Nathan Mattise /

Recent stories by Nathan Mattise

1. The Every: When Big Tech rules all, don’t say Dave Eggers didn’t warn us

   Bestselling author talks latest "sequel," in which humanity cedes control to tech.

   Nathan Mattise – Oct 16, 2021 11:30 am UTC

2. Iké Boys review: If you love kaiju so much, why not just be one?

   Clever use of animation, deep affinity for shows that inspired it carry this indie genre film.

   Nathan Mattise – Sep 27, 2021 2:15 am UTC

3. Mad God: What happens when the best practical VFX artist, ever, writes a film?

   Phil Tippett's love letter to practical effects and monster creation is be-a-u-tiful.

   Nathan Mattise – Sep 4, 2021 12:00 pm UTC

4. Samurai-themed sci-fi flick It’s a Summer Film! expertly slices expectations

   Stream this samurai-loving genre mashup when you can. Speaking of: ATTENTION US DISTRIBUTORS.

   Nathan Mattise – Aug 28, 2021 10:15 am UTC

5. Tiong Bahru Social Club review: Won’t you be my algorithmic neighbor?

   In this Fantasia Fest film, happiness algorithms dictate terms of community living.

   Nathan Mattise – Aug 22, 2021 12:30 pm UTC

6. Strawberry Mansion: A great sci-fi premise with trippy, arthouse execution

   In this film, society can track dreams, so of course someone's out to monetize 'em.

   Nathan Mattise – Aug 15, 2021 12:00 pm UTC

7. Dread Pirate Roberts escaped development hell: Making Silk Road work as a film

   "There's so much we had to leave out. Really, what this needs is a six-hour limited series."

   Nathan Mattise – Jul 25, 2021 12:00 pm UTC

8. Circling—or cycling—the track at F1’s famous Circuit of the Americas

   Be warned: Calves needed to climb all 133 feet of Turn 1 if you're using a road bike.

   Nathan Mattise – Jun 26, 2021 11:30 am UTC

9. Sweet Tooth review: Evidently The Walking Dead just needed a deerboy

   It's light(ish) but includes masks, disease-driven death, and humans being bad to each other.

   Nathan Mattise – Jun 20, 2021 1:30 pm UTC

10. Another media acquisition? This one would involve Amazon, MGM, and ~$9B

    Does this at least mean we can watch No Time to Die at home soon?

    Nathan Mattise – May 18, 2021 3:36 pm UTC

11. Invincible S1: Clearly, TV’s most fun superhero shows are on Amazon these days

    Not even Smallville could combine YA drama and superhero DNA this well.

    Nathan Mattise – May 2, 2021 2:00 pm UTC

12. Office default Calibri will join Clippy, Internet Explorer in Windows retirement

    "Calibri in Office" could almost drive (15 years old), but a new sans serif will soon emerge.

    Nathan Mattise – Apr 28, 2021 10:25 pm UTC

13. DC’s Rorschach: A detective walks into a world shaped by squids and superheroes

    During COVID-19, Rorschach has been something to look forward to each month.

    Nathan Mattise – Apr 17, 2021 10:00 am UTC

14. The Emoji Story: You should never have this much fun learning about Unicode

    "800M people could use a period emoji right now. How many people are talking about broccoli?"

    Nathan Mattise – Apr 2, 2021 4:24 pm UTC

15. Hop on COVID-19’s most famous ship—the Diamond Princess—in HBO’s The Last Cruise

    A staffer sums it up (before knowing the damage): "The walking dead, a dystopian situation.”

    Nathan Mattise – Mar 29, 2021 11:30 am UTC

16. Can you make a comedy set during COVID-19? Recovery takes the idea for a drive

    Director: "I want people thinking it’s a Marvel movie. And that Timothee Chalamet is in it."

    Nathan Mattise – Mar 27, 2021 2:00 pm UTC

17. YouTuber Patrick (H) Willems has thoughts on movies—lots of thoughts

    In this edition of "Personal History," we talk with Willems about his YouTube comments.

    Nathan Mattise – Mar 22, 2021 6:51 pm UTC

18. Mother to Earth: When an NES prototype lands on eBay and inspires a documentary

    Kickstarted movies can go down pretty narrow rabbit holes, but this is some real hyperfocus.

