Antonio Banderas made a lot of memories in Hollywood but he always knew he would end up back in Spain.

“Those were beautiful, exciting years. But I always had this sense of provisionality that it was not going to last my whole life,” the actor, 65, said in an interview with People published on Friday, August 7. “I knew that Málaga was there, my hometown. I was not supposed to be in Malibu, but in Málaga.”

Banderas moved from Spain to the United States in 1995 after falling in love with now ex-wife Melanie Griffith while on set of their rom-com Two Much. At the time, Griffith, 68, was already mom to two children: son Alexander Bauer and daughter Dakota Johnson, whom she welcomed during previous relationships. The pair wed in May 1996 after his divorce from first wife Ana Leza was finalized that same year.

While Banderas was already a doting stepfather, he and Griffith expanded their family shortly after their nuptials when they welcomed daughter Stella, 29, in September 1996.

In June 2014, Griffith and Banderas called it quits after 18 years of marriage. Their divorce was finalized in December 2015. Banderas moved on with current girlfriend Nicole Kimpel in November 2015.

Despite their split, Banderas and Griffith have remained close over the years. Banderas has referred to Griffith as one of his “best friends.” While Banderas has his roots in Spain, he regularly visits Hollywood to spend time with his family.

“When I go to Los Angeles, we get together anyway, we got a lot of fun,” he told the outlet of reuniting with his ex. “We laugh and we just … It’s a very healthy thing, and it was very healthy for our kids.”

Earlier this year, Banderas shared that his desire to move back to Spain came after he suffered a heart attack in 2017.

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Related: Jessica Alba Hits Mexico City Amid Divorce: ‘My New Home Away From Home’

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Jessica Alba is broadening her horizons amid her divorce from Cash Warren. The Dark Angel star, 43, took to Instagram on Wednesday, March 26, to document a recent trip to Mexico City and teased that the Mexican capital may be her “new home away from home.” “Forever memories made – feeling connected, satiated and nourished […]

“It was like somebody put glasses on me so I could see the reality that I didn’t see before. I was just too worried about stupid things. We sometimes forget that we are going to die,” he reflected. “People live like they are not going to die. They collect things and they collect. I don’t want to collect anything … The only thing that I am interested in now is the experience of living.”

While Banderas travels to Los Angeles to see his loved ones, Stella also visits him in Spain. Last year, Stella wed husband Alex Gruszynski in her father’s hometown.

“I’m Andalusian, I’m an actor, I’m a father … and it was a storm of emotions!” Banderas told Hello! of his daughter’s big day in October 2025. “I tried to keep my composure, but it was difficult not to shed a few tears looking at Stella.”

While the vision for Sterling Point includes more seasons, is every cast member coming back for a potential season 2?

The show, which is streaming now, follows Annie Jacobson (Ella Rubin), whose life takes a turn when she inherits her mysterious grandfather’s island in Canada. This leads to new friends, a love triangle and shocking family secrets being exposed — including a secret sister named Ramona (played by Amélie Hoeferle).

Sterling Point hails from creator Megan Park, who had her own coming-of-age journey after getting her start as an actress on then-ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She then made the move to writing and directing with 2021’s The Fallout and 2024’s My Old Ass, which allowed Park to expand her storytelling vision.

“It would be so thrilling and such a gift if we got to do more. It was so shocking how different it was to film a show,” she told Us in July 2026. “A movie is an hour and a half and it’s a much shorter period of time that you have to make it and put it out into the world. It’s eight hours of something. So it was a lot of work and it’s been a long process.”

Related: Is ‘Sterling Point’ Based on a Book? Show’s Connection, Location Explained

Sterling Point is Prime Video’s newest YA show that feels like a story straight off BookTok — but is it actually a book adaptation? The show, which is streaming now, follows Annie Jacobson (Ella Rubin), whose life takes a turn when she inherits her mysterious grandfather’s island in Canada. This leads to new friends, a […]

Park continued: “I wouldn’t say it almost killed me but it definitely aged me 10 to 20 years. It was also really rewarding though because within an hour and a half, you can only go so deep and you can only explore so much and talk about so much. When you have eight hours, you have a much bigger world and so many more characters. So it was really creatively rewarding in that sense. But I’m not going to lie, it’s a lot of work making a TV show.”

The showrunner addressed the way season 1 ended with a plot twist.

“I knew that we always wanted Ramona and Annie to switch places. It was just like, ‘How do we get them there and how do we show that?’ Because I think it’s really important for them to experience each other’s worlds for a little bit of time and see how that shapes them and see how that makes them understand each other or not understand each other,” Park teased. “And also Connor reaching out to his biological parents was something that was really important to me — without Annie’s knowledge — which is a pretty bold and dramatic move.”

Park promised a “great setup” for season 2, adding, “But also if we don’t, it’s like you are kind of [leaving] people wondering what happened to them. But yeah, hopefully it sets us up for a nice season 2.”

Keep scrolling to see who is and isn’t coming back on Sterling Point:

Ella Rubin

Season 2 would follow Rubin’s character Annie after she chose to stay on the island.

Amélie Hoeferle

Hoeferle’s character, Ramona, meanwhile, chose to swap places with Annie by moving to New York.

Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie

While Annie and Ellis called it quits when she was planning to leave, their romance will presumably be front and center in season 2.

Daniel Quinn-Toye

Quinn-Toye’s Rory didn’t end up with Annie but he could still be back.

Bo Bragason

Bragason, who plays Oona, is expected back after Ramona’s split from her friend.

Keen Ruffalo

Ruffalo’s character, Connor, had a smaller role in season 1 but will likely be back.

Mabel Strachan

Maple a.k.a Oona’s younger sister is presumably returning in the sophomore season.

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Missi Pyle

Pyle’s character, Denise, made appearances in season 1, which will likely continue in future episodes.

Jay Duplass

After finding out that he is (spoiler!) Ramona’s biological father, Steven’s role would likely be expanded.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Morgan told Us he had high hopes for more storylines for the adults in season 2.

Wizards of Waverly Place star David DeLuise had an impromptu run-in with John Goodman, and many fans didn’t even recognize the actor.

“He was my childhood !! ❤️ Legend !” DeLuise, 54, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, August 6, alongside a selfie of him and Goodman. “I love that I get to say that to someone 😉 If you know you know.”

Goodman, 74, posed for a sweet photo with DeLuise after the pair crossed paths in a grocery store. DeLuise beamed as he grinned for the camera while Goodman smiled beside him.

Several fans were surprised by Goodman’s recent weight loss, and multiple didn’t recognize the Roseanne alum at first glance.

“Is that John Goodman???? @daviddeluise he’s unrecognizable,” one user commented while another replied, “I love John Goodman! Yes, he looks very different, but I bet he feels great!”

Goodman has been on a weight loss journey since the mid-2000s. During a 2010 interview with David Letterman, Goodman confessed he reached 400 pounds at one point.

“I’d get off of Roseanne every spring. I’d lose 60 pounds every spring,” he explained. “I’d gain it back and then some, every year. It’s going to be an ongoing process for the rest of my life.”

After struggling to keep the pounds off, Goodman decided to get serious about his wellbeing and make some lifestyle changes. Goodman previously shared that he struggled with overeating and alcoholism.

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Related: John Goodman Shows Off Dramatic Slim-Down at TV Festival: Photo

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A noticeably thinner John Goodman showed off his slimmed-down figure during a recent appearance at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival in Monaco. The Righteous Gemstones actor, 70, stepped out on Sunday, June 18, at the event, where he served as jury president for the festival. In photos obtained by Page Six, Goodman looked smart in a […]

“I was just eating all the time. I was just eating alcoholically. In the old days, I would take three months out, lose 60 or 70 pounds, and then reward myself with a 6-pack of Bud or whatever and just go back to my old habits,” he said in a 2016 interview with ABC News. “Then this time I wanted to do it slowly, move, exercise. I’m getting to the age where I can’t afford to sit still anymore. And it gives me the energy to work, ‘cause work is very draining.”

As the years have passed, Goodman has continued to put in the work. In 2023, he revealed that he was officially down 200 pounds after adding kickboxing to his exercise plan.

“I dug it. Yeah. Nobody’s going to get hurt, but it’s just hitting the mitts and trying to learn,” he said about boxing in a June 2023 interview with Rolling Stone. “I never got good enough where I would trust myself to spar because once I get whacked in the face, I don’t know if I wouldn’t lose it.”

When Boston Blue returns for season 2, there will be another familiar face: Jamie Reagan!

Will Estes, who was a fan-favorite on Blue Bloods, is officially set to make a cameo on the CBS spinoff, according to a new photo shared by Donnie Wahlberg.

“Welcome (back) to the Family! Jamie Reagan! aka Will Estes! #BostonBlue,” Wahlberg, 56, who played Jamie’s big brother Danny Reagan on Blue Bloods before helming Boston Blue, wrote via his Instagram Story on Friday, August 7.

Estes, 47, can be spotted sitting next to Wahlberg as they dined together at a round table.

Boston Blue stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Marcus Scribner, Mika Amonsen, who play Detective Lena Silver, officer Jonah Silver and Danny’s son Sean Reagan, respectively, were also smiling for the camera while on set.

In the background, fans can see some of the camera crew and a few extras that also appeared to be eating a meal for the shoot.

Us confirmed on Friday that Estes will, in fact, be making a cameo on season 2 of the hit drama, making him the third Reagan to crossover from the flagship series.

Fans last saw Estes’ Jamie during the Blue Bloods series finale, which aired in December 2024, when Jamie and wife Eddie Janko (Vanessa Ray) revealed they were expecting their first baby.

After 14 seasons on CBS, Blue Bloods came to a close, seemingly ending the Reagan family’s story — for the time being.

Throughout the series, fans became part of the family as every episode dove into the lives of NYPD Fran Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) and his adult children, Detective Danny (Wahlberg), Assistant District Attorney Erin (Bridget Moynahan) and NYPD officer Jamie (Estes), as they navigated being first responders and a close-knit family.

The show also starred Frank’s father, former police commissioner Henry Reagan (Len Cariou), and his three grandchildren.

