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rokikko
Reviews
Black Mirror: Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too (2019)
The fairest of them all, Meta Black Mirror at its peak
Beneath the intentional teen pop veneer ( and that's the whole point), Black Mirror's "Rachel Jack and Ashley Too" is sheer brilliance.
Similar to the complexity of the other Season 5 episodes, a multitude of themes and subtle philosophical gems are spun together like one big mind blowing tapestry, you can't help but marvel at the genius of the writing.
This episode tackled pop stardom, creativity, consciousness, AI, identity and public personas.
Then it goes full on wink-wink meta by giving its 3rd act an obvious Disney feel - weird science, a mouse and all.
With this deliberate rip at Disney, I can't imagine anyone but Miley Cyrus pulling this role off.
If you do get this episode, congrats, you do get what Black Mirror is all about. If not, then the joke's on you.
Critics be damned, all three Season 5 entries are top-notch, maybe the smartest yet.
Electric Dreams (2017)
Still not the Dick we're looking for
Barely passable but here's my issue with this Electric Dreams show - too much artificial mystery and no payoff for the viewer.
So unfaithful to the short stories too.
If you're putting Philip K. Dick's name on anything, make sure you're actually telling HIS stories, not 2nd-rate knockoffs.
Yet again, most of these film adaptations are so frustrating for the ardent PKD literary fans.
The Twilight Zone (2019)
The Twilight Zone in name only
Binged-watched the 2019 The Twilight Zone reboot and it's disappointing. It simply lacks the subtlety and the timelessness of Rod Serling's finest body of work.
Like any good sci-fi, the original and even the 80's series episodes were moral fables that dealt with universal and enduring themes with distant metaphors and ironic twists.
But the new series tries too hard to be perceived as "woke," shoehorning blatant on-the-nose and current political agendas with committee writing, hijacking a beloved brand in the process.
It is the Twilight Zone in name only. If it was named "Jordan Peele Presents" or "Jordan Peele's Sunset Corner," I will probably love it more.
Thank god, Black Mirror is still good.
Best episode in this reboot? I think it's episode 6: "Six Degrees of Freedom." That's the only episode I enjoyed without cringing. 😬