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Badmovies.org Forum  |  Other Topics  |  Television  |  Love, Death, & Robots « previous next »
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Author Topic: Love, Death, & Robots  (Read 3872 times)
ER
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The sleep of reasoner breeds monsters. (sic)


« on: September 15, 2019, 02:42:06 PM »

I’ve had to conclude I like anthologies in print and onscreen, and Netflix’s animated sci-fi short story collection Love, Death & Robots is one of the best to come along since the once great Black Mirror was ruined by that unfortunate strain of moralizing preachy-ness too many mistake for liberated thinking.

There wasn’t a bad story in the baker’s-dozen-plus-five episodes that make up season one of LD+R, though some episodes push toward an NC-17-rating, while others stay docile enough, but mostly the sex and violence are ramped up here with animated nudity coming at you in better than half of these tales. Plus the body count is high and there’s ponds worth of blood, lymph, and various alien fluids I didn’t take the time to identify.

To run through these stories:


1.1   Beyond the Aqulia Rift: The crew of a deep space vessel wake up from life support hibernation to find themselves farther off course than expected, and then the strange stuff begins….so does some near-pornographic swivvying. (B)

1.2   The Secret War: In the dark days of World War Two, a gritty clandestine unit of the Red Army is deployed to the taiga of Siberia to combat a lethal, inhuman foe.  “Victory at any cost” was the Red Army’s erstwhile motto, and it was certainly lived out here. (A)

1.3   Sonnie’s Edge: In some dystopian future, a team of “beastie fighters” wage gladiatorial battles in high-tech arenas to the enthusiasm of betting spectators. When offered a hefty bribe for throwing a bout, one woman turns it down, and later, after mounds of blood and guts go flying, we find out exactly why. (A-)

1.4   Three Robots: Set in an age after humankind’s violent destruction---let’s just blame the French---a trio of colorful robot tourists take in the aftermath of the devastation, complete with comedic misunderstandings of the artifacts they find. Eventually, of course, they encounter survivors of a species whose kind have represented ultimate evil across the ages, and I’ll admit the final shot of the species advancing on the helpless robots made my blood run cold. (B+)

1.5   The Witness: Manically-paced, this episode hits the ground running (literally) when a stripper in desperate need of a Brazilian wax, witnesses an apparent murder across the street from her own flat in some near-future version of an Asian megapolis, and flees as the putative murderer sets out to reach her no matter how hard she tries to lose him. Gee, is a twist coming? Oh, jah. (B-)

1.6   Suits: A really fun fifteen minutes! Farmers are forced to take a break from their otherwise bucolic lives to see to a number of breaches in a containment field that holds back hordes of ravenous, carnivorous….um, things. One heckuva battle comes next and it had me standing up and rooting for the farmers! It’s like the painting American Gothic meets Starship Troopers meets the offspring of Norman Rockwell having sex with Alien. (A+)

1.7   Sucker of Souls: Archeologists majorly phug-up by going too deep into a buried ruin-cum-tomb, and letting something nasty loose. (Don’t they always in this genre?) Korean intern abuse and colorful female cussing follows with a bang. You’ll stare! You’ll cringe! You’ll suddenly feel an urge to look down at your toes! (B-)

1.8   When the Yogurt Took Over: Shortest segment in the season and the weirdest, though completely harmless and even beneficial if you happen to live in Ohio, this cautionary tale explains why we should be nicer to those live and active cultures so many people eat to poo. (B-)

1.9   Good Hunting: In steampunk British-controlled last-century Hong Kong, a demon hunter and his father track a buxom creature reputed to seduce and destroy men. Tragic enlightenment comes too late and with a hefty price for someone’s mother. Individual rights abuses give way to the mistreatment of non-human species, and revenge is made possible by cybernetics, which come dazzlingly early in this timeline. I found this the only depressing and unfun episode of the series but it was still worth seeing, if only because it showed how boorishly arrogant the Imperial British could be toward their colonial subjects. Yes, yes, I am required by law to say that about the British, nothing personal, anyone. (C)

1.10   The Dump: In what was almost like an uncredited homage to Stephen King, the caretaker of a giant trash dump resists outside intrusion with the help of his, um, pet. As with King’s 1970s classic short story, The Mangler, we learn a useful lesson in what can result in an environment wherein various oozing substances combine under creepy conditions. (C+)

1.11   Shapeshifters: Kinda like True Blood with werewolves as the stars. Living out in the open, lycanthropes apparently enjoy full rights as citizens in an alternate early 21st century America, including the privilege of doing military service. A werewolf scout working with the US Marines helping track down enemy combatants in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, suddenly runs into the scene of a massacre that strikes him as all-too familiar. (A)

1.12   Helping Hand: The Irish finally appear to make it into space----spoiler, Grandmother!--- and a charmingly unpretentious astronaut serving alone on an orbiting craft suffers an accident while doing maintenance on a space walk. Being nobody’s dummy, she devises a completely scientifically-plausible and definitely possible means to get back to her ship before her oxygen runs out, but it’s one that’ll make most people wince. (A+) <--- Hey, I gotta support me native people here!

