By Robert Scucci
| Published 1 hour ago

2016’s Nocturnal Animals does the unthinkable by boasting a story-within-a-story framework without ever coming off as patronizing or confusing. Adapted from the 1993 Austin Wright novel Tony and Susan, it respects the source material by bringing its essence to life through a visual medium and has zero fat in its storytelling. What impressed me most was how the film actually plays like a novel. Scenes jump from the main narrative to the in-universe fiction seamlessly, as if you’re picking up a great book, reading a flashback sequence, and then being thrust back into the present the second you turn the page and start a new chapter, complete with the context needed to keep the story moving.

A dark romantic thriller with a gritty neo-noir bent, Nocturnal Animals sees Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) and Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal) come to terms with their lives as fiction becomes reality, the past bleeds into the present, and regret takes on a life of its own through art and the lingering question of what could have been if things had turned out differently.

The Breakup And The Book

We first learn about Susan Morrow’s present-day life in Nocturnal Animals, and it’s an unhappy one despite her success. Susan owns an art gallery, and her latest installation is a resounding success and the talk of the town. At home, however, her life leaves much to be desired. Her husband Hutton Morrow (Armie Hammer) constantly travels for work, cheats on her, and remains emotionally absent from their relationship.

When Susan receives a package from her ex-husband Edward, whom she hasn’t spoken to in 20 years, her curiosity is piqued. Inside is a manuscript for the novel he’s trying to publish, Nocturnal Animals. Not only does the title reference the nickname he gave her when they were married, but the book itself is dedicated to her. Feeling unfulfilled in both her career and her current marriage, she cracks the book open to see what he has to say and is immediately sucked in.

The Story Within The Story

In Nocturnal Animals, the fictional novel depicted in Nocturnal Animals, we’re introduced to Tony Hastings (also portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal), who is traveling along a remote West Texas road with his wife Laura (Isla Fisher) and daughter India (Ellie Bamber). They are accosted by three thugs, Ray Marcus (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Lou (Karl Glusman), and Turk (Robert Aramayo), who kidnap Laura and India after terrorizing the family on the dark highway.

Tony, separated from his wife and daughter during the encounter, has no idea what has happened to them after he is dragged away and left stranded in the middle of the night. He eventually learns the horrifying truth that Laura and India have been brutally assaulted and murdered.

Grieving the loss of his wife and daughter, Tony seeks help from Detective Bobby Andes (Michael Shannon), who reveals he has terminal lung cancer and will soon be forced into retirement. When pressed by Detective Andes, who’s got an axe to grind and nothing to lose, Tony becomes convinced that pursuing revenge by any means necessary is the only path forward because doing things by the book will never bring him the justice his family deserves. Dead set on identifying the men who destroyed his family and killing them himself, Tony’s grief slowly transforms into rage, and the hunt begins.

As Susan reads through Nocturnal Animals, memories of her tumultuous relationship with Edward resurface. Here we see a much younger, well put together Jake Gyllenhaal who is wide-eyed and idealistic because they still have their entire lives ahead of them. While we don’t fully grasp the symbolism embedded in the novel until the film’s third-act reveal, it becomes increasingly clear why their relationship fell apart and why Edward is suddenly so eager to reconnect with Susan after decades of silence.

Not A Baby-Bird Endeavor

With so many layers in its narrative structure, Nocturnal Animals is far from a passive watch. It’s obvious that the grief depicted in the novel within the film serves as a metaphor for Edward’s past relationship with Susan, among other things, but we aren’t given all the details right away, nor should we be. If you watch the film a second time, you’ll notice a breadcrumb trail of clues that probably slipped past you during your first viewing.

Despite its many layers, watching Nocturnal Animals is a fluid and visceral experience. Since we are seeing events through Edward’s eyes as he wrote them in his novel, which is dark, violent, and sexually graphic at times, none of the more heightened sequences feel out of place. The fictional narrative plays like pulpy crime fiction designed to provoke this exact reaction through its brooding tension and grimy atmosphere.

