Hugh Jackman Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Hugh Jackman-whose latest project "The Death of Robin Hood" releases in theaters on Thursday.

Hugh Jackman's Filmography Ranked:

25.Movie 43 (D)

24.The Fountain (C-)

23.The Greatest Showman (C)

22.Chappie (C)

21.X-Men Origins: Wolverine (B-)

20.The Front Runner (B-)

19.Reminiscence (B-) 

18.Van Helsing (B-)

17.X-Men: The Last Stand (B-)

16.Deadpool & Wolverine (B-)

15.X-Men (B-)

14.Eddie the Eagle (B-)

13.The Wolverine (B)

12.Rise of the Guardians (B)

11.Butter (B)

10.Real Steel (B)

9.The Prestige (B)

8.Song Sung Blue (B)

7.Logan (B)

6.The Sheep Detectives (B)

5.Bad Education (B+)

4.X2 (B+)

3.Swordfish (B+)

2.X-Men: Days of Future Past (B+)

1.Prisoners (B+) 

Top Dog: Prisoners (2013)

While a recent rewatch did knock it down a peg or two in my eyes, Prisoners remains a captivating mystery thriller full of excellent performances, skin-crawling dread and unflinching bleakness.  

Bottom Feeder: Movie 43 (2013)

This abysmal anthology comedy will always and forever be one of the greatest misuses of talent in the history of Hollywood. It's honestly awe-inspiring that so many respected actors carved out time in their crowded schedules to appear in something that is full of some of the most brutally unfunny lowbrow humor to ever grace movie theater screens worldwide. Peter Farrelly, who served as the primary brainchild of this unholy creation, has to be thankful that he was so well-established in the industry when this released in January 2013 because who knows what kind of damage this could've done to his career if it had come out right after Dumb and Dumber or There's Something About Mary.

Most Underrated: Swordfish (2001)

I saw Swordfish when I was in high school in the late 2000's and in a development that will surely shock anyone who knows my taste in movies, I was absolutely smitten with its over-the-top action thriller hijinks. When I decided to rewatch it yesterday afternoon, I was nervous that it wasn't going to cast the same spell on me as an adult. To my delight, it hit just as hard now as it did then. Maestro Dominic Sena followed up his excellent work on Gone in 60 Seconds with this majestic trash can symphony that distills the most endearing parts of late 90's/early 2000's genre filmmaking into 99 minutes of pure, adrenaline-fueled absurdity. If Swordfish came out today, a good percentage of the CinemaSins-fueled logic police crowd that is so prevalent in film discourse spaces would probably need to go to the emergency room to recover from the damage the plot inflicted upon their precious big brains. 

Most Overrated: Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

As someone who has defended and/or celebrated a number of the post-Endgame MCU movies, I have to say that I'm slightly nauseated by the fact that Deadpool & Wolverine is widely viewed as one of the few triumphs they've produced during this period. To be fair to Ryan Reynolds, the idea of bringing Deadpool into the MCU by shitting all over the powerful ending of Logan by reviving Jackman's Wolverine is a funny idea that leads to some great bits. The problem is that the movie eventually morphs from a fun spoof of the genre's nostalgia porn to a full-blown embrace of it and not even some hilarious surprises like Wesley Snipes returning as Blade is enough to save it from its own shamelessness. 

Emily Blunt Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Emily Blunt-whose latest project "Disclosure Day" releases in theaters today.

Emily Blunt's Filmography Ranked:

21.Gnomeo & Juliet (D)

20.The Wolfman (D)

19.Sunshine Cleaning (C-)

18.Pain Hustlers (C+)

17.The Smashing Machine (B-)

16.Dan in Real Life (B-)

15.Jungle Cruise (B-)

14.The Five-Year Engagement (B-)

13.The Devil Wears Prada 2 (B-)

12.The Devil Wears Prada (B-)

11.Oppenheimer (B)

10.Charlie Wilson's War (B)

9.The Adjustment Bureau (B) 

8.Looper (B)

7.IF (B+)

6.The Girl on the Train (B+)

5.Edge of Tomorrow (B+)

4.A Quiet Place (B+)

3.A Quiet Place: Part II (B+)

2.Sicario (A-)

1.The Fall Guy (A)

Top Dog: The Fall Guy (2024)

Yes, you are reading that correctly: My favorite movie that widely respected thespian Blunt has ever been in is David Leitch's The Fall Guy. Leitch's heartfelt ode to the stunt community he came up in is one of those rare blockbusters that rides the charisma of its stars and the electricity of its spectacle to glory. The wonderous popcorn entertainment magic that The Fall Guy conjures up is the high that I'm chasing every time I step into theater to watch a big summer movie, and I hope that something over the next few months will be able to rise to the level of this wonderful movie.

