Week 4 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers: 2026 Edition

Quarterback

Biggest Winner: Drake Maye (Patriots)

If you remained firm in your belief in Maye this week, you were rewarded in a big way. While it wasn't a perfect showing for the Patriots QB as he added to his obscene early season turnover total with another pick and lost fumble, he looked like the guy that finished second in MVP voting last year for the first time this season as he unleashed his full arsenal of skills (269 passing YDS and 3 TD's, 54 rushing YDS on 8 carries) on the Bills defense in an arguably season-saving upset road victory for the defending AFC champions. Maye will face an interesting test in Week 5 when the Pats return home to play a frisky Raiders defense that currently leads the league in takeaways.   

Honorable Mentions: Joe Burrow (Bengals), Bryce Young (Panthers), Jared Goff (Lions)

Biggest Loser: Matthew Stafford (Rams)

Unlike Maye and Joe Burrow, Stafford wasn't able to cancel out his turnovers (2 INT's) with TD's in a crazy comeback win over the Eagles and finished the day with 327 scoreless YDS (317 passing, 10 rushing). Stafford will look to get back in the good graces of his fantasy owners in a very favorable Week 5 matchup against a weak Bills defense that is currently being further hampered by a banged up corner group.

Dishonorable Mentions: Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars), Jalen Hurts (Eagles), Kyler Murray (Vikings)

Running Back

Biggest Winner: Kyren Williams (Rams)

Williams proved to be the catalyst for the Rams insane second half comeback against the Eagles, ripping off 16 carries for 80 YDS and 2 TD's and catching a whopping 10 passes for 67 YDS. Even with Blake Corum continuing to cut into his workload to varying degrees on a weekly basis, Williams has been a solid low-end RB1 option to open the 2026 season and should remain on that level for this week's game against the Bills.

Honorable Mentions: Kenneth Walker III (Chiefs), Javonte Williams (Cowboys), Chuba Hubbard (Panthers)

Biggest Loser: Bucky Irving (Buccaneers)

As expected, Irving was leaned on heavily as undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels made his 1st career start in place of the injured Baker Mayfield at home against the Packers. Unfortunately, Irving only gained 61 YDS on his 16 carries, received 0 targets in the passing game and got a redzone TD vultured by Sean Tucker-who only earned 3 carries the whole game. Irving will have another chance to make a big impact against a suspect defense on Thursday night when the Bucs take on the Cowboys.

Dishonorable Mentions: D'Andre Swift (Bears), Jeremiyah Love (Cardinals), David Montgomery (Texans)

Wide Receiver

Biggest Winner: Tetairoa McMillan (Panthers)

With Jalen Coker out of the lineup with the quad injury he suffered against the Browns last week, McMillan became the overwhelming focus of the Panthers passing attack against the Lions abysmal, injury-depleted secondary. The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year wasn't just dominant; he was crazy efficient-hauling in 14-of-16 targets for 192 YDS and 2 TD's. McMillan will follow up his busy night against the Lions with some well-deserved rest this week as the Panthers head on bye. He'll have a date with the Eagles when they return to action in Week 6. 

Honorable Mentions: CeeDee Lamb (Cowboys), Nico Collins (Texans), Puka Nacua (Rams)

Biggest Loser: Parker Washington (Jaguars)

Washington was abnormally quiet against the Bengals on Sunday, catching just 1-of-3 TGTS for 7 YDS and logging a single carry for 3 YDS as the Jags offense leaned heavily on Brenton Strange and Bhayshul Tuten in their hard-fought road win. There's no reason to believe that Washington won't be more involved this Sunday when the Jaguars head over to their second home in London to take on the Eagles. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Garrett Wilson (Jets), Emeka Egbuka (Buccaneers), Josh Downs (Colts)

Tight End

Biggest Winner: Sam LaPorta (Lions)

The Panthers weren't the only ones eating good in Charlotte on Sunday night. The Lions passing offense had a field day of their own against a beat-up Panthers corner group and LaPorta was the second biggest beneficiary of this explosion behind Jameson Williams (6 REC, 102 YDS) as he caught 8 balls for 84 YDS and a TD in this tough shootout loss. LaPorta could be back in this spot in Week 5 as the Lions have another terrific matchup against the Cardinals.

