Idiot Boxing: Stranger Things, season 2 (2017); Rick and Morty, season 1 (2013)

Who ya gonna call? The show wears its blatant love for
1980s pop culture nostalgia on its sleeve, without it ever
feeling purely gratuitous or exploitative.

Stranger Things, season 2 (2017)

I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of this great little TV show/love letter to 1980s Spielberg-esque, PG-13 adventure/horror shows. I found the sophomore season satisfying enough, but one that wasn't quite as dazzling or well-constructed as the first season.

At the end of the first season, Will was saved by his three faithful friends from a dark dimension which they had termed "The Upside-Down," a world where some strange type of plant monster seemed to be attempting to break into our own world. Although Will had been pulled out of The Upside-Down, he brought back some tadpole-looking lifeform, which escapes. The young girl, "Eleven" or "Elle," who had inadvertently been responsible for the rift, and Will's subsequent rescue, has gone missing.

In this new season, we fast forward just about ten months, nearing Halloween. The four main boys are mostly trying to live their lives normally, though Will occasionally is visited by strange episodes during which he feels that he is seeing back into The Upside-Down. Not only that, but he sees and feels the presence of a massive, shadowy creature looming over everything. We learn that he's been seeing doctors brought in by the military agency responsible for the troubles during the previous year. We also learn that Elle has been hiding out in Sheriff Jim Hopper's remote cabin in the woods near  town. As Elle fight the urge to leave the cabin, Mike, Will, and the other boys who had become her friends work to deal with another round of odd occurrences that spring up around Will's visions and a reptilian lifeform that Justin discovers rummaging through his trashcans. All of these elements come together as the shadow creature from the Upside-Down slowly tries to break into our world.

Between both seasons of the show, there hadn't been any
episode that felt out of place. That is, until episode 7 of this
second season. The writing, characters, pacing and plot were
oddly out of whack in this lone departure from Hawkins.

This second season was fun and entertaining, though maybe not quite as much as the first. The fantasy/adventure elements are still there and done very well, though there isn't a lot that is new. So much of the fun of the first season was discovering and learning about the world and the bizarre situations. This second season really just continues the same story, with a few flourishes, rather than offering much that will truly pique our curiosity. It doesn't help that a few elements smack just a bit of a lack of creativity, such as Will scribbling out his massive visions and having the drawings sprawled out all throughout his house. This little supernatural art project is a tad too similar to the iconic (and brilliant) "Christmas lights" communication system in season one. This is just one a few plot elements that perhaps drew a little too heavily from strengths of the first season.

The characters are still great, and I thought the show did a very nice job dealing with the boys' and girls' budding adolescence. We learn more about Dustin and Lucas, and their somewhat rivalry over the new girl at school, the tomboy Max. I did find Max's older brother, Billy, to be an over-the-top "bad boy" who bordered on caricature much of the time. But the adults are still solid, even if their personal story arcs don't show any particular amount of personal growth.

For the most part, the pacing of the tale was good. Oddly, though the seventh episode seemed highly unnecessary, and featured some rather poor dialogue and acting by Linnea Berthelsen, who plays Kali. I understand the point that Elle needed to rebel a bit and deal with her anger, but this episode seemed clunky and far less entertaining or compelling than those that take place back in Hawkins. It was an odd outlier in a show that had been very tight, and even added an episode to this season.

This was still a good show, and I'll likely tune in for the next season. However, the magic of watching that first season wasn't completely there this time.

We hardly know much about Rick or Morty before we have
Rick convincing his grandson to stuff a couple of alien plant
pods into his rectal cavity in an effort to sneak them past
intergalactic transportation security officers. This gives you
some idea of the tone and humor of the show.

Rick and Morty, season 1 (2013)

It's been quite some time since I found a show that made me laugh so hard, so consistently as Rick and Morty.

This was a show that had always been at the top of the "Recommended" list on my Hulu page, but I didn't give it a thought until a close friend with very similar tastes recently sang its praises to me. Roughly ten minutes into the pilot episode, I was completely hooked. By the end of the episode, I was literally in tears from laughing.

