Entertainment
Forgotten Superhero Film Offers A Much Smarter Take On Homelander
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Nearly 20 years ago (well before his infamous Oscars slap), Will Smith was one of the hottest action heroes in Hollywood. It felt like a no-brainer to cast him in Hancock (2008), a blockbuster movie where the titular hero has the powers of Superman. Unfortunately, he’s a lazy drunk and reckless superhero, so the general public more or less hates him. In the real world, the moviegoing public shared the same opinion, which is why this film has a Kryptonite-green “rotten” rating of 42 percent. Nonetheless, the movie (currently streaming for free on Tubi) has an unexpected modern charm because it gives us a smarter take on Homelander, the archvillain from The Boys.
In The Boys, Homelander is presented as the mustache-twirling answer to the eternal nerd question: “what if Superman was evil?” It’s a portrayal built on the old adage that absolute power corrupts absolutely, and Homelander’s fantastic powers make him want to rule humanity as a literal god. For all its flaws, Hancock focuses on the far likelier possibility: that such a superpowered being would lose touch with his humanity and become a withdrawn, sullen mess rather than a dictator wearing a cape. Whether you want to see the Homelander concept done better or just give this beleaguered film another chance, it’s the perfect excuse to watch Hancock.
From Hero To Zero
The premise of Hancock is that Will Smith is a drunken superman who wants to do the right thing but usually screws it up. For example, he saves a PR specialist (Jason Bateman) from a speeding locomotive, but he derails the train in the process. In gratitude, the PR guru tries to help this hated superhero restore his tattered public image. It’s a gambit that yields results, but revelations about Hancock’s forgotten past and the existence of others like him threaten to completely change his life, right when he’s starting to get it together.
It’s a fun premise, and the movie is filled with some great stars, including Charlize Theron. It also happened to generate major box office returns ($629.4 million against a budget of $150 million). Why, then, did the critics hate the movie so much? The short answer is that most reviewers thought the movie began with a paper-thin plot and never really attained much depth. At the same time, they considered the execution of a plot stuffed with too many ideas to be pretty lackluster. Ultimately, Hancock failed to be a traditional superhero film, but it also failed to be a successful satire or deconstruction of the genre.
Sexy And Subversive
Why in Jor-El’s name, then, am I recommending you give the movie another shot? The first reason is, frankly, the performances. While there are some fun guest stars in the movie (including Big Bang Theory’s Johnny Galecki and Reno 911!’s Thomas Lennon), the plot mostly revolves around characters played by Will Smith, Jason Bateman, and Charlize Theron. All of them do an amazing job (even Roger Ebert agreed) of bringing their two-dimensional characters to life, elevating the script even at its most lackluster moments. Smith deserves particular credit for making Hancock both hateable and redeemable, showing us the vulnerability that lurks deep beneath his bulletproof skin.
Additionally, Hancock was made before the Marvel Cinematic Universe became a global phenomenon. Since the MCU became a cinematic juggernaut, it has influenced almost every superhero movie that hits theaters. Eventually, this led to superhero fatigue because the public grew sick of every tights-and-flights film (including later entries in the MCU!) feeling like a half-hearted attempt at copying Marvel’s earlier successes. They don’t all connect, but Hancock deserves praise for taking some huge creative swings and delivering a superhero movie like nothing we’ve seen before or since. It’s the opposite of a Marvel movie in every conceivable way, which is great for anyone who wants a truly original superhero film.
Tights, Flights, And Fights
Finally, your mileage may vary, but I love that Hancock is one of the only cape films to examine the psychological toll that being a superhero would have on someone. Hancock can’t be a man, but he doesn’t know how to be a superman, leaving him with a void of existential dread that he tries to fill with booze and sarcasm. It’s a provocative idea, and one that Will Smith animates with the perfect combo of pride and pathos. Sorry, Boys fans. “What if Superman but evil?” is a tired and lazy premise. But “what if Superman was depressed?” is a concept as fresh as it is relatable to most watching at home.
Care to relate to a man with the powers of a god? Maybe you want to wash the bad taste of the Boys’ series finale out of your mouth. Or (and I wouldn’t blame you on this one) maybe you just want to return to the glory days when people cheered at Will Smith for punching people instead of booing him. No matter the reason, you can now stream Hancock for free on Tubi. It remains one of the most unique pieces of superhero media created in the last two decades, making it perfect for any tights-and-flights fans who are sick of Marvel slop and looking for something fresh and delightfully rough around the edges.
