Buddy: Too Many Cooks Creator Delivers His Horror Take on Barney

It takes a lot to make a stew, or so we were taught by the 2014 viral sensation “Too Many Cooks.” The Adult Swim short took viewers through a genre-bending walk through television history, beginning with the title credits of a TGIF sitcom like Full House, transitioning to a gritty cop show or a ’90s sci-fi program, with plenty of slasher horror in between. With the release of Buddy this August, “Too Many Cooks” creator Casper Kelly hopes to show it doesn’t take much to make a horror movie—it just takes adding a sinister layer to something made for kids.

The first teaser for Buddy mostly consists of grainy footage of a ’90s children’s program, in which the orange unicorn Buddy beckons the viewer closer while kids frolic in the playground behind him. A cheery theme song plays in the background, though occasionally distorted or interrupted by sharp tones, accompanied by images of frightened and mangled kids. A single shot of a concerned woman played by The Penguin‘s Cristin Milioti gives us our one look at the movie’s protagonist Grace, a suburbanite who investigates the truth of Buddy‘s world.

Co-written by Kelly and Jamie King, Buddy co-stars Topher Grace as Grace’s husband, alongside the exact people you’d expect to appear in a horror take on Barney. Keegan-Michael Key voices the central figure, while Patton Oswalt voices a backpack called Strappy, Clint Howard plays the crazy cowboy puppet George, and Michael Shannon does double duty as the voice of a train and a ventriloquist’s dummy.

All of that casting makes sense, as does Kelly’s involvement. Half of the fun of “Too Many Cooks” was, of course, the level of detail that Kelly brought to the material. The other half, of course, was the way he made those elements turn surreal and terrifying. It wasn’t just that a serial killer appeared alongside the ever-expanding cast of the fictional sitcom. It’s that the line between reality and fiction blurred as the characters ran through backlots to hide from the killer, their glowing title credits giving them away.

If Kelly can bring that same approach to Buddy, then he’ll be able to find sublime terror in a kid’s show, while still attending to the details of that show. However, a bigger question remains: can he do that in a way that’s unique and engaging?

Five Nights at Freddy’s came out the same year as “Too Many Cooks,” and has expanded into a multimedia franchise. The 2018 short “The Hug” did it’s own take, while Warner Bros. released The Banana Splits Movie in 2019, another killer kid’s show movie, this time with officially-licensed characters from that show. Even the Terrifier franchise got in on the act, with an extended kid’s program sequence in the second movie. As of this writing, Daniel Kaluuya and Ayo Edebiri are making an official Barney movie for A24, which may have horror elements, or may be a more dramatic take on the material, like 2017’s Brigsby Bear.

With so many similar works already out there, can Buddy stand out? After all, too many cooks can spoil the broth.

Buddy releases in theaters on August 28, 2026.

Godzilla Minus Zero Teaser Returns to the Franchise’s Central Moral

For decades, Godzilla movies have been about one thing: people in giant rubber monster costumes stomping around tiny little sets. Especially in America, where the films that Toho made for its native Japan were imported as badly dubbed B-movies, Godzilla felt more like Saturday morning escapism than proper art. Of course, we all knew that the original film from 1954 was a response to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And entries such as Godzilla 1985 and, more recently, Shin Godzilla and Godzilla Minus One wrapped rich social themes around the central kaiju. But there was always a sense of fun and adventure, even in these outings.

The first teaser for the much-anticipated sequel Godzilla Minus Zero suggests that playtime is over, and it’s time to get back to the central question that launched the franchise: how do we live in a world with atomic weapons? In the short teaser, we see two of our main characters from the first film, Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) and Kenji Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka), arguing over the decision to drop an atomic bomb. “Our Crime and Punishment,” reads the on-screen text. “Returning to Zero Is Not an Option.” A bomb drops, and Godzilla arises again, letting loose his signiture roar.

From the few minutes of footage shown, we can guess that Godzilla Minus Zero will see Japan consider using atomic weapons to destroy Godzilla, despite the fact that such weaponry created the King of the Monsters in the first place. Such a plot would be in keeping with the themes of Godzilla Minus One, in which writer and director Takashi Yamazaki turned his attention away from American sins during World War II to examine Japan’s actions. He doesn’t let America off the hook—an early scene ties the birth of Godzilla directly to U.S. testing weapons at Bikini Atoll—but he’s more interested in his country’s response to what happened.

That approach permitted Godzilla Minus One to go in a different direction from previous Godzilla movies, allowing it to grapple with new heavy themes.

Where the original film dealt with the specter of atomic weaponry manifesting in the form of a monster that destroys cities anew, Shin Godzilla from 2016 took inspiration from the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster. In that movie, Godzilla was a threat, but worse was the beaucracy that proved totally unable to handle a crisis. In Godzilla Minus One, American attacks created the monster, but Japan added death to death through its practice of using kamikaze pilots. In its triumphant final moments, Kōichi chooses life and decides against sacrificing himself.

From the teaser, we can see that Godzilla Minus Zero will ask Kōichi and Kenji to make that choice again. Against the threat of an unstoppable force, while they give into their fears and become monsters themselves? Or will they find a way to embrace life once again, and walk a different path? Godzilla Minus Zero may bring the franchise back to the horror of atomic weapons, but maybe it too will chart out a new path for the series.

Godzilla Minus Zero arrives in theaters on November 6, 2026.

Ian McKellen Single-Handedly Elevated Nerd Culture in the 2000s

“We are the future, Charles. Not them.” When Ian McKellen delivered this line in 2000’s X-Men, he did so as Erik Lehnsherr a.k.a. Magneto. By “we,” he meant mutants, people who develop incredible powers at puberty; by “them,” he meant the rest of humanity. But the phrase may very well also refer to a different change happening in the world, one way more successful than any of the plots that Magneto hatched with his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

Along with 1998’s Blade, 2002’s Spider-Man, and 2005’s Batman Begins, X-Men helped pave the way for the era of superhero domination, best represented by the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At the same time, McKellen also brought his significant gravitas to Gandalf the Grey in the Lord of the Rings franchise, aiding that trilogy’s eventual victory at the 2004 Academy Awards. Thus, in the early 2000s, nerds were the future, not the average moviegoer. And thanks to McKellen’s committed work in both series, nerd culture didn’t just become popular—it became respectable.

[Editor’s Note: Ian McKellen is fine. This is not a eulogy. We were just thinking about how awesome he was in X-Men and Lord of the Rings and wanted to write about it.]

Of course, both X-Men and Lord of the Rings had their rabid fans before 2000. Although they initially received a mixed reception when released in the mid-1950s, the Lord of the Rings novels exploded in popularity among fantasy fans in the 1960s, and directly contributed to the growth of the genre. “Frodo Lives!” appeared in graffiti across the U.S. and Led Zeppelin sang about Gollum in “Ramble On,” but most considered the story too dense for general consumption—a point seemingly confirmed by the visually-stunning but narratively messy Ralph Bakshi animated features.

Likewise, the X-Men were the most popular franchise in comics by the time writer Chris Claremont completed his 17-year run in 1991, turning a C-tier Marvel property into a sensation. Claremont’s work was known for its denseness, from the florid prose he stuffed into caption boxes to his soap operatic plots about clones, time-travel, and aliens, many of which unfolded over years of ongoing stories. The X-Men popped up in cartoons and video games, but never got so much as a proper TV show.

In both cases, the movie adaptations worked, in part, because they streamlined the narratives and cut out some of the weirdest stuff. Gone were Tom Bombadil and (most of) the songs from Lord of the Rings. The X-Men wore black leather instead of yellow spandex, and the short, hairy, Canadian Wolverine was played by the tall, handsome Australian Hugh Jackman. There was a sense that as much as these movies loved their source material, there were parts deemed too goofy, too embarrassing for wider public.

Not so with McKellen’s performance. In Lord of the Rings, McKellen had to glue hair to his face and don a false nose. He had to pretend that he towered over his cast mates and deliver phrases like “Fool of a Took!” as if his life depended on it. In X-Men, McKellen wore a goofy helmet and had to address people who called themselves Sabretooth and Toad as if those were normal names that anyone could have.

Yet, he did it, fully embodying the humanity of both over-the-top characters. McKellen found realism in explicitly unrealistic worlds, whether it be the affection that Gandalf has for Frodo or the bond between Magneto and Xavier. Even better are the scenes in which McKellen got to unleash his gravitas. McKellen’s voice booms when Gandalf stares down the Balrog and bellows, “You shall not pass!” He may have been an actor on a set, delivering his lines to a stand in for a digital effect, but no one doubted that the words he muttered were a spell summoning deep magics, that his commands would cause the elements to stop. We have no problem suspending disbelief as Magneto floats across an expanse while his plastic cell collapses, because McKellen has such power when he mocks the guards for not killing him earlier.

Nerds watching these scenes recognize McKellen as the wizard and supervillain they’ve loved for years. But for the larger viewing audience, these scenes played as high drama, just as powerful as the Shakespeare works that McKellen had done on stage. Thanks to McKellen’s commitment, Lord of the Rings and X-Men weren’t just a novelty that briefly captured the public’s attention. They were art, worthy of elevating the form, moving to the future of cinema.

The 20 Greatest Cop Shows of All Time

Even in these days of endless entertainment options, it’s hard to turn on a TV and not see a cop. Police have been a mainstay of the medium since the now-lost series The Plainclothesman debuted in 1949, and especially when Dragnet made the jump from radio to television two years later. Yet, as omnipresent as they are on television, professional police are a relatively recent part of American life, only coming into being after the first departments were established in Boston and New York in 1838 and 1844, respectively. Yet, television helped normalize policing in the American consciousness, just as much as police stories helped make TV the preferred home for episodic adventures and drama.

That combination can make it difficult to enjoy TV shows about police, and yet even the most ardent defunding advocate can admire the artistry of a tense thrill sequence or enjoy a workplace comedy joke. So it’s through that lens that we look back at the history of television to rank the best cop shows of all time.

But first, just the facts: we’re dealing with only American shows about police on the state or local level. So you won’t find Cracker or Prime Suspect here, nor will you find shows about FBI agents, sheriffs, or marshals; sorry Dale Cooper, Andy Taylor, and Raylan Givens. But with that out of the way, let’s examine this line-up of compelling shows about those who enforce law and order.

20. T.J. Hooker (1982–1986)

If you know T.J. Hooker at all, you probably think of it as the show that William Shatner did after Star Trek, co-starring heartthrobs Adrian Zmed and Heather Locklear, as well as future Star Trek: Voyager and Deep Space Nine actors Richard Herd and James Darren. In your memory, T.J. Hooker is probably a quaint, if kind of corny, show about a veteran officer who delivers hammy speeches to cop and criminal alike.

Certainly, a lot of T.J. Hooker is exactly that, with the star going full Shatner when not grinning in bewilderment at the wholesome shenanigans of Zmed’s Vincent Romano and Locklear’s Stacy Sheridan. Everything else in the show is a gritty crime drama in the vein of Dirty Harry—the second episode even rips off the school bus scene from that movie. The show presents Southern California as a place of constant danger, with murderers and rapists at every turn. Furthermore, most of Hooker’s melodramatic speeches are about how lawyers, psychologists, and reporters show too much sympathy for criminals, and keep cops from stopping the bad guys by any means necessary. It’s a weird juxtaposition, one that results in a show that isn’t good, really, but is fascinating to watch.

19. Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999)

The cop show landscape of the 1990s was ruled by two series: the gritty, boundary-pushing NYPD Blue and the reliable Law & Order. Homicide: Life on the Street came in distant third place, as it does on this list, a fact that irritates its fans. It’s easy to see why people love Homicide so much. It has an incredible pedigree, created by two-time Oscar nominee Paul Attanasio and based on the book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon. Its ensemble cast included Andre Braugher, Yaphet Kotto, Melissa Leo, and Richard Belzer, who debuted his character John Munch on the show. Film legends such as Barry Levinson, Whit Stillman, Barbara Koppell, and Kathryn Bigelow directed episodes.

So why is Homicide still falling so far down the list, even in 2026? Because the show never figured out what it wanted to be. Despite drawing inspiration from Simon’s true crime reporting, Homicide borrowed heavily from independent cinema to highlight its artifice. Hard cuts would show multiple takes of a single line reading, and interactions in “the Box,” the precinct’s interrogation room, became opportunities for theatrical scenery-chewing. Worse, NBC began toying with the show after season 3, culminating with a disastrous and unrecognizable seventh season. In the end, Homicide had nothing more than potential, potential that would be realized by the second series based on Simon’s book.

18. Dragnet (1951–1959)

It is impossible to overstate the importance of Dragnet, the series created by and starring Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday. Originally a popular radio show that became a sensation when it went to TV, Dragnet realized the ambitions of reformers who sought to change the public’s perception of police. Where most Americans thought of police as inconveniences, if not the very type of standing army warned against in the Declaration of Independence, Dragnet presented its officers as professional, dispassionate, and effective. And, thanks to Webb’s cooperation with the LAPD, Dragnet got to present its episodes as realistic, a strategy countless other shows would emulate.

