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 DaViD´82 (19)
Black Mirror (2011)
"Basically the world we live in." Holding up satirical, unflattering mirrors to Western civilization, to us, to you, to everybody... And through a triptych (so far) of stories, each of which is unique, and is unafraid of being original, controversial, worrying and cuttingly accurate, but never a trace of cheap moralizing or literal. Here they touch lightly on things, letting your mind and imagination do the work, but the end result is that much more powerful for it. Without exception it is outstandingly written, acted and filmed. And, thanks to the budget, it looks convincing and they don’t have to pretend that pasteboard studio scenery is the latest in touch-screen technology.
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The National Anthem (2011) (S01E01)
It is true that you do not negotiate with extortionists and certainly do not give in to them, but hypocritical public opinion must be hypocritically followed at all times. Oink, oink.
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The Entire History of You (2011) (S01E03)
From life itself. Without exaggeration the best (and most "real") use of sci-fi elements I've ever seen. Of course, it could have been done without them, because the strength here lies in the emotions. And now I’m going to watch it again, and again... And again.
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Be Right Back (2013) (S02E01)
We live more online than in real life and we don't know how to deal with death. Intimate and definitely the most thematically relevant episode yet, which could have been the best if it hadn't run out of breath in the final minutes. Anyway, the motion sensitive images of dead people from Harry Potter are very disturbing.
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White Bear (2013) (S02E02)
Get your popcorn ready, we are getting started! Today's society no longer needs the concept of hell, people themselves are the creators of the most formidable Sisyphus hell, where the roles of the guilty/punishing person get intertwined and blurred. The closing credentials, as a bonus, are by far the most terrifying. Enjoy yourself!
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The Waldo Moment (2013) (S02E03)
Waldo-rrific! At first, I thought that the inspiration (apart from the current mood of Western society) was, among other things, taken from the story of the mayor of Reykjavík. But it turned out not to be so, sadly, because it is the (un) conclusion out of spite not giving a damn about politics, the profit against the bear that somewhat scores an own goal. It is not clearly bad, only insipid, and it should have been completely different.
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White Christmas (2014) (S02E04)
A fragmented Christmas special, which, despite all the considerable strong points, looks like these two (or three if you like) current, apt and (not only) morally very disturbing themes were originally intended rather as independent short stories. And each one would handle their own story even better than if they were so forcibly connected (read glued) together. In any case, the strong points of this movie clearly outshine this, let´s say snag, not a problem, so... Merry Christmas to everyone.
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Nosedive (2016) (S03E01)
Hypocrisy (1*) with a mannered American sweet smile on his lips (2*) made through social "InstaSnapTinder" (and Home Improvement; 4*) ad absurdum. In any case, transferring Brooker (5*) under the wings of Netflix (4*) and overseas (3 *) caused absolutely no harm. It is still chillingly up-to-date, apt, satirical, critical, with detached view and worthy of reflection. Only this time it lacks a driving force... Um, actually it lacks five stars, because approximately in the middle it’s only playing with completely the same only in more ways, although Howard handles shy "quaternary" mode brilliantly, but she tends to obviously overplay the tense "secondary" one.
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Playtest (2016) (S03E02)
Straight into oblivion. Paranoia² or facing the depths of madness through play psychotherapy. Excellently constructed, it's just a shame about the slower pace and the main character who is too much of a typecast American Joe to be likeable in the way that this type of story demands.
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Shut Up and Dance (2016) (S03E03)
Cyberbullying in a tech trolling thriller riding the Simon Says wave. The escalating tension of a deadlocked situation to (and beyond) the very edge of bearability. In that respect, it smacks of Watkins's debut Eden Lake. The cherry on top is the pleasantly relativising twist.
