Mindhunter: A Great Choice, My Friend!

In the Netflix original Mindhunter, a hostage situation gone wrong makes FBI negotiator Holden Ford rethink his philosophy on the “irrational” human. Right from the first episode, the viewer can tell that Holden is going to have a lot of trouble finding ways to fight crime in his own way. Unfortunately, the other investigators at the academy see no sense in embracing the “soft approach” of looking deeper into the human psyche. Not long after his latest hostage negotiation attempt, Holden finds himself on the road with Bill Tench, a behavioral science professional from another branch of the FBI. Together, the two of them plan to educate small town police precincts on the new age of crime.

Mindhunter seems to start out following the common plotline where a main character sees a problem with society or common method of doing things. While Bill and Holden travel, all of the local police think the two of them are crazy for suggesting that serial killers aren’t completely evil. It seems kind of ridiculous, but nobody save for the main characters stop to think that serial killers have a deeper thought process than just going on blind killing sprees. I would expect that out of further episodes, Holden will start to get a grasp of the challenge at hand, and he’ll start to actually make some progress.

After watching the first episode of Mindhunter a second time, I started to pick up on some possible foreshadowing. Holden meets Debbie Mitford in a bar, and begins a relationship with her. Debbie is a post-grad student who makes some understated, yet ominous comments about sociological deviance and “playing against type”, suggesting that she isn’t who she appears to be. It may be too early to tell, but plots like these usually end up with the love interest of the main character somehow involved with the more obvious challenge that surrounds the show.

The cinematography of Mindhunter works well with the central theme of the show. Set in the 1970’s, the show frequently displays vintage cars and interior design. We see a lot of this in one of the first scenes at Holden’s apartment and in the car rides with Bill. The color scheme of the show feels bland compared to other shows that take place in a modern setting. Pausing the episode and looking at the scene feels like looking at a photograph from the 1970’s, and I think that is a really neat effect to give the audience. On an even more obvious note, Mindhunter covers a very dark topic, and so it is fitting that the majority of the scenes of the show are dark. I would note that the acting feels somewhat out of place though; characters seem to interact with each other the same way people do nowadays, instead of how I would imagine they would in the ‘70s. I would assume that Holden would talk similar to my grandparents, since he is around the same age that my grandparents would have been in the 70’s, but he seems to talk more like a Millenial.

From what I’ve witnessed in the first episode, I would highly suggest watching Mindhunter. I am left wondering what will happen next, and I expect the rest of the show to be entertaining.

From Weed to Wins, Coach Snoop Does It All

Coach Snoop is a Netflix original series that focuses on the trial and error of the Snoop Youth Football League. While the beat slingling, pot smoking, national icon is wild on camera, when around the kids, he tones it down. He acts similar to that of just about any other prideful coach you would find. He loves and cares for these kids, just like a father. The reason the Snoop Youth Football League was created, was to keep inner city California kids off the street and out of gangs. The series has you meet past SYFL stars that are making it to professional football. The series is very influential and real. Every episode had tension and a lesson to be learned.

The biggest thing that stood out to me while viewing the series was the attachment and relationship that Snoop Dogg had with these kids. For example, there was an instance where Snoop noticed a kid acting unlike himself. Snoop confronted the kid on a personal basis to figure out the problem. The kid went on to explain that his mother was having trouble paying rent that month. Snoop took this as an opportunity to use his wealth as a way to help people. To get his player back in the game, he told the kid to tell his mother that he will take care of the next six months of rent. This just shows how much Snoop cares about the livelihood of the kids he coaches. This definitely provokes emotion in the viewers, and creates an attachment with the show, which caused binging on my part.

Snoop Dogg uses more profanity on the field, than I do when I step on a Lego. I really enjoy that the show includes this in airing. There are two reasons why I am a fan of this. For one, my football coach acted no different. This is exactly how coaches act, and I am glad that they included the realism of the sport. The second reason, is that it adds comedic relief. I find it funny when Snoop goes off on a kid. But, Snoop only uses profanity as a use of language, not to tear one down. Snoop wouldn’t persay use profanity to punish the kid, but as a way of motivation. He uses profanity to get the kids fired up, and ready to do work on the field.

Every episode, Snoop narrates a small clip about his early life, and what got him interested in playing football. I enjoy learning more about Snoop, because I have enjoyed his music for many years now. I knew previously that he played football, and about the league, but this shows the great detail of the subject. It is interesting how Snoop got involved with football, and his desire to coach others to keep out of trouble. The show does state, that they have had some members end up in prison, but the turnout rate is good. The influence this league has on the kids is tremendous to me.

Coach Snoop will leave you in tears, from the emotion put into the care of these kids. The show will also make you laugh like never before. The emotions provoked by this show, will force anyone to continue watching. I would recommend this show to nearly anyone, as it reaches to a wide variety of audience. Coach Snoop is a show that I am glad I watched, it is a show that I will not forget. 

The Crown: Just another working woman?

There is something to be said about the American anglophile and the perpetual fascination about our former colonial lords. Recall that America only exists because of its desire to cleave away from Britain to form its own distinct national identity, yet we never stopped admiring our forebears from across the pond and surely that irony isn’t lost on anyone. Why are Americans so enthralled by British culture? The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Harry Potter, James Bond, Monty Python, Gordon Ramsay, Simon Cowell, The Great British Baking Show, The Office, and the list just goes on. Maybe it’s the accent. Whatever the cause, it appears The Crown and it’s portrayals of the British Royal family has also captured the attention of Americans.

            The Crown is another series that seeks to dramatize the Windsors while serving as pseudo-history for those of us who might not otherwise crack open a book on 20th century British history. Of course it shows us the scandals and the familiar scenes that have been depicted over and over again like the Royal Wedding, the Royal Coronation, the Kennedy meeting, and others. However The Crown has been able to accomplish an incredible feat that was attempted with The King’s Speech and The Queen. Netflix has managed to make Queen Elizabeth not just a sympathetic character, but more importantly a relatable character. You may say to yourself “what could possibly be familiar about some incredibly wealthy European monarch?” Well first there’s the obvious, Queen Elizabeth is familiar because she’s been with us so long. Her majesty has been in the public eye since at least 1936 when her father became King, and she’s been the reigning monarch since 1952 (a full year before Elvis recorded his first demo at Star Studios). But outside of how ubiquitous she is in movies, television, history, music, print, and currency, there is something familiar about the struggle of a woman living under immense pressure balancing a personal life and a professional life in an arena dominated by men.

