The Marvel Cinematic Universe began assembling with Jon Favreau's "Iron Man" in 2008. When "Avengers: Infinity War" hit theaters in 2018, it marked the beginning of the end of the franchise's first epic story arc, known as the Infinity Saga. In that film from Anthony and Joe Russ … | Continue reading
Richard Donner's 1988 film "Scrooged" was a modern rendition of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," updated for the yuppie set. The Reagan generation's Ebenezer Scrooge was Frank Cross (Bill Murray), a vain, bitter, ratings-hungry TV executive who believes in sensationalism ove … | Continue reading
There's no doubt that Benicio del Toro would have delivered a great performance as one of the villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but instead he had a somewhat more complex role to play: that of a great big space nerd. Taneleer Tivan, aka the Collector, made his debut in … | Continue reading
"The Amazing Spider-Man" series often feels like the neglected middle child of the Spider-Man film eras (of Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland, respectively), but the pair of films from director Marc Webb are back in the news almost a decade later as Joe Jonas -- of … | Continue reading
There are few unmade movies in history that make us wonder what could have been quite like Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 4." The filmmaker had intended to reunite with Tobey Maguire one more time following the disappointment of "Spider-Man 3." In the end, creative differences got in th … | Continue reading
Christopher Nolan isn't afraid to make high-concept films. From the never-ending memory hole at the center of "Memento" to the high-level theoretical science that propelled "Interstellar," Nolan never feels the need to dumb himself or his ideas down. This is part of the reason th … | Continue reading
Warning: Spoilers for "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" ahead. The Guardians of the Galaxy are back! Well, most of them. A couple of them died (if you can call having your soul trapped inside a rock for the rest of eternity "death") and the rest haven't really been g … | Continue reading
Spoilers ahead for "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special." It's been a rough year, friends. The world is all screwy, CEOs have run amok, and the sound of a news alert on our phones makes us want to scream a little. Do you know what we need right now? A good, weird holiday … | Continue reading
Much has been made of "Die Hard" and its enduring charm as not just a quintessential '80s blockbuster but one of the finest action movies ever made. There's a lot to love about the 1988 mega-hit that propelled Bruce Willis from TV comedy to action movie fame. Just as memorable as … | Continue reading
The story of Eddie Redmayne's rise to prominence as an actor pretty much begins with his casting in "Les Misérables" as smitten revolutionary Marius Pontmercy. In less than half a decade after the 2012 film was released, he had earned an Oscar for Best Actor for "The Theory of Ev … | Continue reading
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has fully embraced horror in 2022. After slowly introducing new elements and genres over the past decade, the massive universe is getting spooky, particularly this year. There's "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness" giving us that sweet Sam … | Continue reading
"Moon Knight" may not have been exactly spotless, but it was Marvel's first foray into the fantasy/horror side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Of course, the Disney+ series does not operate outside the inherent restrictions of its maker. However, it does push the boundaries fro … | Continue reading
It's no secret that James Gunn loves collaborating with the same actors over multiple projects, no matter how big or small the roles may be. Take Michael Rooker, for example: The actor has significant roles in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" films but is a throwaway character in "T … | Continue reading
The holidays are in full swing, and it's time to get your shopping list together for the pop culture fanatic in your life. When it comes to showing your love for film and television, there are a variety of ways to show everyone where your loyalties lie. Maybe you'd like a t-shirt … | Continue reading
Mild spoilers for "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" ahead. "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" is easily one of the least essential bricks in the wall that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. That's not at all a criticism, either. On the contrary, the … | Continue reading
This piece contains spoilers for "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special." It's the year 2022 and Marvel Studios has just released a holiday special short starring the characters from "Guardians of the Galaxy." Seriously, just think about that for a second. Well over a decad … | Continue reading
