Category: 2018

Movie Review – You Were Never Really Here

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

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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

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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 – Unsane

Unsane (2018)
Written by Jonathan Bernstein & James Greer
Directed by Steven Soderbergh

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Sawyer Valentini has recently made a big move away from her home in Boston. The circumstances that led her to this decision was the persistent stalking by an acquaintance. The trauma of this experience leads Sawyer into seeing this man everywhere she turns. It reaches such a point of distress that she books an appointment to visit a counselor at the Highland Creek Behavior Center. After a brief and productive meeting with a therapist, Sawyer is saddled with filling out some extra paperwork. Before she realizes, Sawyer has voluntarily checked herself into the center for a 24 hour period. This causes her to get physical with fellow patients and staff leading to an extension of a week. And then she begins seeing her stalker around the mental hospital. Is this her mind genuinely fracturing or something much more insidious?

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Movie Review – Hereditary

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Hereditary (2018)
Written & Directed by Ari Aster

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Here is where I would typically write up a brief synopsis of the plot of the film I was reviewing before digging into the themes and performances. There would be a read more line after this paragraph where I would go into those things. However, I am going to put the plot synopsis below the “read more” line and would urge you that if you haven’t seen Hereditary to stop reading this review and do that first. Then come back and finish.

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TV Review – Arrested Development Season 5 (Part 1)

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Arrested Development Season 5 (Part 1) (Netflix)
Written by Mitch Hurwitz & James Vallely, Richard Day, Evan Mann & Gareth Reynolds, Maggie Rowe
Directed by Troy Miller

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Michael Bluth wakes up, after being forced to take a Forget Me Now pill by his brother Gob and has no idea that days have passed. He ends up spilling the beans to his son George Michael that they’ve been dating the same person, actress, and daughter of Ron Howard Rebel Alley. A rift forms between them and Michael ends up ditching his family to work for Google. Months pass and Michael returns only to find his sister Lindsay is now running for a congressional seat against Lucille Austero, who has been MIA since the night of Cinco de Quatro. In the meantime, youngest Bluth Buster went to the Orange County PD where he was locked for suspicion of involvement in Lucille Austero’s disappearance and possible death. Just another typical year in the life of the Bluth family.

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Movie Review – Thoroughbreds

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Thoroughbreds (2018)
Written & Directed by Cory Finley

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Amanda arrives at the home of her estranged friend Lily for a surprise invitation to “hang out.” Amanda quickly realizes this is a tutoring session set up by her mother, worried about Amanda’s borderline personality disorder getting in the way of meaningful friendships and her ability to do well in school. We learn that the two drifted apart after Lily’s father died and her mother remarried Mark, an incredibly wealthy man who demands the two women in his house comply with his rules. Amanda remarks that if Lily’s stepfather is causing her such grief, she should just kill him. At first, Lily shies away from this idea but the more she lingers on it, the more she wants to work to make it happen.

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Movie Review – Solo: A Star Wars Story

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Written by Jonathan Kasdan & Lawrence Kasdan
Directed by Ron Howard (well 70%, Phil Lord and Chris Miller for the other 30%)

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A long time ago in a galaxy far away, lived a young Dickensian orphan named Han who was under the thumb of an alien Fagin. He and his sweetheart Kira plan their escape from the hell of the shipbuilding planet Corellia, and sadly, only Han gets out while Kira is taken by their masters. Feeling lost and alone in the world, the young man joins up with the Galactic Empire with hopes of becoming a pilot. Along the way, he meets Beckett and his crew as well as befriending Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, and getting to fly the Millenium Falcon. They all get entangled in debt to the Crimson Dawn cartel that involves a heist which will, of course, go awry.

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TV Review – Atlanta: Robbin’ Season

Atlanta: Robbin’ Season (2018, FX)
Written by Donald Glover, Jamal Olori, Ibra Ake, Taofik Kolade, Stephen Glover, Taofik Kolade, and Stefani Robinson
Directed by Hiro Murai, Amy Seimetz, and Donald Glover

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There are shows I forget are amazing because the delay between seasons can be so long and so many other shows and films fill up my brain in between. Louie was one of those shows, The Leftovers was another. Atlanta is the current show that I fail to remember the greatness of. I wasn’t hyper-excited for season two because the first season felt like a distant memory, excellent but hazy. I have to say I enjoyed this second run of episodes immensely, even more so than its first season. Creator and showrunner Donald Glover isn’t even working at the height of his game in my opinion, he’s on the path to getting there, which is exciting because I expect something even better than what we have seen to date. We also shouldn’t ignore director Hiro Murai who set the plate so to speak of how Atlanta looks and feels. The aesthetic of the show feels so dreamlike, hazy blues filtered over the screen. When characters are outside it often has an early morning, dew-drenched misty quality, reminding me of nights where you stay up late and greet the morning. Glover cited Twin Peaks as an influence in the feel of the show, and I would agree that in its best episodes Atlanta finds that particular style.

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TV Review – Wild Wild Country

Wild Wild Country (2018, Netflix)
Directed by Maclain and Chapman Way

wild wild country

In 1981 a group of strangers arrived in the barely-there small town of Antelope, Oregon. These were the Sannyasins, followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, an Indian guru who was seeking a site for his new collective commune. They purchased 64,000-acre ranch where they began Rajneeshpuram, their new home. While the Bhagwan stuck close to his vow of silence, his personal secretary Ma Anand Sheela took the lead on being the public face. The residents of Antelope became distrusting of the Sannyasins as a result of their liberal sex practices and cult-ish nature. Things got increasingly worse with both sides gathering up weapons and the Sannyasins seeking to influence local county politics no matter the price.

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Movie Review – Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely
Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo

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All of reality is threatened as the mad titan Thanos seeks out the Infinity Gems, objects forged in the creation of the universe that allows their wielder to manipulate everything from time to the fabric of reality and the very soul of living beings. Iron Man stands alongside Doctor Strange and Spider-Man when Thanos’ lackeys arrive in New York City to search for one of the gems. Meanwhile, the Guardians of the Galaxy come across what remains of the Asgardians and Thor deep in the void of space. Captain America and his rogue Avengers also come to the table when it becomes clear everything they know is in danger as long as Thanos is in possession of these items. Only Gamora, with her intimate knowledge as Thanos’ daughter, can help them, but is it already too late?

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