Back in 2000, Memento represented a bold fusion of thriller storytelling and mind-bending plot devices, very much putting Christopher Nolan on the map. Since then, a wave of mind-bending cinema has emerged, movies that fracture time, blur identity, and leave viewers questioning what they’ve seen.

Instead of being straightforward stories, these movies are more like puzzles, dreams, or philosophical experiments. The titles below are all mind-bending in their own way, whether that’s through time travel, unreliable realities, or surreal symbolism.

10

‘Predestination’ (2014)

Image via Pinnacle Films

“The man who ruined my life is a ghost, and so is my daughter.” This sci-fi thriller adapts a Robert Heinlein short story into a time-twisting brainteaser. Ethan Hawke leads the cast as Agent Doe, a temporal agent who travels through time to stop a mysterious bomber, while recruiting a young writer (Sarah Snook) into a life of time-travel missions. Time travel movies tend to be trippy, but Predestination pushes it to its absolute limit.

The structure is deceptively simple at first, gradually layering revelation upon revelation until the full implications become clear. Early details become crucial later and subtly visual cues foreshadow impending revelations. Eventually, identities and timelines collapse into one another in increasingly paradoxical ways. Cause and effect melt in closed loops. It’s all pretty ‘high concept’ and convoluted, but the strong performances keep it grounded.

9

‘Mother!’ (2017)

Image via Paramount Pictures

“What hurts me the most is that I wasn’t enough.” Mother! is Darren Aronofsky‘s symbolic, philosophical, psychological horror. In it, a young woman (Jennifer Lawrence) lives in a secluded house with her poet husband (Javier Bardem), only for a series of increasingly intrusive guests to arrive, turning their home into a site of chaos and destruction. What begins as a domestic drama spirals into something far more allegorical and overwhelming.

This is a movie that operates almost entirely on metaphor. Everything is unstable, escalating from subtle discomfort to outright nightmare. The imagery is frequently surreal and striking, loaded with meaning and historical allusions, inviting the viewer to analyze it. In particular, the film leans hard into religious symbolism and references to creation and destruction. Not everybody liked this more arthouse approach, but for those who get on its wavelength, Mother! offers a lot of food for thought.

8

‘Waking Life’ (2001)

Image via Searchlight Pictures

“Dream is destiny.” Waking Life feels like a stoned dorm-room conversation with smart philosophy undergrads — in a good way. We follow a young man (Wiley Wiggins) as he drifts through a series of dreamlike encounters, engaging in conversations about free will, consciousness, and the nature of reality. The movie is a loose chain of ideas rather than a traditional narrative. Each conversation introduces a new perspective, creating a mosaic of thought rather than a single argument.

Waking Life was directed by the great Richard Linklater, who is one of the few filmmakers to pull off a concept like this. Rather than being dull or navel-gazing, Waking Life is energetic and intriguing, jam-packed with exciting ideas. Finally, on the aesthetic side, the rotoscope animation gives it a constantly shifting visual texture, reinforcing the sense that nothing is entirely stable.

7

‘Primer’ (2004)

Image via THINKFilm

“What if we’re already inside it?” This low-budget gem (it cost $7,000!) is one of the smartest time-travel movies ever made. Primer tells the story of two engineers (David Sullivan and Shane Carruth, who also writes and directs) who accidentally invent a device that allows them to travel back in time. They begin to experiment with it, and the consequences quickly become complex, leading to overlapping timelines and fractured relationships.

This is very much a film that demands active engagement. Carruth refuses to simplify the mechanics of time travel, presenting them in a way that feels almost deliberately opaque. As a result, some fans joke that it’s impossible to fully understand Primer on the first viewing. However, this refusal to explain is part of what makes the film so compelling. Primer trusts the audience to grapple with its complexity.

6

‘Paprika’ (2006)

Image via Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan

“Dreams are windows into the psyche.” This masterpiece by Satoshi Kon is frequently cited as a major inspiration for Inception. In some ways, it’s even bolder in its exploration of dreamscapes. In Paprika, a device that allows therapists to enter patients’ dreams is stolen, leading to a series of increasingly chaotic dream invasions that begin to spill into the real world. A detective (Akio Otsuka) and a scientist (Megumi Hayashibara) must navigate this collapsing boundary to stop the perpetrator.

In executing that premise, Paprika embraces the full potential of animation. Kon creates dream sequences that are fluid, imaginative, and often overwhelming, shifting seamlessly from one image to another. The narrative mirrors this fluidity, blurring the distinction between dream and reality until the two become indistinguishable. This comes through most powerfully in the famous dream parade, a carnival of objects, creatures, and cultural symbols.

5

‘Triangle’ (2009)

Image via Icon Film Distribution

“It’s already happened… It’s going to happen again.” This is another lean, punchy, time-loop horror. In Triangle, a group of friends set sail on a yacht trip that goes disastrously wrong when they encounter a mysterious ocean liner. Once aboard, events begin to repeat in unsettling ways, trapping them in a loop that grows increasingly violent and disorienting. The protagonist’s (Melissa George) journey is both physical and psychological, as she begins to realize her role within the cycle.

The film weaponizes repetition. At first, the structure seems confusing, even chaotic, but gradually a pattern emerges, one that becomes more disturbing the more clearly it’s understood. Each rerun of the same events adds new context, new understanding, and, indeed, new dread. In the process, a time-loop puzzle becomes a survival horror. In this regard, Triangle draws on inspirations like Dead of Night and Jacob’s Ladder.

4

‘Enemy’ (2013)

Image via A24

“Chaos is order yet undeciphered.” Enemy is a provocative, divisive movie, but one that’s incredibly thematically rich. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal in a dual role, playing both a quiet history professor and an actor who looks exactly like him. He becomes obsessed with tracking down his doppelgänger, and his life begins to unravel, leading to a series of increasingly strange and symbolic encounters. This eventually culminates in one of the weirdest, most shocking final shots of the 2010s.

