Anora Gives a 2024 Spin on Cinderella's Story - a Sine Curve Fairytale

 

Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) and Anora (Mikey Madison) enjoy a moment while gambling with friends in Las Vegas.

Anora is an Independent Film that Challenges Stereotypes and Gives a Modern Take on a classic Fairytale

"It is no accident that his greatest song of this period, 'Heroes', both celebrates its protagonists' potential and constrains it: while everything might be possible, it is all: "just for one day." It is an embrace of the present that acknowledges the passing away of future dreams, but in its intimate immensity absorbs the sadness of that loss.

It is, like much great Art, universal precisely because of its response to a particular place - and time."

-Excerpt from 'Starman Jones', The Economist's Obituary of David Bowie (January 16th, 2016)

"Today this could be, the greatest day of our lives, before it all ends, before we run out of time." - Greatest Day, Take That

Situationship: A romantic or sexual relationship that is noncommittal and undefined. People in a Situationship are more than friends but less than committed romantic partners.

*

There's no question that Mikey Madison is the breakout star of Sean Baker's Anora. With her brassy attitude and Brooklyn accent, Ani, as she prefers to be called, is a Cinderella for the 2020s. We are introduced to her at Headquarters, the nightclub where she works. In long shots we see Ani sell her services to the clients, then take a smoke break outside the club with another Dancer. She is the film's hero, for whom everything will be possible, if only for one week.

Such is the level of dedication the actress brought to the role, that she learned a Brooklyn accent, and how to pole dance so she could convincingly play an Escort.

In the film's first act her character, Ani, meets Ivan, the Oligarch's son. They quickly connect. During their first meeting Ivan invites Anora to his parents' Mansion for an encounter. Following the sex, Ivan makes Anora an offer to be exclusive with him for one week. He has some partying to get out of his system before he leaves America to work for his family's business in Russia.

So, of course, Ivan, Anora, and his friends fly to Las Vegas to blow off some steam and spend vast sums of his parents' money. At the end of their time in Vegas, Ivan and Ani are married in one of the city's little white chapels. There is a real connection between Ivan and Anora, which makes their scenes together something more than a transactional relationship (even though Anora is being paid for her time).

Once married, Ivan's minder / senior Babysitter Toros (Karren Karagulian) gets wind of the fly-by-night nuptials. He is sent to the Mansion by Ivan's livid mother to annul the marriage.

In this second act, where Toros, Igor (Yura Borisov), and Garnik (Vache Tovmasyan) enter the Mansion only to have Ivan flee, real comedy begins. Director and Writer Sean Baker is playing with character types here. Toros, Igor, and Garnik are remarkably polite and behave in ways you would not expect. In many ways Igor develops into the film's most interesting character. Particularly in the way he eventually stands up for and takes care of Ani when circumstances demand.

As the second act progresses, there are a couple of things about Anora that don't work. The chase through Brooklyn and Long Island restaurants and nightclubs to find Ivan somehow doesn't trigger the NYPD's interest. Ivan himself becomes rather one dimensional when he re-enters the picture. His character's motivations and flaws aren't fleshed out nearly as well as Ani's.

Anora was filmed entirely in Brooklyn, including the neighborhoods of Brighton Beach, Coney Island, and Sheepshead Bay.

The film's third and final act finds Toros, Igor, Garnik & Ani locating Ivan. They then meet Ivan's parents and fly back to Las Vegas to have the marriage annulled. This real and gritty ending reminds viewers that life is never a Fairytale. At least, not for any length of time. The return landing is usually an unpleasant experience for those caught up in the fantasy.

After watching the film twice, I can say Anora shines as a modern Cinderella story with believable characters and plot. Watching the main characters interact, and react, to what happens to them felt very real. Sean Baker's plot is more than well-written enough for viewers to suspend their sense of disbelief.

Luca Guadagnino's Adaptation of William Burroughs's 'Queer' Captures the Novel's Essence

 

William Lee (Daniel Craig) and Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey) share a drink in a Mexico City watering hole.

William Burroughs's 1985 Novella is about a one-sided longing; a formula the Director changes slightly to great effect

William Burroughs was a difficult man to pin down. Born to a wealthy family in St. Louis, Missouri, he was the grandson of the Inventor who founded the Burroughs Corporation. He was also a nephew of public relations manager Ivy Lee.

