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Fox’s upcoming drama series “Memory of a Killer” has added two new series regulars to its cast.

Variety has learned that Daniel David Stewart and Peter Gadiot have joined the series, which is inspired by the Belgian film “De Zaak Alzheimer,” aka “La Memoire Du Tueur.” Stewart and Gadiot will appear alongside previously announced lead Patrick Dempsey and fellow series regulars Michael Imperioli, Richard Harmon, and Odeya Rush.

Per the official logline, the show is about “a hitman, Angelo Ledda (Dempsey), leading a dangerous double life while hiding an even deadlier personal secret — he has developed early onset Alzheimer’s.”

Stewart will play Jeff, Angelo’s son-in-law who is married to Angelo’s daughter, Maria (Rush). The character is described as “an inventor with self-confidence but no investors, he’s in no rush to get a regular job or treat his father-in-law with respect. With Maria pregnant and a growing family to support,...

Having only directed 9 movies so far, Tarantino plans to retire after his 10th and final movie in Hollywood (which is a sad affair). The director even scrapped the script for The Movie Critic because he wanted to go out with a bang.

From complex dialogues that mean nothing to over-the-top violence at the end of a film, Quentin Tarantino is a genius when it comes to making iconic movies where the storyline is told through the characters rather than the characters following a storyline.

With Tarantino sticking by his 10-movie rule, there are a ton of movies that I wish Tarantino had directed over the years. From violent flicks to slow burners, here are 10 movies that would have been guns-blazing perfect for Qt.

10. Quentin Tarantino Meets James Bond in Casino Royale Daniel Craig as Bond in a still from Casino Royale | Credit: Sony Pictures Releasing.

Casino Royale, released in 2006, was...

What are the greatest action movies of all time? It’s a controversial question, isn’t it? Any time any publication or site puts out a new list of what they consider the best action movies of all time, it can’t help but generate a ton of controversy. Nevertheless, we here at JoBlo have decided to throw our hats into the ring with a list we really hope generates some nostalgia among our viewers but also encourages them to seek out the movies on this list that they may not have seen. But first, some may wonder where superhero movies are on this list. Given how broad that genre is, we decided to stick to old-school action, so we have left them off the list, as they deserve their own ranking. There are also a few absences from the list, notably some Jackie Chan Hong Kong films (like Police Story...

Framed presents a great way to exercise your thinking muscles, along with your pattern recognition skills, in a series of different puzzles. Like other daily challenges, Framed’s puzzles refresh each day – and you can expect a fresh new challenge for the day.

Given the niche nature of some films, these may be very difficult to identify. Fret not, for I will be listing all known solutions for today’s 4 puzzles below – along with a general breakdown of the problem-solving process. Let’s get started.

Framed Classic Solution for Today Image Credits: Framed/FandomWire

The Classic Framed puzzle has you correctly identify the name of the movie from a series of 6 frames. Each progressive frame makes the movie easier to identify, and you will have a total of 6 attempts here.

Today’s solution is ‘Mirror Mirror,’ and here’s all you need to know about the basics of this movie:

Genre: Comedy,...

Dirty Angels, the 2024 action film starring Eva Green(Dark Shadows),has emerged as a global hit on Amazon Prime months after its December 13 release. The Martin Campbell-directed film is trending in the Top 10 across multiple countries on the platform. Dirty Angels tells the story of a group of female soldiers posing as medical relief during the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. In addition to Green, the cast features an ensemble including Jojo T. Gibbs, Ruby Rose, Christopher Backus, and more.

Based on FlixPatrol’s numbers, Dirty Angels is ranked #1 in Argentina, Chile, and Colombia as of July 25, 2025. The filmalso holds strong positions in other countries such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Mexico, where it rests at #2. Despite an underwhelming 29% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, the action thriller has accumulated 166 points on FlixPatrol’s Amazon Prime global ranking chart this week. That places it at #4 globally on Prime for July.

Exclusive: Odeya Rush has been cast as a series regular opposite Patrick Dempsey, Michael Imperioli and Richard Harmon in the new Fox drama series Memory of a Killer, from Warner Bros Television and Fox Entertainment, which is slated to premiere in midseason.

From writers Ed Whitmore and Tracey Malone, Memory of a Killer is inspired by the award-winning 2003 Belgian thriller De Zaak Alzheimer (La Memoire Du Tueur) and follows Angelo Ledda (Dempsey), a hitman who is leading a dangerous double life while hiding an even deadlier personal secret: He has developed early-onset Alzheimer’s.

Rush will play Maria, Angelo‘s daughter. Married young and pregnant, it seems she’s chosen a quiet life. But something stirs in her – a yearning for adventure. Might she be a chip off the old hitman block? Angelo is Maria’s everything, so when his mind begins to falter, she’s right there by his side to care for him.

Two big box office releases just dropped, plus a few hidden gems you might’ve missed.

