It was supposed to be a toy. Many of us had one. Don't judge. This is mainly a journey of one person intersecting their life across others despite challenges. Puzzles come in multiple forms and shapes, so this 41 minute short should be taken as such. This moves between competition and friendship, learning of emotion, evolution and maturity. It seems complex, but is generally simple and elegant if each is taken as such. It's OK. Win or lose, it's OK.
Good heavens do we need to normalize grief and grieving and coping w/suffering and does this series ever help admirably. It's beyond gallows humor, and it's no Six Feet Under. As fiction goes, it's brutally honest. Loss sucks. Grieving sucks. And bottling it up, not working through it--that is the pits. Ricky Gervais and the cast are superb, and in the spirit of the Avengers franchise, this is an ensemble production. It is definitely not all rainbows and kittens. I'm not saying After Life is the best thing to happen to gallows humor (or normalize grief) since Dead Like Me, but I'm also not, not saying.
A sci-fi movie I hadn't heard of that turned out pretty damn good, what gives? Oh, Pedro Pascal is in it and he has enjoyed a little attention recently. This movie has a small cast set on some distant world where brave adventurers go to prospect a part of an alien life form that requires some skill and finesse rather than brute strength. When a father / daughter duo touch down chasing the ultimate score, things go sideways. The movie is more of a thriller and sci-fi a vehicle to deliver the underlying story, which is compelling and well-done. If you can look past a few simple plot holes, you may find this movie really enjoyable like I did.
Sam, the main character played by Peter Dinklage, injects himself into the life of a brilliant scientist who is brilliant, and the movie makes sure you know he is brilliant. The science is being able to record and playback memories, ala Strange Days. But for some reason Sam plays back mostly on a tiny screen in a briefcase that is the device. Anyway, he ends up in the middle of the life and murder of this scientist and decides to find out who did it, with this new technology being the central piece of the story. Ultimately, the movie has some neat ideas, good acting, but just falls short as it all doesn't fully come together. It's the kind where you can't quite put your finger on it but just know something was lacking.
