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40 years after its debut, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi still remains a divisive film among Star Wars fans. Is it a grand conclusion to one of the most influential movie trilogies in history? Or does it lack the dramatic weight of its predecessors, particularly Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back? Where most of the division lies is in the film's third act, which features three levels of action. Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) leads the Rebel Alliance's starships in a battle against the second Death Star. On Endor, Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), and their various allies work to disable the shields surrounding the planet-killer. And aboard the Death Star II, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) battles his father Darth Vader, as well as the corruptive influence of Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers from Season 4 Episode 1 of Succession.In the past, most Succession fans likely would have thought of Logan Roy (Brian Cox) as one of the last people on earth we’d expect to request a roast of themselves. Consequently, in the first Episode of Season 4, ‘The Munsters,’ when Logan asked those around him for exactly that, it was easy to wonder what exactly has happened to the Logan Roy viewers have come to know. Going into season 4, we knew that we'd see the Roy siblings working together against their father, but most of us didn't imagine that Logan would take this as a defeat. Yet, this episode showed a version of Logan that is beginning to crack under the pressure of having his children out of his life. There were plenty of moments that illustrated this, but one scene, in particular, was vital in showing

When you think about some of the bigger, more commercially successful films made by the legendary directing brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, known as the Coen Brothers, titles like Fargo, No Country for Old Men, Raising Arizona, and The Big Lebowski generally pop to mind. Before they made a name for themselves with a spate of remarkably memorable movies, they were still experimenting with the surreal and quirky nature of their characters and storylines. Barton Fink is one of the filmmaker duo's lesser-known films just seven years into their careers that began with their feature debut Blood Simple. It was made in 1991 and the lead role was written with John Turturro in mind to play the titular character.

Jack Nicholson has had one of the more varied careers in Hollywood. He has appeared in smaller, intense independent dramas, broad comedies, Oscar-bait films, surreal experimental movies, and several well-moneyed Hollywood blockbusters. Indeed, Nicholson was involved in one of the more notable blockbusters of all time, Tim Burton's 1989 film "Batman," where he played the Joker. Famously, Nicholson managed to negotiate a cut of the film's merchandising profits into his salary, making him a very, very rich man.

Nicholson has a talent for playing intense types of characters. He can be friendly or threatening, but he is an expert in taking up a room. In a way, his performance in Alexander Payne's 2002 dramedy "About Schmidt" might be his best, as it's the one notable time he's played a deliberately dull, buttoned-down character.

Given Nicholson's stature as a celebrity, one might think the actor had free reign to select whatever projects he wanted.

Esteemed actor Melanie Lynskey is known for her long-running role as Rose in the hit sitcom Two and a Half Men, and will also be recognized for her recent role as the chillingly cutthroat Kathleen on The Last Of Us. Many audiences enjoyed her portrayal as the softly spoken and quirky Rose, whose storyline saw her character alternate between being Charlie Harper's (Charlie Sheen) stalker and his love interest during the series. However, what many may not know, is how ugly her departure from the Chuck Lorre creation was. Sadly for the actor, it was anything but a clean exit. According to an interview with Vulture, Lynskey did not have the smooth departure she would have hoped for, just adding to her many reasons for wanting desperately to leave the show.

The sexless, violence-free world of the 1993 Sylvester Stallone-starring science fiction movie "Demolition Man" is a pretty fascinating satire of our own corporate dystopia. Cities have become mega-cities and the corporations that survived the Franchise Wars rule all, which means that all restaurants are now owned by one franchise: Taco Bell. Some people might be thrilled to discover that all dining establishments are now Taco Bells, while others get heartburn just thinking about it -- but what about the film's writer, Daniel Waters? Waters had the not-enviable task of picking up a script penned by Robert Reneau and Peter M. Lenkov and turning it into something palatable for 1990s audiences. And while it turns out the whole Taco Bell thing wasn't his idea, he absolutely loved it.

In a 2020 interview with Vulture, Waters was asked about his feelings regarding Taco Bell being the only restaurant left in the world, and

Bringing famous authors of yore such as Shakespeare and Austen, the books high schoolers had to read in English class, to the modern era has come in waves of massive success. It arguably originated with West Side Story's adolescent focus in the 1960s, then exploded in the 1990s with some of the most beloved teen movies of all time. Now, this doesn't always work, of course. For every 10 Things I Hate About You, which fixed the glaring flaws in the bard's original story, there's a Cruel Intentions, whose high school setting misses the mark on what made the novel so great. Clueless is one of the best and most quotable films of the 1990s, Persuasion, the semi-modern adaptation you forgot about, was one of the biggest disappointments of 2022.

