Entertainment
‘Dutton Ranch’ Director Explains How the Beth and Rip Spin-Off Felt Like Making ‘Yellowstone’ Season 6
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Marshals.]
Summary
Director Greg Yaitanes has entered the Yellowstone universe by putting his stamp on episodes of the CBS series Marshals, which has already been picked up for Season 2, and the upcoming Paramount+ series Dutton Ranch. In Marshals, a widowed Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) joins an elite unit of U.S. Marshals, headed by his former Navy SEAL buddy Cal (Logan Marshall-Green), combining his tactical training with his cowboy skills in bringing range justice to Montana. While over on Dutton Ranch, Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) will continue their journey of survival, no doubt with plenty of chaos and drama surrounding them.
Collider recently got the opportunity to chat one-on-one with Yaitanes (Presumed Innocent, House of the Dragon, House) about coming into the world of Yellowstone as a big fan, and how the spin-offs/sequels are most similar and different from not just the original series but each other. During the interview, he talked about reuniting with Quarry star Marshall-Green while directing the first two episodes of Marshals, why he’s drawn to the character of Kayce Dutton, how he felt about the way Monica’s death was handled, the challenges of shooting the big action sequence in episode two of Marshals, why Dutton Ranch felt like a season of Yellowstone, and whether there could be crossovers with the Dutton family in the future.
We also got to discuss how far into Season 2 development they’d gotten on Quarry before the plug was pulled on the series, his time on Banshee, what most impressed him about working with Anya Taylor-Joy on her upcoming Apple TV series Lucky, and why working with Nicolas Cage on the Spider-Noir TV series was a dream come true that he hopes to repeat if there’s a second season.
‘Marshals’ Marked a Reunion for Actor Logan Marshall-Green and Director Greg Yaitanes, After Making ‘Quarry’ Together
“We would all do another season in a heartbeat.”
Collider: I love that you’re reuniting with Logan Marshall-Green by directing episodes of Marshals, but it also reminds me of how salty I am that we never got more episodes of Quarry. Have you gotten over that fact?
GREG YAITANES: We wrote Season 2, and we were on track for Season 2. For a variety of reasons, it didn’t move forward, which was gut-wrenching. We had the scripts. We had a great arc. We just lost Tom Noonan a few weeks ago. The great thing is that it’s a show you could pick up 10 years later with that character. There’s no expiration date. The novels actually are around now, in terms of Logan’s age. Now, Logan’s on a smash TV show, so getting him would be impossible. I had lunch with (co-creator) Michael Fuller, yesterday, actually. It was supposed to be me and (co-creator) Graham [Gordy] and Michael, and Graham’s travel changed, so we didn’t get to have lunch with them. But we’re still in touch. We would all do another season in a heartbeat. It would be perfect. Every single person involved would do it. That said, it was really lovely to see Logan on Marshals and be able to get the opportunity to work with him again.
You said that the scripts were written for Season 2 of Quarry. Were there things that you had been looking forward to getting to do with the second season?
YAITANES: Oh, my God, it was a great season. It was going to be great. The specifics, I don’t remember all the details, but we did have a writers’ room, we wrote the scripts, and we had versions of all the scripts for the season. And then, right in the middle of the process, that’s when we got word that we weren’t moving forward. It was disappointing. But what’s nice is that, 10 years later, I’m on Zooms and people still bring it up. It is meaningful that it had an impact.
Was Season 2 going to have the same tone and vibe, or was it going to be bigger in any way?
YAITANES: It was going to be a pretty direct continuation of where we were. I think we were going to pick up a year later. There was a great story to be had.
It makes me feel lucky that I got a complete four-season story for Banshee. I wonder if that could even happen now.
YAITANES: It was a great time to tell that story the way we told it and how we cast it and a number of things that we did would be almost impossible today. There was a great article written about everything that conspired to have Cinemax not quite work out. It really bummed us all out because I really thought that could have been a great network for high and elevated pulp. I don’t know how it would have survived all the various things that are going on in the industry today. But back then, when they were making The Knick and Quarry and Banshee and Outcast and Strike Back, I just kept imagining that this would be a seven-day-a-week, two-shows-a-night of incredible programming. That would have been something I would have died to have had as a network when I was a teenager.
Even Warrior.
YAITANES: Can’t forget Warrior.
All those shows were so good. It felt like a channel that was just invented for my taste.
YAITANES: Someone someday will talk about it. It will be like ‘70s cinema for TV when they look back on all the great stuff that was on Cinemax at one time.
‘Marshals’ Review: A Bold New Dutton Spin-Off Officially Rewrites Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Yellowstone’
Luke Grimes leads the charge in this Dutton-verse sequel that is full of network potential.
How did you end up directing Marshals? Was it because of Logan Marshall-Green, or was that a coincidence?
YAITANES: No. It was a long process. I met (executive producer) David Glasser at 101 about three years earlier, and we had wanted to work together. They wanted me to come do some of their shows, and I really wanted to do something from the ground up with them. And then, I was watching MobLand and realized that was also being produced by 101. I wrote David, and I think I just happened to be in his head at the right moment, at the right time, and I got the call to take a look at Marshals and see if I’d be interested. I was an insane fan of Yellowstone. I had watched all the prequels and I had watched the other series, all in real time, week to week, so I knew the world. I got the material and showed up for a meeting relatively quickly. Spencer Hudnut was really great to collaborate with. Everything just vibed on the call. It was three years in the making.
‘Marshals’ Director Greg Yaitanes Was Drawn to the Soulful Nature of Kayce Dutton
“I loved working with Luke [Grimes].”
What do you find most interesting about Kayce Dutton as a character at the center of this story?
YAITANES: I also did a block of Dutton Ranch, right after I finished Marshals. When I read it, I didn’t know it was a broadcast pilot. That’s how good I thought the material was. It had such humanity and breathing and just the room to explore themes. I felt like it was a great father-son story when I read the script, and that’s what brought me to it. I thought, wherever Yellowstone was going, this was the continuation because it played like that. When I found out it was broadcast, I hadn’t done broadcast TV for 15 years, since House, so I thought this was a great way to reenter that space again, to a place where I cut my teeth and built things. Kayce is such a soulful character. I don’t know or remember what season and episode it was, but his walkabout episode sold me, as a man trying to work through what he’s carrying. I was really interested.
My first question when I got the scripts, as I was reading them, was, “How are they going to undo Kayce’s happy ending?” He really had a beautiful finish at the end of Yellowstone proper. And I was really moved to see, “Okay, life has gone in another direction.” I almost feel like [episode two] is really the pilot, and [the pilot] was the bridge between Yellowstone and Marshals. [Episode two] is really the show you’re going to be watching. I directed that episode, as well. I loved working with Luke [Grimes]. And then, to have Logan as your wingman, there’s such a deep bench with the cast. Tatanka [Means], I brought from Banshee. He was on Banshee when his dad passed, who was also on Banshee. It was great. I loved working with Spencer, and we had a lovely shorthand.
Fans of Yellowstone definitely seem to feel a certain way about Monica’s death. Were there conversations about how to handle that?
YAITANES: This is why it didn’t strike me as a pilot. There was no exposition about Monica’s death in the pilot. It was exactly what it would be like a year or two after the death of the character. You would be talking about the circumstances around it versus talking about the thing. What was really important was that we had her picture for the protest, and she was lovely to give us permission for that. That was a really critical piece to that scene. That’s what I thought that scene was about.
It feels like there could have been an episode that included Monica and would have shown us what happened to her. It was interesting to see that it was not handled that way.
YAITANES: Yeah, that’s all Spencer. Those conversations definitely preceded me. Immediately, being a single dad to a son, which was something I could personally connect to, having been a single dad at various times in my life, I felt that the way it was handled and the humanity in which it was handled was really beautiful, and I wanted to be part of it.
Things get heated in the latest Dutton drama as Kayce deals with old family secrets.
Have you thought about the parallels between Quarry and Marshals? You have these characters at the center of both stories that have been to war, they’ve had to kill people, they’ve had violence affect and ripple through their lives, and they’re also more likely to be quiet and internal. They seem like kindred spirits in a lot of ways. Is that something that was even on your mind?
YAITANES: There’s definitely a theme and a pattern to the things that I’m attracted to, which is quiet, internal men, carrying a lot and trying to navigate things with the tools they were given, and always striving for better.
Something that runs through Banshee and Marshals are these intertwined communities. With Banshee, we had the Amish community, and with Marshals, you have the reservation. What do you find most interesting about that aspect of the story?