That said, influence isn’t the same as quality, and Dragnet‘s a tough watch in 2026. Each episode follows the same basic formula, in which Friday and his partner (most often Frank Smith, played by Ben Alexander) arrive to investigate a crime, talk to some witnesses and suspects, and solve the case. While the cases do have their flamboyant moments, as demonstrated by the stunts in premiere episode “The Human Bomb,” the show played it safe, something the public craved at the time, but has aged poorly.

17. The Rookie (2018–Present)

In a lot of ways, The Rookie feels like an update on T.J. Hooker. Once again, we have a charismatic actor known for playing a space traveller, now playing a man who becomes a beat cop later in life. And, as with T. J. Hooker, the star’s considerable charm helps to smooth over some of the more unsavory parts of the series.

In this case, that star is Nathan Fillion as John Nolan, a 45-year-old builder who moves from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles after his divorce to become a police officer. Despite the unlikely premise, The Rookie sticks to the standard police procedural formula: a new case every week, tough chiefs and fresh-faced newcomers, character actors as vibrant villains. But Fillion’s natural charisma allows The Rookie to laugh itself, softening the self-importance that plagues so many modern cop shows.

16. Sledge Hammer! (1986–1988)

Everything you need to know about Sledge Hammer! can be learned by watching the finale of the first season. Believing that the show’s low ratings meant it was bound for cancellation, creator Alan Spencer had his reactionary hero Inspector Sledge Hammer (David Rasche, better known today for Succession) fail to stop a terrorist’s nuclear bomb. As a result, the season ends with not just the death of every character, but also the destruction of Los Angeles. When the show returned for a surprise second season, Spencer just began the first episode “five years before that nuclear explosion” and carried on.

The ridiculous storytelling choice works because Sledge Hammer! is a ridiculous show, intentionally so. Inspector Hammer follows in the footsteps of Inspector Harry Callahan of Dirty Harry fame, albeit in the shiny, overheated form that violent cop movies took in the 1980s. Carrying a .44 Magnum with his namesake engraved on the handle, Hammer must not only deal with the criminal scum of San Francisco, but also his sensitive new partner Dori Doreau (Anne-Marie Martin) and his oft-apoplectic boss, Captain Trunk (Harrison Page). Fortunately, he can just shoot the criminals, which Sledge Hammer! plays for absurd comedy.

15. Car 54 Where Are You? (1961–1963)

Much milder than Sledge Hammer! but no less funny, Car 54, Where Are You? was the first sitcom about police, and still one of the best. The series paired the short, excitable Gunther Toody (Joe E. Ross) with the tall and taciturn Frances Muldoon (Fred Gwynne) as partners in the New York police department. The easy chemistry between the two, combined with sharp comedy writing of the era, make Car 54, Where Are You? incredibly fun, even today.

For example of what the show does best, see season one episode “Something Nice for Sol,” in which Toody convinces the precinct to get some new shoes for their desk sergeant, Sol Abrams (Nathaniel Frey). Toody and Muldoon spend the entire episode trying to discretely measure Sol’s shoe size, shenanigans made all the more heightened because they happen in a police department. The show’s style might be outdated, but the gags are as funny as ever.

14. Cagney & Lacey (1982–1988)

While actual policing is inherently conservative and works to maintain the status quo, police shows tend to be quite progressive. Thus, you get Nipsey Russell on Car 54, Where Are You?, and gay characters portrayed in a positive light in Barney Miller and NYPD Blue. Cagney & Lacey is one of the best examples of the phenomenon, a series that stars Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly as Detectives Mary Beth Lacey and Christine Cagney.

Certainly, Cagney & Lacey dealt with sexism on the force, but no more so than The Mary Tyler Moore Show or any other series about working women. Gless played Cagney as a no-nonsense career woman, who wanted on-the-job success more than a husband or children. Daly’s Lacey had to balance her police work with her duties as a wife and mother, often creating tension. While those dynamics could make episodes didactic, Gless and Daly brought a lightness and humanity to the part that made even the preachiest moments feel human.

13. The Shield (2002–2008)

Obviously, The Shield isn’t a bad a show, or it wouldn’t be on this list at all. But now, nearly two decades after its conclusion, it’s clear that The Shield was never the show it pretended to be. During its original run on FX, The Shield purported to be a study about the grey morality of policing, the compromises we have to make in order to feel safe. Inspired by the Rampart Scandal, creator Shawn Ryan cast Michael Chiklis (who formerly played a cuddly officer on The Commish) as Detective Vic Mackey, whose Strike Team has broad leeway to deal with exceptional crimes, and yet he still crosses line after line.

Looking back, we can see that The Shield never took its question seriously. From the moment that Mackey tortures a suspect to find a missing girl in the pilot, its clear that The Shield believes that we unquestionably need guys like Mackey to deal with the increasingly terrifying villains introduced each new season. That belief makes The Shield morally reprehensible pulp, but the show’s cast and big-time guest stars, including heralded turns by Glenn Close and Forest Whitaker, make it high-quality, morally reprehensible pulp.

12. Starsky & Hutch (1975–1979)

In the same way that cop shows made policing look progressive, they also make it look cool. Before that approach reached its apex with Miami Vice, there was Starsky & Hutch, which brought to television the buddy cop formula being developed by Freebie and the Bean and Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul play David Starsky and Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchison, a mismatched pair of detectives working in Southern California.

While the series definitely addressed antagonisms between the leads, most episodes emphasized their friendship. The camaraderie and chemistry that Glaser and Soul brought to the part paired well the with the show’s action, especially in the first two seasons. Moreover, the friendship made Starsky & Hutch feel like two of the coolest dudes on television, even if they were stopping trouble instead of causing it.

11. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–2015)

Cop shows don’t just portray officers as moral and efficient defenders of the weak. They also depict policing as cutting-edge technology, positioning the forces of law and order as advanced and civilized, in contrast to the barbarian criminal element. Such has been the case since August Vollmer, “the father of modern policing,” advocated for the science of criminology in the 1920s and integrated it into his interactions with the media, but rarely has the technological side been as foregrounded as it was on the CBS series CSI.

CSI starred Manhunter‘s William Petersen as Dr. Gil Grissom, leader of a team of forensic scientists in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Along with Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger), Grissom and his unit analyze blood-splatter, run fingerprints through databases, and decode DNA to find ironclad proof of guilt, even in the most unlikely of cases. The series was a true phenomenon throughout the 2000s, making fans of Quentin Tarantino (who directed the season five finale “Grave Danger”) and convincing the public that human police may be fallible, but police science is not.

10. True Detective (2014–Present)

Few television shows are harder to rank than True Detective. Had the series ended after its electric first season, then it would easily be in the top five. Had it ceased after its disastrous second season, it wouldn’t make this list at all. Thankfully, the solid third and fourth seasons are enough to not just secure its position in our rankings, but to make the top 10.

Created by Nic Pizzolatto, True Detective takes an anthology approach inspired by the pulp magazines that give the show its name. Pizzolatto and director Cary Joji Fukunaga caught lightning in a bottle for its first season, which paired Woody Harrelson‘s straight-laced hypocrite with Matthew McConaughey‘s burn-out weirdo as detectives on a case with supernatural overtones. Pizzolatto’s style became a liability with season two, but the additions of filmmakers such as Jeremy Saulnier and Issa López helped return True Detective to some of its former glory.

9. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013–2021)

A spiritual successor to co-creator Michael Schur’s workplace comedies The Office and Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine wisely eschewed the documentary conceit of those series and committed itself to being a workplace comedy. Schur and co-creator/showrunner Dan Goor took what could have been just an Andy Samberg vehicle and turned it into one of the most delightful ensemble shows on television, one that used its police precinct setting as a reliable story engine.

Joining Samberg’s lovable slacker Jake Peralta is a cast of well-drawn characters that include Melissa Fumero as overachiever Amy Santiago, Stephanie Beatriz as the tough Rosa Diaz, and Terry Crews as soft-hearted muscleman Terry Jeffords. The true standout is Andre Braugher as Captain Raymond Holt, who retains all the gravitas of his days on Homicide: Life on the Street, but adds a layer of comedic precision that no one would have expected.

8. NYPD Blue (1993–2005)

Some will certainly see this low ranking and immediately get angry, so let’s get this out of the way first: NYPD Blue is excellent. Not only does the series achieve the rare feat of surviving the loss of multiple handsome male leads, elevating Dennis Franz’ Andy Sipowicz to the position of prime-time mainstay, but it tells compelling, boundary-pushing stories on network TV. It’s no understatement to say that NYPD Blue paved the way for the Golden Age of Television. And yet, NYPD Blue remains in the shadow of the show that paved its way, a series that holds up even better and will be discussed a few entries higher.

But let’s set that aside to praise NYPD Blue for what it does well. Shot on gritty film and employing a day-in-the-life format, the series focused largely on Sipowicz and his colleagues through the daily grind of their jobs. Although just as supportive of policing as any other show on this list, NYPD Blue creators Steven Bochco and David Milch do turn their attention to the unsavory parts of the institution. The results don’t always work (see Gordon Clapp’s Medavoy, perhaps the most irritating character in television history), but they also allow Franz to make Sipowicz into a three-dimensional figure rarely seen before on a cop show.

7. Miami Vice (1984–1989)

All of the shows on this list endeavor to make police look competent and effective. But Miami Vice takes it one more step to make police officers look cool. Created by television veteran Anthony Yerkovich, Miami Vice made Don Johnson‘s Sonny Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas’ Rico Tubbs two of the hippest figures of the ’80s, despite the show’s reactionary War on Drugs politics.

The story of undercover detectives working the drug trade of Southern Florida, Miami Vice still holds to standard police procedural conventions. Yet, it coats them with a hip aesthetic, from its neon color palette to its Jan Hammer theme to the visual contributions of filmmaker Michael Mann, who also served as executive producer. So dominant was Miami Vice in the ’80s that no attempt to revive the franchise, including a 2006 movie directed by Mann, could replicate the success of the original series.

6. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–Present)

Created in 1990 by Dick Wolf, Law & Order was the purest update of the Dragnet model. Each episode purported to be “ripped from the headlines,” promising realistic cases, investigated by dedicated professionals and prosecuted by lawyers with a passion for justice. Law & Order forever changed the way we think about the criminal justice system, and spawning a host of spinoffs, none more successful than Special Victims Unit.

SVU did away with the high-minded pretensions of the original series and embraced its nasty pulp heart. Focusing on a division dedicated to sexual crimes allowed the show to deal with only the most sensational stories, and while the series has a pleasing supporting cast—including John Munch, imported from Homicide, and Ice-T’s Fin Tutuola—the show’s anchor has always been Mariska Hargitay’s dedicated but haunted Olivia Benson, who worked best when partnered with Christopher Meloni’s violent family man Elliot Stabler. Flawed heroes for a nasty show, SVU gives the masses the dark pleasures of noir and exploitation works, while staying safely within the police procedural genre.

5. Police Squad! (1982)

Police Squad! aired just six episodes. But it was so funny, so packed with jokes, that it became an immediate cult hit, soon spawning three Naked Gun films with original star Leslie Nielsen and a recent legacy sequel with Liam Neeson. Creators David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker applied the same formula that brought them great success with 1980’s Airplane!, riffing on straight-laced material (specifically the Lee Marvin series M Squad) by amping up the absurdity around Nielsen’s stoic Frank Drebin.

Each of Police Squad!‘s six episodes are packed with jokes, starting with the opening credits, in which see each character introduced by returning fire at an unseen gunman (including Abraham Lincoln, who survives his assassination attempt to shoot back at John Wilkes Booth). The gags range from the subtle (a stretcher from a crime scene persists in the background of several shots) to the corny (“I told you, no sax before the fight,” Frank tells a boxer) to the sublime (when a gangster asks, “Who are you? How did you get in here?” Frank answers, “I’m a locksmith, and I’m a locksmith”). With such quality jokes, six episodes is enough to make Police Squad! one of the best police shows of all time.

4. Columbo (1971–1979, 1989–2003)

By 1971, the New Hollywood movement was well underway. But television audiences were not necessarily ready to welcome gritty male heroes like Harry Callahan and Popeye Doyle into their living rooms. So they got the softer, kinder vision in Peter Falk as the titular detective of Columbo, and the results were spectacular. Originally created by Richard Levinson and William Link in their short story “Enough Rope,” which they then turned into a successful stage play, Columbo first hit the screen in a TV movie, played by Bert Freed. But when the story was remade in 1968 as “Prescription: Murder” with Falk in the part, the stage was set for television history.

Neither “Prescription: Murder” nor its 1971 follow-up “Ransom for a Dead Man” featured the fully-formed Columbo. But by the time the premiere episode “Murder By the Book” (directed by a young Steven Spielberg!) hit the airwaves in 1971, all the hallmarks were there: the dirty raincoat, the references to his wife, the stopping criminals for just one more thing. Combined with a host of great guest stars that included William Shatner, Dick Van Dyke, and Janet Leigh, Columbo is cozy comfort viewing at its finest.

