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  • Bad Movies People Love

    Bad Movies People Love

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    Think about your favorite movie. You probably love it for a variety of reasons. Maybe it’s the memorable performances, or the incredible soundtrack, or the joke-a-minute dialogue. Maybe you associate it with a particularly important phase of your life. But when you reflect on why this movie is your favorite movie, you’re not asking yourself if it won any awards. Because, when it comes down to it, a film doesn’t have to be particularly great — or even technically “good” — to be the one you love the most.

    What makes a movie good, objectively speaking? One might attribute a movie’s quality to its tight script or some beautiful cinematography, but it really comes down to a matter of personal taste. No one movie is going to be loved or hated by all, and just because critics pan a particular film doesn’t mean it won’t find a fanbase somewhere. In fact, there are many films that are widely considered — by critics and certain audiences — as bad, but are still incredibly popular. Some have even gained a loyal following in the decades since their release, becoming more of a household name now than ever before. As it turns out, being a bit of a clunker doesn’t spell the end for a movie — it may only be just the beginning.

    READ MORE: The Worst Movies That Grossed $1 Billion at the Box Office

    The following movies are a reminder that a work of art doesn’t have to be a masterpiece to make audiences smile. In fact, these campy cult classics prove that a movie can be so bad, it’s actually good. Here are 10 “bad” movies that people love.

    Bad Movies That People Love

    These “so-bad-they’re-good” films are incredibly popular with audiences.

    The Franchises With the Most Bad Movies

    Usually, when a franchise gets bad, that’s the beginning of the end. But some film series are too successful to ever truly die.

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    Claire Epting

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  • Auf Wiedersehen: The 10 Best Movies About Killing Nazis

    Auf Wiedersehen: The 10 Best Movies About Killing Nazis

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    When it comes to depicting Nazis in movies, are you on Team Mel or Team Woody?

    Mel Brooks, who gave us “Springtime for Hitler,” is a proponent of ridicule: Making fun of Nazis is the best way to “rob Hitler of his posthumous power and myths,” he told Spiegel in 2006. Woody Allen, on the other hand, expressed a different point of view in Manhattan. “A satirical piece in the Times is one thing,” his character says, referencing an upcoming Nazi march, “but bricks and baseball bats really get right to the point…. Physical force is better with Nazis.”

    The Finnish film Sisu, opening April 28, agrees. Throughout its 91-minute run time, a prospector (Jorma Tommila) resourcefully knocks off Nazi after Nazi in the most punishing and spectacular ways, from a knife through the skull to sending one plummeting to his death atop a bomb, like Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove. According to one Nazi, he’s a one-man death squad: “one mean motherfucker that you do not want to mess with.”

    Sisu is a welcome addition to one of our greatest cinematic subgenres: death-to-Nazi movies, films that consign some of history’s most hissable villains to terrifically violent and terrible fates. As Robert Redford says at the end of The Sting, “It’s not enough. But it’s close!” And if you want more after Sisu, there are plenty of gems to choose from—starting with our favorite 10.

    From Universal/Everett Collection

    The Blues Brothers (1980)

    The “Illinois Nazis” in relentless pursuit of Jake and Elwood Blues don’t get a lot of screen time, but it’s just enough for them to receive humiliations galore. In one of the movie’s best set pieces, Dan Aykroyd’s Elwood guns the motor of the Bluesmobile, circumvents a Nazi demonstration traffic jam, and sends the entire Nazi contingent off a bridge, to the cheers of the crowd of protesters. As John Belushi’s Jake succinctly states, “I hate Illinois Nazis.” 

    From Paramount/Everett Collection

    Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

    The Nazis in Steven Spielberg’s classic adventure are movie Nazis from the “Ve haff vays of making you talk” school. From an airplane-propellor decapitation to supernatural face-melting, they meet their makers in crowd-pleasing fashion. But having seen the film several times upon its release in packed theaters, I remember the one bit that never failed to get applause was during the truck chase, when Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones takes the wheel and repeatedly slams a Nazi driver’s head into the dashboard. Simple pleasures are the best.

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    Donald Liebenson

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  • The Biggest Disney Box Office Bombs

    The Biggest Disney Box Office Bombs

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    Disney’s theatrical movies grossed some $4.9 billion in 2022 alone. That sounds like a lot of money, but it’s actually down from the company’s pre-pandemic heights; thanks to hits like Avengers: Endgame and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the company’s films grossed over $11 billion in theaters worldwide in 2019.

