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05 Jan

Michael Keaton Clashed with Joel Schumacher Over Batman’s Darkness

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The influence of Michael Keaton’s starring role in director Tim Burton’s 1989 big screen bonanza, Batman, remains powerful. It was not only a prime example of an unconventional casting choice that proved pontificators wrong, but was a bellwether moment for movies that—for better or worse—planted the seeds from which the modern, industry-dominating comic book genre sprouted. However, he famously called it quits after 1992 sequel Batman Returns over the direction of incoming threequel helmer Joel Schumacher. Now, as a Batman role reprisal glistens on the horizon for this year’s The Flash, Keaton describes the extent of the disagreements with Schumacher…

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05 Jan

Don’t Look Up Ending Explained

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This article contains spoilers for DON’T LOOK UP. In the new Netflix hit movie, Don’t Look Up, written and directed by satirical filmmaker Adam McKay (The Big Short, Anchorman), two rather low-level astronomers (Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence) discover a comet is headed directly toward Earth, with the object set to smash into our little planet in six months. When it does, it will completely obliterate all life. The pair of scientists, Dr. Mindy (DiCaprio) and PhD candidate Dibiasky (Lawrence), bring their findings to the White House where they are met with indifference from the narcissistic, idiotic President Janie Orlean…

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05 Jan

Search Party Season 5 Concludes a Modern Comedy Classic

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This Search Party review contains no spoilers. Search Party is an unconventional series that’s followed a unique path from the start, but its fifth and final season is honestly one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen done by a comedy series.  Search Party season 5 is a delirious experiment that’s as if Alejandro Jodorowsky, Charlie Brooker, and Stephen King decided to create a sitcom together, which makes it even harder to believe that this show began as a comedy on TBS about a girl’s journey to find a missing person. Now Alia Shawkat’s Dory Seif wants to find something…

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05 Jan

Top New Fantasy Books in January 2022

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A falling moon, an anti-refuge for portal fantasy children, and an epic quest for sisters are among January 2022’s fantasy offerings. Happy New Year! The Starless Crown by James Rollins Type: NovelPublisher: Tor BooksRelease date: Jan. 4 Den of Geek says: Sigma Force author James Rollins turns his decades of thriller experience to epic fantasy, with the start of the Moon Fall series. Publisher’s summary: An alliance embarks on a dangerous journey to uncover the secrets of the distant past and save their world in this captivating, deeply visionary adventure from #1 New York Times bestselling thriller-master James Rollins. A gifted student…

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05 Jan

The Lost Daughter Ending Eschews Easy Answers

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This The Lost Daughter article contains major spoilers for the ending. You can read our spoiler-free review of the Netflix film here. When it comes to movies with similar story elements to The Lost Daughter, we are conditioned to expect a specific kind of immense, external tragedy—namely, that a child is lost through abduction or death and the parent must grieve and endure. The Lost Daughter, however, subverts these genre expectations. There is no tragedy in the traditional sense: Nina’s three-year-old, Elena, goes missing, but she is quickly found. Flashbacks hint that Bianca, the younger of protagonist Leda’s two daughters,…

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05 Jan

A Discovery of Witches Season 3: Meet the New Characters and Cast

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It’s the beginning of the end on A Discovery of Witches. In the TV adaptation’s third and final season, Diana and Matthew return to the present to face a personal tragedy and deep political division among the creatures. The forces of conservatism seek to preserve the separation between vampires, witches and daemons; while reformers wish to dismantle the status quo. Threats from the Book of Life, the Oxford blood-rage killer, the Congregation and Peter Knox all continue, while Diana comes into her prophesied role as the witch who will change everything. Joining the existing characters in the ongoing battle are…

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05 Jan

Mel Brooks and His WW2 Sing-Off with German Soldiers

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When the musical version of The Producers first began previews on Broadway in 2001, an incident made headlines after an irate audience member stood up and began pacing the aisles of the St. James Theatre. “Where is Mel Brooks?” he is reported to have shouted. “This is an outrage!” Brooks—the composer, lyricist, writer, and actual producer of The Producers—was in the theater that night, and as one who never ignores a confrontation, he happily came out. The 75-year-old filmmaker and lifelong funnyman asked the stranger what was the problem. “This show is a disgrace!” cried the patron. “How could you…

