I'm Christian Toto, an award-winning film critic, author and podcaster. My newsletter covers entertainment from a right-of-center perspective, with tips for making the most of your leisure time.
Why ‘Civil War’ Will Be 2024’s Most Controversial Film
Hello Reader,
The new year has just begun, but I'm betting 2024's most talked-about movie will drop in April.
Director Alex Garland ("Ex Machina," "Men") offers the perfect story for our divided times, and that's not a compliment.
"Civil War," out April 26, imagines a future America on the brink of collapse. Kirsten Dunst stars as a war-time journalist trying to stay alive in the melee.
HiT contributor Matt Morava asks if it's morally right to release a movie like this during a contentious Election Year. Could it push us to the national breaking point?
I'm a free speech purist, and even I had to consider Matt's arguments on the subject.
Jewish celebrities have been railing against their Hollywood peers ever since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that killed roughly 1,200 Israeli citizens. Now, David Schwimmer, Debra Messing, Josh Gad and more are demanding the new Oscar "diversity" rules includes Jews as part of their protected class system.
To do otherwise is, well, anti-semitic, they argue.
Agree? Disagree? Find our more in this provocative HiT feature.
This week's Hollywood in Toto Podcast features free speech warrior Greg Lukianoff. His FIRE group fights back against Cancel Culture attacks, and his happy warriors are often the First Amendment's best friend. Find out how his passions for free speech were nearly his undoing and how you, too, can defend free speech in these troubling times.
I open up about my family's mental health struggles along the way. It's the kind of honest conversation I'm proud to share with HiT followers.
This week's new movie/TV options:
Coming soon?
The satirical comedy "Drugstore June" comes with Bill Burr's stamp of approval. Even better? The trailer gave me a few solid laughs, which is more than most trailers deliver these days. Coming Feb. 23.
And please check me out talking Godzilla and much more on Brett R. Smith's ESCAPE FROM THE FUTURE podcast!
That's it for this week! Stay well, happy and ready for a crazy 2024!
Christian
Hollywood in Toto
I'm Christian Toto, an award-winning film critic, author and podcaster. My newsletter covers entertainment from a right-of-center perspective, with tips for making the most of your leisure time.
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Hello Reader, It's Friday already? Holiday weeks always throw me for a loop! I've had a hate/hate relationship with "The View" for some time now. It's hopelessly dumb, which could be fun to watch in some cases, but it rarely is. Plus, I think the show's unhinged rhetoric genuinely damages the country. So why does Whoopi and co. get a pass when Aaron Rodgers got (rightly) vilified for his dopey attack on Jimmy Kimmel? This story explains it all, and it's a good primer for the 2024 election...