Right now at the box office, Colleen Hoover’s latest adaptation, Reminders of Him, is continuing to perform admirably against tough competition, such as the hit new sci-fi flick Project Hail Mary. Against a reported budget of $25 million, the film has earned just under $60 million worldwide, split between $38 million in domestic revenue and an additional $21 million from overseas markets. Starring Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers, and directed by Vanessa Caswill, the film is unlikely to reach the box office heights of Hoover’s previous two adaptations, one of which is quietly proving popular on streaming.

Regretting You, Hoover’s second adaptation, released in October 2025, earned a global haul of $90 million during its theatrical run, a total unlikely to be hit by Reminders of Him. Tripling its reported budget of $30 million, the film starred an eye-catching cast and became a hit with fans of the Hoover novels. From a script penned by Susan McMartin, the film stars the likes of Allison Williams as Morgan Grant, Mckenna Grace as Clara Grant, Dave Franco as Jonah Sullivan, Mason Thames as Miller Adams, Scott Eastwood as Chris Grant, Willa Fitzgerald as Jenny Davidson, and Clancy Brown as Hank Adams Sr.

Although fans appreciated the effort, critics weren’t so glowing in their reception of Regretting You. In Isabella Soares‘ review of the movie for Collider, she called Regretting You “messy,” adding, “Although the cast does what they can with a script that never cuts deeper than the surface, their performances aren’t enough to give Regretting You the emotional resonance expected from a story like this.” Despite this poor response from critics, Regretting You continues to prove popular, scoring a place on the current Paramount+ top ten in the U.S.

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Another Colleen Hoover Adaptation Is On Its Way Soon

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With the three adaptations all proving box office successes so far, and with Hoover’s books continuing to sell millions of copies, we are merely in the early stages of her impact on Hollywood. Up next is Verity, an adaptation of Hoover’s 2018 psychological thriller of the same name, which features the on-screen talents of Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, Josh Hartnett, Ismael Cruz Cordóva, and Brady Wagner. Written by Nick Antosca and directed by Michael Showalter, with the latter previously working with Hathaway on Prime Video’s The Idea of You, the movie is scheduled to release on October 2, 2026.

Regretting You is streaming on Paramount+. Stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.

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Release Date

October 22, 2025

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116 minutes

Director

Josh Boone

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Writers

Susan McMartin

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Producers

Anna Todd, Brunson Green, Flavia Viotti, Robert Kulzer

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In the age of streaming, Netflix was the pioneer in introducing original content to viewers beyond network and cable television. With greater freedom and fewer restrictions, Netflix produced some iconic series. From Stranger Things to The Crown, Ozark to Squid Game, when it comes to thrillers and dramas, the streamer has it on lock. But what about the original comedies? Why don’t they receive the same adoration?

Throughout Netflix’s history, there have been extraordinary original comedies that broke the mold. Some welcomed Hollywood legends to play and explore characters of a certain age, while others played into the absurdity that wouldn’t have resonated on network television. Yet, these 10 out of 10 shows have become victims of time, forgotten as new viral shows arrive. It’s time to celebrate the comedies that helped shape Netflix and the genre.

‘Bonding’ (2019–2021)

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Sex has always been a part of television. Often used as a steamy moment to further the plot, sex sells. So, what happens when you use that premise, but explore a world of taboo? You get the brilliant dark comedy, Bonding. Created by Rightor Doyle, Bonding explores the friendship of Tiff Chester (Zoe Levin), a psychology grad student who works as a dominatrix, and Pete Devin (Brendan Scannell), her newly out gay bestie, who becomes her assistant. As Tiff and Pete navigate their personal lives by day, at night, they work in the BDSM underworld, where they go by the monikers Mistress May and Master Carter. Allowing audiences to explore the taboo world of kink as they use their exploration to find themselves, Bonding is a dark comedy with heart.

Raunchy but light-hearted, Bonding went where very few shows had gone before. Bonding lightened up the dark world of BDSM without compromising the community. Instead, it served as a place where the characters could express vulnerability, learn to communicate, and establish boundaries in all their relationships. With each episode running half the time as a typical sitcom, Bonding was a fast-paced comedy that kept audiences engaged. A short-and-sweet binge that is highly satisfactory, the series was niche without being nonjudgmental. Doyle takes care to ground the story in authenticity while also keeping it fresh and feisty. Levin and Scannell had sensational chemistry that made you see your own bestie in them. Sadly, only running for two seasons, Bonding was a blink-and-you-missed-it comedy.

‘Dead to Me’ (2019–2022)

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It might be unfair to claim that Dead to Me is a forgotten series, but the truth is, the more time away, the less it remains in the conversation. Over the course of three seasons, Dead to Me centered on the intense friendship between Jen Harding (Christina Applegate), a hotheaded widow, and Judy Hale (Linda Cardellini), an eccentric optimist she meets in grief counseling. Their friendship takes a turn when the truth is revealed that Judy hid the fact that she killed Jen’s husband in a hit-and-run. With secrets galore, tying them closely together, their friendship endures a rocky road as they face more twists and turns. A tragicomedy about grief and whether certain actions can ever be forgiven, Dead to Me masterfully balanced laugh-out-loud humor with immense emotion, anchored by a thrilling plot.

Created by Liz Feldman, the series came at the right time for both audiences and the two women in the central roles. Applegate and Cardellini had sensational chemistry in their odd-couple dynamic, bringing out the best in one another as characters and actresses. With a unique spin on female friendship, Dead to Me finds that what should be a complex circumstance is actually a way to bond over trauma. The deeper the series went, the more Jen and Judy faced the ups and downs of their relationship. They both made mistakes while also being present to lift the other up. Trauma and grief are easy themes; Dead to Me tackled them with sharp wit. Dead to Me wanted audiences to decide what makes a person good or bad, but in the end, we all have both inside, thus we have to forgive others for being the same.

‘Dear White People’ (2017–2021)

Image via Netflix

After the success of the film of the same name, writer-director Justin Simien returned to the source material to create a four-season run of Dear White People. Following the lives of several Black college students at Winchester University, a fictional Ivy League institution, Dear White People explored issues of racial tensions, identity, and politics. With themes tackling microaggressions, systemic racism, and cultural appropriation head-on, Dear White People‘s sharp, satirical tone forced viewers to think and became the ultimate conversation-starter series.

An ensemble piece, the ability to generate a diverse group of individuals uniting over a similar perspective was its strongest suit. Though very thematically focused, the characters were richly crafted. From Logan Browning as Sam White, a radio host trying to get people to wake up to society, to DeRon Horton as Lionel Higgins, a highly intelligent aspiring journalist trying to find his voice, the characters you knew from the film were further fleshed out through new stories. Confidently utilizing modern pop culture and social themes to hold up a mirror to society, Dear White People was topical and timeless.

