Netflix Canada Discussion

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

I was really thinking that the Miley Cyrus one would end with her getting into a car crash killing a daughter and Miley - them continuing to use her brain for songs and at the same time showing the father using his mouse dungeon thing to try and recreate something that would substitute for his daughter.

Examining the link between a material world and an artificial one through technology would make for a better story and less about the one evil lady doing something evil. I guess shades of San Junipero in a sense but with a grimmer outlook. The show has always been one that didn't feel the need for the happy ending and I think that this season was one where the endings were all a bit too upbeat and chipper.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

I had only seen bits and pieces of a couple Black Mirror episodes so I caught up on a few.

USS Callister, Hang the DJ, San Junipero, Be Right Back, White Christmas, Entire History of You and Fifteen Million Merits were all very good. Nosedive was good but not my favourite. I feel like you could make 10 different episodes about that same topic.

Although the ending to White Christmas seemed a bit odd. Like Jon Hamm being blocked by all of society seems way worse than prison and why would they torture the other guy for 1000 years for murder? Nothing about the episode gave any indication this society was obsessed with barbaric punishments, it came out of left field. And the whole downloading your own brain to be your own personal servant was so interesting (and evil) and then is never mentioned again.

The only episode that I felt really let down by was Playtest. I thought the ending was so disappointing.

The Miley Cyrus episode had potential but was a letdown. It was most memorable for the hilarious reinterpretations of the Nine Inch Nails songs.

[Rando]

If San Junipero was released separately as a movie it would've been one of the best films of the year. Brilliant episode.

[Inglewood Jack]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Although the ending to White Christmas seemed a bit odd. Like Jon Hamm being blocked by all of society seems way worse than prison and why would they torture the other guy for 1000 years for murder? Nothing about the episode gave any indication this society was obsessed with barbaric punishments, it came out of left field. And the whole downloading your own brain to be your own personal servant was so interesting (and evil) and then is never mentioned again.

I remember back when I watched this episode I roughly calculated how long the dude would be stuck in that cabin and it was more like a million years or something insane like that. I'm guessing the casual attitude of the police about that has something to do with their perception of a disembodied mind as a real person with rights or not (seems to be more like not). it's the same attitude that allows Hamm to break the spirit of AI servants without feeling any remorse. this is something that will get very sticky for real life society when we eventually get to this point in technology.

and yes, Hamm's punishment is ludicrous because it would be completely impossible to function if he can't interact with anyone, unless he moves to the wilderness and becomes 100% self-sufficient. equally ridiculous is the idea that a copy of your mind would make a good automated assistant for more than a brief period of time. I don't know about everyone else, but my daily routines aren't the same as they were even a year ago, so some brain copy that's stuck at the spot it was created isn't too useful to me. at least Google gives me recommendations for new restaurants to try, I don't know if that egg would be able to do the same.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Rando

If San Junipero was released separately as a movie it would've been one of the best films of the year. Brilliant episode.

Yeah it's a masterpiece for sure.

[MoneyGuy]

Just finished Designated Survivor and loved it. Hearing it may be cancelled. I’m hoping for one more season to better wrap things up.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Just finished Designated Survivor and loved it. Hearing it may be cancelled. I’m hoping for one more season to better wrap things up.

I enjoy it too. It was already cancelled once then Netflix picked it up. It does seem like something that won't go on much longer though

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Continued my week long Black Mirror binge today.

Arkangel, directed by Jodie Foster was another good one. Also liked Black Museum with Letitia Wright.

The worst episode of the series that I’ve watched so far, by quite a margin, is the series premiere National Anthem. It started with a hilariously dark and disturbing premise. Everything after that was so eye rollingly awful and dumb I barely made it to the end. It lacked any of the commentary on society or technology except one quick and super lame footnote at the end about the princess being released for over 90 minutes before anyone noticed.

I’d been saving it since I knew the general premise and it had some of the best reviews but holy man what a pile of crap that episode was.