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When people think of the perfect miniseries, their minds tend to go straight to Band of Brothers. Although, while a masterpiece, an epic like that can also feel intimidating and a lot to get through, given the brutality and the suffering on show. However, for those who love suffering and brutality, and for those who survived Band of Brothers, its scrappy little cousin is making a mighty big comeback on streaming right now.
The Pacific is streaming on HBO Max and it’s the next late-night binge for anyone who wants to experience the true brutality of war, provided they’ve also got a blanket to hide behind. The miniseries is intended to serve as a companion piece to Band of Brothers, but it’s a very different story because, instead of following Easy Company across Europe, The Pacific shifts to the Pacific Theater and tracks the experiences of U.S. Marines fighting against Imperial Japan during some of the most horrific — and we really do mean horrific, because these tactics were horrific — battles of World War II.
The series mainly follows three real Marines in the shape of Robert Leckie, Eugene Sledge and John Basilone. Leckie was a writer and journalist who served in the 1st Marine Division and later wrote his memoir Helmet for My Pillow upon which the series was based, while Sledge was a young Marine who fought at Peleliu and Okinawa, two of the most brutal battles in the Pacific, and later wrote about what he saw in With the Old Breed. Basilone was already a national hero before the war ended, earning the Medal of Honor for his actions at Guadalcanal before returning to combat and being killed at Iwo Jima.
Who Stars in ‘The Pacific’?
The Pacific stars James Badge Dale (The Departed, World War Z) as Robert Leckie, Joseph Mazzello (Jurassic Park, The Social Network) as Eugene Sledge, Jon Seda (Selena, 12 Monkeys) as John Basilone, Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody, No Time to Die) as Merriell “Snafu” Shelton, Ashton Holmes (A History of Violence, Smart People) as Sidney Phillips, William Sadler (The Shawshank Redemption, Die Hard 2) as Lewis “Chesty” Puller, Isabel Lucas (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Immortals) as Gwen, Caroline Dhavernas (Hannibal, Hollywoodland) as Vera Keller, and Annie Parisse (National Treasure, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) as Lena Basilone. The series is produced by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman.
The Pacific streams on HBO Max.
- Release Date
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2010 – 2010-00-00
- Network
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HBO Max
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“I wish there was like an IV drip I could do every day and I would just do it on my way to work,” the reality star said.
The thriller genre has evolved in pretty fascinating ways over the last five decades. What started with classic noir mysteries and crime investigations slowly transformed into psychological mind games, complex narratives, and morally gray characters. The problem is that plenty of thrillers are great for their time but don’t always age well as audience tastes change and storytelling trends evolve.
However, some films manage to defy that limitation and feel just as effective years later because the fears they tap into are timeless. Here is a list of six perfect thriller movies of the last 50 years that redefined the genre in their own, unique ways.
6
‘Memento’ (2000)
Memento is a one-of-a-kind thriller that genuinely offered the audience something new back when it premiered. The Christopher Nolan masterpiece follows Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), a man suffering from anterograde amnesia after a brutal attack that left his wife dead and his memory permanently broken. Leonard is unable to form any new memories and retains information through Polaroid photos, handwritten notes, and tattoos carved directly onto his body as he hunts the man he believes murdered his wife. The premise sounds fairly simple, but what’s interesting is that the narrative actually moves backward, so the audience is forced to experience Leonard’s confusion in real time.
This reverse structure never feels like a gimmick because Nolan masterfully uses it to make everything feel constantly unstable. The audience never knows what’s coming next, and that adds a whole new layer of depth to the central mystery. The film gradually transforms from a revenge thriller into something far darker and more existential. That, combined with Memento’s neo-noir aesthetic that thrives on fragmented editing, creates a sense of paranoia that never fully leaves the audience, even when the credits start rolling. The film practically demands several rewatches because every scene takes on a new meaning once all the puzzle pieces come together. Even decades later, Memento stands as one of the most haunting cinematic experiences of all time.
5
‘Se7en’ (1995)
David Fincher’s Se7en is as brutal a thriller as can be. The film follows veteran detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and the younger, impulsive David Mills (Brad Pitt) as they hunt a serial killer whose brutal murders are inspired by the seven deadly sins. As the investigation unfolds, the detectives realize that they are chasing someone who isn’t an ordinary criminal, because he sees himself as a man carrying out necessary moral punishments. Se7en takes place in an unnamed, gloomy, and perpetually rainy city that completely immerses the audience in its rotten world.