‘Grace and Frankie’ (2015–2022)

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Right from the jump, having Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin reunite was an immediate draw. Hoping that Dolly Parton would pop in to complete the 9 to 5 trio was always top of mind. But once the novelty wore off and the story became the central focus, Grace and Frankie proved itself to be an underdog contender as one of the greatest comedies of the 2010s. Created by Marta Kauffman and Howard J. Morris, the seven-season series told the story of two women in their 70s—the stiff, refined Grace Hanson (Fonda) and the eccentric artist Frankie Bergstein (Tomlin)—whose lives are upended when their husbands, Sol Bergstein (Sam Waterston) and Robert Hanson (Martin Sheen), announce they are in love and plan to marry. Forcing a friendship they never thought imaginable, Grace and Frankie was a rare comedy that showcased the realities of life after 70 while exploring how, at any age, new beginnings can arrive when you least expect them.

Wonderfully tender and strongly acted, Grace and Frankie became the ultimate comfort watch. This was not The Golden Girls with four Hollywood stars getting a chance to act in a hit again. Grace and Frankie was a fervent exploration of the reality of aging through pathos and humor. As a single-camera comedy, Grace and Frankie was able to weave in dramatic moments to capture the story’s authenticity. You could easily have turned this into a multi-cam show based solely on over-the-top scenarios, but grounding it in the resilience of the human spirit made it relatable. Of course, as long as you could get past President Jed Barlet and DA Jack McCoy as a gay couple, Grace and Frankie is perfect. As the series went on, Grace and Frankie lost its novelty, being overshadowed by new original content. What never left was Fonda and Tomlin being at the top of their game within this new demographic. Grace and Frankie was an important, groundbreaking series that invited big-name stars to tackle themes they relate to.

‘Lady Dynamite’ (2016–2017)

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Sometimes, all it takes is your own show where you poke fun at yourself to find a new devoted audience. Such was the case for Maria Bamford and her sleeper hit, Lady Dynamite. Loosely based on her life, the series is a surreal, meta comedy that follows Maria as she attempts to rebuild her life and career in Los Angeles after a six-month break in recovery for bipolar II disorder. Wonderfully chaotic and uniquely Bamford, Lady Dynamite addressed Bamford’s bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and rather than make it a show about self-pity, it became an honest portrayal of mental health told through humor.

Created by Pam Brady and Mitch Hurwitz for Netflix, Lady Dynamite was a meta masterpiece. The fourth-wall breaking was never a distraction; rather, it was an element that elevated the comedy and allowed Bamford to speak her truth. A journey straight into Bamford’s mind, the style in which the stories are presented offers a glimpse of how Bamford experiences life. The non-linear approach was highly experimental, which resulted in the ultimate payoff. Furthermore, she gets to speak her mind about sitcom conventions and the struggles within the industry. Whether you experienced it yourself or know someone who has, Lady Dynamite was a daring show that tackled mental health while network comedies steered clear of it. Lady Dynamite was ahead of its time; the doors the series opened for modern comedy seemed to leave the show on the other side of it.

‘Master of None’ (2015–2021)

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Fresh off a successful run on Parks and Recreation, comedian Aziz Ansari rode the momentum and created a star vehicle for himself with Master of None. The dramedy follows Dev Shah (Ansari), a 30-year-old actor in New York navigating his career, romance, and cultural identity. By Season 3, the series switched perspective, giving the lead to Lena Waithe, playing Denise, one of Dev’s friends, a 37-year-old lesbian novelist, mostly following their romantic, professional, and personal experiences. The complete millennium experience, anxiety included, Master of None took relatively specific themes, like the gap between first-generation Indian-American children and their immigrant parents, and mixed them with more universal themes, including racism, sexism, and modern romance, to give a platform to minority voices.

With high-quality filmmaking and whip-smart writing, Master of None began as a deeply personal project for Ansari, resulting in humanistic storytelling. Mostly adopting a self-contained episode narrative, each episode allowed a specific theme to take center stage. Master of None was a modern comedy that avoided classic sitcom tropes. Diverse storytelling and visibility have become more prominent since Master of None, making it seem like a show of the past. If you haven’t watched the series, no time like the present to “treat yo self’” with a forgotten great.

‘One Day at a Time’ (2017–2020)

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Perhaps the most criminally underrated and underappreciated comedy to ever play on Netflix was the wholesome reboot of the classic sitcom One Day at a Time. Reimagined for a Cuban-American family at the center of the story, the sitcom followed Penelope Alvarez (Justina Machado), a newly separated Army veteran and nurse, raising her radical teen daughter, Elena (Isabella Gomez), and socially adept tween son, Alex (Marcel Ruiz), with the help of her old-school, Cuban-born mother, Lydia (Rita Moreno). Bringing the multigenerational stories of a Latino family to the forefront, the show perfectly marries old-school sitcom with contemporary storytelling.

Even if the Alvarez family didn’t look like your family, their experiences together as a unit may still have resonated. One Day at a Time was exceptionally heartfelt, tackling important topics respectfully. Equally as progressive as the original Norman Lear series was at its time, the show brought classic tropes that made multi-camera series so beloved while ensuring such themes of PTSD, racism, and sexuality were handled with care. One of the most rewarding elements of the series was the comedic masterclass coming from Machado and Moreno. Despite receiving critical acclaim, One Day at a Time sadly didn’t earn the respect it deserved when it was forced to end its run on Pop rather than Netflix. Beyond poignant, One Day at a Time is an exceptional series for the entire family.

‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ (2015–2019)

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The 2010s became a time when single-camera comedies took daring risks. In the mockumentary style, you had shows like The Good Place that played with the surreal and the absurd for a delightfully hilarious premise. Enter Tina Fey and Robert Carlock with a hilariously absurd comedy, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. After 15 years of captivity in an underground bunker in Indiana, where the Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne (Jon Hamm) held her, and three other women, 29-year-old Kimmy Schmidt (Ellie Kemper) decides to leave her past behind and start over in New York City. Adjusting to life in the concrete jungle after life in a doomsday cult, she rooms with Titus Andromedon (Tituss Burgess), a flamboyant, self-absorbed, struggling actor; deals with eccentric, crime-prone landlady Lillian Kaushtupper (Carol Kane); and works as a nanny for wealthy, insecure socialite Jacqueline White (Jane Krakowski). Like a cartoon strip come to life, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt balances the dark with the light for an outrageously comical satire with gags galore.

Like 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt uses every waking moment to offer social commentary where no one is safe. With a character as the eyes and ears of a brand-new world, unafraid to speak her mind on anything and everything, the show pokes fun at the mundane. New York City plays a character, but in this version, it’s as colorful as the characters. The ensemble lifts the show to great heights. Even at their worst, each character is a delight. They have such wonderful idiosyncrasies that pop through the screen. With bits in every episode, from Pinot Noir to the origin of Jacqueline’s identity, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was a laugh riot. There’s no doubt the show could have run longer than four seasons, but alas, the series went out on a tremendous high.

