Imagine this: After months of finally coming to the conclusion that you want a divorce, you lay it out for your spouse, and then the next morning, Russia invades Ukraine. Okay, sure, perhaps if you don’t live in Eastern Europe, the invasion might not really affect you as much as the reality that you now need to retain a divorce attorney. But for Vytas (Marius Repšys) and Marija (Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė), in Lithuania, the war presents a new complication during this unpredictable time for them and their daughter, Dovilė (Amelija Adomaitytė). Director and screenwriter Andrius Blaževičius puts a microscope on the complex family dynamic that inevitably appears after a divorce and sets it during the timely invasion of Ukraine to put the realities of war and social justice into sharp focus.

What Is ‘How To Divorce During the War’ About?

In 2022, Marija and Vytas wake up in separate beds to the news that Russia is launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This is just a day after Marija told Vytas that she wants a divorce, not telling him that she’s been quietly having an affair with her co-worker, Jūratė (Indrė Patkauskaitė), for months. While Vytas feels completely blindsided by this, his more immediate problem is now that he must find a place to live. Marija is the sole breadwinner of the family, working for a video production company that makes social media video slop. Vytas, a once-successful filmmaker currently out of work, both looks down on Marija’s day job and actively benefits from her salary. In exchange, he is the primary homemaker, taking care of their daughter Dovilė, making dinner, and cleaning the house meticulously.

The separation completely throws both Marija and Vytas’ lives into disarray. The couple is pro-Ukraine and makes every effort to show it. Vytas is forced to move home to his Russian-sympathetic parents, but every other day, he’s throwing rocks into the windows of Russian cars. He begins volunteering at a food bank and participates in artistic protests in the city, using his modicum of fame to amplify their message. Meanwhile, Marija brings in a Ukrainian family of refugees to live with her and Dovilė shortly after the war begins. She actively opposes her company’s continued partnership with Russia at the risk of her own career, and ties up the Ukrainian flag on her balcony with her daughter in a firm show of support.

However, as the war wages on, Vytas’ actions feel more and more performative, and Marija becomes annoyed with the extended stay of the refugees in her home, with whom she can barely communicate. In the background, Dovilė experiences troubles at school as children echo the varying sentiments of their parents. How To Divorce During the War carefully and deliberately illustrates the very real and complicated feelings that come with the Russian invasion, and rather than wag a finger at anyone, the film forces you to look at the nuances of the war, warts and all.

‘How To Divorce During the War’ Depicts Performative Activism’s Upsides and Downsides

Living in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, both Marija and Vytas are no stranger to working with their European neighbors, and many Lithuanians have some kind of tie to the two warring countries. Although Marija and Vytas outwardly express their support for Ukraine, this support wanes in ferocity as time stretches on. It’s not that they are just posting black squares on social media or tweeting into a void — they aren’t slacktivists — but their performative actions and the desire to be on the right side of history feel, in many ways, self-serving.

The upper-middle-class privilege comes on full display after the split. Marija is happy for a Ukrainian mother and her two sons to come and live with her, in a very bold show of how eager she is to help. But she jams all three of them into Vytas’ former office, and it’s not long before she’s complaining about how dirty they are and struggling to communicate with them. When she defiantly quits her job due to the fact that her company won’t break ties with Russia, she doesn’t consider that she still has to provide for her daughter and also the new family living with her. It’s a perfect example of that privilege that Marija is so confident in quitting based on her morals, when the reality is that most people work for morally-dubious companies and remain there for the simple reason that they need a paycheck.

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Mstyslav Cherno takes us into the darkest depths of the war in Ukraine.

With Vytas, his return home means that he’s plagued with his parents essentially watching the Russian version of Fox News, a channel spouting propaganda that he desperately tries to push his parents not to believe. Whenever he sees a Russian license plate, he doesn’t even hesitate to throw a rock through the car window as a violent form of protest. Of course, the Russian government is to blame for the invasion, but should these citizens pay the price of something they have little to no control over? Vytas thinks so. Rather than seeking employment, he volunteers (occasionally helping himself to the food that is meant to go to refugees thanks to his dwindling funds) and participates in artistic protests to a crowd of dozens where he lies on the ground covered in fake blood.

Protesting, volunteering, and housing refugees all benefit the Ukrainian effort, which, for Marija and Vytas, might excuse the fact that their motives behind their actions are largely an effort to self-soothe. Being fully aware that Russia is in the wrong means that they are also conscious that they might not be doing enough. Add to the fact that Russia is less than a five-hour drive away, and the growing fear of what Putin might do next, and both characters are pushed to their extremes.

