Ryan Reynolds has pioneered the type of fast-talking, quippy characters that seem to be so popular with today's mainstream audiences. It's somewhat ironic that Reynolds is finding so much success right now because, for years, it seemed like he was doomed to be one of those great … | Continue reading
Had author Philip Van Doren Stern not self-published his short story, "The Greatest Gift," and sent it out to his friends and family as his Christmas card, we may never have got "It's a Wonderful Life." The irony is not lost considering the story's plot. The author spent months t … | Continue reading
You know how the saying goes: If you build it, they will come. So when a studio does the exact opposite of "build it," well, I guess we can't be too surprised by the inevitable outcome. The release of "Strange World" (you can read /Film's review by Josh Spiegel here) should've be … | Continue reading
"His Dark Materials" has finally come into its own. It took a few stumbles and big swings, but the fantasy series has reached the heights that it was reaching for throughout its first and second seasons — and it only took a little divine intervention. "His Dark Materials" was alw … | Continue reading
What would Stephen King and Gillian Flynn get if they wrote a story together? My bet is that it would look a lot like "Yellowjackets." The Showtime series bounces between two timelines. In 1996, the "Yellowjackets" high school soccer team is stranded in the Canadian wilderness af … | Continue reading
Disney Animation's "Strange World" is now in theaters, and the movie about three generations of the Clade family finding themselves in a land unlike anything they've ever seen makes for a delightful film to see with your own family over the Thanksgiving holiday. If you've seen "S … | Continue reading
"Halloween" might be the first modern slasher film, but Bob Clark's "Black Christmas" laid the groundwork for John Carpenter's similarly holiday-themed horror movie. Debuting in 1974, four years before the independent smash hit that became "Halloween" in 1978, "Black Christmas" m … | Continue reading
You've seen Santa Claus stand as the epitome of seasonal goodwill in movies like "Miracle on 34th Street" and "The Christmas Chronicles." You've even seen Santa as a foul-mouthed drunk with "Bad Santa." But have you seen him stuff a grenade down someone's pants and watch him go k … | Continue reading
This piece contains spoilers for "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery." "Glass Onion" is out in theaters for a limited one-week engagement before heading to Netflix in December, giving us another Benoit Blanc mystery. The follow-up to "Knives Out" features a new cast of suspects an … | Continue reading
Streaming has contributed a great deal to the prevailing theory that everything you could possibly want is just a few clicks away. Think of a movie, and you can load it up on Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, or any other streaming service to watch it. And if it isn't in any of those place … | Continue reading
"Resident Alien" star Alan Tudyk has had a number of memorable roles throughout his career. In terms of movies, long-time fans look back fondly on the parts he played in "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story," "A Knight's Tale," and "Tucker & Dale vs Evil." He even had that memorable … | Continue reading
"The Menu" is proving to be a hit for Searchlight, as its opening weekend box office numbers are the highest since the opening weekend of "Slumdog Millionaire." It likely won't go on to make as much as the 2008 Best Picture winner, but the lesson within shows an interest in bizar … | Continue reading
Hailing from Aaron Sorkin, "The West Wing" is the epitome of the ideal, fictional White House. Every imitation pales in comparison, not for lack of trying. The political drama features an all-star cast spearheaded by Martin Sheen as President Josiah Bartlet, and scripts that sing … | Continue reading
Werner Herzog is well-known for his penchant for the extreme. The idiosyncratic director has one of the more impressively diverse careers, helming everything from documentaries on unusual figures such as the so-called "eco-warrior" Timothy Treadwell in "Grizzly Man" to movies lik … | Continue reading
"Is that you, John Wayne? Is this me?" It's a recurring line in "Full Metal Jacket," Stanley Kubrick's intense 1987 war meditation as famous for its colorful language and memorable characters as it is for its scrutiny of the Vietnam conflict. The line is first uttered by Matthew … | Continue reading
The week is bringing our stay at The White Lotus Sicily one step closer to a close — but it seems as though the fuse is starting to catch fire as we head into the season's final acts. The episode opens with Lucia and Albie having sex in the early hours of the morning on day five, … | Continue reading
