going back in my memory and thinking about more and more stuff I liked about it. My wife was a trooper for sitting through this with me, she is not a big sci-fi fan and this movie clocks in at over two and a half hours, but she did it and she even found things she liked. To me "Dune" is like a modern day "2001: A Space Odyssey". It has that same feeling. And while I do not think this is a spoiler, this appears to be only part one. The movie starts with opening credits and it even says, "Dune: Part 1". I have to assume that they are going to greenlight a sequel very soon, especially considering how much money it made this weekend. I also like that approach to this story. Make it a five hour long two-part movie. "Dune" needs that large of a scope to get the full story across. I highly, highly recommend this movie to anyone out there. It is glorious, beautiful and awesome. I adore this movie. I cannot wait for part two.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.