           The Queen is like a lot of working women, despite her obvious aristocratic status. She has a significant other who expects too much, a job that demands all of her free time, and she’s still expected to look and act like a lady. Now it’s possible that we’ve always been a little too critical of Queen Elizabeth, not understanding the pressures that young women face generally speaking that is only exacerbated when they’re under the media microscope. How many times have the tabloids commented on her makeup, her weight, the way she speaks, and cataloged every gaffe or misstep? Maybe we’ve always owed her our sympathy. Conversely, maybe Netflix has just done a damn good job of minimizing the struggles of ordinary folk (like those who died in the Great Fog) and dramatizing whether her Majesty wants to wear gold or platinum. The Queen had a hard day? So did the teachers who were grossly underpaid during Conservative and Labour governments. More importantly, the people living under oppressive colonial rule in Africa had much harder lives than her Majesty who languished over how her son would do in one of the best private schools in the country. Are we meant to weep for her Majesty because the Crown has tremendous production value?

            Regardless of whether her Majesty should be a sympathetic character, I can’t help but feel for her. The Queen reminds me of so many other women I know, who are just doing their best. Yes, some people have harder lives and sometimes it’s indirectly because of her Majesty’s actions but here’s there’s something that’s worth considering. When we observe the world and character’s through this arbitrary “whataboutism” where no one’s struggles mean anything because someone else has it worse, then nothing means anything and that is less than ideal. The Queen lives a different life than the viewer, she owns castles and hosts balls. It is a life of luxury and that’s indisputable, but does an excess of luxury make up for a deficit in education or love? I should say not. 

Grace & Frankie: Netflix shows Hollywood evolving on representation

Firstly, bravo to Netflix for not creating another network show that centers around beautiful young women working as waitresses or successful men womanizing their way to even more success. This show does something that isn’t common in television, and that is have protagonists that we don’t necessarily see ourselves in. It has become old hat for shows to center around a mild anti-hero or an unassuming everyman who wanders into adventure, these characters are familiar and they skew young.  It is a rarity to see women in starring roles, even more rare to find older women, and rarer still to keep them from falling into the stereotype of gentile senior citizen. That isn’t a problem in this Netflix original because after just half an hour it becomes very apparent that Grace & Frankie aren’t exactly Dorothy & Rose from NBC’s The Golden Girls. Grace and Frankie swear (a lot), they take peyote, they work, they’re political, and they’re not just older women (Betty White is 62 during the first season of the Golden Girls, but her character is stated to be 55) but they are old women. Jane Fonda, who stars as Grace, is 80 years old and Lily Tomlin, who stars as Frankie, is 78. 

         But of course Grace & Frankie isn’t about the age of its namesakes, although age plays a not so insignificant role in the show. The premise of the show is Grace’s husband and Frankie’s husband have secretly been homosexual lovers for years and decide to finally leave their respective wives to be with one another. There was a time in our history when being gay was a punchline, it was slapstick and essentially the beginning and end of a joke. Then at some point we transitioned to a period where homosexuality was treated with a stoicism and seriousness that had previously been reserved for films about war, the apex of which I believe was Brokeback Mountain in 2005. This show straddles a reasonable medium, something Modern Family failed to do with their portrayal of a gay couple. Frankie & Grace’s husbands are gay, but that’s not their defining trait in the same way that age does not define Grace & Frankie.

         There’s a concept that has been floated about in sociological circles called “intersectionality”. Recently it’s been co-opted by -insert overzealous ideological movement- to mean any number of things. Intersectionality is partially defined by Oxford as “The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group.” So just for a moment, I’m going to make the point that with marginalized groups it’s important to have media representation but not if that portrayal is as a caricature. Hollywood, for all the liberal values it claims to espouse, has a penchant for promoting stereotypes that aren’t accurate to life and then pat themselves on the back for including groups traditionally left out of media. What is remarkable about Grace & Frankie is that its characters aren’t that remarkable, and while some are gay, female, latino, black, old, and so on, they’re just people. 

         But I digress, if I haven’t made it clear already, I’m thoroughly impressed at Netflix’s ability to create an entertaining program that incorporates age, gender, and sexuality without relying on those traits as crutches. With that being said, it is important for show runners, critics, and activists alike not to do back flips to try to pick apart how shows aren’t sufficiently progressive and therefore are tools of the patriarchy. For all the praise I’ve laid upon Grace & Frankie, there are still critics who pontificate about “whiteness” or “classism”. The editors of the website ma’yan have said the show is “troubling in its normative portrayal of wealth and whiteness”. That might very well be true, but surely just for a moment we can stop and appreciate art for what it is? Every show and movie doesn’t have to center around a working class family comprised of a biracial lesbian couple with a disabled adopted child from Costa Rica, which probably still wouldn’t satisfy some critics. America is a diverse place, rich people and white people exist, their stories are no less important than anyone else’s. An argument can be made that these stories are over represented, but it’s a mistake to think that representation is a zero sum game. We can tell more than one story, and we should.

            Nevertheless, I don’t know that Grace & Frankie will be the show that moves us towards a more open society or if television can even have that effect on us. I can say that Grace & Frankie says a lot about our aspirations for society, and shows the maturation of media as it relates to sensitive subjects like race, age, gender, and sexuality.

Character, Symbolism, and Struggle

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of anorexia nervosa

This week I watched the Netflix original movie To the Bone. I was first drawn into this movie when looking through the Netflix originals list; when I saw the trailer.The trailer fascinated and captivated me, leading me to watch the movie. The movie follows a young woman, named Ellen, on her journey seeking treatment for anorexia nervosa. The movie shows her struggle with thoughts of inadequacy, isolation, along with many other struggles as she struggles with her illness. Overall, minus a few hiccups, I greatly enjoyed this movie. The three aspects that most grabbed my attention becoming the sources of my enjoyment were character portrayal, the symbolism used in almost every scene, and connections to my own life experiences.

I have always been a great supporter of the idea that characters are what makes a film great, for they are the basis of any narrative and prove to be one of the most intriguing parts of a film (at least to general audiences). To the Bone does a great job of creating complex characters with a depth rarely seen in most movies. The characters in this movie have complex motivations and struggles, beyond common two dimensional characters. Susan, Ellen’s stepmother, shows this well. As a character, Susan, portrays many stereotypes associated with the bright, bubbly mother stereotype. She is always talking, carries no filter in what she says or how she says it, and is a bit of a gossip. That being said, though, she breaks the mold usually assigned to this kind of character by being shown as a loving and caring mom to Ellen, doing anything she can to get Ellen the help she needs and filling a void left by her mother and her mother’s wife. So while being defined as a stereotypical mother in many aspects, the film breaks this mold by reaching a conclusion not commonly associated with the stereotype. This proves to be true for almost every character in the film from the main characters of Ellen, Lucas, and Ellen’s family to the other women Ellen lives with while seeking treatment. One of the ways these characters are portrayed are through the use of costuming.