Fincher avoids showing too much gore on the screen, but the crime scenes still feel viscerally horrifying. The dynamic between Somerset and Mills is the emotional core of the story, with their two opposing worldviews creating a constant tension underneath the investigation. By the time the killer finally appears on the screen, the story becomes less about his identity and more about understanding his twisted philosophy. The film builds a sense of dread and culminates in an ending that refuses to offer any kind of comfort or closure to the audience, but that was the point all along.
4
‘Basic Instinct’ (1992)
Basic Instinct is a cultural phenomenon. The thriller practically weaponized seduction to manipulate not just its characters, but the audience. Paul Verhoeven’s neo-noir classic follows troubled San Francisco detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) as he investigates the brutal murder of a rock star, only to become dangerously entangled with the prime suspect, crime novelist Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone). The deeper Nick falls into Catherine’s world, the harder it becomes to separate fantasy from reality. The film’s biggest strength is how it never lets anyone feel fully in control.
The narrative thrives on ambiguity and plays out almost like a fever dream that the audience can’t look away from. Stone is definitely the star of the show and completely dominates the screen as the perfect femme fatale. Unfortunately, Basic Instinct is usually remembered for its shock value and reduced to its more sensual scenes. However, the reality is that beneath all the controversy is an incredibly entertaining and genuinely well-crafted story. The film fully embraces its pulpy roots while still delivering sharp character dynamics and a mystery that keeps evolving right until the final scene.
3
‘Shutter Island’ (2010)
Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island is the perfect slow-burning thriller that traps the audience inside the protagonist’s mind. The film follows U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio), who arrives at the remote Ashecliffe Hospital to investigate the disappearance of a dangerous patient. From the moment Teddy steps onto the island, everything feels wrong. The doctors seem to be hiding secrets, the patients are terrified, and no matter how hard Teddy tries, he just can’t seem to find any answers. The investigation pulls him into increasingly disturbing territory involving secret experiments, wartime trauma, and conspiracies, but everything leads to one dead end or another.
The film never rushes to solve its central mystery — it builds tension through Teddy’s growing sense of paranoia. DiCaprio does complete justice to the character who is both a determined investigator and a man trying to run from unbearable grief. What makes Shutter Island truly unforgettable, though, is how all that confusion eventually leads to one of the most devastating twists in modern thriller cinema. The reveal completely recontextualizes everything that came before it, and the best part is that the audience experiences the realization at the same time as Teddy. Very few thrillers balance mystery, emotion, and psychological tension as well as Shutter Island does, which explains why the film has only gotten better with time.
2
‘Memories of Murder’ (2003)
Long before the global success of Parasite made him a global phenomenon, Bong Joon-ho gave the world one of the most brilliant thrillers ever made: Memories of Murder. The film, inspired by South Korea’s first confirmed serial murder case, follows two detectives investigating a series of brutal killings in a small rural town during the late 1980s. Local detective Park Doo-man (Song Kang-ho) relies on instinct, intimidation, and forced confessions. Seo Tae-yoon (Kim Sang-kyung), a detective from Seoul, approaches the case with logic and procedure. However, as the killer goes on a rampage, the pressure mounts, and both men slowly begin to unravel. Unlike most other thrillers, the investigation doesn’t really lead to any solid answers.
In fact, the director ensures that the audience realizes how helpless the two detectives really are. The film portrays the non-glamorous parts of their jobs, including contaminated crime scenes, false leads, and lost evidence. What’s interesting, though, is how Memories of Murder plays with tone to convey all this. The film constantly shifts between dark comedy, procedural drama, and outright horror to highlight the absurdity of the situation. After all that, Memories of Murder delivers one of the greatest and hardest-hitting endings in film history to prove that evil doesn’t always look the part. That final image lingers in the viewer’s mind for a long time, which is exactly how one knows the film accomplished everything it set out to do.
1
‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (1991)
The Silence of the Lambs remains an integral part of pop culture to this day, which goes to show the film’s staying power. Jonathan Demme’s psychological thriller follows FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), who is tasked with tracking down serial killer Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). Now, to understand the criminal she is hunting, Clarice is forced to seek help from the imprisoned psychiatrist and cannibalistic killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). What starts as a professional exchange quickly turns into something far more unsettling as Lecter begins dissecting Clarice psychologically just as much as he helps her solve the case. It’s almost baffling how personal this investigation becomes.
