Shonen anime can be as simple as two guys hovering in the air trading supersonic blows, or the same thing, but with three episodes’ worth of expository chatter about power levels. Jujutsu Kaisen – back on our screens after a two-year wait for its third season – errs on the side of the latter. At its most basic level, it’s a world where evil spirits are exorcised via magical martial arts, but the system around that is so uniquely tailored to every individual sorcerer that it’s very easy to get lost in the supernatural weeds.

Now that we’re in ‘The Culling Game’ arc, there’s not only a convoluted magic system to remember, but a bunch of death game rules dense enough to give an Apple T&Cs list a run for its pixels. This isn’t helped by said rules flashing by so fleetingly in the English language version – I’m talking a couple of seconds at most – that fans have been memeing their difficulty in reading them since they first appeared on cinema screens in 2025’s compilation movie, Execution.

So, if you didn’t manage to hit the pause button precisely enough, let’s go over what Jujutsu Kaisen’s Season 3 arc is all about, and what those rules actually are.

What Is Jujutsu Kaisen’s Culling Game?

Season 2’s ‘Shibuya Incident’ was the first majorly consequential arc of Jujutsu Kaisen. The event turned the sorcerer world on its head, with villain Geto (or ‘Pseudo Geto’, possessed by the ancient Curse Kenjaku), alongside Special Grade Curses Mahito and Jogo, pulling off an act of terror in the famous Tokyo ward that killed countless people, including sorcerers Nanami and (possibly) Nobara, and imprisoned Satoru Gojo, the most powerful living sorcerer and a character I’m willing to bet keeps Japan’s economy afloat in body pillow sales alone.

Even more significant was Geto’s coup de grace at the end of it all; the finale of Season 2. Having experimented previously with cursed energy via the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings (from which Choso was born), Geto consumed and used Mahito’s Idle Transfiguration to flip the switch on select non-sorcerers, turning some of them into hosts for the spirits of past sorcerers he’d made deals with over the centuries, and activating cursed objects (akin to Sakuna’s fingers) he’d had them consume. Others, meanwhile, suddenly gained cursed techniques.  

As a parting gift, he also triggered the release of millions of Curses across Japan, turning the entire country into a blackened battleground. The imagery chillingly evoked both post-nuclear fallout and the kind of abandoned, monster-infested urban environment seen in things like I Am Legend. As with anyone who initiates a death game, Geto’s goal is sit back and watch the chaos unfold, hoping another ‘golden age’ of sorcery will be born from the fray. Imagine if The Hunger Games went nationwide – that’s the scale and spectacle to expect.

The Culling Game’s (Blink-And-You’ll-Miss-Them) Rules, Explained

The Culling Game has eight core rules to remember. As mentioned at the top of this article, they flash across the screen in the anime too fast for anyone who doesn’t have some kind of specialised jujutsu technique to reasonably take in, so I’ll simply write them verbatim below. You’re welcome!  

1. Once a player has awakened their cursed technique, they must declare their participation in the Culling Game at the colony of their choice within 19 days.

2. Any player who breaks the previous rule will be subject to cursed technique removal.

3. Non-players who enter a colony become players at the moment of entry and will be considered to have declared participation in the Culling Game.

4. Players score points by ending the lives of other players.

5. The point value of a player's life is decided by the game master. As a general rule, sorcerers are worth five points, and non-sorcerers are worth one point.

6. Excluding the point value of the player's own life, a player can expend 100 points to negotiate with the game master and add a new rule to the game.

7. In accordance with rule six, the game master must accept any proposed new rule as long as it doesn't have a long-lasting effect on the game.

8.  If a player's score remains the same for 19 days, they will be subject to cursed technique removal.

More are added by players as the arc unfolds; naturally, I won’t spoil those for you here!

What You Should Expect From Jujutsu Kaisen’s Culling Game

Like the Shibuya Incident, the Culling Game is another major ‘event’ arc for Jujutsu Kaisen, and the second huge jujutsu terrorism incident in Japan following the former. It also effectively resets the show’s premise – from the more innocent magic school days of Season 1 to an open world survival slug fest. 

While trying to free Gojo, find and kill Geto, cleanse the country of evil, and just make it out alive, Itadori has to contend with a sorcery society that also wants his head on a plate (because of Sakuna devastating Shibuya), sooner rather than later. As of Episode 2, he has his classmate Megumi, enemy-turned-brother, Choso, and his would-be executioner, Yuta, in his corner. However, with no Gojo or Nanami to come to his aid when things get tough, he and his peers are truly on their own now. It’s an opportunity for tremendous growth and colossal failure, as well as an all-important chance to reshape the future of Jujutsu Kaisen’s world, for better or worse.     

On Sunday evening in the Beverley Hilton in Los Angeles, the 2026 Awards Season kicked into gear with the 83rd Golden Globes. As expected, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another dominated the major awards, with movies like Hamnet, Sinners and The Secret Agent finding joy in other categories. On the TV side of things, the Globes followed the lead of last year’s Emmys while finding space for a couple of great shows that were released after that award body’s window of eligibility.

As a result, the Globes’ annual gala can actually offer a more complete snapshot of the last year in TV, which is why their winners are worth keeping an eye on. Read on to learn more about the 2026 Golden Globe-winning shows and use the guide below to find them on services like BBC iPlayer, AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. 

Adolescence (2025)

If you want to weigh up the cultural impact of Adolescence, consider this: in the space of 12 months, Owen Cooper has gone from living a relatively normal 15-year-old’s life in Warrington to winning an Emmy and a Golden Globe and could be seen chewing Timotheé Chalamet’s ear off and shouting out LFC from the stage on Sunday night. In six weeks, he’ll be making his big screen debut as a young Heathcliff (aka a young Jacob Elordi) in Wuthering Heights.

All that said, Cooper’s jarringly composed rise in the industry is really just one small part of Adolescence’s story. This is a show that brought social realism back to the masses via four snare-tight, single-take episodes. If you’ve yet to see it, imagine if This is England was shot by Emmanuelle Lubetski (Children of Men), and you’ll have an idea of what to expect. 

Awards: Best Male Actor (Stephen Graham), Supporting Male Actor (Owen Cooper) and Supporting Female Actor (Erin Doherty) in a Limited Series, and Best Limited Series.

The Pitt (2025-)

You don’t have to still be holding a torch for Noah Wyle from his ER days (or even Donnie Darko days) to enjoy The Pitt, but I guess it doesn’t hurt, which is more than you can say for a lot of what happens in this Pittsburgh emergency room drama. Over 15 real-time episodes, the show basically runs the gamut of human emotions, jumping from joy to despair in about as much time as it takes to walk down a corridor or through a door. 

Wyle got to take the stage on Sunday, just as he had done at the Emmys in September, but the rest of the cast deserve just as much recognition—especially Katherine LaNasa for her performance as head nurse Diana Evans (she won the Emmy but was oddly not even nominated here) and Taylor Dearden as Dr Mel. The new season started just last week—if you happened to jump on the bandwagon yet, now’s the time.

Awards: Best Series - Drama and Best Male Actor - Drama (Noah Wyle)

The Studio (2025-)

Is it simply a coincidence that the three biggest TV winners on Sunday night all paid such attention to temporality? The Pitt was structured so that each episode corresponded to a single hour. In Adolescence, each episode was convincingly presented as a single take. The Studio wasn’t that disciplined (it is a comedy after all), but it did seem just as obsessed with the oner—even devoting a whole episode to the challenges of capturing one. Somewhere up there, Béla Tarr (who passed away just last week) must have been watching on with a rueful smile. 

Created by Seth Rogen and his old writing partner Evan Goldberg, The Studio is a show about a Hollywood idealist (or naive dreamer) who lands an unlikely job as the head of a fictional movie studio—think This is the End meets The Player, and you’ll get the idea. It’s a show, like Entourage, that allows for all kinds of real-life cameos—up to and including Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard—and funny situations, but it’s also a worrying eulogy to a fading business and way of life. 

Awards: Best Series - Comedy or Musical, Male Actor - Comedy (Seth Rogen)

Pluribus (2025-)

Due to the unusual eligibility window, Rhea Seahorn will have to wait until September to see if her win for Best Female Actor will be repeated at the Emmys—an awards ceremony that has never really shown her the love, despite playing Kim Wexler for six seasons on Better Call Saul. Unlike that show, however, Gilligan’s sci-fi follow-up, Pluribus, has hit the ground running, seemingly capturing the zeitgeist along with the attention of the watching masses, including myself. 

If you’ve not seen it yet, Galligan’s invasion of seemingly benevolent body-snatchers feels like the perfect mix of his breakout work on The X-Files and his crowning achievement, Breaking Bad. 

Awards: Best Female Actor - Drama)

Hacks (2021-)

With three Globes and counting for her portrayal of Debora Vance in Hacks, Jean Smart is beginning to dominate this category like Sarah Jessica Parker did in the early ‘00s. That this richly deserved recognition has come so late in Smart’s career—especially in a culture that tends to award female actors early and men late—is nothing if not encouraging.

Whatever the case, four seasons in Hacks remains a finely written and delicately observed show, even as it has veered away from its comedy roots in more recent episodes. Come for Smart’s performance, of course, but stick around for Hannah Einbender (who plays her protege, frenemy and sparring partner, Ava) and the great Megan Stalter (who recently flourished in her first lead role in Lena Dunham’s Too Much).

Awards: Best Female Actor - Comedy (Jean Smart)

Dying for Sex (2025-)

The other Globe-winning show that was released too late for Emmy consideration last year was the tantalisingly titled Michelle Williams series, Dying for Sex. This is a show based on the real-life experiences (which she recounted on her podcast of the same name) of Molly Kochan, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 and decided to spend her final years having lots of sex. 

The series, which was developed for FX by Liz Meriwether (New Girl), follows Kochen’s attempts to find something that’s been eluding her her entire life: an orgasm. Williams, as ever, is the main draw here, but she’s backed up by a remarkable supporting cast—notably Jenny Slate (Obvious Child), Jay Duplass (Industry) and the one and only Sissy Spacek (Carrie).

Upon its release in 2025, Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later left audiences with their jaws on the floor due to the final whiplash of its ending. One moment, viewers were quietly sobbing along with protagonist Spike; the next, they were accosted by Power Rangers-type, tracksuit-clad ninjas, led by Jack O’Connell’s Sir Jimmy Crystal. As wild as the ending was, it ensured that everyone would be flocking out to see the sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which is out now.

Directed by Nia DaCosta, The Bone Temple picks up hours after that bracing ending, and follows Spike as he is unwillingly indoctrinated into the cult of the Jimmies. The sequel also expands on the stories of both Doctor Kelson and the infected Alpha, Samson. Given that The Bone Temple is meant to be the middle section of a new trilogy, this all makes perfect sense. DaCosta’s film does some excellent work planting the seeds for where the final chapter might go, without losing its own identity as a movie (something The Strangers: Chapter 2 could have learned from).  

But what do those loose threads seen in The Bone Temple mean? How will events and discoveries found impact upon how this new trilogy ends? We think we’ve got some pretty good ideas that we’re dying to share. If you have yet to see The Bone Temple, be warned that this article is going to spoil a lot of the film, especially THAT ending. 

The Bone Temple Ending, Explained - Who’s The Daddy?

Just like 28 Years Later before it, when it seems like everything was coming to a close, The Bone Temple rips a rug out from under the viewer. A young girl sits inside a cottage isolated in the rural countryside. She is doing a spot of studying, assisted by her father, who is not currently visible. The observant, though, will realise that the man speaks with an Irish accent, and 28 Days Later fans know exactly what that means. 

As excited whispers begin to echo around the cinema screen, the camera pans out to reveal exactly what everyone has hoped: Jim has returned. 

Last seen with Selena, Hannah, and a homemade SOS banner at the end of the first film, fans have been desperate for actor Cillian Murphy to return to the universe. After The Bone Temple’s announcement, there were rumours that Murphy might return to the series, but no one expected to see Jim back just yet. 

Soon after he comes into frame, he and his daughter notice two figures racing toward their house, pursued by some of the infected. Jim has schooled his daughter in more than just politics, and the two quickly switch from wholesome tutor and student to harbingers of death. As the pair steps outside, it is clear that the two people in need of sanctuary are Spike and Jimmy Ink. But will Jim let them in? 

Jim’s return obviously raises a lot of questions. Most notably because neither Hannah nor Selena appears to be with him. It has been 28 years, and so there are many possible explanations for their absence, and sadly, not all of them are good. 

The big question now concerns exactly how Jim will help the new arrivals. One fan theory posits that Jimmy Ink is actually the daughter of Jim and Selena, and therefore the older sister of the girl seen studying. If this is the case, what made Jimmy Ink abandon what appears to be a fairly cosy life? Could Selena have died, and in her grief, Jimmy Ink absconded only to be collected by Sir Jimmy? This theory makes the most sense from a narrative perspective as it gives the biggest scope for drama. 

Will Sir Jimmy Crystal Rise Again? 

Another approach could be that Jim is a stranger to both Jimmy Ink and Spike, and sensing that they are good, decides to help them anyway. In all honesty, though, given the size of the clan pursuing them, Jim might have no option but to help them, with Spike bringing a lot of trouble to Jim’s door. 

Speaking of trouble, in The Bone Temple, Sir Jimmy Crystal proves himself time and time again to be a man of great influence. The character's origin story is glimpsed at the start of 28 Years Later. At the start of the Rage virus outbreak, he and his sisters were routinely locked into a room with only a VHS tape of Teletubbies episodes for company. Then one day, this sanctum was invaded, and Jimmy was the only survivor. Racing to the church wherein his father was the priest, he witnessed his dad give himself willingly to the infected, believing them to have been a gift. Needless to say, this kind of trauma stays with a person, and with Sir Jimmy, it has manifested as a cult leader who thinks himself the son of Satan. 

As the leader of the Jimmies, Sir Jimmy ensures that he is always surrounded by seven of his followers. This number can never go higher than seven, resulting in, as witnessed throughout The Bone Temple, a revolving door of disciples. Spike and the audience discover the hard way exactly how one becomes a member of the Jimmies, as Spike has to fight an existing Jimmy to the death. Spike reluctantly fights and earns his spot, but becomes trapped in a waking nightmare. Of the group, it is only Jimmy Ink that appears to remember her time before the cult, and the pair strike up an alliance. 

After Sir Jimmy loses several key members of the Jimmies, including the Dipsy-dancing star that was Jimmima, he begins to lose control of the group. As so many mad tyrants before him, rather than accept his loss of power, Sir Jimmy doubles down only to have his bluff called when Jimmy Ink reveals she has found Jimmy’s dad, Satan. This character is, of course, the iodine-soaked Doctor Kelson, but wanting to save face, Jimmy has a meeting with Kelson and the pair strike up a bargain – if Kelson plays the devil, Jimmy will let him live. 

The result of this deal leads to an incredible sequence set to Iron Maiden’s ‘The Number of the Beast’ during which Kelson unleashes his inner thespian. 

Kelson is so good in his role as Satan that the remaining Jimmies believe him to be the real deal. This proves to be Sir Jimmy’s undoing, however, as after recognising Spike, Kelson urges the Jimmies to turn on their leader, which they do. Sir Jimmy lashes out, mortally wounding Kelson before finding himself strung up, crucifixion style. The last Sir Jimmy is seen when a gaggle of hungry infected approach him. Importantly, the camera cuts away before Sir Jimmy’s final fate is sealed, and it may be that audiences haven’t seen the last of the character after all. 

Chances are, Sir Jimmy is now infected and will somehow become an Alpha variant, making him smarter than his counterparts. This will enable him to hunt down the duo that betrayed him. This, in turn, means that Sir Jimmy will meet Jim. (Honestly, I appreciate that many things are scarce in the wake of a national disaster on this scale, but I didn’t realise that names were rationed, too…) 

Has Kelson Found a Cure for the Rage Virus?

While Spike is having a horrible time during The Bone Temple, for much of the movie, Doctor Kelson is having a fantastic time. He and infamously well-endowed Alpha, Samson, strike up a sweet friendship. Sure, it’s one based around getting stoned and listening to Duran Duran, but in a post-apocalyptic Britain, that sounds like bliss. Along the way, Samson starts to change, even managing to speak to Kelson. And this isn’t the only development, as through the power of flashback, the audience is treated to a memory of young Samson aboard a train. The newly changed infected Alpha is also overcome by some drive for modesty and fashions himself a loincloth. 

During The Bone Temple’s climactic moments, Samson is present. He witnesses the death of his friend, and while sadly it looks as though Kelson might be gone for good, he has passed on enough information for Samson to incite further change. Has Kelson somehow found a cure for the Rage virus? If so, Samson is surely the person to continue the work, but what exactly does a fully cured infected person look like? This is likely to be a strong component of the third film, and could ultimately end the film series that began in 2002. 

Is a Family Reunion on the Cards for Spike?

At the end of 28 Years Later, Spike returned to his home island with a newborn baby in tow. The child was the progeny of an infected woman, but the infant itself appeared fine, and so Spike decided to leave it with the community that raised him. Rather than stay by himself, he opted to go explore the world – well, the UK – on his own. This obviously has not worked out all too well for Spike, but could a happy ending still be on the cards?

Within his community lives Spike’s father, Jamie, and everything that we learned about the character in 28 Years Later points to a man who will not rest with his boy on the mainland. Jamie must therefore make a return in the third movie at some point; it is too large a plot thread to leave dangling. Plus, it would be interesting to see just how that baby is faring, and whether that, combined with Kelson’s research with Samson, could also help implement a cure. 

A reunion between Spike and Jamie would also be fascinating to see unfold, given how much Spike has changed. Jamie was a father who stuck to outdated traditional ideals of masculinity, concepts that Spike rejected when he left the island. Sir Jimmy Crystal was frankly just unhinged and might have softened Spike’s feelings for his father, but how will time with Jim impact their dynamic? Jim has always been more of a brains-over-brawn version of masculinity and one that feels more in tune with Spike’s own feelings. Might there be a battle between the real and surrogate father? And if so, who will win? 

Whatever direction the final chapter takes, The Bone Temple demonstrates that the future is less about surviving zombie-like masses and more about family and the possibility of redemption in a Rage-filled world. With Jim back in play, Sir Jimmy potentially reborn, and the first real hints of a cure on the table, the stage is set for a finale that will either see the franchise end with a ray of hope or see chaos reign forever. 

It’s a big year for Marvel, but 2026 is not just about Avengers: Doomsday. No, later in the year, Peter Parker is back in action as he tries to piece his life back together in the wake of Doctor Strange’s multiverse-saving spell.

While no one in the Earth-616 timeline remembers he’s Spidey, we do, and it’s safe to say that Spider-Man: Brand New Day is one of our most anticipated movies of the year. We obviously know that Tom Holland will return as everyone’s favourite webslinger, but he’ll also be joined by Jon Bernthal, who reprises his role as the Punisher, as well as Stranger Things alum, Sadie Sink.

As usual with Marvel, a few surprises are being kept up the sleeve. We’re not exactly sure who Sink will be playing, but there are plenty of rumours doing the rounds – everything ranging from heroes to villains and even a longstanding fancast that could finally come true. Let’s cut through the noise and check out all the potential characters she could be taking on.

Sadie Sink Could Be Playing a Pivotal X-Men Character

One of the most prevalent theories is that Sadie Sink will usher in a new era for mutants in the MCU by playing Jean Grey. We know that the likes of Scott Summers (James Marsden) and Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen) are in the Avengers: Doomsday cast, reprising their roles from the original X-Men trilogy, but it’s widely believed a younger team will take over the mantle from there onwards.

Sink would be perfect to play the problematic yet extremely powerful mutant. She not only looks the part, thanks to her striking red locks, but she’s also had her fair share of experiencing telekinetic powers thanks to her role as Max Mayfield in Stranger Things. Personally, this is the route I hope Marvel takes. Sink is clearly a great actress and a character that’s as integral to the future of the MCU as Jean needs someone who can carry that weight and make the mutants a credible force in the next phase and beyond.

Sadie Sink Could Be a Peter Parker Relative, Or Punisher’s Right-Hand Woman

Other equally fascinating rumours suggest two very different paths Marvel could go down. One would see Sink playing Peter’s daughter, Mayday Parker. We saw this character show up in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, but she was a baby there. So, how would this work, I hear you ask? Well, obviously, she would be an older version of that character coming back in time to meet her dad… Because, of course, nothing is ever simple in Peter Parker’s life.

Alternatively, Sink could be on a much darker side of the superhero world. Some have suggested she will be playing Rachel Cole-Alves, a young marine who is hellbent on getting revenge on the criminals who murdered her family and spoiled her wedding day. In the comics, Rachel teams up with the Punisher, and they’re a formidable pair. Seeing that kind of dynamic play out between Sink and Bernthal would be a real treat. 

This idea also fits with the fact that Sink has been spotted on set wearing military print trousers. The only problem is, there’s not a great deal of longevity to this role, per se, and you would think Disney would want Sink in the MCU for more than one movie.

The Shathra Rumours, Explained

From a morally questionable vigilante to a full-blown supervillain, some people think Sadie Sink will be taking on the role of a character we’ve never seen before on the big screen: Shathra. That theory makes a lot of sense, as Shathra is closely linked to the Spider-Verse in the comics.

Frankly, she’s pretty terrifying. Shathra is a wasp-goddess who preys on spider variants across the multiverse. Previous victims include Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man Noir, and Mayday Parker. She’s also got history with Ezekiel, who you may remember from Madame Web. 

Introducing Shathra would be a very cool way to take the Spidey movies in a fresh but dark direction. But do I think Sink will be the one playing her? Probably not. I can’t get away from those camo trousers the actress was spotted in… I don’t know about you, but I don’t think many multiversal deities wear army print clothing.

A Stranger Things Reunion Could Be the Best Outcome

Ever since the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, fans of the wallcrawler have been crying out for a live-action Miles Morales. Could we see that dream finally realised thanks to Sadie Sink and her Stranger Things co-star, Caleb McLaughlin? Videos of the actor, who played Max’s boyfriend Lucas in the show, flexing his acrobatic skills on social media have fuelled Spider-Man casting speculation.

Casting the pair as Gwen Stacy and Miles Morales would certainly be a great way for Marvel to lean into fan casting to get bums in seats, mirroring the John Krasinski as Mister Fantastic cameo in Multiverse of Madness. It would also ensure that two of the most talented young actors in the industry are locked in for the long haul. Although it’s worth adding that there’s been some backlash to the idea due to McLaughlin not embodying Miles’ Hispanic heritage.

Marvel has confirmed it plans to introduce Miles Morales to the MCU at some point. However, reports suggest Sony has told them to stay away from the character until they are done with their animated trilogy. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is slated for release in 2027, meaning Marvel would either have to go against Sony’s wishes by sneaking Miles into the fray in Brand New Day, or focus on Gwen for now and lay the foundations for the alternate Spidey for the meantime.

It’s possible, and would be very cool indeed, but Sadie Sink playing Gwen Stacy still has to be considered a long shot at this point.

There’s nothing better than immersing yourself in a fictional world for a couple of hours. Or, in the case of a great TV show, tens of hours. However, this big investment of your time doesn’t always pay off.

While shows like Breaking Bad, Friends, and Andor all managed to stick the landing when the time came to call it a day, other high-profile TV series don’t quite get the job done. In fact, some viewers felt they messed things up badly enough to kill their own legacy.

That’s certainly been the case for Stranger Things, with Season 5 leaving a portion of its fans so disappointed that many of them even convinced themselves that a secret bonus finale was coming to save the day. It never did, and the Netflix darling can now join these other five shows that ended badly enough to make some people very, very angry.

1. Stranger Things (2016-2025)

When Season of Stranger Things 1 first dropped, it truly put Netflix on the map as the king of streaming services. It also kickstarted one of the biggest pop culture phenomena of the 21st century, thanks to its impressive blend of ‘80s nostalgia and stunning sci-fi. It even had hints of horror and lots of dark fantasy elements, too, with the thrilling mystery of Will Byers’ disappearance at its heart.

Subsequent seasons were good but not as great, although they all had their special moments, like the Battle of Starcourt Mall and Max Mayfield’s epic escape from Vecna to the sound of Kate Bush. However, we were made to wait what felt like a lifetime for the fifth and final season, and when it finally arrived, it still somehow felt rushed. The visuals and CGI were poor in places, the story was full of plot holes, and the grand finale really lacked any of the intensity and magic that previous seasons had in bucketloads.

2. Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Speaking of rushed finales, the story behind the messy eighth season of Game of Thrones is a very ironic and frustrating one. The showrunners, DB Weiss and David Benioff, had done such a good job with the show up until that point that they were handed the holy grail: the chance to develop a Star Wars movie. The problem is that the pair were so eager to tie up Game of Thrones and head to a galaxy far, far away that they forgot to end the show properly.

Obviously, they weren’t helped by the fact that George R. R. Martin hadn’t finished the books the whole show was based on. However, the decisions Weiss and Benioff made for characters like Arya and Bran Stark, in particular, were heinous, and many fans claim the incredible journey they’d been on for seven seasons had all been for nothing. I wouldn’t agree, personally. I was late to the party on Game of Thrones, and by the time I got to Season 8, I had already heard all the negativity around the finale. It wasn’t great, obviously, but I’d still say the adventure on the whole is well worth investing time in. Catch it on Now TV and see if you agree.

3. Lost (2004-2010)

It took a whopping 121 episodes for J. J. Abrams to bring Lost to a close in 2010, and even then, he still left fans wanting more – but not necessarily in a good way. The sci-fi show was a mind-bending, thought-provoking mystery that unfolded over six epic seasons. What made Lost really special is that it came at a time when the internet was really starting to blossom, allowing fan theories to spread like wildfire.

The downside to that, though, is that those fans had their own ideas as to how the show should end. That doomed Lost to fail before it even ended. To be fair to viewers, Abrams did leave a hell of a lot of questions unanswered. I’m all for an ambiguous ending – they’re my favourite way to conclude a story, actually – but you simply can’t help feeling like Lost was too enigmatic for its own good.

4. The Sopranos (1999-2007)

It’s amazing that such a simple premise – a mafia boss who has anxiety and depression – could lead to one of the greatest TV shows of all time. Indeed, even including The Sopranos on this list feels a little bit harsh, as the overall quality of the six-season show is so high. But it’s for that very reason that we have to hold it to a higher standard in every way, including its ending.

In truth, there’s nothing wrong with the finale as a whole; it’s just as good as the other 85 episodes that came before it. That is, except for the very final moments of the episode, where a cut to black is all we get to say goodbye to the fascinating character of Tony Soprano. What exactly happens to him in that moment is up for debate, and fans hate that they weren’t given a definitive ending.

5. Killing Eve (2018-2022)

From a conclusion that ended just too soon, to one that dragged on for too long. Killing Eve, much like Stranger Things, was a breath of fresh air when it first started. By the time it finished, however, fans were scratching their heads and wondering what the hell they had just watched. Phoebe Waller-Bridge followed up her mammoth success on Fleabag with this twisted, sapphic thriller, and for the first couple of seasons, she captured lightning in a bottle. 

Season 3 showed signs of things falling apart, with unnecessary and meandering subplots and character development that stagnated. In many ways, it felt like the show was continuing without a real end goal in mind. By the end of Season 4, fans were livid with the way Eve transformed and how her relationship with Villanelle evolved, especially as it departed from the way things were supposed to go down in the book.

6. Sherlock (2010-2017)

Another BBC show that started impeccably and lost its way is Sherlock. As a massive fan of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novels, I was enraptured with this modern take on the classic character, mainly thanks to Benedict Cumberbatch’s superb performance in the titular role. He perfectly captured the spirit of the arrogant genius, and the mysteries he solved in the first couple of seasons were fantastic. 

However, much like Killing Eve, the show seemingly forgot everything that made it so special along the way. The third season was still fairly good, although one particular retcon is handled a little sloppily and far less convincingly than in the source material. However, it’s the fourth and final season that is a real travesty. Sherlock’s sister shows up, all focus is lost, and fans rightly wished that showrunners Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss had quit while they were ahead. Still, at least there are only three episodes per season, so you’re not going to be wasting much time by watching it from start to finish anyway…

It’s been interesting over the last few years to see the stars of Netflix’s Sex Education (like Aimee Lou Wood on White Lotus and Emma Mackay on Hot Milk) move on to bigger things. Something similar happened with Euphoria a few years ago, with Jacob Elordi, Zendaya and Sidney Sweeney; but for a slightly older teens-behaving-badly show that proved to be a hotbed of talent, it’s important that we show some respect to Skins—not least for the fact that, when the show was released, the transition from TV to movies was far less common.

Over seven seasons and three generations of cast members, the iconic Channel 4 indie sleaze show has so far produced an Oscar winner and an Oscar nominee, as well as a host of Hollywood stars. In fact, in 2025 alone, a Skins star appeared in one of the biggest tentpole releases of the summer. Another one appeared in two (yes, two) of the year’s best movies. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find a selection of their recent work on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. 

Nicholas Hoult (Sid Stonem)

As we mentioned above, while some of the Skins stars moved on to other professions (Mike Bailey, who played Sid in Season 1, apparently is now a teacher), more than a few have gone on to have dazzling careers. Bailey’s co-star from season one, Nicholas Hoult, is certainly one of them.

Hoult's rise was probably less surprising than others, as the actor had made his name before Skins, having starred alongside Hugh Grant in About a Boy. Since the show aired, however, Hoult has gone from strength to strength. In 2011, he enjoyed the first of five appearances as Beast in the X-Men universe. In 2015, he played Nux in the iconic action movie Mad Max: Fury Road and in 2025, he had his first of what will surely be many appearances as Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s Superman reboot.

Outside of IP work, Hoult has played real-life roles, like J.D. Salinger and J.R.R. Tolkien, and worked with great filmmakers like Clint Eastwood and Yorgos Lanthimos. Since bleaching his hair this year, he’s also (once again) very much a sex symbol. Good for him.

One to watch: Eastwood’s Juror #2 is old school Hollywood storytelling at its very best.

Dev Patel (Anwar Kharral)

In 2008, Dev Patel became the first major breakout from the Generation One of Skins when he was cast by Danny Boyle to play the lead role in Slumdog Millionaire—a movie that became a cultural sensation and went on to win best picture at the Oscars, earning Patel (who was just 18 at the time) a nomination for Best Actor at the Baftas along the way.

Since that dizzying early high, Patel has been working steadily in the industry—and was eventually nominated for an Oscar of his own for his supporting role, opposite Nicole Kidman, in Lion from 2016. 

In 2025, he directed and starred in Monkey Man, a movie that worked like a combination of Boyle’s hectic approach to Slumdog and the action cinema of John Wick. Elsewhere, Patel starred in David Lowery’s excellent Green Knight for A24 and appeared in Neill Blomkamp’s underrated Chappie. He also played the lead in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender—but the less said about that one, the better…

One to watch: Movies like The Green Knight are why people still flock to A24. Check it out.

Daniel Kaluuya (Posh Kenneth)

Is it slightly cheating to have Daniel Kaluuya on this list? The actor only appeared fleetingly as “Posh” Kenneth in the early seasons of Skins, but given the mark he has left on the cinema landscape since, it would be silly not to mention him. The actor seems to choose his projects carefully, but of the 16 movies he’s appeared in so far, many are modern classics.

These include Black Panther, Get Out (for which he was nominated for an Oscar), Nope, Sicario, Widows and a voice role in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. In 2022, he became the first Skins alumnus to win an Oscar (Best Supporting Actor), for playing Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah. He hasn’t appeared on screen since 2022 and, at the time of writing, is currently in development on his solo directorial debut, which of course, is based on Barney.

One to watch: Plenty to choose from, but Jordan Peele’s Nope is just phenomenal. 

Hannah Murray (Cassie Ainsworth)

I can’t quite work out why none of the female actors in Skins had quite the same careers as the boys—if the show were to air in 2025, I can only presume that might be different. Whatever the case, Hannah Murray, who played Cassie in the first generation, has gone on to have a solid career across various indie movies and one behemoth of a TV show.

In 2012, Murray appeared alongside Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows and followed it up with roles in some festival favourites, like the Belle and Sebastian musical God Help the Girl and the award-winning film Bridgend. For most viewers, however, she will always be known for playing Sam’s beau, Gilly, over seven seasons of Game of Thrones.

One to watch: For sheer longevity, it’s gotta be Game of Thrones.  

Joe Dempsie (Chris Miles)

Similar to Murray, Joe Dempsie’s post-Skins career has been defined by his recurring role as Gendry on HBO’s Game of Thrones. Outside of all that Westerosian lore, you can find him in two seasons of Shane Meadows’ excellent This is England spinoff series on Channel 4. On the big screen, he’s not been quite so active, but football fans in particular may recognise him for his performance as Duncan McKenzie in The Damned United.

One to watch: Like Murray, it’s hard to look past his appearance as the blacksmith who might be king in Game of Thrones. 

Jack O’Connell (James Cook)

I think if you asked Skins fans back in the day, which actor would go on to have the best career, most of them would have said Jack O’Connell. Over two seasons, O’Connell was simply electric as James Cook, an unpredictable Duracell bunny with a surprisingly deep well of emotions.

Unfortunately, as we all know, the movie business isn’t always as welcoming to working-class actors, and despite his acclaimed work in Starred Up in 2013 and an unfortunate missed opportunity with Angelina Jolie’s poorly received Unbroken, O’Connell has had to bide his time. Now, with his celebrated turn as the antagonist in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners earlier this year and his hinted-at central role in the upcoming 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the actor finally seems to be getting his due. 

One to watch: Starred Up is awesome, but it’s gotta be Sinners. 

Kaya Scodelario (Effy Stonem)

Kaya Scodelario, who played Effy across two generations of Skins, becoming the star of the show in Seasons 3 and 4, is another of the series’ stars who didn’t quite take off as much as fans expected her to. She made a splash on some franchise movies, appearing in three Maze Runners and one Pirates of the Caribbean, and even played Claire Redfield in the recent reboot of Resident Evil, but top-quality work has been a little harder to come by.

The exception to the rule was a starring role in Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights, which will forever be, IMHO, the best adaptation of Emily Brontë’s novel.

One to watch: As the text suggests, it’s Wuthering Heights.

Aimee-Ffion Edwards (Sketch)

Since playing Sketch in the first Skins generation, the improbably double-lettered Aimee-Ffion Edwards has enjoyed a steady career on the small screen. She appeared in Wolf Hall and voiced Ranni the Witch in the video game Elden Ring, but she is easily best known for two major recurring roles: playing Esme Shelby in Peaky Blinders and Shirley Dander in Slow Horses. 

One to watch: Blinders has the longevity, but her flirtatious/frenemy rapport with Kadiff Kirwan on Slow Horses is one of the show’s consistent joys. 

Will Merrick (Alo Creevey)

Fewer stars have emerged from Skins‘ third generation than the first two iterations of the show, but lead actor Will Merrick has landed some roles you might have seen. Outside his substantial career on stage, the actor got an early break in Richard Curtis’s About Time in 2013 and has more recently had small roles in F1 and Barbie, as well as on Silo for Apple TV+.

One to watch: Not a huge amount to choose from, but his biggest part is arguably in About Time.

Dakota Blue Richards (Franky Fitzgerald)

Dakota Blue Richards was a little like Nicholas Hoult at the beginning, having landed the role of Franky Fitzgerald in Skins after already starring in The Golden Compass when she was just 12 years old. Since leading Skins’ third generation, the actor’s most notable work has been a recurring role on Endeavour, the ITV detective series.

One to watch: If you’re a fan of Richards performances on Skins, you’ll probably get a kick out of seeing her in Golden Compass.

Nothing says GOAT-status quite like a list rating a director’s ten (yes, ten) most underrated movies. To even warrant consideration, the candidate must a) be beloved, and b) have made enough universally acclaimed movies that there are at least ten left feeling overshadowed. In both of these categories, like so many others when it comes to cinematic achievements, Martin Scorsese excels. 

The octogenarian has so far directed 28 features in his glittering career. In that time, he’s never exactly gone off the map, but there are enough commercial flops and critical misconceptions over the years to warrant the following ten movies’ inclusion—some of which you’ve seen, some perhaps not. Many readers won’t need reminding that the following are worthy of the Scorsese canon, but if you’re relatively new to exploring Marty’s back catalogue, or mostly know the classics (like Taxi Driver and Goodfellas), I’m kind of envious—there’s really nothing like seeing movies as good as these for the first time.  

The following list—which I’ve arranged in ascending order—offers something for audiences of various ages, but, of course, many of them skew towards more mature viewers. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. 

10. Gangs of New York (2002)

It’s fair to say that Gangs of New York—a crime movie set amongst the Irish immigrant community in New York in the 1860s—is nobody’s idea of peak Scorsese, but there are plenty of reasons to like it—especially if you’re a fan of the style of shows like Peaky Blinders and House of Guinness.

Cameron Diaz was admittedly miscast as the love interest, but this movie boasts plenty of well-placed talent elsewhere—including the first of Scorsese’s many collaborations with Leonardo DiCaprio and, in Bill “The Butcher”, one of Daniel Day-Lewis’s most terrifying creations. Earning almost $200 million at the box office, it also paved the way for the late career heights that followed.

9. Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974) 

In 1974, Scorsese followed up his early success with Mean Streets by taking a sharp turn toward melodrama with Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The result movie is sometimes overlooked as it’s not exactly the kind of thing people associate with the director. However, that certainly doesn’t mean it’s not worth seeing, not least for fans of movies from that era like The Bridges of Madison County or Five Easy Pieces.

Ellen Burstyn stars alongside Kris Kristofferson, with Jodie Foster amongst the supporting cast.

8. Cape Fear (1991)

Cape Fear is probably the closest thing to a straight-up horror movie that Scorsese ever directed. As a result, it’s another one of those genre exercises that people tend to overlook when considering his greatest movies—but they really shouldn’t.

Cape Fear is a nightmarish remake of the 1962 original of the same name (that film’s star, the great Robert Mitchum, even gets a cameo here) with Juliet Lewis as the ingénue and a never more frightening Robert DeNiro as the vengeful ex-con, Max Cady. Check it out if you’re partial to classic psychological horror (like Primal Fear) or if you appreciate Season 5, Episode 2 of The Simpsons—one of the show’s greatest ever homages.

7. Kundun (1997)

Kundun is the Scorsese movie people tend to bring up as an example of when a director delivers a hit (as he had done with Goodfellas and Casino) and follows it up with a far more personal project—what people in the biz tend to call a “one for you, one for me” arrangement.

Because of that, Kundun has a reputation for being slow and indulgent—but is there really anyone else you’d rather see be indulgent than Martin Scorsese? The movie is a biopic of the 14th Dalai Lama, so if you enjoy Bertolucci’s Last Emperor or even Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun, you might be into it.

6. New York, New York (1977) 

Scorsese’s first and only musical, New York, New York (which also has a great Simpsons episode dedicated to it), is probably best known for being the most wild behind the scenes production of the director’s cocaine years (it was the ‘70s, after all)—but if you like seeing directors directors of that generation try their hand at the genre (think Spielberg’s West Side Story or Coppola's One from the Heart), you might be really into it.

The movie stars Robert DeNiro as a saxophonist who falls in love with a singer (played by Liza Minnelli) on V-J Day in 1945. Of course, it features that song.

5. Silence (2017)

Diehard Scorsese fans will tell you that Silence is one of the director’s finest movies. I wouldn’t personally go that far, but I do think of it as some kind of flawed masterpiece. There are issues with it—for one, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver should probably have been cast in each other’s roles—but the best parts are phenomenal.

Liam Neeson gives one of his finest performances as a kind of monkish Colonel Kurtz, and, working in Japan for the first time, the director takes the opportunity to pay homage to Japanese cinema—and those moments are to die for. If you appreciate Akira Kurosawa (think Hidden Fortress, Throne of Blood) or other movies from that era, you’re probably gonna love it.

4. The Colour of Money (1986)

I think the reason that The Colour of Money is underrated, at least in terms of the history of Scorsese movies and Sports movies (a genre in which it deserves huge recognition), is that people aren’t quite sure how to categorise it. Is it a “legacy sequel” for The Hustler from a time before that term was invented? Is it a swansong for Paul Newman, who finally got to win the Oscar for playing Fast Eddie Felson, having lost it unjustly 25 years before? Is it a changing of the guard between Newman and Tom Cruise, Hollywood’s most glittering young star at the time? 

In reality, this movie of pool sharks, late-night dive bars and the inevitability of old age is all those things and more. It also features, in the sequences when Cruise hits the table, some of the most dazzling examples of total confidence ever captured on film. If you like classic sports movies like Hustler and Rocky, you just gotta see it. 

3. The Age of Innocence (1993)

Is it gender essentialist to suggest that the reason why Age of Innocence—an immaculate adaptation of Edith Wharton’s novel about high society in 1870s New York—tends not to land in the pantheon of great Scorsese movies is that the people who write those lists are usually dudes? It’s not not a theory.

This movie, among other things, features a delicious love triangle between Wynona Ryder, Daniel Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer. It also offers some of the most decadent production design of the 1990s. If you appreciate shows like The Gilded Age, you’ll probably devour it.

2. After Hours (1985)

Ask any Scorsese head which movie they think is undervalued from the director’s canon, and 95% of them will probably say After Hours. This was a smaller film that people had gotten used to from the director, but it was nevertheless a significant swing—a movie that feels like ‘70s Cassavetes (think Husbands or Elaine May’s Mikey and Nicky) but with an even more lurid undercurrent of sexual desire.

That said, a movie can only be referred to as underrated for so long, and at the rate that After Hours seems to be inspiring younger filmmakers these days (Anora fans take note), it’s only a matter of time before it’ll be, well, rated. Catch it while it still feels under the radar.

1. Casino (1995)

Am I insane for putting this one up top? Casino made a hefty profit in 1995 but was only nominated for a single Oscar—for Sharon Stone. The suits, most of which were designed exclusively by Giorgio Armani, are legendary, and yet, their positioning amongst the “best of the rest” on many lists (somewhere below the usual Mount Rushmore picks of Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Taxi Driver and The Departed) always struck me as a little off.

