Let’s talk Jessica Jones

Jessica Jones, the second installment of the Marvel/Netflix deal was released last Friday to overwhelmingly positive reviews and a tremendous amount of hype. But is the show really all it’s cracked up to be? Well, that really depends. As a show that came from a comic series originally intended for a more mature audience, the creators of the Netflix series were able to leverage that to create a darker, more sinister show, while maintaining the continuity between the other marvel shows in the franchise. However, don’t think for a second that you need to be a super hero fan to enjoy this show. In fact, if you have never even seen a Marvel film or show, this one might just be the one to start with.

Even from the first episode, it is clear this is no Avengers style A-list action film. Far from it. The tone is much more noir and is much more of an intellectual and mental experience than an action flick. The show manages to be almost more of a psychological drama than a super hero show, and honestly, Jessica Jones really doesn’t bust out her kick ass powers all that often.

This is a show far more interested in the characters, their interactions and the effects of past trauma coming back to haunt them. It’s a show that leaves you feeling sorry for nearly every character, and through the use of cinematography and a near perfect performance from the cast, it is a show that will make you sit at your desk after watching it for a good while just processing a range of emotions. Not a small feat to be sure.

Speaking of which, the acting. Let us take a moment to talk about the acting. We’ll start with Krysten Ritter, who plays Jessica Jones. While her performances in the past (Breaking Bad, Don’t trust the B in Apt. 23) have not been at all bad, she truly shows us what she is capable of in her role as the title character. Overall a fantastic performance, but there are three or four scenes that really stood out. I cannot describe them here, (spoilers) but you will know them when you see them. She has the ability to be at once vulnerable and powerful, and the way in which she plays Jessica Jones is truly spot on.

While Krysten Ritter’s performance is phenomenal, I would be remiss to overlook the insanely fantastic portrayal of Kilgrave, played by David Tennant (Doctor Who, Broadchurch). Something about watching Tennant play this sociopathic mind controlling villain is just enchanting. The way that he is able to make one feel complete contempt for the character and immediately after something that nearly resembles sympathy is truly amazing.

I should not focus on only these two portrayals, however. In fact, the entire cast was a joy to watch preform. I really cannot pick out a character that was not well acted. Sure, there are characters that I did not like, but that is quite a different category from being poorly acted.

And really, that is the overall feel of the show. Never a part that I felt was poorly done. Parts that were less intriguing but needed for story development were given enough attention to make them watchable, and the cinematography matched the tone of the show quite nicely.

But is the show really all it’s cracked up to be? Well, that really depends. If you are expecting a super hero show, Jessica Jones is not that. It is a psychological drama that happens to have a few superhero characters in it. Is it good television? Absolutely. In fact, it is likely better than most TV shows out there today. And it’s dark, tackling issues and situations nearly never ventured into by “mainstream” TV networks. It is a fantastic show, but something is, perhaps, missing.

It’s a show that is almost perfect, but just not quite. Something is missing, but one cannot be sure exactly what it is. Nothing is inherently wrong with it, but that key ingredient is somehow, not there. A show that could have easily been the best show of 2015 is somehow only one of the best shows of 2015. What’s missing is unclear, but the hype of the show and the insanely positive reviews are likely somewhat to blame. It is truly hard to live up to an impossible image of what a show might be.

And really, I think this is a show that was hurt more by the hype than by anything else. If this was a show that no one know about and just sort of happened, it would be fantastic. As it is, the show is 99% of fantastic. But, in today’s overly crowded and competitive television arena, 99% of fantastic is about as good as it gets.

The Verdict:

9/10 - Fantastic

Review: Imitation Game (2014)

Breaking the unbreakable German code in World War II might seem like an impossible feat, but Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) is up for the challenge. Playing a socially awkward and misunderstood incarnation of the real man, Cumberbatch leads the cast of stellar characters that make up this film. While being predictable at times, the film still managed to throw me some twists that I didn't see coming, and entertained me through the entire movie.

The Imitation Game is about the life and work of British mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing, and follows his journey of attempting to break the "unbreakable" German code during World War II. The film explores his childhood, as well as the events after the war, and also looks at the personal relationships Turing built while building a machine that he hoped would be able to crack the code.

Turing's machine is considered to be the first mechanical computational device, and as such he is considered to be "the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence." (Beavers, Anthony 2013)

The film is a period piece, of course, and the sets and costume design was beautiful and, from what I can discern, fairly accurate. In addition, the overall production design was well done, and I really believed that the action was unfolding in mid 20th century England.

