How I feel about Stranger Things

I feel like there was a lot of hype about Stranger Things (2016), the new Netflix show, so I wanted to know for myself why everyone was fah-reaking out about it. I watched the whole season (8 episodes) over the past couple weeks ...

I really, really wanted to like it. But I didn't.

Let me say that there were a lot of things I did like about the show. 1) The production design. It's set in the 80s, and I feel like the designers did a fantastic job. I wasn't alive in the 80s, but I do know good design when I see it, and I would give their design team an A. It's really nice and fun and nostalgic. 2) I liked the child actors. I thought the boys, especially Dustin, were quite good. I believed them. 3) I watched every episode and didn't quit, so that means that there was something drawing me in. Haven't quite put my finger on it ... Was it the 80s music?

I think the first issue I had with Stranger things is that it was eight hour-long episodes. It could have been a 90-minute film. I felt like the plot just wasn't actually that eventful and it was stretched out way longer than it should have been. Every episode had the same basic elements: "We have to find Will," Winona Ryder having a breakdown, one kid getting mad at another kid, some kind of encounter with a bully, the chief of police sneaking around, a flashback, and the climax when Eleven does something that gives her a bloody nose. I think each of those things happened a few too many times. Again, it would have made a pretty good movie if all of the plot points were condensed into an hour and a half.

I love Winona Ryder for real. She usually plays kind of a melancholy, or even deadbeat, character and that super works for her. Seeing her as a hysterical mom just wasn't quite what I wanted from her and it inched toward the annoying side. I also thought it was a shame that she had pretty much no character development. She starts out as a mess, and is pretty much a mess throughout.

I like the sci-fi genre in general, and I love thrillers. However, I think there is one brilliant thing about scary movies that Stranger Things did wrong (in my opinion). They revealed the monster too early. Part of what makes a scary movie scary is the unknown. We're scared when we don't actually know what we're afraid of. Think Jaws (1975). The actual shark isn't shown until at least halfway through the movie. It's the musical theme and the hints at the shark's presence that makes our hair stand on end. Stranger Things showed us the whole monster in the first or second episode. We know what we're up against very early on, and while it is a gruesome creature, the unknown element is gone.

I had a minor issue with Hopper, the police chief. It's unclear whether the writers wanted us to identify with him or not, or at least sympathize. They set him up as kind of this fallen hero. But he never actually redeems himself. He kind of sneaks around and I'm not sure if he's solving this mystery for himself, because it's his job, or because Joyce is his friend. Does he see Will as a proxy for his daughter and feels like he needs to save him because he couldn't save his daughter? I think that's what they were getting at, but they didn't get at that till the very last episode... I just had a hard time understanding the character's motives throughout. At the end, too, they make it look like he's made deal with the bad guys ... I just didn't get him. That could totally be my bad though.

Lucas, while such an adorable boy, was also flat. He flip flops between hating Eleven and being buddy buddy with the group, but there's just no explanation for it. Does Lucas have a family? What's his deal? I just found out today that SNL did a sketch about that which touched on my questions I had in my head about Lucas the whole season, and it's pretty hilarious. Watch here.

I also cringed a little bit when Steve swoops in and whacks the monster with a baseball bat when it should have been Jonathan. He gets this big heroic moment after being a huge jerk every episode. It could be argued that it's his turning point when he decides not to be terrible anymore, but it bummed me out.

I really don't like to criticize films because every piece of cinema was made by caring people who love what they do and just want to make stuff. These people actually made a thing that people are watching, and that is definitely worth something. Like I said, it wasn't bad, I just wish it had been a movie instead of eight hours of tv.

They set up the last episode so that they could make a second season, but to be honest I don't think I'll watch it if it has the same conflicts going on. It's called Stranger ThingS, which means they could explore a lot more strange things and monsters and people. It might even be cool if the second season had a completely different cast and characters and plot. Kind of like a Twilight Zone type of thing.

Please don't hate me.

Cooked (2016)

This is "things that are good to watch on Netflix" part ii.

Cooked (2016), created by Michael Pollan (and based on his book).

When Shae and I started watching this, within the first couple of minutes I said, "Wow this is super pretty." Not only is the cinematography, editing, coloring, design and location super duper nice, this documentary series is super informative and really causes you to reflect on food you eat and how much you think about it.

This isn't a documentary about how stuff is made necessarily, nor is it totally about nutrition and trying to convince everyone to go vegetarian. I think Michael Pollan is an anthropologist of sorts, and his documentary is really about humans, but he is looking at them through the lens of food. IT'S SO INTERESTING AND I'M READY TO WATCH IT AGAIN RIGHT NOW.