The dual performances create a sense of instability, as identity itself becomes uncertain. The dialogue is similarly cryptic, leaving much of the film’s meaning to be inferred rather than explained. Events can be read literally or metaphorically, and the philosophical undercurrents lend themselves to endless interpretation. Enemy is about the fear of commitment and the fear of losing control of oneself, and the double becomes a manifestation of everything the protagonist is trying to avoid.

3

‘The Fountain’ (2006)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

“Together we will live forever.” Another Aronofsky project, one that’s been trippier than Mother! The Fountain interweaves three stories spanning multiple centuries, following a man’s (Hugh Jackman) quest to overcome death, whether through science, faith, or myth. Each timeline reflects a different aspect of his obsession, converging into a single emotional arc. The movie very much prioritizes thematic resonance over clarity, allowing the timelines to echo and overlap.

For this reason, it was controversial and a box office bomb, bringing in just $16.5m against a budget of $35m. Still, The Fountain‘s ambition is commendable, as is its aesthetic boldness. The visual style is lush and often surreal, reinforcing the sense that these stories exist outside conventional time. It serves up powerful recurring symbols, like circles and cycles, water and light, and, of course, the Tree of Life.

2

‘Synecdoche, New York’ (2008)

Image via Sony Pictures Classics

“I’m thinking maybe this is my life… and it’s already over.” Charlie Kaufman specializes in strange stories, and Synecdoche, New York (his directorial debut) is one of his most intriguing. Philip Seymour Hoffman delivers a phenomenal performance as Caden Cotard, a theater director, who begins creating an ever-expanding stage production that mirrors his own life. Along the way, the line between reality and performance begins blurring as years pass and identities shift.

The film is deeply postmodern and self-reflexive. The narrative folds in on itself, with layers of representation that become increasingly difficult to separate. The dialogue is complex and introspective as well, touching on themes of mortality, regret, and the search for meaning. All in all, Synecdoche, New York is a film that can feel overwhelming, but also profoundly moving. It’s a great, challenging film.

1

‘Mulholland Drive’ (2001)

Image via Universal Pictures

“No hay banda… there is no band.” Speaking of great, challenging films, no movie fits that description better than David Lynch‘s opaque magnum opus. Mulholland Drive features Naomi Watts as a woman suffering from amnesia. The story kicks into gear after she teams up with an aspiring actress to uncover her identity in Los Angeles. But as the mystery unfolds, the narrative fractures, revealing a darker and more ambiguous reality beneath the surface.

Lynch structures the movie like a dream (or nightmare) where logic is fluid and meaning is elusive. The plot is deliberately disjointed, with scenes that seem to contradict or reinterpret one another. Conversations pivot from naturalistic and mundane to surreal and phantasmagoric. In this world, identity is an illusion, Hollywood is a dark fantasy, and two contradictory versions of reality overlap. All of this is either intricate and masterful or frustrating and senseless, depending on your point of view.

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Mulholland Drive

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Release Date

October 19, 2001

Runtime

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147 minutes

Director

David Lynch

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Writers

David Lynch

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Alec Baldwin‘s retirement plans are being linked to ongoing industry challenges following his “Rust” shooting saga.

While he has suggested that growing accustomed to staying at home during his legal troubles contributed to his retirement thoughts, sources claim the decision is more connected to him being “edged out” of the industry.

Alec Baldwin was cleared of criminal charges in relation to the case, but he now faces a civil lawsuit in the coming months.

Alec Baldwin’s Reason For Eyeing Retirement Linked To Hollywood Snub

Days ago, Alec Baldwin shocked Hollywood by announcing plans to retire soon, claiming he had grown tired of working.

While fans are still processing the surprise announcement, sources suggest there may be more behind his intention to retire than he has publicly stated.

“He’s not stepping away — he’s being edged out,” one insider said about the film director, per a report.

According to the source, Baldwin is eyeing retirement because he is no longer as sought after by studios as he once was, despite the criminal aspect of his “Rust” shooting situation already being resolved.

“The offers just aren’t there,” the source further remarked about Baldwin. “Studios don’t want the baggage.”

The Actor Is Now Considered ‘High-Risk’ In Hollywood

Part of what appears to be making studios avoid Baldwin is reportedly insurance, which every project must have.

Given how serious the “Rust” situation was, the cost of insuring any of Baldwin’s projects is now presumed to be extremely high.

“Insurance is the dealbreaker,” continued the source who spoke to journalist Rob Shuter’s “Naughty But Nice” Substack. “He’s high-risk now. That makes every project more expensive and more complicated.”

Regardless of that, attention surrounding Baldwin’s “Rust” situation has yet to fully fade and is believed to have the potential to affect any projects he takes on. As a result, studios reportedly feel it is best to distance themselves.

“It’s the whole package — the shooting, lawsuits, outbursts, constant drama,” one more insider noted. “No one wants to inherit that.”

Another put it even more bluntly, saying that Baldwin is being “viewed as toxic “and that studios.

“Don’t gamble on toxic.”

Alec Baldwin’s Career Came To A Halt After The ‘Rust’ Shooting Incident

Baldwin, best known for his role on the NBC sitcom “30 Rock,” had his life upended when a shooting incident on the set of his “Rust” film led to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

He was subsequently charged with involuntary manslaughter, and production on the film suffered an extensive hiatus.

During the period he was dealing with his legal issues, Baldwin took on little to no work and spent more time with his children at home.

He shares seven young children with his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, and an older daughter, Ireland, from his first marriage to Kim Basinger.

The Actor Said He Got Used To Staying At Home: ‘I Don’t Want To Work Anymore’

While the case was eventually dismissed due to hidden evidence, time away from work became something Baldwin grew accustomed to, and he hinted at it as the reason behind his consideration of retirement.

“I was home with my kids for three-and-a-half years — I hardly worked at all — and that’s just changing now,” he said, per The Hollywood Reporter. “I’m going to go off and do a bunch of things. But I was home, and I got used to it, and I don’t want to leave my house anymore. I don’t.”

