2.5 Razors

Supernatural Academy – Parallel Lives

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Supernatural Academy – Parallel Lives
  • IMDb: link

Adapted from the “sexy urban fantasy” series by Jaymin Eve, the new animated Peacock series introduces us to a world of magic hidden from the regular world feeling quite reminiscent of Harry Potter and Legacies, giving us a cloaked school whose students include were-creatures (wolves, dragons, etc.), or shifters as they are called here, vampires, fairies, magic users, and more. It turns out students in the school are nearly as oblivious about the outside world (learning about it through old movies) as the outside world is of the Supernatural Academy. Although the books are for older readers, the plot, characters, tropes, and setting for the show is all typical Young Adult Fantasy.

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Last Night in Soho

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Last Night in Soho
  • IMDb: link

Writer/director Edgar Wright‘s nostalgic love letter to the 1960s is glamorous spectacle. The story involves would-be designer Ellie (Thomasin McKenzie) who, shortly after starting university in London, begins dreaming life alongside a would-be singer named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy). The dreams start vibrant and hopeful, influencing Ellie’s actions during the day, but soon turn dark and violent before they spill into Ellie’s life even further.

Despite its lavish beauty, Last Night in Soho is a mess. If not for the great soundtrack, I’d say it would work better with the sound off as the story often gets in the way of the terrific visuals. Sadly, Ellie isn’t all that interesting as a character, nor are her struggles fitting in at college worth screen time. It’s only in the 60s when Sandie’s life takes over does the film come to life. And when the two stories crash together the film becomes a jumbled mess.

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How I Met Your Father – Pilot

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: How I Met Your Father – Pilot
  • IMDb: link

Spin-offs and sequels are tricky. One episode in, the How I Met Your Mother redux feels more like That 80s Show than Frasier, but I would guess Hulu will be willing to give the show as much time as possible to try and find a groove. The set-up of How I Met Your Father follows the same pattern with an older version of the main character (Kim Cattrall) relating stories about their past. In the case here, our lovelorn lead is New York photographer Sophie (Hilary Duff) who misses out on love yet again in the first episode while making some new friends. Like the original, the show teases an obvious answer to the unanswered question of the series, but still leaves the door open for plenty of movement on who Sophie may eventually end up with.

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The 355

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The 355
  • IMDb: link

There’s a fun, if not bright, story in The 355 once things get going and the female operatives from various spy agencies around the globe decide to work together. I don’t know that the movie is going to do well enough to earn a sequel, but I would suspect a second film, without the need for such lengthy set-up, would be superior. The main takeaway from The 355 seems to be that a female-led action movie can be just as dumb as any with an all-male cast.

The plot, so to speak, involves a technological super-drive (the kind of device you only find in these types of movies) that can crack anything (planes, financial records, power plants, your Spotify account, etc.). Discovered by accident on a drug raid, an agent (Edgar Ramírez) in Columbia attempts to sell it only to see it fall into the hands of a black market auctioneer who plans to sell it to the highest bidder giving them the power to destabilize the world with the press of a few buttons.

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Cry Macho

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Cry Macho
  • IMDb: link

Clint Eastwood, who also directs, stars as an old cowboy sent to find the son (Eduardo Minett) of a rancher (Dwight Yoakam) in Mexico and bring him to the United States. Cry Macho is a slow-paced stalled road trip movie with Mike (Eastwood) and Rafo (Minett) getting stuck in a Mexican town for most of the film while hiding from authorities and the boy’s mother (Fernanda Urrejola) who doesn’t want him to leave Mexico.

Knocking around Hollywood for the better part of 50 years, the script offers some minimal commentary on machismo while the title of the movie comes from Rafo’s prize cock-fighting rooster. The story unfolds as expected with no stand-out scenes or surprises. Of course, Mike keeps a secret from Rafo leading to inevitable conflict in the final act before Cry Macho eventually limps to the finish line. It’s not a bad film, but there’s little of interest other than some nice cinematography of Mexico.

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