Review: Penny Dreadful, Season 1, Episode 8

Penny Dreadful has shown off some compelling scenarios, highly intriguing characters and award-worthy performances during its eight episode run, but it lost momentum and story structure in the final two installments of its first season.

As was the case with episode 7, ‘Possession,’ the finale, ‘Grand Guignol,’ is still a strong enough hour of television, but when you’ve come from far more powerful places, it’s tough not to be just a little underwhelmed by the conclusion of the first season.

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Review: Earth to Echo

“Earth to Echo” doesn’t come close to being the next “E.T.,” but it does pack enough spirit and fun to make it a worthwhile knockoff.

Teo Halm, Brian “Astro” Bradley (yes, the kid from “The X Factor”) and Reese Hartwig lead as Alex, Tuck and Munch, three best friends who never really fit in until they found each other. However, with plans to build a highway straight through their Nevada suburb, their families are left with no choice, but to pack up and move away. In an effort to make their very last night together one to remember, Tuck insists they ride their bikes to the middle of the desert to investigate a mysterious signal that pops up on their cellphones.

Elements of that premise are in line with “The Goonies,” but there aren’t many similarities beyond that primarily because “Earth to Echo” is a far more juvenile film. It’s got heart, intrigue and a mild amount of suspense, but a lighter tone that will make older moviegoers well aware of the fact that nothing bad can happen to these characters. However, “Earth to Echo” gets away with it because the film is much more so about experiencing this crazy adventure than it is about the characters.

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Review: Penny Dreadful, Season 1, Episode 7

‘What Death Can Join Together’ is a remarkable installment of Penny Dreadful because even though most of the characters are off doing their own things, it still manages to tie them all together. ‘Possession,’ however, has the benefit of taking place in a single location with most of the main players fighting for the exact same thing yet the narrative feels more disjointed and plodding than ever.

As per usual, all of the performances are impeccable. Eva Green is disturbingly good at giving way to demonic possession, Timothy Dalton nails expressing both a desperation to save Mina and also regret for how he treated his son in the past, and Josh Hartnett emotes more than ever, convincing you that this isn’t just another mission – he deeply cares for Vanessa. Trouble is, even the best performances don’t amount to much when you’re working with a weak script.

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Review: Transformers: Age of Extinction

At one point, a “Transformers: Age of Extinction” character delivers this gem – “I also have a saying; I don’t care.” Why isn’t that the tagline of this movie? Or the whole “Transformers” film franchise for that matter?

“Age of Extinction” takes place five years after “Dark of the Moon.” Even though the Autobots helped save mankind in Chicago, the US government classifies all Transformers as dangerous fugitives, forcing the Autobots to go into hiding. Meanwhile, Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) is desperately trying to earn enough money to keep his home and send his daughter, Tessa (Nicola Peltz), to college. Trouble is, none of his inventions work very well and he doesn’t make much money fixing CD players and other random things. However, a dilapidated truck Cade gets his hands on is another story because it isn’t just a truck in need of fixing; it’s Optimus Prime.

This part of “Age of Extinction” isn’t all that bad. The idea of the government shunning the Autobots for helping us win a battle we never could have won on our own is a little ridiculous, but it’s well worth the fun of getting the chance to discover the Transformers all over again. The human characters involved in that discovery, however, are so devastatingly poorly written, they almost extinguish the thrill of the Autobot reunion.

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Review: Snowpiercer

Joon-ho Bong’s unprecedented combination of stunning combat, stylistic eccentricities and dramatic poignancy is so rich and enthralling, there’s no way one viewing of “Snowpiercer” will ever be enough.

In an effort to thwart global warming, a chemical called CW-7 is released into the Earth’s atmosphere in 2014. Soon thereafter, the temperature plummets and the world is consumed by snow and ice. “Snowpiercer” begins in 2031, 17 years after the only survivors entered Wilford’s self-contained safe haven, a train that circles the globe once every calendar year and is sustained by a perpetual-motion engine. On that train, passengers are separated by class. The wealthy indulge in parties, fancy clothing and sushi up front while the rest are secluded to the tail, forced to live in tiny compartments and live off of unappetizing protein blocks. However, the time for change has come and Curtis (Chris Evans) has a plan to take over the front.

“Snowpiercer” is a downright mesmerizing display of hardship, combat and magnificent environments. Bong does an exceptional job developing the world, every member of the cast delivers a wholehearted performance and cinematographer Kyung-pyo Hong churns out one exceptionally picturesque and telling shot after the next. There are some plot holes and believability issues in the mix, but everything else bears such an all-consuming quality that it’s nearly impossible to pull yourself out of the film long enough to assess those issues, keeping them from effecting the overall experience.

