Bill Bria

6 days ago | slashfilm.com | Bill Bria

Ever since actor Michael Cera broke out in 2007's "Superbad," there's been a delightful tension surrounding his screen persona: Is this guy a huge dork, a super chill cool dude, or somehow both? Of course, the latter choice is the answer, but that hasn't stopped Cera from leaning into his more mercurial, enigmatic qualities as a performer. From the bumbling awkwardness of George Michael Bluth in "Arrested Development" to the titular kung-fu fighting hipster hero of "Scott Pilgrim vs.

1 week ago | slashfilm.com | Bill Bria

When "Karate Kid: Legends" was first announced, the prospect of crossing over 1984's "The Karate Kid" with 2010's "The Karate Kid" seemed heavily involved. Leaving aside the popular six-season run of the series that acts as a sequel to the original four films, "Cobra Kai," the idea felt like it could easily run into some problems, due to the 2010 film being developed and shot as a remake rather than a straight sequel or legacy sequel.

1 week ago | slashfilm.com | Bill Bria

To paraphrase a famous historical father figure, I come to psychoanalyze Wes Anderson's movies, not Anderson himself. To put it mildly, Anderson's films are suffused with Daddy Issues. From Royal Tenenbaum to Steve Zissou to the fantastic Mr. Fox himself, Anderson's filmography is littered with problematic patriarchs.

1 week ago | slashfilm.com | Bill Bria

For many film critics watching "Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning" during its record (for the franchise) opening this past weekend, the first act or so of the film seemed off. Those with a trained, discerning eye for cinema recognized that something about the opening scenes felt like they weren't unfolding as originally intended, or even, perhaps, as originally shot.

1 week ago | slashfilm.com | Bill Bria

50 years ago, the general public's view of the ocean — in particular, the presence of sharks within it — changed forever with the release of Steven Spielberg's "Jaws." While shark attack movies had been made for decades prior to Spielberg's adaptation of Peter Benchley's novel, these films tended to fall into the "exotic adventure" category, i.e. films about characters or real-life figures who traveled to far-away lands and encountered dangerous wildlife there.