HBO took an awfully big gamble when they green-lit “Westworld” for its first season in 2016. After all, who knew how the public was going to react to a slick and sophisticated reimagining of a small sci-fi film from the 70s. Luckily for them, the risk paid off with an opening season that, despite taking a little too long to get a move on, ended up weaving together some intriguing storylines into a compelling mystery that made the wait worthwhile. Before the first season even finished airing, the show had been approved for a second season, which was good news for viewers as the finale had left the show right at a precarious point. Heading into season two, the show now had boundless potential
The Film: Ever since the very first “Tomb Raider” video game made its debut way back in 1996, it seemed inevitable that someone would try to make a franchise of films based on it. A mere five years later, “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” was unleashed with Angelina Jolie in the title role. It was promptly slaughtered by critics, but was rather successful at the box office, meaning a sequel would be coming as soon as one could be thrown together. Two years later, we were given “Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life,” which was once again savaged by just about everyone who saw it, but this time, audiences didn’t flock to see it as before, meaning the franchise would have to be put on hold. 15 years later,
The Film: Ten years ago, a little horror film called “The Strangers” was released into theaters. It was nothing particularly ground-breaking, but it did provide a few good thrills with its terrifying home-invasion tale. Alas, it was critically maligned at the time, but did quite well at the box office, and has since gone on to become something of a cult classic to fans of the genre. It seemed inevitable that a sequel would one day be hitting the big screen, though I don’t think anyone expected it to take quite so long, especially when we tend to get sequels churned out within a couple of years. Was the long delay a sign of trouble in regards to cracking a proper follow-up, or is this one tha
After directing back-to-back hits with "Whiplash" and "La La Land," on top of winning the Best Director Oscar for the latter, all eyes were on Damien Chazelle as everyone waited to see what he could possibly deliver next. While many might have been surprised that he would choose to tackle a biopic about Neil Armstrong, I don't think anyone should have been all that surprised at all. After all, his first two films had been rather ambitious (especially with the latter being a love letter to classic musicals), so a film about the Apollo 11 mission and the man who first set foot on the moon seems to follow right in stride. Today, Universal had finally unveiled the first trailer for the film, giv
When it was first announced that yet another reboot of "Halloween" was being made, there was plenty of skepticism, especially when we found out that the film was being co-written by none other than Danny McBride, who had helped give us the dreadfully awful comedy "Your Highness." However, there was also a reason to be optimistic, for it was also being directed and co-written by David Gordon Green, who gave us the marvelous and underrated gem "Snow Angels." Still, the overarching question remained: What business did either of these two have going anywhere near a reboot of the greatest horror film ever made? Since then, we've seen the production receive John Carpenter's blessing, on top of hea
The Film: Normally when I go back several years to do reviews of the latest Disney animated classic Blu-ray release, it’s for films that I grew up with and watched multiple times, including such great selections as “The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast,” Aladdin,” and “101 Dalmatians.” However, when it comes to the latest release, “Peter Pan,” it marks the first time that I’m going back to cover a Disney classic that I’m not 100% sure I’ve ever seen before. Some of it was familiar, but much of it was not, so while normally this is a chance to go back and rewatch a classic I haven’t seen in a long time, this actually became a chance to go back and fill a gaping hole in my childhood viewing,