By Chris Sawin
| Published 22 seconds ago

The Gundam franchise is weird, and that’s mostly due to the fact that it seems to distance itself from the very thing that would make it awesome. Trained humans pilot skyscraper-sized giant mobile suits called Gundams, so naturally, what you’d want to see in a new Gundam film is a bunch of Gundam action: flying around, destroying stuff, and possibly doing battle with other mobile suits.

What hinders a lot of these newer Mobile Suit Gundam films is that they are supposed to be about some sort of ongoing war, but you typically don’t see it. Instead, the films are going to be spending more time on the political portion of it, which means a whole lot of lengthy-ass dialogue sequences you couldn’t give two craps about.

2021’s Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathway is currently streaming on Netflix, and it’s decent. It’s still way more verbose than it needs to be, and you generally don’t care that much about any of the characters, but there are at least a handful of action sequences that make it worthwhile. Hathaway opens fantastically to an airplane heist. There’s a sequence of people trying to run and find cover while mobile suits battle nearby, it’s destructively amazing, and the flying sequences are killer. The Gundam pilots can see everything in front of them with nothing blocking their vision. Everything feels open like an IMAX screen, with every explosion or incoming enemy as visible to you as it is to them.

It’s intriguing that Mobile Suit Gundam Hathway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe is made by all the same people as the previous film because it’s somehow even slower and more boring by comparison, and the character arcs are all over the place. The Sorcery of Nymph Circe is directed by Shuko Murase, who directed the entirety of the anime series Witch Hunter Robin and Ergo Proxy, as well as single episodes of Samurai Champloo and Michiko & Hatchin.

Complimenting Contrasts Were Better Done In The Past

The film is written by Yoshiyuki Tomino, who has been writing for the Gundam franchise since its inception in 1970. Before that, Tomino was also a writer for the original Astro Boy in the 1960s. The Sorcery of Nymph Circe is also written by Yasuyuki Muto, who helped write the adult animation series Bible Black, Afro Samurai, Afro Samurai: Resurrection, and Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn.

The involvement of Murase, Tomino, and Muto is notable because, by now, these guys seem to know what makes an interesting Gundam film. In The Sorcery of Nymph Circe, the animation blends traditional and computer animation. Sometimes the CGI is so realistic that you think you’re looking at actual footage. Most of the water in the film looks real, and the title sequence featuring a white curtain appears genuine for a moment. The contrast also seemed to work better in Hathway, with the traditional animated sequences looking incredible and the CGI complementing them. The mobile suit battles were CGI during intense action, but hand-drawn when they were idle.

Embracing The Darkness In All The Wrong Ways

More often than not, though, the CGI sequences are pure trash in The Sorcery of Nymph Circe. Most of the ships look flat, blocky, and unfinished. There are also at least two instances in this film where major sequences take place in almost complete darkness. It’s just voices in the dark in an animated film for up to five minutes at a time, and it’s during crucial times where it seems like they’d want to show something.

Maybe it was meant to be realistic if you were standing there with no light source, trying to decipher people blobs in the dark. Or maybe it’s an instance of censorship where they’re trying to mask whatever blood or violence we may have seen with the lights on. Honestly, we’ll never know, and the dialogue doesn’t help much despite taking up 90 minutes of the 105-minute duration.

A Disjointed Continuation

Chronologically, Hathaway follows Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative and is the second work in the UC Next 0100 Project. Both come after Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn in the Universal Century timeline. Hathaway and The Sorcery of Nymph Circe are two-thirds of a new Gundam film trilogy, which is connected to the 1988 film Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack. Hathaway introduced us to Hathaway Noa. He pretends to be a plant inspector while traveling to Earth to retrieve the new Gundam.

On the plane, he meets Gigi Andalusia, a young 20-something mistress who has the gift of intuition, and Federation Colonel Kenneth Sleg. Kenneth’s defining quality is that he’s a womanizer. Hathway spends the most time with Gigi; he shares a room with her, sees her naked, and saves her life. But she still runs off with Kenneth at the end. The most important thing to happen is that Hathaway gets his Gundam.

Despite the five-year gap between Hathway and The Sorcery of Nymph Circe, not much happens in the film. Hathway is pulled between three women in the film: his actual girlfriend, who he’s been having issues with, a mechanic who likes to wear overalls and nothing else underneath (he compliments her breasts), and Gigi, whom he now suddenly can’t stop thinking about despite the two of them bitching at each other whenever they were on screen together in the last film.

Gigi is still under Kenneth’s protection throughout most of the film, but she goes back to the count’s place briefly. She’s been seeing an old man who’s wheelchair bound and is probably the reason she’s wealthy. She redecorates his house, then leaves him to return to Kenneth, but spends the entire film obsessing over Hathaway. Her intuition proves useful upon her return to Kenneth, but she’s passed around like a hot potato so often that you don’t care.

