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Stranger Things

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Stranger Things is a new Netflix scifi series which feels a lot like a 80s scifi, which I think was also the purpose. I only saw the first episode but it's intriguing.

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Just finished Stranger Things. It's so damn good. As a big fan of how scifi and horror movies were made in the 80s this really plays into my zone. Also the overall non-rushed presentation which appears to be a preferred way to show things these days is really welcome. The series is like a whole bunch of 80s horror and scifi plot elements rolled in 8 episodes. It's probably the best TV series of this year.

 

I think I missed something, why is the sheriff putting food in a box in the woods and the end?

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Just finished Stranger Things. It's so damn good. As a big fan of how scifi and horror movies were made in the 80s this really plays into my zone. Also the overall non-rushed presentation which appears to be a preferred way to show things these days is really welcome. The series is like a whole bunch of 80s horror and scifi plot elements rolled in 8 episodes. It's probably the best TV series of this year.

 

I think I missed something, why is the sheriff putting food in a box in the woods and the end?

 

 

Have to agree that Stranger Things is proving to be really fun so far, like a video nasty meets The Goonies but is plotted better and has better acting. Winona Ryder's best role ever.

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Intrigued about Stranger Things, will try that out at some point.

 

You'll deffo love this Stranger Things poster, Ben.

 

stranger-things-poster-pic.jpg

 

Just kidding! I know you hate that. But lookit, this one's nice

. Stranger-Things-poster.jpg

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what's wrong with the first one? I've lovely 80s style

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Stranger Things is well-made and pretty enjoyable but it really is a collection of tropes and 80s references (which I'm kind of over now) to the point where it does nothing original or unpredictable. I don't know if I'd bother watching a second season...
 
So I finally finished Stranger Things and this is where I am, but maybe even more so (I definitely won't watch season 2). I don't know what it is, I totally went in expecting to love the show and even told people to check it out before I had seen it, but once I was halfway through I just got this feeling of dread that comes with realizing that I'm totally not that interested in something that everyone else is in love with. I really just found it really uninteresting. Everyone else I know binged the show and I absolutely couldn't, it took me until now to finish it because I couldn't watch more than one episode at a time, and for a lot of the episodes I couldn't get through them in one sitting because I had such a hard time getting engaged. 
 
I'm still trying to figure out where it went wrong for me. It just never did anything new, every plot beat was an obvious and predictable callback to something else.  Normally nostalgia works for me too.  I love Wet Hot American Summer, a week ago I watched it twice in one day.  Everybody Wants Some!! is still my favorite movie I've seen this year (Linklater nostalgia is a completely different type of nostalgia though).  So I guess maybe I'm just not that big of a fan of what the show is trying to ape, maybe?  I like a lot of 80's movies, but I'll admit that I'm not that into Wes Craven and John Carpenter movies compared to Rob Reiner and John Hughes movies.  One of the main things that threw me off was I actually loved Super 8 when a lot of people seemed not that into it.  And I'm digging Brian K Vaughn's Paper Girls.  Something about Stranger Things just never clicked with me.  
 
It just feel like one of those times where I know someone is going to love a movie and it's exactly the type of thing they dig and I finally get them to sit down to watch it and they don't really like it and the person I showed it to was me.
 
Ending on a positive note, I will say the show is super fucking slick.  I also totally loved the music as much as everyone else.  I liked it in Drive and I liked it here.  Also, watching the show made me want to go back and watch Stand By Me which I hadn't seen in years and that movie is incredible.
 

Also, I realized that part of the problem is that the 80's nostalgia show that I want already exists and it's Freaks and Geeks.

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Maybe you had too high expectations. We watched it an episode at a time over two weeks. The acting is good, especially surprising with the child actors. Individual story beats are potent even if there aren't twists that separate it from what it emulates. I think the world is well built and cohesive and I like how the show veers away from technobabble and lore, using the kids' language instead. I never expected it to be more than entertaining.

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Maybe you had too high expectations. We watched it an episode at a time over two weeks. The acting is good, especially surprising with the child actors. Individual story beats are potent even if there aren't twists that separate it from what it emulates. I think the world is well built and cohesive and I like how the show veers away from technobabble and lore, using the kids' language instead. I never expected it to be more than entertaining.

That's definitely a possibility, regarding expectations going in, and I did think the child actors were better than most child actors (outside of Stand By Me).

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Also, I realized that part of the problem is that the 80's nostalgia show that I want already exists and it's Freaks and Geeks.

 

Just wanted to echo this recommendation. Boy howdy that show is good. It's also one of the best sources for going "oh shit it's them" at least once an episode as you recognise an actor who would later become famous.