YAITANES: We’re not pandering to anybody. That’s just what makes the world lived-in. If you watched all six seasons, or Season 5A and 5B, of Yellowstone, then you’re going to come loaded with a certain amount of information. And if you’re not, you’re going to catch up. You can enter this show having never watched one Taylor Sheridan show. And if you have, it will be a richer experience, but you will not be dinged for not having been there. In fact, what’s exciting is that this is an entry point for people to then go discover Yellowstone, which makes me thrilled. If they like this enough to want to know more about Kayce, then you have six seasons of a prequel waiting for you.
Real Navy SEAL Consultants Work as Advisors for the Story and the Action Sequences in ‘Marshals’
“At every point, you have a guide for how to do things.”
You’ve shot action sequences and violence for the screen, and particularly in Quarry and Banshee, the action had a very realistic feel to it, as far as the toll it can take. How different was it to do action sequences for Marshals, for a broadcast network TV series? You have a very complex action sequence in episode two.
YAITANES: I loved planning that. Michael Friedman was my second unit director on that, and he’s intimately familiar with the Sheridan universe, in terms of Lioness and Landman, and every other thing he touches. So, having him in my corner was a great collaboration on that. I really studied Yellowstone and the studio has a really helpful document of the pillars of the things that make Yellowstone, Yellowstone, that they kept for the prequels and they branched out. At every point, you have a guide for how to do things. What I always appreciate about the violence and the action is that it’s grounded. It’s not overly stylized.
Banshee was highly stylized and pulpy. Everything in Yellowstone is grounded and comes from a real place. People get punched and hurt. My favorite part of the action is that we get to tap into the Navy SEAL background to Kayce. That allows for all this tactical work. We have real Navy SEALs there. Ryan Sangster was our advisor, and he’s great. I would just say, “What would they do? How would they come up on the trailer or the zone of death? How would they go about it?” We would approach it like, “Okay, this is really happening. Where would your guys be?” And he’d be like, “Well, I’d have a person there, and I’d have a thing here, and I’d make sure of this.” And I was like, “Great, that’s what we’re doing.”
That scene goes from horses to a big shootout and then back to Kayce being back on a horse.
YAITANES: That was so fun. I wanted it to be like Raiders of the Lost Ark. When I was showing people what I wanted it to be, that sequence had to be as fun as something out of Raiders. I definitely got out of the grounded and made it a little more pop and fun for that sequence because it had to be. You can’t have Kayce chasing an SUV [on a horse] and not have a good time with it. It was so cool.
‘Yellowstone’ Spin-Off Showrunner Explains Why They Had To Kill Off a Main Character in Episode 1
“We had to shake up his life.”
Did you feel like you had the time you needed to shoot all of that?
YAITANES: Nope. One of the shocks was just coming from my streaming schedule back to my broadcast schedule. That said, because of shows like Banshee, I’m really good at being able to matrix the units and the work so that the sum of the parts is greater than you could expect. We were incredibly strategic. Anytime Luke wasn’t in the zone of death scene, he was on horseback with the other unit. We were trading him and moving around and had blocked out the day in a very strategic way. It was two days, that whole sequence. Everything you saw was shot over two days, sunup to sundown.
It was so interesting to have that sequence end with him shooting the guy that’s already dying. It’s a moment that brings you back to the reality of what Kayce is dealing with, after the exciting action sequence ends.
YAITANES: Yeah, it gets real. He’s a complicated character. He’s got a badge, but he’s still exacting his own form of justice. It keeps the audience perfectly destabilized for what Kayce might do. You can’t fully understand him, which I appreciate. That moment particularly grabbed me. When I read these scripts – I read the first two when I took my meetings – those were the kinds of things that pulled me right in.
‘Marshals’ and ‘Dutton Ranch’ Each Draw From ‘Yellowstone’ in Completely Different Ways
“[‘Dutton Ranch’] has the best parts of what I loved about ‘Yellowstone.’”
You talked about also directing episodes of Dutton Ranch. Are you just all-in on the world of Yellowstone now?
YAITANES: I was halfway through shooting on Marshals, and Glasser was like, “Hey, you’ve done the down and dirty, scrappy version of Yellowstone. Come do our other show.” That was a completely different, but equally rewarding experience. I loved Kelly [Reilly] and Cole [Hauser] and Annette [Bening] and Ed [Harris] and everybody. That cast is just so terrific. I had time. It’s artful. It’s just a different kind of show. It’s much more of a drama and a soap. It has the best parts of what I loved about Yellowstone. Each one was Yellowstone in completely different ways, but each completely honest to the original series. My entry point into the Sheridan universe was starting with Yellowstone and then branching out. I really appreciate David Glasser’s taste. I watched The Agency. I watched MobLand. I watched them all. I’m interested in working with people of good taste.
What did you see as the biggest similarities and differences between the two shows, Marshals and Dutton Ranch?
YAITANES: The biggest similarity is that I’m following each of the surviving siblings of the original series. When you get into the ranch portion of each show, you’re on common ground. That’s what they have in common. And then, how we’re dealing with the human drama and the vulnerability is Yellowstone in both shows. The themes that everybody’s working with, like how everybody deals with their inner torment and how they exorcise it is different for Beth than it is for Kayce. They’re equally compelling offshoots of the original.
Which episodes did you direct for Dutton Ranch?
YAITANES: I did the second block. I did episodes three and four. Christina Voros did the opening two and the end two. It was really fun. It was a lovely invitation. Dutton Ranch has more continuity of crew from the original series. There was something fun about trying to create Yellowstone without a lot of the same craftspeople. Michael, David, and some other people came in to really give us a boot camp on what Yellowstone is and how to execute on it.
Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone Universe Enters a New Era With ‘Dutton Ranch’ First Look
The next chapter of the Yellowstone universe has reportedly wrapped filming.
I spoke to Luke Grimes recently, and we were talked about how it would be cool to see Kayce and Beth together again at some point, and he said that he didn’t know if it would work better to bring her into Marshals or to send him over to Dutton Ranch.
YAITANES: That’s a really good question. We talked about that a lot because each wanted to be on the other show. I feel like Kayce should go to Dutton Ranch. That feels like something that I would lose my shit over as a fan. That would be pretty cool. I just don’t know, in the world of what Marshals is, if Beth coming in would fit into that quite as well. Kayce would just naturally fold into Dutton Ranch because there’s a tonal similarity to the original Yellowstone. A lot of the people involved with Dutton Ranch really felt like they were making Yellowstone Season 6. Marshals is much more genre and guns-forward and those kinds of cool things.
Director Greg Yaitanes Is Excited for Viewers To See the Upcoming Apple TV Series ‘Lucky,’ Starring Anya Taylor-Joy
“When I got the call about that, I was all over it.”
With what I’ve seen of Lucky, that’s another project that looks badass, but this time with a woman, with Anya Taylor-Joy, at the center of it. What drew you to that? What do you love about that character and what she brings to the role?
YAITANES: I’ve wanted to work with Anya since I saw The Witch, and it was Jonathan Tropper again, so when I got the call about that, I was all over it. I got to meet Cassie Pappas, who was showrunning with Jonathan. It was just a great character. And then, my daughter is obsessed with Drew Starkey, from watching Outer Banks. It was Annette [Bening] again and Clifton Collins, and our collaboration was 30 years in the making. And it was Timothy Olyphant and Aunjanue [Ellis-Taylor]. It was a deep bench of great actors in an L.A. crime story. The bench is so deep on that show. It was very similar to how I felt on Presumed Innocent. I’d just go to work every day and look at who was going to be working with who, and it was just exciting to know what I was going to get to do with these pairings. Everybody on the callsheet was a great actor, so watching them work together was a pleasure.
What most impressed you about Anya Taylor-Joy and the work that she does in the series?
YAITANES: It’s really good. I directed episodes two and three of Lucky, which was almost like doing part two of the pilot. It’s a very continuous, interesting story that has got a lot of complexity to it. Anya is great at bringing that kind of nuance and humanity. There’s also something other and unknowable about her that makes me always lean into what she’s doing and what she might be thinking. Just to get to see her every day and be able to craft that performance with her was such a treat.
Her face and her eyes are just incredible. I feel like they do so much work.
YAITANES: Anytime, anywhere that she ever does something else, I’m there.
Directing Episodes of the Prime Video Series ‘Spider-Noir’ Was a Dream Come True for Greg Yaitanes
“I am such a noir nut.”
It’s interesting that you did episodes of Spider-Noir because that feels like a bit different of a project for you. What were the challenges specific to doing that series?
