Posts

Examining The Iconic Japanese Samurai Film That Inspired ‘The Mandalorian’ By Bryan Young/Aug. 4, 2020 8:00 am EST (Welcome to The Movies That Made Star Wars, a series where we explore the films and television properties that inspired George Lucas’s iconic universe. In this edition: Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance.)Samurai movies have long held a place in the inspiration of Star Wars. It began with The Hidden Fortress, which was one of the earliest influences on George Lucas’s creation of Star Wars, but Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance is perhaps the latest in that line of important Jidaigeki films that brought new life to Star Wars....

Movies Anywhere Unveils Its Own Watch Together Feature By Hoai-Tran Bui/July 28, 2020 3:30 pm EST Since lockdown began, co-viewing parties have been all the rage, though the separate apps and plug-ins allowing for these kind of shared streaming experiences have been largely inconsistent. While unofficial parties have made Netflix viewing parties a regular occasion, official watch party options from Twitch and Hulu haven’t gained much traction. But Movies Anywhere, the digital movie library app operated by Disney, is attempting to unify the shared streaming experience with its newly unveiled Watch Together app....

Quibi Trailers: ‘Fight Like A Girl’, ‘Elba Vs Block’, ‘Let’s Roll With Tony Greenhand’, ‘Agua Donkeys’ By Chris Evangelista/April 12, 2020 10:00 am EST If you thought we were done with red, hot Quibi content – think again! The nascent streaming service, which specializes in short-form content, just released a whole slew of new trailers. Because even though the service just launched with a ton of new shows, there are still more to come....

The ‘Watchmen’ Reference Guide: Every Easter Egg In “Martial Feats Of Comanche Horsemanship” By Rafael Motamayor/Oct. 28, 2019 8:00 am EST While showrunner Damon Lindelof has called his television take on the Watchmen graphic novel a “remix,” it is still set after the events of the original source material, and every episode is loaded with references to the 1986 comic classic. Some are very easy to spot, others a bit more subtle....

The Best Movies You’ve Never Seen About Magicians By Rob Hunter/March 31, 2020 10:00 am EST (Welcome to The Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, a series that takes a look at slightly more obscure, under-the-radar, or simply under-appreciated movies. This week we go point your attention over there while we discuss movies about magicians over here!) Movies about magicians come in all shapes and varieties. To be clear, I’m speaking of films about the performers, those who do magic tricks and illusions, as opposed to the wizards you find in fantasy films and late-80s Fred Savage movies....

The Morning Watch: ‘Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker’ 16-Bit Finale, ‘Invisible Man’ Scene Breakdown & More By Ethan Anderton/March 2, 2020 5:00 am EST The Morning Watch is a recurring feature that highlights a handful of noteworthy videos from around the web. They could be video essays, fanmade productions, featurettes, short films, hilarious sketches, or just anything that has to do with our favorite movies and TV shows. In this edition, watch a 16-bit video game style recreation of the final showdown in between the Final Order and the Resistance, as well as Rey and Emperor Palpatine, in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker....

This Week In Trailers: Madness In The Method, Ode To Joy, Super Size Me 2, Descent Into The Maelstrom By Christopher Stipp/July 14, 2019 9:00 am EST Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: What better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising?...

What Happened This Week On ‘Westworld’ Season 3: “Crisis Theory” By Chris Evangelista/May 4, 2020 12:00 pm EST Westworld season 3 is over, and while it might be a controversial stance, let’s call this the worst season of the series yet. Yes, there were plenty of valid complaints about season 2. But even at its worse, season 2 was at least mildly interesting. The same can not be said of season 3, which managed to make non-stop action and full-blown societal chaos boring....

Why The Lightsaber Duel In ‘The Phantom Menace’ Is The Most Important Moment In The Prequel Trilogy, According To Dave Filoni By Ben Pearson/May 11, 2020 12:00 pm EST The best moment from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is burned into the brains of anyone who’s seen it: as John Williams’ epic score blares, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi face down Darth Maul, who ignites his double-bladed lightsaber and engages in a spectacular two-on-one fight....

‘Avengers’ Video Game Footage Shows Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, And Hulk In Action By Ethan Anderton/Aug. 20, 2019 10:30 am EST While we wait to see what the future of The Avengers holds in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the video game world will be giving us a whole new version of the team. Marvel’s Avengers is a new video game from Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix that brings together Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to face some serious threats....

