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‘3%’ is one of Netflix’s biggest shows—but is it any good?

The brazilian sci-fi series is one of the world’s most popular..

Eddie Strait

Posted on Jan 2, 2018     Updated on May 22, 2021, 6:23 am CDT

Netflix last month released some viewership statistics and the Brazilian sci-fi series  3% turned out to be one of 2017’s most popular binges in the world. It ranked No. 2 on the list of “most devoured” shows, meaning most people watched at least two hours of it per sitting. That put it ahead of buzzy and controversial smash  Thirteen Reasons Why . Yet seemingly few Americans have seen or heard of it. What were you missing?  Not much, as it turns out.

I reached my breaking point with 3% halfway through the show’s eight-episode first season. 3% is what you get if you take Lost and strip away everything that made the story of the Island and the castaways interesting. The biggest mystery surrounding the show is how this series, created by Spanish filmmaker Pedro Aguilera, rose to the top of the streaming crop when Netflix has so many better offerings.

The show is set in a dystopian future where the population goes through “the Process” in hopes of making it through, where upon completion they are granted access to “the Offshore,” while everyone else is condemned to the poverty and struggle of “the Inland.” The Process amounts to watching teens and 20-somethings tackle brainteasers and stress tests to weed out the 97 percent. There’s more going on, with the overseers of the Process wrapped up in some kind of conspiracy. The show slow-plays the macro plot to the point of frustration. In the moment some of the challenges are kind of interesting. Groups are presented with a dinner scene staged with mannequins and have to deduce what event they’re seeing. In another, they must run through dark corridors while the air fills with gas that makes everyone hear voices and grow paranoid.

Each episode spotlights a different character and tells their backstory via flashbacks. We have Fernando, confined to a wheelchair and determined to make it through the Process; Marco, the entitled son of a family that always makes it through the Process; Moana, an orphan who grew up on the streets. The characters are diverse in their circumstance, but they are united and weakened by dull writing.

The show is obviously setting up a long-term payoff by the way the story is structured, but playing coy with the details ends up burning the creative team because none of it is particularly compelling. At eight episodes, with more on the way, it’s an easy binge. If you get bored and frustrated with 3% like I did, you won’t feel bad cutting your losses.

Still not sure what to watch on Netflix? Here are our guides for the absolute best movies on Netflix , must-see Netflix original series and movies , and the comedy specials guaranteed to make you laugh.

*First Published: Jan 2, 2018, 7:52 am CST

Eddie Strait is a member of the Austin Film Critic Association. His reviews focus primarily on streaming entertainment, with an emphasis on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and other on-demand services.

‘3 Body Problem’ Is One Great Big Miss

By Alan Sepinwall

Alan Sepinwall

For years, fans of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series believed the books simply couldn’t be adapted to the screen. There were too many characters, spread across multiple continents, in stories that would take years to intersect. And much of the plot was inspired by events that took place decades, if not centuries, before the contemporary action. It was an impossible task, everyone assumed. No one could do that.

Then David Benioff and D.B. Weiss actually did it. HBO’s Game of Thrones was a global smash, made on an epic scale that no one had ever imagined TV could achieve. Benioff and Weiss had to streamline Martin’s sprawling narrative here and there, but for the most part were able to satisfy both readers and non-readers — until, at least, the bumpy last two seasons, and the disastrous series finale, which some have blamed on creative burnout and others on the showrunners no longer having Martin’s books to refer to(*). 

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(*) Though several of the actors are either from China or of Chinese descent, the shift in geographic orientation will be extreme to anyone who’s read the books. At one point, one of the Chinese-British characters is asked about an old Sun Tzu saying; he shrugs and says, “I don’t know. I’m from Manchester.”

None of these characters have the depth or vibrancy of almost anyone from Westeros, but all of them feel like actual people, and are played by an excellent ensemble. Simply injecting a small amount of humanity into the story works wonders throughout. There’s still a fair amount of time spent inside the VR game, for instance, but those scenes are much less tedious here, because Jin is the primary player, and Jess Hong makes palpable the pleasure Jin takes at being inside this bizarre virtual construct. (In addition, Jack eventually gets to join her, and John Bradley is good for a welcome amount of comic relief.) Clarence and Wade, meanwhile, could exist entirely to move the story along — especially since each of them possesses a level of authority that seems to transcend all barriers of nation or class — but Wong and Cunningham find ways to make each of them feel like they existed long before they got thrust into these roles.

