Brandy and others are reacting after Ray J said his liver and his heart are messed up, and he still hasn’t “got it checked.”

RELATED: Awww! Internet Users Are Talkin’ About Chris Brown’s Affection For Jada Wallace Following Clip Of Them At Ray J’s Boxing Match (WATCH)

Ray J Says His Liver & Heart Are Messed Up & He Still Hasn’t “Got It Checked”

During the early hours of Monday, September 28, Ray J took to his Instagram to share a clip, apparently from one of his recent livestreams. In the clip, he explained that his liver and heart are “f****d up.”

“I just — I wake up, and I know it,” he continued. “I still don’t give a f**k. I still haven’t went and got it checked. Eventually, like, n****s is gon’ die. What else is gon’ happen? The ambulance is gon’ come, and hopefully we make it through. But if we die, n****s will be like, ‘It’s about time. We was waiting.’”

Furthermore, he captioned the clip, “W’s in the chat for #RAYHAB“

Brandy Reacts Alongside Social Media After Ray J Said His Liver & Heart Are Messed Up & He Still Hasn’t “Got It Checked”

Brandy slid in Ray J’s comment section with a few words for her brother.

“You’re fine Bro!!! I am gonna continue to help take care of you. 🩶🩶🩶♾️♾️♾️
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽,” she wrote.

Furthermore, the reactions to Ray continued in The Shade Room’s comment section.

The Singer Recently Made Headlines Amid His Concerning Health

As The Shade Room previously reported, Ray J was admitted to the hospital in January. Subsequently, he revealed that his heart was not functioning at full capacity, and doctors allegedly told him he had months to live. By February, Raj sparked concern when footage showed him performing with a chest patch and apparent blood running from his eyes, per The Shade Room.

Despite skepticism, his team maintained his declining health, and his mom confirmed his claims. Despite all of this, Ray J has turned heads, getting knocked out in the boxing ring, expressing indifference about his participation, and even taking part in another boxing match against Orlando Brown.

RELATED: Hit It First! Ray J Wins Boxing Match Against Orlando Brown & Social Media Has Thoughts (VIDEOS)

Just two years after premiering her directorial debut, The Deb, at the Toronto International Film Festival, Rebel Wilson is back with another musical comedy. But while The Deb, which earned largely positive reviews, was adapted from a stage show, her new directorial feature, Girl Group, has an original screenplay written by Wilson. That change likely doesn’t explain the difference between the two films, but this time around, the jokes feel heavily recycled, the characters never really take shape, and the music doesn’t exactly fill in that missing spark.

Even with appreciated and gasp-worthy appearances by Melanie C from the Spice Girls and Shaznay Lewis of All Saints, there’s surprisingly little to get excited about in Girl Group. Having watched the film at its world premiere in Toronto this September, I noticed how scarce the laughter was from the audience, too. For a film built to bring the house down with comedy and a bubblegum pop style that some of us genuinely miss, the silence said plenty.

What Is ‘Girl Group’ About?

Image via Julie Edwards/Future Image/Cover Images

In addition to directing and writing Girl Group, Wilson plays Tassie Young, a former teenage pop star who left her group Gurlfriends for a solo career that never really took off. When it’s announced that the group is getting back together, Tassie feels it’s the perfect time to reconnect with the girls — but discovers from her manager Gabriella (Jennifer Coolidge) that her former bandmates have replaced her with a new singer, played by Nicole Scherzinger. Threading in a bit of stereotype, Tassie takes the news pretty hard, and a DUI soon lands her in court-ordered community service at a Los Angeles youth center run by an awkward yet encouraging mentor named Ken (Randall Park).

Ken assigns her to coach a group of young girls who want to make it in the music industry: Tyler (Chabely Ponce), Kiah (Daniela Couso), La La (Lilah Pate), Henrietta (Mia Kaplan), Bailey (Bailey Stender), and Pippin (Ana Yi Puig). While the dynamic of the group gets off to a bumpy start and the girls clash with Tassie’s style, they soon form a bond through their shared love of music. Eventually calling themselves Xplode, they enter a competition where they’re up against the Cream Team — a group that includes Bailey’s older sister Jess, played by Loren Gray. Cream Team’s mentor, Miss Candy (Jamie–Lee O’Donnell), is determined to win, especially since she has a rather dark connection to Tassie. But as the stakes get higher and Wilson’s character begins to view the girls as her ticket back to stardom, coaching the group also begins to mean deciding whether she cares more about their future or her own.

From start to finish, you can see there’s a deeply affecting story in here somewhere, especially when we watch flashbacks with Tassie’s own mentor from high school, Mrs. Bowmaker (Sally Hawkins), coming in as the maternal support she so badly needs. But Girl Group races through those relationships in pursuit of the next big gag or musical number, never taking shape into a feel-good movie reminiscent of Wilson’s previous work in Pitch Perfect. Instead, it takes that underdog story we all so easily love and struggles across its 96 minutes to make these girls feel like real people within it.

