With Spider-Man: Brand New Day now in theaters, excitement for the future of Marvel’s web-slinger has never been higher. While fans are enjoying Tom Holland’s latest adventure as Peter Parker, many are already looking ahead to the next Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has confirmed that a live action Miles Morales is part of the studio’s future plans following the conclusion of Sony’s Spider-Verse trilogy. At the same time, Holland has made it clear that he’s eager to help introduce the fan favorite hero into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Speaking about the future of the franchise, Holland said:

“I know that I have aspirations to bring Miles Morales into the universe, however that works out. We’ve got a lot of work to do to bring that to life. But yeah, I feel really strongly about it… I would love to kind of return that favor to the next generation of people that get the luxury of making these movies. So that is definitely something that I’m really working towards.”

Holland has also spoken about wanting to mentor the actor who eventually plays Miles, much like Robert Downey Jr.helped welcome him into the MCU nearly a decade ago.

With Marvel officially moving toward introducing Miles Morales, the question has shifted from if he’ll appear to whoshould play him.

Here are the three actors who continue to dominate fan casting discussions.

1. Caleb McLaughlin

If there’s one actor whose name appears more than any other, it’s Caleb McLaughlin.

Best known for his breakout role in Stranger Things, McLaughlin has repeatedly been mentioned by fans as the ideal choice to bring Miles Morales to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor has also expressed interest in playing the character, further fueling speculation.

His combination of charisma, emotional range, and action experience makes him an easy fit for a version of Miles balancing superhero responsibilities with everyday life.

Caleb McLaughlin [getty]

2. Miles Brown

Sometimes the name is just too perfect.

Miles Brown has quietly become one of the strongest fan favorites thanks to his athletic background, youthful energy, and experience leading family-oriented productions. While he may not have the same level of mainstream recognition as McLaughlin, many Marvel fans believe he fits the age and personality of Miles Morales exceptionally well.

As Marvel continues to look toward the next generation of heroes, Brown remains one of the most frequently suggested rising stars.

Miles Brown [getty]

3. Tyrel Jackson Williams

Long before Marvel officially acknowledged plans for a live action Miles Morales, Tyrel Jackson Williams was already winning fan polls for the role.

Known for his comedic timing and natural screen presence, Williams continues to receive support from fans who envision a slightly older version of Miles entering the MCU. Even years after those early campaigns, his name remains a consistent part of the conversation whenever casting rumors surface.

Tyrel Jackson Williams [getty]

Miles Morales Is Finally Swinging Toward the MCU

Marvel hasn’t revealed when Miles Morales will officially make his live action debut, but all signs point to the character being one of the franchise’s biggest priorities after Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. With Tom Holland eager to pass the torch someday and Kevin Feige confirming that plans are already in motion, it’s only a matter of time before Marvel begins searching for the actor who will become the next Spider-Man.

Who Gets Our Vote?

If Marvel were casting today, our picks would be:

1. Caleb McLaughlin
2. Miles Brown
3. Tyrel Jackson Williams

Each actor brings something unique to the role, but all three have built passionate fan support over the past several years. Whoever ultimately lands the part will have big shoes to fill, but they’ll also inherit one of Marvel’s most beloved heroes.

The Grammys have responded to BTS’s bold decision to withhold their music from award consideration entirely.

The drama began shortly after the Recording Academy unveiled a new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category to recognize excellence in the Asian markets. The move has since been interpreted as discriminatory, sparking intense backlash.

However, the Grammys insist that it is the total opposite of their intention towards K-Pop artists. 

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In a lengthy statement shared on social media, Harvey Mason Jr., the CEO of the Recording Academy, expressed his disappointment at BTS’ refusal to compete, writing:

“I am saddened to hear that BTS has chosen not to participate in the Grammy Awards process this year, but as a music creator, I understand and respect their decision.”

Mason, however, proceeded to clarify the award body’s motive, saying the new category was created to “celebrate the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth,” shining a bigger spotlight on the Asian pop scene. According to the Grammys, this move means more artists will be recognized.

Explaining that this truth has been “lost in the conversation,” Mason added that “It’s never to divide, but to expand who is recognized by our 15,000 Grammy voters.”

