4/5
Heart, Skull + Metal.
8 Episodes. Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Nancy Linari, Emily O’Brien, Joe Dempsie, Ike Amadi, Nolan North, Fred Tatasciore, Peter Franzén, Jennifer Hale, Sebastian Croft, Brian Keene, Steven Pacey, Scott Whyte & Zita Hanrot. Creator: Tim Miller.
Pure hearts, life after death, plus violent metal. In the first anthology of Netflix's 'Love, Death + Robots' created by 'Deadpool' and 'Terminator: Dark Fate' director Tim Miller and executive produced by him and 'Fight Club', 'Se7en' and 'Mank' director David Fincher of 'Gone Girl' and 'The Social Network' fame amongst others (Miller designed the title sequence for Fincher's 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' as well as Marvel's 'Thor-The Dark World'), we saw more sci-fi worlds for the cult binge than we did pockets of neon and loneliness in the cyberpunk districts that blade run like a 'Ghost In The Shell'. It all started with 'Three Robots' and went from there. 'Beyond The Aquila Rift' travelling light years in space showed you just how devastating the effects are when you sleep in. And you thought Jennifer Lawrence being a 'Passenger(s)' with Chris Pratt was bad (it was). The 'Ice Age' ice pack of Topher Grace and Mary Elizabeth Winstead's fridge freezer showed us strange new worlds (look closely and you could probably see Scrat trying to get that nut (steady)). Whilst 'Sonnie's Edge' gave us a new platform on boss battles like video games that are a beast. 'When The Yogurt Took Over' warned us of the real bacteria we should be weary of. And the Red Army, Siberian cold front of forest monsters showed us 'The Secret War' for these dogs. 'The Sucker Of Souls' was no match for cats like James Corden to Ricky Gervais' "fat pussy" joke. 'The Witness' gave us a woman in the rear window look of spying a murder that was truly original (sorry Amy Adams). Whilst 'Suits' (nothing to do with the modern 'Mad Men' wannabe show) had farmers dusting their crops with more than pesticide. The foxy 'Good Hunting' was in traditonal machinations one of the standouts of the series. And the old man of 'The Dump' was just happy to have a place he could call home. Resting in refuge. 'Shape-Shifters' gave us a deeper look at the core of Marines and the desert of illusions of 'Fish Night' gave us a fish bowl look at the most beautiful and heartbreaking of all the animations in its effervescent epic, enthralling sandbox. Life and limb came into conflict outer space in the gravity of a 'Helping Hand', before 'Alternate Histories' gave you some comic relief at Hitlet's expense and also some squirrel and a nut food for thought (oh hai, Scrat). 'Lucky 13' struck new heights with a drop-ship for your halo and we really saw more with the cyborg thieves in the 'Blindspot'. But it was the compelling conclusion of the artist of technology of 'Zima Blue' that was the real portrait to ponder in this galaxy gallery.
Anything between five and just under a shade of 20 minutes these serious shorts giving all sorts of animators and writers of short stories a chance to shine amongst the stars of the ever expanding universe of science fiction offers us solar systems of dreamscapes. Some classically cartoonist. Other so video game close to reality we finally get to see the theory of most first-person cut sequences being good enough to K.O. some movie moments for real, fully-fleshed out digitally. There's the Wall-E like retirement nightmare of 'Automated Customer Services' that puts you on hold with the application of most accidents (and murders) happen at home...by your trusty household appliances. The 'Ice' capades escape of a graphic novel like animation that will WOW you like another night swimming in the sky with the fishes. The 'Pop Squad' and a Jim Caviezel meets Jon Bernthal (it's neither of 'em) looking detective with a Dick Tracy stetson takes serious shots at our narcissm at the price of life in the baby killing dark noir. And the 'Snow In The Desert' look of a thirsty desperate apocalypse offers more CG stories realer and more raw than most realities with earned emotion, not devoid of devotion. That's before a man hops off an Orient Express looking traditional train for a smoke break that's real murder. Did he not see 'The Lost World'? Don't go into 'The Tall Grass'! These sharp blades are more ravishing than any raptor. The most scary thing to me as a cult movie loving kid. Until I saw these stranger things. Netflix have a lot of 'Christmas Chronicles' in their sack. Like the Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, Santa and Mrs. Claus franchise, 'Dolly Parton's Christmas On The Square' and even 'A Very Murray Christmas' and more snowed in under the tree. But in 'All Through The House' something naughty is stirring...and it really isn't a mouse. We hope you've been good this year for goodness sake. Here's your new annual festive tradition like the crown of the Queens speech to unwrap. Slot machine roulette Christmas tree, present and snow emoji.