It's in four 1-hour segments. Each episode is centered around a different element: fire, water, air, and earth. So you can commit to watching the whole documentary because it is easy to split it up and just watch one episode when you can.

It was also super perfect for me and Shae to watch together because we are both super into documentaries and learning about the world.

5/5 would recommend for people that like docs, food, learning, pretty images, foreign countries, science, aka pretty much everyone.

Mona Lisa Smile (2003)

I said I wasn't going to be blogging about Netflix anymore ... but I think it's only fair to share with you some of its gems. When we surf Netflix for something to watch (which isn't super often right now because Shae is applying to dental school this week. yipee! ahh! teeth!), we will usually end up saying things like, "Wow this is a terrible selection" and just watch another episode of Parks and Rec. BUT I have found some great things on Netflix (like Broadchurch! Have you started it yet?), and I think I'll share of few of them here in case you're looking for something not lame to watch.

Mona Lisa Smile (2003) dir. Mike Newell (He made Harry Potter 4)

This is one of those film titles that I recognized, but was too young to actually enjoy or be interested in when it came out. I just watched it a couple months ago for the first time and I was really impressed. 

Julia Roberts plays a west coast, free-spirited art history professor and she moves to a preppy all-girls college in New England full of geniuses. She teaches them to not only memorize the art history text book from cover to cover, but to actually interpret meaning and how to understand abstract art, which is pretty progressive thinking for their school. The story also deals a lot with gender roles, expectations of the time (which I found still apply right now) and other feminist issues. 

It has a sweet female-dominated cast including Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kirsten Dunst, and Ginnifer Goodwyn, and I just loved all of them in it. Each of them has a compelling storyline regarding finding their role in society and what will make them happiest. Should I get married or go to grad school? etc.

It's set during the mid-20th century and is a cool take on perhaps hidden issues of that time, but I found that the themes were still really relevant today as well. It's really beautifully shot, has really smart, though provoking writing (especially in the art history classroom scenes), great performances, and will make you want to shout "Girlz rule and boyz drool!" Just kidding, but it is really lovely and empowering and I almost cried at the end when they're all on their bikes (just watch it and you'll see). AND it's on Netflix so have at it.

(For any moms reading this (idk?) I probably wouldn't show it to someone under 13 because it's got quite a bit of talk about sexual issues.)

5/5 would recommend to people who like art and women and Julia Roberts.

i'm sort of just depressing myself...

... because i keep looking up movies that come out post-july 24th.

like this one!!!!!

i just recently watched mary poppins again after i hadn't seen it for probably 10 years

and the domestic part of the story really struck me this time.
it's not just about a magic nanny and chimney sweeps.

and then a couple days later i find out saving mr banks is coming now and i'm like well yeah!

i think it looks super.

and the good news is it will still be here for me to watch in 18 months.

i'm back + leo

and i'm so excited to post a few pictures from my trip!

but first this:

of course the first thing i do when i get home is get my bum in a movie theatre seat.

f.scott writes such a beautiful tragedy.

this is one of my favorite books, and it was so exciting to see such a saweet adaptation.

i'm in love with leo's and joel's performances.

and the ART.

baz picks a good production designer. wow.
and that scene in the hotel room at the end.

and also this.

in love. heart palpitations. that is all.

top ten

it's a bold thing, picking your favorite movie.
i don't think i'll ever be able to settle on one,
and even my top ten is always subject to change.

but as of today, 28 March 2013, these are my top ten favorite movies (not in any order):

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

A Knight's Tale (2001)

Two For the Road (1967)

Little Fugitive (1953)

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Life in a Day (2011)

Hook (1991)

Big Fish (2003)

Warm Bodies (2013)
Annie Hall (1977)

warm bodies

my favorite thing of 2013 so far. 

funny without trying too hard, and legitimately sweet.

and a rockin soundtrack.

it's a good example of the type of film i'd super like to make.

it's really important that you all go see it immediately.

your cocoon and you

i've been MIA this week and here's why:

we're making our movie.

there's the director, directing the fabulous actors.

this script is awesome and hilarious. the crew is so fun. the production design is really wacky.

30 of my past 48 hours have been spent working on set.

needless to say, i look like i could be on the walking dead right now, 

but i love making movies!

stole this photo from jacy.

because my hands were too slimy to be taking photos....

dobby had to iron his hands

an update on the cocoon-building:

here's what my hands looked like on friday night after 7 hours of making the cocoon.

hot glue plus chicken wire are a deadly combo.

but the cocoon is coming along. this will be a fun movie.

if you want to see a trailer for a movie i helped on last semester, click here.

in other news, i wish i would have put some money on my oscars ballot, because my predictions were solid and i would be rich today.