Buffalo Bill is a terrifying antagonist, but the conversations between Clarice and Lecter make for the most horrifying moments in the film. Their interactions feel like a psychological chess match as Lecter quietly manipulates Clarice. Despite his limited screentime, Hopkins completely dominates every scene he is in. The Silence of the Lambs is also brilliant because of how it places the audience directly into Clarice’s perspective to emphasize her isolation inside male-dominated spaces. At the same time, the central mystery itself keeps evolving in unpredictable directions, which keeps the audience hooked till the very end. This is a film that completely redefined what suspense could look like on the big screen.
The Silence of the Lambs
- Release Date
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February 14, 1991
- Runtime
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119 minutes
- Director
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Jonathan Demme
- Writers
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Ted Tally, Thomas Harris
Michelle Monaghan recalled filming an “intimate scene” with Tom Cruise days after she got married.
In Us Weekly‘s exclusive clip from the Tuesday, May 19, episode of Fox’s Bear Grylls Is Running Wild, Monaghan, 50, gushed about her marriage to husband Peter White, saying, “I met Pete right as I started acting.”
Monaghan and White dated for five years before tying the knot.
“We had gotten married in Australia, and I was getting ready to shoot Mission: Impossible III,” she shared. “We didn’t have time to take a honeymoon because I had to fly back. We get back to the hotel room, and I get the call sheet, and it is an intimate scene I am doing with Tom Cruise.”
As one of Hollywood’s hottest leading men, Tom Cruise knows that finding love can be a risky business. Cruise has been married three times: to Mimi Rogers from 1987 to 1990, to Nicole Kidman from 1990 to 2001 and to Katie Holmes from 2006 to 2012. He has also romanced Cher, Heather Locklear and more […]
Monaghan continued: “[Peter] is like, ‘Baby, this is going to be amazing. Just follow his lead. He is a total pro.’”
Bear Grylls Is Running Wild follows legendary adventurer Bear Grylls as he takes celebrities into the wild for a 48-hour journey of a lifetime.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III, Tom Cruise, Michelle Monaghan, 2006, (c) Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection
“With thrilling action and revealing conversations, Bear takes his guests on unforgettable adventures in breath-taking wilderness and reveals a side of some of your favorite people like you’ve never seen before,” the official season 9 synopsis reads. “On the season premiere, Bear Grylls takes Matthew McConaughey on an adventure 20 years in the making as the two traverse the secluded glacial alpine wilderness of Norway.”
In addition to Monaghan and McConaughey, the new season features Uma Thurman, Colman Domingo, Elizabeth Banks, Rhys Darby, Tiffany Haddish and Machine Gun Kelly.
Tom Cruise has defined pop culture for decades through his movies and marriages. The actor was born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV in New York in July 1962. After becoming interested in acting as a child, he landed his first onscreen role in 1981’s Endless Love. Cruise went on to star in countless blockbusters and critically acclaimed […]
Monaghan, who shares two kids with White, previously recalled getting her big break alongside Cruise.
“I was so nervous about it,” Monaghan shared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in June 2025. “I get up at 4 a.m., I dart out of the hotel, I forget my key, of course. And I go to work, and I proceed to have the best day with Tom and J.J. Abrams, our director.”
After the first day, Monaghan was thrilled to update White.
“My husband said, ‘Baby, how did it go?’ And I said, ‘It was amazing. It was so good.’ He was like, ‘Brush your teeth and tell me all about it,’” she continued. “And so I said, ‘Oh, honey, he was so sweet. It was a lovely day. It was so perfect.’”
Monaghan added: “He looked at me, and he grabbed my arms, and he goes, ‘How cool is it that you were making out with Tom Cruise on our honeymoon?’ I was like, you know what? I married the right dude.”
Bear Grylls Is Running Wild airs on Fox Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
Entertainment
Netflix’s Family Fantasy Is Officially Giving ‘Kpop Demon Hunters’ a Run for Its Money
Animated movies on streaming are a rare breed because the ones that arrive with the biggest fanfare can sometimes disappear like a damp squib, and then the unsung ones end up being the ones kids watch 900 times a year. Netflix has had several animated hits over the years but the latest in that very long line is continuing to perform above expectations.
Swapped is once again absolutely smashing it on the English film list for the week of May 11 with 26.4 million views and that would be impressive enough on its own, but the bigger number is even wilder because since launch, the film has now reached 80.6 million views. According to Netflix, Swapped also debuted to record-breaking demand, claiming the highest viewership for any Netflix animated movie in its first two weeks.
