There are some movies where you can feel the tension building with every second, and then there are movies where you spend most of your time wondering why the characters haven’t simply turned around and gone home. Fall 2: Deadpoint definitely knows how to make you uncomfortable with heights, but unfortunately, it doesn’t quite reach the dizzying heights of its predecessor.

Following the events of the first Fall, this sequel introduces us to Jax, played by Harriet Slater, who is dealing with the death of her sister, Shiloh. She meets Shiloh’s adventurous friend Luce, played by Arsema Thomas, and the two decide to take on an incredibly dangerous climbing adventure in Thailand. Their destination is Mount Kwan, where they attempt to navigate a terrifying plank trail thousands of feet above the ground.

Naturally, things don’t exactly go according to plan.

A rockslide leaves Jax and Luce stranded high above the ground, and from there, the movie becomes another battle against the elements, gravity and, apparently, common sense.

And this is where my biggest problem with Fall 2: Deadpoint comes in.

We’ve already seen this movie.

Well… not literally this movie, but we have seen the basic concept. Two people get themselves into an incredibly dangerous situation at a ridiculous height, they become trapped, and then we watch them desperately try to survive. The original Fall took a very simple concept and managed to squeeze an impressive amount of tension out of it. The sequel changes the location, changes the characters and adds some twists, but it still feels like we’re watching the same movie trying to climb a different mountain.

The biggest problem is that the danger doesn’t always feel as fresh or as frightening as it should. There are certainly some moments where the heights will make your stomach drop, and the cinematography does a good job of reminding you just how high these characters are. Looking down from those planks is enough to make anyone’s palms sweaty.

But once you’ve established that falling equals death, there are only so many times you can show someone almost falling before the effect starts to wear off.

And unfortunately, that’s where the movie starts to lose its grip.

Harriet Slater does a decent job as Jax, particularly when the story focuses on her grief and the emotional connection to her sister. Arsema Thomas also brings some energy to Luce, and the two leads do what they can with the material they’re given.

The problem is that the characters sometimes make decisions that had me sitting there thinking, “Why would you do that?!”

When you’re watching a survival thriller, you want to be shouting at the screen because you’re scared for the characters. Here, I was occasionally shouting because I couldn’t understand their decision-making.

The movie also tries to compensate for its fairly predictable survival formula by throwing in some twists. Unfortunately, some of these twists feel more ridiculous than shocking. Instead of making me gasp, they occasionally made me raise an eyebrow.

And then there is the ending.

Without getting into spoilers, let’s just say the movie clearly wants to leave the door open for another instalment. Considering how this sequel already struggles to escape the shadow of the first movie, I’m not sure another climb is necessarily what this franchise needs.

The original Fall worked because of its simplicity. Two people. One tower. Nowhere to go. A terrifying situation.

Fall 2: Deadpoint tries to build on that formula, but in doing so, it makes the story more complicated without necessarily making it more interesting. Some of the twists feel unnecessary, while the emotional story doesn’t receive quite enough attention.

That doesn’t mean the movie is completely without merit.

There are still some genuinely impressive visuals, and if you suffer from a fear of heights, there are moments where you will definitely feel uncomfortable. The setting gives the filmmakers plenty of opportunities to create some spectacular-looking sequences, and there are times when the movie succeeds in making you feel just how isolated these characters are.

Unfortunately, for me, those moments weren’t enough to carry the entire film.

Fall 2: Deadpoint isn’t a complete disaster, but it feels like a sequel that was made because the first movie was successful rather than because there was a truly compelling story left to tell. It takes the basic formula and stretches it further, but bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better.

I wanted more tension, more believable character decisions and a stronger emotional connection. Instead, I got plenty of climbing, plenty of screaming and plenty of moments where I was wondering how these people managed to get themselves into this situation in the first place.

⭐ My Rating: 2/5

Fall 2: Deadpoint had me looking down, but unfortunately, it wasn’t because I was impressed by the view. The movie has some decent thrills and uncomfortable height sequences, but it spends too much time trying to recreate the magic of the original instead of finding its own footing.

In the end, this sequel falls short of the original and leaves the franchise dangling somewhere between suspense and silliness.

Hopefully, if there’s another Fall movie, the filmmakers can finally give the audience something to climb on board with.

Former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star NeNe Leakes recently returned to Bravo by appearing in multiple episodes of “Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th.” However, after the much-talked-about appearance, the “RHOA” alum is painting a grim picture about potentially returning full-time. This comes after Andy Cohen seemingly shot down the idea of casting the 58-year-old in the show.

