Rock and roll biopics have been all the rage in recent years, but Rocketman and A Complete Unknown are hardly the only great ones out there. Actors and directors have been making great ones for years. Movies like The Doors, The Buddy Holly Story, and Sid & Nancy have been rocking audiences for years. Here is our list of some of our favorites from the '70s until today.

The Doors

Oliver Stone's The Doors is one of the trippiest rock n' roll bio-flicks out there, for sure. Appropriately so, given the band (and the lead singer) the movie is about. Val Kilmer completely disappears into one of his best roles as Jim Morrison, the legendary and enigmatic singer in the '60s band that defined acid rock for pop fans everywhere. Even if you don't like the band, there is so much going on in the movie, that you'll love it.

Love & Mercy

2014's Love & Mercy has a unique structure that features both Paul Dano and John Cusack playing The Beach Boys' musical genius and leader, Brian Wilson. Cusack does an amazing job portraying Wilson in the '80s, struggling with his mental health. Dano is simply brilliant as Wilson at his most creative in the '60s as he is writing and recording Pet Sounds, which is considered by many to be one of the greatest – if not the greatest – albums of all time.

Elvis

Sure, Austin Butler took some heat for his Elvis Presley impression in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis, but that's unfair, he's great in the unconventional biopic. Elvis is so well known and so widely impersonated, that it was almost impossible for Butler to win over all of The King's fans, but he won over audiences of the movie and the Academy, earning an Oscar nomination.

Sid And Nancy

Sid Vicious was more of a spectacle than a musician, which made him, and his wild story, perfect for a biopic that focused less on music and more on his combustible relationship with his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen. Gary Oldman is, as always, amazing as Sid, and Chloe Webb is equally great as Nancy.

What's Love Got To Do It

Tina Turner's nickname was "The Queen of Rock and Roll" and she certainly deserved the title. Not only did her amazing career last more than half a century, but her ex-husband, who was not a good person, basically invented rock n' roll with his song "Rocket 88" in 1952. The gripping biopic about her career and their relationship earned an Oscar nomination for Angela Bassett, who, incredibly, is one of the many deserving actors who has yet to win an Academy Award.

Bohemian Rhapsody

2018's Bohemian Rhapsody, about the legendary Freddie Mercury and Queen, is not the most historically accurate movie, but it is a super fun movie that does get a lot of the story right. Even if it's not a perfect version of the true story, the music is fantastic and the performances by the entire cast are incredible.

Cadillac Records

Cadillac Records is a little different than most of the movies on this list because it's really about Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody), who wasn't a musician, but the founder of Chess Records. Chess was one of the most important labels in the early days of rock n roll. Still, it features some fantastic performances of legendary rockers and blues singers like Mos Def as Chuck Berry, Beyonce as Etta James, and especially Jeffery Wright as Muddy Waters.

La Bamba

Richie Valens is one of the more tragic stories in the early days of rock. Valens was just 17 when he was killed in the infamous plane crash that also took the lives of Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper. La Bamba tells that story, plus so much more, and features a fantastic performance from a young Lou Diamond Philips as the first Mexican-American rock star.

Back To Black

2024's Back To Black wasn't all that well received by critics or fans, but that isn't fair. Sure, it's not a perfect retelling of Amy Winehouse's all-to-short life (Winehouse is portrayed wonderfully by Marisa Abela), but it is a great movie and features much of the singer's best songs from her brief career.

Ray

Ray Charles is a titan in American music history and the biopic about his life, simply called Ray is not only a great way to learn about the legend, but it's great for longtime fans too. Jamie Foxx is simply spectacular playing Charles, in all the highest moments, and the lowest.

A Complete Unknown

For decades, people have been trying to tell Bob Dylan's story on screen and in books. A Complete Unknown, starring Timothee Chalamet as the enigmatic legend, might finally have come the closest to doing Dylan's story justice.

The Buddy Holly Story

If you're only familiar with the Gary Busey of the last couple of decades, you may be amazed to learn he was once nominated for an Oscar. Busey stars in The Buddy Holly Story as the titular rock pioneer and his performance and the movie are both top-tier. The 1978 film is one of the earliest entries on this list and it helped kick off the whole genre.

Rocketman

Taron Egerton is the reason Rocketman is great. The story is believe it or not, actually a little sanitized, as Elton John's partying was absolutely legendary. The movie, done with the blessing of the English rocker, doesn't completely shy away from the darker moments of his career, but it is tamed down a bit. Of course, the music is amazing and the partnership between John and Bernie Taupin is wonderful to see on screen.

Great Balls Of Fire!

Jerry Lee Lewis was one of the most controversial stars in the early days of rock and roll. He was the original bad-boy rocker. In Great Balls of Fire, Dennis Quaid portrays Lewis, who rightfully drew criticism for marrying his 13-year-old cousin, played in the movie by Winona Ryder, when he was 22. Yeah, that really happened, and the movie tells the whole story.

The Dirt

Motley Crue is legendary for their completely over-the-top lifestyle and in the book The Dirt, it's all laid bare. It's one of the wildest reads in all of rock and while the movie based on the book, released by Netflix in 2019 is a little cartoonish, it's still a really fun movie.

Control

Ian Curtis, the lead singer of Joy Division, was one of the most tortured souls in rock history. The movie based on he and his band doesn't hold back in portraying just how rough he had it, too. Joy Division has taken on near-mythic status in the decades since Curtis' death and this movie will explain exactly why.

The Runaways

All-girl bands were still very rare when The Runaways hit the scene in the late '70s. In the movie, with the same name as the band, audiences learn just how cool the group was and it includes a fantastic cast including Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie and Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett. It wasn't as well received as some of the other movies on this list, but any music fan will love it.

Beyond The Sea

Bobby Darin wasn't a typical rock n roller, he was more like a bridge between the jazz singers of an earlier era and the early rock stars. He falls somewhere in between, and his tragic story is at the center of the biopic Beyond The Sea starring Kevin Spacey as Darin. Spacey even did most of his own singing in the performance.

I'm Not There

I'm Not There isn't a straight biopic, and the artist it's loosely based on, Bob Dylan, isn't even mentioned by name. It's an experimental biopic, so to speak with multiple actors playing a fictionalized version of Dylan, including an incredible performance by Cate Blanchett as one version of the legend.

Nowhere Boy

There have been quite a few biopics about The Beatles and individual members of The Beatles. Some have been good, others quite bad, and Nowhere Boy is definitely the latter. It tells the story of a teenage John Lennon (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his struggles with his family, as well as the very early days of The Beatles and his first band, The Quarrymen. It's a touching story and Taylor-Johnson is convincing as the icon, and it's a pretty faithful telling of Lennon's early life.

24 Hour Party People

Not all great rock bios need to be about rock stars. Sometimes it is the guy behind the scenes who has a story worth telling. Such is the case with 2002's 24 Hour Party People, about the early days of the "Madchester" scene in the 1980s in Manchester, England that launched bands like The Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses. The movie is about Tony Wilson, who owned The Hacienda nightclub where many of those bands started, and the record label that signed many of the bands.

Backbeat

Most of the movies about The Beatles focus on the very early days of the band, and Backbeat is no different. The movie is a little cheesy, but it does take a different angle and focuses a lot of the attention on the friendship between John Lennon (Ian Hart) and the band's original bassist, Stu Sutcliffe (Stephen Dorff), which is the heart of the band's formation before Sutcliffe left (and ultimately died young) and the Lennon/McCartney partnership took over.

Last Days

Like a couple of other entries on this list, director Gus Van Zant's Last Days is a fictionalize version of the final days of Kurt Cobain's life. Though the main character, played by Michael Pitt, looks just like the legendary musician, his name is different, as are all the main characters in the story. Frankly, it's a pretty dark, but well-made film, that didn't really need to hide under the veneer of a "true" story.

Jimi: All Is by My Side

This is a complicated entry. Jimi: All Is by My Side, about the great Jimi Hendrix, isn't a great movie. The biggest problem is that the producers didn't get the rights to use Hendrix's music, so it's a music biopic without the most important part. It's worth mentioning here, though, because Andre 3000 is actually really great in the movie, capturing Hendrix's essence perfectly.

Jersey Boys

Based on the wildly popular Broadway jukebox musical by the same name, Jersey Boys is all about the originals of Frankie Valli and his band, The Teenagers. If you live musicals, this one is a great one features tons of hits by the band, and the performances are fantastic.

CBGB

This one is a little weird to have on the list because it's not for everyone. CBGB tells the story of Hilly Kristal (Alan Rickman), and his famous nightclub, CBGB on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Any music fan knows the club as the birthplace of punk rock where bands like The Ramones, Television, Blondie, and The Talking Heads all got their start. All those bands, and more, show up in the movie and while it's a little cartoonish, if you love that music, you'll love the movie.

Elvis

Austin Butler may be the most recent star to appear as Elvis Presley, but Kurt Russell has the honor of playing him in the first biopic of the legendary King of Rock and Roll. The made-for-TV isn't as good as the more recent Baz Luhrmann flick, but Russell is fantastic and worth watching for his performance alone.

Stoned

The Rolling Stones are one of the biggest rock bands of all time, but there haven't been many movies made about them. One of the few that has been made, Stoned, is about the tragic and short life of the band's original lead guitar player, Brian Jones. It isn't the best movie on this list, as it feels a little more than half-baked, but it's on the list because it's a rare movie about The Stones.

We blurring the lines here between rock and hip hop, but we're hardly the first as the two have been intricately connected ever since Run DMC teamed up with Aerosmith for "Walk This Way" in the mid-'80s. Straight Outta Compton is easily the best hip-hop bio flick, about the legendary LA group N.W.A. It even features, O'Shea Jackson Jr., playing his father, Ice Cube.

Bound for Glory

Woody Guthrie is definitely not rock and roll, but without the legendary folk singer, we might not have rock and roll, so his biopic, starring David Carradine, definitely belongs on the list.

Telstar: The Joe Meek Story

One of the most under-told stories in rock history has to be the life of Joe Meek. Meek was an early producer who is most famous for writing and hiring the band to record the song "Telstar," which became the first #1 rock record by an English band in America, a year before The Beatles played Ed Sullivan. Telstar: The Joe Meek Story tells the whole, tragic story of Meek's life and work.

Bob Marley: One Love

Once again we're blurring some lines here, as Bob Marley is obviously a reggae artist, but there is no artist in music who blurs the lines more - or has the universal appeal - than Marley. Bob Marley: One Love is a fairly tame telling of Marley's life and music, but it's a worthwhile watch for any music fan.

While not quite a household name just yet, Aldis Hodge is one of the most respected talents of his time, with scene-stealing roles in many great movies and TV shows alike, including in the title role of the new Amazon Prime original TV show, Cross. His road to leading man status has been a long one, having started his career when he was just a child. Let’s review trace the actor’s journey by reviewing some of his greatest hits, below.

Cross (2024-Present)

Starring: Aldis Hodge, Isaiah Mustafa

What it’s about: Widowed forensic psychologist Alex Cross uses his ability to get into the mind of a criminal to solve complicated cases.

Why it is one of the best Aldis Hodge TV shows: As the star of the entertaining crime thriller, Cross, which is available to stream with an Amazon Prime subscription, Aldis Hodge became the third actor (after Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry) to portray the eponymous, iconic Black detective, who was created by author James Patterson.

How to watch Cross

• Stream Cross on Amazon

Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995)

Director: John McTiernan

Starring: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Irons

What it’s about: Lt. Det. John McClane and Harlem shopkeeper Zeus Carver are forced to play a game of “Simon Says” to appease a German bomber terrorizing New York.

Why it is one of the best Aldis Hodge movies: An Aldis Hodge appearance you may have missed was his credited acting debut in one of the best ‘90s action movies, Die Hard with a Vengeance, as Zeus’ young nephew, Raymond.

How to watch Die Hard with a Vengeance

• Stream Die Hard with a Vengeance on Hulu
• Rent or buy Die Hard with a Vengeance on Amazon
• Buy Die Hard with a Vengeance on Blu-ray on Amazon

Leverage (2008-2012)

Starring: Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman, Christian Kane, Beth Riesgraf, Aldis Hodge

What it’s about: A team of skilled hackers and thieves offer their services to innocent people who have been wronged by the wealthy and corrupt.

Why it is one of the best Aldis Hodge movies: Hodge’s first starring role on a series was as technologies specialist Alec Hardison on the fun TNT crime drama Leverage, which was briefly rebooted as the Freevee original, Leverage: Redemption.

How to watch Leverage

• Stream Leverage on Amazon Prime
• Buy Leverage on DVD on Amazon

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

Director: F. Gary Gray

Starring: O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr., Aldis Hodge

What it’s about: The story of how gangsta rap pioneers N.W.A. came together, were torn apart, and changed the music industry forever.

Why it is one of the best Aldis Hodge movies: The actor stars as MC Ren in Straight Outta Compton, which is considered one of the best music biopics of its time for its stunning performances and wildly engaging dramatization of N.W.A.’s storied legacy.

How to watch Straight Outta Compton

• Stream Straight Outta Compton on Max
• Rent or buy Straight Outta Compton on Amazon
• Buy Straight Outta Compton on Blu-ray on Amazon

Hidden Figures (2016)

Director: Theodore Melfi

Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe

What it’s about: Three mathematically gifted Black women are tasked with helping make sure young NASA recruit John Glenn has a safe trip into space in the 1960s.

Why it is one of the best Aldis Hodge movies: Also one of Glen Powell’s best movies is Hidden FIgures – another acclaimed biopic featuring Hodge as civil rights activist Levi Jackson, who was married to Mary Jackson.

How to watch Hidden Figures

• Stream Hidden Figures on Peacock
• Rent or buy Hidden Figures on Amazon
• Buy Hidden Figures on Blu-ray on Amazon

Brian Banks (2018)

Director: Tom Shadyac

Starring: Aldis Hodge, Greg Kinnear, Sherri Shepherd

What it’s about: The true story of a Black aspiring NFL player who struggles to prove his innocence in a crime he did not commit and pursue his dream.

Why it is one of the best Aldis Hodge movies: An acclaimed sports biopic starring Hodge is Brian Banks, in which the actor gives one of his strongest and most inspiring performances in the title role.

How to watch Brian Banks

• Stream Brian Banks on Hulu
• Rent or buy Brian Banks on Amazon
• Buy Brian Banks on Blu-ray on Amazon

One Night In Miami... (2020)

Director: Regina King

Starring: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr.

What it’s about: Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown gather to discuss their roles in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.

Why it is one of the best Aldis Hodge movies: Another film in which he delivers a stunning performance as a real-life football player (in this case Cleveland Browns fullback Jim Brown) is One Night in Miami… – a fictionalized account of one of the most important nights in civil rights history, based on writer Kemp Powers’ 2013 stage play.

How to watch One Night in Miami…

• Stream One Night in Miami… on Amazon Prime
• Buy One Night in Miami… on Blu-ray on Amazon

Underground (2016-2017)

Starring: Aldis Hodge, Jurnee Smollett

What it’s about: The harrowing struggles of the pre-Civil War United States, as seen through the eyes of a group of slaves seeking freedom through the Underground Railroad.

