December 12, 2024 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

Film/TV Review: Upload

FILM/TV REVIEW
UPLOAD
Rated TV-MA
30-Minute Episodes
Season 1,10 Episodes Released on Amazon Prime May 1st

Upload has the guise of a cute rom-com. However it tackles ancient philosophical questions against a futuristic reality of 2033. Its premise is that people can upload their conscience, for a price, to an artificial Intelligence existence after death. The Living can interact with them via VR headsets. Reps of the company that provides the service control the afterlife experiences, channeling a futuristic Punch and Judy Show. The idea is a little scary, or hopeful, or at times hilarious. It is certainly universal.

Greg Daniels created Upload. His latest projects, The Office and Parks and Recreation, are two of the most successful series’ in recent history. Daniels creates simple relatable settings and populates them with relatively unknown actors who are fascinating people, who then go on to become household names. The Office (2005-2013) produced Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Mindy Kaling, Steve Carell, Ellie Kemper. Parks and Recreation ran from 2009 to 2020 and catapulted the careers of Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Aziz Ansari, and Adam Scott.

I’ll be interested to see how the careers of the stars of Upload take off. Canadian actor Robbie Amell plays “Nathan.” He’s been acting since the age of 6 when he won the role of little “Daniel Murtaugh” in Cheaper by the Dozen. A major hockey fan, he once thought of going pro. Says Amell, “I was playing a relatively high level of hockey and I thought that’s what I wanted to do. But I had my first movie audition, and I was hooked.”

Nora and Nathan Upload

Andy Allo, “Nora,” was born in Cameroon where her Dad is an ecologist. She grew up there and in California where her Mom was born. An accomplished musician, she started piano at the age of 7. While in college she formed her own band, Allo and the Traffic Jam, and released an album of original songs. Prince asked her to tour with his band in 2011, and she spent years writing and performing with him. Her first acting job was on the series The Game in 2011. She was in Pitch Perfect 3 and had a recurring role on Chicago Fire. This is her first Series Regular role.

Kevin Bigley, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johnson, Chris Williams, Matt Ward and Owen Daniels (yup, he’s Greg’s son) round out the regulars. Never heard of them? That may change soon.
Oh and another “character” is the Lake View VR hotel where the “uploads” live, an idyllic hotel that has a Hudson River Valley vibe. The stand-in is real hotel, the Mohonk Mountain House in New York State.

The script does its best to stay nondenominational and universal. The characters celebrate the “Winter Holidays,” not Christmas. The settings reflect both big city and small town. The show takes jabs at today’s corporate culture. Major companies have devoured each other and become huge conglomerates marketing crazy combinations of products – branding invades both life and afterlife.

This is a bold new series, bold in that it tackles questions that have existed in the human mind since time immemorial, and it does so in an imaginative, creative and often touching way. The current restrictions caused by the Pandemic give us an immediate sensitivity to the isolation of the afterworld. This show could fail on so many levels, but it doesn’t. In fact it gets more intriguing with each episode. By the end of Season 1 you may be under its spell, so you’ll be happy it’s been picked up for Season 2.

Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@gmail.com

<>Related Posts

Film Review: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

July 19, 2023

July 19, 2023

FILM REVIEWMISSION IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONERated PG-13163 MinutesReleased July 11th The story in this “Mission: Impossible” chapter, “Dead...

Film Review: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

July 5, 2023

July 5, 2023

FILM REVIEWINDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINYRated PG-13154 MinutesReleased June 30th The director of Indiana Jones and the Dial...

Film Review: Past Lives

June 27, 2023

June 27, 2023

FILM REVIEWPAST LIVESRated PG-13105 MinutesLimited Releases June 2nd and June 9th, Full Release June 23rd The Korean concept of “In...

Film Review: Sanctuary

June 8, 2023

June 8, 2023

FILM REVIEWSANCTUARYRated R96 MinutesReleased May 19th In my humble estimation, this is one of the best movies of the year....

Film Review: The Little Mermaid

June 2, 2023

June 2, 2023

FILM REVIEWTHE LITTLE MERMAIDRated PG135 MinutesReleased May 26th With today’s technological developments, a live-action The Little Mermaid is not only...

A Riveting Revival of the Pulitzer Prize-Winning “A Soldier’s Play” Now Playing At The Ahmanson Theatre

May 31, 2023

May 31, 2023

On Stage With… Murder mysteries, whether cinematic or theatrical, are one of the most popular subjects. The list is quite...

Film Review: Chevalier

May 12, 2023

May 12, 2023

By Kathryn Boole  RATED PG-13107 MinutesReleased April 21, 2023 Chevalier is based on the true story of a historical figure...

Ballet at the Broad Stage Memorial Weekend – Meet the Talent!

May 10, 2023

May 10, 2023

Westside Ballet of Santa Monica returns to the Broad Stage with special guest artists kicking off Friday May 26th with...

Elizabeth McGovern Lights Up The Stage in “Ava – The Secret Conversations”

April 26, 2023

April 26, 2023

Play About Legendary Screen Star Runs Until May 14 At The Geffen Playhouse By Beverly Cohn Ava Gardner, born Ava...

Unconventional Art Festival “The Other Art Fair” Returns to Santa Monica This Weekend

March 31, 2023

March 31, 2023

140 independent artists, immersive installations, performances, DJs, and a fully stocked bar await visitors at Barker Hangar The Other Art...

Samohi Theatre’s “The Drowsy Chaperone” Takes the Stage in Santa Monica

March 1, 2023

March 1, 2023

Shows will take place at Barnum Hall on March 3 and 4 at 7 p.m. and March 5 at 3...

Film Review: “Marlow”

February 23, 2023

February 23, 2023

FILM REVIEW“MARLOWE”Rated R109 MinutesReleased February 15th “Marlowe” is a beautifully shot period piece that takes place in the late 1930’s....

Film Review: All Quite on the Western Front

February 22, 2023

February 22, 2023

I have never been a soldier at war, although I have close friends and relatives who have been. Universally they...

SMC Emeritus Concert Band to Hold Free Concert This Weekend at the Broad Stage

February 22, 2023

February 22, 2023

Concert February 26 will feature musical selections with an outdoor theme Santa Monica College’s Emeritus Concert Band, under the baton...