Movies

Today’s word is HABIBI! Ramy Youssef, Elmo, and everyone at Sesame Street are wishing you a happy Arab American Heritage Month!

As a reviewer, I was really struck by the cast in House of the Dragon. They’ve assembled a fantastic group of both established stars and fresh faces, and honestly, everyone delivers. It’s a dark and brutal story, so you expect serious performances, but the truly great actors go beyond just being grim – they find layers and nuance in their characters that make them truly compelling. It’s a strong ensemble, and they really carry the weight of this tragic family saga.

He’s built a successful career directing truly frightening movies, including his own version of Dracula. And based on the new trailer, his latest project looks fantastic. In fact, he’s told Bloody Disgusting it might be the scariest movie he’s ever made.

As a huge fan of Stephen King, I’ve always been excited about the possibility of seeing The Talisman and Black House adapted for the screen. King really knows dark fantasy – The Dark Tower is legendary, and Fairy Tale is already heading to A24 as a series. For a while, it looked like the Duffer brothers, who brought so much fantasy to life in Stranger Things, were going to tackle The Talisman duology. But apparently, the sheer scale of the story, the budget it would require, and the challenges of bringing it to life visually proved too much. They ultimately decided to work on The Boroughs instead, which I totally understand – some projects are just massive undertakings!

Initially, Star Trek: Discovery was intended to be a series of unrelated stories. However, after the show’s original creator, Bryan Fuller, left the project, it was reimagined as a prequel taking place in the 23rd century. Fitting Discovery into the timeline just ten years before Star Trek: The Original Series proved difficult, as did other choices, such as drastically changing the look of the Klingons and introducing futuristic technology like the USS Discovery’s spore drive that felt out of place.

Shyamalan’s 2008 film, The Happening, is a sci-fi horror movie starring Mark Wahlberg as a teacher trying to survive a deadly airborne virus with his wife. While widely considered one of the most criticized blockbusters of the 21st century, it’s surprisingly close to being another brilliant film from this often-overlooked director.

Marvel Studios hasn’t yet featured Gwen Stacy in its Spider-Man stories, meaning Tom Holland’s Peter Parker hasn’t met her. But according to Jeff Trammell, the showrunner for the Disney+ series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Gwen Stacy will appear in the show’s second season.

Being a great band frontman isn’t just about singing well. While a strong voice is crucial, it’s not the only thing that matters. There are many singers with technically better voices than Mick Jagger, but few could command a stage and energize a crowd quite like him.

Krysten Ritter will return as Jessica Jones in the later episodes of Daredevil: Born Again. This marks her first appearance in a Marvel Cinematic Universe project since her Netflix series, Jessica Jones, concluded in 2019 – almost seven years ago.

During his time as Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tom Holland’s character has faced a series of increasingly challenging villains. These include Vulture (Michael Keaton) in Homecoming, the trickster Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) in Far From Home, and ultimately a battle against multiple universes in No Way Home. That final fight brought back classic Spidey foes like Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Electro (Jamie Foxx), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), and Lizard (Rhys Ifans).