A Wordy, Self-Absorbed Drama

Meanwhile, Kenneth has become the commander of The Federation. He was seeing a woman closer to his age, but Gigi ruins that, and he’s into it. The anti-Earth Federation group Mafty is what Kenneth has been chasing in these two films. Hathaway was secretly working with them the entire time during the previous film, and now Kenneth is attempting to find Hathaway, his Gundam, and whatever Mafty hideout he can get his hands on.

There is one flying sequence about half an hour into the film, and about ten minutes of the finale are a Gundam/mobile suit battle, but that’s it. The rest of the film is literally just people talking. It’s also weird that The Sorcery of Nymph Circe features two montages: Gigi’s interior decorating montage and Hathway’s broken relationship montage. Then the end credits play over “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns ‘N Roses.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway has some hiccups, but ultimately shows promise with its action sequences. But Mobile Suit Gundam: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe is so dull, feels tortuously long, and all of the characters are selfish a-holes. The sequel feels uneventful, and its strange use of almost absolute darkness and bizarre montages only sours the fact that you could be watching mobile suits pound each other stupid in the sky instead.

Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe SCORE

You literally don’t care about anything they’re talking about. Unless the third film is somehow able to distance itself from being a wordy, self-absorbed drama, then these new Hathaway films are only worth putting on if you’re in need of a good nap.

Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe arrives in US theaters on May 15.

This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.

This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.

Superhero movies are not a product of the 21st century, by any means, but they have become particularly popular over the past couple of decades. X-Men (2000) and Spider-Man (2002) were big in that regard, for helping elevate the genre, and then both those movies had sequels that were even better. And that’s before getting to 2008, which saw the release of The Dark Knight (maybe one of the best movies, superhero or otherwise, of the past few decades) and Iron Man, which kicked off the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But enough about good superhero movies. What about the bad ones? Actually, not the bad ones, but the genuinely terrible ones? Here are eight that are all-out awful. They are not the only awful ones, and they might not even technically be the eight worst, but they are eight that are consistently very bad, and most don’t even have the decency to be bad in fun ways, either.

8

‘Supergirl’ (1984)

Image via Cantharus Productions

At the time of writing, 2026’s Supergirl movie is not yet out, but even if it’s bad, it’s unlikely to be as bad as the 1984 film of the same name. This one just does not work on any level, not at all doing justice to its titular character the way Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980) did justice to their titular character. It’s also probably a little worse than the divisive Superman III (1983), but as to how it stacks up against that fourth film… well, the fourth movie will be gotten to. You’re not off the hook yet, man who is super.

As for girl who is super, movie about girl who is super is anything but super. It wastes an impressive supporting cast that includes Faye Dunaway, Peter O’Toole, and Mia Farrow, while it’s hard not to feel bad for Helen Slater in the central role, because it was her first proper movie, and it was not good enough to kickstart a career the same way Christopher Reeve’s role in the first Superman movie did.

7

‘Blade: Trinity’ (2004)

Image via New Line Cinema

For a few pleasant years, the Blade series was going pretty well. The first movie was honestly somewhat groundbreaking, in hindsight, doing the whole R-rated superhero thing long before it was cool (unless you count The Crow, but that’s a little different), and then Blade II was arguably even better, or at least it felt a bit more cinematic and stylish, thanks to it being an early Guillermo del Toro movie.

All of it came crashing down, though, with the release of Blade: Trinity. The good times lasted from 1998 to 2004, as far as the Blade film series was concerned. 2004’s Blade: Trinity was bad enough to make the whole trilogy feel kind of shoddy, and not worth engaging with as a trilogy. You’re better off treating the first two movies like a duology, and then when Wesley Snipes shows up again in Deadpool & Wolverine… eh, do what you want with that movie. This writer can take or leave it, but at least it’s not as bad a third movie in an overall trilogy as Blade: Trinity.

6

‘Guardians’ (2017)

Image via Turbo Films

If you get Guardians (2017) mixed up with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and pick the former to watch when you wanted the latter, you’re probably going to be disappointed, unless you really like schlock. Guardians is pure schlock, and schlock that looked like it cost about $500 to produce, being a very generic superhero team-up movie that’s not really anything more than a mockbuster.

Despite the title, it feels most like a riff on The Avengers, just without anything very good. Still, even if it’s possibly technically even worse than Suicide Squad (2016), it is at least a lot more entertaining than Suicide Squad, because of how amateurish it is. In fact, if you’re going to subject yourself to any movie in this ranking, you’re best off making it Guardians. It’s the shortest of the bunch, the most chaotic, and possibly the one that comes closest to situating itself in that fabled “so-bad-it’s-good” territory.

