A Salute to Bad Labor Day Movies

Normally, summer movie season ends with a whimper. Labor Day weekend is when studios dump their bad films. For MEL, I paid tribute to some memorable stinkers.

When 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Was a Blockbuster

In the summer of 2004, Michael Moore was the king of the box office. For MEL, I looked back at Fahrenheit 9/11, which set out to ensure that George W. Bush didn't get a second term. Hope you enjoy.

The Sequels That Destroyed Their Franchises

Hollywood will just keep pumping out sequels until audiences have had enough. For this week's edition of my MEL Ultimate Summer Movie Guide, I paid tribute to the franchise installments that turned viewers off, sometimes for good. Hope you enjoy.

So, Who Really Did Direct 'Poltergeist'?

It's been nearly 40 years since that horror classic came out, and ever since people have been debating if Steven Spielberg or Tobe Hooper is its true auteur. For MEL, I looked back at the strange history of this film's directorial controversy.

Looking Back at 'The Clone Wars,' the Movie That Ruined and Saved 'Star Wars'

In the summer of 2008, Lucasfilm put out an animated Star Wars movie that no one was particularly enthused about. But it turns out, The Clone Wars was massively important to a new generation of fans. I reconsider the film for MEL.

Let's Talk About 'Batdance'

The summer of 1989 was all about Batman. It was also about Prince's soundtrack to the smash film. For MEL, I wrote a lot about the legacy of one weird No. 1 hit, "Batdance."

All the Oscar Nominees From Every Summer Blockbuster

Good heavens, there are 54 performances that have been nominated from summer hits. (I thought this was supposed to be the season of mindless action movies.) I ranked them all over at MEL.

The Four Kinds of Christmas Movies You See During the Summer

It's rare, but Hollywood sometimes releases Christmas-themed films at the multiplex during the warm weather months. I did a taxonomy over at MEL.

'Ghost,' the Pottery Scene and the Endless Parodies

Sometimes, a film scene becomes so iconic that it's endlessly parodied, spoofed, referenced and mocked. Such is the case with Ghost. I went down the rabbit hole for MEL.

When Will Smith Ruled the Fourth of July

For a brief moment, Will Smith was the king of Independence Day thanks to Independence Day and Men in Black. But where was his career before that moment? I hop in the time machine for this look back at the Fresh Prince's pre-movie-star era.

I Come to Bury Skids and Mudflap

Michael Bay wanted to create some hip, cool robots to be the comic relief in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. He wanted them to appeal to kids. Instead, he hatched some horribly racist Black caricatures. For MEL, I look back at the ugly legacy of Skids and Mudflap.

The Summer of Spielberg vs. Schwarzenegger

It was June 1993: Jurassic Park squared off against Last Action Hero. Years later, we're still obsessed with that showdown. I explain why over at MEL.

When 3D Horror Movies Ruled the Summer

Jaws 3-D. Piranha 3D. Shark Night. Those are just a few of the cheesy horror movies that have come out in the summertime, luring audiences to the theater with the promise of 3D. For MEL, I wrote about these very silly films.

Christopher Nolan and the Wait for 'Tenet'

Is Tenet still planning on opening July 17? Christopher Nolan sure hopes so. For MEL, I wrote about the unofficial (and totally unexpected) king of summer movies. You can read the piece here.

The Summer When Meryl Streep Took Down Superman

Let us return to the summer of 2006, when The Devil Wears Prada battled Superman Returns and an unlikely winner emerged. The latest installment of my Ultimate Summer Movie Guide is here.

When the Song of the Summer Comes From a Movie

For MEL, I did a deep dive into the best (and worst) summer movie songs. Peter Cetera, Prince, Kenny Loggins, Will Smith, Bryan Adams ... step right up.

How 'Back to the Future' Gave the DeLorean a Strange Afterlife

By the time Back to the Future hit theaters in the summer of 1985, the DMC-12 was generally thought of as a novelty or a joke. But that smash movie made it immortal. I looked at the history of the car, and the man who designed it, at MEL.

Tom Cruise and the Death of the Dark Universe

This week's installment of MEL's Ultimate Summer Movie Guide focuses on 2017's The Mummy. Poor Tom Cruise. Poor Universal. Poor Dark Universe. I went back to see what went wrong with this aborted cinematic universe here.

The Cultural Impact of "Why So Serious?"

Summer movie season isn't happening, but that's not stopping me from writing about it. At MEL, we're launching "The Ultimate Summer Movie Guide," which will look back at the most interesting, amazing and novel aspects of bygone blockbuster seasons. First up: I dove into the legacy of "Why So Serious?," the brilliant Dark Knight catchphrase that became a shorthand for a certain kind of moody comic-book movie. Hope you enjoy.