High Fidelity (2020)

Came across this show while on one of my not so regular Instagram stalkings of Zoë Kravitz. Decided since COVID – 19 has everyone trapped in the house that i finally had the opportunity to binge watch.

I can honestly say i enjoyed myself, seeing Rob’s real and relatable struggles with love, as well as every other unique character and their plot, had me thoroughly enoying each episode.

This is the first thing I have watched where Zoë has been the lead character, her having a more predominant role allowed me to really admire her acting capabilities. I felt Rob was a complex protagonist that Kravitz portrayed very well.

Another unique factor of the show that I enjoyed was how heavily different genres of music were talked about and/or played through the season. The characters constantly coming up with “top 5 lists” for whatever topic or situation going on at the moment, was interesting and also put me onto some good songs.

Something else I loved was having some unknown (to me) faces, aside from Kravitz. Seeing actors that I have never seen before on screen or actors that are not considered “mainstream” is refreshing, because it tells you that casting decisions were made by looking at who could best bring the character to life and not who could pull in the most views based on their personal fame.

Bascially if you have the time, and a STARZ subscription, I would dedicate the time to watching this show. I think the writers and actors were able to tell a relatable story about how sometimes people can feel lost and like not enough when it comes to love, and seeing how Rob navigates through life with these feelings is for sure something to see.

disclaimer: I am also brutally aware how dry and bland this review is, however i just needed to get my feet wet again because it has been a minute since the last one, so please do not allow the roughness of this review to deter you from watching this show. It is also 4am currently so if things don’t make sense it may be due to lack of sleep. ok thank you bye.

 

-ZI

Sex Education = A Hilarious Necessary Work Of Art.

One of the many original hits Netflix has created – Sex Education, recently had its second season released onto the streaming service. The show revolves around a high School in a town called Mooredale and the teens that attend the school. This show touches on wide array of topics such as bisexuality, adoptive parent anxiety and sexual assault. The stories are told in such a real and relatable way, every character and their individual plot line handled so carefully and with so much detail. 

The show talks about many questions teenagers or just people in general may have when it comes to sexual intercourse. Season 1 laid down the ground work for the show to build, we became acquainted with the main group of characters and their backstories. Season two levelled up in EVERY way possible, I had already been a fan of the show, but when season one had ended I didn’t keep up with any updates following season two. 

When the second season dropped on Netflix I was home from work, with absolutely nothing to do, so like any other regular person I binged it all in that one day. My interest and likeness for the show grew more than I expected it to, so I rewatched it again the next day. I found the actors really brought their A game to the table this time, I feel Emma Mackey especially, gave us a new side of Maeve this season, really allowing the character to step out of the whole “reject bad girl” persona she seemed to remain in for the first season. The addition to her mother in the show also showed us that although she comes across as being independent and okay with being alone, we see her open up to the idea that her mother may finally be able to stand on her feet and be there for her, but is ultimately let down. This is something I think many people experience, not specifically with mothers, but with anyone in life. You may want to rely on someone who you know isn’t reliable, but when it is someone you care about it can be extremely difficult to use your head instead of your heart.

I will say that I am not a fan of Eric choosing Adam over Rahim. Adam understandably was going through the process of accepting his bisexuality and his feelings for Eric. However Eric is far past that point, he knows who he is and what he is looking for as does Rahim. Sure Adam was able to tell the school about his love for Eric but can he show the world the same way Rahim can? I think not. 

And honestly the fact that I have to wait another damn season to see if Maeve and Otis will end up together is just cruel and unusual punishment. At least we got to the point of them admitting they have feelings for each other, but Otis had to go and screw that up by listening to Ola and her ultimatum. If anyone ever gives you an ultimatum like this, please pack your things and leave, someone who really loves you would not make you choose between cutting off a good friend and staying with them. 

All in all I’m gonna suggest that you go ahead and binge watch both seasons of this carefully crafted, laughter filled series. You’re not gonna regret it. 

-ZI

Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda VS Love, Simon.

Back in 2018 on a random day, in the month of March I had gone to the movie theatres with some friends to see a movie I knew very little about. Flashing forward an hour and a half later – I was leaving the theatre partially choking back tears from how relatable the movie had been, but also because I’m a total sap when it comes to romantic stuff. 

A week later I went back to see the movie again, the second time I decided not to hold back the tears, because everyone else in the theatre was also crying. I was kind of concerned why no one cried the first time I had seen the movie, but maybe everyone felt uncomfortable to cry in public as I did. I checked online constantly for a good enough quality version to watch at home, and when that day finally came it is safe to say none of my family saw me leave my room for a good twelve hours.

