Ever since the instant classic high school comedy Superbad put them on the map and the subsequent release of action-packed buddy picture Pineapple Express proved they weren’t one-trick ponies, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have been two of the most prolific and sought-after screenwriters in Hollywood. They’ve moved into producing streaming shows like The Boys and Invincible, but Rogen and Goldberg haven’t lost sight of their big-screen roots. Not all of their movies have been as great as Superbad and Pineapple Express, but a bunch of their scripts – including the ones they directed themselves – have impressive scores on IMDb. 9 Drillbit Taylor (5.7) The screenplay for Drillbit Taylor was written by Rogen, in his only screenwriting effort without Goldberg’s contributions, and Kristofor Brown, based on a story by John Hughes, the legendary director of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Owen Wilson stars as a bodyguard who’s hired by three kids to protect them from bullies. As the movie’s mediocre IMDb rating would suggest, the execution doesn’t match the greatness of its premise. But a typically charming performance by Wilson as the title character makes it at least watchable. 8 The Watch (5.7) Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade star in The Watch as a band of bored suburban men who form a neighborhood watch to escape the mundanity of their lives and unwittingly stumble upon an alien invasion stemming from the local Costco. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Watch was initially conceived as a PG-13 vehicle in the vein of Ghostbusters. When it was retooled as a raunchy R-rated affair, Rogen and Goldberg were brought aboard the project to inject it with a healthy dose of curse words and sex references. 7 Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (5.7) After Mac and Kelly successfully ousted a fraternity that moved next door to them in the first Neighbors movie, the second one sees a sorority moving into the very same house. It could’ve come off as a rehash of the original, but Sorority Rising adds a unique twist as the couple reluctantly teams up with Zac Efron’s frat boy Teddy, the villain from the first one. After they resisted the urge to pen sequels to Superbad and Pineapple Express, Neighbors 2 marked the first time Rogen and Goldberg had written a follow-up to one of their movies. 6 The Green Hornet (5.8) Despite its critical panning, Rogen and Goldberg’s movie version of The Green Hornet is a fun superhero adventure carried by Rogen’s palpable on-screen chemistry with Jay Chou, who takes on Bruce Lee’s iconic role as Kato. A lot of diehard Green Hornet fans were upset that Rogen and Goldberg adapted the property as a straightforward comedy, but their script has a nice balance of action and humor and director Michel Gondry brings some dazzling visuals to the proceedings. 5 Sausage Party (6.1) Rogen and Goldberg brought their particular brand of raunchy hard-R humor to the typically kid-friendly realm of computer animation in 2016. Sausage Party is a hysterical riff on Pixar’s premises about anthropomorphized objects in which food products at a grocery store learn that their ultimate fate is to be eaten alive by giants. On top of all the gags about sausages resembling penises, Sausage Party’s story of foods learning they worship a false god, and that their faith in “The Great Beyond,” is unfounded is a brilliant satire of religion. 4 The Interview (6.5) Rogen and Goldberg’s second directorial effort after This is the End, The Interview, stars Rogen as a tabloid TV producer and James Franco as a late-night celebrity interviewer who’s invited to North Korea to interview Kim Jong-un. When the CIA catches wind, they task him with assassinating the infamous dictator. This movie has the distinction of being the only movie in Rogen and Goldberg’s filmography to cause a geopolitical crisis that almost led to World War III. Despite the controversy it caused, The Interview actually has a lot more scatological gags and crass wordplay than biting political satire. 3 This Is The End (6.6) After observing the work of directors like Michel Gondry and David Gordon Green bringing their scripts to life over the years, Rogen and Goldberg finally tried their hand at directing in 2013 with the apocalyptic comedy This is the End. With all the actors in Rogen and Goldberg’s regular company – Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, etc. – playing satirical riffs on themselves, This is the End is a must-see for fans of self-aware comedy. 2 Pineapple Express (6.9) Almost every Seth Rogen movie is about weed in some capacity, but his most overtly marijuana-oriented effort is Pineapple Express, in which he plays a process server who goes on the run with his pot dealer after witnessing a drug lord commit a murder. After the runaway success of Superbad, Pineapple Express proved it wasn’t a one-off and that Rogen and Goldberg were a screenwriting team to be reckoned with. 1 Superbad (7.6) The modern comedy classic that put Rogen and Goldberg on the map, Superbad is a coming-of-age gem about two high schoolers – aptly named Seth and Evan – trying to secure booze for a big party. It’s set up as a typical American Pie riff about sex-obsessed teens trying to lose their virginity, but Superbad is really about Seth and Evan’s separation anxiety as they prepare to go to different colleges. According to The Guardian, Rogen and Goldberg began writing Superbad when they were 13, which explains why the teen angst rings so true. Superbad was the script that launched Rogen and Goldberg’s screenwriting career and, having been finetuned over more than a decade, it remains their strongest script to date.