The acting was superb. By far the best part of the film, in my opinion, and Benedict Cumberbatch truly did an amazing job - not to over shadow the other actors in the film, however. Keira Knightly did a fantastic job as well, as did really the whole primary cast.

While the shining moments of the film are the highlight of the film, there were a few things that I was not as thrilled with, like the somewhat predictable plot (though some parts of the film did catch me by surprise) and the decent (but not amazing) score detracted a bit from the film, but not enough to prevent my recommendation.

Is it, as some have said, the "best British film of 2014?" Maybe, I'll be honest, I haven't seen that many British films this year. But is it good? Yes, yes it is. I would say that, despite the minor issues, and they are minor, this is well worth the watch.

The verdict?
7 out of 10 - Heartily Recomend

Review Info

I often do film, music and TV reviews here, and as such have decided to create this post to explain my process. First, I will look at 1 main thing in whatever it might be I am reviewing. Did I personally, enjoy it. Yes, as with all reviews, the verdict will inevitably be based on my own taste and knowledge, however I do my best to explain my reasoning for those who care.

I also use a rating system that is a scale of 1 to 10, however I will almost never give anything a 1 or a 10. I will never give anything a 1 because no matter how I feel about something, someone put a lot of time and effort into creating it, and as such I do not believe it is really worth so little.

I will almost never give a 10 because I believe that everything can be improved upon and even the best art can someday lead to even better art. If you see me give something a 10, GO BUY/WATCH/LISTEN to that thing IMMEDIATELY!!!

One note is that, to keep myself from going insane and to make everything a little more even, I will only give whole number scores. No 6.5 or 7.3 bullshit. Basically, I will give something a score of 2 through 9 and rarely, very rarely, a 10.

Scoring is as such:

2 to 4 = Not Worth It

5 to 6 = Average / Worth Experiencing

7 to 8 = Pretty damn good / Recommend Heartily

9 to 10 = Amazing / Must Experience ASAP

As with all my posts, feel free to comment with any questions you might have.

My Review of Forev (2013 Film)

Forev is a film that was released more than a year ago, but for me, it recently came across my radar. I have been aware of, and a fan of Noel Wells since she was a cast member of Saturday Night Live for the 39th season. However I was not fully aware of her non-SNL work until recently. After finding out about this film, and then discovering that she was the lead character, I just had to watch it!

All things being considered, I feel like this was an all around good film. Not great, but not bad either. The story was good, and while introducing some original ideas and concepts, at its core I feel like it was a rather typical love story. Was it unique enough to keep me watching? Absolutely. But I could not help thinking about how I felt like I had seem much of it before, in one form or another. That is not, however, to say the story was bad. In fact, I found it quite charming, especially when combined with the acting, which I will get to in a moment.

The main concept is that a guy and a girl find themselves engaged after only a few hours as they embark on a road trip through Arizona. I will not go into detail here, both to avoid spoilers and to preserve the overall story for those of you who decide to watch the film after reading this, and also to prevent those of you who have already seen it from becoming bored or disinterested. Suffice it to say that the story was engaging enough to keep me interested, but was also generic enough that I saw just about every turn coming, and clearly at that.

Now for either the best or worst part, depending on your own taste; the acting. I found it charming and, for lack of a better word, "real," however I could also see it coming across as either fake or forced, as there were certain characters who were a little hard to believe.

That being said, I found the interaction between Sophie and Pete to be charming, believable and, at times, extremely funny. I think that all three leads, Noel Wells, Matt Mider, and Amanda Bauer all did fantastic jobs, and I cannot think of a better casting selection for this film, as all three worked so well together on screen, and their characters were believable and endearing.

On a more technical note, I think the editing, cinematography and production design were spot on. I have lived in Arizona, and I can appreciate the production team creating the look and feel of that area of the world. Granted, the likely filmed much of it on location in such areas as these, but still, well done. I also enjoyed the editing style and the overall atmosphere of the film. At times a tad loos in the editing, but for the film it worked, as a faster cut would have come across much more urgent than the film was.

And, it's an independent feature, which for me is a bonus. I find myself more and more enjoying films made independently of a major studio, and while such films can be a tad difficult to get your hands on, they are often well worth it, as in my experience, independent films are often the incubators for major changes and developments in the industry as a whole, and as such deserve and need our support so that filmmakers can continue to make advancements in an industry that is currently so focused on solely making money.

