Pop forecast
MOVIES
Big releases (Oct. 12): Bad Times at the El Royale;
First Man; Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
Big picture: What could possibly go wrong in a run-down motel straddling the borders of California or Nevada?
Bad times, indeed. This retro thriller set in a yesteryear of tweed jackets and polyester is bolstered by an all-star cast featuring the likes of Jeff Bridges and Jon Hamm playing an all-star group of sketchy, oddball characters. It’s like Mad Men meets Norman Bates meets Quentin Tarantino meets No Country for Old Men. Meanwhile,
First Man is Ryan Gosling shooting for the moon — and an Oscar — in this biopic about Neil Armstrong. The Crown’s Claire Foy plays his wife and Kyle Chandler plays his
NASA “coach” — crafting a playbook to the stars instead of a playbook under Friday Night Lights. (The film’s tag line is “experience the impossible journey of the most dangerous mission in history.” One day they’ll use it again for a biopic about the current White House staff.) Finally, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween is a sequel about the creatures from R.L. Stine’s spooky children’s books coming to life. Chapters glow blue, words leap off the page and suddenly everything from a sasquatch and witches to murderous gummy bears are wreaking havoc on a small town. Naturally, the only thing that can stop them are a poor-man’s version of the charming, young nerds from Stranger Things. It’s like the latter Netflix series meets Jumanji meets Gremlins.
Forecast: I’m not the only one who would have preferred Halloween: First Man — Neil Armstrong vs. Michael Myers.
TV
Big events: 22 July (Oct. 10, Netflix); All American (Oct. 10, W Network); The Haunting of Hill House (Oct. 12, Netflix); Camping (Oct. 14, HBO Canada)
Big picture: Director Paul Greengrass examines the lone wolf mass shooting at a Norway youth camp — focusing on the survivors, politicians and lawyers tied to the tragedy as well as the Oslo bombing that preceded it. On a lighter note, All American is a new football drama inspired by the youthful exploits of NFL linebacker Spencer Paysinger. The hero is a conflicted, angry high school football star (played by Daniel Ezra) from a poor neighbourhood who’s recruited to play for Beverly Hills High. Taye Diggs also stars as his encouraging coach, but he’s no Coach Taylor (the previously mentioned Chandler has “best, wisest fictional coach” locked down forever — or at least until the portrayal of a coach who tells his players to give up football because it is destroying their brains). In another Quixotic quest to eclipse a superb pop culture predecessor, The Haunting of Hill House goes where American Horror Story season 1 went so bloody well. This serialized haunted house drama follows a family doomed by the dead. Based on Shirley Jackson’s 1959 haunted house novel, it stars Michiel Huisman and Carla Gugino. Finally, Camping is like Wet Hot American Summer meets Moonrise Kingdom meets The Big Chill. The ensemble cast includes Jennifer Garner and David Tennant. Follow the exploits of a band of mediocre, misfit adults who holiday at a mediocre camp ground in this comedy from the creators of HBO’s Girls.
Forecast: CBC will play copycat and launch a series called All Canadian about an unconflicted, polite, happy young hockey player who only speaks in banal clichés like “giving it 110 per cent” and “We’re going to take it one game at a time.”
MUSIC
Big releases on Oct.
12: Elvis Costello & The Imposters (Look Now); Eric Clapton (Happy Xmas); The Watson Twins (DUO)
Big picture: There’s only one Elvis … two, if all those sightings of The King end up being credible. But only one still making music. Costello delivers his first in five years — an album he describes as having “the scope of Imperial Bedroom and some of the beauty and emotion of Painted From Memory.” Meanwhile, Eric Clapton delivers the most boring, uninspiring title for a Christmas album of all time. C’mon buddy! You’re already pocketing coin covering the overdone likes of White Christmas, Silent Night, Away in a Manger and Jingle Bells, and all you can come up with is the title Happy Xmas? Sigh. And finally, The Watson Twins again prove why they are one of altcountry’s most dynamic DUOs. I’d even get excited about a Christmas album from Chandra and Leigh Watson.
Forecast: In 2019, Clapton’s joyless holiday album title will be eclipsed by other doozies like Season and Merry Two Statutory Holidays.