Fans who have never watched “The Mandalorian” but are intrigued by the adorable little Baby Yoda are the target audience for “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” Dedicated “Star Wars” fans who watched all seasons of “The Clone Wars,” “Rebels,” and all three seasons of “The Mandalorian” are no doubt going to find themselves disappointed. This is a popcorn movie in its rawest form. There’s only surface-level character growth, no lore, and lots of action scenes that don’t actually move the story of Din Djarin and Grogu forward in any appreciable way.

As “Rogue One” proved, the characters don’t need to have extensive lightsaber battles or use the Force in order to make a good “Star Wars” movie. The franchise, when it first began almost fifty years ago, explored deeper themes, like finding the balance between good and evil in the galaxy and in ourselves. “The Mandalorian and Grogu” doesn’t have any deeper themes, but it does have a lot of action and a few adorable critters – Anzellans – who are sure to make great action figures. They’re not as cuddly as the Ewoks, but they’re better than the Porgs, so take that as you will.

The movie begins without an opening crawl and dives right into the action. This is a kid’s movie through and through, and the movie keeps things going at a pretty brisk pace. It almost suffers from the same issues as “The Rise of Skywalker” in terms of pacing: we need to get to here to get this, and then now that we have this, we need to go there. It feels more like crossing off a checklist of events instead of an organic narrative.

The Good: Grogu Is Still Cute

There are a few things I enjoyed about this movie. For one, if this had been a straight-to-streaming movie, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more. If they presented it as a special episode of “The Mandalorian” or even a limited three-episode special, I would have sat back on my couch with my popcorn and enjoyed it.

The score isn’t John Williams, but Ludwig Göransson’s soundtrack is a highlight of the film. It sounds like a “Star Wars” movie, and for all intents and purposes, it does look like a “Star Wars” movie. From the dogfights to the creature features, it does read exactly like a galaxy far, far away would.

And, of course, Grogu spends a great deal of time being adorable and trying to steal snacks. He does have a standout moment that I won’t spoil here, but all in all, I would have liked to see a bit more from the little green guy. I mean, he’s over fifty years old and still won’t speak a single word? Come on, now.

The Bad: It Does Very Little For ‘Star Wars’ Going Forward

All in all, the movie is a fun little side quest for these two heroes, but it has no bearing on the story as a whole. Where will their adventure go from here? I have no idea, and honestly, at this point, I don’t think Lucasfilm does either. This movie is so low stakes, I’m pretty sure that they could continue with a fourth season of “The Mandalorian,” and fans who haven’t watched the movie could pick up right where they left off.

Considering this has been heavily marketed as a standalone movie, I wasn’t expecting much, but this would have been the prime time to have Grogu say his first word. Okay, maybe Din Djarin is a little hard to pronounce, but we needed something to help move their story along and show some real growth. If anything, Din Djarin removed his helmet again, and atoning for that was basically the whole plot of the show’s third season. Are we going to have to take another trip back to Mandalore in season 4?

Where Is The Future Of ‘Star Wars’ Going?

Many critics have questioned the film’s raison d’être, especially since “Starfighter,” starring Ryan Gosling, Mia Goth, Matt Smith, and a whole lot of other A-listers, is coming out next May. “Star Wars” fans have already had to wait seven years for a new movie. Why not wait eight? That movie, directed by Shawn Levy, has already promised a lot more action and heart – and, yes, the iconic lightsaber duels – along with a father/son/found family type story that “The Mandalorian” is trying so hard to achieve.

Personally, I think this all ties into rumors that Dave Filoni is working on his Mandoverse, which will tie in the stories of The Mandalorian, Grogu, Boba Fett, and Ahsoka. It might even be part of the reason that “Ahsoka” season 2 was pushed back to early 2027. Seeing all those fan-favorite characters come together on screen in an Avengers-style mash-up only works if audiences are familiar with them.

Right now, “Ahsoka” is best known from the animated projects and the first season of a live-action show that aired over three years ago. General audiences are probably not as familiar with “Ahsoka” as they are with Grogu, just due to basic merchandising. Setting up “The Mandalorian and Grogu” as a film may help introduce them into the consciousness of the general public, so if and when they do release a mash-up of heroes to fight Grand Admiral Thrawn (I just know someone is reading this, going, ‘Who?!’), audiences are more aware of the general characters, and it gives them some reason to go.  

In Closing…

“The Mandalorian and Grogu” may not be the blockbuster hit that Lucasfilm wanted it to be, but right now, we don’t even know why they made this movie to begin with. Is it a long-game set-up for a bigger franchise movie? Were there concerns that season 4 of “The Mandalorian” would kill all goodwill towards the character completely? Is Lucasfilm just trying to get “Star Wars” back in people’s minds before they drop “Starfighter” next year?

