Slasher

For this week, I decided to write about a show that is slowly becoming near and dear to my heart. I don’t think I gave this show enough credit the last few weeks, even though I had been writing my genre paper all about it. The paper, after a while, was not necessarily something I had been taking seriously just because I honestly had no idea what I was doing. I was focusing on other assignments as well, so I only wrote about the pilot episode of my chosen show. That I consider to be one of my biggest mistakes about that paper. So, when I got home for break, I decided I needed something to binge if I was ever just sitting in my room. I thought, well, what about this one show that I hadn’t gotten the chance to before. In that, for this week’s blog, I decided to write a sort of update on my newest binge show, Slasher.

Now, I know I’ve stated before my love dystopian shows and things of that nature. In that, shows where everything is going wrong is sort of just a knock off dystopian, so I still enjoy it. I also just love the horror genre in general. Slasher has definitely been doing a great job at being a horror show, with all the gruesome moments I’ve witnessed and suspenseful scenes, especially when I as an audience member knows something that everyone else should know about too (such as the whereabouts of a lost girl). Also, for being an underrated Netflix Original, I think they’re doing a pretty good job at getting the audience hooked. I have been dying to know who “The Executioner” is every episode. Any time we seem to get clues about who it could possibly be, the show seems to give a reason why it’s not that person. More on The Executioner, the costume design for him is so well done that I’m always terrified every time we see him. I only refer to him as “him” because every time he’s spoken, it seems very low and raspy, and definitely more masculine. Maybe that’s a way to throw us off, but for now, it’s him. The Executioner is all dressed up, head to toe, in a black cloak and mask. He even wears black gloves to cover his hand, and though we haven’t seen a ton of close ups, it seems there’s also black makeup around his eyes so you can’t even see anything under the mask. I hate to say it, but the guy eerily looks like a KKK member with the way he’s dressed. However, that may be done on purpose. One of the biggest lead in the case to solving who the murderer is is that the police and Sarah, the protagonist, believe the murders are being carried out based on the seven deadly sins, with the killings replicating the biblical punishments for each sin. Supposedly, the killings are religion based. Going into these speculations more, or should I say, who’s speculating them, Sarah is still playing the amateur sleuth in the series. If anything, each of the genres picked for the show, horror and mystery, are simply being more solidified. We see all the gruesome murders play out, and get to feel the suspense of those preyed, but we also get an inside look at the investigations and speculations.

In all, I’m excited to continue the series, and hope to maybe even finish the second season by the end of next week. Of course, all wishful thinking, but it’s possible. As long as I’m not socializing too much. Anyway, back to binging it is!

American Vandal

    There's always a prankster at school that disrupt the learning process. Whether it's a school jock or someone that just enjoys the sensation of giving their teachers a difficult time. We see that same depiction of a student in American Vandal. While student, Dylan Maxwell is known for drawing obscene pictures at school, the recent vandal at school is not one of his doings.

   Dylan Maxwell is the type of student that nearly all of his teachers have trouble with. As stated in the show, he got sent to the office more than 10 times and constantly caused interruption in his classes. He's known for pranking his teachers by drawing obscene pictures on the whiteboard in class and pantsing strangers in the park. All these reasons led up to him being guilty before trial by the students and faculty members at Hanover High School.

   At the beginning of the episode, Dylan Maxwell was interviewed about the vandalism of 27 cars on the school parking lot. He was accused of the crime by his peers and faculty members with only his three friends and girlfriend defending him. Considering that they're his friends and assuming they'd be willing to lie for him, this prank is beyond him. Dylan and his friends claimed he was at Lucas’s house but his girlfriend had a different story. Dylan had a weird obsession with soft toilet seats and often leaves Lucas's house to go to Priceless Moments Antique store to use their restroom. Dylan told his friends that he was going there but really went to his girlfriend's house. He said that his friends would make fun of him if he told them he was going over there so he lied instead. Which doesn't help the story against him because the stories that were being told between his friends and girlfriend, are not consistent.

   There's also an honor student, Alex, plotting against him, claiming that he saw Dylan spray painting the cars. However, Alex is known for lying, specifically about a sexual encounter he had with a popular female named Sara on campus. How can we be so sure that he isn't lying about this situation as well? Either Alex has had it out for Dylan to begin with or he seen someone similar to Dylan spray painting the cars.

Continuing with the flaws of the case built against Dylan, the drawings were slightly different and were not pointed out by faculty or lawyers. The drawings that Dylan has drawn throughout his entire life, includes hair in every single drawing he has ever had. The drawings that were on the car, did not include a single strand of hair and were slightly neater than the drawings of Dylan's.

