3.5 Razors

Jessica Jones – AKA Crush Syndrome

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Marvel’s Jessica Jones – AKA Crush Syndrome
  • wiki: link

Jessica Jones - AKA Crush Syndrome

Realizing that Kilgrave (David Tennant) is both alive and responsible for Hope (Erin Moriarty) murdering her loving parents, Jessica (Krysten Ritter) works to find the mind-controlling madman by going back to the events of the night she escaped from his control by following breadcrumbs on just how he was able to survive. There’s relatively little actual detective work over the course of the show’s First Season considering that our protagonist is a private investigator. “AKA Crush Syndrome” is probably the best example of Jessica using her skills as a detective in an attempt to uncover the truth. Although she doesn’t find the season’s villain, she does get discover how he was able to cannibalize a victim in order to stay alive, and a short discussion with the doctor involved in saving the villain’s life gives Jessica a weapon to use against Kilgrave when she finds him.

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Brooklyn

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

BrooklynBased on Colm Tóibín‘s novel, Brooklyn is an old fashioned immigrant story following the wide-eyed Ellis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan) from her small Irish town to New York where her life slowly begins to change. When the pull of home beckons, however, she will be forced to make hard decisions regarding her future, the man she loves, and which side of the Atlantic Ocean she truly wants to call home.

The film quickly becomes more romance-driven than historical drama and features a ponderously-paced first half-hour. That said, once Ellis’ life in Brooklyn truly begins the film opens up a bit, is able to breathe, and Ronan is allowed to shine. The film’s star is without doubt the movie’s biggest strength smoothing over the film’s rougher edges when it drifts dangerously close to melodrama.

The supporting cast is solid throughout highlighted by Jim Broadbent as the preacher and family friend who helps Ellis in America, Fiona Glascott as Ellis’ sister Rose, and Emory Cohen as Ellis’ suitor. Arrow fans will also take note of Emily Bett Rickards as one of the women from the Brooklyn boarding house.

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Trainwreck

/ / Uncategorized
  • Title: Trainwreck
  • IMDb: link

TrainwreckAmy Schumer, who also wrote the script, stars as a relationship-averse mess of a woman whose world view is changed after interviewing a doctor (Bill Hader) for a local magazine. Trainwreck is a pretty straightforward romcom focusing on Amy’s struggles with love and her dysfunctional relationships with her father (Colin Quinn), sister (Brie Larson), and former boyfriend (John Cena). Like many scripts written by stand-up comedians, Trainwreck is a bit uneven. At times the film is quite funny even if all of its jokes don’t quite hit home.

Directed by Judd Apatow, the film boasts an odd collection of unlikely supporting characters. Along with Cena we also get LeBron James (playing himself) as Hader’s client and friend, Amar’e Stoudemire, Tilda Swinton as Amy’s demanding boss, and Daniel Radcliffe and Marisa Tomei as the stars of a movie within the movie about a dogwalker and his client in a running gag that never pays off.

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The Blacklist – Kings of the Highway

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: The Blacklist – Kings of the Highway
  • wiki: link

The Blacklist - Kings of the Highway

The first-half of The Blacklist‘s Third Season comes to a close as Reddington (James Spader) is abducted by a local gang just as his plans to clear Lizzie‘s (Megan Boone) name are reaching completion. Dropping everything, Lizzie begins searching for her missing friend even going so far as to reach out to Navabi (Mozhan Marnò) for help which is a decision which will ultimately bite both women in the ass and put the FBI on their trail and getting Navabi fired from the task force.

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Straight Outta Compton

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Straight Outta Compton
  • IMDb: link

Straight Outta ComptonStraight Outta Compton is pretty straightforward as far as music biopics go. Produced by members of the band, who at this point have long put aside the differences that produce much of the conflict over the movie’s 147-minute running time, Straight Outta Compton does deliver on an inside look at the rise and implosion of N.W.A. and the individual careers the breakthrough group launched. However, it also takes a bit too much care to make sure no one (with the exception of California law enforcement) comes off too poorly once all is said and done. I get the feeling had the film been made when emotions were at their peak the movie might more resemble the group’s music and be more emotionally raw offering audiences a starker look at life behind-the-scenes.

One of the biggest strengths of director F. Gary Gray‘s film is the cast (O’Shea Jackson, Jr. as Ice Cube, Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, Aldis Hodge as MC Ren, Neil Brown, Jr. as DJ Yella, R. Marcos Taylor as Suge Knight, and Paul Giamatti as Jerry Heller) most of whom bare a striking resemblance to their real-world counterparts and sell us on the complicated relationships of the group and their musical ability.

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