PONCHA SPRINGS — After being gone for a year, the Great Colorado vs. Texas Tomato War has returned; pitting residents from both states against each other in a produce-pitching combat that's as pulpy as it is playfully tumultuous the good-natured battle has always been held in the scenic vistas west of Colorado Springs with the past two battles taking place in Poncha Springs; it's a conflict that has seen the usage of tons and tons of over-ripened tomatoes since its inception According to the website dedicated to this grand and tradition-laden conflict the war dates back to 1982 and was precipitated by a less-than-well-received conversation between with one war seeing more than 500 participants This year marked the fourth rendition tomato-ey tradition since its revival in 2020; each year organizers choose a charity to support with funds raised by the event and have raised tens of thousands of dollars for various causes The last Tomato War raised nearly $12,000 for the above-mentioned causes while this year's proceeds are slated to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in search of a cure and also Chaffee County Hospitality in their mission of supporting unhoused residents in the area the size and location of the event have fluctuated while the core messaging has always stayed completely the same To learn more about the Great Colorado vs Texas Tomato War, and keep track of future developments, CLICK HERE._____ _____Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5 Report a typo Many people in Colorado have heard of Temple Grandin, but many may have not. There is a movie out there It's one that all Coloradans should see Temple Grandin has been a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University She is an inspiration to those with autism across the world; but her story is an inspirational one for everyone that gets an amazing 100% on Rotten Tomatoes Biopics can be "hit or miss" many times; it can be difficult to capture the subject's life within a 2-hour time frame The one about Temple Grandin is one of them "Temple Grandin" was produced for HBO in 2010 with Claire Danes in the titular role portraying Temple as a youth though her college years Danes does a tremendous job in her role in the film O'Hara is great as Temple's aunt who has a ranch in Arizona where Temple discovers her empathy for livestock and you see her amazing intelligence take off There is a scene where the aunt has to close an apparatus meant for cattle around Temple at her request; the scene is a far cry from any of her roles such as Moria Rose on Schitt's Creek as an early instructor and mentor of Temple's is terrific and Julia Ormand as Temple's mother makes the film wonderful as well when I was scrolling the menu of "what's on" and saw that "Temple Grandin" got 100% on Rotten Tomatoes that's what really drew me in to watch the movie I'm glad I watched the film; it brings a tear to your eyes and makes you proud that Colorado State University has her as part of its staff Many people in Colorado have heard of Temple Grandin, but many may have not. There is a movie out there, based on her life, that is as great as she is\nRead More Many people in Colorado have heard of Temple Grandin, but many may have not. There is a movie out there Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news You are receiving this pop-up because this is the first time you are visiting our site You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker) we are relying on revenues from our banners So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.Thanks Tomatoes cooked together with cabbages have been and still remain a super quick and delicious vegetable side dish dinner for most Kenyans One needs a handful of simple ingredients to put it together and the Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) is still improving and breeding new ones They are currently working on identifying the best irrigation practices for tomato production said the production of tomatoes is critical in a country where each household consumes the vegetable in at least two meals every day Wasilwa expressed fears that the over 500,000 tomato farmers in Kenya could not meet the local demand due to poor seed varieties impacting low yields which still stand at 8.8 metric tons (MT) per acre against a potential of 20 MT per acre Wasilwa said the deficit has forced the country to bridge the shortfalls with imports from Tanzania "Production of tomatoes is largely constrained by the high cost of certified seeds and low technology adoption rates among the smallholder farmers who are the majority of producers," Dr Kalro had been holding an Open Week Exhibition at all its institutes and centers from February 14th to March 7th various private companies that have collaborated with Kalro joined in to showcase some of their innovations Sakata Seeds is one such company that had the opportunity to display a very large range of products and showcase the quality and yield of various varieties during the Kalro Kandara farmers' day last week the regional representative for Sakata in East Africa said they have started a tomato breeding program specifically for Africa and are developing some varieties in their breeding stations across the world a tomato variety they are promoting for the East African and West African regions with the trial site at KALRO "It is an excellent new variety with large fruit It has disease resistance to tomato spotted wilt virus and tomato yellow leaf curl virus two of the problems that have been faced by farmers in the Loitokitok region of the country where tomatoes are grown on a large scale," Hamilton said He explained that apart from the Buena Vista variety having large-sized fruits thus giving them an excellent shelf life and allowing them to reach the market without any damage He added that the yield is also extremely high "We are very excited to launch this variety into the Kenyan market and look forward to hearing what the feedback will be from the farmers," said Hamilton are focusing more on climate change with an understanding that they will have to produce fruits that can survive hotter more disease-ridden zones and also come up with solutions for farmers A new tomato may take up to 10 to 12 years to produce It is extremely difficult for breeders to produce new varieties fast enough to keep up with climate change," he added Other important crops that Sakata is also working on "Butternut is something which is extremely high yielding and something which I think farmers can rely on more and more," he said the old-fashioned 'Malenge' is still on the market but nowadays more people are moving towards butternut because they are high yielding which they have also launched in the country specifically for the African region There are over 400 different varieties of cabbage grown throughout the world The reason why the PowerSlam F1 is expected to be successful making the cabbage dense and ideal for transportation a common issue that causes cabbages to rot in the field One of the key things that farmers and brokers are looking for is a cabbage that will survive long distances such as from Kakamega all the way to Mombasa and arrive at the marketplace intact despite the heat Hamilton stated that the PowerSlam F1 cabbage matures faster than average it averages three to three and a half kilos "What is interesting is that we have other varieties of cabbages that will grow to five kilos or eight kilos and others even larger but brokers prefer those that will fit as many as possible in their trucks Sakata Seeds is renowned globally for its role in breeding new varieties of food crops such as tomatoes address pest challenges and are high-yielding tomato production is estimated to contribute more than Sh15 billion annually to the Kenyan economy providing income to producers and food to the country's population while the annual area under cabbage cultivation in Kenya is about 600,000 tons Source: Kenya News Agency FreshPublishers © 2005-2025 HortiDaily.com The filmmaker who made plot twists hip again is a Philly guy and a large chunk of his movies are set in the City of Brotherly Love I often spot locations that are overly familiar to me This turns me into the "pointing Leo" meme I know where that is!" It's like a little treat But beyond Shyamalan's penchant for using Philadelphia as a setting I'm proud to say that I stuck with the filmmaker while others turned on him and I was thrilled when he began what is considered his big comeback starting with "The Visit" and continuing with "Split." After being written off by many critics and moviegoers You likely know all about his meteoric rise After his indie drama debut "Praying with Anger" (1992) and the forgotten family film "Wide Awake" (1998) Shyamalan broke out in a huge way with the 1999 ghost story "The Sixth Sense." While that movie got a lot of press because of its big twist it was also just a damn good movie overall and more or less gave Shyamalan carte blanche to do whatever the hell he wanted And what he wanted to do was follow things up with "Unbreakable," a movie that was a serious drama .. The