This animated show, which airs during the Cartoon Network's late-night Adult Swim hours follows the wild adventures of the title characters. Rick is an inconceivably brilliant scientist who is able to use his inventions to jump between galaxies, alternate dimensions, and other bizarre realms outside of the perception of most mortals. He often brings his none-too-bright, 14-year-old grandson on his far-flung and often extremely dangerous escapades. These might include shrinking Morty down to microscopic size and injecting him into a transient, in order to resolve problems in an amusement park inside the bum's body. Or it could involve the two working their way through a series of Matrix-like world simulations to evade an alien race seeking Rick's powerful technology. The plots are often extremely brisk, multi-layered, and place the odd pair in bizarre scenarios that only an LSD-addled sci-fi savant could dream up. The entire premise is a dream for any fan of science-fiction and fantasy action/adventure books, movies, and TV shows, and the writers are consistently razor sharp.

The episode with the Mr. Meeseekses (the blue guys) is a
perfect example of how one of Rick's genius inventions gets
horribly misused by his family. Things, of course, go completely
bonkers and those Meeseeks aren't smiling by episode's end.

Then there are the characters Rick and Morty themselves. Rick is clearly a misanthropic, borderline sociopath. He also happens to be a high-functioning alcoholic. Basically, he's what Doc Brown from the Back to Future movies would be if Brown had been a hundred times smarter, thoroughly unconcerned with humanity, and a complete booze bag. He makes the perfect comedy companion for Morty, his endearingly dim and frustrated grandson. There is something oddly sweet about Rick's dependence on Morty's presence on so many of his insane and highly dangerous forays into the far reaches of space and alternate realities.

The final episode of this first season was a great one, wherein Morty's teenage sister Summer and Rick decide to throw their own parties at the same time in the family house, when their parents are away. In the 24-minute episode, we're treated to a hilarious array of teen angst and back-biting happening right along with the gonzo gathering of Rick's various inter-dimensional associates, all of whom are looking to get drunk, high, or whatever it is that aliens and beings from other dimensions do to enter altered states of mind. It's a great representation of so much of what is great about the show: brilliant science-fiction gags, a boatload of events told at a somehow accessible pace, and a few sprinkles of heart here and there.

So I have now quickly become a major fan of this show. I've already dived right into season 2, a review of which is sure to be coming before too long. 

Retro Duo: 1408 (2007); War of the Worlds (1953)

1408 (2007)

Director: Mikael Haefstrom

This was my first time seeing this one, which I gave a shot since I was in the mood for a horror flick and had kept seeing it pop up on various lists of "underrated" or "quality Stephen King adaptations." I found it to be compelling and fairly well done, if not as consistently novel or eerie as the creators might have been aiming for.

The story follows Mike Enslin (John Cusack), a cynical writer of travel guides to haunted hotels and motels around the United States. Though he does it for a modest living, Mike has no belief in the existence of ghosts or the supernatural. After receiving a mysterious postcard, Mike checks into a supposedly haunted room at the Dolphin Hotel in Manhattan, specifically room 1408. Despite highly stern warnings from the hotel manager, Enslin goes into the room, where before long reality is gradually turned on its side and Enslin is assaulted by all manner of physical and psychological torture. The room seems to have some sort of evil purpose of its own, hurling Enslin through all sort of trials, never really allowing him to escape, although suggesting that it could all end if he commits suicide. After it becomes clear to the worn down Enslin that no escape is truly possible, he decides to in fact commit suicide; however, he decides to do it by burning himself and the room along with him, so as to prevent the diabolical place from entrapping anyone else in the future. This act of altruism seems to absolve Enslin, and he is pulled from the burning room in time to save his life.

1408 is essentially a redemption story, and a decent one at that. John Cusack does well playing the painfully cynical Mike Enslin, and the narration adequately reveals just how and why the jaded writer became so disaffected. The movie also does a great job building up the mystery around room 1408, thanks in no small part to Samuel L. Jackson's relatively minor turn as the Dolphin Hotel's manager. By the time Enslin is putting the key into the room door, I was itching to see just what might happen.

Of course, the real show is all about what does happen in the room. For the first fifteen minutes or so, I was riveted. In slow, eerie steps, things begin to go awry in pretty effective ways. As the torments grow more intense, though, I found that they started to become a bit more predictable and even slightly redundant. Early on, it is easy to assume that this is a "no escape" scenario for Enslin, so that all of his several attempts to flee the room have completely foreseeable outcomes. And while there are certainly some truly creepy moments to go with a handful of well-crafted jump scares, I found that the first half of the movie was more engaging than the second.

For me, horror movies do not often have a high rewatchability factor, and 1408 is no exception. It was enjoyable to finally see it, but I don't feel any need to ever go back to it.

