Monday Meandering 2/7/22 – Yellowjackets, Avengers Forever and Nightmare Alley

Let’s try this again…shall we.

I’ve previously tried to get this feature back on track, but life, the universe and everything got in my way.

Still, I enjoy having a space to clear my pop culture palate, so I’m going to try again.

That being said, let’s take a look at what I’ve been into recently, pop culturally speaking.

YELLOWJACKETS

Yeah, I’m late to the party on this one. Showtime’s Yellowjackets is a nasty combination of True Detective, Lord of the Flies and, of all things, Heathers. The show seeks to answer the question “what happens when a group of teenage girls survive a plane crash in the wilderness and aren’t rescued for 18 months?” PTSD happens. We are led to believe cannibalism happens. We know for a fact that Juliette Lewis happens. The wife and I are half way done with the first (only) season of the show and I’m really looking forward to seeing where the next five episodes go.

AVENGERS FOREVER

I know I read some, but not all of Kurt Buseik’s 12 issue maxi-series when it first came out in 1998, but I was still a newlywed and my comics consumption was at an all-time low. I finally circled back to the series as an empty nester. This one is not for the casual/MCU Avengers fan. A masterful tale that includes so much time travel even I was getting confused toward the end, Busiek dives deep into the Avengers’ multi-decade history and pulls on inconsistent threads in a way that makes them makes sense. I think. This one is for diehards only.

NIGHTMARE ALLEY

With this year’s Academy Award nominations imminent, the wife and I have been trying to do some advance viewing. This weekend that meant Nightmare Alley was on tap. Guillermo del Toro’s stylish noir isn’t likely to win any Oscars, but it a solid watch for any fan of the genre and/or star Bradley Cooper. While the ending is pretty well telegraphed, the performances are all solid and the vibe is spot on. Plus, if there has ever been a modern actress who was born to play a femme fatale, its Cate Blanchett