Hello there. I hope you guys had a great week. In this newsletter, I share my thoughts on my new favorite show, SQUID GAME. I ramble about the new Bond movie and how long it is. I also question if Gen Z kids will put up with Jerry Seinfeld and his gang of misbehaving adults. And as always, there’s also a playlist of five songs I enjoyed last week.
Quick thoughts
THE NIGHT HOUSE - This movie was in cinemas for like, five minutes and no one cared about it. But I think it deserved better. THE NIGHT HOUSE is a horror film about a young widow named Beth played by Rebecca Hall, she is being stalked by the ghost of her husband, who committed suicide unexpectedly. The film works because of Hall's strong characterization and the embodiment of various shades of grief in Beth. She is sad, scared but also furious by all the things she is finding about her late husband. Elisha Christian's cinematography is also worth praising, as it skillfully maintains the suspense and mood in the film. I enjoyed THE NIGHT HOUSE despite the plot's inconsistencies. It is not great but definitely a good watch.
Rewatching SEINFELD - So I can barely keep up with my Halloween challenge but still, I decided to Rewatch SEINFELD on Netflix. And boy, I missed this show so much. However, I’m honestly curious to see how young people will react to all the terrible things these characters have done throughout the years. I remember laughing a lot about the show’s storylines but I’m not sure if 2021 can handle this kind of misbehaving. I’m already on season 2 and I’m not going to lie, the very short first season is rough to watch. The second one is a bit better but the show was still trying to find its voice in those 12 episodes. So I'd suggest newcomers to start with the third season.
NO TIME TO DIE - I need to start this quick review confessing that I’ve never really cared about 007 movies. I have watched a few of them. I have definitely watched all movies that Daniel Craig played James Bond. But I honestly don’t remember much about them. So take my thoughts about this movie with a giant grain of salt. Anyway, NO TIME TO DIE is OK. If you are into Bond movies you will like this one. I mean, it has all the 007 cliches and some over-the-top action scenes. The ending is surprising but the story is nothing special. Also, this movie is way too goddam long. I’m so tired of these over two hours movies. Stop wasting my time with long boring scenes, terrible expositions, and badly written long dialogs, movie producers. I have TikToks to watch and they are way more interesting than watching a boring, middle-aged white English man.
V/H/S/94 - This is the fourth installment in the found-footage franchise, which resurrects the classic VHS tape-style and tells new horror stories in gruesome segments. V/H/S/94 does not provide fresh horror in the same manner that the franchise did previously. However, for the most part, it maintains a consistent tone. If you are into B-Horror movies you will definitely enjoy this flick. It is also perfect for the spooky season.
SQUID GAME
So for a whole week, all I heard from friends was “you have to watch SQUID GAME, It is amazing! “And I have to be honest here, I was skeptical. I thought it was a reality show at first and I can’t stand reality shows. But I decided to give it a chance and I’m happy I did that because SQUID GAME is indeed amazing.
The show is based on a well-known premise: A deadly game. 456 people from all backgrounds, all in severe financial straits, participate in a series of dangerous challenges for the chance to win a life-changing 45.6 billion Korean won ($38 million). The challenges are inspired by Korean children's games. And an enigmatic figure that is known only as the "Front Man," is in charge of the operation. He has a mystery army of red-suited, masked employees helping him.
I thought this show so refreshing. Because Unlike related content such as THE HUNGER GAMES and ALICE IN BORDERLAND, which generally involve teens, the players in SQUID GAME are of varying ages and walks of life. This gives the story a wider appeal; everyone can relate to one of the characters. I also really liked how the show had a great setup in episode 1 and it only got better from there. The visuals are both disturbing and stunning, and whoever designed the sets is a genius. They were incredible and super cool. Episode 6 is a masterpiece and the Tug Of War and the Glass Bridge were amazing episodes as well. Without a doubt, this is a really disturbing show. Money has life or death repercussions, and I had a lot of moral concerns about what was going on, I was even a little disgusted by what some players were doing. But in the end, I really enjoyed SQUID GAME. I don’t want to spoil the show but I will give you some advice about it. Do not get attached to any of the major characters because you will be heartbroken if you do so.
However, some critics have dubbed SQUID GAME as “torture porn" due to the show's relatively high gore element. But in my opinion, despite the abundance of blood and violence, it never feels gratuitous or needless. The viscera acts work as a harsh reminder that the gamers are living, breathing humans who are being exploited for amusement purposes. I have also seen a lot of people complaining about the ending of the show. But for me, the ending wasn’t bad at all. Of course, it could have been better but it wasn't horrible like many are saying. I think it made sense and was satisfactory and sets the show up for a season 2.
SQUID GAME has been a huge hit for Netflix, earning the streaming service's top title in 90 countries last week. Making it the first Korean series to do so, according to Netflix. That's fantastic news for the show's producers and a huge triumph for the streaming service.
Top 5 songs
These were the 5 songs on heavy rotation in my house last week. You can listen to them on Spotify and YouTube.