Andrius Blaževičius Gets the Details Right in ‘How To Divorce During the War’

Image via M-Films

Blaževičius carefully toes the line between the politics and the domestic drama of How To Divorce. While it might be easy for us to shame Marija for how she treats her new house guests and chastize Vytas for his vandalism, it’s also hard to paint them as pure villains. Galvanized by good intentions, Blaževičius makes a very pointed commentary on the burden of living in this world where we are constantly exposed to the horrors of war and disaster. Feeling helpless and hopeless, it’s not hard to see why the protagonists of the story want to do everything they can, even if it’s not sustainable for them.

Both Repšys and Jakštaitė deserve praise for their performances. After the separation, Repšys plays the awkwardness of Vytas perfectly. From awkwardly asking a Ukrainian sex worker about her family after doing the deed to being covered in red corn syrup while waxing on about the purpose of their protest, Repšys can make us both sympathize with Vytas while also cringing at him. Jakštaitė has the difficult task of making us empathize with Marija. As the cheating spouse and the homeowner stressing out her refugees, it’s not easy to like her. But Jakštaitė is able to show Marija’s frustration and depression without saying a word, humanizing her in just a few quiet moments that remind us that Marija is not the one we should shift all our blame onto.

Blaževičius follows the timeline of events, carefully documenting with an inobtrusive eye as feelings change, politics shift, and a desire for equilibrium trumps the passion for social justice. Lithuanian cinematographer Narvydas Naujalis is able to speak volumes in his shots of the quiet daily life of a country that is on edge. Simple things like the setting of the film depict the evolution of the characters; what starts as a clean and bright apartment where Marija and Vytas live with their daughter slowly dims and becomes cluttered as the film progresses. Layered with symbolism and unafraid to show the spectrum of reactions to a tumultuous time, How To Divorce During the War is a thoughtful drama that highlights the global impact of a war on the smallest scale.

How to Divorce During the War debuted at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

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Release Date

January 26, 2026

Runtime

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108 minutes

Director

Andrius Blaževičius

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Writers

Andrius Blaževičius

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Producers

Marija Razgutė

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Cast

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  Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė

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  Marija

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Pros & Cons

• Strong performances from the leads, especially during the characters’ most unlikeable moments.
• Bla?evi?ius presents a complex issue without losing the intimate look at the divorcing couple.

• The film loses focus with the family dynamic and Dovil?’s character is kind of neglected.

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By Chris Sawin
| Updated 9 seconds ago

In a nutshell, Whistle is about a group of high school kids terrorized by an Aztec death whistle. Originally thought to “summon the dead,” once someone is inclined to blow on this obviously very deadly, skull-shaped, probably doesn’t feel great to rub all over your lips, contraption, this whistle actually summons your death.

Directed by Corin Hardy (The Hallow) and written by Owen Egerton, Whistle dictates that your specific death is chasing you the moment you are born and is trying to catch up with you your entire life. Sometimes we die of old age, and sometimes we die young and far too soon, but blowing the whistle makes your future death find you in a matter of days. Death looks exactly like you and suffers from whatever you would have on your deathbed.

The Whistle Is Much Better Than It Should Be

Chrys (Dafne Keen) moves in with her cousin, Rel (Sky Wang), and starts at Pellington High, where she meets Grace (Ali Skovbye), her jock boyfriend, Dean (Jhaliel Swaby), and Grace’s friend, Ellie (Sophie Nelisse), whom Chrys likes. Hoping to blend in and forget her past, Chrys finds a whistle in her locker. After a shared detention, someone blows the whistle, and those who hear its piercing screech soon face death. Now, the survivors must uncover if they can escape the whistle’s deadly power.

There’s a strange art to Whistle; it shouldn’t be as good as it is. The film is a cliché high school drama, infused with the year’s bloodiest deaths so far. Chrys, being a lesbian, feels like a natural, non-stereotypical progression in the story. She’s gay and facing a world of trouble. That’s the main draw, aside from the Native American kazoo of death, massacring people for fun. The youth pastor-drug dealer-switchblade wielder isn’t essential, but horror films always find a use for such characters.

Chrys’s situation was already difficult before her introduction: she recently recovered from an overdose and her father’s death. Keen’s performance is withdrawn and hesitant, yet eager for normalcy. Chrys and Ellie are the film’s most grounded characters, likely explaining their attraction.