‘Black Panther 2’ Will Start Filming In July 2021, Adds ‘Narco: Mexico’ Actor To Cast By Ben Pearson/Nov. 20, 2020 2:58 pm EST In the wake of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman’s surprising and tragic death, we assumed that Marvel Studios and director Ryan Coogler would put the planned Black Panther 2 on the back burner while they grieved and figured out the best way to move forward with the sequel to the billion dollar hit....

‘Born To Play’ Trailer: ESPN Debuts Documentary About Women’s Tackle Football Team By Hoai-Tran Bui/July 1, 2020 9:30 am EST The Boston Renegades were born to play. The women’s tackle football team is the subject of the latest ESPN documentary, Born to Play, which follows the athletes throughout their 2018 season as they tried to capture the WFA national championship. Watch the Born to Play trailer below. Born to Play Trailer...

‘Charlie’s Angels’ Trailer: Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, And Ella Balinska Can Do Anything By Hoai-Tran Bui/Oct. 11, 2019 6:01 am EST Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska are the new Angels in Elizabeth Banks’ upcoming remake of the beloved spy franchise. But this time, they’re international private eyes as Charles Townsend’s agency takes his business international, upping the stakes and the action in the new Charlie’s Angels. Watch the new Charlie’s Angels trailer below....

‘Children Of The Corn’ Reboot Story Hints At A Prequel By Chris Evangelista/June 11, 2020 4:00 pm EST While most movie productions have been shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, a new Children of the Corn movie that filmed in Australia found ways to keep going. The movie has now wrapped, and details are finally trickling out, including cast members and a brief synopsis. From the looks of things, this latest take on Stephen King’s short story will be a prequel, detailing how those children of the corn got so darn creepy to begin with....

‘Godzilla Vs Kong’ Trailer Breakdown: Big Trouble On Little Earth By Evan Saathoff/Jan. 25, 2021 8:00 am EST As promised, the first trailer for Godzilla vs. Kong hit yesterday ahead of its March 26 release. And while there is plenty to discuss in terms of reveals and plot business, the name of the game for this first trailer is simply fun. Whether this ends up representing the actual film remains to be seen, but this first trailer definitely goes out of its way to establish a tone....

‘Hell House, LLC 3: Lake Of Fire’ Trailer: The Abaddon Hotel Finds New Victims By Chris Evangelista/Sept. 12, 2019 5:30 pm EST Human beings are dumb. If you need proof, look no further than the Hell House, LLC franchise, in which multiple people keep going into a haunted murder hotel, even though they know everyone who goes in there gets murdered. In Hell House, LLC 3: Lake of Fire, the final entry in the franchise, someone else decides to open the Abaddon Hotel up as a haunted attraction – with terrifying results....

‘Island’: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way To Produce TV Adaptation Of Aldous Huxley’s Final Novel By Ben Pearson/July 30, 2020 4:00 pm EST Acclaimed writer Aldous Huxley is best known for his 1932 novel Brave New World, which you probably had to read in high school. (A new TV adaptation of that book is currently airing on Peacock, NBCUniversal’s new streaming service.) But while Brave New World explored a dystopian world, Huxley’s final novel, the 1962 book Island, served as a counterpoint, diving into the idea of a utopian society instead....

‘Madame Web’: Sony’s ‘Spider-Man’ Spin-Off Lands ‘Star Trek 4’ Director S.J. Clarkson By Hoai-Tran Bui/May 20, 2020 11:47 am EST Sony has caught a director for its Madame Web movie. Veteran TV director and former Star Trek 4 director S.J. Clarkson has been tapped to direct Madame Web, the female-led spin-off film in Sony’s universe of Spider-Man characters. Variety broke the news that S.J. Clarkson has been tapped to direct the Madame Web movie, the first female-centric spin-off movie in Sony’s Spider-Man universe....

By Hoai-Tran Bui/Nov. 14, 2019 4:30 pm EST Here is the description via Deadline: The subversive, multi-stranded narrative follows a series of characters including Allie, a vulnerable American foster kid who reinvents herself as a faith leader; Roxy, the daughter of a London crime boss, who revels in her new abilities; Tunde, a Nigerian journalist reporting on seismic global change; and Margot Cleary – Lopez (Mann), Mayor of Seattle; loving wife and doting mother to three kids....

‘Ordinary Love’ Trailer: Liam Neeson And Lesley Manville Get A Diagnosis By Hoai-Tran Bui/Sept. 29, 2019 12:00 pm EST Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville are anything but ordinary. Both Oscar-nominated acting powerhouses in their own right, together they can only be extraordinary. But they deliver quietly moving performances in Ordinary Love, a tearjerking drama from the directing team Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn (Good Vibrations). Watch the Ordinary Love trailer below....