Tracking the early days of Las Vegas, Casino is a dazzlingly stylish tragedy, and a movie that chases its shots of decadence with nostalgia and melancholy—a mood that the filmmaker would later explore with The Wolf of Wall Street. If you haven’t seen it in a while (or, better yet, never have), I highly recommend giving it another watch.

When I Am Legend was released in 2007, fans of Robert Matheson’s influential novel were split over some of the choices the writers had taken with the source material. In case you haven’t read it, Matheson’s story ends with the protagonist, Robert Neville, realising that by relentlessly hunting the infected, he himself had become the monster—or the “legend”—in a world that had already left humanity behind. 

In the theatrical release, Neville (played by Will Smith) sacrifices himself heroically to find a cure, thus making him the hero, relieving the story of its moral punch, and effectively denying us the chance of a sequel. This was later course-corrected thanks to an alternative ending that appeared on the movie’s DVD—one that both showed the creatures to be sentient (even sympathetic) and left Smith’s character alive, leaving the door open once again for a sequel. Now, after two decades and some false starts, I Am Legend 2 might finally be going ahead with Smith and Michael B. Jordan (who recently learned a thing or two about vampires in Sinners) leading the cast. Everything is still in the early stages, and given the tantalising possibility of releasing the film as a 20th anniversary legacy sequel, it’s likely we’ll have to wait until 2027 to see it.

Can’t wait that long for another hit? We’ve got you covered. In the following list—which I’ve arranged in no particular order—you’ll find ten titles that look at similar themes: specifically, what it might feel like to be the last person on earth, or at least to think you are until someone (or something) else shows up. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. The Road (2009)

When people think about post-apocalyptic landscapes, whatever world they conjure up probably owes something to The Road. Cormac McCarthy’s modern dystopian classic has become synonymous with the image of a man and son navigating a barren wasteland, so even if the Jordan and Smith characters don’t end up being related in I Am Legend 2, you can be sure that the filmmakers will have it in mind when they sit down to write the story.

The 2009 adaptation is as fateful to the source as’ No Country for Old Men was to that other great McCarthy novel—so if you’re a fan of that Coen brothers classic, be sure to check this one out. Since its release in 2009, the movie has influenced a huge number of shows, movies and video games, not least the next title on this list…

2. The Last of Us (2023-)

The Last of Us is HBO’s adaptation of the celebrated Naughty Dog video game and its phenomenal sequel. In case you haven’t been keeping up, the show stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay as a surrogate father and daughter—a classic trope of the genre—as they attempt to survive in a world populated by fungus-enhanced, zombie-like creatures. The rub in this one is that Ramsay’s character is immune and may, in fact, be carrying a cure.

The game and show were both inspired by the world of The Road, but with the added touch of a world rewilding as human influence wanes—as seen in I Am Legend, among other places. If you appreciated showrunner Craig Mazin’s Chernobyl or are curious about how I Am Legend 2 will presumably look, this is one to see.

3. The Book of Eli (2010)

If you like the idea of seeing an I Am Legend-style movie, but with a little more influence from the world of Mad Max, The Book of Eli could be the movie for you—especially if reports are to be believed that the sequel will involve Neville travelling outside New York and encountering new settlements across America. 

The movie stars Denzel Washington as Eli, a man with a dog traversing a post-nuclear-holocaust USA. The story was written by Gary Whitta, who went on to work on Rogue One, After Earth and the video game adaptation of The Walking Dead.

4. Here Alone (2016)

Considering how inexpensively these kinds of movies can potentially be made for, it’s surprising more indie directors haven’t tried their hand at it. One of the most notable in the last decade was Rod Blackhurst’s Here Alone, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2016. 

The story follows a young woman into the wilderness after a zombie-like epidemic decimates the human race. While there, she encounters a man and his daughter, which prompts her to revisit the painful memories of what happened to her own partner and child. Like Last of Us and The Road, Here Alone ticks all the boxes of the genre but manages to pull it off on a much lighter budget—so if you’re keen to see what that might look like, this might be the one for you.

5. Hidden (2015)

If you’re a fan of all things Stranger Things, you might be interested in seeing where the Duffer Brothers started. The duo’s first feature, Hidden, which was released a year before Things began its iconic run on Netflix, takes place in a fallout shelter during an outbreak that might be turning people into—you guessed it—zombies.

The movie didn’t exactly make a huge splash, but it boasts an incredible cast (Alexander Skarsgard and Andrea Riseborough both feature) and works wonders with its spatial limitations. If you’re a fan of movies like Buried and Phone Booth, this might be the one for you.

6. The Omega Man (1971)

It would be wrong to make a list like this and not give credit to a few originators. 1971’s The Omega Man isn’t actually the alpha adaptation of I Am Legend (that honour goes to the charmingly goofy—and actually quite faithful to the book—The Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price, from 1964), but it helped to popularise the genre in a way that its predecessor didn’t quite manage. 

Don’t go into this one expecting Matheson’s downbeat and philosophical approach—this is a movie without vampires and one in which Charlton Heston, not for the first time, plays a Christ-like figure. Heston and producer Walter Seitzer would go on to collaborate on Soylent Green a few years later—so if you’re a fan of that cult classic, you might want to check it out.

7. A Boy and His Dog (1975)

Four years after The Omega Man was released, the actor L.Q. Jones independently produced and directed A Boy and His Dog, an adaptation of Harlan Ellison’s novel, which also boasts a title that most of the movies on this list could use. The story—which is set in the distant year of 2024 (eek)—follows a young lad and his telepathic dog through a dystopian wasteland somewhere in the South West of the United States.

If you’re a fan of the other movies on this list and haven’t seen it, I highly recommend seeking it out. Jones’ playful tone is said to be one of the key influences on the Fallout video game series, so if you’ve been appreciating that show, this one might be right up your alley. 

8. In My Room (2018)

If you like Matheson’s story for its more philosophical moments (which, to be fair, the Will Smith movie didn’t quite tap into as much as fans of the book would have liked) and don’t mind trying something a little farther afield, you might be interested in checking out In My Room—a last man on earth story by the German filmmaker Ulrich Kohler.

Kohler’s film premiered in Cannes in 2018 and got rave reviews from critics, who praised it for its offbeat and strangely hopeful tone. In some ways, this is more a film about touching grass than contemplating obliquity—so if you appreciate the films of, say, Kelly Reichardt (Old Joy, First Cow), you might really like it. 

9. Oblivion (2013)

And speaking of Oblivion, if you’re interested in a “Last Man” movie with more of a sci-fi twist, I can happily recommend this underappreciated Tom Cruise movie. This is the one where Cruise plays a repairman left on Earth to conduct the last few jobs (essentially turning the lights off) before joining the rest of the human race on a distant colony. 

This was the first collaboration between Cruise and director Joseph Kosinski—so if you like what the duo went on to do with Top Gun: Maverick, you might be interested in checking it out. Oh, and if the plot sounds familiar, just wait till you get a load of the last movie on our list…

10. WALL-E (2008)

Yes, as many people in 2013 quickly noted, Kosinski’s movie was essentially a live-action remake of the 2008 Pixar classic, WALL-E. This is a movie about the last of a fleet of adorable robots that were left to clean the mountains of trash that humanity left behind. 

In the movie’s impeccable, dialogue-free opening half hour, he meets a sleek robot named EVA, falls in love, and ends up following her to the last human space colony. This is a gem of Pixar’s golden age, a film that fans of Ratatouille, Up and even I Am Legend will absolutely adore. 

We all have our favourite directors, right? Just like a certain genre or trope might appeal to you more than others, the work of a filmmaker can sometimes be so distinctive and attuned to your tastes that you just can’t help but love everything they do.

Some directors, like Quentin Tarantino, for example, are so consistent in the tone and style of their work that it’s easy to recognise one of their movies immediately. Even someone like Stanley Kubrick, who ventured into various genres, had a clear voice and visual code that made his work unmistakable.

On the flipside, some filmmakers can truly surprise us. You may think you know their modus operandi, but you’d be wrong. Here, we pick out ten directors who have bucked the trend at some point in their careers to make movies you would never expect them to, for better or worse.

1. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and Babe: Pig in the City (1998) – George Miller

The crazy world of Max Rockatansky comes from the mind of Australian filmmaker George Miller. All of the Mad Max movies get progressively more wild, culminating in the brilliant Mad Max: Fury Road and its prequel, Furiosa. You’d be forgiven for thinking that Miller, who has spent the last 45+ years spawning stories from the Wasteland, was entirely devoted to dystopian tales. You’d be wrong, though.

Before he got to bring his fourth Mad Max film to life in 2015, Miller showed his softer side and made something completely against the grain of what you’d expect from him. Miller was brought in to direct 1998’s Babe: Pig in the City, a sequel to Babe, in a move which saw the acclaimed filmmaker swap death and destruction in the desert for talking animals on a farm. While Babe will always have a special place in my heart for being the first film I ever saw in a cinema, there’s something bizarrely brilliant about Miller being involved in its follow-up. Funnily enough, while it’s obviously a very light-hearted family movie, you can definitely spot Miller’s dark sense of humour at times.

2. The Godfather (1972) and Jack (1996) – Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola may have made riveting character studies like Apocalypse Now and The Conversation, but he will always be most famous for directing The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II. They are quite literally, officially, two of the very best movies ever made – if you don’t believe us, watch them on Paramount Plus now and tell us we’re wrong. The story of the great Don Corleone and his Italian-American crime family, The Godfather trilogy, is violent, gritty, and a sprawling epic in every sense of the word.

However, in 1996, 22 years after earning widespread praise for The Godfather: Part II, Coppola made Jack, for some reason. The comedy drama stars Robin Williams as a boy who grows four times faster than he should due to a rare medical condition, resulting in a socially stunted ten-year-old boy who looks like a middle-aged man. Is it a fun film? Sure. Robin Williams is always good value, and there’s some great slapstick humour in there. But is it a film suited to Coppola’s style and voice? Absolutely not.

3. Terminator (1984) and Piranha 2 (1982) – James Cameron

Another man who made two of the greatest movies of all time, James Cameron, rocked the world when he brought The Terminator to our screens in 1984. Seven years later, he rocked it even more with Terminator 2: Judgment Day. What’s interesting about those two films is that the first is essentially a sci-fi slasher, with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s relentless robotic killer hellbent on taking out his targets. The sequel, however, is far lighter in tone and is all-out action. They’re both perfect, and Cameron has since gone on to make waves with his Avatar movies, as well as making bank with Titanic in the ‘90s.

Before all that, though, Cameron paid his dues and brought the monstrosity that is Piranha II: The Spawning to our screens. The B-movie horror was a riff on Jaws, in many ways, but obviously nowhere near as effective. It’s also a film Cameron himself disowns, especially given he was fired before the project was completed. Still, his name is on the credits as director, and he can’t escape all the blame as he was even the one responsible for writing the script, too.

4. Spider-Man (2002) and The Evil Dead (1981) – Sam Raimi

Before the great comic book movie boom with the birth of the MCU in 2008, Sam Raimi was the man bringing your favourite superheroes to the big screen in style. His Spider-Man trilogy still stands as one of the benchmarks for films of this ilk (though the less said about Spider-Man 3, the better). Perhaps Raimi was lucky in that he found the perfect Peter Parker in Tobey Maguire, but there’s no denying that the director brings incredible visual flair, a great understanding of the characters, and can deliver fantastic action set-pieces across his three movies.

It may be surprising to some to know that Raimi actually started in the horror genre. In fact, the superhero stuff is very much a side gig for the esteemed filmmaker, who always relishes diving back into the world of demons, blood, and gore. His 1981 cult hit, The Evil Dead, is widely regarded as one of the best indie horror movies ever made. It may lean into the tropes of teenage victims being punished for their foolish, hedonistic ways, but The Evil Dead was startlingly fresh and original in its no-holds-barred depiction of supernatural horror.

5. Near Dark (1987) and Point Break (1991) – Kathryn Bigelow

More recently, Kathryn Bigelow has directed tense, taut thrillers like Zero Dark Thirty, Detroit, and A House of Dynamite. They’re all movies that are very politically-charged and full of social commentary. However, her best work to date is Point Break. The 1991 hit is riotously good fun, with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze hitting hitherto undreamt of levels of ‘guys being dudes’. Bank robberies, extreme surfing, jumping out of planes; Point Break has it all and is one of the quintessential action movies of the ‘90s.

You would never imagine that Bigelow would have been involved in a dark and violent vampire movie before all of that, but Near Dark is a fine example of how a skilled filmmaker can turn their hand to any genre and make it work. Sadly, no streaming services are holding Near Dark in their libraries right now, but if you’re a fan of movies like 30 Days of Night and The Lost Boys, you really should try to track it down. And when you look beyond the difference in genre, there are actually pretty similar themes at the heart of Point Break and Near Dark: both stories centre around one man’s reluctant induction into a dangerous gang – the only difference is, one of them needs to feed on blood.

6. Elf (2003) and Iron Man (2008) – Jon Favreau

Remember when we mentioned the inception of the MCU earlier? Well, Jon Favreau had a massive role to play in that cultural shift in the world of cinema, having directed the first Iron Man movie back in 2008. He also directed the sequel, as well as playing a key role in the movies as Happy Hogan, Tony Stark’s loyal bodyguard. These early Marvel movies are big, loud, bombastic productions, intended to match the characteristics of the hero at the heart of them.

Just how he made the jump to that realm after making one of the best Christmas movies of all time is beyond me, but I’m glad he did. Elf is a modern classic that simply has to be watched every time the festive period swings around, and you can absolutely tell that Favreau, Will Ferrell, and just about everyone involved is having the time of their lives making this movie. James Caan might not have found Ferrell funny, but I’d argue his role as Buddy the Elf is one of the best comedy performances of the 21st century.

7. Superman (1978) and The Omen (1976) – Richard Donner

Speaking of superhero movies, we go way back to 1978 for Richard Donner’s Superman. Now this is a true classic of the genre and is still heralded as the greatest Superman movie to this day, despite the likes of Zack Snyder and James Gunn trying their best to emulate what Donner achieved all that time ago. Like Sam Raimi and Spider-Man, Donner was blessed with the ideal actor for the dual role of Clark Kent and the Man of Steel in Christopher Reeve, who not only looked the part but was phenomenal at flitting between the two personas with ease.

Just two years before asking us all to look to the sky, though, Donner had us hiding behind our hands in fear as he brought The Omen to life on the big screen. While some of its special effects are rather dated now, almost 50 years later, The Omen is truly horrifying at times, and is another one of those horror movies that has been the blueprint for so many more to follow. The tonal shift between The Omen and Superman, in such a short space of time, is unthinkable, but Donner really was a magical moviemaker.

8. Shutter Island (2010) and Hugo (2011) – Martin Scorsese

It would be highly reductive to say that Martin Scorsese only makes mobster movies, even if he is very, very good at crafting those kinds of stories. With the likes of Mean Streets, Goodfellas, and The Irishman under his belt, it’s easy to forget that Scorsese also put out great movies like After Hours, The King of Comedy, and my personal favourite, the very dark, disturbing, and thought-provoking Shutter Island.

The twists and turns in this harrowing mystery thriller showcase Scorsese’s work at its most dynamic and gripping. Shutter Island also produces one of the best final scenes of all time, with Leonardo DiCaprio doing incredible work next to Mark Ruffalo. But did you know Scorsese also made the warm and fluffy family movie, Hugo? Just one year after embracing his dark side with Shutter Island, Scorsese poured his heart and soul into a tale celebrating his love of cinema. There’s no blood or violence in this one, just a filmmaker trying to show the world just how much cinema means to him by living vicariously through his characters.

9. Moonlight (2016) and Mufasa: The Lion King (2024) – Barry Jenkins

When Barry Jenkins broke onto the scene with his Oscar-winning romance movie Moonlight, it looked like we had one of the great modern storytellers emerging out of nowhere. Obviously, themes of sexuality, rejection, abandonment, and, more than anything, family, are deeply rooted in Moonlight, and that’s what makes it so mesmerising. It’s authentic and heartfelt, and it has something truly important to say to us as an audience.

It was quite disappointing, then, to see Jenkins eventually become a director for hire to make Mufasa: The Lion King. In fairness, he was attracted to the screenplay, which tackled themes of community – something he has covered previously in his work – and he was excited by the idea of building on The Lion King’s lore. He didn’t do a bad job, either, and he probably made enough money to fund a couple of indie movies in the process. But it will always be a shame that such a distinct voice was busy making live-action Disney movies instead of exploring the nitty-gritty of the human condition.

10. Fish Tank (2009) and Cow (2022) – Andrea Arnold

There’s a good chance that a lot of people won’t have even heard of or watched Fish Tank, and the same probably applies to Cow, too. Some of you might not even know who Andrea Arnold is, but you really should. If the above applies to you, please get on Disney+ and watch Fish Tank, and then log in to Mubi and watch Cow. I promise you won’t regret it. 

The former is a hard-hitting, coming-of-age social realism movie about a young girl who has to deal with teenage life while her mother is distracted by her enigmatic new boyfriend (played by Michael Fassbender, no less). Fish Tank is one of my favourite indie movies, and I still remember how I was blown away by it when I was shown the film at university. It’s very visceral and unflinching, but it’s also packed with stunning shots and powerful symbolism to drive home its messages around adolescence and the idea of freedom.

Meanwhile, Cow is a rather experimental, very direct documentary that offers the viewer the POV of (as you may have guessed) a cow on a farm. There’s no narration, which can be a little jarring for some, but in the end, the impact of this lack of human influence is very effective indeed. While the framing devices of these two Andrea Arnold movies are polar opposite and the divide between fiction and reality is crossed, there’s actually a clear pattern in the director’s work around themes of captivity, albeit with starkly different outcomes.

Thirty-five years after the first official Sundance Film Festival, the most famous indie launchpad in the world looks set for a bumper year. The yearly gathering, which takes place in the snowy ski town of Park City, Utah, can’t claim to have the same cultural clout these days as it did in the Wild West era of the early ‘90s or the twee resurgence of the mid-‘00s. 

However, as films like CODA and Everything Everywhere All at Once have shown in recent years, it’s still possible for a film to premiere there in an unheralded evening in mid-January and go all the way to the Oscars in March of the following year. Almost in fitting tribute to Robert Redford, the recently deceased Hollywood legend who helped found the festival and the Sundance Institute, this year’s lineup boasts a pleasing mix of returning alumni and exciting new talent in both the feature film and documentary sections. 

There are new films from mumblecore legends Jay Duplass (See You When I See You) and Andrew Stanton (In the Blink of an Eye), big name directors in need of a win (Olivia Wilde’s The Invite, Kogonada’s zi) and the usual glut of tasty looking documentaries on as wide ranging topics as the Harlem Renaissance (Once Upon a Time in Harlem), the Wu-Tang Clan (The Disciple), the comedian Maria Bamford (Judd Apatow’s Paralyzed by Hope), the chess prodigy Judit Polgar (Queen of Chess, which Netflix had already picked up) and even Charlie XCX (Aiden Zamiri’s buzzed-to-the-heavens experimental tour doc The Movement). 

That none of these have made my own most-anticipated top ten—which I’ve arranged below in no particular order—says all you need to know about the 2026 lineup. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find some of the filmmakers’ best-known work on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. The History of Concrete (John Wilson)

When How to With John Wilson completed its three-season run on HBO in 2023, it was difficult to know what the idiosyncratic documentary maker would do next. With that series, Wilson had used footage he’d been accumulating for years to make a surreal collage on the unique energies of New York City while, episode-by-episode, taking side quests worthy of Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends. 

For his new project, the feature-length documentary The History of Concrete, the documentary maker attends a class on how to make a Hallmark movie and uses the skills he learns to sell a documentary on a grey, gooey substance that we use to make roads and bridges. Sounds like a blast. 

2. Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass (David Wain)

As the man behind Wet Hot American Summer and Role Models, David Wain’s status as an American comedy icon will never be in question. That said, however, despite working regularly enough since then, he hasn’t come close to hitting those heights in quite some time—neither his 2012 movie Wanderlust nor his romcom satire They Came Together exactly set the world alight.

That could change with his generously titled Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, a movie about a woman from the American Midwest who travels to Hollywood to seek revenge when her husband actually manages to use his hall pass. Zoey Deutsch leads a glittering cast that includes Richard Kind, Sabrina Impacciatore, and a Mad Men alum reunion for John Slattery and Jon Hamm—should be fun.

3. Carousel (Rachel Lambert)

The most talked-about title going into Sundance this year seems to be Rachel Lambert’s Carousel. This is a movie about a divorced, lonely, but mostly content dad (played by Chris Pine) who starts to do a bit of life-reassessment when an old girlfriend (Jenny Slate) returns to town. 

Pine’s hot dad potential has been evident for years now, and nobody does the love interest thing quite like Jenny Slate—if you haven’t seen her with Chris Evans in Gifted, do yourself a favour and check it out. This is Lambert’s follow-up to Sometimes I Think About Dying, a Daisy Ridley movie from 2023 that was about as excellent as it was criminally underseen. That film came with plenty of sharp edges, so I’m guessing we don’t have to worry about Carousel being too cutesy. I couldn’t be more seated. 

4. Chasing Summer (Josephine Decker)

Since catching both Butter on the Latch and Thou Wast Mild and Lovely at the Berlinale in 2014, I’ve followed each subsequent Josephine Decker release with equal parts excitement and interest. Her lively 2018 breakout, Madeline’s Madeline, deserved all the attention it got, as did Shirley, her jagged, Elisabeth Moss-starring biopic on the writer Shirley Jackson.Her latest, Chasing Summer, is described on the Sundance site as being about a woman who returns to her hometown in Texas after losing her job and boyfriend—we can expect something stranger than that. Standup comic Iliza Shlesinger both writes and stars. 

5. Wicker (Alex Huston Fisher & Eleanor Wilson)

“A fisherwoman asks a basketmaker to weave her a husband” is not only the most succinct festival synopses I’ve ever read, but it’s also one of the most eye-catching. Read a little more about Alex Huston Fisher and Eleanor Wilson’s new movie Wicker, and you’ll learn that it also stars Olivia Colman, Aleksander Skarsgård, Peter Dinklage and Elizabeth Debicki. Not bad at all.

This is the writer-director duo’s second feature after 2020’s Save Yourselves!, a film about a couple from Brooklyn who travel upstate to touch grass, only for the world to fall apart while their phones are turned off—even typing that gives me anxiety. If you like your indies a little on the absurd side, this might be one to keep an eye out for. 

6. Extra Geography (Molly Manners)

Sundance will always be best associated with the American independent scene. That said, there are always at least a few hotly-tipped International titles that make a splash in Park City each year. In 2026, Molly Manners Extra Geography has every chance to stand out from the crowd. 

This is Manners’ feature-length debut, having made her name in the streaming world, most notably as lead director on Netflix’s One Day, on which she helmed the first three episodes as well as the heart-wrenching finale. The story, which follows two high school girls who decide to fall in love with their Geography teacher, sounds like a classic Sundance coming-of-age tale. 

7. Run Amok (NB Mager)

Never underestimate the theatre kid energy of the American independent film scene. In 2023, Sundance gave us Theater Camp—an underappreciated gem that probably should’ve been nominated for best original song at the Oscars that year—but the 2026 lineup, for better or worse, goes one better with premiers for two theatre-kid-centric movies: Giselle Bonilla’s The Musical (starring Rob Lowe and Gillian Jacobs) and, more enticing still, NB Mager’s Run Amok.

The movie, a debut feature for the director, is adapted from her own 2023 short of the same name and again features Alyssa Martin (a young star from Broadway) in the central role of Meg: a girl attempting to put on a musical about a shooting that happened in her high school a decade ago. Patrick Wilson, Bill Camp and no less than Molly Ringwald round out the cast. Watch this space. 

8. I Want Your Sex (Gregg Araki)

Another returning Sundance legend this year is the queer cinema icon Gregg Araki, who is returning to Park City with I Want Your Sex—his first film in 12 years. Festival prognosticators have been eyeing this one up at least since Cannes last year, so needless to say, the anticipation around it is about as hot and heavy as the synopsis deserves.

Araki first broke out at Sundance with The Living End in 1992, a punky and unapologetic film that cemented his place as a leading light in the New Queer Cinema movement. He rose to more commercially viable fame with Mysterious Skin in 2007, but has spent the last decade working sporadically on TV shows, like Monster and American Gigolo. I Want Your Sex stars Cooper Hoffman as Elliot, a young man who is hired by an artist (Olivia Wilde) to be her sexual muse. Johnny Knoxville and Daveed Diggs also feature. Sign me up. 

9. Buddy (Casper Kelly)

As the man behind the infamous Cheddar Goblin commercial in Panos Cosmatos’ batshit 2016 movie Mandy—you know, the one where Nick Cage makes this face—Casper Kelly’s debut feature was always going to be essential viewing. 

Kelly has been making surrealist comedies for Adult Swim for years, so don’t be surprised if Buddy, a story about a girl and her friends attempting to escape a kids' TV show (or so the log line goes), ends up being pretty weird. Cristin Milioti, Michael Shannon and Topher Grace star. I am still not sure which of them is playing the axe-wielding unicorn. 

10. The Gallerist (Cathy Yan)

Contrary to list-making standards, the final movie on our rundown could have the biggest mainstream potential of any Sundance feature this year. Titled The Gallerist, this is Cathy Yan’s first feature since directing Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in 2020’s Birds of Prey, a movie that was relatively successful with fans and critics at the time. Naturally, this will be more of a return to the director’s debut, Dead Pigs, a breakout at this very festival in 2018.

By the sound of things, The Gallerist is a straight art world/influencer satire—a world that is rife for comedy, though it can be deceptively tricky to pull off without seeming glib. Luckily, Yan has three Academy Award winners (Natalie Portman, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Catherine Zeta Jones) to help her out. They will be joined on screen by Zach Galifianakis, Jenna Ortega and Sterling K Brown. What a cast.

Don’t listen to the naysayers: January really is a good time for fresh starts. Of course, it’s not like something changes in our genetic makeup when the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, but nothing provides an unearned sense of clarity quite like an untouched calendar.

Now, as we reach the first proper Friday of 2026, the temptation to let those fledgling resolutions slide will be at its most potent. Luckily, there is no shortage of movies to help you stay the course, no matter what rational or irrational life-alteration you’ve decided to devote this most depressing of months to. In the list below, I’ve rounded up ten of the most popular New Year's resolutions and paired them off with recommendations of what to watch for a little extra motivation. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them all on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. Quit Smoking: The Insider (1999)

Let’s kick things off with a timeless resolution and a timeless piece of ‘90s cinema. Naturally, when it comes to nicotine, there are plenty of heartwrenching movies we could have gone for in this slot—but hey, January is hard enough as it is.

Instead, why not try Michael Mann’s The Insider, a Russell Crowe/Al Pacino two-hander that might do more by making you think about who benefits from all that cigarette money than any weepy about the “Big C”. As well as packing a substantial punch, this one’s also a gripping thriller—one that fans of movies like Michael Clayton and Erin Brockovich should lap right up. 

2. Dry January: The Spectacular Now (2013)

Like smoking, cinema abounds with movies that make you feel bad about drinking alcohol, but negativity does not always breed good results—sometimes the carrot really is more effective than the stick. A movie that might prod you more lightly in the right direction is The Spectacular Now—an underappreciated indie gem from 2013 that showed both the joys of teenage binging and the lesser-explored pitfalls. 

This is also a movie that helped to launch both Miles Teller’s and Brie Larson’s careers—so if you’re a fan of their more recent work (think movies like Eternity and Captain Marvel), this is one you’ll wanna see. 

3. Veganuary: Okja (2017)

I was tempted to go for Chris Noonan and George Miller’s Babe and its sequel, Pig in the City, for this slot, but they’re just a little too cutesy to affect any habit-forming change. Naturally, there is no shortage of gnarly YouTube documentaries to help one think twice about eating meat, but if we’re sticking to movies, Bong Joon-ho’s Okja feels like an easy medium.This was the director’s last film before Parasite and only his second in the English language, after Snowpiercer, so if you’ve appreciated either of those movies over the years, I recommend looking into this undervalued and action-packed caper. The movie (which features Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal and Stephen Yuen) takes place in a not-so-distant future where megapigs are being farmed to help feed the world's growing population. When a young girl from a farming family decides that she’s not quite ready to say goodbye to her porcine pal just yet, all hell breaks loose. 

4. Get Fit: Rocky (1976)

When it comes to fitness motivation, we’re also spoiled for choice, so why not go with the most obvious contender? We’re talking, of course, about the 1976 Sly Stallone classic, Rocky, a film that became a cultural phenomenon, birthed a nine-movie and counting franchise, and won Best Picture at the Oscars. Not bad.

The scene in which Rocky ascends the steps outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art actually became so synonymous with that location (and the fitness heads who flocked there to recreate it) that a bronze statue of Stallone’s character (a version of which originally appeared in Rocky III) was actually unveiled there in 2006. If you are only familiar with the saga from the more recent Creed movies (which are also aces), it’s high time you went back to see where it all started. It might even help get you moving.

5. Touch Grass: Wild (2014)

Afraid to check your average screen time for the last 12 months? Thumb-prints starting to fade from all that scrolling? Maybe a resolution to switch-off and touch grass could be the 2026 life-choice for you. Movie-wise, there are plenty of woo-woo-coded stories to point you in that direction (movies like The Way, The Salt Path, Into the Wild—you know, stuff with those kinds of names), but when it comes to plucky can-do vibes, you can’t go wrong with a bit of Reese Witherspoon.

Wild, released in 2014, is adapted from Cheryl Strayed’s non-fiction best seller about a 1100-mile hike of self-discovery that the writer took along the Pacific Crest Trail in 1995. If you’re curious about the book’s tone, consider the fact that the author legally changed her name to “Strayed,” and you’ll probably have some idea of what to expect.

6. Learn an Instrument: Whiplash (2014)

I’m not sure what to make of the fact that Miles Teller stars in two of the movies on our resolution list. Perhaps the actor, in his earlier years, was particularly drawn to more extreme or obsessive roles. Whatever the case, if you’re looking to pick up an instrument and need a movie to show the least healthy way to go about it, La La Land director Damien Chazelle’s breakout movie Whiplash is still as snare-skin-tight and thrilling as it was when we first saw it over a decade ago.

The movie stars Teller as a young and ruthlessly driven jazz drummer who comes into the orbit of an equally ruthless teacher (played memorably by J.K. Simmons). It might make you think about quitting, but it’s also oddly alluring about the thrills of playing live. 

7. Change Job: The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

No less of a cultural taste-maker than Bill Simmons recently placed 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada as the most rewatchable movie of the last 25 years. Whether or not you agree with that, there’s no debating the influence that David Frankel’s endlessly enjoyable movie has had on the world of fashion and magazine journalism—not to mention providing an enduring reference point for the theme of overcoming imposter syndrome.

If you’ve entered 2026 determined to carve out a new career path, this tale of a fashion world noob (played by Anne Hathaway) gradually finding her feet while working under the domineering Miranda Presley (Meryl Streep) could be just the push you need. 

8. Travel More: Lost in Translation (2003)

This is kind of a tough one, as the Tokyo of Sofia Coppola’s immaculate Lost in Translation—a place where no street sign or restaurant menu came in English, and one could go an entire day without seeing another Westerner—might no longer exist. Indeed, in the age of data roaming, it’s difficult to get lost anywhere anymore, yet when it comes to movies that offer a tantalising window into another world, few in the history of the medium have done it better.

Intentionally or not. Coppola's movie was so successful at selling the experience that you can still book out the exact karaoke booth where Scarlet Johansson and Bill Murray’s characters go to sing. This is a film that was a mood before things were moods. If you’re currently getting a little tired of hibernation mode and are starting to dream of a day spent staring out a train window at some unfamiliar landscapes (see also: Before Sunrise and Before Sunset), this is the one for you. 

9. Travel Less: Comfort of Strangers (1990)

On the other side of that coin, if the idea of squishing into a Ryanair flight for two hours only to find yourself walking down another high street filled with familiar fast fashion retailers and coffee chains (and don’t even start considering what all this is doing to old Mother Earth), maybe a resolution to travel less has crossed your mind. If so, there is a whole sub-genre of holiday-gone-wrong movies that we can point you in the direction of. 

There are plenty of horrors to choose from (Hostel being the obvious example). I’m personally partial to a unique subset of movies that began to surface in the early ‘90s, in which a normy couple’s vacay shapeshifts into a psychosexual thriller. Bitter Moon (with Hugh Grant and Kristen Scott Thomas) and Frantic (with Harrison Ford) are both top class, but Paul Schrader’s The Comfort of Strangers, a sultry, eerie adaptation of Iain McEwan’s Venice-set novel, takes the biscuit.

10. Make More Time For The People You Love: Tokyo Story (1953)

Let’s end this on a more gentle note. If, for 2026, you’ve decided to put a little more focus on family and/or friends, there is no film in existence more likely to inspire you than Yasujiro Ozu’s post-war classic Tokyo Story, a movie that many people, myself included, consider to be the best ever made.

Regardless of whether you agree, Ozu’s tale of an elderly couple’s journey to the Japanese capital—where they’re passed around from one disinterested adult child to the next, only to find real compassion in the company of their widowed daughter-in-law—might just be the encouragement you need to reach out to a loved one, whoever that might be. 

As romance lovers, we simply love love in all its forms—and if it comes packaged in a really good story, all the better! While some movie rom-coms can feel a little surface-level, the great thing about a book adaptation is that you can expect a certain amount of care and detail in its plot and character development.

Whether it’s a new adaptation of a period classic like Sense and Sensibility or a bonkers team-up between Nicholas Sparks and M Night Shyamalan (you read that right!), 2026 is set to bring us plenty of playful, emotional, and delightfully bizarre romances to set our hearts on fire throughout the year.

So, whether you’re a romantic at heart or are just looking for a great story to curl up with on a cosy evening, we’ve got you covered with this list of romance adaptations to look forward to in 2026.

1. People We Meet on Vacation (January 9, 2026)

If you love a good ‘opposites attract’ rom-com, People We Meet on Vacation will make for the perfect January watch. Based on Emily Henry’s 2021 novel, the story centres around best friends Poppy and Alex. Alex is cautious and introverted, while Poppy has an insatiable wanderlust and drive for novelty. Despite their differences, they’ve been best friends for a decade and have made it a ritual to meet up for a week-long holiday once a year. But when unacknowledged feelings between them finally surface, Poppy and Alex must figure out if they’re ready to leap into romance.

People We Meet on Vacation is one of the most hotly anticipated rom-coms of 2026, and Henry’s talent as a romance writer has already got Hollywood keen to adapt her other books as well—with Beach Read, Book Lovers, and Happy Place are all reportedly in development at various studios. So don’t miss out on the first of several exciting adaptations to come!

2. Bridgerton Season 4 (January 29, 2026)

Everyone’s favourite fantasy Regency romance series is returning for a fourth season at the end of January! Bridgerton is based on Julia Quinn’s delightful series, which consists of eight books, each—like each season of the series—focusing on one Bridgerton sibling and their love story.

Season 4 centres on middle child Benedict Bridgerton, who has so far remained on the sidelines as the bohemian bisexual brother with an artistic soul. Although Benedict’s book (An Offer from a Gentleman) is technically the third in the book series, the Netflix series’ creators chose to delay his story until the fourth season, switching it out for Colin and Penelope’s story in book four (Romancing Mister Bridgerton).

Like any good Bridgerton season, Benedict’s story is full of twists and turns—and perhaps a dose of salacious gossip from newly exposed Lady Whistledown is still to come. While there was much speculation about whether Benedict’s love interest would be gender swapped, it looks like we’re set to meet Sophie, as in the books, a mysterious maid who captures the eye of the second-oldest Bridgerton son.

3. Sense and Sensibility (September 25, 2026)

Queen of romance Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility is getting an exciting new update in 2026. This adaptation stars Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor Dashwood, who, along with her mother (played by Outlander’s Caitríona Balfe) and sister Marianne (Esmé Creed-Miles), finds herself suddenly facing economic uncertainty after the death of the family patriarch, forcing them to move to a modest cottage in Devonshire. Both Elinor and Marianne learn to navigate their new circumstances while also sifting through suitors and their own romantic longings.

The last Sense and Sensibility adaptation was directed by Academy Award winner Ang Lee in 1995. The film featured an incredibly stacked cast, including Emma Thompson as Elinor, Kate Winslet as Marianne, and Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman as suitors Edward Ferrars and Colonel Brandon. The film was nominated for seven Oscars and 11 BAFTAs, and has been widely accepted as one of the best Austen adaptations of all time— so, no pressure at all on the new film’s director, Georgia Oakley! 

4. Remain (October 23, 2026)

What do M Night Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks have in common? I thought nothing—until I read about Remain. The director (in)famous for his twist endings is teaming up with the man behind tearjerking romance novels like The Notebook and A Walk to Remember for a supernatural romantic thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor. 

Gyllenhaal’s Tate Donovan is an architect who, after a stint in a psychiatric facility to treat acute depression in the aftermath of his sister’s death, goes to Cape Cod to reset and work on a new project. There, he meets Wren, who challenges his carefully controlled routines and beliefs. The book itself was written by Sparks with input from Shyamalan and was only released in 2025, so it’s more of an adaptation package. I honestly have no idea what to expect from this collaboration, but it might very well be the team-up we never knew we needed!

5. The Love Hypothesis (2026)

Who doesn’t love a sizzling secret academic romance? That’s the basic premise around Ali Hazelwood’s 2021 novel, The Love Hypothesis, which centres around third-year PhD candidate Olive Smith, who starts an experiment with her professor, Adam Carlsen, to test their opposing hypotheses about love and attraction—only to find there might be a less controllable chemistry between them than either had thought. 

The adaptation stars Riverdale’s Lili Reinhart as Olivia, and Tom Bateman as Adam—so we already know the hotness quotient will be out of control. Even more intriguing, The Love Hypothesis originated as Star Wars fan fiction imagining Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren and Daisy Ridley's Rey pairing off in the unlikeliest of romances. We can only hope it will be as steamy as romantic fan fic tends to be!

6. The Other Bennet Sister (2026)

I’m hoping this dark horse BBC series might be the one to scratch my Jane Austen itch—but with a fun modern update. The Other Bennet Sister is an adaptation of Janice Hadlow’s 2020 novel, focusing on the distinctly overlooked Mary Bennet. The story starts in the aftermath of Pride and Prejudice, when Mary suddenly finds herself free of her sisters and on a path of discovery, self-acceptance, and love. 

While she is often dismissed and depicted as ridiculously untalented and socially inept in Jane Austen’s novel, The Other Bennet Sister gives Mary her dues and sees her transform in her own way and at her own pace—and maybe even find true love. I’m hoping for some sort of cross between the ‘90s BBC Pride and Prejudice, Too Much, and Bridget Jones!

7. You Deserve Each Other (2026)

At some point in 2026, we are going to need a light-hearted rom-com, and I can only hope that that time coincides with the release of You Deserve Each Other. Adapted from Sarah Hogle’s 2021 novel, the plot follows an engaged couple, Nick and Naomi, who both get cold feet after falling out of love before the wedding and begin to act out in increasingly outrageous ways to get the other to end things. But in ramping up the stakes and finally being authentic with each other, they might just risk falling in love all over again.

You Deserve Each Other is, without a doubt, one of the most anticipated rom-coms of 2026 for the casting alone. If you’re still recovering from the sight of Penn Badgley covered in blood while playing a psycho stalker serial killer in You, his role as Nick might be just the antidote you need. He is joined by Meghann Fahy, who more than earned her stripes in a series of stellar performances in The White Lotus (Season 2), The Perfect Couple, and Sirens. I cannot wait to see these two pull out all the stops in this lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers extravaganza. 

Based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, The Boys has gone on to become one of Prime Video's most successful television shows. First screening in July 2019, the series is a superhero property like no other. It follows an eponymous group of vigilantes determined to bring down egomaniacal Homelander and the company that created him, Vought International.

Originally intended to be a trilogy of movies, The Boys was eventually developed into a television series by Eric Kripke. The showrunner is no stranger to creating a hit TV show, having previously devised spooky juggernaut, Supernatural, which lasted for an impressive 15 seasons. 

Over Supernatural’s 327-episode run, hundreds of actors appeared in the show, and so it is no surprise that there has been some overlap. Since The Boys began, Supernatural fans have been treated to a raft of cameos, and for the fifth and final season, Kripke is bringing out the big guns. An announcement was made at the end of 2025 that both Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins, aka Sam Winchester and Castiel, had been cast. Their roles have yet to be disclosed, but Kripke confirmed that the duo will share screentime with another former Supernatural star, Jensen Ackles. So, it looks like Sam, Dean and Cas will be reunited once more. 

There are, of course, far more actors than just these three who have appeared on both shows. From heavy hitters to supporting roles, The Boys is littered with Supernatural alumni. To save you the anguish of trying to figure them out for yourselves, here’s a handy guide of all those that crossed over, listed in the order that they made their The Boys debut. 

Nathan Mitchell - Kelvin / Black Noir

It didn’t take The Boys long to begin recycling Supernatural cast members, and one was present right from the very first episode, ‘The Name of the Game’. Despite staring fans in the face from the outset however, actor Nathan Mitchell has likely passed viewers by, namely due to him playing the forever clad in a mask, Black Noir. Mitchell had a two-episode arc on Supernatural, playing one of Castiel’s few angelic allies, Kelvin. 

While that role was fairly small, his involvement on The Boys as Black Noir has been more prolific. Black Noir is a member of Vought’s most darling of supes, ‘the Seven’, and is a rare friend of Homelander. In addition to never revealing his face, Black Noir doesn’t speak, so Supernatural fans can be forgiven for not connecting the dots. 