War of the Worlds (1953)

Director: Byron Haskin

It's easy to see why this movie was a major hit in its day, and even why it became a science-fiction classic rather quickly. These days, though, it doesn't hold up terribly well.

H.G. Wells's original novel has understandably been adapted many times since its publication back in the late 19th century. The tale is one that captures the imagination well enough: beings from the planet Mars send an array of invasion ships to Earth and begin to systematically wipe out all of humanity. Because of their highly advanced technology, no form of weaponry devised by man can so much as damage the eerily silent flying crafts as they devastate human cities and populations with unstoppable heat rays.

This story brought a rather novel approach to the basic human fear of forces so powerful that we are helpless against them. This, combined with the enigma surrounding the actual nature of the Martians are what made Wells's novel so curious, and it is a part of any successful adaptation of the story. The problem with this 1953 film adaptation, however, is the exact same one that can found in the original story, as well as most other adaptations, such as Steven Speilberg's version in 2005 (which did reenact several of the exact same sequences as the 1953 version). The problem is the utterly anti-climactic resolution to the tale. Just as humanity is down to its last few days before annihilation, the alien invaders all simply drop dead due to infection from earthen bacteria. It's the reverse story of what laid low certain indigenous populations during incursions by invaders and conquistadors at various periods in human history. While this is a fairly interesting plot twist from a science perspective, the execution is thoroughly dull and smacks of the lame Deus ex machina cop out that became a tiresome trait way back when the Greek dramatists began to overuse it over two millenia ago.

Aside from that, the 1953 version does have its merit, as long as one keeps in mind the time when it was released. It's not difficult to see how the effects and even certain concepts were ahead of their time. Compared to other films using heavy special effects in the 1950s, War of the Worlds was about as good as one could get. It's also rather commendable that the story doesn't dally too much on extraneous melodrama or atonal, hokey jokes, something that other sci-fi classics like The Forbidden Planet couldn't completely avoid. War of the Worlds didn't hesitate from showing people getting atomized, including a well-meaning minister and other do-gooders. This creates a slightly darker tone than the Technicolor veneer might suggest.

For its time, the effects were cutting-edge for film. Today,
though, it can be hard not to smirk at the rudimentary nature
of the visuals and light effects.

But it is a movie from the early 1950s, and it does include a few of that era's trapping. Most obvious to me was the laughably helpless main female character, Sylvia. Like virtually every star of Hollywood movies from that time (and years afterward), Sylvia's primary purpose seems to be three-fold: (1) serve as a voice for viewers' fears by screaming a lot, (2) provide some sort of love interest for the male lead, and (3) look pretty. Nearly all other characters are equally one-dimensional and uninteresting. This film was clearly made back when science-fiction movies rested entirely on the wonder that the story's premise and special effects provided, not bothering to do anything novel or creative with characters or dialogue.

When one keeps in mind the time and context, it's not at all difficult to see why this movie was, and still is, considered a seminal sci-fi movie. When one simply judges it on its own merits, though, it just cannot stack up to more modern, sophisticated science-fiction movies.

Idiot Boxing: The Deuce, season 1 (2017); Daredevil, season 2 (2016) rewatch

The Deuce, season 1 (2017)

HBO gets really down an dirty with this one, deciding to do a series focused on the beginnings and growth of the modern pornography film industry in the early 1970s.

It took until a little ways into the second episode to fully grab me, but I'm now hooked. I suppose this should have surprised me, given that it took me about three or four episodes to completely fall in love with Simon and Pelecanos's earlier HBO project, The Wire. These guys know how to craft a tale with the long game in mind. They won't introduce or completely reveal all of the fascinating aspects of great characters in the initial episode. Rather, they spread them out as they slowly weave a larger story.

That story is not for the prudish. This first season follows several denizens of Manhattan's Times Square distrcit, which was nothing like the garish, Disneyfied, laser light show tourist trap of today. Back then, it was as seedy a place as they come, where the sex trade was there for the seeing and taking. Pimps and prostitutes roamed the streets. Stores peddling sex books, viewings or short, softcore pornography, and even short porn films (which was actually illegal then) were huddled next to movie theaters offering pornographic films. In The Deuce (the name refers to the "two" in 42nd Street, and the general area where it crosses between 7th and 8th Avenues in Manhattan), we follow several of the people who live and work in this shady area, including several prostitutes, a few cops, and a handful of people who work in or frequent some of the bars. The primary characters in this first season are the twin brothers Vincent and Frank, the individualist prostitute "Candy," and the bright, liberated NYU dropout Abby. Vincent opens a bar in The Deuce, backed by a mafia lieutenant who takes a liking to him. Abby, after trying and failing to forge her own way outside of the college setting, ends up working at Vincent's bar, and Candy is an aging but extremely savvy hooker who is exhausted by her occupation and seeking a way out of the trade. All of their lives begin to change when certain morality codes are loosened, allowing for the creation of massage parlors (which are actually bordellos) and pornographic films. This all leads to a sort of legitimacy for the sex trade that had not existed before, in turn altering the perceptions of nearly everyone involved.

