By Robert Scucci
| Published 43 seconds ago

My favorite kind of psychological thrillers are bottle stories because they have to make good use of their limited surroundings to generate real suspense. More often than not, stories like this can be shot on a shoestring budget and lean heavily on dialogue. An exception to that rule, 2022’s Fall is technically a bottle story, and relatively low budget given the reported $3 million that went into its production, but our protagonists aren’t chit chatting over coffee and unpacking their trauma. They’re sitting atop a 2,000 foot TV tower.

They’re still talking about their past traumas on that tower, but at least they earned that trope here because they had to climb for it.

While Fall spends most of its runtime unpacking grief at an extreme altitude, it never loses sight of what’s actually at stake. Two young women climb to the top of a decommissioned tower that becomes structurally compromised, and they have no way to get back down. Their friendship is tested, and so are their wills when they realize they have no reasonable way to contact their loved ones and let them know what kind of trouble they’re in.

Becky’s Grief And Shiloh’s Influence

The source of Becky’s (Grace Caroline Currey) trauma in Fall takes place one year prior to the TV tower incident. When her husband, Dan (Mason Gooding), falls to his death during what should have been a routine climb with her and her best friend Shiloh (Virginia Gardner), she becomes a husk of a human being, abusing her prescriptions and self medicating with alcohol. On the verge of suicide on the anniversary of Dan’s death, Becky is confronted by her father, James (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who desperately wants her to snap out of her spiral and continue living her life because Dan would have wanted her to.

Becky is finally pushed to confront her fear of climbing when Shiloh pays her a surprise visit with what she frames as the opportunity of a lifetime. Now working full time as an online influencer and adventurer, Shiloh, always proudly sporting a tight tank top so she can get more eyes on her live streams (her words, not mine), urges Becky to tag along on her next adventure. The plan is simple in theory and insane in practice. Climb a decommissioned 2,000 foot TV tower and scatter Dan’s ashes from the top.

From here on out, we get the expected dynamic between Becky and Shiloh. Becky is trapped in and defined by her trauma, while Shiloh constantly misquotes Dan’s positive platitudes as a way to convince her this is exactly what she needs. Eventually, Becky agrees.

They make the climb without realizing how many structural faults the tower has due to being decommissioned. After they reach the top, the rusted ladder system collapses beneath them, cutting off their only clear route down. With no cell service because of the tower’s interference and limited supplies, Becky and Shiloh have no way to contact their friends, families, or even Shiloh’s followers, who are periodically seeing updates from the adventure, but are used to waiting for delayed posts when she goes off the grid.

Living Is More Than Just Survival

Forced to confront her renewed fear of heights, Becky has to make peace with her past if she wants any chance at a future. She’s pushed to confront her personal demons in the worst possible setting, with Shiloh’s resourcefulness acting as a temporary guiding light. Unfortunately, nearly every plan they come up with backfires. Swinging their cell phones out far enough to catch a signal proves futile, and their quadcopter drone has limited battery life, making it impossible to reach anyone nearby before it dies.

As vultures begin circling the tower, the situation becomes more urgent by the hour. If they cannot find a solution, they will eventually succumb to dehydration, starvation, infection, or the elements. Both sustain injuries during their ordeal, and with no safe way down, their options shrink fast. At a certain point, all they can do is ration what little they have and hope that some miracle puts them back on solid ground.

Solid Twist, But It’s Been Done Before

Fall offers a couple of solid twists if you’re a psychological thriller tourist, but if you’ve been around the block a few times, you may find them less shocking than advertised. I was instantly reminded of 2018’s Adrift, which strands its characters on a sailboat in the middle of the Pacific, because the structural playbook is similar with its isolated setting, emotional trauma, and narrative reveal that reframes what you’ve been watching. 

Still, if you’re a more casual fan of the genre and do not actively seek out every single entry, Fall absolutely delivers on its promises. The setup is simple, the stakes are obvious, and the execution is tense enough to keep you locked in. Sometimes that’s all you really need from a survival thriller. You know what the ride is going to feel like. The question is whether you’re willing to take it.

Fall is currently streaming on Netflix.