Luckily for fans, CBS greenlit Boston Blue soon after the OG show ended. This time, the series follows Danny after he relocates to Boston to help his son Sean — a newly minted BPD officer — after he gets hurt trying to save someone.

Throughout season 1, Danny had to adjust to life in Beantown and quickly found himself assisting on cases as a detective before giving up his shield in NYC to live there full-time.

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The cast of Blue Bloods doesn’t just play a family on TV, they’ve become a tight-knit group since the show first premiered in 2010. The CBS series follows the lives of the Reagan family helmed by Tom Selleck’s Commissioner Frank Reagan. Frank’s father, Henry Reagan (Len Cariou), sits opposite him at the group’s weekly Sunday […]

While his family lives in New York, viewers have been treated to a few Reagan crossovers thus far, including Erin (Moynahan) and Pops a.k.a. Grandpa Henry (Cariou).

Danny’s nephew Joe Hill (Will Hochman) and his former NYC partner and girlfriend, Maria Baez (Marisa Ramirez) also popped up during season 1 before they decided to press pause on their relationship.

Although Jamie didn’t appear on season 1, he was part of the story line as was his and Eddie’s baby. During the season finale in May, Danny revealed that Jamie had a little boy named Joseph, after their late brother.

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Prior to Estes’ confirmed return, executive producer Brandon Margolis exclusively told Us that the hope is that all the Reagans will make cameos on the spinoff at one point or another.

“It enriches our lives to get to continue their stories,” Margolis shared in May. “So we would love to extend that invitation and have you know new Reagans appear and Reagans who were there last year to come back.”

Season 2 of Boston Blue premieres on CBS Friday, October 9, at 10 p.m. ET.

While My Life With the Walter Boys hasn’t shied away from major characters facing life-altering events, Ashby Gentry isn’t too concerned about Alex’s fate in the future.

Warning: Spoilers below for season 3 of My Life With the Walter Boys.

“Alex is actually indestructible, so I’m not super worried. Even if something did happen to him, he would emerge from it pristine, like a newborn baby,” Gentry, 27, exclusively quipped to Us ahead of the Thursday, August 6, season 3 premiere on Netflix, before admitting: “Yeah, actually, I get worried sometimes.”

Gentry, who doesn’t partake in the bronc riding on the show, explained to Us that he “[gets] on horses all the time” but still faces nerves for himself and his equine-loving character. That is, until Alex decided to step back from his rodeo crew at Hartford.

“I’m literally going horseback riding after this and I get nervous sometimes because you never know. Things happen. I mean in any stunt sort of encounter, you never know what could happen,” he noted. “But I mean, I’m not really that nervous by the end of the season because he’s not doing the bronc riding anymore.”

While Gentry isn’t concerned for Alex, fans of the show are eagerly awaiting season 4 (dropping on Netflix in 2027) to find out the fate of his brother Cole (Noah LaLonde). The brooding bad boy in an on-again, off-again relationship with Jackie (Nikki Rodriguez) was last seen rolling over in his car several times after being hit by a competitor.

From Gentry’s perspective, the accident could serve as a catalyst for Cole and Alex to bond amid their tension stemming from navigating love triangles.

“I would be surprised if it didn’t [bring Alex and Cole closer],” Gentry reflected of the incident. “Jackie brought them closer, like, fighting over a girl brought them closer. So if rolling his car six times doesn’t, something’s backwards there.”

Gentry pointed to the previous cliff-hanger of family patriarch George’s (Marc Blucas) health scare as something that united the Walters in season 3.

“I think George’s stroke at the beginning of season 3 slash end of season 2 brings everybody closer,” Gentry explained. “People are shaped much more by their conditions than they create their conditions. I think we have that backwards in contemporary culture.”

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Despite playing coy about any of the events unfolding in season 4 (“I’ve heard it’s good,” he teased), Gentry did weigh in on what he wishes for Alex’s future.

“I hope Alex has a happy day,” Gentry said. “I hope Alex has a good day for once at some point because Alex has not had a good day in a long time. That’s what I wish for him.”

My Life With the Walter Boys season 3 is streaming on Netflix now.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been swinging through various box office records ever since it premiered just last week, and that means Spidey fever is taking over the globe again. Sony is taking that opportunity to strike while the iron is hot, and bringing back two decades’ worth of web-slinging in a new release that will thrill fans.

Sony Pictures has officially released 10 brand-new digital posters celebrating its entire Spider-Man movie library, featuring the various Peter Parkers, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Tom Holland, and Miles Morales (Shameik Moore). The newly unveiled artwork has begun appearing across digital storefronts, including Prime Video and the iTunes Store, giving every Spider-Man movie a consistent visual identity for the first time.

Rather than treating every release as its own thing, the design is unifying them all under one big Spidey umbrella with a shared design strategy. Each poster features its respective Spider-Man as the central focus, backed by a distinct color palette while key supporting characters and villains surround the hero. The Raimi trilogy uses a rich red color scheme, Garfield’s Amazing Spider-Man films are bathed in blue, Holland’s MCU trilogy embraces gold, while the animated Spider-Verse movies are highlighted with vibrant purple hues.