Christian Keyes - Michael / Nathan

As Supernatural progressed, it went from being a story of two brothers searching for their missing father to something more Biblical. The arrival of Angel Castiel during the fourth season opened up the lore. Supernatural quickly became fixated on the dynamic of archangel brothers Lucifer, Michael, and Gabriel. These angels inhabited a variety of human vessels, with Christian Keyes being one of Michael’s during a visit to Apocalypse World. 

The brotherly theme continued for Keyes in The Boys, where he plays Nathan, the coach and brother of speedster A-Train, one of the elite Seven. Nathan arrived during the show’s third episode, ‘Get Some’, and although a supporting character, Nathan has been pivotal in the advancement of A-Train’s arc. Nathan’s former frustration with his brother’s lying and showboating looks set to change during the final season now that A-Train appears to be Team Starlight. 

Kai Bradbury - Casey / Young Kenji Miyashiro

Before going on to star in 35 episodes of Virgin River, actor Kai Bradbury was a key component in the creation of some of The Boys’ most important lore. Appearing through flashbacks in the sixth episode of Season 1, ‘The Innocents’, viewers were treated to an insight into Kimiko’s past. In addition to meeting a young Kimiko, there was the introduction of her brother, Kenji. Before that, during the earlier years of his career, Bradbury had a very minor role as a clerk named Casey on Supernatural.  

Alvina August - Tasha / Monique Milk

During the penultimate episode of the first season of The Boys, ‘The Self-Preservation Society’, the audience was given a glimpse into the personal life of Mother’s Milk when it introduced his wife, Monique. For that appearance, the character of Monique was played by Alvina August, who Supernatural fans should recall as having played the titular Tasha Banes in the Season 12 episode, ‘Twigs and Twine and Tasha Banes’. Although the character of Monique has continued to be a part of The Boys, her subsequent appearances have been played by actress Frances Turner. 

Jim Beaver - Bobby Singer / Secretary of Defence Robert A. Singer

In Supernatural, former Deadwood actor Jim Beaver played the beloved surrogate father to Sam and Dean, Bobby Singer. The bourbon-drinking hunter with a proclivity for calling others ‘Idjits’ was a firm fan favourite, and his arrival in The Boys was met with cheers of delight.  Beaver’s entrance in season one’s closing episode, ‘You Found Me’, had him playing the Secretary of Defence. 

An extra point of fun is that his The Boys character was nearly identically named as Robert Singer. His name wasn’t strictly a nod to his Supernatural character, however, as Bobby himself was inspired by a real-life Robert Singer, who was one of Supernatural’s executive producers and directors. 

Isaiah Adam - Forensic Tech / Lance Corporal Dan Miller

In contrast to Jim Beaver’s obvious-to-spot appearance, the next actor in the Supernatural / The Boys shared universe was much harder to spot, having had much smaller roles on both shows. Isaiah Adam starred in Supernatural fleetingly as a Forensic Tech in the Season 7 episode, ‘Hello, Cruel World’, but was fractionally more prominent in The Boys, where he played Lance Corporal Dan Miller, a soldier who posed with Homelander and Queen Maeve during the season two opener ‘The Big Ride’. Outside of these two shows, Adam’s most notable credit is a three-episode stint on The Expanse.

Adrian Holmes - James Turner / Dr Park

Originally, actor Adiran Holmes had a brief stint as a generic demon in Supernatural before going on to be cast as James Turner. James was the son of Sam and Dean’s psychic friend, Missouri (played by the excellent Loretta Devine). The character initially clashed heads with Dean Winchester, but ultimately the two became friends. Holmes was then called upon to play the role of Dr Park in The Boys’ season two episode, ‘Proper Preparation and Planning’. Holmes is proof that sometimes being a background actor is the perfect way to get your foot in the door. 

Lesley Nicol - Katja / Connie Butcher

Perhaps better known for playing Mrs Patmore across Downton Abbey, actress Lesley Nicol took on the role of Butcher’s mother in the penultimate episode of the show’s second season. The episode, entitled ‘Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker’, gave a rare peek into Butcher’s family life as Connie sought to inspire a reconciliation between her son and his father. In Supernatural, Nicol played Katja, the witch from the fable of Hansel and Gretel, who was eventually shoved into an oven by the Winchester brothers.

Jensen Ackles - Dean Winchester / Soldier Boy

When it comes to having Supernatural stars in your TV show, they come no bigger than Dean Winchester himself, Jensen Ackles. Except for the odd demonic or angelic possession or two, Dean was always a hero, and fans were dubious as to whether he could sell the villainous Soldier Boy. Any worries were immediately quelled when the character arrived on screen during Season 3’s second episode, ‘The Only Man in the Sky’, where his ego and aggression were plain to see. 

Riffing off of Marvel’s very own Captain America (a role which Ackles came close to playing), Soldier Boy was the first ‘superhero’ in Vought history and set the template that all subsequent supes would follow. During his time on The Boys, Soldier Boy has played for both sides, and although previously thought to be dead, was revealed at the end of season four as being very much alive. Ackles will return in the role for the final season (and that epic Supernatural reunion as well as The Boys prequel, Vought Rising. 

Alexander Calvert - Jack / Rufus

Although technically Alexander Calvert has yet to appear in The Boys, his character of Rufus has been a recurring character across both seasons of the sister show Gen V. In Supernatural, he was the young and innocent Nephilim son of Lucifer, Jack. The character quickly won over audiences, which was certainly not the case for fratboy walking redflag of toxic masculinity Rufus. 

Unlike The Boys, there are far fewer Supernatural stars on the Gen V roster, most likely because it features a younger cast of characters, but should Gen V return, it would be nice if Kripke could get some familiar faces attached. Osric Chau (who played Prophet Kevin Tran) would be a great addition.  

Jeffery Dean Morgan - John Winchester / Joe Kessler 

Jeffrey Dean Morgan is one of those actors who is known to different fandoms for different reasons. To The Walking Dead fans, he is Negan, for lovers of the movie Watchmen, Morgan is the dastardly Comedian, and to Grey’s Anatomy stans, he was charming heart transplant patient Denny. In Supernatural, he played Sam and Dean’s daddy, John Winchester, a character whose disappearance spurred his sons onto their fifteen-year mission. 

Despite only starring in a handful of episodes, the presence of John / Morgan was felt throughout, and so when he landed on screens in The Boys, fans were overjoyed. His role of Joe Kessler was confined purely to scenes involving Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher, but knowing that he and Jensen would have shared a set was enough to keep the Supernatural homefires burning.  

Rob Benedict - Chuck / Splinter

When fans of Supernatural sat down to watch The Boys episode, ‘Life Among the Septics’, during the fourth season, they were left screaming, ‘Oh my God!’ The episode features one of the craziest sequences in which Benedict’s character, Splinter (who can make copies of himself), is seen having intimate relations with himself. 

The ‘Oh my God’ sentiment from most viewers was because of how depraved the scene gets, but there was an extra layer of meaning to Supernatural fans as, during the course of the show, the author Chuck was revealed to – SPOILERS – actually be God. Although his time on The Boys was brief, there is no doubt that Benedict’s appearance left a lasting impression.

The Stranger Things finale has been a divisive topic since it dropped on Netflix on New Year’s Day. While some fans were left fully satisfied by how the Duffer Brothers concluded the show – a supernatural horror, ‘80s-set pop cultural phenomenon – others were left hungry for more. But what about Dungeons & Dragons fans? Stranger Things has been rooted in the world of the iconic fantasy role-playing game from the get-go – even borrowing inspiration for its central villain, Vecna, from it.

That’s why, if you’re au fait with all things D&D and get a kick out of every reference to the game, great and small, in the show, you would have been delighted by the surprise inclusion of another famous D&D villain right at the end of the series’ final (yes, final…) episode. For everyone else, it’s an incredibly minor, easy-to-miss detail among the spectacle and emotion of the last battle and the extended epilogue. But digging deeper into this Easter egg gives it wider resonance at the conclusion of this 10-year story, so let’s do just that.

What Is the Strahd Easter Egg in Stranger Things’ Finale?

Towards the end of Season 5, Episode 8, ‘The Rightside Up’ and several months after the climactic final battle with Vecna, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max gather for one last D&D game. The activity kept most of them bonded throughout their childhoods in Hawkins, as well as provided much of the terminology, lore, and survival tactics they used to understand and fight against the supernatural events unfolding around them. Here, on the cusp of adulthood, it’s set up as one last adventure, albeit one that’s ‘theatre of the mind’ rather than real-life danger.

The scene we’re shown is at the end of a campaign run by Dungeon Master Mike, where the other four players are about to face the Big Bad. Mike dramatically places a mini figure in front of the Dungeon Master screen, revealing that this final hurdle between them and victory is a vampire called Strahd (for whom a fully-committed Mike even puts in a set of false fangs to role-play as). 

Who Is Strahd, and Why Is He So Important In D&D?

In the world of D&D, Strahd von Zarovich is a powerful and ancient vampire who rules the land of Barovia with a tightly-clenched, iron fist. He’s a master of necromancy and other forms of magic, as well as a formidable warrior, and resides in Castle Ravenloft – a gothic fortress full of dark secrets and deadly traps.

The character was created by husband and wife Tracy and Laura Hickman in 1978, born out of their frustrations with the First Edition of the game not being sufficiently narratively-driven. Like Dracula, Strahd comes with a tragic and twisted backstory, a gothic setting, and an atmosphere of dread; friends who playtested their early versions of the game – initially called ‘Vampyr’ – loved it, leading to the couple adapting it for an official module in 1983’s Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, called Ravenloft. 

The setting and character, like the vampire myth itself, have endured through decades of new D&D editions, all the way up to 2016’s Curse of Strahd, a relaunch of the original Ravenloft adventure for 5th Edition. The Edition has been one of the most successful in the game’s half-century history, thanks, in part, to putting storytelling at the heart of its construction, just as the Hickmans wanted back in the late ‘70s.

As a villain with rich lore, his own distinctive domain, and a ‘sandbox’ campaign that players have to puzzle and fight their way through, Strahd is naturally (or unnaturally) as beloved as ever, maybe even more so, to some, than the godlike lich, Vecna.

Why Strahd Is the Perfect Mirror of Stranger Things’ Vecna

The ‘Vecna’ you get to know in Stranger Things is similar to his D&D counterpart in name and appearance alone (as well as some psychic and illusionary abilities, I suppose). In fact, the Duffer Brothers’ character actually has a lot more in common with Strahd. 

Both are formerly human, Strahd once a prince and warlord, and Vecna a boy in the 1950s called Henry Creel; both were ‘infected’ by a dark magic, of sorts, Strahd by the vampire curse, and Henry by an interdimensional entity, and made pacts with them for power at the cost of a symbiotic relationship and outcasted life (Strahd was said to have made his with Death itself); both rule over domains separate from ours from hard-to-reach fortresses – Castle Ravenloft is functionally the same as Vecna’s kaiju-like ‘Mind Flayer’ – and both cut off the hero party from the outside world: Barovia is a pocket dimension that can only be left when Strahd is slain; Vecna’s actions put Hawkins into lockdown in Season 5.

In Curse of Strahd, the vampire lord covertly offers select players the chance to work with rather than against him in the way that Henry, or ‘One’, as he was known in Hawkins Lab, tries to persuade Eleven to join him. They’re both master manipulators and obsessively paranoid control freaks who use others as spies and puppets. And on a thematic level, Strahd and Stranger Things’ Vecna are figures you can both sympathise with and easily root against. 

In the end, the ultimate tragedy is that neither wants to nor can be saved: you either throw your lot in with Strahd or slay him. Mirroring this, when Will attempts to broker an alliance with Vecna in the series finale, suggesting they team up against the entity with which Vecna made a pact, he immediately turns it down. You can regret having to kill these antagonists, but you can never redeem them.     

All of this is to say that Strahd is more than just another D&D reference in Stranger Things. That tiny figure of plastic and paint encapsulates the entire arc of the show. Mike and Co. slayed their monster, escaped their Barovia, and now can lay their weapons down at last.  

If you haven’t gotten on board with Industry just yet, there is still some time to brush up before the hotly anticipated fourth season begins. The first episode is set to drop on BBC iPlayer on January 12, from which point it stands a decent chance of becoming the most talked about show of the year—though A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and The Pitt season 2, both of which will be competing for eyeballs very soon, may have something to say about all that.

If you’re new to the show’s world of misbehaving stock traders and horny financiers, you’re not the only one—this is a show that needed a couple of seasons to shake off the doubters. For me, it really found its groove in 2023, during its blockbuster third season, when writers Mikey Down and Konrad Kay (who based the show on their own personal experiences) began not only directing each episode but also taking some big creative swings. 

If that standard is upheld in season 4 (where Down and Kay have again directed every episode), fans will be in for a treat—especially since the showrunners have added more famous names and recognisable faces to their established roster of stars. Read on to learn more about them and the returning cast, and use the guide below to discover some of their other work on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

Ken Leung (Eric Tao)

Every big new show, especially when it comes to HBO, needs a big name to help get things rolling. As untested newcomers, Down and Kay might not have had the clout to attract an A-lister. In Ken Leung—a reliable “that guy” actor of ‘00s TV and movies—they rediscovered a long-underappreciated gem.

Leung really caught the world’s attention with the attitude he brought to playing Miles on the last three seasons of Lost, but he had been popping up in the films of big-name directors for almost a decade before landing that iconic part—including Stephen Spielberg (A.I.), Tony Scott (Spy Game) and Spike Lee (Inside Man). 

Since Lost ended, however, Leung went a little off the radar, but his gutsy performance as Eric Tao has sparked an overdue comeback—alongside Season 4 of Industry, you’ll be able to catch him opposite Ryan Gosling in Project Hail Mary this year. I’ll be seated for whatever comes after.

Marisa Abela (Yasmin Kara-Hanani) 

The first few seasons of Industry alone have already helped launch the careers of David Johnson (who departed after season two before popping up in Alien: Romulus and The Long Walk) and Harry Lawton (who appeared in the Joker sequel and is still in the running to be the next James Bond). Given how season three ended, it was unclear if Marisa Abela, whose performances as Yasmin Kara-Hanani have only gone from strength to strength since the pilot in 2020, would be returning for another run, but thankfully, it looks as if she’ll be one of the main players again when Industry returns. 

If it’s to be her final season with the show, it will not come as a huge surprise—after appearing in a small role in 2023’s Barbie, the actress has gone on to win positive reviews for her portrayal of Amy Winehouse in Back to Black and more or less stole the show in Stephen Soderbergh’s starry Black Bag last year. Look out for her in John Wick director Chad Stahelski’s Highlander reboot—though you might have to wait a minute for that one.

Kit Harington (Henry Muck)

Concerns that Kit “Jon Snow” Harington was a bit of a one-trick pony were mostly put to rest with his wonderfully greasy performance as Henry Muck in the last season of Industry. Like Jasmin, fans weren’t sure if they’d seen the last of the character when the series wrapped up in 2023, but it looks like he’ll be coming back to stir the pot once again—presumably putting those already fragile-looking nuptials to the test with more of his petulant, privileged behaviour.

Perhaps it was karma for the final season of Game of Thrones, but it certainly hasn’t been smooth sailing for the actor since that long running HBO show ended—his most notable credit since has been a little movie called Eternals—but with Industry and a decent cameo in Lena Dunham’s Too Much in the last couple of years, his career seems to once again be trending in the right direction.

Myha’la (Harper Stern)

Of all the up-and-coming actors to sign on for the first season of Industry, the quickest to make a wider splash in the movie business was Myha’la. Soon after the first season aired, the mononymous and remarkably confident actor started popping up all over the place: first in Halina Reijn’s Bodies Bodies Bodies, then in Craig Gillespie’s Dumb Money, then opposite Ethan Hawke in the megahit Netflix movie Leave the World Behind.

Alongside reprising her role as Harper Stern this year, you’ll be able to see Myha’la in the upcoming Dead Man’s Wire, a period-set true-crime movie from the great Gus Van Sant.

Kiernan Shipka (Hayley Clay)

Having played little Sally Draper across all seven seasons of Mad Men (and later starring in the Sabrina reboot for Netflix), Kiernan Shipka, the first newcomer on our list, feels like a perfect addition to the business world of Industry.

Outside of those two well-established series, Shipka has been threatening a big screen breakout for several years now—notably appearing in Longlegs, Twisters and The Last Showgirl in 2024 alone. It’s difficult to say how big a role Shipka will play in Season 4 as Hayley Clay, an ambitious executive assistant, but don’t be surprised if she walks away with it.

Charlie Heaton (Jim Dycker)

Our next Industry newcomer, Charlie Heaton, is an actor who needs no introduction to any fan of Stranger Things—the Leeds native played Johnathan Byers for nine years on the hugely successful Netflix show, even meeting the apparent love of his life in the process.

Outside of that, Heaton hasn’t racked up too many credits elsewhere, but with the Hawkins saga finally coming to an end, he may be looking to spread his wings a bit in the next few years. His role as journalist Jim Dycker in Season 4 of Industry comes after co-starring alongside Al Pacino in Billy Knight last year. Watch this space.

Max Minghella (Whitney Halberstram)

When The Social Network was released in 2010, most people presumed that Max Minghella—handsome son of legendary director Anthony Minghella—would quickly establish himself as an up-and-coming star in Hollywood. Then, for whatever reason, it didn’t quite work out.

Naturally, Minghella hasn’t disappeared —you can see him in memorable roles in movies like Babylon, Darkest Hour and The Ides of March—but he’s had to wait a while for his next big part. Here’s hoping that his role as Whitney Halberstram—a CFO of a payment processor called Tender (where Shipka’s character also works)—in Industry Season 4 is the launch pad he’s been looking for.

Toheeb Jimoh (Kwabena Bannerman)

Since breaking out with his endearing—and Emmy-nominated—performance as Sam Obisanya in Ted Lasso, Brixton-born actor Toheeb Jimoh’s star has been rising steadily. Outside of that beloved Apple TV+ show, he appeared briefly in Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch in 2021 and played Romeo in a stage production of Romeo and Juliet at the Almeida theatre in 2023.

For the new season of Industry, Jimoh is playing a trader named Kwabena Bannerman at Mostyn Asset Management, which will presumably be a key location in the upcoming run of episodes, given how things ended at Pierpoint at the end of Season 3.

Kal Penn (Jonah Atterbury)

Since the end of season one, each new run of Industry episodes has introduced a new big fish or two for the show’s cash-hungry sharks to nibble at. Season 2 gave us Jay Duplass’s Jesse Bloom, a hedge fund manager, while season three brought in both Harington’s green energy CEO, Henry Muck, and Roger Barclay’s billionaire investor, Otto Mostyn. If the trailers are anything to go on, the season four equivalent looks to be Kal Penn’s Jonah Atterbury, the CEO of Tender.

If you know Penn from anything, it’s probably for being the latter half of the Harold & Kumar movies, a series of stoner comedies that brought the humour of Cheech and Chong to a new generation in the early ‘00s. We can expect his vibe in Industry to be a little less chill.

Amy James-Kelly (Jennifer Bevan)

The last new recruit for Industry Season 4 is Amy James-Kelly, an Antrim-born actress who began her career in Coronation Street when she was eight years old—playing Maddie Heath for 131 episodes from 2003-2005. More recently, James-Kelly starred as Anne Boleyn in Netflix’s Blood, Sex and Royalty. Now Industry has come calling.

In Season 4, James-Kelly will appear as Jennifer Bevan, a newly promoted Labour Party minister who, I expect, might have her morals tested in the show’s seedy world of corporate greed. All will soon be revealed.

If, like me, you turn into the Leo pointing meme from Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood whenever an unexpected (yet somehow familiar) face appears on screen, you probably had a field day watching Marty Supreme. Josh Safdie’s awesome new movie—which stars Timothee Chalamet as real-life 1950s table tennis pro, Marty Mauser—is packed to the brim with unexpected cameos from the world of film, TV, sports and YouTube. 

This is Safdie’s first outing since parting ways with his brother Benny, his co-writer and co-director on a run of great films that culminated with 2019’s Uncut Gems—another movie that filled its cast with interesting faces, though aside from the NBA star Kevin Garnett and character actors like Eric Begosian, there’s a good chance you probably hadn’t seen them before. 

Many of the cameos in Marty, however, are famous in their own unique ways. Read on to find out where you might know those faces from, and use the guide below to discover some of their work on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

15. Robert Pattinson

Robert Pattinson's cameo in Marty Supreme is so tiny that pretty much nobody realised it was even there until the director revealed its existence during a recent q&a. The Die My Love actor doesn't appear in person, but you can hear his voice during the British Open sequence early on, where he plays the umpire. In 2017, Pattinson—an actor who seems to love working with filmmakers he reveres (think High Life)—became the first bonafide Hollywood star to work with the Safdies when he took the lead role in Good Time. Marty can now be counted as their second collaboration together—hopefully it won't be their last.

12, 13 & 14. George Gervin, Kemba Walker and Tracey McGrady

Having made one of the most original basketball movies of all time in Uncut Gems—drawing a memorable performance from Kevin Garnett along the way—it’s no surprise that Safdie was able to convince a few NBA legends to appear in his latest sports movie. 

Kemba Walker, a four-time NBA all-star turned coach, and Tracey McGrady, a retired seven-timer, both appear as Harlem Globetrotters during the European tour, where Marty and Kletzki are providing the halftime entertainment. Meanwhile, George Gervin, a nine-time all-star and bona fide legend, plays the manager of the table tennis club where Ted Williams also appears. Make sure you go see it, and keep those eyes peeled if you do!

11. Izaac Mizrahi as Merle

In terms of cameos in Marty Supreme, my personal favourite was someone I’d honestly never heard of before: Izaac Mizrahi. The well-known fashion designer just kills for every second he appears on screen as Merle, the publicist to Paltrow’s golden age star, including absolutely stealing the scene when Marty comes to visit her dressing room late on.

Mizrahi is a popular personality in the fashion world, having appeared as a judge on shows like Project Runway and RuPaul’s Drag Race and as himself in episodes of Sex and the City and Gossip Girl. Acting-wise, he apparently had a tiny role in Men in Black, but Marty is surely his best to date.

10. Penn Jilette as Hoff

If you need a guy to play a cantankerous and potentially dangerous farmer who abducts a dog, why not ask one of the most famous magicians in history? Penn Jillette is best known as the more talkative half of Penn & Teller, a duo who rose to worldwide stardom after successfully making the move from Vegas act to television fame in the 1980s.

Though he’s appeared as himself in various movies and TV shows, Jilette has also acted in a few scripted roles over the years—including a part in Hackers and opposite Uncut Gems star Adam Sandler in the 2017 comedy Sandy Wexler. 

9. Luke Manley as Dion Galanis

You probably need to have been following the NBA in 2021 to know who Luke Manley is. The first time actor, who plays Marty’s larger than life business manager Dion Galanis, gained notoriety that year after a NSFW video he appeared in (outside Madison Square Garden after a New York Knicks game) went viral, prompting appearances on popular social media pages like New York Nico and Barstool Sports.

Safdie discovered him with the help of his casting director, Jennifer Venditti, and is said to have written the role with him in mind. 

8. Philippe Petit as the Brussels MC

Even keener-eyed viewers might have clocked the MC at the tournament in Brussels to be none other than Philippe Petit. The French high-wire artist became something of a living legend in 1974 after walking (without a safety rope or permission) between the two towers of the World Trade Centre on a tightrope. It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance, but one that rhymes perfectly with the movie’s “Dream Big” ethos. 

In 2008, Petit’s fame was given another boost with the release of the Academy Award-winning documentary, Man of Wire. Robert Zemeckis then adapted that story into his 2015 immersive film, The Walk, in which Joseph Gordon Levitt played Petit. So, if you’re looking to learn more about him, both are well worth checking out. 

6 & 7. David Mamet and Fred Hechinger as Glenn Nordmann and Troy

If you need someone to play a macho playwright in your movie, why not just hire a macho playwright? Nobody ticks those two boxes like David Mamet. The Broadway legend appears in Marty Supreme as Glenn Nordman, the director of Kay Stone’s—the Gwyneth Paltrow character’s—play. Cinema fans will know Mamet as the writer behind movies like The Untouchables, Ronin and Glengarry Glen Ross—the latter of which was adapted from his own play.

Keen-eyed viewers might also have spotted Fred Hechinger playing Stone’s Brando-like co-star in the play—a relatively famous face that Safdie never quite gets close enough for you to recognise. Hechinger shot to fame for playing Quinn in Season 1 of The White Lotus and has since appeared in movies like Gladiator 2 and Thelma.

5. Fran Drescher as Rebecca Mauser

Viewers on this side of the Atlantic probably still know Fran Drescher for playing Fran Fine on the long-running ‘90s sitcom, The Nanny and for playing Connie in Saturday Night Fever. In Hollywood, the actress is probably best known these days for being the leader of the actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA, and for essentially being the face of the actors’ strike in 2023. 

In Safdie’s film, she gives a delightful performance as Marty’s long-suffering mother, Rebecca.

4. Ted Williams as Ted

If you were vertical and conscious for the early years of YouTube, you might have done a double-take when Ted Williams’ face appeared in Marty Supreme. The so-called “Man With The Golden Voice” is probably better known to American audiences for his continued work as a sports announcer. However, even UK viewers should recognise him from an uber-viral video that began to circulate in 2011. 

If you haven’t seen it, the video shows a then-homeless Williams impressing a passing driver with his radio-perfect voice. Williams had been a fixture on the radio in the ‘80s before losing it all to addiction, but the video helped to get him back on his feet. In Marty, Williams plays Ted, an employee at the club where Marty practices and gets to share a couple of memorable moments with Chalamet. 

3. Géza Röhrig as Bela Kletzki

If something seemed familiar about Marty’s competitor-turned-friend, Bela Kletzki, it’s probably because the actor who played him, Géza Röhrig, has played a similar role before. Röhrig’s face will certainly be known to anyone who saw the powerful 2014 film Son of Saul, as the actor is basically shown in close-up for much of that relentless film’s running time.

Of course, that Auschwitz-based film features no table tennis, but Safdie was still shrewd to cast him as a character based on Alojzy Ehrlich, a table tennis pro who really did survive the Nazi death camp. In Marty, Röhrig’s Kletzki recounts an astonishing story involving honey bees that is apparently taken from Ehrlich’s memoir—it’s also probably the best scene in the movie. 

2. Abel Ferrara as Ezra Mishkin

The film’s other main bad guy, Ezra Mishkin, is played by one of modern cinema’s great bad boys, Abel Ferrara—a filmmaker who started in the porn industry before moving into feature filmmaking with provocative gems like The Driller Killer and Bad Lieutenant. 

Safdie actually cast the director in Daddy Longlegs, one of his earliest films, when Ferrara was still struggling with alcohol addiction. Since moving to Rome in the early ‘00s, however, the director has gone sober and has since become a kind of mascot and godfather to the thriving New York independent film scene. As Mishkin, he gets to bare his teeth and, more often than not, steal the show. 

1. Kevin O’Leary as Milton Rockwell

Given his fame and how much screentime he has as Marty’s best pal, Wally, I felt there wasn’t any need to add Tyler “The Creator” Okonma to this list. That said, Kevin O’Leary probably has even more lines than Okonma, yet his role feels more like the kind of stunt casting the Safdies are known for—especially from the POV of UK and European viewers. 

If you don’t know him, O’Leary is a hugely successful businessman who is famous in America for being the most charismatic judge on Shark Tank—basically the US version of Dragon’s Den—where he’s earned the nickname “Mr Wonderful”. In Marty Supreme, he plays the film’s main antagonist (a pen magnate named Milton Rockwell) with oily charm—he even gets to spank the world’s most famous actor with a paddle. 

As much as I love Oliver Laxe’s Sirāt, the film’s success slightly caught me off guard. First came a moment when I was shopping for Christmas presents and saw a whole rack of Blu-rays devoted to it, neatly arranged between Materialists and I Know What You Did Last Summer. 

Next came the announcement that the film had not only secured a nomination for Best Motion Picture - Non-English Language, but also for Best Original Score, placing the Berlin-based DJ Kanding Ray in a category with Hans Zimmer (F1), Alexandre Desplat (Frankenstein) and Ludwig Görenson (Sinners). Not bad. 

These events, of course, are more than welcome as the film is a one of a kind — and still my personal favourite of 2025. The story follows a father’s attempts to locate his daughter among the dust and sweat of an illegal rave scene, in and around Morocco’s dazzling Atlas Mountains — think Sorcerer meets Mad Max: Fury Road and you’ll have some idea of what awaits. Whether or not you’ve already seen it, however, there is naturally no shortage of great Spanish-language films available to watch at home. 

I’ve limited the following list — which I’ve arranged in no particular order — to one film per director, as we could easily be here all day. I’ve also tried to share the wealth between some different countries, but given the strength of the Spanish and Mexican film industries, the list is naturally quite skewed in their direction. 

Read on to learn more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

If you’ve enjoyed the recently released Frankenstein on Netflix (or like any of Guilermo del Toro’s other work, like Shape of Water) and for some reason have yet to see Pan’s Labyrinth — a story set just after the Spanish Civil War about a young girl who escapes reality by discovering a wondrous but terrifying world — I think it’s still the director’s greatest masterpiece. 

The beloved Mexican director’s breakout hit won three Academy Awards (cinematography, art direction, and makeup) in 2007 (aka Scorsese’s Departed Oscars) but managed to lose the Foreign Language gong to The Lives of Others. What a year! 

2. El Mariachi (1992)

Something you will start to see a lot of in this list are early films by directors who went on to have great careers in Hollywood. El Mariachi is one of them: the film that Robert Rodriguez made for $6000 and invented his own myth (both in terms of the story and his rise as a filmmaker) in the process. The story itself is the stuff of classic B-movie Westerns, following a lone-gun guitar player who seeks to avenge his murdered family. 

El Mariachi would become known as the first instalment of the Mexico Trilogy, which later featured Desperado (in which Antonio Banderas stepped into the lead role) and Once Upon a Time in Mexico, so if you like those films (or are even a fan of early Tarantino), you’ll definitely want to check this one out.

3. Y tu mamá también (2001)

Our third early classic from a now well-known director is Alfonso Cuarón’s Y tu mamá también. This is the one where two horny young guys take a road trip with an attractive older woman — so, if you’ve ever had a crush on Diego Luna (Andor) or Gael Garcia Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries) this one might just take your fancy. 

After the film’s release in 2001, where it basically became an instant cult classic, Cuarón directed three films in English (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men, and Gravity) before returning to Mexico with his remarkable Spanish-language film, Roma. If you’re looking for a double bill, look no further. 

4. Volver (2006)

Given how Pedro Almodovar has pretty much continued to work in Spain (and in Spanish) for the majority of his career, it was tricky to know which of his celebrated movies to choose. We could easily have gone for his breakout hit, Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, his first Oscar winner, All About My Mother, or his more recent biographical work, Pain and Glory, but Volver just felt like a nice place to start.

Set in La Mancha, where Almodovar grew up, this is a beautiful melodrama about a family of six women (the Best Actress prize was famously shared between the six actresses at the Cannes Film Festival that year) that also features murder, a ghost, and betrayal — all the classic telenovela elements that continue to inspire the director’s work. 

5. The Orphanage (2007)

Before directing Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts in The Impossible, and later Chris Pratt in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, J.A. Bayona broke box office records in his native land with his debut feature The Orphanage, a gothic horror set in 1970s Spain. 

The story follows a woman who moves back into the orphanage where she grew up, hoping to turn it into a school — but of course, creepy stuff starts to happen. If you enjoy the supernatural horror of movies like The Lodge or The Others, you’ll definitely vibe with it. 

6. Amores Perros (2000)

Another early Spanish language classic by a now established director is Amores Perros. This is a movie that felt, upon release in 2000, like Mexico’s answer to Pulp Fiction — another story of crime and interweaving plotlines, although with a much darker tone than Tarantino’s movie. 

Perros was the debut of Alejandro González Iñárritu, a filmmaker who has gone on to win two Best Director Oscars for Birdman and The Revenant — so if you’re a fan of either of those you might want to see how the filmmaker made his name.

7. [Rec] (2007)

From an unheralded premier at the Venice Film Festival in 2007, Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza’s [Rec] has gone on to become regarded as one of the defining movies of the found footage horror genre. If you tend to enjoy putting yourself through films like Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project, you should definitely get onto this one.

The story takes place in a quarantined building, where a TV host and her cameraman discover — you guessed it — they’re not alone. 

8. Wild Tales (2014)

The only Argentinian film to make our list is Damián Szifron’s Wild Tales but it is the most financially successful Argentinian film in history, so there’s that. The movie is an outrageous anthology of six short stories, each one more darkly funny, violent and/or horny than the one before.

Wild Tales premiered in Cannes in 2014 and made it all the way to the Oscars, losing out on the Best Foreign Language award to Pawel Pawlikowski’s excellent Ida. For a good comp, imagine the genre anthology thrills of a film like V/H/S mixed with Almodovar’s (who also co-produced) sense of humour and you’ll have some idea.

9. The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)

If you’re in the mood for something a bit more classic, Victor Erice’s The Spirit of the Beehive is an overwhelmingly beautiful story about childhood and cinema that fans of Del Toro, in particular, will love. The director has often noted it as a major influence on Pan’s Labyrinth, and if you’re a fan of that great film, you’ll immediately see the similarities.

The story follows a girl in Franco-era Spain who watches a screening of James Whale’s Frankenstein at her local cinema and starts to believe that the creature is real. Director Victor Erice has only made two films since. Both are worth seeing, of course, but his 2023 comeback Close Your Eyes is a triumph, too.

10. No (2012)

In more recent years, the director Pablo Larrain has been making interesting portraits of famous women who were touched by tragedy — Jackie (starring Natalie Portman), Spencer (Kristen Stewart) and Maria (Angelina Jolie). His earlier work is also more than worth revisiting, especially this excellent political thriller from 2012.

No is set in 1988 and follows a young advertising executive who uses the methods of American marketing to try and help bring down the dictator Augustus Pinochet — who the Americans, of course, helped to put in place. 

You’d be forgiven for thinking that movies like Zootopia – and its brilliant sequel – are little more than animated fodder to keep young kids and their parents entertained for a couple of hours. Sometimes, that’s all a film really needs to be, and that’s absolutely fine.

But sometimes something special happens: animated movies released into the wild have a profound impact, even altering the way we behave. That’s especially true of films featuring animals, as we learned in the wake of the release of Zootopia 2, after which something interesting happened in China.

‘Zootopia 2’ Spurs a Reptile Craze in China

The incredible success of Zootopia 2 – a film that’s already broken Frozen 2’s record to become Disney’s highest-grossing animated feature of all time – has led to one character becoming so popular that he’s totally changed the perception of reptiles in China. 

The new character, Gary De’Snake, voiced brilliantly by Ke Huy Quan, is a blue viper who goes against stereotypes. Snakes are often portrayed as villains, but not this time. Gary is a loveable, gentle fella, and now some fans want their own, real-life version of him.

As per a report from CNN, Beijing citizen Qi Weihao is just one of those reptile aficionados, and he’s invested in an Indonesian pit viper that very much resembles Gary. Apparently, Qi had wanted to own the snake for years, but always felt like he would be shunned for what many in China previously perceived to be a “weird taste for creepy creatures.”

Thanks to the new Disney movie, that’s changed. Qi said: “Zootopia 2 helps give reptile pets a better image – they’re not oddballs, and Gary is the most representative character among them. I love his enthusiastic attitude and his sense of responsibility.”

There’s a clear correlation between the release of Zootopia 2 and the ongoing increase in search volume and pricing for pit vipers in Chinese e-commerce markets. There are now over 17 million exotic pet owners in China, and by the end of 2025, more than 50% of that is attributed to snakes.

Pit vipers may be venomous, but clearly, more and more people are willing to take on that risk. With Gary warming hearts across the world, who can blame them?

How ‘Finding Nemo’ and ‘Star Trek IV’ Helped Protect Sea Creatures

This is not the first time Disney (or more specifically, Disney Pixar) has helped to positively impact the animal kingdom. Finding Nemo – one of the very best Pixar movies, in my opinion – was so effective in representing marine biology and all the weird and wonderful creatures in our oceans that it prompted the launch of a whole host of initiatives and campaigns to protect the Great Barrier Reef and its inhabitants.

The core concept is that “fish aren’t made to be put in a box.” Sometimes, the boxes (and the animals) are a little bigger, but films can still help to change things. And it’s not just Disney’s animated catalogue that’s responsible for these positive contributions towards conservation efforts.

In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Captain Kirk and his crew go back in time to Earth. There, they prevent an alien attack that threatens to vaporise our oceans, with humpback whales the key focus of the rescue mission. The Enterprise’s on-screen success was replicated in the real world, with a heightened awareness of the plight of the humpback whale; so much so that their population recovered from the brink of extinction and is no longer considered an endangered species.

Let’s not forget, though, that movies don’t always lead to a happy ending for animals. Jaws may have made waves when it became the first bona fide summer blockbuster in 1975, and it’s stood the test of time as one of the greatest movies of all time, but its legacy is tainted. The mass fear generated by the great white shark at the heart of the story bled into society, and the creature was hunted so much that the species saw a 50% decline in population across North American waters.

Animal Rights Improved Thanks to ‘Babe’ and ‘King Kong’

Away from the seas, animals have enjoyed greater protection thanks to films like Babe and Peter Jackson’s 2005 version of King Kong.

After seeing that adorable little pig chattering away and living out his dream as a sheepdog, many viewers naturally decided meat wasn’t for them. The film was so influential, in fact, that the term ‘Babe effect’ was coined, and animal exploitation in farming was heavily scrutinised. Lead actor James Cromwell even became a vegan himself, and he remains a prominent animal rights advocate to this day, thanks to his experience of working on the 1995 flick.

Likewise, when Jackson was promoting his remake of the classic 1933 hit King Kong, he and the stars of the movie used their platform to advocate for gorilla conservation. Jackson very vocally backed the International Gorilla Conservation Programme and pushed back against threats like habitat damage and hunting. He also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the efforts to prevent the extinction of one of mankind’s closest relatives in the animal kingdom.

By and large, the portrayal of animals in film over recent years has had a more profoundly positive impact on the world around us than in the past. Whether intentional or not, filmmakers can achieve truly incredible things through their work. The snakes, whales, clownfish, and pigs of this world quite literally owe their lives to the films mentioned above; isn’t that wonderful?

In hindsight, it’s always easy to say you never doubted James Cameron. I, for one, can admit some uncertainty as to whether a third Avatar film (one released so soon after Way of Water and not exactly offering much new stuff compared to that previous adventure in terms of plot) would make anything close to the franchise’s usual astronomical figures. At the time of writing, those doubts are on their way to being proven wrong.

But while we’re on the topic of fire and ash projections (ahem), Avatar: Fire and Ash does pack a few novelties alongside all that reliably eye-popping and mind-boggling Pandora action. One is a prolonged period in the Skypeople city, another is on board the air tribe’s ships, but the best are the sequences amongst the Mangkwan Clan, led by the fearsome Varang, who live at the base of a volcano. This got us thinking about all the other memorable volcano sequences in movies—from iconic action settings to romantic moments and villainous layers—ten of which I’ve listed below in no particular order.

Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find out where to stream them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. You Only Live Twice (1967)

Let’s begin with one of the most beloved and most obvious. When we think of volcanoes in movies, it’s only natural for the mind to wander to the image of jumpsuit-clad ninjas rappelling into Blofeld’s lair in You Only Live Twice. This sequence basically cemented the idea of the elaborate supervillain’s layer—a trope that is still relentlessly parodied today, almost 60 years later.

The movie itself is one of the best of Sean Connery’s tenure as 007. If you like Dr No or Goldfinger, it’s naturally a must-see!

2. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

Mike Myers might have been riffing on Bond when he made Dr Evil’s base into an active volcano in Austin Powers, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve a mention here. It’s especially great because it combines Blofeld’s layer with the Mt. Rushmore base of North by Northwest, which itself has been parodied in as wide-ranging movies as Richie Rich and Team America: World Police.

The Spy Who Shagged Me (in which the base plays a more central role) probably hasn’t aged the best, but if you like Myers’ vibe in movies like Wayne’s World, you won’t be left wanting for laughs with this one, baby.

3. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)

Of course, no list of this sort would be complete without a mention of good old Mount Doom—the only place I would personally recommend going to if you’re looking to cast something into the fiery chasm from whence it came. 

Mount Doom gets pretty good screen time in all three movies, but it naturally takes centre stage for the eruptive finale of Return of the King, as Frodo and Sam make their fateful ascent. This is one for the Tolkien heads, naturally—and if you like it, make sure to check out the Hobbit trilogy and Rings of Power for some additional Doom-core action later. 

4. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Another trilogy that ended in a fiery chasm was, of course, George Lucas’s initially-maligned and now widely-adored prequel trilogy. Yes, there was much about this return that irked people, but even at the time, most agreed that this sequence in Revenge of the Sith successfully delivered the origin moment that fans of the franchise had been craving.

The acting is a little over the top, the dialogue a little arch, but hey, if you’re gonna finally push Annakin Skywalker into becoming Darth Vader, why be subtle about it? If you haven’t revisited these movies in a while, or are suffering from a little Star Wars burnout, I’d suggest a rewatch followed by Andor and Rogue One to get you back on board. 

5. Dante’s Peak (1997)

If you grew up in the ‘90s, any mention of a movie volcano will probably remind you of Dante’s Peak. The disaster flick, which came in the wake of Michael Crichton’s hugely successful geo-chaos movie Twister, basically did for flowing lava what that film did for unruly gusts of air. 

Dante’s Peak stars Pierce Brosnan as a volcanologist who discovers that a so-called “big one” eruption is imminent. It was Brosnan’s second massive movie in 1997, after his GoldenEye follow-up Tomorrow Never Dies—so, if you appreciate that era of Bond, you’ll probably enjoy this movie, too. 

6. Moana (2016)

If Disney decides to make a movie set in Hawaii, you just know they're gonna tap into that volcanic lore. Moana is a 2010’s gem and has a rousing central song that is pretty much as catchy as any tune that the Mouse House has produced this century, but it also features a volcano god showdown that appears like an awesome mix between the titans of Hercules and something out of Shadow of the Colossus.