To the Bone used a large amount of symbolism to further describe characters, emotions, and even Ellen’s state of health. Symbolism, as used in this movie, added a large amount of depth to the movie and individual scenes. The most prominent example of this can be seen with the depiction of Ellen. Throughout the movie the costuming and makeup used by Lily Collins in her portrayal of Ellen reflects the status of Ellen’s mental and physical health. In many scenes where Ellen creates strong relationships, she is dressed in bright clothes and has makeup that brings out her features making her look more attractive. Contrary though, in scenes where Ellen takes a step back, her clothes become drab and layered. The makeup used in these scenes adds dark circles to Ellen’s eyes and make Ellen’s face look more angular or thin. This detail also extends to other characters and even set design with particular locations being used for positive or negative events based on their design. These details as they are used, greatly increase the emotions and realistic tone the movie tries to convey. 

The emotion in To the Bone also really resonated with me. This stems from my own experiences of anorexia nervosa, with one of my best friends in middle school suffering from the illness. My friend lost an extreme amount of weight in just a couple of months. Following this she suffered from heart issues, that led her to be hospitalized for a few months as she gained weight and went through counseling. It was also revealed that her eating habits had aggravated a pre-existing disposition to celiac that my friend now has to spend her entire life with. This, of course, was a very difficult time for those around this friend, including her friends. This is part of why the film struck me so hard. The film portrays the struggle between the person who is suffering from the illness and those around them extremely well. From showing the impacts Ellen’s has had on her family, to showing how Ellen’s family has impacted her and her mental state. The film perfectly balances the emotion and reality that comes with this form of struggle. 

To the Bone, overall, is a magnificent piece of film. It creates meaningful characters with depth and complexity, shown with a variety a detail and emotion, I have not seen in most films. So while the film may have some flaws, like its ending, I found the film proves to be an enlightening endeavor into the complexity of illness and recovery.

The Crown

Brenda,

 In the 18 years that I’ve been alive, I cannot remember a time when you were not a part of my life. You were there for me in my most awkward phases and happiest times. Even now that we live an entire state apart, you are constantly there for me. It will never cease to amaze me how willing you are to give of yourself and your time to friends and strangers alike. I am so thankful for all of the memories that we’ve created for ourselves, but one of my favorite memories is the time we spent watching Downton Abbey in my early highschool years. That show was so powerful to me, and it was all the more special because I got to watch it with one of my favorite people ever (you)!

If you’re confused as to why I’m writing about all of this, I hope to make that clear shortly. Recently, I was able to sit down and watch the Netflix Original series The Crown. It has a lot of similar qualities to Downton Abbey, which is why I think you might enjoy it. Without giving too much away, the plot of the show focuses on the marriage and reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Downton Abbey actually occurs about 35 years prior to the start of The Crown, meaning that Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, would have been in power during the plot of Downton Abbey.

 Although these shows have some obvious similarities, such as setting and time period, they are actually quite different. As you’re well aware, Downton Abbey is a show filled with drama and tragedy. Although there are certainly dramatic moments in The Crown, the show’s main focus is far more political. There are moments of romantic drama and heartbreaking tragedy, but as a whole series, I find The Crown to be a far more mentally engaging show. Don’t get me wrong, I will always be an avid fan of Downton Abbey and the entire Crawley family, but something about the dialogue and content in The Crown provides a much fuller entertainment experience.

Overall, I hope you will consider watching The Crown with me when I am home in just a few short days. Speaking from experience, it is a show that you will not easily walk away from. In my opinion, it is wonderful and captivating, and I think you would get a lot out of it. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!!

Imperial Dreams

Imperial Dreams is a 2014 Netflix Original film that was picked up and distributed by the company in 2017 following a three year span where the film unfortunately sat on a shelf looking for a home (the irony behind this will be explained later). The film is directed by first timer Malik Vithhal and stars John Boyega (one year before The Force Awakens) as Bambi, a down on his luck hoodlum that has recently been released from prison looking to start fresh. Living homeless in his old, beat up car (remember that irony statement?) with his young son, Bambi attempts to use writing as his way out of the filth while he has to go about his every day struggles.
The first thing I want to talk about with the film is that it is very well written. Vittahl, who co-wrote the film with Ismet Prcic, do a sensational job of taking a story that has been told ten times over and making it feel somewhat fresh. Additionally, the script feels very realistic, something similar films seem to forget to do. Instead of going down the formulaic route that many similar films tend to travel, Imperial Dreams is the kind of film that shows all of the downs (which significantly outweigh the ups) and ends on a hopeful yet not exactly happy note. It almost seemed as if throughout the course of the film, the writers had a checklist of generic tropes and cliches to avoid, going out of their way at times to make the film be different. This really is something I cannot praise enough as few films are able to feel fresh and new.
Much praise must be given to the cast as well, especially John Boyega, who was a complete showstopper in the film. With his role in the Star Wars franchise as well as his upcoming lead role in the Pacific Rim sequel, it's nice to see him get the attention he deserves as he is a very good actor. What is unfortunate though is that he could fall into the typecast trap. I love seeing him able to truly stretch his acting muscles in films such as this, Detroit, and Attack the Block, something he can't necessarily do as a franchise star (just ask Chris Evans). Regardless of his eventual fate, he will forever have this performance, which really is one that should have garnered some Oscar buzz for in 2014 after its appearance at Sundance. Additionally, twins Ethan and Justin Coach are both cute and heartbreaking as Day, Bambi's toddler son. This is that special kind of performance that yanks at your heart as we the audience see this child's innocence gradually be taken away from him at such a young age. The other actors in the film also do a good job, mainly Glenn Plummer as Uncle Shrimp, Bambi's no good thug uncle and Rotimi as Wayne, Bambi's brother.
Part of the reason that the film works so well and feels so real is that the characters are all fully developed and three dimensional. This is due to the excellent work from both the actors and the writers as even the most irredeemable characters are not simple cardboard cutouts there seemingly just to cause struggles with the protagonist. One of the most telling moments of this is Uncle Shrimp's chilling "We are what we are" speech towards the end of the film, which somehow feels similar to Roy Batty's "Tears in the rain" speech in Blade Runner (Albeit far less memorable or cool). Bambi is also a very well developed character. Even though he clearly has a good heart, we do see his ugly side as well as why he's turned out the way he has.
I think that the film does a great job of showing what hoodlum life is really like, displaying all of the negatives to it while also giving reason as to why it does entice young poor boys. In a way, it's like a modern day urban version of Goodfellas except far less romanticized. The dangers of the lifestyle are also on full show here, whether it's the destruction it has on a family or the coldness of seemingly random murder that can take place at any given time. The streets are clearly mean and the only way to survive is to play mean as well. On a side note, I think it's also interesting how the film shows that breaking this lifestyle is hard and almost impossible. It's a job that provides plenty of "benefits," things that Bambi needs but is unable to get as finding a job as a convicted felon is difficult. I always wonder why criminals return to prison so often (other than being institutionalized as Shawshank taught us). This is a film that explains part of why that is.
If you're looking for a happy film or at least one that end happy, then this isn't the movie for you. If you are looking for a well acted, well written film that clearly has more to stay about our way of life than most entertainment does, then this is the movie for you. If you're in the mood, I'd say check it out. If anything, it is at least short (about an hour and 25 minutes).