[Wormius]

I enjoyed the somewhat poetic justice of Hated in the Nation. In general there seem to have been more than a few episodes that dwell on the disembodied consciousness.

[FireGilbert]

Interesting reviews Cecil. I consider Black Museum to be one of the worst episodes and found National Anthem brilliant. What the heck, here are my reviews for the first four seasons. I'll do season five once I've finished the last episode.

S1:
The National Anthem: A story about exploitative art in the information age which is itself a piece of exploitative art. Brilliant. A
Fifteen Million Merits: An engaging story with some very depressing twists and turns. With hindsight it lacks some of the social commentary subtlety of other episodes. B
The Entire History of You: A simple story of jealously with a technology twist. The brilliant acting, especially from Jodie Whittaker is the highlight. B+

S2:
Be Right Back: Another powerful tale which did a good job making me sympathize with the lead despite the ridiculousness (even for BM) of the premise. B+
White Bear: Possibly my favourite episode. A great tense mystery that hits you with one of the greatest twists ever. A superb commentary on modern justice. A+
The Waldo Moment: Not a fan of this one. It's a bit of a mess with one dimensional characters, story points not going anywhere and an ending that makes no sense (even for BM). C-
White Christmas: I really liked this one. The 3 stories were all enjoyable on their own and then adding how cleverly everything was tied together at the end makes this a favourite. John Hamm was very well cast. A

S3:
Nosedive: Predictable and lacks subtlety. There are some fun moments here though and Bryce Dallas Howard gives an enjoyable performance. B
Playtest: This is a bit of a meh. There are some good horror elements here but overall it doesn't really say much and the ending seems more like a shock than a satisfying conclusion. C+
Shut Up and Dance: Black Mirror at its best. This had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I knew something wasn't quite right and when you learn the truth at the end it all makes sense in a horrible disturbing black mirrorish way. A+
San Junipero: I know everyone loves this episode but I just can't give it a raving review. The story is very well written and executed but I found it slow moving at times and the happy ending seemed out of place for BM. A-
Men Against Fire: A bit of a slow burner that was predictable but managed to redeem itself with a very powerful and depressing ending. B+
Hated in the Nation: The closest a BM episode has come to feeling like a full length movie. The production values in this one were great and I really enjoyed following the mystery as well as the intense horror elements. This only loses points for having that overused trope of the criminal infiltrating the police computer which did literally make me LOL. A-

S4:
USS Callister: The funnest and funniest episodes despite also being incredibly dark. Just try not to think about how the technology works too much. I'd watch Christin Millioti read the dictionary and Jesse Plemons is a great villian. A
Arkangel: One of the more depressing ending episodes that really hits you in the feels. Unfortunately I felt they tried to cram too much in here focusing on both the supervision aspect and emotional censorship aspect of the device. Just pick one theme and do it well. B
Crocodile: Well that was the darkest most depressing episode yet. It also has the best cinematography of any episode with the vast Icelandic landscapes really setting the mood. I immensely enjoyed this despite the massive boot to the feels. A+
Hang the DJ: Another episode that seems out of place for having a happy ending. I was engaged by the story and felt the writers did a good job of keeping up the mystery while dropping enough hints. Overall though I was left wanting to know more about how this app worked and wasn't fully satisfied. Are the characters cookies or a simulation or what? B+
Metalhead: A much different style and tone that can be difficult to follow at times but overall this is a really good episode of dystopian horror. A-
Black Museum: Not a fan. This was like a re-hash of White Christmas, that re-hashed other themes, all with a bunch of easter eggs in the background. It was the closest BM has come to producing a clip show. The only redeeming feature for me was the first story about the pain addiction which I would have loved to see as a full episode. C

[#-3]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Just finished Designated Survivor and loved it. Hearing it may be cancelled. I’m hoping for one more season to better wrap things up.

Thought it was pretty good, I was kind of amused how every 20 minutes they paused the plot for a 1 minute vox explainer segment. I don't see how NetFlix doesn't give it another 10 episodes at minimum. They didn't really close off the main character story archs.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

My BM binge continues!