When Burroughs was denied admission to the U.S. Army to serve in the Second World War, he began experimenting with drugs. Around this time he also met poet Allen Ginsberg, and fellow writer Jack Kerouac. Together the three of them would become the leading lights of the Beat Generation.

In 1985 Burroughs published a novella titled Queer. At its' heart the novella is a one-sided love story. William 'Bill' Lee haunts Mexico City's gay bars in the early 1950s, looking for sexual partners. When he finds a man he particularly likes, one Eugene Allerton, he pays for Allerton's time and eventually invites him on an expedition to South America to find the hallucinogenic drug Ayahuasca, which Lee is interested in because of its' potential to facilitate Telepathy.

Queer was written, as Burroughs revealed in an introduction to the novel, partly in response to the death of his wife Joan Vollmer. She was tragically shot by Burroughs in September 1951 during a drunken game of William Tell. This event is referenced twice in the movie.

Director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name, Challengers) has made a wonderful adaptation of the novella, which mostly adheres to the source material it's based upon.

Daniel Craig does a fantastic job of interpreting the character of William Lee, who is, of course, Burroughs himself. The twitchiness, the southern drawl, the barely concealed neediness (partly a byproduct of Lee's Heroin withdrawal). It's a performance that's less imitation than a sort of becoming. We first meet Lee in one of Mexico City's gay bars where he is picking up a local.

Fans of Burroughs's fiction will note the man's Centipede necklace. Centipedes were something of an obsession for Burroughs, turning up in several of his novels. It can be interpreted as someone who is consumed by pleasure seeking or an individual who has succumbed to his most base impulses. 

Given the movie's title, it's no surprise that Lee's biggest impulse is to spend time (and eventually have sex with) Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). He's a damn attractive man, and is the film's human question mark. We never learn much about what makes Allerton tick. He is not given to speaking very much about himself. 

When the two aren't having sex, they are usually drinking in one watering hole or another. Allerton being an audience for one of Lee's many comic monologues. These monologues are lifted verbatim from the novel, and are one of the film's real treats. 

As the movie progresses, Lee invites Allerton to accompany him on a trip to South America, where he is searching for Ayahuasca, or Yagé. Once there, they track down Dr. Cotter, a wonderfully unhinged Lesley Manville. She eventually assists Lee with finding what he seeks.

Following a ceremony in which Lee, Allerton, Dr. Cotter and her husband all drink an infusion of Yagé, there is a lovely dance scene. It's a special moment because it suggests there is some reciprocity in Lee and Allerton's relationship. The 'mirror' of the drug shows both of them together, intertwined. 

 

It's a lovely touch.

For William Burroughs fans, this is one you'll want to see. My only criticism is how the ending dragged on. It could have been shortened to conform with where the novella ended, and the impact would have been the same.

The Shawshank Redemption - From Darkness to Light

 

Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) takes a moment for himself while his fellow Inmates enjoy cold Beers earned through Andy's ingenuity.

A Study in Contrasts, The Shawshank Redemption takes us from Suffering to Redemption

"I found the Stephen King story so compelling, and so touching, that to me it was just natural as a movie." - Director Frank Darabont in conversation with Stuart Maconie for the BBC

Filmed at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio, and based on the Stephen King novella from his 1982 novel Different Seasons, Frank Darabont's The Shawshank Redemption is one of those rare movies that stands the test of time.

Released in 1994, the film's setup is straightforward enough - Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is a senior Bank executive wrongly convicted of the double murder of his wife and her lover. Our Hero enters the Prison, learns the rules of his new home, and gradually befriends Red (Morgan Freeman) a fellow Inmate.

Slowly but surely, Andy earns the respect and admiration of other Inmates at the jail through his actions and character. He petitions the state government to give more money for the prison's library, and, once that library is finished, helps some of the Inmates earn their High School diplomas. 

Andy's executive background and financial know-how soon get him noticed by Warden Norton (Bob Gunton). The Warden deals in discipline, the Bible, and making himself rich through unethical financial trickery facilitated by Dufresne. 

