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‘If I Stay’ is a win-win for both teenagers and adults

If I Stay Written for the screen by Shauna Cross Directed by R.J. Cutler USA, 2014 Based on the novel of the same name by Gayle Forman, If I Stay tells the story of Mia Hall (Chloë Grace Moretz). An overachiever, cello enthusiast, and overall good-egg of a daughter, Mia has paved a finite future …

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The Killing, Ep. 4.01, “Blood in the Water” kicks off a new whodunit

A fourth season of The Killing seemed unlikely, to say the least, after the show was canceled. Fortunately for fans, Netflix stepped in and the series’ change in venue will likely shape the final season (it should, for example, allow Joel Kinnaman to drop an f-bomb, which I’ve been waiting for Holder to do since he was introduced back in the first season). What hasn’t changed is the series’ murder-mystery core. The premiere introduces two intertwining plots: the massacre of the Stansbury family (save for one survivor, son Kyle Stansbury, who does not remember the night of the murder), and whether Linden and Holder will be able to successfully cover up Linden’s shooting of Lt. Skinner from last season’s finale. The whodunit of who killed the family looks like the most interesting central mystery in the show’s history, or at least one of the better plotted. It takes less time to find a plausible prime suspect for the murder than it has in past seasons, so maybe Sud has taken to heart some of the harsh reviews of the show’s meandering pace, or maybe that’s just the reality of having a shortened season. Plus, most cop shows would be unconcerned with continuity and the series deserves plaudits for continuing the cover up plot, which is one of The Killing’s best arguments for existing; the other, of course, is the partnership of Linden and Holder.

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My 2014 Emmy pipe dream (Part 2): 5 long-shot Drama nominations that should happen

(Note: I only considered nominees for the categories to which they were actually submitted. For example, I could not select Alan Cumming for The Good Wife, since he did not submit himself as a Best Supporting Actor in a Drama.) Best Drama Series: The Killing After it controversially failed to resolve its storyline in its …

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The Killing, Ep. 3.06: “Eminent Domain” rounds off the first half of the season perfectly

  The Killing, Season 3: Episode 6 – “Eminent Domain” Directed by Keith Gordon Written by David Wiener Airs Sunday nights at 9 on AMC As much as I found the first two seasons of The Killing interesting if just for how they tweaked with the first season of Forbrydelsen, I probably wouldn’t have found it a …

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The Killing, Ep. 3.04 and 3.05: “Head Shots” and “Scared and Running” keeps the show evolving

  The Killing, Season 3: Episodes 4 and 5 – “Head Shots” and “Scared and Running” Directed by Michael Rymer (4) and Dan Attias (5) Written by Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin (4) and Coleman Herbert (5) Airs Sunday nights at 9 on AMC Apologies for missing last week due to technical difficulties. As The Killing …

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‘World War Z’ a strangely bloodless, sometimes incoherent zombie movie

It seems anathema for any zombie movie worth its salt to not be rated R for an excess of gore, and yet, here we are with the long-awaited World War Z, a PG-13 film chock full of the undead, but not much blood in any way. Deafening rumors of script problems aside, the real issue with World War Z lies not specifically with the writing, but with the overly jittery, often obscuring direction from Marc Forster. Even with Brad Pitt as the ostensibly heroic leading man, this movie doesn’t leave much of a memorable mark on the audience, just a mild headache.

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The Killing, Ep. 3.03: “Seventeen” – Linden is officially back on the case

AMC’s current original lineup is incredibly diverse in tone. There’s the action-first approach of The Walking Dead and the slow, methodical movement of shows like Mad Men and The Killing (Hell on Wheels and Breaking Bad are somewhere between those two extremes, a little closer to The Walking Dead’s pace). When pace is purposeful and established, it’s hard to criticize it on any grounds other than personal taste. So, when people talk about The Killing being boring, I’m inclined to say they’re reacting based off their personal expectations as TV viewers and are not basing that criticism on anything substantial that has to do with the quality of the show itself. And to reiterate: The Killing is a quality show – one that doesn’t have aspirations higher than what it achieves.

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The Killing, Ep. 3.01 and 3.02: “The Jungle” and “That You Fear the Most” – Not the show you think it is

  The Killing, Season 3: Episodes 1 & 2 – “The Jungle” and “That You Fear the Most” Directed by Ed Bianchi (E1) and Lodge Kerrigan (E2) Written by Veena Sud (E1) and Dan Nowak (E2) Airs Sunday nights at 9 on AMC Even the reviews that have been cautiously optimistic of the The Killing‘s third …

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‘World War Z’, the zombie apocalypse feature starring Brad Pitt, gets a new Super Bowl spot

The zombie apocalypse has been an oft-explored topic in film, with George Romero often considered the definitive voice, though not the only one, as filmmakers such as Zack Snyder and Danny Boyle have also put their own spin on the mythology. Marc Forster is the latest to try his hand at the genre, helming an …

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