In September I wound up going to see only one movie, and I was surprised that I did, and even more surprised at how much I loved it -- IT. My brother who loves horror movies and my friend who I obsess over Stranger Things with (ST and IT have similar feels, parallel plot elements, and share an actor) helped me overcome my fear and dive into this quite disturbing, but ultimately incredibly rewarding film. It is very similar to Stranger Things as I mentioned, seemingly taking inspiration from the TV show just as the TV took inspiration from it. Read my review of IT here.
This month, there's a few things to keep an eye on, but the only current must-watches for me are down at the bottom -- TV shows! Stranger Things makes it's long-awaited return this month, and also another scifi show of a very different kind: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (review), which was the only other thing I managed to review this past month.
What are you looking forward to seeing this October? Let me know in the comments!
Blade Runner 2049
Oct 6th; R
It's got a visually magnificent trailer and early reviews are leaning almost completely positive, but due to the hardness of the R-rating I probably won't see this one until it releases on DVD. I love the scifi/noir genre more than anything, and that was my favorite thing about the original Blade Runner, so the style appeals to me a lot, but I'm not big on it continuing the story of Deckard. Maybe it turns out fine and I have no problem with it, maybe not. I would be completely on board if it were set in the same universe without referring to old characters, but if the risk of including them pays off, it might turn out better than it could have otherwise. At this point the only question is how good it'll be!
The Mountain Between Us
Oct 6th; PG-13
I'm sure that the talents of Idris Elba and Kate Winslet lend this movie a set amount of entertainment and quality that can't be undone, but otherwise this is the kind of plot that stresses me out more than it entertains me. It's the sort of movie I wouldn't even consider seeing in theaters, but would happily watch at home on a lazy afternoon. I just hope the dog gets a good death scene...
(BTW, if the potentially romantic strangers team up isn't appealing to you but the "survival on a snowy mountain" plot is, you could always see Walking Out which features a father and son in a similar situation, or 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain, with a lone snowboarder. Yep, there's three of these movies this month!)
The Osiris Child
Oct 6th(limited); NR
This month on neat-looking small-time sci-fi! This one was made in Australia, and has a western feel on the side as a result. The effects look great and the world looks real and gritty. Who knows how the plot will turn out as it's pretty typical on the surface. It could succumb to the typicalness or it could manage to be more on the classic, never-gets-old side. I'd definitely like to find out, but who knows when that will happen.
Happy Death Day
Oct 13th; PG-13
Not exactly my cup of tea -- this is a prime example of the type of horror movie that I don't care for. This one has one gimmick to make it more interesting though: the Groundhog Day effect! To my knowledge it's never been used for a horror movie before, (Supernatural did it, but that's a TV show) so that's pretty original. Otherwise the movie looks maybe even worse than similar movies of the genre. I am a bit curious though, because I have a guess as to who the killer is already. If I'm right it'll be a terrible movie, but worth seeing anyway for the satisfaction. And if I'm wrong, then maybe it would be decent. Maybe.
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Oct 13th; PG
But but but, why Goodbye Christopher Robin? Make me think the little kid is going to die or something. This movie looks super sweet and I don't want that to happen. Domhnall Gleeson and sweet dramas are a perfect combination; I'd probably want to watch this even if it didn't also throwback to my childhood with Winnie the Pooh. Margot Robbie is the wife which is neat because she was the girl who turned him down in About Time. And Kelly Macdonald who's great at everything she does.
Geostorm
Oct 20th; PG-13
Geostorm! Yay! I'm so excited for this movie! BECAUSE THEN I WON'T HAVE TO WATCH THAT INCREDIBLY IRRITATING TRAILER ANYMORE. I'm probably going to end up watching it when it come to DVD, because my brother is obsessed with terrible disaster films, and this one is the most disaster-y of them all. I'm sure it was be both awful and a very enjoyable watch. It's got a classic top-tier doomed movie cast: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Andy Garcia, and Ed Harris (impressively). Also Jeremy Ray Taylor, who was Ben in IT last month, but it looks like a small part so hopefully he'll be able to get past it.
The Snowman
Oct 20th; R
HAHAHAHAHAhaha. Haha. Ha. Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, J.K. Simmons. Sounds nice, but then you get this plot. I seriously don't get this. This is dime-a-dozen serial killer story line, except it looks like it's just embracing all the cliches of the genre instead of trying to subvert them with originally. And we're still supposed to take it seriously? Whatever, this isn't the kind of thing I'd be interested in in any form.
