Author: Alexis Gentry
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‘The Force Awakens’ gives new hope to ‘Star Wars’ franchise
The Force Awakens is first and foremost a film for Star Wars fans. Even the heroes themselves are fans, well-versed in the legends of Luke Skywalker and General Leia. With great performances from the new stars and a director who understands how to deliver a film worthy of its source material, The Force Awakens gives…
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‘Amy’ a haunting cautionary tale
I wish a documentary like Amy was shocking because we didn’t see talented people self-destruct on the regular, but sadly, Amy Winehouse’s story is all too commonplace. Unlike your average Behind the Music rock doc, Amy doesn’t flower things up for a made-for-TV package. Instead, it shows us the stark reality of such a talented…
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‘Rock the Kasbah’ misses the mark
Rock the Kasbah is a movie with so much potential. It stars Bill Murray, features Zooey Deschanel, Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson, Scott Caan, and Danny McBride. Murray even promoted the movie by showing up at Comic Con for the first time to do a genuinely funny panel and answer fan questions. With all that going…
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‘Fargo’ explores what happens when regular people break bad
With smart writing, excellent visuals, and stellar performances, it was easy to get completely absorbed in Fargo, in part because it reminded me a lot of another one of my favorite binge-watching shows: Breaking Bad.
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Story and science make ‘The Martian’ compelling sci-fi
Great sci-fi films combine visual effects, plausible science, and engaging characters who feel like real people. It’s a difficult balancing act between explosions and action, math and engineering, and an engrossing emotional journey. This is why great sci-fi films are so few and far between, and why The Martian gives me hope that this kind…
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The best of Butters: South Park’s top 10 Butters episodes
Season 19 of South Park kicked off on Comedy Central this week, and I wanted to do something to celebrate my favorite show of all time, so I decided to create a top ten list. It would probably be difficult for me to narrow down my top 50 favorite episodes, so I decided to focus…
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Counting down the top 20 ‘Key & Peele’ sketches of all time
In celebration of the departure of one of the greatest sketch comedy shows ever, here are my top 20 favorite Key & Peele sketches.
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‘Straight Outta Compton’ does justice to hip hop legends
The first CD I ever bought was Snoop Dogg’s “Doggystyle”, which was quickly followed by Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic”, and thus began my love of 1990s gangsta rap. I was a little too young to know the story of N.W.A., so naturally, I was beyond excited for Straight Outta Compton. Thankfully, the movie more than…
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Handsome stars save ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’
I could review The Man from U.N.C.L.E. like a woman who studied film theory at a reputable university and who wrote a thesis paper on 1960s cinema. I could talk about Guy Ritchie’s trademark slick style, Hollywood’s onslaught of remakes and sequels, or even make an argument about how the spy genre has evolved along…
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‘Magic Mike XXL’ is here for your entertainment
Magic Mike XXL isn’t exactly an Oscar contender, and it’s not trying to be. Despite an unnecessarily long runtime, the movie still delivers enough of the goods (read: shirtless dudes with amazing bodies) to be enjoyable.