Why it is one of the best Aldis Hodge movies: Created by Misha Green and Joe Pokaski, Underground is a powerful historical drama in which the star plays a resourceful and freedom-hungry blacksmith named Noah.

How to watch Underground

• Stream Underground on Hulu
• Stream Underground on Tubi
• Buy Underground on DVD on Amazon

Clemency (2019)

Director: Chinonye Chukwu

Starring: Alfre Woodard, Aldis Hodge, Danielle Brooks

What it’s about: A prison warden forms a bond with a young death row inmate that inspires her to reconsider her feelings about capital punishment.

Why it is one of the best Aldis Hodge movies: Hodge starred as a man seeking freedom in another powerful drama called Clemency, which is also one of Danielle Brooks’ best movies.

How to watch Clemency

• Rent or buy Clemency on Amazon
• Buy Clemency on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Invisible Man (2020)

Director: Leigh Whannell

Starring: Elisabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge

What it’s about: After escaping her marriage to an abusive tech millionaire, a woman begins to suspect that her husband has figured out a way to continue taunting her without being seen.

Why it is one of the best Aldis Hodge movies: Leigh Whannell crafts one of the most intense, frighteningly plausible, and simply best horror movie remakes of all time with The Invisible Man, in which Hodge plays a cop and friend of Elisabeth Moss’ character who comes to her aid.

How to watch The Invisible Man

• Stream The Invisible Man on Freevee through Amazon
• Buy The Invisible Man on Blu-ray on Amazon

City On A Hill (2019-2022)

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge

What it’s about: A Black assistant district attorney forms an unlikely alliance with a corrupt FBI agent while collaborating on a revolutionary case in 1990s Boston.

Why it is one of the best Aldis Hodge movies: Once again, Hodge gives a wonderful performance in a historically significant series – in this case Showtime’s critically acclaimed period crime drama, City on a Hill.

How to watch City on a Hill

• Buy City on a Hill on Amazon
• Buy City on a Hill on Blu-ray on Amazon

Black Adam (2022)

Director: Jaume Collett-Serra

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge

What it’s about: Thousands of years after he was imbued with godly powers, a powerful warrior is awakened from his tomb.

Why it is one of the best Aldis Hodge movies: Hodge stars as Carter “Hawkman” Hall, who is enlisted, along with the rest of the Justice Society of America, to help contain the title character of Black Adam – a DC villain who becomes the hero of the story in this Dwayne Johnson movie.

How to watch Black Adam

• Stream Black Adam on Max
• Rent or buy Black Adam on Amazon
• Buy Black Adam on Blu-ray on Amazon

Aldis Hodge is currently working on a thriller called The Dutchman and an upcoming horror TV show called The Forever House. Until those are released, enjoy his best movies and TV shows so far!

I love all kinds of music. I love all kinds of movies. I love rap music, therefore, you can probably guess that I also love rap movies. (And you’d be right!)

I’ve discussed a few on this website, like when I pitted the Notorious B.I.G. biopic against the 2Pac biopic, or like when I did that hip-hop adjacent article where I talked about some of Method Man’s greatest contributions to movies and TV shows. But now, I want to do my most challenging article yet, because I’m picking what I think are the best rap movies from every decade, starting with the ‘80s. 

Because hip-hop turned 50 not too long ago, which is definitely a cause for celebration. I would start from the 1970s when hip-hop first began, the earliest rap/hip-hop movie is considered to be 1983’s Wild Style. So, would that be my pick for the best rap/hip-hop movie of the 1980s? Well… 

The 1980s: Krush Groove (1985) 

No. Wild Style would not be my pick. It does have plenty of rap music in it, but it’s primarily a movie about bombing, a.k.a graffiti art. There’s also breakdancing in it, and honestly, if you were to ask me what hip-hop actually looks like, I’d probably point you in the direction of this movie because it consists of what I consider to be the four elements of hip-hop: bombing, breaking, DJing, and MCing (a.k.a rapping). 

So, I think it’s a great early hip-hop movie, but I wouldn’t consider it a “rap” movie. Nor would I consider Style Wars, which came out in the same year. Also, while I’m all for films like Beat Street, and of course Breakin’, and Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, since I love dance movies (Like Step Up. Man, I miss that series), I also wouldn’t consider them “rap” movies, as they’re more breakdancing flicks. 

I’d also love to consider the martial arts flick, The Last Dragon, but that’s more of a movie that’s been embraced by the hip-hop community (kind of like Scarface) rather than a hip-hop movie itself. 

No, if I could pick only one rap movie from the 1980s, it would have to be Krush Groove, which is basically a fictional account of how Def Jam records came to fruition. Blair Underwood plays Russell Walker, who is a fictional version of Russell Simmons, and he’s trying to get his label off the ground with Rick Rubin. The group Run-D.M.C. is all the rage at the time, but Walker doesn’t have the money to get the records out. (Light) drama ensues. 

Krush Groove is purely about rap music. You have some of the biggest acts at the time, like The Fat Boys, Kurtis Blow, and The Beastie Boys, and all of their music is played prominently throughout. The plot also centers around the industry, and it’s the most direct rap movie of the ‘80s, which is why it takes this spot.  

The 1990s: CB4 (1993)  

Ah, the ‘90s. That’s my decade. As a ‘90s kid, I remember the decade being absolutely flooded with what used to be called “urban,” or “hood” movies. Friday, Menace II Society, Boyz n the Hood, Juice, New Jack City, the list goes on and on. 

Most of these movies featured rappers like Tupac Shakur, Ice Cube, or Ice T, and we were finally getting to see their acting chops. Some, like Ice Cube, may be more known for his contributions to movies than his music these days. But, does a film count as a “rap” movie just because it stars a famous rapper in it?

I mean, I’d say it doesn’t (though I’m going to break my own rule for the 2000’s), but I guess one could make that argument.

However, I’m going to stick with what I said for the ‘80s, and that’s that a rap movie actually has to be about rap music. So, when it comes to that qualification, there are only two movies that I could truly consider for the ‘90s, with those being CB4, and Fear of a Black Hat. 

What’s funny is that both films are rap mocumentaries that are taking the piss out of the genre. They’re also both riffing off of N.W.A., and gangsta rap, and both are utterly hilarious. 

So, with that said, it’s actually tough for me to pick one for the ‘90s, since Fear of a Black Hat is, in some regards, even funnier than CB4. But, I think it’s the star power that wins me over for the latter, as it has Chris Rock, Phil Hartman (R.I.P.), Charlie Murphy (R.I.P. again!), and Chris Elliott in one of my favorite roles of his. Both movies are cult classics, but if I HAD to pick one, then it’d be CB4. But again, it’s close.  

The 2000s: 8 Mile (2002) 

Okay, so after rap pretty much became a parody of itself in the 1990s, we got a few more serious rap movies in the 2000s. Being that Hustle & Flow is one of the best music movies of all time, I was really tempted to put that movie as the best rap flick of the 2000s, but that’s more of a drama than an actual rap movie. 

Notorious, while not the best biopic in the world, was definitely what you could consider a rap movie, and the actor who played Biggie (Jamal Woolard) was so good that they got him to reprise the role in the 2Pac biopic, All Eyez on Me. But, would I call that the best rap movie of the 2000s? Naw.

Malibu’s Most Wanted might seem out of left field, but it harkens back to the rap comedies of the ‘90s, though nowhere near as good, so naw to that one as well. ATL? Well, that’s more of a coming of age movie, so naw a third time.

Really, I don’t know why I’m beating around the bush because the best rap movie of the 2000s is obviously 8 Mile, starring Eminem. Like, what else could it be? Pretty much a dramatization of Eminem when he was coming up, 8 Mile is all about battle rapping, which was huge back in the early 2000s. It’s funny to think that the film's main legacy is probably the song, “Lose Yourself,” but hell, that’s a damn good song, so why not? 

The 2010s: Straight Outta Compton (2015) 

I’m going to be honest with you…the 2010s were absolutely wack when it came to rap movies. Even though I love The RZA, I found his Love Beats Rhymes to be subpar. Bodied is really good, but I already put a battle rap movie on this list with 8 Mile. 

Dope is pretty interesting, and I love that it leans into ‘90s rap music, but I wouldn’t really consider that a rap movie. It’s more a coming of age flick. So, really the only choice I have is 2015’s Straight Outta Compton, and that’s honestly fine by me, since it's an exceptional movie.

Telling the story of N.W.A. on the rise, and the troubles they went through as they popularized gangsta rap, it’s a little disappointing to me that the best rap movie of the 2010s is about a group from the 1980s (Is rap music already looking backward rather than forward?), but this is still a great rap movie, and my pick for the 2010s. 

We’re not even halfway through the 2020’s yet, so I can’t pick anything for this decade (not that there’s really much to choose from), but what are your thoughts? Would you have picked differently? For more news on rap movies, be sure to swing by here often! 

Paul Giamatti is one of those actors who always kills it on the big screen. Whether appearing in prestigious award-winning films, raunchy comedies, or even legendary kids movies, the award-winning actor is always firing on all cylinders, and more times than not is the most interesting person in any given scene. 

Over the years, I’ve been obsessed with the incredible character actor, and after spending the better part of the past few decades watching him go from having small yet scene-stealing roles in movies like Saving Private Ryan to winning a Golden Globe for his work in The Holdovers, and everything in between, I’ve put together a list of the best Paul Giamatti movies and how to watch them…

The Holdovers (2023)

A cranky and unlikable teacher, a rebellious student with nowhere to go, and a school cook grieving her recently deceased son are forced to spend the holiday break together at a New England boarding school, learning a great deal about each other, and themselves, in the process.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers could very well become a staple of Christmas movie marathons, it’s that good. All of the characters, especially Giamatti’s chronically hungover Paul Hunham, shine and grow throughout this two-hour dramedy, as does the audience.

Stream The Holdovers on Peacock.
Buy The Holdovers on Amazon.
Buy The Holdovers on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Sideways (2004)

When Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti) takes his best friend, Jack Cole (Thomas Hayden Church), on a wine-tasting trip before tying the knot, he has no idea that the getaway will end in total disaster for everyone involved.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: How Giamatti didn’t win an Oscar for his portrayal of a prickly struggling writer and wine enthusiast in Alexander Payne’s Sideways is still a mystery nearly 20 years later. The way he brings the depressed and on-the-edge character to life with so much life and nuance is a masterclass in acting.

Stream Sideways on Peacock.
Rent/Buy Sideways on Amazon.
Buy Sideways on DVD on Amazon.

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

A group of Los Angeles rappers change not only the face of hip hop but also pop culture as a whole when they team up and take the world by storm as N.W.A. 

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: When I heard Giamatti was cast to portray Jerry Heller in F. Gary Gray’s Straight Outta Compton, I knew he was going to kill it as N.W.A.’s shady manager and one of the most notorious figures in the music industry. He perfectly captures the “shake your hand while stabbing you in the back” essence of the businessman who helped build and tear apart the group.

Stream Straight Outta Compton on Hulu.
Rent/Buy Straight Outta Compton on Amazon.
Buy Straight Outta Compton on Amazon.

Cinderella Man (2005)

A washed-up ex-boxer is given a shot at redemption and the chance for a better life upon stepping back into the ring. But success in sport can’t always fix everything, as he soon finds out.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: Giamatti is tour de force in his portrayal of Joe Gould, the manager and friend of Russell Crowe’s James J. Braddock in Cinderella Man. Giamatti pretty much steals every scene in this great boxing movie.

Stream Cinderella Man on Prime.
Rent/Buy Cinderella Man on Amazon.
Buy Cinderella Man on DVD on Amazon.

The Ides Of March (2011)

In the heat of a bitterly contested presidential primary, a young and idealistic campaign manager learns the hard way that all is fair in love and war.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: George Clooney’s The Ides of March is full of heavy hitters like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright, and Ryan Gosling as Stephen Meyers. However, it’s Paul Giamatti as rival Tom Duffy who steals the show in this intense and untrusting political thriller.

Stream The Ides of March on Max.
Rent/Buy The Ides of March on Amazon.
Buy Ides of March on Blu-ray on Amazon.

American Splendor (2003)

Despite not having great artistic ability, Havey Pekar (Paul Giamatti) uses his unique voice and friendship with legendary artists to kickstart a career in the comic industry, which he then helps revolutionize.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: American Splendor is a biopic like no other, as it is one part feature film and one part documentary featuring the real Harvey Pekar. This doesn’t take away from Giamatti’s portrayal of the underground artist. In fact, this fresh take makes it arguably the best comic book movie of all time.

Stream American Splendor on Max.
Rent/Buy American Splendor on Amazon.
Buy American Splendor on DVD on Amazon.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

In the middle of the Allied assault on Nazi-controlled France, a small group of soldiers is tasked with finding and bringing home a young G.I. so that his mother doesn’t lose all four of her sons in the war.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan is one of the best war movies ever made, as well as one of Paul Giamatti’s greatest performances. Giamatti’s war-weary sergeant is only in one scene, but those couple minutes of screen time are pure brilliance.

Stream Saving Private Ryan on Paramount+.
Rent/Buy Saving Private Ryan on Amazon.
Buy Saving Private Ryan on Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Illusionist (2006)

When a popular magician starts a new show where he purportedly summons the spirit of his murdered lover, a tenacious police inspector attempts to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: Neil Burger’s The Illusionist is a fun and twisty mystery that you don’t fully grasp until the very end, right around the same time Giamatti’s tireless detective figures it out. This, combined with Edward Norton and Jessica Biel’s performances, make it one to check out. 

Stream The Illusionist on Peacock.
Rent/Buy The Illusionist on Amazon.

12 Years A Slave (2013) 

After being tricked, kidnapped, and sold into slavery, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) endures 12 years of pain, suffering, and torture as he tries to survive and make it back home to his family.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: Though Paul Giamatti’s Theophilus Freeman is far from being a likable person in Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, his brief time in the movie adds so much to Solomon’s struggle. 

Rent/Buy 12 Years a Slave on Amazon.
Buy 12 Years a Slave on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Man On The Moon (1999)

The life, times, and legend of the late Andy Kaufman are explored in great detail in the Jim Carrey-led 1999 biopic, Man on the Moon.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: Jim Carrey lost himself while playing Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon, but Giamatti is grounded throughout with his great portrayal of the late comedian’s longtime friend, Bob Zmuda. Less colorful than his co-star, Giamatti gives one of the great straight-man performances of his career.

Rent/Buy Man on the Moon on Amazon.
Buy Man on the Moon on Blu-ray on Amazon.

While we don’t yet know what the future has in store for Paul Giamatti or if we’ll see him play a Bond villain, there are some great 2024 movie releases on the way to hold us over in the meantime. 

A music biopic can help cement the legacy of any musical artist. For Black musicians, it’s a great outlet to tell their story (or at least, parts of it). Of course, not all biopics are equal. There are the good (HBO’s Bessie), the okay (Cadillac Records), and the what-were-they-thinking (Nina, All Eyez on Me, Notorious). But, overall, biographical films can bring new recognition to the artistry and contributions of well-known and forgotten musicians.

Here are some amazing biopics about Black musicians you need to watch.

What's Love Got To Do With It - Tina Turner

The classic, What’s Love Got to Do with It, tells the story of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tina Turner from her early beginnings to her meteoric comeback in the 1980s.

Audiences get to see Turner’s triumphs and adversity chronicled. It magnifies her difficult relationship with her parents and her turbulent marriage with Ike Turner (played by Laurence Fishburne). Outside of the drama, the film is filled with a stellar performance by Angela Bassett. She channels the music legend’s energetic performances with numbers like “Shake a Tailfeather,” “Rolling on the River," and “River Deep, Mountain High.” Channeling the entertainer scored Bassett a Golden Globe win and an Oscar nomination, along with Fishburne.

Rent/buy What’s Love Got to Do with It on Amazon.

Ray - Ray Charles

The Oscar-nominated Ray follows the life and career of pioneering musician Ray Charles from going blind as a child to achieving music stardom.

Viewers get to learn more about Charles’ backstory, including drug addiction and early exploitation. His adversities are only the beginning, as his womanizing and love for his late mother are put on display. Of course, it’s Jamie Foxx’s spot-on performance that comes through with moments like “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” “I Got a Woman," and “What’d I Say.” Inhabiting Charles’ spirit earned Foxx multiple accolades, including a Best Actor Oscar. But, his supporting cast, including Regina King and Sharon Warren, bring the whole story together.

Stream Ray on Peacock.

Leadbelly - Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter

The forgotten gem, Leadbelly, focuses on pioneering folk musician Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter’s life before achieving musical notoriety.

Audiences will see how Ledbetter’s rough upbringing in the Jim Crow South affected his music. It doesn’t shy away from his legal troubles while putting a spotlight on racism and segregation in the early 20th century. The film allows viewers to hear and see Ledbetter’s folk-country sound with songs like “Good Night, Irene” and “Pardon Song.” Those stellar performances are courtesy of Magnum P.I. alum Robert E. Mosley, with a supporting cast including Art Evans and Madge Sinclair.

Rent/buy Leadbelly on Amazon.

Lady Sings The Blues - Billie Holiday

The Oscar-nominated Lady Sings the Blues chronicles the life and times of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday from her humble beginnings to her challenging times in the music spotlight.

Viewers get to watch the abuse, addiction, and racism Holiday experienced while touching on her co-dependent male relationships, including her husband and manager Louis McKay. While Holiday’s dramatic life serves as the backdrop, Diana Ross channels Lady Day’s mannerisms with performances like “All of Me,” “Strange Fruit," and “God Blessed the Child.” This paid off as Ross scored a Best Actress Oscar nom, with co-stars Richard Pryor and Billy Dee Williams giving stellar performances.

Buy Lady Sings the Blues on Blu-Ray/DVD.

Bird - Charlie Parker

The Golden Globe-nominated Bird examines the short but prolific life and career of influential jazz saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker.

Audiences get a full picture of Parker’s life as the film uses a montage-filled narrative to jump between present-day and past events. The story is honest about the psychological and physical turmoil of his addiction. At the same time, it examines his relationships with his wife and backbone, Chan Parker, and other jazz greats of the period. But, it is Forest Whittaker using his technique in jazz standards like “Now’s the Time,” “April in Paris," and “This Time the Dream’s on Me” that sell the film. The Oscar winner earned Cannes’ top honor, while Samuel E. Wright and Keith David turn in notable performances.

Rent/buy Bird on Amazon.

Why Do Fools Fall In Love - Frankie Lymon

The cult classic Why Do Fools Fall in Love puts a spotlight on forgotten teen idol and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Frankie Lymon.

The film brings Lymon’s tragically short tale to life through accounts from his three wives, mixing present-day and past events. It gives a window into his career and financial setbacks, as well as his spiraling drug addiction. The best moments occur when Larenz Tate channels Lymon’s powerful charisma in songs like the film’s namesake, “The ABCs of Love," and “Little Bitty Pretty One.” Along with Tate’s outstanding performance, Lela Rochon, Halle Berry, and Vivica A. Fox as his three wives turn in standout performances as well.

Rent/buy Why Do Fools Fall in Love on Amazon.

Straight Outta Compton - NWA

The blockbuster Straight Outta Compton explores the life and times of the seminal West Coast rap group NWA, which recounts their short yet impactful music career.

Audiences get to see how the collective formed with a spotlight on prominent members Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Eazy-E. Besides highlighting the group, the film shows West Coast hip-hop’s uphill battle against East Coast bias and a racially charged 1980s Los Angeles. The biopic delves into the group’s issues leading to their demise. It captures what made the group special through performances of the film’s namesake, “Boyz-n-the-Hood," and “Fuck Tha Police.” These moments came to life through stars O’Shea Jackson Jr, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr, and Aldis Hodge. Of course, the supporting cast, including Paul Giamatti, helps to build their world.

Rent/buy Straight Outta Compton on Amazon.

Get On Up - James Brown

The biopic Get on Up brings the story of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Godfather of Soul James Brown to life.

The film gives viewers a full picture of Brown’s life as the music icon narrates pivotal moments erratically. His humble beginnings and career highs and lows are highlighted as Brown recounts his activism and personal issues like drug addiction and childhood trauma. It touches on his complicated relationships with women stemming from his absentee mother. Of course, the real centerpiece is the legendary star’s music, as Chadwick Boseman captures his energy with numbers like the titular single, “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud," and “Try Me.” Along with Boseman’s acclaimed performance, the Oscar nominee is surrounded by an all-star supporting cast, including Brandon Mychal Smith and Nelsan Ellis.

Rent/buy Get on Up on Amazon.

Miles Ahead - Miles Davis 

The 2015 film, Miles Ahead, showcases a career comeback for influential jazz musician Miles Davis, after a long absence from the spotlight.

Viewers get to see Davis’ story emulate his music as it skips around his timeline. The film takes an honest turn as it highlights his creative peak in the 1960s through his battle with substances and mental health issues. Amongst the chaos, there is a spotlight put on his turbulent marriage to performer Francis Taylor, who served as his muse. Mixing his music and life is a perfect showcase for Don Cheadle, as we hear jazz standards like “So What," “Seven Steps to Heaven," and “Duran.” While the Oscar nominee channels the late jazz icon, there are outstanding supporting performances from Emayatzy Corinealdi and LaKeith Stanfield.

Rent/buy Miles Ahead on Amazon.

Respect - Aretha Franklin 

The 2021 biopic, Respect, chronicles the life and times of the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin with her ascension from the church to music royalty in the 1960s and 1970s.

The film touches on Franklin's difficult life from sexual abuse to racism and sexism in the music business to her relationships with her parents and first husband, Ted White. But, the real centerpiece is the legendary singer’s music as Jennifer Hudson channels Franklin for the headlining song, “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive,” “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” and “Take My Hand, Precious Lord.” Hudson earned a SAG nom and NAACP Image win. The film’s all-star supporting cast, including Forest Whittaker, Audra Macdonald, and Mary J. Blige, fleshes out the singer’s life story.

Stream Respect on Amazon.

Like other music-focused biopics, these films serve as a salute to these Black musicians and their legacies. In the meantime, there are more Black music icons getting the biopic treatment. Movies for legendary reggae artist Bob Marley and The Ronettes frontwoman Ronnie Spector are in development, with One Night in Miami’s Kingsley Ben-Adir and Zendaya attached, respectively. The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, and Queen of R&B, Whitney Houston, are the subjects of Michael and I Wanna Dance with Somebody, with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s Naomi Ackie playing Houston.

Of course, there are multiple documentaries about Black musicians to watch, as well. If you want to see what biopics might be dropping this year, just check out the 2022 movie releases.

Yesterday fans of Dr. Dre were rocked by the news that musician, producer, and actor Dr. Dre had been rushed to the hospital following a brain aneurysm. Details have been scarce regarding exactly what happened but Dre was reportedly admitted to the hospital on Monday and news broke yesterday evening that Dre was in the ICU at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. It's now confirmed that exactly where Dre is, as he posted a note to fans on social media saying so, and also thanking everybody for their support.

In a brief post to Instagram, Dr. Dre seems to be reassuring people that he is, under the circumstances, "doing great." While the situation is no less serious, the tone of Dre's post is incredibly positive and he says he expects to be out of the hospital soon. Check it out below.

While we still don't have a lot of details about exactly what happened to Dr. Dre, the post is certainly portraying things as not nearly as serious as they certainly could have been. When one hears the words "brain aneurysm" it's certainly not a good thing. Such things can lead to death but it certainly doesn't appear that this is a worst case scenario sort of situation. If Dr. Dre himself actually wrote the post, as it appears, then he's clearly doing well. Even if he did not, there's no real point in making the situation look brighter than it is, so we can take the post at face value.

Dr. Dre came to prominence as a member of the 1980s rap group N.W.A. a rise that was chronicled in the popular film Straight Outta Compton. The film was something of a surprise hit that became one of the highest grossing films of 2015. Corey Hawkins played Dre in the film, which told the story of the rise of the group, and rap music in general, in Southern California in the 1980s. The movie included both the good and the bad, causing Dre to reflect and even apologize for mistakes he made as a young man.

Dre has continued to make music but he's been an even bigger force behind the scenes as a producer of his six Grammy wins, half of them are for his work as a producer . He's also appeared in films now and then, including Antwon Fuqua's Oscar winning Training Day.

Hopefully the words here come true and Dr. Dre will continue his recovery from home before too long. Even if he's doing relatively well and is getting great medical care, that doesn't mean he won't have a significant recovery in front of him. We'll likely know more about his status in the coming days.

Actor Jason Mitchell, who portrayed a young Eazy-E in Straight Outta Compton, was arrested for the possession of marijuana, MDMA and two pistols in Mississippi on Wednesday. The drugs and weapons were found in the 33-year-old’s GMC Yukon during a traffic stop, and he was booked at the Harrison County Jail.

Police found two pounds of weed, 1,300 doses of MDMA (a.k.a. Ecstasy or Molly), a Glock 19 pistol and mini Draco AK-47 semi-automatic pistol in his possession. He is facing four felony charges for the possession of weapons and the possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute. The police found the drugs’ packaging to be consistent with a mid-level distribution operation, per TMZ.

Jason Mitchell was booked on Wednesday afternoon and released the same evening on a $150,000 bond after five hours in jail. The Straight Outta Compton actor's representative confirmed that he is currently at home with his family working on an “amazing new project.” The statement on behalf of Jason Mitchell continued with these words:

In April 2019, Jason Mitchell was fired from the Netflix film Desperados, which has a cast that includes Arrow’s Stephen Amell, Heather Graham, Nasim Pedrad and Anna Camp, when it was reported that he was being highly inappropriate on the Mexico set. Multiple sources cited the actor lingering close to the quarters of a couple of the actresses in the film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, there were two incidents involving the actor in the matter of four days.

Creator of Showtime’s The Chi Lena Waithe only learned of Jason Mitchell’s alleged sexual misconduct after the heartwrenching drama’s current season had wrapped, and he was fired from that project as well. The Chi actress Tiffany Boone, who played his character’s girlfriend on the series, also claimed harassment from Mitchell and left the series.

Straight Outta Compton marked Jason Mitchell's big break in 2015, which made Hollywood history with its box office numbers of $201 million worldwide. At the time, it became the highest-grossing movie made by an African-American director.

The actor also reunited with his co-star Corey Hawkins in 2017’s Kong: Skull Island. Jason Mitchell has found roles in Key & Peele’s Keanu, Netflix’s Mudbound, Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit and starred in The Mustang last year. Mitchell’s yet-to-be-released projects include Sundance favorite Zola and The Scarecrow Bandits. Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more news on Hollywood celebrities.

Since 2013,  LaKeith Stanfield has created a diverse body of work. He’s played offbeat dudes, villains, hype men, the best friend, and iconic historical figures in everything from horror films to black comedies. Stanfield is one of the most interesting young actors working today. He refuses to be boxed into any role, genre, or label--making him a brilliant character actor and scene-stealer in most of his TV shows and movies. 

LaKeith Stanfield has appeared in dozens of TV shows and short or feature films. He continues to stretch himself as an actor and performer. He’s worked with big names like Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Adam Sandler, Oliver Stone, Ava DuVernay, and Jordan Peele. LaKeith Stanfield continues to aim high and dreams of even more iconic roles with big name directors. Those new to Stanfield’s work may wonder which of his films and TV shows are worth watching. Well, we have some options.

Sorry To Bother You (2018)

Sorry to Bother You is a satirical film about a Black salesman named Cassius (LaKeith Stanfield) who must put on his “white voice” to increase sales. The company mistreats and underpays its workers, so his coworkers try to form a union. Eventually, Cassius becomes one of the company’s best salesmen and starts to neglect his friends and coworkers. Sorry to Bother You then takes a really unexpected, trippy turn that we won’t spoil for you.

Sorry to Bother You is one of LaKeith Stanfield’s leading roles and he does an excellent job leading this very out-there concept. Sorry to Bother You takes an extreme turn of events, but it’s very much grounded in some of today’s biggest issues like capitalism, racism, slave labor, and cultural appropriation. Sorry to Bother You is not a safe film, which means people will have strong reactions to it. 

Stream Sorry to Bother You on Tubi.
Rent/buy Sorry to Bother You on Amazon.

Selma (2014)

Selma, directed by Ava DuVernay, stars David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr. and follows King’s journey that led up to the Selma protest marches of 1965. Selma is a historical drama and part biopic about Martin Luther King Jr., the Civil Rights Movement, and the events that occurred before, during, and after the Selma march of 1965, including the murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson (LaKeith Stanfield). It’s one of the best movies to watch on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Civil Rights Movement was a long, hard battle that resulted in many casualties. Selma depicts the brutal, frustrating, and difficult steps it took for the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to go into effect. The movie is necessary viewing for its snapshot of such a major event. Ava DuVernay brilliantly directs this Oscar nominated film. Selma only has a few scenes with LaKeith Stanfield, but those short scenes deliver enough personality to give viewers an understanding of why this young man was so beloved and helped make the fight for equality even stronger.

Stream Selma on Paramount +.
Rent/buy Selma on Amazon. 

Dope (2015)

Dope follows three high school nerds as they become involved in the drug business. Malcolm (Shameik Moore) is the main protagonist, a kid just trying to survive high school and get into Harvard. Rick Famuyiwa directs this coming of age adventure that displays the struggles of growing up, especially in a dangerous neighborhood. Dope isn’t all drama as it effortlessly blends comedy into these very real and scary situations.

Despite the serious nature of Dope, the film takes a hopeful approach to its events, and keeps things comedic from start to finish. LaKeith Stanfield has a small role in the movie as Marquis, one of the high school bullies. While Stanfield's role isn't big in this film, the movie overall gives a unique look at black teens growing up in rough neighborhoods. It doesn't rely on the typical stereotypes that are often portrayed in films about high crime neighborhoods. Instead, Dope offers a fresh perspective on the varied personalities of black youth. Stanfield has also played a lot of chill characters, and this is one of the few times he plays a character that you wouldn't mind smacking.

Rent/buy Dope on Amazon. 

