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Technology has a funny way of making yesterday’s breakthrough feel ancient almost overnight. That makes it easy to assume that many familiar objects must have appeared relatively recently, especially when their modern versions involve electronics, mass production, or materials their original creators could never have imagined. But plenty of inventions have histories stretching back centuries or even thousands of years. Ancient civilizations devised everything from automatic dispensers to alarm systems, while several technologies we associate with the modern age were already being demonstrated when horses were still the main form of transportation. The originals didn’t always look much like the versions we know today, but the basic ideas were already there. Here are 15 inventions we’ve had for much longer than people think.

The post 15 Inventions We’ve Had for Much Longer Than People Think appeared first on Den of Geek.

“Are you really Harry Potter?” wee little Dominic McLaughlin is asked by another incredulous first-year Hogwarts student at the end of the Harry Potter teaser from five months ago. That intriguing bit of marketing really leaned into elements from J.K. Rowling’s book series glossed over 25 years ago in the Christopher Columbus movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, such as just how miserable muggle school is for the Boy Who Lived. But by focusing so much on what is essentially the prologue, we didn’t get much flavor of what the real series is going to be about.

That show is thus on much better display in the full trailer for the first season of HBO’s Harry Potter reboot, aptly titled for at least this year as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Whereas the secrets of Headmaster Dumbledore’s school for witchcraft and wizardry was only teased in the previous marketing, its total breadth is now on display. There is the sorting hat brought out beneath the floating candles of the great hall where Harry, Hermione Granger (Arabella Stanton), and all the rest have their fates decided; the botanical gardens are setting down roots; and a wizard’s idea of chess makes its move.

Some of it even looks a bit different than how we might remember it based on the Warner Bros. movies from the 2000s. The Quidditch field outside the classrooms looks a lot humbler in size, as well as faintly more stately with its Victorian-flavored markings; and Paapa Essiedu is teasing a more youthful and, perhaps, even more openly anti-Potter Severus Snape when he menaces, “Let’s hope you show some talent with the Quidditch pitch, Potter. You’ve certainly not exhibited any in here.”

The last line feels subtly counterintuitive to how Alan Rickman might have read the same dialogue 25 years ago… and therefore desperately needed because despite new castings and other seemingly arbitrary divergences from the production design choices of Columbus and WB a quarter-century ago, the film feels inescapably familiar. Which is both its advantage as a piece of IP extension and its burden as a creative endeavor.

To be clear, it is far too early to pass any sort of judgment or critique on what HBO and showrunner Francesca Gardiner has achieved in their adaptation. But the main challenge of the series remains in the foreground throughout the sizzle reel: why make this again? Admittedly, it’s a question that’s dogged any remake going back to the days of when MGM would shamelessly churn out technicolor versions of their own black-and-white classics from 20 years prior. But at that time, there was no home media, no memes, and no YouTube clips to accompany audiences’ childhood nostalgia.

There was also no need to feel obligated to remain slavishly faithful to the same source material. The alleged advantage of the Harry Potter TV series is that by making each season run 8-10 hours, it will doubtlessly have more time to carefully dramatize every single scene and inflection of Rowling’s pen, which previously had to be amended, shortened, and even supplemented with directors’ own ideas in a cinematic format. This is visible simply by virtue of the TV show having the correct UK title with “Philosopher” in lieu of “Sorcerer.” Nonetheless, the core elements folks love in these stories—the life-defining friendships between Harry, Hermione, and Ron, Quidditch, the sorting hat, or Dumbledore’s twinkly mentorship versus Snape’s foreboding alternative—were all faithfully adapted the first-time round. Beautifully so in many instances.

The first teaser for Harry Potter intrigued me more since the lonely isolation of Harry’s childhood as an unwanted and unloved orphan in his aunt and uncle’s home is an aspect of the story the film series barely examined. Yet I imagine this trailer will win more fans based purely on it tickling the nostalgia of the aspects of the story that so many fondly cherish. It might be nice to be on the Hogwarts stomping grounds again, but I’m not convinced yet this will feel like anything more than a 20-year reminisce about glory days gone by.

Harry Potter premieres on Christmas Day on HBO and HBO Max.

The post HBO Harry Potter Trailer Reveals New Snape, Quidditch, and Hogwarts But Still Feels Old appeared first on Den of Geek.

Not every great TV show makes a great first impression. Sometimes the pilot feels awkward, the characters are irritating, or an entire first season passes before the writers finally figure out what makes the series work. That can make giving up after a few episodes incredibly tempting, especially when there are hundreds of other shows waiting for a chance. But some series reward a little patience in a major way. A shaky comedy can suddenly find its voice, a slow drama can reveal what it was building toward, and characters who once seemed unbearable can somehow become favorites. Here are 15 TV shows people hated at first, but grew to love.

The post 15 Shows People Hated at First, But Grew to Love appeared first on Den of Geek.

“Are you really Harry Potter?” wee little Dominic McLaughlin is asked by another incredulous first-year Hogwarts student at the end of the Harry Potter teaser from five months ago. That intriguing bit of marketing really leaned into elements from J.K. Rowling’s book series glossed over 25 years ago in the Christopher Columbus movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, such as just how miserable muggle school is for the Boy Who Lived. But by focusing so much on what is essentially the prologue, we didn’t get much flavor of what the real series is going to be about.