What Happened, Miss Simone?

Hey, Mr. Schroeder. Remember me? I was in your music class and band in middle school. I was always very good at that game with the class where we guess the song played, or at least my mom tells me that you're still impressed with me about that. Well, suffice to say, I may have gotten even more musically inclined (in that I've listened to so much more music than I've ever blinked), but that's a story for a different time. For now, I've been assigned a writing assignment (this blog post) in which I have to write to you and you have to respond back. So, being a music teacher and musically inclined, and my class pertaining to Netflix, I decided to watch something musical and educational, so a documentary was the obvious answer. That led me to What Happened, Miss Simone?

What Happened, Miss Simone? is, as you could probably tell from the title, a documentary on the life and legend of acclaimed jazz musician and civil rights activist Nina Simone. It details her life from childhood, where she learned to play piano, to her stardom and activism in civil rights in the 60's, to her downfall and resurgence, and all in between. ALL in between. A great chunk of this documentary about Nina's battles with her personal demons and their effect on her family, friends, and career. Things like been stressed out with having to perform, being away from home from her daughter, and some other reasons I don't want to spoil because A. it's shocking and a bigger gut punch if you don't previously know about it, and B. it's quite depressing and I really don't wanna type it out. In fact, a lot of this documentary will have you feeling melancholic because, as I said, it showcases her personal demons. Granted, there are happy moments and even a (relatively) happy ending, but a lot of it is very hard to stomach emotionally. Another fair warning, halfway into it it starts getting quite political in an extreme sense (as she was heavily influenced by people like Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael), so depending on where you stand with the issues of nonviolent vs. violent protests, it may be a bit uncomfortable to watch.

On the whole though, this was one of the most emotionally moving films I've ever seen, let alone documentaries. I had previously listened to Miss Simone's music in the past, but I never knew about her backstory and her life and her struggles. But now that I do know, I think her music is gonna be VERY different the next time I listen to it. Now, I don't know if you've listened to Nina Simone before (though I wouldn't doubt that you have), but I may recommend listening to some of her songs BEFORE watching the film. When you get the meaning behind them from the film, the songs become much more (and if it helps, the film also splices in some live performances too, albeit with commentary over it). So, in summary, this was a very great and very emotional film, and being the music guy you are, I'd suggest watching this as soon as possible.

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.

House of Cards

Dear Mom and Dad,

First of all, I think you’re really going to enjoy helping me with this homework assignment. I know I told you about these sort of assignments before, writing blog posts about Netflix shows. However, sometimes on these posts, we also need to get someone to respond to us. That’s where you come in! My teacher lined this up so that we’d be on break already for this assignment, where we need to get our parents to respond to our post. And, to make this easier on you guys, I decided to watch one of your favorite shows: House of Cards

I know how well you guys know me versus my relationship with politics. I can definitely say I never planned on watching this show, basically ever, despite all the hype that I’ve heard about it. House of Cards is probably the one show you never expected me to watch either, but I knew you’d be able to respond well if I wrote about one of your favorites.

I can honestly say that this show, at least to me, was terribly confusing. I’m not very aware of what’s going on in politics most of the time, I don’t know all the terms, or what office positions do what. I mean, honestly, I couldn’t tell you the main character’s name. However, I can see why you guys would like a show like this so much. I know politics and the way our country is run, as of right now, means more to you than it does to me. In the same way that technology means more to me than it does to you. What I’m getting at is that while I can enjoy a show like Black Mirror for the message it sends about people versus technology, you guys can enjoy seeing the inner workings of government affairs and be somewhat involved with the rivalries of office members.

While I’m happy to know approximately .0154% more about what you guys enjoy watching in your free time, I can’t say that I’ll be continuing with the show. That isn’t to say that I didn’t think it was a good show, or that there’s anything wrong with it. It’s just, you know, me being me, the topic of politics really isn’t my thing. I wasn’t sure most of the time what was really going on, who people were, and whose side I was supposed to be on. Also, I’m sorry, but I can only handle so many white dudes being passive aggressive with each other so much. Continue to love your show, and I can’t wait to see what y’all have to say! Love you guys

-Caroline

Stranger Things, Pilot (The Disappearance of Will Byers)

Yep.

Now, this is actually a very good choice for two reasons. First off: The second season of Stranger Things is set to premiere only about a week from now, so this is very timely. Second, despite the popularity of the show and that my mom (who I'm writing this for) loves horror movies and the paranormal, she has not seen this show (though I hope to show her it during midterm break). So, mom, if you're reading this, let me introduce you.

If you're not aware about the plot, it's kind of hard to simplify without proper context. But let's try it anyway. Essentially, it's 4 different plots over one another: A kid by the name of Will goes missing under "mysterious circumstances" in Hawkes, Indiana. So, three friends of the kid go out to try and find him, and they come across a "weird" girl named Eleven that could possibly help them get to Will, Will's mother having to deal with the increasing mental stress of her son being missing, leading to numerous hallucinations(?), one of the 3 kid's sister and Will's brother trying to piece together what happened to Will, and the town's police chief thoroughly investigating into the case, with it having to greatly involve a "questionable" facility located nearby the town. To say any more would be spoilers. Basically, it's E.T., The Goonies, and St. Elmo's Fire mixed with Super 8 and Splice (if you remember or even know that movie).

And for you having been in your 20's during the 1980's, you'll be pleased to hear that this show takes a LOT of influence and style from 80's culture, but with authenticity (as far as I can tell), rather than just a nostalgiafest solely to celebrate the 80's. Really, the time setting is just a way for the story to be told in a simpler time, which would make the idea of going up against a....threat like this wouldn't be as scary if it was set in modern time, where things are a bit more complicated. But otherwise, there's a lot of stuff in here you'd expect out of 1984 like Dungeons and Dragons, The Clash, the Evil Dead, etc., along with all the fashions and vehicles used throughout the show.

