Somehow Panella's Pen returned
Like an undead Emperor Palpatine, my blog is back.
Hello there. I have to say, my effort to revamp this blog for the umpteenth time is genuinely funny. It’s like a bit—how many times can I come back to Panella’s Pen, write about what I want this blog to be, and then ghost you all? So far, it’s happened two times. We’ll see how long we can keep it going.
Anyways, hi. This time, I’m managing expectations. Panella’s Pen will be a weekly blog about what I’m reading/watching/listening to, a listicle of the things I’m currently obsessed with. Maybe it’ll come out twice a week if I’m feeling spicy and there’s something special happening. (Say, a film or album deserves a longer, more focused review, or I need to write 2,000 words about Julia Fox’s outfits). The latter will almost certainly happen. I’m fascinated by her most recent look, which is both disgustingly amazing and probably quite uncomfortable.
Over the past few months, I’ve seen lots of movies, listened to a ton of music, watched a few old seasons of THE AMAZING RACE, drank some weird wines, ate many pretzels, and enjoyed warmer weather. Of course, the weather is now miserably hot. There’s no point in moisturizing your skin in the morning—by the time you reach the bus stop, you’ve sweat it all off and it’s dripping onto the asphalt. There goes your Jergens cherry almond lotion!
Anyways, to celebrate the return of Panella’s Pen, I thought I’d write about some of what’s been on my television and in my headphones.
THE BATMAN and EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Probably my favorite films of the year besides CRIMES OF THE FUTURE. (I haven’t seen NOPE yet, but I’m sure Jordan Peele’s latest hit is a heavy hitter). THE BATMAN captivated me for about a month. It was the only movie I wanted to watch—I kept seeing it at the Coolidge, just sitting alone in awe, holding in my pee throughout its nearly three-hour runtime. It’s the Batman adaptation I’ve always wanted, a gritty noir detective story told in the shadows. Director Matt Reeves grounds Batman in a Gotham so broken and corrupt, it’s nearly impossible to think there’s any hope left for a better future. Notoriously hot Robert Pattinson was an excellent Batman, Zoë Kravitz’ Catwoman owned every second she was on screen. Colin Farrell’s Penguin is the fat mobster that he should be.
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE is glorious. I think it’s taking 2022 by storm for good reason—the film’s overwhelming premise, hilarious action, and gorgeous visuals are a cut above much of what’s filling movie theaters this year. Michelle Yeoh is incredible; Stephanie Hsu is probably the funniest person alive. But what I love most about EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE is how it made me feel about adulthood and my future. I don’t feel like my early 20s have been smooth sailing. Like Michelle Yeoh’s character, I wonder if there are better Chris’ in other universes. Is one Chris a famous movie star? Is another on a yacht somewhere in the Caribbean drinking piña coladas, waiting for their 75-year-old sugar daddy to finally croak? I hope that Chris didn’t sign a prenup and got himself on the will!
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE’s bittersweet exploration of nihilism helps me put all of this into perspective. Before this film, I was absolutely terrified at the prospect that I may not be my best self. But at the end of the day, we’re all small and minute on a floating rock in space that’s getting bigger. Our sun will eventually explode and destroy that rock, and then our galaxy will collide with another one, destroying mostly everything. So, what we do with our limited time on Earth matters, no matter what version of ourselves we are! Being nice to people matters. Forming relationships and friendships matters. Spending time with your mom matters. Eating good food and getting a little too drunk on a weeknight matters. Life matters. Nihilism won’t get us anywhere or improve everything. We’ve got to make the most of our lives and enjoy every moment.
Anyways, great film. See it.
“Queen of the Night (CJ’s Master Mix)” by Whitney Houston and C.J. MacKintosh
“Queen of the Night” was the last single from THE BODYGUARD soundtrack, a bumping, rocky club anthem that sounded like a cut from her third album I’M YOUR BABY TONIGHT. Both “Queen of the Night” and much of I’M YOUR BABY TONIGHT were produced by Babyface and L.A. Reid, which all ties into Houston’s early ‘90s era of bombastic pop and new jack sounds.
The CJ Master Mix of “Queen of the Night” takes the song into a more polished, house-inspired territory. It’s thoroughly of its time, fitting in well with any ‘90s club mix. But with the return of dance music and our general nostalgia for feel good club hits, this remix may just make some appearances in DJ sets. And it should! Along with the Gigamesh Remix of Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls,” my ears haven’t had a break from good dance remixes in weeks.
The JURASSIC PARK trilogy
A few weeks ago, I became curious about which American films are popular across generations. In other words, what are the movies that you, your grandparents, parents, and now your little nephews and nieces know. The age difference there is key—it knocks off most Marvel movies, because grandma hasn’t seen them, nor does she really care to. It also eliminates some classics of the ‘40s and ‘50s. Likewise, race and gender play an important role in this as well. Americans aren’t monolithic, and what movies they watch aren’t, either.
But I think the original 1993 JURASSIC PARK, starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum, is one of our greatest cultural touchstones—no matter how big and broad popular culture gets, people of all ages know the film’s iconic dinosaurs. John Williams’ earworm theme too, feels like it’s bigger than just a movie score. For older people, rewatching JURASSIC PARK means remembering the first time(s) they saw it. It’s nostalgic at this point. For younger kids, it paints a picture of how exciting and fun blockbuster filmmaking used to be. (Did we peak with the mind-blowingly good CGI of JURASSIC PARK? Probably).
