Darren Franich

Los Angeles

Film Review at The Ankler

Movie critic

Articles

'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' review

1 month ago | draftlandscene.substack.com | Darren Franich

The new Mission: Impossible is the strangest Mission: Impossible. Tom Cruise climbs into a sensory-deprivation coffin to mind-meld with a computer megamind. The President sends Tom Cruise into the freezing ocean, where he finds a submarine and takes off his clothes. Hayley Atwell stares upon Tom Cruise with the seductive-yet-restrained awe of a nun hot for Jesus. The bad guy has a biplane — no, two biplanes! The opening credits arrive around, I think, minute 18.
Disney’s Live-Action Princess Movies Are Trapped in the 2010s

Mar 26, 2025 | vulture.com | Darren Franich

Rachel Zegler in Snow White. The first proper industry headline about a new Snow White arrived in October 2016, a wild month in human history to plan anything nine years ahead. Since then, the U.S. has torn itself between progress and retrenchment, smash-cutting from a young Black president to the two oldest white ones. Meanwhile, the biggest studio in Hollywood steadily remade its most legendary animated successes with flesh-and-blood actors.
Disney’s Live-Action Princess Movies Are Trapped in the 2010s

Mar 26, 2025 | flipboard.com | Darren Franich

17 hours agoThe star of Disney's latest live-action movie reportedly upset executives, and the studio later hired a "social media guru" to vet posts ahead of the film's release. Rachel Zegler, star of Disney’s live-action “Snow White,” reportedly shocked studio executives after she followed up a social media …
Sabra Isn’t Controversial in Captain America: Brave New World. She’s Boring.

Feb 14, 2025 | vulture.com | Darren Franich

She looks like the Israeli flag on disco night. Blue cape, white bodysuit. A headband, because it’s 1980. The Incredible Hulk #256 introduces Sabra, “super heroine of the State of Israel,” when the green Goliath rampages through Tel Aviv.
David Lynch in Death and Life

Jan 16, 2025 | draftlandscene.substack.com | Darren Franich

David Lynch made mysteries. Who killed Laura Palmer? Who killed your wife? Whose ear is that? Who are you? What the fuck is going on? Crimes to solve, puzzles to piece together. I’ll spend the rest of my life messaging friends new revelations about his work: a number decoded, a connection uncovered. The magus was a stylist, too, curator of a specific neon-sexy bloodgore region of throwback Americana.
All 10 Spider-Man movies, ranked from worst to best

Jan 7, 2025 | ew.com | Darren Franich |Kevin Jacobsen

Interest in Spider-Man remains strong among moviegoers, but those who have followed the saga through the years know all too well that not every installment is a winner. Not every bad guy works as effectively as Doc Ock in Spider-Man 2 and some sequels just fail to be as inventive as the original. Luckily, there's way more good than bad in the ever-evolving franchise, and we've taken on the (great) responsibility of ranking all 10 films thus far.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 'Warriors' makes an unforgivable mistake

Oct 29, 2024 | draftlandscene.substack.com | Darren Franich

A gang from Coney Island gets stranded up in the Bronx. Everyone wants them dead. A simple, awesome premise: Cross the City, Fight the City. We could’ve had twenty versions of The Warriors by now, but there was never a proper sequel or remake for Walter Hill’s 1979 movie until this month. I love how the film is a barely-franchised wonder thing. I am also, however, semi-obsessed with it. In 2005, I bought the (terrible) Director’s Cut DVD and played the (wonderful) video game.
Every “Fast & Furious” movie, ranked from worst to best

Sep 6, 2024 | msn.com | Derek Lawrence |Darren Franich |Kevin Jacobsen

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Every 'Fast & Furious' movie, ranked from worst to best

Sep 6, 2024 | ew.com | Derek Lawrence |Darren Franich |Kevin Jacobsen

From the highs of Fast Five to the Hobbs/Shaw spinoff to the direct-to-video short film directed by Diesel himself, we've ranked every entry in the Fast & Furious series from worst to best. The family is still going strong. The long-running Fast & Furious franchise kicked off in 2001 with the (comparatively simple) story of an LAPD officer going undercover with a crew of street racers suspected to be hijackers.
Every “Fast & Furious” movie, ranked from worst to best

Sep 6, 2024 | yahoo.com | Derek Lawrence |Darren Franich |Kevin Jacobsen

We rank them, a quarter-mile at a time. Universal/courtesy Everett Collection (From left to right) Matt Schulze, Michelle Rodriguez, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Johnny Strong (rear), Jordana Brewster, Rick Yune, Chad Lindberg from 'The Fast and the Furious'The family is still going strong. The long-running Fast & Furious franchise kicked off in 2001 with the (comparatively simple) story of an LAPD officer going undercover with a crew of street racers suspected to be hijackers.