    But nobody’s perfect; not even the company that gave us The Little Mermaid, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, The Lion King, and many more. Through the years, Disney has had their fair share of bombs; in fact, despite their sterling reputation as hitmakers today, Disney suffered through long periods after Walt Disney’s death in 1966 when the company’s output was uneven at best. Even as the studio grew into a Hollywood powerhouse, it continued releasing flops — and a few out-and-out disasters.

    READ MORE: The Worst Disney Villains in History

    The list that follows contains 20 such examples. Keep in mind that the details of Hollywood accounting are about as clear as a trip through Space Mountain. Even when data is available about budgets and profits, it’s rarely complete. The budgetary info online rarely includes what Disney (and other studios) spend on marketing, and the price of promoting a movie can often equal or exceed the millions spent on the actual production. As a result, a film might seem to break even in theaters, when it fact it actually cost the studio tens or hundreds of millions of dollars — like, for example, many of the titles below…

    The Biggest Disney Bombs at the Box Office

    Disney is one of the biggest studios in Hollywood history. But even they release a flop every now and then. Here are some of their most notorious bombs — along with a few titles whose failure at the box office might surprise you.

    The Biggest Superhero Movie Bombs at the Box Office

    These superhero movies had none-too-heroic runs in theaters.

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    Matt Singer

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  • Famous TV Shows That Shared Sets With Other Series

    Famous TV Shows That Shared Sets With Other Series

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    Sometimes, in Hollywood, you have to cut corners. Especially when it comes to television. Some of the most popular TV shows were filmed on sets that were recycled for a completely different series — and you probably never even realized it.

    Unlike movies, which often shoot on location anywhere in the world, television shows (and especially sitcoms) predominantly shoot on one fixed set. At least, they did up until around a decade ago. Nowadays, TV series are granted the freedom to be filmed just like movies — and that includes a greater variety of onscreen locales. Even so, a great deal of television shows tend to be shot in or around Los Angeles. And, since ongoing series pretty much have to repeat locations at some point, quite a few places have become famous thanks to the television shows they were featured in.

    READ MORE: These Futuristic Sci-Fi Films Are Now Set in the Past

    But when the same location is featured in two different shows, it can be tricky to put two and two together — especially when the series are notably different from one another. For example, you’re not going to be thinking about a wholesome sitcom like The Andy Griffith Show while watching a sci-fi epic like Star Trek. However, television sets have a surprising way of transforming themselves. In some cases, a show will borrow only a single location from another show, but there are some instances where two shows were practically filmed on the exact same set. Once you find out about these TV show connections, you’ll never be able to watch them the same way again.

    Here are ten series that shared filming locations with other popular TV shows.

    TV Series That Shared Sets With Other Shows

    These famous TV shows shared sets and almost no one noticed.

    10 Popular TV Shows That Were Almost Cancelled Too Soon

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    Claire Epting

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  • The Worst Sequels and Remakes Ever

    The Worst Sequels and Remakes Ever

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    Sequels and remakes have terrible reputations. “They’re all Hollywood makes anymore!” “They’re creatively bankrupt!” “They’re terrible!” You’ve surely heard these and other complaints many times before. They’re almost as old as movies themselves. (By the time movies had sound, they also had remakes and sequels.)

    In fairness, there are many good sequels, and arguably even more great remakes. (The Godfather Part II? The Departed? Dawn of the Dead? A Star Is Born? The Fly? We could go on and on and on.) Make no mistake; Hollywood produces these types of movies because they make money. To blame only producers and financiers for these films is to ignore the third crucial party worthy of blame: Ourselves. If audiences stopped showing up for sequels and remakes and IP extending franchises that continue unto infinity (or Infinity Wars), studios would surely try something else. All of that is to say that the constant complaints about sequels and remakes are somewhat overblown.

    But! Not in every case — and certainly not in the case of the sequels and remakes listed below. They are quite bad. In fact, they are the reason that sequels and remakes have such a bad reputation in the first place. If these are the sequels and remakes you watch, it’s hard to blame you for thinking they all stink. So think of this as the opposite of a to-do list; stay away from every thing you read about below, and you’ll find your opinions of sequels and remakes (and of cinema in general) will improve significantly.