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Leakes was interviewed on the “Big Tigger in the Morning” show in September 2026, where she mentioned Cohen’s recent comments that the show currently has a great cast when asked about her potentially returning.

According to the “RHOA” alum via a clip from the full interview, “I think Andy has come out and said publicly that – I don’t think that he actually said the exact words, but I think what everybody took from it is NeNe won’t be back. So, NeNe won’t be back.” After that, the host asked Leakes how she felt about Cohen’s comments.

She responded, “NeNe won’t be back. I don’t feel anything. NeNe won’t be back.” Regarding where she stands with Cohen, Leakes stated that she doesn’t hold any animosity or grudges against Cohen, saying, “I don’t have any beef.”

She added, “What happened happened. They did what they did, and I did what I did, and that’s it.”

NeNe Says She Wouldn’t Be Against Appearing In A Limited Capacity

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Elsewhere in the interview, Leakes says that while she’s closing the door on a full-time role on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” she wouldn’t be against making appearances or maybe even hosting a trip.

The mom of two said during the interview, “I would go and play with them, but as far as me actually holding a peach and all over here sitting on the couch, no. I can’t do that. That’ll drive me crazy.” From there, she reiterated that she has no “grudges” against the franchise after her 2020 exit and subsequent lawsuit against the network.

Leakes continues, “At first I felt some kind of way for a while because you have to get over things, right?” She went on to say that she has “healed from that” and “moved on.” She then said she’d “love to go over and host them on a trip.”

Regarding her overall future with the franchise, Leakes doubled down, saying, “I don’t see myself ever sitting on a couch doing a reunion.” As for her reasoning, the former “RHOA” star cited “alliances” and “ganging up,” claiming, “I don’t wanna be a part of that. I’m just not that right now in my life. I’m not there. That’s not where I wanna be.”

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Entertainment Tonight interviewed Cohen in September 2026. During the interview, the reporter mentioned Leakes’ “Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th” appearance. This led to a question about her potentially returning to “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”

He responded, “You know, I have to say, we just finished the reunion, and the cast is so great, and we have eight housewives right now, so it seems like we have a pretty stacked lineup.”

After that, he praised the former Bravo star, saying, “But I loved her return to ‘Ultimate Girls Trip.’ The fans were so excited, and I was just as excited as the fans because I’m a fan.”

Previously, on SiriusXM’s “Andy Cohen Live,” the “Housewives” executive producer shot down rumors of Leakes’ return, as well as claims that two current cast members were not being asked back for season 18, which production has begun.

He said in August 2026, “There are a lot of casting rumors online, which came out over the weekend, and I’m gonna tell you that they’re not true.”

Cohen continued, “If you want a preview of next season of Atlanta, look at this cast. This is the group, guys. I mean, we love this group.”

NeNe Leakes Previously Questioned Being A Friend Of The Show

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Leakes appeared on Cynthia Bailey and Crystal Kung Minkoff‘s “Humble Brag” podcast in July 2025. During the episode, Bailey, currently a friend of the show on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” asked Leakes if she would consider taking on that role if the network offered it.

She expressed hesitation, saying, “I’m not mad at the ‘friend’ role. I just think, answering your question, if I were to ever step back on that platform and would I be a friend, I really feel like, I don’t know that I would be a friend.”

Leakes went on to explain her thoughts, saying, “I like the ‘friend’ role; I like the capacity; I don’t have a problem with it at all. I just would think, NeNe, season 1, the first Housewife, and I’m a friend? I don’t know.”

The ‘RHOA’ Alum Continues To Pursue Acting

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Leakes launched her acting career while appearing on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.” Some of her most notable roles include “Glee” and “The New Normal.” More recently, she appeared in Prime Video’s “Clean Slate” and Netflix’s “The Upshaws.”

According to Deadline, Leakes appeared in BET+’s “Ms. Pat Settles It” as a celebrity juror.

Remember the Fast and the Furious movies? Ever since Fast X hit theaters in 2023, fans have been anxiously awaiting the next installment in the saga. In an interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub in studio at the Toronto International Film Festival, fan favorite Fast family member Sung Kang talked about the “little tidbits” he knows about the hopefully-still-upcoming Fast Forever and the future of the Fast franchise.

