Smash starts out fresh and fails in its second season.

7.5 out of 10

I stumbled onto Smash accidentally. Shortly after I abandoned the sinking ship called Glee, I saw a large amount of promos for Steven Spielberg's new musical. I sat down and watched the pilot and was immediately hooked. It centers around a group of New Yorker's who are trying to create a Broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe. Julia and Tom are the writers and the struggle to figure out what they want their show to look like. Ivy wants the starring role and believes she deserves the part. She has served her year in the ensemble (and is a close friend of Tom). Karen is the new girl from the south who appears suddenly and is graced with a chance at the part of her lifetime. And so enter other great characters into the web of lies and betrayal that is Broadway. Season one was amazing. The show brilliantly captured the tension and stress and created a lot of drama while never being too cliché. The characters all weaved together very nicely and the product was rich and elegant. One very interesting thing about Smash is that every single character is unlikable in some way, yet I stay attached. Such characters demonstrate a certain finesse. After season one, I was left waiting for more. I was overjoyed when I sat down for the 2 hour start of season 2. About halfway through, I remained unconvinced that season 2 would be any good. I shook it off and thought the new season just needs to regain its footing. It never did. Season 2 was a huge and insulting downgrade. New characters were not only unlikable, but annoying. Old characters became stale. The whole show was just a mess of tangled plot and bad writing. To its credit, season 2 featured some great music but the predictable story was problematic. About halfway through, it was switched from its primetime spot on Tuesday to Saturday... a death sentence. Sure enough the show was canceled... but not before the writing was degraded to sitcom antics. Overall, season 1 is a stunning showcase of betrayal on Broadway but season 2 is a less inspired mess.

Smash is rated TV-14

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Tags:smash, NBC, TV, television, tv14, TV-14, drama, musical, recommended

Stranger than Fiction is charming and unique.

8.75 out of 10

 

Stranger than Fiction is unlike anything I have ever seen and is remarkable. It centers around a mundane tax collector named Harold Crick (Will Ferrell). His life is calculated down to a science. One day, he hears a voice narrating his life. Convinced he is not crazy, he sets out to find answers. He finds that he is a character in a book but the question then becomes, "Am I in a comedy or a tragedy?" Clearly, it is a strange movie. However, it works well. The movie finds Will Ferrell in a very interesting role (he isn't a man-child!). The rest of the cast is amazing as well. I struggle to figured out if the movie was a comedy. I decided it was not. In fact, it is genuinely heartbreaking at times. I was very impressed with how the movie was able to handle heavy themes while still creating a lighthearted atmosphere. Overall, Stranger than Fiction is a original and amazing movie absolutely worth seeing.

 

 

Stranger than Fiction is rated PG-13 for some disturbing images, sexuality, brief language and nudity

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Tags: stranger than fiction, comedy, drama, recommended, PG-13, pg13

Weeds is fun but its plotlines get repetitive in its middle seasons.

8.25 out of 10

 

Weeds is brimming with colorful and interesting characters and some very interesting plot twists. There is no way around it, Weeds is a highly addictive series. Well, at least it starts out that way. Nancy Botwin is your average soccer mom from California. Recently widowed, she is forced to start selling weed to maintain her lifestyle and support her family. The show follows her struggle to balance work and family as well as manage the dangers of being a drug dealer. Nancy turns out to be the  ultimate badass. Mary Louise Parker is absolutely hilarious and does an excellent job with the character. Her supporting characters are what really make the show shine. Each character has their own personality that makes them likeable in their own way. Weeds has an excellent first 3 seasons. In fact, I watched the first 3 seasons in 1 week (season 2 and 3 on one weekend). Weeds first 3 seasons were edgy and fun. They had raunchy humor but also a lot of emotion which made it very easy to feel attached to the characters. In season 4, the show seems to become less inspired. After some major changes at the end of the 3rd season, it almost feels like an entirely different show. Season 4 is by no means bad, just different. Season 5 is similar but season 6 caused me issues. It felt less anchored. Again, it is not bad, just not nearly as good as the first 3 seasons. Season 7 is able to stabilize the show and bring is to a satisfying (albeit strange) conclusion in its 8th season. Weeds is the perfect show to binge watch and its easy accessibility on Instant Netflix make it that much more enticing. Overall, Weeds is a highly addictive show definitely worth watching.

 

 

Weeds is rated TV-MA

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Tags: Weeds, TV, television, comedy, drama, tvma, TV-MA, recommended

Girls provides a darker and genius look into growing up in a modern world.

