Movies

Many popular shows are now taking incredibly long breaks between seasons, frustrating fans. For example, viewers had to wait three years for the latest season of Stranger Things, and the results weren’t what they hoped for. Severance also had a three-year gap between seasons. Now, the new Harry Potter series won’t return until at least 2028, meaning kids who enjoyed the first season will likely be grown up by the time the expensive and questionable adaptation continues.

The show focuses on the forging of the Rings of Power, taking place thousands of years before the events in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. While many viewers are enjoying this new interpretation of Middle-earth, it’s also proven quite controversial. Some fans of Tolkien’s books are unhappy with changes made to the source material, and others have criticized the show’s decision to include a more diverse cast.

The shocking ending of Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen shouldn’t be that surprising – the title itself is a pretty clear warning! The show expertly builds a sense of dread throughout, making it less about if something terrible would happen and more about who would survive. The finale delivers on that promise with a truly gruesome and high body count. After watching the entire series, though, it’s natural to be left wondering what the whole experience meant.

The show’s struggles are particularly noticeable in the first part of the finale, “Search and Rescue,” penned by creator Connor Hines and Elizabeth Beller. This section features John and Carolyn in marriage therapy, revisiting a familiar argument. The scene largely replays a fight from earlier in the season, which, as our reviewer Rafaela Bassili noted, felt overly dramatic. Carolyn is growing frustrated with how her marriage has thrust her into the public eye and forced her to accommodate John’s family. John, meanwhile, acts immaturely and blames Carolyn for not understanding what she was getting into. Despite the added pressure of their famous family name, the fight feels like a typical couple arguing about in-laws and a fading connection. Honestly, if I were there, I’d urge them to stop the unhealthy cycle and consider going their separate ways.

I just saw the latest manga sales numbers from outside of Japan, and it’s a bit of a mixed bag! The Jujutsu Kaisen spinoff, Mamahaha no Kokoroe, had a really nice boost – over 8,000 more copies sold for Volume 3, which is awesome! But honestly, everything else on the list pretty much stayed the same. It’s cool to see Mamahaha doing well, but I was hoping for a bit more movement overall.

RuPaul stars as President Judy Gagwell in a new movie where a speeding train is about to crash into a dangerous storm called a “Stormaganza.” Everyone on board is at risk, including a diverse group of passengers – young, old, and even Sarah Michelle Gellar. Hopefully, this role offers Gellar a positive experience after her planned Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot was canceled by Hulu.

The next Superman movie, written and directed by James Gunn, is set to be released in US theaters in 2027. It’s a sequel to the 2025 film Superman, also directed and written by Gunn, and stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.

A common joke among Star Trek fans is that only about 30 out of the 78 episodes of the original series are truly great. But that’s part of what makes Star Trek so beloved – everyone has different opinions on what makes an episode or movie good. While fans all have their favorites, only three of the Star Trek films manage to reach the same level of storytelling, excitement, and dramatic impact as the very best episodes of the original series or The Next Generation.

Kirill Sokolov directed They Will Kill You, co-writing the script with Alex Litvak (known for Predators). The villains are somewhat one-dimensional, like those in Ready or Not 2, with characters like Sharon (Heather Graham), the founder of an anti-aging company, and Kevin (Tom Felton), a typical arrogant rich man. They live in the Virgil, a Manhattan high-rise reminiscent of Rosemary’s Baby. The residents have achieved a kind of immortality by offering up new employees as yearly sacrifices. This ability to resurrect themselves makes the initial action sequences exciting, but eventually becomes repetitive. When Asia Reaves (Zazie Beetz) begins fighting back against the masked tenants who want to sacrifice her, she discovers they can regenerate lost limbs and body parts. While the film has a Tarantino-inspired, over-the-top style with elaborate sword and axe fights, it also uses the regeneration ability in more gruesome ways – like a detached eyeball chasing Asia through tunnels.

The best part of the movie is Vince Vaughn, who plays two versions of the same character. One Nick is a flashy, fast-talking mobster, while the other is a slightly more thoughtful version who’s traveled from the past to the present. He needs to stop his past self from making a terrible, life-altering mistake. You can actually see this setup in the trailer! It’s a funny moment when Nick’s partner, Quick Draw Mike (James Marsden), gets instructions from Nick to knock out whoever answers Nick’s door – only to find it’s Nick himself. Again, this all happens in the trailer, so it’s not a spoiler!