Directed by Nathan Greno, Swapped follows Ollie, a lil’ woodland guy voiced by Michael B. Jordan, and Ivy, a gorgeous bird voiced by Juno Temple, after the two magically switch bodies. The cast includes Tracy Morgan (30 Rock, The Longest Yard) as Boogle, Cedric the Entertainer (Barbershop, The Neighborhood) as Caloo, Justina Machado(One Day at a Time, Jane the Virgin) as Calli, Ambika Mod (One Day, This Is Going to Hurt) as Violet, Lolly Adefope (Ghosts, Shrill) as Lily, and Táta Vega (The Color Purple, The Lion King) as Ollie’s Grandma.
What’s Doing Well on Netflix This Week?
Swapped wasn’t the only title making noise on Netflix this week. The TV side of things was led by The Roast of Kevin Hart, which burned its way to No. 1 with 13.5 million views after streaming live from the Kia Forum. Hart was absolutely destroyed by stars like Sheryl Underwood, Chelsea Handler, Jeff Ross, Pete Davidson, Draymond Green, Tony Hinchcliffe, Regina Hall, Dwayne Johnson, Teyana Taylor, Tom Brady, Lizzo, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, and Katt Williams.
On the film side, Remarkably Bright Creatures took the No. 2 spot with 20.3 million views. It stars Sally Field as a grieving widow alongside a local newcomer (Lewis Pullman) and a giant Pacific octopus voiced by Alfred Molina. Meanwhile, the true-crime documentary The Crash landed at No. 3 with 11.7 million views. As for Netflix’s TV chart, Worst Ex Ever Season 2 climbed to No. 2 with 8.1 million views, while Nemesis, the new thriller series from Power creator Courtney A. Kemp, landed at No. 3 with 7.1 million views. Man on Fire dropped to No. 5 with 5.5 million views and bringing its total to 29.1 million views so far.
- Release Date
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May 1, 2026
- Runtime
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102 minutes
- Director
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Nathan Greno
Disney is gearing up for the release of its latest “Star Wars” film, “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” However, the company is receiving backlash after a reportedly staged promotional event featuring Pedro Pascal, which reportedly included influencers rather than fans. Plus, reviews for the movie are out, and they are less-than-stellar.
The official “Star Wars” social media channels posted footage of Pascal suited up as the Mandalorian at Disneyland, apparently surprising fans about to board the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ride. The 38-second clip featured the actor preparing to walk out for the audience and later removing the helmet as fans raved.
After that, he posed for photos with the event goers. Disney captioned the video, “Pedro Pascal creates the surprise of a lifetime at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at @disneyland.”
However, the backlash came when the internet learned that Disney had allegedly staged the event. Instead of everyday “Star Wars” fans, the people in attendance were influencers, journalists, and others. Still, it’s worth noting that the company never claimed that the attendees were run-of-the-mill fans.
‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ Gets Sour Movie Reviews
Disney lifted the “Mandalorian and Grogu” review embargo on May 19. The movie debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a “rotten” 58%. However, as of writing, the score has increased to a “fresh” 61 percent on the platform. Its current score is based on 77 reviews. Currently, there is no audience score, as it has not yet been released.
Regarding individual reviews, Tessa Smith from Mamma’s Geeky summarized her thoughts, saying, “Underwhelmed is an understatement. ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ feels like a mashed-up TV arc that belonged on Disney+ rather than in IMAX.”
Matt Oakes from Silver Screen Riot gave the movie an “F.” He said, “The biggest problem with ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ is not simply that it is boring, ugly, or dramatically inert. It is that it barely qualifies as a movie. It has the shape and style of content, not cinema.”
In a somewhat positive review, Katie Smith-Wong from Flick Feast stated, “Although a generic premise fails to expand its horizons, Favreau pulls out the big guns to bring The Mandalorian to the big screen, and his emotional and action-packed efforts reiterate that Star Wars isn’t just about the Jedi.”
Fans Call Disney ‘Contrieved’
Regarding Disney’s marketing for “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” fans think the company has lost the plot in promoting its movies organically. One person said, “Everything Disney does feels so contrived. Look at the reaction of those ‘fans.’ What a bunch of cringe.
Someone else criticized the company, writing, “Surprise of a lifetime” with invited influencers with acting chops that would get them cast in a late-night ’90s Cinemax movie.”
Another fan stated, “Pedro Pascal dressed as the Mandalorian in Smugglers Run is a bunch of bull sh-t. It wasn’t a normal day with guests; it was all influencers that Disney had hired to promote the movie. When Johnny Depp was actually on ‘Pirates,’ it was REAL Day guests, and he was there all day.”
