Ubisoft and Netflix Announce Film Adaptation of Tom Clancy’s The Division Ubisoft announced on 10 June 2019 that a feature film adaptation of the popular video game Tom Clancy’s The Division is in development, with streaming giant Netflix attached to handle worldwide distribution. The announcement came during Ubisoft’s presentation at the annual E3 gaming event, … Read more
Dark Phoenix (2019) Director: Simon Kinberg Screenwriter: Simon Kinberg Starring: Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Evan Peters, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jessica Chastain The twelfth film in the long-running X-Men series, Dark Phoenix arrives as both a farewell and a final attempt to revisit a franchise that helped … Read more
Ma (2019) Director: Tate Taylor Screenwriters: Tate Taylor, Scotty Landes Starring: Octavia Spencer, Diana Silvers, Juliette Lewis Ma follows a familiar horror-thriller template: an apparently ordinary person who conceals violent impulses, and a group of teenagers who gradually realize they are in danger. The film’s trailers make its central premise clear, so viewers arrive with … Read more
Always Be My Maybe (2019) Director: Nahnatchka Khan Screenwriters: Michael Golamco, Randall Park, Ali Wong Starring: Ali Wong, Randall Park, James Saito, Michelle Buteau, Vivian Bang, Keanu Reeves, Susan Park, Daniel Dae Kim, Karan Soni, Charlyne Yi, Lyrics Born, Casey Wilson Always Be My Maybe fits squarely within Netflix’s recent wave of rom-coms that are … Read more
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) Director: Michael Dougherty Screenwriters: Michael Dougherty, Zach Shields Starring: Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Zhang Ziyi, Sally Hawkins, Ken Watanabe, Bradley Whitford, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O’Shea Jackson Jr. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is visually striking and often stunning, but it suffers from a thin script … Read more
A Hard Day’s Night (1964) Director: Richard Lester Screenwriter: Alun Owen Starring: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Wilfrid Brambell, Norman Rossington, John Junkin and Victor Spinetti Modern commentary on popular culture frequently emphasizes nostalgia and escapism: audiences visit cinemas to leave their present behind, whether the destination is an imagined realm or … Read more
Brightburn (2019) Director: David Yarovesky Screenwriters: Brian Gunn, Mark Gunn Starring: Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn Brightburn arrives with a striking premise: what if the familiar Superman origin were twisted into a tale of pure horror? The film hooks you with this idea but ultimately leans far more toward possession and haunted-house conventions … Read more
Every year the Cannes International Film Festival spotlights a set of films that shape cinema conversations for the months that follow. Cannes 2019 was no different: Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite claimed the Palme d’Or and dominated headlines, but many other entries also emerged as important, memorable works. From intimate character studies to bold genre experiments, the … Read more
For nearly two decades, Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work have shaped how fans and casual viewers imagine Middle-earth. The recent biopic Tolkien and Amazon’s sprawling series have only renewed interest in that world, but which of the six films in the two trilogies truly stands out — and which falls short? In … Read more
Booksmart (2019) Director: Olivia Wilde Screenwriters: Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein, Jessica Williams, Jason Sudeikis, Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte, Victoria Ruesga, Mason Gooding, Skyler Gisondo, Diana Silvers, Molly Gordon, Billie Lourd, Eduardo Franco, Nico Hiraga, Austin Crute, Noah Galvin Olivia Wilde’s debut feature, Booksmart, is a vibrant, witty coming-of-age … Read more