(Photo by New Line/courtesy Everett Collection)

All Guillermo del Toro Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

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The latest: Critics found Frankenstein to be a gloriously gothic epic that’s as heart-breaking as it is thrilling.

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One easy way to get that Best Picture win at the Oscars? Spend your burgeoning directing career on strange and grotesque genre pictures, then hook up with a major studio to work on Lord of the Rings, with hundreds of millions of dollars in budget. Obviously! It worked for Peter Jackson, whose Dead Alive and Meet the Feebles movies did little to suggest he would one day get the gold trophy for The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

And it worked for Guillermo del Toro, whose success with cult cinema fanatics led him to toil for years on The Hobbit movies. Del Toro didn’t win anything for those movies — hell, he didn’t even end up directing them. But he did get the top prize for The Shape of Water, an unlikely win for the unlikeliest of love stories, which currently puts a lovely bow on a career characterized by dark fantasy, big sci-fi, and creature features, of visions where the lines between dream and nightmare blur.

Del Toro got his start in his native Mexico in the early ’90s with the mythological Cronos, featuring Ron Perlman in the first of several collaborations. As with many international filmmakers with a hit on their hands, del Toro was wooed to Hollywood to do exactly his thing… except, of course, with tons of studio interference, notes, and meddling. The result was the compromised Mimic, whose lackluster reception was enough to get del Toro to go back abroad for his next film. The Spain set-and-shot The Devil’s Backbone was another cult hit, again enough for him to get tempted back to the States.

What followed was Blade II and Hellboy, which gave the pre-Marvel Cinematic Universe era of comic book movies an unpredictable shot in the arm. The latter film reunited him with Perlman, along with physical artist Doug Jones, who he first worked with on Mimic and would be crucial on his journey towards The Shape of Water.

2005’s Pan’s Labyrinth was a cross-cultural phenomenon, a grim fantasy and political commentary that’s still heavily watched today. Then 2008’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army had the unfortunate luck of being released a week before The Dark Knight. It took del Toro five years to return with the mech brawler Pacific Rim, which was followed by the Gothic ghost love story Crimson Peak. And then we come to The Shape of Water, his tender ode to Creature from the Black Lagoon.  His long-gestating Pinocchio adapation finally released in December 2022. Now, we’re ranking all Guillermo del Toro movies by Tomatometer! —Alex Vo

49 Brad Pitt Movies Ranked (F1 the Movie)

(Photo by WB/ Courtesy Everett Collection. F1.)

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The latest: F1, in theaters June 27, is Pitt’s 20th Certified Fresh movie!

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Everyone knows about an early Brad Pitt appearance as the stoner roommate in True Romance, and you might think he spent his formative Hollywood years building a resume of such goofy, secondary parts. But that movie came out in 1993. By 1991 (the same year he played the hitchhiker in Thelma & Louise), he was already the title lead in Johnny Suede. Guess you just couldn’t keep those looks off-camera; True Romance just showed Pitt could deliver laughs to go with them.

The year after, it was truly off the races, with the 1994 double-whammy of Interview with the Vampire and Legends of the Fall. And 1995 saw him in classics of their respective genre: 12 Monkeys and Seven. Then Pitt closed out the decade by re-teaming with Seven director David Fincher for Fight Club, and all of a sudden a lot more dudes were putting posters of him up on their walls.

Obviously, Pitt knows a good friendship when he sees one, as some of his best work since has been in the hands of people’s he’s worked with before. He gotten together with Fincher another time for Curious Case of Benjamin Button; with Steven Soderbergh, he’s made three Ocean’s movies.

Recently, he’s drawn high critical marks for Ad Astra, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Bullet Train (which you can see placed on our list of best assassin movies).

We’re ranking all Brad Pitt movies by Tomatometer! —Alex Vo

George A. Romero’s Best Movies (Land of the Dead)

(Photo by Universal/ courtesy Everett Collection. LAND OF THE DEAD.)

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Land of the Dead, Romero’s directorial return to the zombie genre after 1985’s Day of the Dead, celebrates its 20th anniversary!

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George A. Romero‘s first movie, Night of the Living Dead, released in 1968, walloped the country with its black-and-white dread and gore; infused with progressive casting and social commentary, it single-handedly created the modern-day zombie genre. His final movie — Survival of the Dead, released 2009 and eight years before his death — had, well, not quite the same impact, but discloses Romero’s lifelong commitment to the zombie revolution he spearheaded. The movies he made in-between these two Deads represent a visionary’s rocky but tenacious journey through the industry, frequently compromised or pigeonholed, but true to a drive to shake up the conventions of horror.

Night of the Living Dead took the space-age hopes of a nation on the cusp of landing on the moon and cut it to ribbons, fashioning an ambiguous backstory of a downed space craft whose radiation transforms the freshly deceased into mindless flesh-hungry shamblers. Romero was keen to quickly climb out of the horror genre pit, releasing rom-com There’s Always Vanilla in 1971, and then drama Season of the Witch in ’73, whose distributor chopped out 40 minutes and marketed as softcore. Both films have gone little-seen since.

With his talents apparently unwanted outside of horror, Romero returned to the genre and filled out the rest of the ’70s with his best streak of movies: virus-based The Crazies, vampire deconstruction Martin, and the legendary Dawn of the Dead. With this Night of the Living Dead sequel, Romero took a maximalist approach: More social commentary, more characters, more action, and, of course, much more gore. The effects had people literally blowing their tops off. It remains a top 3 zombie movie you must see.

Dawn‘s success gave Romero enough cred to make one last go at it outside horror: Knightriders, a 2.5-hour personal drama about a troupe of Reniassance Faire-esque moto-performers. Romero, still one of the biggest names in horror even in the ’80s age of the slasher, collaborated with the biggest name in literary horror, Stephen King, for anthology Creepshow. 1985’s Day of the Dead took aim at the human psychological breakdown that came with living in the undead post-apocalypse, concluding his ultimate at-the-time trilogy of zombie cinema.

Romero then entered big studio production with Monkey Shines for Orion Pictures, which balked at the movie’s initial long runtime, and were desperate for a hit. (They didn’t get one.) He collaborated with Dario Argento for 1990’s Two Evil Eyes, each adapting Edgar Allan Poe, before making Dark Half for Orion, which was still desperate for a hit. (They still didn’t get one.)

It’d be seven years before Romero’s next film, Bruiser. And then five years after that for Land of the Dead, a highly credible return to zombie land after two decades away, working with his biggest budget ever. He would stay among the Dead for the rest of his career, following Land with found-footage reboot Diary of the Dead, shot in his native Pittsburgh area, where he set a majority of his films. Survival came out two years after that.