A different person remarked, “Not normal fans. Just a bunch of influencers pretending to be surprised lol. Disney deception knows no bounds.”
In response to the movie’s reviews, one fan said, “POV: You waited 7 years for Star Wars and paid $20 to watch a Disney+ episode with better lighting.” Another one posted, “LMAO who thought that releasing an episode of The Mandalorian in the theaters would be a good idea?”
Still, not all comments were negative. Some Star Wars fans believe in the movie and are withholding judgment until they see it for themselves.
The New Star Wars Film Is Predicted To Have Weak Box Office
There hasn’t been a new “Star Wars” film since 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.” Because of this, as well as criticisms of Disney’s handling of the property, there’s increasing pressure for “The Mandalorian and Grogu” to succeed.
According to Variety, the new film, directed by John Favreau, is expected to open with between $80 million and $100 million across its four-day opening weekend. While this is a solid figure for most films, it’s not the best outing for a “Star Wars” film.
Per Box Office Mojo, “Skywalker” opened to $177 million in the US and another $198 million internationally. However, it’s also worth noting that “The Mandalorian and Grogu” has a smaller budget than most films in the franchise at a lean $165 million, not including marketing.
The New ‘Star Wars’ Film Boasts A Stacked Cast
Disney’s “The Mandalorian and Grogu” boasts a stacked cast, including Pascal. It features the likes of Sigourney Weaver, Jeremy Allen White, Jonny Coyne, Steve Blum, Dave Filoni, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee.
The movie has a 132-minute runtime. According to Coming Soon, it has no post-credit scenes.
Cate Blanchett has decried the impact of the #MeToo movement, suggesting it “got killed very quickly” by an industry eager to return to the status quo.
The actress’s remarks come after she came under fire online for her comments about Palestine, where she initially said it was a “sad state of affairs” that film festivals have suddenly become the place where people want to talk about conflicts, wars, and genocides happening around the world.
Blanchett has sparked renewed interest in the #MeToo movement after lamenting how quickly its impact appeared to fade.
During a recent appearance at Cannes Film Festival, the “Ocean’s 8” actress spoke with moderator Didier Allouch and reflected on how the movement “got killed very quickly” in Hollywood.
“There are a lot of people with platforms who are able to speak up with relative safety and say this has happened to me, and the so-called average woman on the street is saying #MeToo. Why does that get shut down?” Blanchett asked, per Variety.
She continued, “What [the movement] revealed is a systemic layer of abuse, not only in this industry but in all industries, and if you don’t identify a problem, you can’t solve the problem.”
Blanchett Previously Marched For #MeToo
The #MeToo movement gained viral momentum on social media in 2017 following multiple sexual abuse allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein.
At the time, several people came forward with claims of workplace sexual abuse and harassment by powerful figures, while demanding accountability from industry leaders and executives.
According to Time magazine, the #MeToo movement resulted in the ousting, resignation, or firing of more than 400 high-profile executives and corporate leaders across various industries. Some of the most prominent figures who faced professional fallout or investigations included Bill Cosby, former Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, and Weinstein himself.
Cate Blanchett Calls Out Hollywood Gender Gap
Weighing in on the campaign’s limited impact on the industry, the two-time Oscar winner lamented that a major disparity still exists between the number of men and women working in Hollywood.
“I’m still on film sets, and I do the headcount every day, and it is still, you know… there’s ten women, and there’s 75 men every morning,” Blanchett said.
“I love men, but what happens is the jokes become the same,” she continued. “You just have to brace yourself slightly, and I’m used to that, but it just gets boring for everybody when you walk into a homogeneous workplace. I think it has an effect on the work.”
Blanchett Led 82 Women In Cannes Protest
At the 2018 march, the “Lord of the Rings” actress was one of 82 women who protested the glaring divide between men and women in Hollywood.
At the time, Blanchett explained that the number represented the 82 female directors who had competed at Cannes since the festival’s inception, compared to 1,866 male directors over the same period.
“Women are not a minority in the world, yet the current state of the industry says otherwise,” Blanchett said at the time. “As women, we all face our own unique challenges, but we stand together on these stairs today as a symbol of our determination and commitment to progress.”
Cate Blanchett Faces Backlash Over Palestine Comments
Social media users immediately took to the comment section to slam Blanchett over her remarks.