The movie is a family flick that anyone can enjoy, especially if you like that era of Disney animation—think Zootopia and Frozen. 

7. Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

Given their suggestive connotations, it’s surprising how few romantic comedies have used the volcano as a shorthand for emotional combustion. One of the few is the underappreciated Joe Versus the Volcano, a classic of the Big/Splash era of Tom Hanks comedies—and a movie that pretty much does what it says on the tin.

The story follows Joe, a man who thinks he’s dying and so accepts a millionaire’s offer to jump into the titular lava pit. Along the way, he meets a character played by Meg Ryan (in their first of three iconic collaborations that decade). We’ll leave the rest to you. 

8. Fire of Love (2022)

While we’re here and on the topic of volcanic-based romance, why not try Fire of Love, a phenomenal 2022 documentary on the real-life volcanologists Katia and Maurice Kraft. Directed by Sara Dosa, the movie uses archival footage from a time when the Krafts would risk life and limb to get up close and personal with these things. The result is some of the most otherworldly volcano footage ever caught on camera.

Needless to say, their relationship was occasionally just as combustible, making the doc an engrossing watch even when not at the edge of a burning crater. A year later, no less than Werner Herzog would release his own take on the Kraft’s story, but Dosa got their first and, IMO, did it better.

9. Into the Inferno (2016)

That said, Herzog is surely one of the filmmakers who inspired Dosa to make her movie—not with his Krafts doc, of course, but with his incredible run of extreme and surreal nature documentaries which began in the mid ‘00s. This started with remarkable films like Grizzly Man and Encounters at the End of the World before leading to an inevitable documentary on volcanoes (called Into the Inferno) in 2016.

For the movie, Herzog travels with the explosively named Clive Oppenheimer to active fissures in Indonesia, Ethiopia and even North Korea. While there, he ponders the meaning of it all in those reliably Germanic tones. IYKYK.

10. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

I mean, sure, Fallen Kingdom is hardly anyone’s favourite Jurassic Park movie—most people, I reckon, would not even have it in their top FIVE. But it is the only Jurassic Park to use a volcanic eruption as a central plot point: a geological sneeze that results in the movie’s best sequence.

That the trailer for J.A. Bayona’s addition to the franchise basically only featured this scene—in which Pratt, Howard and a sea of dinos flee from an oncoming flow of lava and a variety of geological missiles—probably says everything you need to know about the surrounding movie. All that said, when it comes to iconic volcano scenes, it’s worth a mention—especially for diehard fans of the franchise or the Mesozoic era in general. 

Studies should be done (and probably have been done) on the time vortex that most of us fall into on the shapeless days between the 25th and 31st of December—and for most people in 2025, the weekend after that, too. 

Knowing what to watch on those days can be a crucial decision, especially with family around: pick anything divisive, and you may run the risk of upsetting some already strained relationships; choose something too dull, and you run the risk of putting everyone, including yourself, to sleep. 

The ideal post-Christmas/post-NYE hangover movie should be welcoming and, wherever possible, unprovocative. It should also have enough plot to keep people engaged, but not so much as to cause the elder members of the family, if present, to ask too many questions. A few, but not too many, should also threaten the tear ducts—as, let’s be honest, there are no other days in the year when we’re this emotionally relaxed and cosily sensitive to a pull of the heartstring. 

Each movie that I’ve selected below should tick at least one of those boxes, some of them all four. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. Knives Out: Wake up Dead Man (2025)

When Netflix bought the Knives Out franchise for a gazillion dollars in 2021, it obviously had a plan for when it wanted to let one of its new crown jewels loose. Then, after the success of Don’t Look Up around Christmas of that year, it became very clear when most people gathered around the TV in search of some comedic brain candy to chew on.

The first Netflix entry in the series, Glass Onion, was sadly a bit of a disappointment—one of those self-aware sequels that proves a bit too self-aware for its own good—but this third instalment, Wake Up Dead Man, is a return to form. If you appreciate a good murder mystery (Clue, Murder on the Orient Express), this one will keep the sitting room locked-in for more than two hours. 

2. Eternity (2025)

Another recent release that offers an engaging concept, light humour, but also a good dose of old-school romance is the new A24 movie Eternity, which is also, fittingly, a good name for the week between Christmas and New Year's. This is the one where Elisabeth Olsen and Miles Teller play a couple who die and meet again in the afterlife, only for the Olsen character’s first husband—a hunk (Callum Turner) who died in the war—to appear.

This turn of events creates an unlikely love triangle, prompting her to have to choose between two ideas of happiness: the actual one she had and the one who got away. It’s a delightful, charming and occasionally moving film that boasts the high concept of a Pixar movie, like Inside Out, along with the big, romantic swings of classics like A Matter of Life and Death. It also features Da’vine Joy Randolph in her first major role since winning an Oscar for the next movie on our list. 

2. The Holdovers (2023)

If you are feeling a bit cooped up in a claustrophobic space, perhaps surrounded by moody teenagers—or at least adults who are quickly regressing into a similar state—Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers is the movie for you. In my opinion, most Christmas movies should go back into a locked safe as soon as the clock strikes midnight on Christmas night, but Payne’s film begins on the 22nd and saves most of its emotional epiphanies for the days around New Year's Eve, making it a perfect watch for those in-between days.

Payne’s melancholic and dryly funny brand of cinema (Nebraska) is usually a treat, and this one’s no different. It also features the great Paul Giamatti, so if you’re a Sideways fan, you know what to do. 

3. The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025)

If you like humour, heartache, and Cary Mulligan singing folk tunes in close harmony, the 2025 release The Ballad of Wallis Island is going to feel like a hug from that friend you haven’t seen in a while. If some family members are starting to get a little tetchy, put this one on, and in roughly an hour and a half, they’ll probably find they have something in their eye. 

If you grew up in the ‘00s, you’ll feel a twinge of nostalgia and perhaps be slightly jarred to see a film use Mumford (aka Mr Cary Mulligan) and Sons-era stomp-and-shout indie as a retro device, but that won’t get in the way of your enjoyment here. Fans of the recent sitcom The Paper will also get a nice kick out of Tim Key’s touching performance. 

4. Groundhog Day (1993)

Let’s throw a classic in. This is another title, like Eternity, that has a way of summing up the feeling of life between the 26th and 31st, when every meal seems to consist of sliced turkey, and the temptation to have a drink before 2 pm is all too real. We’re talking, of course, about the Harold Ramis/Bill Murray classic Groundhog Day, a title so influential it has since entered the common lexicon. 

The movie follows Murray’s arrogant weatherman, Phil Connors (and if you love the actor’s early run of Ghostbusters and Scrooged, you’ll love this), on a journey towards self-understanding that involves repeating the same day ad-infinitum. I once read that the movie’s script suggests that Conners stays in the loop for 10,000 years, which gives the movie a feeling of cosmic futility that we can all probably relate to during our post-Christmas hangovers.

5. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

If you included Joe Dante’s first Gremlins movie in your Christmas watching this year, I highly recommend throwing on Gremlins 2: The New Batch in the days that follow. Critics didn’t quite know what to make of it at the time, but Dante’s follow-up has only gained in popularity since then and has become a true cult classic.

This is the one where the scaly critters take over a newly erected skyscraper in New York, causing chaos wherever they go. For the sequel, Dante and his legendary creature designer Chris Walas (who also worked on The Fly and Naked Lunch) threw every idea they could think of at the wall—up to and including introducing a flirty female Gremlin, a horrifying spider hybrid and, best of all, an intellectual. 

6. Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

Like with Dante’s Gremlins, if you already enjoyed your annual festive rewatch of Die Hard 1 and 2, what better time to throw on the underappreciated Die Hard with a Vengeance? This is the one where Bruce Willis runs around New York defusing bombs with Samuel L. Jackson, and the villain, played by Jeremy Irons, wears a baby blue vest and speaks with a German accent.

By switching to the summer months, the movie never got the annual rotation enjoyed by its predecessors, but it’s a great rec for fans of classic buddy cop movies like Lethal Weapon and 48 Hrs. 

7. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

If one of the post-Christmas days is looking especially devoid of plans, why not dive into a full-on epic? When it comes to the festive season, it’s hard to do much better than Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. You can even just put on the first instalment, The Fellowship of the Ring, and see how it goes down before continuing—it’s such a perfectly contained film that it’ll satisfy whoever’s watching, regardless of whether you finish the saga or not.

This is one for the fantasy fans in the family, especially (think Percy Jackson, Narnia), and one that slightly younger family members can also get involved with. 

8. Zootopia (2016)

Speaking of younger audiences, here’s one that’ll please just about anyone in the house—pets included. According to our metrics, the hugely successful Zootopia 2 has been inspiring viewers to revisit the original ever since the sequel began packing out cinemas at the beginning of December. These post-Christmas days could hardly be better suited for it: this is a movie that will delight the kids while giving the adults (and even the grandparents) some classic movie and TV references (think Godfather, Breaking Bad) to enjoy.

The story, which follows a bunny from the countryside who hopes to become a police officer in an animal-run metropolis, also packs a decent message about prejudice and a good dose of emotion to go along with all its action and humour. You can’t go wrong. 

9. One Battle After Another (2025)

If you’re looking for something fresh, funny and action-packed that will also get you informed for the fast-approaching awards season, why not try Paul Thomas Anderson’s new-to-streaming masterpiece One Battle After Another—one of the most enjoyable “Best of the Year” movies in ages. This one won’t be for younger members of the family, but it’ll offer all kinds of excitement, humour, and engagement for anyone with a slightly sore head.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a washed-up revolutionary whose daughter is kidnapped by an old rival, played by a rarely better Sean Penn. If you like Anderson’s movies, like Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood, it’s a must-see.

Like the first stack of Advent calendars at your local supermarket, the annual awards season seems to arrive earlier and earlier with each passing year. This has had the knock-on effect of making almost every race look done and dusted before a single envelope has been opened—but there are always a few that stay stubbornly erratic right up until the moment of truth. 

It’s too early to say if Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value will win anything at the Academy Awards, but it will certainly bag a bucket-load of nominations and, I think, be competitive in three of the four acting categories as well as Best Original Screenplay. At the time of writing, quite a few are very much still at play. 

This all comes in what already looks like another landmark year for non-English language representation at the Oscars—2026 could see up to four non-English language films competing for Best Picture: It Was Just and Accident (the Iranian winner of the Palme d’Or), No Other Choice (the latest from Korean Master Park Chan Wook), The Secret Agent (a ‘70s-set genre mashup from Brazil) and Sentimental itself. 

This is a movie from Norway that’s been leaving audiences in floods of tears ever since its premiere in Cannes earlier this year, where it went home with the Grand Prix—essentially the festival’s second prize. Read on to discover more about Sentimental Value and whether or not you might want to see it!

What Is Sentimental Value About?

Sentimental Value is a story about a house and the family that has lived there for four generations. We see the tumultuous earlier years in flashback, but the film is chiefly concerned with Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård), an arthouse filmmaker, and his two adult daughters, a theatre actress named Nora (Renate Reinsve) and her younger sister, Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas).

The drama begins with the funeral of Nora and Agnes’ mother, where the news surfaces that he is the sole inheritor of the house and plans to shoot a late project there. Having been selfishly absent for long periods when they were growing up, this turn of events prompts Gustav to nudge his way back into his daughters’ lives—Royal Tenenbaum style. 

To do this, he offers the lead role in his film to Nora, which she declines, so Gustav ends up hiring a famous American actress (played by Predator: Badlands’ Elle Fanning) instead—a choice that helps the project get made but threatens to distance him even further from Nora and Agnes. As they each attempt to navigate this situation in their own way, memories resurface, and old wounds are reopened.

How Sad Is Sentimental Value?

As I referenced earlier, things get quite weepy in the latter stages, but it’s a cathartic kind of sadness. And besides, Trier and his long-term screenwriter Eskel Vogt have always been attuned to their fellow countrymen’s endearingly dry and self-deprecating sense of humour. Combined with the director’s offbeat editing style, it wouldn’t be entirely crazy to describe the film as a dark comedy. The director tends to be quite melancholy, as seen in his earlier films, Reprise and Oslo: August 31st (both excellent portraits of sad young men), but Worst Person in the World (a film about being rudderless in your 30s) was a hoot from start to finish. 

Sentimental (a film about a slightly later phase of life) essentially splits the difference between these two modes, yet even the heavier moments are offset by the beauty of the images and the pure charisma of the cast.

How Likely Is Sentimental Value to Win at the Oscars? 

I wouldn’t be surprised to see all four of its principal actors nominated at the Oscars, where the possibility of three acting wins is growing less impossible by the day. 

In a less competitive year, Skarsgård would be an absolute shoo-in for a career recognition win: over four decades, the actor has done pretty much everything you can do—from Lars Von Trier movies to The Avengers and Andor—and what better way to honour that longevity than with a film that both interrogates and celebrates what it means to make art.  

Is Sentimental Value Worth Watching?

Absolutely. In recent weeks, I am getting the sense that some critics are starting to turn on it a little, but I wouldn’t let that stop you from seeing it—especially if, like me, you’re a little more susceptible to certain kinds of movies around this time of year. As I mentioned, Trier is a director with a nose for comedy and a knack for drawing great performances out of his actors. 

This is evident once again with Fanning, Skargard and Lilleaas, but if you can only see it for one reason, it’s Reinsve—an actor whom Trier essentially discovered (she had a small role in Reprise) before essentially making her a star with Worst Person—a film she probably should have been nominated for in 2022.

I recently heard the actress described as one of the “most eloquent blushers in the history of cinema,” and I’m inclined to agree with that statement. Seeing her face go bright red—or flicker in an instant from anger to shame, or joy to embarrassment—is one of the great gifts that European cinema has given us this decade, and if you’d like a chance to see that on a big screen, go see Sentimental Value, but make sure to check out Worst Person while you’re at it, and then go watch her alongside Sebastian Stan in A Different Man, a great indie from last year. In 2026, she’s set to appear in new films from Joe Talbot (The Governess), Cristian Mungiu (Fjord) and Alexander Payne (Somewhere Out There). Hop on while you can.

When it comes to the best calendar year for cinema releases, we’ve heard arguments for 1939 (The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach, Gone With the Wind etc.), 1971 (The French Connection, The Last Picture Show, McCabe & Mrs. Miller etc.) and 1999 (The Sixth Sense, The Matrix, Magnolia etc.), but maybe it’s time to consider something a little more recent? 

A new theory has recently started doing the rounds that 2007 might be in with a shout — if not the best year ever, then perhaps the most recent “great year” in American cinema. What’s interesting about each of those years is that they all come at pivotal moments for the movies: a final flush before WWII, the early, anything-goes days of New Hollywood; the last days before digital took over; and both the last year before the MCU and the year that the iPhone launched. 

Looking back, it’s interesting how blockbusters shifted, but it’s especially glaring how many great comedies we used to have. Read on to discover more about the films of 2007 and use the guide below to find out where to stream the best of them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. There Will Be Blood

Let’s start with the last film to be released that year, Paul Thomas Anderson’s modern classic, There Will Be Blood: a great American saga that is also probably the majority of people’s pick for the greatest film of that decade. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview, a self-proclaimed “oil man” whose relentless quest for greed and power does little to compensate for his bottomless well of hatred. 

It remains one of Day-Lewis’s defining performances, and if you like what the actor did in Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, or appreciate PTA’s latest classic, One Battle After Another, you should definitely check it out. 

2. No Country For Old Men

At the 2008 Oscars, where movies from 2007 competed, most major categories were a showdown between Anderson’s movie and another modern Western: the Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men. Unluckily for Anderson, the Coens basically went home with the lot for this air-tight and darkly entertaining adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s New Mexico crime novel—a film that you will especially love if you’ve been enjoying watching Fargo in more recent years. 

Looking back, 2007 was actually a great year for Westerns, with Andrew Dominik’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and James Mangold’s 3:10 to Yuma both receiving recognition at the Oscars. Anderson’s movie now has the greatest reputation, but I certainly wouldn’t hold it against the Coens—it’s a great movie, and they deserved their crowning triumph.

3. Superbad

2007 was also a standout year for comedies, with Blades of Glory (starring Will Ferrell), Hot Rod (Andy Samberg), and Knocked Up (Seth Rogen) all released at various points during the summer. Better than all of them, in my opinion, was the Rogen-scripted Superbad — a film I’ve watched (and laughed at/with) countless times, and I think will continue to do so for years to come. 

Perfectly cast in a story about three high schoolers trying to buy booze for a party, the film launched the careers of Michael Cera, Jonah Hill and the now two-time Academy Award winner Emma Stone, so if you’re a fan of their more recent work in movies like The Wolf of Wall Street or La La Land, you have to go back and check this one out.

4. Zodiac

After There Will Be Blood and No Country, the third movie you will likely see on most Best-of-the-Decade lists is David Fincher’s Zodiac, which might also be the most influential of those three. This is the film (along with Fincher’s spiritually connected series Mindhunter) that created what would become the go-to style for true crime shows and documentaries going forward—and if you want a fascinating rundown of those trends, make sure to check out Charlie Shackleton's excellent new doc, Zodiac Killer Project.

Fincher’s film is a relentlessly gripping and frightening procedural about a journalist attempting to track down the Zodiac killer, who terrorised the people of San Francisco with a series of murders in the 1960s and 1970s. If you’re a fan of Fincher’s movies (particularly Se7en and Gone Girl), you know what to do. 

5. Hot Fuzz

If you’re looking for a different kind of comedy than the ones I’ve listed above, 2007 also boasted a few more offbeat classics. The John C. Reilly-starring music industry satire Walk Hard has basically become the go-to litmus test for every sincere music biopic that’s come since—a This is Spinal Tap for dramatised “true stories” of how famous musicians made it to where they are.

Another is the movie adaptation of John Waters’ Broadway smash, Hairspray—think Grease except with Waters’ sense of humour and Travolta in drag. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez also released their Grindhouse experiment, which features QT’s much-overlooked exploitation movie, Death Proof. Perhaps the best of these inventive genre mashups, however, was Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz, his home-run follow-up to Shaun of the Dead—a movie that did for ‘80s action (like Commando) what Shaun did for zombies. 

6. The Bourne Ultimatum 

For all its charms, you would be hard-pressed to argue that 2007 was a classic year for blockbusters. The box office top ten for that year features Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and National Treasure: Book of Secrets (both solid) alongside a bunch of fine, third-in-the-franchise instalments: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Shrek the Third, Spider-Man 3.

The best of these third instalment movies was easily The Bourne Ultimatum, an awesome film that closed out the definitive action franchise of that decade with typical thrills and frantic energy. If you’ve seen the first two, you know what to do, but if you’re new to the series, it’s best to start from The Bourne Identity and work your way up!

7. Juno

Away from the big studios, there were plenty of newly-minted, indie classics hitting cinema screens in 2007, too. The micro-budgeted Irish movie Once made it all the way to the Oscars as Noah Baumbach released Margot at the Wedding and Todd Haynes brought out his experimental Bob Dylan movie, I’m Not There.

The most beloved and successful indie that year was, without a doubt, Juno, a movie that brought together the writer-director team of Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman and launched the career of Elliot Page, each of whom was nominated for Oscars for their efforts. After the success of Little Miss Sunshine the previous year, Juno confirmed that American independent cinema was a force to be reckoned with again.

8. Ratatouille

It clearly wasn’t enough that 2007 had some of the best action, comedy, indie and prestige movies of the decade; it also had arguably the greatest Pixar film too—certainly up to that point. At the Oscars in 2008—which, as you can imagine, was absolutely STACKED—Brad Bird’s Ratatouille (a gorgeous story about a friendly rodent who secretly becomes the most talked about chef in Paris) bagged five nominations, including Best Original Screenplay. 

This is a beautiful film if you are in any way romantic about the French capital, but also if you’re a fan of that golden age of Pixar (think movies like Up and WALL-E).

9. Michael Clayton

Another conspicuously abundant genre in 2007 was the crime movie. Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, was a big hit, and we even got Sidney Lumet’s swansong, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, with Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The best crime movie of the year, and a work that’s only become more influential in the years since, is Michael Clayton. This is a film about shady corporate conspiracies that stars George Clooney and was written and directed by Tony Gilroy—and if you enjoyed the intelligent, resonant writing that Gilroy brought to Andor, you really need to check this one out.

10. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

We’ll cap this list with a quick rundown of all the exciting things that were happening in international cinema. At the Oscars at the beginning of the year, The Lives of Others beat Pan’s Labyrinth (both instant classics) to the Oscar. In Venice, Ang Lee’s erotic thriller Lust, Caution won the Gold Lion as the Spanish found footage horror [REC] shocked audiences in an out of competition slot—it has since gone on to become a cult classic.

The best international movie that year, however, was Cristian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, a still shocking, fiercely serious, but deeply moving film about abortion rights and state control that deservedly beat both No Country and Zodiac to the Palme d’Or in Cannes. If you’re looking for something a little outside the mainstream, it is well worth seeking out!

In these trying times, there are few better ways to let it all out (and maybe have a moment of shared catharsis) than having a good cry at the cinema. As I write this, I can think of quite a few cases (Brief Encounter, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Bridges of Madison County, Far From Heaven, Up) where the opening titles are enough to make me well up, if not turn me into a full-blubbering mess. 

If reports are to be believed, Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet (a film about Agnes and William Shakespeare and the loss of a child) has been eliciting a similar reaction from audiences around the world ever since it premiered at the Telluride Film Festival back in August.

As we await the film’s UK release in January, it feels like a good time to think back on all the other films over the last ten years that have struck a similar, near-universal, weepy chord. The following list is naturally subjective, but I know I’m not alone in saying that these ten movies really do get me every time. So grab a box of Kleenex and read on to discover more, and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. Moonlight (2016)

Given how skewed the list is towards films from before 2020, I’ve either gotten more cynical in my old age or the films being made have gotten less heart-wrenching. Whatever the case, 2016 offered three very different films that each left me in a puddle of tears.

The first is Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, a genuine modern classic (one that fans of early A24 like Room and American Honey will adore) and the first openly queer love story to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The story takes place in three acts, each from a pivotal time in the protagonist’s life: his formative adolescence with an unlikely father figure, a teenage moment that suggests a queer awakening, and a later acceptance of that pent-up longing. I’m already welling up just thinking about it. 

2. Certain Women (2016)

The next great 2016 tearjerker that comes immediately to mind is Kelly Reichardt’s portmanteau film Certain Women, and specifically the middle third, which features another story of unrealised love (I’m already starting to see a pattern). This one boasts a wonderful performance from Kristen Stewart as an anxious night class teacher, but it’s Lily Gladstone (playing a student with an evident crush) who steals the show.

This was Gladstone's breakout performance and is still (IMHO) her finest work, so if you loved her in films like The Wedding Banquet and Killers of the Flower Moon, you owe it to yourself to check this out. 

3. Manchester by the Sea (2016)

You probably don’t need reminding about this one, but Kenneth Lonnergan’s Manchester by the Sea is still one of the most devastating films of the Century—and if you like Lonnergan’s You Can Count on Margaret, you’ll certainly like (if that’s even the word) this one too. Just be warned, this isn’t the easy-going what might have been? kind of weepy; this is a full-on, pull-your-heart-out tragedy, so make sure to steady yourself beforehand and maybe have a drink poured for after. 

That said, for this specific genre of film, it’s surprisingly rewatchable. The story takes place in the titular New England enclave and, somewhat like Hamnet, follows a woman (Michelle Williams) and a man (Casey Affleck) as they attempt to process the death of a child.

4. Call Me By Your Name (2017)

If you are a film-lover between the ages of 20-35, I can pretty much assume that Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name has claimed at least a few drops from your lacrimal glands—and in case you’ve yet to see it, it’s an endlessly stylish and deeply felt queer coming-of-age film that fans of Carol and Moonlight will adore. 

The film stars Timothée Chalamet (in what was basically his breakout role) as a 17-year-old with an all-consuming crush on a slightly inappropriately older man. It takes place in Northern Italy in 1983, and yes, a peach is involved.

5. Lady Bird (2017)

Of all the films on this list, I’d say I’ve probably watched Lady Bird the most times. Greta Gerwig’s debut (an instant classic that fans of Little Women will particularly love, not to mention a work that only grows in reputation as the years pass by), really has a bit of everything—humour, sincerity, great performances, nice tunes, relatable heartbreak and a genuinely deep well of sadness. 

Saoirse Ronan stars as the director’s eponymous stand-in, a charismatic and extroverted but refreshingly flawed teenager attempting to navigate the last year of high school—prom, boys, college, virginity, and a mother (a wonderful Laurie Metcalf) who loves her but—and here come the tears—might not actually like her all that much.

6. Eighth Grade (2018)

When you look back at it, A24 really had a monopoly on these kinds of movies for a while, there at the end of the 2010s. Bo Burnham’s beautiful debut Eighth Grade, a film I’ve watched at least four times, is a case in point—a movie that (like Lady Bird) never forgets to be funny, even when it's tearing your heart out.

Elsie Fisher stars as Kayla, a cool kid who hasn’t quite found her confidence yet. In her spare time, she offers musings to almost no one on her YouTube channel, but the film never mocks her for the effort and remains touchingly on her side throughout. The killer blow comes during a fireside chat, when we get to see her for a moment through her father’s loving eyes.

7. Marriage Story (2019)

One of the biggest developments in how we watch movies in the last decade has been the rise and influence of meme culture. This has been something of a double-edged sword—some filmmakers seem to invite it with certain compositions (in the end of the day, free publicity is free publicity), but a particularly potent meme can sometimes overshadow a scene’s emotional power.

Case in point is Noah Baumbach’s relentlessly sad Marriage Story, which is now probably best known for the moment when Adam Driver punches a hole through the wall. If you can get past that familiarity, however, this is a movie on par with the director's early breakout, The Squid and the Whale and up there with the likes of Kramer vs Kramer in the pantheon of sad dad divorce stories. 

8. Drive My Car (2021)

I feel guilty for only including one non-English language film on this list. Hirokazu Koreeda, in particular, has left me in bits on a few occasions over the last ten years, most notably with After the Storm, but Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car is the one that did the most damage. 

This is Hamaguchi’s follow-up to Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, a movie I love even more, but when it comes to tears, you can’t do much better than this Oscar winner. The film follows a playwright as he works on a production of Uncle Vanya in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Between rehearsals, while driving around town in the reddest Saab 900 you’ll ever see, he strikes up an unlikely and beautiful bond with his driver. If you’ve yet to see it, seek it out.

9. Aftersun (2022) 

I was tempted to also add All of Us Strangers to this list, but given Paul Mescal’s presence in Hamnet (not to mention his devastating performance in Normal People), three mentions on one list just feels like overkill—even for an actor of his generational talent.

Whatever the case, Charlotte Welles’ exquisite semi-autobiographical debut feature, Aftersun (a film so famously heartbreaking that I’m pretty certain it influenced this year’s John Lewis advert), remains the actor’s finest moment—it was at least enough to secure him a shock nomination at the Academy Awards. He didn’t quite nick that, but he certainly took his fair share of tears.

10. The Old Oak (2023)

We’ll end this list with a film that makes me cry just thinking about it—both for what it does and says, and also for the fact that it seems it will go down as Ken Loach’s final project. The Old Oak, like so many Loach films before, is a story about working-class solidarity—this time between TJ, a friendly publican in Durham, and Yara, a Syrian refugee. 

It’s an achingly beautiful piece of work, full of sadness and regret but not without a good dose of strength and hope to wash it down. And if you’ve ever enjoyed a Loach film (think movies like Kes, I, Daniel Blake or The Wind that Shakes the Barley), I highly recommend seeking it out. The director will hopefully celebrate his 90th birthday next year; let’s celebrate him while we can!

Planning a New Year’s Eve night can be a pain. Do you dress up and go out to squeeze into a bar? Do you risk life and limb trying to set off a few fireworks? Or, worse still, do you spend your January 1 hangover cleaning up after all the friends you had around? If you’d rather avoid all of the above, there are plenty of movie options to put on (either curled up on the couch or on a background screen at a house party) to ring in the new year—you can even set some of them up to make that moment happen with a cheers or a bang. 

The following list contains 11 great movies, each with a suggested time—down to the second—of when to press play to make that perfect midnight moment line up exactly. Read on to discover when and use the guide below to find out where to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. & 2. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Endgame (2019)

We’ll start things off with two classics of the genre: the two-part finale of the MCU’s Infinity Saga: Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. For most readers, these movies need no introduction—for everyone else, let’s say they’re probably the best superhero team-up movies we’ll ever see. 

Regardless, they also offer two distinct ways to ring in the new year. Start Infinity War at 21:48:54, and 2026 will begin with Thanos’s snap and the deathly silence that comes afterwards. Go with Endgame (starting at 21:29:30), and you can finish 2025 with Iron Man’s snap, meaning the first few moments of the new year will be spent watching Thanos and his army disintegrate, albeit as one of our heroes disintegrates, too. The choice is yours.

3. The Great Gatsby (2013)

What better way to ring in the new year than to raise a glass with Leonardo DiCaprio himself? This experience can be yours thanks to Baz Luhrmann’s characteristically extra adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, in which Leo (perfectly cast) plays the title role of the mysterious playboy.

This was the second time that Baz and Leo worked together, and if you like what they did with Romeo + Juliet, you will probably like this one just as much. Start the film at 23:29:57, perhaps with the movie projected on the wall at a party, and you should hit the famous meme image just as the countdown ends.

4. Phantom Thread (2017)

It would be rude to make a list like this and not include at least a few films that actually take place, at least in part, on New Year's Eve. Perhaps the most beautiful of them all is Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread, a film about the things we do for the people we love—and if you’re looking for comps, think The Favourite meets Devil Wears Prada, and you’ll have some idea of what tone to expect.

Start this gorgeous two-hander (Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps star) at 22:14:40, and the clock should strike midnight just as Reynolds (Day-Lewis) watches all those lovely, colourful balloons rain down.

5. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

A certified classic of this admittedly niche subgenre of NYE midnight movies takes place in a world where, as far as I’m aware, the concept of a New Year’s Eve party does not exist. We are, of course, talking about Middle-earth and Peter Jackson’s adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, specifically the second instalment, The Two Towers—and if you like the middle section of trilogies (think Empire Strikes Back, Godfather: Part 2), this one is a real doozy.

The film’s narrative builds towards an epic battle between Saruman’s army of Uruk Hai and a smaller group consisting of one dwarf, some elves, and lots of men from Gondor, led by a refreshed King Theoden. The tension builds as we wait for the fight to start—a moment when the King utters the immortal line, “So it begins.” If you would like your year to begin with those ominous words, start the film at 21:13:19.

6. Independence Day (1996)

As the title suggests, Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day largely takes place on the days around the 4th of July, meaning it couldn’t be much farther from New Year’s Eve if it tried. It does, however, contain a fateful countdown—one that Jeff Goldblum’s sexy math wiz discovers in an alien transmission.

It is possible to line the movie up so that Goldblum’s character, David, says “Time’s up” at the stroke of midnight, but I think a more stylish choice would be to hit play at 23:12:35 and ring in the new year with Emmerich’s iconic destruction of The White House. Nobody does disasters quite like Emmerich, and if you’ve enjoyed the director’s more recent work on movies like Moonfall and 2012, this one is the real banger.

7. When Harry Met Sally (1989) 

Getting back to more seasonal films, few have captured the feeling of New Year’s quite like When Harry Met Sally. This is a film that most people associate with autumn, purely due to the incredibly soft-looking Aran sweater worn by Billy Crystal in some famous moments—and if you like movies with good knitwear (think Knives Out, The Holiday), you will certainly enjoy this one.

The most pivotal moments in the story come later on, however, not least the New Year's Eve party, where Harry and Sally finally come to a certain realisation. If you want to time your countdown with the one on screen, start the movie at 22:30:27.

8. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) 

Another film that can be placed in the sub-subgenre of things blowing up at the stroke of midnight is Star Wars, George Lucas’s enduring space opera about a boy called Luke Skywalker and a Vader called Darth. 

The first film in the long-running franchise follows Skywalker’s journey from his uncle and aunt's farm on Tatooine all the way to the Battle of Yavin. This legendary rebel attack ends with Skywalker firing two torpedoes, perhaps with the help of The Force, into the Death Star’s exhaust, creating a chain reaction that results in the station blowing up spectacularly. If you fancy that being the first image to touch you see in 2026, hit play at 22:02:43.

9. Trading Places (1983)

Moving back to earthly delights, why not try Trading Places? This is a movie that's become a festive favourite despite not boasting a great deal of festive cheer. It does, however, build to a climax on December 31st, and if you’d like your midnight to line up with Eddie Murphy saying “Merry New Year” on screen, start the film at 22:31:06.

The film stars Murphy as a down-on-his-luck street hustler who is chosen (as a bet) by a couple of wealthy stock traders to see if he can trade places with one of their most promising employees (Dan Akroyd). This is one that fans of comedies like A Fish Called Wanda and Beverly Hills Cop will love.

10. Forrest Gump (1994) 

Another classic New Year's Eve party scene comes at around the halfway point of Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump—a must-watch movie for fans of Tom Hanks in his heyday (think the likes of Big and Cast Away. The sequence takes place in New York City, where Forrest finds himself after returning from Vietnam. 

Early in the day on NYE, he meets Lt. Dan, and the two old friends go to a bar to ring in the New Year. If you’d like to sync up with the countdown, start the film at 22:38:55—I just hope you look a little happier when the time comes to celebrate.

11. Jaws (1975)

We’ll end our list—as I hope you end your year—with a bang! Like Star Wars and Independence Day, movie fans looking to ring in the year with some fireworks can turn to Stephen Spielberg’s 1975 classic, Jaws—a film that should be watched by any Spielberg fan (especially if you like the early stuff like Close Encounters).

The story, of course, concerns a killer shark that terrorises the inhabitants of Amity Island—that is, until a crew of three takes a boat (and then a bigger boat) to hunt it down. This leads to a triumphant explosion that should (if you hit play at 22:03:30) help you to ring in 2026 in a sufficiently triumphant manner. 

History buffs, beware! These films take historic events and figures and give them a Hollywood makeover with some glaring flaws—but that’s part of the fun. Sometimes, a wildly inaccurate story simply makes for a better film, favouring emotional truth over fact.

From epic battles to royal intrigue, these movies might not make a history professor smile, but they’re absolutely worth watching for the sheer entertainment and heart they bring to these stories. Ready to dive into history as it never really happened? Here’s a lineup of 10 films that wildly bend the facts, but still manage to capture our imaginations.

1. Braveheart (1995)

Braveheart is one of the most beloved but most egregious of historical offenders. Starring Mel Gibson as William Wallace, the film tells the story of the Scottish rebellion against England in the late 13th century, led by the daring Wallace.

Historically, this film is all over the place. Wallace wasn’t the poor farmer the film makes him out to be; he was actually nobility, trained in warfare from a young age. The battle scenes—including the iconic Battle of Stirling Bridge—oddly omit the bridge itself, and the costumes favour romanticised kilts and blue face paint, sadly never worn in 13th-century Scotland. The infamous “Jus Primae Noctis” law allowing English lords to sleep with brides on their wedding night is also a complete fabrication. But despite the historical inaccuracies, the film’s passionate speeches, fierce battles, and Gibson’s fiery performance make it a timeless film about freedom and the fighting spirit.

2. Marie Antoinette (2006)

Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette offers a visually sumptuous and intimate portrayal of the young queen, but takes quite a few liberties with historical accuracy. While grounded loosely in real events, the film’s aesthetic and use of modern pop music—not to mention Marie’s Converse shoes—clearly show that historical accuracy took a back seat.

The portrayal of Marie as a pink-haired, somewhat aimless teenager indulging in sweets captures an emotional truth rather than historical reality. The film only lightly addresses much of the complex political situation in France at the time, focusing instead on the isolation and pressures of court life. Key details like Marie’s children and relationships—and her possible affair with Count Fersen—are only briefly touched upon. However, the infamous quote, “Let them eat cake,” is rightly debunked in the film, as Marie never said it. 

Despite these inaccuracies, Marie Antoinette succeeds in evoking the queen’s loneliness and opulence, and the eventual tragedy of her world through a stylised lens that blends past with present.

3. The Patriot (2000)

Roland Emmerich’s The Patriot, starring Mel Gibson as Benjamin Martin, delivers Revolutionary War heroics with plenty of spectacle—yet history is often left in the dust. But a film called The Patriot was never going to deliver a balanced view of the two sides.

Gibson’s Martin is loosely inspired by several figures, including Francis Marion and Daniel Morgan, but is fictionalised as a perfect family man who single-handedly defeats legions of British redcoats. Every British soldier in The Patriot is depicted as a sadistic, practically cartoonish war criminal; and while the film’s villain, Colonel Tavington, channels the real-life Banastre Tarleton, it greatly exaggerates his cruelty, depicting him committing atrocities like burning civilians alive in a church—events that never happened in the American Revolution. Also controversial is the depiction of freed slaves happily working for Martin.

However, it should be acknowledged that The Patriot’s battle sequences—especially Cowpens and Camden—do reflect accurate military tactics, and the film’s costume department even consulted with the Smithsonian to create historically accurate sets and costumes for the film. Despite The Patriot's clear agenda and bending of Revolutionary War history to support that, its stirring moments of courage and sacrifice strike a deeply early 2000s-style emotional chord.

4. Alexander (2004)

Oliver Stone’s Alexander is a sweeping epic that covers the conquest of half the known ancient world in under four hours, which means timelines get squished tighter than a Greek phalanx. The notoriously un-Macedonian-looking Colin Farrell plays the legendary Alexander the Great with brooding intensity, but the film takes a few detours from reality: Royal family drama gets turned up to soap opera levels, and some key battles are either carelessly rearranged or oversimplified.

As for politics? They’re more melodramatic than Machiavellian, and let’s just say the film’s exploration of Alexander’s personal relationships is a bit more cinematic fantasy than textbook history. Despite all this, Alexander manages to channel the intense ambition of its hero, with grand visuals and intense battles that make it impossible to look away.

5. Anastasia (1997)

The beloved animated film Anastasia creates a charming fairytale from one of history’s darkest mysteries—but it’s unfortunately as far from the truth as one can get. In 2007, DNA evidence confirmed that the real Grand Duchess Anastasia was indeed executed alongside her family during the Russian Revolution in 1918, crushing the film’s hopeful tale of amnesia and escape. 

Despite the tragic reality behind the story, the film remains one of my childhood favourites. From Meg Ryan, John Cusack, and Christopher Lloyd’s stellar voice acting as Anya, Dmitri, and Rasputin, to the beautiful musical numbers, Hank Azaria’s talking bat Bartok, and the fairytale ending, it turns a tragic chapter of Russian history into a magical adventure. It may rewrite history, but it captures the longing for family, identity, and hope with undeniable charm.

6. Kingdom Of Heaven (2005)

Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven offers a sweeping, visually stunning glimpse into the Crusades—but it does go a little wild with its artistic liberties. The film centres on Balian of Ibelin, played by Orlando Bloom, a character inspired by a real noble defender of Jerusalem—though the film invents much of his backstory, including his French origins and tragic personal journey.

While King Baldwin IV’s leprosy and his efforts to keep peace are portrayed with some accuracy, much of the politics in the film is oversimplified or fictionalised. Likewise, relationships like the one between Balian and Sibylla are there for pure drama and to add personal stakes. The portrayal of Saldin is generally respectful and avoids the typical villain tropes of Crusades films, though his tolerance and chivalry are somewhat romanticised. 

The film also compresses timelines and events for pacing, and the complex role of the Templars and Hospitallers is flattened for easier storytelling. But despite the bending of the facts, Kingdom of Heaven succeeds in blending history with 21st century perspectives on tolerance and conflict, creating an epic that’s as much a modern allegory as a medieval drama.

7. The Last Samurai (2003)

Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai offers a sword-swinging spectacle that’s equal parts history lesson and Hollywood fantasy. Inspired loosely by real French soldier Jules Brunet, Tom Cruise’s character Nathan Algren is an American thrown into Japan’s Meiji Restoration drama—a time when samurai swords clashed with modern rifles and traditional values faced off against rapid Westernisation. If you’ve seen the series Shogun, you can put it into the timeline some 200 years after, when Japan finally fully opened to Western trade.

While The Last Samurai captures the spirit of the samurai’s fight to preserve their culture, the film simplifies the political realities of the time into a classic “tradition vs progress” showdown. The samurai didn’t all live in mountain hideouts, and many had already accepted change long before the 1877 rebellion that the film dramatises. In addition, the ‘white saviour’ mastering samurai ways is pure Hollywood fiction.

Still, there’s no denying that The Last Samurai is a great film. From its detailed costumes, intense battles, and the rare view it provides of samurai culture, it’s a thrilling if not perfectly accurate ride through a fascinating time in Japanese history.

8. Amadeus (1984)

Miloš Forman’s Amadeus is a dazzling, larger-than-life portrait of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his supposed bitter rivalry with Antonio Salieri—but don’t let the drama fool you. The film is less a faithful dramatisation and more a theatrical fantasy inspired by Alexander Pushkin's 1830 play Mozart and Salieri, rather than strict history.

Historically, there’s little evidence of a venomous feud between the two composers; Mozart and Salieri had a cordial, if competitive, relationship. The film captures Mozart’s mischievous, sometimes childish personality accurately, which comes from his real letters filled with humour and scandalous jokes. However, the idea that Salieri schemed to murder Mozart is pure dramatic invention, and scenes like Mozart feverishly dictating the Requiem to Salieri never happened—Mozart’s student actually completed it.

Despite the historical liberties, Amadeus brilliantly brings Mozart’s genius and 18th-century Vienna to life with bountiful sets, sensational music, and that unforgettable laugh. 

9. Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (1991)

Kevin Reynolds’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves takes the classic outlaw tale and cranks up the drama—but unfortunately, its historical accuracy is as bad as Kevin Costner’s British accent. Set (loosely) around 1194 during King Richard’s absence on the Crusades, the film blends medieval clichés with modern sensibilities. Kitchy mullets, grimy battlefields, and a ruthless Sheriff of Nottingham (cue Alan Rickman at his iconic villain best) make up its gritty vibe—but nixes any expectation of period precision.

The film invents or reshapes much of the story: Robin’s noble origins clash with early ballads depicting him as a commoner; Maid Marian’s name actually appears centuries after the real Robin’s time; and somehow, Morgan Freeman’s Azeem managed to invent the telescope centuries too early. But despite all the historical liberties and style choices, the film nails the thrill of rebellion—not to mention the memorable “Call off Christmas!” scene—that still makes it an entertaining classic.

10. JFK (1991)

Oliver Stone’s JFK is a thrilling, conspiracy-packed dive into one of America’s most enduring mysteries: the assassination of President John F Kennedy. But if you’re expecting a straightforward history lesson, you might be disappointed. The film artfully blends fact, speculation, and outright invention. Stone adopts Jim Garrison’s controversial investigation as a launching pad, spinning a tangled web of government coverups, shadowy intelligence agencies, and “Deep State” conspiracies.

While JFK masterfully captures the era’s paranoia and the public’s distrust of official narratives, many historians have taken issue with its factual accuracy and selective storytelling. Important details are dramatised or omitted to fuel the counter-narrative and ramp up the suspense. Despite its flaws, JFK remains a compelling exploration of trauma, truth, and suspicion that creates a fascinating tale that invites us to speculate even further on what really happened.

With Wake up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery now on Netflix—just in time to give us the perfect movie to stick on when we’re sick of talking to our relatives—the time-honoured ‘Whodunit’ is once again cinema’s most talked about genre. 

This is the third instalment in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out universe, a franchise that has singlehandedly brought the daytime-TV-coded crime staple hurtling back into fashion, one piece of perfectly calibrated knitwear at a time. All of which begs the question: Once the crimes of Dead Man are solved, which gruesome case files should you be opening next?

Before we get started on our list of the 10 Best ‘Whodunits’, it’s important to set some boundaries. First of all, this is not a catch-all ‘murder mystery’ list, so don’t expect to see classics like Zodiac or Memories of Murder. As perfect as those movies are, we are sticking to the format here—meaning a group of distinct and eccentric characters, rounded up in a single location with a crime to solve and plenty of twists and turns along the way. 

Secondly, the same goes for those Raymond Chandler-inspired movies like Johnson’s earlier film Brick or Who Framed Roger Rabbit—I mean, sure, they make us wonder “who” has done “it”, but they’re just not the same. In any case, read on to discover more and use the guide below to find out where to stream them.

1. Knives Out (2019)

Let’s start with the high watermark of the current revival. Upon release in 2019, Johnson’s Knives Out was immediately heralded as a gripping and hilarious banger—certainly enough that Netflix felt compelled to fork out almost half a billion USD for the pleasure of the next two sequels. This deal has now given us both Glass Onion (just okay?) and Wake Up Dead Man (a clear return to form).

The first Knives Out, however, remains the gold standard—a wonderfully knotty mystery that keeps you guessing till the very end. And like any great ‘Whodunit’, it boasts a cast that will keep you glued to the screen—including Ana de Armas (No Time to Die), Chris Evans (Captain America: Civil War) and even the late, great Cristopher Plummer (The Sound of Music).

2. A Haunting in Venice (2023)

Given Johnson’s success with Knives Out, you’d think that the new wave of ‘Whodunits’ all came after it—but to give it its due, Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express (released in 2017) kind of got there first. That movie was nothing special, to be honest, nor was the Gal Gadot-starring sequel, Death of the Nile, but with the trilogy-making A Haunting in Venice, Branagh finally found the right mixture of intrigue and camp.

This is the one where Branagh’s Poirot is pulled out of retirement for one last job, and Michelle Yeoh plays a psychic medium—so if you like seeing Yeoh doing weird stuff like this, you’re probably gonna like it. 

3. Rear Window (1954)

A quick glance at Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window—a movie about an injured writer who starts to believe he’s seen a terrible crime through one of his neighbour’s windows—might not suggest a straight up ‘Whodunit’, but just look at how Hitch sets it up: the crime is elusive, the suspects are each a specific ‘type’, and the surroundings—that incredible set in particular—give the movie the typical ‘Whodunit’ feel of a tabletop board game.

This is one to check out if you’re a fan of Hitchcock’s movies from that period, especially Vertigo and North by Northwest.

4. Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

Naturally, Agatha Christie—the patron saint of the genre—is very well represented on this list, and if you’re a fan of what Branagh has been up to with the author’s work, I’d highly recommend going back to check out this classic from 1974.

The production could hardly be glitzier—directed by Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men), this incarnation of Murder on the Orient Express stars Albert Finney (Erin Brockovich) as Poirot in a cast that features Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Vanessa Redgrave and Ingrid Bergman, who won her third Oscar for the role. 

5. Gosford Park (2001)

After directing Nashville and The Player, Robert Altman had basically become synonymous with a new kind of ensemble drama. With that in mind, his decision to write and direct Gosford Park—a classic ‘Whodunit’ If ever there was one—makes all kinds of sense. 

Like a good game of Cluedo, all the pieces are very much in place here: the cavernous mansion, the outsider detective, and a classic roster of suspects—everyone from the ruthless matriarch to the ruthless social climber is present and accounted for. If you’re looking for a classy comp to Knives Out—i.e. a murder mystery that leans into all the genre’s most delicious tropes—look no further. 

6. Clue (1985)

While we’re on the topic of Cluedo, this movie literally took its name from the board game—at least the one it’s known by in North America. For comparison, if Gosford Park is Knives Out’s classier cousin, Jonathan Lynn’s riotously self-aware movie Clue leans more into the genre’s potential for comedy.

Based directly on the board game, this one stars wonderful character actors like Cristopher Lloyd and Eileen Brennan alongside the great Tim Curry—so if you’re a fan of him in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, you will want to see it. 

7. The Hateful Eight (2015)

With its mood, setting and score, The Hateful Eight is naturally best known as Tarantino’s Western—but it’s also the director’s ‘Whodunit’. We get the lone night, the single location, the eccentric character types, the gradually unravelling mystery and the twists and turns—all well-worn staples of the genre.

This is naturally one to check out if you like Tarantino’s style, but also if you’re fond of snowy Westerns like McCabe and Mrs Miller.

8. Witness for the Prosecution (1958)

One of the less well-known Christie adaptations on our list comes courtesy of the legendary director Billy Wilder, who, along with making legendary comedies like The Apartment and Some Like It Hot, also helped establish film noir with classics like Double Indemnity.

We might be testing the limits of the ‘Whodunit’ definition with this story of a man accused of murdering a wealthy widow, but Witness for the Prosecution, a film that won Best Picture in 1958, is well worth checking out. If you like the classics and appreciate courtroom dramas like 12 Angry Men, be sure to do just that

9. Death on the Nile (1978)

Branagh might not have nailed this Christie classic in 2022, but John Guillermin’s 1978 version of Death on the Nile is well worth seeking out. Filmed on location in Egypt, the Towering Inferno director managed to round up a cast featuring Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury, Jane Birkin, Mia Farrow, David Niven and Maggie Smith, with Peter Ustinov in the Poirot role.

This is definitely one for the Murder, She Wrote fans out there, or for anyone who appreciates Bette Davis (All About Eve) at her sardonic. I mean, just check out this poster.

10. The Last of Sheila (1973)

We’ll end our list, perhaps fittingly, with The Last of Sheila —a movie that was written by the unlikely duo of Anthony Perkins (Psycho) and Stephen Sondheim (West Side Story). This 1973 ‘Whodunit’ takes place on a luxury yacht, where a movie producer attempts to work out who amongst his fellow passengers is responsible for the death of his wife.

This might not be the best known of the movies on our list, but the casting—it features Raquel Welch (One Million Years B.C.) and James Coburn (The Magnificent Seven) alongside a young Ian McShane (John Wick)—is just as tasty.

There are still a few days to go in the calendar year, but barring a surge from Avatar: Fire and Ash (which is more than possible, though I sense this one might not conquer the world quite like its predecessors), the highest-grossing movies of 2025 look more or less set in place. So, with Zootopia 2 still in theatres, let’s take a minute to sift through the tea leaves and see what clicked with audiences this year.

Even a cursory glance at the top ten is enough to reveal some shifts in viewing habits. For one, not counting the Covid summer of 2020, this is the first time in 14 years that no Marvel movie has broken into the top ten — with Fantastic Four: First Steps (11th), Brave New World (14th) and Thunderbolts (15th) all underperforming. In their place, and building on the recent success of movies like Super Mario Bros. (second in 2023) and Inside Out 2 (first in 2024), we’re seeing a clear domination of animated and family movies, with a couple even coming from non-English-language territories.

Indeed, the top film of 2025 made more money than any movie in the Harry Potter, Jurassic Park or Star Wars franchises, but made 99% of its money in mainland China. Read on to learn more and use the guide below to find out where to watch them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

10. Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning ($0.6 billion)

Tom Cruise might have been hoping that Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, the final sprint of his three-decade run as Ethan Hunt, would have placed a little higher on the year-end list, but the last couple of M: I movies just haven’t drawn quite the same crowds as earlier installments—certainly nowhere close to the heady days of Rogue Nation and Fallout. 

Whatever the case, I still highly recommend seeing this one—especially if you’re a fan of how director Cristopher McQuarrie, over four M: I movies now, has mixed no-nonsense plotting with some of the most elaborate stunts ever caught on camera.   

9. Superman ($0.61 billion)

Marvel might have struggled a little in 2025, but there was at least one superhero movie on the top-ten highest grossers this year: James Gunn’s Superman. This is the movie that launched Gunn’s DCU, so if you’re a fan of the director’s sense of humour (think Guardians of the Galaxy, Peacemaker) and appreciate all things Man of Steel, you’ll surely want to give it a watch over the festive season.

As Kal El, David Corenswet leads a deep bench of charismatic actors—including Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane), Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luther) and Skyler Gisondo (Jimmy Olsen).

8. F1: The Movie ($0.63 billion)

Hollywood might have stopped making movie stars, but there are still some around who know how to open a movie. Case in point, this year was Joseph Kominski’s F1, in which Brad Pitt played a retired racecar driver who gets lured back onto the world’s circuits for one last season.

This was Kominski’s follow-up to the awesome Top Gun: Maverick, and it basically does for Formula 1 what that film did for military jets—in other words, using the most technically advanced equipment available to give you the feeling of what it might actually be like to drive one of these things.

7. How to Train Your Dragon ($0.63 billion)

The second live action remake—and another story, like Lilo & Stitch, about the bond between a human and a fantastical creature—to make the list of the year’s most successful movies was How to Train Your Dragon, a faithful and gorgeous adaptation of the 2010 computer-animated feature about a young Viking who makes friends with a dragon named Hiccup.

Both were written and directed by Dean DeBlois, a filmmaker and animator who started working at Disney in 1994, contributing to the story for Mulan before directing his debut feature, which was, to go full circle, the original Lilo & Stitch.

6. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle ($0.66 billion)

Given the success of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot more anime movies released theatrically in the coming years. The second movie in director Haruo Sotozaki’s Demon Slayer franchise was an obvious sensation, a movie that not only became the highest-grossing anime of all time, but it blew the previous record holders (Spirited Away, Your Name., Demon Slayer: Mugen Train) out of the water.

If you’re unversed in the series’ narrative, it’s probably best to go back and watch at least the previous movie, if not the animated TV show, too. But if you’re a fan of shows like My Hero Academia and Attack on Titan, you’ll definitely vibe with it.  

5. Jurassic World: Rebirth ($0.86 billion)

Now here’s a franchise that just keeps rolling, at least when it comes to getting cinemagoers in seats. After the not very loved Chris Pratt years, the seventh movie in the series, Jurassic World: Rebirth, managed to bring things back to relative basics and ended up, at least in my opinion, delivering the best Jurassic Park movie not directed by Steven Spielberg.

It managed to do this by bringing original screenwriter David Koepp on board to rekindle some of that Spielberg wonder while hiring Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Rogue One), a master of visual scale, to direct. Added to that, we got Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey, as well as Mahershala Ali playing a character called Duncan Kinkaid, who wore a beret—what’s not to like?

4. A Minecraft Movie ($0.95 billion)

Whatever you do, don’t say “chicken jockey.” Outside the world of Chinese animation, the biggest multiplex story of the year was the mania that surrounded A Minecraft Movie’s release—especially the videos that started to do the rounds of the chaotic scenes whenever Jack Black’s character said that phrase.

If that all sounds like gibberish to you, it’s because it kind of is. Like Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, A Minecraft Movie (which was directed by Napoleon Dynamite’s Jared Hess) wasn’t an attempt to make a story set in the world of the game as much as a movie about all the little idiosyncrasies that make people love the game to begin with. Whatever the case, it worked!

3. Lilo & Stitch ($1 billion)

The first of two live-action remakes on this year’s Box Office top-ten is an adaptation of a modern Disney classic: Lilo & Stitch. Starring Maia Kealoha as the titular Hawaiian girl who adopts a wild but adorable alien, named Stitch, this reimagining of the beloved 2002 Disney animation cruised to a cool $1 billion after hitting cinemas in May to become the most successful summer movie of the year. 

If you’re nostalgic for the original, you’ll naturally want to check it out. The same goes for fans of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, a delightful A24 animation that was director Dean Fleischer Camp’s breakout hit. 

2. Zootopia 2 ($1.1 billion)

The most recent juggernaut on this list is Disney animation’s Zootopia 2, the long-awaited sequel to the excellent 2016 original, in which a detective bunny and a con artist fox have to work together to crack a case a working metropolis inhabited by animals—imagine if Chinatown was animated like Ratatouille and had the humour of Puss in Boots and you’ll have some idea of what to expect. 

Like the first installment, Zootopia 2 explores important themes like greed and prejudice while offering viewers an action packed adventure with some truly heartfelt moments—not to mention a wonderful voice cast. I can’t recommend it enough.

1. Ne Zha 2 ($2.2 billion)

It’s hard to know where to begin with Ne Zha 2, a movie that broke record after record this year without anyone you know having heard of it. This movie is now the highest-grossing animated movie, non-English language movie and non-Hollywood movie of all time. It also reached that mark with only $20 million of its ticket sales coming from outside China.

The all-conquering sequel, in which the eponymous young god forms an uneasy alliance with a former enemy to fight against the evil Shen Gongbao, combines elements of Chinese mythology with a modern animation style—so if you enjoy the world of Kung Fu Panda and the action of movies like How to Train Your Dragon, you might be interested in checking it out. 

From a former British Navy Intelligence officer’s power fantasy scribblings in a Caribbean shack in the early 1950s, one of cinema’s longest-running series was born. Ian Fleming’s James Bond, codename 007, is one of those rare icons whose fame extends far beyond the page and screen – the suave British spy is a cultural landmark whose identifiers and tropes are instantly recognisable and mimicable.

Despite being a film franchise glutton, Bond has been a blind spot for me for years. So, I gave myself a mission: watch and judge them all, based on stunts, theme, set and costume design, Bond girls, villain(s), theme song, gadgets, and, of course, the actor in the tux. Here’s my ranking of every James Bond film, from least to most favourite, as a first-time watcher. 

26. For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Roger Moore fans, be warned: you’ll be seeing a lot of him down here. So far, no Bond actor has been bad in the role, but despite his charms, Moore’s definitely the most de-fanged version of the rogueish agent. For Your Eyes Only is similarly not a bad film, but coming after the bombastic high of Moonraker, it falls very short.

If For Your Eyes Only was a bad film, in fact, it might be more memorable. As it stands, the Greek-set story of revenge and missile misuse is extremely thin on action, depth, or spark from Moore, who feels like he’s going through the motions after nearly a decade in the role at this point. The one saving grace? Margaret Thatcher talking to a parrot. 

25. The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)

The presence of Hammer Horror icon – and future Lord Of The Rings and Star Wars alum — Christopher Lee as the titular villain is this film’s sole boon, and potentially my excitement about him led to this one feeling like such a letdown. The most disappointing part is the wasted potential of The Man With The Golden Gun, which draws an ideological line between Moore’s 007 and Lee’s Francisco Scaramanga: Bond kills for Queen and country; Scaramanga for the highest bidder. 

The island hideout is one of the most inventive in the series, with Bond trapped in a fun fair-style maze, hunted by Scaramanga and his signature weapon, and an assassin small enough to hide in a box. If the movie leaned harder into their dynamic, it would’ve been much meatier; instead, it’s mostly flab.  

24. Live And Let Die (1973)

The best thing about Live And Let Die is a killer theme song, courtesy of Paul McCartney’s Wings (though I prefer the Guns ‘N’ Roses cover featured in Grosse Point Blank). This is Moore’s first outing as James Bond, taking over from Sean Connery, and he has a tough time living up to the man who originated the part on the big screen.

With Harlem gangsters, voodoo, and street-level crime, the film is very of its time in terms of African American on-screen representation. Putting that aside, it struggles to match the panache of how previous supervillains have been portrayed (this one is unimaginatively named Mr Big) or the stakes they set: Bond literally walks all over a crocodile trap. Got to say, though, death by inflation will stay with me for a while…

23. A View To A Kill (1985)

Christopher Walken and Grace Jones match each other’s freak in A View To A Kill, and for that reason alone, I wish I could put it higher on this list. Unfortunately, there are just too many weird, disconnected ideas in this one: something is going on with ex-Nazis drugging race horses, a woman ‘performs’ with live butterflies in an Eiffel Tower restaurant, and a detective called Achille Aubergine is nearly too French to function.

There’s an opening skiing scene (Bond loves to ski) with a Beach Boys needle drop that’s random and clunkily executed, which sort of sums the entire film up. Walken’s Silicon Valley autocrat villain feels horribly prescient; otherwise, this one’s a hot mess. Should you still watch it, though? Absolutely. That Duran Duran song is straight fire, too.

22. Octopussy (1983)

A movie title that is still wild to see written down, or say out loud to anyone asking what you’re planning to watch tonight. Octopussy is one of the late Cold War releases in which you can see the franchise struggle between a nuanced and black-and-white depiction of the Soviet Union, which Western forces were by this point much friendlier with.

Suitably, the main villain is a Soviet general gone rogue, funnelling stolen jewellery into a bid to disarm Kremlin enemies. In trying to have its Cold War cake and eat it, Octopussy feels hollow and the series bereft of new or interesting ideas. Neither bad nor good, but Moore seems to enjoy himself, er, more.

21. You Only Live Twice (1967)

The first appearance of Sean Connery on this list, and while I have a lot of affection for it, You Only Live Twice is another film that’s all over the place. In a feat of peak Bond absurdism, the opening kills off the character… Only to explain exactly what the nonsensical title means. Then we’re off to Japan, and if you don’t have much tolerance for racial insensitivity, you may want to skip suffering through Connery’s ‘Japanese disguise’ altogether.

Generally, this is the series at its lowest for cultural stereotyping and female objectification, especially of Asian women, but some pluses include the first face reveal of Bond’s most persistent adversary, Ernest Blofeld, and his incredible volcano spacecraft launchpad. The surprise piranha bridge dunk (which should be a cocktail name) never gets old, and I think the theme song is really underrated, too.      

20. Thunderball (1965)

Perhaps best known for putting Connery in a jet pack, and worst known (by me) for its extensive underwater fight scenes. In Thunderball, Blofeld’s elusive organisation SPECTRE steal nuclear bombs from NATO and demands £100 million of diamonds in exchange for not using them. If you know your Austin Powers, this is the movie from which a lot of Mike Myers’ gags come, including an eyepatched ‘Number Two’ to Blofeld.

What bogs the film down are the aforementioned underwater scenes, which are technically impressive but incredibly bloated and dull to sit through: the water slows the fighting down, and it’s hard to make out who’s doing what through all the oxygen masks and flippers. 

19. Never Say Never Again (1983)

This is the only technically ‘unofficial’ Bond film on the list, which are all Eon productions – a company formed specifically in 1961 to produce James Bond films. However, as it features Connery’s return to the role after leaving it in 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever, it feels worthy of inclusion, especially as it nearly gave the ‘real deal,’ Octopussy, a run for its money.

Never Say Never Again is a remake of the Fleming story that Thunderball was based on, with an added layer of meta-commentary on Connery’s age (meaning Bond’s age, too) and ability to still perform. He puts such aspersions to rest by being really good at video games and pleasing women (take that, haters), like the gloriously unhinged Fatima Blush. A mixed bag, overall, with more value as a franchise curiosity than a really solid entry.

18. The Living Daylights (1987)

The first Timothy Dalton-led Bond, both in film chronology and on this list. Only starring in two 007 movies, the swarthy Welshman gets lost in the shuffle, being neither an infamous one-trick pony like George Lazenby (up next on the list), nor long-serving, like the rest. But post-Daniel Craig, Dalton’s brooding take on the character was clearly ahead of its time.

The story is one of the more convoluted in the series, but its focus on characterisation really shines, with Bond’s relationship with the KGB cellist he’s protecting feeling like something based on mutual affection rather than raw sexuality. The climactic desert battle is quintessential ‘80s bombast, but the rest lacks some of the sophisticated style of Connery and Moore’s eras.  

17. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

I mentioned earlier that Bond loves to ski, and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is the Bond ski movie. So much so, in fact, it apparently inspired fanboy Christopher Nolan’s inclusion of a similar scene in Inception. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service has lots of fans among modern directors, and when you watch it, you’ll see why.

Sandwiched between Connery, Moore, and Connery again, the sole Lazenby film is a tonal mishmash of slow and silly flights of fancy – like a harem of brainwashed babes on a snowy mountain – and brilliant high-stakes action. I particularly love Telly Savalas’ quietly confident take on Blofeld, and the jarringly tragic revenge he wreaks on Bond at the end. The repercussions of this ending have a lasting effect on the character far beyond Lazenby’s portrayal.

16. Moonraker (1979)

At a certain point in a franchise’s existence, you have to send your characters to space. It happens to Jason Vorhees, it happens to the Muppets, it happens to the Fast & Furious gang, and in Moonraker, it happens to James Bond. I don’t make the rules; I simply wait for the inevitability of leaving Earth’s atmosphere to unfold on the screen before me.  

And you know what? It’s never not cool. Even though the majority of Bond villains are hellbent on doing awful things to our planet and the people on it, Moonraker’s baddie is the most ethically insidious: space shuttle thief Hugo Drax plans on taking the planet’s best and brightest off-world, and blowing up everyone who’s left behind. He has an iconic henchman in the silver-toothed Jaws, played by the 7’1.5” Richard Kiel, who also has an unexpectedly sweet redemption arc. It’s this attention to detail and the grand scale of this space-race adventure that make Moonraker one of the most memorable Moore films.  

15. The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Pierce Brosnan was my generation’s Bond, so I have to admit nostalgia inevitably seeps into my judgment of his contributions to the franchise. The plot of The World Is Not Enough is convoluted at the best of times – let’s just say it involves the bad guys manipulating the price of petrol via nuclear meltdown, submarines, and kidnapping the daughter of a murdered billionaire.

The film is elevated and hampered by its respective Bond Girls: one, Elektra, is a deliciously duplicitous femme fatale, and the other is Denise Richards playing a nuclear scientist called Dr Christmas Jones, dressed, for some reason, like Laura Dern in Jurassic Park. Critics lambasted her for being miscast, which I don’t disagree with, but I actually find her earnestness a good counterbalance to Sophie Marceau’s bitter treachery. Super, super underrated theme song, too.  

14. Spectre (2015)

We move on now to our first Daniel Craig film, and the worst of the actor’s five movie run, IMO – not helped by having to follow the masterful Skyfall. That isn’t to say that Spectre is a bad watch: Ralph Fiennes steps into Judi Dench’s shoes to play a leaner, meaner M, while Andrew Scott is wonderfully slimy as a government rival looking to prove the redundancy of the 00 programme in a world where wars are waged with keystrokes, not men in tuxedos.

The film’s title announces the return of the evil, shadowy organisation headed up by Blofeld, played by Christoph Waltz, which Eon recovered the rights for after a protracted legal battle with the company behind the offshoot Connery film, Never Say Never Again. Waltz’s introduction is spine-tingling, but this aura doesn’t quite sustain itself, and the complex threads of Spectre’s plot ultimately boil down to a slightly uninspired damsel-in-distress climax. Sam Smith’s theme song is a real stunner, though.  

13. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Diamonds Are Forever is notable for being both Connery’s comeback 007 film following the sudden exit of his successor, George Lazenby. It’s also the original Bond actor’s last ‘official’ outing as the spy. It’s a shame, then, that Connery doesn’t bow out of the Eon series on a note as strong as the ones Shirley Bassey belts out for one of the best theme songs of all time. But as uneven as Diamonds Are Forever is, it’s at least one of the goofiest offerings.

The film boldly starts with Blofeld’s apparent death at Bond’s hands as vengeance for the supervillain murdering his bride in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Then, the agent heads to Vegas to thwart a diamond smuggling operation, which feels beyond his purview until it’s revealed they’re being used to power a giant space laser. (What else would you use diamonds for?) The most delightfully odd part is Wint and Kidd, a pair of eccentric assassins heavily implied to be a gay couple, who try to take Bond out by hiding a bomb in a cake on a cruise liner.     

12. Dr No (1962)

Though there were some aborted TV attempts prior, this is the OG Bond film, and there’s loads to love about it: the lavish mid-century modern aesthetic, Connery’s effortless cool, its aspirational globetrotting, and its introduction of the character himself, which immediately emphasises 007 as being someone to pay attention to.

I also appreciate some of the simple spy tricks Bond does here without the high-tech gadgets he soon becomes synonymous with, as well as the dinner scene with the film’s eponymous supervillain, reminiscent of Count Dracula eyeing up his prey. Dr No is worth watching to see where it all began, even if later instalments blow it somewhat out of the water.

11. From Russia With Love (1963)

This is the second Bond film in the series, and also one of the most highly regarded. It follows on somewhat directly from Dr No, with SPECTRE out for James’ blood after the death of the aforementioned villain, and Bond himself tasked with facilitating a Soviet intelligence officer’s defection in Turkey. Her handler is Colonel Rosa Klebb, a counter-intelligence operative with a sadistic, sapphic edge and a blade hidden in her shoes to prove it.

Compared to the fantastical travelogue that is Dr No, From Russia With Love is a slower affair that leans more into the double-crossing side of espionage, as well as the tangled web of Cold War politics. If you like more grounded, modern spy thrillers like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, this is the vintage 007 adventure that’ll appeal to you the most. My favourite moment is when Bond rumbles an undercover Soviet masquerading as an Englishman through his wine pairing aboard the Orient Express. A red with fish? Her Majesty would never.  

10. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

The Spy Who Loved Me is without a doubt the high point of Moore’s tenure as the MI6 antihero. Coming on the heels of the poor-performing The Man With the Golden Gun, this third entry in the Moore run needed to swim or risk sinking both star and franchise. Just as well Bond has a submarine car, perfect for thwarting a businessman’s plan to create his own underwater Atlantis and destroy everything on the surface.

With the Cold War cooling off, The Spy Who Loved Me has little tethering it to a tangible real-world threat, resulting in ambitious stunts, a wonderfully lavish villain lair and one of the most memorable henchmen, the metal-toothed Jaws. If you only watch one Roger Moore Bond film, make it this one. 

9. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Tomorrow Never Dies is a time capsule of the encroaching new Millennium aesthetic, tone, and theme, the latter being anxieties around increased surveillance and clickbait-driven mass media that have only become more pronounced with time. Perhaps that’s why I’m placing it higher on this list than others might.

Despite being very overblown (a consistent critique of the Brosnan films), the casting makes up for its flaws: as well as Brosnan’s imitable charms, Jonathan Pryce is a scenery-chewing tech mogul with the black heart of Lex Luthor and the black costume of Steve Jobs; Michelle Yeoh gives James the runabout during a wild motorcycle chase in China, and Teri Hatcher is a seductive but tragic love interest. Pure entertainment.

8. GoldenEye (1995)

More than just the source material for that really good N64 game, and named after Fleming’s Jamaican writing retreat, GoldenEye is also the first outing for Pierce Brosnan after a six-year hiatus for Timothy Dalton, and the first Bond film for director Martin Campbell, who went on to helm Casino Royale, and clearly has a knack for soft reboots.

GoldenEye didn’t have the crutches of Fleming’s stories or the Cold War to rely on for inspiration, which it ends up using to its advantage as a sort of meta-commentary on the character’s relevance. Sean Bean is in top form as an embittered MI6 agent-turned-terrorist, a twisted mirror to Brosnan’s effortlessly suave Bond. Their nail-biting fight dangling over a satellite dish still holds up against any modern action blockbuster. 

7. Licence To Kill (1989)

If you’re predominantly familiar with the Daniel Craig films, Licence To Kill, Timothy Dalton’s second and final stint as the iconic spy, really sets the stage for the brooding, loose cannon the character becomes. After an attack on his CIA buddy Felix Leiter, Bond rashly quits MI6 and goes on the warpath. 

Naturally, this grimmer tone is divisive to this day among critics, fans, and even those in the film, but if you’re a fan of the bloody, oily, and sweaty machismo of the era – Predator and Rambo, for instance – you’ll likely enjoy it. Much like Craig, Dalton sharpens the edges and dirties the martini of Fleming’s quintessential antihero in a way I find satisfyingly appropriate for a man who kills with a quip and is trained not to form emotional attachments.

6. Quantum Of Solace (2008)

Quantum of Solace is the most-maligned of the excellent run of Craig films. The title, taken from a short story in a Fleming anthology, sounds like gibberish, and like Licence to Kill, it was deemed at the time of release to be too maudlin and messy compared to the classic caper feel of Casino Royale. While I can definitely see where its detractors are coming from, I’d urge anyone sleeping on Quantum to wake up to it.

Following his doomed romance in Casino Royale, 007 rebounds on another vengeance quest alongside fellow scorned agent, Camille, which, helpfully for the people of Bolivia, dovetails into stopping a plot to control the country’s water supply. As it became clear Craig’s tenure would be the first fully sequential story of the series, Quantum is retrospectively an important bridge from Casino Royale to Skyfall, allowing Bond time to lick his wounds and form an unusually sexless connection to a woman based on mutually beneficial revenge – one of the most dramatic and surprisingly tender conclusions to any of his relationships. It also establishes a closer relationship between him and Judi Dench’s M, which is crucial to the emotional bedrock of Skyfall. 

5. Die Another Day (2002)

I knew when I started putting this list together that Die Another Day would come dangerously close to the top five for some fans’ liking – and here it is, right on the edge. And to those haters, I say: Do you really hate fun that much? Do you not like invisible cars? Halle Berry? Tundra chase scenes? Insane face reveals? Madonna as a dom-mummy fencing instructor? Have you no soul?

If you’re not too precious about a Bond film pushing the upper limits of realism into straight-up fever dream territory, Die Another Day is an absolute blast. The story, which you needn’t pay any attention to, involves 007 sniffing out a traitorous MI6 agent who has both a connection to a famous British industrialist and North Korea. I genuinely didn’t know about its wild plot twist, and it had me hooting and hollering at the TV. It’s a shame Brosnan’s final Bond film was so mercilessly lambasted, but I tip my hat to him for holding together this out-of-control snowmobile.     

4. Casino Royale (2006)

As much as I’ll go to bat for Die Another Day, I have to admit, Casino Royale is a fantastic salve to its early ‘00s silliness. Introducing Daniel Craig and his heinously blonde hair to the franchise, the film is perhaps the biggest cultural reset in Bond history thus far, wiping the slate clean to redraw the character as both more book-accurate and more in-tune with the cynicism and paranoia of a post-9/11 world that Brosnan’s last film ignored.

Making Craig a younger, rougher iteration with less experience and more to prove as he infiltrates a high-stakes poker game was a smart move, as was the casting of Mads Mikkelsen as his inscrutable opponent in a ball-breaking, star-making turn. If previous Bond films have been criticised for either being too fantastical or too grounded, Casino Royale magically hits that sweet spot between the two – an instant modern classic. 

3. No Time To Die (2021)

If Bond has to die, there’s no better way for him to do so than in No Time To Die. Having retired and parted ways with Spectre Bond girl Madelaine Swann, a secret daughter of the terrorist organisation, Bond is pulled back into action to help her escape a revenge plot by Machiavellian biochemist and SPECTRE enemy, Safin, played by a typically cold and calculating Rami Malek. 

You’d expect the spy’s last adventure to be on the slower, sadder side, but No Time To Die delivers some of the best action sequences and set pieces of the entire series, from Blofeld confronting Bond via a bionic eye at a party in Cuba to infiltrating Safin’s brutalist fortress from the air. Ana de Armas and Natasha Lyonne’s supporting spies are worthy of their own spinoff adventures, and as the closer to the Craig run of films, the film ties everything together from the previous 15 years very cathartically.    

2. Goldfinger (1964)

I had to give one of the classics its due this high up the list, and it really couldn’t be anything but Goldfinger. So much of Bond that is etched into the wider cultural zeitgeist either originates or is codified here: a raft of gadgets, incredible set pieces, elaborate kills, and most notably, the titular villain’s famous response to 007’s “Do you expect me to talk?” as a laser inches towards his crotch: “No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die!”

Goldfinger is so obsessed with the metal in his name, he devises an elaborate plan to rob Fort Knox of the stuff. Weaved into this is the only other censor-bothering name outside of Octopussy, Honour Blackman’s pilot Pussy Galore and her all-female flying troupe, his henchman Oddjob, who eschews a conventional gun for frisbeeing a sharp-edged Bowler hat, and a bucketload of disposable gangsters doing bad Al Capone accents. Greedy, psychotic and supremely confident, the only thing that could have made Goldfinger a more iconic villain would have been if plans to have Orson Welles play him had come to fruition. Connery, meanwhile, is at the peak of his powers as Bond – cool, calm, but with a hint of a knowing wink at the absurdity of it all.  

1. Skyfall (2012)

I know many Bond fans would probably put Goldfinger as their number one, but for me, Skyfall is not only the best Bond film – it’s one of the best action films. Released in time to ring in the film series’ 50th anniversary, it’s a masterful capstone from director Sam Mendes, bringing not only the Craig movies to their zenith, but also incorporating enough nostalgic nods to feel like a fitting tribute to one of cinema’s longest-running franchises.

If we break Bond down into its key filmic elements as I did at the start, there’s no other film on the list that so easily ticks every box – and then some. Javier Bardem plays the ex-MI6 agent turned cyberterrorist, Raoul Silva, who has an axe to grind with Judi Dench’s M. It’s a backstory that’s been employed several times in the series, but never to such a raw, Freudian degree. Silva somehow embodies all the traits you want from a classic Bond villain while still being wildly unpredictable, keeping 007 on the back foot until the very end.

The stunningly realised Macau casino and London Underground chase scenes are wonderfully entertaining, but Skyfall becomes a very different beast when it reaches the shoot-out at Bond’s Scottish estate. Murky from midnight fog and heated by gunfire and burning rafters, Mendes’s finale is as gothic and brooding in aesthetic as it is operatic in tone. Bond has saved the world countless times, but fighting for the life of the closest thing he has to a parent, the stakes have never felt higher, and the myth that is the man becomes more human.   

Real New York streets, stressed-out people, cosmic synth music, handheld cameras… Of all the idiosyncratic American filmmakers to emerge from the 2010s, it’s both pleasing and surprising that Josh and Benny Safdie are the ones to have garnered the strongest name recognition. 

In 2019, they followed the breakout success of Good Time with Uncut Gems, a film that dropped directly to Netflix and immediately positioned them amongst the best talents of their generation. Now, in 2025, working independently of one another, they’ve both taken a big swing at something bigger.

In the last few months, the siblings have released two separate but still unmistakably Safdie sports movies, each starring one of the most famous actors in the world: first Benny’s The Smashing Machine, and now Josh’s Marty Supreme. With both currently in cinemas (just about), what better time to look back over their careers, both their most successful collaborations and their lesser-seen early ones? 

The following list, which I’ve arranged in ascending order, covers every feature film they’ve made together and separately. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

8. Lenny Cooke (2013)

Fans of more recent Safdie movies (or sports docs like the magnificent Hoop Dreams) should consider going back to check out the brothers’ 2013 documentary on Lenny Cooke, a hugely promising college basketball player who, for various reasons, got passed on in the 2002 NBA draft.

The doc, a touching but gritty study of unrealised potential, hits on a lot of the themes the brothers would later explore in movies like The Smashing Machine and Uncut Gems. 

7. The Pleasures of Being Robbed (2008)

Having collaborated on short films together since their late teens, the brothers released their first feature in 2008, when Josh (who wrote and directed) was 23-years old and Benny (who edited) was just 22. Like any good debut, The Pleasures of Being Robbed offers fans a wonderful opportunity to see the raw expression of their talents—Josh’s in particular, who also appears in the film in a supporting role.

The story follows a kleptomaniac (played by Eleonare Hendricks, an actress who went on to appear in other indie gems by Jesse Eisenberg and Chloé Zhao) who attempts to break her cycle of bad behaviour by leaving New York—but naturally, like many a Safdie protagonist after her, it doesn’t quite go according to plan.

6. The Smashing Machine (2025)

Given the bad press around The Smashing Machine’s release, it’s hard to say what the film’s legacy will be at this point. I do, however, think that Benny’s first solo outing as director will eventually find a loyal audience—even if it fails to return a profit. This is a film that goes against the grain of what we expect from an underdog sports movie (imagine The Wrestler as a downbeat synth opera, mostly set in Japan), so it’s probably no surprise that it left most viewers a little cold.

I do, however, still recommend seeing it, especially for the chance to see The Rock giving such a genuinely vulnerable performance. It speaks to the strength of their artistic bond that the director and star have already signed on for another project.

5. Heaven Knows What (2014)

I first discovered Heaven Knows What when I was trying to find some hidden gems for a yearly wrap-up piece in 2014—and of course, it blew my mind. Here were two directors in their late 20s making a film about a recovering addict, written by, based on and starring the woman herself. It was also shot by NY indie godfather Shawn Price Williams and scored by Ariel Pink—meaning it looked and sounded incredible.

If you’ve never seen an early Safdie movie, this is a great place to start—especially if you like the raw, youthful style of films like Kids and The Florida Project. 

4. Daddy Longlegs (2009)

Though both brothers had worked on Pleasures of Being Robbed and Lenny Cooke, Daddy Longlegs is arguably the first true “Safdie Brothers film”, as it was the first time that the brothers both wrote and directed together. The subject matter also makes it their most personal work: the semi-autobiographical story focuses on the relationship between a divorced projectionist and his two sons—imagine a Safdie version of Paper Moon or Kramer vs. Kramer, and you’ll know what kind of vibe to expect.

The casting is typically impressive: Lee Ronaldo of Sonic Youth’s two sons stand in for the directors themselves, while Abel Ferrara, a legendary New York director and the Safdies’ most enduring influence, appears in a small role.

3. Good Time (2017)

For all the brothers’ achievements before Good Time, that film’s ecstatically received premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival felt like a true arrival. This was their first time working with an established star, Robert Pattinson, and their first time collaborating with Oneotrix Point Never, the idiosyncratic analogue synth composer whose sound is now synonymous with the directors’ work—and if you appreciate the electronic scores in movies like Under the Skin and The Social Network, just wait till you get a load of this one.

The story follows two brothers (played by Pattinson and Benny) through a typically manic narrative involving a bank robbery, a bag of cash, and a Sprite bottle filled with liquid LSD. Imagine the energy and colours of Spring Breakers told through the lens of a Michael Mann heist movie, and you’ll have some idea of what you’re in for. 

2. Marty Supreme (2025)

If you’ve been on the World Wide Web, or at least the film-specific corners of it, in the last few weeks, you’ve probably already heard of Marty Supreme. This is Josh’s first solo effort since the brothers parted ways. It’s also currently rolling out one of the best marketing campaigns in recent history, including a bizarre Zoom call meeting, a bright orange blimp, and one of the most sought-after garments of 2025.

Thankfully, the movie itself, which stars Timothee Chalamet as a wannabe professional table tennis player in the 1950s, is an absolute blast—a film that blends the breakneck style of Uncut Gems with the propulsive sports narrative of Guadagnino’s Challengers.

1. Uncut Gems (2019)

If Uncut Gems ends up being the last film that the Safdie brothers ever make together, it will stand as a perfect example of the best parts of their unique talents: Benny’s wonderfully dreamy, occasionally cosmic approach, and Josh’s anxiety-inducing energy and clear talent for stringing an audience along. 

The film stars Adam Sandler as a gambling addict attempting to line up the perfect parlay, but it’s the detail of the character’s world (the story is set in New York’s diamond district) that really makes the film pop. Check it out if you love Sandler (especially his dramatic turns in movies like Punch-Drunk Love) or the movies of Abel Ferrara (especially Bad Lieutenant). And if you haven’t seen either of them, don’t worry, just go watch it!

Ever since humans first began looking up at the stars, we’ve dreamed of being among them. Probably. Maybe. Actually, we were more likely confused by and scared of them for a good few hundred years, but once we got over that, we eventually made it up there. The same is true, it seems, of our film franchises. And some of them did it far faster than the human race.

For certain genres, properties, or characters, ending up on an intergalactic voyage is par for the course. Superheroes aren’t out of place in space, for instance, nor is any franchise that leans reasonably heavily into sci-fi or futuristic technology. But what about vampires, slasher villains, puppets, board game enthusiasts, prehistoric animals, or just a ragtag group of street racers? 

If you’re anything like me, you may be fascinated with the curious, usually ludicrous, trope of a beloved, long-running media series that has no business exiting Earth’s atmosphere saying, ‘Get in loser, we’re going to space!’ and launching itself off for its third, sixth, or ten billionth instalment. Maybe they’ve run out of ground-level stories to tell. Maybe they legitimately think it makes sense. Maybe it’s just fun. Whatever the reason, here are ten such franchises listed below, ranked, in ascending order, by how justifiable they were.      