‘Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp’ (2015)

The hype was real, and it was warranted. Upon the announcement of a serialized version of Wet Hot American Summer with many original characters reprising their roles, those who hadn’t signed up for Netflix purchased a subscription. Serving as a satirical prequel to the cult classic film, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp follows the counselors and campers of Camp Firewood on their chaotic first day of summer in 1981. With the original ensemble playing younger versions of themselves, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp was as absurd as it sounds. As it should have been. For fans of the characters, the series provided extra tidbits into the origins of the characters’ relationships and behaviors seen in the original movie. By having adult-only time, the over-the-top hilarity flows naturally.

As a serialized show, the plot centers on saving the camp from toxic waste dumped by a company. But it’s the individual subplots that shine brightest. The brilliance of this series lies in the reunion of actors whose careers blew up after the film. With the likes of Elizabeth Banks, Bradley Cooper, Janeane Garofalo, Amy Poehler, and Paul Rudd joined by new cast members including Jason Schwartzman, Chris Pine, Jon Hamm, and Kristen Wiig, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp was nonstop laughs. No matter where they are in their careers, every star is committed to the bit, in on the absurdist meta jokes. It mocked teen comedies while then poking fun at investigative journalism, political thrillers, legal dramas, and spy films within the context of an ’80s camp life. Though only a season, the follow-up show Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later brought back much of the series’ cast, along with new stars Adam Scott, Melanie Lynskey, and Dax Shepard. The legacy of the franchise remains in our hearts.

‘W/ Bob & David’ (2015)

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Outside of legacies like Saturday Night Live and MAD TV, finding success as a fledgling sketch comedy show can be difficult. Then Netflix took a beloved ’90s HBO sketch series and rebooted it. In 2015, Bob Odenkirk and David Cross paid homage to Mr. Show with Bob and David with four episodes of W/ Bob & David. In the spiritual successor, Odenkirk and Cross bring on the laughs in four 30-minute episodes. Combining live-on-stage studio segments with pre-recorded digital shorts, W/ Bob and David saw the stars head back to their humble beginnings while proving that, even with higher-profile fame, they still have the comic goods.

17 years after the original ended, W/ Bob and David retained the anarchic spirit while introducing more nuanced, refined scripts. The series thrives on both actors’ natural chemistry and comedic tension. Perhaps a major reason the show has been forgotten over time is that Netflix removed the third episode for a sketch featuring blackface. Though the stars objected to the decision, arguing it was satire, the growing racial tension in the country in 2020 left the streamer with no choice. Though there was a desire for more, the single season came and went with little fanfare.

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W/Bob and David

Release Date

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2015 – 2015-00-00

Network

Netflix

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Directors

Jason Woliner

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Since its release in 2025, Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans’s KPop Demon Hunters has become a true cultural phenomenon around the globe. With a story inspired by Korean mythology, K-pop, and anime, and a stellar soundtrack to go with it, the fantasy musical is easily one of the biggest hits of recent years, winning several accolades for its striking animation and brilliant music. But while the film is certainly one of the best musicals ever made, it’s hardly the only great movie in the genre.

Hollywood has been making musicals since the early 20th century, and over the decades, we’ve been graced with the release of several toe-tapping, mind-blowing audiovisual journeys. And the greatest of them, the true masterpieces, deliver exhilarating experiences that are just as amazing (if not more, in some cases) as the blockbuster Netflix movie. So, here’s our handpicked selection of some spectacular musicals that are as good as KPop Demon Hunters.

1

‘Over the Moon’ (2020)

Image via Netflix

Directed by Glen Keane from a screenplay by Audrey Wells, Over the Moon is an animated musical fantasy that takes inspiration from Chinese mythology. The film follows Fei Fei, a spirited young girl who misses her late mother and tries to hold on to the stories she told her about the moon goddess, Chang’e. When her father gets engaged to a woman who questions the existence of Chang’e, Fei Fei builds a rocket ship to prove her wrong, but things get complicated by an unexpected stowaway. Cathy Ang leads the voice cast as Fei Fei, with Phillipa Soo, Ken Jeong, John Cho, Ruthie Ann Miles, Margaret Cho, and Sandra Oh voicing supporting roles.

An Academy Award-nominated work of animation that has gone sorely underrated, Over the Moon is a vibrant and wonderful film with excellent art and great emotional depth. The Netflix Original movie presents a beautiful story about moving on from grief, told using the motifs and legends of Chinese mythology, and further elevated by its energetic, pop-infused soundtrack. The film received positive reviews after its premiere at the 2020 Montclair Film Festival and earned several accolades, including six Annie Award nominations.

2

‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ (2016)

Image via Focus Features

Produced by Laika and directed by Travis Knight, Kubo and the Two Strings is a stop-motion animated fantasy film set in feudal Japan. The movie follows a young boy, the titular Kubo, as he sets out on a mystical quest, wielding a magical two-stringed musical instrument and aided by strange companions. Art Parkinson voices Kubo, leading a cast that includes Charlize Theron, Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara, George Takei, and Matthew McConaughey.

Often hailed as one of the greatest animated films of all time, Kubo and the Two Strings may not be as well-known as KPop Demon Hunters, but its musical fantasy narrative is practically perfect. It’s a highly emotional movie with breathtaking animation and an absorbing, all-ages narrative, and the film has been widely praised for its story, production, and music. Though it’s often overlooked these days, the movie has earned numerous accolades, including two Oscar nominations and a BAFTA win for Best Animated Film.

3

‘A Hard Day’s Night’ (1964)

Image via United Artists

Directed by Richard Lester and written by Alun Owen, A Hard Day’s Night is a classic musical comedy starring the Beatles as fictional versions of themselves. The movie follows John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr in the hours leading up to a televised variety show concert, evading obsessed fans, teasing reporters, and generally trying to have some fun — against the wishes of their strict manager. Wilfrid Brambell, Norman Rossington, John Junkin, and more star in supporting roles.

Released in 1964, during the peak years of Beatlemania, A Hard Day’s Night was an instant hit, earning rave reviews from critics for its lurid, surreal story and setting new records with its box office performance. Powered by the easy charisma of its iconic stars and elevated by a fantastically funny screenplay, the film is easily one of the most popular musicals of all time. A Hard Day’s Night received two Academy Award nominations, and the soundtrack album was a multi-platinum certified hit as well.

4

‘Encanto’ (2021)

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Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, Encanto is a Disney musical fantasy that revolves around a multigenerational Colombian family, the Madrigals, who live in a magical house. All the Madrigals — except for Mirabel Madrigal (Stephanie Beatriz) — have miraculous gifts that they use to help their community, but when the family begins to lose their magic, it falls to Mirabel to save them all. The film’s ensemble voice cast also includes María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Diane Guerrero, Wilmer Valderrama, and more, and it features original songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Though KPop Demon Hunters may have reached unprecedented heights with its success, Encanto was an equally important cultural phenomenon when it first came out in 2021, receiving highly favorable reviews from critics and audiences around the world. A beautiful movie that explores generational trauma through a magical narrative, the film has been widely praised for its music, performances, animation, and emotional depth. Encanto went on to receive several awards, including the Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA Awards for Best Animated Feature/Film.