The Gifted
Oct 2nd; FOX
I doubt I'll love it as much as I did Legion, but The Gifted looks so much like Legion made for teens that I get the feeling it'll be at least worth watching. Yeah, it's probably going to have lots of teenager-angst drama, but it looks like a decent production, and even in the trailer the characters are set up to be interesting. Also the length of six episodes is promising -- promising that they won't be draining the life out of the story, but giving us a concise story line that hopefully more or less wraps up at the end, whether a second season is done or not. Actually looking to checking this out.
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Oct 14th; BBC America (season 2)
I just discovered this show, and with perfect timing to be ready for the second season! This show is like what would happen if The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Doctor Who were merged, but confined to Earth, and features a "detective" who follows fate around to solves cases. Everything's connected, nothing's a coincidence, and it's 50% goofy and hilarious, 25% neatly dramatic, 20% mind-blowing, and 5% awkward. I love it. And I'm excited to see the next wacky adventure!
Stranger Things
Oct 27th; Netflix (season 2)
I haven't watched any trailers for this second season, and I don't think I will. I went into season 1 completely unaware and unprepared, and, I think I'm still reeling from it. Recreating the season 1 experience is probably impossible, but I'm just going for knowing the least amount of spoilers that's reasonably possible. This is hands down my most anticipated entertainment event of the month, and if all goes as planned, it will be launched up the the level of Baby Driver and Dunkirk as the best of the year. I'm terrified that this season won't live up to the first, but only because I love it and am so invested in it's success and the standards are so high -- not because there's any kind of evidence that it won't be absolutely magnificent. I. Can't. Wait!
Showing posts with label Elijah Wood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elijah Wood. Show all posts
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Friday, September 29, 2017
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Season 1
Spoiler free!
I haven't even finished watching season one at this moment, but I'm eager to describe this show because it's not what you might expect. It's not at all what I expected, and if I had expected what I got, I would have watched it a long time ago.
First of all, forget the title, because Dirk Gently is not a detective show. Yes, there is a character who describes himself as and aspires to be a detective, and yes, there is an element of mystery, but it's decidedly not that kind of a detective show. What you need to know is that it's based on books by Douglas Adams. If you know who that is you're a huge step closer to understand what the show is about. If not: he wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Now we're all on the same page. *glances up at my page banner*
Another thing I wasn't expecting was something I love to see happen with TV shows, and doesn't happen enough in my opinion: that the plot runs its course neatly over the whole season instead of being blocked off into episodic adventures that only loosely connect. It's basically an 8-hour movie, utilizing one of the best unique aspects television has going for it today. The new frontier for television! I assume there will be a definite end, but as I said I'm two episodes from finding out. If I'm wrong I'll come back and correct myself. (I was right, it wraps up cleanly. And then it gives a cliffhanger for the next season! Sneaky.)
I've never read Adams' Dirk Gently books, so I can't say as to how accurate this is to them, but the tone is in the right place. Maybe a bit modernized. And even though only one character is British, it has a British feel overall, (and it comes on BBCAmerica) with the same kind of wacky British comedy that comes out of nowhere that everyone loves about Hitchhiker's Guide. It's the kind of comedy where the punch line is so unexpected that you are compelled to repeat it in a high-pitched voice before you laugh -- or more accurately, guffaw -- at it. Also, I found, a lot of short bursts of shriek-laughter. I call it as I see it guys.
Probably the main reason I never gave the show a second glance until now (until my dad convinced me to give it a go -- thanks Dad!) is because it has Elijah Wood in it -- as the main character no less. And no, he isn't Dirk Gently. Dirk is the title character but arguably not the main character. I have a history of not particularly caring for Elijah Wood. His being in things has always tended toward being a negative rather than a positive. But he's in this, and it took about to episode 4 for me to admit to myself that he belongs in the role, and he handles both the comedy and the drama well, and is enjoyable, and after all not terribly like Frodo Baggins.
I keep wanting to call him Arthur because he comes across so similar to Arthur Dent, being all disbelieving and on the verge of mental collapse at every moment, yet still manages to be entertainingly casual about it all at the same time. But no, his name is... hang on... Todd! Yes, it's Todd. But no, in my head it's still Arthur. Dirk's name is easy enough to remember, and I have no baggage with the actor, Samuel Barnett, who I've only seen make appearances on British crime shows. He takes a minute to get used to since the character is super strange and campy and happy and we don't get to see his more human side immediately, but he grows on you eventually and reminds a little of Matt Smith's early days as The Doctor.
