By now, it’s safe to assume that most people are familiar with the damsel in distress trope. Once upon a time, there was a meek young woman, usually a princess or royal of some sort, trapped in a castle. Sad, alone, and defenseless, she waits atop her tower/prison for a prince to come and save her, whisking her off to her
Read MoreThe new FX series, Shogun, has taken the internet by storm with rave reviews. A “Shogun” is a title bestowed upon a Military Commander in the feudal Japanese hierarchy. The show stars Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga, Cosmo Jarvis as Pilot Major John Blackthorne, and Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko. The show is based on the 1975 novel by James
Read MoreI watch a ton of films and movies. Shocking, I know. Before becoming a writer for The Cosmic Circus, I loved consuming as much media as possible. When I first got my DVR, my family and I would make lists of shows to record, watching as much as possible. We would take monthly trips to the theater, if not more, which
Read MoreSometimes casting speaks for itself, so when the announcement of rebooted Mr. and Mrs. Smith came through with Donald Glover attached to star, co-create, and produce, I was totally on board. Alongside him is the amazingly talented Maya Erskine (who you may recognize from voicing Mizu in the Blue-Eyed Samurai) who was an excellent choice to replace Phoebe Waller-Bridge. If your
Read MoreArgylle, with Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Henry Cavill, and more, is a ridiculously good time. It’s a stylish and fun action spy film with both heart and cheekiness that’s pure moviegoing fun. Argylle is a visionary romp that will leave you a Matthew Vaughn fan if you weren’t one before. It subverts clichéd spy movies in the most exciting way, and has enough whirlybird twists to
Read MoreRegarding action films and comedies, I only have one requirement for whether I enjoy the film or not. The film has to be fun. Sure, we can break it down technically, which is more important for action flicks than comedies, but even that can be forgiven if the film itself is a fun romp. If it’s exciting or makes me laugh,
Read MoreChoi Dong-hoon reinvents the language of time travel cinema through his Alienoid series. With its sequel, Alienoid: Return to the Future, now in theaters, the director takes even bigger storytelling, and aesthetic, risks to enthrall viewers. “Don’t try to understand it. Feel it.” is the core tenet Christopher Nolan attempted to introduce its audiences within his time-travel sci-fi drama Tenet. But
Read MoreThe January movie dead zone doesn’t appear so dead. Night Swim‘s already made its budget back, Mean Girls is getting a mostly positive reception, and movies like Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Anything But You are gaining new box office legs. It’s an uncommonly decent January, so it really shouldn’t be a surprise that something like The Beekeeper is exceeding critical expectations. The Jason Statham action movie, directed
Read MoreThe Brothers Sun is a surprisingly heartfelt black comedy where family is as fierce as fists, but both pack a powerful punch. The Netflix show is a story of a triad crime family spread across two continents, reunited due to an assassination attempt on a “country boy,” aka a powerful gang leader played by Johnny Kou. Michelle Yeoh plays Eileen ‘Mama’ Sun, the
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