3. Hill Street Blues (1981–1987)

Remember how we said that NYPD Blue is good, but still in the shadow of its predecessor? Here is the predecessor, Hill Street Blues, created by Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll. Inspired (unofficially) by writer Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct novels, Hill Street Blues was the first cop show to foreground the work of policing. The series takes an ensemble approach, with characters with a range of roles in the department each pursuing their own storylines, which occur between morning roll call (concluded by Sgt. Phil Esterhaus’s admonition, “Let’s be safe out there”) and the evening, when Captain Frank Furillo convenes with his girlfriend, defense attorney Joyce Davenport.

In addition to Esterhaus (Michael Conrad), Furillo (Daniel J. Travanti), and Davenport (Veronica Hamel), most episodes also check in on beat cops Bobby Hill (Michael Warren) and Andy Renko (Charles Haid), detective Henry Goldblume (Joe Spano), and undercover officers Washington (Taurean Blacque) and LaRue (Kiel Martin). Although often messy, Hill Street Blues adds a level of realism that breaks the cop show out of the confines of the procedural and opens new dramatic avenues.

2. Barney Miller (1975–1982)

Most of the shows on this list have pretty great theme songs. But none, absolutely none, go as unnecessarily hard as the theme to Barney Miller. Despite the promise of action by the rocking opening credits, Barney Miller is an unfailingly gentle show. Early on, the series establishes a formula that works, with each episode featuring an A-plot built around a suspect brought into the precinct and a B-plot following a cast member’s personal issue. Violence rarely occurs, only a handful of episodes leave the central precinct set, and nearly every conflict resolves through Barney’s level-headed intercession.

Such a low-stakes approach might get boring, but Barney Miller works because of its fantastic cast. As the paternalistic and endlessly patient Barney, Hal Linden is the ideal straight man, always ready with a perfect reaction shot. Max Gail’s lovable himbo Wojciehowicz (it’s spelled like it sounds) and Ron Glass’ sophisticated Harris may be the only characters to remain in all seven seasons, but the others who come in and out, especially Abe Vigoda’s old-timer Fish and Nick Soo’s sardonic Yemana, make the most of their stays. Although often cited as the most realistic depiction of actual police work, Barney Miller presents the ultimate fantasy of policing, that the departments consist of understanding people who solve problems through empathetic debate, never force.

1. The Wire (2002–2008)

In the very first scene of The Wire, Baltimore homicide detective Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) listens to the story of a recent murder victim, nicknamed Snot Boogey. After a witness (Jamal Bostic-Smith) recounts how Snot would constantly steal from crap games, despite threats of violence, McNulty asks why they would let him play. “You got to, man,” answers the incredulous friend. “This is America.”

That one scene captures everything great about The Wire, created by journalist and Homicide author David Simon. It’s not just that the scene looks directly at the way economic disparity and the criminal justice system create suffering in America. It’s the deft way the show turns realistic, street-level dialogue into the stuff of poetry, a feat surpassed later when McNulty and his partner Bunk (Wendell Pierce) conduct an entire investigation while only exchanging f-bombs. The Wire managed to present its cops and criminals as normal, fallible people, and to address some of the most pressing issues in the country, without ever failing to be impeccably-crafted and endlessly-engaging art.

15 Times a Movie Accidentally Predicted Real Events

Movies are built to imagine possibilities, but every so often fiction ends up colliding with reality in ways nobody could have planned. A scene, idea, or entire plot can feel purely invented when it premieres, only for real life to echo it years later with unsettling accuracy. Sometimes it is technology, politics, disasters, or cultural shifts that line up so closely it feels almost impossible. These moments are not always exact, but the similarities can still be striking enough to make people look back with new perspective. Here are fifteen films that seemed fictional at first, but later felt much closer to reality.

The Truman Show (1998)

Long before social media turned everyday life into constant performance, this film explored living under nonstop observation and public consumption.

Contagion (2011)

Its depiction of a fast spreading global virus, public panic, misinformation, and lockdowns felt eerily close to the COVID 19 pandemic years later.

Network (1976)

The film anticipated the rise of outrage driven news cycles and media built around emotional reactions rather than information.

Idiocracy (2006)

Its exaggerated world of anti intellectualism and corporate dominance has become a frequent comparison point in modern public discourse.

The China Syndrome (1979)

Released just days before the Three Mile Island accident, its nuclear disaster plot suddenly felt terrifyingly relevant.

Enemy of the State (1998)

Years before the Snowden revelations, it imagined mass surveillance and government data tracking on a massive scale.

Back to the Future Part II (1989)

While many predictions missed, it strangely got video calls, wearable tech, and cashless payments surprisingly close.

Minority Report (2002)

Personalized ads, gesture based interfaces, and predictive policing all moved closer to reality than expected.

The Social Network (2010)

It captured the coming scale of social media influence and how deeply online platforms would shape real life relationships.

Her (2013)

Its emotionally complex AI relationships feel much less distant now as conversational AI becomes part of daily life.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

The film imagined tablet like devices, voice controlled systems, and advanced AI decades before they became normal.

The Running Man (1987)

Its world of violent entertainment blended with reality television feels less exaggerated after decades of media escalation.

Wag the Dog (1997)

Its story of manufactured media narratives and political distraction still feels sharply relevant in modern politics.

Children of Men (2006)

The themes of migration crises, social collapse, and widespread instability feel much closer to current global tensions.

Soylent Green (1973)

Its warnings about overpopulation, environmental collapse, and resource scarcity continue to feel disturbingly current.

15 Times a Character Should Have Just Gone Home

Movies need a reason to happen, and said reason can’t always be an external force leaving a character without a choice. We always prefer to follow characters that decide their fate, even if their decisions lead them to end up worse than how they started.

In hindsight, the safest option would have been to head home and let someone else deal with the problem. Of course, that wouldn’t make for much of a movie or television episode. Still, it’s hard not to wonder how many fictional lives could have been saved if these characters had simply minded their own business.

Jeff, Rear Window

Confined to his apartment with a broken leg, Jeff becomes obsessed with watching his neighbors. Reporting his suspicions and leaving the investigation to the police would have spared him a deadly confrontation with Lars Thorwald.

Ellen Ripley, Alien

Ripley initially argues against letting Kane back aboard the Nostromo because of quarantine regulations. Once overruled, she stays with the mission instead of leaving, leading to the crew’s deadly encounter with the Xenomorph.

Marion Crane, Psycho

Marion could have continued driving and returned the stolen money before reaching the Bates Motel. Choosing to stop for the night instead places her directly in Norman Bates’ path with fatal consequences.

Clarice Starling, The Silence of the Lambs

Clarice follows the Buffalo Bill investigation with remarkable courage, but the climax leaves her alone in a serial killer’s basement. Calling for backup before entering the house would have been the safer option.

Peter Parker, Spider-Man: No Way Home

Peter’s decision to ask Doctor Strange for a reality-altering spell rather than accepting college admissions results unleashes multiversal chaos. Sometimes going home and filling out transfer applications would have been the better plan.

Jonathan Harker, Dracula

Ignoring countless warnings, Jonathan continues his business trip to Castle Dracula. Had he abandoned the assignment and returned to England, he would have avoided imprisonment and the Count’s terrifying schemes.

The Warrens, The Conjuring

Ed and Lorraine Warren repeatedly choose to investigate the Perron family’s haunting themselves. While heroic, walking away from such dangerous paranormal cases would likely have spared them repeated brushes with supernatural evil.

OJ Haywood, Nope

OJ initially recognizes the danger posed by the mysterious creature and considers leaving. Instead, he and Emerald decide to document it for fame and profit, turning a survivable situation into a life-threatening mission.

Paxton, Hostel

Paxton has already enjoyed his European vacation when he chooses to follow a stranger’s recommendation to visit a remote Slovak hostel. Ignoring the tip and continuing his trip would have avoided unimaginable torture.

Curt Vaughan, Cabin in the Woods

Curt and his friends repeatedly ignore opportunities to leave the isolated cabin. Choosing to drive home before exploring the strange basement would have prevented them from becoming unwilling participants in a deadly ritual.

Chris, Get Out

Chris accepts Rose’s invitation to meet her parents despite his understandable concerns. Trusting his instincts and declining the weekend trip would have saved him from one of horror’s most disturbing conspiracies.

Sue Snell, Carrie

Feeling guilty, Sue tries to make amends by arranging for Tommy Ross to take Carrie White to the prom. Her well-intentioned involvement places her at the center of one of horror’s most infamous tragedies.

David Kessler, An American Werewolf in London

Ignoring repeated warnings to stay on the road during a nighttime walk across the moors changes David’s life forever. Returning to the pub instead would have prevented the werewolf attack entirely.

Harlan Thrombey, Knives Out

After believing Marta accidentally administered a fatal overdose, Harlan chooses to stage an elaborate suicide to protect her. Calling an ambulance and waiting for medical professionals would have been the far wiser course of action.

Frank Cotton, Hellraiser

Frank’s obsession with solving the Lament Configuration opens a gateway to the Cenobites. Simply leaving the mysterious puzzle box alone would have spared him unimaginable suffering and everyone caught in its aftermath.

15 Actors Who Were Too Old to Star in Action Flicks

Action heroes are supposed to sprint across rooftops, trade punches with trained killers, and survive impossible odds. Yet Hollywood has increasingly asked audiences to believe actors well into their sixties, seventies, and even eighties could still do it all.

Granted, many relied on stunt doubles, careful editing, and decades of star power to push away our disbelief. We don’t know if audiences found it inspiring or a little hard to believe, but that hasn’t stopped them; these stars proved that age rarely stops Hollywood from handing someone another gun, car chase, or fistfight.

Harrison Ford

At 81, Harrison Ford returned as Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023). While digital de-aging and stunt doubles helped, the film still centered on octogenarian action sequences.

Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson reinvented himself as an action star in his mid-50s and continued leading films like Retribution and Absolution into his 70s, becoming one of Hollywood’s defining “late-life” action heroes.

Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone kept returning to physically demanding roles in Rambo: Last Blood, The Expendables series, and Armor well into his 70s, continuing to play characters decades younger than his actual age.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

After years away from starring roles, Arnold Schwarzenegger returned for films like The Last Stand, Sabotage, and Terminator: Dark Fate. Even in his 70s, Hollywood still cast him as an unstoppable action hero.

Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis continued making numerous action thrillers throughout his 60s. Although many later productions drew criticism, studios kept casting him as the capable lone hero until his retirement from acting.

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan built his reputation performing his own stunts, yet continued starring in action movies such as Ride On and Hidden Strike after turning 65, despite naturally slowing down with age.

Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood was already in his late 70s when he starred in Gran Torino, portraying a veteran willing to confront violent gangs. Even with fewer fight scenes, the role still demanded action hero credibility.

Helen Mirren

Helen Mirren embraced blockbuster action surprisingly late, appearing in the RED films, the Fast & Furious franchise, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. She continued taking action roles well into her late 70s.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington was in his 60s while filming The Equalizer 3, continuing to portray Robert McCall as a relentless vigilante capable of defeating much younger opponents in brutal hand-to-hand combat.

John Travolta

John Travolta continued headlining action thrillers such as Speed Kills, Paradise City, and Cash Out into his late 60s and early 70s. Many of these films relied heavily on editing and stunt work to sell the action sequences.

Robert De Niro

At 76, Robert De Niro starred in The Irishman. While not a traditional action movie, the film’s de-aging technology drew attention during fight scenes, where his movements often betrayed the character’s supposedly younger age.

Pierce Brosnan

Long after leaving James Bond behind, Pierce Brosnan returned to action with films such as The November Man and Fast Charlie, proving Hollywood still viewed him as a convincing action lead in his 60s.

Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson continued appearing in action-heavy productions like Blood Father and Force of Nature after turning 60. His characters remained capable fighters despite the actor entering an age where most stars slow down.

Sean Connery

Sean Connery was 63 when he led The Rock and 73 during The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Both films expected him to remain an imposing action figure despite being well past traditional leading-man age.

Dolph Lundgren

Dolph Lundgren never fully left the genre, continuing to appear in The Expendables films, Aquaman, and numerous action thrillers throughout his 60s while maintaining the imposing screen presence that made him famous.

15 Behind-the-Scenes Movie Photos Where Things Don’t Look as Glamorous in Real Life

Movie magic works very similar to regular magic, since as long as you don’t see the trick, you can let yourself believe anything. However, we know that actors don’t have superpowers and that alien planets don’t exist, so special effects and camera work need to be used to sell us on the fantasy.

If you want to keep believing in that magic, then look away, because we are about to delve into the backstage of some incredibly well made films. A lot of green screens, gray suits and miniatures went into the creation of modern classics, with the end result so good it’s surprising it wasn’t real at all.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

To make the blue aliens look as good as they do, the actors wore suits to record their movements and face cameras for their expressions. For the actors, the movie didn’t happen in a lush forest, rather in a dull grey warehouse.

The Avengers

Mark Ruffalo didn’t just portray Bruce Banner in The Avengers, he also gave life to The Hulk, both in voice and body. You might think the green giant was purely CGI, but they had the actor wear a silly suit to keep his character consistent.

