Midwestern Chaos

As the world continues to stay closed, I've recently moved onto to my next streaming obsession, the Netflix original series Ozark. Having been unfamiliar with this show before, I started hearing a lot of people talking about it, and I love Jason Bateman, so...why not. 

The premise revolves around Marty Byrde, a Chicago investor who has been smoothly laundering lots of money for a drug cartel for a decade, when suddenly the whole operation is thrown into chaos. On the run, desperate, and forced to start over in the worst of circumstances, Marty uproots his family and moves them the Ozarks for a life or death gamble. 

I think the obvious comparison is with Breaking Bad. This show is just as intense, features similarly likable anti-heroes, and a near perfect level of anxiousness. The best part about finding a show that has been on for awhile is not having to wait between seasons. I'm hooked.

On the Road Again...

Looking for a movie to watch the other day, I settled on the 2019 Netflix original, The Highwaymen staring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson as a pair of former Texas Rangers brought out of retirement to hunt down Bonnie & Clyde. This true crime drama came and went without a lot of notice, but it's actually quite solid.  

Certainly not anything earth shattering as far as film making goes, and by that it, it's just not that original. It pays homage to lots of films that came before, especially The Untouchables. However, it's a solid film with solid acting. 

Like The Untouchables, it takes the perspective of those who hunted down a folk legend. One of the things that I thought the movie did very well, was how it depicted the making of a criminal into a celebrity. 

Both lead actors play their roles well, and never over indulges even when the chance is there. I think the restraint is strong part of this movie. It never sensationalizes anything, and resists the temptation to play into the current trend of movie making to stick to a tried and true method of portraying a true crime story. 

Now it's Dark...

My latest streaming obsession is Dark, the German language Netflix original series which aired it's first season in the winter of '17/'18 and the second season last year. This is one of those shows with clear influences, namely Stranger Things, and Lost. But like all good storytelling, it is more than a collection of influences and develops something new.

It should be known that I'm a sucker for anything involving time travel, and this is a virtual time loop mind twisting adventure. It's very carefully paced, very well acted, and visually stunning. It's certainly a story that keeps you thinking, engaged and guessing at what might happen next. I'm looking forward to discovering how it resolves.

The Get Down

Like most people in the civilized world, those of us lucky enough to pass this lockdown in the relative comfort of a home equipped with high speed internet, I've been catching up on some television these past few weeks. One show that I completely missed when it aired a few years back was the Netflix original, The Get Down.

Set in the summer of 1977 in the Bronx, this show is documents that dramatic time in NYC through the eyes of a Bronx teen as he navigates his crumbling borough, searching for a ticket out. While the Bronx literally burns, from the ashes, a new genre of music is being born. 

This show chronicles the birth of hip hop, the emergence of graffiti art, the decadence of disco, and rise of capitalist greed that would dominate the city in the coming decade. Sure, it's quite fictionalized and heavily stylized, but somehow it works. It never veers into parody and manages to stay above being corny. I think this is mostly do to the tightrope the actors seem to walk, convincing us that these could be real people, even if they are tv versions of real people.

I'm Totally Okay With This

My newest television obsession is I'm Not Okay with This on Netflix. The seven-episode first season began streaming on Netflix last week and I'm already fiending for the next one. Similar to the networks other quirky graphic novel adaptation, The End of the F#*KING World, this show is delightful in every way, and once again proves Netflix, along with HBO, is a leader in adapting books and graphic novels into spectacular television.

Sydney is an average teenage girl who discovers she is far more than average when extraordinary things begin to happen to her. When the story opens, Sydney is stuck in a rut. Her father has committed suicide, and though a year has passed, she still hasn't dealt with. Home life is troubled, school life is an awkward mess, and the only bright spot is her best friend who is suddenly dating the star of the football team. Sydney is definitely NOT okay with any of this.

I don't want to spoil anything, but her emotions soon grow uncontrollable...like X-Men uncontrollable. But this is the kind of show that blends the paranormal and the real so perfectly that it appeals to fans of both, similar to Stranger Things in that way.

Definitely do yourself a favor and dive into this. You won't be disappointed.

Stealing Trinkets...

I first heard about this Netflix original series over the summer through a YA book blog service that I belong to through work. Based on a YA novel, I thought it would definitely be worth a look. After all, Netflix has positioned itself as one of the leaders in translating kid and teen lit into quality television.

The story follows Elodie as she moves to Portland from New Mexico after her mother tragically died in a car crash, a car driven by Elodie. Oh, and if that wasn't enough, and in YA it rarely is, Elodie also has a bit of a shoplifting problem. 

It turns, there are two other girls in her new school with a similar problem, two girls who Elodie would probably never be friends with if they hadn't found comfort in this shared problem.

The show starts off pretty slow, and pretty catty. It feels a little too formulaic in the beginning, but once the story brings these three characters together, it really begins to click. The story of their friendship is stronger than the story of their problems, which is the way it should be. 

A solid show that got better over time. A second season is already in the works.