It’s a great year for horror films about things coming back from the other side. Insidious: The Red Door returns to the roots of the seminal 2010s franchise. Meanwhile, Talk To Me turns communing with spirits into an allegory for addiction and the desire for social media fame. Overall, 2023 has been a fantastic year for horror. However, the “spirits come back to the world of the living” genre is in something of a golden age.
Then there’s Run Rabbit Run. From Australian director Daina Reid, the film explores the possibility of returning from death through the eyes of a mother-daughter relationship. The film was written by Australian novelist Hannah Kent (Burial Rites, The Good People). Run Rabbit Run premiered at Sundance. However, early critics’ reviews have not been kind to the film. It currently holds a 38% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Run Rabbit Run” Blurs The Line Between Illness And Possession
Sarah Snook (Succession) stars as Sarah, a single mother whose sister went missing as a little girl. After her daughter Mia (Lily LaTorre) asks if people can come back from the dead, Sarah opens up about her missing sister, Alice. At this point, strange occurrences begin to spring up about the mother and daughter. Sarah tells Mia that Alice loved animals and would have bring home wild rabbits. Sure enough, she comes home one day to find a wild rabbit in the house. She mentions that Alice was seven when she disappeared, only for Mia to remind her that she’s seven.
However, things really start to go off the rails when Sarah wakes up to find Mia standing at the foot of her bed wearing a crude rabbit mask. Before too long, Mia is starting to claim that she is in fact, Alice. As the trailer continues, Sarah begins to unravel as her life becomes more and more unstable. Is Mia unwell? Or is Alice actually back? Furthermore, what is Sarah keeping to herself about Alice’s disappearance? With plenty of connections to Alice in Wonderland, prepare yourself for a psychological thrill ride. Run Rabbit Run comes to Netflix on June 28.
When news of their reunion after two decades apart was first announced, pop culture fanatics couldn’t have been happier for Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. After a brief second engagement, they finally tied the knot in the summer of 2022, and have spent the time since searching for a place to call home while working on various projects separately and together. We’ve seen the embattled lovers make several public appearances so far this year, including at the Grammys, where Affleck looked less than enthused to be in attendance nearly every time the cameras caught him.
While he and Lopez were apparently aware of the memes circulating about them at the time, he didn’t hesitate to wear a very similar expression while attending the premiere of her latest movie, The Mother. On Wednesday (May 10) evening, the “On the Floor” songstress and her husband stepped out in their best-dressed, and while they certainly looked glamorous, we couldn’t help but notice a tense exchange taking place between them as photographers snapped away.
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s Tense Exchange Caught on Camera
It remains unclear what upset Affleck, though he obviously was visibly uncomfortable while posing beside Lopez. As charismatic as ever, the Hustlers actress continued to laugh and smile away, even as the 50-year-old expressed what appeared to be discontent. After a few moments of awkwardness, however, he seemed to recover, carrying on like a gentleman for the rest of the evening.
Apart from the Grammys and The Mother premiere, DailyMail reports that the father of three was also seemingly angrily confronting his partner back in January. At the time, they were attending the first viewing of her Shotgun Wedding project, though it remains unclear what exactly caused the multi-talent to lash out this time. Do you think Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have a chance at a strong future together? Let us know in the comments, and tap back in with HNHH later for more pop culture news updates.
Do you know how Flamin’ Hot Cheetos were invented? According to Richard Montañez, he invented them while working as a janitor at a Frito-Lay factory in Rancho Cucamonga. He was inspired by the spicy flavors of Latine street food and then took the bold step of calling the chief executive of Frito-Lay himself. He went from janitor to executive to motivational speaker by embracing his heritage and believing in himself. The debut of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos came at a time when PepsiCo was fighting for its life on multiple fronts of the food and beverage market. The company needed a product that could compete with the Anheuser-Busch-owned Eagle Snacks brand.
Now, there are claims that his story is a complete fabrication. Frito-Lay claims that the iconic, neon-red chip was created by a product committee in 1989. This was in order to fight Eagle Snacks in the Midwest. More specifically, it was in order to capitalize on the rise of inner-city bodegas. To be clear, Montañez did rise from plant worker to marketing director. Frito-Lay just refutes that he invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. But where’s the fun in corporate brand marketing?
“Flamin’ Hot” Tells Montañez’s Side Of The Story
Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives) brings Montañez’s origin story of the Flamin’ Hot Cheeto to life in her directorial debut. This is the story of a former gang member trying to turn his life around. With the Frito-Lay factory where he works under threat of closure, Montañez embraces the “it burns in a good way” spiciness of Latine cuisine to create a snack that will save the factory.