If the show where just those two doing their shenanigans I'd be happy, but it's not, and if it was, I wouldn't know what I was missing. (Much like I didn't know what I was missing before I watched the show!) Because the side and supporting characters are all such gems, and there's so many of them! There's a sister (Hannah Marks), and an awesome bodyguard lady (Jade Eshete). Then there's two cops spoofing crime dramas, a crazy woman hanging out with a random guy she kidnapped, shady military agents (one of which is hilariously dumb), four crazy dudes who go by "The Rowdy 3," and a whole lot of super strange and sinister people (led brilliantly by Aaron Douglas) and they all run around in their own plot lines as the plots lines wind together in ways that only a show of this particular brand of meta could handle so humorously.
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency fills a hole in my entertainment soul that has been vacant for a while, since Doctor Who decided to be terrible. A pure-bred kind of sci-fi comedy that cranks up the enjoyment levels and is worth geeking out over. At least, I'm pretty sure. I have two episodes to go still, so I'll let you know when I'm done: Yep, geek away -- this one's a keeper!
Season 2 is coming in October!
I haven't even finished watching season one at this moment, but I'm eager to describe this show because it's not what you might expect. It's not at all what I expected, and if I had expected what I got, I would have watched it a long time ago.
 |
| Well -- not a long time ago, since it only first aired in 2016, but you get the drift. |
First of all, forget the title, because Dirk Gently is not a detective show. Yes, there is a character who describes himself as and aspires to be a detective, and yes, there is an element of mystery, but it's decidedly not that kind of a detective show. What you need to know is that it's based on books by Douglas Adams. If you know who that is you're a huge step closer to understand what the show is about. If not: he wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Now we're all on the same page. *glances up at my page banner*
Another thing I wasn't expecting was something I love to see happen with TV shows, and doesn't happen enough in my opinion: that the plot runs its course neatly over the whole season instead of being blocked off into episodic adventures that only loosely connect. It's basically an 8-hour movie, utilizing one of the best unique aspects television has going for it today. The new frontier for television! I assume there will be a definite end, but as I said I'm two episodes from finding out. If I'm wrong I'll come back and correct myself. (I was right, it wraps up cleanly. And then it gives a cliffhanger for the next season! Sneaky.)
 |
| Kitten! |
I've never read Adams' Dirk Gently books, so I can't say as to how accurate this is to them, but the tone is in the right place. Maybe a bit modernized. And even though only one character is British, it has a British feel overall, (and it comes on BBCAmerica) with the same kind of wacky British comedy that comes out of nowhere that everyone loves about Hitchhiker's Guide. It's the kind of comedy where the punch line is so unexpected that you are compelled to repeat it in a high-pitched voice before you laugh -- or more accurately, guffaw -- at it. Also, I found, a lot of short bursts of shriek-laughter. I call it as I see it guys.
Probably the main reason I never gave the show a second glance until now (until my dad convinced me to give it a go -- thanks Dad!) is because it has Elijah Wood in it -- as the main character no less. And no, he isn't Dirk Gently. Dirk is the title character but arguably not the main character. I have a history of not particularly caring for Elijah Wood. His being in things has always tended toward being a negative rather than a positive. But he's in this, and it took about to episode 4 for me to admit to myself that he belongs in the role, and he handles both the comedy and the drama well, and is enjoyable, and after all not terribly like Frodo Baggins.
 |
| I don't like to say I dislike Frodo. He's the lead character in my all-time favorite films after all. I'm just too familiar with his face. Here, the fur coat helps. |
I keep wanting to call him Arthur because he comes across so similar to Arthur Dent, being all disbelieving and on the verge of mental collapse at every moment, yet still manages to be entertainingly casual about it all at the same time. But no, his name is... hang on... Todd! Yes, it's Todd. But no, in my head it's still Arthur. Dirk's name is easy enough to remember, and I have no baggage with the actor, Samuel Barnett, who I've only seen make appearances on British crime shows. He takes a minute to get used to since the character is super strange and campy and happy and we don't get to see his more human side immediately, but he grows on you eventually and reminds a little of Matt Smith's early days as The Doctor.