5

‘Justice League’ (2017)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

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Since Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) exists, there is no reason to watch Justice League (2017) anymore. Basically, Zack Snyder was the original director, but stepped away from the project for personal reasons late in production, and there were extensive reshoots and re-editing that led to an absolutely butchered final product, which was devoid of pacing, fun, and anything even remotely engaging.

2017’s Justice League is one of the most baffling and shoddily put-together movies in recent memory, occupying the same award territory as The Mummy from that same year, in terms of movies that really tried to speed-run the process of establishing a Marvel-level cinematic universe. The DC movies before Justice League, though flawed, were doing a slightly better job of establishing things, but this one really tripped the whole thing up. Even if the Snyder cut is twice as long, and technically not perfect, it’s still so much more worthy of your time than the 2017 version.

4

‘Catwoman’ (2004)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

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Talking about Catwoman (2004) is like beating a dead cat, and people aren’t used to that saying, compared to the somehow more gentle-sounding “beating a dead horse,” so it feels bad drilling into it like that, but it deserves the scorn. Horse or cat, you have to beat it, and the thing’s dead, because there isn’t anything all that nice that can be said about Catwoman, beyond it maybe sometimes having laughable moments.

There aren’t as many funny-bad moments as there were in Guardians, though. Again, you should watch that, if you really have to watch a movie in this ranking. But if you somehow have to watch two movies in this ranking, make the second one Catwoman. It’s a hell of a time capsule for the mid-2000s, that’s for sure, for better or worse (mostly worse).

3

‘Venom: The Last Dance’ (2024)

Image via Sony

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Like with the Blade movies, you can sort of defend the first two Venom films if you’re feeling generous, but the trilogy ends with something beyond a whimper, with Venom: The Last Dance. This is a feeble, lazy, abysmally edited, and genuinely disrespectful movie. This movie thinks you’re an idiot. This movie does not like you. This movie nakedly wants your money and literally nothing else to an honestly ghastly extent.

And yeah, it’s the closest thing to a hot take this ranking has. People don’t detest Venom: The Last Dance enough, though there is some comfort to be taken from the fact that, in place of hatred, it has been forgotten. It’s basically dropped off the face of the Earth, in that no one really talks about it anymore. That’s saying quite a bit, actually, considering late October 2024 was not all that long ago, in the overall scheme of things. Still, a month to live on in infamy, as it marked the first time Tom Hardy looked genuinely checked out and not even remotely committed to a role (and you can usually rely on him to at least try, even in the overall less-than-great movies he’s appeared in).

2

‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ (2022)

Whatever the opposite of a magnum opus is, that’s what Thor: Love and Thunder stands as, within Taika Waititi’s filmography. An agnum mopus? Yeah. It’s his agnum mopus. It is the fourth of the Thor movies, and it’s somehow a good deal worse than the second one, because its crime was being perhaps the most forgettable movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while Love and Thunder stands out as the franchise’s single most annoying movie.

It also sours Thor: Ragnarok, in hindsight, because that was also directed by Waititi and had a similarly anarchic tone, and was fun back in 2017, but now feels like a warning/omen for further escalation into nonsense, come 2022. If this one killed your interest in the MCU as a whole, that’s fair enough. Thor: Love and Thunder is that bad, and landed Waititi a very brief but deserved stint in director’s jail (2023’s Next Goal Wins was mostly filmed before, and he’s since been paroled for long enough to direct the upcoming Klara and the Sun, so we’ll see).

1

‘Superman IV: The Quest for Peace’ (1987)

Image via Warner Bros.

As promised/threatened before, when talking about Supergirl (1984), here’s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, which could well be the most joyless, lazy, and generally disheartening superhero movie ever made. Everyone in this film looks some combination of tired and painfully aware of how bad the material is that they’ve been given, and it’s easy to feel empathetic, because you’ll feel like you want it to be over as soon as possible, too, just like all the people on-screen.

Probably. This was a movie that people probably hated working on. It has an abysmal reputation that it more than earns, and it’s saddening to watch nowadays, knowing it was the final Superman-related movie Christopher Reeve appeared in during his lifetime (though his likeness being used in 2023’s The Flash might not be much better). It’s just a miserable time all around, and anyone who’s not seen it is best off staying away, even if you’re making your way through all the Superman movies and want to be a completionist. Seriously, just rewatch the 1978 film, or its 1980 sequel, instead.

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Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

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Release Date

July 24, 1987

Runtime

90 minutes

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Director

Sidney J. Furie

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Writers

Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal

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• 

  Christopher Reeve

  Clark Kent / Superman

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By Robert Scucci
| Published 35 seconds ago

When it comes to movies, there are two things I love more than anything else: thrillers and short runtimes. While scrolling through Netflix for a quick late-night watch, I stumbled upon 2017’s Wheelman, which checks off both of those boxes. Some movies just don’t have a lot of story to them, but instead give you a quick glimpse into a day in the life of their characters. 

