Big Mouth

     While I was a sophomore in college, my friends Kayli and Megan were really urging me to watch this show about puberty with them and I was not too thrilled about it. The characters looked slightly strange and I wasn't sure how explicit the show was going to be. Despite the cartoon characters explicit language, it's very informative.

    The theme song goes kind of like “I'm going through changes,” and the pictures shown were relating to the body of males and females which is not what I was expecting from a show that I thought was going to be informative for young teens. The theme song and pictures covered height, fertilization, development of breasts, the menstruation process, and developing armpit hair in about one minute or less. Just that part by itself tells alot about the show and I knew I was in for either disturbance or something just a tad bit worse than that.

    The episode started with a 7th grade class watching a video about everything that was shown in the opening of the episode. Then, the episode skips to a scene to the two main characters, Andrew and Nick having a sleepover. Andrew was taking a shower until Nick walks in on him coming out of the shower and his towel falls off. After that day, Nick felt envious of Andrew’s genitals and decided to open up to his parents about it. As any parent should, Nick’s parents were completely understanding of his situation and tried their best to comfort him about his delayed progression in puberty. His parents expressed that everyone mature at different rates and his day will come. The parents understanding really surprised me because some parents avoid the conversation completely such as Andrew's father or would feel uncomfortable that their children are becoming young adults and not want to engage in the conversation.

    I like the idea that Netflix is creating a show about puberty but the characters swear so much. This show clearly isn't meant for children but if so happen that they were, it would be too much for them to handle especially if they haven't been exposed to swearing. The child may start developing characteristics of those in the show which isn't something I would want. However, the show is very informative but is intended for a more mature audience and especially not for children, even though the concept of the show has good intentions. 

Gerald's Game

Gerald’s Game is a horror movie based on Stephen King’s novel Gerald’s Game. Stephen King is a famous horror novel writer, and many of his works were adapted into movies. Similar to his other works, he made a big effort in narrating the protagonists’ background and how their personality change. The movie is composed mostly by dialogue, which makes the audience feel bored. However, the protagonist’s excellent acting and the meaning behind the movie make it become a good movie.

There were three cages in this movie. This most explicit one was the handcuffs that locked Jess, the protagonist, on the bed. Jess’s husband died because he got too angry after having the pill for ED treatment when they were playing sex game. There was no people live near to the house, so Jess had no way to call for help. She could not move, but she had to escape from the handcuff otherwise she would die of hunger or teared by the hungry dog. During her stay on the bed, she started to recall her marriage life and her childhood by a series of imaged conversation between Jess and another Jess and another Gerald.

The second cage was the cage from her husband. Gerald was a man who suffered from erectile dysfunction, but always wanted to play some strange sex games. Gerald was an arrogant man who despised others and did not respect female. Jess did not want anybody to know her unhappy marriage, so she always pretended she had a sweet husband though she was not happy at all. She did not have the courage to leave the cage given by her husband.

The third cage was from her dear father. In the eclipse day, her father told her that he missed the time when she was a little who sat on his lap. Jess’s father asked her to sit on the his lap again, and jerked off when Jess was watching the eclipse. After that Jess’s father threatened her to not tell anyone what happened, so She decided to keep silent. Her father’s behavior impressed her life greatly. When she married to her husband who liked her father, her life in cages became harder and harder. The imaged conversation continued and went deeper which made her realize she had to escape from all three of cages to save her life physically and mentally.

This movie mentioned two kinds of relationship, relationship between marriage and sex, and the relationship between parents and children. Jess and Gerald’s marriage was similar to Jess’s parents’. Both husbands were not loyal to their wives and both wives chose to not speak out. The wife thought her tolerance to the disloyalty would win back her marriage, however this would only make the gap between husband and wife wider. They wasted their lives in the hopeless marriage.

Jess did not have a healthy relationship with her parents which caused a series of problem on Jess. Jess’s father was a pedophile who abuse his own daughter, while her mother did not help Jess even though she realized her husband’s special love to daughter. Jess’ mother’s indifference made the situation worse.  