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Review: Coherence

There’s more suspense in this low budget dialogue-driven sci-fi thriller than many effect-heavy, $100 million+ blockbuster wannabes.

“Coherence” focuses on Em (Emily), Kevin (Maury Sterling), Mike (Nicholas Brendon), Lee (Lorene Scafaria), Beth (Elizabeth Gracen), Hugh (Hugo Armstrong), Amir (Alex Manugian) and Laurie (Lauren Maher), a group of friends reuniting for a dinner party. It’s all small talk and a little bit of gossip until the lights go out. Power goes out all the time for various reasons, but the strange thing is, the entire neighborhood is without electricity except for just one house about two blocks away. Does this have anything to do with Miller’s comet, which is passing Earth at this very moment? No one knows, but Hugh’s brother might so Hugh and Amir make their way over to get some answers, but their visit only winds up sparking more questions.

The best way to walk into James Ward Byrkit’s first feature is knowing nothing about what you’re getting yourself into, so this assessment of “Coherence” will remain rather vague.

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Review: Penny Dreadful, Season 1, Episode 6

Thus far, Penny Dreadful has delivered all-consuming experiences week after week. Each episode did its part in building a world loaded with fascinating components and further developing the show’s strikingly unique and rich brigade of characters, but episode 6 marks an astounding new achievement. ‘What Death Can Join Together’ lives up to the title and actually manages to take the large majority of what we’ve learned and experienced, and link it all together.

‘Closer Than Sisters’ and ‘What Death Can Join Together’ make for an exceptional pairing. Dorian says it in this very episode; Vanessa is a very poised person, and so is Sir Malcolm. From the start of the show, the two have flaunted composed demeanors, selling themselves as amicable partners. However, after discovering the truth behind their situation in episode 5, it’s only natural to reassess what we’ve seen of them, come to understand why they’ve put up this façade and then identify the cracks in it, conjuring loads of tension while still maintaining a semblance of that original connection.

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Review: Orphan Black, Season 2, Episode 10

After an entire season of looking out for a new clone, a male clone or a whole new set of clones, the season 2 finale of Orphan Black is a dream come true, especially after the disappointing introduction of Tony in episode 8. We’ve played the new clone beat time and time again, but by adding a new clone set, and a set of males at that, you get a thrilling game changer that moves the science forward quite a bit.

The big moment is impeccable. Marian Bowles (Michelle Forbes) drops the bomb in a rather understated manner by saying,“While the Dyad carried female clones to term, the military faction carried the males,” but immediately after, the soundtrack shifts and the camera moves in on Sarah to up the intensity in preparation for the mind-blowing follow-up. The information is out there and now we can actually see a piece of Project CASTOR, but the writers can take it even further.

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Review: Orphan Black, Season 2, Episode 9

Episodes where the clones are off doing their own things have marked some of the weaker installments of Orphan Black’s season 2, but that’s not the case with ‘Things Which Have Never Yet Been Done.’ Sarah, Alison, Rachel and Helena all have their own immediate concerns, but this time, they’re especially refined and share just enough overlap to make the second to last episode of the season one of the most cohesive and engaging yet.

The moment only lasts a mere minute, but the Skype conversation between Cosima, Sarah and Alison is key to the success of the episode. Even though our core clones are apart, this serves as a reminder that they still care deeply for one another. And by doing that, their relationship establishes a connective tissue of sorts between their individual agendas.

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Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2

“How to Train Your Dragon 2” is kind of like going to a pet store and being swarmed by puppies; you won’t want to leave and when you have to, you’ll want to take them all home with you.

It’s been five years since Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) met Toothless and changed the way the people of Berk viewed dragons. Now, just about everyone has one, even Hiccup’s father, Stoick (Gerard Butler). When a notorious dragon hunter named Drago (Djimon Hounsou) threatens to steal Berk’s dragons, Stoick insists there’s nothing they can do about it, but lay low and keep out of his way. Hiccup, on the other hand, is convinced that reasoning with him could make a difference, so he flies out to do what he thinks is best in an effort to keep the dragons and his village safe.

It’s been over four years since the first “How to Train Your Dragon,” but it’s effortless to fall right back in step with Hiccup, Toothless and the rest of the gang. Any pet owner could relate to Hiccup and Toothless’ connection in the first film and this time around we’ve got an entire village full of people with man’s best friend-type relationships with dragons. There’s dragon racing, a cat lady-like character covered in baby dragons and an abundance of unconditional love all over the place. Within minutes, “How to Train Your Dragon 2” sells Berk as a village well worth saving, almost instantly making you invested in the mission to protect it from Drago and his crew.

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