No matter how much the creators spruce up the edges, though, they can’t do much with the abstraction at the heart of the story. The aliens, we are repeatedly told, are about 450 years away, by which point everyone currently on planet Earth, and any children, grandchildren, or great grandchildren they might have, will be long dead. (Well, almost everyone; this is science fiction, after all, and there are ways for people to still be around long after they should be six feet under.) Various characters wonder why anyone should care about something that won’t affect them or anyone they might ever care about, while others like Wade insist they owe it to future generations, even that far into the future. You can read it as a metaphor for climate change, especially since Ye Wenjie finds great inspiration in Silent Spring , Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking book about the damage that humanity is doing to the natural world. But as a work of dramatic fiction, 3 Body Problem never makes a compelling enough argument for why its central quintet would be invested in this — and, thus, why the audience should be.

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At one point, one of the members of the conspiracy is surprised to realize that the aliens don’t understand the concept of lying. He attempts to connect it to fiction, only to realize they also don’t understand storytelling. Benioff, Weiss, and Woo all have a very clear understanding of storytelling. There’s just only so much they can do to find a way to make this particular story interesting in their medium of choice.

All eight episodes of 3 Body Problem begin streaming on Netflix on March 21. I’ve seen the whole season.

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3 Body Problem Review

3 Body Problem premieres on Netflix March 21.

Netflix’s latest stab at a science-fiction epic, 3 Body Problem, arrives pre-anointed as something special. Its Hugo Award-winning source material – a trilogy of novels by author Cixin Liu – has already inspired a 30-episode TV series in Liu’s native China, as well as a shelved movie adaptation. American editions of The Three Body Problem and its sequels, The Dark Forest and Death’s End, feature cover blurbs by no less a luminary/ giant nerd than former U.S. President Barack Obama. But the Netflix version of these hard sci-fi mind-scramblers, which moves much of the action from Beijing to London and stars an international cast, is the one geared to the widest audience. It comes to us from showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss – their first substantial project since the end of Game of Thrones . The pair are joined by Alexander Woo ( The Terror , True Blood ) as co-showrunner, and the scroll of other producers include notables like Rian Johnson, Brad Pitt, Rosamund Pike and several more. So strap in, right? This is going to be the next must-watch television series?

Maybe. What works about 3 Body Problem – and what made a fella like Obama call the books “impressive” – is its peculiarity. The story jumps around in time from Maoist struggle sessions to today, abandoning key settings as it plows through its plot, engaging in a healthy amount of misdirection. Importantly, it puts a premium on viewers at least half-understanding concepts like higher dimensional geometry, a mentally linked society that can not conceive of the concept of lying, and the confounding physics conundrum that gives the show its title. In short, there’s a lot going on here, but the creators did not wimp out. I can’t even tell you who the main character is – this show is too big for a main character.

3 Body Problem Gallery

For the sake of ease, though, let’s say it’s Benedict Wong’s “I’ve got the weight of the world, nay, the solar system on my shoulders” detective, Shi. (His first name isn’t really spoken – I think it’s Clarence? – but in the books, he’s nicknamed Da, meaning “Big Man.”) A Londoner of Chinese descent, he’s the most relatable character – an exhausted, confused, and determined man who meets each perplexing new story point with a chuckle and roll of his eyes. He’s on the case after several high level scientists go mad and kill themselves. At first glance, he’s just a cop, but it’s soon revealed that he reports to a more powerful, secret authority.

The suicide of a notable physics genius at a partice accelerator brings together several of her former students, all of whom become intimately connected with the source of the mass brainiac death. This is where Benioff, Weiss, and Woo show off their first stroke of genius. The series yanks, expands, and contracts characters from the first and third books (and, in one late-season “aha!” moment for readers, the second) and mixes them together, crossing genders and nationalities. The plot similarly weaves around the full trilogy, which firmly establishes 3 Body Problem as its own thing.

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The gang includes Eiza Gonzáles as Auggie, an inventor of a nano-fiber thinner than a human hair but strong enough to prompt a “Holy crap!” later in the season; Jess Hong as Jin, a theoretical physicist who comes up with a creative use for old nuclear weapons; and John Bradley as Jack, a nice bloke in the Nick Frost mold whose junk food fortune comes in handy. They’re joined by familiar faces like Jonathan Pryce and Liam Cunningham (both GoT alums, like Bradley), Jovan Adepo, Alex Sharp, and Rosalind Chao in a role on the opposite end of the galaxy from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ’s warm Keiko O’Brien.

Troubles commence when Auggie starts seeing a countdown in her eyes. Imagine numbers flashing everywhere you look, no matter how much Visine you use. It’d stress you out! Things get weirder when, at an appointed time, all the stars in the sky start to blink in unison. Despite the fact that millions of people saw it, many don’t believe it actually happened. (This is exactly what would happen in the real world.) Then, Jin and Jack start playing a highly advanced virtual reality game. They become addicted and soon realize that, like in last year’s Gran Turismo movie (and The Last Starfighter before it), the game is a recruiting tool.