YAITANES: I am such a noir nut that when it came up to the plate, my film school self was all over it. I just ate up noir and it heavily influenced my early work. To be able to dial into and be able to create something that was in the spirit of that was awesome. And then, Nic [Cage] is incredible. I collected comic books from 13 to 18, and then a bit in my 20s. Comic books were truly my escape. There were four different Spider-Man comics, and every week I could get a Spider-Man fix. To imagine that I, who went as Spider-Man for Halloween or played Spider-Man when we would do imaginary play, could go back in time to my 14-year-old comic book-reading self that I would be directing a Spider-Man TV show, I’d think that I was a pretty lucky guy at that point. I really won.
Nic Cage seems like somebody who is just a big kid who doesn’t know how to not have fun.
YAITANES: He’s a big kid. He brought that energy. He was off-book for every episode. He was the first to set. He was the kindest to everybody. He was just terrific. He would just give you great ideas. He could take direction beautifully. He was just a dream. I have literally been watching him since before high school. I had to fangirl him at the beginning. I showed him that my wife has the original painting that became the poster for Valley Girl. I got my fangirling out of the way at the beginning.
He seems totally down for that, though.
YAITANES: He’s down. He’s so funny. We were between takes, and I was like, “Did you ever go to Japan to make commercials?” And he was like, “Oh, my God!” and he got his phone to show them to us and was cracking up with us. He’s in on all of it.
Nicolas Cage’s ‘Spider-Noir’ Leaves the Door Open for Season 2 and Beyond [Exclusive]
Cage is “a spider pretending to be a person” in the upcoming live-action series.
Do you feel like you’ve gotten your fill of noir, or do you feel like you need to do more now because of that?
YAITANES: Oh, my God, if that show has a second season, I’m going to be the first to raise my hand and go back. Every day, I had a great time. I came home from work so excited. I did the final two episodes, so they’re pretty spectacular. I cannot wait for everybody to see it.
- Release Date
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2026 – 2026
- Showrunner
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Spencer Hudnut
- Writers
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Spencer Hudnut, Tom Mularz, Dana Greenblatt
Marshals airs on CBS and is available to stream on Paramount+.
Continue Reading
FBI Special Agent Brittany Garcia is the one who provided the “facts” presented in the criminal complaint against Pooh Shiesty, his father Lontrell Williams Sr., rapper Big30, and six others. The doc is 31 pages long, accusing the group of conspiring to and committing kidnapping. It spares no details about what allegedly happened to at least three victims, including Gucci Mane. From a Staples pit stop to fingerprint evidence left behind, here are seven WILD criminal allegations pulled from the complaint pages!
RELATED: Prosecutors Reveal Everything Allegedly Stolen By Pooh Shiesty & His Conspirators In Gucci Mane Kidnapping Case
For context, here are the names of everyone accused: Lontrell Williams Jr. (Pooh Shiesty), Lontrell Williams Sr. (Pooh’s dad), Rodney Wright Jr. (Big30), Demarcus Glover, Damarian Gipson, Kordae Johnson, Darrion McDaniel, Terrance Rodgers and Kedarius Waters.
1. Pooh Shiesty’s Dad Allegedly Printed Contract At Staples
As previously reported, Pooh Shiesty allegedly held Gucci Mane at gunpoint, forcing him to sign and date his contractual release on January 10. About two hours before arriving at the studio to meet Gucci Mane, Pooh Shiesty and Williams Sr. stopped at a Staples in Frisco, Texas (pages 12-13). That visit is listed as probable cause in the federal government’s case.
Surveillance footage shows the dad entering the store at 1:50 p.m. after parking near the front. After entering Staples, he walked straight to the copy/printer machines. Investigators pulled a receipt that shows a transaction at 1:59 p.m. at the printer/copy section, the same time Williams Sr. was near the machines.
“Due to the close timing of this visit to Staples prior to the offense, the fact that Williams Sr. went straight to the printing area of the store, and the timing of the receipt confirming a transaction occurred while Williams Sr. was at or near these printers, investigators believe that Williams Sr. and Williams Jr. went to Staples for the purpose of printing off the contractual release that was presented to R.D. (Gucci Mane),” the criminal complaint says, page 13.
2. Pooh Allegedly Stole Gucci Mane’s Wedding Band
The kidnapping and robbery of Gucci Mane and other victims allegedly happened in two rooms: the studio control room and recording room. Shortly after entering the building at 3:43 p.m., the nine defendants split up. Pooh asked Gucci to speak privately, and those two, plus Big 30 and Williams Sr. went into the recording room while two victims and six alleged co-conspirators stayed in the control room.
Inside the private room, Pooh Shiesty allegedly forced Gucci Mane to sign and date his release form at gunpoint. Meanwhile, Big 30 recorded a video of Gucci announcing the “release” on a cellphone. After he got his contract signed, Pooh Shiesty then robbed Gucci Mane of his wedding ring, watch, earrings, and cash.
RELATED: From Co-Signs To Controversy: A Look Back On Pooh Shiesty And Gucci Mane’s Business Relationship (VIDEOS)
3. Co-Conspirators Watched TV With The Victims Before Robbery
As mentioned, six alleged co-conspirators and two victims, M.M. and B.P., were in the studio control room during the contract signing. They were all chilling, watching football together. B.P. offered the alleged conspirators liquor purchased earlier that day. At least two of them poured up in red Solo cups. M.M. peeped the tense scene in the recording room and texted Gucci’s head of security. However, it seemingly didn’t lead to immediate action.
“M.M. and B.P. could see inside the recording room and initially believed R.D. and Williams Jr. to be discussing business, but as M.M. saw the conversation intensifying, he texted C.W. (who was still in the music studio’s lobby),” per the criminal complaint (page 6).
4. Pooh Shiesty Allegedly Held A Gun To A Victim’s Head
After the forced contract signing, Gucci Mane, Pooh, Pooh’s dad and Big30 left the recording room and joined the others. That’s when Demarcus Glover, Damarian Gipson, Kordae Johnson, Darrion McDaniel, Terrance Rodgers and Kedarius Waters allegedly pulled out “handguns or AR/AK style pistols” on M.M. and B.P.
B.P. was robbed of his wallet, chain and 1017 necklace. Also, Darrion McDaniel allegedly threatened to shoot him for moving, but Pooh Shiesty told him not to, per complaint pages 7-8.
Speaking of Pooh Shiesty, we know he allegedly pointed a gun at Gucci Mane. However, he also “placed the barrel of a firearm to the back of B.P.’s head and ordered him and [Gucci] to leave the control room and the studio through the west entrance of the office building,” per page 9. Gucci responded by asking his two security guards, who had forced their way in but were outnumbered, to escort them to his vehicle.
5. Alleged Co-Conspirators Left Fingerprints At The Crime Scene
As said, two alleged conspirators accepted B.P.’s offer to drink liquor in the control room. Those Solo cups later helped investigators place two men at the crime scene. On Jan. 16, 2026, a Forensic Fingerprint Expert ran latent prints from the scene through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). The results came back the same day. Damarian Gipson left his left ring finger on a Solo cup, while Terrance Rodgers left his right thumb on another Solo cup, per complaint page 18. In addition to surveillance footage, the latent prints put both men at the crime scene.
6. Pooh Had His Shiesty On During The Kidnapping & Robbery
During this alleged kidnapping and robbery, Pooh Shiesty stayed true to his stage name! In the criminal complaint (page 19), Gucci Mane, M.M. and B.P., who all identified Pooh by his legal and stage name, described what he was wearing during the offense. He allegedly wore “a black Nike brand ‘shiesty’ mask, black hooded shirt, and black pants.”
7. Alleged Conspirators Flexed Stolen Goods On Social Media
Surveillance footage from the studio building allegedly shows Terrance Rodgers exiting with M.M.’s stolen Louis Vuitton bag. A few days later, on January 15, Rodgers allegedly posted a video on the Instagram account @_Damfool375, wearing a “Batman” Rolex that looked similar to the one M.M. reported stolen and provided proof of purchase and photo evidence of.
Additionally, M.M. identified Demarcus Glover‘s Instagram account as @_twinncmo_. The morning after the kidnapping and robbery, Glover shared an Instagram Stories post flexing “a large amount of cash and a Rolex visually similar to the one stolen from M.M.” Also, he tagged his location in the post as Dallas, Texas, per complaint page 23. Later that same day, Glover and Damarian Gipson appeared in a video “flashing large amounts of money and a watch,” per complaint pages 23-24.
Several days later, on January 17, another IG Stories post showed Glover “with a Rolex that appears identical to the one stolen from M.M.” In the post, he claimed he “got a new rope.” Two days after that, on January 19, Glover posted videos “wearing a necklace with a ‘1017’ pendant that appears identical to the one stolen from B.P.,” per complaint page 24.