Baldwin continued, “I don’t want to work anymore. I don’t. I really don’t. I want to retire and stay home with my kids.”

Alec Baldwin Still Embroiled In Civil Suit From ‘Rust’ Saga

Despite being cleared of the criminal case filed against him, Baldwin is still facing legal repercussions from the Rust incident.

He has been sued by a member of the film set, Serge Svetnoy, who claims that the shooting caused him emotional distress.

Recently, a Los Angeles judge ruled that the civil suit can proceed, claiming that “a reasonable jury could find that Mr. Baldwin recklessly disregarded the probability that pointing a gun in the direction of someone, with the finger on the trigger, would cause emotional distress.”

Following the decision, Svetnoy, via his lawyers, expressed satisfaction with the ruling.

“We are pleased with the Court’s decision denying the motions for summary judgment filed by Rust Movie Productions and Mr. Baldwin,” lawyers Gary Dordick and John Upton said in a statement. “He looks forward to finally having his day in court on this long-pending matter.”

NBA analyst Charles Barkley broke his silence on the Ice Spice brawl that broke out at a McDonald’s in April 2026. During the Saturday, April 18 airing of “Inside the NBA,” Barkley cracked a few jokes about the 26-year-old’s latest troubles, asking his fellow co-hosts whether they’d heard the news before sharing what he thought the “Barbie World” performer should’ve done instead.

Charles Barkley Jokes After Ice Spice Fight At McDonald’s, ‘Slappy Happy Meals’

“I hear they got some slappy happy meals over there,” Barkley said to Ernie Johnson at the end of the show. “You see Ice Spice got slapped at McDonald’s? What you doing at McDonald’s in the middle of the night Ice Spice? Come on, stop that. Get it to go.”

“Inside the NBA” is presented by McDonald’s, so the former NBA star’s comments make the moment that much more ironic. “Presented by McDonald’s. How about that, presented by McDonald’s Chuck,” Johnson added.

The conversation didn’t stop there, though. Barkley declared his love for McDonald’s, specifically their fish filet and barbecue sauce, before commenting further on the Ice Spice ordeal.

“Let Ice Spice eat in peace! … She should have slapped her in the face with a Big Mac. You walk up on me, everything’s on the table,” he joked.

Ice Spice Was Reportedly Assaulted While Eating McDonald’s

According to a previous report from The Blast, Ice Spice was involved in an upsetting situation in April 2026 while eating with a friend at The Golden Arches. In the shocking video, Ice Spice is seated in a booth when a fan approaches her.

While the details of their conversation were kept private, the video shows things getting tense, as the fan leans toward Ice Spice and slaps her. The moment only escalated when Ice Spice stood from the table and chased after the fan. Bystanders can be seen trying to de-escalate the situation by separating the two women.

Fight With Ice Spice And The Fan Went Even Further

Ice Spice appeared incensed in the video, throwing a phone believed to belong to the fan. After being confronted, she responded, “‘Cause f-ck y’all, that’s why. F-ck you and that b-tch.”

The fan reportedly shared her side of the story, alleging that Ice Spice and her friend were rude to her when she approached them with a warm demeanor.

“So she kept going on, then she calls me a b-tch, so after she calls me a b-tch, I hit her,” the fan said

Rapper Breaks Her Silence Following The Madness

Sister Wives star Christine Brown Woolley hit the ground running toward some money-making gigs after she severed her polygamous ties. Fans were kept informed of her marriage demise to Kody Brown on the screen of the popular TLC show and through her frequent updates on social media.

Once she met David Woolley and became engaged, he became much more than her soulmate. The now-married couple has honed in on their entrepreneurial skills with several money-making gigs floating around today.

Sister Wives: Christine Brown Markets Friendship

Christine Brown ran the gamut of product promotions; one of the more popular ones was the drink she used to help her lose weight. She tried a cooking show online and even wrote a book of her own. But then this Sister Wives star got more personal with the fans by inviting them to rent her vacation home for a getaway.

That home boosted a number of Sister Wives photos on the walls for the fans who shelled out the price of Christine’s rental. But now she’s marketing friendship to her 1.5 million fans online in a much bigger way.

This entails getting up close and personal with the now-famous couple, David Wolley and Christine Brown Woolley.

Smooth Sailing with Christine and David Woolley

Next year this Sister Wives couple plans to set sail, and they are inviting fans to go along with them. With 1.5 million social media followers, she will likely get some takers. But the price for this Carribean cruise is not divulged by Christine. Fans must message her for all the details.

Sister Wives: Did Kody Brown Miss the Boat By Losing Christine?

Some Sister Wives fans wonder if Kody Brown missed the boat when he didn’t try to get Christine Brown back. They point out that Robyn Brown isn’t gainfully employed like the other Sister Wives women. So from all appearances, Kody is the main breadwinner in that now-monogamous marriage.

Kody once said his greatest fear is going broke. That said, it looks like he gets little help in building up the finances from Robyn.

Kody also loves to horse around and laugh. But fans gave the nickname of “Sobbin’ Robyn” to the only wife he has left. And that is because she cries a lot.

Christine is full of energy, and having fun seems to be a high priority for her in this new journey with David. But most of all, she seems to do whatever it takes to bring in the extra money for her new marriage, with David right by her side.

Kody’s Perfect Wife?

Many Sister Wives fans suggest that Christine is better off being adored by David instead of sharing Kody with three other women. But still some Sister Wives fans wonder how Kody feels about losing Christine today.

From where some viewers sit, Christine is more like Kody’s definition of the perfect wife and soulmate. Although fans see David fitting the bill for Christine’s perfect mate today.

Kody goes overboard sharing his feelings about Robyn. But now it is getting to the point where fans think he is trying to convince himself. Robyn seems really annoyed with him since the other wives jumped ship.

