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EXCLUSIVE: Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly tease ‘beautiful chaos’ in Dark Matter season 2

Posted on August 23, 2026 by faz_business

Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly return for season 2 of Blake Crouch’s hit sci-fi series, Dark Matter. Following the events of season 1, Dark Matter follows physicist Jason (Edgerton), his wife Daniela (Connelly), and their son Charlie (Oakes Fegley) as they travel the Multiverse in search of a new world to live in.

In an interview with Digital Trends, Edgerton and Connelly discussed working together again on Dark Matter. They also broke down what fans can expect for the show’s second season and what new challenges their characters will face.

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Digital Trends: What was it like returning to the series for season 2 and working together again?

Connelly: Fantastic. It was great. I was very happy to come back and work with Joel and have more time actually with the couple. The original version of the couple who, in season one, you meet them, and they have a couple scenes together, and then they’re apart until the very end, where they have this very fraught reunion. So it was really fun to have time with that couple of them [and to] get to know who they were and who they’d become.

Digital Trends: Yeah, they go through a lot together, and there’s a new season, and it looks like that their relationship has a lot of challenges. They’re traveling the multiverse together, and they’re trying to hide from all these different forces closing in on them. Do you ever expect Jason and Daniela to find happiness somewhere in some other universe?

Edgerton: You know, it’s funny, I look at them and go, “I think you guys just get to Chicago, try and get on an airplane. Go to Tahiti. Greece. So I would like to shoot that episode. Look, I think they’re going to find a place.

What’s great about the challenge for Blake of writing the episodes is every time they go to a new world, there’s like a checklist for things [they] are going to do.

It’s like: Find out not only is there’s another version of Jason, [if] there’s another version of Daniela there or Charlie. Can they avoid that? How do they get into that world with identification, and how do they find money? All these complications. How do they find work? How [do] they find a house?

So there’s sort of these hoops [that] they got to jump through. And all the while they’re going to be kind to each other. I feel like Jason is constantly dealing with his guilt. He’s like, “I got us into this mess, sort of.” So I have hope that they’ll find that.

There’s a place we find in season 2 that’s kind of cool, and I don’t give spoilers away that there’s a couple of worlds they find. Some are not good, but one of them particularly seems to be okay. I’m not going to spoil it.

Digital Trends: All right. So what was the most exciting part about filming this season? Was there anything particularly challenging about it as well?

Connelly: There are things that are more challenging, practically, or more uncomfortable, like that tornado world we went to. Rain machines and wind machines. And then there are things like, I had the experience of the season of working with myself, which is super peculiar. That’s something I’d never done before. Nothing unexpected happens. It’s so weird.

Digital Trends: Overall, what can fans of this show expect from season 2? And in your opinion, how is it compared to season 1?

Edgerton: There’s a sort of a beautiful chaos to season 2. Sort of this world and endless possibilities, with a number of characters, and kind of following these journeys of different characters, and literally this multitude of possibilities for each of them.

So there’s a certain chaos that is harnessed in season 2 that makes sense of the technology. And in a way, the whole purpose of season 2 is to also underline that, on one hand, the new technology creates a sense of chaos and demands that human beings really intentionally choose how they will use something.

And in the case of us, as a family…do we use it to escape? Do we use it to find it a home and then shut it down? So, I think fans can hope for a real deeper explanation, exploration, rather, of the characters that they met in season 1. The same wild spectacle, but a pinch of extra madness and chaos.

Connelly: Yeah, I always said the same. I think things are just amplified. All the elements that were in the show in season 1 are amplified here. So I think that the world exploration is even more spectacular.

I think that the show always had really entertaining, playful elements, and I think there’s even more playfulness in those aspects. And then there was also always this sort of domestic drama. I think that aspect goes even deeper here in season 2. So, yeah, I think everything’s just a little extra.

Digital Trends: Yeah, I’ll say. So do you see yourself working together on a third season of this series?

Edgerton: No, not there anymore, man.

Digital Trends: Really?

