2.5 Razors – Page 98 – RazorFine Review

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Together or Not at All

Alan Rapp / January 16, 2018 / Television Reviews

Title: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Together or Not at All
wiki: link

“Together or Not at All” finally unites most of the time-displaced fugitive Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., if only for part of a single episode as the team will split-up yet again before the episode’s end. We get more of the family turmoil between the whiny Kasius (Dominic Rains) and uppity Faulnak (Samuel Roukin) that mercifully comes to an end with death of the later. In fact, there’s quite a bit of Kree-on-Kree violence as Sinara (Florence Faivre) murders Maston-Dar (Remington Hoffman) despite the fact that the other warrior could have been useful in the capture of Daisy (Chloe Bennet).

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Jumanji: Unwelcome is the Remake

Alan Rapp / December 20, 2017 / Movie Reviews

Title: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
IMDb: link

1995’s Jumanji isn’t a great adaptation of the award-winning children’s book about a game which brings jungle chaos to the real world, but it works well-enough as a family-friendly adventure. Fast-forward to 2017 and Jumanji is reinvented as a video game, a concept which gives the sequel/remake the ability to cast big name stars playing kids trapped in the game. While the concept is initially interesting, nothing about the plot makes sense in the structure of a video game as the script quickly devolves into a hot mess.

The film begins in Breakfast Club-style when four students, a nerd (Alex Wolff), jock (Ser’Darius Blain), popular girl (Madison Iseman), and freak (Morgan Turner), get thrown in detention by a stern principal. Finding an old video game in the school’s basement, the foursome are transported into the world of Jumanji as the avatars they chose: the hero (Dwayne “It’s Okay to Call Me The Rock Again” Johnson), his zoologist sidekick (Kevin Hart), a cartographer (Jack Black, basically doing Rob Schneider‘s shtick from The Hot Chick), and a dance-fighter (Karen Gillan). As in the original, the group will discover another player (Nick Jonas) trapped in the game.

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The Not Very Interesting Showman

Alan Rapp / December 20, 2017 / Movie Reviews

Title: The Greatest Showman
IMDb: link

I never thought I would see Hugh Jackman upstaged by Zac Efron. Jackman stars as the flawed but good-natured conman and showman P.T. Barnum, whose dreams and drive will lead the unemployed clerk into creating the world’s first circus. Director Michael Gracey‘s elaborate musical has several problems, including (but no limited to) the film is far less epic than intended, most of the musical numbers are forgettable, plot issues are immediately solved with minimal effort (sometimes even off camera), and its main character is the least interesting thing about the entire project. Other than that, it’s an okay show.

Jackman’s Barnum is a bland lead compelled to rise above his station and prove his worth. Despite the infectious dream he shares, and the family he creates, he’s often a selfish and unlikable character. The cast of supporting characters include Michelle Williams as Barnum’s wife, Rebecca Ferguson as Barnum’s first legitimate act, Efron as Barnum’s business associate and Zendaya as the trapeze artist he falls for, and a collection of oddities, freaks, and exhibits which Barnum fills his circus including Keala Settle and Sam Humphrey.

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – A Life Earned

Alan Rapp / December 19, 2017 / Television Reviews

Title: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – A Life Earned
wiki: link

The misadventures of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. lost in time and space continues as adapting to their surroundings has negative effects on Mack (Henry Simmons), Daisy (Chloe Bennet) meets the Kree overlords and discovers their plans for Inhumans, May (Ming-Na Wen) gets her ass kicked, and the rest of the team stumbles around the space station for an hour (give or take a few minutes for commercials). One reveal that “A Life Earned” does give us is the identity of the man behind the mask we saw back in the first episode of this season. As to why he’s been avoiding his friends since their arrival… um, that’s less clear.

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The Square

Alan Rapp / December 1, 2017 / Movie Reviews

Title: The Square
IMDb: link

I’ll be honest, I don’t know exactly what to make of The Square. It’s hard to create a satire poking fun at pretentiousness when your film is at least as pretentious as as the subject of your mockery. Swedish writer/director Ruben Östlund‘s film certainly provides its share of moments satirizing modern art, middling celebrities, what wealthy donors of the arts really care about, and marketers. However, the film is over-brimming with subplots involving a threatening letter, a mugging, an angry child, a crazy one-night stand (Elisabeth Moss), and a marketing plan so ridiculous it’s impossible to take it seriously.

Claes Bang stars as the curator and public face of a museum in Stockholm about to unveil their newest addition (which gives the film its name). The wistful, if hopelessly naive, piece of art is a square in which the artist believes that whoever enters leaves all negativity behind and will receive whatever help they need from those that pass by. As concepts go it’s no more or less ridiculous than an artist (Terry Notary) jumping around like an ape and nearly sexually-violating a young woman during a dinner for wealthy donors.

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