All in all, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is a decent streaming movie for the general public who just want to eat popcorn and bond with their kids over a simple action-adventure film. For the diehard “Star Wars” fans, though, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is likely to leave them saltier than the surface of Crait.

Days of Our Lives anticipates that Gabi Hernandez (Cherie Jimenez) is just about to lose everything important to her because some major mistakes are going to come back to bite her in her backside.

This week, thanks to Anna DiMera (Leann Hunely), the dirty secret Gabi was sitting on spilled out. And that is when everything started to fall apart. So, Philip Kiriakis (John-Paul Lavoisier) dumped Gabi, but that is just the tip of the iceberg.

And we knew it was going to be bad once Philip finally found out the truth, but it’s even worse than expected. So, we’re going to dive into Gabi’s life falling apart.

Anna DiMera Spills Gabi’s Secret To Philip on Days of Our Lives

So, Philip has it out with Gabi by the end of this week and her daughter Arianna Horton (Vico Escorcia) should be following up with her own outrage. This is going to be a double whammy that hits Gabi. And Anna is annoyed at Tony DiMera (Thaao Phenglis) and that’s because he was talking about staying in Salem and running DiMera after Gabi said no to the CEO job.

So, Anna knew about Tony and Gabi’s plotting because her devoted hubby confided in Anna that same day. But Tony didn’t mean for Anna to go blabbing it to anybody, least of all Philip. But she did it anyway. Anna trotted over to Titan and she dropped a nuclear bombshell on Philip. First of all, Anna said that Gabi turned down Tony’s latest offer to be CEO of DiMera. But Anna’s hoping that Philip can change Gabi’s mind. And Anna said she thinks that Gabi turned down the CEO job out of guilt because Gabi is the reason that Titan is circling the drain right now.

And Philip doesn’t understand and he demanded details from Anna. Somehow, I don’t know why. But she thought Philip already knew. So she brings up the bug in his and Xander Kiriakis‘s (Paul Telfer) office. And finally, Anna confirms that it was Gabi who planted it and she was spying for Tony. So, Philip now knows that Gabi helped Tony target them and wrecked Titan and nearly destroyed Victor’s legacy. So, Philip was understandably stunned and angry.

Philip Dumps Gabi And Kicks Her Out on DOOL

And it’s kind of sad because he’s so devoted to Gabi and he’s been really hard at work trying to help her get her share of the fortune as Stefan DiMera’s grieving widow. And Philip was shocked. He was devastated. But he still went to meet Gabi as they agreed over in town square.

So, Philip planned to deliver great news to her. And when she came over, he dodged it when Gabi tried to smooch him. And then Philip told Gabi, “The experts verified Vivian’s handwriting is what they saw in Stefan’s signature on the divorce documents.” So, Gabi’s excited. But then Philip dropped the big hammer. He told Gabi she is a DiMera through and through because he knows what she did to him. Philip said that if Gabi had told him herself, he probably would have forgiven her.

But she sat on the secret of betraying Philip. Now to her credit, we all know Gabi has wanted to tell Philip the truth for quite a while. If you remember on their Valentine’s Day trip to Miami, Gabi really did try and tell Philip. But then she backed out and she stayed silent.

Gabi’s Dumping is Way Worse than expected Days of our Lives

Now, we knew from the promo that Gabi was going to get dumped. But boy was it even more brutal than I expected. Philip wants nothing more to do with Gabi, and Philip demanded that Gabi pack her crap and move out of the Kiriakis mansion immediately. So, as of the end of this week, Philip has dumped Gabi. So, she’s lost her boyfriend and the place she was living.

She can always go home. But still, there is more to come. Gabi has a lot more to lose. Remember, right before Philip confronted Gabi, she was talking to Julie Williams about tutoring Liam on Zoom because if Julie will do that, then Liam can leave Salem. So, this was part of the deal that Gabi cut with Liam. We saw Gabi giving Liam a pile of cash and she said she would sort his parole stuff, too. You know, Gabi gave Liam that $150,000 check if he would leave Arianna alone and just take his son and leave Salem, and that money is a life-changing amount for broke Liam.

Gabi May Lose Arianna Too on Days

But, you know, it’s all about to blow up in Gabi’s face as well. I think she’s about to lose everything that is really important to her because once Arianna finds out that Gabi bribed Liam to dump her and leave town, I’m pretty sure that Ari is going to be so ticked off. I think she’s going to blow up at her mom and she may even cut Gabi out of her life. She may move out of the Hernandez house or tell Gabi that she needs to go. In Salem, as we know, secrets and bribes have a way of coming to light.

