Medium Mashup

Category: Reviews

Reviews of Movies, TV, and Games

  • Avengers: Age of Ultron Review

    the-avengers-age-of-ultron_zGf6N1(The top portion of this review will not contain spoilers. However, if you have seen the movie or would like to hear a few more specifics, I will go into details below. That section will contain significant spoilers)

    In a way, Avengers: Age of Ultron is the Iron Man 2 of the Avengers series. It makes a lot of the same mistakes as IM2 did, primarily by trying to stuff in too many plot elements and sequel set-ups for the movie to come together as a cohesive whole. You can feel Joss Whedon stressing out over the movie, as more and more things get piled on while he tries to wrangle a decent Ultron film out of it. I counted at least ten different stories and new character/place introductions in the first half hour alone.

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  • Justified Series Review

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    (This review contains spoilers)

    FX’s Justfified came to a close on Tuesday with a widely-acclaimed finale that defied expectations. Now that we have a complete work to draw from, it is time to look back on a show that was at times great, at times underwhelming, but almost always entertaining.

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  • Better Call Saul – Season 1 Review

    better-call-saul_9AYLJi(This post contains spoilers for the first season of Better Call Saul)

    Throughout its first season, Better Call Saul has managed the near-impossible: being an excellent spin-off series. Such a feat requires a very careful balance. If a spin-off simply tries to capture the magic of the original work (Breaking Bad, in this case), then it is doomed to end up a pale imitation of the previous show. On the other hand, if a spin-off goes too far off in the other direction, it risks alienating the very audience that it needs to justify its existence.

    Right out the gates, Better Call Saul establishes itself as a spiritual successor to Breaking Bad with its own distinct worldview. Like the previous series, Saul is heavily focused around its central protagonist, and its portrayal of Albuquerque extends from the character. Several plotlines have weaved in and out of each other in these initial ten episodes, but the show has never strayed too far from its central identity. Better Call Saul’s first season displays a confidence that is exceedingly rare in television, and ultimately stronger than the initial season of its parent show.

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  • Going Clear Review

    going clearGoing Clear, a documentary by Alex Gibney about the Church of Scientology, aired on Sunday and has already made waves throughout Hollywood. Many celebrities, who know people involved in the church, have been tweeting openly about the effect the film had on them. Meanwhile, the Church has been trying to dissuade anybody from believing the “lies” that had been exposed. It is obvious that Going Clear has struck a chord with viewers, but far less obvious is how much of an effect it will ultimately have.

    In terms of the information presented in the documentary, Going Clear is not “news.” Everything exposed here has been reported on heavily by various newspapers and online media, and the documentary was based on the previously published book Going Clear by Lawrence Wright (which I’m currently in the middle of, and finding fascinating). Especially well-publicized has been the “Anonymous” attacks against Scientology, originally spurred by 4chan board members and now consisting of, well, anybody who wants to refer to themselves as “Anonymous.”

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  • Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number Review

    hotline miami 2The original Hotline Miami was something of a sleeper hit: a top-down, 16-bit, hyper-violent, 80s-themed twitch-massacre-simulator with an awesome electronic soundtrack. The game looked simple but was packed with a variety of actions and tactics, all of which were necessary to tackle its twenty punishingly challenging “chapters.” Coupled with an insta-restart upon death, there was rarely any downtime for the player, allowing for each level to be a constant adrenaline rush. It was not until every single enemy was a corpse that you were given a moment of rest: the music would die abruptly, and you were left to navigate your way out of the level with nothing but an unsettling hum for audio and a violence-fueled guilt hangover.

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