In 2019, The Amusement Park was released after a single festival screening in 1975. Originally made between The Crazies and Martin, Park ended up with the strongest reviews of Romero’s films. And now, we pay tribute to the godfather of zombies by ranking all George A. Romero movies by Tomatometer! —Alex Vo

Jenna Ortega Movies & Shows, Ranked By Tomatometer

(Photo by Lionsgate/ Courtesy Everett Collection. HURRY UP TOMORROW..)

We’re ranking the films and series of Jenna Ortega! The guide starts with her Certified Fresh works, including the horror movies that defined her as the new generation’s scream queen (literally Scream, Scream VI, X, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) and a Season 2 stint on You. Following are Ortega’s Fresh projects, including Wednesday, and her recurring role as Young Jane on Jane The Virgin. Them comes the Rotten, which includes audience favorites Death of a Unicorn.

(Photo by WB/ Courtesy Everett Collection. FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES.)

Final Destination Movies, Ranked By Tomatometer

Just when you thought it was safe to hop back in the tanning bed, or drive behind an overloaded construction truck, or juggle revved-up flaming chainsaws, here comes the movie series to stomp and shred life’s big plans.

The Final Destination movies originally put a supernatural spin on ’90s teen horror, with the first FD releasing in 2000, its premise promising grisly premonitions and fates foretold, as we witness the invisible hand of death slowly (yet, oh so surely) crush victims in increasingly outlandish set pieces and disasters. The films released to a steady beat during the 2000s, with 5 in 2011, before the series fled in the face of the elevated and indie horror that would define the 2010s.

And it seems death taking an extended holiday has done some good. Black cloak dry-cleaned, scythe sharpened, and skeletal pores rejuvenated, grim reapin’ is back on the menu 14 years after the fifth movie, as the series resurrects with Final Destination Bloodlines. It draws the strongest critical reception of the franchise.

Will death finally be satisfied? Sources say: “Are you kidding? Maybe it’s time to bring back Wishmaster.”

(Photo by Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection. HAVOC.)

All Tom Hardy Movies Ranked

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The latest: Hardy spread Havoc on Netflix!

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He whooped on Batman in The Dark Knight Rises, made his way down Fury Road, and pulled off the seemingly impossible feat of turning a movie about a guy behind the wheel of a car into the pulse-pounding drama Locke — and that really doesn’t even scratch the surface of all the interesting career choices that have paid off for Tom Hardy. Whether you’re mainly familiar with blockbuster outings like Inception, favor acclaimed fare like Bronson and The Revenant, or are a hardcore fan who’s been with him since Black Hawk Down, there’s a Hardy movie for everyone. Especially superhero fans, since he’s brought Venom to life, and returned for the sequel, Let There Be Carnage. Recently, he starred opposite Jodie Comer and Austin Butler in The Bikeriders.

(Photo by MGM / Everett Collection. THE ACCOUNTANT 2.)

Jon Bernthal’s best Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer

In an age where toxic masculinity rages online, young boys are being influenced by the wrong people, and blatant sexism and bigotry will land someone in a position of power rather than shunned from society, Jon Bernthal is pushing back. This talented actor, known for playing best friends with an axe to grind, brooding and conflicted assassins, and argumentative and dangerous siblings, has an impressive and effective resume. But perhaps equally important as Bernthal’s acting roles might be his podcast.

Another actor with a podcast, you say? “Real Ones” with Jon Bernthal is different, and a welcome bastion against the forces of darkness from an actor who has long supported positive role models. This podcast has open and heartbreaking discussions with interesting people, without any particular agenda in mind. Bernthal also a strong ally to the LGBTQ+ community and a frequent critic of those who misuse the Punisher symbol for their own ends.

Interested in perusing some of Bernthal’s many roles? Here’s an overview of his career, followed by a ranking of his movies and TV shows by Tomatometer.

THE WALKING DEAD: Seasons 1 & 2 (2010-11): The first place most of us saw Bernthal’s work was in AMC’s The Walking Dead, based on the long-running comic book series created by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. In the first two seasons, Bernthal plays Shane, the best friend of main character Rick Grimes. Right away, fans and critics latched on to Bernthal’s simmering performance, especially since Shane enters into a secret relationship with Rick’s wife Lori while Rick is in a coma at the start of the series. Shane ultimately isn’t thrilled with Rick’s reemergence following the zombie apocalypse, and is the first of many to try and kill Rick with fatal results for Shane. Indeed, reviewers early in Season 2 (and readers of the comic book) were starting to catch on to Shane’s deception.

Salon’s Matt Zoller Seitz on The Walking Dead: “For some reason, Jon Bernthal’s performance exudes untrustworthiness; I keeping hoping he’ll turn out to be a conniving and selfish character, the kind of guy that the young Burt Lancaster or Kirk Douglas might have played back in the day.”

DAREDEVIL (2015-2018), THE PUNISHER (2017-19), DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN (2025-): We next saw Bernthal in an example of perfect casting: his co-starring role in Marvel’s Netflix series Daredevil Season 2 as the gun-toting, single-minded assassin, The Punisher. Bernthal injects this comic book character with loads of internal conflict and pathos. Bernthal’s performance was so effective that he graduated to his own show, The Punisher, which lasted for two seasons toward the end of Marvel’s run on Netflix. As mentioned below, Bernthal is back again, and even more compelling, in 2025’s Daredevil: Born Again.

/Film’s Jacob Hall on Daredevil Season 2: “In a season with many new highlights, Bernthal shines the brightest. It takes an actor of great skill to make ‘vengeful soldier sets out for revenge’ interesting, but he finds an angle. Even when his face isn’t a mask of bruises, his Frank Castle looks like he’s in constant pain, a twitchy mess looking for someone, anything, that will bring order to his broken world. And in his case, that anything happens to be violence. There’s a dark nobility to his performance, a single-mindedness that lets us know (long before the characters onscreen know) that the Punisher may be the sanest guy in Hell’s Kitchen. And that makes him all the more frightening.”

In Daredevil: Born Again, Bernthal’s Punisher returns, 10 years after he originated the role, and the two very different crime fighters trade philosophies about their approaches: Daredevil prefers to beat up the bad guys, but never kill, and Punisher simply takes out his opponents as quickly, and permanently, as possible.

San Francisco Chronicle’s Zaki Hasan on Daredevil: Born Again: “That moral conflict is woven throughout the series, even bringing back Jon Bernthal as the Punisher, Marvel’s gun-toting vigilante who debuted in the previous show and starred in his own series for two seasons. The Punisher’s brutal methods starkly contrast with Murdock’s own struggles. Their philosophical debates on the nature of violence provide some of the season’s most engrossing moments.”

BABY DRIVER & WIND RIVER (2017): In between Marvel seasons, Bernthal scored a couple of highly memorable roles in two highly rated crime movies (both Certified Fresh) from two first-rate filmmakers: Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver and Taylor Sheridan’s Wind River.