superhero movie boom would make such an idea commonplace but it was somewhat radical when "Unbreakable" arrived in 2000 Night followed that up with one of his biggest blockbusters the alien invasion thriller "Signs." But While "Signs" garnered good reviews and even better box office returns there was a sense that people were starting to grow a little tired of Shyamalan's schtick "The Village," was also a box office hit — but critics weren't happy with it and audiences felt hoodwinked by the marketing which tried to sell the film as a full-blown horror movie Shyamalan pressed on, but his "brand" was damaged. His next movie, "Lady in the Water," was not well-received at all. Nor was his wonderfully silly B-movie "The Happening." "The Last Airbender" wasn't a total flop but it wasn't a hit either — and fans downright hated it Things had gotten so dire for Shyamalan that when his next movie the Will Smith sci-fi film "After Earth," arrived Shyamalan's name was left out of the trailers as if the studio was afraid mentioning him would turn people off Some of us might've called it quits at this point 2015's "The Visit," was financed entirely by Shyamalan himself And his gamble paid off: audiences had fun and critics called it a return to form Shyamalan is about to do it again with "Trap." Sadly is not screening it for critics — and that both concerns me and gives me pause when a studio doesn't screen a film for critics it's a sign that folks involved don't have confidence in the movie But hasn't Shyamalan earned that confidence by now this "no critics screening" edict could be coming directly for Shyamalan himself Perhaps he's been so burned by negative reviews in the past that he wants to avoid them altogether All I know is that I think "Trap" looks like a lot of fun and I'm sad I wasn't given the opportunity to review it Night Shyamalan movie is "The Sixth Sense." You know the story: Bruce Willis is Malcolm Crowe a child psychologist who begins working with Cole Sear quiet young boy with a big secret: he sees dead people and while this is traumatizing for the kid Malcolm helps him harness his powers for good — we learn that Malcolm has been dead for almost the entire movie sneaky self-confidence that allows it to take us down a strange path Community·Posted on Nov 9 2021Subscribe to BuzzFeed Daily NewsletterCaret DownTell Us Which Low-Scoring Movie On Rotten Tomatoes Is Actually Really Rotten Tomatoes is arguably the most influential force of modern film criticism during today's internet age Does that mean it's perfect or always gets things right the cite works as an aggregate of professional reviews offering users an easy way to tell if a movie might be a huge waste of time The way the site works is relatively straightforward Critics submit their review of a film from their respective outlet Anything below a 60% score is rotten and anything above 60% is fresh Just because a movie has a low score or a high score doesn't actually determine its worth or quality what may be totally rotten to one person could be fresh to someone else One man's trash is another man's treasure if you will but horror especially due to horror movies still being seen by many to be low-brow and unworthy of the same respect as other genres let us honour a few frightening features that critics did wrong with ten good horror movies with surprisingly low Rotten Tomato scores This one comes in at number ten on our list not because it isn't worthy of a higher spot but because it's the only one with a fresh rating after encountering a strange substance known only as Soy Sauce two best friends find themselves at the centre of a cosmic mystery of horrors as the two must battle a monster made entirely out of meat and even reality itself in the hope of saving the world John Dies at the End is the kind of movie destined to achieve cult classic status working in conjunction with the twisty narrative to tell an unusually sweet story about friendship Where it really succeeds though is in its willingness to just go for it The movie never feels constrained by logic or real world sensibilities and is constantly upping the ante in its oddity Whether it just went over critics' heads or was too weird for its own good John Dies at the End is worth more than a barely passing grade on the Rotten Tomatoes scoreboard WhatCulture is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab) ©Future Publishing Limited Quay House England and Wales company registration number 2008885 PONCHA SPRINGS — On and off since the 1980s a good-natured (albeit tumultuous) war has been held in the scenic vistas west of Colorado Springs a battle between Coloradans and Texans where over-ripe tomatoes are the ammunition of choice This year saw dozens of combatants and many more onlookers head out towards Poncha Springs to take part in the third-annual revival of the Great Colorado vs Texas Tomato War which is done with safety glasses in place boasted 2,500 pounds of overly ripe tomatoes for ammunition the persistent battle cries for Colorado included: Organizers report that past and present wars have seen the Texans regularly outnumbered leading to a host of interesting strategies Perhaps the most popular being the creation of "The Tomalamo." the tomato Alamo; which is a structure comprised of bales of hay and defended fiercely by those Texans in attendance and location have been subject to change over the many years of the war's existence When the war was revived in 2020 in the town of Guffey by Larry Bunte a 10-year participant in the wars from the 1980s to raise money to aid the fight against cystic fibrosis The following year saw the event reinvent itself once again organizers say the event was even larger and still maintained its goal of fundraising for good purposes giving more folks a chance to chuck tomatoes at each other in good fun "Everyone is reminded that the Colorado versus Texas theme is just an excuse to have fun." To learn more about the Great Colorado vs Texas Tomato War, CLICK HERE Subscribe to BuzzFeed Daily NewsletterCaret Down14 Teen Movies That Film Critics Tried To Convince Us Were BadI'd like to have a word with everyone who slated The Princess Diaries I've used Rotten Tomatoes scores for each film – they aggregate reviews from a range of different critics Rotten Tomatoes rating: 21% Most of the critics had pretty much the same complaint – that Step Up is just a predictable rehashing of the dance films from their heyday (Footloose and Dirty Dancing are namedropped in a lot of reviews) but there's a lot less about the onscreen chemistry and the iconic dance moves and the audience score suggests that fans of dance movies appreciated a modern take on the classic formula Rotten Tomatoes rating: 48% Shocked to see such a masterpiece here, aren't you? Apparently, critics thought the story was a mediocre, unrealistic fairytale cliché that's preoccupied with high school politics and a rip-off of Pygmalion Mia’s awkward charm and her friendship drama are what make this wild story so relatable the old rags-to-riches plot is a tale as old as time Rotten Tomatoes rating: 54% I was surprised to see Cruel Intentions with such a low rating Most of the more recent reviews aren’t that scathing (retrospect is a beautiful thing) but there were a lot of film buffs who made less than positive comparisons to Dangerous Liaisons as low-brow as the critics considered Cruel Intentions it has an almost identical audience score as Dangerous Liaisons Rotten Tomatoes rating: 55% A movie about a bunch of teenagers becoming WITCHES deserves way more credit than this. The Craft walked so Chilling Adventures of Sabrina could run One of the critics just said: “I’ve never subscribed to this genre of movie.. I found a lot of this stuff to just not be palatable,” which leaves me wondering what exactly they thought their review would add The last hour of The Craft isn’t as mesmerising as the first and not the critic that brandished it “a depressingly mundane affair.”  