At some level, any seasoned thriller fan will recognize where this story is headed, but the road getting there will haunt you long after the credits roll. To experience the story within the story for yourself, you can stream Nocturnal Animals on Paramount+ as of this writing.

By Jennifer Asencio
| Published 29 seconds ago

The 2026 Academy Awards are in the books, and, despite a plethora of nominees, the race came down to two movies: Sinners and One Battle After Another.

Six movies were nominated for Best Picture in addition to those, for a total of eight: Bugonia, Train Dreams, Sentimental Value, Marty Supreme, F1, Frankenstein, Secret Agent, and Hamnet. A few sleepers that earned nominations in other categories included Weapons and Song Sung Blue, but for the most part, the nominations in almost every major category included Sinners, One Battle After Another, Frankenstein, and Sentimental Value. Sinners alone had 16 Oscar nominations, the most in the history of the Academy Awards to date.

Sinners Secured Four Oscars

I have to be honest: I haven’t felt the compulsion to watch the Oscars in years. But with such a compelling slate of contestants this time, as well as the potential to make history, I had to check it out. The show wasn’t actually too bad. Most of the jokes were tasteful and despite Conan O’Brien’s warning that the show would “get political,” it very rarely did.

But Sinners only took away four Oscars: Best Original Screenplay for Ryan Coogler, Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan, Best Original Score, and Best Cinematography. In one respect, Sinners did make history, as cinematographer Autumn Durald Arckapaw became the first woman to win in that category. Sinners was a movie about music, so it was great that Ludwig Goransson took that Oscar.

The surprise of the night (at least for me) was the Best Original Song category, which I thought for sure would go to “I Lied to You” from Sinners, but instead went to “Golden” by the K-Pop Demon Hunters, whose movie of the same name won Best Animated Feature. The singers from popular Korean cartoon entertained the audience with an extravaganza show during the ceremony, as did Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq, performing the Sinners song.

One Battle After Another Cleans Up

Although One Batlle After Another bested Sinners, it was only by two awards. Paul Thomas Anderson won Best Director, and the movie won Best Picture, Best Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor for Sean Penn, and a new category for Best Casting. Leonardo DiCaprio was once again passed over for Best Actor, making his record only one win (2015’s The Revenant) for eight nominations.

Aside from the surprise of K-Pop Demon Hunters, the biggest winner of the night wasn’t a movie, but a genre. The horror genre took home eight Oscars between three movies: Sinners, Frankenstein, and Weapons. Genre movies like fantasy, science fiction, and horror don’t usually perform well at the Oscars except in the special effects category; The Return of the King was a notable exception but not the norm.

Overall, this year there were a lot of notable films and not enough awards for all of them. Besides, the Oscars play by Highlander rules most of the time: there can be only one. But even that rule got broken when there was a tie for Best Live Action Short Film (The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva). So no matter who won, it was truly a night of ups and downs, where two very worthy movies fought each other for the top prize, and came out nearly even.

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 17 seconds ago

One of the significant joys of consuming movie after movie is watching directors discover how to put a new twist on an old formula, allowing them to create something unlike anything we have seen before. A prime example of this is Zombieland (2009), a movie whose titular monsters had long since seemed played out on the big screen. However, director Ruben Fleischer made these venerable monsters serious again by placing them in the last place you’d expect: a comedy.

While horror comedies are often hit or miss, Zombieland sticks the zombie landing thanks to its smart writing and killer cast of stars. Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, and Emma Stone all team up to survive the apocalypse, and they are joined by Bill Murray, someone with quite a bit of experience putting the dead in their place. If you’re ready for the best gags and the most over-the-top kills, you don’t have to wait for a real-life apocalypse: all you have to do is stream Zombieland on Netflix today.

It’s The End Of The World As We Know It

The premise of Zombieland is that all of America has been overrun by zombies, forcing the uninfected humans to find their own ways to survive. One such human is Columbus (survivors generally go by their cities of origin), a young man who has developed an extensive list of rules for surviving the undead apocalypse. But when his plan to reunite with his parents goes entirely off the rails, it’s clear that he and his newfound friends will need more than a few commonsense rules to avoid becoming the walking dead. 