"'i really delivered this year, so i'd like to thank myself!'--quentin tarantino" --jessie

movie questions

::i'm not a big movie person, but if i had a movie night, what would you recommend i watch?::

here are a few movies that i like, and that i think have a pretty wide appeal.
so if you aren't a big movie person, you'll probably still like some of these!

a knight's tale (2001)
ocean's 11 (2001)
you've got mail (1998)
fantastic mr. fox (2009)
dan in real life (2007)
500 days of summer (2009)
10 things i hate about you (1999)
the holiday (2006)

::what are your thoughts on argo (or ben affleck) being 'snubbed' by the oscars, and how much attention is it receiving from other awarders?::

so, Argo was nominated for the Best Picture academy award, but ben affleck was NOT nominated for the Best Director academy award, so a lot of people are saying he was 'snubbed.' personally, i think the film will actually win Best Picture (i'm not a soothsayer or an expert, but i think it's one of the most feasible nominees, and i thought it was excellent). do i think he should have been nominated for best director? yeah. but there were so many good directors nominated this year as well, and all of them deserve to be there. also, ben affleck won Best Director at the Golden Globes, and Argo won at the screen actors guild awards and the BAFTA awards, and probably more... those are just a different group of people than the academy, who run the oscars. 2012 was a really great year, and so it was probably really hard to pick nominees, and it will be really hard to narrow it down to a winner in each category.

i don't claim to be an authority on movies at all, because i'm just learning, and the people who are movie authorities are in hollywood and across the world making stuff, and are my professors and they teach me boatloads of new things every single day. but that aside, i have actually thought about writing on the blog about other movies i like. The mainstream ones, the less mainstream ones, ones that are a little off-beat, or that are a little older. or maybe setting up a page on my blog where i have a list of movies i recommend. i don't know. it could be fun.

the song/sountrack that's making me cry

i bet they'll play this at some point during the academy awards and i'll lose my mind.

golden globes

you all probably could have guessed i'm cray cray cray about awards shows.

happy about it all right now.

also, i'm cray cray cray about these couples.

once there was a hushpuppy

i watched a lot of things this break,
but only shortened my "to be watched" queue by a tiny bit.
all in good time, i guess.

i won't blog about all the good things,
but one of my favorite things i watched this break has to be beasts of the southern wild. it's a really affecting story, and it's BEAUTIFUL.

and quvenzhane wallis is going to be so cute at the academy awards when she's accepting that oscar!

sister winter

a million degrees and negative a million degrees.

unrelated: click on THIS to find out which wes anderson character you are. 

turns out i'm suzy from moonrise kingdom.

reasons why i wanted to be hallie parker in 1998

blue nails

side bangs

"get real"

bad-a poker skillz

she goes to the coolest summer camp of all time

cool camera that she could use to spy on people

house with swimming pool and awesome dog

rides horses

looks cool while camping

not afraid of picking up lizards

the way she wore her sunglasses on her head

the leo dicaprio picture

she was just the definition of "sooo coool" to me

hallie-wannabe-for-life

i'm making a film

it's called "a bug's life of pi."

jake and amir would approve.

life galactic

i had this brill idea:

and then conan did it behind my back three days later:

 

hilarity.

invisible goldfish

my big sister kylie lives directly across the street from me. 90 steps from her front door to mine. 

which is AWESOME. she's nice to have around.

we have made thursday nights into fun-sister-bonding-eating-justdancing-watchingmovies-nights.

yesterday was in-n-out, the october tradition: corpse bride, and frankenweenie.

guys. frankenweenie.

i command you to go see it. today. skip school. skip work. whatever. 

it was so good. just go watch it.

i went in expecting a pretty good halloween movie.

but it is a FANTASTIC all-the-time movie. well done, tim burton.

i will own frankenweenie the day it comes out. 

and i will probably be watching it and quoting it as much as i do fantastic mr. fox

(that's big, people).

freezeframe + a contest?

my favorite moment of the sherlock holmes 2 credits.

yep.

i'm thinking about holding a contest. one in which you guys send me funny robert downey jr things (reminiscent of this and this and this) (and brissa sent me a link to this, which was hilarious also)
and i give a prize to the sender of my favorite one.

if you run across a good rdj pic/gif/video/whatever, leave me a link in a comment box or email it to me (my email is in the "about" tab).

this is a completely random idea i just had. and maybe all of you will be too shy to send me anything.
all i know is i could use more rdj-related humor in my life. and you probably could too.

orange.

this is what i think of every single time i open something that came out of a vending machine.

and most things i get out of vending machines are, in fact, orange.

except for this little treasure, of course.

also, while we're talking about my college diet:
i'm legitimately afraid of getting scurvy.
some changes need to be made.