I’ll admit it — HBO Max has been crushing it lately when it comes to movies. Two massive theatrical releases just dropped on the platform (you’ll find them at the very top of this list), and there’s an even bigger one on the horizon: “Superman” will eventually land here too, though we’re still waiting on a date. Things are definitely looking up for HBO Max subscribers, and if you’ve been wanting a reason to dive back into its movie library, now’s the time. It all starts with these seven picks worth streaming right now.

Top 7 movies streaming on HBO Max right now:

No. 7: ‘Opus’

No. 6: ‘Cleaner’

No. 5: ‘Get Out’

No. 4: ‘Mickey 17’

No. 3: ‘Companion’

No. 2: ‘Sinners’

No. 1: ‘A Minecraft Movie’

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David Corenswet, now famous as the new Superman, recently shared a personal favorite when it comes to movies. In a chat with Brittany Broski during her Royal Court series, Corenswet opened up about his hobbies, revealing that he’s a huge fan of both Star Wars and James Bond.

During their talk, Broski asked him about his “hot takes,” and Corenswet didn’t hold back. One of his strongest opinions involved the James Bond franchise. He quickly named Casino Royale as not only the best Bond film ever but also one of the best movies in general, in his view.

He went on to explain why he thinks that. Talking about the movie’s opening scene, he said, “And my other hot take is, have you seen Casino Royale? Do you remember the opening in black and white? There’s an MI6 guy who’s been stealing secrets and selling...

Richard Harmon of “Final Destination: Bloodlines” has joined the upcoming Fox drama series “Memory of a Killer” as Patrick Dempsey’s hitman confidant.

The actor will star opposite Dempsey and Michael Imperioli as a series regular in the series based on the 2003 award-winning Belgian film “De Zaak Alzheimer.”

“Memory of a Killer” follows Angelo Ledda (Dempsey)’s dangerous double life as a hitman with a secret. He has developed early onset Alzheimer’s but has kept it from those closest to him. Harmon plays Joe, a hitman on the rise working for Angelo and Dutch (Michael Imperioli). Joe does the even dirtier work for the partners in crime and has a front row seat to Angelo’s cognitive decline.

Harmon has most recently appeared in “Final Destination: Bloodlines.” He is also known for his roles in the post-apocalyptic drama “The 100,” which ran for seven seasons, Netflix’s “The Flash...

Richard Harmon has been cast as a series regular in “Memory of a Killer,” an upcoming Fox drama set for a midseason premiere during the 2025-2026 television season.

“Memory of a Killer” follows Angelo Ledda (Patrick Dempsey), a hit man who has developed early onset Alzheimer’s. Harmon will play Joe, a hit man who works for Angelo and Dutch (Michael Imperioli). Per his official character description, Joe “gets stuck with the grunt work – gathering recon and sorting getaway plans – but that puts him in prime position to witness Angelo’s Alzheimer’s decline. Joe knows he could make or break Angelo, but he also knows that choice could cost him everything.”

Harmon recently starred as Erik Campbell in “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” which debuted in theaters in May, and is best known for playing John Murphy in “The 100,” which ran on the CW for seven seasons from 2014 to 2020. His...

Richard Harmon (Final Destination: Bloodlines) is set as a series regular alongside Patrick Dempsey and Michael Imperioli in Fox’s Memory of a Killer, the new straight-to-series thriller drama from Warner Bros Television and Fox Entertainment.

Memory of a Killer, from writers Ed Whitmore and Tracey Malone, is inspired by the award-winning 2003 Belgian thriller De Zaak Alzheimer (La Memoire Du Tueur), and follows Angelo Ledda (Dempsey), a hitman who is leading a dangerous double life while hiding an even deadlier personal secret: He has developed early-onset Alzheimer’s.

Harmon will play Joe, a hitman on the rise working for Angelo (Dempsey) and Dutch (Imperioli) in their clandestine crime business. Joe gets stuck with the grunt work – gathering recon and sorting getaway plans – but that puts him in prime position to witness Angelo’s Alzheimer’s decline. Joe knows he could make or break Angelo, but he also knows that choice could cost him everything.

Whenever casting news drops about superhero movies, the internet regresses to the toddler temper tantrum -- sorry, "passionate" -- phase, especially if it involves beloved superheroes like Spider-Man, Superman, and Batman. Who can ever forget the Batman controversy that had Tim Burton fighting for Michael Keaton, only for the public to do a massive U-turn when they figured out that Keaton is a multifaceted actor? Shocker. Yet, a similar cycle repeats itself and plays out online every few years for all our amusement.

Generally speaking, most comic book movies choose the correct actors for the roles. There have been times when the casting just didn't work out, though. It could be a case of the film being a hot mess, the actor not being the right fit for the part, or a combination of both to create the perfect storm. Whichever way, it's unlikely that there are too many people...

Exclusive: New Amsterdam creator David Schulner is returning to broadcast television, joining the creative team of the new Fox thriller drama Memory of a Killer. He will serve as an executive producer on the project, which has a straight-to-series order, alongside Ed Whitmore and Tracey Malone, who wrote the script inspired by the 2003 Belgian film De Zaak Alzheimer, and Cathy Schulman.