Grammys Explains Submission For Category Eligibility Rules

The CEO also noted that the creation of new classifications like the Asian, Jazz, Country, and African categories doesn’t mean artists can’t submit and be considered for General Awards like Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

“Recognition in a genre category and recognition in the General Field are not mutually exclusive. An artist can absolutely pursue both,” Mason reiterated.

The statement concluded, emphasizing that the mission statement of the Grammys is to serve music and those who listen and create it.

Fans Riot Against Grammys For ‘Tone Deaf’ Statement

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The post soon caused another eruption of backlash from the global music community, who interpreted it as dodging accountability.

“Harvey Mason Jr.’s response is a masterclass in corporate gaslighting that completely ignores how the Recording Academy actually operates,” one user penned.

Others considered why there wasn’t the creation of categories like European, Canadian, and British. Instead, the move was targeted at non-English-speaking nationalities.

Another similar remark read, “His statement just proves that the Grammys and himself are tone deaf. Rather than listen to what poc artists have been saying for years, they choose to attempt to rewrite the narrative.

BTS Wants Music To Be Heard, Not Categorized

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CEO Mason Jr.’s comment comes a day after the South Korean boy band revealed its plan not to compete in this year’s award cycle.

As The Blast reported, each member of the group, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, posted the announcement on their individual pages in solidarity.

“We decided not to submit to the Grammys this year. We want music to be heard and loved for what it is, rather than categorized by region or language,” it read.

Although the group didn’t make any reference to the Grammys’ Asian Pop Category, the timing was enough proof for their large fanbase.

The Boy Band Has Been Longing For A Grammy

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Questions soon arose about whether the category would do more harm than good, sidelining K-Pop Artists as a form of celebration, but not acknowledging them enough to make them compete alongside others.

However, the Grammys explained that it was a move to acknowledge the ever-evolving global music landscape.

Nevertheless, BTS’ decision to opt out mustn’t have come easy for the beloved boy group, given that they are yet to take home the prestigious award despite their many accolades.

In a 2020 interview, band leader RM opened up about their goal to win a Grammy because “the final part of the whole American journey.”

Since first coming on the US scene in 2017, BTS has been nominated five times. In 2021, “Dynamite” earned recognition for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The following year, their hit song, “Butter,” competed in the same category.

2023 saw the group earn three separate nominations for the Coldplay collaboration, “My Universe,” along with recognition for its appearance on “Music of the Spheres” and “Yet To Come,” in the music video categories.

Michael Mando has revealed that he was navigating life without a home while chasing his dream of becoming an actor.

He also admitted that repeated audition rejections during that period made him feel “untalented,” though he now sees those experiences as a natural part of the human journey.

The actor is best known for playing Nacho Varga in Better Call Saul and Mac Gargan in “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” He is set to reprise the role in the upcoming “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” where he’ll finally transform into the mechanically enhanced version of his character, Scorpion.

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In less than 48 hours, Michael Mando will return to the Marvel universe after first earning widespread acclaim for his standout performance in “Better Call Saul.”

That success was built on years of sacrifice, as the actor revealed during a recent appearance on the “I’ve Never Said This Before” podcast.

“I was homeless when I started my acting career,” the Canadian actor shared. “I used to shower at the YMCA. I used to take a bus from Montreal to Toronto overnight. I used to shower at the YMCA, go do an audition, and then take the bus back.”

The Canadian Actor Recalls Being Kicked Out By A Friend

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During that period, Mando occasionally stayed at friends’ apartments, though those living arrangements often proved difficult.

“I remember in the winter, I got kicked out of my friend’s apartment because I overslept and I burnt his sheets by accident on the heater,” the Marvel star recalled. “And he’s like, ‘Man, you got to go. We can’t both sleep on a small mattress.’”

Afterward, Mando rented an apartment with poor living conditions because it was all he could afford. He continued auditioning for roles but faced far more rejections than callbacks, leaving him to question whether he was truly meant to become an actor.

“I felt so s—ty in my life so many times,” he said. “I felt small, I felt unwanted, I felt untalented, I felt hopeless, and that’s just a part of the human experience.”

