Review: "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" Reinvents the Superhero Narrative Perfectly

Scene from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

With over a half dozen superhero movies released annually, it does seem difficult to answer such a simple question: what makes someone a hero? It takes an act of bravery for sure, but most films feature familiar archetypes fighting supernatural forces more than getting to the heart of how the person watching the film could ever imagine themselves on screen. It's exactly what makes Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse so revolutionary and one of the quintessential superhero films of the decade. It isn't just that the animation pushes the boundaries of conventional CGI, but that it manages to find the humanity within the style and bring something new to something oh so familiar.

Theory Thursday: Lily Tomlin Should Host the Oscars

Left to right: Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin

Welcome to a weekly column called Theory Thursdays, which will be released every Thursday and discuss my "controversial opinion" related to something relative to the week of release. Sometimes it will be birthdays while others is current events or a new film release. Whatever the case may be, this is a personal defense for why I disagree with the general opinion and hope to convince you of the same. While I don't expect you to be on my side, I do hope for a rational argument. After all, film is a subjective medium and this is merely just a theory that can be proven either way. 

Birthday Take: Lily Tomlin in "Nashville" (1975)

Lily Tomlin in Nashville

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

The First Trailer for "Grandma" Sees Tomlin Being As Sassy As Ever

Left to right: Julia Garner and Lily Tomlin

In 2015, it seems like a very good time to be Lily Tomlin. For starters, she has gotten a lot of acclaim for her work on the Netflix series Grace and Frankie alongside co-star Jane Fonda. While she has been busy with small parts here and there, it feels like she has decided to take center stage with a series of projects that also includes Sundance favorite from director Paul Weitz called Grandma. In a film that sees her taking care of her granddaughter and having a very randy time about it, the first trailer looks to promise a lot of great times ahead, but is it possible that an Oscar nomination is in store as well?