Jeremy Butler

So at what point is enough is enough? The Dragonheart franchise has been around since 1996 when Dennis Quaid and Sean Connery brought the first film to life, becoming a box office success. Since that first film, sequels have continued to tell the tale of how a dragon has the power to share part of its heart with a human if it chooses. This is clearly evidence of the law of diminishing returns, as only the first film made it to the box office, with the others relegated to home media. While home media is a legitimate platform for films, I cannot fathom the reason to keep this franchise going. Dragonheart: Vengeance marks the fifth return to this universe, with the events of this film occurring before the events of the fourth film (Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire). Each film exists within the same universe, but with a new crop of characters and sometimes with a new dragon, usually voiced by an acting authority; examples include Patrick Stewart, Ben Kingsley, and of course, Sean Connery. In regards to this universe, I have not ventured back to this world since the events of the first film, and based on what I witnessed in this incarnation, there is little substance to warrant continued trips back.
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A modern day romantic comedy, as well as a commentary on the co-dependent relationship that society is now engaged in with their phones. I know we all see it, with infinite information at our favorite fingertips and the ease with which we now can conduct their lives, whether it be finding out the name of a song on the radio via an app, getting directions to a place we have ever been, or merely playing music while we conduct other task, our phones have become our conduit to the world, removing a lot of the obstacles that we used to face in everyday life. However, that assistance comes at a cost as we now have come to rely on our phone to accomplish task that we used to go out and do on our own. To top things off, we have decided to connect with people on social media, relying on how many people are following us on Instagram to determine popularity, rather than actually human interaction. JEXI perfectly captures this idea as we observe our lead character Phil played by Adam Devine struggle to engage with the beautiful Cate played by the gorgeous Alexandra Shipp. Thankfully his phone is there to help him; however, what happens when his phone begins to feel neglected?
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They don’t trust one another, but they need one another. One is idealistic and believes in the letter of the law, as well as the principle of there being no shortcuts to justice. The other is disillusioned, immoral, and corrupt, albeit effective and well-connected. Aldis Hodge, who has been having a good run since the end of Leverage back in 2012, and the well-established Kevin Bacon have great chemistry in City on a Hill. Their chemistry is the best thing to come out of the series that can at times become convoluted with all the subplots occurring in every episode. Loosely based on the events of the “Boston Miracle,” (also known as Operation Ceasefire), a police initiative implemented back in 1996 aimed at youth gun violence as a large scale problem, these two join forces to catch a group of armored truck robbers who are not afraid to kill to get what they want. Rounding out the cast are Jonathan Tucker, Mark O’Brien, Jill Hennessy, Sarah Shani, and many more. The show tends to meander and get bogged down with the additional storylines involving the supporting cast, but each episode provides a great interaction between Hodge and Bacon that makes the meandering worth enduring.
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Well, I’m not fully sure how to put my experience with Killerman into words, but I will give it my best shot. The feeling that comes to mind is confused. It just seem to be a lot of different things thrown at me at once. Liam Hemsworth is introduced as Moe Diamond, a small-time money launderer partnering with the nephew of a powerful crime boss; the nephew chaffs under the thumb of his uncle, and it is very clear that he is the less intelligent one of the partnership. Moe is level-headed and appears to have an elegant system in place for laundering money through his jewelry business. The nephew, who goes by the name Skunk, played by Emery Cohen, is clearing only involved because of his connection to his uncle. Needless to say, I imagine you can see where this is going, I mean, we have only seen it dozens of times in other movies, but I’ll go ahead and repeat it for posterity: the uncle gives the boys the opportunity at a big-time score; the pair get wind of a too-good-to-be-true drug dealing opportunity, and decide to use the uncle’s cash to front the deal. As expected the deal really does turn out to be too good to be true, leading Moe and Skunk to be on the run from a dirty cop when they escape the deal with both the cash and the money. To the film’s credit, this is the extent of the movie’s predictability, as matters take an unexpected turn.
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Whistleblowing is a difficult decision. You are part of an organization, and you believe in that organization. Speaking out against that organization (yes, I know I’m overusing the word) at times can seem like ratting out family. Not to mention the downside. We all say that there will not be reprisal for whistleblowing, but more often than not, there is. However, that doesn’t mean that if you see wrongdoing that you should sit idly by and do nothing. Most believe that inaction is as bad as committing the act yourself. But when the organization you are speaking out against is the United States government, that is another animal entirely. Official Secrets portrays the real-life actions of Katherine Gun, a translator who back in 2003 leaked classified information exposing a conspiracy to facilitate the war against Iraq. Keira Knightly portrays our whistleblower with an all-star cast that includes Matthew Smith, Matthew Goode, Rhys Ifans, and Ralph Fiennes.
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Wonder what happened to Laura Marano from Austin and Aly? Well, she is following in the footsteps of fellow Disney Channel actresses, Hilary Duff and Selena Gomez, by starring in the latest incarnation of A Cinderella Story, and this time it’s Christmas-themed. On the one hand, I am wondering how many different ways this premise can be recycled. I mean, it has already gone from a theatrical release movie (the first film with Hilary Duff) to a home media release (the second one with Selena Gomez). Given that that the story revolves around a girl being mistreated by her stepmother and step-siblings, you would think that there would be nothing new to add to that idea. Apparently that is not the case, as the film does a good job getting the audience prepared for the upcoming holiday season. Also starring Gregg Sulkin (Marvel’s The Runaways) as her love interest, the film is sweet and manages to entertain, despite not really breaking new ground.
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This is a movie that does not hold up with time. Just in time for the release of the reboot comes Charlie’s Angels starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu. I remember being quite enamored with this movie, or maybe it was Drew Barrymore I was enamored with. It would explain why I watched Santa Clarita Diet. Anyhow, this is the 2003 sequel to the 2000 film adaptation starring the lovely woman mentioned above. This film is joined by Bernie Mac replacing Bill Murray as Bosley, and Demi Moore as the film’s big bad. After rescuing captured US Marshal I’m Mongolia, Natalie (Cameron Diaz), Dylan (Drew Barrymore), and Alex (Lucy Liu) are recruited by Charlie to recover titanium rings that have been stolen from the Justice Department. These rings contain the names of people in the Witness Protection Program. While thwarting the assassin of a witness, the mission gets personal when Natalie and Alex discover that their partner, Dylan, is actually a protected witness.
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Veronica Mars is truly a show with nine lives.  Since ending its initial run in 2007, the series has returned in the form of a movie, thanks to a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign. After the film, I expected that would be the end for everyone’s favorite sleuth. However, lo and behold, the series returns yet again with a eight-episode run courtesy of Hulu. I was very excited to hear of this return; I wasn’t completely satisfied with the way things ended in the movie. Sure, the resurrection of Love (the coupling of Logan and Veronica) was great, and I was glad to see that Logan made something of himself. The story just didn’t feel complete, especially with the way they left things with Weevil. Thankfully, the new season provided me with the answers I needed, though they were bittersweet.
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