Rumor has it we might get another female character in Joss Whedon’s Avengers movie. While y’all know my feelings on the subject of the awesomeness of She-Hulk, I do find the suggestion that the lady in question be Maria Hill interesting. One of the things that was best about The Incredibles was the ways it teased out the infrastructure that superheroes need to do their work, from... 

I was feeling rather cranky about Charles Dickens and his influence after finishing Drood, but finally getting around to G.K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday has kind of restored my faith in the age (and actually in retellings of Paradise Lost, too, seriously shaken after His Dark Materials). Thursday is one of those books that falls in a funny interstitial space: classic, but... 

This interview with Jeffrey Wright is predictably wonderful and thoughtful. And I think this observation, “that’s rare among white writers, white directors that I’ve been involved with, that they’re willing to have a vulnerable conversation about race. I mean, that’s a function of the hackles and defensiveness that all too often get in the way of a real clear and productive... 

I have essentially no sympathy for Family Edited DVDs, a company that’s being sued by a coalition of studios for editing theoretically objectionable material out of major releases and re-releasing them as family entertainment. It’s not just that it’s plagiarism, though of course, it is that, too. It speaks to a larger laziness. Nobody has a right to insist that art contain only... 

But why not do a live version of Tintin? I imagine the cost of motion-capture would balance out with the cost of special effects, and it would look vastly better than this. Just because Gollum worked out doesn’t mean a technology’s perfected, or that everyone’s going to nail the execution. I genuinely don’t understand why the filmmakers went this route. It’s not as if... 

Steve G. wrote in comments that “Emma Stone is so perfect for the part that I doubt it’ll happen.” Apparently, we get to be proved wrong, because it’s so on. The question now becomes who plays Gwen Stacy, and what the hell do they do with her. The misuse of Bryce Dallas Howard in a throwaway version of that role in Spider-Man 3 was a perfect example of the problems with... 

It really would be terrific if the folks remaking Spider-Man, if they must cast a grown man as a teenager, could snag Emma Stone as Mary Jane. I thought Kirsten Dunst was quite good for the extremely sweet interpretation of Mary Jane the most recent trilogy selected, but everything felt a bit sad and heavy between her and Peter, so much of the time. It got to be a bit ponderous, angsty going. I wouldn’t... 

This time, getting sliced and diced by Paul Bettany in yet another one of his inexplicably dumb and ugly-looking action roles, accompanied by Maggie Q, Stephen Moyer, and other worthies: From Crackle: Priest The only thing that I think is kind of promising about this is that with his Mysterious Man With A Hat role here Karl Urban seems to be spending some time expanding the part of his skill set... 

Man, the world’s not fair. A girl goes out on a limb, writes a semi-ridiculous-but-sincere defense of Bones, and how do they reward her? They cast The Situation on the show. Or at least, they try. If they’re hard-up for material, bring back Wallace as Michelle’s boyfriend and do some more of the mother-daughter thing with her and Cam. Or get Angela pregnant and continue the show’s... 

Man, is this a busy pre-vacation week! First up this morning, Morning Edition aired the episode I taped a while back about Real Housewives of Washington, DC, and I posted an interview I did with one of the stars. It’s absolutely fascinating seeing the gap between how these women are cut and portrayed on screen, and what it’s like to talk to them in person. Then, yesterday at The Atlantic,...