Mortal Kombat is all bland sequel-setting that fails to even deliver impressive fight sequences. Paul W.S. Anderson’s 1995 Mortal Kombat is the most straightforward and least of his video game adaptations, though it is the most beloved by nostalgic gamers. All of this can…
After releasing notorious flop/secret success Exorcist II: The Heretic in 1977, director John Boorman turned to an attempt at producing a Lord of the Rings film. When that failed to coalesce — sadly, as it was allegedly floated that the Beatles would play the…
When I was 22, my best friend and I lived together for a while in the apartment where I grew up. We were a twenty-minute walk from the subway’s last stop, in a neighborhood that was years away from any semblance of trendiness. My…
Godzilla vs. Kong isn’t a perfect film, but it features franchise-best VFX and links to Toho-era entries in its commitment to visual spectacle over narrative. The character of Godzilla, as originated in Ishirō Honda’s 1954 masterpiece, may have begun as a galvanic exercise in…
by Luke Gorham by Steven Warner Podcasts
Summer Blockbuster!?! | Episode 118: Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Episode Description: This week, we’re talking 2021’s first legitimate blockbuster (of a sort): Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the four-hour behemoth currently streaming on HBO Max. Yes, we’re aware this isn’t a summer film, but we covered the 2017 original. Also, we’re gluttons for punishment.…
It seems nearly impossible that there’s anyone in the world who isn’t familiar with Tom and Jerry — or, at least, doesn’t recognize them. In fact, the beloved cartoon cat and mouse may be the most famous slapstick act this side of Laurel &…
Episode Description: This week, Summer Blockbuster!?! celebrates Valentine’s Day by taking on one of the least romantic romances ever filmed: 1986’s Under the Cherry Moon, directed by Prince. The pop icon followed up his smash hit Purple Rain with a black-and-white homage to screwball…
Judas and the Black Messiah energizes necessary rhetoric and is impeccably crafted, but diminishes its power by sticking so closely to a prescribed biopic template. The provocatively titled Judas and the Black Messiah is something of a trap, one that, from the boldness of its…
The Little Things is a stylistically bankrupt, psychologically facile yawn of a movie. Largely forgotten in all the talk these days about how modest studio films for adults aren’t really being made anymore is that, when they are, they’re usually lousy. Most are winding up…
Wonder Woman 1984 is bloated at 151 minutes, but the chemistry of its leads and throwback hokey vibes are enough to recommend its particular superhero pleasures. In case you couldn’t guess from the title, we catch up with Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), last seen just…