Inside the Hi-Hat, the closest thing that we have to an anchor
in the sleazy surroundings of the pre-glitz Times Square of the
early 1970s. The Hi-Hat a bit of a dive, to be sure, but it
becomes cozy by the end of the 8-episode first season.

Similar to my experience watching The Wire, The Deuce took a couple of episodes to become fully engaging. When it did, though, it really did. Yes, it's on the very salacious topic of the early days of the modern porn industry. Still, there is nothing titillating about what we see in this show. Sure, there is nudity aplenty, as we see the various sex workers ply their trades, but it is all very businesslike, often very seedy, and sometimes even disturbing and dangerous. And it is fascinating. The truth is, whether one wants to admit it or not, that pornography is a massive industry, both in the U.S. and throughout the world. The Deuce offers some insight into the lives of people on the front lines of this commercial juggernaut, and how their sexuality is turned into a commodity - a commodity that is at first essentially illegal, but gradually becomes more and more legitimate and socially acceptable. Simply learning about the system of heirarchy at work, between the prostitutes, their pimps, the police, and even politicians and mafiosi, bears all of the intrigue of learning the inner-workings of any fringe or criminal trade. This is why stories about the rises and falls of drug runners and bootleggers have always been fascinating, and it's why the film Boogie Nights was so compelling. They offer us a view into worlds that most of us know exist, and which reflect our more secretive desires, even if we ouselves may not be driven to partake in the ways that the characters on screen do.

Beyond the subject matter, the production values of the show are as good as it gets. This will probably come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the show creators' previous works, and The Deuce lives up to their reputations. The writing and acting are excellent, with Maggie Gylenhall (also a producer of the show) being a standout who is likely to be nominated for various awards. And lest one think that a show about the porn industry will have a strongly male slant, the creators took great care to have women involved as much as possible, with half of the episodes directed by top-shelf female directors. The balance shows, as we get plenty of well-balanced characters of both genders, and the subject of social views on homosexuality are an apparent theme.

The overall tone of the show is rather dark, not unlike The Wire. But also like that earlier masterpiece, is it liberally cut with moments of humor. Both intentionally and unintentionally, many of the characters here are funny people. In true New York City fashion, humor is a way to deal with bad situations, and there are plenty of them to be found in The Deuce.

I don't know if the subject matter of The Deuce will ever allow it to reach the heights of popularity of other gritty, big city series like The Wire, but I'll certainly be eager for future seasons.

Jon Bernthal's portrayal as the Punisher, and that character's
progression, are the strongest part of this season. His counter-
point to the slightly-better adjusted Matt Murdock is a solid
element in the first two-thirds of this season.

Daredevil, season 2 (2016) rewatch

Nothing leads one into a nice, solid binge of TV watching quite like getting a stomach infection that lays you up at home for a few days. Such was my situation recently. With the forthcoming Netflix series The Punisher set for imminent release, I had the urge to go back and give a second viewing to his introduction in the Marvel Cinematic Universe during the second season of Daredevil. You can find my original review here, if you're interested, so I'm going to keep this semi-review to a few revised thoughts and new observations.

Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed this second viewing more than the first. After re-reading my original review, I still feel the same about nearly every aspect, though the weak points didn't strike me as being quite so annoying this second time through:

The Punisher story is still just as good, and I actually didn't mind the slow pace of the courtroom drama as much this time, probably since I knew it was coming. It speaks to Jon Bernthal's presence that I still loved watching every scene he was in, as he portrayed this complex character. The relationship be forms with Karen Page is excellent, though I still wish the show had more overtly connected Karen's desire to find the good in Frank with her own guilt over killing a man, as shown in season one.

The Elektra storyline follows a pretty satisfying arc, in
general, but the hate/love relationship with Matt still feels
rather forced and begs a few too many questions for me. 

