Unhinged is unapologetic trash. That’s not a bad thing. Good trash can be great. But there’s not much worse than bad trash. Unhinged is not good trash. Its story is rote, and its characters are one-dimensional given the briefest of lip service to their inner motivations in order to get them in place for its …
Movies
At first blush, 2016’s Train to Busan (buy at Amazon) does not seem to break the mold of the zombie (or “infected” if you prefer) movie. But it’s the details that make Train to Busan one of the best in the genre. Every character has agency, and all get the most with their screen time. …
With the movie launching on Disney+ on August 14, Vital Thrills got a chance to talk to The One and Only Ivan cast. The Walt Disney Studios film is based on the award-winning book by Katherine Applegate (buy at Amazon). The One and Only Ivan tells the story of Ivan, a silverback gorilla who learns that …
The purpose of Star Wars Thrills is to put all the Star Wars news from the week of August 16, 2020 in one location. This week, we’ve got updates on the new LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, updates on The Mandalorian Season 2, new merchandise, and much more! If you read this each week, you should be …
Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1911 novel The Secret Garden (check price at Amazon) has been adapted before. It’s been on the big screen a number of times, on television and on the stage, including a Tony Award-winning musical. There has always been something lovely about it, but sort of standoffish. In the story, the main character …
In this series, I look back at some fantastic hidden gems which have been lost over the years and deserve to be rediscovered. We’ll kick things off with Night People, which opened in theaters in March of 1954. Night People If you ask a hundred different people what Gregory Peck‘s best role was, probably ninety …
With this Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull feature, we’re taking a look back at Lucasfilm’s other giant franchise and the ways it shaped the modern blockbuster. Stay tuned for all the latest Indiana Jones 5 news here. INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL The first decade of Indiana …
The purpose of Star Wars Thrills is to put all the Star Wars news from the week of July 3, 2020 in one location. This week, we’ve got updates on the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series, The Mandalorian books, new Star Wars LEGO art sets, a Death Star fire extinguisher, and much more! If you read this each …
The purpose of Star Wars Thrills is to put all the Star Wars news from the week of June 26, 2020 in one location. This week, we’ve got updates on The Mandalorian series, new Baby Yoda toys, a new Jedi Temple Challenge episode, and much more! If you read this each week, you should be able to …
Sketch comedy is hard. Really all comedy is hard, but sketch comedy is really hard – getting long in and out in a (hopefully) short period without losing any part of build or punchline. And while there is no reason old sketch comedy writers shouldn’t also be good comedy film writers, the reality is it’s …
The purpose of Star Wars Thrills is to put all the Star Wars news from the week of June 19, 2020 in one location. This week, we’ve got updates on the Obi-Wan TV series, The Empire Strikes Back returns to theaters, new LEGO sets, the first Star Wars Squadrons gameplay, and much more! If you read this …
Da 5 Bloods is the story of four African-American Vets who battle the forces of man and nature when they return to Vietnam seeking the remains of their fallen Squad Leader and the gold fortune he helped them hide. Recently, director Spike Lee and stars Delroy Lindo and Jonathan Majors got together for a Critics …
If you’ve been watching movies going back to the ’90s, you’re probably familiar with David Koepp’s writing from blockbusters like Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, its sequel The Lost World, the first Mission: Impossible or even the first Spider-Man movie in 2002. Every few years when he’s not being one of Hollywood’s most in-demand writers, David Koepp would direct a movie or …
With this Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade feature, we’re taking a look back at Lucasfilm’s other giant franchise and the ways it shaped the modern blockbuster. Stay tuned for all the latest Indiana Jones 5 news here. INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE Like any series with a spectacular start, most of the analysis …
Judd Apatow has a long history of “Lovable Losers” in his work. All the way from Freaks and Geeks to The 40-Year-Old Virgin, even in films like This Is 40 and Trainwreck, Apatow tells stories about broken, juvenile characters who are dragged, kicking and screaming, into the real world. Apatow’s also been accused of glossing …
With Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, we’re taking a look back at Lucasfilm’s other giant franchise and the ways it shaped the modern blockbuster. Stay tuned for all the latest Indiana Jones 5 news here. INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM Victory, the old saying goes, has many parents but failure is …
It’s not the end all of a new film when it sticks to a premade plot formula. There are only so many stories out there after all (between five and seven depending on who you listen to). Sure when new milieus arrive there are changes to fit the new background but that only goes so …
The glass-is-half-empty among us have been decrying the death of cinema for many years, triggered by the increasing focus on reinventing old IP in the face of increasing apathy towards original material. The glass-is-half-full side will respond that the origination of the material matters less than what is done with it and talented individuals have …
The purpose of Star Wars Thrills is to put all the Star Wars news from the week of May 15, 2020 in one location. This week, we’ve got more The Mandalorian Season 2 cast surprises, the origin of Leia’s lightsaber design, a new Star Wars manga series, and much more! If you read this each week, you …
The purpose of Star Wars Thrills is to put all the Star Wars news from the week of May 8, 2020 in one location. This week, we’ve got news about new Mandalorian directors, Taika Waititi directing a new Star Wars film, a new Disney+ TV series, and much more! If you read this each week, you should …