The Deuce Isn't About Sex. It's About Capitalism
The Deuce is not a sexy show. The HBO series, which just concluded its first season, examines the sex trade in 1970s New York City, but it does so through the eyes of professionals—sex workers and their pimps. Their jobs may be to fulfill fantasies, but the bulk of their day-to-day grind is remarkably unsexy,…
Cantina Talk: You Can Bet Carrie Fisher Would Love Episode IX
It might seem like things are quiet right now on the Star Wars front, but it's just the calm before storm. Both Comic-Con International and Disney's D23 Expo are about a month away and chances are a lot of new information will come out of both. What info? It's hard to tell, but just remember…
Disney’s Building Its Own Netflix. Everyone Else Might, Too
The boats are coming for Disney’s movies, ready to evacuate them from Netflix’s disputed shore. The studio’s deal with the streaming service expires next year; in 2019 everything that smells even faintly of mouse will move to a new redoubt. Disney and Pixar movies will supply the pipeline for a new Disney-owned streaming platform, a…
Metroid: Samus Returns Isn't Just an Action Game—It's a Feminist Horror Tale
When Metroid first hit shelves in 1987, the Nintendo game about an alien-killing bounty hunter felt like nothing else. Set on an eerie, alien world, it eschewed the poppy optimism of most ‘80s games for a claustrophobic odyssey set to spare, menacing tones. But its armored hero, Samus Aran, seemed unremarkable—like every other humdrum videogame…
Inside the Cult of Carol, the Internet’s Most Unlikely Fandom
Just before sitting down to write this, I realized that I'd been staring at Cate Blanchett’s cheekbones for more than two hours. Granted, Blanchett does have empirically wonderful cheekbones, but realizing such a thing can make you feel a bit … obsessive. I hadn't gone looking for her cheekbones, of course. They just kept popping…
Netflix's Castlevania Is the Future of Videogame Adaptations
Dracula's wrath is no small thing, as the city of Targoviste can attest. Blood pours from the sky; people scream; the archbishop–the camera lingering on his long, claw-like nails–is consumed by flames. Those were simply heralds, though. When the dark lord himself appears, he overtakes the screen, a living effigy of fire proclaiming Wallachia's doom.…
Magikarp Jump Is an Endearing Tribute to Pokémon's Least-Loved Fish
Few Pokémon suffer the disrespect inflicted upon the lowly Magikarp. The orange fish isn't capable of much—largely useless in battle, it does little more than flop on its side, flailing helplessly as it wonders why you yanked it from the water in the first place. Look into the eyes of a Magikarp, and you see…
Can Sequel Pacific Rim: Uprising Live Up to the Original?
So, there’s a trailer for the new Pacific Rim sequel. It’s got those giant robot mechs—aka “jaegers”—and even a few crazy-ass kaiju. Star Wars: The Force Awakens star John Boyega toplines this time around, and Rinko Kikuchi and Charlie Day have returned to reprise their roles. Gone, though, are the original’s director Guillermo del Toro…
Spider-Man: Homecoming: Where Did Spidey and Iron Man’s Bromance Come From? Not the Comics
The relationship between Tony Stark and Peter Parker began the way most great romances do: They hated each other. It's true. Long before the pair developed the charming rapport they exhibit in this weekend's Spider-Man: Homecoming, Iron Man and Spider-Man met in Marvel Team-Up #9's "The Tomorrow War!" It was 1973 and when Tony first…
At E3 It's the End of the World, and Nothing Feels Fine
At E3 this week, the world ended. Again, and again, and again. In the Russia of 4A Games' Metro: Exodus, the bomb brought extinction. The protagonist fights his way out of the underground tunnels into a world blanketed with desolation and snow, and trod by mutant creatures. People no longer rule this land, but with…