Stranger Things (Season 3)

[Dukefrukem]

July 4th


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEG3bmU_WaI

[Wryan]

Holy cow the aesthetic! The new cast! Looks super Stand by Me/Sandlot, as if they could rope more nostalgia-gasms out of people than they already have.

[MadMan]

Eleven/Max and Steve/Dustin friendships are the combos we need.

[Pop Trash]

Anyone notice The Guest shot / rip off / err homage? The Under the Skin rip off / homage was noticeable in the first season. I also don't think they will ever recapture the cozy self-contained atmosphere of the first season again.

That said, who am I kidding, I will watch the shit out of this.

[Wryan]

Do you mean gun dude coming out of the mirrors?

[Pop Trash]

Do you mean gun dude coming out of the mirrors?

That's the one. Around the 1:42 mark. Of course, I swear The Guest swiped that from some 80s or 90s action or maybe horror movie (I can't think of which one right now), which in turn swiped it from The Lady From Shanghai.

EDIT -- Enter the Dragon and Manhattan Murder Mystery both had The Lady From Shanghai ending homages, but I still think I've seen it done in other genre films from the 80s and 90s.

[Wryan]

Also John Wick 2 definitely cribbed it, but knowingly, probably.

[MadMan]

I prefer S2 over S1.

[Morris Schæffer]

I prefer S2 over S1.

S1 was fresh, S2 made it merely bigger imo. But S2 still good.;)

[Dukefrukem]

WTF was this new trailer?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3L1qrisKFE

[Dukefrukem]

Blasted through this with the wife this weekend. It's much dumber than the previous two seasons but I somehow felt more entertained overall. (doesn't help that I barely remember season 1 and there's very little season 2 references) I get a Return of the Jedi vibe where the entire group doesn't reunite until the end of the second to last episode. I love that. Everyone is off doing their thing, and they end up together (again).

The after credits scene was unnecessary. Of course there's going to be a Season 4 and Of course Hopper is still alive

[Pop Trash]

I started watching Refn's Too Old to Die Young the other week, but stopped after feeling like "am I really going to watch all 20 hours or whatever of this thing?"... but after watching Stranger Things 3, I kinda wish I stuck with it instead of jumping into this.

This is safe and formulaic almost to the point of mediocrity. I mean, I still like parts intermittently, but more so than even Season 2, does this increasingly feel like fan service going through the motions.

[MadMan]

I'm on the third episode. I don't care about the Nancy-Jonathan subplot. El and Max are adorable together, and Steve and Dustin make for great bros. So far so good.

[Dukefrukem]

Oh yeh. That's one thing I forgot to mention. This is Steve's coming out party. By far the best character in S3.

[transmogrifier]

This is safe and formulaic almost to the point of mediocrity.

Sounds very much like Season 2. I think I'll skip this.

[Skitch]

This season was AWESOME. Best season by far. Zero filler.

[Dukefrukem]

This season was AWESOME. Best season by far. Zero filler.

This was my wife's reaction too. I also got the most enjoyment out of this season, but it becomes a little ridiculous towards the latter half of the season.

Also, did they even explain why shutting off the doorway machine would kill the monster? I don't recall those things being linked together?

[Skitch]

This was my wife's reaction too. I also got the most enjoyment out of this season, but it becomes a little ridiculous towards the latter half of the season.

Also, did they even explain why shutting off the doorway machine would kill the monster? I don't recall those things being linked together?

I'm not sure if they did or not, but I think it goes it got trapped in our world when they closed the door but couldn't really do anything, then when the Russians cracked the gate it gave it enough power to reform and start doing damage. It slowly built itself back up with rats until it was strong enough to move on to people. So closing the gate maybe axed it for good this time since it was in a physical form? Thats what I assumed.

[Dukefrukem]

Even though the Russians probably have a second doorway machine in Siberia?

[Skitch]

Even though the Russians probably have a second doorway machine in Siberia?