5

‘Blue Giant’ (2023)

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Adapted from the manga series by Shinichi Ishizuka, Blue Giant is a musical anime film directed by Yuzuru Tachikawa and produced by NUT. The film follows a former high school basketball player who discovers a love for jazz, teaching himself to play the saxophone and moving to Tokyo, where he teams up with his drummer friend and a gifted pianist to form a jazz trio. The voice cast stars Yuki Yamada, Shotaro Mamiya, Amane Okayama, and more.

Combining mindblowing animation with an excellent jazz soundtrack, Blue Giant is a passionate love letter to music that earned universal acclaim. Charting one young man’s earnest quest for musical greatness, the film is an electrifying and immersive experience, and though it may not be as widely known as KPop Demon Hunters, it is easily one of the best animated movies of recent years. Blue Giant went on to win several accolades as well, including a Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Music Score.

6

‘Hamilton’ (2020)

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Directed by Thomas Kail, the 2020 film Hamilton is a live stage recording of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical. The movie follows the life story of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, from his childhood as an orphan in the Caribbean to his tragic death. Miranda stars as Hamilton, alongside most of the original cast, including Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, Christopher Jackson, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Daveed Diggs, and more.

The next best thing to actually watching the acclaimed musical live, Hamilton premiered on Disney+ in July 2020 and quickly became one of the most-streamed films of the year. Successfully transporting the experience from stage to screen, the movie was widely praised by critics for its direction, performances, and visuals, and it was named one of the best films of the year by the American Film Institute. The film also earned several accolades, including two Golden Globe nominations and 12 Emmy nominations, of which it won two.

7

‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939)

Image via Warner Bros.

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Probably the most famous musical of all time, The Wizard of Oz is a film adaptation of the novel by L. Frank Baum, starring Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale. Like the book, the film follows Dorothy, a young girl from Kansas, as she finds herself magically transported to the wonderful land of Oz, where she must embark on a quest to meet the titular wizard and defeat the Wicked Witch of the West to get home. Directed primarily by Victor Fleming and produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the movie also features Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Billie Burke, and Margaret Hamilton in key roles.

An evergreen audience favorite that has been an inspiration to generations of filmmakers, The Wizard of Oz is a landmark of cinema history that has earned great acclaim over the years for its timeless story, beautiful soundtrack, and groundbreaking visual effects, especially its combination of black-and-white and Technicolor. The film’s performances, music, and stagecraft still hold up today, decades later, and it remains a widely loved masterpiece.

8

‘Inu-Oh’ (2021)

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Directed by Masaaki Yuasa and produced by Science SARU, Inu-Oh is an anime musical film inspired by Hideo Furukawa’s novel Tales of the Heike: Inu-Oh. Set in 14th-century Japan, the film explores the friendship between Inu-Oh, a young Noh dancer born with a disfigured appearance, and Tomona, a blind musician. Avu-chan and Mirai Moriyama lead the original voice cast as Inu-Oh and Tomona, respectively, with Tasuku Emoto, Kenjiro Tsuda, and Yutaka Matsushige voicing supporting characters.

Inu-Oh had its world premiere at the 2021 Venice International Film Festival, where it became an instant critical favorite. A thrilling audiovisual journey with powerful social commentary and a mindblowing soundtrack, the film is a triumph of animated storytelling that centers on the importance of music as a way to challenge the status quo. The movie went on to receive several accolades, including a Golden Globe nomination, two Annie Award nominations, and the Fantasia International Film Festival’s Satoshi Kon Award for Best Animated Feature.

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Inu-Oh

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Release Date

October 30, 2021

Writers

Hideo Furukawa, Akiko Nogi

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• 
• 
• 

  Tasuku Emoto

  Shogun Ashikaga

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  Kenjiro Tsuda

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  Inu-oh’s Father

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By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 9 seconds ago

Right now, Project Hail Mary is the hottest sci-fi movie of the year: it not only had an (interstellar) opening weekend, but it earned $54.5 million in its second weekend, showing that this blockbuster has some serious space legs. It’s also currently sitting at a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, proving the film is loved by critics and audiences alike. In the wake of its success, producers across Hollywood are frantically taking notes to learn what everyone wants to see in modern sci-fi.

“All modern science fiction TV shows and movies have been heavily influenced by the original Star Trek — except for the current batch of Star Trek shows.”

Instead of writing notes, though, they could have asked one man: Andy Weir, the writer of the novel that Project Hail Mary is based on. He’s also the writer of The Martian, meaning that he is two for two on crafting beloved sci-fi tales that are transformed into blockbuster films. Recently, the bestselling author appeared on the Critical Drinker’s podcast and offered a blunt assessment of the modern state of Star Trek: “those shows are sh*t.” 

Andy Weir On Modern Star Trek

Unsurprisingly, Andy Weir primarily appeared on the Critical Drinker’s podcast to help plug Project Hail Mary. Host Will Jordan mentioned how the film has been particularly resonant with old-school Star Trek fans who can’t find the movie’s style of entertainment (fun, adventurous, and optimistic) anywhere else. This led Weir to quote an unnamed analyst’s assessment of Alex Kurtzman’s NuTrek era: “All modern science fiction TV shows and movies have been heavily influenced by the original Star Trek — except for the current batch of Star Trek shows.”

Eventually, Andy Weir unpacked his thoughts and admitted that he didn’t hate the entirety of NuTrek. “I like Strange New Worlds. I think it’s pretty good….Lower Decks, I thought, was entertaining and fun. All the others, they can go.”

Star Trek Rejected A Pitch From Andy Weir

After this, Weir revealed that he has something of a personal stake in the modern state of Star Trek: “I pitched a Star Trek show to Paramount, and I was in Zoom with the showrunners with all the shows and spent a lot of time talking to [executive producer Alex Kurtzman].” According to Weir, Kurtzman, “as a person, is a really nice guy. But at the same time, those shows are sh*t.”

Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but it certainly seems like Paramount made a mistake not accepting Weir’s pitch. Every NuTrek show, save for Picard (which was locked in for only three seasons) has been canceled early, and Project Hail Mary is currently taking the box office by storm. In retrospect, it seems like a Star Trek series from a guy with multiple best-selling novels and multiple commercially and critically acclaimed film adaptations would have been a good idea.

Is The Time Right To Expel Alex Kurtzman?

If nothing else, the cancellation of Starfleet Academy and the slow implosion of the NuTrek era might serve as a wake-up call to Paramount. Alex Kurtzman’s contract is up this year, and the studio is about to acquire Warner Bros., so there has never been a better time to hire new creators to usher in a new era for Star Trek.

