Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Dark Places (2015) R

seen on Amazon Prime  11/2016

The acting, cinematography and soundtrack were good, but the story was not. Perhaps the time limitations of a movie format is to blame. I found the motivations, goals and general behavior of the characters illogical and nonsensical. Perhaps a director's cut version would fill in the gaps.  However as the movie currently exists, unless you are a fan of Charlize Theron, skip this movie.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Black Mirror

Season 3 (6 episodes)
(seen on Netflix 10/2016)

My review covers season 3 of Black Mirror. Star ratings by episode in this season are: Nosedive@3/5, Playtest@2/5, Shut Up and Dance@2/5, San Junipero@5/5, Men Against Fire@3/5 and Hated in the Nation@4/5. This is an anthology series (with a 4th season coming to USA in 2017). A theme of how technology may be affecting us in the near future runs through all episodes of this series.  Season 3 episodes are well-directed, skillfully acted and accompanied by superior production values (cinematography, soundtrack, editing). The low star ratings are primarily due to plot and content issues.  Like any anthology,  printed or visual, quite often not every section will be equally liked or appreciated by any one individual. Some episodes may make the viewer feel uncomfortable or even repelled. My advice is to sample each. Scan them to see the thumbnail images.  Do not worry about spoilers.  Just a minor warning on episode 6 of season 3, the conclusion does feel like an actual ending. Perhaps season 4 will address that issue.