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Scenes within the game – and, unfortunately, there are many – are the only bonafide duds in this production. In the books, Liu uses them as a crutch to dig into enormous theories – like how a human computer would work – and also what it would be like if an inhabited planet were to orbit three suns. It would be quite bad due to the instability of its path (see: the three-body problem ), and a big turn in the story comes when the VR sleuths (and those observing them) realize they aren’t trying to solve an equation – they’re being sniffed out as potential allies for an extraterrestrial invasion. The technologically advanced beings within the game are real, they are tired of their species cycling through extinction catastrophes, they are coming to town, and they aren’t looking for roommates.

Alas, some of the gravity (ha!) is lacking simply because it would take the budget of several nations to make this (and a few other instances of hard sci-fi) look good on television. It’s not laughable or anything – just manage your expectations. Also, there’s an NPC little girl whose dramatic importance I recognize, but that doesn’t make her scenes any less annoying. What I do love about the series as a whole, though, is how it just goes for it. Some resistant viewers may want to take things a little slower, to which I say, hey, when there is concrete proof that aliens are halfway to the Oort Cloud with the intention of stomping us like bugs, society might accelerate a bit.

The second half of this first season centers on Cunningham’s character, Thomas Wade, who leads an organization with a limitless budget and zero scruples with the sole purpose of somehow preserving humanity. I think most would agree that Benioff and Weiss are no strangers to controversial scenarios following Game of Thrones and their aborted alternative-history series, Confederate . There’s little to relitigate in much of 3 Body Problem – no sensitive sexual or racial topics to get social media users all worked up – with the very big exception of Thomas Wade’s, um, radical methods of achieving his aims. That plus his deployment of “the R-slur” during a key moment, which is guaranteed to be a GIF from now until our society finally crumbles.

For a series that moves in such broad strokes, however, there are several grace notes. I was quite taken with Sea Shimooka in several scenes as a representative of the alien creatures. Her calm demeanor is the eeriest such vocal performance this side of Douglas Rain’s HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. There are also a few direct references to events depicted in Oppenheimer, which was a prescient touch, as well as a shout-out to one of my favorite unexplained phenomena, the Wow! signal .

3 Body Problem reworks Cixin Liu’s mammoth book trilogy for a wider audience to great success, though it may annoy some viewers with its far-out sci-fi and speed-of-light plot machinations. Some sequences work better than others – like the video game side story delivering a soupçon of cringe – but many of the performances and one shocking sequence make for a more-than-worthy adaption of the beloved franchise.

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3 Movie Review

• Times Of India

Story: School student Ram (Dhanush) falls in love with Janani (Shruti), who is also a Class XII student, and woos her through college. When her family decides to move to the US, she burns her passport because she can’t bear to live without Ram. They get married finally, but will they live happily ever after? Movie Review: Dhanush is one of those rare actors in Indian cinema who is at home playing a school student and also a businessman battling his inner demons (as he does in “3”) or a young salesman searching for his bike (in “Polladhavan”) or a uneducated rustic who only knows how to breed and fight roosters (in “Aadukalam”, which fetched him his first national award for acting). An actor at the peak of his craft, he doesn’t break a sweat while portraying the two extremes of Ram, though his performance as a schoolboy in love is more entertaining and watchable than the changeover into a married man in the second half.

Shruti Haasan does a very good job as a schoolgirl, with her shy countenance and demure looks. Though dialogue delivery lets her down in some scenes, her work in “3” is a good example of her growing maturity as an actor in her second performance in Tamil after “7 Aum Arivu”. Sivakarthikeyan is a roar, and keeps the laughs coming in the first half. He is sorely missed in the second half when the screenplay takes a turn for the serious. Sunder Ramu as Senthil, a friend of Ram, has sadly nothing new to offer, his role being very similar to the one he played in “Mayakkan Enna”. Veterans Prabhu, Bhanupriya and Rohini are also sadly underused, though they shine in the limited scope offered to them. Composer Anirudh shows that there is more to him beyond “Kolaveri”, which unfortunately will be the main reason to drag the audiences into the theatres. “Kannazhaga” (Shruti and Dhanush) and “Po nee po” (Mohit Chauhan and Anirudh) are sure to find repeat listeners among the discernable audiences.

Aishwarya R Dhanush shows sparks of brilliance in her directorial debut, and marks herself as a name to look out for in Tamil cinema. She establishes her credentials in the first scene itself, when she shows people grieving over a dead body (a rarity in Tamil cinema), and displays a commendable grasp over the medium. Though uneven in her treatment of a sensitive subject (which can be easily attributed to lack of experience), she comes out with a fairly engaging movie, though it does portray shades of characters seen in recent Tamil movies. Besides the opening scenes, a couple of others are worth a mention – Dhanush’s interaction with his father (played by Prabhu) and the way Rohini examines her daughter (Shruti) the first time she meets her after her marriage.

What is irking is the way Janani’s kid sister, who we are told is born with a hearing impairment, suddenly starts speaking, and the “message ending” after a slightly tedious second half. Why this kolaveri?

