HBO’s Watchmen Grapples With Racism and Police Violence in Powerful, Imperfect Ways
Watchmen tackles an important, vital topic — racism in America — but it’s raised a few eyebrows for seemingly framing the conflict as “cops versus white supremacists,” which is overly simplistic and possibly problematic. I interviewed showrunner Damon Lindelof and some of the stars to get their take on Watchmen‘s handling of such a delicate issue.
Netflix’s Challenger documentary is a fascinating exploration of guilt
In this essay, I unpack how Challenger: The Final Flight does more than just masterfully tell the story of the doomed 1986 space shuttle mission. The documentary, perhaps more than it even means to, is about the power of guilt, and how people live with themselves and lie to themselves — and how guilt ultimately can’t overcome the push of “progress.”
Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard knows exactly why you’re here: To see Godzilla fight Kong, duh
As a little kid, Godzilla was my first fandom, so it was a delight to speak with the director of Godzilla vs. Kong and have a fun, frank conversation about a movie that’s exactly what it says on the tin.
How does time travel work in Loki? Tom Hiddleston kind of understands
I asked the stars and director of Loki if they understood “the rules” of time travel in the new Marvel series. Everybody said they weren’t exactly sure, but they understood the rules for the purposes of this show, which I then used as a springboard to talk about how that’s exactly the right attitude for time-bending genre fare like this.
How Many Laws Does Eddie Brock Break in Venom? We Asked the San Francisco D.A.’s Office
I arranged for a prosecutor from the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office to see Venom, and then report back to me on the many, many crimes that Tom Hardy’s character commits during the course of the film — like biting someone’s head off (“‘murder?”)
How Dungeons & Dragons Reimagines and Customizes Classic Folklore Monsters
An interview with D&D’s creative director about how the franchise takes classic monsters and makes them unique beasts while keeping in mind issues of gameplay and appropriation.
Ad Astra Predicts the Future of Commercial Space Flight, and It’s a $125 Blanket
Brad Pitt’s character shells out $125 for a blanket and pillow on a Virgin Atlantic shuttle to the moon, so I contacted Virgin’s PR team — and an expert on the history of commercial space flight and space policy — to see if that’s a fair price.