Since ‘Prey’ was aholdover before Disney bought Fox in 2019, the potential for post-theatrical streaming boosts was contractually limited.Had it been released in theaters, its post-theatrical afterlife would have begun not on Disney+ or Hulu but on HBO Max. However, if Disney wanted the film in theaters badly enough, they likely could have worked out a post-theatrical deal akin to ‘Death on theNile,‘ which premiered at home after theatrical on both Hulu and HBO Max. It didn’t, so theatrical was never in the cards.
After Christopher Nolan’s fabulous trilogy of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises, I was sure we wouldn’t see The Caped Crusader in a standalone film for a long time. Nolan’s series was pure perfection. Whichever director attempted to bring, arguably, the most storied superhero in comic book history was already behind the eight-ball before a script was even imagined. With its 29% Rotten Tomatoes score, 2016’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was far from what we all hoped it would be. 2017’s Justice League (39%, 68%) didn’t help much. However, However, Zach Snyder’s 2001 director’s cut, while chalking in at over four hours, faired much better (71%, 94%). Matt Reeves’s (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Cloverfield) The Batman is a darker, more mysterious take and is the perfect movie to bring the iconic superhero back to the big screen in his own story.
It’s unfortunate that Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front wasn’t given a theatrical run. This is one of the best war films I’ve ever seen, up there with the likes of 1917, Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, Hacksaw Ridge, The Deer Hunter, Full Metal Jacket, and The Thin Red Line. While it’s ultimately not quite as memorable as these, there is not much of a gap where each mentioned above receives an Oscar nomination (or win) for Best Picture. Still, All Quiet on the Western Front can’t even get a theatrical release. 2022 is a different era than 1978, 1986, 1998, 2016, or even 2019. The film doesn’t do itself any favors with its no-name cast or the fact that it’s filmed in German. However, this film is incredibly well made and overcomes any obstacles that may preclude viewers from enjoying it.
Living Legend Viola Davis (Fences, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) captivates each scene she’s in, regardless of the movie. With as much range as anyone in Hollywood, Davis has earned her share of accolades, amassing four Academy Award nominations in the last 13 years. But she’s never had the opportunity to headline a big-budget movie on her name alone. In Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball, Beyond the Lights), The Woman King, Davis gets the opportunity to do just that. Davis’s performance well could earn her a sixth Oscar nomination (in a very competitive year). The film, filled with epic battle scenes, told an important true story. Ultimately, though, The Woman King failed to live up to my expectations.
What was that 2022-released movie about some terrifying, highly intelligent entity that identified and hunted its targets in a way that was anything but human? It might have been called Prey. Wait, maybe it was called Beast. Correct. Both movies (each with an equally unmemorable name) revolved loosely around the same premise. The studios of each movie didn’t do each other any favors with what they could have done, if anything, with the release date. Each film is worth a watch, though I wonder if a home viewing would translate to the enjoyment of a theater viewing. Each was designed to be seen on the largest screen possible.
For as impressive as Dan Trachtenberg’s (10 Cloverfield Lane) Prey, the origin story of the successful Predator franchise is, it’s a travesty that this movie did not receive a theatrical release. From Forbes.com about the movie’s release to Hulu/Disney+, over a theatrical fun.
After Christopher Nolan’s fabulous trilogy of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and 
It’s unfortunate that Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front wasn’t given a theatrical run. This is one of the best war films I’ve ever seen, up there with the likes of 
Living Legend Viola Davis (
What was that 2022-released movie about some terrifying, highly intelligent entity that identified and hunted its targets in a way that was anything but human? It might have been called