NOS4A2 - Friday Views by Mike N.
Friday!Next week's column will be landing on Black Friday, when I'll already be two days into a 4-day holiday weekend where - ideally - I won't be stepping outside farther than's necessary to retrieve mail.
Yes, there will be much cooking, and some time spent with family, but much of the time's likely to be spent with screens, enjoying a much, much more relaxed schedule. As that'll have begun Wednesday night, it makes sense for me to look at this week's blog piece to at least mark a running start into the break.
Those who are into college and/or pro football, and/or hockey will reportedly have much to watch that weekend. I don't give a rat's ass about any of that. It's never been my thing. I didn't grow up with it, and if I want to fall asleep there are plenty of more enjoyable ways for me to do it.
If you're looking for something that's already available, especially if you haven't read my earlier posts, jump down to the links near the bottom of this one.
I'll quickly note that over on Amazon Prime, the fourth and final season of the extended adaptation of Philip K. Dick's The Man In The High Castle went live today. I saw and generally enjoyed the first season back in 2015, but for various reasons I never got back around to watching the later seasons. I think in general that 2016+ went dark enough in our own timeline that I couldn't bring myself to revisit a world where WWII was won by the Axis powers. Anyway, that's there, and as mentioned it's the conclusion of the series, so those interested who have Amazon Prime can watch the complete project.
N0S4A2, the first and so far only season (though it has been renewed for a second, due sometime in 2020) of which ran this past June and July on AMC (when I saw it), will be landing on Hulu November 26th, so it'll be in place in plenty of time.
I mentioned it tangentially last week, while talking about Dr. Sleep, because of the Stephen King connection. N0S4A2 is based on a novel by Stephen King's son, Joe Hill.
A supernatural adventure horror story in 10 parts, it stars Ashleigh Cummings, Zachary Quinto, Jahkara K. Smith and Olafur Darri Olafson.
Small town, teen, struggling artist Vic McQueen (Cummings)
I enjoyed the framework for the world, the secret map of the Strong Creatives, and the main characters. It has its weaknesses, but the strengths, including the appeal of Cummings' Vic and Olafson's Bing, helped tipped the balance in favor for me. The horror of Christmasland was disappointingly simpler than I might have wished, but it fits well enough.
My central fear is that they won't have the sense to keep this tight and work toward a set and timely conclusion, potentially just spreading the story until it (and ratings) become too thin to summon a concluding season. In part it's having Quinto back in the villain role that's giving me flashbacks to Heroes, where they never got the knack of knowing when to finish a story, leaving it to failing ratings and exective decisions to do it for them.
Unless new and compelling elements come into the tale, I hope season two delivers the story's end. That said, on the whole I enjoyed this first season. In the absence of commercials it should run just over 7 hours for any binge-minded people looking to get lost in another world for almost a third of a day..
I've appended a guide, below, to my series of Friday columns. Other than that, that's a wrap for this week. Enjoy the weekend. - Mike N.
A Look Back
My first piece as part of the Consortium of Seven was back on September 20th, making this my 10th post, roughly marking a two month spot.
How well these posts are going to work for anyone by way of recommendations is going to depend upon how well our tastes mesh. This allows for more than one possibility, of course, as it can also be helpful to know that one's tastes are so different that something a given reviewer likes is probably going to be something you won't.
One of the decisions I made at the outset of this blogging assignment was that I'm going to avoid the unsavory but often popular reviewer's approach of savaging some show or movie I didn't like. Sure, tearing into some piece of crap can be cathartic for the reviewer and can generate a following both among kindred spirits and people who feel compelled to step up and tell the reviewer how terribly wrong they are. Some careers have been built on such things, and I can easily think back to instances where just such an approach was a draw for me. How many people used to watch the old Siskel and Ebert movie review show in no small part because they looked forward to their "Dog of the Week" segment, suitably placed at the end of the show's new material, like dessert?
That's just much more of a negative place than I want to spend time in - much less be building - these days. Oh, I'll tell you if I didn't like something, but I'm going to try to slap myself down from going beyond a sentence or three as to why... and then move on.
So, I'm attaching this piece to the end of the column. It's a list of the movies and shows I spent a little time on in each of the previous columns, each of them opening in a new window so you can come back here to click on a new one. So, if you see a title you're familiar with, be it in a good or a bad way, you can jump to that column and get a better idea of whether or not our tastes and interests are simpatico, or if they're so diametrically opposed that my liking something is a good predictor that you'll hate it. Whatever works. It's all ultimately in the service of better enjoyment.
Sept. 20th: Mindhunter (Netflix)
Sept. 27th: What's The Matter With Helen, The French Connection, and Frenzy. (Early '70s R-rated movies)
Oct. 3rd: Preacher (AMC), Stumptown (ABC), Sunnyside (NBC), The Good Place (NBC), and Jack Ryan (Amazon Prime).
Oct. 11th: Joker (still in theaters), and In The Tall Grass (Netflix)
Oct. 18th: El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (Netflix)
Oct. 25th: Dolemite Is My Name (Netflix)
Nov. 1st: Watchmen (HBO series), The Kominsky Method (Netflix)
Nov. 8th: Seconds (1966 movie, currently available as part of Amazon Prime)
Nov. 15th: Dr. Sleep (current theatrical release, but probably not for long), Horace and Pete (2016 web-produced series, currently on Hulu)
I really enjoyed Man in the High Castle. Now that all 4 seasons are available, I hope to watch them back to back all the way through. I think many people fell away from it due to the long spans of time between the release of new seasons. It has a story line that you need to think about and that much time made it a struggle for people to keep up with the show. My stepdad noted it only had 3 stars in the Prime ratings. I think this is why. It is a very well done show. If you finish it let me know...I want to discuss the finale.
ReplyDeleteI know that Philip K. Dick found the mental and spiritual journey required to write the 1962 novel to be a disturbing and draining process. The success of the novel, and that it was left open, without an ending, had him repeatedly looking at writing a sequel, but the thought of immersing himself again in the Nazi mindset was more than he could bear. He held out some hope in 1976 that he might do it with the right collaborator, "...someone who had the stomach for the stamina to think along those lines." That never fell into place.
ReplyDeleteMuch of what's kept me from moving on from season one is that I'm finding our own timeline more that adequately dispiriting. That second season appeared mid-December 2016, when I was still reeling from the recent election and what it had to say about the low mindset and sickness of spirit of so many millions in this country. I'll get to it eventually, though.