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Binged through Stranger Things. It was quite enjoyable, but from the hype I was expecting something grander. I associate it more with Super 8, not so much with Stand By Me, even though of course there are some commonalities and probably some influence. Overall, I think it works really well as a homage to all the things it is a homage to, and as a well-done mix of several different movies put into one (if you look at the different character's perspectives, almost feels like they are from different genres, IMHO).

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That's a very good point. The kids' perspective is very different from the X-Files conspiracy theory the adults deal with, having more to do with primal evil and fantasy. Same with the teens, they all have their own motivations and goals.

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I was supposed to play Zelda during the weekend, but got totally sidetracked because I finally started watching Stranger Things. Ended up watching it almost all on one go and realizing in the middle of the night between Saturday and Sunday that I should go to sleep.

 

Holy shit this was a great show! I loved all the little subtle 80's hints in the background with all the posters etc.

 

The best thing about this show is that I knew nothing about it, I had no expectations going for it, I just vaguely remembered that people talked about it being good show last year.

 

I usually hate kid actors, but these kids were alright!

 

Winona Ryder was also just perfect, this was a real comeback role for her. She hasn't been like in anything good for the past 20 years I think.

 

Spoiler

The monster looked like really cheap and shitty CGI, I wonder was that the point that it was intentionally made to look like really cheaply done? Though I thought a true The Thing style would've been to make it just with practical effects.

 

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I sincerely doubt any CG was made to look intentionally cheap; much more likely it looked cheap because (comparatively) it was.

 

But it's all relative. I think there's an unfortunate but unavoidable arms race with computer graphics where audiences can't help but judge everything against whatever's the best thing they've seen, even if the comparison isn't 'fair'. Even a flagship TV show in 2016 can't compete with the budgets of blockbuster special effects movies.

 

But IDK, maybe I'm wrong and other TV shows have noticeably better CG special effects. Stranger Things is the newest special-effects-having TV that I've seen in a very long time.

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4 hours ago, Kolzig said:

She hasn't been like in anything good for the past 20 years I think. 

 

I've seen so many people say this since Stranger Things came out and feel obligated every time to point out that her comeback was actually in Show Me A Hero the year before which is incredibly good. Also for what it's worth she was in Black Swan. 

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Never heard of Show Me A Hero, but you are right about Black Swan, how could I forget that. She was great in that side role!

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Second season is coming soon, I will be in Japan when it's released in October and won't be seeing Stranger Things before December most likely unless I keep the subscription open and watch it with my tablet instead of looking it properly from tv. I think I will just wait.

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I finally got around to watching this, just in time for season 2.  Overall I really liked it.  It's surprisingly well acted, especially the kids.  My main complaints are the story is a bit weak in places and the pacing seems really odd since they're trying to stretch out what is essentially a 2 hour film into 8 hour long episodes.  But those are minor and easily overlooked.  I appreciate the subtly in most of it.  Looking forward to season 2.

 

On a side note, I've also been playing the Stranger Things game on my phone.  It's styled as an NES-type game and is probably a far better game than equivalent games based on movies of that era were.

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On 9/2/2016 at 12:49 AM, TheLastBaron said:
It just never did anything new, every plot beat was an obvious and predictable callback to something else.

 

This was my main issue with it. I might still watch S2 though, as it was well made and pretty enjoyable.

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I've watched a bunch of 80s horror (I'm too scared to watch newer horror films) and that shadow world business felt new to me. I agree the plot won't surprise anyone.

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I also didn't find anything about the plot surprising, but it still didn't detract from my enjoyment of the show.  In another time and place (like the actual 80s) I might have been disappointed but here and now I liked it.

 

I finished up the mobile game.  It's very evocative of Link to the Past.  There's an overworld with dungeons, areas that require specific equipment to access (in the form of the various characters who each have their own abilities), heart pieces, even a Zelda item jingle.  It's a touch game so the control isn't great but apart from that I actually liked it.  There's some season 2 teasers in there as well.  Characters/places are mentioned, one of the playable characters unlocks after season 2 is released, and there's a trailer you can unlock if you collect 8 VHS tapes.  For a free tie-in mobile game I was pleasantly surprised.

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I started the mobile game a few days ago. It is quite nice game, how long did it took for you to play through it?

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According to my save file, it took 5:16:01 on classic mode.  That includes me running around getting all the collectables which probably added an hour or so.  If anyone is looking to start the game new, I actually recommend normal mode.  Classic mode is "harder" but only because dying puts you back at the start of an area making you retrace your steps.  Otherwise I think the two modes are the same.  The game isn't particularly difficult but since it's a touch screen game I found it rather fiddly and had a lot of deaths due to misplaced taps.

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