iZombie - Season 1 Commentary

When I saw the title, I thought it has some resemblance to the Apple products. Yeah, it doesn't.

E1 Pilot

We follow the live of a young doctor named Olivia Moore who was a medical resident that somehow turned into zombie. The story revolves fast, we just had a glimpse of her live before she turned, that she went to a boat party, and a new drug made people into zombies.

After the incident, she turned from a cheerful person to a gloomy one, with gothic appearance with white hair and extremely pale skin. She even didn't marry her major fiance, and took a job in a morgue.

With her being a zombie, beside her appearance, she started to lose some usual human needs such as eating and sleeping. She also got an ability that made her absorb the skill and behavior of the person from the brain she ate. This leads her to be a detective assistant.

The story has a cool pace, they don't use zombie movie routine as the zombie horde overrun the city or something. They just focused on Liv's live. For the fast pace, the beginning of the movie was a series of a short cut and short dialogue, as if the movie just "hey, these are some facts that you need to know about the series, eat it whole!" There were some that just doesn't seem to be natural but there was also many comical scene, stating that this was not something to be taken that serious. 

For this pilot, I'm in.

E2 Brother, Can You Spare a Brain?
There is another zombie, and, he was the one that invited Liv to the boat party. He started going out, I thought he was just going to eat some woman\s brain, but as he also played in a drug dealing system, he turned the woman into a zombie and made her pay for the brains that he would take from Liv's workplace.
Will he make a zombie followers? Out of living people? Zombies in this universe don't seem to have disabilities though.

Liv was once again got into a murder case, as detective Babineaux said the murder was the victim's wive. Detective still believe that Liv is a psychic and get her sniffing around.

The part where she could just sneak into (the victim) Javier's basement is somewhat ridiculous. I wouldn't let my basement which is also my partner's art storage room unlock.

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This post will grow as I continue on the series.

Dawn of The Dead - Movie Commentary

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/16/Dawn_of_the_Dead_2004_movie.jpg

I know it is a quite old movie, but because it was a zombie horror movie, I think that it was worth a shot.

The story revolves around survivor of the zombie apocalypse where they stayed in a mall and hoped someone will come to save them. But help won't come, right? Then the group decided to go outside to a small island rather than wait to their doom inside the mall.

The sound! I don't think it was Netflix that made the sound doesn't quite right. I kept on turning the volume up and down, for when they were talking, their voice was so silent to the point where it was really hard to understand the conversation. On the other hand, when zombie pops up, the sound suddenly got loud. It create a more realistic atmosphere, like on a busy street we can't hear other people whispering. Nevertheless, it left a bad impression.

When people have been bitten, they turn. I like how they seems to think rationally to ensure the group safety. Like when the pregnant woman was tied to the bed by her husband. Her husband did the right thing. But then the old lady found her, and they shot each other. Usually on a zombie movie, someone - usually a blond, or black person (Hollywood racism) just make a really bad decision that expose the group to a worse situation. But they can managed to get a reasonable storyline here.
Though, the death when the group was on the run, where a woman died by a chainsaw, for me, that was just plain stupid. Why would he does that? He was panic because of a zombie dangling behind the truck?

Spoiler here, I really like the ending. Credits were shown with the epilogue, where they continue their journey using the boat to the small island. only to find that it was also infected.

The Stanley Parable - Game Commentary

I saw the title of this game a few years ago and memes were booming across the Internet at that time. You might also have seen some of these too.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/375346950173139499/

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/the-stanley-parable

I don't really played the game myself, but there is a lot of Twitch or Youtube videos out there. I watched Lowko's. I usually watched his Starcraft II commentary, but here we are.

The game focused on an employee named Stanley whose work is just pressing a button on his computer's keyboard, everyday. As many of games, or movies, the narrator have the story presented to us. Where Stanley began to question his surrounding. He couldn't find any of his coworkers and he was trying to have it answered by looking around the office. Yet, the narrator keeps on talking and it seems that the game was under the narrator's control.

The first twist was when two of the door come into view. The narrator told Stanley to go through the left door, but as the player, we can choose to do as the narrator narrate, or go right and alter the story. Or that's what we, as the player thinks. In fact

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=186737430

as you can see from the chart above, this game has so many path that you can explore. You can have one ending less than 10 minutes and then the game just simply restart. When you choose to do something, the narrator just go on with what you choose and sometimes get angry for that.

Lowko plays with his chat on, so some people direct him with what to do next. It wasn't impossible, but it will take time to discover that many ending for we might walk to the same ending some of the times.