Now, as for the part I have to write for the class (specifically, the part where I acknowledge or even praise a certain aspect of the filmmaking into a Netflix original, such as the cinematography, sound, etc.), what I like about Stranger Things in comparison with other horror movies on Netflix (and I would say most modern horror films, but that's generalizing. Go see It Comes At Night. It's fantastic), is that it's actually shot and paced like an ACTUAL well-made horror film (for the opposite effect, go watch the abomination that is #Horror). There's no shaky cam, little-to-no stupid things done for the sake of a horror film (like hiding in an abandoned house), and there's only like one REAL jumpscare throughout the whole franchise, which is paced perfectly. In fact, all the scary moments (or at least the moments that are creepy for the ambience) in this show are paced brilliantly, like the credits of "The Bathtub" (which is incidentally after the one jumpscare in the show). The scenes are near-quiet, save for some small environmental noises and an ambient soundtrack to back it up. And that intro music is just sublime.

On the whole, I very much recommend the show. In fact, I've already gone through the whole season within 2 days before, and I intend to rewatch it in lieu of Season 2 coming out soon. And mom, if you're reading this, I want to show the show to you when I get home for midterm break. Trust me, if you liked Super 8, you're going to love this.

A Message from The OA

This week I decided to take on The OA. After hearing a ton of people talk about it, I decided to give it a try. People have told me it was a little difficult to follow, and a great deal happens all at once, so I imagined it would be a good idea to write about why people should watch, even if it is a little more perplexing. Towards the end of the pilot, the OA begins to tell her story to the people she recruited to help her. She must convince them that they can trust her, and opens up to them so they will help her on her journey. So, for my blog post this week, rather than me tell you, the reader, why watching the show is in fact worth the watch despite it being quite a wild ride, I decided to let the OA speak for herself, and gain the trust and guidance of the opposition, as to why you should go with her on her journey, despite it being quite the mystery at first.

Thank you for finding my post. That means you are here because you’re considering helping me. It is crucial I get to the border. Please, don’t click away. I need your help.

I know that this might sound insane, I know you may not want to trust me right now, I know my story is unlike one that you’ve ever heard of before, and my reasons might sound unearthly, but I am the OA and I need your help. I need to tell you why I am worth helping and following.

I am unlike anyone you’ve met in your life. I know that that is a longshot statement to say, but I believe it to be true. Have you ever sympathized with a friend going through hardships? They’re quite easy to help, as you know them, you trust them, you want the best for them. And in the end, you know that they’d do the same for you. Well, have you sympathized with a stranger before? I know, it isn’t as easy to do. I know, that is who I am to you right now. But if you come on this journey with me, I can be your friend, and I will repay you in more ways than you could ever imagine. I know that someone like you can begin to trust me, and find it in your heart to help me on my way.

While trusting me is the first big step, I can’t have you quit on me along the way. The road to my success will be difficult and somewhat confusing, and I will always need the most courageous and strong people to aid me. That is why I have chosen you. There’s countless stories you have yet to hear, to be able to hear my tales I’m sure will excite you! There’s so much more to me, and my life. Or, should I say my many lives. I’m sure if you continue on with me, you will not be disappointed.

I will respect your story if this journey is not for you, or if you are unsure you will be able to keep up. But I strongly encourage you to try, and to believe that you may understand who I am and what I must achieve. So, if you choose to stay with me, I’d like for you to close your eyes, and see what I see.

Death Note: Post Mortem

I watched Death Note, the Netflix Original, and well it was not that bad. Save for the ending it was alright. If it hadn't been an adaption of one of the most famous and deep animes of all time, I would have written it off as just another movie with a good premise but poor execution.

The premise of the movie follows some of the shows cliff notes, save for some names, (we're in America now, for some reason, not that it affects the plot at all). Light Turner finds the notebook of the shinigami, (literal translations, death god, death spirit), Ryuk. Light decides he will rid the world of crime. He attracts the attention of interpol and the mysterious detective known as L.

My peers JBurns, and WSills gave their thoughts on the movie. While I agree with mostly agree with what they said and I suggest you read them. I'm going to look more at why I think this movie fails as an interpretation and will heavily pull on the anime for comparison.

Almost anyone who has read the manga, watched the anime, or watched the Wisecrack video on Death Note can tell you it focuses heavily on asking what is justice. Each character has a different take and understanding on what justice is. The show then heavily takes a Socratic take on the various perspectives of justice. Rather than telling us what justice is, the show rather tests the ideals of “justice”. It's obvious you couldn't put that much dialogue on such a topic in a less than two hour movie. The writers clearly understood that, but they went the wrong way about it. They hand waved it away instead of the better but slightly harder way of ADAPTING the themes. In case you're curious as to what the movie did with these deep ideas, they just gave one sentence on the topic with a very Original idea. “There is no such thing as good and evil, only bad and worse”, which we've never seen a Netflix Original ever.

In it's place for central themes we have, we, I don't really know. If you look online you will find a joke that says the central theme is “Don't give your crazy psycho girlfriend a book that can kill people”, as ridiculous as that sounds that is the strongest/most obvious theme of the movie. I embarrassingly forgot to take notes while watching the film, so I'm working from memory. I had three main ideas as to what the themes could be. The first could be that it was making a criticism on the U.S. gun safety laws. The only thing I have to go on is the prominence of the American flag in the movie, but this idea would fail since we have nothing to compare the usage of the Death Note to, the cops use state issued guns so maybe that's the theme. The other idea I had was maybe it was talking about how power will always corrupt people. This fails since only Mia (the American Misa) gets corrupted while Light (unlike in the original) stays a “good” person. The only other thing is a commentary on the abuse of authority. This one is the strongest, we actually have a few scenes that bring seem to talk about that idea, but it's not strongly conveyed enough to convince me of this theory.

In my opinion a good adaption that shows the writers really cared about the series is proper theming and characters. I feel like there is definitely more wiggle room on adapting a central theme, after all many people will have a different idea on what the central theme is. The characters however are something that should be kept very consistent to the original. How did the movie do? bad, really really bad. At the start of the anime and through the stint where Light gives up the notebook we can get a decent understanding of what Light was like before the notebook corrupted him. He was a logical, intelligent, character of a strong moral position, hesitant to even try the notebook, and had a great respect of the law. The movie version of Light is the exact opposite of this, and never changes. He runs heavily on emotions and hormones, quickly revealing the notebook to Mia because he has a crush on her. In the original series Light would plan several steps ahead and never second guess himself. While we did see movie Light use on or two clever tricks, he wanted to pull out of using the notebook as soon as things got out of hand.