And while he says he’s happy, fans still can’t help wondering if Christine would have fit the bill for what Kody wants in a soulmate.

But one thing is for sure: fans believe David Woolley fits the bill for Christine, and they are overjoyed that she found this happiness.

Head back to Soap Dirt for the buzz on Sister Wives.

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 44 seconds ago

Fan theories can range from the plausible and very likely, such as the “Pixar connected universe,” or “Elsa and Anna’s brother is Tarzan,” to the unbelievable, “Snowpiercer’s Wilford is Wily Wonka,” or “Jar Jar Binks is a Sith,” but there’s one that’s so perfect, it has to be true: Event Horizon is set in the Warhammer 40k universe.

This theory makes sense from the very beginning, when the titular spaceship activates its gravity engine and travels through a nightmarish dimension that’s full of demons and cosmic horrors. That’s exactly how ships travel in the world of Warhammer 40k, and it’s only the start of the connections. 

Event Horizon Traveled Through The Warp

Event Horizon takes place after the ship mysteriously reappears after it was missing for years, with the entire crew dead, and as the Captain’s log reveals, it was the crew themselves that turned violent and killed each other. The Captain, having ripped out his own eyeballs, issues a warning, in Latin of course, to “Save yourself from Hell.” It’s a gruesome, bloody sequence filled with rapid flashes of violence that make it hard to focus, and the first time seeing the film, it’s hard to comprehend what you’re even seeing. 

The rescue crew ends up giving into the spreading madness themselves, or rather, Dr. Weir (Sam Neill, the perfect star for a film about cosmic horror), the designer of the Event Horizon, goes mad and has to be put down by the rescue ship’s Captain Miller (Laurence Fishburne). And he is, but after he’s sucked into space, Weir comes back having embraced the strange and bizarre Hell-like dimension, and he taunts Miller by showing him visions from the Hell dimension. It’s a dark and disturbing moment, but it’s also an amazing live-scene depiction of Warhammer 40ks The Warp, a strange dimension in which time and space have no meaning, that happens to be filled with Daemons and, in Games Workshop’s universe, is used by humanity as an intergalactic superhighway. 

The Influence Of Chaos

The Warp is a dangerous dimension that exists outside of four-dimensional space, but it’s also able to be navigated by psychic humans called Navigators who use the Astronomican, a massive psychic beacon waypoint that you think of as a transdimensional lighthouse, to remain safe while traveling through. In Event Horizon, set in the year 2048, it’s the experimental gravity engine that pulls the ship out of our reality and into The Warp, making it humanity’s first experience with Chaos Deamons and the horrors that lurk outside our universe. Those dangers include the Chaos Gods, Tzeentch, Khorne, Nurgle, and Slaanesh, and amazingly, Paul W.S. Anderson’s sci-fi horror even implies the influence of these beings on the ship’s original crew. 

While the rescue crew from the Lewis and Clark is watching the original Captain’s video, it’s clear that the crew is killing each other (that would be Khorne, the Blood God, encouraging slaughter and destruction), but at the same time, it’s clear that Slaanesh, the Prince of Pleasure, is involved since some of the crew to be “enjoying” themselves. The other two, Tzeentch and Nurgle, may be sitting this one out, but Event Horizon includes one other story beat that touches on the technology of Warhammer 40k. Weir implies during the back half of the film that the ship itself has become possessed by a Deamonic spirit, and of course, that’s a huge part of the Warhammer 40k setting where humanity believes machine spirits power all machines. ]

The Machine Spirits

In the grim darkness of the far future in Warhammer 40k, technology is incredibly advanced but also oddly primitive, with Tech Priests rubbing ointments and saying prayers over military vehicles before they go to war to embolden the machine spirits within. The denizens of The Warp are able to possess technology and infect with their own Daemonic spirits, giving players the option to use twisted versions of the Imperium of Man’s own weapons against them. If that sounds like exactly what happens to the ship in Event Horizon, well, that’s another reason why this is secretly a Warhammer 40k film.

The Event Horizon fan theory may not even be a fan theory, and is instead confirmed thanks to screenwriter Philip Eisner commenting on Twitter in 207 that “I played the sh*t out of 40K, so it was definitely an influence, conscious or otherwise.” Writers who went on to work at Games Workshop to help shape the universe returned the favor, with an attempt to name-drop the ship in one of the game’s official codexes, but the U.K.-based company stopped it from seeing print. Still, it’s a comment straight from the twisted mind behind the film that the classic tabletop miniatures game’s gothic setting had an impact on the film.

Event Horizon Is A Gateway To Warhammer 40k

When Henry Cavill and Amazon bring Warhammer 40k to life, it won’t look like Event Horizon, but there’s no doubt that, intentionally or not, the 1997 sci-fi horror is the perfect companion piece to the grimdark future franchise. If you enjoy the movie, there are multiple Black Library novels out there that you should check out, starting with Xenos by Dan Abnett, the first of the Eisenhorn novels, which isn’t nearly as bloody and gruesome as the movie, but it nails the dark, ominous feeling of something being very, very wrong that first half of the movie does so well.

The Event Horizon/Warhammer 40k fan theory has existed since the film first hit theaters, over a decade after Games Workshop released Rogue Trader, the first game set in the world of 40k. It’s been an enduring fan theory because it honors both the film and the gaming franchise, and it doesn’t demand either one of them, and simply says, “Hey, this would be really cool.” The best fan theories are just that, they’re fun, but this time around, the Sam Neill horror film is also a perfect introduction to how crazy the Warhammer 40k setting can get, and given the cost of running a well-painted 3,000-point competitive army, that might be the most horrifying part of the movie.

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 2 minutes ago

For the last decade as streaming has taken off in homes around the world, it’s become possible for films that lost historical amounts of money in theaters to find success, even if it might be the post-Mystery Science Theater 3000 trend of “so bad it’s good.” That’s why a massive flop, for example say, Morbius, and films that slightly missed the mark like The Fall Guy can turn it around and become a streaming success.

