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.

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.