Placed in an environment that would break lesser men, Andy Dufresne's actions in prison teach us what hope, resilience, and survival really mean. Instead of turning inward, he chooses to look outward. This is shown in a scene where he takes an enormous risk to get the attention of the prison guards. Andy's gamble pays off, and in return for the tax help he offers the guards, he requests cold Beers for his fellow workers.

Part of the brilliance of The Shawshank Redemption is that it takes us through several years of Andy's time in prison. We join him for the long haul. It really increases your investment as a viewer into seeing what will become of Andy and Red.

As the film moves along, we see that Andy's working relationship with Warden Norton is a double edged sword. Realizing how valuable Andy is to his self enrichment schemes, the Warden decides to bury evidence that Andy is innocent of the crimes he was convicted of. 

In one of the movie's most satisfying scenes, Warden Norton asks Andy to have his suit cleaned and shoes polished for the following day. As the viewer, we are made to understand this is one of the Warden's usual requests. 

Only this time, when Warden Norton opens his shoe box, he finds a pair of prison shoes instead of his shiny executive loafers inside. This is just one of several clever plot twists that help us along the way as we follow Andy Dufresne's path from suffering to earned redemption.

It's no spoiler to say that Andy escapes to find his happiness in a much warmer, friendlier place.

*

Author's Note: I watched The Shawshank Redemption for the first time a few weeks ago. I think it's no coincidence that Apt Pupil and Stand by Me, two other excellent films, are from the same Stephen King novel. Very rewarding material for anyone looking for some insights on humanity, along with the scares.

Berlin Part 2: Es Geht um Beziehungen

 

Taken outside of the Hau Hebel am Ufer theater on Stresemannstraße.
The show's title struck a chord with me.

 

 

 

 

 

"You're still haunting me. It sounds unfounded. Although it's apathy, what goes around you see, breaks the boundaries. Walk with a smile, and it's all just a style since you put me on trial today." - 'The Other Side' by Drab Majesty

Touching down at the BER Flughafen in mid-April, I had no idea what to expect in Berlin this time around. Living here from 2018 through 2020 was an emotional, action packed experience with not much time to pause and reflect.

Though in hindsight, as I get older, I see it as one of the most important periods in my life.

For various reasons when I left Berlin at the end of September 2020, I felt that I had let myself down. Fallen below the high standards I set for myself. I spent the following 4 months in Saskatchewan, which at the time felt a bit like Purgatory.

Three plus years, some Therapy, and many emotional Band-Aids later, I had no idea if Berlin would have anything left in store for me.

I made a pleasant discovery within 2 days of arriving - Der Stadt Spricht. The city itself will speak to you if you're willing to bitte Ruhe sein.

Places that spoke to me the most this time included Hansa Tonstudios at Kothener Straße 38 (a Recording Studio that was used in the past by David Bowie, Depeche Mode, and U2), and an Ehemaligen Frauengefangnis that is currently used as an Artist's Atelier. 

Through walking and biking around the city, all the while putting my ear to the ground, I got a strong impression that Berlin had missed me a little. I certainly missed the city while I was away. Part of what I had yet to figure out in 2018 - 2020 is that es geht um Beziehungen. Hence the importance of the entry I wrote shortly before leaving Berlin on how life is the giving and receiving of Respect.

Meeting with old friends again felt like putting the pieces of a Puzzle together. It helped me create meaning from the 2 years I spent living in Europe, and is currently giving me optimism for the Zukunft. 

Particularly nice was re-connecting with echt Berliner und Berlinerrin, such as Chantal from the weltweit bekannten 'Chantal's House of Shame.' These people taught me about what really matters in life, and how to get the most out of it. 

Surprise! Es geht nicht um Geld.

Wir mussen unseren Beziehungen in dieses leben shutzen und verteidigen. Manchmal haben leute mit der Macht die Beziehungen benutzen für Selbstbereicherung. That kind of behaviour has lasting consequences. Namely vergiftet Beziehungen.

My personal feeling is that the more we must contend with the Erde's rapidly changing weather and the hard choices that are surely coming, Selbstbereicherung will become less and less important. We have already taken more than our fair share of resources from the Erde. 

