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Showing posts from July, 2018

Sharp Objects Episode 4

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  With the revelation of  a recent personal tragedy Camille has faced while in the mental institution, it begs the question, what else will be revealed.    The start of the episode has Detective Willis trying to bridge the communication gap with the Chief (Matt Craven). He believes that Camille knows something that she is not saying. He tells the chief that if he can get it from her, he will pass it a long, and he would appreciate if the same was done for him.   Camille goes to lunch with Adora's (Patricia Clarkson) friends without her mother. This is because of her cut on her hand, according to her, her friends believe differently. When Camille gets to the restaurant all the friends, are asking who she believe killed the girls. It is thrown around that the Nash father was involved and John Keane as the other possibility.      There is a strange scene towards the middle of the episode where Amma turns on the Tupac song "Dear Momma". What was strange to me was that

Blindspotting

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Photo form nytimes.com   Hollywood has seen a recent rise in the their use of racial tension for the use of entertainment. Question is whether or not it gets preachy?   Collin (Daveed Diggs) is three days away from being off of probation. On his way home he witnesses a cop shoots an unarmed black man. This shakes Collin to his core, so much so that he begins to reevaluate his friendship with Miles (Rafael Casal).   One thing that I learned, and very much appreciate about this movie is that it was made before it was picked up anywhere, and was shown at festivals until someone decided to grab it.  I have respect for people like that.   What I most liked about this was the way that it was written. It was able to be funny, but not overly. On top of that, it was able to tackle such an important topic without being preachy, which is not an easy thing to do.   The acting was also a lot better than I thought it would be. Especially, from that of Daveed Diggs. He was able to play someone

The Spy Who Dumped Me

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    When buddy comedy films work, I am a huge fan of them. When I heard of this, I have to say that, I felt like there was a possibility for something that could have at least been a fun time. Then, I came across the fact that there was a public advance screening for it tonight. For those who do not know, generally that is not a great sign.    Audrey (Mila Kunis ) has been recently dumped by Drew (Justin Theroux). Her best friend Morgan (Kate McKinnon) has been by her side the whole time getting her through this. When Drew comes back to try and talk to her, he brings her into a big worldwide conspiracy.    This is the film debut for writer/ director Susanna Fogel, so how does the story pan out? Well, to put it simply, not great. This felt like a by the books spy comedy. I felt like,  anytime they tried to pull the wool over my eyes, I could call what would happen . So, is it at least funny? Again , I have to kill this hope. Through the film I did not laugh once. I do mention at l

Mission Impossible - Fallout

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  I love the fact that when you into a "Mission Impossible " film you can not be crazy to ask "how intense will this be?" Started back in 1996, as the series goes a long, Cruise always tries to top himself. So for "Fallout", does this remain true?  The story picks up a few years after the events of " Rogue Nation". The remnants of the syndicate are still at large, and Ethan is on their toes.  After watching five of these movies, it is interesting to watch one of these movies where they have to spend their time fixing the fact that they failed.    This is the first time in the history of the series that a director has done two movies. It was always a one and done thing because the producers always wanted to keep the series fresh. Christopher McQuarrie needed to come back and not just make it as good as "Rogue Nation", but better. There will be haters no matter if he did or did not. What I will say about that is, do not be quick to

Teen Titans Go! To the Movies

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 People were deeply upset when the original "Teen Titans" was canceled when in 2006. When 2013 came around and "Teen Titans Go!" premiered, many were disappointed on the route it took. It did end up becoming a hit, so alas we get the movie.    The plot is pretty simple, and straight forward, the Titans feel disrespected among the hero community.  They feel the solution to this issue is to get a nemesis.    Before going into this film I had no idea what to expect from or, should I say the cartoon in general. I was pleasantly surprised  at how funny the film was. A lot of the jokes are meta, and surprisingly work. It kind of felt like a kid version of "Deadpool".  When it came to the story, I loved how deep the character of Robin was. When it comes to most superhero films, a lot of characters lack and sort of dimension. In the movie,  Robin has a hard time accepting who he is as a person.  I don't know what is maybe, I went in seriously underest

