Every summer, Sardoken and I love to rewatch all Harry Potter movies during the annual mind-numbing heatwave. This year, no exception. There we were hanging in the couch, suffering the scorching temperatures, trying to alleviate our pain by watching one of our favourite movie series. After all this time, still as magical as ever.
Instead of ranting endlessly about the heat, here’s one particular scene with my favourite Hogwarts teacher, professor Slughorn:
It’s weird to think that this TV-show was originally planned for a one season limited TV series, yet here we are watching the third season. Normally, Chris and I aren’t fans of psychological drama at all, we even cut movies in the middle because we can’t stand it but, for The Sinner, we gladly made an exception. This season was like a cat and mouse game between Detective Ambrose and his antagonist, Jamie. Like Chris said, it looks like Ambrose is shaking Jamie like a bottle of champagne and the cork is about to pop any minute. That’s the exact reason why we came back for more, who wouldn’t wanna see the outcome?
The main quote and plot throughout this season could make one hell of a subject for discussion, yet I’m not going to go there because when I get philosophical, I don’t know where things will end:
If you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. – Friedrich Nietzsche
Hope Mikaelson, the daughter of a werewolf and a vampire, attends the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted and learns to use and control her supernatural abilities. IMDb
As a great fan of The Originals, I was ecstatic when I heard that there would be another spin-off of the infamous Vampire Diaries. Werewolves, vampires, witches, and demons are some of my favourite subjects so, this was perfect for our week-end dinnertime TV-show. Even though, Legacies is less deep and serious as The Originals, I absolutely love it. The Salvatore School reminds me a lot of Harry Potter, so beautiful and cozy, I sometimes wish I could live there. One down point was the ridiculous appearance of “the necromancer”, but he was easily overshadowed by some great episodes like the 80’s flashback, and the epic fight against the Grinch on Christmas.
Danielle Rose Russell is a complete badass as Hope Mikaelson, both her and Alaric Saltzman are my favourite characters of the TV-show. I just hope that it won’t take too long before season 3 will come out since a lot is on hold with the whole COVID situation.
This is the first movie we’ve watched during our one week of summer holidays. We thought it would be fitting our mood of sun and blue sky during this strange month of July. For some reason, I’ve believed all my life that Palm Springs is a place on the border of a beach with lots of palm trees, imagine my surprise seeing a desert instead. I immediately googled Palm Springs after watching the movie, and yes, it apparently is a desert resort city in California. I’ve learned a new thing that day…
The movie was fun to watch, Andy Samberg was as hilarious as always. Movies about time loops always reach their best point when the people who are stuck in them, accept their fate and completely let go. Throwing a bomb at a wedding, dressing up like a pirate, camping in the desert while stoned and watching dinosaurs pass,… life would be so much fun if none of your actions would have any consequences, the day starts over and over again anyway.
Also, those inflatable pizzas look so comfy, I could see Chris and I floating on one of those babies in our imaginary pool.
This TV-show brought me back to the time I’ve played “Detroit: become Human”, I remember going crazy by the way humans were treating the androids in this game. Westworld does the exact same thing, all I wanted was for the robots to have their revenge.
Imagine being stuck in a park where rich creeps can play out their rapist and murder fantasies on you over and over again, this is downright atrocious. I strongly believe that from the moment you create a life, whether it’s a robot, AI, or android, this very being needs to be treated with respect. Humans tend to treat everything that is different from them as a threat, an enemy. They are so afraid to loose control, that they would rather destroy anything that is different from them than learning to coexist.
This is such a deep and philosophical subject, Chris and I can talk for hours about this, but I’m not going to go there because this post would become an insanely long rant. The true plot of the story is that they uploaded “reveries” which means that the robots can have memories, these memories create emotions, and because of these emotions, they can deviate from the paths that were coded and uploaded in their system. An intricate topic with tons of plot twists that I didn’t see coming.
The casting is excellent, Anthony Hopkins (Dr. Robert Ford), Evan Rachel Wood (Dolores Abernathy), and especially Thandie Newton, a complete badass in her role as Maeve Millay. Here’s one of her quotes:
Maeve Millay: [to Sylvester and Lutz] All my life, I’ve prided myself on being a survivor. But surviving is just another loop. I’m getting out of here. You two are going to help me.
