Entertainment
Perfect R-Rated Thriller On Netflix Is Tom Hardy's Best Performance
By Robert Scucci
| Published
I hate talking on the phone. When my parents call, my first question is, “Why didn’t you text me first to see if I’m even taking calls today?” Not because I don’t like my parents. Quite the opposite. I just don’t like filling awkward silences with small talk, and I’ve never been good at idle chit-chat, even with people I care about. Tom Hardy’s Ivan Locke in 2013’s Locke, on the other hand, can dial and talk with such urgency and fluency that if he hosted a seminar about proper phone etiquette, I’d probably pay $50 to attend.
Considered by many to be one of Hardy’s best performances, Locke is a tense thriller set entirely in his car as he takes a 90-minute drive to the hospital to witness the birth of the child he conceived during an extramarital affair. There are no cutaways showing what the people on the other end are doing. It’s just Tom Hardy in a car, shifting gears, barreling down the highway, dialing, and either confessing his sins or giving critical instructions, depending on who’s on the line.
A Tense, 90-Minute Drive
When we’re introduced to Ivan Locke, he’s tense but fully in control of his faculties. Though Locke is billed as a psychological thriller, there’s no unreliable narrator here. You have every reason to take him at his word. Is he stressed? Absolutely, and for good reason. A production foreman about to oversee one of the largest concrete pours in European history, his life is falling apart in every measurable way, and he’s trying to reckon with past mistakes as all of his stress points converge on this single evening.
The primary source of stress Ivan Locke faces is the premature birth of the child he conceived with former colleague Bethan (Olivia Colman). An otherwise faithful man, Ivan had a moment of weakness during a three-month job, and that lapse resulted in Bethan’s pregnancy. Though he hasn’t seen her since, he’s haunted by the fact that his own father abandoned him. Even without romantic feelings for Bethan, he refuses to let his child be born fatherless.
Because Bethan’s water breaks on the eve of the biggest job of his life, Ivan has to pass the torch to his trainee Donal (Andrew Scott), which understandably irritates his boss, Gareth (Ben Daniels), who promptly fires him for jumping ship at the last minute. Between phone calls to Donal, who is known to drink heavily after 5 p.m. and needs to ensure critical elements are in place for the pour, Ivan calls home, confesses his infidelity to his wife Katrina (Ruth Wilson), and attempts pleasantries with his sons Eddie (Tom Holland) and Sean (Bill Milner), who he hasn’t yet told the full story.
As the phone in his BMW lights up with voicemails, missed calls, and calls waiting on the other line while he navigates toward the hospital, Ivan Locke also lectures his absent father as if he were sitting in the passenger seat. It’s his way of confronting his demons and reassuring himself that although his life as he knows it is effectively over, he’s doing the right thing.
Top-Tier Voice Acting
While it may sound boring to watch a man talk on the phone in his car for 90 minutes, Locke is anything but. Whether he’s delivering life-shattering news to his wife, reassuring the mother of his new child, getting chewed out by his boss, chewing out his trainee, or comforting his sons, he remains calm and controlled while having conversations that would give any reasonable person a heart attack.
Tom Hardy doesn’t do all the heavy lifting alone. Everybody he speaks to carries their emotional weight through dialogue without ever appearing on screen, which is no small feat.
While critics often call Locke Tom Hardy’s best performance, the only thing that complicates that assessment for me is Mad Max: Fury Road. Sorry. I know it’s a completely different kind of movie and comparing them is apples to oranges, but if we’re talking about the singular best thing he’s ever done, I’m siding with the greatest action movie of all time. Coming in as a very close second, Locke, which technically doubles as a road thriller, is absolutely worth your time if you want to see how to handle the hardest conversations of your life without completely losing your cool in the process.
Locke is streaming on Netflix.
Entertainment
New Resident Evil Movie's Trailer Looks Like Generic Horror And Feels Nothing Like Resident Evil
By Jennifer Asencio
| Published
Fans of the Resident Evil franchise have had a slew of video games and several movies to satisfy their craving. The iconic Alice, played by Milla Jovovich, appeared in five movies between 2002 and 2016, and a sixth movie was a prequel that explored the origins of the mansion in which she woke up in the first movie. Now, there’s a new movie in the franchise, and it looks nothing like the others.
The movie is simply titled Resident Evil and will probably cause both itself and the first movie to henceforth be referred to with their years of release included in their titles. According to IMDb, it is about a young courier named Bryan (Austin Abrams) whose cargo is on its way to a mysterious, remote, and deserted location. The teaser trailer was released on May 1, 2026, and promised both action and horror as Bryan’s world suddenly becomes radically different and more dangerous overnight.
The trailer is a short movie of its own, framed around a phone call from Bryan to a nameless girlfriend with whom he had a fight, but is now trying to tell one last time that he loves her. 911 is busy, which is already ominous. Everything is dark, the house is abandoned, and he has had a problem on the road.