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3 Body Problem Review: Is The Netflix Sci-Fi Worth Your Time?

A young woman’s fateful decision in 1960s China reverberates across space and time into the present day. When the laws of nature inexplicably unravel before their eyes, a close-knit group of brilliant scientists join forces with an unorthodox detective to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history.

Netflix’s newest offering, “ 3 Body Problem ,” crash-lands with a promising premise but requires a little patience to take flight. If you’re ready to blast off on a mind-bending journey filled with complex characters, head-scratching science, and a slow burn that erupts into full-on sci-fi mayhem by the midseason mark, then buckle up!

3 Body Problem Video Review:

First things first, the characters in “ 3 Body Problem ” are stellar. The acting is top-notch, and the show boasts a cast littered with familiar faces. Remember the creepy priest from Game of Thrones? He’s back, and just as fantastically unsettling here. There’s a great mix of veteran actors and rising stars, each bringing their unique energy to the table. However, there’s one character, Auggie, whose questionable decision-making skills had me screaming at the screen in frustration. Seriously, every single episode, this girl pushed all my buttons!

Now, let’s talk about the science in “ 3 Body Problem .” This is where things get a little… dense. The show dives headfirst into some seriously complex scientific concepts, leaving viewers who aren’t science buffs scratching their heads. While the initial learning curve is steep, the show does a decent job of easing you in. If you stick with it, the concepts become clearer as the story progresses.

Here’s the biggest hurdle for some viewers: the pacing in the first two episodes. Brace yourselves, because it’s slow. These episodes are heavy on exposition, throwing a ton of backstory and character introductions at you. It can feel overwhelming and leave you wondering if it’s all worth it. But here’s the secret – it is.

The Slow Burn: A Necessary Evil?

Remember that agonizingly slow start to Game of Thrones? Yeah, “ 3 Body Problem ” pulls a similar move. Trust the creators, the same wtiers behind Game of Thrones, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. They know how to build suspense, and all that seemingly pointless information you’re introduced with in the beginning? It all becomes shockingly relevant later on. Think of it as careful laying of the groundwork for an epic sci-fi ride.

I’d say that the cliffhanger in episode 2 is where your interest may pique. Then around episode three, things start to pick up the pace. By episode five, you’ll be sitting up on the couch, with your jaw dropped at the crazy situation that happens. (You’ll know it when you see it. )  white-knuckling your remote. This is where the show truly unleashes its inner Game of Thrones, hitting you with a plot twist so shocking and dramatic, it rivals the infamous Red Wedding. If you’re not hooked by episode five, then “ 3 Body Problem ” might not be your cup of cosmic tea.

Patience Rewarded: A Thrilling Midseason and Beyond

But for those who love their sci-fi with a healthy dose of mind-bending concepts, high stakes, and a slow burn that explodes into pure sci-fi brilliance, “ 3 Body Problem ” is a must-watch. By the season finale, you’ll be left with one burning question: what happens next? This show is a guaranteed binge-watching wormhole, leaving you desperate for season two. So, gather your crew, pack some patience for the initial launch sequence, and prepare to be transported to a world unlike any other in “3 Body Problem.”

Directors: Derek Tsang, Andrew Stanton, Minkie Spiro, Jeremy Podeswa Writers: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Alexander Woo, Rose Cartwright, Madhuri Shekar Stars: Jovan Adepo, John Bradley, Rosalind Chao, Liam Cunningham, Eiza González, Jess Hong, Marlo Kelly, Alex Sharp, Sea Shimooka, Zine Tseng, Saamer Usmani, Benedict Wong and Jonathan Pryce 3 Body Problem is currently streaming on Netflix. Be sure to follow E-Man’s Movie Reviews on Facebook, Subscribe on YouTube , or follow me on Twitter/IG @EmansReviews for even more movie news and reviews !

• Acting - 7/10 7/10
• Cinematography/Visual Effects - 8/10 8/10
• Plot/Screenplay - 8/10 8/10
• Setting/Theme - 8/10 8/10
• Watchability - 9/10 9/10
• Rewatchability - 8/10 8/10

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Kalki 2898 AD

A modern-day avatar of Vishnu, a Hindu god, who is believed to have descended to earth to protect the world from evil forces. A modern-day avatar of Vishnu, a Hindu god, who is believed to have descended to earth to protect the world from evil forces. A modern-day avatar of Vishnu, a Hindu god, who is believed to have descended to earth to protect the world from evil forces.

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• Trivia Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Hassan to work together after 39 years since Geraftaar (1985).
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‘the bear’ season 3 review: jeremy allen white’s funny, haunted, infuriating return to the kitchen.

Christopher Storer's FX-produced Hulu series continues to be packed with food porn, surprising guest stars and deep thoughts on the magic of cooking and mentorship.