1.13   Fish Night: Imagine Fantasia if acid had truly been invented at the time of its creation (because despite what your sociology teacher said, it wasn’t), and you’ll have an idea of this tale. Two salesmen are stranded in a desert which in primordial times was the floor of an ocean. As night rolls in odd and beautiful things that involve fish begin to happen, and the ending here reminds me of a lyric from a Robbie Dupree song. (A-)

1.14   Lucky 13: In the midst of a war fought beyond Earth itself, a rookie pilot lands an assignment on a supposedly cursed combat vehicle, whose last two crews have all died, yet the plane itself somehow survived intact. Oddly, the pilot finds herself bonding with the craft, leading to amazing feats done in the line of duty, and an increase in the craft’s supernatural reputation. (A+)

1.15   Zima Blue: Despite the title, this episode has nothing to do with a new flavor of that tragically sissy 1990s malt drink we all made fun of but secretly tried at least once. A famed cyborg artist, known for his murals on a gigantic scale, summons a reporter and confesses his life story to her. This one was a visually beautiful installment that wound up a little weak on the final reveal, but I get what was being said here and respect its thoughtfulness. (B-)

1.16   Blindspot: A high-tech crew sets off to pull a Reservoir Dogs and plot a heist to steal a heavily-guarded microchip. Lotta schtuff goes wrong, but does anybody ever really die in science fiction? Besides everyone on Altair-4, I mean. (C)

1.17   Ice Age: The only substantially non-animated piece in the season, some guy who looks a lot like Eric Foreman from That 70s Show moves into a flat with his siggie, who looks a lot like the air conditioner decapitator from Fargo season three, and they discover the antique freezer in their kitchen hosts a portal to another dimension where a civilization develops from the ice age to a point in some future where it is more advanced than their version of Earth. Sex is referenced here, but not had, thank goodness! (B-)

1.18   Alternate Histories: Ever wanted to know what the ramifications of playing with history would be? Lincoln shooting first? Prince Charles marrying a corgi? Well, in a free demo, a pre-despotic Hitler meets his fate at various points in his young life in Vienna, and the impact on the world is made clear using the moon landing as a reference point. Neat idea, underwhelming plot played for laughs, a little naked Fuhrer, but, again, not bad. (C)


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What does not kill me makes me stranger.
Alex
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« Reply #1 on: September 15, 2019, 03:36:57 PM »

Watched this and found it mostly enjoyable. I wonder if you could guess my favourite episode?
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But do you understand That none of this will matter Nothing can take your pain away
ER
B-Movie Kraken
*****

Karma: 1754
Posts: 13425


The sleep of reasoner breeds monsters. (sic)


« Reply #2 on: September 15, 2019, 07:26:21 PM »

Watched this and found it mostly enjoyable. I wonder if you could guess my favourite episode?

Hitler.
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What does not kill me makes me stranger.
ER
B-Movie Kraken
*****

Karma: 1754
Posts: 13425


The sleep of reasoner breeds monsters. (sic)


« Reply #3 on: September 16, 2019, 03:41:05 PM »

Watched this and found it mostly enjoyable. I wonder if you could guess my favourite episode?

Hitler.

You sure are keeping me in................sus-pense.  Question
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What does not kill me makes me stranger.
Alex
B-Movie Kraken
*****

Karma: 1556
Posts: 12607



« Reply #4 on: September 17, 2019, 12:51:00 AM »

Heh. I'd have to go wth Beyond Aquilla Rift. It sort of made me think of a nice Lovecraftian monster.
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But do you understand That none of this will matter Nothing can take your pain away
indianasmith
Archeologist, Theologian, Elder Scrolls Addict, and a
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A good bad movie is like popcorn for the soul!


« Reply #5 on: September 22, 2019, 08:31:17 PM »

After reading this review, I decided to check out the series myself . . . I figured I'd scatter it over two or three nights.  NOPE!  Sat and watched every single episode back to back!  Genuinely fun in some places, dark in others, and flipping brilliant on occasion!  Thanks so much for the recommendation, ER!
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