by admin | Jul 2, 2025 | TV & Beyond Articles
the excellent “Astroworld” documentary is a heartbreaking deep dive into how a fun, exciting moment can turn deadly in an instant. Suffice it to say, the Rob Ford doc is significantly more salacious.
Now, there’s a brand new “Trainwreck” on Netflix, and it’s definitely the grossest one yet. In fact, it might be one of the grossest documentaries available to stream in general. It all depends on how you deal with scatological stories, because this one’s got the scoop on a whole lot of poop (literally).
According to FlixPatrol, Netflix’s top 10 movies in the U.S. is currently home to “Trainwreck: Poop Cruise.” The doc tells the true story of the Carnival Triumph, a cruise ship that suffered an engine fire while in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, causing the vessel to stop completely dead in the water. It also caused major electrical and plumbing issues onboard, which led to the ship’s toilets overflowing into the hallways with raw sewage. (Hence, “poop cruise.”) Of course, as fun as it might be to say “poop cruise,” and as humorous as it is in theory and retrospect, the actual ordeal was a harrowing nightmare, and the Netflix doc has all of the gritty, gross details.
Trainwreck: Poop Cruise is as entertaining as it is disgusting
Netflix
The thing that makes most of these “Trainwreck” documentaries so compelling are the interviews with various ordinary people who were involved in these extraordinary situations, and “Poop Cruise” is no different. While it’s one thing to see video of the sewage spilling into the halls, the firsthand accounts of events hit harder because it’s easy to empathize with people’s incredulity and shock. While it’s a far cry from the depressing horrors of something like “The Last Cruise” (the documentary about the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined at sea during the early days of the Covid pandemic), “Poop Cruise” still has enough nastiness to convince some audiences to never set foot on a cruise ship. (I, for one, will never board one unless the ship’s doctor is named Odyssey, thanks.) Both the vacationers and crew were nervous about being trapped at sea in increasingly uncomfortable conditions, trying to combat boredom as well as the ship becoming one big bathroom. When someone in charge decided that the solution was to start serving alcohol for free to try and calm the guests, things got even more out of hand, with some guests even flinging bags of poop overboard only to have them fly back to the ship and land on one of the lower decks.
Perhaps none of the interviewees in “Poop Cruise” stand out more than Abhi, a chef who describes everything very colorfully, his general tone more bemused than anything else. He seems like a really easy-going, friendly man, and when he describes seeing something he describes as a “poop lasagna,” it’s easily both the doc’s grossest and funniest moment. Is “Trainwreck: Poop Cruise” going to really teach you anything or change the world? Absolutely not, but it is an interesting way to spend an hour… as long as you have the stomach for it.
by admin | Jul 2, 2025 | TV & Beyond Articles
“Dominion,” which left dinosaurs running loose with humans all over the world. However, the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs, with many dying off. The remaining dinos mostly live in isolated environments near the equator, which have climates resembling the one they once lived in.
Writer David Koepp has said that he saw “Jurassic World Rebirth” as a chance to start over. Koepp, who also wrote the script for the original “Jurassic Park,” decided it would be easier to once again isolate the dinosaurs in places largely removed from humanity rather than try to contend with a world in which these species separated by tens of millions of years would have to find a way to co-exist.
The first act of “Rebirth” does deal with some of what the world looks like with dinosaurs in it, causing traffic jams and whatnot, but by and large, one of this movie’s biggest contributions to the franchise’s future is undoing what director Colin Trevorrow accomplished with “Dominion,” in some ways. Much changed in the five-year gap between these films.
Welcome to the Neo-Jurassic Era
Universal Pictures
The previous “Jurassic World” trilogy, particularly “Fallen Kingdom” and “Dominion,” did a lot of work to get dinosaurs off of Isla Nublar and out into the real world, so much so that “Fallen Kingdom” literally blew up Isla Nublar and brought the dinosaurs elsewhere, teeing up the events of “Dominion.” But Edwards and Koepp opted to try and scale things back once again by isolating dinosaurs to islands where humans can conveniently avoid them.