Upcoming features 7-27-18

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 This week is a bit of a heavy one for me, with five to see this weekend. First off is "Teen Titans Go!  To the movies!". It revolves around the Titans wanting to be taken seriously as hero's, but are in need of a nemesis.   We get the sixth entry in the Mission Impossible franchise. This one revolves around the idea that Ethan Hunt has failed a mission.   We go into the indie circuit with "Don't Worry He Wont Get Far on Foot". The story surrounds a man who is crippled from a bad car accident, and uses art to get over the injuries.        "Blindspoting" tells the story of a man, on the last week of his probation, who witnesses the murder of an unarmed man, by a cop   To round out my weekend, I will be able to attend an advance screening of "Spy Who Dumped Me". It is about a woman who is dumped by a guy that, she later finds out, is a spy.   Whatever you see this weekend, enjoy!

Castle Rock Season One- Episodes 1-3

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 What made me curious about the show was the fact it was going to be new story set in the same world as the many stories of Stephen King.   The story centers around Henry Deaver, a defense attorney, living in Texas. After loosing a high profile case, he gets a cryptic phone call from Shawshank prison, about a prisoner with no name (Bill Skarsgard). The unknown prisoner was  discovered in cellblock F, a ward of the prison that has not been used since 1987. The question of how he got there comes to be.   We come to learn that Deaver was missing for eleven days during a Maine winter. For those that do not know, the cold there gets horrifying.  He comes back after eleven days with no memory of what happened. During these eleven days, his father was found out in the woods near death.   I do believe this works as a Stephen King adaptation of sorts. Its fun having an original story with fan favorite King characters. Yes, there is "Dark Tower", but I feel like there is much mor

Succession Season 1 - Episode 8

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   Based on what has gone on the last few episodes of this show, we should be in for an interesting finale.  The episode begins with the bargaining of Logan's deal for the local deal. Logan is afraid the deal is too good to be true. The episode than takes a turn to Tom's (Matthew McFadyen) bachelor party. Kendal is cornered by Stewy (Arian Moayed), at the bachelor party, to be bought out by a rival company. Roman follows, and kills the deal, for the moment. In his side venture, Kendal is trying to be an investor, to more of starter companies, but no one wants to work with him because he is a Roy.  Shiv and Logan meet to talk about her coming into the company, Shiv takes it as a threat, because she thinks that he may know about her affair with a fellow campaign aide. Shiv will have nothing to do with this. Logan is so offended by this, he decides not to go to her wedding. Kendal makes a deal with the rival company that could potentially change everything for the Roy family

Sharp Objects- Episodes 2 and 3

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  So, just a little recap of the episode that I missed last week. The hunt for suspects begins at the funeral for the found girl. Camille interviews the fathers of the girls that were murdered and a supposed witness. The finger is pointed to the woman in white. The interviews, put a massive wave through the city.   Episode three starts with Amma (Eliza Scallen) coming home drunk and Camille helping her hide being drunk. Meanwhile Chief Vickery (Matt Craven) is picking at straws when it comes suspects. After being shut out of talking to Natalie's mother, Camille is given the chance to speak to the brother, who many believe, is the killer. All he shows is sadness and regret.    Scattered through the episode are flashbacks, of what seem to be a recent visit to a psychiatric facility. There she tries to help a girl that is about the age of sixteen. She wants to put the girl on the right path, to maybe not become her. It does not really end up this way though.   One thing I reall

Equalizer 2

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   When it comes to action movies, they can always be hit or miss. When September of 2014 came around, and the original "Equalizer" dropped, I was not expecting a lot. What I got was something fun. Going into July 20th of this year I was pumped, to say the least when it came to what the sequel could be.    The new one starts some time after the events of the first film. Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) is making his way as a Lyft driver. He is also doing random "acts" to help everyone he can. Things change when his best friend, Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo) is murdered. This forces him to face the past he tried to leave behind.   The best thing to discuss about, really, any Denzel Washington movie is his performance. Even when the quality of the film is not always there. In this film, he is fantastic, I would even say better than the first.   With the "Equalizer", series there are a lot of longer shots that pan in whatever direction it needs to go. Whe

Comic Con trailer of the day - Shazam!

