X-Men Dark Phoenix

X-Men Dark Phoenix

Posted June 17, 2019

I went into Dark Phoenix with fairly low expectations. Other than James McAvoy I wasn’t in love with the cast. And it’s a story Fox has tried to do before. With one of my favorite characters. And, despite box office success, few of the X-Men movies have really been spectacular (Days of Future Past is pretty much the exception). Also while I love Jean Grey, I’m only familiar with the Dark Phoenix saga through wikipedia (and honestly I read through the Endsong rather than Dark Phoenix years ago because it’s gorgeous. Which means Dark Phoenix was either going to be […]

How Chris Hemsworth Found His Way as a Movie Star

Posted May 28, 2019

Like everyone else, Chris Hemsworth recently bought tickets to see Avengers: Endgame. This was actually his second time watching it. The first time Hemsworth saw the film was in mid-April at the premiere in Los Angeles. When Hemsworth returned home to Australia a few days later, his three kids — 7-year-old daughter India Rose and 5-year-old twin sons Sasha and Tristan — persuaded him to join them for a showing. “My kids were dying to see it. I wasn’t going to take them. They were like, ‘Dad, we have to go!’ We found a small cinema so we wouldn’t get […]

Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel

Posted March 9, 2019

I’m a bit disappointed because I wanted to like Captain Marvel more, despite my reservations. The trailers weren’t great. Very little story and even less personality. But I still hoped the movie would deliver. I should have known better. It’s not a bad movie. It’s just…bland. It’s not exciting. It’s not fun or funny. The movie has as little personality as the trailers. It looks cool in parts – when she’s all on fire (but without the lame helmet) and the way her memories flicker through the scenes. It’s quippy (but not in a way that made me laugh). It’s […]

In Conversation: M. Night Shyamalan

Posted January 7, 2019

Over the course of a 20-year filmmaking career, from the breakout The Sixth Sense through critical duds like The Happening and After Earth, M. Night Shyamalan has made, in his words, “a bunch of movies that were really successful and then a bunch of movies that people didn’t like.” Recently, he’s back to making movies people like the hit slasher-film-with-a-twist Split, about a killer with multiple personalities — the twist being that the film is revealed in its final moments to be a sequel to Shyamalan’s moody proto–superhero thriller Unbreakable. At an 8 a.m. breakfast Shyamalan is cheerful and engaging, […]

THR Actor Roundtable

Posted December 4, 2018

VIGGO MORTENSEN Chaos is always there. We try to [impose] order: We dress, we brush our teeth, we stop at stop signs. But really our world is completely crazy all the time. MORTENSEN You can’t have beautiful moments or have something great happen unless you are willing to make big mistakes, either. You have to be willing to make an ass of yourself. MORTENSEN You know, even as a kid I didn’t like being told no. It stimulates me. When I was a little kid and I realized that animals die and therefore we do, I asked my mom, “Am […]

Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War

Posted April 28, 2018

When Marvel filmed Avengers: Infinity War, they had no way of knowing how successful Black Panther would be. They probably guessed it would be successful enough. Because all of the Marvel movies have been. But 3rd highest domestic gross and and 5th biggest opening weekend. Beyond the money, it was a cultural phenomena that made so many different people feel their voice heard in new and undeniable ways. It also inspired Disney to share a little bit of the wealth to support youth STEM programs. Which means they will unequivocally make a sequel. They did know, when filming Infinity War, […]

best tv of 2017

best tv of 2017

Posted April 15, 2018

2017 was all about Netflix and on demand. Binge watching series I started live to see how they ended up. Catching new shows for something fresh and dynamic. I have to say, though, the binge watches far outweigh anything new. Because there aren’t that many shows on now that I really love. And because something that is a bit of a hybrid – familiar but also new and different – will probably always be my favorite. I just can’t put Once Upon a Time on the list. I will give them credit for an incredibly innovative reboot. But the new […]

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Posted December 23, 2017

I sort of wish I’d rewatched The Force Awakens before going to see The Last Jedi. In part because it would have been fun. But also because I kept getting Rey’s childhood mixed up with Jyn’s from Rogue One. Every time they said she didn’t know who her parents were I thought, “Yes, she does they made her run away when she was little but she knew who they were.” About half way through the movie, I remembered that was Jyn and not Rey. In the end, though, I really liked what they did with her parents. Someone like Rose. […]

Secrets of the Marvel Universe

Posted December 1, 2017

After a decade of unprecedented success, Marvel Studios is at a pivotal moment: the looming farewell to some of its founding superheroes, and the rise of a new generation. On a sweltering October weekend, the largest-ever group of Marvel superheroes and friends gathered just outside of Atlanta for a top-secret assignment. Eighty-three of the famous faces who have brought Marvel’s comic-book characters to life over the past decade mixed and mingled—Mark Ruffalo bonded with Vin Diesel. Angela Bassett flew through hurricane-like conditions to report for duty alongside Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, Laurence Fishburne, […]

Hugh Jackman on ‘The Greatest Showman’ and Saying Goodbye to Wolverine

Posted December 1, 2017

On a blustery late-summer day, Jackman walks into Perry St, a posh SoHo eatery overlooking the Hudson. Even dressed down in a gray T-shirt and cargo pants, the six-foot-three actor with the gleaming smile and jet-black hair is every inch the movie star. He cuts a figure so dazzling that even here, a gathering spot for 1 percenters, patrons will glance over at the corner table where Jackman parks himself, hoping to catch a glimpse of the actor in an unguarded moment. Jackman looks revived after four months spent traveling with his wife, Deborra-lee Furness, and their kids, Oscar and […]