More from Richard Newby
What if … Robert Downey Jr. Didn’t Show His Face as Doctor Doom?
[This story contains spoilers from Deadpool & Wolverine.] Marvel fans are still trying to wrap their heads around last Saturday’s Marvel Panel at San Diego Comic-Con, where it was revealed that Robert Downey Jr. will be taking up the mask of Victor von Doom. The reactions have vacillated between enthusiasm, disappointment and confusion over seeing […]
- By
Ryan Reynolds’ Best Movies, Ranked
Ryan Reynolds has remained one of Hollywood’s most popular actors for nearly 20 years. He’s developed a likable public persona, become a master marketer and entrepreneur, made close friends with the kind of Hollywood talent many people would sell a necessary organ for — and he’s married to Blake Lively. Yet, that popularity often comes […]
- By
Robert Downey Jr. Electrified Comic-Con, but Will He Energize the Marvel Universe?
Doom is coming for the MCU. Kevin Feige dropped the news that the Russo Bros. are returning to the Marvel fold to direct Avengers 5 and 6 at the end of a relatively calm Marvel Studios panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday. This announcement wasn’t shocking given the previous week’s news that the duo […]
- By
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Is About Much More Than Those Cameos
[This story contains spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine.] Unsurprisingly, much of the discussion surrounding Deadpool & Wolverine, both positive and negative, has focused on the so-called cameos in the film. Is it simply fan service? Do we care about seeing those characters again? Are they the purpose of the movie? Does it say anything about […]
- By
All the X-Men Franchise Movies, Ranked
For 20 years, 20th Century Fox’s X-Men films and associated spinoffs built up a world that could stand separately from the MCU and DCEU. While the results were not always what audiences, filmmakers or even the actors desired, there was a certain underdog quality to the X-franchise. Just when it seemed like Wolverine had popped […]
- By
The Greatest Disaster Movies of All Time
Disaster is approaching, and we’re all on the edge of our seats to see what happens next. We’re excited, afraid and not devoid of a little morbid curiosity. But this is the movies, of course, where such feelings are validated with the knowledge that safety resides outside the theater doors, or outside of our living […]
- By
The Best Movie Sequels of the Past 20 Years
Since the 1980s, sequels have become a Hollywood infrastructure — and public opinion on their pop-cultural and artistic value has shifted. No longer were sequels just quasi-remakes with few returning faces and significantly cheaper budgets, but events that studios could promote as highlights of their yearly slates. That’s not to say sequels gained favor overnight […]
- By
The Best Slasher Movies of the Decade
Men in masks. Final girls. A steadily increasing body count. A memorable weapon (a knife, a chainsaw, a hook, a… salt shaker). And then, of course, there’s the blood. Lots and lots of blood. Mix them, bend them, subvert them however you wish — these are the core elements of the slasher movie, one of […]
- By
Why You Should Be Watching ‘The Watchers’
[This story contains spoilers for The Watchers.] As an artist, it’s no easy task to define oneself, to showcase a perspective and style that differentiates you from others. And it’s always that “other” that looms large, impacting your and everyone else’s perceptions of you. This is certainly the case for Mina (Dakota Fanning), a young, […]
- By
‘Mad Max’ Franchise Movies, Ranked
Welcome to George Miller’s Wasteland. It’s a post-apocalyptic world not too far removed from our own. A hellscape where resources have run dry, pushing humanity to barbarism, tribalism and a twisted sense of justice. The scarcity of supplies has made gasoline one of Earth’s most precious resources, as the only thing left to do for […]
- By
All ‘Planet of the Apes’ Movies, Ranked
In 1963, French author Pierre Boulle, best known for his novel The Bridge over the River Kwai (1952), released a science fiction novel that would go on to launch one of Hollywood’s most enduring franchises. That novel, Planet of the Apes, became a source of endless fascination, as it imagined a world in which apes […]
- By
Why ‘Civil War’ Is Making Audiences So Uncomfortable
[This story contains spoilers for Civil War.] “The footage you’re about to see may be disturbing.” That content warning, broadcast on the news too often in modern history, was stuck on a loop in the back of my mind as I watched Alex Garland’s latest film, Civil War. As I sat through the credits, I […]
- By