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‘My Good Man’s Gone’ Movie Review

Nick Citton’s low key dramedy feels all too familiar. Two siblings, Joni and Wes Carver, travel from Los Angeles to the tiny town of Story, Arkansas, when their estranged father passes away. While there, they make new friends, push each other to their emotional breaking points, and perhaps discover a new approach to life. It feels like a mainstay of the American indie scene, complete with quirky townsfolk, repressed emotional baggage revealed through unsurprising plot twists, and a heartfelt, bittersweet ending.

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‘Magnetic: Cage Closed’ attracts puzzlers with science, boxes, and tough choices

Scientific guns, boxes, buttons, and deadly puzzles. Sounds enticing doesn’t it. All of these things are readily available in the newest addition to the first person puzzle genre, Magnetic: Cage Closed, a mind-bending game that draws inspiration from Portal and Cube. However, instead of testing for science, players will be testing for freedom.

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‘Dracula Untold’ is a poor idea from the start

Ambiguity isn’t tolerated by studios anymore, especially when it comes to high-profile characters that can serve as franchise-starters. And characters don’t come with a higher profile that the lord of vampires himself, Dracula. Origin stories boomed with Batman Begins and Casino Royale, unfortunately the only thing Hollywood took from the success of those films is that EVERY character needs their backstory completely explained. So now audiences will be served a gritty reboot of an icon they already know very well.

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‘The Equalizer’ serves up some action cliches, but mostly choice Denzel Washington

While Denzel Washington shares the same name as Edward Woodward’s character from The Equalizer television show, that’s exactly where the similarities end. The word equalizer isn’t even mentioned except for the credits. Further establishing differences between the two McCalls are the digs they occupy. Rather than roll around in a flashy Jaguar, Washington’s McCall takes public transportation and spends his days in anonymity working for Home Depot. He comes home to a fairly bare apartment in a lower-class corner of Boston. Nights when Robert can’t sleep he reads Cervantes in diners. This life is simple and it’s what he promised someone he loved.

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Choking the Hype Machine: Why It’s So Tough to Review Games

There are an almost infinite number of issues that can come into play when choosing to critique something that has been created by someone else. Examples include everything from personal bias to life experience to cultural fatigue to rampant fanboyism. These issues are further compounded in the gaming medium. A place of constant competition, not …

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‘Dark Souls II’ is a brutal, beautiful journey

Fear. It seems to me that when it comes to Dark Souls II, fear is the name of the game. However, as time goes on, that fear is gradually replaced with daring, a daring that slowly becomes bravery until finally the game is mastered, and you’re filled with a feeling of great satisfaction, even confidence.

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Almost Human, Ep. 1.06, “Arrhythmia” explores the darker side of human ingenuity

Almost Human, Season 1, Episode 6: “Arrhythmia” Written by Alison Schapker Directed by Jeff T. Thomas Airs Mondays at 8 P.M. ET on FOX Marketing and advertising never promised that Almost Human wasn’t a cop show and that it wouldn’t touch on clichéd plotlines somewhere along its first season run. What it did promise, however, …

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Almost Human, Ep. 1.05, “Blood Brothers”: Reimagines classic set-up and flourishes with improved character focus

Almost Human, Season 1, Episode 5: “Blood Brothers” Written by Cole Maliska Directed by Omar Madha Airs Mondays at 8 P.M. ET on FOX In its first few episodes since the action-packed series premiere, Almost Human has delivered thrills, humor, and clever integration of technology into the criminal and crime-fighting worlds, and this episode is …

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Almost Human, Ep. 1.04, “The Bends” works as a whole but moves in an unfortunate direction

                                Almost Human, Season 1, Episode 4: “The Bends” Written by Daniel Grindlinger Directed by Kenneth Fink Airs Mondays at 8 P.M. ET on FOX “If you approach your work with reverence and pour your very soul into it, it …

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Almost Human, Ep. 1.02, “Skin”: Fills in the blanks and entertains

The problem with crime dramas these days is the fact that there are so many of them. It’s easy for a good story with unique qualities to fall into step with similarly-constructed procedural sameness. Fortunately, “Skin” continues to differentiate Almost Human from the dozens of other network series and provides plenty of hope for the show’s future.

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Film4 Frightfest – Day 5: ‘We Are What We Are’ and ‘Big Bad Wolves’ lay the competition to rest

“We didn’t want things jumping out at you. We wanted you to feel immersed, as if you were inside the scene.” Director Blair Erickson can only be referring to 3D; unlike many lazily post-converted blockbusters, his Banshee Chapter was filmed entirely in stereoscopic 3D, a conscious choice from the outset of the film’s production and a risky experiment for something so low budget.

