Top Gun: Maverick, which follows up on one of Cruise’s signature hits from the 1980s, was originally intended to release in summer 2020 until our first brush with the COVID-19 pandemic caused the spectacle to be delayed first to Christmas of that year and then summer 2021. Finally, its Thanksgiving 2021 date looked fairly solid as Hollywood blockbusters dipped their toes back in the multiplex waters this last summer, and to relative success in the case of anticipated sequels like F9 and Paramount’s own A Quiet Place Part II....

As it turns out, Uncharted, starring Tom Holland as Drake and Mark Wahlberg as his conman mentor Sully, does in fact manage to justify its existence. It isn’t a great action movie, but it is a good one. Despite not being as compelling or polished as the games it’s based on, the first big screen Drake adventure is still a lot of fun, and Holland opens the franchise up to a younger audience that may not have been drawn in by video game Drake’s middle aged machismo....

The operative word here is “slow”: we’re not seeing a deluge of new films anywhere — the big or small screen — but there is a steady flow of them nonetheless, and as is often the case, horror leads the way. Below is a round-up of fresh horror releases coming your way (or there already) in the US and UK, available either at your local multiplex (and we urge you to keep the risks of going to the theater in mind) or right in your living room....

Van Helsing Season 2 Episode 12 “You gotta hang onto hope. What else is there?” After a two week detour in which the bulk of the cast remained in the background, “Crooked Falls” takes a bold step toward clarifying the true nature of the vampire assault on the human race. Whether it’s time travel, zombies, or vampires, writers must establish a consistent set of rules whereby the characters live and die, and while Van Helsing has at times played fast and loose with those rules, tonight’s episode presents a new wrinkle regarding the ferals that could change everything....

Vikings Season 5 Episode 3 Review “Our father would have hated you.” Shared leadership rarely wins the war, and tonight’s episode of Vikings drives home that theme as the first of many battles finally gets underway. Though the clash between Ivar’s forces and the Christian army led by King Aethelwulf and Bishop Heahmund occupies the majority of the episode, the struggles others face offer no less compelling accounts. In the end though, it’s the fractured Lothbrok clan that continues to drive the narrative in “Homeland....

Walker Episode 4 Walker’s “Don’t Fence Me In” takes the time to reinforce and explain that Micki Ramirez is a trailblazer. She’s doing the work so the ones who come after her don’t have to fight like she does every day. And it’s hard when you’re breaking the glass ceilings for the very first time. We see it in this episode with the way that Micki is used to show that the department has diversity....

“I know it’s going to be a change and there are people that don’t like change,” Betar told Business Insider after the move was announced. “[But] sometimes change ends up being a better thing.” Betar explained that the deal would allow him to be more flexible with his streaming content, saying that joining YouTube would allow him to spend more time with his family. He will also launch a secondary YouTube channel for edited videos, while his main channel will host his live streams and VODs of those broadcasts....

But more importantly to a generation of moviegoers, Snipes’ depiction of Blade was just badass. Clad in head-to-toe black leather and a killer pair of shades a year ahead of The Matrix, Snipes crafted a laconic and definitive image of vampire hunting coolness. Technically part vampire himself, Snipes’ “Daywalker” was the rare thing in Hollywood then and (sadly) now: a Black lead in a major Hollywood franchise. In fact, to many to this day, Snipes is Blade....

A lot of the appeal of The Sopranos comes from viewing the personal lives of people who are a part of an illicit sector of society. The members of the DiMeo organized crime family made their way in the world in a manner that starkly contrasts to what the general population is accustomed to in their own lives. It’s nearly impossible to imagine having the authority of Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) or the material wealth of Carmela Soprano (Edie Falco)....

Songwriting lead guitarist, vocalist, and sometime sax player, John Fogerty, his late rhythm-guitar playing brother Tom Fogerty, bassist Stu Cook, and drummer Doug Clifford condensed rock and roll, soul, rhythm and blues, and country into a unique sonic blend which has become iconic rock. “I like Creedence Clearwater,” John Lennon told Rolling Stone in 1970. “They make beautiful Clearwater music, they make good rock ‘n’ roll music.” You can hear that sound, live without overdubs, in the new documentary concert film, Travelin’ Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall, which is now streaming on Netflix....