RELATED: Surveillance Images Show Key Moments From Gucci Mane Kidnapping As Pooh Shiesty’s Lawyer Speaks Out (PHOTOS)
What Do You Think Roomies?
Former “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jen Shah is getting candid about how her reported crimes had a major impact on her two sons, Sharrieff Jr. and Omar.
Jen Shah was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison in 2022 after pleading guilty to her role in a telemarketing fraud scheme that left a number of elderly and vulnerable victims emotionally scarred.
Why Jen Shah Had Her Two Sons Write Impact Letters To Her While She Was In Prison
Speaking with PEOPLE in her first interview since being released from custody, Shah, 52, stated that she took many steps to fully understand how her reported crimes affected more than just her.
To start, the former Bravo star said that she asked her family, Sharrieff Shah, and their two sons to write impact letters to her, detailing how her reported actions made them feel.
“I needed to know how I hurt them,” Shah said. “I needed them to be honest with me and tell me everything. I needed to hear that raw feedback, because that’s the only way you grow and heal. You can’t get better if you don’t know what you did.”
Jen Shah Said Her Children Were Apprehensive About Writing Impact Letters To Her
Shah explained that her sons, who were showcased in the first three seasons of “RHOSLC,” didn’t feel comfortable telling their mother about how she hurt them.
“They were like, ‘Dad, I don’t want to hurt mom’s feelings,’” Shah said, later revealing that she had second thoughts about what she was asking of them.
However, Shah’s husband, known as “Coach” to Bravo viewers, told their children that being honest about their feelings was for the best.
“And Coach told the boys, ‘You’re doing this for Mommy,’” she said.
Jen Shah Cried Many ‘Tears’ After Hearing What Her Sons Had To Say To Her
Shah eventually received her sons’ impact letters and got the chance to hear them aloud during a group session.
According to her, hearing their confessions was an emotional experience. “… there were a lot of tears,” she said, describing the moment as “hard.”
“But I needed to hear it,” she continued. “And I think that’s one of the reasons that we have grown closer as a family — because we had those difficult conversations, and I have faced those things head-on. I knew that there was hurt and pain, but you kind of wanted to be like, ‘Let’s sweep it under the rug.’ But I chose to tear that scab off and that wound and pour salt in it, if you will.”
Shah’s Victims Spoke Out About Her Reported Crimes In 2023
Shah’s children weren’t the only ones impacted by her reported crimes.
The reality star’s victims spoke with Good Morning America in 2023 about the scheme and revealed the heartbreaking ways the scheme upended their lives.
One elderly victim said she invested more than half of the savings she had for retirement, about $47,000, into the fraudulent program Shah’s team sold her.
A 44-year-old Iowa resident said she filed for bankruptcy after charging more than $40,000 on multiple credit cards.
Ralph Hallock, a World War II veteran, died by suicide after losing more than $100,000 in the scheme.
US Attorney Damiian Williams called Shah a “key participant” in a nationwide scheme that offered victims services of no value.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York claimed Shah was “not ignorant” of what was going on behind the scenes.
They went on to say that Shah “directed others to lie,” delete text messages and electronic documents, and claimed she even “moved some of her operations overseas and she tried to put computers and other evidence beyond the reach of the investigation.”
Shah Apologizes To Victims In First Interview Since Her Release
During her interview, Shah addressed her victims directly, admitting she was “wrong” for her role in the scheme.
“I made wrong decisions. I should have done things differently. I should have been more diligent. And I’m deeply remorseful and sorry for my actions and for my part. I take full responsibility,” she said.
At another point during the conversation, Shah said she was “sorry,” adding that her public interview was a step toward “accepting responsibility.”
Fans are sending Gabrielle Union love and prayers as she confirmed her father, Sylvester “Cully” Union Jr.’s passing. The actress shared the heartbreaking news in an emotional post on social media.
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Gabrielle Union Shares Heartfelt Tribute Amid Her Father’s Passing
Late on Saturday night, Gabrielle Union shared the sad news of her father, Sylvester “Cully” Union Jr.’s passing on Instagram. She posted a video showing throwback moments with him, along with photos of him spending time with her daughter, Kaavia James Union Wade, and her husband, Dwyane Wade. In her caption, she told fans he passed away on Friday, April 3 after struggling with dementia. She said nothing prepared her for the loss and explained how the disease kept her holding onto hope that the man she once knew would return.
“First it’s repeating words or forgetting little things here or there, then BOOM, he can’t swallow or walk. The them that you know gets smaller and smaller. You hold out hope for sustained eye contact or a smile; even a hand squeeze can make you feel like they could come back to you “normal” at any second. It’s brutal and it’s what he experienced, but it wasn’t who he was,” Union wrote.
Union Reflects On Her Dad’s Legacy
Gabrielle Union went on to praise her father, sharing that he made friends everywhere he went and always brought life to any room. She highlighted his strong work ethic and reflected on the many lessons he taught her over the years.
“Through every step of his life, my Dad was surrounded by love and support from his ever-growing village. I swear he never met a stranger, just friends he hadn’t met yet. A lifelong, die-hard Nebraska fan, he taught me the values of teamwork, a fierce work ethic, and that you are only as strong as your weakest link, so tend to them first,” Gabrielle continued.
She also called her sisters heroes for their unwavering support and thanked the medical teams for giving him the best care. Union also said she will miss her father but knows his love for her is eternal. “I know I’m not the first or last Daddy’s girl to go through this, and I’m sending love and healing to anyone suffering the loss of a parent. I know his love is eternal and will find me in every realm.”
Social Media Sends Gabrielle Love & Prayers
After Gabrielle Union shared the news of her father’s passing, fans flooded The Shade Room’s comment section with reactions. Many offered condolences, while others shared their own experiences of losing loved ones to dementia.
Instagram user @thegiftofkay wrote, “Wow you truly never know what battles people are carrying.”
Instagram user @aprnbeauty wrote, “Sending condolences this is sad 😢”
While Instagram user @simplyjonettad wrote, “The joy he must have given you, the smiles are demonstrated all over your face. Sending my condolences 🕊️”
Then Instagram user @createdbydarby wrote, “With Dementia, you lose the person twice. Praying for anyone else’s family that’s been impacted by this horrible disease.”
Another Instagram user @amazingly_jenjen wrote, “It’s brutal 😢😢I’m dealing with that with my mom and I cry everyday 🙏🏾💔”
Instagram user @tasha_s_sayless wrote, “Dementia is brutal 😞 Hope there’s a cure someday.”
Then another Instagram user @kimmymar wrote, “Losing a Parent is devastating 😢. Some take theirs for granted !! Love on them while you have them 🙏🏽”
Finally, Instagram user @w1ll1am_m05l3y wrote, “Very sorry to hear about your Father’s passing. I send my deepest condolences and please know that your family is in my prayers 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾”
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What Do You Think Roomies?
Blake Lively appeared nervous in a resurfaced interview clip where she was asked about her chemistry with Justin Baldoni on the set of “It Ends With Us,” and how she was “sometimes the intimacy coordinator” in certain scenes they shared together.
It comes after a judge dismissed most of the actress’s claims against her former co-star, including the sexual harassment charges she leveled against him.
Sources say Blake Lively plans to fight till the end, but there are concerns that the aftermath of the case may negatively impact her Hollywood career.
Blake Lively Was Asked To Weigh In On How She Acted As An Intimacy Coordinator
An unearthed interview clip has seemingly revealed the awkward moment Blake Lively got visibly nervous and uncomfortable when she was asked about her on-screen bond with Justin Baldoni.
The former co-stars have been at loggerheads since 2024, when the 38-year-old actress filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him and also accused him of launching a smear campaign to tarnish her image.
In the clip, Lively sat down beside “It Ends With Us” creator Colleen Hoover and co-star Brandon Sklenar, and was asked to weigh in on her chemistry with Baldoni and how she seemed to have been the coordinator of some of their intimate scenes.
“Talk to me about how sometimes you were even the intimacy coordinator in some of those sexier scenes,” an Access Hollywood journalist asked.
“That shouldn’t be happening, by the way, I just want to be clear,” Lively replied, per the Daily Mail. “You should not be the intimacy coordinator, and you should definitely hire intimacy coordinators, which we did have, thank goodness.”
The Actress Looked ‘Flustered’ In The Resurfaced Clip Discussing Intimate Scenes With Justin Baldoni
After Lively’s response about hiring intimacy coordinators, the interviewer doubled down on her question, telling the actress she was teaching Justin “how to pull” her in.
However, the “Gossip Girl” star became “flustered” and asked the interviewer where she had seen such a scene play out, putting up an awkward laugh while toying with a strand of her hair.
