Pacific Heat Review: Avoid Netflix's Archer Rip-Off at All Costs

There’s no way for anyone to prove outright thatSanto Cilauro,Tom Gleisner, andRob Sitch, the creative team behind the new animated comedyPacific Heat, have ever seen a single episode of FX’s groundbreakingArcher. Plenty of creative people come to the same idea for a story or a character independently, and there’s honestly nothing wrong with the same story being told from several different perspectives. In fact, that seems to be the principle mode that Hollywood has been working under for the last decade or so....

August 10, 2025 · 3 min · 540 words · Joshua Davis

Rats of NIMH: James Madigan Directs Live-action/Animated Film

Back in 1971, authorRobert C. O’Brienreleased “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH”, a Newbery Award-winning tale that would inspire two additional stories (penned by his daughterJane Leslie Conley) and a cult-classic animated film,The Secret of NIMH, directed byDon Bluthin 1982. Now, the rats are back thanks toRats of NIMH, a hybrid live-action/animated feature film adaptation of the beloved tale. Varietyreports that VFX wizJames Madiganwill be making his directorial debut withRats of NIMHfor MGM....

August 10, 2025 · 2 min · 314 words · Stephen Briggs

Ray Donovan: Showtime Offering First Three Episodes Before Movie Premiere

Showtime is getting ready to unleashRay Donovan: The Movieon the world and to celebrate the film’s premiere on January 14th, the network plans to give free access to non-users so they can watch the first three episodes of the series,RayDonovan, with no strings attached. From January 1st to January 31, the episodes will air on demand as well as on Sho.com, Showtime.com, Youtube, and several other platforms that partner with the Showtime network....

August 10, 2025 · 2 min · 364 words · Veronica Peterson

Shazam! Movie Synopsis Revealed as Filming Begins

It’s official! Filming is underway onShazam!The latest cinematic DC superhero movie hails fromAnnabelle: CreationandLights OutdirectorDavid F. Sandberg, who re-teams with the folks at New Line Cinema for the “magical super hero action adventure”.Zachary Levistars in the title role alongside Asher Angel as his young counterpart – a boy named Billy Batson who can transform into an adult superhero with the help of some old school magic. New Line has officially announced the start of production today, though it looks likefilming got underway last week, they’ve also released the first detailed plot synopsis....

August 10, 2025 · 2 min · 398 words · Natalie Lowery

Simon Pegg on Star Trek Beyond and Writing the Film

Last year when directorJustin Lin’sStar Trek Beyondwas filming in Vancouver, I got to visit the set with a few other reporters. While almost everyone we spoke to was careful not to reveal too much about the upcoming movie, the one person that actually gave us some solid information wasSimon Pegg. Of course it probably helped that he co-wrote the script withDoug Jung. During the interview Pegg revealed how he came to be one of the writers on the sequel, what they wanted to accomplish with the sequel and what they wanted to avoid, the difference betweenStar WarsandStar Trek, what it was like to collaborate with Justin Lin, moving away from the bromance of Kirk and Spock and focusing more on the crew and new relationships,Idris Elba’scharacter, the tone of the film and how they’re not makingGalaxy Quest, and a lot more....

August 10, 2025 · 17 min · 3539 words · Cheryl Simpson

Star Trek Strange New Worlds Showrunner Says it Will Mimic Original Series

Writer and producerAkiva Goldsmithopened up toThe Hollywood Reporterin an interview about the upcoming seasons of his twoStar Trekshows – and fans are going to be pretty excited about one particular aspect that he’s incorporating into his new seriesStrange New Worlds. “It’s unlike the other shows in that it’s really episodic. If you think back toThe Original Series, it was a tonally more liberal — I don’t mean in terms of politics, but it could sort of be more fluid,” Goldsmith toldTheHollywood Reporter....