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  We are now into Comic con 2018. That means we get previews to many different films. Today we had many, and as surprised as I am,  a DC film came out on top.    Billy Baston (Asher Angel), is a foster kid that gets picked on and bullied constantly. After a strange subway ride, he meets the wizard (Djimon Hounsou), who gives him the power to become Shazam.   The trailer worked, let's hope the move does the same. Shazam! Drops in theaters April 5, 2019.

Mama Mia: Here We Go Again

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  There are an increasing amount of sequels that are coming out ten or more years after the original had dropped. This week another one has been added to the pile, with "Mama Mia". The question is, was the sequel needed.   The story comes back five years later, to find Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) trying to reopen the hotel that her mother, Donna (Meryl Streep) opened. Everyone comes back to help her with the task, including her dad's (Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, and Stellan Skarsgard).   Going into this, I am not gunna lie, I really wanted to hate this movie. The result well, I will get to that. I will first say that the 2008 one, was not good, except for a few songs. I really have to think, that a big reason there is a sequel is because of Richard Curtis. For those of you that do not know, he is the man behind "Love Actually" and "Four Weddings and a Funeral".   I do think that the only way this story was going to work is the way it was done, have

Unfriended: Dark Web

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    I would be the first to admit, when the original "Unfriended" dropped in 2014, I was not expecting to enjoy it. I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw. I always thought though, there is no need to make a sequel. Alas.. we fast forward to 2018, and there is a sequel.     The story revolves around Matias, who finds a great laptop, in his local internet cafe's lost and found. Since it has been there for weeks, he takes it. Later that night, while playing a game night over Skype, he begins to discover some terrible things.    One of the problems that plagued both of the films was the acting. In most of these cases, the actors from these films, do not have a lot of experience. It unfortunately, caries over to this film. When the story got to the climax, the line delivery got a little rough.    What really worked for the first one, was essentially, everyone was a terrible person. As the story progresses, you find out the terrible things that they have done. This

Upcoming Features 7-20-2018

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This week, is the week of sequels. There are three of them coming out this week to be exact.   First, we have a spinoff sequel to the 2014 horror hit. This time around, it involves a group of people that discover a computer, owned by human traffickers.   Denzel is back, in the first sequel he has ever done. Robert McCall has to face his past after the murder of his best friend,  To round out the sequel weekend, there is the sequel to "Mama Mia".  Sophie is pregnant, and her fathers gather to the island to celebrate the occasion.   Whatever you choose this weekend, please do enjoy!     

Trailer of the Week- Overlord

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 Why I picked this trailer,  is specifically the buzz that had surrounded it. At the beginning of this year, before Cloverfield: Paradox hit, it was thought that "Overlord" was going to be another entry in the franchise.  Well the official trailer has dropped today, and we now know this is not the case.  The story surrounds a group of para troopers that are sent to complete a "critical" mission for the invasion during World War 2. Once they make it to the village they are supposed to go to, strange things begin to happen. "Overlord" drops in theaters November 9th.   

Uncharted Fan Film

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   "Uncharted" has seen many games since it's start in 2007. These games have been considered great, in most circles. Rumors of a movie have been swirling for some time, with Nathan Fillion heavily considered. Many delays have caused many to believe that he has become too old. To the point that now we are getting a prequel with Tom Holland. One thing I did not know, was how big of a fan of the game franchise. When someone offers to independently finance his chance to be Nathan Drake.    To keep it simple, Nathan Drake is infiltrating a criminal compound to find his next clue to clue to the treasure. Of course, Sully (Stephen Lang) is close behind to lend a hand.   The biggest thing to discuss are the performances of both Nathan Fillion and Stephen Lang, in their respective roles. Personally, I was always a fan of Fillion being cast as Nathan Drake, fortunately, this film proved this point. Drake needed to be someone who could come in and be crazy sarcastic, but hold

