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Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Black Mirror - Season 1 in TV

Mar 3, 2020

The National Anthem - 7.5

Yes, it’s the one that got it all started; the one with the Prime Minister and the pig. A very clever, if repulsive, episode that explores the power of media and the notion that men in power will do anything to protect their image. As the maiden voyage of Black Mirror, we find that the writing, acting and production values are very strong. There is also a nice multi-layering on display that allows you to debate what this morality tale is actually all about.

Fifteen Million Merits - 7

Before Get Out made him a star, Daniel Kaluuya shows a lot of promise in this pure satire on riding the gravy train and the fast fix provided by reality shows and the dangling carrot of fame and fortune. The rich have their penthouses while the rest of us exist in a hamster wheel of repetition and unattainable dreams. Even the seed of anger and rebellion becomes the focus of “entertainment” in an amusing, but slightly weaker ending than most.

The Entire History of You - 9

A very strong idea, beautifully / horrifically realised, in one of my personal favourites to date. Implant technology allows us to record every moment of our waking lives and replay them through our own eyes or on a screen. The benefits of security, lost keys and legal issues are explored, before the episode descends into a personal nightmare as a brilliant Toby Kebbell begins to suspect his wife, future Dr. Who Jodie Whittaker, of having an affair; proceding then to be obsessed by the minute details of both their recorded “memories”. An exploration of paranoia and close relationships, whilst questioning the morality of privacy, and the role being able to lie to a loved one might have as a positive, not a negative. The genius of it is watching Kebbell lose his mind completely whilst never knowing until the end if his doubts have any validity at all. A technology it is terrifyingly possible to imagine as a reality – and a solution that exists with mobile phones and social media already: you can always opt out, even if that is painful.

Kudos

JT (287 KP) rated Richard Jewell (2019) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020

Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) is a softly spoken, overzealous university campus security guard whose heart is in the right place and is dedicated to his job – maybe a little too much.

When he discovers a backpack containing a pipe bomb at a celebratory music concert at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, his quick thinking saves countless lives. Unfortunately for Richard, he becomes the prime suspect in the investigation and with it, his life is turned upside down as he’s thrust into the media spotlight.

Directed by Clint Eastwood Richard Jewell follows in similar vein to films like American Sniper and The 15:17 to Paris where the central characters struggle with the media attention they receive in the aftermath of events.

The scene during the concert is recreated with meticulous precision and attention to detail and there is genuine tension as you realise that at any point the bomb is going to explode. The investigation is led by FBI agent Tom Shaw (Jon Hamm) who with little to go on places Richard in the spotlight and will stop at nothing to prove his guilt, using every trick in the book to get Richard to confess.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution journalist Kathy Scruggs played by Olivia Wilde was portrayed unfairly for implying that she traded sex for stories. Having died in 2001 she was not around to defend herself, which is a black mark for Eastwood on an otherwise very well directed film.

The journal ran the story much to the delight of Scruggs, but it painted Jewell as the villain causing considerable pain to him and his mother Bobi (Kathy Bates) who delivers another acting masterclass in her supporting role. Scruggs realised her error later on but it was too little too late as the damage to Jewell’s reputation had already been done.

One of the highlights of the film is the relationship between Richard and attorney Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell). It’s very heartwarming as Watson stood by him until the end even right up to the point of passing on that the real bomber, Eric Rudolph, had confessed to the crime. Richard Jewell is not a gripping film outside of the first half but it’s a powerful watch heightened by excellent acting.