'Spider-Man: Far From Home' (2019) Movie Review

Just a heads up: talking about Spider-Man: Far from Home necessitates discussion of key events from Avengers: Infinity War. So, be warned if you’re one of the five people on Earth who hasn’t watched that particular motion picture yet.

If Avengers: Endgame felt like an end, like the closing of a door, Spider-Man: Far from Home plays almost like an epilogue at the end of a novel. It finds characters dealing with the fallout and contending with previous events. Time has passed, but even from the opening scene, the specter of loss looms large over the entire film.

James Franco's Long-Lost 'Zeroville' Adaptation Finally Gets A Release

Fun fact, the very first cease and desist order I ever received was for sharing a trailer to James Franco’s Zeroville a few years ago. The film premiered in 2015 at the Toronto International Film Festival but has been lost in distribution hell ever since thanks to financial troubles. But it’s finally going to see the light of day later this year. Unless something else goes wrong. Which, given the film’s track record, it probably will.

This 'Hellboy' Trailer Gives Evil Hell

People adore Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy movies. I like them well enough, but I don’t get the crazy love. Similarly, I like the comics fine, but don’t obsess. Basically, my point is that I’ve never been the one clamoring for more from the big red guy. I’ll watch and probably enjoy, certainly, but news of the new Hellboy doesn’t exactly set me on fire. What does excite me about this new project, however, is that it’s a new Neil Marshall movie, and the idea of the Dog Soldiers and The Descent director back on the big screen and working with monsters is an idea I can get behind. All that said, here’s a new Hellboy trailer, as well as a red band version and a bunch of posters.

'Venom' (2018) Movie Review

Venom is a bad movie and I can’t in good conscience recommend it to anyone. It’s not good, y’all. Unless you’re a stoned 15-year-old boy. In that case, have at it, you’re going to love this shit. Honestly, that goes for pretty much everything Todd McFarlane has ever done. (I know, I know, there’s the debate about who actually created Venom, but McFarlane influenced what the character ultimately became more than anyone else, and this the film largely draws from his work, so…)

'You Were Never Really Here' (2018) Movie Review

Jonathan Ames’ novella, You Were Never ReallyHere is a gritty, stripped down portrait of a man wounded in nearly every way imaginable. At a hair over 90 pages, it’s spare and efficient. It evokes feel and tone and mood and emotion, hinting at a brutal history for its protagonist, simply named Joe, rather than offering overt explanation and detailed backstory. It’s sparse, but leaves a distinct lingering impression. And in the hands of director Lynne Ramsey (We Need to Talk about Kevin), it makes for a similarly tight, impactful film. Bleak and grim, it’s also a human, tender story about baptism, rebirth, and being repurposed.

HBO's 'Fahrenheit 451' Trailer Wants To Burn

Lots of people go through a dystopian fiction streak. Mine was in junior high/early high school. (And, to be honest, continues to this day.) We’ve got classics like 1984, Brave New World, and The Handmaid’s Tale. Whole new generations are getting in on the act with things like The Hunger Games and Divergent books, among many others. One of the greatest of this ilk, and one of my favorites, is Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Francois Truffaut brought it to the screen in 1966, but now HBO has an impending adaptation with a fresh new trailer.

'Fifty Shades Freed' (2018) Movie Review

Cards on the table: I haven't seen any of the Fifty Shades of… movies. But that didn’t stop me from watching the final installment of the trilogy, Fifty Shades Freed, which I saw primarily because that’s funny to me. (And I have it on good authority the previous films, especially part two, are hilarious.) It wasn’t. What I bore witness to was the least interesting movie I’ve ever seen.

Ava DuVernay's 'A Wrinkle In Time' Trailer Is A Thing Of Candy-Colored Beauty

Cinematic adaptations of beloved literary works are a dicey proposition at best. No matter how good a job filmmakers do, there will forever be those who decry it as an abomination. I’m normally whatever about these—a good movie is a good movie, even if it’s based on a book I love and even if it’s nothing like said book. I’m not hugely invested in Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time either way. I read it once as a youngster, I remember one of my sister’s elementary school classes turning it into a play, but that’s about it. That said, the trailer for Ava Duverney’s adaptation looks bonkers and epic and all kinds of rad. Take a look for yourself.

'Red Sparrow' Trailer: Jennifer Lawrence Gets In On The Spy Game

Everyone loves those Red Sparrow books—I haven’t read them, but they’re well liked to say the least. Jason Matthews novels have taken a place in popular culture that titles like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train have held in recent years. And with such popularity and widespread cultural cache comes the inevitable big screen translation. Though it doesn’t come out until next year, the first teaser for Francis Lawrence’s Jennifer Lawrence (no relation) starring Red Sparrow is here. Take a look.