What’s even more impressive is the amazing turnaround of 2013’s Jack the Giant Slayer, which lost Legendary Pictures an alleged $200 million, only to end up topping streaming charts in 2025. 

The Classic Fairy Tale With A Twist

Everyone knows the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, the classic fairy tale about selling a horse for magic beans and climbing a beanstalk to find a giant living in the clouds.  It’s simple, contains multiple morals, and can be easily adjusted to turn Jack into the villain, but Jack the Giant Slayer instead asks, “What if there was no moral, and instead of one giant, there was an entire army of evil giants?” The movie is the classic story, as you’ve never seen it before, and it almost works. 

Nicholas Hoult plays Jack, the young man who finds himself trading his horse to a monk in exchange for beans that he can’t allow to get wet, ever. Like the rules in Gremlins, it’s not long before Jack accidentally gets the beans wet and a beanstalk grows under his house with the princess, Isabell (Eleanor Tomlinson), trapped inside as it grows into the sky. All the king’s men gather to rescue the princess, including Lord Roderick (Stanley Tucci), who, thankfully, Jack the Giant Slayer makes obvious is very evil, very quickly. 

It’s up to Jack, Isabell, and the loyal Knight, Elmont (Ewan McGregor) to save the kingdom and stop the invasion of giants led by Roderick and the giant two-headed General Fallon (Bill Nighy). If there’s one thing Jack the Giant Slayer does better than every other adaptation, it’s the third act featuring a full-blown war between humans and giants, with a touch of humor and absurdity. Watching a giant toss a windmill like the glaive from Krull is the perfect amount of off-beat to distract from a surprising amount of body horror in both the giant’s designs and Fallon’s ultimate fate. 

A Movie For No One

Jack the Giant Slayer looks too good, and the star-studded cast is having way too much fun for it to be a truly bad movie. The problem is that the pacing is off: it takes a little too long to get to the good stuff, then it feels a little too rushed, and though it is a fun adventure, it’s also, like the source material, simplistic. It’s not like the movie wasn’t watched in theaters; it made $197 million worldwide, which would be a great haul except it cost $185 million to make, and that’s not including the extensive marketing campaign.

The push and pull of director Bryan Singer’s vision of a dark take on the fable, complete with actual people-eating on screen, and the sanitized version that hit theaters, which was still too dark for children, since the film is surprisingly rated PG-13, meant it ended up being a film for no one. The Rotten Tomatoes ratings, of 52 percent from critics and 55 percent from the audience, are proof that the final product is not great, but not bad; it’s a movie that will keep you watching for a few hours and then leave no lasting impression. These days, Lionsgate and Sony wish they’d release a movie that is that well-received, as even Jack the Giant Slayer looks like a masterpiece compared to Borderlands or Kraven the Hunter.

Streaming is the perfect home for Jack the Giant Slayer, and 10 years later, it no longer matters that the movie lost hundreds of millions in theaters. It finally gets to stand on its own as a fun, if unremarkable, fantasy adventure.

Over the course of the last 15 years, the world has been treated to some of the best television dramas of the entire 21st century. Medical shows, thrillers, big chapters of sci-fi franchises—these are all small-screen masterpieces which demonstrate the full power of the medium at its most serious. But while there have been countless excellent TV dramas since 2011, only a handful of them can truly be considered perfect.

Shows like Game of Thrones and True Detective are undoubtedly among the best TV dramas of the last 15 years, but they’re not really perfect. The most flawless TV dramas from 2011 to the present are about as close as television comes to perfection, extraordinary examples of their respective genres which don’t really have any significant flaws beyond any nitpicking that viewers may engage in.

8

‘Hannibal’ (2013–2015)

Image via NBC

Part psychological thriller, part psychological horror, and a hundred percent one of the most shocking things that have ever been allowed to air on American broadcast television, Hannibal is a must-see for all those who love The Silence of the Lambs. It’s one of those thriller shows that has aged like fine wine, a cult classic whose cancellation after three short-lived seasons still remains one of NBC’s biggest crimes ever.

But even though it ends on a frustrating (though meaningful) cliffhanger, Hannibal is still essential viewing for people who like their TV dramas with a side of disturbing horror elements. Bolstered by Mads Mikkelsen‘s intense, elegant, and perfectly calculated lead performance, it’s a brutal yet strangely satisfying televisual masterpiece through and through. Visually stunning, sophisticated in its writing, and reliant on the electric dynamic between Hannibal himself and Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), it’s one of those unfairly cancelled shows that are still worth watching years after their conclusion.

7

‘The Americans’ (2013–2018)

Image via FX

One of the very few drama shows that have ever received two Peabody Awards during their run, The Americans is undoubtedly one of the greatest TV series of all time. It’s one of those TV dramas where every episode is a masterpiece, using an enthralling espionage story as a vehicle to explore themes of marriage, parenthood, and identity.

The show’s balance between being a spy thriller and a family drama is unexpectedly perfect. Critics called it this decade’s The Sopranos, and frankly, it’s not that far-fetched of a comparison. Beautifully slow-burning, perfect in how it uses its genres, and full of fascinating characters, it’s a gem supported by Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys at the top of their games. From emotional payoffs to deep character arcs, there’s nothing to not love about The Americans.

6

‘Andor’ (2022–2025)

Image via Disney+

A prequel spin-off show centered on a random character from a prequel spin-off movie? On paper, Andor sounded like it would either prove to be a cash-grab or a time-wasting disaster. Instead, the Star Wars franchise hasn’t been this great since the ’80s. What Tony Gilroy and his team created here is far more than just the best piece of content in the galaxy far, far away since Return of the Jedi: It’s one of the most perfect modern sci-fi TV shows out there.

On the one hand, Andor is a sharp and thought-provoking critique of authoritarian power and celebration of rebellion in the face of fascism. On the other hand, it’s an endlessly entertaining space opera full of interesting characters (played by excellent performers), shocking twists, and emotionally riveting moments. Fans would never have complained if it had run for another dozen seasons, but the two seasons that do exist are some truly top-tier television.