So, I do understand why Gabi doesn’t want Ari near Liam. I mean, he seems nice enough. But he has a bad track record of dodgy deeds, criminal deeds. So, while Gabi trying to protect Arianna makes sense, you know, her daughter isn’t going to tolerate this kind of sneaky move.

I also expect that Philip tells Gabi that Titan isn’t going to handle her international Gabi Chic operations because he wants to cut all ties with her. Honestly, I’m guessing that Philip’s going to tell Xander very soon that Gabi was the DiMera corporate spy and Xander may come after her, too. He’ll be livid. And honestly, Gabi only has herself to blame for all the hate coming her way.

At Least Gabi Will Be Rolling in the Dough on Days of our Lives

But if she winds up losing Ari as well as Philip, you know, since both of them may cut her out of their lives, at least Gabi has some big bucks coming as a consolation prize and maybe a fancy new job if she wants it. Tony was annoyed that Anna blabbed to Philip about Gabi spying because now Tony says that Gabi will assume he told Philip what she did. However, that’s not going to happen.

So, I’m guessing that Tony’s going to make excuses to Gabi and says he did intend to keep her secret, which he said he would do. And of course, Anna’s hoping that with Philip being done with Gabi and dumping her that she won’t have a conflict of interest and maybe she will take Tony’s CEO job offer. But I don’t know if Gabi will because she may hope that Philip will forgive her and take her back on Days of our Lives.

If Gabi takes the DiMera CEO job, obviously Philip would be super salty. But even if Gabi turns down the job, she will have stacks of DiMera cash to console herself because Philip got the proof that Vivian forged those divorce docs. But the question is, what good is money if Gabi has no love in her life and she loses the man she loves and she loses the daughter she loves?

Days of our Lives: Is Stefan Really Dead

And one silver lining, there is the question of whether Stefan is really dead or not because Vivian filed his death certificate a month after he supposedly died of heart failure. And yes, there were remains in his grave that were a DNA match. But since he has a twin brother, that’s actually not definitive proof that Stefan is truly dead.

So, what we have is Gabi losing Philip this week, and it could be very soon after that that Gabi also loses Arianna because I’m sure Liam will spill the beans if Ari grills him. I’m also betting that she tells Liam to go ahead and keep Gabi’s money and Ari will just deal with her mom. Obviously, Gabi can spare the $150,000. But I don’t think she will like that Liam breaks the deal. But I’m betting that Ari wants Liam and is going to make Gabi leave him alone about the cash.

HBO’s Band of Brothers remains one of television’s most powerful war dramas, but one episode has only become harder to watch with time. Coming off Saving Private Ryan, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg reunited for a deeper, more intentional look at the men who fought across the Western Front during World War II. But out of all 10 episodes, the toughest to stomach isn’t an hour built around high-stakes battle sequences or personal turmoil. It’s the penultimate chapter, “Why We Fight,” a harrowing episode that confronts the ugliness of war, the horrors of the Holocaust, and the danger of looking away.

‘Band of Brothers’ “Why We Fight” Confronts a Horrible Truth

While every episode of Band of Brothers has its tough moments, the ninth episode arguably takes the cake as the most sobering chapter in the entire drama. Much of the episode follows the burnt-out Captain Lewis Nixon (Ron Livingston) as he wanders around occupied Nazi Germany looking for his favorite whiskey and reeling from the news that his wife is divorcing him. As the men struggle with the silence, they force themselves to keep up morale with a powerful rendition of “Blood on the Risers,” but that all changes when “Why We Fight” takes a dark turn over halfway through as the Allied soldiers discover the darkest truth of the war. When an Easy Company patrol stumbles upon the Kaufering concentration camp, the response is a melancholy mixture of shock, anger, and a brokenheartedness that had been building up since many of these men watched their buddies die in battle. It’s a brutal, senseless, and historically accurate display that reveals the true nature of the Nazis’ attempts to rule the world, showcasing the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust.

Watching Easy Company tackle the war machine that was the Third Reich in the eight episodes leading up to this offered a bloody, violent, and seemingly senseless picture of 20th-century warfare that is quite difficult to watch on its own. And throughout the ninth chapter, many of the men have grown disillusioned with the war itself, with those who had been on the Western Front for years silencing the younger newcomers who are itching to see some action. In many respects, men like Nixon are wondering what this was all for, and we see this clearly when Private David Webster (Eion Bailey) yells at the surrendered (yet still proud) German forces as they march on by. “Dragging our asses halfway around the world, interrupting our lives. For what?!” he laments. The men of Easy Company are given more downtime to think than they had been offered throughout the entire war, and the weight of what they’ve done, what they’ve seen, begins to crush them in the process. But before they can fully despair, Webster’s question of why they had to fight is answered — and no one would be the same.

