– By Carly Twehous – Spoilers Below Whenever I hear of a new show—and especially after I see the trailer for one—naturally, I have some expectations. Usually, the bar is pretty low. First seasons and pilot episodes are not always the prettiest things out there, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the show itself is going to be terrible. (Case …
Avenger’s B-Team: A Review of Marvel’s ‘Defenders’
— By Carly Twehous — Spoilers below When Iron Man premiered in 2008, it blew everyone out of the water. At the time, no one thought superhero movies could actually, well, be good. No one anticipated that Robert Downey Jr., Hollywood’s favorite tabloid drug addict, was due for his own redemption arc. When the Marvel Cinematic Universe was announced—along with …
‘Game of Thrones’: Introspection and Morality
— By Carly Twehous — [Heads up: Spoilers and content warning] These days, Game of Thrones is everywhere. Its unprecedented popularity is the topic for discussion on news shows, media blogs, and even other fictional shows and movies. In fact, the Los Angeles transit service plasters White Walkers and the Iron Throne on the sides of their buses and trains …
‘Jus in Bello’: The Punishment of ‘The Punisher’
– By Carly Twehous – Jus in Bello = Right Conduct in War After completely stealing the show in the otherwise jumbled mess of a plot that was Season 2 of Daredevil, it was practically inevitable that Frank Castle would be deemed worthy of his own Netflix show. He’s an inherently fascinating character, especially when pitted against one Matt Murdock. …
‘This Is Us’ is One Heartbreak After Another
– By Carly Twehous – MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD When it premiered, This Is Us turned heads, twisted hearts, and pretty much left its audience sobbing on the floor at drop of a single, brilliantly executed plot twist. It’s so simple, and in hindsight, I should’ve seen it coming, but I was as blindsided as the rest of the audience. It …
‘Outlander’ is Not Just Star-Crossed Love
– By Carly Twehous – Spoilers below These days, nobody talks about Outlander without first mentioning the star-crossed romance between Claire and Jamie, the feminist perspective, and, of course, the “masterfully filmed” sex. As I tend to be someone who avoids both forlorn romances, material that become more propaganda than actual feminism, and unnecessarily frequent and gratuitous sex scenes, I …
May the 3% Be Ever in Your Favor
– By Carly Twehous – Mild Spoilers Below Out of The Hunger Games craze, audiences were smothered by a sudden influx of YA dystopian dramas, complete with love-triangles galore, forlorn female heroes, and social philosophies just out of reach and hidden by romance. (Seriously. The entire purpose of The Hunger Games is that the Capitol distracts the districts from their …
‘Mindhunter’ and the Sins of Procedural Cop Shows
— By Carly Twehous — There is no shortage of crime dramas on TV. I’m pretty sure it’s the de facto law of television, with the exclusion of a very select few. Either it dies a masterpiece, or it lives long enough to see itself become a procedural cop show. Some shows are doomed from the start. They start out …
The Humanity Behind the History: Netflix’s ‘The Crown’
— By Carly Twehous — People all around the world hold a generalized fascination and traditionalized respect for the British monarchy. Members of the Royal Family are constantly subjects of headlines and tabloids in every country that has newsstands. Whether this universal obsession started with a historical intrigue of the once great British Empire, or with the tragic and sudden …
‘Shameless’ Is Why We Still Believe
— By Carly Twehous — Here’s the pitch: South-side Chicago. Six Irish-Catholic kids, raised by the oldest sister, Fiona Gallagher, from the time she was eleven years old. Their father, Frank, is a drug addict and alcoholic con-man, who has frequent flyer miles at the local ER because sometimes overdosing is the only way he’ll get a decent bed. Their …