Schulner will serve as co-showrunner alongside British writers Whitmore and Malone who have worked primarily in UK television.

Memory of a Killer, which is eyed for a midseason launch, stars Patrick Dempsey as Angelo Ledda, a hitman leading a dangerous double life while hiding an even deadlier personal secret — he has developed early onset Alzheimer’s. Michael Imperioli plays Dutch, Angelo’s oldest friend and an accomplished chef whose restaurant is a front for a criminal enterprise.

Arthur Sarkissian and Martin Campbell also executive produce the series, along with Peter Bouckaert of Eyeworks.

Michael Imperioli joins ‘Memory of a Killer’ (Photo Cr: Philip Friedman / Fox)

The Sopranos‘ Michael Imperioli has signed on to Fox’s Memory of a Killer, a new drama expected to debut in 2026. Imperioli joins Patrick Dempsey in the upcoming series, inspired by the 2003 Belgian film De zaak Alzheimer (La Memoire Du Tueur).

Fox offered this description of the series and of Michael Imperioli’s character: “Memory of a Killer is a dramatic thriller about a hitman, Angelo Ledda (Dempsey), leading a dangerous double life while hiding an even deadlier personal secret — he has developed early onset Alzheimer’s.

Imperioli will star as Dutch, an accomplished Italian chef who owns a restaurant in the Bronx, a stalwart establishment that is also a front for Dutch’s less sociable activities — such as running a criminal enterprise. As ruthless and mercurial as he is affable, Dutch is Angelo’s oldest friend, as...

Michael Imperioli is the latest addition to the cast of the upcoming Fox series “Memory of a Killer.”

Imperioli will star in the series alongside previously announced lead Patrick Dempsey. The new series is said to be inspired by the Belgian film “De Zaak Alzheimer,” aka “La Memoire Du Tueur.” Per the official logline, the show is about “hitman Angelo Ledda (Dempsey) leading a dangerous double life while hiding an even deadlier personal secret — he has developed early onset Alzheimer’s.”

Imperioli will star as Dutch, described as “an accomplished Italian chef who owns a restaurant in the Bronx, a stalwart establishment that is also a front for Dutch’s less sociable activities — such as running a criminal enterprise. As ruthless and mercurial as he is affable, Dutch is Angelo’s oldest friend, as well as his employer — he gives Angelo the targets for his hits. In a business as dangerous as theirs,...

Exclusive: Emmy winner Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos, The White Lotus) is set to star opposite Patrick Dempsey in the new Fox straight-to-series thriller drama, Memory of a Killer, from Warner Bros. Television.

It’s Imperioli’s first series regular role since the second season of HBO’s The White Lotus, on which he played Dominic Di Grasso, earning a Supporting Actor Emmy nomination.

Memory of a Killer, from writers Ed Whitmore and Tracey Malone, is inspired by the 2003 award-winning Belgian thriller De Zaak Alzheimer (La Memoire Du Tueur), and follows a hitman, Angelo Ledda (Dempsey), who is leading a dangerous double life while hiding an even deadlier personal secret — he has developed early onset Alzheimer’s.

Imperioli will star as Dutch, an accomplished Italian chef who owns a restaurant in the Bronx, a stalwart establishment that is also a front for Dutch’s less sociable activities — such as running a criminal enterprise.

While Cleaner, starring Daisy Ridley, Clive Owen, and Taz Skylar, didn’t fare well at the box office during its limited theatrical window, since heading to streaming, the action feature has found new legs. Directed by Martin Campbell, the man responsible for GoldenEye and Casino Royale, the movie premiered on Max to impressive numbers.

Although the movie opened to underwhelming critical reception for its uninspired narrative, interestingly, on Max, the action thriller is just tracking behind one of the biggest commercial hits of the year.

Taz Skylar’s ‘Cleaner’ continues to excel on Max

Since heading to Max, Cleaner, which surged to the top 1 spot shortly after its premiere on June 13, has continued to breach the top 10 spot. As of now (Per Flixpatrol), the movie is currently trailing behind WB’s A Minecraft Story, driving past the likes of Hunger Games and the Brad Pitt-led Bullet Train.

Daisy Ridley...

Steven Spielberg once applied for the job — and didn’t get it. Same with Christopher Nolan. And Quentin Tarantino. And Peter Jackson.

Over the decades, James Bond has left behind a smoldering trail of blown-up villain lairs and wrecked Aston Martins — but also a hefty pile of heartbroken A-list directors. Ever since Terence Young shot the first 007 feature, 1962’s Dr. No, the franchise has been one of cinema’s most coveted behind-the-camera gigs. Alfonso Cuarón, Joe Wright, Matthew Vaughn, Guy Ritchie — at one time or another, they all dreamed of directing a Bond movie. And they all, for one reason or another, never got the chance.

All of which is to say: congratulations, Denis Villeneuve! You’ve just landed the hardest-to-get directing job in Hollywood. The 58-year-old French-Canadian auteur will be helming the 26th Bond film — the first since longtime producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson sold the...

