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The Rook Pilot Recap: “Why Would Anyone Do This to Me?”

Josh Zyber — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 12:00:43 +0000

The Starz network’s new high-concept sci-fi drama The Rook feels specifically designed as a replacement for the recently-canceled Counterpart. Although the premiere episode shows some promise, I’m not certain that it entirely fills that void. Based on a 2012 novel by Daniel O’Malley, the TV adaptation was initially developed by Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, who...

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The Predator Review: Get to Your Choppa, Poppa Predator Returns

Philip Brown — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 19:00:35 +0000

When it was announced that Shane Black would bring the Predator franchise back from the dead, it didn’t face nearly the same level of hype or skepticism as the return of the Alien series. The Predator has no masterful mythology to screw up. Even caring about that stuff at all was a step forward. All...

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‘Office Christmas Party’ Review: Skip It for Santa

Philip Brown — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 13:00:33 +0000

Hollywood holiday movies don’t come much more generic than ‘Office Christmas Party’. If the painfully impersonal title didn’t give the game away, this is cookie-cutter comedy filmmaking at its most frustrating. Every joke is forced and every attempt at squeezing in emotion falls flat. This thing is a big corporate product that’s been overthought for...

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‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Review: It’s the End of the World As We Know It

Philip Brown — Wed, 25 May 2016 12:00:23 +0000

It’s odd that the ‘X-Men’ series is by far the longest-running film franchise of the 2000s comic book blockbuster boom and yet it’s also somehow an also-ran in the superhero race. Bryan Singer technically kicked off the Marvel movie revolution back in 2000 with the first ‘X-Men’ movie, so the fact that he’s now helming...

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‘Ride Along 2’ Review: More Mediocrity

Philip Brown — Fri, 15 Jan 2016 17:00:03 +0000

The 2014 buddy-cop comedy ‘Ride Along’ wasn’t very good. However, it was released in a slow winter movie season to great success. Hollywood logic dictates that’s more than enough to earn a sequel. So now we have one, with a “2” in the title to prove it. Predictably, it’s not very good either. That said,...

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Weekend Roundtables: Career Turnarounds

Josh Zyber — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 19:00:56 +0000

Sometimes, an actor just needs to find the right role to suit his or her talents. In this week’s Roundtable, we discuss the actors that we used to dislike, even hate, until one project finally turned their fortunes around. There are two possible ways to look at this topic: You generally don’t like the actor,...

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‘The Newsroom’ 3.04 Recap: “I Find Your Irish Stoicism Irritating”

Shannon Nutt — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 17:00:17 +0000

One of my favorite things about ‘The Newsroom’ was the idea that the show would take major real-life news stories and provide “hindsight” commentary (although not for the characters) on the events. However, we’ve gotten very little of that in Season 3, and get none in this latest episode. But you know what? I thought...

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‘The Newsroom’ 3.03 Recap: “I Still Don’t See Any Way We Can Survive”

Shannon Nutt — Tue, 25 Nov 2014 20:00:59 +0000

After opening the season with two strong episodes, it’s perhaps no surprise that this week’s entry of ‘The Newsroom’ is a little weaker. However, it’s still a good episode that continues the major storylines of this final season and puts the pieces in place for what will follow. This episode begins right where last week...

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‘The Newsroom’ 3.02 Recap: “You Walked Right Past the Waffles”

Shannon Nutt — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 20:00:47 +0000

Despite not having anything to do with a historical news story, nor even featuring any scenes of characters delivering an on-the-air report or commentary, the second episode of the final season of ‘The Newsroom’ is another solid one, once again reminding viewers of how entertaining this series can be when it’s firing on all cylinders....

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‘The Newsroom’ 3.01 Recap: “An Unwelcome Opportunity to Be Sure”

Shannon Nutt — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 20:00:00 +0000

Followers of my past recaps of ‘The Newsroom’ and/or my reviews of the Blu-rays already know my position on this HBO series. I was a huge fan of the first season, but I thought Season 2 almost completely took away everything I loved about the show. Many out there feel the opposite, and thought the...

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‘The Newsroom’ 2.05 Recap: “Tonight, We Settle All Family Business”

Shannon Nutt — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 16:00:18 +0000

I’m still not sure what to make of this season of ‘The Newsroom’. The positive news is this week’s episode (‘News Night with Will McAvoy’) is the strongest entry of the season. The bad news is that it still pales in comparison to any episode of Season 1. With only four episodes left, I think...

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‘The Newsroom’ 1.10 Recap: “Don’t Shoot and Miss”

Josh Zyber — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:00:56 +0000

Yes, I fully realize that this post is very late. Due to time commitments, and frankly a little lack of interest, I gave up recapping Aaron Sorkin’s ‘The Newsroom’ just over halfway through the show’s first season. I’d intended to weigh in with my thoughts on the finale, which aired two weeks ago, but couldn’t...

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