Anya Taylor-Joy Goes Through It in 'Furiosa'; Anatomy of a Gold Gala Lewk; 'Lost Soulz'; 'Everybody's In L.A.'
Issue No. 15: The fast and the 'Furiosa' of it all; Turning a lewk at Gold Gala 2024; John Mulaney's wildly delightful, short-lived talk show
George Miller’s ‘Furiosa’ more fun than dangerous; serves desert-based music videos of the ’90s energy
George Miller‘s Mad Max universe lives at the intersection of where Dune collides with a perverse version of Jules Verne-esque steampunk and is slapped with retro-futurist bondage and aggressive Dr. Seuss-like names. The latest installment, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga continues to add fuel to the delightfully demented fire that is the world of Mad Max — and it centers on the heroine of 2015’s critically acclaimed epic Fury Road. Although both movies exist in the same universe, Furiosa doesn’t match the energy nor have the drooling, chaotic spirit of Fury Road. There’s chaos pulsating in Furiosa’s veins, but it feels more manicured and expected, rather than unbridled and uncomfortable.
As the title suggests, this is the origin story of the character played by Anya Taylor-Joy. Sure, there is a commentary on charismatic leaders and abuse of power, but it’s Furiosa’s show. That said, based on what we know of the character originally played by Charlize Theron in Fury Road, I was bracing myself for female trauma and abuse of women. However, Furiosa did not go there — it’s insinuated — but it’s not blatantly shown which is one uncomfortable visual plot point that could afford to be dropped.
But there was one thing that I could not get past while watching Furiosa. Amidst the incredible shots, art direction, and remarkable gas-infused, post-apocalyptic punk rock Mad Max universe engulfed in sand and flames realness — I couldn’t help but expect to see Furiosa and her gang of merry road warriors run into: Dr. Dre, Tupac and friends celebrating their love for California…
The meaning behind my Gold Gala lewk
I love fashion. I mean, I used to work in fashion — which is why I love dressing up each year for Gold House’s Gold Gala, an annual celebration of Asian American excellence.
For Gold Gala 2024, the first thing I thought of was leather.
Enter Touko Valio Laaksonen… a.k.a. Tom of Finland.
I wanted to combine the masterful Finnish artist of exaggerated hyper-homoerotic, leather-clad masculinity of bulging muscles and crotches with pre-colonial Philippines.
Click here to read all about the meaning behind my “leather kuya” lewk at Gold Gala.
DIASPORA Watch List: Lost Soulz and John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA
I have a special place in my heart for indie films that actually feel indie — in other words, I actually feel the effort and passion from the art they create. It’s as if the love for cinema helps bolster the value of the narrative — this is especially apparent for Katherine Propper's feature directorial debut Lost Soulz.
The film stars a group of rap artists-turned-first time actors including Sauve Sidle, Micro TDH, Krystall Poppin, Siyanda “Yung Bambi” Stillwell, Malachi Mabson, Aaron "Seven" Melloul , Tauran “Big 40 Thrax” Ambroise, and Alex Brackney
A hip-hop road trip movie, Lost Soulz starts in Austin, Texas and takes us across the Lone Star State for a riveting and thoughtfully measured artistic coming-of-age odyssey, sculpting a story about belonging, chosen family and how far one will go for their art.
On a whim, I decided to watch Netflix’s live limited talk show series experiment John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in L.A.
The series which came and went in six episodes was aligned with the streamer’s Netflix is a Joke Festival which was happening all over Los Angeles.
Everybody’s in L.A. can be described as chaotic but I think it’s less chaotic and just kept hilariously moving forward despite the speed bumps it faced. In fact, it fact, the whole show felt like I was on an airplane that was being built while it was being flown.
From random callers talking about the subject of the day to Saturday Night Live alums impersonating Lou Adler to a motley crew panel of guests to the delivery drone Saymo becoming the show’s unlikely superstar (next to announcer, legend Richard Kind), Everybody’s in L.A. is kind of incredible.
The series combines absurd pre-taped bits, L.A.-centric conversations that are serious and silly at the same time and explores the rich history of the city with genuine sincerity, showing the vast culture the city has outside of the glitz and glamor of Hollywood.
All the while, it keeps in the spirit of Mulaney’s “let’s keep it moving, I have a show to keep on schedule” sense of humor.
Everybody’s in L.A. is the intersection of a late night talk show, The Daily Show, The Eric Andre Show and the most confusing text chain you will ever be on.
Even though the series ended on May 10, it is still available to watch on Netflix.