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Published
February 28, 2026
12:38 PM PST

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By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 21 seconds ago

The most recent Starfleet Academy episode made very dramatic changes to two of the fandom’s most favorite characters. When SAM begins glitching, the Doctor teams up with her people to develop a startling diagnosis. Namely, that she is unable to process trauma because her Makers didn’t implant any memories of growing up.

To fix his holographic homie, the Doctor makes the major decision to raise a rebooted version of SAM on her homeworld for the equivalent of 17 years. Doing so helps the Doctor heal from his own emotional trauma (he’s still mourning the holographic daughter he lost over 800 years ago) while giving her the emotional resilience she will need to handle pain.

This is obviously meant to be a sweet episode that establishes a father/daughter bond between two unlikely characters. Unfortunately, this episode accidentally makes Starfleet the villain because it confirms they let a child into their academy and subsequently put her in various dangerous situations.

Life’s A Glitch

When Starfleet Academy first premiered, SAM was the character that confused me the most. She had a bubbly, childlike personality that was implicit in her programming. Even though she holographically presented herself to the world as a young woman, she was only recently programmed. Therefore, she came into the world with fresh eyes, often approaching things like a hyper-teenage girl version of Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

After the show’s first episode, my question was simple: “Wait, y’all let a kid into Starfleet Academy?” While different alien races must mature at different rates, it always seemed like you had to be at least the equivalent of 16 years (like young Wesley Crusher) to even apply. Therefore, it seemed weird they would accept SAM, someone who was practically born (er, programmed) yesterday.

Gathering Enough Data

Soon, I mollified myself with the notion that 32nd-century Starfleet likely saw SAM the same way that 24th-century Starfleet saw Data. To such an organization, the actual age of a person may be less important than their knowledge and relative maturity. Data knew more than probably any human from the moment he was programmed, so it’s not like Starfleet would have wanted him to arbitrarily wait 16 years before applying to the academy.

SAM, I reasoned, must be the same way: programmed with the knowledge needed to excel at Starfleet Academy and ultimately become an exemplary officer. However, what I hadn’t considered was that Data originally had no emotions for Starfleet to worry about. Combined with his extensive knowledge, that made him more or less like a Vulcan. SAM’s emotions, however, were front and center in “Life of the Stars,” an episode that accidentally reveals Starfleet as a villain.

Starfleet’s Sudden Heel Turn

In that episode, SAM begins glitching out, and things get bad enough that the Doctor and Chancellor Ake take the hologram back to her homeworld. Eventually, they realize that she is stuck reliving recent trauma that she was literally unable to process. That’s because her Makers never gave her any memories of growing up, and without learning resilience, she would be unable to handle the flood of negative emotions that come from traumatic experiences.

Our heroes save the day by proposing that the Doctor raise SAM until she is 17, effectively giving her an entire childhood with which to develop necessary emotional resilience. But I was struck by the revelation that SAM was programmed with no experiences or memories of any kind. Sure, she had plenty of intellect programmed in, but in every other respect, she had the mind of a child.

The Dangers Of Enrolling Literal Children

In that way, the happy ending of this episode confirmed my original suspicions that it was weird and downright dangerous for Starfleet Academy to accept a child into its ranks. She was someone without the capacity to really understand most of what she encountered, and her attempts to process something as relatively commonplace (at least, in Starfleet) as trauma nearly got her killed. Put another way, Starfleet nearly got this cadet killed because they didn’t accurately vet her during the application process!

Maybe there will eventually be some crunchy backstory to this; for example, we might get a revelation that, post-Burn, Starfleet is accepting almost every application they receive. Back in the 24th century, applicants like Wesley Crusher had to pass a psychological test where they confronted their greatest fears and showed they had the emotional resilience needed to be a Starfleet officer. In dropping tests like this and just blindly accepting SAM’s application without knowing exactly how she was programmed, Starfleet put her and her fellow cadets in danger.  

Skeezy administrators cutting corners in order to boost enrollment numbers? Maybe Starfleet Academy is more like the modern university system than any of us ever imagined!

The internet is all over Tahj Mowry, telling him to drop his digits thanks to the new Instagram pics he posted. The actor shared some selfies, and fans didn’t waste a second letting him know they were living for the up-close, personal shots.

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Tahj Mowry Just Dropped Some Selfies & The Internet Is Losing It!