So what is the verdict on the film? That depends on you. For me, I liked it a lot. While there were flaws, such as a somewhat generic love story and a few missed opportunities for experimenting a little more, the film, as a whole, worked well, and told a story well, which is really all one can ask of a movie.

Was it the best film ever, no. It was a good attempt at a new approach to a love story that just fell a little short. I do recommend it, however, as a good film that tells a good story, with good acting and good production design and execution. Get my general feel for the film yet? Yah, it was good. Simple as that.

At the end of the day, all one can really ask of a film is that it tells a story in an entertaining and engaging way, and Forev does just that. It is an overall well made film that kept me watching throughout, even if I could often tell what was about to happen.

The verdict?
Pretty damn good / Recommend Heartily

7 out of 10

Beach House

It's probably not what you think. Beach House is not referring to a relaxing home quaintly located somewhere in a coastal region. Although the result is similar; a beautiful respite from the day to day troubles and worldly issues that plague our lives. And yet, also, a reminder of them.

Beach House is a band from Maryland, formed in 2004 and consisting of Victoria Legrand & Alex Scally. The band has a unique sound that Wikipedia classifies as "Dream Pop" and as we all know, if it is on Wikipedia, it must be true!

The duo creates the type of music that one might listen to at first and think, "alright, this is good," but by the end of the song, the thought process is more like "wow, that was [insert feeling/emotion/other thing that songs evoke in human peoples here.]"

It is hard to explain the feeling that accompanies bands like this. I think the best thing I can do is embed some of their songs, and let you be the judge.





Enjoy, and thanks for reading.
- David

Music & Emotion

There is a moment while you are listening to a song that you can understand exactly what the singer / songwriter was feeling when they wrote it. All that emotion and energy and feeling is almost palpable. Which asks the question, do songs need to be positive? I think not, but I also wonder what the effects of negative songs might have on society.

Let me explain. A song that I recently heard for the first time is one of these such songs. Negative, depressing and all too catchy. When I first heard the song, the context of what the song meant and the overall feel of the video was different, and I was left thinking, “wow, that is a catchy song, let me look it up,” which I promptly did.

Yes, the song is catchy, but after watching the video, and the remix video, I was left feeling sad and depressed, a strange feeling after listening to the song which, musically, is rather upbeat (especially the remix.)

So what, I asked myself, keeps me clicking replay. Admittedly, the video is well made, and the song is catchy, but why would I want to repeatedly listen to a song about drinking away the pain of a breakup? I honestly don’t know. You might say that it is because the song is so catchy. True in part, but there are plenty of catchy songs in existence with much more positive lyrics, and any number of these is available for me to listen to. So I ask again, why?

I think, for me, it has to do with emotion. When an artist writes songs like these, they do so because they feel something. That emotion and feeling translates itself to the music, which becomes relatable to a listener because of shared experience, or simply because of the human ability to empathize with the artist.

I think that, while negative and depressing songs like this can make a listener feel down, they are important because they allow artists to express their emotions and feelings freely and without inhibition. Do I feel depressed after listening to this song? Yes. But, I also feel a connection to the song and artist on a more human level, and that, I think, is one of the great powers of music in our society. We are able to connect with artists and each other through music.

So, stay high on music my friends, and break the habits that lead to the emotions that end up as songs like this. Without further ado, here is the music video for Habits by Tove Lo as well as the remix video, entitled Stay High.

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Let me know what you think, as well as your thoughts on music and society.

Thanks for reading, and I will talk to you on Monday.
- Digit

Lyrics and Melody

I realize this may get a bit personal, as in my opinion, music says a lot about people, especially when the lyrics really hit home. For me, music is mostly about melody and sound, and the lyrics and meaning come secondary. But lets all be honest, the really great songs do both really well. But therein lies the issue, because not everyone will have the same musical taste, and not everyone will have the life experiences required to relate to any given set of lyrics.

This is an issue that I run across often, because I listen to so much music. I often listen to a song that really speaks to me, but musically is just not quite there. The opposite is also true, and there are some great songs out there that have a really great beat, but the lyrics are not relatable. So, I am always excited and impressed when I hear a song that meets both requirements.