Honorable Mentions: Brock Bowers (Raiders), George Kittle (49ers), Tucker Kraft (Packers)

Biggest Loser: Travis Kelce (Chiefs)

For the first time this season, Kelce made a minimal impact-catching just 2-of-4 targets for 15 YDS against a Raiders defense that had struggled to cover tight ends prior to this game. Kelce will have a prime opportunity to return to the TE1 ranks when the Chiefs square off against the embattled Chargers upon their return from bye in Week 6.

Dishonorable Mentions: Dalton Kincaid (Bills), Kenyon Sadiq (Jets), Dalton Schultz (Texans)

Defense/Special Teams

Biggest Winner: Seahawks

Speaking of the embattled Chargers, the Seahawks defense had some fun with them on Sunday. While they surprisingly allowed 23 points to Mike McDaniel's struggling offense, Mike Macdonald's group offset that damage by logging 4 sacks and 4 takeaways over the now 0-4 Bolts. The Seahawks are effectively a lock to have a much quieter day in Week 5 when they host the 4-0 49ers. 

Honorable Mentions: Vikings, Packers, Bears

Biggest Loser: Broncos

The Broncos D/ST has not gotten off to a great start this year and unsurprisingly, they weren't able to turn things around against the 49ers on the road. Their only highlight in this 24-14 loss where they failed to log any sacks or takeaways was a blocked field goal right before halftime. Despite the rash of injuries they're currently dealing with among their starters, they should be able to make some noise in Week 5 against the frequently aforementioned embattled Chargers.

Dishonorable Mentions: Texans, Bills, Chiefs

Jessica Chastain 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 Jessica Chastain-whose latest project "Other Mommy" releases in theaters on Thursday. 

Jessica Chastain's Filmography Ranked:

22.The Tree of Life (F)

21.Interstellar (D+)

20.The Debt (C-)

19.Mother's Instinct (C-)

18.It: Chapter Two (C-)

17.Miss Sloane (C-)

16.The Zookeeper's Wife (C)

15.The Forgiven (B-)

14.Ava (B-)

13.The Eyes of Tammy Faye (B-)

12.Dark Phoenix (B)

11.The 355 (B)

10.The Good Nurse (B)

9.Armageddon Time (B)

8.Zero Dark Thirty (B)

7.The Help (B)

6.A Most Violent Year (B)

5.Lawless (B+)

4.The Martian (B+)

3.Crimson Peak (B+)

2.Take Shelter (B+)

1.Molly's Game (B+)

Top Dog: Molly's Game (2017)

Aaron Sorkin receives a lot of flak for the quality of his directorial output, and the volume of that discourse will surely get turned up again later this week when his latest feature The Social Reckoning inevitably fails to reach the heights of its spiritual predecessor The Social Network. While I would never argue his work as a director is on the level of his work as a writer, I do believe that he's good at the job and gets far more shit than he deserves. His debut behind the camera Molly's Game is an absorbing, energetic film that makes for a nice addition to his collection of strong legal dramas. Chastain is in top form as Molly Bloom-a former Olympic skier who made millions running high-stakes poker games in Los Angeles and New York City until she got tied up in an FBI investigation that (flimsily) tied her to the Russian mob, the story does a really good job of painting Bloom as a woman who maintained her integrity in the face of tremendous pressure from powerful forces that were trying to intimidate her into accepting a fate that she didn't deserve without letting her off the hook for some of the bad decisions that put her in this precarious position  and the dialogue often crackles with the biting wit that you've come to expect from a Sorkin script.

Bottom Feeder: The Tree of Life (2011)

The Tree of Life will never be anything more than me a pretentious snoozefest masquerading as a profound meditation on life. Terrence Malick is great at capturing imagery that belongs on the pages of National Geographic, but when these beautiful nature images are paired with dry voiceovers from Sean Penn, random bursts of melodrama and a whole of lot scenes where characters are just staring into the abyss, these snapshots of Earth's beautiful landscapes suddenly become hideous monuments to one man's obnoxious love affair with his own artistry.

