Seth Harris

Movie Review – The End of the Tour

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The End of the Tour (2015)
Written by Donald Margulies
Directed by James Ponsoldt

the end of the tour

Writer/journalist David Lipsky wakes up one morning to the news that David Foster Wallace killed himself. Wallace was a novelist who published Infinite Jest in 1996 and was a book that hit with tremendous impact on the literary world. Lipsky worked at Rolling Stone in the 90s and proposed going out to Central Illinois where he would follow the author on the last stop of his book tour. Lipsky arrives and finds Wallace to be a man not exactly comfortable with the fame his book has brought him. He seems very agreeable though considerably quiet and not having too many close friends, but lots of acquaintances. Over the course of a couple of days, Lipsky gets to know Wallace and probe into places the writer might not want to go.

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Movie Review – Ready Player One

Ready Player One (2018)
Written by Zak Penn and Ernest Cline
Directed by Steven Spielberg

READY PLAYER ONE

Wade Watts is a young man living in the Columbus stacks in the year 2045. An online virtual world called The Oasis dominates everyone’s lives providing them the ability to be whomever they wish and do whatever they want to. The deceased creator of the Oasis, James Halliday posthumously announces a contest hidden throughout this artificial reality, a search for three keys. To find the keys, you must decode the riddles Halliday has left which all seem to tie back to events in his personal life, particularly regrets. Wade befriends Kira, a fellow searcher for the keys and they take on the menace of IOI, a corporate entity devoting their resources to finding the keys. The person who solves the riddles and finds the keys will end up with ownership of the Oasis and determine its future.

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Movie Review – Slow West

Slow West (2015)
Written & Directed by John Maclean

slow west

Young Jay Cavendish has traveled from Scotland to America in pursuit of his one true love Rose Ross. Rose and her father fled their home after a crime was committed. Jay crosses paths with Silas Selleck, a bounty hunter who appears to take a fondness to the naive and earnest younger man. They begin a trek across the West to find Rose and encounter other travelers along the way. Following them are a band of fellow bounty hunters who want to catch Jay for their purposes. The journey is a quiet one with short bursts of violence, like a strange dream.

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Comic Book Review – Underworld Unleashed

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Underworld Unleashed (1995)
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Howard Porter

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Flash rogue Abra Kadabra has gone about recruiting the villains of the DC Universe to serve under Neron, a lord of the underworld. Neron offers these villains new powers and their greatest fantasies if they only give him their souls. Suddenly Metropolis, Gotham, and other cities are beset by villains with an immense level of power. Neron eventually turns his gaze to Belle Reve, the prison for super powered criminals. The Justice Leaguer Blue Devil goes it alone deep into the bowels of Hell to stop this villain and is transformed forever. Eventually, it is up to a group of Earth’s heroes to follow his path and take on Neron.

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Movie Review – Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)
Written & Directed by Tony Gilroy

roman j israel

Roman J. Israel is a lawyer that hasn’t seen the inside of a courtroom in years. While he types up the briefs, his partner William Jackson makes the court appearances and argues for their clients. Jackson drops from a heart attack, and Roman learns that the firm is on the verge of financial collapse. For the last few years, they’ve had cases tossed to them by George Pierce, a costly and lucrative lawyer. Seeing potential in Roman and feeling pity for him, Pierce brings Roman on to handle small, hard to win cases. The pressures of modern life begin to take their toll on the aging former civil rights activist and Roman starts to question the very nature of his ideals.

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Movie Review – I Kill Giants

I Kill Giants (2018)
Written by Joe Kelly
Directed by Anders Walter

i kill giants

Barbara Thorson is a withdrawn teenager living on Long Island who spends her days traversing the nearby woods and setting traps. She is convinced that giants are real and are coming to attack her town. A new girl moves to town, Sophia, who wants to be Barbara’s friend but finds her caustic and unwelcoming. As she gets to know this intense young woman she learns about the giants hiding just beneath the surface of our reality and Barbara’s secret weapon, a massive hidden weapon called Coveleski. But as Sophia gets closer to Barbara, she learns more is going on in her life.

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Movie Review – You Were Never Really Here

You Were Never Really Here (2018)
Written & Directed by Lynne Ramsay

you were never really here

Joe is a man who lives a brutal life. He rescue girls caught up in human trafficking, typically being forced to work as prostitutes. This way of living, of earning money is catching up to Joe. He continually has flashbacks to his childhood abuse and depends on prescription meds to calm his mind. A new call comes in from a state senator, Albert Votto. Votto’s daughter is a frequent runaway, and he has word she’s being held in a brothel in the middle of Manhattan. Joe ventures out to rescue her and finds himself caught in a web of lies that started with Votto. But his mind and body may not be able to handle this one.

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Movie Review – Isle of Dogs

Isle of Dogs (2018)
Written by Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, & Kunichi Nomura
Directed by Wes Anderson

isle of dogs

Twenty years in the future, Japan is overrun by an outbreak of snout flu that leads to all the dogs in Megasaki City being sent to Trash Island by Mayor Kobayashi. Kobayashi’s nephew Atari steals a small plane and crash lands on the island on a quest to save his best friend, Spots. Atari unites with a pack of friendly dogs who want to help him travel across the island to find Spots. However, Chief is a stray who doesn’t like the idea of helping or being around humans. To succeed in their journey, Chief will need to overcome his past and learn how to be a good dog.

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Movie Review – Super 8

Super 8 (2011)
Written & Directed by J.J. Abrams

super 8

Strange things are happening in the town of Lillian, Ohio in the summer of 1979. Teenage Joe Lamb lost his mother in the winter, and now he and his father are struggling to recover. Joe is occupying his time by helping his best friend Charles make an amateur zombie film. While shooting a scene at a train depot, they witness a horrific crash caused by a local science teacher parking his truck on the tracks. Something was on that train that is now menacing the residents of this small Midwestern town. Joe and his friends quickly become embroiled in a mystery that brings the air force to town and puts their lives in danger.

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Movie Review – The Endless

The Endless (2017)
Written by Justin Benson
Directed by Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead

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Justin and Aaron are brothers who escaped from a UFO death cult a decade ago. While they toil away as professional cleaners day to day, Aaron starts to wonder if life back with the cult would be better. They receive a videotape in the mail that appears to be a farewell message from one of the cult members. The two men finally decide to return to the rural campground where the cult operates from and finds none of them remember sending any tape and are just happy to see their old friends back. Strange phenomena begin to happen around the camp and the two men figure out that the very fabric of reality is breaking down around them.

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