Low Key

Pixar's Soul is the story of a jazz musician named Joe (Jamie Foxx) who is on the brink of achieving his dreams... when he falls in a manhole and dies. From there, he meets 22 (Tina Fey) an entitled being who doesn't want to be alive. We start off rooting for Joe as he desperately clings to life. But then we're supposed to root for 22. And then their interests come into conflict.Where should our loyalties lie? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On the last Low Key podcast of the year, Keith Dennie, Aaron Lanton and Tim Molloy talk about the deceptively straightforward Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, directed by George C. Wolfe and based on the play by August Wilson.We talk about what we thought of Chadwick Boseman's final performance, what the film says about religion, and if there's a Marxist argument at work in the story of arguing musicians one hot day in 1927. Like every episode of the Low Key podcast, this one is good. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In The Sound of Metal, Riz Ahmed plays a heavy metal drummer who suddenly loses his hearing. You share his nightmarish sense of his entire life disappearing, along with his sense of sound. Director Darius Marder teaches us how to watch and listen to the film, with completely immersive and innovative use of sound. But it's also a spectacularly well-crafted script, and beautifully-acted film. We liked it! Keith and Aaron discuss the film, but missing co-host Tim agrees with everything they said. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lovers Rock, the magnificent second film in Steve McQueen's Small Axe series, takes viewers inside a 1980 house party filled with young British and Caribbean people, looking for love. As the party unfolds, we realize this small get-together, DJ'd by the immaculate Mercury Sound System, is fraught with politics: Why don't these Black young people feel welcome at clubs? Why can't they wander too far from the house without being accosted by local hoodlums? And what are the sexual and class dynamics at play?This makes it sound like Lovers Rock is a heavy-handed message movie — and it's the opposite. Steve McQueen has the lightest, deftest touch, and lets the story flow so freely you barely detect the film's arc until it's swept over you. Lover's Rock is a seductive mix of emotions as smoothly delivered as the songs the Mercury crew spins all night. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If you've thought about making a movie, but really don't know where to start, start here.Every week on Low Key, we talk about TV shows and movies other people made. Except this week! Keith Dennie, one of your co-hosts, wrote a script in quarantine, got a crew and actors together, and finished principle photography. His film, The Moment, is about a young woman named Logan (Randell Robertson) whose humdrum relationship is threatened by an intriguing new man (Tony Williams).Keith talks about how COVID-19 motivated him to make the film, and how he handled every aspect of it, from the dialogue to finding actors to talking them through scenes and editing. He also talks about how doing people favors will come around, giving special thanks to producer Charles W. Bush of Appointed Productions, first AD Sheran Keaton, and DP Michael Bradley.We're also sending out love to the Lanton family, and look forward to Aaron Lanton's return! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Queen's Gambit stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Beth Harmon, an orphan who becomes a 1960s chess prodigy — and addict. In this episode we talk about whether child prodigies are real or an exaggerated phenomenon, nature v. nurture, and the Netflix series' approach to gender and race. Also we try to imagine a world without Street Fighter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