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04 Jan

A Discovery of Witches Season 2 Recap: Blood Rage, Time-Spinning and the Book of Life

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Warning: contains spoilers for A Discovery of Witches seasons one and two. A Discovery of Witches began as a Romeo and Juliet-ish romance about the forbidden love between a witch and a vampire in a world where magical creatures were segregated by a centuries-old covenant. It was the story of Diana, a scientist and witch whose extraordinary magic had been hidden from her by parents trying to protect her from the power-hungry Peter Knox, who sought to make it his own. In season one, Diana learned who she was and whom she loved – Matthew de Clermont, the son of…

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04 Jan

Top New Horror Books in January 2022

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Ring in the New Year with exorcisms, dreamscapes, and a true crime writer’s take on a haunted house. Read on for January 2022’s top horror tales long and short! The Wakening by JG Faherty Type: NovelPublisher: Flame Tree PressRelease date: Jan. 18 Den of Geek says: 2022 could use an exorcism to kick things off, courtesy of the Bram Stoker Award-winning JG Faherty. Publisher’s summary: A team of paranormal investigators, a priest and a defrocked priest with a dark secret join forces to combat of a vengeful ancient demon, and the evil spreading throughout a small New York town. Fifty…

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04 Jan

Attack on Titan: How the Lost Episodes Lead to the Final Season

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Every piece of the puzzle counts for Attack on Titan, making it the rare narrative that actively improves upon each re-watch. There’s a staggering amount of nuance and lore that hides in plain sight throughout the anime’s origins, all of which has led to one of the most unpredictable and satisfying final seasons of an anime. Attack on Titan has found massive success ever since it first premiered, but there are certain niche pieces of the series’ growing canon that have slipped through the cracks over the years.  Attack on Titan produced eight OADs–Original Animation DVDs–that were bundled together with…

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04 Jan

2022 TV Preview: The Best New Shows to Watch

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Strap in, everybody, it’s time for another year of television. After 2021 saw the “small screen” grow even bigger thanks to the introduction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and one South Korean phenomenon, 2022 is set to try it out all over again. Marvel is still set to be a factor this year with shows like Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk all pegged for releases on 2022. DC is also getting in on the action with The Suicide Squad‘s Peacemaker getting his own HBO Max show in January. And that’s not even to mention the arrival of the oldest…

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03 Jan

Top New Science Fiction Books in January 2022

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The top sci-fi books in January 2022 see the world transformed in myriad ways, from an Arctic plague to a UFO sighting to fleeing Earth for the stars. How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu Type: NovelPublisher: William MorrowRelease date: Jan. 18 Den of Geek says: Sequoia Nagamatsu’s debut promises to be for 2022 what rereading Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven was for 2020: a speculative plague narrative that may hit too close to home, but that may also be just the catharsis we need as we continue to adjust our lives in a post-covid era.…

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03 Jan

Link Tank: The Legacy of Betty White

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The Golden Girls icon Betty White passed away this past weekend. Let’s honor her legacy by going through some of her career highlights. “Betty White, the vivacious comic actress who had the longest television career in the history of the medium, has died. TMZ first reported her death, which law enforcement authorities confirmed. She was 99. White is best known for her roles in two of TV’s best sitcom ensembles: The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls. But she also appeared in 30 films, starred in seven decades’ worth of sitcoms, hosted a talk show, was a favorite on the game show circuit, and was…

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03 Jan

The Simpsons Season 33 Episode 11 Review: The Longest Marge

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This The Simpsons review contains spoilers. The Simpsons Season 33 Episode 11 After a three-episode, one of them a two-parter, rally of undisputed heavyweight wins, The Simpsons fail to cover the spread. Season 33 episode 11 “The Longest Marge,” is loaded with cynicism, bad sportsmanship, and subversive scrimmages, but the usually reliable, and equally economical, Monty Burns is shaving points. This is what earned Burt Reynolds the bad rep which preceded his character Paul “Wrecking” Crewe in the prison football classic comedy The Longest Yard, and it costs the installment the game ball. The premise is solid. Mr. Burns backs…