In Wheelman’s case, it’s about a getaway driver who finds himself in an increasingly sticky situation after the bank robbery he helps facilitate, almost as if he’s being set up as the fall guy or diversion for a much larger crime about to unfold. This doesn’t need to be a long, involved story, so it isn’t. The entire movie takes place almost entirely inside a car, with our protagonist trying to figure out in real time exactly what’s going on through frantic phone calls, most of which go straight to voicemail.

There’s no worldbuilding or deep lore in Wheelman. It’s just a guy in a car who knows he’s in trouble, and, even worse, knows he doesn’t have a lot of options, or time, to get out of it. Sometimes, that’s all a movie needs to be, and whenever that’s the case, I’m always here for it.

The Entire Plot In 4 Sentences 

Frank Grillo is a getaway driver for hire known only as Wheelman, and he’s instructed by his handler to ditch the bank robbers he’s supposed to help escape after they load the money into his trunk. Thinking that Clay (Garret Dillahunt), the partner who arranged the robbery, has something to do with this setup, Wheelman tries to reach him by cellphone but can’t get a hold of him, all while receiving menacing texts from an unknown sender. Wheelman worries about the safety of his 13-year-old daughter, Katie (Caitlin Carmichael), and, to a lesser degree, his ex-wife Jessica (Wendy Moniz), because they’re mentioned by name and he has no idea who he’s dealing with. As the night progresses, Wheelman learns that Clay is tangled up with competing crime families, putting him in the kind of situation that doesn’t come with a clear-cut exit strategy.

Like I said, Wheelman is a relentlessly tight thriller, mostly involving a guy on the phone trying to figure out his next move. In this case, there’s gunplay, dangerous people, and no obvious solution to our protagonist’s problems. As the film barrels into its second and third acts, the stakes continually rise because we learn more about who’s involved, what they want from Wheelman, and exactly how his family factors into all of it if he doesn’t do everything they say.

The film’s tagline is simply, “Drive Fast. Think Faster,” and there’s really no better way to sum it up. As an avid advocate for shorter runtimes and smaller budgets, I’m here to dispel a very important myth: short runtimes are not for short attention spans. Wheelman is one of those “blink and you miss it” films where every single second counts. Every turn signal, cryptic message, voice in the background of a phone call, and all 286 F-bombs carry weight and continually add to the tension. For $5 million, you really can’t beat a movie like this because it’s an exercise in constant escalation, but it still paces itself in a way that keeps everything grounded in reality.

The Perfect “Guy In A Car” Double Feature

While Wheelman earns its keep as a neo-noir action thriller, it shares a similar setup with 2013’s Locke starring Tom Hardy. In that film, which was also produced for around $2 million and clocks in at just 85 minutes, Hardy plays a construction foreman ditching work the night before the biggest concrete pour of his career because a woman he had an affair with is about to give birth. The entire movie is him driving, calling colleagues and city officials, and making increasingly desperate phone calls home as he breaks the news to his wife and sons.

As boring as Locke sounds on paper, it’s a captivating watch because it’s about a man trying to do the right thing after making a massive mistake. His life as he knows it is over, and he understands that, but he still keeps his composure while flying down the highway, determined to be present for the birth of his child for reasons that don’t initially make total sense, but become clearer as his late-night drive progresses.

Both films are cut from the same cloth, but operate on completely different frequencies. They’re also both streaming on Netflix, so my recommendation is to check them out the next time you want something a little different. Watch Locke for the emotional weight, then pivot over to Wheelman for the thrill of being on the run with a trunk full of money while your family waits on the sidelines, hoping you get to them before some unknown assailant does.

Nicki Minaj is finally spilling the tea on why she decided to publicly support Donald Trump and fully embrace the MAGA movement. In a new interview, Nicki made it clear she’s always rocked with Trump, but got tired of hiding how she really felt. Now, she’s reached a point where she wants to keep it real about why she’s decided to not only stick with him, but beside him!

RELATED: Whew! Social Media Is Goin’ OFF After Nicki Minaj Called Herself Trump’s “Number One Fan” & Held His Hand At Account Summit (WATCH)

Nicki Minaj Keeps It Real About Why She’s Been Team Trump From The Jump

The rapper recently spoke exclusively with Time and kept it real about why she decided to publicly back Donald Trump. Nicki said she’s always thought Trump was solid, but stayed quiet because she feared backlash. Additionally, she said she thinks many celebrities support him privately but won’t say so publicly.

“I felt that way already about him, just that I didn’t dare act like that publicly. It’s been ingrained in everyone’s brain in the music business that we are supposed to be a Democratic family. I just knew they would not like me supporting Trump.” Minaj continued, “Many celebrities feel the way I do, but they don’t say it.”