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San Junipero (2016) (S03E04)
A significantly different episode that seems to get to Black Mirror by mistake from The Twilight Zone. Which, of course, is not a bad thing, especially when it is such a good and emotionally strong episode and considering the fact that there has been no worthy successor of the Twilight Zone for quite a long time, but it simply does not fit in terms of the style, focus and even the message. I don't want Black Mirror to become just a platform for any "any short stories" after some time (not that this is the case with this episode). Nevertheless, a captivating mix of melancholy and optimism with a disturbing taste in the conclusion. The only drawback is the construction, which is a bit too predictable from the very beginning. In any case, it's probably no coincidence that it was Harris, the author of the episode Be Right Back that viewed the theme of death and departure from the perspective of half-empty glass, while here it’s rather from half-full perspective.
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Men Against Fire (2016) (S03E05)
So far the weakest movie of the Black Mirror and not only of the third season. However, the weakest does not necessarily mean bad. Not that it lags behind in terms of ideas or impressiveness in any way. There is no problem with that. The movie just beats around the bush for too long. And even at the point when it is long clear what direction it will take, how it ends up and what it is trying to convey (especially if you saw its Wipe 2015). The hour-long footage is way too long this time. The original three-quarter-hour of the opening seasons would be more appropriate. However, a bigger problem is that the ending takes everything word for word and the creators have the need to explain everything in a sloppy way (surprisingly, in such a straightforward episode, where it is not necessary, not at all). That is, exactly what all the previous movie successfully avoided at all costs.
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USS Callister (2017) (S04E01)
Do you submit? After the initial twenty minutes I would expect it much darker, with more consistent internal logic, less eye-catching logical lapses, more dealing with the morals and not that all so significantly "more black-mirrored". But at the same time I don't want (and especially I can't) deny that the resulting "Galaxy Quest with an overlap" undeniably works and is fun. A that means a lot.
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Arkangel (2017) (S04E02)
Love + hypersensitive care = iParenting_1984 2.0 or when education is replaced by control. Undoubtedly one of the most ordinary episodes (moreover, it is clear not only what it is aimed at, but also where it will get there), but it is the “everyday commonness" and the dilemma of every parent in finding boundaries “that you can reach in terms of education/ control/ trust" that make it outstanding.
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Hang the DJ (2017) (S04E04)
There must be a reality in the multiverse where Black Mirror is Richard Curtis's project instead of Charlie Brooker's, because this episode belongs to a completely different reality. But that doesn't detract from its qualities, humour, ideas, cuteness and emotional impact, quite the contrary.
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Metalhead (2017) (S04E05)
The most stylish episode of the whole season, not only thanks the charming black and white stylization that fits perfectly. The fourth series generally has one major drawback which is that the episodes are too straightforward. And it applies even more to this one. Except for I don´t consider it a weak point. Short, straightforward, striking, riveting, ignoble in terms of genre and disturbingly chilling in terms that nothing turned out. This viral video (and similar ones) shows the scariest vision of the near future ... They're coming!
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Black Museum (2017) (S04E06)
Famous classic horror stories Jacobs' The Monkey's Paw as a basis for the concept so far the most “like The Twilight Zone" episode. If, as a film maker, you want to deliberately make a self-parody episode where you take all the trademarks of your season to ad absurdum level, then you must already be a damn good screenwriter with a considerable degree of self-reflection. Perhaps only X-Files were good at it repeatedly at that time. The Black Museum is “conscious self-parody-unwanted ridiculousness" that does not always a good balance during the long footage, but for sure doesn´t not fall into category of ridiculousness, not a single time. Which is good. Otherwise, as in the case of White Christmas, there are too many disparate motives glued together. And although the final kind of “fateful" connecting element works, but not enough to shake this feeling. Nevertheless, a decent pulp-entertaining short story about many micro-stories, which holds together mainly thanks to the charismatic and slimy Douglas Hodge.
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Striking Vipers (2019) (S05E01)
What happens in Street Fighter, stays in Street Fighter. A stable partner relationship where passion is dulled by years of childhood, career, responsibilities, routine. As you can see, Black Mirror can handle a "definitely not a gay thing" entry with a suitable leisurely pace, as well as a no-holds-barred moral conflict full of ambiguous questions like whether it's infidelity, whether it's gay, or whether it's simply the equivalent of watching porn.
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