Upon arriving at the Kaufering concentration camp, Easy Company is met by walking human shells. Men who have been beaten, abused, tortured, and starved and are in dire need of medical attention have been left behind the locked gates of Kaufering IV, one of the many camps in the larger complex. Writer John Orloff and director David Frankel did their homework here, having reportedly recreated the vile conditions of the camp through historical photos and personal testimony of the men who liberated Nazi Germany in the first place. It’s in the last 20 minutes of the episode that Band of Brothers reminds the audience why everything Easy Company and the Allies did had to take place, shedding a powerful light on not just the actions of the Nazis themselves, but on the German people who deliberately chose to ignore what was going on just outside their own town. The citizens, who continually profess not to be Nazis, are forced to aid in the cleaning up of the camp, burying the bodies of the men they pretended didn’t exist. The episode ends with a title card that notes that, between 1942 and 1945, the Nazis killed over 6 million Jews and 5 million ethnic minorities — and that’s not including those put in the camps because they dissented by aiding those in dire need.

‘Band of Brothers’ Episode 9 Is Difficult To Get Through

Image via HBO

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With an incredible eye for detail and historical accuracy that only adds to the disturbing nature of Easy Company’s discovery, “Why We Fight” is an aptly titled hour that speaks to the very soul of the viewer. It’s certainly an episode that’s difficult to forget and even harder to make it through once the patrol makes it to the Kaufering camp. Later, Major Dick Winters (Damian Lewis) reveals that other Allied forces discovered other camps throughout Nazi Germany, many of which were far worse than what Easy Company (and the audience) experience here, complete with execution chambers and ovens meant to burn the bodies. “You’ve never seen anything like this, it’s complete shock that just stumps every feeling of emotion that you have,” the real-life Winters once explained in an interview decades later. “The horror of it, you could never imagine something like this before.”

But it’s not just the visuals of “Why We Fight” that make it such a profound and pivotal chapter in not just Band of Brothers, but the war as a whole. It’s the way that the men respond to what they’ve encountered that truly breaks our hearts. Private Roy Cobb (Craig Heaney) is abruptly embraced by an elderly prisoner who just weeps in the soldier’s arms, and Winters is clearly at a loss for words the moment he walks in. But it’s Private Joseph Liebgott (Ross McCall) who is especially of note here, as he is called in to translate the moment Easy Company breaks into the death camp. McCall proves himself an expert at his craft here, forcing Liebgott to bury his own feelings about what he is hearing from the survivors in order to relay the truth to his superiors. As he does so, we can feel the aching in his voice as he stumbles through the explanation, hardly able to come to terms with what he’s seeing, let alone hearing.

In an interview with HBO Max’s official Band of Brothers podcast, McCall reveals that there was actually more footage cut out of the final episode. “In fact, there was a longer cut of this episode with about five more minutes in it, and it was all concentration camp stuff where they saw even more horrible things,” the actor recalled. “This was one of the very few times when [HBO] said, ‘You know, we love this episode, but it’s just one step too heavy.’”

The HBO Miniseries ‘Band of Brothers’ Remains at the Top of World War II Storytelling

There are few television productions that are as masterful as Band of Brothers. Although “Why We Fight” meditates on the very worst of humanity in the Nazi war machine and the German people who refused to stand against it, the miniseries also offers a challenging (if not at times conflicted) picture of the very best. “The Greatest Generation” overcame some of the most egregious horrors of their day, in all of modern history, and fought back against the forces that would have enslaved the whole world. Mixing in actual interviews with the very Easy Company men who served during World War II with dramatic interpretations of their exploits across war-torn Europe, Band of Brothers is a triumph of filmmaking that goes the extra mile far beyond what Saving Private Ryan could ever do — and that’s even including the D-Day sequence. It’s no wonder that Spielberg and Hanks were not finished with this period in not just American, but world history.

Armed with a powerful cast that shines masterfully in each episode, Band of Brothers is the war drama to end all war dramas. It’s a historical epic worth regularly revisiting so that we are reminded of what these brave men fought and died for. “Why We Fight” is a harrowing reminder that pure evil does exist in our world, and that standing against it may cost us everything. But it is far more honorable (and right) than standing idly by, remaining purposefully ignorant of the truth. It’s been two decades since Band of Brothers — still one of the greatest miniseries ever made — hit HBO viewers like a truck on the front lines of battle, and it still leaves a powerful dent.