Jesse Garcia (From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series) stars as Montañez. He’s a family man with a troubled past and a heart of gold. Annie Gonzalez stars as Montañez’s ever-supportive wife, Judy. Additionally, there are big-name actors in major supporting roles. Dennis Haysbert (Far From Heaven, 24) plays Clarence, a fellow janitor who helps Montañez find his courage. Meanwhile, Tony Shalhoub(Monk, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) takes on the role of Pepsico executive and Cheetos brand manager, Roger Enrico. While its authenticity may be questionable, Flamin’Hot is set to be a heart-warming and tongue-tingling look at believing in yourself. Flamin’ Hot comes to Hulu on June 9.
Jack Black is the MVP of the highest-grossing video game movie of all-time (and the biggest movie of 2023). In the music video for “Video Games,” Tenacious D‘s first new song in five years, he and Kyle “Rage Kage” Gass pay tribute to some of the most iconic video game characters ever, including Link (it’s almost Tears of the Kingdom Day!), Kratos, and Lara Croft. Black is also transported into Mario, but not as Bowser. This time, he’s Mario. Which I guess means Chris Pratt is now… Lakitu? That works.
In a statement, the D wrote, “It’s about growing up and leaving childish things behing… But then realizing that video games are more than just mindless toys… in fact they can be a true expression of huge ideas that belong in the pantheon of great works of art! It’s about time someone defended the honor and integrity of this bold new horizon. Leave it to the greatest band in the world… Tenacious D!!!” They’ll lead (and play video games) as two kings.
Tenacious D are on tour. Here’s where you can see them:
5/11/23 New Orleans, LA @ The Fillmore
5/13/23 St. Augustine, FL @ The St. Augustine Amphitheatre
6/2/23 Nuremberg, Germany @ Rock im Park
6/3/23 Nurburg, Germany @ Rock Am Ring
6/4/23 Prague, Czech Republic @ Forum Karlin
6/6/23 Hamburg, Germany @ Sporthalle
6/7/23 Berlin, Germany @ Zitadelle
6/8/23 Nickelsdorf, Austria @ Nova Rock Festival
6/10/23 Milan, Italy @ Carroponte
6/12/23 Zurich, Switzerland @ The Hall
6/13/23 Brussels, Belgium @ Forest National
6/14/23 Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Ahoy
6/16/23 London, England @ O2 Arena
6/18/23 Clisson, France @ Hellfest Open Air Festival
The latest of the Transformers movies, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, is slated for a June 9 release. An animated origin story for the toys is set to be released in 2024 as an origin story on Cybertron. That will make eight films in the franchise and with its pattern of box office success, there will likely be more on the way. Critical reception aside, these movies are generally pretty profitable. Here are all of the films currently released, ranked.
6. Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
Transformers: The Last Knight is likely the final story in the line of Transformers movies. A film that was marketed as the final hoorah of this storyline, it was an unfortunately disappointing effort. It’s arguably the worst movie in the entire franchise. It seems like sad way for a popular franchise to go out, truthfully.
Mark Wahlberg is undoubtedly a strong candidate for any action film. However, he’s not the fan favorite Shia LaBeouf. Between his absence and the franchise’s ongoing efforts, even the most ardent supporters of the transforming robots were left a little disappointed with the stale offering from Steve Caple Jr.
5. Transformers: Age Of Extinction (2014)
Transformers: Age Of Extinction marked the transition away from Shia LaBeouf’s Sam Witwicky to Mark Wahlberg’s Cade Yeager. Although LaBeouf chose to leave on a high, it didn’t help the declining franchise. However, there are a lot of great action sequences, and the CGI is, once again, really nice. Otherwise, there’s just not much going for the rest of the movie.
By now, fans are used to a convoluted plot and many huge action scenes with great graphics. Unfortunately, after four movies, it’s a tiring experience. Why watch this when one could rewatch the slightly better predecessors? This movie doesn’t do enough to warrant the franchise’s continuation in many critics’ eyes.
4. Transformers: Dark Of The Moon (2011)
It’s not the easiest feat to make a sequel that improves on the original, and it’s even harder to make a threequel that improves on both. Unfortunately, Michael Bay couldn’t accomplish this on Transformers: Dark Of The Moon. A few elements work, but the new love interest and the rest of the plot feel smashed together. It felt as if the franchise was running out of steam. Even an all-star cast couldn’t help. By the third film, it became clear to some viewers that that might have been a mistake to continue the franchise beyond its second film.
3. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
The sequel to Transformers was arguably not as good as its predecessor. The charm of the first one waned, and the convoluted plot drained audiences a little more. It wasn’t as much of a novelty, so the faults of the writing and story were a little more evident. While this isn’t a spectacular follow-up, it wasn’t an abomination. Many audiences might have been surprised to learn that this wouldn’t be the worst of the bunch, but it truly kept going downhill from here, which makes this film look even better by comparison.
