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Home > Celestial Blood > Weekend film reviews: ‘The Long Walk,’ ‘The History of Sound’
Podcast: Celestial Blood
Episode:

Weekend film reviews: ‘The Long Walk,’ ‘The History of Sound’
Category: Arts
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2025-09-11 19:00:00
Description: The latest film releases include The Long Walk, The History of Sound, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, and Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues. Weighing in are Katie Walsh, film reviewer for the Tribune News Service and the Los Angeles Times, and Witney Seibold, senior writer at SlashFilm and co-host of the podcast Critically Acclaimed Network. The Long Walk Adapted from Stephen King’s novel and directed by Francis Lawrence, teenage boys compete in a contest where they must keep walking — or get shot. Walsh: “It is one of these death contest type of dystopian movies that we're familiar with. … It is a little bit shocking to see it with such young boys. And this movie is so graphically violent, I really do have to give everyone a little trigger warning out there. It does not pull any punches on the gory imagery or even some of the realities of the logistics of how this walk might work. These boys are competing for a cash prize, and the walk is televised for inspiration to workers to increase their productivity. We don't actually ever see this broadcast. It's really laser-focused on the experiences of the boys on the walk. And the two hearts of the film are Ray and Pete. … Much of the film is really about their relationship and how they change each other along the way. … For all the intense imagery and dark themes that this film is dealing with, I wish it had a little bit more to say at the end of the day. I don't know that I really took a strong message from it, although it is a remarkable acting showcase for all the young actors who are in this film.” Seibold: “There's a lot of tantalizing hints about this is a post-war period of some kind. … But it is a really — this may be a strange phrase — a crowd-pleasing tragedy about the sadness and the suffering that these people are going through, and how these young men are really developing a really palpable sense of camaraderie. … I appreciate all of the logistics about what it is to walk straight day and night for five straight days. What happens when you twist your ankle? What happens when you have to use the bathroom? … Some people learn how to sleep while they're walking. That stuff is all very … harrowing to witness.” The History of Sound A romance develops between two young men who record American folk music during World War I. Seibold: “The sound recording mission that these two young men are going on only takes up a small portion of the movie. They meet while they are studying music together at university in the big city. … This movie emotionally destroyed me. The way that the love that you experience throughout your life and the music that you encounter subtly starts to come together and pushes together this puzzle piece of your life is really a thing of beauty. … There is a climax at the end, but it's more … subtle than that.” Walsh: “I almost wish that there had been a little bit more emotional dynamism. … And Chris Cooper is actually in this film for just a short bit. And he is heartbreaking, utterly, utterly, so great. You're like, ‘Oh my god, I remember Chris Cooper, just his immense skill with heartbreak and emotion.’ But it is a really lovely film. But a little bit … too restrained for my taste.” Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale In summer 1930, the Crawleys grapple with financial trouble and social disgrace. Walsh: “It is really just trying to deliver every single thing that you loved about the show without trying to do too much extra. … We've got social issues to deal with. They sprinkle in a little bit of … the stock market crash with their American uncle … who has gotten caught up with a scam artist grifter. … The main story is about: How do the older generations let go and let the new generation take over?” Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues Three estranged members of Spinal Tap — David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel, and Derek Smalls — look for a drummer ahead of their reunion concert. The musical also features artists Paul McCartney and Elton John. Rob Reiner directs. Seibold: “I have the rather unpopular opinion that the original doesn't hit that hard. The original Spinal Tap, I perhaps came at too early in age, so it didn't feel like a mockumentary. It felt like a documentary. I didn't realize it was supposed to be satire. It wasn't until I was older that I realized, ‘Wait a minute, this is supposed to be funny.’ But by then, real life rock and roll antics had surpassed the satire that Spinal Tap was putting forth. Real Life band scandals were so much more scandalous. So here we are, 40 some odd years later, trying to revisit that same thing, and the magic is long since gone. … There's not really much of a direction to this one. It's Spinal Tap is back together after having been apart for 15 years. They're going to put on a reunion tour, and that's it. One of the jokes is they can't find a drummer because their drummers all notoriously die, and everybody knows this now, so nobody wants to join the band. … It is so light and insubstantial. It's worth a couple of fun titters, but it doesn't really have high hilarity, and then we're done in 84 minutes. It's a brief visit to some old friends that you'll probably forget about the next day.” Walsh: “There were a couple funny asides for me, but there are no big gut-busting moments. Some of these extended cameos, it just feels like Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney wanted to play with Spinal Tap, and it goes on for way too long, and it's not that funny. … It doesn't have the same comedic heft as the first one did. It was a little bit of a disappointment.”
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