"Amsterdam" is the third collaboration between director David O. Russell and Christian Bale, and even though their latest 1930s-set period piece didn't exactly light the box office on fire, both artists still have every intention of working together again. After winning an Oscar … | Continue reading
Did you know that was really Christian Bale standing on top of Chicago's Sears Tower in "The Dark Knight"? The actor had no qualms about standing solo atop the 1,450-foot skyscraper in his second outing as Batman. He told CBS News he felt comfortable up there and that he didn't w … | Continue reading
Remember when we reported that the relationship between Warner Bros. and Henry Cavill isn't exactly as rosy as we were led to believe with the latter's return as Superman? Well, it looks like a more clear picture as to what is actually going on is forming in front of our eyes, an … | Continue reading
From the pilot episode to the recent series finale, Judith Grimes has been a handy bellwether for how much time has passed in "The Walking Dead." She started out as just an embryo, the result of a dalliance between Lori Grimes and Shane Walsh. Judith was finally born in a rather … | Continue reading
The 1986 musical "Little Shop of Horrors" started its life as a zero-budget monster comedy that Roger Corman legendarily shot over the course of two days and a single night. Rehearsals were only held for the three days prior, and it was filmed on sets that had been left standing … | Continue reading
In Walt Disney Animation's "Strange World," viewers will visit a land set in the center of a seemingly impassable mountain rage. But Jaeger Clade (voice of Dennis Quaid) is a grizzled old explorer whose life's mission is to see the other side of those mountains, and nothing will … | Continue reading
Even after the major box office success of Rian Johnson's whodunnit "Knives Out," it was shocking to see Netflix dish out hundreds of millions of dollars to secure two additional sequels for their streaming platform. "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story," despite its relatively modes … | Continue reading
The Universal monsters are arguably the most classic and iconic of all horror cinema's spooky creations. Whether you're a fan of Bela Lugosi's Dracula or Lon Chaney Jr.'s Wolfman, there is a monster for everyone. If you're the kind of person who enjoys a good beach day, then ther … | Continue reading
Depending on whom you ask, Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is either a many-splendored era or a rancid trash fire. Both feel just a touch overdramatic, and probably say more about the critic than the art, but these opposing parties seem to agree on at least one thing — P … | Continue reading
"Andor" brought a head-spinning number of firsts to the "Star Wars" galaxy. These included the first mouse droid sidestep, the first arranged marriage, and the first breakfast cereal. Welcome as these obvious moments were, the series also brought in some head-scratchers. One of " … | Continue reading
This post contains mild spoilers for "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special." There are few places in America more sacred than a gay bar. Throughout history, gay bars have been crucial locations for gay culture and politics, because they are often one of the few places wher … | Continue reading
It's astounding how quickly Mia Goth has cemented herself in popular culture as not just an incredibly talented actress, but one with an intuitive sense of what projects suit her best. The London-born actress, who made her feature film debut back in 2013 with Lars von Trier's "Ny … | Continue reading
People today spend a lot of time complaining about the amount of remakes in Hollywood, and for good reason. If nobody in the entertainment industry is willing to take a chance on new ideas anymore, eventually we'll simply run out of things to reboot and achieve full cultural bank … | Continue reading
In the 1988 Christmas comedy "Scrooged," Bill Murray plays Frank Cross, a mean-spirited TV executive who oversees a live televised adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1983 novella "A Christmas Carol." The irony is that "Scrooged" is based off Dickens' story and Cross is a modern versi … | Continue reading
Albert Pyun, the filmmaker behind cult favorite B-movies like "The Sword and the Sorcerer" and "Cyborg," died on Saturday 26 November, 2022, at the age of 69. Albert's wife, Cynthia Curnan, shared the news on social media, writing, "I sat with him for his last breath that sounded … | Continue reading
The 1988 Christmas fantasy film "Scrooged" takes us on a wild and dark ride with Frank Cross, a mean-spirited, anti-Christmas TV executive who oversees a live production of -- guess what? -- "A Christmas Carol," the classic Charles Dickens novella that the movie itself is based o … | Continue reading