The relatively small cast of Zombieland still sports some big names, including Jesse Eisenberg (best known for The Social Network) as a young survivor hoping to reunite with his parents. Woody Harrelson (best known for True Detective) plays a redneck survivor whose rough-and-tumble ways might just keep his newfound allies alive. In addition to the rule-loving young man, those allies include characters played by Emma Stone (best known for Easy A) and Abigail Breslin (best known for Little Miss Sunshine), two sisters who may be far more dangerous than they appear.

Girls, Guns, And Gore

Zombieland had a higher budget than most horror films. Fortunately for the studio, moviegoers ran to the theater (cardio, as the film reminds us, is very important), making this horror comedy a breakout hit. Against a budget of $23.6 million, it earned $102.4 million. This made a sequel inevitable, and Zombieland: Double Tap came out in 2016. Unfortunately, it had a higher budget and made less money, putting the franchise’s future in jeopardy. Still, director Ruben Fleischer hasn’t ruled out doing a third film focusing on Madison, the ditzy character (played by Zoey Deutch) who was introduced in the second movie.

When Zombieland came out, professional reviewers were more than a bit excited to see a new take on an otherwise tired genre: the zombie movie. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 89 percent, with critics praising the movie for being both a quippy, quote-worthy comedy and a gloriously gory scarefest. They also gave it the highest praise of all, noting that this film is proof that the right director is still capable of giving us a zombie film that isn’t as dead on arrival as its shambling antagonists.

A Horror Comedy That Hits All The Right Notes

Personally, horror comedy is my favorite film genre, and I love Zombieland for how it manages to get the ratio between the two just right. As a scary movie, it’s full of incredibly memorable frights, and these scares represent the best modern use of zombies outside of Train To Busan. But Zombieland is just as funny as it is frightening, giving us killer one-liners and phrases (like double-tap) that instantly became part of our pop culture lexicon. Fortunately, all of the main cast are talented comedians in their own right, and they help to elevate the dialogue into something truly unforgettable.

Speaking of the cast, it helps that everyone in Zombieland has such awesome chemistry with one another, all while giving standout performances as surprisingly dynamic characters. Harrelson plays a gruff survivalist who secretly has a heart of gold, just as Emma Stone plays a damaged person secretly looking for someone to connect with. That person might just be Jesse Eisenberg’s character, and this Social Network veteran does a perfect job of playing a nebbish beta boy who is destined to embrace his inner warrior during the zombie apocalypse or die trying.

Surviving The Apocalypse With The Girl Next Door

That’s the thing about Zombieland: it’s easy to dismiss this movie as a silly horror movie, mostly suitable (at best) for when you want to turn your brain off and just vibe out with some popcorn. But beneath all the blood and guts, there’s a genuine film that fires on all cylinders. Every character gets a rewarding arc, every setup pays off, and every ultraviolent moment moves the plot forward. That gives us something genuinely rare: a horror movie with some meat on its bones, one that invites you to devour its runtime with the same zeal that its monsters devour every hapless human they can catch.

Is Zombieland the hilarious horror comedy you’ve been waiting for, or would you rather become a mindless zombie than watch through to the credits? The only way to find out is to grab the remote (go ahead and run to the living room, a little cardio will get you ready for the apocalypse) and stream this smash hit for yourself on Netflix. Afterward, one thing’s for sure: you’ll never look at Bill Murray the same after seeing his hilarious cameo!

By Jennifer Asencio
| Published 28 seconds ago

Max Landis’s attempt to return to Hollywood isn’t going too well. The director submitted a script for consideration for a new movie based on Hasbro’s G.I. Joe franchise to co-producer Paramount. It was announced on March 14, 2026, that they were turning it down.

The proposed script would have been about a world where the evil organization CORBA has succeeded in its plans for domination, and the G.I. Joe organization is considered a “conspiracy theory,” or even an underground group of rebels. Max seemed very proud of the subversiveness of his idea, but Hasbro and Paramount rejected it for creative reasons.