The Anne Rice universe on AMC has been growing, but one series isn’t going to get a second life. Talamasca: The Secret Order will not be coming back for Season 2. The Nicholas Denton-led series follows the organization that monitors supernatural beings in the world. Guy Anatole (Denton) learns about the order and becomes one of the people who look over the witches, vampires, and more. A spin-off from Interview With the Vampire, the show also featured Justin Kirk‘s Raglan James as well as music from Sam Reid‘s Lestat de Lioncourt.

Much like the Alexandra Daddario–led Mayfair Witches, the show did stand on its own, but it was part of Rice’s larger universe of supernatural books that are connected by the Talamasca watching over the creatures that lurk in the dark. In Rice’s novels, she touches on werewolves, taltos, mummies, spirits, and plenty of other creatures that haven’t been mentioned in the flagship series. But with the cancellation of Talamasca, fans might have to wait a while before we get more adventures in the Rice universe.

“While we are not proceeding with another season of Talamasca: The Secret Order, we are proud of the series and grateful for the efforts of everyone involved. The Talamasca has a storied place within the Anne Rice Immortal Universe, and we expect to see at least some of these characters, and the organization itself, in future expressions of the franchise,” AMC said in a statement. The Rice universe is set to release Season 3 of Interview With the Vampire, renamed The Vampire Lestat, later this summer, focusing on Reid’s Lestat de Lioncourt.

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The Way To Tell These Anne Rice Stories

Image via AMC

Prior to the release of Interview With the Vampire on AMC, we had the 1994 film. While Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt were great as Lestat and Louis, Reid and Jacob Anderson‘s chemistry on the AMC series has taken over the conversation. That, and the advantage of being able to explore the books more in-depth, has led to a renewed passion for Rice’s series. The cancellation of Talamasca is sad for the fans though. Getting to see the growth of this world meant fans hoped we could see some of Rice’s lesser known works getting adapted, but as AMC said, the organization of the Talamasca isn’t gone just yet. Raglan and Guy aren’t going anywhere.

You can watch Talamasca: The Secret Order on AMC.

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Release Date

October 19, 2025

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AMC

Directors

Eva Sørhaug

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Writers

Donald Joh

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• 

  Nicholas Denton

  Guy Anatole

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To win an Oscar is perhaps the greatest honor that any film can possibly aspire to. To win multiple Oscars is an achievement so great that most filmmakers throughout the Academy’s existence have only ever dreamed of it. To win multiple Oscars and then go on to win Best Picture, the single biggest and most prestigious award that the film industry has to offer, is nothing short of transcendental.

However, there can only be one Best Picture winner; and, as such, the vast majority of films nominated during any given year will go home without the big prize—even if they’ve won many other Oscars. There have been only a few noteworthy Best Picture nominees throughout history that have managed to win five or more Academy Awards—already a huge feat in itself—, yet still failed to get the biggest award of the night.

12

‘Hugo’ (2011)

Won: Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects

Martin Scorsese is one of the most legendary filmmakers in history, and many would go so far as to call him the greatest currently-working director. However, there’s a long track record of proof that the Academy loves to nominate his movies, but not actually give them all that many Oscars. That’s not always the case, however, and Hugo—one of the best family movies of the 2010s—is proof of that.

This family adventure drama is tied with The Aviator as the Martin Scorsese film with the most Oscar victories, with five. They were all well-deserved, too. In the end, however, the film lost Best Picture to one of the most controversial recipients in the award’s history: Michel Hazanavicius‘ French-Belgian silent dramedy The Artist, which was the clear Best Picture frontrunner throughout most of the 2011-12 season. Did Hugo ever really stand a chance at the top prize? Not really, but its tie with The Artist as the biggest winner of the 84th Academy Awards has to count for something.

11

‘The Aviator’ (2004)

Won: Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett), Cinematography, Art Direction, Film Editing, and Costume Design

Image via Miramax Films

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The other biggest Oscar winner in Scorsese’s catalog, The Aviator is a spectacular biopic about Howard Hughes that has aged like fine wine. It’s one of the best Oscar-winning biopics of all time, and its status as the winner of the most Oscars at the 77th Academy Awards (an impressive five) is nothing to scoff it. For a good portion of the season, in fact, it was a strong frontrunner for Best Picture.

However, The Aviator‘s biggest competition was Clint Eastwood‘s Million Dollar Baby; and by the time the movie won both the DGA and PGA, it seemed like the deal was sealed. Indeed, Eastwood’s film went on to win Best Picture and three other Oscars. Even still, time has been kind to The Aviator. In particular, Cate Blanchett‘s Supporting Actress win for playing Katharine Hepburn is one of the best-liked of the 2000s, and it marks the only time that an actor has won an Oscar for playing a fellow Oscar winner.

10

‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ (1966)

Won: Actress (Elizabeth Taylor), Supporting Actress (Sandy Dennis), Black-and-White Art Direction, Black-and-White Cinematography, and Black-and-White Costume Design

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

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Based on the legendary 1962 stage play by Edward Albee, Mike Nichols‘ Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is far and away one of the most impressive film directing debuts in Hollywood history. It’s also the vehicle for one of the most undeniable Best Actress Oscar wins of all time, as Elizabeth Taylor‘s performance here is an absolute tour-de-force.

But that towering performance isn’t the only thing this masterpiece has going for it, nor was it its only Oscar victory. However, while Virginia Woolf was the biggest nominee of the night with 13 nods (it’s one of the few films ever to be nominated in every single category it was eligible for), it wasn’t the biggest winner of the night. That title went to what the Academy deemed to be the Best Picture of 1966, the historical drama A Man for All Seasons, which won 6 Oscars in total. It’s a fantatsic film, indeed, but whether it’s superior to Nichols’ debut is up for debate.

9

‘Doctor Zhivago’ (1965)

Won: Adapted Screenplay, Color Art Direction, Color Cinematography, Color Costume Design, and Original Score

Image via MGM

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David Lean was the undisputed king of the epic film genre, a master of his craft who used his artistic skills to make some of the biggest, most sweeping motion pictures of his time. That includes Doctor Zhivago, a historical romance based on Boris Pasternak‘s 1957 novel. To date, it remains the 9th highest-grossing film of all time internationally after adjusting for inflation. No wonder.

It may not be Lean’s best, but it’s still a marvelous cinematic achievement, as well as one of the most perfect romantic war movies ever made. It very well could have won Best Picture, but it happened to be nominated in 1966 alongside a movie that had just as many nominations and wins as it did (ten and five, respectively): the beyond-iconic musical The Sound of Music, no doubt a deserving winner.