This part I do remember...Alexi said they built one in Russian, but it wouldn't work because (paraphrasing) "you can have the right key, but you also have to have the right DOOR, and that door was in Hawkins, Indiana".

[Wryan]

Some spoilers ahoy:

Some of this season is noticeably weaker. It falls victim to tropes this time instead of doing something more interesting with them (just as a small example, there's not one, not two, but three moments, maybe more, where people are having an argument and a character has "had it" and bursts in with a fusillade of "cutting thru the bs," leaving everyone speechless with clarity and a "yikes don't piss that one off" silliness). The "girlfriend who lives in another town" doesn't really work except for the climactic payoff, which is smashingly good juxtaposed against the danger--so good, in fact, it makes you realize how much of the rest isn't quite matching that level. Otherwise there is sinew here that doesn't really work, or maybe only really works for people who haven't experienced these elements much before? There are times when it feels like it's become a little too full of itself. Poor Noah Schnapp's Will was such a standout presence in S2 but here is reduced to feeling the back of his neck in 90% of his scenes and maybe being gay. The writing/directing/acting choices for Hopper continue to send some, ah, mixed messages regarding his parenting--I'm pretty sure in S2 he teetered back and forth along the line of being outright abusive to El, but it's barely identified as much more than him being gruff/lost his daughter/loses his temper/can't deal with his feelings. The Russians are.....well, they're certainly '80s Russians.

And yet for all that there's still a lot to enjoy. I like that the Duffers' response to all the whispy shadows of Seasons 1 and 2 is to go waaaaay in the opposite direction with the Big Bad this time. Jesus Christ for a TV-14 show this has some gnarly shit in it. I loved it, with all its obvious inspiration from The Blob and The Thing, the latter of which is sorta painfully danced around in one awkward moment. Similarly, the final letter voiceover from Hop is probably too on-the-nose cheesy to work, but fuck it, it still did, at least for me. I liked most of Season 2 quite a bit, probably about as much as Season 1, though in different ways and for different reasons. This is a small backslide, but when it's working, it's really cookin'. The horror elements come back in a big, gooey, effective way. It needs to find a better groove vis-a-vis the kids growing up if the show is to continue.

[Pop Trash]

Parts of the final episode are great, and genuinely emotional, even if Hopper isn't really dead. I think they leave it ambiguous enough just in case there isn't a 4th season for some reason, you can pretend they're still dead. I'm a huge Neverending Story fan, so the best part of the entire season was the reveal of Dustin's girlfriend in SLC and their duet. I hope that girl comes back in the next season (if there is one). She's adorkable. I know its become a running gag, but I wish the writers didn't always dunk on Steve. I don't think Ethan-Uma character mentioned she's a full blown lesbian, just that she had a crush on the one girl in class, so I still think there's a chance for those two.

[Wryan]

I think Priah Ferguson's expanded role is a nice metaphor-in-miniature for what didn't work this season. They took something that worked well in small doses in the second season and blew it up way too big--giving her approximately one note and letting her hammer away at it over and over again--almost entirely because her sassy-child routine got fan buzz and clicks in the second season. They figured, "People liked this, so they'll like it even more if we turn her up to 11 [ahem] the next time." Often that doesn't really work unless it's handled with some care. And there was quite a bit not really handled with care this season. Granted, I don't think anything in S3 was as purely, flatly dead-on-arrival as the runaways nonsense in S2, but still...

EDIT: I realized I didn't say anything at all about the Thurman-Hawke kid. She was good. I liked her....Oh shit and also I liked that Cara Buono got more substantial stuff to work with! That was handled well.

[Dukefrukem]

And good work everyone.

1148359444188712960

[Milky Joe]

This season sucked.

[Ivan Drago]

Halfway through episode 3. Is it me, or does it feel like they've ramped up the cheese this season, especially in the coming-of-age romance stuff? And as good as the score and soundtrack are, there's a music cue every 5 minutes and it feels obnoxious to me.

