In case you were doing other things last night and, you know, have a life, here’s the news: Ben Affleck will play Bruce Wayne/Batman in the recently-announced sequel to Man of Steel, informally known as Batman vs. Superman. Reaction to the news has been…well, exactly as bad you might expect. Even though Affleck has officially…
On the surface, The Butler might seem like an awfully conservative film. It certainly takes the form of one of those safe historical epics that Hollywood loves to put out around Oscar time – its rush through eighty years of history is a little reminiscent of the reactionary Forrest Gump. But as a movie that…
I’ve got a new post up at Film School Rejects on Prince Avalanche, the refreshing new film by David Gordon Green. It’s a return to from for the talented but frustrating director. Here’s an excerpt: In its style and its themes, Avalanche melds the two disparate eras of his career, but what’s remarkable is how aware Green…
I was back in The Atlantic today writing about the use of animals in film and television. Here’s an excerpt: Lately, though, the issue has been making headlines with surprising frequency. Last year, HBO’s Luck was canceled amid protests over the deaths of two horses on set. Similarly, Peter Jackson was criticized for the deaths of up to…
The prevailing storyline about the summer movies of 2013 has revolved around the seemingly endless series of high-profile flops. After Earth, White House Down, and The Lone Ranger were all certified failures, while Pacific Rim, Oblivion, and Pain and Gain also significantly underperformed. But the other consistent and somewhat surprising feature of this summer’s multiplex…
Let’s start with a list. Here are the movies currently playing at my local independent movie theater: Blue Jasmine, Before Midnight, The Attack, Fruitvale Station, and The Way, Way Back. Earlier this summer, it screened The Bling Ring, Frances Ha, and Much Ado About Nothing. Tastes may vary, but I saw most of those, and…
First of all, I’m flattered by the attention. Yesterday, Erik Kain of Forbes.com published a rebuke of my article in The Atlantic on a recent trend in Hollywood blockbusters of depicting war profiteers as villains. He makes a couple good points but gets some crucial details wrong. Here is an excerpt: Gittell argues that Iron Man…
This one’s for serious Sorkin fans only. Yesterday, blogger JustMeMike and I had a lengthy disucssion about last Sunday’s episode of “The Newsroom” on his site. NOAH: But enough about these relationships. I’m starting to feel like a gossipy high school cheerleader (which is one of the reasons I have problems with the show). I came…
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