At its release the movie was praised for Smith’s performance but criticised for an overuse of CGI and a weak third act, but rewatching against the backdrop of 2021 what really sticks is how much of a wasted opportunity I Am Legend was. This is an hour of an excellent film, then 30-odd minutes of rubbish. What you might remember of I Am Legend is this: cool empty New York stuff, Batman V Superman logo on a building, Will Smith talks to mannequins, the dog dies, CGI zombies, the end....

It’s an electric opening which sees a stadium full of women cheering the acrobatics of the island’s finest as they shoot, dive, leap, swing, and ride their way through a complex course to well-earned victory. The first superhero movie to be released during the pandemic, Wonder Woman 1984 has had to overcome obstacles of its own – primarily its release date and platform. Landing almost concurrently in cinemas and on VOD this Christmas is a different outcome to the one director Patty Jenkins and her cast and crew would have expected when they were filming back in 2018, yet it’s arrival in 2020 marks something of a shining light in a dismal year....

“Better Dig Two,” the penultimate episode of Wynonna Earp Season 4, gave viewers a lot to unpack. Waverly was a Dark Angel, and then she wasn’t. Doc was the Clanton heir, and then he wasn’t. Everything was fucked, and then it wasn’t. This show does such a good job raising the stakes, but it doesn’t always nail its pacing. I would have liked to see the story beats hit in these last two episodes stretched out a bit longer, and really explored....

Young Justice Season 3 Episode 22 Grading on a relative scale, last week’s episode of Young Justice was a debacle. It was too busy and too rushed. This week’s episode, “Antisocial,” fixes almost every problem with “Unknown Factors” by dramatically narrowing its scale. It sacrifices some action in doing so, but this episode really starts thundering towards the finale and pushing plot lines to their inevitable conclusions. The action starts out focused at the Outsider’s Hollywood headquarters....

Young Justice: Outsiders Episode 6 It’s a small thing to focus on, but as a moderate-to-hardcore Robin fan, it’s hard not to get REALLY excited about a show that has Nightwing, Tim Drake, and Spoiler; has acknowledged Jason Todd in the teen hero cemetery in Mount Justice in Invasion; and now has Talia walk into a scene holding a baby and a “Red Hooded Ninja” (according to the credits) whose memory is slowly coming back and making him remember who “Gray…son” is....

The hum of a lightsaber echoes in a hallway filled with smoke. A mastermind works behind gilded walls against his enemies. A bounty hunter zips through the sky with his jet pack. A dark lord awaits her prey from the core of a dying planet. These are moments that stay with us long after the credits have rolled, and they’re the reason why a few of the villains on this list are considered some of the best ever created regardless of the medium....

You know what you’re in for when you go and see a horror movie. Scary films usually have scary titles and scary posters so everyone knows that they’re going to get jumped, spooked or grossed-out for the next two hours. If you don’t like horror movies, it’s pretty easy to avoid them. But that’s not always the case. It might be a kid’s movie, an indie drama, an action blockbuster or a sweet family comedy, but you’re never completely safe from horror when you go to the cinema....

“It’s taken us longer than we would have liked, but it’s going to power what we’re doing with Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6, and when people see the result, they’ll hopefully be as happy as we are with what’s on the screen, but also in how we can go about making our games,” Howard said. “So the overhaul in our engine is the largest we’ve probably ever had, maybe larger than Morrowind to Oblivion....

The film ends on a classically framed shot of Alex (in his mind) happily performing the old in-out in-out with a pleased partner surrounded by an appreciative audience of privileged-class voyeurs. Literally looks like Heaven. It is one of the most memorable and powerful closing scenes in motion picture history. It seems a no-brainer whether it is the perfect conclusion. By viewers’ choice, it is better to retain free will, even if it means uncaging the beast....

Vampire families are complicated, and not just because everybody has two birthdays to remember. Each vampire has a sire who becomes their vampire blood-mother or father, and any vampires who share a sire automatically become siblings. If a vampire’s sire is mated to another, that vampire becomes a non-blood parent to their shared ‘children’. The immortality thing also means that multiple generations of a vampire clan often look around the same age, which is why, if the de Clermonts in A Discovery of Witches ever had a family get-together, it’d look more like an office costume party....