Mando Shares Hope For Anyone Facing Homelessness

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Across the six-season run of “Better Call Saul,” Mando appeared in 33 episodes, a role that helped elevate both his career and financial stability.

His role in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is also expected to be significantly larger than his appearance in “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” marking another major milestone in his Hollywood career.

Looking back on his journey, Mando said he hopes his story inspires others facing similar hardships.

He said, “To everyone out there, if you’ve been broke, if you’ve been homeless, if you thought that there’s no way out, of course I felt it. And I can promise you almost every single great person, actor, anyone you’ve ever met has felt it. It’s not just you; everybody feels it.”

The ‘Elysium’ Star Hyped ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Ahead Of Premiere

Mando recently stopped by San Diego Comic-Con, where he spoke with Extra about Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

When asked what fans should be most excited about, the actor kept spoilers to a minimum while offering high praise for the film.

“I think Spider-Man: Brand New Day is arguably one of the best superhero movies, period. I hope people enjoy it as much as we have making it,” Mando said.

He also praised lead star Tom Holland and the rest of the cast.

“All the stuff I’ve seen Tom do on and off camera is just great. Phenomenal. And everybody in that—I think everybody crushes it. So, I can’t wait for the world to see it.”

Michael Mando Lands Another Iconic Comic Book Villain

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Next month, Mando will return to the superhero genre once again, this time lending his voice to Bane in the animated DC film Batman: Knightfall.

The actor revealed that the most rewarding part of playing the iconic villain came after much of the voice work had already been completed.

“I came back to do some of the grunts after they animated it, and I saw basically Bane and Batman fighting, and I had a callback to when I was a kid,” Mando recalled. “I just remember thinking, ‘Wow, imagine telling the eight-year-old me you’re going to beat up Batman and it’s going to be great.’ That was really beautiful.”

Influencer Sara Gilson’s late estranged husband Jeremiah “Shawn” Duffey will reportedly not be given a funeral by his ex-wife and children after allegedly killing Gilson and himself.

Duffey’s ex-wife, Stephanie Ramsay, told TMZ on Wednesday, July 29, that their five children were responsible for making any decisions about his funeral and burial under Oklahoma law. Per Ramsay, Duffey’s children felt he was not deserving of any memorial so he will be cremated and his remains will be placed in a family plot.

In her interview, Ramsay recalled that Duffey repeatedly threatened suicide during their marriage, including warning that he would “take [her] out with him” if he ever followed through. Ramsay had sole custody of the former couple’s five children following their split. (Ramsay confirmed that she initially started dating Duffey when she was 15 and he was 20.)

On Saturday, July 25, it was reported that Gilson and Duffey were found dead in their Oklahoma City home after a fatal shooting on Thursday, July 23.

Related: Sara Gilson’s Ex ‘Begged’ Her to Leave Husband Before Murder-Suicide

Influencer Sara Gilson’s ex-husband, Lyle Landers, allegedly “begged” her to leave her estranged husband Shawn Duffey before the couple’s apparent murder-suicide. “She had been stuck in a relationship where domestic abuse seemed ‘OK,’” Landers, 46, claimed in an interview with People published on Sunday, July 26, of his ex-wife, with whom he shared two kids, […]

Police later disclosed that 911 dispatchers received a call on Thursday from “a juvenile caller advising his step-father had shot his mother.” (Gilson is survived by two children from a previous relationship.)

The alleged murder-suicide plot took place following a tumultuous month where Gilson and a mother of a 15-year-old girl both took out separate orders of protection against Duffey.

Gilson was advised to take the action by local authorities after they received a report on June 10 from a local mother that Duffey had inappropriately touched her 15-year-old daughter. (Duffey was reportedly a youth basketball coach for the girl’s team.)

The petition accused Duffey of “child abuse” after a fellow basketball coach “observed through a window” that Duffey was “kissing and fondling” the minor on June 9 during private meetings.

This other coach alerted the girl’s mother, who alleged that she later found that Duffey was “sending inappropriate messages” to her daughter and offering her money to keep quiet.

“Once during an out of town tournament, when the whole team including myself were staying at the same hotel, [Duffey] got her [daughter] to come to his room [and] he touched her inappropriately,” the petition read.

