Tag: Paul Sparks

REVIEW: Thoroughbreds (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster — Focus Features / Universal Pictures

The following is a review of Thoroughbreds — Directed by Cory Finley.

Remember My Chemical Romance? It was a rock band that my sister loved back in the day. I really liked their album The Black Parade, and every now and then some of the band’s songs come to mind. When I was watching writer-director Cory Finley’s directorial debut Thoroughbreds, I started to think about their song “Teenagers” — more specifically about the line “All teenagers scare the living shit out of me. They could care less as long as someone will bleed.” The late-great acting talent Anton Yelchin, in what seems to be his final role on film, has a similar line in the film, but he manages to express himself in much fewer words: “fucking evil children.” Continue reading “REVIEW: Thoroughbreds (2018)” →

REVIEW: The Night Of (2016 – Mini-Series)

The Night Of Reviewed

The following review of HBO’s Limited Series ‘The Night Of’ contains spoilers for the entire series.

The Night Of is about the murder of a young woman named Andrea Cornish (played by Sofia Black D’Elia). Andrea was killed on an October night, after having slept with Nasir ‘Naz’ Khan (played by Riz Ahmed), a Pakistani-American college student, who took her for a ride in a ‘stolen’ cab car, before returning to her home to spend the night.

Naz flees from the scene of the crime, but is apprehended later the same night. The protagonist of The Night Of soon makes an appearance, as John Stone (played by John Turturro), a lawyer, decides to take on Naz’s case. Soon Stone and Khan must prove that Naz didn’t murder Andrea Cornish, while the show highlights what is wrong with the system.
Continue reading “REVIEW: The Night Of (2016 – Mini-Series)” →

REVIEW: House of Cards – Season Four (2016)

House of Cards - Reviewed

The following is a review of the entire fourth season of House of Cards. Expect spoilers from seasons 1-3, but spoilers for the fourth season will be kept at a minimum.

House of Cards is one of my favorite shows ever, I would’ve said that prior to the release of the fourth season, and I’ll still say that now. Why do I bring this up? Just to inform you that this review comes from a fan of the show who happens to be a member of the target audience for the show: I am interested in American politics, I am a TV-nerd, and an admirer of Shakespeare-esque storytelling. I enjoyed the third season of House of Cards, which I know was somewhat polarizing. I liked it, but with the fourth season of House of Cards I’ll go as far as to say that I absolutely loved every second of it. I thought it was a spellbinding season.
Continue reading “REVIEW: House of Cards – Season Four (2016)” →

REVIEW: House of Cards – Season Three

I'm Jeffrey Rex Episode Review - Netflix - House of Cards - Season 3The following is a review of the entire third season of House of Cards. Obviously there will be spoilers.

Unless you’ve been under a rock since Thursday, you should be aware of the fact that season three of House of Cards is out on Netflix – go watch it if you haven’t. Now. Since its release I’ve been working hard to review every single episode of the season, and I am thankful that I finished it in the opening weekend. They function both as recaps and reviews – so if you forgot something then feel free to make good use of it.

Today I decided to release a full post on season three of House of Cards. Now if you’ve been following my episode reviews, then you already know that I mentioned some overall thoughts at the end of Chapter 39, but I thought I had more to say today.

So, first things first – did I like the season? Yes, I really did. I think a lot of the people that are disappointed expected the second coming of Heisenberg this season. But in many ways this season was always going to be about the illusion of the Presidency – the illusion of power. And what it means to be Commander in Chief. Continue reading “REVIEW: House of Cards – Season Three” →

REVIEW: House of Cards – “Chapter 39”

I'm Jeffrey Rex Episode Review - Netflix - House of Cards 39The following is a review of the thirteenth and final episode of season three. Expect spoilers in the plot description.

One final hour until the end of the season. What is Claire saying? Will Frank take Iowa? Come and find out! At the end of the post, I’ll also gather some thoughts about the entire season, though that won’t affect the episode grade. Let’s get to the plot description:

The episode opens with Rachel Posner – there she finally is. She was indeed alive, like Orsay had told Doug a few episodes ago. She has multiple jobs – helping out at a bar, at a grocery store. Meanwhile, Doug is flying to Caracas. What exactly does this mean for the final hour in season three? Continue reading “REVIEW: House of Cards – “Chapter 39”” →