We have finally reached the next phase of using nostalgia to sell people on entertainment. It used to be you had to reboot a property people already loved, or at least make a sequel or prequel to it, but with Ready Player One , they decided to try just cramming one movie full of references to every video game, movie, TV show, book, band, or concept you ever might have found memorable. DeLorean from Back to the Future ? Check. The Iron Giant? Check. Chun Li? Check. Akira's motorcycle? Check. King Kong? Check. Jurassic Park T-Rex? Check. And that's just some of the stuff you can spot in the trailers. For me, the shamelessness of this sort of product placement seemed almost insulting, as if Spielberg was saying he doesn't even have to tell a story anymore, he can just flash things you love on the screen and you'll love his movie. After all, it seems to be working out pretty well for Star Wars. On the other hand, this is ba...
Cranky T-Rex tears into meaty discussions of politics, philosophy, and culture with his sardonic wit.