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Reviews

(Photo courtesy of IMDb)

‘The Book of Boba Fett’ reveals only a few chapters of Boba’s story

By Signal Correspondent | Feb. 11, 2022

With the release of the final episode of “The Mandalorian’s” second season, Disney+ and Lucasfilm treated “Star Wars” fans to a surprise announcement after the credits: a spin-off series centering around the longtime iconic character, Boba Fett, developed by “The Mandalorian” creator Jon Favreau, longtime “Star Wars” writer, director and producer Dave Filoni and “Alita: Battle Angel, Spy Kids,” and “From Dusk Till Dawn” director Robert Rodriguez. 

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(Photo courtesy of IMDB)

‘American Psycho’ reexamined: a brilliant work of satire

By Maia Venuti | Feb. 11, 2022

“American Psycho” (2000) is a drama/thriller film that chronicles the daily goings-on of 27-year-old Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), a young Wall Street executive, and his slow descent into insanity. Alongside Bale, the film features a star-studded cast with Jared Leto, Willem Dafoe, Chloe Sevigny and Reese Witherspoon. Over the past two decades, “American Psycho” has carved itself into American pop culture, and the film is just as relevant today as it was at the time of its release. However, in recent years, I started to notice a disconnect forming between the original purpose of the film and those who are fans of it today.

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(Photo courtesy of Gabrielle Reese/ Publicist of Atlantic Records)

Wallows return with ‘Especially You’

By Lysa Legros | Feb. 10, 2022

Wallows, a Los Angeles-based trio made up of Dylan Minnette, Braeden Lemasters and Cole Preston, came back after two years with their new single, “Especially You.” The single heralds their upcoming album “Tell Me That it’s Over,” coming out March 25. The album, a collaboration with producer Ariel Rechtshaid (Vampire Weekend, Haim, Adele), offers a variety of musical genres, ranging from lo-fi post-punk to early ’90s pop psychedelia. “Especially You” presents an exciting evolution of Wallow’s sound that pairs the confessional tone of “Are You Bored” with the exciting production of “Ok.” 

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(Photo courtesy of Netflix)

‘Murderville’ perfectly strikes the balance of comedy, mystery

By Jack Deegan | Feb. 9, 2022

Netflix’s new surprise hit show “Murderville” debuted this past week and proves that Netflix can indeed still make good shows. The series centers around Detective Terry Seattle (Will Arnett), who partners with a different celebrity guest each episode to help him solve a murder mystery. The big twist is that the celebrities aren’t given a script and have to improvise their way through the case before picking the culprit at the end of the episode.

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(Photo courtesy of Netflix)

A girl watches ‘The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window’: Season 1 review

By Lea Pichardo | Feb. 5, 2022

“The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window,” a limited series on Netflix, centers around Anna (Kristen Bell), a bright-eyed, smiley-faced young woman with a generally chipper personality. It is dampened only slightly by the occasional hallucinations of her dead daughter, periods of hysteria, binge drinking and ombrophobia-induced panic attacks.

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(Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

‘The Fallout’ expertly handles an emotional story with a heavy subject matter

By Jack Deegan | Feb. 3, 2022

The newest movie to release on HBO Max is director Megan Park’s highly anticipated feature directorial debut “The Fallout,” which she wrote herself. The film drew lots of acclaim and attention last year at the 2021 South by Southwest Film Festival where it won three awards. Now, almost a year after its debut in March of 2021, it has finally been released for the public to watch this heartbreaking story.

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(Photo courtesy of IMDB)

‘Nightmare Alley’ review: Guillermo del Toro’s newest thriller shouldn’t be overlooked

By Nick Delvescovo | Jan. 29, 2022

“Nightmare Alley” wasn’t a film that I was heavily anticipating, but was pleasantly surprised by how interesting and captivating the story and world created was. The film was released on Dec. 17 and was directed by Oscar winning director Guilermo del Toro. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Willem Dafoe. Cooper plays a man who is down on his luck and is trying to earn a living in the early 1940s. He starts his work as a carny in a traveling carnival show when he learns the art, or act, of mind reading. As he fraudulently schemes his way to the top, his lies and deceitfulness begin to catch up with him.

