Cobra Kai Season 4

In an era of legacy sequels and film-to-TV continuations, Cobra Kai stands head and shoulders over it's competition. While last season was good, I was worried that the flaws of Season 3 would prove to be ever-growing cracks in the show's formula. Luckily, my fears were allayed after watching the fourth season, which for my money is the show's best season since the first.

Johnny and Daniel's rocky relationship is the show's main foundation, so their inevitable team up makes for exciting drama. As they try to find a way to make their new arrangement work, Johnny's student and surrogate son Miguel grows closer to Daniel, while Daniel's daughter Sam picks up Johnny's "Strike first" mentality and seeks to gain independence from her father. Watching these new relationships helps revitalize a storyline that is in danger of being repetitive, as Johnny and Daniel struggle and are ultimately unable to work together, leading to the midpoint of the season where they split their dojos once more and jeopardize their chances of winning the tournament.

Cobra Kai is an extremely ridiculous show when you look at it fully. The dueling dojos storyline is a prime example of that, and Season 4 seeks to inject some adrenaline into it by reintroducing Terry Silver, played by Thomas Ian Griffith. The main antagonist of The Karate Kid III, Silver was easily one of the film's worst aspects, a mustache-twirling villain that made Kreese look subtle by comparison. Here, Silver is a man who has put the past behind him and has seemingly moved on, only for Kreese to dredge up old wounds and compel him to return. The relationship between Silver and Kreese is fun to watch, as well as giving Kreese some depth after last season's mostly failed attempt at flashbacks.

One of my main complaints about Season 3 was how it gave certain characters the short shrift, making them either unsympathetic or making their arcs feel unearned. Season 4 rectifies that by giving two characters much need development: Tory and Hawk. After last season depicted her as a one-note psychopath, Tory is depicted with much more sympathy here, as she deals with helping her struggling family and ends up receiving some unexpected aid in the form of Amanda LaRusso (Courtney Henlegger finally gets to do more than dryly comment on the absurdity of the situation her husband has landed her into). Hawk meanwhile, struggles to earn his friends' forgiveness for his previous actions as well as what his identity is after an attack leaves him scarred both physically and mentally. Peyton List and Jacob Bertrand give their best performances and their characters' storylines pay off in spades in the finale.

Cobra Kai works best when it deals in shades of gray, and this season does so in a way that hasn't been seen since the first season. New character Kenny is a bullied middle-schooler thar joins Cobra Kai and gains a mentor in the form of Robby, Johnny's son and Daniel's former protege. What could've felt like a retread of Season 1 instead proves to be a brilliant inversion of the first film with the revelation that Daniel's son Anthony is one of Kenny's bullies. This subplot is an excellent commentary on the cyclical nature of bullying, while finally integrating Anthony into the main story after serving as comic relief for the first three seasons.

All of this sounds extremely heavy, but as always, the show has a large amount of humor and heart. Scenes like Johnny Googling "How do I tell my student I'm banging his mom?" and attempting to recruit female members into his dojo by pretending to be a feminist is as humorous as always and the relationship between him and Miguel continues to be the heart of the show even as their bond is strained. Cobra Kai always straddles the line between seriousness and levity, and this season may be it's best effort yet.

The show has always excelled when it comes to its finales and Season 4 is no different. The two-episode finale is an emotionally charged pair of episodes that pay off several relationships and storylines while teasing new ones for Season 5, as well as including a cameo that nearly had me whooping with joy. Cobra Kai is a show that always runs the risk of running out of steam, but this season proves that it's still got some wind left in it's sails.

The Graduate

As a socially awkward, neurotic young adult who graduated from college a couple of months ago and has no idea what to do next in life, I have to say that I identified with Dustin Hoffman's Ben more than I would have liked to.

I'm not saying that I would jump in bed with a married family friend or aggressively stalk her daughter, but I understand Ben a lot more than any other character in the film. We both come from a relatively well-off family and have spent the majority of our lives living on the straight and narrow with the adults around us pressuring us to consider the next step in our lives. When presented with the opportunity to rebel against this way of life, Ben hesitates because of what his parents would think. The resulting montage, which shows Ben distancing himself from said parents while lazing around the house and fully committing to his affair with Mrs. Robinson is a powerful sequence, scored to the Simon and Garfunkel score which signifies the beginning of the film's next act.

