Netflix’s Colorful Skydance Animation Bites Off More Than It Can Chew
We’ve come to expect a lot from animated films — heart, humor, and character growth that blossom into a moving and memorable story. Not every film rises to the occasion, but some are less forgettable than others simply because they…
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‘Spellbound’ Review – Rachel Zegler Leads One of the Most Tender Animated Films of the Year
2024 has been a particularly good year for animated films. From Inside Out 2 becoming a box office giant in the summer to The Wild Robot enchanting us with the DreamWorks magic, the pressure was on for Spellbound, Netflix's latest…
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‘Silo’ Season 2 Episode 2 Recap
Editor's note: The below recap contains spoilers for Silo Season 2 Episode 2. Silo's Season 2 premiere went against expectations (even for a show as cerebral as this one) by offering fans an old-fashioned "bottle episode": an installment set in…
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The Year’s Best Animated Movie Feels A Lot Like An Open-World Video Game
I was totally enchanted by Flow. I expected to like it, as I usually do sitting down to watch something; I hoped to be engaged by it, and maybe to wonder at it. But I wasn't prepared to be as…
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A Brooklyn Transplant Starts Over In This Aimless Bulgarian Journey
For a moment, imagine the panic, the frustration, the fish-out-of-water sensation that can only accompany someone stranded in a country where the native tongue is anything but your own, and the reason for your visit has been rendered essentially unnecessary…
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Strange Darling Featured, Reviews Film Threat
The first shock in writer/director JT Mollner’s impressive Strange Darling is at the very beginning when the Miramax production logo appears. I thought that company was dead? The next title card says the movie was shot “entirely on 35mm film”…
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An Animated Triumph Of Visual Storytelling That’s Deeply Human
An animated triumph of visual storytelling that is as tender as it is bracing, “Flow” deploys animals to unspool an achingly human tale. An adventure yarn about a world in crisis as seen through the eyes of a handful of…
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Ben Stiller Elevates A Generic Holiday Plot That Saves It From Familiarity
As the holiday season kicks into high gear, so too does the arrival of a new crop of movies centered around themes of love and family. While Netflix gleefully throws itself into the Hallmark-esque brand of holiday romance and cheer,…
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Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande Dazzle In Jon M. Chu’s Triumphant Musical
The anthemic song that closes out Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked” is titled “Defying Gravity.” An ode to finding the confidence to trust oneself, the song is a celebration of what it means to defy expectations and, in turn, fly high…
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‘Senna’ Review – Gabriel Leone Shines in Netflix’s Underpowered Formula One Biopic
The very first scene of Senna leads one to believe that the Netflix series will do a spectacular job of transporting viewers back to the '80s and '90s. With incredible attention to detail, the moment offers an accurate depiction of…
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‘Sweethearts’ Review – Kiernan Shipka and Nico Hiraga Elevate Messy Coming-of-Age Story
Coming-of-age stories usually take place in high school, but in reality, heading to college and having to start over is just as nerve-wracking. Sometimes, you think you know who you are and what you want by the time you graduate,…
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Pixar’s Animation Is The Rare Sequel That’s Actually Better Than The Original
Though they continue to be one of the most celebrated animation studios for a wide range of projects, the Toy Story franchise remains one of Pixar's most iconic, and Toy Story 2 is a prime reason why. The 1999 sequel…
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