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Andrew Rich (36 KP) rated Welcome to Night Vale in Podcasts

Jun 24, 2019

Welcome to the bizarre (3 more)

Great backstory to work through (also listed in the bad)

Cecil's incredibly soothing voice

The Weather (are we still waiting for the bus in the rain?)

Long, LONG backstory to slog through (also listed in the good) (1 more)

A bit of a format change, part way through (I preferred the original flavor)

Oh, where to begin? I loved this podcast from the first episode, it's weird in the best ways. Think of an banana split sundae; one scoop of Lovecraft, one scoop of Stephen King, on scoop of various mythologies, a banana of Dadaism, some sprinkles of your local independent music scene, generous dollops of LGBTQ+ acceptance and support, and a single, solitary maraschino cherry of optimism in the face of overwhelming anxiety and depression.

All of this, of course, coming together as the public local news station for a small town, somewhere int he desert.

It's fun. I recommend it. Just make sure the locals don't notice that you're an interloper.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Jaws (1975) in Movies

Aug 26, 2019 (Updated Aug 26, 2019)

Jaws (1975)

1975 | Thriller

8.4

(99 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Spielberg's exemplary suspense-fright machine remains the only killer shark movie you will ever need to watch. A two-course fish supper: the first half concerns police chief Roy Scheider's attempts to persuade the self-serving authorities of the danger posed by a marauding shark (post-Watergate subtext is fairly obvious); the second sees Scheider, bright young oceanographer Richard Dreyfuss, and salty sea dog Robert Shaw setting off on a primal quest to slay the monster, in a boat which may well prove to be of inadequate size.

Spielberg does an excellent job of hiding the pulpy horror-story origins of the tale, swathing it in plausible small-town Americana, low-key humour and excellent characterisation; John Williams' score is, needless to say, essential to the enterprise. The battle to the death in the second half is superbly constructed, paced and executed. Superb entertainment; I am happy to report that over forty years on, Jaws remains entirely capable of making cinema audiences squirm and scream.

Kudos

Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Litte Fires Everywhere in TV

Aug 23, 2020

The ensemble cast: outstanding (1 more)

An intelligent and often uncomfortable script

Gripping study of racism in small-town america

Flighty artist Mia (Kelly Washington) moves into the picture-perfect community of Shaker Heights Ohio with her daughter Pearl (Lexi Underwood) and is welcomed by busybody mum Elena (Reese Witherspoon). But as racial tensions, teenage passions and secrets from the past emerge, a pressure-cooker of tension builds.

This is an outstanding drama in the mould of Big Little Lies, and equally supported by an outstanding cast. Kerry Washington is Emmy nominated and justly so. But equally impressive is the young cast, particularly Lexi Underwood as Pearl and Megan Stott, who has a magnetic screen presence as Izzy and who I would predict great things for.

It’s a script that buzzes with uncomfortable racial tensions in these days of Black Lives Matters, and is gripping to the end.

I just hope that - unlike Westworld - they call it a day with this one perfect series.

Watch it!!

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated The Vast of Night (2019) in Movies

Jun 6, 2020

The Vast of Night (2019)

2019 | Mystery, Sci-Fi

7.0

(2 Ratings)

Movie Rating

High-concept, low-budget SF movie. It's the night of the year's first basketball game somewhere in Texas, and most people are watching. But small-town DJ Everett and switchboard operator Fay aren't, and they start to get strange reports of mysterious radio signals and peculiar lights. The same phrase recurs again and again: there's something in the sky...

Framed as a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits pastiche, and while the subject matter is certainly similar, much of the style is not: long takes, either static or mobile, rattling dialogue, a sort of self-consciousness about form which is only to be expected in a directorial debut. Interesting subtext about the aliens' agenda and the people prepared to speak up about their experiences (generally speaking, it's people from the lowest strata of society). Genuinely tense and even a bit eerie in places: Rod Serling would never have written something so oblique, but I think he would have appreciated its quality regardless.