With one noteworthy exception (which didn’t work out too well in my opinion), no movie in the James Bond series has ever been directed by a marquee-name, rock-star filmmaker. And when you think about it, that’s quite a startling statement. Because…why not? Quentin Tarantino? Christopher Nolan? Who on earth would want to see a Bond film directed by one of those losers?

The directors of the Bond films have mostly been veteran craftsmen (like Terence Young or Guy Hamilton), or journeymen (like John Glen), and a few have had a prestige aura (like Michael Apted or Lee Tamahori). But it was only when Sam Mendes was tapped to direct “Skyfall” that one felt the series was suddenly aiming higher than it had been. I was excited to see a filmmaker as gifted as Mendes take the reins, but suffice to say: While much of the world loves “Skyfall,...

A new report for Bond 26 reveals some details about the directing deal, and it may explain why Christopher Nolan wasn't selected. After a four-year-long hiatus since No Time to Die, a new era of the Bond franchise, especially under Amazon, has found its director in Denis Villeneuve.

Before the announcement, many directors were considered favorites, including Nolan. The Oscar-winning director has been a notable choice for a while, although the likelihood seemed thin.

Now, Puck has broken down new details about Villeneuve's contrast, indicating limitations on his involvement with the Bond franchise. The director won't get the final cut and won't be considered a producer for subsequent Bond movies and TV series. He is also only signed on for one movie, but that could change if the installment is successful.

Despite being the first film in what is expected to be a large Bond franchise, Villeneuve's Bond movie...

Just like actors, many directors have come and gone during 007's time on the big screen. When Daniel Craig played James Bond, the likes of Marc Forster, Sam Mendes, and Martin Campbell all lent their directorial talents to the franchise. Danny Boyle is another director who was once attached to helm a James Bond movie. But, unlike the above names, Boyle's idea for a 007 film was ultimately rejected, causing the director to depart the project. With 28 Years Later now in theaters, fans can't help but wonder what Boyle's James Bond movie would have looked like. With Bond set to enter a new era under Amazon, and with a new actor taking on the license to kill, Boyle has revealed his biggest regret about his canceled project.

During an interview with Business Insider to promote 28 Years Later, Danny Boyle opened up about his brief time working on the James Bond franchise,...

Which Superhero Role Did Jared Leto & Justin Timberlake Nearly Land Before Ryan Reynolds?(Photo Credit –Instagram)

In 2011, Warner Bros. bet big on Green Lantern, thinking it’d be the shining spark to launch a DC movie universe. Everyone remembers Ryan Reynolds glowing like a human nightlight in a movie that flamed out on impact, not everyone knows how close the role came to landing in entirely different hands.

Turns out, the shortlist was wild. Before Reynolds sealed the gig, the studio was eyeing names like Jared Leto and Justin Timberlake. The truth came straight from the director’s mouth. Per FandomWire, in a resurfaced 2009 interview with MTV News, Green Lantern director Martin Campbell spilled the tea on what went down during casting.

“Jared Leto was very good. Timberlake was really good,” Campbell said. “They’re all good guys. They’re all very different, and they all came in and did terrific screen tests.

If you asked me to name the 10 most buzzed about screenplays of my lifetime, i.e. scripts that were considered so brilliantly crafted that they seemed like can't-miss blockbusters and/or Oscar contenders, David Self's "Thirteen Days" would be near the top of my list. A suspenseful page-turner about the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, where President John F. Kennedy and his advisers won a nearly apocalyptic game of brinkmanship with the U.S.S.R. over the latter's deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba, it immediately captured the attention of A-list directors and movie stars. Steven Spielberg considered it. So did Lawrence Kasdan.

With Kevin Costner attached to produce and play the lead role of Kenneth O'Donnell (a Special Assistant to JFK), it soon became clear that a director with whom Costner was familiar would likely get the gig. It looked for a while that Phil Alden Robinson, who made...

Movie-goers who went to see 28 Years Later over this past weekend were introduced to an “alpha” infected / zombie character called Samson, who was played by 6-foot-8-inch actor and former Mma fighter Chi Lewis-Parry – and were also treated to the sight of Samson tearing off a human head with the spine still attached. During an interview with Variety, Lewis-Parry revealed that he has a role in the upcoming remake of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie The Running Man, and that one of his career goals is to join another franchise that got started with a Schwarzenegger movie, as he wants to play a Predator.

The Running Man is based on a novel that was written by Stephen King under his Richard Bachman pen name. King’s novel has the following description: It was the ultimate death game in a nightmare future America. The year is 2025 and reality TV has grown to...

Long before the debate raged over which was better between "Friends" and "How I Met Your Mother," another show tried to encroach on the iconic group of twentysomethings, housing two stars who would explode after it was cancelled. Beginning in 1998, "Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place" starred Traylor Howard, Ryan Reynolds, and Richard Ruccolo as the titular trio, with Reynolds unsurprisingly stealing the show as the sarcastic, smart-mouthed member of the group, Michael "Berg" Bergen.