The Lord of the Rings

Gandalf and Saruman are great adversaries that travel the world in stallions, winged beasts, or through their arcane magic. Once the cameras are off, the actors need to traverse the landscape with tiny little golf carts.

Jurassic Park

Granted, the animatronic that gave life to the T-Rex (and nearly kills the movie by going over budget) is impressive, but much less imposing when you see the several technicians that need to coordinate its every move.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Davy Jones had Bill Nighy give a legendary performance, something that reaches audiences from beyond the tentacles. The other actors actually interacted with the legend himself, although in a less intimidating gray suit.

Mad Max: Fury Road

The high-speed chase in the film is actually not going that fast for most of the actors. Several scenes had the dust clouds added in post production, and the speed simulated on several occasions.

The Matrix

Neo’s world famous emergency dodge of several bullets has been widely referenced and parodied in media for decades, but it has a not-so glamorous origin. The move has Keanu Reeves flailing his arms at nothing, with cables for support.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Making cartoon characters interact with real-world objects was certainly a challenge, particularly when it came to acting opposed to them. This particular gun was first moved along with a string, until it was placed on the hand of a remote-controlled robot arm.

Gravity

George Clooney’s moment in space has him wearing the classic space suit, but that wasn’t what he was wearing in reality. Here, we have a bright stage light representing the sun, and a bunch of markers to create the suit in post production.

Life of Pi

The film has the audience question what really happened when Pi was lost in the ocean. The movie was, of course, not filmed in open waters, but in a closed off swimming pool.

300

Nearly the entire movie was filmed inside a sound stage, with the dream-like scenarios added later. Most of what the actors saw during the making of the film was a blue screen, so they had to try really hard to interpret what was going on around them.

Barbie

The city where Barbie lives in already has a doll-like aesthetic, so for wider shots, it’s no wonder the filmmakers created a miniature version of the place. This shows that they didn’t build the entire neighborhood for the movie, rather just a couple of key sets.

The Dark Crystal

The characters in The Dark Crystal are outlandish creatures, brought to life by puppeteers, animatronics and careful editing. These creatures need makeup too, although it is easier to apply when you can remove the head of the performer.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

The main alien itself was a puppet created through hard work and careful camera placement. The director, Steven Spielberg, was very deliberate on how the creature should act, where it was located and how it talked.

The NeverEnding Story

Falkor is a large and majestic creature when encountered in the movie, and it clearly demanded a lot of work to get right. Now, the animatronic version at the studio is still large, but it loses some majestic points when not with its fur.

15 Movies from the 1960s You Can’t Watch Anymore

We can learn a lot about movies of old, both from what they innovated but also what they got away with. The films of that era are now hard to watch, either literally as lost media or because they’re hard to stomach. You could say there’s something to learn about them as well, but mostly as examples of what not to do.

They might be controversial, but they’re classics in their own right. All in all, these movies have become increasingly difficult to revisit for reasons that go well beyond their age. These are the features that we’ve chosen to highlight for today.

Titicut Follies

Frederick Wiseman’s documentary about conditions inside the Bridgewater State Hospital for the criminally insane was effectively banned from general public exhibition for more than two decades because of privacy concerns involving the inmates it depicted.

The Green Berets

John Wayne’s Vietnam War film presented a strongly pro-war perspective that quickly fell out of step with changing public opinion. Today, it is often criticized for its simplistic portrayal of the conflict and political messaging.

The Conqueror

Although released in 1956, The Conqueror remained widely shown on television during the 1960s. It became infamous because filming near a nuclear test site was later linked, though not conclusively proven, to numerous cast and crew cancer diagnoses.

The Killing of Sister George

Its frank depiction of lesbian relationships led to censorship and controversy upon release. While historically significant, the film’s treatment of sexuality and its reputation made it difficult to see in many places for years.

The Wild Angels

Starring Peter Fonda, this biker drama shocked audiences with its depictions of violence, drug use, and sexual assault. Several sequences remain deeply uncomfortable for modern viewers despite the film’s counterculture significance.

Goodbye, Uncle Tom

Presented as a pseudo-documentary about American slavery, this Italian film has long been condemned for its graphic imagery and exploitative approach. It remains one of the most controversial historical films ever produced.

The Illustrated Man

Despite starring Rod Steiger and Claire Bloom, this adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s stories has spent long stretches out of print on home video, making it surprisingly difficult for audiences to watch legally.

The Cremator

This Czechoslovak psychological horror masterpiece was suppressed after the Soviet invasion of 1968. Although later restored, political censorship kept it unavailable to many audiences for years.

The Devils

Ken Russell’s controversial historical drama faced extensive censorship because of its graphic violence, sexuality, and religious themes. Even today, the original uncut version remains difficult to view through official channels.

The Touch of Flesh

This obscure 1960s exploitation horror film received only limited distribution and has largely disappeared from mainstream circulation, surviving primarily through private collectors and specialized archive screenings.

I Am Curious (Yellow)

The Swedish drama sparked obscenity trials in several countries because of its explicit content. Although eventually cleared in court, its reputation as a banned film overshadowed its political and artistic ambitions.

The Brig

Based on the off-Broadway play, this stark prison drama received limited theatrical distribution and remained difficult to find for decades. Its experimental style also kept it outside the mainstream film conversation.

Mondo Cane

This influential documentary popularized the “mondo” genre with sensationalized depictions of cultures around the world. Modern audiences frequently criticize it for exploitation, manipulation, and questionable documentary ethics.

Peeping Tom

Released in 1960, Michael Powell’s thriller was so harshly condemned by British critics that it effectively destroyed his directing career. The film later gained recognition as a psychological horror classic.

Flaming Creatures

Jack Smith’s experimental film was repeatedly seized by police and banned in several U.S. jurisdictions on obscenity grounds. Decades later, it remains difficult to find through mainstream distribution and is most often screened by museums and film archives.

15 Celebs You Never Knew Were Legit Athletes

Acting and performing isn’t the only thing that interests the world’s most famous celebrities, even if that’s all we know them for. While we’re used to seeing them fit, some of them have a background that takes their performance beyond the stage and into serious athletic environments.

For some, their athletic backgrounds often explain the discipline, stamina, and physical presence they later brought to Hollywood and beyond. While fans usually know them for blockbuster films or hit songs, these stars once spent just as much time training, competing, and chasing victories in the world of sports.

Jason Statham

Before becoming an action star, Jason Statham competed internationally as a diver. He represented England in the 1990 Commonwealth Games and spent more than a decade on Britain’s National Diving Squad.

Kurt Russell

Kurt Russell looked destined for professional baseball before a shoulder injury ended his career. He played in the California Angels’ minor league system before fully committing to acting.

Carl Weathers

Long before playing Apollo Creed, Carl Weathers was a professional football player. He suited up for the Oakland Raiders before later joining the Canadian Football League with the BC Lions.

Terry Crews

Before finding success in comedy and television, Terry Crews played in the NFL. The former linebacker spent time with several teams after starring at Western Michigan University.

Burt Reynolds

Burt Reynolds earned a football scholarship to Florida State University and showed significant promise before serious injuries derailed his athletic career, ultimately leading him toward acting instead.

Geena Davis

Geena Davis became an elite archer later in life, reaching a level where she competed for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team ahead of the 2000 Sydney Games.

Mark Harmon

Before television fame, Mark Harmon was the starting quarterback for UCLA. He led the Bruins during the early 1970s and earned recognition for his leadership on the field.

Dolph Lundgren

Not only does he have several academic achievements, Dolph Lundgren is also an accomplished martial artist. He earned a fourth-degree black belt in Kyokushin karate and won the 1982 European Championship.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger is synonymous with bodybuilding, winning seven Mr. Olympia titles. His dominance helped transform competitive bodybuilding into a global spectator sport before his transition into blockbuster films.

Dwayne Johnson

Before becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Dwayne Johnson played defensive tackle at the University of Miami, winning a national championship before beginning his professional wrestling career.

Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker attended college on a football scholarship as a linebacker. An injury ended his playing career, prompting him to shift his focus toward music and eventually acting.

Hailee Steinfeld

Before her acting career took off, Hailee Steinfeld trained extensively in gymnastics as a child. Although she never competed professionally, the discipline contributed to the physical skills she later displayed on screen.

Ed O’Neill

Years before starring in Married with Children, Ed O’Neill played college football at Ohio University and Youngstown State. He even signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers before being released during training camp.

Mickey Rourke

After stepping away from acting in the 1990s, Mickey Rourke pursued professional boxing. He fought several sanctioned bouts, finishing his comeback run undefeated before returning to Hollywood.

Gina Carano

Gina Carano first gained fame as one of the pioneers of women’s mixed martial arts. Her success in EliteXC and Strikeforce helped introduce female MMA to a much wider audience before her acting career.

Dune 3 Trailer Just Revealed the Most Important Character in the Franchise

This article contains spoilers for Dune: Part Three and several Frank Herbert books.

It’s not really about Paul Atreides. Paul may be Lisan al-Gaib, he may be the Kwisatz Haderach, but Paul is not actually the main character of the Dune franchise. Instead, that honor goes to the character introduced in the latest trailer for Dune: Part Three, the character you knew as Duncan Idaho.

The latest trailer shows the internal fractures in Paul’s (Timothée Chalamet) life as he continues the Fremen jihad launched after he dethroned Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken) at the end of the previous movie. His partner Chani (Zendaya) feels betrayed by his actions and his legal wife, Shaddam IV’s daughter Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) joins the plot that the Face Dancer Scytale (Robert Pattinson) launches against him. Central to this conspiracy is the introduction of the man we first met as Duncan Idaho, played by Jason Momoa. Despite what he appears to be, this man is actually called Hayt, and he is the most important character in Frank Herbert‘s Dune novels.

With his incongruous name and skill in battle, Duncan Idaho was one of the standout characters of the first Dune movie. Played by a chummy Momoa, Duncan went ahead to scout Arrakis for Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac), where he befriended Stilgar (Javier Bardem) of the Freman and formed alliances that would allow Paul to defeat the usurper Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård). However, when Harkonnen’s forces first attacked and killed Leto, Duncan sacrificed himself to allow Paul and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) to escape, setting into motion his final ascension as Lisan al-Gaib.

Although the world of Dune is full of dissemblances and secrets, Duncan’s death was not faked. He did indeed die battling Harkonnen’s elite Sardaukar. But as viewers of the HBO series Dune: Prophecy already know, cloning exists in the franchise. An invention of the Bene Tleilax (a sect like the Bene Gesserit, except they work through technology instead of religion), clones or “gholas” are a mistrusted, but real part of the world. Yet, if someone was lonely enough, if someone missed the person who had been cloned and wants to recreate those experiences, then they may accept the gholas, despite their misgivings.

Which is exactly what Scytale plans. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, who co-wrote the screenplay with comic book scribe Brian K. Vaughan, and based on the 1969 novel Dune Messiah, Dune: Part Three sees Paul start to crack under the pressure of enacting his master plan. While his prescience convinces him that brutal measures are needed to save humanity, others doubt him, which makes Paul feel lonely. Enter Scytale, who preys on that loneliness by bringing back the man who once loved and protected Paul, who provided the direction and security who so desperately wants.

But Hayt is not Duncan. He’s been trained as a Mentat, a mental computer like Thufir Hawat (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and Piter De Vries (David Dastmalchian). In this role, Hayt offers advice to Paul, including the advice to destroy him immediately. Hayt is one of the most compelling parts of Dune Messiah, and the trailer promises that he’ll be a key part of the adaptation.

The trailer also positions Dune: Part Three as the end of Villeneuve’s story, but that still leaves four more Herbert books left to adapt. And if Villeneuve or another filmmaker (potentially Gareth Edwards) wants to pick up Children of Dune or God Emperor of Dune, Part Three will leave them in a good spot, because Duncan returns as a major character there, too.

Set nine years after Messiah, Children of Dune sees a Duncan ghola paired with Paul’s sister Alia (Anya Taylor-Joy) and protecting Leto II and Ghanima, the children of Paul and Chani. The next book, God Emperor of Dune, jumps 3500 years in the future. And yet, Duncan’s still around, serving the Atreides line like he always has, while trying to recover the memories of his previous forms. Set 1500 years after God Emperor, Heretics of Dune has all-new Bene Gesserit and Bene Tleilax and revelations about the spice; and yet, there’s Duncan Idaho, running around as a ghola once again. There’s no time jump for Chapterhouse: Dune, but there is a sexy offshoot of the Bene Gesserit, so of course a Duncan Idaho ghola is involved.

Duncan is never the protagonist of these books. But he exists forever as a reminder of the innocence young Paul once held, the good intentions that drive him, even as he brings destruction to the universe and drives away everyone who loves him.

Dune: Part Three comes to theaters on December 18, 2026.

Antony Starr Will Never Be Properly Recognized for His Greatness as Homelander

Over the course of five seasons, Antony Starr brought The Boys’ central villain Homelander to life, quickly becoming the cornerstone of the Prime Video comic adaptation. His performance created an antagonist that was manipulative and terrifying, while also being unstable and weak-willed. Starr was so good at being the fictional face of American fascism, he unwittingly convinced real-life fascists his Homelander wasn’t actually that bad of a guy.

