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on April 21, 2026
In the Bible, the Ark is passed down to the Jewish people by God, so the Nazis’ theft of it can be seen as a metaphor for the anti-Semitic atrocities of World War II, which Spielberg later explored in more depth in Schindler’s Li
Adapted from William Goldman’s self-aware fantasy romance novel of the same name by Goldman himself, Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride is a brilliant satire of fairy tales, taking the stock characters that are usually confined to the background of these kinds of stories and putting them in the spotli
Gorgeous clothes, amazing interpersonal drama, all told in a time and place that has been relatively forgotten in western cinema. Cancers love creativity, so before Medieval Europe or wartime Europe sucks all of the historical air out of the room, check out Lust, Caution , and learn something about war and espionage in 20th century Ch
To the filmmakers’ credit, Sallah is a fun and well-written supporting character who was expertly brought to life by Davis. Still, this doesn’t excuse the casting of a Welshman for a character clearly written as an Egyptian. The fact that Davis actually spent majority of his youth in Tanzania because his father was a colonial officer doesn’t help matt
Simply put, people of non-Western nationalities are shown as exotic caricatures at best and non-white bad guys at worst. The Hovitos tribe, Toht’s Nepalese gunmen, and the Egyptians only exist to hinder or help Indy, having little to no agency to speak of. While their depictions are a product of the archaic adventurer genre’s trappings, the racially insensitive subtext can’t be igno
At the 73rd Academy Awards, Crouching Tiger ’s 10 Oscar nods set a record for the most nominations for a non-English-language movie. It has some of the most stunning visuals in action cinema, courtesy of cinematographer Peter
Pretty much every Bruce Lee movie has great fight scenes . Fans of fight choreography won’t be disappointed by Enter the Dragon or Way of the Dragon or even the incomplete Game of Death . But arguably the greatest movie in the Lee canon is 1972’s Fist of Fu
In all the best action movies, the narrative is driven by action and not the other way around. Raiders exemplifies this perfectly with action sequences that further the plot and lead into more action sequences that are incredible to watch, but still make se
Every fight scene in Kill Bill , especially the House of Blue Leaves massacre in Volume 1 , was meticulously crafted. Tarantino choreographed the fight scenes and all the mid-action cuts on the page before shoot
Some zodiac signs don't really mind if you already know how a story ends, but it's one of Cancer's pet peeves. Our crabby friend likes surprises - although preferably pleasant ones - and happy endings. We know from the title that's not going to happen here, and so does Cancer, which is why they won't waste their t
This is a story that takes place in 17th century France and revolves around the illicit and occasionally reckless affairs of the bored upper class. Our last selection was the same, and that means almost exactly the same. Valmont is about the same characters and has almost the same storyline as Dangerous Liaisons , just in a different movie. So, how can Valmont be so differ
Cancers love the fantasy angle in this movie. As was already discussed, swashbuckling isn't enough. They have to be immortal warriors fighting against a shameless, ancient evil to keep Cancer interested. Just don't mention the sequ
Both of these films seemed to recognize that Nazis make for fantastic villains in the Indiana Jones franchise. However, Raiders of the lost ark patch notes Ark just succeeds a little more in making their villains truly despica
Inspired by the classics of the martial arts genre – particularly the blood-drenched productions of the Shaw Brothers’ studio – Quentin Tarantino made his stamp as an action director in his fourth film, Kill Bill . Uma Thurman stars as the Bride, an ex-assassin who seeks vengeance against the former colleagues who left her for d
Thanks to Spielberg’s sharp direction, Ben Burtt’s exaggerated, old-timey sound effects, and the impeccable work of a stunt team led by Ford’s stunt double Vic Armstrong, Raiders ’ fight scenes are endlessly rivet
In reality, archeologists take great pains to keep their dig sites as intact as possible. Indy, on the other hand, demolishes a Peruvian and Egyptian place of worship over the course of Raiders of the Lost Ark . Sure, he had to escape certain death hence the collateral damage but he’s still terrible at preserving ancient structures for future generations’ bene
Both films do an exceptional job of delivering thrilling action sequences . With ambitious set-pieces and largely practical effects, these movies are still exciting to revisit today and marvel at what the filmmakers were able to pull
The Last Crusade has some memorable villains but they're all just a little too cliché without any real personality. Raiders of the Lost Ark makes Belloq a more complex bad guy while the Nazi officer Toht was a frightening yet weaselly henchman who you couldn't wait to see get his comeuppa