Marty Byrde is a man who can convince you to rethink your whole life with the snap judgment and then he can support the misplaced pride that you credited yourself with.

I started this show last year when it debuted on Netflix following the suggestion of the Resident DJ[BK](who helps me how to understand and curate my life and media….THE PLAYER WAY) and I was drawn in and enveloped. Now believe it or not I didn’t binge it as life happens so often in which media becomes rotated, left to simmer and falls in the rotation of the dreaded “continue watching” list. Now after all those excuses finally died down, I pulled Ozark out of the deep freeze and thawed out this morsel of a show. I am pleased to bring you my thoughts on and how a series like Ozark and others have impacted our movie industry.

But first… Meet my friend, Marty Byrde:

This is the seemingly innocuous fellow who just steals the whole season. Jason Bateman steps out from his awkward/witty humor typecast and delivers a performance that has you rethinking how you negotiate in life as a whole. Marty Byrde is a financial planner that gets wrapped up in a money laundering scheme, then proceeds to abscond with his family to the Missouri side of the Ozarks. I am going to spare you other character introductions as they become evident enough, just know it involves local criminals and of course the drug lord that he was laundering for in the first place. The swath of characters circle the malestrom of anxiety that radiates from every episode. This show hooks you in early and as the darkened gnarled path of the plot receives light, it begins to  magnetize your interest as you freefall down the rabbit hole.

Aside from Marty Byrde, I will say that Justin Timberlake does really well in Ozark too……

Makes me laugh. #CorruptingTheSystem

Now if you have already joined the agents who have seen season 1 and if you missed the trailer for season 2…

In a very well done trailer you see that Marty is knee-deep in the thick of owing favors and being forced to be strategic about EVERYTHING. Ozark promises to unfurl levels of muck and mire that will surely have a focal point for anxiety and fascination. Season two is available presently on Netflix so wind down from your week with another dose of the fast talking snake oil salesman that he is.

Ozark is a solid show and I appreciate that, of course right? I do and it is because of the long form story telling freedom TV shows are allowed. These days after successes like Breaking Bad and LOST, shows that have their story planned out, (similar to a shared vison in the MCU), those shows types have been the ones inspiring studios. Any studio come to mind? Hmmm…

Marvel’s plan was simple enough, create cool comic movies and link them together with a wonderful tease of the glorious Post Credits Scene. This nuance of film allowed a studio to change the entire field of cinema beyond the finite trilogy set that had befallen so many franchises. Also before this gets too far, no I didn’t leave out Star Wars but I only did that because Star Wars is a Trilogy. Star Wars films after the original trilogy have been money grabs for an antiquated franchise that has infinite possibilities, with limited results. Marvel Studios set the precedence and DC soon followed, yet did not share posses a shared vision that the MCU had already established. This is where the idea of the TV series presented as a Film franchise was bred, born, raised and thrived within the MCU especially. They even allowed Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, The Punisher and Iron Fist to make nods toward the entirety of it, not as much as it should have but decent attempt nonetheless.

Calm down, I am not about to dive into a love fest on all things MCU and Marvel Studios related, I am simply pointing out that a studio can and has shifted our view. There is a universe of material out there that could be told and presented as such. Now do I appreciate a stand alone film? Of course I do and honestly I also appreciate a good stand alone Comic Film. As you have heard on The Player Way Podcast and seen in my bio for the current Weekly Movie Chat Podcast, Watchmen is one of my favorite films and it also is a stand alone comic film as well. Those do not happen often and any studio venturing out to make a comic film, they are scared. Scared to fail, scared to compete, scared to take a risk due to the powerhouse  that is Marvel Studios and their MCU product.  Why wouldn’t they be ? The idea of even venturing a superhero or villain film is risky at inception at the pitch, let alone execution.

See?

So why, why even point it out? The fork in the road is there, you have the path of the MCU, DECU and even Godzilla has entered the fight with its films as well. It seems that the classic style is ever-present and of course genres will always deliver but talk to the open-minded person you used to be and ask yourself, what do I want from this cinematic adventure? I personally like to immerse myself into the story and follow through as it goes along, so the idea of  watching movies comprising my favorite things pushing beyond singular movie efforts to tell me an arching mural of fantasy? Sounds perfectly mesmerizing. In a world where the consumer wants everything instantly, We have to wait for these beasts to form. We are used to binge watching shows as soon as they come out, watch, talk about and go on to the next. It’s easy, we don’t have to wait for weekly shows like we used to.

The ability to watch an entire season of a show in a few days versus a few months allows us larger doses, and the trends have paralleled with certain cinema genres quite well. Movie universes are taking the spot of “same time next week” and put it into a release schedule forcing us to wait for another dose and you know what? We will. We will keep doing it because we feel in control of our media consumption and honestly, that what the name of the game is. Why, what, when, and where am I going to watch the next piece of my individuality display on?

Well that is our job here at the Play Your Way Network and we will keep dishing out the thoughts, opinions and journeys to help you navigate the mediaverse, The Player Way.

Look for BK, James and Derreck to cover Ozark and long form film in a cinematic world and more on the next:

But until then…..

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