Roommates, Tahj Mowry set Instagram on fire after dropping some fresh pics. The comments blew up fast with fire everywhere and heart-eyes flying. He posted two selfies in what looked like a car, one showing his side profile and the other staring straight into the camera. The ladies were feeling the energy, even joking that he went from little TJ Henderson to “Foine Man.” Tahj hasn’t addressed the fan reactions yet, but his sisters, Tia and Tamera Mowry, jumped in the comments. Fans started begging Tia to “put them on” after she wrote, “Brotherrrrrr….,” prompting one user to reply, “tell your brother I said call me.” 

Fans Are Ready To Slide Into Tahj Mowry’s DMs

After The Shade Room posted Tahj’s pics, the comments kept rolling in. Fans joked he’s always been fine, while others said they thought he was Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, at first glance.

Instagram user @therealmooney645 wrote, “He look sooo good! I BET HE STILL soooo SMART ❤️he so handsome 😩😩😩🙌🙌” 

Instagram user @djsugashae wrote, “He’s a smart guy ❤️” 

While Instagram user @therealmiyanamonique wrote, “I thought that was the Dwayne Johnson 🤦🏽‍♀️🤣🤣” 

Then Instagram user @sharleen_evett wrote, “He BEEN fine 😮‍💨😮‍💨😍😍” 

Another Instagram user @mzslimthick wrote, “Men know they look better with age! He looks good.” 

Instagram user @notyacupof_tee wrote, “Mr. Smart Guy looking good 😍” 

While another Instagram user @chioma.jpeg wrote, “Tell him we said drop the skincare routine AND the number.” 

Then another Instagram user @tamabam_ wrote, “Another slice of life, of master TJ Henderson, super intelligent, a fine young gentleman 😩” 

Finally, Instagram user @t0mmyn0pickles wrote, “Tj Hendersonnn 🤏🏽🤏🏽🤏🏽” 

Is Tahj Mowry Single Or Taken? Fans Want To Know!

For the ladies asking, Tahj Mowry hasn’t confirmed his relationship status. The ‘Full House’ star keeps his love life on the low and rarely drops hints on social media. Reports state that he was allegedly dating Naya Rivera in the early 2000s, before her passing. So for now, the girlies are going to have to do some serious detective work to see if Tahj is off the market or single and ready to mingle.

RELATED: Too Cute! Tamera Mowry’s Daughter Ariah Puts Her On To Tyla’s Viral ‘Chanel Dance Challenge (WATCH)

Bhad Bhabie on Cancer Battle
Doctor Gave Me Some ‘Bad News’
… But God Has the Last Say

Published
February 28, 2026
11:40 AM PST

Donnie Wahlberg revealed if wife Jenny McCarthy — or brother Mark Wahlberg — could appear in future episodes of his Blue Bloods spinoff Boston Blue.

“Jenny and I have discussed it. We’ve all discussed what she could possibly do on the show,” Wahlberg, 56, exclusively told Us Weekly. “What most people don’t know is that she was offered a part on Blue Bloods when we first started dating for an episode and we decided it was best not to do it. We didn’t want to distract the audience with that.”

Wahlberg didn’t rule anything out, adding, “But going forward, we had talked about her being [my son] Sean’s nurse and then she catches Danny’s eye. But Sean didn’t stay in the hospital too long … so Jenny’s definitely game to do something.”

The actor pointed out that McCarthy, 53, has already become part of the cast.

“Her and [my costar] Sonequa Martin-Green have become very close so they’re talking ideas,” he noted. “Every time I FaceTime with Jenny, Sonequa says something like, ‘Come on, we you need to a part on the show. I need you here all the time.’ It makes my heart so happy.”

Wahlberg didn’t stop there with the suggestions. “But I think my nephews are also interested in playing parts. They’re actors and we have Oscar, Jeffrey and Brandon. They are all doing very well in their own right,” he continued. “Is there a world where I finally twist Mark’s arm to come do an episode? Maybe. It depends on the script but anything’s possible.”

Before Boston Blue, Blue Bloods followed the lives of the Reagan family, many of whom work for the NYPD under the leadership of NYC police commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck). Frank’s father, Henry Reagan (Len Cariou), was also central to the show, alongside Frank’s children: daughter Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan) and sons Danny (Wahlberg) and Jamie Reagan (Will Estes).

