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The Social Dilemma

  • Title: The Social Dilemma
  • IMDb: link

The Social Dilemma movie reviewThe Social Dilemma takes a hard look at social media and how it is changing the way we live. With testimony from experts who worked at various social media cornerstones, the film examines how social media takes advantage of its users and distorts the world around them as it delves into social media affecting behavior and how someone can take advantage of the complex algorithms to affect change on a global scale.

Director Jeff Orlowski‘s documentary is a warning about how social media is changing us in both expected and unexpected ways as greed and capitalism continue to push development forward into even more questionable territories. How social media apps play on emotion to keep you online and play into reinforcing your own beliefs in creating separate clusters of people with their own facts, how social media has raised a generation who tie their own self worth to the likes of strangers online whose suicide rate is astronomically higher than the generation before it, and the idea of how easily these apps can be used to take advantage of the misinformed for nefarious purposes such as changing the outcome of an election are all truly frightening.

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Artemis Fowl

  • Title: Artemis Fowl
  • IMDb: link

Artemis Fowl movie reviewIn an age where every comic book and young adult novel is scooped up by a studio hoping to build the next big movie franchise, you can see why something like Artemis Fowl would be appealing. Originally planned for the turn of the millennium, the project spent nearly two decades in development hell at various studios before Disney was eventually able to heavily adapt the events from the popular novels to film. Maybe they should have taken a little longer.

Artemis Fowl is a mess. We’re introduced to the brilliant teenager Artemis Fowl, Jr. (Ferdia Shaw), we know he’s smart as the script continually reminds us, who discovers his father’s (Colin Farrell) stories about magic and fairies are all true after Sr. is abducted by a mysterious figure who hopes to trade him for a mystical artifact she hopes Jr. can find (despite the boy having no practical knowledge of his father’s secret life). Thrown into the mix are Lara McDonnell as a sort of elvish soldier and a giant dwarf played by Josh Gad who narrates the film by explaining events to authorities (often breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to the audience) in a vain attempt to keep the runaway train on its tracks.

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The Trial of the Chicago 7

  • Title: The Trial of the Chicago 7
  • IMDb: link

The Trial of the Chicago 7 movie reviewIn a year which has seen both a rise of public protest and attempts by both state and federal to squelch freedom of assembly comes a timely film from writer/director Aaron Sorkin looking back at the anti–Vietnam War protesters known as the Chicago Seven. While jumping over large parts of the trial, and using flashbacks to reveal events out of order, The Trial of the Chicago 7 certainly takes dramatic license. As a result, it’s not a great trial movie, but is still an engaging and moving film.

Leading the protest of the 1968 Democratic National Convention which ended in police violence, Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen), Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong), Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne), Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp), David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch), Lee Weiner (Noah Robbins), and John Froines (Danny Flaherty) were all charged with crossing state lines with the intention of inciting a riot. Also on trial was Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who despite not being present at the riots (or connected to the other defendants), found himself guilty by association for the inflammatory speech he gave that day.

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Over the Moon

  • Title: Over the Moon
  • IMDb: link

Over the Moon movie reviewPearl StudiosOver the Moon feels very much like its first feature. As in Abominable, we’re introduced to a young female Asian protagonist struggling with the loss of a parent who goes off on an adventure and learns an important lesson. While hitting many of the same emotional notes, Over the Moon isn’t as successful or magical as Abominable. Our heroine this time is Fei Fei (Cathy Ang), struggling with his father’s choice to remarry four years after the death of her mother (Ruthie Ann Miles). Using a child’s logic, she decides if she can prove the truth of a the legend of the Chinese goddess of the Moon she can prevent the wedding.

Building her own rocket, because that’s the kind of movie this is where a smart girl can build a rocket out of garbage to reach the moon, with her rabbit and stowaway brother-to-be (Robert G Chiu), Fei Fei reaches the moon where she encounters Chang’e (Phillipa Soo) who comes off more moody pop star than legendary figure living in a bright land filled with candied creatures on the moon. In helping to give Chang’e what she needs, Fei Fei discovers a lesson about love, loss, and life. The film features a number of songs, although those about loss and moon pies turn out far better than those about math.

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A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

  • Title: A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
  • IMDb: link

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon movie review

Shaun the Sheep meets E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon when an alien lands outside of Mossingham. While it fails to reach the heights of 2015’s Shaun the Sheep Movie, Farmageddon works as a all-ages adventure playing on themes of the series including the give-and-take between the mischievous sheep (Justin Fletcher) and the farm’s sheepdog Bitzer (John Sparkes) as well as opening up world of Shaun the Sheep to a much wider and diverse universe.

As you would expect from a Shaun the Sheep feature, the stop-motion animation is top notch, and the story of Shaun getting into trouble with the lost Lu-La (Amalia Vitale) hits all the right emotional beats. Even the inclusion of a subplot involving an obsessed government agent (Kate Harbour) ends in warm feels. The film’s title comes from the amusement park the Farmer (Sparkes) has the sheep construct to make money off the alien craze that pops-up around town following the first sighting. There are plenty of nods and Easter eggs to sci-fi fans (my favorites being both the use of the use of the Close Encounters of the Third Kind music and the cameo from The Doctor).

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