    The Worst Sequels Ever

    These sequels ruined the reputations of some great movies.

    READ MORE: The Worst Movies Of the Century So Far

    The Worst Remakes Ever

    Remakes get a bad rap — and these terrible examples are the reason why.

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    Matt Singer

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  • Every Star Wars Movie Ranked, From Worst to First

    Every Star Wars Movie Ranked, From Worst to First

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    When I was a kid there were three Star Wars movies. When I was a teenager, there were six. Now there are 12, plus a slew of Disney+ TV shows like The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Under Disney’s ownership, Star Wars has expanded from a galasy into an entire multimedia universe. So why not rank it?

    The only rule for inclusion on this list was theatrical films only. It didn’t seem fair to compare Rogue One to Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure or Ewoks: The Battle For Endor. Maybe we should have (Caravan did play in theaters in Europe, after all) but we didn’t. (Count your blessings, Rogue One! You’re lucky.) These are specifically the 12 theatrical Star Wars features to date, from worst to first. We can rank the TV stuff another time. (1: The Star Wars Holiday Special, 2: Everything Else.) And if the latest round of announced Star Wars movies — like James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi or Dave Filoni’s Disney+ Star Wars Avengers hullabaloo — ever do make it to theaters, we’ll rank those too.

    READ MORE: Why Are Some Fans Struggling With The Mandalorian Lately?

    You may not agree with my list. (Based on the comments most of my writing about Star Wars gets on Twitter, the odds are very good you will not agree my list.) And that’s totally okay. As long as you agree that Attack of the Clones is the worst prequel. If we’ve got in common, we’re going to be just fine.

    Every Star Wars Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best

    Here is every theatrical Star Wars movie, ranked from the worst to the best.

    10 Actors Who Turned Down Star Wars Roles

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    Matt Singer

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  • 10 Marvel Actors Who Took Home Props From Their Movies

    10 Marvel Actors Who Took Home Props From Their Movies

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    Being an actor in a Marvel movie seems like a pretty sweet gig. You get to bring an iconic comic book character to life for millions of fans. And while the costume may not always be comfy — in fact, quite a few actors openly hated their ensembles — you sometimes get to take home a cool souvenir. Yes, that’s right. Some Marvel actors have been lucky enough to walk away from set with a piece of movie magic, whether it’s a prop, a wardrobe piece, or even a part of the set.

    In some cases, these tokens are given to the actors as presents to thank them for a job well done. But Marvel isn’t always so keen on handing props over to actors to keep for good. For example, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu asked the producers if he could take home a pair of his character’s shoes, but his request was denied. That’s why some actors simply steal their desired prop and hope nobody notices. Many of them have even gotten away with it, too — until they confess to their stolen treasures in interviews. Of course, no Marvel actor has gotten in serious trouble from taking home a prop. After all, it’s quite hard to imagine an A-list actor such as Tom Holland or Ryan Reynolds getting in trouble for simply bringing home a bit of their character with them.

    READ MORE: 20 Actors Who Were Wasted in Marvel Roles

    Below, you’ll learn about all of the high-profile Marvel actors who currently have mementos from their movies in their homes.

    Marvel Actors Who Took Home Props From Set

    These actors commemorated their time playing a Marvel superhero or villain by taking home a piece of the production with them.

    Actors Who Turned Down Major Marvel Roles

    Not everyone wants to be a part of the Marvel universe. These actors all got offered high-profile gigs in Marvel movies and turned them down.

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    Claire Epting

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  • Controversial Superhero Casting That Paid Off

    Controversial Superhero Casting That Paid Off

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    When it comes to movie adaptations of popular comic books, many fans are likely going to have strong opinions about, well, everything. From thoughts about costumes to critiques of special effects, devotees of the genre often aren’t shy to voice how they feel about a filmmaker’s interpretation of Marvel or DC source material. This also includes major casting decisions.

    Sometimes, a studio’s choice to cast a certain actor creates a ripple of controversy throughout the franchise’s fanbase. People may be disgruntled that an actor doesn’t resemble the comic book version of a character closely enough — or, in some cases, an actor may be too recognizable from another project to convincingly play an iconic role. There are so many reasons fans may disagree with a casting decision, but more often than not, those decisions end up being the right ones in the long run.

