Weekend Boost: "Top Gun" Flies High (Mostly), "Ms. Marvel" Delights (Bigly), and Much More
The Best Movies, TV, Music, Books, and Comics June 17-19
Welcome back to The Boost. I’ve been busy with other articles (which I hope you’ve been enjoying) so I haven’t been able to share some of my favorite pleasures with you for a couple weeks.
However, I’m back, baby, and ready to roll. You follow these suggestions and you will definitely have a great weekend—or even week.
WATCH (movies)
Top Gun: Maverick
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
Written by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, Christopher McQuarrie
The sequel only took 36 years, but it was worth it in the way that going to a 35th high school reunion is worth it when you look great and everyone else is out of shape. The movie—and Tom Cruise—look great.
This is the most successful movie of 2022 and it’s easy to see why. After two years of America in semi-hibernation, we’re taking to the skies in fast jets, watching hot bodies frolic on the beach, weeping over touching Val Kilmer moments, swooning over an actual mature love story, and getting verklempt over father-son type reconciliation. It’s movie melodrama at its best.
You don’t have to make any apologies for enjoying the nostalgia of ‘80s-style entertainment that was more about an awesome soundtrack than believable plot. All you have to do is strap in and enjoy the ride. You’ll leave the theater with a smile on your face.
[P.S.: Jurassic World: Dominion comes 29 years after Jurassic Park but is a junk drawer of a movie. The dinosaurs are all amazing, truly stunning effects. But the story makes little sense, the characters make unlikely choices, and there’s a lot of head-scratching at the end. Nostalgia doesn’t always pay off.]