Very much filling the Chandler/Barney gap in the group, Reynolds possessed the biggest presence on the show that after two seasons changed its name to "Two Guys and a Girl" dropping the "Pizza Place" entirely when Berg, along with Pete (Ruccolo) and Sharon (Howard) continued to head off into careers of their respective fields, while still dealing with the standard early adult issues of growing up and finding romance. Unfortunately, after four seasons,...

Cleaner delivers a high-stakes and action-packed finale, where Joey Locke, a former soldier turned window cleaner, must stop a deadly terrorist plot that unravels inside a skyscraper. The movie is directed by Martin Campbell and pits Daisy Ridley’s Joey against her co-worker Noah, played by Taz Skylar.

The 2025 British thriller features a villain who takes hostages, is unafraid of explosions, and a lot more, but how does it all end? Let’s break down its climax, the director’s views on the antagonist, and the fate of its characters who get caught in the crossfire.

Martin Campbell’s Cleaner features a high-stakes hostage crisis Daisy Ridley in Cleaner | Credits: Anton

Daisy Ridley essays the role of Joey Locke, a former Special Reconnaissance Regiment soldier who now works as a window cleaner at London’s One Canada Square.

Joey is traumatized due to her abusive childhood, and her military discharge for assaulting a misogynistic comrade.

Martin Campbell directed the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, which featured Daniel Craig in the lead role as James Bond. Although the director was lauded for his Bond movie, it seems that Martin Campbell couldn’t quite make anything like it again.

Campbell’s another movie, titled Dirty Angles, is slowly climbing the streaming charts in the United States, but we don’t think that the film deserves the recognition. Despite the fame that the movie is receiving now, is Dirty Angels a must-watch or a hard pass?

Casino Royale director reunited with Bond girl Eva Green for ‘Dirty Angels’ that’s climbing charts

Martin Campbell directed the 2006 film Casino Royale, which featured Daniel Craig as the suave 007 agent alongside Eva Green, who portrayed the role of Vesper Lynd (which she didn’t really want to portray). In 2024, the director reunited with Green to create Dirty Angels, which wasn’t his best idea.

Daisy Ridley will always be known for her role as Rey Skywalker in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, but earlier this year, she starred in an action thriller likened to John Wick upon its release, which has been a sensation on streaming. Ridley stars alongside Taz Skylar and Ruth Gemmell in Cleaner, the action vehicle following an ex-soldier-turned-window-cleaner who has to rescue hostages after a gala is hijacked and its attendees fall into major trouble. Cleaner began streaming on Max at the end of last week, and the film wasted no time climbing to the top of streaming charts, sitting at #1 at the time of writing. Cleaner earned a “rotten” 52% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but a slightly kinder 66% on the audience-driven Popcornmeter.

Simon Uttley, Paul Andrew Williams, and Matthew Orton wrote the script for Cleaner, and Martin Campbell directed the film. Orton also worked as a writer on Marvel’s Moon Knight series,...

Passing the coveted $500 million mark at the worldwide box office would be an occasion to celebrate for virtually any movie under the sun, but for Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, this was just the first step of an incredible climb towards the $800 million mark. This is the number it needs to hit in order to break even, because it cost a reported $400 million to produce. This makes The Final Reckoning, which was marketed as the last installment of the long-running action franchise headlined by Tom Cruise, one of the most expensive movies of all time. But it has now surpassed not just the original Mission: Impossible hit from 1996, but also the first James Bond film to be headlined by Daniel Craig, Casino Royale.

Released in 2006, the film earned $167.3 million at the domestic box office. The Final Reckoning's domestic total currently stands at $167.6 million. Globally, the latest Misson: Impossible has grossed $508 million,...

Daisy Ridley's action thriller, which has been compared to Die Hard, has become a streaming hit four months after it made just $1 million at the box office. Ridley rose from relative obscurity to superstardom when she was cast as Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy – headlining The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker – and is set to reprise her role in the upcoming New Jedi Order movie. However, since leaving Star Wars behind, Ridley's career has seen mixed results otherwise.

Following The Rise of Skywalker, her first few projects, the sci-fi film Chaos Walking and psychological thriller The Marsh King's Daughter, were both critical and commercial flops. She rebounded with the Sundance drama Sometimes I Think About Dying, delivering a superbly melancholic performance, and continued to turn in strong showings in Disney's Young Woman and the Sea and the neo-noir thriller Magpie. Now, Daisy...

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Angelina Jolie is one of the most iconic actresses in the film industry, and she has starred in some extremely entertaining films in her three-decade-long career, but she also starred in some duds along the way. After making her screen debut as a child in the 1982 film Lookin’ to Get Out, Jolie has starred in at least 55 films, and some of them are among the most popular, like Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Salt, but there were also some embarrassing films like The Tourist or the Lara Croft sequel. So, we decided to compile a list of her 5 worst films that hold embarrassingly low critic ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.

5. The Tourist (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Columbia Pictures

The Tourist is a romantic thriller film directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Christopher McQuarrie and Julian Fellowes.

