Stranger Things (2016)
Drama / Sci-fi/ Thriller/ Horror
Directed by: Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
Starring: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown
For fans of: The Goonies, Stand By Me, Super 8, E.T.
My Rating: 10 out of 10
Lets take a brief moment to let that rating above sink in. That rating reads 10 out of 10 and you should know by now that I’m pretty reluctant to give big scores out unless absolutely necessary. In fact the last 10 out of 10 I gave was for a french film called “The Intouchables” and that film came out way back in 2011, which clearly is a long time waiting for perfection. In total I have rated 12 shows/films the holy accolade of being perfect in my eyes. They are all something that I simply can not fault, not to say they don’t have flaws, they probably do to some people, but in my personal opinion they are perfect for me. There is a reason I am so stingy with ratings too, I honestly believe that if I were to rate every film or TV series I liked or enjoyed high scores then my favourites, those holy 12, would seem less special in some way. Some have come close too! In my last review I stated how close 'Sing Street' came to breaking into this most elite club, yet I had to think about whether that was a 9 or a 10 and thats the test. 9’s I can love, they can be favourites but the 10’s I don't need to think about. I knew from the moment I watched them they were worth every one of those 10 points and about 10 minutes into Stranger Things, I knew this had the potential to break my barriers and by the end, I had nothing but the nervous excitement of signing into my IMDB account, clicking the number 10 and making it my lucky 13!
To say this TV program seemed special is an understatement, there was an atmosphere to this series that made it feel like the favourite film you never grew up with. For starters there was certainly more than a nostalgic 80’s ambience to it, a true nod to those coming of age kid films of that era but this was a TV series that felt, from start to finish, like one big brilliant movie. I suppose that could be because from the moment I started watching it, I binged and binged until I was through it. It was like a drug addiction, after the first 10 minutes of gripping entertainment I was hooked on my television heroin and I honestly feel the withdrawal symptoms today as I try and get over how truly great it was. Everything felt perfect about this show, from the early glimpse of that gorgeous old style movie poster, which was more than reminiscent of the old Star Wars posters, to the dark synth soundtrack accompanying the bright red neon lettering of the opening titles, finishing on a group of lads in a basement playing dungeons and dragons. This was a time capsule, this didn't feel like the 80’s...this was the 80’s!
This was far more than style over substance too, it looked great! That is without question but within it was a story worthy of a favourites list. A beautifully balanced script which defied genre’s, you had sci-fi, thriller, drama, romance, horror, comedy and action all rolled up into one bundle of pure joy. The directors must have the credit praised upon them at this point for not only getting this delightful atmosphere yet also the wonderful creation they laid before us. Matt and Ross Duffer got this absolutely spot on, there was no episode were it slipped and there was no time I wasn't completely convinced by what was going on before my eyes. Also to the writing team beneath them, a salute to some of the finest magic a screen has seen. My only wish is that I somehow could have attended the cinema to see the full glory of this series. Note to self: If there is ever a series 2, buy a cinema.
A good script and good shooting does not necessarily equal success and this is where my next chunk of praise is aimed at. My praise pours over a quite stunning cast and the team that assembled them. The pick of 80’s it girl Winona Ryder as the mum of missing child Will Byers was a masterstroke, she is no stranger to an iconic piece of film and this was certainly that. Her wonderful portrayal was matched by numerous around her, David Harbour plays cop Jim Hopper and is definitely my favourite character in the show. Starting the series, I could not have envisaged how much you would grow to love the character and by the end of the series I just wanted to give the big man a hug, and then we have the true heroes of this epic, the kids! Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin, Finn Wolfhard as Mike, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas and of course Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, all were instantly loveable and the relationship between them shone through the entire series. Special note must also go to Natalie Dyer, Charlie Heaton and Joe Keery as Nancy, Jonathan and Steve respectively who had key roles to play too and a "will they, won't they" love triangle ran throughout all the action that was perfect as the kind of teen love affairs which can take place in high school. It was seriously hard to find anyone in this program who I didn't like and Matthew Modine seemed too perfect for his role as the bad guy/research scientist to blame for the whole thing.
Truly spoilt by everything we saw, we were also treated to some delightful musical accompiant too. The dark, moody synth compositions of Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein set the tone fantastically, and for those wondering who they are? Well they are from experimental synth quartet 'Survive', and if you liked what you heard, then you may want to check them out after reading this. This delightful composition was also intertwined with classic tunes like “Africa” by Toto, “Waiting for a Girl Like You” by Foreigner, “Atmosphere” by Joy Division and, of course, The Clash song “Should I Stay or Should I Go”, which will be remembered fondly in this series as the song of the show for all its use within the story. It was a perfectly balanced use of original to some iconic 80’s that, again, helped with that quite wonderful atmosphere.
It really cannot be stressed enough how much I utterly adored these 8 episodes. I have never rated a TV show a 10 either, mainly because I think that with more episodes comes more risk. I won't like at least one of them, but every single episode was worthy of the rest. Not convinced by what I thought? Well we are days after the release of this film and the accolades are pouring in for the Duffer Brothers epic. Stephen King and Guillermo Del Toro have both made known their love for this series and I think we can all agree they know what they are talking about. This was unquestionably superb TV, the only real question left to answer is, what next? Could their possibly be a sequel series? The Duffer brothers certainly have left it open enough but could they possibly recapture the same magic in a second series? Only time will tell on that one but, regardless of what comes next, I think anyone who watches this show will have a favourite for life. I loved you my lucky 13, I absolutely loved you!
