Our review on the documentary “Evil Genius: The True Story of America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist.”
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What was supposed to be a typical pizza delivery that became a bank heist. The bank heist then turned into a murder. A murder that became an unsolved mystery. An unsolved mystery… potentially solved? This is the review on the documentary called “Evil Genius” on Netflix. This will be the non-spoiler review of the four-part series.
The documentary begins by showing how the bank heist took place on August 28th, 2003. A man by the name of Brian Wells robbed a bank in Erie, Pennsylvania on that very day. Local police received word about the robbery and they closed in on the area Wells was last seen. The police placed Wells under arrest, but this time was different because Brian had a bomb secured around his neck. I thought the bomb was a fake, but it actually exploded and killed the man. So did he kill himself? Did someone set him up? What was the motive? So many questions that couldn’t be answered, until now.
Evil Genius breaks up the heist in four different parts. First, the heist where the producer gives you an overall look into the crime itself. We see who Brian Wells is, video of that day where and when the crime occurred, and what transpired after the bomb went off. Second, there is a body discovered near the crime scene which provides the local police and the FBI with a lead. Third, we get a list of potential suspects, their backgrounds, and witness testimonies regarding the crime. Lastly, confessions by those who witnessed and/or committed a crime. The brilliant investigative producer was able to link everything together into this documentary.
The four parts of the documentary run about 45 minutes long each. It is rated TV-MA so viewer discretion is advised. This documentary had me on the edge of my seat. It felt like a real life Saw film. There are so many parts to this mystery that it will certainly make you think you did it and what they were trying to do. The documentary wraps up loose ends pretty well, but there are still some questions left unanswered.
Peter Parker returns and we get to play as Spider-Man in this game developed by Insomniac Games. We’re giving our preview of this game based on the trailers and gameplay so far in order to prepare for the September 7th release.
We’ll begin with the graphics. The E3 demo we received in June looked incredible. The rain, electricity from Electro (more on him in a minute), and the use of colors made the game look like a movie. I wonder if the game was shown on a PS4 Pro in 4K or on a standard PS4, either way it was visually stimulating. I’ve also seen videos of Spider-Man swinging through Manhattan during the day and I had the sense that I was watching Spider-Man Homecoming. I hope the images of what we’ve seen so far will stay and transition into the final product.
Next, characters. In the demo we got to see Electro, Rhino, Scorpion, Vulture, and another character whom I’ve never seen before. The man is in business attire who looks as if he’s ready for a job interview, but he has the ability to shoot projectiles. I’m unsure what other powers he possesses since the other times I’ve seen him is when he’s either shooting something out of his hands or he’s sitting in a helicopter. There’s another character Spider-Man sees at the end of the demo and he says “wait… you?” I would love to see Doctor Octopus here since it would be a Sinister Six type of setup, but there are faint sounds of boosters before Spider-Man uttered his dialogue. I’m thinking it’s more likely Green Goblin on a glider and Norman Osborne might be part of this villain stable.
Finally, gameplay. The gameplay I’ve seen so far reminds me of the Batman: Arkham series, developed by Rocksteady. The fighting sequences you get to control has a similar style where you can use gadgets, hand-to-hand combat, and the environment to take down your foes. Travelling around the city of Manhattan appears to be free as well, but my only question is how much of the city will we be able to explore? We will get to experience an open-world, which again reminds me of the Batman: Arkham series (particularly Arkham City and Arkham Knight). It will be interesting to see how much will be open to the player.
The main concern on my mind is the cut scenes. During the E3 demo we got to see Spider-Man chasing a helicopter, but the action sequences were slowed down and was based on the player’s reaction. For instance, the player was prompted to select a button at times where I would think the player should be able to control Spidey on their own. The player selected the button and Peter automatically jumped over a table, slid under another, leaped towards the helicopter and another button showed up for the player to press. I’m thinking if the player either selects the wrong button or time runs out, then you would either have to start over or Spider-Man would slow down in some way.
Overall, this game looks very impressive. I’m looking forward to the story line and see if there will be any cameos from other villains or heroes. Although I have my concerns about the gameplay, I am very excited to play this game when it comes out in early September.
What did you think? Do you have any concerns so far about the game? Do you have a character you would like to see? Let us know in the comments!
The E3 gameplay is below so check it out if you haven’t seen it yet!
Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk was released on July 21st, 2017, and is described as a drama/thriller. If I had to describe this film with one word, then it would be “suspenseful.” We do get sprinkles of some action as well in order to create a compelling story about the historic event that took place during World War 2.
We are introduced to some soldiers on the road in a town who are taking some time for themselves to regroup. Some in the group of six were enjoying the scenery, which ends abruptly with the sound of gunfire. The soldiers begin to panic and attempt to flee. Only one escapes and he finds himself on a beach where other allied troops are trying to evacuate the area to escape from Germans reaching them.
We follow this man’s story, but we do get to see a pilot, a lieutenant, and a sailor and their perspective during the event. The objective is to evacuate as many Allied troops as possible, but there are so many boats and vessels available. While the soldiers are getting evacuated, there is gunfire and enemy planes shooting and killing people. There is also a moment where there is a possible mole in the group of Allied soldiers.
Overall, I really enjoyed this film. After overcoming the confusion as to what was going on, I was able to look at the story of these few main characters and appreciate what everyone went through during Dunkirk in World War 2. This war film is very different from other World War 2 films I’ve seen. I would compare it to the movie Valkyrie because it’s not centered around action, but it’s more about the struggles of the Allied soldiers escaping Dunkirk and trying to help each other to survive and escape.