Upon meeting Elaine, Ben finally finds one good thing in his life that is pure and innocent. Even then, his love for her is immature and reckless, with his decision to propose to her after one date and stalking her at her college after she discovers his affair with her mother. The ending, where Ben crashes Elaine's wedding and takes off with her on a bus, is infamous for a reason. The camera lingers on Ben and Elaine's faces as they slowly stop smiling and look perturbed, having just burned their bridges with their family and friends, uncertain of the future that lies ahead.

Having originally started out in theater, Mike Nichols' second feature is a masterwork of craftsmanship and editing. Each role is expertly cast and performed, with Anne Bancroft's Mrs. Robinson being one of cinema's greatest villains. The film zips from one scene to the next without any filler or fat on it's bones. Having now seen the film in it's entirety, I can safely say that The Graduate has earned it's cultural touchstone as one of the most important American films of all time.

Weekly Log #2

I know, it's been an unforgivably long time since I last posted, but with my last semester of college and work, it was hard for me to get inspired to write on this blog. Hopefully, this will change in the coming summer, as my main worries so far involve trying to get an actual job.

                                                                  VIDEO GAMES:

Resident Evil Village

Holy fuck, this game is good. If Resident Evil 7 was a homage to the first game's survival horror approach, then Village is a homage to the action-oriented fourth installment. The game throws so many ideas all at once, making you feel like an unstoppable badass as you progress while also making you feel intimidated by the sheer number of enemies you face throughout the game. It's not quite as scary as the previous installment (save for one section that has blown up the Internet), but what it lacks in scares it makes up for in pure spectacle.

Nier Automata

After putting off this game for who knows how long, I finally decided to go ahead and give this a play. I'm still relatively early on in the game, but what I've seen so far has been stellar. The game has a unique science-fiction plot with post-modern themes as well as the stellar combat you can expect from Platinum Games. I can definitely see why people consider this a great game.

Ratchet and Clank 

After starting the 2016 reboot and abandoning it once I finally got my PS5, I decided to give the game another spin with the 60 FPS update and boy, am I glad I did. This game is so much fun to play whether it's the humorous story, the insane gameplay or the breathtaking graphics. The game gives you several options in the form of different gadgets you collect throughout, allowing you to create different strategies as to how to take out enemies.

Baldur's Gate

After dying so many times in this game, I finally decided to go ahead and put the difficulty on Story Mode (noticing a pattern here?). After all, my main reason for playing Baldur's Gate was for it's storytelling and characters (back when Bioware actually cared about that sort of thing), and the game is known for being notoriously difficult in its early stages, so why not skip the combat altogether? As for Baldur's Gate 2, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it...

                                                         TELEVISION:

Demon Slayer

I'm more than halfway through the first season and so far, my experience with it is decidedly average. It's far from a bad show, with top of the line animation and voice acting, but only a few episodes have wowed me so far.

Mythic Quest

Season 2 is much tighter and more focused this season, compounding on the relationship between Poppy and Ian, as well as Rachel and Dana to create an emotionally touching yet extremely funny workplace comedy.

                                                        MOVIES

The Matrix Reloaded/The Matrix Revolutions directed by the Wachowski Sisters

Love or hate these movies, it's hard not to admire the audacity of the Wachowski twins, whether it's an extended sequence of worldbuilding with Zion interspersed with Keanu Reeves having sex or the twenty minute battle sequence that permeates the third film. The sequels to the 1999 classic go for broke in terms of fight sequences and visual effects, even when the story falters. 

Hot Fuzz directed by Edgar Wright

As I said on Twitter, this is a perfect film. The directing is as fast-paced and zany as you'd expect from an Edgar Wright flick, while the script penned by both Wright and Simon Pegg is littered with jokes and foreshadowing. I'm so glad I saw this film before it left HBO Max.

                                                          BOOKS

One Piece by Eiichiro Oda

I'm currently halfway through the second volume (I know, I'm a slow reader), but what I've seen so far is pretty good.  Oda has a clear grasp of the art style and world he's creating and the characters are endearing and funny. Now all I have to do is work up the nerve to buy a subscription to Shonen Jump...

