Movies

Jonathan Frakes, famous for his role as William Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation, directed an episode of Starfleet Academy titled “300th Night.” That episode featured the character Darem vomiting glitter – a running gag, as Darem had previously vomited glitter in the episode “Series Acclimation Mil.” Frakes recently discussed the glitter joke in an interview, explaining that he also added extra glitter to the episode’s party scenes.

Kelly Marie Tran gained recognition for her role as Rose Tico in The Last Jedi, where she played a brave and dedicated member of the Resistance who teams up with Finn to help the rebels evade the First Order. She reprised this role in The Rise of Skywalker, continuing to fight alongside the Resistance. While The Last Jedi received mixed reactions from fans, it launched Tran’s career, leading to roles in several projects. These include the animated film Raya and the Last Dragon, the sequel The Croods: A New Age, the TV series Sorry for Your Loss with Elizabeth Olsen, a remake of The Wedding Banquet, and most recently, the horror film Rock Springs, which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

Despite a highly respected career in dramatic roles, Jon Hamm seems determined to avoid being seen as too serious. He consistently seeks out comedic opportunities – from hosting Saturday Night Live to memorable appearances in shows like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Bridesmaids – and often challenges traditional ideas of masculinity in his work. He continues this trend with his latest role as the pompous and oblivious Mayor Jerry in Pixar’s new animated film, Hoppers.

The series, called Adolescence, was created by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, and features Graham, Ashley Waters, and Owen Cooper, who delivered an astonishing Emmy-winning performance as the troubled teenager Jamie Miller – all the more remarkable as it was his first acting role. Adolescence aimed to be disturbing, but its impressive technical aspects, particularly filming each episode in a single, continuous shot, made it even more captivating.

Wow, the first season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy really wrapped things up in a dramatic way! They finally caught Nus Braka – played brilliantly by Paul Giamatti, by the way – just as he was about to unleash Omega-47 and basically wipe out the Federation. It was crazy because he actually put Captain Ake and the Federation on trial! But the biggest reveal was learning that Nustopher was really just a deeply messed up kid, fueled by lies, who happened to have the power to destroy everything. It was a surprisingly emotional moment, honestly. Seeing that kind of vulnerability in such a powerful position was pretty impactful.

The results of the recent One Piece global character poll are in. This week’s regional rankings show a shift in Japan: Roronoa Zoro has overtaken Monkey D. Luffy as the most popular character, pushing the series’ protagonist down to second place.

Netflix released its live-action adaptation of One Piece in 2023. The series is based on the popular Japanese manga One Piece, created by Eiichiro Oda in 1997. The manga was previously turned into a long-running anime series that started in 1999 and now has over 1,000 episodes.

The Academy Awards generally prefer original, self-contained stories rather than sequels or films that are part of a larger series. Anime movies also often don’t receive as much promotion as Western films, which means they can be easily missed. Even with these obstacles, the artistry of Chainsaw Man felt more worthy of an Oscar than the film that actually won: KPop Demon Hunters.

Inspired by classic Westerns, the Clyburn family in The Madison decides to leave the East Coast and start a new life on a ranch. The first episode mirrors a heartbreaking event experienced by a well-known Western family from California.

It’s worth remembering this wasn’t a surprise. Seven months ago, when I predicted Kathryn Hahn would win for her role in The Haunting, I pointed out the Oscars have occasionally honored horror performances, like when Ruth Gordon won for Rosemary’s Baby. Hahn wasn’t the only nominee playing a magical character, either – Jamiylah Mosaku was also nominated for a similar role. And looking at the bigger picture, the film with the most Oscar nominations ever, as of 2026, is a horror movie. Sinners blends several genres – it’s a period piece, a musical, and a gangster film – but at its core, it’s a Southern Gothic horror story. Plus, Michael B. Jordan’s win for Best Actor made him the first actor playing a vampire to ever win in that category.