By Daniel Fienberg

Daniel Fienberg

Chief Television Critic

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To pea or not to pea.

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It’s possible that Carmy has always been Hamlet, the prodigal son returned from studies abroad to a death-rocked kingdom he doesn’t recognize anymore, a fatherless figure in search of mentorship and yet failing as a mentor himself.

After two seasons that pushed the narrative forward at an astonishing rate — sandwich shops very rarely become fine-dining establishments in such short order — the third season of The Bear finds Carmy in a true morass. He escapes the prison of his restaurant’s freezer to turn the entire establishment into a prison of nebulous rules and unmeetable aspirations. He’s stuck, but doesn’t realize he’s stuck because he’s turned a professed desire not to repeat himself into its own sort of repetition.

The Bear has, in this season, become a series filled with characters out of Hamlet. Sydney ( Ayo Edebiri ), who might seem like Ophelia if you’re fueled by the truly bizarre desire to forge a romance between Carmy and Sydney, is unable to make herself sign a partnership agreement that would give her what she once dreamt of. Richie ( Ebon Moss-Bachrach ), who might have found purpose last season thanks to a week staging at high-end restaurant Ever, seems like he could be Laertes, on the verge of leading a front-of-the-house revolt. But he can’t even make himself RSVP to his ex-wife’s wedding.

On an episode-by-episode basis, the third season of The Bear is as good as anything the show has ever done. Possibly better?

The season stars with the deceptively titled “Tomorrow,” directed by series creator Christopher Storer . Think of it as a deconstructed “Previously On” montage, stretched from three minutes to 36, or almost as an elevated clip show, looking backward as much as forward. It’s an expressive tone poem that chronicles Carmy’s journey , both the moments that filled him with wonder and the moments (courtesy of guest star Joel McHale) that irreparably damaged his psyche.

Speaking of this as a season of birth, the premiere is almost natal in its treatment of the culinary canal through which Carmy has emerged. With very little dialogue and no storyline to speak of, disconnected and beautifully shot memories — practically every guest star the show has ever had makes a return engagement — are fused by Joanna Naugle’s editing and a miraculous ambient and amniotic score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (the 2025 Emmy races in several categories feel like they’re already over).

It’s one of those episodes where, by the time you fully realize and internalize what it’s doing, it’s finished and you’re thrust into the true season of the show with the equally impressive “Next,” an abrupt transition from the elegiac to more trademark chaos.

Indecision can be exciting and I found the risks The Bear takes in these 10 episodes to be thrilling. But if you’re hoping to see things progress at an adrenalized rate, this is a season in limbo that reflects its main characters and their respective holding patterns.

It all builds to a finale that’s impossibly joyful and impossibly miserable, perhaps as pure an evocation of the rollercoaster of depression as I’ve ever seen on television. The restaurant is part of Carmy’s family legacy — “legacy” is one of many running themes this season — but depression is as well and if the big question of this season isn’t “So… Now what?” it’s “What do you do when you get the thing you want and the thing you want doesn’t make you happy?”

What does it mean for viewers, when the show appears to have reached a point its characters wanted to reach and decides not to make audiences happy?

If Carmy and Sydney and Richie aren’t finding gratification, why should you? If Carmy is paralyzed by his inability to reconcile the things Claire (Molly Gordon) overheard him say in the finale, why should the show rush? If the delay in a review from the Chicago Tribune is tormenting Carmy, why should the show rush that review to the screen? If Nat is tied in knots by an ongoing pregnancy she worries will never end and will end too soon, why should the show rush that childbirth?

Hamlet at least had the decency to end with nearly everybody dead, as closed as closure gets. This, then, is less Hamlet than an Empire Strikes Back situation, where the point we reach in the finale won’t satisfy anybody, in musical theory terms a calculated denial of what is called “the tonic.”

But, again, it’s very easy to be satisfied on an episode-by-episode basis. “Next” is as funny and manic an episode as the show has ever done, another celebration of the series’ peerless use of editing to capture that razor’s edge between hilarity and tension.

Longtime series first assistant director Duccio Fabbri makes a confident directing debut on “Doors,” which somehow ratchets the chaos to new highs, while Edebiri makes her own effortlessly exceptional debut behind the camera on “Napkins,” which single-handedly makes up for how underused I felt the tremendous Liza Colón-Zayas was in the second season. “Ice Chips” is an intimate counterpoint to last season’s “Fishes,” booking Elliott’s seat at the 2025 Emmys.

Oh, and let’s start the “Thomas Keller for guest actor in a comedy” Emmy campaign now, because the French Laundry proprietor and chef has one monologue that convinced me he’s got a career as a wisdom-spouting character actor if that whole cooking thing doesn’t work out for him.