From its opening shot, Alexis Gambis' Son of Monarchs is a captivating, thought-provoking film. The very first image audiences see — even before meeting protagonist Mendel (Tenoch Huerta) — is a close-up of a chrysalis being carefully, almost lovingly, dissected in a pool of clear liquid. This moment sets up the entire emotional experience of the movie: an uncomfortable clash between science and spirituality, the mundane and the sacred, precariously balanced on the quiet, hunched shoulders of a man struggling to reconcile his present station in life with the demons of his past. Written and directed by French Venezuelan film director (and biologist) Alexis Gambis, Son of Monarchs is an expertly crafted visual experience that weaves disparate themes and images. The man cutting into the butterfly cocoon is Mendel, a scientist working on identifying and isolating the gene responsible for the monarch's distinct wing color. Specifically, he's involved in researching the optix gene, identifying how it determines color and patterns, and finding ways to manipulate the isolated gene (turning what should be orange scales on the butterfly's wings blue). It's a mildly controversial topic — at one point, a character compares it to Dr. Frankenstein's research in Mary Shelley's classic novel — but for Mendel, it's deeply contradictory work: his grandmother instilled in him a reverence for the monarch butterflies, which would migrate to the Michoacán forests surrounding his hometown en masse each year. Mendel may have dedicated his professional life to studying these delicate creatures, but in doing so, destroys countless. It's this inner conflict that drives the narrative. The movie lacks a clear plotline, instead offering a story told through vignettes that offer a glimpse into the protagonist's inner life. A Mexican biologist working in New York City, Mendel is an outsider — both among his peers in America but also back home in Angangueo, Mexico. The scientist clearly does not go home often, possibly because of the bad blood between him and his brother, Simon (Noé Hernández); yet, he seems out of place in New York City as well. He's grown too dependent on his friendship with fellow Mexican-scientist Pablo (Juan Ugarte), and as a single, never-married middle-aged man, appears reluctant to form any meaningful relationships or lay down roots in his new home. Played gently by Huerta, Mendel seems slightly uncomfortable wherever he goes, often slipping on and off various social masks as he performs the roles of happy-go-lucky peer, uncle, and boyfriend. Huerta offers a beautifully nuanced performance in Son of Monarchs; the actor imbues each moment, each glance, with a depth of meaning and feeling. Although he's soft spoken, Huerta's eyes are bold — brimming with emotion in one scene, then reflecting the dull luster of a traumatized mind in the next. As Mendel goes through his transformative journey, he holds himself slightly differently, slowly disregarding his "masks" and allowing his true self to emerge. Scene after scene, Huerta is a joy to watch. Son of Monarchs is a bold film. Gambis maintains thematic tension throughout the story, constantly pulling Mendel between two very different worlds. The colors orange and blue are a dominant motif representing this, demonstrating the contrast of Mendel's spiritual and secular lives. Thematically, Mendel's inner turmoil is extended to offer a look at contemporary society: the inherent violence of scientific study, juxtaposed very intentionally with the environmental devastation, all done for the sake of progress. Son of Monarchs does not outright condemn these actions, instead suggesting humanity and Mother Nature must find a way to coexist. It's a mature choice that opts for a more pragmatic approach to environmentalism — without villainizing people, like Simon, whose circumstances force them to work in occupations that they know harms the local environment. Son of Monarchs is a visual treat, embracing a truncated, almost dream-like pacing, which compliments the various surreal shots of Mendel's memories and nightmares. Interspersed between scenes are various scientific images from monarch butterfly research, presented for artistic effect. The movie rides the line of being artistically indulgent without feeling pretentious or gratuitous; however, Son of Monarchs is a challenging film, and no doubt some audiences will be put off by its psychological drama and visual storytelling. The loose structure of the plot adds an additional barrier that may turn off some viewers: this is a film that must be actively watched and savored — for those simply looking to be entertained, the work required to watch won't feel worth the effort. Cinephiles, on the other hand, will rejoice at the lush visuals and daring mise-en-scene in Sons of Monarchs — and will no doubt keep an eye out for Gambis' next project.

