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WESTWORLD, 1.8 – ‘Trace Decay’
As there are only three episodes left this season, “Trace Decay” came loaded with information that helped clarify a few things, but it also obfuscated others. Still, for a mystery show it’s going a solid job making you hang on each actor’s every word, and see if events confirm your theories. I just wish more…
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ROXANNE (1987)
Based on the play ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’, big-nosed fire chief C.D. Bales falls for the beautiful Roxanne, who loves his personality but another man’s looks.
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FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (2016)
A young English wizard called Newt Scamander accidentally unleashes a variety of magical creatures onto New York City in the 1920s…
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PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE (2002)
A psychologically troubled novelty supplier is nudged towards a romance with an English woman, all the while being extorted by a phone-sex line run by a crooked mattress seller…
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BLACK MIRROR, 3.6 – ‘Hated in the Nation’
Humans themselves are frequently the architects of their own downfall in Black Mirror. It’s a simple message for the show, but one that tends to come with the bleak observation that we’re already too far along the path towards such an outcome. And that we’ll be unable or unwilling to reverse our fate. These issues…
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HUMANS – series two, episode three
This third episode of Humans slowed down the pace slow somewhat, for an hour that provided plenty of nice moments, but lacked much excitement or tension. It was revealed that Dr. Morrow’s (Carrie-Anne Moss) A.I program, known as ‘V’, is far more than just a science project to her. While the episode waited until the…
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WESTWORLD, 1.7 – ‘Trompe L’Oeil’
The downside of being inordinately interested in TV is that you’re more susceptible to having surprises ruined; either because you invest enough time into thinking about something to predict it, or frequent enough places online to read a fan-theory that proves accurate. Therefore, “Trompe L’Oeil” was slightly undermined by the fact I’ve suspected Bernard (Jeffrey…
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MAID MARIAN AND HER MERRY MEN (BBC, 1989-1994)
The true story of Sherwood Forest is finally revealed: Robin was a cowardly tailor from Kensington, and Marian was the brains behind the Merry Men.
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BLACK MIRROR, 3.5 – ‘Men Against Fire’
The fifth episode of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror takes us on a journey through a dystopian version of Call of Duty, by way of 1984. We see soldier “Stripe” (Malachi Kirby) undertaking his inaugural mission in the army, together with fierce female squaddie Raimond (Madeline Brewer), to fight the scourge of “roaches” (a disfigured, dehumanised…
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BLACK MIRROR, 3.4 – ‘San Junipero’
How you feel about “San Junipero” will ultimately come down to what you think about the ending. Do Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis) and Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) end up happy ever after in a Belinda Carlisle-soundtracked ‘heaven on earth’, or is the truth more complicated that that? More importantly, is it believable that Kelly would make that…