Sylvester: No. Do, do you know how far these people will go to protect their IP? Every part of this building, including the skin on your back, is made to keep you here. It, it’d be a suicide mission.
Maeve Millay: At first, I thought you and the others were gods. Then I realized you’re just men. And I know men. You think I’m scared of death? I’ve done it a million times. I’m fucking great at it. How many times have you died? Because if you don’t help me I’ll kill you.
The show reminds me somehow of a real life MMORPG, where NPC’s relive their same fate over and over again. Humans are just guests in the NPC’s home world which is nothing more than an amusement park that provides an escapism from those guests’ real life.
On another note, I also absolutely loved the music and the player piano rolls used throughout the entire season. Some of the instrumental covers include songs of The Cure, Soundgarden, The Rolling Stones, Radiohead,… I’ve read on IMDb that the repetitive three-chord phrase, often heard in the background music, comes from Westworld (1973), where it underscored the Gunslinger’s slow but relentless pursuit of the hero. I really like this tune, it reminds me a lot of Carpenters’ music. It makes me wonder if season 2 will be as musical as the first one!
There is so much more that I could elaborate and mention about this topic, but I need to draw a line somewhere so, I’ll end this post with one more quote that is mentioned repeatedly throughout this season:
“These violent delights have violent ends” – Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
A few years ago, Chris and I finished watching all seasons of Bates Motel. We were in awe from the beginning to the end, and felt sad when the story ended. Somewhere in June, I was searching Netflix for a new thing to watch while crocheting when I stumbled upon Bates Motel, I instantly pushed the button “play from the beginning”. This TV-show is even better than I remembered, there’s so much that I had already forgotten.
While watching the show, I couldn’t help myself but be awestruck by the little town of White Pine Bay. The nature looks so beautiful, it always makes me envious for huge hikes in a forest so, I looked up where the TV-show was shot. Apparently the original story of Bates Motel takes place in California, the TV-show however moved the infamous hotel to a fictional town in Oregon. While reading about the actual location of the shooting, it appears that the filming took place in Vancouver and British Columbia. Well, Oregon or not, the place looks beautiful and that’s that.
The casting is excellent, Vera Farmiga (Norma Bates), Freddie Highmore (Norman Bates), Ryan Hurst (Chick Hogan) being amongst some of my favourite characters. Apparently, Ryan Hurst thought his role as Chick was too similar to other characters he had played before, so he accepted the role with the condition that he could make it personal. The result was amazing, I’m glad that he was given that opportunity. I’ve also read that Vera Farmiga was the one that suggested Freddie Highmore for the role of Norman. Those two were absolutely perfect in their role. I can’t imagine anyone else pronouncing the word “mother” as sickly and disturbing as Mr. Highmore does.
On a finishing note, here’s my favourite quote of Norma Bates: “When I moved here, no one prepared me for the colossal, frickin’ face-dive off a cliff that living in this crazy town really is!”. Even though I think that Vera Farmiga is an excellent actress in each role that she plays, she really kills it as Norma Bates. Whoever did the casting deserves an award.
Last week, during the first heatwave of this summer, Chris and I were dreaming about a good refreshing frappuccino. The first time we’ve drank this cold delight was years ago at Starbucks, when they still had a lactose free version of this drink. Years later, we’re still craving for a cold “coffee” beverage for summer so, we decided to order a blender that can crush ice, and make a perfect frappuccino.
Yesterday was quite a hot Saturday, too hot to do anything so, we’ve been lazying up, hanging in the couch while sipping from our jar of frappuccino, and re-watching Breaking Bad.
After a few experiments, this is our favourite recipe until now (for 2 persons):
It’s very easy to make, just throw all the ingredients into the blender, and a few seconds later it’s done. I know that a lot of people add whipped cream, and a whole bunch of other stuff, but both Chris and I prefer our food as simple as possible.
Yesterday was an amazing day, and I’m ready to have more of those. Let the summer begin!
The Charnel House Trilogy, developed by Owl Cave, is a point & click game with pixel graphics. As the title states the game is in 3 parts: Inhale, Sepulchre, and Exhale. The story is about a horrifying and fatal night aboard a train bound for Augur Peak. Even though the game is pretty short, the developers managed to create an eerie atmosphere that puts you at ill-ease in times.
