Author: Bill Watters

Bill Watters is a child of the late 70s- he walked into a theater to watch Star Wars, and emerged to become a lifelong fan of cinema and television. Spending nearly a decade as a projectionist, he fell into the Silicon Valley dot-com boom and became a codemonkey for a range of game companies. These days he's a frequent speaker, moderator, and panelist at pop-culture events and conventions, as well as a prolific film and television critic and genre news writer. He is also a member critic of both the San Francisco Film Critics Circle and the Broadcast Film Critics Association. In addition to his writing, he is also a photojournalist and can be found on Getty Images.

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Movies

This was always going to be one of those movies one is either going to have a blast with, be utterly confused by, or made deeply furious by. There will really not be a whole lot of other outcomes with this unabashed Feminist idea being put through a pseudo-typical romcom grinder by way of the vast bulk of the American audience being at least passingly familiar with the expanded universe of the Barbie mythos. With “Barbie,” Oscar winning writer/director Greta Gerwig has given us as close to a live-action Toy Story” as we’re likely to come across. Barbies and Kens…

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Movies
This entry is part 1 of 7 in the series Reviews

With “The Flash,” Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Comics managed to deliver an enjoyable entry into their much-maligned canon. To be fair, they have already pulled off a relative miracle in keeping their titular lead actor, Ezra Miller, from earning yet more bad press in recent months. So they already had run through most of their luck. Yet with Director Andy Muschietti, they HAVE wound up with a generally fun film, though it falls flat in a few glaring instances. Throughout the film, there are instances of CGI so stunningly bad that the looked like they were generated by an…

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Twice-nominated Academy Award actor Jeremy Renner, best known for his role as Clint Barton/Hawkeye in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, has had an accident at his home near Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe near Reno. The result necessitated his being airlifted to an area hospital. It appears he was injured while working with a snowplow, clearing away some of the recent heavy snowfall which has been experienced across the region. A representative revealed Renner’s family is now at the hospital with him and he is “receiving excellent care.” “Upon arrival, deputies coordinated with Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District and REMSA Health to arrange for…

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0
Review
This entry is part 2 of 7 in the series Reviews

Make no mistake, “Babylon” is going to be one of those films that will appear on more than a few nominee lists during the upcoming award season. Writer and Director Damien Chazelle (who has already brought home a number of trophies for “Whiplash” as well as “La La Land”) knows how to craft a story. But whether this film will resonate with audiences will depend a great deal on the eye of the beholder. Like 2019’s “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,” “Babylon” is a glimpse into a bygone era of Hollywood, though this time even further back. Set in…

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One day after Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Studios unceremoniously dropped Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel, we know what his next project will be. Cavill, avid gamer and fanboy, will star and executive produce the live-action Warhammer 40,000 series for Amazon! Amazon has just about sealed the deal with Warhammer’s publisher, Games Workshop, to secure the development rights to the project. With all the recent attention on Cavill’s departure, as well as his standing within the gaming community, any involvement on his part would more than likely enhance the appeal. Both for the series and the potential to…

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Review
This entry is part 3 of 7 in the series Reviews

The short version: It’s a must-see, and in a theater with the best screen and sound you can find. It IS 3 hours and 10 minutes long, with no good spots to run for the restroom, so go before the movie starts. There are no mid or post-credits scenes, so once the credits roll, you can run for it. And lastly, if you enjoy 3-D effects, it’s definitely worth it for “Avatar: The Way of Water.” But, if you are prone at all to getting motion sick from 3-D visuals, then you might want to hold off and stick with…

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This entry is part 4 of 7 in the series Reviews

Let’s kick this off with the King-sized elephant in the room. Marvel Studios’ latest entry into their Cinematic Universe, “Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever,” had a nearly impossible challenge from the beginning. Lead star Chadwick Boseman passed away in 2020 from cancer. When the powers that be decided not to recast the role, they had to determine how to carry on without the titular character and an actor who had emerged as an cultural icon. The result, while imperfect, is another impressive entry into the MCU. It also has the additional benefit of holding up as a stand-alone entry in…

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60
Movies
This entry is part 5 of 7 in the series Reviews

When a fan of DC Comics comes into the theater, they’re hoping to achieve the lofty goal of “I hope the film isn’t awful.” Well, you can breathe easy. “Black Adam” is not awful. Which makes it all the more frustrating when the adventure it does take us on winds up being anathema to it’s own titular character by being cowardly. Also, this origin story is one that has already been retconned any number of times in the comics, so it should some as no particular shock that this time around is yet another spin on the character and his…

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“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” remains ironically one of the best franchise entries into the “Star Wars” feature films, even though it was only billed as one of the side-quest chapters. After mixed results of the sequel trilogy, not much was expected from something not directly part of the “trilogy of trilogies.” Disney+’s “Andor” kicks things off with a three-episode premiere, stepping outside the bounds of rehashed Skywalker Saga story beats for something fresh. It takes things just as far afield of what we’ve had from the prior live-action outings (“The Mandalorian,” “Book of Boba Fett,” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi”).…

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Marking two weeks since Netflix released season 1 of the much acclaimed “The Sandman,” they have summoned something entirely unexpected up. An 11th episode, composing two stories, one animated, and one live-action. It’s not the first time that Netflix has dropped something unexpectedly. They famously premiered “The Cloverfield Paradox” immediately following the 2018 Superbowl (during which the first trailer aired for it, announcing it’s premiere to follow). This is the first time that they have done it for one of their series. The episode is an adaptation from two of creator Neil Gaiman’s graphic novels, “A Dream of a Thousand…

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