White is as impeccably frenzied and weary as ever, never softening the character’s escalating flaws. Moss-Bachrach continues his push toward making Richie the show’s hero, never fully erasing the character’s diminishing flaws. Except that Sydney is obviously the show’s real hero and Edebiri continues to deliver hilarious and heartbreaking earnestness like nobody else.

So maybe season three of The Bear really is just wheel-spinning and dragging things out. Maybe it gives the impression of being an indecisive show rather than, as it actually is, a show about characters trapped in a moment of indecision. I can’t say if this season will make viewers who watch for the plot happy, but these 10 episodes made me very pleased indeed.

Exit, pursued by thoughts of The Bear .

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‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ Review: Alien Invasion Prequel Arrives Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing

Instead of providing answers or much in the way of suspense, director Michael Sarnoski’s contribution stars Lupita Nyong'o as a terminally ill cat owner tiptoeing through a mostly off-screen apocalypse.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

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As it happens, director John Krasinski’s excellent 2020 sequel flashed back to Day One, revealing the pandemonium the aliens’ arrival caused for unsuspecting humans, before jumping forward more than a year in the “Quiet Place” chronology. In theory, what “Day One” promises — but doesn’t actually deliver — is a more expansive look at the mayhem. Most of the action occurs off-screen, and no one (not even the authorities) so much as attempts to fight back.

What about cats? Is Frodo ever really at risk? For the curious, Sarnoski includes a tough-to-decipher scene where a trio of aliens feed on what looks like a feathered version of the ovomorphs from “Alien.” Perhaps this explains why the Death Angels are so aggro: They didn’t pack enough snacks for their intergalactic mission, and Earth doesn’t have what they need. But what do they want?

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, “Day One” is served up as a disaster movie, à la Roland Emmerich’s “Independence Day,” with money shots of the Brooklyn Bridge collapsing into the East River and deserted streets that suggest “I Am Legend” by way of 9/11. Where did everybody go? “Day One” makes it look like just a few hundred people call Manhattan home. Surely New York would be crawling with residents, pouring out of the skyscrapers and into the streets, or else retreating into their apartments. It’s Day One of the invasion, and the city is a ghost town.

It’s kind of a fluke that Samira agreed to come along for a field trip to a Manhattan marionette theater, led by a nurse (Alex Wolff) who should have worn quieter clothes. When the aliens land, they immediately start picking off the noisiest humans. Scream, and you’re toast. Call out for your missing partner or child, and a Death Angel is guaranteed to spring from off-screen and rip you in half. While the characters try their best to keep silent, the film’s sound designers do the opposite, using low tones to make the whole theater rumble (Imax and 4DX viewers can literally feel the attack unfolding off-screen).

In the two previous films, the thrill came from watching how characters reacted to these sinewy, double-jointed monsters, whose rattling, Venom-looking heads fold open in a series of flaps as they stop to listen. The terrifying creatures can’t see, but their sense of hearing is hyper-acute, which is why our world went quiet . For some reason, all that stuff it took humans 474 days to learn in the other movies is already known by the characters in this one (like using running water to confound the aliens).

As Samira hides out in the marionette theater with a crowd of strangers (including Djimon Hounsou, the film’s lone connection to the previous installment), military choppers fly overhead, broadcasting instructions: Keep silent. Stay off the bridges. Carefully make your way to the South Street Seaport, where ships are standing by to evacuate people. As an inexplicably small crowd of survivors move south, Samira and Frodo walk in the opposite direction. She wants that pizza.

Through it all, she remains more committed to protecting her cat — which is ironic, since the animal seems all but guaranteed to attract the wrong kind of attention. It is Frodo who finds Eric and leads him to Samira. Their instant bond feels contrived, though a more charitable viewer might be moved by this nothing-to-lose connection between two lonely souls — what writer-director Lorene Scafaria called “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.”

To his credit, Sarnoski orchestrates a few high-tension set-pieces. But there aren’t nearly enough of these for a movie set in the “Quiet Place” world, as Sarnoski (who put Nicolas Cage through all kinds of nonsensical behavior in “Pig”) winds up putting sentimentality ahead of suspense.

Just compare these movies to the century’s best zombie franchise: “A Quiet Place” ranks up there with “28 Days Later” in its immersive, world-turned-upside-down intrigue. “Part II” was bigger and scarier, à la “28 Weeks Later.” “Day One” ought to have been the mind-blowing origin story, and instead it’s a Hallmark movie, where everyone seems to have nine lives — not just that darn cat.

Reviewed at AMC The Grove, Los Angeles, June 26, 2024. MPA Rating: PG-13. Running time:

• Production: A Paramount Pictures release and presentation, in association with Michael Bay, of a Platinum Dunes, Sunday Night production. Producers: Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller, John Krasinski. Executive producers: Allyson Seeger, Vicki Dee Rock.
• Crew: Director: Michael Sarnoski. Screenplay: Michael Sarnoski; story: John Krasinski, Michael Sarnoski, based on characters created by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck. Camera: Pat Scola. Editors: Andrew Mondshein, Gregory Plotkin. Music: Alexis Grapsas.
• With: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou.