    Nathan Mattise – Mar 14, 2021 1:00 pm UTC

19. GamersNexus’ Steve Burke overclocks his YouTube channel’s best comments

    Learn the true secrets of thermal paste application from the Six Billion Hertz Man.

    Nathan Mattise – Jan 21, 2021 4:15 pm UTC

20. More Disney 2021 plans: Kate McKinnon as Elizabeth Holmes, Y: The Last Man on FX

    Wait... they got Mahershala Ali to revive Blade, too?

    Nathan Mattise – Dec 11, 2020 11:10 am UTC

21. Insert Coin, the arcade documentary worth feeding all your quarters into 

    Midway created icons from Mortal Kombat to NBA Jam; this doc is finally widely available.

    Nathan Mattise – Nov 25, 2020 4:15 pm UTC

22. Ford is making new Broncos; mockumentary John Bronco has its ideal pitchman

    “Walton Goggins as a charming, country idiot” should be all you need to hit play.

    Nathan Mattise – Oct 25, 2020 4:15 pm UTC

23. In The Columnist, reading the comments isn’t bad—being a toxic online troll is

    Revenge fantasy has never been more understandable than when it involves being a woman online.

    Nathan Mattise – Oct 11, 2020 1:00 pm UTC

24. FAA chief tests a Boeing 737 MAX—including its infamous flight control software

    FAA Administrator Steve Dickson spent 2 hours at the controls, then spoke for 30 minutes.

    Nathan Mattise – Oct 1, 2020 3:36 pm UTC

25. Feels Good Man, a film that truly gets how things are passed across the Internet

    Exhaustively researched and reported, doc stays riveting no matter your Pepe familiarity.

    Nathan Mattise – Sep 27, 2020 2:00 pm UTC

26. How do music festivals adapt to a pandemic? They Fest in Place, of course

    WWOZ—one of the best US community radio stations—charts a temp path for festivals.

    Nathan Mattise – Sep 18, 2020 10:45 am UTC

27. Don’t risk your health to see Tenet, which is uber-fun but still just a movie

    No film critics were at risk in the making of this review—thank you rural Texas drive-ins.

    Nathan Mattise – Sep 12, 2020 2:00 pm UTC

28. NASA versus Katrina: August 29, 2005

    From the archives: How 38 NASA employees kept the program alive amid the devastating hurricane.

    Nathan Mattise – Sep 7, 2020 1:52 pm UTC

29. I’m Thinking of Ending Things: The most un-Netflix “Netflix film” to date

    “You’re being willfully obtuse,” Lucy says to Jake (and not to Charlie Kaufman, I think).

    Nathan Mattise – Sep 7, 2020 1:30 pm UTC

30. New Bill & Ted: Two ‘80s dudes have no business working this well in 2020

    See the originals first, but Face the Music is fun and hopeful—so, a nice 2020 antidote.

    Nathan Mattise – Aug 29, 2020 12:30 pm UTC

31. The Internet’s illusionist, Zach King, on popcorn Vines and re-engineering illusions

    The “digital sleight of hand” artist prefers practical VFX these days, loves The Mandalorian.

    Nathan Mattise – Aug 27, 2020 3:52 pm UTC

32. This COVID-19 summer’s must-watch show is… an NBA rookie’s YouTube page?

    NBA player/amateur filmmaker Matisse Thybulle has created essential epidemiological viewing.

    Nathan Mattise – Aug 23, 2020 2:00 pm UTC

33. Netflix’s Project Power, the most fun you won’t have at the movies this summer

    Engaging premise + nice scenery + stars + action + some humor = pairs well with popcorn.

    Nathan Mattise – Aug 16, 2020 2:30 pm UTC

34. An extended interview with Subnautica director Charlie Cleveland

    If 20 minutes on this underwater gem wasn't enough, can we interest you in 90 minutes?

    Nathan Mattise – Aug 16, 2020 2:00 pm UTC

35. AMC tries to reopen again, with 15-cent tickets as COVID-19 risk incentive

    AMC won’t pay you to come, but it’ll show old movies—that you can stream at home—for cheap.

    Nathan Mattise – Aug 13, 2020 4:30 pm UTC

36. Good sci-fi speaks to the times, and Domain has done that twice in four years

    “After a deadly virus,” people only have a “video interface for communication.” Hmm.

    Nathan Mattise – Jul 25, 2020 2:00 pm UTC