Yes, The Whistle Is Basically Final Destination

Whistle is not unlike any other horror film revolving around a cursed artifact; in fact, it’s incredibly similar. This is The Monkey with a different toy or Final Destination with a skull-faced instrument calling the shots. Whistle is Jumanji with fatalities and a little bit of The Frighteners just for good measure.

The film opens at a Pellington High basketball game. A player named Mason (Stephen Kalyn) is haunted by a burnt figure (I nicknamed him Crispy Carl) lurking in the bleachers. Mason noticeably freaks out during the game, but makes the game-winning shot. Not before the burnt figure, still smoking with embers glowing all over his body, lunges at him. Back in the locker room, Mason screams about it not being his time yet and takes the whistle out of his locker before smashing it on the ground. Later, thinking he’s cheated death, the burnt figure finds him in the shower and puts his burning arm down his throat. Mason’s teammates find him flailing about as his engulfed body burns to a crisp.

The Most Creative, Entertaining Horror Deaths In Years

The deaths in Whistle are super creative and among the most entertaining in a horror film in a long time. Some of them range from lung cancer to old age, but there are two deaths that are unbelievable. One involves drunk driving, and the other involves working at a sawmill, but what makes them special is that the causes are invisible.

You see the effect and know the cause, but since the death is instantaneous, it’s just this gruesome display that makes little sense to anyone not familiar with the whistle. The drunk driving death sees the victim get bent up and contorted while floating in the air, and it’s as nasty and memorable as it sounds. The saw mill death is more of a presentation as it sprays blood everywhere and leaves the victim in this crumpled, limbless ball.

Whistle‘s writing is standard and mediocre, typical of films about summoning death with percussion. However, horror fans will appreciate the creative deaths, solid acting, and an ending that leaves you wanting a sequel.

Whistle was released nationwide in theaters on February 6.

If you ask Us, midi skirts are always on trend. Recently, fashionistas are turning to the effortless style as an alternative to uncomfortable, stiff pieces. And Gwyneth Paltrow proved just how fabulous midi skirts are. Thus, we found a budget-friendly alternative to get her recent look.

For the Los Angeles Times‘ Envelope Oscar Actresses Roundtable, the Marty Supreme actress paired together a cropped, ivory bralette with a matching midi skirt. The posh ensemble is one we’d love to recreate for romantic dates, after-work drinks and events in between. This Sebowel Satin Midi Skirt appears just as dreamy and elevated as Paltrow’s pick, and it only costs $15!

Get the Sebowel Satin Midi Skirt for $15 at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate as of the publishing date but are subject to change. 

Similar to Paltrow’s pick, this midi skirt is made from a luxe-looking fabrics that resembles high-end satin. The high-waist design, stretchy elastic waistband and delicate ruffles help this flattering number slim curves without the digging discomfort. Another impressive detail? This skirt features delicate ties on the side for a whimsical touch. Whether you wear it out or tied in a bow is up to you.

Matching Paltrow’s clean, rich mom shade is a breeze. The skirt’s beige color is a perfect match. However, it comes in seven other shades, ranging from vibrant picks like rose to deeper hues like brown.

Fans rave about the midi’s high-end appeal. “I absolutely love this skirt. It looks and feels expensive,” one reviewer shared. “The color is as shown. I am going to purchase another color. I was truly satisfied with the fit and the match to my attire.”

The budget-friendly price tag was a huge selling point for reviewers. One shopper shared, “Most silk skirts are much more expensive, so I was pleased with the value for your money. Very comfortable and fits great.”

Want to look polished in a hurry? This expensive-looking midi skirt mirrors Paltrow’s effortless style for just $15! With spring approaching, it’s a versatile piece you won’t regret adding to your collection.

Get the Sebowel Satin Midi Skirt for $15 at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate as of the publishing date but are subject to change. 

Looking for something else? Explore more skirts here and don’t forget to check out all of Amazon’s Daily Deals for more great finds.

Related: Over Jeans? These Satin Maxi Skirts Are the Chic (and Easy) Swap

If you’ve been side-eyeing your jeans lately, you’re not alone. Satin-like maxi skirts are the chic alternative we keep reaching for instead, and for good reason. They instantly elevate even the simplest outfits, adding movement and striking the perfect balance between relaxed and put-together style. Plus, these skirts play incredibly well with closet staples you […]

Ian Fleming may have originated the genre, but John le Carré (real name David Cornwell) brought spy novels to new levels of realism, complexity, and relevance. He ditched the gadgets and derring-do, instead embracing blurred loyalties, inner turmoil, and disillusionment. In le Carré’s world, intelligence work is not a chess match between geniuses but a slow grind of paperwork, betrayal, ideological decay, and emotional damage.