    READ MORE: 10 Actors Who Hated Their Superhero Costumes

    While casting these actors in well-known superhero and villain roles was once considered risky, time has proven that the heads in charge ended up making the right choice. In fact, it’s pretty much impossible to think of anyone else in these roles now. It just goes to show that having a bit of faith in the creative forces behind a project usually pays off — and initial impressions can often be deceiving. An actor doesn’t get cast in a high-profile superhero movie by mistake, although it may take an audience actually watching their performance to win them over. Here are ten examples of superhero movie casting that were initially controversial — but paid off big time.

    Controversial Superhero Casting That Paid Off

    Fans were not into these actors playing these roles when they were first announced. But all was forgiven when they saw the finished product.

    Actors Who Hated Their Superhero Movie Costumes

    These actors looked great in their superhero outfits. But they were literally a pain in the butt (or other body parts) to wear.

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    Claire Epting

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  • 10 Actors Who Hated Their Superhero Costumes

    10 Actors Who Hated Their Superhero Costumes

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    Pretty much any job a person can take comes along with a uniform. Sometimes, it’s an actual required piece of clothing, such as a shirt with the business’ name on it. In other cases, it’s a general type of clothing — business casual, perhaps, or workwear. And, of course, there are the lucky few actors who get to collect a paycheck portraying iconic superheroes and villains on the big screen. But maybe they’re not as lucky as we think.

    It’s important to remember that no matter how convincing an actor’s performance is, the truth is that they are a human being — not a supernatural one. And human beings sweat, get itchy, and experience discomfort. While it may be easy for the viewer to forget all of this when they’re caught up in watching the final product, it’s important to think about. Honestly, imagine spending up to 12 hours in a hot, skin-tight bodysuit without a convenient way to use the bathroom. That doesn’t really sound like a dream come true, does it?

    READ MORE: 20 Great Actors Wasted in Bad Marvel Roles

    The reality is, it takes a ton of work from the actors, costume design department, and makeup artists to create the larger-than-life superheroes we see on screen. There are even times when a VFX team has to get involved to create the desired result. The experience can be so taxing on the performer, that some actors have even gone so far as to make their costume nightmares known to the public. Here are ten actors who hated their superhero movie costumes — and weren’t afraid to say so.

    Actors Who Hated Their Superhero Movie Costumes

    These actors looked great in their superhero outfits. But they were literally a pain in the butt (or other body parts) to wear.

    Unconventional Superhero Movies That Totally Missed The Mark

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    Claire Epting

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  • 20 Movies With the Best Unrated Cuts

    20 Movies With the Best Unrated Cuts

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    Sex and violence; they can be huge selling points for a film, but only to a point. If a movie contains too much adult language or content it can get slapped with the dreaded NC-17 rating, which many theater chains and home video outlets will not screen or carry. And if you can’t sell tickets to or copies of your movie, it’s awful hard to turn a profit.

    But, again, sex and violence sell. Horror fans want to see shocking, scary imagery. Nobody goes to an erotic thriller hoping the lead actors share a pleasant, relaxing evening at home watching Four Weddings and a Funeral. It’s a fine, bloody, vulgar line that has to be walked.

    Enter the unrated cut. When a movie gets trimmed in order to attain an R rating (or even occasionally a PG-13) from the MPAA, enterprising producers can recoup more of their investment — and appeal to a broader audience — by releasing multiple versions of their film on home video: The theatrical cut for audiences who want slightly safer thrills and the unrated version looking for edgier material. And the people selling the DVDs or digital copies get to profit off two movies instead of one. Everybody wins.

    READ MORE: The Best X-Rated Movies in History

    The 20 titles below are all mainstream Hollywood films that were released one way in theaters and then another way at home. A few are hard to find, but most of these films are still widely available in both their theatrical and unrated editions, depending on which you might prefer. We’re guessing if you’re reading this list, you’re looking for the uncut and uncensored stuff. You’ll find plenty of it below…

    20 Movies With Unrated Cuts

    These mainstream movies are available in very different — and sometimes way more graphic — versions.

    The Best NC-17 Rated Movies Ever

    The NC-17 rating has been all but abandoned these days, but once upon a time it was home to some of the most challenging films in history.

