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 and 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)

Movie Review: Backrooms

Sometime in early 2022, a 16-year-old kid in the North Bay Area of California named Kane Parsons launched a web series on YouTube called Backrooms that was inspired by this viral creepypasta. This lo-fi, liminal space sci-fi horror that was made entirely in the open-source 3D visual effects program Blender soon became a viral sensation (as of this writing, the first episode has amassed a whopping 81 million views) and shortly after that, Parsons was courted by Hollywood to turn the series into a feature film. 4 and a half years later, Parsons'-who turns 21 later this month-ascent from DIY YouTube videos to Hollywood is now officially complete as Backrooms has already become a box office sensation and solidified his standing as a young man with a vision that's worth investing in. 

My familiarity with the Backrooms web series remains nonexistent, so if you're looking for somebody who can comment on how faithful of an adaptation this is or how much of the lore is explored, you're going to have to go elsewhere. What I can tell you is that the film version revolves around a recently divorced alcoholic named Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who inadvertently discovers a portal to the titular alternate universe in the basement of his furniture store after noticing some weird anomalies with the electricity in the building. He soon becomes obsessed with exploring this vast space that looks like a slightly distorted version of the real world and recruits a couple of his employees (Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell) to videotape his findings to prove its existence. Sometime later, Clark leaves an ominous voicemail for his therapist Mary (Renate Reinsve), which inspires her to do a wellness check on him. Upon arriving at Clark's store, Mary stumbles upon the portal and quickly gets a taste of the wonders and horrors that the Backrooms have to offer.  

As an exercise in building a world that's fueled by dread, Backrooms is a roaring success. Parsons cleverly plays with the horrifying idea of regular people stumbling upon a place where everything is just slightly off and how the curiosity to explore a place that is so close to the one that they know gets them into trouble. There's a surreal brand of claustrophobia that emerges from being in a space that's a big looping maze full of near identical corridors, two-way mirrors and narrow tunnels that lead to rooms that could have anything in them. The sequences where Parsons deploys found footage techniques (technically, it's just the opening scene that's found footage as the other sequences in the format are being shot in real time by Bennett's character on a video camera) to capture this setting is where the film particularly shines as getting to see this world from the first person perspective of a camera lens puts you in the same headspace as the characters. I had absolutely no clue what was going to be waiting for them as they went deeper down this proverbial rabbit hole and getting to see all of the strange shit they stumble upon at the same time as them did wonders for the impact of the scares. 

Where Parsons' greenness as a filmmaker emerges is in the final act where some answers to what the hell is going in this weird little world start to surface. Without giving too much away, the film eventually reveals itself to be an exploration of trauma. While these heavy scenes are admirably performed by Ejiofor and Reinsve, the material they're working with is too undercooked to have any real resonance. To be fair to Parsons, there is an interesting angle to this topic that's introduced that has the potential to be fleshed out in the sequels, but for now it's just something that kind of weighs down the narrative momentum and leads to a pretty underwhelming ending.  

Despite unraveling a bit at the end, Backrooms is still an impressive start to Parsons' directorial career. A kid who had never made a project away from his computer stepping onto a set and confidently building an expansion of the world he created that could be appreciated by fans and non-fans of the web series alike is very impressive. Getting the chance to tell more stories in this world should do wonders for his skill as a director and I look forward to seeing how much he's grown as a filmmaker when the sequel comes out in 2-3 years.  

Grade: B
 

Idris Elba Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Idris Elba-whose latest project "Masters of the Universe" releases in theaters on Thursday. 

Idris Elba's Filmography Ranked:

35.Three Thousand Years of Longing (D)

34.Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (D) 

33.Avengers: Age of Ultron (D+)

32.The Gunman (C-)

31.The Jungle Book (C-)

30.Zootopia (C)

29.The Dark Tower (C+)

28.Star Trek Beyond (B-)

27.A House of Dynamite (B-)

26.Prometheus (B-)

25.The Take (B-)

24.Beast (B)

23.Cats (B)

22.The Losers (B)

21.Thor: The Dark World (B)

20.Takers (B)

19.Thor (B)

18.Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (B)

17.Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (B)

16.Zootopia 2 (B)

15.Heads of State (B)

14.Finding Dory (B)

13.Concrete Cowboy (B+)

12.RocknRolla (B+)

11.28 Weeks Later (B+)

10.Hobbs & Shaw (B+)

9.Pacific Rim (B+)

8.Beasts of No Nation (B+)

7.Extraction 2 (B+)

6.The Harder They Fall (A-)

5.American Gangster (A-)

4.Molly's Game (A)

3.Avengers: Infinity War (A)

2.Thor: Ragnarok (A)

1.The Suicide Squad (A)

Top Dog: The Suicide Squad (2021)

The Suicide Squad remains my favorite thing James Gunn has ever done. The hunger Gunn had to prove himself in the wake of the unearthed Tweets debacle that got him temporarily fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 led to him making the most mature, daring film of his career and I'm not sure if he would've attempted to make something that hinges on such a tricky balance between tragedy, horror and comedy if he hadn't come so close to having his career ripped away from him. 

Bottom Feeder: Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)

The passion project that George Miller made between Mad Max: Fury Road and Furiosa is easily one of the most ill-conceived movies I've seen in recent years. The entire movie is centered around the magic of storytelling and romance and yet, it's completely unconvincing as a sales pitch for the wonderous qualities that either of those things can possess. None of the fantastical stories that the djinn (Elba) weaves are particularly compelling and the romance that eventually forms between him and the unsuspecting mopey author (Tilda Swinton) that freed him from his bottle after purchasing it at a flea market in Istanbul lands with a thud thanks to a staggering lack of chemistry. Some really vibrant, inspired work from cinematographer John Seale-who came out of retirement for this project and has since retired for good-is the only reason that this isn't a complete waste of time. 

Most Underrated: Beasts of No Nation (2015)

When Netflix was beginning their transition from DVD-by-mail-service to a streaming service that offered a plethora of original programming, they elected to make Beasts of No Nation the first original film that they released on their platform. While it's really not much more than a fun little fact these days given the sheer size of their library and the algorithm-driven homepage that dictates what most subscribers watch, Beasts of No Nation is an excellent film that offered up an early look at the kind of prestige fare Netflix would emphasize putting out during awards season. Cary Joiji Fukunaga is able to pull off the difficult task of making a movie about child soldiers in an unnamed West African country that are forced to fight in a civil war that is unflinching in its depiction of the horrors these kids endure without ever being exploitative and the performances from Abraham Attah as the kid trying desperately to not let the violence he's suddenly surrounded by turn him into a monster and Elba as the brutal militia commandant are astounding.

Most Overrated: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Age of Ultron remains in dead last in my MCU movie rankings by a comfortable margin, and I'm honestly kind of surprised by how hard people continue to ride for this movie. I don't know if Joss Whedon or Kevin Feige is to blame for what happened here, but this movie is a convoluted, tonally incoherent and dull disaster that represents the absolute worst that the modern Hollywood blockbuster machine has to offer. 

2026 NFL Position Rankings: Top 30 Guards

()=2025 ranking

+=Unranked or ineligible in 2025

30.(+) Austin Corbett (Bills)

29.(13) Teven Jenkins (Browns)

28.(12) Alijah Vera-Tucker (Patriots)

27.(10) Robert Hunt (Panthers)

26.(27) Ezra Cleveland (Jaguars)

25.(+) Tate Ratledge (Lions)

24.(+) Tyler Steen (Eagles)

23.(+) Mason McCormick (Steelers)

22.(+) Tyler Booker (Cowboys)

21.(28) Matthew Bergeron (Falcons)

20.(+) Dalton Risner (Bengals)

19.(3) Kevin Zeitler (Free Agent)

18.(+) Ed Ingram (Texans)

17.(+) David Edwards (Saints)

16.(11) Dominick Puni (49ers)

15.(26) Jonah Jackson (Bears)

14.(8) Landon Dickerson (Eagles)

13.(+) Steve Avila (Rams)

12.(9) Tyler Smith (Cowboys)

11.(18) Damien Lewis (Panthers)

10.(+) Peter Skoronski (Titans)

9.(16) Sam Cosmi (Commanders)

8.(7) Trey Smith (Chiefs)

7.(14) Isaac Seumalo (Cardinals)

6.(17) Mike Onwenu (Patriots)

5.(6) Kevin Dotson (Rams)

4.(4) Joe Thuney (Bears)

3.(2) Quenton Nelson (Colts)

2.(5) Quinn Meinerz (Broncos)

1.(1) Chris Lindstrom (Falcons)

Kumail Nanjiani 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 Kumail Nanjiani-whose latest project "The Breadwinner" releases in theaters today. 

