Genius pop culture commentary and opinions from film critic Tyler Wilson.
The country’s most bitter rivalry escalated during the production of a little film called “The Fate of the Furious,” the 18th entry (probably) in the muscle-car-manly-muscles franchise. It’s in theaters today, and stars Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have been noticeably separated on the film’s massive publicity tour. The beef: Johnson got tired […]
Cage Match: Diesel versus The Rock Read More »
Tom Cruise’s sci-fi adventure, “Oblivion,” arrives on home video this week, and its story similarities to Pixar’s “WALL-E” has triggered another installment of America’s third favorite Coeur d’Alene Press recurring entertainment feature – Cage Match! The protagonists of both “Oblivion” and “WALL-E” are tasked with cleaning up the mess left by apocalyptic calamities. In “WALL-E,”
Cage Match! Cleaning up Earth Edition Read More »
It’s not a great time to be an aging action star. The relative success of “The Expendables” and its sequel proved there was a legitimate appetite for old-timer butt kickers at the box office. Separate the superteam, however, and the results have been disastrous. In January, Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in his first leading role in
Old man action star flameouts Read More »
The big lesson of this year’s awards season: Don’t snub Ben Affleck. After Affleck failed to earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Director, many Oscar prognosticators (yes, those are real people) assumed “Argo” had lost all chance for Best Picture glory. After all, no movie since “Driving Miss Daisy” has won a Best Picture
Affleck and Oscars – The Art of the Campaign Read More »
The year in cinema shouldn’t really be gauged by its highs and lows, as there will always be a few terrible movies and a few great ones. The state of Hollywood is best measured by everything in between – the movies that range between pretty good and utterly forgettable. Thankfully for 2012, the scale tips
Best Movies of 2012 (January Edition) Read More »
Vampires, fire skulls and Katherine Heigl are responsible for an assortment of Dumpster-worthy movies in 2012. But consider the silver lining – many of the people involved in these train wrecks found success in other, better movies this year. So don’t cry for Channing Tatum or Abraham Lincoln until we run down the best movies
Worst Movies of 2012 Read More »
This year’s trifecta of “The Avengers,” “Amazing Spider-Man” and “The Dark Knight Rises” is easily the most widespread saturation of superheroes in popular culture we’ve ever had. Going into the season, I, like many, wondered if comic book movies would need a break. The over-familiarity of “The Amazing Spider-Man,” especially in how it retells the
Why we need more Batman Read More »
It’s difficult to reflect on the experience of seeing “The Dark Knight Trilogy” Thursday night in the AMC Theaters at Spokane’s River Park Square without pausing to acknowledge the tragic shooting that happened at a screening in Colorado. As an unsettling footnote, a plastic burning odor resulted in the complete evacuation of River Park Square
‘Dark Knight Rises’ – Midnight, shootings and reaction Read More »
Marilyn Monroe. J. Edgar Hoover. Margaret Thatcher. Three iconic figures in three notable biopics released last year. Let’s see what happens when we throw them into a cinematic steel cage match to the death. Move over, Katniss Everdeen. It’s the Iron Lady wielding an iron battle-axe. The Contenders Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in “My
Cage Match! Historical figures edition Read More »
We can have our good values and we can have our dignity, but sometimes we just need a paycheck. This is most true in Hollywood, where even the most respected actors and filmmakers work on a project for the sole purpose of banking a few million bucks. Some actors, however, seem perfectly content taking money
Six good actors who need to pick better projects Read More »
