Every so often, a story comes along in which no one (or almost no one) makes it out alive, and even if they do, they are either physically dying or dead on the inside.
Given that apes are humanity’s closest relatives in the animal world, it makes sense that they would serve as an enduring source of fascination. The movies have had a particularly strong fascination with apes, whether gorillas, chimps, bonobos, or orangutans, and they have appeared in everything from thoughtful sci-films to family adventure stories to horror.
Building on the success of such franchises as The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter in the 2000s, fantasy moved into the realm of TV, giving audiences weighty epics such as Game of Thrones, The Wheel of Time, Rings of Power, and House of the Dragon.
Science fiction has also experienced a resurgence in popularity thanks to the many screen adaptations that have emerged over the past decade. While many great sci-fi works have already been adapted to screen or stage, several are still waiting for their adaptation.
Ranging from the 1930s to the present, these are the types of films that manage to be scary and thought-provoking. Whether directed by men or women, the most notable feminist horror films draw attention to the positions that women often occupy in a male-dominated world.
Sound effects are some of the most underappreciated aspects of cinema. This is unfortunate, as many films would lack their potency and power — and often their humor — were it not for the complexity of their sound designs.
A sequel allows a studio to make even more money off an original idea, giving audiences more time with the characters they have come to love and appreciate. As the history of the movies shows, however, not every movie is capable of adequately explaining why a character is missing, which helps to explain why far too many sequels fail to live up to their predecessors.
The American Civil War left many lasting scars in the national psyche, which helps to explain why it has repeatedly proved to be such a popular subject for filmmakers, and it has gained new currency thanks to the forthcoming release of Alex Garland’s aptly titled Civil War.
Sometimes, the entire film is built around the work of a particular artist, while at others, a famous musician is hired to craft an entire soundtrack from scratch. In either case, it’s worth taking a closer look at some of the most notable times a film has used the music of a famous musician.
If there’s one thing that Hollywood loves, it’s a franchise. After all, a successful franchise can be a moneymaker for the studio lucky enough to have it.
Whether in the form of a drama or a parody, the best movies and TV shows about dictators demonstrate the extent to which people who cling to power the most desperately are often those who are the first to lose it.
These beings — the men and the robots, the women and the cyborgs and the aliens — seem to leap out of the screen, reminding the viewer of the frail precarity of human life, whether in the present or the distant future.
There’s a unique pleasure in the political satire. Whether in film or on television, well-wrought satires ask the viewer to think critically about the nature of politics, how power works, and how mendacity can overwhelm even the most upright political figures.
Few institutions are associated with the arts–particularly music, drama, and dance as much as Juilliard, which has proved to be a remarkably fertile and successful training ground for major talents. Many of the school's graduates have achieved remarkable success in theater and on-screen.
Though much attention has been paid to male antiheroes like Walter White of Breaking Bad and Tony Soprano of The Sopranos, it’s also necessary to draw attention to many formidable antiheroines. These formidable women reveal the extent to which there can be a lot of pleasure in thinking and acting outside the box of patriarchy.
Celebrity feuds have long been a part of Hollywood, and many big-name stars have engaged in well-publicized and documented spats. The birth and growth of social media have rendered these types of falling out ever more visible and worthy of comment.
Adapting a novel to film or television is a notoriously tricky business. Sometimes, adapters decide to make substantial changes to even those characters that make the final cut for inclusion, and there are a surprising number of films and TV series in which a character suffers a great deal more than their novel counterpart.
Horror is best known for its ability to tap into deep human fears, producing scenes that sear themselves into viewers' memories. However, a number of non-horror films have also leaned into the frightening and, in their own strange way, often land with even more impact.
The courtroom drama has been a staple in Hollywood. This makes sense because the genre has the power to tap into the drama innate to trials. The very best of the genre uses the courtroom setting and its environs to ask deeper questions about the human condition and justice. These films ask the audience to consider and reconsider basic assumptions about how the law works and for whom, even as they also demonstrate the human drama that is always at the heart of the most complicated cases.
As the old adage goes, all publicity is good publicity, at least until it starts to threaten the bottom line. Over the decades, quite a few stars have found out, often to their chagrin, that there is a limit to the sorts of bad behaviors that studios and directors will tolerate in their talent.
Given their ambiguous nature, it’s unsurprising that hotels have been the settings for everything from sitcoms to dramas, absurdist comedies to gripping horror. The best hotels on-screen make the viewer feel as if they, too, are in this peculiar locale, with all the pleasures and perils that entails.
Divorce is one of the most difficult things many people will ever go through. Though divorce stories weren’t unheard of in Hollywood, they became an increasing subject of interest as the practice became more common and accepted in American society. It's a stacked genre, but these are the 20 best movies about divorce.
Hollywood history is filled with actors slotted into the category of the “character actor.” These men and women have faces and voices that people may recognize but whose names may not be as widely known.
Many actors sometimes find themselves typecast and pigeonholed into certain kinds of roles, stifling their creativity and creating a restrictive set of expectations among audiences. The very best actors know how to use their star power to their advantage — no matter the role.
The Academy Awards are some of the most important accolades in the film industry. However, they can also be notoriously exclusionary, particularly regarding the types of genres that usually accrue awards. Whether awarded for acting, directing, or technical achievements, some of the most beloved comedies in Hollywood history have also managed to become Academy Award winners.