Most Underrated: Crimson Peak (2015)

At this stage of his career, Guillermo del Toro is no stranger to glowing praise. He's got a trophy case full of awards including 3 Oscars and damn near everything he's made over the past 25 years has been beloved. If there's anything that I personally feel he deserves more credit for, it's Crimson Peak. Sandwiched in between the commercially successful kaiju blockbuster Pacific Rim and Best Picture winner The Shape of Water, this gothic horror romance has managed to become a footnote in del Toro's filmography. While it's not quite as full of wonder or heart as his finest work, it's still a great movie filled with eerie haunted house atmospherics, lush visuals/production design and fun twists that add a dash of campy madness to an otherwise classical horror tale.

Most Overrated: Interstellar (2014)

Some asshole out there has to think that Interstellar sucks and that asshole is me. Christopher Nolan completely flounders in his attempt to make a sentimental ode to fatherhood with this laughably corny, overlong and dull sci-fi epic. 

Josh Hartnett Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", 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 Josh Hartnett-whose latest project "Verity" releases in theaters today.

Josh Hartnett's Filmography Ranked:

15.Pearl Harbor (D)

14.40 Days and 40 Nights (D+)

13.Wicker Park (C-)

12.Hollywood Homicide (C)

11.Trap (C)

10.The Virgin Sucides (B-)

9.The Faculty (B-)

8.Fight or Flight (B)

7.30 Days of Night (B)

6.Oppenheimer (B)

5.Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (B)

4.Black Hawk Down (B)

3.Lucky Number Slevin (B)

2.Wrath of Man (B+)

1.Sin City (A+)

Top Dog: Sin City (2005)

Seeing Sin City at 13 years old was sincerely one of the most unbelievable experiences of my life. The meticulously crafted black-and-white visuals that feel like they're ripped from the pages of its graphic novel source material, immersive sleazy noir atmosphere and outstanding performances from the veteran actors (Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis and Powers Boothe are the top standouts to me) who were tasked with bringing this collection of mortally dubious characters to life will never cease to blow me away. Plus, the whole thing is just relentlessly cool and badass. 

Bottom Feeder: Pearl Harbor (2001)

Any regular reader of this blog is aware that I'm an ardent defender of the work of Michael Bay. However, there are a smattering of titles of his that I won't go to bat for and Pearl Harbor tops that list. While Bay's maximalist action proficiency come out in full force when the time comes to stage the attack, the rest of the movie is a melodramatic slog driven by a love triangle between Kate Beckinsale, Ben Affleck and Hartnett that is so relentlessly flat that it's borderline psychotic that so much of the film's attempts at building up emotional weight are centered around it.  

Most Underrated: Wrath of Man (2021)

Even Ridley Scott would be stunned by the ridiculous level of output Guy Ritchie has produced during the 2020's. Over the last 6 years, the 58-year-old British icon has released 7 movies, has another 2 that are already shot and awaiting release and is currently involved in 3 television series in some capacity. When it comes to the movie slice of this insanely large creative pie, I believe that Wrath of Man is the best of the bunch. Ritchie reuniting with Jason Statham for the first time since 2005's Revolver provided him with enough of a creative jolt to break free from his quippy crime comedy mold and make a propulsive heist movie that prioritizes meathead grit over snarky levity. 

Most Overrated: Oppenheimer (2023)

There's really not much to say here that I haven't said ad nauseum recently. Oppenheimer is a textbook example of Christopher Nolan undercutting his gift for delivering top-notch spectacle with his overly cute non-linear storytelling, questionable writing of every single major supporting character and steadfast refusal to use ADR during scenes where there's a shitload of background noise that drowns out the dialogue. 

