STRANGER THINGS (Season 2)

Stranger Things Season 2 Review

WARNING: This review will contain a few Season 2 spoilers, and WILL contain many spoilers from Season 1, so if you have not seen that yet, you might want to check it out before continuing....okay, now that you've been warned, lets get on with this. Season 2 picks up just under a year after the end of Season 1--Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) is back, his mother Joyce (Winona Ryder) is almost normal again and dating Bob (Sean Astin), and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) has survived and is living with Chief Hopper (David Harbour). Of somewhat less importance: Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) and Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) are getting closer as Nancy, apparently deciding Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) is just too nice these days, pulls away from her boyfriend; a fella named Sam Owens (Paul Reiser) is now running Hawkins Laboratory; Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) now has his front teeth; there is a new girl, Dig Dug master Max (Sadie Sink), in the boys' group and her step-brother Billy (Dacre Montgomery) is the new high school bully and heartthrob, with a specific hatred for poor Steve.

And a wonderful head of hair

This season seems much more scattered than the first season, as we see the characters not only intertwine in different ways, but also see them sort of grow apart and branch out on their own (more on that soon). Eleven wanders off on her own to find her mother, and eventually her "sister", a chick from the opening scene of the first episode who we know immediately has some sort of connection to El. This girl, who is a bit older than Eleven, is tattooed 008, and heads her own group of troublemakers. 

Here they are now

After the initial scene, the group is practically forgotten about until, much later into the season, Eleven tracks them down, briefly joins them, then leaves soon after to head back to Hawkins.

Complete with a new wave makeover

For as much potential as this part of the story had, it ended up being fairly disappointing--there was a tremendous buildup to what ultimately lead to nothing terribly meaningful--this said, Kali, or 008, or Eight--whatever you want to call her--could lead her gang into Season 3, so we'll have to wait and see on that one. Another outstanding buildup that leaves the viewer disappointed is that of Billy and Max. It is heavily teased throughout the season that these two are not quite as they seem, but at the end of the day, we find Billy is a jerk because his father is a jerk (Henry Bowers anybody?) and Max is just a girl with a crush on Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin). Much like with Eight, I am holding out hope there is more to come from these two in season three. I also felt this season focused way too much on Dustin, a character most effective as a side kick, while featuring way too little of Joyce. All that out of the way, the stuff we loved from season one is still present here--the strong character development, the impressive acting (Harbour in particular really steps up his game), the 80s nostalgia (the boys dress as the Ghostbusters for Halloween and argue because none of them wanted to be poor Winston), the music (though not as good as in the first season), and whatever is happening in, and approaching from, the upside down.

Cloverfield? M.U.T.O.?

Going back to what I said about the characters branching out--the final season closes with the boys each dancing with a different girl, implying that, perhaps, the group is growing up and apart--it will certainly be interesting to see what direction this goes in when we get to the third season. While not quite on the level of the first season, the second season of Stranger Things does not disappoint--a third season is inevitable, and I cannot wait to see it, but a part of me hopes it is so good they end at three...there's nothing worse than seeing a good show die a slow, painful death, and Stranger Things deserves a better fate than that.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 7

Stranger Things Season 2 Trailer

FRIGHT NIGHT PART 2

Fright Night Part 2 Movie Review

Three years after killing vampire Jerry Dandridge, Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) is in college, has upgraded his choice in women (now with Alex, played by Traci Lind ), and no longer believes in vampires--the problem is, Jerry's vampire sister Regine (Julie Carmen) and her band of misfits are in town and out for revenge. With Alex not believing in vampires, Evil Ed gone, and Amy...well, we're not quite sure what happened to Amy...there is only one person Charley can turn to for help...

Peter Vincent...Vampire Killer!

As is often the case, the sequel doesn't quite live up to the original, but there is still plenty to enjoy here. Roddy McDowall is once again spectacular in his portrayal of Peter Vincent, the on-screen vampire hunter turned real life--an very hesitant--vampire killer. Ragsdale turns in another decent performance as Charley, but the acting drops off considerably from there. The villains are an interesting crew--we have Regine, the leader,

Jerry's sis

Louie, the Evil Ed wannabe who looks like some strange cross between Top Dollar from The Crow and Michael Westen from Burn Notice,

Party on dude

Belle, the sometimes male, sometimes female, roller skating terror,

Belle on wheels

and Bozworth, the bug eating creep who looks like my old buddy Quasar from my younger days.

With that diet he ought to move to Florida

The basis of the story is somewhat uninspired, but there are some pretty unexpected twists and turns along the way. The horror isn't quite as scary, nor the comedy quite as funny, as in the first film, but this movie certainly has its moments. The makeup and special effects are a step down from the original film as well, but they are still decent for the time. The movie does run a bit long, but the rapid-fire death scenes toward the end make it all worth it. I had always liked Fright Night 2, and was thrilled when my girlfriend got it for me years ago, as it had been years before that since I had watched it--I was very happy to discover I still liked it quite a bit. The movie screams 80s horror awesomeness, and should be watched by any fan of that decade.

As a side note, the story of the movie after its theatrical release is also interesting: the distribution of the film was halted with the murder of Jose Menendez, the head of distribution, and the movie played to a limited number of theaters. While it was released on VHS the following year, it received a very limited DVD release in 2003 from Artisan, and has not been officially released on blu-ray. As a result of this, the Artisan DVD is highly collectible (I have one--thanks Sani!), and many, many illegal copies have been sold. So if you have this film on DVD that is not from Artisan, or you have a blu-ray of any sort, congratulations--you have yourself a bootleg. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 7

Fright Night Part 2 Movie Trailer

OPEN WATER 2: ADRIFT

Open Water 2: Adrift Movie Review

A group of six morons and a baby take a yacht out into an ocean, and amidst their horseplay, they all decide to go for a swim--actually, one girl didn't want to go in, but she was forced to against her will--that's not really important. It's not until they're in the water, however, that they realize nobody bothered to lower the ladder so they could climb back on.

"Damn! We're in a tight spot!"

Other than also featuring people stranded in the ocean, this movie doesn't really tie in to the original, overrated film, and unlike that movie, isn't really based on a true story, though it claims to be. It is kind of, sort of teased that, as in the original film, we may see sharks, but surprisingly, that doesn't happen; instead, we get a lot of attempting to get back on the boat, a lot of whining and blaming, a quick flurry of action that sees one character get stabbed, one die of exhaustion, and another, the one who looks like a young Jeff Brantley, hit his head on the bottom of the boat and suffer a skull fracture.

"Right. Down. Broadway."

Outside that fifteen minutes, and a little in the end, there's not much action in this film, but it certainly does a better job keeping your attention than Open Water does. Strangely, you may actually find yourself caring about a character or two along the way, something you certainly wouldn't expect after the first half hour of the film. The end, and subsequently, who survives, will surprise nobody. The dialogue switches from captivating to mind-numbing with unusual regularity, and the editing leaves a lot to be desired. While not exactly the movie you are expecting it to be, Open Water 2: Adrift has some interesting moments that keep it...ahem...floating in a sea of mediocre sequels. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 5

Open Water 2: Adrift Movie Trailer