In other words, le Carré’s novels dismantle the spy myth piece by piece, launching a new wave of titles that would come to define the genre for a world living through the Cold War and increasingly disenchanted with institutions. With this in mind, this list ranks the very best of them. The novels below represent his most powerful work, defined by rich commentary, careful plotting, and psychological depth.

10

‘A Murder of Quality’ (1962)

Image via Penguin Classics

“Love is whatever you can still betray.” A Murder of Quality is le Carré’s second novel and one of his most deceptively quiet works. On the surface, it seems like a traditional English murder mystery, following George Smiley as he investigates a killing at an elite boys’ school. However, rather than serving up the espionage spectacle one might expect, the book places its focus on themes like class, cruelty, and institutional rot.

Le Carré uses the school as a microcosm of British society, exposing how privilege protects abuse and silences dissent. The murder itself becomes less important than the environment that enabled it. Here, Smiley isn’t a flashy spy or death-defying secret agent, but a moral observer, someone attuned to human weakness and social hypocrisy. A Murder of Quality fits all this into a breezy 189 pages, making it a fairly accessible starting point for those curious about le Carré’s work.

9

‘The Russia House’ (1989)

Image via Penguin Classics

“The world is a fine place, and worth fighting for.” The Russia House is one of le Carré’s most humane novels, set during the thawing tensions of the late Cold War. The main character is “Barley” Blair, a British publisher drawn into intelligence work after receiving a manuscript from a Soviet scientist claiming to reveal the truth about Russia’s failing nuclear capabilities. The plot mechanics are fairly straightforward, but the book is elevated by a touching romantic storyline between Barley and a Russian woman.

Le Carré fans often cite this as the author’s funniest and most grounded book. The movie adaptation starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer was well-received, too, for similar reasons. The Russia House is also interesting as a time capsule. It was published in 1989, capturing a moment of major historical transition, where old certainties were collapsing without being replaced by anything better.

8

‘The Night Manager’ (1993)

Image via Penguin Classics

“There is no such thing as a private life.” The Night Manager was le Carré’s first true post-Cold War novel, exploring a much murkier world where loyalties and objectives were trickier to define. The novel follows a former soldier turned hotel night manager who is recruited to infiltrate the inner circle of an international arms dealer. On paper, this resembles a more conventional thriller, but le Carré subverts expectations at every turn. The arms dealer is not merely evil, but protected by governments, corporations, and intelligence agencies that benefit from his crimes.

In other words, corruption is the central theme in this one, with characters driven by self-interest rather than high-minded ideals or national power. As a result, the vibe is bleaker and more ambiguous than that of the novels that directly preceded it. There is suspense, but little satisfaction. Success feels temporary and compromised, failure systemic. A snapshot of unipolar malaise.

7

‘Smiley’s People’ (1979)

Image via Penguin Classics

“Smiley never forgot.” Smiley’s People serves as the elegiac conclusion to George Smiley’s long conflict with his Soviet counterpart, Karla. It’s a tragedy about two men shaped (and ruined) by ideology. We follow Smiley as he reassembles old networks and forgotten contacts for one final reckoning. Unlike more action-driven spy novels, this book moves slowly, deliberately, mirroring Smiley’s age and weariness. The Cold War is no longer a battlefield or a stage for heroism, but a graveyard of broken lives.

The book is fittingly claustrophobic and intense, a fitting payoff to the “Karla Trilogy”. As a capstone for that story arc, Smiley’s People defines le Carré’s worldview: intelligence work destroys both sides, and understanding your enemy does not make their defeat feel like justice. The title refers to those who choose reality over ideology and humans over institutions. The novel’s quiet final scenes are especially devastating.

6

‘The Honourable Schoolboy’ (1977)

Image via Penguin Classics

“We are not nice people.” Coming just before Smiley’s People in the Karla Trilogy, The Honourable Schoolboy is le Carré at his most sprawling and structurally ambitious. Picking up threads from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, this one chronicles British intelligence’s attempt to exploit Karla’s networks in Southeast Asia. The plot moves across continents, mixing espionage with journalism, politics, and, of course, personal obsession. The cast of characters is massive, with multiple narrative plates spinning at once.

