By 2000, actor Russell Crowe had made a name for himself in the U.S. through work in The Quick and the Dead (1994), Virtuosity (1995), L.A. Confidential (1997), and The Insider (1999). It would be his turn as Maximus Decimus… Read More ›
Peter Craig
Meet Me at the Movies: Swords, Sandals & Sequels – Noel & Thomas Manning Review “Gladiator II.”
Noel and Thomas Manning sharpen their swords and dust off their sandals to tackle Gladiator II, Ridley Scott’s long-awaited return to the coliseum! This legacy sequel from Paramount Pictures features an all-star cast, including Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal,… Read More ›
“Top Gun: Maverick” delivers on just about every level imaginable and then exceeds it: plus ultra.
As more and more legacy sequels release due to studios mining their IPs for anything they think will resonate with audiences off the name alone, a follow-up to director Tony Scott’s Top Gun (1986) seemed all the more inevitable each… Read More ›
Strap in, Ghostrider. “Top Gun: Maverick” is a blockbuster film in every fiber of its being.
I would like to make an illicit confession to you, dear reader: I do not particularly care for Tony Scott’s 1986 film Top Gun. I don’t hate it, or even actively dislike it, but I certainly view the film in… Read More ›
Riddle me this: What’s lime green, red, and black? The home release discs for director Matt Reeves’s “The Batman.”
I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and… Read More ›
Matt Reeves’s “The Batman” may just be the greatest live-action Dark Knight detective story yet.
In my lifetime, the following actors have physically donned the cowl of Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s legendary detective Batman: Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and Ben Affleck. With each actor came a distinct version… Read More ›
An unexpected rambunctious adrenaline ride, “Bad Boys for Life” is the just break you need from the winter doldrums.
When a film releases a new addition to a franchise a decade or more after the last entry, there’s good reason to be skeptical about the quality. Often, what worked before doesn’t connect due to changes in the cultural landscape,… Read More ›