Bottom Feeder: Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)

As much as an animated retelling of Romeo & Juliet featuring lawn gnomes and the music of Elton John sounds fake, it's very a real movie. It even made enough money to spawn a sequel eight years later! Despite respecting the sheer absurdity of its existence, I found Gnomeo & Juliet to be an obnoxious movie that was a chore to sit through and it's easily one of the worst animated movies I've ever watched.  

Most Underrated: IF (2024)

IF hive rise up! John Krasinski's foray into the world of family films really charmed me with its messages of not letting the cruelty of the world we live in rob you of your creativity and the importance of letting light into your life whenever possible. It also gets major bonus points for Michael Giacchino casually dropping an absolute banger of a score that is probably my favorite thing he's ever done outside of The Batman.

Most Overrated: Oppenheimer (2023)

Christopher Nolan's streak of making movies that I wasn't overly impressed by and/or find to be very overrated extended to 4 with the project that finally got him a boatload of Oscars. While Oppenheimer has stunning moments and a terrific lead performance from Cillain Murphy,  some clumsy creative choices (the MCU-esque deployment of the names of famous politicians and the "I am Become Death, Destroyer of Worlds, raging alcoholic Kitty Oppenheimer delivering a scathing monologue to the government-appointed legal team investigating her husband in 1959 where she perfectly recalls details from events that occurred over a decade earlier) and pacing woes brought on by its overly cute nonlinear structure prevent it from being the haunting epic character study it aspires to be. 

2026 NFL Position Rankings: Top 50 Defensive Tackles

Note: In 2025, the players below were spread out between the defensive tackle and defensive end rankings. All of the players that were featured in the series in 2025 will have a DT or DE tag accompanying last year's ranking.

()=2025 ranking

+=Unranked or ineligible in 2025

50.(+) Khyris Tonga (Chiefs)

49.(+) Tim Settle (Commanders)

48.(DT-25) Keeanu Benton (Steelers)

47.(DE-19) Jonathan Allen (Bengals)

46.(DT-27) Arik Armstead (Jaguars)

45.(+) Nathan Shepherd (Saints)

44.(DT-19) Jarran Reed (Seahawks)

43.(DE-13) Calias Campbell (Ravens)

42.(+) Roy Lopez (Cardinals)

41.(+) Maliek Collins (Browns)

40.(DT-20) Osa Odighizuwa (49ers)

39.(+) A'Shawn Robinson (Buccaneers)

38.(DT-13) Grover Stewart (Colts)

37.(DT-24) Gervon Dexter (Bears)

36.(DT-18) B.J. Hill (Bengals)

35.(+) Mason Graham (Browns)

34.(+) Jalen Redmond (Vikings)

33.(DT-7) Alim McNeill (Lions)

32.(DT-22) Christian Barmore (Patriots)

31.(DE-31) Javon Hargrave (Packers)

30.(DT-23) Teair Tart (Chargers)

29.(DT-31) Kenny Clark (Cowboys)

28.(+) Moro Ojomo (Eagles)

27.(+) Sheldon Rankins (Texans)

26.(DE-20) Milton Williams (Patriots)

25.(+) D.J. Jones (Broncos)

24.(DT-28) Jordan Davis (Eagles)

23.(DT-16) T'Vondre Sweat (Jets)

22.(+) Byron Murphy II (Seahawks)

21.(DT-21) D.J. Reader (Giants)

20.(DT-12) Jalen Carter (Eagles)

19.(DE-23) Zach Allen (Broncos)

18.(+) Tommy Togiai (Texans)