The book author, Hoover, then added, “I actually saw that too, that was on Instagram yesterday.”
“Yeah, I mean, I think romance is really important,” Lively replied before going on a short rant about how, as actors, they’re supposed to tell the story well and make people “feel,” but they’re supposed to do it in a way that’s “safe and respectful for all.”
A Judge Dismissed Most Of Blake Lively’s Claims
Four months after the awkward interview, Lively accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her on the set of the film, which he denied and countersued her.
However, her case suffered a blow recently after Judge Lewis Liman dismissed 10 of the 13 charges she filed against him, including the sexual harassment charge.
The judge ruled that she could not pursue certain sexual harassment claims under federal law because she was technically an independent contractor rather than an employee during the production.
He also explained that the claims didn’t hold water under California laws because the filming where the actor allegedly sexually harassed her was carried out in New Jersey.
“None of these acts or occurrences provides the ‘substantial connection’ to California needed to sustain Lively’s sexual harassment claims,” Judge Liman wrote in his 152-page opinion.
That leaves the actress with three charges to pursue, namely breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting in retaliation, which will all proceed to a civil trial in New York on 18 May.
The Actress Is Not Backing Down Despite Legal Setback
Meanwhile, sources close to the “A Simple Favor” actress have shared that she’s not backing down and plans to fight till the end.
A member of her legal team, Sigrid McCawley, recently stated that the case “has always been and will remain focused on the devastating retaliation and the extraordinary steps the defendants took to destroy” Lively’s reputation.
Explaining that Lively plans to testify during the trial and would continue “to shine a light on this vicious form of online retaliation,” McCawley noted that the reason the sexual harassment charge was dropped was “not because the defendants did nothing wrong,” but because of some technicality in the case.
Lively herself also spoke out on the loss, stating, “The last thing I wanted in my life was a lawsuit, but I brought this case because of the pervasive RETALIATION I faced, and continue to, for privately and professionally asking for a safe working environment for myself and others.”
She continued in her statement, “I hope the Court’s decision shows others that, as unfathomably painful as it is, you can speak up.”
“I will never stop doing my part in fighting to expose the systems and people who seek to harm, shame, silence, and retaliate against victims,” the actress added.
Justin Baldoni’s Lawyers Revealed They Are ‘Very Pleased’ With The Recent Development Amid Their Legal Battle With Blake Lively
Baldoni’s lawyers have also expressed their satisfaction with the recent development while restating their commitment to seeing the case through in court.
“We’re very pleased the court dismissed all sexual harassment claims and every claim brought against the individual defendants: Justin Baldoni, Jamey Heath, Steve Sarowitz, Melissa Nathan, and Jennifer Abel,” lawyers Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach told the Daily Mail.
“These were very serious allegations, and we are grateful to the court for its careful review of the facts, law, and voluminous evidence that was provided,” they continued.
The lawyers added, “What’s left is a significantly narrowed case, and we look forward to presenting our defense to the remaining claims in court.”
The fantasy genre as a whole is often associated with feel-good, magical adventures that can be experienced by audiences of all ages. Even the films that veer into more widely-appealing blockbuster filmmaking like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter have inherent strengths to younger audiences. However, while many of the most popular fantasy movies may be for audiences of all ages, that hasn’t stopped filmmakers from creating some striking fantasy experiences tailor-made for adult audiences.
Whether it be through overwhelming blood content, overt sexual content, or difficult and uncomfortable themes, these fantasy films bring the magic of the genre to its brink in bringing to life films that are the complete tonal opposite of their family-friendly brothers. These films have managed to be celebrated as masterpieces of the genre through their blending of high-concept fantasy elements with a more mature execution that is required of filmmaking that can’t be appreciated by kids.
10
‘The Northman’ (2022)
While not a horror film like his other cinematic masterpieces, Robert Eggers‘s The Northman is still one of the most ruthless and blood-soaked fantasy films to have ever been released. The film follows the young prince of a Nordic kingdom having his path to glory cut short after his uncle betrays his family, murdering his father and kidnapping his mother. After escaping and spending years honing his craft as a Viking warrior, the prince returns on a path of vengeance against his uncle.
The magnitude and scale of this Viking epic helps make it one of the most explosive fantasy action films out there, feeling both grounded in its style and visuals while also bombastic in its execution. The film also doesn’t hold back in terms of the gruesome nature of Vikings as a whole, with the first act pillaging scene especially going all out, not just in terms of ruthless action, but top-notch violence and gore. This entertaining Viking film has cemented its status as the go-to cinematic outing of the historical fantasy icons.
9
‘Mind Game’ (2004)
Japanese animation has been a source of exceptional family-oriented fantasy masterpieces for generations now, with the likes of Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro being among the most acclaimed animated fantasy movies of all time. Conversely, Mind Game is a premier example of how Japanese anime is also capable of creating wild, unrestrained adult stories within the fantasy genre. However, the film’s adult content never gets in the way of the overwhelming fantastical energy that it overwhelms the audience with.
The film follows an awkward loser who, after an encounter with the Japanese mafia, ends up losing his life in the most embarrassing way possible. However, this only proves to send him on a journey to heaven in back, unexpectedly having a second lease on life that he decides to live to the absolute fullest, not held back by any sense of danger or embarrassment. It makes the absolute most out of the creativity of the fantasy genre while also filling itself to the brim with lots of violence and sexual content.
8
‘Flesh + Blood’ (1985)
While Paul Verhoeven is often celebrated for his various sci-fi masterpieces with the likes of directing Robocop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers, Flesh + Blood predates all of these films as a wildly underrated 80s fantasy film. The film follows a band of medieval mercenaries taking revenge upon a Lord by kidnapping the woman his son is engaged to. As plague and warfare are laying waste to the kingdom, the mercenaries decide to bunker down in a castle and await the impending counterattack from the Lord.
Flesh + Blood goes all out in terms of showing off the brutality and gruesome nature of the fantasy medieval period, not sugar-coating the ruthless nature of its mercenary characters or their actions. While Verhoeven’s signature sense of wild spirituality and satire makes the film a fun watch, this doesn’t take away from the deeply mature nature of its content, including an overwhelming amount of gore and sexual violence.
7
‘All of Us Strangers’ (2023)
While many of the most adult-oriented fantasy films will go about their adult content with an overwhelming amount of gore or sexual content, All of Us Strangers is more squarely focused on grounded, mature themes and symbolism designed for an adult audience. The fantasy drama follows a lonesome man who, after a chance encounter with his mysterious neighbor, finds the rhythm of his everyday life forever altered. As he takes a visit to his childhood home to recollect his mind, he ends up making an unlikely connection with his parents despite them dying when he was a child.
While the fantasy elements are certainly more subdued compared to the types of wild, high-concept fantasy worlds that normally find success in the genre, they are present enough to amplify the emotional weight and thematic resonance of the film as a whole. All of Us Strangers certainly has its fair share of sex scenes and on-screen drug use that make it not worth watching for kids, but young audiences wouldn’t connect with the film’s more philosophical filmmaking anyway.
6
‘Excalibur’ (1981)
Standing as the gold standard for many R-rated fantasy masterpieces for generations, Excalibur has the exact right mixture of classic fantasy storytelling with wild, R-rated action and violence that made the film a massive hit and an icon of 80s fantasy. The film chronicles the life and death of King Arthur (Nigel Terry), following his quest to bring together the Knights of the Round Table and various other quests across the medieval era.
Excalibur continues to have a substantial legacy in the decades following its release, often being considered one of the first true examples of a great R-rated fantasy film and one of the go-to adaptations of the quests of King Arthur. While the Arthurian tales have been adapted to more family-oriented experiences over the years, Excalibur has a sense of brutality and weight to its action and setpieces that do justice to the dark, medieval energy of the film.
5
‘The Witch’ (2016)
One of the absolute simplest yet most effective ways to create a striking, memorable fantasy movie experience that shouldn’t be viewed by children is to mix the fantasy elements with the horror genre. In terms of sheer craft and execution of utilizing fantasy and magical elements to create a bone-chilling horror experience, nothing comes close to the masterfully woven brilliance of Robert Eggers’ debut film, The Witch. A film that helped catapult the very notions of elevated horror that persist in modern horror, The Witch is a masterclass of tension and slow-creeping dread.
The film is as much about the haunting witchcraft elements looming over the family as it is about the aggressive infighting and distrust that breaks the family apart in the wake of pain, loss, and overall confusion as to how and why these things are occurring to them. It proves to be one of the most grounded and gritty takes on a witchcraft story to date, tactfully utilizing its fantasy elements for maximum emotional impact.