2026 NFL Power Rankings: Week 4

 ()=Previous Ranking

1.(2) San Francisco 49ers (3-0) Week 4 opponent: Denver Broncos

2.(3) Buffalo Bills (3-0) Week 4 opponent: New England Patriots

3.(4) Kansas City Chiefs (3-0) Week 4 opponent: Las Vegas Raiders

4.(10) Denver Broncos (2-1) Week 4 opponent: San Francisco 49ers

5.(1) Seattle Seahawks (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Los Angeles Chargers

6.(8) Minnesota Vikings (3-0) Week 4 opponent: Miami Dolphins

7.(12) Chicago Bears (2-1) Week 4 opponent: New York Jets

8.(11) Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Cincinnati Bengals

9.(5) Cincinnati Bengals (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars

10.(6) Los Angeles Rams (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Philadelphia Eagles

11.(13) Baltimore Ravens (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Tennessee Titans

12.(18) Las Vegas Raiders (3-0) Week 4 opponent: Kansas City Chiefs

13.(20) Detroit Lions (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Carolina Panthers

14.(9) Philadelphia Eagles (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Los Angeles Rams

15.(22) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Cleveland Browns

16.(25) Cleveland Browns (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers

17.(16) Dallas Cowboys (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Houston Texans

18.(7) New England Patriots (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Buffalo Bills

19.(14) New Orleans Saints (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Atlanta Falcons

20.(24) Indianapolis Colts (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Washington Commanders

21.(15) Carolina Panthers (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Detroit Lions

22.(28) Washington Commanders (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Indianapolis Colts

23.(23) New York Giants (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Arizona Cardinals

24.(31) Atlanta Falcons (1-2) Week 4 opponent: New Orleans Saints

25.(19) Houston Texans (0-3) Week 4 opponent: Dallas Cowboys

26.(21) New York Jets (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Chicago Bears

27.(17) Green Bay Packers (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

28.(26) Arizona Cardinals (1-2) Week 4 opponent: New York Giants

29.(27) Los Angeles Chargers (0-3) Week 4 opponent: Seattle Seahawks

30.(29) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-3) Week 4 opponent: Green Bay Packers

31.(30) Tennessee Titans (0-3) Week 4 opponent: Baltimore Ravens

32.(32) Miami Dolphins (0-3) Week 4 opponent: Minnesota Vikings

Week 3 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers: 2026 Edition

Quarterback

Biggest Winner: Brock Purdy (49ers)

While the 49ers certainly weren't in top form in their win over the Cardinals, their QB sure was. Purdy erupted for 297 YDS and 4 TD's through the air and gained an impressive 34 YDS on the ground on just 2 carries. The Brockstar is off to a good start to 2026 and is probably worth starting in most leagues against the Broncos in Week 4.

Honorable Mentions: Tyler Shough (Saints), Bo Nix (Broncos), Matthew Stafford (Rams)

Biggest Loser: Drake Maye (Patriots)

If you weren't already panicking about Maye, now is the time to start. The reigning MVP runner up outdid his poor showings in the opening pair of games with an absolutely dreadful performance down in Jacksonville (199 YDS, 0 TD's, 2 INT, 18 Rushing YDS, FUM Lost) as the Patriots got run over by the Jaguars. Maye's odds of finally getting out of the gutter in Week 4 aren't overly high as the struggling Patriots have the misfortune of having to play the 3-0 Bills on the road. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Jalen Hurts (Eagles), Justin Herbert (Chargers), Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs)

Running Back

Biggest Winner: Jahmyr Gibbs (Lions)

As expected, Gibbs' transition to being a workhorse back is going very well. The Lions superstar held down an even larger share of touches (27) than usual versus the Jets as Amon-Ra St.Brown had a very quiet game by his standards (4/19/1) and was able to turn that slightly increased workload into 164 scrimmage YDS (99 rushing, 65 receiving) and 3 scores. Gibbs is a real threat to clear 200 scrimmage YDS for the 1st time this season this week when he goes up against a Panthers defense that has had zero answers for running backs so far. 

Honorable Mentions: Bijan Robinson (Falcons), Derrick Henry (Ravens), Kenneth Walker III (Chiefs)

Biggest Loser: Omarion Hampton (Chargers)

For the first time this season, Hampton didn't find the endzone. Without a touchdown to boost his line, Hampton's lack of passing game productivity (0 receptions on just 1 target) and inefficient running (56 YDS on 15 carries) that's at least partially brought on by his woeful offensive line play landed him in this unfavorable spot as the Bolts dropped to 0-3 with a loss to the Bills. Things won't get any easier for Hampton this week as he'll be tasked with trying to find rushing room against the Seahawks stout front.

