Monday Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Monday opens in select theaters, on digital platforms, and VOD on April 16. [poilib element="accentDivider"] For nearly a decade, Sebastian Stan has been best-known as the MCU's Winter Soldier, a stoic warrior who does not wear his heart on his hulking metal sleeve. Yet even as his miniseries, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, unfurls on Disney+, Stan shows us another, far racier side, in the sultry romance Monday. Co-written and directed by Argyris Papadimitropoulos, Monday charts a tumultuous romantic relationship through a series of pivotal weekends. Friday at an Athens nightclub, a beautiful pair of American expats first collide. It wasn't so much a "meet-cute" as a hasty hook-up suggested by a bombastic local. Still, it stuck. Instant attraction throws them into each other's arms and mouths. Saturday morning, the hungover twosome awakes fully nude on a beach, much to the dismay of the fretting mothers' shielding children's eyes. Handcuffed by the cops for indecent exposure, Mickey (Sebastian Stan) and Chloe (Denise Gough) finally exchange names, then life stories. Mickey is a musician with a Bohemian sensibility, favoring parties and passion over planning. Chloe is an immigration lawyer, who is stinging from a break-up and plans to move back to Chicago. That is until she meets Mickey. Within the glint of his crooked grin, she sees a life that's less staid and far more alluring. It's a cliché of romance climaxes to have one lover chase the other to the airport, and beg them to stay. In Monday, that's just the first act break. From there, the script by Papadimitropoulos and Rob Hayes leaps to another formative Friday, during which Chloe is moving into Mickey's place. These slice-of-life chapters, Monday builds their story, looping in irritating exes, a problem-filled party, work woes, wedding pressures, a potential pregnancy, and more. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/monday-official-trailer-2021-starring-sebastian-stan-denise-gough"] In lesser hands, this concept might feel cheap, as if the screenwriters jumbled together a bunch of melodrama cliches for maximum impact. Yet, Monday never feels forced or rushed. It's methodical in its pacing and shrewd in its plotting. Big moments are thoughtfully knit in with more mundane ones, creating a ruthlessly authentic relationship. We're shown the couple at work, at play, with each other's friends, and in precious moments alone. Each instance provides texture to who they are together and as individuals. Fittingly, Stan and Gough share enchanting sexual chemistry that sparks from that first kiss on the dance floor, and burns white-hot across a series of sex scenes, several in scandalously public spaces. Under Papadimitropoulos' hand, they create a savagely sensuous portrayal of the slippery sensuality of whirlwind romance. Far from the stern sultriness of Hollywood love scenes, Monday presents sex as more free, fun, and even funny. This approach welcomes audiences into the swoon of Mickey and Chloe, and also firmly cements their connection. So, when laughs and lust turn to resentment and conflict, the stakes are firm and tug hard at our heartstrings. With a regal air (like serious Princess Diana vibes), Gough's pivots from carefree laughter to deep-scorching fury feel sharp yet dignified. Meanwhile, Stan's switch from life-of-the-party to melancholy slides so smoothly that it's dizzying. In this gorgeous Greek setting, Papadimitropoulos paints Athens with a vibrant brush that hints at emotions. Scenes of revelry are awash in hues of flushed flesh. Moments of sadness are cast in a sickly green wash, urging us to share in the ill-ease of the protagonists. Finally, nights out are tinted with the warm yet warning yellow of street lights and bonfires, speaking to Fridays full of potential, for better or worse. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/falcon-the-winter-soldiers-anthony-mackie-and-sebastian-stan-take-igns-buddy-movie-quiz"]

from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/3e7Xq78
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming