Sunday, February 15, 2026

Top 10 Tom Holland Films

 
Sherman J. Pearson here for another Top 10. Tom Holland is due for a co-starring role in the flash sci-fi project Discovery, so it seems like a good time to cover his filmography for a Top 10.

Top 10 Tom Holland Films
10. That Was Then, This Is Now
9. The Journey
8. Tail
7. How to Survive in Hell
6. Sherwood
5. The Brothers Kendrick
4. Circumstances of Time
3. Nobody
2. Odysseus - Part One
1. Odysseus - Part Two

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Now Showing: The Letter Never Sent

 
The Letter Never Sent
Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: John Crowley
Writer: Andrew Doster
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Rupert Friend, Jonathan Bailey, Ben Feldman, Alyla Browne

Plot: New York, 1957.
A posh apartment on the Upper West Side. Eleanor "Ellie" Mercer (Scarlett Johansson) sits at the table dressed in an elegant purple dressing gown, absentmindedly stirring the coffee in her seemingly perfect kitchen. Richard (Rupert Friend), her husband, is impeccably dressed in a business suit, immersed in the newspaper where he is reading the latest news. The conversation between the two is polite but rather brief, formal and lacking in great warmth. Richard finishes his coffee, picks up his briefcase, absentmindedly kisses his wife's forehead and puts on his coat before leaving. Ellie remains alone in the silent kitchen, watching out the window as the sun begins to illuminate the skyline of Manhattan, but her gaze is lost in space.

Ellie works in the library in the antiquarian section, enjoying the maintenance and restoration of them. Her hands touch with precision and delicacy the fragile pages of an old, very damaged volume probably written during the Civil War. At one point a colleague approaches with a pile of books just brought by a lady who had to clear out the attic. Ellie nods with a tight and distant smile.

At a certain point in the work day she starts checking that pile of books to see if there are any hidden gems that can be recovered. While leafing through an old novel, she finds a yellowed sheet with a handwritten poem. She reads it slowly, caressing the paper with her fingers. The name at the bottom: James Gallagher (Jonathan Bailey). The book falls to the floor, a sudden pang in her chest pierces her chest.

A blurry memory: a summer evening, laughter under a streetlight, a stolen kiss on the stairs of the house with James. After a few moments Ellie jumps to her feet, visibly upset. The woman begins to walk back and forth between the shelves while suddenly she stops in front of the large window when strangely a flash lights up the sky since the sun had been out shortly before. Ellie watches the street as a heavy downpour begins to fall and enjoys watching a young engaged couple run to shelter from the rain under a canopy while she thinks back with a bit of nostalgia to a similar event that happened to her with James about ten years earlier.

Given the nostalgia that hit her that afternoon, she decides to stop by her mother's house, who died a few months ago. The air is thick with dust and memories. Climbing the creaking stairs, she heads towards the attic. Ellie rummages through old boxes in the attic of her late mother's house. Forgotten memories: black and white photographs, two from the cinema, an old light blue ball gown. At a certain point she sees her old diary whose existence she had forgotten, something seems to protrude from it that falls to the ground near her feet. She bends down to pick it up and notices that it is a letter whose paper is now worn and yellowed by time. It is addressed to her but it does not look like it had never been opened. Her name is written on the envelope in a familiar hand. Time seems to stop as she looks at it and her heart beats fast, maybe too fast. She puts her hands on her chest for a moment to calm herself and then with shaking hands, she opens it carefully for fear of accidentally tearing it.

Her pupils move as her eyes scan the lines: declarations of love, sweet words, promises of a future together, an invitation to Grand Central Station before he left the city.

Ellie puts a hand to her mouth, shocked. She never received that letter. Ellie slowly sits on the floor leaning her back against the wall clutching the paper to her chest as her eyes start to get watery. She dries her eyes and leaves the house.

It's evening. Ellie is sitting on the edge of the bed, the letter still in her hands. Richard comes home from work later than usual, says goodbye to his wife, hangs up his coat and then pours himself a glass of whiskey saying he's not hungry because he had dinner with some colleagues. Ellie watches him for a while and then gets up from the bed. She hesitates, then shows him the letter. She asks if he knew anything about it. Richard stiffens for a moment and remains silent for a few moments as she presses him. Richard finally answers, his tone measured, almost defensive. He says that maybe his mother had hidden the letter or that maybe it was a coincidence. Ellie looks into his eyes, realizing that he is probably lying to her. At that point she decides to change the subject as she walks over to the window looking at the city lights that twinkle.

During the night Ellie doesn't sleep a wink, lying in bed next to Richard, who is fast asleep. The room is immersed in darkness, illuminated only by the light of the street lamps filtered through the curtains. James's letter is on the nightstand. Ellie takes it and rereads it again, slowly.

In her mind, hazy and fragmented memories intertwine with events that could have happened: James Gallagher, kind and charming, looks at her with adoration. They are in a coffee shop, laughing, their fingers touching. A kiss in the rain. The sound of a departing train. He turns to look at her one last time.
Ellie returns to the present, closes her eyes, clutching the letter to her chest. She whispers "What if I had read this letter years ago?"

The next morning she gets up very early, prepares breakfast for her husband and leaves her a note. She takes a small suitcase and leaves.
Ellie walks through the people of Grand Central Station, the heart of New York until she stops exactly in the spot where James had asked her to meet him so many years ago. She stays there for a while and then looks around. Then she confidently buys a ticket to Chicago. As the announcer's voice echoes in the station, Ellie clutches her suitcase and gets on the train. The train departs. She looks out the window as she begins her journey in search of her lost youthful love.

Ellie walks among the austere buildings of the University of Chicago. She has an old address scribbled on a notebook in her hand. Sitting in front of her is Thomas Wade (Ben Feldman), a former classmate of James who she had met back then. He has aged since she remembered him in the past, but when he talks about James his eyes light up. Thomas shows her an old photo: him and James, young and smiling, in front of a typewriter. Then she tells her that James had been trying to contact her for months after he wrote her the letter, but when he never got a response, he finally left Chicago, brokenhearted. Ellie bites her lip, looks away. She knows it’s because of the unreceived letter and thinks there might have been more lost somewhere. Thomas says he hasn’t heard from James in a couple of years when he was in Denver. When she leaves the coffee shop, she pauses for a moment in the light rain. The wind caresses her face. She wraps her coat around herself, then goes to buy a train ticket to Denver.

Inn in the Rocky Mountains.
The inn is modest, but welcoming. The owner, an elderly man, welcomes her kindly. Ellie shows him an old photo of James. The man nods, recognizing him. He leads her into a room where, years ago, James had stayed for a while. The room is small, dusty, with an old desk against the window. Ellie approaches, running her fingers over the worn surface, as if she could feel James’ presence. Then she notices something: a dusty old literary magazine on a shelf. She flips through it quickly. Inside, a poem signed J.G. The words speak of a lost love, of a woman she has never forgotten. Ellie clutches the magazine to her chest. She stops in front of the window, the sunset light coloring the mountains a golden orange. A stronger beat in her chest. In her letters she often speaks of San Francisco. She makes a decision. The next train is to San Francisco.

Ellie walks through the foggy streets of San Francisco. She finds a bookstore that sells old volumes of poetry. She flips through the books on the shelves until she finds the name she was looking for: James Gallagher. The bookseller, a kindly older woman, tells her that James was a shy but brilliant man, beloved by his students. She gives her the address of the university where he taught. Ellie hesitates for a moment, then hurries out of the bookstore.

Ellie enters the university and explains the situation to one of the secretaries and is shown a seat. Ellie waits in silence in the small office, tapping her feet nervously, surrounded by shelves full of books. An elderly professor enters and looks at her curiously when he hears the name James Gallagher. In a calm voice, he tells her what she didn't want to hear: James, already a widower for years, died a few months earlier in a car accident. A sudden silence fills the room. Ellie feels faint, clenches her fists to keep from shaking. Her mind goes blank and everything around her echoes. Her journey is over. She's come too late. But the professor hands her something: a bundle of unpublished, never-before-published letters and poems. He tells her that James has never stopped writing about her. Ellie takes the letters with shaking hands. Her face is a mixture of pain and love. As Ellie leaves, the professor tells her that James also had a daughter named Margaret (Alyla Browne) who is now an orphan and living for now with the secretary who took her in shortly before.

Ellie sits at a wooden table near the window of a cafĂ©, watching the steam rise from her cup of coffee. Her eyes are dull, as if all energy has left her. In front of her is Margaret Gallagher, James’s daughter who has agreed to meet her. She has the same intense gaze as her father, but with a curiosity and kindness all her own. At one point Margaret tells how her father often spoke of a woman from the past, a love never fully lived. “If only he had received that letter, my life would have been different,” he always told her. Ellie holds the cup in her hands. She breathes deeply, trying to control the emotion that closes her throat. Margaret takes out an old tin box and gently pushes it towards her. Inside, unsent letters, all written by James to Ellie. His words, his love trapped between the lines for years. Ellie leafs through them slowly. Her eyes fill with tears, but this time it’s not just pain. It’s also gratitude. Margaret takes her hand. "You can't change the past. But you can still change the present." Ellie looks at her, absorbs those words. For the first time in days, she feels her heart beating with new determination.

Ellie gets out of a taxi in front of her apartment building in New York.
Richard is in the living room, a glass of whiskey in his hand. He turns, surprised to see her there. He didn't think she would return. Ellie comes in slowly, puts down her suitcase. The silence between them is heavy. Then, in a firm voice, she asks him again if he knew about the letter. Richard lowers his gaze. For a long moment he says nothing. Then he nods, exhausted. He confesses that he found it years ago and hid it. He did it because he was afraid that Ellie would choose James. That she would leave him. And so he had decided for her, condemning her to a life she hadn't really chosen. Ellie watches him with eyes full of pain and anger. But then something inside her breaks. He's not the only one who has chosen. She has also let time take her away, without ever fighting for herself. Richard asks her if she can forgive him. Ellie doesn’t answer. She turns, looking at the window, the lights of New York reflected in her eyes
Then a deep breath and a light that tears the sky while she hears a buzzing in her ears.

The sound of a heart monitor fills the room. Ellie has been in a coma for days, lying on a hospital bed, her eyes closed. Wires and tubes keep her connected to the machines. Her face pale, still. Next to her, Richard holds her hand. He is destroyed, his eyes red from unshed tears. A voiceover says, "Mr. Mercer, your wife had a sudden heart attack while she was at work while she was sorting out some old letters and fell and hit her head hard. On the bedside table is the letter she was holding when she fell ill. A letter from a certain James Gallagher that he had written to a certain Ellie Fitzpatrick in the early 1900s.

Richard leans over her, whispering something. But Ellie probably can't hear him because she's still in her dream, a completely invented dream.

Ellie is standing on the platform, with her suitcase in her hand. The train to San Francisco is about to leave. The sun filters through the windows, illuminating the station with a golden and surreal light. She turns. James is there. Young, beautiful as she remembered him. He smiles at her. For a moment, Ellie feels the desire to get on that train, to experience that love that was denied to her. But then something changes. A distant sound... the beep of a hospital monitor. James looks at her sweetly, telling her to wake up. She stares at him, shaking her head. He takes her hand, squeezing it gently, saying he can’t live in the past forever. Ellie closes her eyes, holding her breath. When she opens them again…James is gone. The train leaves without her. Ellie turns slowly and the station slowly begins to disappear.

Ellie’s eyes snap open. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor jolts her back to reality. She’s breathing hard, as if she’s been holding her breath for too long. Richard jumps up from the chair beside the bed, in disbelief. “Ellie! Oh God, you’re awake…” Ellie blinks, disoriented. The hospital room is white, cold, far from the vivid world she’d just left. She tries to speak, but her throat is dry. Richard takes her hand, his eyes shining with relief as he calls for doctors and paramedics, yelling that Ellie is awake.

Ellie swallows, her thoughts racing. James… Margaret… the letter. For a moment, it all seems real. But then… she realizes the truth. James Gallagher never existed. Ellie Fitzpatrick wasn’t her.
She’d entered that story that wasn’t hers, the moment she’d touched that letter. She’d experienced a love that was never hers, felt the pain of choices she’d never made. Slowly, she turns to the bedside table. The letter is there, still open, the ink slightly faded by time.

A few days later, Ellie walks slowly, still clearly weak, wrapped in a coat with Richard under her arm. The man makes a funny joke and Ellie giggles amusedly. The autumn leaves fall around her. Ellie seems calm and serene as she has never been and even the relationship with her husband seems to have improved.
The two sit on a bench, Ellie takes out the letter from James Gallagher. She reads it carefully one last time, this time knowing that it does not belong to her, yet feeling that somehow it has changed her forever. Then, with a delicate gesture, she closes it and places it next to her. A little girl approaches and, curious, picks it up. She looks at it with a shy smile, as if a new journey into someone's mind is about to begin. Ellie gets up and with Richard they walk away together, returning to the hospital and she walks away.

During the credits ...

A librarian sorts old documents in the archives. Among the yellowed sheets, a photo falls to the floor. An old, faded portrait. It shows a man with a kind gaze, James Gallagher, and next to him... a woman who looks incredibly like Ellie.


Release: Spelljammer

 
Spelljammer
Genre: Action/Sci-Fi/Comedy
Director: Zack Snyder
Writer: Dawson Edwards
Based on the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting
Cast: Will Smith, Tye Sheridan, Gal Gadot, Jason Isaacs, William H. Macy (voice), Gerard Butler (voice), Naomi Scott




Budget: $160,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $53,295,002
Foreign Box Office: $105,099,700
Total Profit: -$100,093,889

Reaction: The poor showing at the domestic box office doomed this one. While it's not the biggest flop in LRF history, it's not far off. Will Smith has a couple films on that list now. It also joins the list of D&D-inspired films that have flopped at the box office. This was meant to be the start of a new franchise, but unfortunately based on these numbers that won't be able to happen.





"Zack Snyder’s Spelljammer is messy, overstuffed, and occasionally indulgent — but it’s also energetic, visually confident, and surprisingly sincere about its space-fantasy weirdness. Will Smith leans into rogue charm without overpowering the ensemble, while Tye Sheridan and Naomi Scott ground the cosmic chaos with genuine stakes. The humor doesn’t always land, but when the film commits to scale, spectacle, and pulpy adventure, it delivers a lively, unapologetic ride that feels more curious than cynical." - Cal Crowe, Washington Globe


"Spelljammer offers a visually spectacular journey that is ultimately held back by its profound familiarity. The script successfully captures the charismatic "found family" dynamic of modern sci-fi hits, powered by witty dialogue and action sequences seemingly tailor-made for director Zack Snyder. Unfortunately, the narrative leans heavily on underdeveloped villains and convenient plot twists, sacrificing originality for a breakneck pace. This results in a film that feels more like a collection of cool, borrowed moments than a cohesive, groundbreaking adventure. While it’s a surefire popcorn flick, Spelljammer is a dazzling but ultimately forgettable ride that never quite charts its own course through the stars." - Ted Milo, Montasefilm


"Spelljammer feels redundant coming from Zack Snyder, retreading ground he already explored more coherently in Rebel Moon. Once again, we get solemn myth-making, cosmic tyrants, and slow-motion operatics — but here they’re awkwardly paired with jokey banter that never fits. Will Smith’s loose charisma clashes with the film’s self-serious style, and the familiar genre scaffolding offers little novelty even within its own niche. What might have been pulpy and strange instead plays like a lesser remix of ideas from other space operas." - Dave Manning, Ridgefield Press









Rated PG-13 for sci-fi/fantasy action violence, peril, language, and thematic elements.






Friday, February 13, 2026

SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT

 

Actors don’t just light up the screen — they light up the feed. Social Spotlight takes a look at how today’s stars promote their movies through the platforms that matter.

This round we have an Instagram post from Spelljammer star Will Smith....



Now Showing: Spelljammer

 
Spelljammer
Genre: Action/Sci-Fi/Comedy
Director: Zack Snyder
Writer: Dawson Edwards
Based on the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting
Cast: Will Smith, Tye Sheridan, Gal Gadot, Jason Isaacs, William H. Macy (voice), Gerard Butler (voice), Naomi Scott

Plot: Luth Aelindor shimmered in the endless silver void, its crystalline spires stretching impossibly high above the Astral Plane. The palace-city had stood for eons, untouched by time, ruled by a lineage that traced back to the dawn of the Astral Courts. Tonight was meant to be another ceremony, another display of stability, another night where tradition reigned supreme.
Then the Sovereign Star-King vanished in a pulse of arcane energy.
The explosion of white fire rattled the throne room, a shockwave pulsing outward, warping the very air as the ground trembled beneath it. The gathered nobility staggered back in horror, their ceremonial robes whipping in the wind that should not exist in this place. The golden banners of House Vaelor fluttered wildly, and at the center of it all, standing alone before the empty throne, was Sylwen Vaelor (Tye Sheridan).
A silence deeper than the void settled over the chamber. Then the whispers began.
“Assassin.”
“Betrayer.”
Sylwen stared at the empty throne, his heartbeat a war drum in his chest. This wasn’t possible. It wasn’t real. His father, the Star-King, had vanished before his very eyes.
The silence broke as the Astral Inquisitors stepped forward, their forms sleek and imposing, their armor glowing with cosmic energy. Blades of condensed starlight ignited in their hands.
The lead Inquisitor’s voice rang like a death sentence. “Prince Sylwen Vaelor. By decree of the Astral Courts, you are under arrest for the crime of regicide.”
Sylwen’s breath hitched. Then his body moved before his mind could catch up. Run.
The first spell exploded against the floor behind him, shattering the polished marble into dust. He darted past towering columns, twisting down the corridor as guards and Inquisitors pursued in perfect synchronization.
His feet barely touched the ground as he vaulted down a spiraling staircase of floating platforms, skipping entire landings, ignoring the burning in his legs. Spells whizzed past him, searing the air, tearing through ancient statues, warping reality itself.
The balcony was close. If he could reach it…
A golden spear of energy slammed into the wall beside him, the explosion throwing him forward. He landed hard, rolling across the floor, vision swimming as armored footsteps closed in.
He turned sharply, only to collide with an Inquisitor.
The knight grabbed him by the throat, lifting him effortlessly into the air. The mask was blank, expressionless, reflecting only the palace burning around them. Sylwen kicked, struggled, his vision darkening at the edges.
Instinct.
His fingers wrapped around the tiny dagger strapped to his belt, an ornament not a weapon, but all he had. He twisted and drove it into the Inquisitor’s wrist joint.
The grip loosened. He wrenched free, hitting the floor hard, coughing as air returned to his lungs. The knight recovered, stepping forward, raising his sword.
Sylwen ran.
The balcony doors burst open as he threw himself into the night.
The family skiff hovered just beyond the edge, its crystalline sails glowing in the astral wind. The guards that should have been protecting it were gone.
Spells ignited behind him. The floor cracked and shattered. Sylwen reached the railing, pushed off with everything he had, and jumped.
For a moment, there was nothing.
Then his fingers caught the rigging.
The impact jarred his entire body, pain lancing through his shoulder, but he held on, breath ragged as he scrambled onto the deck.
He collapsed into the pilot’s chair, hands shaking over the controls, his mind racing. The Inquisitors were still coming.
Magic sparked at his fingertips, wild, unpredictable. He needed to teleport, needed to get away now. “Dimension Door” he thought.
His spell misfired.
A pulse of chaotic energy exploded outward.
A unicorn appeared out of thin air.
Sylwen stared.
The unicorn stared back.
Then it screamed and kicked him in the chest.
His body slammed into the controls, and the skiff lurched violently, veering away from the palace in a jagged, unstable flight.
The last thing he saw before the mists swallowed everything was the throne tower of Luth Aelindor, burning against the starlight.
He had escaped. But he had no destination. No allies. No home. Only the vast unknown stretching before him.

The cantina was already in full-blown chaos.
Fists flew. Glass shattered. Bodies slammed against tables, against walls, against the floorboards that had been sticky long before this particular brawl broke out. The air was thick with the tang of smoke, spilled liquor, and the distant hum of off-world music barely audible over the grunts and curses of the men trying and failing to put Cass Drake (Will Smith) down.
Cass ducked, weaving between swings like he’d done it a thousand times before. A wide arc of a punch came for him. Too slow. He sidestepped it, letting the poor bastard behind him take the hit instead. The unfortunate soul collapsed against the bar, knocking over Metris’ (voiced by William H. Macy) drink. The Thri-Kreen monk didn’t react, just calmly picked up his glass before it could spill. “My missing monastery would never…”
Another goon lunged. Cass pivoted, snapped his fingers and a blade of pure psionic energy ignited in his hand. It wasn’t metal, wasn’t even real, just a thought sharpened to a razor’s edge. He let the guy see it for half a second before slamming the hilt into his stomach. The man folded like a cheap chair.
Two more came at him from opposite sides. Cass rolled over the bar, landing neatly next to Karis (Naomi Scott), a young human woman and Metris, who didn’t so much as glance at him.
Karis casually took a sip from her glass. "Running out of moves?"
Cass winked. "I got moves for days."
He kicked off the bar, flipping back into the fight, his blades materializing mid-motion. The crowd roared, the fight escalating into something spectacularly stupid.
Across the room, Garrak (voiced by Gerard Butler), the Giff, don’t call him a hippo, waded through the chaos like a moving fortress, using his sheer size to bulldoze through brawlers. A heavyset mercenary lunged at him with a broken bottle. Garrak headbutted him so hard it nearly cracked the floor, then swung his massive rifle into his hands and…Click-Clack. He censored the bartender’s potty mouth with the sound of his reloading.
Cass laughed as he vaulted over a table, turning in mid-air, hurling one of his soulknives at an attacker mid-lunge. The energy blade sliced through the air, embedding itself in the guy’s shoulder before blinking out of existence. The man spun from the impact and crashed into a pile of chairs.
The fight should have kept going but it didn’t.
Because the air in the center of the cantina suddenly twisted, folded inward then with a violent snap, a full-sized Spelljammer skiff just… appeared.
Right in the middle of the bar.
Tables and chairs were instantly obliterated under the ship’s sudden weight. Patrons were thrown off their feet. The floorboards groaned beneath the impossible presence of something that should not be here.
A hatch on the skiff hissed open, and out crawled an Astral Elf. Sylwen groaned, pulling himself up on shaking arms. His face was cut, bruised, his once-pristine robes burned and torn. He was clearly barely holding himself together.
“I need a ship,” he rasped.
Cass wiped his mouth, exhaling through his nose. "Do I look like I give a fu-"
Click-clack.
The sound of Garrak cocking his rifle cut him off.
Cass rolled his eyes. Then sighed.
“I’m a Prince.”

Bral stretched across the surface of the asteroid like a beast refusing to die, its glowing towers and twisting streets a testament to the kind of people who had built it, those too stubborn or too dangerous to thrive anywhere else. What had once been a pirate’s hideout had transformed into the beating heart of Wildspace trade, a crossroads for smugglers, nobles, dignitaries, and cutthroats alike.
The Horizon Breaker settled into a docking bay in the Low City, its engines coughing out a final sputter before shutting down. Around them, the docks pulsed with activity, merchants haggling, mechanics shouting over the sound of welding, travelers watching their backs. No one here asked questions. That was Rule Number One on the Rock.
Cass led the way into the market streets, hands in his pockets, weaving through the crowd like a man who had lived here just long enough to know exactly when to duck. The city climbed around them in chaotic layers. Towering businesses of the Middle City flashing neon signs above, while the rooftops of the Low City slumped under the weight of too many people trying to disappear.
Sylwen was staring.
Karis caught his expression and nudged him, a smirk curling at the edge of her mouth. “You look like a tourist.”
“This place is…” Sylwen hesitated, eyes drifting across the sheer variety of life moving through the streets, Hadozee traders laughing over barrels of rum, Goliath and Dwarven mercenaries bartering for new weapons, Humans and Elves wrapped in noble robes, side by side with pirates in patched-up armor.
“Beautiful?” Karis teased.
“I was going to say impossible.”
Karis shrugged, her fingers idly flicking, weaving a small illusion of a silver dragonfly between them. “So is sailing through the stars on a magic ship, but here we are.”
Sylwen watched the dragonfly flit between her hands before vanishing in a shimmer of light. “You’re good at that.”
Karis tilted her head, feigning modesty. “Oh, I dabble.”
Cass, who had been pretending not to hear them, rolled his eyes so hard he nearly sprained something. “Great, I love this. Really. But can we flirt on our own time? We’ve got a job to do.”
Sylwen straightened immediately, clearing his throat. Karis just gave Cass a knowing look before falling into step beside him again.
Cass muttered under his breath. Then, as if on cue, he turned a corner and shifted instantly into full charm mode.
Because there, at the center of a bustling, lavish casino, draped in shadow and elegance, was Saphira Nightwind (Gal Gadot).
She was leaning against the roulette table, lazily tapping her fingers along its edge, her Tiefling eyes glinting like cut obsidian.
Cass grinned, slipping into the seat across from her. “Saphira, darling. Long time no see.”
She didn’t even look up from her drink. “Still alive? Disappointing.”
Cass placed a hand over his heart, mock-offended. “You wound me.”
Her gaze flicked up to meet his, and for half a second, there was something sharp and amused behind her smirk. Then she sighed dramatically, swirling her drink.
“What do you want, Cass?”
Cass leaned in. “The Emerald vault. You know where it is.”
Saphira tilted her head, considering. “And if I did, why would I tell you?”
Cass grinned. “Because we both know you’re running a job here. Which means you want out before the Guild realizes you’re double-dipping.”
Saphira’s expression barely shifted.
Then, she exhaled. “North quadrant. Behind the trade houses. Security’s tight. Two minutes inside before the scanners tag your biometrics. After that? You’re dead.”
Cass nodded. “See? That wasn’t so hard.”
Saphira smirked. “Oh, I never said I was done.”
Cass barely had time to process before the room erupted into absolute chaos.
The heist should have been clean. It wasn’t.
Garrak had barely stepped foot inside the vault before Sylwen’s Wild Magic went berserk. He had meant to disarm the alarm system but instead, he had transformed all the security drones into aggressively territorial seagulls.
Karis’ illusions were working flawlessly, until one of Sylwen’s magic hiccups randomly duplicated the head of the casino’s security and put it on the wrong body.
Metris moved through the chaos like liquid, knocking out guards with precision—except for the one unfortunate moment when Sylwen accidentally made him twice his normal size mid-maneuver, sending him crashing through an entire row of vault boxes.
Cass, focused as ever, was mid-lockpick on the vault when the entire floor became sentient quicksand. It was, to put it mildly, a disaster. They got what they came for but just barely.

