First impressions are lasting impressions, they say, and this is absolutely terrible news for The Amazing Spider-Man, for although it ends with a 20 or 25-minute cluster of action scenes that more than passes muster as a rousing, suitably kinetic summer thrill dispensary, the first half of the 136-minute tentpole is stiff and unconvincing, not […]

Of all the questions I hoped to have answered by a movie this summer, the one that’s been bothering me the most, for the longest time, is what on earth compelled Steven Soderbergh to direct Magic Mike. The parsimonious answer is that Channing Tatum told the director all about his life as a young stripper, […]

Every Sunday this summer, we’ll be taking an historical tour of the Hollywood blockbuster by examining an older film that is in some way a spiritual precursor to one of the weekend’s wide releases. This week: those of us mostly excited for Magic Mike on account of its director, Stephen Soderbergh, need to resign ourselves […]

A guide to this blog’s James Bond marathon can be found right here. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICEDirected by Lewis GilbertWritten by Roald DahlPremiered 12 June, 1967 PRE-TITLE SEQUENCEYou Only Live Twice boasts one of the few openers that directly ties in to the movie about to follow, but that’s not what stands out, not to […]