Florrie is a British singer who has a fairly small discography, and as such, it is rather unlikely that I would stumble across her music. But I did, and, well, wow. Her first single is a song called "Little White Lies," and here is where it gets a bit personal, because the lyrics speak to me on an almost personal level. No idea how she is able to capture all of that in a song, but she has. At any rate, if your personality is anything like mine, you will easily relate to the lyrics.

The tune is also stellar, and that is a potent combination in a song. Lets just say that I currently have the song on repeat as I type this very blog!

So enjoy, dear readers, and also get a small insight into my own psyche. Thank you so much for reading, and I will talk to you tomorrow.

- Digit

Christina Novelli

Oh, YouTube, you have a persistent need to introduce me to new and interesting artists. I am not faulting YouTube in any way, far from it, in fact. I am one who, lets be honest, tends to listen to music more than is really ever required, and my musical taste is really quite boundless. Yes, there are tracks by certain artists that I am less than fond of, but by and large, I love almost every kind of music.

Therefor, it should come as no surprise that when YouTube and other sites offer me suggested music or music videos to listen to or watch respectively, I jump at the opportunity to potentially discover a new favorite artists, or at least, to hear a song that I think, wow, that was worth it.

This time, however, I did not just listen and think, wow, that was worth it. I listened to several songs, several times, and am doing so as I write this post. Have all those songs and all those listens been a worthwhile use of my time? In a word, yes.

Christina Novelli is a relatively unknown singer from Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. As of now, she has quite a list of collaborations with others, and although she does not have an album, I am quite hopeful that she will come out with one in the future.

Novelli's voice is both powerful and clear, and mixed with the dance and techno tracks by collaborative artists like Gareth Emery and Craig Connelly, the result is something that for a music lover such as myself, is pretty near bliss.

The very first song that I heard was the collaboration with Gareth Emery on the track Concrete Angels, which is an amazing song in and of itself, but also has a creative music video, and yes, I pay attention to such things! Here is the video:


Another great song and video come from her collaboration with Craig Connelly on the track Black Hole, which again incorporates great visuals into the video, which helps tell the story of the song. Here is that video.


And because I really just want you to get the full sample, I shall now include one more video, which is not a video, but simply an image with music. Still, I recommend you give it a listen.


Well worth a listen, I cannot think of a better way to spend a few minutes of you time. Fair warning, however, a few minutes may look a little longer when you finally realize that you have been listening to songs for the better part of an hour. Still, the answer is yes. It's worth it.

Thanks for reading, and I will talk to you tomorrow.
- Digit

Fire N Gold

Why do I listen to music so incessantly, day in and day out? No idea. That being said, I do tend to stumble across a neat video or a cool song from time to time. However, the place is usually YouTube or Pandora. This one is different. I was sitting in Starbucks, and this song played. In the back of my mind, I though that I had heard the song before. So, I did and one does on such occasion, and whipped out the amazing SoundHound app, which allowed me to search the song based on the melody, and, well to be honest I think there might be a little witchcraft involved, seriously, I have no idea how the app searches the music.

At any rate, I searched the song, and discovered that I had never in my life heard of the artist, Bea Miller, or the song, Fire N Gold. So, as dictated by the musical YouTube gods, I listened to the song about 5000 times, (not really, but you get the point,) and as such felt compelled to share it with all of you here on the Daily Digit. Let me know what you think!




Thanks for reading,

- Digit

Foxes

I have recently been obsessed with the new album by Foxes. Why? I do not know. However I do know that this is an artist that, in my opinion, will go very far. For one, her style, while keeping with the somewhat traditional indie pop sound, tends to add a unique style that sets her music apart from the rest.

My first exposure to her music, much like most of America, was with her collaboration with Zedd on the track Clarity. A fan of the song, it did not get me all that excited about Foxes, and I spent about 2 months not giving her a second thought.

Then, I somehow stumbled across the music video for her single, Youth, and I was hooked. I love the way that her music is able to conjure up images of the things she is singing about. While watching the music video, I really was transported into the world that she had created, both with the song and the video.

After watching this video, I, as one does, watched all of the videos on the official Foxes VEVO channel, as well as way too many lyric and cover videos that I was able to scrounge up on the deep dark sections of the YouTube.

As I continued to explore her music, I realized that her combination of a unique style and a seemingly great personality (I also watched some interviews and such) I was a fan.

So I am writing this post to say that if you have not already, check out her music. You may just discover a new artist that is making some pretty great music.

Thanks for reading, and I will talk to you tomorrow.

- Digit