At first, the biggest surprise move made by Marvel was placing fan favorite (yet far-fetched) Thor on equal footing with the iconic Iron Man and Captain America in its Cinematic Universe. Now we accept the character’s presence as a given. Then the studio defied expectations by establishing phase two of its master plan with new-to-film […]
Edgar Wright is best known as the master of comedic tributes to genre films that never stoop to parody due to his genuine affection for the source material. He is not the only director to self-consciously employ techniques and tropes from older films, but he is the best at balancing his modernist sensibilities with a […]
Homo sapiens as a species have survived this long partially due to mechanisms in our brain that evoke an instinctive response to stimuli when there is not enough time for a full intellectual analysis. For example, we notice and react to sounds or rustling bushes with curiosity and heightened senses before figuring out whether we […]
The story of Rough Night centers around a disastrous bachelorette weekend organized by an old friend who doesn’t know the difference between entertaining someone and monopolizing her time—which is a distinction the movie itself also has difficulty making. Featuring a terrific cast with great chemistry, a mix of A-listers and promising up-and-comers, and written and […]
Well, the good news is that The Mummy is not a remake of the 1999 Stephen Sommers film starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz (itself a remake of the 1932 film by Karl Freund starring Boris Karloff). The bad news is, well, everything else. Where the 1999 film was self-serious and knowingly preposterous in equal […]
It was never fair that Wonder Woman would have to carry the burden of rescuing DC’s entire cinematic future from the obnoxious, overlong, joyless clunkers that came before it. Thankfully, it not only rises to the occasion of being the best movie of this series, but is an enjoyable and thoughtful film in its own […]
The big-screen Baywatch isn’t the worst movie ever made—just the most pointless. There are occasional laughs but it can’t be called funny. The performers are charming and committed, but it’s not exactly well acted. Everyone was hired for a job: They did it, took lunch, got paid and went home satisfied with a solid day’s […]
When a movie crash lands due to its own misguidedness, the common question is, “What were the filmmakers thinking?” In the case of Alien: Covenant, we know exactly what Ridley Scott was thinking because he won’t stop broadcasting the film’s metaphors or applauding the foreshadowing long enough to let it tell a worthwhile story. If […]
Be wary of any comedy with such a conspicuous amount of talented performers as Snatched. Maybe it’ll be the star-studded movie event of the decade, but more than likely it’ll be an exercise in coasting, with a few laughs here and there but occupying much of the running time with mugging and lesser gags hogging […]
The A-hole Avengers are back in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, with just as much swagger and ragtag chemistry as ever. It’s easy to forget that the first film was a risk for the unstoppable Marvel Cinematic Universe, a massive introduction to myriad characters, planets, teams and sci-fi concepts for a franchise wedded to […]