Godzilla without Much Godzilla | Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023) Apple TV+ Series Premiere

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023)

The corporate zeal to turn every piece of remotely valuable I.P. into a shared cinematic universe will eventually have to hit a tipping point where the gambit simply no longer works anymore. I’m not sure that we’ve gotten there yet, but I think we’re close. The latest in the cycle comes with the premiere of… Read More Godzilla without Much Godzilla | Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023) Apple TV+ Series Premiere

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A Ballet of Bullets | The Killer (1989) Hong Kong Rescue Blu-ray

The Killer (1989)

Despite inexplicably failing at the box office during its original release in its native Hong Kong, director John Woo’s 1989 action thriller The Killer became a major hit throughout the rest of the world during international distribution, and even decades later is still regarded as one of the greatest action movies ever made. You’d think… Read More A Ballet of Bullets | The Killer (1989) Hong Kong Rescue Blu-ray

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Our Test Is Crisis | A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch’s Dune (2023) Book Review

A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch's Dune (2023)

Even among fans who love it, David Lynch’s adaptation of Dune must be acknowledged as a very messy production with a terrible reputation. One of the most expensive movies ever made at the time, the result was met with critical scorn and box office disaster upon its release in late 1984. Four decades later, author… Read More Our Test Is Crisis | A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch’s Dune (2023) Book Review

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Hysterical Blindness | All the Light We Cannot See (2023) Netflix Limited Series

All the Light We Cannot See (2023)

Based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller novel by author Anthony Doerr, the new four-episode limited series All the Light We Cannot See is a prestige production with all the high-gloss production values a hefty Netflix budget can buy. It’s also completely ridiculous, to a frankly laughable degree. I suppose that’s what you get when you… Read More Hysterical Blindness | All the Light We Cannot See (2023) Netflix Limited Series

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Who Can Spy on the Spies? | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) Blu-ray

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979)

Many of the bestselling spy novels by John le Carré have made popular fodder for film and television adaptations over the years, some more successfully than others. Often regarded among the best of them is the 1979 BBC miniseries version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Even four decades later, the show maintains a reputation as… Read More Who Can Spy on the Spies? | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) Blu-ray

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Family-Friendly Fun and Cutting Edge Animatronic Technology | Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023)

Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)

The Blumhouse production of Five Nights at Freddy’s turns the favorite horror-themed, point-and-click video game series of ‘tweens everywhere into a live-action fright flick. For that target audience, this may well be the movie event of the year. Everyone else will probably wonder what the fuss is about. Distributor Universal Pictures made an interesting decision… Read More Family-Friendly Fun and Cutting Edge Animatronic Technology | Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023)

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Know You Are Loved | Bodies (2023) Netflix Limited Series

Bodies (2023)

Based on a 2014 graphic novel published by DC Vertigo, Bodies has the type of intriguing high-concept premise that feels like it almost must have been written for the express purpose of being adapted into a Netflix limited series. At least, the Netflix limited series adaptation of it sure gives that impression. Some cursory research… Read More Know You Are Loved | Bodies (2023) Netflix Limited Series

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A Perfect Spy Novelist | The Pigeon Tunnel (2023) on Apple TV+

The Pigeon Tunnel (2023)

For his latest cinematic interrogation, Oscar-winning documentarian Errol Morris (The Fog of War) trains his cameras onto David Cornwell, better known to fans and the public at large by his pen name, John le Carré. Over a sixty-year career, the acclaimed author published dozens of hugely popular and influential novels, mostly in the espionage genre.… Read More A Perfect Spy Novelist | The Pigeon Tunnel (2023) on Apple TV+

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Cybertron Will Die | Transformers Issue #01 (2023) Skybound Comic Book

Transformers: Issue 1 (Oct. 2023)

Earlier this year, Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment launched a new sci-fi comic book called Void Rivals that, in a surprise twist not announced in advance, turned out to be the kick-off for a shared narrative continuity with Hasbro’s Transformers and G.I. Joe brands. The first few issues of that book featured cameo appearances by select… Read More Cybertron Will Die | Transformers Issue #01 (2023) Skybound Comic Book

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