The collection includes all three of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films starring Maguire, with posters showcasing iconic characters including Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) and Sandman (Thomas Haden Church). Garfield’s two Amazing Spider-Man movies also receive redesigned artwork featuring Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), Electro (Jamie Foxx), Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan) and the Lizard (Rhys Ifans).

Holland’s MCU trilogy—Spider-Man: Homecoming, Far From Home and No Way Home—rounds out the live-action collection, while both Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse complete the lineup with artwork centered around Miles Morales and the wider Spider-Verse.

How Successful Is ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’?

It’s officially one of the biggest movies of all time, based on the rip-roaring start it’s had. After opening to a record-breaking $360 million domestic debut, it posted the biggest opening weekend in North American box office history, surpassing Avengers: Endgame. Internationally, it launched with $932 million worldwide, the second-biggest global opening of all time, trailing only Endgame.

Brand New Day crossed $1 billion worldwide in just six days, making it the second-fastest film in history to do that — again, sitting just behind Endgame. And while it’s already the highest-grossing movie of 2026, it’s already realistic to discuss the prospect that it’ll surpass Spider-Man: No Way Home’s $1.92 billion total.

Brand New Day is playing in theaters worldwide right now.

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Release Date

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July 29, 2026

Runtime

145 minutes

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Director

Destin Daniel Cretton

Writers

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Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers

Producers

Avi Arad, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Amy Pascal, David Cain

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As Harry Potter prepares for its theatrical re-release as part of the film’s 25th anniversary, the movie theaters are also preparing for the influx of fans wanting to relive the magic once more. So, it comes as no surprise that the popcorn bucket trend has followed suit, allowing fans to take a piece of the wizarding world with them.

The popcorn bucket trend began in 2024 when Dune: Part II released its infamous Sandworm popcorn bucket. This collectible went viral due to its design, to the point where other movies, like Deadpool & Wolverine, followed suit, creating popcorn buckets with questionable designs. At the same time, this led many movie releases to produce their own collectible popcorn bucket, when usually these would be distributed either during press screenings or in amusement parks. One of the recent popcorn bucket designs is an IMAX camera popcorn bucket that was distributed during The Odyssey‘s theatrical run.

With all eight Harry Potter films returning to theaters later this month, Cinemark and Regal unveiled their Harry Potter collectible popcorn bucket and soda cup collection. Cinemark will be releasing three popcorn buckets. One is a tin bucket with a Harry Potter 25th anniversary decal wrapped around it and a “stirring wand” that’s shaped as Harry’s wand. The other two are a Sorting Hat popcorn bucket, where the Sorting Hat is the lid and the books are where the popcorn resides. There is a regular version and a limited edition where the Sorting Hat is color gold rather than the default brown. Lastly, Cinemark will also sell Gripper cups, where each design is based on one of the four houses. Cinemark’s collection is now available to purchase in theaters, and its official social media claims there’s more to come. Meanwhile, Regal’s collectible popcorn bucket offerings offer more variety in terms of design. The theater chain has revealed popcorn buckets designed as the Nimbus 2000, Hogwarts Express, and the Hogwarts Trunk, all coming with large popcorn. Additionally, it will also release a collectible combo which comes with a cup and a bucket with Harry Potter 25th anniversary decals wrapped around it. Regal’s Harry Potter collectibles will be available on August 27, when the Harry Potter theatrical re-releases begin.

What’s Harry Potter About?

Harry Potter is a franchise created by J.K Rowling that first began as a book series, but has expanded into films, video games, theme parks, merchandise, audiobooks, and soon, a TV series. It follows a young boy named Harry Potter who discovers he’s a wizard and was selected to study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Each year has him and his friends, Hermione and Ron, dealing with a new problem that tends to be connected to the return of Lord Voldemort. Years after the film’s release, as well as the spin-off movies, Fantastic Beasts, Harry Potter is making a return to HBO Max, with Season 1 scheduled to come out on December 25, 2026, and Season 2 is currently in production. Starring in this TV series are Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, and also starring in the show are John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, to name a few.

All 8 Harry Potter films will return to theaters starting on August 27. In the meantime, you can watch them at home on HBO Max. Follow Collider for more updates.

Dakota Johnson has a knack for making the seasonal style switch feel effortless. While everyone else is squeezing a few more weeks out of their favorite sandals, the actress is already reaching for the polished shoe trend that’s poised to take over this fall. Better yet, you don’t need a designer budget to copy the look.

Johnson was spotted in Los Angeles on August 2 wearing a green slip dress layered under a suede jacket, finished with a printed tote bag and classic black ballet flats. Her exact pair is a Phoebe Philo style that costs $1,100, but we found a near-identical version for just $22 on Amazon that delivers the same timeless, minimalist vibe.

Get the Dream Pairs Foldable Bowknot Ballet Flats for $22 (Was $35) at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate as of the publishing date but are subject to change.

The Dream Pairs Foldable Bowknot Ballet Flats capture everything we loved about Johnson’s shoes, from the classic round toe to the delicate bow detail. The sleek silhouette looks just as chic with dresses as it does with jeans, tailored trousers and skirts, making them the kind of versatile staple you’ll reach for well beyond sandal season.

