Entertainment News

TV’s Best New Streaming Show Has A 95% Rotten Tomatoes Score - Forbes

Author: Paul Tassi

Published At: 2026-07-16T14:30:33Z

Description: As ever, we are all looking for something to watch in any given week, and now, there’s a new 95% Rotten Tomatoes-scored show live that you may want to check out.

Content: Duan Martinek/Prime As ever, we are all looking for something to watch in any given week, and now, theres a new 95% Rotten Tomatoes-scored show live that you may want to check out. Surprisingly enough, its not on Apple TV, where that tier is practically average at this point. Like Apples Widows Bay, this is another comedy. Its called Ride or Die, and Amazon has dumped out all eight episodes onto Prime Video already, something it sometimes does in order to grab an audience right away. Ride or Die pairs Ted Lassos Hannah Waddingham and Hidden Figures/The Help/Fruitvale Stations Oscar-winning Octavia Spencer, who has been attached to countless great projects, as shown. And clearly, Ride or Die is another one. Whats it all about? Heres the official synopsis: Ride or Die follows best friends Debbie Claybourne and Judith Burton who thought they knew everything about each other, except Judith turns out to be an international assassin. When a mysterious figure emerges from Judiths past and a hit goes horribly wrong, both of their worlds are turned upside down as theyre forced to go on the run together. Its a race against time and a road trip across Europe, with law enforcement, highly trained assassins, and some very dangerous criminals at their heels. Rotten Tomatoes Judith would be Waddingham and Debbie is Octavia Spencer, which sets up that dynamic. Its pretty easy to see the enigmatic, British Hannah Waddingham as a spy, though this is far from James Bond, given that its a buddy comedy. It is pretty hard for most comedies to rack up such high critic scores, given how subjective humor can be, but this has landed well for Amazon. The service does not have many shows in this genre putting up these kinds of numbers. As for a potential season 2, the series is already #1 on Amazons top 10 list, unseating Legally Blonde prequel Elle and megahit romance series Off Campus. Thats about as good as a premiere as you could hope for. Ride or Die was not auto-greenlit for season 2, but it stands to reason it has a pretty good shot at one if it maintains this level of popularity. And what streaming service wouldnt want to be competing with Apples Widow Bay and Shrinking? And ironically, doing so using one of its biggest actors taken from Ted Lasso itself. Pretty funny turn of events there. You can check out all episodes of Ride or Die on Amazon now, and see if it lives up to the critical hype. Follow me on Twitter , YouTube , and Instagram . Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy .

Christopher Nolan films ranked, from worst to best – updated with The Odyssey - The Independent

Author: Adam White

Published At: 2026-07-16T07:31:00Z

Description: As Christopher Nolan unveils his latest starry epic, Jacob Stolworthy and Adam White revisit all 13 of his movies to determine which ones come out on top

