Mike Ryan is currently the senior editor at ScreenCrush. Mike most recently served as Senior Entertainment Writer for The Huffington Post. Previously, Mr. Ryan was a frequent contributor at Vanity Fair and Wired magazine and wrote for Time, GQ, ELLE-UK, and New York magazine.
Mike Ryan
Why Did the Brilliant ‘Morning Show’ Sketch Get Cut From ‘SNL’?
Set in St. Louis, the sketch starts with Beck Bennett as a news anchor for “News 4” (which is the CBS affiliate in St. Louis) relaying a serious presentation of current events, right before he hands it off to two morning show hosts (played by Kenan Thompson and Cecily Strong) who have an obnoxious show with an obnoxious theme song called ‘Rise and Smile.’ First, there’s no way this sketch should have been cut, but that’s a pretty obvious position to take.
‘Left Behind’ With Nic Cage: A Live Blog
Nic Cage is in a new movie that opened today called ‘Left Behind.’ There’s already a movie called ‘Left Behind’ that starred Kirk Cameron and this movie is probably a lot like that one, only Nic Cage is in it now. ‘Left Behind’ details the biblical rapture and what it would be like if the rapture happened while Nic Cage was piloting a commercial airliner. If ‘Left Behind’ was screened for critics, I wasn’t invited. So, on Friday morning I paid to see ‘Left Behind’ in the Kip’s Bay area of Manhattan. While watching ‘Left Behind,’ I kept a running diary. Here’s how that all went…
‘Gone Girl’ Review: David Fincher’s Sleazy Prestige Film
Throughout David Fincher’s adaptation of ‘Gone Girl,’ it was almost as if my subconscious was telling me that this movie shouldn’t be as good as what I was watching. That’s not a slam on Gillian Flynn’s novel (obviously; I haven’t read it), it’s just that the book is presented in such a unique way, which would at least seem almost impossible to pull off – just in a basic book vs. movie sort of way. Look, I understand that this following statement can be said about most movies, but in a less capable director’s hands – and with a less capable cast -- this movie could have easily have been garbage. Actually, this movie should have been garbage.
‘The Equalizer’ Premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival (And It’s Insane)
“If this were a TV show, I’d watch it every single week.” These were the words I spoke right after watching Antoine Fuqua’s theatrical version of ‘The Equalizer,’ which is kind of a dumb thing to say considering that ‘The Equalizer’ was a TV show. Though, this updated version of ‘The Equalizer’ bears little resemblance to the mid-‘80s version, even though it kind of has everything to do with it.
Remembering Robin Williams: The Actor We All Felt We Knew
“Can you believe Popeye is played by the guy who plays Mork?” These words from my mother blew my seven-year-old mind. That's my intro to a piece I don’t know how to write and, honestly, probably shouldn’t be writing so soon after learning about Robin Williams’ death. I only had one encounter with Williams professionally – an interview promoting ‘Happy Feet 2,’ of all things – yet there are tears coming down my face as I type this for what is essentially a stranger. Even though he’s not a stranger. Everyone knew him. This is everyone’s loss.
Thanos is Really Bad at Being a Supervillain
We first met the cinematic version of Thanos in 2012 -- his face smiling at us during a mid-credits sequence of ‘The Avengers,’ there to let us know that this guy is the mastermind behind the whole operation. OK then! Eventually we learn that Thanos is trying to collect the Infinity Stones, because if he has those, he will become a god. Fair enough. Though, now, after ten movies in the Marvel cinematic universe – ten! – Thanos has a grand total of zero Infinity Stones. So far, Thanos is terrible at being a supervillain.
‘It’s Sort of Liberace Meets Billy Idol': The Costumes Of ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’
Ahead, Oscar-winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne takes us through a handful of the major characters from 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and explains the trials and tribulations of dressing the most infamous band of a-holes in the galaxy.
An Interview With Russian Groot, From ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’
This week, Marvel Studios' new film, 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' will open in theaters. One of the aforementioned Guardians is a walking, talking tree named Groot, voiced by Vin Diesel. Earlier today, footage was released of Vin Diesel voicing Groot in a number of languages, including Russian. Earlier today, we got a chance to speak with Russian Groot
‘Hercules': A Live Blog
Because of Comic-Con and because Paramount did not screen ‘Hercules’ before I left for Comic-Con, I have been living a life that was free of The Rock-as-Hercules. That is, until Tuesday morning when I bought a ticket to see ‘Hercules’ at a movie theater on the Upper East Side of Manhattan alongside at least three other people...
Marvel’s Kevin Feige on ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy,’ ‘The Inhumans’ and Edgar Wright
It's kind of remarkable that Marvel Studios have already green-lit a sequel to 'Guardians of the Galaxy' -- a movie that, itself, doesn't come out for another few days. But this says less about Marvel's confidence that 'Guardians' will make money (and, let's not kid ourselves, it certainly will), but more about how the Guardians fit in with the larger story Marvel is trying to tell with the episodic nature of its films. And this episodic nature might just be what doomed Edgar Wright's version of 'Ant-Man' -- as opposed to it just being "too weird," which Marvel studio head Kevin Feige has denied.
Comic-Con 2014: Jeff Bridges On ‘The Giver,’ The ‘Fargo’ TV Show, ‘Iron Man’ And The Viral Sandwich
At one point during this interview, Jeff Bridges leaned back in his chair, laughed, then broke into an impression of Jeffrey Lebowski, his character from 'The Big Lebowski' who is also famously known as The Dude. It was at this moment that I decided that the trip from New York City to San Diego for Comic-Con was worth it.
Comic-Con 2014: Our 6 Favorite Jeff Bridges Digressions From ‘The Giver’ Panel
On Thursday afternoon at San Diego Comic-Con, Jeff Bridges was on hand to promote his newest film, 'The Giver.' During the panel, Bridges -- as he's wont to do and what makes him Jeff Bridges -- went off on long and unrelated digressions. Here are our six favorite digression topics. (The Dude was brought up many, many times and he's not on this list because that was very expected.)