From the Couch Hole: The World Has Only One Sweet Moment Set Aside for Us

Previously on FTCH, we said welcome to Derry even though it’s no country for old men. Honey don’t forget that it’s the end of the world as we know it, so take it to heart when the demongorgon cruch is served. This week we said goodbye to baseball until March, but football is more than ready to take over the television mantle. Work is in that brief lull that allows me to prep to take a long weekend at Thanksgiving. This week we tell Bugonia to get out of a house of dynamite and they say, “Who wants to live forever.” We go beyond the heart to eat all of the smoked gouda potato chips. Remember, at FTCH, what’s in your wallet?

Pop Culture Ephemera

• Bugonia (2025) (Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos): “I know who you are. I know what you are.” – Teddy There are now enough entries to define this as part of a Yorgos genre. You either have the patience and sense of humor to appreciate his films or you think they are confusing trash. Talking to others, there doesn’t seem to be a middle ground. I find myself a fan of the genre.
  
  Yorgos is quick to define a world that is dying. Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Donny (Aidan Delbis) live in a world of conspiracy theories with a dying mother and a hobby of beekeeping (another symbol of the dying world). They have concocted a theory that Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone) is a alien from Andromeda. They kidnap her to stop the destruction of the world.
  
  The best comparison is to Ari Aster’s Eddington (2025) which would also fit into this genre. Both films are people angry at each other and the world. They put characters into positions where they let their anger get them into situations that they don’t know how to get out of. In this film, Teddy, is always on the edge of panic and anger as he questions his own motives, not unlike Pacino’s character in Dog Day Afternoon (1975) which also had a similar dichotomy between the two kidnappers/bank robbers. My reaction at the ending was much like Eddington, the director doesn’t take a clear moral stand on his characters. That ambiguity is troubling for some who sit two hours through some intense scenes. I’m willing to go on that journey and spend the next few days still thinking about the film.
  
• Neon Genesis Evangelion – “Rei, Beyond The Heart” (1995) (S.1 E.5) (TXN): “If I die, I can be replaced.” – Rei. The series is allowing these first last few episodes to unfold at a slower pace than the first one. We got to know Shinji earlier and now we get a little more insight into the enigma that’s Rei. She is more of the logical machine than Shinji’s emotional motivation. There’s a little conspiracy possibility with the relationship between Rei and Shinji’s father. Rei’s lack of memories are going to be an important part of the backstory as the story develops. It’s not a simple cookie-cutter series like so many others. Each episode is a building block instead of repetitive action. This show is playing out better this time through it.

Buy Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Complete Series Blu-ray

• Queen – “Who Wants to Live Forever” (1986) (from A Kind of Magic): “What is this thing that builds our dreams / Yet tips ’em ‘way from us.” Written by Brian May, the lyrics make more sense if you have watched Highlander (1986) which it was created for. There is a beautiful cinematic quality to the song. It was their second to last single, but certainly deserves a spot in talks of their “greatest hits.” Michael Kamen provides the direction of the orchestra behind the vocals. It all comes together very well. I prefer this album version that starts with Brian May singing the first verse and then Freddie taking over from there.

• Get Out (2017) (Directed by Jordan Peele): “I want your eye, man. I want those things you see through.” – Jim Hudson. This film was ranked the eighth best film the of the 21st Century by The New York Times. I saw this in 2017 as cold as I ever see any film. I snuck away from work one afternoon to see Logan (2017). The presentation was faulty and we were told we could go to another theater if we wanted. I found this film just as it was starting and sat down only knowing it was directed by Jordan Peele. Needless to say, I found it incredibly entertaining.
  
  Director Peele’s directorial debut is more complex than you might expect from under the Blumhouse brand. This is my first viewing of it since that day, and I can see that Peele bites off quite a bit thematically with a relatively simple plot. For the most part, he succeeds. The idea of a sinister world beneath a happy veneer isn’t new, and I talked about it recently in regards to The Stepford Wives (1975). This film brought that concept back to life in a way that is still being duplicated in the horror genre, especially Blumhouse releases. The film spends the first two acts building the tension in ever-increasing unsettling events. This is needed to make the third act have the same dramatic impact. I think if there’s any drawback to the film, it’s that so much of the last act resembles horror films of this generation. I can see why this has the ranking it does, but I’m not sure I’d put it Top Ten of the Century. It definitely feels like a first film of a director that we will look back upon and say, “So much of it was just starting here.”