Instead, the quality of our relationships will become ever more important. I think of the ending of the 1999 film American Beauty. At the end of his life, Kevin Spacey's character recalls his relationships with his wife and daughter as having been the most important things in his life. 

While nice to have, a Pied a Terre in another country, the sports car, the fancy clothes... you can't take it with you.

Es geht also um die Beziehungen, die wir zueinander haben. 

I want to end this entry by thanking all the Berliners who extended their hospitality to me this time around. Also - the food is still delicious. Highlights include Mustafa's Gemuse Doner und Kebap, and Scheer's Schniztel unter die Oberbaumbrücke.

Berlin - ich liebe dich. Bis Nächstes Mal. 

The Author at BER Flughafen on 27.04.2024.

Dune: Part 2 - The Prophecy Fulfilled

 

Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya). These two characters are the protagonists of Director Denis Villeneuve's sequel.

The Kwisatz Haderach Rises

"You shall die. You may see... the Beauty and the Horror!" - The Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) to her son Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as she wills him to become the Kwisatz Haderach foretold by the Bene Gesserit Prophecy

Dune: Part 2 is another truly great film from Canadian Director Denis Villeneuve. In it, he tells the second half of the story begun in 2021's Dune. As adapted from Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction classic, this is the story of Paul Atreides's ascendancy to become a Messiah figure and Emperor of the known universe.

Part 2 opens exactly where the first film ended, with Paul and his mother the Lady Jessica traveling to Sietch Tabr, a Fremen stronghold, with Stilgar (Javier Bardem), the tribe's leader and his people. Paul and his mother are the last survivors of House Atreides, the rest of whom were killed during an ambush under cover of dark by their Harkonnen rivals. 

 

Villeneuve jumps right into the action, since all of the exposition was done in the first film. So it helps to have done your homework by reading the book and seeing the 2021 movie beforehand. Right off the bat we see some truly awesome visuals. Particularly cool is seeing the insect-like Harkonnen troops using anti-gravity boots to float up the face of a rock wall so they can avoid a Sandworm attack.

 

The opening fight scene immerses us in the struggle for control of Arrakis, the only planet in the universe that produces Spice - a substance that extends life, and one that facilitates travel between planets. The struggle is between the native Fremen, who come to embrace Paul as their leader, and the Harkonnens, led by the grotesquely corpulent Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) and his nephews Beast Rabban (Dave Bautista) and the psychotic Feyd Rautha (Austin Butler). Where the good guys are sand coloured and dirt covered, the bad guys are black and resemble giant bugs. Villeneuve seems to have taken a cue from the Star Wars movies here.

 

Na-Baron Feyd Rautha embraces his uncle the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen after being named
Planetary Governor of Arrakis.

 

 

The bad guys are truly sinister here. Austin Butler's Feyd Rautha is introduced to us on the polluted Harkonnen homeworld of Giedi Prime. He is first seen preparing for a gladiator match set in a triangle-shaped arena that was shot entirely in black and white. The exploding fireworks from above look like so much ink temporarily staining an otherwise colourless sky. Butler does a damn good job at stepping into the leading villain's shoes. He achieves a neat trick by doing an uncanny impersonation of Skarsgård's accent. As the Baron's heir apparent, he is a genuinely scary villain.

Speaking of standout performances, for me the film's best character by far is the Fremen leader Stilgar. He is a true believer in the Bene Gesserit spread Prophecy of the coming of the Lisan al Gaib (Voice from the Outer World) who will lead the Fremen to a 'Green Paradise.' Set against the skeptical and non-believing Fremen, Stilgar does a wonderful job of providing comic relief in an otherwise serious film.

One bit of casting that had me wondering was Christopher Walken as the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. At one point, speaking to Baron Harkonnen, he says: "More! I need more!" To me it seems like a deliberate reference to Walken's famous SNL Cowbell sketch. Another bit of welcome humour. 

 

All of the action and decisions our hero makes lead up to the climactic final duel between Paul Atreides and Feyd Rautha, after which Paul assumes the title of Emperor and launches his Holy War across the stars. This sets the stage for a possible third film - Dune: Part 3, which would cover the material from the second of Frank Herbert's Dune novels, Dune Messiah.

Saltburn - Emerald Fennell's Satire of the British Upper Classes Serves up Shocks and Laughs

 

Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) Saltburn's Villainous Protagonist, on the lawns of the Estate.

