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Boss Level

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  • Title: Boss Level
  • IMDb: link

Boss Level movie reviewB-movie actor Frank Grillo, best known for his role of Crossbones in the Marvel Universe films, stars as soldier Roy Pulver stuck in a time loop reliving the same day over and over again. Structured like a video game, although the explanation for the loop turns out having nothing to do with a video game, Ray fights through the army of oddball mercenaries every day but always ends up dying at some point.

The story behind Ray’s predicament traces back to his ex-wife (Naomi Watts), her latest scientific breakthrough (which of course is never adequately explained), and her evil boss (Mel Gibson) who apparently has a never-ending rolodex of ridiculous killers on hand and a hard-on to kill Ray. The film is structured by showing us some sequences over and over again, and other times jumping forward to only the new moments. It does make use of ideas in both Groundhog Day and Edge of Tomorrow in Ray using his unique situation to learn more skills to survive. Sadly, writer/director Joe Carnahan‘s film is nowhere near as good as either of those films, or last year’s far more enjoyable entry into the genre Palm Springs (also released on Hulu).

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Samurai Jack – Episode XXIII

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Samurai Jack – Episode XXII: Jack vs. Demongo, The Soul Collector
  • wiki: link

Samurai Jack - Episode XXIII television review

Throwback Tuesday takes us back to the adventures of the time-displaced samurai and his quest to make his way home. Aku (Mako) calls on Demongo (Kevin Michael Richardson) who he hopes may succeed where his other minions have failed and deal with Samurai Jack (Phil LaMarr). Demongo turns out to be an interesting change of pace for the show, not only because he isn’t a robotic warrior of some kind but because rather than fight Jack himself, the soul collector sends out the essence of previously defeated heroes to battle the samurai. This provides a heavy amount of action for the episode. It doesn’t matter how many times Jack beats them back, Demongo simply releases the warriors again and again (until Jack discovers the way to defeat them is to free the trapped warriors from the soul collector’s control). Demongo is one of the familiar faces who will return for a cameo in the show’s final season.

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Wonder Woman 1984

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Wonder Woman 1984
  • IMDb: link

Wonder Woman 1984 movie review2017’s Wonder Woman proved to be the pleasant surprise to shine some light in DC’s otherwise gloomy extended universe. Director Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot reunite for a sequel set in the 1980s (apparently primarily for the purpose of making fun of the decade’s fashion sense). Gadot seems more confident in the role, hits the right emotional beats, and the sequel taps into primary motivations of the character while introducing one of the Amazon’s most famous possessions in the Invisible Plane. So why isn’t Wonder Woman 1984 more successful?

The choice to bring back Wonder Woman‘s lost love Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) is a controversial one, but the wishing stone that also turns Kristen Wiig into Cheetah and provides Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) with near unlimited power does work as a catalyst to get things rolling. Trevor’s return forces Diana to confront her own feelings as does the dread that defeating Max may mean saying goodbye to Steve again. It’s a clever way to bring the character back for one more film but other than the personal turmoil it causes Diana, I don’t think the script is helped by Trevor’s inclusion.

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Artemis Fowl

/ / Home Video
  • 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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Samurai Jack – Episode XXII: Jack vs. the Five Hunters

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Samurai Jack – Episode XXII: Jack vs. the Five Hunters
  • wiki: link

Samurai Jack - Episode XXII: Jack vs. the Five Hunters television review

Throwback Tuesday takes us back to the adventures of the time-displaced samurai and his quest to make his way home. Looking for a solution to his samurai problems, Aku (Mako) enlists the help of the galaxy’s greatest hunters known as the Imakandi who arrive on Earth and then begin tracking down the samurai.

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