The Return of the Popcorn Circus: May 2008

By Bill Gibron

In the first act of this four-part production, Tinsel Town decides to do some unbelievable front loading. Will there be room for independent offerings, or former HBO carnal comedy divas? Who knows? Without a doubt, it's an interesting way to start the season. [28 April 2008]

Part 5: The Return of the Auteur

By PopMatters Staff

That noise you heard near the start of the new millennium was the creative din of a brash new breed of filmmakers tearing down the traditions of mainstream moviemaking. Their motion picture mission statements -- including the ones featured on this list -- remain the rulebook for new generations of anxious film artists. [22 June 2007]

Future Shock: The Death of Serious Science Fiction

By Bill Gibron

The serious Science Fiction film genre is dead or at least on cinematic life support. As the new millennial marches forward, and an omnipresent production paradigm that substitutes spectacle for smarts, futurist filmmaking is definitely gasping for breath. [29 May 2007]

Speed Racer

By Cynthia Fuchs

Inspired by the mostly beloved late '60s Japanese cartoon, Speed Racer is loud, large, and proudly crass. [9 May 2008]

Matrix Revolutions (2003)

By Cynthia Fuchs

'Why, Mr. Anderson?'asks Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), for what seems the umpteenth time. [10 November 2003]

The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

By Cynthia Fuchs

Morpheus is a stanch warrior and provocative thinker, as well as a black man in a world where the machines' agents tend to be white men in suits. [14 May 2003]

Short Ends and Leader: Cordoba Nights (2007)