In the end of the movie, Jess escaped from the handcuffs by cutting off her hand. She finally came out from the nightmare of her marriage and childhood. The movie had a meaningful ending that telling people sometimes difficulties are smaller than you think. In all, the detailed inner speech and the protagonist’s excellent acting made Gerald’s Game a great movie. It had a educational meaning to every family member. Be nice to your children if you are a parent. Be brave to leave your unhappy marriage if you are a wife. Be brave to speak out and seek for help if you are a child.

Our Souls at Night

Our Souls at Night is a Netflix original released in 2017, based on a novel published in 2015. This will probably seem like too long ago to be relevant to you, but don’t overlook it just yet. I did at first, and it definitely was a mistake. As you know, I love old, simple movies and this movie and book are exactly that. It revolves around two older people, Addie and Louis,  who live in the same neighborhood who begin sleeping (yes, JUST sleeping, if you watch the movie) together to help combat the loneliness after they both have spent many years alone after the death of their spouses. We also see the influence that older adults have on young children, which is also a lesson I hope by this time you have been exposed to. What I hope you learn from this is the importance of listening to what others think and then doing what you believe is right, and to ALWAYS read the book.

I hope by now you have learned from me to ALWAYS read the book. If you see a movie and like it, read the book too! Books outright convey what movies try to tell us through their imagery. They give us more information and allow your mind to create your own story. I watched this movie on a whim one night, and thought it was okay (I’m not big on movies, but I’m learning), but when I listened to the audiobook one night coming home from school, that sealed the deal for me, and I fell in love with it. Give things a second chance, especially when you like it the first time. I could tell that the plot line was great from the movie, however the execution of that was not my favorite. I believe they left out some important details that helped with the cohesiveness and understanding of the movie. In the book we read about a trip that Addie and Ruth, Addie’s elderly neighbor, take to the grocery store and the judgement that both Ruth and the clerk pass on to Addie about Louis. After this initial contact with Ruth, we see her appear at least twice more in the book, until her death. In the movie, we see Addie, Louis, and Jamie, Addie’s grandson, at Ruth’s funeral. This doesn’t make clear sense in the movie why they are all there and why Ruth is a significant character, but in the book it makes much more sense. You should always find out the whole story when something is confusing you.

From the beginning, Addie acknowledges that others will talk, but how she has used her whole life to listen to what other people think and she is just going to do what is best for her and take up companionship with Louis. This kind of relationship is uncharacteristic to talk about and especially in a small town where you know everyone and their connections. We see them go out to lunch, choose a table in the middle of the restaurant, both while wearing bright red to catch people’s attention. Louis also chooses to sit next to her, instead of across, just another thing out of the ordinary that people would talk about-but makes them happy. Do things that make you happy, even when you know people will talk about it. Hiding from people will only make you feel worse, especially if it is something that you are proud of. People will talk about you regardless, but by showing people what you love, you can sometimes redirect them towards your passion instead of focusing on you. The only opinion that truly matters is your own. Striving to make others like you can only bring you happiness if you love yourself and like the choices you are making. Little life messages like this are spread throughout in the book, ones that take most people years to understand and accept. By surrounding yourself with a multitude of people as you live your life, their various characteristics and beliefs you are better able to understand and see things through their lives, how they would see them. The ability to do this is severely underrated, being able to put yourself in other people’s shoes. Overall, my biggest takeaway from this is to read both the book and watch the movie, and be proud of who you are.

13 Reasons Why

13 Reasons why

Dear future Daughter,

             13 Reasons Why is about Hannah, a young woman who takes her own life. Two weeks after her tragic death, a classmate named Clay finds a mysterious box on his porch. Inside the box are recordings made by Hannah (on whom Clay had a crush) in which she explains the 13 reasons why she chose to commit suicide. If Clay decides to listen to the recordings, he will find out if and how he made the list. It goes through a tale of slut shaming, rape, stalkers and even more that led her on her way to ending her life. This story is tragic and sad; it opens up a talk about suicide and why it happens so much. In our society today it is a big issue and I can only hope when you get here and grow up it’s not as much of an issue.

