adventure
-
Movie Fantasy League Week 16: Fantasy Odyssey
To nobody’s surprise, “The Odyssey” debuted at #1 with $123 million, outpacing #2 by more than $100 million and becoming Nolan’s biggest opening weekend for a non-Batman film. Continue reading
-
Movie Fantasy League Week 15: Moana and the Celebrity Burn Pass
“Obsession” continued its impressive run, passing “Sinners” to become the highest-grossing original live-action movie of the century. Continue reading
-
Movie Fantasy League Week 14: Minions & Washington
Regardless of what was going on in Washington, D.C. this weekend, it’s an objective fact that this holiday total was noticeably lower than previous years…though it was not for lack of options! Continue reading
-
Every Evil Dead Movie Ranked (including Burn)
Very rarely does a horror franchise endure for as long as Evil Dead, and many find success even without the massive cultural footprint that Sam Raimi’s possession horror has laid over the years. Continue reading
-
The 10 Best Films of 2026, So Far: A Midyear Report
For once, a future where peaceful coexistence between franchise fare and fresh stories doesn’t feel quite as much of a fantasy. Continue reading
-
Movie Fantasy League Week 13: Invite to the Super Jackass
This weekend’s domestic box office is down from last weekend about 30%, with “Toy Story” remaining in its top spot and “Obsession” clinging to #3 in its seventh weekend. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: John Ford
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Movie Fantasy League Week 12: The Death of Girls and Toys
Whether or not “Toy Story 5” has legs remains to be seen – historically, the franchise does incredibly well in the months after release, but it’s not usually been up against other animation tentpoles in an extraordinarily crowded summer. Continue reading
-
Movie Fantasy League Week 11: Stop! That! Disclosure Day!
This weekend’s box office had the steepest drop in four weeks, but that should only be expected after a completely unforeseen run of miracles. Continue reading
-
Movie Fantasy League Week 10: Masters of the Scary Movie Universe
We went from Netflix executives loudly proclaiming that “theatrical is dead!” to two small-budget horror flicks savaging “Star Wars,” one of the most reliable pop culture properties, at the box office. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Stop-Motion Animation
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Movie Fantasy League Week 8: I Love the Mandalorian Passenger
While the highest grosser of the weekend was “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” the big winner was “Obsession,” which jumped up a spot in the domestic box office, added 40 theaters to its roster, and made 40% more than its opening… Continue reading
-
Movie Fantasy League Week 7: Obsessed with the Draft
“Michael” won the box office again in its fourth week, a strong showing after dropping down to #3 last weekend. Continue reading
-
Movie Fantasy League Week 6: Sheep Kombat
“The Devil Wears Prada 2” continues to slay in the top spot, with new releases “Mortal Kombat II,” “The Sheep Detectives,” and Billie Eilish’s tour/concert doc “Hit Me Hard and Soft” trailing close behind. Continue reading
-
Movie Fantasy League Week 5: The Devil Wears Dollars
“The Devil Wears Prada 2” and “Michael” are both formidable opponents and major successes for their respective studios. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Visual Effects
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Movie Fantasy League Week 4: A Thriller Weekend
The domestic box office was up over sixty percent this week, and that is almost entirely thanks to “Michael,” the problematic musical biopic that moonwalked to almost $100 million in its first few days alone. Continue reading
-
Movie Fantasy League Week 3: Lee Cronin’s Mummy Mary
This weekend, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” continued its rampage across North American theaters, remaining at Number One, though its lead is not quite what it used to be. Continue reading
-
Movie Fantasy League Week 2: Faces of Tuscany Death
This is the first week in which we are taking into account the critical scores, including from aggregate sites like Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, Letterboxd, and IMDb. Continue reading
-
Movie Fantasy League Week 1: It Has Risen
This past weekend was Easter weekend, which tends to be one of the softer holiday weekends in the spring/summer season, but even more importantly, it continued to be “spring break season.” Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Clint Eastwood
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
What Really Scares Me (May’s Monthly Horror Recs)
Welcome to the eighth edition of May’s Monthly Horror Recs, where it’s always the time of year for scary movies! Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Anime
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Our Most Anticipated Movies of 2026
Bring on the new year! Iconic filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, Denis Villeneuve, Greta Gerwig, Christopher Nolan, Danny Boyle, Sam Raimi, Gore Verbinski, and many other icons will be gracing our screens with epic new offerings, and though it looks to… Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Practical Effects
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
The 10 Best Films of 2025
Whether it’s the triumphant return of an iconic filmmaker with an indelible masterpiece or the start of a new cinematic movement, 2025 brought us a variety of entertaining features that we’ll be talking about for a long time. Continue reading
-
Start the New Year with a Scream (May’s Monthly Horror Recs)
Welcome to the sixth edition of May’s Monthly Horror Recs, where it’s always the time of year for scary movies! Continue reading
-
The Underseen Gems of 2025
Knock on Wood presents: our favorite under-appreciated masterpieces from 2025. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Steven Spielberg
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Early Animation
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Close-Ups
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Paul Thomas Anderson’s Latest is One Banger After Another (Review)
It’s rare to sit down for a movie and realize in real time that you’re watching a masterpiece. You can see the future, and that what you’re witnessing is going to be cherished and discussed for many decades to come.… Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Akira Kurosawa
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Live Action Fantasy
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Five Underseen Horror Films to Watch This July (May’s Monthly Recs)
Welcome to the second edition of May’s Monthly Horror Recs, where it’s always the time of year for scary movies! Continue reading
-
“Superman” is Ambitious, but Delightfully Authentic (Review)
There was only one place to start for a brand-new DC universe, and it was their most powerful and inspiring hero. Continue reading
-
The 10 Best Films of 2025, So Far: A Midyear Report
Today marks the midway point of both an unusually painful year and the most tumultuous decade in recent memory. Today, we will be examining ten films released this year that our contributors connected with, and have so far taken their… Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Christopher Nolan
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Danny Boyle Viciously Reinvigorates Franchise Filmmaking with “28 Years Later” (Review)
“28 Years Later” makes a compelling argument for Boyle to be considered one of the most innovative and influential filmmakers of the 21st century. Continue reading
-
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is the Sum of Our Choices (Review)
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is both an exercise in patience and an extraordinarily cathartic release. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Flashbacks
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Every Best Picture Winner Ranked (Part One)
The Academy Award for Best Picture has been awarded for almost a century to the film deemed to represent not necessarily the most popular, but the most culturally relevant in that year’s cinematic lineup. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: John Carpenter
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Neo-Westerns
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Our Most Anticipated Movies of 2025
There are plenty of films, whether they be original, adaptations, or sequels, that we’re looking forward to this year. Continue reading
-
The 10 Best Films of 2024
Though it may not have reached the heights of years previous, 2024 has proven to be a fascinating year for cinema. Continue reading
-
The Underseen Gems of 2024
Knock on Wood presents: our favorite under-appreciated masterpieces from 2024. Continue reading
-
The 25 Best Movie Musicals of the Last 25 Years
Musicals have certainly had their ups and downs over the years, but it’s quite clear that musicals are experiencing a high water mark in entertainment spectacle and audience engagement. Continue reading
-
“The War of the Rohirrim” Bottles the Best of Middle-Earth (Review)
“The War of the Rohirrim” perfectly recreates Tolkien’s fully-realized world in a way we haven’t quite seen before. Continue reading
-
Too Many Movies, Too Little Time: A Summary of the 2024 Fall Movie Season (Part Two)
To commemorate the conclusion of the season, we have reviewed every new release (that I have seen) that has not been previously covered on our site. Continue reading