Kang is attending TIFF to premiere his sophomore feature as a director, Drifter, which in and of itself should be of great interest to Fast fans. Drifter is an original street racing sports action movie–the perfect thing to tide us over until Fast and Furious officially returns. Kang also stars in it alongside Tamara Braun, Gregory Cruz, Emelia Hartford, and Shane Johnson. Even those who aren’t familiar with street racing outside the cinema know what drifting is largely because of Kang. His character in the Fast franchise, Han, was of course introduced in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Famously, Han was so popular that even though he [spoiler alert] died at the end of Tokyo Drift, subsequent movies went back in time to make sure he could still be part of the plot. Later, they ret-conned his death from an accident to a murder. (The family may have forgiven Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), but the North remembers! Eventually, however, F9 went full soap opera and revealed that his death had been faked. Han returned alive in Fast X as well… but what about the next one?

Vin Diesel recently shared that he’s looking to start filming at the end of 2026, and that the most recent version of the script, written by Michael Lesslie, made him cry. Director Louis Leterrier, on the other hand, told Polygon that he has yet to read a script. Meanwhile, Paul Walker‘s brother has been in the news talking about how generative AI could bring his character Brian back to the movies. Remember that while Walker died in 2013, the character is living just slightly off-screen. Must we change that? Sure, Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Ludacris) may have gone to space, but that doesn’t mean we need to go to the Uncanny Valley next.

So, reliable and consistent updates about Fast Forever are a bit difficult to come by. Kang was, for the record, even surprised to hear from Collider that Fast Forever allegedly has a release date of 2028. “You know more than I do,” he told Weintraub.

Kang’s Not Convinced That ‘Fast Forever’ Will Be the End of the Franchise

Image via TIFF

When asked about his personal hopes for what is meant to be the final film, Kang offered:

“Well, I can say this: the little tidbits that I do get from the Fast Family is that I know that they are so appreciative of the audience that has been supporting us over the years, and so they want to make sure that they honor that community, and they are doing their best. I have faith that Universal and all the producers, the writers, the filmmakers, they’re going to put their heart into this film. So, if that’s a testament to what the movie’s going to be, I feel like it’s going to be something that is fitting for a finale — if it is a finale.”

Back it up! What did that last part mean? Is Fast Forever not going to be the end? There have been rumblings about other franchise installments, including a sequel to Hobbs & Shaw titled Hobbs & Reyes that would presumably star Jason Momoa alongside Dwayne Johnson and an unnamed all female spin-off. That’s always gone over well for big franchises like this one, historically…

But if Kang thinks that Fast and Furious‘ main canon will continue beyond Fast Forever, or knows something that we don’t about future films, that’s pretty interesting. They should probably make the dang eleventh movie first, and then worry about what’s next, but it’s cool to think about! Despite the occasional production drama, this one of the silliest, goofiest, most joyous franchises in Hollywood and we need it back ASAP.

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Fast Forever

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Release Date

March 17, 2028

Director

Louis Leterrier

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Writers

Christina Hodson, Michael Lesslie, Oren Uziel, Gary Scott Thompson

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Prequel(s)

The Fast and the Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7, The Fate of the Furious, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, F9: The Fast Saga, Fast X

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Fast & Furious

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After seven years focused on making documentaries, Werner Herzog has finally returned to the world of narrative film with Bucking Fastard. Herzog, who serves as both writer and director, spotlights Kate Mara and Rooney Mara in this film, which is inspired by the real-life story of sisters Freda and Greta Chaplin. Kate plays Jean Holbrooke, while Rooney plays her sister, Joan—two characters who are so in sync with each other that they finish each other’s sentences, speak in unison, fall in love with the same man, and struggle to find their own individual identity outside their duo. Caught in a scandal after falling for the wrong guy, Jean and Joan somehow find themselves digging a tunnel inside a cave in Ireland, in a bizarre and surreal tale that ultimately struggles to find its proper footing.

‘Bucking Fastard’s First Half Is a Weird but Hilarious Good Time

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The charm of Bucking Fastard comes in the form of the Holbrooke sisters and their unconventional bond. While they’re not actual twins, they act in a way that goes beyond the limits of identical twindom, seemingly sharing the same thoughts, dressing in the same clothes, and speaking the same words. But their connection moves far beyond that into the realm of the incestuous and inappropriate when it’s revealed they also share a lover—their neighbor, Gareth Mulroney (Orlando Bloom).

Herzog’s film begins like a legal drama, with Joan and Jean in court facing off with Gareth, who is asking for a restraining order against them. What might have seemed like a freaky interlude for Gareth feels like true love for the sisters. And when Gareth decides that it’s time to get married (to someone else), the sisters not only become wildly possessive, but seek their revenge on the man they once professed to be their true love. The legal case ends up becoming a media sensation—as it did for the real-life Chaplin twins—and launches Jean and Joan, unwillingly, into the public eye.

