Bold and the Beautiful recently saw Hope Logan (Annika Noelle) manipulate her mom into trying to steal Steffy Forrester‘s (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) job. And it turned out to be a big old bust. Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye) backed right down when Steffy pushed back on him. And very soon, Hope finds out that her big move failed. But she is not going to stop there.

So, we’re going to talk about an upcoming confrontation between Steffy and Hope. It could change everything at both Forrester Creations and Logan. Now, let’s talk about an upcoming tantrum from Hope.

Brooke Backed Down Surprisingly Well on Bold and the Beautiful

This week, after Ridge reported back to Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) that he couldn’t get Steffy to step aside. And he doesn’t think it’s fair to push. Because she’s done such a good job, surprisingly, Brooke just backed down immediately. She took the bad news from Ridge that she wasn’t going to be co-CEO surprisingly well. So well, in fact, that I am now wondering if Brooke even ever wanted to be co-CEO in the first place.

She might have been running a two-stage manipulation on Ridge because Brooke‘s no dummy and she’s been playing him like a fiddle for decades. So, after Ridge told Brooke that Steffy is an excellent co-CEO. And it wouldn’t be fair to kick her out when she’s done nothing to deserve it, Brooke started to tear up.

My question is, are these crocodile tears? Because at that point, Ridge felt bad. But Brooke said no. She was crying for Ridge. Because she hates that she put him in such a terrible position. I mean, come on. And then Brooke admitted that she’s fine with not being co-CEO. She doesn’t need a title.

Brooke May Have Had a Secret Strategy on B&B

So, it could be if this is a multi-stage effort, that stage one was asking Ridge to make her co-CEO, which was kind of an insane over-the-top ask. Brooke had to know that there was no way Steffy would ever step aside and just hand her job to her stepmom.

So now we’re seeing stage two. Brooke agreed with Ridge and then asked him to intervene with Steffy to get Hope for the Future reactivated. And at that point since Brooke backed down so graciously, of course, Ridge had to agree to try. Plus, Brooke locked in stage two, I think, by sending Steffy that very nice text saying she’s a great co-CEO and nobody does it better.

This is honestly a great negotiating tactic by Brooke. She asked for something so big that it was absolutely impossible for Ridge to deliver it. And then Brooke asked for what she really wanted, Hope for the Future, to be reinstated for her daughter, Hope. And that seems now like a much more reasonable request. Because the co-CEO thing was way out of line.

Steffy is On to Brooke’s Manipulation

But the thing is I think Steffy’s on to Brooke and she already told Finn she felt like this was all manipulative. Steffy suspects that Hope had a heavy hand in this and she is right. And this week Steffy is in the CEO office and she’s talking to Brooke and Ridge who are standing side by side facing her and I’m sure Hope’s line is the topic of discussion. The thing is, nothing has changed. Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor), Steffy, and Ridge all agreed to focus on Eric Forrester‘s (John McCook) upcoming couture collection.

That is why Hope’s line was shelved. That part was not personal. The personal part came in when Steffy got tired of Hope calling her decision into question and fighting her on it. When the executive team was all in agreement, that’s when Steffy kind of snapped and laughed in Hope’s face.

And I don’t think it would have gone that far if Steffy didn’t have Hope continuously pecking at her. I’m certain that Ridge and Brooke are going to talk to Steffy about Hope for the Future. And she may even ask Brooke whose idea it was for her to reach for the co-CEO seat. And if Steffy asks, I am wondering if Brooke would admit that Hope inspired her to think about it.

Brooke’s Gesture Impressed Steffy on Bold

And we saw that Steffy was touched by Brooke’s sweet text. But it may get her wheels turning and Steffy may feel like Brooke is now trying to work both her and Ridge to get what Hope wants basically without a lot of regard for the bottom line at Forrester Creations. I think Steffy may realize that Brooke’s ultimate goal wasn’t even to ever get the co-CEO job. But to give Hope what she wants.

And I think Brooke wanted to appease Hope. And it’s understandable that Brooke wants to make her daughter happy. But at what cost? Forrester Creations is a fairly smallish company. There’s not a bottomless budget or manpower to do everything all at once. And Brooke agreed with them. Eric agreed. Ridge, Carter and Steffy all agreed that they need to hustle out an Eric Forrester couture line to try and make the fashion press forget about his work over at Logan.