If the show where just those two doing their shenanigans I'd be happy, but it's not, and if it was, I wouldn't know what I was missing. (Much like I didn't know what I was missing before I watched the show!) Because the side and supporting characters are all such gems, and there's so many of them! There's a sister (Hannah Marks), and an awesome bodyguard lady (Jade Eshete). Then there's two cops spoofing crime dramas, a crazy woman hanging out with a random guy she kidnapped, shady military agents (one of which is hilariously dumb), four crazy dudes who go by "The Rowdy 3," and a whole lot of super strange and sinister people (led brilliantly by Aaron Douglas) and they all run around in their own plot lines as the plots lines wind together in ways that only a show of this particular brand of meta could handle so humorously.
 |
| This is the awesome bodyguard lady. I love her so much. |
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency fills a hole in my entertainment soul that has been vacant for a while, since Doctor Who decided to be terrible. A pure-bred kind of sci-fi comedy that cranks up the enjoyment levels and is worth geeking out over. At least, I'm pretty sure. I have two episodes to go still, so I'll let you know when I'm done: Yep, geek away -- this one's a keeper!
Season 2 is coming in October!
Friday, January 22, 2016
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
This review is Spoiler-free.
Melancholy, loner boy meets dazzling, free-spirit girl in this strange, strangely poignant science fiction romance, that cinematically encapsulates the old adage, "it's better to have loved and lost than to ever have loved at all" in a whole new way. Penned by Charlie Kaufman and starring an unexpectedly bright line-up of supporting stars -- Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst, and Tom Wilkinson -- but most importantly as it's two leads, the classy and elegant Brit Kate Winslet as the crazy and confident American girl with no filter, and the king of wacky, goofball comedy himself, Jim Carrey, as the reserved nice guy who falls for her.
I absolutely adore Jim Carrey in dramatic roles. They never seem to waste his comic abilities or extremely expressive facial expressions, yet, they always have a truly great, deep and emotional performance attached to them. In this film I particularly liked how strongly you could sense Joel's head-over-heels fall for Clementine. His introverted, insecure character is very easy to relate to, and is fantastically melancholy, but we also are cleverly shown us the humor of his character and situation as well. He internalizes a lot, but we get to know him immediately through narration.
Kate Winslet is a delight. Her character of Clementine was perfect for her, not that you would ever expect it to be, and I was tickled pink (and blue and orange) to watch her completely own such a neat, wild character. She's not quite as much against type as Carrey, as she has quite the knack for passionate characters, but Clementine still breaks the mold in other ways. She has a certain quality of looseness, and casualness, but mostly, she's loud -- in a sometimes brazen way, but more often quite dazzling and alluring, and Winslet was the perfect choice to hit that exact balance -- if not the only person who even could.
I was surprised to see so many familiar faces in the supporting roles, and even more surprised at how important they all were to the plot. None of them needed to be very likable and I enjoyed being allowed to dislike Kirsten Dunst, but the biggest surprise came when I found that I really liked her character by the end. Elijah Wood seems quite suited to being a brainless kid, Mark Ruffalo was super weird in a weirdly not-obvious way, and of course Tom Wilkinson was great, as he always is.
I'm keeping things very spoiler-free here because I enjoyed not knowing anything going in, but after twenty minutes of straight-up romance, things get very sci-fi very fast. And then they stay there. I enjoyed the plot all-around, but found the extreme way the sci-fi was portrayed to be slightly overwhelming, and a little more slightly distracting. It seemed like too much time was spent bouncing around and being strange and trippy and not quite enough was spent in the more deeply mellow style of the first twenty minutes. Not to say I think it was wrong one way and right the other, but I did prefer and enjoy the one way that less time was spent on more.
The science fiction element allowed for a few intriguing questions to be posed, and then for a nice change from the typical sci-fi mantra, answers are given. Certainly the movie does have plenty of interesting tidbits and details that one could meditate on, but from my perspective, the film's main theme was quite central and very important. It felt like the movie's sole existence was meant to make that point, and it was a point made very well -- and it was a good point to make. After thinking about it, I want to take it a little deeper than the film did, but the mere fact that it made me consider what I thought is enough to clue me in to how much I liked it. This is why I love science fiction.