Still, Nicki said she wanted to stand ten toes down in her truth and speak up to spark change, rather than hide how she really feels. “Sometimes you just need one brave person to get the brunt of the impact. I think I am the catalyst for that change.” 

From there, Minaj said she hopes her honesty pushes people who support him to stand up and speak out. She said there’s nothing to be afraid of and wants people to stop hiding their true feelings.

“Hopefully when they see me and hear me speak and feel my energy that will make them say, ‘You know what: Who am I afraid of? What am I afraid of?’” 

Nicki Says The Hate Makes Her Want To Support Donnie Even More

Despite hesitating at first, Nicki Minaj hasn’t held back in recent months about standing with Donald Trump. In January, she spoke at his Account Summit in Washington, D.C. She made it clear that she’s always been his “number one fan” and the hate he gets doesn’t bother her — it actually makes her want to support him even more.

“I’m probably the president’s number one fan. And that’s not going to change,” she said. “And the hate and what people have to say, it does not affect me. At all. It actually motivates me to support him more. And it’s going to motivate all of us to support him more. We’re not going to let them get away with bullying him and, you know, the smear campaigns — it’s not going to work… He has a lot of force behind him and God is protecting him.”

Minaj Gives Trump His Flowers During AmericaFest Interview

Nicki originally made her stance clear at the end of 2025 at AmericaFest. She sat down with Turning Point USA and the late Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk. During the chat, Nicki praised Donnie and gave him credit for staying strong through the backlash and shade.

“I have the utmost respect and admiration for our president.” Nicki continued, “I don’t know if he even knows this but he’s given so many people hope that there’s a chance to beat the bad guys, and to win and to do it with your head held high and your integrity intact.”

RELATED: Okay! Nicki Minaj Brings Pink Vibes To The White House With Viral ‘Beez In The Trap’ Challenge (VIDEO) 

Young and the Restless hints about Matt Clark (Roger Howarth) and whether he’s about to be Phyllis Summers‘ (Michelle Stafford) next romantic mistake. We know Matt’s not going anywhere anytime soon. And that means there’s all kinds of possibilities ahead, including a sizzling fling with Phyllis. And I’m going to tell you why I know he’s not going anywhere.

We’re going to get into how and why Y&R may have a long-term strategy to keep Matt in Genoa City despite his long list of crimes and how Phyllis may play into all of this.

Matt Clark Remains Mentally Lost on Young and the Restless

So this week, Matt remains mentally lost with no idea who he is other than his name and the fact that Noah Newman and Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) hate him. Although Matt did get back sort of a shadowy memory of Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) punching him in the face, but he doesn’t know who that guy is either. But once Phyllis realized she was talking to the Matt Clark, the guy that the Newmans are desperate to locate, Phyllis knew she was sitting on huge leverage.

She stashed Matt this week in a room at the GCAC and she warned him, “Don’t go wandering off.” And then Phyllis and Michael Baldwin (Christian LeBlanc) went over to the Newman ranch and they dangled the offer of Matt in their faces. Phyllis demanded that Victor call off Christine Blair Romalotti (Lauralee Bell) and make sure she doesn’t prosecute her for stealing Newman using that fake AI generated evidence that Victor created.

Victor Wants Matt on Y&R

So, he is interested in getting his hands on Matt, especially since Nick is getting high again and running around plotting premeditated murder with the insane idea that he can get Detective Burrow (Matt Cohen) to side with him on it being self-defense when it’s clearly murder one. That’s what it is when you’re plotting ahead to kill somebody. And Victor agreed with Phyllis that she could trade Matt for dropping the charges against her. However, he also wants Newman Enterprises back.

I mean, it seems a foregone conclusion that Phyllis isn’t going to be able to keep the Newmans’ company. So, she might negotiate some sort of buyout. You know, Victor gets Matt and Newman and Phyllis gets the charges dropped and a couple of million dollars. You know, we’ll see how that negotiation goes. But from there, you would assume that Matt would be taking a dirt nap or would be sent off to prison. However, there’s some new information saying it’s not going to go that way.

Behind The Scenes Info Says Matt Is Sticking Around Young and the Restless

With May sweeps wrapping up next week on Wednesday, May 20th, you would expect to see Victor get Matt and then boom, it’s all over. But here’s the new information. All right, so last week on May 6, Michelle Stafford posted a video from Hair and Makeup at Y&R behind the scenes and it was showing her getting ready to film that day.

So, stuff taping on May 6 would air sometime in early to mid June because they film roughly about 4 weeks ahead. And that’s fine. We obviously expect Phyllis to be around then, of course. But then she flipped her camera and said, “Look who’s here with me.” Michelle said, “Here I am with the great Roger Howarth.”

And then she said, “There’s many, many things to come.” So that means Matt is around for at least 3 weeks to a month more, and possibly longer. And when Michelle posted the video, she added the caption, “Let the games begin.”