            When I first started watching this TV series I thought of myself as her and put myself in her shoes, now I am not, I am thinking of you instead. I hope that growing up you will not have to deal with any of the things that Hannah did and that if you do you will come to me so I can help you. I am terrified of the possibility of you ending your own life. As a mother you always want to outlive your children and if you don’t it is truly heartbreaking. I hope to raise you strong and independent and that you will stand up against things like this even if it never happens to you. In life some of these people who feel like suicide is their best option, sometimes all they need is someone to step in and ask them about their day or stop a bully any little thing can make such an impact. All they have to see sometimes is that someone does truly care and that they are loved and it will make a world of difference.

            Throughout my life I have dealt with things that have tore me down, that have shattered me and I have got back up and fought it. But I will admit it was not my only thought; I have had thoughts and I hate to admit it. I have been depressed and the only thing that got me out of it was that my friends and family love me, and I could never do that to them. I hope that if you are ever in this situation yourself that you will remember that we all love you so much and also remember that you can come to me. I don’t want to just be the person that gave birth to you, I want to be the best mother I possibly can be, I want to be there for you no matter what, I want to be your friend. I will be your shoulder to cry on and I will stand by your side through anything because above all else I am your  mother and I love you with all my heart. 

3%

Hey friend! It’s Caroline from the past! I’m writing about some interesting aspects of my life for you, so you can know me that much better. For now, I wanted to write about my current favorite movie and tv genre, sci-fi. I’ve watched a lot of different shows, but (as of now) I wanted to tell you about the latest one I watched. Before the latest, I watched the OA (and then finishing the first season because I fell in love). I started to want to watch more sci-fi. I’m really into the genre as you know, but after that show I wanted even more. I began scrolling through Netflix Originals, as of what had been released in October of 2017, looking for something that would suffice. Something not too long, that fit my genre request, and would be fun to watch. I finally found one that looked appealing, a show called “3%”. It looked like it had a minimal concept, only one season, and it was a dystopian, a subgenre that I also enjoy. I began watching, until I ran into a minor issue: I chose Netflix’s first Brazilian production, filmed entirely in Portuguese. So, I decided to try something that’s usually a pet peeve of mine, and I watched the whole thing with English dubs over it. I’m not sure if I’ll continue watching foreign shows with English dubs, I guess you’ll know if I have or not. I will say, it sometimes distracted from my experience, which is obviously not the fault of the show, and is a result of my own ignorance. However, this is a show I did enjoy watching, I got hooked very easily, and I’d highly recommend watching. That being said, if you can enjoy it in it’s parent language, then I think you’ll have that much better of a viewing experience.

3%, as I said, is a dystopian sci-fi filmed in Brazil. People are living in a community full of poverty and despair, known as The Inland. Once someone turns 20, they may try their luck, skill, and merit in the Process, where only 3% of candidates will be welcomed into the utopian community on the Offshore. It’s assumed the show takes place sometime in the future, and I can only hope that the future isn’t like this show. In most shows like this, you’d expect the main protagonists to be the successors and the antagonist to fall short. However, this show is full of twists that I feel make this show worth watching. And, while I want to talk about these twists, I’ll add in a potential spoiler alert. In the first episode, we’re introduced to multiple characters that are presumably the protagonists that we will follow to their success on the Offshore. In the first “test” they take, however, half of these characters are cut. One goes so far as to commit suicide out of despair. It’s here we realize no one is safe from the Process. I feel that’s one of the main things that helped me to stay hooked, that I never knew who would be cut, and it helped immerse the viewer even more. I hope we can enjoy some shows together, let me know! And if you watch this show, definitely tell me about how you liked it. Maybe there will be more than 1 season by the time you see it.

