Some worried whether the Wonder Woman movie was getting enough marketing, but qualms were set aside after its opening weekend set records: Wonder Woman was a box office smash on its opening weekend, raking in more than $100 million domestically — a new record for a movie directed by a woman [Patty Jenkins]…. And it compares well to similar movies — that is, superhero flicks that aren’t sequels or ensemble films. While it’s not as big as the opening weekend […]

The first trailer for Kenneth Branagh’s version of the classic Agatha Christie mystery Murder on the Orient Express has been released, and … mmmm … probably not a good sign that when he starts speaking, in his role as Hercule Poirot, I wanted to giggle. The accent, you see, is just so exaggerated. But not as much as that mustache! As with the 1974 classic (which won Ingrid Bergman an Oscar and sets a very high bar to meet), this […]

Well, it worked for Batman and the rest of the Justice League … now comes word that Warner Bros. Animation will be releasing a Scooby-Doo Lego movie. As Scooby-Doo! and his friends are on their way to Blowout Beach for a real swinging beach party in the Mystery Machine, the Ghost Pirates threaten to ruin the gang’s good vibes. It is up to Scooby and the gang to get the party back on track, without missing a beat. Lego Scooby-Doo!: […]

GKIDS, an animated feature distributor, and Fathom Events, which arranges special cinema programming, have announced Studio Ghibli Fest. Starting in June, one classic anime film from the studio will be shown once a month. The Sunday shows are dubbed, shown at 12:55 PM local time, while the Monday airings are subtitled and running at 7 PM local time. Here’s the schedule. My Neighbor Totoro – June 25 and 26 Kiki’s Delivery Service – July 23 and 24 Castle in the […]

M. Night Shyamalan’s Split came out on Blu-ray last week, and I have a copy to give away to readers. Now, I haven’t seen it. (As frequent readers know, I avoid horror because I’m squeamish.) But I’m intrigued, both because it stars James McAvoy (known to comic fans as young Professor X in the X-Men films) and because it twists the typical “young girl hostage” thriller by adding a complicating factor: the villain has multiple personalities. It did surprisingly well, […]

I think of Tom of Finland as a comic artist, but that’s not really accurate. He’s best known for capturing lovingly detailed portraits of classic gay fetish imagery — the well-built biker in leather with a thick mustache, the bulging sailor, the hairy-chested construction worker — all in tight pants, strongly muscled and well-endowed. The movie publicity calls them “iconic homoerotic drawings”, and so they are. I think I associate him with comics because his art was often available, back […]

The biggest-grossing film of last year in Japan was an anime called Your Name., directed by Makoto Shinkai (Voices of a Distant Star, 5 Centimeters Per Second). It’s also become the biggest anime film of all time worldwide, beating the Miyazaki movies Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. If you’re curious to see what captured the imagination of so many Japanese movie-goers, Funimation Films has announced Your Name. will be showing in North America beginning April 7. You can choose from […]

Charlize Theron has a movie opening in July that’s been getting a lot of buzz recently because they just dropped the following restricted (red-band) trailer: She’s a sexy spy in this action thriller, and the Atomic Blonde trailer is heavy on fight scenes and girl/girl sex to get the adrenaline pumping. Also in the movie are John Goodman, Toby Jones, Sofia Boutella, and James McAvoy, so some big names there. It’s directed by David Leitch, whose John Wick has been […]