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James Gunn is Here to Stay

Mark Twain might have said that the report of his death was greatly exaggerated, so James Gunn might say that the report of his departure from DC Studios was greatly exaggerated. Despite Warner Bros. dropping Zack Snyder like a hot potato, they don’t seem to be quite so eager to be rid of his successor.…
The Decline of Physical Media

Physical media has become a hot topic lately, as studios move away from it and the market begins to crumble. Meanwhile, an all digital future doesn’t look bright, with big corporations removing entries from your library at will, with no warning and no remuneration. You don’t truly own anything anymore. But the numbers show a…
‘Supergirl’ (2026) Review: This Movie is Kryptonite

I’m beginning to suspect that James Gunn might actually be a Marvel plant within Warner Bros., placed there to ensure the DCU is finished before it’s even begun. There can’t be any explanation otherwise, short of incompetence, for why Supergirl was ever allowed to be made. After Superman had what could be generously described as…
Hollywood Needs to Visit the Wizard of Oz

Hollywood’s in serious trouble. That’s no longer something that can be dismissed as just an opinion or clickbait nonsense, the numbers are there for everyone to see. Warner Bros. has been sold to Paramount, there’s a Star Wars movie an track to be the franchise’s lowest grossing, DC is foundering, and the endless stream of…
‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’: Is This All?

Star Wars is back on the big screen after a seven-year absence, but there’s a good chance you didn’t know, as Disney have chosen a strange beast to represent their return to cinemas. Rather than waiting for Star Wars: Starfighter which is due out next year, we’ve been given a spin-off to a streaming show…
‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ Trailer Reaction: Cameos and Cuteness

With just three months to go until Star Wars returns to the big screen, we finally have a full-length trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu, which appears to give a very good indication of what to expect from the movie. The trailer opens with a shot seemingly riffing off The Force Awakens–we’ve truly hit a…
Narnia is Not Epic Fantasy

The Netflix Chronicles of Narnia adaptation has finished filming and is now in post-production for a release in November this year. There are lots of reasons why I’m not confident in this adaptation (more on that here), but one I’ve not seen mentioned anywhere might seem counter-intuitive to fans, but it’s a problem that’s affected…
Why Do We Need a ‘Stranger Things’ Spin-Off?

We’ve only just seen the end of Stranger Things, but already Netflix are preparing to wring all they can from the property before it fades out of relevance, with the trailer and release date conformation for Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, the show’s first spin-off. Probably the best way to sum up my reaction to…
‘The Wrecking Crew’ Review: Double-Barreled Star Power Can’t Save This Generic Action Flick

The Wrecking Crew is a low-budget action movie that was quietly dropped on Amazon Prime with practically no marketing. Sounds like a good time, right? It stars Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista as two estranged brothers. They are forced to reunite when their father dies, and as the circumstances surrounding his death become more intriguing,…
I Have No Faith in Netflix’s Narnia Adaptation

If I had to choose a single book to take to a desert island, it would probably be The Chronicles of Narnia (the seven-in-one omnibus edition), so there’s nothing I’d like more than to see a good adaptation of it onscreen. Sadly, I don’t think that will ever happen now. There have been several adaptations…
Where Next for ‘Star Wars’?

Star Wars is back in the loop, with the “news” that Kathleen Kennedy is once again leaving her role as Lucasfilm president, to be replaced by Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan. We’re also getting the first Star Wars film in seven years, due to hit theatres in May. With all this commotion, it might seem…
Films and Fiction is Now on YouTube

I’ve a big update to bring you about about Films and Fiction. After months of deliberating, I’ve finally gone and set up a YouTube channel! So now alongside my blog posts, I’ll also be delivering videos with reviews, breakdowns, and my takes on all things pop culture. It’s only fitting, I think, that my first…
‘Primitive War’ Review: Brilliant, Old-School Dino Action

It’s not the best time to be a movie fan, but every so often something comes along that’s a real spark of creativity and passion. So it is with Primitive War, the dinosaur-filled action movie by Luke Sparke, based on the novel of the same name by Ethan Pettus. The movie takes place in 1968…
Hollywood Needs to Make More Movies Like This About AI

A trailer has released for the film Mercy, starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Fergusson. It might not be a cinematic marvel, in fact it looks bland and uninspired, the kind of movie you’d expect to find on Netflix. But at least in concept it’s the kind of movie Hollywood should be making about AI. In…
Has James Gunn Already Sunk the DCU?

Superman has come to the end of its domestic run, with a total gross of $354M. I don’t know if it’s worth trying to argue that this movie is, at best, a middling success, as since the claim that it made $125M profit, people just seem to be running with that number. Does it actually…
Streaming Needs More Seasons, More Quickly

The aptly-named Duffer Brothers have made an embarrassing remark in an interview with Variety, where they say that the three-year wait between new seasons of streaming shows is actually a good thing. I’m sure almost no one would agree, but more telling is the part where they say they don’t like 20-episode seasons, and only…
‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’: Is This The Way for Star Wars?

The new trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu has dropped, and I have to confess, I was left cold by it. I didn’t love it; I didn’t hate it. I just watched it with a shrug. It could have been worse or better, but I really don’t care very much about this movie. This will…
Is Netflix Trying to Enter the Movie Business?

The word is out that Netflix is considering making a bid for Warner Bros., just a few days after Paramount expressed interest in buying the studio too. I’m not going to defend WB, they’ve made a lot of bad choices in recent years, but any kind of buyout would be bad right now. What we…
The ‘Terminator’ Franchise Won’t Be Back

As Hollywood’s current obsession with nostalgia continues, it seems odd that one ’80s franchise is missing out on a reboot: where is Terminator? Well, maybe we will be seeing it again, because James Cameron says he’s writing a script for a new movie, but I have no confidence we’ll ever see it, and certainly no…
Paramount Buying Warner Bros. Would Be Bad for Movie Fans

After their recent merger with Skydance, Paramount is now looking to buy Warner Bros., which would be a bad thing for movie lovers. Obviously Warner Bros. has made a lot of bad decisions (and a lot of bad movies) in the last few years, but the one thing that we don’t need right now is…