Family Reunion: How Doctor Sleep Reconciles Both Versions of The Shining Phil W. Bayles November 14, 2019 Analysis, Features, Opinion The following contains spoilers for book and film versions of The Shining and Doctor Sleep. Turning a Stephen King novel into a movie is a tricky thing to pull off, even considering the great run of King...
The Goldfinch – Review Phil W. Bayles September 30, 2019 Reviews There’s a scene in The Goldfinch where Hobie, a dealer and restorer of antique furniture, teaches protagonist Theo how to distinguish between a true antique and a fake. Fake antiques, he says, are dead...
Getting Too Old For This Shit? – The Rise of the Geri-Action Star Phil W. Bayles September 18, 2019 Analysis, Close-Up, Features 1 Comment Poor Roger Murtagh wouldn't last long in Hollywood today. Played by Danny Glover in the Lethal Weapon movies, the cop was complaining about getting on in years at the tender age of 50 - which makes him a...
It Chapter Two – Review Phil W. Bayles September 3, 2019 Reviews How do you make a film that’s half an adaptation of one of the greatest horror novels ever written, and a sequel to the highest-grossing horror movie of all time? Andy Muschetti’s answer seems to be: by...
Midsommar and the Horrors of Anxiety Phil W. Bayles July 12, 2019 Analysis, Features, Opinion This article contains major spoilers for Midsommar. Ari Aster doesn’t make horror movies; he makes anxiety movies. His filmography is less concerned with things that go bump in the night than provoking...
Brightburn – Review Phil W. Bayles June 20, 2019 Reviews There’s a whole subgenre of superhero comics that came about from asking ‘what if?’ As in, what if Batman was a vampire? What if the Avengers had been around in Elizabethan England? Now David...
Five Genres That Superhero Movies Should be Embracing Phil W. Bayles June 19, 2019 Analysis, Features, Opinion James Gunn has become an essential player in the ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe – so much so that even an idiotic campaign by right-wing internet trolls couldn’t keep him away. But as we eagerly await...
Greta – Review Phil W. Bayles April 18, 2019 Reviews Neil Jordan's last film, the underrated vampire tale Byzantium, focused on an unconventional mother-daughter relationship to riveting effect. Now he returns to the same well for Greta, albeit with mixed...
Missing Link – Review Phil W. Bayles April 3, 2019 Reviews The world of animation has been going through some major evolution in recent years, with films like The LEGO Movie and its spin-offs or Into the Spider-Verse pushing the boundaries of what the medium can look...
Dumbo – Review Phil W. Bayles March 31, 2019 Reviews Disney is showing no signs of slowing down in its effort to remake all of its classic animated films, but it is easy to justify taking a crack at Dumbo. Clocking in at just over an hour long, the 1941 original...
How The LEGO Movie 2 Deconstructs Toxic Masculinity Phil W. Bayles February 27, 2019 Analysis, Features, Opinion Nobody expected The LEGO Movie to be anything more than a 90-minute commercial for the bricks it was based on. But, in a move that has quickly becoming their trademark, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller...
On the Basis of Sex – Review Phil W. Bayles February 23, 2019 Reviews This review was originally published on 6/2/2019. In the age of Donald Trump, it's unsurprising that Ruth Bader Ginsburg – only the second woman in history to ascend to the US Supreme Court – has...
On the Basis of Sex – Review Phil W. Bayles February 6, 2019 Reviews In the age of Donald Trump, it's unsurprising that Ruth Bader Ginsburg – only the second woman in history to ascend to the US Supreme Court – has become something of a superhero. And like many superhero...
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World – Review Phil W. Bayles January 30, 2019 Reviews With the How to Train Your Dragon movies, the talented folk at DreamWorks Animation have proven themselves capable of rivalling even the mighty Pixar. Now The Hidden World is here to bring the trilogy to a...
How to Train Your Dragon’s Refreshing Approach To Disability Phil W. Bayles January 28, 2019 Analysis, Features, One Off The How to Train Your Dragon movies are far and away the best work DreamWorks Animation have ever produced. For one thing, they’re simply gorgeous to look at, bursting with vibrantly designed creatures and...