Fantasmas

Lovely use of color and obviously very creative, but having seen one episode, I am unlikely to see any more of them. It's surrealistic and quirky, with some characters that are trying to be perfectly normal and Julio Seeming to be puzzled by life.

But he's a consultant to various companies starting with Crayola where he advises them to create a crayon that's transparent. He points out that a glass of water is transparent so how would you color it? Of course, the very glass of water he points to has blue edges to it, and anybody who's ever, painted a glass of water and blues that work quite well for it.

He has a robotic creature who keeps house for him and nags in the other things, including the eviction notices he's been getting. He's too busy trying to find a lost earring and apparently that's going to be the theme of the whole series.

Well, good luck, Julio. I hope things work out for you and for the TV show.

This is more of a retrospective review of the movie, since it's been around a year since I've seen it, but it has stuck to me in a vivid way.

I do genuinely like the narrative, it's a bit soft in an old produce way at times, and sometimes it could do with a little bit more grit. Some of the characters seem a bit loose, and the overall storyline isn't particularly dynamic, but when you watch it, you realise that it's not about gripping you to your seat, it's just a visionage, it's entertainment in the sense that it's entertaining. You can watch it, and colours, and storylines will go by, and they will entertain you, and kinda prosper as niche little interests to think about. But in that aspect it plays out like a modern series in a hypnotic subgenre.

There are a lot of nice metaphors that are added in, I think of the clear crayon being this otherworldly creative idea, in a world of purely commercial mindsets, and as a metaphor for that. The MELF segment is kinda funny, just by these two recognisable actors doing some silly spoof moment.

The acting isn't bad; there's roles that are acted better than others. The good acting credits go to Martine Gutierrez, Vanesja, who is this modern business woman, sex-work life balances, then you have Alexa Demie, Becca, who is this rule-orientated loyal customer service rep, who is maliciously, and ironically malicious, and then you also have, Dominique Jackson, Algorithmn, the one who give's, and takes. But there's more than that who deserve praise.

The amount of celebrities who show up in this series is insane, like I don't know what Julio Torres did, but there's hundreds of them, there's Steve Buscemi, Julia Fox, Rosie Perez, Paul Dano, Rachel Dratch, and even Tilda Swinton who plays, water.

The amount of money this show had to have had is even more insane. Because the quality is ridiculous. The sets, the props, the costumes all of it is ridiculous in quality.

And I have to give credits, if not for looks, to James Scully who plays a dog. Which is fun because the last time I saw him, he played a high school bomber in Heathers. Fun fact, Julio Torres is dating James Scully, which I only found out writing this. And honestly, props to both of them finding love in this messed up world.

One of my main problems, something that doesn't necessarily ruin the show, but that's just always on your mind. Julio Torres directed, wrote, and played the titular character. When you know that, you just can't get rid of this very Julio orientated mindset. Because the dynamic is entirely just him, because it was written by him, and directed by him. And to be honest, the character isn't the most developed. He doesn't really grow as a character, he doesn't realise his mistakes, or really take accountability. He doesn't really do anything as a character, and essentially is just handed everything to him on a silver platter. Events orbit him. Now I'm assuming this is to show a kind of odyssey of a dream-like journey, but with the modern realism that's added on, it kinda comes out in a metacritical aspect that the character is born to fill out this role, and everything revolves around him, so it makes everything a little 2D in comparison to his also 2D character. But it's not just the narrative, he has the most costumes as a character, the most sets that are specific to him, also props off to the set designers, and builders, they were divine in this series, I feel like 60% of the budget went towards the sets, he has a whole slave, BIBO, but he doesn't really do anything with them. He's just there. Which is an art style that I highly respect, but it just comes out very pro-Julio, very scraps for everyone else.

Now the problem is, there are so many subplots within the series for the other characters, I think one of them gets an entire episode to themselves, that Julio's character doesn't sustain the main character role for longer than the half the first episode. But the narrative is based around Julio. So you get this grinding of other characters taking the spotlight, and leaving Julio in the dirt, but also the narrative pulling those characters to semi-worship Julio. And the ending does not clarify who is the main character, if there even is one, even though it's showed that there is one.

But as a whole, and my picking apart of small wounds, it's a very collected, very design-orientated series that definitely lingers on your mind for a while after watching it. So I would recommend strongly.

Just watched the first episode of "Fantasmas" and wow, it's crazy funny! 😂 It's kinda like Family Guy, with cutaways from the main story, but the cutaways are more like the early Family Guy episodes - super cool and hilarious. Those cutaways really make this show a gem!

The episode starts off with this weird plot about the letter "Q" and a pink teddy bear. I know, sounds random, right? But trust me, it works! 🐻 The characters are all over the place, but in a good way. Their conversations had me laughing out loud for real.

There's this mix of old-school vibes and really out-there comedy that keeps you watching. Some of the sketches are just bizarre, but in a fun way. If you're into weird humor and stories that don't make sense (in a good way), you should totally check this out!

I'm not usually good at writing reviews, but I had to share how much I enjoyed this. The first episode was so random and funny, I can't wait to see what happens next. It's definitely not your average show, but that's what makes it awesome.

Not sure if everyone will get it, but if you like offbeat stuff, give it a try. It's got this unique vibe that's hard to explain, but it's totally worth watching. Can't believe this is my first IMDB review, but this show deserved it! 😄👍

Having seen "Los Espookys" and "Problemista," I'm a fan of Julio. His offbeat humor, quirkiness, fantastical, surreal elements are woven through all, and "Fantasmas" is so far my favorite.

I love satire, and I'm really enjoying all the commentary on a wide variety of challenges and flaws of modern day society. This is often expressed through a ridiculous, exaggerated situation, which shines a comedic light on how truly dystopia some things are.

Each character is offbeat, and some are straight out of a fever dream.

In order to really enjoy this, you'd have to be along for the ride and not overthink or question a lot of the absurd, nonsensical things that happen, or be wanting a strong storyline structure.

This show feels weird for the sake of being weird, and it will continuously surprise you.

I felt like I needed to give this a rating even after 2 episodes. From the set design and costumes to the multidimensional characters and stories they tell all within a world that can only make you think of things like Alice in wonderland or any novel by Vonnegut. I don't want to give anything away but the show does have a story that is certainly absurd at first glance but wholly satirical on every detail it presents about certain mundanities in our day to day lives that really are ridiculous when given further consideration.

Excited to see more of that this world is like. Expect to be weirded out at times, but please give it a shot if you're at all interested.