In Baby Driver, Bernthal plays Griff, a security man in the heist crew, someone who takes his work extremely seriously, and a criminal who is perpetually annoyed to a humorous degree by the music-obsessed title character, Baby (Ansel Elgort).

The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Morgenstern on Baby Driver: “The gang has its own claims to distinction. Jon Hamm is Buddy, formerly a stockbroker on Wall Street. Eiza González is Darling, Buddy’s volcanic—i.e. crazy—girlfriend. Jon Bernthal is Griff, a hard case and a funny one.”

In Wind River, Bernthal’s small role is a riveting one, as he delivers an extended heart-rending speech about loss. Sheridan’s projects are known for incisive monologues, and this is no exception.

THE BEAR (2022-): Remarkably, Bernthal’s performance as Mikey in The Bear, the brother who ended his own life, kicking off main character and younger brother Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) ascent to head chef at the family restaurant, is notable for his absence and effect on the other characters throughout the series. Bernthal appears very sparingly but sharply in flashbacks, as Mikey’s happy-go-lucky (with a drinking problem) personality contrasts fully with Carmy’s intensity and Mikey’s best friend Richie’s (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) loud brashness. This is never more apparent than the infamous Christmas flashback episode “Fishes” in Season 2, where a seething and utensil-throwing Mikey nearly comes to blows with his Uncle Lee, played by a very angry Bob Odenkirk. This brief but pointed presence throughout the series landed Bernthal an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

Financial Times’ Joe Einav on The Bear Season 2: “Before Richie’s moment of tenderness comes a bruising hour-long episode that flashes back to a nightmarish Berzatto family Christmas. Starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Jon Bernthal as Carmy’s volatile mother and late brother (Bob Odenkirk and Sarah Paulson also appear), it is an extraordinary piece of tragicomedy — at once a hysterical farce and a raw, soul-draining domestic drama. You wish more TV could be this intense while feeling relieved that it isn’t.”

THE ACCOUNTANT & THE ACCOUNTANT 2 (2016 & 2025): One of Bernthal’s major breaks in movies came through in Ben Affleck’s The Accountant, where he plays a familiar role as a grumpy but talented assassin and foil to Affleck’s autistic thinking-person’s killer. As revealed, Bernthal’s and Affleck’s characters are brothers, and in Certified Fresh sequel The Accountant 2 the two very different siblings play off each other effectively in between killings.

The Wrap’s Matt Donato on The Accountant 2: “Bernthal and Affleck share beers, push buttons and liberate guarded encampments as brotherly mercenaries who are fine apart — although Bernthal does no wrong all film — but captivatingly hilarious together. There’s a buddy comedy vibe that sustains when no one’s dying, which is lucky because action sequences are front and back-loaded.”

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Bernthal has two new interesting roles: a quasi-ally to Rami Malek’s CIA revenge quest in The Amateur, and in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, an adaptation of the epic poem, out in 2026. As Bernthal’s roles have become meatier over time, he’s revealed many facets to his acting talent, focusing on masculine characters who aren’t afraid to show dimension and emotion. At the same time, he’s been willing to return to morally conflicted assassin characters that kicked off his career. It’ll be fascinating to see what intense role he takes on next, and what deep and involved conversations he has next, and with whom, on “Real Ones.”

In the meantime, catch up on Bernthal’s roles with this list in order of Tomatometer ranking, with Certified Fresh films and shows first. (Steve Horton)

The 25 Top Ticketed Movies in the Past 25 Years

Fandango is celebrating its 25th anniversary!

One of the greatest things about cinema is that it has the power to connect audiences with impactful stories while simultaneously connecting us with each other. And for the last 25 years, Fandango has been the bridge, serving countless viewers across the country.

“Over the past 25 years, Fandango has proudly helped more than one billion moviegoers experience incredible entertainment in the best way possible: on the biggest screens with the best sound, a community of likeminded cinephiles, and of course, a big bucket of popcorn,” said Fandango President Will McIntosh. “We have a lot of people to thank for helping us reach this milestone, like theaters and studios, but none of it would be possible without the fans, especially the fans on Rotten Tomatoes!”

Celebrate with us and check out this list of 25 highest-ticketed films via Fandango since 2000, from Disney favorites like Incredibles 2 and Finding Dory to recent blockbusters like Barbie and Deadpool & Wolverine. Do you spot any of your favorites? (Or did one of your faves get snubbed?) Let us know in the comments, and share your most memorable moviegoing experience while you’re at it.

Be sure to also check out Fandango’s special Social Sweepstakes on Instagram for your chance to win a $500 Fandango promo code — just follow, like, and share your favorite movie from the past 25 years to enter.

Cheers to 25 years!

(Photo by Ryan Billings / Everett Collection)

Ryan Coogler Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer

We’re ranking by Tomatometer the films of director Ryan Coogler! Let’s start with his Certified Fresh films. In fact, all of them are Certified Fresh, with the social justice drama Fruitvale Station, the Rocky revitalizer Creed, the Best Picture-nominated Black Panther, its sequel Wakanda Forever, and the original horror revelry Sinners.

(Photo by New Line, 20th Century Fox Film Corp./courtesy Everett Collection)

David Cronenberg Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer

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The latest: Cronenberg is back with his 23rd film, The Shrouds!

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Over the course of six decades, David Cronenberg has built a bloody, slimed-over, and warped throne of flesh and bone to sit upon as the king of body horror. His first two films, Stereo and Crimes of the Future, are little-seen, ready for Cronenberg fans to re-discover and find that his obsession with pushing the boundaries of science, sexual perversity, and our oh-so-tenuous grasp on our physical self was present from the beginning.

Rabid and The Brood made more of a squeamish splash with general audiences. And in the ’80s, Cronenberg came into his own: Scanners was all over horror magazines for its legendary exploding head sequence. The Dead Zone contributed to a hot streak of Stephen King adaptations happening across the industry, following Carrie and The Shining. The Fly was the rare excellent remake and had the good sense to parade Jeff Goldblum around in his underwear (and vomit). And Videodrome seemed to best express Cronenberg’s vision of how the self can be utterly compromised by sinister forces.

The ’90s saw Cronenberg experimenting with an expanded dramatic palette (M. Butterfly, Naked Lunch) with varied results, which would pay dividends in the following decade. That’s when he released A History of Violence, which would become his highest-grossing movie, be nominated for two Oscars, and mark the start of a fruitful collaboration with Viggo Mortensen. The actor was nominated for the Oscar in their follow-up Eastern Promises, which boasts a bath house fight that’ll please those who think the tighty-whities Goldblum wore in The Fly were too much clothing. The third Viggo movie was A Dangerous Method, a kinky yet classy flick of psychology that brought in Keira Knightley and Michael Fassbender.

