Rom-coms on the big screen are back! And by that, we mean films that star two of the most alluring and infectiously charming actors working today but are devoid of romance, comedy, and, most importantly, interest. Oh, and they’re also strangely reactionary and definitely feel like a byproduct of the Trump 2.0 era than what the masses would call “proper escapism.”
Read MoreThe Odyssey is a fascinating follow-up to Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. In fact, it might be the film I was hoping Oppenheimer might become. A movie about a man conflicted by his responsibilities in changing the world through destruction, but the key difference is that Nolan places Odysseus face-to-face with his sin, while Oppenheimer lost its way. Here, Odysseus is confronted with the
Read MoreBack in the early 2000s, Roger Ebert dubbed Minority Report a “triumph” during a time, as he called it, “when movies think they have to choose between action and ideas.” And this was during a creative era for Spielberg, when the iconic director felt emboldened to explore new territory. UFOs may not be fresh material for the E.T. filmmaker, but Disclosure Day feels very
Read MoreColleen Hoover has been on an upward trajectory in the realm of cinema. With It Ends With Us, Regretting You, and now Reminders of Him, the author turned screenwriter has shown a strong presence in theaters for three years straight. Reminders of Him is the first film adaptation to feature Hoover as a writer adapting her own work, and the film benefits from it,
Read MoreThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie has prompted deep reflection in me. Back in 2023, I was still a new writer here. In fact, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was one of my first reviews here at The Cosmic Circus. At the time, I called the animated film “an acceptable nostalgic delight.” My reasons were that the animated film embraced the game’s
Read MoreWicked: For Good has finally flown into theaters worldwide after an excruciating year-long wait! The second half of the popular Broadway show, For Good explores Elphaba fighting to expose the lying Wizard of Oz and intersects with Dorothy’s mission to defeat her. But the film deliberately glosses over Dorothy’s story, assuming audiences are already intimately familiar with her journey from the
Read MoreFollowing the smash hit Wicked on the Broadway stage back in 2003, it was only inevitable that a film adaptation would eventually follow suit with last year’s Wicked and this year’s Wicked: For Good. For Good marks an interesting crossroad of sorts in the story as it adapts act two and onwards of the show, which has been infamously cited as a
Read MoreLast night, we attended the first screening of Black Phone 2 at Fantastic Fest 2025. The sequel sparked considerable interest with its Nightmare on Elm Street-inspired advertising. Showcasing a follow-up that would maneuver the marquee villain of the franchise into a dream-lurking killer in the vein of Freddy Krueger. And given the long, extensive absence of that franchise, using Black Phone
Read MoreFantastic Fest 2025 kicks off today in Austin, Texas, with another year of potentially great offerings. The festival is jam-packed with several great titles and early premieres. For example, the highly anticipated sequel to Scott Derrickson’s The Black Phone is expected to captivate the Austin community during the first weekend. The festival will also feature Chris Stuckmann’s long-awaited movie debut, Shelby
Read MoreIt’s always been interesting to see the lack of sports-centric horror films within the genre. Sure, we have some films with inklings of ideas, but in most cases, basketball or football stories within films never really reside in the horror space. With this in mind, a genre pic like Him is a breath of fresh air at first glance. The Justin Tipping-directed
Read MoreIn an era where mainstream action films strive for perfection in their aesthetics and intricate fight choreographies, genre artist Timo Tjahjanto stands out among the pack as one who strives for imperfection. The clumsier, messier, and more imperfect the action scene is, the more cathartic, violent, and ultimately engaging the set piece will be for the viewer. None of it is
Read MoreDreamWorks Animation Studios is known for spawning franchises that define generations of children. With currently no less than nine separate series and franchises, there’s no slowing down this studio and the type of storytelling they are producing for families and audiences of all ages. That being said, I didn’t feel like a sequel to The Bad Guys was needed or necessary
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