Edgerton: Well, look, you know, the thing about television is…the fans love it, then there’ll be more, and it means that we feel appreciated. We certainly all enjoy working with each other. It’s a really great atmosphere, and…I don’t feel like there’s squeaky wheels on Dark Matter too.

Everybody rolls this, leaves up, and pitches in and works really hard and appreciates and looks after each other. So the feeling amongst the group is that we’re a big family and we enjoy that work experience. Then it’s over to you guys. It’s over to the fans, and if the fans love it and they call for more, then we’ll probably deliver it.

Digital Trends: Amazing. So is there anything else that you’d like to say to the fans?

Connelly: I hope that fans enjoy it and have a great time. Yeah, we love making the show, and I had a great time working on it and collaborating with everyone, and we hope that the fans enjoy it. It’s always good to know. I think some of the feedback from fans in season 1 was really special, and I know Blake is very smart to be receptive to the response.

Edgerton: And sometimes that means fans…they’ll let you know what they expect of certain characters. And I think it’s Blake’s job to kind of help deliver the expectations, but also surprise an audience. So these prize fans can often help activate the shaping of a show themselves with their own feedback.

Dark Matter season 2 premieres on Apple TV on August 28.

This indie movie with 99% RT score is one of the 3 underrated Hulu movies to watch this weekend (May 2-3)

Posted on May 2, 2026 by faz_business

This weekend’s movie recommendation sits somewhere between the quiet and the unbearable. A grief-stricken man digs through ancient earth looking for a door that shouldn’t exist. Two brothers make one bad call that unravels everything. And a man who can’t talk about his grief ends up performing it on a stage instead.

Three films, very different in tone, but all circling the same idea – what happens when the thing you’re reaching for pulls you somewhere you can’t come back from?

We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best free movies, and the best movies on Amazon Prime Video.

La Chimera (2023)

Josh O’Connor plays Arthur, a disheveled British archaeologist fresh out of an Italian prison who has an uncanny gift for sensing what’s buried underground. He falls back in with a ragtag gang of grave robbers who loot Etruscan tombs and sell the artifacts. But Arthur isn’t after treasure. He’s searching for a mythical doorway to the underworld, hoping it leads him back to the woman he lost.

This hidden gem envelops you in a dreamy haze that is both funny and melancholic, yet quietly magical all at once. The film drifts between worlds with complete confidence. I really like how it holds grief and absurdity in the same frame without forcing either to explain itself.

You can watch La Chimera on Hulu.

When Evil Lurks (2023)

This Argentine horror film drops you into a remote rural village where two brothers discover a man whose body has become a vessel for a gestating demon. Their attempt to deal with the situation goes badly, and what follows is one of the most relentlessly bleak and brutal horror films in recent memory.

When Evil Lurks constructs its own rigid mythology around demonic possession, the horror comes entirely from watching those rules get ignored one by one. The film doesn’t flinch, and it doesn’t comfort you either. I really like how it treats evil as something almost infrastructural, embedded in neglect and bad decisions rather than dramatic confrontation. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but it is genuinely unforgettable.

You can watch When Evil Lurks on Hulu.

Ghostlight (2024)

Dan is a construction worker who has built his entire identity around not talking about things. When a local theater group pulls him into a production of Romeo and Juliet, the last thing he expects is for Shakespeare to crack him open. This is a film about grief that doesn’t announce itself as one, which is exactly what makes it so effective.

The cast is a real Chicago theater family, father, mother, and daughter, playing versions of themselves, and that intimacy bleeds into every scene. I really like how the film uses the chaos of Romeo and Juliet as a mirror for what this family is quietly living through. It premiered at Sundance, earned a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, yet somehow most people still haven’t seen it.

You can watch Ghostlight on Hulu.

3 underrated Amazon Prime Video movies you should watch this weekend (April 10-12)

Posted on April 11, 2026 by faz_business

This weekend’s watchlist covers three different genres of movies, so you can pick whatever you are in the mood for. We have a trio of hidden gems on Amazon Prime Video that deserve way more attention.

There is a gritty Michael Caine revenge thriller you should not miss, a micro-budget 1950s sci-fi mystery that thrives on atmosphere and dialogue. For horror fans, we have a psychological horror bout a hospice nurse whose faith tips into something far more dangerous that gets inside your skin.