“I guess it’s unsurprising that people whose lives are all about playing make-believe are disproportionately susceptible to believing make-believe stories like the Gaza ‘genocide’ hoax,” one X user wrote.
Someone else penned, “She’s trying to sound smart but is stupid. She wishes organizations were more ‘opaque and honest.’ Opaque is the opposite of transparent. She doesn’t know the meaning of words. She should look opaque and genocide up in a dictionary.”
“Film festivals are the only place to talk about global conflicts? How out of touch are celebrities, honestly?” a third user said.
Another critic noted, “Which is precisely why actors like Cate and her fans bring it up so often at film festivals, where there is no expectation of any follow-up action but applause on camera.”
Science fiction fires the musical imaginations of composers unlike almost any other genre.
By GFR
Science fiction fires the musical imaginations of composers unlike almost any other genre. It’s no accident that so many of the greatest movie soundtracks of all time were written to express the bombastic majesty of outer space, to convey the shock and awe of creatures beyond our reckoning, to blast across the screen with cars trailing fire as they rip a hole through the fabric of time. Music has become an indelible part of almost all of the greatest science fiction movies ever made, and some of the greatest music ever to appear on film has been in science fiction movies.
But which sci-fi score is the best? The GFR team spent some time listening to our favorite composers, cast votes, and came up with this list of greats.* Listen to selections from all twenty of the best orchestral scores ever composed for science fiction films by clicking play on each item below. Let the music speak for itself.
* Note: 2001: A Space Odyssey’s soundtrack was ineligible for this list since it doesn’t contain original material but rather uses existing commercial recordings of classic music. Additionally excellent but non-orchestral scores for movies like Tron: Legacy and The Matrix were deemed ineligible for purposes of this list.
Entertainment
Christopher Nolan’s Mind-Bending 93% RT Noir Film Is Near-Perfect From Start to Finish
When you think of Christopher Nolan, you think grand, epic cinema. Having the brand recognition of a major IP or movie star, Nolan is one of few directors whose name can be a studio’s primary selling point. While Homer‘s Odyssey is one of the oldest and most formative stories in history, it’s the director’s vision that makes The Odyssey easily the event movie of the summer.
His powers reached new heights in 2023 by turning Oppenheimer, a 3-hour biographical drama about nuclear weapons, into a cultural sensation on par with any Marvel movie of the last ten years. Before he was the king of the modern blockbuster, Nolan began as an inventive, clinical, and precise auteur of gritty neo-noirs that both laid the groundwork for his massive success and signaled an alternative path he could’ve taken in his career. The high-water mark of this era and his breakthrough film, Memento, is a daring execution of an intricate premise that remains brilliant all these years later.
Christopher Nolan Cemented His Inventive Style in ‘Memento’
A noir about a mock detective with short-term memory is a catchy elevator pitch, and Christopher, along with his brother, Jonathan Nolan, who wrote the short story that inspired the 2000 film, pushed this logline to examine the fragility of memory and our manipulation of how we perceive the world. Memento follows the distorted perspective of Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), a man searching for his wife’s killer in an unnamed American city. There’s one problem: Leonard suffers from short-term memory loss, a condition caused by the unknown perpetrator. He keeps records of his investigation through Polaroid photographs and tattoos inked on his body. Pearce gives a career-best performance as a lone outlaw haunted by his trauma, with his condition making him feel ghostlike, and a ticking time bomb destined to destroy everything in his path if his memory leads him that way. Memento also features exceptional performances by Carrie-Anne Moss, delivering a subversive take on the icy, manipulative femme fatale, and Joe Pantoliano, who plays a morally ambiguous frenemy to Leonard.
‘The Dark Knight’s Most Famous Line Wasn’t Written by Christopher Nolan — and It Still Bothers Him
Nolan was not the hero in this circumstance.
Even though it’s not set in a comic book world, outer space, or World War II, Memento‘s contemporary setting, which resembles Los Angeles, evokes Nolan’s sensibilities. The smoggy outdoors and grimy interior settings feel unique to Nolan’s overarching vision, which is designed to mirror Leonard’s own displacement. For most directors, the ornate narrative structure, which shifts from one timeline in chronological order (the black-and-white sequences with Leonard in his motel room) and another in reverse chronological order (the color sections with Leonard’s investigation), would’ve become too convoluted.