And you know how Robert Pattinson is your new favorite actor, especially after you had written him off for those Twilight movies? You can thank Cronenberg for giving Pattinson the opportunity to do weird roles to shake up his image, in movies like Cosmopolis and Maps to the Stars. Cronenberg had appeared to have retired in recent years with the shifting movie and media landscape, but in 2022 he returned with Crimes of the Future, another body-horror shocker unrelated to his early film of the same name. If that’s the case, then it’s been an impressive, influential, and gross – really, really gross – career, which we’re celebrating now with all 21 David Cronenberg movies ranked – Certified Fresh films first! —Alex Vo

(Photo by Warner Bros./courtesy Everett Collection)

Ridley Scott Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

We’re ranking by Tomatometer all the movies of legendary director Ridley Scott, including sci-fi gamechangers Alien and Blade Runner, Best Picture-winner Gladiator, and blockbuster crowd-pleasers like The Martian, and his most recent releases (Gladiator II, House of Gucci, The Last Duel, Napoleon). —Alex Vo
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(Photo by Warner Bros./courtesy Everett Collection)

All Joaquin Phoenix Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

After making three movies in the ’80s credited as Leaf and then disappearing, Phoenix returned to the public eye, this time under his birth name Joaquin, for 1995’s To Die For. In that Gus Van Sant erotic thriller, Phoenix plays a high schooler seduced by Nicole Kidman to murder, thus beginning the actor’s penchant for performing disturbed, frequently mordant characters, carried further through the ’90s in movies like Clay Pigeons, 8MM, and U-Turn.

Phoenix became a near-household name after playing sword-and-sandal scumbag Commodus in Best Picture-winner Gladiator, in which he got his first of three Oscar acting nominations. But for several years after, Phoenix remained in character actor mode, taking supporting roles if he found the movie compelling (Quills, Hotel Rwanda, Signs), in between lead star parts such as in Buffalo Soldiers and The Village.

In 2005, Phoenix broke into that echelon of truly transformative actors, owning the Johnny Cash role in Walk the Line, which walked him right into a second Oscar nomination. A long period of reunion collaborations has followed, working frequently with clearly favored directors: To Die For‘s Gus Van Sant (Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot), James Gray (Two Lovers, We Own the Night), Rwanda‘s Terry George (Reservation Road), and P.T. Anderson for Inherent Vice and The Master. He won his most recent Oscar for his portrayal as the Joker.
—Alex Vo

Tom Hardy is back for more symbiote shenanigans in Venom: The Last Dance, the third and supposedly final movie in the trilogy following the titular Marvel Comics villain-turned-antihero. This installment of the wider Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) franchise, sees Hardy’s Eddie Brock and Venom, his parasitic companion, on the run as soldiers, scientists, other symbiotes, and an alien deity attempt to track them down. Marking the directorial debut of Kelly Marcel, who wrote the first two Venom movies, the sequel is being praised for its silliness, its heart, and the continued bonkers performance by Hardy in the lead. But if you don’t like these movies already, you probably won’t like this one either.

Here’s what critics are saying about Venom: The Last Dance:

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How does it compare to the first two Venom movies?

The biggest, best Venom movie yet.
— Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com

Is Venom: The Last Dance the best film in the trilogy? I would say so.
— Aidan Kelley, Collider

The most entertaining of the trilogy.
— Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

It’s more competently constructed and helmed than 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

Where the first two films occasionally stumble between trying to maintain momentum and attempting to flesh out their characters, The Last Dance runs through the majority of its exposition in brief, easily digested info dumps amid its constant forward motion.
— Jake Cole, Slant Magazine

Venom: The Last Dance comes along to finish off the trilogy strong — but ultimately comes in at last place as a half-formed attempt at a serious superhero movie blockbuster that would be considered average even by 2000s comic book movie standards.
— Kofi Outlaw, ComicBook.com

The Last Dance brings nothing new to the series. In fact, it brings less than the previous two movies.
— Soren Anderson, Seattle Times

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(Photo by Sony Pictures)

Is it any better than most of today’s superhero fare?

It’s a superhero blockbuster that’s leaps and bounds ahead of some MCU efforts and a major improvement over anything we’ve seen from DC in recent years.
— Kofi Outlaw, ComicBook.com

Defying the scourge of comic book movie bloat even as it forms into a grand finale, The Last Dance would much rather be a tattered 90-minute goof than an imperious two-and-a-half-hour wank.
— David Ehrlich, IndieWire

It’s not the best of its kind, but by no means the worst.
— Damon Wise, Deadline Hollywood Daily

It may actually be 2024’s best comic book movie.
— Aaron Neuwirth, We Live Entertainment

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What makes this one special?

One of the most exciting developments in The Last Dance is the introduction of new symbiotes, broadening the lore of the SSU.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys

Despite featuring more symbiotes than either of the previous movies, the monsters are more visually distinctive here and have more of a personality, informed by both the quickly but coherently drawn behavioral qualities of the humans who host them and the visual designs of each alien.
— Jake Cole, Slant Magazine

The computer-generated effects in Venom: The Last Dance are an improvement over those in the noggin-chomping behemoth’s previous adventures, although they’re best utilized not for monumental clashes but for silly bits.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

The movie finds wildly inventive, wacky new ways to use the Symbiote.
— Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com

Venom: The Last Dance being the best-looking entry yet.
— Aaron Neuwirth, We Live Entertainment

Kelly Marcel should get praise for arguably directing the most visually coherent and action-heavy Venom film — especially since it is the first movie she has ever directed.
— Kofi Outlaw, ComicBook.com

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(Photo by Sony Pictures)

Is it funny?

It delivers big laughs.
— Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com

This film leans more heavily into dark humor than its predecessors, making the banter between Eddie and Venom one of the film’s strongest assets… Some moments border on the very silly, with certain comedic sequences— a surreal stop at a Vegas casino is both ridiculous and hilariously funny.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys

Venom: The Last Dance further doubles down on making Eddie and Venom more comedic anti-heroes, but this time, it works much more in its favor. Their banter is better than ever and The Last Dance is easily the most effectively funny film in the trilogy.
— Aidan Kelley, Collider

The writing is hilarious, with Hardy’s Eddie serving as the straight man to Venom’s ominous quips, which can range from deranged to childlike. The humor comes fast and is absurdist to a degree.
— M.N. Miller, InSession Film

There’s a montage of Hardy’s Venom highlights during The Last Dance that had me full-on cackling.
— Matt Singer, ScreenCrush

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Is it emotional?

There are even some emotional beats between Eddie and Venom that overall work amidst the absurd scenarios they get up to.
— Aidan Kelley, Collider

The third act has more emotion and heart than you’d expect.
— M.N. Miller, InSession Film

It ends on a fittingly wacko note of pure, unadulterated sentimentality — one last unexpected twist for [the] trilogy.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

Venom: The Last Dance is a very heartfelt feature.
— Aaron Neuwirth, We Live Entertainment

What elevates Venom 3 over the previous two movies is that the finale does manage to hit an emotional note.
— Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

It all leads to an emotional catharsis that will no doubt satisfy fans of the earlier movies, with a sweet touch of cheesy humor to offset the melancholy.
— David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

Some will even say that the movie is touching — though given how much time we’ve spent with Eddie and the alien and all those oily thrashing tentacles, I didn’t necessarily feel this marked the ending of a beautiful friendship.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety

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(Photo by Sony Pictures)

How is the action?