Get Out (2017)

Get Out is the directorial debut of comedian Jordan Peele. The film became one of 2017’s most discussed and analyzed movies. It received award nominations, including Oscar nominations, and became a box office hit. Get Out stars Daniel Kaluuya, Alison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Lil Rel Howery, and Catherine Keener. In Get Out,a Black man goes to meet his white girlfriend’s parents. Quickly, he discovers that things are not what they seem. Racial problems and tensions that still exist between black and white America are a main focus of this movie. Its real roots give the film Get Out its horror.

The film made you notice LaKeith Stanfield. His screentime is limited but his scenes are pivotal. His first scene launches the film’s major climax. Stanfield’s performance is one of the major standout elements of Jordan Peele’s modern horror classic.

Stream Get Out on Peacock.
Rent/buy Get Out on Amazon. 

Crown Heights (2017)

Based on a This American Life podcast, Crown Heights tells the true story of Colin Warner, a man wrongfully convicted of murder. It mainly follows the journey of Colin, played by LaKeith Stanfield, and his best friend Carl King (Nnamdi Asomugha). Crown Heights premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017 and won the Audience Award for U.S Dramatic Film.

The movie highlights the problems with the justice system and prisons in general, but it’s more of a story about love and friendship. The bonds that Colin formed lead to those around him fighting so hard to bring him justice. Crown Heights is a tragic story told in a beautiful way. Stanfield once again shows his stellar acting range. As an Amazon Studio Production, Crown Heights is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. 

Stream Crown Heights on Amazon. 

Atlanta (2016-2022)

In Atlanta, Donald Glover, Brian Tyree Henry, and LaKeith Stanfield play three friends trying to make it in the Atlanta rap scene. The main story follows up-and-coming rapper Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry) and his manager and cousin Earn (Donald Glover). LaKeith Stanfield plays their eccentric friend Darius. The three often find themselves in comedic and challenging situations.

Darius occupies the same space as many weird, ditzy, or crazy friend characters that we often see in comedy and sitcom series. However, Stanfield adds layers to Darius that often don't exist in some of these other versions of this character. Darius is as fascinating as he is strange. Atlanta is one of the most refreshing comedies to come out of the last few years. It is extremely funny, edgy, and unique. Atlanta came to an end in 2022 with four seasons. 

Stream Atlanta on Hulu.
Buy Atlanta on Amazon. 

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

Straight Outta Compton is a biopic about the formation of rap group N.W.A. The film mainly focuses on Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), and Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) and their manager Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti). Neil Brown Jr. and Aldis Hodge play N.W.A members DJ Yella and MC Ren. Straight Outta Compton follows N.W.A’s rise to fame, their times at the height of their success, and the band’s eventual split.

Straight Outta Compton features several famous rappers and artists of the ‘80s and ‘90s, including Snoop Dogg played by LaKeith Stanfield. Stanfield has a small role in Straight Outta Compton but in his brief time on screen, he exhibits the mannerism, charm, and even voice of the real Snoop Dogg. Straight Outta Compton gives a fascinating look at N.W.A and the 90s rap scene. It’s definitely a movie worthy of your attention.

Rent/buy Straight Outta Compton on Amazon. 

Short Term 12 (2013)

LaKeith Stanfield has a deep, personal history with Short Term 12. His first film was the short film version of Short Term 12. He did another short film after this one, but then took a major break from acting, working typical jobs, like at a legal weed dispensary. Short Term 12’s director, Destin Daniel Cretton, couldn’t find anyone that gave him the same performance as Stanfield did in his shorter version, so he went looking for him. This film led to Stanfield’s return to pursuing acting full-time.

In Short Term 12, Lakeith Stanfield plays Marcus, an older member of Grace (Brie Larson)’s group home. He’s struggling with the idea of life outside the group home. Stanfield was nominated for several awards for his performance in Short Term 12, including an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male actor. The film is a moving look at a group home and the young woman who tries to help them figure things out as she’s trying to solve her own problems.

Stream Short Term 12 on Peacock.
Rent/buy Short Term 12 on Amazon.

Knives Out (2019)

Rian Johnson wrote and directed Knives Out, a modern-day whodunit with an all-star cast that includes Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Famed and wealthy crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) commits suicide, but something doesn’t quite seem right. Three detectives are called to investigate the crime. Stanfield plays Detective Lieutenant Elliot, who ends up assisting private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) as he tries to solve the crime.

Knives Out has become one of the best-reviewed and biggest Box Office hits of 2019. The film gives tribute to the mystery genre while having fun with it. Knives Out is an enjoyable film that deserves a viewing or a hundred. Stanfield didn’t appear in the Knives Out sequel cast Glass Onion. However, with more Benoit Blanc movies coming, there is always a chance he could return to the Knives Out world.

Rent/buy Knives Out on Amazon. 

Uncut Gems (2019)

Arguably the biggest snub of the 2019 Oscars, Uncut Gems follows jeweler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) as he attempts to make a big score. He needs the money to pay off some of his debt and just for personal glory. Howard goes from one scheme after another hoping to make a bunch of money, but things keep getting more and more out of control. Stanfield plays Demany, one of Howard’s assistants.

Uncut Gems feels very chaotic and gives you anxiety but that is part of the thrill of the film. Sandler gives one of his best performances as Howard, and Stanfield gives an equally engaging performance as his shady assistant. Their performances enhance Uncut Gems’ story and style even more.

Stream Uncut Gems on Paramount+.
Rent/buy Uncut Gems on Amazon.

The Changeling (2023-)

The Changeling is an AppleTV+ mini series based on Victor LaValle’s book of the same name. It stars LaKeith Stanfield and Clark Backo as Apollo and Emmy, a couple whose happiness dissolves when they have a child. The baby leads to them both going on a journey for the truth and a possible reunion. 

The show is full of magical elements, but explores very realistic topics such as grief, trauma, mental health, and generational scars. It’s a very complex, dark fairytale. The Changeling allows Stanfield to highlight his ability to enlist emotions from his viewers with some very heart wrenching acting. 

Stream The Changeling on Apple TV+

Haunted Mansion (2023)

Haunted Mansion follows a group of individuals trapped in a mansion full of ghosts. The Haunted Mansion cast includes LaKeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, and Danny DeVito.

Overall, Haunted Mansion is a family-friendly comedy, but it has some elements that are more dramatic than viewers may expect. These moments give the film more depth. It’s a little more than just a silly no-stakes comedy. Stanfield leads the charge as Ben and offers the movie its heart and somberness.

Stream Haunted Mansion on Disney+.
Rent/buy Haunted Mansion on Amazon

The Harder They Fall (2021)

The Harder They Fall is a Western film featuring an all-Black main cast. It’s the story of Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) as he goes on a revenge mission to track down Rufus Buck (Idris Elba). The Harder They Fall cast features Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, and Stanfield.

Stanfield plays Cherokee Bill, one of the villains in this story. He carries his villainy with a mystique, confidence, and plenty of danger. Stanfield’s character is part of the main cast but not as prominent as some of the other characters, but his version of Cherokee Bill definitely leaves an impression.

Stream The Harder They Fall on Netflix.

The Photograph (2020)

The Photograph is a Black-led romantic movie. It tells two sets of romantic stories. The first set in the present and the second happening in the past. The two leading ladies in The Photograph are Mae Morton (Issa Rae) and Christina Eames (Chante Adams). Michael Block (LaKeith Stanfield) and Isaac Jefferson (Y’lan Noel) are their love interests. Mae and Michael meet when he finds a photograph of her mother and wants to know her backstory. 

Stanfield and Rae have an abundance of on-screen chemistry as these two accomplished individuals who unexpectedly fall in love and must navigate what that could mean for their future. Stanfield hasn’t done many romantic roles (yet), so it’s fun to see him step into a new type of role.

Stream The Photograph on Peacock.
Rent/buy The Photograph on Amazon. 

Judas And The Black Messiah (2021)

Judas and the Black Messiah is a fictionalized account of the Black Panther Party in Chicago in the late-60s and the incidents that led to the assassination of Fred Hampton. Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield star. Kaluuya plays Hampton and Stanfield plays Bill O’Neal, a FBI informant who infiltrates the Black Panther Party.

The film was one of the best movies of 2021 and received numerous award nominations and wins, including a Best Supporting Actor Academy Awards nomination for both Kaluuya and Stanfield. 

Stream Judas and the Black Messiah on Max.
Rent/buy Judas and the Black Messiah. 

LaKeith Stanfield has plenty of exciting upcoming projects. Therefore, you’ll have plenty more great performances from him in the coming years. He’s a fearless actor who continues to evolve with each role. 

Ah yes, the infamous and fabulous city of Los Angeles! There just isn’t any other place like it. L.A. especially has a special place in the hearts of movie fans. Just about each and every street is paved with the footprints of movie legends and reminiscent of the signature scenes shot there.

Quentin Tarantino has long found inspiration in his hometown of Los Angeles, with his beloved films Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction sitting snuggly in the city’s DNA. Now, the auteur director has made a masterful love letter to his city with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The movie about movie-making has us nostalgic of other films that stars the City of Angels as a central character. Check these out:

Beverly Hills Cop

This fish-out-of-water story follows Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley, at the top of his career, coming right off Saturday Night Live. When the Detroit cop comes out to Beverly Hills to investigate the murder of his best friend, hilarious antics ensue as he navigates the gunk and glamour of the sunny palm tree-filled town.

Singin’ In The Rain

This old Hollywood musical famously tells the tale of the beginning of “talking pictures” as Gene Kelly’s silent movie star, Don Lockwood, shows off his timeless charm to Debbie Reynolds’ struggling performer, Kathy Selden. The grand musical numbers remain gleefully breathtaking at a time when it was movies’ greatest magic trick.

Mulholland Drive

Los Angeles is a puzzling place, but then watch David Lynch get ahold of it. In the Twin Peaks’ creator 2001 thriller, he tells the story of a sunny Hollywood dreamer (Naomi Watts) and a woman suffering from amnesia after a car accident (Laura Harring). The pair venture into a dreamlike L.A. reality that challenges the nature of the film industry.

Chinatown

Roman Polanski (who ironically enough is a character in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) made his masterpiece with 1974’s Chinatown. The detective story has Jack Nicholson’s J.J. Gittes getting caught in the middle of murder and deceit. At the center are early depictions of California’s current drought and the bedazzling Faye Dunaway.

Boyz N The Hood

John Singleton’s debut is a poignant piece on life in South Central Los Angeles through the eyes of three young black men (played by Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Morris Chestnut). Between challenges of gang violence and college pursuits, Boyz n the Hood told a tale of L.A. not often told so boldly at the time.

Clueless

You’re totally buggin’ if you think Clueless isn’t making this list. The teen comedy was a phenomenon of the ‘90s that went on to define the L.A. “Valley Girl” for years to come. Not to mention how quotable, rewatchable, earnest and hilarious it is. Oh, and the ageless Paul Rudd!

Nightcrawler

One of Jake Gyllenhaal’s best performances to date highlights what horrors lie in the late hours of the night. Louis Bloom ruthlessly pursues crime journalism in Los Angeles, with Riz Ahmed and Rene Russo in the supporting cast. Nightcrawler is a gritty and unhinged ride through the iconic freeways and neighborhoods of the city.

The Big Lebowski

Jeff Bridge’s “The Dude” is an iconic symbol plucked from the obscurity of Venice Beach. Heck, the Coen Brothers’ cult classic is brimming with Angelenos only locals could have dreamt of. The Big Lebowski follows a ruffled-up stoner who gets mistaken for a millionaire with his name and gets revenge on his beloved rug with the help of his bowling friends.

Tangerine

Hollywood-set movies tend to be all about glamour and surreal aesthetics, but not Tangerine. Shot entirely on an iPhone, this indie follows two transgender hookers making their way through the dingey sub-sections of Los Angeles as one is hellbent on finding the pimp who broke her heart one Christmas Eve.

L.A. Confidential

Based on a James Ellroy novel, L.A. Confidential follows three LAPD cops (played by Guy Pierce, Kevin Spacey and Russell Crowe) with completely different takes on how they investigate a series of murders going down in ‘50s Los Angeles glamour and a stylized noir backdrop. It's not to be missed by fans of the crime genre... or good filmmaking in general.

Drive

One indisputable novelty of Los Angeles is how much time its residents spend in cars. So, Ryan Gosling’s stunt driving career-turned-crime accomplice having roots in the film industry makes for the perfect Los Angeles-set drama. Director Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive is a quiet modern masterpiece filled with violence, romance and intrigue.

Boogie Nights

While movies about L.A. often touch on moviemaking, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights dares to venture into the porn industry in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Mark Wahlberg’s rise and downfall to fame as porn star Dirk Diggler offers a bold take on a city ridden with drugs, disco and sex.

Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard has long been said to be the best movie about Hollywood, and during its time it certainly captured the blemishes of the industry when it was all glitter and sophistication. Gloria Swanson plays Norma Desmond, an aging silent film star who is hoping to make a comeback in the business. Here we are 70 years later, where ageism still commonly expires great talents.

Straight Outta Compton

Los Angeles is also home to the rise of hip-hop/rap group N.W.A. in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Straight Outta Compton (the only straight biopic on this list) follows its members Ice Cube, Easy-E and Dr. Dre as they get picked up by a label and make music professional amidst the Compton gang scene, drug deals and racial tensions.

Swingers

Before directing Disney heavy-hitters such as Iron Man and The Lion King remake, Jon Favreau first contributed to Los Angeles’ narrative with 1996’s Swingers. This comedy about 20-somethings looking for meaning in the eyes of women in Hollywood night clubs and their struggle to “make it” in the city is an entertaining watch.

La La Land

Between an epic opening freeway dance number, magical sidesteps through Los Angeles most famous landmarks and a breathtaking sunset tap dance through Hollywood, La La Land is the ultimate ode to a city of stars. Damien Chazelle’s 2016 original musical captures the way L.A. can sweep you off your feet just as easily as it can break your heart.

Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood certainly joins the ranks of great Los Angeles movies with its release. The star-studded epic blends historical accuracy with fictional material in 1969, a time that inspired him to become the esteemed filmmaker he is today.

What’s your favorite movie about Los Angeles? Sound off in the comments below!

The Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody was an undisputed smash hit in 2018, winning awards and receiving huge praise. So far in 2019, Rocketman, about the great Elton John has been… less of a juggernaut, but is still a wonderful movie worth checking out. Of course, these aren’t the first music-inspired biopics and there are a lot of them out there worth your time and money.

It's hard to pick and choose the most worth, but I ultimately decided to limit this list to five, which is tough, because it means leaving out some legendary movies, like Sid & Nancy, about Sid Vicious, Amadeus, about Mozart, The Doors, about…well…The Doors and many more.

These are five that we think are worth watching the most, depending on your mood and what time of night it is, because sometimes, the best ones are the ones you see when you are up too late and getting into trouble, just like the subjects in the films.

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

Yeah, there has been some controversy surrounding this, just as there is for many biopics, but this fantastic film about the legendary rap group N.W.A. has everything anyone could want from a great biopic.

It’s got an outstanding cast, featuring Ice Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson II, who could be Ice Cube’s twin, they look so much alike. It brings in all the best music from N.W.A.'s short run at the top of the rap game in the late '80s. It has the conflict between band members, specifically going into the legendary feud that erupted between Dr. Dre and Eazy-E that forced the group to break up. And it has a happy ending, of sorts, with Dre reconciling with Eazy before Eazy died of AIDS.