Here's the thing about love:

The conscience thought of the protagonist, Taylor, is constantly running. “It is crazy how one person can change your life. That is the thing about love, at first everything about it seems to make since but the deeper you get the more you realise you know nothing about it. Love teaches you, love changes you, love makes you do things you never thought you could do.” This is the kind of movie that may help open up my mom’s eyes in rethinking the theory she has that: I will never trust my daughter's safety to be in the hands of any guy, because one will never fully know the intentions a guy may have, and guys do crazy stuff for love. You Get Me is a movie where these roles of the "crazy ex boyfriend" are flipped into the "crazy, oversexualized, vengeful, obsessed, murder-y, ex lover/girlfriend", named Holly. Holly, played by Bella Thorne, is portrayed as the sexy free spirited teenager, who becomes extremely fixated on a guy named Taylor. She then proceeds to destroy anyone or anything that stands in the way of their "romance”.

The first thing that I noticed while watching You Get Me was the cinematography. Even in the opening scene I was already in awe as to how beautiful and realistic one could portray the L.A. landscape. In a way all my senses were being put to use. You may think that this is an exaggeration on my part, but I could slightly feel the beachy wind blowing through my hair and whispering in my ears as it whistled on by. The slow piano music playing in the backdrop as Taylor, a teenage boy, (who we suspect to be the main character) begins his monologue about how wonderful his life is and how he met Ali, his wonderful girlfriend. “During the summer before my senior year…. My life became the Californian dream I had always wanted.” He had the great beach side job of bussing tables and things were going pretty well for him, but do not let me even get started on his picture perfect relationship with his girlfriend Ali. Taylor continues into saying something along the lines of: it is like everything had been in black and white and suddenly there was color (after Ali came along). While his monologue continues shots of Ali and him at the beach roll through the screen. I really enjoy this part because every shot looks so clean and precise yet so relaxed at the same time.

The cinematographer really succeeded in this scene because it makes the viewers feel something. First, this whole monologue, intro, scene makes us like we can relate. All the memories of past lovers come floating back into our thoughts, and our minds start to reminisce. The naturalism of You Get Me is unbelievable. This sense of naturalism ables the viewers to experience this extremely intense drama while still being able to find something relatable to Bella Thorne's character, Holly who has a mental illness. The story of teenage lovers combined with the obsession of the convoluted antagonist, Holly, really begins to make an irresistible story for both males and females.

Of course You Get Me was only a movie, but in many ways anyone could learn from the character Holly, and those that surrounded her. The directors use Taylor’s monologue to make the movie end exactly where it started off. In the closing scene, the audience is shown a black screen with Taylor’s voice coming from the backdrop, giving us his deep inner thoughts on life. “It is crazy how one person can change your life. That is the thing about love, at first everything about it seems to make since but the deeper you get the more you realise you know nothing about it. Love teaches you, love changes you, love makes you do things you never thought you could do.”

Hulu Over Netflix This Time: Rick and Morty

Yes this may be the class called Netflix and Quill, but would it hurt to have Hulu in the mix once in a while? What I am saying is yes, I did watch Hulu. Why? Well this is because Netflix does not have every show that I would want to watch. This means that everything I want is not on Netflix so I have to search other places for shows or movies that may interest me. Not only this but, I recently bought a Hulu account so i think it would be good to see whats good in Hulu.

The show that I began watching is Rick and Morty. I will not be only talking about one episode becuase I was so interested that I began to binge alittle and watched a whole season but I had to catch myself because I had assignments to do such as this one that I am typing right now. With that in mind, picture this: a cynical genius, mad, alcoholic scientist who gets his laughs and kicks by dangerously traveling through different dimesnsions and alternate realities with his grandchildren.