Content: Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Christopher Nolan is one of our last true visionaries. Its a term thats been diluted in recent years, with movie trailers heralding the alleged visions of any two-bit Russo Brother. Nolan, however, is of a different sort. With even Martin Scorsese struggling to get his expensive epics financed and something like Ryan Cooglers Sinners considered a risky venture for a skittish studio system, Nolan is a veritable last man standing. Thanks to his Batman trilogy, and the continued success of Inception and his Best Picture-winning Oppenheimer, hes able to get big, original and vaguely subversive extravaganzas green-lit on his name alone, his budgets remaining sky high. To celebrate the release of The Odyssey, weve surveyed his back catalogue, ranking all 13 of his films from worst to best  with the caveat that even the worst of the Nolan oeuvre is uniquely compelling in one way or another. Its doubtful that Following was many peoples introduction to Nolan, but its the film where it all began. On display in his black-and-white independent debut, about a young writer who finds himself dragged into a criminal underworld, is the tenacity and dedication that has gone on to shape his career it even hides a Batman logo in plain sight. Yet it feels like a film he would baulk at making today: the shoestring budget (£6,000) and minimal use of professional equipment is worlds away from The Dark Knights Batpod sequence or the rotating corridor of Inception. JS 12. The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Nolan reportedly had to be strong-armed into finishing his Dark Knight trilogy, unsure that he could successfully follow up its immediate predecessor. That uncertainty is visible on screen. This is a decent closer, with a number of strong elements (its arguably the best-looking Batman movie, while franchise newbies Anne Hathaway and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are brilliant), but its also a bloated jumble of ideas and extraneous plot detours. The Occupy Wall Street-inspired narrative never hangs together, while Nolan deserves some kind of medal for being the only director to coax a bad performance out of Marion Cotillard. AW Insomnia is the Christopher Nolan movie that doesnt look, feel or sound like a Christopher Nolan movie. Mirroring David Lynchs regretful adaptation of Dune, Insomnia found Nolan embodying the role of a fresh indie-film wunderkind wooed by a major studio and a big (for 2002-era Nolan, anyway) budget even if the film he was tasked with directing wasnt particularly in his wheelhouse. Unlike Dune, Insomnia isnt a disaster, just a little forgettable. Al Pacino and Robin Williams, as an LAPD detective and his murder suspect, are marvellous, and the film itself has atmosphere for days, but its otherwise a bit of an ill-fitting suit. AW Dunkirk is unlike any other war film. Instead of simply showing the evacuation of Second World War troops from the French commune, Nolan concurrently tells the story from three perspectives land, air and sea that all play out across different lengths of time. You can feel the director right there with his actors as they run for cover, dogfight and escape sinking warships in scenes with little-to-no dialogue. Look beyond the impressive bravado, too, and there are small horrors to unearth. A scene in which the young British privates silently watch as a fellow soldier walks out to sea is easily Nolans most chilling moment. JS Before Tenet was released, Christopher Nolan, in typical Nolan style, said the film was not about time travel but time inversion. Quite what that means might remain a mystery to those hoping to dip their toe into a frothy summer blockbuster. For Nolan fans, though, its their introduction to what is evidently the directors most complex film to date. Nolan is interested in grand ideas, and with Tenet, he somehow weaves them into a head-spinning thriller thats surprisingly taut for its 150 minutes. Its concept is so high that you might suffer from altitude sickness, but should you go along with it, youll be bowled over by the cleverness on display. JS With Interstellar, Nolan somehow made a sci-fi spectacle featuring tidal waves the size of skyscrapers feel like an understated family drama. The film, following a space crews search for a new habitable planet, is anchored by a rapturous performance from Matthew McConaughey; if its not his best role, its one of them. Interstellar is blockbuster filmmaking at its most ambitious, and wears its influences (2001: A Space Odyssey and The Right Stuff are clear inspirations) on the sleeve of its spacesuit. JS This was perhaps the first film to prove Nolans staying power. Hiring him to relaunch Batman in a fresh franchise was an inspired choice by Warner Bros, and one that