That show is thus on much better display in the full trailer for the first season of HBO’s Harry Potter reboot, aptly titled for at least this year as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Whereas the secrets of Headmaster Dumbledore’s school for witchcraft and wizardry was only teased in the previous marketing, its total breadth is now on display. There is the sorting hat brought out beneath the floating candles of the great hall where Harry, Hermione Granger (Arabella Stanton), and all the rest have their fates decided; the botanical gardens are setting down roots; and a wizard’s idea of chess makes its move.

Some of it even looks a bit different than how we might remember it based on the Warner Bros. movies from the 2000s. The Quidditch field outside the classrooms looks a lot humbler in size, as well as faintly more stately with its Victorian-flavored markings; and Paapa Essiedu is teasing a more youthful and, perhaps, even more openly anti-Potter Severus Snape when he menaces, “Let’s hope you show some talent with the Quidditch pitch, Potter. You’ve certainly not exhibited any in here.”

The last line feels subtly counterintuitive to how Alan Rickman might have read the same dialogue 25 years ago… and therefore desperately needed because despite new castings and other seemingly arbitrary divergences from the production design choices of Columbus and WB a quarter-century ago, the film feels inescapably familiar. Which is both its advantage as a piece of IP extension and its burden as a creative endeavor.

To be clear, it is far too early to pass any sort of judgment or critique on what HBO and showrunner Francesca Gardiner has achieved in their adaptation. But the main challenge of the series remains in the foreground throughout the sizzle reel: why make this again? Admittedly, it’s a question that’s dogged any remake going back to the days of when MGM would shamelessly churn out technicolor versions of their own black-and-white classics from 20 years prior. But at that time, there was no home media, no memes, and no YouTube clips to accompany audiences’ childhood nostalgia.

There was also no need to feel obligated to remain slavishly faithful to the same source material. The alleged advantage of the Harry Potter TV series is that by making each season run 8-10 hours, it will doubtlessly have more time to carefully dramatize every single scene and inflection of Rowling’s pen, which previously had to be amended, shortened, and even supplemented with directors’ own ideas in a cinematic format. This is visible simply by virtue of the TV show having the correct UK title with “Philosopher” in lieu of “Sorcerer.” Nonetheless, the core elements folks love in these stories—the life-defining friendships between Harry, Hermione, and Ron, Quidditch, the sorting hat, or Dumbledore’s twinkly mentorship versus Snape’s foreboding alternative—were all faithfully adapted the first-time round. Beautifully so in many instances.

The first teaser for Harry Potter intrigued me more since the lonely isolation of Harry’s childhood as an unwanted and unloved orphan in his aunt and uncle’s home is an aspect of the story the film series barely examined. Yet I imagine this trailer will win more fans based purely on it tickling the nostalgia of the aspects of the story that so many fondly cherish. It might be nice to be on the Hogwarts stomping grounds again, but I’m not convinced yet this will feel like anything more than a 20-year reminisce about glory days gone by.

Harry Potter premieres on Christmas Day on HBO and HBO Max.

The post HBO Harry Potter Trailer Reveals New Snape, Quidditch, and Hogwarts But Still Feels Old appeared first on Den of Geek.

Some movies become so deeply embedded in popular culture that their age almost stops mattering. You may have watched them on television as a kid, heard people quote them for years, or simply recognized their most famous scenes without realizing when the movie was actually released. These films have been around for more than half a century, yet they remain remarkably familiar to audiences who were not even born when they first reached theaters. Their characters, lines, music, and images have continued to show up in everyday culture, keeping them alive for new generations. Here are fifteen movies that are now over fifty years old but somehow still feel like movies everyone knows.

The post 15 Movies That Are Over 50 Years Old, But We’ve Still All Seen Them appeared first on Den of Geek.

“Are you really Harry Potter?” wee little Dominic McLaughlin is asked by another incredulous first-year Hogwarts student at the end of the Harry Potter teaser from five months ago. That intriguing bit of marketing really leaned into elements from J.K. Rowling’s book series glossed over 25 years ago in the Christopher Columbus movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, such as just how miserable muggle school is for the Boy Who Lived. But by focusing so much on what is essentially the prologue, we didn’t get much flavor of what the real series is going to be about.

That show is thus on much better display in the full trailer for the first season of HBO’s Harry Potter reboot, aptly titled for at least this year as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Whereas the secrets of Headmaster Dumbledore’s school for witchcraft and wizardry was only teased in the previous marketing, its total breadth is now on display. There is the sorting hat brought out beneath the floating candles of the great hall where Harry, Hermione Granger (Arabella Stanton), and all the rest have their fates decided; the botanical gardens are setting down roots; and a wizard’s idea of chess makes its move.

Some of it even looks a bit different than how we might remember it based on the Warner Bros. movies from the 2000s. The Quidditch field outside the classrooms looks a lot humbler in size, as well as faintly more stately with its Victorian-flavored markings; and Paapa Essiedu is teasing a more youthful and, perhaps, even more openly anti-Potter Severus Snape when he menaces, “Let’s hope you show some talent with the Quidditch pitch, Potter. You’ve certainly not exhibited any in here.”

