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04 Feb

Knock at the Cabin Ending Explained: How to Change the Book But Keep the Spirit

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Contains spoilers for Knock at the Cabin and The Cabin at the End of the World. Knock at the Cabin is about love. It’s a home invasion horror, an apocalyptic disaster movie, a virtually single location character piece, but mostly it’s about love. Paul Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World is also a book about love, though in some ways it’s a rather bleaker prospect when it comes to the end, depending on how you see it. The film sees family Eric (Jonathan Groff), Andrew (Ben Aldridge) and their 8-year-old daughter Wen (Kristen Cui) on vacation in…

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03 Feb

Batman Returns Still Has the Best Romance in a Superhero Movie

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Michelle Pfeiffer put a live bird in her mouth in Batman Returns. Let that sink in for a moment: a respected thespian, who by 1992 had already received two Oscar nominations for Dangerous Liaisons (1989) and The Fabulous Baker Boys (1990), put a tricolored Gouldian finch inside her mouth. For nearly a minute! And she never broke character once as she portrayed the feline pleasure in avicide before letting the creature fly out (maybe) unscathed. The scene is remarkable for a few reasons. First, in the days before CGI trickery (and constant social media scrutiny), filmmakers just went ahead and…

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03 Feb

Why Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Has the Most Realistic Underwater Kingdom

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One of the most memorable aspects of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the creation of the undersea kingdom of Talokan, ruled over by the mutant god-king Namor (Tenoch Huerta). Moving away from the comic book canon, in which Namor leads the more fantasy-based realm of Atlantis, director Ryan Coogler reinvented Talokan as an offshoot of an ancient Mayan society, with deep roots in Mesoamerican culture and history. While Talokan and the Talokanil people are still wildly imaginative sci-fi/fantasy conceptions, the film and story nevertheless make them as realistic as possible (relatively speaking), grounded in both real South American…

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02 Feb

Marvel Phase 4 Movies and TV Shows Ranked

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This article contains MCU spoilers. It’s over! It’s officially over. Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is finally in our rear view mirror, and what did we learn? We learned that Marvel Studios wasn’t going to stop taking risks after capping off Phase 3 with the box office juggernaut of Avengers: Endgame. In fact, they were going to take more risks than ever. Sometimes, those risks paid off. Other times, they did not. But during a transformative time for the MCU, Phase 4 was, for the most part, determined not to offer the one thing that would have made…

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02 Feb

Skinamarink Is the Strangest (and Most Original) Horror Movie You’ll See All Year

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The thing you should know about Skinamarink going in is that it’s a movie which does everything in its power to not be a movie. Call it an experience, call it an experiment, call it a nightmare simulator. Whatever it is, it’s unlike any movie you’ll see this year, skirting almost every cinematic convention you’ve ever heard about.  The actors’ faces, for example, are never shown. Virtually every shot seems to have no clear focus, with objects and subjects obscured or only partially in-frame, the camera seemingly misplaced and left on by mistake. Shots are often uncomfortably long and lingering,…

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02 Feb

Lord of the Rings and the Real World Places That Inspired Gondor

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This Lord of the Rings article contains spoilers for The Rings of Power. When a fantasy writer sits down to create an imaginary world (or in J.R.R. Tolkien’s case, technically an imaginary ancient past of our own world), they tend to draw on all sorts of influences from reality. Different cultures, histories, and ideas all come together to create something that is new. George R.R. Martin’s Westeros, for example, famously combines various elements of European history and cultures. The general setting is vaguely “medieval,” the Wall is inspired by the ancient Roman Hadrian’s Wall, the Iron Islands have a generically…

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02 Feb

Knock at the Cabin Review: Top Shelf M. Night Shyamalan Horror

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Following the twin disasters of After Earth and The Last Airbender around a decade ago, M. Night Shyamalan has been on something of a career rebound in the last eight years, with successful films like The Visit and Split, plus the hit Apple TV+ show Servant, to his credit. Shyamalan’s work can be an acquired taste, and even among his fans his output can be hit and miss (like 2021’s divisive Old), but his new film, Knock at the Cabin, is easily his strongest effort since the still-potent Split and may yet end up on the top shelf of his…

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01 Feb

DC Movies and TV Shows: Full DCU Schedule

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What a tumultuous time it is to be a fan of DC TV and movies. Aside from the fact that the DCEU was a mass of chaotic energy almost from the word go, there’s also been the ongoing confusion about the multiversal aspects: the multiple Batmen and Jokers, the fact that the TV shows have nothing to do with the movies, the fact that entire movies (sorry, Batgirl) simply ceased to exist and were banished to limbo after they had already wrapped, never to be seen by mortal eyes. And then there have been the rumors (so many rumors), the…

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01 Feb

DC Confirms Why Henry Cavill Isn’t Superman Anymore

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On the one hand, it’s hard to feel too bad for a guy who’s incredibly handsome, incredibly rich, and gets to spend a lot of time indulging his nerdy habits. On the other, you can’t deny that things have been pretty rough lately for Henry Cavill. The man seems to have been stuck in a “will he/won’t he” holding pattern for years. First, the Snyderverse seemed to be done after the Joss Whedon cut of Justice League flopped, and then it seemed back when Zack Snyder’s Justice League hit HBO. And just when everyone from Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav…

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01 Feb

Wakanda Forever’s Ironheart Could Set Up Shang-Chi 2

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It might seem like only yesterday we were listening to Tems’ rendition of “No Woman, No Cry,” but just two months after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever roared its way to the top of the box office, Ryan Coogler’s superhero showstopper has landed on Disney+. As well as securing Letitia Wright’s Shuri as the new Black Panther, we had an Oscar-worthy turn from Angela Bassett and the introduction of Tenoch Huerta as Namor (dropping the Sub-Mariner suffix).  Doing what the MCU does best, it also queued a ton of potential projects. Alongside another war with the Talokan people in the mythical…

