Stranger Things Season 4 Review

Season 1 of Stranger Things was a spectacular throwback to 80’s sci-fi, and a surprise mega-hit for Netflix. Naturally, it spawned a second season, which pulled from the same bag of tricks we’d already seen, often relying too heavily on nostalgia. Season three saw a big improvement in storytelling, but still felt like it was using its retro setting as a narrative crutch. After a lengthy hiatus, the show is back with it biggest season yet, but does bigger equal better?

In most ways, the answer is a resounding yes. With a $30 million per episode budget, Stranger Things has never looked better. The production value is through the roof, leaving us with something that feels far more cinematic than you’d expect from a TV show. It’s evolved beyond the nostalgia gimmick, into a genuinely great sci-fi series that happens to be set during the 80’s. There’s certainly still plenty of nostalgia to be found, but it acts as more of a compliment to the strongest story the show has given us in years.

Apart from the kids now looking like they’re ready to apply for a mortgage, the show slips back into its groove like it never missed a beat. Yes, it’s a bit jarring watching 18-20 year old actors play high school freshmen, but it’s exciting to see these characters again. Having the gang split up this time around gives us three separate plot threads, two of which work better than the other. Mike, Will and Jonathan feel like afterthoughts for most of the season, but their story ties back in nicely for the finale. The super-sized episodes can be a little daunting, but the pacing works relatively well. There isn’t a lot of filler, but most of the episodes could’ve benefitted from tighter editing to cut down on their bloated runtimes.

Stranger Things 4 is everything fans have been patiently waiting for. Filled with riveting twists and turns, it sets the stage perfectly for what is sure to be an epic final season. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait three more years to find out how it all ends.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Review Contributor: Benjamin Garrett @moviereviewswithben

Boss Level Film Review

Boss Level is a new addition to the time loop genre, with a twist. Ex-special forces officer, Roy Pulver, played by Frank Grillo, relives the same day until he dies. Every day he is hunted by assassins and when killed, he wakes up back in his bed where he started, only to have to try and survive all over again. Roy has no idea why he is stuck in this infinite time loop but he must do what he can to survive, and the longer he survives, the more he uncovers about his particular situation. Unlike most action films that take time to build up, this film gets right into it and offers tons of non-stop combat sequences that would satisfy any lover of action films. Its erratic flow makes for some fun action scenes which come out of nowhere since Roy can expect the assassins to attack at any moment. If you play video games often and have ever been stuck on a level for hours or even days, you know the feeling of having to repeat the same thing over and over again u...

Godzilla vs. Kong Film Review

Godzilla versus Kong is the action movie we have been longing for since all major blockbuster films pushed back their release dates. After three solo films between Kong and Godzilla, we finally see the two titans clash on film for the first time in what is the culmination of the Universal Monsterverse. The story is split nicely in two as team Kong and team Godzilla each have their own mission. Team Kong is on a secret mission to the center of the earth to uncover the mystery of the titans. This team consists of Dr. Nathan, Dr. Ilene, Maia, and the Youngest character in the film, Jia. Team Godzilla consists of Madison, Josh, and Bernie who are also on a secret mission, to infiltrate Apex Cybernetics with the theory that they are up to no good and are the reason why Godzilla has been acting up recently. The dynamics of the teams are well balanced as the Kong story provides us with serious and more action-heavy bits in contrast to the Apex team story that ...

Inside Out 2 | Review by: Stefano Bove

Nine years ago, Pixar introduced us to Riley, a young girl who is trying to grow with change happening with herself and her family. Her emotions; joy, anger, sadness, fear and disgust help her through these difficult times. Now two years, Riley is 13 and is going through new life changes physically and emotionally as she tries to grip with the reality that the rest of her life relies on how the next weekend goes. All of these changes spark new emotions to grow inside of her. It is a tough time for Riley that she must overcome. It is a snapshot in time that is probably a big emotional trigger for audiences as well as we go on this journey with Riley. Taking the incredibly intricate memory world that was established in the first film, the sequel makes a few minor additions that allow it to feel familiar but still fresh enough to keep us engaged. Many of these new additions are some of the funniest moments in the entire series. With more emotions and human charact...

1st Reviews

Search This Blog