‘Girl Group’s Writing Keeps Recycling the Same Jokes

Image via TIFF 2026

Before getting into the heart of Girl Group, it’s important to know what a film like this could have meant for pop-loving viewers, young and old. As someone who grew up on the Spice Girls, All Saints, Billie Piper, Atomic Kitten, Samantha Mumba, you name it — that whole wave of British pop felt like a world you could sincerely belong to. Girl Group, in the most fun way, borrows the look of that era and its music, but never really gets at why that world meant so much to the young girls and boys who grew up with it. It skips quickly from Gurlfriends’ past to Tassie’s present, using nostalgia just to set up another underdog competition.

On top of that, Wilson’s script rarely finds its own comedic rhythm. Tassie has the outsized confidence and bad judgment of many characters that Wilson has played well before, but there’s little here that makes those qualities surprising. And the unnecessary gross-out humor is an especially telling example of a tone and writing disconnect. For a film that doesn’t exactly rely on crude humor, one joke brings Bridesmaids immediately to mind, without the buildup or character work that made that film’s outrageous moments land. Girl Group even mentions Pitch Perfect by name, drawing attention to its familiar group of unlikely singers and rivals, but as the competition gives the movie a destination, the young performers have too little room to develop distinct personalities or a bond worth rooting for.

I was also bothered by the gap between the film’s message and its jokes. It wants to celebrate girls supporting one another and resisting the music industry’s narrow expectations, yet Henrietta and even Bailey’s size becomes an easy source of humor. Sure, you can argue the film is seen through Tassie’s eyes, but those tones feel especially misguided in a story about young women trying to define themselves on their own terms. The script could have made sharper jokes about the pressure to look and act a certain way as a pop star. But instead, it falls back on the very assumptions it claims to question. By the finale, its message of empowerment barely feels earned.

‘Girl Group’s Cast Gives It a Few Bright Spots

Image via Warner Bros

With a cast packed full of singers and very funny people, Girl Group should be a good time even when the story hits some familiar notes. Thankfully, there are a few bright spots that allow it to feel that way. The young women playing the members of Xplode bring energy to the musical numbers and are genuinely fun to watch, though the script gives them little room to stand out as individuals. Scherzinger seems to enjoy playing Tassie’s replacement, who we only know as “Popstar,” even if the character is basically just a plot device who exists just to get a reaction out of Tassie. Seeing Melanie C and Lewis was a particular pleasure, but I only wish the movie had more moments that felt as exciting. While Robbie Williams’ wife and former X-Factor panelist Ayda Field shows up as a reporter, these additions simply exist for show-and-tell.

Meanwhile, Park brings an easy warmth to Ken, the youth center director; his humor feels natural in a movie where so many jokes are trying too hard. Coolidge is fun to watch here in a role that’s a bit more tempered and relied upon as the voice of reason, compared to the unfair role she’s sometimes pigeonholed into. But O’Donnell is the best as Miss Candy. The Derry Girls star throws herself brilliantly into the rival coach’s competitive streak, giving every scene she’s in that sharp comic snap that Girl Group is missing, and playing to the outrageous comedy it so badly wants to be.

Wilson works hard to keep everything afloat, but Tassie gives her little room to play. Her confidence and willingness to look foolish have served her well before, but this time around, the film repeats those beats without giving her much of a foundation. The story moves through Tassie’s setbacks so quickly that even Wilson sometimes seems unconvinced by the emotional turns it asks her to make. And while Park and O’Donnell can make individual scenes funny, neither they nor the young cast can carry a film that gives each of them so little to build on. This is what makes Girl Group so disappointing: It has the performers, the music, and a premise with room for a funny comeback story, yet its best moments are too scattered to make it worth seeking out.

By Robert Scucci
| Published 17 seconds ago

If you’re looking for the kind of edgelord comedy that your eighth-grade self would love unapologetically, look no further than 2015’s Helen Keller Vs. Nightwolves. It’s the most absurd thing you’ll find on Tubi today, and it will make you a better person for watching it. Not because you finally found out where you should draw the line when it comes to offensive humor, but in the same way that Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter does, in the sense that real historical figures are used to tell a completely ridiculous revenge story, so it should teach you no to take anything too seriously.

This one will stick with you for days, not because it’s disturbing or thematically enthralling. It will stick with you, especially if you’re artistically inclined, because it makes it very clear that all you need in life is the willpower to force yourself through whatever project you find yourself involved in, knowing full well that people like me will actively seek it out on free streaming at one point or another.

Logically, Helen Keller Vs. Nightwolves makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The “rules” that are established aren’t even guidelines. They simply exist to be laughed at, and that’s half the fun. If you were to make a drinking game out of this one, you’d most certainly need your stomach pumped.