Tell Me What You Want: Irish Actor Barry Keoghan Steals the Show as Saltburn's multifaceted Protagonist

For an otherwise exciting, well-paced movie, the twist at the end of Emerald Fennell's Saltburn is rather disappointing. Human greed at work again. Yawn. But I'll come back to that.

Director and Writer Emerald Fennell has created what is likely to become a cult classic with her movie, the title of which references the lavish British country Estate where half of the film's action takes place.

Saltburn is home of the aristocratic Cattons. We first meet the son, Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) at Oxford University, where he studies, and is admired from afar by Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan). Felix does what you would expect him to - parties, attracts women effortlessly, drinks and dances into all hours of the night with his friends, and lets the trash pile up in his room because cleaning is something you leave for the Maid.

Felix and Oliver meet, seemingly by accident, when Felix's bike has a flat tire and he borrows Oliver's to make it to class. Up until this point in the film, Oliver's best friend on campus is an ultra nerd who at one point yells at Oliver to ask him a numerical sum so that he can prove his genius-like math ability. 

Clearly wanting to move with Felix's set, Oliver gets his wish. Though with a last name like Quick, you've got to believe some foreshadowing is being done.

Oliver gamely puts up with the social humiliations that are part of university life. Including at graduation when Felix's cousin Farleigh Start (Archie Madekwe) make a comment about Oliver almost passing as human in his rented Tuxedo. 

Oliver and Farleigh Start (Archie Madekwe) compare Tuxedos at their Oxford University graduation.

 
After relating a sob story about his home life to Felix, Oliver is soon invited to spend the summer at Saltburn. This is when the story really gets its' wings. We get to see so many sides of Oliver's personality - shy nerd, sly social manipulator, horny, needy creature. You can't take your eyes off of him. 

This is what the film does best. It leaves you guessing until the end about what exactly it is that our unreliable narrator really needs. Does he want to be adopted into the Catton family? Does he want to have sex with Felix (and who could blame him?) 

Or is he just out for the money?

We are introduced to other members of the Catton family as they watch television in a common room. There's Sir James Catton (Richard E. Grant) the Patriarch. Generous, slightly absent minded, odd sense of humour. His wife Elspeth Catton (Rosamund Pike). Her delivery of barbed comments is so good, and so casual. They make for some of the movie's funniest moments.

Venetia Catton (Alison Oliver) Felix's Sister, is a dreamy, moody creature with an unspecified psychological condition. Something that has an effect on her eating habits. She's the most perceptive member of the family.

Cousin Farleigh is also staying at Saltburn for the Summer. He pegs Oliver as a rival, and a potentially dangerous outsider from the start. 

What follows is a game of Oliver's construction set against the backdrop of Summer on the estate. 

The climax occurs at a 'Midsummer Night's Dream' themed birthday party for Oliver on the estate's grounds. By this point Oliver has been exposed to Felix as a liar who made up the sob story about his family (he has two normal looking parents who live in a pleasant house).

Surrounded by all of the pomp, spectacle, and excess, Oliver looks lonely and lost. The people around him who are partying it up stand in stark contrast to this strange person.

Saltburn does a lot as a movie, and much of it well. The cinematography, music, pacing and shock comedy (you will never look at bath time with Rubber Ducky the same way) stand out for me. 

The ending left me cold. The proximity to money and the things it can buy makes Oliver throw any values he has straight out the window. 

"Stranger Danger" indeed, as Venetia Catton aptly puts it near Saltburn's end. When the time is already far too late to do something about said danger.

Star Trek Picard: Season 3 is an Emotional Story about the Nature of Family

 

Captain William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart) on the Bridge of the USS Titan. In the background are Jack Crusher (Ed Speelers) and his mother Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden). (Paramount +)

Star Trek Picard's Final Season is Atmospherically Lit, with Superb Storytelling

"You're only ever really as good as those around you. Your crew become a part of you, complete you. They lift you up to accomplish the things you could never do alone." - Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, Season 3, Episode 4: No Win Scenario

"I have slaughtered countless enemies over the years, and considered sending their heads to all of you. But I was advised that was... passive aggressive." - Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) addressing his Enterprise crew mates, Episode 8: Surrender

The final season of Star Trek Picard, a show named after one of the franchise's most famous characters, succeeds in wrapping up The Next Generation crew's story with an emotional bang. Gone are the previous seasons' hesitation to use Starfleet ships with crews in full uniform. 

