I liked Creed. I have Feelings™ about Rocky IV. It stands to reason that I’d feel at least minor trepidation about a Creed movie that addresses the events of Rocky IV, even though down the line the Creed chapters in the Rocky franchise would need to address Rocky IV out of continuity necessity. So consider it a Thanksgiving miracle that Creed II, which opens today, the … Continue reading
History is written by great rivalries. Montague and Capulet. Hatfield and McCoy. Sean Connery and Roger Moore. The Red Sox and the Yankees. Washing funky drawers or flipping ’em inside out for one more day’s use. Donald Trump and human decency. It goes on. I’ve been thinking about this a bit recently on account of … Continue reading
“Rambo.” There’s a blast-from-the-past name, right? Bet you weren’t expecting to hear about Rambo anytime soon, huh? Well: Too bad. Rambo’s coming back. Is that a plus or a minus? Depends on how you like your action movies; Rambo (2008) sticks to a pretty classic 1980s aesthetic of “white dude kills scores of brown dudes,” but … Continue reading
Michael B. Jordan, right? What an actor. What a fire starter, too. The guy loves burning shit. It’s almost his bread and butter, at least in 2018, where his two biggest roles play literally and metaphorically with fire (and sometimes both). See: Black Panther and Fahrenheit 451. (Actually see Black Panther, too. Don’t just consider it as evidence. … Continue reading
Fair warning: I really didn’t want to write this piece, and I’m doing it out of misguided obligation. Maybe I’m whining, but cut me some slack; I’ve already written about the #OscarsSoWhite fracas, and also contributed a handful of yadda yaddas to Paste Magazine’s annual Oscar preview (though I spend most of my yaddas turning my nose up at the … Continue reading
Well, we did it: we predicted the Oscars. Or, more specifically, we made our Oscar predictions. I have my own personal mumblings about the ceremony coming later today, but if you want to see what the gang at Paste Magazine’s Movies section thinks is going to go down this Sunday, you’d best hightail it on … Continue reading
It is pretty to think that all of this year’s Oscars outrage might have been avoided with just a few shifts in nominations. In truth, recognition for some combination of Samuel L. Jackson, Will Smith, Teyonah Parris, Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, Jason Mitchell, Corey Hawkins, Jada Pinkett Smith, Abraham Attah, Idris Elba, Mya Taylor, Aaron Covington, … Continue reading
I woke up this morning and it struck me that last night was the air date for this year’s Golden Globes ceremony. Following being struck that first time, I was struck again by the realization that I have said nothing about them at any point; I have offered no commentary, presented no predictions, and yielded no … Continue reading
“Another year, another slate of movie releases in the history books, and with it a bevy of new characters gracing the big screen. Just like making the movies themselves, though, making a truly memorable character is a major challenge. You have to get them right on the page before you can cast them, for one … Continue reading
Boy, 2015 has been a fabulous year for film. This, of course, is true of most years, so long as you are willing to step outside of your comfort zone and seek out releases from off the beaten path. But it’s especially true of 2015, which doesn’t require viewers to stray too far from their … Continue reading
“There’s an alternate timeline in which Creed is a superfluous waste of nostalgia. In that universe, Warner Bros. gave the reins to a filmmaker other than Ryan Coogler, the young Oakland-born director who stunned viewers in 2013 with Fruitvale Station, a bio-drama about the death of Oscar Grant. Maybe Coogler is the last person anyone … Continue reading
A Constant Visual Feast 