(C) Daily Yonder - Keep it Rural This story was originally published by Daily Yonder - Keep it Rural and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . More Rural Recommendations for Your Summer Watchlist [1] ['Adam B. Giorgi', 'The Daily Yonder', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar'] Date: 2024-06-27 Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in The Good, the Bad, and the Elegy, a newsletter from the Daily Yonder focused on the best, and worst, in rural media, entertainment, and culture. Every other Thursday, it features reviews, retrospectives, recommendations, and more. You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article to receive future editions in your inbox. Our most recent summer roundup was a hit, so we’re back again this week with another curated batch of recommendations for your entertainment needs. It can be difficult keeping up with all the movies, shows, and other media available on offer these days, and we’re happy to point you toward some worthy options. As always, if there’s something you’re enjoying that you’d like to see highlighted, feel free to comment below or send us a note. Shōgun An official trailer for “Shōgun” (via FX Networks on YouTube). I had no prior exposure to earlier iterations of “Shōgun,” the James Clavell novel and original miniseries both being before my time. FX and Hulu’s new spin on the material served as my introduction, and I was absolutely blown away. I can’t comment on how it compares to its forebears, but I have no reservations about calling it one of the most impressive pieces of television storytelling I’ve ever seen. The craftsmanship behind the production design and costuming are unmatched, and the commitment to cultural and historical accuracy enrich the story, a sprawling political epic about a transformative time in feudal Japan. Despite its large scope, it is novel and worth noting that most of the story takes place in Ajiro, a small fishing village far from the center of power. It also gives us select glimpses at Edo early in its development, a humble start for what is now Tokyo, the most populous city in the world. If you missed “Shōgun” when it released earlier this year, you owe it to yourself to catch up now. Shōgun is streaming on Hulu. Wes Anderson’s Roald Dahl Shorts An official trailer for “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More”‘ (via Netflix on YouTube). Last year was a good one for filmmaker Wes Anderson, between “Asteroid City” and the Academy Award-winning short film “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.” What I hadn’t realized until more recently was that Anderson released three additional shorts adapted from Roald Dahl stories, “The Swan,” “The Rat Catcher,” and “Poison.” To bring added attention to the whole batch, Netflix recently released the quartet as one stitched together, feature-length anthology. Anderson purists can debate which is the best way to experience these works, but whether you sample them a la carte or enjoy them as one cohesive work, you’ll find plenty of the usual charms on display. “The Swan” and “The Rat Catcher” were highlights for me, capturing idiosyncratic slices of life in the English countryside, and the production design leans into the pastoral aesthetic throughout, particularly with Dahl’s writing cottage, used as a recurring framing device and staged with Anderson’s trademark eye for detail. These adaptations are unique for how literal they are, relying on scripts that give them the quality of a bedtime story that is not only being read to you but also coming to life right before your eyes. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More is streaming on Netflix. Pride This recommendation comes courtesy of my colleague Anya Petrone Slepyan and is a timely pick if you’re looking for a movie to add to your Pride month festivities: A trailer for “Pride” (via Rotten Tomatoes Trailers on YouTube). 2024 marks the 10 year anniversary of one of my favorite movies, “Pride,” which tells the true story of a group of LGBTQ+ activists who supported Welsh coal miners in Wales during the 1984-85 miners strike. With a spectacular cast including Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, and Andrew Scott, the movie follows a group called Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) as they journey from London to the rural Dulais Valley in an act of improbable but deeply impactful solidarity. If you want to celebrate Pride month and also cry along to top-tier organizing bops including “Bread and Roses” and “Solidarity Forever,” this is the movie for you! Pride is streaming on Peacock and is also available to buy or rent on digital video platforms. The Iron Claw An official trailer for “The Iron Claw” (via A24 on YouTube). “The Iron Claw” retells the story of the Von Erich family, mainstays of the American wrestling scene in the 1980s. The family hails from Denton, Texas, which is on the fringes of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, but the film felt pretty rural to my eyes. Numerous scenes take place on the open pastures of the Von Erich ranch, and the dusty arenas where the early fights take place reminded me of how wrestling, particularly in its amateur and backyard varieties, can be rural-coded in the same fashion as many other sports, from high-school football to more mythic representations of baseball. Be warned, this is a deeply tragic story about family trauma, but it uses the conventions of wrestling to great effect to drive the narrative and amplify the drama. The Iron Claw is streaming on Max. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga An official trailer for “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (via Warner Bros. Pictures on YouTube). “Mad Max: Fury Road” was an instant classic of modern action cinema, so it’s perhaps not surprising that it’s gotten the prequel treatment with “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.” Following the high-wire act that was “Fury Road” is a hard assignment, but “Furiosa” makes a solid effort to be its own thing. Don’t go in expecting another non-stop adrenaline ride with momentary breaks for characters (and the audience) to catch their breath. This is a slower, more episodic story of survival punctuated with timely bursts of rip-roaring action, again executed as well as you will see anywhere. Whether Furiosa and the post-apocalyptic hellscape she inhabits needed the added backstory and world building this movie brings is the perennial question just about any prequel or spinoff will prompt, but George Miller does it as well as anyone, and I was happy to return for one more ride down the Fury Road. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is playing in theaters and is also available to watch at home via premium video on demand (VOD). This article first appeared in The Good, the Bad, and the Elegy, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder focused on the best, and worst, in rural media, entertainment, and culture. Every other Thursday, it features reviews, recommendations, retrospectives, and more. Join the mailing list today to have future editions delivered straight to your inbox. Related Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailyyonder.com/another-rural-roundup-more-recommendations-for-your-summer-2024-watchlist/2024/06/27/ Published and (C) by Daily Yonder - Keep it Rural Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailyyonder/