Top 5 : "Black Mirror" Episodes Season 6

“Black Mirror” is back after a long absence. The sixth season seems to be deliberately breaking away from what the series is supposed to be. Maker Charlie Brooker takes Netflix to task on several occasions. Instead of writing a full review for the season, I will rank the five episodes worst to best, with mini reviews for each episode.
 

5. Mazey Day
Director: Uta Briesewitz
Starring: Zazie Beetz, Danny Ramirez, Clara Rugaard, Robbie Tann, David Rysdahl
This episode charges against unscrupulous, old-fashioned paparazzi terrorizing stars. Rather a look back to the past than an extrapolation of the present, where everyone uses their smartphone to take photos. This episode is set in the 2000s. Bo (Zazie Beetz) is one of these paparazzi photographers, struggling with her conscience when a celebrity caught on camera commits suicide. At the same time, movie star Mazey Day is involved in a hit an run and doesn’t seem to be able to forget about it. Bo sees on the news Mazey hasn’t been seen in a while, making it her mission to find her. And she ends up finding something unexpected. I believe this was the shortest episode and they have more to tell than can fit in 40 minutes. This way, the story feels rushed and unfinished. I did like the unexpected turn the story took, but this episode really suffered from the runtime.
 

4. Joan is Awful
Director: Ally Pankiw
Starring: Annie Murphy, Salma Hayek, Michael Cera, Himesh Patel, Avi Nash, Ben Barnes
The dull, cowardly routine life of Joan, a mid-level tech executive, is thrown into disarray when a streaming service airs a popular show about her life: Joan is Awful. Salma Hayek plays her and re-enacts her daily life. Real-life Joan becomes an outcast and everything goes downhill. This is a very meta and self-mocking mindfuck. It’s funny and crazy and very entertaining. Although poop-jokes are never funny. Only downside.
 

3. Loch Henry
Director: Sam Miller
Starring: Samuel Blenkin, Myha’la Herrold, Daniel Portman, John Hannah, Monica Dolan
Filmmaker Davis (Samuel Blekin) visits his mother in his hometown near Schotland’s Loch henry: he wants to shoot a documentary about an environmentalist. Tourists in his hometown dropped stopped visiting after serial killer Ian Adair kidnapped and tortured people to the death in his basement. Davis’ father Kenny, the local policeman, was injured trying to arrest Adair and later died. Together with his girlfriend Pia, he decides to make this crime story their topic for the documentary. A story with deeper layers and secrets revealed as you go along. It has a slow start, but eventually has some great WTF-moments. Probably the darkest and most disturbing episode of this season.
 

2. Demon 79
Director: Toby Haynes
Starring: Anjana Vasan, Paapa Essiedu, Katherine Rose Morely, David Shields
In this thrilling, at times hilarious episode, a lonely Indian shoe saleswoman (Anjana Vasan) brooding internally over her racist co-worker Vicky (Katherine Rose Morely) cuts her finger on an amulet with runic characters, summoning demon in-training Gaap (Paapa Essiedu). He takes the guise of her idol, Boney M singer Bobbby Farrell, and explains to her that she must kill someone each day for the next three days to prevent an apocalypse. Dark comedy with a bittersweet twist. And I loved Vasan in her role, she was so good.
 

1. Beyond the Sea
Director: John Crowley
Starring: Aaron Paul, Josh Hartnett, Kate Mara, Auden Thornton, Rory Culkin
This was a stand-out for me, what a fantastic episode. Astronauts Cliff (Aaron Paul) and David (Josh Hartnett) are on a years-long space mission in an alternate 1969. To combat loneliness and cabin fever, the duo uploads their consciousness to a replica: an android copy living on Earth with their family. Until David’s family is murdered before his eyes and his replica is set on fire by a Charles Manson-like cult that wants to restore the natural order. Concerned about David’s possible suicidal depression, Cliff occasionally grants him use of his replica. This leads to psychological complications. Josh Hartnett and especially Aaron Paul are very strong on their roles. I was invested in this story from start to finish and the ending went in a different direction then I expected it would go.  
 