Landis’ Exile From Hollywood

Max is the son of John Landis, best known for classics like Animal House, Three Amigos, Coming to America, and Michael Jackson’s cinematic music video, Thriller. With such big shoes to fill, Max’s success has only been moderate in comparison, with writing credits for Chronicle, the Netflix fantasy Bright, and Victor Frankenstein. He also penned 18 episodes of a series based on Douglas Adams’ novel, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.

He has largely been out of the entertainment industry due to allegations of sexual misconduct from 2016. He’s written a few projects but has mostly remained out of the spotlight until news broke that he submitted a pitch for the proposed G.I. Joe project. Among his future projects, according to IMDB, is a proposed rewrite of his father’s werewolf comedy, An American Werewolf in London. Given his treatment for the G.I. Joe movie, it’s concerning to imagine how he’s going to mangle his father’s legacy.

Danny McBride Might Save The Day

Other ideas for a G.I. Joe movie are being considered jointly by Hasbro and Paramount, including a script from Danny McBride of Pineapple Express and The Righteous Gemstones fame. Paramount wants to expand on this franchise, although the studio hasn’t been very good at that lately: Starfleet Academy, their latest Star Trek failure, is probably not airing its second season. This may mean they are extra-cautious about what script they choose for the iconic and patriotic franchise.

The general sentiment among fans is that they’re glad this script never got off the ground. Reducing the Joes to shadowy guerrillas is an idea more like a bad fanfiction than a story about the “real American hero” that was so beloved in the 80s. The general sentiment is that a G.I. Joe movie should be like the cartoon from our childhood.

Since Danny McBride’s name has been mentioned over the other scripts, it seems likely they are taking him seriously. This may be a good thing, as McBride excels at being a big kid and is of the right age that he would have been a genuine fan of the show. Whether his concept wins the pitch or not, whoever manages to capture the spirit of the Hasbro franchise will probably be rewarded at the box office, while attempts to change the franchise too much might reject fans the way Starfleet Academy and The Acolyte did to their fanbases.

Regardless, it’s obvious that Max Landis was not that fan. Stay tuned, because eventually we’ll know whose script Paramount and Hasbro pick, and knowing is half the battle.

Lindsay Hubbard took a jab at ex-fiancé Carl Radke while trying to talk him up to Summer House season 10 newbie Bailey Taylor.

“It wasn’t a date, but it kinda felt like a date,” Carl, 41, told his housemates during the Tuesday, March 17, episode of the Bravo series, revealing that he hung out with Bailey, 30, earlier that week in the city.

He noted that Bailey told him that Lindsay, 39, had some nice and not-so-nice things to say about him before they spent time together.

“You were just like, ‘Go for it,’” Carl claimed Lindsay told Bailey, who didn’t come to the Hamptons that weekend and therefore couldn’t weigh in on what was said between her and Lindsay ahead of time.

Lindsay clarified to both Carl and the group that she told Bailey, “You should go for Carl,” adding with a laugh, “See, I’m nice.”

Carl then claimed that Lindsay told Bailey she actually gave him “two thumbs down” but to still “go for it” if she wanted.

“She paraphrased that,” Lindsay claimed. “I said, ‘He probably won’t have sex with you but he’s a great conversationalist.’”

Lindsay’s confession stunned the table, with castmate Amanda Batula pointing out, “You were so close to being nice.”

Carl didn’t address the topic further with everyone around, but he later told the cameras that Lindsay’s remark was pegged to how their sex life diminished before they broke up.

“Lindsay and I weren’t sleeping together [toward the end] because of how not stable [the] foundation [was that] we were on,” Carl claimed in a confessional.

Related: Summer House’s Carl Hasn’t ‘Kissed Anybody’ Since Lindsay Split

Lindsay Hubbard has a new man in her life, but her ex-fiancé, Carl Radke, is still healing from their broken engagement. “I haven’t kissed anybody since Lindsay,” Carl, 39, confessed during part 2 of the Summer House season 8 reunion on Thursday, June 13. “I haven’t hooked up with anybody since Lindsay.” Carl called his […]

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He then alleged, “But when we first started dating and having sex, she used to say it was the best sex of her life.”