His House is a haunted house story where the characters have a good reason for not leaving the house: If they do, they'll be returned to the horrors of tribal violence in their native South Sudan.Set in the United Kingdom, His House follows the story of Rial and Bol Majur (played by Wunmi Mosaku and Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù), a married couple seeking asylum to escape the horrors of tribal violence.The debut feature from Remi Weekes is scary, unexpectedly funny, and provocative — it inspires a talk among Keith, Aaron and Tim about our own immigration policy, and the ways people dehumanize each other.If you like this episode, check out Tim interview with Remi Weeks at the MovieMaker Interviews podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Horror. Science fiction. Non-fiction. Fantasy. Adventure. Coming of age. War. A lot of shows have a hard time executing any sole genre. Lovecraft Country, which just wrapped its first season on HBO, blends all of these together at once and still sticks the landing more often than not.On this week's episode of the Low Key podcast, we discuss all things Lovecraft Country, including the very mixed legacy of H.P. Lovecraft, whether contemporary music works for shows set in the past, and how unfinished character arcs kept this season from being an all-timer.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The new British horror film Hosts seems designed to provoke people, with a mix of long, slow buildups and sudden, ghastly unpleasantness. This is never better exemplified than in a dinner scene that replaces Chekhov's gun with a hammer, very unsubtly. Hosts features a classic setup: a family invites a neighborhood couple over for Christmas dinner. But an unknown entity has taken over the neighbors' bodies and forces them to act out murderous violence. Hosts weaves together elements of several horror sub-genres, including home invasion, possession, familial violence, and supernatural mystery.Does it work? We discuss.Hosts is directed by Adam Leader and Richard Oakes and stars Neal Ward, Nadia Lamin, Frank Jakeman, Samantha Loxley, and Lee Hunter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today we talk about The Boys, Amazon's anti-superhero story. Season 1 used superheroes to represent police, military, sports stars and Hollywood celebrities and explore blind hero worship. Season 2 delves into the dirty underside of manufactured heroism with a character named Stormfront (Aya Cash) who uses memes to gain fame and try to steal the superhero group The Seven from its leader, Homelander (Anthony Starr), a kind of demented cross between Superman and Captain America.There are Nazis, a BDSM relationship between Stormfront and Homelander that involves lasers, and so, so many exploding heads. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today's episode is about Residue, the impressionistic debut from Merawi Gerima. The award-winning film, which just premiered on Netflix, follows Jay, a young filmmaker who returns from Los Angeles to his hometown of Washington, DC and finds that white people are taking over his neighborhood, disrespecting the Black residents they're pushing out.We talk about the challenging pace of the movie, its unconventional use of offscreen voices, and its complicated presentation of Jay's motivations. Keith and Aaron also talk about their experiences with gentrification in Memphis, and Tim discusses his white interloping.We almost talked about Cuties this episode and decided to do Residue instead. You're welcome, everybody. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hulu's new TV show 'Woke' follows the story of black cartoonist Keef Knight's "woke" awakening after a brush with police brutality leads him to re-evaluate his relationship with art and social critique. Also, inanimate objects are now talking to him about embracing his blackness.It's a weird concept with great ideas, but 'Woke' makes some of the same mistakes it means to shed a light on. Keith and Aaron discuss in one of the most contentious episodes of the pod yet. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We talk about 1BR, the little horror movie that could... unseat Project Power as the top movie on Netflix. It's a story of utopian societies, utilitarianism, and keeping your cat close. Plus, Aaron and Keith recount their experience with a charismatic religious leader who eavesdropped on their conversation at the International House of Pancakes.f you like this episode, check out our interview with 1BR producer Alok Mishra and writer-director David Marmor. And read Alok's piece for MovieMaker about the insane misadventures that went into making the film. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This episode, we talk about how Chadwick Boseman kept history alive with roles from Jackie Robinson to James Brown to Thurgood Marshall — and how Black Panther changed everything for movies. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Project Power, the latest Netflix action-adventure hit, has a new spin on super powers: What if a pill could make you outrageously powerful — for just five minutes?The film by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, written by The Batman co-writer Mattson Tomlin, stars a trio of stellar actors: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Dominique Fishback.But it also raises a question about the current action movie emphasis on universe-building: How can a movie tell a self-enclosed story while also hinting at the endless sequels and spinoffs to come? Can a movie do too good a job of universe-building, to the point that its main story feels incomplete?We liked Project Power well enough, don't get us wrong. But we wondered at times if it was doing too much... or not enough. It definitely gave us a lot to talk about. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Shirley is about the brilliant American Gothic author Shirley Jackson, whose mid-20th century work has influenced many of the creators we admire today. Shirley specifically dramatizes the period that Jackson wrote the novel Hangsaman, by introducing a young, recently married couple into her home. Jackson and her husband Stanley Hyman, a literary critic and university professor, provide the couple room and board as the young husband seeks university tenure.In exchange, Rose, the young wife, acts as a daily helper to Jackson who is struggling to write her book or finish chores around the home, let alone come up with a galvanizing idea to write her next great piece of fiction.The set up is straightforward but the execution is anything but. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The lead for a superhero film has to be in phenomenal shape, capable of imposing criminals with their physical presence - or do they? Robert Pattinson, the newest actor to take on the role of Batman in the upcoming 2021 film, adamantly disagrees. In an interview with GQ conducted in April 2020, Pattinson made the case that anyone advocating for working out at all times is “part of the problem.” Presumably, his conviction against exercise is about the pressure to have the perfect physique in a capitalist, image driven society that makes us obsessed with striving for unattainable goals. Detractors would say he simply doesn’t want to work out. This episode of the Low Key podcast begins with a rant arguing the latter.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today’s episode of the Low Key pod covers Beyonce’s visual album Black Is King, a re-envisioning of the classic Lion King tale through the talent and vision of black folks across the globe. In fact, each song for this project was part of Disney’s CGI-live action 2019 Lion King remake, but Black Is King adds additional layers and textures to each rendition by introducing a wide array of African people, tradition, and modern experience. Some audiences will be bewildered and others will not be able to find the words to explain why this is such an important piece of art beyond typical rating critique. Black Is King is streaming now on Disney Plus. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

At the end of the first episode of Netfix's The Business of Drugs, host Amaryllis Fox says to the camera:"Legalization may seem pretty extreme to most Americans. But as long as the demand continues to climb, and the prices remain astronomically high because of no legal competition, I can't help wonder whether legalization and regulation is the only real option, and prohibition is just an illusion to make us all feel good."Humans have used substances to induce soberless states since the beginning of time, but The Business of Drugs breaks down how our shared global habit is causing chaos for forgotten people. On this episode of Low Key, we talk about destigmatizing addiction, how poverty fuels drug markets, and whether legalization would help. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode we explore Netflix's Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado, about a Puerto Rican TV astrologer who rose from humble beginnings to become a sequin-caped inspiration to millions.With his distinctive look, aura of mystery — especially about his sexuality — and ability to blend many religious beliefs into a medley of optimism, Walter Mercado gave hope to the hopeless — until an ugly legal dispute yanked him from the air and cost him control of his own carefully cultivated image.:45: Our late-night infomercial memories3:00: Is the Michael Jordan-approved The Last Dance real journalism? Is Walter Mercado getting the Michael Jordan treatment?5:45: "Celebrities nowadays are derivatives of celebrities back in the day."5:50: How Walter Mercado was like Michael Jackson and Prince7:05: About that psychic phone line...7:50: How is Walter Mercado different from a televangelist?8:50: "You just can't swindle a swindler"10:00: Let's talk about Walter Mercado and his manager's relationship11:45: Zodiac