Rotten Tomatoes rating: 43% If She’s the Man wasn’t billed as an adaptation of Twelfth Night I can guarantee that critics would’ve been calling this a Shakespeare rip-off and has a predictable plot – all of which are pretty Shakespearian tropes There's a lot of calling the movie childish but there’s little mention of Amanda Bynes’ comic timing Rotten Tomatoes rating: 20% and I take no issue with the reviews for most of them but All or Nothing is iconic for all sorts of reasons – this is Solange’s breakout role which solidifies my belief that some film buffs need to lighten up a bit and admit that they’ve participated in a few Shabooya roll calls in their time Rotten Tomatoes rating: 21% so no one was expecting a Best Original Screenplay nomination but who wants shocking plot twists in a movie like this Honey is full of great dance moves and charm Rotten Tomatoes rating: 42%  but I guess some critics just don’t appreciate camp (or the iconic performances from Natasha Lyonne and Clea DuVall) “I would have preferred to know more in documentary terms about the actual reality of these terrible camps rather than sit through this heavy-handed and oddly lenient comedy,” which left me wondering why he didn’t just watch a documentary instead Rotten Tomatoes rating: 27% the critics did not hold back when it came to John Tucker – boring and many a mention of it being a Heathers rip-off Apart from the high school setting and teenage angst the two have nothing in common and personally I’m glad that John Tucker didn’t actually die… Rotten Tomatoes rating: 23% Coyote Ugly has all the ingredients of a perfect ‘00s coming-of-age story – a teen with a dream And while Violet’s charisma and the iconic “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” may have charmed us it couldn’t save “Coyote Awful” from the critics’ wrath Rotten Tomatoes rating: 41% Wild Child was a ‘00s staple – it merged all the most relatable parts of being a teen with some of the most exciting scenarios This is one of the few movies where the critics actually address that they’re not the target audience but that didn’t stop them from trashing it: “Unless you're fourteen and female Rotten Tomatoes rating: 49% I’ll be honest – I watched Twilight many many (many) times back in the ‘00s Critics called it a dumb tedious snorefest but Twilight deserves at least some credit for the fang-shaped mark it left on our culture (and the soundtrack remains iconic) Rotten Tomatoes rating: 44% so this is the only film where the critics’ score is higher than the audience’s A hot demonically possessed girl killing her male classmates – that's an award-winning concept and I honestly just think the world just wasn’t ready for it back in ’09 Rotten Tomatoes score: 19%  Is it a bit of a reach to class Sister Act 2 as a teen movie but we need to talk about this – a film starring the iconic Whoopi Goldberg and Lauryn Hill scored a whole NINE percent lower than Fast and Furious The critics' consensus is that this sequel swapped comedy for unconvincing sentiment but that high note on "Oh Happy Day" was pretty damn convincing to me It may not be the most groundbreaking of sequels but "drags by minute by painful minute" is just unnecessarily harsh (Photo by © Buena Vista/courtesy Everett Collection) 5% and 11% on the Tomatometer respectively Of course, as one would expect in a Shyamalan tale, there was a twist to come: Returning to his lower-budget roots, the director scored a hit with 2015’s The Visit, an economical and unnerving kids-in-peril tale, and then delivered the Certified Fresh Split which would not only be his scariest and most effective thriller in years but act as a stealth continuation of the Unbreakable story and set up its conclusion in Glass Now comes Old about a collection of vacationers who find themselves trapped on a private beach where their body clocks have gone haywire: something about the mysterious beach is aging them rapidly so that every hour that passes pushes their lives – and bodies – forward by about two years What follows is a series of jaw-dropping WTF shocks big philosophical questions (if you only had a few more hours to live…) and of course plenty of twists we won’t give away here To mark the arrival of a new M. Night Shyamalan movie in theaters – and it is only available in theaters – we’re dedicating a very special episode of our podcast Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong to the director who has been keeping us on our toes for more than two decades co-hosts Mark Ellis and Jacqueline Coley will reveal the Shyamalan movies that they feel the critics got wrong (hint: one of their choices may involve a certain gated 19th-century commune) and talk about his best moments and most mind-blowing twists we welcome a special guest in the form of Alex Wolff who is not only a Shyamalan super fan but delivers a standout performance as teenage Trent in Old (He also co-stars with Nicolas Cage in the acclaimed drama also currently in theaters.) What Shyamalan film does he love the most And what was it like to work with one of our modern masters of suspense Old is in theaters from Friday July 23, 2021. Pig is currently in theaters Check out some more episodes of Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong: If you have a suggestion for a movie or show you think we should do an episode on, let us know in the comments, or email us at rtiswrong@rottentomatoes.com Jacqueline Coley is an editor at Rotten Tomatoes, with a focus on awards and indie coverage but with a passion for everything, from the MCU to musicals and period pieces. Coley is a regular moderator at conventions and other events, can be seen on Access Hollywood and other shows, and will not stand Constantine slander of any kind. Follow Jacqueline on Twitter: @THATjacqueline On an Apple device? Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Apple News Weekend Box Office: Thunderbolts* Secures $76 Million Debut Netflix’s 100 Best Movies Right Now (May 2025) Star Wars Movies In Order: How to Watch the Saga Chronologically “Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong” About… How the Grinch Stole Christmas Florence Pugh Movies and Shows (Thunderbolts) 25 Most Popular TV Shows Right Now: What to Watch on Streaming 30 Most Popular Movies Right Now: What to Watch In Theaters and Streaming Copyright © Fandango. A Division of NBCUniversal (Photo by © Buena Vista Pictures/ Courtesy: Everett Collection) For many, Sister Act 2: Back In the Habit is a movie with pretty much everything: An incredible lead star in Whoopi Goldberg, rousing musical numbers to spare, next-gen talent destined for greatness (hello, Lauryn Hill!) and – with its triumph-over-adversity and pursue-your-dreams themes – so many feels which came out just a year and a half after the super-successful original was largely dismissed as a retread not just of that first film but of the “inspirational teacher inspires inner-city kids” genre more generally It has a current Tomatometer score of just 17% and it’s been much lower than that in the past That score has not gone unnoticed. Not by Buzzfeed Australia not by the latest guest on our new podcast who have told us in no uncertain terms in comments and at bars when we tell them where we work “Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong.” And so yes we had to talk about it… and record ourselves as we did they’ll also ask whether Back In the Habit – a landmark for representation in mainstream American film at the time – ever stood a chance given who was doing the reviewing for America’s newspapers Be sure to check in every Thursday for a new episode of Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong (A Podcast From Rotten Tomatoes) hosts Jacqueline and Mark and guests go deep and settle the score on some of the most beloved – and despised – movies and TV shows ever made directly taking on the statement we hear from so many fans: “Rotten Tomatoes is wrong.” On an Apple device? Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Apple News (Photo by ©Buena Vista Pictures courtesy Everett Collection) And if there was any question as to whether Unbearable Weight is closer to the former or the latter it’s worth noting that it currently sports an impressive 100% Tomatometer score thanks to reviews that came in after its South by Southwest premiere While the critics so far seem to be in agreement about Cage’s latest film, it’s a little trickier when it comes to the conversation about whether Cage himself is a great actor or merely an intense one (they even did an entire episode of Community about it) Clearly the man is talented, as evidenced by the aforementioned Oscar (for Leaving Las Vegas) and let’s just say not all of them are winners He also has a lot of fans who will show up for any film he’s in but it’s unclear to what extent that love is ironic There’s a reason why videos of Nic Cage freak-outs have amassed millions of views on YouTube One thing is for certain: Nicolas Cage never half-asses a job from the smallest low-budget indie to globetrotting adventures and superhero flicks His enthusiasm is so earnest that he can’t help but endear himself to the audience He may not always star in critical darlings but damn if he isn’t the most entertaining thing about those lesser films There aren’t many out there who could pull all of that off Check in every Thursday for a new episode of Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong (A Podcast From Rotten Tomatoes) Pedro Pascal Movies and Series Ranked by Tomatometer Weekend Box Office Results: The Bad Guys Continues Winning Streak for Family Films Columbia Tristar / Courtesy Everett Collection Buena Vista Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection) “Know Your Critic” is a column in which we interview Tomatometer-approved critics about their screening and reviewing habits It is delightfully obvious that Ian Thomas Malone isn’t exclusively a film critic – she’s a comedian Malone’s sense of humor lights up her work She cites media theorists like Barthes and Adorno in the same breath as she shares Tinder-related anecdotes or debates whether or not Batman is a sex symbol As she punches upward playfully and honestly – she laughs at herself at the absurd and uncanny ways of the world – it’s clear she understands