When you take a moment to step back and actually look at the great sitcom families, you'll see all of the ways in which many of them hardly ever respect one another. The dysfunctional family is a tried-and-true comedy formula, but it brings me a massive amount of joy to watch a s … | Continue reading
What do you do when your underdog is no longer the underdog? That was the challenge Sylvester Stallone faced when it came to writing "Rocky III"; now his loveable slugger from Philadelphia was heavyweight champion after defeating Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in the previous film. … | Continue reading
Spoilers follow. The next "Marvel Studios Special Presentation" is here. Instead of the terrors and thrills brought by Michael Giacchino with "Werewolf by Night," the Marvel Cinematic Universe is treated to some much-needed holiday cheer. "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Spec … | Continue reading
Sean Connery had a knack for drastically improving scenes. Not only did he improvise one of the funniest lines in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," but the actor also came up with 007's now-classic "Bond, James Bond" line while filming "Dr. No," the first of Eon's Bond adapta … | Continue reading
What's the best approach to winning Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? If you're James Gunn, you simply cast Bacon as himself for your Marvel Cinematic Universe streaming special, "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special." The 44-minute special, which Gunn both wrote and directed, c … | Continue reading
Major spoilers ahead for "Andor" season 1. "Andor" has finished its first season on Disney+, and it's quite unlike any Star Wars series we've seen so far. We've followed "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" character Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) as he is radicalized (with very good reaso … | Continue reading
This will contain spoilers for "The Fabelmans" At the start of "The Fabelmans," young Sammy Fabelman goes to his first motion picture — "The Greatest Show on Earth" — and dreams of the epic train crash he saw on the screen. He wants so badly to recreate this celluloid nightmare t … | Continue reading
"Don't call it a comeback, I've been here for years." It's an LL Cool J lyric but it applies to one Geoffrey Rush, renowned Australian stage and screen actor. One of the few people who have earned an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy, and a Tony Award, Rush's resume is extensive an … | Continue reading
Minor nipple-related spoilers ahead for "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special." Since 2017, we've been worried about Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista). The poor guy lost his entire family, survived many battles, and struggled to understand how to not take everything anyon … | Continue reading
Warning: Major spoilers ahead for "Strange World." In the new Disney Animation film, "Strange World," the Clade family lives in a land nestled in the center of a mountain range. The mountains are unpassable ... not that Jaeger Clade (voiced by Dennis Quaid) believes that. He and … | Continue reading
With "Andor" season 1 in the bag, it's fair to say showrunner and creator Tony Gilroy and his fellow creatives have exceeded expectations with their "Rogue One" prequel series. What might have been little more than another log to add to the fire that is Disney+ and its never-endi … | Continue reading
For those who mainly know Seth MacFarlane for his work on "Family Guy," the relative success of "The Orville" was a bit of a surprise. The sci-fi comedy is actually quite thoughtful and interested in tackling serious issues without too many fart and vomit jokes. Season 3 in parti … | Continue reading
At the beginning of James Gunn's "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special," Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) is approached by a band of space aliens who claim to have been practicing on a set of new-fangled Earth instruments they had recently been gifted. They also know, in a vague se … | Continue reading
When "Toy Story" was released in 1995, it was a modern wonder of the cinematic world: The first fully computer-animated feature film. That animation shows its age a little bit now, but it really looked like the future back then. And so it was; as the father of two young kids, I f … | Continue reading
Humphrey Bogart is one of the great icons of classic Hollywood. His trademark snarl and surprising romantic heroism sealed his legendary status in pop culture at large. For how inescapable his impact was, it's hard to imagine a period in sound film before him. But his rise to sta … | Continue reading