The Last Dance has, by far, the best action sequences in the trilogy.
— Aidan Kelley, Collider

In terms of action, Venom: The Last Dance does not disappoint. The road-trip structure allows for a variety of settings and high-octane sequences, each more outrageous than the last.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys

It doesn’t disappoint when it comes to action.
— Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com

Marcel orchestrates the action in a surprisingly comprehensible style that’s more reminiscent of Ang Lee’s underrated Hulk than the ultra-Michael Bay chaos that comes with most CG smackdowns.
— Damon Wise, Deadline Hollywood Daily

As the film progresses, it consistently escalates the stakes and scale of its action, which doesn’t devolve into incomprehensible CG murk as it hurtles toward the climax.
— Jake Cole, Slant Magazine

The action is bigger and louder, if at times messier, than that of its predecessors.
— David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

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Are there any surprises?

Marcel and Hardy work hard to keep the audience guessing right to the end.
— Soren Anderson, Seattle Times

The film remains engaging, constantly throwing unexpected plot twists and wild action set pieces.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys

It boggles the mind how the film slipped past the MPA with only a PG-13 rating… Marcel favors surprisingly long takes that let you see just how nightmarish the fighting between humans, symbiotes, and Xenophages gets.
— Jake Cole, Slant Magazine

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(Photo by Sony Pictures)

How is Tom Hardy’s performance this time around?

Tom Hardy is at his bonkers, brilliant best.
— Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com

One of the best portrayals of Eddie Brock and Venom yet.
— Aidan Kelley, Collider

Hardy, as always, shines in his dual portrayal of Eddie and Venom, showcasing his ability to juggle intense action with comedic timing.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys

The star of the show remains Hardy, who’s slowly fashioned this series’s unorthodox, unglamorous take on the superhero film into an oddly sentimental depiction of a deep friendship between an otherwise unremarkable man and the gooey, goofy alien monster who lives inside of him.
— Jake Cole, Slant Magazine

The actor’s gift for physical comedy and exaggerated expressions gets a full workout, and Marcel devises a few novel ways for him and Venom to partner during their slam-bang skirmishes.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

Ryan Reynolds gets a ton of praise for his work on Deadpool, merging fourth wall-breaking humor with heartfelt drama. But Hardy blows him out of the water.
— Dominic Griffin, Looper.com

There’s a certain point at which you have to wonder if, instead of applauding his ability to sneak a subversively odd performance into a franchise product, he and everyone else involved wouldn’t be better served just making a movie that’s daring to begin with.
— Alison Willmore, New York Magazine/Vulture

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Does the movie have a villain problem?

If it’s true that a movie is only as good as its villain, Venom: The Last Dance stinks, despite the fact that its hero is actually pretty likable.
— Matt Singer, ScreenCrush

I can’t even really tell you if I liked Knull’s portrayal in Venom: The Last Dance because the film doesn’t give him enough of a chance to make an impression.
— Aidan Kelley, Collider

This franchise has always benefited from its lack of an overarching supervillain, but The Last Dance would rather cram the entire first phase of the MCU’s Thanos arc into a single film than find a more organic way of separating Eddie from Venom.
— David Ehrlich, IndieWire

As for [redacted] Knull, his screentime is brief, but casting him was the right call.
— Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com

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(Photo by Laura Radford/Sony Pictures)

Are there any other standout characters?

Juno Temple’s character, Dr. Teddy Payne… is a standout addition here.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Juno Temple deliver solid supporting turns, though neither character is necessarily explored beyond what’s on the surface.
— Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com

Rhys Ifans also has a small role, appearing to do his best Peter Stormare on happy pills impression, bringing some offbeat comic relief to the story.
— M.N. Miller, InSession Film

The only characters who rise above the surrounding mediocrity are a family of crunchy-granola hippies complete with vintage VW microbus who are headed by a UFO-obsessed father played by Rhys Ifans.
— Soren Anderson, Seattle Times

The most memorable of them — OK, the only memorable one — is Dr. Payne’s lab colleague Sadie (Clark Backo), who unleashes some serious badassery once she’s transformed.
— David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

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Does it do a good job wrapping up the Venom trilogy?

Venom: The Last Dance, if it’s truly meant to be his final outing with the character(s), is a fitting curtain call.
— Dominic Griffin, Looper.com

Venom: The Last Dance is a highly entertaining conclusion to Eddie Brock’s story… It leans fully into what makes Venom unique: a wild, chaotic energy that refuses to play by the rules.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys

Venom: The Last Dance is an outrageously fun and beautiful conclusion to a trilogy that we did not expect to go far.
— Chalice Williams, Black Girl Nerds

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40% Venom: The Last Dance (2024) opens in theaters on October 25, 2024.

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The Vandals are more than their slicked back hair, leather jackets, polished motorcycles, or tough exteriors, they’re a family — or at least that’s what they intended to be. Adapted from Danny Lyon’s photo-book of the same name, The Bikeriders chronicles a motorcycle club’s evolution from a safe haven for outsiders into a breeding ground for violence. When tensions rise, a young and reckless Benny (Austin Butler) must choose between love and loyalty.

Ahead of the film’s release, Butler, his co-stars Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy, and writer-director Jeff Nichols sat down with RT correspondent Nikki Novak to talk about The Bikeriders. The cast discuss meet-cutes, tattoos, bike riding, the influences behind their characters, and much more.

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Nikki Novak for Rotten Tomatoes: I want to talk about that first scene between the two of you. You look at him and you decide to get on that bike. You see him in the bar, and then you see her and you’re just like, “Want to go on my bike?” I want to know, for you as actors, what is he thinking — what is she thinking in that moment, and what was it like creating that moment on set between the two of you?

Jodie Comer: I think for Kathy, there was an instant of “Oh my God, who’s this guy?” But then, you know, that feeling was somewhat overshadowed by her meeting [Tom Hardy’s] Johnny and all these men being incredibly boisterous, which intimidated her. She left, and then they encouraged her to join them, pushing her to do this thing. I think she’s very glad she got on the bike, but that moment is quite complex. She’s thinking, “Who is this guy?” He’s such an enigma and a mystery, and he seems so sure of who he is, not needing anything else. I think that’s what makes her lean in.

Austin Butler: I don’t want to give away what I was thinking in those moments, but it’s when you look somebody in the eyes, thinking so much, wondering if they can read your mind, studying their face.

Watch the video for the full interview with Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, and director Jeff Nichols.

