The sequel to 2014’s Paddington brings back the cast for another adventure this time swapping out Nicole Kidman for Hugh Grant as the film’s villain. The trope of the obviously innocent hero being convicted for a crime no one believes he committed is one of my least favorite, but Paddington 2 makes it work by tapping into the same earnestness and heartfelt nature of the original film.
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With a new Disney+ show exploring the origins of the latest version of Spider-Man, Spidey Sunday takes us back to my favorite animated version of Spider-Man‘s (Dan Gilvezan) origin story in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode “Along Came Spidey.” The episode, which premiered in Fall 1982, hits all the classic moments of the classic Spider-Man origin story while framing it in an extended flashback caused by current events. After Aunt May (June Foray) is injured during a fight between the Spidey Friends and the Shocker (John Stephenson), a guilty Peter considers giving up the mantle of Spider-Man and tells his friends how he got his powers and the important lesson he learned about power and responsibility.
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Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends – Along Came SpideyRead More »
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends – Along Came Spidey Read More »
While I don’t think the film completely succeeds in explaining all the story elements from Stephen King’s novel, Stanley Kubrick‘s version of The Shining is something to behold. A master visual storyteller, Kubrick brings the empty hotel to life in vivid hues as Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) takes a job as the caretaker for the Overlook Hotel during the winter months along with his wife (Shelley Duvall) and son (Danny Lloyd).
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Separate from the ongoing drama of Billy Batson and his family, SHAZAM! #20 offers a single-issue story from writer Sina Grace guest-starring Jon Kent who is accidentally de-aged back into a kid during the Captain’s fight with a djinn. I’m a big fan of single-issue stories, which at this point in time have become a lost art in comics. SHAZAM! #20 delivers a fun pairing allowing Jonathan to rediscover a bit of his youth spending time with other kids, and even visiting a certain Boy Wonder (which triggers Billy’s fandom).
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Stephen Frears‘ 1990 neo-noir crime thriller centered around three grifters in the City of Angels comes to the Criterion Collection on 4K and Blu-ray. One could make a strong case The Grifters, now 35 years-old, remains the director’s best film. Trust may be hard for the characters to find in the script, given the shadowy world of half-truths and lies, but the talent is evident in every frame of this stylish look at con artists getting in over their heads.
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