8

‘The King and I’ (1956)

Won: Actor (Yul Brynner), Color Art Direction, Color Costume Design, Sound Recording, and Musical Picture Scoring

Image via 20th Century Studios

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Based on the iconic 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical, Walter Lang‘s The King and I is one of the best Hollywood musicals of the ’50s. It was a critical and commercial success that was praised for its story, its tunes, and its impressive production values. It had quite a bit of buzz going into the 1957 Academy Awards, but it wasn’t really a frontrunner.

That race, precursors had set up a race between the James–Dean-starring Giant (the biggest nominee of the ceremony, with 10 total nods) and what would end up becoming another one of the most controversial Best Picture recipients ever, Around the World in 80 Days. That movie tied with The King and I as the biggest winner of the night, with five total wins. Though Giant would definitely have been the Best Picture winner that would have aged the best from this lineup, The King and I would undoubtedly have been more deserving than the actual winner.

7

‘A Place in the Sun’ (1951)

Won: Director (George Stevens), Screenplay, Black-and-White Cinematography, Black-and-White Costume Design, Film Editing, and Dramatic or Comedy Picture Scoring

Image via Paramount Pictures

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George Stevens‘ tragedy film A Place in the Sun is one of those somewhat forgotten ’50s movies that have aged like fine wine and deserve a re-discovery. Based on Theodore Dreiser‘s 1925 novel An American Tragedy and the 1926 stage play of the same title, the film was also inspired by Chester Gillette‘s murder of Grace Brown in 1906.

At the 24th Academy Awards, the most nominated film was A Streetcar Named Desire, with 12 nods. The biggest winners, however, were A Place in the Sun and the ceremony’s Best Picture winner: Gene Kelly‘s endearing musical An American in Paris, both of which won 6. Fittingly, both were the precursor frontrunners that season, American in Paris having won the first-ever Best Comedy or Musical Golden Globe and Place in the Sun having won the first-ever Best Drama Golden Globe, on the first year that Best Picture was split into two at the Globes.

6

‘Dune’ (2021)

Won: Original Score, Sound, Film Editing, Cinematography, Production Design, and Visual Effects

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

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Frank Herbert‘s Dune is one of the greatest sci-fi book masterpieces of all time. As such, and especially after David Lynch‘s panned 1984 adaptation and Alejandro Jodorowsky‘s failure to get his adaptation made at all, it was believed that it was impossible to make a film worthy of Herbert’s legacy. Enter Denis Villeneuve, easily one of the most talented filmmakers working in Hollywood today.

Villeneuve knocked it out of the park with 2021’s Dune, and proved that the material was in more-than-capable hands. What better demonstration than a whopping six Oscar wins, the most of any film from the 2022 Academy Awards? The ceremony’s biggest nominee was Jane Campion‘s The Power of the Dog, but the Best Picture recipient actually ended up being neither of these two films. That honor went to CODA, which won all three Oscars it was nominated for, making it one of less than 10 films that have ever gotten Best Picture without losing in any category. Dune was never really a frontrunner this season, but its being the biggest winner of the night speaks volumes.

5

‘La La Land’ (2016)

Won: Director (Damien Chazelle), Actress (Emma Stone), Cinematography, Original Score, Original Song (“City of Stars”), and Production Design

Image via Lionsgate

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Alas, the 2017 Academy Awards will forever be infamous for the Best Picture announcement mix-up; but that should never detract from the praise that the year’s two best films, Barry Jenkins‘ Moonlight and Damien Chazelle‘s La La Land, most definitely deserve. As one of the movies with the most Oscar nominations in history, La La Land is simultaneously a wonderful homage to classic musicals and a marvelous, dazzlingly original musical in its own right.

The movie is a technical wonder; so, rather unsurprisingly, it had both the most nominations and the most wins of the night, with 14 and six, respectively. It was neck-and-neck with Moonlight as the Best Picture frontrunner for pretty much the whole 2016-17 awards race; and, in the end, the best thing that could have happened did happen. Moonlight walked away with Best Picture, while La La Land walked away as one of the biggest Oscar winners in history.

4

‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015)

Won: Costume Design, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Production Design, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

After two Happy Feet movies and three decades away from Max Rockatansky’s wasteland, George Miller returned to the action genre in spectacular fashion. At first, Mad Max: Fury Road seemed like a legacy sequel like any other. As soon as it came out, however, fans of the genre immediately came to recognize it as one of the greatest action flicks of the 21st century. That reputation hasn’t died down.

It’s one of the blockbuster action movies with the best acting, even if none of its 10 nominations (the second most of the year, after The Revenant‘s 12) were for acting. It was far and away the biggest winner of the night, and deservedly so. Though this was one of the most unpredictable Best Picture races of the 2010s, Fury Road was rarely ever predicted to win. Instead, the Academy went for something far more subtle and socially sharp: Spotlight, one of the few Best Picture winners in history with only two Oscar wins in total. But endurance as a modern classic always ends up being the biggest award of all, and that’s something that Fury Road has in droves.

3

‘Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope’ (1977)

Won: Art Direction, Costume Design, Film Editing, Original Score, Sound, and Visual Effects

Image via Lucasfilms

George Lucas‘ Star Wars needs no introduction. It’s nothing short of the biggest and most popular transmedia franchise in history, but it all had to begin somewhere—and in this case, that somewhere was 1977’s Star Wars, now retroactively called Episode IV — A New Hope. The movie had one of the longest theatrical runs of all time, and it isn’t hard to see why: It’s pure, enthralling, absolute movie magic.

Not counting its Special Achievement Award and its Scientific and Engineering Award, Star Wars won six Oscars, the most of any film from the 50th Academy Awards. It was also nominated for another four, though the most nominated movies of the year were Julia and The Turning Point. The Best Picture winner of 1978, however, was one of the greatest rom-coms ever made: Annie Hall, which also won another three Oscars. The court of public opinion matters most, though, and there’s no doubt about it: Star Wars is, and perhaps forever will be, the most iconic film of 1977.

Performance hiatus Nelly Furtado is back in the studio with a new gem!

The singer, who announced an indefinite time off the stage in October 2025 after body-shaming episodes, shared content from the recording booth with her fans, teasing new music dropping soon.

Nelly Furtado became famous over two decades ago with her album “Whoa, Nelly” in the year 2000, continuing her run by releasing her seventh studio album in September 2024.

Nelly Furtado Is Ready To Drop New Music On April 10

The musician uploaded a short clip of herself getting busy in the studio with music producer Boi-1da, captioning it: “New muuuusic! Excited to share this and grateful to be part of this exciting collabo @boi1da x @perfectpitchcanada x @canadasoccer.” 

Furtado updated her fans that the new single “Electric Circus” would be released on April 10. The singer looked really good in the video, sporting a brown, skin-tight, mock next maxi dress paired with a matching motor-inspired bomber jacket.

The musician styled her hair in a sleek side part with the front safely tucked behind her ears. Furtado’s undeniable face card popped with a fresh coat of dewy makeup tied together with gold hoop earrings. The singer also posed with some studio staff and crew, waving to the camera and wearing the biggest smile.