Gilson’s separate order of protection required Duffey to immediately leave their home and stay at least 100 yards away from her through at least August 24.

On July 11, Gilson went public with allegations of pedophilia against her estranged husband. She followed a TikTok trend where people pretend to be interviewed for a Netflix true-crime documentary — though, in her version, she wrote that she was “preparing for when Netflix drops a documentary about my soon-to-be ex-husband, who I just found out is a pedophile.”

“I wish I was joking,” she added.

Weeks later, police officers were sent to Gilson’s home after receiving an emergency call where dispatchers heard a woman screaming and “what sounded to be a gunshot.”

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“A few moments later, the E911 Center received another 911 call from a juvenile caller advising his step-father had shot his mother,” police said in the statement. “The juvenile caller was calling from a nearby neighbor’s home.”

Their statement concluded, “Investigators continue to work this investigation, although they advised it appeared to be a murder/suicide event.”

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support. If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.

There’s never a boring moment in Jennifer Lawrence‘s wardrobe, and her latest sneaker style is a prime example. Instead of plain white kicks, the actress opted for comfy, eye-catching ballet sneakers, and we found the look on sale for only $30.

While cycling through the city, Lawrence wore a simple black tank top, sporty track pants and split-toe ballet sneakers. What makes her outfit work is the balance. Her sporty track pants are mega casual on their own, but the ballet-inspired footwear adds an elevated twist.

Get the Coollulu Mary Jane Ballet Sneakers for $30 (was $43) at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate at the date of publication but are subject to change.

If the split-toe silhouette feels like too much of a bold commitment, these Coollulu ballet sneakers are a softer entry point to the same energy. They feature a rounded toe, hook-and-loop closure and instep strap for that Mary Jane flair. We also love the sleek suede and vegan leather accents that make the shoes transition well from summer to fall.

Related: Anne Hathaway Confirmed! Woven Ballerina Flats Are the Most NYC-Rich Look

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If you’re tired of sneakers, sandals and even basic ballet flats, we feel you. But Anne Hathaway‘s latest shoe choice might inspire you to try a new take on an old trend. The actress wore rich-looking woven flats that somehow screamed ‘Hamptons’ and ‘Manhattan’ at the same time, and we found the luxe look for […]

And in case you missed it, these stylish slip-ons are also mega comfortable, too. They’re designed with padded insoles and an anti-slip bottom, so they’re perfect for long walks, even if it’s raining outside.

One shopper called them “fancy sporty shoes,” and we couldn’t have put it better!

Another happy reviewer who wore them on an international trip was stunned by their comfort and quality. “I recently hiked the rainforest in Australia and took these bad boys along. I think these are amazing travel shoes because they held up through hiking, sightseeing and airport terminals,” they wrote. “I like this look because it’s feminine and can be matched with anything from dresses to biking shorts.”

These trendy shoes fall firmly in polarizing-yet-chic territory, but with Lawrence’s approval, they lean way more chic. Slip them on with a dress, jeans or track pants, and her cool-girl energy is yours!

Get the Coollulu Mary Jane Ballet Sneakers for $30 (was $43) at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate at the date of publication but are subject to change.

Looking for something else? Explore more chic sneakers, and don’t forget to check out all of Amazon’s Daily Deals for more great finds!

UsNow Summer Sale Alert: These Chic Fashion Finds are over 30% off – Plus Free Shipping

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Related: Amazon‘s Summer Sandals Collection Looks Designer — From $10

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If you’ve been eyeing a $600 pair of sandals, same, but nothing can justify the price tag for something you wear for three months of the year. That said, if you want to look like you dropped triple digits, these 13 luxe-looking sandals nail the assignment. Nobody at brunch will be able to tell the […]

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Patricia Heaton

The Everybody Loves Raymond star posted a video in July 2021, sharing an exciting milestone. “It’s July when we celebrate our nation’s freedom. Also celebrating three years of freedom from alcohol for me,” she said while on a three-mile hike. “Just wanted to share that with you. And message me if any of you are thinking about doing that, any of you are doing that now and need some encouragement or anything at all. Have a great day.”

The Middle star revealed her kids were the reason why she decided to get sober in a candid September 2021 interview on the “Heart of the Matter” podcast.

