Sarah Silverman Builds Cultural Bridges in Hulu's "I Love You, America"

I was thinking after a month's absence I would be reviewing one of the many movies I've seen yet not reviewed, but while I'm on a Hulu free trial, I checked out Sarah Silverman's new show I Love You, America, which is definitely worth talking about.

Rated TV-MA for strong language and sexual content, including nudity

Alicia Vikander's "Tomb Raider" Jumps Into Action With New Trailer

Way early this morning (or yesterday evening if you're on the West Coast), a trailer for the latest movie adaptation of the Tomb Raider games premiered on IGN Live (fun fact: one of the actors leaked a minute-long bit on his Instagram before removing it almost an hour later). This new film stars Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl, Ex Machina) as the Lara Croft character in an origin story, taking her from her wealthy life in England and out of her element to find her missing father and seal a tomb to save the world.

Return of the Jedi: J.J. Abrams to Direct "Star Wars Episode IX"

A little less than a week ago, it was announced that Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams would return to close out the trilogy, creating an intensely mixed response among the Star Wars fanbase. Is it really a bad thing, though, that Abrams is back?

Nolan Creates a Tense WW2 Snapshot with "Dunkirk"

A handful of young British soldiers walk the eerily quiet and empty streets of Dunkirk, France. Though the war rages on, this seems to be a rare moment of peace. Flyers rain from somewhere in the sky, obviously from the enemy. A red "X" marks Dunkirk: arrows point at it, all saying "WE SURROUND YOU." A grave message, but they don't seem to be here. The soldiers continue their walk--suddenly, ear-shattering gunfire surrounds them, bouncing off walls and striking them. Only one manages to make it back to the Allied barracks.

So begins the visceral one-hundred minutes of Dunkirk.

Rated PG-13 for intense war experience and some language

"It" Floats with Terror, Character, and Adventure

In 1990, Tim Curry scarred children forever as Pennywise the Dancing Clown in ABC's 1990 adaptation of Stephen King's brick of a novel, It. Now, 27 years later, just like the eponymous character, It returns to theaters.

Rated R for violence/horror, bloody images, and for language

A Note on Logan Noir

I wanted to include this segment in my Logan piece, but because it was already longer than my usual review and because I could not fit this organically anywhere, I am making a separate space for it.

As Logan's home media release drew near, director James Mangold announced on Twitter that he and his team were working on a black-and-white cut of the film. There was no particular reason for it; it was just a treat in the same vein of the Mad Max: Fury Road-- Black and Chrome Edition release. Except for the fact Logan was never intended to be black and white (or a noir, for that matter). When I bought it on Blu-Ray, I made sure to get the copy that included Logan Noir, if only to say I saw it.

"Logan" Continues to Reinvent the Wheel

March's Logan was an important film for a number of reasons. For one, it signaled the end of the run of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. This was significant because ever since 2000's X-Men, Jackman had become the face of the new age of superhero cinema. Sure, Spider-Man and Nolan's Batman films were pivotal to the superhero ship staying afloat, but X-Men made sure there was a boat to be on after the last one sank with Schumacher's Batman movies and before the Marvel Cinematic Universe created a juggernaut. For long-time fans, they finally got to see a bloody, gritty, and raw version of Ol' Per-SNIKT-ity himself go at it. But I think most importantly, Logan showed the inspired direction the X-Men film franchise will continue to go down.

Rated R for strong brutal violence and language throughout, and for brief nudity