‘Mercy’ demonstrates the dangers of AI in the legal system
By Josh Ball
Is it better to acquit a guilty man or to convict an innocent one? The presumption of innocence we enjoy takes the former stance. Chris Pratt’s new film “Mercy” explores this debate for the modern audience.
In the future, Los Angeles experiments with the Mercy Capital Court. Defendants accused of capital murder find themselves strapped to a chair before an AI judge. Under a presumption of guilt, the defendant is given 90 minutes to clear their name. With access to the ...
‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ season 2 shows viewers that a weekly release doesn’t always build hype
By Danielle Cherry
Percy Jackson isn’t like other boys; he is a demigod born of a mortal mother and the Greek god Poseidon. For Percy, life is no longer academics and school games; now it's fighting monsters. In the second season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” Percy struggles as he welcomes a new brother and tries to fight for the camp he has come to call home.
“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” season one was a hit with book fans, staying true to ...
‘The Night Manager’ season 2 episodes 1-3 exceed expectations in intentionality
By Danielle Cherry
Originally made for the screen as a book adaptation, “The Night Manager” follows hotel night-shift concierge, Jonathan Pine, in his whirlwind entry into the world of espionage.
Season one shows us the mess Pine (Tom Hiddleston) got himself into - choosing to save a hotel guest’s life from Richard Roper, a crime boss fronting as a philanthropist. In turn, Pine is sought out by British Intelligence to go undercover as Andrew Birch and infiltrate ...
‘The RIP’ offers meaningful reflection on the meaning of life amidst car chases, big explosions and lots of shootouts
By Gabriel Payne
The intensely drug-controlled, highly dangerous and fast paced underworld of Miami, Florida is a side of life that many do not come into contact with often, if at all. For the majority of America, their lives are neatly experienced in nice, quiet suburban neighborhood developments, without a care or thought given to the millions of dollars and thousands of people involved in illegal lifestyles right under their noses.
This security they feel is due to the valiant efforts ...
‘Finding Her Edge’ is not as cheesy as it sounds
By Amelia Morris
Netflix original series “Finding Her Edge” is the quintessential love triangle, but this time, on ice.
Based on the book of the same name by Jennifer Iacopelli, the series follows the Russo family as they attempt to maintain their “figure skating dynasty” with their young skating team.
The main character, Adrianna is the 17-year-old middle child of the three Russo sisters. Elise, her older sister, is working toward gold in the next Olympics. Her ...
‘Beyond Utopia’ renders harrowing live footage of one family’s escape from North Korea
By Teagan Warren
“We are not leaving North Korea because we want to…we are leaving in order to stay alive,” says one member of the Roh family, the protagonists escaping North Korea in “Beyond Utopia.”
One might suspect the escape would involve going across the South Korean border. However, due to the dense volume of landmines across the border along with intense surveillance, crossing there is virtually impossible. Instead, the Roh family crosses into China then journeys ...
‘Lockerbie: A Search for Truth’ reveals history in a new light
By Molly Adkins
It’s mid-December in 1988. You might be listening to Christmas music, decorating or visiting family. But then a news story interrupts your TV or radio. A plane has gone down over Lockerbie, Scotland, and they are calling it a terrorist attack.
So was the case for Jim Swire and his family. After an agonizingly long period of waiting, they received the news… their daughter was, in fact, on that flight. There were no survivors.
This incident launches into a chain of ...
Netflix’s ‘Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials’ seems to have dialed the wrong number
By Cadence Powers
Opening in Ronda, Spain, in the year 1920, a bull emerges from its pen running over a man, stabbing him and leaving him dead on the ground. Next to his body lies a business card, the image of a clock set to seven embedded into it. Six years later at the Chimney Estate in England, our main heroine, Eileen “Bundle” Brent, finds her future fiancé dead the morning after a party, with seven clocks placed on the mantlepiece.
The story then follows plucky Lady ...
‘How to Lose a Popularity Contest’ is winning the mediocrity rom-com contest.
By Amelia Morris
Tubi original “How to Lose a Popularity Contest” is a typical rom-com targeted to teens and pre-teens. The movie follows high school juniors Ellie and Nate as they attempt to win the student council presidential election. In the end, the movie was every bit of average.
Ellie Pearse (Sara Waisglass) is the typical teen lead in any rom-com. She’s nerdy, driven and striving to be accepted into an Ivy League school. Her resume might be lengthy but when the Ivy League ...
‘People We Meet on Vacation’ shows us that love is deeper than romance
By Danielle Cherry
Do you ever want to leave school and take a vacation? Or better yet, what if going on vacation was your job? Well, Poppy Wright (Emily Bader) has my dream job - writing about vacations. Yet her heart isn’t in it. More than anything, Poppy loves traveling because of the many people she can become on her adventures.
“People We Meet on Vacation” is adapted from the book written by Emily Henry, and I must say, wow, did they do a good job. As a book-befo...
