Lost In Space Season 2: Interviews & What To Expect!
The new season of Lost In Space finds the Robinsons several months after season one’s final episode ended. They’re stranded on a planet with what seems like no way out. Impossible situations that take intelligence, courage, and the love of family seems to be the norm for the Robinsons this season. In fact, Don West (Ignacio Serricchio) says it best during an intense moment during the season, “Is something wrong? Of course there is.” That’s the fun of watching this show! Creators Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, and Irwin Allen have constructed a beautifully imagined world that we get to explore through the eyes of a loving family. That expected conflict is matched by its’ unexpected solutions.
So what can you expect to see this season? I can say that each family member gets an episode to shine in for their character development. One of the best things about this modern version is the writing. Couple the emotional evolution of its characters with the amazing production design by Ross Dempster and Frank Walsh and you’ve got a fully realized sci-fi world you can sink into and binge watch this holiday season!
I got to talk with some of the cast and writers of the series. Check out this interview with Maxwell Jenkins (Will Robinson), Parker Posey (Dr. Smith), and writer Zach Estrin:
Here’s what Mina Sundwall (Penny Robinson), Ignacio Serricchio (Don West) and creator Burk Sharpless had to say about their roles and this season:
"Guava Island": A Love Letter to Storytelling & Pushing Limits
Imagine the 48 hour period surrounding Selena, Sam Cooke, Tupac or John Lennon’s untimely death. All of the aforementioned names are music legends tragically cut down in their prime. This is Guava Island in a nutshell. The 55 minute film quietly released on Amazon Prime may be consumed by some as a music video, musical, video album hybrid but there’s a lot more to it than those boxes.
The film starts with a bed time story about two childhood sweethearts. The boy grew up to be a talented singer named Deni Maroon (Donald Glover) who sought to win the girl, Kofi Novia (Rihanna), by singing a new song every night to her until he created the perfect song. While Deni works in the factory on the island, he is also a free spirited crooner who wants to fight for the people of Guava by providing the soundtrack to mental freedom through his music. He plans to put on a music festival to give the island’s working class a chance to unwind, but that would be bad business for the island’s big boss, Red Cargo (Nonso Anozie), because people wouldn’t show up for work the next day after partying all night.
There comes a point where the central conflict of the film comes to a head and a decision must be made. Due to the length of the Guava Island, we don’t get to see the consequences of the decision that a 90 minute running time would display. So in many ways the fallout is even heavier. What happens to people who do the right thing in the face of greedy, self-serving people? Is doing the right thing worth it if you have to pay the ultimate price? The story and the answers to those questions are cut short just like the running time. Which ultimately allows for the viewer to ruminate on those questions and ideas.
Guava Island is a love letter to the power of storytelling. Its use of the animated bed time story in the beginning, Demi’s live action story, and the ending animation all serve a point to how we consume information through oral and visual storytelling. It’s how we elevate human beings to the heroic and legendary status of a Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X. While simultaneously mythologizing his brother’s art, writer Stephen Glover (Donald’s brother) taps into a story that we’ve seen far too many times in history. It’s the story of a talented individual who gives themselves to his or her people and the entities that want to snuff their light out. While they may be gone in the physical, there’s no doubt that their energy lives on through the work that they created and spirit they emoted.
With Nipsey Hussle’s untimely death, a film like this hits home even more for those who were fans (it even dropped on the day of his funeral). Why do the good ones go too soon? Why do we as a society of flawed human beings, hate on or take out the people trying to make a positive difference in our communities? Perhaps the answer can be found in the remixed “This is America” song and dance within the film. With factory workers dressed in red jumpsuits (coincidentally similar to those in Jordan Peele’s Us) and moving like zombies, could it be that like so many TV shows and movies featuring zombie hordes moving together in unison, when they hear a sound of something different or smell live flesh, they attack it, kill it, and then we’re left to celebrate its greatness after?
Ultimately, what Glover and frequent collaborator, director Hiro Murai, have given us is art. Art allows us to fill in the blanks with our own thoughts and starts conversations. It’s refreshing to see that with so many ways to get their art into the world through streaming distributors, artists are taking advantage of it and taking risks to express themselves outside of the traditional boxed narrative for their careers. Glover doesn’t have to just be an actor in big blockbuster movies, tv shows, or just a singer. He can combine it all in the story he wants to tell. He doesn’t have to be pinned down to society’s wishes, and perhaps that’s the main point of Guava Island.
Rating: B
"Triple Frontier" Review: Big Stars Take To The Small Screen Stream
Plenty of us love a good war or military strategy film. Not necessarily because we love the violence of war, but because it gives us a sense of what it’s like to be there without being there. The danger, heroism and moral dilemmas soldiers face in the field is incredible and in many ways can be a metaphor for the battle of every day life. Triple Frontier uses all the action sequences we are drawn to in those films to have a deeper conversation about the motivations of its characters to take on a deadly mission in hopes of a final payoff after years of service to their country.
The film starts out in typical narrative by giving us a glimpse at Santiago “Pope” Garcia’s (Oscar Isaac) current assignment chasing down a cartel leader in South America. Eluding him for years, Pope has an informant that not only knows where Lorea is, but that the multi-millions of dollars in cash that he has amassed is in the house with him. Director J.C. Chandor gives us the recruitment sequences but jumps to the parts we need to see and know. He doesn’t spend time showing Pope on a flight to the U.S. and looking through folders with files. Instead, Pope shows up in an ongoing chat that has been cut in between Pope’s backstory with William “Ironhead” Miller (Charlie Hunnam), who is now giving speeches to current soldiers transitioning to private sector life. He finds Ironhead’s brother, Ben Miller (Garrett Hedlund), at an MMA fight. The fight is a good excuse to round up the entire crew. Tom “Redfly” Davis (Ben Affleck) is the retired brains who understands how to carry out an attack to the minute, and Francisco “Catfish” Morales (Pedro Pascal) is their helicopter pilot.
Once the team is in place, the recon proves the mission could be more of a suicide attempt than they had expected. It’s after the action occurs (reminiscent of an 80’s Schwarzenegger or Chuck Norris flick) that we still have half of the running time left to go in the movie. It’s in the space of their retreat that they find themselves up against the wall with moral and survival dilemmas.
This film feels very old school in it’s handling of action, but new in the conversations it brings to the table. The toll of war is evident on each character’s face as well as in their decision making. Whether they make a decision to kill, compartmentalize what has been done due to the rationalization of the situation, or tuck the guilt in their pocket momentarily to push through, the weight is obvious. What is the impact of taking someone’s life? Does one life outweigh another? What do our veterans have to show for their efforts after years of service? These are questions that screenwriters J.C. Chandor and Mark Boal try to wrestle with throughout the film.
This is a solid tactical shoot ‘em up with just enough heart to make it stand out for a flick for the guys (it’s definitely a bro movie). Proving that direct to streaming is a viable option these days, Triple Frontier is a good watch for your Netflix perusing.
Rating: B