Category: Retrospectives

Favorite Rewatchables in 2020

Favorite Rewatchables in 2020
Given the lack of theatrical moviegoing, 2020 was a great year to rewatch old faves or forgotten nostalgia plays. With our kids now 10 and 12, we also broke the PG-13 seal on a bunch of comedies, which opened the floodgates to a ton of flicks. I also devoted the entire summer to revisiting some... Read more »
By John Hammerle,
January 2, 2021 at 11:36 am • 

Ready Player One and All of Spielberg's Movies Ranked

Ready Player One and All of Spielberg's Movies Ranked
Ready Player One is in theaters now, and Film Twitter is deeply divided, as it is with nearly everything these days. Well, except for Paddington 2 and Black Panther. I have no interest in any of the hot takes about how it ignores Gamergate, fails to adequately portray The Iron Giant, or relies too heavily... Read more »
By John Hammerle,
April 8, 2018 at 2:12 pm • 

Summer Movies 1997 Revisited: Weeks 9-11 (June 27-July 11, 1997)

Summer Movies 1997 Revisited: Weeks 9-11 (June 27-July 11, 1997)
This weekend sees the much anticipated release of the trilogy capper War of the Planet of the Apes. It’s the only big release this weekend, but The Big Sick is expanding and last week’s Spider-Man: Homecoming is still going strong. Go see ’em all! I’ve fallen a bit behind over the last few weeks so... Read more »
By John Hammerle,
July 13, 2017 at 5:23 pm • 
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Summer Movies 1997 Revisited: Week 8 (June 20, 1997)

Summer Movies 1997 Revisited: Week 8 (June 20, 1997)
This weekend sees the limited release of interesting, well-received movies like Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled and the Kumail Nanjiani-starring The Big Sick, but folks in Chicago and anywhere else that isn’t NY or LA are out of luck on that front. We’ll have to wait for those movies to expand next week. Until then, the sole... Read more »
By John Hammerle,
June 22, 2017 at 3:09 pm • 

Summer Movies 1997 Revisited: Week 7 (June 13, 1997)

Summer Movies 1997 Revisited: Week 7 (June 13, 1997)
It’s a crowded weekend at the theater for new releases this weekend. Should be something for everyone. The big one is Cars 3, the latest from Disney-Pixar. You’ve also got the raunchy female-led comedy, Rough Night, starring Scarlett Johansson; the Tupac Shakur biopic, All Eyez on Me; the Mandy Moore shark movie, 47 Meters Down;... Read more »
By John Hammerle,
June 15, 2017 at 6:15 pm • 

Summer Movies 1997 Revisited: Week 6 (June 6, 1997)

Summer Movies 1997 Revisited: Week 6 (June 6, 1997)
This weekend sees the release of what is being largely hailed as “The Worst Tom Cruise Movie Ever”. Yes, I’m talking about Universal’s kick-off to its new Dark Universe franchise, another reboot of The Mummy. Expect bigger overseas grosses than here domestically, where it will probably lose the weekend box office crown to Wonder Woman. On a... Read more »
By John Hammerle,
June 8, 2017 at 4:51 pm • 
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Summer Movies 1997 Revisited: Week 5 (May 30, 1997)

Summer Movies 1997 Revisited: Week 5 (May 30, 1997)
This weekend sees the much anticipated release of DCEU’s Wonder Woman. It enters the marketplace riding a wave of hot buzz, strong reviews (check back for my take), and idiotic controversies over some woman-only screenings at Alamo Drafthouse. Oh, and Captain Underpants is also being released. May 30, 1997 Big News Story: Mariah Carey and her record... Read more »
By John Hammerle,
June 2, 2017 at 4:52 pm • 

Summer Movies 1997 Revisited: Week 4 (May 23, 1997)

Summer Movies 1997 Revisited: Week 4 (May 23, 1997)
This weekend sees the wide release of two movies – both set on or near water and each competing for different audiences: the fifth installment in the long-past-its-prime Pirates of the Caribbean series, Dead Men Tell No Tales, and a big screen adaptation of the seminal ’90s TV show, Baywatch, starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac... Read more »
By John Hammerle,
May 24, 2017 at 5:34 pm • 

Summer Movies 1997 Revisited: Week 2 (May 9, 1997)

Summer Movies 1997 Revisited: Week 2 (May 9, 1997)
This weekend sees the wide or semi-wide release of 4 movies: Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, the Amy Schumer-Goldie Hawn comedy Snatched, Doug Liman’s The Wall (which apparently is not as “Great” as the Matt Damon flick from earlier this year), and Lowriders. Let’s get in our time machine and go back... Read more »
By John Hammerle,
May 11, 2017 at 9:17 pm • 
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Summer Movies 1997 Revisited: Week 1 (May 2, 1997)

Summer Movies 1997 Revisited: Week 1 (May 2, 1997)
There’s a lot of nostalgia going around these days. From TV reboots and continuations like Fuller House and Gilmore Girls, to movie sequels like T2: Trainspotting (still a terrible title) and reboots like next year’s The Predator, and elsewhere, people seem keen on rehashing the past to get their entertainment kicks. I’m no different. In... Read more »
By John Hammerle,
May 3, 2017 at 4:32 pm •