Young and the Restless: Michelle Stafford Drops Huge Hint

So, if you happen to also watch General Hospital, you might know she played a character over there, Nina Reeves, who was romantically involved with Roger Howarth’s character, Franco Baldwin. He was an artist and a serial killer who was later reformed. So, there’s already a proven chemistry test on a soap for these two actors. And with Matt sticking around and Phyllis stumbling into his storyline, it feels like there’s more to it. With Michelle Stafford saying there’s much more to come, that seems like a huge hint.

Victor Cannot Let Nick Kill Matt on Y&R

Victor just told Nick flat out he cannot kill Matt. But also this week, Nick is buying more opioid pills from a dealer in the park, which means he will be high and out of control. And I mean, we all know Nick’s already a violent hothead. Plus, he’s really mad that Adam Newman (Mark Grossman) told Victor he’s using again on Young and the Restless.

That led to a really sweet scene this week with Nick hugging Victor and saying he wants to get clean, but until he gets into actual rehab, all bets are off. I suspect that Phyllis hands Matt over to save herself from prison and then Nick is high and his self-defense murder plan goes awry. Victor and Adam and everybody else told him not to do it. Only Noah Newman (Lucas Adams) is in support of Nick’s plan. And frankly, Noah’s an idiot.

Young and the Restless: Matt Remains a Free Man

Also, Matt was released from Genoa City police custody before he took off for Vegas because he didn’t do anything that they could hold him on. And after that, Matt didn’t commit any more crimes in Genoa City. So, Detective Burrow has nothing to arrest Matt for that was done in their district. As to any crimes in Las Vegas, there’s not a lot of tangible proof. Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) and Noah went to the old gas station of their own accord, and nobody else saw Matt there.

So, it’s a he said she said against Matt who will claim innocence or simply can’t remember. Nobody saw him blow up the place. Sienna did, but she’s his aggrieved ex-wife who attacked him. And in fact, the only thing that they might be able to prove is that Sienna violently bashed Matt in the head. You know, she might have left some DNA on him or they could find the rock with his blood and her DNA where she attacked him. And bottom line, none of the Vegas stuff is going to help the Newmans get Matt arrested in Genoa City.

Matt Could Press Charges Against the Newmans

So, when Sharon says she wants the cops to handle it, the question is handle what? I don’t think they’d go get Matt. And at this point, he’s an innocent amnesiac with some unprovable accusations against him from across the country. And when Phyllis hands him over to Victor, I absolutely think things are going to go sideways.

If the Newmans do anything to Matt, if they hurt him in any way, like if Nick violently attacks him like he’s planning to do, it’s actually Matt who could press charges. So, there is room in the storyline for Roger Howarth to stick around even if the Newmans hate it. And yes, Matt would probably be annoyed at Phyllis for handing him over to Victor, but he’d get over it, especially if she wound up with a pile of cash.

Young and the Restless: Phyllis Needs a Man?

Now, we know Phyllis usually needs a man in her life, but no sensible guy in Genoa City would go near her, but Matt would. And I expect that he may get his memories back, but keep faking amnesia. Or maybe they don’t come back. But the bottom line, Y&R might be planning to keep Roger Howarth around. He is an amazing actor.

If you’ve never seen him before, he’s doing great on here and I have years of watching him on General Hospital. He’s fantastic. So, Matt could stick around and be an ongoing sore spot for the Newmans and Phyllis would love that. The larger problem is his history with Sharon because Matt raped her back in the day.

However, if he keeps pretending he’s got amnesia or if that amnesia is long-term, that’s a possible way around this. If you remember, he asked Phyllis, “If you can’t remember the crime, are you redeemable?”

They were talking about Crazy Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk) at the time, but Matt was clearly thinking about the villain that Noah accused him of that Matt just can’t remember. So, yeah, there is a chance Phyllis’s new man could be Matt. Even worse, there could be a Phyllis, Matt, and Patty triangle. Talk about a three-way match from hell. Genoa City would never be the same.

Days of Our Lives stuns as EJ DiMera (Dan Feuerriegel), and Dr. Wilhelm Rolf (Richard Wharton) successfully resurrected Lexie Carver, (Renée Jones) and she shocked everybody at the will reading when she stumbled through the not-so secret passageway.

And the question now is, will EJ and Rolf wind up in Statesville Prison for this dodgy medical miracle? So, I want to talk about whether EJ and Rolf may face criminal charges for bringing Lexie back to life after being presumed dead for what is it 15 years. Paulina Price (Jackée Harry) could push for criminal charges.

Lexie Wandered Out Of The Wine Cellar on Days of Our Lives

So, it was just another day for the DiMeras when Lexie wandered out of the wine cellar and into the living room as they gathered to toast Stefano after the reading of his will. And Lexie’s appearance honestly came as no real surprise to Kristen DiMera (Stacy Haiduk) and Chad DiMera (Connor Floyd).