Welcome to the Gold Ticket, your VIP guide to the best of pop culture for the weekend ahead, curated by the Gold Derby team of experts. (June 13-June 15)

The main stream

Our top movie pick this week is Apple TV+’s straight-to-streaming thriller Echo Valley, which finds Julianne Moore doing anything for her daughter Sydney Sweeney. Moore plays Kate, a recently widowed woman whose daughter Claire’s (Sweeney) heroin addiction has made her manipulative, unreliable, and prone to getting caught up in bad situations. One day, Claire shows up at Kate’s farm covered in her abusive boyfriend’s blood, and asks for Kate’s help getting rid of his body. It only gets twistier from there.

The film is directed by Michael Pearce, who is working in similar psychological thriller territory as his BAFTA-winning debut, the Jessie Buckley-led Beast. He gives Moore and Sweeney space to go to dark places.

Ryan Reynolds has always been an affable, irreverent, and very funny actor who, for many years, struggled to find the right blockbuster project to propel him to superstardom. In 2004, he played the wisecracking vampire hunter Hannibal King in "Blade: Trinity," but most everyone hated that movie, including star Wesley Snipes. Then, in 2009, he seemed to have found the right part, playing the skilled, super-powered assassin Wade Wilson aka Deadpool in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." And though Reynolds brought his signature sass to the part, the film was roundly rejected by fans and critics alike, citing its immature script and alterations to comic book lore. (Wilson was turned into a mouth-less super-monster with eye lasers.)

Two years later, it seemed like Reynolds had finally found his niche for real by playing Hal Jordan in Martin Campbell's expensive superhero movie "Green Lantern," but that film was also a failure due to, in Campbell's opinion,...

Earlier this year, Star Wars alum Daisy Ridley laced up her boots, loaded her guns and got to work in Martin Campbell’s high-octane flick, Cleaner. Though the movie didn’t sweep up the box office figures it was hoping for, it will have another chance to wipe the slate clean and start over again, as it has set a streaming arrival for Max on Friday, June 13. Though the movie left audiences wanting more, receiving a Rotten Tomatoes critics' approval rating of 51% and a slightly higher audience stamp of 66%, viewers could all agree on one thing — Ridley was born for a life of action. The film gives the actress her own Bruce Willis or Jason Statham-like character, and she steps up to the challenge without hesitation, making the role of the hero look like a piece of cake.

After leaving the military following a squabble with a misogynist co-worker,...

James Bond is as classic a character as can be. Having been around for more than seventy years, the character defines what it means to be timeless and has been reprised in films spanning across decades. Although audiences believe that it is the actors who played Bond over the years who made this possible, one could argue that the directors were just as important.

With the speculation surrounding who will play James Bond in the latest installments after the big shoes that Daniel Craig has left to be filled, past versions seem to have been forgotten over time. There is no denying that Pierce Brosnan’s depiction of Bond was also just as iconic. Furthermore, British director Roger Spottiswoode directed Brosnan’s second Bond movie, Tomorrow Never Dies, but he almost made the Bond film preceding that, which proved to be a smash hit.

Roger Spottiswoode was considered for GoldenEye...

Official Poster Of The Protégé Featuring Maggie Q And Cast (Photo Credit – Prime Video)

The eagerly anticipated John Wick spin-off Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas in the titular role, is slated for a theatrical release on June 6, 2025. Until it arrives, we recommend checking out a lesser-known but similarly themed action thriller that may have flown under your radar. We are talking about a 2021 film called The Protégé, which was directed by Martin Campbell, the filmmaker behind iconic James Bond movies GoldenEye (1995) and Casino Royale (2006). Read on to know about the film’s plot and where you can watch it on Ott.

The Protégé – Plot & Lead Cast

The film follows the story of a highly skilled contract killer, Anna (played by Maggie Q), who was rescued as a child by a legendary assassin, Moody (Samuel L. Jackson). Moody raises Anna as his own daughter and teaches her all the tricks of the trade.

What Is The Connection Between Henry Cavill’s 2024 WWII Film & James Bond? ( Photo Credit – Wikimedia; Instagram )

It’s been over a year since The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare exploded onto screens, and honestly, it still feels like one of Henry Cavill’s most coincidental 007-worthy moments to date. Directed by Guy Ritchie, this 2024 war-action flick wasn’t just another secret mission story. It was practically Bond’s family tree.

Cavill, who has been a fan-favorite contender to play 007 after Daniel Craig, portrayed Gus March-Phillipps, the real-life British special forces legend who didn’t just fight Nazis, he may have helped create James Bond. And no, that’s not just fan theory stuff. Cavill himself pointed out the link.

What Did Henry Cavill Say About The Connection Between The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare & James Bond?

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Cavill said, “Ian Fleming was part of this Special Operations Executive.

The reputation of Martin Campbell's 2011 superhero flick "Green Lantern" precedes it. "Green Lantern" was one of the more high-profile bombs of its decade, making $237 million on a $200 million budget. Although the Hal Jordan/Green Lantern character had been a part of DC Comics since 1959, he was still a tough sell to mainstream audiences, given how strange he was. 