9 out of 10

 

Many compare this new HBO show to Sex and the City. There are similarities but ultimately it is an entirely different product. Girls is an experience unlike anything I have seen before. Brimming with cynicism, Girls is an explicit and often hilarious look into the lives of 4 women. Hannah is in her 20's and lives in New York City. The pilot finds her being cut off from the financial support of her parents. As a writer, she struggles to find a way to make money while figuring out who she is and who she wants to become. She doesn't stumble along the way, she falls flat on her face and her journey is truly something to behold. Her best friend Marine seems to have it all figured out. She has a committed boyfriend and a successful job, but is she happy? Jessa, their English friend, appears once more having just returned from her latest trip. She is a flaky and loose girl who has traveled the world and doesn't really have a set plan in her life. And Shoshanna, Jessa's cousin, is a virginal college student that doesn't know how to shut up. Together, they embark on a journey of self discovery that the show describes as, "Living the dream. One mistake at a time." Writer/director/star,  Lena Dunham (plays Hannah), is simply amazing. Her characters come to life in an extremely realistic way. I found it incredibly easy to relate to them. However, due to their realistic nature, they make mistakes. Some of these mistakes are very obvious and thus create a feeling of annoyance but in the end, they are still awesome. Girls is one of the most mature shows I have ever seen. Some scenes are very sexually explicit and made me uncomfortable (no easy feat). If you do decide to watch Girls, know what you are signing up for. That said, the show is not all twisted sexuality. There are moments of genuine joy that set this show apart from the rest. One of which is a dance party Hannah has after receiving some distressing news. Such displays of innocence are a joy to watch. Season 2 further refines the show, toning the sexual content down (not by much! It is still very explicit). Is it perfect? No. However, it does provide a very interesting look into one of the most whiny and self-indulgent generations. Overall, Girls is a fun and explicit look into maturing in today's world. It is absolutely worth checking out, if you can handle it.

 

Girls is rated TV-MA

 

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Tags: Girls, HBO, recommended, television, tv, TV-MA, tvma,

The Great Gatsby is a feast for the eyes but leftovers for the soul.

7 out of 10

 

 

This update is visually stunning! I am a fan of the 1920's and seeing it come to life was wonderful. The story follows newbie Nick Carraway who has come to NYC to trade in the stock market. He meets the super rich and super mysterious Jay Gatsby. A story of love and betrayal unfolds, with some awesome party scenes. One of the movie's great disadvantages was its run time. Halfway through, I couldn't help feel antsy. However, the biggest problem with this movie is the soundtrack. Visually, I feel like I'm in the 20's... then JZ plays. Pretty sure he wasn't popular back then. It killed the mood. It succeeded in being hip and modern but sacrificed some of its authenticity. It is in no way a bad movie and many of the performances are swell but it felt like something was missing and the visuals were the cover-up. Overall, The Great Gatsby is worth watching, just make sure you have the time and patience for it!

 

 

The Great Gatsby is rated PG-13 for some violent images, sexual content, smoking, partying and brief language. 

 

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Tags: drama, Gatsby, great, great Gatsby, PG-13, pg13, The Great Gatsby

Movie 43 is absolutely terrible.

0.5 out of 10

 

Movie 43 is a complete and utter mess not worthy of screen time. The star studded cast is wasted (as is the usual with an ensemble cast), but this takes horrid to an all new extreme. Ensemble cast movies generally have a loose plot but this movie is different. It has no plot.  Its trailer is pretty funny which led me into the theaters. A waste of my life. Distasteful and just plain awful, Movie 43 should be skipped by everyone.

 

Movie 43 is rated R for strong pervasive crude and sexual content including dialogue, graphic nudity, language and some violence

 

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 Tags: comedy, Movie 43, R

The Newsroom is a fresh and inspiring look at what TV should be.

9.25 out of 10

 

 

HBO's The Newsroom is a stunning look inside journalism and the news today. It features wonderful and stinging social commentary. Will McAvoy is a famous news anchor on the fictional news network ACN. He follows the status quo until Mackenzie McHale appears and shakes up his world. From that moment, the ACN newsroom covers real life news with a very interesting and honest twist. It is filled with colorful characters (Sloan Sabbath is particularly interesting) and a fair share of relationship drama (just the right amount). Inspiring and well written, The Newsroom had me cheering for more. It's second season was more focused in its narrative and was just as wonderful as the first season. A third season has been confirmed and I anxiously await its release. Overall, The Newsroom is a wonderful (and very mild by HBO standard) show and is worth checking out.

 

The Newsroom is rated TV-MA

 

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Tags: comedy, drama, HBO, news, newsroom, recommended, television, the newsroom, tv, TV-MA, tvma

The Bling Ring is an oddly cold and strange crime drama.