The last line feels subtly counterintuitive to how Alan Rickman might have read the same dialogue 25 years ago… and therefore desperately needed because despite new castings and other seemingly arbitrary divergences from the production design choices of Columbus and WB a quarter-century ago, the film feels inescapably familiar. Which is both its advantage as a piece of IP extension and its burden as a creative endeavor.

To be clear, it is far too early to pass any sort of judgment or critique on what HBO and showrunner Francesca Gardiner has achieved in their adaptation. But the main challenge of the series remains in the foreground throughout the sizzle reel: why make this again? Admittedly, it’s a question that’s dogged any remake going back to the days of when MGM would shamelessly churn out technicolor versions of their own black-and-white classics from 20 years prior. But at that time, there was no home media, no memes, and no YouTube clips to accompany audiences’ childhood nostalgia.

There was also no need to feel obligated to remain slavishly faithful to the same source material. The alleged advantage of the Harry Potter TV series is that by making each season run 8-10 hours, it will doubtlessly have more time to carefully dramatize every single scene and inflection of Rowling’s pen, which previously had to be amended, shortened, and even supplemented with directors’ own ideas in a cinematic format. This is visible simply by virtue of the TV show having the correct UK title with “Philosopher” in lieu of “Sorcerer.” Nonetheless, the core elements folks love in these stories—the life-defining friendships between Harry, Hermione, and Ron, Quidditch, the sorting hat, or Dumbledore’s twinkly mentorship versus Snape’s foreboding alternative—were all faithfully adapted the first-time round. Beautifully so in many instances.

The first teaser for Harry Potter intrigued me more since the lonely isolation of Harry’s childhood as an unwanted and unloved orphan in his aunt and uncle’s home is an aspect of the story the film series barely examined. Yet I imagine this trailer will win more fans based purely on it tickling the nostalgia of the aspects of the story that so many fondly cherish. It might be nice to be on the Hogwarts stomping grounds again, but I’m not convinced yet this will feel like anything more than a 20-year reminisce about glory days gone by.

Harry Potter premieres on Christmas Day on HBO and HBO Max.

The post HBO Harry Potter Trailer Reveals New Snape, Quidditch, and Hogwarts But Still Feels Old appeared first on Den of Geek.

There is something mythic about a climactic moment only teased in the Onslaught trailers and marketing. A mother, wounded, bloodied, and defiantly badass stands with a chainsaw-in-hand and an eyepatch-on-face against an otherworldly, demonic force with glowing eyes and heavy weaponry. The tableau might be worthy of a John Trumbull painting—or at least a John […]

The post Onslaught’s Adam Wingard Wants Michael Myers ‘Run Through a Military Filter’ appeared first on Den of Geek.

“Are you really Harry Potter?” wee little Dominic McLaughlin is asked by another incredulous first-year Hogwarts student at the end of the Harry Potter teaser from five months ago. That intriguing bit of marketing really leaned into elements from J.K. Rowling’s book series glossed over 25 years ago in the Christopher Columbus movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, such as just how miserable muggle school is for the Boy Who Lived. But by focusing so much on what is essentially the prologue, we didn’t get much flavor of what the real series is going to be about.

That show is thus on much better display in the full trailer for the first season of HBO’s Harry Potter reboot, aptly titled for at least this year as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Whereas the secrets of Headmaster Dumbledore’s school for witchcraft and wizardry was only teased in the previous marketing, its total breadth is now on display. There is the sorting hat brought out beneath the floating candles of the great hall where Harry, Hermione Granger (Arabella Stanton), and all the rest have their fates decided; the botanical gardens are setting down roots; and a wizard’s idea of chess makes its move.

Some of it even looks a bit different than how we might remember it based on the Warner Bros. movies from the 2000s. The Quidditch field outside the classrooms looks a lot humbler in size, as well as faintly more stately with its Victorian-flavored markings; and Paapa Essiedu is teasing a more youthful and, perhaps, even more openly anti-Potter Severus Snape when he menaces, “Let’s hope you show some talent with the Quidditch pitch, Potter. You’ve certainly not exhibited any in here.”

The last line feels subtly counterintuitive to how Alan Rickman might have read the same dialogue 25 years ago… and therefore desperately needed because despite new castings and other seemingly arbitrary divergences from the production design choices of Columbus and WB a quarter-century ago, the film feels inescapably familiar. Which is both its advantage as a piece of IP extension and its burden as a creative endeavor.

To be clear, it is far too early to pass any sort of judgment or critique on what HBO and showrunner Francesca Gardiner has achieved in their adaptation. But the main challenge of the series remains in the foreground throughout the sizzle reel: why make this again? Admittedly, it’s a question that’s dogged any remake going back to the days of when MGM would shamelessly churn out technicolor versions of their own black-and-white classics from 20 years prior. But at that time, there was no home media, no memes, and no YouTube clips to accompany audiences’ childhood nostalgia.

