I’m love true crime, like most people it seems. When Netflix releases something that seems akin to that, I usually jump right on it, especially now that’s Spoopy month. Now, while I now that it wasn’t advertised as a documentary, I was expecting something more. Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story was a horrific mess that seemed to want to be released into the world. Instead of investigating the just possible emotional and psychological damage leading to horrific crimes, this murderer, as the show claims, is turned into a sapphic, feminist icon. While humanizing someone is par for the course to try to understand a person that commits crimes, trying to celebrate them is a completely different thing entirely. Even in the show, there are flashforwards of another criminal who glorifies Borden because she was able to get away with her crimes as if that was a good thing instead of horrible. It could have just been a look at how sexism lead to an acquittal back then but won’t now. Instead, we see an unstable woman be put to death instead of getting the psychological help she needed. The show could have been a lot of things instead of the hot mess that it ended up being. It could be enjoyable if you completely turn off your brain but gets more and more awful the more you think about it. Turning a horrific woman into a icon and hero to women everywhere was disgusting use of everyone’s time.
Tag: crime
Undercover Legend
Becoming a legend of the underworld can be a hassle. Especially when you are apparently too good for your job. That is the story behind The Fable. A hired assassin is forced to go into hiding for a year for being way too good at his job. I also wish there were more to say. Unfortunately, I wish this show were more than just a guy living his life, especially with the setup. Had it been told as more of a slice of life, I probably wouldn’t have been as disappointed. While there was action, nothing had consequences, as there was nothing to be gained or lost, as he is known to be the best, and that is not something questioned by anyone. There was one interesting plotline, but the longer it went on, the intrigue was lost. It was a decent anime to have play in the background, just not at all what I was expecting to happen.
How Does It Hold Up: The Mentalist
Growing up, I would watch this show whenever it was on. I never watched it in order, since I would catch it whenever I could. So, when I found the entire series in order, I hopped in to watch The Mentalist. Now, I have had the honor of watching this former “psychic” work with the California Bureau of Investigation to solve the murders, hoping to find the serial killer that killed his wife and daughter.
I will admit, the first five seasons had me completely captured. I could not stop watching the show, hoping to catch clues before they were fully explained on screen. If I caught onto something before everyone else, I would be ecstatic; if not, I would spend time trying to figure out what I missed. By season 6, I stopped caring as much, and it took me a while to get to the next episode. Season 7, while good, wasn’t necessarily why I got really into the show. I didn’t have the same intrigue, or the same characters I spent six seasons falling in love with. Overall, it was good and really holds up, but it might be a while before I get back to it.
Gunhead
A guilty pleasure of mine is crime noir. They are over-the-top and dramatic. Now, while I think they should primarily be in black and white, I’ll give this anime a pass. No Gun’s Life absolutely nails the dramatic crime noir style by being dark, gritty, and having way too many internal monologues. While noirs are usually old-school crime-solving, this had a very different style. In a future where cybernetics are the norm, there is still the gruesome underground lurking about in the city. While I was expecting a general low-key styled noir, I was not expecting there to be thought-provoking disscussion.
In a world with cybernetics, there are people who support its use, those who vehemently oppose it, and those who do not know what to do. It really brings up the topic of what it means to really be human, especially when one of our protagonists has a revolver for a head. What does it mean to be a tool of the establishment? Do we have as much of a choice as we believe? Either way, this anime was filled with characters to love, characters to hate, and those to be conflicted about. My attention was grabbed the entire time.
