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Bo Does It Again

My first experience seeing Bo Burnham was at my birthday party during high school where my friends showed me his comedy special What. Later I would see his next special Make Happy. His mixture of comedy and deep philosophical questions struck a chord with me which has kept me coming back to watch these specials again and again. You could imagine my excitement when I heard he would be writing and directing his own film. I never got to see Eighth Grade when it showed in theaters but now I can say that I have seen and greatly enjoyed the film. 

Eighth Grade is one of the most genuine portrayals of adolescence I have ever seen. The film perfectly encapsulates the awkward anxiety ridden years of middle school as people begin to transition from children to adults and begin to figure out what defines them as a unique individual. 

The major events of the film are book-ended by Kayla’s video diaries which allows the audience to glean what Kayla has learned from the experiences. However Kayla often twists the truth in her stories, such as when she mentions the quiet girl in her story being a friend of hers while in reality she is the quiet girl in the story. Perhaps Kayla uses the video diaries to de-stress and let out her anxieties about life.

Eighth Grade also has perhaps one of the best father characters I have ever witnessed in cinema. I cannot remember in recent memory a piece of media tackling a relationship between a father and daughter after the mother has left them and I believe Bo has handled it beautifully. Kayla’s dad is extremely proud of his daughter, patient, and wishes the best for her. He is very invested in what Kayla does, showing great interest in her video diaries. The performance of Josh Hamilton was fantastic and I cannot wait to see where his and Elsie Fisher’s careers go from here.

One of my favorite moments in the film is when Kayla returns home from the mall with her high school friend Olivia. The handheld tracking shot following Kayla up the stairs and into her room as her father asks her what is wrong is beautifully shot. As Kayla sits in her room her father comes in to see what is wrong all the audio is replaced by Kayla’s video diary saying that she will stop making videos. These scene is what I immediately think of when I think of the film. 

At first when Bo said he would be taking a break from his stand-up I was concerned. However after seeing Eighth Grade I am extremely excited to see what he does in the future. Bo has proven himself time and time again to be a true renaissance man and so far in my book he has not disappointed. 

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Get Rich Quick

I had never heard of The Riches before watching the first two episodes, and boy have I been missing out. The premise alone was extremely intriguing, watching a family try and integrate themselves into the lives of a wealthy couple. I found it especially interesting when the “Riches” find themselves unsure what to do with the life they have fallen into. They have had the perfect solution to their family issue fall into their lap and they must come to terms with what accepting this turn of fate entails. Much like Breaking Bad or It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, we follow characters who are by no means entirely good people. These characters are flawed like any normal person, maybe not to the extent of It’s Always Sunny’s characters however. These flawed characters soon find that this new living situation may not be as perfect as it seems, including things such as drug abuse and cutthroat legal tactics. The writing is extremely clever and intriguing, I personally did not expect Wayne to become Hugh’s legal consultant. The scene where Wayne convinces Hugh to give him the job was incredibly tense with a fantastic delivery by Eddie Izzard. From what I can tell so far this series was gone far too soon. Perhaps this idea may be used again, because I believe that this concept is far too good to simply be forgotten. 

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Castlevania Rises Again

In July of 2017 we were treated to a blood-curdling beauty of a series in the form of Netflix’s Castlevania. The four episode season adapted the earliest point in time in the original trilogy of the Castlevania games, Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse. Dracula seeks to eradicate humans from the earth after his human wife Lisa is burnt at the stake by the church, her use of science and medicine in her practice as a doctor being seen as witchcraft. Travelling drunkard Trevor Belmont, last living member of his monster hunting family, takes up his holy whip in order to rid Wallachia of Dracula’s demon horde. 

Following season one’s overwhelmingly positive critical response a second season was quickly green-lit. This season boasts twice the episode count of the first season, 8 episodes each roughly 28 minutes in length. Picking up right where season one left off Trevor allies himself with the mage Sypha and the half-human half-vampire Alucard, the son of Dracula and Lisa. Writer Warren Ellis does a great job developing the relationship of the three leads, giving them all time alone in pairs to show how each personality bounces off the others. Sypha serves as the main force keeping the group held together as Trevor and Alucard are not on the best of terms, one being half-vampire and the other being a vampire-hunter. One of my favorite interactions between the two demonstrates Ellis’ ability to weave comedy into the grim and violent setting of the narrative. Sypha leaves the two alone, telling them to get along and they agree. As she leaves earshot Trevor and Alucard exchange insults: “eat shit and die” “yes, fuck you.” I especially enjoyed how Alucard reacts with disgust seeing the Belmont family collection of vampire skulls, specifically what seems to be a child’s skull. One gripe I have with this season is that it does not give Trevor much of a reason to fight Dracula besides that it is his family’s duty. At points it feels as though Alucard who was introduced in the final episode of season one is the main protagonist due to his very personal goal of fulfilling his mothers wishes.

