The NBA Playoffs took up a decent chunk of my viewing time last week, but I still managed to see a couple new movies and stay caught up on some shows. Here’s some of what I watched and what I thought about it.
If you don’t want spoilers for Ted Lasso, Dave, or The Mandalorian, skip the TV section this week.
The Movies
Sweetwater
Hall of Famer, Nat 'Sweetwater' Clifton, makes history as the first African American to sign an NBA contract, forever changing how the game of basketball is played.
Sweetwater is a biopic about Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton (Everett Osborne).
Sports movies almost never get the gameplay right. Sure there are exceptions, like the sports drama Hustle from 2022, which benefited from having multiple NBA players act in the film. But for the most part, the best sports movies have little to do with the sport itself and more to do with the action behind the scenes. Those are the stories that make good movies. Stories about the determination and perseverance required to achieve greatness.
Sweetwater is unfortunately not a good sports movie. The racists who want to keep Sweetwater out of the league still refuse to accept him at the end of the movie. Most of the characters who fight to allow him to play in the league do so for the money, not the social progress, and in the end everyone comes out fairly unchanged.
There is no character development in sight. The pacing is terrible and the gameplay is mediocre at best. Sure it’s 1949 and players were not nearly as skilled as they are today. But the focus of the movie seems to be on how Sweetwater’s “razzle-dazzle” style of play changed the game, which it did. And yet the gameplay and how it’s filmed is uninteresting.
The dialogue was meh and overall it was just boring. I think it would have been much better if the movie was structured more like 42 so we could see some character development.
Beau is Afraid
Following the sudden death of his mother, a mild-mannered but anxiety-ridden man confronts his darkest fears as he embarks on an epic, Kafkaesque odyssey back home.
This is definitely not a movie for everyone. Joaquin Phoenix even cautioned audiences by saying, “do not take mushrooms and go see this f**king movie.” Good advice. The whole movie is a trip.
I can appreciate Ari Aster’s artistry, but he’s definitely taking some big swings and I don’t think all of them connect. The entire three hours are incredibly anxiety-inducing, and at times, a little confusing. Granted, that’s the point. It’s hard to describe or explain this movie without spoiling it. There are some funny parts but for the most part, it’s a panic attack in movie form. I did enjoy Phoenix’s performance. He did a great job depicting anxiety and fear while managing to deliver some comedic moments.
The Shows
Ted Lasso
Last week’s episode took place in Amsterdam, creating an awesome opportunity for the team to explore when Ted takes away their curfew.
I loved how they weaved more storylines into the episode than usual. Rebeca met a mysterious stranger and ended up spending the night on his boat. Ted and Beard took shrooms (that ended up being a dud batch) and Ted visited an American-themed restaurant. Jamie and Roy went on a training/bonding adventure. The rest of the team couldn't decide what to do and ended up having a pillow fight at the hotel.
This was a great character development episode. Jamie and Roy’s relationship is really evolving, and I’m lovin’ it! Ted is wrestling with the challenge of being a great long-distance father while also serving asa great coach. I think he’ll end up leaving Richmond to go back to the States by the end of the show. With Nate’s redemption arc starting to take shape, maybe he’ll come back and coach Richmond.
Dave
Last week’s episode, “Wisconsin,” was one of the best so far this season. Ally joins Dave and his crew on their next tour stop in Wisconsin. There was some great character development for Ally and Dave as they search for love.
Four episodes in and so far this season is much better than season 2. The only thing I wish we were getting more of was the music. There was a moment in this episode that would have been perfect for a quick song break. When GaTa does Lil Dicky’s show intro and Dave runs out on stage after saying “watch this” to the girl he’s hanging with in the episode. This was a perfect time for Dave to rap for a minute or two but instead, they cut to the next scene right as Lil Dicky hit the stage.
The Mandalorian
The finale of season 3 was good, but shorter than I think it should have been. The fight sequences were amazing, especially the areal shots of the Mandalorians dropping in. I like everything in the episode, I just wish some of it was expanded upon more. Most notably with Moff Gideon cloning himself. This is something they actually talked about on Lights Camera Barstool today. The show began with Moff Gideon trying to capture Grogu to create force-sensitive clones. This episode revealed that the clones Gideon was trying to imbue with the Force were clones of himself. That’s an awesome development in the story, but the clones are eliminated moments after their “identities” are revealed. It was still a great episode and season, I just wish the end wasn’t so rushed.
Season 4 is already written and fits in with Dave Filoni’s Ahsoka series and the rest of the Star Wars universe.