While she drank shooting the Ray Romano-led sitcom, which ran from 1996 to 2005, her drinking got worse after her four sons moved out. “I just noticed that if it was 5 p.m. and I don’t have anything to do the next day, I would start drinking automatically,” the actress said, adding that she “really started looking forward to drinking and thinking about it in a way that I hadn’t before.”

However, it was a birthday dinner for one of her sons that made her realize she had a problem.

“I was just filling my glass with red wine throughout the five or six hours that we were together. I don’t know how many glasses it was, and I felt completely sober and fine,” the Carol’s Second Act star said. “I was making a joke to the table, and I started saying, ‘You know, in our family it’s a tradition …’ And I could not pronounce the word ‘tradition.’ I tried three times, and I couldn’t say the word.”

One of her sons remarked on her inability to say the word in front of everyone. “And I was so humiliated,” she says, adding, “It shook me up. I thought, ‘That’s it. That’s it’ … It had every element that I needed. It had a logical element and had this, ‘Oh, my gosh, my sons have seen me drink too much.’”

The next day at breakfast, the Back To You actress said she told a friend, “Well, you’re the first person I’m telling this to, but this is my first day of never drinking again.”

Action fans have had plenty to feast on this year, with enough hits to keep the “best of the year” debate going for months. From high-tech military survival thrillers, revenge sagas, hard-boiled crime epics, and fun buddy adventures, the genre has delivered just about every flavor imaginable. Most of the attention has gone to high-profile releases like The Rip, The Wrecking Crew, and Alan Ritchson‘s War Machine, but some of the year’s biggest surprises have come from smaller titles. The Furious proved that point with its John Wick-meets-The Raid martial arts action, and there’s another overlooked gem that’s every bit as worthy of the conversation.

One of the year’s lesser-known action hits features a Taylor Sheridan favorite who has quietly become a favorite among fans of grounded, no-nonsense action. The narrative features a highly skilled veteran pushed past their breaking point and forced to unleash calculated violence against his enemies. Much like in the Finnish fan-favorite WWII thriller Sisu, the motivation behind the thriller is personal as the protagonist takes matters into his own hands following the kidnapping of his daughter. However, rather than the sometimes over-the-top spectacle seen in Sisu, Man of War favors the type of tactical realism and methodical combat that made Chris Pratt‘s The Terminal List an easy watch for military thriller fans.

Leading the charge is LaMonica Garrett, a face Taylor Sheridan fans will instantly recognize. He first made an impression as Thomas, the former Buffalo Soldier in the Yellowstone prequel, 1883, and then in Sheridan’s hit spy thriller Special Ops: Lioness. Military action fans may also know him as Commander Bill Cox from The Terminal List and its prequel series, The Terminal List: Dark Wolf. Garrett sticks to familiar territory in Man of War, delivering another hard-hitting performance that plays to his strengths. After recently landing on digital platforms, the film has begun to reach a wider audience and is now climbing the streaming charts on Starz in multiple countries.

How Good Is ‘Man of War’?

Man of War takes viewers into the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, following Connor (Garrett), a former Navy SEAL and CIA operative who heads into the war-torn country after his daughter, an aid worker, is taken hostage by Russian mercenaries. The mission quickly becomes a one-man war as Connor encounters backstabbing and has to rely on his elite skills to fight his way through enemy territory.

Directed by William Kaufman (Sinners and Saints), the movie has already earned praise from several platforms for its relentless action and “all-out carnage,” with much of the attention directed toward Garrett’s “badass” performance. Other reviewers have also highlighted the film’s effort to show the human cost of conflict and the innocent lives caught in the crossfire. The cast also includes Linds Edwards (Osiris), Andrew Howard (Limitless), Rosemary Yaneva (The Bouncer), Jason Patric (The Lost Boys), and Daniel Bernhardt (John Wick).

Man of War is available to stream on Starz. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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Release Date

July 3, 2026

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Runtime

111 minutes

Director

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William Kaufman

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It’s probably harder to come up with World War II movies that aren’t particularly intense than ones that are. If you’re making a movie about the largest and most global conflict in the history of the world, a certain level of intensity and drama is needed, with comparatively breezy films about World War II generally being older, or perhaps not as focused on conflict (and even then, classics like Casablanca and The Best Years of Our Lives are emotionally moving in other ways, without showcasing much by way of combat or on-screen violent).

