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
‘Storks’ Trailer: They Don’t Just Deliver Babies Anymore
From the director of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, that movie where Jason Segel showed the world his penis, and Neighbors, where a woman wears a fake penis like a necklace, comes Storks, an adorable animated movie for the whole family! Of course!
‘Jack Reacher: Never Go Back’ Trailer: Tom Cruise, On the Run (And Running) Yet Again
I reviewed the original Jack Reacher for ScreenCrush back in 2012, and I started that review with this sentence: “If he hadn't already used that title for another movie, Tom Cruise could have easily called Jack Reacher “The Last Samurai.” Which made me chuckle when I reread it this morning. Who directed the new Jack Reacher sequel, Never Go Back? Edward Zwick. And what film did Zwick previously make with Tom Cruise? The Last Samurai.
‘Pete’s Dragon’ Trailer: Better Bring Some Tissues to the Theater For This One
It’s been decades since I saw the original Pete’s Dragon, but from what I remember, I don’t get a lot of it in this trailer for David Lowery’s remake of the 1977 Disney film. Instead, it feels a lot more like The Iron Giant mixed with E.T., How to Train Your Dragon, and even the recent live-action Jungle Book directed by Jon Favreau. There’s not much in the way of wacky mischief and wild antics from an invisible dragon, and much more wonder and melancholy about the tender relationship between a boy and his amazing dragon, and the close-minded adults who want to destroy him.
‘Morris From America’ Trailer: A Hip-Hop Hit From Sundance
The Sundance Film Festival loves a good coming-of-age story, and that was certainly true in 2016, when this year’s fest fell hard for Morris From America, the story of a young teen (Markees Christmas) with dreams of hip-hop stardom who moves to Germany with his single father (The Office and Hot Tub Time Machine’s Craig Robinson). The film won two awards at Sundance 2016, one for screenwriting plus a Special Jury Prize for Robinson in an unusual dramatic role, and got great reviews from critics and audiences. It was eventually acquired by A24, who will bring the film to theaters in the U.S. later this summer.
‘Kevin Hart: What Now?’ Trailer: A Stand-Up Movie With a Twist
I admire anyone who tries to bring something new to a very stale genre or format. The standup movie or special has remained basically the same for decades. The venues change, the material and comedians change, but the general aesthetics don’t; a man or woman and a microphone, a stage, a bunch of cameras, a couple of reaction shots of crowds laughing, and that’s pretty much it.
I Am Eating Everything on Denny’s ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ Menu
The most iconic image of the original Independence Day is that of a giant spaceship hovering over the White House, filling it with energy until it explodes.
Here’s Why There Are Suddenly Mini-Trailers Before the Movie Trailers on YouTube
If you watch a lot of trailers on YouTube, you’ve probably noticed a trend that’s suddenly become very prevalent: You click to play a trailer, but before the actual clip begins, you get a five-second flash of the thing you’re about to watch, complete with its own title card. Then the MPAA warning shows up and the full trailer plays. You can see an example above, in the teaser for Ron Howard’s Inferno.
Check Out This Incredibly Rare Early Teaser For ‘Revenge of the Jedi’
Although May 4 has become Star Wars Day (Observed) just because of the cutesy “May the 4th be with you” thing, the real anniversary of Star Wars’ unveiling, the day we should celebrate, is May 25. Which just so happens to be today.
Fans Are Freaking Out About a Big Twist in the New ‘Captain America’ Comic
If you’ve been cruising social media today and you follow any comics fans, you probably caught a glimpse (or several thousand glimpses) of a #SayNotoHydraCap hashtag.
‘Finding Dory’ Trailer: A Fish Sticks to Her Plan to Get Home
There was a lot of initial skepticism about the idea of a Finding Nemo sequel. What are you gonna do? Have Nemo vanish again? How many times can a fish get lost?
‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ Extended Trailer: Even More Landmarks Get Trashed
The trend in trailers right now is to make things shorter. Teasers for trailers. Vines for teasers for trailers. Even full-length trailers on YouTube now often start with a five-second tease of the trailer you are about to watch five seconds later. It’s hard to conceive of ways content can be chopped any smaller, but studios keep finding ways.
‘Beauty and the Beast’ Teaser: A New Tale as Old as Time
“Ever just the same. Ever a surprise.” One imagines those lyrics from “Beauty and the Beast” will apply particularly well to this new version of Disney’s animated classic, coming to theaters next year.