My favourite scene is the one at the station, waiting for the train while snow’s falling on the abandoned tracks is so dreamy. Despite the current summer temperatures, Alex gave me the chills though. I mean, who goes out in the snow in just a T-shirt? I’d be wrapped up like an Eskimo!
Anyway, I’ve played this game a few years ago, and remembered how much I loved it at that time. Meanwhile, I’ve played so many other games that I’ve forgotten most of the story of The Charnel House Trilogy so, I planned to re-play it this weekend.
Today, after a great walk at the park, a super delicious sandwich, and a damn fine cup of coffee, I installed myself at my desk, and booted this little gem. Two hours later, I had already finished the entire story. While it was very short, the adventure was worthwhile. The puzzles are a bit too easy, but it made the trip go smooth, and without any challenge. I can understand that some people may have an issue with that, but it didn’t really bother me that much. Props for the pixel graphics cause I’m a complete sucker for these. All in all, an absolute must for all adventure games fans.
One, two, Freddy’s coming for you.
Three, four, Better lock your door
Five, six, grab a crucifix.
Seven, eight, Gonna stay up late.
Nine, ten, Never sleep again…
Chris and I are huge horror fans, and since psychological dramas are taking over our beloved genre, we’ve decided to re-watch the good old classics for now. Nothing beats a slasher movie on Saturday night so, we’ve decided to start our re-run galore with “A Nightmare on Elm Street” series.
Yesterday evening we’ve watched the first one, released in 1984. Now that’s what I call real horror. How I’ve missed the simple plots of a slasher movie! No intricate dialogues, no psychological BS, and no violins… Just the simple life of teens, trying to outwit a creepy killer on cool 80’s tunes. The perfect recipe for a Saturday horror night.
While reading some trivia of “A Nightmare on Elm Street”, I’ve learned that the movie is actually inspired by real-life events. Apparently, Wes Craven decided to make this movie after reading some L.A. Times articles about a group of teenage immigrants who, after moving to the U.S., died in their sleep after suffering from disturbing nightmares.
Interesting… A great concept, perfectly translated. The last time that I had watched a NOES is so long ago that I barely remember any of it. I’m glad we decided to do some re-runs for now, I have the feeling that I’m watching most movies for the first time again. The perks of getting older… hehe…
Anyway, A Nightmare On Elm Street is, in my opinion, along with Halloween and Friday the 13th, one of the best slasher movies ever made.
One of our most favourite things to watch during our Sunday lunchtimes are documentaries. Whether it’s about a serial killer, Bigfoot, or doomsday preppers, all is welcome as long as it keeps us interested.
At the beginning of the quarantine a new docuseries, “Tiger King”, was released on netflix. Everybody and his mother seemed to be pretty hyped about it so it only seemed natural to watch the show from the beginning to the end. What seemed to be a fun thing to watch in the first episode, gradually became a drag. Joe Exotic went from a funny loose cannon with a mullet to an absolute train wreck of a person. I honestly never thought that something like that existed in this world. Anyway, I admit that I only watched the entire show to be up to date with the hype, but to be entirely honest, I could have lived without it.
Add to this basket over hyped shows like “Making a Murderer”, “The Staircase”,… which I found not only boring, but also extremely depressing. I even quit watching these in the middle not caring about the end.
Unlike the previously mentioned basket cases, there are also riveting documentaries that were compelling to watch, and that brought a tear to my eyes when it ended. “Don’t Fuck with Cats”, “The Bigfoot Files”, “Evil Genious”,… All these were excellent.
“Bigfoot Files” was a complete other type of documentary, but was interesting, and at times even made me roll on the floor of laughter. Some scenes were so ridiculous, it was funny. Yet a part of me desperately wanted to know if they found actual clues on whether Bigfoot really exists or not. Spoiler alert: they haven’t. I guess that the mysterious creature will remain a myth after all.
In the entire haystack of serial killer docuseries, my favourite is “Don’t Fuck with Cats”. The story of Luka Magnotta was both disturbing and interesting, and kept me glued in front of my screen till the end. I loved the way they build up the suspense in each episode. Still now I wonder who the real monster in this story was, Luka, a victim of modern society, or the people on social media that seem to have given him a push into the direction he took. Regardless, an excellent story which is hard to top, and my favourite of all serial killer stories.