October 2017

Stranger Things – Chapter One: MADMAX

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Stranger Things – MADMAX
  • wiki: link

Stranger Things - Chapter One: MADMAX television review

It may take the entire opening episode of the show’s Second Season to get around to my favorite Stranger Things character, but in the meantime the show catches us up a bit on what we’ve missed since the conclusion of the show’s First Season. Will (Noah Schnapp) is back, although he feels smothered by the over-protectiveness of his friends and family, and has the lasting effect of occasional visions of the Upside Down which his psychologist (Paul Reiser) assures Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Sheriff Hopper (David Harbour) are only signs of PTSD based on the anniversary of his time in the Upside Down, while the scientists in the basement continue to push back against the rift which is far from dormant. Mike’s (Finn Wolfhard) obsession with finding Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) has begun effecting his school work and home life. Nancy (Natalia Dyer) is still with Steve (Joe Keery). All still friends, Mike, Will, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) are interested in the new kid in town (Sadie Sink) while the girls in high school are far more interested in her older brother (Dacre Montgomery).

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Goodbye Christopher Robin

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Goodbye Christopher Robin
  • IMDb: link

Goodbye Christopher Robin movie reviewBased on the true story of writer A. A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) and his creation Winnie-the-Pooh, Goodbye Christopher Robin is more than it initially might seem. Much like Milne himself, returned from war with PTSD and struggling with getting back to work as a writer, the script by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Simon Vaughan struggles before getting the man and his family into the setting which would eventually help create one of the world’s most-beloved fictional characters.

The rest of the household consists of Milne’s wife Daphne (Margot Robbie) who is more concerned with prestige, fame, and money than her husband, their young son Christopher (Will Tilston) whose interactions with his stuffed animals will lead to the inspiration behind Milne’s most-popular work, and his nanny (Kelly Macdonald). The film turns out to be as much about the young boy as his father and how the growing fame slowly destroyed the relationship which the creation of Pooh helped create between father and son. For a film about Winnie-the-Pooh, it’s more melancholy than I expected, but it also proves to have some unexpected depth.

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Suburbicon

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Suburbicon
  • IMDb: link

Suburbicon movie reviewI really wanted to like director George Clooney‘s Suburbicon. Sadly, the mix of dark comedy, murder, racial injustice, and social commentary flails about for far too much of its 104-minute running time without ever coming together. Clooney produces an only somewhat interesting film with admittedly intriguing pieces and strong performances, but sadly the film never really clicks.

The original script was written by the Coen Brothers years ago and Clooney and Grant Heslov are credited with changes. Suburbicon feels like a movie with four screenwriters as it struggles with a cohesive story and constant tone, often shifting violently one way or the next until the main plot ultimately kicks in.

Our story takes place in the all-white suburb of Suburbicon where the entire town is distraught over the arrival of the town’s first black family and far less interested in the horrific violence happening across the street to Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon) and his family when two intruders break in and hold the family hostage. The fallout from that night, and the reveal of what’s really going on in Gardner’s life, provides most of the tension to follow.

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The Flash – Luck Be a Lady

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: The Flash – Luck Be a Lady
  • wiki: link

The Flash - Luck Be a Lady television review

While seeing out heroes’ luck turn bad, “Luck Be a Lady” answers a couple of lingering questions about the new season, most importantly how this new crop of meta-humans was created (nice one Cisco!), while bringing back the Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) of Earth-2 and introducing an unusual villain in Hazard (Sugar Lyn Beard). Despite the various troubles the woman’s luck field causes (increasing her good luck at the cost of everyone else around her), the episode continues to keep the upbeat nature of the season and bring the fun.

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