Seinfeld did have the makings of a long-term Jerry-Elaine romance, but it ultimately went nowhere - here's why. Seinfeld explored multiple romantic relationships Elaine and Jerry had with other people, but rarely addressed the prospect of bringing the two back together. Instead, Elaine remained one of the core members of Jerry’s circle of friends up until the end of the show in season 9. When Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) was brought into the fold in the show’s second episode, it was explained she and Jerry had a brief relationship. Apparently, they had just broken up but decided to maintain their friendship. This served as the beginning of Elaine’s presence on the show, which involved frequent visits to Jerry’s apartment, lunches at Monk’s Café, and all sorts of misadventures with Jerry, George (Jason Alexander), and Kramer (Michael Richards). One thing Seinfeld avoided was Jerry and Elaine becoming an item for longer than an episode. Seinfeld actually delivered a story where they started dating again, but this was abruptly dropped. In Seinfeld season 2 episode “The Deal” their failure to work out a “friends with benefits” relationship resulted in them getting back together at the end. However, they returned to the status quo in the following episode. It took almost a whole season before this was finally explained. In Seinfeld's season 3's "The Pen", the show dropped a throwaway line from Jerry which revealed he and Elaine had broken up offscreen. Apparently, the reason it took so long for this to be addressed can be attributed to “The Deal” airing out of order. It was originally intended as the season 2 finale. At the time, the writers weren’t even sure if the show would be renewed, so this was also seen as a possible happy ending for the pair if it really was the finale. As for why Seinfeld decided to limit the Jerry-Elaine romance to just a one-episode story, “The Deal” was ultimately a product of discussions Seinfeld creator Larry David had with NBC executives. The home video release of Seinfeld season 2 revealed NBC was highly interested in Seinfeld pursuing a “will-they-won’t-they” subplot with the two, but David and Jerry Seinfeld were opposed, as both felt Jerry and Elaine should not be romantically involved. NBC was insistent, so to please them, David wrote “The Deal” as a form of compromise, understanding that once he gave the network what they wanted, he could return to the original formula without issues. That’s essentially what Seinfeld did, and though the series did hint at feelings they may have had for each other occasionally, it kept the two apart. When considering how a romance would have greatly disrupted the friendship dynamic between Seinfield's main cast of characters that made the show so popular, it’s likely for the best the story was abandoned so quickly.

Janneke Parrish, an Austin-based employee who worked on Apple Maps, is a leader of #AppleToo. An Apple program manager who posted anonymous stories of discrimination against employees at the tech giant has reportedly been canned.  Janneke Parrish, an Austin-based employee who worked at Apple Maps, runs #AppleToo, an online story-sharing group. of alleged "racism, sexism, inequality, discrimination, intimidation, repression, coercion, abuse, unjust punishment, and unlimited privilege" faced by Apple employees.  According to The Verge, she was fired last week for deleting files - including the Google Drive, Robinhood, and Pokemon Go apps - from her work device during a company investigation.  In a tweet, Parrish, 30, hinted that she was fired in retaliation for her work with #AppleToo. the right thing, "he said. But we're doing the right thing because it's the right thing. # AppleToo is about asking Apple to do better to end systemic discrimination, abuse, and pay inequality. 

On Friday, it was revealed Superman is getting a brand-new catchphrase, as the iconic DC Comics hero will fight for  “Truth, Justice and a Better Tomorrow." At DC FanDome, DC Chief Creative Officer and Publisher Jim Lee revealed the Man of Steel will officially be dropping the "American Way" from his motto and instead, which will be replaced by the phrase "a Better Tomorrow." The new catchphrase better embodies the hero's ultimate mission of making the world a better place. Superman is one of the most recognizable pop culture figures on the planet, as he originally debuted in Action Comics #1 in 1939. The hero has always been connected to the United States, as The Man of Tomorrow crash-landed on Earth and ended up being raised in Smallville, Kansas in the United States. However, despite his longtime motto suggesting he fights for the American Way, Superman has long fought for everyone across the globe - meaning his motto hasn't been all-encompassing as it should be. Now, Superman is officially losing "The American Way" from his iconic catchphrase. MORE DETAILS WILL BE ADDED SOON.

