Category: Season 3

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Black Mirror Season 3

Nosedive

Black MirrorSocial media “ratings”, bestowed by friends, strangers and random passerby alike, are as much currency as actual money, determining not just social standing, but what kind of jobs and housing are available. Smiles are everyday attire, worn to avoid “downvotes” for being considered surly or impolite. Lacie Pound, hovering between 4.0 and 4.5 out of 5, “upvotes” everyone she meets; it’s the polite thing to do, and it’s expected. At home, however, she is stuck living in a small house with her brother, but Lacie is eyeing a more upscale residence – one that she can only afford if she reaches a steady 4.5 social media rating, qualifying her for a discount. The opportunity to boost her profile appears in the form of an invitation to be the maid of honor at a childhood friend’s wedding…but does Lacie even have the necessary clout to make the trip?

Get the DVDsteleplay by Rashida Jones and Mike Schur
story by Charlie Brooker
directed by Joe Wright
music by Max Richter

Black MirrorCast: Bryce Dallas Howard (Lacie Pound), Alice Eve (Naomi Jayne Blestow), Cherry Jones (Susan), James Norton (Ryan Pound), Alan Ritchison (Paul), Daisy Haggard (Bets), Susannah Fielding (Carol), Michaela Coel (Airport Stewardess), Demetri Goritsas (Hansen), Kadiff Kirwan (Chester), Sope Dirisu (Man in Jail), Clayton Evertson (Ted), Andrew Roux (Electro Station Assistant), Anjana Vasan (Space Cop), Colin Moss (Anthony), Nambitha Ben-Wazi (Glam Woman), Jeffrey Davenport (Cab Driver), Ntokozo Majozi (Jack the Barrista), Justin Munitz (Keith), Zandile Madliwa (Alien Girl), Kevin Otto (Pastor), Shane Zaza (Chuck), Abubakar Salim (Airport Guard), Jennie Nielson (Woman in Car), Deon Lotz (Man in Car), Daniel Newton (Kid on Quad Bike), Rebecca Newton (Kid’s Younger Sister), Lewelyn Van den Berg (Male Jogger), Blessing Mamuesa (Glam Woman’s Son)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Black Mirror Season 3

Playtest

Black MirrorFor Cooper, trying to escape from the stress of his home life with his mother means quietly leaving without a word to travel the world. From Australia to Spain to England, Cooper’s carefree voyage of self-discovery is almost over. His mother keeps calling, and Cooper keeps declining her call. He hooks up with a British video game journalist named Sonja, a fortuitous meeting since it appears that he’s maxed out his credit card and can’t buy a ticket back to the States. Sonja points him toward a paid playtesting opportunity that should provide Cooper with the money he needs to get home. The game in question is an augmented reality horror experience that draws upon the player’s own memory to conjure his worst fears. From spiders to childhood bullies to a decidedly more deadly version of Sonja, Cooper is scared out of his wits and wants the game to end. But the damage may already be done: the lines between reality and the game are blurred, and Cooper may never see the real world again.

Black MirrorGet the DVDswritten by Charlie Brooker
directed by Dan Trachtenberg
music by Bear McCreary

Cast: Wyatt Rssell (Cooper), Hannah John-Kamen (Sonja), Wummi Mosaku (Katie), Ken Yamamura (Shou Saito), Elisabeth Moynihan (Cooper’s Mum), Jamie Paul (Rick Peters), Jessica Neil (Scared Girl On Plane)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Black Mirror Season 3

Shut Up And Dance

Black MirrorKenny lives a very average teenage life, but within that lies a particularly disturbing vice – one which comes back to haunt him when an unidentified hacker e-mails Kenny video from his own computer’s webcam. The hacker, now communicating with Kenny via text message, informs him that he will be “activated” at some point in the future, and must follow instructions to avoid a leak of the webcam video that will ruin Kenny’s life. When Kenny does receive instructions, he finds himself encountering a succession of others who are being similarly blackmailed, each receiving their own instructions via text message. Kenny and Hector, a middle-aged man whose own indiscretions have left him vulnerable to blackmail, are instructed to rob a bank. As Hector follows instructions to dispose of their getaway car, Kenny’s next orders make him wonder how much worse things are going to get for him.

Get the DVDswritten by Will Bridges & Charlie Brooker
directed by James Watkins
music by Alex Heffes

Black MirrorCast: Alex Lawther (Kenny), Jerome Flynn (Hector), Susannah Doyle (Blackmailed Woman), Frankie Wilson (Tom), Jimmy Roye-Dunne (Red), Hannah Steele (Melissa), Sarah Beck Mather (Restaurant Mother), Beatrice Robertson-Jones (Restaurant Daughter), Maya Gerber (Lindsay), Camilla Power (Sandra), Ivanno Jeremiah (Moped Man), Maiam Haque (Petrol Station Attendant), Natasha Little (Karen), Nicola Sloane (Bank Clerk), Paul Bazely (The Man in the Woods), Leanne Best (Penny)

LogBook entry by Earl Green