Black Mirror Episodes Ranked - Season 7

“Black Mirror” is an anthology series exploring a twisted, high-tec multiverse where humanity’s greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide. The show is known for the twists and how technology can sometimes be pretty scary. Season 7 was just released on Netflix and I’m ranking all six episodes. And this was a really strong season.

6. Hotel Reverie
Director: Haolu Wang
Starring: Issa Rae, Emma Corrin, Akwafina, Harriet Walter, Elliot Barnes-Worrell, Enzo Cilento
Description: A high-tech, unusually immersive remake of a vintage British film sends Hollywood A-list star Brandy Friday (Issa Rae) into another dimension, where she must stick to the script if she ever wants to make it home.
Review: Using modern-day technology to recreate an old classic movie, and an actress looking for her next big film. And of course things go completely wrong. It’s a very creative idea, however the episode is way too long and did not manage to keep my attention the entire time. Still a good episode, but my least favorite of the season.
 

5. Plaything
Director: David Slade
Starring: Peter Capaldi, Will Poulter, Lewis Gribben, James Nelson-Joyce, Michelle Austin
Description: In a near-future London, an eccentric murder suspect (Peter Capaldi) is linked to an unusual video game from the 1990s – a game populated by cute, evolving artificial lifeforms.
Review: During an interrogation, a man arrested for shoplifting, tells his story. This is a sequel to the film “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” and again revolves around a video game. “Plaything” is a very cynical take on technology and has plenty to say about human nature. This feels more like an old-fashioned “Black Mirror” episode. Where “Hotel Reverie” felt too long, “Plaything” could use a few extra minutes. But I did love the ending though.
 

4. Běte Noire
Director: Toby Haynes
Starring: Siena Kelly, Rosy McEwen, Michael Workeye, Hannah Griffiths, Ben Asheden, Amber Grappy,
Description: Confectionary whizz kid Maria (Siena Kelly) is unnerved when her former schoolmate Verity (Rosy McEwen) joins the company she works at – because there’s something altogether odd about Verity, something only Maria seems to notice.
Review: This episode has a great build-up, where we see how Maria is going from the strongest asset in her company hitting rock bottom. We feel what she feels, because we know she is telling the truth. But strange things seem to be happening and there is no explanation for these events. She, and also the audience, suspect that Verity has something to do with it. Because it all started when she joined the company. The plot twists are well put together, but the ending is way too abrupt.
 

3. Eulogy
Director: Christoper Barrett, Luke Taylor
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Patsy Ferran
Description: An isolated man (Paul Giamatti) is introduced to a groundbreaking system that allow its users to literally step inside old photographs – stirring powerful emotions in the process.
Review: Philip gets a call from a company called Eulogy, who collects memories for funerals. With the help of a virtual guide, he thinks back to a woman who was once very important to him. “Eulogy” is masterful. The idea is very original and the plot is not far-fetched. The surprised in the story are believable. This is also an episode that is mostly about the acting. And Paul Giamatti is amazing, as a man is is confronted by his past.
 

2. USS Callister: Into Infinity
Director: Toby Haynes
Starring: Cristin Milioti, Jimmi Simpson, Billy Magnussen, Osy Ikhile, Milanka Brooks, Jesse Plemons, Paul G. Raymond
Description: Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons) is dead, but now the crew of the USS Callister – led by Captain Nanette Cole (Cristin Milioti) – are stranded in an infinite virtual universe, fighting for survival  against 30 million players.
Review: Season 7 had another sequel. “USS Callister” is still one of the most popular episodes of “Black Mirror” and a fan favorite. And this sequel, “USS Callister: Into Infinity”, continues where the original story ended. A deragned programmer had stuffed clones of his colleagues into a computer game and these clones must now survive in a giant online game. “USS Callister: Into Infinity” should only be seen if you liked the first part and want to know how the story ends. I loved this episode, and it still had some cool twists and turns. Not as good as the original episode, which is also an all-time favorite of mine, but a worthy sequel.
 

1. Common People
Director: Ally Pankiw
Starring: Chris O’Dowd, Rashida Jones, Tracee Ellis Ross
Description: When a medical emergency leaves schoolteacher Amanda (Rashida Jones) fighting for her life, her desperate husband Mike (Chris O’Dowd) signs her up for Rivermind, a high-tech system that will keep her alive.
Review: Without a doubt the best episode of season 7. When Mike decides to save Amanda’s life by signing up with Rivermind, because it was literally the only option to keep her alive, the couple become dependent on the healthcare system. “Common People” is a sharp satire on the American health care system in which making money is more important than someone’s actual health. The first episode of the season and  nothing beat it. It’s also one of the best “Black Mirror” episodes ever.
 
What did you think of season 7 and which episode was the stand-out for you?

Movie Review - American Fiction

Director: Cord Jefferson
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 117 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, Sterling K. Brown, Issa Rae, Keith David, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Erika Alexander, Adam Brody, John Ortiz, Raymond Anthony Thomas
 
Description: A novelist (Jeffrey Wright) who’s fed up with the establishment profiting from Black entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of the hypocrisy and madness he claims to disdain.