The Magistrate’s Watch descended onto the casino like a storm.
Cass and the crew barreled into the night, alarms blaring behind them. The streets of Bral turned against them, mercenaries closing in, bounty hunters sniffing out the disturbance.
Cass pulled Sylwen by the collar, dragging him into a side alley. “You don’t get to talk for five minutes.”
“I…”
“FIVE. MINUTES.”
They tore through the Middle City, ducking between hanging bridges and glowing market stalls, Garrak blasting through obstacles, Karis throwing up illusions to cover their escape, Metris vaulting over gaps like it was nothing.
Sylwen, panicking, tried to teleport them to safety.
Instead, half the crew disappeared for six seconds.
When they reappeared, Garrak looked deeply disturbed, Karis was visibly shaking, and Metris simply muttered, “We are never speaking of that.”
The docks were within sight. Behind them, a squad of heavily armed mercenaries rounded the corner. The fight was inevitable.
Garrak cocked his rifle. Metris took a silent breath, steadying himself.
Sylwen, sweating, raised his hands, ready to try anything to make up for this mess.
Then, from the rooftops, a sharp whistle rang out. They all turned.
Saphira sat casually on the edge of a rooftop, bow in hand, legs crossed.
Cass groaned. “Oh, come on.”
Saphira winked. 
Sylwen, determined not to screw this up, channeled another spell. A spectacular surge of power built in his hands.
And then he turned himself into a potted plant.
Cass dodged an attack, saw Sylwen, and nearly lost his mind.
“YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!”
Garrak threw Sylwen-the-plant over his shoulder and kept running.
The Horizon Breaker was in sight, its engines already flaring to life.
They sprinted up the ramp, blaster bolts ricocheting off the hull.
Cass was the last one inside, panting as he slapped the controls. The ship lurched upward, tearing away from the docks just as an explosion rocked the city below them.
The crew collapsed onto the deck, breathing hard.
Sylwen, now fully back to normal, groaned. “What… just happened?”
Cass sat up, running a hand down his face.
“You happened.”
The Horizon Breaker cut into the void, racing toward their next destination.
The ruins drifted in the void, the last remnants of a world that no longer existed. No fire, no corpses, just absence. A kingdom erased in an instant, like it had never been.
Zael’Rith (Jason Isaacs) stood on a fractured slab of marble, hands clasped behind his back, unmoved by the silence. Behind him, his Inquisitors knelt, waiting.
The lone survivor trembled at his feet, her fine silks in tatters. She gasped, eyes darting to where her home had been.
"You. You destroyed everything," she rasped.
Zael’Rith tilted his head, mildly curious. "Destroyed? No. That would imply something remains."
She tried to move, to speak, but the space around her shuddered. The breath in her lungs vanished. Her fingers clutched at nothing.
"A flaw," Zael’Rith murmured, watching her unravel. "Corrected."
And then she was gone. Not dead. Just erased.
The Inquisitors remained silent.
One finally spoke. "The monastery?"
Zael’Rith’s gaze didn’t shift, but something in the void did. A ripple. A fracture.
"A necessary precedent."
Another pause. The comms crackled.
"My Lord, the Astral Courts are noticing the anomalies."
Zael’Rith exhaled, faintly amused. "Let them."
The Inquisitor hesitated. "And the prince?"
Zael’Rith’s eyes darkened.
"He was never meant to be."
A flicker of raw power pulsed through the void.
"And soon, he won’t be."
The Horizon Breaker drifted in the quiet expanse of Wildspace, its engines humming softly beneath the silence of the crew. Karis sat near the viewport, absently flicking a coin between her fingers, the silver glinting in the starlight.

Sylwen leaned against the opposite wall, watching her. "You do that when you're nervous," he said.
Karis smirked, not looking up. "You assume I'm ever nervous."
Cass, standing at the helm, arms crossed, glanced between them. "You're a terrible liar."
Karis hesitated. Just for a second. The coin slipped, landing flat on the table.
Sylwen straightened slightly, sensing something shift. "Karis?"
She exhaled, rubbing the back of her neck. "It’s just... I used to have this idea of where I’d end up. What my life was supposed to be. And now I’m here, flying through the void with…" she gestured vaguely between them. "...a cursed rogue and a wild magic disaster. Not exactly what I planned."
Cass chuckled, leaning back. "Yeah, well, life’s full of…"
"But maybe it was never my choice," she cut in.
The air shifted.
Sylwen’s brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Karis opened her mouth, then stopped. Whatever she was about to say, it was too much.
She forced a grin, flicked the coin back into her palm, and leaned back. "Nothing. Just talking nonsense."
Cass studied her for a moment.
Sylwen didn’t look convinced. But neither of them pressed. The moment passed.

