You could probably count the number of people who are actively watching “The Many Saints of Newark” without previously having seen “The Sopranos” on not that many hands. I am one of those people. Prequels are always a tricky thing, as they inevitably rely on the knowledge of what came before it. That’s fine for people who know the content that follows, but it can tend to be a challenge for those who don’t. In some cases, there’s a desire to ensure that these products stand on their own, offering insight for those who want it but still providing engagement…
Author: Steve Katz
It’s easy to have measured expectations for the newest Marvel movie. The Kevin Feige-led machine is second to none in its ability to make crowd-pleasing blockbusters that rake in cash like no other, but the side effect (especially once the studio was acquired by Disney) is a safe and sanitized formula that excels at spectacle and is largely devoid of art. Over the years, Feige and crew have plumbed Marvel’s vast back catalog to make various genre twists on the form, but at the end of the day, they remain beholden to the greater gods of money and power. “Black…
There is a lot riding on “Black Widow.” Alongside the still unreleased “No Time to Die,” “Black Widow” was one of the bellwethers of the pandemic’s ravaging of the theatrical experience. Originally set for release in May 2020, its date was pushed back three different times to signal the continued shutdown of the film industry during much of the last year and a half. Now, more than 14 months after it was supposed to come out, it’s finally reaching theaters and Disney+ in early July 2021. The delays created the unthinkable: an entire calendar year without a single Marvel Studios…
When “Starship Troopers” was released back in 1997, a pretty big swath of the world didn’t quite get what it was going for. Based on the celebrated but controversial Robert Heinlein novel, the film was derided for being jingoistic schlock. In many ways, though, director Paul Verhoeven had the last laugh, as the movie was eventually reevaluated for what it truly was — an incisive and cutting satire on war, the military-industrial complex and the bloodthirst of modern society. The classic rah-rah movies about the glory of war look absolutely ludicrous in retrospect; honestly, what good is honor when everyone…
1950s Italy has a certain nostalgic romance to it. The setting that Fellini made famous in “8½” and “La Dolce Vita,” with its laissez-faire attitude, cappuccinos by the Riviera and little to no work to bother you, is definitely the stuff of dreams to the overworked, overstressed modern adult. Perhaps it’s those rose-colored glasses that led to Pixar setting its newest film, “Luca,” during that time. The director of the film, Enrico Casarosa, may not have lived in the ‘50s, but his Italian heritage surely points to an interest in the period. “Luca” is his first feature as a director…
Just under nine minutes into “Cruella,” Disney’s newest reimagining of a classic villain, the little girl destined to grow up to fashion dogs into coats is chased through a high society party by a trio of particularly fearsome Dalmatians, leaving the poor girl traumatized by the experience. The dogs then casually decide to kill her mother by driving her to fall off a cliff in slow motion, just in case the point wasn’t clear enough already. This trend of Disney films designed to humanize some of their most egregiously evil villains in their animated canon is undeniably a response to…
Directors Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe made their names with the well-regarded animated show “Gravity Falls,” as well as Netflix’s “Disenchantment” with Matt Groening. Perhaps it’s their involvement with the latter that led to the streaming giant distributing “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” the duo’s first feature-length effort. In addition to Rianda and Rowe, the movie also has the backing of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the multi-hyphenate team behind such films as “The LEGO Movie,” “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” For “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” Lord and Miller are purely in producing…
One year ago, Disney was on the cusp of releasing its latest Pixar film “Onward,” which it managed to sneak into theaters for a few scant weeks just before the world shut down. Disney has traditionally claimed early March for a big film, including previous releases like “Beauty and the Beast,” “Zootopia,” “A Wrinkle in Time” and “Captain Marvel.” These films are often visual feasts designed for the big screen as an opportunity to usher the industry into its summer boom. Times have certainly changed, as the majority of people who watch Disney’s upcoming animated film “Raya and the Last…
When you see the promotional material for a movie like “Cherry,” it’s not too difficult to realize what’s going on. The first movie directed by the Russo brothers since they made the biggest film in the history of cinema (“Avengers: Endgame”) is sure to attract plenty of eyeballs, especially when it stars Tom Holland, one of the runaway stars of the MCU who made his Spider-Man debut in the Russos’ “Captain America: Civil War.” Additionally, the content — a grim and gritty tale of an Army vet whose PTSD leads him to rob banks to support his drug addiction —…
There was a time when Anthony Hopkins was considered among the most talented and impressive actors in the world. A five-time Academy Award nominee and one-time winner with multiple BAFTA wins to his name as well, few could match Hopkins’ output in the early ‘90s with a streak that included “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Howard’s End,” “The Remains of the Day” and “Nixon.” It would be untoward to say that his star has fallen, but few would consider his recent output to be up to the standards that he set earlier in his career. Prior to a return to…