Much of the appeal of the first half of the movie comes from watching the two Holbrooke sisters try to navigate a modern world. From pervy creeps who are obsessed with them to onlookers who see them as an odd novelty rather than human beings, Joan and Jean might seem a little weird, but it’s impossible not to feel a bit protective of them. Their innate naïveté is endearing, even when it’s overdone.

It’s hard to understand how the sisters have remained so sheltered their entire lives, but the world Herzog creates is admittedly surreal, and it’s that combination of surreality and humor that makes the film unique. The fact that Herzog dedicates the film to David Lynch might explain some of that, but Lynchian or not, it doesn’t excuse the inconsistency that begins to poke out of the film’s seams upon closer investigation.

‘Bucking Fastard’ Fails To Make an Impact Halfway Through the Movie

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Bucking Fastard‘s problem is not one particularly unique to this movie: there are simply too many ideas. The first half feels like a small-town dramedy. Caricature-like background characters pass through the sisters’ lives, nearly as odd as they are. Save their lawyer and their Aunt Louise (Marion O’Dwyer), every character in the film is male, and they either fetishize or infantilize the sisters.

On one hand, Herzog might have been better served trying not to explain the quirky world that the Holbrooke sisters live in; lingering in the weirdness could have given the film a folktale-like quality. The problem is that Herzog does poke at the elephant in the room, trying to pop the bubble of the Holbrookes’ connection with a dose of reality. After their trial, the sisters meet Timothy (Domhnall Gleeson), a social worker who has been assigned to help them find their independence from each other. It’s in these moments that it becomes clear that Joan and Jean’s synchronicity isn’t just a fantastical trait, but more likely the result of loneliness and a fear of abandonment.

As Timothy encourages them to do things on their own, we finally see some friction between the sisters. Ironically, it’s this move to “explain” their codependency that ruins the narrative. During the second half of the film, Herzog throws a bunch of concepts at the wall, hoping that one of them might stick. Though the film is beautiful, with Herzog using his experience as a nature documentarian to capture the majesty of rural Ireland, once the movie reaches this point, it also begins to lack any real substance. Rather than leaning fully in, Bucking Fastard vacillates between absurdity and a more sobering reality. This then leads to glaring inconsistencies with tone and pacing that bring the momentum to a screeching halt.

Despite All of That, ‘Bucking Fastard’ Allows Kate and Rooney Mara To Shine

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What ultimately makes Bucking Fastard work is the dynamic between Kate and Rooney Mara. It’s a testament to their performances that it’s actually not difficult to see the distinct traits unique to each character, even when they act and look like carbon copies of each other. Rooney delivers a just-slightly-better performance as the more emotive of the two sisters, but it’s her natural chemistry with Kate that creates the magic. At the same time, their ability to speak in unison, adapting the same staccato tone, is genuinely impressive, and the Maras deserve all the flowers for the complicated performance.

Another standout comes in the form of Bloom, who plays the cavalier, flirtatious, and ultimately disloyal neighbor who the sisters first fall in love with. It’s odd that Bloom hasn’t played many characters like this, because he excels at embracing a smarmy attitude, one that makes him utterly punchable but also endlessly entertaining. Compared to some of the other completely one-dimensional characters, Bloom is the source of much of the film’s humor, and it’s a pity we didn’t get more of him.

Although Herzog’s script could have used a lot more refining, Bucking Fastard is visually sumptuous and warm. The costuming, visual landscape, and camera angles all evoke a sense of the fantastical without bringing in any true elements of fantasy. Toward the end of the film, Herzog dips back into a bit of magical realism, but due to the pivoting back and forth in tone, it doesn’t land nearly as hard as it should. At the end of it all, the Maras remain the best part of the Bucking Fastard, but even they are occasionally overshadowed by a concept that needs a bit more sharpening and refining.

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Release Date

September 5, 2026

Runtime

109 minutes

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Director

Werner Herzog

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Writers

Werner Herzog

Producers

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Agnes Chu, Ariel Leon Isacovitch, Clara Wu Tsai, Werner Herzog

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Cast

• 
• 

  Rooney Mara

  Joan Holbrooke

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Pros & Cons

• Kate and Rooney Mara excel at playing the odd Holbrooke sisters and acting in sync.
• Orlando Bloom is perfect as a smarmy antagonist, a role we rarely see him in.

