What to Watch on TV this Weekend: Chloe's Guide

Sept. 9–11, 2016

Here are a few suggestions for what to watch on the upcoming weekend.

Spider-Man (2002)

Friday, Sept. 9 - More Max -6:55 p.m.

Sam Raimi — whose directorial checklist comprises the Evil Dead films and television series, The Grudge remakes and Drag Me to Hell (2009) — helped to sustain and nourish a then-rising trend in Marvel superhero films following the 2000 release of X-Men. Raimi's Spider-Man generated approximately $821.7 million at the box office, ploughing through a budget of $139 million. The film centers on student Peter Parker, played by Tobey Maguire, who gains superhuman strength and spider-like abilities after being bitten by a genetically altered spider during a field trip. What ensues is a 121-minute, high-flying escapade that, at its core, is a coming-of-age story.

Spider-Man also stars Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn, head of the multibillion-dollar Oscorp Industries, as well as Kirsten Dunst as Parker's love interest, Mary Jane Watson, and James Franco as Norman's son and Parker's best friend, Harry Osborn. Peter Parker strives toward a balance between his life as an aspiring photographer and as a web-slinging crime-fighter, whose penchant for heroism garners the attention of a certain viridescent foe, threatening to entangle the lives of individuals closest to Parker's heart.

The film's success led to the release of two sequels (Spider-Man 2 in 2004 in Spider-Man 3 in 2007), with Stan Lee, former president and chairman of Marvel Comics, going as far as to comment that the 2002 production is his favorite superhero film to date.

The Giver (2014)

Saturday, Sept. 10 - TMC - 3:20 p.m.

I watched The Giver in 2015 when it had long-since departed from the silver screen. Going into it, I had zero notion as to the film's premise, a practice with the power to recompense or backfire — for me, it was the former that occurred, and I was thoroughly beholden. The Giver stars Brenton Thwaites (The Signal, Gods of Egypt, Maleficent) as Jonas, who lives in an idyllic society built on a foundation of conformity, so much so that even the visual scape of the film largely maintains a grayed aesthetic. The film's plot develops quickly, but evenly, with deepening levels of involvement and reveal culminating in sentiment more complex and more precious than its simplistic beginning.

The film is an adaption of a 1993 American young-adult, utopian/dystopian novel of the same name, written by Lois Lowry. Jonas is selected as his community's Receiver of Memory, a distinction that allows the assignee to store all past memories of the time before "Sameness." This wisdom, gradually conveyed by The Giver (Jeff Bridges), is necessitated by the Council of Elders, led by the Chief Elder (Meryl Streep), for requisite times of decision making. The Giver exercises a number of themes throughout its 97-minute running time: rules versus choice, communication and language as well as isolation. The most prevailing thread, however, is the cooperative concept of memory and history.

Lowry's novel gave rise to three other books set in the same future era, framing a loose quartet, known as The Giver Quartet: Gathering Blue (2000), Messenger (2004) and Son (2012), but so far, there has been no reported discussion confirming film adaptations for the latter three publications.

Chappie (2015)

Sunday, Sept. 11 - Showtime - 9 a.m.

Despite stemming from the fertile mind of Alien 5 director Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium), Chappie did not initially catch my attention. I eventually sat down with a friend who happened upon the film during a lengthy flight, per his recommendation of the film. It did not take seven hours, however, to convince me of Chappie's caliber; I was absorbed into the film's depiction of an artificially intelligent robot impelled to navigate through competing forces of compassion and corruption in the human world. The film is an expanded imagining of elements explored within Blomkamp's 2004 short film, Tetra Vaal, which portrays a robot law enforcer created to patrol third-world countries.

Blomkamp veteran Sharlto Copley voices the maverick machine alongside actors Dev Patel as Chappie's creator, Sigourney Weaver, Jose Pablo Cantillo (The Walking Dead) and Hugh Jackman as the story's main antagonist. The film also features Yolandi Visser and Ninja of South African rap-rave group Die Antwoord, who star as Chappie's unsolicited custodians. Chappie's unique design is the catalyst for what events unfold around the titular character and the personalities with whom Chappie comes into contact.

The ebb and flow of action blends well with dashes of humor spread throughout the 120-minute production, and while Blomkamp has suggested the possibility of a sequel, nothing is yet certain. Chappie examines the intricacy of humanity and the illustrative comparison of nature versus nurture. The violent backdrop of the film helps to set the plot in motion while allowing Chappie's storyline to glitter in contrast.

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