In Memento, the mind-bending timeline is a feature — not a bug — of the story. The film is easy enough to follow so that it doesn’t hinder the viewing experience, but it remains labyrinthine to keep your mind sharp. Losing track of time and place drops the viewer inside Leonard’s headspace. Most of all, the structure underlines Nolan’s fascination with the fluidity of time and the fleeting impact of memories. Every one of his movies, from Inception and Oppenheimer, is centered around characters who can’t escape the past, and, as a result, lose grasp of what’s real and what’s a projection of their subconscious.
Christopher Nolan Proved His Noir Chops in ‘Memento’
Memento was the perfect follow-up to Nolan’s feature debut, Following, a microbudget noir about petty thefts and deception. His breakthrough film, nominated for Best Screenplay at the Academy Awards, was followed by another gritty, hard-edged neo-noir, Insomnia, starring Al Pacino as a detective suffering from the titular condition. Just as he was making a name for himself as the new voice of the noir genre, he was offered to direct Batman Begins, and the rest is history. Vestiges of Memento are scattered throughout Nolan’s filmography, especially in films like Dunkirk that audaciously challenge the conventions of narrative construction, but his work undoubtedly becomes broader and arguably sanded down to fit the blockbuster mold. The operatic emotionality and flashy grandeur in The Dark Knight and Interstellar are a far cry from the assured, grounded formalism in Memento.
Christopher Nolan is responsible for some of the most satisfying and riveting moviegoing experiences of the last 20 years. While he’s climbed to the top of the blockbuster mountain, his movies are way more sophisticated, inventive, and soulful than your average popcorn entertainment. Still, there’s a world where Nolan could’ve become an even greater favorite among cinephiles by sticking to his roots as a highbrow director of noir-thrillers, akin to directors like Alfred Hitchcock and Brian De Palma. Memento is only a tease of that alternate future, and it stands as not just an excellent movie, but also an origin story of the filmmaker the world adores today.
Off Campus has already been renewed for season 2 — but which couple is leading the show after some big book changes?
Based on the Off Campus book series by Elle Kennedy, the show follows an elite ice hockey team — and the women in their lives — as they “grapple with love, heartbreak and self-discovery — forging deep friendships and enduring bonds while navigating the complexities that come with transitioning into adulthood,” read the official synopsis.
Season 1 is centered around the “sexy and fun ‘opposites attract’ romance between quiet songwriter, Hannah and Briar University’s all-star hockey athlete, Garrett.” Going off Kennedy’s book order, Logan’s (Antonio Cipriano) story was expected to be next, then Dean’s (Stephen Kalyn) before Tucker’s (Jalen Thomas Brooks) turn.
The first season focused heavily on Dean and Allie — even devoting an entire episode to their story — which seemed to indicate they were the next possible leads despite them being featured in the third book in the series.
“Since the cast was announced, I feel like there’s been theories circulating online, and it’s been really interesting to read it,” Abdalla told Us Weekly about Allie and Dean’s bond. “I for sure think people are going to be at least surprised.”
She continued: “Even though we do tease Dean and Ali a lot earlier than people expect, you are still left wanting a lot more. That’s something I’m really excited about too because I get it if I was on the other side of it.”
John Tucker (Jalen Thomas Brooks), Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli), Hannah Wells (Ella Bright), Dean Di Laurentis (Stephen Thomas Kalyn) and John Logan (Antonio Cipriano) in ‘Off Campus.’ Liane Hentscher / Prime
To push Allie and Dean’s story along, the show introduced Hunter Davenport despite him not being linked to Allie on the page.
“It was really important to have that scene to slow down what was happening between Allie and Dean. I want to see them kind of go. I want to see them really separate,” Abdalla hinted. “Allie just got out of a long-term relationship. She can’t do what she always does. … I really like the edition of the Hunter story line drama. They need to grow as individuals. And so I really want to see Ali and Dean grow separately in season 2.”
Prime Video’s Off Campus follows different love stories at Briar U — but which couples end up together in the books? Based on the Off Campus book series by Elle Kennedy, the show follows an elite ice hockey team — and the women in their lives — as they “grapple with love, heartbreak, and self-discovery […]
Before season 2, India Fowler was cast in season 2 as Grace a.k.a Logan’s future love interest. That got some questioning if Logan would in fact become the season 2 leads. Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli, meanwhile, revealed if they planned to return in future seasons.
“I totally understand your concern,” Cameli, 28, exclusively told Us about each season of the Prime Video show being focused on a different fictional couple. “We will be along for the ride the whole time.”
Bright, 19, confirmed the plan is for them to be “sticking” around before Cameli added, “We’re excited to see what season 2 holds for [us].”
Off Campus is streaming on Prime Video now.
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