All alone, he searches the house for supplies as he finds himself pursued by zombie-like mutants. Forced to get back to the city (is it Raccoon City? The trailer doesn’t say) while surviving a variety of creepy, distorted monsters that perhaps were once human but are no longer, he trudges through the snow, explores cavernous tunnels, and flees from these frightening pursuers down desolate roads until he reaches the urban center. Viewers only get to see one street in the city, but it is raining mutants and zombies as Bryan frantically tries to escape.
There is a lot of criticism of the trailer being “not Resident Evil,” and there is merit to this complaint. The other Resident Evil films were action-horror, while this one looks like straight horror. There are no familiar characters like Alice, Leon Kennedy, Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, or the STARS team. Even many of the monsters are different from those in the other movies and the games. There is no sign of the licentious Umbrella Corporation.
What IS “Resident Evil” about it is the survival horror aspect. Fans of survival horror movies and games will recognize the foraging and exploring Bryan has to do in the house to collect the items he needs to defend himself and survive. These items include things like car keys, random firearms with handy ammo just lying around, and “healing items” like Band-aids or food. Survival horror fans will thrill over Bryan’s adventures, but the trailer that has been released does not make an obvious connection to the source material, a fact that has annoyed quite a few fans. And they’re not complaining that it’s not a good-looking movie, just that it is not a movie from the famous franchise.
However, the movie has a mark of horror prestige in the form of Zach Cregger, coming freshly from the success of the acclaimed movie Barbarian and the Oscar-winning Weapons. Cregger wrote both those movies in addition to directing them, and, while he has help from writer Shay Hatten, he has definitely proven his own mettle as a great horror director. Hatten’s presence should assuage fans who are worried about it not being an action film, too, since he is the mind behind the last three John Wick sequels, the Wick-adjacent Ballerina, and the Zack Snyder Army of the Dead movies.
So, to people worried that this film doesn’t have the feel of the Resident Evil franchise, I can only say: just wait. Remember that a franchise isn’t just about existing fans; it’s also about drawing in new fans, and to do that, franchises must constantly reinvent themselves, or they become dry and predictable, like the MCU. This is only the first trailer and only represents about two minutes of movie time. Resident Evil is a horror franchise at its core, and I am positive that Zach Cregger is not going to kill his strong momentum by delivering a film that alienates fans, no matter how different this early trailer might seem from the source material.
Resident Evil will be in theaters on September 18, 2026. Catch it before the infection spreads.
Entertainment
Red Alert! New Star Trek Short Film Is Everything You’ve Been Waiting For
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Starfleet Academy disappointed Star Trek fans for many reasons, including the liberties it took with franchise lore and its focus on foul-mouthed, drama-loving teens. But some fans hated that show long before it came out because they were hoping Paramount would produce a very different series. Namely, they wanted Star Trek: Legacy, which would blend new characters with legacy favorites and serve as a spinoff of Terry Matalas’ fan-favorite third season of Star Trek: Picard.
That show never materialized, and Paramount now seems focused on rebooting the franchise altogether. Does that mean you’re up the Great River without a paddle if you want classic Star Trek adventures? Negative, captain! Trek Shorts recently launched its newest fan film: Legacy Returns. Billed as “The world’s first SNW/Voyager Era fan film,” Legacy Returns is free to stream on YouTube, and we’ve embedded it below.
Legacy Returns is worth watching for any fan hoping to return to the Golden Age of Star Trek.
Reporting For Duty
What is Legacy Returns about, exactly? Like many classic Trek adventures, it begins with affable Starfleet officers (Dr. Louise Nilson and Lt. JG Hayes) preparing to warp to their next mission. Along the way, though, they encounter something unexpected: a Constitution-class vessel named USS Magellan. In exploring the vessel, they encounter many curiosities, including a mystery tied to events from over a century earlier. Fortunately, there is no obstacle that our heroes can’t solve with the cornerstones of Star Trek: exploration, diplomacy, and endless curiosity.
If you wrinkle your nose like a Bajoran when you hear the phrase “fan film,” I get it. Many such productions are low-rent and downright cringey to watch. For example, it feels like half the Star Wars “fan films” in existence are just an excuse to watch two grown men hit each other with sticks in the woods. Star Trek hasn’t fared much better, with fan productions that suffer from bad acting and even worse production quality.
Setting Phasers To Fun
Fortunately, Legacy Returns is a breath of fresh air among fan films. It is made by the Patreon-funded Trek Shorts team, and they’ve been creating killer Star Trek fan films since 2023. That experience has helped this team craft a movie that is a genuine pleasure to watch. For one thing, the special effects (which include absolutely beautiful ship exteriors) are top-notch. That same level of quality extends to the rest of the production: the uniforms are crisp and professional, and some of the recreated ship interiors will blow you away. The uniforms and props are perfect, making this “fan film” look polished and professional.