[Peng]

1 > 3 >> 2

The second and third seasons make me appreciate how comparatively effortless the first one is. Apart from being fresh, that one nails the tricky balance of committing to and subverting the 80s tropes nicely, while having a consistently engaging adventure with a great cast. The second goes a different way, out of the creators' reach, and become a characters-separated drag.

This third gains back some of the charm, even if it feels slightly strained and repeated somewhat, with now barely any little moment of character/trope subversion that makes the first so fun even in its down time. The middle here drags a little bit as a result, from some characters becoming more one note (David Harbour especially gets the short end by his character having a grating note of boorish belting half the time), as the season focuses more on plot with many moving part and character groups. Going "season 1 but bigger" may make the characters suffer a bit but pay off in the spectacle department though, which is often exciting, and sometimes disgusting in a most fun way. Also has the best ending episodes yet too.

[MadMan]

I need a rewatch (and I will since I always have time to revisit the seasons before the new ones come out since they take forever to make them). But even though this season felt rushed at times I still loved it anyways. Robin and Steve is the buddy cop comedy we deserve and I liked how Eleven and Mike had issues with each other because there was no way they were going to keep having a seemingly happy relationship. Also Murray is one of the most underrated characters on the show. I think 4 or 5 seasons should be enough because eventually they will become a little too predictable. I wish they had not revealed that Hopper is probably alive at the end, but ok.

[MadMan]

Oh yeh. That's one thing I forgot to mention. This is Steve's coming out party. By far the best character in S3.

Absolutely. Steve's my favorite character, followed by Lucas, Dustin and then Max.

[Pop Trash]

I assume the final season will be El and the younger kids graduating high school, no? It's going to be harder for them to keep writing for the older "kids" (who will then be in their 20s) and keep pretending they all stayed in small town Indiana instead of hightailing to Chicago or something. Maybe it's best to drop that storyline completely.

[MadMan]

Heh I noticed that Mike alone seems to be aging pretty fast. It's why Walt was written out of Lost.

Nancy might turn out like her mom and stay, but it's hard to see say, Max or Lucas sticking around. Plus several characters moving at S3's end, too.

[Skitch]

3>2>1

[Wryan]

3>2>1

:confused:

[Skitch]

:confused:

Sorry. Let me explain. I enjoyed season three better than season two, and season two better than season one.

[transmogrifier]

Sorry. Let me explain. I enjoyed season three better than season two, and season two better than season one.

I enjoyed not watching Season 3 better than watching Season 2, so I feel you, buddy. :)

[Peng]

1 > 3 > 2

Season 3 feels like a big course-correction from Season 2’s slog, but still not as effortless, breezy fun as Season 1.

[Wryan]

Sorry. Let me explain. I enjoyed season three better than season two, and season two better than season one.

bitch I know what it means lol. You just seem to have things backward, is all. :)

[Skitch]

bitch I know what it means lol. You just seem to have things backward, is all. :)

well you posted confused emoji! haha

Also nah, season 1 has cutable stuff that adds nothing and advances no plot. I still like it, it just has fluff.

[Morris Schæffer]

This season was AWESOME. Best season by far. Zero filler.

Episode 5 is next. Ridiculously entertaining. Has a bit of a goonies vibe sometimes. Better than S2.

[Morris Schæffer]

Some hugely forced humour though in episodes 5 and 6, courtesy of Hopper and Joyce and that dude who lives off the grid. Winona Ryder is pretty grating. Monsters who don't kill, but throw their victims into walls over and over and over again, thus giving them a chance to get up. No eps 5 and 6 are not the high point of this season.

[Morris Schæffer]

Having seen it all, this was really good although Hop and Joyce's bickering became pretty insufferable.

I loved the moment when they're hiding in the theater that shows Back to the Future, and suddenly Alan Silvestri's action beats happen in sync with Dustin realizing Steve and Robin (in fact Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman's daughter) are no longer in their seats.

The main Russian killer looked like a Terminator, on purpose probably. Come to think of it, he looked even more like adult John Connor, the one we briefly glimpsed in T2's opening.