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 - Killers of the Flower Moon

Director: Martin Scorsese
Genre: Crime/ Drama
Runtime: 206 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Leonaro DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemmons, John Lithgow, Brendan Fraser
 
Description: When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one, until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.

Review: As if it were not enough that white immigrants drove out to Native American population, another tragedy occurred during the Interbellum/ Inter War. Oil was found in the state of Oklahoma. Bad luck for the white ‘new’ Americans that this mostly took place on Osage Nation lang, the reservations of the native population. A cruel solutions was found for that, by murdering them for their wealth and oil rights.

Veteran director Martin Scorsese uses nearly three and a half hours to tell this story, based on a book by David Grann. I don’t think many people know of this story and it’s good that Scorsese shines a light on this tragic story. The discovery of oil increased prosperity among Osage tribe. Thus the roles reversed and the white people have to serve them for a change. But the white Americans are not all acceptant of this fact.

One of these people is war veteran Ernest Burkhart. He is flat broke and handicapped by a major abdominal injury, so he can’t do heavy physical work. He knocks on the door of his uncle William Hale, who prefers to be addressed by the nickname King. Hale helps Ernest get a job as a cab driver. One of his regular customers is mollie, from the Osage and she has oil money.. Hale convinces Ernest to marry Mollie. Meanwhile, he sets in motion a plan to eliminate Mollie’s relatives.

Scorsese takes considerable time and invests primarily in the relationship between Ernest and Mollie. She and her sisters also understand what Ernest is about. But their relationship with each other is difficult to put into a sentence. There is indeed mutual love, despite the strong unspoken distrust between the two. Ernest, a rock-solid role by Leonardo DiCaprio, allows himself to be hugely influenced by his uncle, but feigns complete control.

Robert De Niro plays William Hale, who is known in the small town of Fairfax as a benefactor. He gets schools and hospitals built, but in reality turns out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. When stealing money and valuables no longer suffices, he does not shy away from more rigorous measures. In fact, Hale is a classic movie villain, but De Nito manages to put a lot of nuance and shades of gray into his character. Hale is a character that really existed.

Lily Galdstone, who plays Ernest’s wife Mollie, left a deep impression on me. She is a new to me actress and she stands tall between big names like DiCaprio and De Niro.

“Killers of the Flower moon” paints a period picture in an unparalleled way that also shines a different light on many other westerns. It combines drama and crime with historical evens such as the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and the creation of the FBI. Moreover, Scorsese’s camera team captures it beautifully. Over two hundred minutes seems very like, but time flies by. That’s when you know Scorsese did it again, he made yet another movie to proud of.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

20s Movie Review - The Power of the Dog

Director: Jane Campion
Genre: Drama/ Western
Runtime: 128 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemmons, Kodi Smith-McPhee, Keith Carradine, Frances Conroy

Description: Charismatic rancher Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch) inspires fear and awe in those around him. When his brother (Jesse Plemmons) brings home a new wife (Kirsten Dunst) and her son (Kodi Smith-McPhee), Phil torments them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love.

Review: He calls his brother fatso. He parades around his ranch like he’s royalty. When the mild-mannered teenager Peter serves him in a restaurant, he humiliates the boy with. Phil Burbank is the alpha male, not a very likeable man. The lessons his mentor Bronco henry taught him, he takes very seriously. This is how you are a man. And then his dork brother George comes home with his new wife, the kindhearted Rose and her son, that same teenager Peter.  
Director Jane Campion filmed in her home land New Zealand, but for us it’s the American state Montana in the 1920s. Throw in a strong cast, an uneasy story and you have “The Power of the Dog”.  
This is the type of film that I call a slow-burn. It’s an incredibly slow film, with not a lot happening. But the things that do happen, make an impact and will haunt you for a while. And it’s the type of movie that you will think is good, but you won’t rewatch it because it makes you uneasy.
The aspects that make “The Power of the Dog” a good movie are for instance the camera work and the way they portrayed Montana. The visuals are stunning. The other aspect is the cast. Jesse Plemmons and Kodi Smith-McPhee are really solid, but it’s both Kirsten Dunst and especially Benedict Cumberbatch that steal the show. Never have I disliked a Cumberbatch character this much, which means he did an amazing job. He is a brute. Most of the Oscar buzz for now hangs around Dunst, who, as the wife of a somewhat ‘weaker man’, is partly weighed down by the dominance of her envious brother-in-law. She splashes off the screen in her tormented powerlessness.
“The Power of the Dog” is definitely a winner for Netflix, but I don’t think it will win the Academy for Best Picture. And I think there a better candidates too, but I would understand if it did win.

Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Reviews - El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie

Director: Vince Gilligan
Genre: Action/ Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 122 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Aaron Paul, Jesse Plemmons, Jonathan Banks, Matt Jones, Charles Baker, Bryan Cranston, Krysten Ritter, Robert Forster

Description: We follow Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) after the events captured in the finale of “Breaking Bad”. Jesse is now on the run as a massive police manhunt for him is in operation.

Review: The story of Walter White has ended, but that of “Breaking Bad” hasn’t. At least, the story of the nice science teacher growing out to become a relentless drug lord, but the story of Jesse Pinkman is still unfinished. Walter White would have never walked the path if he didn’t coincidentally walk into his former student Jesse. He was Walter’s ‘lab partner’ and entrance to the drug world. Where, in five seasons, Jesse was either Walter’s friend or enemy. Walter’s downfall to the drug underworld was always a nice contrast to Jesse’s developments from macho loser to a young man that wasn’t very profound but became more aware of ambition, guilt and responsibility. And his status as a character is big, since he is the only character next to Walter White to appear on each episode of “Breaking Bad”. And he even wasn’t supposed to survive the first season initially.
In the last few episodes of the series, Jesse was imprisoned by some drug producing neo-Nazis. His role was even a little passive, that a suicide mission by Walter was necessary to get him out. “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” is a sequel of sorts, with the goal to let Jesse take matters in his own hands. At the end of “Breaking Bad” it looked like he was driving into a hopeful future, but “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” shows us everything is a little more complicated. With the complete police force of Albuquerque looking for him, he is all on his own. Everything he has learned in the five seasons of the show, he has to use in his advantage. And he has to fight for his freedom.
If you haven’t seen “Breaking Bad” it’s a tough watch, because you are missing a lot of information that you need to see this film. See the series first, before watching this movie. But the film is especially well focused. Don’t expect some kind of ‘farewell tour’ of all the well-known locations and faces that we knew from the show. It’s a two-hour epilogue that give all the events from the series extra weight. Some of the characters make and appearance (both in the current story as in flashbacks), but not only to please fans. The have a purpose in Jesse’s story. Every conversation with friend or enemy is about who Jesse is, was and will become.
This all means that they are fully leaning on Aaron Paul’s acting. Even though Paul won three Emmy Awards for his role as Jesse Pinkman, it was mostly because of the interaction he had with Bryan Cranston’s Walter White. And he is not present in this story. But this gives Paul more room to create a character outside the shadow of Walter White. And when they return to events that happened on the show (flashbacks), it’s immediately clear that it’s past Jesse, because of his attitude. So I can conclude that Aaron Paul can easily carry this film, he does a fantastic job.
“El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” is written and directed by Vince Gilligan, who was also one of the forces behind “Breaking Bad”. His directing is great, but it’s especially his writing that deserves praise. Instead of uninspiringly mixing up some old “Breaking Bad” elements just to please fans, he tells a character driven story that goes forward from were the story left us at the end of the final season. It’s a small scaled story, but Gilligan manages to get everything out of it. Every time Jesse gets a step closer to escaping Albuquerque, a new obstacle pops up.
I was skeptical about “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie”, because I thought it was made as pure fan service. But it’s definitely more than that and a really good movie. You should watch the series first, before checking this out. It is necessary to understand the character.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

Movie Reviews - Game Night

Director: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Billy Magnussen, Kyle Chandler, Jesse Plemmons, Michael C. Hall, Danny Huston, Chelsea Peretti

Description: A group of friends who meet regularly for game nights find themselves entangled in a real-life mystery when the shady brother of one of them is seemingly kidnapped by dangerous gangsters.

Review: Two months after “Jumanji”, we get another fulm about dangerous games. But “Game Night” is not a blockbuster that has extravagant sets and special effects, but a satire mocking over-the-top action movies.
“Game Night” opens with Max and Annie meeting. They are both very competitive and love games. And game night is a regular thing in their lives. It’s basically just innocent games of Monopoly, Life, Charades and Scrabble. When Max’ brother Brooks joins them, he insist on hosting a game night himself. He thought of a murder mystery. But this game turns into a real kidnapping situation.
“Game Night” is at its best when Max and Annie are constantly trying to over throw everyone. Jason Bateman has played the role before, but it’s Rachel McAdams that steal the show. She doesn’t do this kind of comedy often, so it’s a real breath of fresh air. She is already one of my favorite actresses and I loved her in “Game Night”.
There is an element of surprise, which at one point they take a bit too far. But the camera techniques they use are really cool. And the jokes are sharp and quick. It sometimes has a hard time finding a balance.
“Game Night” is a fun comedy, that has Rachel McAdams and Jesse Plemons as its stars. It’s probably not a comedy classic, but it’s definitely a fun night.

Rating: 4 / 5