Weapons (2025) | REVIEW

One of the vanishing kids running down the street in Zach Cregger’s Weapons — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Zach Cregger — Screenplay by Zach Cregger.

Whenever an up-and-coming new filmmaker, whose previous film had the makings of a bona fide genre classic, is about to turn in his latest film, you pay attention. You especially pay attention when the filmmaker’s script for his new picture was so highly regarded in the American film industry that it not only launched a bidding war but also, reportedly, got a modern horror master to fire his manager over their failed attempt at securing the distribution rights to it. Such is the case with Barbarian writer-director Zach Cregger and his latest film, Weapons, a multi-perspective horror-thriller with drama and comedy elements that had a memorable and fantastic marketing campaign built around it, and which also, thankfully, turns out to be exactly the kind of must-see thriller epic that I’ve been craving.

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Oppenheimer (2023) | REVIEW

Cillian Murphy is outstanding as the titular theoretical physicist in Christopher Nolan’s OPPENHEIMER — PHOTO: Universal Pictures.

Directed by Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk; Tenet) — Screenplay by Christopher Nolan.

In 1965, famed physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer appeared on a television broadcast, and, on said broadcast, he gave an account of how people reacted and what went through his head during the so-called ‘Trinity Test’ in 1945, when Oppenheimer and a group of physicists had successfully created and detonated the first nuclear weapon. Oppenheimer claimed that a specific line from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita popped into his head: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” It is a chilling quote that has echoed through generations and had a life of its own. For the twelfth feature film in his oeuvre, the immensely popular auteur filmmaker Christopher Nolan opted to tell J. Robert Oppenheimer’s story. It’s a film about a man full of paradoxes, such as how he became a political figure with strong left-wing disarmament views but was also the man who is known for having willfully created a weapon that once dwarfed all others and forever changed warfare and foreign policy. But it is also a film that gets to the heart of the rot of the American soul in the 20th Century. It is an intimate account of the complicated headspace of a historically significant genius, but it is also a haunting and damning cautionary tale about learning the wrong lessons, naivete, guilt, covetousness, and ripple effects. It is an astoundingly brilliant achievement and much more than your average biopic.

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Casting Ideas | James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy

James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 has been released, Gunn has finished his trilogy, and his time at Marvel is seemingly in the rearview mirror whether we like it or not. Warner Bros. and DC made a good decision to allow him to guide the direction of a shared universe of films based on DC Comics, which was something I advocated for in my review of his excellent The Suicide Squad film. Although his first DC film as a director, Superman Legacy, is still a couple of years away, now is as good a time as any to have a look at what actors would be good fits for the most iconic characters in Clark Kent’s corner of the DC Universe. So, without further ado, let’s have a look at some casting ideas for the upcoming Superman: Legacy film.

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Who Should Play Batman in Matt Reeves’ Batman-Film? – Special Features #47

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Warner Bros. Pictures

Oh, Affleck. It seems like just yesterday that I was flip-flopping on the night of the announcement whether or not I liked that he was cast as DC’s Caped Crusader. He ended up doing a pretty good job in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but he was one of the clearly noticeable problems with Justice League. Recently, it was announced that Affleck will not be playing Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves’ film about the Dark Knight. So, today, I want to show my readers who I want to see play Batman in Reeves’ film. Continue reading “Who Should Play Batman in Matt Reeves’ Batman-Film? – Special Features #47”

A Star Wars Story: What Comes Next? – Special Features #23

Solo: A Star Wars Story is in theaters everywhere starting this week. I have written my review of it, which you can find here, and now we should probably start too look at what future films Disney and Lucasfilm should come up with. This week’s Special Features article looks at five different Star Wars Stories that Lucasfilm should consider doing in the next few years.
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REVIEW: Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Theatrical Release Character Poster – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The following is a review of Solo: A Star Wars Story — Directed by Ron Howard.

Okay, let us get one thing out of the way early on. We all expected this film to fall apart. Most of us had this sinking feeling that told us we were getting a film that had fallen apart during production. Just like with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, behind the scenes news made us worry about the film, but it was even worse this time with Solo. Continue reading “REVIEW: Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)”

What’s Next For Indiana Jones? – Special Features #3

Indiana Jones. I always knew someday he’d return to the big screen. I never doubted that. Something made it inevitable. In March 2016, The Walt Disney Company announced that Steven Spielberg was going to direct an untitled fifth Indiana Jones film starring Harrison Ford.

The new film is going to be released in the summer of 2020, and it will therefore be released twelve years after Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystall Skull opened in theaters. Today, I want to talk about the future of yet another beloved franchise that Harrison Ford is returning to. Continue reading “What’s Next For Indiana Jones? – Special Features #3”

The Next Lando – Dagobah Day #19

Dagobah Day - 2016

A couple of days ago, The Wrap reported that Lando Calrissian will be appearing in the Han Solo anthology film! Now, we haven’t gotten that confirmed yet, and we don’t know how much he’ll be in the film, if he is indeed in it. But Birth.Movies.Death have reported that Community‘s Donald Glover is the first choice for the part, which obviously makes me happy. But let’s today talk about who could, or should, play Lando if Glover doesn’t take the role. Continue reading “The Next Lando – Dagobah Day #19”

2 Spin-Off Stories We Need – Dagobah Day #11

Dagobah Day - 2016

Not long ago we got the news that the casting process for young Han Solo was almost done. Rogue One‘s first trailer should be appearing sometime in the next month or so. So, I started to wonder about other possible Star Wars-anthology films that I wanted made. That lead me to today’s post, wherein I pitch two Star Wars stories for Disney to adapt.  Continue reading “2 Spin-Off Stories We Need – Dagobah Day #11”