Silo on AppleTV+

This show started off with such promise. The first episode set up this big mystery that I wanted to learn more about. I was ready to invest in this story. After the strong start the story slowed way down to the point where I questioned why I was even watching anymore. If I hadn't been able to binge the last 5 episodes there was no way I would have been able to stick with it. The ending was sort of compelling, but it took way too long to get there.

I cannot recommend the series. I was hooked from the beginning and yet by the end I felt like I wasted a lot of time. It has a strong premiss but then totally fumbles the execution. 

Silo is a hard sci-fi about a future society that lives underground in a silo. There is a video feed of the outside that shows a desolate landscape. If you request, you are allowed to go outside and you are asked to clean off the camera sensor. You will never be given the opportunity to come back in. Everybody who goes out makes the choice to clean the sensor, then as they walk away they collapse and die. 

What?!? It is a pretty interesting mystery. Everything gets off to this fast start with lots of action and murder. Then the entire story comes to a grinding halt after Rebecca Ferguson becomes the sheriff of the silo and ignores her duties to try to figure out what happened to her boyfriend. 

I cared nothing about any of the characters in this show. I think they wanted us to care, but they just did such a bad job of making anybody likable that none of it worked. There was so much focus on the mythology of the relics from the before times. None of it was compelling. None of it seemed to amount to anything. 

When we are first introduced to Rebecca Ferguson she seems awesome and extremely competent. Then the rest of the show she sucks. I really wanted to like this show, but as I sit here reflecting on the season I just have bad feelings about it. 

It has been renewed for a second season. Weirdly, I am probably going to watch it to see what happens. I am actually interested in reading the book this show is based on. If I get through the series before the second season starts maybe I will not feel the need to watch anymore. 

Great premise. Strong start. Really disappointing execution over the second half of the season. Watch at your own risk. 

Barbie

I hadn’t been to the theater to see a movie in months… maybe even over a year. But nothing could keep me away from Barbie. Actually my wife and daughters decided a movie would be a good afternoon activity on a 97° summer day so I decided to tag along.

There is a lot of buzz about this movie. Generally the reviews have been positive. I thought it was great! I laughed more than I expected to. It was fun, but also interesting. It looked amazing, especially at the beginning in Barbieland. It referenced films from 2001: A Space Odyssey to The Matrix to Justice League.

Barbie had a strong start but faltered several times on the way to a lackluster ending. I definitely enjoyed the movie, but in the end it’s reach exceeded its grasp. I liked that it challenged the cultural legacy of Barbie, but just asking the questions was not enough for me. I didn’t get the ending. I also understand that I may not have the right perspective to appreciate what the ending was trying to say.

There are a lot of people that have written much more thoughtful reviews of the movie. Here are a couple…

➞ Barbie Is Very Pretty But Not Very Deep 

➞ Why Barbie Must Be Punished

Both of those reviews have plenty of criticisms of the plot and the ideas presented therein. I agree with a fair bit of those criticisms, but I think it is all about perspective. It is a really funny comedy that digs into the psychology of a mid-life crisis. It is a witty farce that explores the modern-day mother/daughter relationship. It is so successful in delivering an extremely entertaining story.

At the same time, the movie references a lot of stuff that it might not agree with in the world, but it doesn’t seem to want to make an actual statement about them. Maybe I missed them. Maybe another watch will clarify the social commentary.

A movie doesn’t have to make a strong political statement to be good. I don’t need a lot of meaning out of a comedy. But it feels like Barbie is getting some sort of weird credit for merely bringing up the fact that something exists in the world while cracking jokes in its general direction. I think I would like to listen to an interview or two with Greta Gerwig and then watch the movie again. Would it make more sense? Would it have more meaning? I don’t know. Either way, I would surely enjoy the experience of rewatching.