The Backend
What a gem: «Thor: Ragnarok» turns out to be a colorful piece of unexpected light-hearted delightfulness oozing with forgettable stupidity and fun, shining in all the colors of a disco-dripping CGI-rainbow with some delicious Goldblum on top.
After Marvel’s disastrous «Iron Fist» I must say Marvel’s latest Netflix series «The Defenders» surely was not the redemption all the disappointed fans had been hoping for. And since I haven’t even bothered to download «Inhumans» I thought I’d try to stay positive and share some of my latest «discoveries» on Netflix:
So let’s start there, «Star Trek: Discovery». Is it any good? I’m not sure yet. I was quite disappointed after the first two episodes: No sympathetic character, too much exposition talk and even more Klingon babble. But I rather enjoyed episode 4. Jason Isaacs’ Captain Lorca might just salvage this property from sinking. I’ll wait and see…
Now to the really good stuff: «Mindhunter» might be more form than function but I enjoyed the hell out of this crime-drama set in the seventies following two FBI agents in the early days of criminal profiling.
Maybe it’s the theme of serial killers that got to me. Even David Fincher’s (who produced and directed some of the episodes) «Zodiac» was mostly talking heads and even more shots of people talking on the phone, and I still loved it a lot. It must be Fincher’s style that I just cannot get enough of. «Mindhunter’s» cinematography, sound, music, dialogue and acting are just phenomenal, even though not really that much happens story-wise.
Then, «The Good Place» got me by surprise. I didn’t know anything about it and I recommend to watch it in the same way. It’s really funny, thought provoking, clever and… really funny.
I might have known that I’d like «The Good Place» because it’s by Michael Schur, the same guy that created «Brooklyn Nine-Nine» another show I just binge-watch the hell out of. Just because it’s funny, clever and, like «The Good Place» damn enjoyable without having the need to get «dark» as so many series nowadays do (which is not a bad thing per se. I love the good ones like «Breaking Bad» or «Mad Men» but it’s nice to see, that a good series can be light AND relevant today.)
Let’s get over here to some adult animation entertainment (not what you think). I’ve seen Nick Kroll pop up a lot in the last few years in this or that movie and in even more late night talkshows. But the Netflix version of the brilliant Broadway show «Oh, Hello», his collaboration with comedian John Mulaney made me curious about his Netflix show «Big Mouth» . This pretty dark, naughty, but somehow true and heartwarming series where “Teenage friends find their lives upended by the wonders and horrors of puberty” (IMDb) does the trick and entertained me a lot with some let’s say uncomfortable themes.
Talking about «dark»: It took much too long for me to finally take a gander at «Rick and Morty». Mostly because I couldn’t believe how a show seemingly drawn this crude could be that ingenious and so exactly hit my pleasure center. It’s deep, it’s mean, it’s funny and it’s full of pop-culture and science references. It’s «The Simpsons» and «South Park» on steroids… or on LSD… probably both.
And it’s co-created by Dan Harmon, the creator of «Community», and it shows… so there’s that. Rating: 5
Not too bad, quite good actually. In no way, shape or form as iconic as the original, but one has to admire how «Blade Runner 2049» tries to recreate the character and look and feel of its predecessor and how it does a helluva job in doing so (the cinematography and production design are just wonderful).
The pacing gets a little slow in the second half but I might just prefer it this way in contrast to the restless editing and convoluted storytelling we get too much of these days in this genre.
Just another very gorgeous looking, very soulless version of how Luc Besson thinks movies are made. I more and more wonder how he managed to create «Léon» where he still seemed to care about characters and storytelling (I think, at least; haven’t watched it in ages).
However you may feel about Neill Blomkamp’s «Chappie» (I know I was disappointed as hell). His new project creating experimental short films is absolutely worth a look.
Drop whatever you’re doing right and now check out the studio’s phenomenal work on https://www.youtube.com/user/OatsStudios.
Warning: Not for the faint of heart!
Just realized I never got around to review Netflix’ «Iron Fist»:
Yes, it sucks.
Moving on…
Wow, I almost lost my wallet there at the theater! But I wouldn’t have lost the money: The latest cinematic iteration of Spider-Man is well worth its admission price.
It’s got heart, it has humour, it’s got a great cast. And as unbelievable as is sounds, this co-production between Marvel Studios and Sony (who still hold the rights to the movie character, technically, I think) has something the «purer» MCU films had yet to deliver on: A great villain! Michael Keaton is perfect in the role (winged superpersons obviously just seem to be his thing) and his persona «The Vulture» equally satisfies as antagonist as well as a driving storyelement.
Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is great, too; but no surprise there. And the suits (as in «the VFX») are fun to explore but interestingly enough not as overwhelming and important as let’s say the «Avengers» movies.
So no, I don’t regret to have worn my Spidey T-Shirt to work today. And yes, in the end, I found my wallet under the seat.
Um,… Miss Woman? I wonder if you’d marry me?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
[x] I see you more as a friend
The movie’s not bad, either. All thanks to Gal Gadot. I think I’d watch her watching paint dry.
Wow! Even after all those years Ridley Scott still knows how to disappoint me. He undoubtably created some of the greatest films ever made, but I’m sad to state that for years now, his movies feel more like Scott-free than «SCOTT FREE» productions*.
*) His production company
What a great sci-fi fantasy action comedy! I laughed my ass off and if you’re an eighties kid, you probably will, too.
In the end there was not a dry eye in the house (and that wasn’t because of the 3D glasses).