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    Matt Singer

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  • The Best Movies Based on Newspaper or Magazine Articles

    The Best Movies Based on Newspaper or Magazine Articles

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    When it comes to filmmaking, inspiration can be found in so many different places. Some screenwriters choose to adapt books, musicals, or comics for the big screen. But still, others find everything they need for a compelling story in a newspaper or magazine article. You see, a finely crafted article can put a spotlight on a real event in a big way — drawing thousands of eyes to a story that would otherwise remain out of the headlines (both literally and figuratively).

    From The New York Times to Vanity Fair, a number of major publications have run stories that have then led to feature films. And while there are plenty of iconic fictional stories that have come to life on screen, we’re going to be diving into the best ones based on real events. Life has a funny way of being stranger than fiction — and when a skilled journalist gets a piece just right, it can call the attention of screenwriters, directors, and producers. It’s no accident that these movies got made after the articles were published, as a journalist has the nose for sniffing out the type of story that grips the reader and takes them on a journey.

    READ MORE: The Best Movie Titles in History

    So, the next time you’re flipping through a magazine or newspaper — or, let’s be honest, scrolling through the electronic version on your phone — keep an eye out for the article that instantly draws you in. Before you know it, you might just see it coming to a theater near you. Here are the ten best movies that were based on a newspaper or magazine article.

    The Best Movies Based On Newspaper Or Magazine Articles

    These great movies were inspired by the hard work of journalists writing in newspapers or magazines.

    The Best Movies That Are Based On The Director’s Own Life

    These movies took their directors’ own lives, and turned them into amazing works of art.

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    Claire Epting

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  • The Worst ’80s Movies, According to Letterboxd

    The Worst ’80s Movies, According to Letterboxd

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    I love Letterboxd, the social network site and app for movie lovers. I use it to log the movies I watch, keep lists of titles, and to see what my friends are up to (cinematically speaking, of course). And I also like to use its database to see what films are popular and unpopular with users.

    For example, with just a couple clicks, it’s very easy to sort every single movie on Letterboxd — all 791,369 titles and counting — by year of release, their rating, popularity, genre, or even by streaming service availability. Want to know what’s highest-rated horror movie on Letterboxd? No problem. (It’s John Carpenter’s The Thing, by the way.) Wondering what comedy is the most-despised? You got it. (That would be Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas.) You could spend hours exploring this stuff.

    READ MORE: The Worst Movies of All Time, According to Letterboxd

    I recently took a deep dive into ’80s movies on the site. According to Letterboxd, 49,330 films were released in the 1980s. The highest-rated title out of all of them is Elem Klimov’s Come and See, followed by Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, Eduardo Coutinho’s Twenty Years Later, Krzysztof Kieślowski’s The Decalogue, and the Talking Heads concert doc Stop Making Sense. 

    And then, at the opposite end of the spectrum, are the films below; the 15 lowest-rated movies on Letterboxd released during the 1980s, ranked from the best score (well, best relative to the rest of this disasters) to the worst. The titles include notorious sequels, bombs starring some of the 1980s’ biggest film and television stars, and some extremely obscure sci-fi films. This list is a useful tool when trying to figure out what ’80s films to avoid — or maybe to track down if you’re planning a bad movie night with friends.

    The Worst ’80s Movies, According to Letterboxd

    According to thousands of users on the movie website Letterboxd, these are the 15 worst movies released during the 1980s.

    The Worst ’80s Movies, According to Letterboxd

    According to thousands of users on the movie website Letterboxd, these are the 15 worst movies released during the 1980s.

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    Matt Singer

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  • The 10 Best Movies Based on the Director’s Own Life

    The 10 Best Movies Based on the Director’s Own Life

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    Legendary Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini once said, “All art is autobiographical.” It’s true that every artist views the world through their own unique lens, but some pieces of work are simply more “autobiographical” than others. One of the amazing aspects of storytelling is being able to explore lives that aren’t your own — but there’s always some relatable truth at the center of it. For this reason, some directors find that their most honest work comes directly from their own past experiences.

    Of course, not every single movie based on a director’s own journey is a home run. These movies are still subject to criticism, regardless of how personal they are — and one person’s life story can quickly become overwrought and too sentimental. That being said, there are quite a few directors who are able to turn their memories into cinematic gold. From Steven Spielberg to Greta Gerwig, these filmmakers prove that one’s own history can make for compelling fiction.