Striking Vipers was hilarious and thought provoking. It is the quintessential Black Mirror episode in the sense that the premise and execution make the episode great despite the details being utterly nonsensical. Except the ending. What a cop out that was.

Smithereens. It was fine. I feel like they could have gone deeper in the social media aspect of things but otherwise I thought it was interesting. One of the few episodes that wasn’t really sci-fi.

White Bear. I knew part of the twist so maybe that took away some of the enjoyment. Decent episode. Another one where the message is more important than the details because the premise was utterly ridiculous.

Waldo Moment. Interesting premise, not so good on the execution. Especially the last third.


I’m more or less watching the episodes from highest to lowest RT scores so my expectations are a bit lower for these episodes. So far there have only been a few disappointments.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Money Heist is superb. I don't know how they can do a story about criminals breaking into a mint for two seasons but we love this show. The dubbing is excellent and the characters are great.

Watched the first few episodes of this last night.

It is pretty darn bingeable so far. Every episode so far has ended leaving you wanting to at least start the next one

It’s dubbed from Spanish so there are a few things kind of lost in translation, more so in terms of the elegance, or abruptness, I suppose, of certain communications. Overshadowed by the plot development and execution though.

Pretty elaborate plan to break in to the mint which ends up in a hostage situation, however many of the situations the team run across have been anticipated and planned for.

I would recommend it so far based on the first handful of episodes.

[CaptainCrunch]

https://twitter.com/user/status/xQaCxIJX0J0

[blankall]

Anyone else watched I Am Mother? Saw it this weekend. Thought it was pretty entertaining for a Netflix only film.

[red sky]

I enjoyed Dead to Me. A bit predictable but appreciated the mix between the drama and comedy. Good writing anyways.

[FireGilbert]

I finished Black Mirror S5 last night. It was a bit of a let down and harder to get through than previous seasons. Here are my official reviews:

Striking Vipers: Absolutely brilliant premise that commanded my attention but then fails to do anything interesting with it. I was thinking of all the ways this could have gone, exploring the world wide consequences of the game and the changing interpretations of friendship, masculinity, and sexuality, but instead we get a vanilla drama about a stale marriage. B-

Smithereens: Did they seriously make a 70 minute social media PSA? Come on BM I thought you were better than this. I saw the twist coming a mile away and was really hoping they would go in a different direction. Just frustrating overall from the story to the conclusion and I'm going to call this as my least favourite. Also having Andrew Scott play crazy is officially cliche. D

Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too: Dumb, trope filled, and doesn't have the darkness you expect with BM but I kind of liked it anyways. The story doesn't take itself to seriously and there are a lot of fun moments. I also thought they took concepts BM had explored before into interesting new directions. The music was pretty good too. B+

[jayswin]

Definitely check out the newest Lettermen with Kanye West. Very cool conversation, one in which Kanye actually calms down and (semi)rationally explains his life, bi-polar diagnosis and treatment, and how that relates to his fame and meltdowns.

Pretty crazy that he was undiagnosed until two years ago.

[jayswin]

As a huge Letterman fan my favourite moment was in Kanye's house. Letterman was a huge, huge Andy Kaufman fan, and seemed to not connect much with Kanye on his pop culture references (obviously).

Suddenly Kanye drops Andy Kaufman as someone he really admired (when describing how he likes to take everyone literally even if they're playing a character) and Letterman's face just dropped. He stopped trying on his clothes, looked up and zoned into the moment like a grandpa being asked about a meaningful picture by a grandson that never connects with him.


Lettermen really got him talking about Kaufmen for a few minutes and looked so overjoyed, it was really nice.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

My BM binge continues!

I’m more or less watching the episodes from highest to lowest RT scores so my expectations are a bit lower for these episodes. So far there have only been a few disappointments.

I think season 4 should be watched in order. There are a few, I guess you could call them Easter eggs.