Band of Brothers is available for streaming on HBO Max.

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Release Date

2001 – 2001

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Network

HBO

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Directors

David Frankel, David Nutter, Mikael Salomon, Phil Alden Robinson, Richard Loncraine, Tom Hanks

Writers

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Bruce C. McKenna, Graham Yost, John Orloff

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• 
• 

  Donnie Wahlberg

  C. Carwood Lipton

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Researchers have found a way to build a system for real-life tractor beams to haul objects in space.

By Douglas Helm
| Published 16 seconds ago

Rebel ships better watch out because, apparently, we’re closer to making tractor beams a reality than ever. Once confined to science fiction, tractor beams are edging closer to reality, though not in the way most people imagine from Star Wars or Star Trek.

A team led by University of Colorado Boulder aerospace engineer Hanspeter Schaub has spent years developing what’s known as an electrostatic tractor beam, a system designed to move space debris without physically touching it. Recent testing and modeling suggest the concept has advanced far enough that researchers now see it as a serious candidate for future orbital cleanup missions.

Earth Orbit Needs A Cleanup Team

The technology is aimed at solving a growing problem in low Earth orbit. Thousands of dead satellites, spent rocket stages, and shattered fragments already circle the planet at speeds exceeding 17,000 miles per hour. Every collision creates even more debris, increasing the risk of a runaway chain reaction known as Kessler Syndrome. First proposed by NASA scientist Donald Kessler in 1978, the theory predicts that Earth’s orbit could eventually become so crowded with high-speed junk that launching new satellites or crewed spacecraft would become dangerously difficult.

Unlike science fiction tractor beams that instantly yank ships through space, Schaub’s concept relies on electrostatic attraction. A servicing spacecraft approaches a derelict satellite or chunk of debris and fires a beam of electrons at it, giving the target a negative electrical charge. The servicing craft maintains a positive charge, creating an attractive force between the two objects. The result is a slow but continuous pull that can nudge debris into a safer orbit or guide it toward atmospheric reentry.

One of the biggest advantages of the system is that it never needs to physically dock with unstable debris. Traditional capture methods using robotic arms, nets, or harpoons become extremely risky when dealing with objects tumbling uncontrollably through space. Electrostatic tractor beams could potentially maneuver those objects from a distance, reducing the chance of catastrophic collisions during cleanup operations.

Refining The Tractor Tech

Schaub’s team has continued refining the technology inside the Electrostatic Charging Laboratory for Interactions between Plasma and Spacecraft, a specialized vacuum chamber that simulates the plasma conditions of orbit. Researchers use metal targets to imitate dead satellites and debris while studying how charged particles interact in microgravity-like conditions.

One major breakthrough involved controlling rotation. Space debris often spins chaotically, making it difficult to stabilize. The team discovered that pulsing electron beams rhythmically can gradually slow that motion, effectively acting like an invisible braking system before towing begins. That capability could prove just as important as the tractor beam itself.

The project still faces major engineering hurdles. Earth’s upper atmosphere contains constantly shifting plasma environments that can interfere with electrostatic forces. Ion wakes trailing behind spacecraft may also distort the beam’s effectiveness depending on altitude and solar activity. Power generation is another issue, since maintaining large electrical charges in orbit requires substantial onboard energy.

These Tractor Beams Are Not Just A Theory

Even so, the idea has moved well beyond theory. Schaub’s more recent estimates suggest that a full-scale electrostatic debris-removal mission could move multi-ton objects over hundreds of miles over the course of several months. The technology is also attracting renewed interest because the orbital debris crisis has worsened dramatically in recent years, driven by megaconstellations like SpaceX’s Starlink network and repeated anti-satellite weapon tests conducted by governments worldwide.

Several other companies and agencies are pursuing competing debris-removal systems, including magnetic docking craft, drag sails, robotic grapplers, and laser-based nudging systems. But electrostatic tractor beams remain one of the few concepts capable of moving non-cooperative debris without direct contact.

If funding and testing continue at the current pace, Schaub believes the first operational electrostatic tractor spacecraft could launch sometime in the 2030s. That still sounds like science fiction. But so did reusable rockets twenty years ago.

It’s Huda Mustafa’s world and we’re just living in it! The ‘Love Island USA’ star just dropped her debut single, ‘Bad Girls,’ along with the music video, and the record is already taking over timelines. The song has sparked a flood of reactions online, leaving some fans divided while others say they have already added it to their playlist.