Not only were the protagonists expanded upon but we finally learned more about Dracula’s army. Dracula can sometimes be seen as a protagonist since he is given perhaps the most screen-time of any character in the series and his reasoning for wanting to wipe out mankind is well explained and seemingly justified. We understand why Dracula has come to his conclusion and sees it as his only solution.During the first season Dracula simply sent hordes of winged demons to raid towns and murder humans, however in season two we are shown a wide variety of vampire generals from all over the world whom Dracula has called together to form a proper war council. The two generals who are given the most focus are the vampire viking Godbrand, and the female general Carmilla. Both of these generals begin to try and work against Dracula from the inside since if humans are completely wiped out vampires will be left to starve to death without an ample supply of blood. Godbrand acts on emotions, while Carmilla is much more strategic in her plans. Carmilla is especially interesting as she is dissatisfied with the current arrangement of Vampires, claiming that the men are in charge and are simply flailing around their power thoughtlessly. 

Leading Dracula’s Council are two characters who are given a large amount of screen-time, perhaps to supply the audience with enough insight on their characters before the events towards the season’s end. These two are Dracula’s only human allies, the forgemasters Isaac and Hector, whom are responsible for giving life to corpses to construct Dracula’s army. The turmoil surrounding these characters is especially tragic as they were pushed to the point where they would wish to wage a genocide against their own kind. 

At times the first four episodes of the season can feel slightly slow and uneventful as these episodes focus less on action and more on character interactions. However if you can wait for all the key players to come together you will be treated to a beautiful slaughter-fest of action. These action scenes in particular boast the best animation the series has to offer. Because of this the animation in less action-oriented scenes may seem lackluster, yet serviceable. By no means is the animation bad, the scenes of beautifully coordinated fights simply make the less flashy scenes stand out. 

I am extremely satisfied with this easily binge-able 8 episode season which wraps up the plot of the game on which the first two seasons are based. Due to a third season being green-lit recently I am excited to see where the story may go. If I had to guess I’d say season three will pickup with the events of the first Castlevania game, following the adventure of Simon Belmont. If you haven't sen season two or even started season one I highly recommend them as this series currently ranks within my top ten animated series of all time. 

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Reception of Castlevania’s Return 

Jesse Schedeen’s review of Netflix’s Castlevania season 2 on IGN.com covers the recent season with great depth, comparing the show not only to the previous season but also film adaptations of other video games. Schedeen holds a professional tone throughout the review, focusing on how season 2 has expanded on the cast and introduced much more complicated character relationships. Since IGN focuses mainly on video game news and reviews Schedeen refers to the serie’s source material and compares any differences between the series and Castlevania III. Schedeen’s review is very well constructed and I mostly agree with any negatives he had found with the season, as many of these downfallings may be intentional choices made to aid the storytelling of the narrative.

In Comparison John Saavedra’s review from Denofgeek.com focuses less on the source material and more on the content and structure of the series. I find Saavedra’s opinions on Dracula quite interesting. While I do not believe he was as dull and sulky as Saavedra makes the count out to seem I do believe he had his weak points, mostly during the admittedly slow first half of the season. Saavedra also references a slight problem I had regarding the animation dipping in quality during certain scenes. I found the more laid back tone of Saavedra’s review to be quite refreshing and more conversational in comparison to Schedeen’s review.  