17.(+) Harrison Phillips (Jets)

16.(DE-11) Zach Sieler (Dolphins)

15.(DT-5) DeForest Buckner (Colts)

14.(DT-9) Nnamdi Madubike (Ravens)

13.(DE-30) David Onyemata (Jets)

12.(DT-14) Ed Oliver (Bills)

11.(DT-8) Vita Vea (Buccaneers)

10.(DE-15) Derrick Brown (Panthers)

9.(DE-8) Leonard Williams (Seahawks)

8.(DT-15) Poona Ford (Rams)

7.(DT-17) Travis Jones (Ravens)

6.(DT-11) Kobie Turner (Rams)

5.(DT-1) Chris Jones (Chiefs)

4.(DT-3) Dexter Lawrence (Bengals)

3.(DT-6) Quinnen Williams (Cowboys)

2.(DT-4) Jeffrey Simmons (Titans)

1.(DT-2) Cameron Heyward (Steelers)

Movie Review: Masters of the Universe (2026)

Trying to get Masters of the Universe back on the big screen was quite the adventure. The second live action film (the 1987 version with Dolph Lundgren as He-Man has earned a bit of a cult following over the years but was widely panned and tanked hard upon release) based on the popular Mattel toy line/comic series/animated series entered development all the way back in 2009 following the success of Michael Bay's Transformers movies and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. During this long period where it failed to get across the finish line, the distribution rights bounced around between a few studios (Warner Brothers, Netflix, Sony) and had a number of Hollywood vets attached to direct including Jon M. Chu, McG and Jeff Wadlow. Real forward momentum on the project finally came in November 2023 when Amazon acquired the rights from Netflix and hired Travis Knight to direct in February 2024. About a year after Knight was hired, Masters of the Universe began to roll cameras in London and last weekend, it arrived in theaters around the globe. While releasing it now when the audiences for 80's cartoon IP's have largely dried up isn't going to be good for the old profit margins, MOTU fans have to be really excited that a proper blockbuster version of He-Man and co. finally exists. 

For the people out there like me who weren't even alive when Masters of the Universe was at the peak of its popularity, the IP is a sword and sorcery/sci-fi hybrid that takes place on the fantastical planet of Eternia. At the start of this film, we're introduced to Adam Glenn (Nicholas Galitzine) as he's toiling away at a human resources job in Oklahoma City. Adam was a prince on Eternia who was sent through a portal to Earth by his parents (Charlotte Riley, James Purefoy) and a sorceress (Morena Baccarin) who protects their skull-shaped castle known as Castle Grayskull after the tyrannical Skeletor (Jared Leto) and his goons (Alison Brie, Sam C. Wilson, Kojo Attah, James Apps) take over Eternia. Right before Adam is sent to Earth, he's handed a sword known as the Sword of Destiney by the Sorceress that will allow him to travel home when the time is right. During his psychedelic wormhole travel from Eternia to Earth, the teenage Adam fumbles the Sword of Power and basically suddenly gets banished to a permanent lonely existence on a new plant. 15 years later, Adam's obsession with returning to the home that no one he's ever met on Earth believes is real pays off as The Sword of Power shows up at a comic store near his apartment. Once Adam touches the sword, Skeletor's goon Beast Man comes to take it from, and Adam's childhood best friend Teela (Camila Mendes) shows up to save the day and bring him home. After seeing the destruction of his once-gorgeous planet for the first time, Adam sets out on a journey to embrace the power within him and transform into the noble warrior that can liberate Eternia from Skeletor's wrath once and for all.

Out of the gate, Masters of the Universe had me hooked. There's a really fun Saturday Morning Cartoon aesthetic to its flashback sequences, the introduction of the Barbie-esque deconstruction of masculinity that serves as the primary subtext of this story through the King questioning young Adam's manhood after Teela thoroughly beats him in a weapons training exercise run by her father Duncan (Idris Elba) who serves as the head of the King's guard is strong and Galitzine does a really good job of portraying a purehearted guy who is really hurt by the fact that he has no place in the universe where he's truly accepted. Once the story shifts back to Eternia, the movie kind of gets away from Knight. The 52-year-old who rose to prominence in Hollywood as a stop motion animator and director wants everybody to know that he's aware Masters of the Universe is really dumb. Every time the movie does something earnestly or endearingly cheesy like drop a crazy slow motion fight scene where He-Man lays waste to a bunch of Skeletor's henchman with his sword, deliver a monologue about how Adam's real weapon is his big heart or let Leto's Skeletor chew the scenery with his cartoon villain theatricality, Knight quickly dampens the mood by having the characters express their displeasure with the ridiculousness of what just transpired on screen. 

What really amuses me about Knight acting like he's above this material is that it's a form of weakness that runs parallel to the macho bullshit the insecure alpha male characters spew at Adam when he dares to show his vulnerability. Walking around like you're being weighed down by this immense burden of shame because you like something that's viewed as uncool by people who aren't fans of the property is fucking embarrassing behavior for an adult to be engaging in. Just own that you love this corny shit man! Everybody on the planet loves some corny shit and it's not hard at all to be unapologetic about the corny shit you love! You'd think the guy who made such an earnestly sentimental movie in Bumblebee would know better, but apparently his love for the Transformers gang was much less embarrassing to him than the love he has for He-Man and co. It really sucks that Knight's insecurity over his enjoyment of an 80's cartoon property looms so large here because there's plenty of evidence present in the vibrant action and rare moments where it's unafraid to wear its big mushy heart on its sleeve that this movie would've ripped hard if it had embraced the campiness that drives MOTU instead of running from it like an image-conscious teenage boy who doesn't want to get bullied by the popular kids at school for still playing with action figures at 14. Oh well, at least Knight will soon be able to return to having pride in his work as his next serious stop motion movie Wildwood is set to hit theaters on October 23rd. 

Grade: B-

Movie Review: Scary Movie (2026)

It was only a matter of time before the Scary Movie franchise was revived. Horror movies are one of the biggest drivers of the box office during the 2020's, and the legacy of the original films have managed to endure across generations. The only way to do a Scary Movie reboot right would be to reunite the people (Anna Faris, Regina Hall, The Wayans Brothers) who were most responsible for the franchise's success and staying power for the first time since Scary Movie 2 and that's precisely what happened with Scary Movie 6 aka Scary Movie.

So, what does the Scary Movie reunion tour look like? Well, a whole lot like the original run. 26 years away from the franchise they created has not inspired to The Wayans Brothers to reevaluate their formula of frantically firing out horror movie/topical pop culture references and lowbrow "shock" humor with the hopes of making the viewer laugh or becoming repulsed to the point where they view them as sadistic torturers instead of comedians. About the only thing that has changed is a more prevalent meta streak brought on by the horror genre's requel boom (what passes as the plot here is a riff on Scream 5 as the legacy characters and their kin have to fight off the return of the Ghostface killer from the original Scary Movie) and less mean-spirited humor aimed at the LGBT community, presumably due to Marlon Wayans' child coming out as a trans man a few years back. 

While I'm not going to pretend that unearthing this early 2000's-time capsule didn't come without its share of groans and winces, it was still kind of fun to watch a modern version of Scary Movie. The Wayans Brothers, Farris and Hall brush off 20+ years of dust like it's nothing as they waste no time slipping back into the franchise's hyperactive goofy rhythm, new cast member Olivia Rose Keegan frequently steals the show as Cindy Campbell's estranged daughter Sara with her elite mimicking of Faris' voice/comic delivery and the moments at the high end of the wide joke effectiveness spectrum Wayans always deliver are funny enough (the Scream VI-inspired opening scene, the I Know What You Did Last Summer' 25 bit and surprisingly clever ending were the top standouts for me) to drown out the painful record scratch moments that the major whiffs produce (fortunately, 90% of these were in the trailers). Getting a Scary Movie reboot where the entire original cast is happy to be there and there's some real laughs to be had was the best possible outcome and hopefully, they'll fare similarly well when they all return for Scary Movie 7 in the not-too-distant future. 

Grade: B-
 

2026 NFL Position Rankings: Top 50 Edge Rushers

Note: In 2025, the players below were spread out between the outside linebacker and defensive end rankings. All of the players that were featured in the series in 2025 will have an OLB or DE tag accompanying last year's ranking.

