Extraction is streaming on Netflix now. Not all action movies are created equally. You know that, and you know there’s a wide world of difference between an honest-to-God classic like Die Hard and a disappointment sandwich like A Good Day to Die Hard. Like me, you’re likely stuck in coronavirus lockdown, and you’re likely looking […]

Let’s say you get the idea stuck in your craw that you wanted to write or direct a summer blockbuster. To do that, you’ll want to study the best of the best. What you don’t want is something stupid, cynical, or pandering. Look, I get it. For many of us, the summer movie season is […]

“A thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts.” That quote comes from the under-loved Avengers: Age of Ultron. Upon its 2015 release, we were 11 films deep and there were two schools of thought about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a sprawling epic of interconnectivity. Eager nerds like myself were excited. Comic book creators and imagination machines […]

One of the worst clichés in the history of film is also one of the most accurate. I think you know it, and when I tell you what it is, your response will likely range between rolling your eyes indulgently and a desire to burn down your nearest movie theater and salt the earth. It’s […]

When it comes to cinema, we’re living in an age of marvels. Take the long view for a moment, and consider that with theatrical releases and streaming platforms, we have access to a wider and deeper selection of films than at any point in human history. You can immerse yourself in independent films, catch up […]

What happens when the title of a movie promises one thing but delivers something entirely different? That goes to the larger issue with moviegoing, I suppose. You see a trailer, spy a poster, even just hear a title, and an imaginary movie with a very particular look and feel starts playing in your head. If the […]

As moviegoers, we’re conditioned to sigh in resignation whenever we hear about a remake. “Oh, God, there are no original ideas in Hollywood anymore,” we say, as we roll our eyes so far back we can see our brains.  But remakes have been a part of American film since the beginning. Cecil B. DeMille made The […]

Okay, folks, time for a thought experiment. Imagine you’re a whale, a sperm whale to be precise, living in the year 1820. While most of your kind measures 50 feet long, you’re a big sucker that’s around 85 feet long. You spend your days hanging out with your pod, hunting squid, enjoying the freedom of the […]

  In 2008, the fledgling Marvel Studios released Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr. Before the release, there were rumblings that the film would fail, and fail big. How could it succeed? It was a movie about a superhero that only hardcore nerds like me had heard of. Plus, Downey was best known not as a […]