By the time Mamma Mia! debuted in movie theaters in 2008, the stage show on which it’s based was already an international pop-culture phenomenon, with resident Read More

Given how many franchises Dwayne Johnson has been recruited to enhance and/or revive (G.I. Joe, Fast and Furious, Jumanji, Rampage, etc.), it’s probably only fair that Read More

In terms of comic-based superhero franchises, all the belabored exposition is usually handled in the first installment, allowing the sequel to hit the ground running. Ant-Man Read More

The concept of the Purge makes no logical sense. Consequently, the more that the Purge movies try to delve into the inner workings of the future Read More

In 2015’s Sicario, the characters played by Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro were menacing enigmas, government agents of nebulous provenance who ignored protocol, morality and Read More

I don’t know the degree to which Uncle Drewwill have universal appeal to all audiences, so therefore I don’t know the degree to which everyone will Read More

For a movie series based on a novel full of detailed scientific explanations, the Jurassic franchise has become almost mind-bogglingly dumb. The idea of cloned dinosaurs Read More

Love for superheroes—and this super family in particular—zings throughout Incredibles 2, an invigorating all-ages adventure that slips in sly commentary about what truly makes a hero. Read More

Ocean’s 8 breezes along the way Debbie Ocean cruises through the luxe Bergdorf Goodman after five years in prison—light on its feet with a calculating mind. Read More

In 1983, Tami Oldham survived 41 days lost at sea in a damaged sailboat, relying on her wits, her sailing knowledge, a few salvaged pieces of Read More

Solo: A Star Wars Story swoops into theaters like the rakish smuggler himself—underestimated and with a reputation for trouble. Happily, this backstory for the space flyboy Read More

Deadpool 2 is like a raunchier MAD Magazine version of a superhero movie. Limbs and heads fly as thick as the dick jokes, and characters emerge Read More

Charlize Theron trudges into the first moments of Tully with a pregnant belly bursting between her top and pajama bottoms. Her character, Marlo, approaches her young Read More

The circumstances under which Mary Shelley conceived of and began writing Frankenstein have become almost as well-known as the novel itself, and have been dramatized onscreen Read More

Book Club opens with a series of painfully fake-looking photos featuring the younger versions of its main characters, supposedly four college friends who started the group Read More

When Jen (Matilda Lutz) first shows up onscreen in Revenge, she’s literally sucking on a lollipop, like a caricature of a ditzy blonde sex doll. She’s Read More

Andrew Niccol is one writer-director comfortable in the kind of alternate universes that author Philip K. Dick once concocted. The screenwriter of The Truman Show and Read More

A little over halfway through the screening of 1928 silent comedy Show People at this year’s TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, the fire alarm in Read More

Almost 10 years ago, spurred by their hatred of how their superhero characters were being treated by Hollywood, Marvel made the brave decision to produce their Read More

When Amy Schumer made her debut as a big-screen lead with 2015’s Trainwreck, she brought a strong personal perspective to the movie, as both the writer Read More