Where The Water Tastes Like Wine Developed by: Dim Bulb Games, Serenity Forge Published by: Good Shepard Entertainment Available on: Windows PC (Steam), macOS Nuanced narrative, one of the last frontiers in video games, is the welcome backdrop for “Where The Water Tastes Like Wine,” a new offering about the Great Depression from a small group of independent […]

A QUESTION at the center of “Ready Player One,” Steven Spielberg’s three-year project of a blockbuster adaptation: Would the movie experience be like a VR world’s version of “Dunkirk”? In other words: Would the film be a thrill ride of propulsive adventure that chooses rate of speed over depth of character, save for a lone […]

“BLACK PANTHER” may have just topped $1 billion globally, but the year’s highest-grossing film has a larger target in its sights: Can the Marvel movie become the biggest superhero release ever? Ryan Coogler’s smash just achieved an in-house milestone, becoming the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to win four straight domestic weekends, en […]

“Black Panther” can’t stop, won’t stop making money at the box office. Ryan Coogler’s take on the beloved Marvel character grossed nearly $1.08 billion at the global box office in just four weeks, according to estimates published Sunday by Box Office Mojo. It is Disney’s 16th movie to make $1 billion or more, Deadline reported. Four other […]

Moss Developed by: Polyarc Published by: Polyarc Available on: PlayStation VR Anyone who has had the good fortune to have spent their childhood or early adolescence reading books probably retains a sense of nostalgia for the ways stories used to dissolve the world around them in a comprehensive fashion. “Moss,” the new standard-bearer for PlayStation […]

DC Comics is taking an old-school approach in a new imprint. DC Black Label will be tasked with producing new tales about classic heroes from some of the comic book industry’s top writing and artistic talent. The idea, announced Thursday by DC, is that some of DC’s most iconic stories — “Watchmen,” “The New Frontier,” “Batman: The Killing Joke” […]

Patty Jenkins has confirmed what the Internet has been whispering for about a week. Kristen Wiig has signed on to play classic DC Comics villain the Cheetah in “Wonder Woman’s” soon-to-be-in-production 2019 sequel. The director verified the news on social media, tweeting that she’s excited about the casting and can’t wait to work with Wiig […]

SO MUCH of animation is about movement. And sometimes, so much about an animator springs from movement, too. Dave Mullins, an Oscar nominee for directing Pixar’s animated short “Lou,” was born in Philadelphia, but his family’s peripatetic life informs his engaging six-minute film. “We moved every year or so — sometimes twice a year,” says Mullins, […]

IT’S SUCH a tough feat of awards domination that only four animated feature films have ever accomplished this rare trophy run. Pete Docter’s “Up” and “Inside Out,” Brad Pixar’s “Ratatouille” and Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee’s “Frozen” — Disney releases all — are the only titles to run the table and win the Golden Globe, […]

THE HEADLINES have been swirling around Jared Kushner this week like security clearance rejection slips. Into Year Two, Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, has had his security clearance downgraded, just ahead of news that at least four nations — United Arab Emirates, China, Israel and Mexico — “privately discussed ways” they could manipulate him, according […]

IT IS a sign of how terribly conventional Hollywood can be that the possible “Wonder Woman 2″ casting of Kristen Wiig — she, the actress of noted timing and range and comedic pathos — is viewed by industry observers as such an out-of-the-box choice. Now, if another actress of similar age and complexion — say, Amy […]

EDITORIAL CARTOONS mostly follow familiar news-cycle rhythms after a tragedy. As they have so many times before, cartoonists since the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting have drawn artworks of grief and sorrow, followed by tributes to the heroes fallen and surviving. Then, after public officials offer “thoughts and prayers” and the politics of mass shootings heat […]

“COCO’S” TWIN Oscars chances this Sunday may include a nomination for its main song, but at one point, the animated smash was going to thrum from beginning to end with belt-’em-out tunes. “Early on, our original intention was to have ‘Coco’ be a full-on, break-out-into-song musical,” Lee Unkrich, the film’s Oscar-nominated director, tells The Washington […]

SOMETHING ABOUT the politics that surround yet another school shooting in America set off President Trump in unforeseen ways. First, the president said — and then clarified — that he’d like to arm some teachers. You know, the ones with “a natural talent” for it, like the ability to be an eagle-eyed marksman on the […]

We interrupt the mass exodus to Wakanda to remind you that there are other things happening in the world of Marvel Entertainment besides “Black Panther.” For example: “Jessica Jones” is coming back to Netflix. While it is no easy feat to be the first thing that Marvel releases following the historic hype and box-office success of King T’Challa’s […]

KEVIN SMITH tweeted fans early Monday that he had suffered a “massive heart attack” after shooting a comedy special in the Los Angeles area. “If I hadn’t canceled show 2 to go to the hospital, I would’ve died tonight,” Smith tweeted from the hospital. “But for now, I’m still above ground!” Smith, the 47-year-old filmmaker […]

WITH THE OSCARS coming Sunday, the New Yorker magazine rolled out a cover that depicts a scene that is as symbolic of 2018 Hollywood as any red carpet. The art, titled “Golden Opportunity,” renders the kind of moment between powerful male figure and aspiring female performer that has been uncovered and recounted time and again […]