5

‘Severance’ (2022–Present)

Image via Apple TV

With only two seasons released so far, Severance is still one of the best sci-fi shows to binge-watch in one week. Honestly, that feels like the only right way to go with this masterful “mystery box”-type series, one of the most addictive genre shows streaming has had to offer throughout this decade. For every narrative answer that Severance provides, another four questions pop up.

But that’s precisely the show’s puzzling appeal, an appeal further supported by top-notch production values and an exceptional ensemble cast. Though definitely not without a sense of humor (sometimes dark, sometimes offbeat, always effective), Severance is nevertheless a drama at heart. And what a thematically nuanced, emotionally compelling, twist-filled drama it is. The character arcs are engaging, the mysteries are all nail-bitingly intense, and the way the show comments on modern corporate culture couldn’t possibly hit harder.

4

‘The Pitt’ (2025–Present)

Medical dramas have a very long history on both cable TV and streaming, but it’s a genre that lends itself perhaps a bit too well to feeling contrived and trite. The Pitt hasn’t given off any semblance of those qualities for a single second of its run. Designed from the get-go as the most realistic medical drama the small screen has ever seen, a mission it succeeds at almost the entire time, it’s also one of the most perfect TV dramas of the last 10 years.

The Pitt may be entirely committed to raw realism and genuineness, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t find plenty of time to explore emotionally stirring character arcs and dynamics. It’s a refreshingly believable medical show, incredibly well-staged and well-paced; but it’s also one of the most engaging character dramas television viewers have gotten in years, and that is perhaps the key to its feeling like it’s full of heart.

3

‘Succession’ (2018–2023)

Image via HBO

One doesn’t just watch Succession in order to get to what’s easily one of the greatest series finale masterpieces ever. It’s all about the journey, not the destination; and in the case of the Roy dynasty and their story, what a journey it is. It’s a show so steeped in dark humor that some may go so far as to call it a dramedy, but at its core, this HBO masterpiece is one of the most dramatic and powerful Shakespearean shows out there.

It’s all about the power dynamics here. Through the flawlessly written and endlessly quotable dialogue, the many sharp-edged jokes and insults, the surprising amount of perfectly-executed plot twists, and all the emotionally stirring character moments, Succession constantly sees the power dynamics between its characters shift and twist and transform. It’s an absolutely fascinating spectacle to watch unfold.

2

‘Chernobyl’ (2019)

Image via HBO

It’s a miniseries, but there’s no denying that Chernobyl is one of the greatest TV dramas not just of the last 15 years, but perhaps even of all time. It’s one of the darkest HBO shows ever, and definitely not for the faint of heart. Its exploration of the events leading up to the disaster in the titular Ukrainian city, of the event itself, and of its ghastly aftermath never hold back a single punch. It’s a grim, brutal, incredibly hard-hitting drama, but one that’s essential viewing for all those who like well-made television.

There’s the actual physical disaster, the institutional precedent and response, and the philosophical and thematic arguments at the core of it all. On all three levels, Chernobyl is an engrossing masterpiece. Full of complex characters played by some of the most talented actors on Earth, the show allows a feeling of slow-burning dread to make its way into the viewer’s mind gradually but oh so potently. It’s an intelligent, well-researched, mostly quite accurate and insightful look at how dangerous a system built on lies and institutional rot can be.

1

‘Better Call Saul’ (2015–2022)

Image via AMC

Back in 2008, Breaking Bad was born. It was once the show started streaming on Netflix that people around the world started coming to a realization: Vince Gilligan‘s crime thriller wasn’t just a great show, but rather one that promised to become the best TV drama in history. Indeed, that’s what many people today would say to describe the story of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), his family, and those who helped him in his journey to becoming the drug kingpin Heisenberg. Among those people was Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), a character that was originally designed to just be a comic relief character for a few episodes. Instead, Bob Odenkirk’s character became such a fan favorite that he had to stick around for the rest of the show.

Fans grew to like the character of Saul so much that he ended up becoming the lead of Better Call Saul, and the rest is history. Part legal dramedy, part crime thriller, this is not only one of the most perfect crime shows of all time, but also the best television prequel in history. It’s the most formally-precise character study ever created for the small screen, a slow-burning Shakespearean tragedy where every plot development feels like a seismic shift. It’s television at its best, and undoubtedly the best TV drama of the last 15 years.

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Better Call Saul

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Release Date

2015 – 2022-00-00

Network

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AMC

Showrunner

Peter Gould

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Directors

Vince Gilligan, Thomas Schnauz, Peter Gould, Michael Morris, Adam Bernstein, Colin Bucksey, John Shiban, Michelle MacLaren, Daniel Sackheim, Jim McKay, Minkie Spiro, Terry McDonough, Larysa Kondracki, Melissa Bernstein, Gordon Smith, Andrew Stanton, Bronwen Hughes, Giancarlo Esposito, Keith Gordon, Michael Slovis, Nicole Kassell, Norberto Barba, Rhea Seehorn, Scott Winant

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By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 46 seconds ago

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is considered the best show in the franchise by many fans, myself included. The show focused on extensive characterization, long-running arcs, and fairly dark plots, including the Dominion War story that dominated the last two seasons. Decades later, NuTrek shows like Discovery, Picard, and Starfleet Academy fizzled, leaving the frustrated fandom to ask a simple question: why can’t these newer shows be more like Deep Space Nine?

However, here’s a troubling fact: NuTrek sucked so much precisely because the creators were trying to make shows like DS9. Obviously, they didn’t do a very good job, mostly because executive producer Alex Kurtzman is a complete hack. But if you pound a few shots of Romulan Ale and squint, you can see that the architects of NuTrek went all-in on the idea of creating “darker” Star Trek shows in a failed attempt to recapture the magic of what made Deep Space Nine so special.