The show aired from 2010 to 2024 before CBS announced a spinoff. Wahlberg’s character is at the center of the spinoff, which picks up as the former NYPD officer takes on a position with the Boston P.D. He is then paired with detective Lena (Martin-Green), the eldest daughter of a prominent law enforcement family.

“That’s the joy right now of working with this group of writers. And the show runners specifically is … I told them on Monday that I had a phone call with [the Boston Celtics’] Jaylen Brown and he said, ‘Get me on the show,’” Wahlberg explained. “I told our EPs and they wrote a scene as I sat there next to them. That’s how we’re approaching this.”

Wahlberg has been having fun exploring new possibilities.

“We can’t just do anything haphazardly at any old given time,” he told Us. “But they are so game to try things and it’s really just about making sure we’re doing it the right way and making sure we’re giving it the most value for the audience.”

He concluded: “It is also realizing we can take our time and we don’t have to force all these things upon the audience. We can stretch it out and keep surprising them and keep having twists and turns that they didn’t expect.”

Boston Blue airs on CBS Fridays at 10 p.m. ET.

By Jennifer Asencio
| Published 53 seconds ago

According to film critics, Scream 7 is the death of the franchise. With an aggregate of 33% from 120 critic reviews as of this writing, it’s easy to believe they are right. There is just one problem: the movie is so popular that it’s poised to break opening-weekend franchise records.

The previous record was set by Scream VI, which opened with $44 million. The new movie is projected to approach or break $50 million, with some estimates as high as $59 million. Fans gave Scream 7 a 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating a big gap between audiences and critics.

How Politics Influences The Reviews Of Critics

The one thing that all the bad reviews have in common is discussion of the firing of Melissa Barerra and the subsequent departure of Jenna Ortega, both of whom played characters central to the two previous installations. Barerra was fired for making inflammatory remarks about Israel’s response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, sentiments which are shared by many in the entertainment industry; Ortega left in protest of Barrera’s dismissal. A lot of critics and major entertainment news venues sympathize with Barrera’s views, and some of these are gleefully reporting the Rotten Tomatoes critics’ ratings as though it means something for the movie.

Critics also infamously panned the biopic of the First Lady, Melania, with an even wider gap of 11% based on 53 reviews, while over 1000 audience reviewers average 98%. They are also offering great praise to the politically motivated series Starfleet Academy, the latest Star Trek show that hasn’t really resonated with fans, but which we keep being told is the best Star Trek yet. Meanwhile, the Daily Wire+ show The Pendragon Cycle has been ignored by mainstream critics, with no score on Rotten Tomatoes at all, not even a 0, despite an average of 85% from viewers.

What this all indicates is that industry reviewers are circling the wagons based on political divides rather than giving honest reviews. They are evaluating movies with greater consideration of whether they check certain boxes off-screen, and are boycotting or panning films that don’t neatly fit their mold. Critics are relying on their authority as insiders to dictate culture through the lens of politics rather than examining movies on their own merits and audience potential.

Professional Review Bombing

Some commenters have even accused the collective of mainstream critics of “review bombing” Scream 7. Review bombing is a phenomenon in which individuals give a movie a bad rating for some motive outside the show. Recently, a review bombing war between A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms fans and Breaking Bad fans resulted in the IMDB rating of the latter’s crowning episode, “Ozymandias,” being reduced to a 9.5 from a perfect 10. The war started because the Game of Thrones spinoff received some bad reviews from Breaking Bad fans, who may or may not have been acting in bad faith.

However, those are individuals, even if some of them coordinated via an internet campaign. They are not the professionals relied on to be unbiased and to evaluate movies and television based on the productions themselves, not on who made them or their politics. The fact that the critics don’t seem to be connected to what audiences seem to want makes it even worse, because we are all being told that liking the stuff we like makes us bigoted if they don’t like it. And they also seem to think that if they ignore it altogether, like with The Pendragon Cycle, that maybe it will slip by unnoticed.

How much of our culture is being suppressed by critics with political agendas? Scream 7 indicates that the question needs to be asked as it is such a runaway hit that the motives of mainstream reviewers may not be critique, but activism.