This game is beautiful in its way. I didn't get to play it and unravel the multiple storyline myself but that was for me to choose, wasn't it?

Seoul Station - Movie Commentary

A Korean animated zombie movie which was released in 2016. It seems to be the prequel for train to Busan.

They really trying their best to show 3D impression, but somehow that bugs me a lot. Maybe they were trying a new 3D engine or something. The movement was weird throughout the movie. Then, I don't know was it because I was lost in translation, but from the beginning of the movie, the dialogue was just off. I can't help but to think people in South Korea don't talk like that.

Typical zombie apocalypse story, with not much story to be told. I quite like the twist when the guy who pretend to be her father was her pimp in the brothel. I also like its dark ending. I understand why this movie was adult rated.

Nevertheless, it wasn't a really fun experience to watch this movie.

Mission Impossible : Ghost Protocol - Movie Commentary

Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt really made this works. And, like also in another Mission Impossible movies, I am really impressed in his cardio. He ran, like a lot, for a long time. I know it was in the movie, but many of them were one shots. It was just incredible.

Then, there was this Benji, played by Simon Pegg. I saw some of his film and many of them were comedies. That makes me can't take his scenes seriously.

There were many scenes that can make viewers be on the edge of their seats. The camera angles and lightning was on point. I just don't really like most of the hand to hand fighting parts. Like most of the Hollywood films, the shots were full of cuts. You might say it was great, but it was just not for me.

In the end I am satisfied with this film.

My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday - Movie Commentary

https://eiga.com/movie/84011/photo/

With previous experience watching few Japanese dramas, I had a prejudice that holds me from watching another Japanese movies. But this was quite a turn.

It was based on a best selling novel and beautifully compressed into a short 111 minutes film. With Kyoto as the background, well known places such as Arashiyama and Fushimi Inari Shrine scenes were really nice icing.

Conflict was presented early and makes me sympathize to the character (Takatoshi and Emi) throughout the entire film. The pacing keeps me entertained and wondered how will they resolve this in the end.

This might spoil the story but for me there are some questions left unanswered in the film.

Concerning the different timeline, does Emi really feel the world revolving backward? The technology and all. According to her timeline, will she went to Takatoshi's room then help him move? I don't really have the problem with her future self see younger Takatoshi, but when you look it day by day. it becomes quite problematic for me.

Then, why was Takatoshi's father reacted that way? Had he seen her?

Those might be answered in the book.

Beside that, I really liked the film. Shots were gorgeous, the acts was on point. I would like  to see it all over again sometime in the future... or was it in the past?

Train to Busan - Movie Commentary

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50461677

A zombie movie in south Korea. A busy father with his daughter is trying to visit his wive in Busan as his daughter's birthday wish. While they were on the train, zombie outbreak occur and they need to survive at least until Busan, where the army had taken siege.

I like horror, zombie movies included. And in this film, they explored the emotional part where the father changed from a person with no concern of others, to the caring one.

The act of Kim Su-an and Gong Yoo was exceptional. They made us care about the father-daughter relationship.

There is a thing bugging me, not in just this film, but this usually occurs whenever a zombie related story exist. What were their instinct told them to move? They just bite their victim then went on rampage to another person. They just seem to spread the disease without eating the corpse.

Apart from that, this movie was good, I enjoyed watching it.

The Haunting of Hill House - Season 1 Commentary

I watched the trailer on Youtube and was eager to see the film. I didn't searched for anything on the Internet but the pilot just making me wanting to see more. This contains spoilers so if you haven't watch the film, I suggest you watch all of it first and come back after you finished those 10 episodes.
Here's my thought about each episode on season 1.

1. 1. 
      
   Steven Sees a Ghost

The scene inside the house was terrifying for me, as their limping mother chased half-awake Steven and his father.
The story jump back and forth and I like such storyline.
Okay, Steven is someone who doesn't believe in ghost but decide to write about it anyway. Up till he can make a living out of it. That somehow bother me. I mean, if you don't even believe in what you write or say, how can the reader got absorbed in your story?
When he went to hear the woman story about her dead husband, I just picture it in my mind and got scared somehow. Nevertheless, the tension lessen when the ghost doesn't appear, or at least until the end of the episode.
About Theo, she was a lesbian? Meh.
Shirley seems to be the one  whom I have no problem with. She already has a family, 2 cute children and all.
And there is Luke, which I didn't understand what was he doing in his brother's apartment.