August 10, 2025 · 2 min · 421 words · Mark Davis

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trivia: 57 Things We Learned from the Commentary

To sayStar Wars: The Last Jediis a movie that sparked a lot of conversation is a bit of an understatement. Reactions to writer/directorRian Johnson’sThe Force Awakenssequel were strong—there were those that unabashedly loved the intimate story Johnson chose to tell, and those that hated the film’s ambitious pushes away from the Original Trilogy and into a New Era forStar Wars. The good news for both factions is that theStar Wars: The Last JediBlu-ray containsa tonof bonus features that dive into every nook and cranny of this movie, answering plenty of questions along the way—for better or worse....

August 10, 2025 · 2 min · 365 words · Ryan Sampson

Stranger Things DP Tim Ives on the Snow Ball and Season 3

When the first season ofStranger Thingswas released on Netflix, it became an overnight sensation. Many wondered how, exactly, this show not based on existing material and without an A-list cast had struck such a chord, but in addition to the delightful storytelling capabilities of creators/showrunnersThe Duffer Brothersand the charismatic cast,Stranger Thingsalsolookedunlike any other show available. The Duffers approached the season as one long movie, and in doing so culled together references from a variety of influential 80s films to create an aesthetic that evokes the classic Amblin films that many grew up watching....

August 10, 2025 · 13 min · 2702 words · Harry Hatfield

Stranger Things Season 2 Posters Reveal New Characters

While everyone is still talking about theGame of Thronesfinale, the next TV phenomenon is right around the corner.Stranger ThingsSeason 2 debuts in two months, and Netflix has now unveiled a series of character posters that are delightfully throwback in nature. Not only do the posters have fold marks, just like the ones you used to hang on your bedroom wall, but many of them feature the characters making“Spielberg Face.”If you’re unfamiliar with this trope, it’s a recurring theme in the films ofSteven Spielberg—a character looks up in awe, mouth agape....

August 10, 2025 · 2 min · 235 words · Douglas Mckenzie

Tag Teaser Trailer Reveals Jeremy Renner's Big-Screen Game

Tagis one of those movies with a high-concept premise that could either prove to be a surprise hit or a catastrophic miscalculation. We’ll find out which category this film falls into when it arrives in theaters on June 15th, but the first teaser trailer gives us a hint of what’s to come. As a bonus, it also reveals whatJeremy Renner, currently known asThe Missing Avenger, was up to beforegetting injured on the set....

August 10, 2025 · 2 min · 327 words · Scott Morales

Telluride Film Festival Lineup 2019 Includes Ford v Ferrari

The Telluride Film Festival has announced its 2019 lineup, featuring a promising premiere slate includingFord v FerrariandJudy. With both films starring Oscar-winning actors (Ford v FerrarihasMatt DamonandChristian BalewhileJudystarsRenée Zellweger), the conversation around these two flicks stands to gain a lot of buzz by premiering at Telluride since the festival is widely regarded to be a bellwether for awards season contenders.Ford v Ferrariis based on the true story of two men attempting to build a Ford car fast enough to beat a Ferrari in the mid-’60s whileJudyis a more straightforward, biopic trackingJudy Garland’s final years as she attempts a comeback....

August 10, 2025 · 2 min · 354 words · Harry Dougherty

The 10 Darkest & Grittiest Crime Movies of All Time, Ranked by IMDb Score

By virtue of belonging to thecrime genre, there’s a good chance any crime movie is going to get a little dark at some point. Some will be darker than others of course, but these films will naturally deal with characters who act outside the law, with some criminal characters portrayed sympathetically and others depicted as villains. After all, multiple actions can be considered “crimes,” meaning crime movies could well strike all sorts of tones....

August 10, 2025 · 7 min · 1425 words · Brandon Flynn

The Best TV Episodes of 2015, June-December

Not unlike the making of lists for best films of any given year, the television and streaming releases that come in at the end of the year tend to wreak havoc on your picks. In the case of 2015, the second half of the year (starting in June) brought a long line of remarkable episodes of staggeringly provocative and insightful programs, fromMarvel’s Jessica Jonesand the second season ofThe KnicktoMaster of Noneand the sophomore season of Amazon’sTransparent....

August 10, 2025 · 11 min · 2244 words · Jeremiah Adams