Honourable Mentions 

Because we apparently do live in the best timeline, actually, there are too many surprisingly space-bound franchises to squeeze into a top ten list, so here are some honourable mentions.

• Godzilla – Godzilla vs SpaceGodzilla (1994): Godzilla is famously found deep under the ocean or smashing a path through a densely populated city, but one of the creature's many variants is from space. The animated Netflix film trilogy also featured humanity leaving and returning to Earth due to kaiju destruction. 

• Airplane – Airplane II: The Sequel (1982): Faulty equipment sends a plane careening towards the sun in this parody sequel, with space-affiliated legend William Shatner in tow. 

• Critters – Critters 4 (1992): Considering the titular creatures are aliens, it was only a matter of time before Critters went back home. Here, they also travel to the year 2045 and mimic Alien pretty hard.

10. James Bond – Moonraker (1979)

The reason I’m putting Moonraker at the bottom of the pile here is that while a space station is a considerable detour for the British spy, it’s not too beyond the realm of possibility for such a well-travelled character. At this point in the series, we’d already seen Sean Connery blast off with a jetpack, so Roger Moore in zero gravity was a distant but distinct inevitability.

Designed to cash in on the sudden space opera fervour generated by Star Wars: A New Hope, Moonraker is, however, a prime example of a franchise going to space for no real reason other than… Why not? This is especially true considering Fleming’s original novel is entirely set on Earth. It’s still one of the strongest entries on this list, though – capitalising on the comedic lightness unique to Moore, introducing one of the grandest supervillain HQs, and featuring one of the most memorable henchmen, Jaws. 

Number of movies it took to go to space: 11

9. Jumanji – Zathura (2005)

You may have never heard of or forgotten all about this spiritual sequel to Jumanji. Directed by Jon Favreau and released a decade after the first film, Zathura also has the same literary origin as Jumanji, so author Chris Van Allsburg is as much to blame for the ‘Wait, why are we suddenly in space?’ factor of it all as Sony is. 

The inciting incident is very much the same: two brothers discover a magical board game that sends their entire house, and everyone in it, into outer space. Forced to complete the game to get back home, they encounter scaly aliens, a mysterious astronaut, and some interesting time-bending wrinkles along the way. It’s been pointed out that the Jumanji link does the film a disservice, and I agree – if you forget about the Robin Williams-shaped hole, it’s a great, mid-budget, space adventure for older kids. Josh Hutcherson and Kristen Stewart, pre-Hunger Games and Twilight, respectively, are also among the cast.

Number of movies it took to go to space: Two

8. Dracula – Dracula 3000 (2004)

Being immortal can be pretty boring. Or I assume so, anyway, I haven’t cracked that formula yet. But I assume if you stick around long enough, remaining on Earth must become less and less appealing, as is the idea of doing yet another Dracula movie.

I have a soft spot for anything vampy, even the Gerard Butler-starring Dracula 2000, in which the progenitor of vampires awakens in time for mardi gras in the new millennium. Dracula 3000 has nothing to do with the latter, and it’s probably just as well for everyone involved. Critically reviled, the film takes Stoker’s novel a century into the future aboard a salvage spaceship, which stumbles across an abandoned vessel carrying the body of Count Orlock. It’s the bones of an idea that the likes of Casper Van Diem, Udo Kier, and Coolio (what a cast list…) somehow struggle to find the fun in. Nosferatu 2, anyone?

Number of movies it took to go to space: Between 150-200, depending on your ‘Dracula’ definition…

7. Hellraiser – Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)

The diminishing returns of the Hellraiser series shifted the films – and the last with any involvement from creator Clive Barker – from supernatural horror to science fiction for Bloodline. The fourth film is also the first and last in the timeline, starting 200 years in the past with a French toymaker and then jumping hundreds of years on to his descendant, who has created a space station designed to ensnare and kill the Cenobites once and for all.

Though I’m more forgiving of this film’s ambitions than most, there’s nothing in the three films preceding this one that has even the barest hint of what’s to come. You could argue, however, that the mysterious otherworldliness of Pinhead and his gang lend themselves to any setting. Hellraiser is also such a relentlessly weird franchise that this kind of unpredictability is as baked in as Doug Bradley’s white face paint. 

Number of movies it took to go to space: Four

6. The Muppets – Muppets From Space (1999)

Victorian London, Treasure Island, Manhattan… Is there any place the Muppets can’t go? According to the Henson gang’s sixth feature film, the answer is that nowhere in the cosmos is Muppet-free. “Gonzo's species has always been a mystery,” reads the first two lines of Muppets From Space’s synopsis, “but after having nightmares of being denied entry to Noah's Ark, he begins to realise just how alone he is in the world.” Nightmares, Noah’s Ark…. That’s where we’re starting from.

The search for Gonzo’s cosmic origin is about as far removed from the variety Muppet Show stage as you can get. As a result, a lot of the wit and warmth of the series’ humble felt beginnings are lost in the noise of wacky, sci-fi shenanigans. The original concept involved Kermit being abducted by an alien race, believing him to be their lost ruler. The Gonzo plot, at least, gives Muppets fans some blank-filling lore. 

Number of movies it took to go to space: Six

5. F9 (Fast & Furious)

The thing that makes the Fast & Furious franchise tick isn’t its reliance on vehicles, family, or sipping a cold Corona at a BBQ as the credits roll. It’s the characters taking themselves very seriously, no matter what is happening. That appears to extend to at least one of the series’ core directors, Justin Lin. “Going to space was not something I took for granted, or I was very flippant about,” Lin said of the infamous car-in-space scene in F9, adding that he even consulted NASA to craft “one of the most sound action set pieces in our franchise.”

It’s this commendable commitment to realism and a degree of self-awareness that prevents it from being nearer the top of the list. What began as a joke about how to raise the already sky-high stakes among fans, and later, writers, came to fruition with Roman and Tej freaking out while orbiting Earth in the most suped-up vehicle yet – justified, storywise, by preventing the villain, Cipher’s satellite upload. While fans, and even the head of the studio, have bemoaned it as a ‘jump the shark’ moment, I’m just disappointed they didn’t push it further and race across Mars.    

Number of movies it took to go to space: Nine

4. Leprechaun – Leprechaun 4: Lost In Space (1997)

Leprechauns are famous for being on cereal boxes, hanging out in Alabama on St. Patrick’s Day, and for the long-running horror film series that, in its fourth entry, does the thing we’re talking about. Played by Warwick Davis, the titular malevolent gold-hunter tries to marry an alien princess in the year 2096 to gain control of her planet, only to be thwarted by a bunch of angry marines he previously wronged.

Naturally, or unnaturally, I should say, the unkillable creature escapes death by… spiritual penis transmission. You can’t make this stuff up, and yet, someone did. If you like this sort of shlocky, B-movie slasher fare, it’s a good option for a bad film night with friends. If you’re looking for quality, logic, series continuity, or any kind of justification for a tilt into sci-fi, look elsewhere. The only thing stopping this one from cracking the top three is that the next two Leprechaun films are set in ‘da hood’, which is somehow even stupider. 

Number of movies it took to go to space: Four

3. Air Bud – Space Buddies (2009)

There are 14 Air Bud films and a reboot on the way, so the statistical likelihood of going to space was ballooning with each passing release – especially when they shifted to straight-to-DVD. Throw in the fact that the series is also predicated on the belief-suspending What If? of a basketball-playing dog, and the seeds for a canine cosmonaut, no matter how deep underground, were sown.

That said, going from the basketball pitch to a space shuttle is still “one giant leap for dogkind”, as per the tagline for Space Buddies. In fairness to the film, the six ‘buddies’ end up in space by accident rather than some contrived animal astronaut programme, but they also go for walkies on the moon and meet a ferret there, voiced by Amy Sedaris, so let’s not award too much credit for logical restraint. 

Number of movies it took to go to space: Nine

2. Ice Age – Ice Age: Collision Course (2016)

Ice Age: a bunch of prehistoric talking animals (one of whom is real-life, Muppet-voiced Ray Romano), smatterings of cavemen, and, you know, the ice age. There’s no reason or means for anyone in these films to think about going to space, let alone actually making it there. 

But what about dinosaurs? There are dinosaurs in Ice Age: Collision Course. And where there are dinosaurs, there are asteroids – the things that famously kill dinosaurs. And where do asteroids come from? See where I’m going with this..?

Still, asteroids fall from space; they don’t go to it. But it’s fine, because the animals in Collision Course know what electromagnetism is, and they have access to a volcano and some electromagnetic crystals that can relaunch asteroids. This stops one really big asteroid from colliding with Earth, the cause of which is Scrat, the Looney Tunes-inspired squirrel who is perpetually in mortal danger for trying to get a single acorn. And we don’t have time to also get into the ‘Scratazons’ – aka alien squirrels – and Scrat’s battle with a black hole in Collision Course’s two accompanying short films. And wait, how does anyone know what electromagnetism is?! 

You know what, I’m not paid enough to think this hard about Ice Age movies, and we have to move on to the top spot…

Number of movies it took to go to space: Five

1. Friday the 13th – Jason X (2001)

On paper, Jason Vorhees, the silent, hockey-masked serial killer with a supernatural aversion to death, rising 400 years in the future to slay again in space, is utterly preposterous. In practice, it’s also preposterous. But throw your disbelief out of an airlock, and you may agree with me that Jason X is a work of mad genius.

After leaving Camp Crystal Lake for locations as varied as Hell and, uh, Manhattan (not the Muppet one, sadly), writer Todd Farmer pitched the concept to the studio as the only next move for the long-running slasher franchise, arguing that a “fish out of water” environment could reinvigorate the stakes. As well as space, the “hoods” of L.A., Antarctica, and the jungle were also on the docket, but in those exotic locales, we may never have gotten malfunctioning robot nipples, cryogenic head shatterings, VR sleeping bag bashing, so much revealing knitwear, and Jason’s platinum power-up. Friday the 13th has no business being here, but if this is wrong, I don’t want to be right.  

Number of movies it took to go to space: 10

It’s now 30 years since the release of David Fincher’s beautifully bleak thriller movie, Se7en, and it’s safe to say the film has not lost an inch of its appeal over the decades. Even on a rewatch, that brutal twist at the end of the movie still hits like a sledgehammer.

To think that Fincher was only 32 years old when he made the gritty detective movie is unbelievable. Clearly, it was a sign of great things to come, as he’s gone on to become one of the consistent directors of the modern era since.

Fincher is a filmmaker who has truly mastered one of the most difficult yet impressive skills any creative can possess: the art of the movie twist. So much so that in this list of the best thriller movie twists of all time, we’ve had to include two of his twistiest tales, among the work of other greats.

WARNING: There will be discussion around plot twists ahead, but nothing spoiling what those twists are. 

1. Se7en (1995)

Se7en may be celebrating a big birthday this month, but there is nothing joyous about this macabre masterpiece. From the very first minute of the film, we’re met with relentless rain, grimy shadows, and graphic, gory corpses. It’s a story of two mismatched detectives – the young and ambitious Mills (Brad Pitt) and the reluctant, retirement-ready Somerset (Morgan Freeman) – as they hunt a ruthless serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his calling card.

What’s so interesting about the narrative structure of Se7en is that Fincher reveals to us who the serial killer is with two of the deadly sins still to go. That’s because the ultimate twist is still to come, as Mills asks the question he really doesn’t want an answer to: “What’s in the box?”

You can watch Se7en on Netflix right now, and whether you’ve seen it before or not, it’s an absolute must; just maybe not if you’re eating or if you’re particularly averse to blood and guts.

2. Shutter Island (2010)

From ‘What’s in the box?’ to ‘What’s in his head?’, this Martin Scorsese thriller is one of the most wonderfully ambiguous movies of the 21st century. Shutter Island, a Dennis Lehane story that Scorsese adapts almost word for word, centres on the unravelling mind of Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) as he investigates a missing persons case at an isolated and mysterious mental institute. By the end, we are forced to question whether Daniels is who he thinks he is, or if he is actually the focal point of a radical psychological experiment.

While Scorsese is best known for his mobster movies, I actually think Shutter Island is my favourite work of his. It’s so dark and complex – even a bit scary at times – and has one of the most profound ending lines you’re likely to hear, as Teddy Daniels ponders: “Which would be worse: to live as a monster, or to die as a good man?” Our entire moral compass is put to the test, which is a fascinating position to be in as a viewer. 

My daughter and I saw this at the cinema not so long ago, and she had a very clear answer as to what is really happening in Shutter Island. I would argue it’s not important; it’s the journey to get there and the tantalising doubt that makes this movie so special, much like Inception, in many ways. Watch it on Prime Video and decide for yourself.

3. Oldboy (2003)

I still remember the first (and only) time I watched Oldboy. I grimaced at the torture and mistreatment of Dae-su Oh. I hooted and hollered at the epic action sequences, not least of all that iconic hallway fight. Then, I sat there slack-jawed and stunned to silence as the big reveal hit home – it’s a genuinely sickening, sadistic twist, but it might just be the best one on this list. To this day, it’s still one of the most impactful and oddly gratifying film-viewing experiences of my life. So much so that I’m almost afraid to watch Oldboy again and tarnish that.

I definitely will, though. This Park Chan-wook movie is truly one of the great thrillers of the last 25 years, maybe more. Now, with works like The Handmaiden and Decision to Leave, we know very well that the Korean director is a special talent, but at the time of Oldboy’s release, the world stood up and took notice; that’s for sure. Thankfully, there are so many ways to watch this, be it through BFI Player, Sky, or Shudder; so, there’s really no excuse not to give it a go.

4. Get Out (2017)

Jordan Peele went from being a brilliant comedian to one of the most exciting voices in horror cinema overnight with the release of Get Out. The razor-sharp social commentary piece is delightfully dark and very, very intense, and the way it builds to its enthralling crescendo is intelligent, rich storytelling at its finest. Filled with symbolism and clever clues, Peele’s story is the kind that gets more and more rewarding every time you watch it.

This is a film driven by racial themes, as Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) meets the family of his girlfriend, Rose Armitage (Allison Williams), for the first time and discovers they have some horrible, deep-rooted secrets. Of all the movies on this list, I’d say Get Out is the most universal and accessible. It’s nowhere near as bleak or grisly, and in fact, it’s quite funny at times. If you like movies like Speak No Evil or Knock at the Cabin, you’ll have a good time with Get Out.

5. The Mist (2007)

If you are actively seeking something bleaker than what’s been listed already, you cannot go wrong with The Mist. We know Stephen King loves crafting pitch-black, nightmarish tales that blur the line between horror and thriller, and The Mist is no different; in fact, it might just be the most brutal of them all. While the majority of the film focuses on social unrest and inhumane behaviour amid the supernatural phenomenon of an all-encompassing and dangerous mist, it’s the final moments of this Frank Darabont movie that really hit the hardest.

Like Oldboy, the twist in The Mist is the kind of moment that will leave you absolutely gobsmacked. But while the Park Chan-wook film has a surreal satisfaction to it, The Mist is just straight-up depressing. Don’t let that put you off, though. This movie is absolutely worth watching… You just might never want to watch it ever again once you do. You can find it on Plex for free right now, or rent it for a couple of quid on Apple TV.

6. Prisoners (2013)

Denis Villeneuve may be more interested in grand, sweeping sci-fi stories like Dune and Blade Runner 2049 these days, but when he tackles more grounded, gritty stories like Prisoners (and his other work like Incendies and Polytechnique), he produces something equally special. This winding mystery thriller centres on the kidnapping of two young girls and the lengths one parent (Hugh Jackman) and one detective (Jake Gyllenhaal) will go to solve the case and ensure justice is served.

Prisoners is pretty distressing at times, especially if you’re a parent yourself. But the payoff by the end is fantastic. It’s one of those plot twists that is almost a double bluff, really. I showed my daughter this film recently, and she said the twist was weirdly the thing she suspected the least, and that’s why she half-saw it coming. I think that paradoxical move is exactly what makes Prisoners such a gripping story. If you’ve watched films like Gone Baby Gone or You Were Never Really Here, you’ll have a good idea of the vibe you can expect here.

7. Gone Girl (2014)

We promised you a double dose of David Fincher, and that’s exactly what we’re delivering with this bookender. While we could have picked from a number of his films, like Fight Club or The Game, it’s Gone Girl that gets the nod from me, for the sheer shock factor alone. When this movie came out, I went to see it at the cinema with zero knowledge as to what it was about. I genuinely thought it was going to be some kind of romance story (it kind of is, if you think about it), but it ended up being one of the most surprising, satisfying revenge stories I’ve ever seen.

The narrative flip Fincher makes halfway through Gone Girl, and the extreme places the story goes to towards the end are the kind of brave, bold choices few filmmakers would make. The performance of Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne is one for the ages, too. While Gone Girl is quite long at just under two-and-a-half hours, it’s a blistering watch that I think will appeal to a wide range of audiences. It’s on Disney+, too, just to make it even easier for you to dive into this truly wild ‘love’ story.

The great thing about Christmas is that the whole family gets together under one roof… Until it comes to picking a film that everyone can get on board with.

Obviously, there are a bunch of brilliant Christmas movies to watch this time of year that are usually surefire crowdpleasers. But there’s always someone who’s not feeling the festive cheer. So, what do you do to make sure everyone’s happy on the day?

We know time is tight on Christmas Day, so to save you the hassle of scouring all your various streaming services for the perfect movie, we’ve put together this list of the best of the best on each platform. These cracking family movies are so universally loved that the only thing you’ll have to worry about now is who gets the last mince pie.

1. Chicken Run (2000) - Netflix

Yes, we know Christmas is all about the turkey, but a different kind of poultry could be the ideal accompaniment to your afternoon on the big day. Chicken Run is an absolute classic, whatever the time of year, but there’s something about Aardman Animation that just has those quintessential festive vibes. With a fine blend of humour for kids and grown-ups alike, a clever riff on The Great Escape, and cute claymation visuals, I defy anyone to turn their nose up at Chicken Run.

It’s on Netflix now, which makes it super easy to track down. Plus, it’s only 84 minutes long, so it’s not going to take up too much of your day. If you enjoy any of the Wallace and Gromit movies or flicks like The Wild Robot and Fantastic Mr Fox, you’ll love Chicken Run.

2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) - Disney+

I watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens every year, but 2025 is a special year as it’s the tenth anniversary of the release of the sequel trilogy opener. I still remember how hyped I was to see this at the time, and it well and truly lived up to expectations, and then some. Now, on the film’s birthday, there’s no better time to visit a galaxy far, far away one more time.

Star Wars movies often release around Christmas anyway, which helps make them a great choice for the festive season. The best thing about The Force Awakens is that it’s so accessible for all audiences. Whether you care about the franchise or not, this reboot is as close to a standalone story as you’re going to get in the Skywalker Saga, so it doesn’t really require in-depth knowledge of what came before it. 

Catch it on Disney+, along with all the other Star Wars films, in case you fancy continuing the adventure.

3. Transformers One (2024) - Paramount Plus

Tap into even more nostalgia with the latest outing from the robots in disguise with Transformers One. This animated hit is guaranteed to bring together multiple generations; whether you enjoyed The Transformers back in the ‘80s or grew up watching Michael Bay’s bombastic movies, you’ll be delighted with this new addition to the series. You may just find that the kids in the house become fans of the franchise, too.

Transformers One is an origin story for Optimus Prime and Megatron, and was one of the most surprising and satisfying little movies of last year. I took my five -year-old son to watch this at the cinema, and he loved it. I can’t wait to watch it again with him this Christmas. 

It’s on Paramount Plus, is only one hour and 44 minutes long, and is a real crowdpleaser, blending cool action and silly humour perfectly.

4. Barbie (2023) - Prime Video

Hopefully, consumerism and materialism don’t dominate your Christmas celebrations too much, because you simply have to save some room for Barbie. She may be the most iconic doll in the world, but thanks to Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, audiences were treated to a fresh angle on the classic toy a few years ago. 

There’s no way a live-action Barbie movie should have worked, but it ended up being one of the best movies of 2023 (Oppenheimer won the battle if you ask me, but it was pretty close). It’s absolutely hilarious, for a start, with a razor-sharp script from Gerwig which combines thought-provoking social commentary with slapstick comedy, largely from Ryan Gosling’s Ken. The poppy visuals and catchy soundtrack will lure in younger viewers, while the fun story at the heart of it all will keep older viewers smiling long into Christmas evening.

You can catch Barbie on Prime Video right now, and you really should.

5. Wolfwalkers (2020) - Apple TV

I will never miss an opportunity to encourage people to watch Wolfwalkers – or any Cartoon Saloon film, for that matter. The animation style alone is enough to dazzle every member of the family and keep everyone mesmerised through its brisk 102-minute runtime, but it’s the narrative at the centre of the movie that’s the true hook. An Irish folk tale with magical creatures and a spirited young girl trying desperately to alter the way of thinking in her village, Wolfwalkers is packed with emotion and awe-inspiring supernatural elements. I’ve watched this with my teenage daughter and with my young son, and they both loved it so much that we’ve rewatched it multiple times. 

Wolfwalkers is one of the best movies on Apple TV, so if you’re already subscribed there, it should be the absolute priority on Christmas Day.

6. The Wizard of Oz (1939) - Sky

While everyone has a case of Wicked fever right now, I think it would be rather fitting to go back in time to 1939 and watch where it all started with The Wizard of Oz. Not only will it give younger viewers important context as to where Glinda and Elphaba end up, but it’ll also deliver a stunning wave of nostalgia for older viewers, too.

I totally get why people are so obsessulated with Wicked: For Good and its predecessor, but let’s be honest, they don’t come close to the magic of The Wizard of Oz. To say that the movie is now over 85 years old, it’s absolutely beautiful to look at and features some unbelievable technical elements that make it a truly timeless classic. 

You can watch it on Sky right now, and if your kids are anything like mine, their minds will be blown when Dorothy steps out of that sepia-tone house and into the technicolour dream that is Oz.

7. Paddington (2014) - BBC iPlayer

Do I even need to explain this one to you? We all know Paddington makes everyone feel warm and fuzzy inside, and that’s exactly what we all need on Christmas Day. Whether you stick it on in the morning as presents are being opened, or for that post-meal flop when everyone cosies up on the sofa, Paddington is not going to let you down. It’s impossible for anyone not to love this movie, and while it’s not a Christmas film at all, it unquestionably fits the festive mood due to how sweet it is.

I’ve lost count of how many times my family have watched this – and the equally brilliant Paddington 2 – but with it being on BBC iPlayer at the moment, we will definitely be tucking into some marmalade sandwiches and giving it another rewatch on December 25.

8. James and the Giant Peach (1996) - ITVX

Like the other films on this list, there is nothing specifically Christmassy about James and the Giant Peach, but Roald Dahl stories lend themselves so well to this time of year. They’re charming and quirky and work on so many levels that adults and kids can enjoy them equally. Of all his stories that have been adapted into movies, I feel like James and the Giant Peach goes under the radar a bit, but it’s so wonderfully creative in its visuals (which flow between live-action and stop-motion animation) and surprisingly funny that it deserves a reassessment this winter.

James and the Giant Peach is also so short, at just 79 minutes long, that it is the ideal gap-filler for that time when you’re waiting for Christmas dinner to be ready. If your kids are into films like Kubo and the Two Strings and Where the Wild Things Are, this will be a surefire win. Although word of warning, there are some slightly unsettling scenes at the start that younger viewers might not enjoy – but it’s worth the adventure if they can make it past that point.

It’s on ITVX now, so it couldn't be easier to find.

If you’re not exactly decking the halls with glee this year, you’re not alone. Maybe you can’t handle another sappy Christmas film where the dour protagonist learns the same heartwarming lesson. Maybe you just want something vaguely festive without diving headfirst into tinsel and sentimentality. Either way, you can still soak up that cosy end-of-year vibe—the fairy lights, snow, and quiet moments of reflection—without actually having to sit through a generic Christmas movie. 

These seven films all take place around Christmas, but the holiday itself is more of a backdrop than the main event. You get the twinkling lights, the office holiday parties, the melancholy, and some action-packed chaos, while safely avoiding the usual “Christmas spirit saves the day” trope. So, grab your hot cocoa, dim the lights, and settle in for seven great movies to watch at Christmas that aren’t about Christmas.

1. Die Hard (1988)

The eternal debate over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie will probably rage on forever, but one thing is clear: it is absolutely not about Christmas. Set on Christmas Eve, the film follows NYPD officer John McClane as he heads to his estranged wife Holly’s office holiday party to try and patch things up—only for the building to be taken over by Hans Gruber and his crew of German terrorists, leaving John as the only free agent capable of fighting back.

While Die Hard is first and foremost an action classic, Christmas is woven throughout the film more subtly. Office decor, holiday bangers like Run-D.M.C’s incredible if not dated ‘Christmas in Hollis,’ and even Bruce Willis whistling ‘Jingle Bells’ create a distinctly seasonal backdrop without the film ever turning into a sermon about goodwill. It’s got just enough holiday flavour to get a taste of the holiday spirit without making you feel like you’re drowning in good cheer.  

2. Little Women (2019)

Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women has a few key Christmas moments and themes, but the film’s heart lies elsewhere. Based on Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel, Little Women follows the story of the four March sisters—Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth—as they navigate life during and after the American Civil War, balancing creative ambition, economic realities, and complicated forms of love.

Two important Christmases appear in the film, and both highlight the March family’s values without tipping into corny territory. In one early sequence, the sisters give their Christmas breakfast to the impoverished Hummel family, only to come home to a surprise feast arranged by Laurie’s grandfather, which becomes a heartwarming celebration of generosity and community across socio-economic status. Little Women remains a story profoundly about the power of sisterhood, family, creativity, and choosing one’s own life path.

3. In Bruges (2008)

If you’ve had it up to here with holiday cheer, In Bruges is the perfect salve for your oversaturated soul. Darkly funny, violent, and surprisingly moving, the film stars Colin Farrell and Brendon Gleeson as Ray and Ken, two Irish hitmen sent to lie low in the medieval city of Bruges after a job goes horribly wrong, resulting in Ray accidentally killing a child. 

The action unfolds in the run-up to Christmas, with cosy pubs, traditional Christmas markets, and festive lights providing a stark contrast to the characters’ guilt and moral dilemmas. While the timing could easily be swapped for another season, the Christmas setting adds a bittersweet layer of sentimentality that deepens the film’s overarching reflections on friendship, redemption, and the contemplation of whether sins can ever truly be forgiven.

4. Carol (2015)

If you’re in the mood for a beautifully crafted forbidden romance this holiday season, look no further than Carol. Set in 1950s New York during the Christmas period, the film follows aspiring photographer Therese and the glamorous, mysterious Carol as they fall in love while Carol’s divorce and custody battle intensify around her.

Director Todd Haynes uses crowded department stores, the bustle of Christmas shopping, and the softly glowing city streets to create an intimate aesthetic for Carol and Therese’s relationship to unfold within. Here, Christmas feels like a gentle supporting character that is present in the decorations and soundtrack, but mainly there to heighten the sense of longing, possibility, and a quiet holiday magic that will crack your heart open upon every viewing.

5. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

If you’re craving something more subversive with your eggnog, might I suggest Stanley Kubrick's disturbing masterpiece, Eyes Wide Shut? The acclaimed director’s final film follows couple Bill and Alice Hartford—played by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman—after Alice reveals that she once fantasised about cheating on Bill, sending him spiralling over the course of one long, hallucinatory night of sexual jealousy, moral confusion, and even a masked orgy hosted by a sinister secret sect.

Kubrick shifted the setting of Arthur Schnitzler’s original novella from mardi gras to Christmas, surrounding the characters with twinkling lights, office parties, and overly decorated trees. The festive backdrop—all warmth and surface-level joy—clashes magnificently with the film’s darker themes of secrecy, desire, and power, making it one of the most disturbingly off-kilter “holiday” films you could watch.

6. Tangerine (2015)

Tangerine is unconventional in almost every way, which makes it a great pick for a not-quite-so-Christmassy Christmas film. Shot entirely on an iPhone 5s, the film follows trans sex worker Sin-Dee Rella and her friend Alexandra over the course of one wild Christmas Eve in Los Angeles, as Sin-Dee tracks down her boyfriend and the woman he’s been cheating with.

Christmas itself only vaguely registers in the film, with a few mentions of family plans, scattered decorations, and colourful lights along the streets. Instead, the story leans into the friendship between Sin-Dee and Alexandra, and their resilience in the face of economic hardship and bigotry. The holiday timing is mostly used as a contrast between the idealised image of Christmas and the reality of life on the margins.  

7. Steel Magnolias (1989)

Despite being released in 1989, Steel Magnolias remains one of those films that feels emotionally timeless. Set in a small town in Louisiana, it follows a tight-knit group of women—played by Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, and others—as they support each other through weddings, health crises, everyday dramas, and one devastating tragedy.

The story spans several years and marks time through major occasions like weddings, funerals, Easter, and yes, Christmas—including the moment when Shelby tells her mum she’s pregnant. The film was primarily shot in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and it incorporates the town’s real Christmas festival, complete with the elaborate light displays along the riverfront. The result is a film that taps into the themes of friendship, love, and endurance that resonate nicely with Christmasy values while avoiding the sap.

If you know anything about the original Miracle on 34th St., it’s probably that it features an eight-year-old Natalie Wood in a role that basically made her a star. The actress would spend the next decade making roughly three movies a year until earning her first Academy Award nomination for Rebel Without a Cause at 17. She went on to make The Searchers with John Wayne and star in West Side Story, before dying in highly mysterious circumstances at the age of just 43. 

But of course, we’re not here to talk about Natalie Wood—we’re here to talk about Edmund Gwenn, her Miracle co-star and the only actor in history to win an Oscar for playing Santa Claus. 

How Edmund Gwenn Won an Oscar for Miracle on 34th Street

As a fan of the lovely Richard Attenborough/Mara Wilson version from 1994, I never felt a huge urge to watch the original; for whatever reason, it always struck me a bit like A Christmas Story—one of those movies that Americans adore but just never translated overseas. I eventually decided to stick it on a few years back after learning that it won three Oscars, and I’m happy that I did—it’s just as warm and cosy as the ‘90s remake, but with less product placement and more of the great Maureen O’Hara (The Quiet Man). Together with Wood and Gwenn, they’re a pleasure to watch.

At the 1948 ceremony, two of the film’s Oscars went to the screenplay writers, with the third going to Gwenn, making him the first and only person to win an Oscar for playing Kris Kringle—or Santa Claus, if you’re inclined to believe. It’s remarkable as, by that time, Hollywood was starting to move away from post-war sentimentality and into the cold embrace of film noir. The year before, the classic post-war weepy The Best Years of Our Lives won seven Oscars, beating out Hitchcock’s Notorious, David Lean’s Brief Encounter, Robert Siodmak’s The Killers and Franz Kapra’s It’s a Wonderful Life—all stone-cold bangers that explored darker themes the Academy may have been ready for. 

Compare that to the 1948 Best Picture winner, Gentleman’s Agreement, a sturdy drama about antisemitism that ushered in the career of Elia Kazan—a new breed of director whose dedication to realism would basically define Hollywood for the next decade—and you start to see which way the wind was blowing.

Miracle on 34th Street & It’s a Wonderful Life Were Released in the Same Year

Within six months of each other, in fact. Kind of crazy, right? Funnily enough, neither one looked anything like a Christmas classic upon release. Life famously failed to connect with audiences at first and only became a seasonal staple after the studio allowed the copyright to slide in 1974—meaning TV stations could basically play it on repeat, for free; and Miracle was bafflingly released in early June, with a trailer that made absolutely no reference to Santa or the festive season. 

Given all that, it’s probably less surprising that Miracle converted three of its nominations while the more challenging It’s a Wonderful Life—a movie where the bad guy gets away with it and a character played by Jimmy Stewart (an actual combat hero) considers suicide—went home with nothing. Then again, if Miracle won the battle, I think it’s fair to say that Life won the war.

Who Was Edmund Gwenn?

Gwenn was born in Wandsworth in London in 1887—a long way away from New York and the Macy’s Day Parade. As an actor, he started on stage before transitioning to silent films in England, working for celebrated British directors like Carol Reed and Alfred Hitchcock, and later into sound pictures. He would continue to collaborate with Hitchcock after both had made the move to L.A. 

Gwenn got his first Hollywood role playing Katherine Hepburn’s father in Sylvia Sage and would eventually appear in over 80 movies over the course of his career, including Hitchcock’s Foreign Correspondent and the sci-fi classic Them! His remains now rest in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and you can even find his star on the Walk of Fame, right next to John Gilbert’s—the moustachioed silent-era legend who is said to be the inspiration for both The Artist and Brad Pitt’s character in Babylon. Not bad!

Will Another Santa Ever Win an Oscar Again?

You’d have to say it’s unlikely, but we have had two wins for the Joker in the last 20 years alone—a stat that might baffle Oscar historians 50 years from now—so who knows? 

Come January, it’s possible that the central duo of Wicked, Elphaba and Glinda, will be responsible for a total of four Oscar nominations between them in the space of a year—so, maybe if Stephen Schwartz decides to write a Santa-inspired musical, we might see St. Nick on the stage of the Dolby Theatre again. As Glenn’s Kringle would tell you, “Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.” Here, here. 

Given the amount of Christmas classics on offer these days, it’s easy to forget the thriving scene of seasonal movies that aren’t particularly festive (Gremlins and The Apartment come to mind), not to mention the ones that don’t really take place at Christmastime at all (Carol, Little Women, every Harry Potter). 

Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut has more in common with the former, in that it definitely takes place at Christmastime but doesn’t exactly leave you feeling warm and joyful on the inside. This is a movie that’s been picked apart in online message boards ever since its fateful release in 1999, mere weeks after Kubrick’s death, and that chatter has only increased in recent times.

The topic of most of those discussions usually has more to do with the film’s message and symbolism (it basically suggests that the richest of the rich like to meet up and enjoy bacchanalian sex parties) than whether or not it’s a Christmas movie, but given how it tends to spike on our charts around the festive season, it’s probably something worth looking into—so let’s do that!

What Is Eyes Wide Shut About?

Stanley Kubrick’s final film is basically about a marriage that’s in the early stages of falling apart—starring a famous married couple who were about to do just that. Tom Cruise plays a young but highly sought-after New York City doctor who finds himself at the entryway to the upper echelons of the city’s high society. After attending a Christmas party at one of his clients’ townhouses, during which both he and his wife (played by Nicole Kidman) enjoy some very saucy flirtations (with two models and a wealthy older Russian, respectively), Cruise’s character, Bill, becomes obsessed with the suggestion that a mysterious sex party is about to happen. 

Over the course of the film, he will spend a few lonely, anxious nights trying to track it down while trying to keep his relationship afloat. In short, this is a film about sexual desire during which virtually nobody commits the carnal act.

What Does Eyes Wide Shut Have to Do With Christmas?

The unmistakable Christmas vibes come as a result of the film’s production design, which Kubrick wanted to appear, as much as possible, like a waking dream. To do this, he had the Greenwich Village-set story filmed in London and Bedfordshire, with some street scenes even filmed with rear projection on a studio lot. To accentuate that strangeness, Kubrick also chose to set the film during the festive season, using the familiar warmth and wholesomeness of colourful Christmas lights (which appear in almost every scene) to disorient the viewer and to make the darkness and depravity of what Bill is looking for feel all the more taboo. 

Even casting Kidman and Cruise at the height of their fame, and seven years into their marriage, appears to have been part of Kubrick’s plan: the director is said to have played constant mind games with both of them on set as a way to make the couple feel lost and jealous. Is it any surprise they separated a little over a year after the film’s release? Probably not. 

How Did Such a Transgressive Movie Become a Christmas Favourite?

I think there are two answers to that. 

Firstly, as long as Christmas continues to colonise more and more weeks at the end of the year, the trend of anti-seasonal watching will only grow. We should note that Eyes Wide Shut’s reputation as one of Kubrick’s best has only been solidified in recent years—presumably at least in part because the public is a lot more accepting of the idea that the wealthiest might be getting up to depraved things behind closed doors. Given that connection, it’s hard to think of a less festive message than the one this film offers, meaning it’s the perfect movie to put on for those of us who’ve had enough goopy yuletide sentimentality. 

The other reason, I think, is that it also, perhaps counterintuitively, looks great in a room full of lights, tinsel and baubles. For all its darkness, it’s hard to think of another film that’s captured the warm glow of Christmas quite as beautifully as this one, so even though Kubrick is attempting to weaponise those feelings against us, the film can’t help but evoke them all the same. Is there a more aspirational Christmas image than that of Cruise and Kidman at the peak of their ‘90s beauty, swanning into a decadent New York apartment, him in a tuxedo and her in a sheer-sleeved Galliano dress? Some tricks might have been used to make Cruise look on her level—but hey, nothing wrong with a little movie magic. 

Other 'Christmas' Movies With a Similar Vibe to Eyes Wide Shut

Of course! As I mentioned above, Billy Wilder’s immortal classic The Apartment ticks plenty of similar boxes, as does, in its own way, the actually-quite-dark It’s a Wonderful Life. 

There are plenty of action movies that take place at Christmas (famously Die Hard, but also the Shane Black trilogy of Lethal Weapon, Iron Man 3 and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). Gremlins is arguably more of a horror movie than a Christmas movie (to which Terrifier 3 says, “hold my mulled wine”). 

For something closer to the unique yuletide cynicism of Eyes Wide Shut, however, try something like Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and American Psycho. Whatever the case, Merry Christmas, I guess!

Whether you’re a true believer or merely a curious cat who loves a conspiracy theory, the age-old question of whether we are alone in the universe is a fascinating one. It’s inarguably the most important question underpinning our very existence, and it’s inspired some of the greatest sci-fi movies and TV shows of the last 100 years, many of which we owe to Steven Spielberg.

If you like to separate fact from fiction, though, you’re more likely to veer towards the documentary section on streaming services like Prime Video and Netflix. While you’re there, you may have spotted an intriguing new release called The Age of Disclosure, and it should absolutely be your next watch.

If you’ve already watched it, you’re one of the many, many viewers who pushed this documentary into record-breaking territory. Here’s what The Age of Disclosure is about, why it’s been so popular, and how it’s intrinsically linked to Spielberg’s new movie.

What is The Age of Disclosure?

Directed by Dan Farah, who was a producer on Spielberg’s Ready Player One, this documentary is only one hour and 49 minutes long, but it packs so much information into that relatively short runtime.

Incredibly, Farah has managed to get 34 government, military, intelligence officials, and ex-employees to speak out on the matter of UFOs and that the US government has long known of the existence of non-human life on Earth. The problem is, no one wants to share that information with the general public.

Luis Elizondo, formerly of the United States Department of Defence, is the key voice in all of this. Elizondo has seen it all and believes it’s time for the world to learn the truth about what the government is hiding. Essentially, he claims to have irrefutable evidence that extraterrestrial life has visited our planet many, many times, even suggesting aliens are here living among us.

According to Elizondo, nations across the globe are attempting to reverse engineer the technology they discover from various crash sites, and the future of the human race is set to drastically change, for better or worse. 

The Age of Disclosure is explicit in its stance on the matter, but that lack of neutrality is quite refreshing and certainly helps to give this documentary a sense of urgency and purpose. If, like me, aliens are a source of great curiosity for you, you’ll find it an absorbing watch.

The Age of Disclosure Nets a Prime Video Record

Clearly, The Age of Disclosure has found an audience on Prime Video, and a big one at that. So much so that it’s been claimed that the streaming service has never had a more successful documentary.

Upon its release earlier this month, The Age of Disclosure became the highest-grossing documentary Prime Video has ever put out, surpassing the Oscar-winning hit Free Solo. That’s impressive enough, but it’s also outdone the likes of Sinners and One Battle After Another – incidentally, my two favourite movies of 2025 – in the rental and purchase charts during its first week of release.

Even now, two weeks out from its debut, The Age of Disclosure is still in the top ten for Prime Video’s new releases chart and is top of the pile for the documentary genre.

You Have to Watch This Doc Before Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day

If all of this wasn’t enough to tempt you into watching The Age of Disclosure, it’s important to know that this documentary is the perfect precursor to Steven Spielberg’s next movie, Disclosure Day.

The first trailer for the director’s new sci-fi thriller dropped recently, and if you haven’t seen Emily Blunt bugging out and talking like an alien in the clip yet, check it out immediately and let the hype levels rise.

It may be fiction, but Disclosure Day looks like it will tackle the very thing Luis Elizondo and Co. are pushing towards: for the world to see that aliens are real and they’re all around us.

This is a welcome return to the topic of alien life for Spielberg, who previously tackled the subject with movies like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He’s a master of his craft, and Disclosure Day already seems like a brilliant blend of sci-fi and horror elements, making it one of our most-anticipated movies of 2026.

In the meantime, watching the record-breaking The Age of Disclosure will get you suitably warmed up for what is sure to be a wild ride. 

Earlier this month, the movie world heard a sharp intake of breath when Netflix announced that terms had been agreed to acquire Warner Bros., one of the oldest and most storied movie studios in Hollywood, for the eye-watering sum of $82 billion USD. Naturally, a deal of this size is going to take time—even if everything goes to plan (and barring another, bigger bid from Skydance), it likely won’t go through until at least the end of next year—but that doesn’t mean we can’t do a little speculating, now does it?

The biggest question marks around the deal so far have been over a) what will happen to theatrical distribution models (let’s all say a prayer for them) and b) what the streaming giant plans to do with WB’s catalogue of pre-existing IP—which, along with the studio’s history, know-how and resources, is surely the key reason why Netflix decided to fork over all that money in the first place. Read on to learn more about what might happen to the 10 biggest Warner Bros. franchises and use the guide below to find out where to stream them (for now) on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. Harry Potter

We’ll start this list with a few long-running franchises that are already in various stages of operation. One of the most interesting to look at is Harry Potter, as HBO is currently deep into production on a new TV adaptation of the timeless children's books. The first season is reportedly being filmed at the moment, with writing on the second already underway. Like the movies, each series is set to play out over a single school year and will be shot consecutively, allowing audiences to see the young actors grow up.