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Why Do We Love ‘The Bear’ So Much?

The grit, the merch, the biceps. Charting the cultural phenomenon that sparked new interest in the people behind the scenes at restaurants — or at least, in their stuff.

By Tejal Rao

The first time I heard a stranger say “corner” outside a kitchen, I was taken by surprise, but pretty soon, I lost count. After the FX show “The Bear” began streaming on Hulu in 2022, shouting out phrases that bounce around professional kitchens became something of a national bit.

In Bon Appétit, Sarah York coined the term Line Cook Summer to describe the frenzy over Jeremy Allen White’s character, Carmen Berzatto — a soft, dirtbag type. Even before the Calvin Klein underwear ad , it was perfectly captured in a New Yorker cartoon by Emily Flake. In it, a woman — flushed, happy, naked — lies in bed next to her befuddled husband, who asks, “So … what was all that ‘Yes, Chef’ stuff about?”

The show drove affection toward a big-hearted, dysfunctional kitchen crew at an unlikely moment, two years into the pandemic, after so many investigations into abusive chefs and work environments that the word “toxic” had become not just vague, but inadequate.

The third season begins streaming on Wednesday, and the trailer already has nine million views on YouTube. At least three of those were me, trying to wrap my mind around the expanse of the “Bear” effect — I’ve been fascinated by chefs onscreen for decades.

The Swedish Chef, his Muppet eyes hidden under caterpillar brows and floppy toque, tickling the shrimp, was a mildly distressing clown. The fussy, elegant Italian brothers in “ Big Night ,” played by Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub, blurred the dysfunction of a restaurant “family” with their own. Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, the underappreciated perfectionist of “Friends,” cooked her way through the most complex feelings a ’90s sitcom would allow. And Martina Gedeck only seemed impenetrable as the second-best chef in Hamburg in the 2001 German movie “ Mostly Martha .”

Jon Favreau was charming in “ Chef ,” and Bradley Cooper overplayed it in “ Burnt ,” though something about both those chefs struck me as faintly embarrassing. Most recently, Ralph Fiennes played the part as a cartoonish psychopath in “ The Menu .” And speaking of cartoons, animation has delivered some of our most delicious performances, including Bob from “ Bob’s Burgers ” — a perpetually broke small-town burger chef and a grumpy, but loving dad, hopelessly devoted to his craft.

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Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, black writers week, despicable me 3.

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With its combination of vaguely European stylings, a storyline that effectively combines slapstick and sentiment and the scene-stealing antics of the gibberish-spouting sentient Twinkies known as the Minions, “ Despicable Me ” (2010) was a breath of reasonably fresh air in the crowded feature animation marketplace that went on to be a massive success throughout the world. The inevitable “ Despicable Me 2 ” (2013) was an equally big hit from a financial standpoint but lacked the freshness of the original and the storyline was largely forgettable. And even though the Minions once again more or less stole the show, even they began to wear out their welcome a bit. That became especially obvious in the spin-off vehicle “ Minions ” (2015), a film that did little other than illustrate to youngsters the notion of there being too much of a good thing. Now comes “Despicable Me 3,” a depressingly rote piece of corporate product that has so little on its mind other than presumably making hundreds of millions of dollars that you half expect the ticket sellers to hand out copies of Comcast’s latest earnings report along with the 3-D glasses.

Having been inspired by his three adorable adopted daughters—Margo ( Miranda Cosgrove ), Edith (Dana Grier) and Agnes ( Nev Scharrel )—to give up a life of super-villainy, Gru (Steve Carrell) is working as an agent for the Anti-Villainy League alongside new wife Lucy ( Kristen Wiig ). As the film opens, the two try to stop the fiendish Balthazar Bratt ( Trey Parker ), a former kid star from the 80’s seeking revenge on the world for cancelling his TV show (“Evil Bratt”), from stealing the world’s largest diamond with the aid of a robot sidekick, scientifically enhanced bubble gum and a keytar capable of playing the most familiar musical riffs of his favorite era. Although he saves the diamond, Gru lets Balthazar get away and as a result, the new head of the AVL ( Jenny Slate in a strangely brief role) fires both him and Lucy. No sooner has Gru suffered this professional setback than his personal world is rocked as well when he is contacted by his heretofore-unknown twin brother Dru (also Carrell) and invited to meet him at his home on the faraway land of Freedonia. (If the name “Freedonia” rings any bells with you, consider that a potential signal that you might be just a little too old for this film.)