The Honourable Schoolboy clocks in at a sturdy 533 pages, all of them crammed with events and details. Le Carré deliberately overwhelms the reader, reflecting the chaos and moral confusion of post-imperial intelligence work. It’s a picture of spycraft under pressure, where improvisation and sheer survival are the name of the game. The characters are fittingly layered and three-dimensional. The central figure, for example, a journalist-turned-agent, embodies divided loyalty and self-delusion.

5

‘The Little Drummer Girl’ (1983)

Image via Penguin Classics

“She was acting even when she slept.” The Little Drummer Girl is le Carré’s most theatrical novel, both literally and metaphorically. It revolves around a young actress recruited by Israeli intelligence to infiltrate a Palestinian terrorist network. She is manipulated by a spymaster on a mission to find and kill a terrorist, but, while undercover, finds herself developing unexpected sympathies for the causes of those she is meant to be taking down. The protagonist’s empathy becomes both a liability and a weapon.

Le Carré refuses easy moral binaries, portraying both sides as capable of cruelty and conviction. The intelligence apparatus itself is shown as ruthlessly pragmatic, willing to sacrifice individuals for strategic gain. At the same time, Le Carré uses performance as a central metaphor, examining how identity is constructed, manipulated, and eventually erased. The lies are destabilizing, to the point that one either comes to believe them or collapses totally under their crushing weight.

4

‘The Constant Gardener’ (2001)

Image via Penguin Classics

“Love is the only reason to lie.” Some readers will know The Constant Gardener from the 2005 movie version starring Ralph Fiennes and an Oscar-winning Rachel Weisz. Drawing on a real-life incident, it tells the story of a British diplomat investigating his activist wife’s murder in Kenya, uncovering a web of pharmaceutical exploitation and government complicity. Unlike the author’s Cold War novels, this book is driven by grief and love rather than professional duty.

The protagonist’s awakening is painful and belated, driven by guilt as much as justice. The tale is smart as well as suspenseful, shot through with passion, conspiracies, double crosses, deadly diseases, and conniving bureaucrats. However, Le Carré himself says that his fictionalized account is less shocking than the actual case that inspired it. In the afterword, he writes: “By comparison with the reality, my story [is] as tame as a holiday postcard.”

3

‘The Spy Who Came in from the Cold’ (1963)

Image via Penguin

“What do you think spies are? Priests?” The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is the novel that changed espionage fiction forever. In it, a British agent is sent on one last mission designed to appear as a defection, drawing him into a morally grotesque operation. What makes the novel revolutionary is its bleakness. Le Carré strips away any notion of honorable service, portraying intelligence work as indistinguishable from the brutality it claims to oppose.

The protagonist is exhausted, cynical, and ultimately disposable. While his superiors cloak his mission in ideals and altruism, all justified by the greater good, the reality is that his morally dubious work is corrosive to his soul. Here, the spy agencies of both East and West live in a moral void, each using the Cold War as an excuse to justify lies, violence, and betrayal. This approach was bold stuff for the early ’60s, carrying over well into the stellar film adaptation, too.

2

‘A Perfect Spy’ (1986)

Image via Penguin Classics

“He was born a liar, and he never stopped.” A Perfect Spy is le Carré’s most personal and psychologically complex novel. Loosely inspired by his life, it centers on a lifelong intelligence operative whose career is shaped by his relationship with his charismatic, deceitful father. The plot moves between espionage missions and childhood memories. Long before deception became the protagonist’s profession, it was a survival skill in a turbulent household.

In other words, Le Carré dismantles the spy myth entirely here, presenting espionage as an extension of emotional damage rather than patriotic duty. The protagonist’s identity fractures under the weight of lies told for love and career alike. His story is dense, introspective, and deeply sad, offering no redemption, only understanding. Not for nothing, author Philip Roth declared A Perfect Spy “the best English novel since the war”, and le Carré himself said it was “the novel of mine that is closest to my heart.”

1

‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ (1974)

Image via Penguin

“A fanatic is always concealing a secret doubt.” Far and away the author’s most famous book, not least due to the fantastic 2011 movie adaptation. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is le Carré’s most intricate and intellectually demanding novel. It revolves around George Smiley’s investigation into a Soviet mole embedded at the highest levels of British intelligence, leading to a tense hunt through memory, interrogation, and Smiley’s quiet deduction. At the time, these ideas weren’t fantasy at all but a reflection of real events, specifically the defection to the Soviet Union by British spy Kim Philby.