The Singer’s Fans Expressed Enthusiasm About Her New Project

Furtado’s comment section received a surge of reaction from fans who have been waiting for the creative to drop a new project, like this user who declared, “Can’t wait for this track to drop so that I can listen to it properly on repeat.”

Other Instagram users claimed that the new track, which was added to the clip, sounded so much like a “GLOW sample-remix.” The producer for her new project, Boi-1da, was equally excited in the comments with a GIF of him dancing, as Furtado responded with a laughing emoji.

Of course, Furtado’s stunning look also earned her a few compliments from fans who could not get over her flawless face. Another commenter emphasized that the Canadian singer needs to start working with Timbaland again.

Nelly Furtado Stepped Back Performances Five Months Ago

The media personality reflected on her journey in the music industry and achievements so far over the quarter century while thanking fans for making everything worth it last October.

As noted by The Blast, Furtado’s nostalgic post was soon followed by the underwhelming news of her seeking change, which meant putting a pause on performance for the foreseeable future. According to her, the break would allow her to focus on some other “creative and personal endeavors” that would fit perfectly into the next phase of her life.

Furtado was incredibly glad to have been able to make a living from what started as a hobby. The singer’s break came nearly a decade after she announced a musical hiatus in 2017 because she could not handle the level of fame she had come into. 

The 47-Year-Old Ushered In 2025 Embracing Body Positivity

Furtado took her social media followers on a ride on January 5, 2025, by sharing two unedited pictures of herself, alongside a caption promoting self-love and acceptance for one’s flaws and imperfections. As stated by The Blast, the singer admitted how much she had become aware of the aesthetic pressure embedded in the music industry while also unlocking new heights of embracing herself.

Furtado explained that aside from getting veneers on her top teeth, she had never altered a part of her body and would very much love to remain that way. The “Say It Right” singer credited expert skincare for keeping her looking youthful and a proper diet, including adequate water and sleep, to help her maintain the refreshed red carpet looks.

She concluded the post by urging her followers to embrace their individuality and feel comfortable in their own skin, while revealing just how much magic her makeup artist performs with face and body tape.

Nelly Furtado Activated Legal Action Against Image Lifters

The Canadian songwriter stood on business last year as she announced her decision to drag people who are in the habit of using her image and likeness to promote their health and beauty services online. 

In November 2024, she got honest with Alex Cooper on “Call Her Daddy,” breaking down what being in her 40s, as a famous face in Hollywood, meant to her. Furtado noted that it has been fun climbing up the 40s ladder in style with a renewed confidence that she has never felt before. 

The singer declared that she has been visited by the gods of the “40s glow-up.” She added that getting older also gave her ample time to work on herself, which contributed greatly to her confidence boost.

Congratulations to Nelly Furtado!

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 1 hour ago

Comics haven’t been only for kids for a very long time, if ever, but the general public has had a perception that they are primarily superhero stories about good vs. evil and everything is resolved with a fight. There’s a whole world of comics out there that are different, but straddling the line between noir mysteries and cape-filled superheroes is Powers by Brian Michael Bendis.

The award-winning series follows two Chicago homicide detectives investigating the deaths of “powers” (superheroes). It’s a police procedural mixed with superheroes, and Netflix is making an animated series out of it, finally giving fans the adaptation they’ve wanted for 25 years. 

One Of The Best Crime Comics Ever Printed

Powers starts off with a bang with the “Who Killed Retro Girl?” story arc, which introduces us to the detectives, rookie Deena Pilgrim and the veteran Christian Walker, both of whom have connections to the powers community that slowly come to light over the series. The blonde bombshell Retro Girl was one of the most popular superheroes, which means the list of suspects is long, from villains to those jealous of her success. It’s a classic noir storyline filled with red herrings, and it slowly peels back the layers of Bendis’ superhero universe, with each new revelation bringing with it even more questions. 

The second arc, “Roleplay,” involves a college LARP (live-action roleplaying) club in which, of course, the members are being murdered one by one. It’s not as good as the first arc, but that’s more a testament to the quality of the first murder mystery than it is the second. No matter the story, it looks incredible thanks to the artwork of Michael Avon Oeming, with big, bold characters, colors, and matching the noir story by evoking the classic comics of the 1930s. 

Second Time’s The Charm For Powers

Netflix’s choice to bring Powers to the service as an animated series makes sense not only because of the success Amazon has found with Invincible, another adult superhero series, but Sony’s 2015 live-action Powers series was a complete disaster. Starring Sharlto Copley as Walker, the show was the first original series for the PlayStation Network. If you forgot PSN ever had original shows, don’t worry, everyone forgot this happened despite the show airing for two full seasons. 

This time, Powers is being handled correctly, and the move to animation means, hopefully, it will be closer to the source material. Invincible proved there’s an audience out there for animated adult superhero shows. It remains to be seen if there’s an equally massive audience for Netflix’s new show, which is more police procedural than action epic. 

In September 2025, Powers came back for a new 12-issue run, proving that there’s at least an audience of comic readers out there anxious for more adventures in Bendis’ original universe. Advertising “from the creator of Miles Morales and Jessica Jones” will go much further in 2026 than it did in 2015. There’s still a wait to see if Netflix can pull it off, with no announced release date, but that’s alright, it gives you more time to hunt down the collected editions and enjoy one of the best superhero crime comics of all time.

From Die Hard to Mad Max: Fury Road, several of the greatest action films of all time are injections of adrenaline in full color. However, color is by no means required for an action movie to be great, exciting, or even visually appealing. Indeed, throughout history, several of the best action films in history have achieved greatness through a purely black-and-white color palette.

From gangster pictures like Scarface to samurai classics like Yojimbo, these black-and-white films either defy expectations or deliver everything anyone could want from the genre, and then some. They’re exciting, suspenseful, full of movement, and action-packed from start to finish. Nowadays, action is almost always shot in color, which only makes it even more fun to look back at these classics and appreciate everything they were able to do with only black and white.

10

‘Scarface’ (1932)

Image via United Artists

Before Brian De Palma and Al Pacino took on the story, Howard Hawks directed Paul Muni in 1932’s Scarface, a pre-Code gangster action film loosely inspired by Al Capone. Like many great Hollywood crime films from before the Hays Code started being strictly enforced, Scarface was heavily censored upon release, making it a box office disappointment. With the passage of time, however, it has come to be recognized as one of the greatest films of the ’30s, making it a success story of triumph against censorship.

Hawks set up the entire archetype for the gangster movie genre, which became particularly popular during the ’30s and ’40s (particularly gangster pictures produced by Warner Bros.). But aside from its historical significance, Scarface is impeccably made, with Muni at the very top of his game and stylish black-and-white visuals that make the violence feel even grittier.