Final score: 8.5/10
Have you seen Dunkirk? What did you think of the movie? Let me know in the comments below!
A comedy starring Leslie Mann, John Cena, and Ike Barinholtz. They play as Lisa, Mitchell, and Hunter, respectively, as parents. The goal? To prevent their teenage kids from having sex on prom night. Here’s our take on Blockers.
A comedy starring Leslie Mann, John Cena, and Ike Barinholtz. They play as Lisa, Mitchell, and Hunter, respectively, as parents. The goal? To prevent their teenage kids from having sex on prom night.
A connection to each of the three families is established out of the gate with the backstories of the three girls. The three girls on this journey are Julie (Kathryn Newton), Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan), and Sam (Gideon Adlon). The chemistry between these three young women were great. It felt like they have been friends for years and years.
As far as the parents are concerned, Lisa was the highlighted character when it came to the story line, but Mitchell and Hunter were there for comic relief. I knew Ike Barinholtz was going to be good from his days back on Mad TV, but I had my doubts about John Cena. John Cena knocked it out of the park. He did a great job delivering his lines and was much funnier than I originally thought he was going to be. Leslie was funny, but I had more sympathy towards her and her feelings toward her daughter as the movie played out.
The movie was a great laugh overall. A small portion of the jokes/punchlines fell short, but I would highly recommend Blockers if you want to laugh. The goal behind this story has been done before, but there are a couple of parts that I didn’t see coming which was refreshing to see.
The only other issue I had was a scene where the three parents were trying to figure out where their children have gone to try to stop them from having sex. Before we could see how they escaped the predicament they were seen running down the street saying “that was close.” It would’ve been interesting to see how it all played out since the movie was one hour and 42 minutes long.
Final score: 7/10
Have you seen Blockers? What did you think of it? Did you have any issues with the film? Let me know what you thought in the comments!
Orange is the New Black season 6 is out! What did you think of the premiere episode? Here are our thoughts.
Season 6 is finally here! It has been just over a year since season 5 was released on Netflix. Season 5 came out June 9th, 2017 and season 6 was released on July 27th, 2018. This review is only for the first episode. For those of you who have not caught up yet, then at least watch the final episode of season 5, then come back. This will include spoilers.
Here is an extremely brief summary as to what happened in season 5. There was a riot, which started because Poussey was killed and justice was being sought out by Taystee, officer Piscatella sneaked into the prison in an attempt to stop the riot and help his fellow officers who were being held captive by the inmates, and there was a breach in the prison by the SWAT team before a deal could be finalized to end the riot without the use of force. The last thing we see on the finale of season 5 is Piscatella was released by Red and he ended up getting shot and killed by the SWAT team.
Season 6 begins with a fan-favorite, Suzanne AKA Crazy Eyes in a cell in what looks to be a maximum security prison. We get to see what actually goes on in the head of Crazy Eyes because she looks outside of her cell and watches her fellow inmates in their own cells. She is watching them as if they are different channels on a television. I loved seeing this side because this is the first time from what I can remember where we get dive into the mind of Suzanne. Piper was on the game show Jeopardy asking where Alex is, Dayanara was dancing with two guards, and Frieda hosted a magic show where one trick had cards flying out of her wrists. Suzanne was later escorted out of her cell and you see that Piper is simply asking where Alex is to other inmates, Dayanara was beaten by two officers, and Frieda actually slit her wrists, which she survived.
We later find out there is an investigation going on with the riot that took place in Litchfield and how two cops were killed. Sue was getting questioned and we were brought into a flashback where four officers made it look like the inmates killed Piscatella so they don’t get blamed for killing their fellow officer. The officers are a lot more corrupt than those who were in Litchfield. The officers or guards would certainly go out of their way to help each other before, but now they are framing inmates for the killing of Piscatella.
There is more corruption in the maximum security prison when we see Taystee get beaten by another officer in her own cell and two other officers made Maria Ruiz and Gloria Mendoza make out after they fought each other. The rules appear to be more relaxed on the officers/guards in the maximum prison, but it makes me wonder if there is more corruption at the top. Who runs the prison? Also, what is their story? I’m sure more is to come on this as the season progresses.
We also meet some new personalities in the prison. There is a group of three girls and one of the girls gave Dayanara a Snickers. I immediately think “don’t take it!” I’m sure we’ll get to know these three ladies later in the season, but the most interesting one for me is Badison. We are introduced to Badison when Piper talks to the established inmate to try to obtain clues on the whereabouts of Alex. Piper is thinking Alex is in medical and Badison seems to know where that is, so Badison knocks Piper over and she hits the floor losing a tooth in the process. That’s certainly one way to get to medical, but Red takes notice of this.
Badison and Red are now in the same cell and Red warns Badison to watch out. Badison appears to take it lightly and now season 6 is ready to go. I’m worried for Red’s sake because she may have met her match. Badison has home field advantage and knows how the maximum security prison works. The other inmates are separated in different cells so this may be a way to isolate the Litchfield inmates from the rest. We also only met a few new inmates.
I liked how this season started so far. I was skeptical about watching this show in a different prison, but the corruption by the officers, the new inmates, the separation of the inmates we have already met, comic relief thanks to Crazy Eyes, and finally the continued story from the killing of Piscatella all gives this season a great start.
What did you think of the first episode of the new season? What do you think will happen to the inmates we have seen so far? Which story line are you looking forward to see play out? Let us know in the comments below!
