2.5 Razors

Clipped – Dreamers

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Clipped – Dreamers
  • IMDb: link

Clipped - Dreamers

The subject of how long is too long to hold on to your dreams in the theme of Clipped’s second episode as Danni (Ashley Tisdale) and A.J. (Mike Castle) offer each other conflicting advice when Danni decides to give up on her dream of being a singer and A.J. is offered another minor league baseball tryout. Although A.J.’s words make Danni reconsider her decision she doesn’t realize how her negative influence upsets her friend who decides to throw in the towel on his lifelong dreams thanks to her advice. The episode also allows for Tisdale to show off her singing voice (in an odd song choice for an open mic night) while writing that talent into her character’s backstory.

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Sense8 – Limbic Resonance

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Sense8 – Limbic Resonance
  • IMDb: link

Sense8 - Limbic Resonance

At this point I think we can stop refering to the Wachowskis as talented filmmakers who have lost their way and consider The Matrix may instead be the exception to their otherwise mediocre filmmography. Created and produced along with J. Michael Straczynski (last seen doing anything interesting in the Third Season of Babylon 5), the pair’s latest is a Netflix series surrounding an assorted group of people from all walks of life who, at least based on this first episode, seem placed on-screen as walking plot points for the show discuss various themes such as racism, inequality, crime, sexual identity and relationships, drug use, politics, and a sense of being lost and alone in the world. It’s like Crash was made into a series by the people responsible for The Matrix Revolutions and Ninja Assassin. Oh, wait, that’s exactly what happened.

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Guilty Pleasure – Seventh Son

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Seventh Son
  • IMDb: link

Seventh SonSadly in no way related to the (much better) first book in Orson Scott Card‘s The Tales of Alvin Maker, director Sergey Bodrov‘s Seventh Son bombed with critics and audiences alike. With a tired script, plenty of plot holes, and inconsistent special effects it’s impossible to call Seventh Son a good movie, but as a C-List guilty pleasure with a cast too good for its story the movie isn’t without some charm.

Based on The Wardstone Chronicles by Joseph Delaney, the movie stars Ben Barnes as the newest apprentice of monster hunter extraordinaire Master Gregory (Jeff Bridges) who only has a week to learn the craft before going to war with the hated enemies of Gregory’s all but extinct order.

Julianne Moore stars as the leader of a coven of witches who recently escaped the prison Gregory (who has a long history with the woman) put her in years before, and Alicia Vikander is a young witch and potential love interest for the young hero.

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Still Slightly Out of Tune

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Pitch Perfect 2
  • IMDb: link

Pitch Perfect 2Based on the book by Mickey Rapkin 2012’s Pitch Perfect was an occasionally fun, if wildly inconsistent, story glorifying a bizarre college subculture where a capella groups were the biggest celebrities on a college campus. Picking up three years later, loner Freshman Becca (Anna Kendrick) has grown into the Senior leader of the three-time defending a capella champions who face new adversity when a complicated stunt goes wrong at a public event.

Barred from competing, touring, or defending their national championship by the announcers (John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks) who cover the sport (and also run it now?), the Barden Bellas’ only chance for redemption is to become the first American group to win at the World A capella Tournament.

If you thought it was bizarre seeing colleges go wild over a capella singing in the first film you haven’t seen anything yet as, in typical sequel fashion, Pitch Perfect 2 goes bigger this time around. The results are much the same as the first film with awkward romantic subplots and an odd storyline designed to make Becca the outsider of the group once more as she is the only member of the Bellas planning for life after college.

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Backstrom – Corkscrewed

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Backstrom – Corkscrewed
  • wiki: link

Backstrom - Corkscrewed

It seems family is going to be a big theme of the final two episodes of Backstrom‘s First Season. When the criminal who Backstrom (Rainn Wilson) threatened to stay away from Valentine (Thomas Dekker) shows up dead on the docks just outside their houseboat the unit quickly searches for other suspects besides the most obvious one. Discovering the victim and Valentine were working together on a wine-smuggling scam, Backstrom’s attention is pointed towards those hurt (especially once he learns that all the vintage wines being smuggled are forgeries).

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