Today, we have two ‘drops’ that are prime examples of Netflix contracting respected Hollywood names, and allowing them to embark on projects of their choice. The hallowed names of Richard Linklater and Judd Apatow are attached to these two, but with mixed results.

Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood (Netflix) - Linklater will be a name we don’t normally associate with animated films; as he’s created a storied film reputation with the Before Sunrise franchise, and Boyhood, to name some of his filmography. This one actually has a whimsical premise - what if, during the 1960’s, the NASA engineers made a slight mistake and built an Apollo capsule that was smaller than your regular astronaut could fit in. Rather than putting it on a junk help; NASA than had the great idea of recruiting a young boy to test this capsule, Apollo 10 1/2 if you will, fly him to the moon and pave the way for the next official Apollo mission. It then allows Linklater to explore his own childhood, and his boyhood fascination with the space program.

There’s something engaging about the droll humor that’s employed as the tone of this introspective animated film. Even the animation closely resembles filming in live action, and then putting a sheen of animation on top of said footage. There’s one vignette that has to do with our main character’s grandmother, and how the Lola would take the brood to watch a movie every month - the only issue would be that she’d take them to watch The Sound Of Music month after month. It’s easy to imagine this as something Linklater could have filmed in live action; and I say that in a good way, as there’s a definite connection to the other films he has created during his career. This is one that rewards the effort to get into this particular Linklater world.

The Bubble (Netflix) - Thanks to films like Superbad, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up and Trainwreck; Judd Apatow will forever be a king of comedy movie directors. So it doesn’t come as much of a surprise to find the most popular streaming service ready to throw money his way and have him come up with a film for the service. What is funny is to think that Netflix gave the green light to such a flimsy premise - a film about making a film just after lockdowns started. In other words, filmed in 2021, the subject of this comedy film is making a film in the middle of 2020. The fact that Jurassic Park Dominion was one of the first films to go into production under COVID protocol bubble rules is not lost on Apatow, as the fictitious Cliff Beast franchise is what’s being filmed on an English country estate.

The cast and the cameos show the power of Apatow, of how when he calls, people say Yes. Unfortunately though, while the film is about our recent past, it looks dated and tired. The humor is forced and of dubious quality. It’s like the obvious is the name of the game; and much of the comedy falls flat. Of course it can’t be all bad; and if there are some surprises here, one would be Pedro Pascal doing effective comedy. And I like how his exchanges are with the great surprise from the most recent Borat film, Maria Bakalova. In this film, she confirms the gift she has for comedy and her wonderful deadpan delivery. I’m sure this film will find its audience and be considered amusing, even hilarious by some; but with the bar I expect from Apatow, I have to confess that this one I would label as mediocrity.