That was my first (or so, its quite a time before I started writing this commentary) impression about the series, and I was willing to give it a go.

Open Casket
Hmm... I see, Shirley is a mortician. The episode that mainly shows about her past and childhood trauma when she lose her kitten. Bugs that went out from the dead kitten's mouth and similar one also appear when she dress up Nell was really unnerving. For me it was really disturbing in a good way. And when Nell rise on her table, it was memorable.

Toucb
Child Theo is really cool, with that sensitive thinging and all. Ah, I see, when Theo touch her girlfriend that night, she just knew, thus the line she said on episode one. The story of Mr. Smiley is quite creepy in my mind, which was somehow turned down knowing that the children's stepfather was the reason behind Mr. Smiley. But, those kind of cases is really bad in real world, although for me it just doesn't seem to fit the horror vibe... but, the touch... aa, I see.
The scene when Luke went to the basement is great. When you are on that position, you know that someone knew you are in fear, but can't do anything about it.
Then, Theo touched Nell's forehead and scream. Is it that I have a slow brain, that I didn't understand the meaning the first time I saw it?

The Twin Thing
The bond building between Nell and Arthur is good, to the point where I can sympathized when he just collapsed. That sleep paralysis is also scary for me. Then there is this tall man who haunt Luke. I'm not really sure is it because of the lighting or something, but the CG wasn't that good. That and the lack of back story, and what happened to Luke when the ghost found him under the bed wasn't showed, that three things just don't make this episode that enjoyable/

The Bent Neck lady
Her name alone send chill to my spine. I mean I can imagine her lurking in the corner of my eyes even just by citing the name in my head. This episode also the one that made me close my eyes most. You may say anything, I can't helped it, I like horror, I just can't stand jumpscares.
The revelation in this episode is the most memorable. I don't really want to spoil it here.

Two Storms
The one-shot! There are opinions on Internet forums, but I just really love it. The swings of the camera, the people's emotion, Nell's ghost, it was beautiful. The story went back to when Nell was with all the family but they just couldn't see her reoccur in her funeral. Her ghost is also unsettling. I like this episode the most after The Bent Neck Lady.

Eulogy
This is the first "hidden' ghost that I saw in the series, for it was not hidden at all. It was right in the middle of the screen!! Man! I read pages concerning those hidden ghosts but I just happened to not seen them. Maybe it was because of the subtitles. When there is writing on screen, my eyes rend to read them, thus focusing my sight to the lower screen most of the time. My friend who doesn't seem to be really investing on the story said he seen many of the ghosts. First series I know using that concept.
There is also the scene at the funeral, but other than that, nothing impressive enough to be memorable.

Witness Marks
I like the revelation about Steven who had seen ghost many times in the house but just denied it all the time. Explanation about the witness mark and the clockwork, about the red room. About there has never been any tree house! Hugh was too busy to even build a tree house! Theo's dancing room also only has one door. But I just didn't realized any of that made me feel stupid, in a good way.
And the jumpscare! Told you, I just couldn't stand it. I remember throwing my phone.
Theo's explanation afterward make sense, while also didn't. Do you really think Shirley will listen to that long speech? In real world, that won't do.
Luke trying to burn the house. But the house refuse to be burned. Classic.

Screaming Meemies
The real story of the dread night unfold. Olivia was getting crazy and was told to stay at aunt Janet, but she didn't. And she tried to poison Abigail. WHO IS ABIGAIL? Ah, Luke's imaginary friend, but in reality she was not imaginary. But how come she was just visible to Luke? I haven't got any assuring explanation about her appearance and invisibility.
Then Hugh saves the other besides Abigail just in time. And the limping Olivia from the first episode was shown from Olivia's perspective. At that time, she doesn't seem to be that crazy. I felt like she had her mind intact, or at least partially. And it doesn't seem to be that dark. Why was she seem so monstrous in the episodes before?
Aaand, Olivia died.

Silence Lay Steadily
They were locked in the red room and had dreams about their past. Hugh convinced Olivia to let them go. Aftermath of the night was also revealed, why were Hugh didn't say anything to the police and all.  Hugh went with Olivia, and the Crains were out form the house, free, the end. What?
Well, that wasn't really my reaction, but
"hmm.. okay... then?"

For me it has a great start, trailer and beginning episodes are on point. Revelations, story and horror that linger every episode made me wanting to see more. But I just have to agree with the people's reaction on the ending, it was not good enough.
Overall I enjoyed the series. If you feels the same, leave a comment!