“The Act”: true crime, truly bizarre
April 4, 2019
True crime dramatization is a hard genre to master, often playing out on the screen more like a low budget B movie than a feature quality production. Hulu’s new series “The Act” has managed to capture the genre in a smooth and interesting way that engages viewers with solid acting and one of the...
Dysfunction works for “Umbrella Academy”
March 21, 2019
“Umbrella Academy” is a Netflix series based on the comic book by Gerard Way, the front man of alternative rock band My Chemical Romance. With the rise of comic book-inspired television anyone who hasn’t read the comic might pass up “Umbrella Academy” as just another show about a team of superheroes,...
Dumplin’ disappoints
February 21, 2019
Well, it’s happened again. Movie trailers have led us to believe that Netflix made a great movie about strong women, body positivity, empowerment and acceptance of all kinds of people, when in reality, it is about a petty conflict that is so loose it never should have happened in the first place. Netflix...
“House of Cards” falls flat without Spacey
December 14, 2018
When developing the sixth and final season of his Netflix series "House of Cards," creator Beau Willimon was put in an impossible situation by the show’s star, Kevin Spacey. Spacey, who played the primary protagonist politician Frank Underwood, was fired by Netflix following a series of sexual assault a...
Charmed, I’m sure
November 9, 2018
In light of the "Charmed" 2018 reboot now airing, let’s take a minute to remember and appreciate the wonderful 1998 original "Charmed" that was influential enough to be brought back 12 years after its last episode. This beautifully quirky show is supernatural fiction, following the three Halliwell s...
Jack Ryan returns
October 2, 2018
As Amazon Video continues to try and chip away at the streaming service monopoly of Netflix, they have invested more funds into creating their own original series. The latest installment is a new take on Tom Clancy’s “Jack Ryan,” which was released on Aug. 31. Jack Ryan is a fictional character...
“Magic for Humans” good if you’re bored
October 2, 2018
Have a short attention span? Like neat magic tricks? Like to laugh at people’s humanity? Incredibly bored? Watch “Magic for Humans” on Netflix. “Magic for Humans” is a Netflix original reality television series composed of six, 25 minute long episodes. The host and executive producer...
“Ozark” puts the South in your mouth
September 18, 2018
In the social media-driven era we currently live in, it’s rare for a television series to slip through the cracks of the relentless internet hype machine. From the moment a new show is announced, it is seemingly dissected from every possible angle—from the cast to the directors and producers, and...
Enchanted with “Disenchantment”
September 18, 2018
After the incredible success that is and was “Futurama” and “The Simpsons”, it seems only fair that Matt Groening has started something new: “Disenchantment”. On Jan. 15, 2016, it was announced that Groening was working with Netflix to develop a new animated series, and after 30 years of...
“Brockmire” is baseball’s favorite degenerate
May 10, 2018
Often overlooked because it airs on IFC, season two of “Brockmire” arrived on April 25, and it continues to be one of the most hilarious and underrated television series’ currently on air. “Brockmire” follows the outrageous and debauchery-filled life of Jim Brockmire, an iconic Major League...
“Swiss Army Man” is a real gas
May 10, 2018
Sometimes there are films with premises so utterly strange, that you cannot quite believe it actually exists without clear proof. “Swiss Army Man” is one of those films. Disarmingly bizarre and delightfully otherworldly, this is a film you simply have to see to believe. This is director and writer...
Game over, man!
March 29, 2018
When Netflix announced in 2016 that they had signed a film deal with the creators and stars of the Comedy Central series “Workaholics,” one of my all-time favorite shows, I was instantly intrigued. So, when it was finally released at midnight on March 23, I watched it immediately. The movie, entitled...
“Kung Fury” packs a parodic punch
March 29, 2018
If you would like to experience every cop or action movie ever made in the 80s all at the same time, “Kung Fury” is the movie to see. Complete with half-thought-out one-liners muttered during ironic events, a David Hasselhoff theme song, over -elongated and cheesy fight scenes, ripped denim and aversion...
Netflix’s most binge-worthy show yet
March 15, 2018
As a connoisseur of the true crime genre, I was immediately enticed with Netflix’s surprise release of their new original series “Mindhunter,” on Oct. 13, 2017. It has been lauded as the streaming services “most binge-worthy show yet,” a statement which I passionately agree with as I consumed...
“Lady Bird” provides a tragicomic take on coming of age
February 8, 2018
Has your mother ever made you want to forcefully jump out of a moving vehicle? Self-christened “Lady Bird” starts out the movie of her name by doing exactly this. The neon pink arm cast she earns from this choice brightly stands out throughout the first act of the film alongside her bluntly cut,...