Dishonorable Mentions: TreVeyon Henderson (Patriots), David Montgomery (Texans), Bucky Irving (Buccaneers) 

Wide Receiver

Biggest Winner: Jaxson Smith-Njigba (Seahawks)

JSN's blazing hot start to 2026 continued in Week 3 as he caught 10-of-14 targets for 128 YDS and 2 TD's in what was otherwise a surprisingly ugly performance for the Seahawks in an upset road loss to the Marcus Mariota-led Commanders. Assuming he can remain healthy and the Seahawks rushing game continues to struggle, he's going to have a good chance of repeating as the #1 fantasy WR in 2026.

Honorable Mentions: Drake London (Falcons), Garrett Wilson (Jets), Ja'Marr Chase (Bengals)

Biggest Loser: Tetairoa McMillan (Panthers)

It was a very weird afternoon for the Panthers top pass-catchers as both McMillan and Jalen Coker were held under 20 YDS (McMillan caught 2 balls for 17 YDS) on a day where Bryce Young threw for 291 YDS and they suffered a shocking 21-18 loss to the Browns. McMillan should be back in business against the Lions porous secondary this Sunday night, especially if Coker is forced to sit out with the quad strain he sustained against the Browns that knocked him out of the game in the 3rd quarter.

Dishonorable Mentions: Jaylen Waddle (Broncos), Malik Nabers (Giants), Brian Thomas Jr. (Jaguars)

Tight End

Biggest Winner: George Kittle (49ers)

Kittle was the top beneficiary of Purdy's big day against the Cardinals, hauling in 6 receptions for 82 YDS and 2 TD's. After back-to-back strong performances, the 32 going on 33-year-old star looks to have fully recovered from the Achillies tear he suffered back in January and can be comfortably fired up as a weekly TE1 in all leagues.  

Honorable Mentions: Brock Bowers (Raiders), Harold Fannin Jr. (Browns), Juwan Johnson (Saints)

Biggest Loser: Dalton Kincaid (Bills)

It was a pretty ugly showing for the entire Bills offense as they turned the ball over a whopping 5 times against the Chargers. Unlike James Cook and Josh Allen, Kincaid wasn't able to redeem himself with a TD after losing a fumble in the 3rd quarter and ended up here in fantasy purgatory thanks to his modest 2 reception/38 YD output. Kincaid will look to get back to the elite form he showed in Weeks 1 and 2 against the Patriots on Sunday afternoon.

Dishonorable Mentions: Isaiah Likely (Giants), Tucker Kraft (Packers), Kyle Pitts (Falcons)

Defense/Special Teams

Biggest Winner: Vikings

What a glorious day for the Vikings D/ST in Tampa. Their 6 sack/2 INT/punt return TD effort was ultimately the difference in a 23-16 victory that kept the Vikes unbeaten on the year. The Vikings defensive talent, Brian Flores' motivation to embarrass his former employers and the Dolphins lack of talent/interest in winning football games seems like the perfect recipe for this group to end up in this very spot for a second straight week.

Honorable Mentions: Jaguars, Broncos, Texans

Biggest Loser: Eagles

Being on the receiving end of Case Keenum's stunningly productive return to NFL action is a tough pill to swallow. This talented group didn't log a single sack or takeaway as the 38-year-old journeyman who was standing on the sideline with an earpiece a week ago punched them in the mouth for 4 quarters and led the Bears to a stunning 27-7 blowout victory. Despite their issues with turnovers so far, playing them this week against the Rams doesn't seem like the best idea.

Dishonorable Mentions: Seahawks, Patriots, 49ers

Movie Review: Primetime

NBC's To Catch a Predator only ran from November 2004-December 2007. For a show that only aired for a little over three years, it left behind quite a legacy. Host Chris Hansen is a pop culture icon who spawned multiple catchphrases ("Why don't you take a seat?", "You see how this looks right?") that remain in the lexicon today and the show's questionable ethics have become an even hotter topic of debate in recent years as several copycat shows have emerged on social media platforms like TikTok. 