I feel like we should talk about L now, he seems to have been ignored during this entire paper. L is probably the most accurate portrayal of a central character. We see him be weird and eccentric, but most importantly in this case, we see him make logical deductions and use critical thinking. That is until Watari dies and he becomes an irrational emotional character. Instead of losing to an unavoidable trap like in the anime/manga. He loses to a cook knocking him out because he was too stupid to not think that the person might support Kira.

Mia is most likely supposed to be based on Misa from the anime/manga. I can only guess this because she is Light's girlfriend shares a similar name. Personality wise she is nothing alike. I think like most people the writers hated Misa and decided to change her. While I have nothing against making Misa less annoying or less pointless I think they did it too much. Mia is far closer to the anime Light. Manipulative, driven, ruthless, and plotting, she even gets corrupted by the note instead of Light. To a point I think making her the main character would have been a better change of pace.

Interesting thing about these characters is how tightly the are tied to each other. If one of them changes they all do. Light and L are the clear rivals and the two sides of the same coin, while Misa/Mia is the foil to Light. I think by trying to make Light the hero and a “relatable character” they ruined the whole cast and the show as a side result. I don't think a character needs to be sympathetic to be likable or relatable. The anime Light was repulsive, but we all rooted for him while we also cheered at him losing.

I don't think the movie was awful, sure it wasn't great, it was rushed, and I don't think the team behind it cared about the franchise so much as how much money they could get fans of the franchise to pay. As an adaptation however; this movie is terrible. It changes things that don't need to be changed, and things that should've been changed were ignored. I think the root of the problem was a lack of love and passion more than a lack of talent.

To The Bone

WARNING I will be reviewing “To The Bone”. This movie is graphically based off a girl’s struggle with anorexia. I will be including heavy subjects in my review. Please keep that in mind before reading on.

Dear Nick,

Today I watched a movie, “To the Bone”. I have never been more disappointed in a movie before.

I’m not too sure if this movie would fit into any genre you seem to fancy, that being horror, surrealism, or documentary. This movie is a drama, and well, it sure was dramatic. And maybe a little too dramatic at that. In fact, it’s so incredibly dramaticized, that I am angry with it. I’m extremely angry with this movie. In this movie, we follow Ellen, or Eli, who is struggling with anorexia to the point where she could die. However, like any other drama starring a female, all she needed was a pretty boy to save her life. I know you don’t usually focus much on the “moral” of the story, so this probably wouldn’t affect you much. However, as you take a step back to look at the story as a whole, one of the main influences that pushes Eli to fight her eating disorder and start working to better herself is the love of a boy. At the end of the day, whatever motivation someone may have in order to fight a mental illness is probably a bigger benefit to them than anything else. However, as someone who’s dealt with mental illness before, both personally and from close friends, this isn’t a topic I would romanticize the way the creators did.

While the overall moral of the story isn’t the best, and while they romanticize mental illness as something beautiful-when it’s actually quite the opposite-the movie wasn’t entirely awful. One of my favorite characters was Dr. Beckham, played by Keanu Reeves. He seemed to be one of the most realistic characters. He uses harsh truth on his patients, and isn’t fooled by a majority of their bullshit. The creators used this as a tool, in order to put the viewers into a better sense of how the patients feel. While they live in their own heads, Dr. Beckham does his best to bring them back down to Earth. In a movie plastered with fantasy, he serves as a break from the unrealistic setting of the movie.

Overall, this movie tried and failed. The creators aimed it towards audiences that could relate to the topics presented, and yet I feel they did it in the worst way possible. They set unrealistic standards for how one should go about dealing with their mental illness, and don’t give sources as to who people could contact if they were feeling the same way as some of the characters shown in the movie. As this is Netflix’s second attempt at addressing mental illness in media form, I hope that either third time's the charm, or the third time simply doesn’t happen. It’s a difficult topic to truly justify and present in an accurate way, and too often, it goes glamorized. I hope someday there’ll be an accurate portrayal that won’t leave people thinking they want that sort of lifestyle.

A Narcos Letter

Dear Titus Andromedon,

This week I watched something that I can’t decide if you would like or not. I watched Narcos. Narcos is a show based off the true story of Pablo Escobar and his drug trafficking ring. While I think you would like this show because the entire thing is a drama, and therefore dramatic. I don’t know that you would enjoy the violence and greed that come with the show.

Anyone who knows you knows how much you love drama. Drama makes you happy. This show, while not the epitome of drama, is pretty dramatic. The way the camera follows Pablo and shoots quite a few of his scenes from below, makes him seem more powerful. Now don’t get me wrong, he was powerful. The camera angles just make him seem a little more dangerously powerful. When the camera isn’t shooting from below it is shooting at eye level. This makes Pablo seem more approachable because you see him at the level you would in everyday life.

The other thing that intensifies the drama in Narcos is the voice over. The voice over, that is supposed to be one of the DEA agents, is very intense. This intensity would be great, if it weren’t going overboard sometimes. Don’t tell me, show me. The voice frequently tells you things that you could have inferred or would be better just shown. People say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, what is the point if you aren’t just experiencing? Suspense. The DEA agent is trying to build the suspense to leave you on the edge of your seat. This is great. But, in the intensity it is  good to also have someone filling you in. Without the voice some scenes might lose their touch or leave you confused.

Stories can be confusing sometimes, especially true ones. This is where I think you would not enjoy this show. While, dramatic, it is based off true lives. Albeit, the show has taken some liberty with the story. That doesn’t make it any less true, and in that regard, I find myself almost wanting to look up where they took those liberties. I don’t think you would enjoy that by it being a true story, that means other people know it, and that you could easily just look up the information and spoil the entire show for yourself. That waiting, the suspense, is what you live for in a TV show. Having the information available about what could be next  whenever you want it is a dangerous game to play.

The thing I know you would have the most though is the fashion. The show is set in the 70s-90s for the most part. That means that all of the following were in: big hair, tight miniskirts, horrible prints, and other things from the 70s. The wardrobe in this show, while accurate was not very appeasing. Pablos wears sweaters to go to drug related activities. The moms/women are all wearing dresses, skirts, or pantsuits. The police wear hideous prints and Pablo does too. While I appreciate the authenticity, I don’t appreciate the every changing patterns and colors. I think if you looked at some of the outfits the characters wear you would cry and refused to watch.

Overall Titus, it is a good show and is dramatic enough to be up your alley. There are some downsides but everything has those and so I say try it. Give it a shot.

Sincerely,

Taylor Shanders

Girl Boss (Edited)

Hey Barney, I think I may have found your opposition. After seeing many ads for the show on YouTube and various other platforms, I decided to watch the first episode of the series Girl Boss. I have yet to hear about anyone actually talk about this show, as it is one of Netflix’s less popular shows. In this episode, we’re introduced to our main character Sophia. She’s shown as rebellious, selfish, and quite a slacker. She’s the typical character that most people would hate, yet want to know she ends up. Basically, she's just like you. We learn that she’s a college drop out, trying to figure out what she wants to do, and who she wants to be. She has a love for vintage clothes, and a hate towards any higher-ups.