Related: Eva Longoria’s Confidence-Boosting Bikini Look Never Goes Out of Style

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If there’s one swimsuit style that’s classic, simple and chic, it’s the classic triangle bikini, and Eva Longoria was spotted wearing the confidence-boosting look while on vacation. Her two-piece swimsuit reminded Us why some trends never lose their appeal, earning a permanent place in summer wardrobes everywhere. You don’t need a celebrity budget to recreate […]

This pair is practical, too. A tri-layer cushioned insole helps keep every step comfortable, while the water-repellent synthetic leather upper is designed to handle whatever the forecast has in store. The shoes even fold flat, making it easy to toss them into a tote for travel, long commutes or whenever your heels need a break.

With more than 4,100 five-star ratings, shoppers say they’re just as comfortable as they are stylish.

One reviewer praised the flats for their “great support,” adding that they’re “extremely walkable and do not hurt the back of your ankle.” Another customer called them “very pretty” and shared that they’ve “received many compliments” wearing them with “dresses, jeans, and black slacks.”

If Johnson’s outfit is any indication, ballet flats are officially taking over where summer sandals left off. Available in her classic black as well as silver, red and other colors, this classic style makes it easy to get ahead of fall style — without spending anywhere close to four figures.

Get the Dream Pairs Foldable Bowknot Ballet Flats for $22 (Was $35) at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate as of the publishing date but are subject to change.

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

UsNow Summer Sale Alert: These Chic Fashion Finds are over 30% off – Plus Free Shipping

Welcome to summer with our biggest sale of the year. This summer’s chicest dresses, tops and swimsuits are all over 30% + free shipping. Inventory is limited so hurry before they’re gone.

Shop the UsNow Summer Sale –>

Related: Jennifer Aniston’s ’90s-Inspired Weekender Tote Look Is Only $20

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Jennifer Aniston has never been one to chase flashy handbag trends. While everyone else cycles through micro purses and logo-covered totes, she’s loyal to one timeless staple: a roomy black weekender bag. And the style somehow manages to look just as polished today as it did in the ’90s. The best part is you can […]

Movies with the word drama attached to them get reduced to sadness far too often. Give an actor a breakdown, add heavy music, and people start throwing around words like powerful. The real masterpieces, however, earn that reaction through character, consequence, and choices that feel impossible even when nobody is holding a weapon.

These ten films go after ambition, grief, race, captivity, mental health, crime, greed, genocide, and family power without turning people into tidy lessons. Some are brutal. A few are surprisingly funny. All of them offer enough detail, emotion, and moral tension to make another viewing feel useful rather than repetitive. Scroll down slowly if that interests you.

10

‘Whiplash’ (2014)

Image via Sony Pictures Classics

Whiplash centers on Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller), a young jazz drummer at an elite New York conservatory who becomes obsessed with earning the approval of instructor Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons). Fletcher uses insults, humiliation, manipulation, and physical intimidation while claiming that comfort destroys greatness. Andrew accepts more abuse than anyone should because he wants to become exceptional more than he wants a healthy life.

The drumming is filmed with the urgency of an action movie. Sweat lands on cymbals, fingers bleed, chairs fly, and every change in tempo feels dangerous. Damien Chazelle also keeps the central argument uncomfortable. Fletcher is abusive, but Andrew’s ambition exists independently of him. He is already willing to neglect relationships, health, and basic decency for recognition. The role brought J.K. Simmons an Academy Award, though the lasting debate belongs to the film itself. Is this artistic triumph, emotional ruin, or both happening at once? Whiplash gives you enough evidence to argue all night.

9

‘Manchester by the Sea’ (2016)

Image via Amazon Studios

Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) works as a handyman in Boston and keeps almost everyone at a distance. After his brother Joe Chandler (Kyle Chandler) dies, Lee returns to Manchester-by-the-Sea and learns that he has been named guardian of his teenage nephew Patrick Chandler (Lucas Hedges). Going home also forces him back into the community where an unbearable personal tragedy destroyed his marriage and his ability to imagine a normal future.

Kenneth Lonergan understands that grief rarely behaves like a clean dramatic journey. Lee can handle practical problems, trade sarcastic remarks with Patrick, and get through a conversation before one familiar street or unexpected encounter knocks the air out of him. Patrick’s own mourning looks different. He worries about girlfriends, hockey, the family boat, and the disruption of his routine. That contrast keeps the film alive and occasionally very funny. Manchester by the Sea respects the fact that some injuries cannot be converted into inspiring recovery stories. It asks for compassion without manufacturing a cure, which is far more honest.

8

‘Moonlight’ (2016)

Image via A24

Moonlight tells Chiron (Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes)’s story across three stages of his life in Miami. As a child, he is bullied and neglected. During adolescence, questions around sexuality and masculinity become harder to avoid. Adulthood brings a carefully built exterior that hides how much of the frightened boy remains underneath. Three actors portray Chiron, yet the emotional line between them never breaks.

