CliqueClack

Win free passes to The Internship in Baltimore and DC

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CliqueClack has partnered with 20th Century Fox and Allied Integrated Marketing to offer our readers in the Baltimore and DC areas free passes to the advance screening of The Internship, starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. Screenings will be held at the following locations:

• Thursday, June 6th, 7:00 PM, Landmark Harbor East, Baltimore, MD
• Thursday, June 6th, 7:00 PM, AMC Georgetown, Washington, DC

Winners for this promotion will be selected at random. The contest runs from 9:00 AM, May 31 — Midnight, June 4. Winners will be notified by email by Wednesday, June 5. All you need to do to enter is leave us a comment telling us why you want to see the movie.

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Now You See Me has some magical acting and is a mostly fun movie

People have always been fascinated with mystery and the supernatural, sometimes seeking explanations for the mere facts of life before we knew better, like the myths and lore of old. But it’s more than that. Despite the rise and fall of skepticism and rationalism over the years, there will always be those who believe in something … else. When a magician can perform acts that seem impossible and wondrous, your breath catches in your throat and you don’t believe your eyes. Except that for a single, small moment you aren’t sure if it’s all … real. Nowadays things are a bit different from the pure naivete of audiences from years back; we expect that it’s all a trick, to the point (made by many fantasy and sci-fi properties) that we will always expect a “rational” explanation no matter how ridiculous or awesome the sight is we behold. Magic … it’s cheesy, but it’s fun. And mysterious.

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After Earth is a disappointing effort

A long time ago, M. Night Shyamalan was a groundbreaking up-and-coming director. A long time ago Will Smith was the Fresh Prince. A long time ago Jaden Smith was a twinkle in his parent’s eyes. And a long time ago, I was fortunate enough not to have ever heard of a film they worked on together.

Some people are going to have liked After Earth; it’s going to have its fair share of positive reviews around the web. This, however, is not going to be one. I found After Earth to be a chore to watch from the disjointed, several-day encompassing opening scene to the obvious ending.

Father and son Will and Jaden Smith play father and son Cypher and Kitai Raige. Pops is a General of the Ranger Corps, a legendary warrior whose renown casts a mighty large shadow for his son, in training to follow in his footsteps. The burdens placed on being such a hero – and a shared family tragedy – have strained the father/son dynamic between our two leads. When a mission takes a disastrous turn, the pair is required to rely on each other in ways they had never expected.

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Missing Once Upon a Time’s Robert Carlyle? Check out Hamish Macbeth!

Robert Carlyle (Stargate Universe, Full Monty, Trainspotting) was always Mr. Gold, even when he played Hamish Macbeth. In one of Carlyle’s early TV series, you see Gold’s savage hints in the small town protagonist. Normally I hate reading an actor’s contemporary performance through his earlier shows. However, I watched the mid-’90s TV series Hamish Macbeth before Once Upon a Time (OUaT) hit ABC’s airwaves. When OUAT premiered, I squeed in noticing similarities between Hamish’s intensity and Mr. Gold’s intimidation. This year I see more parallels between Gold’s love for Belle and Hamish’s love for Isobel. So, if you’re missing Once Upon a Time and love Robert like I do, consider giving HM a chance. Continue reading 'Missing Once Upon a Time’s Robert Carlyle? Check out Hamish Macbeth!' »

How will Game of Thrones split books four and five?

Those in the United States looking forward to celebrating Memorial Day by watching the colorful wedding together of Houses Tully and Frey were sadly disappointed, as HBO delayed the airing of the ninth episode. As great of a film as “Behind the Candelabra” might have been, I think most of us would have preferred HBO airing “The Rains of Castamere” instead — especially considering they’ve not avoided Memorial Day weekend in the past.

Without a specific episode to discuss, this week’s Beyond the Wall will look forward a couple of seasons. While nothing beyond Season Four has been officially announced by HBO, the ratings for next year would have to take a significant hit for them to decide to not continue. The plan for the show’s fourth season is logically the second half of the A Storm of Swords. But what about beyond that?

Like all installments of Beyond the Wall, beware of spoilers. This column is for readers of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels that Game of Thrones is based on. So if you didn’t once wonder why many of your favorite characters disappeared for an entire book, you should probably skip this post.