Briefly: the Green Lantern belongs to the Green Lantern Corps, a widespread intergalactic peacekeeping force of aliens that merrily sails around the cosmos righting wrongs. The members of the Corps are "selected" by semi-sentient rings that affix themselves randomly to their fingers and grant them bizarre superpowers. Green Lantern can fly, yes, but also construct physical objects ... out of the color green. Oh yes, and green is the color of willpower, and the other colors of the spectrum also have their own emotional powers behind them. The mythology runs deeper, of course,...

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Max is ready with an entertainment-packed June this year. The upcoming month will see the return of some of HBO’s brilliant period drama series, The Gilded Age, as well as the streaming release of Paolo Sorrentino‘s latest film, Parthenope. Just like every month, HBO Max is ready to overload you with great content. So, we’re here to tell you about the seven new movies and TV shows coming to Max in June 2025.

Parasite (June 1) Credit – Cj Entertainment

Parasite is a South Korean dark comedy thriller film directed by Bong Joon-ho, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Han Jin-won. The 2019 film revolves around the financially struggling Kim family, who see an opportunity to lead a parasitic life when their son gets a job working for a wealthy family. Parasite stars Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-Jeong,...

Nearly three decades ago, Antonio Banderas debuted as the famous masked vigilante Zorro in the 1998 Western film, The Mask of Zorro, and returned in the same capacity in the 2005 sequel, The Legend of Zorro. This follow-up has now landed a new streaming home as reported by Cbr, bringing Banderas’ beloved character to life again. Also starring in the film was Catherine Zeta-Jones reprising her role from The Mask of Zorro as the titular hero’s spouse, Elena, with Rufus Sewellas the villain, Count Armand.

The Legend of Zorro arrives on Netflix on Sunday, June 1, about twenty years after launching in theaters on October 28, 2005. Columbia Pictures released the movie then, and it did averagely well at the box office, earning $142.4 million, nearly twice its budget of $75 million. Unfortunately, it also received poor reviews from critics, with a 27% "Rotten" score on Rotten Tomatoes, while the consensus stated, “Zorro can survive a lot of things,...

If you find yourself among a group of people talking about what the worst superhero movies are, one of the top picks will most likely be Green Lantern from 2011. Starring Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, and directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), the project was a big bet for Warner Bros., having a reported budget of $200,000,000. Yet, as fate would have it, the movie released and... nosedived. Hard.

Green Lantern was a critical dud (Rt Score: 25%) and a financial failure, bringing in only $237,201,172. Thus, a movie that was envisioned as the start of an ambitious new franchise for DC crashed and burned. And boy, did it crash. While upon flopping, most movies vanish into obscurity, Green Lantern only grew in infamy over the years, with audiences, and even its own star, Ryan Reynolds, making fun of it constantly.

The movie has been the butt of the joke in films like Deadpool,...

Morgan Spector, Carrie Coon, and Harry Richardson in ‘The Gilded Age’ season 3 (Photograph by Karolina Wojtasik/HBO Max)

Max’s June 2025 lineup includes the season three premiere of The Gilded Age, the three-part true crime documentary series The Mortician, and the premiere of My Mom Jayne, Mariska Hargitay’s very personal documentary film on her mother, classic movie star Jayne Mansfield. The hot summer month delivers the streaming premieres of A Minecraft Movie (date to be determined) and The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.

Max’s June schedule also includes Parthenope, a romantic drama from writer-director Paolo Sorrentino, and director Martin Campbell’s Cleaner starring Daisy Ridley, Taz Skylar, and Clive Owen.

Max June 2025 Lineup

June 1

A Hologram for the King (2016)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

A Perfect Getaway (2009)

Backtrack (2016)

Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons (2022)

Black Patch (1957)

Blues in the Night (1941)

Casino (1995)

Fight Club...

Ryan Reynolds' long-derided blockbuster, Green Lantern, continues to be one of the most mocked films in the superhero genre, including by Reynolds himself. However, director Martin Campbell believes there's one thing the acclaimed actor could have done to fix the movie and improve its reputation.

Speaking with The Direct, Campbell delved into Green Lantern and Reynolds' many jokes at the film's expense over the years. Campbell believes Green Lantern would have been a better film adaptation of the eponymous comic book hero if Reynolds had penned the script, a sentiment he previously shared. "I wish to God he had written the script, and it would have been great. But he's always taking jabs at it. And fair enough. Though, listen, it was a big success for him because he met Blake Lively," he said.

Though Reynolds has shown no mercy to Green Lantern in various interviews and appearances, Campbell doesn't...

Stars: Jackie Chan, Pierce Brosnan, Rufus Jones, Mark Tandy, Niall McNamee, Charlie Murphy, Orla Brady, Michael McElhatton | Written by David Marconi, Stephen Leather | Directed by Martin Campbell

Going into The Foreigner, I expected a standard action thriller, perhaps a predictable revenge plot padded with familiar tropes and over-the-top set pieces. But what I got was something far more grounded, surprisingly tense, and emotionally resonant. Director Martin Campbell, known for revitalizing James Bond not once but twice, manages to deliver a taut, politically-tinged thriller that’s equal parts espionage drama and personal vendetta, anchored by two compelling performances from Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan.

