Parks and Recreation “One Last Ride” Review (7×12/7×13)

24 Feb

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“Yes, I’m ready.”

After 7 years and 125 episodes, Parks and Recreation has finally come to a close. It’s been an up-and-down ride in recent years, but this final season brought the show back to its roots–back to what made it truly great–even as it was showing us where its characters were going in the future. In “One Last Ride”, we get one last look at these wonderful people that we’ve come to know and love, and we get to experience a moving and satisfying series finale to one of the funniest shows on television.

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The Top 15 Film Scenes of 2014

23 Feb

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Did not have the chance to see, but I heard about some scenes: The Raid 2 (Chase scene, Baseball Boy/Hammer Girl, prison yard fight), Guardians of the Galaxy (Dancing Groot, others), X-Men: Days of Future Past (Quicksilver), Nymphomaniac, Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Elevator scene), The Tale of Princess Kaguya, Frank (I Love You All), Godzilla, Noah, Ida, Obvious Child

Honorable mentions: Edmund Pettus Bridge (Selma), The reveal of the man upstairs (The Lego Movie), The football player (Two Days, One Night), The beach scene (Calvary), The ending (A Most Wanted Man), Amelia vs. The Babadook (The Babadook), The attack (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Tom Cruise dies a lot (Edge of Tomorrow), The chase scene (A Most Violent Year), The avalanche (Force Majeure), Listening to Dwight’s voice message (Blue Ruin), “Trapped By a Thing Called Love” dance scene (Only Lovers Left Alive)

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The 87th Annual Academy Awards Live Blog and Review

22 Feb

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All times central. The actual show is starting at 7:30 pm.

7:00- “Oh hi, Dakota Johnson. You just recently starred in Fifty Shades of Grey, in which you got very naked. Now, let’s ask your mother about it!”

7:15- “He would absolutely be blown away,” says Chris Kyle’s widow about how he would react if he were at the Oscars. It’s Taya with the first (unintentional) joke of the evening!

7:25-It’s Chris Evans. Speaking of, Snowpiercer should be nominated for everything.

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The Top 15 Film Performances of 2014

19 Feb

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HONORABLE MENTIONS/OTHERS CONSIDERED: Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year), Philip Seymour Hoffman (A Most Wanted Man), Carrie Coon & Tyler Perry (Gone Girl), Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), Tom Hardy (Locke), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Mark Ruffalo & Steve Carell & Channing Tatum (Foxcatcher), Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything), Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow), Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar), Miles Teller (Whiplash), Amy Adams (Big Eyes), Reese Witherspoon & Laura Dern (Wild), Tom Hiddleston (Only Lovers Left Alive), Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner), Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Emma Stone (Birdman), Rene Russo (Nightcrawler), Andy Serkis & Toby Kebbell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Josh Brolin & Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice), Johannes Kuhnke & Lisa Loven Kongsli (Force Majeure)

Man, that’s a pretty damn good “Honorable Mentions” list. What a year for performances.

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A Most Violent Year Review

18 Feb

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To convey what went on in 1981 New York City, A Most Violent Year relies less on actual violence and more on crafting a very deliberate mood. We hear news reports of violent crimes, we see decay at every turn, and we feel the corruption blanketing the city as our characters go about their business. Director J.C. Chandor and cinematographer Bradford Young team up for this film, and the result is a very elegant set of visuals that perfectly capture the grim mood of the time period; lovely snow-filled landscapes contrast with dark and gloomy interiors, and the production of the movie lends itself very well to its central themes.

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Person of Interest “Q&A” Review (4×15)

18 Feb

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“They are remaking the world in the image of their leader.”

“Q&A” sees the return of Claire Mahoney, the young hacker we met at the beginning of the season in “Nautilus”, and it expands upon her story by revealing that she’s now working as a Samaritan operative. It isn’t difficult to guess this twist early on in the episode, but that doesn’t prevent it from still being an entertaining and engrossing hour of television; after all, this is Person of Interest we’re talking about.

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Justified “Sounding” Review (6×05)

17 Feb

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“I’m finishing the job, what you and me started together.”

The final season of Justified is continually returning to its deep well of a past, digging into a rich history filled with intriguing characters and standoffs and storylines as it brings our characters’ stories to their ends. “Sounding” isn’t a particularly eventful episode, but it weaves in quite a few familiar faces as it continues to explore Ava’s psyche in the face of impending danger. It’s funny and entertaining, and it features characters who have to face off against each other in one way or another, who have to engage in a push and pull that’s bound to tip a certain way at some point.

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Shameless “Crazy Love” Review (5×06)

16 Feb

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Shameless features quite possibly the best ensemble cast on television, and “Crazy Love” displays that cast at the height of its power. This is one of those episodes in which everyone shines, in which everyone breaks your heart in one way or another, and it’s the kind of episode that solidifies this show’s deserved placement in the upper echelon of television. It’s an hour about love, but it also delves into the constant struggles surrounding that love, and it’s a tense, moving, and heartbreaking piece of television that moves us right along into what should be an excellent second half of season five.

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Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special Live Blog and Review

15 Feb

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All times central. Instead of going by solely sketches, I’ll go by times tonight as well.

6:59-Oh look, Kanye already being an asshole. GRADE: D-

7:02-Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon having a great time is always fantastic to watch, although the opening is certainly very awkward (especially considering they’re trying to cram in as many references as possible). So fun, though. “Dick in a Box!”

7:05-It’ll take about 5 hours to get through these credits, guys.

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The Americans “Open House” Review (3×03)

11 Feb

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This show is, at its most basic form, a show about a conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States. From there, we branch out into personal and emotional conflicts, into conflicts between parents and kids and conflicts between coworkers and conflicts within your own mind. Underneath all that conflict, though, lies the heart of the show: the mutual trust and respect that is needed in order for a relationship to function, in order for any kind of team to function. It’s exactly what we see tonight between Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, and how the show goes about conveying it is absolutely fantastic.

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