that there are always layers of power at play then invites the audience to meet her there Malone’s evergreen advice is to face the world and make the most of it in your own way: “Life gives you lemons; you don’t have to make lemonade Malone’s grandfather was a literary critic at the local paper in Connecticut; she wrote her first review at 11 years old “I was always really fascinated by the idea that you could approach the medium as a way to be heard to organize our thoughts and then actually get somebody to engage with what you had to say,” Malone said in an interview with Rotten Tomatoes “Film criticism for me is a good way to earnestly engage in another person’s art,” Malone shared “It’s a powerful process to sit for an hour and a half or two hours in the narrative that they tried to tell.” Ian Thomas Malone is a film critic, author, comedian, and podcast host. Her podcast Estradiol Illusions has made the Apple Top 100 for TV & Film in over 80 countries. Find her on Twitter: @ianthomasmalone What is your favorite thing that you’ve seen so far this year Seeing Jackass 4 in theaters was really important to me because it’s just a communal thing being back in the theater and laughing with a group of people because you’re all there to laugh at the same juvenile thing that you’ve been laughing about for 20 years And just recently, seeing Top Gun: Maverick in a theater full of people excited to gather around a movie that was engineered as an infomercial for the power of cinema It was all this engineered emotion that was predictable I always think about how Kurt Vonnegut never really believed in suspense and would always spoil his novels at the beginning There’s something really beautiful in sitting down and expecting something and then having your expectations still surpassed but I didn’t know how good I was going to get it I’ll never forget: I was covering a movie at Sundance – nobody eats at Sundance; I had two actual meals there – but I had Whoppers and a Snickers bar and some guy was like that’s the dinner of champions.” I was like that is dinner.” He looked at me and it was really depressing as the reality dawned on him that I wasn’t joking Lawrence of Arabia If every Hollywood blockbuster epic strove to be like Lawrence of Arabia And I don’t say that going to an exotic location and using a white guy like a lot of movies made the mistake of but it’s an epic… It’s truly an epic in every sense of the word I like movies that rise to the occasion. I think War and Peace did that why I can’t leave film criticism – because you sit down at a movie and you’re reminded this 100-year-old art form is still so capable of just making you cry.” It’s all the estrogen that you get at CVS (Photo by ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection) Batman & Robin Batman is a guy who runs around on a roof – a billionaire in spandex Batman is absurd… He should spend his money on social programs Batman & Robin is a comic book blockbuster where everybody showed up and did the role that they were supposed to do there’s no bad scenes in that whole movie It’s entertaining from start to finish I’ll never, ever get sick of Batman & Robin. I don’t really ever need to watch The Dark Knight Rises ever again  What do you think makes a “good” movie and it needs to take some kind of position on the material It’s like, they titled the movie Batman v Superman and they didn’t really have them fight, and wondered why everybody was so pissed off at the end. They didn’t take a stance! Godzilla vs. Kong – one of them should win if you’re going to have a versus movie you have to actually try and make your audience feel What is the biggest misconception about critics I think the big misconception is that this industry is… You see all the time people talk about this “great LGBTQ takeover” and Disney has been framed as this great supporter of LGBTQ rights because they offered mild criticism against the Don’t Say Gay bill muted – and most importantly delayed – criticism of it The biggest misconception is how often people see the world in a binary sense It is true that LGBTQ visibility is improving That doesn’t necessarily mean that LGBTQ visibility is good just because it is improving It leaves LGBTQ people in a position where we have to say we still don’t really have meaningful representation,” and we already have to defend from the idea that what we do have It’s still incredibly tough to be a marginalized critic And other marginalized groups will tell you the exact same thing (Photo by ©United Artists/Courtesy Everett Collection) Have you seen yourself in a character or in a story on screen and if so what were you watching the first time you saw yourself Showgirls and Dirty Harry came to mind you spend years and years in the closet thinking that you can’t have what you want in life and then you actually transition and you realize There’s something beautiful in a James Bond or a Mission: Impossible where they say to the protagonist – that’s not to say that I see myself in Tom Cruise or Daniel Craig but film has this beautiful way of setting everybody up to say – “You’ve got a 1% chance of success.” You go out and you do it and then the credits roll at the end and you did everything I think film has a great way of reminding us that you can achieve the impossible Not to say that I identify with superheroes… I get told all the time that “You’re so brave for being out as transgender.” It’s not bravery I can go curl up in a ball or I can try and make something of this life You have to be able to adjust to what life throws at you Something that I relate to Showgirls: the world doesn’t really want trans people in it I think when you understand that the world is fundamentally an ugly place that doesn’t want you it’s much easier to navigate it because I see Showgirls as a very empowering thing. Nomi Malone goes in – Elizabeth Berkley – and it’s a really ugly world that she’s able to thrive in I think it’s really hard as a trans person to sometimes get up “No one would say that Dave Chappelle isn’t thoughtful” – as he’s regurgitating trans tropes that were dated by the early 2000s That’s another empowering thing about Showgirls: Life is not a fair game You don’t get all the cards you want And there’s joy in the mechanics of doing that I compare my dating life and everything to Gladiator constantly because at the end of the day life is this big fight where you’re going up against insurmountable odds and it is important to stop and constantly ask not only yourself about the world around you: Are you not entertained I actually don’t even like Gladiator as a movie but I identify a lot with Russell Crowe’s character Being trans is about going into the lion’s den every day… Some people would say “Why would you watch Ricky Gervais’s special?” And the answer’s very clear: It’s about trans people people are going to be angry at you.” Let them be angry When Dave Chappelle did his first special that I reviewed, Sticks & Stones somebody called me “Post-Op Malone.” I use that all the time People being mad at you for covering those things is unfair They’re aiming their anger in the wrong direction When Sticks & Stones came out – this was two weeks before my bottom surgery – I probably got 6000 negative comments A kid who went to my study abroad school in Australia said “Why would you even watch it?” What does it say if you tell a trans person they shouldn’t watch the thing that’s about trans jokes?” Doesn’t that say that there’s something wrong with the jokes if it’s humor that I literally can’t be a part of he was talking about the differences within the LGBTQ community The reality is he doesn’t know enough about it to take that joke further I’ll be the first to laugh at a really good Ian Thomas Malone joke that’s on the internet It’s when it’s mean spirited – “bathroom rapist,” is that really all you’ve got (Photo by ©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection) What is your favorite film from your childhood In a world where labor is so exploited constantly it’s a good movie to show kids to say you can go out and change the world if you don’t get stomped on by all the grasshoppers out there.” What’s your favorite review you’ve ever written I like movies that challenge the form and make you think Some film reviews are hard to write because it was good but it didn’t really “wow” you and it was just entertaining Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets “Is this a documentary or not?” Beyond that I don’t know.” You sit down and write about it My favorite reviews to write are the ones where you think that the review is going to help you try and unpack something and then you finish your review and you’re like “Did I actually figure out what this thing was supposed to be about?” You’re not sure I’ve always been very comfortable in the knowledge that I could be wrong about something A film is the composite of thousands of people – not always thousands – working on a common goal and then the end product is 90 minutes an absolute sliver of a percentage of the time and effort And when that finished product just clicks and you understand everything