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03 Jan

Best Returning British TV Series 2022: the Most Anticipated Series Coming Back This Year

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Prepare to welcome back some TV favourites in 2022, and also to say goodbye to a fair few. Of the selection below, a clutch are due to end this year including Sky fantasy A Discovery of Witches, Channel 4 comedy Derry Girls, BBC crime drama Happy Valley, BBC thriller Killing Eve, BBC fantasy adaptation His Dark Materials, BBC comedy Man Like Mobeen, BBC gangster period drama Peaky Blinders and Netflix historical action drama The Last Kingdom. Some solace is here for fans of those last two, as both have been announced to be continuing with a feature film after the…

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03 Jan

Upcoming Movies to Watch in 2022

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It’s been a bit of a funny couple of years for movies, in case you hadn’t noticed. But COVID be damned, there is every chance that 2022 could be the year in film we were all hoping 2021 was going to be. It’s a packed new release calendar which sees everything from heavy-hitter directors, promising-looking indies, action-drenched blockbusters, and a full roster of superhero movies to get buzzed about. We’ve rounded up a master list of the films we’re most excited about with dates that were correct on the day of publication. We’ll try to keep these updated as things…

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03 Jan

Dexter: New Blood Episode 9 Review – The Family Business

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This Dexter: New Blood review contains spoilers. Dexter: New Blood Episode 9 This is as good as Dexter gets.  While Dexter: New Blood has done more than enough to remove the bad taste left by the original series’ mostly maddening final three seasons, “The Family Business” justifies reviving the show. It’s the best episode of the series since season 4, containing most of the elements that made the deliciously dark drama irresistible; there’s plenty of black humor mixed in, interesting conversations about vigilantism and justice, difficult questions about mitigating problematic behavior, suspenseful games of cat and mouse, and it’s all…

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02 Jan

How George Lucas Prevented Spaceballs Merchandising

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There’s a reason George Lucas wouldn’t let people play with Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs toys, and it’s not what you think. In the Star Wars universe, the empire always strikes back, but sometimes preemptively. Princess Vespa scooters, Lone Starr Pez dispensers, Barf air bags, and Prince Valium chewables are just a few things the retail market never got the chance to see because Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs merchandise never got off the launchpad. “Merchandising is where the real money from the movie is made,” the learned Yogurt explains in the 1987 science fiction comedy. “Spaceballs the T-shirt! Spaceballs the coloring book! Spaceballs…

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02 Jan

New British TV Series for 2022: BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky Dramas, Britbox & More

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If police drama remains the bedrock of British TV commissions, with new crime series Karen Pirie, Marlow, Magpie Murders, The Responder, Sherwood and more on their way, then a glittering seam of fantasy and horror is also pleasingly visible. 2022 will welcome a host of supernatural and sci-fi series, from Neil Gaiman adaptation Anansi Boys, to Joe Barton’s sci-fi action-thriller Extinction, BBC Three teen horror Red Rose, Sky dark comedy The Baby, Netflix superhero series Supacell, and a new telling of John Wyndham’s spooky children classic The Midwich Cuckoos. Streamer Netflix also has adaptations of YA fantasies Cuckoo Song, Half…

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01 Jan

Doctor Who: Eve of the Daleks Review

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Warning: this review contains spoilers for Doctor Who ‘Eve of the Daleks’ “You go through all those presents and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there’s always one stupid old satsuma. Who wants a satsuma?” Surprisingly prescient words, spoken by the newly-minted Tenth Doctor all those Christmases ago. After all, we as an audience have barely finished unwrapping Doctor Who: Flux, which was teed up to be the biggest, most ambitious, apocalyptic magnum opus of Chris Chibnall’s tenure – the very definition of an overstuffed stocking. By contrast, being back to business as usual and the third…

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