Wednesday, July 27, 2016

What's On Netflix: STRANGER THINGS


Welcome to another installment of WHAT'S ON NETFLIX?, where we pick out a film currently playing on Netflix and review it for the fans.  This week's selection is the new Netflix Original series...STRANGER THINGS.

Nostalgia is a beautiful thing, especially when it comes to film making. We've seen millions upon millions of homages, and an insane amount of people pay respects to their favorite film makers. But every now and again we get a wonderful piece of original film making, that gives us all these feelings we received from the films from our childhood. The original Netflix series Stranger Things is a perfect example of nostalgia, without creating an homage.

Stranger Things is a Netflix series that revolves around the disappearance of a young boy in a small mountain town. The townsfolk including the boys mother and brother, the town's police chief, and his three friends are baffled by the boy's disappearance and have taken it upon themselves to find him by any means necessary. The story is full of twists and turns, and some "strange things" occur as the series progresses. Stranger Things is set somewhere between the 70's and 80's and gives everyone who was alive, or is incredibly familiar with that era, a wonderful feeling of nostalgia. The series is very reminiscent of the miraculously enjoyable blockbuster films we saw in that time period. E.T., The Thing, Aliens, and just about any Twilight Zone episode that was ever aired.

The directing and writing of Stranger Things is wonderfully immaculate. The story starts out very simply, and slowly evolves around the supernatural/extraterrestrial phenomena that The Duffer Brothers introduce to the show. The Duffer Brothers are a new duo to emerge in the film making world, and they definitely explode onto the screen with their smash hit Stranger Things. The Duffer Brothers had directed the feature film Hidden before giving their shot at television. And boy have they truly shown off their storytelling abilities along with ripping wonderful performances from the lead characters in the show.

Another thing Stranger Things brings to the table that I believe a lot of television shows lack now a days is the tactic of "delivering on a set up" as I like to call it. For example, with the Netflix show Orange is the New Black the world that the show sets up for a television series that is very enjoyable. But as far as storytelling, Orange is the New Black cannot capitalize on any of the interesting story elements that they bring to the table. Some moments are very gripping and moving, but once they move past this moment, they never return to it. It's like they set something up, and then they just completely disregards the momentum they just built up. Stranger Things sets up something that is very exciting, and gets you very excited as a viewer and then they immediately deliver. They bring you to the climax of the scene, and then immediately skyrocket you into space. They bring you to the edge of the cliff, and immediately shove you off. It's masterful storytelling.

Stranger Things is a masterful piece of filmmaking and it creates a beautifully nostalgic feeling. It brings back all the way back to the 70's-80's and let's us live our dreams. Definitely well worth the watch.

Joshua's Score: 10/10


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