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 Report Blames ‘The Mummy’s Problems on Tom Cruise‘s ‘Excessive Control’
Critics were split on whether The Mummy was the worst film of Tom Cruise’s career. According to Rotten Tomatoes, it’s one of the two worst reviewed Cruise films, with a pitiful 16 percent approval rating. The only previous Cruise effort with a crappier RT score is Cocktail, which has a lowly 5 percent (although it’s worth noting Rotten Tomatoes did not exist when that film was released, and its sampling of reviews that are available online in 2017 may not be complete or entirely accurate representation of all the reviews it got in 1988.)
Actually, Optimus Prime Has Always Been a Total Jerk
Actually, Optimus Prime Has Always Been a Total Jerk
Watch the Cast of ‘Dodgeball’ Reunite for Charity (and Dodgeball)
We never got a sequel to Dodgeball, the 2004 underdog sports comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller as opponents in an epic dodgeball tournament. The last update on a possible 2 Dodge 2 Ball came four years ago, when screenwriter Clay Tarver was reportedly tapped to write a screenplay for a potential follow-up. Four years later, we still have nothing to show for his efforts.
DC Executive Says the Company Is Now Focused on Making ‘Fun’ Movies
With the right audience, darkness definitely sells. Hell, Universal is about to star a whole “Dark Universe.” Clearly, some folks do want grit and grimness and dudes screaming at each other and being angry and miserable. To each his own.
Dwayne Johnson Posts a Monstrous Sneak Peak From the ‘Rampage’ Set
We must now expand our description of prolific actor, producer, businessman, and pumper of muscles Dwayne Johnson’s many skills to include ace social media marketer. No wonder Johnson has become one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood; not only is he a hugely likable (not to mention literally huge) screen presence, he’s better at hyping his movies on social media than just about anybody. See, for instance, Johnson’s latest tweet about his upcoming disaster thriller Rampage:
Chris Harrison Apologies to Fans for ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ Delay, Hopes Show Will Resume Soon
When the first wave of stories about alleged misconduct on the set of Bachelor in Paradise hit, they seemed incomplete. They described an encounter between two contestants of a sexual nature, and a producer who witnessed the incident then failing to come to work, prompting the entire production to be shut down until an investigation could be concluded. Given the nature of most shows in The Bachelor franchise, this sounded odd.
‘Cars 3’ Review: Lightning McQueen’s Third Lap Is His Strongest Yet
For some Pixar fans, the Cars series represents a fork in the road; the moment when Pixar ended its “run of greatness” and “lost its way” after a decade-long string of critical and commercial hits. Writers hold up this franchise as evidence of a corruption in the beloved animation studio’s “soul”; many believe it’s responsible for Pixar’s “first bad movie.”
‘Bachelor in Paradise’ Shooting Suspended After Allegations of Misconduct on Set
Well that was a very fast final rose.
Remembering Adam West, the First Best Batman
My 18-month-old daughter is suddenly very into superheroes. Every night before bed we do story time; this week she’s become obsessed with a board book called My First Batman Book. Since she likes when I sing the words of her books to her, I naturally began singing the theme to the classic 1960s Batman as part of our nightly ritual. And she liked that so much that this morning, for the very first time, I showed her the old show’s opening credits.
Six Directors Reveal Their Picks for the Best Movies of the 21st Century
Earlier today, The New York Times published a fascinating, beautifully designed, and occasionally infuriating list of “The 25 Best Films of the 21st Century So Far.” Times critics A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis named their picks, with Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood claiming the prize as the best film of the last 16 and a half years. Their list also surveyed some directors for contributions, and in a separate piece, the Times listed the favorites from a half dozen of the biggest directors working today.
‘The Mummy’ Review: A Dark Beginning for a New Cinematic Universe
Tom Cruise is an analog man in a digital world. A master showman, he seems to understand better than almost all of his peers that no amount of computer-generated imagery can replace the simple thrill an audience gets seeing a real person do something incredible. For over 100 years, this has been one of the fundamental appeals of cinema: Watching an actor perform an impossible (and sometimes stupidly dangerous) physical act. There is no length Cruise won’t go to for our entertainment. Even when his movies are bad, Cruise still gives 110 percent, still provides at least a few mind-boggling stunts to enjoy.
Domino’s Will Air ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ on Facebook This Weekend
Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, and then watch an entire movie on a pizza company’s social media page, you could miss it.