As illustrated by Vince Locke,A History of Violencelooks furious and unstable even in its design, a scratchy black-and-white view of a small Midwest town that erupts with violence one fateful night. The characters occasionally look incomplete in composition; patches of inky black are broken up by numerous small gaps of white. On the whole, the entire graphic novel, which was published in 1997 by Paradox Press and, later, Vertigo – both imprints of DC – looked like a studied sketch of the events that writer John Wagner had laid out....

[This is a re-post of myA Monster Callsreview from the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. The film expands nationwide on January 6th.] Every screening ofA Monster Callsshould automatically include a free box of Kleenex when you walk in the door. You know those movies where an emotional moment sneaks up on you and you suddenly realize you need to dab your eyes while no one’s looking? Yeah,A Monster Callsisn’t that. This is the kind of movie where there’s absolutely no way you’re hiding this, so it’s best to just ride it out....

Every year at theOscars, plenty of attention is given to the films nominated for the major categories, particularly Best Picture and the acting categories.But we often forget that there are 23 awards within the Academy Awards, each with brilliant films that are often underseen and underappreciated, yet bring us exciting new filmmakers and performers. Your next favorite director could be getting their start in the shorts category, or the next major director could’ve made one of the International Feature nominees....

Amazon Prime Video’s life of crime has begun. The streamer’s adaptation of the long-running crime comics seriesCriminalhas begun production in Portland, Oregon.Sean Phillips, the comics artist who created the series with writerEd Brubaker, posted on Twitter that the series began filming on Monday. Criminalis an anthology comics series that tells the interweaving stories of the criminal underworld, with the crimes of the past frequently coming back to haunt the present; debuting in 2006, it has won a number of Eisner Awards, and continues to be published to this day....

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Luther: The Fallen Sun.]The Netflix original movieLuther: The Fallen Suncontinues the television saga of DCI John Luther (Idris Elba), now a disgraced detective who’s sitting behind bars. In order to track down a disturbed serial killer turning the shame of ordinary citizens into terror, Luther must break out of prison and pursue the man taunting him. That’s no easy task by far, when you’re cut off and viewed as a criminal yourself, forcing Luther to call on the small few he can trust for help....

Spoilersfollow for anyone who hasn’t caught up with the Season 4 finale ofArrow. Remember how Season 4 of The CW’sArrowhad a magic-wielding “big bad” villain whose powers increased exponentially after sacrificing tens of thousands of people, but who was then beaten by a combination of good will and fisticuffs? Yeah, they won’t be repeating those same mistakes in Season 5. In fact, if a new report is to be believed, the upcoming season ofArrowmight actually get closer to the show’s gritty and realistic roots....

Sticking the landing to a TV show is an incredibly hard thing to do, especially in long-form TV narratives that build a story up over several seasons. Audiences expect an escalation of events that topple all previous season finales, tie up loose ends, and give every character a moment to shine, all while delivering an emotionally-satisfying closure to character arcs and the overall story. Thus, it is very easy for TV shows to fail to deliver any of these and be branded as disappointing....

The digital age offers young people both opportunities and challenges, particularly concerning their use of smartphones. While these devices provide access to information and connection, they also pose online risks. Parents struggle to balance independence and safety for their children. The Bark Phone is designed to help with this by integrating parental control features into the phone’s operating system, aiming to ensure safety while promoting responsible digital habits. If you’re looking for a cell phone that is safest for your kids/teens and giving you control to monitor things like texts, social media, subscriptions, and more – this phone is going to be the one you want to go with....

Trigger Warning: The following article references body dysmorphia. Anthologies are, by nature, a great way to showcase a variety of different talents, andGuillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiositiesis no different. This 2022 Netflix series features eight haunting tales with del Toro introducing each episode in aRod Sterling-inspired fashion. Each episode is helmed by a different filmmaker, fromVincenzo Natali, the creator ofCube, to the director ofMandy,Panos Cosmatos.Most are also based on older short stories, which is whyAna Lily Amirpour’s episode, “The Outside,”really stands out....

We all know that beforeA Fistful of DollarslaunchedClint Eastwoodinto the public eye as a bankable Western movie star, the television programRawhidefirst gave Eastwood his due. In the series, he played ramrod Rowdy Yates, who became the trail boss in the final season afterEric Fleming’s Gil Favor was written out. Nowadays, Eastwood is the man most closely associated with the series, and for good reason. But there’s another cause for celebrating Eastwood’s 217 credited appearances onRawhide....

Back in April 2016, it was announced that Oscar winnerBenicio del Torowould star in a film about the Cuban mafia titledThe Corporation, based on the nonfiction book byT.J. English. Three years later, sources tell Collider that the project is moving forward, asTyler Hiselhas been hired to write the script for Paramount andLeonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way banner. The film will follow the unique, untold story ofJose Miguel Battle Sr., the leader of “The Corporation," who was known among the Cuban-American community as “El Padrino,” aka “The Godfather....

Writing a “bad” movie song is its own special art form. You have to make the audience understand that, within the context of the film, they’re listening to something “bad”, but you can’t just bash two trash cans together and call it a day. The song still has to begood, just in a recognizably “bad” way. It’s complicated. I’m doing a terrible job describing it. The process is just one of those unexplainable mysteries we’ll never solve, along with “why did nobody seePopstar: Never Stop Never Stopping?...

Subscribing to Disney+ just to watchTheMandalorian,Wandavision, orLokiis understandable, but once you’ve joined, there are tons of other great things to check out on this streamer. Sure, do a Disney classics marathon, check out the newest animated films, re-watch all the Marvel and Star Wars stuff, etc. Once you’re done with all of that, though, dive into a couple of these imaginative and wonderful Disney+ Originals. RELATED:‘Real Steel’ TV Series In Development at Disney+ Prop Culture Both casual and diehard movie fans alike will find a lot to love aboutProp Culture....