Sure, there are some serious “artistic liberties” taken and there are some very important details left out that many critics point out should have been included, but that happens in a lot of movies like this and that shouldn’t take anyway from anyone’s enjoyment, as long as they know the whole story.

Love & Mercy (2015)

Brian Wilson is a musical genius. He is rightfully often cited as changing rock and roll from a teenage pastime to a serious artistic endeavor with his work in the mid-sixties, specifically with the legendary and amazing Pet Sounds album by his band, The Beach Boys. Love & Mercy is a creative and interesting take on his story and one of the best biopics of this decade.

Love & Mercy splits Brian Wilson’s story up into two important parts of his fascinating life. The first during that amazingly creative time in the mid-sixties when he wrote the album Pet Sounds and the masterpiece “pocket symphony” known as “Good Vibration.” Paul Dano plays the enigmatic artists at his most creative and then as he first descends into mental illness and drug abuse.

The Dano/Wilson scenes bounce back and forth with scenes of Brian Wilson in the 1980s, played by John Cusack, as his mental illness is being taken advantage of by his sketchy doctor, Eugene Landy, played spectacularly by Paul Giamatti. Love & Mercy is a wonderful story of genius lost and redemption found.

I’m Not There (2007)

Since he first moved to New York from Minnesota in 1961, Bob Dylan has set out to create a mythos surrounding himself. He’s notoriously vague and dodgy in interviews and he has spent a considerable amount of time deliberately confusing the public in regards to his history. For all of his lyrical genius, his constant artist re-invention and persona-shifting is just as big a part of his sizable legacy and I’m Not There does nothing to lessen that.

For starters, I’m Not There stars six different actors as Dylan: Christian Bale, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Cate Blanchett, Ben Whishaw and Heath Ledger. They all represent the shape-shifting Dylan in different eras. Like Dylan’s autobiography, the movie isn’t linear, nor is it completely true to the facts, because those things don’t matter to Bob Dylan. Instead, what you get is a series of vignettes that try to explain the myth of Dylan, not the true story of Dylan.

There is no curtain being pulled up to reveal the wizard behind it, if anything, there are just more curtains falling down around the legend’s true story. The myth of Dylan, like the myth of the poets he idolizes, including Dylan Thomas, is what is important here. His art is far more important that what he likes for breakfast and his personas have always been the key to his best art.

Walk The Line (2005)

Unlike I'm Not There, Walk The Line is a very straightforward telling of probably the greatest country artist of all-time, Johnny Cash, played in an Oscar-nominated performance by Joaquin Phoenix. It doesn’t get bogged down in myths, nor is it over-stylized or complicated. It’s just an old-fashioned, brutally honest, and forthright story, just like the Man In Black himself was.

At its heart, it’s a love story. It may follow Johnny Cash from his childhood to superstardom, but his beloved wife and oft musical partner June Carter Cash, played by Reese Witherspoon in an Oscar-WINNING performance, is just as important to the story. And what a beautiful love story it is. Eventually. After the ring of fire they are forced to go through before coming out on top in the end.

What makes Walk The Line so great is its brutal honesty about June and Johnny’s relationship, which for years in the beginning was a real rollercoaster due to Johnny’s drug abuse. The film is also completely open about that, his pill addiction and his alcoholism. It’s all there, the naked truth about one of the most influential artist of all time and how his partner truly was a partner, not content to watch Johnny squander his immense talent under the burden of drugs and drink. The movie ends with June finally accepting Johnny’s marriage proposal and if that doesn’t leave you in tears, nothing will.

The Dirt (2019)

Motley Crue is completely over-the-top, ridiculous, stupid, and really, really awesome. And so is the 2019 biopic about the group, streaming on Netflix, called The Dirt, based on the completely over-the-top, ridiculous, stupid, and really, really awesome autobiography of the same name the band published in 2001. Sure, there are better biopics out there, but when you’re home on a Friday night with nothing to do, it doesn’t get better than streaming The Dirt.

In a really weird way, it is kind of the same as I’m Not There in that The Dirt is really about perpetuating the mythos of Motley Crue as an drug-addled, drunk, sex-addicted bunch of insane troublemakers that figured out a way to never have to stop being teenagers than it is about telling the whole truth.

The truth is in there, somewhere, maybe. There are certainly some of the harsh truths they faced, like Nikki Sixx’s heroin addiction and Vince Neil killing his friend “Razzle” Dingley, drummer for Hanoi Rocks, in a drunk driving crash in Hollywood in 1984. The story is full of sobering moments, but really, the party never stops.

Five great musicians and bands and five amazing biopics, each uniquely great for different reasons. While it’s sad that La Bamba about Richie Valens missed the list as did the really horribly amazing CBGB with Alan Rickman as Hilly Kristal (like The Dirt we celebrate its glorious badness), these are five that won’t disappoint, for sure.

Hip Hop and film have gone together almost since the birth of the culture in the late 70s and early 80s. Rappers like Ice Cube, Ice-T, 50 Cent, Tupac, Nas, Eminem, and countless others made huge contributions on film. Hip hop has been pervasive in every genre of film and in every decade since the mid-80s, with no signs of anything changing anytime soon.

Recently we’ve seen a bunch of biopics like Straight Out Of Compton (very good) and All Eyes On Me (not so good), so we’ve curated down a list of the 9 best hip hop films over the last three and a half decades. We've taken into account how influential they were not just with the music, but within hip hop culture more generally too. We’ve left off movies like Friday, and New Jack City, because they aren’t really hip hop movies, despite starring hip hop artists.

We also left off some of the amazing documentaries, like the sort of hybrid documentary/loosely-scripted early hip hop masterpiece, Wild Style, as it’s really more of a document of a time and place more than a proper film – but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check it out, because If you’re a hip hop fan that hasn’t seen it, your life is not complete. So without any more fanfare, let’s get down to it.

Straight Out Of Compton (2015)

You could argue that the success of Straight Out Of Compton ushered in the latest string of rock and pop music bio pics like Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman when it turned into a big hit in 2015. The film, of course, lays out the early days of N.W.A., one of the most important and influential hip hop groups of all time.

Two members of N.W.A., Dr. Dre and Ice Cube are enormous stars on their own and both served as producers and supervisors on the film. It even stars Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson II, as Ice Cube himself. Like most biographies, even when the subject of the film is involved – or maybe especially because they are – there are some questions about just how accurate and committed to the truth  the final product is. There are also some very controversial things that the film avoids, like Dr. Dre’s history of alleged violence against women. Nevertheless, it was a huge hit and audiences loved it.

8 Mile (2002)

It’s hard to say that the character B-Rabbit in 8 Mile is based exactly on the actor that plays him, rapper Eminem. Even if he's not, the character certainly isn’t too far from what it must have been like for Eminem growing up in Detroit and breaking into the hip hop world as a white dude at a time when there had only been a handful of serious white hip hop artists.

It’s a powerful movie that holds up surprisingly well almost 17 years later. It follows the story of B-Rabbit as he struggles to make ends meet in the down on its luck suburb of Detroit, Warren, MI, and finally manages to make it out when he wins an epic rap battle against a local rap group, The Leaders. Eminem’s lead role only served to increase his star power and he went on to win an Academy Award for best song for “Lose Yourself.”

Breakin’ (1984)

Okay, so Breakin’ isn’t EXACTLY about hip hop music, but its impact on the spread and mainstreaming of hip hop culture was so profound, it warrants making this list. And that’s kinda the only reason it’s on the list, because, frankly, the plot is silly and the acting is average at best. Breakin’ is the story of a “serious” dancer that becomes obsessed with breakdancing, leaves her training for the streets, and eventually leads herself and her two friends in a routine that wins a dance competition. But none of that is important.

To understand how important it was, you have to put yourself back in 1984. Run-DMC’s first album had just been released a couple months before Breakin’ came out. Hip Hop still wasn’t anywhere near the mainstream, but Breakin’ turned into a surprise hit, especially with middle school white kids in the suburbs. For many in Generation X, it was their first exposure to the genre and it had a huge impact on them. Breakin’ is a major reason hip hop exploded out of the cities and into mainstream culture.

Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ (2005)

Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ is more or less the same movie as 8 Mile but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Like 8 Mile, Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ is loosely based on a rapper’s life, instead of Eminem, it’s 50 Cent’s life and like 8 Mile, it stars Fiddy more or less as a fictionalized version of himself. The story is also remarkably similar to another hip hop bio pic, Nortorious from 2009, about the late, great Biggie Smalls.

Instead of toiling away at a car factor though, Fiddy’s character, Marcus, gets caught up in the drug trade in his neighborhood before finally escaping that life for one in hip hop. It’s a fantastic movie, chock full of great acting performances from the likes of Viola Davis, Adewle Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Terrence Howard and more.

CB4 (1993)

In 1993, a young Chris Rock wrote what would become hip hop’s answer to This Is Spinal Tap. CB4 is a comedic masterpiece, despite what any critic might say about it. Sure, it pulled some punches and didn’t hit as hard as it could have at times and maybe hit too close to home for some hip hop stars liking, but there is no doubt that with this satirical take on the whole genre, hip hop was a part of mainstream pop culture and would be forever.

CB4, like it’s rock n roll cousin This Is Spinal Tap, is shot mockumentary-style and follows the up and coming rappers Albert, Euripides, and Otis as they seize on the gangsta drug culture that plagues their neighborhood, stealing the identity of a local hustler and criminal and “inventing” gangsta rap, right down to Eazy-E’s iconic style. It helped launched Chris Rock’s career and stars a great cast that includes a ton of cameos from big hip hop stars like Ice-T, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, and Flavor Flav.

There are a ton more movies that are worth any hip hop and movie fan's time. Movies like Hustle And Flow, Juice, Belly and all the early Spike Lee joints, especially Do The Right Thing, which, like Breakin’, was a huge influencer in the early days of hip hop culture that didn't make it on to this list and easily could have been included. So, what do you think, what is the best hip hop movie out there?

This poll is no longer available.

It's been nearly two years since Straight Outta Compton had a good run in theaters, earning critical acclaim and a pretty good profit, as well. This also means it has been nearly two years since Samir Hussain first had acid thrown on him following a screening of Straight Outta Compton at Cineworld Cinema in Crawley, West Sussex. Now, the acid thrower has finally been sentenced for the heinous crime. Michael McPherson has gotten an 8-year prison sentence for dousing Hussain with drain cleaner after the screening.

Back in September of 2015, Samir Hussain was doused with drain cleaner after a late night screening of Straight Outta Compton. During the screening Michael McPherson and his friend Lee Bates had thrown insults at Samir Hussain before following him out to the parking lot. At the time, the police were working on limited information, that the men were white, in their late twenties or early thirties and drove off in a Peugeot. It wasn't until February that Michael McPherson and Lee Bates pleaded guilty to committing the act, which was denoted as "common assault" by the local court system. Bates, who didn't throw the acid, was given a 2-year conditional discharge.

Although Samir Hussein is finally seeing this chapter of his life close following the sentencing of the two men, his ordeal is far from over. Even two years later, he is still dealing with a slew of skin grafts and having to answer questions about what happened to his face. He still deals with physical pain and he's spoken out in the past about how people can never tell when he's joking because of the way his face is now. He told the Mirror that he just wishes the sentence would have been longer.

An injury like this is horrifying, and I'm sure it's little comfort to Samir Hussein that at least he still has his life, his job and his friends and family following what happened at the theater that fateful day. Still, we hope that in time the scars will heal and that he'll be able to move on. No one deserves to deal with attacks at any point, but it's horrible to think that Hussain was simply leaving a theater when his life changed forever thanks to a random act of violence. Let's hope Michael McPherson moves on following his prison sentence and stays out of trouble, whether he's at the movies or not.

Superhero movies are all the rage these days, with comic book properties being bought up left and right by studios looking for the next big franchise. But comics are a lot more than just superhero stories and there are more publishers than just Marvel and DC. Now the latest comic book project from New Line Cinema has nothing to capes and masks. And they've tapped Andrea Berloff, co-writer of Straight Outta Compton, to pen the script for an adaptation of the limited series, The Kitchen.

According to The Tracking Board, Andrea Berloff will write a script based off the Vertigo limited series The Kitchen, written by Ollie Masters and illustrated by Ming Doyle. Berloff was nominated for an Academy Award for her work on the N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton. The Kitchen is a mob drama, but with a spin: the main characters are women who take over the Hell's Kitchen mob after their husbands are sent to prison. There is no news on a cast or director for the adaptation yet, but Berloff's involvement and the subject matter of the movie make me hopeful that some real A-list talent will get involved.

The Kitchen is a gangster drama set in 1970's New York City when drugs and crime ruled the city. The Irish mob owned Hell's Kitchen and brought terror and violence throughout the neighborhood. Jimmy Brennan and his crew were some of the hardest thugs around, but when they are all sent to prison, their wives - Angie, Raven and Kathy - will step up to keep the "business" running. Once they get a taste of a life filled with power and heavy cash flow, the women get addicted and won't give up their new found power so easily.

The Kitchen puts a spin on the classic male dominated gangster drama by focusing on the women. Yes, there are plenty of female characters in mafia flicks, but usually as wives, mothers, daughters, or mistresses. They may be strong characters, but it's always the men who hold the power and have the final say. The Kitchen refreshingly turns that on its head and gives the women a chance to cut off horse heads, throw people in rivers, and whatever else it is the mob does.

Andrea Berloff other work includes a script for Blood Father, starring Mel Gibson which is set for release later this year. She's also in the development of The Legend of Conan, which would see Arnold Schwarzenegger return to the role as an older Conan. Ollie Masters is an up and comer in the comic world. He's written the series Snow Line for Boom! Studios and will be writing a prequel comic to Sons of Anarchy featuring an 18-year-old version of Charlie Hunnam's character Jax Teller.

There's no release date for the adaptation of The Kitchen, but we'll make sure to keep you guys updated as more information becomes available.

Last night was the annual rager/ award show known as the MTV Movie Awards. While the general public won’t be able to see the debauchery that occurs until tonight’s airing of the ceremony, the recipients of all of the awards is now public knowledge. Unlike the Oscars, the nominations cater to a younger audience and focus on some of the biggest blockbusters of the year. From superhero romps like Avengers: Age of Ultron and Deadpool, to comedies like Pitch Perfect 2, the nominations reflect the movies which were most watched and talked about by MTV’s demographic.

After all, who doesn’t want to see Adam Driver and Samuel L. Jackson duke it out for best villain? Those types of categories are what set apart the MTV Movie Awards from all of the other award shows. Specifically, the best kiss category usually triggers a full on make-out session by the winners like Selma Blair and Sarah Michelle Gellar in Cruel Intentions.

Without further ado, here are the winners for the 2016 MTV Movie Awards.

