In the beginning, there was the Word…or a bunch of words, anyway. They began with, “It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.” Once seen, it was impossible to forget. Film historians will tell you the first blockbuster was Steven Spielberg’s Jaws in 1975. That’s true, but there’s a galaxy’s worth of difference between a blockbuster and a frickin’ phenomenon. On May 25, 1977, Star Wars changed everything. The brainchild of George Lucas erupted from theaters and soon laid claim to... Read More

How do you solve a problem like Annihilation? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very good and very challenging film, and one that everyone should see as quickly as possible. Before we get into the specifics, let’s talk about the tragedy of its release, and why it bodes ill for intelligent art. Paramount Pictures ponied up $55 million to adapt the first book in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy. Alex Garland, the director of the superb Ex Machina, was hired to write the screenplay and direct. An impressive team of actors was hired. Things were a go. Upon the film’s completion, as always... Read More

I’m told that Star Wars  was the first movie I ever saw. My parents made the fairly questionable decision to take two-year-old me to a crowded theater, and my gut tells me it was probably my mother’s idea. At some point, Dad probably said, “It’s not like he’ll remember it.* What’s the point?” Mom probably insisted due to the principle of it, and now there’s a strain of George Lucas’ magnum opus winding its way through the DNA of my childhood. Hardly original, right? For most of us, that’s the reason Star Wars is inexorably tied up in feelings of nostalgia. The warm blanket.... Read More

In 1995, I saw The Usual Suspects in Denver. I was 20, a callow young punk, not even old enough to drink legally. Like most people that age, I was dumb as hell, not even smart enough to know how little I knew. However, walking out of The Usual Suspects, there were two things I knew for sure. It was an instantly iconic film and the guy who made it was one to watch. That guy was Bryan Singer, and for a while there, he made some genuinely interesting stuff. The Nazi-in-suburbia thriller Apt Pupil. Tom Cruise as a heroic German in Valkyrie. The Man of Steel as a creepy stalker in Superman... Read More

In 1923, the New York Times interviewed famed mountaineer George Mallory. When he was asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, he simply replied, “Because it’s there.” I suspect the same sentiment could apply to the Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerbergs of the world, the blazingly intelligent innovators that develop technologies that shift civilization. It’s definitely applicable to Nathan (Oscar Isaac), the reclusive supergenius behind Blue Book, an omnipresent search engine. Using his massive wealth and influence, he stages an employee lottery. Caleb (Domhnall Gleason) is... Read More