Most of the fiction I've been exposed to involving Puritanism and witchcraft has revolved around the idea that the hysteria surrounding witchcraft in the New World birthed a greater evil than any actual witchcraft ever did. What Robert Eggers' debut film does so masterfully is blend the human frailties that come to the fore when witchcraft-related hysteria emerges with a palpable, thick and dread-filled evil that soaks into the entire film.
Much has been written of the lengths Eggers and his crew went to to ensure historical accuracy and they certainly do a magnificent job of creating an ambiance that never allowed me to relax while watching. The characters speak in quasi-Biblical tongues, their hair lank, their countenances sullen. It's a hard life they've chosen for themselves and it's made all the harder when Samuel, a baby, disappears.
The titular witch is used sparingly and two of her three appearances are images that will stay with me for a long, long time. Eggers does well to find a balance between not showing too much and showing enough to suggest a horror beyond what's shown directly: blood and fat, pale moonlight on gnarled skin, a weathered hand.
The cast are all extraordinarily committed and I admired just about every performance in the film. I was especially impressed by Harvey Scrimshaw - he perfectly plays a young man on the cusp of adolescence, questioning himself, his religion and the environment around him. The ensemble scene around him while he suffers from possession is the high point of the film and this is in no small part because of his staggering performance, veering from thrashing in the throes of a fit to religious ecstasy.
There was one point in the film where I was given a fright outright but what's so effective is the atmosphere of dread that's slowly and carefully increased throughout. I've been thinking about the film for days, and I'm sure I'll be thinking about it for a long time to come. Many commentators, on the site and others, were sorely disappointed that it didn't reflect the more prevalent trends in horror at the moment but I'm glad that this film has carried on a tradition of horror that seeps its way into your consciousness and stays.
After reading a rave review by a friend, I started binging this new Netflix series today. The English dubbing is horrible so do yourself a favour and set the audio to German and the subtitles to English. The acting is very good and shouldn't be ruined by poor dubbing performances. This series is darkly mysterious, more like the original TWIN PEAKS (without the bizarre humour), although it is being compared to STRANGER THINGS (although I don't see many similarities in the three episodes I've watched so far). The mystery is compelling - take in all the up front hints given before the pilot's opening credits - they set you thinking in the right direction. I got bogged down in episode 3 and had to make a chart of family relationships, but once I'd conquered the who's who I was back into the mystery. Looks promising. I'll come back with a final rating but so far I give it an 8 (great) out of 10 with the potential for a 9 (superb). [Who-done-it, What-really-happened Mystery]. A good work out for those little grey cells (I wonder how many calories will that work out burn in my LaZboy chair?) **Just finished season 1 (yes, it doesn't resolve but catapults us into a further plain) WOW, my brain is tired. So many threads, so many resolves, so many themes (determinism, free will, religion, science, time, space, interdependent relationships, cause and effect). It goes down every lane. Complex, great storytelling. Great acting. Can't wait for another season. It well deserves at least a 9 (superb) out of 10, maybe even a 9.5.*
This show is something truly special.
After watching last week's episode, I thought Amy was written off and we would no longer see her again (seeing as she had not appeared in this season so far, it felt a bit like they were dealing with a loose end). However, she did "return" as we were treated to what other versions of David would be like, had he made different choices at certain points in his life.
This episode was quite a ride. It starts in a confusing note, taking you completely off the usual happenings of the show, but you are relatively quick to find out where you are once you get a little more information. In between David's various lives, they very subtly added events from our own David's life, I guess to show us that these were all possibilities... but then we get a "season 1 recap" and see the final moments of the previous episode again, reminding us that this is our reality.
This episode needs to be watched again to get every detail properly, but I gather that regardless of how terrible another life could be for David (from getting killed to becoming a rich prick), anything beats a reality where his sister is gone, which is incredibly sad and beautifully done.
Between this episode and the one focused on Syd's life, what a glorious show. (The Syd one is probably my favourite of all)
When I heard Doctor Who was doing an episode about Rosa Parks, my first reaction was 'huh?". One, because I didn't expect a British show to tackle such a crucial piece of the American history. And two, because I was afraid that they wouldn't do it justice. It's such a delicate subject matter and they really needed to find the perfect balance for it not to be a complete failure.
And find the perfect balance they did.
I mean, I'm a white girl living in Poland, so far be it from me to claim to be an expert when it comes to the Civil Rights Movement. I'm absolutely not. But I thought this episode was amazing. The actress who played Rosa did a phenomenal job. And I'm pretty sure I held my breath for like 5 minutes at the end there. The moment the Doctor realized that they had to stay on the bus and watch, unable to help because they needed to keep history intact... It was devastating. But Rosa's choice felt absolutely triumphant. I love that we got to see her receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And what a lovely ending with the asteroid.
Jodie really nailed it once again, especially the more intense moments. I loved both her conversations with the other time traveler (whose name I didn't catch because my ears suck and there are no subtitles yet). I can't be the only one who saw a bit of Twelve shining through. The editing, with the quick cuts between the two characters and the (sometimes extreme) close-ups, made those scenes feel very dynamic and intimate. I also adore her facial expressions. Her face does all kinds of crazy things and it's so completely Doctor-ish. When Graham put his arm around her shoulders at the motel and she scrunched up her nose in disgust... I am head over heels in love with this woman.