RELATED: Issa Wrap! Social Media Reacts As Huda Mustafa Confirm Their Breakup In Joint Statement

Huda Mustafa Shakes Up Timelines With First Single ‘Bad Girls’

Fans got a glimpse of what it’s like being at Huda Headquarters in her new music video for the single, ‘Bad Girls.’ The reality star released her first song, along with visuals set in an office. It shows baddies at work serving looks and showing up as their best selves. Huda also stuns and stunts as the company’s boss. The record has fans sharing their thoughts online, and they’re not holding back when it comes to giving her their honest opinions.

The Roomies Can’t Decide If Huda’s Single Is A Bop Or Not

Over in The Shade Room Teens comment section, folks are divided — some are saying Huda did her BIG one, while others are saying it’s not bad but not amazing either. Peep some of the reactions below.

Instagram user @therealkilahslay wrote, “The girls that get it get it 💅🏽” 

Instagram user @alexia.myers wrote, “We could do without.” 

While Instagram user @thatgirlsaam__ wrote, “Definitely a good H&M song.” 

Then Instagram user @noelletorious wrote, “Actually not bad but sounds like every other pop song.” 

Another Instagram user @officialjaycee wrote, “Y’all keep saying this elevator music but this type of music charts the highest n most ! Keep going Hudaaa.” 

Instagram user @nanyy.97 wrote, “her vocals are so smooth omg 😍” 

Then another Instagram user @tkppfinstaaa._ wrote, “But if it was Ariana grande y’all would be all over it I mean when I heard the song I thought it was fire and it made me think of Ariana Grande 🙌” 

Instagram user @sundus_abde wrote, “She ate this 🔥❤️” 

While another Instagram user @thatsjust_bluee wrote, “I just can’t take it serious nor will!” 

Finally, Instagram user @alwaysssteph_ wrote, “It’s not bad. It’s not AMAZING either.” 

X Users Weigh In On Huda’s Debut Track

Reactions also popped OFF on X (formerly Twitter). Some fans were surprised at how good the track sounds, while others said they will definitely play it while getting ready.

Not Huda actually taking music seriously waitttt ?!!! pic.twitter.com/zzQZI8RgTn

— ★ KILL Λ ★ (@IsisYaFather) May 21, 2026

Ngl she ate!! Will play it when I’m getting ready ofc https://t.co/Dcs1I07qAG https://t.co/n4yIE8rnuV

— 𝐿𝒶𝒹𝓎 𝒩 (@n_yourladyn99) May 22, 2026

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might get cancelled for saying this but this sounds like it’s been copied from somewhere? it all sounds so familiar. i just can’t pinpoint exactly where i’ve heard it? oh wait… it sounds like song of the year! pic.twitter.com/iZDnG6tygK

— 🪄 (@arianastatto0) May 22, 2026

Thank God I never doubted my girl Huda Mustafa ever!!! Literally so proud, it’s only up from here Amen 🙏🏽 https://t.co/Lt7meD05DL

— minion🐻 (@mmasichi0) May 22, 2026

The shock when I learned shawty can ACTUALLY sang, sang. I’ve never been so flabbergasted in my life.

— Astro Wiz Kid ✨️ (@VeeTheVisionary) May 22, 2026

I was hoping it would be something with more quality lyrics but I’m guessing she’s trying to gain radio success first

— Royal🐉❤️‍🔥 (@muah_royalty) May 22, 2026

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Waitttt??
Yes Huda!!!
She’s out here living her main character arc while y’all watch from the sidelines..
Bad Girls summer incoming pic.twitter.com/pJiULsSpvs

— M. Reza Rahmani (@Rahmani_Mreza) May 22, 2026

Hold up Huda!!! She might be on to something!! pic.twitter.com/7CFUfX2etM

— 🌹Al’Bei🌹 (@_albei) May 22, 2026

RELATED: Huda Mustafa And Louis Russell Speak Out After His Ex-Gf Is Granted Restraining Order Against Reality Star (PHOTOS)

By Robert Scucci
| Updated 15 seconds ago

A few years ago, I stumbled upon a now-banned Instagram feed that focused on one thing: cleaning up crime scenes. Before you start judging me, just know that this was a natural escalation, and the same thing could happen to you if you’re not careful. I’m really into those ASMR videos of people powerwashing houses and driveways. This obsession led me to lawn care videos because I rent and don’t have a lawn, and I dream of one day coming up with a sophisticated mowing pattern of my own. It was a wholesome, vicarious arrangement. One thing eventually led to another, and the next thing you know, I’m wondering if this crime scene guy’s proprietary blend of cleaning agents would pass a luminol test after he scraped all sorts of miscellaneous chunks and fluids off the carpeting in question.