By Gaz Masters
Drama / Sci-fi/ Thriller/ Horror
Directed by: Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
Starring: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown
For fans of: The Goonies, Stand By Me, Super 8, E.T.
My Rating: 10 out of 10
Lets take a brief moment to let that rating above sink in. That rating reads 10 out of 10 and you should know by now that I’m pretty reluctant to give big scores out unless absolutely necessary. In fact the last 10 out of 10 I gave was for a french film called “The Intouchables” and that film came out way back in 2011, which clearly is a long time waiting for perfection. In total I have rated 12 shows/films the holy accolade of being perfect in my eyes. They are all something that I simply can not fault, not to say they don’t have flaws, they probably do to some people, but in my personal opinion they are perfect for me. There is a reason I am so stingy with ratings too, I honestly believe that if I were to rate every film or TV series I liked or enjoyed high scores then my favourites, those holy 12, would seem less special in some way. Some have come close too! In my last review I stated how close 'Sing Street' came to breaking into this most elite club, yet I had to think about whether that was a 9 or a 10 and thats the test. 9’s I can love, they can be favourites but the 10’s I don't need to think about. I knew from the moment I watched them they were worth every one of those 10 points and about 10 minutes into Stranger Things, I knew this had the potential to break my barriers and by the end, I had nothing but the nervous excitement of signing into my IMDB account, clicking the number 10 and making it my lucky 13!
To say this TV program seemed special is an understatement, there was an atmosphere to this series that made it feel like the favourite film you never grew up with. For starters there was certainly more than a nostalgic 80’s ambience to it, a true nod to those coming of age kid films of that era but this was a TV series that felt, from start to finish, like one big brilliant movie. I suppose that could be because from the moment I started watching it, I binged and binged until I was through it. It was like a drug addiction, after the first 10 minutes of gripping entertainment I was hooked on my television heroin and I honestly feel the withdrawal symptoms today as I try and get over how truly great it was. Everything felt perfect about this show, from the early glimpse of that gorgeous old style movie poster, which was more than reminiscent of the old Star Wars posters, to the dark synth soundtrack accompanying the bright red neon lettering of the opening titles, finishing on a group of lads in a basement playing dungeons and dragons. This was a time capsule, this didn't feel like the 80’s...this was the 80’s!
This was far more than style over substance too, it looked great! That is without question but within it was a story worthy of a favourites list. A beautifully balanced script which defied genre’s, you had sci-fi, thriller, drama, romance, horror, comedy and action all rolled up into one bundle of pure joy. The directors must have the credit praised upon them at this point for not only getting this delightful atmosphere yet also the wonderful creation they laid before us. Matt and Ross Duffer got this absolutely spot on, there was no episode were it slipped and there was no time I wasn't completely convinced by what was going on before my eyes. Also to the writing team beneath them, a salute to some of the finest magic a screen has seen. My only wish is that I somehow could have attended the cinema to see the full glory of this series. Note to self: If there is ever a series 2, buy a cinema.
A good script and good shooting does not necessarily equal success and this is where my next chunk of praise is aimed at. My praise pours over a quite stunning cast and the team that assembled them. The pick of 80’s it girl Winona Ryder as the mum of missing child Will Byers was a masterstroke, she is no stranger to an iconic piece of film and this was certainly that. Her wonderful portrayal was matched by numerous around her, David Harbour plays cop Jim Hopper and is definitely my favourite character in the show. Starting the series, I could not have envisaged how much you would grow to love the character and by the end of the series I just wanted to give the big man a hug, and then we have the true heroes of this epic, the kids! Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin, Finn Wolfhard as Mike, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas and of course Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, all were instantly loveable and the relationship between them shone through the entire series. Special note must also go to Natalie Dyer, Charlie Heaton and Joe Keery as Nancy, Jonathan and Steve respectively who had key roles to play too and a "will they, won't they" love triangle ran throughout all the action that was perfect as the kind of teen love affairs which can take place in high school. It was seriously hard to find anyone in this program who I didn't like and Matthew Modine seemed too perfect for his role as the bad guy/research scientist to blame for the whole thing.
Truly spoilt by everything we saw, we were also treated to some delightful musical accompiant too. The dark, moody synth compositions of Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein set the tone fantastically, and for those wondering who they are? Well they are from experimental synth quartet 'Survive', and if you liked what you heard, then you may want to check them out after reading this. This delightful composition was also intertwined with classic tunes like “Africa” by Toto, “Waiting for a Girl Like You” by Foreigner, “Atmosphere” by Joy Division and, of course, The Clash song “Should I Stay or Should I Go”, which will be remembered fondly in this series as the song of the show for all its use within the story. It was a perfectly balanced use of original to some iconic 80’s that, again, helped with that quite wonderful atmosphere.
It really cannot be stressed enough how much I utterly adored these 8 episodes. I have never rated a TV show a 10 either, mainly because I think that with more episodes comes more risk. I won't like at least one of them, but every single episode was worthy of the rest. Not convinced by what I thought? Well we are days after the release of this film and the accolades are pouring in for the Duffer Brothers epic. Stephen King and Guillermo Del Toro have both made known their love for this series and I think we can all agree they know what they are talking about. This was unquestionably superb TV, the only real question left to answer is, what next? Could their possibly be a sequel series? The Duffer brothers certainly have left it open enough but could they possibly recapture the same magic in a second series? Only time will tell on that one but, regardless of what comes next, I think anyone who watches this show will have a favourite for life. I loved you my lucky 13, I absolutely loved you!
By Gaz Masters