The structure mirrors the process of intelligence analysis itself: fragmented, slow, and deeply uncertain. Every character is compromised, emotionally or morally. For this reason, the novel rewards patience, gradually revealing how betrayal corrodes institutions from within. Themes aside, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is simply well written, laden with sharp dialogue and juicy plot twists, and the character of Smiley is compelling throughout.

Lindsey Vonn left a message of gratitude after dramatically crashing and breaking her leg at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Sunday, February 8.

Vonn, 41, responded to British journalist Dan Walker on social media on Monday, February 9, after he wrote a lengthy post praising her courage for competing with a torn ACL. 

“Thank you Dan 🙏,” Vonn commented. 

In his post Walker wrote, “I think her attitude is the very essence of sport. It wasn’t just about chasing glory…it was about defiance.”

“This is what sport looks like when you strip away the polish. It’s not comfortable…it’s painful,” he continued. “Risk instead of safety. Vonn knew she might not win. She knew it might hurt. She understood the risk. She embraced it because not going down that mountain would mean surrendering to the things that stop you getting out of bed in the morning.”

Walker concluded his post, “I hope her body heals quickly and she knows she will always be a winner 🏆.” 

Vonn crashed just 13 seconds into her women’s downhill run on Sunday, eventually being airlifted off the course by a helicopter to an Italian hospital. 

She “underwent an orthopedic operation to stabilize a fracture reported in her left leg” and is being “treated by a multidisciplinary team,” according to a statement released by the Ca’ Foncello hospital on Sunday. 

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team said Vonn was “in stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians.”

“She’ll be OK, but it’s going to be a bit of a process,” said Anouk Patty, chief of sport for U.S. Ski and Snowboard. “This sport’s brutal, and people need to remember when they’re watching [that] these athletes are throwing themselves down a mountain and going really, really fast.”

Vonn’s sister, Karin Kidlow, told NBC that the crash was “the last thing we wanted to see.”

“It happened quick and when that happens, you’re just immediately hoping she’s OK,” Kildow said. “She does have all of her surgeons and her PT staff here and her doctors, so I’m sure they’ll give us a report and we’ll meet her at whatever hospital she’s at.”

Unsurprisingly, Vonn’s name was left off Team USA’s roster for the first-ever women’s team combined event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, which takes place on Tuesday, February 10.

Before hitting the slopes for the women’s downhill on Sunday, Vonn acknowledged she had a staggering task in front of her after completely tearing her ACL during a World Cup race last month. 

“Just getting to these Olympics has been a journey, and one that some did not believe in from the start,” Vonn shared via Instagram on Saturday, February 5. “I retired for 6 years, and because of a partial knee replacement, I had the chance to compete one more time. But why? Everyone seems to be asking me that question. But I think the answer is simple…I just love ski racing.”

She added, “I will stand in the starting gate tomorrow and know I am strong. Know that I believe in myself. Know that the odds are stacked against me with my age, no ACL, and a titanium knee- but know that I still believe.  And usually, when the odds are stacked against me the most, I pull the best of what’s inside me out.”

Breezy Bowl, but make it official, official? That seemed to be the energy Chris Brown was giving off on social media following the Super Bowl Halftime show. Bad Bunny was tapped to perform this year, and he brought Puerto Rico to the stadium, from the sugar cane fields to the domino matches. The internet is STILL sounding off about the performance and what it meant to the Latin community.

RELATED: Girl Dad Duties! Chris Brown Has Fans Losing It After Linking Up With Royalty & Her Friends For Viral TikTok Trend (WATCH)

Chris Brown Says “They” Need Him

One thing about Breezy, he’s got the confidence to say what he wants to say! Chris slid on IG Story, seemingly after Bad Bunny’s performance on Sunday. He dropped a written text that read like he wasn’t impressed by how Benito made the Bowl his own.

“I THINK IT’S SAFE TO SAY…THEY NEED ME,” he wrote.

That’s it, and that’s all he wrote aside from adding a slick-smile emoticon. So far, he hasn’t shared any additional thoughts on the Super Bowl or who should take the stage next.

However, this isn’t the first time Breezy has been vocal about the Super Bowl. Though, two years ago, he was singing a much different tune! In February 2023, Chris Brown riled up his fans after commenting “Go girl,” amid Rihanna’s halftime performance, in which she announced her second pregnancy. Soon after that, he shared a photo from Dublin, and in the comment section he cleared the air on expectations of seeing him on the Super Bowl stage.