We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best free movies, and the best movies on Amazon Prime Video.

Saint Maud (2019)

Saint Maud is not a horror film in the traditional sense, and going in expecting one will work against you. What it actually is is a deeply unsettling psychological portrait of a young hospice nurse named Maud, a recent Catholic convert who becomes dangerously fixated on saving her terminally ill patient’s soul in ways that grow increasingly disturbing.

Morfydd Clark’s performance is the engine of the whole thing, holding a fragile, frightening line between piety and paranoia throughout. I really like how the film gets under your skin without ever fully explaining itself. You finish it feeling like you witnessed something you were not supposed to see, and that feeling does not leave quickly.

You can watch Saint Maud on Amazon Prime Video

Harry Brown (2009)

If you have a soft spot for slow-burn British crime dramas, Harry Brown is the movie you need to watch this weekend. Michael Caine plays the title character, a widowed, retired Royal Marines veteran living on a decaying South London housing estate overrun by gang violence. When his only friend is murdered, Harry stops looking the other way.

What makes this film work so well is how it refuses to glamorize what follows. Harry is not an action hero. He is an old man with emphysema who stumbles during a chase and collapses on a canal path.

I really like how the film earns every moment of tension because it keeps Harry vulnerable and the world around him genuinely threatening. Caine is absolutely extraordinary here, and there are sequences in this film that will make you forget you are watching a 77-year-old man.

You can watch Harry Brown on Amazon Prime Video

The Vast of Night (2019)

Have you accidentally tuned into a late-night radio broadcast and could not bring yourself to switch off. Well, The Vast of Night is exactly that kind of sci-fi movie.

Set over a single night in 1950s small-town New Mexico, the film follows Fay, a teenage switchboard operator, and Everett, a fast-talking local radio DJ, as they stumble onto a mysterious audio frequency that sends them down a strange and increasingly eerie rabbit hole.

There are no big set pieces or alien invasions. The tension is built almost entirely through dialogue, long unbroken camera takes, and an incredibly precise sound design that makes the night feel alive and watchable.

What I really love about this movie is how it makes stillness feel tense. A long phone call, a quiet street, a voice crackling through static, and somehow all of it keeps you completely locked in. For a movie made on a low budget, The Vast of Night makes an entertaining watch.

You can watch The Vast of Night on Amazon Prime Video

Hollywood’s biggest filmmaker just came out clean about using AI in movies

Posted on March 15, 2026 by faz_business

Legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg voiced concerns about the growing role of artificial intelligence in creative industries during an appearance at SXSW in Austin. Speaking during an interview session at the 2026 event, Spielberg made it clear that while he supports technology in many fields, he strongly opposes AI replacing human creativity in filmmaking.

Spielberg Draws A Line On AI In Creative Work

During the discussion, Spielberg revealed that he has never used AI in any of his films, a statement that drew enthusiastic applause from the audience. The director emphasized that although artificial intelligence can be useful in certain disciplines, it should not replace the people responsible for storytelling and artistic expression.

“I am not for AI if it replaces a creative individual,” Spielberg said during the conversation.

The filmmaker explained that in his own creative process, including television writing rooms, he still relies entirely on human collaboration. According to Spielberg, there is no “empty chair with a laptop in front of it” representing an AI contributor. For him, the development of stories and characters remains a fundamentally human activity.

Spielberg’s stance reflects broader concerns across Hollywood, where writers, directors, and actors have increasingly debated how AI might affect jobs and creative control in the entertainment industry.

A Director Known For Exploring Technology

Despite his skepticism toward AI replacing creative professionals, Spielberg is not opposed to technology itself. Throughout his career, many of his films have explored futuristic technologies and their potential consequences.

His filmography includes classics such as Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Spielberg has also examined the relationship between humans and advanced technology in projects like Minority Report, Ready Player One, and A.I. Artificial Intelligence.

These films often present technology as both a powerful tool and a potential threat, themes that echo Spielberg’s real-world perspective on artificial intelligence.

