The Dark Tower was directed by Nikolaj Arcel and is the latest film adaptation of a popular Stephen King novel, this one being the first in a fantasy series that is more or less about a western gunslinger hunting down a sadistic wizard in a universe of competing genre ideas. And yet the film itself seems to be completely uninterested in what makes that set up appealing in the first place.
Go on…‘The Dark Tower’ Is A Genre Mashup, So Why Is It So Generic?
We had a special guest join us this week to help review Atomic Blonde. You might remember Robert Yaniz Jr. from our Alien: Covenant episode a few months back, but he also hosts his own entertainment podcast, Crooked Table. Robert gave us an early spoiler-free review of The Defenders Season 1, as well, which premieres August 18th on Netflix.
Will Ashton was out this week on vacation, but Maveryke Hines and myself came back to cover Ozark, Detroit, To The Bone, and The Incredible Jessica James. We also introduced a new segment we’d love your feedback on: “Would you even watch this?” The rules are simple: one of us describes the trailer for an obscure movie as a pitch for the other person to go see it. Let’s see if we can do a better job hyping up audiences than the actual marketing for these movies (probably not).
Go on…Atomic Blonde, The Defenders, Ozark, and Detroit — Cinemaholics
Atomic Blonde was directed by David Leitch, the stunt mastermind and co-director of the action-favorite, John Wick. Based on the graphic novel The Coldest City, this is a spy film with all the right moves, but does that hold true for the story itself?
Go on…‘Atomic Blonde’ Looks Great But Pulls Too Many Punches
Dunkirk was written and directed by Christopher Nolan and is his most recent film since Interstellar. Nolan has tackled a variety of genres to mostly great success; heists, magicians, space, and even comic books. But how does the blockbuster artist fare with historical war fiction?
Most war movies tend to be action movies. Many of the best ones go beyond the typical violence and bloodshed to delve deeper into psychological thriller territory, while others spend their first hour unfortunately delving into needless romantic subplots and love triangles (ahem).
Go on…Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’ Is More Survival Epic Than War Movie
I’ve never been the biggest fan of the prequel trilogy beginning with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but I do enjoy them as one of the better franchises available on the occasional summer. Joining me to discuss and review the final entry (for now), Will Ashton and Maveryke Hines share their own take on the long, fascinating tale that is most impressive for its motion-capture work featuring Andy Serkis than pretty much anything else.
We also did a feature review for The Big Sick, one of my favorite movies of 2017 so far and a true delight for fans of romantic comedies and really comedies in general. It’s a great discussion that we’ve been patiently waiting to have since last month. Our mini reviews this week include Lady Macbeth, A Ghost Story, and The Standups.
Go on…Does ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ End This Trilogy Well? — Cinemaholics
War for the Planet of the Apes is the final film of the prequel trilogy based on the 1968 classic Planet of the Apes. Once again, viewers step into director Matt Reeve’s post-apocalyptic version of a world where a micro-colony of hyper-intelligent apes led by the world-weary Caesar must fight for their right to exist against humanity’s last stand.
The central conceit of this prequel trilogy has been to follow the evolving humanity of a brilliantly realized character named Caesar (brought to life by stunning motion capture and played by an Oscar-worthy Andy Serkis). It’s clear at this point that Caesar is one of the greatest film characters of the 21st Century, born in Rise of the Planet of the Apes and fully realized in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
This new film takes Caesar’s journey to its most desperate state. After two years of evading the last of humanity’s armed forces, Caesar’s nomadic colony of apes are brought to their breaking point when a ruthless colonel (played by Woody Harrelson) finds their hiding place and forces the apes to go on the run. Caesar craves revenge, however, and sets off on a journey with his closest confidants to discover what the humans truly have in store for his apes.
Go on…‘War For The Planet Of The Apes’ Is Both The Worst And Best Of Its Own Series
Spider-Man: Homecoming is the latest standalone superhero film to tackle great power and great responsibility without actually having to mention those famous words. This is Marvel Studios and Sony’s first full-length collaboration on a superhero film, making Homecoming a risky experiment that was clearly worth taking.
Go on…‘Spider-Man Homecoming’ Isn’t Another Big, Generic Superhero Movie