After all is said and done, it’s probably a good thing that account got shut down because if I dug myself any deeper, who knows how much further things could have escalated? Fortunately, I stumbled upon a movie about this exact thing, 2007’s Cleaner, starring Samuel L. Jackson just before he started his tenure as Nick Fury in the MCU. It has a 17 percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Cleaner is not 17 percent bad (Steven Seagal’s Attack Force on the other hand…). Across more than 10,000 ratings on the Popcornmeter, the film has a 40 percent approval rating, and I’m honestly wondering what’s wrong with everybody because this movie, to me, is in the 65 to 70 percent range. It’s a tight thriller about a crime scene cleaner whose most recent job sends him on an investigation that could threaten everything he cares about, and there are enough twists to keep things interesting.

The only real fault I can place on the movie is that it plays like a film that held back because it wanted to appeal to a broader audience. My thought is that since it has an R rating anyway, they should have gone full-on gritty here, but they didn’t.

ASMR For Sick Freaks

Like I said at the top, I fell in love with Cleaner quickly because I like watching people clean things. I also think Samuel L. Jackson can do no wrong. His character, Tom Cutler, is a retired police officer who runs a crime scene cleaning business called Steri-Clean. His job is simple: he shows up at a house when his law enforcement cohorts contact him, gets in his hazmat suit, mixes up his chemicals, and gets to work. The man is exceptionally good at what he does. He can turn your red couch back to white in no time at all, and you can be serving hors d’oeuvres off the same coffee table a dead, bloated body was draped over just hours before, and nobody would be the wiser. He’s that good.

Tom is also a widowed father raising his daughter Rose (Keke Palmer) all by himself. Their relationship is solid, but it gets strained due to the nature of his work and the long hours he has to pull to support her.

Tom becomes suspicious of one of his clients after cleaning Ann Norcut’s (Eva Mendes) house while she was out of town. The job was billed as a homicide cleanup. He enters using the key under the terracotta pot, does his thing, locks up, and goes home. The following day, he realizes he never put the key back, returns to the residence, and is questioned by Ann, who had no idea Steri-Clean did a job at her house. She also points out that her husband, John, is missing. Confiding in his former partner and the godfather of his daughter, Eddie (Ed Harris), Tom learns that John was days away from testifying against the former police commissioner and was probably taken out to prevent him from doing so.

Now, everywhere Tom goes, Eddie seems to be snooping around, as well as Detective Jim Vargas (Luis Guzmán), who’s so straight-faced and serious that he’s either hiding some horrible secret or he’s just as confused about this whole ordeal as Tom is. Tom also knows that he has to tread lightly because of his questionable past involving the man who killed his wife years earlier during a home invasion, and the fate he suffered behind bars while Tom turned a blind eye. Nobody is innocent in the traditional sense in Cleaner, but there’s a clear moral compass to follow once you get to know everybody.

Should Have Gone Harder

My only real beef with Cleaner is that it could have landed so much better as a gritty neo-noir thriller. All the beats and character archetypes are there, but everything feels too surface-level to fully let its hooks sink in. Samuel L. Jackson does an excellent job showcasing his skill set as a tradesman working in a hyperspecific niche industry, and his dynamic with Rose is always believable. He’s a man torn apart by his past traumas, but he shows up for his kid no matter what, even if the day has destroyed any sense of normalcy for him.

Ed Harris and Luis Guzmán do a ton of heavy lifting as morally dubious characters who are either just hard men with resting jerk faces on the right side of the law, or two guys hiding something from Tom as they manipulate their way through the premise. If there’s one thing this movie has going for it, it doesn’t lay all of its cards on the table, and an admirable amount of restraint is used, allowing the mystery to play out in a way that’s ultimately satisfying.

I just wish this one went a little harder, a la True Detective Season 1, instead of playing out like your typical bargain-basement, primed-for-mass-appeal early aughts thriller like The Glass House (2001) or Domestic Disturbance (2001). Fortunately, despite boasting similar production qualities to both of those films, the story itself is worth checking out.

If you’re like me and enjoy watching messes get cleaned up as a form of wish fulfillment (I have kids, sue me), you can stream Cleaner, which is currently streaming on Netflix.

Passenger, the latest fright flick from Norwegian horror maestro André Øvredal, hits theaters this upcoming long weekend. And while he has a full slate of upcoming projects, there’s one horror movie he doesn’t think he’ll ever get to make — even though the script was brilliant. He recently discussed the never-realized project with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff.

