Tag: Wrenn Schmidt

For All Mankind: Season 4

STREAMING REVIEW:

Apple TV+;
Sci-Fi;
Not rated.
Stars Joel Kinnaman, Krys Marshall, Coral Peña, Cynthy Wu, Edi Gathegi, Toby Kebbell, Tyner Rushing, Daniel Stern, Svetlana Efremova, Wrenn Schmidt.

One fascinating aspect of the alternate history series “For All Mankind” is tracking how much more the show delves into its science-fiction elements as the stories move further away from the fictional timeline’s divergence from our own reality.

The original “what if” premise of the series was to explore what would have happened with the American space program had the Soviet Union somehow won the race to land on the moon. The first season, taking place primarily in the early 1970s, pushed forward an answer that we simply would have raised the stakes of the Space Race, to not just land on the moon, but establish permanent bases there. The result was a sort of “Mad Men” in space that featured a mixture of fictional characters and real historical figures, while providing subtle social commentary by using the speculated changes in world events and political attitudes to shine a light back upon our own reality. The depiction of technology wasn’t too far astray from what actually existed at the time.

Season two, set in the early 1980s, and season three, set in the mid 1990s, continued to put this formula to excellent dramatic effect. Season two transferred escalating Cold War tensions to each side expanding their presence on the lunar surface, leading into season three’s race to be the first to land on Mars. In the show’s timeline, advancements in space sped up technological innovation by years if not decades, while ship and space station designs reflected ideas that in our reality never made it past the drawing board due to funding cuts.

But with its space hotels and Martian landers, the “For All Mankind” reality began to resemble what sci-fi movies and TV shows from 50 years ago such as 2001: A Space Odyssey had imagined the future would look like.

Season four thus gives the show a chance to pay off not only three seasons’ worth of story and character development, but 30 years of in-universe historical advancement. Set in 2003, the season finds the various spacefaring nations of the world and the mega-corporation Helios involved in a cooperative effort to manage Happy Valley, the first human settlement on Mars. The discovery of a mineral-rich asteroid passing through the solar system spawns an objective to attempt to capture it, but the intricacies of planning the mission expose years of dormant tensions between numerous factions on both planets.

Culture on Mars has developed a social hierarchy separating the administrators and the labor force, giving the season something of a Metropolis vibe.

The strength of the show’s writing is how it presents a situation, and then throws its established characters into the room to bounce off each other to see how the plot finds a resolution. It makes for compelling drama that pays off in a number of unexpected ways.

The season finale, which becomes available Jan. 12, provides not only a satisfying capper to the first four seasons of the show, but sets up exciting possibilities for the series should it continue into season five and beyond.

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Nope

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY REVIEW:

Universal;
Thriller;
Box Office $123.28 million;
$29.98 DVD, $34.98 Blu-ray, $44.98 UHD BD;
Rated ‘R’ for language throughout and some violence/bloody images.
Stars Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott, Steven Yeun, Wrenn Schmidt, Keith David.

Comedian-turned-auteur Jordan Peele’s latest foray into metaphorical horror blends sci-fi and Western elements into an engrossing tale of a UFO plaguing a ranch on the fringes of Hollywood.

Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer star as OJ and Em Haywood, whose family business provides horses for use in Hollywood productions. After the death of their father months earlier due to mysterious debris falling from the sky, the Haywood ranch has been facing financial difficulties, forcing OJ to sell horses to a local Western-themed amusement park owned by former child star Jupe (Steven Yeun), whose biggest claim to fame was appearing on 1990s sitcom that was canceled after its chimpanzee star went on a rampage, destroyed the set and injured several members of the cast.

As the Haywoods struggle to reverse their fortunes, they discover what seems to be a flying saucer that neutralizes electricity when it flies by, often flying low to the ground and consuming everything in sight, horses and people included. Realizing that proof of UFOs could provide the windfall they need, they plot to photograph it by setting up a series of cameras in such a way that not all of them would be fritzed off by the UFO at the same time.

Joined by a local electronics store clerk (Brandon Perea) motivated by curiosity to assist their efforts, they soon start to understand the nature of the mysterious visitor and its role in their father’s death and family’s plight.

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A discussion in the Blu-ray bonus materials labels the film as a combination of Close Encounters and Jaws, which is an apt description given the prevalence of Spielbergian overtones throughout the film. Writer-director Peele himself calls the film a tribute to the oft-overlooked artisans of Hollywood, while also serving as an examination of exploitation and humanity’s addiction to spectacle. The prominent motif in this regard is reflected in the film’s depiction of attempts to placate wild animals for entertainment purposes. Even the horses, long considered a tame companion in mankind’s spread of civilization, can abandon their training and prove dangerous when startled.

Peele’s skill at layering tension draws the audience into the mystery of the flying object alongside the Haywoods, while brilliant sound design and fantastic cinematography enhance the unsettling mood.

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The making of the film is covered in great detail in the hour-long “Shadows: The Making of Nope” documentary included with the Blu-ray. Supplemental featurettes include “Call Him Jean Jacket,” a nearly 15-minute piece about the design and symbolism of the UFO; and the five-and-a-half-minute “Mystery Man of Muybridge,” an examination of the historical reel of a jockey riding a horse that is one of the earliest examples of the potential of film and is one of the central influences of Nope.

Also included is a five-and-a-half-minute gag reel, and five deleted scenes that run a total of nine-and-a-half minutes, though some are more akin to extended sequences with unfinished visual effects.

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