Movie of the Year

Winner: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Creed

Deadpool

Jurassic World

Straight Outta Compton

Best Female Performance

Winner: Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road

Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina

Anna Kendrick, Pitch Perfect 2

Daisy Ridley, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Jennifer Lawrence, Joy

Morena Baccarin, Deadpool

Best Male Performance

Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Chris Pratt, Jurassic World

Matt Damon, The Martian

Michael B. Jordan, Creed

Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool

Will Smith, Concussion

Best Action Performance

Winner: Chris Pratt, Jurassic World

Dwayne Johnson, San Andreas

Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

John Boyega, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool

Vin Diesel, Furious 7

Best Comedic Performance

Winner: Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool

Amy Schumer, Trainwreck

Kevin Hart, Ride Along 2

Melissa McCarthy, Spy

Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect 2

Will Ferrell, Get Hard

Best Virtual Performance

Winner: Amy Poehler, Inside Out

Andy Serkis, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Jack Black, Kung Fu Panda 3

James Spader, Avengers: Age of Ultron

Lupita Nyong’o, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Seth MacFarlane, Ted 2

Breakthrough Performance

Winner: Daisy Ridley, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Amy Schumer, Trainwreck

Brie Larson, Room

Dakota Johnson, Fifty Shades of Grey

John Boyega, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

O’Shea Jackson Jr., Straight Outta Compton

Best Hero

Winner: Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road

Chris Evans, Avengers: Age of Ultron

Daisy Ridley, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Dwayne Johnson, San Andreas

Paul Rudd, Ant-Man

Best Villain

Winner: Adam Driver, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Ed Skrein, Deadpool

Hugh Keays-Byrne, Mad Max: Fury Road

James Spader, Avengers: Age of Ultron

Samuel L. Jackson, Kingsman: The Secret Service

Tom Hardy, The Revenant

Ensemble Cast

Winner: Pitch Perfect 2

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Furious 7

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

Trainwreck

Best Kiss

Winner: Rebel Wilson & Adam DeVine, Pitch Perfect 2

Amy Schumer & Bill Hader, Trainwreck

Dakota Johnson & Jamie Dornan, Fifty Shades of Grey

Leslie Mann & Chris Hemsworth, Vacation

Margot Robbie & Will Smith, Focus

Morena Baccarin & Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool

Best Fight

Winner: Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) vs. Ajax (Ed Skrein),Deadpool

Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) vs. The Bear, The Revenant

Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) vs. Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), Mad Max: Fury Road

Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) vs. Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Avengers: Age of Ultron

Rey (Daisy Ridley) vs. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) vs. Lia (Nargis Fakhri), Spy

True Story

Winner: Straight Outta Compton

Concussion

Joy

Steve Jobs

The Big Short

The Revenant

Documentary

Winner: Amy

Cartel Land

He Named Me Malala

The Hunting Ground

The Wolfpack

What Happened, Miss Simone?

Diversity. As Anchorman's Ron Burgundy would say, it’s not just an old wooden ship used during the Civil War era. A debate has long been waged regarding the importance of inclusivity and diversity with regards to Hollywood casting. Although it seems like a no brainer, many major motion pictures have failed to capitalize on the potential benefits of a culturally and ethnically diverse ensemble. New studies have just been released that definitively prove that movies do better overseas when they include a diverse cast of performers, because science.

According to UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report (h/t Vulture), new evidence has come forward effectively dispelling the myth that predominately white, male-centric films maintain the best mass appeal. The results indicate that movies with an overall higher percentage of minority actors generally perform better than monochromatic, predominately white ensembles. In fact, films with roughly 50% minorities in the cast garnered the highest median box office gross overseas, far outperforming films with mostly white actors. Despite the apparent benefits of casting a diverse ensemble, an overwhelming percentage of major motion pictures feature only up to 30% minorities, but that number has been on the rise.

It should seem like common sense if we look back on some of the biggest successes over the last year. From the Fast and the Furious franchise, to Straight Outta Compton, to even Star Wars: The Force Awakens; these films maintained fairly diverse casts comprised of people from numerous races, genders, and ethnic backgrounds, and international audiences seem to have responded well to that with immense box offce payoff.

Other predominately white blockbuster franchises seem to slowly be catching on to this idea. Just take the Marvel Cinematic Universe, for example. While that universe began with mostly white male characters and actors, the series has begun to realize that more diverse characters yield great results. It took long enough, but we’re finally going to get the Black Panther and Captain Marvel solo movies we have always wanted.

The report goes on to speculate that much of this has to do with the people in charge behind the scenes in Hollywood. Of the three biggest talent agencies in the film industry, these massive companies clock in at about 90% white and almost 70% male dominated. This doesn’t mean that forms of discrimination are intentional in any way, but the lack of diversity behind the scenes can potentially lead to a bias that prevents minorities from getting ahead in the industry.

We’ve recently seen this play out on a massive scale. Hollywood nearly imploded during Oscar season when the #oscarssowhite controversy reared its head. As a result, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has set about attempting to generate more forms of inclusivity in order to prevent that sort of bias from occurring again. Some people consider it a start; while others think extreme measures must be taken. Now that we have concrete evidence that it's a solid investment to give these roles to minorities, perhaps showbusiness will start to take a more progressive approach to its business model.

What do you think of this study? What does Hollywood need to do in order to generate more inclusivity and foster more success overseas? Let us know what you think in the comments and keep the conversation going.

While it was criminally ignored by the Academy Awards, one thing is certain about Straight Outta Compton, it made a boatload of money. The film was a huge box-office success at the end of last summer. Now, executives at Universal and Facebook have talked about one of the reasons that they believe they were able to achieve success. They targeted different racial groups with different trailers for the film.

Speaking at South by Southwest this week, Universal EVP of Digital Marketing Doug Neil, and Facebook head of entertainment Jim Wood opened up about how they were able to customize the marketing to different ethnic groups, in order to give them the information that they needed in order to become excited for Straight Outta Compton. According to Business Insider, the issue was that the level of familiarity with rap group N.W.A. was drastically different among different ethnicities. The "general population" was deemed to not know much about N.W.A. as a group, however, they did know who Ice Cube was, as he’s become a famous actor in his own right in recent years, and that Dr. Dre is known as the man behind the Beats headphone brand. Therefore, this audience saw trailers on Facebook that never mentioned N.W.A. by name and instead set the film up as the "origin story" of Cube and Dre.

African-Americans, however, were viewed to have a baseline knowledge of N.W.A, and so the trailer marketed toward them used the name over and over again, while Hispanics typically got a short trailer that included flashing quotes written in Spanish. Overall, the marketing plan certainly appears to have worked, as the film grossed $160 million at the domestic box office.

However, it appears that setting up this marketing wasn’t as simple as directing it toward racial groups, something Facebook wants to be sure people understand. In a statement Facebook says

So apparently, their advertising algorithms do not allow advertisers to target consumers based on race. Users don’t actually provide racial information to Facebook, so it would be impossible to do. Instead, what Universal apparently did was look at things that users liked and did on Facebook, which may have given a strong indication of their race and this data was used to target the trailers. Language preference is part of Facebook, which would have made the Spanish language trailers easier to target.

Here’s a non-Facebook version of a trailer. We honestly hadn’t noticed before that, while the name N.W.A.is mentioned here, the name’s Ice Cube and Dre show up much more.

Is this the future of movie marketing? Specialized advertising designed to interest you in a film? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

The Oscars are designed to recognize the best in the various aspects of filmmaking. One movie is deemed to have the best costume design while another wins an award for sound. Each different aspect of production is carved up into its own segment until we get to the end of the show, and one movie wins the award for Best Picture. Somehow we’re supposed to add up all the individual parts and then look at the sum total and decide which movie was the best one of the year.

While awards like this will always be somewhat subjective, there is one thing that can be done that would help to recognize a film’s collective accomplishment. An award for Best Ensemble Cast; the acting awards now only go to individuals. While certainly specific actors can put forward great performances, there are many times when what makes a movie great is not the work done by one, but the work done by many. There are several reasons why this award would make sense, and would benefit both the performers and the Academy. This is something other awards have, and the Oscars should adopt it soon.

Not Every Movie Has A Lead Actor/Actress

One of the many Oscar oversights this year was Michael Keaton’s performance in Spotlight. There were many who believed he would be nominated for Best Actor, but did he really have the leading role? His character was the lead reporter on the Spotlight team, but the movie isn’t about his character any more than it is the character played by Mark Ruffalo, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, or any of the other stellar performances that weren’t nominated.

How Do You Have A Best Picture Without Great Actors?

While there are many things that make up great films, it’s the acting that either makes a film work, or prevents from succeeding. It’s the make or break category. So how can you have the Best Picture of the year when you don’t have the best acting? This happened last year, when Birdman won the top award while losing three acting nominations. A similar situation occured with both Argo and Slumdog Millionaire. It may very well happen again this year to a movie like Spotlight. This situation exists because movies are greater than the sum of their parts, because it’s the collective performance that makes some movies great.

It Can Lead To Better Diversity

The Oscars are currently dealing with their own crisis in regards to the way their nominations are handled. Diversity is important and the more films and performances that can be nominated, the better it is for everybody. If an ensemble award existed this year we could be pretty confident that Straight Outta Compton would have received a nomination. But this isn’t only a quick fix. The Color Purple has the Oscar record for the most nominations with zero wins, and that included three acting nominations. These were both movies about people, not a person, so no one role stands out, because it’s not supposed to.

It Can Recognize Roles Too Small For Current Awards

The Big Short has a fantastic ensemble cast. For some reason, all the award nominations are going to Christian Bale without a single one going to Steve Carell. Brad Pitt is on the poster for the movie but that’s only because his name means something. His role is tiny. He’s an associate of a couple of the smaller players in the story. Having said that, he’s as much a reason why the movie works as anybody. But even if you thought he was the best actor in the film, you’d have a hard time arguing he deserved an Oscar nomination, based solely on how little screen time he has. You know you wanted to hand Alec Baldwin an Oscar after one scene in Glengarry Glen Ross. An ensemble award would recognize everybody who contributed, not just the major players.

You may have heard, but the Academy Awards has been somewhat reprimanded for its lack of diversity over its acting nominations. Just to remind you, for the second year in a row, all 20 nominations in the acting categories went to white thespians.

While none of these oversights were quite as egregious as David Oyelowo missing out for his performance in Selma last year – as that was one of the best performances of the last 25 years – there’s still a hoard of performances that deserved to be recognized in favor of the whitewashing that actually occurred. In fact, here are 6 Academy Award nominations that should have been given to minorities, but were instead overlooked. Can you think of any others?

Best Actor - Idris Elba - Beasts Of No Nation

It was always going to be a long shot that Idris Elba would be recognized for his performance in Beasts Of No Nation. The film itself was released on Netflix – something that the Academy still probably can’t get their head around – while its campaign for recognition never quite built up the momentum it craved. That doesn’t stop Idris Elba’s performance in the war drama from being any less dramatic though, as The Wire actor managed to merge charisma and terror into one intoxicating concoction. Just imagine a more guerrilla-style Last King Of Scotland.

Best Supporting Actress - Tessa Thompson - Creed

Like Straight Outta Compton, the fact that Creed’s one and only Academy Award nomination landed at the feet of Sylvester Stallone is further proof of the Oscars’ problems. Sure, Stallone is actually probably the favorite for the Best Supporting Actor accolade next month, but that doesn’t excuse Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler not claiming Best Actor and Best Director nods, while Tessa Thompson’s lack of a nomination is truly puzzling. Thompson oozes an old-school magnetism, but with modern problems, and she is equal parts stern, sweet, and loving, proving to be the perfect foil to Michael B Jordan’s Donnie. At 32, this is hopefully only the beginning. But Creed would have been the perfect role for the mainstream to have really started celebrating her talents.

Best Supporting Actor - Benicio Del Toro – Sicario

Despite being one of the most blistering and suspenseful thrillers of the last 15 years, Sicario has mostly been overlooked at the Oscars. Sure, it picked up Best Sound Editing, and Best Original Score nods, while there was also the obligatory recognition for Roger Deakins’ Cinematography. But it was the leading trifecta of actors that kept Sicario ticking and captivating. While Emily Blunt and Josh Brolin were admirable, it was Benicio Del Toro who truly excelled and elevated Sicario. He often lingered on the edge of the story before then launching into the film sporadically, instantly injecting it with a visceral, raw, and brutal energy. It’s everything that you want from a supporting performance... unless your name is Oscar.

Best Actor – Samuel L. Jackson - The Hateful Eight

Samuel L. Jackson uttering Quentin Tarantino’s dialogue is one of the most joyful sights in cinema. Sure, after Pulp Fiction, you’d assume that any further collaboration between the duo would just pale in comparison. But Jackie Brown, Django Unchained, and, now The Hateful Eight prove that Jackson continues to pronounce Tarantino’s script with an edge and energy that others just can’t match. Yeah, I’m talking to you Christoph Waltz. While The Hateful Eight might only match, rather than eclipse, the actor's previous QT collaborations, Samuel L. Jackson still deserved to be recognized because of just how damn enjoyable it was to watch him in action.

Best Actress - Mya Taylor/Kitana Kiki Rodriguez - Tangerine

While Tangerine first garnered attention because of the fact that Sean S. Baker shot the entire film using just three iPhone 5s, once people actually sat down to watch the film, the discussion turned to just how unique and enchanting it was. Most of this was because it eschewed the usual privileged, white problems that have become commonplace in the indie landscape, and was invigorated by the leading performances of Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez. Both deserved nominations, but one would have sufficed. Taylor and Rodriguez trail-blaze their way through Tangerine with a swagger and energy that has hardly been seen before on screen, and you literally can’t take your eyes off them as they do so.

Best Picture - Straight Outta Compton

OK, while not technically a performance, Straight Outta Compton's Oscar nominations breakdown sums up what was wrong with the Oscars this year. I say breakdown, but Straight Outta Compton actually only received one Oscar nomination, and the fact that it went to the all-white foursome of Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff, S. Leigh Savidge, and Alan Wenkus for their work on Best Original Screenplay is indicative of the Academy’s problem. Sure, the aforementioned quartet deserved their recognition, but the fact that the entire film wasn’t as equally supported was just plain peculiar. Supporting Actor nominations for Jason Mitchell or Corey Hawkins, as well as a Best Director nod for F. Gary Gray would have been understandable, but the biggest omission was its lack of a Best Picture nomination. Not only did its $28 million gross $200.4 million, but it also stretched to create a visceral, period piece that was epic in it scale and ambitiously depicted one of the most racially charged periods in American history. The Academy should take note.

This poll is no longer available.

This year’s Oscar nominations have become a major topic of controversy as, for the second year in a row, every nominee in an acting category was white. The criticism of this year's selections has been strong, and there have even been calls to boycott the awards from some corners of Hollywood. Now, some members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences are speaking out and while some are admitting there may be some problems with the process as a whole, individuals are insisting that racism is not part of it.

While no black actors or actresses were nominated for Oscars this year a number of individual members have come forward to say that they did vote to nominate people of color and that those people simply did not get enough votes because the number of great performances was incredibly high. Actresses Penelope Ann Miller was one Academy member who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter to say that she tried to nominate black performers and she doesn’t appreciate being called racist because they didn’t make the short list.

Her comments were echoed by another Academy member who felt that everybody was being painted with the same brush. While this member asked to remain anonymous, it’s clear that whoever they are, they don’t like the implication that racism was involved in their vote.

Of course, the problem is that unless every member of the Academy comes forward and shows their hand, which won’t happen, it’s impossible to know what the voting actually looked like. Were there black actors who very nearly made the cut, or was Penelope Ann Miller's nomination one of the few?

