No Nonsense #80: The Comeback, I Saw the TV Glow and Ouai
Hey everyone!!
Hope you’re all having a great week (and finally enjoying the sun, for the UK girlinas). We’re back with a new edition of our biweekly recommendations newsletter, with tips on everything from the TV shows we’re loving to the body creams we’re slathering ourselves in <3 Enjoy!!
Rob Corsini - Contributing Editor
TV: The Comeback
Belly laughed so many times watching this season of The Comeback. Truly no show captures the indignities of fame better and Lisa Kudrow is genuinely one of the funniest actresses of our time. Also every TV show should be 30 minutes.
Film: The Hunger Games
I rewatched The Hunger Games for the first time in about ten years and had many thoughts. 1) More boring that I remembered 2) Not enough games 3) It’s actually depressing to see how much our vision of dystopia has changed. When the books / films came out the kind of excesses of The Capitol were positioned as being so far away, but when you watch it today you’re like oh yeah I literally just saw that when Lauren Sanchez was at the Met Gala.
Misha MN - Contributing Culture Editor
Film - Exterminating Angel
Had this 1962 surrealist satire from avant garde Mexican Spanish director Luis Buñuel on my list for ages, and finally saw it the other day. It does not disappoint. 18 wealthy guests attend a dinner party and are then magically sealed in a single room from which none can leave. In a harsh socio-political critique of the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy, we see them begin to crumble the second they lose their power and dignity, being forced to defecate in priceless Chinese vases and eat chalk from the walls just to stay alive during their month long entrapment. The best moment is when a trained bear used at the initial dinner party makes its second appearance, sending a chill down the viewer’s spine just imagining what might happen if and when it gets sealed in the magical room too. A grand display of degeneracy, deception and death, top marks for Buñuel and the Exterminating Angel.
Film - I SAW THE TV GLOW
Very very late to this party, but it’s only just been out on a streaming service I’m actually subscribed to. Troubled teens connect over a cult TV show and grow up to lead very different lives. Absolutely loved it, gave me very Araki vibes, specifically that one scene in Mysterious Skin where Neil takes Wendy out to the old drive-in to show her his hustler ad on the toilet walls, and then they lift up the old speakers and say they can hear God talking to them. It’s like if the atmosphere of that scene became a whole film. Loved the very intentional font choices too. Without knowing the premise of the film, when the opening credits came up I found myself asking why they were using a Buffy style font, but all was made clear later. Also, I bet there were a hundred queer teen punk bands called The Pink Opaque after this, that’s what I would have done if I was in school when this came out. Five stars.
Film - Sunshine
I had vague memories of this film coming out in 2007, but as I was staunchly anti-sci fi back then I never saw it. Now, however, I absolutely love it. A team of astronauts have been tasked with flying a huge nuclear bomb out to the dying sun in a last ditch attempt to reignite the star from its core and extend the visibility of life on Earth, but on their journey they receive a distress signal from the ship that was sent out seven years before them on the same mission. Spooks ensue, but not in a cheap way. This film actually has a lot of powerhouses behind and in front of the camera, boasting great direction from Danny Boyle, writing from Alex Garland (this film was famously the reason for Boyle and Garland’s big estrangement, only reuniting recently for 28 Years Later), plus great performances from Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh (my fav) and Cillian Murphy, and recent Oscar nominee Rose Byrne. The offbeat-authenticity of Alien with just a sprinkling of box office action sequence logic, Sunshine is a great gloomy space romp for our real life dystopian future. Eight out of ten.
Shannon Oxley - Junior Social Editor
Music: Come To My Garden by Minnie Riperton
I love this album sooo much. It’s the perfect album for spring and for the heat wave coming up for you to romanticise your life. It’s so beautiful and poetic and makes me feel like a fairy princess every time I listen to it.
TV Show: RHOA
I’m late to the party on this one but I’ve started watching every other franchise and am now finally starting Atlanta. It’s like truly incredible. Nene is one of the best women to come out of the Bravoverse. Her one liners are perfect. Nothing hits better than early 2000s Housewives!
Hatti Rex - Contributing Editor
Here’s a crisp fresh music rec from me: a Tokyo-based indie pop duo that named themselves after Japan’s bog standard small apartment. They say their style is inspired by Shibuya-kei, a collage-y style of pop music from the 90s which I love. Mr. Apple has been stuck in my head for days and I need everyone to get on their case if we’re ever to get a UK show.
Product: Ouai Body Creme, St Bart’s
I literally bought the Ouai minis set just to take the shampoo and conditioner on a trip so I was nicely surprised by how fab the body cream is that came with it. It makes your skin sooooo soft and smells amazing which is sad news for my bank account as I will be repurchasing.
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See you next time!
XOXO,
The Polyester Team <3
