samuel l. jackson Archives - The Spool | The Spool

samuel l. jackson Archives - The Spool

Rules of Engagement finds Friedkin in transition

By: Peter Sobczynski

The military courtroom drama has its moments, but is more notable for where it sent the director next.

Glass shatters the modern superheroic mode to moving effect

M. Night Shyamalan closes the Eastrail 117 trilogy with a deliberate anticlimax and deep empathy in place of spectacle, and the results are striking.

Unbreakable remains a high point for Shyamalan and Bruce Willis

The first of M. Night Shyamalan's Eastrail 117 trilogy frustrates with its approach to superhero comics as a medium but excels in its drama-and-thrillcraft.

Unraveling pop-culture one thread at a time

The Spool is an irreverent, informative source for film and television coverage, focused on diverse, thoughtful opinions that seek out a greater understanding of the media we love.

The Protege is the kind of solid meat-and-potatoes thriller we don’t get anymore

By: Andrea Thompson

Maggie Q gets a down and dirty action vehicle that doesn't reinvent the lady-assassin wheel but has plenty of fun along the way.

P.S.H. I Love You: Hard Eight – it’s always good to meet a new friend

The 1996 crime drama marked the beginning of a beautiful partnership.

“The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” is a perpetual explosion with dialogue

Patrick Hughes’ follow up to The Hitman’s Bodyguard brings plenty of action, but little else.

“Spiral” injects blood, not guts into an exhausted franchise

By: Michael Frank

The long-running horror franchise gets a prestige-adjacent update with an A-list cast, but it's not enough to overcome the series' massive hurdles.

“The Other Guys” indulges in the crimes it condemns

Now 10 years old, Adam McKay's screwball screed against Wall Street is hindered by being a cop-centric affair.

“A Time to Kill” is a misguided page-turner of a movie

Joel Schumacher's second John Grisham adaptation is a myopic look at race and the criminal justice system in the American South.

Filmmaker of the Month

“Spider-Man: Far From Home” forces Peter Parker to grow up

The latest Marvel film to date is more than a mid-sized follow up to Avengers: Endgame -- it establishes Peter Parker as the beating heart of the new MCU.

Filmmaker of the Month

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Saw the MCU Grow Up

It's not perfect, but the Russo brothers' conspiracy-thriller take on the MCU turned its eye inward to the more explicitly political.

Assembling “The Avengers”

An unlikely team of heroes could have been a cliché, but Joss Whedon's first foray into the MCU worked because it toyed with its moving parts.

Filmmaker of the Month

“Iron Man” built a hero – and a blueprint for a franchise

Jon Favreau's acerbic superhero adventure set the template for the Marvel Cinematic Universe -- and rehabilitated Robert Downey Jr. into a movie star once again.

Filmmaker of the Month

“Do the Right Thing” Remains Spike Lee’s Masterpiece

Black cinema (and American cinema as a whole) hasn't been the same since the release of Spike Lee's revolutionary New York drama.

Filmmaker of the Month

“Die Hard With a Vengeance” Gave Me My Best Friend

One writer's childhood bond with his best friend was sealed by a fateful late-night screening of Die Hard with a Vengeance.

Filmmaker of the Month

Check In To “1408”, No Reservations Needed

2007's Stephen King thriller is a wonderfully economic take on the horror writer's sensibilities, a real-time flytrap you can't help getting stuck in.

“The Hateful Eight” Gets One Thing Exactly Right

The otherwise-spotty Hateful Eight still contains one of Tarantino's greatest sequences.

Quentin Tarantino Made a Bloody Antebellum Opus With “Django Unchained”

Quibbles about violence and the n-word aside, Quentin Tarantino's slave-era blaxploitation film remains one of his most exciting works.

With “Pulp Fiction,” Tarantino Resisted the Mundane

Quentin Tarantino's classic 1994 new-cool drama set the stage for a new era of independent film, and saw the end of his own sense of mercy.

Spider-Man Far From Home Review: Peter Parker’s European Vacation

It doesn't reach the swinging heights of Homecoming, but Jon Watts' follow-up gets Marvel's Phase Four off to a charming enough start.

Shaft Review: We Can’t Dig All This Boomer Humor

Sam Jackson returns with two more generations of Shafts in a slick actioner let down by milquetoast jabs at millennials.

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