Warning: The following article contains minor spoilers for "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special." The Marvel Cinematic Universe is notably devoid of Transformers. Yeah, yeah, there are some robots in disguise lingering somewhere in the background -- at least, there are if … | Continue reading
There are certain roles that just seemed to be crafted for certain actors. Sometimes that's intentional, like when Wes Anderson wrote the role of Royal Tenenbaum specifically for Gene Hackman (much to Hackman's initial chagrin). Other times, things just fall into place, and it be … | Continue reading
There are many charming things about Jon Favreau's "Elf." The Christmas movie about a man who is unintentionally raised by North Pole elves and eventually returns to New York to find his biological father has become required holiday viewing, joining the ranks of seasonal classics … | Continue reading
Warning: The article below contains spoilers for Marvel Studios' "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special." For over a decade, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has painstakingly interwoven interconnected superhero storylines. But after 30 films, nine television shows, and countl … | Continue reading
Reboots are the bread and butter of Hollywood, which means that we millennials (and even the elder zoomers), are becoming accustomed to seeing our childhood favorites being given the reboot treatment. The IP up for debate today is Zorro and this time we have Antonio Banderas to b … | Continue reading
A young woman clad in a white bathing suit swims blissfully in a lagoon. She glides through the water, and, for a moment, she is suspended in time. It's just her and the water ... until it's not. Something is watching her. A creature, a mixture of fish and man, is watching her fr … | 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 Movie: "Cheap Thrills" Where You Can Stream It: Peacock, Hulu, Tubi, PlutoTV The Pitch: What lengths would you … | Continue reading
"I've begun reminiscing events before they even occur," laments Chris Eigeman's Max in Noah Baumbach's "Kicking and Screaming." The character continues, "I'm reminiscing this right now." If ever a line could sum up the career of the writer-director, perhaps it's this one. Baumbac … | Continue reading
In the 2003 comedy "Elf," Will Ferrell plays Buddy, a regular human who was raised at the North Pole as a Christmas elf and works in Santa's Workshop. When he finds out he's really a human from New York City, Buddy travels to The Big Apple to find his father, Walter Hobbs (James … | Continue reading
Shows about high school are hardly new. From early examples like "Happy Days" and "The Wonder Years" to the '90s heyday of "Dawson's Creek" and "Beverly Hills 90210," teenage drama has always been a part of the television landscape. Many of us look back on our time in high school … | Continue reading
When you have a life story as incredible as Calogero "Chazz" Palminteri's, you have to make a movie out of it. Palminteri first told his story as a one-man show on the stage. He took the basics of his childhood and his more remarkable experiences, such as witnessing a murder at a … | Continue reading
Clint Eastwood's vast filmography is filled with classics, but some films in his history of work could be considered low-effort misses. While the director has shown his impressive skills in films like "Million Dollar Baby" — which won him an academy award for directing — there ar … | Continue reading
It is said that the typical gap of time for nostalgia to take root in the public consciousness is 20 years. Consider how the '70s were rife with rose-tinted fondness for the '50s, with the popularity of "Grease" and "Happy Days." Nostalgia for the 1980s hit hard in the early 2000 … | Continue reading
"Inception" tries to pack a lot into its 148-minute runtime. Between its explanations of dreamscapes and its ethical dilemmas about treating fantasy as reality, Christopher Nolan certainly had his work cut out for him. Sure, there might've been a few plot holes by the movie's end … | Continue reading
This piece contains minor spoilers for "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special." After adventuring the cosmic Marvel galaxy alongside Thor in "Love and Thunder," our loveable misfit group of space outlaws has been reunited once again with writer/director James Gunn for "The … | Continue reading
When "I Am Legend" was released in 2007, most people watching in crowded theaters probably never thought they'd see its awesome vistas of a deserted, windswept Manhattan in real life. Those images were chilling enough originally but take on an extra poignancy when revisited in a … | Continue reading