Does Anne Sullivan Know About This?

Helen Keller Vs. Nightwolves takes the historical figure you learned about in elementary school and asks the question absolutely nobody was asking: what if Helen Keller had to fight a pack of vicious Nightwolves? And yes, the movie commits to that premise with considerably more enthusiasm than anybody could reasonably expect.

The story follows a young Helen Keller (Jessie Wiseman), whose family is terrorized by the Nightwolves, leaving Helen without her sight or hearing. Anne Sullivan (Alanna Ubach) eventually enters the picture and teaches Helen how to communicate, putting her on the path toward eventually becoming the older Helen Keller (Lin Shaye), who has some unfinished business with the monsters responsible for ruining her life.

Barry Bostwick also shows up as Jonathan because, at this point, why the hell wouldn’t he? There’s considerably more going on, but explaining much beyond that feels almost counterproductive. You already know whether you’re willing to follow this movie wherever the hell it wants to go.

Meant To Break All The Rules

What’s most perplexing about Helen Keller Vs. Nightwolves is just how little it cares about its own lore. Helen Keller is able to interpret speech so long as she can read lips through her hands. Then suddenly she can also communicate through upside-down drinking glasses placed strategically on a table because of their vibrations. Then suddenly (again), without any rhyme or reason, Helen Keller is capable of carrying on full conversations without any of these things.

When fictional filmmaker St. James St. James (Ross Patterson) breaks the fourth wall to explain exactly what’s happening, you’ll be reminded of how much he sounds like Phil Hartman’s portrayal of Troy McClure of The Simpsons fame, but not nearly as charismatic. The biggest bummer about Helen Keller Vs. Nightwolves is the fact that it reminded me that Phil Hartman is dead, which, if I’m being entirely honest here, really bummed me out.

As much as St. James St. James’ participation in Helen Keller Vs. Nightwolves bummed me out, I was reminded of how magical it is to be alive, for being alive’s sake. This is not a good movie. It’s the cinematic equivalent of your best friend from middle school never growing up and trying to be as offensive as possible whenever they get the opportunity to.

The unhinged humor found in this film outweighs the cringe factor, though, for reasons that I still cannot reasonably articulate, which makes Helen Keller Vs. Nightwolves worth your time if you’re just looking for a little over an hour to kill and don’t care how the means justify the ends.

As of this writing, you can stream Helen Keller Vs. Nightwolves for free on Tubi.

HELEN KELLER VS. NIGHTWOLVES SCORE

When the classic “curry western” mutates with the feral gore of vampire lore, the result is HALF, director Samjad’s electrifying neo-Western that marks a ferocious new chapter for Malayalam cinema. Blending Sergio Leone’s lawless frontier aesthetics with the visceral martial choreography of Very Tri Yulisman (The Raid 2), the film plunges audiences into the brutal Pai Nagar desert. Here, half-vampire twins Ethan and Ivy are left for dead by a ruthless band of marauders, triggering an unyielding, blood-drenched quest for vengeance. Making history as the first Malayalam film to premiere at Toronto International Film Festival’s prestigious Midnight Madness, HALF isn’t merely an action spectacle; it’s a genre-defying cultural statement that grounds supernatural abilities in raw human emotion, sibling bonds, and an eclectic, scene-stealing soundtrack.

In this exclusive interview with Coastal House Media journalist Aayush Sharma, lead actors Ranjith Sajeev (Ethan) and Aiswarya Raj (Ivy) break down how they approached their roles as grounded human beings first and supernatural creatures second. From building an unspoken sibling dynamic to executing unpolished, primal fight choreography and navigating non-verbal performance, Sajeev and Raj offer a deep dive into the making of this groundbreaking film, and why Malayalam genre cinema is poised to captivate global audiences strictly on its own terms.

Ethan is technically a vampire, but HALF places him inside the tradition of the Indian Western hero: a solitary figure moving through a lawless landscape and eventually dispensing his own form of justice. How did you construct Ethan physically and psychologically so he felt like a character from an Indian Western first and a supernatural creature second?

Ranjith Sajeev: As you said, the genre of this film blends a lot of different genres, and that’s exactly what Samjad had in mind as well. That’s how we conceived the overall aesthetic of the characters and the film. It’s a neo-Western film featuring vampires, and I feel like that’s where the newness of the genre comes in as well. Talking about Ethan specifically, even though he’s a Daywalker, which is a half-human, half-vampire hybrid, to him, he’s just a regular guy. He has a sister he bickers and fights with; he does everyday things, and he experiences very human emotions. So, we wanted to approach these characters with a strong sense of humanity as well.