Weekly Log #1

Given that it's been quite some time since I posted on this blog, I've decided to start a new section of my blog where I post what I've seen over the week and give my brutally honest opinions. This probably won't be a weekly occurrence given I've just started my final semester of college but at least I'll have something to post on this blog to anyone who actually reads it. As always, feel free to post in the comments section!

Wandavision

This series is NOT the Lynchian-esque masterpiece that so many people on Twitter are hyping it up to be, but it's still a pretty damn good show. While Elizabeth Olson and Paul Bettany are stellar, the true star is the filmmaking, which easily adapts to whatever sitcom style an episode is paying homage to. Add in a central mystery and this is a show I'll be looking forward to weekly.

Wonder Woman 1984

I finally saw this film right before it left HBO Max. It's a far cry from the first film's grounded nature and is pretty messy when it comes to certain story elements (don't get me started on Steve Trevor), but it's a decent popcorn entertainment flick that revels in it's '80s cheesiness. Don't go in expecting a near-masterpiece like the first film, though.

Paths of Glory

I got the Criterion DVD edition of this film at my local comic store for $5. Stanley Kubrick employs a lot of tracking shots and camera techniques that really help to immerse yourself in the film's story, which provides a very strong anti-war message that ends on a shockingly bleak note and features great acting from Kirk Douglas.

Bioshock

I finally gave in and switched to Easy difficulty after dying so many fucking times and finished the game in a day. The underwater city of Rapture has the some of the best atmosphere  I've encountered in a game since Half Life 2 and the story asks some excellent questions that are rarely asked in gaming. I'll probably dive back into it to collect the director's commentary provided by Ken Levine and Shawn Robertson.

Deadly Premonition 2

SWERY's sequel to the 2010 survival horror game is as much of a singular piece of art as the first one, filled with lengthy conversations about B-movies and musings on the wonders of pizza. One annoying feature I've encountered so far is the inability to resume a conversation after getting interrupted and the constant having to press through cutscenes but this is still a very entertaining game I can't wait to play more of.

eXistensZ

I love videogames and movies. However, I have a difficult time disengaging my mind whenever it comes to switching between both mediums. I could be watching a movie and thinking to myself how game mechanics can be incorporated from certain sequences rather than enjoying the film on it's own merits. I can be playing a video game and thinking to myself how it would transition to film. Being a college student going into his final semester, my biggest career struggle is deciding whether or not I want to go into the games industry or the film industry. As a result, it is sometimes hard for me to immerse myself in the escapist lands both these mediums provide without feeling like I am wasting my time.

With eXistensZ, I was fully engaged from beginning to end. Released in 1999, the film is set in the future where virtual reality gaming is the best thing since sliced bread. The film centers around game designer Allegra Geller on the run from assassins after previewing her latest game. Her sole companion is the technophobic, neurotic Ted Pikul, who is forced to confront his fears in order to help Allegra get to safety and save the original copy of her game. 

The film itself is standard thriller fare, yet David Cronenberg leaves enough of his signature style on it to be able to tell it's one of his films. How many techno-thrillers have fleshlight-looking game systems that jack into your spine or pistols made out of fish bones that use teeth as their main ammunition source?  The film features a star-studded cast including Willem Dafoe, Christopher Eccleston, and the late Ian Holm. The scenes inside the titular game discuss game logic and the intentions of the NPCs in regards to plot and character. 

The Best Games I Played in 2020

This year found many people turning to videogames for comfort during these stressful pandemic times. Yours truly was no exception.

The Last of Us Part II

If we're comparing videogames to movies, The Last of Us Part II may very well be this year's The Last Jedi. It's deconstruction of the revenge genre and borderline sadomachistic story doesn't always work, but it still contains the excellent writing, gameplay and motion-capture performances Naughty Dog is known for.

Ghost of Tshuhima

An ode to samurai films and Japan in general, this action-adventure game is a much more suitable game for those who may have been turned off by The Last of Us Part II, 

Paper Mario: The Origami King

Stop comparing this game to The Thousand Year Door and enjoy it for some of the funniest writing I've ever encountered in a game.