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01 Feb

The Brave and the Bold Movie Will Explore a Side of Batman That’s Always Ignored

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The DC Universe is rebooting Batman. Again. On a certain level, it’s a little funny since one of the reasons James Gunn and Peter Safran were presumably brought in to right the ship of DC Studios is that Warner Bros. had let a situation occur where three popular actors were playing Batman at the same time: Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, and the new kid on the block, Robert Pattinson. The quasi-reset of the DCU that Gunn and Safran confirmed Tuesday has apparently done away with two of them. During a press briefing on the WB lot this week, the Guardians…

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01 Feb

New on Netflix: February 2023

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February is for lovers. But with its list of new releases for February 2023, Netflix is unveiling another season of arguably its least romantic show. That’s right: Joe is returning in You season 4 part 1 on Feb. 9. This time around our central stalker played by Penn Badgley is across the pond in jolly old England, living an unassuming life as a bearded professor and looking for his next target. If you don’t get your fill of You this month, stay tuned for the second part of season 4 in March. You will be joined in February by a…

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01 Feb

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Cast – Meet the New MCU Characters

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This article contains Black Panther: Wakanda Forever spoilers. Marvel’s last Phase 4 movie is finally on Disney+, and if you missed Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever in theaters, we’re here to help you get to know all the fresh faces that have now joined the MCU. In this installment of the franchise, Wakanda and its royal family are grieving after the loss of King T’Challa and, sensing a destabilization in the region, world powers (seen and unseen) start to make their moves against the sovereign nation. From the villainous Namor to a mysterious new US Secretary of State,…

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01 Feb

Hulu New Releases: February 2023

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It feels just like last month we were complimenting Hulu on its true crime offerings. Well, with its list of new releases for February 2023, Hulu is staying in the true crime lane. Suppose that’ll happen when you push back the release date of a series or two. February sees the arrival of three notable true crime series on Hulu. Taiwan Crime Stories premieres on Feb. 1 and presents four true tales from Taiwan’s criminal “dark underbelly.” That will be followed by ABC News Studios’ Killing County on Feb. 3. That three-episode series ponders the question “what happens when police…

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01 Feb

Amazon Prime Video New Releases: February 2023

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February is the shortest month of the year but Prime Video is paying that no mind with its jam-packed list of new releases for February 2023. This really is an uncommonly stuffed month on the Amazon streamer and it all starts with a handful of Amazon Originals. Amazon’s original offerings kick off with the release of Dave Franco-directed romcom Somebody I Used to Know on Feb. 10. That is followed by Carnival Row season 2 – a gritty fantasy crime drama is set in a world of steampunky fairies. The show stars Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevigne and this batch…

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01 Feb

HBO Max New Releases: February 2023

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Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and HBO Max got the memo. With its list of new releases for February 2023, the HBO streamer is bringing a very special Valentine’s Day episode into the fold. Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special premieres on Feb. 9 and finds Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy celebrating their first Valentine’s Day together. Consider this a fun little aperitif for the fast approaching Harley Quinn season 3 – which will feature none other than freshly-installed DC czar James Gunn. Other HBO Max original series this month include another C.B. Strike special on Feb. 6…

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01 Feb

Disney+ New Releases: February 2023

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With its list of new releases for February 2023, Disney+ is going all out to honor one of the biggest Marvel movies of the past year (and the one with the studio’s best Oscar chances yet). Simply put: February 2023 belongs to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on Disney+. The Black Panther sequel arrives to the streaming service on Feb. 1. Wakanda Forever serves as both a fitting sendoff to the iconic Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa and a pretty fun introduction to Tenoch Huerta as Namor. Following the streaming arrival of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the Panther party is just getting…

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31 Jan

New Batman and Robin Movie, Green Lantern TV Show, and More Announced for Revamped DCU

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The future is finally here for DC fans. After years of false starts from a parade of creatives, and months of teases, DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran finally shared their vision for DC movies and TV series going forward, christened, simply enough as the DCU. The pair outlined what they called “the first part of the first chapter” of the DCU, with that first chapter known as “Gods and Monsters.” It’s a combination of five films and five HBO Max series which will have story elements that weave between each other, and ultimately lay the foundation for…

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31 Jan

Matt Reeves’ The Batman Sequel Is Now Part 2 in a Trilogy

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DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran may have outlined the new slate of projects that make up the “first part of the first chapter” of the revamped DCU this week, but there are still quite a few question left to be answered, particularly when it comes to the DC films greenlit by Gunn and Safran’s predecessors. Four DCEU movies are releasing in 2023 —Shazam: Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom — but it’s still unclear how they really fit into the future DCU. And where does this leave other projects…

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31 Jan

Inside Infinity Pool: An Indie Horror So Twisted It Will Pull You Under

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Infinity Pool is the third feature film from writer-director Brandon Cronenberg, whose previous efforts include 2012’s Antiviral and 2020’s Possessor. Yes, in case you didn’t know already, he is the son of legendary filmmaker David Cronenberg, and yes, both work in horror and sci-fi and do share some stylistic and thematic similarities. But the younger Cronenberg is very much establishing his own aesthetic as he moves forward, with Infinity Pool being the latest evidence of his own uniquely personal exploration of realities just adjacent to ours that are full of dread, psychological dysfunction, and bodily torment. The film follows a…

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