Usually, when you see vampires, they have a much larger-than-life presence in how they’re presented. I think that’s something we’ve seen throughout the years. But with Ethan and Ivy, we wanted to ground them as characters first and foremost. The fact that they’re supernatural creatures is secondary; it’s simply a part of their abilities. The bigger question for us was: how do you make them feel really relatable and grounded as siblings? How do you make their sibling camaraderie work and make the audience connect with them as characters? I feel like that’s the way we approached the film. There’s a very realistic and grounded treatment of the way we approached these characters, and that’s exactly what Samjad had in mind when he first presented the film to me.

Official Poster of ‘HALF’ (Credit: Fragrant Nature Film Creations)

Aiswarya, your character Ivy might be the most technically fascinating character in the film because she is non-verbal, yet she is also a supernatural being capable of extraordinary violence. How did you build an internal emotional vocabulary for her? Did you consciously create different physical registers for affection, fear, anger, and bloodlust, knowing that dialogue could not communicate those transitions?

Aiswarya Raj: Yes, actually, before the film, I had some sign language practice and preparation. While preparing for the film, I wanted Ivy to be like any normal person, and I didn’t want the fact that she couldn’t speak to define her in any way. She has that aspect of her life, but it’s just a part of who she is. It doesn’t necessarily explain what she does or who she is as a person.I wanted her to be a regular person who is out there doing all the things she wants to do in life, and nothing should come in the way of that. I didn’t want her to think, “Oh, I have this, so I’m vulnerable or helpless.” Nothing like that. She’s really bold and confident; she knows what she wants, and she knows how to build something for herself.

She never really thought of herself as a vampire. She knew that she and her brother had this supernatural ability within them, but that didn’t define them. They had never actually experienced an incident where they had to use those powers. They knew they had heightened sensitivity, healing abilities, and that they were more powerful than regular people, but that was it. To them, those were just traits they had, and even those abilities came with their own weaknesses. For example, not being able to see in extreme light is a weakness, right? I wanted Ivy to see herself in that way. She doesn’t consider herself extraordinary, but she knows herself very well. She’s a go-getter, and creating that character wasn’t particularly difficult for me because certain parts of her felt relatable to me. In some ways, she was also a version of myself that I would aspire to be. I really like certain aspects of her personality.

At the same time, I would say she’s a little arrogant, and I had that in mind as well. I never wanted her to be this perfect human being. She could be a little flawed, a little difficult, and a little more normal in that sense. She’s not conventional. I didn’t want her to be the conventional heroine who is helpless and needs someone else to help her. I didn’t want to put her in a box. I wanted the audience to have their own interpretation of her. I wanted them to look at her and think, “Okay, let me figure this character out myself.” In a way, I wanted to give the audience a challenge: read the character for yourself and tell me who she is. That’s something I really wanted from Ivy.

The film gives Ethan supernatural abilities, but that can actually create an acting challenge because conventional action stakes are different when your character is significantly harder to kill. Did you approach Ethan’s invulnerability as a source of confidence, or did you deliberately build some vulnerability underneath it so the audience still feels something when he is attacked?

Ranjith: I think that vulnerability isn’t just something that came from me. I think everyone involved, including Samjad and the choreographer, really understood that we had to bring that vulnerability into the characters. Because at the end of the day, you want to see a protagonist go through challenges. When they face hardships and eventually succeed, that’s when it feels earned, right? Even with the fight choreography, it’s really raw and unpolished. If you look at the choreographer’s previous work, like the Rage series, they’re amazing action films, but the characters in those films are expert martial artists. They’re technically trained and know exactly what they’re doing.

These characters, however, the vampires or Daywalkers, are just normal beings. To them, they’re normal people who happen to have vampiric abilities. They completely depend on those abilities when it comes to combat. If they didn’t have those abilities, they probably would have been dead within the first 10 minutes. I feel like those abilities add a completely different dimension to the combat because the fighting is primarily animalistic. They’re vampires, they’re creatures, and when they awaken that part of themselves, it becomes very primal and feral. They just go all in, guns blazing, because they know they’re going to heal and that their abilities will protect them. So the fighting becomes really scrappy instead of technical.

I feel like that scrappy nature of the choreography is our flavor in this film, and we’ve carried it throughout all the action sequences. Even though these characters have supernatural abilities, they still have to adapt to every situation and every fight. If you look at all the fight sequences, every single one has its own originality. The bar fight isn’t like the house fight, and the house fight isn’t like the climax fight. The circumstances are different each time, so the characters have to adapt accordingly. That adaptability plays a huge role in the choreography. That also means the audience gets a new experience with every fight scene. It doesn’t become monotonous or feel like they’re watching the same kind of action repeatedly. I feel like that vulnerability and the scrappy, raw nature of the fighting are really the flavor of the film, and ultimately, they’re the identity of the fight choreography as well. So yes, bringing that vulnerability into these characters, even within the fight sequences, was something we did very deliberately.

