Mr Robot - season 2 - episode 12 (finale)

I absolutely love Mr Robot! It's by far the best series on TV right now for all the right reasons. It's clever, interesting, up to date, mysterious, the cinematography is gorgeous, the characters well written  and acted and every episode feels like a new experience, unlike any other TV series out there.

I became a fan of it last year, when I accidentally stumbled upon it when just 2 or 3 episodes were released of season 1 and I knew I was hooked (mostly because of Elliot's character and the way mental illness was well portrayed, which is rare on TV). I was so happy to have found such a cool TV show, which felt so indie but modern at the same time and few people knew about it. Now that it has been nominated for so many Emmy awards and Rami Malek actually winning one, I glad that the show it's getting more exposure, but I'm afraid that it might turn too commercial and predictable to appeal to a wider audience, which brings me to my issue with the last episode.

Season 1 was crazy good and I didn't think season 2 could top that but it somehow managed to do that, for 11 amazing episodes. However, episode 12 was a miss in my opinion.

I get the fact that the "final" episode was split into two episodes, but I think the season could have ended with episode 11 and everything would have been fine, because it was, maybe, the best episode of the entire show! In was so mysterious and bold, which is quite a risky combo for TV, but appeared so fresh.

The entire season was a big build up for the nothingness of the last episode. It didn't attempt to answer any question of the season, but it raised a few others. The scenes with Darlene and Dom were fine, but the ones involving Elliot and Tyrell really annoyed me because the show tried again the twist from season 1, so it basically ripped itself off. I don't think anybody was expecting a crazy reveal that Tyrell is yet another part of Elliot's mind, so that was just a waste of time which dragged the episode and felt interminable. I believe that the ending was so much like any other season finale from any other drama series where they need a cliffhanger to make sure they bring the audience back for the next season, which I felt was a cheap trick and not worthy of how great this show is, it just didn't do it justice. I think the season should have ended with episode 11 and that was enough of a hook, if the creator didn't intend to explain anything in the next episode. 

I really hope Mr Robot won't take a turn for the commercial and wider audience (how I see Game of Thrones has done for the last season or two, dragging the stories for so long I just can't be bothered to watch, although I was a big fan in the beginning), it should just stay a weird, indie cool series for a smarter audience which doesn't need everything spelled out for it. 

The lobster

The lobster is a movie directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, starring Colin Farrell and Lea Seydoux in a satire about love and our society's obsession with couples. The action takes place in a dystopian world where people who are single are sent to a Hotel where they have 45 days to find a partner with whom they share a similar trait, or they will be turned into an animal. In order to extend this period, they go on regular hunts to shoot loners who do not want to be part of a couple.

Yorgos Lanthinos is the one who directed the Greek Dogtooth, which is one of the most bizarre movies I've seen and definitely not for everyone to enjoy. However, The lobster is more accessible to a larger audience, but still I would say it is an acquired taste, as it is more a comment on society rather than a typical Hollywood movie. Both the dialogue and the characters are rigid and weird, the score is great as it manages to create tension and an eerie vibe for every scene and the cinematography is beautiful, reminding me a little bit of Wes Anderson, with lots of symmetry and a composed color scheme.

All in all I will say this is much better viewing than anyone might expect and even if you are not into philosophical type of movies, you might be surprised of how much the story draws you in!

Room

Room is a movie directed by Lenny Abrahamson, starring Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay as a mother and her 5 year old son who are held captive in a small room by a man who kidnapped the woman when she was only 17. The film very well depicts the psychological consequences an event like this has on a person's mental health and especially the one of a child, as well as its extension to the girl's parents.

The movie is well constructed, with a deep and powerful script and fantastic performances. There are many emotional scenes throughout the film and some of them, I admit, brought some tears to my eyes and the credit mostly goes to the stellar performances of both Brie Larson and the kid. She  manages to bring such a diverse range of emotions from motherly love and care to desperation, frustration and the feeling of lost hope. 