Disney is everywhere — so much so that even saying that seems redundant. The company has had a meteoric rise in recent years, with 9 of the 10 highest-grossing films of all time directly tied to their company (Jurassic World being the only exception). Unlike many other classic film houses that have produced box office-topping blockbusters, however, Disney is far more obsessed with image. Disney is family-friendly, Disney is clean, Disney is old, jolly “Uncle Walt” and a permanently smiling Mickey Mouse. This image is omnipresent whenever the company creates a documentary, from Walt Disney’s The Magical World of Disney to modern Disney Plus shows like The Imagineering Story. However, there’s a new generation of documentaries coming out, ones that aren’t afraid to shine a light on Disney’s dirty laundry and many mistakes. These documentaries aren’t found in movie theaters, nor on any streaming service on the market — instead they’re on YouTube,

When Japanese manga-ka Hajime Isayama first wrote and illustrated "Attack on Titan" for serialized monthly publication in Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine, he had no idea that it would go on to become an international mega-hit. Basing the manga storyline on a one-shot prototype he had written when he was 19, Isayama spent years fleshing out the dangerous, combat-prone world of "Attack on Titan," where massive, man-eating beasts named Titans terrorize and devour humans. Isayama took inspiration for these giant humanoid antagonists from various sources — some aspects were a natural evolution of his pre-school sketches, while others were inspired by contemporary serialized manga, including Tsutomu Nihei's "Knights of Sidonia." However, in a 2014 interview with culture magazine Brutus, Isayama clarified that his Titans were based on Mma-themed magazines, along with several real-life WWE and UFC fighters, and mixed-martial artists.

As Isayama's Titans stand out due to their massive, rugged appearance and enhanced physicality,

Riz Ahmed has been in the industry for almost two decades and has since amassed a pretty impressive filmography — some of which even earned him huge nominations and recognition. But besides doing films and shows, Ahmed is also on the music side of things, specifically as a rapper. His music is more grounded in political hip-hop. Many might know him as being a part of Swet Shop Boys, a hip-hop group formed back in 2014. On the other hand, he may be more known to some as an actor — he is even a part of the MCU as Carlton Drake aka Riot in Venom. But besides this role, no one might have noticed Ahmed in another MCU project, a rather recent one at that which is Ms. Marvel.

It's no secret that the writers of "Breaking Bad" preferred going without a strict plan. Much like antihero protagonist Walter White (Bryan Cranston) often found himself "MacGyver-ing" his way out of sticky situations, the show's writers needed to be flexible. Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), the show's heart and soul, had been planned to die at the end of the first season. Mike (Jonathan Banks) the fixer was the result of a last-minute casting fix. And just about every deviation the show made from its original plan made it richer, more unpredictable, more exciting.

For showrunner Vince Gilligan, a lot of that flexibility came down to having a great writing staff. As he told the Av Club after the show's third season, "I've got a lot of really smart people in the room with me and I'm very lucky for that." If a plotline needed to be changed, they could do

The first season of AMC's "Interview With the Vampire" was a delicious high point of last year's oversaturated TV landscape, and the show is already set for a second season, but the news has now broken that it will be continuing on without one of its stars. Bailey Bass, the rising star who put a sensational spin on the character of teen vampire Claudia in the show's first batch of episodes, is stepping away from the role, per Variety. When the show returns, actor Delainey Hayles will take over the part of the eager and impetuous adoptee of turn-of-the-century undead lovers Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Lestat (Sam Reid).

In a statement shared to her Instagram, Bass thanked the cast, crew, and fans for supporting her during her time in the "dream role." The actor didn't single out one specific reason for her departure, but said she would be unable

The Star Wars saga has spanned decades, giving us a feast of memorable characters, iconic vehicles, and plenty of stand up and cheer moments. But it would be hard to argue against the fact that among all of these, the lightsaber is the most universally beloved totem of the franchise. What kid, or adult for that matter, doesn't immediately make the sound of a light blade when holding a wrapping paper roll, broom, fallen branch, you name it. It's in the public DNA at this point. Blue, green, and red-colored blades are the most common and recognizable, but as introduced in the prequel trilogy, there is another — purple.