AI’s Growing Presence In The Entertainment Industry

Spielberg’s comments come at a time when AI tools are increasingly entering the filmmaking and television production landscape. Technology startups are developing AI-powered platforms designed to assist with script development, editing, and visual effects, often marketing them as tools that can reduce production costs.

Major streaming platforms are also exploring how artificial intelligence might streamline content creation. Amazon has reportedly begun testing AI tools for film and television production. Meanwhile, Netflix recently acquired an AI-focused filmmaking company associated with Ben Affleck in a deal reportedly valued at around $600 million.

While these developments could reshape how films and shows are produced, they have also sparked ongoing debates about whether AI will assist creative professionals or eventually replace them.

The Future Of AI In Hollywood

Spielberg’s remarks highlight a central question facing the entertainment industry: how to integrate new technologies without undermining the human creativity that defines filmmaking.

For independent filmmakers working with limited resources, AI tools may offer opportunities to reduce production costs or speed up certain tasks. However, many established creators argue that storytelling should remain driven by human imagination rather than automated systems.

As AI continues to evolve and spread across the entertainment industry, discussions like the one at SXSW suggest that Hollywood’s biggest names are determined to ensure technology enhances creativity rather than replacing it.

Prime Video’s AI recap feature messed up so badly that Amazon removed it

Posted on December 12, 2025 by faz_business

Amazon has quietly removed its recently launched feature, AI-generated video recaps, after it bungled key story details of the Fallout series on Prime Video. The feature was supposed to make catching up on the next season easier by analyzing plot points and turning them into a short video narrated by an AI voice. Instead, it got basic facts wrong, confusing both longtime fans and people just discovering the show.

Where the AI recaps went wrong

Fallout’s season one recap was where viewers first noticed something was off. The AI confidently claimed that one of The Ghoul’s flashbacks took place in 1950s, even though the scene is actually set in the year 2077. As GamesRadar pointed out, the narrator also misstated a major character moment by saying The Ghoul gave Lucy a choice to die or leave with him. The real situation is far more nuanced since Lucy could either join him or stay behind and face a possible attack from the Brotherhood of Steel.

Fallout on Prime added a season 1 recap but don’t bother watching it, it’s AI slop that gets several details wrong like the flashbacks being set in the 1950s and “Cooper offers Lucy a choice in the finale: die, or join him” phrased as if he’d be the one to kill her 😭 pic.twitter.com/zHLvN988w5

— lucks eterna ☘️ (@lucks_eterna) November 24, 2025

Earlier, Amazon deployed these AI-powered recaps across several series, including The Rig, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Upload, and Bosch. Now, the feature has disappeared from all of them, and Amazon has not yet commented on when or whether the feature will return. This news arrives as Amazon tests other viewing upgrades on Prime Video, such as an Alexa feature that allows you to skip directly to any scene you describe.

The idea behind these recaps made sense in theory. They were supposed to save viewers time and offer a quick refresher before starting a new season. For now, Prime Video is left with a reminder of how messy generative AI can be when it tries to explain a world as detailed as Fallout. Amazon might bring the feature back after fixing it, yet this misstep highlights how far AI still is from delivering dependable story recaps. Until Amazon gets its recap system back on track, you can check out what is new on Prime Video this month or pick from its lineup of top-rated movies.

When the world spins out of control

Posted on July 20, 2025 by faz_business

I’m still chipping away at my summer reading backlog over here, and this week finally made it to Alex Foster’s Circular Motion, which came out in May. And, wow, I wasn’t quite ready for the emotional journey this one took me on. It’s set in a near future — people ride OneWheels and going viral on social media is still a thing some strive for — where the megacompany CWC has created an extreme form of high-speed travel that allows people to zip across the world in no time flat. But, it soon becomes pretty clear that there’s a consequence for this. Earth is spinning faster and faster… and faster, and protestors blame CWC and the orbital circuit its travel system relies on.