Another big thing that this “Rebirth” does is actually explain, within the universe that these films exist in, how humans have defined this strange period of modern history when dinosaurs once again exist after going extinct roughly 65 million years ago, thanks to John Hammond and the geneticists at InGen. Early on in the film when Scarlett Johansson’s Zora Bennett goes to recruit Jonathan Bailey’s Dr. Henry Loomis, some animated documentary footage at his museum reveals that this era is known as the “Neo-Jurassic Era.”
Basically, dating back to roughly the early ’90s when Hammond first brought dinosaurs back to life, historians and scientists had to come up with a way to describe this period, which represented a seismic shift. For a time, it was chaotic, from a T-rex rampaging through the streets of San Diego at the end of “The Lost World” to the deadly events that forced Jurassic World to close. But that chaos is being reined in quite a bit as this film’s events are unfolding.
Jurassic World Rebirth isolates humans and dinosaurs once again
Universal Pictures
Most crucially, Edwards’ film once again establishes a situation where humans can, for the most part, avoid dealing with dinosaurs. There are no active dinosaur theme parks. The public has largely lost interest in dinosaurs, as they’ve been alive again for more than three decades. It’s old news. While the short film “Battle at Big Rock” offered a promising, cool vision of this franchise where we get a first-person view of the chaos that results from dinosaurs existing where humans live their day-to-day lives, that’s not something that Universal and/or the filmmakers were interested in exploring here, for better or worse.
Whatever one’s thoughts are on “Rebirth” as a whole, the decision to scale things back in this way does raise the question once again of what the whole point of “Jurassic World Dominion” was. Trevorrow went out of his way to help set up this “dinosaurs and humans coexisting” concept, which Universal supported (in no small part because the first “Jurassic World” was one of the biggest movies ever). It does feel a little odd for them to just walk that all back now. At the same time, “Dominion” focused largely on giant locusts as opposed to dinosaurs attacking cities. So if they weren’t ever going to fully commit to that idea, even in a movie where it ostensibly should have been a big part of the plot, maybe pulling things back makes some sense.
Whatever the case, this film largely exists as a standalone story. The future of the franchise is uncertain, as no direct sequel is set up. There are no post-credits scenes to speak of. If there is an eighth “Jurassic” movie — and there likely will be — barring a reboot, the next filmmaker will once again have to find a good reason for humans to head to a place where these dangerous animals live.
“Jurassic World Rebirth” is in theaters now.
by admin | Jul 2, 2025 | TV & Beyond Articles
Neil Druckmann, who developed the original PlayStation games with his Naughty Dog team, is stepping down as co-showrunner. With that said, fans of Naughty Dog’s game portfolio might have good reason to be really excited.
“I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in ‘The Last of Us’ on HBO,” Druckmann, who previously served as co-showrunner alongside Craig Mazin (“Chernobyl”), said in a statement posted on Naughty Dog’s official Instagram account. “With work completed on season 2 and before any meaningful work starts on season 3, now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects, including writing and directing our exciting next game, ‘Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet,’ along with my responsibilities as Studio Head and Head of Creative.”
“Co-creating the show has been a career highlight,” Druckmann’s statement went on to add. “It’s been an honor to work alongside Craig Mazin to executive produce, direct, and write on the last two seasons. I’m deeply thankful for the thoughtful approach and dedication the talented cast and crew took to adapting ‘The Last of Us Part I’ and the continued adaptation of ‘The Last of Us Part II.'”
There’s no question that Druckmann has been an enormous part of HBO’s “The Last of Us” since the series began its run in early 2023, so while it feels like a game changer to see him step away, it’s good to know that it’s in service of Naughty Dog’s continued work. So, what does Mazin have to say about all this?
Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin may end up leading The Last of Us on his own
Liane Hentscher/HBO
Outlets like Variety have obtained a statement directly from Craig Mazin, a guy who was once best known for the “Hangover” sequels before he shifted his focus to a much darker subject and created the HBO series “Chernobyl,” making it clear that he’s an incredibly skilled dramatic showrunner. Unsurprisingly, Mazin was supportive of his co-showrunner’s next move.
“It’s been a creative dream to work with Neil and bring an adaptation of his brilliant work to life on HBO,” as Mazin’s statement puts it. “I couldn’t have asked for a more generous creative partner. As a true fan of Naughty Dog and Neil’s work in video games, I’m beyond excited to play his next game. While he focuses on that, I’ll continue to work with our brilliant cast and crew to deliver the show our audience has come to expect. We are so grateful to Neil and [the original game’s co-writer] Halley Gross for entrusting the incredible story of ‘The Last of Us Part II’ to us, and we’re just as grateful to the millions of people around the world who tune in.”
The references both Neil Druckmann and Mazin make to “The Last of Us Part II,” Naughty Dog’s 2020 sequel to “The Last of Us,” should make sense to anyone who watched the show’s second season. It ends with — semi-old spoiler alert! — Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby looking out at Seattle at the beginning of a narratively vital three-day run as the fate of Ellie (Bella Ramsey) hangs in the balance. It’s going to take a while, at the rate the show is going, to adapt all of “The Last of Us Part II,” the story of which spans years. In any case, it’s very possible that Mazin won’t replace Druckmann (who could possibly replace the guy who created the original game, after all?), but based on his work on the series, we can all feel pretty comfortable about Mazin steering this metaphorical ship on his own.
Neil Druckmann directed some incredibly important episodes of The Last of Us
Liane Hentscher/HBO
Something that fans of “The Last of Us” will likely miss most about Neil Druckmann’s departure from the series is that, after cutting his teeth on directing video games like “The Last of Us” itself, Druckmann stepped behind the camera for two incredibly important episodes in the series. His first episode, “Infected,” is the second-ever episode of the show and opens with one of its most stunning scenes, where we see Indonesian mycology professor Ratna Pertiwi (Christine Hakim) makes a horrifying realization about the cordyceps virus that will, eventually, overtake the world and turn people into bloodthirsty zombies. (The scene concludes with her in tears saying Jakarta should simply be bombed; it’s frankly unforgettable.) This is also the episode that fully reveals Ellie’s immunity to her new caretakers Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Tess (Anna Torv) as they attempt to safely transport her across a ruined United States — with Tess sacrificing herself to an infected horde to save Joel and Ellie — so it’s pretty important … and well-directed by Druckmann. (Mazin, for his part, wrote this episode.)
Then, in season 2 of the series, Druckmann took up the director’s chair once more for “The Price,” the season’s penultimate episode (which was also written by Druckmann alongside Mazin and Halley Gross). After Joel’s shocking and brutal death earlier in the season, “The Price” serves as one big flashback, similar to the game, that shows Joel and Ellie’s relationship throughout the years as they live in the protected settlement of Jackson, Wyoming. Not only is this the episode where we find out what actually happened to Joe Pantoliano’s character Eugene, but it also features one of the most emotionally resonant scenes in the entire show between Joel and Ellie, which is stunningly performed by both Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. Druckmann’s departure as showrunner is tough for the series, and losing him as a director is hard too; maybe, one day, he’ll pop back in for another directing credit (though he may be too busy, so let’s not hold our breath).
“The Last of Us” is streaming on HBO Max now.
by admin | Jul 2, 2025 | TV & Beyond Articles
Kenny dying an absurd number of times. Now, however, the situation has gotten dicey, with the official “South Park” social media account having shared a, well, very “South Park” statement from creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
“This merger is a s*** show and it’s f***ing up ‘South Park.’ We are at the studio working on new episodes and we hope the fans get to see them somehow,'” the statement reads.
