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Reviews
Down Low (2023)
Better than it seems
I initially gave this movie a 6/10. But oh man, how much I regretted it. I proceeded to delete my last review, and here I am again, explaining why I strongly believe this movie deserves more.
After my first watch, I had fun with it, but nothing more or less. Left a review and called it a day. But all I can do now is replay the jokes in my mind, again and again. ('Gary, this is like an eulogy to straight you. Rest in peace.')
Phoebe Fisher and Lukas Gage did wonderfully when writing the script, especially when you take into consideration this was Lukas' first time putting 'writer' in his CV.
The movie is not that deep from beginning to end, although it could have been. But it is nonetheless funny, sometimes it tries way too hard, but sometimes it delivers it perfectly. I think it is the perfect signal that people should stop being so critique, and start having more fun.
They did a splendid job, and I feel seen, as a member or the LGBTQ+ community. It finely countours a battle between selflessness and selfishness. It tells you that time isn't a constant to take into consideration when it comes to who you are and the discovering journey it involves. There is no right or wrong time to embrace your true self. All that matters is that, in the end, you had fun doing it, just like Gary did.
Cameron(Lukas Gage) and Gary(Zachary Quinto) are as different as they could be, on the surface. Deep down, their problems are as similar as they could be. But during the course of one night, they learn lessons from each other(while incessantly making refferences to 'Sex and the City', 'Flowers in the Attic', i.e.).
I strongly believe there will never be enough cinematic representation of coming out stories of older people. But this movie hit it perfectly(if perfect means both amusing and lacrimatory)- the boy who decided to turn his back to standards, in favour of being comfortable into his identity. The man who had to live confined into societies' rules, forced to believe what the church says, to be God's flawless man.
From time to time, there were actually lines that hit it deep, those little moments, like the conversation between Gary and Sandy, the moment between Gary and Cameron on the tennis field, and Patty's monologue at the end- those made the film even more enjoyable.
Also, I said it in my first review, I will say it again now: Lukas is a pleasure to look at, no matter what.
Dead Boy Detectives (2024)
Incredible in so many ways
Tell your family about it, your friends and to anyone who needs & wants a little bit of supernatural in their lives.
I loved this show so much, in ways I haven't been attached to a show in so long. It feels exactly like something you desperately needed, without knowing ao.
The characters, the ways they evolved- they fitted so well with the whole mystery aura the show had.
I really cling to the hope Netflix won't do what it is sometimes known to do- cancel the show. A new season certainly will be so different to this one, considering all the changes we saw taking place during the last episode. There are definetly bigger problems coming for the agency.
I would have given it a 10/10, I really wish I could have done that. But there are some things that irked me off somehow. Of course a personal taste. For example, I would like to see Netflix get rid of its obsession to mandatory have a couple or multiple kisses on screen. There is life beyond romance, and I do not see that neccesary in every single show I watch. I did not like the ship they tried to contour, with Crystal and Charles. I like them both as individuals, but I just don't see them good for one another. But I do appreciate that their small love story didn't take up much of the plot.
Besides that, every other thing brought me joy and curiosity. All the side characters we got to see more in depth: Jenny, The Cats' King(my favourite of them all, the consent king), Tragic Mick, Monty, even Esther. I think it is not the last time we see most of them. The finale had the biggest taste of "to be continued".
Definetly worth till the very last minute. A lovely time spent watching it.
The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
An unexpected tribute to EAP's works
It is incredible how Netflix actually managed to transform the flop of a series that we were given in the first two episodes into something actually watchable and even enjoyable. What was literally a burden to watch at the very beginning, transformed into something that really kept me on the verge of my seat.
As an Edgar Allan Poe's literally works enthusiast, Netflix announcement brought me happiness, as Poe's works deserve hommage, recognition, praise. I have written a 50-pages paper on him, read a 500+ pages book of his works and endulged in his Dark Romanticism. I was excited to watch the series, how they abuse of his writing tehniques, how they create the eerie surroundings, the mysterious characters.
What I was given in the first episodes was just a fracture of what Poe actually was and the rest...abuse of themes like drugs, orgies, too much sex. I had plenty of moments when I even forgot that this show was meant to picture Edgar's literary world. It is very well known that he had his liking to a lot of women, to various types of alchoholic drinks, but the first episodes made me wonder if this wasn't too much even for him?
After that, we are met with something better. The real, contemporary world drawn in a gothic style. The characters become real, plausible and less 2D. They gain a core, they individualise themselves. If you have read at least one short story of the Romantic author, you know exactly that even in 15 pages, he managed to create verisimal, memorable characters. After the TV show managed to do that, we are met with a little bit of deepness in the characters thoughts, words. Humans are beings of greed, gluttony, of selfishness. Most of us manage to hide it, to minimalise it, but others let those bad, very bad qualities lead them to the leading points of the world. Human beings sometimes lie, they await for the outcome, just like the brilliant detecive Dupin did. Not that his lie tourmented the course of actions in any way. We pay for our actions. We own the life we were given with death. The decisions we make, have consequences. Roderick was by no means a thoughtful man. He destroyed his family before even having it. But, what the series didn't show, is that the best option is to be like Arthur Gordon Pym: accept our destiny.
Overall, it doesn't feel like I lost my time watching this. Hopefully, this show will also bring more and more recognition and even readers to Edgar Allan Poe's works. His weight on the whole world is huge, and we should honour that as much as possible.