Ivy’s cellphone playlist becomes part of the film’s sonic identity. That creates an unusual contrast: we see an extremely violent character moving through brutal action while music associated with her personal taste plays alongside it. Did you think of the playlist almost as Ivy’s dialogue? In other words, were you using the songs to reveal aspects of her personality that she could not express verbally?

Aiswarya: Verbally, yeah, that would have been a great take, but when I was going through it, I felt like it would take away from her personality. She’s a really cool person. She’s very nonchalant, and her attitude is almost like, “I’ll just make this disappear.” If there’s an obstacle in my way, I’ll just make it disappear. That was the kind of thought process behind her. As for the playlist, I haven’t heard it yet, so I have no idea what it sounds like. They told me it’s great, though, so I’m really looking forward to hearing it. I think the playlist also adds to her personality. Almost like you said, the dialogue tells you, “This is how I am.” But like I said earlier, I wanted her to remain mysterious. I wanted people to feel like, “Let me read her. Let me get into her head and figure out what she’s thinking.” I think the playlist adds to that mystery while also bringing out her coolness.

I think that was a brilliant move by the writers because, without the playlist, she might have felt a little more distant from the rest of the movie. Drenjith has his own way of communicating, and he has more freedom when it comes to expressing himself verbally, whereas Ivy doesn’t have that same freedom. So, the playlist really speaks for her. It becomes another way for her to communicate and gives the audience a glimpse into her personality without having to explain everything through dialogue.

Ranjith: Like Baby Driver, I think music plays a really, really important role in a film. It can elevate so many scenes and sequences, and that’s exactly what we wanted to achieve here. From the get-go, this was supposed to be a high-octane action-adventure film, and to translate that experience and feeling in the right way, music plays a huge part. That’s especially thanks to Mithun Mukundan, who’s the music composer of the film. There are some really cool tracks in this movie, and I don’t want to spoil too much because I want to leave that experience for the audience. But definitely, it’s an amalgamation of everything: the music, the fight choreography, the sound design, and the character work. All of these elements come together to make this a true theatrical experience.

HALF stars Ranjith Sajeev and Aiswarya Raj (Credit: Fragrant Nature Film Creations)

Ethan and Ivy are twins, but Ivy is non-verbal while Ethan becomes the more expressive half of their relationship. How did you and Aiswarya establish their communication without relying too heavily on dialogue? Were there particular physical gestures, eye movements, rhythms, or recurring behaviours that became part of Ethan and Ivy’s private language?

Ranjith: I think we just had a very natural chemistry, honestly. We pretty much just winged it. We spent around 150 days on location shooting the film, so we talked a lot and spent a lot of time together. It got to the point where we subconsciously knew how to balance each other out in scenes. The funny thing is that the intro scene of the film, where you see the siblings bickering, was actually the last scene we shot. By then, our chemistry had already meshed really well, and I feel like that was a very deliberate plan from Samjad as well. After everything else had been shot, he saved the introduction of these characters for last so that our chemistry would be at its peak. I feel like that’s how we achieved that dynamic.

There’s also a scene midway through the film that I don’t want to spoil, but it’s an intimate moment between the siblings that becomes the driving force behind what they do for the rest of the film. It’s a one-take scene, and we actually had a light issue while shooting it. We had been shooting at that location for around four days, and this was our last day there. Samjad wanted to shoot the scene in this very specific, almost dawn-like light. It couldn’t be too bright, but it also couldn’t be too dark, so we had a very small window to get the shot. While the camera was being set up, Samjad basically told us what we needed to do and then left us to our own devices. We were like, “Okay.” But by that point, we knew each other so well that even without a detailed plan, we trusted that we would be able to balance our chemistry in the best way possible.

We did the scene, and that was it. It was one take. We didn’t do another take after that. So, what I’m trying to say is that the chemistry between us was pretty much unspoken and unsaid. We didn’t have to do a lot of pre-planning before every scene, like, “Okay, you say this and I’ll react like this.” It just happened naturally. And I feel like that adds a lot to these characters and the emotions in the film because the chemistry came from a really natural space for both of us.

Aiswarya: Yeah, and as he said, we’re really not that expressive as siblings. Right from the introduction, you see them bickering, and I think it’s a very realistic portrayal of what it’s like to have a brother or sister. When you’re sitting at home, you don’t necessarily talk to each other all the time. You just coexist. They’ve been living together for around 25 years, so at that point, you know each other so well. You can just look at each other and communicate so many things without actually saying anything. A lot of it is unspoken, and I think that’s what happened with us as well. Maybe it’s because of the amount of time we spent together, but we developed this very natural sibling vibe. By the end, I would almost say we looked like twins!

I actually still remember the first time we met. We accidentally wore the same thing. We were both wearing a black shirt and jeans. I remember thinking, “Yeah, this is exactly what you guys look like: fraternal twins!” And I think that was a great sign for the casting.

