Say Anything... (1989)

I'm a lifelong believer in crushes. I believe that a crush is how the deepest friendships often begin. I think they're the lifeblood of youthfulness regardless of any "hyphenated age category," which in my case is a little (lot) older than high schoolers. Still, you cannot tell me I'm not a kid again when I'm crushing out. I believe a crush is not just about romance; it can be platonic, familial, or even vocational. However, the boss/employee crush is ill-advised, especially if you're the boss. Nevertheless, a crush in its purest form is just what the doctor ordered for what ails any and all of us—and perhaps a way to even achieve world peace. 

Now that I'm through with my Senior Class President campaign speech, I'll get to the movie. 

I'll admit watching Crush made me a smidge jealous. My days at Glenn Hills High don't remotely compare to that of Crush's Miller High—nor did most of my friends' experiences compare. I'm not even sure my niece, a current junior, has this same openness; we live in the South. But it's Hulu, and I love to lose myself inside the possibility of what life would be if it were normal that 60% of the population were Queer.

With the coronavirus pandemic cancelling virtually everything, including movie releases, I had to scout Netflix for something to review. Fortunately, it wasn’t a difficult feat, as Netflix always has new releases, but sometimes those new releases aren’t too great…

Altered Carbon: Resleeved is a Japanese animated film which is based off a TV show, which is based off a book. Unlike the movie, the TV show — Altered Carbon — is actually an American live action series. It’s quite a change, but it’s an interesting way to give the story more representation. If only said story left a lasting impression, but we’ll get to that.

The movie takes place in between seasons one and two, but stands on its own as it expands on the story’s universe. Though it felt like I needed to have seen season one to understand our protagonist in order to care for him.

…I didn’t really care for him.

Our protagonist is Takeshi Kovacs, a former solider turned investigator who has to protect a girl from danger, while at the same time, investigate the murder of a yakuza boss. The premise is set in the distant future where consciousness can be transferred into a different body, essentially making anyone immortal until the stack — a chip embedded into their spine that carries their consciousness — is destroyed.