Netflix's Korean survival drama Squid Game has captured the imagination of a global audience, but how exactly does the game stay a secret despite so many people going missing? The Netflix smash hit establishes that a group of wealthy individuals recruit competitors with massive debts to vie for Squid Game's 45.6 billion Won prize, and it follows 456 of these competitors as they engage in the titular games. The premise of the game - and the show - is that 455 participants will die during the games, leaving one winner to take the prize money, pay off their debts, and live in comfort for the rest of their life. Through the investigation of Jun-ho, a policeman who infiltrates the game disguised as one of its masked workers, it's revealed that the games have been running for 30 years. Assuming that each game has around 400 participants and (as the epilogue implies) that one occurs roughly once per year, that would mean an estimated body count of 11,970 - which is an awful lot of missing people to cover up. The theory that Jun-ho is still alive might see him bring the game's existence to light in a potential Squid Game season 2, but the real question is: just how has it been kept a secret for so long? The show does imply an answer, but it's one that requires a lot of clarification. The game is run by the Front Man - later revealed to be Jun-ho's brother, In-ho - but it exists in order to entertain some of the world's wealthiest and most powerful people, known in Squid Game as the VIPs. With this level of financial backing behind it, it can be surmised that large sums of money are able to secure the game's continued existence. Squid Game's Old Man twist reveals that Oh Il-nam, also known as Player 001, is the game's founder, but it doesn't specify exactly how he has been able to keep it hidden for so long - although one of the most likely answers lies within the show's narrative theme. Squid Game's story is rooted in South Korea's class divide and highlights the massive disparity of wealth within the country as well as examining the way in which the wealthy look at the people they deem beneath them. The most likely explanation for how the game remains a secret is that its selected players are all desperate people whose disappearance can be easily explained - Sang-woo is wanted by the police, Sae-byeok is a North Korean defector, and Gi-hun is a gambling addict with massive debt. The common theme is that Squid Game's cast of characters all exist on the bottom rung of a society that doesn't value them and that their disappearance will largely go unnoticed. This is evidenced in episode 2 when Gi-hun approaches the police, and they laugh him off. They dismiss his story as outlandish as he has no real credibility, with only Jun-ho willing to investigate in an unofficial capacity in hopes of finding his brother. It certainly appears that choosing its competitors carefully is key to the game's continued secrecy, but it may even be more important that its workers are chosen carefully. From the events Jun-ho witnesses during his infiltration of the island, it's clear that complete obedience is required of the workers, and steps are surely taken to choose Squid Game's workers carefully in order to ensure their silence. It seems that Squid Game's VIPs are the largest contributors to the game's ability to remain hidden, but this is something that's implied rather than stated. However, money and influence alone can't guarantee silence, so it's most likely that the game employs other contingencies against those seeking to expose it. Exactly what those methods might look like will surely come into play in Squid Game's hypothetical season 2, as Gi-hun made his intentions to expose the game all too clear.

DC's The Flash movie trailer reveals Michael Keaton's Batman return, with the actor donning the Batsuit again in the upcoming movie. Ezra Miller will lead The Flash film as Barry Allen, reprising his DC Extended Universe role in his first solo movie. However, he'll be joined by other DC heroes in The Flash movie including Keaton's Batman from Tim Burton's 80s & 90s movies, Ben Affleck's DCEU Batman and new-to-the-universe Sasha Calle as Supergirl. IT helmer Andy Muschietti directs The Flash from a script by Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey: Harley Quinn). During production on The Flash, Muschietti posted teaser images of Miller's Flash suit, Keaton's Batman suit and Calle's Supergirl suit that just showed their respective logos, but never revealed the full costumes. An additional teaser image featured a Batman logo with the Flash's red and gold logo painted over it, though it wasn't clear what exactly the image meant for the film's story. Further looks at the movie were revealed unofficially by photographers, with The Flash movie set photos revealing Keaton's Bruce Wayne, Calle's full Supergirl costume and Affleck's Batcyle. However, now official looks at the movie are unveiled. During DC FanDome 2021, a first look at Keaton's Batman return in The Flash movie was revealed. Check it out in the video below. Developing... Source: DC

Warning: This post contains major spoilers for You Season 3. The explosive ending of You season 3 sees Penn Badgley's Joe once more free of his crimes - despite an increasingly heinous rap sheet - but with his soul mate Love (Victoria Pedretti) killed off after turning on him. It's a shocking turn of events that splits up the couple after some of the best drama of the season saw them negotiating the "safety" of married, suburban life as well as their dark impulses. But removing Joe's wife (and son) in one fell swoop does serve a purpose for the future of the show. You season 3 is only partly based on Caroline Kepnes' books, after the first two seasons were based on her first two titles, You and Hidden Bodies. As such, while there are elements of the story adapted from third Joe Goldberg book You Love Me, the majority of the plot was invented for the Netflix show. The librarian storyline comes from the book, but the