There is an interesting contradiction in Ivy: she is physically terrifying but potentially emotionally more mysterious because the audience cannot simply listen to her explain herself. How much did you deliberately withhold from the performance? Did you ever have to resist the temptation to “show” the audience exactly what Ivy was feeling?

Aiswarya: Ivy was feeling… No, actually, whatever she did, I would say that it was always truthful to her character. I never felt like, “Oh, I have to show this emotion here because this is where the character is supposed to feel it.” Ivy always had this curtain in front of her, almost like a mask. She doesn’t feel the need to show her emotions all the time. I think the only time she really lets something out is the moment he mentioned earlier, that intimate moment between the siblings. All the frustration she’s been carrying is suddenly there, and she needs to take it out on somebody. But she’s not angry at her brother. She’s angry that something like this happened and that he had to go through it. Honestly, she would have preferred to keep all of that inside her own head, but it came out. It just burst out in that moment, and she never intended for it to happen that way.

For most of the film, her face is really plain, and I wanted to keep it that way. Initially, I thought very consciously about maintaining that throughout the film. But after a point, I stopped thinking about it. I never thought, “Okay, I need to do something with my face here,” or, “I need to use this particular body language in this scene.” There was nothing like that. After a while, I just lost myself in the character, and it was all Ivy. I think I was like that on set as well. I’m not even sure, honestly, but at some point, I wasn’t consciously thinking about how I was playing Ivy anymore. I was just being her.

Malayalam cinema has increasingly demonstrated that a film can be deeply rooted in its own cultural language while still travelling internationally without being “translated” into a generic global cinema. HALF takes that even further by using a very local Indian genre history as the foundation for a vampire action film with an international action team. Do you see the future of Malayalam genre cinema as becoming less about trying to make films that look “global” and more about making films so culturally specific that the world becomes curious about them? 

Ranjith: I think the thing is, if you’re setting out to make a film with the mentality that, “Okay, we need to take this global,” that’s not necessarily going to work. I feel like you should just make the story you want to tell as honestly and truthfully as possible. If the audience connects with that content, they will make it global. That’s their job, not ours. I would say that Malayalam films, specifically, have always been really far ahead when it comes to content. Our budgets are relatively small compared to other industries, but in terms of storytelling, we’ve always tried to push into new territories. Half is no different. From the very beginning, it was never about saying, “Oh, let’s make an international film.” We were simply thinking, “Let’s make a really, really cool film that we would want to watch in a theatre.” I feel like that ideology is what ultimately pushes cinema and films to a global scale. When you make something that’s relatable to an audience, and they can genuinely resonate with it, that’s when you can take a film beyond its original boundaries and connect with audiences globally. I feel like that mentality is what’s really important. I’m just hoping this can be the beginning of Malayalam cinema going global in the most organic way possible. Half is the first Malayalam film to premiere at Midnight Madness and the third Indian film to do so, and that itself is a huge honour for all of us as a team. From here on, we’re just hoping it continues to go upwards. That’s what we’re all hoping for.

Aiswarya: I’d say this is probably one of the best examples of cultural exchange. We took a very Western element, something with that classic Dracula and European vampire influence, and blended it with an Indian way of filmmaking and storytelling. Even the characters on the other side, the negative characters in our film, are very Indian. Their body language, their personalities, and the way they behave are deeply rooted in Indian culture. So, to blend those characters and that cultural identity with a story that has these Western supernatural elements is, I think, a really interesting form of cultural exchange. We’ve been taking influences from international cinema for a long time, and Malayalam cinema, in particular, has always been ahead of its time in that regard. Our stories have traditionally been very character-driven. The premise is important, of course, but the characters have always been at the heart of the story. When you watch a Lalettan or a Mammootty film, you’re not necessarily watching a person simply playing a character. You feel like you’re seeing yourself. You think, “Oh, I know this person. I’ve seen this happen in my own life.” Malayalam cinema has always had that quality. I would say Half is a newer version of that tradition. We’ve taken these influences and approached them in a very grounded and realistic way. As he said, the idea felt very new to us, and I think that’s what makes the film interesting.

Ranjith: I think it was post-COVID that we, as an Indian audience, really started embracing more naturalism in films as well. I’ve said this before, but Indian audiences don’t just watch Indian films. We watch Korean films, Spanish films, and films from all over the world. We want good films, regardless of where they come from. And I think that’s something that challenges us as actors and filmmakers to push ourselves and provide a new experience for the audience. How can we deliver something they haven’t seen before? How can we surprise them in new ways? Content plays a huge, huge part in that. As I said, it’s about organically trying to tell the story you want to tell without being afraid of whether it will let the audience down or whether it will be perceived as something that can travel internationally. If you tell the story in the truest and most honest way possible, I believe that global reach will happen organically.