There was also no need to feel obligated to remain slavishly faithful to the same source material. The alleged advantage of the Harry Potter TV series is that by making each season run 8-10 hours, it will doubtlessly have more time to carefully dramatize every single scene and inflection of Rowling’s pen, which previously had to be amended, shortened, and even supplemented with directors’ own ideas in a cinematic format. This is visible simply by virtue of the TV show having the correct UK title with “Philosopher” in lieu of “Sorcerer.” Nonetheless, the core elements folks love in these stories—the life-defining friendships between Harry, Hermione, and Ron, Quidditch, the sorting hat, or Dumbledore’s twinkly mentorship versus Snape’s foreboding alternative—were all faithfully adapted the first-time round. Beautifully so in many instances.

The first teaser for Harry Potter intrigued me more since the lonely isolation of Harry’s childhood as an unwanted and unloved orphan in his aunt and uncle’s home is an aspect of the story the film series barely examined. Yet I imagine this trailer will win more fans based purely on it tickling the nostalgia of the aspects of the story that so many fondly cherish. It might be nice to be on the Hogwarts stomping grounds again, but I’m not convinced yet this will feel like anything more than a 20-year reminisce about glory days gone by.

Harry Potter premieres on Christmas Day on HBO and HBO Max.

The post HBO Harry Potter Trailer Reveals New Snape, Quidditch, and Hogwarts But Still Feels Old appeared first on Den of Geek.

Everyone has that one movie they wish they could erase from their memory. It might be a spectacularly bad blockbuster, a painfully boring drama, a cheap horror film, or something that seemed promising until the opening minutes made it obvious that things had gone terribly wrong. The funniest part is how personal these choices can be. One person’s unbearable disaster can become another person’s guilty pleasure, while a movie with a famous cast can somehow produce an experience people never want to repeat. Reddit users were asked to name the absolute worst movie they had ever seen, and the answers covered some truly unforgettable disasters. These fifteen were among the most memorable responses.

The post 14 People Share the Worst Movie They’ve Ever Seen appeared first on Den of Geek.

“Are you really Harry Potter?” wee little Dominic McLaughlin is asked by another incredulous first-year Hogwarts student at the end of the Harry Potter teaser from five months ago. That intriguing bit of marketing really leaned into elements from J.K. Rowling’s book series glossed over 25 years ago in the Christopher Columbus movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, such as just how miserable muggle school is for the Boy Who Lived. But by focusing so much on what is essentially the prologue, we didn’t get much flavor of what the real series is going to be about.

That show is thus on much better display in the full trailer for the first season of HBO’s Harry Potter reboot, aptly titled for at least this year as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Whereas the secrets of Headmaster Dumbledore’s school for witchcraft and wizardry was only teased in the previous marketing, its total breadth is now on display. There is the sorting hat brought out beneath the floating candles of the great hall where Harry, Hermione Granger (Arabella Stanton), and all the rest have their fates decided; the botanical gardens are setting down roots; and a wizard’s idea of chess makes its move.

Some of it even looks a bit different than how we might remember it based on the Warner Bros. movies from the 2000s. The Quidditch field outside the classrooms looks a lot humbler in size, as well as faintly more stately with its Victorian-flavored markings; and Paapa Essiedu is teasing a more youthful and, perhaps, even more openly anti-Potter Severus Snape when he menaces, “Let’s hope you show some talent with the Quidditch pitch, Potter. You’ve certainly not exhibited any in here.”

The last line feels subtly counterintuitive to how Alan Rickman might have read the same dialogue 25 years ago… and therefore desperately needed because despite new castings and other seemingly arbitrary divergences from the production design choices of Columbus and WB a quarter-century ago, the film feels inescapably familiar. Which is both its advantage as a piece of IP extension and its burden as a creative endeavor.

To be clear, it is far too early to pass any sort of judgment or critique on what HBO and showrunner Francesca Gardiner has achieved in their adaptation. But the main challenge of the series remains in the foreground throughout the sizzle reel: why make this again? Admittedly, it’s a question that’s dogged any remake going back to the days of when MGM would shamelessly churn out technicolor versions of their own black-and-white classics from 20 years prior. But at that time, there was no home media, no memes, and no YouTube clips to accompany audiences’ childhood nostalgia.

There was also no need to feel obligated to remain slavishly faithful to the same source material. The alleged advantage of the Harry Potter TV series is that by making each season run 8-10 hours, it will doubtlessly have more time to carefully dramatize every single scene and inflection of Rowling’s pen, which previously had to be amended, shortened, and even supplemented with directors’ own ideas in a cinematic format. This is visible simply by virtue of the TV show having the correct UK title with “Philosopher” in lieu of “Sorcerer.” Nonetheless, the core elements folks love in these stories—the life-defining friendships between Harry, Hermione, and Ron, Quidditch, the sorting hat, or Dumbledore’s twinkly mentorship versus Snape’s foreboding alternative—were all faithfully adapted the first-time round. Beautifully so in many instances.

The first teaser for Harry Potter intrigued me more since the lonely isolation of Harry’s childhood as an unwanted and unloved orphan in his aunt and uncle’s home is an aspect of the story the film series barely examined. Yet I imagine this trailer will win more fans based purely on it tickling the nostalgia of the aspects of the story that so many fondly cherish. It might be nice to be on the Hogwarts stomping grounds again, but I’m not convinced yet this will feel like anything more than a 20-year reminisce about glory days gone by.