However, Jacob Trembaly stole the spotlight at the young age of 9! I can imagine it is really hard to work with a child on set, especially when he plays such a big role in the movie, but he really managed to deliver. I have no idea how they made him express such rough, strong emotions, but I can see a bright future for him in acting.

The first act of the movie can be viewed as the typical kidnap movie, without the cliches of the genre, but the second act is even better because it deals with the afterward emotions, which I haven't seen too often portrayed in cinema. I also enjoyed the fact that the movie is not romanticized or sugar coated and I love the fact that it has the child's point of view, which gives it an interesting perspective. 

All in all, this movie definitely deserves some Oscar recognition and I hope the Academy will show some love for Brie Larson, as they overlooked Jacob for a nomination. Go check out the movie, it's one of the best in the motion picture category.

Thought provoking movies

Here are a series of my favorite sci-fi movies which I found thought provoking, mind twisting, puzzling and generally good conversational pieces.

Her and Ex Machina, besides the fact that are incredibly good movies, they both leave you thinking about the future of technology and how that might affect humans, mostly from an emotional standpoint. Her explores one man's (Joaquin Phoenix) relationship with his OS, which, with the help of a soothing female voice (Scarlett Johansson's) and infinite information generated from the internet it can piece up conversational topics and suitable answers for his questions, making him become emotionally dependent on her, as she tells him everything he wants / needs to hear. The movie explores a spiritual and mental relationship, which seems to work without the physical aspect of the generally accepted notion of one. I find the film's concept extremely thought provoking, as I believe we are not far from this to become reality. (bonus: not only is it a smart movie, it is also visually stunning, with a beautiful color scheme of pink and orange undertones). The second movie, Ex Machina treats a similar theme, in which a man is asked to perform the Turing test on a robot programmed and designed to be a female (Alicia Vikander), to see if the AI can pass off as a human, however he starts to have feelings for her, but the question remains if she can also feel something similar, or if she can just teach herself to respond in the way he wants her to respond, making him easily manipulated.

Speaking of philosophical themes and character studies, I will also include Under the skin, although this one does not feature robots but an "alien", the theme of relationships that don't conform to the norm continue. This movie is more of a meditation on human behavior, how it can be perceived by an exterior presence and how easily it can be imitated and used as an advantage. Scarlett Johansson plays and alien who disguises itself as a women and begins to study the way humans act, luring men into her house for some dubious business. Even though it is slow paced, the ending does raise some questions. 

Ex Machina

Her

Under the skin

Moving towards the themes of time and space, there are a few films that approach time travel and multi dimensions in a smart and of course, mind blowing way. I'm talking about Coherence, Predestination and the more mainstream one, Interstellar. The first two are hard to summarize, but I guarantee they are not disappointing. What happens when a comet disrupts the normal order of life opening the possibility for a group of friends to see the way their different decisions from the present unfold in other dimensions? What happens when you meet yourself at different points in your life, but you have no idea about that? What happens when you are on a planet where a few minutes mean several years have passed on earth and your children are now older then you are?

Coherence

Predestination

Interstellar

Another one which is full of subtext and metaphors is Enemy starring Jake Jylenhaal. Besides the actual plot, throughout the film there are a few scenes involving spiders, which I read can symbolize women and the character's fear of commitment (pretty cool in my opinion!), or maybe even schizophrenia. It depends on how you want to perceive it.

Enemy

Some other movies that play with your mind, that I've seen and recommend include:

Memento

Requiem for a dream

Inception

Shutter island

The usual suspects

The prestige

Donnie Darko

Mr Nobody

The butterfly effect (just the first one is worth watching)

Goodnight mommy

2001:a space odyssey

Melancholia

After the dark

The game

Cube

Prisoners

All of these movies have unexpected plot twists, not the lame, cliched ones, but keeping-you-at-the-edge-of-your-seat ones. They treat very interesting topics, leaving every viewer to decide for himself what he makes out of it. If you start analyzing them, you might get into some deep realizations and symbolism. If not, they still make up for an entertaining way to spend your time!