The sequels are both good, especially considering how bad the recent JURASSIC WORLD trilogy was. LOST WORLD is fun, dark, and captures most of the first film’s magic. JURASSIC PARK III is certainly the worst of the three, but its action pieces and shorter runtime make it a worthy finale. Funny enough, I recently rewatched the trilogy with my grandma and III was her favorite.
90s house music, Beyoncé, and CHROMATICA... again
I’m not writing much about this right now. After Beyoncé’s new album RENAISSANCE releases this Friday, I’ll publish a longer blog about it. But in the meantime, I’ll refer to this tweet. I’ve been listening to a lot of 90s house, particularly because it’s better to have music you can dance to while the world burns.
Gaga’s CHROMATICA Ball Tour has an absolute vise grip on me right now—she’s doing this screaming bit during the opening of “Sour Candy” that’s just delicious. I’ll report back after I’ve seen her live—for the first time—on August 19th.
REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE
I remember seeing it for the first time in college and just sitting outside the library for hours talking about it with my classmates. James Dean and Natalie Wood—both young and hot—exude charisma in every scene. It’s like watching a masterclass in movie stardom. Upon rewatch, I appreciated how REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE’s coming-of-age struggles remain (mostly) timeless.
Sure, Jim’s issues with his father’s masculinity are a bit toxic, but the sentiment of wanting a stable family is still palpable. Judy’s struggles with womanhood and her changing relationship with her father feels quite evergreen, as most of us hit puberty and suddenly see ourselves and our families differently than we did before. But it’s Plato’s story that I like most of all. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE often centers Plato’s efforts to create a makeshift family with Jim as his father and Judy as his mother. It speaks to the film’s commentary on conflicts between generations and how younger people form found families with people their own age. The latter feels especially relevant in nowadays.
CRIMES OF THE FUTURE, CRASH, AND A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
In June, director David Cronenberg released his newest film, CRIMES OF THE FUTURE. Starring Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux, and Kristen Stewart, the movie follows a future Earth desolated by pollution and climate change. Mortensen and Seydoux’s characters are performance artists whose work involves surgically removing organs in front of live audiences. Mortensen’s character grows these functionless (vestigial) organs quickly and painfully. Meanwhile, the government tries to figure out why certain humans, like Mortensen’s character, have these new organs. Is it evolution? Does it connect with a group of people who can only consume plastic as food?
CRIMES OF THE FUTURE sprouts many ideas, especially about humanity becoming one with the plastics we’ve created (ahem, microplastics in our blood) and how we alter and transform our bodies to fit our realities. I can’t stop thinking about the film’s relationship to gender, identity, and transness. What does it mean to reconcile with your body’s pain and pleasure? If the body is our reality, then how does that connect to what’s going on in our minds? As we process the appearance of the body, the feeling that we are not in the right body, or that our body is betraying us, what helps get us to a place where we are happy with how we look and, in turn, who we are?
These are no small questions or thoughts. CRIMES OF THE FUTURE is a big movie. And Howard Shore’s score rules.
To connect with CRIMES OF THE FUTURE’s release, the Coolidge Corner Theatre dedicated much of their After Midnite series in June to Cronenberg classics. I got to see CRASH and A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. Both were excellent—I can’t believe I hadn’t seen them! CRASH is incredible and weird. I’d love to write more about it soon. HISTORY OF VIOLENCE was also quite good, and it also stars Mortensen. He’s quite hot in it.
The family season of THE AMAZING RACE
THE AMAZING RACE is kind of this crazy thing because it simultaneously feels like it has and will always exist—like BIG BROTHER and SURVIVOR—but because of its premise of traveling from country to country for various challenges, it also feels like a pre-COVID relic. Actually, the early seasons feel culturally distant, too. Maps? Taxis? Booking multiple flights at various counters in the airport? Outright racist comments about some of the countries the contestants visit?
Then again, the latest seasons have filmed during COVID-19, so it’s quite possible that THE AMAZING RACE will continue adapting to our everchanging world. But so far, season 8’s “Family Edition” has been the most insane season of the show. (Please note that I am only on season 10, so I have no idea what future seasons hold). In the family season, each team consisted of four family members, as opposed to the show’s regular two members. Some of the families make sense: four siblings, a dad and his three daughters. Others make you wonder if reality television has gone too far. (The answer is yes.) A dad and a mom, along with their 12-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter.
Yes, that’s right. THE AMAZING RACE host Phil Keoghan had to look an 8-year-old girl in her crying eyes and tell her she’d been eliminated from the race.
Anyways, this season was incredible. The Weavers were insane. I loved that basically every other team hated them. The Paolo’s constant bickering made every episode an anxious, sweaty mess. Go watch it if you want stupid but entertaining television.
Amanda Seyfried in THE DROPOUT
Not a whole lot to say about this. I think Seyfried is brilliant in the show. Give her the awards.
And finally, this meme from PORTLANDIA
Stay cool, my friends!