A Masterpiece!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I know "black mirror fans" hates this one because it's not 'bleak' or maybe because it doesn't turn out with a bad ending, maybe it is a little clitche at the ending but guess what... it's THE BEST black mirror produced so far.I've been a fan of the series since season 1, this episode is by far the best structured with one of the most fulfilling stories, good characters, a flawed and perfectly executed villain and an incredible story well told.This is what cinema should be about. We shouldn't be judging chapters by how "similar" they are to the concept or if it's doing the series a well deserved black ending, we should be enjoying chapters for how good they are written how satisfying they are.Being a Trek fan AND a gamer, I would say I loved all the references. There are lots of good details inside, this is my new found GEM.

I normally don't write reviews for TV shows or movies, but felt compelled to write one after reading some of the negative reviews. The one thing pointed out by most of the negative reviews (all of the ones I read), is that there are major plot holes. I, for one, get incredible annoyed by gaping plot holes in movies and TV shows. I'm generally a VERY critical person when it comes to any movie or show. When going into any movie, I automatically assume it'll probably be trash, which is why I'm not real keen on going to or watching movies that haven't been extensively reviewed and give me some understanding of what I'm getting into. I don't like wasting hours of my time on churned out movies for teenagers who have not been disappointed enough yet, who will then crack jokes with their friends about how bad that movie was for an hour afterwards. That said, are there gaping plot holes in this episode? Absolutely. But do they detract from the concepts and psychology of the characters on display (which is entirely the main point of the episode)? Absolutely not. It's very rare for me to embrace a movie or a show with gaping plot holes, but don't let that turn you off from watching it. As they can easily be overlooked when you provide thoughtful ideas and concepts as well as a strong character analysis, which is what this episode does. The journey itself was just a means of expressing those ideas. On the other hand, if this was a mindless action film (which I thoroughly enjoy from time to time), then the plot holes would matter as the journey is the entire value of the movie. As I see it, complaining over the plot holes in this episode is like if someone were to make a big deal if someone pronounced a word incorrectly after making a very thoughtful and nuanced statement. Isn't the point of language to communicate an idea or concept? So as long as you understand what the person is communicating, fussing over their incorrect pronunciation is irrelevant to the thoughts or ideas they had expressed. Is the episode perfect? No. But it certainly doesn't deserve 3 stars or lower because of plot holes which are completely irrelevant to the ideas and concepts communicated in this episode.

After death you will float the universe forever & forever & & &

Even though Seasons 3 and 4 of Black Mirror have been rightfully accused of being more mainstream due to the Netflix streaming and requiring a wider appeal to continue going, mainstream isn't always a bad thing, and there's no further proof of that than this premiere episode of Season 4 called USS CALLISTER, an infectiously entertaining episode that pulls off the amazing feat of being both hilariously funny and darkly terrifying all within the same scene in several moments in the episode. With the obvious parody of the original Star Trek 60s series, there's also an homage to the classic Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life".CALLISTER tells the tale of Robert Daly (superbly played by Jesse Plemons), a computer genius and CTO of a tiny startup company specializing in virtual reality gaming. Daly is an extreme pushover and introvert, allowing everyone in his company to walk all over him, even though he's the 2nd-in-command. The CEO is Walton (excellently played in scene-stealing fashion by Jimmi Simpson), who implores Robert to be more authoritative to his employees. Daly seems like he's about to crack his introverted shell when a new hire coding phenom Nanette Cole (solidly played by Cristin Milioti), who worships Daly because of his tech expertise. Daly develops an immediate attachment to Nanette, but like everyone else, she eventually shuns him due to word of mouth around the company. So Daly in his own way takes action against his insensitive office cohorts.CALLISTER, while very funny, also has several moments of surprising power, especially as embodied in the performances of Plemons and Simpson. Although she plays a large role and her character was believable as quirky hacking geek in the real world scenes, I don't think Milioti really stood out in the Callister gaming scenes. Her humor felt a bit forced, although not enough to really take me out of the story due to the pace being relentless. The supporting cast (Michaela Cole, Billy Magnussen, Milanka Brooks, Osy Ikhile, and Paul G. Raymond) is also wonderful and nails their parts. A really strong way to start off Season 4.