Schedeen, Jesse. “Netflix’s Castlevanie Season 2 Review.”IGN, 26 Oct. 2018, https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/10/26/netflixs-castlevania-season-2-review

Saavedra, John. “Castlevania Season 2 Review: A Bloody Good Time in Dracula's Castle.” DenOfGeek, 28 Oct. 2018, https://www.denofgeek.com/us/games/castlevania/277249/castlevania-season-2-review-a-bloody-good-time-in-draculas-castle   

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The Love Witch, How to Make me Love a Film

I’m gonna say this right now, i love the aesthetic of the 1970′s. Music, art, culture, you name it, if it looks 70′s ill love it, especially when it is combined with the aesthetic of the occult. So it should come as no surprise that I was extremely entranced by the cinematography and overall design of “The Love Witch.” I got a lot of flashbacks to “Rock: It’s Your Decision” while watching this film. The costumes and set designs were perfect for the tone which the film aimed to capture. I believe that the writers knew what they were doing when they scripted some of these scenes, not taking themselves too seriously while keeping the viewer invested in the story. I kept wondering to myself throughout the film as to whether or not Elaine was fully conscious as to what she was doing or if she was desensitized to her actions by the influence of Gahan and other witches. The sets of this film simply ooze 70′s witchcraft, bottles, candles, and paintings litter Elaine’s apartment showing the audience how much her beliefs cover her life. If i seem obsessed with this film it might be because I am. Hopefully I don’t end up stabbed in the heart and buried.

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The Handmaids Tale, how to creep me the hell out.

I had heard some things about The Handmaids Tale before viewing the first episode, I heard it had involved women who had become subservient in a society. Initially I believed that the story had revolved around a small group, not dissimilar to a cult, however the idea that this way of life could become commonplace throughout an entire country was much more interesting to me. Seeing how these women are forced to serve as less than human throughout an entire society has much more political and social commentary which can still remain relevant today, compared to the book this series is based on from 1985. One of the most recognizable topics which this story comments on and draws attention to is a woman’s reproductive rights. This topic is focused on by portraying a world where women have no say on if they have children or not, they lack the choice on who they'll have said children with as well. This new form of society seems to place strain not only on women who are forced to be handmaids but even women who cannot have children and watch as their husbands have children with women other than them. Sex scenes in this series feel less like sex and more like an awkward physical inspection, nobody is happy and everyone is uncomfortable. The way in which the government attempts to manipulate the handmaids is also very detailed. Handmaids are given the idea that they are constantly being watched by secret operatives known as eyes. The handmaids are made to believe that the other handmaids will report them if they show any sign of rebellion, keeping them on their toes and reluctant to reach out to each other. Something I found very important to how this government cooperates is how they allow handmaids to assault alleged rapists. This is a way to have these alleged rapists punished by the opposite sex that they may have assaulted but this also serves to have the handmaids release all their pent up rage against men on someone other than their masters, keeping them subservient and in line at other times. While I find this story very interesting and relevant to on goings in America today I personally do not find much joy in imagining a nation controlled by hyper-religious incels. 

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Playboy Pranked Me, Don’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover

It has come to my attention that Playboy is not simply a magazine for looking at pictures of scantily clad women, but rather it may also contain thought-provoking and interesting articles within it’s pages. I realized this while reading the mindbogglingly complex and fascinating interview with writer Marshall McLuhan. McLuhan has observed the effects of technological development on humanity and humanity’s ways of communication. McLuhan claims that he is not expressing his own beliefs or opinions, saying that what he states are simply “probes” or observations. Whatever the case, I found McLuhan’s observations interesting, yet dense. It took me several re-reads of some paragraphs in order to fully understand what McLuhan was trying to get across. 

McLuhan’s probes regarding the simplification of people was quite interesting. McLuhan said that due to the development of print and the phonetic language the unique quality of each individuals speech pattern became simplified and uniform due to the restrictions set on by a phonetic alphabet. Since tribal man focused on more vocal communication rather than systems of writing, members of more technologically advanced nations became jealous, leading to the subjugation and abuse of such people. I doubt this was the main contributing factor for such horrid acts in the past but there is a possibility that such a thought could have laid in the subconscious of those individuals. 

Reading about McLuhan’s observations leads me to think of what he might have said if he saw the world as it is today. McLuhan mentions a specific term in his interview, “narcissistic narcosis,” when one is unable to perceive how they are shaped and influenced by media and technology. We live in an age where people are connected at the hip to their phones and keep their eyes glued to their screens. One can only imagine the kinds of probes McLuhan could find.

