Media Update 2/4/21

Hardy Boys

I used to read Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books when I was a kid. I liked the idea of kid detectives and I devoured any fiction on that subject. When I heard that there was going to be a new series, I definitely wanted in. The series does similar things to the Nancy Drew series by injecting it with more character and plot. Instead of being the lantern-jawed, all-American boys, Joe and Frank Hardy are more relatable people. The two have just lost their mother and are trying to put their lives together when they are thrust into a mystery. Rohan Campbell plays Frank Hardy, a good guy who is hungry to solve his mother’s murder. Alexander Elliott plays a much younger Joe Hardy, a bit of a mischievous kid who is trying his own angle on the mystery. The supporting cast is excellent. Riley O’Donnell is fun as the tomboyish and clever Biff. James Tupper is great as their dad, an actual professional detective. The rest of the cast is also excellent. The mystery is compelling and I am left really wanting to know where it is all going. I recommend this show.

The Lovebirds

I love both Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani and when I heard they were coming together on a crime/romantic comedy, I was intrigued. This became even more the case when I found out that Michael Showalter was directing since Showalter was the director of Nanjiani’s previous movie, The Big Sick. The premise here is that Rae and Nanjiani play a couple on the verge of breaking up who get involved in a criminal conspiracy. They both do such a good job of portraying real people who are suddenly caught up in the criminal underworld. Nanjiani is snarky and hilariously pathetic while Rae is both sassy and clever. They mix it up with a whole cast of strange characters but the real show here is the great chemistry between Nanjiani and Rae. They are so good together and they spend the movie rambling to each other nonstop in an endearing way. I recommend this movie.

Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer

I have been watching a lot of documentaries and documentary series lately and most of them are not worthy of lengthy comment but this one stuck out to me. I thought that this would be an interesting series as the Night Stalker was a long case which is definitely interesting from an abnormal psychology and a criminology viewpoint. However, I ended up disliking this series. I did not think it was possible but this series was actually boring. The show is almost entirely stitched together interviews with police detectives (and their families) about the hunt for Richard Ramirez. These interviews are intercut with odd lingering shots of knives dripping with blood and other vivid imagery. The series lacks a neutral narrator to pull us through the story. We are left mostly with Gil Carillo and Frank Salerno telling cop stories. I really got tired of it. There were very few historians or any other academics laying out what was going on and any theories on why. Instead we get a lot of interviews with the people directly related to the case. It also highlighted a lot of police incompetence involved with the case. I do not recommend this series.

Music of the Week

Death Cult Electric – Deleter

K.O.Y – Baltimore

Check B – Corona

ONSLAUGHT – Bow Down To The Clowns

Mashup of the Week

Neil Cicierega – Rollercloser

Weekly Update
This week’s theme is “Working on a Mystery”
I watched more Watcher videos
I watched a lot of Twitch and YouTube
i watched more Elementary Season 3
I watched more Stargirl Season 1
I watched more WandaVision Season 1
I started watching The Crown Season 4
I started watching Sleepy Hollow Season 3
I started watching The Ripper (docuseries)