If youwatch enough Japanese cinema, especially the classics, you’re probably going to come across a samurai film or two before long. If a movie has samurai characters, it obviously qualifies, as do martial arts movies made in Japan that have a focus on sword-to-sword combat. Additionally, if a movie is more of a historical dramaset in samurai times(and doesn’t have much action), it can still qualify. What follows are not just the best of the best, but the samurai movies that feel the closest to perfect (and a handful genuinely are impossible to fault)....

2017 was an outstanding year for movies, so 2018 definitely has its work cut out for it when it comes to heading to the theater. Thankfully, there seems to be no shortage of promising movies slated for this year, and we’ve picked out the fifty that look the best. That’s not to say other movies won’t come along and look even better (who’s to say what will come out of a festival or make a surprising splash on the calendar), but judging by the landscape of what we know is currently set for release this year, 2018 looks like it could be just as good as 2017....

The root of Polynesian culture is storytelling. Before language was recorded in written form, histories and cultural traditions were oral records, passed on through word of mouth or cultural dance and performance, like hula. So it’s no surprise that Polynesian filmmakers have the same eye for storytelling through the medium of filmmaking. RELATED:How ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Deftly Portrayed the Modern Lives of Native Hawaiians While the average film-goers first exposure to Polynesian culture may be through films likeLilo & StitchandMoana,Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander filmmakers have been telling their own stories for centuries....

Apple TV+ is adding more heat to its growing catalog of global thrillers withThe Dispatcher, a six-part limited series currently filming in Australia. Based on Ryan David Jahn’s Edgar Award-winning 2011 novel, the series promises a haunting exploration of loss, obsession, and justice—with Patrick Brammall (Evil,Glitch) taking the lead in what might become one of the platform’s most emotionally charged crime dramas yet. A Gripping Premise With Personal Stakes Brammall stars as Ian Hunt, a former detective turned police dispatcher, whose life was shattered when his daughter Maggie went missing ten years ago....

Arrowhas always been the best version of itself when it demonstrates a healthy amount of self-awareness of Oliver’s shortcomings. It’s why the show only started clicking when Diggle and Felicity were first brought onto the team in season one. The show needed in-universe characters to call Oliver out on his weaknesses, on his blind spots. To let the viewers at home know that show was aware that, yes, Oliver was a hero, but he was also kind of a mess....

Welcome, to both our new and returning listeners, to theSaturday Mourning Cartoonspodcast! The weekly show for all things animation, including news, reviews, and interviews, features co-hostsDave TrumboreandSean Paul Ellis. And as of this episode, we’re now a part of theCollider Factorypodcast network under the curatedCollider Weeklylist. To kick things off in a big way, we’re tackling the latest DC Universe Animated Original Movies release,Batman: Hush! The animated adaptation of the acclaimed early-2000s DC Comics run from writerJeph Loeband artistsJim Lee,Scott Williams, andAlex Sinclairis now available on Digital and will be coming to 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack and the DC Universe streaming service on August 6th....

Directed byBen Lewin(The Sessions),Please Stand Byfollows Wendy (Dakota Fanning), a fiercely independent and brilliant young woman with autism, who also deeply lovesStar Trek, which she uses to filter and understand what she can’t make sense of herself. When she learns about a screenplay competition, Wendy completes a 500-pageStar Trekscript and becomes determined to enter, even if it means traveling hundreds of miles outside of her sheltered and protected life to submit in person, much to the concern of her big sister (Alice Eve) and therapist (Toni Collette), both of whom are impressed with Wendy’s determination and drive....

As winter turns to spring and the thought of summer begins to enter the back of our minds, our streaming services help pass the aching time. This March, in a month dominated by awards shows, including the 2024 Academy Awards, our screens are perhaps more tantalizing than ever, with Apple TV+, in particular, adding a variety of brand-new shows, exciting second seasons, and even anAcademy Award-nominatedmovie for good measure to their back catalog....

David Ayeris getting some backup on his upcoming sequel toBright. Netflix has recruited screenwriterEvan Spiliotopoulosto pen the script for the sequel to the action fantasy, which starredJoel EdgartonandWill Smithas two odd couple policemen working in an alternate reality Los Angeles where all manner of magical creatures walk the warring streets. Spiliotopoulos is no stranger to the fantastical, having penned a number of DTV Disney animated movies before writing the screenplays for the blockbuster fantasy filmsBeauty and the BeastandThe Huntsman: Winter’s War....

The history of Disney animation is being celebrated with theSnow Whiteremake currently singing its heart out in theaters. That first Disney Princess kicked off a century of classic films that filled many households with joy. If you’re of a certain age, one of the best films of the Disney “Renaissance” era remainsBeauty and the Beast. The 1991 musical, in the last 30 years, has received multiple physical media releases, a live-action remake, and a dining hall full of merchandise....

The Cannes Film Festival has been postponed due to the global coronavirus pandemic, the festival announced Thursday following weeks of speculation that led many to believe a delay was inevitable. This year’s festival had been slated to take place from May 12-23, but event organizers are now looking at late June/early July for the iconic festival. “At this time of global health crisis, our thoughts go to the victims of the Covid-19 and we express our solidarity with all of those who are fighting the disease," read a statement from the festival....

Clint Eastwoodis more versatile as an actor and director than he’s given credit for. Because his portrayal as a vigilante police officer inDirty Harryand a steely gunfighting bounty hunter inThe Good, The Bad, and The Uglyare so iconic, it’s easy to equate him as a cop or cowboy solely. Between romantic dramas, musical comedies, space adventures, neo-noirs, and biopics,there are only a few subjects and genres that Eastwood hasn’t touched. As a seminal figure in action movies and Westerns,the combat field was a suitable backdrop for Eastwood,who gave one of his most charismatic performances ever in the boot camp-set war drama with a sharp comedic edge,Heartbreak Ridge....

Strongeris now in theaters, and I was recently able to speak with directorDavid Gordon Greenabout it at the Toronto International Film Festival. If you haven’t seen the trailers, the drama – based on a true story – starsJake Gyllenhaalas Jeff Bauman, an ordinary man who became a symbol of heroism and strength after losing both of his legs during the tragic 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Unlike theMark WahlbergvehiclePatriot’s Day, this film is mostly focused on what happened after the bombing, and how the event and the public attention affected Bauman and his ex-girlfriend Erin (Tatiana Maslany), who was running the marathon at the time....