Editors’ Picks: Movies & TV
As the semester winds down, our editors share some of their favorite things to watch. Scroll down for our recommendations—a short film and two series!
OPAL by Jack Stauber
Despite its bite-sized runtime of just 12 minutes and 30 seconds, Jack Stauber’s horror short OPAL leaves a lasting impression. The film’s disturbingly adorable pigtailed protagonist first entered my life following the recommendation of my cousin (a self-proclaimed horror film connoisseur), who deemed it one of the most frightening shorts he’s ever watched. Not entirely by choice, Opal has lived in my head ever since.
What is most fascinating about OPAL is the absence of overt horrific elements — it’s a musical, and partly in claymation. However, the difference in viewer experience between OPAL and other claymation-musicals (such as The Nightmare Before Christmas) is indisputable.
Horror doesn’t have to be overly generic or stereotypical in order to leave an impact — in my opinion, the most successful examples of the category are often not. It’s the clear departure from generic convention and simultaneous ability to fall so neatly into the genre that makes OPAL so upsettingly intriguing. Seriously, watch OPAL: it’s 12:30 that you won’t get back, but in a good (?) way.
— Ellie Tsapatsaris, Movies & TV Editor
Ted Lasso
All eyes are glued to the screen as the World Cup continues to make international headlines. Pulisic scoring the US their winning goal against Iran, the never ending rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo–these games leave you on the edge of your seat. But when the World Cup comes to an end on December 18 and you’re left longing for a taste of team unity, there’s only one show to turn to: Apple TV's Ted Lasso. A feel good comedy spearheaded by former SNL star Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso wins over the hearts of its audience while showing the human spirit needed to win the Premier League. This 2 season series follows Lasso, an American football coach in London, as he navigates the ins and outs of UK football (soccer). Though he struggles to understand offsides or why anyone drinks tea, Lasso maintains his optimism, always encouraging his players to “believe.”
Not only are viewers granted an insight into the inner workings of the locker room, we see the inner workings of the mind. Ted Lasso delves deep to combat an issue that plagues much modern media: toxic masculinity. It doesn’t shy away from the rough parts of life, pointing a spotlight on divorce, betrayal, parental trauma, and grief. We see both Lasso and the team attend therapy and learn healthy coping mechanisms and affirmations that work to better themselves as players and leaders. Willing to risk appearing Pollyannaish, Coach Lasso’s genuineness, vulnerability, and kindness are so refreshing, disarming, and seemingly contagious.
And as we near the holiday season, it is important to note that Ted Lasso takes the title for the best Christmas episode to grace the small screen. With its many references to Love Actually, Season 2 Episode 4 will leave you laughing, crying, and holding tight to your friends and family. Ted Lasso is more than deserving of its 20 Emmy nominations, and I for one, eagerly await the release of Season 3.
Olive Han, Books Editor
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend follows Rebecca Bunch, a successful lawyer who is struggling with depression and undiagnosed borderline personality disorder, as she impulsively moves across the country to West Covina, California to pursue her former camp boyfriend, Josh Chan. Rebecca is a lifelong fan of musical theater and the show is heavily filtered through her perspective; ergo, whenever she arrives at an emotional high or low point, she processes her feelings via an imagined musical number. The show pulls off over 100 original songs that range from heartbreaking to hilarious with a stacked cast of both Broadway and comedy veterans.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend also offers a nuanced deconstruction of the romantic comedy genre. Rebecca Bunch and Josh Chan are spectacularly incompatible - in personality and in the fact that he’s in a long-term relationship with his high school girlfriend - but Rebecca throws herself into the idea of being a woman in love pursuing a destined romance. The show sees the logic of romantic comedies through to its dysfunctional end and asks: what does it really look like to be a person whose entire identity is being in love?
— Natalia Abbate, Copy Editor