Kumail Nanjiani's Filmography Ranked:

16.Ella McCay (C-)

15.Sex Tape (C)

14.Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (C)

13.Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (C)

12.Fist Fight (C)

11.Driver's Ed (C)

10.Migration (C+)

9.Men in Black: International (B-)

8.The Lego Ninjago Movie (B-)

7.Goosebumps (B-)

6.The Lovebirds (B)

5.Stuber (B)

4.The Kings of Summer (B+)

3.Eternals (B+)

2.Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (B+)

1.The Big Sick (B+)

Top Dog: The Big Sick (2017)

What has made Nanjiani's film career such a letdown to this point is that he proved with The Big Sick that he's capable of greatness when working with the right material. This hilarious and heartfelt romantic dramedy that was inspired by the early days of Nanjiani's relationship with his wife Emily Gordon is one of those movies that's just really easy to like. The candor that Nanjiani and Gordon-who co-wrote the Oscar-nominated script together-display in portraying the uniquely difficult conditions in which their love was born under allows every single note this film hits to feel completely honest. Despite all of the missteps he's taken over the past 7-8 years, I do believe that Nanjiani is capable of making another project that matches the wit and emotional resonance that's on display here.

Bottom Feeder: Ella McCay (2025)

When the calendar flipped to 2000, James L. Brooks just completely lost sight of the beautifully calibrated mix of comedy, drama and romance that made his movies such a treat to watch. Ella McCay-which marks his first features since 2010's How Do You Know-is the latest sign that Brooks is completely washed. The only thing more insane than Brooks' reliance on the type of Obama-era respectability politics that have long exited our government to tell this story of the lieutenant governor (Emma Mackey) of an unnamed state (spoiler alert: it's Rhode Island!) as she's preparing to be promoted after the beloved governor (Albert Brooks) steps down from his post to accept a presidential cabinet position are the subplots involving her reclusive online bookie brother (Spike Fern) trying to win back his ex-girlfriend (Ayo Edebiri), absentee womanizer father (Woody Harrelson) suddenly showing up to make amends after disappearing for over a decade following her mother's (Rebecca Hall) death and jealous idiot husband (Jack Lowden, in one of the worst performances of the decade) jeopardizing her political future for reasons that you really need to see to believe. Mackey deserves a ton of credit for being charming as hell and committing to selling the various bits of emotional turmoil McCay has to deal with in the midst of the biggest moment of her career, but everything else is so messy and absurd that her valiant effort can't be fully appreciated.  

Most Underrated: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016)

Earlier this year, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates spent a couple of weeks on Top 10 most watched movie charts on Netflix in the US and I legitimately felt like it was some weird form of vindication for the longstanding love I have for this stupid fucking movie. Being a Mike and Dave fan over the past decade has been a very lonely place and for a fleeting moment, I felt the embrace of a community. I'd like to thank the hundreds, possibly thousands of people across the country who passively consumed that film during that small window of time for making me feel less alone for a fleeting moment. Anyways, I think this is one of the funniest movies released during the 2010's and fully intend on rewatching it in honor of its 10th anniversary in July. 

Most Overrated: None

Nanjiani making a career out of appearing in studio comedies that weren't well-liked, innocuous animated movies and blockbusters that got lukewarm at best receptions has made him exempt from this category. The Big Sick is the only film from the above list that could even meet the criteria of being overrated, which is kind of crazy for a guy that's been regularly acting in movies for over a decade now. Based on how his 2026 projects have been received so far, it could be a while longer before he shows up in something that could be considered for placement here.