Earlier this year, Andrew Scott starred in Pressure, which chronicled one of Britain’s finest hours of the 20th century. This fall, he’ll star in Elsinore, a drama about one of its greatest shames: an unchecked pandemic that cut down many of its best and brightest in the prime of their lives. Elsinore will hit theaters this fall, but we now have a first glimpse of it with the release of its first trailer. The film is based on the true story of Ian Charleson, a Scottish actor famed worldwide for his silver screen performances in Chariots of Fire and Gandhi, he was also a noted stage star in the UK.

In the 1980s, Charleson was diagnosed with AIDS, which was essentially a death sentence at the time. Despite being severely ill, he took on the lead role in a production of Hamlet at the National Theatre in 1989. Charleson’s performance, which was universally acclaimed, would turn out to be his swan song, as he succumbed to the disease months later. He insisted that his cause of death be announced publicly, a rarity at the time; it helped foster greater awareness of the threat posed by AIDS, which was then poorly understood.

Elsinore centers around the last months of Charleson’s life, as he braves his illness while treading the boards one last time. Helping him is Margaret Johnson (Olivia Colman), one of the UK’s first doctors to specialize in AIDS; by his side is his friend, casting director Patsy Pollock (Billie Piper), who sees him through his final days. But it’s Charleson who musters the strength to deliver the performance of a lifetime. The film is directed by Simon Stone (The Woman in Cabin 10), from a script by Stephen Beresford (Tolkien); it will be released by Focus Features on November 20.

What Are the Critics Saying About ‘Elsinore’?

Elsinore currently holds an 89% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Scott and Colman’s performances being singled out for praise. In her review, Collider’s Terese Lacson was moved by Scott’s bravura performance, which is already being brought up in the end-of-year awards conversation; according to Lacson, he gives “an authentic and gut-wrenching performance that stays with you long after the movie is over.”

Elsinore will debut in theaters on November 20. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.

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Release Date

November 20, 2026

Runtime

104 minutes

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Director

Simon Stone

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Writers

Stephen Beresford

Producers

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Andrea Occhipinti, Andrew Scott, Carolyn Marks Blackwood, Gabrielle Tana, Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon, Stefano Massenzi

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Drama is unfolding after Nevaeh Akira revealed she would no longer be joining ‘Baddies USA: Chapter 3.’ Her decision came just one day after Zeus Network announced that she and Jaidyn Alexis would appear on the show as “Blueface Girls.” Shortly after, Blueface gave Nevaeh an ultimatum, telling her she would need to leave his home. Now, Natalie Nunn is speaking out about Nevaeh’s decision to back out of the show.

Related: Oop! Blueface Drops A Spicy Message & The Internet Immediately Mentions Nevaeh Akira (PHOTO + VIDEO)

Natalie Nunn & Blueface Get On The Phone Over Nevaeh Akira

Natalie Nunn recently joined PlaqueboyMax for a livestream. While there were several viral moments throughout the stream, one in particular sparked plenty of conversation online.

During the livestream, Natalie expressed her frustration over Nevaeh backing out of ‘Baddies USA.’ According to Natalie, she personally spoke with Nevaeh about joining the show after Nevaeh expressed interest in appearing. Natalie said she was upset that Nevaeh later changed her mind, adding that there are plenty of other women who want an opportunity to be on ‘Baddies.’

Natalie also made it clear that she and Nevaeh are no longer cool.

“You’re never gonna embarrass me like that,” Natalie said.

In another clip, Natalie was seen on the phone with Blueface, who called Nevaeh “slow” and claimed she “signs herself up for things she’s not ready for.” Blueface then said Nevaeh might as well be banned from Zeus Network altogether.

As previously reported, Nevaeh said she decided not to join ‘Baddies USA: Chapter 3’ because she was not in the right mindset to participate. She also explained that she is currently dealing with court matters involving her son, Superior, while adjusting to life as a new mom to her and Blueface’s newborn son.

Nevaeh Akira Claps Back After Natalie Nunn & Blueface Speak Out

After clips of Natalie and Blueface circulated online, social media users began debating whether Nevaeh was justified in backing out of the show.

Nevaeh later addressed the situation on her Instagram Story, appearing frustrated by the reaction to her decision.

“I got b***** pressed as a mother*****. You talking like you gave me a check or something. What the f**** is you so mad for?” she said.

In a follow-up video, Nevaeh added, “So I was the biggest fish that these mother***** was trying to catch.”

After The Shade Room Teens shared Nevaeh’s response, Natalie entered the comment section to defend her side of the situation.

“How I’m wrong when she came to me, called me asking to be on Baddies? I gave her a spot, she signs the deal and now backs out! I could have given this job to someone else to work, make money and change their life!!! End of story. A waste of time,” Natalie wrote.

Nevaeh quickly responded, disputing Natalie’s claim that she signed a deal.