4
‘The Green Knight’ (2021)
While it may seem a bit backward to tell a gritty, adult take on a classic Arthurian tale that is often taught to young children, The Green Knight massively excels thanks to its evolution and growth of this tried-and-true classic fantasy story to the modern era. The film largely follows the classic tales of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) most notably his daring quest and game against the Green Knight, with his looming fate being held over him for the majority of the film.
It would be one thing for the film to simply retell the original Arthurian stories exactly as they were originally told, yet with a mixture of dynamic visuals and storytelling craft from director David Lowery, this medival classic becomes a modern-day fantasy masterpiece. A major part of this upgrade comes in its adoption of more adult themes and visuals, most notably in more visceral violence and sexually charged moments. It’s also probably the only medieval film to feature literal ejaculate on-screen, so that has to count for something.
3
‘Evil Dead II’ (1987)
In terms of fantasy horror filmmaking that holds nothing back in terms of not only gore content but electrifying screen-presence and entertainment, Sam Raimi is in an absolute league of his own, with no singular film exemplifying this quite like Evil Dead II. It builds and improves upon the original film in just about every conceivable way, not only in terms of technical craft but in terms of overall filmmaking and stylish execution. It’s one of the most bombastic horror comedies ever made, reveling in its madness and blood-soaked glory every step of the way.
While Evil Dead II may ironically have the same wild, goofy nature of a cartoon that children would absolutely love to watch, the overwhelming abundance of gore and violence easily makes this a difficult watch for any child. Still it’s this frankly over-the-top usage of blood that has made the Evil Dead franchise as a whole so iconic among horror fantasy films, with this initial sequel still being the absolute height of the franchise.
2
‘Being John Malkovich’ (1999)
One of many strange and otherworldly concepts brought to life by legendary screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, Being John Malkovich takes its fantasy premise to its absolute extremes in terms of psychological examination and reflection upon human nature as a whole. The film follows the consequences of the discovery of a mysterious portal that allows people to enter the mind of acclaimed actor John Malkovich, as people find themselves becoming obsessed with experiencing the world through Malkovich’s eyes.
The initial fantasy premise is already wild enough as is, yet the film takes so many strange twists and turns that it becomes an intricate work of art, with each moving piece building off of each other to create a striking and highly memorable portrait. It’s already well too complicated for many children to experience, and that’s before considering the fair amount of sex scenes featured in the film. This perfectly written fantasy movie continues to be some of the absolute best that the genre has to offer in a contemporary setting.
1
‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006)
No singular filmmaker has so distinctly cemented himself as one of the head visionaries of gothic, dark fantasy filmmaking made for adults like Guillermo del Toro. It would be incredibly easy to fill this entire list with masterful adult-oriented fantasy films that the visionary has directed, yet for the purposes of this list, nothing comes close to his timeless dark fantasy masterpiece, Pan’s Labyrinth. It stands as the absolute pinnacle of what an adult-oriented fantasy film can be, unrestrained by having to appeal to young children and creating a stylish, otherworldly exploration of madness and thematic perfection.
Pan’s Labyrinth has grown to be so beloved and acclaimed in the two decades since its release that it is often considered the definitive height of dark fantasy as a subgenre of traditional fantasy storytelling. The visuals still hold up tremendously to this day, as its beautiful original world building is second-to-none and exemplifies the very best that fantasy filmmaking is capable of.
If you’re tired of watching Oscar nominees and blockbuster megahits, you’ve come to the right place.
Streaming services are particularly great at staying up to date on all the biggest must-see movies, but they also have plenty of features that deserve a little more love.
As the experts in all things streaming, Watch With Us has devised a guide for the best underrated movies you can find on platforms like HBO Max, Netflix and more.
Our first pick is Mistress America, a quirky indie comedy starring Greta Gerwig and Lola Kirke.
This April, Peacock has added some fantastic new movies to its already great library. There are all sorts of movies from across the genre spectrum heading to Peacock. Laugh-out-loud comedies, riveting dramas, immersive sci-fi experiences and high-quality kids flicks. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Enter your email Please enter a valid […]
New college student Tracy (Lola Kirke) has trouble adjusting to her new life at Barnard in New York City, and so reaches out to her soon-to-be stepsister, Brooke (Greta Gerwig), who lives nearby. Tracy becomes beguiled by Brooke, whose freewheeling life is seen by Tracy as aspirational. As the two young women cavort through the city together, Tracy suddenly finds creative inspiration for her writing. But things go south when Brooke discovers Tracy has been using her life as fodder for literary material.
Wacky, fast-paced and warm-hearted, Mistress America is fronted by two sensational and charismatic performances from Gerwig and Kirke, carried by a typical sharp yet gentle direction from Noah Baumbach. While not quite on par with Baumbach and Gerwig’s previous collaboration, Frances Ha, Mistress America is nevertheless a fantastic melding between the two lovers and artists who co-penned the screenplay together. Baumbach brings out Gerwig’s natural charm alongside the director’s signature dark sense of humor.
While enjoying a romantic getaway at her married boyfriend Richard’s (Kevin Janssens) luxury home in the desert, Jen (Matilda Lutz) sees her excursion interrupted by the unannounced arrival of Richard’s strange friends, Stan (Vincent Colombe) and Dimitri (Guillaume Bouchède). Though the friends are there to take part in a seemingly innocent hunting trip with Richard, tensions between the foursome progressively increase until things turn deadly. It leads to a shocking act of violence that leaves Jen clinging to her life. But when she comes to, she sets out on a quest to enact revenge on her tormentors.
Before French director Coralie Fargeat helmed the Academy Award-nominated The Substance, she directed this efficient little revenge thriller that served as an impressive feature debut. Revenge subverts tropes of the exploitation and rape/revenge genres to craft a highly affecting feminist film that is taut, stylish and fearless. Led commandingly by Lutz, Revenge offers a new perspective on a male-dominated film genre.
Loosely adapted from the 2016 novel of the same name by Iain Reid, I’m Thinking of Ending Things follows a young woman (Jessie Buckley) who travels with her boyfriend, Jake (Jesse Plemons), on a snowy, stormy night to visit his parents (Toni Collette and David Thewlis) at their rural farmhouse. However, on the drive there, the woman ruminates on her misgivings towards their relationship and whether she should break things off. When the two arrive, their seemingly innocent trip becomes dark, surreal and constantly transforming.
Though I’m Thinking of Ending Things sports a deeply unconventional and even experimental narrative, the movie is eminently engaging, as mysteries pile on top of mysteries on top of inconsistencies and questions. Ultimately, the myriad of unanswered questions posed by the movie are less important than the mood and atmosphere they create, and the psychological horror that unfolds before viewers. Ultimately, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is an utterly unique experience that will leave you unsettled in the best way.
A spaceship named Covenant is on its way to the planet Origae-6 for colonization. On board are colonists and human embryos in cryogenic stasis, but when an unexpected solar flare damages the ship, several colonists are killed. Some of the crew wake up alongside an android named Walter (Michael Fassbender), and during repairs, they divert their course to an uncharted planet when they discover a human broadcast. The planet is home to the sole survivor of the disastrous Prometheus mission from years ago, David (Fassbender), but neither he nor the planet is as hospitable as they appear.
Both of Ridley Scott‘s Alien prequels are vastly underrated, but perhaps more so is Alien: Covenant, which manages to be far darker, creepier, more violent and also funnier than Prometheus. Between both movies, Scott does an excellent job of expanding the world and lore of the original Alien movies and the origins of the terrifying Xenomorph, with fantastic cinematography, production design and sense of atmospheric horror. Plus, Fassbender’s dual performance as David/Walter is a weird and erotically charged wonder.
Con artists Theresa (Debra Winger) and Robert (Richard Jenkins) have spent their time as parents training their only daughter, Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood), to swindle and scam her way through life while treating her more as an accomplice than as their child. After concocting a scam involving lost airplane luggage, Old Dolio and her parents meet a charming young woman named Melanie (Gina Rodriguez). Though Melanie willingly joins in on the family’s schemes, her involvement ends up changing Old Dolio’s life forever.
Streaming subscribers are going to have a lot to watch in April, and it may take some serious time management skills to catch everything good. Netflix and Apple TV are debuting new seasons of Beef and Your Friends & Neighbors, respectively. Meanwhile, Prime Video is bringing The Boys to a conclusion after five seasons. Hulu […]
True to director Miranda July‘s signature off-kilter style, Kajillionaire is a strange but bewitching comedy-drama film that manages to be sad, funny and deeply heartfelt all at once. The film is led by a singular performance from Wood, and her monotone, deadpan characterization manages to pair beautifully with Rodriguez’s perkier, more naturalistic portrayal. Wood transcends caricature to create a character that is deeply human in a bittersweet story about the need for connection.
