Monthly Archives: April 2014

Four Least Anticipated Summer Movies

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Possibly a metaphor for the latter part of Adam Sandler’s career. Image via Uproxx

They can’t all be good.

It is easy to forget that every year, with all of the anticipation that the summer blockbuster season brings, a lot of movies are released that nobody asked for. Usually, the end of August and the entirety of September are reserved for the worst bombs of summer that Hollywood wanted to hide from you. However, some of those sneak into June and July. After all, it just wouldn’t be summer without a subpar sequel and an Adam Sandler movie.

Here are the four movies coming out this summer that I want to see the least. I chose four because numbers are irrelevant. Also, instead of the individual trailers, I have decided to accompany each movie with an SNL skit that at least one of the actors from said movie was in. It is partly because you can find the trailers on your own, and partly because I want to remind you that I still love Adam Sandler:

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In Your Eyes, Parks and Rec, Bob’s Burgers

Episode 5: In this week’s episode, Ian and Cassie talk about the Parks and Recreation season finale, the unsung brilliance of Bob’s Burgers, and Joss Whedon’s In Your Eyes. Plus, Nick Ferreiro stops by to give us a lesson about Aereo.

Movie Review: In Your Eyes

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Sad white people be sad. Image via Word and Film

Perhaps the only reason that In Your Eyes has gained so much attention is because it was released on Vimeo on the same day that it debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival. I admire any project that experiments with platform release. However, sometimes the experiment overshadows the product itself, and it would help if In Your Eyes was better than it actually is.

In Your Eyes is written and produced by Joss Whedon, who has been using that sweet Avengers money to make weird little indie films (last year, he directed a micro-budget, modern day version of Much Ado About Nothing). In Your Eyes is a sci-fi romance that is not nearly as smart as it thinks it is. Simply, this film is about two different people who are somehow mentally connected to one another. To Whedon’s credit, he never tries to explain this strange phenomenon. Inception really did kill the idea of movies spending long periods of time trying to explain the unexplainable.

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Five Most Anticipated Summer Movies

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Round up the usual suspects! Image via Paste Magazine

Just like March, summer goes in like a lion (whatever giant franchise offering Disney has to offer in June) and out like a very wimpy lamb (whatever Paranormal Activity spin-off is lated for release in the last week of August).

It would be unfair to immediately dismiss this summer’s entire lineup just because it doesn’t contain many original ideas. For now, originality is dead in Hollywood. That is a well researched fact, just like the how dogs are better than cats and Jaden Smith is terrible at grammar. Instead of rejecting it, it is better for a cinephile’s psyche to find the silver linings.

While there will still be plenty of sequels, prequels, remakes, and adaptations this summer, some of the worst qualities of modern Hollywood are starting to go the way of the dinosaurs and M. Night Shyamalan. For instance, this summer will give us a few major blockbusters that don’t hit the three hour mark, as well as a worldview that is more fun than gritty. Gritty is for Oscar season. Summer is for fun. Smart fun, if that is in anyway possible.

Here are the five movies coming out in the summer of 2014 that I look forward to the most:

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Five Movies That Would Make Good TV Shows

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Image via ScreenCrush

Today, the common wisdom is that television is so much better than film. What people fail to mention is that TV wouldn’t be where it is today without film.

That being said, TV is getting inspiration from just about any source it can, and lately they have been turning towards older movies. Bates Motel and Hannibal, which are still running strong today, made headlines when they debuted last year. This past Wednesday, Fargo premiered on FX and accomplished the nearly impossible task of replicating the unique tone and style of The Coen Brothers.

Turning a movie into a TV show used to be viewed as a poisonous idea (anybody remember My Big Fat Greek Life?), but now it has become a popular practice filled with rewards. TV shows adapted from movies work when they take what they have been given and craft it into something new. Don’t try and rewrite history: have the series take place in the same world as the given movie, with an unspoken awareness that this movie and the events that took place in it actually happened at some point in either the past or future.

As much as I would love to rant against this trend as a killer of originality, it just seems pointless. It is easier to accept that some stories will just be told over and over again in different forms because that is how storytelling works. Besides, given the liberties they take, Fargo and Bates Motel might as well be separate stories. The truth is that familiar brands sell.

So instead of fighting against this trend, I will embrace it. Here are a few films, new and old, that could make great TV shows:

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Analog This: A Million Ways to Die in Westeros

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Joffrey, you don’t deserve Natalie Dormer’s love. Image via IMDB

Moral of the story: Don’t get married in Westeros.

Sunday’s episode of Game of Thrones was a big one, and it is one that every fan has been waiting for since season one. So for now, I will say SPOILER ALERT. If you don’t want SPOILERS for this week’s episode of Game of Thrones, do not read beyond this point. I put SPOILERS in bold/caps lock because you see, I’m trying to make a point.

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Analog This: Five Great Mad Men Episodes to Prepare for the End

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The college freshman dorm room poster of the future. Image via Business Insider

It’s the beginning of the end as we know it.

Tonight marks the first episode of the seventh season of Mad Men. While this is the last season of Mad Men, it will go on a little longer than expected, given that this season has been split in two halves. Splitting final chapters in two is a popular trend now, and it is the only thing that Breaking BadNymphomaniac, and Divergent have in common.

The sixth season of Mad Men was a bit of a creative letdown that ended with a finale that promised a very important season to come. I am interested to see how these next two seasons will be structured. Either way, each episode will be incredibly important. Now that there is an end in sight, that means that each episode will be building to something bigger. Expect some important decisions, emotional revelations, and internet fan theories that prove to be completely wrong.

You still have a few more hours until the new season of Mad Men premieres. I decided to spend that time thinking about which episodes mattered to me the most. This show’s very best episodes prove that Mad Men is more than just a show about an ad agency in the 1960s. 

Maybe it is premature to be choosing the best episodes of Mad Men already, but I like racking up Internet points, people. Here are what I consider to be the five best episodes of Mad Men to date:

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Captain America: The Winter’s Soldier, Game of Thrones Premiere, Colbert Replacing Letterman

Episode 3: Ian, Cassie and special guest host Mike Rogers (Professor of Comics, Syracuse University), talk about Captain America: The Winter’s Soldier, the Game of Thrones season 4 premiere, Colbert replacing Letterman on The Late Show, James Franco’s newest scandal and much more…