Most importantly, though, the story of Legacy Returns feels like Star Trek at its best. There isn’t much in the way of action and adventure, which may disappoint younger fans who grew up with the Kelvinverse movies. Instead, the movie focuses on characters quietly exploring a mysterious ship, all while diving deep into Trek lore. Incidentally, this is why it’s billed as a Voyager/Strange New Worlds film: our main characters are from the TNG/VOY era, but they explore a Constitution-class vessel that has the same slick interior as Captain Pike’s Enterprise.
Like Reconnecting With A Very Old Friend
Obviously, Legacy Returns isn’t a perfect movie. While the acting is much better than most fan films, it’s a far cry from what you get from professionals in shows like The Next Generation. Plus, while I dug the slower, lore-heavy plot, some fans might find the pace slow. However, these are relatively minor gripes, given how good the story and production quality are. Starfleet Academy had professional actors, and that show’s bad writing nearly ran the franchise into the ground. Quite frankly, Legacy Returns is the perfect fan film for anyone who has had issues with NuTrek and just wanted more Star Trek adventures as we had back in the ‘90s.
Best of all, this fan film is like everything else in the Utopian future of the 24th century: completely free! You can now stream Legacy Returns on YouTube. If you like what you see, take the time to dig in: under the Power543 Fan Films account, Short Treks has posted a number of fan films, each more passionate and ambitious than the one before. If you’re a huge Star Trek fan, you don’t have to wait for Season 4 of Strange New Worlds or Season 2 of Starfleet Academy to get your fix. You’re just one click away from more stellar, sci-fi storytelling than you can shake a jumja stick at!
Entertainment
Insidious Trailer Goes Shopping On Temu And Terrifies With Flashlights
By Jennifer Asencio
| Published
The Insidious franchise has followed psychic heroine Elise (played by horror and comedy classic Lin Shaye) as she helps other psychics learn to cope with or even suppress their powers, as she did for the Lambert family through much of the series. For many of the people she helped, the problem was that they could visit a world she calls The Further, a place of demons and ghosts. The most recent Insidious movie, The Red Door, shows Elise, who was trapped in The Further in the previous movie, observing a college-aged Dalton Lambert as he escapes from the other dimension.
Insidious: Out of the Further introduces a new family in the form of single mom Gemma (Amelia Eve) and her daughter Maya (Island Austin), who live together on what looks like a quiet little block in a neat suburban neighborhood. Gemma works in dentistry, and lives a happy, peaceful life with Maya until horrific nightmares begin invading her sleep and causing her to see what she thinks are hallucinations. Somehow, she is led to a psychic (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) who, after a brutal preparation process, channels Elise from The Further.
Elise explains, as viewers are treated to a montage of warped, otherworldly human-looking demons that seem to be stalking Gemma, that Gemma’s psychic abilities not only consist of the typical ability to cross into The Further, but also the potential to bring things back with her. This makes her a huge target for the malevolent demons that lurk beyond the Red Door.
The trailer’s highlights are its numerous jump scares and a cringy moment involving a Novocain needle, but director Jacob Chase seems heavily guided by the producer and the original film’s director, James Wan. Wan’s signature is all over the eerie faces and shadowy places that lurk around Gemma, Maya, and their home. Chase also co-wrote the script, indicating that his vision was already aligning well with the franchise’s premise; the other writers are Davis Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Leigh Whannell.
It also expresses some interesting potential for lore geeks who have followed the series. Elise has been the expert on The Further all along, aiding families who’ve had brushes with it at great risk to her material and mental health. Her character is the thread that has tied the rest of the movies together, even after she herself was lost. The hint from The Red Door that she has been sneaking around The Further all along, keeping an eye on things from the other side and aiding the escape of anyone unfortunate enough to find their way there, has been confirmed with this trailer.
The obvious question is, if the demons can get through from The Further, will Elise be able to come through, too? Or will she decide she should stay behind and continue to defend humanity by guiding lost souls back home? In the delicate interaction between The Further and our world, this is even more central of a question than whether or not the demons make it through. Whatever side Elise stays on will have an impact on how much damage the demons can do to our world. This glaring question almost overtakes the premise and becomes more important than whether anything else passes through.
How powerful will Elise be from beyond The Further? What will happen if humanity is overrun by demonic entities? Have Gemma’s gifts been inherited by her innocent pre-teen daughter? Insidious: Out of the Further releases the demons in theaters sometime in August.
Each movie in the Insidious storyline has seemed more like a chapter from a book as they have added to the lore behind Elise. She even started the series almost like a rock star, with two paranormal investigators flanking her and filming her adventures with the beyond. While The Red Door did follow the Lambert family whose tribulations started the series, I know I for one was looking for Elise’s more competent experience with The Further. And now, she has been residing there for an indeterminate amount of time and have probed even more of its secrets.
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