It was just last year that a documentary examining the show's history and legacy entitled Predators received a limited theatrical release before heading onto Paramount+. Now, a dramatized look at the show and Hansen himself from director Lance Oppenheim- who is ironically a documentarian making his narrative feature debut-entitled Primetime has arrived to reignite conversations about To Catch a Predator among a much wider audience. 

Primetime is adapted from a 2007 Esquire article Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die" by Luke Dittrich. The entirety of the film is set in 2006 right after To Catch a Predator had been moved to a primetime slot (Wednesday nights at 9 EST) and largely deals with how Hansen and his team become obsessed with the idea of luring somebody of a higher societal status like a politician, celebrity or law enforcement official with the hopes of further boosting their ratings now that the show is airing in a slot where it's commanding more eyeballs than it was in its previous time slot on Friday nights at 10 PM EST. They got their wish when they entrapped an assistant district attorney from Dallas/FortWorth named Bill Conradt and caused him to commit suicide on camera when the show's crew arrived alongside local police at his home in Terrell, Texas to serve him multiple warrants that stemmed from the conversations he had with the people from the show that were posing as a underage boy. This incident proved to be the beginning of the end for the controversial show and Conradt's estate later successfully sued NBC for damages related to his suicide (the settlement took place outside of court, so it's not known about how much Condradt's estate received) 

To Catch a Predator is not a series that I saw much of when it was on. My parents weren't watching much Dateline before, during or after its run and ironically, I was spending my Wednesday nights watching Lost when it shifted to the Wednesday at 9 PM slot in the fall of 2006. Most of the knowledge that I have of the show is from watching miscellaneous clips online and seeing the flurry of memes that have been blasted all over the internet in the years after it went off the air. 

My take on the show isn't a particularly novel one: I view it as a very entertaining product on the surface that becomes very insidious once you think about all of the actions that go into its creation. As much Hansen tried to build himself up as this noble guy who had dedicate his whole life to taking pedophiles off the street, neither him nor anyone on were concerned about anything else other than getting good footage that would help boost their ratings. Nobody who was serious about stopping pedophilia would go about it in such an exploitative, public facing way that shows a deep disrespect for the people out there who've been legitimately preyed upon online. Not to mention, this shows produced an easily mimicked playbook for baiting prospective predators that has been used by people with even sketchier moral compasses than Hansen. Many of the aforementioned social media shows are just guys luring men to a location, so they can beat the shit out of them on camera. Nothing says "I empathize   with the plight of victims of child sexual abuse" quite like making videos where five guys pop out of the bushes and start wailing on the guy who thinks he's about to meet the 13-year-old he's been flirting with online for the past week or two. I'm sure the people who make and consume this content are similarly mad about The Epstein Files and the powerful people that are implicated in them. 

While Singh's script certainly would've benefited from digging a bit deeper into its subject matter, Primetime still make for an awfully haunting, absorbing snapshot into the legacy of the show and the people that made it possible. Entrusting Robert Pattinson to play Hansen provides Oppenheim with the unshakable foundation he needed to bring the rest of his vision into place. Pattinson is such an intuitive, committed performer that he knows when to lean into the theatrical showmanship that defined Hansen's television persona and when to be the pathetic, insecure coward that is gutted that the entire world doesn't view him as the benevolent hero that he views himself to be. It's yet another incredible performance that shows off a completely different side of him as an actor and as of today at least, it looks there's a pretty good chance that this effort will propel him to his first career Oscar nomination. 

Playing Hansen rightfully makes Pattinson the face and driving force of Primetime. What proved to be the most pleasantly surprising element of the movie for me seeing Merrit Wever and Skyler Gisondo do incredible work that is crucial to the film's examination of how this machine was run. Wever makes for the perfectly ruthless, self-absorbed partner to Hansen as the show's lead producer while Gisondo gives the most endearingly nuanced performance of his career as a struggling young actor who hopes that appearing on the show as a decoy will help him achieve his dream of becoming a working actor in Hollywood but isn't quite prepared to reckon with what the job actually entails or how his work is being viewed by his peers or audiences. Without this duo showing up and bringing plenty of additional depth to these characters, this movie wouldn't landed with the same force that it does-particularly during the pivotal final scenes where their characters are forced to directly confront the consequences of their actions and whether or not they can live with them in the name of keeping their popular television show afloat. 