Barry Jenkins adapted an unpublished play by Tarell Alvin McCraney, whose own childhood helped shape the world of the film. Juan (Mahershala Ali), a drug dealer who offers Chiron protection, is also connected to the addiction destroying Chiron’s mother. Kevin (Jaden Piner, Jharrel Jerome, and André Holland) brings tenderness into a life where tenderness can become dangerous the moment someone else sees it. Moonlight refuses to explain every silence. A glance across a diner table can hold years of loneliness, shame, desire, and hope without turning the conversation into a speech. It is intimate, specific, and generous enough to let Chiron remain complicated. Give it your full attention and it will reward every quiet second.

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Collider Exclusive · Oscar Best Picture Quiz
Which Oscar Best Picture
Is Your Perfect Movie?
Parasite · Everything Everywhere · Oppenheimer · Birdman · No Country

Five Oscar Best Picture winners. Five completely different visions of what cinema can be — and what it can do to you. One of them is the film that was made for the way your mind works. Ten questions will figure out which one.

🪜Parasite

🌀Everything Everywhere

☢️Oppenheimer

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🐦Birdman

🪙No Country for Old Men

FIND YOUR FILM →

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01

What kind of film experience do you actually want?
The best movies don’t just entertain — they leave something behind.

ASomething that pulls the rug out — that makes me think I’m watching one kind of film and then reveals I’m watching another entirely.
BSomething overwhelming — funny, sad, absurd, and genuinely moving, all at once.
CSomething grand and weighty — a film that makes me feel the full scale of what I’m watching.
DSomething formally daring — a film that pushes what cinema can even do.
ESomething lean and relentless — pure tension with no wasted frame.

NEXT QUESTION →

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02

Which idea grabs you most in a film?
Great films are driven by a central obsession. What’s yours?

AClass, inequality, and what people are willing to do when desperation meets opportunity.
BIdentity, family, and the chaos of trying to hold your life together when everything is falling apart.
CGenius, moral responsibility, and the catastrophic weight of a decision you can never take back.
DEgo, legacy, and the terror of becoming irrelevant while you’re still alive to watch it happen.
EEvil, chance, and whether moral order actually exists or if we just tell ourselves it does.

NEXT QUESTION →

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03

How do you like your story told?
Form is content. The way a story is shaped changes what it means.

AGenre-twisting — I want it to start in one lane and migrate into something completely different.
BMaximalist and genre-blending — comedy, action, drama, sci-fi, all in one ride.
CEpic and non-linear — cutting between timelines, building a mosaic of cause and consequence.
DA single unbroken flow — I want to feel like I’m living it in real time, no cuts to safety.
ESpare and precise — every scene doing exactly what it needs to do and nothing more.

NEXT QUESTION →

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04

What makes a truly great antagonist?
The opposition defines the protagonist. What kind of opposition fascinates you?

AA system — invisible, structural, and almost impossible to fight because it has no single face.
BThe self — the ways we sabotage, abandon, and fail the people we love most.
CHistory — the unstoppable momentum of events that no single person can stop or redirect.
DThe industry — the machinery of culture that chews up talent and spits out irrelevance.
EPure, implacable evil — a force so certain of itself it becomes almost philosophical.

NEXT QUESTION →

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05

What do you want from a film’s ending?
The final note is the one that lingers. What do you want it to sound like?

AShock and inevitability — a conclusion that recontextualises everything that came before it.
BEarned emotion — I want to cry, laugh, and feel genuinely hopeful, even if the world is a mess.
CDevastation and grandeur — an ending that makes me sit in silence for a few minutes after.
DAmbiguity — something that leaves enough open that I’m still thinking about it days later.
EBleakness — an honest refusal to pretend the world is tidier than it actually is.

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06

Which setting pulls you in most?
Where a film takes place shapes everything — mood, stakes, what’s even possible.

AA gleaming modern city with a hidden underside — beauty masking rot, wealth masking desperation.
BA collapsing suburban life that opens onto something infinite — the multiverse of a single ordinary person.
CThe corridors of power and science at a world-historical turning point — where decisions echo for decades.
DThe grimy, alive chaos of New York and Hollywood — fame as both destination and trap.
EVast, indifferent landscape — desert and highway where violence arrives without warning or reason.

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07

What cinematic craft impresses you most?
Every great film has a signature — a technical or artistic element that makes it unmistakable.

AProduction design and mise-en-scène — every frame composed to carry meaning beneath the surface.
BEditing and tonal control — the ability to move between registers without losing the audience.
CScore and sound design — music that becomes inseparable from the dread and awe of what you’re watching.
DCinematography as performance — the camera not recording events but participating in them.
ESilence and restraint — what’s left unsaid and unshown doing more work than any dialogue could.

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08

What kind of main character do you root for?
The protagonist is the lens. Who you choose to follow says something about you.

ASomeone smart and resourceful who makes increasingly dangerous decisions under pressure.
BSomeone overwhelmed and ordinary who turns out to be capable of something extraordinary.
CA brilliant, tortured figure whose gifts and flaws are inseparable from each other.
DA self-destructive artist whose ego is both their superpower and their undoing.
EA quiet, principled person trying to make sense of a world that has stopped making sense.

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09

How do you feel about a film that takes its time?
Pace is a choice. Some films sprint; others let tension accumulate slowly, deliberately.

