Stranger Things

Stranger Things one can examine many of things even outside of the show itself, but in terms of the nature of a show such as this. I actually watched the show just as it originally came out before hype for the series had taken over granting a suppose a pure view of it as I simply just enjoyed a show I knew nothing about and in turn loved it. Now on that point what is that I love about the show. There is its 80's setting which I think holds more than nostalgic power, after all creating the atmosphere for a period and successfully creating a real sense of place and time is an achievement with any film or tv show. I will say the 80's previously had struggled to be captured often times on film. Stranger Things goes further though in granting a Quentin Tarantinoesque approach. Now this is not in terms of his overall style as a filmmaker but often the basis for his storytelling. In that Stranger Things for the 80's does what Tarantino did for the 60's and 70's in that he utilizes facets and styling of the old films for his own. Is this the most original habit, not necessarily but that really doesn't matter. Execution can often be more important than originality, for example Super 8 attempted a similair thing yet failed, whereas this series succeeds. In part there is originality in that this hasn't been done before in this exact way, and though the characters come from a known starting point they find their own life. Furthermore the combination of Stephen King, John Carpenter, Wes Crave, Steven Spielberg, John Landis, and Joe Dante among others does result in something original through that combination. As much as appreciate all of that styling what makes the show work though are those characters and the performances, which though there hiccups, there is definite greatness. The show though succeeds most in making me care about every character and becoming invested to the point I could honestly have just watched the kids play D&D for a whole episode. It is not a flawless series, the main monster for example is hindered a bit by CGI and the build up is better than the climax. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment and cared in the way you only get with a great show. 
5/5