The Projector with Kate Rodger

What I'm watching, what I'm hearing, what I'm thinking, what I'm feeling.

Photo by Alex Litvin on Unsplash

4 months, 1 week, 2 days and 16 hours since our last Newshub show aired.

Not that I’m counting, that would be sad and weird.

21 years as Newshub’s loyal and obsessive film critic at an end. Two decades of Film3 every Saturday night. And bloody hell I miss it.

So anyway, let me wipe away these bitter tears and reach for my keyboard. It appears I simply cannot function as a human being if I don’t constantly bang on about the films I’ve been watching, loving, hating, tolerating to anyone who will listen (in this case it’s you so you’ve only got yourself to blame).  

This, my fellow FilmFreaks, is my Substack.  Each week starting right bloody now I shall share what I’m watching, listening to, what I’m thinking and what I’m feeling. It’s as much for my own mental health as anything and cheaper than therapy.  I need stories - and to talk about those stories - to keep me sane, to keep me connected; with myself, with the people around me and the world (currently on fire) that we all live in.  

Of course the cinema will always be my first love, my soulmate; but it turns out I can be just as obsessive about any storytelling at all - in fact my ludicrously capacious bag is chokka block to the brim with all my binge worthy musings on my fave shows.

So, this is The Projector, with me Kate Rodger. The What-to-Watch spoiler-free Substack you never asked for. You’re welcome. 

If you’re down for a quick hit to your inbox every week then I’m here for you - it’s FREE and you simply subscribe (I’ve always wanted to say that) by hitting this cute orange button and you’re sweet!  

GET THEE TO A CINEMA

NEW RELEASE: GLADIATOR II - R16

⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a sweet week to kick off, Gladiator II has charged into cinemas globally after girding our gladiatorial loins with what feels like months of marketing Mescal. Front and centre, Irish It Boy Paul Mescal deserves everything that comes his way, he’s the real deal. He has Internet Daddy Pedro Pascal as his promo & red carpet wingman, a match made in movie marketing heaven. 

So the big question, did we need another Gladiator? I re-watch Ridley and Russell’s Roman romp at least annually - I blimmin’ LOVE this movie. Ask me how many lines of dialogue I know by heart and I’ll tell you: far too many for a grown woman. The moment I hear one single note of Hans Zimmer’s score I am THERE.

So what about the sequel? Here’s what I offloaded onto instagram in the hours after watching it..:

Gladiator II

⭐️⭐️⭐️

+ Denzel DOMINATING

- Sharks in the Colosseum?? 🦈 make it stop

+ Some pretty mint and massive action set pieces

- Flimsy & overlooked character set-up failed to make me care enough particularly with our new Gladiator even more so with the twin emperors

- The overwhelming feeling of facsimile, the Déjà vu, left me longing for Maximus Decimus Meridius (he will have his vengeance- in this life, or the next 😜)

+ phenomenal sets/costumes

All up - was I not entertained? Sure? I guess? Just not enough to take the edge off my disappointment that it wasn’t the film I needed it to be.

A 3 Star watch you cry? That’s pretty mid. Well yeah, it WAS pretty mid.  I was pumped to see this new slice of the Roman Empire - a great cast, great story DNA, the OG Gladiator Ridley at the helm. And according to the Bible of Tom Cruise we know it’s possible to resurrect a top flight piece of legacy IP and fly it Mach 10 speed back into the hearts, minds and pockets of Maverick fans everywhere.  So why not Gladiator? 

It just lacked a fresh approach. It felt like a rinse and repeat fan-grab in places and while I would have lapped up a couple of references they just kept on coming and I felt manipulated into my Maximus nostalgia. And it simply didn’t need them - there were plenty of fresh storylines to serve up to fans old and new.

And so often a trapdoor into the mediocre: choosing to pump up the action and the volume at the cost of screen time spent establishing and bedding down new characters meant I simply didn’t connect with them enough, or care about them as much - regardless of how epic their performances were.