Emma Stone was blunt. “Are you okay, man?” she asked Ari Aster after a surprise screening of his latest film, “Beau Is Afraid” at Brooklyn’s Alamo Drafthouse on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Audiences around the country may be asking variations of the same question after they emerge from the occasionally creepy, often hilarious and deeply weird horror-comedy. It’s a movie about a neurotic man (Joaquin Phoenix) with serious mommy issues, who must endure a phantasmagoric odyssey as he labors to get home following a family tragedy. Over the course of his journey he will be kidnapped by a suburban couple (Nathan Lane and Amy Ryan), stalked by a hulking vet with Ptsd, menaced by a paint-drinking teenage girl and embraced by an experimental theater troupe. There’s also an animated sequence, as well as a recurring gag involving Phoenix’s distended testicles, plus a sex scene with Parker Posey

Amazon's "Reacher" series proved a bigger hit than even the streamer was expecting, breaking Prime video records and topping the Nielson streaming chart for the week of its release. After two movies based on Lee Child's novels had proven successful enough but failed to wow fans of the books, Alan Ritchson's Jack Reacher proved to be a much more book-accurate representation of the former military policeman.

Amazon quickly greenlit "Reacher" season 2, which should debut fairly soon considering filming wrapped back in February. But when the series does return, we can expect things to be a whole lot different. Showrunner Nick Santora has spoken about his intention to keep the series as close to Child's original novels as possible, and if the first season is anything to go by, that's a winning formula. But it also means the show will be much more of an anthology series than anything else.

Game of Thrones reigned for nearly a decade as one of the most popular shows of all time. Its elaborate cast of characters and intertwining storylines made for thrilling viewing each week. With amazing source material, a strong fan base, and limitless resources, expectations were high for how the showrunners would choose to end the series after the show got ahead of the novels. Sadly, without a predetermined plot, the series quickly went south as it barreled toward its end. The finale left most fans devastated as they watched their beloved characters have their eight-season arcs abandoned, invalidated, and ignored as the series rushed to an unearned ending. For nearly four years, the controversy has continued around the events of the finale, with fans not afraid to share their harsh opinions on the fate of their favorite characters, but what do the actors think of how it all went down?

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4You may not have realized it from the poster alone, but John Wick: Chapter 4 arguably has just as many references to mythology as Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Wonder Woman, and 300, the likes of which peak in both subtlety and significance during the instantly iconic staircase sequence preceding the film's climax. While not directly based on any existing Greek myths, as in the case of the aforementioned superheroes (Gerard Butler’s Leonidas included), the John Wick franchise itself has been an act of mythmaking from the very beginning. With a relatively modest opening installment that just kept growing and growing with every new cinematic chapter, director Chad Stahelski brilliantly utilized the Hollywood myths of the action film genre. John Wick pulls from Keanu Reeves’ iconicity and his own involvement with The Matrix to sell the character of this retired,

Gene Siskel was one of the most popular film critics and is universally remembered for his movie review television shows with fellow film critic, Roger Ebert. In 1969, Siskel started writing for The Chicago Tribune and shortly after, started reviewing movies. He and Ebert officially partnered in 1975 and the two were noted for their clever wit, heated discussions and their notorious 'thumbs up, thumbs down' rating system.

After finally introducing audiences to Janine's much-discussed (and maligned) sister this season, "Abbott Elementary" is set to add another famous guest star to the Teagues family: acclaimed and Oscar-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson is set to appear as Janine's mother, Vanetta, in the penultimate episode of season 2.

Variety reports from PaleyFest LA that Henson, the talented star of Fox's "Empire" who has also wowed audiences with turns in movies like "Hustle & Flow" and "Hidden Figures," will play Janine's mother in the April 12, 2023 episode of the hit ABC comedy series. The character has been alluded to often in "Abbott Elementary," and from the sound of things, her relationship with Janine and her sister Ayesha ("The Bear" star Ayo Edebiri) is complicated. In the recent episode "Teacher Appreciation," Janine and Ayesha finally addressed some long-brewing family issues, including the fact that Janine felt Ayesha left the family when their mother needed them both,

While most will immediately recognize her from her time on Saturday Night Live, Molly Shannon has a career that spans genres. Though her presence on film often guarantees a laugh, Shannon’s performance in dramas like Wild Nights With Emily and Other People, showcases another facet of her talents, one she flexes in writer/director Zach Braff’s A Good Person. Shannon plays Diane, the mother of Florence Pugh’s Allison, who’s attempting to overcome an opioid addiction. Though she does provide a light in the film’s darkness, Shannon’s character is struggling with her own addictive battles, and in an interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, she shares her interpretation of the script and the journey it takes.