The Elektra storyline still didn't fully strike home for me, though it wasn't as frustrating this time. I did buy into their earlier relationship just a bit more, but I still found Matt's rekindled love for her rather forced. It's very clear that he knows that she is a sadistic murderer, to the point that he literally tells her how he saw the pleasure on her face when she killed people. And yet, he somehow still has some passion for her? I suppose that I could take this as a part of himself that wishes he could just kill people whom he found guilty and even perhaps enjoy it, rather than feel so much guilt. Yet the show doesn't lay out those dots to connect terribly well. I will also say that I wasn't as annoyed with Elodie Young this time through. I never had a problem with her acting, but that I didn't buy her as a world-class assassin and fighter. In doing some research, it turns out that Young has studied karate for many years; however, she has also studied dance equally as long. To me, she still moves more like a dancer than a combatant who can take out hordes of bigger, stronger thugs and ninja.

This second season probably suffered a little bit from being a bridge to future shows. While it is self-contained enough to mostly stand on its own, there is certainly a "Punisher 0.5" and even a bit of "Defenders 0.5" feel to it. When taken with The Defenders, it makes a nice piece. And it looks like The Punisher, due in the middle of November, should be solid. 

New, Spoiler-Free Release! Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

No Plot Spoilers! Have no Fear!!

In one of many entertaining twists, the god of thunder must
learn to cope without his legendary hammer, Mjolnir, as he
fights as a gladiator against a very formidable opponent.

Director: Taika Waititi

Far and away the best Thor movie, which may not be saying much. But I'll also say that this is now among my favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies.

Those of us who follow the MCU last saw Thor (Chris Hemsworth) as he helped save earth from the destructive machinations of Ultron in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron. While the other Avengers regrouped and formed a new team, Thor and the Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) disappeared without a trace. Thor: Ragnarok brings us up to speed fairly quickly, with Thor having been searching various realms around the universe for information about the cosmically powerful Infinity Stones. This search eventually puts him on the trail of his missing father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins). When he and his ever-treacherous brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the god of mischief, eventually find Odin, the events that follow unleash Hela (Cate Blanchett), an immensely powerful force of destruction. Thor and Loki are inadvertently hurtled across the universe and land on a remote planet ruled by a barely sane overlord, Grandmaster, who runs a massive gladiator competition. Thor and Loki must figure out a way off the planet and get back to Asgard, which Hela means to take over as a first step towards dominating the universe.

Even more than the nearly uncut entertainment that is the Guardians of the Galaxy films, Thor: Ragnarok is unadulterated fun. Purists and fans of more intense superhero movies like the Dark Knight trilogy or even Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War (all of which I love, by the way) may take some umbrage to the generally silly, even campy, tone of this latest MCU offering, but I loved it. Admittedly, I am a fan of New Zealand director Taika Waititi's goofy sensibilities. Even when I could see the gags coming, they were executed so well that I always got a chuckle out of them. And anyone who's enjoyed the odd, deadpan humor of Flight of the Conchords (several episodes of which Waititi either wrote and/or directed) or the vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows will catch on and laugh heartily at the banter and comedy in Ragnarok.

My main concern going in was whether or not Waititi would be able to offer some worthy action sequences, given that he'd yet to tackle any sort of big-budget project of this sort. I was glad that he eased these worried by giving us several highly entertaining, well-executed fight and battle scenes. I won't put them on par with the best of what we saw in The Avengers or the Russo brothers' two Captain America movies, but there are more than a few spectacular displays of mythical might in the film. Many of us viewers in the theater were ooh-ing, ah-ing, and basically having fun with many of these sequences.

Cate Blanchett cuts a menacing enough figure as the blood-
thirsty Hela, even if the villain is yet another mostly one-
dimensional adversary in an MCU replete with them.

I can't say that the movie fully delivers in terms of any touching or emotional beats. Yes, there is a bit more exploration of the love/hate relationship between Thor and Loki, and the theme of vengeance and maintaining bonds with one's people. But these always take a rather distant backseat to the action and humor. Another aspect where I would say the movie falls a bit short is one that has been a blind spot for most MCU movies - not being able to conjure up a completely well-rounded, thoroughly compelling villain. Cate Blanchett plays the role of Hela just fine, and the character is certainly powerful. And her backstory does offer more than many other MCU villains, making her out to be a bit more than simply a massive force of inexplicable rage. The rage is there, but there is some explanation for it this time around. Still, she is ultimately just a baddie who wants to kill everything and everyone in her path who won't bow to her will. Far physically weaker villains like Adrian Toomes in Spider-Man: Homecoming or Helmut Zemo in Captain America: Civil War were better developed and more compelling.

