Pluto TV

Sep 29, 2023

September 29, 2023 Hello everyone, as always, the answer to the title is at the end of the text. October is, perhaps, along with February, my least favorite month in terms of new films and TV series. If in February, on the eve of the so-called “Valentine’s Day,” they are stuffed with romantic comedies that raise unreasonable expectations among girls (no, we won’t have a romantic dinner in Paris, I’ll propose in a cheburechka with a view of the Tula Kremlin! ), then in In October, Western producers are preparing to celebrate Halloween by releasing horror films of various kinds. However, there are some positive aspects to this October. For example, new seasons of the cartoons “Rick and Morty”, “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” are starting. By the way, I recently realized that the first season of “Family Guy” was released back in 1999. So many changes have happened in my life, I even managed to radically change my philosophical views, moving from youthful Nietzscheanism to the ideas of Kant, and then to Zizek and Alain de Botton. However, the frankly stupid jokes of Peter Griffin, created by Seth MacFarlane, still hit the spot. Table of Contents When: already I also want to remind you about the series “Ahsoka”. I was wrong when I originally stated that Disney was creating the series to push the women’s fashion agenda. Even if this is so, then everything is good and organic. The narrative turned out to be balanced. Both positive and negative characters are equally good. In principle, none of the leading characters can be called flat and formulaic. Everyone has their own goals, motives, their own passions and torments. 7 episodes have already been released, and each one is good. “Disney” can be applauded, after 3 seasons of “The Mandalorian” and the boring “Beans”, the producers were able to first make an interesting “Obi-Wan”, and with “Ahsoka” they proved that success is not accidental. “Big jackpot” / OnePiece When: already OnePiece is based on the anime of the same name, which tells the story of a fictional world of pirates in which everyone is hunting for some legendary treasure. I’m not a fan of anime or this story, but I watched a couple of episodes out of curiosity. I won’t watch it any further, but I recommend it to children, teenagers and fans of the franchise. Netflix produced a surprisingly high-quality, high-budget adaptation. The characters, scenery, and special effects are done at a very good level. At the same time, they managed to convey the same anime spirit that repulsed me, but will clearly appeal to fans. And, in general, I cannot deny that it looks easy and pleasant. Here you can compare it with wine. For example, I’m not a fan of Pinot Grigio, but there are a couple of houses that make, as they say, very drinkable wine from this variety, so you can easily and unnoticed finish a couple of bottles. “Pluton” / Pluto When: October 26 And since we’re on the topic of anime, I’ll also tell you about “Pluto”. Netflix, in general, has turned its attention to anime quite heavily, finding a wealth of quality stories with a large fan base in the countless figang mangas (called lexical reduplication) and the like. For example, “Pluto” is based on a certain manga created back in 1964 and popular since then! The series receives various awards both in Japan and Europe. Along the way, Netflix is ​​trying to attract those viewers (like me) who have avoided this kind of thing. And I must say that they are succeeding. “Pluto” interested me. This is a fantasy that takes place in the world of neo-futurism (this is a style that honors high technology, like what Zaha Hadid built), where people and super-advanced robots live in harmony. And I love science fiction. And I consider science fiction books, cartoons and games the most appropriate tool for realizing the genre, since, unlike films, there are no budgetary restrictions on the flight of fancy. So I’ll try to watch a couple of episodes. “Surreal real estate” When: The 4th of October A low-budget dark horse, which is planned to be released in honor of Halloween (this is the second season, the first was in 2021). The plot revolves around cunning dealers who acquire real estate inhabited by poltergeists, ghosts and the like. Then they drive out all the evil spirits, put up new wallpaper and sell the house at exorbitant prices. Honestly, when I look at the prices of apartments in Moscow, I think that the presence of a poltergeist would not stop me if they were selling cheaply. In my opinion, living your whole life in a rented apartment is much scarier than some kind of ghost. And some ghost will be very on topic: if you want to scare, rattle cabinets and flash lights, chip in for the mortgage and utilities! “Lupin” (3rd season) When: October 5 Not a fan and even an opponent of this series, in which a two-meter black man plays pranks and cleverly disguises himself, and the other characters pretend not to recognize him (he’s 2 meters tall, he’s huge, he’s a black man! Even if you put on a mustache, it won’t change the essence! ). However, all over the world, and especially the French themselves, the series is very popular. So Netflix produces new seasons, and then talks about popularity records. However, to some extent I can understand the reason for the success. The series turned out to be kind, cheerful and positive, and sometimes this is just what people need after a difficult day at work. “Our Flag Means Death” When: October 5 Season 2 of a series completely unfamiliar to me, which, however, is praised, saying that it is an excellent example of the genre about pirates. In the story, an aristocrat accustomed to luxury decides to give up his luxurious life to become a pirate and sail the seas in the early 1700s. The series is produced by Taika Waititi, resulting in plenty of humor and stellar guest characters. Anyone who watched the first season is invited to share (without spoilers) their impressions in the comments. “Loki” When: October 6 As much as I dislike Disney’s attempts to squeeze every penny out of its franchises, I can’t admit that the Marvel superhero series are as good as the movies. When creating, great attention is paid to every moment. It is no coincidence that after the release of each episode, videos of fans are posted on YouTube, minute by minute analyzing the episode and finding many references and plot details. It seems that there are no random things in the frame at all. Any item is