March 2017 – A Recap

By Paskalis Damar @sinekdoks

My birthmonth has coming to its end with lots of things going on in my blog. First of all, I decided to resurrect A Season with series for appreciation towards selected TV series. Second, I start initiating marathon (but only watched first two titles so far), which I plan to finish before Alien: Covenant. Third, I also initiated a self-program I call "A Hitchcock Film A Month" which hopefully will help me clearing my own palette. That's some update about what's going on with my blog routine.

Now, here's a recap to help readers digest what have been going on Sinekdoks along March 2017!

Here's list of new releases I watched on Indonesian theaters along March 2017 (listed from the higher score to the lower):

Click the titles above for the review!

Blindspot Series 2017 by Ryan McNeill of The Matinee continues in March. My entry is Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993), which stormed off Oscars in 1994. My first impression in aftermath of this is: Where have I been all this year?

SHORT REVIEW

The Purge: Election Year (2016, James DeMonaco)
The Purge franchise finally takes its political stand and makes it more political than ever. And yet, this timely violent theme cannot live up to the expectation. It's just another Purge: Anarchy with political background and no innovations. Practically, only Frank Grillo appears convincing. Score: 2 out of 4

Demon (2016, Marcin Wrona)
In this Polish horror, a groom is haunted by dybbuk, a Jewish ghost, from the local land. The horror is elegant as it doesn't justify horror with jump scares but a series of unexplained odds. What makes it more fascinating is: the whole wedding-horror is built upon historical and socio-cultural subtexts regarding Poland, as a country built upon the death. With the amount of symbolism, subtext, and satire, Demon-despite the mediocre Shining-influenced ending-shows us that horror can also be a mode of story-telling.

Trainspotting (1996, Danny Boyle)
Boyle's Trainspotting sets high bar to any Irvine Welsh's adaptations. They should at least be: filthy, dirty, offensive and apologetic. Trainspotting elevates those elements into making a one-of-a-kind dirt-entertainment which hits your taste and spills your guts. Score: 3.5 out of 4

This is a reborn feature in Sinekdoks. In March, I've written about three TV series which aired during 2017. Below are the links with descriptions.

Taboo (Season 1): It takes time to finally deliver Taboo's final punch, but the long road is worth the wait. Score: 3 out of 4
Santa Clarita Diet (Season 1): The absurd premise, the hit-and-miss jokes, the superb performances and some underlying issues add some flavor your cheating meal. Score: 2.5 out of 4
(Season 1): While the main protagonist is a martial arts master who owns iron fists that can break everything, what he breaks is his own potentials. Score: 1.5 out of 4

Here's the recap of Thursday Movie Picks along Februaryin which I pick three films each week in accordance with the theme:

Week 9: Non-participating | Week 10: Most Wanted Sequels | Week 11: Ancient World | Week 12: The Underdogs | Week 13: Non-participating

Here I present you a quote of the month to end this recap:

"Good night, nobody." ~ David Jordan, Life