For over fifty years, Robert De Niro has stood atop the acting profession. The man behind countless iconic roles, who has made his mark on cinema history starring in some of the greatest films of all time, De Niro has had the sort of career that young actors dream of. His accolad … | Continue reading
It feels like we as a society have sort of memory-holed just how popular the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise was during the 2000s. Those movies were pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars each, and there were five of them! That's so many! My parents owned a copy of "The … | Continue reading
This post contains spoilers for both "Arrival" and the novella "Story of Your Life." "Arrival" is a notable sci-fi film for many reasons, not just because it's what convinced Hollywood to let director Denis Villeneuve take charge of a sequel to "Blade Runner" (which was awesome) … | Continue reading
Not much is known about the future "phases" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but all eyes are already fixed on the conclusion to what has been dubbed The Multiverse Saga. While Phase 4 was hit or miss for a lot of fans, the promise of a new crop of heroes (and villains) is enoug … | Continue reading
This post contains spoilers for the entire "Scream" series so far. With "Scream" (2022) being a major financial and critical success (spawning a sequel that's already wrapped up filming), it's easy to overlook "Scream 4," the standalone entry that failed to revive the series. The … | Continue reading
30 years after "Batman: The Animated Series" first debuted, we're still celebrating its massive contribution to the legacy of the Dark Knight. At this point, it's well-documented how the show redefined the character for an entire generation with its brooding tone, top-notch voice … | Continue reading
It really should be no surprise that filming a movie called "Misery" was a miserable experience, but actor James Caan was apparently truly tortured making the 1990 Rob Reiner film. Based on the novel by Stephen King, "Misery" is a taut thriller that follows Caan's novelist charac … | Continue reading
Frank Darabont successfully captured the intensely claustrophobic paranoia of Stephen King's novella "The Mist" in his 2007 adaptation. The town of Bridgton gets mysteriously enveloped in a thick mist swarming with eldritch monsters, and most of the townsfolk find themselves trap … | Continue reading
Few films offer as romantic a view of a bleak dystopian future than "WALL-E." Written and directed by Andrew Stanton, the movie is one part a playful romance between (literally) star-crossed robot lovers, and two parts a depressing vision of the future. But it's the blossoming in … | Continue reading
Anyone who's listened to the excellent podcast "Welcome to Your Fantasy" or read the book "Deadly Dance: The Chippendales Murders" knows that the story behind the legendary touring striptease troupe is a wild one. At the center of it all is the truly fascinating and downright sca … | Continue reading
Sometimes it seems like the entirety of "Chucky" season 2 was just one, giant, collective hallucination by the fans. The season kicked off with a Halloween special, threw the main tweens into Catholic school for some fun (with a weirdly hot priest played by Devon Sawa), and gave … | Continue reading
If you're a fan of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," then you are familiar with The Suits. You know the ones. They made their first appearance in the 1990 film directed by Steve Barron. Created by Jim Henson and his Creature Shop, these giant anthropomorphic turtle costumes hav … | Continue reading
Quentin Tarantino's thoughts on actors have made a lot of headlines lately. The director is the latest Hollywood celebrity to comment on the fact that big movie stars just aren't as much of a thing anymore (a phenomenon that /Film's own Witney Seibold reported on just a few weeks … | Continue reading
Ever since Hugh Jackman finally ended his reign as the fan-favorite character Wolverine in 2017 with James Mangold's acclaimed, R-rated magnum opus "Logan," speculation has been building as to whether or not he'll ever rock the adamantium claws again. When it debuted, the origina … | Continue reading
(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.) The Series: "Friends" Season 6, episode 9 "The One Where Ross Got High" Where You Can Stream It: HBO Max The Pitch … | Continue reading
The 2022 /Film Holiday Gift Guide should have you stocked up on shopping idea for movies, TV shows, and books. But those aren't the only items that pop culture fanatics are hoarding these days. Vinyl albums have become all the rage again, and that includes bringing the rich soun … | Continue reading
There've been plenty of dystopian movies over the past few decades, but Alfonso Cuarón's not-particularly-faithful adaptation of P.D. James' novel "Children of Men" is one of the best. The 2006 film takes place in Britain in 2027, in a world where a mass infertility plague has le … | Continue reading