Who are some fellow critics or writers whose work you admire Most of the practical life philosophy I’ve learned I’ve gotten from Middlemarch and War and Peace I think those two very long books teach you more or less everything you need to know about humanity Everything you need to learn about life was written in the 1800s that’s just the English student in me talking Film narratives have this small sliver of time to leave an impression. It’s really impressive when a movie like Field of Dreams A lot of books it takes 1000 pages to really draw the tears for some other people the impact that film is able to leave on people in small slivers of time Ian Thomas Malone is a film critic, author, comedian, & podcast host. Her podcast Estradiol Illusions has made the Apple Top 100 for TV & Film in over 80 countries. Find her on Twitter: @ianthomasmalone Founder of The Spool and Senior Writer at Consequence So you’re determined to somehow catch Taylor Swift and Talking Heads in concert in the same week We hope you’re not thinking about shattering the fabric of time when instead you can simply experience the power of the concert film with theatrical releases of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and Stop Making Sense This concert-hopping was possible in the fall of 2023 when the two films were released in close succession with Stop Making Sense on its 40th anniversary victory reunion and The Eras Tour bringing audiences together globally for Swift’s nearly 3-hour extravagant show Both represent the musicians at the peak of their powers and show off the concert film’s special ability to bring like-minded audiences for communal intimacy in theaters we’re ranking the best concert movies of all time you’ll find arena pop extravaganzas (with a little emotion – thanks Katy Perry: Part of Me); more intimate – but no less rousing – moments of music history (witness Aretha Franklin in Amazing Grace); an epic street party (remember those Dave Chappelle does…); and some of the biggest festival events out there (from Beychella to Woodstock) You’ll also find some of the biggest names in music: Bob Dylan The majority of films included are pure concert docs – recordings of live shows with little fuss and extraneous material – but a handful do take a more traditional documentary format with interviews and behind-the-scenes tour footage We included those because of the amount of live concert footage they feature Marley and Madonna: Truth or Dare among them 100 Best Netflix Series To Watch Right Now (May 2025) 7 TV and Streaming Shows You Should Binge-Watch in April The makers of any movie hope that the end result will have such an impact that it will be talked about for years to come But sometimes that's accomplished for all the wrong reasons.  Rotten Tomatoes has become known as the home for movie fans to find what's worth watching and what should be skipped by the "Tomatometer" rating on every movie there are definitely titles on the site that have a 0% Some of them include films from legends like John Travolta ("Gotti") and Eddie Murphy ("A Thousand Words") while others star Oscar winners like Halle Berry ("Dark Tide") And then there are the movies that no one should be surprised have a 0% score like the Dennis Rodman action movie "Simon Sez" and the Roberto Benigni-starrer Here are the 44 movies on Rotten Tomatoes with a 0% score and why critics couldn't stand them What it's about: In the sequel to the hit "Saturday Night Fever," John Travolta returns as the strutting Tony Manero who is trying to become a successful dancer on Broadway What a critic thought: "A sequel with no understanding of what made its predecessor work." — Janet Maslin, The New York Times Bo Derek plays a 23-year-old who wants to lose her virginity it has since been regarded as one of the worst movies ever made What a critic thought: "The real future of 'Bolero' is in home cassette rentals, where your fast forward and instant replay controls will supply the editing job the movie so desperately needs." — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times What it's about: Over a decade after the events of "Jaws," chief Brody's wife is convinced a shark is targeting her family seeking revenge in this fourth (!) movie in the franchise "Somebody said, 'Have you ever seen Jaws 4?'" Caine said in an interview back in 2016 But I've seen the house it bought for my mum What a critic thought: "Dumb beyond belief, hollow, bloody and nonsensical, it's Universal Studios' vanity movie, a way of providing employment yet again for its Great White icon." — Sheila Benson, Los Angeles Times What it's about: In this chapter of the iconic comedy franchise the misfit Police Academy graduates are tasked with training civilian volunteers What a critic thought: "'4' isn't even a film; it's more like a long trailer, a collection of scenes without sense." — Richard Harrington, The Washington Post an alien escapes from NASA and befriends a wheelchair-bound boy Thanks to its endless product placement of McDonald's and Coca-Cola and unapologetically ripping off "E.T the Extra-Terrestrial," it has become a cult classic What a critic thought: "'Mac and Me' is a 99-minute commercial occasionally interrupted by a not-so-good children's movie." — Dave Kehr, Chicago Tribune What it's about: The gas that turns corpses into zombies from the first movie now turns up in the hands of some kids What a critic thought: "It seems to be doing so many of the same things that made the first one great. It fails, in that it does them all poorly." — Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy What it's about: An adopted child makes life a living hell for his good-natured father (played by John Ritter) What it's about: In the sequel to the popular fantasy movie Christopher Lambert returns as Highlander Connor MacLeod who tries to save the world by solving its ozone layer problem What a critic thought: "'Highlander 2: The Quickening' is the most hilariously incomprehensible movie I've seen in many a long day — a movie almost awesome in its badness." — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times What it's about: It's pretty much the same plot as the 1980 original starring Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins But instead of those two attractive people stranded on an island and falling in love it's another pair of attractive people: Milla Jovovich and Brian Krause What it's about: Tom Selleck (with no mustache) plays a self-absorbed guy who takes in his parents after their home burns down What a critic thought: "The film's appeal will depend largely on whether you feel like laughing at senile dementia and automobile accidents." — Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times What it's about: In the final movie in the "Look Who's Talking" franchise we now follow the inner thoughts of the family's dogs What a critic thought: "A crude and mawkish film in which dogs attempt to communicate with Kirstie Alley and John Travolta." — Rita Kempley, The Washington Post What it's about: Keenen Ivory Wayans plays a hot-shot private detective looking to take down a drug lord What a critic thought: "Here is a movie about guns. Take away the guns, and the movie would be about nothing much." — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times What it's about: This comedy set in the 1860s follows a group of settlers who are fed up with the West and hire a cowboy (John Candy) to lead them back East What it's about: In this political thriller Charlie Sheen plays a trusted advisor to the president who must figure who is behind an assassination attempt What a critic thought: "The climactic assassination attempt ... is so ridiculous there's only one real danger: that the president (and the audience) will laugh to death." — Daniel M. Kimmel, Variety What it's about: Former basketball great Dennis Rodman was so big back in the late 1990s he got his own movie He plays a spy who tries to save the world What a critic thought: "Dennis Rodman may be a great rebounder, but as a pop-culture icon, he's a one-trick pony." — Nathan Rabin, AV Club Rob (Brian Hooks) tries to change his life — with two strikes against him What a critic thought: "Relies much too heavily on multiple repetitions of gags that aren't especially funny the first time around." — Joe Leydon, Variety What it's about: Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu play agents at different agencies who are to take out one another but instead learn they have to team up to defeat a bigger enemy With 118 reviews of the movie in Rotten Tomatoes it has the distinction of being the 0% movie with the most reviews filed What a critic thought: "'Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever' looks like a video-game promo, has a story that plays like the fifth episode of a struggling syndicated action show, and feels like a headache waiting to happen." Keith Phipps, AV Club What it's about: Jean-Claude Van Damme plays a NATO operative who is the only one who can stop an out-of-control train that's carrying hostages and bio-weapons What a critic thought: "An overblown