    READ MORE: Every Steven Spielberg Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best

    Now, these fantastic films aren’t pure documentaries. In fact, they’re far from it. They bend the truth, shaping characters and events into their most compelling form. They’re not so concerned with emulating straight facts as they are with capturing the essence of one’s own life, and the results are incredibly rewarding. After watching these movies, you’ll feel like you’ve gotten a taste of what the directors have lived through — and you may even see some of yourself in their stories, as well. Here are the 10 best movies that are based on their director’s own life.

    The Best Movies That Are Based On The Director’s Own Life

    These movies took their directors’ own lives, and turned them into amazing works of art.

    Directors Who’ve Cast Their Own Kids in Their Movies

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    Claire Epting

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  • Every ‘Scream’ Movie Ranked From Worst to Best

    Every ‘Scream’ Movie Ranked From Worst to Best

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    Hey, let’s play a game: What’s your favorite scary movie? Better yet: What’s your favorite Scream?

    Since 1996, one franchise has dominated and defined the world of slashers. Written by Kevin Williamson, directed by the late, great Wes Craven, Scream reinvented the hackneyed horror genre for the 1990s with a metatextual twist. Unlike the usual bumbling victims-in-waiting, the characters in Scream were smart, and understood the rules and clichés of horror films (even if they didn’t always follow them, which led to their undoing). The first Scream became a surprise smash, launching careers and countless imitators. And every few years since then, its signature villain, Ghostface, has returned to terrorize Courteney Cox and Neve Campbell, and to tweak more formulaic movies.

    (By the way, did you know Ghostface wasn’t created for Scream? It’s actually an existing real-world Halloween mask by the Fun World costume company that the filmmakers licensed for their franchise.)

    Williamson wrote the first two Screams plus the fourth; Craven directed the first four. The more recent installments were directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. Through the decades, the franchise has had its own ups and downs. Some installments weren’t much better than the crummy horror movies they were designed to mock. Others changed the course of horror history forever.

    Here are all the Scream films ranked from worst to best. (You can probably guess the number one pick…)

    Every Scream Movie Ranked

    Ghostface has slashed his way through more than two decades of horror movies. Here‘s how they all stack up against each other.

    READ MORE: A Full Scream Recap, Up to Scream VI

    10 Famous Actors Who Almost Played Iconic Horror Villains

    These movies would have looked a lot different if these famous actors had been cast as their villains.

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    Matt Singer

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  • The Worst Unconventional Superhero Movies

    The Worst Unconventional Superhero Movies

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    When it comes to the superhero genre, there’s certain things that we have come to expect. For starters, we know there will be someone — or something — that puts on a costume and becomes a vigilante. There’s also the understanding that there will be a good deal of action, whether that be in the form of crime-fighting or super-on-super battles. Typically, there’s also a villain, who is at odds with our superhero protagonist and oftentimes the rest of the world. Plot developments happen rather quickly, sometimes at the sake of character development. Audiences cheer, gasp, and laugh at the heroes’ quippy one-liners. This is the experience of watching a superhero movie.

    However, this isn’t always the case. In fact, there are a handful of superhero movies that eschew these stereotypes in favor of something … well, different. Instead of a superhero that defies gravity, these superheroes defy convention. While this concept sounds intriguing — and has indeed led to some great entries in the superhero canon — there are quite a few unconventional superhero movies that completely miss the mark.

    READ MORE: The Worst Marvel Villains Ever

    You see, genre cliches exist for a reason. That’s not to say that every single Marvel and DC movie should follow a cookie cutter mold, but incorporating formulaic elements into a movie can go a long way in creating a satisfying experience for moviegoers. It’s like your favorite pizza from your go-to delivery place — it might not always be particularly exciting, but it’s consistent, and it makes you feel good.

    Without further ado, let’s look at ten outside-the-box superhero movies that just flat out didn’t work.

    Unconventional Superhero Movies That Totally Missed The Mark

    Superhero Scenes That Could Never Get Made Today

    These scenes and characters from famous comic-book movies would not fly in the modern world.