'American Assassin' (2017) Movie Review

Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp novels are the kind of books your dad picks up at the airport ahead of a long flight. Potboiling espionage thrillers, they read like Tom Clancy light. (They feel more like they’re written by someone who reads a lot of spy novels rather than someone who actually knows anything about that world.) Similarly, Michael Cuesta’s big screen adaptation of Flynn’s 2010 American Assassin—there are currently more than a dozen books in the series—feels like diet Jason Bourne. This potential franchise starter has Bourne envy, big time.

'It' (2017) Movie Review

After years of best laid plans, multiple filmmakers, and an endless stream of herky jerk starts and stops, a big-screen adaptation of Stephen King’s horror novel, It, finally arrives in theaters. Maybe the best-loved book by one of the world’s best-loved authors, fans have been on edge about this—King adaptations haven’t always been…good. But It stands at or at least near the top of heap in terms of quality. Eerie, atmospheric, and true to the book in the best ways, despite large-scale changers, It should satisfy both extant fans and horror enthusiasts alike.

Stephen King's 'It' Trailer Sends In The Clown

Cards on the table, I’ve never read Stephen King’s It. I know, I know, it’s a classic, feel free to chastise me. I’m adequately ashamed, to the point where I just ordered a used copy online. Happy now? That said, damn this first trailer for Andres Muschietti’s (Mama) adaptation is creepy AF.

New 'The Handmaid's Tale' Trailer Is A Damn Scorcher

I cancelled my Hulu subscription recently. There’s great stuff available, but between other services and an increasing lack of free time, I simply didn’t use it enough to justify another expense. But I think I jumped the gun, based largely on The Handmaid’s Tale. Their adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s all-too-plausible dystopian nightmare already had my attention, but holy hell, this new trailer is all of the fire emojis.

Netflix Passes A Creepy First Trailer For Adam Wingard's 'Death Note'

Cards on the table, I know nothing about Death Note. It’s apparently a super popular manga, which isn’t really my scene and explains why I know nothing about it. I do, however, know a thing or two about Adam Wingard, and those things are more than enough to get me excited for anything he’s involved with. (Even though Blair Witch was a total waste of time, The Guest and You’re Next suffice to bolster my enthusiasm.) Wingard’s Death Note adaptation hits Netflix later this year, and the streaming giant just dropped a first trailer.

Oh Happy Day: Denis Villeneuve Will Officially Direct 'Dune'

If they have to adapt Dune again—and let’s be frank, we all knew the ubiquitous ‘they’ were going to try—this is the best possible scenario. The rumor made the rounds back in December, but now it’s official: Sicario and Arrival director Denis Villeneuve will helm Dune.

'The Handmaid's Tale' Trailer Intends To Survive

Hulu’s upcoming adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s speculative fiction classic, The Handmaid’s Tale, couldn’t be timed any better. Unless maybe it debuted late next week. We’ve seen a few stills, but today brings our first look at actual footage. Check out the first trailer below.

'Fences' (2016) Movie Review

Already a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play, Denzel Washington's film adaptation of August Wilson's Fences is going to add some accompanying award hardware to the roster this year, most notably in the acting categories. This, even as it struggles, often unsuccessfully, to distinguish itself from its stage roots.

'Inferno' (2016) Movie Review

Watching Ron Howard’s new thriller, Inferno, I couldn’t help but mentally compare Tom Hanks’ adventurous Harvard symbology professor and puzzle enthusiast, Robert Langdon, to Matthew McConaughey’s Wooderson from Dazed and Confused. He keeps getting older, but his youngish, brown-haired female sidekicks stay (roughly) the same age.

'The Girl On The Train' (2016) Movie Review

The easy comparison for Tate Taylor’s mystery thriller The Girl on the Train is Gone Girl. They’re both based on massively popular, best-selling novels, books that became bona fide cultural sensations, and the marketing team has done everything in its power to evoke David Fincher’s artfully trashy noir. More accurate comparisons, however, are the generic thrillers that populate the Lifetime Movie Network. (Also, I can’t be the only one annoyed that every mystery with an adult female protagonist has to be The Girl did This, The Girl with That, This Girl, can I?)

Watch The Unsettling First Trailer For Indonesian Horror 'Danur'

Though it’s woefully underappreciated Stateside, Indonesia has carved out a solid spot when it comes to international horror. (There is a long history with Indonesia and horror, one of my favorites is still 1981’s Mystics in Bali.) Writer/director Awi Suryadi won some new devotees in 2015 with the eerie-ass clown horror Badoet, and he’s back for another tear around the genre with Danur. Check out the creepy first trailer below.