fate of Love is changed significantly: in the third book, Vitoria Pedretti's killer wife is initially not involved because the Quinn family have paid Joe $4m to stay away from them, but she appears to try and exact revenge on him. Here, of course, Love and Joe are somewhat "happily" married, and it's not until the end when Joe's new stalking victim is revealed that Love turns on him and is killed. In both cases, Love ends up dying, but in the book it's by her own hand (after she shoots Joe in the head) - so why did You season 3's ending change the specifics of Love's death? And why was she killed in the first place? It comes down to the opportunity to continue Joe's story into the newly announced You season 4, which couldn't happen with Joe still tied to suburbia, and also fits with Joe's darkness within and the curse that he will never be happy. As revealed in You season 3, Joe's evil manifests because of his "mommy issues" (or so he claims) and his innate need to be the saviour after he was forced to kill his father to protect his mother. After she rejected him for what he did, Joe was forever cursed to chase the perfect opportunity to save his victims - as a power trip and a realization of the fantasy his mother robbed of him - and a stable, happy ending with Love simply didn't fit that. In order for Joe's story to continue, in other words, Love had to die in You season 3's ending. You season 3 goes some way into exploring Joe's origin story in a new way, giving him some insight into why he craves the power over his victims that drives him, but stops short of offering him the realization that he will never be happy with any of his "conquests". As soon as the chase is over, Joe will always become bored and look to his next possible victim, who could still feed his saviour complex from afar, without the stability and mundanity of familiarity. Joe isn't just stalking women, he's stalking the happy ending and the validation from his mother he feels he's due, and settling down destroys his opportunity to do that, blunting his edge. On top of that, the reality of Love is nothing like the fantasy he'd created in his own head that had been fed by his need to save her. As soon as she revealed that she could be just like him, he was repulsed, almost killing her but choosing not to because of her shock reveal of her pregnancy. From there on, Joe was simply playing a role, performing to fit in and be what he thought he needed to be to save his son from becoming just like him. But his quick infatuations with Natalie and then Marienne proved without doubt that it was all a lie hiding his true impulses. Now that Love has been removed from the scene, Joe can continue to chase what he will never achieve: satisfaction in his "hunt". Additionally, Love's death at the end of You season 3 potentially gives season 4 its antagonist, as the Quinn family are unlikely to allow his death to go fully investigated, which may put them on a collision course in France when Joe Goldberg returns.

LEGO Star Wars: Terrifying Tales, the latest comedic holiday-themed Star Wars television special, is the latest official property to poke fun at Kylo Ren’s mask. Kylo Ren, formerly Ben Solo, is one of the main antagonists of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, despite often being the subject of mockery both in-universe and in the real world. Like Darth Vader, Kylo Ren is a powerful dark side user who wears a menacing armored mask. Though Vader wore his mask as part of a cybernetic survival suit, Kylo wears his for a variety of other reasons -- namely, vanity. Darth Vader, the grandfather of Ben Solo, was a Sith Lord who required his suit following grievous injuries sustained in a battle against Obi-Wan Kenobi. As Kylo Ren, Ben Solo worshipped Vader, but there were numerous differences between the two. Kylo was never a Sith. He was a Knight of Ren using the dark side with a different philosophical outlook from the Sith. While Vader resigned himself to his new Sith identity, Kylo craved his, killing and sacrificing everything any everyone necessary to ascend to his position as Master of the Knights of Ren. The humorous take on Kylo Ren’s origin in the non-canon Terrifying Tales took some inspiration from the canonical four-issue Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren comic series, with Ben becoming intrigued by the Knights of Ren during his Jedi days. In the LEGO parody, Ben joins the marauding gang, but receives his armor, robes, and mask immediately, since the Knights needed to maintain an intimidating appearance. Though it wasn’t meant to be taken seriously, this iteration of Kylo Ren wears his mask for similar reasons in the Star Wars canon universe. There were several reasons why Kylo wore a mask in the Star Wars sequels, but the main one is that all Knights of Ren wore armored suits, complete with battle helms. After renouncing his ties to the Jedi, Kylo usurped Ren as the Knights’ new leader and devoted himself to their philosophy and customs, including the use of an armored mask. Aside from indicating his affiliation with the Knights and protecting his head, Kylo’s mask served another, more sentimental, purpose. Kylo Ren worshipped his grandfather, Darth Vader, seeking to become a similarly fearsome dark side user, thanks in part to telepathic goading by Darth Sidious. When wearing his armored mask, which deepened his voice, Kylo felt more like Vader. Kylo’s dark side master, Snoke, brutally criticized Kylo in the comics and films for his attempts to mimic his grandfather. Snoke, along with Poe Dameron, also complained about the mask’s distortion of Kylo’s voice, making it the subject of frequent criticism in-universe. Aside from Kylo Ren’s desires to follow in Vader’s footsteps the traditional helmets worn by the Knights of Ren were meant to strike fear into their victims. This makes the satirical reason for Kylo Ren wearing his mask fitting in LEGO Star Wars: Terrifying Tales, as both he and the Knights of Ren were concerned with appearances.