annoyance." — David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews What it's about: Heather Graham plays a woman who throws away a loving relationship to run off with a mountain climber (Joseph Fiennes) What a critic thought: "With miscast leads, banal dialogue and an absurdly overblown climax, 'Killing Me Softly' belongs firmly in the so-bad-it's-good camp." — Neil Smith, BBC What it's about: A comedy that revolves around a guy who witnessed a murder What a critic thought: "A limp, smirky lark." — Jessica Winter, Time Out What it's about: Five years after winning the best actor Oscar for "Life Is Beautiful," Roberto Benigni writes and plays the lead in this live-action retelling of the classic fairy tale What a critic thought: "What can one say about a balding 50-year-old actor playing an innocent boy carved from a log?" — Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle What it's about: Two buddies marry elderly sisters thinking they will inherit their family fortune What it's about: A group of talking babies stop a media mogul trying to cash in on baby talk What it's about: An estranged family must confront their past when coming together to celebrate the life of a loved one who has recently passed away What a critic thought: "Neither the camera nor the script can focus." — Scott Brown, Entertainment Weekly who also moonlights as the lead singer of a hot unsigned band gets sucked into the world of illegal drag racing What a critic thought: "It's hard to say whether gleaming automobiles or women's bodies are given the more fetishlike treatment in this vanity production." — Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter What it's about: A girl who thought the serial killer who tormented her years ago was dead finds out he's still around and is looking for her What a critic thought: "To make a 3-D 'torture porn' movie is at best opportunist; to make one with flat, boring torture scenes is unforgivable." — Nigel Floyd, Time Out people start receiving voicemails from their future selves with details of their upcoming deaths What a critic thought: "The direction is uninspired, acting is lifeless, and the script borders on the inept. A PG-13 rating means that it's short on shocks, too." Richard James Havis, The Hollywood Reporter What it's about: Mischa Barton plays a scorned ex-girlfriend who seeks revenge when her former boyfriend shows up with a new girlfriend at their school's homecoming What a critic thought: "Neither trashy nor self-consciously funny enough to make its genre-trapped ludicrousness sing." — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times What it's about: Jon Hamm plays a detective who is dealing with the loss of his son while trying to solve a case What a critic thought: "Plays like a middling episode of 'Law & Order: SVU,' drawn out an extra half-hour and embellished with pretentious literary and cinematic flourishes." — Stephen Holden, The New York Times What it's about: Comedy about a group of college kids who while doing a semester abroad in Romania find themselves encountering hard parties and vampires a young girl (Elle Fanning) receives a doll on Christmas Eve that leads to a night of magic What it's about: Halle Berry plays a shark expert who after one of her divers is killed by a shark finds her business hurting and struggles to get back in the water What a critic thought: "The sharks themselves are the only ones to emerge with credit from this." — Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian What it's about: Eddie Murphy stars as Jack McCall a literary agent who after hustling a spiritual guru finds a Bodhi tree in his yard and learns when all the leaves fall off the tree will die What it's about: Marking Adam Sandler's first Netflix movie he plays a Western outlaw who discovers he has five half brothers What it's about: This remake of Eli Roth's 2002 horror movie follows a group of friends who embark on a cabin in the woods and encounter a flesh-eating disease What a critic thought: "This dud sets a new standard for the term 'pointless remake.'" — Geoff Berkshire, Variety What it's about: Jim Carrey stars in this thriller about how a crime novel could be the clues needed to solve a recent murder What it's about: Kate Beckinsale stars in this thriller in which she plays a mother who unwittingly releases unspeakable horrors when opening the door to a room in the house she just moved into What a critic thought: "There simply isn't enough freshness in the script to warrant another journey inside a dark old house." — Stephen Faber, The Hollywood Reporter What it's about: A teenager named Max teams with his alien friend What a critic thought: "A spectacle without the spectacle, an autumnal, amorphous blockbuster that just sits there, suspended in mid-air, as you soak in its ceaseless banality." — Sam Fragoso, The Wrap What it's about: Bruce Willis and Mark-Paul Gosselaar star in this caper about a crime boss who double-crosses a thief What a critic thought: "The stupid plot, dismal dialogue, moral turpitude and dispiriting torpor of this movie makes watching it utterly pointless." — Bruce Kirkland, Toronto Sun What it's about: Dominic Cooper plays a British commando who takes out a deadly terrorist cell What a critic thought: "A pretty unremarkable caper: a by-the-numbers movie about a macho-maverick-man doing macho-maverick-man things." — Charlotte Harrison, Den of Geek What it's about: John Travolta plays John Gotti in his biopic about the infamous New York City crime boss What it's about: Amber Heard stars in this thriller in which she has an affair with three men one of whom she knows will be her murderer What a critic thought: "Quite simply, horrendous — a trashy, tortured misfire from beginning to end." — Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times What it's about: Terry Crews stars as the title character who must reconcile with his past to help two immigrant kids trying to escape the gang life of Los Angeles What a critic thought: "Flashes of craft can't make up for the director's easy default to gore over story." — Lisa Kennedy, Variety What it's about: This Netflix crime thriller is set in a future where the government has come up with a signal that makes it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts What a critic thought: "Don't care about story, characters or words, but love violence? Even you will be disappointed." — Johnny Oleksinski, The New York Post There is good reason for this overwhelmingly negative consensus as "Cocktail" feels like an unsavory product of its time what with its tendency to lean into sexism for laughs Iffy themes and treatment of certain subject matter aside where no amount of charm is enough to fill this gaping void It is an unrealistic fantasy that fails to entertain even with the suspension of disbelief and Cruise's natural charisma feels squandered on something so empty despite the film's often irritating lack of self-awareness "Cocktail" deserves a viewing due to its hyperspecific appeal to a time devoid of responsibilities with Cruise playing an exceedingly suave bartender who feels progressively irredeemable but suddenly gains a saint's conscience by the end Here's what you can expect from "Cocktail." Brian Flanagan (Cruise) arrives in New York City with ambitious dreams eager to make quick money after bagging a cushy job and he has to make do with bartending by night while attending business school by day with experienced bartender Doug Coughlin (Bryan Brown) teaching him how to flair and impress patrons After experiencing the high of impressing women and being semi-popular due to his skills dropping out of business school to eventually open a chain of bars — an impractical decision in favor of pursuing something with a mentor who constantly eggs him to throw caution to the wind while being emotionally insensitive to those around him The narrative intent of "Cocktail" only feels more questionable with time along with its mixed messaging that both condones and chastises moral bankruptcy peppered with a dozen misogynistic jokes and attitudes clogging up an already barebones holiday adventure Movies in theaters Movies at Home Florence Pugh Movies and Shows (Thunderbolts) What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming Weekend Box Office: Thunderbolts* Secures $76 Million Debut New Movies and Shows streaming in May: What to Watch on Netflix Watch A Bug's Life with a subscription on Disney+ A Bug's Life is a rousing adventure that blends animated thrills with witty dialogue and memorable characters - and another smashing early success for Pixar (Photo by Buena Vista/ courtesy Everett Collection) John Cusack pulled off the tricky act of being one of those It kids of the ’80s without having that distinction become an albatross hanging across his career once the decade ended Cusack found breakthrough roles in just about every permutation of the teen comedy in the spandex and big-hair era: the hormonal-driven (One Crazy Summer) But Cusack had an erudite quality that separated him from his contemporaries drawing him to name directors like John Sayles (Eight Men Out) and Cameron Crowe the latter of whom he