All right, all right, I am finally watching Stranger Things. Everyone has told me that I have to see it. They have a good point, given my love of all things eighties. Especially '80's horror. The show seems tailor made for me. I did try a while back, but I didn't get very far.
I liked Winona Ryder back then. Beetlejuice, Heathers, Great Balls of Fire, Edward Scissorhands. I thought she was terrific in all of them. I stopped liking her around the time of Reality Bites, a movie I had considerable disdain for. Still I was glad to see her in something again. However, her overwrought histrionics in the first episode of Season One got on my nerves in a big way. I am aware that any decent mother in her predicament would be hysterical, but I didn't think she was pulling it off with credibility.
Time passed, and more people assured me that I would loooove Stranger Things. So I decided to try again, with more patience this time.
Now I have completed the first two seasons. The verdict? I like it. Quite a bit, in fact. Do I love the show? Probably not, but liking a TV series is kind of a big deal for me.
I got through Winona this time. She still grates on me a little, but I am finding her performances to be more bearable. I guess, considering her career start in the eighties, she was a good candidate for the role. Maybe Molly Ringwald was unavailable.
I was looking forward to Matthew Modine in the show. He isn't bad, but he doesn't have a whole lot to do other than walk around looking like David Cronenberg.
What makes the show work is the same thing that makes or breaks any story: The characters. They are nicely drawn, and ample time for development has been given to them by the screen writers. I would be happy to see these people in a show devoid of any fantastic elements.
As for the strange things of the title, I have mixed feelings. All the derivative plot elements weary me. I am aware that it's intentional, but I have seen it done better, or at least more enjoyable to me. Night of the Creeps comes most immediately to mind. Fred Dekker plays with numerous genre stereotypes with delightful results in Creeps.
We do not binge watch. Our free time does not permit it, for one thing, and for another I like to allow a little time for anticipation and suspense to build. Things that are becoming obsolete in this push button gimme-it-now society.
I wasn't particularly impressed with the special effects laden finale of the final episode of Season Two, which seemed like something out of a superhero movie, but I didn't hate it. Then the denouement at the school dance totally won me over and almost even brought a tear to my jaded eye. Hey, if you are going to rip stuff off, you could do a lot worse than Freaks and Geeks.
We'll be taking a short break, but I am looking forward to Season Three. I'm hoping for at least as much focus on the lives of the characters as in the action and horror sequences.
So, yeah, thanks to everyone who insisted that I watch Stranger Things. I may not be the show's biggest fan, but I am definitely enjoying it.
I liked Winona Ryder back then. Beetlejuice, Heathers, Great Balls of Fire, Edward Scissorhands. I thought she was terrific in all of them. I stopped liking her around the time of Reality Bites, a movie I had considerable disdain for. Still I was glad to see her in something again. However, her overwrought histrionics in the first episode of Season One got on my nerves in a big way. I am aware that any decent mother in her predicament would be hysterical, but I didn't think she was pulling it off with credibility.
Time passed, and more people assured me that I would loooove Stranger Things. So I decided to try again, with more patience this time.
Now I have completed the first two seasons. The verdict? I like it. Quite a bit, in fact. Do I love the show? Probably not, but liking a TV series is kind of a big deal for me.
I got through Winona this time. She still grates on me a little, but I am finding her performances to be more bearable. I guess, considering her career start in the eighties, she was a good candidate for the role. Maybe Molly Ringwald was unavailable.
I was looking forward to Matthew Modine in the show. He isn't bad, but he doesn't have a whole lot to do other than walk around looking like David Cronenberg.
What makes the show work is the same thing that makes or breaks any story: The characters. They are nicely drawn, and ample time for development has been given to them by the screen writers. I would be happy to see these people in a show devoid of any fantastic elements.
As for the strange things of the title, I have mixed feelings. All the derivative plot elements weary me. I am aware that it's intentional, but I have seen it done better, or at least more enjoyable to me. Night of the Creeps comes most immediately to mind. Fred Dekker plays with numerous genre stereotypes with delightful results in Creeps.
We do not binge watch. Our free time does not permit it, for one thing, and for another I like to allow a little time for anticipation and suspense to build. Things that are becoming obsolete in this push button gimme-it-now society.
I wasn't particularly impressed with the special effects laden finale of the final episode of Season Two, which seemed like something out of a superhero movie, but I didn't hate it. Then the denouement at the school dance totally won me over and almost even brought a tear to my jaded eye. Hey, if you are going to rip stuff off, you could do a lot worse than Freaks and Geeks.
We'll be taking a short break, but I am looking forward to Season Three. I'm hoping for at least as much focus on the lives of the characters as in the action and horror sequences.
So, yeah, thanks to everyone who insisted that I watch Stranger Things. I may not be the show's biggest fan, but I am definitely enjoying it.
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