Thank you Charlie!


Black Mirror is back baby! In all its chilling dystopian glory!
 
Charlie Brooker may have settled into a new home on Netflix, but the series has lost none of its punch in the transition, with a storming first episode of season 3 with 'Nosedive'.
 
And it’s a cracker! Social media is firmly in its storytelling sights with 'Nosedive' a chilling, yet all too possible future of social media and the inevitable descent into a society where personal  encounters are reduced to the quest for 5 stars.
 
Bryce Dallas Howard stars in the lead role and wow she is great! The fragility and determination she portrays are both heartbreaking and endearing in equal measure.  What makes this opening episode so painful to watch, is the disturbing closeness to reality that unfolds.

How many times this year has the façade of popular  bloggers been exposed as a veil of smoke and mirrors? Which internet celebrity has had their public image shattered by a revelation of mental illness? Everywhere the touch ups and the image management is being exposed.
 
It's not hard to see where Charlie Brooker gets his ideas from, real life is full of irony and group think, but he manages to cut right to the core of every cynic's argument on modern life and it's social tragedies, with excellent satirical and darkly comic effect.

If ever there was an oracle for our times,  Charlie Brooker would definitely be a contender, not only will Black Mirror entertain you, it will make you think and say, "dam, that's what I've been saying all along!"
 
Black mirror is for lovers of sci-fi and philosophy alike, it's not for the faint hearted either, some of the episodes can be disturbing, usually because you know it’s a place humanity can or has already gone. If you want to see it, unfortunately, you will need a Netflix subscription, failing that you need to befriend someone who does!!
 
If you can't get access to Netflix, but you'd like to see some more Charlie Brooker satire, I'd also highly recommend Newswipe, you can stream it via BBC Four website here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00qbq57/episodes/guide

Get (the hell) Out - Jordan Peele

So there's me innocently opening a video for a new production by Jordan Peele of Key & Peele, and I'm thinking "that 'Keanu' movie of theirs looked kinda dumb, but might be good for a laugh, I wonder if this is going to be along the same lines?"...
 
Er, no…
 
Don't watch this if you are easily scared, paranoid or both! I got freaked the eff out with this trailer! I had to send it at least 3 of my friends immediately, to properly assess the readings on my internal "what the eff o-meter"
What on earth possessed Peele to make 'Get Out'?  Or 'Get the hell Out' as I like to call it :-) and why has no one thought of this concept before!?! Its genius! Not since Candyman has such a racially charged film given me a serious case of the shivers! And this is just the trailer!
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Now I'm sure anyone who's embarked upon interracial dating has probably had this anxiety nightmare?...  I mean, it's crossed all our minds?;  that the family might just be massively racist and take it to its horrifying and sinister conclusion?... No?... Just me then :-)
 
anyhow, it's out this coming February, until then, enjoy the trailer…

Death Note - William Defoe

I wake up to the news that William Defoe is set to play Shinigami in Netflix's upcoming adaptation of the hugely popular Death Note manga series. What a choice! I literally cannot think of anyone better, not only is William Defoe a great actor, his craggy face will only require the minimum makeup to transform him into the death God Ryuk - I reckon a coat of white powder and he's done! The man was born to play this role, he is Ryuk! Those staring eyes, that devilish grin, if it weren't for this pesky phenomena we experience called linear time, you could be thinking that Defoe was the original inspiration!

Now there's already been a pretty good film based on the series back in 2006, but this is going to be a series, so your Death Note addiction can have time to develop week to week, and if it's good, give you serious withdrawal immediately after its end.