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Flake, Flip, FBI

Like many, I have been following the Kavanaugh senate hearing for the past few days, however I did not begin following until a few days into the hearing, when i was shown a live feed in my class. ever since I have tried to keep up with the news by following the headlines and discussing with my friends. One of the events during the hearing that I found the most interesting was when Arizona Senator Jeff Flake was approached by protesters and sexual assault survivors. This occurred after the republican senator said he would vote yes at Kavanaugh’s Supreme court confirmation hearing. The two women who approached Flake said “You are telling all women they don’t matter, that they should just stay quiet.” The women also brought up Flake’s family, specifically his children, saying that they cant imagine a country where a man accused of sexual assault is a supreme court justice for 40 years. Throughout this Flake continually nodded and said thanked the women and saying that he had to attend the hearing. The women also asked Flake to look at them while they talked so they could make sure he heard them.

Following this event Flake moved for a weeks delay on the Kavanaugh vote and also pushed for an FBI investigation regarding the Kavanaugh incident. It seems as though the confrontation with the two survivors led to Flake reevaluating his stance on the situation and push for more investigation. This situation goes to show how the voices of the public and their involvement in government can lead to gradually changes in the government.

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Nosedive, or how I learned to stop worrying and start saying “Fuck”

Another episode of black mirror down. So far the series is two for two with me. I found the idea of a society controlled completely by your online presence to be frighteningly plausible. In a world where online contact is becoming increasingly prevalent, judging somebody specifically by their presence and impact on social media is becoming very likely. Of course their have been cases where people have been denied jobs because of their online identity, such as James Gunn being dropped from Guardians of the Galaxy 3. The scene that perfectly showed how important ones online status was when Lacie received a reduction In her points from an airport security worker. The fact that a security officer would temporarily reduce someone’s online status as a warning shows how important a character deems their status. Only when Lacie has her status contacts removed can she see the world as it is and let herself speak her mind as she and a man in the cell across from her cathartically yell “fuck” at each other. Constant use and interaction with technology results in a loss of the self as Lacie tries to impress others just so she can move into a new house. Lacie has lost all care for her own well being, she only cares about impressing those in a higher social status than her own.

The use of color in this episode was also very interesting. Areas with people of higher status as well as those people are often seen wearing pastel colors such as pink, while lower status people wear seemingly darker colored clothing. As Lacie goes on her journey she becomes more disillusioned with society and her bright pastel pink brides maid dress becomes discolored and muddy. Much like shut up and dance, nosedive uses somewhat realistic technology in it’s depiction of the world, making it much more realistic and impactful, making u think this could actually happen. Once again I am impressed with this show and will add it to my list of shows that I must watch in the near future.

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Hollow Knight, jumping in

Recently I picked up Hollow Knight on the switch, and I must say I may be falling in love. The gameplay is reminiscent of the classic “Metroid-vania” style of platformers (one of my favorites being Metroid zero mission). The artwork in hollow knight is hauntingly beautiful. The world is made up of dirt and dead bug parts which makes for many morbidly beautiful locals. I may be biased since I have an interest in bugs myself but I digress. The gameplay is fun and fast with just the right amount of difficulty, not too easy. The game gradually gives you new abilities that allow you to backtrack and explore areas that you couldn’t before, however this never feels like a chore, rather it is exploration. I will definitely continue to play and explore the world of Hollow Knight in the future, it’s worth every penny.

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Look back on IT

I watched the 2017 film IT the other day and I must say it holds up extremely well. Bill Skarsgard does an amazing job as Pennywise, rivaling Tim Curry’s portrayal of the character. I was watching the film with a friend of mine who had never seen it and it gave me insight on what scenes may really impact people, when I was excited about certain scenes or events he was shocked and perhaps scared. I am extremely excited for IT chapter: 2 to blow me away once again.

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Peering in: Black Mirror, Shut Up And Dance

I've been hearing about the show Black Mirror for a long time, I recall one discussion where it was described as a horror series revolving around advancements in technology and how humans interact with it. From this images of The Matrix, Ghost in the Shell, and Blade Runner popped into my mind, however the first episode I saw stuck to a contemporary setting featuring only technology that is currently available to us.

The episode follows a teenage boy who has to follow the will of a mysterious person who got control over his laptop camera and will post a private video to all of his contacts. This feeds off of a true fear today of our cameras that always  point at us may be used to spy on us. Honestly its an extremely unnerving thing to think about, that what you do privately may be taken and released to all those who know you. 

You begin to feel for the main character as he is put through several grueling trials and you begin to wonder what you would do in his situation. I will spare you the ending as I do not wish to spoil it but it causes you to reflect on many previous scenes in the episode and what new meanings they may hold. 

If the rest of the series is comparable in quality to this episode then you can guarantee I will binge it soon.