worked with to close out the decade with perhaps the best romantic-comedy in a decade full of classics: 1989’s Say Anything… Cusack of the 1990s represented a maturation that allowed him to fit into just about any mold: drama (The Thin Red Line) like 1997’s Grosse Pointe Blank (in which he plays a hitman attending his high school reunion) one of those high-concept Hollywood movies that endures for decades after release Jon Bernthal’s Best Movies and Shows The 25 Top Ticketed Movies in the Past 25 Years We tend to think of Walt Disney Pictures as chiefly an animation studio – and with good reason – but the house Uncle Walt built has churned out quality (and often highly profitable) live-action entertainment since the ‘50s, and judging from the early reviews, this weekend’s Pete’s Dragon remake is ready to continue that time-honored tradition for your pals here at Rotten Tomatoes to devote a Total Recall list to the 12 best-reviewed live-action entries in the Disney canon simply didn’t have the reviews – something we think says a lot about the strength of the competition While perhaps not the best-remembered of Disney’s ’70s properties this adaptation of the Alexander Key novel helped kickstart a mini-franchise that eventually extended to 1978’s Return from Witch Mountain a 1982 TV movie and 1995 made-for-TV remake 2009’s big-screen reboot Race to Witch Mountain Placing extraordinary kids in situations of nail-biting grown-up peril is something Disney has always done well and Escape is no exception; psychic alien twins Tony and Tia are literally running for their lives from creepy millionaire Aristotle Bolt (Ray Milland) Though not all critics were susceptible to its charm — Vincent Canby of the New York Times called it “a Walt Disney production for children who will watch absolutely anything that moves” — most scribes took its popcorn-flavored blend of action who called it “A sci fi thriller that’s fun Watch Trailer Even in the context of the other classic films in the Disney vaults 1960’s Swiss Family Robinson was a huge success — its $40 million gross is equivalent to $367 million in today’s money placing it proudly among the ranks of the most successful G-rated films of all time Johann David Wyss’ 1812 novel has been adapted on numerous occasions but Disney’s Ken Annakin-directed treatment is the most well-known; although it doesn’t skimp on the cheesy dialogue and cornpone wholesomeness that came prepackaged with many of the studio’s live-action efforts Hawley’s screenplay does a fine job of drawing enough swashbuckling action and tropical derring-do out of the source material to guarantee a good time for viewers of all (okay Channel 4 Film’s Alistair Harkness spoke for many of his peers when he wrote “It’s no Pirates Of The Caribbean means that there’s still some fun to be had watching this wholesome family adapt to island life.” Watch Trailer No list of the Disney live-action oeuvre would be complete without a mention of Fred MacMurray’s work for the studio Although he’d been a major film star for decades before making his Disney debut with 1960’s The Shaggy Dog it’s MacMurray’s late-period string of pipe-puffing father types that he’s arguably best remembered for The most critically successful of these movies casts MacMurray in the title role as Ned Brainard the accidental inventor of an incredible energy-producing substance known as Flubber Brainerd uses Flubber to make himself look like a talented dancer and helps an entire basketball team cheat during the big game but thanks to MacMurray’s everyman charm but Disney has always known how to make the most of those two ingredients; as TV Guide put it “This is a zanily inventive piece of work which set the style for a long series of live-action Disney films.” Watch Trailer like Tommy Kirk before her (and countless fresh-faced Disney teen starlets after her) became a household name thanks to a string of starring roles in Disney live-action films Mills’ six-movie run got off to a pretty good start with 1960’s Pollyanna; although its box office performance was initially something of a disappointment for the studio Mills won a special Academy Award for her performance the film is now considered one of Disney’s earliest live-action classics; though Disney was far from the first to adapt Eleanor Porter’s novel it’s Mills that people usually think of when they hear the name “Pollyanna” — and for good reason as even critics who overdosed on the movie’s relentless optimism like the Time critic who called it “a Niagara of drivel and a masterpiece of smarm,” were often swayed by her performance said her presence “more than compensates for the film’s lack of tautness and what seems to be an uncertain sense of direction.” Watch Trailer the “inspirational sports movie” genre was seen as well past its prime — and so was Dennis Quaid: one of the more bankable matinee idols of the ’80s Quaid was suffering through a dry spell when he signed on for Disney’s John Lee Hancock-directed dramatization of the brief-yet-noteworthy Major League Baseball career of high school teacher-turned-Tampa Bay Devil Ray pitcher Jimmy Morris The Rookie was initially written off by many as an amiable relic of a bygone era — but try as they might most critics were too charmed by its true-life inspirational story and Quaid’s refreshingly low-key performance The Rookie earned a healthy return on Disney’s $22 million investment kick-started a new chapter in Quaid’s career and earned a surprising number of endorsements from critics like Looking Closer’s Jeffrey Overstreet wonderful ‘formula’ films that … favors understatement over exaggeration Watch Trailer you could bank on making an audience of young girls very happy which might be a problem for Disney if they hadn’t embraced the opportunity to reinterpret the fairy tales that made them a household name adding depth of character and a postmodern spin to the stories starring Lily James as the titular princess in a lavish live-action production helmed by Kenneth Branagh and rounded out by Cate Blanchett Not as cartoonish as Disney’s animated Cinderella yet nowhere near as grim as some of the more revisionist takes on the tale Branagh’s film presented a less traditional — yet still wholeheartedly magical — side of the story that surpassed the studio’s first attempt “Sixty-five years after a ‘classic’ animated feature that missed the mark Disney finally got Cinderella right,” wrote Time’s Richard Corliss Watch Trailer but if you’re going to take a second pass at a movie it might as well be one with plenty of room for improvement was one of a handful of Disney flicks to blend live-action footage and animation — a thrillingly novel combination in its day but not enough to patch over the generally hokey air about the rest of the production It left an agreeably low bar for director David Lowery to clear with the 2016 version which does away with some of the first film’s elements — including its early 1900s setting and cartoonish yokel villains — while retaining the essential magic in the story of a lonely little boy and his magical companion Aided by beautiful visual effects and a terrific cast led by Robert Redford Lowery’s Dragon took flight with critics who applauded its seemingly effortless blend of modern storytelling and old-school charm “overhauls its source material into a soulful recovery fable for kids establishing in the process that bad movies — the kind that squander their premises — are much more ripe for remaking than good ones.” Watch Trailer The Parent Trap has enjoyed an incredibly long life; not only was the original film re-released to theaters seven years after its theatrical debut but Hayley Mills ended up reprising her dual roles for a trio of made-for-TV sequels more than 20 years later — and the career-boosting power of the story of matchmaking twins who play Cupid for their divorced parents proved every bit as potent in 1998 Part of Trap‘s appeal no doubt came from its pioneering use of the trick photography that made it appear as though Mills was actually her own twin — a technique later used to notable effect on The Patty Duke Show two years later — but even without special effects The Parent Trap is a solid albeit proudly corny film that benefits from a strong performance by its winsome star Mills’ charms were even sufficient to win over more “serious” publications the film is delightful — mostly because of 15-year-old Hayley Mills the blonde button nose who played the endearing delinquent in Tiger Bay.” Watch Trailer Whether you attribute it to beginner’s luck or the steady hand of one of Hollywood’s most quality-conscious studios it’s worth noting that Richard Fleischer’s adaptation of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is both one of Disney’s most highly regarded live-action efforts and its first foray into science fiction Proving he had an eye for giant squid battles to match his knack for animating adorable fauna Walt Disney personally produced 20,000 Leagues helping Fleischer blend an attentive eye to period detail with a rip-roaring action yarn that just happened to have strong Cold War parallels (right down