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(Photo courtesy of Kirsty Griffin/Netflix)

‘The Royal Treatment’ is a royal mess

By Shivani Srivastava | Jan. 26, 2022

“The Royal Treatment” taught me that if I want to get a man, a prince even, all I have to do is give them attitude and a haircut, because apparently that worked wonders for our main character, Isabella.  At this point, I believe the concept of building chemistry between leads, or having an engaging, non-generic plot is lost on Netflix. 

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(Photo courtesy of Memento Films & Amazon Studios)

‘A Hero’ review: A heartbreaking movie that explores morality

By Jack Deegan | Jan. 24, 2022

After much anticipation, two-time Academy Award-winning director Asghar Farhadi’s newest movie, “A Hero” has finally been released on Amazon Prime Video for all to watch. Gaining lots of traction last year while traveling the film festival scene, “A Hero” won several awards including the Grand Prix at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival as well as many foreign language film awards. 

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(Photo courtesy of IMDb)

‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’ review: An incredibly well crafted take on a classic Shakespeare tragedy

By Nick Delvescovo | Jan. 18, 2022

“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” released on Dec. 25, is Director Joel Coen’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic story. The film’s stellar cast includes Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand and Corey Hawkins among others. Just like the play, this A24-produced-film shows us the repercussions of greed when Macbeth, a Scottish general, is approached by three witches that tell him he will be the new king of Scotland. With influence from his wife, he kills the king and takes the throne for himself. We follow his rise to power and madness as he tries to deal with the guilt of the king’s blood on his hands. 

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(Photo courtesy of Quantrell D. Colbert/ Netflix)

‘Archive 81’ review: A fantastic horror-thriller gone off the rails

By Jordan Galan | Jan. 18, 2022

Netflix recently released its newest original series, “Archive 81,” on Friday, Jan. 14. The show, directed by Rebecca Thomas, stars Dina Shihabi (Melody Pendras), an emotionally damaged undergrad student seeking answers to who she is, and Mamoudou Athie (Dan Turner), a mentally perturbed film restoration expert who receives an unexpected job offer. This horror-based thriller is as riveting as it is grotesque but sadly seems to unravel as the show progresses. 

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(Photo courtesy of Netflix/ Niko Tavernise)

‘Don’t Look Up’ review: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence star in a bleak, end-of-the-world film

By Lea Pichardo | Jan. 2, 2022

In the film, two astronomers discover the comet, Michigan State Ph.D. candidate Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) and her professor, Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio). They do everything they can to educate the public about the impending strike, the resulting consequences and implications....However, the astronomers are ridiculed, silenced and ignored. In the end, none of their efforts are enough.

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(Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios)

‘Hawkeye’ hits the mark: season 1 review

By Jack Deegan | Jan. 2, 2022

Marvel Studios’ newest show “Hawkeye” has come to a close with the season finale, which aired on Dec. 23. The series centers around the titular Hawkeye aka Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), who is drawn out of retirement and therefore must go away from his family during Christmas. Clint is forced to partner with his biggest fan, Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), after she is caught in a criminal conspiracy regarding his dark past as the assassin Ronin. There’s also a dog that eats pizza, and what more could you want?

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(Photo courtesy of Imdb)

‘Encanto’ review: Latest Disney film teaches us to live authentically

By Lea Pichardo | Dec. 22, 2021

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ released its newest animated feature “Encanto” in theaters on Nov. 25, Thanksgiving Day. The movie lived up to every expectation I had. “Encanto” is refreshingly comedic while also powerful, serving as a reminder that the act of storytelling is intrinsic to living a good life because stories can remind us of what is truly important.

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