Harry Potter premieres on Christmas Day on HBO and HBO Max.

The post HBO Harry Potter Trailer Reveals New Snape, Quidditch, and Hogwarts But Still Feels Old appeared first on Den of Geek.

There is always one movie that someone from an older generation insists you absolutely have to see. It might be a black and white classic, a glamorous romance, a crime story, or an old comedy that somehow still gets quoted at family gatherings. These movies have survived decades because people kept recommending them to the next generation, often with the same enthusiastic explanation that they simply do not make films like this anymore. Some recommendations have become timeless favorites, while others feel like homework until the movie finally wins you over. Here are fifteen old school classics that have been passed down through generations and remain firmly lodged in the movie collections of grandparents everywhere.

The post 15 Movies Grandma Won’t Stop Telling Us to Watch appeared first on Den of Geek.

“Are you really Harry Potter?” wee little Dominic McLaughlin is asked by another incredulous first-year Hogwarts student at the end of the Harry Potter teaser from five months ago. That intriguing bit of marketing really leaned into elements from J.K. Rowling’s book series glossed over 25 years ago in the Christopher Columbus movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, such as just how miserable muggle school is for the Boy Who Lived. But by focusing so much on what is essentially the prologue, we didn’t get much flavor of what the real series is going to be about.

That show is thus on much better display in the full trailer for the first season of HBO’s Harry Potter reboot, aptly titled for at least this year as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Whereas the secrets of Headmaster Dumbledore’s school for witchcraft and wizardry was only teased in the previous marketing, its total breadth is now on display. There is the sorting hat brought out beneath the floating candles of the great hall where Harry, Hermione Granger (Arabella Stanton), and all the rest have their fates decided; the botanical gardens are setting down roots; and a wizard’s idea of chess makes its move.

Some of it even looks a bit different than how we might remember it based on the Warner Bros. movies from the 2000s. The Quidditch field outside the classrooms looks a lot humbler in size, as well as faintly more stately with its Victorian-flavored markings; and Paapa Essiedu is teasing a more youthful and, perhaps, even more openly anti-Potter Severus Snape when he menaces, “Let’s hope you show some talent with the Quidditch pitch, Potter. You’ve certainly not exhibited any in here.”

The last line feels subtly counterintuitive to how Alan Rickman might have read the same dialogue 25 years ago… and therefore desperately needed because despite new castings and other seemingly arbitrary divergences from the production design choices of Columbus and WB a quarter-century ago, the film feels inescapably familiar. Which is both its advantage as a piece of IP extension and its burden as a creative endeavor.

To be clear, it is far too early to pass any sort of judgment or critique on what HBO and showrunner Francesca Gardiner has achieved in their adaptation. But the main challenge of the series remains in the foreground throughout the sizzle reel: why make this again? Admittedly, it’s a question that’s dogged any remake going back to the days of when MGM would shamelessly churn out technicolor versions of their own black-and-white classics from 20 years prior. But at that time, there was no home media, no memes, and no YouTube clips to accompany audiences’ childhood nostalgia.

There was also no need to feel obligated to remain slavishly faithful to the same source material. The alleged advantage of the Harry Potter TV series is that by making each season run 8-10 hours, it will doubtlessly have more time to carefully dramatize every single scene and inflection of Rowling’s pen, which previously had to be amended, shortened, and even supplemented with directors’ own ideas in a cinematic format. This is visible simply by virtue of the TV show having the correct UK title with “Philosopher” in lieu of “Sorcerer.” Nonetheless, the core elements folks love in these stories—the life-defining friendships between Harry, Hermione, and Ron, Quidditch, the sorting hat, or Dumbledore’s twinkly mentorship versus Snape’s foreboding alternative—were all faithfully adapted the first-time round. Beautifully so in many instances.

The first teaser for Harry Potter intrigued me more since the lonely isolation of Harry’s childhood as an unwanted and unloved orphan in his aunt and uncle’s home is an aspect of the story the film series barely examined. Yet I imagine this trailer will win more fans based purely on it tickling the nostalgia of the aspects of the story that so many fondly cherish. It might be nice to be on the Hogwarts stomping grounds again, but I’m not convinced yet this will feel like anything more than a 20-year reminisce about glory days gone by.

Harry Potter premieres on Christmas Day on HBO and HBO Max.

The post HBO Harry Potter Trailer Reveals New Snape, Quidditch, and Hogwarts But Still Feels Old appeared first on Den of Geek.

The best movie twists rarely come completely out of nowhere. Look closely enough, and filmmakers often spend the entire runtime quietly telling us exactly what is going to happen. A strange line of dialogue, an object sitting in the background, or a character behaving slightly differently can mean nothing the first time around and practically scream the answer on a rewatch. Sometimes the clue is so obvious that it seems impossible audiences missed it, which is precisely what makes the trick work. Once you know where everything is headed, these movies can feel like entirely different experiences the second time around. Here are 15 movies that give away the ending, if you’re paying attention.

The post 15 Movies That Give Away the Ending, If You’re Paying Attention appeared first on Den of Geek.