reworked the blueprint for a new era of superhero films. The studios willingness to sit back and let this burgeoning talent place his imprint on Gotham City paved the way for a thrilling and sophisticated origin story. Batman Begins can be cruelly overlooked as mere set-up for what came next. In actuality, its just as good. Well, almost. JS You dont really want to know the secret; you want to be fooled. So goes the gambit of The Prestige, Nolans riveting drama about rival magicians in the late 19th century that pits Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale on a fatal battle of one-upmanship. Its elusively told story, tied together by unforeseen twists and turns, make this a satisfyingly sturdy slice of cinema and the last of Nolans films to cost less than $100m (it cost just $40m). It scores points for David Bowies cameo as the fastidious Nikola Tesla, too. JS Oppenheimer is one of Nolans least commercial movies yet: a chewy, three-hour-long pressure-cooker of a film thats partly shot in black and white and yet, it became one of his biggest. It won him that coveted Best Picture and Best Director Oscar, too. Theres more than a little Alan J Pakula and Sidney Lumet in the films political intrigue, and its set apart by its unsettling close-ups of Cillian Murphy, as the man who masterminded the birth of the atomic bomb. JS Nolans directorial trajectory hasnt been one of enormous leaps, but of gently honing the same handful of ideas. Memento, his first proper movie after his low-budget debut Following, features many of the same tropes he would return to later on. This is a puzzle box of a film, one that plays with narrative and structure as an amnesiac Guy Pearce attempts to piece together his wifes murder. Smartly, it demands your attention but is never smug with its mystery, its structure inventive but never gimmicky. AW Making The Odyssey was no small task but Nolan was more than up to it. After 12 films, hes made a film thats as mature as Oppenheimer (and unexpectedly tackles similar themes), as moving as Interstellar but that also has about triple the set-pieces from his more action-oriented output. His adaptation of Homers Greek poem led by a career-best Matt Damon  is so breathtakingly steeped in realism, despite its mythical roots, and is as accessible as anything hes done, while also showcasing those usual flourishes Nolan diehards will lap up. JS Inception is a masterpiece, but also the Nolan film that most overtly exposes his problem areas. Like many of his movies, women waft through Inception to deliver exposition or be pined over; theres also a noticeable chilliness that helps make his work more admirable than cosy. It also reflects his own disposition the upper-class Brit who doesnt like people sitting down on his sets and is resolutely, almost supernaturally humourless. Still (and the heavy lifting that still is doing depends on your own Nolan views), Inception is stunning. Its arguably the film Nolan was always building up to, one that steals elements from so much of his past work and properly runs riot with them. Theres his fascination with time, dreams and grief, the cinematic power of pure spectacle, and his child-like excitement over grown men flinging themselves through zero gravity. Everything coalesces here, from every one of composer Hans Zimmers dramatic Braaams to the teasing, gasping ambiguity of that final shot. AW 1. The Dark Knight (2008) So much of what made The Dark Knight a phenomenon wasnt related to The Dark Knight itself. There was the death of Heath Ledger; the cultural baggage surrounding The Joker as a character; the galvanising divisions between rich and poor in 2008s presidential election; and how the film seemed to reflect them back at us. In the years that followed, Ledgers dialogue became a meme; The Joker himself became a tool for exhausting actors to go method for Oscar attention; there were mass shootings and online harassment done in its name. Its easy to forget there was an actual movie there, too. But sit and actually watch the thing again, and youre likely to be floored anew. Building on Batman Begins, The Dark Knight grips with a powerful intensity, Nolan landing somewhere between Michael Mann and Frank Miller. So many of the films many imitators additionally seem to confuse its darkness for plodding angst. In truth, The Dark Knight is about chaos how fear can grip a populace, what happens when all hope seems to be lost, and how close we all are to the edge. It captured a cultural mood and offered an unsightly glimpse into the future. It may not be Nolans greatest bit of storytelling, some of its plot detours more than a little baggy, but its undeniably his most important film, along with one of the most ground-shaking films in recent memory. You cant really imagine modern cinema without it. AW

