Movies

(Gore) Elem Klimov’s Come and See is widely regarded as one of the best war movies ever made. Channel Criswell explains how Klimov broke from the fundamentals of sound and perspective in order to effectively express the mind-breaking brutality of war.

(PG-13: Language) “The king stay the king.” In movies and TV shows, a game of chess isn’t just shown to imply that a character is smart. Now You See It points out the many implications and purposes of showing the strategic board game to viewers.

(PG-13, Flashing images) “It’s a messy, crude world. And sometimes the best way to show that is to be just as messy and just as crude.” The Royal Ocean Film Society tries to contextualize the work of the controversial animator and filmmaker Ralph Bakshi.

The Fast & Furious series banks on beautiful cars, beautiful people and beautiful stunts. But it wouldn’t be around if its filmmakers didn’t nail the basics of car chase scenes, which mainly involve giving viewers a consistent direction to contextualize the action.

From the backyards of Central Texas to the deserts of Mongolia, you’ll find people gathering over a fire to cook and eat together. Matthew Saleh and Rose Tucker traveled to 12 different countries to revel in this universal and uniting tradition.

“Will you marry me? Did he leave you any money? Answer the second question first.” CineFix presents its top picks for the most well-written lines in movies (if not entire movies outright), from ones that ooze character and realism to the slick and verbose.

Lessons from the Screenplay uses the script for the opening scene in Inglorious Basterds to explain how suspense works in films. Unlike plot twists, suspense works best when you reveal the twist early, then milk it for as long as you can. And when you’ve cast Christoph Waltz.

The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series introduced skateboarding, its music and its lifestyle to a mainstream audience. Former THPS producer Ralph D’Amato is working on a documentary about the series’ origins, featuring interviews with Tony, Rodney Mullen and more.

(PG-13: Language, Flashing images) “Doctor Strange explores the nature of human consciousness. Especially when you watch it high as sh*t.” The astute ET Garyx Wormuloid sums up the Sorcerer Supreme’s adventure and change of heart.

(PG-13, Gore) “It is growth, then decay, then transformation.” A group of fans spent a total of 2 years re-cutting Breaking Bad into a 2-hour movie. It’s not a highlight reel, but a re-configuring that even people who haven’t seen the series can appreciate.

(PG-13) An ex-cop spends 6 years in prison for attempted murder. But back outside, it’s as if time stopped, and he can’t escape from his past mistakes. In short, his life has turned into a Coen Brothers film. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau stars in this Netflix-exclusive comedy. Drops 4/28/17.

(PG-13) Charlize Theron kicks large quantities of ass in this action flick about a killer MI6 agent who must take on a city filled with baddies. We’re excited to see stunt coordinator and director David Leitch behind the lens – he co-directed John Wick and is helming Deadpool 2.

(Gore) A cop finds out that the people inside his rural town’s hospital are “transforming into something inhuman.” He and his fellow survivors venture to the hospital’s depths to end the madness. This crowdfunded film is an homage to ’80s horror movies.

Buster is the local crazy guy in a remote mountain town. Like most crazy guys, he used to be one of us, trying to make ends meet. His struggles and a conspiracy buff make him snap. Mr. Robot’s Rami Malek stars in this surreal mystery drama. Premieres 4/28/17.

(PG-13: Language) Wisecrack’s extraterrestrial film critic sums up Beauty and the Beast, which has become a beloved classic despite making no sense at all and, against its premise, ultimately teaching kids that they should either be rich or physically attractive to be loved.

Sales middleman CostFixed hawks its services with… a movie essay? It’s well done though, and stands on its own. It uses Ben Affleck’s famous speech from Boiler Room to analyze how those with the gift of gab can hook people in using only their words and our desires.

While action and visual effects dominate our screens these days, editor Vugar Efendi reminds us that at the core of every great film are its characters, with this wonderful retrospective. Along the way, we were reminded of how many classics we need to go back and watch again.

YouTuber Yoko Higuchi shares what is surely just one of the thousands of inevitable online tributes to Hugh Jackman and his 17-year stint as Wolverine. Johnny Cash’s cover of Hurt is the slow motion of soundtracks, but if you watched Logan you know that the song is a great fit.

Wes Anderson loves his horizontal dolly shots, but he’s not the only director to use this technique, as Candice Drouet of Really Dim shows in her latest montage, which features only shots which track from left to right. View the full list of films on Vimeo.

Brad Pitt stars as a respected US Army general who signs up to lead the NATO forces in Afghanistan. This satirical Netflix exclusive is loosely based on the infamous career of retired general Stanley McChrystal and Michael Hastings’ exposé. Premieres 5/26/17.

Instead of dwelling on the fact that most of Hugh Jackman’s 17-year stint as Wolverine was wasted on bad movies, IGN chose to sift through the wreckage to piece together the feral X-Man’s history as told through the films.

CineFix adds a twist in its version of one of the hardest lists for a movie buff to make: the best acting performances. Instead of a straightforward tier, they chose and paired performances from opposing techniques, contexts or genres.

Effects house Framestore walks us through some of the 365+ insane and trippy visual effects sequences it created for Doctor Strange. Were Benedict Cumberbatch and Mads Mikkelsen even in this movie, or were they just their digital doubles?

Works of art are products of their time, but critics and audiences are even more so. The Royal Ocean Film Society points out some of the films that were received horribly when they first came out, only to be praised years later. Will Michael Bay’s – ah we can’t. We can’t do it.

kaptainkristian presents Who Framed Roger Rabbit as a shining example of animated characters combined with live action. The film’s crew worked doubly hard to make the cartoon characters converse and interact convincingly with live actors and real objects.