AI love a slow build when I know the payoff is going to be seismic — patience for a devastating reveal.
BGive me relentless momentum — I want to feel breathless and emotionally spent by the end.
CEpic runtime doesn’t scare me — if the material demands three hours, give me three hours.
DI want it to feel propulsive even when nothing is technically happening — restless energy throughout.
EDeliberate and unhurried — I want dread to accumulate in the spaces between the action.

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10

What do you want to feel walking out of the cinema?
The best films leave a mark. What kind of mark do you want?

AUnsettled — like I’ve just seen something I can’t fully explain but can’t stop thinking about.
BMoved and energised — like the film reminded me what actually matters and gave me something to hold onto.
CHumbled — like I’ve been in the presence of something genuinely important and overwhelming.
DExhilarated — like I’ve just seen cinema doing something it’s never quite done before.
EHaunted — like a cold, quiet dread that stays with me for days.

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The Academy Has Decided
Your Perfect Film Is…

Your answers have pointed to one Oscar Best Picture winner above all others. This is the film that was made for the way your mind works.

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Parasite

You are drawn to films that operate on multiple levels simultaneously — that begin in one genre and quietly, brilliantly migrate into another. Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is a film about class, desire, and the architecture of inequality that manages to be darkly funny, deeply suspenseful, and genuinely shocking across a single extraordinary running time. Your instinct is for cinema that hides its true intentions until the moment it’s ready to reveal them. Parasite is exactly that — a film that rewards close attention and punishes assumptions, right up to its devastating final image.

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Everything Everywhere All at Once

You want it all — and this film gives you all of it. The Daniels’ Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the most maximalist films ever made: action comedy, multiverse sci-fi, family drama, existential crisis, and a genuinely earned emotional core that sneaks up on you amid the chaos. You are someone who responds to ambition, who doesn’t want cinema to choose between being entertaining and being meaningful. This film refuses that choice entirely. It is overwhelming by design, and its overwhelming nature is precisely the point — because the feeling of being crushed by infinite possibility is exactly what it’s about.

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Oppenheimer

You are drawn to cinema on a grand scale — films that understand history not as a backdrop but as a force, and that place their characters inside that force and watch what happens. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is a film about the terrifying gap between what we can do and what we should do, told with the full weight of one of the most consequential moments in human history behind it. You want your films to feel important without feeling self-important — to earn their ambition through sheer craft and the gravity of their subject. Oppenheimer does exactly that. It is enormous, complicated, and refuses easy comfort.

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Birdman

You are drawn to films that foreground their own construction — that make the how of the filmmaking part of the what it’s about. Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman, shot to appear as a single continuous take, is cinema examining itself through the cracked mirror of a fading actor’s ego. You respond to formal daring, to the feeling that a film is doing something that probably shouldn’t be possible. Michael Keaton’s performance and Emmanuel Lubezki’s restless camera create something genuinely unlike anything else — a film that is simultaneously about creativity, relevance, self-destruction, and the impossibility of ever truly knowing if your work means anything at all.

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No Country for Old Men

You are drawn to cinema that trusts silence, that refuses to explain itself, and that treats dread as a form of meaning. The Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men is a film about the arrival of a new kind of evil — implacable, arbitrary, and utterly indifferent to the moral frameworks we use to make sense of the world. It is one of the most formally controlled films ever made, and its controlled restraint is what makes it so terrifying. You want your films to haunt you, not comfort you. You are not interested in resolution if resolution would be dishonest. No Country for Old Men is honest in a way that most cinema never dares to be.

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7

’12 Years a Slave’ (2013)

Image via Searchlight Pictures

Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a free Black musician living with his wife and children in New York when two men lure him to Washington, drug him, and sell him into slavery. He is beaten for insisting on his identity, transported south, and forced to survive under several enslavers while searching for any chance to prove who he is. The film comes from Northup’s 1853 memoir, which gives the story the weight of recorded testimony rather than invented suffering.

Directed by Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave refuses to make survival look simple or morally clean. Solomon has to stay intelligent without appearing threatening, preserve dignity while obeying cruel commands, and decide when helping someone else could get both of them killed. Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o) faces even worse treatment under Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), and her pain exposes the sexual violence built into slavery alongside forced labor and physical punishment. The long, unbroken shots deny viewers an easy escape from what is happening. This is demanding cinema, but the demand is justified. History becomes personal, immediate, and impossible to soften.

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6

‘The Shawshank Redemption’ (1994)

Image via Columbia Pictures

Banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) receives two life sentences for the murders of his wife and her lover, then enters Shawshank prison insisting he did not kill them. Inside, he befriends longtime inmate Ellis Redding (Morgan Freeman), known as Red, and slowly learns how the institution operates. Violence comes from prisoners, guards, and officials who benefit from keeping everyone frightened and dependent.

Its reputation can make The Shawshank Redemption sound safer than it is. The film deals with rape, suicide, corruption, institutionalization, and the slow erosion of a person’s belief that life outside prison still belongs to them. Andy’s financial skills give him a degree of protection, though they also make him useful to people with no intention of letting him go. Red’s narration brings warmth without hiding how thoroughly prison has shaped his thinking. Frank Darabont adapted Stephen King’s novella into a story about friendship and patience that has earned its popularity honestly. Watch it again and notice how much pain sits underneath the famous hope.

