To Binge Or Not To Binge? That Is The Question...

As Frank & Claire Underwood have gotten the internet fired up for spring and the countdown to winter harkens in Westeros the word in popular culture is BINGE. Binging or marathon watching is nowhere near being a new phenomenon, but is has become a buzzword as technology such as stream services gain more popularity. The power of services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc lie in their television catalogs. Life gets in the way and that show you were meaning to catch up on, that documentary you meant to catch, that special you wanted to watch, they're ALL there waiting for you to press play. Connectivity available around the planet in 2016 allows you to squeeze those precious moments in at home, on your laptop, tablet or your smartphone. By all means if you like TV and have some free time coming up, have at it. The question is should you binge watch or not? There is NO wrong answer, BUT here are a few questions and considerations that you should be aware of:

Episode Anxiety
Many bingers often complain about the lack of more episodes at the end of their run. It's OVER. You binged them. Whether it was just one season or several to bring you current, SORRY that's it. You have to wait like everyone else now. There IS a bright side. You're FINISHED. There are MORE shows you can catch now. Go ahead and get to 'em.

Genuine Interest or Keeping Up At The Watercooler?
Are you genuinely interested in what you're about to watch or are you trying to keep up with what everyone else is talking about? If you have a genuine interest, Yaaay. Trying to keep up? Okay cool, but be mindful that in the end that you may invest a lot of time in something that you ultimately don't like. Do the research. You know what you like.

How Good Are You With Names, Faces, Places, Events?
Binging can be considered the equivalent of speed reading for television. While you'll know main characters and major events, unless you're highly observant the subtleties, inside jokes, long running subplots/side stories can be missed. With more time to process episodes, these details come easier. It's the difference between attending a semester's worth of trigonometry or grabbing a textbook and learning it in a weekend. The process of repetition and building allows the information to be retained better. There are many who take EXCEPTION to this rule, but not the majority. This NOT to say DON'T binge, but I wouldn't want to re-watch a series because of how much of it I missed.

That's it.
Take it.
Leave it.
Enjoy it either way...

HALF Of What You See, NONE Of What You Hear...

With Super Tuesday behind us and the caucuses in full swing, I present to you: The Brainwashing Of My Dad

Award winning documentary filmmaker Jen Seko has a problem. It's her father, a cantankerous conservative with an axe to grind against minorities, gays and the disenfranchised.The REAL issue is that Jen says he wasn't always like this. Once an apolitical Democrat, Jen noticed the transformation as his access to conservative media increased over the years. To support her claim, Seko references The Powell Memo, implemented under Nixon's administration to influence courts, media outlets and other institutions that affect public opinion. 

What is to be uncovered is a big right-winged machine that it seems many are working to convince you isn't there, but is currently shaping America. Seko peels back the layers to show how control of and lack of diversity in reporting is breeding fear and division amongst the populace with her father as the unwary example. It is this personal touch that is believed to add another layer of depth to a burgeoning argument. This expose isn't so much a bashing of the machine as it is an account of it's long term effects. 

"The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth." - Morpheus, The Matrix (1999)

Sounds eerily familiar doesn't it? Explore what it's like to be plugged in if the Machine gets it's way in real life...

Define Hardcore From Your Point Of View...

WE'RE BACK!
Who else is back? Director Ilya Naishuller, that's who. WHO is that you ask?
Naishuller produced and directed the two viral music videos for Russian rock band, Biting Elbows titled The Stampede & Bad Motherfucker. What made them unique was their first-person point of view as we romped through an action movie. They scorched the internet, specifically BMF as it was the more popular of the two. Meanwhile, Naishuller launched a project on crowd-funding site Indiegogo (for $250,000) to make a full length feature in the same vein. That feature is NOW complete and it's name is Hardcore Henry.

You (Henry) wake up from near death in Moscow in typical badass protagonist fashion. You have no idea who you are. You also learn that you are cybernetically enhanced. You're accompanied by Estelle, a pretty woman proclaiming she is your wife. It doesn't take long before the action ensues and you go from on the run to on the chase. The movie is powered by the custom camera rig (above) which houses dual GoPros. While The Stampede and Bad Motherfucker were both visual marvels, many people questioned whether or not the process is a gimmick that would wear thin over a feature length running time. Those questions were answered when STX Entertainment beat out Lionsgate and Universal in a bidding war for it's rights shortly after the movie shut down the Toronto International Film Festival last year.

Are you a fan of the cinematography of Wanted, Night Watch & Day Watch series? Then you'll be happy to know is that Timur Bekmambetov is involved manning the producer's chair. I'm not here to say that this movie is good or bad. I AM here to say that I'm excited to see it. Check out what to expect here: