Matt Singer is the editor and critic of the website ScreenCrush.com. For five years, he was the on-air host of IFC News on the Independent Film Channel, hosting coverage of film festivals and red carpets around the world. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle, he’s been a frequent contributor to the television shows CBS This Morning Saturday and Ebert Presents At the Movies, and his writing has also appeared in print and online at The Village Voice, The Dissolve, and Indiewire. His first book, Marvel’s Spider-Man: From Amazing to Spectacular, is on sale now.
Matt Singer
New HBO NOW Releases: September 2015
Aspiring filmmakers. Androids. Cheerleaders. Olympic figure skaters. Dr. Frank N. Furter. Moses.
‘Hitman: Agent 47’ Review: The Hitman’s Name Is Agent 47, So Technically the Title of This Movie is ‘Hitman: Hitman’
Agent 47 is a perfect assassin, designed in a lab to kill with ruthless efficiency and accuracy. Mad scientists tweaked his genetics to enhance his toughness and diminish his emotions, because emotions make people weak. In his line of work — murdering people, all day, everyday, for money — it is better not to feel.
‘Victor Frankenstein’ Trailer: An Igor-y Reboot of the Horror Classic
It’s alive! Again! For the, what, twentieth time?
First ‘Incredibles 2’ and ‘Cars 3’ Posters on Display at D23
Disney’s annual convention dedicated to itself, D23 (named, I assume, after the number of dollars you have left in your bank account after you go and buy lots of cool Disney swag), kicks off today, so expect plenty of news and announcements coming out of Anaheim all weekend...
‘The Hateful Eight’ Trailer: Quentin Tarantino’s Latest, Wanted Dead or Alive
I can’t blame anyone who’s got Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the top of their list of most anticipated movies of the fall and winter. But for me, it’s all about The Hateful Eight.
Winona Ryder Says ‘Beetlejuice 2’ Is Actually Happening
You remember Beetlejuice. That crazy, anarchic ghost guy played by Michael Keaton who materializes in his black-and-white striped suit whenever you say his name three times.
J.J. Abrams Broke His Back Making ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ (Literally)
Harrison Ford might be a superhero. This, according to Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams, who was on set for Ford’s unfortunate accident last year, when a hydraulic door broke his leg. (As Abrams’ describes it in the clip above, his ankle was at a, gulp, 90-degree angle to the rest of his body. Ew.) Thankfully, Ford was okay. Then he later got into a plane crash and was mostly okay after that too. Because, again, Harrison Ford is a superhero.
Ivan Reitman: ‘There Is Only One New ‘Ghostbusters’ Movie’
There has been much dispute lately regarding the matter of who, in the event of a ghost-related emergency, ya gonna call.
‘Vacation’ Review: This Sad Sequel Truly Is a Road Trip from Hell
Full disclosure: I missed the last 10 minutes of Vacation. Last night’s press screening started 20 minutes late, then began without any sound, which lead to a 10 minute delay to correct the technical difficulties. With an unbreakable engagement elsewhere, I had to sneak out right before the very last scene. So take this review with as many grains of salt as you’d like. If you think those final minutes might recontextualize everything that came before to transform a generally miserable comedy into a beacon of transcendent hilarity, so be it. Having sat through the previous 90 minutes, I’m of the opinion that nothing short of the long-lost missing footage from Orson Welles’ Magnificent Ambersons could have redeemed this dreadful film.
Michael Jackson Wanted to Play Jar Jar Binks in ‘The Phantom Menace’
In an interview with VICE, Ahmed Best, best known as the man who appeared in three less-than-enthusiastically received Star Wars prequels as the less-than-beloved Jar Jar Binks, says that while he was the one who ended up winning the role, there was a far more famous superstar who really wanted to play everyone’s ninth-favorite Gungan. And that man was Michael Jackson.