Despite this career-defining performance, Starr was not given an Emmy nomination for his role in The Boys even once. And the reveal of this year’s Emmy nominations confirm he never will. With this final disregard, Starr will have never won an Emmy for his portrayal of Homelander.

Award snubs are subjective, and discourse around who is and isn’t nominated is as reliable as the sun rising in the East and setting in the West. Never will nominations meet what everyone wants from an awards’ show perfectly.

This snub, however, is different. The Boys has been nominated for both technical and more mainstream award categories; it has nominations for Outstanding Writing For a Drama Series and Outstanding Drama Series (both in 2021) as well as nominations (and wins) in Outstanding Stunt Coordination in a Drama Series, Limited or Anthology Series, or Movie and Outstanding Stunt Performance (across several different awards cycles). The Television Academy has previously been able to recognize the show’s merits in categories typically exclusionary to comic book media.

Ignoring the most recognizable and frontrunning performance in the show when the art of The Boys has been acknowledged before feels like a slap in the face. There are many reasons The Boys was able to be the flagship show for Prime Video’s television productions, including thousands of hours from behind the scenes crewmembers and writers alongside an ensemble of incredible actors. But no one doubts Antony Starr was always, for lack of a better word, the star of the show.

It is deeply unfortunate the Television Academy was unable to see this since The Boys premiered in 2019. As soon as Homelander landed on screen, killing two armed bank robbers with a Captain America attitude that was chillingly forced, The Boys fans knew they were in for a wild ride.

That’s just one example of Starr’s sinister masterclass. From the season 1 airplane scene to his death at the hands of Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), every second he was on screen made The Boys worth watching.

Even off screen, Starr’s Homelander was everywhere. Gifs of Homelander wagging his finger appeared under posts across social media platforms, and he is the frequent subject of reaction images. Starr’s extremely expressive face made his emotional reactions as Homelander both recognizable yet raw, communicating Homelander’s instability and emotional volatility. Online discourse and powerscaling (comparing power levels of fictional characters to each other) debates on online forums often center on Starr’s Homelander.

Awards aren’t the only validation an actor can get. Emmys aren’t what define a career; performances are. Audiences will always be the final arbiter of who gets remembered and who doesn’t. But awards are recognition for the complexities and thought an actor brings to their performance, and Starr will never get that specific kind of recognition for spending years portraying a real monster.

The Television Academy left a major hole in its awards this year by leaving Starr out of the nominations, but The Boys fans will always remember the fear and disgust he was able to evoke in viewers for years to come.

7 Songs that Deserve a Narrative Adaptations

Storytelling is an integral part of music, and many of the most genre-defining songs of each generation follow a plot structure of some kind. Rarely, however, do these songs get more than a music video.

That all changed this summer, though. With the release of Girls Like Girls, the Hayley Kiyoko- directed adaptation of her 2023 book and 2015 song of the same name, the pathway for music to go from soundtrack to center stage has never been clearer. Whether they become movies, books, or television shows, the following seven songs all deserve to be brought to the masses in a new form.

Goodbye Earl by The Chicks

A no-brainer inclusion, The Chicks’ 2000 twangy murder ballad smash hit combines the country music genre’s storytelling tradition with themes of womanhood and female friendship not often awarded with commercial success in Nashville. In the song, best friends Mary Ann and Wanda hatch a plan to kill Wanda’s abusive ex-husband, the titular Earl. They get away with the murder after realizing Earl was a “missing person who nobody missed at all,” and by the end are living together and selling “Tennessee ham and strawberry jam” together.

The song’s music video is already a mini adaptation of the lyrics, but that’s not enough. A feature film for Wanda and Mary Ann would take the Southern Gothic aesthetic foundational to the country murder ballad genre with the playful attitude of similar movies like 9 to 5. Emma Seligman (Bottoms, Shiva Baby) or Aleshea Harris (Is God Is) are both current writer-directors who would be fantastic at the helm of a big screen adaptation of The Chicks’ masterpiece.

All of Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain

The entirety of Preacher’s Daughter is a masterclass in both musical innovation and narrative construction, so narrowing it down to just one song for the sake of a list would do singer-songwriter and producer Ethel Cain a major disservice. A harrowing tale of a girl also named Ethel Cain fleeing her cultish Chirstian home in the rural South and falling for dangerous men (one of whom kills and cannibalizes her), Preacher’s Daughter was immediately lauded as one of the best albums of 2022 upon its release.

Hayden Silas Anhedönia, the real name behind the Ethel Cain persona, has already stated she wants to write a series of novels adapting the story of Preacher’s Daughter and direct a film adaptation. Steeped in themes of intergenerational trauma and religion, and with clear intentions for modes of storytelling beyond music, Cain should absolutely take Ethel’s story out of the recording studio and onto the page. A limited series by either Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass) or Karyn Kusama (Yellowjackets) based on the album would also do numbers.

Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst by Kendrick Lamar

This 12-minute lyrical odyssey about street violence, grief, vengeance, and spirituality is Kendrick Lamar at his best. The song is split between multiple different perspectives, each describing the K-Dot experiences that made him steer away from gang culture and find his own faith. It is situated perfectly as track 10 on the album good kid, m.A.A.d. city, tying together the overarching narrative of the record in the introspective fashion Kendrick fans have come to love about his music.

Directors such as Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing), F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton), and Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) are hypothetical frontrunners for a big screen adaptation of one of Lamar’s greatest musical achievements. However, up-and-coming Black directors like Ryan Coogler (Sinners) or RaMell Ross (Nickel Boys) could also provide a fresh adaptation of “Sing About Me.”

Hallowed Be Thy Name by Iron Maiden

Most Iron Maiden songs could make an appearance on this list, but “Hallowed Be Thy Name” is the best of many good choices. Told from the perspective of a prisoner on the day he is to be executed at the gallows, “Hallowed Be Thy Name” is a haunting heavy metal opera that represents the genre at its prime.

Although the song is not lengthy or complex in its plot structure, there are so many unknowns about the narrator that would allow for more narrative development. His denial of actually being there (“Can it be there’s some sort of error?”, “Is it really the end, not some crazy dream?”) hint at a wrongful conviction, while the entirety of the song’s fourth verse being told from beyond the grave adds a supernatural aspect to the very real horror of impending death. Audiences could get a great horror project from filmmakers such as Nia DaCosta (28 Years Later: The Bone Temple) or Sam Raimi (Evil Dead) with “Hallowed Be Thy Name” as the source of inspiration.

Off to the Races by Lana Del Rey

Similar to many of the other entries on this list, Lana Del Rey has several candidates for adaptations in her extensive discography. She often finds inspiration in visual art and literature for the themes and sonic quality of each of her albums, but none are more apparent than the song “Off to the Races.”

From Del Rey’s debut studio album Born to Die, “Off to the Races” quotes Vladimir Nabokov’s opening lines in Lolita throughout, using the classic Russian novel as its central inspiration for the volatile relationship between the narrator and her much older lover. The song has a chaotic, fast-paced tempo that few other Del Rey tracks have, and its flirtation with mafia aesthetics provide a foundation for any crime thriller writer or director looking for a female-led story. In a dream world, Francesca Scorsese would have introduced her father Martin Scorsese to this song and changed the landscape of cinema forever.

Twin Size Mattress by The Front Bottoms

The Front Bottoms’ most popular song is among the most heartwrenching songs in contemporary rock music. The song tells the story of a friendship that is ultimately ruined by addiction. Its devastating lyrics and overarching narrative of guilt and grief are told expertly across the tracks four-minute and 25-second runtime.

If it were adapted into a film, “Twin Size Mattress” would run away with critical acclaim. Its lyrical content provides ample inspiration for many of the auteurs currently in Hollywood. A Greta Gerwig (Ladybird) or Felix van Groeningen (Beautiful Boy) film production based on the song would blow audiences out of the water.

Kokomo, IN by Japanese Breakfast

Jubilee, the highly-praised 2021 album from Japanese Breakfast, is full of emotional depth and vibrant swells of synth and string music. Michelle Zauner, the woman behind Japanese Breakfast, is among the music industry’s most talented producers and songwriters, and her writing on “Kokomo, IN” is Zauner at her best.

The song is told from the perspective of a narrator who is stuck in her Midwestern hometown, presumably Kokomo, Indiana, while her ex-lover made it out. It’s an upbeat reflection on place and potential, quietly showcasing the longing to be somewhere else with someone who the narrator is still in love with.

Zauner has already proven her writing skills with her debut memoir, Crying in H Mart. Her next literary creative project should be taking “Kokomo, IN” to the bookstore.

X-Men ’97 Teases a Hidden Connection Between Wolverine and Captain America

This article contains spoilers for X-Men ’97 season 2 episode 4.

Most of the X-Men ’97 episode “Rise of Apocalypse Part II” focuses on, well, Apocalypse and the X-Men sent back to Ancient Egypt to prevent his transformation from En Sabah Nur into the big blue supervillain we know and love. But in the Mighty Marvel manner, the episode ends with a post-credits scene, one that sets up a new storyline that has nothing to do with the characters in the rest of the episode. Wolverine, dressed in black, meets up with Captain America and Black Widow, who give him a file marked “Weapon X.”

The trio’s meet-up nods toward Jim Lee‘s cover for 1990’s Uncanny X-Men #268, and the folder that Cap gives Logan recalls the cover of 1991’s Wolverine #50. And when Wolvie says he’s “Getting the band back together,” he may very well be referring to Team X, the group of adamantium-infused soldiers that includes Sabertooth, Silver Fox, and Maverick, seen in the Original Series. But given X-Men ’97‘s attention to stories published after the end of X-Men: The Animated Series, the post-credits may be setting up a different arc, one that changed the way we think about Captain America.

Even the most casual X-Men fan probably knows the gist of Weapon X. Introduced alongside Wolverine in 1974’s Incredible Hulk #180, Weapon X was the secret government program that conducted experiments in the super-metal adamantium. As seen in X-Men: The Animated Series, the program not only gave Wolverine his metal skeleton, but also enhanced Sabertooth and gave Deadpool his healing factor. Furthermore, “Weapon X” also refers to Wolverine, considered the program’s greatest achievement.

Almost everything about Weapon X is shrouded in secrecy, even to readers, because Wolverine could not remember his past until the 2005 storyline House of M. That secrecy meant that information about Wolverine’s past was doled out in small, and often contradictory, chunks. For example, Wolverine has no real name for his first several appearances in Incredible Hulk and Uncanny X-Men, and even after a leprechaun calls him “Logan” in 1977’s Uncanny X-Men #103 (yes, you read that right), it takes a while for his teammates to find out this information and start using the name regularly. Likewise, Wolverine originally said that his claws were part of his costume, and then later says they were given to him with his adamantium skeleton, only to reveal that he has had bone claws he was a child.

All of that is a long way of saying that even though the original X-Men series did sometimes delve into the history of Weapon X, that history has changed a lot in the thirty years since the show ended.

One of the most important changes occurs in Assault on Weapon Plus, a four-part storyline by Grant Morrison and Chris Bachalo that appeared in New X-Men #142–145 (2003). The story begins with Cyclops in a bar, trying to shed his boy-scout persona and drown his sorrows after Jean Grey learned about his psychic affair with Emma Frost. He finds Wolverine sitting across the bar, who has come with a masked man called Fantomex to look for Cyclops. Wolverine needs Cyclops’ help to come with him and Fantomex and find Weapon Plus. The evolved version of Weapon X, Weapon Plus holds the files of its predecessor, and Wolverine wants to find what’s in them.

The quest takes the trio into the World, an advanced metauniverse (it is a Grant Morrison comic, after all) operated by Marvel superscientists. Within the World, Wolverine and we readers learn important information about Weapon X. First, it’s not “Weapon X,” it is “Weapon 10,” as in “the tenth version of the Weapon Plus program.” Fantomex comes from Weapon XIII, the storyline builds to a battle against the super-sentinal Ultimaton from Weapon XV, and several other characters have been retconned as projects of previous Weapon Plus Programs. For example, 2019’s Wolverine & Captain America: Weapon Plus reveals that Ted Sallis was turned into Man-Thing through Weapon IV and the procedure that gave Luke Cage his powers stems from Weapon VI.

But the biggest revelation points to the source of the whole debacle. Weapon I, the first of the Weapon Plus programs, was led by Dr. Abraham Erskine in World War II, and led to the transformation of Steve Rogers into Captain America. In that moment, we realize that all the lies, suffering, and destruction caused by the Weapon Plus program occurred because Captain America exists.

Of course, this is yet another retcon to the two characters’ pasts. But it’s one that deepens them both, in opposite directions. For Captain America, it reminds him that all the good he does carries the taint of governments willing to destroy people in pursuit of power. They made him to be a weapon, and he must continue to overcome that intention. Conversely, that same fact provides hope for Wolverine, who has always worried that he’s an irredeemable beast. If Captain America can transcend from a weapon into something good, maybe he can as well.