Where Oppenheim goes as a feature director after this will be fascinating to watch. His understanding of the power of performance, knowing when to go big and when to let something breathe and coming up with creative visual compositions (cinematographer David Bolen does some seriously excellent work here, particularly in the surrealist moments where the lighting changes mid-scene) are incredible for someone coming from the world of documentary filmmaking. If his confidence, skill and visual eye are able to be combined with a sharper script, he could make something really incredible in the near future. 

Grade: B+

DreamWorks Animation 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 ranking the DreamWorks Animation filmography in honor of the release of their latest project "Forgotten Island"-which hits theaters today. 

DreamWorks Animation's Filmography Ranked:

27.Shark Tale (F)

26.Antz (D)

25.Monsters vs. Aliens (C-)

24.The Prince of Egypt (C)

23.The Road to El Dorado (C+)

22.Home (C+)

21.Dog Man (B-)

20.The Croods: A New Age (B-)

19.Madagascar (B-)

18.Kung Fu Panda 4 (B-)

17.Megamind (B-)

16.The Croods (B-)

15.Kung Fu Panda 3 (B-)

14.Shrek 2 (B-)

13.Puss in Boots (B)

12.Chicken Run (B)

11.Kung Fu Panda 2 (B)

10.Over the Hedge (B)

9.Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (B)

8.Rise of the Guardians (B)

7.The Bad Guys 2 (B)

6.How to Train Your Dragon (B)

5.The Bad Guys (B)

4.Kung Fu Panda (B)

3.The Wild Robot (B+)

2.Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (B+)

1.Shrek (B+)

Top Dog: Shrek (2001)

Shrek is one of the last animated movies that really hit for me as a kid. It was definitely the VHS tape that played the most at my house for the next couple of years after its initial release (Donkey was pretty much the pinnacle of comedy for me at that time) and the enthusiasm for the green ogre and co. remained high in my household until Shrek 2 was released and neither me nor my brother was overly impressed by it. As you can see from the above list, I didn't even bother to watch another Shrek-related movie until 2011's Puss in Boots and still haven't seen either of the latter two sequels in the main series. If I were to rewatch Shrek now, I'm confident that I'd be more appreciative of how it goes about satirizing and subverting traditional fairy tale tropes and go into a bit of a nostalgia haze watching something that brought me so much joy during a few years of my childhood. 

Bottom Feeder: Shark Tale (2004)

On Columbus Day weekend in 2004, I successfully convinced my friend to accompany his dad and 4-year-old sister to a showing of Shark Tale over going to see Ladder 49 by ourselves as I was concerned that the trailer for Seed of Chucky could play ahead of the PG-13-rated firefighter drama and didn't want to freak the fuck out in the theater. This proved to be a costly decision on my part as sitting through Shark Tale was one of the most miserable experiences I've ever had in a movie theater. In a shocking development, the whole application of mob movie tropes went clean over my head at the time, but that didn't stop me from finding the whole movie to be deeply grating, dull and unfunny. While it's certainly possible that I would view it more favorably today, my eagerness to give it another shot is very low. 

Most Underrated: The Bad Guys (2022)

Honestly, either installment of this franchise could be placed here. The animation is vivid, the titular band of bank robbing animals that pretend to become "good guys" for a gig, only for their leader (Sam Rockwell) to earnestly begin to experience a change of heart in the process of pulling off the con are a funny bunch with an entertaining buddy dynamic and above all, it unironically serves as a good introduction to the fun of heist/crime movies for younger audiences. 

Most Overrated: Madagascar (2005)

To be clear, there's nothing wrong with Madagascar. It's really as simple as Madagascar is burdened by the existence of so many talking animal movies existing in the American animated movie space and it doesn't have enough personality, laughs or heart to stand out from the pack.