“In real life, the hardest aspect of the battle between good and evil is determining which is which.”   - George R. R. Martin Sequels are notoriously difficult to pull off. The first film is an establishment of what’s to come. It introduces characters, settings, plot points, and themes. It gives you a visual introduction that will hopefully inspire and carry throughout. Everything about the second chapter in a franchise hinges on the success and reception of the first. This i

“Is man merely a mistake of God’s? Or God merely a mistake of man?”   - Friedrich Nietzsche Going 3 for 3 on a trilogy is no easy feat. Peter Jackson did it with The Lord of the Rings . Matt Reeves took over for Rupert Wyatt and finished Caesar ’s story beautifully. Christopher Nolan created one of the best live-action Batman storylines ever and now, officially, we can add Rian Johnson with the tales of Benoit Blanc. There is a feeling the Knives Out films give me, one

"When you don't take a stand against corruption you tacitly support it." - Kamal Haasan Just to list a few of the insane amount of projects Taylor Sheridan is working on: six Yellowstone  spinoffs including 1883 , 1923 , and in development, 1944 , The Madison , Y: Marshals , and another tentatively titled Dutton Ranch . He also helped create   Landman , Tulsa King , Lioness , and the reason you’re here,   Mayor of Kingstown . I think the most amazing aspect of so many projec

"A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams." -John Barrymore I’m so sick of the term “Oscar bait” being thrown around in a negative connotation. I choose to interpret it as the difference between a film and a movie. I imagine movies as blockbusters. I see films as an acting tour de force. It’s the stories that explore humanity, often on a small, intimate scale. If the world is ending, it will be from the perspective of a single man or woman, confined within the

"All systems are corrupt. All governments and all laws exist to benefit those in power." - D.D. Webb Some filmmakers alone are worth the price of admission. Tarantino? I don’t even need to hear the title. Just save me a seat and I’ll be there. Scorsese, Fincher, you already know. Edgar Wright is the kind of filmmaker that could make a movie about a subject I have zero interest in but with him at the helm I’d be there opening day. He has a voice that speaks through his work.

"Corruption is paid by the poor." - Pope Francis Just to list a few of the insane amount of projects Taylor Sheridan is working on: six Yellowstone  spinoffs including 1883 , 1923 , and in development, 1944 , The Madison , Y: Marshals , and another tentatively titled Dutton Ranch . He also helped create   Landman , Tulsa King , Lioness , and the reason you’re here,   Mayor of Kingstown . I think the most amazing aspect of so many projects in various stages of production is t

"A man can't make a place for himself in the sun if he keeps taking refuge under the family tree." - Helen Keller Few franchises get the kind of leeway like the Alien and Predator franchises. Most potentially burgeoning franchises are lucky to get one shot, maybe two if the first is well-received. However in Hollywood, although it may be unfair to put profit before art, it is a business and the studio execs expect a return on their investments. Even if a movie gets stellar

“The corruption of the best things gives rise to the worst.”   - David Hume Just to list a few of the insane amount of projects Taylor Sheridan is working on: six Yellowstone  spinoffs including 1883 , 1923 , and in development, 1944 , The Madison , Y: Marshals , and another tentatively titled Dutton Ranch . He also helped create   Landman , Tulsa King , Lioness , and the reason you’re here,   Mayor of Kingstown . I think the most amazing aspect of so many projects in various

"Get away from her, you bitch!" - Ellen Ripley (Aliens, 1986) There are male dominated horror films and there are female. Like it or not, the man is expected to be the hero. Unfair? Yeah but it is what it is. But the Final Girl is a fantastic horror trope that subverts expectations creating an unexpected twist on what characters may initially be perceived as damsels in distress. Well these eleven damsels have had enough and will stand ten toes down against their most daunting

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”   - John Dalberg-Acton Just to list a few of the insane amount of projects Taylor Sheridan is working on: six Yellowstone spinoffs including 1883 , 1923 , and in development, 1944 , The Madison , Y: Marshals , and another tentatively titled Dutton Ranch . He also helped create Landman , Tulsa King , Lioness , and the reason you’re here, Mayor of Kingstown . I think the most amazing aspect of so many projects

“Beware; for I am fearless and therefore powerful.”   - Mary Shelley Some filmmakers are born for certain projects. David Fincher and Zodiac are peanut butter and jelly. Tim Burton and Beetlejuice is Coca-Cola on ice. Guillermo del Toro and Frankenstein is apple pie and ice cream. (This is making me hungry.) The very themes of Frankenstei n, despite being written in 1816 by Mary Shelley, are themes del Toro has explored many times before. Man & monster, life & death, immo

“People find it difficult to let go of their pain. They prefer familiar suffering because they fear the unknown.”   - Thich Nhat Hanh If there was ever a movie I never imagined a sequel for, it would be The Black Phone . The first ties everything up perfectly with anything left unsaid left not so much for interpretation but something more like hoping for the best. You hope their father either learned his lesson or Finney grew up enough to set him straight one day. You hope th

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