Articles by Matthew Simpson

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  'Star Wars: The Acolyte' Finds a New Galaxy Within the 'Star Wars' Universe

  Created by Leslye Headland

  PUBLISHED Jun 4, 2024

  Star Wars has had problems for a while now. The various Disney+ series have been a mixed bag, but one thing they all have in common is that...

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  'Dark Matter' Is a Dimension of the Multiverse That Looks Kinda Like All the Other Ones

  Created by Blake Crouch

  PUBLISHED May 7, 2024

  Multiverses are so hot right now. The idea of a limitless number of parallel dimensions, spinning off from every decision everyone makes...

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  Netflix's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Once Again Fumbles the Source Material

  Developed by Albert Kim

  PUBLISHED Feb 22, 2024

  Nickelodeon's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' premiered in 2005 to critical acclaim. It featured a unique world, fully realized over three...

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  'Shōgun' Is a Grand Epic Without Focus

  Created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks

  PUBLISHED Feb 13, 2024

  Adapting any beloved novel to the screen is daunting, even more so when some of the book's themes are perhaps a little dated...

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  'Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person' Brings Fresh Blood to Familiar Themes

  Directed by Ariane Louis-Seize

  PUBLISHED Oct 13, 2023

  The coming-of-age story is a well-worn tale, but one that still has a lot of mileage if a filmmaker can find a new angle. Director Ariane L...

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  'Ahsoka' Thankfully Transcends 'Star Wars' Nostalgia

  Developed by Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau

  PUBLISHED Aug 23, 2023

  It's fair to say that Disney+'s various Star Wars shows have been a mixed bag. While the fan base remains rabid, the shows have not all bee...

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  'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' Sinks into Incoherence

  Directed by Steven Caple Jr.

  PUBLISHED Jun 26, 2023

  There's a moment in the third act of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts where the bad guys have taken possession of the transwarp key (the ce...

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  'Class of '09' Is Too Unrefined to Be Great

  Created by Tom Rob Smith

  PUBLISHED May 9, 2023

  We live in perilous times. As a society, we are grappling with subjects previously only found under the purview of science fiction, the con...