What’s New to Stream on Netflix for April 2021

Crossing the Streams is a series of columns spotlighting all the offerings hitting the big streaming services each month. This time we’re checking out the new Netflix arrivals for April 2021, including a new fantasy series, new movies with Idris Elba and Melissa...

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Does the ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Ending Confirm a One Perfect Monster?

Ending Explained is a recurring series in which we explore the finales, secrets, and themes of interesting movies and shows, both new and old. This time, we throw ourselves into the ring with the Godzilla vs Kong ending and consider which Titan came out on top…or,...

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The Oscars’ Bias Against Horror Should Scare Us

Welcome to The Queue — your daily distraction of curated video content sourced from across the web. Today, we’re watching a video essay that investigates why the Oscars don’t take horror movies seriously. Let’s get one thing straight: the Oscars have more blind...

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21 Things We Learned from the Movie Crypt Commentary for ‘A Serbian Film’

Welcome to Commentary Commentary, where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits his third favorite comedy of 2010, A Serbian Film. Some films get a reputation, and...

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The Hidden Monsters of ‘The Mist’

The conventional movie monster is a frightening, ravenous, carnivorous beast that devours anything — and everything — in its path. It might have tentacles, or it might drip with putrid slime. It might be thunderous and fast as lightning, or it might creep up on...

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Max Borenstein on the Rules of Writing ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’

Max Borenstein is one of the leading voices behind Legendary’s MonsterVerse. He has been involved with the franchise since day one as the sole credited screenwriter on Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla reboot, a movie about experiencing the true fear and destruction...

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The Experiences that Helped Jennifer Lopez Become ‘Selena’

Acting is an art form, and behind every iconic character is an artist expressing themselves. Welcome to The Great Performances, a bi-weekly column exploring the art behind some of cinema’s best roles. In this entry, we look at Jennifer Lopez’s Golden Globe-nominated...

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Navigating Sexuality and Utility in ‘Ghost in the Shell’

According to the science fiction genre, the future will be full of female androids — mechanical beings with an idealized sexual body carefully constructed by men to embody their fantasies. However, there is a full-body cyborg that stands in stark construct to...

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‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Finds the Balance Between Monster and Human

The primary critical argument against the three previous films in the MonsterVerse franchise — Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) — has been focused almost exclusively on the human element. Basically, the human...

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And It Was All Yellow: The Color Theory of TV Graphics

Welcome to The Queue — your daily distraction of curated video content sourced from across the web. Today, we’re watching a video essay about why the color yellow dominates TV graphics. One of the finer comforts in life is settling in to binge-watch some old...

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Adam Wingard on Shooting ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ as an Immersive 800 MPH Brawl

Check the Gate is a column where we go one-on-one with directors in an effort to uncover the reasoning behind their creative decisions. Why that subject? Why that shot? In this edition, we chat with Adam Wingard and discuss how you shoot a title match as epic...

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An Ode to the Diner Scene in Michael Mann’s ‘Thief’

Michael Mann‘s 1981 crime thriller Thief is commonly considered to be one of the strongest directorial debuts of all time. And just because that’s hyperbolic doesn’t mean it’s not true. The heist movie stars James Caan as Frank, a master jewel thief and ex-con...

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