Science fiction cinema came of age in the 1950s, beginning an ascent out of the drive-in schlock market that culminated in the boldly experimental yet still commercially viable efforts of the 1960s. That fed directly into the next decade, with sci-fi in the 1970s taking on (for the most part) the same subversive attitude as most other movies made during that era. But sci-fi movies also entered blockbuster territory in the ‘70s as demonstrated by the massive success of films like Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman: The Movie, Logan’s Run, and Alien. The studios realized that…

Peaky Blinders caught the imagination by swerving the unexpected. Creator Steven Knight put the whole thing on a tilt from the start by not setting his gangster drama in London, but in (then) unfashionable Birmingham. He made family leader Tommy Shelby not the eldest but the middle brother. He mad Helen McCrory’s indelible Polly Gray not Tommy’s mother but his aunt. His working class characters weren’t to be pitied, but feared and respected… Nothing, from the contemporary rock music to the interweaving of Romany culture, was quite what period audiences had come to expect. Knight’s slanted take on historical drama…

Ishana Shyamalan has long been transfixed by the spell of folklore and the stories we leave only half-remembered. This was true of her work as a director on Servant, the cryptic Apple TV+  series executive produced by her father M. Night Shyamalan, and it’s true of her new horror film The Watchers, a movie set in the most menacing “enchanted forest” you’ll ever see. But for Ishana, it goes back even further than that. “I think this particular mythology is something I connected very strongly to as a child,” Shyamalan says when we sit down with her ahead of The…

This article is presented by Roborock. The start of The Garfield Movie finds Garfield and Odie taking it easy, riding atop a Roborock intelligent robot vacuum cleaning their owner Jon’s floor. Garfield and Roborock both know that the real fun of cleaning – is not having to do it yourself.  Garfield has long been a proud indoor cat, who knows the pleasures of taking it easy and pulling pranks. But Garfiled also appreciates the finer things in life, such as a plate of steaming lasagna, snuggling with his toy bear Pooky, and, of course, a clean house.  Roborock also understands…

Deadpool & Wolverine is not in theaters for almost another two months, but the hopes and aspirations of the Marvel Cinematic Universe—and perhaps now the summer movie season box office itself—are already being placed on Ryan Reynolds’ broad, leather-clad shoulders. So it’s not like the Merc with a Mouth needed any more pressure. Yet pressure he might receive if the latest report out of Deadline is true: director Shawn Levy has entered early talks to helm the next Avengers movie. The discussions are apparently in early stages, with the trade noting Levy has been handed the latest draft of the…

The first full teaser for Alien: Romulus contains lots of nods to Alien and Aliens. Not only does it integrate the famous tagline for the first film, but we get plenty of cool guns, facehuggers on the attack, and even a xenomorph rising from the water. In other words, all things that made Aliens great. The connections between Alien and Aliens make sense. Director Fede Álvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues have made clear that Romulus takes place between those two landmark films. However, the standout, most shocking scene pays homage to Alien 3, a movie so divisive that even director…

Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the Belgian directing duo behind Bad Boys: Ride or Die, are what people are really talking about when they speak of Michael Bay. In these dark days of anonymous blockbusters with no personality or pop, it is indeed common for people to wax nostalgic about Bay, wishing that Bayhem would one day return to American screens in its full glory. It’s a weird sentiment though, and not just because Bay hasn’t gone anywhere (in fact he continues to release movies every two or three years, most recently 6 Underground in 2019 and Ambulance in…

Godzilla Minus One is a rare beast. Despite being derived from a franchise that’s nearly three-quarters of a century old, and which has had more installments than there are days in a month, Takashi Yamazaki’s latest reinvention of the Big G feels fresh. It’s a true spectacle of emotion and cultural angst; a film that remarkably takes a piece of pop culture furniture like the giant irradiated lizard and makes him scary again. In Godzilla Minus One, the titular creature is not only a dazzling sight of cinematic carnage candy, but he’s also a potent metaphor about war, destruction, and…

Within the wonderful world of kids’ movies lies a subgenre that doesn’t get discussed enough: the “Kids on Bikes” adventure movie. A combination of early adventure movies and the “latchkey” kid culture that afforded teens and pre-teens incredible new freedom, these movies occupy a unique space. They’re often intended for audiences in the same young age ranges as their protagonists yet they explore more adult themes and genuinely dangerous situations through the lens of an often wistful version of a particular kind of childhood. And yes, they explore those topics with the help of bikes. Some are scary, some are…

In Simon Pegg’s immortal comedy series Spaced, his character Tim declares: “Every odd-numbered Star Trek movie is shit.” This is, of course, hilarious today, because Pegg was in two odd-numbered Trek films, and even co-wrote the 13th movie, 2016’s Star Trek Beyond. But, the fandom myth of the odd-numbered Star Trek “curse” almost certainly begins with 1984’s Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Released in movie theaters on June 1, 1984, the third Star Trek feature film was really the second part of what would become a trilogy of films, concluding with The Voyage Home in 1986. But, more…