Robin Williams- Come Inside My Mind

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   Growing up in the nineties, I was a huge fan of Robin and his work. I remember where I was when I heard of his death it was one that affected me. When I heard of this documentary coming for this man, I was intrigued at the idea of what it could be.   In the documentary, a lot of achieve footage was used of Williams that was very funny. There were many interviews from his colleagues over the years, but what surprised me was the lack of family. Besides his first ex - wife and son Zak, no one else made an appearance.  Makes me wonder if they had a disagreement about the making of the documentary.    There was a lot of great positive points made about his life during the hour and fifty-four minutes. The problem I had, was for how much his troubles have been talked up, they seemed to be glaze over the bad. You can not have a good documentary without having a balance.    While great for people that love Robin, I am not sure it painted the full picture enough to be subjective.    G

Sorry to Bother You

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                     Photo from Newsweek    Going into this, I was not expecting what I got. This is not necessarily a bad thing though.    Cassius ( Lakieth Stanfield) is desperate for a job. He gets desperate enough to head to the local telemarketing company. As many people know, they hire anyone. He starts out struggling in the job. This was until he was taught the way of the job. Find your "white man" voice. This allows him grow exponentially, and strange things begin to happen.    The film had great performances all around, but in specific from Armie Hammer. Something that should be recognized in the Spirit Awards, maybe not the OSCARS.    I was very taken aback by the end of the film it takes such a left turn, into something, I won't get into. There will be some of you that want to see this, and I will not spoil this for anyone. I think that I enjoyed it because I knew what they were trying to say. I will admit, when some art movies go off on their allegories

Leave No Trace

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  One thing that would put me in a seat back in the day was Ben Foster's attachment to it.  When you add the director of "Winter's Bone", let's just say my expectations were very high.   Will (Ben Foster) and his daughter Tom (Thomasin McKenzie) are living in an Oregon state park off the land. One mistake changes their lives forever.    The thing that carried this film more than anything was the performances of the leads. Not to be weird, but if I am watching a Ben Foster movie, I am expecting his performance to be great, even if the movie is not. What surprised me the most, was the performance of Thomasin McKenzie. She is fantastic as a thirteen year old with little social skills, and how she learns to enter society is fantastic. She is someone to watch in the years to come.   This movie was shot in Oregon and used it's scenery to the utmost. This was a beautiful movie to watch. The way that the woods and wildlife were capture was a real treat.     This

Skyscraper

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  When I sit down for a Dwayne Johnson movie, above all else I expect the movie to be entertaining as hell. Can the new"Skyscraper" hold up to this ridiculous standard?     Will Ford ( Dwayne Johnson), a retired FBI agent is now an assessor of security systems. A former  FBI friend (Pablo Shreiber) gets him a big account with the tallest skyscraper in the world, the Pearl. When a group of terrorist take over the tower, Ford is the only one that can stop them.      For a movie that is supposed to be taking heavy inspiration from "Die Hard" and  "Towering Inferno", it takes a really long time to get going. For a movie with  one hour and forty- nine minute run time, the fact that it takes almost eighty percent of the movie for anything to really happen.    As you may, or may not know, the effects needed for this film are great. The biggest out of all of them is the use of fire. I hate the use of fake looking fire so much. Obviously, they could not set

Hotel Transylvania 3

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    With a series that started in 2012, it has seen two previous entries to this series. Both of them have  been huge, so we must ask the question, why not squeeze everything out of this idea?   This time around Drac (Adam Sandler), is letting the the stress of running the hotel get to him. On top of this he is dying for a connection with someone else. Mavis (Selena Gomez) sees his pain, and decides the best way to deal with it is to take everyone on a monster cruise. Not everything is as it seems as an old enemy returns.    The series as a whole never tries to out due itself. It stays a one note series. when you make it as far as a third movie things have to change or you become old news. Watching this third one, I could not help but feel bored.   When watching comedies you expect to laugh, again through this third entry, I found that to not be the case. There was two times, where the jokes got me to smile, but thats it. I am not hard to impress.     When it comes to Adam Sandl

