So, like anyone when they're bed-ridden, I threw on Netflix to binge. The first show I watched was the Castlevania series Netflix debuted last year. I didn't really dig the first season, but I was at a loss for what to binge. So necessity dictated I watch the second season.
Netflix's Castlevania https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbb8zPQBmOw
And it was awesome! Warren Ellis (acclaimed graphics novelist) took lore from various games and changed it around so it would be more cinematic. And all of his decisions worked. The show was engaging and kept me wanting more. All the while, it's an anime. I hate anime; the only reason I gave the show a chance was because I loved playing the games as a kid. I can still recite the opening levels dialogue from "Symphony Of The Night."
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night intro stagewww.youtube.com
Having loved the second season and craving more, I figured I should re-watch the first season.
When I finished that, I was back to square one though… What should I watch? I was in bed for the week, and 12 half-hour episodes didn't cut it. Only took me a day to get through.
Netflix's Maniac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6cDDmk-O5A
Since I was on Netflix, I thought I'd check out a newer release of theirs, "Maniac." I saw the trailers and I was convinced the show was going to be amazing… But I kept putting the show off because I didn't think it would be able to live to the expectation I had created.
So by the time I finally watched it, my expectations had dropped, and I was convinced it wouldn't match my initial thoughts. And I was right.
I thought the show was enjoyable, but overall, when it ended I felt underwhelmed. For starters, the aesthetic of the show is something that I'm finding somewhat repetitive. It's the "futuristic, yet still seemingly in the past" thing that has become popular lately. While an original idea, it's been done. That, coupled with the "lobby" of sorts for our characters looking just like the dining hall from 1979's "Alien," I lost interest in the shows looks from the onset.
Alienc1.staticflickr.com
Even more, the story is good, but it isn't great. The trailer implies a deeper connection between Jonah Hill and Emma Stone's characters than for the actual reason for their relationship. The actual reason doesn't change the story, so much as I think it undersells it.
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mindhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE-f1alkq9I
The trailer implied an "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" concept, with these characters looking to move on from something, and yet despite all odds, their subconscious minds kept pulling them back together.
In the actual show, it's more of a technical malfunction that keeps them both connecting in the "dream worlds." I forgot to mention that part; Hill and Stone are taking part in a pharmaceutical test to see if a new drug can help individuals move past trauma or hardship. In doing so, those participating in the experiment go under a machine (once ingesting the new medicine) and the machine creates a dream-like life to help them get past their trouble through various connections to the actual problem. Details from their actual lives are scattered within the faux-reality conjured by the machine.
Now you're caught up. In theory, the show has an interesting idea. But I feel it falls flat more often than not.
Both hill and stone are talented actors, but I don't feel that these performances are anything special. Hill feels like he is phoning in his performance more often than not, and stone is just doing her usual schtick. There are moments when they shine, but the moments are far and few.
True Detective - Intro / Opening Song - Theme (The Handsome Family - Far From Any Road) + LYRICSwww.youtube.com
The highlights of Netflix's "Maniac?" The first being another long track, uncut gun-fight sequence by director Cary Joji Fukunaga reminiscent of a similar sequence from the debut season of HBO's "True Detective" (though I personally feel the sequence was more impressive in the latter, however, still entertaining nonetheless in the former).
Superbadhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eaZ_48ZYog
And the second, possibly being the most important of all, but "Maniac" served as the "Superbad" reunion we have all been waiting for. If you think about it, when hill and stone got off the escalator and continued to walk into the mall at the end of "Superbad," the scenarios their characters face in "Maniac" is the only next logical step for them.