When it comes to the following titles, though, they stand out for being among the most intense World War II movies of all time. There are different reasons why these movies tend to be hard-hitting, and they’re not all here because they’re especially graphic… though some are. They’re not always easy movies to watch, but they all have a purpose in being some level of suspenseful, or even harrowing.

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‘The Dirty Dozen’ (1967)

Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

The Dirty Dozen is one of those quintessential “we gotta put together a team” sort of movies, with the premise here involving a very dangerous mission that a group of criminals agree to take part in, because pulling off said mission may allow their potential death sentences to be commuted. Some of them are nasty enough that calling them antiheroes would still be a little too generous, and things get undeniably chaotic when it comes time to carry out the main mission behind enemy lines.

Before that rather action-packed final act, The Dirty Dozen is compelling with its set-up, too, with all the stuff surrounding the putting together of the titular team, and training for their eventually deadly mission. It’s got that reliable action movie structure first perfected in Seven Samurai, and then reused again and again since, but sometimes, when something works, it just works, and that’s enough.

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‘Downfall’ (2004)

Image via Constantin Film

Set in the days leading up to Germany’s defeat in the final year of World War II, Downfall inspires an impressive amount of dread for something where the outcome is going to be known ahead of time, regardless of how much/little you know about the Second World War. It’s also called “Downfall,” so, you know… that’s what you’re in for, and it’s pretty grueling to watch.

Downfall isn’t about inspiring sympathy for those it’s about, and instead feels more like it wants to show what happened, warts and all, among the high-ranking members of the Third Reich as it was crumbling and the end was nigh. It’s a claustrophobic and extremely well-acted movie that is kind of infamous nowadays for inspiring a series of memes, but if you get past those Downfall parodies (as funny as some of them might be), you’ll probably be surprised to find a very compelling war drama here.

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‘The Great Escape’ (1963)

Image via United Artists

Like with The Dirty Dozen, there’s quite a bit of entertainment to be found in The Great Escape, with it still retaining a good deal of intensity throughout. It’s about an ambitious escape attempt from a prisoner of war camp that’s been established specifically to be “inescapable,” housing various Allied prisoners who’ve all made escapes beforehand from more “regular” prisoner of war camps.

This plays out over a runtime that nears three hours, which might sound a little excessive, but the execution makes it work and feel engaging for all that time. The Great Escape is pretty much perfect, and probably more than just “Great.” As for “Escape,” it is escapist in the sense that there are things to be thrilled and entertained by here, all while also feeling the tension of the situation, with certain costs and hardships of war nonetheless conveyed.

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‘Letters from Iwo Jima’ (2006)

Image via Paramount Pictures

In 2006, there were two World War II movies directed by Clint Eastwood that were released, and both were about the Battle of Iwo Jima. Flags of Our Fathers showed it from the American perspective, and much of that particular film was focused on the aftermath, and the story behind the famous photograph known as Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.

Letters from Iwo Jima, on the other hand, was about the battle from the Japanese perspective, and a good deal of it was instead concerned with the lead-up to said battle, and with less time spent on the aftermath, considering how many on the Japanese side of the battle died. So, Letters from Iwo Jima is also about confronting the end, and dealing with approaching death, doing so with surprising sympathy (at least for an American-produced film) and a ton of emotion for hopefully obvious reasons.

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‘Dunkirk’ (2017)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

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Before Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan had made one movie set in the past (The Prestige), but that one wasn’t really based on a true story, having mostly fictional characters. Dunkirk was a bit more faithful to history, specifically being about the Dunkirk evacuation, which really happened, though the characters are either fictional or inspired by real-life people. It’s more about the experience of the whole event from multiple perspectives, rather than honing in on the real-life people who were involved, if that makes sense.

It’s then possible to look at Dunkirk as bridging the gap between historical fiction (The Prestige) and a full-on/mostly historically accurate biopic (Oppenheimer), with Nolan’s whole filmography. Anyway, regarding Dunkirk, it’s one of his most visceral and compelling movies, being paced and edited in a way that feels continually nerve-wracking and genuinely rather unique among the many, many World War II films already out there.