“Are you really Harry Potter?” wee little Dominic McLaughlin is asked by another incredulous first-year Hogwarts student at the end of the Harry Potter teaser from five months ago. That intriguing bit of marketing really leaned into elements from J.K. Rowling’s book series glossed over 25 years ago in the Christopher Columbus movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, such as just how miserable muggle school is for the Boy Who Lived. But by focusing so much on what is essentially the prologue, we didn’t get much flavor of what the real series is going to be about.

That show is thus on much better display in the full trailer for the first season of HBO’s Harry Potter reboot, aptly titled for at least this year as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Whereas the secrets of Headmaster Dumbledore’s school for witchcraft and wizardry was only teased in the previous marketing, its total breadth is now on display. There is the sorting hat brought out beneath the floating candles of the great hall where Harry, Hermione Granger (Arabella Stanton), and all the rest have their fates decided; the botanical gardens are setting down roots; and a wizard’s idea of chess makes its move.

Some of it even looks a bit different than how we might remember it based on the Warner Bros. movies from the 2000s. The Quidditch field outside the classrooms looks a lot humbler in size, as well as faintly more stately with its Victorian-flavored markings; and Paapa Essiedu is teasing a more youthful and, perhaps, even more openly anti-Potter Severus Snape when he menaces, “Let’s hope you show some talent with the Quidditch pitch, Potter. You’ve certainly not exhibited any in here.”

The last line feels subtly counterintuitive to how Alan Rickman might have read the same dialogue 25 years ago… and therefore desperately needed because despite new castings and other seemingly arbitrary divergences from the production design choices of Columbus and WB a quarter-century ago, the film feels inescapably familiar. Which is both its advantage as a piece of IP extension and its burden as a creative endeavor.

To be clear, it is far too early to pass any sort of judgment or critique on what HBO and showrunner Francesca Gardiner has achieved in their adaptation. But the main challenge of the series remains in the foreground throughout the sizzle reel: why make this again? Admittedly, it’s a question that’s dogged any remake going back to the days of when MGM would shamelessly churn out technicolor versions of their own black-and-white classics from 20 years prior. But at that time, there was no home media, no memes, and no YouTube clips to accompany audiences’ childhood nostalgia.

There was also no need to feel obligated to remain slavishly faithful to the same source material. The alleged advantage of the Harry Potter TV series is that by making each season run 8-10 hours, it will doubtlessly have more time to carefully dramatize every single scene and inflection of Rowling’s pen, which previously had to be amended, shortened, and even supplemented with directors’ own ideas in a cinematic format. This is visible simply by virtue of the TV show having the correct UK title with “Philosopher” in lieu of “Sorcerer.” Nonetheless, the core elements folks love in these stories—the life-defining friendships between Harry, Hermione, and Ron, Quidditch, the sorting hat, or Dumbledore’s twinkly mentorship versus Snape’s foreboding alternative—were all faithfully adapted the first-time round. Beautifully so in many instances.

The first teaser for Harry Potter intrigued me more since the lonely isolation of Harry’s childhood as an unwanted and unloved orphan in his aunt and uncle’s home is an aspect of the story the film series barely examined. Yet I imagine this trailer will win more fans based purely on it tickling the nostalgia of the aspects of the story that so many fondly cherish. It might be nice to be on the Hogwarts stomping grounds again, but I’m not convinced yet this will feel like anything more than a 20-year reminisce about glory days gone by.

Harry Potter premieres on Christmas Day on HBO and HBO Max.

The post HBO Harry Potter Trailer Reveals New Snape, Quidditch, and Hogwarts But Still Feels Old appeared first on Den of Geek.

It took George Miller a long time to make 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road. He began developing the project around the turn of the millennium, but the director faced major setbacks, including filming location challenges, budget concerns, and the fact that his former leading man, Mel Gibson, was no longer a viable casting choice. Yet […]

The post Mad Max: Fury Road’s Casting Process Sounds Like It Was a Battle of Its Own appeared first on Den of Geek.

“Are you really Harry Potter?” wee little Dominic McLaughlin is asked by another incredulous first-year Hogwarts student at the end of the Harry Potter teaser from five months ago. That intriguing bit of marketing really leaned into elements from J.K. Rowling’s book series glossed over 25 years ago in the Christopher Columbus movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, such as just how miserable muggle school is for the Boy Who Lived. But by focusing so much on what is essentially the prologue, we didn’t get much flavor of what the real series is going to be about.

That show is thus on much better display in the full trailer for the first season of HBO’s Harry Potter reboot, aptly titled for at least this year as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Whereas the secrets of Headmaster Dumbledore’s school for witchcraft and wizardry was only teased in the previous marketing, its total breadth is now on display. There is the sorting hat brought out beneath the floating candles of the great hall where Harry, Hermione Granger (Arabella Stanton), and all the rest have their fates decided; the botanical gardens are setting down roots; and a wizard’s idea of chess makes its move.

Some of it even looks a bit different than how we might remember it based on the Warner Bros. movies from the 2000s. The Quidditch field outside the classrooms looks a lot humbler in size, as well as faintly more stately with its Victorian-flavored markings; and Paapa Essiedu is teasing a more youthful and, perhaps, even more openly anti-Potter Severus Snape when he menaces, “Let’s hope you show some talent with the Quidditch pitch, Potter. You’ve certainly not exhibited any in here.”

