Seasons of Seasons: Community Season 2, “Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking” & “Intro to Political Science”

Time and time again this season, we’ve seen that the best way to bring the Greendale study group together is to pit them against each other. It’s essentially Sitcom Writing 101, but the ways the show would continue to generate conflict without alienating its characters or making them unlikeable is its secret weapon. This is at the heart of Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking, and it’s no coincidence that it’s a great episode of the show. Community’s legacy may be tied to its ability to deftly break from the traditional sitcom format – and it certainly deserves that distinction – but the magic trick of this episode is in how it breaks down its characters.

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The White Lotus: Season 2, “Italian Dream” – TV Review

“Italian Dream”

  • Creator: Mike White
  • Starring: Jennifer Coolidge, Aubrey Plaza, Michael Imperioli, F. Murray Abraham, Haley Lu Richardson, Meghann Fahy, Theo James, Will Sharpe, Beatrice Grannò, Tom Hollander, Simona Tabasco

Grade: B

Warning: Reviews of The White Lotus season 2 will contain spoilers.

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Seasons of Seasons: Community Season 2, “Celebrity Pharmacology” & “Early 21st Century Romanticism”

First, a note: one of these spots would go to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons but, because of a plot point involving blackface, Netflix and Hulu removed the episode in 2020, and I had no other way to view it.

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Causeway – Movie Review

Causeway

  • Director: Lila Neugebauer
  • Writers: Elizabeth Sanders, Luke Goebel, and Ottessa Moshfegh
  • Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Brian Tyree Henry, Linda Emond, Jayne Houdyshell, Stephen McKinley Henderson

Grade: B-

The recovering soldier genre is one that’s produced plenty of memorable films, and likely just as many – if not more – flops. It’s hard to say exactly where Causeway will ultimately land; much as it strays from the genre’s formula, it doesn’t contain enough drama to make it an instant classic. 

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