The Bikeriders (2023) premieres in theatres on June 21, 2024.

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(Photo by MGM / Courtesy: Everett Collection)

All Sylvester Stallone Movies Ranked

A little like Rocky, Sylvester Stallone seemed almost destined to fail in the film business. A bit part in Woody Allen’s Bananas, resorting to shooting a softcore porn flick (The Party at Kitty and Stud’s), and having to sell his dog at a 7-11 for $50 was what Stallone’s acting career was amounting in the ’70s. Then his screenplay about an underdog Philly boxer met the right director, John G. Avildsen, and after that it was step-by-step all the way up to national phenomenon and Best Picture winner. And as for his dog? Stallone bought him back and he appears as Rocky’s sidekick, Butkus.

Since 1976, Stallone has built a fascinating body of work, fashioned from numerous creative starts and stops, of incredible highs and crashing lows. He turned Rocky into a sequel machine, becoming a punchline by the ’90s (Rocky V), before multiple miracle turnarounds (Rocky Balboa, Creed) restored its former glory.

Stallone’s friendly (?) competition with Arnold Schwarzenegger gave him a taste of the ’80s action world, compelling him to pump out flicks with the quickness: The likes of Nighthawks, Cobra, Over the Top, and Tango & Cash give him enduring cult status, and mainstream derision. The ’90s saw him at his funniest (Demolition Man) and most dramatic (Cop Land), but also brought bigger bouts of embarrassment (Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot).

By the mid-2000s, Stallone was digging through his own legacy, and uncovering plenty of veins to tap. There was the Rocky Balboa restart, ’80s throwback franchise Expendables, Schwarzenegger team-up Escape Plan, and duking it out with the Raging Bull himself, Robert De Niro, for Grudge Match.

And the one we’ve yet to mention: a certain John Rambo. 1982’s First Blood was a sensitive, terrifying indictment of Vietnam War veteran treatment. It’s a subdued film, without much to suggest the blistering violent fantasies the series would morph into across First Blood Part II, Rambo III, then just Rambo, and finally into Rambo: Last Blood. And now we celebrate an entire movie-making career as we rank the all Sylvester Stallone movies by Tomatometer! —Alex Vo

(Photo by Disney/courtesy Everett Collection)

All Oscar Isaac Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

Before he became Llewyn Davis, actor Oscar Isaac was the guy you saw constantly bringing it in secondary roles in high-profile projects, each career move taking him that much closer to the one perfect role that would make him a star. He worked twice with Ridley Scott with Body of Lies and Robin Hood, got to show off his sweet dance moves in Sucker Punch, shot a few guns in The Bourne Legacy, and brought uncommon empathy to his doomed ex-con character in Drive.

And as great as the Llewyn Davis character is on paper, being written by the Coen brothers after all, it was Isaac’s wry, sad, funny, and even mysterious performance that brought the folk singer to cinematic life. 2015 was A Most Violent Year for Isaac, but also a very good one, as that movie released, along with The Two Faces of January, word-of-mouth sci-fi smash Ex Machina, and the juggernaut that was Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.

Recently, he was in The Card Counter and Dune. Now, we’re taking a walk back now with ranking all of Oscar Isaac’s movies by Tomatometer! —Alex Vo

(Photo by Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection)

All Michael Douglas Movies Ranked

Three ways to start a movie star career: Have a famous actor father, produce a Best Picture winner, or be in a hit TV series for a while before making the leap. Uh, check, check, and check for Michael Douglas, son of Kirk, producer of One Flew Over a Cuckoo’s Nest, and star of early ’70s procedural The Streets of San Francisco.

So by the time San Francisco ended in ’77, Douglas was ready to get plastered all over the silver screen, starring in Michael Crichton’s Coma. He put out a few more like-minded high-stakes adult thrillers (The China Syndrome, The Star Chamber) before being made as an ’80s man with Romancing the Stone. The cheeky globe-trotting adventure film, directed by Robert Zemeckis and co-starring Kathleen Turner, turned him into a sex symbol, with all the women (Fatal Attraction), money (Wall Street, a Best Actor Oscar winner), and power (Black Rain) that implies.

It all came to a head in the ’90s with the supremely watchable sleaze that is Basic Instinct, which left mouths wide open, among other things. Other movies of the decade, like Falling Down and David Fincher’s The Game, are still watched today, especially for their exploration of broken-down masculinity and power.

Douglas got another taste of Best Picture gold with 2000’s Traffic (nominated, but struck down by Gladiator). This marked Douglas’ first collaboration with director Steven Soderbergh: The two would reunite for Haywire and Behind the Candelabra. He was brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the famous Dr. Hank Pym for Ant-Man, a role he reprised for the Wasp and Quantumania sequels. Now, we’re ranking all Michael Douglas movies by Tomatometer! —Alex Vo

(Photo by A24/courtesy Everett Collection. Thumbnail: A24 /Courtesy Everett Collection)

Every Horror Movie of 2022 Ranked Best to Worst

We’re ranking all the new horror movies of 2022 by Tomatometer, like Scream, X, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and more. (To recap 2021, see our best horror movies of 2021 list, or the Golden Tomato Awards, where A Quiet Place Part II took home the Best Horror Movie trophy.) We rank the movies Certified Fresh films first, followed by the Fresh and then Rotten. —Alex Vo

(Photo by Kristin Callahan/Everett Collection)

Amitabh Bachchan Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

Discover the films of legendary and prolific Indian icon Amitabh Bachchan! We’re featuring his films by Tomatometer, including 1975’s blockbuster Sholay, which became India’s highest-grossing film at the time, his crossover appearance in Baz Lurhmann’s The Great Gatsby (portraying Meyer Wolfsheim), beloved 2004 romantic epic Veer-Zaara, and Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva from this year, which, with its Disney-backed distribution in North America, became the widest global release for an Indian film.

(Photo by Janus Films/Everett Collection)

Best Picture Oscar Nominees of 2022, Ranked by Tomatometer

For 2022, the Oscars are going for the full tilt 10 nominees in the Best Picture race, featuring Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog (which leads with 12 overall nominations), Dune (projecting desert power with 10 noms), Belfast and West Side Story (which have seven each), Drive My Car (the first Japanese movie to be nominated for Best Picture), and Don’t Look Up (the first Rotten movies to be Best Picture nominated since Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close). See all the Best Picture nominees of 2022 ranked by Tomatometer below! —Alex Vo

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This October, Tom Hardy returns to the big screen as Eddie Brock in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, a sequel to the smash hit film in which we first met the dogged journalist and his foul-mouthed (and very hungry) symbiote. The new film is directed by Andy Serkis and co-stars Woody Harrelson as Carnage, the fan-favorite villain teased at the end of the original film.