The Horizon Breaker shuddered as it neared the dying star, the vessel struggling against the gravitational tides that rippled outward in waves of crimson and gold. The sky churned with violent flares, the corona stretching like molten fingers grasping at the void. And orbiting in its deadly embrace, Zael'Rith’s fortress, a colossal obsidian monolith, flickered like a mirage, phasing in and out of existence, as if reality itself was rejecting it.
The ship’s sensors screamed warnings.
Inside the cockpit, Karis and Sylwen sat side by side, the glow of the displays painting their faces in shifting hues.
"You ever been in a Spelljammer battle before?" Karis asked, fingers flying over the controls as she rerouted power through the ship’s battered systems.
Sylwen swallowed, trying to maintain some level of dignity. "Not… exactly."
Karis smirked. "So that’s a no."
Before Sylwen could protest, the comms crackled.
"Incoming," Garrak’s voice rumbled.
The enemy ships emerged from the distortion fields around the fortress. Sleek, black-hulled skiffs that moved with unnatural precision.
"Alright, princeling," Karis said, her hands dancing across the console, "time to impress me."
Sylwen focused, summoning his magic, preparing to create a shield spell around the ship.
Instead, he summoned a field of floating spectral ribbons.
Karis blinked. "Huh. Not bad, if we were decorating for a festival."
Sylwen groaned.
Garrak opened fire, the main cannon thundering as explosive shells ripped through the enemy formation. Metris, moving like a shadow, vaulted from the ship onto an enemy vessel, his limbs stretching and twisting in zero gravity. He landed silently, disabled the pilot with a single strike, and ripped the control panel apart with precise, methodical efficiency.
Onboard the Horizon Breaker, Karis activated illusion protocols, flickering the ship’s image across multiple locations, making it appear as if there were five of them. The enemy skiffs faltered, their targeting scrambled.
Cass stood near the pod bay, watching the battle unfold. His fingers twitched as he prepared to board.
"We’re going in," he muttered.
Sylwen turned to Karis, their eyes meeting.
"Try not to die," she said.
Sylwen hesitated just for a moment. "You too."
Cass grabbed him by the collar and shoved him into the boarding pod before he could get any more sentimental.
The pod launched, streaking toward the fortress like a burning comet. It slammed into the hull, cutting through the structure like a knife.
Inside, the fortress was wrong.
Corridors twisted in impossible angles, doors appeared and vanished, flickering between states of existence. The air hummed with the weight of something ancient and unfinished.
Cass and Sylwen moved quickly, pushing deeper into the labyrinth of shifting walls and pulsating energy. The core chamber loomed ahead, a vast, circular space where Zael'Rith hovered, his form barely a silhouette against the swirling maelstrom of collapsing space.
Zael'Rith turned, his voice smooth, almost amused. "I was wondering when you’d arrive."
The walls pulsed, reality buckling. Images flickered in and out of existence. Places that had been erased, histories rewritten, entire civilizations collapsed into nothingness.
"You," Zael'Rith said, his eyes locking onto Sylwen, "should not exist."
A thousand different versions of Sylwen flickered behind him, half-formed realities, paths never taken, erased futures.
Sylwen’s breath caught.
Zael'Rith’s voice was steady, deliberate. "The only reason you’re still standing, child, is because I did not account for your magic."
Dark energy exploded outward. The room shook violently, the spell tearing through space itself.
Sylwen tried to react, but the magic inside him rebelled, surging chaotically, flickering between strength and ruin. A burst of golden light erupted from his hands, but it warped midair, twisting into a storm of floating, bewildered seagulls.
Zael'Rith barely acknowledged them.
Sylwen gritted his teeth.
He had spent his entire life trying to control this. Trying to contain it. But magic wasn’t meant to be contained. For the first time, he let it in.
The chaotic tide of Wild Magic rushed through him, not as a curse, but as a storm waiting to be directed.
The walls warped and hallways became endless loops, staircases spiraled into themselves, the entire fortress bent to his will.
For a single, perfect moment, Sylwen didn’t fight the magic. He became it.
Fire crawled across his skin, shifting in color, in form. The very geometry of the room twisted under his command.
Zael'Rith faltered.
Sylwen lifted his hands, and the magic aligned. Raw energy coalescing into a massive FIREBALL.
He unleashed it.
It struck the core of Zael'Rith’s spell, the entire fortress screaming in protest as the unraveling stopped, the chaotic energy dissipating, reality stabilizing for the first time in what felt like eternity.
Zael'Rith staggered, his form flickering.
Cass, standing nearby, turned at the sound of footsteps.
Saphira.
She was moving toward an escape vessel, eyes locked on the exit. Cass intercepted her, blocking her path. For a moment, neither of them spoke.
"You could have walked away clean," Cass murmured.
Saphira exhaled, glancing past him toward the exit, then back at him. There was something like regret in her eyes, but it was buried deep. "Maybe I still will."
Cass didn’t move.
Neither did she.
Then the fortress groaned, the structure collapsing around them. Saphira stepped back.
Cass smirked. "You’re a (CLICK-CLACK) idiot."
She smirked. "Takes one to know one."
They ran.
Back in Wildspace, the Horizon Breaker’s battle raged on, each remaining crew member holding their ground. Karis redirected engine power, sending the ship into a spiral that dodged a barrage of incoming fire. Metris vaulted back onto the hull, flipping through zero gravity, moving with surgical precision as he disabled an enemy turret mid-air.
Garrak, standing at the main cannon, fired a final, deafening shot, obliterating the last of Zael'Rith’s forces.
The boarding pod barely made it back in time.
Cass, Sylwen, and Saphira tumbled out of the hatch, breathless, as the fortress behind them folded in on itself, a final burst of light consuming its remains.
The Horizon Breaker pulled away, the dying star still raging behind them, its flames licking at the void like something hungry, something endless.
On the bridge, the crew stood in silence, watching the expanse of Wildspace stretch before them.
Metris leaned against the railing, gazing up at the distant glow of passing Kindori, massive, celestial whale-like creatures drifting through the stars.
Garrak stood beside him, adjusting his rifle. "You ever gonna tell us what happened to your monastery?"
Metris was quiet for a long moment. Then, finally, he spoke.
"It was erased."
They watched the Kindori pass, their massive forms moving with slow, deliberate grace.
Behind them, Sylwen sat beside Karis, watching her fingers flicker with soft, illusionary light.
"So," she said, smiling. "Are you a rogue now?"
Sylwen let out a breath, shaking his head. "I think I’m just getting started."