Specifically, Parker and Stone’s statement is referencing the proposed merger between Comedy Central’s parent company Paramount Global and Skydance Media, which was inked last year but has yet to fully close. Now, Parker and Stone’s response absolutely rules. This is a very “South Park” reaction, a bridge-burning, no-nonsense, filter-off comment we rarely see from creators. (For a very tonally different shot at executives, watch the response from the creators of “The Tiny Chef Show” to their series getting canceled.)
But there is a lot more here than just Parker and Stone being mad at Comedy Central, because this statement is but the latest chapter in a long fight between the duo and Paramount. Let’s go back to the very beginning. It all started back in 2007 with the establishment of South Park Digital Studios, a partnership between Paramount (which owns Comedy Central) and Parker and Stone. The plan was for the studio to handle the streaming rights to the show (a new concept at the time), with neither of the concerned parties fully in control.
Why Parker and Stone are mad at Paramount
Comedy Central
By 2019, however, things had drastically changed in the industry. Streaming was not just a thing, it was dominating Hollywood, and every studio wanted a piece of that large cash pie. Since Paramount had no streaming platform at the time, it saw an opportunity to make a lot of money and sold the “South Park” streaming rights to HBO Max, making every episode of the show available to stream on that platform (including new episodes). Except, by 2021, Paramount had launched its own streamer with Paramount+, and that same year, the studio struck a deal with South Park Studios for an additional six seasons of the show, as well as streaming-exclusive “special episodes” meant for Paramount+.
Yes, Parker and Stone were technically double-dipping by producing “exclusive” new “South Park” projects for both HBO Max and Paramount+. This is essentially what their whole “Streaming Wars” special was about, and that special is spectacular. Still, HBO Max was not happy about what it saw as a breach of contract and sued Paramount for streaming what the company saw as new episodes on its own platform.
But that HBO Max streaming deal was set to expire now, in 2025, meaning “South Park” would only be streaming on Paramount+ after that. If only it were that easy. Instead, that streaming deal has neither been renewed nor replaced with an alternative, and Parker and Stone’s South Park Studios has been shopping the rights to other companies. Except, according to documents revealed by The Hollywood Reporter, Parker and Stone are now also threatening to sue Paramount for allegedly interfering with a new deal for the show’s streaming rights.
Specifically, Parker and Stone are accusing Jeff Shell, who is set to become president of Paramount Global after the pending merger of the studio with Skydance, over attempting to prioritize Paramount+ and shorten terms with other studios in a new streaming agreement.
In short, Parker and Stone are expressing their anger over what they see as corporate shenanigans drastically changing the way they make “South Park” (the recent seasons have been shorter since they’re also making “specials”), when the show’s episodes are released, and who can even stream them.
by admin | Jul 2, 2025 | TV & Beyond Articles
unexpected box office success of “Paranormal Activity” more than 15 years ago, the house that Jason Blum built has generated tons of hits, several massive franchises, and more than $6 billion at the global box office. Unfortunately, the studio has been in a bit of a slump recently and, despite seeming like a slam dunk on paper, that didn’t change with “M3GAN 2.0.”
On opening weekend, director Gerard Johnstone’s “M3GAN 2.0” opened to just $10 million domestically, which is roughly one-third of what the original film did on its way to $180 million worldwide against a $12 million budget. This one carries a $25 million budget and, though maybe not an outright flop, is going to be far from a hit. So, what the hell happened, exactly? Well, Blum has weighed in on the situation directly.
Appearing on an episode of the “Town” podcast, Blum got very honest with host Matthew Belloni about the disappointing opening for Blumhouse’s latest sequel. Blum admitted he was in a “death spiral of depression” by Monday when the final numbers had come in, which should give some sense of how rough this opening was. Speaking further, he explained that he and the other creatives behind the film got a little too confident when they started putting “M3GAN 2.0” together. Here’s what he had to say about it:
“We all thought M3GAN was like Superman. We could do anything to her. We could change genres. We could put her in the summer. We could make her look different. We could turn her from a bad guy into a good guy. And we classically over-thought how powerful people’s engagement really was with her.”
Who’s to blame for the downfall of M3GAN 2.0?
