You know how certain actors become synonymous with certain decades? How when you think of the fifties you might think of James Dean’s red leather jacket? Or when you think of the seventies and an image of John Travolta dancing at the disco flashes through your mind? Lately I’ve been wondering what made us link these actors to their respective decades. Sometimes it’s a matter of box office success, like […]
I have mentioned, once or twice in the past, my theory that superhero franchises are uniquely likely to produce sequels that improve upon their predecessor. And I’ll stick by it, while noting with some annoyance that the 2010s most visible superhero franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, seems largely resistant to this trend. For here we are with Deadpool 2, an improvement on 2016’s Deadpool in pretty much 100% of the […]
Once upon a time, Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form co-founded a production company called Platinum Dunes, whose purpose was to remake old horror films, but shinier and worse. I mean, presumably the “worse” part wasn’t in the corporate statement of principles, and it just worked out that way. I think it’s entirely fair to put the brunt of the blame for the 2000s’ mania for horror remakes securely […]
Every week 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: the arrival of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, a big, bright, colorful adventure in a fantasy version of outer space, gave me just the excuse I’ve wanted to revisit one of the reviews […]
And here we are, with the Oscars are coming this very weekend. Gawk in wonder as three very different people all agree that La La Land will win absolutely no fewer than 8 awards, though we are bitterly divided on just how it will subdivide the sound categories. BEST PICTURE Arrival Fences Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water Hidden Figures La La Land Lion Manchester by the Sea Moonlight Tim […]
Here’s the complete list of nominees, along with my record for predicting right (and wrong) in every category. As for commentary – ah, no, you’ll have to wait for that till our next podcast! Best Picture Arrival Fences Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water Hidden Figures La La Land Lion Manchester by the Sea Moonlight My record: 9/9 Best Director Damien Chazelle, La La Land Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge Barry […]
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces their nominees for the 89th Academy Awards tomorrow. I’m cutting it close, but I couldn’t let the very first Oscar season here at Alternate Ending go by without offering my predictions for what I expect to see get nominated Best Picture Arrival Fences Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water Hidden Figures La La Land Lion Manchester by the Sea Moonlight (I’m […]
As a rule, I try very hard not to write film reviews of the “consumer report” style, but sometimes it’s important to look a potential ticket-buyer square in the eye, grab them firmly by the shoulders, and state clearly and urgently, “it’s important that you know this”. And there is something that it’s important for you to know before you check out Everybody Wants Some!!, writer-director Richard Linklater’s snapshot of […]
Well, here we are, already in the second month of 2016, and I’m not even done with 2015 yet. But we’ll get there. In the meanwhile, the year is hopefully going to get revved up here pretty quick: obviously anything could turn out to be bad, but two of my most-anticipated titles for the whole calendar year are soon to be upon us. It’s still the winter, and that means […]
This review is based upon the “Despecialized Edition” prepared by fan editor Harmy, something akin to the original 1980 version. Or, an original version, anyway; this film appeared in multiple cuts even during its initial release. Has any movie sequel ever had such widespread impossible expectations as The Empire Strikes Back? Has any movie sequel ever so thoroughly surpassed impossible expectations as The Empire Strikes Back? The very first follow-up […]
I foreground pee-drinking not because it’s fun to take cheap shots (which it is), but because the film genuinely cares that much. Pee-drinking is the first thing that happens. We get the scene-setting as a portentous but oddly tinny-sounding narrator invokes “The future. The polar ice caps have melted, covering the Earth with water. Those who survived have adapted to a new world.” And then this spectacularly expensive motion picture […]
We are now in the 64th year of this Hollywood Century project, stretching all the way back to movies which were made in a time before narrative cinema had stumbled into such essential innovations as close-ups, shot-reverse shot, or camera movement. The earliest years of the Hollywood feature film found an aesthetic that frequently does not resemble modern filmmaking much at all. And still, 64 entries on, there hasn’t been […]
