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Author: Tim Stevens

The compelling, gory “Utopia” takes you down the rabbit hole

Utopia
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Gillian Flynn’s new Prime series is an ambitious saga that offers loads to chew on, assuming you can handle the bleakness of it all.

Tim Stevens Posted on September 21, 2020September 21, 2020

“Away” takes you to Mars with no small amount of heart

away
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A treacly Lost pastiche about astronauts and the lives left behind on an interstellar mission gives way to surprisingly humanistic highs.

Tim Stevens Posted on September 4, 2020September 4, 2020

Guitars and gunplay: “Desperado” 25 years later

Desperado 25th Anniversary
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Robert Rodriguez’s official arrival on the major-studio film scene remains a riotous, stylish pulp actioner.

Tim Stevens Posted on August 25, 2020August 24, 2020

“Ted Lasso” is slow on the pitch but ends well by full time

Ted Lasso
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Jason Sudeikis adapts his NBC Sports commercial character to a slow-burn comedy that eventually finds its groove.

Tim Stevens Posted on August 14, 2020August 14, 2020

“Joint Security Area” is a split decision

Joint Security Area
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Rough around the edges but fascinating nonetheless, Park Chan-wook’s breakout hit remains a signal of his later work.

Tim Stevens Posted on August 8, 2020August 8, 2020

“The Umbrella Academy” keeps the apocalypse light for season 2

Umbrella Academy Season 2
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The second season of Netflix’s comic-book adaptation sends its fractured superhero family into the past, to mixed results.

Tim Stevens Posted on July 27, 2020December 1, 2020

“Phone Booth” is a tightly wound study in obsolescence

Phone Booth
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Joel Schumacher’s cracked tableau of New York City’s shifts at the turn of the millennium remains a time capsule in the guise of a neo-noir.

Tim Stevens Posted on July 22, 2020July 22, 2020

Schumacher puts character over tension in “The Client”

The Client
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Joel Schumacher’s ninth feature adapts John Grisham’s usual action nonsense with depth & sensitivity.

Tim Stevens Posted on July 14, 2020July 14, 2020

“Hanna” season 2 hits hard, but could pick its shots better

Hanna Season 2
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Finally out from under the shadow of its filmic inspiration, the Amazon series treads new ground in its second season.

Tim Stevens Posted on July 3, 2020July 3, 2020

“The Patriot” at 20: Yankee Doodle Dreary

The Patriot
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20 years later, Roland Emmerich’s Revolutionary War drama skewers U.S. history and Mel Gibson’s persona without trying to—or realizing it.

Tim Stevens Posted on June 30, 2020July 2, 2020

“Doom Patrol” is back for a strange, homespun second season

Doom Patrol Season 2
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The black-sheep show of the DC Universe returns for a second season even more confident in its quirks.

Tim Stevens Posted on June 26, 2020June 26, 2020

“Sherman’s Showcase Spectacular” celebrates a belated Black History Month

Sherman's Showcase Spectacular
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IFC’s irreverently absurd Soul Train pastiche returns for a one-off special as inventive as it is occasionally overlong.

Tim Stevens Posted on June 19, 2020June 20, 2020

The “Psycho” remake is an ironically bloodless exercise in technique

Psycho
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Gus Van Sant’s remake of the Alfred Hitchcock classic is a cut-and-paste exercise that plays like little more than a rehash of the original.

Tim Stevens Posted on June 14, 2020June 18, 2020

“F Is for Family” again in its fourth season, but F is no longer for funny

F Is for Family
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The return of Netflix’s adult animated sitcom brings with it a few moving moments and arcs, but it’s too lacking in laughs.

Tim Stevens Posted on June 10, 2020June 18, 2020

“Drugstore Cowboy” found beauty in the gutter

Drugstore Cowboy
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Gus Van Sant’s second feature is a stylish but sensitive and non-judgmental look at drug addiction.

Tim Stevens Posted on June 4, 2020July 2, 2020

2009’s “Friday the 13th” reboot turns Jason into a murderous pot farmer

Friday the 13th Reboot
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Marcus Nispel’s confused, uninspired revamp of the franchise stresses the importance of not touching Jason’s stash of sticky-icky.

Tim Stevens Posted on May 31, 2020May 30, 2020

In “The Eddy,” beautiful melodies tell terrible things

The Eddy
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Netflix’s new music drama has enough style and strong performances to overcome its padding in this eight-episode season.

Tim Stevens Posted on May 7, 2020May 7, 2020

If Your Brain Needs A Vacation, Come to “Outer Banks”

OUTER BANKS
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Netflix’s new teen drama is more CW than anything else, and doesn’t offer much else than overstuffed teen […]

Tim Stevens Posted on April 13, 2020April 13, 2020

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