A final note to those who may be wondering just how inundated with the MCU one has to be in order to enjoy this movie: you don't need to know a ton. Even if you haven't seen earlier MCU films, the key points are summarized within the movie fairly well, if briskly. While I can't call Ragnarok a complete stand-alone movie, it does quite well on its own merits. Of course, if one wants to do all of their homework, I would recommend watching the first two Thor movies, The first two Avengers movies, and maybe even Doctor Strange, which does have a minor connection here. If you've the time and inclination to take in those five films, you'll completely understand all of the main references and connections in the film.

So this one is plenty of fun. It might not be the tightest movie we'll ever get in the MCU, but it has a cheeky, high-spirited, and playful attitude that makes it a joy to watch. I already have my tickets to see it again in a few days. What other endorsement need I make?

Before I Die #619: L'Age d'Or (1930)

This is the 619th movie which I've now seen out of the 1,199 movies on the "Before You Die" list that I'm gradually working my way through. 

"The Man" and "The Woman" - the archetypes who are mostly
at the center of this surreal film. This abandoned sucking of
each other's fingers is one of their many odd  and oft-
thwarted attempts at  finding sexual pleasure with each other

English Title: The Golden Age

Director: Luis Bunuel

Not long ago, I watched and reviewed the short silent film Un Chien Andelou, which was the work of the dynamically surreal dual minds of Spanish artists Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali. It was every bit as challenging, bizarre, and unique as one would imagine. Well, a couple of years after that seminal piece of work, Dali and Bunuel collaborated again on L'Age d'Or, a longer film but one that still illustrates their hallucinogenic sensibilities.

Offering a summary of the movie is a tricky affair, given that it doesn't follow a traditional narrative structure. In general, though, it often follows a man and woman who are in love, or at least lust, and are constantly attempting to unite. To do so, they are often fighting against those who would keep them apart for various reasons - it may be a few police officers arresting one of them for unclear causes; it may be one's family and social circle placing demands upon their attentions; or it may be a government organization urging one of them to focus on a vague "mission" rather than individual desires. Details are never really given on any of these interactions, but the details are clearly not the point. In the end, the man is seen hurtling various objects out of a bedroom window, including pillow feathers, a burning tree, and religious icons. The entire story of the man and woman are bookended by first documentary footage on the behavior of scorpions, and in the end by an adapted depiction of the end of the Marquise de Saad's infamous novel 120 Days of Sodom.

I will admit that I wondered how well this film would be able to hold my attention for its 62-minute running time. Bunuel's and Dali's previous film, Un Chien Andelou, despite being only 28 minutes, was almost too mind-blowing and strange for me to maintain the intense focus it demands. In fact, L'Age d'Or is not quite as demanding, though it's certainly a challenging film. The fact that it does have a more accessible position as being anti-clerical and a reaction to right-wing, conservative values does make its through-line easier to follow. Of course, this is not to say that I was able to make heads or tails of every surreal image or sequence. Far from it. However, I was in the right state of mind to do some of the mental gymnastics required by such a movie.

An image early in the film of dead and decrepit leaders of the
Catholic church. This certainly implies the strong anti-Catholic
and anti-establishment message that Bunuel espoused. It also
got Catholics extremely angry, as one would imagine.

While the themes and strange narrative are obviously what set this movie apart, it is worth mentioning that the technical aspects of the movie are strong. Bunuel, who was barely 30 years old when he directed this film, already showed mastery of cinematic technique to convey his visions. As he had shown in Un Chien Andelou, he was completely at ease using overlap dissolve, an array of camera angles, fade outs, and all other sorts of film trickery to suggest narrative or thematic connections. Lovers of technique would likely enjoy the exercise of breaking down just what Bunuel was doing from scene to scene here.

For anyone considering this film, I would recommend taking the time for a second viewing with the audio commentary by Robert Short. Aside from an amusingly arrogant English accent, he offers some nice insight into the odder elements and unusual structure of the movie. He also offers some invaluable historical context about the time and place of the film's release, as well as its consequences for Bunuel. I don't often do audio commentaries, but for such an atypical movie, it can offer a nice education on the creators' visions and motivations.

That's 619 movies down. Only 580 to go before I can die.