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Smoke Review: Arson Investigation Drama Is Rainy Day Viewing | That Shelf
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The saying goes that where there is smoke, there is fire—a simple adage, and one that proves itself time and time again. When we’re talking about actors, where there’s smoke, there’s often Taron Egerton. This is not a perfect metaphor, but the point is that Egerton is on fire. He has talent and charisma for…
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Predator: Killer of Killers Gets the Formula Right | Awesome Friday!
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The Predator franchise is the platonic ideal of an action horror franchise. There are highly skilled people in the world, and there’s a whole race of monsters that hunts those people for sport. The setup is simple, allowing it to serve as a framework for various kinds of stories. At their worst, films in…
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Re-Animator 40th Anniversary UHD | Movies We Texted About
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Ignite Films was kind enough to send me a copy of their new 40th Anniversary release of the 80s horror classic Re-Animator, and I got to write about it for Movies We Texted About! The 1980s were perhaps the best decade for high-concept, low-budget, effects-driven horror films. There are many examples, but one that…
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‘Stick’ Has Even More Heart Than Laughs | Exclaim!
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If Apple TV+ sitcoms have a through line, it’s that they aren’t actually at their best when they’re funny. That’s not to say that they aren’t funny — they definitely are — but rather that the laughs seem to come almost secondary to heart. Ted Lasso is probably the best example of this, a hilarious show about leadership…
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‘Murderbot’ Is a Replicant of Other Robot Stories | Exclaim!
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From Wall-E and RoboCop to Short Circuit and I, Robot, we are well-served with stories of robots built to serve that develop distinct personalities and humanity, and then eventually save the day. Apple TV+‘s Murderbot, the latest entry in this subgenre, mashes up several versions of this story into something that straddles the line between the familiar and the new. The titular character…
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Black Mirror Season 7 Review: The Sci-Fi Anthology Remains On Point | That Shelf
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Black Mirror is the successor to series like The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, using science fiction narratives to expand and expound on themes of our everyday lives and make us think deeply about the world around us. It’s incredibly well produced and has given us some of the finest science fiction stories of the last decade.…
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The Four Seasons Review: A heartwarming story about the importance of friendship | That Shelf
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The first episode introduces each of the couples as they are arriving at the lake house. The initial moments are light and fun, and set up the group dynamics almost immediately as a group of old friends who know almost, but not quite, everything about one another. The first night goes well, with talk…
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Andor Season Two is Among the Best of Star Wars and the Year | Awesome Friday!
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Sequels and prequels are individually difficult. The former have to carry on story threads and push characters into new places in satisfying ways, the latter have to thread the needle of being their own entity while directly leading into the events that viewers have already witnessed. Andor season two then faces the difficulty of…
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Doctor Who Season 2 Premiere Review: Another Fun Adventure | That Shelf
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Doctor Who has been running forever and has delved into every genre in every conceivable way. Recasting the main role every few years means that there have been fun doctors, dour doctors, weird doctors, and everything in between. The one thing that holds the show together, though, is the most basic premise of the show: a slightly…
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Sacramento: A Tale of Change and Growth | KeithLovesMovies
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Growing up can be hard. There’s no way around it; the journey from young to old, naive to wise, and irresponsible to responsible has bumps in the road for all of us. For some people, the process is thrust upon them, and others avoid it like the plague, but it’s a journey we all must…
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Queen of the Ring: A Frustratingly Straightforward Sports Biopic | KeithLovesMovies
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There’s a particular balance that biopics have to strike. On the one hand, major points in their subject’s life need to be covered in order to be complete, and, on the other hand, the story needs to be told from a unique perspective in order to be dynamic and engaging in a way that…
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Night of the Zoopocalypse | That Shelf
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Clive Barker is famous for scaring people. Whether it’s demons from the underworld or malevolent spirits, his films have provided some of the best scares of the last few decades, and now his formula has been adapted to a story for kids. Yes, you read that right: Night of the Zoopocalypse is a new…
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‘O’Dessa’ Hits a Flat Note | Exclaim!
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There’s nothing more exciting in film than a big, ambitious swing for the fences. This might mean assembling every hero in the stable to fight against the odds, gambling on a big twist that recontextualizes the entire movie, or — as in the case of O’Dessa— a musical genre mashup made of pure chaos. The…
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Wolf Man UHD Blu-Ray Review | Movies We Texted About
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Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man, starring Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, and Matilda Firtharrives on home video this week. The film received mixed reviews from critics (including our Manuel São Bento), but a UHD Blu-ray release is always a reason to celebrate, and this one is no exception. So, let’s take a closer look at Wolf Man on UHD Blu-ray. Link: https://movieswetextedabout.com/wolf-man-uhd-review/
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Movie Review: “The Electric State” In A State Of Disrepair | ForReel
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Where even to begin with The Electric State? The latest film from the Russo Brothers features an all star cast and is set in a 1990s-influenced retro future full of pop culture references, but fails at almost every turn to be anything interesting at all. Let’s not mince words here, The Electric State is a…