Control

Remedy Entertainment has always ben known for it's cinematic action-adventure game but Control may be it's apex in that regard. Issues on my base PS4 aside, the game features an excellent New Weird world with expert storytelling and gameplay that has more than a few nods to the studio's previous work.

Doom Eternal

Doom Eternal is to Doom what Fury Road was to Mad Max. Bigger, better and more exciting than ever.

Hades

Beloved for their games that combine unique storytelling with addictive gameplay, Supermassive Games have made their best game yet in Hades, a roguelike ARPG that incorporates Greek mythology into it's DNA as you attempt to escape the Underworld. While the gameplay is as fun as it's ever been, the true star of Hades is the cast of characters based on Greek gods that you converse and form bonds with everytime you return to the Underworld.

Final Fantasy VII Remake

Square Enix's multi-part reimagining of it's groundbreaking JRPG suffers from a lot of filler, but when it comes to recreating certain story moments, it absolutely shines.

Yakuza Kiwami 2

If Japanese games are one of my favorite genre in games, the Yakuza series is up there with the best for their  dense open worlds and storytelling that blends serious drama with humor. 

Cobra Kai Season 3

Cobra Kai is one of those shows that sounded like a terrible idea when it was first announced, only to quickly become an overnight sensation. Originally airing on Youtube Red before moving to Netflix for it's third season, the show's basically The Karate Kid: The Next Generation, focusing on the main villain from the original film Johnny Lawrence as he tries to rebuild his life by resurrecting his old dojo and facing opposition from Daniel LaRusso, who believes that Johnny is trying to start up the dojo's bullying creed and creates his own dojo in honor of the deceased Mr. Miyagi. The show quickly won over fans thanks to it's fantastic lead performances in William Zabka and Ralph Macchio, as well as it's solid writing and deconstruction of the original film's black and white morality.

Season 2 ended on a pretty bleak cliffhanger, with an all-out brawl erupting between the Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do students that left Johnny's star pupil and surrogate son Miguel Diaz paralyzed by Johnny's biological son Robby, while John Kreese has taken over the Cobra Kai dojo. The opening episodes of the season do a good job at emphasizing the severity of the fallout, from the entire community being in an uproar over the brawl to Sam's PTSD following her fight with Tory. As Daniel and Johnny try to deal with the damage their feud to has done to their loved ones, Kreese starts to mold his remaining students into the violent mindset he instilled into Johnny back in his youth.

Cobra Kai is pretty ridiculous when you step back and think about it. Two middle-aged high school enemies reliving their old rivalry feels like fodder for a crappy sitcom, but Season 1's writing and performances were good enough for it to feel grounded in reality. While Season 2 suffered flak for it's overemphasis on the show's teenage cast as well as a heavy dose of melodrama, Season 3 smartly turns it's attention back to the adults (for the most part) and their attempts to salvage their ruined lives as well as those that they care about. Scenes like Johnny's attempts to use social media with the aid of Miguel and Daniel's trip to Okinawa work primarily because of the foundation laid in the previous seasons.

That's not to say that this season doesn't have it's flaws. While the elements that make the show work are given ample screen time, certain characters and their storylines are given the short shrift, particularly Robby and Hawk, both of whom undergo character transitions by the season's end that should've been given more breathing room. The gang war between Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai reaches new levels of ludicrousness, to the point that there's no good reason why none of the kids or adults ever involve the police. The Sam/Tory feud is a double-edged sword, giving Sam a compelling arc in overcoming her PTSD while robbing the rivalry of any nuance or shades of gray by portraying Tory as a one-dimensional psychopath. The flashbacks depicting Kreese in his Vietnam days feel like they're from another show altogether, a poor attempt to humanize a character who is otherwise a complete sociopath.

But when the show works, it can be insanely fun. The way the characters bounce off of each other is as compelling as ever to watch and there's a large amount of humor in this season, despite the heavy subject matter. The finale is an insane, balls-to-the-walls smorgasbord that perfectly sets up the fourth season. Season 3 of Cobra Kai might not be perfect, but once you give into it's charms, it's like nothing else on television.