The days grow shorter, the climate events become more extreme and everything is hurtling toward disaster. Circular Motion follows Tanner, a kid from smalltown Alaska who lands a job at CWC, Winnie, a girl who has truly been through it, and Columbia professor Victor Bickle, who shot to viral fame after predicting a public infrastructure catastrophe. They’re all connected, as we piece together through multiple POVs. This is a book that very blatantly has something to say about capitalism, climate change and everything in between, and a beautiful exploration of human connection in a crumbling world.

Never fear, reaction videos are still allowed under YouTube’s new ‘inauthentic content’ policy

Posted on July 15, 2025 by faz_business

YouTube has clarified its rules about repetitious content and your favorite reaction video channel won’t be impacted. Earlier this month, the platform said it would be changing its rules for monetization in an effort to address AI-generated materials, but didn’t include many specifics, which led many to sound the alarm that reaction videos might get swept up in the new rules. The company has now provided a few tweaks and more clear delineations in its guidelines about channel monetization policies.

For starters, the rule is being renamed to the inauthentic content policy. “This type of content has always been ineligible for monetization under our existing policies, where creators are rewarded for original and authentic content,” a note appended to the states. “There is no change to our reused content policy which reviews content like commentary, clips, compilations and reaction videos.”

YouTube provided a few examples of material that it would deem to be mass-produced or overly repetitive, and thus ineligible to be monetized. Inauthentic content includes video “that exclusively features readings of other materials you did not originally create, like text from websites or news feeds” or “image slideshows or scrolling text with minimal or no narrative, commentary, or educational value.” The company also shared examples of reused content. YouTube said those beloved reaction channels, as well as videos that contain clips for analysis, review or commentary, are unaffected by the new rules. The no-nos for reused content rules might include “Content uploaded many times by other creators” or “Content downloaded or copied from another online source without any substantive modifications.”

What to read this weekend: Vampires and more vampires

Posted on June 15, 2025 by faz_business

I was pretty late in getting to this one, as it’s been on my list for a good while now, but I really can’t think of a better time to have finally picked up this retelling of the original sapphic vampire story, Carmilla, than during Pride Month. And what a treat it is. Hungerstone is a gothic novel that follows Lenore, a woman who has been uprooted from London and moved to the British moorlands by her husband, Henry, to fulfill his career ambitions. Henry is… not the best, and Lenore could definitely do with some companionship. Then, in walks Carmilla. Cue the yearning and craving.

Carmilla is actually brought in after a carriage accident to recover and overstays her welcome, making everyone in the house uncomfortable with her strange behaviors (wandering at night, forgoing food at mealtimes, etc). From the moment she arrives, Lenore can’t stop thinking about her. Lenore is also having strange dreams, and girls in a nearby village soon begin catching a strange illness. This is all pretty familiar. There are some big differences between Hungerstone and the novella it’s based on, though. Hungerstone further explores industrialization and the expectations and treatment of women in this time period. It delivers feminine rage and some really satisfying moments.

Captain America: Brave New World and The Wild Robot just hit streaming

Posted on May 31, 2025 by faz_business

Each week on Polygon, we round up the most notable new releases to streaming and VOD, highlighting the biggest and best new movies for you to watch at home.

This week, Captain America: Brave New World, the Marvel superhero movie starring Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford, smashes its way onto Disney Plus after hitting video on demand in April. It’s a big week for animation, with the Oscar-nominated The Wild Robot and the Korean science fiction romance Lost in Starlight both releasing on Netflix, while DreamWorks’ adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s internationally bestselling Dog Man graphic novel series arrives on Peacock. New titles available to rent include the Chinese legal thriller The Prosecutor, and two tales of forbidden love: the Shakespearean musical Juliet & Romeo and The Grey director Joe Carnahan’s action flick Shadow Force.

Here’s everything new that’s available to watch this weekend!

Genre: Science fiction romance
Director: Han Ji-won
Cast: Kim Tae-ri, Hong Kyung/Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Justin H. Min

Set in 2050 Seoul, Netflix’s first Korean original animated film is a story of literally star-crossed lovers. An astronaut headed for Mars and a musician fall for each other and face the pain of separation. Trying to make a long-distance relationship work is especially difficult when you’re 139 million miles away from each other.