Ahead of the movie’s release, Rotten Tomatoes correspondent Erik Davis spoke with Serkis, Hardy, Harrelson, and Naomie Harris (who plays another villain, Shriek) about what’s in store for audiences in the “lean and mean” sequel, the developing bromance between Brock and Venom, and what finally drew Harrelson to the Marvel family.

Plus, Hardy – as star and producer – reveals he’s “100%” in on crossover movies and the multi-verse… Hear that, Mr. Holland?

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Venom: Let There Be Carnage is in theaters from Friday October 1, 2021.

On an Apple device? Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Apple News.

(Photo by Miramax / courtesy Everett Collection)

All Dario Argento Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

Giallo movies – Italian films that mix horror, mystery, thrillers, and slashers – were big in the ’70s and Dario Argento had plenty to do with that. He started his directing career with the well-renowned giallo trilogy of The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, The Cat o’ Nine Tails, and Four Flies on Grey Velvet, which are among his highest-rated movies. But Argento didn’t stop there: His 1975 film Deep Red is considered a landmark just not just within giallo, but horror overall.

Argento shifted gears for his masterpiece Suspiria, a fantasia of blood, witches, and prismatic color. Suspiria‘s grand guignol thrills have kept audiences coming back for decades, and the film was remade in 2018. He was just as prolific in the ’80s, releasing hidden classics like Tenebre, Phenomena, and Opera. It’s been a rough go for Argento with the critics since then, with 1996’s The Stendhal Syndrome a lone bright spot. Here we’re taking a complete look on one of horrordom’s legends with all Dario Argento movies ranked! —Alex Vo

While Marvel Studio pictures appear with a clockwork precision that only a worldwide pandemic could pause, Sony’s attempts to make use of the Spider-Man characters it controls have been less reliable. Amid multiple restarts, a long-in-the-works plan to make a Sinister Six movie, and a critical hack of Sony’s email system a few years back, it’s no wonder they chose to ally with Marvel Studios to bring Spidey to the MCU.

But Sony also continued to develop ideas independent of Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) trip to the larger Marvel world. Occasionally known as the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters, the concept finally clicked with the one-two punch of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Venom. Both were commercial successes and proved Sony could mount a Spider-Man(-adjacent) film without Marvel’s help.

Provided, of course, they’re still interested in going it alone.

Now, after its own COVID delay, the first true installment of the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters begins with Venom: Let There Be Carnage. If the recently released trailer is any indication, it should succeed in similar ways to its predecessor despite a new creative at the helm (more on that in a moment), but will it truly set the, er, “SPUMC” reality apart from the MCU? Let’s take a look at what we know about Venom: Let There Be Carnage to see if we can discover where the film exists in the many Marvel Universes.

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Familiar Faces

(Photo by ©Columbia Pictures)

It is fair to say one of the primary reasons for the first Venom’s success was the surprising double act of Eddie Brock and the symbiote on his back known as Venom, both played by Tom Hardy; happily, Hardy was the first element secured for the sequel. Of course, these days, studios sign actors up for multi-picture deals just in case, but with Venom, Hardy’s return for Let There Be Carnage and an eventual third film is essential.

Sure, Venom could find a new host. He has passed to others before, including Eddie’s ex-girlfriend Anne Weying (Michelle Williams), who also returns for Let There Be Carnage. Reid Scott also returns as Anne’s incredibly likable current boyfriend, Dr. Dan Lewis. And as the recent trailer made clear, Peggy Lu is back as neighborhood convenience store proprietor, Mrs. Chen – as it happens, she, Eddie, and Venom have worked out some sort of protection deal so she doesn’t get held up as often. Although, the trailer suggests that deal is still tenuous, as Venom is always looking to make a meal of the nearest non-Eddie human.

And, oddly, that’s pretty much all the returning cast Sony could really import from the first film. Characters played by the likes of Riz Ahmed and Jenny Slate did not make it out of that story alive. That said, there is one character who made a brief appearance returning for the sequel in a big way. Woody Harrelson’s Cletus Kasady – seen for a moment in Venom’s mid-credit stinger – is the primary antagonist this time around. From the trailer, it appears his execution date is approaching. It also seems it will not go well, as it activates another alien symbiote called Carnage.

(Photo by Sony Pictures Entertainment)

Or, at least, that’s one interpretation. In the comics, Carnage was the disregarded offspring of Venom who found a kindred spirit in serial killer Kasady. Together they did plenty of damage and battled Venom, Spider-Man, and anyone else who got in their way. It will be interesting to see if this Carnage is also the offspring of movie Venom and whether or not his initial indifference to his child will be a point of contention between him and Eddie. That said, now that they share Eddie’s impossibly large San Francisco apartment, there still needs to be some conflict between them.

Behind the camera, the producing team of Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, and Amy Pascal – of The Amazing Spider-Man duology — return, as do Hardy and Kelly Marcel as executive producers.

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The Fresh Hosts

(Photo by Sony Pictures Entertainment)

Whether or not you consider Harrelson a new member of the cast, there are a handful of other freshmen to the Venom family. Naomie Harris joins up as Frances Barrison, a young woman whose encounter with the symbiote known as Shriek will lead her to Kasady before too long. Stephen Graham plays Mulligan, reportedly a detective looking to link Eddie to Kasady in the hopes of finding the location of victims the killer chose not to reveal — although, in the comics, Mulligan has his own symbiote issues to deal with. Sean Delaney and Larry Olubamiwo are also set to appear in smaller roles. Delaney even claimed his is a literal “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” moment.

But perhaps the biggest name to join the franchise is not a new actor, but the new director. Due to scheduling difficulties with his commitments to Zombieland: Double Tap, director Ruben Fleischer stepped away from Let There Be Carnage. Sony quickly launched a search for a new filmmaker and found Andy Serkis.

Yes, you read that right, the man who brought Gollum to life in The Lord of the Rings trilogy directed Venom 2. As it happens, Serkis began directing features with the 2017 biopic Breathe, starring former Spider-Man Andrew Garfield. The next year, Netflix released his second film, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle – which had the misfortune of arriving on the scene after Jon Favreau’s remake of the Disney animated version. Nevertheless, Sony and the film’s producers went with him because of his extensive knowledge of motion capture technology and performance.

(Photo by Priscilla Grant/Everett Collection)

Backing Serkis up on screenwriting duties is Marcel, who replaces Jeff Pinker. The Saving Mr. Banks co-writer wrote the script after hashing out a story with fellow EP Hardy. Hutch Parker, a veteran of Fox Marvel movies like X-Men: Days of Future Past and Logan, is also an executive producer on the film. Other crewmembers include Breathe and Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood’s Robert Richardson as director of photography, production designer Oliver Scholl, and composer Marco Beltrami.