A fantastic space adventure awaits
February 8, 2018
In this latest installment of the newest trilogy, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” directed by Rian Johnson, one can witness the oldest stars such as Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, alongside the newest cast members, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, and Adam Driver. Boyega, a rising star, has appeared in...
“Dunkirk”: A truly human experience
October 2, 2017
On July 21, the much-anticipated World War II movie “Dunkirk” was released. It told the story of the 1940 evacuation of 400,000 trapped Allied soldiers from the beach of Dunkirk, France, after the area had become surrounded by the German army. It is a masterpiece. With the threat of enemy U-boats,...
Wooden acting and dumb beards in a sad “King Arthur” knock-off
April 14, 2017
I realize that, right now, Hollywood is currently in the phase where remaking movies is all the rage. Sometimes that works out and the audience gets a halfway decent movie, like the recent “Godzilla” movie. And then other times, the remake drifts into the territory of “lock it in the basement...
Disney remake brings beauty and anachronism to the big screen
April 14, 2017
“Beauty and the Beast” was extravagantly gorgeous, well written and performed well. Director Bill Condon (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn 1 and 2) struck a good balance between following the old story and adding new material. While most of the new material is nice, none of it is essential, and some...
Throwing back to hairspray and classic rock in “Adventureland”
March 23, 2017
Hey, do you like the ’80s? Teenage angst? Kristen Stewart trying her damnedest to make a normal human expression? Well then, “Adventureland,” featuring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, is the movie for you. Even though this movie came out only a few years ago, it has that definite feel...
Wolverine’s last ride
March 23, 2017
Three years after his second solo film, Wolverine has returned to the big screen with his claws out and his taciturn demeanor fully intact. Following the enormous success of last year’s “Deadpool,” 20th Century Fox has released its second attempt at an R-rated X-Men film: “Logan,” the 10th...
Bad accents and other misses
March 9, 2017
Does anyone remember Val Kilmer at his prime, in movies like “Top Gun” or “Tombstone”? And then you watch him in his more recent works and he just looks tired and bloated? That’s what watching Nicolas Cage (“National Treasure”) in the American-Canadian-Chinese action film “Outcast”...
Batman in a Lego world
March 9, 2017
On the surface, the idea of making a movie using Lego versions of other intellectual property is pretty ridiculous. As it turns out, the reality of such a movie is still ridiculous, but in more of an amusing and heartwarming way. As with the first Lego movie, “The Lego Batman Movie” proves that a...
Nazi bratwursts and other stupidity
February 16, 2017
I have seen the true face of the Devil, and it looks an awful lot like the poster for the movie “Yoga Hosers.” Coming from the mind of Kevin Smith, the director of “Clerks,” and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” this movie stars Smith’s daughter as one of the leading roles. This movie...
“Maximum Ride” tramples childhoods
February 2, 2017
In the world of book-to-movie adaptations, there are only two possible ways that these movies can be made. They can either be mostly true to the source material, with only a few alterations or missing things, or they can absolutely butcher the source material. Unfortunately, the film “Maximum Ride,”...
A new kind of Disney princess
February 2, 2017
Disney princess movies have followed a fairly standard formula for nearly 80 years, usually based on a fairy tale and including a prince in some capacity. November’s “Moana” broke that pattern with style, delivering stunning visuals and a riveting plot. Directed by Ron Clements and John...
Sanctimonious Sanctum Sacking in Marvel’s “Doctor Strange”
December 8, 2016
There might be something Strange in the neighborhood, but no one is calling the Ghostbusters this time. The newest Marvel superhero film brings us the origin story of Doctor Stephen Strange, a neurosurgeon who loses the use of his hands to a terrible car accident (don’t drive distracted, kids!)...
Valhalla Rising: A new addition to reject fridge art
December 8, 2016
When you sit down to watch a movie, you do so thinking that what you are about to watch has some semblance of plot or good character development. Not so with “Valhalla Rising,” a film from Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn. This English-language Dutch film is an affront to the idea of a proper...
“Raising Hope” raises your spirits
December 8, 2016
It’s not every day that you find a show that will make you laugh uncontrollably. I have been searching for such a show since I gained access to a Netflix account, and I believe I have finally found it. “Raising Hope” chronicles the life and adventures of Jimmy Chance, a broke 20-something...
A hoppin’ new tale from Disney
April 14, 2016
It’s a dog eat dog world, but in Disney’s newest animated feature, that dog would be arrested by a rabbit for the crime. Directed by Rich Moore (“Wreck-It Ralph”) and Byron Howard (“Tangled,” “Bolt”), “Zootopia” is an hour and 48 minute film that explores themes of friendship,...
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