TV

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Entertainment Link-Off: Dog Days of Summer

anna-kendrick-aubrey-plaza-mikeanddave16-11Is it just me or is summer really a dead time for movies. Since I’ve taken up temporary residence on Saturdays doing the entertainment links, I can’t think of massive summer blockbusters apart from family movies. Where are the big budget action movies? Where are the superheroes?

On the plus side, The Secret Life of Pets opens this weekend. Critics really seem to like it but not to the same extent that Pixar’s Finding Dory was adored by critics. The other big release is Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates which is getting middling reviews.

Anyway, it’s Saturday night so it’s time for the links. Let’s kick off with the lead pair from one of this weekend’s movies. Here are Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza.

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Entertainment Link-Off: Movies and Music and TV, Oh My

margot-robbie-vogue16-01We’re getting into the middle of summer which should be full with all sorts of news and interviews about upcoming movies and TV shows because we’re running up to summer blockbuster movies and a few months from the start of the fall TV season. Unfortunately, it’s the holiday weekend on both sides of the weekend so we’re a bit short on news. The result is a hodgepodge of everything I find interesting. So the status quo, then.

So this weekend, theatres see three big releases. The Legend of Tarzan opens at the lowest Rotten Tomatoes rating of the weekend as we wonder how many Tarzan movies Hollywood has made over the years. The Purge: Election Year might turn out to be decent political satire in hindsight depending on this year’s US Presidential election. And the top movie of the weekend is Steven Spielberg’s The BFG but critical reception says don’t expect an Oscar.

Anyway, let’s kick off the links with Margot Robbie who stars as Jane in The Legend of Tarzan.

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Entertainment Link-Off: Power Brokers

blake-lively-theshallows16-02This week’s edition of the entertainment links is all about people with power and money and ratings and all the things that matters in the acquisition of power in Hollywood. Not to sound too cynical but everybody wants to rule the world. We have a lot of those people featured in today’s ELO.

So how many of you have heard of The Neon Demon? IMDB has that as the best movie coming out this weekend. Also out this weekend are the far too late Independence Day cash-in, the one where Blake Lively gets eaten by a shark and a biopic with Matthew McConaughey. So let’s kick off with Blake Lively before she gets eaten by the aforementioned shark.

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Entertainment Link-Off: Frenemies

katherine-mcnamara-findingdory16-01After a week off to spam E3 coverage (which isn’t done yet), the ELO is back. I’m in for Jackie who is on some sort of world tour. And by world tour, I mean he’s probably trying to drive through Australia to experience all four seasons in a week.

Anyway, Hollywood brings us two movies on what is an extraordinarily hot weekend in my part of Canada. You have your choice of Finding Dory and Central Intelligence. I’d imagine most everyone will go see Finding Dory because it’s a Pixar movie. I suppose that means that it’s another weekend where no one is going to see Warcraft. Well, there’s always Netflix.

Anyway, let’s kick off today’s post with Katherine McNamara at the Finding Dory Premiere.

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The Fastest Cars in Pop Culture (Infographic)

I don’t know if you noticed but we’re pretty fond of cars around here at The Lowdown. We’re fans of the former Top Gear and soon to be The Grand Tour as you can probably tell by the blatant inspiration drawn in our podcast and blog. So when we found this infographic on Reddit, it was a matter of when, not if, it was going up. Just what are the fastest that we’ve seen famous cars go in pop culture? Someone sought to answer that in this infographic.

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Sunday Link-Off: The War of Five Kings

emilia-clarke-gameofthrones16-01bTrump, Clinton, Sanders, Kasich and Cruz. They’re all that’s really left in the US Presidential primary battle at this point. That number is going to dwindle down quite quickly though whether that is as bloody as the War of Five Kings in Game of Thrones / A Song of Ice and Fire is a matter of debate. But Game of Thrones is back tonight! Review coming later this week.

Anyway, it’s Sunday so that means it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s kick off this post with Emilia Clarke.

Politics is becoming more divisive than ever and the extremes ends of political ideology are feeding off each other. (Daily Intelligencer)

A declassified memo details the long-rumoured connections between Saudi leadership and 9/11 terrorists. (Fox News)

Since Game of Thrones is back tonight, which Presidential candidate would belong to which house. (Vox)

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Entertainment Link-Off: I’m Afraid of Those Ghostbusters

tina-fey-margot-robbie-wtf16-01bI haven’t talked to Jackie about it but I was underwhelmed by the trailer for the new Ghostbusters. It seems like it’s a rehash of the first two movies in terms of plot and characters. I get that they want to revive Ghostbusters for a new generation but couldn’t they have put together something original but keeping the spirit of the classics. Maybe that’s just too much to ask.

Anyway, if you haven’t already noticed, I’ve drawn in for Jackie this week. He’s gone walkabout again. I don’t know what that means but it sounds vaguely Australian. This week’s pop culture links talks a lot about the magic of TV and the internet in various forms. And I thrown in some stuff about the Oscars and Ghostbusters which will be the only time that those two things will be in the same sentence this year.

But before we get to the links, let’s kick off with Tina Fey and Margot Robbie who star in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

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Entertainment Link-Off: Superstars

teresa-palmer-thechoice16-01A couple hours late but never a couple dollars short (because we know that we aren’t getting much from the ads on the screen), it’s time once again for the entertainment and pop culture links in the Entertainment Link-Off. I’ve drawn in again but Jackie is supposed to make his grand return next week. And everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief.

Anyway, it’s a busy weekend if you’re looking for something to watch. Hail, Caesar, The Choice and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies are all in theatres starting this weekend. So your options are two comedies and a romance movie. Or you could watch that Super Bowl thing. Can a fifty-year-old man’s experience lead his team to victory over a quarterback half his age? And those Coldplay guys are playing too. Meh.

So it’s Saturday which means we better get to the links. To kick things off, from The Choice, here’s Teresa Palmer.

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Entertainment Link-Off: The Replacements

rachel-mcadams-thewrap15-01Good day, denizens of the interweb. I’m here to cover off Jackie who’s gone walkabout in the Outback. Something like that. I don’t quite understand these Australian customs to be perfectly honest. Anyway, I’ve drawn in to cover the entertainment links for the next couple of weeks.

Hollywood is still abuzz with the racial implications of the Oscar nominations and that’s a story that likely won’t go away until weeks after the awards are actually given out. Considering the poor slate of new releases this weekend (Kung Fu Panda 3, a Fifty Shades parody and Hollywood trying to figure out how much star power Chris Pine has), no wonder it’s still the big story on the silver screen.

Anyway, you don’t click to read my banter. You click here for the links. So let’s kick things off with Rachel McAdams.

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Sunday Link-Off: The Great Debate

karen-gillan-afifest15-01Sometimes, it’s best not to overdo things because it doesn’t mean as much any more. For example, take the Republican primaries. They have debates so often that they’re about as newsworthy as a cat up a tree. Then you have the Democrats who just had their second or third debate. If the GOP’s debates weren’t car crash TV, I doubt anyone would care at this point.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s change things up and kick things off with Karen Gillan.

Before anyone starts talking about terrorist attacks, you should note that sometimes intelligence works. For example, the CIA knew for months about a major attack coming on American soil. The reports were ignored and 9/11 happened. That was before everyone’s privacy was forfeit so we could be secure. (Politico)

Good news! The TPP is about as bad as everyone expected! (Daily Dot)

When economic plans are mostly based on half-truths and gorilla dust, you know that you’re in trouble. (Salon)

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