Metal Gear Survive Developed by: Konami Digital Entertainment Published by: Konami Available on: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows Stripped of all conveniences and exiled to survive alone in a natural environment there is little-to-nothing more important than fire. But in “Metal Gear Survive,” a survivalist twist on the “Metal Gear Solid” franchise, the crisis of […]

“Wakanda forever” — especially at the box office. Marvel’s “Black Panther” has managed to not just meet but also continue to blow through the feverish box-office hype that preceded its release last week. The Ryan Coogler-directed epic set in the technologically advanced, mythical nation of Wakanda has made an estimated $400 million at domestic box offices, according to […]

Major “Black Panther” spoilers ahead EVEN A fictional nation has problems protecting its young. One of the major themes of “Black Panther” revolves around the human price when those in power chose policies that imperil child safety, even when politicians must resort to rhetoric and obfuscation. Sacrifice the child, a ruler decides, to maintain “the […]

IN LESS THAN a year, three of the most successful superhero films — “Black Panther,” “Thor: Ragnarok” and “Wonder Woman” — have been guided by a growing diversity of directors new to comics adaptations. And that Hollywood shift stands to affect who might get hired as the new director of “Batgirl.” On Thursday, as the Hollywood […]

WHEN IT comes to how Republican leaders view “The Simpsons,” a lot has apparently changed in a quarter-century. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush took a dim view of the then-new Fox animated series, saying of his Republican ticket: “We are going to keep on trying to strengthen the American family, to make American families […]

**Spoilers ahead.** IT IS ONE of the most strikingly political lines from “Black Panther,” and it’s not even uttered during the film itself. In the movie’s first mid-credits scene, we see the Black Panther/King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) speaking at a lectern as he announces a massive policy shift by his long-hidden African nation. Wakanda, the most technologically […]

Fe Developed by: Zoink Games Published by: Electronic Arts Available on: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One When I started playing “Fe,” I pinned my hopes on its colors, its minimalist design, and its abstractions. As yet another iteration on the old Metroidvania formula, “Fe” boasts a strong art style but apart from that […]

“WE’RE GOING to do something about this horrible situation that’s going on,” President Trump said Wednesday, as he met with students and parents during a 70-minute White House listening session on school gun violence. “And we’re going to all figure it out together.” The day felt like a fierce collision of emotion and politics a […]

EVERY STEP of the way this year while walking the gantlet of global promotion, Ryan Coogler has exuded a winning balance of confidence and humility. And so far, the hot spotlight has not found a crack in his gratitude. On Tuesday, the “Black Panther” filmmaker put that feeling into prose, with a graceful note that […]

A huge holiday weekend at the box office ($242 million over four days) more or less guarantees “Black Panther” is on its way to becoming a multi-film franchise for Marvel Studios. But will there also be more than one Black Panther? Perhaps there was no bigger Easter egg in “Black Panther” than the presence of […]

“BLACK PANTHER” has stampeded into so many record books within its first four days of release that some head-to-head comparisons are needed to put the Marvel movie’s box office into context. For instance, based on updated numbers reported Tuesday, Ryan Coogler‘s film just enjoyed the biggest four-day opening ever, save for a single film: 2015’s “Star […]

Note: Do not read any further if you haven’t seen “Black Panther.” Spoilers below. Erik Killmonger’s reign on the Wakandan throne was short-lived, but he is now the undisputed king of MCU antagonists. There’s Killmonger, and then there’s everybody else. There was a time when debating the greatest Marvel Cinematic Universe villain of all time […]

“BLACK PANTHER” has ascended so fast at the box office, it now has a throne of its own. Exceeding weeks of projections, the tentpole movie turned cultural milestone just had the biggest opening ever for a stand-alone film, according to studio estimates reported Monday, and the second-biggest superhero opening ever. The Disney/Marvel movie overperformed massively by […]

“BLACK PANTHER” has ascended so fast at the box office, it now has a throne of its own. The movie-turned-cultural-milestone just had the biggest opening ever for a stand-alone film, according to estimates reported Sunday. The Disney/Marvel smash grossed $192 million over the three-day weekend, according to Box Office Mojo — the biggest domestic debut for […]

WHENEVER A cultural milestone lands, pop seismology dictates that it be measured not just by mood, but math. And so it will be with this weekend’s rise of “Black Panther.” As projections continue to be adjusted upward, Box Office Mojo reports that it is anticipating a three-day opening weekend (Friday through Sunday) in the range […]

THE THEME of giving back to your community runs strong through “Black Panther,” so it’s only fitting that campaigns and charity efforts have sprung up with one mission in mind: to help disadvantaged kids, many them of color, see Marvel’s ultimate black superhero come to their neighborhood. The Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer, who worked with […]

It’s been 14 years since Pixar debuted its smash hit “The Incredibles,” but not a single day has passed for our favorite family of Supers. “The Incredibles 2″ picks up where its predecessor left off, evidenced by a sneak peek released Wednesday night during the Olympics. The Parr family gears up to take on a new […]

MUCH IS being trumpeted about how significant “Black Panther” is in terms of black representation in front of the camera and in the directing chair, but what can too easily become lost is just what this Marvel movie could mean for “below the line” talent, too. This global blockbuster with a mostly black cast, as led by […]