Stranger Things

The funny thing about Netflix original content is that a lot of their shows can be seen as a whole movie. And that's what I did with "Stranger Things" since it essentially did feel like three movies put together covering the same something strange in the neighborhood.
Movie #1 and the main story: kids side.
The young stars pull off a lot of the characteristic charm of the same kind of protagonists from "ET," "Goonies," and other films that feature kids having to go up against the supernatural and situations way over their heads. The kids seem familiar yet completely fresh since they have the boisterousness, attitude, and general demeanor the audience has come to expect from an 80s movie but with a more professional kind of kid actor as you would see from movies in the modern era. Nothing about them screams "I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO ACT" and in all truth, they sometimes act more like adults than the adult characters. How did they find these kids? I was genuinely invested in all their shenanigans, internal conflicts, their own nerdy know-how, and how much drive they displayed in wanting to achieve their goals.
Movie #2 and the stronger of the side stories: the adults.
Winona Ryder is the biggest big name actor of this little Netflix show and she acts with such passion and conviction that you almost forget she was Lydia from "Beetlejuice" and Kim from "Edward Scissorhands."  In light of her character's son suddenly becoming a victim of the ne'er-do-well from another dimension, she certainly looks like she's lost her marbles. And she plays it so very well. On the flip side is the police chief of their little Indiana town and right off the bat, we can tell he has his demons. Not until the last episode do we actually get to see why he's as gruff and bitter as he is. Yet, he is super driven, and him solving this missing person case which would lead to his own redemption is one of the most compelling parts of this series/movie. When their two stories converge, it is very gratifying seeing them become a duo of explorers into the unknown.
Movie #3 and what I thought would be a drag and eventually becoming a very compelling side story on its own: the teens.
Like any kind of teen drama full of popular teens, nerdy teens, sexual awakening, yelling at parents that they don't understand them, and cute girls treating freaks like people, this portion of the series was rife with clichés and overused tropes. And yet it diverges from this pointless melodrama and dives headlong into a revenge-driven story where teens be badass and kick supernatural ass a la "Evil Dead" and some of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" movies.  What I thought would be cardboard cutouts of characters become their own well-rounded characters with fears, foibles, real-seeming emotion, and gumption.
Overall, it is one of the biggest love letters to popular cinema from yesteryear, specifically the 1980s. While it gets a little weird, and a little wild, I highly recommend popping some Eggo waffles and watching this romp through these fantastic eight episodes of spooky goodness.
For a creative overview from a fellow movie-reviewing friend that lists three pros and three cons, please go here.

Because not only are little girls creepy and killers, they are also notorious for loving their snack foods.