Review: In “American Fiction”, a struggling writer is offered a big movie deal for his purposely steretype-filled, accidentally successful novel Fuck. The movie applies critique of the literary world from Percival Everett’s 2001 satirical novel “Erasure” to today’s film world.

When author Thelonious “Monk” Ellison hears from his agent that his books ‘aren’t black enough to sell’, he writes a novel filled with black stereotype out of frustration. He want the book to hold a mirror up to the literary world, about their worship of real and raw stories about the struggles of black people. He calls the book Fuck, pretends it was written by a fugitive criminal and thinks that makes it unpublishable. Of course, it becomes a raging success. He gets a 750 thousand advance and a movie deal.

Debuting director Cord Jefferson based the screenplay of “American Fiction” on the 2001 satirical novel “Erasure”. The criticism of the literary circuit from “Erasure” clearly dates back to the turn of the century. “American Fiction” shifts the focus to a critique of Hollywood. The actual focus is of course Ellison’s personal life.

Ellison is the sole writer in a family of doctors. They own a beach house and have a live-in help. When h is fired as a literature professor at a university in California, de decides to visit his family in Boston. He dislikes them. His brother and sister have always resented him for being his father’s darling. What follows is a personal story.  

I absolutely loved “American Fiction”. An underdog at the Oscars of 2024, that will most likely not win a single award, but really deserves a ton of praise. Not only the movie and its story, but also for actors Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K. Brown. Go watch this film, it’s streaming on Amazon Prime.

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Review - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Director: Joaquim dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Genre: Adventure/ Action/ Animation
Runtime: 140 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Laura Velez, Jake Johnson, Oscar Isaac, Mahershala Ali, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Daniel Kaluuya, Karan Soni, Andy Samberg, Rachel Dratch, Jack Quaid, Jharrel Jerome
 
I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 39: A ANIMATED MOVIE THAT IS NOT DISNEY
 
Description: Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) catapults across the Multiverse, where he encounter a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. When the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles must redefine what it means to be a hero.

Review: It’s hard to top predecessor “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”, but the sequel is another innovative experience that I loved just a much.

I guess people are still not sick of Spider-Man stories. And I’m so glad they aren’t, because then this amazing animation would maybe not even exist. Every superhero movie is directly or remotely based on a comic book. The makers of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” don’t just sprinkle in source references, they go further. The film’s eclectic look is a downright homage to Marvel Comics’ comic book artists, each of whom have their own style, with their own choice of mediums to work with. Some work with old-fashioned pencils or pen, others create airbrush art or use digital programs. And this is exactly what makes this film so unique and fresh. The clever thins is that the film brings all these styles together into a whole, completely original yet recognizable. And following such a great first film with an equally amazing sequel is very rare.

I loved everything about “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”: its unique mix of styles, the voice acting, the soundtrack, the whole experience was fantastic!

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Review - The Lovebirds

Director: Michael Showalter

Genre: Comedy/ Crime/ Action

Runtime: 86 minutes

Year: 2020

Starring: Issa Rae, Kumail Nanjiani, Paul Sparks, Anna Camp, Nicolas X. Parsons, Kyle Bornheimer, Barry Rothbart, Catherine Cohen, Andrene Warren-Hammond

Description: Leilani (Issa Rae) and Jibran (Kumail Nanjiani) experience a defining moment in their relationship when they are unintentionally embroiled in a murder mystery.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE.

WEEK 39: A MURDER MYSTERY

Review: Jibran and Leilani’s relationship is on the verge of falling apart. Busily arguing, they are on their way to a party where neither of them seems to really want to go to. While they are breaking up in the car, they accidentally hit a bicyclist. Before they know it, they are in the middle of an insane criminal conspiracy and experience a bizarre adventure of cults, corrupt governors and murder.  

The film opens with a flashback of how Jibran and Leilani fall in love after their first date. Four years later there seems little left of this love. In a funny quarrel between the two, all the painful points of their relationship come to the surface. When the insane events pile up, their love story is also magnified.

Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae are well on their way in the beginning of the film. Their fantastic comedic timing makes for particularly funny conversations and quarrels between the two and they seem to be working very well together. The dialogues are quick and funny. After that, the film soon loses sight of the humor. Action and crime get the upper hand and overshadow the funny bits. It still has its moments, but the script becomes dependent on the many bizarre situations in which the couple get stuck. I actually found the scene with the weird cult very funny, due to the hilarious comment of Jibran and Leilani.

Michael Showalter’s previous film was “The Big Sick”, in which Nanjiana also had the lead role. This was a fantastic and unforgettable film, funny and witty filled with feeling. Compared to this movie “The Lovebirds” is quite empty and soulless. Nanjiani is still on a roll, but the characters are quite disposable and overall the film is more forgettable.

“The Lovebirds” was originally supposed to be showing in cinemas. However, due to the crisis, it was postponed and eventually bought by Netflix. I think that’s a win for the film, because I think more people will watch it at home then in theaters. Although it’s not a great comedy, I still think it’s a little above average because of the two leads. And it does have its moments, so it’s good for a fun movie night where you don’t want to have to think too much. And for that only, I think it’s still worth a watch.

Rating: 3 / 5