Change Your Image
user-847-318571
Reviews
Black Mirror: Men Against Fire (2016)
The most disturbing episode, should be submitted for an Emmy
I'm no stranger to series skewed towards irony and twists. I love Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, so I should have predicted what was coming here. But I was somewhat blindsided by this one. It fits in along with the overarching theme of technology being a double- edged sword, and if something looks feels and smells real, how can one tell what is real and what isn't? Almost like an existential Turing test for reality. This is a recurring theme in almost all Black Mirror episodes. The audience is again left questioning reality. But this particular episode kind of hits close to home. Especially given the events happening around the world nowadays. I can't say anymore without giving too much away. For any Twilight Zone fans out there, do yourself a solid and watch this episode.
The Moaning of Life (2013)
Mover over Proust, make room for Karl! Superior to 'An Idiot Abroad' in many ways.
This is a great and refreshing followup of 'An Idiot Abroad', a documentary style travel show through an unfiltered angle via Karl reflecting (aka whinging) on culture shock and his new confounding environment, and challenging tasks or pranks, always planned by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, with the sole aim of catapulting Karl out of his comfort zone. Physical shtick and hilarity ensues, which would often times lead Karl to ponder philosophically aloud.
This time, Karl flies more solo as he investigates life's big questions through the lens of different cultures. He takes his experience as a seasoned traveler and applies it to age-old conundrums like marriage, happiness, money. In the first episode on marriage, he experiences an Indian wedding as a groom assistant, he signs up for pheromone dating, he visits Las Vegas and offers his own satirical take on quickie weddings.
I think this is an accessible and humorous pop-culture approach to philosophy or anthropology. Compared An Idiot Abroad, his unapologetic and blunt observations (unavoidable for anyone when faced with unusual human tricks like body modification), stem from earnest and genuine childlike curiosity, rather than mean spirited, or even ethnocentric or chauvinistic compared to the earlier episodes of An Idiot Abroad; maybe travel really did broaden his mind. At the end of the day, he's stating the obvious to the tune of observational comedy (paraphrasing: "he's got wife and kids whose house has no roof, and they're spending all this time running to catch a wooden ball!").
One noticeably welcome improvement over An Idiot Abroad: there's less deer-in-the-headlights moments, and more going-along-blending-in-the- crowd attitude. This time he seems more game to be part of experiment rather than a spectator taken hostage. Definitely more enjoyable to watch.
Moone Boy (2012)
Charming heartwarming and funny biographical narrated comedy
What a gem! For those who liked "Malcom in the Middle" or "Everybody Hates Chris", "Freaks and Geeks" or "Scrubs" even, I think they'd enjoy this series a lot. It has that quirky family dynamic and coming-of-age story arc that's timeless and relatable, and kept me coming back. I cannot wait for more seasons.
It's very funny but also poignant at times, as it doesn't shy away from serious topics. It has the right amount of cutaways (i think many non laugh track sitcoms abuse this), and I love the occasional 80s soundtrack. The 'Goodfellas' episode had me laughing out loud. The only other show that makes me do that is Community. I'm so glad that it's on hulu, I hope more Americans watch this show.