Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
David Ayer knows a thing or two about getting extremely negative reviews after the critical bashing “Suicide Squad” received, so it’s no wonder he’s choosing to remain optimistic in the face of an equally-grueling reaction to his latest movie, the Netflix tentpole “Bright.” After IndieWire’s David Ehrlich gave the movie an “F” review, calling it…
The new movie Bright is Netflix’s big entry into Hollywood-style, blockbuster filmmaking. It was reportedly the streaming service’s most expensive movie to date, costing $90 million, and was talked about before its release as having the potential to be the kind of tentpole hit that studios dream of. The movie stars Will Smith in a…
Netflix had an incredible 2017, anchored by three critically-acclaimed films out of Sundance (“Mudbound”) and Cannes (“The Meyerowitz Stories [New and Selected]” and “Okja”), along with a seemingly endless supply of new shows, including fantastic programs like “Mindhunter,” “Dear White People” and “Master of None.” And yet the irony of all of this is that…
Photo: Netflix C- Bright Cast Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, Lucy Fry, Noomi Rapace Availability Netflix December 22 Finally, high fantasy for the sunglasses-on-the-back-of-the-head set. If nothing else, you have to admire the audacity of the Netflix executives who greenlit Bright: The core conceit of this film—a violent, R-rated cop movie that just so happens to…
Spoilers ahead for Star Wars: The Last Jedi! When you have a franchise that has made most of its money from toy sales, removing a possible toy from the universe is a big step. Maybe that’s why The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson was terrified to do so when it came to Kylo Ren’s iconic…
Welcome to Space the Nation, a weekly column where we’ll use the back catalog of genre fiction to makes sense of what’s happening today. My goal is to be as specific as possible. I’m interested in works that engage with immediate questions, ripped from the headlines: What happens when a news environment allows consumers to…
Image: Lucasfilm The response to The Last Jedi has been divisive to say the least. Some love it because it takes Star Wars in a bold new direction; some hate it for the same reason. While I enjoyed a great deal of the film, it profoundly depressed me, and here’s why: The Last Jedi killed…
* we weren’t really sponsored by Fandango… In this special episode Rich, Mike, and Jay talk about the Last Jedi. A movie that’s complex, but subtle. Beautiful, yet awkward, clunky and unfunny. Good, yet very bad. Also while discussing the bombing raid on the Dreadnought. Mike talks about a Star Trek Voyager episode coincidentally called…
SPOILER-FILLED discussion of THE LAST JEDI’s most contentious plot points. Yes, another live-footage episode in order to get it out and up in time for you at the length it deserves; this time with the teleprompter akwardly reflected in my shades rather than awkwardly stumbling over my words by working without a script. Aiming for…
A divide between movie audiences and critics happens all the time — especially with blockbusters. Consider the recent case of Justice League, which brought together a bunch of big-name superheroes, to the delight of 79 percent of those who saw it and bothered to register their opinion on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics, however, only liked the film…