John Ridley, the screenwriter behind 12 Years A Slave, probably has the most realistic take on the situation. He figures most Academy members just never saw Beasts of No Nation, and that has more to do with demographics than overt racism.

It’s true that there were many actors, as well as directors, of different races who are worthy of nominations that did not receive them. At the same time, if great movies lost out on nominations because the older, and admittedly mostly white, members of the organization didn’t bother to see them, or simply didn’t "get" them, then that does seem like a missed opportunity.

The Oscars are upon us, and we have to come right out and say that the nominees represent an endlessly talented group of people. However, chances are you have already heard some of the rumblings that people aren’t exactly pleased with the decisions of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. When the Oscar nominations came out earlier this week, the first thing everyone noticed was how decidedly caucasion the field was. The absence of diversity among this year’s Oscar nominees has become a major topic among the Hollywood landscape, and members of the community have begun to speak out.

Straight Outta Compton producer Will Packer took to Facebook to voice his concern over the lack of diversity among this year’s Oscar nominations, this is a small part of what he had to say:

Will Packer does have a serious point that is worth looking into. Looking over all of the high quality films that hit theaters in 2015, it’s plain to see that a range of people across numerous ethnicities produced content that could be considered Oscar worthy. However, by the time the Academy had come to a decision on nominees, almost all people of color had been excluded from the field. It’s unfair to the minority filmmakers who brought their absolute A-game over the last year, and it’s unfair to the white nominees because now everyone has to question the validity of the Academy’s decision. Packer did take the time to congratulate the white nominees – particularly Jon Herman and Andrea Berloff, who penned Straight Outta Compton – but that doesn’t change the point of his statement. The outrage has even led to the resurgence of the social media hash tag #oscarssowhite, which took the Internet by storm last year – when the same issue reared its head.

Let me be perfectly clear when I emphasize the fact that nobody is saying the white nominees don’t deserve their spots this year; that would be absurd the artists that received this honor most certainly earned it. It just seems as though the Academy had donned blinders to the contributions of minority filmmakers. Actors like Idris Elba, Jason Mitchell, and Michael B. Jordan all gave powerhouse performances – among numerous others, while directors such as Ryan Coogler and F. Gary Gray most certainly deserved some sort of recognition for their ability to craft compelling, engaging films.

With regards to 2015’s filmmaking season, what’s done is done. All we can hope is that the outrage and outcry against the Academy’s decision will reverberate back up to the top, and someone will decide to do something about it next year. Until then, all we can do is support filmmakers of all ethnicities, and evaluate them based upon the quality of their work above all else. The Oscars will air on February 28, and will be hosted by comedian Chris Rock.

When yesterday’s Academy Award nominations were announced, one film that was noticeable by its near absence was this summer’s hit Straight Outta Compton. The story of the early days of rap group N.W.A only received a single nomination, that for Best Original Screenplay. While the film’s producer, and N.W.A. member, Ice Cube says he thought the film would receive more recognition, he’s not surprised that it did not.

Ice Cube, who is currently doing the press rounds for his newest film Ride Along 2 spoke about the situation during an appearance on the Wendy show with Wendy Williams. While you can tell that he is a little frustrated with the overall lack of nominations, it’s also clear that the film’s success truly does make him happy.

While Straight Outta Compton was a financial success to be sure, it was also strongly reviewed by many critics, which makes the lack of award recognition seem strange. The film hasn’t gone entirely without earning a few awards. It was one of the Movies of the Year according to AFI, and it made numerous top 10 lists. But when it came to the major awards that more people pay attention to, it got left out.

To be fair, the Oscars are actually an improvement over last week’s Golden Globes, where Straight Outta Compton didn’t receive a single nomination. Ice Cube had a similar reaction when those nominations were announced, calling everything from there on out "gravy." An Oscar nomination is pretty decent gravy. A win would be even better. Check out Ice Cube’s comments below, at just before the two-minute mark.

The odds of a win for Straight Outta Compton can be a little hard to guess at this point. The competition is made up of other well-regarded and unique films, including Bridge of Spies, Ex Machina, Inside Out, and Spotlight. There's no clear frontrunner, although the fact that this is the only nomination for the biopic may work to the film's favor, in this case.

Do you think Straight Outta Compton will win their single Oscar? Should it have been nominated for more? Let us know your thoughts below.

After weeks of campaigning, months of tracking, and a full year of Oscar-worthy films being screened, it’s finally time to put up or shut up. The Academy is about to unveil its full slate of nominations for the 88th Academy Awards, which will be handed out during a ceremony on Sunday, February 28. The nominees will be revealed on Thursday morning. But why wait? Let’s guess them right now.

This is a lot harder than you would imagine. This year, above several others, the field seems significantly spread out, with numerous films enjoying waves of passion but no film rising up to claim the coveted mantle of "Frontrunner." If the Golden Globes are an indicator, Alejandro G. Inarritu’s The Revenant has a real shot at several Oscar nominations. However, the guilds and critics groups leading up to the Oscars sprinkled attention on everything from Carol and Mad Max: Fury Road to Spotlight and The Big Short. Where will the Academy land? Here are my bold predictions for the top six categories. I expect to be wrong. Where do we agree? Where do we disagree? Let me know in the comments section below.

Best Picture

Things get tricky right off the bat. The Academy changed its rules a few years back, allowing as few as five films to be nominated for the Bets Picture category, and as many as 10. Because this is a year where so many films have strong support, I’m going to go out on a limb and choose 10 Best Picture nominees, hoping that all of these outstanding movies are able to call themselves Oscar nominees as early as Thursday morning:

Best Director

In this category, 10 potential Best Picture films have to be reduced to only five Best Director slots. The Directors Guild nominations, released on Tuesday, are usually a good indicator of what will happen at the Oscars in this category. However, the one change I have from the DGA to the Academy is that I believe the Oscar voters will find room for Steven Spielberg, who they tend to adore, or Todd Haynes, who masterfully recreated 1950s New York with Carol:

Best Actor

It’s Leo’s year, right? That’s the narrative. It was aided by the Golden Globes, and it will be cemented by the Academy, who will nominate Leonarod DiCaprio for his role in The Revenant. But can anyone beat Leo in this category? Here are the four actors who I think will give it a shot:

Best Actress

Last year, we had a ridiculously stacked category of Best Actor candidates. This year, the ladies knocked numerous roles out of the park, making for a Bets Actress race that’s harder than normal to predict. Here are the five women who I think have solidified their positions as the 2016 Oscar nominees:

Best Supporting Actor

If it were up to me, I’d fill all five of these Best Supporting Actor slots with the male members of the cast of Spotlight. If you read the site, you know how much I adore that film, and I think everyone in the ensemble is Oscar-worthy. That being said, these five men likely will hear their names when these nominations are revealed. (Now watch, all the Big Short guys will get in):

Best Supporting Actress

This may go down as the Year of Alicia Vikander. It’s very possible that she picks up her second Oscar nomination of the day in this category. One nominee I thought was a lock (Rachel McAdams) doesn’t feel like a lock this week. And finally, I found some room for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, which might not have the best day on Thursday. We shall see:

A huge chunk of the dazzling, big budget movies are released around the holidays, but January is a time when a lot of films are gaining awards notice, which means there are plenty of movies heading to Blu-ray and DVD before the Oscars air on February 28. Among this month’s big Blu-ray releases are The Martian and The Walk, but there are some excellent Digital movies hitting homes this month, too, including but not limited to Straight Outta Compton, Crimson Peak and Black Mass. Give the full list a look, below.

If you’re still keen to check out December releases, you can see them all here.

January 5

The Walk, Blu-ray

Juggling and street work aren’t enough of an emotional high for Philippe Petit, a real-life tightrope walker who is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the film. Other bit players like Ben Kingsley and Charlotte Le Bon show up as characters supporting Petit in his biggest of big endeavors—aka walking between the Twin Towers on a tightrope—but this is mostly Gordon-Levitt’s rodeo. Overall, Robert Zemeckis’ lengthy story about the makings of a tightrope walker does have one big payoff: the walk itself, which is shot from such angles that the stakes are high and the visual effects are glorious. Having seen it on Blu-ray, I can only imagine what The Walk looks like in 3D, but I'd guess only good things can be said about that copy. If you were inspired by many of the dazzling effects in The Walk, you can catch the Blu-ray bonus features,which explain how very few practical effects had to be built in order to make the Twin Towers and Petit’s very famous walk come to life. The man of the hour even pops up in the extras, and an alternative opening and other deleted scenes provide even more whimsy and character background in the film. You can order your own copy over at Amazon.

Flesh and Bone, Blu-ray

It’s long been assumed that delicate and stunning ballet choreography only comes with a lot of pain. Regardless, the lead in Starz’s ballet drama Flesh and Bone, Claire (newcomer Sarah Hays), is used to a lot more pain than the kind sustained in her feet and ankles. She’s run away from home and her brother (Josh Helman) does not behave in a very brotherly manner toward her. This is one ballet story that’s not particularly romantic. Newcomer Sarah Hay is willing dancer but a troubled young woman and she’s surrounded by a well-acted cast who all play their own distinctive parts in her ultimate tale, including great turns from Damon Herriman as Claire's watcher and homeless neighbor Romeo, Ben Daniels as the compelling ballet head Paul Grayson and Irina Dvorovenko as the aging prima donna Kiira. It’s an overly dark story and often unsettling, but once you turn on the eight-episode series, it’s likely you’ll binge-watch your way through. Starz’s Blu-ray release is a barebones affair, with only a behind-the scenes feature called "Creating the World of 'Flesh and Bone" available with the set to "flesh out" Breaking Bad scribe Moira Waley-Beckett’s limited event series. Order your own copy, here.

True Detective: Season 2, DVD

Few shows elicited such a monumental amount of anticipation as True Detective did in the time between the polarizing Season 1 finale and the equally polarizing Season 2 premiere. With a positively stellar cast that includes Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Vince Vaughn and Taylor Kitsch, the sophomore season of the dark and violent HBO drama centered on the aftermath surrounding the murder of a California land developer with a hand in way too many cookie jars. It came with everything one would expect from a neo-noir, from distinct murders to oodles of smoking to a moodiness so thick you can’t put a bullet through it. The complication-filled season was either ploddingly boring or exceedingly tense, depending on what you were looking for, and audiences were keen on expressing exactly what they thought of it all. The DVD set features a few features that fans will enjoy, including a comprehensive behind-the-scenes look at the city block-spanning shootout centerpiece and a brief overview of the season as a whole. (The location-porn extra compiling overhead shots of California locations was questionable.) I most enjoyed the commentaries with the stars and creator Nic Pizzolatto that accompanied two episodes, including the finale. If this sounds up your gritty alley, go ahead and order your own copy over on Amazon.

Other January 5 Blu-ray And DVD Releases

The Visit

Sicario

Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser

Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse

The Green Inferno

Sleeping With Other People DVD

Broad City: Season 2 DVD

Condemned

Captive

Agatha Christie’s Partner in Crime

Week of January 5 Digital Releases

Galavant: Season 1 Our Brand Is Crisis

Jem and the Holograms

Straight Outta Compton

Legend

New Girl: Season 5 (January 6)

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (January 7)

American Crime (January 7)

January 12

The Martian, Blu-ray

Above all else, The Martian is a love letter to problem solving. It’s a big budget, over-the-top reminder that human beings are capable of accomplishing incredible things when they work together and have their backs against the wall. To get stranded Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) back from Mars, the smart people over at NASA must scheme, bicker, lie, barter and use their incredibly well-developed brains. It’s a gigantic ordeal, and thanks to Ridley Scott’s careful direction, it always feels exciting and understandable. The math may be too complicated for most of us, but the spirit is alive and exciting. Plus, with a slew of incredible supporting performances featuring everyone from Jeff Daniels to Donald Glover to Jessica Chastain, The Martian has as much talent as any film released in 2015. Extras include a gag reel--which I guess makes it more of a comedy?--and some behind-the-scenes featurettes that look at the making of the movie, all courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Plus, there are some Ares focused extras, many of which can be viewed online. The Martian is absolutely one of a handful of must-own movies that came out in 2015. Own it now.

Hotel Transylvania 2, Blu-ray

Director Genndy Tartakovsky came back for the Hotel Transylvania sequel, and because he and most of the main cast are back, the result is another pretty cute and warm comedy that can be enjoyed by family members of all ages. It’s one issue is that it takes a while to get into the main narrative, as we need to catch up with characters like Dracula (Adam Sandler) and his pals Frankenstein (Kevin James), Wayne (Steve Buscemi), Griffin (David Spade) and Murray (Keegan-Michael Key), not to mention the nuptials between Mavis (Selena Gomez) and Jonathan (Andy Samberg) and a pregnancy before the movie can get to the real story. This is just a speed bump created when Hotel Transylvania 2 decided to tell a story at a much later time than the original movie, but once we get into through the beginning, the pace is quick and entertaining. You’ll have a blast, and so will your kids.

One of the things I really like about Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s set is that it is pretty interactive. The characters from the movie will talk to you—or preferably your kids—when you pop the disc in, enticing you to stay for a sing-a-long "scary-oke." Some deleted scenes are also included and audio commentary, but the extras that are more kids-geared are always going to be better for this sort of release than commentary from Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel and Allen Covert. Disney has enough of an adult fandom that I don’t think it has quite the same problem, but with this release, stick to the Scary-oke. Order your own copy of Hotel Transylvania 2 over at Amazon.

January 12 Blu-ray And DVD Releases

Sinister 2

Mr. Robot: Season 1

Paranormal Activity 5: The Ghost Dimension

Irrational Man

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride The Devil Wears Prada: The 10th Anniversary Blu-ray

The Stanford Prison Experiment

All of My Heart

Week of January 12 Early Digital Releases

Black Mass

Goosebumps

The Last Witch Hunter

Burnt (January 15)

January 19

The Intern, Blu-ray

Nancy Meyers has made a career out of directing romantic, sentimental movies (and The Parent Trap). This time around, the writer and director ultimately opted to look at a different sort of relationship, creating The Intern, a story about a young woman named Jules (Anne Hathaway) who is just getting her first big experience as a boss and the relationship she cultivates with her retired intern, Ben (Robert De Niro). This seems like a pretty uncomplicated plot, but Meyers’ viewpoint is generally complicated, and Jules’ stressed relationship with her husband Matt (Anders Holm) actively plays into the plot, as well. Luckily, there are plenty of hijinks that come when Ben begins to engage with a bunch of other millenials (loveably played by Adam Devine, Zack Pearlman, Nat Wolff and Christina Scherer). It’s a fun movie and an engaging one, although not one that is meant to be groundbreaking or Awards-worthy. Three featurettes come with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s set and do a lot to explain how Meyers came up with the idea for The Intern and hired a lot of young (or at least young-ish) comedians to really add to the script. Another segment looks at the fashion in the movie, but we gotta say, that one's a little less exciting. If you are just finding The Intern or would love to revisit the movie, you can order your own copy of the film, here.

