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Reviews
Black Mirror: Demon 79 (2023)
Paapa Essideu stole the show
I absolutely loved the dynamic between him and Anjana Vasana for this episode. The horror comedy vibe works very well here. I do wish the story was a little more fleshed out and nuanced than what we have here. While I did enjoy the episode, I don't think it warranted itself an 80 minute runtime. This honestly could have been one of the best episodes in the series, but I think it was a little too half baked for a little too long. I wish we could've gotten more of the main two in the cast in a more creative plot. But all in all, I thought it was a pretty fun episode with great acting all around, just a little lackluster in concept.
Black Mirror: Mazey Day (2023)
Kinda dumb tbh but it's not the worst thing in the world
The worst part about the episode is all of the other paparazzi goons feeling like they were ripped out of a Saturday morning cartoon, but the main two actresses do a pretty good job. The story isn't entirely unique and the plot twist is definitely... different... for this show. But it has its moments. It's cheesy and campy, but it also feels like it's supposed to be. That doesn't make it good, but it also prevents me from rating it lower than I have. I still think it's better than the first episode this season, but that's because this episode had an actual story with human beings in it. For the most part.
Black Mirror: Beyond the Sea (2023)
One of the darker episodes of the show
For starters, Aaron Paul does phenomenally here. He hasn't always taken the best roles since Breaking Bad, but he truly gave his all for this performance and it shows. I don't have much to say about this episode other than it's a fantastic technological concept that's executed pretty good. I do think it is a little predictable, I felt like I knew where things were headed after the first significant event. Even so, some stuff happens in this episode that gets pretty dark, even for Black Mirror's sake, and I enjoy getting that chill of disturbance when watching this show. It's one of the better episodes.
Black Mirror: Loch Henry (2023)
A disturbing tale with unfortunate predictabilities
I much prefer this episode over the first. It hits all of the things Black Mirror does best: Realistic settings with realistic characters exploring some morally gray subjects with technology at the base of it. It's classic Black Mirror. This episode also has a whole lot more character in its cinematography and editing. Unfortunately I think it is slightly predictable, especially in how some of the actors portray their roles. But the story is still told and acted well, despite some predictably. I do hope the rest of the season stays at this level of quality, but this was really needed after the slop that was episode one.
Black Mirror: Joan Is Awful (2023)
A somewhat interesting concept told with absolutely no creativity or ingenuity
Nobody in this episode feels like a real person with realistic reactions or qualities, just faces for plot. Season 1-3 of Black Mirror would have been so much more clever with this idea and actually delved into realistic consequences and character motivations. The explanation for the show getting information on Joan is that they're monitoring her phone and copying her life from there. So just... turn it off? This is what I mean, everything is just so surface level and feels like it was the first draft. I think Annie Murphy does the best she can with the writing, but almost everyone else was so bland (except Michael Cera, he did pretty well). There's some nice cinematography here and there and I lightly chuckled a couple times at some of the parody stuff, but this was just a mess.
Better Call Saul: Saul Gone (2022)
Putting the bitter in bittersweet
Bravo Peter. And Vince as well, but Peter Gould needs more love and recognition for all of the phenomenal work he put into this show.
I won't get into spoilers, but I just wanted to capture my immediate feelings on this finale. And it's everything the writers have been saying: it's bittersweet, it's not exactly what you would expect, and it's a very uniquely paced finale (as have these last few episodes). And yeah, I loved it. I've been with this show since it started airing and it feels a little surreal to finally see it finish. It wraps up in a way that really makes you ponder upon the entire franchise and the effects Jimmy McGill has left in that universe. It's got twists and turns, some expected familiar faces, some unexpected familiar faces, and of course some of the best directing and cinematography to have ever hit the screens of television.
The only reason I don't have it as a 10 is because I don't think it's fully sank in for me yet. They really put the bitter in bittersweet and it's hard to know if I feel satisfied. Breaking Bad is infamous for having one of the most satisfying endings of all time, so it's hard not to compare, and I'm just not quite sure if this reached that similar of a threshold. It's very good. But I'm conflicted on if it could have been done maybe slightly more satisfyingly. I dunno. I'll change my rating if it does but these are just my honest immediate thoughts.
Better Call Saul: Plan and Execution (2022)
Holy mother of God
Wow okay so I will admit, I've kind of been on the negative side of the last couple episodes. Not that I hated them, I don't think this show is capable of being bad. The episodes were just okay and felt like they were a little too tedious for their own good. But this episode really put some things into perspective.
One of the things I felt critical of is how long they prolonged Lalo's disappearance after ep 2. Honestly though? It really made the end of this episode so unexpected. Because of what we previously had seen, I thought Lalo was just going to ominously disappear with another unknown plan until the next half of the season. And because of that, I had no inkling into him showing up at the end. It was actually set up perfectly, and now I appreciate the lighter moments before these episodes. It still could have moved a little quicker I think, but the light heartedness will be much appreciated on future viewings. Also, I love how the this scene is a grisly mirror of the other Lalo and apartment scene from last season. The last one was so suspenseful and amazingly drawn out, and this one was pretty much to the point.
And RIP Howard. Man, I knew the guy wasn't gonna get a happy ending, but an unexpected bullet to the head? Ruthless. I never had doubts in the writing of this show, even though I disagreed with some pacing issues earlier on. I can only imagine what they're going to do in these last 6 episodes. Admittedly, it doesn't feel like enough. But I will trust the process because I'm sure things are going to pick up drastically after this. Bravo Peter, Vince, and all of the other writers. Bravo.
Better Call Saul: Black and Blue (2022)
It's good
I really love this show and I genuinely believe it is the best thing on television right now. But honestly this season has somewhat lost the momentum it had going for itself. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of great tension building and developments happening, but these last couple of episodes have had very little overall plot development happening in them. I enjoyed finally getting to see some actual confrontation with Howard this episode, but it almost feels like this should have happened a couple episodes ago. I feel like the Jimmy and Kim plotline has been on loop since the country club in episode 2, and it's starting to drag it's feet a little bit. I know the mid-season finale is in a couple weeks, but I really hope things start to pick up next week.
The show's a slow-burn and I love it for that very reason, but there was some really good tension and buildup happening in the first three episodes, and I feel like we have stagnated a bit in these last couple episodes. I have full faith and confidence in these writers that we will get satisfactory payoff and closure on this show in these last 8 episodes, but I feel like the show is retracing its footsteps a little bit too much, especially for a final season. I hope this is the last episode that will leave me feeling somewhat underwhelmed.
Bo Burnham: Make Happy (2016)
A Comedy Special with a Meaning
Bo Burnham does it again... I've only been following Bo for about a year so I was excited to see that he was going to make another comedy special! I really enjoyed "what." and I couldn't wait to see his new innovative material. What I got was very unexpected.
This special is not comedy, it is art. From the deep lyricism in the last act to the cinematic camera-work throughout, this show took my breath away. I never thought that a comedy special could be so... well... special! It's truly not you everyday stand-up comedian.
When compared to "what.", the jokes are realistically not as strong. I was going to give this a 9 at first, but then I realized that I was comparing apples to oranges. I think "what." is a 10/10, but I wouldn't lower the score because it's as not deep as "Make Happy"!
In conclusion, don't watch "Make Happy" expecting a full on comedy show. The comedy is pretty good for about 3/4's of the special, but the last quarter is not a happy fun time. If you want some really good comedy, go watch Bo Burnham's other special, "what.".