Steffy Has to Deal with Another Hope Tantrum on B&B

So, I expect that Steffy’s going to thank Brooke for her kind message, offer her some additional chances to go out and be the face of Forrester Creations, raise her profile that way. But I think she’s going to have to remind Ridge and Brooke both that Eric’s collection has to be the focus, which they all already agreed on. And, you know, Steffy may say once that’s locked down and we do this, then we’ll revisit Hope’s line again at that point. And really, what can Brooke say to that?

Nothing has changed for Forrester Creations other than Hope stomping her feet and trying to make something happen. By the end of this week, Steffy’s got to deal with another tantrum from Hope, who I’m sure is going to try and say Steffy is attacking her personally by pausing Hope for the Future temporarily.

Brooke Tells Hope What She Doesn’t Want to Hear

I can see Brooke then telling Hope that she agrees with Steffy and Ridge and the others for business reasons and Brooke may advise Hope to be patient and that her line will definitely be reactivated just not right this moment. And I can imagine if Brooke tells her this that Hope would have zero chill and would come in hot at Steffy and say a bunch of things.

It’s like Hope has forgotten that she’s a paycheck earner and not an owner at Forrester Creations. Most employees don’t come in and start laying into their boss that way, questioning them, nagging them relentlessly the way that she does. Steffy, in most companies, Hope would have already been fired, especially after she pulled a coup, was fired, and then actually got her job back.

You’d think she’d be on better behavior. She’s not. Bold and the Beautiful spoilers for Friday say that after Hope demands answers from Steffy that Hope’s career at Forrester Creations hangs in the balance. She might even tell Steffy that Brooke deserves to be co-CEO and that Steffy should have been demoted. You know, yada yada yada, provoking her. I think Hope may push too far and Steffy may literally remind her who’s boss.

Hope May Walk Out and Go to Logan on Bold

I think it would be really interesting if Steffy showed Hope the text from her mom, Brooke, saying, “What a great job Steffy’s done.” Because I think that would stun Hope and anger her. And something obviously has to push her to the very brink for her to either annoy Steffy into firing her or for her to walk away. What I’d like to see happen is for Hope to follow through on her snarky comments and her veiled threats to go and she just quits and marches over to Logan.

Obviously, Katie Logan (Heather Tom) worried about Brooke being upset and so is Hope. But if she sees the text Brooke sent to Steffy, then Hope might feel like she’s got nobody on her side at Forrester Creations and that Brooke’s not even there fighting for her and that could be the catalyst to get Hope to walk out.

It’s definitely what Liam Spencer (Scott Clifton) wants and Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) and Katie would be absolutely thrilled. And if Hope tells them that Brooke is now on team Steffy and Ridge, then I think Katie would embrace the chance to work with Hope whether Brooke likes it or not.

We’ll see what happens. But I definitely feel like Hope is going to throw a career changing tantrum that Steffy will not tolerate after Brooke’s two-pronged plan fails to deliver what Hope wants. And I can’t wait to see it. May Sweeps ends this Wednesday, May 20th. But the big fireworks may not come until the end of the week when Steffy and Hope have that major showdown, and I’m here for it.

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’?

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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.

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Release Date

2010 – 2010-00-00

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HBO Max

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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)

Image via Newmarket Films

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)

Image via New Line Cinema

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)

Image via TriStar Pictures

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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)

Image via Paramount Pictures

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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)

Image via CJ Entertainment

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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)

Image via Orion Pictures

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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.

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The Silence of the Lambs

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Release Date

February 14, 1991

Runtime

119 minutes

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Director

Jonathan Demme

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Writers

Ted Tally, Thomas Harris

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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.”

Related: Tom Cruise’s Dating History: A Look Back at His A-List Romances

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.

“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.

Related: Tom Cruise Turns 63: Look Back on His Life and Movie Career

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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.

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“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.

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.

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Release Date

May 1, 2026

Runtime

102 minutes

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Director

Nathan Greno

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By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 1 hour ago

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.

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.

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.

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.