posted
Loved loved loved it. Watched it with my older sisters who remember the '80s better than I do (I was born in 83) and they were all in agreement that it reminded them very much of being kids in the '80s. I forget where I heard/read but the way the concept of the show was pitched was by setting the trailer for E.T. to music from John Carpenter's the thing. Looking forward to Season 2 this Halloween!
Posts: 6 | From: San Antonio | Registered: Feb 2017 | Site Updates: 2
| IP: Logged |
posted
Glad so many of us on here have enjoyed this superb '80's-based series. I will definitely have to check this out again before S2 airs this Fall.
Posts: 400 | Registered: Sep 2016 | Site Updates: 0
| IP: Logged |
posted
Never had access to Netflix, so i had never seen a single episode of Stranger Things, but when Arrow Video announced their box-set(s) of the full series, i jumped at the opportunity to own every episode of seasons 1 - 5 (2016 - 2025) in one single buy.
When my copy of the set arrived last week, i did something i had never done before. More often than not, my latest purchases end up on my ever-growing 'to-watch'-pile and may be left unopened for months (or even years). Not in this case though : I've binge-watched the full seasons one, two, and three (so far) within five days, and i thoroughly enjoyed it !
A couple of remarks though : Of the first three seasons, the season 1 is definitely the strongest in my opinion. The tone is serious, something that would continue in the 2nd season, but by the time we get to season 3, things get more comical, even farcical, too much so for my taste. Individual scenes remain strong though, as does the coming-of-age element, and there's some serious monster mayhem happening. Unfortunately, they killed off one of the more interesting characters (Billy) in the season 3 finale. (but a heroic death it was !).
Visual effects are strong throughout the whole series and create a plethora of almost psychedelic imagery, and there's an abundance of 80s pop-culture references (even actual clips from Day Of The Dead and Back To The Future), pop songs (from the Legacy / Sony catalogue), and an electronic synth score reminiscent of early John Carpenter films. I seriously wonder though what younger viewers make of all the 80s references, as much of these will go completely over their heads, i can imagine.
So, is it perfect ? No, it's not. Does it have a genuinely 80s feel ? Perhaps not. Is it entertaining ? Hell yeah ! Do i regret my purchase ? Definitely not !
Posts: 2257 | From: The Netherlands | Registered: Jun 2011 | Site Updates: 0
| IP: Logged |
posted
Just finished watching the complete season 4 from Arrow Video's Stranger Things Complete Series box-set.
The tone is more serious than the previous season, and the horror elements are strong with a very 'Elm Street'-esque feel, and it even includes an appropriate guest-role from Robert Englund himself (limited to a single scene though). The seperate storylines of Eleven trying to regain her powers and a certain character being stuck in a Russian jail take way too much time (and the whole Russian subplot probably a large portion of the budget as well). The stories come together nicely though in the season's prolonged and spectacular finale, which is somewhat hampered by some woefully simplistic dialogue from the Vecna monster, who annoyingly speaks aloud every bit of his motivations in case the viewer doesn't understand.
There are several feature-length episodes in this season, with the finale running a whopping 2 hours and 20 minutes. It all could have been tightened up if they had focused on just the horror part of the story and eliminated many of the scenes inside the government facility that tell the backstory of the Vecna monster and his connection to Eleven.
Flawed, but still highly entertaining, in a big-budget horror / sci-fi extravaganza sort of way, i guess.
On to season 5 we go...
Posts: 2257 | From: The Netherlands | Registered: Jun 2011 | Site Updates: 0
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