• The first half of the film and the second half feel too tonally different to mesh together.
• In trying to explain the sisters’ bond, the movie loses some of its charm and mystique.
• Herzog loses some of the absurdity that would have gone a long way to making this a winning film.

N.O.R.E. has responded to the sexual assault allegations made against him in a new lawsuit. The complaint was filed by Carmen Bryan in New York City on Wednesday, September 9. The rapper, whose real name is Victor James Santiago Jr., denied the claims on Thursday, September 10.

RELATED: New Details Emerge About Sidney Starr’s Alleged Sexual Assault Of Underage Boy At Hotel (UPDATE)

N.O.R.E. Responds To Lawsuit — Denies Sexual Assault Allegations

The Shade Room reported that Bryan filed a lawsuit accusing a drunken Santiago of sexually assaulting her at a nightclub back in May 1999. Bryan is the mother of Nas’ daughter, Destiny Jones. According to Rolling Stone, the ‘Da Hustla‘ artist was allegedly “visibly intoxicated” when he approached her inside a Manhattan nightclub. N.O.R.E is accused of committing an “act of nonconsensual digital penetration” in the lawsuit.

The rapper denied the claims with a post in his Instagram Stories, and he also accused Bryan of lying while bringing up her memoir about her sexual escapades with celebrities.

“The allegations by Ms. Bryan about invented interactions with Mr. Santiago from nearly three decades ago are entirely false,” reads the post. “It should be noted that Ms. Bryan has a long history of making salacious and contested claims about public figures.”

“This includes a 2006 ‘tell-all’ book where she provided excruciating detail about her personal vendettas and sexual encounters with celebrities. Yet nowhere in this ‘tell-all’ (or her 2018 book, Life After Child Support: When The Checks Stop Coming) did she mention Mr. Santiago or anything resembling this alleged incident. We will defend Mr. Santiago from this legally groundless lawsuit and look forward to exposing Ms. Bryan’s fabrications in court as we clear Mr. Santiago’s good name.”

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Bryan wrote the 2018 book “LIFE AFTER CHILD SUPPORT: When The Checks Stop Coming,’ A short cautionary tale about overcoming financial dependency and creating your own wealth.” She also wrote the 2006 book ‘It’s No Secret: From Nas to Jay-Z, from Seduction to Scandal–a Hip-Hop Helen of Troy Tells All.’

Carmen Bryan’s Sexual Assault Accusations

Carmen’s complaint states that the artist “physically overpowered” Bryan as N.O.R.E. allegedly ignored her instructions to stop until he was pulled off by other guests at the club.

“Santiago’s conduct constituted nonconsensual sexual contact, offensive touching, assault, battery, sexual assault, and gender-motivated violence,” alleges the lawsuit.

In addition the complaint claims that the rapper followed Bryan after she left the club while allegedly stating, “Don’t you know who I am?” Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that the rapper apologized once he recognized Bryan under a streetlight.

“Carm, I didn’t know it was you,” he allegedly said. “You’re always doing something different with your hair.”

Bryan also claimed in the lawsuit that he apologized again at a Father’s Day/birthday party for Nas and Destiny.

“Santiago’s repeated explanation that he had not known it was Ms. Bryan did not make the assault consensual, accidental, or lawful,” the lawsuit states. “It reinforced that Santiago understood he had crossed a line and sought to excuse his conduct only after recognizing who she was.”

Fans Respond With Mixed Reactions

Fans reacted to the lawsuit and N.O.R.E.’s denial after it was shared on TSR’s Instagram page, and many were skeptical of Carmen Bryan’s claims. However, others wondered if it was true.

@woman_lucid replied, “19999999999999????? Ninnnnnnnnnnnee??? Ninety ninnnnnnnne?????”

User @guggyisawesome added, “Nore was never that kind of person. He never carried himself in that way. I stand with bro.”

@princedagreatest wrote, “What else is he supposed to say? Yeah I did it?”

@_thebaddievault_ added, “Hell, listen to the name of the book 😂😂 you already know this a money grab!”

User @quis.szn wondered, “So she just picked you out of everybody, huh? 😭 and I hate to defend her, mind you because of the Nas/Jay Z thing. But I believe her… but with her track record, there’s a motive begind her waiting damn near 30 years to say something.”

RELATED: Photo Of Sidney Starr In Court Surfaces As Judge Denies Bond Following Arrest On Child Sexual Assault Charges (UPDATE)