Thursday, February 12, 2026

COMIC BOOK GUY (SEASON 9)

 

Welcome back to Comic Book Guy, where we wade through the crowded comic book movie multiverse so you don’t have to. This season, things are heating up with the debut of a conflicted war hero turned superhero in Captain Atom, a darker and chillier outing for the Dark Knight in Batman: Caped Crusader, and enough moral dilemmas, pseudo-science, and villain origin stories to make a psychiatrist retire early. We’ve got metallic men, bat-monsters, and freeze guns aplenty, so let’s see which of these films flies and which ones crash faster than a villain monologue interrupted by Batman’s fist.




CAPTAIN ATOM
Captain Atom introduces Jon Hamm as Nathaniel Adam, a soldier turned unwilling quantum-powered superhero in a story that’s equal parts Cold War paranoia and 1980s cheese. Matthew Vaughn’s stylish direction manages to make an airborne nuclear explosion look downright beautiful, but the movie drags during its relentless military conspiracies and overly wordy quantum physics explanations. David Morse’s villainous General Eiling chews through scenes with all the subtlety of a napalm strike, and Michael C. Hall’s Heinrich Megala is equal parts intriguing and underdeveloped. The real star here is Hamm, who carries the film with his charm and an impressive ability to look like he understands what “quantum realm” means. The final showdown with Plastique (Isla Fisher) feels more like an awkward family argument than an epic superhero battle, but at least we get a satisfying explosion or two. Add in a side of Reagan-era patriotism and you’ve got a film that’s… fine, but maybe more radioactive than revolutionary.




BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER
Batman: Caped Crusader dives headfirst into the murky depths of Gotham’s underworld, delivering a darker, more cerebral Bat-adventure. Jake Gyllenhaal’s Batman is as broody and intense as ever, this time juggling jewel thieves, mad scientists, and a bat-like monster wreaking havoc across the city. Director Joseph Kosinski balances gothic atmosphere with cutting-edge visuals, though the film occasionally feels overcrowded with subplots. Ralph Fiennes’ Victor Fries adds a tragic chill to the proceedings, and Matt Smith’s Riddler manages to make brainteasers feel genuinely sinister. Meanwhile, Tatiana Maslany’s Catwoman straddles the line between anti-hero and femme fatale, stealing both scenes and necklaces with feline grace. The film’s moral dilemmas are weighty, the action sequences are slick, and the setup for future villains is tantalizing. But with so much going on, it’s hard not to feel like Gotham’s rogues gallery is stealing the show from the Caped Crusader himself. Still, it’s a thrilling ride, even if you’re left wanting a bit more Bat and a little less chaos.

In Development

 
Discovery: Director Damien Chazelle's latest film for LRF, the sci-fi film Discovery, has completed its casting with the additions of Scott McNairy (The Mars Room, Revelations), Renate Reinsve (Nick Fury and His Howling Commandos, Sentimental Value), and Colman Domingo (The Final Will, Luke Cage: Power Man).  Jimmy Ellis and Chad Taylor penned the story.

Blood and Glory: The historical epic from director Tarsem Singh and writer Jack Brown, which details the war between Persia and Macedonia, has added Fares Fares (The Contractor, Rogue One) as Mazaeus, Richard Coyle (Excalibur, Heads of State) as Antigonus, Alexander Siddig (The Stranger, "Shantaram") as Artabazus, and fashion model Anok Yai as the Oracle of Amun.

Running from the Spotlight: Peter Krause (Saint Judy, "9-1-1"), Priah Ferguson (The Curse of Bridge Hollow, "Stranger Things"), and Orli Gottesman (Leave the World Behind, Adeline) have joined the teen drama Running from the Spotlight. Krause will play a burnt-out drama teacher, while Ferguson and Gottesman will play drama students. Michael Fimognari is directing, while Jacob Jones penned the script.

Unreasonable Doubt: Heidi Gardner (Hustle, "Saturday Night Live"), Aya Cash (Social Animals, We Broke Up), Paul Scheer (The Gutter, Family Switch), and Stephen Root (Mises, The Passenger) have been added to the cast of the crime rom-com Unreasonable Doubt, led by Cristin Milioti and Channing Tatum. Andrew Fleming is directing as his LRF debut. Walter McKnight wrote the story.

Vultures: Rob Zombie's latest grindhouse horror film, Vultures, has added Chloe Cherry (The Napa Boys, "Euphoria"), Naturi Naughton ("Queens", "Power"), Scout Taylor-Compton (Into the Deep, Bury the Bride), and Jeff Daniel Phillips (Bigfoot, Five Boroughs) to its cast. Clive Steinbeck penned the script.

The Friend Zone: Chris Pratt (Kill Zone, Knight Rider) and Anna Kendrick (Golden Girl, The Invincible Iron Man) are set to headline the fantasy-comedy The Friend Zone, about two people trapped in a world where there love interest will never love them back. Michel Gondry (War of the Currents, Hair) directs from a script by Joshua Collins (ThunderCats, Tethered).