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Film4 Frightfest – Day 4: ‘Antisocial’ suffers from ubsubtle sermonising on social media

Not long after Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton reimagined the fairytale duo for the Twilight generation, Hansel and Gretel Get Baked offers a marginally more laidback interpretation on the fable for those more inclined towards other slacker duos like Jay and Silent Bob or Harold and Kumar. Director Duane Journey trades in traditional Gothic horror sensibilities for a stoned-eye view of suburbia, priding home-grown fantasy over full-blown horror.

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Film4 Frightfest – Day 2: ‘Hatchet III’ sees a fan favourite bow out in a blaze of gore

The contest between scepticism and belief in the supernatural is a reliable means of drawing out a narrative before any sort of big reveal. It’s a dynamic through which the television classic The X-Files operated, featuring the passionate Fox Mulder, who worked to convince cohort Dana Scully of “the truth.” Around this back-and-forth between two audience surrogates situates the dubious involvement of man: how much do the higher-ups truly know about what is going on, and what are they keeping from us?

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The End Draws Near in Angel & Faith #22

“Angel & Faith” #22 Written by Christos Gage Drawn by Rebekah Isaacs Colouring by Dan Jackson Published by Dark Horse Comics In 2011 when Dark Horse announced that “Buffy Season 9” would be accompanied by a sister series, telling its own story over the same time period as “Buffy”, there was some hesitation amongst fans …

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X-Men #1: A Female-Ensemble Done Right

“X-Men” #1 Written by Brian Wood Drawn by Olivier Coipel Inking by Mark Morales and Olivier Coipel Colouring by Laura Martin Immediately after its launch announcement, the new X-Men comic, simply titled “X-Men” has been the talk of the comic community, with many waiting in eager anticipation for the very first all-women starring X-Men comic …

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Adventure Time: Playing With Fire is a Perfect Episode

“Adventure Time: Playing With Fire” Written by Danielle Corsetto Illustrated by Zack Sterling Additional Pencils by JJ Harrison Inks by Stephanie Hocutt Tones by Amanda Lafrenais Letters by Mad Rupert Published by KaBoom Studios! The following review contains spoilers for the fourth season of  the Adventure Time  television series, with this comic being set during …

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The Enemy Within: Wonderful Start to Captain Marvel/Avengers Assemble Cross-over

Avengers: The Enemy Within #1 Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick Drawn by Scott Hepburn Colouring by Jordie Bellaire Lettering by Joe Caramagna Published by Marvel Comics If Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel isn’t the face of Marvel Comics today, then she probably should be. Her rise to A-list superhero, along with the debut of her new series, …

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The Scoobies Are Back in Buffy Season 9 #21

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9 #21 Written by Andrew Chambliss Drawn by Georges Jeanty Inking by Dexter Vines Colours by Michelle Madsen The ninth season of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” sure has moved fast. Of course, being drawn out over 25 months, it still takes a lot longer to tell than a season of …

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‘Tales From Beyond Science’ to Appeal to Fans of Horror and B-Movies

Tales From Beyond Science Written by Mark Millar, Alan McKenzie, John Smith Art by Rian Hughes Published by Image Comics “You are about to enter another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone!” -Rod Serling The above …

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Rotworld Reaches Finale for Swamp Thing and Animal Man

Animal Man (2011) #17 Writers: Jeff Lemire and Scott Snyder Artists: Steve Pugh and Timothy Green II Published by DC Comics Swamp Thing (2011) #17 Writers: Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire Artist: Andy Belanger Published by DC Comics While the “Swamp Thing”/”Animal Man” cross-over “Rotworld” has been ongoing only since issues #12, the two titles …

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NCIS, Ep. 10.13, “Hit and Run”: A look into the past weighs the importance of goodwill in a corrupt world

NCIS, Season 10, Episode 13: “Hit and Run” Written by Gary Glasberg and Gina Lucita Monreal Directed by Dennis Smith Airs Tuesdays at 8pm (ET) on CBS Knowing your purpose in life and that you are fulfilling that purpose is not an absolute that can be guaranteed. That uncertainty grabs a hold of Abby as …

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NCIS, Ep. 10.06, “Shell Shock (Part I)”: A painful past and a suspicious witness make for a whole lot of trust issues

NCIS, Season 10, Episode 6: “Shell Shock (Part I)” Written by Nichole Mirante-Matthews Directed by Leslie Libman Airs Tuesdays at 8pm (ET) on CBS Television has the potential to influence millions of people, for better or for worse. One of the best things about the medium is that not only does it entertain, but it …

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NCIS, Ep. 10.05, “The Namesake”: Heartfelt backstory pays tribute to real-life heroes

NCIS, Season 10, Episode 5: “The Namesake” Written by George Schenck and Frank Cardea Directed by Arvin Brown Airs Tuesdays at 8pm (ET) on CBS NCIS has given its audience numerous glances into the make-up of Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, each one brief but hefty with emotional detail (“Heartland” still ranks high on the list). …

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