Eventually I got my wish of more unencumbered time with the protagonists when the film's closing section reverts back to the smoother tone of the beginning and gives us that wonderfully simple, earnest ending that is satisfyingly both artistic and romantic. Some of the middle I found unnecessary, and I'll always prefer the more reality-based moments of nuanced performances to other things the film offers, but wrapped up as a whole, the result has a unique and off-kilter charm that cannot be denied. Enhanced simply by the existence of science fiction element, Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet shine with spectacularly entertaining chemistry, and deftly portray the movie's thoughtful drama about relationships, and love and loss, and the supposed idea of the eternal sunshine of the spotless mind.
Melancholy, loner boy meets dazzling, free-spirit girl in this strange, strangely poignant science fiction romance, that cinematically encapsulates the old adage, "it's better to have loved and lost than to ever have loved at all" in a whole new way. Penned by Charlie Kaufman and starring an unexpectedly bright line-up of supporting stars -- Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst, and Tom Wilkinson -- but most importantly as it's two leads, the classy and elegant Brit Kate Winslet as the crazy and confident American girl with no filter, and the king of wacky, goofball comedy himself, Jim Carrey, as the reserved nice guy who falls for her.
 |
| Both play against type, and it's a big part of the movie's brilliance. |
I absolutely adore Jim Carrey in dramatic roles. They never seem to waste his comic abilities or extremely expressive facial expressions, yet, they always have a truly great, deep and emotional performance attached to them. In this film I particularly liked how strongly you could sense Joel's head-over-heels fall for Clementine. His introverted, insecure character is very easy to relate to, and is fantastically melancholy, but we also are cleverly shown us the humor of his character and situation as well. He internalizes a lot, but we get to know him immediately through narration.
Kate Winslet is a delight. Her character of Clementine was perfect for her, not that you would ever expect it to be, and I was tickled pink (and blue and orange) to watch her completely own such a neat, wild character. She's not quite as much against type as Carrey, as she has quite the knack for passionate characters, but Clementine still breaks the mold in other ways. She has a certain quality of looseness, and casualness, but mostly, she's loud -- in a sometimes brazen way, but more often quite dazzling and alluring, and Winslet was the perfect choice to hit that exact balance -- if not the only person who even could.
 |
| Top two things I love about this movie: Pictured. |
I was surprised to see so many familiar faces in the supporting roles, and even more surprised at how important they all were to the plot. None of them needed to be very likable and I enjoyed being allowed to dislike Kirsten Dunst, but the biggest surprise came when I found that I really liked her character by the end. Elijah Wood seems quite suited to being a brainless kid, Mark Ruffalo was super weird in a weirdly not-obvious way, and of course Tom Wilkinson was great, as he always is.
I'm keeping things very spoiler-free here because I enjoyed not knowing anything going in, but after twenty minutes of straight-up romance, things get very sci-fi very fast. And then they stay there. I enjoyed the plot all-around, but found the extreme way the sci-fi was portrayed to be slightly overwhelming, and a little more slightly distracting. It seemed like too much time was spent bouncing around and being strange and trippy and not quite enough was spent in the more deeply mellow style of the first twenty minutes. Not to say I think it was wrong one way and right the other, but I did prefer and enjoy the one way that less time was spent on more.
 |
| First of all -- Mark Ruffalo's hair. Second of all -- nothing else matters right now. |
The science fiction element allowed for a few intriguing questions to be posed, and then for a nice change from the typical sci-fi mantra, answers are given. Certainly the movie does have plenty of interesting tidbits and details that one could meditate on, but from my perspective, the film's main theme was quite central and very important. It felt like the movie's sole existence was meant to make that point, and it was a point made very well -- and it was a good point to make. After thinking about it, I want to take it a little deeper than the film did, but the mere fact that it made me consider what I thought is enough to clue me in to how much I liked it. This is why I love science fiction.
 |
| Top two things that make this movie great: Jim Carrey being deep, and science fiction making it possible. |
Eventually I got my wish of more unencumbered time with the protagonists when the film's closing section reverts back to the smoother tone of the beginning and gives us that wonderfully simple, earnest ending that is satisfyingly both artistic and romantic. Some of the middle I found unnecessary, and I'll always prefer the more reality-based moments of nuanced performances to other things the film offers, but wrapped up as a whole, the result has a unique and off-kilter charm that cannot be denied. Enhanced simply by the existence of science fiction element, Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet shine with spectacularly entertaining chemistry, and deftly portray the movie's thoughtful drama about relationships, and love and loss, and the supposed idea of the eternal sunshine of the spotless mind.
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