At this point, the sight of CGI robots beating each other to death while occasionally showing a human character isn’t as overused. Eventually, it will be. But, in 2009, seeing more Optimus Prime and Megatron battles was still exciting. Peter Cullen continues to provide excellent voice acting here, though.
2. Bumblebee (2018)
Then, 2018’s Bumblebee was the first non-linear story in the Transformers movies. For the first time, the franchise brought it back to the origin story of the beloved Bumblebee. Travis Knight did an excellent job taking over the Transformers movies. This film showed audiences that there could be refreshing contributions to the expanding Transformers universe. Fortunately, this movie’s success bodes well for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and the franchise’s future.
If the future is in the past, which it appears to be, then Bumblebee is a fantastic point to jump off from. Bumblebee has always been the most interesting character of them all, so an origin story and an exploration of him was always a good idea. Changing directorial hands was also a great idea from Hasbro.
1. Transformers (2007)
While the franchise may have generally gone downhill, its beginning was excellent. The CGI from 2007 still holds up today. While it might not have been purely intentional on Michael Bay’s part, the movie is hilarious. Shia LaBeouf’s explosive Hollywood ascent is certainly due to the success of this film. It’s just a shame the sequels couldn’t recapture the magic of the beginning of the Transformers movies.
Most of these movies were a hit at the box office, so Hasbro and everyone involved in making them wouldn’t change a thing. However, fans might want to go back and nix the franchise after this and save it as a standalone film. That would preserve the magic a little more since most everything after just tainted this film. Which of the Transformers movies is your favorite?
Bring It On is a cult classic sports film. It follows the Toros, a high school cheer squad, as they battle a rival squad in the National Championships. The film is stacked with star power that is largely split along racial lines. You have the Toros, a predominantly-white squad, facing the Clovers, a predominantly Black squad. There’s even a “white people learn their lesson” ending, with the Clovers winning the championship and Kirsten Dunst, the leader of the Toros, graciously admitting defeat.
Now one of the film’s stars has revealed a shocking secret. Gabrielle Union, who played the captain of the Clovers, has alleged that the production team filmed fake scenes to falsely promote the film’s diversity.
Union Alleges She Filmed “Fake Scenes”
Union has previously claimed that the trailer for Bring It On included “fake” footage of the Clovers. However, the use of trailer-only footage is nothing new for Hollywood. but Union has now taken her allegations a step further while appearing on Bloomberg’s Idea Generation podcast. “The Clovers were only in like a third of the movie, and when they started showing it to test audiences, The Clovers tested through the roof,” Union said. However, her claims didn’t stop there. “They were like, ‘We need more with The Clovers but we can’t add it to the movie,’” Union continued. “We’re going to shoot scenes, fake scenes, that will only be in the trailer to create the illusion that it was like a 50-50 movie. But what’s interesting is, the people spoke.”
“When the people spoke, they were like OK we got to deliver on – at least fake deliver. And the rest is kind of history. It’s wild to me.” While films like Drumline would later put Black stars in the spotlight, it’s shocking (yet completely unsurprising) to see the lengths Hollywood would go to fake diversity. And yet, the film’s premise (white people stealing from Black performers) and the meta example of that also is part of the appeal for Union. “I think it’s just what the movie represents,” Union said. “Badass young Black girls who refuse to take shit and never back down. It still appeals to me to this day.”
Jamie Foxx has really been going through it. Last month, while filming a new Netflix film, the actor was hospitalized for a still-undisclosed “medical complication.” The production of the film, titled Back In Action, was already dealing with a number of serious issues. Though Foxx’s representatives and family members assured the public that he was in stable, recovering condition, fans remained concerned. Close friends of the actor also urged fans to pray for his recovery. However, Foxx recently posted on Instagram for the first time since his hospitalization. While this brought some relief, sources close to Foxx revealed that he was still in the same condition as before.
Earlier this week, it was reported to People Magazine that the actor’s condition had stabilized and that he is no longer in a life-threatening situation. Still, he remains in the hospital. The reports also said that doctors were conducting more tests to ensure that he was okay before discharging him. Apparently, once Foxx is discharged, he has been advised to keep his stress levels down. This indicated that he may need additional time to recover at home. Today, however, sources close to the actor are reporting that his family is allegedly preparing for the worst.
Jamie Foxx’s health has been the subject of much debate since he was hospitalized last month. There have been conflicting reports about the actor’s condition. Despite his team claiming that he is doing okay and improving, insiders have said that he wouldn’t be in the hospital for so long if that were true. At the time of the incident, Foxx’s 29-year-old daughter announced that he experienced a “medical complication,” but did not provide details. Jamie himself posted on Instagram that he was doing well and thanked his fans for their prayers, but some social media users are skeptical about whether he posted it himself.
