Search

Search only in certain items:

Black Mirror  - Season 1
Black Mirror - Season 1
2011 | Sci-Fi
These three near-future / alternative reality episodes tell of a different chilling aspect of human life. All are fantastical, though worryingly plausible. Charlie Brooker has pretty much nailed the line between believable and speculative fiction.
The first episode sees the UK prime minister forced into considering an unpleasant act after a ransom demand from a kidnapper. It serves as a good representation of media coverage and their involvement in spreading panic and stoking outrage.
The next episode was a near-future look at a world where some classes of people spend their days on exercise bikes, presumably powering society. They are forced to watch endless hours of a small number of TV shows and are charged a fee to skip pop-up adverts for porn shows. The indictment of where society is headed, including the disposability of talent shows and how much more mandatory watching adverts could become, felt like something of a warning to turn back now!
The final episode revolved around people having the ability to instantaneously rewind and re-view moments of their lives and cast it to TV screens. The story looks at how this plays a part in a man's suspicions over his wife's faithfulness to their marriage. Similar to the previous 2 episodes, it shows that the technology, and people's reliance on it, does not help real life in any way, rather it further fuels suspicion and malcontent.
Three stories about the way the human race is headed told brilliantly.
  
The Farewell (2019)
The Farewell (2019)
2019 | Comedy, Drama
In the West, families celebrate each other in death. If someone is dying, the news is shared and every one comes together to tragically revere their family member. In the West, they celebrate their family member in life. They do not let someone know that they are dying instead bringing a sense of joy by coming together. This culture clash between the New World ideas and Old World ideas populate Lulu Wang's new film "The Farewell." The family matriach has stage 4 cancer, but rather than tell her that she is dying, the two brothers and their families stage a wedding. One son emigrated to America and raised a liberal arts educated daughter who struggles to make ends meet. One son went to Japan and raised his son. Left behind, the sister and a niece took care of their mother. It is revealed how much the sister has sacrificed for this matriach, but she is happy to give her sister the joy to live. Is it wrong to tell a lie if it makes a person's life better? Which idea of death do you follow? Awkwafina gives a surprising performance as Billi, the Asian-American artist who loves her grandmother and struggles to understand how this lie is good. Shuzhen Zhao plays Nai Nai, the family matriach, with spirit and style, the kind of performance Oscar would notice if they gave notice to Asian performances.
  
Code 8 (2019)
Code 8 (2019)
2019 | Action, Sci-Fi
Pretty good
Another movie about people with special abilities- but not superheroes. A slightly more realistic take on how society might handle people like this. Not as flashy as most, but with decent effects and cinematography. At it's surface it tells a story about a young man trying to save his ailing mother. Something that leads him down a bad road. The acting in this movie was decent with some familiar faces. This movie has heart, life lessons learned through trials of trust and personal choices. In the end I think the story was a little more tragic than I expected of it. Nothing too flashy or gruesome, so it can be watched with the whole family(although the younger viewers may not understand all of it). Overall, this one is worth a watch on movie night!
  
400 Years by Bold Forbes
400 Years by Bold Forbes
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Beauty is a strange thing; here one day, gone the next. There is something about this song that feels permanent. Yeah maybe a mix this good shouldn't have such quality lyrics; maybe there shouldn't be violins without a quartet; maybe the lead vocal should be trying harder to sound like something we know already.

Bold Forbes finds a middle ground between Bob Dylan and Violent Femmes. The production is gorgeous. I needed this message. You might need it too.

“And while some swear that river did not used to run
There are others who scoff as they stand in the sun
Getting angry ‘cause anger is fun”
— Bold Forbes
it's not just about those who do wrong, and those who do right; there are also those who do nothing.

The answer? More love, more life. Right now.