With the planned acquisition possibly going through in late ‘26 or early ‘27, all eyes will be on this first eight-episode season’s release, which is currently scheduled for around that time. Given how much marketing, planning and resources have already gone into it, however, it’s hard to imagine Netflix disrupting it in any way. On the other hand, given that the plan is for a decade's worth of shows, if they’re going to act, they will have to do it early. 

Whatever the case, there’s no reason for them not to explore some spin-offs in the meantime. Who among us wouldn’t want to see a Cheers-style sitcom set in The Three Broomsticks or an Azkaban prison drama? Heck, call it Sirius is the New Black.

2. Matt Reeves’ Batman Universe

Matt Reeves’ Batman Universe has been looking a little fragile ever since James Gunn took the reins at DC, so news of the acquisition probably did little to calm the nerves. The first movie—in which Robert Pattinson starred in a more noir version of Gotham than the Nolan or Snyder movies—overcame a messy, post-pandemic release to become a relative hit at the box office. Since then, the Colin Farrell-led spin-off series, The Penguin, went down a treat with fans and earned an Emmy nomination for Best Limited series alongside various awards for the cast. 

The mood around Reeves’ sequel, until very recently, had been a little less harmonious—with the writer-director continually tinkering with the script until finally completing it this summer. Now, with Scarlett Johansson in talks to appear (she’s rumoured to be playing Harvey Dent’s fiancée, Gilda Gold), the movie is finally set to shoot in early 2026 with a release day pencilled in for summer the following year. 

With that all in place, it’s hard to see anything changing, but if Netflix has to decide between Reeves and James Gunn, you have to feel it might be swayed by the latter’s more colourful approach. 

3. James Gunn’s DCU

And speaking of Gunn, I imagine it’s safe to assume that the head honcho of DC Studios will be allowed to continue to do his thing. Of all the shows on Max, it’s not difficult to see Peacemaker as a Netflix property, and the idea of releasing an expanded universe of pre-established superhero stories is pretty much exactly what the IP-light Netflix wants to gain from this deal.

The question is whether the streaming giant will be happy to let someone else be in full control of their new crown jewel. Next year, both Supergirl and Clayface will be released, as well as the Lanterns TV show, before the sequel to Gunn’s Superman, currently titled Man of Tomorrow, hits cinemas in summer 2027. There are currently 14 (yes, 14) other projects in various stages of pre-production, but Netflix might want to wait and see how things pan out next year before committing to them. 

4. Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is another property that’s already fully in-production on various fronts, so Netflix is unlikely to be changing too much in the short term. 2026 will be the first year in which fans of Westeros will be treated to two new seasons of GoT adjacent shows: the first being A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is set to begin on January 18; the second being the third season of House of the Dragon, which is primed to bring more aerial slaughter and incestuous longing onto our screens in June.

Given the richly detailed history of George R.R. Martin’s books, this is a world that Netflix will likely have its eye on for potential expansion. At the time of writing, I wouldn’t be too concerned for Season 2 of Knight (which is already scheduled for ‘27) or even the planned 2028 release of Dragon Season 4. Whether the showrunners are asked to wrap things up at that point, however, as Netflix focuses its attention elsewhere, will be interesting to see. 

5. The Lord of the Rings

Now here is an interesting one. For obvious reasons, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. have been reluctant to go anywhere near the idea of rebooting the central narrative of The Lord of the Rings. Instead, they’ve offered fans a trilogy of Hobbit movies that, regrettably, few people loved, and an animated movie of The Battle of the Rohirrim, which, regrettably, few people saw. 

In 2017, Amazon bought the TV rights to adapt stories from the “First Age,” meaning that no matter what happens with Netflix, its Rings of Power TV show will not be affected—which probably sounds like bad news to most people reading this who aren’t me. 

So in theory, Netflix will be in a position to reboot Peter Jackson’s original trilogy. Of course, this would be complete sacrilege—but as the Harry Potter series shows, these things happen. 

6. The Matrix

If, when you close your eyes and imagine the Warner Bros. logo, it appears in a swarming sea of emerald green binary code, you’re probably already wondering what the Netflix acquisition might mean for The Matrix.

The original trilogy ended in 2003 (Lana’s weirdly experimental Matrix Resurrections only added an interesting coda to the saga in 2021), so a full reboot (an idea that Warner Bros. has played with over the years) doesn’t seem out of the question. Drew Goddard is said to be in production on a brand new Matrix film, which was announced in 2024, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see that put on hold. 

If we’re speculating, there is an enormous amount of potentially untapped stuff here. Just imagine a Black Mirror-style anthology show telling similar stories to what we saw in the Animatrix (Charlie Brooker could even write it) or a feature film covering the rise of the machines.

7. Dune

Netflix might have arrived a little too late for the Dune trilogy (the finale of which will be with us around this time next year), but acquiring the rights to Frank Herbert’s novels opens up plenty of opportunities. 

One potential option would be Prelude to Dune, a trilogy of prequel novels that were written by Herbert’s son to explore the history of the three main houses: Atreides, Harkonnen and Corrino. These stories take place only a generation or so before the first Dune and could provide fans with some House of Dragon-style backstory for these ancient and powerful families. 

8. Mad Max

Though beloved and hugely influential, Mad Max was something of an ‘80s relic until George Miller finally released Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015. Now, even if Miller can’t pull off the upcoming Mad Max: The Wasteland, it’s already one of the most influential action franchises of this century, too. 

Of course, it’s hard to imagine the streaming giant going all in on the Australians’ dedication to stuntwork and practical effects, but like some of the other franchises on this list, and as Miller himself even showed with Furiosa, there are all kinds of new territory to be explored in Max’s world. What about a Taylor Sheridan-scripted family saga set in Gas Town or an American Graffiti-styled War Boy coming-of-age story? The possibilities are kind of endless.

9, 10 & 11. Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Don Draper whiteboard meme: Sure, Freddy vs Jason was a terrible idea, but what about Freddy vs. Jason vs. Leatherface vs. Pennywise? No, I didn’t think so either, but using A24 and Netflix’s Welcome to Derry model to give these slasher icons the miniseries treatment might not be such a bad idea.

Even a full reboot of either one wouldn’t be so crazy—there arguably hasn’t been a good instalment in any of these franchises since Wes Craven’s New Nightmare in 1994, so it’s not like they have a tough act to follow from recent years. 

The Star Wars franchise is a funny old thing. From the glorious highs of the Original Trilogy to the disappointing Skywalker Saga ending in The Rise of Skywalker, and an array of hits and misses on the small screen, it’s been quite the journey for those of us who enjoy a trip to a galaxy far, far away.

Thankfully – and rather surprisingly – Andor is one of the highest highs we’ve experienced; certainly in the Disney era, at least. Who would have thought that a spin-off series starring a character who only featured in one spin-off movie would be the focal point of one of the greatest sci-fi shows of all time? Not me, that’s for sure, but I’m very happy I was wrong about that.

And now, for anyone else who has ever doubted Andor, there is almost unequivocal proof that it’s peak Star Wars.

Diego Luna Makes Star Wars History at the Globes With Andor

Nominations from awards bodies are not always the ideal measure of success or quality. Some of the Best Picture winners at the Oscars are questionable, to say the least.

However, Andor has once again been acknowledged by the Golden Globes this year for its second season. Or, should we say, Diego Luna has. The star of the show and actor behind the titular character, Cassian Andor, has now picked up his second Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance in a Drama Television Series, after first being nominated back in 2023.

Deservedly so, as well. The work Luna does on the show is phenomenal, combining gritty action with raw, powerful emotion as his character evolves from roguish mercenary into an inspiring leader for the Rebellion. There are so many impressive actors in Andor, and so much incredible work behind the camera, too. At the end of the day, though, this show simply would not work if it weren’t for Luna’s top-tier performance.

Before Luna, Alec Guinness Was Star Wars’ Only Acting Nominee

The reason why this is so significant is that, while Star Wars movies have often been in the conversation for the more technical awards, it’s very rare that any Star Wars actors get major award recognition.

In fact, before Diego Luna came along and impressed the Golden Globes committee, Alec Guinness was the only actor ever to be nominated for a role in a Star Wars project. He was given the nod by the Golden Globes in 1977 (and by the Academy in 1978) for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: A New Hope.

He ultimately won neither of those awards. Truth be told, it would have been quite surprising if he had. It’s a good performance, don’t get me wrong, but it’s nothing out of this world – it’s definitely not as impressive as Luna’s turn as Cassian Andor.

Other Star Wars Performances That Deserve Awards

In all that time since, it’s astounding that no one else has been recognised by any of the major awards bodies for their work in the franchise.

If you look at Andor alone, the likes of Stellan Skarsgård, Denise Gough, and Genevieve O’Reilly put in magnificent performances, and, shockingly, none of them have been nominated alongside Luna. Skarsgård should have been acknowledged for his blistering “sunrise I’ll never see” speech alone, frankly.

I would have selected Adam Driver for his work as Kylo Ren, too. He’s great in The Force Awakens, but it’s in The Last Jedi where he truly excels, letting all his anger and passion pour out as his dedication to the Dark Side of the Force is put to the test by Rey. Speaking of which, Daisy Ridley does fine work in that movie, too. She’s the perfect juxtaposition to the intense and formidable Driver, bringing so much warmth and vibrancy to the Light Side.

Perhaps Star Wars is ‘cursed’ when it comes to awards. Or maybe it’s just that those in charge of those kinds of decisions just don’t see the merit in science fiction, just as the Academy seems to be averse to celebrating great horror performances (Toni Collette was robbed, and I’ll never get over it).

Still, hopefully, Luna can take this award home in 2026 and truly become a pioneer for the greatest franchise to ever exist.

When I think of James Cameron, different variations of the man come to mind. There’s the action movie legend who delivered hit after hit in the early ‘90s—some of which were genuine masterpieces; there’s the bullish maestro behind Titanic, holding up his Best Director Oscar and shouting “I’m the king of the world” to a room full of people who, in that moment, might have regretted their vote; and then there’s the late career Cameron, a man who has now dedicated 20 years of his life and career to making a series of movies that everybody sees but few people seem to love. 

Whatever you think of him (I’ll admit, I’m a diehard), there’s no doubting the impact Cameron has had on modern cinema—a filmmaker who’s been on the cutting edge of special effects for decades, at least since the mercury-like T1000 walked out of that burning wreckage in Terminator 2. In truth, that dedication to the craft of movie magic has been the story of his career, even since his earliest days in the industry. With the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, let’s look back over how Cameron got to this point, and how evidence of his past life is hidden in plain sight in Titanic. 

Read on to learn some more and use the guide below to find out where to stream the movies we mention on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

James Cameron’s Journey From Painter to B-Movie Director

Despite all that world-conquering success, Cameron’s entry into the business sounds as scattered as they come. He originally went to Community College to study Physics and English before dropping out, working random jobs, before deciding to become a filmmaker after seeing Star Wars.

Like many of his peers, Cameron cut his teeth at Roger Corman’s New World Pictures, where he landed a job as a model builder and matte painter. As Cameron’s mother was an artist who had encouraged him to paint from a young age, he was able to quickly get a foothold at the studio. Soon enough, he was making posters for movies like Piranha II: The Spawning, meeting his first wife, Gale Ann Hurd (who would also produce The Terminator) and inventing a style he called “tech noir.” 

Working on sci-fi movies with shoestring budgets, he also crucially learned how to get bang for his buck. My favourite Cameron story from that time is from the production of Battle Beyond the Stars, when he famously stayed up all night stapling styrofoam burger boxes and McDonald’s trays to the wall and spraying them with lacquer to make them look like the walls of an alien spaceship. Corman is said to have been so impressed by Cameron’s thrifty ingenuity that he decided to let him direct Piranha II. The rest, as they say, is history. 

How James Cameron Mastered Visual Effects for John Carpenter

Cameron’s most high-profile gig during the New World Pictures years was undoubtedly his long mythologised role as a special effects artist on John Carpenter’s Escape from New York. Using a model of the city’s skyline and some matte painting trickery, Cameron was able to create the incredible glider landing sequence pretty much without the help of digital effects, which were far more expensive than practical work at the time. 

In a 2018 interview, Carpenter said that, even then, Cameron stood out from the pack, referring to him as the “resident genius” on set. It was during that production that Cameron also met Robert Skotak, a special effects artist who went on to collaborate with him on four films, winning Academy Awards along the way for both Aliens and Terminator 2.

James Cameron’s Skills Are Hidden in Plain Sight in Titanic

Three decades into Cameron’s career, I guess it’s fair to say that Titanic looks like his crowning achievement. That was a project he had to fight tooth and nail to get made, but one that went on to become arguably (if you take box office, Oscars, and cultural impact into account) the most successful movie ever made—at the very least since Gone With the Wind. 

The shoot was a famously challenging one, a constant battle to deliver his vision with the studio breathing down his neck, but Cameron, the son of the artist, continued to do what he’d always done—including drawing the picture of Rose that would eventually be used in the movie. He also contributed the sketches we see in Jack’s notebook earlier on and, best of all, the hands we see during the painting scene are actually his—although, as Cameron is left-handed, the shot had to be flipped in the edit.  

The director has yet to appear like this in any of the Avatar movies, but even as the technology gets more and more complex, he continues to be involved in creating the concept art for Pandora. I expect he’ll continue to do so.

Are you ready to feel really old? Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now ten years old. If you still remember the moment you first saw the trailer for the movie (and watched it 1,000 times as I did), then you’ll probably be wondering where that time has gone.

The J.J. Abrams flick resurrected the beloved saga a decade after the release of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. It brought back the iconic trio of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia, while also introducing us to a new era of heroes and villains.

You may have watched The Force Awakens a dozen times since it was first released – maybe more – but even the most ardent Star Wars fan might have missed some of the very clever, fun, and fascinating details we spotted in the movie to mark this significant milestone.

1. FN-2187’s Subtle Connection to Princess Leia

We are really glad Finn became a traitor to the First Order and joined the Resistance. That decision led to us getting a cool new hero to root for, but it’s worth remembering where he came from for a moment. Or at least, what he used to be called. Finn’s Stormtrooper name was FN-2187, a code given to him by the First Order. But it actually has ties to Princess Leia.

You’ll recall that in Star Wars: A New Hope, Leia is kept prisoner on the Death Star. Specifically, she is held in Detention Block AA-23, Cell 2187. It’s a small but satisfying nod to the Original Trilogy, and also aligns with something George Lucas often did in his Star Wars films. The mastermind behind the franchise previously made a film called THX 1138, and he used those numbers on multiple occasions, including when Luke Skywalker says he was transferred from Cell Block 1138.

2. Obi-Wan Kenobi Speaks to Rey

It was clear from the get-go that Rey was going to be special, but her connection to the Force becomes far more explicit when she touches the famous Skywalker lightsaber for the first time at Maz Kanata’s castle. In that moment, Rey hears the voices of the Jedi Masters that have come before her, including Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

What’s interesting about the latter, though, is that we actually get two generations of the character in that tiny snippet of dialogue. Kenobi says, “Rey, these are your first steps.” The majority of that was newly-recorded lines read by Ewan McGregor, who first played Obi-Wan in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. However, the team behind The Force Awakens were also able to splice together a line reading from Alec Guinness, who played Obi-Wan in the Original Trilogy. Guinness says the word “afraid” in A New Hope, so they cleverly just took the middle chunk of that to make it sound like he was talking to Rey.

3. The Force Awakens’ Hidden A-List Cameos

Speaking of voice work, The Force Awakens is full of top talent that you probably never even realised were involved in the film. The most famous of them all is Daniel Craig. We don’t see his face, but he’s the voice of the Stormtrooper who is supposed to be guarding Rey and is the first victim of her burgeoning Jedi mind control powers.

The James Bond star is not the only one. Simon Pegg is a massive fan of sci-fi like Star Wars and Star Trek, and he was drafted in to voice Unkar Plutt, the mean junkboss on the planet of Jakku.

Even weirder still, the loveable droid BB-8 has comedy star Bill Hader to thank for his excitable squeaks and beeps. Hader recorded noises for the character before his voice was distorted to go higher-pitched. Meanwhile, fellow comedy actor Ben Schwartz – the voice behind Sonic the Hedgehog – was credited as a consultant for the voice work on BB-8.

4. Han Solo’s Newfound Faith in the Force

Throughout the Original Trilogy, Han Solo is more than a little sceptical of the Force. While he recognises Luke is a hero and quietly admires his talents, he never truly buys into the mystical ways of the Jedi. Clearly, something changed his mind on all that between the end of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.

When Rey and Finn cross paths with Han and Chewie, they get pretty excited about the fact that he knew Luke Skywalker. But, instead of playing down the legendary Jedi, Han says, “It’s true. The Force, the Jedi. All of it. It’s all true.” This is a brilliant bit of character development for the scruffy nerfherder, and probably has something to do with the fact that his son, Ben Solo, was imbued with the powers of the Force, too.

5. Maz Kanata Flies the Flag for Mandalore

Going back to that visit to Maz Kanata’s castle, a few notable flags are flying outside the grand building. One belongs to the 501st Legion, an infamous group of Stormtroopers who were also known as Vader’s Fist. As you can guess, they were essentially his most dangerous henchmen during the Imperial Era.

More exciting, though, is the fact that we see the insignia of Mandalore on one of the flags. The symbol obviously has links to the likes of Boba Fett, who made his name in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Din Djarin from The Mandalorian. It’s hard to say why that flag is flying or which specific character helped to get it there, but we like to think that Boba Fett had a drink or two in the smuggler’s haven at some point in his bounty hunting career.

6. Poe Dameron Was Supposed to Die in The Force Awakens

Poe Dameron, played by Oscar Isaac, is one of the most popular characters in the franchise now. From his excitable first meeting with Finn to his valiant rescue mission on Takodana, the pilot steals the show in The Force Awakens (and let’s not forget his very apt and hilarious reaction to the news that “somehow”, Palpatine had returned in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker).

However, if you actually pay attention to his screen time in the first movie of the Sequel Trilogy, you’ll notice Poe goes missing for a very long time. That’s because the original plan was for the character to be killed off while helping Finn escape the First Order right at the beginning of the movie. While filming, though, Abrams and Co. realised that Isaac’s performance and the nature of the character had real value, and they decided to keep him alive. He’s not mentioned at all after escaping with Finn and seemingly crashing on Jakku, and how he’s alive is never explained. Still, when a character is this fun, who cares?

7. The Exact Moment Kylo Ren Abandons the Light

From one of the most popular characters to one of the most intriguing: Kylo Ren is the best part of the Sequel Trilogy, largely because he’s quickly shown as a ruthless yet flawed villain filled with a great inner conflict. That battle between good and evil within Kylo Ren is really brought to the fore in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but in The Force Awakens, it seems he has extinguished the light forever.

Spoiler alert: Kylo Ren (AKA Ben Solo) kills his dad, Han Solo, in the climactic moments of the 2015 film. It’s a riveting scene where father and son share a moment that flickers between heated angst and heartfelt compassion. As Han appears to be winning over his estranged son, the light behind them is bright and blue. However, that light becomes nothing but red as the doubts creep back into Kylo’s mind, and he does “what needs to be done.” Given the connotations of those colours and the Jedi and the Sith, this is obviously no coincidence.

In all the years I’ve written about movies, I’ve never felt shortchanged when writing a top ten at the end of a calendar year. That said, not all times are created equally, and in the history of the cinema, some years do justifiably stand out. 

Film scholars tend to point to 1939, a 12-month period when moviegoers could have bought tickets to first-run screenings of Mr Smith Goes to Washington, The Rules of the Game, Stagecoach, Dark Victory, Only Angels Have Wings, Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz and, best of all, Ninotchka. Not bad at all.

In 2024, we were reminded of how great it must have been to be a movie lover in 1999—a year when films like The Matrix, Beau Travail, The Sixth Sense, Fight Club, The Blair Witch Project, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Office Space, Cruel Intentions, 10 Things I Hate About You, Eyes Wide Shut, and Notting Hill, amongst many others, all lost out on Best Picture to American Beauty.

But enough of that digressing. 2025 saw the 50th anniversary of what some consider the most radical year in cinema—and even if you don’t agree with that, it was certainly one of the most consequential. Off-screen, George Lucas formed Industrial Light and Magic to help with constructing A New Hope; with Sneak Preview, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert went on air together for the first time; and Pier Paolo Pasolini (more on him later) was murdered in Rome. There were also, of course, some incredible things—which I’ve listed below in no particular order—happening on-screen. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

Jaws

I think the best way to think about 1975 is as a year when things began, and other things started to end—a passing of the baton, let’s say, or at least a readjustment of how Hollywood operated going forward. No film had more to do with this shift than Jaws, which famously invented the summer blockbuster while reminding the studios—who’d just spent the last five years letting the lunatics run the asylum—what was most important to them: aka, the bottom line.

Whether you see that as a gift or not, nobody would argue that Jaws is anything less than a masterpiece—a perfect film about an island, a shark and a boat that wasn’t big enough, which announced Steven Spielberg as the greatest storyteller of his generation. If you’re a fan of E.T. or Close Encounters, you probably don’t need reminding!

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Speaking of letting the lunatics run the asylum: even as Jaws laid waste to box office records around the globe, a few masterpieces of the New Hollywood era were still floating around. The best of these was Milos Foreman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a masterclass in acting, filmmaking and satire that justifiably became one of only three films in history to win the “big five” at the Academy Awards.

The film stars Jack Nicholson as a convicted criminal who decides to try and shorten his sentence by cosplaying as a psychotically unstable person. The movie sees Nicholson become the head of a merry band of inmates in the psych ward of Oregon State Hospital, all under the watchful gaze of his nemesis, Nurse Ratched. If you like Jack at his most playfully unhinged (somewhere between the Jack of Five Easy Pieces and the Jack of The Shining), you’re gonna love it.

Dog Day Afternoon

Another New Hollywood classic that was released that year was Sidney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon, a film that only seems to grow more and more influential as the years go by—just look at the work of the Safdie Brothers (Good Time and Uncut Gems especially) after watching it and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

And while we’re on the topic of radicalism, few films captured the countercultural energy of the era quite like it. The story follows a bank robber who needs the money to help his partner transition, as it was not quite called at the time. That Lumet chose to approach that topic with basic empathy shows just how much the film was ahead of its time. Now, altogether, Attica!

Nashville

The third New Hollywood classic from our rundown of 1975 is Robert Altman’s Nashville — the one that most people seem to agree is the director’s best. Taking place over the course of a few days, Nashville, as the name might suggest, offers a panoramic portrait of the city’s thriving Country music scene through the slightly less melodious lives of some of its inhabitants.

With his wildly successful debut, M*A*S*H, Altman had basically reinvented the ensemble film, using overlapping dialogue in scenes that seemed to be viewed from afar—a style that proved incredibly influential, not least on Paul Thomas Anderson (think Boogie Nights and Magnolia).

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

And while we’re on the subject of melodies, 1975 was also a landmark year for musicals, and specifically the rock opera: a now dormant and much derided subgenre that perhaps is due a revival. This is the year when The Who released the druggy (and pretty batshit) Tommy, a film (directed by the transgressive British filmmaker Ken Russell) that took their song Pinball Wizard as an elevator pitch.

Even better, and also more enduring, was The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a film that still plays in my local cinema at least once a year. Indeed, 50 years on, it’s still remarkably fun and sexy, with wonderful performances from Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon and no shortage of great tunes. If you like your musicals camp (think Grease) and a little raunchy, you’ll love it.

Grey Gardens

Another genre on a steady rise in the mid-70s was the documentary—this was thanks largely to the rise of what was called “vérité” filmmaking as well as the growing affordability of portable cameras. In 1970s America, the Maysles brothers were at the heart of that movement, and Grey Gardens remains their most influential work. It’s probably my favourite, too. 

The film is a portrait of a mother and daughter (both relatives of the Kennedys) living together in a decaying mansion in a way that feels like Sunset Boulevard but also still weirdly relatable, even aspirational. It’s no accident that it’s still being endearingly memed 50 years on. 

Death Race 2000 

Another fan favourite subgenre that started to grow in 1975 was the battle royale. Television was only two decades old at this point, but filmmakers had already started to wonder where all that hunger for content might eventually lead. Norman Jewison’s Rollerball imagined a future world where corporations ruled, and the most watched show is a gladiatorial sport where people really die. 

At the same time, Roger Corman’s breeding ground studio, New World Pictures, was releasing Death Race 2000, a landmark early example of a genre that would inspire everything from The Running Man to Battle Royale. The movie, which features a deadly race across the USA, introduced no less than Sylvester Stallone to the world and was also the first job of sound designer Ben Burtt. Is it too much to suggest that without this movie, lightsabers wouldn’t hum in quite the same way? It’s possible.

Barry Lyndon

Outside of the states, there were also plenty of exciting things happening. In the UK, the Pythons released The Holy Grail, one of the best comedies of all time, while Stanley Kubrick made Barry Lyndon, a movie that more and more people seem to be coming to realise is his greatest masterpiece.

The film, which was largely shot in Ireland, follows the titular hero from poverty to riches and back again in one of the darkest and most darkly hilarious stories of hubris ever told. Determined to recreate the look and feel of the era, Kubrick painstakingly shot entire scenes with only candlelight. The resulting film is not only one of his funniest (and if you enjoy Dr Strangelove, make sure to check it out) but really one of the most ravishing productions of all time.

Shivers

While all those aforementioned masters were out delivering some of their best work in 1975, a few future auteurs were just getting started. In Australia, Peter Weir (who went on to make The Truman Show, Dead Poets Society and Master and Commander) released his haunting breakout film, Picnic at Hanging Rock. Meanwhile, in Canada, the young David Cronenberg released his debut feature, Shivers, thus starting an astonishingly consistent, and consistently astonishing, 50 years (and counting) behind the camera. 

Fifty years on, the film, which has all the psycho-sexual, body-horror elements that fans of the director would come to love, is still a visceral thrill—especially for anyone who’s appreciated more recent, clearly Cronenberg-inspired films, like The Substance or Titane.

Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

If we look even further away from Hollywood, aesthetically and geographically, Andrey Tarkovsky released his classic film Mirror, while, in Belgium, Chantal Akerman released Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles—a film that was recently voted (in a very reputable poll) the greatest of all time. 

Whatever the case, Akerman’s observational masterpiece has been a pillar of European cinema for decades now, and if you’re a viewer with a taste for the austere—think films like The Piano Teacher—this could be one for you.

Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom

And while we’re on the topic of austere, we’ll end our list with one of the most bracing and most radical films ever made. As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, the great Italian poet and director Pier Paolo Pasolini was brutally murdered while cruising in Rome one night in 1975—a crime that has been attributed over the years to everyone from homophobic thugs to Italian nationalists to the CIA. 

Whatever the case, many of those conspiracy theories cite the director’s final work, Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, as having had something to do with it. The film, which has lost absolutely none of its provocative bite over the years, moves the Marquis de Sade’s classic novel to fascist Italy as a way to imagine the depths of depravity that can be reached when wealth and power go unchecked for too long. If you have the stomach for it (it’s no mistake that it regularly features on lists of the most banned, provocative and dangerous films of all time), it's a one of a kind. 

If you don’t know what kind of filmmaker Luca Guadagnino is, consider this tasty morsel: in the years since Quentin Tarantino released Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, the Italian has made a remake of a classic horror (Suspiria), a cannibal romance starring Timothee Chalamet (Bones and All); a sweaty, sexy, sports movie (Challengers); an adaptation of a William S. Burroughs novel starring James Bond (Queer); and a campus-set film that dives into some of the most hot-buttoned topics of the day (After the Hunt). Say what you want about any of them, the man has considerable range, is nothing if not prolific, and he knows, ahem, how to make a splash.

Another thing worth knowing about Guadagnino is that he tends to announce all kinds of projects (most recently an AI drama starring Mark Rylance and a new adaptation of American Psycho) that never get made. As we wait to hear what the next one might be, here’s a list of every film the director has made since his 1999 debut. Read on to discover more, and use the guide below to find them on services like Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

The Protagonists (1999)

Given the main things we now associate with the director—his film knowledge, evocative style and taste for genre—it’s probably no surprise that his earliest work demonstrated all three. The film is called The Protagonists and stars Tilda Swinton as an actress working in an Italian film crew who have come to London to restage a real murder that happened a few years earlier. 

Tilda Swinton has gone on to be his most enduring collaborator, so if you appreciate what they went on to achieve together in I am Love and A Bigger Splash, you’ll probably enjoy this one.

Melissa P. (2005)

If protagonists leaned into Guadagnino’s taste for genre filmmaking, his follow-up, Melissa P., showcased his fascination with provocative eroticism. The film is based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Melissa Panarello titled 100 Strokes of the Brush Before Bed, which detailed the sexual awakening of a 15-year-old girl.

This is one you might appreciate if you liked Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name or Catherine Breillat’s recent film Last Summer — just be warned, it’s a rather daring piece of work.

I am Love (2009)

Guadagnino’s first two films had announced him as a director to watch, but he reached a whole other level of arthouse fame after the release of I am Love in 2009. The Milan-set movie, his second collaboration with Swinton, is a stunning production — enough, at least, for it to be nominated for Best Costume at the Oscars.

The film centres on an illustrious affair between a wealthy textile merchant’s wife (Swinton) and a younger man (Edoardo Gabbriellini). If you enjoy stories about promiscuous rich people—think Dark Waters, Match Point—you might just appreciate this one, too.

A Bigger Splash (2015)

After I am Love, Guadagnino followed it up with the wonderful A Bigger Splash, the second part of what he would later call his Desire trilogy. The movie takes place on a hot and sweaty Italian island (for a good comp, think White Lotus, or movies like Le Piscine and Swimming Pool), where a foursome of beautiful people (Swinton again, alongside Ralph Fiennes, Dakota Johnson, and Matthias Schoenaert) trade jokes, jabs, and flirtatious glances—at least until something goes horribly wrong.

The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival but surprisingly went home empty-handed, as did Fiennes for what has to be one of his most joyful roles — so if you’re a fan of his work, you need to check it out!

Call Me by Your Name (2017)

At the time of writing, I think most appreciators of Guadagnino’s work, even the most diehard fans of Challengers, will likely agree that Call Me by Your Name still looks like the director’s masterpiece. Like Melissa P., the story follows a teenager’s sexual awakening, but it’s a far more sensitive story, even accounting for the iconic peach scene.

It maybe helped that the director managed to convince the legendary screenwriter James Ivory (think Remains of the Day and Howards End) to help him adapt André Aciman’s novel, or that he managed to get the first great performance out of Timothée Chalamet (for which the actor was nominated for his first Oscar), but whatever the case, the film remains a wonderfully sensuous, tender and heartbreaking watch. 

Suspiria (2018)

Guadagnino originally acquired the rights to Dario Argento’s Giallo horror Suspiria in 2008 but put it on the back burner for a decade before finally getting his version out in 2018. For the script, the Italian relocated his fellow countryman’s story from Freiburg to Cold War era Berlin, giving the story a new and interesting flavour — one that fans of movies like Possession and The Hunger will be familiar with.

The film saw the director reteam with Dakota Johnson, who played the role of the ingénue who ends up in a ballet school that seems to be run by a coven of witches. 

Bones and All (2022)

After the financial disappointment of Suspiria, the director took a short break from feature filmmaking to focus on other projects—notably making the coming-of-age miniseries We Are Who We Are for HBO. He returned with another horror film, Bones and All, in 2022, this one a cannibal love story that reunited the director with Chalamet and also saw him work with Mark Rylance for the first time—and if you liked the actor’s performances in Bridge of Spies and Wolf Hall, you want to see the brilliantly unsettling work he contributes here.

The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where Guadagnino was finally awarded the Silver Lion for Best Director. 

Challengers (2024)

In 2023, Guadagnino was given the honour of opening the Venice Festival with his new film, Challengers. Sadly for the festival, the SAG-AFRA strike meant that none of the stars could attend, so the film was withdrawn and opened the following March—which, if its box office success (and he kinda needed one) was anything to go by, turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

This is probably the most fun and straight-up mainstream entertainment film that the director has made: a slick, stylish and sweaty sports movie that features a tennis based love triangle between three players. They are played by Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist—and if you like those actors in movies like Dune, La Chimera and West Side Story, something tells me you’ll appreciate this one.

Queer (2024)

Thanks, in part, to the delay of Challengers’ release, Guadagnino fans only had to wait a few months before his next film premiered (you guessed it) at the Venice Film Festival. Starring Daniel Craig, Queer is an adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ semi-autobiographical story of the same name, which details the writer’s time as a boozy, recreationally drug-addled horndog in Mexico City — imagine Naked Lunch meets A Single Man and you’ll be somewhere in the region of this film’s sultry mood. 

Like Guadagnino’s best, it’s a sexy and sweaty piece with wonderful costumes (from J.W. Anderson) and an excellent score by returning Challengers composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

After the Hunt (2025)

Exactly one year later, Guadagnino was invited to open the Italian festival again, this time with the hotly anticipated After the Hunt—a film starring Julia Roberts as an acclaimed professor at a prestigious university who dragged into the middle of an accusation of misconduct levelled by her closest student (played by Ayo Edebiri) against one of her closest colleagues (Andrew Garfield).

The movie is an outright provocation, and even though it’s not entirely satisfying in what it’s trying to do, it’s interesting to see Guadagnino attempt to grapple with such spicy topics. If you are a fan of films like Tár and Dream Scenario, you might find this one frustrating but you’ll likely find it interesting, too.

Forget your shopping list and arranging the extra chairs; there’s nothing more important at this time of year than making sure you make the right Christmas movie choices. It’s all about establishing the right vibe for the right audience, whether you’re catering for grown-ups only or if the festive season is more for the kids in your house.

Assuming the latter is the case, parents can buy themselves a couple of hours of peace and quiet around this busy period if they stick the right film on. However, while getting your child the wrong present is bad enough, pressing play on the wrong movie could ruin the Christmas celebrations entirely.

Well, that’s exactly what happened to a load of parents back in the 1990s, when a random slasher movie sneaked its way onto screens and frightened unwitting kids across the world. 

The Jack Frost Movie Mix-Up That Plagued The '90s

We all know and love the iconic 1998 Christmas movie Jack Frost, right? Michael Keaton stars as the absent father who breaks one promise too many. As he ventures out on yet another music tour instead of spending Christmas at home, he’s killed in a road accident, but returns a year later in the form of a snowman to finally spend some quality time with his son. 

It’s quite a weird film, when you think about it, but it’s a lovely one, too. There’s a good balance of humour and heart, and families have been watching Jack Frost year after year ever since.

However, just one year before the release of that Keaton cult classic in 1997, there was another Jack Frost – and this one is an 18-rated, brutally violent comedy horror. With the two films sharing the same title and coming out around the same time, you can imagine a fair few mistakes were made when families were renting Christmas movies in 1998. The funny thing is, this grievous error still occurs to this day. When will people learn?

The Jack Frost Horror Movie Is Anything But Family-Friendly

In recent years, we’ve seen a spate of beloved children’s stories turned into horror movies. Releases such as Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, Bambi: The Reckoning, and Popeye the Slayer Man have all seen the light of day thanks to copyright licensing expiring on the characters at the heart of those tales.

While the titles give away the more sinister tone of those films, the whole Jack Frost fiasco is, admittedly, an easy mistake to make. The horror movie isn’t just full to the brim with terrible acting, unconvincing special effects, and a diabolical script, though. It’s actually incredibly bleak and very, very inappropriate for kids.

It’s not necessarily scary, but the violence is next level. There’s even a sexual assault scene that will live long in the memory. More than anything, though, the Jack Frost horror movie is just bizarre, and it’s no wonder it traumatised so many children who watched it by mistake.

Which Jack Frost Movie Is Right For You?

But hey, courses for horses, and all that, there will be some of you reading this and thinking the horror version of Jack Frost sounds like your kind of film. So, should you give it a chance? For a start, it’s under 90 minutes, which is always a bonus, so if you’re looking for something trashy and quick to watch as a dark alternative to the usual Christmas viewing, this could be the one for you.

Fans of Christmas horrors like The Gingerdead Man and Silent Night Deadly Night, or less festive flicks like Leprechaun and Terrifier, will be well on board with this one. You can rent it on Apple TV for just 99p, or catch it for free on Tubi.

However, if you’ve got kids around at Christmas, then definitely go for the 1998 Jack Frost. It’ll make you all warm and fuzzy inside, plus the younger viewers will naturally think that a talking snowman is pretty cool.

If you’re into Christmas movies like Elf and The Santa Clause, or the likes of Mrs Doubtfire and The Parent Trap, you’ll love Jack Frost. You will have to pay £3.49 to rent it, but it’s well worth the time and money.

Boom, baby! Believe it or not, the 25th anniversary of The Emperor’s New Groove is already upon us, and regardless of how old that makes you feel, it’s a great excuse to wax nostalgic about one of my favourite childhood films.

Starring an eclectic voice cast including David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, and Patrick Warburton, The Emperor’s New Groove is an all-out animated comedy that recounts the story of the spoiled Emperor Kuzco after he is accidentally transformed into a llama by his scheming advisor Yzma. After realising Yzma actually intended to kill him, Kuzco must learn humility and patience as he seeks help from the gentle shepherd Pacha to become human and reclaim his throne once again.

The key voice cast of The Emperor’s New Groove has stayed remarkably busy over the past 25 years, branching into acclaimed TV roles, iconic voice work, hit sitcoms, and—in Eartha Kitt’s case, a late-career renaissance that lasted right up until her death in 2008. 

Here’s what everyone has been up to since Kuzco, Yzma, Pacha, and Kronk first shimmied across our screens to Tom Jones’s “Perfect World” in 2000.

David Spade (Kuzco)

David Spade was one of the defining American comedy voices of the early 2000s, breaking out on Saturday Night Live in the 1990s before teaming up with friend and fellow comedian Chris Farley for the beloved cult comedies Tommy Boy and Black Sheep. From there, he brought his trademark snark to the vain, self-absorbed Emperor Kuzco in The Emperor’s New Groove.

After The Emperor’s New Groove, Spade headlined a string of comedies geared towards adults. Joe Dirt was released in 2001 and starred Spade as a mulleted, sideburned janitor with a heart of gold who embarks on a cross-country quest to find his parents. A few years later, he played a washed-up former child actor trying to make a comeback in the aptly titled Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. He continued to pop up on the big screen throughout the 2000s and 2010s, including joining Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James, and Rob Schneider in the star-studded buddy reunion comedy Grown Ups. 

Spade also became a familiar presence on TV, starring in sitcoms 8 Simple Rules and Rules of Engagement and carving out his niche as the sarcastic womaniser whose bad behaviour is (mostly) forgiven because he is self-aware and relentlessly funny. In 2015, he moved into reality TV with his prank show Fameless, which skewered people desperate for fame; and from 2019 to 2020, he hosted the pop culture-focused late-night talk show Lights Out with David Spade on Comedy Central.

More recently, Spade has leaned into the podcast boom. In 2022, he teamed up with fellow SNL alum Dana Carvey for Fly on the Wall, where the two riff off each other as they discuss current events, swap stories from their SNL days, and chat with comedians and actors about life in the spotlight. And in 2025, he returned to his standup roots with the release of his special Dandelion on Amazon Prime Video, proving that the sardonic charm that made Kuzco so memorable is still very much intact.One to watch: Grown Ups

John Goodman (Pacha)

John Goodman was already a household name before lending his distinctive voice to the kind-hearted villager Pacha, thanks to his role as Dan Conner on Roseanne (1988–1997)—a part he later revisited in the series’ revival and its spin-off, The Conners, through the mid-2020s. 

On the big screen, he became a regular collaborator with the Coen brothers, playing a variety of iconic roles in their films from the late ‘80s to 2000, including Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, cementing his status as a character-actor legend.

Since The Emperor’s New Groove, Goodman has also become a voice acting mainstay, most famously as Sully in Pixar’s Monsters, Inc and its sequels. He also continued to appear in high-profile films such as Argo, Flight, and 10 Cloverfield Lane throughout the 2010s, and more recently, he starred as televangelist Eli Gemstone in HBO’s dark comedy The Righteous Gemstones, which aired its final episode in May 2025.One to watch: The Big Lebowski

Eartha Kitt (Yzma)

Eartha Kitt was already a renowned star as both a singer and an actress before she brought scene-stealing menace as the voice of Yzma. She is most well-known for performing the iconic Christmas song “Santa Baby” and for her history-making role as Catwoman in the 1960s Batman series, making her the first black woman to ever portray the character. 

With her role as the chaotic sorceress Yzma in The Emperor’s New Groove, Kitt found a whole new generation of fans late in her career. She reprised the role in the direct-to-video sequel Kronk’s New Groove in 2005, and in 2006’s TV spinoff The Emperor’s New School, winning multiple Emmys and Annie Awards for her voice performance as Kuzco’s unhinged advisor. 

Outside of the Groove universe, Kitt appeared as Madame Zeroni in Holes, continued to perform on Broadway, and did additional voice work on animated projects like My Life as a Teenage Robot and Wonder Pets!.

Eartha Kitt died on December 25, 2008, at the age of 81, leaving behind a legacy that stretched from classic nightclub stages to playing one of Disney’s most outrageously funny villains.One to watch: Batman

Patrick Warburton (Kronk)

Patrick Warburton’s deadpan delivery made Kronk an instant fan favourite as the struggling henchman caught between the devil and angel on his shoulders and a boundless love of cooking.

Warburton has since made a prolific career as both a live-action and voice actor. On TV, he led the cult superhero comedy The Tick in the early 2000s, and later anchored the long-running CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement (also starring David Spade), as the blunt but lovable Jeff Bingham.

