‘National Champions’ Calls for Change in College Sports, to Little Avail
By Nick Ratliff
“National Champions” is a sports drama about two college football athletes fighting for something bigger than themselves. LeMarcus James (Stephan James) is a star quarterback projected to be the number one pick in the upcoming NFL draft, while Emmett Sunday (Alexander Ludwig) is a starter who is not projected to make it past the college level.
Three days before the national championship game, these two athletes protest the game on the basis that student-athletes should be ...
‘Encounter’ is More (and Less) than It Appears
By Benjamin Konuch
"Keeping a level head when all hell's breaking loose, that's a special kind of tough."
Released by Amazon Studios earlier last month, "Encounter" is a slow-burn thriller/drama starring Riz Ahmed, Octavia Spencer and Lucian River-Chauhan. Ahmed plays Malik, an ex-marine who discovers a conspiracy about alien parasites taking control of humans. Once he finds out, he embarks with his two young sons on a journey across a country where anyone could be an enemy.
While many ...
‘Nightmare Alley’ Masterfully Warns about the Dangers of Deception
By Ben Konuch
"When a man believes his own lies, he believes he has too much power. He’s got shut-eye. Because now, he believes it’s all true."
When does ambition become obsession? What is the line between deceit and reality?
These are the central questions of "Nightmare Alley", a drama / thriller directed by Guillermo del Toro. A remake of a 1947 film of the same name, this "Nightmare Alley" is a dark journey into the mind of a carnival man with a skill for deception. Set in the 1940's, ...
Now on Netflix, ‘Seinfeld’ is a Comfort Show About Nothing in Particular
By Sam Acosta
After their loss of sitcom headliners “The Office” and “Friends,” Netflix was searching for another big name to fill the void. This fall, Netflix announced that the entirety of “Seinfeld” would be coming to the streaming platform. I had never seen a single episode before, so I took it upon myself to binge the entire series to see if it lived up to the hype.
The show follows Jerry Seinfeld, a comedian in New York City, and his friends George, Elaine and Kramer, as ...
‘The Witcher’ Season One is a Mix of Failures and Triumphs
By Sam Acosta
This Netflix adaptation of the beloved “Witcher” series has its fair share of triumphs and failures. This gritty fantasy series follows the story of Geralt of Rivia, one of the few surviving Witchers (mutated humans created to hunt monsters), and his battle with his destiny. While I am in love with so much of this series, I also struggle to justify some of its creative decisions.
In terms of plot, “The Witcher” somehow manages to take its strong story and place ...
‘The Unforgivable’ is a Movie of Wasted Potential
By Wyatt Rucker
Released on Netflix earlier this month, “The Unforgivable” reminds us that Sandra Bullock is a world-class actress; however, the filmmakers inexplicably decide to include so many scenes without her that it wrecks the film’s pacing and wastes its potential.
“The Unforgivable” follows the story of ex-convict Ruth Slater (Bullock) after her release from prison. Throughout the movie, the audience gets subtle clues as to the true nature of her crime. The explanation ...
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Is A Spider-Fan’s Paradise
By Sam Acosta
[Editor’s Note: This review most definitely contains spoilers.]
The amount of hype surrounding the release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” rivals that surrounding "Endgame.” Rumors and theories ran rampant as to what this final installment of the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy would bring to the table, especially after trailers revealed the return of villains from previous cinematic iterations of the character. Yet, with expectations so high for the film, the question had to ...
“West Side Story” Blends a Timeless Story with Modern Filmmaking
By Janie Walenda
At first, remaking “West Side Story” sounds like a bad idea. First of all, the original movie stands as one of the best movie musicals of all time, despite its outdated practices of dubbing and casting. Secondly, movie musicals are a dying genre. While it still survives due to Disney and animation, movie musicals are no longer the spectacular blockbusters they used to be. With a disappointing opening weekend, Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” will not disprove ...
‘Hawkeye’ Episode Five Ups The Stakes Before The Finale
By Janie Walenda
“Hawkeye” has surprised me in a lot of ways: The excellent action scenes, how they captured the atmosphere of the comics while drastically changing the characters and how they’ve weaved together multiple storylines and complex characters makes this one of the best Disney shows so far. Episode 5, “Ronin” not only expands on these elements but also introduces a new surprise. “Hawkeye,” so far, has gone farther than any other MCU show in executing satisfying ...
Full of Christmas Cheer, ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 4 Refines Both Heroes and Villains
By Janie Walenda
Part of Hawkeye’s appeal has always been Clint and Kate’s human-ness. Despite being highly skilled heros, they are prone to get injured after fights and live in regular apartments. The duality of “Hawkeye,” at least so far, has been displaying this normalcy while still elevating the character, proving why Hawkeye deserves to be an Avenger. While this week’s episode, “Partners, Am I Right,” is a little slower than previous episodes, it has a purpose. It solidifies ...