"- You ain't Banksy!
- Or am I?"
I can't believe I stan this absolute nerd.
All three companions played a big role, which I'm very happy about. We saw a bit more development from Yaz - a lot of people complained that she didn't bring as much to the table as Graham or Ryan in the previous two episodes. I think she really shone here. I also love that Ryan just vaporized the antagonist without hesitation. Good stuff. And I'm glad they haven't magically forgotten about Grace and she still gets mentioned a bunch. It is a very fresh tragedy, after all.
This was hands down the best episode of the season so far and it's probably gonna be remembered as one of the most iconic stories of the entire show. I hope we can keep this up. It looks like next week the Doctor is finally gonna get her gang home and they're gonna be fighting some good old-fashioned space spiders. Which means a ton of dumb fun. Hey, I'm not complaining. We need episodes like that too. But "Rosa" was excellent on all fronts and I'm definitely gonna have to watch it again.
A fairly straightforward and faithful adaptation of the stage production, Schumacher does a commendable job of bringing the musical to film. Perhaps it says a lot about how atmospheric the stage version is already, with the only real advantage here being in the ability to expand locations beyond the stage. Schumacher does add to the backstory a little and the opening scene from the stage is expanded upon to form a framing device that cleverly breaks up the different acts of the film. The biggest failing is it rarely overcomes the theatrical feel and Schumacher's choice of shots and composition are a little flat and stale for a genre that really needs a sweeping cinematic visual style. Ultimately however, the film stands or falls on the music and much of your enjoyment will depend on both the songs themselves and the performances of the central trio of characters. It may be well over 25 years old, but the historical setting of the film means the music has aged well ( perhaps with the exception of the title song, but this still fits the Gothic darkness of the particular scene ). This is certainly one of Lloyd Webber's best covering sweeping romantic songs to comic interplay between the cast. The film production gets so much right, from fantastic costume and set design, beautiful lighting and cinematography. Both Gerard Butler and Patrick Wilson are surprisingly good as the male leads vying for the affections of a young opera singer thrust into the limelight, though Butler's voice does occasionally lack the presence such a role requires. And there is some great support work from Minnie Driver and Miranda Richardson. But it is in Emmy Rossum that the filmmakers have struck gold - the central role of Christine is one that makes or breaks the stage production and Rossum absolutely nails the part - her rendition of Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again is stunning and her performance itself makes this worth seeking out as an alternative to the stage version.
Definitely the best episode of the season, 100% because of David Tennant. Having Kilgrave back entirely overshadows the whole main plot that is extremely disappointing.
So Jessica's reaction is let's make it look like a suicide ? Didn't expect that. We're totally in the morally grey there. Kilgrave could not be handled by the legal system, but this guy definitely could. And even if he was more responsible, his crimes were less than Alisa's, whom Jessica is still trying to protect.
New guard is nice. She'll probably be the first casualty when Alisa goes crazy and escapes (because of course she will).
I thought evil Trish wanted more inhaler but she actually wanted the whole procedure ? That is really crazy. And they thought he could do that just like that. When he's supposed to be a fugitive and everything ?. That's not really though out. It seems pretty strange that Karl would go with it. That's not how the character has been shown until now. He wanted to heal people, enhancements were a side effect. Trish was clearly not ill, just crazy and addicted. He could clearly just have knocked her out and escape, or help Malcolm and find Jessica. He really seems like a nice guy who wanted to help people, and was genuinely in love with her mother.
And Jessica holds him responsible when Trish is definitely the evil one here. And she's even taking it out on Malcolm that is also a victim here. She really has an incredible weak spot for Trish. She doesn't even protest much when Karl wants to kill himself, even though she knows what impact it will have on her mother.
"- Well, we'll need some stopping power. Too much?
- Not unless you're going grocery shopping in Texas."
What an ending! They seriously need to stop arresting Jessica. It seems that she ends up in handcuffs every damn season. It's becoming a weird tradition.
I love that even in the middle of a blazing hot summer, Jessica still wears heavy boots and her leather jacket everywhere. Hey, I get it. She needs to maintain that dark aesthetic. I just think it's super funny.
Vido is such a cute kid, and I enjoy his dynamic with Jessica so much. I'm pretty meh about Oscar for now. We'll see what they do with his character.
Jeri's storyline is breaking my heart. And giving me major anxiety because I can imagine doing exactly the same if I were in her situation.
Can Pryce just fuck off already? I despise the guy.
This show is filled with heavy themes and storylines, but Jessica's fear of becoming the monster that this other lady is hit me especially hard. I was almost in tears when she kept saying "That's not me". That's what Oscar got wrong about her: she's not a misanthrope. She may not have the patience to deal with other people's bullshit, and she may not be a particularly nice person, but she wants to protect people. That's what led to her brief stint as a superhero. And after all the shit she's been through, her first instinct is still to save others. I just have a lot of feelings about Jessica Jones, okay? She deserves the world.
I have to say, mad props to the writers for never dancing around what Kilgrave did to Jess and calling it what it was: rape. Remember, kids, sex without explicit consent is always rape. It shouldn't even need to be said in goddamn 2018, but looking at what's happening in the world and everything that went down in Hollywood in the last few months, some people just still don't get it.
