Movies

When the new episodes finally started airing, the response was… underwhelming, to say the least. Critics weren’t shy about it – The Atlantic said it felt like a pale imitation of what it used to be, and Variety went as far as to call it fanfiction. Even Time pointed out how predictable every storyline was, relying on tired old clichés. My coworker Roxana Hadadi put it perfectly: it looked stunning, but felt completely empty. The Emmys often lag behind the curve – we’ve seen shows nominated for years after everyone’s lost interest (like This Is Us and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) – but I have a feeling this season of Euphoria is so disappointing, it might finally knock the show off its Emmys pedestal.

The 60th anniversary celebration took a surprising turn to bring David Tennant back. Instead of reprising his role as the Tenth Doctor for new adventures, he played a brand new incarnation – the Fourteenth Doctor – into whom Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor transformed at the end of the 2022 special, “The Power of the Doctor.”

Natalie Erika James returns to original storytelling with her new film, following her work on the Rosemary’s Baby prequel, Apartment 7A. The movie stars Francis as Hana, a young medical student who’s dealing with body image issues and hoping to start dating Alanya, a gym instructor.

A major question surrounding Boston Blue was what would bring Danny Reagan to leave New York City after so many years on Blue Bloods. The show quickly answered that: Danny travels to Boston when his son, Sean, a member of the Boston police force, is hurt in a fire. He then teams up with a new partner, Lena Silver, played by Sonequa Martin-Green, and stays in Boston. The show features the Silver family sharing meals together, much like the Reagan family did, and despite some comments from Tom Selleck about the Blue Bloods spinoff, things are going smoothly.

Later that morning, he continued to boast about the situation, writing, “Stephen Colbert’s departure from CBS marked the ‘Beginning of the End’ for late-night hosts who lack talent, are unpleasant, highly paid, unfunny, and have low ratings.” He predicted others with similar shortcomings would soon follow, concluding with, “May they all Rest in Peace! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

Given the show’s premise of traveling to different places and taking on various jobs, you’d expect a compelling new character to emerge. However, the characters most likely to become fan favorites are mostly references for dedicated Star Wars viewers – specifically, those familiar with the animated shows created by Lucasfilm’s Dave Filoni. Since Ahsoka Tano was introduced by Rosario Dawson, characters from The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels have been appearing more and more in the live-action shows, and now even in the films. The issue is that these characters are presented as if we’re already supposed to know and care about them, rather than being properly introduced or developed for a wider audience.

The new Narnia movies are planned to hit theaters in February 2027, followed by a release on Netflix in April. While three of C.S. Lewis’s books have been made into films before by other studios, this version, directed by Greta Gerwig, will offer a fresh take on the story. This distinguishes it from the upcoming HBO Harry Potter series, which appears to closely follow the original Warner Bros. films.

The Star Wars series offer a wide range of stories. Some are set at very different points in the Star Wars history, while others concentrate on the Jedi, the Force, the Rebel Alliance, or bounty hunters. They also vary in how serious or lighthearted they are. The main thing most Star Wars shows share is that they are considered official parts of the story. After Disney rebranded the older expanded universe as Star Wars Legends, the franchise has largely focused on creating new, official stories.

Okay, so I’ve been checking out a pretty varied bunch of movies lately. There was a surprisingly good animated sports flick, a seriously creepy horror sequel, and a really fresh take on the Sherlock Holmes universe. And get this – two of them are huge right now! As of today, Black Phone 2 is cracking the top 10 on Netflix in the US, landing at number 10, and Goat is doing even better, holding strong as the second most-watched movie across the country. It’s cool to see different kinds of films hitting it big!

One of Max’s biggest releases for May is a new biopic about Bob Dylan. Directed by James Mangold, the film, titled A Complete Unknown, follows Dylan’s challenging journey to fame in 1960s New York, focusing on the pivotal performance that launched his career. Critics have given the film generally positive reviews, including scores of 6/10 from Ebaster and 82% on Rotten Tomatoes, with particular praise for the actor who plays the legendary musician.