Britt Hayes is a writer, movie lover, and sensible sweater enthusiast living in Austin, Texas. She watches too much TV and never eats her vegetables.
Britt Hayes
A Brief History of People Comparing Their Movies to Christopher Nolan’s Batman Series
This week, an interview with Bryan Cranston made the rounds in which the actor compared the new Power Rangers movie to Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Baffling as that analogy may seem, it’s far from the first time that we’ve heard an actor, filmmaker or producer compare a forthcoming project to Nolan’s Batman films — something that’s become shorthand for “gritty reboot.” Here, we’ve collected a brief history of the many, many, MANY times that people have compared their films to Nolan’s Batman. As you can imagine, most — if not all — of these things were nothing like those Batman films.
New Movie Releases: July 2016
The summer movie season continues next month with new Ghostbusters, a big friendly giant, another Purge night and Star Trek Beyond, and that’s not even half of it. Those of you interested in something a little less blockbuster-y should definitely add Mike Birbiglia’s Don’t Think Twice to your must-see list, along with the James Wan-produced horror flick Lights Out. For details on all of these movies and more, read on for our complete guide to July’s new movie releases.
‘Independence Day’ Double Feature to Test Your Endurance on June 23
Why watch just a few famous landmarks get blown up when you can pay the same amount to see twice as many (maybe more?) of our beloved manmade monuments explode? 20th Century Fox is bringing not one, but both Independence Day films to theaters on June 23, giving you a chance to test your loyalty to Jeff Goldblum with an epic double feature.
‘Spider-Man 4’ Concept Art Reveals the Villains and Humor of Sam Raimi’s Abandoned Sequel
After delivering two great Spider-Man films back-to-back (and almost singlehandedly launching a new era of superhero franchises), Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 left fans and critics feeling a bit disappointed. With one too many villains, that famous Peter Parker dance sequence (which I actually like!) and reports of Sony’s meddling, Raimi’s third film in the series ultimately proved to be his last when he abandoned plans for Spider-Man 4 back in 2010 — leaving us wondering what his fourth film might have looked like. Thankfully, we don’t have to wonder (much) anymore.
Even Jeremy Irons Thinks ‘Batman vs. Superman’ Was ‘Overstuffed’
Jeremy Irons isn’t one of those actors that’s going to say what you want to hear…unless you didn’t particularly like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and what you want to hear is that he agrees with you. Zack Snyder’s ambitious superhero project failed to impress critics and inspired a wave of negative reviews — all of which Jeremy Irons believes the film rightfully deserved. And he was in it, so he should know.
New HBO NOW Releases: June 2016
Game of Thrones Season 6 comes to an end in June (so soon!), but luckily HBO NOW has plenty of viewing options to help keep you occupied during your annual mourning period. Next month brings the premiere of HBO’s new weekly series Any Given Wednesday with Bill Simmons, hosted by the renowned sports analyst, author and ESPN vet. Cinephiles, meanwhile, will be thrilled to see the addition of Ridley Scott’s The Martian and (maybe) David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars. But more importantly, the epic Problem Child trilogy is coming to HBO NOW in June, giving you a chance to engage in a fierce familial debate over the finer points of Junior’s schemes — surely a more contentious topic than the resurrection of Jon Snow.
‘The Conjuring 2’ Featurette Explores the Creepy True Story of the Enfield Haunting
Like its predecessor, The Conjuring 2 is based on an (allegedly) true story, with director James Wan moving the spooky action across the pond to London to explore the famous Enfield Poltergeist case. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return to reprise their roles as real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, the latter of whom appears in a new featurette alongside two survivors of the actual haunting.
‘Alien: Covenant’ Star Michael Fassbender Compares Set Design to ‘Blade Runner’
Ridley Scott’s Prometheus was a bit divisive, to say the least, so when the director announced plans for a new trilogy of Alien prequels, it left fans with some big questions. We’ve gotten answers to a few of them (no, Noomi Rapace isn’t returning; yes, we will see the origins of the Xenomorph), and though he’s not allowed to reveal much about Alien: Covenant, Michael Fassbender is happy to shed a little more light on the upcoming prequel.
‘X-Men’ Director Bryan Singer Wants to Take the Next Sequel to Space, Wink Wink
Producer Simon Kinberg recently revealed that the next X-Men sequel will take place during the ’90s, which is fairly unsurprising given that it follows the decade-by-decade pattern of the recent trilogy. That doesn’t tell us much about their plans for the next chapter of the X-Men saga, but Bryan Singer has put forth an idea that may give us a hint about where the story is heading.
‘Pacific Rim 2’ Hires ‘Jurassic World’ Writer Derek Connolly
Depending on how you felt about Jurassic World, this news may or may not be very good: Derek Connolly, the screenwriter behind Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic sequel, has been tapped to write the screenplay for Pacific Rim 2. If you weren’t particularly fond of Connolly’s work on the dinosaur blockbuster, then this news has probably inspired an audible groan accompanied by a healthy eye roll, but perhaps you should consider giving it a chance.
There’s a ‘Slender Man’ Movie in the Works, Obviously
Honestly, it’s surprising it took this long for a studio to begin developing a horror movie based on Slender Man, the creepy meme that took on a prolific life of its own, inspiring countless photoshopped images, fan art, fan fiction and eventually a video game and a documentary. As rumored yesterday and confirmed today, Screen Gems is the studio that will finally put Slender Man on the big screen, though given how quickly things tend to age in internet years, you have to wonder if this horror movie will still feel relevant by the time it hits theaters.
‘The Omen’ Prequel Film Will Introduce You to ‘The First Omen’
The First Omen isn’t the greatest title — it’s as if it was concocted by an obnoxious internet commenter who only speaks in all-caps. There’s something insistent and sort of presumptuous about “First” in that title, and while yet another film — a prequel, no less — based on iconic horror classic The Omen is enough to trigger an eye roll, there’s reason to give this one the benefit of the doubt.