Star Trek Into Darkness

Deep Space Nine is considered the dark (if not the darkest) Star Trek show for many reasons. It doesn’t feature the squeaky-clean heroes of The Next Generation; instead, our heroes include a former terrorist (Kira), a former spy (Garak), and an angry widower who ends up becoming a reluctant Space Jesus (Sisko). His chief foe is basically Trek’s closest analog to Adolf Hitler (Gul Dukat). Even the relatively “normal” characters get dark backgrounds and plots. For example, fresh-faced medical prodigy Dr. Bashir is revealed to be a Khan-like augmented human. Affable everyman O’Brien, meanwhile, gets physically and mentally tortured at least once a season.

The show also used its Dominion War arc to test the boundaries of Star Trek’s endless idealism. Sisko becomes an accessory to a murder, but he never admits it because this act finally gets the Romulans to join the war. He also discovers that Starfleet has a secret wetworks division known as Section 31, which handles everything from assassinations to genocides. Odo gets so distracted by shapeshifter sex that he becomes a collaborator with monsters (again). Oh, and Worf murders Gowron (with Sisko’s blessing!) so he can install his buddy as Chancellor of the Klingon Empire.

NuTrek Is An Edgerlord’s Paradise

Obviously, DS9 had dark characters and storylines, but what does that have to do with NuTrek? In short, the entire Kurtzman era of this franchise has been filled with lame, edgelord attempts at making the franchise darker. The first season of Star Trek: Discovery, for example, centers on a mutineer who started a war as its main character. It’s a season where Klingons eat their dead foes and strip down to engage in sex that’s half play, half intimate assault. An evil Starfleet captain tortures a tardigrade before the good Starfleet captains one-up him with a plan to blow up an entire planet in an attempt to end a costly war.

Star Trek continued going (ahem) into darkness with other spinoffs. Picard inexplicably features a beloved Voyager B-lister getting tortured and murdered while Picard cozies up to a Romulan swordsman whose only solution to any problem is cutting someone’s head off. They’re fighting to save a Federation that is now cool with creating synthetic slaves. Later, Season 2 has our heroes fighting ICE, watching Q die, and discovering that a young Picard accidentally helped his mother unalive herself. Even the relatively lighthearted Starfleet Academy had the good guys put the entire Federation in danger because they meddled with and accidentally weaponized the most dangerous molecule in the galaxy. 

It’s All About Testing Characters’ Morality

In retrospect, it’s clear that Alex Kurtzman and his writers thought they could recapture the old Deep Space Nine magic by throwing a bunch of grimdark characters into gritty situations and calling it a day. However, this didn’t work because DS9’s characters weren’t inherently dark; instead, they were good men and women forced to weigh their morals against the greater good. In the classic episode “In the Pale Moonlight,” Sisko isn’t compelling simply because he’s a morally murky character. No, what makes this episode fascinating is that he’s a good man forced to do bad things, with the fate of potentially billions of lives riding on his decision.

Similarly, Worf doesn’t kill Gowron because of petty vengeance or a haunted past. Instead, he weighs his cultural values as both a Klingon and a Starfleet officer, ultimately deciding it’s better to kill a tyrant than let him continue getting others killed. Even plain, simple Garak seems happy with his life as a tailor, and he’s only reluctantly drawn back into active spycraft because he realizes the best way to save his homeworld is to save it from the Cardassians who have sold its soul, one alliance at a time.

This obviously extends to the Dominion War arc as a whole. We see the toll the war has on good men and women: Nog becomes a wounded and disillusioned war veteran, and Rom nearly gets killed trying to save the Alpha Quadrant. Jadzia Dax does get killed fighting superpowered space Hitler, and Odo begins to question his loyalties. However, characters retain their morality throughout every ordeal. Bashir repeatedly refuses to join Section 31, and Odo saves the Changelings from that organization’s attempted genocide. Standing victorious on Cardassia, Captain Sisko and Admiral Ross refuse to toast their victory, instead choosing to mourn this utterly senseless and completely preventable loss of life.

NuTrek Made Its Worst Villain Into A Hero

Compare that to NuTrek, where the Klingon War hardens hearts and makes the wisest people lose their moral compass. Both Sarek and Starfleet are willing to blow up the Klingon homeworld and kill billions in order to end the war. Starfleet has suddenly decided to trust its war planning to Mirror Universe Georgiou, a woman who has terrorized the entire galaxy while murdering countless people. Later, she’s put in Section 31 (a DS9 invention NuTrek tried very hard to capitalize on) so the entire Federation can continue to benefit from her completely amoral advice. That’s because the Feds believed the same thing that Picard suddenly starts believing over a century later: violence is great as long as the ends justify the means.

This is basically the problem with NuTrek in a nutshell. We don’t get fully fleshed-out characters whose morality is tested by unthinkable scenarios. Instead, we get one-dimensional characters who are dark and compromised from the beginning. Michael Burnham is meant to be the embodiment of Starfleet ideals, but she comes to us as an angry, nearly broken mutineer who, in her guilt, saves an alternate universe’s most murderous monster from certain doom. Even formerly complex characters like Picard are made dumb, violent, and impulsive by writers who value blunt spectacle over elegant storytelling.

Star Trek Needs More Than Darkness

Alex Kurtzman tried to copy the Deep Space Nine formula for NuTrek, but, in typical fashion, he went about it in the stupidest possible way. It’s not enough to give us dark settings and plots; we need well-developed characters whose morality is an idealistic counterpart to the darkness around them. Stories needed to reinforce Star Trek’s hopeful ethos and reward audiences who never lost faith in the greatest sci-fi franchise of all time. Instead, what we got was a collection of dark characters, pointless action scenes, and endless violence, all wrapped up with another snoozeworthy Michael Burnham speech.

This is Kurtzman’s warped idea of what makes Star Trek so great. Is it any wonder that every one of his NuTrek shows has been a colossal failure?