'Cultural parasites': Calls for boycott of The Odyssey over filming in occupied Western Sahara - Middle East Eye

Author: https://www.facebook.com/middleeasteye/

Published At: 2026-07-15T15:20:00Z

Description: Sahrawi filmmakers criticise Christopher Nolan for complicity in Moroccan exploitation of Sahrawi land

Content: Sahrawi campaigners and filmmakers are calling for a boycott of The Odyssey by Christopher Nolan over his decision to shoot the film in Morocco-occupied Western Sahara. The British filmmaker's choice of the city of Dakhla as a location for the film, which goes on general release on Friday, has been accused of normalising the north African kingdom's 50-year occupation of the territory. Sahrawi journalist and filmmaker Mamine Hachimi is among those calling for the film to be boycotted. "This is not a campaign against cinema or artistic freedom - it is a call for ethical responsibility," he told Middle East Eye. Hachimi co-directed Three Stolen Cameras, a short documentary that detailed the difficulties facing the Sahrawi media organisation Equipe Media as it attempted to document the abuses perpetrated against the Sahrawis in Western Sahara. Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The film was initially set to premiere in Beirut in 2017, but was dropped following pressure from the Moroccan government. Members of Equipe Media also faced arrest and harassment from Moroccan authorities. "Two of my colleagues, Abdallah Lhafaouni, who is serving a life sentence, and Bachir Khadda, who is serving a 20-year sentence, are political prisoners simply because they documented human rights violations in occupied Western Sahara," he explained. "It is deeply disturbing that while Sahrawi journalists are imprisoned for exposing abuses, an international film production can use our homeland as a cinematic backdrop without addressing the reality of the occupation." A backdrop of occupation Much of the attention on The Odyssey has focused on a campaign by far-right online trolls to stir up controversy over the casting of Lupita Nyong'o in the lead role of Helen of Troy. Nolan has dismissed that controversy as "irrelevant", but Sahrawis say the real scandal is over Nolan's whitewashing of Morocco's exploitation of their homeland. They also point out that the same security services involved in brutalising Sahrawi campaigners in the occupied territory facilitated the shoot. Meanwhile, the Moroccan minister of culture, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, snapped selfies with Nolan and expressed his hope it would "give visibility to Dakhla as a film location and not just a tourist destination". So far, despite a campaign by a range of stars and activists, including Javier Bardem, Pedro Almodovar and Greta Thunberg, calling for the scenes shot in Dakhla to be excised, Nolan has stayed silent, and requests put by MEE to Universal Pictures and Nolan's production company, Syncopy Inc, for comment have gone without response. "As a filmmaker, I find this deeply disappointing," said Mohamedsalem Werad, a Sahrawi documentary filmmaker. "Choosing to film in occupied Western Sahara was not a politically neutral production decision - it meant operating with the permission of the occupying power in a territory where the indigenous Sahrawi people have long been denied the opportunity to exercise their right to self-determination." 'They will be in the dustbin of history, remembered as nothing but cultural parasites' - Abidin Mohamed Hamudi, filmmaker Werad, who gained attention with his documentary on the life of Sahrawi singer Mariem Hassan, told MEE a boycott was the only option left to viewers. "A boycott sends a clear message that filmmakers cannot expect audiences to overlook decisions that risk legitimising an occupation," he said. Another Sahrawi filmmaker, Abidin Mohamed Hamudi, said the whole team behind The Odyssey were "complicit" in the subjugation of the Western Sahara. He added that Hollywood's attitude was an extension of capitalism and Western economies' attitude towards the resources of the Global South in its most "grotesque, hyper-realised form". "Shame on them - history will put everyone in the place they deserve, and they will be in the dustbin of history, remembered as nothing but cultural parasites," he told MEE. 'An act that amounts to plunder' At a cost of a reported $250m, and coming off the back of Nolan's Oscar-winning Oppenheimer, The Odyssey is planned to be the blockbuster hit of the summer. When it is released in the cinemas on Friday, audiences are expected to flock to the screens, escaping into a fantasy world of epic battles, sorcery, gods and myths. However, Sahrawis are keen to stress that there is a stark reality that is being masked by the glitz and glamour, one that has been largely ignored by both Hollywood and the international community. Every year, Sahrawis and foreign activists host the Western Sahara International Film Festival (FiSahara) in the refugee camps in southwestern Algeria, where hundreds of thousands of Sahrawis live after being driven from their homeland by Morocco. FiSahara aims to highlight socially conscious filmmaking by both native Sahrawis and foreign filmmakers and has been one of the main drivers behind calls to boycott The Odyssey. "Nolans team benefited from security services during the filming from the very military and police that brutalise the Sahrawis who resist under permanent siege just a few kilometres from where they were filming, but who are beaten, arbitrarily arrested and have their equipment confiscated for trying to make their own films of life under occupation," said Maria Carron, the festival's executive director. She said that last year, as Nolan and his team were shooting in the White Sand Dune outside the city of Dakhla, FiSahara and a range of Sahrawi filmmakers and activists protested, urging Nolan and Universal to suspend the shoot, leave the territory and not include these scenes in the film without the consent of the Sahrawi people.  They were unsuccessful. "FiSahara calls for a general audience boycott of the film and for Nolan to be held accountable for personally benefiting from an illegal occupation by collaborating with Moroccan authorities to enter and film the territory and then by using images of Western Sahara without the consent of their rightful and legal owners, the Sahrawi people - an act that amounts to plunder," said Carron.

West End ‘Oh, Mary!’ To Be Filmed With Cole Escola Back In Title Role - Deadline

Author: Greg Evans

Published At: 2026-07-15T13:39:00Z

Description: Oh, Mary!, Cole Escola's comedy about Mary Todd Lincoln, will be filmed at the West End’s Trafalgar Theatre for a future release.

Content: Oh, Mary!,Cole Escola‘s outrageously funny revisionist comedy about Mary Todd Lincoln and the guy she’s married to will be filmed at the West End’s Trafalgar Theatre on July 28 for a future, as yet undisclosed, release. Escola will return to the title role for the proshot in a reprise of his Tony-winning Broadway performance. Joining him will beoriginal Broadway cast members Bianca Leigh as Mary’s Chaperone and Tony Macht as Mary’s Husband’s Assistant, with Giles Terera playing Mary’s Husband and Michael Urie as Mary’s Teacher. Sam Pinkleton will direct the filmed performances. Escola will star in the West End production from July 20 through August 15, with Urie, Leigh and Macht scheduled from July 20 through August 1. The producers of Oh, Mary! are Kevin McCollum and Lucas McMahon, and Mike Lavoie and Carlee Briglia.