They know what EJ and Rolf are capable of and that the two of them had somebody in that person pod. EJ, of course, was stunned to see Lexie on her feet because he thought she was still unconscious and under Dr. Rolf’s care and supervision. But because Leo and Cat were snooping down in the tunnels, Rolf had to hide. And that little lapse was when Lexie wandered away from her underground room.

Lexie’s Family Thrilled on DOOL

Now, you could tell Theo Carver (Cameron Johnson) breathed a huge sigh of relief when he saw Lexie alive and moving around. His uncle EJ showed Theo his mom a few weeks ago, but EJ warned Theo it was still touch-and-go and that’s why EJ said we should keep her recovery a secret. However, Abe Carver (James Reynolds) who was at the will reading was absolutely shocked to see his dearly departed soulmate Lexie on her feet and alive and seemingly well.

However, the effort of getting out of the tunnel was too much and she collapsed in the living room. And it was Tony DiMera (Thaao Phenglis) who promptly called 911 and Lexie was rushed over to University Hospital to get checked out. Abe and Theo have been at her side pretty much non-stop, trading off ever since. Although Lexie has been snoozing quite a bit in the hospital, she was awake enough to tell Abe that she loved him. And he said the same thing to her while Paulina was eavesdropping.

If you’ve been watching, you also saw that Lexie didn’t recognize Theo. But to be fair, he was just a kid when Lexie died. But her confusion cleared up after Theo shared a vivid memory from his childhood about a train stamp that she put on him to feel brave. You know, the little engine that could. And that helped Lexie accept that it has been 15 years that she’s been gone and her baby boy Theo is all grown up and a man.

Paulina Is the Odd Woman Out on Days

And of course, this leaves Paulina as the odd woman out in all this. And you know, EJ loves that. We saw Abe trying to comfort his wife. But Paulina feels like a second fiddle to Lexie right now. Paulina is not even sure if she’s legally his wife because his first wife’s back from the dead.

Plus, Abe is going to find out soon that Paulina has known about Lexie for quite a while now. And of course, EJ swore Paulina to secrecy, and he threatened to tell Abe if she stopped him from bringing Lexie back. Theo knows that Paulina’s known all this time. But Abe doesn’t, and he’s going to find out soon.

Abe was disappointed. But he understood why Theo kept Lexie a secret. However, I doubt Abe is going to be as understanding with Paulina. And she already knows it’s going to be bad for her. That’s why Paulina told Abe just go be with Lexie and she sent him away and she turned to Marlena Evans (Diedre Hall) to comfort her instead.

EJ And Gwen Are Going to Rake in Big Bucks on Days of Our Lives

Meanwhile, EJ told Gwen Rizczech (Emily O’brien) they are going to rake in big bucks now that Lexie is awake. But Gwen was really mad that EJ is giving her a smaller cut of the profits than he had originally promised her. EJ also said it would take a while because they have to find the right buyer for Rolf’s miracle cure because it’s basically going to be on the black market. And she was upset. And Gwen also wondered if EJ might face legal repercussions for using Lexie as his human guinea pig. However, EJ reassured Gwen and said his legal team is certain they can work around all that. But I’m not quite as sure as he is.

What EJ and Rolf did could be considered desecrating a corpse because Lexie was pronounced dead. She was a corpse. Abe literally held her in his arms when Lexie died all those years ago. Plus, EJ and Rolf experimented on her without her consent. But I doubt Lexie is going to want to press charges for that part of it. And it was actually Stefano who put Lexie into the cryo tube until Rolf’s sketchy science could cure her cancer and bring Lexie back. Now Kayla Brady (Mary Beth Evans) says that Lexie’s neurological functions seem to be normalizing and there’s no signs of the tumor that killed her. At least not yet.

Paulina May Want Revenge On EJ

But I wonder if Paulina wants revenge on EJ for ripping her marriage apart and blackmailing her. I mean, certainly EJ was happy because he knew bringing back Lexie would ruin Paulina’s life. And of course, EJ wanted his beloved sister Lexie back. Period. But wrecking Paulina was a happy side effect.

So, she may go and try to convince DA Belle Black (Martha Madison) that her ex-boyfriend EJ needs to go down for causing chaos in so many lives and for whatever crimes they can come up with for Belle to charge him with. So yeah, EJ could face some kind of criminal action for desecration of a corpse or unlawful handling of human remains, especially if Lexie’s body was actually buried and she was dug up and put in the person pod on Days of our Lives.

Days of our Lives: EJ & Rolf Broke the Law

There’s also the fact that Rolf’s serums are not FDA approved. You can’t just start running a secret lab like EJ and Rolf did. That itself is against all kinds of laws. Plus, Versix was still considered experimental and it was in trials and it wasn’t approved for this use.

