We don't know which is more unbelievable, that it's October 1st or that this is the 40th edition of the Friday Five. Both are hard to believe, but don't worry, there aren't any mid-life crisis selections on our list this week. From here until the end of the year there is a massive slate of movies, and that definitely shows in this week's Five. That said, we also made sure to include some great new music, and a new follower you'll have to check out on Insta. Enjoy, and happy Spooky Season!
The Guilty
If you want to start your weekend off with a pulse-pounding thriller, it looks like Netflix will have you covered. Jake Gyllenhaal is back and starring in Antoine Fuqua’s latest project The Guilty, and while the trailer doesn’t reveal much, we are definitely excited. Both the actor and director have worked on some of our favorite, most intense LA-based movies, including End of Watch (Gyllenhaal) and Training Day (Fuqua). Not to mention, the script is written by True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto. The plot is still pretty ambiguous, though we know it’s about a 911 operator who seems to get tangled up in a larger conspiracy while attempting to save a kidnapping victim. Gyllenhaal is the only actor featured in the trailer, but the cast is star-studded as well, with Riley Keough, Paul Dano, and Ethan Hawke all credited in major roles. Netflix originals can definitely be pretty hit-or-miss, but if you don’t want to leave the house this weekend, you can pop some popcorn and give The Guilty a spin.
The Many Saints of Newark
Netflix isn’t the only big player in the streaming movie game this weekend, though. As we hinted at last week, the long-awaited Sopranos prequel, The Many Saints of Newark, finally hits theaters and HBOMax this weekend. People have been dying to see the origin story of one of TV’s most iconic characters, and it will be pretty cool to see Michael Gandolfini take over a role from his late father. The buzz around this movie has helped fuel a mini Sopranos revival, and now we all get to see a young Tony Soprano on the big screen. It’s always risky to revive properties that are so beloved, but it does seem like fans are really excited to see what creator David Chase can bring to the franchise. You have the option to check out the film in theaters, which we’ll always recommend you do, but you could also put together a pretty nice double feature if you didn’t want to leave the house. And did we mention that Ray Liotta is in it? We’ll always go for a good mob movie, and obviously The Sopranos holds a lot of clout in the genre. Hopefully the prequel can live up to all the buzz!
Licorice Pizza Trailer
Sticking with highly-anticipated movies, a very important trailer was dropped this week, and we’ve gotta make sure you’ve seen it. Licorice Pizza, Paul Thomas Anderson’s newest film, is the movie that some in King Penguin HQ are most looking forward to this year. There’s been a lot of secrecy around it, from a number of different working titles to a mysterious trailer circulating around arthouse theaters in Los Angeles. Finally, we were surprised with our first full peak, and it doesn’t disappoint! This coming-of-age story, set in the San Fernando Valley in the 70’s, stars Cooper Hoffman (the son of the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman), Bradley Cooper, and a whole host of other stars we’re excited to see. PTA returns to the same setting that birthed Boogie Nights, and if that’s not reason enough to get excited, we don’t know what is. People have said that Licorice Pizza could be Paul Thomas Anderson’s Dazed and Confused, which again is enough of a teaser to keep us up at night. For now, we’ll just watch the trailer on loop, in all of it’s sun-washed, 70s Southern California glory.
The War on Drugs - “I Don’t Live Here Anymore”
This fall isn’t just for movies that we can’t wait for, though -- there are some long-awaited albums dropping, as well. One of them is the new record from The War on Drugs, and while we’re waiting, we’ve been listening to their title single “I Don’t Live Here Anymore” on repeat. It has the signature combination of peaceful, soothing vocals and melody with some rocking instrumentals that the band is known for. Based just on the single, it already feels like an album we’ll be able to just sink into. There’s a cool, almost 80’s techno intro, followed by a great guitar riff, and a drum part that could fit in the 80s as well. As the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, we could really use some The War on Drugs. “I Don’t Live Here Anymore” is already at the top of our Fall playlists -- we’re sure it won’t be the only track from the album to get added.
@NickHShaheen - ‘The Run Cycle’
Nick Shaheen is a motion graphics artist doing some pretty awesome stuff on his Instagram page, and this week he caught our eye with his “Run Cycle” animation. He put a bunch of famous characters, running through action scenes, all on a loop following each other, and it is pretty mesmerizing. While it was cool to see characters in the loop that are usually animated, like Spiderman and Raphael (from TMNT), it was also great to have live action characters like Neo and Leonidas brought into the animated world. We don’t get to see any of Shaheen’s process, but it is a little bit of a look behind the curtain, as you can see how different characters & backdrops are all put into the same type of loop. Beyond just the one video, we really enjoy some of the other animations on his feed, as well, like these astronaut surfers or a ship sailing on a cup of coffee. Definitely at least check out “The Run Cycle,” but you might just want to throw the account a follow, because it’s a great addition to your feed if you want some exciting 3D animation.