Carl pointed out, “Before that I used to get destroyed for being a f***boy, having too much sex. Now I’m being a little more careful and I get dragged for that? Can’t win.”

When Summer House premiered in January 2017, Lindsay and Carl’s friendship was one of the many dynamics fans loved. After years of friendship, the pair attempted to date during season 4, but they soon decided they were better off as pals.

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Related: Carl Radke Says Ex Lindsay Hubbard Seemed ‘Much Happier’ Amid Pregnancy

Lindsay Hubbard brought the pregnancy glow to Summer House season 9, according to her ex, Carl Radke. Carl, 40, told People in an interview published on Wednesday, February 12, that Lindsay seemed “much happier” while filming the latest season of the Bravo reality show last summer. At the time, Lindsay, 38, was expecting her first […]

Lindsay and Carl gave their romantic relationship a second shot in fall 2021, with Carl exclusively telling Us Weekly in January 2022, “I’ve never felt more myself around someone than her. And for me, that’s powerful.”

Carl eventually proposed to Lindsay in August 2022, which fans saw play out on season 7 of the Bravo show.

One year later, as they were preparing to walk down the aisle, Carl called off the engagement in August 2023.

While Lindsay has claimed she was “blindsided” by their breakup, both she and Carl have remained part of Summer House.

They were even housemates when Lindsay was pregnant with then-boyfriend Turner Kufe’s baby in summer 2024. (Lindsay welcomed her daughter, Gemma, in December of that year.)

Summer House airs on Bravo Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.

Dakota Johnson is working on her fitness and serving looks while doing so. The actress was recently spotted leaving the Tracy Anderson Method Gym in Studio City, and while her toned abs were peeking over a pair of high-waisted black leggings, it was the fresh pair of Nike sneakers on her feet that caught our attention.

Johnson styled the sporty kicks with calf-length crew socks, a white sports bra and a black t-shirt over her shoulders. Such a neutral color palette would normally have rendered her inconspicuous, but the blue-and-white Nike V2K running sneakers added a vibrant pop of color to the gym fit.

If the pair piqued your interest, we have good news and bad news: Unfortunately, the eye-catching hue Johnson is seen sporting is highly coveted; it’s almost completely sold out everywhere we’ve searched. However, you can still get the exact Nike sneaker on Amazon. There are over 20 variations of the style currently available, but be warned that sizes are selling out fast.

Get the Nike V2K running sneakers for $119 at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate as of the publishing date but are subject to change.

The White/White-Platinum Tint colorway is our favorite after Johnson’s bold blue. We love a statement shoe, but a classic black-and-white sneaker will go with everything in your workout wardrobe, not to mention your everyday attire outside the gym, too. However, if you want to follow in Johnson’s shoes (pun fully intended) and opt for something that will stand out, the Sanddrift/Pink Foam and Platinum Violet/Chrome-purple hues are guaranteed conversation starters.

In fact, the conversation surrounding the Nike V2K running sneaker has already started amongst reviewers. One five-star reviewer raved, “[I] love that they’re trendy to wear with more casual or sporty outfits, but also perfect for the gym,” adding that the traction on the bottom “is great” and that they “love the body style.”

Another reviewer felt so passionately, they wrote in all caps, “SO CUTE BUYYYYYY IT.”

Johnson’s Nike running sneakers are selling out fast, so if you’re even entertaining the purchase, we wouldn’t hesitate to add your favorite pair to your cart ASAP.

Get the Nike V2K running sneakers for $119 at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate as of the publishing date but are subject to change.

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

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If you follow Jennifer Lopez on Instagram, you might have noticed her affinity for Nike sneakers. The megastar has been known to complete her workout fit with a chunky style. Her exact pair, sadly, are out of stock, likely because they were part of a limited-edition drop. However, an incredibly similar pair also from the […]