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VH1’s Hit the Floor should hit the showers

VH1’s Hit the Floor surrounds ingénue dancer, Ahsha Hayes (Taylour Paige). After graduating from college, she blows off a sensible job interview to audition for the Devil Girls basketball dance team. However, it isn’t all sunshine and lollipops. The head cheerleader, Jelena (Logan Browning), has it out for her. Plus, her mother, Sloane (Kimberly Elise) a former Devil Girl, fears the NBA lifestyle could detrimentally affect her daughter. The show seems better-suited for MTV than VH1, but I’m up in the air about it. While it features Dean Cain and the amazing Kimberly Elise (John Q, The Manchurian Candidate), a woman whose early career seemed Oscar-bound; the writing veers towards the hackneyed and stereotypical. The show itself has surprisingly low production value considering it could appeal to the MTV generation, The Game viewers and Bring It On lovers.

The Bad

When at its worst, Hit the Floor channels Smash – soap opera-y, over-dramatic and wasting the talent of older cast members. Like Smash, we have a head mean girl desperate to protect her top spot from an encroaching newcomer. Like Smash, the new girl has an established boyfriend but feels drawn to a character with higher ranking. Like Smash, there’s too much insecure verbal signposting from the writers. EVERY SINGLE character compliments Ahsha’s dance style so that we know she’s good. Personally, I was disappointed. The dance style was more athletic with hints of classical dance. Her dance-off solo consisted of a series of fouettes and cartwheels. Is it impressive? Sure. But, it didn’t fit in with the aggressive hip-hop, attitude-laced dance style of her teammates.

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HBO’s The Newsroom Blu-rays do not disappoint

Aaron Sorkin’s latest show The Newsroom had a pretty interesting first season. I thought the show was absolutely brilliant: the writing, the performances, the production quality … everything was reminiscing of the best of Sorkin’s previous work in The West Wing. Despite my enthusiasm, most critics didn’t seem to take to it. There was criticism ranging from how the writers handled the female characters to how the show set itself in the near past as it allows the characters to be right all the time.

The DVDs and Blu-ray discs of The Newsroom’s first season (set to be released on June 11^th, $59.99 for the DVDs, $79.98 for the Blu-ray with HBO Select) follow in the tradition of great sets produced by HBO in recent memory – the Game of Thrones sets are some of the best in my collection. While not nearly as expansive as GoT – though I’m sure if you could find subject matter that they could produce animated histories of, I’m sure they would tackle it – the set provides a great behind-the-scenes look at the behind-the-scenes show. The Blu-ray set also includes – under the HBO Select brand – regular DVDs and digital downloads of all of the episodes.

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Win free passes to see This Is the End in Baltimore, DC and Norfolk

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CliqueClack has partnered with Sony Pictures and Allied Integrated Marketing to offer readers in the Baltimore, DC and Norfolk areas free passes to an advance screening of the new must-see comedy of the summer, This Is the End starring Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera and Emma Watson.

Screenings will take place as follows:

• Monday, June 10, 7:00 PM, AMC Mazza, Washington D.C.
• Monday, June 10, 7:00 PM, Cinemark Egyptian, Arundel Mills Mall, Hanover, MD
• Monday, June 10, 7:00 PM, AMC Lynnhaven, Norfolk, VA

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Doctor Who, Longmire and Beetlejuice head to home video

The second half of Doctor Who‘s seventh season bows on DVD and Blu-ray this week, while the last seasons of Longmire, Covert Affairs and Suits arrive just in time to let you catch up before the new seasons begin. Probably the biggest home video news of the week is the complete series release of the eagerly awaited animated series Beetlejuice (a few episodes were included on the Beetlejuice movie Blu-ray). This is the first time the entire series has been made available on home video, and if the price is too steep, you can also start your collection with the complete first season (of three). These titles and more will be available May 28, so have a look at our shopper’s guide and click on a link to make a purchase or to get more information about a title. Any purchase made through a link will help support CliqueClack. We thank you for that!

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Classic movies get a new life on home video

There isn’t much in the way of new theatrical releases on home video this week except for the blink-and-you-miss-it release of the thriller Dark Skies. The big news comes in the older and classic titles coming to Blu-ray (and in some cases, DVD) including the 50th anniversary restoration of the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton epic that nearly bankrupted Twentieth Century Fox, Cleopatra. Quentin Tarantino has also resurrected interest in the classic Rolling Thunder, which Gene Siskel named one of the ten best films of 1977. There are many more films coming to home video on May 28, so have a look at our shopper’s guide to see all of the highlights and click on a link to make a purchase or to get more information. And remember, any purchase you make through a link will show your support for CliqueClack. For that, we thank you!

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