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5

‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ (1975)

Image via United Artists

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is funny enough to lower your guard and devastating enough to make that decision hurt. The ward will feel different after you leave it. Randle McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) enters a psychiatric hospital after being transferred from prison, hoping the ward will offer an easier environment than hard labor. He quickly challenges Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), whose calm routines and group sessions keep the patients obedient while presenting control as treatment. McMurphy encourages gambling, laughter, drinking, rebellion, and the dangerous idea that the men may have more agency than they believe.

The conflict has more depth than one rebellious hero fighting one cold authority figure. McMurphy inspires the other patients, but he also treats the ward as a stage for his own ego. Ratched’s cruelty rarely arrives through shouting. She uses shame, personal information, and institutional power while maintaining the appearance of professionalism. Miloš Forman’s adaptation lets the group become a real community, which makes every small change in Billy Bibbit (Brad Dourif), Chief Bromden (Will Sampson), Martini (Danny DeVito), and Cheswick (Sydney Lassick) feel important.

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4

‘Goodfellas’ (1990)

Image via Warner Bros.

Goodfellas traces Henry Hill (Ray Liotta)’s life from a Brooklyn teenager fascinated by gangsters to an adult living inside organized crime. The attraction is immediate. Mob life offers money, respect, excitement, and a community that seems far more powerful than the ordinary world. It also depends on violence, fear, addiction, betrayal, and the knowledge that friendship can disappear the second prison or money enters the conversation.

Martin Scorsese and co-writer Nicholas Pileggi adapted Hill’s story from the nonfiction book Wiseguy, keeping the thrill and ugliness pressed together. Henry’s narration invites the audience into the lifestyle before the film starts exposing its cost. Karen Hill (Lorraine Bracco)’s viewpoint adds another layer as attraction turns into complicity, isolation, and terror. The tracking shots, music choices, sudden violence, and dark humor create a pace that barely lets anyone breathe. Goodfellas never asks viewers to admire these people from a safe distance. It lets the seduction happen first, then shows exactly what was hiding inside the invitation.

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3

‘There Will Be Blood’ (2007)

Image via Paramount Vantage

Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) begins as a silver miner and becomes an oilman during the early twentieth-century California oil boom. He buys land, builds wells, manipulates communities, and presents himself as a family businessman while treating nearly every relationship as a transaction. His main opponent is Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), a young preacher whose church offers a different route to influence over the same frightened town.

Daniel’s hatred of other people is almost as strong as his appetite for wealth. Success gives him control without bringing satisfaction, and competition keeps becoming personal even when cooperation would be more profitable. Paul Thomas Anderson drew loosely from Upton Sinclair’s Oil! and created something far more focused on ambition, faith, performance, and American power. The drilling scenes are loud, dangerous, and full of practical detail. The conversations are even more hostile. Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano turn business meetings and religious ceremonies into open combat. Few films make achievement look this impressive and this spiritually empty. There Will Be Blood is a feast for anyone who likes character studies with real bite.

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2

‘Schindler’s List’ (1993)

Image via Universal Pictures

Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) arrives in Kraków during World War II looking for profit. He joins the Nazi Party, builds relationships with German officers, and employs Jewish workers because they cost less than Polish laborers. As persecution turns into mass murder, his factory gradually becomes a place where names on a list can mean the difference between life and death.

Steven Spielberg filmed most of the story in black and white, drawing on documentary imagery while keeping the focus on individual lives inside the Holocaust. Schindler begins as a charming opportunist, and his change comes through witnessing what the system he benefits from is actually doing. Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) understands the value of the factory long before Schindler fully accepts the responsibility attached to it. Amon Göth (Ralph Fiennes) represents power with every moral limit removed. The girl in the red coat appears briefly, but the image cuts through Schindler’s distance from the killing around him. Schindler’s List is harrowing, deeply researched, and built with enormous care. It should be watched with the seriousness its subject deserves.

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1

‘The Godfather’ (1972)

Image via Paramount Pictures

The Godfather introduces the Corleone family during a wedding, where celebration unfolds outside while Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) handles requests in a dark office. His youngest son Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) has returned from war and believes he stands apart from the family business. A conflict over narcotics, rival families, and political protection begins pulling him toward the world he expected to avoid. And that origin shapes the greatest trilogy the cinema has ever seen.

Its greatness reaches far beyond quotable dialogue and mob mythology. Family loyalty becomes a source of love, pressure, identity, and control. Vito understands power as a network of favors and relationships. Michael approaches it with colder focus, and every choice narrows the distance between the respectable future he described and the role waiting for him. Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo turned Puzo’s novel into a full social world shaped by immigration, masculinity, business, religion, and violence. The meals, meetings, marriages, and private warnings are as gripping as the killings. The Godfather is three hours long and somehow feels too rich to rush. Sit down with it properly and let the Corleones pull you in.

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The Godfather

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Release Date

March 24, 1972

Runtime

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175 minutes

Director

Francis Ford Coppola

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Writers

Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola

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