The Cloverfield franchise is easily one of the most puzzling, bizarre, and beloved, with a devout cult following that will explore entire alternate reality games to learn more about the lore of J.J. Abrams‘ sci-fi universe. One aspect of the IP that sets it apart is how many of its entries seemingly don’t connect except for small details or explosive final-scene reveals, as seen in 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Cloverfield Paradox.
Additionally, films that were never expected to be a part of the Cloverfield universe will be turned into entries once Abrams comes aboard, as was the case with 10 Cloverfield Lane, which started as its own standalone project. Yet, the trailer for the new film Abrams is producing, The End of Oak Street, has many wondering if history may be repeating itself, with subtle hints suggesting it could be a new addition to the Cloverfield universe that no one sees coming. The path to this being the case isn’t entirely smooth sailing, but it would certainly add a new layer of intrigue to The End of Oak Street.
‘The End of Oak Street’ Trailer Contains Several Hints That Link to the Cloverfield Universe
The End of Oak Street trailer certainly nails J.J. Abrams’ classic mystery box set-up, with the reveal that a seemingly normal American suburb has been transported to a different realm, with dinosaurs chasing the Platt family, including Ewan McGregor‘s Greg and Anne Hathaway‘s Denise. On both a narrative and a meta level, there are subtle clues that The End of Oak Street may be set in the Cloverfield universe. With Bad Robot and Abrams producing, the team behind the Cloverfield movies, the idea will likely never be far away from their minds. The title cards are incredibly similar, with both containing grayish text on a black background, conveying the unnerving and ominous tone that is synonymous with Cloverfield.
The premise of The End of Oak Street would also make sense in the context of the Cloverfield universe. In The Cloverfield Paradox, the film centers on the idea of a particle accelerator displacing the crew to another universe, with another scene noting that around five city blocks also disappear. This would explain how the Platt’s Oak Street is moved to a time and place that contains such dinosaurs. Yes, it isn’t the Cloverfield monster we all know and love, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t appear later on. Honestly, it doesn’t even have to appear, considering 10 Cloverfield Lane didn’t include the monster either.
‘The End of Oak Street’ Could Be an Unofficial Cloverfield Movie
Despite these signs that The End of Oak Street could take place in the Cloverfield universe, it may be that J.J. Abrams’ newest film is actually an unofficial Cloverfield movie that’s dealing with some roadblocks that prevent it from being an official addition. Sadly, there is a question of who owns the rights. All the Cloverfield films were produced under the Paramount banner, though The End of Oak Street is being distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, creating an issue if Abrams did want to make The End of Oak Street a spiritual sequel to Cloverfield.
However, considering how powerful a producer Abrams is and how synonymous he is with the Cloverfield franchise, combined with Paramount’s current effort to acquire Warner Bros. Pictures, there may be some wiggle room to obtain the rights. Additionally, given the cult following Abrams enjoys for his monster franchise, it wouldn’t take much for fans to create their own canon that The End of Oak Street takes place in the Cloverfield universe, which Paramount and Abrams could easily lean into.
In the end, the possibility of The End of Oak Street being revealed to be a Cloverfield entry is certainly something that will keep momentum high for its release, which will benefit a rather small film that isn’t attached to another large IP. With Abrams attached, things that parallel the things set up in other Cloverfield movies, along with Abrams’ track record of turning films into entries for his universe, there is every possibility that fans will be given a shock reveal at some point in The End of Oak Street. Even if it doesn’t end up being connected, it will keep viewers’ eyes glued to the screen for every frame of The End of Oak Street.
The End of Oak Street
- Release Date
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August 12, 2026
- Director
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David Robert Mitchell
- Writers
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David Robert Mitchell
Entertainment
Tori Spelling and 4 of her kids hospitalized after car hit by driver who was allegedly speeding
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The “Beverly Hills, 90210” star was involved in a 2021 car accident.
Romance films are often nice, and romantic comedies in particular tend to be rather gentle, not to mention prime candidates if you’re looking for a good comfort movie. Something like When Harry Met Sally is a very pleasant and almost impossible-to-dislike film, and then even iconic romantic movies that are a little more bittersweet, like Casablanca, couldn’t really be called heavy or anxiety-inducing.
So, the following movies ultimately stand out, within the whole romance genre. Admittedly, many of these are romantic thrillers, or function as psychological dramas on top of being romance films, but if romance is a prominent genre in a given film, then said film can qualify for appearing here. If you’re sort of sick of pleasant and/or sentimental films about love, for whatever reason, then maybe these anxiety-inducing romance movies will be more up your alley.
10
‘Love’ (2015)
Gaspar Noé isn’t really in the business of making nice movies, to put it very, very mildly. The most approachable thing he’s made is probably Vortex (2021), which doesn’t have anything by way of graphic violence or intense sexual content (the stuff Noé is especially infamous for), but it is a grueling and psychologically harrowing watch, since it’s about two old people struggling to get by because of worsening health issues.
Love is just very uneasy throughout, and the opposite of a good date night movie.
Yes, that’s as “pleasant” as things get with Gaspar Noé, and so his movie called Love isn’t very lovely, or in any way easy to watch. It’s about a couple who shake up their sex lives by inviting in a third participant, so to speak, and then things get complicated and intense for a whole bunch of reasons. Love is just very uneasy throughout, and the opposite of a good date night movie, even if it is technically well within the bounds of the romance genre.
9
‘The Piano Teacher’ (2001)
It’s a Michael Haneke movie, so of course it’s going to be despairing. He’s a bit like Gaspar Noé in the sense that even when a film of his doesn’t have extreme content, it’s still extremely distressing (see Amour, which, like Noé’s Vortex, is also a difficult movie about aging). The Piano Teacher is one of Haneke’s best-known films, and it’s kind of a romance? Barely. It’s more of a psychological drama.
It does involve a piano teacher struggling with various things after a younger man starts trying to instigate a romantic relationship with her, so in that sense, it’s broadly about love and longing, but without being very romantic. The Piano Teacher is all very unpleasant and harrowing in its exploration of a troubled mind, and while it’s not non-stop with showing extreme stuff, it does pepper in a good deal of imagery that’s ultimately hard to shake.
8
‘Miracle Mile’ (1988)
If After Hours had a bit less of a Kafkaesque feel, and involved all of society falling apart rather than just the life of one very unlucky man, then it would probably look and feel a little like Miracle Mile. Both movies came out in the 1980s, and are darkly comedic, not to mention fast-paced, all the while having premises that involve first dates – or at least an attempt at a first date – going quite wrong.
With Miracle Mile, society is breaking down in rapid succession because nuclear war is imminent, so everyone has to grapple with the fact that they might all be about to die, and the two main characters still want to do something with each other for their potential last night on Earth. It’s so many different genres at once, and veers off in various wild directions tonally speaking, but all in a way that’s pretty admirable, even if the film’s kind of a mess at the same time.
7
‘The Lovers on the Bridge’ (1991)
The Lovers on the Bridge is about two downtrodden and troubled people who both find themselves living on the streets, particularly on and around the bridge referred to in the title: the Pont Neuf in Paris. One of them is struggling with addiction, and the other is feeling despondent after a break-up and a health condition that’s making her gradually lose her vision.
It’s all very miserable, by design, and The Lovers on the Bridge also has some confronting imagery and occasional violent situations that drive home a further feeling of angst on top of all the difficulties the characters are already grappling with. It feels a bit like descending into some emotionally taxing territory you can’t ever really climb out of, so calling the film a difficult watch would be a huge understatement. It’s very good, though, for what that’s worth, as contradictory as that could sound.
6
‘Bitter Moon’ (1992)
Erotic thrillers were all the rage for a little while there, say, back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, mostly in the sense that a few got genuine mainstream attention and became unlikely blockbusters, in terms of box office revenue. Bitter Moon came out around this time, and it had a premise that largely revolved around a man on a cruise ship becoming obsessed with the wife of another man on board that same ship.
Lots of Bitter Moon is made up of flashbacks leading up to the cruise, and then inevitable drama during it. The whole thing is uneasy and oftentimes suspenseful, and while Bitter Moon is too flawed to be a genuinely great movie, it does have its moments for sure, and is intense/bold enough, for the most part, to be worthy of inclusion here.