According to a new report from Radar Online, Foxx’s family is now preparing for the worst possible outcome. It is unclear what could have changed that led to this update. The original medical issue still has not been revealed to the public. However, if the actor was told to keep stress levels down, it is likely that he experienced a stroke of some sort. What do you think of the new update on Jamie Foxx’s health? Let us know in the comments below! As always, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest updates.
After Tom Cruise was photographed next to Shakira during this past weekend’s Formula 1 Grand Prix in Miami, the internet went wild with rumors that the Mission: Impossible star is dating the recently single singer. And as footage of the two hanging out at the event bounced around TikTok, a source informed Page Six that romance is in the air.
“He is extremely interested in pursuing her,” the source said. “There is chemistry.”
The 46-year-old singer publicly broke things off with her soccer player boyfriend, Gerard Piqué, over allegations that he was having an affair. Now that she’s living in Miami, Shakira is reportedly open to dating the Top Gun: Maverick star:
“Shakira needs a soft pillow to fall on, and that could be Tom,” says our source — adding that Cruise has the benefit of being, “a nice-looking guy, and he is talented.”
The source also cracked, “And she isn’t taller than him.”
Page Six also reports that Cruise “was so taken by the pop diva that he allegedly sent her flowers.” However, it should be noted that, at the moment, a Cruise-Shakira pairing is nothing more than tabloid speculation based on two very famous people being at the same event at the same time. Formula 1 racing is trying to make a huge splash in America, so of course, the sport is rolling out the red carpet for celebrities.
So, are Cruise and Shakira definitely dating? No. Could this all just be artfully constructed public relations? Sure. But it doesn’t mean they aren’t not dating. For now. Maybe. Or not! Here’s hoping Shakira likes fighter jets!
Janelle Monáe’s figure has become a center of attention lately (especially since she stopped dressing “like the Monopoly Man.”) The latest example of that is with the teaser video she shared for the upcoming single “Lipstick Lover” yesterday (May 9). The clip starts with her singing and playing guitar before transitioning to a clip of her emerging from a pool wearing a wet, white t-shirt, which left little (if anything) to the imagination. The revealing video certainly had people talking and it’s trending on Twitter today (May 10).
As for how Monáe achieved the body that she has, she actually answered that question recently.
Last week, Monáe turned heads at the Met Gala with a look that People described, “On fashion’s biggest event Monday, the Grammy-nominated artist, 37, showed up in a larger-than-life tweed coat in black and white and a button-up dress in honor of the night’s ‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty’ theme. However, while impressive in size, the pieces were taken off in a performative way to unveil the circular mesh dress and skin-baring two-piece underneath.”
As she walked the red carpet, one reporter asked Monáe how she’s reached her current shape. She responded, “Jamaican food and… sex.”
If there’s anyone who knows the man behind the myth of Tupac Shakur, it’s filmmaker Allen Hughes. Hughes, who is behind works such as Menace II Society and The Book OF Eli, is also the creative force behind Dear Mama, an FX documentary series about Tupac’s life. The series focuses on both Tupac and his mother, legendary Black Panther Afeni. It’s premiere set a record for an unscripted show on FX.
Hughes has shared some of that insight in a new interview on The Rich Eisen Show. Specifically, Hughes compared 2Pac’s potential to that of all-time great, Denzel Washington. 2Pac appeared in six non-cameo film and television roles before his death. These included films such as Juice, Above The Rim, and Gridlock’d.
Tupac Would Have Given Denzel “A Run For His Money”
“If he had been here, I think Denzel would have some stiff competition,” Hughes said. “He was that talented. Denzel and 2Pac share one thing in common, and I’ve seen them all. I’ve been with world-class pimps, charismatics all over the world, storytellers. The ‘it’ thing — you know, in streets or in the movie business — Denzel and 2Pac possessed. When they walk in a room, the emotional intelligence was off the charts, the social intelligence was off the charts. Genius level of social intelligence.” Hughes never directed Shakur but was heavily involved in the West Coast scene.
Hughes also spoke about 2Pac likely putting music on the backburner, something the musician himself had alluded to before his death. “The difference is, Denzel is very wise and can control his emotions and 2Pac [couldn’t]. But 2Pac would’ve been one our greatest leading men, would’ve been a multiple Academy Award winner. And the music would’ve been secondary. I’m sure he would’ve still continued doing music, but he would be huge in the film world.” A thought-forgotten 1996 interview with 2Pac revealed that he wanted to move away from music and focus on film. But what do you think – would 2Pac have rivaled Denzel? Let us know in the comments below.