The last line feels subtly counterintuitive to how Alan Rickman might have read the same dialogue 25 years ago… and therefore desperately needed because despite new castings and other seemingly arbitrary divergences from the production design choices of Columbus and WB a quarter-century ago, the film feels inescapably familiar. Which is both its advantage as a piece of IP extension and its burden as a creative endeavor.

To be clear, it is far too early to pass any sort of judgment or critique on what HBO and showrunner Francesca Gardiner has achieved in their adaptation. But the main challenge of the series remains in the foreground throughout the sizzle reel: why make this again? Admittedly, it’s a question that’s dogged any remake going back to the days of when MGM would shamelessly churn out technicolor versions of their own black-and-white classics from 20 years prior. But at that time, there was no home media, no memes, and no YouTube clips to accompany audiences’ childhood nostalgia.

There was also no need to feel obligated to remain slavishly faithful to the same source material. The alleged advantage of the Harry Potter TV series is that by making each season run 8-10 hours, it will doubtlessly have more time to carefully dramatize every single scene and inflection of Rowling’s pen, which previously had to be amended, shortened, and even supplemented with directors’ own ideas in a cinematic format. This is visible simply by virtue of the TV show having the correct UK title with “Philosopher” in lieu of “Sorcerer.” Nonetheless, the core elements folks love in these stories—the life-defining friendships between Harry, Hermione, and Ron, Quidditch, the sorting hat, or Dumbledore’s twinkly mentorship versus Snape’s foreboding alternative—were all faithfully adapted the first-time round. Beautifully so in many instances.

The first teaser for Harry Potter intrigued me more since the lonely isolation of Harry’s childhood as an unwanted and unloved orphan in his aunt and uncle’s home is an aspect of the story the film series barely examined. Yet I imagine this trailer will win more fans based purely on it tickling the nostalgia of the aspects of the story that so many fondly cherish. It might be nice to be on the Hogwarts stomping grounds again, but I’m not convinced yet this will feel like anything more than a 20-year reminisce about glory days gone by.

Harry Potter premieres on Christmas Day on HBO and HBO Max.

The post HBO Harry Potter Trailer Reveals New Snape, Quidditch, and Hogwarts But Still Feels Old appeared first on Den of Geek.

Paradise is officially lost, at least for Gal Gadot. The star recently expressed her disappointment that a third Wonder Woman movie with her back as Princess Diana and Patty Jenkins directing did not come to pass. “They told me the opposite!” she said of Wonder Woman 3 on the Happy Sad Confused (via Variety) podcast. […]

The post Wonder Woman 3 Could Never Happen in the New DCU appeared first on Den of Geek.

“Are you really Harry Potter?” wee little Dominic McLaughlin is asked by another incredulous first-year Hogwarts student at the end of the Harry Potter teaser from five months ago. That intriguing bit of marketing really leaned into elements from J.K. Rowling’s book series glossed over 25 years ago in the Christopher Columbus movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, such as just how miserable muggle school is for the Boy Who Lived. But by focusing so much on what is essentially the prologue, we didn’t get much flavor of what the real series is going to be about.

That show is thus on much better display in the full trailer for the first season of HBO’s Harry Potter reboot, aptly titled for at least this year as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Whereas the secrets of Headmaster Dumbledore’s school for witchcraft and wizardry was only teased in the previous marketing, its total breadth is now on display. There is the sorting hat brought out beneath the floating candles of the great hall where Harry, Hermione Granger (Arabella Stanton), and all the rest have their fates decided; the botanical gardens are setting down roots; and a wizard’s idea of chess makes its move.

Some of it even looks a bit different than how we might remember it based on the Warner Bros. movies from the 2000s. The Quidditch field outside the classrooms looks a lot humbler in size, as well as faintly more stately with its Victorian-flavored markings; and Paapa Essiedu is teasing a more youthful and, perhaps, even more openly anti-Potter Severus Snape when he menaces, “Let’s hope you show some talent with the Quidditch pitch, Potter. You’ve certainly not exhibited any in here.”

The last line feels subtly counterintuitive to how Alan Rickman might have read the same dialogue 25 years ago… and therefore desperately needed because despite new castings and other seemingly arbitrary divergences from the production design choices of Columbus and WB a quarter-century ago, the film feels inescapably familiar. Which is both its advantage as a piece of IP extension and its burden as a creative endeavor.

To be clear, it is far too early to pass any sort of judgment or critique on what HBO and showrunner Francesca Gardiner has achieved in their adaptation. But the main challenge of the series remains in the foreground throughout the sizzle reel: why make this again? Admittedly, it’s a question that’s dogged any remake going back to the days of when MGM would shamelessly churn out technicolor versions of their own black-and-white classics from 20 years prior. But at that time, there was no home media, no memes, and no YouTube clips to accompany audiences’ childhood nostalgia.

