“Peaky Blinders” wasn’t immediately the big hit it is today. The show first premiered on the BBC in September 2013, prior to making its way onto Netflix (which streams the series in the U.S.) in 2014. A streaming service also meant a larger audience would have the opportunity to witness the crimes of the Shelby […]

Bruce Timm has done a lot for DC’s animated efforts over the years. Once Tim Burton made Batman dark again with 1989’s “Batman” and 1992’s “Batman Returns,” Timm picked up the gauntlet and ran with it. Helping to cement Batman’s newly rediscovered seriousness with “Batman: The Animated Series,” Timm co-created a show which many consider […]

Exactly one year ago today, 2021 got in one last sucker punch with the death of Betty White. Now, 2022 has wrapped up with a heavy blow of its own: trailblazing news anchor and interviewer Barbara Walters has died at the age of 93. Walters’ career spanned more than half a century, during which time she […]

If you were watching television between 2001 and 2011, at some point you probably either watched or at least stumbled across “Smallville.” The episodic adventures of a young Clark Kent, who was destined to become Superman, “Smallville” was a teen soap opera/monster-of-the-week TV ratings bonanza for The WB (which eventually became The CW), and for […]

This post contains potential spoilers for “The Witcher” season 3. Polish fantasy author Andrzej Sapkowski built a sweeping, layered world filled with monsters, witchers, and sorcerers in his acclaimed novel series, “The Witcher.” Sapkowski’s saga, told both in novel and short story form, shines brightest when exploring complex characters, who inform the principles of the […]

When Steven Spielberg was preparing to make his 2002 sci-fi film “Minority Report,” an adaptation of the 1956 novella by Philip K. Dick, he wanted to ensure that the future world of 2054 seemed plausible from a technological standpoint. The story takes place after the founding of a futuristic Pre-Crime unit that uses a trio […]

“Freejack” is a weird little movie for a variety of reasons. Perhaps it was just too ahead of its time with its themes of bodily autonomy and technological terror. Maybe its combination of cyberpunk traits made it too similar to movies like “Blade Runner” for audiences at the time to admire it by itself. And […]

There are some people who were clearly born to be movie stars, whose combination of looks, charisma, and talent are just undeniable. Steve Martin is one of them. His ’30s-matinee-idol meets playful-imp face combined with his comedic sensibilities being both anarchic and intelligent is a combination so dynamite, it’s almost like he was destined to […]

Earlier this year, I wrote about perhaps one of my favorite movies of 2022, Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun,” and how it masterfully weaves together a story of grief and closure. An earlier draft of that piece included anecdotes from my life, and while my experience with losing a parent is not exactly comparable to the film, […]

Things are looking good for “Avatar: The Way of Water,” as projections for its third weekend at the box office add another data point to the map of its trajectory. When the movie debuted earlier this month with a $134 million opening weekend (a huge number, but one that looks slightly less huge next to […]