   Additionally, the camera footage was missing from the parking lot. Despite the fact that Dylan has access to the video footage, many people believed that Dylan was not intelligent enough to erase the footage from the video surveillance cameras. Dylan's pranks are typically amateur and he admits when he has committed a wrongdoing but not this timr. This prank was mapped out all too well whereas Dylan doesn't think about the prank he's doing. He doesn't plan for his pranks to happen, which is why he couldn't have vandalized the cars in the school parking lot.

   If there's a student that gives you a hard time and something suddenly happens to something personal of yours, stop and think, “Would this person be capable of doing such as thing?” Would they have even thought of anything like it? Even when the previous actions tell you they do it, think about who would really benefit from the troublesome student not being at school anymore. It may surprise you, it may very well be an honor student.

Secondhand Danger

Dear my friend who shall not be named,

This week I watched Travelers. That thing was freaky. It had the longest intro I think I have ever experienced of a pilot and I felt anxious and confused throughout it. It had a very thriller-esc mood or vibe to it. They kinda just throw the audience in the middle of it. We jump from one unpleasant situation centered around one character to an entirely different unpleasant situation with another character. This show uses a wide array of tools to influence the audience's experience. In the first scene, we see there is a blonde girl that seems the be the character of focus. She seems to be a grown woman. She is in a dim lit building. We subconsciously infer that it is closing time based on the conversation she has with another woman and the window that depicts a dark night and the ground wet from recent rain. We get a little short scene of her trying to read, telling us that she has some sort of mental handicap. Before a group of at four men start physically harassing her female co-worker as she watches and yells in horror. She starts banging on the glass yelling at them, but then seems a little disoriented when they turn their attention to her as her friend escapes. Like somehow she didn't realize that if she did that, it would call her to attention. She runs away from the big glass window after they throw a bottle of alcohol at it. Now, this is all just a play by play of the first sequence we see and I haven't even finished it. The sounds, the lighting, and camera angles make the audience feel as if we are there. We hear muffled screaming as her friend is attacked until it catches the main character’s attention, then the audience is suddenly outside of the building watching and hearing the assault first hand and then back inside as the main character responds. Which is pretty explanatory of my own personal discomfort watching the intro because the audience experiences four different scenarios with four different characters that are equally dangerous, but two of them are particularly frightening. The first is the one I began describing above which we will just summarize in short as Woman almost getting gang-raped and the second, we will just put in short as BabyDaddy under the influence smashes Young Mother’s head into the wall. Now the other two scenarios were just as dangerous but didn't have as much power to them. Now some might say that the reason the other two aren't as significant is because the main characters are guys and I disagree. The reason why the other two aren't as powerful is because the two characters are in danger by choice or at least more so than the other two. In the two scenarios where the main characters are guys, the first is a guy that looks to be getting his ass handed to him in an underground fighting ring and he chooses to ignore his friend urging him to stop and the other is a guy in a house or something with a friend sitting in chairs and injecting themselves with what I assume is heroin. Now I stopped watching not long after that, but I thought it was very interesting and frustrating how they put the audience in and make us feel scared, helpless, anxious, and confused. At least that was how I was feeling watching all these horrible situations play out and not being able to intervene. Whelp, that's all I've got for this one. I could probably talk a ton more about this show, but considering how it's not my favorite I think I'll end it here.

Till next time,

happylittlepenguin

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?

On the OA

After being recommended by multiple people to watch The OA I have finally given in and watched the premier episode. After finishing the episode I can definitely say the the story writers have done a fantastic job of opening up questions about the characters like OA and Steve, as well as to build up these characters without giving too many details.

The Keepers

Okay, guys, I just watched the first episode of this show called The Keepers. Initially I chose it because of the odd cover art they chose-- a simple black and white head shot of a nun with the face peeled and under it a white space with the name of the show. At first I was like wait, what? Keepers of what? Our sins? Is that even what nuns do? Is it about keeping secrets? Is it one of those religion-gone-rogue kind of deals? After about the third question I was like okay I'm done scrolling, I have to find out what the heck is going on with this show.

If you're somebody who is still intrigued and a little stressed about the Kurt Cobain death, you generally enjoy watching killers get caught (or at least the process because *spoiler* you don't find out exactly who did it in the first episode), or you think watching badass grandmas try and figure out who killed their favorite teacher from the 60's is slightly interesting, you should check out the show. I, myself, am one of those people I described up there that loves murder mysteries; I can really get into a good James Patterson and Taken movie. This show is not only interesting because it's from an odd perspective, but it's about a person that you don't always expect to be in the headlines in a 45+ year open case... in other words, it's cool.

