Surely, the most dreaded words in all of feature film development must be “it needs a new direction.” [Followed closely by “I have a few notes”]. Not that searching for a new direction is bad; some fantastic films have come from creatives throwing out what came before and, in the process, re-discovering an original truth. …
Movies
I still remember the illustrations. Drawn originally by Stephen Gammell, I remember the feeling of my breath seizing as I stared at the screaming scarecrow on the cover of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and thinking to myself, “Nope.” It would be a couple more years until I would actually conquer my fear and …
The image is compelling: a bride in her wedding dress with a gun in her hands and ammo strapped around her body. You know exactly what you’re in for… or do you? I tried to stay as far away from the original trailer as I could before I watched Ready or Not, starring Samara Weaving, …
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is exactly what you think it is – a film with a ridiculously convoluted title. It’s also big, dumb, loud, and frequently great fun. It’s the kind of movie Michael Bay thinks he’s making but isn’t. It’s also frequently not the film it thinks it is. Mainly because …
If it is indeed true that Quentin Tarantino is going to retire after his tenth film (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, for all intents and purposes, is supposed to be his ninth), he could be dangerously close to proving the old adage that it is better to burn out than to fade away. Not …
With the highly-anticipated movie opening in theaters this week, we recently got a chance to attend The Lion King press conference. Participating were director Jon Favreau, Donald Glover (Simba), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Scar), Alfre Woodard (Sarabi), Seth Rogen (Pumbaa), Billy Eichner (Timon), JD McCrary (Young Simba), Shahadi Wright Joseph (Young Nala), Dr. John Kani (Rafiki), Keegan-Michael Key …
Stuber feels almost revolutionary in a summer where every film seems to have earth-shattering stakes and where the simple pleasures of a good belly laugh and solid chemistry between actors happy to be there seem like the movie staples of a bygone era. To whip out an old critic’s cliché, they really don’t make them …
Before I start this The Lion King review, I want to address something so you know where I stand. There has been some discussion online lately about whether or not people are fans of Disney live-action remakes. Though I’ve enjoyed reading both sides, I have loved some and not others. I’m also okay with changes …
Spider-Man: Far From Home is a film caught up in the inconsistencies of grief. It suggests grief both causes individuals to freeze in their pre-trauma state and to attempt to put it behind them come hell or high water. Even as their every action is being caused by their grief, they are also turning their …
It’s difficult not to compare Ari Aster’s Midsommar to his previous film, Hereditary; in both, Aster uses grief as an entry point into explorations of horror and despair. In the case of Midsommar, that grief hits directly and quickly as Dani (Florence Pugh) is given some devastating news that destroys her world as she knows it. Her …