Has it really been five years since we’ve seen a new, proper live-action Spider-Man movie? After what I call the “Home Trilogy” (Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home) from director Jon Watts, Spidey is back with the same central cast.
Author: Chris Burlingame
In Every Sense of the Word, The Odyssey is Epic
Last time Christopher Nolan had a new feature in theaters, he was helping save blockbusters, movies, and even summer itself with a three-hour drama about a nuclear scientist. It ruled. Today, he is back in cinemas with his telling of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey and, frankly, epic is the only word that feels appropriate in my vocabulary.
Five minutes with Olivia Wilde
After this year’s Seattle International Film Festival, I wrote of the closing-night film, “If there was ever a movie designed in a lab solely for me to enjoy, it would be The Invite.” Since then, I haven’t shut up about how this dinner-party-from-hell, single-location feature from Olivia Wilde has been my favorite movie of the year so far.
Minions & Monsters: the silent screen meets the yellow machine
Now in their seventh feature, the Minions are back and as ubiquitous as ever, and that’s either a good thing or a very bad thing, depending on your ideology. I fall firmly into the former camp, as I find them cute and funny, even if they are biologically programmed to serve evil.
Supergirl is a hot mess, and so is Supergirl
Oh brother. Supergirl is a letdown.
Divine Intervention: finding the truth in Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day
We are conditioned to treat immediate, breathless praise of a new blockbuster with a healthy dose of skepticism. And we should. But Disclosure Day deals in the kind of truth that is impossible to suppress, whether we’re talking about seventy years of government secrets or the reality of the film itself: Steven Spielberg has delivered another late-career masterpiece. It is a film so fiercely entertaining and intellectually stimulating that trying to temper my enthusiasm for it feels like an exercise in dishonesty. It genuinely belongs among his absolute best work.
SIFF 2026 Notebook: I Love Boosters
Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters, the opening night film at this year’s Seattle International Film Festival, confirms him as one of the few American filmmakers capable of turning political rage into genuinely original spectacle. Riley has not spent the eight years since Sorry to Bother You (SIFF 2018) moderating either his politics or his imagination.
SIFF 2026 Interview: Radioheart: The Drive and Times of DJ Kevin Cole
One of the most popular films to play at the Seattle International Film Festival this year was a locally produced documentary about …
The Trouble with Normal
Bob Odenkirk is firmly in his “Liam Neeson phase”: a middle-aged man reluctantly forced to kick a lot of ass in order to protect what really matters.
The Christophers: A tale of fine art, forgery, and failchildren
Julian Sklar has followed the familiar trajectory from enfant terrible to full-blown crank. Once a renowned artist, he now spends most of his time not painting and recording Cameo-style videos—often for mothers urging their children to pursue art (in this economy?). Dressing is optional. There was also a regrettable stint as a judge on a reality show that makes Simon Cowell look like the Easter Bunny.