And you can dig up a hundred historians hell-bent on convincing me there were in fact real sharks swimming around the colosseum in ancient Rome chowing down on a gaggle of gladiators, I still didn’t buy that whole schtick on the big screen.

Of course there’s still good reason to take your seat at the colosseum. Denzel’s swagger stole every scene he was in even if his character didn't really make sense - not in the way Proximo’s did. Seeing the glorious Connie Nielsen imbue proceedings with her grace and power as Lucilla opposite a pitch perfect Pedro pleased me no end.

THE FEELS: Disappointment tinged with mild nostalgia

THE HOOK: Drop those expectations, sit back, and let yourself be entertained, it's R16 and pretty stabby so don’t take the kids.

THE WEEKLY DIP INTO THE KR ARCHIVE

(each week I’ll fire up some links to any interviews and coverage for actors and filmmakers who share DNA with a new release, kicking off with the Gladiator II cast!)

Team Gladiator

• PEDRO PASCAL - say no more. This chat was for the Magnificent Mando (manicure anyone?)

• PAUL MESCAL - my chat with him alongside his co-star Andrew Strong for All of US Strangers

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2024/02/andrew-scott-and-paul-mescal-discuss-the-amazing-difficult-achievement-of-all-of-us-strangers.html

• CONNIE NIELSEN - my chat with her was for Wonder Woman

MY LUDICROUSLY CAPACIOUS BAG OF BINGE-A-BILITY

(yeah I know, this title is a work in progress)

• DISCLAIMER - Apple TV

Cate and Kevin, anyone else feel like it’s been an eternity since we were treated to some Kevin Kline? He’s as creepy and complex AF in this, as a grieving revengeful father on a mission to utterly destroy the life of celebrated journalist Catherine Ravenstock (Blanchett). Written and directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón (Roma/Gravity/Children of Men) this was oddly patchy in places and didn’t immediately suck me in but nonetheless by the final two episodes I was gripped - it was an incredibly unsettling and cinematic watch and all the performances including Kodi Smit-McPhee were stunning. Definitely for the grown-ups, intense and quite disturbing (triggering in fact and with warnings to that effect) but for me this show was definitely worth the investment.

• THE PENGUIN - HBO/NeonNZ

Colin Farrell UNRECOGNISABLE as the titular DC Penguin opposite Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone? First up, give me her entire wardrobe, second up, by crikey she's terrifying and definitely the highlight. I loved this show so very very much - the final EP was killer. Matt Reeves and his magic. Cannot wait for more (the next Batman soon please)

• YELLOWSTONE - NeonNZ - FIRST EP final half of final season

Hey is it just me or was this first episode post-all the off-set Costner/Sheridan drama just a but meh??? More chat on this next week but let me know what you reckon.

GUEST STARRING…

She’s here, she’s there, she’s every f**king where KATE RODGER! (OK yeah I know one step too far but Roy Kent 4 Life).

This little “Guest Starring” section is just a link to any other listen-worthy pods or radio chats I’ve wangled my way onto, kicking off with RNZ’s brilliant daily podcast THE DETAIL where host Davina Zimmer and I watched The Apprentice in the week of the US election then downloaded into our microphones  moments after watching the final credits roll on Sebastian Stan’s Trump.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-detail/story/2018962299/the-making-of-donald-trump

THE COMMENTS SECTION

I’ve spent my entire adult life avoiding the dreaded “Comments Section” online so this feels somewhat of a triggering U-turn but hey what would I be if didn’t embrace “change”.

So - what I want what I really really want is as much animated discourse in our comments discussions as possible!

+ Argue (kindly but with passion) 

+ Agree

+ Articulate

+ And Above All - tell us all what YOU are thinking and feeling. 

I’d love all your thoughts and feels and recommendations so we can all WATCH MORE GOOD STUFF!

Well that's it from me. Starting something - ANYTHING -  has always been a gargantuan stumbling block for me. It's taken a few months of angst to get to this point and another month to push “POST”.  The Projector is a work in progress and all and any feedback from you FilmFreaks is 100% welcomed.

May the Force be with You.

KR xx