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‘Come and See’ (1985)

Image via Sovexportfilm

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Some people will tell you that Come and See gets talked about too much, while at the same time, it’s not quite as famous as most of the other movies being mentioned here, so maybe there’s an argument to be made that it’s overlooked in the overall scheme of things. It kind of depends on what online spaces you’re in or not in, and that does make it hard to introduce and talk about, given some people are probably sick of hearing about it, and others are probably like, “Huh, Come and See?”

It’s a movie about a young man joining a group of resistance fighters, and then experiencing a series of utterly hellish situations as those resistance fighters try to combat German forces in Belarus. As an anti-war movie, Come and See is about as effective as they get, so calling it very intense honestly feels like something of an understatement. It’s a horrifying watch, and one of those movies where seeing it once feels like enough.

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‘Saving Private Ryan’ (1998)

Image via DreamWorks Pictures

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One of those movies that’s famously about Matt Damon getting home, in one way or another, Saving Private Ryan has Damon playing the titular Private Ryan, and a group of soldiers are tasked with finding him so he can be sent home after his brothers are found to have all died in combat. There’s also a very intense depiction of the Omaha Beach landing, which is a big reason why Saving Private Ryan inevitably has to get ranked among the most visceral war movies of all time.

Things don’t really slow down or get a great deal easier after that point, with Saving Private Ryan having its main characters in near-constant danger, and then there’s also a fairly large battle sequence that comes near the film’s conclusion. It’s relentless and undeniably emotional, well and truly earning the right to count itself among Steven Spielberg’s all-time best directorial efforts.

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‘The Battle of Okinawa’ (1971)

Image via Toho

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One of the most relentlessly downbeat war movies of all time, The Battle of Okinawa could well have even Come and See beat in terms of being a World War II movie that takes no prisoners and makes you feel miserable once it’s done. You’ll feel miserable while it’s going on, too, and then just extra miserable once it’s finished. It’s a very harsh anti-war movie about the titular battle and how much devastation it came to cause.

Its focus on the Pacific Theater makes The Battle of Okinawa also potentially comparable to Letters from Iwo Jima, but that one wasn’t as despairing, even if much of it was also about loss, death, and destruction. The Battle of Okinawa is next-level depressing, and has a level of violence that’s far more upsetting and shocking than most films released around the same time that are considered groundbreaking/boundary-pushing for the violence they depicted (like, Bonnie and Clyde and The Wild Bunch look positively PG-rated in comparison).

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‘Inglourious Basterds’ (2009)

Inglourious Basterds walks a delicate line, in terms of being great entertainment and genuinely intense at different points, and then it does all that while being in no way describable as “delicate” in the conventional sense. It’s about vengeance in Nazi-occupied France, basically, with a few different people all trying to combat German forces in their own ways, with all parties eventually meeting for a confrontation – partly by chance – in a cinema by the time the final act comes around.

The medium of film itself is weaponized, and then Inglourious Basterds also explodes/dismantles other things, narratively and thematically, playing around with history in some rather startling (but effective) ways. It does a lot, and it does it all relentlessly at the same time, technically being one of the more entertaining movies here, for sure, yet there are long stretches of this movie that also prove almost unbearably tense.

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‘Das Boot’ (1981)

Image via Neue Constantin Film

Since it’s confined in a way that feels in line with what you might expect from a grueling psychological thriller, Das Boot stands out as arguably the most intense World War II movie ever made. Also helping it in this regard is its length, because you’re made to feel on edge for a very long runtime, with the shortest version of Das Boot still running for about 2.5 hours, and then the longer versions proving similarly tense, just for, you know, quite a while longer.

It’s set inside a German submarine, with the members of the sub’s crew having to deal with boredom, danger, and the idea that death feels particularly inescapable when you’re deep underwater and in such a vulnerable position. Das Boot is basically guaranteed to make anyone who watches it feel anxious throughout, doing for submarine warfare what Uncut Gems did for gambling addictions.

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Das Boot

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Release Date

September 17, 1981

Runtime

149 Minutes

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