Jackie Chan, in a stark departure from his typically light-hearted action fare, plays Quan Ngoc Minh, a quiet, almost ghostlike London restaurateur whose teenage daughter is killed in a politically motivated bombing. Chan’s performance is subdued, even haunted. There’s a depth of sorrow in his...

When the news broke that Goldeneye and Casino Royale director Martin Campbell had been hired to helm Green Lantern, it inspired a huge amount of confidence in the DC Comics adaptation. The 2011 movie had a lot going in its favour, but was ultimately a disappointment.

Very little about it worked; the special effects were subpar, the story was all over the place, and most agreed that Ryan Reynolds was miscast as the heroic Hal Jordan (Blake Lively also struggled to impress as Carol Ferris).

Talking to The Direct, Campbell reflected on the experience of shooting Green Lantern and revealed the one thing he believes would have made the movie "great."

"Oh, it's fair enough. You know, look, people didn't like it. It failed, right? I was the director, so, you know, obviously I take the heat for it, which is fine," he said of the response to the movie. "But all I can say is,...

Green Lantern director Martin Campbell reflects on how he thinks the DC movie could have been saved and avoided the results it received in 2011. Prior to the launch of the Dceu movie timeline, Warner Bros. was attempting to bring a franchise to life for one of DC's most iconic Justice League characters through 2011's Green Lantern. However, the Hal Jordan-centric film ended up with negative reviews among critics while also becoming a box office failure.

In a new interview with The Direct, Campbell looked back on Green Lantern and its overall legacy in the superhero genre today. While understanding the criticism against it, Campbell stressed that he still had a great time working on it with Ryan Reynolds, so much so that he wished that the Hollywood star had been the one to write the script, as he shared the following:

Oh, it's fair enough. You know, look, people didn't like it.

June is heating up on Max with a packed lineup of new shows, movies, and live events. From the return of hit series to powerful documentaries and exciting movie premieres, there’s something for everyone this month.

Highlights include the Season 3 debut of the HBO Original series The Gilded Age, two moving HBO documentaries, Enigma and My Mom Jayne, and the gripping docuseries The Mortician. Movie lovers can look forward to the much-anticipated Minecraft Movie, A24’s Parthenope, and The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.

In honor of Pride Month, Max will also spotlight a wide range of Lgbtqia+ stories. Plus, sports fans can catch all the action from Roland-Garros 2025, including the men’s and women’s championships. Let’s take a closer look at what’s new on Max this June.

1. The Gilded Age S3 – June 22

Season 3 of The Gilded Age returns with eight weekly episodes,...

Martin Campbell, who directed 2011's Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds, admitted the movie could have been better if Reynolds had done one specific thing. Despite its massive cast, including Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Tim Robbins, Angela Bassett, and Temuera Morrison, 2011's Green Lantern is considered one of the worst comic book movies ever. It holds an abysmal 25% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with just a 45% audience score, and has become the subject of countless Reynolds jokes.

Looking back at the film over 10 years later, director Martin Campbell has what he believes to be the perfect solution for how it could have been fixed and instead been a great film. Speaking exclusively to The Direct while promoting his recent film Cleaners, Campbell revealed exactly how Ryan Reynolds could have fixed Green Lantern.

Campbell admitted that, despite the film flopping, he and Reynolds had a great time making it. The director even...

Warner Bros. Discovery has announced the movies, TV shows, and live sports that will be available on the Max (soon to be called HBO Max) streaming service in June. The Max June 2025 lineup includes the premieres of The Gilded Age Season 3, documentaries Enigma and My Mom Jayne, and the docuseries The Mortician.

The schedule also includes the streaming debuts of A Minecraft Movie, A24’s Parthenope, and The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. You can also celebrate Pride Month with Lgbtqia+ stories and stream Roland-Garros 2025 (aka the French Open), including men’s and women’s championships.

The Gilded Age Season 3 Featured Programming

Series

The Gilded Age Season 3 (HBO Original Drama Series)

The eight-episode season premieres on June 22 at 9 p.m. Et, and episodes debut weekly.

The American Gilded Age was a period of immense economic and social change, when empires were built, but no victory came without sacrifice.

Based strictly on box office, it would not be accurate to call Antonio Banderas one of the biggest movie stars of the 1990s, but once I laid eyes on the striking Spaniard in Pedro Almódovar's "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" and "Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down," I wanted to him to be in everything. In terms of scintillating, dead sexy screen presence, only Denzel Washington could match him. He became a mainstream American sensation when Madonna failed to seduce him in her "Blonde Ambition" tour documentary "Madonna: Truth or Dare." Banderas was primed for superstardom. And Hollywood promptly fumbled the ball.

Banderas delivered the smoldering goods in Arne Glimcher's lively historical drama "The Mambo Kings," but Warner Bros. had no idea how to sell a movie about Cuban music to American moviegoers, so it stiffed commercially in 1992. Banderas subsequently got lost in the star-studded...