Twenty years ago, Spider-Man 2 boiled down the basic appeal of the Web-Head in movie form. Peter Parker is the guy for whom wearing a mask and fighting crime is a noble duty, sure, but it’s also sometimes just a job—one complete with busy work, tedium, and 99 problems that distract from the other important things in life. In Peter’s case that’s studying for midterms, hanging out with his best buddy Harry Osborn, and, dare he dream, making it to Mary Jane Watson’s play on time. In the two decades since the movie’s release, there have been plenty of other…

In an early scene of Mad Max: Fury Road, the warrior called Furiosa (Charlize Theron in that film) stands in a shadowless patch of barren desert alongside several women who have been sheltered from the heat, if not misery, all their lives. One of them laments about a flesh wound she just suffered as they watch their last ride out of the Wasteland vanish into the horizon. “It hurts,” she whispers. “Out here everything hurts,” Furiosa responds. “Now pick up what you can and run.” Fans and admirers of George Miller’s Mad Max films can probably relate to that feeling…

Computer-generated and visual effects in movies have reached peak saturation over the past couple of decades. Seemingly every other “exterior” scene is shot against a digital background nowadays, and most action sequences look more like flashy video game cutscenes than genuine cinematic moments. Amid the deluge of CGI sadness, however, there are still filmmakers and stunt people committed to filming action in the purest way, capturing stunts in-camera, on location, and with trained professionals. As much as visual effects have advanced over the years, there’s still nothing better than the real thing, and the movies on this list prove that…

Despite the emotional turmoil of growing up, it would seem little Riley of the Inside Out flicks is living her best life. She’s certainly bringing a much needed win to Pixar Animation Studios. After what has undeniably been a rough post-COVID era for the house of Woody, Buzz, Coco, and so many other beloved animated characters, the return of Amy Poehler’s Joy had no sadness in sight when Inside Out 2 opened to $155 million this past weekend. Debuting to the second best animated opening day of all-time with $62 million—behind only another Pixar sequel, 2018’s Incredibles 2—the film went…

Sequels are a given in Hollywood. If a movie is a massive hit—and sometimes even when it’s not—studios are eager to pounce on any opportunity to extend the brand into another film and sometimes even a whole series of them. Franchises and IP (intellectual property) are for better or worse the name of the game in Tinseltown, no matter how often critics and audiences seem to cry out for more original material at the multiplex. The other thing about sequels is that Hollywood is a strange place that can either move at lightning speed or slow down to a pace…

There are many powerful Force users in the galaxy far, far away. From Jedi to Sith to Nightsisters, to everyone in between, the ability to wield the Force comes in a variety of forms and skill sets. Some channel their powers for good, some for power and control, and others forge their own unique paths entirely outside of the Jedi and the Sith. The following Force users have proved themselves to be among the most powerful of all across Star Wars films and TV shows. Here’s how we rank them… 16. Count Dooku Separatist leader and Sith Lord Count Dooku…

Russell Crowe has had a long career with few regrets. In fact, he says there is only really one in his professional life—a musical biopic he won’t name but that he turned down and it went on to be a hit (so begin your speculation now). Mostly while speaking to British GQ for this month’s cover story, however, Crowe expressed deep satisfaction with the onscreen side of his life, and even pushed back at assertions that he’s mostly remembered now for one role as a Roman general in Gladiator. While talking at length about the many opportunities and setbacks he’s…

Lumina, a film that follows the surreal journey of a group of friends trying to find one of their own who disappeared suddenly during a nighttime swim, takes its inspiration from many sources. Alien abductions, Area 51, government conspiracies — it’s all a part of the story of Patricia, Delilah, and George as they help Alex search for his beloved Tatiana who disappeared into the night sky. The latest promotional clip for Lumina features the supposed “real testimonies of alien abductees” like Tatiana, who often are taken multiple times. In the film, which releases on July 12, 2024, none of…

“You always attack a movie scene as late as you possibly can. You always come into the scene at the last possible moment.” This bit of advice from the great screenwriter William Goldman has guided most moviemakers. The overwhelming majority of films begin with trouble already brewing and end before everything can be settled. But sometimes, a filmmaker takes the opposite approach. These visionaries begin as early as possible, even after the opening of a different movie. Thus, the prequel was born. Seriously though, most prequels come less from the minds of creatives and more from studios trying to milk…

“You Imaginaries never learn,” sneers a character in the trailer of Netflix’s new animated movie The Imaginary. “There is one thing imagination can never defeat. And that is reality.” Snotty as he might be, the speaker has a point. 2024 has already seen the release of two movies about imaginary friends, and both of them met with a mixed response. The Blumhouse horror film Imaginary, about a pretend play pal turned evil, turned a profit but disappointed viewers. The John Krasinski movie If starring Ryan Reynolds has also made back its budget, but audiences seem largely down on it. Netflix…

