VOD (1)
Seasons(7) / Episodes(33)
Plots(1)
Charlie Brooker, the creator of the BBC-Channel4 project Black Mirror, has himself defined the series saying: "If technology is a drug – and it does feel like it – then what, precisely, are the side-effects? This area – between delight and discomfort – is where Black Mirror is set. The "black mirror" of the title is the cold, shiny screen of a TV, a monitor, a smartphone.” The three stand-alone dramas are sharp, suspenseful, satirical tales with a techno-paranoia bent. (Fresh Film Fest)
(more)Reviews of this series by the user D.Moore (23)
The National Anthem (2011) (S01E01)
I was expecting sci-fi, because that's the show's reputation, not a drama set in contemporary (admittedly, alternate) England. But whatever. Mostly it's an original, well-written story, both funny and chilling, that just makes you think. How would you see it? And would you watch it or not? Who knows.
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Fifteen Million Merits (2011) (S01E02)
Fritz Lang could rise from the grave and declare with a smirk, "I told you so!" This is Metropolis, 2011.
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The Entire History of You (2011) (S01E03)
Everything that literally scares me about modern technology and what it can do to us if we let it, crammed into less than 50 minutes. Chillingly brilliant.
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Be Right Back (2013) (S02E01)
A pleasantly short story with a great idea. It's sci-fi, it's this close to reality, it's a strong drama with believable emotions, it's well acted and it has a great punchline. I couldn't have asked for more.
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White Bear (2013) (S02E02)
So at the beginning I was like, "Well, okay, I guess there wasn't a super big budget for this episode, but it's still a decently suspenseful chase and it's got swing." Only then I found out what it was all about, and if it hadn't been such a harrowing experience, I might have even been laughing at how the creators outfoxed me. Again.
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The Waldo Moment (2013) (S02E03)
This episode dragged a bit, but it was definitely interesting and I was directly fascinated by how my sympathies gradually spilled over between the characters until I ended up hating just about everyone.
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White Christmas (2014) (S02E04)
A perfect lesson in psychology. And Jon Hamm has enough charisma to carry three people.
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Nosedive (2016) (S03E01)
A total horror that rivals the scariest thing ever made, combined with black comedy? Why not. It's a perfectly nasty vision of a future that may be just a small step away for all of us. And maybe we're already living it. Either way, Bryce Dallas Howard is absolutely terrific under Joe Wright's reliable direction.
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Playtest (2016) (S03E02)
Again, a great episode. This time a horror film that simply makes fun of some of the genre clichés but uses another part very cleverly to give the main character (not meant to be likeable, just responding to some of the comments here) a good beating. And the viewer, if possible, too.
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Shut Up and Dance (2016) (S03E03)
Whoa. I almost don't know what else to write. Just whoa. Again, such an intense episode, where in the end, little is as it seems until the last moment. And the punchline this time is perhaps even more insidious than in the episodes I've seen so far.
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San Junipero (2016) (S03E04)
After a number of very tense episodes, this one felt like a ready-made treat with a lovely, almost optimistic feeling at the end. Mackenzie Davis in particular is amazing here; I didn't see the cold semi-mechanical qualities from the last Terminator in her for a second.
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Men Against Fire (2016) (S03E05)
It's a bit of a weak piece, mostly because of how drawn out it is. The idea is great, and the punchline improves the overall impression, but still... The opening half hour (also a bit cheesy) could have been cut in half and it would have been better.
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Hated in the Nation (2016) (S03E06)
Good idea, good execution, great actors (I can see and especially hear Kelly Macdonald anytime, anywhere)... But unfortunately the ending, which was probably meant to be chilling or depressing, seemed rather empty to me – as if all the tension gradually faded away, with no shock, no "What?", nothing. And that's a bit of a pity.
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USS Callister (2017) (S04E01)
I returned to Black Mirror after a break and started with just such a great episode! The cynically funny script raises a lot of interesting questions and relies on an absolutely fantastic Jesse Plemons. It’s as if Galaxy Quest was a thriller.
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Arkangel (2017) (S04E02)
This time I missed some of the subversive surprises, because Arkangel actually played out as I expected from start to finish. But that doesn't mean I'm not worried and, above all, uneasy that such technologies are just around the corner, if not right at the door.
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Hang the DJ (2017) (S04E04)
Beautiful, 99.8% I like it when Black Mirror surprises and pleasantly.
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Metalhead (2017) (S04E05)
This episode was written and filmed just for fun; the creators’ and ours. It's not about anything deep, it's just about making something happen and not being stupid. Basically, it’s like an action flick from the 1980s.
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Black Museum (2017) (S04E06)
A short story composed of small stories. Black Mirror on the one hand makes fun of itself, on the other hand it tries to be its most sophisticated in the fourth season. It does the former well, the latter a little weaker, but the atmosphere is suitably thick and Douglas Hodge so loathsome that four stars would be an understatement.
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Striking Vipers (2019) (S05E01)
It's another one of those episodes that raises a lot of interesting questions like "What would I do if...", and that's fine. And it’s just as nice that the story is not predictable and I wasn't sure of its outcome until the end. And Anthony Mackie was excellent in a pleasantly low-key role.
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