to the mushroom cloud witnessed after the climactic battle) Enlisting the talents of A-list stars like Kirk Douglas and Peter Lorre certainly didn’t hurt Leagues‘ box-office prospects — nor did glowingly positive reviews from the likes of the New York Times’ Bosley Crowther who called it “As fabulous and fantastic as anything [Disney] has ever done in cartoons.” Younger filmgoers may be more familiar with the 1997 remake as illustrated by that film’s woeful 7 percent Tomatometer rating starring Hayley Mills as the owner of a robbery-foiling feline (and the immortal Frank Gorshin as the robber) was a perfect example of the sort of goofy animal-assisted middlebrow flick that Disney’s live-action arm became known for in the ’60s — but if it’s silly stuff it’s at least eminently well-crafted thanks to the steady hand of director Robert Stevenson and charming performances from a cast that included Disney vets Mills and Dean Jones if not exactly effusive (Rob Thomas of Madison’s Capital Times waved it off as “lightweight forgettable family fun”) — but it was the titular cat that earned some of the movie’s highest warmest praise including high marks from the New York Times’ Bosley Crowther who said “The feline that plays the informant Clark Gable at the peak of his performing never played a tom cat more winningly.” Watch Trailer Did the world really need another Jungle Book movie in 2016 considering the number of times Rudyard Kipling’s classic had already been adapted — including Disney’s own animated classic and the live-action version the studio released starring Jason Scott Lee in 1994 and despite a near-universal familiarity with the story the Jungle Book re-remake managed to wow critics while raking in nearly a billion dollars at the box office the 2016 edition held steadfastly to the story’s bittersweet family-friendly charm while giving the special effects a thrilling 21st-century update that left even the most cynical critics gawping at their digitally induced realism Add an all-star voice cast that included Scarlett Johansson and you’ve got a critical and commercial winner that the Los Angeles Times’ Kenneth Turan described as “the kind of family film calculated to make even those without families wish they had one to take along.” Watch Trailer A movie so successful that it spawned a sequel and the heartbreaking on-screen deaths of dozens of beloved critters Old Yeller is mostly remembered today for its tearjerking final act and cornpone dialogue — and although this Robert Stevenson-directed adaptation of Fred Gipson’s popular novel certainly doesn’t skimp on the familiar plot points and gooey nostalgia so often identified with the Disney films of the era it also tries to impart some useful lessons about the tough choices that come with growing up Those lessons were imparted to a huge audience too — watching Old Yeller was a rite of passage for multiple generations of filmgoers and tragically bittersweet classic that had you sobbing like a infant the first time you saw it.” Watch Trailer Watch Trailer Every Upcoming Star Wars Movie and Series – With Key Details and Dates How to Train Your Dragon First Reactions: It Will Blow You Away Marvel Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer Jurassic Park Movies Ranked By Tomatometer (Photo by Buena Vista/courtesy Everett Collection) Since their 1984 neo-noir debut Blood Simple brother directors Joel and Ethan Coen have danced amok across American cinema with mordant tales of wayward souls and their crimes and misdemeanors Among their achievements include making a generation-defining comedy (The Big Lebowski) and winning Best Picture (No Country For Old Men) achieved through cultural Trojan horse O Brother (Photo by Buena Vista Pictures courtesy Everett Collection) skyrocketed to become the then-highest-grossing opening weekend of all time To give an idea of the comedies the public did pine for in 1994 Jim Carrey starred in three movies in the top 20 that year Ed Wood was decidedly nothing like a Jim Carrey movie Dark, sweet and restrained (by Burton standards, anyway), Ed Wood chronicles the life of Edward D. Wood Jr. (Johnny Depp), a crossdressing wannabe auteur in the 1950s who befriends his hero, a washed-up and drug-addled Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau) and makes schlocky B-movies with a misfit crew Here are just a few reasons why it remains a high-watermark for Burton and pretty much everyone involved — and warrants some serious reassessment if you shrugged it off 25 years back Wait, so where did the guy go who wowed with the visual feasts Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and Beetlejuice and the thrilling art direction in Edward Scissorhands and Batman Burtonesque flourishes — a cheesily spooky title sequence that harkens back to ’50s horror and sci-fi sets the tone perfectly — but overall Burton puts a simple story over any distinct style a move that lets the comedy’s quickfire script breathe and doesn’t muddy up its already arresting performances when you have black-and-white cinematography (thanks to cinematographer Stefan Czapsky) this beautiful was so adamant about the film being monochrome that Columbia dropped the picture (Disney picked it up later) It’s not hard to understand why Burton would relate to a story about an energetic young director bonding with his childhood idol. Burton famously adored Vincent Price casting him in the stop-motion Disney short “Vincent” and as The Inventor in Edward Scissorhands the one between wide-eyed Wood and an aging Lugosi boasts a delightful mutual appreciation While Ed Wood capitalizes on the odd couple for comedic effect (it’s tough not to laugh as an Energizer Bunny-like Wood shepherds around a moribund the bromance always comes off as weirdly sweet Ed Wood was a labor of love for him — in fact Ed Wood opened nationwide on October 7 Like this? Subscribe to our newsletter and get more features, news, and guides in your inbox every week. All Upcoming Disney Movies: New Disney Live-Action 8 Must-Watch Films at the Venice International Film Festival The 5 Most Anticipated TV or Streaming Shows of May (Photo by Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection Paramount Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection) stop-motion animation is the art of manipulating objects and figures frame by frame It’s an almost atavistic art form of ours: Instinct tells us if you have a lump of clay in your hands It’s what filmmakers have been doing for over a century so we’re taking a look through time with the 47 best stop-motion animated movies ever made we’ll come in contact with the different materials and styles used in stop motion Clay has led to the creation of one of animation’s most enduring man-and-canine duos with the likes of Chicken Run and Shaun the Sheep Paper cutout stop-motion animation is less frequently used See it at its trippy best with Fantastic Planet Puppet stop-motion animation has been the preferred method for venerable directors like Tim Burton (producer of The Nightmare Before Christmas) Anderson collaborated with Nightmare-director Henry Selick to animate the marine fauna in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou; afterwards Laika has been a stop-motion powerhouse since and computer enhancements to fuel a string of Certified Fresh films including The Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two Strings no stop-motion list feels complete without a drawn-out tribute to legendary animator Ray Harryhausen He got his start on 1949’s Mighty Joe Young (working with the same team behind the milestone ape effects of King Kong) ignited imaginations in fantasy and sword-and-sandals by bringing monsters to life in films like Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans Other films that combine live-action and and stop-motion include Selick’s James and the Giant Peach and Jan Svankmajer’s Alice After gathering all of the films across cinema history Most recently, we’ve added the Certified Fresh horror film called (what else?) Stopmotion to the list Now, read on to discover the best stop-motion animated movies! —Alex Vo (Photo by Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Collection The journey to fame and employment for every movie star is different, but Danny Glover‘s background of working in the public sector with a side theater hobby stands unique among his peers His work for the city drove Glover’s strong political and social activism which translated into his major movie debut More critically acclaimed films he starred in the years following that ran along the same lines But because he broke through in the ’80s buddy-cop action flicks were what the people demanded His Roger Murtaugh from Lethal Weapon is the best example of the buttoned-down family man foil to a loose-cannon partner and together Murtaugh and Riggs rode through three more sequels Glover’s mainstream bread-and-butter was playing these sympathetic yet strong authority figures or trustworthy officers And he even eventually reached the highest office in the land when he became President of the United States in disaster movie 2012