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    Claire Epting

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  • ‘Creed III’: Every Reference to the ‘Rocky’ Movies

    ‘Creed III’: Every Reference to the ‘Rocky’ Movies

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    Creed III marks a major turning point in the series. For the first time since 1976, there’s a Rocky or Creed movie without an appearance from Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa. Rocky rode off into the proverbial sunset at the end of Creed II, symbolically passing the torch to Michael B. Jordan as the new lead of the saga.

    But just because Stallone and Rocky do not appear onscreen in Creed III doesn’t mean that Creed III isn’t indebted, in ways both big and small, to the almost 50-year history of the Rocky franchise. Just like Creed II before it, Creed III is clearly made by Rocky fans for Rocky fans, and as such it features tons of references and Easter eggs from Rockys (and Creeds) past. Old storylines are repeated, vintage characters return for important supporting roles, and even a few locations get trotted out again — like the beaches of Southern California, where Rocky rediscovered the “eye of the tiger” in Rocky III and Jonathan Majors’ Dame Anderson prepares for his big fight with Adonis Creed in Creed III.

    That’s one obvious homage to Rockys past — but here are 12 more examples from Creed III, some of which are not so easy to spot.

    Rocky References in Creed III

    Few franchises are more obsessed with their own past as the Rocky/Creed saga. Here is the proof, from Creed III.

    The 10 Most Shocking Best Picture Winners In Oscar History

    These movies shocked the film world on their way to winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

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    Matt Singer

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  • We Asked an A.I. to Write Sequels to Beloved Movies

    We Asked an A.I. to Write Sequels to Beloved Movies

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    There is a lot of discussion and hand wringing these days (a lot of it quite deserved!) about the rise of artificial intelligence. And this ain’t the cute kind of A.I. that looks like Haley Joel Osment. This is the sort that can mimic human thinking, speech, and even writing, producing work in an instant that would take a real person hours or days. Ahead of its upcoming contract negotiations, the Writers Guild of America revealed is already concerned enough about A.I. to add “regulate use of material produced using artificial intelligence or similar technologies” as one of its demands.

    It’s an alarming thought: Could artificial intelligence start writing movies? What would that look like?

    I didn’t go so far as to ask the A.I. chatbot ChatGPT to write me a whole screenplay — but out of curiosity, I did ask it to pitch ideas for sequels to a variety of films.

    Its responses were surprising. Sometimes they were good; good enough that you could see someone buying a ticket to the film. Other times, the pitches were boring or even bizarre.

    A few were so deranged they might qualify as brilliant. (A time traveling, alternate dimension spanning sequel to It’s a Wonderful Life? Okay!)

    READ MORE: We Asked an AI Chatbot Why 25 Classic Movies Are So Great

    The movies I offered up for sequels varied. Some are already getting sequels; a few are in the later stages of development right now. A few were decades old and will never get a sequel. Out of curiosity, I also asked it to come up with ideas for sequels to a couple movies people hate.

    The A.I.’s responses ignored the feasibility of the projects — although in one case it did actually warn me that even attempting one of my proposed sequels was a really risky proposition. (Apparently robot brains already possess more discerning taste than some Hollywood studio executives.)

    Once or twice, it even pitched ideas with “rogue artificial intelligence” as the villain, which definitely did not make me think twice about this whole endeavor.

    Here are 20 A.I.-generated ideas for sequels to popular movies. (For the full experience, I recommend having Siri read the pitches out loud to you.)

    An Artificial Intelligence Pitches Sequels to Classic Movies

    We asked an A.I. chatbot to write the unmade sequels to popular movies. Here were its suggestions. Some are pretty good! Others are … really weird.

    An AI Chatbot Reviews Classic Movies

    We asked ChatGPT about 25 of the greatest movies ever made. Here are its reviews…

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    Matt Singer

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  • Every ‘Rocky’ and ‘Creed’ Ranked From Worst to Best

    Every ‘Rocky’ and ‘Creed’ Ranked From Worst to Best

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    At this point, the story of the making of Rocky is almost as famous as the title character’s run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Struggling actor Sylvester Stallone pours all of his self-doubts and frustrations into a script about a club boxer from Philly who gets a match against the heavyweight champion of the world, Apollo Creed. Stallone writes the entire script in less than a week, then refuses to sell it to anyone who won’t agree to let him star in it.

