Matt Schimkowitz

I tapped out of the MCU after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It was all too much: The nonsensical plot, the dim visuals, the unshakeable sense that I was missing whatever that movie was trying to tell me because I didn’t binge every Marvel series. In truth, I watched the first episode of WandaVision and bounced. Black Panther was supposed to be the crème de la crème of the MCU. If they can’t even get these right anymore, what have the others become? ’Tis I, the lapsed Marvel fan, and I’m sure…

The following article discusses the plot of Anatomy Of A Fall. Reader discretion is advised. This Oscar season is filled with magnificent performances, from Cillian Murphy’s politicking introvert in Oppenheimer to the just-learned-to-walk movements of Emma Stone in Poor Things. It’s the rare Oscar year where the Academy got it right, nominating projects that deserved recognition and Nyad. But such a bounty means hard decisions for voters, who face the inevitable backlash of the impossible-to-av…

Summer movie season comes earlier every year, and 2024 is no exception. After surviving the harsh winter with nothing to warm us but a Madame Web and a Mean Girls musical, the ides of March bring a diverse batch of movies back to the cinema. Dune: Part Two, Kung Fu Panda 4, and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire are but a few of the sequel offerings from major studios, while a healthy crop of comedies, horror films, and thrillers round out a busy month. Dune: Part Two (March 1) Cast: Timothée Chala…

Richard Lewis, the surly staple of the American stand-up comedian scene and an actor known for his 20-year-long role as Larry David’s best friend on Curb Your Enthusiasm, died of a heart attack last night at his home in Los Angeles, his publicist Jeff Abraham confirmed to Deadline. He was 76 years old. Lewis’ declining health had long been a concern. In April 2023, Lewis shared his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, a condition he had been living with for years before he shared the news. He also…

The tragic Rust shooting that left cinematographer Halayna Hutchins dead could’ve been avoided had armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed had more time, an OSHA investigator testified earlier today. OSHA investigator Lorenzo Montoya, the first witness called by the defense, blamed the shooting on the rushed production, believing that Gutierrez-Reed could not be expected to “conduct her duties to the best of diligence.” Per Variety, Montoya stated that Gutierrez-Reed had no “authority” to make decisions a…

IMAX, the motion picture format that causes smartwatches across these United States to alert wearers to that watching Dune: Part Two is damaging their ears, will soon host monthly group panic attacks thanks to A24. The movie studio that’s gone from indie darling to Best Picture winner is kicking off a series of monthly IMAX screenings. The first three pictures getting the big old screen treatment will surely give heart palpitations: Ex Machina, Hereditary, and Uncut Gems. The first in the seri…

Snack Shack, director Adam Rehmeier’s latest aggro-comedy, opens with an unusual sight: A pair of 14-year-old boys chainsmoking at the dog track. Amid a string of shouted expletives, with the words “fuck” and “pussy” enhancing every other word and giggle, our heroes, A.J. (Connor Sherry) and Moose (Gabriel LaBelle), hit it big before hightailing it to the bus leaving the field trip they’re supposed to be on. Like Licorice Pizza’s Gary Valentine, these enterprising adolescents constantly run from…

The past is so close you can almost touch it in Alice Rohrwacher’s romantic treasure hunt, La Chimera. Set in the liminal space between living and dying, better known as the Italian countryside, Rohwacher’s carefully excavated narrative unearths a funny and deeply satisfying meditation on loss and hope. Appropriately, half the joy of La Chimera is in discovery, making its plot brutal to discuss. We meet Arthur (Josh O’Connor, best known to American audiences as one of the The Crown’s Prince Char…

We live in a world dominated by intellectual property. Save for Oppenheimer and The Sound Of Freedom, last year’s 10 highest-grossing movies released domestically were all sequels, remakes, or based on a preexisting franchise. Even Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania and The Little Mermaid made the list, and this was a good year! It’s no surprise studios have coveted known entities over original works. But that works the other way, too. Intellectual property in the wrong hands can do some real d…

The Blair Witch Project is a once-in-a-lifetime film. It’s the type of low-budget horror movie, like Evil Dead and Night Of The Living Dead, that not only inspires a generation of creative, passionate, and hardworking filmmakers but also a generation of Hollywood executives attempting to turn them into cinematic universes. Since Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez’s The Blair Witch Project became one of the most profitable films of all time in 1999, attempts at continuing the Blair Witch saga hav…