Cole Powell

From revolutionaries battling Red Coats to super soldiers punching Nazis, nothing sets the mood for Independence Day quite like good old fashioned movies about American history and heroes. As we approach the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, I’m counting down…

Although the trailers for Toy Story 5 teased an all-out war on the childhood tech addiction epidemic, recent comments from directors Andrew Stanton and McKenna Harris had me bracing for a milquetoast message about electronics ultimately being fine for young…

As a parent of five, I have experienced the deleterious effect of screens on the child mind. A mere 30 minutes a day of screen time on the “kiddie tablets” someone gifted my children for Christmas yielded behavioral problems that…

Having disliked the one trailer I saw, I opted to catch Disclosure Day in theaters for one reason only: Steven Spielberg. As a millennial who grew up watching E.T., Jurassic Park, and the original Indiana Jones trilogy, I…

In the opening sequence of the new Masters of the Universe movie, we are introduced to a 10-year-old Prince Adam (pre-He-Man), as he fails spectacularly in a combat training session. Furious, his father, King Randor, reprimands him, essentially telling…

The trailers for the new Masters of the Universe movie had me hooked. The film looked to be aiming for a 2000s-to-2010s big-budget, speculative fiction vibe (think early MCU), and as a huge fan of that era, I headed out…

I am thrilled (and frankly, shocked) to announce the music video for my latest single, “Never the Same,” has been selected for the JXN Film Festival, one of the most prestigious film industry events in my home state of Mississippi.

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Raised on a steady diet of crime novels, a flock of rural English sheep set out to solve their eccentric shepherd’s murder.

So goes the premise of Sheep Detectives, the new Hugh Jackman vehicle released in the U.S. by…

Promotional still from Netflix’s “Steps.” 2026.

How many reboots, remakes, and requels will Hollywood produce before the madness ends? At least two more, it appears, as Disney and Netflix have announced competing movies focusing on Cinderella’s stepsisters.

While Disney’s Stepsisters…

Timothée Chalamet delivers opera impersonation in Variety/CNN townhall. Feb. 24, 2026.

Between 2021 and 2024, Timothée Chalamet was Hollywood’s “it guy.” From the Dune films to a surprisingly decent Willy Wonka origin flick to a biopic of the 20th century’s…

Sam Mooney. Photo by Laura Amour.

Hailing from Brookhaven, Mississippi, Sam Mooney began his music career as something of a pop-fusion wunderkind, winning the Mid-South Talent Competition at age 17. The next summer he hit #10 on the iTunes U.S…

In October 2024, I’m not sure I could have felt more optimistic about my future as a YouTube content creator. Over the previous nine months, my channel had nearly doubled its total view count to the coveted 1 million mark…

A couple of years ago, I released an episode of my podcast, Words Like That, focusing on five excellent but under-appreciated Christmas movies. While you can read article versions of those recommendations on Medium, below, readers will find…

A look back at Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors’ seminal album, ten years after its initial release.

In many ways, Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors’ Medicine represents a quintessentially “Southern” sound — blues, rock, and country, shaken and stirred. A…

Although I grew up on oldies and classic rock, I didn’t know many Bruce Springsteen songs until I began producing music reaction videos for YouTube a few years ago.

At that point, I dove headfirst into “The Boss’s” catalog, listening…

I saw Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning this past Thursday afternoon, the earliest showing that was available in my area. I am a huge fan of the Mission Impossible franchise and Tom Cruise. I love all of these movies. I…

Warner Bros. has released a special look at James Gunn's new Superman movie, and it is dividing fans across the web. Watch as Words Like That host Cole Powell watches the footage live and gives his no-holds-barred take.

Cole Powell…

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning hits theaters in May. But after its predecessor's disappointing box office performance in the post-COVID streaming age, does the franchise's 8th installment stand a chance in theaters? Cole Powell weighs in.

Cole Powell is an…

Adapted from Words Like That S3 Ep. 1. Originally published January 14, 2025

Two big movies hit the box office this month: Wolf Man, yet another reboot of the classic Lon Chaney, Jr. Universal horror movie, and Flight…

This weekend I ventured from my rural seclusion to “the big city” to see A Complete Unknown, the new Bob Dylan biopic directed by James Mangold and starring Timothée Chalamet.

Having previously helmed one of the greatest musical biopics…

Thirty years ago this past fall, I caught the last twenty seconds of a new animated Disney series airing in the early week day morning block on my local Fox affiliate. That series was Gargoyles, and those last few…

In an August episode of my podcast, my producer Kyle and I discussed the Eagles’ lip-syncing scandal.

For those unfamiliar with the story, musician and YouTuber Fil (aka Wings of Pegasus) released an analysis video that revealed Eagles frontman…

Adapted from Words Like That S2 Ep. 11, originally released October 31, 2024.

I am a huge fan of monster movies. And I mean all kinds of monsters. Jaws. Godzilla. Alien. But my favorites are the classic horror monsters…

Adapted from Words Like That S2 Ep. 10, originally released October 2, 2024.

I’m a bit of history buff. I'm a sucker for a good biopic. I like Dennis Quaid. It’s no wonder, then, that I headed to…