Empire: Season 2, Episode 9 – “Sinned Against”
This week's episode "Sinned Against" was aptly titled, as it seemed a blatant transgression against believability and audience investment in the show.
Desirae Embree
Desirae recently began freelance writing in order to keep her two cats living in the style to which they'd become accustomed. When not providing for their comfort, she is a PhD student at Texas A&M where she studies film and media with an emphasis on gender and sexuality. Her work has appeared on Autostraddle, Vague Visages, Write out of L.A., and PopMatters, where she is currently an Associate Film Editor. She can be kept up with on Twitter (@ZeeSayre) and on her personal site.
Empire: Season 2, Episode 8 – “My Bad Parts”
At only halfway through the show’s second season, there is still a lot of space for Empire's writers to surprise us, but the further the show strays into melodramatic cliche, the less likely it seems they will.
Empire: Season 2, Episodes 5-6 – “A High Hope for a Low Heaven” / “True Love Never”
By introducing new plot lines and dramatic twists and turns without ever really capitalizing on the ones already set up, Empire's offering too many loose ends and half-developed characters about whom it's incredibly difficult to care.
Empire: Season 2, Episode 5 – “Be True”
This week’s episode was full of the kinds of antics expected in the Empire universe; however, Lee Daniels and company showed with this week’s episode that there are any number of relationship dynamics still left to be explored.
Empire: Season 2, Episode 4 – “Poor Yorick”
As Lucious' legal troubles are put to bed, things within the family get even more complicated.
SyFy Miniseries ‘Ascension’ Is a Promising Thought Experiment Canceled Too Soon
Ascension plays with the range of pleasures associated with the detective story, but framing it within the claustrophobic environment of a spaceship puts quite a spin on the old formulas.
Brian de Palma’s ‘Dressed to Kill’ Is Still Sexy, Still Shocking, Still Classic
Dressed to Kill doesn't address itself to every viewer, but for those who love horror and the tradition of suspense that de Palma so expertly participates in, it will always deliver.
Empire: Season 2, Episode 3 – “Fires of Heaven”
Empire, has always been chess match played in a flamboyant, Machiavellian style, but this episode’s moves were so clearly telegraphed that it’s hard to admire them.
Don’t Believe the Hype: ‘Magic Mike XXL’ Is No Big Deal
Magic Mike XXL could have ratcheted up the expectations one has for the rom-com, but ultimately it does very little with the space that it ekes out for itself among the genre’s norms.
A Practically Impossible Friendship: The 25th Anniversary Collector’s Edition of ‘The Bear’
Jean-Jacques Annaud's classic naturalist dramatization of a "practically impossible friendship" between two bears gets a visual update but retains all its original emotion.
Empire’s Latest Episode Promises More than Just Gags
The second episode of Empire's second season gives audiences more of what they came for: narrative, character development, and strained relationships.