Those ships, namely the moodily lit USS Titan, serve as the backdrop for a season that is unmatched when it comes to Special Effects, Lighting, bringing beloved TNG characters back into the mix, and, most importantly, plot.

Season 3 does a deep dive into the nature of family. We learn that Admiral Picard and Dr. Beverly Crusher have a son who was born more than 20 years ago. As the story begins, a hunted Beverly sends Picard a desperate call for help on an encoded transmission that he accesses through his old Communicator Badge. Telling him to, "trust no one" she implores Picard to come to her aid.

Which, of course, he does.

We soon learn that Beverly and Jack are being pursued by a group of Changelings - beings who can imitate a person's appearance on sight. Their Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer) has a special interest in capturing Jack. As we get to know his character, we learn that Jack is haunted by a Red Door in his mind that has vines creeping away from it, crawling underneath hallway floors and along the walls of his thoughts.

In one brief scene we see him shirtless, splashing water on his face, haunted by these visions. With a chest like that it's no wonder why everyone is pursuing him across the galaxy. The man is simply too attractive for his own good. 

: - )...

But I digress.

Admiral Picard and Jack Crusher have a drink together in a Holodeck version of Ten Forward - a bar that was part of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D. (Paramount +)

 

Episode 4: No Win Scenario is a crucial episode for both the plot twists and its' contribution to the theme of family. It opens with Picard and the crew of the USS Titan trapped in a gravity well that is pulling the ship ever deeper, slowly crushing it. It appears to be a hopeless situation.

Indeed, the episode must draw as an inspiration the famous Kobayashi Maru training simulation used at Starfleet Academy. Those who undertake the simulation are faced with an unbeatable enemy force and certain death. It has become shorthand for a 'no win scenario.'

Of course, through Picard, Dr. Crusher and Jack banding together and convincing other crew members, they get themselves out of the gravity well and manage to outmaneuver their Changeling enemies. Near the episode's end we see a flashback of a speech given by Admiral Picard to Starfleet Cadets. This flashback ends in the quote above - about how a real family lifts you up and encourages you to do your best work among them.

The family of Starfleet is based on shared ideas and values. In Scott Colura's excellent video for IGN he discusses why the Starfleet Uniform matters: "It's not just that Starfleet Uniforms should look cool when done right. They also mean something to these characters... The uniforms are indicators for the type of characters being portrayed. If you're wearing Starfleet red, gold, or blue you've basically outgrown the petty, selfish concerns of humanity (in the) 21st century. You stand for something more than yourself - you stand for principals like duty, honour, sacrifice & truth."

Contrasting with the Starfleet family in this Season's final episodes are the Borg. They are revealed as the main Antagonists - the mysterious entity that has been hunting Jack Crusher. For Jack has the Borg encoded into his very DNA. He is able to transmit Borg signals and temporarily control the bodies of non-Borg crew members.

In the series finale it is revealed that the Borg Queen (voiced by Alice Krige) has stayed alive after the Star Trek: Voyager 'Endgame' episode by cannibalizing the drones on her Cube. She survives by draining the life forces of others to buy herself time. The Queen delivers a terrifying and dark monologue to Picard as he works to rescue Jack from the Collective's clutches. 

Where in Starfleet the ideal crew lifts up individual members by encouraging and developing their gifts, with the Borg the life forces of the many are taken to serve the needs of an elite few. As Picard aptly points out after connecting himself to the Borg hive mind in order to free his son, the Borg represent not perfection, as they claim, but death.

Jack's rescue by Picard is easily one of the series' most potent emotional moments. It caps off a number of such moments in a well paced and written 10 episode run. 

A final note - Commander Worf easily steals every scene he is part of. The character's evolution into a kind of Zen Master who prefers pacifism over violence makes sense. And Worf's dry humour with a trademark deadpan delivery hits the mark almost every time.