“Eddie… my home has found me,” the symbiote Venom warns his host Eddie Brock in the first trailer for the third Venom movie, Venom: The Last Dance. For the longest time, that statement wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense. After all, Venom’s “home” was Battleworld, the planet where the Beyonder took a cadre of heroes and villains in the 1984 Marvel Comics crossover Secret Wars. When Spider-Man’s costume was ruined, a machine on Battleworld created a new one for him, which later revealed itself to be a malevolent symbiote. When Peter abandoned the suit, it bonded with the equally…

This article might contain potential spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World. Who is Giancarlo Esposito? Okay, we know who Giancarlo Esposito is. He’s best known as Gus Fring from Breaking Bad and Moff Gideon from The Mandalorian. Meanwhile to some of us old people, he will forever be Buggin’ Out from Do the Right Thing. But who is he in the MCU? Esposito has long been rumored to join the gargantuan franchise, something made more real when the actor shared to social media some of his recent talks with Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige. However, we now have more…

As of this past Saturday, Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One is officially on Netflix in North America, and millions of subscribers are getting the chance to learn why kaiju fans and beyond have been losing their minds about the movie with a giant irritated lizard. Seriously, no less than Steven Spielberg is reported to be a great admirer of Minus One, with the Jaws filmmaker telling Yamazaki he’s watched the film three times. There is of course a sound basis for this (and not just because Godzilla Minus One in part alludes to Jaws). Not since perhaps the original 1954…

Put on any action movie made between 1903’s The Great Train Robbery and 2017’s John Wick, pay attention to the risks playing out before you, and you’ll never stop asking why the hell aren’t stunt performers lauded for their efforts by the Academy Awards. In the 1970s, one of the greatest and most underrated decades for action movies, you could still see every danger to life and limb on screen. CGI wasn’t around yet, and the law was barely paying attention. The result is an era where bloody martial arts imports and Blaxploitation commentary blended with tight-wire action and terrifyingly…

Netflix’s list of new releases for June 2024 look suspiciously like last month’s. That’s because the biggest item on the schedule is Bridgerton season 3 once again. The final four episodes of Bridgerton‘s third season will premiere on June 13. Polin fans everywhere, rejoice! Other TV items of note this month include the third and final season of Sweet Tooth (June 6), Worst Roommate Ever season 2 (June 26), and That ’90s Show Part 2 (June 28). Bridgerton aside, Netflix’s original movie options this month might be even more impressive than the TV slate. Richard Linklater’s Hitman, which stars Glen…

Oi there, listen up! Amazon Prime Video’s list of new releases for June 2024 includes another season of its biggest, bloodiest hit. The Boys season 4 premieres its first three episodes on Thursday, June 13. Based on the trailers, The Boys is really leaning into the political side of its social satire with a presidential election underway and Homelander on trial for the small matter of killing a guy last season. The season will continue to air on Thursdays, culminating with the finale on July 18. Amazon is really leaning into its sports offerings this month as well. Fans will…

Hulu has to be pretty pleased with its list of new releases for June 2024. That’s because it’s about to be the summer of The Bear once again. The Bear season 3 premieres all of its episodes on June 27 on Hulu. This FX dramedy has proven to be one of the most successful shows of its era. Jeremy Allen White stars as Carmy Berzatto, a world-famous chef who returns home to Chicago to help his floundering family restaurant after the death of his brother. Season 2 saw The Original Beef of Chicagoland crew transform the spot into fine dining…

With its list of new releases for June 2024, HBO streamer Max is finally headed back to Westeros. The highlight of this month is undoubtedly the premiere of House of the Dragon season 2 on June 16. Episode 1 will drop on both HBO and Max that Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET. With the infamous Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons now underway, the next batch of episodes for this Game of Thrones prequel should be truly epic. Arriving before House of the Dragon season 2 is another story of a fraught succession. Ren Faire,…

With its list of new releases for June 2024, Disney+ isn’t going to beat the “only a Star Wars and Marvel streamer” allegations. That’s because there is just one major new release and it’s of the Star Wars variety. Thankfully, Star Wars: The Acolyte, premiering on June 4, sounds pretty good! This series from Leslye Headland (Russian Doll) is set during the end of the High Republic era and will follow a respected Jedi master (played by Squid Game‘s Lee Jung-jae) investigating a crime that brings him back into contact with his former Padawan (Amandla Stenberg). Aside from that, Disney+ has…

Twin movies. Doppelgängers. Rapid fire remakes. Whatever you want to call them, Hollywood studios have a long and painful history of rushing concepts that run the gamut from similar to identical into theaters at virtually the same moment. Oftentimes the belief is if you get before the cameras first, the competitor(s) will throw in the towel and cancel production. Yet once in a while what seems like a turf war played out in industry trade papers, where the disputed territories are overlapping ideas or historical personages, spills out into the multiplex as “the same movie” comes to cinemas weeks or…