Universal Pictures
Blum had reason to be confident, but he also had reason to be sick come Monday morning. Mere weeks ago, “M3GAN 2.0” had been expected to make at least $30 million in its debut. However, between stiff competition in the summer from the likes of “F1,” weaker buzz, and a combination of other factors, those projections collapsed.
“People wanted more M3GAN just like she is,” Blum added. “Every time you do a sequel, you have to ride this very fine line. Which is, if you make it too close to the first movie, everyone says, ‘You ripped off the first movie.’ And, ‘Why’d you make this movie? What a waste of time.’ And if you make it too far away from the first movie, everyone says, ‘Why the f*** is this a sequel? This has nothing to do with the first movie and we’re pissed about it.'”
Indeed, even the trailers for “M3GAN 2.0” made it clear that this a “Terminator 2” situation. The villain becomes the hero and it goes full sci-fi instead of horror. The sequel also failed to catch on with social media the way the first movie did. There was no viral TikTok moment to rival M3GAN dancing the first time around. Blum addressed that, explaining they couldn’t just manufacture that sort of thing again. He also didn’t feel the need to shift blame to the movie’s director, saying the following:
“Gerard is a terrific director … Gerard is someone who can solve almost anything you throw at him, but he needs time. He’s just one of those directors that needs a lot of time. On the first ‘M3GAN,’ he had all of the time in the world.”
Jason Blum takes the blame for Blumhouse’s failures
Universal Pictures
“The marketplace is very different, and it’s incredibly hard to get your arms around,” Blum mused, explaining that the state of the box office has changed dramatically in the aftermath of the pandemic. He pointed to the success of movies like “Sinners” and “Final Destination Bloodlines,” noting that cinematic events seem to get the job done these days. It’s much harder for low-budget, non-event pictures.
“I shoulder the blame for this, not Universal,” Blum added. Blumhouse Productions has had a longstanding relationship with Universal Pictures, with the studio handling marketing and distribution for many of the company’s films. Even so, Blum doesn’t blame it for the sequel’s downfall.
“They play a role, but we’re in this together. I’ve made plenty of movies that have gotten a 4 [percent on] Rotten Tomatoes and they don’t call me and say, ‘You messed up.’ We locked arms and they understand like I understand that the business is long term. It goes on a long time.”
Blum was very willing to acknowledge that Blumhouse was in something of a slump, with movies like “Night Swim,” “Imaginary,” “Afraid,” “Wolf Man,” “The Woman in the Yard,” and “Drop” all serving up varying types of disappointment. Fortunately, it’s got seemingly surefire bets on the calendar that include “The Black Phone 2” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.” (Recall that the first “Five Nights at Freddy’s” film made nearly $300 million worldwide.) Blum also made it clear that the company will take a good hard look at what went wrong and determine what needs to change once their emotions die down a bit:
“We really try and learn from our mistakes. But it really takes time. You have to get un-emotional about it and you have to get enough distance from the release to leave your emotions behind. That’s when we really look. We’ll have smaller meetings where we’ll discuss, and discuss, and discuss. Really dig into it.”
“M3GAN 2.0” is in theaters now.
by admin | Jul 2, 2025 | News, TV & Beyond Articles
the long-awaited Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen)? What would your best pal Natalie (Lyric Ross) say if she could see you now? Well, perhaps she can share her thoughts on the matter now that she’s been brought back from the dead.
After some cryptic quick cuts and a drawn out conversation with the demonic presence that had recently abandoned The Hood, it was soon revealed that Riri (Dominique Thorne) had accepted Mephisto’s offer and asked for her friend Natalie to come back to the land of the living. For someone as smart as Riri, it sure did feel like a dumb decision to make, and it’s one that will absolutely come with repercussions whenever we’re reunited with Ironheart in the future.