3.5 out of 10

 

I struggled to figure out what The Bling Ring was. Enticed by the promise of Emma Watson as a valley girl, I sat down for what turned out to be a very strange 90 minutes. The movie centers around a group of teens in California that break into famous people's homes and steal their possessions. It is based on a real life crime ring that did the same thing in 2010. The group steals from a variety of homes from Paris Hilton to Lindsey Lohan. The whole movie feels cold and it was a struggle to find a scrap of sympathy for the characters. Everyone acts out of control and has no morals. It almost feels like a nightmare because we know it ends badly. Seeing this movie made me oddly uncomfortable but perhaps the was the goal. Maybe I was supposed to see the error is idolizing celebrities and the oversexualization of today's teens. Maybe it was just a strange movie. However, Emma Watson was stunning as the snotty valley girl. That alone was enough to make the movie worthwhile.

The Bling Ring is rated R for teen drug and alcohol use, and for language including some brief sexual references.
 

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 Tags: Bling ring, crime, drama, R, the bling ring,

The Hangover Part III is flawed but amusing

6 out of 10
 

It is no secret that The Hangover's plot line could be stretched no further. The Hangover Part II was proof. At least Part III mixes it up a bit. Is it good? Not really. It will satisfy fans of the series but will most likely not win any new converts. Alan is acting out and not taking his meds. The gang decides to stage an intervention but while bringing him to a facility, they are attacked and kidnapped and Doug is taken hostage. The 3 set out on an adventure centering around one of the strangest characters in the film, Leslie Chow. What ensues is more of an action comedy than anything else. It has its moments but is ultimately unnecessary. I will say, it ties the events of all 3 movies together is an interesting, albeit loose, way. Overall, fans of the series should check it out. If you are not a fan, skip it.

The Hangover Part III is rated R for pervasive language including sexual references, some violence and drug content, and brief graphic nudity.
 

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 Tags: action, comedy, hangover, hangover 3, hangover part 3, hangover part III, R

Black Swan is a stunning psychological thriller.

9 out of 10

 

Black Swan is a trippy look into madness and the pursuit of perfection. Brimming with chilling visuals that never seem to lose their power, Black Swan can only be described as deeply disturbing. Ambitious ballerina, played by Natalie Portman, finally gets a chance to stand in the spotlight. Innocent and sexually inexperienced, she struggles tying to capture the sexuality of the black swan. Consumed with desire to be perfect, a descent into madness begins and a thrilling ride ensues. Portman is absolutely fantastic. Chilling and absolutely stunning, Black Swan is an amazing movie that will have you cheering (and on edge).

Black Swan is rated R for strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and some drug use.
 

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 Tags: black, black swan, drama, R, recommended, swan, thriller

The To Do List is a lowbrow distasteful comedy barely worth of watching.

2 out of 10

 

What seems to be an attempt to flip womanizing sex comedies lands flat on its face. Lovable Aubrey Plaza subjects herself to a leading role in a below average film. It's no secret women can use men. We don't need a movie to prove it. Young brandy is graduating high school with stellar grades and is ready for college. Only one problem: sexual inexperience. So she sets out to fulfill a list of sexual acts. It is gross. Unnecessary crude humor is thrown in your face and it is distasteful. It's clunky and stupid. Overall, The To Do List is a completely unenjoyable experience.

The To Do List is rated R for pervasive strong crude and sexual content including graphic dialogue, drug and alcohol use, and language - all involving teens.
 

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 Tags: comedy, list, R, To Do List

Spring Breakers is hedonistic yet somehow fulfilling.
7.5 out of 10

 

Spring Breakers is a nonstop party filled with sex and violence. Its message and social commentary are interesting and surprising. Not for the faint of heart, it features constant nudity, substance abuse, and language. Writing is sometimes redundant but the camera work and use of neon colors/ color distortion creates the perfect ambiance. Four college girls are tired of their surroundings and plan to go to Florida for spring break. Due to their lack of funds, they are forced to rob a store. After stealing their professor’s car and robbing a diner wielding squirt guns, the girls then set out to “find themselves”. Over the top partying ensues which gets the girls arrested. They are then bailed out by a local criminal named Alien. From there the quest to “find themselves” begins it’s descent into darker territory. It is inappropriate and very hard not to laugh at but that is the goal; to expose the ridiculousness of the spring break coming of age ritual. The movie does feature some excellent performances by James Franco and the girls. Director Harmony Korine succeeds in creating a modern and edgy movie. Overall, Spring Breakers is entertaining but certainly over the top.

Spring Breakers is rated R for strong sexual content, language, nudity, drug use and violence throughout. 

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Tags: action, Breakers, comedy, crime, R, Spring, spring breakers, thriller,