Skip to Content

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 …

Read More about The King of Staten Island Review

There are particular buttons in a movie that, when I see them, automatically elicit an emotional response. It’s Pavlovian – if you make a movie about fathers and sons, for example, I am almost certain to react with tears. It’s just hardwired into my moviegoing DNA. Thus, Pixar Animation Studios’ Onward was almost guaranteed to make …

Read More about Onward Review: Pratt and Holland Go on a Fantasy Quest

It’s been a long time since there’s been a film iteration of H.G. Wells’s The Invisible Man with Paul Verhoeven last giving it a go 20 years ago with The Hollow Man, starring Kevin Bacon. Universal Pictures has been trying for a while to get something going for one of their Classic Movie Monsters, although …

Read More about Interview: Leigh Whannell Revives The Invisible Man

How do we know a story is a classic? Is it by the sheer universality of the characters or dialogue to the point where they are referenced consistently in later works? Is it the insight and depth of the story and what it says about the human condition? Is it the fact that it has …

Read More about Emma Review: The New Adaptation of the Jane Austen Novel

If you were ever a kid, and we assume you were, you probably know about Dr. Dolittle, the man who could talk to animals. Hugh Lofting’s tales are almost a century old, and you might have even seen the 1967 Rex Harrison film. This time around, Robert Downey Jr. takes on the role in a …

Read More about Dolittle Review: Is Robert Downey Jr.’s Kid’s Outing Worth a Watch?

Hopefully, you read the first part of our 2020 Oscar nominations predictions, so you already know they will be announced on the morning of Monday, January 13. The Cut-off for Academy members to submit ballots was yesterday, Tuesday, January 7, so we should already be in the tabulation part of the Oscar process. But let’s …

Read More about 2020 Oscar Nominations Predictions – Screenplay, Director & Best Picture

There are good movies. There are bad movies. There are a lot of mediocre movies. And sometimes, just sometimes, there are movies that reach the Nietzschean ideal of the Übermensch, existing beyond silly ideas like good and evil. I looked into the abyss, and Cats was staring back at me. If I were less professional, …

Read More about Cats Review: The Film Adaptation of the Stage Musical

Jake Hoot may have only been a one-chair turn in Season 17 of NBC’s The Voice, but the 31-year-old artist just proved his talents by taking home the top prize. The coach of The Voice Season 17 winner, Kelly Clarkson, said she keeps making fun of the other coaches for not turning. “Other than the one …

Read More about Kelly Clarkson’s Advice to The Voice Season 17 Winner Jake Hoot

As a war film, 1917 doesn’t have much in the way of new ideas to offer — and maybe there aren’t any for the genre now — but it’s so elegantly crafted it takes the breath away. The story is simple: a pair of infantrymen have been given a message to deliver across nine treacherous …

Read More about 1917 Review: Sam Mendes Film Takes the Breath Away

Another important aspect of Sam Mendes’ 1917, besides the amazing camerawork to make it all a single shot, is the two soldiers that the story follows. The two 1917 soldiers include Schofield, played by George MacKay, and Blake, played by Dean-Charles Chapman. MacKay is the better-known of the two actors, having co-starred with Viggo Mortensen in …

Read More about Casting the Two Main 1917 Soldiers in Sam Mendes’ World War I Epic

Last week, Vital Thrills attended a special New York Comic Con panel held by Universal Pictures to preview Sam Mendes’ upcoming World War I film 1917, which will be released on Christmas Day. Mendes was joined on the panel by co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns, producer Pippa Harris, cinematographer Roger Deakins and two of the primary cast: George …

Read More about 1917: Sam Mendes, Roger Deakins and Others on Bringing WWI Back to Life

The Television Critics Association (TCA) Summer Press Tour is a two-week long event that takes place in Los Angeles and where networks bring the cast members from their new and top-rated shows to promote. Journalists attend panels with the talent and mingle with the stars to learn about their latest projects. Vital Thrills got a …

Read More about NBC Previews Perfect Harmony, Sunnyside, Bluff City Law & The Good Place

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 …

Read More about Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw Review

We recently attended the press conference for the highly-anticipated live-action reimagining of Disney‘s Dumbo. The press conference was split into two parts. Attending the first part of the press conference were producer Derek Frey, producer Katterli Frauenfelde, production designer Rick Heinrichs, costume designer Colleen Atwood, composer Danny Elfman, screenwriter Ehren Kruger, and producer Justin Springer. While …

Read More about How Disney Adapted Dumbo for Today’s Audience

We recently attended the press conference for the highly-anticipated live-action reimagining of Disney‘s Dumbo and learned everything about why the film was being reimagined, the creative process of all involved, and what actually was representing the titular elephant while they were filming. The press conference was split into two parts. Attending the first part of the …

Read More about Why Is Disney’s Dumbo Being Reimagined Now?

We recently attended the press conference for the highly-anticipated Captain Marvel and learned about everything from the importance of female friendships, the fun the cast and crew had revisiting the 1990s, working with the cat who played Goose, and more. Attending the press conference were Marvel President Kevin Feige, Brie Larson, Jude Law, Lashana Lynch, …

Read More about Captain Marvel: Brie Larson on Female Friendships and More

The Television Critics Association (TCA) Winter Press Tour is a two-week long event that takes place in Los Angeles and where networks bring the cast members from their new and top-rated shows to promote. Journalists attend panels with the talent and mingle with the stars to learn about their latest projects. VitalThrills.com got a chance …

Read More about NBCU Winter Press Tour Highlights Its 2019 Lineup

The live broadcast of Jonathan Larson’s Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Rent was a highly-anticipated event for theater fans everywhere. While many younger fans consider this show to be a period piece and others view it as too contemporary for their taste, this story of the struggles of a group of young people dealing with issues …

Read More about Rent Review: A Look at the Live (Sort of) FOX Performance

It’s been 19 years since M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable arrived in theaters, with many people initially assuming that it was a standalone superhero thriller and left it at that. However, with the twist ending Shyamalan included at the end of his 2016 film Split that revealed that the film was connected to the world of …

Read More about Glass Review: The Eastrail 177 Trilogy Arrives at a Satisfying Conclusion