lovingly and diligently included in the cinematic universe. If there is a book on a table or shelf, then it is likely that it will be the same book that the hero was recommended to read in one of the films about 5 years ago, etc. Although such complexity confuses me somewhat. I’m not very into the superhero theme. And although Disney is trying to assist the viewer, I still understand that I am poorly oriented in the intricacies of this superhero “Santa Barbara”. But I will watch the new season of “Loki” with pleasure. In general, I like that in its latest creations, Disney has moved away from the concept of universal happiness, showing that the world is not divided into black and white. And you can’t do everything well for everyone. “The Fall of the House of Usher” / The Fall of the House of Usher When: October 12 In honor of Halloween, a horror series is being offered. But I hope that this release will be a positive exception to the slashers and teen nonsense. I am a big fan of the work of Edgar Allan Poe in general (and, in my opinion, Dupin, as befits the original source, is head and shoulders above Sherlock Holmes) and his mystical stories in particular. As I understand it, the series does not retell, but is only inspired by, Poe’s story of the same name. All the better! We have already read the story (and if you haven’t read it, then read it!). At least the plot of the series is described as follows: “Ruthless brother and sister Roderick and Madeline Usher built Fortunato Pharmaceuticals, creating a business that embodies wealth, privilege and power. But the family’s dark secrets begin to surface when members of the dynasty begin to die at the hands of a mysterious woman from their youth.” Nothing is clear, but very interesting! “Upload” / Upload Season 3 When: The 20th of October This is a simple and fun series that tells about a world in the near future, in which everyone, when dying, can upload their consciousness to the digital world and live forever. Those who have money live in virtual resorts and 5-star hotels. If there is no money, then the amount of traffic is strictly limited and you have to live in a sad box. The story revolves around the fact that the main character, in the prime of his life and years, is killed by setting up a car accident. And he is trying to find out what really happened. Along the way, the series ironizes and sarcastics about everyday reality and the new ethics that are sweeping the world. “Mission: Impossible: Deadly Reckoning, Part 1” When: October 12 I could be wrong here, but it seems like a digital release of the 7th “Mission” with Tom Cruise always running somewhere will be available on October 12th. After the success of “Top Ghana,” which collected almost $1.5 billion at the box office, it was believed that the new “Mission,” the release of which had already been postponed a couple of times, was a 100% hit. However, the worldwide box office did not even exceed $600 million. That is, there is minimal success here, taking into account the film’s budget and marketing costs (do not forget that 50% of the proceeds go to cinemas). Critics attribute the failure to the unexpected success of the films “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” Like, everyone went to them, and “Mission” didn’t hit the vibe. In my opinion, the excuse is far-fetched. “Barbie” is a dramedy, “Oppenheimer” is just a drama. So a high-quality action movie is quite appropriate here to cheer you up. My opinion is that in the promotional campaign a lot of emphasis was placed on staging stunts and there were even stories that, they say, we first filmed a cool jump from a motorcycle, and then we began to think about why the film needed it. Here the thought seems to suggest itself: is the film interesting, or will they just show us how Tom Cruise lives his best life? Well, soon we will have the opportunity to independently assess the reasons for the failure of Tom Cruise’s next masterpiece. “Chemistry Lessons” / Lessons in Chemistry When: October 13 In the story, in the 1950s, a female chemist, Elisabeth Zott, is fired from her laboratory when it turns out that she is pregnant. The woman has to change her occupation, switching to hosting a cooking show, in which she, thanks to her knowledge of chemistry, manages to succeed. And Elizabeth decides not only to cook, but also to educate her audience of housewives at the same time, talking about chemistry. Apple, in its good tradition, explores topical topics for the United States. In this regard, Rus’ has, to a large extent, happily avoided problems with sexism. One of the advantages of the USSR is the declaration of universal equality and the positioning of women as a full-fledged member of society. Here, by the way, there is a striking contrast. I’ve been doing a series of articles on technology advertising in the first half of the 20th century in the United States, and the role of women in advertising evokes a sense of Spanish shame. It was understood that a woman could be either a housewife or a secretary. The most memorable thing was the advertisement for voice recorders. There was such a plot: the conditional Masha is constantly late at work, typing instructions for her boss for a long time. Because of this, the house is not cleaned, the food is not prepared, and the husband and child are very unhappy about this. But Masha was advised to convince her boss to buy an Edison recorder. Now the boss dictates messages, and Masha can type them throughout the day, leaving her time to clean, cook and entertain her husband. For comparison, in Moscow at this time VDNKh is opening, placing a monument to a worker and a collective farmer on the arch. And in the first version of the monument, the worker hugged the collective farmer’s waist. But the acceptance committee quickly said to redo everything, saying that this is what you are hinting at, comrades, we have labor and high-level relations here. Conclusion Overall, October turned out to be quite good. You should definitely look at Tom Cruise running and jumping. “The Fall of the House of Usher” based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe looks interesting. I would like to watch the 2nd season of “Loki”, and also see what kind of cool series about pirates there is. Well, I’ll watch “Pluto” with half an eye. What if there is good science fiction?! As usual, readers who wish to report the fall of world cinema and the time wasted reading the selection are invited to comment.