Christina Aguilera and her fiancé, Matthew Rutler, enjoyed a rare red carpet date night — complete with plenty of PDA.

Aguilera, 45, attended the Breakthrough Prize Ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 18, where she walked the red carpet with Rutler, 41, on her arm.

The pop star looked radiant in an off-the-shoulder black Salih Balta gown and wore her signature blonde tresses in a vintage-inspired bob. Rutler, for his part, opted for a classic black suit.

As Aguilera and Rutler posed on the carpet, he planted a kiss on her cheek for the cameras.

Related: Christina Aguilera and Fiance Matthew Rutler‘s Relationship Timeline

Christina Aguilera and Matthew Rutler have been going strong for more than a decade. Aguilera started dating the MasterClass executive in 2010 amid her divorce from Jordan Bratman (with whom she welcomed son Max in 2008). By 2012, insiders told Us that Aguilera and Rutler’s relationship had “turned into something special.” The singer and Rutler […]

The couple have been together since 2010 and got engaged four years later, though haven’t been in a rush to tie the knot.

“There are no wedding plans at the moment. [Christina] and Matt are happy the way they are,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in August 2022. “They’re one of those couples who don’t need a document to prove their love for each other.”

The “What a Girl Wants” singer and Rutler have also been busy raising their blended family. The pair share daughter Summer, 11, while Aguilera is also mom of son Max, 18, from a previous relationship.

According to Aguilera, her kids are already aware that their mom is a bona fide star.

“She’s so enraptured by the world behind the scenes and the production of everything, and she loves the band and the background singers,” the singer told Vogue in January 2024, referring to Summer. “She wants to take drum lessons — she is about it. She gives me so much love and support. Before I go on stage, she knows I get nervous, and she’s like, ‘You’re going to do great, mama.’”

Summer is even hoping to become her mom’s next manager.

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“On the way to school the other day with her dad, [Summer] said, ‘When I grow up, I want to either be mama’s photographer or mama’s manager.’ It’s so funny,” Aguilera added at the time. “So we told will.i.am that [when he came to see my Las Vegas show], and he was like, ‘Oh, my God, she’s your daught-ager.’ So daught-ager is the word of the year. It’s just so cute.”

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Christina Aguilera has left her mark in the fashion world. From barely-there crop tops to figure-hugging gowns and racy leather frocks, Aguilera always delivers drama on the red carpet. Her early 2000s style — including low-waisted skirts, halter tops, hats and more — has inspired celebs including Kylie Jenner to recreate her iconic look. While […]

Aguilera, for her part, finds the combination of “daughter” and “manager” perfectly described Summer’s personality.

“If I’m running late for something or have an appointment, she’s like, ‘You know they’re waiting, Mama. We need to go,’” Aguilera explained to Vogue. “I was [previously] working with someone who predicted her birth to me, a very intuitive person, and she said, ‘You’re going to have a daughter, and she’s going to be your protector. She’s going to be on this earth to watch over you and protect and support you.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, really?’ And literally she’s embodying that, and it’s just the most beautiful [thing].”

T.I. and Tiny Harris have fans feeling real old after videos surfaced showing some sweet moments from their youngest son Major Harris’ senior prom send-off. Videos show Major and his date leaving the house and making their way to their limo, leaving fans to ask, “Where has the time gone?”

RELATED: Dad To The Rescue! Body Cam Footage Captures T.I.’s Arrival Amid King Harris’ Recent Arrest In Georgia (VIDEOS)

T.I. & Tiny Go All Out For Major Harris’ Prom Send-Off

Folks online are in their feelings as a video showed Major Harris gearing up for his senior prom. A clip sees Major and his date making their way out of a home, and course a red carpet was rolled out for them. T.I. and Tiny Harris were front and center to watch their baby boy pop out for his school dance. Major’s date looked stunning for the night in a teal blue strapless dress, while Major was sharply suited in black. Tiny looked like a prom mom during the celebration. She made sure Major and his date went to prom in style, walking them up to a jet black limo. Peep the video below.

The Internet Can’t Believe Major Is Off To Prom

Reactions to Major’s prom send-off kept rolling in over in The Shade Room’s comment section. Some folks said seeing Major head to prom doesn’t sit right with them, while others said they still remember when Major was just a baby on T.I. and Tiny’s reality show, ‘The Family Hustle.’

Instagram user @princezz2011 wrote, “I love Major he always been so sweet i hope he stay this way 🥰🥰🥰” 

Instagram user @_datruth wrote, “The lawyer of the family 🫶🏾” 

While Instagram user @mingdaking_ wrote, “They got the most money and they had a regular send off! 🫱🏾‍🫲🏽 wealth ain’t loud! ❤️❤️❤️🫶🏾🫶🏾” 

Then Instagram user @wiganometry wrote, “He’s the version of T.I. that has the encyclopedic words. Warms my heart. He’s our baby too!!” 

Instagram user @ tatybody__ wrote, “Major going to prom just doesn’t sit well with me😭 we oldddddd.” 

Another Instagram user @coolinandpoolin wrote, “These babies met in the computer lab! I KNOW it! My Boy Major!!! 🫱🏾” 

instagram user @amiragelt wrote. “Major for president 😩😍” 

Then another Instagram user @shaytrending wrote, “Awww he found the girl version of himself so cute 😍” 

While another Instagram user @thevaginaliberator wrote, “Can’t be the same baby who drew on the white couch 😩😩” 

Finally, Instagram user @_chelsear0se wrote, “Love the fact they still look like innocent kids 🥹” 

T.I.’s Daughter Also Gears Up For A New Chapter

Major Harris isn’t the only one stepping in a new chapter — his sister Deyjah Harris is on the same wave. She recently became a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. at Clark Atlanta University. Video footage showed Deyjah’s big moment where she hit a whole routine to her dad’s song, ‘Bring Em Out.’ See the clip below.

RELATED: Oop! Tiny Harris Addresses Rumor That T.I. Isn’t King’s Father