Reappraisal

We live in a golden age of Star Wars prequel renaissance. The biggest stories right now all go back to the age of the prequel trilogy, its stars—some of them at least— are returning left and right. Arguably the most important character in the galaxy right now, Ahsoka Tano, was born from Clone Wars’ own diligent relitigation of the prequels’ perceived downfalls. And few people are as happy about that as Hayden Christensen.“It’s been a remarkable experience. And just a very heartwarming one. The journey that I’ve been on…

Researcher Asier Erostarbe, in his laboratory at the University of the Basque Country. Author. Nuria González. Credit: UPV/EHU A study by the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) makes a new technological appraisal of a northern gannet bone that displays complex peri-cylindrical decoration A study by the UPV/EHU offers a new…

Image via Buena Vista Pictures M. Night Shyamalan is no doubt one of Hollywood’s resident rubber bands, relentlessly snapping back and forth between some high-profile home runs to borderline unwatchable slogs and everything in between and beyond. Indeed, if any filmmaker so perfectly encapsulated a dice roll, it’s Shyamalan. Ideally, most moviegoers will know Shyamalan for the psychological thriller The Sixth Sense, the masterpiece that first bestowed him with the “twist ending guy” label — a reputation that…

Throwing an excessive amount of blood, guts, and bodies into a horror movie can often enhance the story, but it can just as easily be nothing more than a gimmick engineered specifically for shock value and nothing else. Depending on who you ask, 2008’s The Ruins can quite easily be placed in either camp. Author Scott Smith penned the screenplay for the feature-length adaptation of his own novel, but the big screen version of the story didn’t quite win the same levels of acclaim as the book. Not only did The Ruins leave…

Much like the terrifying depths of the ocean itself, top-tier horror movies set at sea are few and far between, even if there have been some hidden gems and underrated greats to have set sail over the years. 2009’s Triangle may or may not rank among the top tier of aquatic terrors, but it’s largely dependent on how you feel about the game-changing twists. On Rotten Tomatoes, Creep and Severance writer/director Christopher Smith’s third feature-length exercise in terror holds a Certified Fresh score of 80 percent, with…

via Warner Bros. When you name the movies that turned Robert Downey Jr. from a has-been into an A-list superstar, the first two that come to mind are no doubt Iron Man or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. While both are true to a certain extent, the chain of events that kick-started the actor’s ascension to the top of the Hollywood tree technically began with 2003’s Gothika. RDJ was such a liability at the time that 40 percent of his salary for starring in the film was withheld until after production had ended, just in case…

Image: Dimension Films With the release of Halloween Ends comes the sudden reappraisal of one of the franchise’s most forgotten, and arguably worst, movies. Released to much scorn and middling reviews in 1998 was Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later, which bizarrely acted as both a reboot and retcon of some of the most crucial elements of the Halloween story. In case it wasn’t abundantly clear from its subtitle, it is set 20 years after the original Halloween. However, some 24 years on from H20, audiences are…

Sony pictures Spider-Man 3 is once again being discussed as perhaps an underrated gem of a comic book movie — or a film deserving of its poor reputation, depending on who you talk to — on this, any random day of the week. For better or for worse, Spider-Man 3 was trending on Twitter Thursday as fans of the Sam Raimi-directed threequel gave their reappraisal of the movie that birthed a thousand memes. “Spider-Man 3 is nowhere near the worst Spider-Man movie,” one commentator wrote. “But I don’t think CBM…

via Marvel Studios Up until the release of Eternals, Thor: The Dark World reigned supreme as the worst-reviewed installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whether or not you agree with that sentiment, it can’t be denied that the Odinson’s second solo outing remains one of the franchise’s most troubled productions. Patty Jenkins was initially set to direct, but the future Wonder Woman architect dropped out much to the dismay of Natalie Portman, before admitting she wasn’t sold on the script and didn’t want to…

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has had mixed reviews from fans since its release back in May. But now that the film has landed on Disney Plus, fans are giving it another go and finding that, upon a second review, the film has a lot to offer. What Marvel struggles with is trying to please two opposing views as to what an MCU film should be, with some wanting a tried and tested formula again and again and others looking for something to shake things up. In the case of Doctor Strange, reviews fluctuated…