Michael B. Jordan is the man. The 'Creed' of Rocky franchise redefinition killed it as Killmonger in 'Black Panther' so much that his dead character could even be in the sequel (but as much as we would love and kind of need to see that his scripted passing held poetic, last words of protest poignancy). But it's not like he's running out of franchises to face. This Mike Jordan may even be in 23's sequel to 'Space Jam', 'A New Legacy', starring another 2-3 in LeBron James, who Jordan this week witnessed destroying Steph Curry and the Warriors from the clutch downtown in Los Angeles for the Lakers playoff play-in. In a spin-off to the Amazon Prime time viewing of 'A Quiet Place' director and actor, John Krasinski's 'Jack Ryan', you can catch the Jordan that's making his own MJ legend, no B-team, in Tom Clancy's 'Without Remorse', as Ryan's right hand man John Clark in one of this years biggest and best blockbusters on the small, smartphone screen. Here, though he crash lands on a planet and finds a 'Safe Hutch'. Kind of like a safe house, but a little bit more tin can dented for his damaged goods, planetary pilot. In this run-down outpost he meets a malfunctioned robot that is a halfway house between Netflix's (stealing off itself in this time of "nothing's new under the sun") 'Black Mirror' 'Metalhead' (truly terrifying) and those demodogs from 'Stranger Things' (don't pet 'em). This is not this man's best friend in one of the tensest robot episodes in love and death history, let alone this great genre of galaxy quests. And things get so illuminated in this CGI dark you'll be forgiven again and again if you keep forgetting that this is a computer generated animation and not the real Jordan ruling the screen. This isn't just like, Mike. It's him. All the way down to the beads of sweat that pour from every pore of his petrified body. Beware, this hutch doesn't play it safe...and we're all the better for it. During lockdown last year when I wasn't on a steady diet of Netflix whilst binging carbs, I found another addiction. EVE Online. The massive multiplayer, outer space online game of combat and community. I may not have really talked to anyone, but I got lost in the calm, no one can hear you scream about corona, space between our closed off world and the one we open up from our laptops. Medicating my loneliness and keeping me sane in a planet gone crazy, this artifical reality solar system really took me out of this world...in a way I maybe needed for a day or too. 'Hutch', 'Pop Squad' and the 'Snow In The Desert' play like spin-off from this multi-dimensonal, interstellar worlds. Truly taking us somewhere else in a time were reality bites and we search for more bandwidth to expand our gigs and entertainment gifts whilst we can't be truly present in this world that comes with WARNING tape. Sorry to get black hole dark, but there's still light at the end of the tunnel. A rectangular reflection of hope in these black mirrors. And then there is the compelling, colossal conclusion of 'The Drowned Giant' looking like one from anime 'Attack On Titan' came in with the tide that will really bring you back down to earth in all its human nature of spectacle to sceptical, before this epic anthology washes away from our streaming shores. Philip K. Dick would be proud of these 'Electric Dreams'. Sure this volume only has 8 editions, instead of last seasons' libraries worth of 18, but we can't complain with this malfunction of the heart. Especially when there's another eight wonders coming next year. We love these robots to death. TIM DAVID HARVEY.
Further Filming: 'Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams', 'Altered Carbon', 'Black Mirror'.
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