Will X-Men ’97 delve into all of these details? It’s hard to say. Weapon X did show up in a few original series episodes, a very different program from the one that Morrison imagined. But if it does, the show can make for a more morally-complicated Wolverine, and further bring the rest of Marvel into the world of the X-Men.

X-Men ’97 season 2 streams new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.

Evil Dead Burn Review – Grueling Horror, But Not in the Good Way

No one would ever accuse Sam Raimi’s original The Evil Dead of being a particularly deep movie, or a picture concerned with matters of taste. It was quite literally marketed as “the ultimate experience in grueling horror” nearly a half century ago and sought to deliver on that hype train. It was violent, grotesque, and so happily gonzo in its depravity that it became the case to study in UK censorship battles during the Video Nasties debacle of the 1980s.

It was also, we should add, full of youthful ingenuity and an almost mirthful sense of play. Whether you knew the backstory or not, the sensation of former school-day chums innovating new camera techniques in the woods of Tennessee was palpable and giddy. There was slaughter, sure, chainsaws, of course, and gore galore. But even that OG film—which played the scares with a straighter face than Raimi’s outright camp sequels—still did it nearly all with a smile on its face and a twinkle in its eye.

Since its inception, this series has been as much about amusement, if in an often bleak, gallows fashion, as chills. Recent 21st century attempts have sought to steer the series back to its more gruesome roots, but be it Fede Alvarez’ beyond-credulity buckets of blood and demonic banter with a sing-songy Jane Levy in neon contacts, or Lee Cronin’s wicked portrait of a family in dissolution, they had thus far sought to retain that dark sense of mischief that makes it go down smooth.

In which case, Sébastien Vaniček’s Evil Dead Burn is here to break the mold. Out later this week, this one is also about a family in collapse, and it’s got demons and buckets of blood aplenty. Yet the mischief is gone, the twinkle faded, and the only thing grueling is the slapdash aesthetics applied to a series once renowned for turning bloodletting into a visual art form of swooshing cameras and bemusing gags. There remain a few neat tricks at play in Vaniček’s variations, but by and large Evil Dead Burn is simply crude and cruel, a movie full of misanthropy and as unpleasant to sit through as the scatological splatter of mid-2000s torture porn.

There are still a handful of aesthetic flourishes, including a solid third act one-er where hell literally breaks loose in a family’s lakeside home, but they are exceptions to the rule of what is a deeply ugly film, inside and out. It’s a movie that begins in earnest during a beleaguered funeral and only sees its vibe plummet from there.

The funeral in question is for one William (George Pullar), a barely-drawn crap husband and presumably crap brother, who inside of 90 seconds berates his French wife Alice (Souheila Yacoub) and his milquetoast sibling Joseph (Hunter Doohan) during the latter’s birthday party. Shortly afterward, Will is blessedly burned alive by the Deadite forces of the Nine Circles, who taunt their proverbial pig on the spit that they have been searching for him so he can lead them “to your family.”

Hence the discount shelf sendoff the character gets in a depressing service attended only by his estranged and guilt-ridden spouse, brother and prospective sister-in-law (Luciane Buchanan), as well as parents Susan and Edgar (Sandi Wright and Erroll Shand), plus a dementia-addled grandmother (Maude Davey). All parties are part of a family condemned to a grim legacy by Grandpa (squint at the family photos for a cameo), who apparently enjoyed summoning the Devil in their dilapidated vacation home’s attic during his leisure time. And now those distant, spiritual in-laws have come to pay their respects.

There is ostensibly a metaphor about toxic families and the generational scars they spread in the screenplay, which Vaniček co-wrote with Florent Bernard. Via exhausted and despondent Alice as our requisite final girl, hers is a perspective both within and without three generations of bad choices festering a family from within, damning them long before the demons show up. We slowly discover that a violent and abusive marriage has corroded the soul of poor Susan, who in turn had learned long ago from her own parents how to turn a blind eye to acts of deviltry, great and small. How that’s influenced the men William and Joseph grew up to be, and the women who put up with them, becomes its own dark prophecy. The metaphor in all this is technically meatier than anything approaching a plot in the first couple of Evil Dead cult classics, but it’s also rote and delivered without conviction.

When a movie is this filled with piss and venom for the characters, of whom it basks in the suffering and misery of, any tacked-on concessions to an elevated subtext amounts to the only hint of farce present. Evil Dead Burn is an inferno of nihilism too consumed with contempt for its characters, its setting, and possibly the audience, to have any emotional or cathartic heat. It exists as a gross-out, shock machine wherein human bodies are destroyed, dismantled, and defiled in as putrid a manner as possible.

Of course the desecration of characters has always been Evil Dead’s meat and potatoes, but this one is not college kids at play or fanboys emulating a cult classic in wry good humor; it’s a sadist picking at the wings of flies in extreme, endless closeup, be it of what Papa Edgar is so obviously about to do to the family dog during a tense family dinner, or how grandma’s mental decline from Alzheimer’s is glibly mocked and exploited as the only source at attempted—and wildly misjudged—humor in an otherwise quite funereal endurance test.

There is little to nothing to redeem this empty exercise in franchise extension, not its performances, not its production design, definitely not its cinematography, and not necessarily even its gore, lest seeing people disemboweled in dreary closeup is the lone threshold for your idea of entertainment.

Forty years after being so wrongfully accused, Evil Dead has finally attached something irredeemably nasty to its name. Unnecessarily too.

Evil Dead Burn opens on Friday, July 10.

The Odyssey: Christopher Nolan’s Guillermo del Toro Connection Promises a More Complicated Adventure

Even if you don’t have a degree in ancient literature, you probably know the broad strokes of Homer’s epic The Odyssey. It’s an adventure story about a guy sailing along to fight witches and giants and sea monsters, right? And even if that’s a simplistic take on The Odyssey (spoiler: it is), then surely the giant Hollywood blockbuster has to streamline the plot to appeal to the masses. Matt Damon‘s Odysseus is the good guy, and he’s going to beat up the bad guys to win and get home.

However, in a recent conversation with the LA Times, The Odyssey director Christopher Nolan intimated on a more complicated approach to the story. When discussing the monstrous Scylla, Nolan admitted, “I was very inspired by Guillermo del Toro.” He continues, “What I learned from him is that a monster is not a monster. You have to approach them the way you approach any other character.” If even a tentacled creature who threatens to destroy Odysseus’s crew while they try to avoid the horrifying Charybdis gets sympathy, then Nolan’s take on The Odyssey will be anything but simplistic.

On one hand, it’s not too surprising to learn that Christopher Nolan wants a complicated story. After his 1998 student film Following, Nolan broke out with the noir Memento, a film sold on the structural gimmick of being a story told in reverse chronology. Since then, Nolan has made numerous blockbusters with fractured, labyrinthine narrative structures.

However, that complexity tends to only extend to the plots of Nolan’s movies, specifically in relationship to time. On a character level, Nolan tends to be pretty simplistic. Bruce Wayne dresses like a bat because he wants to harness the fear caused by his childhood trauma. Cobb from Inception wants to get back to his wife. Coop from Interstellar wants to get back to his children. Even Oppenheimer, a more nuanced figure than most of Nolan’s protagonists, is at his core, a guy who wanted to pursue his vision and then felt guilty about what it cost.

It’s easy to see how Odysseus falls in line with these characters. A cunning but devoted warrior, Odysseus wants only to return home to Ithaca, to reunite with his wife Penelope and son Telemachus. Throw in the flashbacks to the Trojan War and a 10-year journey that must be truncated, and The Odyssey feels ready-made for Nolan.

But the fact that Nolan looks to del Toro for the monsters suggests that he’s trying something new. As seen in everything from Pan’s Labyrinth to Hellboy to The Shape of Water, del Toro prefers monsters to people, and presents even the most frightening creature as a figure of beauty and compassion. Where Scylla could be nothing more than a beast that Odysseus and his crew must defeat to get past Charybdis and get back to Ithaca, the del Toro connection suggests that Nolan wants the monster to be real, to be a living creature deserving of empathy.

Scylla lends herself to such a story, as later myths described her as a beautiful nymph who was transformed into a monster after a curse. But the casting of Bill Irwin, a Tony award-winning actor and incredible physical performer who puppeteered TARS in Interstellar, as the Cyclops Polyphemus indicates that he’ll be humanizing all of the monsters.

Thus far, audiences have turned out in droves to support Nolan’s complex narrative style. Hopefully, they’ll be just as excited to see him complicate The Odyssey‘s monsters.

The Odyssey plays in theaters on July 17, 2026.

The Sad Truth Behind Vin Diesel’s Latest Fast & Furious 11 Update

Vin Diesel has given Fast & Furious fans real Nathan Fielder vibes this past week after posting a new video in which he strolled around the iconic 1970 Dodge Charger R/T that his character, Dom Toretto, drives in the franchise. “I’m on set,” he said in the video as crew members visibly toiled behind him. “People are grinding. Incredible crews are working. Over the past three and a half years we have been grinding to try to make the most amazing finale.”

Naturally, many people took the phrases “incredible crews are working” and “grinding to try to make the most amazing finale” to mean that Diesel was indeed on the set of the final Fast & Furious installment, Fast Forever, but it turns out that the long-awaited movie was just out of frame, laughing too, because Fast Forever has not in fact started filming, nor does it seem to be anywhere close to kicking off production.

The Wrap has confirmed the film’s current status and pointed out that Diesel’s update was actually from the set of a Fast-themed World Cup promo for the USA-Belgium match that aired on July 6. The outlet added that Universal Pictures declined to comment on the matter.

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Fast Forever has been eyeing a 2028 release date since January 2026. Before that, it was eyeing an April 2027 release date. Before that, it was eyeing a March 2026 release date. Before that …well, you get the picture. It’s been in development for some time. The last we heard, Michael Lesslie (Now You See Me: Now You Don’t) was working on a new version of the Fast Forever script, but that update also came from Diesel on social media, and last year The Wall Street Journal reported that the franchise-capper was even facing cancelation due to Universal’s lack of interest in greenlighting a $200 million budget for it.

It remains unclear when (and if) Fast Forever will arrive. More of Diesel’s updates are sure to follow, but we would advise waiting for a more “studio official” announcement in the future. In the meantime, please feel free to meditate on this 1994 video of the actor showcasing Street Sharks for a toy fair in New York.

Moana Review: A Remake That’s Most Unwelcome

The way water moves always has a kind of magic to it, so in the hands of Walt Disney Animation Studios, it’s unsurprisingly spellbinding. How the blue translucence dances in the light of day, mimicking the sways of a wee Polynesian child during the opening moments of Moana, is unforgettable stuff. The liquid weaves and bobs, twitching its cresting wave like a feline, and enveloping a South Pacific beachside as if it were the universal expanse of every kid’s collective imaginary BFF.

It’s enchanting.

It’s also, I should add, a scene that I’m describing from the original 2016 Moana. (And yes, it is odd having to distinguish a movie not quite a decade old as “the original.”) Theoretically though, this same scene is in Friday’s new and decidedly un-improved Moana. A child still finds a magical tide on the shore of her idyllic island—one that now fully resembles the Instagram magnets on Hawaii’s Kauai island—and it still attempts to swirl and swing with tiny Amaya Masoli, standing briefly in as pint-sized Moana when she’s eight years old. But while the water moves in pristine, digitally enhanced blue, it never shimmers or shines. It knows the steps but not their poetry. In fact, it just sits there like a gelatinous blob, 30 years removed but still not far from the uncanny valley of Disney’s Flubber flub with Robin Williams back in 1997.

It is in an eyesore, and emblematic of nearly every other half-hearted and only halfway-to-satisfying choice in Moana 2026, a remake as redundant and unnecessary as any to come out of the Mouse House factory over the last 10 years. Indeed, it’s kind of numbing to realize that the original Moana released back before even Beauty and the Beast‘s tepid redo with Emma Watson bowed to a billion dollars and turbo-charged this into a whole genre of creatively diminishing, yet financially stupendous returns.

None of which is to say that this Moana ’26 is the worst offender. For starters, other than that water and the inexplicable need to turn the titular heroine’s sidekick rooster into yet more CG animation (presumably so it matches the gags, but not the laughs, of the original), almost all of the characters are played by human actors. So that’s already a leg up on the stiff and stuffed cartoons from The Lion King (2019). Furthermore, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Opetaia Foaʻi’s songbook from the original movie of nine years and eight months ago remains wall-to-wall bangers. And they’re all capably sung by a new(ish) cast, including Catherine Laga’aia as the latest Moana. Pleasant and clear-voiced, if still noticeably green at handling the heavier emotions in her first film role, Laga’aia’s voice radiates during “How Far I’ll Go,” matching and meeting the expectations left by Auli’i Cravalho’s own powerhouse vocals of 2.5 presidential administrations past. So that automatically puts this above 2017’s Beauty and the Beast too.