In class the other day we watched that CineFix video about the camera angles and what they said about the low angle vs. high angle stuck out to me particularly in the opening part of the episode. It starts out at a low angle of this old guy in an ancient looking grey sweatshirt heading up some creaky and creepy stairs into some sort of attic. Following that, there were various types of zoom that looked like the camera was coming from the point of view of someone who snuck up there and was trying to video him for evidence. That whole combo got my brain on hyperdrive like oh shit this is the killer, we're totally seeing a reenactment of the killing or something. The next shot was an interview-like frame and his name popped up and also his job title... He was the lead journalist... Turns out I was just super excited/paranoid/nervous. Oops.

Anywho, as the episode continues I became less and less focused on the editing and style of the piece (AKA essentially what we're supposed to be doing for the class) and before I knew it I was fully into trying to find out what on Earth happened to Sister Catherine. That being said, I recognized some amateur-looking shots and techniques in the beginning (like the odd zoom and misleading point of view) but as the show went on it either transitioned into something really professional or I was too into the show to pay attention to the effects, or perhaps both. Who knows, that's kind of cool too if they did shift into more professional shots because it might have been their goal to make you pay attention and blend the effects into the back of your mind. It's a must see and I will be watching the rest of it (and hopefully paying more attention to the techniques) so let me know your thoughts if you decide to give it a try!

Another mystery: The OA

What really caught my attention, besides the fact that I really liked this show, were the time jumps being made at the end of the first episode and the mystery that surrounds this storyline. I don’t want to give anything away in case anyone decides to start watching The OA. What I can tell you is: one, the time jumps are needed to dispose of some of the mystery and two, it makes the scenes more impactive. Without those scenes, you would be left hanging, which you still partially are (but it is a good hanging), and the impact of the storyline they are pulling you into would be partially lost.

You start this journey in the middle of the story. The result is suspense from the beginning, as you have no idea what is happening next, or what HAS happened before in the timeline, which not only pulls you in, but leaves you on the edge of your seat. You get more information little by little, but those scenes at the end are there to connect the information together.

The time lapses specifically pertain to the backstory of the main character who remains a mystery while the people around her are starting to open up. In this timeline you specifically find out more information about her relationship with her parents, and find out how she became impaired. Sorry, for the spoiler but you find that out pretty early.

Another thing to pay attention to is the effect the time lapses have on the other characters. Watching the flashbacks and the ‘real time’ characters reactions shows just how skeptical they are of the main character and whether they can truly trust her. The characters are already having issues with how they feel about our protagonist because she doesn’t have the clearest path, and what is happening seems very var fetched. This skepticism has already played a part in the actions of the characters and I expect this skepticism will show later in the show as well.

At this point in the show I have realized that my feelings have been directly affected by the mystery surrounding the show. To only add on to the mixture of feelings I had these scenes are continuing to pull at my heartstrings. My feelings are being intensified by the minute strictly because once you see something in the flashback, you are then thrust into the present when all you want is to find out what happened next to our mysterious protagonist. The desperation to continue this elaborate back story is real, and I will admit I had a hard time not fast forwarding to ease my burden.

When the end of the episode approached, I found that I didn’t want it to. Not only because I still have so many questions, but also because lately I cannot find a show or movie that captures my interest the entire time, and The OA is one of the best I have found that keep my attention and interest. So, if my analysis of The OA hasn’t convinced you to watch it, which I understand if it hasn’t, let me tell you that I am very hard to please apparently and between this show and Hemlock Grove (which I wrote about last week) I have found enough mysteries to last me a while. This will be added to the list of shows that I will have to try to find the time to watch but I will definitely be back to it, and the time lapses that have pulled me in deep.

Death Note the Movie Vs Death Note the Anime

Death Note is a popular anime series on Netflix, in which I enjoyed and absolutely loved watching. Recently, there's been an uproar about the new American version that has reached Netflix and I decided to watch it. I must say, I am not satisfied with the movie version at all. While there may be a few things that were executed fairly well within the movie, the overall theme of the movie did not compare to the anime in any way.

One of the many things that the American version failed to incorporate was an enormous amount of Japanese characters. The characters chosen to be played in this movie were mostly American and did not give the movie a cultural vibe. The producer, Roy Lee claimed there was an extensive search for Asian actors but none spoke "perfect English" and the characters had been rewritten. Actor Masi Oka, also explains that being Asian-American doesn't mean you should get the role but the actor has to be good, talented, and actually fit the role of the director. While Masi Oka does make valid points, the movie as a consequence lacked diversity and a Japanese cultural atmosphere without Asian actors.