Gru and the family fly off to Freedonia and discover that Dru is fabulously wealthy and handsome. But just as the even-more-depressed Gru is about to leave, Dru confesses the real reason for summoning his brother—he wants his sibling to teach him the tricks of the super-villain trade so that he can also carry on in the family tradition. Gru refuses at first but since Balthazar has managed to steal that diamond in the interim, he figures that if he can break into Bratt’s lair—an isolated compound topped by a giant Rubik’s Cube—and steal it back, he and Lucy will be reinstated in the AVL. While the two brothers bond and plan their heist—complicated slightly by Dru’s incompetency at even the rudiments of being a villain—the others have their own mini-adventures as well—Lucy struggles to find her way into her new role as the mother to Gru’s daughters, little Agnes becomes obsessed with the notion of finding and adopting her very own unicorn and 12-year-old Margo, in an especially weird turn, takes pity on a boy during a weird cheese-related dance ritual and apparently finds herself engaged to him as a result. As for the Minions, they all abandon Gru early on when he refuses to return to being a villain after getting fired and go on a series of misadventures that land them in prison and on a televised talent show, where they perform what is easily the strangest version of the Gilbert & Sullivan show-stopper “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” to turn up in a movie since the release of “The Pirate Movie.”

Although the “Despicable Me” movies have tried to appeal to viewers of all ages, they are aimed primarily at the younger set—how else to explain the presence of two fart jokes in the opening title card? The problem here is that the filmmakers seem to have gone out of their way to concoct a story out of elements that will hold little appeal to that target audience. It is highly doubtful they will care about Gru’s worries about the loss of his job, his attempts to bond with his long-lost brother, Lucy’s attempts to be a good mom or Margo’s accidental engagement. Moreover, the whole Balthazar character is liable to baffle and confuse them more than anything else since he is a joke inspired by popular culture trends of an era long before they were even born. Meanwhile, their beloved Minions are so disconnected from the main proceedings that they could have been eliminated entirely from the film without affecting things in the slightest. Perhaps the producers were trying to skew a little older on the basis that the kids who embraced the original film are themselves older and more sophisticated. My guess is that if those particular viewers are going to the movies this weekend, they would be more inclined to try to slip into “ Baby Driver ” and leave this for their younger siblings.

For most of the people involved with the film, “Despicable Me 3” is a payday pure and simple and have responded accordingly. Carrell’s Gru, who seems to consist of equal parts Bela Lugosi and Tommy Wiseau, is still an amusing character but he doesn’t do anything new or interesting in his secondary turn as Dru. The other regulars show up and do their thing while regular supporting players like Julie Andrews and Steve Coogan appear just long enough to ensure future residual checks before disappearing entirely. (Apparently they couldn’t get Russell Brand back into the fold, though the way out that has been devised is kind of funny.) As for Trey Parker’s work as Balthazar, it is more disconcerting than anything else because whenever you hear his voice, you half expect him to go into full “South Park” mode, a move that would have left the PG rating in the dust but which certainly might have perked things up a bit.

Of course, all of these criticisms are fairly academic since “Despicable Me 3” is basically the closest thing to a sure thing at the box office, even in a season when most of the would-be sure things have been crapping out to one degree or another. Despite the problematic storytelling, little kids will probably still like it because it is colorful and noisy and filled with silly slapstick, though my bet is that they won’t embrace it to the degree that they did the original. As for parents and guardians charged with accompanying the tykes, it will keep the kids occupied for 90 minutes and they can at least enjoy the 80s-era hits on the soundtrack (with the Madonna classic “Into the Groove” getting the best play of the bunch) while waiting out the clock. Besides, it isn’t as if it will linger in their minds for too long since the whole enterprise is even more instantly forgettable than “Despicable Me 2,” which may be its only real accomplishment.  

Peter Sobczynski

A moderately insightful critic, full-on Swiftie and all-around  bon vivant , Peter Sobczynski, in addition to his work at this site, is also a contributor to The Spool and can be heard weekly discussing new Blu-Ray releases on the Movie Madness podcast on the Now Playing network.

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Film Credits

Despicable Me 3 (2017)

Rated PG for action and rude humor.

Steve Carell as Gru / Dru (voice)

Kristen Wiig as Lucy Wilde (voice)

Russell Brand as Dr. Nefario (voice)

Jenny Slate as (voice)

Steve Coogan as Silas (voice)

Miranda Cosgrove as Margo (voice)

Dana Gaier as Edith (voice)

Andy Nyman as Clive (voice)

Nev Scharrel as Agnes (voice)

Trey Parker as Balthazar Bratt (voice)

Pierre Coffin as Kevin the Minion / Bob the Minion / Stuart the Minion / Additional Minions / Evil Minions (voice) (rumored)

Michael Beattie as The Scar Faced Man / TMZ Announcer (voice)

• Pierre Coffin

Co-director

• Eric Guillon
• Claire Dodgson
• Heitor Pereira
• Pharrell Williams

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