Buy Get Out

• A House of Dynamite (2025) (Directed by Kathryn Bigelow): “There’s no plan B.” – Admiral Miller. Director Bigelow is celebrated for bringing more recent history to life in her films. I’ve only watched Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and found it compelling and nicely structured. I have not seen The Hurt Locker (2008), but I’ve heard similar reviews, and I mean to catch it soon. This film takes place in our near future instead of past. There is a nuclear warhead headed towards Chicago launched by an unknown enemy, likely North Korea. The story is told in three parts, but don’t confuse this with Rashomon (1950). The story only changes locations and not interpretations. We see the story first from the Situation Room, then again from the Beltway with workers having their seemingly normal lives invaded by the situation, and we finish with the President and his impossible decision. It’s hard to turn away from the film, but I can foresee the ending being a little too ambiguous for a crowd that wants moral clarity. I think the point to every nuclear war film has been the futility of any decision when millions are going to die. This is a wonderfully made film, but I don’t see it making a difference when the awards season comes around.
  

Best of the Rest

• When Sarah Brightman covers “Who Wants to Live Forever” with the backing of the London Symphony Orchestra, it feels like I should be watching the credits of a James Bond film. Released in 1997, Sarah Brightman was an established artist, but this was one of the first songs that really caught my attention from her.

• “Who Wants to Live Forever” has been used in any number of tribute concerts and tribute albums, notably for Princess Diana. The definitive tribute version has to be the first one with Seal (a relative unknown at the time) at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness in 1992. Brian May is right one with his guitar work too.

• The wait is almost over. It’s been a series that I have enjoyed with more or less dwindling enthusiasm for four previous seasons. I was encouraged by the story in the last season, but I’ve lost all momentum with the long delay between seasons. The new season comes out over the span of just over a month. Season Five, Volume One drops on November 26th. The Volume Two is released on Christmas Day and you can finish your year with a bang with Volume Three on New Year’s Eve. I’ll be there with an open mind, but I am not sure how to read this trailer.

Sunday Morning Tuneage Flashback

• Sunday Morning Tuneage from 1/3/2010, I’m going to pause here for a few weeks while I look deeper into my Best of 2009 lists that I released on this morning. My lists have evolved/devolved over the years. This was probably only the fourth or fifth year of standardizing my lists. In general, 2009 was a good year for pop culture and for me, I remember it positively with six-, twelve-, and thirteen-year-old children at home. The first list up was movies. For the first time in years, I hit my goal by seeing 25 films in the theaters that year, a goal I still maintain today. What is clear as I take a look at it is that this is an era where I didn’t go back and catch up on movies I missed at the theaters. My pool to pull from isn’t much wider than it was in January 2010.
  
  My #82 Top TV Show of All-Time was Quantum Leap (NBC) (1989-1993): This list is paused until I move forward to the next Tuneage release.
  
• BEST MOVIES OF 2009 (2010)
  • 10. Ponyo (Directed by Hayao Miyazaki)
  • 9. In the Loop (Directed by Armando Iannucci)
  • 8. District 9 (Directed by Neil Blomkamp)
  • 7. Adventureland (Directed by Greg Mottola)
  • 6. Coraline (Directed by Henry Selick)
  • 5. I Love You, Man (Directed by John Hamburg)
  • 4. Where the Wild Things Are (Directed by Spike Jonze)
  • 3. Fantastic Mr. Fox (Directed by Wes Anderson)
  • 2. Up (Directed by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson)
  • 1. Up in the Air (Directed by Jason Reitman)
    