Another failure of the movie is that the story line progressed too quickly. The movie instantly begins with the death note falling out of the sky without the main character being introduced to the audience first. Within the first few minutes of the movie, a death occured before the rules of the Death Note were explained whereas in the anime, special scenes were panned out. The anime gave the audience time to understand how the book was used, while the movie continuously throws action at you the entire time. For instance, the character L, who is helping with the investigation of Kira, suspects the detectives son, Light, to be the killer. L then goes after him most of the movie without evidence. There is a fued between both Light and L in the movie, however, the anime has the two working closely together. The character L in the anime suspects Light as well but he did not physically attack him every opportunity he had because L was aware he needed more edvidence to prove his claim.

The characters in the movie are completely different than those in the anime. Light in the anime was in the top of his class and so was L. They were both very intelligent people, almost identical if it wasn't for L's peculiar traits. For example, L sits oddly in a chair and eats an excessive amount of candy, which was depicted in the show. However, the cleverness and critical thinking that both L and Light used during the anime was not present in the movie. Both characters in the movie acted reckless and did not portray the characters in the anime whatsoever.

On the contrary, the music selection used in the movie was outstanding. For example, the song "Take my Breath Away" plays when Light in the movie discovers that Mia, Light's girlfriend, wrote his name in the Death Note, meaning he would die. The song title speaks for itself, but changes when Mia continues to say that she plans to burn his page so he would live. Continuing with their love fest, "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" plays when both Mia and Light are dangling from a ferris wheel. Finally, Mia slips away and so does Light. For that reason, the song was great because it displayed how Light was willing to die along with Mia.

The movie had ideal music selections but besides that, it was completely different than the anime. The anime was more complex and followed a more specific and detailed story line, therefore, in my opinion, made it the better version of the two.

Hemlock Grove

When searching for a Netflix Original to watch for this blog entry, I started to watch a couple of things that looked interesting, and after several hits and misses I ended up on Hemlock Grove. While I had heard good things about this show I was interested to know if the rumors of how good this show was were true, and I was not disappointed! What struck me as I was watching multiple episodes of this show was that I was glad this came around in a time where special effects seem to be at their peak, and only getting better. One scene in particular stands out to me, and if you have ever seen, at the least, season one of Hemlock Grove you can probably guess which scene I’m talking about.

While the special effects were not used for a lengthy period, they were used over a fairly large area and were quite extensive. The question then becomes were the special effects appropriate for that particular scene? In my opinion, yes they were appropriate. The special effects propelled the storyline further and only increased the intensity of the already mind boggling situation. While you seem to be questioning everything you know about this show and what could be happening next, they throw one more thing into the mix that only makes you want to keep watching to solve the mystery that is Hemlock Grove.

The storyline plants doubts in the audience's’ minds and makes them think about what they truly want from this t.v. show. The intimacy that is fostered in this scene between two teenage males that barely know each other, the secret they are both now forced to keep, and the possibly severe implications that could stem from this scene are carried through the next couple of episodes; the trial that seems to be happening on one side of the point of views keeps you on the edge of your seat doing the only thing you can do… hope things go your way and wait to find out in the next episode. (Although that wait isn’t more than thirty seconds most of the time, it is agonizing!)

Beyond the fact that the storyline greatly benefits from the this scene in particular, it also make the actually storytelling more effective. This added scene gives you a feel for the character and what they are going through, along with the simultaneous sense of security that the scene gives to the budding friendship between the two main characters, and the sense that nothing is ever as it seems. Watching this slightly cringe-worthy scene, makes the audience feel sympathy and stirs the want to know that everything will turn out the way they want it to. This scene while mildly unrealistic to the logically sound of mind, gives you an accurate feel for what this scene might  possibly be like in real life. Is it entirely realistic and accurate? Who knows, I certainly don’t, but if this were to happen this is how I would expect for it to go. The fact that it seemed agonizing, and terrifying is enough for me to expect that no matter what other movies and t.v. show portrayed this scene as, this is definitely the one I could see happening the most in my everyday life.

So final decision time: will I be watching this again? You bet I will! I foresee this becoming one of my many netflix staples that I come back around to when I have finished a series or all the available episodes on Netflix. We all have our staples that pass the time between new series, and are always a pleasure to rewatch, and I am happy to say that Hemlock Grove, if it goes the way I’m hoping it does or even if it doesn’t, has proudly made its way into my list of many other classic rewatch shows. Criminal Minds, CSI (all of them), Supernatural, 30 Rock, The Office, and many others have to make room for one more… Hemlock Grove.