Welcome to another edition of Fitzie’s Fitzie’s Film and TV reviews, where your hoddler-in-chief reviews some of the things he’s seen on the television and in the cinema lately.
I wish I could say I’ve watched films in the cinema, but unfortunately the Landmark E Street Cinema has been closed for months now. This means that my favourite way of escaping the heat - by escaping into the downtown DC cinema - is no longer an option this summer. Brutal.
I only have a few films to review week, and it’s mostly
golf related. I didn’t plan for it to be this way, it just happened. But you can thank The Phoenician Scheme for breaking up some of the sportiness.
Stick: In a previous edition of this series, I slated Stick as an obvious attempt by Apple to recreate the highs of Ted Lasso. But instead of Jason Sudeikis it’s Owen Wilson, and instead of football it’s golf.
The first six or seven episodes were pretty rough, I’m not going to lie. And I don’t know what I felt compelled to sit through them all. Everything about it was insufferable.
It slightly made up for it with a genuinely captivating final three episodes in which teen golf sensation Santiago Wheelers tees it up (lol) with the pros. I guess Apple liked it enough to renew it for a second season, but does that mean I have to watch it again?
1.5 out of 5 Fitzies
Happy Gilmore 2: The highly anticipated follow-up to Adam Sandler’s 1996 film. I can’t say too much of the setup as that is spoils galore, but what I can say is that it is a pretty solid film.
There were a few challenges creating a sequel set so far after the original, one of which is to bring up newer audiences back up to speed. I think the film did that with just enough callbacks and flashbacks without it seeming forced.
It also features tonnes of golf cameos but the ones that stole it for me were Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka. No one took themselves seriously, which definitely made up for their lack of acting chops.
However, I found the second half of the film to be less compelling than the first. I wasn’t so interested in this good guy/bad guy dynamic as I was in the first film. It was almost 1996 meets 2096, and for that the pacing felt a little off.
3.5 out of 5 Fitzies
The Phoenician Scheme: I so wanted to enjoy this one more. There are some beautifully shot scenes, including Benicio del Toro in the bathtub during the opening credits. Michael Cera is also splendid in his role.
I think this film would’ve worked a lot more if it focused on del Toro and Mia Threapleton’s characters, as it is rewarding to see how they evolve throughout the movie. But there’s so much gunk around it - that’s totally on all the A-listers associated with this.
Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Benedict Cumberbatch and Willem Dafoe all make appearances in this film and they don’t even comprise the entire ensemble. It’s just too many big names and not enough substance.
3 out of 5 Fitzies
Fitzie’s track of the day: Silver Lining, by Rilo Kiley
And now for your links:
Alasdair Gold: “New Tottenham injury scares in training and who was missing from session ahead of Arsenal game”
The Telegraph: “Bryan Mbeumo: Manchester United project convinced me to reject Newcastle and Spurs”
BBC: “Everton sell women’s team to parent company”
More from cartilagefreecaptain.sbnation.com:
- Team news: Victor Wanyama is back! And there’s a slight issue for Harry Kane
- Tottenham eying Brazilian attacker Malcom in January transfer window
- Pochettino: Harry Kane can be Tottenham’s Totti
- Jan Vertonghen thinks Belgium has the advantage over England in World Cup
- Saturday football open thread
- The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur News and Links for Friday, December 29
- Italian media claims Tottenham in for Ajax starlet