• BEST MOVIES OF 2009 (2025)
  • 10. Crazy Heart (Directed by Scott Cooper): This was a film that I really loved when I saw it in theaters and haven’t revisited since then. I’m wondering if I loved this Jeff Bridges film as much as I remember liking it. Maggie Gyllenhaal is what brought this film out of the potential of being schmaltzy romance.
  • 9. In the Loop (Directed by Armando Iannucci): I’m still amazed that the best character in this dry-humored British film was James Gandolfini.
  • 8. Star Trek (Directed by J.J. Abrams): J.J. Abrams took the reins of the franchise and didn’t care if he pissed off some long-time fans. I didn’t love or hate this film when it debuted, but I’ve learned to appreciate the direction the films needed to head in the 21st Century.
  • 7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Directed by David Yates): This is a film that bounces up and down my rankings almost with every viewing. It’s easy to knock the film for not being able to capture such a huge book full of material, but taken as another attempt to expand the franchise, it’s as good as I would hope. I would hope that in a remake scenario this would be at least two films long.
  • 6. Adventureland (Directed by Greg Mottola): It’s like they built a film just for me in 2009, with director Mottola, a coming-of-age film, a film about crappy summer jobs, and a wonderful cast including Kristen Stewart, Martin Starr, Kristen Wiig, and Bill Hader. I’m sure I hold this film more dear than most average viewers.
  • 5. Where the Wild Things Are (Directed by Spike Jonze): This film started by flooring me with an incredible trailer. Then it did the thing that doesn’t always happen, it delivered. Spike Jonze took a book that you wouldn’t call a linear narrative masterpiece. The Dave Eggers script isn’t afraid to go into some dark corners, as all good children’s movies seem to understand.
  • 4. District 9 (Directed by Neil Blomkamp): I can’t imagine the pitch for this. It’s like we are taking Blair Witch Project (1999), but it’s a science fiction film set in South Africa and it’s really about immigration. It was my choice for Best Trailer of the year, a choice that still holds the spot along with Where the Wild Things Are.
  • 3. Up (Directed by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson): Pixar remained strong, but we didn’t know that the downturn was so close. This film would be up here even if it ended after the first ten minutes. The year was really strong for animation, which was nice since most of my film going was with youngsters in tow.
  • 2. Up in the Air (Directed by Jason Reitman): I don’t think we realized a couple of things when this came out. It was the third film for Jason Reitman, but we didn’t know he would keep pumping out some quality films through today. We also didn’t know that the George Clooney character who was untethered to society would become an emblematic of so many young men in today’s society.
  • 1. Fantastic Mr. Fox (Directed by Wes Anderson): This film has aged even better as Wes Anderson continues to mine similar themes. There’s this excellent action adventure film that’s covering up a wonderful story of fathers and sons. I could use another theatrical viewing of this entry.

Buy Fantastic Mr. Fox (Criterion Collection)

1975 in Review

• November – Adventures on the Planet of the Apes #2 (Marvel): Cover by Rich Buckler. Written by Doug Moench. Art by George Tuska. “To suggest that we can learn something about simian nature from a study of man is nonsense! Besides, men are a nuisance.” – Doctor Zaius. Astronaut Taylor is captured by the Apes but with his throat injury can’t communicate with them. The franchise is still so popular with a television series out that Marvel is reprinting issues from 1974 already but this time they’re improved by being in color. These covers are superior to the ones on the previous releases.
• November 8 – There is a mutiny on the Russian frigate Storozhevoy and Captain Sablin locked up Captain Putorny. Captain Sablin would later be convicted of treason by the Russian government. The incident would become the Tom Clancy novel and the John McTiernan film, The Hunt For Red October.
• November 10 – Sports Illustrated. Fran Tarkenton had the Vikings off to an 8-0 start that would become 10-0 and an 12-2 season. Fran was about to surpass Johnny Unitas for passing yards and eventually touchdowns. Retired as the leader in each category, Fran is now 25th in Passing Yards with Andy Dalton about to pass him and Tarkenton is 13th in Touchdown Passes. The scrambler was criticized at the time for not being a true pocket passer like Baugh or Unitas and his number of passes to his running backs. He would have had monster numbers in today’s offenses.

What the Hell Did I Put in My Mouth?

“But touch my tears with your lips
Touch my world with your fingertips
And we can have forever
And we can love forever
Forever is our today” – Queen