Category Archives: Genres

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Rough Night (2017) Movie Review

10 years after their senior year of college, Jess (Scarlett Johansson) is running for Senator. She is also getting married to an awkwardly twee guy named Peter (Paul W. Downs, who also co-wrote the film). To celebrate, her college friends bring her to Florida for a crazy bachelorette party weekend full of partying, drinking, and perhaps some illicit drugs.

Oh, and did I mention the dead stripper?

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The first half hour of Rough Night plays like a female version of the Hangover films. Then, the break into the second act comes with its twist—the aforementioned dead stripper, of course—and the film becomes something more Continue reading Rough Night (2017) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Horror, Leave it

47 Meters Down (2017) Movie Review

In 1975, Steven Spielberg’s Jaws changed the way people viewed sharks. Seemingly, he changed that perception forever, as every so often a movie like 47 Meters Down comes out to remind us just how bloodthirsty these giant sea monsters can be.

Now, there is nothing wrong with Continue reading 47 Meters Down (2017) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Animation, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Cars 3 (2017) Movie Review

Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) isn’t the youthful race car he once was. In fact, Cars 3 makes it a point to reiterate again and again that McQueen is quite old. Given the age of sentient cars is an abstract, hard-to-track concept, I guess this is acceptable.

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Technology has advanced (somehow…who builds these cars?) to the point where new rookie racers are optimized for high percentage wins (then again, if antagonist Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer) is the next big thing, wouldn’t all the new cars optimize to the same level of racing, thus making all races even again? And if McQueen can be given those advancements as well, what exactly is stopping him from Continue reading Cars 3 (2017) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Drama, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Megan Leavey (2017) Movie Review

Megan Leavey is your basic determination story. A short, scrawny U.S. Marine recruit (Kate Mara) struggles her way to a position as a bomb-sniffing dog handler. After she does that she has to train the most ornery Marine dog in the camp. After she does that she has to fight to bring that dog home.

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While this narrative shows little signs of originality, it does provide Continue reading Megan Leavey (2017) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Horror, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

The Mummy (2017) Movie Review

In the 1930s and the 1940s, Universal made a name for itself creating monster movies. Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Wolfman, among others, were hugely popular intellectual properties in Hollywood. They made household names of Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. They were undoubtedly iconic films.

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Now, Universal is rebooting the franchise. They first attempted this interconnected horror universe with Continue reading The Mummy (2017) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Drama, Horror, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Love It

It Comes At Night (2017) Movie Review

It Comes At Night is a terse family drama disguising itself as a horror film. Still, it remains the scariest filmgoing experience of 2017 thus far.

The film takes place in an idyllic cabin hideaway in the woods. It is the sort of place that you would run off to on a lazy Summer weekend. But this house also has wood boarding up its windows. It has a pair of doors—one prominently red—locking itself off from the outside world.

This is no vacation. It is survival.

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This contrast that director Trey Edward Shults plays with is crucial to the thematic understanding of It Comes At Night. In the film, a family of three have just buried Continue reading It Comes At Night (2017) Movie Review →

Television Reviews, TV Drama

House of Cards Season Five Finale Recap & Review

So…Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) planned it all. From the beginning. Orchestrating his own downfall so that he can control it. A controlled burn.

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If it seems ludicrous and farfetched, that’s because it is. It doesn’t hold up to scrutiny and makes the show look like Continue reading House of Cards Season Five Finale Recap & Review →

Television Reviews, TV Drama

House of Cards Season Five Episode Twelve Recap & Review

Secretary of State Catherine Durant (Jayne Atkinson), against President Frank Underwood’s (Kevin Spacey) wishes, has decided to testify to the house judiciary committee. That is, if she wakes up after being pushed down the stairs by Frank.

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In the public eye, Frank is business as usual, working to broker peace in the Middle East in spite of his impeachment scandal. Behind the scenes, though, he is Continue reading House of Cards Season Five Episode Twelve Recap & Review →

Television Reviews, TV Drama

House of Cards Season Five Episode Eleven Recap & Review

Ah, impeachment. It has been a long time coming, but the word is finally starting to be tossed around the House of Cards universe following testimony from former President Garrett Walker (Michel Gill).

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The talk of impeachment causes division in the Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) administration. Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) and Mark Usher (Campbell Scott) would like Frank to Continue reading House of Cards Season Five Episode Eleven Recap & Review →

Television Reviews, TV Drama

House of Cards Season Five Episode Ten Recap & Review

The Underwood administration is in the middle of handling the congressional investigation on them. At the center of this investigation is Alex Romero (James Martinez), who has been working behind the scenes to leverage his political position over the course of the season. Now, he might have his shot.

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Meanwhile, Aidan Macallan (Damian Young) remains a problem for the administration and Leann Harvey (Neve Campbell). Namely, it is a situation that is almost certain to culminate in Continue reading House of Cards Season Five Episode Ten Recap & Review →