()=2025 ranking

+=Unranked or ineligible in 2025

50.(+) Nic Scourton (Panthers)

49.(OLB-23) Zaven Collins (Cardinals)

48.(DE-28) Kwity Paye (Raiders)

47.(DE-26) Dorance Armstrong (Commanders)

46.(+) Donovan Ezeiruaku (Cowboys)

45.(+) Jalyx Hunt (Eagles)

44.(+) Dallas Turner (Vikings)

43.(+) Abdul Carter (Giants)

42.(+) Al-Quadin Muhammad (Buccaneers)

41.(DE-14) John Franklin-Myers (Titans)

40.(OLB-7) Bradley Chubb (Bills)

39.(OLB-32) Uchena Nwosu (Seahawks)

38.(+) Dre'Mont Jones (Patriots)

37.(DE-25) Travon Walker (Jaguars)

36.(OLB-18) Yaya Diaby (Buccaneers)

35.(DE-16) Carl Granderson (Saints)

34.(OLB-9) Andrew Van Ginkel (Vikings)

33.(DE-17) Rashan Gary (Cowboys)

32.(OLB-16) Harold Landry (Patriots)

31.(OLB-13) Jonathon Cooper (Broncos)

30.(OLB-19) Tuli Tuipulotu (Chargers)

29.(DE-29) Chase Young (Saints)

28.(+) Alex Wright (Browns)

27.(OLB-2) Khalil Mack (Chargers)

26.(OLB-21) Boye Mafe (Bengals)

25.(OLB-22) Jaelan Phillips (Panthers)

24.(DE-18) Montez Sweat (Bears)

23.(OLB-14) DeMarcus Lawrence (Seahawks)

22.(OLB-12) Odafe Oweh (Commanders)

21.(OLB-3) Jonathan Greenard (Eagles)

20.(OLB-11) Josh Sweat (Cardinals)

19.(DE-27) George Karlaftis (Chiefs)

18.(OLB-25) Nick Herbig (Steelers)

17.(OLB-5) Brian Burns (Giants)

16(DE-22) Laiatu Latu (Colts)

15.(OLB-4) Alex Highsmith (Steelers)

14.(OLB-28) Byron Young (Rams)

13.(OLB-10) Nik Bonitto (Broncos)

12.(OLB-8) Jared Verse (Browns)

11.(DE-3) Trey Hendrickson (Ravens)

10.(DE-7) Maxx Crosby (Raiders)

9.(DE-12) Greg Rousseau (Bills)

8.(DE-4) Nick Bosa (49ers)

7.(OLB-1) T.J. Watt (Steelers)

6.(DE-6) Josh Hines-Allen (Jaguars)

5.(DE-9) Danielle Hunter (Texans)

4.(DE-10) Will Anderson Jr. (Texans)

3.(DE-5) Aidan Hutchinson (Lions)

2.(DE-2) Micah Parsons (Packers)

1.(DE-1) Myles Garrett (Rams)

2026 NFL Position Rankings: Top 20 Centers

()=2025 ranking

+=Unranked or ineligible in 2025

20.(+) Jalen Sundell (Seahawks)

19.(+) Cade Mays (Lions)

18.(15) Ted Karras (Bengals)

17.(20) Robert Hainsey (Jaguars)

16.(13) Elgton Jenkins (Browns)

15.(12) Cam Jurgens (Eagles)

14.(19) Cooper Beebe (Cowboys)

13.(18) Luke Wattenberg (Broncos)

12.(16) Coleman Shelton (Rams)

11.(11) Connor McGovern (Bills)

10.(7) Hjalte Froholdt (Cardinals)

9.(9) Tyler Biadasz (Chargers)

8.(5) Erik McCoy (Saints)

7.(17) Jake Brendel (49ers)

6.(+) Ryan Neuzil (Falcons)

5.(+) Tanor Bortolini (Colts)

4.(8) Zach Frazier (Steelers)

3.(4) Aaron Brewer (Dolphins)

2.(2) Tyler Linderbaum (Raiders)

1.(1) Creed Humphrey (Chiefs)