Genre: Crime drama
Director: Carlos Sedes
Cast: Carmen Machi, Ivana Baquero, Tristán Ulloa

Based on a true story, this Spanish film stars Ivana Baquero (Pan’s Labyrinth) as Maje, the young widow of a man stabbed seven times and left in a parking lot in a seeming crime of passion. The investigation leads to Maje’s lovers, as the police try to figure out who’s really behind the crime.

Genre: Family science fiction
Run time: 1h 42m
Director: Chris Sanders
Cast: Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor

Based on Peter Brown’s middle-grade book, DreamWorks’ Academy Award-nominated film follows Roz (Lupita Nyong’o), a helpful robot who accidentally washes up on an island that’s only inhabited by animals. While she initially terrifies all the creatures there, she winds up befriending a fox (Pedro Pascal) who helps her raise a runty gosling (Kit Connor) and prepare him for his first migration.

From director Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon), The Wild Robot is a tenderly crafted story that pushes computer animation in a beautiful new direction — and is exactly the sort of movie that the current animation landscape so desperately needs.

Captain America: Brave New World

Genre: Superhero action
Run time: 1h 58m
Director: Julius Onah
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Harrison Ford

Set after the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Captain America: Brave New World sees Sam Wilson — having fully embraced his role as the new Captain America — being called on to resolve an international incident in the wake of a failed assassination attempt on newly elected President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford). With time running out and the walls closing in, will Sam be able to come out on top and rescue the world from the brink of devastation? Probably!

As a Captain America movie, Brave New World is batting strongly below average. Its plot is at least mildly reminiscent of 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but it’s both fair and unfair to compare the two. Unfair in that Winter Soldier is still among the best-regarded MCU movies, while BNW is running uphill from table-setting a potential new Captain America franchise, dealing with post-production rewrites and reshoots, and the general malaise of the MCU’s post-Avengers: Endgame audience. But fair in that, like Winter Soldier, BNW was also clearly designed as a grounded thriller (by the sliding scale of “grounded” in the MCU) featuring global political stakes and a superpowered conspiracy at its heart.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Genre: Political drama
Run time: 2h 48m
Director: Mohammad Rasoulof
Cast: Soheila Golestani, Missagh Zareh, Mahsa Rostami

Writer and director Mohammad Rasoulof had to flee Iran after he was sentenced to eight years in prison ahead of the premiere of The Seed of the Sacred Fig. The Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated film is a fictional story set against the backdrop of political protests, incorporating real footage of the 2022 and 2023 unrest that followed the death of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini, who was fatally beaten by Iranian “morality police” under the accusation that she was wearing her hijab improperly.

Genre: Family comedy
Run time: 1h 29m
Director: Peter Hastings
Cast: Peter Hastings, Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery

Peter Hastings continues the Captain Underpants franchise with an adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s graphic novel series about a hero created when a police officer and his dog were stitched together into one individual after being wounded while failing to defuse a bomb. Pete Davidson plays Dog Man’s evil cat nemesis in the DreamWorks film, which uses CG animation styled to resemble craft materials.

Genre: Thriller
Run time: 1h 31m
Director: Mel Gibson
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Topher Grace, Michelle Dockery

No one is quite who they seem in Mel Gibson’s claustrophobic thriller, where a U.S. Marshal (Michelle Dockery) hires a pilot (Mark Wahlberg) to get an informant from Alaska to New York so he can testify against the crime family he worked for. As they travel across the wilderness, the group fights for control of the increasingly tense and violent flight.

New on Shudder and HIDIVE

Genre: Horror anime
Run time: 1h 31m
Director: Toyoo Ashida
Cast: Kaneto Shiozawa, Michie Tomizawa, Seizō Katō

AMC Networks re-released a digitally remastered version of Toyoo Ashida’s classic anime film to celebrate its 40th anniversary in theaters in April, and is now offering it across both its anime and horror streaming services. Set in a far future where vampires rule the world, the action-packed film follows a mysterious vampire hunter hired to protect a woman from a vampire lord who wants her to be his next bride.