Upcoming features 6-13-18

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   This week brings many new releases to my neck of the woods.      First, we have "Sorry to Bother You". It revolves around a man in a tough spot that just needs a job. So, he ends up getting a job as a telemarketer. He is better at this job than he would have ever imagined.    Next, is the second sequel in the "Hotel Transylvania" series. This time, Drac is taking time off from the hotel to take time for himself, on a cruise.   "Leave No Trace" is about a father and daughter that are living off the land. When they get caught doing so by the government, they are forced to try to reinsert themselves into society.    To round it off, there is "Skyscraper". It is about a man that has to rescue his family from the tallest skyscraper in the world, that also happens to be on fire.    Whatever you choose this weekend, I hope you enjoy! 

Trailer of the Week- Castle Rock

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  I did skip last week for my trailers because, to be honest I was not impressed with what I saw. This week was not too much better. That is why I went the way of television. "Castle Rock" takes characters of Stephen King and through them into a new story. A mysterious man (Bill Skarsgard), appears at Shawshank prison, the town tries figure out what exactly is going on as strange things begin to happen. The show premieres on Hulu July 25.

Secession- Episode 6

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      We have now come to what the first five episodes have been teasing. Was it worth the wait?       The beginning of the episode has Logan heading off to the nation's capital to see the president. He flies into a rage over the fact that he is presumably blown off. While this is going on, Kendall is making his final gathering of board members to make a move against his father. On the morning of the vote,  Kendall is called to Long Island to speak to a bed ridden board member. When he attempts to head back to the meeting there is some sort of terrorist threat that blocks him from using the helicopter. He is forced to use the town car that he has. With the active threat going on, he gets stuck in massive traffic jam. Kendall must run to the meeting. He does not make it to the meeting and the vote does not go his way.    This episode brought us the best performance from Brian Cox. I feel we have gotten his best work of the series when he works with Jermey Strong. The scene with

Sharp Objects- episode 1

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  Another week, a new HBO show for me to take on. The show comes from Marti Noxon. She is the creator of such shows as "Unreal". This time she is taking on the Gillian Flynn novel "Sharp Objects".  After the massive success of "Gone Girl", back in 2014, I feel like another attempt on an adaptation of her work will be judged heavily.     Amy Adams stars as Camille, a reporter for the St. Louis Chronicle, who is sent back to her home town to investigate the disappearance of two girls. Upon her return, she is met with contempt from her mother (Patricia Clarkson). She is also not very welcome by the police, who see her investigation as an imposition on the town. Through the episode, we are given flashbacks that give us the start of the reason why Camille stays away from the town.   The performances of the lead women ( Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson) are exemplary. Camille needs to be shown as a weak and broken person. So far, she is selling this well. P

Antman and the Wasp

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With "Infinity War" being released in May, they needed something a little less depressing. Do they get it with "Ant Man and the Wasp"?    The story picks up two years after the events of "Civil War". As apart of Scott's (Paul Rudd) probation, he is not allowed to have any contact with Hank ( Michael Douglas) or Hope (Evangeline Lilly). At the beginning, neither Hope or Hank want anything to do with him. Scott was the reason why they were forced underground. Scott uses the ant man tech and Hank gets blamed for the use of it. They must forgo the hate for Scott because they feel he has the answers to get Hope's mother ( Michelle Phiefer) back from the Quantum Zone.    It is probably most important to remember this is one of the more fun than a lot of the Marvel. This is its biggest plus.      As in the previous film, Michael Pena gets a good role, and completely runs with it. It is very amusing to watch. When you can tell the actor is havin

