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‘The X Files’ 11.10 Recap: “What If This Is Our Last Good Chance?”

Josh Zyber — Fri, 23 Mar 2018 12:00:36 +0000

With Chris Carter writing and directing again, there was never any doubt that the season finale of ‘The X Files’ would be awful. The real question was always just how awful it could be. We’re back in mythology territory again, of course, despite the fact that the monster-of-the-week episodes are basically the only tolerable parts...

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‘The X Files’ 10.06 Recap: “It Would Now Appear We Go Out with a Whimper”

Josh Zyber — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 14:00:42 +0000

I dreaded this. I knew going in that the finale of the ‘X Files’ revival would tie directly to the awful season premiere episode. Somehow, despite setting my expectations as low as possible (is there something lower than rock bottom?), it’s even worse than I expected. I’ll refrain from calling ‘My Struggle II’ (even the...

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‘The X Files’ 10.01 Recap: “I Thought You Were Done with UFOs”

Josh Zyber — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 14:00:59 +0000

Fourteen years have passed since ‘The X Files’ closed on television, with one box office dud feature film in between. Riding the current wave of nostalgia for any property that used to be popular once upon a time, Fox has resurrected the supernatural drama for a new six-episode season, complete with stars David Duchovny and...

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‘Adult Beginners’ Review: Because “Adult Swim” Was Already Taken…

Philip Brown — Fri, 08 May 2015 14:00:28 +0000

As the title suggests, ‘Adult Beginners’ is another one of those comedies about theoretically grown-up humans who are still little kids inside – you know, the type of comedy that’s been cranked out regularly since the Apatow revolution. It’s not a bad one, just not great. As a launching pad for Nick Kroll in the...

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TIFF Journal: ‘Adult Beginners’

Philip Brown — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 19:00:00 +0000

You know how hilarious it can be to watch grown-ass adults behave like children? Well, ‘Adult Beginners’ is another one of those movies. Thankfully, it’s also a pretty good one. Nick Kroll stars as a would-be entertainer whose Google-Glass-like product fails spectacularly at its launch party in the first scene, which essentially ruins his life...

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Six Seasons and a Movie After All?

Josh Zyber — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 19:00:09 +0000

Destiny calls for ‘Community’. The cult sitcom has survived perpetually terrible ratings, the firing and rehiring of the show’s creator, and now even cancelation. Against all odds, the series will return for a sixth season… but not on NBC. Honestly, I have to give NBC credit for keeping ‘Community’ on the air as long it...

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‘Deliver Us from Evil’ Review: Yet Another Last Exorcism

Philip Brown — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 14:00:39 +0000

‘Sinister’ director Scott Derrickson mashes up the cop and exorcism genres in a way that would seem fresh were it not for his convoluted script, and the fact that ‘Exorcist III’ covered most of this ground 24 years ago. It’s still a decent movie, just nothing special. As evidenced by the success of ‘Sinister‘ and...

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‘Community’ 4.13 Recap: “I Hear You’re Graduating Kiddie College”

Dan Hirshleifer — Wed, 15 May 2013 19:00:39 +0000

The execs at NBC has gone off their meds. First they fire Dan Harmon, leaving him to find out about the news secondhand. Then they renew ‘Community’, but in a shortened order. They delay the start of the season, dumping it towards the end of the regular programming season, where it runs awkwardly through holiday...

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‘Community’ 4.11 Recap: “And That Is What I Would Be Saying If I Gave a Crap”

Dan Hirshleifer — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:00:40 +0000

I know that I may sound like a broken record at this point, but this season of ‘Community’ has consistently been at its best when it keeps things focused on the group and keeps the group at Greendale. This was perfectly displayed in last Thursday’s episode, ‘Basic Human Anatomy’. Not only was it one of...

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‘Community’ 4.10 Recap: “No One Wants to Screw the Group”

Dan Hirshleifer — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:00:12 +0000

Thursday’s episode of ‘Community’, called ‘Intro to Knots’, features Malcolm McDowell tied up in a chair for extended periods of time. Under Dan Harmon, this would have led to a smorgasbord of ‘Clockwork Orange‘ gags, but instead, we get a half-hearted homage to Hitchcock’s ‘Rope‘ that does no credit to either the original film or...

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‘Community’ 4.09 Recap: “Those Berries Made Us Real Talky… But Not Real Listen-y”

Dan Hirshleifer — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:00:32 +0000

It was bound to happen eventually. From time to time, ‘Community’ will do a show outside the norm, like the stop-motion Christmas episode, or the 8-bit episode that dealt with Pierce’s inheritance. At their best, these episodes can give us a whole new way of seeing the show. At worst, these episodes feel like a...

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‘Community’ 4.08 Recap: “I Britta’d It!”

Dan Hirshleifer — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:00:13 +0000

As this season has made abundantly clear, the current writers of ‘Community’ are at their best when they focus on Greendale. Thursday’s episode, ‘Herstory of Dance’, proves that assertion ably. It also puts the absurdity on the backburner in favor of real character moments, and in the process ends up being one of the best...

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