Movie Review – Death Note

Death Note (2017)
Written by Charley Parlapanides & Vlas Parlapanides, Jeremy Slater
Directed Adam Wingard

death note

Angsty Seattle teen Light Turner has a potent weapon literally drop out of the sky, the Death Note. Light finds this leather bound journal is a device that can kill anyone who the bearer knows the face and name of. The target’s name is recorded on a page of the book and Ryuk, the death god who accompanies the book does the rest. It should seem pretty obvious that Light ends up way over his head very quickly. He ends up sharing his secret with Mia, a cheerleader at his school and she takes to the book with a disturbing glee. Soon the series of strange deaths, all befalling known criminals, draws the attention of authorities and an unusual detective known only as L.

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Twin Peaks: The Return – Episode 16 Breakdown, Thoughts, and Analysis

Part 16
Written by Mark Frost & David Lynch
Directed by David Lynch

audrey dance

Doppelganger Cooper and Richard Horne arrive at one set of coordinates, a spot in the hills of Western Washington. Doop explains to Richard that three people have given him coordinates, only two people matched. Richard says they should check out the two that match. Doop hands him a device and explains he will need to climb on a rock atop a nearby hill and follow the growing beeps on the instrument. Meanwhile, Jerry Horne crests another hill yards away, but not close enough to distinguish who these people are. Richard follows the sound and ends up being incinerated by an electrical trap laid by individuals out to stop Doop. Reacting coldly to the death, Doop confirms Richard was indeed his son. Before leaving he texts Diane a message that reads only “=) all.”

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PopCult Book Club Announcement: September 2017 – Lovecraft Country

After a month long sabbatical, save for Twin Peaks updates, Pop Cult’s engines will start firing up again. To start out, our book club selection will be Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff. It was recently announced that HBO will be adapting the book into a series to be helmed by director Jordan Peele (Get Out, Key and Peele). The book is described as:

lovecraft country“Chicago, 1954. When his father Montrose goes missing, 22-year-old Army veteran Atticus Turner embarks on a road trip to New England to find him, accompanied by his Uncle George—publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide—and his childhood friend Letitia. On their journey to the manor of Mr. Braithwhite—heir to the estate that owned one of Atticus’s ancestors—they encounter both mundane terrors of white America and malevolent spirits that seem straight out of the weird tales George devours […]

A chimerical blend of magic, power, hope, and freedom that stretches across time, touching diverse members of two black families, Lovecraft Country is a devastating kaleidoscopic portrait of racism—the terrifying specter that continues to haunt us today.”

Join us to read this interesting examination of the racist elements within the worlds of Lovecraft and America.

Twin Peaks: The Return – Part 15 Breakdown, Thoughts, and Analysis

Part 15
Written by Mark Frost & David Lynch
Directed by David Lynch

Part 15

We open on a surprisingly bright sunny day, as Nadine Hurley walks with purpose down the highway, a golden shovel over her shoulder. She arrives at the Gas Farm to tell Big Ed she is setting him free from their marriage. Nadine has had an epiphany and realized that he and Norma Jennings should be together, that her jealousy stood in the way. I think she both genuine and has developed feelings for Dr. Amp aka Jacoby based on their last scene together. Ed takes this in and sets off from the station.

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Twin Peaks: The Return – Episode 14 Breakdown, Thoughts, and Analysis

Part 14
Written by Mark Frost & David Lynch
Directed by David Lynch

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We begin with FBI Director Gordon Cole returning a call to Twin Peaks Police Department. He has an exchange with Lucy where she assures him she does go home and has gone a vacation; the department is not her home. On the horn with Frank, Cole learns about the missing pages of Laura Palmer’s diary and the implication that there are two Dale Coopers out and about in the world. Now, Cole knows they cannot trust Doop when they next cross paths.

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Twin Peaks: The Return – Part 13 Breakdown, Thoughts, and Analysis

Part 13
Written by Mark Frost & David Lynch
Directed by David Lynch

Sherilyn Fenn in a still from Twin Peaks. Photo: Suzanne Tenner/SHOWTIME

Cooper, the Mitchum Brothers, their gals come to Lucky 7 celebrating, making a conga line through the office. They end up showering gifts on Bushnell, diamond cuff links and a car. Tony Sinclair sees all this going on and calls Mr. Todd, nervous and worried. Todd tells Tony it is his job to kill Dougie now.

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Twin Peaks: The Return – Episode 12 Breakdown, Thoughts, and Analysis

Part 12
Written by David Lynch & Mark Frost
Directed by David Lynch

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At the hotel in Buckhorn, South Dakota, Albert pours glasses of wine for himself, Gordon Cole, and Tamara Preston. Preston is being inducted into their inner circle, becoming an agent who will investigate Blue Rose cases. Albert explains that this is an extension of the closed Project Blue Book files and was started by Gordon and Phillip Jeffries. Jeffries recruited Dale Cooper, Chet Desmond, and Albert to be their agents specializing in these supernatural investigations. This explains Cooper’s strange techniques to deduce who killed Laura Palmer.

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Movie Review – The Fate of the Furious

The Fate of the Furious (2017)
Written by Chris Morgan
Directed by F. Gary Gray

Film Title: The Fate of the Furious

Dominic Toretto is spending his honeymoon in Havana, Cuba when his path crosses with international terrorist hacker Cipher (Charlize Theron). Cipher has sought out Dom, with a particular bit of leverage, to force him in helping her go about some sort of overly convoluted terrorist shit. This makes it appear that Dom has betrayed his crew, but Letty is convinced more is going on behind the scenes. Meanwhile, Hobbs needs the team’s help in recovering an emp device that just so happens to tie into Cipher’s plans. Deckard Shaw is tossed back into the mix, this time on the side of the good guys. Crazy shit happens, and the plot quickly crumbles away into noise and confusion.

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PopCult Book Club July 2017 Review

The Fisherman (2016, Word Horde)
Written by John Langan

fisherman

Abe lost his wife to cancer after only two years of marriage. Dan lost his wife and two children in a car accident. These two men have bonded in their grief by fishing in and around the Catskills and the Ashokan Reservoir. One day Dan suggests they try Dutchman’s Creek, a body of water Abe isn’t familiar with and can’t seem to find on any of his maps. Dan seems to know where the creek is and on a rainy Saturday morning, they head out. A fateful stop at a diner in the area leads to them to hear the story of how Dutchman’s Creek got its name and a warning to stay away from this place.

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Movie Review – Furious 7

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Furious 7 (2015)
Written by Chris Morgan
Directed by James Wan

rockfast

In the wake of the events of Fast & Furious 6, the crew is being hunted by Deckard Shaw, the brother of the previous villain. Deckard starts his reign of terror in Tokyo, taking responsibility for the death of Han back in Tokyo Drift. Hobbs is next on the list, and he survives, warning Dominic Toretto to protect his people. A covert ops team with the U.S. government offers to help Dom track down Shaw if he aids them in obtaining a computer program called God’s Eye. Created by a hacker Ramsey, the program will use all digital devices on the planet to find whomever you want. Ramsey has been abducted by a mercenary named Moses Jakande who wants to know where she has stashed the God’s Eye. So pretty much your standard simple action movie.

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