For those who enjoyed the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series (1987 - 1994) or any of the feature films that followed (Star Trek: Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, etc.), you will find Season 3 of Picard a worthy sendoff to a beloved cast of characters.

Severance, a new Apple TV+ Series, is both completely Original and Electrifying

Helly R. (Britt Lower) and Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) enjoy some 'Defiant Jazz' in Apple TV+'s electrifying series Severance.

With Severance, Ben Stiller has created a completely original Office Drama with hints of Science Fiction and Suspenseful Twists

"In the air the smoke cloud takes its form.
All the phones take pictures while it's warm.

Panopticom, let’s find out what’s going on.
Panopticom, let’s see where clues are leading.
Panopticom, won't you show us what's going on?
Panopticom - so how much is real?" - Peter Gabriel, Panopticom

Severance, Apple TV+'s excellent new series, was informed by Showrunner Dan Erickson's own experiences in the corporate world. As Erickson told Apple Insider, he had a string of office jobs including one in a, "weird little windowless office." He often thought to himself: "Man, I wish I could just totally not experience the next eight hours. I wish I could disassociate and just have it be 5:00 PM and suddenly I'm going home."

Actor and Director Ben Stiller, who directed and produced 6 episodes of the series, said the plot is, "reminiscent of certain workplace office comedies, but then it also had this other strange, dark undertone to it too."

The show's plot revolves around Lumon Industries, a multinational corporation that has pioneered the practice of Severance. This means employees who opt for the procedure have their work and home selves split through the effects of a microchip that is inserted into their Brains. A severed worker's 'Outie' has no idea of the nature of the work he or she does for Lumon, while their 'Innie' has no idea what their life above in the outside world is like.

Lumon Industries was founded by the mysterious Keir Egan, a corporate figure who inspires religious levels of devotion within the firm. The Bell Labs Holmdel Complex in New Jersey was used as Lumon's corporate offices for the show. The floor used for the series' severed workers has a mid-century architecture that gives Severance a feel of existing outside the boundaries of time. 

The Metadata Refinement Team are the show's core characters. Mark S. (Adam Scott), hilariously foul mouthed Dylan (Zach Cherry), defiant newcomer Helly R. (Britt Lower) and rules obsessed Irving G. (John Turtorro) spend their days pulling 'scary' numbers into electronic boxes while working on older computers in a very retro office setup. 

Their employer, it would seem, is up to something rather sinister. 

The team's supervisor is the absolutely terrifying Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) who reminds me very much of the character of Love, a merciless Personal Assistant and Replicant, from Blade Runner 2049. Mr. Milchick doles out awards such as Melon Parties and Musical Experiences for Lumon employees who perform and stay on their best behaviour. Rule breakers are taken to the 'Break Room' where they must repeat a bizarre Mea Culpa with religious overtones until Milchick and his own boss, mid level Manager Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) are satisfied.

Cobel lives next door to Mark S. in the outside world, where he knows her by another name and identity. She gets to spy on her star employee and worship at the altar she has created in her home for Lumon Founder Keir Egan.

The show's writing is solid, bordering on flawless at times. And the concept has been well developed and tested by the show's team of writers. Particularly enjoyable is the character of Burt G. (Christopher Walken), the head of Lumon's Optics & Design department. His office romance with Irving G., and how this in turn kindles a budding alliance between the 2 departments, is both moving and a hilarious send up of inter-office rivalries.

In Episode 3 (In Perpetuity) members of the departments encounter each other in one of Lumon's many bland, aggressively illuminated hallways. Dylan, who has been led to believe the Optics and Design employees were once involved in an attack against the Metadata Refiners, misses no opportunity to take a shot at Burt G. Observing the remnants of their 'Egg Drop Challenge' he remarks, "those Eggs look like shit!" as the teams part ways.

This is quite humourous because Dylan loves the meaningless perks that Lumon doles out for its' star workers - such as Finger Traps, hand drawn Caricatures, and Waffle Parties complete with Eyes Wide Shut overtones.

Season 1 of Severance ends with a nail biting cliffhanger as the Metadata Refiners work to, "burn (Lumon Industries) to the ground," to paraphrase the words of Irving G. The team has found a way to bring their work selves into the outside world,  thus setting the stage for a very exciting opening to Season 2, which has been confirmed by Apple.