But maybe it’s the mere fact that director Thomas Kail is such a wizard of the stage, mounting unforgettable tableaus of kinetic movement and pageantry on Broadway via Miranda’s Hamilton and the 2023 revival of Sweeney Todd, that one could be expected to have at least modest hopes of some energy in this retread. It’s Kail’s first narrative feature, but even his editing and camera placements in the Hamilton recording of several 2016 performances conveyed the urgency and movement of his direction. Yet depressingly, Moana is another remake devoid of kineticism or life. It sits on a soundstage, often surrounded by blue walls or Volume screens, while poor young Laga’aia and a wholly checked-out Dwayne Johnson shuffle around for a couple of two-steps in medium wide shots.

It is, in other words, a product where the system of painstakingly, mechanically recreating your child’s favorite moments for a glorified theme park reenactment won out.

Hence right down to the same scenes, the same shots, and nearly all of the same dialogue—screenwriter Jared Bush is credited with penning both—2026’s Moana is a movie you and your child have seen many times previously. It is the story of young Moana, a teenage girl being prepared to inherit the title of chieftain from her father on an idyllic but secluded Pacific island. For generations their family and people have never left this tropical paradise due to the unruly and dangerous disposition of the sea. Yet those seemingly tranquil waters call to Moana—quite explicitly when the ocean gives her the literal heart of the goddess Te Fiti, which must be returned to the deity.

In order to do this, Moana will need the help of demigod Maui (Johnson, sheepishly embarrassed by the Fabio wig Disney insists on). Maui is the one who stole Te Fiti’s heart a thousand years ago and has since been marooned on a desert island. Still, even after all that time, his swagger and ego haven’t dimmed as he attempts to smolder his way out of any situation—except playing wayfinder mentor to the kid who doesn’t buy the hype. Together they’ll brave the horizon, colossal talking crabs, and sail right into the heart of the sea.

The most frustrating thing about Moana is how competently, and even staggeringly, it’s executed. While there is an aforementioned excess of Volume and blue-screen work, the film production really set sail on the waters around Hawaii and the South Pacific. You can see that expense on the screen, along with some elaborate production design by John Myhre. It’s competently edited and professionally photographed, albeit beneath the same beige, desaturated filter Disney bizarrely insists on in most of their live-action fare. Yet in practice and effect, it is all reenactment; talented artists and artisans recreating beloved and dazzling animated sequences like entertainers at a child’s birthday party putting on clown clothes.

Nearly every shot, each song, and all the comedy beats are remixes of something that sparkled in animation. It’s one veritable medium dutifully confusing transliteration for translation.

What’s odder still is when even the performances that are supposedly being transferred from one milieu to another also lose their charm in the migration. And yes, that is very explicitly about Dwayne Johnson, a performer and star who was at the peak of his popularity in 2016. He then saw that renown only grow when he brought oceans of charisma to a vocal performance that got Johnson the opportunity to trade bars of “You’re Welcome” on the Oscars stage opposite songwriter Miranda.

In 2026, however, Moana comes again at a different, and one might suppose more delicate, time in the star’s career after Black Adam failed to change the hierarchy in the DC Universe in the way Johnson intended. That failure likely had more than a small reason to do with Moana jumping the line in front of Tangled and Frozen for the remake treatment. But the spark and vigor that made Johnson’s vocal turn last time so winsome, or makes him such a delight on SNL, is absent. The voice is there, as is the smile and demigod bod, but the performance is missing, with the actor’s countenance seemingly distracted by the romance novel wig on his head. The movie demands the Rock but what it got was just a rock.

Jemaine Clement fairs better while reprising the vocal role of Tamatoa, the devious giant crab besotted by everything sparkly, but given the character is still a digital creation, one might wonder whether they even bothered to rerecord the song “Shiny” for a second lap round the track. Then again, Moana 2026 exists to precisely run in circles. I imagine most children with fond memories of the 2016 picture (if from only a few days ago) might enjoy it, and if you could look past how empty The Little Mermaid (2023) or Lilo & Stitch (2025) turned out, you’ll probably enjoy this one more than I did. Nonetheless, Disney’s increasingly eager walk down memory lane feels like it’s finally running out of road.

The millennial nostalgia trips are exhausted, and Gen Z is still too young to need to be reminded of classics they’re still growing up with via infinitely inferior knockoffs; and with the exception of maybe Maui’s bopping tattoos during “You’re Welcome,” nothing retains the joy of life from the last go-round. And as a colleague helpfully pointed out after my press screening, this lone grace note was literally designed by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Perhaps the whole thing should’ve stayed in their archipelago in the first place?

Moana opens in theaters Friday, July 10.

New Releases Make It Clear Netflix Has YouTube in Its Sights

Netflix has announced that it is partnering with a host of digital publishers in a quest to bring “fan-favorite” videos to various regions, including the U.S. and the U.K. These short-form videos will be between three and 20 minutes long, and include popular series like BuzzFeed Celeb’s 30 Questions, Vanity Fair’s Lie Detector, Billboard’s 24 Hrs With, and Tastemade’s Struggle Meals.

The streamer’s latest move comes after it has already tested adding live events, mobile clips, and even video podcasts like The Puzzle Room With David Kwong and The Rewatchables. Though industry insiders have branded Netflix’s video podcasts “low engagement,” around 13% of households are thought to have given them a whirl for a minimum of one minute on their smart TVs over a three-month tracking period by Samba TV.

Yet, adding more short-form videos unfortunately speaks to the dwindling popularity of Netflix’s old-school “binge model,” which is fading fast as more viewers struggle to commit and feel their free time is at a premium. Netflix seems to be hoping that its experiment with shorter videos will at least help keep people on the platform longer after they’ve finished watching its new releases.

“Members don’t just want to watch a show or film and move on – they want to keep exploring the stories and personalities they love long after the final credits roll,” John Derderian, Vice President of Netflix’s Animation Series and Kids and Family TV division, said in a statement. “These partnerships help us deepen fandom and create more ways for members to carry those stories with them throughout their day.”

It’s an interesting step for Netflix because the streamer is no longer just competing with similar subscription services, such as Prime Video or Apple TV, but also short-form video platforms like TikTok and YouTube. Many people are just as likely to spend hours scrolling through videos there as they are to watch a show or movie, and Netflix now appears interested in grabbing a share of that doomscrolling audience. In an age where audiences will willingly watch two minutes of a random episode of The Rookie on TikTok, then switch to the latest Italian Bach video on YouTube rather than commit to a new TV show with a questionable future, embracing some new short-form video content isn’t necessarily a bad shout.

YouTube remains one of the biggest platforms on the internet. In the U.K., 94% of online adults used YouTube last year, and in January 2025 alone, its ads reached around 2.53 billion users worldwide. For those willing to watch those ads, YouTube was absolutely free to use. In contrast, Netflix just raised its subscription prices for the second time in just over a year. Given comparisons like that, it’s hard to imagine how Netflix could realistically compete with YouTube.

Still, it’s possible that if viewers were already on the platform and saw their favorite YouTube series readily available to watch, they might dwell there rather than switching apps. We can safely assume that Netflix is banking on it.

X-Men ’97 Establishes Professor X and Magneto as the Greatest Superhero Romance

This article contains spoilers for X-Men ’97 season 2 episode 4.

By the end of the latest of episode of X-Men ’97, “Rise of Apocalypse Part II,” Magneto has died. Again. At this point, no one who likes Marvel‘s superheroes can get too upset about any of the mutants meeting their end, as their round-tip ticket from the afterlife is so well-used that the comics made them canonically unkillable for a few years. But Charles Xavier doesn’t know that, so when he sees Apocalypse kill Magnus in front of him, he is inconsolable.

Yet, even with that bit of disbelief dutifully suspended, Charles is really upset about seeing his archenemy die, a guy who just a few episodes earlier ripped the entire skeleton out of one of his students. So enraged is Charles that he actually praises Apocalypse’s mother for trying to kill her son as a child. Obviously, then, Charles had a different relationship with Magneto, one that has long been present in the comic. Charles and Magneto have one of the most complex and romantic relationships in all of comic book history.

Romantic Genesis

Although the two debuted alongside one another in 1963’s Uncanny X-Men #1, we did not learn the depth of their connection until Uncanny X-Men #161 (1982), written by Chris Claremont and penciled by Dave Cockrum. They first met when Xavier, then a young psychologist, visited a hospital in Israel to work with survivors of the Jewish Holocaust. There, he meets Magneto, who was going by the name Magnus and volunteering at the same hospital. For readers, Magneto had only just begun to develop into something deeper than the usual Silver Age villain he’d been since first appearance. In fact, his Holocaust survivor backstory had only been revealed a year earlier, in Uncanny X-Men #150.

Xavier first impresses Magnus by curing a catatonic woman called Gabrielle Haller, employing his unique psychology technique—that is, using his telepathy to remove mental blocks, which Cockrum represents by sending a naked, glowing Xavier inside her head to duke it out with demon Nazis. For his part, Xavier realizes Magnus’ mutant status and the two bond over their desire to advance the condition of their people. Despite their stark disagreements, the ideas remain theoretical at that point, as neither has yet taken action to realize them. When Hydra soldiers attack the hospital and kidnap Haller, Xavier and Magnus join forces to rescue her and must confront their opposing philosophies.

Yet, even in that story, the clash between Magneto and Professor X wasn’t just about different ways of looking at the world. The two men had genuine affection for one another, a bond that went deeper than anything they shared with their respective female partners.

Nothing demonstrates this better than when one of those frequent partners, Moria MacTaggart, reveals herself to be a mutant in the complimenting series House of X and Powers of X, the 2019 launch of the ambitious (but ultimately unsatisfying) Krakoa Era of X-Men comics. Writer Jonathan Hickman retcons longtime supporting character MacTaggart from a human scientist sympathetic to mutants to a mutant herself, who has the ability to reset her life after death, being born again at the same time and to the same parents, but with her memories of past lives in tact. Thanks to those memories, Moria knows that Magneto and Xavier have failed time and again to implement their plan and she pushes them to found the sovereign nation of Krakoa as the best solution.

Given that Xavier has been romantically involved with Moria in the past, and given that she has now revealed both her status as a mutant and a deep desire to improve the lives of mutants, one might think that Xavier’s passions for her would only increase. And yet, it’s Magneto to whom Xavier turns, and the two spend the era united in a way they’ve never been before, proving that their soulmates to each other in a way that no one else can match.

Hidden, No More

At this point, we do need to allow for some rebuttals. Chris Claremont has been quite open about the limitations of Marvel editorial and the Comics Code Authority, which prevented him from directly portraying queer relationships. The most famous example is the love between Mystique and Destiny, but only the most obtuse reader would miss the longing between nearly every female character in the X-Men and most of the men.

That said, when Claremont visited the queer comic convention FlameCon in 2016, he did not admit to anything other than friendship between the two men. “My thinking was ‘God bless ambiguity,'” he told panel attendees. “Sexual orientation in that instance is irrelevant, they are best friends.”

Furthermore, the Krakoa Era made a lot of the subtext of previous comics into explicit text. Mystique’s quest to resurrect Destiny drive much of the plot—and she even openly identifies Destiny as “my wife,” something disallowed in previous comics.

Likewise, the love triangle between Cyclops, Wolverine, and Jean Grey becomes a proper throuple; or, at least, Jean is shown on the page to be sleeping with both Scott and Logan (and Scott sleeps with both Jean and Emma Frost). And yet, even in this milieu, we don’t see any physical affection between Charles and Magneto. Heck, Charles hardly removes his weird Cerebro helmet at all in that period.

All of that aside, it’s impossible to see these two characters as just best friends, especially while watching “Rise of Apocalypse Part II.” The way that Magneto embraces Charles before sending his friend to safety and stopping Ship’s attack is warm and caring, in contrast to the violence about to unfold. The hurt that voice actor Ross Marquand plays when Charles calls out the name “Magnus” feels more like Xavier is losing part of himself than he even a close friend and ally. Even the last line that Magneto delivers before leaving Charles—”I gladly play the devil who pushes sinners to embrace the saint”—transcends supervillain dialogue to acknowledge an intimacy that foreshadows the loss about to occur.

Evolving Love

Is that enough to say that Charles and Magnus are romantically linked, especially given the rebuttals above? Maybe not in the same way we talk about, say Superman and Lois or Spider-Man and Mary Jane. But the love that Magneto and Professor X has for one another is something deeper, different, and unique. They have a love that looks unlike anything we find anywhere else in superhero fiction.

And that’s as it should be. Because mutation and evolution are, after all, what the X-Men are all about.

X-Men ’97 season 2 streams new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.

15 Games That Punish You for Trying to Be Nice

Several video games have systems where you can make choices, often divided by fans between the good and the bad choice. Not because one choice is more optimal than the other, but because morally, it feels like the right thing to do. But is it?

You see, simply helping everyone you see can work in some games, but not all of them. Trust the wrong individual and the other people you were saving might get punished. At times, simply doing ‘the right thing’ is hard enough to feel like a punishment to yourself. These games are the biggest examples of that.

Undertale

Choosing mercy is the heart of Undertale, but it also demands patience and trust. Spare the wrong enemy too early or underestimate certain encounters, and kindness can leave you facing far more difficult battles than simply attacking.

