Doctor Who - Kerblam!

Just finished watching the apparently controversial Doctor Who episode Kerblam!. Why controversial? These are the reactions:

1. Urgh! Infuriating Kerblam! I need a protest button.
2. Half-way amusing Amazon satire which takes an weird twist into Middle-Dicksonian Territory...which later Dickens disowned
3. Workplace satire with an infuriating right-wing ending
4. My favorite plot so far...
5. I think it had a lot of plot holes and I didn't like it due to the plot holes..just did not work

Guess which one I agree with?

( spoilers )

A Quiet Place - film review

Also saw the film A Quiet Place, decided to rent and watch in lieu of The Thanksgiving Day Parade, which was boring me. It's cold here. In the teens and twenties, with wind-chills below that. I know because for the first time in week's I was able to turn off my air conditioner. Yes, my apartment is usually 80 degrees if I don't have it on, unless it's a windy day and the temperatures are below freezing. Then, it's 72 degrees and livable.

I liked A Quiet Place better than the Doctor Who episode I just saw. (And in discussing this briefly with someone else...I've decided that my problem with Doctor Who is largely the same issue I had with Star Trek and other anthology series and speculative Science Fiction -- too much time is spent on the theme or moral and not enough on the characters and plot. I watch for characters, I need the morality or message to be a subtle outgrowth from them...which is realistic. In short, I'm not interested in hearing a sermon or watching a morality play, nor do I believe such things change views or are persuasive. Far more persuasive is the subtle bits that come naturally from character interactions and plots. Otherwise you are just preaching to the choir.)

A Quiet Place - directed by John Krakiniski (from the Office) and starring him and his wife, along with two extremely good child actors, is a character driven horror film that has a message, but a subtle one, which is found through the plot and characters. While I do have a few quibbles with the plot, overall I enjoyed it and it wasn't as frightening as I was lead to believe. But this may depend on what you consider scary. The Haunting of Hill House was far more frightening and I still haven't quite dislodged its scares. But, I believe in ghosts, I don't believe in alien monsters. (I was discussing this with a co-worker who believes in ghosts for the same reason I do, we've either seen or felt them. And I know quite a few other family members who have. I feel them don't see them -- I feel energy signatures. For me ghosts are basically an energy imprint that has been left behind, due to a violent death or horrible situation that has not been resolved, often connected to places. They can also connect to people. And...well the mind can play tricks on you.)

Anyhow, A Quiet Place is a post-apocalyptic world that has clearly been invaded by alien monsters. We're not told their aliens so much as "creatures" and we have no idea where they came from. The story starts on day 89 of the occupation by the creatures. The information we get is through newspaper headlines plastered on a bunker's walls. And we do see the creatures (I didn't find them that bad...I've seen worse. The film is actually a lot scarier when you don't see them.)

What works is the interactions between the characters, and there's a quiet theme of love and caring for one another, protecting each other from an outside menace. Also an interesting theme about "Sound" and how it can destroy, hurt, endanger and free you. And how information can be provided through sound and without sound.

The idea of allowing terror and anxiety to cripple you -- is another strong theme of the piece, and gotten across subtly.

I recommend it though for the directional techniques and style -- it's different than most horror films. Quiet. And how it is filmed is somewhat interesting.

If you are celebrating Thanksgiving, hope you are staying warm and having a Happy one.

Crazy Rich Asians - Film Review

Just finished watching Crazy Rich Asians -- which became available on On-Demand finally. It's not what you think. I did check out the book, so sort of knew going in that it wasn't a rom-com or a romance. It's not. It's more a Pride and Prejudice style comedy of manners, although I didn't find it that funny -- aggravating yes, funny, no. I did enjoy it for what it was..but I'm also glad I did not see it in the theaters and just rented it for $5.99. I'm not sure I'm the target demographic.
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