As a voice actor, Warburton became well known for his roles as Joe Swanson on Family Guy, Brock Samson on The Venture Bros, Steve Barkin on Kim Possible, Ken in Bee Movie, and Buzz Lightyear in the animated series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. He also reprised his voice role as Kronk in both Kronk’s New Groove and The Emperor’s New School.One to watch: The Tick

Wendie Malick (Chicha)

Wendie Malick, who voiced Pacha’s no-nonsense wife Chicha, was already a familiar sitcom face thanks to Dream On and Just Shoot Me! (also starring David Spade). The latter of which earned her Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for playing the gloriously self-absorbed Nina Van Horn. In the 2010s. Malick enjoyed another ensemble comedy success as Victoria Chase on Hot in Cleveland, which introduced her to a new generation of fans.

More recently, Malick has become a go-to voice actress, notably playing matriarch Beatrice Horseman on BoJack Horseman and witch mentor Eda Clawthorne on Disney’s The Owl House, alongside recurring live-action roles on series like The Ranch and American Housewife. One to watch: BoJack Horseman

By the time you read this, I feel safe in speculating that Zootopia 2 (or Zootropolis, or Zoomania, depending on where you are in the world) will be the most successful film of 2025 that isn’t a Chinese animation called Ne Zha 2. This also means there’s probably a good chance you’ve already seen Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde’s second adventure in the richly textured animal world of Zootopia — and if you haven’t, I definitely recommend it, especially if you’re looking for some golden age Pixar-level family viewing over the festive season that boasts a good message along with all the usual jokes and movie homages. 

This lively sequel to the great 2016 Disney animation reunites many of the same voice actors that made the first movie so memorable — including Ginnifer Goodwin (as Judy), Jason Bateman (Nick), Idris Elba (Chief Bogo), Shakira (Gazelle) and Jenny Slate (Bellweather) — alongside some new but familiar voices like Ke huy Kwan (as Gary De’Snake) and Andy Samberg (Pawbert Lynxley). Buried a little deeper in the credits, however, are several surprising cameos. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find out where to see them in their most famous roles on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

11. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Zeke, a dik dik

Dwayne Johnson might have devoted much of 2025 to focus on promoting (and possibly nabbing his first Oscar nomination for) The Smashing Machine, but the legendary wrestler turned action star just couldn’t help appearing in the most successful American movie of the year in his downtime.

Naturally, the actor once again showed his range by playing Zeke, an adorable dik-dik that gets stuck in a tuba during the car chase through the Zootennial parade. Jumbo unit promptly shows up to blow him out and, naturally, we never see him again.

10. Michael J. Fox as Michael J.

How’s this for a bit of nominative determinism: Back to the Future legend Michael J. Fox appears in Zootopia 2 for a brief cameo as Michael J., a fox whom Nick encounters during his brief time in prison. 

This cameo is short and sweet (you actually need to keep your eyes peeled for it), but it’s punctuated by an unmistakable quote from the actor’s most famous role — or to quote Marty McFly, “What’re you lookin’ at, butthead?” 

9. Quinta Brunson as Dr Fuzzby

It turns out, when Quinta Brunson isn’t looking after her students in Abbott Elementary, she runs a police-partners counselling course in the police headquarters of Zootopia — or more accurately, a quokka named Dr Fuzzy does.

Fans of all things Quinta can also hear the actor’s voice in season 4 of Big Mouth, where she portrays Missy’s cousin from Atlanta. You will also be able to hear her opposite Bill Hadar in a new animated adaptation of Cat in the Hat, which is set for release next year.

8. Robert Irwin as Furwin

Through the movie, Nick dreams about a faraway beach and a delicious-sounding drink called a Pina Koala. At the end of the movie, we get to actually see what that looks like, as Bellwether attempts to make her escape, only to be foiled by our furry heroes.

Before that, she meets a friendly Aussie Koala voiced by Robert Irwin — and if that name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the son of the legendary wildlife personality and conservationist, Steve Irwin. Now that’s a touch of class, mate.

7. Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song as Cattrick and Kitty Lynxley

Whether they’re posing with toothbrushes for Richard Kern or fielding questions for Cosmopolitan, Brenda Song and Macaulay Culkin continue to be one of the most liked celebrity couples in the business. 

For Zootopia 2, the Home Alone and New Girl stars stayed endearingly close again, voicing Cattrick and Kitty, the eldest and meanest of Milton Lynxley’s evil litter.

6. Danny Trejo as Jesús

If you’re looking for someone to voice a cool, calm and collected basilisk from Central America, it almost seems rude not to ask Danny Trejo to do it. The famously prolific character actor clocked in his 463rd IMDb credit with his portrayal of Jesús in Zootopia 2, a mostly friendly reptile who tricks Judy and Nick into eating some grubs before high-tailing it like his namesake across some open water. 

Fans of the actor’s voice work are, of course, spoiled for choice when it comes to viewing options, but be sure to keep an ear out for him when watching Minions (where he voices Stronghold) and Rick and Morty (Jaguar).

5. Stephanie Beatriz as Bloats

Given that Stephanie Beatriz is perhaps best known for playing the no-nonsense police detective Rosa Diaz in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, you might not be surprised to hear that she voices another one in Zootopia 2 — although this time, without putting too fine a point on it, the detective is a hippo.

When it comes to animated movies, however, this is far from Beatriz’s first rodeo: if anything, you might even be more familiar with the actress’ voice from her central roles in Encanto (as Mirabel) and The Lego Movie 2 (as General Sweet Mayhem).

4. Jean Reno as Bûcheron and Chèvre

Younger viewers might not be aware of this, but for a good decade or so in Hollywood, basically any French character in a movie seemed to be played by Jean Reno. Perhaps as a little nod to that, both Bûcheron and Chèvre, the two French goats we see on the Zootopia police force, are voiced by the Leon star.

For his fellow countrymen, Reno’s vocal cords are particularly legendary, as the actor voiced Mufasa in the French version of The Lion King. 

3. Roman Reigns and CM Punk as Gene Zebraxton and Gene Zebrowski

Rounding out Nick and Judy’s colleagues are Gene Zebraxton and Gene Zebrowski, two zebras who don’t get a whole lot to do aside from fist pumps and saying “Ze-bros!”, which, of course, is more than enough to leave an impression.

The stripy duo are played by the real-life twosome of Roman Reigns and CM Punk, professional wrestlers in WWE who are better known for their rivalry in the ring than any kind of fist-bumping friendship. That’s called acting, my dear. 

2. Bob Iger as Bob Tiger

One cameo that surely had the kids in the audience whooping for joy was Disney CEO Bob Iger, who portrays a tiger named, you guessed it, Bob Tiger. 

Jokes aside, the character is actually a nod to Iger’s time as a weatherman, a job he held long before his nearly two-decade reign as the most powerful man in Hollywood. The cameo is being seen as a farewell before his planned retirement at the end of next year. Fair enough.

1. Ratatouille

Okay, so Patton Oswald may not have offered his voice here, but his Remy — the unlikely chef hero of Brad Bird’s Ratatouille — can be seen for a brief moment when Judy and Nick are making their getaway from the Lynxley party. 

I must admit, my eye was immediately drawn to the namesake dish being plated by the chef, as the animation style was almost identical, which made the big (or little) reveal all the more delightful. 

2025 was a huge year for anime movies – and that’s not just hyperbole to make you continue reading this article. Three of the hottest global properties, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man, released theatrical instalments that were wildly successful at the box office, with Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, the prelude to the series’ animated finale, competing with the likes of Marvel and DC’s biggest and brightest heroes on comeback tears.

Yep, it sure is a good time to be a weeb, and the good times are set to keep on rolling into 2026 with another strong slate of anime films. The 12 I’ve cherry-picked below are arranged in order of least to most anticipated, factoring in existing fanbases, the creators behind them, and international appeal. It should be noted that some of the release dates are estimates and may be subject to change. 

12. The Keeper of the Camphor Tree (Kusunoki no Bannin)

As this film is adapted from a Japanese bestseller that won’t have an English translation out until June, it hasn’t had much of an opportunity to build anticipation yet among English-speaking audiences. Based on its popularity in its native tongue, and trailer, however, The Keeper of the Camphor Tree looks like something both anime fans and Japanese literature lovers should have on their radars.

Produced by A-1 Pictures (Fairy Tail, Sword Art Online, Solo Levelling), the story mixes slice-of-life quiet with stirring mysticism, as protagonist Reito becomes the nighttime caretaker for the mysterious, titular tree that attracts all manner of troubled visitors looking for answers from it. It gives me the look and feel of films by the likes of Mamoru Hosoda, Naoko Yamada, and Ghibli.

Release date: January 30 

11. The Dangers In My Heart (BokuYaba)

The Dangers In My Heart has been serialised as a web manga since 2018, and adapted into a light novel, print manga, and TV anime series – plenty of places to pick up fans, and necessitating the need for this theatrically released compilation film. 

If you’re not familiar with it already, the premise is pretty eyebrow-raising: lonely, nerdy middle-schooler Kyotaro Ichikawa spends his school days indulging in violent daydreams about his classmates, including the beautiful Anna Yamada. Could a budding friendship between them curb his masochistic desires? In the name of incels, let’s hope so! Mixed reception from critics and a warmer one from audiences speaks to the Marmite nature of this setup. As the film is a streamlined version of the series, it’s as good a place as any to jump in and make your own mind up.

Release date: February 13

10. Girls und Panzer: Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu! – Acts 2, 3 & 4

Cute girls operating WWII-era tanks for sport sounds like a male gaze parody sketch, but Girls und Panzer (transliteration: Girls and Tanks) is very real and sort of serious – or, at least, earnest. This is a franchise with two anime series (one in 2012 and the other in 2017); Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu! kicks off a four-part film series based on the spinoff manga of the same name.

There’s scant information about this quadruple theatrical helping other than it will highlight the “unknown daily lives of students of Ōarai Girls' Academy” as well as other schools beyond the tankery (I love that that’s a word.) If chibi-faced high school girls operating heavy machinery is something you need in your life, nothing else will hit the spot quite like this.

Release date: December 26, 2025; January 30, March 6, and April 10, 2026

9. Sound! Euphonium: The Final Movie – Part One

You may remember Kyoto Animation, commonly abbreviated as KyoAni, making headlines in 2019 for a horrendous arson attack. Thankfully, the beloved studio is recovering at an impressive but no doubt financially pressured rate; the first part of the final Sound! Euphonium movies is one of several projects produced in the last couple of years.

Sound! Euphonium is one of many music-based, slice-of-life series that are essentially just good vibes – think The Kids on the Slope and K-On!. This one centres around high school girls in brass bands with a mix of wistfulness and drama as they prepare for a championship. 

Release date: April 24

8. Gintama Movie: Yoshiwara in Flames (Shin Gekijoban Gintama: Yoshiwara Daienjo)

In the same vein as One Piece’s 25th anniversary remake of the ‘Fish Man Island’ arc, Gintama, a long-running series that essentially parodies shows like One Piece, is compiling and remaking its ‘Yoshiwara in Flames’ arc as a theatrical film with fresh animation and scenes from the manga that didn’t make it into the original TV anime.

Yoshiwara is a seedy, lightless city that Gintama’s ‘Odd Jobs’ trio travels to for a mission, where they’re soon pulled into a war with the ‘Night King’ Hōsen. It’s a great, self-contained, action-packed saga for a cinema release, and while a lot more tongue-in-cheek, Demon Slayer fans should appreciate its historical setting.  

Release date: February 13

7. Doraemon: Nobita and the New Castle of the Undersea Devil

Doraemon has been part of Japanese pop culture since 1969, so it may not surprise you to learn that Nobita and the New Castle of the Undersea Devil is the 45th film in the series. If you haven’t seen the other 44, here’s what you need to know to get up to speed: Nobita is a ten-year-old boy, and Doraemon is his blue, talking robot cat with a bottomless gadget bag who is sent back in time by Nobita’s descendant to help him out.  

One of these films, Stand By Me Doraemon, was notably directed by Godzilla Minus One director Takashi Yamazaki. This latest one doesn’t have that creative pedigree behind it, but as a summer vacation adventure to an underwater world, it’s one that kids who appreciate the Pokémon movies will enjoy.

Release date: February 27  

6. Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Walpurgisnacht Rising

Puella Magi Madoka Magica was something of a cultural reset when it first aired in 2011. A dark spin on the magical girl genre, it dirties the sparkliness of things like Sailor Moon with psycho-horror sci-fi – certainly not child-friendly, but definitely older edgelord compliant.

While the first two spinoff films were just compilations of the TV show, the third, Rebellion, released in 2013, had an original story and got serious awards recognition in Japan. Walpurgisnacht Rising is the much-anticipated, delayed sequel to Rebellion, so you’ll want to get caught up on that one before heading to the cinema. 

Release date: February

5. Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circle

You know Gundam, right? You’re reading a list of upcoming anime movies after all. But just so I won’t be accused of gatekeeping, let’s go over the basics: Mobile Suit Gundam is one of the Mount Rushmore robot heads of mecha – people piloting giant robots, often but not always in space, as Gundam usually is.

The Sorcery of Nymph Circle is a sequel to the 2021 Hathaway film, which followed 2018’s Narrative. The series takes place in the franchise’s main timeline, Universal Century, and in the aftermath of Char’s Counterattack. Still with me? Okay. Sorcery continues Hathaway hero Noa’s battle against terrorist Mafty. You may have your interest piqued if you like space operas and big robot stuff like Pacific Rim, but there’s a bit of a steep learning curve to get into Gundam.

Release date: January 30    

4. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: The Movie — Tears of the Azure Sea

The patron saint of isekai with the whole plot in the title, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is one of the OGs from the mid-2010s boom, and still one of the better examples. Surprisingly, this is only the second Slime film to be made, following the first, Scarlet Bond, in 2022. 

You know the drill: salaryman Mikami dies and wakes up in a fantasy world, but in the form of a Dragon Quest-style slime called Rimuru. Over three seasons of the TV anime, he’s been climbing the ladder of power to carve out a place for creatures like him, assuming a bishonen humanoid form in the process. The films build on his hard-fought acceptance from the Demon Lords, and will likely go over your head if you’re not up to date with the series.

Release date: February 27

3. Cosmic Princess Kaguya!

Cosmic Princess Kaguya! is the latest retelling of the well-known Japanese fairy tale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. It was notably the source for the 2013 Ghibli film The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and has been touched upon in everything from Sailor Moon to Naruto. It may also be something those who saw the anime film Belle, a pop musical retelling of Beauty and the Beast, will be interested in.

In the story, Kaguya is a Moon princess who is reborn on Earth in a bamboo stalk. She attracts numerous suitors, including the Emperor of Japan, whom she tries to deter by dishing out impossible missions to earn her hand. Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man opening titles director Shingo Yamashita makes his debut here as a feature-film director, while Vocaloid superstars are collaborating for the soundtrack. This one’s heading to Netflix, too, which is a boon in accessibility for any original work.  Hopefully, given anime's box office wins in 2025, the streamer will also deem it worth a limited theatrical run as well.

Release date: January 22

2. The Apothecary Diaries

The Apothecary Diaries has been steadily, and unexpectedly, making a big name for itself. The surprise has nothing to do with its quality – a compelling and cosy historical medical mystery drama with smatterings of romance – and more to do with shojo properties usually getting drowned out by noisier stuff aimed predominantly at boys and young men.

As well as the first half of the third season coming next October, an original film hits theatres shortly after in December, written by creator Natsu Hyuuga. There’s no info on the plot available yet, but the Japanese trailer is filled with juicy Maomao x Jinshi moments!

Release date: December  

1. All You Need Is Kill

You might remember a 2014 sci-fi action blockbuster called Edge of Tomorrow starring Tom Cruise. Well, that film was loosely based on the manga, All You Need Is Kill, drawn by Death Note’s Takeshi Obata, and has finally received an anime adaptation from Studio 4°C. The plot is basically the same as the Cruise movie: a soldier fighting aliens is stuck in a time loop, respawning every time he dies and using what he learned to survive for longer each time.

Studio 4°C have a wonderfully eclectic catalog ranging from The Animatrix to Children of the Sea, and this adaptation looks no different. Fans of the live-action version are in for a far more colourful experience, as well as a lead heroine, Rita, rather than Cruise’s Major William Cage or the manga’s Keiji Kiriya. Still, if you especially enjoy the core Groundhog Day meets Starship Troopers conceit, there’s plenty of familiarity, too.

Release date: January 9

Whether you’re Lily Allen or Mohammad Salah, it’s a truism that affects us all: ending things is never easy. When it comes to our most beloved TV shows—aside from the odd exception (Mad Men always comes to mind)—it’s basically a given that some fans will not be left fully satisfied. Whether things are too rushed, wrapped up too neatly, or left with too many dangling loose ends, there will usually be a section of loyal acolytes who are left feeling a little shortchanged.

It’s too soon to say which camp the long-awaited final run of Stranger Things will end up in, but as we wait to see what happens to Max, Will, Mike and Eleven, there are plenty of older case files to look back on to give us an idea. The following shows all, for one reason or another, left the watching public in two or more warring camps — but we should also note that, in every case, it was only because we cared so much to begin with. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

No use burying the lede here. HBO’s final season of Game of Thrones is arguably the greatest fumble in TV history — a run of episodes and moments so half-cooked, baffling and unearned that they retroactively tarnished some of the enjoyment of future rewatches. 

To call the series divisive, however, is probably incorrect, as I imagine most people felt equally betrayed by the last few episodes. The more typically “divisive” period of the show was probably the years after showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff overtook George R.R. Martin’s source material and started going a little rogue, not least regarding the speed at which characters seemed to move across continents. This was an era (around the end of Season 5 onward) that split the fanbase between those loyal to Martin’s books and those who only knew the show.

Whatever the case, the finale has not turned fans off completely: in 2026, we will see the release of the third season of House of the Dragon as well as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a new spinoff/prequel show. The king is dead, long live the king!

The Sopranos (1999-2007)

Ah, The Sopranos—now here is a properly divisive season, for more reasons than one. The most obvious point of diversion, of course, was the show’s legendary finale—during which the family gathers at a diner, Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing starts to play, men are shown making movements on the street outside, and then, all of a sudden, a cut to 10 seconds of a black screen before the credits rolled. 

When the episode aired in June 2007, viewers at home famously wondered if the station had cut out, leading to an online frenzy — but this ending was exactly what showrunner David Chase intended it to be: a visceral shock. Even before that, some fans had started to wonder if the decision to drop the perfectly rounded 13-episode arcs of the first five seasons for a two-part, 21-episode run had robbed the final season of its predecessor’s air-tight structure. I must admit that those critiques are not unfounded (it’s definitely the weakest of the show’s seasons), but when you’re up against perfection, it is difficult to make par. 

The finale, however, at least in my opinion, works an absolute charm. If you haven’t seen it, the show is basically the defining fictional crime story of the 21st century — a worthy heir to The Godfather and Goodfellas, and all the great mob stories that came before them. 

Lost (2004-2010)

Everyone loves a good mystery box show. The problems arise when it comes to tying up all those loose ends. No show was as famously gung-ho at throwing narrative curveballs as Damon Lindelof and J.J. Abrams’ Lost, and no other show took so much flak when it came to resolving them—or not resolving them, as the case may be.

Lost began with a simple idea: a plane crashes on an island and, one by one, we start to learn about each passenger’s history as they attempt to survive. On top of that foundation, however, Lindelof threw everything from Polar Bears to time travel to allusions to the almighty, ending on a heavily religious note that was, in a way, the first explanation for the island that most viewers thought of. 

Watching it at the time it came out, I began to lose interest around the loopy time travel stuff in Season 5, but finished it all the same. Watching it again a couple of years ago, I found those later seasons incredibly moving. If you like twisty plots, survival stories like Yellowjackets and Cast Away, and also enjoy watching very beautiful and charismatic people do cool stuff, I can’t recommend it enough.

Gilmore Girls (2000-2016)

If, like any self-respecting Gilmore Girls fan, you started your annual rewatch at the beginning of autumn, chances are you’ve already arrived at the divisive final season of the show’s original seven-year run (2000-2007). The lore(lei) behind this one isn’t hard to decipher: creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband and collaborator Dan Palladino left the show before that original final season over contract disputes, leaving fans with a farewell that felt rushed and tonally off. 

Luckily, some Gilmore Girls fans eventually got the closure they were looking for when Sherman-Palladino returned with the one-season mini-series, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life — but even this divided fans. Whatever side you might end up on, it’s still a pleasure to return to — a comfort watch on the level of Friends or The Office that never fails to keep you company in the colder months of the year. 

Killing Eve (2018-2022)

Killing Eve, a show written by Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge and starring Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy), Jodie Comer (28 Years Later) and Fiona Shaw (Andor), tells the story of an intelligence officer who becomes obsessed with the lethal assassin she’s been tasked with hunting down—a feeling that soon becomes mutual. 

That delicious setup was enough to sustain the show for four seasons and 32 episodes (a huge length for the BBC) while allowing fans to speculate on what the characters might eventually mean to each other. In the end, the decision to take a sharp and unexpected turn in the finale proved both dissatisfying and underdeveloped to the show’s many fans.

Seinfeld (1989-1998)

Similar to Gilmore Girls, Seinfeld fans (in a way) got to revisit and dissect their frustrations at the show’s original final seasons during various points in series creator Larry David’s later show, Curb Your Enthusiasm. The writer actually left Seinfeld after Season 7, and most fans agree that the post-David years (Seasons 8-9) are just not on the level of what came before.

The most divisive part was the show’s grand finale, an unsatisfying meta experiment during which Jerry, Elaine, Kramer and George go on trial, allowing characters from previous seasons to come out and grill them on their behaviour. David didn’t write it, but he did recreate it in his finale for Curb, giving Seinfeld fans an unlikely bit of closure a full 26 years after the episode originally aired.

How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)

For a series that basically set up its own finale in the words of its title, giving itself nine seasons and as many years to prepare, it’s amazing how much How I Met Your Mother eventually got wrong—at least in the eyes of some sections of the fanbase.

It’s true, the How I Met Your Mother finale had one main job, and while The Mother, Tracy McConnell (played by the great Cristin Milioti), was successfully introduced at the end of Season 8, fans were disappointed by how little screentime she was given in Season 9. On top of that, the series’ 22-episode arc took place exclusively during the weekend of Barney and Robin’s wedding, only for the show to reveal, at the very end, that they divorced three years later. Harsh.

Dexter (2006-2013)

Another series that attempted to offer some closure, a good few years after the fact, was Dexter. This is a series (a bit similar to shows like Hannibal and You) about a CSI investigator who moonlights as a serial killer — or was it the other way around?

The 2013 finale, in which our morally dubious hero leaves it all to become a lumberjack, left most fans scratching their heads. A new and more satisfying finale was then promised in Dexter: New Blood, released in 2021 and 2022, but the showrunners again dropped the ball, at least in the eyes of many fans—and, barring supernatural forces, there’s no coming back from that one.

If musical biopics have overtaken superhero movies as Hollywood’s most reliable earners, then we are currently in the peak IP era. Since the enormous success of Bohemian Rhapsody, we’ve seen biopics on everyone from Elton John to Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston, and now, with movies like A Complete Unknown and Deliver Me From Nowhere, they’re starting to attract some of the finest acting talent in the business. This is all poised to go to another level next year with the release of a Michael Jackson movie (starring the popstar’s nephew) and a whopping four (yes, four) Beatles movies.

This unprecedented approach (which sounds a bit like The Avengers meets Rashomon) will allow the Fab Four (Paul Mescal as Paul, Harris Dickinson as John, Barry Keoghan as Ringo and Joseph Quinn as George) to each have their own movie, presumably with overlapping timelines, and all directed by Sam Mendes. As we wait for this tantalising project (at the time of writing, we’re yet to see a trailer) to materialise, there are already a wide variety of excellent Beatles movies to dig into. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

1. A Hard Day's Night (1964)

A Hard Day’s Night might be the oldest movie on this list, but it’s still the best and most authentic. Filmed using newly available handheld cameras, director Richard Lester not only captured the band’s youthful energy but also captured the very real, ground-level phenomenon of Beatlemania itself—screaming girls and all.

A Hard Day's Night is now regarded as a bit of a classic and a landmark for mockumentary filmmaking and the cinema vérité style—so if you’re someone with an interest in film history (especially movies like Don’t Look Back or Gimme Shelter), this might be the one for you!

2. Get Back (2021)

In 2021, while most of us were still in lockdown (psychologically at the very least), Disney+ released Get Back, a movie (or miniseries, if you prefer) that felt like a gift and a time machine. Working with state-of-the-art equipment, Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson remastered a treasure trove of footage from the recording of Let It Be, releasing it as a movie that felt like an immersive, behind-the-scenes documentary – similar to movies like The Wrecking Crew and Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, which gave fans the experience of being in the room. 

For Beatles fans, this one is a must-watch—an opportunity to see what it might have been like to hang out with these guys and a rare chance to see artists creating iconic music in real time. The full doc is over eight hours long, but it’s more than worth diving into!

3. Help! (1965)

Help! is one of the silliest movies on this list, but it’s a pretty good hang, and it shows the Fab Four in their bubbly, early pomp. Reuniting with Richard Lester a year after Hard Day’s Night, it’s a musical made to coincide with the release of the album of the same name. Naturally, if you like that record in particular, this might be one for you.

The madcap plot, which features a sacrificial ring and mad scientists, follows the Beatles as they try to protect Ringo from an Eastern cult. That might not sound anything like what they sing about on the album, but if you love that ‘60s Beatles energy (or are partial to movies like Tommy or The Wall), you’ll probably have a blast.

4. That Thing You Do! (1996)

Despite having only rewatched this movie earlier this year, I can’t actually recall if The Beatles are mentioned in it. Regardless, That Thing You Do! is so steeped in and enamoured by the Beatlemania era (it follows the rise of a young American band), it’s impossible to think of the movie as anything but an homage.

That Thing You Do! is the directorial debut of Tom Hanks, so if you like the actor’s heartfelt ‘90s output (especially movies like Forrest Gump and Apollo 13), you’re probably gonna love it. Steve Zahn and Liv Tyler both feature, and the tune, frankly, is a bop.

5. One to One: John and Yoko (2025)

The most recent doc on our list was released earlier this year after an acclaimed debut at the Venice Film Festival last Autumn. One to One: John and Yoko is the kind of documentary that looks to give an impression of the artist by zooming in—in this case by focusing on the 18 months that John Lennon and Yoko Ono lived together in Greenwich Village, leading up to the One to One benefit concert in Madison Square Garden in 1972.

The movie is directed by the Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Kevin Macdonald, so if you liked his previous work on Marley (a doc on Bob) and Whitney (about Houston), this might be up your street.

6. George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2021)

George Harrison was always the most idiosyncratic member of the Beatles—the one you say is your favourite if you’re in the mood for sounding a little different. This remarkable documentary, directed by none other than Martin Scorsese, stands as a towering portrait of the artist: his early days growing up in Liverpool, his time with The Beatles, his spirituality, and his untimely death in 2001 at just 58 years old.

Stretching out over three-and-a-half hours, Living in the Material World is a meaty piece of work, but like anything made by the great director (notably his other movie docs Shine a Light and The Last Waltz), it’s a pleasure to settle into.

7. Nowhere Boy (2009)

Given how protective The Beatles (and their various estates) are of their work and history, it’s probably no surprise that we’ve yet to see a modern biopic about them. The closest thing so far was Sam Taylor-Johnson’s 2009 movie Nowhere Boy, which starred a then-18-year-old Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the young John Lennon. 

This is an interesting one to watch if you like the kind of movies that take an unusual approach to show an artist’s origin story—think stuff like Control, or I’m Not There. Just be warned, though: apart from the Ono sanctioned the use of Lennon’s song Mother, there aren’t any Beatles tunes in this one.

8. Yesterday (2019)

If you’re looking for a movie that takes the opposite approach to Nowhere Boy (i.e., it has many of the Beatles' hits but basically none of them in it), Yesterday might be the one for you. The movie uses a premise that wouldn’t feel out of place in an episode of The Twilight Zone: what if, by some weird anomaly, you woke up one day as the last person on earth who remembered The Beatles’ music.

Written by Richard Curtis, Yesterday is an admittedly shmaltzy movie, but thanks to some nice performances and the typically deft directorial hand of Danny Boyle (more Millions, less 28 Days Later), it’s a pleasant enough viewing experience. 

9. Yellow Submarine (1968)

Of course, we were always going to include Yellow Submarine on this list. This iconic animation has been entertaining lightly inebriated college students for almost 60 years now with its surrealist visions, kaleidoscopic colours, and popular tunes.

The animation recalls the strangeness of the Monty Python inserts, so if you’re into that kind of stuff (or other surrealist animations like Fantastic Planet), you should check it out—there’s a reason why it’s still considered a landmark in animation cinema.

10. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)

No list of music movies would be complete without a reference to the great Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. This is one of those spoof-type movies (think This is Spinal Tap and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping) that ends up being so influential that both critics and filmmakers now use it as a reference point for what musical biopics should avoid.

The star (played by the great John C. Reilly) is more of a Johnny Cash type, but his journey through music history does allow for a meeting with the Fab Four, who are played hilariously by Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Justin Long and Jason Schwartzman. 

Whether you’re the type to have the decorations up by mid-November or someone who runs for the hills at the first whiff of a clove-studded orange, you’re probably as susceptible to the charms of a good Christmas film as anyone else. Rooting around to write this piece, it dawned on me that the subgenre of stories involving St. Nick himself has actually provided fewer films than I’d remembered — but we do tend to watch the ones that stick a lot.

The following list contains more genres than you might imagine, including comedy, action, animation, and straight-up festive heart-warmers. There are some not-very-good films that still gave us good Santas. There are also some quite good films that gave us bad ones. Regardless, you’ll find them below, ranked in ascending order. Read on to discover more, and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

12. Tom Hanks in The Polar Express (2004)

We begin our list in two places: The North Pole and, less hospitably, the uncanny valley. Robert Zemickis has always been the kind of director who likes to work at the cutting edge of special effects (think recent movies like The Walk and Here), but his mo-capped 2004 Christmas movie, The Polar Express, is probably best known for pushing the boat out a little too far.

As a result, the film can be unsettlingly humanlike at times, but it’s mostly a delight—and who doesn’t want to see Tom Hanks (aka America’s dad) as the man himself? 

11. Paul Giamatti in Fred Claus (2007)

Given the actor’s lovable, gruff nature and physical charms, it was only a matter of time before Paul Giamatti was asked to play Santa Claus. Unluckily, his opportunity came in the not particularly funny Vince Vaughn comedy Fred Claus, in which Vaughn plays the jolly guy’s degenerate brother.

The film is one of Vaughn’s post-Wedding Crashers comedies, so if you’re okay with the movies from that era (The Break-Up, Four Christmases), then you’ll probably have a good time with it. Regardless, Giamatti, as ever, is a delight.

10. Jim Broadbent in Arthur Christmas (2011)

Given the number of great animated Christmas movies out there, there’s no shortage of solid Santa vocal performances to choose from. One of the more delightful and low-key comes from Jim Broadbent in Arthur Christmas.

This festive action caper (which follows Santa’s youngest son on a quest to deliver one last present) comes from the geniuses at Aardman Animations, so if you like films like Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Chicken Run, this is one you’ll want to check out. 

9. JK Simmons in Klaus (2019)

The next animated film on our list is Klaus, a gorgeous 2019 Netflix release that offers a kind of origin story for the man in the red suit. The protagonist is a Norwegian postman who gets stationed in the far north, where he meets a toy maker who seems like he might have other skills to offer.

The signature voiced J.K. Simmons actually played Santa in the flesh in last year’s Dwayne Johnson-led action film, Red One, but his work here is even better—especially if you liked his voice work in shows like Invincible and BoJack Horseman.

8. David Harbour in Violent Night (2022)

A more recent trend in Christmas films is to blend the festive cheer with another, less festive genre. A few of these, like the aforementioned Red One, have opted for action, and none with more of a sense of ‘90s fun than the 2022 film Violent Night, which basically marketed itself as a blend of Home Alone and Die Hard.

For the lead role of this axe-wielding Santa, the filmmakers cast David Harbour—an actor who, funnily enough, was already known for playing a Red Guardian. The story takes place in a compound on Christmas Eve, where Santa must save a family from a group of mercenaries.

7. Tim Allen in The Santa Claus (1994)

If you were born at some point in the late ‘80s or early ‘90s, there’s a good chance that Tim Allen’s performance in The Santa Clause was burned onto your retinas. The film probably isn’t considered as much of a classic these days as it used to be, but in terms of offering an alternative take on Christmas mythology (Allen plays a divorced Dad who has to take on the role after accidentally killing St Nick), it kind of got there first—so credit where credit’s due.

This is one that fans of festive movies from around that period, like Home Alone 2 and Jingle All the Way, will probably love.

6. Chris Sarandon in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Our highest-ranked animated film is, of course, a Christmas classic in its own right—and kind of a classic in general, especially for fans of gothy stop frame animation (think Coraline, Corpse Bride). All that said, Henry Sellick and Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas doesn’t exactly star Santa, but this incarnation, voiced by Chris Sarandon, is nothing if not memorable.

Having been abducted by Jack Skellington, Sarandon’s festively plump Claus gets to show some range as he’s quickly scared out of his leather boots, first by Lock, Shock, and Barrel and then by the terrifying Oogie Boogie.

5. Kurt Russell in The Christmas Chronicles (2018)

Given how bearded Kurt Russell looked when he made his comeback in Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, are we surprised that someone asked him to play Santa just a couple of years later? Whatever the case, we now have two Christmas Chronicles movies—and if you enjoy Russell’s vibe in films like Death Proof and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, let’s just say he doesn’t change his approach too much here.

The first of the two—in which two kids have to help Santa out after accidentally causing his sleigh to crash—is easily the best.

4. Ed Asner in Elf (2003)

Thinking back over all these movies, you start to notice a few different types emerging. There’s the endlessly warm kind, the cool dad kind, and then there’s the tough love, no-nonsense kind. At the time of writing, no one has done the latter as well as Ed Asner did in Elf.

The actor really only appears in a handful of scenes in this air-tight, Will Ferrell classic (imagine Barbie meets Step Brothers, but set at Christmas, and you’ll have some idea of the vibe), yet every moment he has on screen is solid gold. 

3. Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa (2003)

Now, if Asner is the best example of the patriarchal Santa, nobody did the anti-hero version quite like Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa. The movie, surprisingly enough, was directed by none other than Terry Swigoff—and if you appreciate the slacker energy of the director’s previous movies (think Ghost World and Crumb), this is definitely the Christmas film for you.

Thornton’s Santa is, of course, not exactly the sleigh-riding kind, but the film does build to a relatively festive conclusion—once you get past all the bad behaviour, of course. 

2 & 1. Richard Attenborough/Edmund Gwenn in Miracle on 34th Street (1994/1947)

As we reach the end of our countdown, it’s time to forget all those alternative approaches and just bask in the presence of the real deal. It’s almost impossible to choose between the two Miracle on 34th Street films, so in the spirit of Christmas, I’ve decided to award them joint first. 

The 1947 original (which, given the time period, will appeal to fans of It’s a Wonderful Life) stars Maureen O’Hara and Natalie Wood (who was just eight years old at the time), but it’s the great Edmund Green who steals the show as St. Nick—the actor remains the only person to win an Oscar for playing the role. 

If I had to choose one, however, it would be Richard Attenborough, who gives a performance that is pure warmth in the 1994 version—and honestly, that monologue about being “a symbol” just gets me every time. This one was written by the great John Hughes, so if you like Home Alone, you’re gonna love it.

We’re more than a week into December, and the end-of-year lists are starting to come in quick and fast. One that’s always interesting to take a look at is the American Film Institute’s, otherwise known as AFI. Voted on by a jury of industry experts (who are encouraged to factor in both artistic achievement and cultural impact), it’s not exactly the place to go for offbeat choices, but it’s interesting to see what some of the top film people in America consider to be the year’s most important movies.

2025 is no different—in fact, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see most of these films nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The ones that don’t make that final list will likely lose their spot to one of the movies that weren’t eligible for inclusion on the AFI’s list—i.e. international favourites like It Was Just an Accident (Iran), The Secret Agent (Brazil), No Other Choice (South Korea), and Sentimental Value (Norway).

Read on to learn more about the AFI’s top ten movies of 2025—which they list in alphabetical order, so we will too—and use the guide below to find them in theatres or on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. For the movies yet to be released in the UK, we will have that information up as soon as it’s available. 

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Despite the astronomical amount of money that the Avatar movies tend to make around the world, often pushing the limits of digital effects and exploring new aesthetic territory in the process, it’s fair to say that the films themselves are not everyone’s cup of tea.

I presume that the latest, Avatar: Fire and Ash, will be no different, especially for the fact that it largely repeats a lot of the narrative structure of the last film, The Way of Water. It does, however, bring back Payakan, everyone’s favourite talking space whale, and add a vengeful and dangerous new antagonist into the mix in Oona Chaplin’s Verang—and yes, she is Charlie’s granddaughter. 

Needless to say, it’s not for the unconverted, but if you’re a fan of all things Pandora, you can basically book your IMAX tickets now.

Bugonia

Though produced via Ireland’s Element Pictures and directed by the Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, Bugonia managed to make the cut for the AFI’s top ten thanks to being at least partly produced by Focus Features. This is a loose remake of the 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet!, an eco sci-fi about an alien who comes to earth to warn of an invasion—but nobody believes him.

In Lanthimos’ film, the protagonists are two brothers who abduct a tech CEO whom they believe to be the nefarious alien. The CEO is played by Emma Stone in what is now her fourth collaboration in a row with the Greek provocateur—so if you liked all the weird stuff they got up to with The Favourite and Poor Things, you will probably like this one, too.  

Frankenstein

Having seen some images and read some tepid reactions to Guilermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, I’d say my expectations were not sky high when I sat down to watch it—which is sometimes the best way to be. The beloved director (the singular artist behind such modern classics as Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape of Water) has been threatening to adapt Mary Shelley’s novel for years, but the resulting film is surprisingly fresh. 

It’s also nicely melancholy, and fittingly gruesome—which should be especially pleasing to hear for horror fans. Del Toro structures his take like Shelley’s narrative, introducing us to this fantastical world through the eyes of an arctic explorer before switching to Dr Frankenstein’s (Oscar Isaac) POV and then—lastly and most compellingly—the Creature’s (Jacob Elordi).

Hamnet

Though it’s only played at a number of film festivals and a few select cinemas in the United States so far, Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the biggest tear-jerkers of the decade. The film stars Jessie Buckley (already a hot favourite for the Oscar for Best Actress) and Paul Mescal as Agnes and William Shakespeare, respectively, in a story that follows how the couple attempted to process the death of their son.

Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s bestseller, this is a deeply felt story about trauma. It’s also a film that finds a sense of refuge and calm in images of the natural world—which is to say, if you appreciated Zhao’s work on movies like Nomadland and The Rider, you’ll know exactly the kind of tone to expect here.

Jay Kelly

One of the movies on this list that’s already available to watch at home is Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly—there was a theatrical release, but Netflix has already (kindly enough) put it up for streaming just in time for the holiday season. 

This is a story about an ageing movie-star (George Clooney) looking back over his life and wondering what it was all about—imagine Lost in Translation but set in Italy and mixed with one of Clooney’s Nespresso ads (this is not a dig), and you’ll have some idea of what to expect. Jay Kelly also features Adam Sandler in a rare dramatic role, so if you’re a fan of his work in Uncut Gems or Punch-Drunk Love, this might be up your alley. 

Marty Supreme

And while we’re talking Uncut Gems, fans of that incredible nail-biter should put director Josh Safdie’s new film, Marty Supreme, at the top of their to-watch list—if it’s not there already. This is the movie that’s currently catching the internet’s attention with an orange-tinted marketing campaign that’s so far featured an unhinged Zoom meeting, a massive blimp above L.A. and a much sought-after zip-up jacket.

By the sounds of things, the movie (in which Timothée Chalamet plays the real-life professional ping pong champ Marty Reisman) has plenty of substance to go with all that style—another sports flick to add to the Safdie canon, albeit one that sounds more on the level of Uncut Gems than The Smashing Machine.

One Battle After Another

At the time of writing, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another looks like the movie to beat this awards season. This will be music to the ears of the director’s legions of fans, not least for the fact that the man behind Magnolia, Boogie Nights, and There Will Be Blood (to name just three) has never won a single Oscar.

If he does it for this film, however, it will be nothing if not fitting: One Battle After Another, a whirlwind story about a washed-up revolutionary trying to find his kidnapped daughter, looked like an instant classic from the moment it was released and is currently topping best-of lists across the board. As they say, he’s due one.

Sinners

As we near the halfway point of December, with news of Netflix’s potential acquisition of Warner Bros. still fresh in the memory, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners might just have been the most uplifting cinema story of the year—certainly for anyone who values the theatrical experience. This is a movie by a young director who cut his teeth in the IP system (making Creed and Black Panther) before unleashing something big and new and deeply personal.

What made Sinners such a success is that he mixed his own rich and textured ideas (about the importance of music to displaced and diaspora communities) with a tried and trusted genre—aka the vampire movie. Sinners, for lack of a better word, is awesome, and if you’re a fan of films like Near Dark and From Dusk Till Dawn, I can’t recommend it highly enough. 

Train Dreams

Another movie on this list that’s already available to watch on Netflix is Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams, a film the streaming giant picked up way back at Sundance that has become a word-of-mouth hit among critics and audiences this year. Set in America’s Pacific Northwest, this is a tender, heartbreaking story about grief told from the eyes of a logger and railroad worker around the turn of the 20th century.

It’s a poetic and remarkably cinematic film that fans of Chloe Zhao and Terrence Malick (think Days of Heaven, The Tree of Life), in particular, will adore. 

Wicked: For Good

Seeing Wicked: For Good on this list did make me wonder about when the voting took place. John M. Chu’s film, a direct follow-up to last year’s musical smash, certainly has its fans, but the critical reception has been middling, and the producers will now be on high alert about its awards chances after seeing the film fail to secure a nomination for Best Picture at the Golden Globes.

Whatever the case, it’s already banked a lot of money, and if you liked the first one, you won’t need reminding to watch this one—just be warned, it’s the darker of the two.