There was also no need to feel obligated to remain slavishly faithful to the same source material. The alleged advantage of the Harry Potter TV series is that by making each season run 8-10 hours, it will doubtlessly have more time to carefully dramatize every single scene and inflection of Rowling’s pen, which previously had to be amended, shortened, and even supplemented with directors’ own ideas in a cinematic format. This is visible simply by virtue of the TV show having the correct UK title with “Philosopher” in lieu of “Sorcerer.” Nonetheless, the core elements folks love in these stories—the life-defining friendships between Harry, Hermione, and Ron, Quidditch, the sorting hat, or Dumbledore’s twinkly mentorship versus Snape’s foreboding alternative—were all faithfully adapted the first-time round. Beautifully so in many instances.

The first teaser for Harry Potter intrigued me more since the lonely isolation of Harry’s childhood as an unwanted and unloved orphan in his aunt and uncle’s home is an aspect of the story the film series barely examined. Yet I imagine this trailer will win more fans based purely on it tickling the nostalgia of the aspects of the story that so many fondly cherish. It might be nice to be on the Hogwarts stomping grounds again, but I’m not convinced yet this will feel like anything more than a 20-year reminisce about glory days gone by.

Harry Potter premieres on Christmas Day on HBO and HBO Max.

The post HBO Harry Potter Trailer Reveals New Snape, Quidditch, and Hogwarts But Still Feels Old appeared first on Den of Geek.

“Are you really Harry Potter?” wee little Dominic McLaughlin is asked by another incredulous first-year Hogwarts student at the end of the Harry Potter teaser from five months ago. That intriguing bit of marketing really leaned into elements from J.K. Rowling’s book series glossed over 25 years ago in the Christopher Columbus movie, Harry Potter […]

The post HBO Harry Potter Trailer Reveals New Snape, Quidditch, and Hogwarts But Still Feels Old appeared first on Den of Geek.

“Are you really Harry Potter?” wee little Dominic McLaughlin is asked by another incredulous first-year Hogwarts student at the end of the Harry Potter teaser from five months ago. That intriguing bit of marketing really leaned into elements from J.K. Rowling’s book series glossed over 25 years ago in the Christopher Columbus movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, such as just how miserable muggle school is for the Boy Who Lived. But by focusing so much on what is essentially the prologue, we didn’t get much flavor of what the real series is going to be about.

That show is thus on much better display in the full trailer for the first season of HBO’s Harry Potter reboot, aptly titled for at least this year as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Whereas the secrets of Headmaster Dumbledore’s school for witchcraft and wizardry was only teased in the previous marketing, its total breadth is now on display. There is the sorting hat brought out beneath the floating candles of the great hall where Harry, Hermione Granger (Arabella Stanton), and all the rest have their fates decided; the botanical gardens are setting down roots; and a wizard’s idea of chess makes its move.

Some of it even looks a bit different than how we might remember it based on the Warner Bros. movies from the 2000s. The Quidditch field outside the classrooms looks a lot humbler in size, as well as faintly more stately with its Victorian-flavored markings; and Paapa Essiedu is teasing a more youthful and, perhaps, even more openly anti-Potter Severus Snape when he menaces, “Let’s hope you show some talent with the Quidditch pitch, Potter. You’ve certainly not exhibited any in here.”

The last line feels subtly counterintuitive to how Alan Rickman might have read the same dialogue 25 years ago… and therefore desperately needed because despite new castings and other seemingly arbitrary divergences from the production design choices of Columbus and WB a quarter-century ago, the film feels inescapably familiar. Which is both its advantage as a piece of IP extension and its burden as a creative endeavor.

To be clear, it is far too early to pass any sort of judgment or critique on what HBO and showrunner Francesca Gardiner has achieved in their adaptation. But the main challenge of the series remains in the foreground throughout the sizzle reel: why make this again? Admittedly, it’s a question that’s dogged any remake going back to the days of when MGM would shamelessly churn out technicolor versions of their own black-and-white classics from 20 years prior. But at that time, there was no home media, no memes, and no YouTube clips to accompany audiences’ childhood nostalgia.

There was also no need to feel obligated to remain slavishly faithful to the same source material. The alleged advantage of the Harry Potter TV series is that by making each season run 8-10 hours, it will doubtlessly have more time to carefully dramatize every single scene and inflection of Rowling’s pen, which previously had to be amended, shortened, and even supplemented with directors’ own ideas in a cinematic format. This is visible simply by virtue of the TV show having the correct UK title with “Philosopher” in lieu of “Sorcerer.” Nonetheless, the core elements folks love in these stories—the life-defining friendships between Harry, Hermione, and Ron, Quidditch, the sorting hat, or Dumbledore’s twinkly mentorship versus Snape’s foreboding alternative—were all faithfully adapted the first-time round. Beautifully so in many instances.

The first teaser for Harry Potter intrigued me more since the lonely isolation of Harry’s childhood as an unwanted and unloved orphan in his aunt and uncle’s home is an aspect of the story the film series barely examined. Yet I imagine this trailer will win more fans based purely on it tickling the nostalgia of the aspects of the story that so many fondly cherish. It might be nice to be on the Hogwarts stomping grounds again, but I’m not convinced yet this will feel like anything more than a 20-year reminisce about glory days gone by.

Harry Potter premieres on Christmas Day on HBO and HBO Max.

The post HBO Harry Potter Trailer Reveals New Snape, Quidditch, and Hogwarts But Still Feels Old appeared first on Den of Geek.