I feel as though the creators of this show decided to take a spin at creating the protagonist, by making her someone that no one wants to like, and yet the audience still wants to know where she will go wrong next. In the first episode, she's seen hooking up with this guy, and it seems like they're about to have a one night stand. Until, she stops him, just before things "start getting good". I would love to see how you would handle a girl in this sort of situation, a womanizer like yourself. She seems to be playing pretty hard to get. However, I think she’s a character that would definitely need to be developed a bit more, as this is only the first episode. For this only being one step in her journey, I think there are a lot of directions the creators could take.

One of the most interesting things I found about the show was that it is based on true events. More specifically, about Sophia Amoruso and show she came to create the brand Nasty Gal. I know you're Mister Fashionista yourself, you've probably heard of the brand. However, at the introduction of the show, it says it's “very loose” in reference to how true the events are. When shows are based off true events, I’m sure the creators change up a few things no matter what. I’m interested to know what prompted them to add in the “very loose” part at the beginning.

I feel as though one of the most major things needed in order to appreciate this show for what it is would be a love and eye for fashion. After foreshadowed clues and Sophia’s big sale at the end of the episode, it’s clear that Sophia is gonna try her hand at the fashion industry, mainly in resale fashion and vintage styles. While it’s clear that not everyone will take an interest in clothing, I personally love the idea of second hand buying and looking for steals to take advantage of. While you also know how to dress yourself, you two have clearly different styles. I'd love to hear what you have to say about her take on fashion. In that, as much as I’m not sure if I like Sophia at all, I’m still intrigued by what she does and how she’ll go about reselling these clothes.

Girl Boss seems as though, from the outside, it’s a show about a girl standing up to the system. However, to me, it’s a show about deception and taking advantage. Which, in a weird way, I’m really interested in. I know I’m gonna hate Sophia no matter what at this point, and yet I want to watch her and her journey, and see where she, and her business, will end up. I could definitely see you, Barney, being a friend of hers. I would say maybe more than a friend, but I don't think even you could crack a girl like that. You should check her out for yourself! Until next time, my friend.

Another Series of Unfortunate Events

As said by my classmates, Ashley and John, this past week in class we analyzed the first four or five minutes of A Series of Unfortunate Events and nearly all of that was the opening credits, and song. As a person who read the books as a child, and watched the movie made in 2004, I was eminently under impressed with Netflix’s tv series. I can agree with John that Lemony Snicket, played by Patrick Warburton, was my favorite character. I was disappointed considering, I have always loved Neil Patrick Harris, and in the role of Count Olaf he just didn’t do anything to capture my attention and was not at all how I envisioned Count Olaf as a child.

I found that my opinion at the beginning was that I preferred the 2004 version of A Series of Unfortunate Events to the Netflix series, but when I went back to watch the movie to compare the two I found that many scenes from the first episode and the movie are significantly similar. Here is a scene from both the movie and the Netflix series:

In the side-by-side comparison, you can clearly tell that the scenes are deeply similar. In this scene, Count Olaf seems to frantically be showing the crowd a sheet of paper, and in the movie, you can’t quite tell what that paper is in this still. Looking at the judge in the background, I would assume that the piece of paper he is showing everyone is a legal document. In both scenes, Violet seems to be wearing a wedding dress and veil, and Count Olaf seems to be in a medieval suit. So one can conclude that maybe they are in a play where they are acting out a wedding, but when you take into account the looks on the faces in both scenes you start to obtain the inclining that maybe something is wrong.

I did notice that while plenty of scenes are extremely similar, the major difference between the two is the colour difference. In the movie, all of the scenes have muted tones and the characters all wear dark colors, which almost in some scenes blend them in with the background. Violet is a prime example of this contrast; in the movie she only wears black, but in the Netflix series, Violet is always wearing a pink dress and a baby blue cardigan. In fact, all of the siblings in the movie where some shade of gray or black, whereas in the series they are always wearing a bright colour, or some colour that makes them stand out.

In the end, I enjoyed the TV series and might continue to watch it, but I think that the 2004 movie will always hold a special place in my childhood. While there are hordes of differences between the movie and the series, and I only covered one, there are more similarities than I covered as well. Overall, if you have never read or seen the original A Series of Unfortunate Events this might be up your alley, but some might not appreciate the TV series being that the movie has a place in their heart. My advice would be to give the show a shot, and if you don’t like it you don’t like it, but maybe you find your next series to watch.

The Discovery: A Scientific Take on the Afterlife

The Discovery is a 2017 science fiction mystery romance film directed by Charlie McDowell and stars Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother), Rooney Mara (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Jesse Plemons (Black Mass), and the iconic Robert Redford (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). The film is about Jason Segel's Will, a neurologist who is trying to cope in a suicidal world following Redford's Thomas scientific discovery of an afterlife. Additionally, the film follows Thomas as he tries to figure out exactly what this afterlife entails.
Being a christian myself, I found this idea to be quite interesting and have in a way been looking forward to watching the film and then being able to talk about it. I was curious how the film would approach the topic and if it would try to give an actual proposition about the afterlife.
Now that I have seen the film, I can say that the film is a thought provoking, well made film that unfortunately is too flawed to create what could have been a terrific sci-fi masterpiece. The major problem with the film is the romance subplot. Rooney Mara's Isla slowly becomes involved in Will as they sprout a romance, and while this subplot could work, I don't feel like the overall structure of the film supported this subplot. Most of the runtime is intensely focused on trying to find out what the afterlife entails. Whenever the romance plot pops up, it feels forced and completely out of place. A subplot involving Will and Isla trying to disprove this afterlife also pops up towards the end of the film, similarly feeling out of place. If this was the main plot and had been developed from the beginning of the film, then it would have worked and probably well. The problem is that the subplot starts around the hour mark with only forty minutes of runtime left. For an hour, the audience is led to believe that this afterlife is real, and then all of a sudden it comes into question? To make matters worse, the afterlife turns out to be real, rendering the subplot dead on arrival and completely unnecessary. The ending also was rushed and forced. It seemed like the writers wanted to have a thrilling ending that would in turn reveal exactly what the afterlife is. What actually unfolded was a crammed ending. It did show what the afterlife was, however I think it was super predictable and should have been taken in a completely different direction.
While it might sound like I didn't like the film, it quite frankly really was good despite its problems, because almost everything else about the film is solid if not great. The acting was very solid all around, especially from Redford and Segel. All of the characters were incredibly well developed, leaving them feeling three dimensional. In this case, I think that the praise should go both to the actors and the writers. The film is also incredibly well paced. Never in its entirety does the film ever feel long or boring. The cinematography was also very solid. Most of it is filmed with slow camera panning and a healthy mixture of close ups and medium shots. To me, this helps keep the tone of the film as feeling mysterious and sort of depressing.
The highest of praises that I can give this film as it was incredibly thought inducing. Even though I am a christian, I don't necessarily know exactly what heaven or hell are like. The interesting angle the film takes is one that isn't necessarily religious. Having never been an atheist, I always assumed that they didn't believe in any sort of afterlife. This film, however, introduces one that may very well be an afterlife without a God. Even though I personally don't agree with that notion, I can still understand and respect it. I think that this should have been explored deeper than it was, however I think it is a good idea not to answer all questions in a movie like this. It's just unfortunate that this was something that wasn't addressed. The film also introduces ideas of what an afterlife could be like that I would never have thought of, such as ones that involve parallel universes.
The sad thing about the film is that it could have been great, but instead is just a very ambitious solid one. I think the writers had a million and one great ideas for the film and decided to try and fit them all into the film. If the film had only focused on a few of the stronger ideas present in the film, I think it could have been the next Arrival. I still recommend the film for anyone who wants to watch a thoughtful sci-fi that tackles maybe the most sought out question in the history of this world: is there an afterlife?