Øvredal is next slated to direct Bendy and the Ink Machine, an adaptation of the popular survival horror game of the same name. It’s “a very cool video game that I’m very excited about,” he told Collider. However, when it comes to dream projects, there’s one that Øvredal still thinks about. It’s a script he wrote based on an iconic horror classic: “Years ago, I wrote a script called The Overlook Hotel, and that was brilliant.” He clarifies that it was a prequel to one of Stephen King‘s most famous creations, but he doesn’t think it’ll ever make it to the screen:

“It’s a prequel to The Shining. That would be amazing. But that’s not really a movie that’s probably ever going to go.”

King’s 1978 novel The Shining centered around struggling novelist Jack Torrance and his struggle against madness and evil as he works as the isolated Overlook Hotel’s winter caretaker; the hotel’s horrific past is expanded in flashbacks as its ghosts drive Torrance to turn against everything he once held dear. Director Stanley Kubrick adapted the novel into a 1980 film with Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall; although the movie is now considered a horror classic, King himself disliked the deviations it made from the novel. King later spearheaded a 1997 miniseries adaptation that hewed more closely to the book, and wrote a sequel, Doctor Sleep, that was later adapted for film by Mike Flanagan.

What Is ‘Passenger’ About?

Passenger stars Jacob Scipio (Pieces of Her) and Lou Llobell (Foundation) as Tyler and Maddie, a young couple who are hitting the road for a van life adventure. A few weeks into their trip, however, they witness a horrific car accident that leaves a driver dead. And while that sight haunts them, so does the Passenger, a gruesome specter that follows them relentlessly. The film also stars Oscar-winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter) and was penned by Zachary Donohue (The Unknowable) and T.W. Burgess. It will be released on May 22.

Øvredal broke out with the Norwegian horror mockumentary Trollhunter in 2010. He has subsequently helmed the horror films The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and The Last Voyage of the Demeter.

Passenger will be released in theaters on May 22. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.

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Release Date

May 22, 2026

Runtime

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94 minutes

Director

André Øvredal

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Cast

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  Joseph Lopez

  The Passenger

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The Boy Meets World cast apparently didn’t always get along behind-the-scenes of the beloved sitcom.

“They had some problems working together as … they grew up,” William Daniels’ wife, Bonnie Bartlett told Page Six in an interview published on Friday, May 22, adding that it is “very unusual” for child stars to “continue in the business” after acting onscreen at a young age.

“They have grown up together. They’ve been very smart,” Bartlett, 96, stated. “They’ve done well — all of them. That’s very unusual in a cast with children. They’ve done a good job of that. They’re good people. They’re all good people.”

Boy Meets World aired from 1993 to 2000, following preteen Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and his adventures throughout middle school and beyond. The show also starred Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong, Will Friedle and Daniels, 99.

Related: Inside William Daniels’ 30-Year Bond With His ‘Boy Meets World’ Costars

William Daniels wasn’t just an onscreen mentor to the young cast of Boy Meets World in the 1990s as Mr. George Feeny — he became a real-life confidant throughout 30 years of friendship. The legendary actor already had a 50-year career in Hollywood — including playing Dustin Hoffman’s father in 1967’s The Graduate and voicing […]

Daniels notably portrayed Cory’s neighbor and teacher, Mr. Feeny, who followed the friend group through high school and college. Feeny ultimately married Dean Lila Bolander (played by his real-life wife Bartlett) in the final season.

According to Bartlett, Daniels was a “positive influence” to the young actors.

“He never told them what to do, but they learned a lot just from watching him … how to behave, what is serious,” Bartlett told Page Six. “You know, with kids, it’s all a joke, it’s all funny. I think [Bill] introduced them to the seriousness of responsibility.”

In the years since BMW ended, Daniels remained close to his former costars even though Savage, 45, seemingly distanced himself from the rest of the TV family.

“He disappeared — I wish I knew why, to this day,” Friedle, 49, claimed to Variety in 2023 of Savage, who played his TV brother. “We didn’t have a fight. There’s no falling out. There was no animosity. He just woke up one day, and decided ‘I don’t want this person in my life anymore.’”

According to Friedle, he tried to initiate contact with Savage for months before giving up.

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“I’ve known him since he was 11 years old, and we have a shared history. And we were doing these conventions together, and we were getting to know each other as adults, and then he just kind of went, ‘I’m done with you,’” Friedle alleged. “I tried and tried and tried for months, until finally my wife was like, ‘Why are you doing this to yourself? He obviously doesn’t want you in his life.’”

Friedle now hosts a “Pod Meets World” recap podcast with former costars Fishel, 45, and Strong, 46. Friedle and Strong also supported Fishel during her stint on Dancing With the Stars last year, in which Daniels even made a cameo.

Savage, for his part, has not publicly discussed his rumored BMW estrangement.