    The film becomes a smash, then wins Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Stallone becomes a major star, but after his first two post-Rocky projects stumble at the box office, he returns to Rocky for a heartfelt sequel. He continued to bring back the character over and over all through the 1980s and into the early 1990s, then revived him again in 2006 when his career was at another low ebb. After he’d seemingly said farewell to the “Italian Stallion” for good, Rocky made yet another improbable resurgence when writer/director Ryan Coogler sold the studio on a spinoff film called Creed, about the son of Rocky’s rival, Adonis Creed, played by Michael B. Jordan. The spinoffs, featuring Rocky as Adonis’ shrewd trainer, have proven nearly as successful. To date, they’ve produced three movies of their own.

    We’ll never know who’d win in a fight between Rocky and Adonis, but we can figure out which of their respective franchises is superior. The list below ranks every Rocky and Creed movie to find out which one is the undisputed champion. So cue up some Bill Conti, put on your best gray sweatsuit, chug a couple of raw eggs, and let’s go for it.

    Every Rocky and Creed Movie Ranked From Worst to Best

    It’s the best sports movie franchise in history — but the Rocky and Creed series have had their highs and lows. Here they are:

    The Worst Billion-Dollar Blockbusters

    All of these movies grossed more than $1 billion at the box office. And they all stink.

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    Matt Singer

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  • The 10 Least Convincing Fake TV Deaths

    The 10 Least Convincing Fake TV Deaths

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    When we watch a TV show we love, it’s normal to feel emotionally invested in the characters. When something major happens to them — they find love, they experience loss, they have a moment of growth — we’re experiencing that with them. That’s why it’s such a big deal when a TV character dies. Even though we know that it’s just an actor playing a part on the screen, it’s still possible to feel totally devastated.

    Of course, in the world of television, things are not always what they seem. Sometimes, a character is only presumed dead, but they’re actually still alive. Unless a character actually has a proper sendoff on camera — where you, as the viewer, can actually confirm they are dead — there’s always a chance that they’ll come back. Depending on the show, this can either be a wild, exciting plot twist, or a completely unrealistic turn of events.

    It’s pretty obvious to tell when a character has been (temporarily) killed off for shock value. In some cases, a series just needs a good ratings boost — and nothing drives viewers to the screen like the potential of a fan-favorite character biting the dust. But if the character who dies also happens to be the show’s namesake — for example, Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer — you really shouldn’t be surprised when they return unscathed.

    Below, you’ll find 10 of the least convincing death fake-outs in TV history. All of these shows have been out for at least a year, so you shouldn’t have to worry too much about spoilers — unless you’re just now getting around to binge-watching Game of Thrones.

    The 10 Least Convincing Fake TV Deaths

    Did these “shocking” TV deaths actually fool anyone?

    10 TV Actors Who Were Replaced For Controversial Reasons

    These actors were replaced from hit shows under clouds of controversy.

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    Claire Epting

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  • The Worst Movies That Made $1 Billion

    The Worst Movies That Made $1 Billion

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    Discerning moviegoers understand: A movie’s success at the box office is not indicative of (or even determined by) its artistic merit. Some of the greatest movies ever made became massive commercial flops. And every year, mediocre or flat-out awful movies attract massive crowds and generate millions upon millions of dollars in ticket sales.

    Still, I think most cinephiles like to imagine that there is at least some connection between quality and popularity. After all, a movie has to attract millions of customers to become a true blockbuster. And it doesn’t seem like a bad movie should be able to attain the kind of word-of-mouth popularity you need to generate sell-out crowds.

    But it happens. When you look at the list of the highest-grossing movies of all time, you see a shocking number of terrible films. To date, just 51 movies have grossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, and in my subjective opinion at least a quarter of those are bad — and a few rank among the worst films Hollywood has produced in the last 50 years. For every Titanic or Top Gun: Maverick or The Dark Knight — blockbusters whose popularity speaks for itself — there are almost as many pieces of junk that, for one reason or another, still managed to catch on with audiences.

    Below are the ten worst offenders. By any measure that Hollywood studios care about, these movies were hits — all-time, record-breaking hits, in fact. But that didn’t make them good movies. Not even close.

    The Worst Billion-Dollar Blockbusters

    All of these movies grossed more than $1 billion at the box office. And they all stink.

    The Worst Movies Based On Good TV Shows

    Sometimes horrible movies happen to bad television series. Here are the worst offenders.

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    Matt Singer

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