And it is why EJ bought the hospital because the doctor who created it worked there and Salem University Hospital owned the rights to it and had the whole supply of it. So, EJ legally owned the drug. But letting Rolf use it isn’t okay.

Days of our Lives: EJ & Rolf in Big Trouble

The FDA still had to approve all that and they didn’t. So EJ and Rolf could face charges for unlicensed human experimentation, particularly since most of Lexie’s care took place in a secret lab that had never been inspected or approved. Plus, EJ stole power from the city grid to keep it all going. I’m sure there’s a criminal charge in there, too. Theft of public utilities or something.

Even if EJ throws Rolf under the bus, it’s clear EJ was aiding and abetting. And don’t forget, Rolf’s already a wanted man for turning a blind eye to Owen Kent (Wes Ramsey), stashing Stephanie Johnson (Abigail Klein) and Jeremy Horton (Michael Roark) in that room behind the lab. If you’re a longtime watcher, you know that during Stefano DiMera’s (Joseph Mascolo) reign of terror, he and Dr. Rolf never faced any lasting charges for raising the dead.

There were some arrests. But Stefano and Rolf didn’t do any amount of significant hard time for their crimes, but I could see Paulina pushing hard to take down EJ and Rolf for this. But mostly EJ. And while Abe might be grateful that EJ and Rolf brought Lexie back to them, I don’t think he’d intervene. And Belle is always looking for the chance to get back at EJ. So, it might happen. Wait to see if Rolf and EJ are arrested.

Out of all the streaming platforms, Netflix is the one that spotlights international TV shows the most. From Brazil’s Radioactive Emergency that premiered earlier this year and reached up to #5 worldwide, to Spain’s beloved Money Heist that became a cultural phenomenon and ran for five action-packed seasons, Netflix has consistently debuted shows from around the world that are brilliantly made, and aren’t afraid to pack a punch. Among them is Crooks, a crime thriller from Germany that just released its second season.

The series, which was first released on April 4, 2024, has become a must-watch on the platform, reaching an impressive 80% on Rotten Tomatoes for Season 1. The warm reception from critics at the time was coupled with high streaming numbers, reaching the top 10 non-English-language series for four weeks, as well as #2 on Netflix worldwide in the second week after its release, per Netflix. With such critical acclaim and viewership numbers, it’s no surprise that Crooks got renewed for Season 2, which premiered on Apr 14, 2026, and is slowly becoming one of the platform’s best crime shows.

What Is ‘Crooks’ About?

The first season of Crooks starts off with former safe cracker Charly (Frederick Lau) as he’s forced out of quiet retirement in Berlin, Germany, to do one last mission: To steal the valuable “Big Maple Leaf” coin. As it turns out, however, the heist becomes the riskiest mission of his career when the assignment takes a fatal turn, and he has no choice but to partner with his driver, Joseph (Christoph Krutzler), a lowly gangster based in Vienna, in order to survive. Together, the unlikely pair must flee a dangerous crime boss, Hassan Al-Walid (Erdal Yildiz), and his clan, as well as rival gangs, all while trying their best to keep Charly’s family safe.

Throughout the first season, as no-nonsense Charly and more thoughtful Joseph bond and become partners in crime, the duo flee from Berlin, traveling to Vienna and later Marseille. In Season 2, the valuable coin goes missing again and the two unlikely “crooks” find themselves on the run for the second time, but this time outside of Europe in all the way to Bangkok, Thailand. Created by Benjamin Hessler, Crooks also stars Svenja Jung as Charley’s wife Samira, Jonathan Tittel as his son Jonas, as well as Kida Khodr Ramadan, Karl Welunschek and Lukas Watzl as criminals with their own agendas.

‘Crooks’ Is a Must-Watch Crime Series on Netflix

Much like Money Heist, in which the series gets its charm through the perfect blend of action and emotional connection between its main characters, Crooks also brings those two genres together. In addition to being a fast-paced action thriller, the series has the unlikely connection between Charly and Joseph as the heart of the show. “Crooks has potential to rise above the usual crime drama tropes, thanks to the unlikely friendship at its core,” wrote one review on Rotten Tomatoes. “Crooks burns all of Charly and Joseph’s chemistry for fuel across multiple European cities in a slew of chases and turns that are easy to predict but enjoyable to watch.”

So, while Crooks has yet to become a household name, the series has been steadily winning over fans on Netflix. And, after an extremely successful Season 1, Season 2 is looking to score in the streaming charts yet again to keep Charly and Joseph’s adventures going for another chapter.

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Release Date

April 4, 2024

Directors

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Cüneyt Kaya, Marvin Kren

Writers

Benjamin Hessler, Marvin Kren, Georg Lippert

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