Now for the main stuff. Here is a quote from the Pilot episode of Rick and Morty and it goes "Listen to me, Morty. I know that new situations can be intimidating. You're looking around and it's all scary and different , but you know, meeting them head on, charging right into them like a bull... that's how we grow as people." As I heard this in my room I thought "WOW!" I almost thought the show was speaking to me. It kindof applies to me because I have a problem with caring what others think about me so it kindof hit at home. I have to psuh through , speak when I have the opportunity to, and bulldoze my way through my trials and tribulations.

The next episode that struck home again in Rick and Morty is the "Rixty Minutes" episode. In this episode, Rick and Morty goes to another dimesion because the previous one they traveled to, they saw themselves dead after a life of never-loving, not caring, and not caring about their families. So Rick and Morty decide to go to another diminesion in order to help their families in another universe. when they meet their brothers the quote goes "So you're not my brother?" said Morty's alternate brother. "I'm better than your brother. I'm a version of your brother you can trust when he says, 'don't run.' This episode taught me to not only not take others for granted but also care for one another and not let others down for selfish desires. That is all.

Scary for Halloween

Hi Mom and Dad! How are you guys? I think this is very weird, but I just want to say that your son is still fine. Half of the semester has passed, and I somehow still doing okay, and have not been kicked out of the school. I am just kidding because when I write these words to you guys, I really miss you. This week, I have a requirement to write a blog about Netflix's movie to my parents.  I know that this month is an important month for you, Dad; your birthday is on this month. Coincidentally, your birthday is matched with the Halloween, and it gives me an idea for my blog. I decide to write a blog about a Halloween's cartoon because you know that your son still loves cartoon.

 Because, when I was a kid, you and I used to watch Shrek with each other, so I chose to write about scary factors in the movie The Ghost of Lord Farquaad. This movie is from the series DreamWorks Spooky Stories which has three different scary cartoons. At the beginning, the filmmakers start with the sunny scene with a lot of light. How brilliant is that when you start a scary movie with a peaceful, lovely scene. When the audiences watch this scene, their feeling will be steady and enjoyable. Watching a romantic background with some hilarious action of Shrek and Donkey finding the way to the Honeymoon Hotel, the viewer cannot predict what will happen next. Then suddenly, the camera turns quickly to the completely contrasting scene. Shrek finds a shortcut to the Hotel; the way with spooky trees on the two sides of the way and absolutely dark at the end of the road. Have you ever seen a tree with the red devil eyes on it? If an adult has never seen it, how does a child supposed to see it?  Even a teenager like me also feel startled, so this quickly turn must scare the children to death.

            After a breathtaking chasing to recapture Fiona from a kidnapping, Shrek and Donkey enter a deadly graveyard. What is better than a graveyard for a scary Halloween night? Furthermore, this is a graveyard with fog floating around with free-flying ghost. This scene may not scary for a teenager like me, but with the kids, they have to sleep with their parents for a few days. Imagine you are going to the graveyard with your friend in the Halloween. You do not have any equipment to light thing up, and the only light resource which you have is the moonlight. The filmmakers understand the audiences' psychology very well. When people enter the place surrounds with mysterious creatures, they begin to visualize them with their imagination, especially for the kids who have an unlimited creativity. Importantly, the more they imagined the scary creatures, the more frightened they were. Psychology has pointed out that we actually do not afraid anything. The thing we are anxious the most is our imagination.

            When I watch this movie, I really missed you, Dad. Now, I have grown up, gone to the university, suddenly I realize that the time I spend with you and family is one of the best time I have ever had. I know your birthday is coming, and I cannot be there to celebrate with you. However, I still want to tell you: "Happy Birthday, Dad! I love you!"

On BoJack Horseman

I'm not sure if you've heard of BoJack Horseman, but its a Netflix animated series about an anthropomorphic horse who is a washed up TV star from the 90's. I decided to finally watch the show because so many people had seen it and recommended that I watch it. Ultimately I decided it was time to watch it and ended up watching a whole season in around a week or so (granted the seasons aren't terribly long and each episode is only 20 minutes.

Little Evil: An Actually Good Movie Spoof?