Dark Souls

NPC questlines often reward generosity with tragedy. Helping characters like Knight Lautrec or trusting seemingly harmless strangers frequently leads to murder, betrayal, or the permanent loss of important merchants and allies.

Bloodborne

Sending survivors to the seemingly safe Oedon Chapel feels compassionate, but not everyone who arrives has good intentions. One rescued NPC can secretly murder the others, turning an act of kindness into disaster.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Geralt’s attempts to help strangers regularly produce unintended consequences. Many side quests reveal that even well-meaning decisions can worsen situations, reinforcing the game’s morally gray approach to heroism.

Frostpunk

Showing mercy by relaxing laws or avoiding harsh policies often leaves your city less prepared for increasingly brutal conditions. Compassion can cost precious resources, productivity, and ultimately the survival of your entire population.

Papers, Please

Allowing desperate refugees or sympathetic travelers through immigration checkpoints may feel morally right, but every unauthorized approval risks fines, lost income, and consequences for your own struggling family.

Pathologic 2

Trying to save every sick citizen is admirable, but resources are intentionally scarce. Spreading medicine too generously often leaves you unable to help those who truly need it later.

The Walking Dead

Telltale’s series constantly challenges acts of kindness. Sharing supplies, trusting strangers, or trying to save everyone frequently results in betrayal, additional deaths, or impossible choices with heartbreaking consequences.

This War of Mine

Giving away food or medicine to neighbors may feel like the humane choice, but doing so can leave your own civilians starving, sick, or unable to survive the next few days.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Acts of mercy don’t always pay off. Sparing certain enemies or trusting suspicious characters can trigger future betrayals, difficult battles, or quest outcomes that complicate the adventure far more than immediate action would have.

Dragon’s Dogma 2

Accepting escort missions and helping nearly every NPC often sends players across dangerous territory for modest rewards. Good intentions can easily lead to exhausting detours and encounters far beyond your current abilities.

LISA

The game repeatedly forces impossible moral decisions where compassion comes at tremendous personal cost. Choosing to protect companions or help strangers frequently requires sacrificing valuable resources, abilities, or even permanent party members.

Fallout: New Vegas

Trying to satisfy every faction rarely ends well. Offering help to one group can damage your standing with another, making diplomacy surprisingly difficult despite your best efforts to remain fair.

Detroit: Become Human

Choosing peaceful, restrained responses often places android protagonists in greater immediate danger. While nonviolence can shape the broader narrative, individual moments frequently punish mercy with imprisonment, injury, or death.

Spec Ops: The Line

Players are encouraged to believe they’re making heroic choices, only to discover many compassionate intentions contribute to even greater suffering. The game deliberately challenges assumptions about what it means to be the good guy.

15 Details Movies Keep Getting Wrong

Movies often make the impossible look believable, but even grounded stories can stumble over small details that pull viewers out of the experience. Some mistakes are made for dramatic effect while others come from outdated research or simple convenience. Audiences have become more observant than ever, catching everything from legal procedures to medical myths and everyday habits that never happen in real life. These recurring inaccuracies appear across every genre and have become familiar enough to spark endless discussions among fans. Looking closer at them reveals how often fiction bends reality in ways most people never notice until someone points them out.

Silencers That Make Guns Nearly Silent in No Country for Old Men (2007)

Real suppressors reduce noise but they do not turn gunfire into a soft whisper. Movies regularly exaggerate the effect, creating one of cinema’s most persistent myths even in otherwise realistic thrillers.

Defibrillators Restarting a Flatline in Casino Royale (2006)

Defibrillators are designed to correct dangerous heart rhythms, not restart a heart that has completely stopped. Countless films use this dramatic moment despite it being medically inaccurate.

Instant Computer Hacking in Swordfish (2001)

Hollywood often portrays hacking as something that takes seconds with flashy graphics and endless pop ups. Real cyber intrusions usually involve planning, patience, and far less visual excitement.

Cars Exploding After Minor Crashes in The Dark Knight (2008)

Vehicle fires can happen, but a simple collision rarely ends in a massive explosion. Films rely on spectacular blasts because they create instant tension and memorable action scenes.

Fingerprints Appearing Instantly in Se7en (1995)

Dusting for fingerprints is a careful forensic process that does not immediately reveal perfect prints on every surface. Crime movies often skip the slower reality for the sake of pacing.

Quicksand Acting Like a Bottomless Trap in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Real quicksand is dangerous but it is very difficult to sink completely beneath it. Movies turned it into a terrifying death sentence that generations of viewers believed.

Endless Ammunition in John Wick (2014)

Action heroes frequently fire dozens of rounds without reloading. While this series pays more attention than most, many sequences still stretch magazine capacity beyond what real firearms allow.

People Staying Conscious After Severe Head Injuries in Skyfall (2012)

Characters are knocked unconscious, wake up minutes later, and continue fighting without lasting effects. In reality, repeated head trauma can have serious and lasting consequences.

Lock Picking Taking Only Seconds in Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation (2015)

Movies often show skilled characters opening complex locks almost instantly. Real lock picking usually requires time, practice, and the right conditions.

Chloroform Working Immediately in Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Films often show someone losing consciousness after only a second or two of exposure. In reality, rendering someone unconscious with chloroform takes much longer and carries significant risks.

DNA Results Arriving Almost Instantly in Jurassic Park (1993)

Laboratory analysis is rarely completed in minutes or hours. Movies compress scientific timelines to keep stories moving, making advanced testing appear almost magical.

Air Ducts That Can Hold Full Grown Adults in Die Hard (1988)

Most real ventilation systems are far smaller and not built to support a person’s weight. Cinema transformed air ducts into secret passageways for generations of action heroes.

Every Phone Call Ending Without Saying Goodbye in Heat (1995)

Characters exchange important information and simply hang up. Real conversations usually include some form of closing, but movies trim those moments to maintain momentum.

Explosions Throwing People Across Rooms in Lethal Weapon (1987)

Blast waves are extremely dangerous, yet they do not usually send people flying through the air the way action movies love to portray.

Witnesses Remembering Every Tiny Detail in The Usual Suspects (1995)

Eyewitness memory is far less reliable than movies suggest. Stress, time, and suggestion can easily alter recollections, making perfect testimony much rarer than fiction implies.

15 Movies Your Grandparents Still Try to Make You Watch

Every family seems to have at least one movie that an older relative insists everyone should see. These films have earned a permanent place in many grandparents’ collections, no matter what genre was their favourite. And for how much our grandparents spoiled us as children, we like to indulge in their cravings as well.

They often come with stories about seeing them in theaters, favorite performances, or the claim that “they just don’t make movies like this anymore.” While younger audiences may not always share the same enthusiasm, these enduring favorites continue to be passed from one generation to the next with genuine affection.

The Sound of Music

Few films have become as synonymous with family movie nights as The Sound of Music. Its memorable songs, uplifting story, and timeless performances have made it a favorite that grandparents enthusiastically recommend to every new generation.

Casablanca

Often considered one of Hollywood’s greatest romances, Casablanca remains a perennial recommendation from older movie lovers. Its unforgettable dialogue and iconic performances have helped it endure for more than eight decades.

The Wizard of Oz

For many grandparents, The Wizard of Oz was an annual television tradition. Its colorful fantasy, unforgettable characters, and classic songs continue to make it one of cinema’s most cherished family films.

Gone with the Wind

Despite its controversial legacy, Gone with the Wind was long regarded as essential viewing. Many grandparents still recommend it for its sweeping romance, epic scale, and importance in Hollywood history.

Singin’ in the Rain

Frequently cited as one of the greatest movie musicals ever made, Singin’ in the Rain delights audiences with dazzling choreography, infectious music, and Gene Kelly’s legendary title performance.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Gregory Peck’s Oscar-winning portrayal of Atticus Finch helped make this literary adaptation a lasting classic. Its themes of justice and empathy continue to resonate with generations of movie fans.

Ben-Hur

The enormous sets, thrilling chariot race, and biblical storytelling made Ben-Hur one of the defining epics of classic Hollywood. Older viewers often recommend it as an example of filmmaking on a grand scale.

The Bridge on the River Kwai

This acclaimed World War II drama combines suspense, memorable performances, and moral complexity. It’s exactly the kind of prestigious classic many grandparents insist every serious movie fan should experience.

12 Angry Men

Almost entirely confined to one jury room, 12 Angry Men proves compelling storytelling doesn’t require elaborate effects. Its sharp dialogue and timeless themes have kept it a favorite across generations.

It’s a Wonderful Life

Although now a holiday staple, It’s a Wonderful Life became especially beloved through decades of television broadcasts. Many grandparents consider it essential Christmas viewing and an enduring lesson in compassion.

Roman Holiday

Audrey Hepburn’s breakthrough performance and the film’s charming romance have made Roman Holiday a favorite recommendation from classic movie enthusiasts. Its warmth and humor remain remarkably timeless.

Lawrence of Arabia

David Lean’s sweeping desert epic is frequently praised for its breathtaking cinematography and ambitious storytelling. Grandparents who saw it on the big screen often encourage younger viewers to experience its grandeur.

The African Queen

Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn’s unlikely partnership gives The African Queen lasting appeal. Its blend of adventure, romance, and humor has made it a beloved recommendation for decades.

My Fair Lady

Lavish production values, unforgettable songs, and Audrey Hepburn’s starring role helped make My Fair Lady one of the defining musicals of its era. Many older viewers still consider it required viewing.

The Great Escape

Featuring an all-star cast led by Steve McQueen, The Great Escape combines suspense, humor, and unforgettable action. It’s the kind of classic war film grandparents happily revisit and eagerly introduce to younger audiences.

15 Movie Mistakes It’s Hard to Believe Made the Final Cut

Even the biggest Hollywood productions aren’t immune to mistakes. Despite massive budgets, countless crew members, and months of editing, some surprisingly obvious errors still slip into the final version of a movie. They aren’t deal breakers, not to mention how they fly past us during action scenes, but they’re still there.

Most don’t ruin the films, but once you notice them, they’re impossible to ignore. These memorable movie mistakes somehow survived every stage of production and editing before making their way onto theater screens around the world. It just goes to show how much work is needed to make even a single frame of these productions.

Spider-Man, Changing Tray

During Peter Parker’s cafeteria scene, the contents and position of his lunch tray noticeably change between shots. The continuity error is subtle but becomes obvious once viewers know to watch for it.

Titanic, Rose’s Mole

Kate Winslet’s beauty mark changes position between some shots due to the film being horizontally flipped during editing. The continuity inconsistency has been noticed by attentive viewers for years.

The Goonies, The Missing Octopus

Near the film’s ending, Data mentions “the octopus was really scary.” The scene had been deleted from the theatrical cut, leaving audiences confused by a reference to something they never saw.

The Dark Knight Rises, The Vanishing Extras

During Batman’s street battle with Bane’s forces, several background fighters can be seen standing around without engaging anyone. Once noticed, the supposedly massive brawl looks strangely underpopulated.

Twister, The Undamaged Pickup

A red pickup truck is repeatedly battered by debris during one tornado sequence. Between cuts, however, the damage mysteriously disappears and reappears, creating a noticeable continuity error.

Die Hard, The Changing Ambulance

Hans Gruber’s gang secretly hides an ambulance inside the truck used for the robbery. Earlier shots of that same truck clearly show there wasn’t enough interior space for the vehicle.

Commando, Bennett’s Shirt

During the climactic fight, Bennett’s chainmail vest repeatedly changes from intact to torn and back again depending on the camera angle. The continuity error is impossible to miss once spotted.

The Untouchables, The Baby Carriage

As the famous train station shootout unfolds, the baby carriage repeatedly changes position between shots, despite moving continuously down the staircase. The sequence remains iconic despite the glaring continuity mistakes.

The Mummy Returns, The Scorpion King CGI

The unfinished-looking CGI used for the Scorpion King somehow remained in the final film. It has since become infamous as one of blockbuster cinema’s most criticized visual effects.

Speed, The Camera Shadow

During the freeway jump, the shadow of the aircraft used to film the stunt can briefly be seen crossing the ground below, accidentally revealing part of the production itself.

Grease, Danny’s Changing Jacket

In several scenes, Danny Zuko’s leather jacket appears, disappears, and changes position between camera angles. The continuity mistakes are especially noticeable during group scenes involving the T-Birds.

Back to the Future, The Guitar That Changes

During the “Johnny B. Goode” performance, Marty McFly’s guitar strap and hand positions noticeably change between shots. The energetic editing helps hide the mistake, but attentive viewers can spot it.

The Avengers, Captain America’s Suit Repairs Itself

During the Battle of New York, Captain America’s costume is visibly damaged in one shot and suddenly appears far less damaged in the next. The continuity issue slips by amid the massive action sequence.

Casablanca, The Empty Champagne Glass

In one famous scene between Rick and Ilsa, champagne levels change dramatically between cuts. Glasses that are nearly empty suddenly appear partially full again during the same conversation.

The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo’s Missing Sting

After the cave troll attack in Moria, Sting briefly disappears from Frodo’s hand between shots before reappearing moments later. The continuity error slipped through despite the film’s famously meticulous production.