This new company of talents will tell a further tale of Eddie and Venom becoming besties – in fact, Tolmach, Hardy, and Fleischer (before he confirmed his departure) all emphasized the buddy movie feeling would be amplified this time around. Meanwhile, they will also have to face the threat of Carnage, Shriek, and whatever other symbiote terrors may yet emerge as part of the plot. Thanks to Venom’s popularity in the 1990s and today, there are plenty of his fellow goo-monsters out there waiting for their chance on the big screen.

Well, provided Venom doesn’t face Peter Parker first.

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The Madness of the Marvel Multiverse

(Photo by Sony Pictures Entertainment)

Eagle-eyed watchers of the Let There Be Carnage trailer took note of a partially obscured headline during a shot in which Graham’s detective character is reading the Daily Bugle: “ENGERS L IGHT M.” The potential meaning of the first word in that headline is clear — Marvel superheroes exist in Venom’s world. But are they same Av-“ENGERS” we’ve come to love thanks to films like Iron Man and Guardians of the Galaxy?

After a contentious renegotiation of the film rights to Spider-Man in 2019, it is unclear if Disney and Sony are chummy enough to share characters with more abandon. But at the same time, a 2020 trailer for the much-delayed SPUMC film Morbius (read more about that here) featured references to Spidey’s current problems in the MCU and an appearance by Michael Keaton as (presumably) Adrian Toomes from Spider-Man: Homecoming. Also, Serkis has said the characters in Venom are aware of Spider-Man, and more recently, Sony struck a deal to bring the Spider-Man films to Disney+, so the relationship may be warm enough for more cross-company cooperation.

(Photo by Sony Pictures Entertainment)

Oh, but then there’s the Bugle itself. Since the newspaper is part of the wider Spider-Man license, it did not appear in the MCU until the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, where it was the name of J. Jonah Jameson’s (J.K. Simmons) conspiracy theory website. The Bugle‘s usual print dimensions and trade dress in the the Carnage trailer suggests we are still dealing with two separate film universes.

To a certain extent, the Carnage and Morbius trailers are having a laugh with the asides to the MCU, but it is also possible a clearer narrative understanding will come to light once Spider-Man: No Way Home is released in December. Since that film will feature appearances by Sony Spider-Man characters like Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Electro (Jamie Foxx), and further references to the Multiverse, it is not outside the realm of possibility that Let There Be Carnage’s relative distance from the MCU will be explored in some way. At the moment, we’re inclined to believe Eddie and Venom’s adventure occur in a universe or two away from the prime MCU reality, but it could be the place Peter ends up calling home. That’s probably a good thing, as there are five other live-action Spider-Man related projects at Sony in need of a webslinger to tie the whole thing together.

As for now, Let There Be Carnage’s references to Spider-Men and the Avengers will probably remain joke fodder.

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Venom: Let There Be Carnage releases on September 24, 2021.

Thumbnail image by Sony Pictures Entertainment

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(Photo by A24/Everett Collection)

The 2021 Best Picture Oscar Nominees Ranked

For 2021’s Oscar edition, the Academy selected eight stand-out films released over the past year, with Mank leading the way atop 10 nominations. Nomadland and Promising Young Woman also had their helmers nominated for Best Director, the first time more than one woman has been recognized in the category for a single year. Minari and Sound of Metal also made a strong showing with their number of noms. You can see the full list of the 2021 Oscar nominations, print out our handy ballot for your Oscar pool, cast your vote in our online Oscar Ballot Poll, and read on to see the Best Picture nominees ranked by Tomatometer. —Alex Vo

(Photo by ©Columbia Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection)

Shakespeare gave us “to be or not to be,” Puzo and Coppola gave us an offer we couldn’t refuse, and the three writers of Venom – yes, three people are credited for this screenplay – gave us “rolling down the street like a turd in the wind.” Your thoughts on that now-iconic, symbiote-issued simile likely mirror your reaction to the film in which it’s spoken. Did you, like so many critics, declare Eddie Brock’s solo debut a poorly scripted and misguided mess? Or did you, like so many fans, bow down giddily to your new head-biting Marvel master, thankful for a superhero movie that stood out from the pack by being weird as hell, dark AF, and letting Tom Hardy do all of that?

In the world of Tomatometer-Audience Score divides, director Ruben Fleischer‘s Venom gives us a canyon like few others, with just 30% of critics declaring it Fresh compared with 81% of the Audience. But you don’t need us to tell you the film is beloved: The movie made a whopping $856 million at the global box office and fans are hotly anticipated the Andy Serkis-directed sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, due out next year. (And yes, we’ve heard you in our comments sections and in our DMs and in all those magazine-cut-out stalker-style letters we’ve been receiving: you really, really think the critics got it wrong on this one.)

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So, of course, we had to do an episode of our new podcast Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong devoted to lovable loser alien Venom and his Earthling host Eddie. Joining hosts Jacqueline Coley and Mark Ellis this week is pop-culture commentator and woman-who-would-absolutely-go-to-town-on-a-tank-full-of-live-lobsters, Roxy Striar, who is our official Voice of the People, arguing that Venom not only be Fresh, it should be somewhere in the 90th percentile. Is she right? Is RT wrong? Did lady Venom really need boobs? We’re going deep, so be sure to tune in.

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Listen Now:  Spotify |  Apple Podcasts  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  Google Podcasts | Radio Public | Deezer | iHeart | Art19

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Check in every Thursday for a new episode of Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong (A Podcast From Rotten Tomatoes). Each week, hosts Jacqueline and Mark and guests go deep and settle the score on some of the most beloved – and despised – movies and TV shows ever made, directly taking on the statement we hear from so many fans: “Rotten Tomatoes is wrong.”

• Episode one: “Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong” About… Spider-Man 3
• Episode two: “Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong” About… Mortal Kombat
• Episode three: “Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong” About… Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• Episode four: “Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong” About… Sister Act 2: Back In the Habit
• Episode five: “Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong” About… The Beach
• Episode six: “Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong” About… Hocus Pocus
• Episode seven: “Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong” About… Vampire In Brooklyn

If you have a suggestion for a movie or show you think we should do an episode on, let us know in the comments, or email us at rtiswrong@rottentomatoes.com.

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Meet the hosts

Jacqueline Coley is an editor at Rotten Tomatoes, with a focus on awards and indie coverage but with a passion for everything, from the MCU to musicals and period pieces. Coley is a regular moderator at conventions and other events, can be seen on Access Hollywood and other shows, and will not stand Constantine slander of any kind. Follow Jacqueline on Twitter: @THATjacqueline.

Mark Ellis is a comedian and contributing editor for Rotten Tomatoes. He currently hosts the Rotten Tomatoes series Versus, among others, and can be seen co-hosting the sports entertainment phenomenon Movie Trivia Schmoedown. His favorite Star Wars movie is Jedi (guess which one!), his favorite person is actually a dog (his beloved stepdaughter Mollie), and – thanks to this podcast – he’s about to watch Burlesque for the first time in his life. Follow Mark on Twitter: @markellislive.

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