Boundaries

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   Recently, I have had a little more of a wider option when it comes to movies of the indie variety. This one I have here, is one, I am sure close to no one has any idea what this film is even about. That is ok though, it is what I am here for.    Jack (Chris Plummer), has been kicked out of another retirement home. Desperate to find a new place to live he contacts his estranged daughter, Laura (Vera Farmiga). It so happens, that at the same time, Laura is in need of help from him. Her son Henry ( Lewis MacDougall), was just expelled from public school, because he kept drawing people naked. Laura contacts her father, in hopes of getting money to pay for Henry's schooling.     First of all , with a cast like what this movie has, which also includes Peter Fonda and Christopher Lloyd, expectations should be high. When you look at it in terms of the acting, it is well done, especially from the leads (Chris Plummer and Vera Farmiga).  One thing I always hate about road trip movi

Whitney

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  A new week, a new documentary for me to review. This week, is the deep dive into the life of superstar Whitney Houston.   When looking into this, the thing that interested me was who was at the helm. Director Kevin Macdonald, is an Academy Award winning documentarian. He has also taken his shot in the film category as well, with "Last King of Scotland" and "State of Play".     Overall, the documentary was insanely fast paced at some points, then really slows down, only to pick up again. The style kind of killed me, probably because of the crazy fast cutting between the clips. Let's just say, I was not a huge fan of this style. The way it presented the information was standard. It goes from life to death, just dropping the details of her life along the way. One thing that was very interesting, was a massive bombshell dropped about Whitney's life, that not even her mother knew.     In the end, this is a good documentary, but there is not much to eleva

upcoming features 7-6-18

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  This week is still a bit of a heavy week, though not as bad as last week.   We have the follow up to "Antman". This time he teams up with the Wasp to take down the villian Ghost. I also get to take my second crack at reviewing a documentary with "Whitney". The documentary takes a deep dive into the life of Whitney Huston. The final film "Boundaries" stars both Christopher Plummer and Vera Farmiga. They star as a father daughter duo, who take a cross country trip, attempting to repair their relationship.

The First Purge

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    Another year, another "purge" movie. Is the franchise running out of steam? Let's discuss!     The film starts with the rise of a third political party, New Founding Fathers of America. One of their first acts, the controversial experiment known as the purge. With this being the very first one, this purge was secluded to just Staten island, New York. If it is a success, than it would have a nation wide expansion.        With the story of the series, they have always been a bit thin, but this one feels the worst. There are three separate stories: the government, the drug dealer with the heart of gold, and the ex girlfriend who still loves "her man". None of it was compelling, it was,all about surviving, or manipulating the experiment results. With the non government people of the story, you need to get better than, I'm just trying to survive. When you make it to the fourth entry in the "horror" franchise, you need to evolve or die. When, it

Succession Season 1- Episode 4 and 5

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     I do apologize for missing last week, but this week, I will attack a double episode this week.     The first episode is centered around the company gala fundraiser. The head of Wystar is supposed to get up and make a speech at the end, to wrap things up. There is a push for power when it comes who is in charge whether it be Kendall or Logan. Kendall believes that his turn has come, but at the same time he wants to show his father respect. Logan is the opposite, this is his company and he does not care who know's it. So at the very last second Logan takes the speech from him to announce that he is back full time, sabotaging Kendall.     The standout of the episode comes from Connor (Alan Ruck). With everyone busy helping to take care of  Logan, the son "outside" of the family gets the chance to run the gala.   This brings out a lot of comedy that episode.     The next episode falls mostly on the family's Thanksgiving dinner get together. At this time

Hearts Beat Loud

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   I have always been a fan of music based films. Not musicals themselves, but movies that are based around music.   The film centers around Sam (Kiersey Clemons) and Frank ( Nick Offerman). Sam is about ready to leave for college when one of their weekly jam session songs makes it huge on Spotify. The question becomes, what should be the next move?    My favorite thing about this film was the music of this film was the music. The film does have original music sung by Kiersey Clemons and Nick Offerman. I have always been a sucker for a film with great music. It is why I enjoy movies like "Begin Again" so much. While the songs were not as good, they were still well done.   One thing that I had found incredibly shocking about the film, was how familiar it was.  I know what you are thinking, if it is familiar, how could it be any good? To me, the story was told in such a way that rather than feeling boring. This was something that felt great to watch it. I would go as far a