Twenty years ago, Kill Bill: Vol. 2 made quite the splash when it reached theaters. Quentin Tarantino movies always do. Some folks basked in its trenchant, loquacious splendor, marveling at how the most grandiose and blood-soaked depiction of vengeance yet in a QT joint could ultimately boil down to a custody dispute between two parents sitting across a table. Others criticized its grittier, more intimate concerns as a letdown following the severed-head glory of Kill Bill: Vol 1… and, finally, there were even those who simply couldn’t get over that amusingly cynical thesis about Superman which the titular Bill drops…

Secret agents going rogue is such a common trope that sometimes we wish that people like Ethan Hunt or Jason Bourne would just follow their orders for change. When Daniel Craig started playing James Bond in 2006, it seemed like Bond went rogue on nearly every single mission, including most of Quantum of Solace, at least half of Skyfall, and basically, the first two-thirds of No Time To Die. Pierce Brosnan’s Bond went rogue in Die Another Day, too, with a full beard and no shirt, declaring “I’m checking out” from a hospital. And of course, Connery’s Bond was on…

Change can often be as painful as it is inevitable. This is a fact of life and a fact that haunts Inside Out 2. The long anticipated sequel arrives nearly a decade after one of Pixar’s finest and most sophisticated films, making good on what previously was left as a looming menace and dark joke for the emotions of Riley—a sensitive girl who ended the 2015 film on the precipice of adolescence and all those fearsome feelings which come with it. “Riley’s 12, what could happen?” her emotions absently muse among themselves. Yet the anxiety that so often accompanies change…

While both fans and detractors speak of superhero cinema like it began yesterday—or about a decade ago when the Marvel Cinematic Universe came into being—the truth is masked do-gooders are virtually as old as the movies themselves. One of the silver screen’s first great adventurers, Douglas Fairbanks in The Mark of Zorro (1924), was a major influence on Bob Kane and Bill Finger when they created Batman. As long as there’s been source material with heroes doing daring deeds, there have been producers willing to take a gamble on putting them on the screen. For better or worse that process…

“Wax on, wax off.”  This classic line from The Karate Kid is ingrained in our minds as the epitome of cinematic martial arts lessons. It captures the elfin broken English of Mr. Miyagi in all his humble and quirky charm. Miyagi won our hearts as the kindly sensei, and the role earned Noriyuki “Pat” Morita (1932-2005) a nomination for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. But did you know that Mr. Miyagi was based on a real person? Actually, he was based on three people, all famous karate masters. Here are their stories. The Legendary Grandmasters of Karate Mr. Miyagi gets…

To some, releasing a trailer for Venom: The Last Dance during Pride month might just be a happy coincidence. But for queer fans of the Tom Hardy-led film series, the timing of this release was everything. While the previous entries in this film series, Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, have been generally panned (including by some of our staff), there is a subset of fans who celebrate the films for the queer subtext lying beneath that flashy blockbuster facade. And a lot of this has to do with Tom Hardy’s portrayal of both Venom and Eddie Brock. venom…

“Nothing lasts forever.” There’s something deeply ironic about that line of dialogue being dropped by Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow in only the second Avengers movie from almost 10 years ago. While Johansson’s tenure in the superhero genre is apparently over, with the Oscar-nominated star more recently focusing on films like Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, the MCU is still going strong with the latest whispers about Avengers 5 getting the rumor mills spinning again. Hence one of the reasons Steve Carell and Illumination Entertainment’s new marketing for Despicable Me 4 is so biting. Carell—who, by the by, was also in Asteroid…

“Let’s face it, I had a bad script,” director Michael Bay said on the commentary track of his debut feature film, Bad Boys. Bay isn’t wrong. Bad Boys relies on buddy comedy tropes already established in 1974’s Freebie and the Bean and 1982’s 48 Hrs., complete with nonsense plot points. “But I had real comic talent in my two stars.” Bay of course means Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. Drawn from the popular sitcoms Martin and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Lawrence and Smith saved the movie from the clunky script (and, be honest, Bay’s incoherent direction) with their easy…

The movies are in trouble. Or so we’re told frequently and often in the trades, on social media, and simply among industry gossipers convinced the sky is falling. In terms of ticket sales for conventional blockbusters, this summer is indeed off to a sluggish start. But if you focus only on the nickels and dimes, you likely are missing why you fell in love with movies in the first place. And there’s been quite a bit to love, or at least respectfully admire, in the first half of 2024. While a few genuinely great blockbusters on this list have struggled,…

This article contains spoilers for Hit Man. “People are disappointed when they learn that hit men don’t really exist,” explains Gary Johnson. That might be a surprising statement given that it occurs early on in a movie called Hit Man. Throughout the film, Gary (Glen Powell) dons different disguises to meet with people who want to pay him money (or video games or boats) to kill people. But then again, it’s all a ruse, a police sting operation that mild-mannered teacher Gary does as a side gig. As Gary explains, his job is to become the type of hitman that…