9

‘The Longest Day’ (1962)

Image via 20th Century Studios

Based on Cornelius Ryan‘s non-fiction book of the same name, The Longest Day follows the D-Day landings in Normandy with a stunning scope and tremendous technical qualities. In the modern day, the movie’s cast can be critiqued for its lack of diversity, but the fact of the matter is that an ensemble this star-studded, featuring actors of the stature of John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Sean Connery, and Henry Fonda, is objectively one of the most impressive of any war film ever.

But aside from being a three-hour-long war epic, The Longest Day is also an action film through and through. It’s a dramatic, testosterone-filled gem that many still think of as the definitive D-Day movie, and the way it takes full advantage of every second of its runtime to paint war as hell without the need for bright-red blood is admirable.

8

‘The Train’ (1964)

Image via United Artists

Directed by John Frankenheimer, The Train is another one of the greatest action war movies ever made. Loosely based on a non-fiction book by Rose Valland, the film is about the mission to recover the works of art that had been looted by Germany from museums and private art collections during World War II. The result is a fascinating meditation on the debate between cultural preservation and the protection of human lives.

But on top of being thematically gripping, The Train is also one of the best war thrillers of all time, full of adrenaline-pumping action sequences that never let up. It’s a potent, surprisingly complex film that results purely from expanding the moral question at its core to a feature-length story. Powerfully philosophical and absolutely visceral, it’s a black-and-white movie whose lack of color feels designed to amplify the depth of its moral nuances and themes.

7

‘Sanjuro’ (1962)

Image via Toho

Many would perhaps refer to Akira Kurosawa as the single greatest filmmaker in history, and he achieved that status mainly by making action movies—several of them belonging to the beloved samurai subgenre. Kurosawa, in fact, can very reasonably be called the leading voice in samurai cinema, and for proof, one needn’t look much further than the sequel to 1961’s Yojimbo, Sanjuro.

It’s one of those Kurosawa movies that are bangers from start to finish. Action-packed, well-paced, and often unexpectedly funny, it’s a hugely influential masterpiece whose score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes is perfectly deserved. With a fantastic Toshirô Mifune in the lead role and some of the most jaw-dropping swordplay of any action movie in history, Sanjuro is evidence enough that black-and-white action films can be as fun as those in color.

6

‘The Sword of Doom’ (1966)

Image via Toho

Another one of the greatest samurai films in history, this one directed by Kihachi Okamoto and starring Tatsuya Nakadai, The Sword of Doom is as brutal as it is fast-paced. It’s one of the darkest samurai movies ever made, with a largely amoral main character (frankly, a rarity for the genre) that Nakadai plays to absolute perfection.

From the gorgeously lit and staged black-and-white imagery to the breathtaking action sequences, Sword of Doom is the work of a master at the top of his game. It’s one of the bleakest, angriest, most existentially violent action movies of the 20th century, and a complete must-see for anyone and everyone who even remotely enjoys well-made samurai films.

5

‘Yojimbo’ (1961)

Image via Toho

Sanjuro may be great, but there’s no beating the original. Yojimbo is such an immensely iconic and influential samurai flick that Sergio Leone pretty much copied it when he invented Spaghetti Westerns with A Fistful of Dollars, to the point that Kurosawa successfully sued him for copyright infringement. But who could blame Leone? Yojimbo is such a faultless film that anyone looking to make a great action flick should be at least tempted to imitate the perfection of Kurosawa’s efforts.

It’s also one of the best classic Japanese movies for beginners, perfectly friendly and welcoming to all those who might not be used to watching international (or even black-and-white) action movies. Full of flawlessly shot and edited action sequences, and supported by Mifune and Nakadai at their best, Yojimbo is one of Kurosawa’s most narratively enthralling and visually exquisite works.

4

‘White Heat’ (1949)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

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White Heat succeeds at earning many superlatives at once. On the one hand, it’s one of the best noir films of all time, displaying the psychological twistiness and black-and-white gorgeousness of the genre perfectly. On the other hand, it’s one of the best crime films of Hollywood’s Golden Age, serving as one of the earliest masterpieces of the gangster genre as we know it today. And on the other hand, it’s a ravishing action movie full of showstopping sequences of thrill and suspense.

For one, James Cagney is a powerhouse here, and his performance alone makes White Heat obligatory viewing for crime action film fans. As if that weren’t enough, however, the film also has a level of psychological depth that was rare among crime films made during the Hays Code era. Lastly, it has one of the darkest and most explosive finales of any action film from Hollywood’s Golden Age.

3

‘The General’ (1926)

Image via United Artists

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Before Tom Cruise made it cool and mainstream for actors to do their own stunts, there was Buster Keaton. Charlie Chaplin and Keaton are to silent cinema what salt and pepper are to food, and while Chaplin tended to focus more on elements of melodrama and romance, Keaton was considerably more interested in elaborate slapstick action sequences. Enter The General, easily one of the best comedy movies of all time.

Aside from having some of Keaton’s most revolutionary death-defying stunts, The General also has some of the most effective gags and action set pieces of his whole filmography. The movie was a box office and critical failure when it originally came out, but as the years have passed, cinephiles have warmed up to it tremendously. Today, it’s remembered as one of the greatest films from before Hollywood’s Golden Age, and one of the most perfect early examples of what the action genre could do at its best.

2

‘Sherlock Jr.’ (1924)

While The General is amazing, Sherlock Jr. is simply out of this world. Clocking in at only 45 minutes of runtime (barely qualifying it as a feature film), it’s also a delightfully breezy watch for those looking for a quick classic masterpiece to watch. Sherlock Jr. is one of the coziest mystery movies ever, but people looking to watch it shouldn’t be fooled by that coziness, because it also has some of the craziest stunts in Keaton’s filmography.

Funny, uplifting, romantic, creative, and an absolute blast of fun from start to finish, Sherlock Jr. shows just how amusing and ambitious action films could be back in the day. At no point is color something that people miss when watching this masterpiece, especially because so much happens. Indeed, there’s an essential old-school charm to this film that you simply can’t get anywhere else.

1

‘Seven Samurai’ (1954)

Image via Toho

Throughout history, Seven Samurai has widely been recognized as Akira Kurosawa’s magnum opus, and it’s easy to see why. It is, after all, one of the most perfect action films ever made, delivering absolutely everything that any fan of the genre could want in a movie. Though it moves somewhat slowly through its three-and-a-half hours of runtime, Seven Samurai is an exciting blast from start to finish.

The riveting action sequences are marvelously performed, choreographed, shot, blocked, and edited, but like any filmmaker of his quality, Kurosawa understood that well-made action wasn’t all you needed in order to make a samurai movie work. That’s why Seven Samurai is primarily a character-driven film, and its many story arcs are so fascinating that you can’t help but watch the whole thing on the edge of your seat. Often imitated, never matched, this masterpiece is the pinnacle of not just black-and-white action filmmaking, but action filmmaking as a whole.