“….never shawty,” Chris Brown wrote in response to “When are you performing at the Super Bowl. We need you at the next one!!!! He added, “American media AINT FA me. Rather be where I’m welcomed.”

RELATED: Been HIM! Bad Bunny Turns His Super Bowl Halftime Show Into Cultural Fiesta With Unforgettable Messages (VIDEOS)

TMZ Comedy Crawl Tour
Laugh Track on Wheels!!!

Published
February 9, 2026
12:17 PM PST

Some fantasy movies do indeed also work as family films, but not all. It would be wild to expect everything fantastical to also be fantastically appealing to all ages in a The Wizard of Oz or a Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory sort of way. Like any genre, things would get boring if you could only go for one tone, or target one particular demographic.

Enter the following films, which are notable for being fantasy in one way or another, and also hopelessly downbeat at the same time. These are some of the heaviest fantasy movies ever made, and sure, some of them only partially fit into the fantasy genre, but if “fantasy” is one of the genres listed on Letterboxd for a particular movie’s entry there, then it has a chance of appearing in the ranking below.

10

‘Heavenly Creatures’ (1994)

Image via Miramax International

Before he made movies set in Middle-earth, but after he made a bunch of low-budget/gross-out horror films, Peter Jackson also directed Heavenly Creatures, which is perhaps his most underrated work overall. It’s about two young girls who have a strange kind of bond, and a similarly uh, “unique” grasp on reality itself, and this makes things get very dreamy and sort of fantastical, at times.

But it’s also a low-key kind of fantasy, where some of the daydreams feel like escapes from more difficult things, and then when Heavenly Creatures deals with those difficult things, it gets pretty heavy. All that might sound a bit vague, but it’s a difficult movie to describe and put into words, in a good way. It’s a well-made film… just not a particularly fun or entertaining one, at least in the traditional sense.

9

‘The Seventh Seal’ (1957)

Image via AB Svensk Filmindustri

Another movie that’s probably more of a drama than a fantasy one, but it’s got enough that’s fantastical to count as both, The Seventh Seal is about a disillusioned man encountering Death and playing him in a game of chess. They discuss all sorts of heavy things, and then there’s more that happens after that, what with it being a movie about the Black Death and an exploration of some other people doing an R.E.M. and losing their religion.

There’s a lot going on, in other words, especially when you consider the fact that The Seventh Seal really isn’t an epic or anything, and clocks in at just over 90 minutes. It’s got a reputation for being a classic for many reasons, and it’s also heavy-going without being 100% despairing. It’s got a lot of despair and existentialism packed into it for sure, but parts of the film also prove life-affirming, making it overall kind of bittersweet.

8

‘Mandy’ (2018)

Image via RLJE Films

It’s hard to dig into Mandy without ruining much of it narratively, though if it’s any consolation, the experience of watching it is singular and so much harder to ruin. Basically, it plays out slowly at first, without really going in any direction narratively, until the couple at the movie’s center… well, one of them’s killed. And then the other goes on a violent rampage of revenge.

That whole revenge quest goes to some wild places, and it’s there where Mandy starts to feel like a bit of a fantasy, or maybe more comparable to a fever dream/nightmare kind of thing. Some of the nightmarish ultra-violence is also entertaining and cathartic, but the deep sadness of Mandy never really dissipates fully, and so it ends up being powerfully – and unpretentiously – about the destructive nature of revenge, and the difficulty of taking oneself out of a cycle of vengeance.

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‘The Northman’ (2022)

Image via Focus Features

Speaking of violent movies about revenge that get weirdly fantastical in parts, here’s The Northman, which is about the legend of Amleth, which was the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Hamlet. So, no surprises with the central plot, then, because this is about a young boy who grows into a man, and spends his whole life wanting revenge against his uncle, because said uncle killed his father.

Don’t expect too many monsters or creatures or anything here, since it’s not really that kind of fantasy. But The Northman does have surreal and/or vaguely supernatural moments that make it feel a little more than just a drama/action movie with a historical setting. Also, given the fact that it inspired a heavy-going Shakespearean play, it shouldn’t be too surprising to learn that The Northman also gets pretty bleak – and, indeed, tragic – at times.

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‘Begotten’ (1989)

Image via World Artists Home Video.