The choice Riri was given here (which, quite frankly, she had no right to make) could impact so many people and plot threads — not just Ironheart’s immediate circle of friends and family, but the Marvel universe as a whole. Sure, there was a time when half the universe was snapped out and back into existence, but bringing back a single person on a wish is an opportunity other heroes would die for. Before we branch into that super sensitive issue, though, let’s just consider how Mephisto’s despicable deal could bring two unlikely allies together whenever Ironheart suits up on-screen again.
Mephisto could be playing games with Ironheart and The Hood thanks to the new deal
Marvel Studios
The problem with dealing with a demonic entity is that there’s always a catch. As far as Riri knows, following her handshake with Sacha Baron Cohen’s sneaky devil, he’s only after her, with no risk of anyone else becoming collateral damage in bringing back her dead friend. It’s only a matter time of, though, until she realizes that’s not the case.
With an inevitable double-cross on the way, this could mark another interesting battle of science and magic, and Riri might not have enough power to compete. What great timing, then, that her former foe, Parker Robbins, has just wandered into Zelma Stanton’s shop and might end up leaving with more than he hoped for, like an alliance with an old enemy.
It’s nothing new for heroes and villains to call a brief truce in order to take down a greater evil (Loki has done it enough times) and given Robbins’ current position, he needs all the help he can get. With that in mind, if Riri finds herself backed into a corner and unable to get herself out of whatever she’s mixed up in with Mephisto, could The Hood come to her aid and get some payback while he’s there? The enemy of her enemy might be her friend this time around, it’s just a matter of how long that will last and how much Mephisto could retaliate that will impact them both.
How will Riri’s mother react to the return of Natalie, but not Gary?
Marvel Studios
When Riri’s artificial intelligence took the form of Natalie, it was met with a very mixed and understandable reaction. Riri’s love interest, Xavier (Matthew Elam), wasn’t happy at first, but was willing to try to understand N.A.T.A.L.I.E.’s existence and purpose for his friend’s sake. Meanwhile, Riri’s mother was amazed by her daughter’s creation and the authenticity of N.A.T.A.L.I.E. — so much so that she asked Riri if she could make one of her late husband, Gary (LaRoyce Hawkins), too, but the request was turned down. Imagine the inevitable confusion and disappointment then, when Natalie returns for real, and Gary doesn’t.
Before Riri was compelled to return to work and develop a new Ironheart suit, the super genius and her mother weren’t on the best of terms, with Ronnie (Anji White) struggling to understand her daughter and Riri refusing to let her in. In the wake of the finale, it’s very likely that a rift could reform between them after Riri chose to bring back her best friend instead of her stepfather. Could this be another inevitable downside to the deal Ironheart has struck with Mephisto that she didn’t see coming? It’ll be interesting to see how tense things get within the Williams household when we revisit it and how the family will handle someone close to them coming back from the dead, while another loved one remains lost to them, seemingly forever.
Could Mephisto appear in other MCU stories to make similar deals?
Marvel Studios
Mephisto finally making his appearance opens up different avenues for him to appear, and it doesn’t just have to involve forcing Riri to sign on the dotted line. This is a demonic force we’re talking about, and an individual to whom mortal laws don’t apply. In that case, Mephisto could appear anywhere and at any time within the MCU and cut more corrupt deals with struggling characters, only for them to find themselves in deeper trouble than before.
In the comics, Mephisto has snatched the souls off of dozens of heroes and villains through Marvel history, including members of the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and even Victor von Doom. With names as big as that coming into contact with this devilish dude, could their MCU counterparts find themselves in the same company? Doing so might make for interesting stories here and there, but it could also remove something the MCU has been built on: Danger and stakes.
With Natalie being the first character brought back from the dead in a very real way, could the same be done for some other fallen characters in this ongoing universe? Could Riri actually have a chat with Tony Stark if someone makes a wish to bring him back? Might Foggy’s brutal death be undone from “Daredevil: Born Again,” just like in the comics? If Mephisto really does start to make appearances here and there and anywhere, we can only hope it’s sparingly. If not, all it’s going to cause is a hell of a lot of problems.
