Details: Released in 2017. Directed and written by Jordan Peele. Stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford. About an hour and forty-four minutes long.
According to imdb.com, this film is officially a film of the horror, mystery, and thriller genres. But what I think makes this film so unique is that it is also very much a dark comedy on race relations in America, specifically between blacks and whites who do not perceive themselves as racist. It is that comedic aspect that takes this film and raises it above most other thrillers in recent memory.
Details: Also known as Kino no Tabi -the Beautiful World-. Aired in 2017. Twelve episodes with each episode a little over twenty minutes long.
Kino’s Journey can be considered a second season or a remake of the similarly named anime that was released in 2003. A few of the episodes are remakes/upgrades to episodes in the prior anime series. Personally, this never bothered me because I’ve mostly forgotten everything from the prior anime series since I watched it so long ago. For me, this newly released series of Kino’s Journey is an interesting, tense adventure that often times dips into the horror, fantasy, and science fiction genres.
Details: Released in 2017. I got through Steam for the price of free. I beat it in about three hours.
The very first thing you see when you open up this game is a warning: “This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.” This warning was kind of an understatement.
I learned of Doki Doki Literature Club by seeing it mentioned repeatedly on gaming news sites. I even saw it get a nomination for best PC game of the year somewhere. While I think that PC game of the year is a bit much, I do give the game credit for what it tries to achieve. However, regardless of this game’s somewhat unique story, this is still a visual novel. If you hate the idea of reading through mountains of text while staring at static images, this game is not for you. If you can tolerate the idea, then what you’ll find is a visual novel with a shockingly unpredictable plot.
Details: This is a review for season 2 of the show Stranger Things. Released on Netflix in 2017. There are nine episode with each episode at around forty-five minutes to an hour-long.
If I were to summarize Stranger Things 2 into a single phrase, it would be “nostalgia porn.” Stranger Things 2 doubles down on the nostalgia for the 1980’s and almost forces the viewer to partake in the music, style, and pop culture of the 1980’s. If you’re a fan of that decade, then you will likely enjoy Stranger Things 2. If you did not… then Stranger Things may come off as derivative and uninspired. For me, Stranger Things 2 dances the line between homage to the 1980’s and an uninspired, unoriginal mishmash of 1980’s pop culture.
Details: Season two aired in 2017. Twelve episodes this season.
“Eren.”
The first season of Attack on Titans was one of the most popular, successful anime’s in recent memory. Season two succeeds in continuing the hype, the horror, and the violent gratification that started in season one. No spoilers as usual.
Details: Aired on the CW. Twenty-three episodes this season with each episode at around an hour-long, commercials included.
While not the longest running show ever, Supernatural has been on T.V. a long time. We’ve now entered the twelfth season and I think the formula of this show is well established. I like the sameness and knowing the plot beats I can expect to see, except in slightly different forms. I like this show the way it is and I do not want it to change.
Details: Released in 1992. About an hour and twenty minutes long. Directed by Sam Raimi. Stars Bruce Campbell.
Army of Darkness is the third film in the Evil Dead franchise. It is undoubtedly a B movie and deliberately so. This is campy, sort of horror with shitty effects and mostly comedic in the delivery of most lines.
Details: Released on Netflix in 2016. Eight episodes in total with each episode about an hour-long. Stars a bunch of kids. The most recognizable adult actor is Winona Ryder.
After the overwhelming barrage of positive reactions to the Stranger Things show, I finally decided to give it a watch. It was okay.
The premise is this: a kid disappears in a small town in 1980’s America. The kid’s friends and family try to find him and discover a supernatural horror is responsible.
This is a horror story, through and through. I enjoyed the interplay between the kids and it really reminded me of Spielberg’s use of nostalgia in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The majority of the series did not go in that direction though. I should confess that I am biased against the majority of horror movies and shows. Jump scares are cheap cinematic devices and show a lack of creativity in my opinion. Furthermore, when I see characters making obviously stupid decisions, the fourth wall just falls apart for me and I get yanked out of the experience. I deal with enough meaningless stupid in real life. Watching this kind of stupid in a work of fiction just makes me want to turn off the television, or in this case, my computer.
The performances were all pretty good. The kids were great. However, it’s hard for me to enjoy the performances of children because it always reminds me of the innumerable number of children whose lives were messed up by Hollywood. Show business often times fucks kids up. The kids still did a great job. Maybe they’ll grow up all right.
Of the adult actors, Winona Ryder stands out, not because she was particularly good, but because her performance was memorably hysterical. She reminded me of Claire Danes in Homeland in her portrayal of constant, hysterical craziness. Actually, she reminded me even more of Anne Hathaway’s portrayal of Claire Danes in Homeland when Hathaway was on Saturday Night Live. What I’m trying to say is Ryder was unconvincingly crazy to an almost comedic degree.
Overall, it was just okay. The show attempts a lot of things that mostly fell flat for me. I’m unsure if my reaction to this show is my own bias against horror or the show’s own failings. Either way, my reaction to the show is mostly one of indifference.
So damn happy about the new persona game. Loved the hell out of persona 4. In commemoration of this event, I will go and play persona 3 FES for the ps2. Never played it before and I’m happy to be able to righ NAO!
Muse Bank 