5
‘The Drama’ (2026)
Easily the most recent movie here, The Drama does already feel like it could be something of an infamous all-timer, as far as anxiety-inducing romance films are concerned. Part of that has to do with the fact that for the first few scenes, or maybe even the first act, it feels quite sappy and by-the-numbers, as a surprisingly not too quirky rom-com, but that’s all to ensure you’re caught off guard by what the movie’s really about.
It’s revealed early on, but the specifics lie within spoiler territory (the trailer doesn’t elaborate), so what can be said is that a soon-to-be-married couple find new stress in the lead-up to their wedding, when a secret from one of their pasts is revealed. The Drama explores some very dark thematic territory while also being quite funny at times, and then proves capable of building an incredible amount of tension (especially in its second half) for something that isn’t a thriller.
4
‘Badlands’ (1973)
Badlands is an arthouse film, but not too unapproachable or obscure compared to most movies that can be classified as such. It’s about a couple in love who go on the run after the young man in the relationship murders the father of the young woman, and then while they’re on the run from the law, he ends up committing a few more murders.
It’s a film that proves quite startling with its violence, even if that violence isn’t particularly graphic… more so that it just comes out of nowhere at certain times, and also ends up being treated quite casually by the person doing the murders. Badlands might sound a bit strange, being a road movie, a gritty crime film, and also something about young (and potentially naïve) love, but it works really well, and still feels unlike pretty much anything else out there.
3
‘Happy Together’ (1997)
There are just two main characters, really, at the center of Happy Together: a pair of men who find their relationship heading toward ruin, so they try to reinvigorate things by traveling to Argentina together. The change of scenery doesn’t help as much as they’d planned, because various issues keep popping up, and the film pretty frequently explores the pair clashing and arguing in increasingly intense ways.
So, safe to say, that title is kind of ironic. And Happy Together works as more of a break-up film than a romance one in the traditional sense, which is something you could also say about Chungking Express (like Happy Together, that one was directed by Wong Kar-wai), but Chungking Express was a good deal more bittersweet, and not as intense. Happy Together does offer some catharsis, and it’s not, like, 100% miserable, but the downbeat sections of the film do hit incredibly hard, all the while feeling remarkably raw.
2
‘Punch-Drunk Love’ (2002)
You get a pretty simple story told over a relatively brisk 90-ish minutes in Punch-Drunk Love, but there is complexity here that comes about because of how good a character study it is, and also because it’s quite adventurous in terms of tone and genre(s). It’s sort of a romantic comedy, but a psychological drama/thriller at the same time… kind of? It’s hard to explain and define, but you get a similar feeling watching it as you get from The Drama.
Punch-Drunk Love also houses what’s probably Adam Sandler’s second-best performance, topped only by what he did in the also anxiety-inducing 2019 film, Uncut Gems. Punch-Drunk Love is funny at times, borderline-disturbing at other points, and then ultimately surprisingly romantic, too, standing alongside One Battle After Another as a film that shows how, when Paul Thomas Anderson wants to tackle a bunch of genres at once, he can do so pretty darn well.
1
‘Scenes from a Marriage’ (1974)
You can sort of compare Scenes from a Marriage to the more recent Marriage Story, owing to both of the movies having titles that share a word, and also the fact that both movies are ultimately about divorce. Marriage Story is only listed as a drama on most sites, though, while Scenes from a Marriage gets both the “drama” and “romance” labels on Letterboxd, so that’s why it’s here instead of Marriage Story.
Maybe that’s because Scenes from a Marriage has a little more to do with preventing the relationship from ending, at least early on, building toward a sense that it has to end, while Marriage Story lets you know it’s about divorce right from the start. Anyway, the point is that Scenes from a Marriage is incredibly anxiety-inducing, just because it really feels like watching a series of real-life arguments, one after the other, for almost three hours (and much longer if you watch the miniseries version, which came out one year earlier and is probably therefore the definitive cut).
Scenes From a Marriage
- Release Date
-
September 15, 1974
- Runtime
-
169 minutes
- Director
-
Ingmar Bergman
- Writers
-
Ingmar Bergman
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We love our flowy fit‑and‑flare dresses and floral favorites, but nothing beats the ease and versatility of a breezy activewear dress when the weather warms up. Whether for running laps, running errands, serving on the court or serving chic style, these breathable activewear dresses prove that performance and style go hand in hand. And with all the creative designs popping up these days — from drop‑waist dresses to tiered tennis styles and half‑zip athletic pieces — there’s truly something for everyone.
In anticipation of the hot, humid days to come, we rounded up 19 breathable and easy-going athletic dresses that deliver everything you’d need, including slimming fits, great bust support and style versatility. Shop our top picks from retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Nordstrom and Macy’s below — and get ready to hit the treadmill, tennis court or coffee shop with well‑deserved confidence.
19 Lightweight Activewear Dresses for Staying Cool and Looking Chic
1. Our Favorite: It’s no surprise over 600 shoppers picked up this crossback tennis dress this past month. With built‑in shorts, roomy pockets and a bra that lifts and separates without underwire, it delivers style and dependable support in one easy piece.
2. Preppy Style: If built‑in shorts aren’t your thing, this bestselling sleeveless tennis dress gives you the best of both worlds. The stretchy, sweat‑wicking fabric pairs perfectly with separate shorts for customizable comfort.
3. Modest Pick: Going for a more modest, full‑coverage look? This polished zip‑front polo dress fully delivers, with built-in shorts and fresh spring colors, including pink and blue.
4. Slimming Silhouette: Walmart shoppers can’t get enough of this wrap‑waist activewear dress. They’re wearing it for everything — workouts, powering through errands and even brunch.
5. Perfect Cover: Trying to hide a muffin top? This sleeveless golf dress features a clever high-waist split skirt that lets you enjoy a smooth, flattering fit no matter how active your day gets.
Your work wardrobe is ever evolving, transitioning with fashion trends, dress codes and seasons alike. And while you probably already have your go-to slacks down pat, you might want to give them a rest for the spring and summer months when temps heat up. Those heavy options just won’t do it, which is why investing […]
6. Flowy Flare: This tiered athletic pick is as close to a traditional dress as you can get without losing the practicality that makes it a go‑to for busy days. The toggle waist design lets you tailor the fit exactly to your liking.
7. Quiet Luxury Style: Achieve that country club aesthetic with this pleated athletic dress from Zella. Complete the rich-mom look with crisp white sneakers, oversized sunnies and a structured tote.
8. Splurge Worthy: For those who gravitate toward premium brands like Alo Yoga or lululemon, this half‑zip athletic dress from TravisMathew is a perfect match. Shoppers praise its all‑day wearability on the golf course, even on the hottest days.
9. Dancer Vibes: Admirers will think you’re an off-duty ballerina in this Free People ruffle jumpsuit. While you won’t necessarily be running miles in it, you can absolutely float through errands, coffee runs and casual weekends in total comfort.
10. Mom-Approved: Quince shoppers are obsessed with this spaghetti‑strap active dress. Reviewers praise the breathable, stretchy fabric and all‑day comfort, calling it a “must‑have” for on‑the‑go moms.
11. Comfort Without Compromise: Some activewear dresses can feel a bit too revealing. This UPF 50 Lands’ End active dress enlists a longer skirt and a higher neckline, so you can feel comfortably covered without venturing into matron territory.
12. Style First: Don’t sweat about running laps in this racerback active dress that, let’s be honest, is more about looking cute than shaving seconds off your mile time.
13. Size Inclusive: Find your perfect fit in this scoop‑back athletic dress from Old Navy, which is available in regular, tall, and petite sizes from XS to 4X. We especially love the spring‑ready hues, including blue, pink and green.
14. Move With Confidence: Drop‑waist active dresses are popping up everywhere, and Old Navy’s take on the trend might just be our favorite. The super‑stretchy dress lets you move with confidence, thanks to its non‑chafing shorts, supportive built‑in bra and flared, fun skirt.
15. Twirl Worthy: Keep it girly and fun with this ruffle tennis dress that we’re dying to wear on and off the court. Pair it with a cardigan and tennis shoes for a sporty look that’s so in this spring.
16. Confidence Booster: Not into showing off a lot of skin? You can still keep things cute and stylish with this half-zip dress that has a flirty ruffle hem and tons of color options, including this pink houndstooth style.
17. Tummy-Hiding Fit: For those bloated days where nothing fits right, this tummy‑control tennis dress is just the piece for feeling supported, snatched and ready to take on the day.
18. Full Sleeves: Whether you need sun protection or just like the style, this long‑sleeve active dress is your go‑to for staying cool, covered and effortlessly chic.
19. Make a Statement: Stand out from the conventional crowd in this colorful tennis dress that uses a clever mesh overlay for the ultimate blend of breathability, movement and eye‑catching style.
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