 

Movie Review - Bullet Train

Director: David Leitch
Genre: Action/ Comedy/ Thriller
Runtime: 126 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Sandra Bullock, Logan Lerman, Zazie Beetz
 
Description: Five assassins aboard a swiftly-moving bullet train find out that their missions have something in common.

Review: After a small role in “The Lost City”, Brad Pitt is back in a lead role. In a so-called bullet train flying through Japan at high speeds, much more is going on than meets the eye.

Assassin Ladybug is given a seemingly simply assignment: steal a suitcase on a Japanese bullet train and get off with it at the next stop. Everything seems to be going smoothly, until Ladybug finds out that he is not the only hitman sent aboard the train with an assignment.  

“Bullet Train” is a highly entertainment film with not a dull moment in it. Besides the amazing action scenes it contains, in colorful neon lights of modern Japan, the actors get every chance to shine in a film that actually takes place almost entirely in one location. And aside from all the spectacle, the actors especially shine in the conversations their characters have with each other. Brad Pitt infuses his character with a genuine amazement at everything, while as a reborn person he clearly forgets what industry he works in. Tangerine and Lemon make a delightful duo, while Prince makes everything to her liking.

The action and humor that alternate at a high pace make the film a cinematic ride to be fully enjoyed. Towards the end, it doesn’t quite manage to maintain that perfect pace, but that’s forgivable.

“Bullet Train” is a ride you won’t soon forget. The combination of humor and action works perfectly. The great action scenes and delightful conversations follow each other at a good pace. And the cast manages to hold your attention. With Brad Pitt as the stand-out. A movie I didn’t expect to love as much as I did.

Rating: 4,5/ 5 

Movie Reviews - Joker

Director: Todd Phillips
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 121 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Shea Whigham, Bill Camp

Description: In Gotham City, mentally-troubled comedian Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is disregarded and mistreated by society. He then embarks on a downward spiral of revolution and bloody crime. This path brings him face-to-face with his alter-ego: “The Joker”.

Review: One of the movies I was most looking forward to this year. A film that should save DC, when it’s Marvel and Disney that rule Hollywood. Looking forward on how they are going to treat this origin story of one of the most iconic DC villains. But also how Joaquin Phoenix, just as eccentric as he his talented, was going to portray the Joker.
You can say many things about this crazy clown, but not that he is a superhero. To mark “Joker” as a superhero film, is wrong. Even though the film is set within the superhero universe. Gotham may look like you average American city, it does have its own laws an rules. With some social criticism here and there, “Joker” is mostly a mix of action and sharp dialogue in a totally crazy environment.
And crazy it is indeed. From the first moment, Arthur’s hysterical laughter and awkward dancing grabs you by the throat. Where Heath Ledger surprised us all with his portrayal of the Joker in 2008, he showed us a character in a further state. Because the only thing we were missing there, was his backstory. It was the mystery that made Ledger’s Joker so great. Joaquin Phoenix gets the task to show us how he has become the Joker and why he is the way he is. He is a loner, lives with his ill mother in a crappy apartment and transforms into one of the most legendary movie characters of the past decade. The question is why, and we get an answer.
The hard thing for an origin story to do is, to create an interesting and grabbing story, even though you know how it ends. We all know, that in the end he takes on his persona of The Joker to the fullest, but the story of how he got there has to be strong to keep an audience interested the entire runtime. And what we get is a series of unpredictable incidents, which make the outcome even more crazy.
Everything that isn’t Joaquin Phoenix, is a sideshow. The beautiful shots, nods to previous films, the subtle use of music or the strong performances by Robert De Niro and Zazie Beetz. “Joker” is in many ways a masterpiece, but it doesn’t count when Phoenix isn’t in the center of all this. He is the reason why many people were so excited for this film. Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger and Jared Leto all played this role before him and they all had a different take. So whoever wants to follow this line of performers, is a brave man. Phoenix never imitates or copies anyone, he gives the character his own spin with its own quirks and manners. Every frame with Phoenix in it, he makes it his own. You have to watch him, you only see him. He probably is closest to Ledger’s version of the Joker, but in no means we need to compare the two. If Phoenix doesn’t get an Oscar nomination for this, I have no faith in humanity anymore.
“Joker” is definitely one of the best movies of 2019 and it will most certainly end up on my list of best films at the end of the year.

Rating: 5/ 5