One of my closest friends and I carried on a tradition of watching Love, Simon whenever  we were spending time at her house, we would watch the movie when we had sleepovers, when we would get ready to go out, even while we were bleaching my hair. It’s likely that one might say we watched it too much, but I don’t see how that’s possible. 

Speeding up to present day, if you can count three months ago as present day, having a much busier schedule definitely gave us some space from the movie for awhile. 

I had been thinking to myself that it was time I started reading again, something I loved all throughout my childhood, but fell off around the time I started high school and started thinking I was much cooler than I actually was. So anyways I decide I should try reading the novel Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda, the book which Love, Simon is based on. So I went to the local bookstore, bought a copy, and it sat on my night stand for over two weeks, unopened. The thought of getting back into reading seemed like such a good choice, but its easy to say you’re going to do something, when it comes to the follow through, well you could say I score pretty low on that scale. 

On a random day after work I decided to finally start reading the book, and roughly three days later I finished the book. From the moment I started reading I felt like I was entranced to never stop, I read while I was at work, the second I got home, I even contemplated reading on the bus. However I did refrain from that because I get super nauseated whenever I try to read in a moving vehicle.

Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda briefly brought me to place where I had almost completely forgotten the movie ever existed. You always hear most people complain about movie adaptations of their favourite books never being good as the source material. Well for the year and a half I spent watching the movie, I had never read the source material. For me I had no opinions because there was nothing to compare to. 

However in this case I will have to be one of those people who agrees that the movie was nowhere near as good as the book. While reading the book I was amazed to learn how much of the emailing between Simon and his anonymous penpal “Blue” was left out. But of course in some ways that makes sense, I mean they do have to condense a three hundred page book down to and hour and a half film, so naturally cuts have to be made. But in the book you get a more in depth look at the evolution of the relationship the two have over email, from all the personal things they share to the jokes they make. 

One of the major things I think the movie got wrong, is how they altered the reactions Simon’s friends had to his secrets coming to light. Without going into too much detail about how the friends react to finding out all that their best friend Simon has kept from them, i’ll try to give you the spark notes version. In the book Simon’s friends discover all that has been kept a secret, just like in the movie, his being gay is not an issue to them. They do however find an issue with how Simon played a role in setting up his friend with the person who happens to be black mailing him. But this problem is blown way out of proportion in the movie, The book has his friends forgive him like two day later, understanding the position he was put in.

The movie has the friends confront Simon, while he is stressing about venturing back to school after having his sexual orientation broadcasted for the whole school to know, and his secret identity revealed to his anonymous crush/boyfriend/not sure what the correct label is to use but you get the idea. The friends question Simon’s actions and explain they have connected the dots and can now see how Simon has lied to them. 

Many of the friends I have seen the movie with unfortunately cannot stand watching this scene, they feel that real friends would instantly understand the pressure and anxiety Simon was experiencing and would not try to make the situation into a whole thing about  them. I do have to agree with this, Simon may have not been making the right choice, but how is there a “right” choice when you are being blackmailed. Simon was trying to keep his secret and Blues anonymity safe until the time was right for both to be revealed, in the end none of the friends were directly hurt by what Simon had done to keep the secret. But leaving your friend to fend for himself to be harassed at school and go through such a shift in his life all by himself is one hundred percent trash, sorry I don’t make the rules. This was a part of the movie I never understood, I get needing to change things for the movie to work better as a whole, but if this scene was never in the book why was it then written in? Lots of questions, very little answers my friends.

So it wasn’t until today, when I rewatched Love, Simon that I realized that if I am looking at both the novel and the film as completely separate, then in their own ways they both receive a 10/10 in my mind. Of course if I were to then compare the two, then strictly based on detail and the storyline that unfolds before you, the scenes that are set up in your mind for you to imagine while reading, and the character development, then it would have to go to Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda. 

To conclude, if it wasn’t obvious already I would recommend both the book and the movie to everyone. While some may view it as very “high school” it happens to be extremely realistic and relatable, I mean in some aspects, of course we don’t all have penpal boyfriends and then get roped into betraying a friends trust all to keep someone from telling the whole school that you’re gay. But I think if you give both a chance you’ll understand what I’m talking about.

P.S I want absolutely no judgement on the grammar or punctuation of this, it’s been like over a year since I have written something other than a text message.

-ZI