Genre: Action comedy
Run time: 1h 42m
Director: James Madigan
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Katee Sackhoff, Charithra Chandran

Basically Bullet Train but in the air, Fight or Flight casts Black Hawk Down and Penny Dreadful star Josh Hartnett as a disgraced Secret Service agent given the chance to clear his name by catching an elusive hacker known as the Ghost, who’s boarded a flight from Bangkok to San Francisco. Unfortunately, the plane is packed with assassins looking to kill the Ghost and anyone who gets in their way.

Genre: Musical romance
Run time: 2h 2m
Director: Timothy Scott Bogart
Cast: Jamie Ward, Clara Rugaard, Rupert Everett

West Side Story already did the decisive musical version of Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet, but this adaptation plays closer to the original text while adding a soundtrack full of original pop tunes to the tale of two feuding houses of Verona. Filmed on location in Italy, Juliet & Romeo’s high-profile supporting cast includes Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter, The White Lotus) as Lord Montague and Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids, Pitch Perfect) as Lady Capulet.

Genre: Legal thriller
Run time: 1h 57m
Director: Donnie Yen
Cast: Donnie Yen, Cheung Chi Lam Julian, Michael Hui

Ip Man’s Donnie Yen directs and stars in this Chinese legal thriller loosely based on a real 2016 drug trafficking case. Yen plays detective Fok Chi-ho, who loses faith in policing and decides the better way to ensure criminals face justice is as a public prosecutor. The Prosecutor might be mostly courtroom drama, but there’s still plenty of action, combining old-school martial arts techniques with modern film technology.

Genre: Action thriller
Run time: 1h 43m
Director: Joe Carnahan
Cast: Kerry Washington, Omar Sy, Mark Strong

Eight years ago, Kyrah Owens (Kerry Washington of Scandal and Little Fires Everywhere) and Isaac Sarr (Omar Sy of Lupin and Jurassic World) joined a multinational special forces group dubbed Shadow Force, but they’ve left that life behind to raise their son. Their old boss (played by Mark Strong of Shazam! and Sherlock Holmes) doesn’t accept their resignation, and is trying to hunt them down.

3 action movies to watch on Memorial Day

Posted on May 25, 2025 by faz_business

Memorial Day is more than just an excuse to get out the grill. It’s also a day designed to honor those we’ve lost in combat, an important hallmark of the wars America has fought over its history.

In that context, we’ve pulled together three action movies that all focus on what it means to be a soldier in one way or another. Some of these movies are more serious than others, but each one should resonate on this particular long weekend.

We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.

Black Hawk Down (2001)

One of the best war movies of the past 25 years, Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down follows a platoon of U.S. forces attacked by local rebels in Somalia during the early 1990s. As the soldiers on the ground face relentless fire and are forced to fight to survive, we also come to appreciate the folly of U.S. forces assuming that they can bring peace to the world.

Black Hawk Down is filled with young actors who would eventually become stars, but what really makes the movie work is the fact that none of those actors are more important than the relentless pace of the story being told.

You can watch Black Hawk Down on Netflix.

Da 5 Bloods (2020)

A brilliant examination of the Vietnam War and its aftermath, Da 5 Bloods tells the story of a group of Black veterans of that war who reunite in the country decades later to find the treasure they buried there during the conflict.

As they argue about the state of modern America and discuss how they were abused by the country they call home, the men also find themselves forced to fight for their right to leave with the gold. Anchored by a remarkable central performance from Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods is one of Spike Lee’s more impressive and exciting efforts of the past decade.

You can watch Da 5 Bloods on Netflix.

The Great Escape (1963)

The Great Escape is an action movie that strikes an impressive tonal balance between comedy and drama. Set in a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp, it follows a group of imprisoned soldiers who see it as their obligation to attempt to escape from the camp. As they slowly dig a tunnel to escape, a rogue amongst them keeps trying to break out in more reckless ways.

Although it might minimize some of the horror of living in a Nazi prison camp, The Great Escape is an effective, action-oriented depiction of how much soldiers can fight even after they’ve already been captured.

You can watch The Great Escape on Amazon Prime Video.