In 1974, Mel Brooks took the world by storm with the release of two ultra successful spoof films Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. After the financial and critical successes of these films, the spoof became a popular genre. Shortly after saw the release of three Monty Python films, Airplane!, Top Secret!, Spaceballs, and the Naked Gun trilogy. All of the previously mentioned films have become classics of their own. Arguably on genre was as successful as the spoof was in the 1980s. That success saw a turn for the worse starting in 1995 with Dracula: Dead and Loving It. While there had been bad spoofs before, this one was directed by the master of the genre Mel Brooks. The film was so detrimental to Mr. Brooks that he never returned to the director's chair following the flop. It soon became rare that a spoof would actually be a quality film with the market flooded by the likes of the Scary Movie franchise, Meet the Spartans, Vampires Suck, and the various Movie movies (Disaster Movie, Date Movie, Superhero Movie, etc.). In fact, the last "good" spoof movie was Shrek the Third from 2007, and that was a film that is widely regarded as the worst in the franchise. Ten years later, director Eli Craig of Tucker and Dale vs. Evil fame directed Little Evil, a spoof off of the popular 70s horror film The Omen staring Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation) as Gary, a man who recently married Samantha, played by Evangeline Lily (Lost, The Hobbit Trilogy). Gary soon finds out that Samantha's odd son Lucas may very well be the antichrist.
So, can Little Evil be the first good spoof film in a decade, a streak that has lasted for three presidents? For the most part, yes. The main thing about the film that works is that it actually is pretty funny. Craig also writes the film and infuses it with clever humor and smart horror movies references and callbacks to films like Poltergeist while completely avoiding trash humor such as sex jokes and defecating jokes. Not only is the writing funny and smart, but the actors pull the humorous writing off . especially Bridgett Everett (Trainwreck) as Adam's friend AL, a gay tomboy who loves to drink, curse, and call people "man." This is the kind of character who usually gets really annoying really fast, but Everett really pulls the role off strong. I'm really curious as to see what she does next in film. Adam Scott is also pretty funny in the film, mainly due to his, for the most part, subtle delivery and his everyman appearance. His reactions to the supernatural events are accurate, funny, and probably how most sane, smart people would react to the situations.
The other major strength of the film is that there is some heart and depth to the film. Most spoof films are content with staying with surface level filmmaking, never daring to attempt to dig deeper. This film, however, does. The film really deals with the issues that stepparents have when it comes to raising children that are not of their own. Quite frankly, I didn't expect the film to do this. I mean, when's the last time you've watched a comedy or horror film that also tries to be Terms of Endearment? This is a very welcome change to the genre and one that kept me invested in the film throughout it's length. Even some of the classics like Monty Python and the Holy Grail don't have much below the surface. The difference, though, is that some of those classics are much funnier than Little Evil, even though it is still a pretty funny film. Therefore, the film makes up for it where needed. Even if it hadn't work (which it did), it would at least have been admirable.
Another small plus to the film I wanted to point out is how it dealt with the supernaturalness of the film. Usually films like this find a way to seem insulting to those with religion, whether it be Christians, Jews, or Muslims. This film, however, did avoid this fatal blow that could have undone everything quality in the film. In fact, the film is quite innocent in every way except for the language, which is another rarity for spoofs and comedies in general in this day and age.
Honestly, the only real problems I have regarding the film is that it definitely takes a cliched route through the film. At one point, a certain character actor pops up playing a seemingly good character, however I knew almost instantly that he was evil, which, shock and awe, he was. Very little in the film is unpredictable and much of which has been done better before. Not that this film does these things bad, it's just that they don't compare in quality to how some other films have before. In all fairness, there is one plot twist that did actually sort of surprise me, which definitely caught me off guard.
If you're in the mood to watch a horror film because, hey, it is almost Halloween, but you don't want to watch anything that will scare you into the fetal position, then I think this is a good option for a watch. It's funny, relatively short, and at times even charming. Little Evil is, without question, the best spoof in a very long time.