It’s hard to even know where to begin with a movie like Begotten, including the notion of whether it should count as a movie. Maybe it’s more of a nightmare, and certainly one that doesn’t have much by way of a plot. That would make it a fairly normal nightmare, then. Uh… but if one had to get more specific… it’s kind of fantasy? Or maybe it’s like religious horror?

It seems to be about creation. The creation of life itself gets depicted in Begotten, and then Begotten also goes ahead and seems to suggest why life should never have been created, or like, become a thing. It’s the sort of thing you’ll never be able to unsee, even if you want to, or there’s a chance you’ll watch it and find it all very silly. It’s grim, though, either way. Perhaps that’s the only thing supporters and detractors alike would be able to agree on.

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‘Belladonna of Sadness’ (1973)

Image via Nippon Herald Films

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Belladonna of Sadness might well be one of the heaviest animated movies of all time, and it also happens to fit into the fantasy genre, too. It’s about a woman who’s wronged by a feudal lord and then the whole ordeal ruins her life, which makes her turn to the devil, making a deal with him to get revenge on the lord, which naturally complicates (and arguably worsens) things further.

It’s a movie that starts dark and then just keeps on getting darker, which could be why it’s not quite one of the most popular or approachable animated movies out there, or anything. Still, if you’re up for something challenging, Belladonna of Sadness has a lot to offer, and the visuals here are also undeniably unique, as little else animated/released since looks quite like it.

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‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006)

There really is something magical about Pan’s Labyrinth, and no, it’s not the fantasy elements. Well, it’s partly to do with the fantasy elements. There’s a genuinely interesting take on dark fantasy stuff here, and the ambiguity with which it might be real, or it might all be an imagined coping mechanism for the protagonist, seeing as she’s living in an immensely stressful situation.

Which… okay, that’s also a bit The Wizard of Oz, but Pan’s Labyrinth is very different from that movie, once you get past the idea of young girls traveling to different worlds and parts of one world being reflected in the other. Also, Pan’s Labyrinth might well be the greatest thing Guillermo del Toro has ever directed, but if you’re talking about his fantasy movies, there’s one that’s technically more harrowing.

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‘The Devil’s Backbone’ (2001)

Image via Sony Pictures Classics

And that more harrowing Guillermo del Toro dark fantasy movie is The Devil’s Backbone, which was made a few years before Pan’s Labyrinth. It didn’t quite achieve the same level of popularity, but it’s almost just as good. Also fitting for a movie made a little earlier, The Devil’s Backbone is set slightly further back in time than Pan’s Labyrinth, taking place during the final stage of the Spanish Civil War, while Pan’s Labyrinth takes place after that same war.

Narratively, The Devil’s Backbone is about an orphanage that’s cursed, and follows a young boy discovering horrors there as a result, many of them of a supernatural variety. The whole film gets dark and even unpleasant at times, making it a little hard to recommend unless you’re prepared to feel a bit rotten. It’s amazingly atmospheric, though, and certainly visceral/hard to forget, once seen.

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‘All of Us Strangers’ (2023)

Image via Searchlight Pictures

All of Us Strangers is about a man who finds connection with another man, both of them very lonely. It starts to develop into something possibly romantic, though around the same time, the first man also reconnects with his parents. He hasn’t seen them in a while, to put it one way. That might not sound very fantastical, but it is, when you take into account his parents had been dead for years, and when he reconnects with them, they’re the same age they were when they died.

There are further things that happen, possibly even definable as plot twists, so All of Us Strangers does end up being quite surprising. It’s also heavy-going, as part of the overall emotional roller coaster it provides. Some of it goes up and is exciting, and then other parts seem keen to break your heart into as many pieces as possible. In good ways, it should be noted.

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‘The Green Mile’ (1999)

Image via Universal Pictures

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With The Green Mile, the fantasy elements are subdued, but they’re certainly there. It’s based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, which wasn’t necessarily an epic-length one by his standards, but the movie is about as long as you’d expect an epic to be. It takes place inside a prison, and mostly concerns prisoners on death row, and the staff who work there as well.

One prisoner has been falsely accused, and he also happens to have miraculous healing abilities, with a good deal of the drama in The Green Mile concerning desperate attempts to get such a man off death row. But this is a story all about death and confronting mortality and all that, and one that’s not afraid to get heavy and feel like a tearjerker, so it’s sobering stuff. Certainly about as far from whimsical and adventurous as a fantasy story can get.

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The Green Mile

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Release Date

December 10, 1999

Runtime

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189 minutes

Director

Frank Darabont

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