A Series of Unfortunate Events

So, in lieu of having to watch the first four minutes of A Series of Unfortunate Events for an assignment that we did in class, I was particularly intrigued in the first four minutes that I wanted to see the rest of it, and coming from someone who's never read the books, this opinion will be not only be solely based on from what I've seen in the show, but also what I've seen in the first episode, as it may or may not represent the series as a whole.
And what I was presented with was more or less of a mixed bag. Starting with the most apparent feature of the show is the cinematography and sets. As the story proclaims numerous times throughout that this is not a happy story, that can be seen very clearly in the cinematography and coloring of the scenes. Shots are typically in drab and muted colors, while very few shots (such as the judge's house) are in pure color. The most prevalent showcasing of this being nearly any scene within Count Olaf's home, as it is typically dark and full of grays and blacks. The camera work is also very interesting, as shots are typically steady (even in moving shots) and very horizontal, with lots of details in the background. The camera work is very reminiscent of something that Wes Anderson would film.
Now let's move on to the acting in the show, and this is where the "mixed bag" comes in. Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf is okay, which means a lot as I did not expect him to be any good as Olaf, and Joan Cusack as Justice Strauss was wonderful. But Patrick Warburton as Lemony Snicket/The Narrator was just fantastic, with him going as far as being my favorite part of the whole episode. But here's where problems start. The kids playing Klaus and Violet are just terrible. I know that they are children and acting would be harder for them, but they didn't even seem to try. When they're told that their parents died in a fire that burned down their mansion, and even when they go to examine the burned down mansion, they don't even look that sad, not even any tears. And towards the end of the episode, something happens to Klaus (which I'm not going to spoil) that should make him cry, but he just sounds slightly more stuffy than usual. Most other times, they're usually just very flat, and the man the plays the banker is kind of underwhelming in his performance, too.
The writing is also in the middle of the road.  A lot of the jokes did make me either chuckle or laugh, though some did fall flat. But otherwise, save for Patrick Warburton's narration, the writing didn't really click for me. A lot of the characters kind of seemed stereotypically terrible, and as I said, the kids are typically flat in their performances and mixed with some lackluster dialogue, it doesn't make for much of an experience, save for the numerous jokes throughout.
Now, chances are that some of these complaints can be argued using the book as a reference, like some of the stuff in the episode is made that way because of how it is in the book. Well, I might pick up the books sometime as I hear they're quite reliant on dark humor and are typically praised by critics and audiences alike. As for the show, I may end up watching the next episode, although it may be hesitant and largely because of the cinematography, the jokes, and Patrick Warburton.

Bojack Horseman: Pilot Episode

  Bojack Horseman is an adult cartoon comedy that follows the life of the once been sitcom star and titular character Bojack Horseman.

The show opens up on a scene from his old sitcom called Horsin' Around before cutting to reality where Bojack is at an interview while drunk. This entire bit sets up a main theme of the show, the segregation of Hollywood glamor and reality. The interview only furthers this with Bojack attributing the shows wide success to, “People coming home after a long day of life kicking them in the urethra to watch a show about good, likable, people who love each other, where no matter what happens after thirty minutes everything is going to turn out okay”. In contrast to this when asked about his life he can not answer the question. This scene tells us a lot about Bojack, but the show just piles on.

We cut to the opening of the show that has Bojack waking up and moving through his day. Always blank faced and staring at the camera while the world goes crazy around him. Finally climaxing at a party where he falls in a pool seeming to drown only for the next shot to feature him lazily laying on top of a raft on the same pool. This opening could imply many things, but the one I got was Bojack Horseman trying to distract himself from the world, but ultimately failing by falling in a pool, and how he tries to ignore his world and reality by putting something protective between him and the pool. However it could also be implied that he finds a way to rise above his world by sitting on the very same pool.

Coming back to the show we see that not only does Bojack have issues, but so does the publishing company Penguin Publishing. This is the company that Bojack is supposed to be writing his memoirs for, that he never actually does. The company, run by penguins (high brow comedy there guys), has run into financial trouble after making a series of bad investments and lack of sales. Penguin Publishing is an obvious parody of the real world company that runs by the same name. This continues to drive the point that beneath the seemingly easy life of success and glamor, these are people with real problems as well.

We continue through Bojack's day meeting various members of the cast who bring up differing flaws and contrasts to Bojack. Todd Chavez, who is his free loading room mate, that acts only to fill up his empty time. We meet his ex girlfriend and agent Princess Carolyn who serves as another amusing dichotomy between Hollywood stardom and reality. Mr. Penutbutter, a golden retriever who has had the same life as Bojack, but is seemingly unaware of anything and must be stupid since he's happy as Bojack puts it. The final character we meet is Diane Nguyen, Mr. Penutbutter's girlfriend and Bojack's ghost writer, she serves as the outer person's view and somewhat naive to Hollywood's inner workings.

The show Bojack Horsemancis an adult cartoon comedy that follows the life of the once been sitcom star and titular character Bojack Horseman. I find the jokes to fall flat most of the time, and the comedy to hit the lowest common denominator. I do find myself wanting to watch more however. I have only watched one and a half episodes, and find myself eager to continue. I think it is do the the rather cynical and satirical nature of the show that makes Bojack Horseman an interesting character and show.