“I didn’t sign 💩. Wtf,” she replied.

Social Media Reacts

Social media users shared their thoughts in TSR Teens’ comment section.

Instagram user @aaliyahgabriellee wrote, “Why it’s bothering u so much the girl don’t wanna come tho? 🤔”

Another Instagram user @nly1driaaa wrote, “I don’t think Natalie or Blue or the world understands how custody battles in court goes… that once she goes on baddies, that’s showing the whole wide world that she’s an unfit parent.. how? Becaue it’s showing her fighting and getitng drunk. She’ll lose custody easily”

While Instagram user @ceestaliii wrote, “Yall missing the point fr if she wanted to be at home with her newborn so bad why did she speak to Natalie and say she wanna do it and sign a deal? Something not adding up”

Instagram user @tearrhere_ wrote, “God was protecting her the whole time 👏🏾”

Another Instagram user @x.adoresammy_ wrote, “They definitely acting like they knew for sure the story like was gonna be about her! They knew she would bring in views! She really go further than baddies if she play her cards right..”

While Instagram user @therealllilredd wrote, “Veah veah is in fact bigger than the program 😭😂😂”

Instagram user @dopeitskaylaa wrote, “Natalie too pressed that a woman who just gave birth doesnt wanna go on the show anymore… like pls leave her tf alone. U can’t force someone to be on your show.”

Another Instagram user @kamaniananda wrote, “Did she sign the contract or did Blue sign it? 🧐”

While Instagram user @daisiaxxsquirtle wrote, “They was going to set veah up, prolly bring Chrisean or Jaidyn to press a issue with her”

Related: Nevaeh Akira Reacts After Blueface Says She Has 3 Days To Leave His House Because She Turned Down ‘Baddies USA’ Alongside Jaidyn Alexis

Real talk: we’re not here to hate on Chelsea boots. They have their place as a timeless wardrobe staple. However, we will say that rich girls are reaching for sleeker, classier alternatives that make Chelsea boots seem, well. . . basic. And these elevated boots are replacing ours.

With elements like slouchy suede, intricate stitching, lengthening silhouettes and pointed toes, these luxe-looking picks are effortlessly polished. Whether you style them with dresses or skirts, denim or trousers, you’ll channel expensive, put-together energy. The best part? Our favorites start at only $10!

13 Rich-Girl Fall Boots — From $10

1. Our Favorite: Not only do these knee-high boots come in a luxe mauve-brown color, but they also have buttery (faux) suede, a square toe and a sturdy block heel.

2. Cute Booties: Simple and sleek, these leather-looking booties go with absolutely everything. They’re 49% off right now, so run!

3. Pretty Pointed: With a pointed toe and knee-high silhouette, these shiny wonders have leg-lengthening superpowers.

4. Designer Details: It’s hard to believe these knot-adorned ankle boots are under $50, but we’re not complaining! Shoppers say they’re both comfortable and elegant.

5. Burgundy Babe: These square-toe stunners have a single front seam that gives them a modern, minimal flair. Burgundy is optional, but not really.

Related: Shh! Amazon Marked Down Free People-Style Fall Pieces — From $6

If you’re tempted to drop hundreds at Free People, we get it. But Amazon is hiding 17 chic fall pieces that channel the brand’s aesthetic eerily well. The only difference? The price. Our top picks start at only $6! These boho-luxe pieces are mega marked down ahead of Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, which runs […]

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6. Slouchy Chic: Look effortlessly expensive in these slouchy suede boots. The two-inch heel gives you a literal and figurative boost.

7. Cozy Alert: Yes, rich girls like to be cozy, too. These fuzzy, chestnut-colored booties are so similar to the brand-name pair, yet cost a third of the price!

8. East Coast: Look like an upstate socialite in these sophisticated riding boots that feature shiny buckles and marbled-looking leather.

9. Cool Girl: Mid-calf boots aren’t always stylish, but this cool-girl version features a slouchy shaft and creamy nude hue that make it laid-back and luxe.

10. Wealthy Status: A pointed toe, ankle height and kitten heel are a few highlights of these elegant black booties. Memory foam is an added bonus.

11. Wear-Everywhere Pick: You’ll wear these dreamy boots from errand runs to pumpkin patches and beyond, thanks to the comfortable low profile.

12. Western Twist: Cowboy boots get a cutesy upgrade with this mini heeled version. It nails the aesthetic in a less dramatic, actually wearable way.

13. Southern Charm: Give your wardrobe a taste of Nashville with these perforated ankle booties. At only $36, you’ll want two colors.

UsNow Fall Sale Alert: These chic fashion finds are up to 60% off – plus free shipping

Welcome to fall with our biggest sale of the season. Our favorite dresses, tops, handbags, and shoes are all on sale + free shipping. Inventory is limited so hurry before they’re gone.

Shop the UsNow Fall Sale —>