Straight Outta Compton, Blu-ray

Straight Outta Compton is about more than the music that made N.W.A. famous, but the music is also what propels the music biopic film into something a bit more enigmatic and fun. While largely focusing on the rise of N.W.A. and the behind-the-scenes drama that caused problems for the rap crew, the movie also touches on a lot of cultural problems facing Los Angeles in the early nineties, although there are gaps in its narrative. It’s not a fun, feel-good movie, but thanks to solid performances from Paul Giamatti (playing Jerry Heller), Corey Hawkins (playing Dr. Dre), Jason Mitchell (playing Eazy-E), O'Shea Jackson Jr. (Ice Cube) and a solid pace, Straight Outta Compton’s 2 ½ hour runtime flies by. Not only do you get a lot of movie with Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s set, the extras are extensive. A slew of deleted scenes, including on musical performance, exist with the Blu-ray. A ton of behind-the-scenes extras look at the origins of the film and feature both the actors and the real-life musicians who were available to interview and spent time on set (including DJ Yella, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, who has also had a prolific acting career in the days since N.W.A was a thing). Many of them also were producers on the movie, and seem to be actively involved with production. If you liked the movie, the extras are fascinating; check ‘em out with your own copy over at Amazon.

Other January 19 Blu-ray And DVD Releases

Straight Outta Compton

Everest

The Diary of A Teenage Girl

Continuum: The Final Season (Season 4)

12 Monkeys: Season One

Jem and the Holograms

Week of January 19 Early Digital Releases

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (out of the vault)

Suffragette

Spectre (Friday, January 22)

January 26

Goosebumps, Blu-ray

The cleverest thing about Goosebumps, Rob Letterman’s film adaptation of the kid-horror works of R.L. Stein, is the fact that it adapts almost all of the author’s popular characters and plotlines into one smorgasbord of a supernatural thriller. Like Slappy, the menacing ventriloquist dummy? He’s here. How about the Lawn Gnomes, or the Invisible Boy? They’re here, as well. So is Stine, though the author is played by Jack Black, who needs the help of two teenagers (Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush) when all of his literary creatures escape from their books. Both funny and fun, Goosebumps succeeds as an introduction to horror, and as a nostalgic tribute for anyone who read every R.L. Stine book growing up. Grab a flashlight, crawl under your covers, and enjoy the Blu-ray. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s set comes with a few jazzy extras, including an alternate opening and a blooper reel. However, the really fun ones are the behind-the-scenes extras, which teach the kids at home things like gas and water don’t mix and how to make their own monster masks. If your kids want to look like R.L. Stine’s characters, take a look at "Creaturefied!." You can order your own copy of Goosebumps, here.

Other January 26 Blu-ray And DVD Releases

Burnt

Da Vinci’s Demons: The Complete Third Season

Downton Abbey: Season 6

Legend

Week of January 26 Early Digital Releases

The X-Files (The New Series) (January 25)

Crimson Peak

Truth

Oscar Season is in full swing, and this year looks like a mixed bag as far as nominations go. With so many vastly different films getting Oscar buzz, it’s really a crapshoot to guess which films will be nabbing nominations, as well as the coveted golden statues. 

One method for predicting which films will actually nab Academy Award nominations is by looking to the Producers Guild Award noms. First established in 1990 by the Producers Guild of America, these nominations and awards have been very telling regarding the climate of the film world, and which way the Academy will likely be going. The 2016 PGA nominations have just been announced and the movie nominees are: 

The Darryl F Zanuck Award For Outstanding Producer Of Theatrical Motion Pictures

The Big Short

Produced by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner

Bridge Of Spies

Produced by Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt, Kristie Macosko Krieger

Brooklyn

Produced by Finola Dwyer & Amanda Posey

Ex Machina

This film is in the process of being vetted for producer eligibility

Mad Max: Fury Road

Produced by Doug Mitchell & George Miller

The Martian

Produced by Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott, Michael Schaefer, Mark Huffam

The Revenant

Produced by Arnon Milchan, Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Mary Parent, Keith Redmon

Sicario

Produced by Basil Iwanyk, Edward L. McDonnell, Molly Smith

Spotlight

Produced by Michael Sugar & Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, Blye Pagon Faust

Straight Outta Compton

Produced by Ice Cube & Matt Alvarez, F. Gary Gray, Dr. Dre, Scott Bernstein

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures

Anomalisa

Produced by Rosa Tran, Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman

The Good Dinosaur

Produced by Denise Ream

Inside Out

Produced by Jonas Rivera

Minions

Produced by Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy

The Peanuts Movie

Produced by Craig Schulz, Michael J. Travers

This time of year is full of lists naming the best movies of the year and the best music of the year… but this is the spot where we get to talk about both. In 2015, some fantastic directors orchestrated some truly brilliant scenes choreographed to great original and licensed songs, and this is the feature where we celebrate those specific moments.

There was a very long list of candidates vying for a spot on this list, but ultimately we were able to narrow it down to the 10 best movie music moments that we saw on the big screen in 2015. What are our choices? Read on to find out!

SPOILER WARNING: The following article does contain some major spoilers for a few of the films on this list. If you haven’t seen some of the titles, you may want to tread lightly!

Oliver Cheatham’s "Get Down Saturday Night" in Ex Machina

The more time that Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) spends at the private estate belonging to his boss, Nathan (Oscar Isaac), the stranger things get. The environment is entirely claustrophobic, and he receives not only the sense but regular warnings that he shouldn’t trust the man serving as host. And just when you think things couldn’t get weirder, the sexual advances of the robot Kyoko (Sonoya Mizuno) are interrupted by an impromptu dance party to the tune of Oliver Cheatham’s "Get Down Saturday Night."

Writer/director Alex Garland finds many ways in Ex Machina to put the audience off their game and question reality, and this is certainly one of the best examples. At this point in the film you really have no idea what to make of the genius/slimy Nathan, so what does he do? Get sloppy drunk and perform a perfectly choreographed dance routine with his robot gal pal to the tune of a disco hit. It’s an elegant summation of everything that makes the movie great.

The Existence Of The Doof Warrior in Mad Max: Fury Road

War drums are very much a real thing, and their history dates back many centuries as they were used by many different cultures in time of battle. That being said, I don’t think they’ve ever been utilized better than by director George Miller in Mad Max: Fury Road - specifically because of the existence of The Doof Warrior (iOTA).

For the sake of this list, the grand movie music moment comes when Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) leads his troops out of the Citadel to chase Furiosa (Charlize Theron), the Doof Warrior rocking out on his guitar/flamethrower. That being said, every scene he’s involved with in/scoring is movie music moment perfection. He rocks on while some of the most insane chaos in the world surrounds him, and he deserves praise.

"Silent Night" in The Hateful Eight

To put it bluntly, Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight is a film about bad people doing bad things to other bad people. There are few moments in the movie where characters aren’t being rotten, violent, or malevolent to each other – and a silent night it most certainly is not. So how excellent it is that a broken version of this classic Christmas track is played while one of the most despicable acts featured in the western plays out and is described.

Bob (Demian Bichir) sits at the piano and plays "Silent Night" poorly all while Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) does everything in his power to get a rise out of General Sandy Smithers (Bruce Dern). You’ll notice that the song doesn’t actually make it all the way through the bounty hunter’s extreme story about Smithers’ son – presumably because Bob got distracted by the tale – but it really sets the atmosphere in a disturbingly perfect way for one of the movie’s most memorable moments.

The Creation of Pet Sounds in Love & Mercy

If you’re a fan of the music of the Beach Boys, you really need to see director Bill Pohlad’s Love & Mercy. It’s a simple equation. Constructed with two separate narratives, the film tells the story of singer/songwriter Brian Wilson, but it’s the music running through the movie’s veins that makes it feel really special. And nowhere else in the feature is that more true than the film’s depiction of the creation/recording of the legendary album Pet Sounds.

It’s utterly fascinating to watch Brian Wilson (Paul Dano) go through his creative process and come up with some of the most iconic music of the 1960s – whether he’s herding farm animals into the studio or leaning into a piano to strum the famous opening notes of "You Still Believe In Me." It’s simultaneously humbling and inspiring.

The Cure’s "Plainsong" in Ant-Man

Director Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man introduced a good number of new characters and elements to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but there was one tradition that it most definitely continued: tonally mixing in both action and comedy. The movie is as funny as its climactic scenes are thrilling – and nowhere will you find a better balance of that in the film than the titular hero’s battle against his foe in an airborne briefcase.

By the time the third-act action sequence begins, Yellow Jacket (Corey Stoll) has been properly enraged by Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), and would really love to do nothing more than kill the guy who stole the attention of the great Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). Unfortunately for him, a threat of disintegration does nothing more than have a smart phone start playing the album "Disintegration" by The Cure. The good news for audiences? That song makes for excellent background music for the fight.

Ice Cube’s "No Vaseline" in Straight Outta Compton

Like Love & Mercy, director F. Gary Gray’s Straight Outta Compton has a bit of an advantage on this list, given that the entire film actually centers around both real musicians and their music. As such, there were many scenes to choose from in this movie from this list, but we’ve selected what we see as the best of the bunch: the reaction to the recording of Ice Cube’s "No Vaseline."

Following his departure from N.W.A. as a result of manager Jerry Heller’s behind the curtain machinations, Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) decides to record a diss track calling out all of his former friends. Heller (Paul Giamatti), Dre (Corey Hawkins), and Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) all mentions as the sequence goes back and forth between the recording booth and the rap groups reactions. It’s a nice, solid revenge moment that winds up having a major impact going forward.

Cyndi Lauper’s "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" in Anomalisa

In casting his stop-motion animated feature Anomalisa, writer/director Charlie Kaufman only hired three actors… despite there being more than three characters. David Thewlis plays protagonist Michael Stone, Jennifer Jason Leigh plays the scarred but beautiful Lisa, and Tom Noonan plays literally everyone else. Because just about everyone’s voice is a variation of one voice, Lisa’s stands out to Michael in a mesmerizing way, and it makes her off-key rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" all the more beautiful and haunting.

Appreciating her existence as an anomaly in this world, Michael asks Lisa to sing her favorite song to him, and while she is reticent at first, she begins to belt the 1980s hit – imagining that she’s just singing to herself. It’s a wonderful and melancholy moment that encapsulates a great deal of what Kaufman is using the film to say about individuality.

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s "Freebird" in Kingsman: The Secret Service

As far as crazy moments from 2015 movies go, there were few as insane as the notorious "Church Sequence" in director Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service. In the film, technology created by the villainous Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) causes everyone in a hate group church – including hero Harry Hart (Colin Firth) – to go into a violent rage and start killing everyone around them. For this scene, Vaughn had to find a song that could sync with the extreme energy and chaos of the moment, and he chose rather well with the inclusion of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s "Freebird."

The action in the scene is most certainly divisive as far as reactions go– with some rooting on the bloodshed and others finding it meaningfully off-putting – but what can’t really be argued is how much Allen Collins’ ridiculous and legendary solo adds to the ferocity of the "one-take" sequence.

This Will Destroy You’s "The Mighty Rio Grande" in Room

You may not know it by name, but there’s a very good chance that you’re familiar with "The Mighty Rio Grande" by This Will Destroy You – especially if you watched a trailer for Bennett Miller’s Moneyball. That song was all over the marketing for the 2009 baseball film – but that just makes director Lenny Abrahamson’s use of it in Room appear all the more bold and impressive.

It’s a heart-wrenching, breathtaking moment when Jack (Jacob Tremblay) has the chance to see the outside world for the first time, and we see the look of awe stretch across the young boy’s face as he sees real trees for the first time. Abrahamson needed music that captured incredibly important feeling of wonder, and "The Mighty Rio Grande" is simply perfect.

Bill Conti’s "Gonna Fly Now" in Creed

Movie theme songs don’t get much more iconic than the one from the original Rocky, and while you may not admit it, the truth is that you were waiting to hear Bill Conti’s "Gonna Fly Now" through most of Ryan Coogler’s Creed. Fortunately, the need for the film to include the legendary track was satiated in excellent form, as it was saved for the exact right moment in the movie to blast through the speakers.

It’s not until the final fight of the film, as young Adonis ‘Creed’ Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) struggles in his fight against ‘Pretty' Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew), that the trumpets begin to blare – and though the track is non-diegetic, you can still see it raise the energy of the pugilist hero. As reference to the original Rocky, it also happens to function as pretty important foreshadowing, given the way the movie ends, but that’s just the icing on top of a great franchise moment.

There may not be a more democratic way to see what movies people were interested in throughout 2015 than search results. It should be a strong indicator of the things that movie fans wanted to read about. Google has released their list of the most searched movies this year, and while most on the list won’t be surprising -- they were all successful films this year -- their order doesn’t match the box office totals.

Half of the Top 10 box office successes don’t even makethis list, while one of the films wasn’t even from this year. Check out the most searched for films of 2015. Are your choices on here?

10. Mad Max: Fury Road

Box Office Totals: $153,636,354 (Domestic)

Our Review:

"As crazy, thrilling, gorgeous and awesome as anyone could really hope, and guaranteed to be one of the best big-screen spectacles of the year."

9. Minions

Box Office Totals: $336,033,085

Our Review:

"In the end, Minions’ annoying tendencies are ultimately more than made up for by a luscious aesthetic, fast-paced energy, and plain old-fashioned silliness that you can’t help but fall for."

8. Avengers: Age of Ultron

Box Office Totals: $459,005,868

Our Review:

"Joss Whedon understands what makes these dysfunctional heroes tick, and there’s an immeasurable delight that comes with seeing them in action, together, on the big screen."

7. Inside Out

Box Office Totals: $356,461,711

Our Review:

"Inside Out has the exact same kind of old school Pixar magic that turned the company into the biggest modern name in animated feature films. It’s a perfect addition to the ever-growing legacy. It’s a phenomenal, touching and special piece of art, and fittingly a mind-blowing and emotional experience."

6. Pitch Perfect 2

Box Office Totals: $184,296,230

Our Review:

"I found this sequel to be fun, goofy and an overall crowd-pleaser. When it comes to prospective initiates, though, Pitch Perfect 2 might be a tough sell."

5. Furious 7

Box Office Totals: $353,007,020

Our Review:

"You're never given a milliseconds rest, and the entire blockbuster unfolds like an elongated music video to the most mainstream song you've never heard."

4. 50 Shades of Grey

Box Office Totals: $166,167,230

Our Review:

"Done well, Fifty Shades Of Grey could have introduced a mainstream audience to the intriguing world of BDSM...Instead Fifty Shades Of Grey never verges on the complex, and as a result is both painfully lame and tediously simplistic."

3. Straight Outta Compton

Box Office Totals: $161,197,785

Our Review:

"There’s a lot of story that needed to be pushed out in two-and-a-half hours, but rushing through the material leaves little opportunity to explore more emotionally charged moments in these men’s lives. [Y]ou can tell, despite its faults, that audiences will easily invest themselves in this story."

2. American Sniper

Box Office Totals: $350,126,372

Our Review:

"[T]he longer you wear American Sniper, the better it fits. Eastwood doesn’t flinch from the horrifying acts of war that took place during the Iraq War. But the movie shortchanges Kyle’s blood relatives in favor of the 'family' he fought and died for in the military."

1. Jurassic World

Box Office Totals: $652,270,625

Our Review:

"It’s not exceptional in any specific way, but it satisfies as a fun summer blockbuster that will get audiences excited to see dinosaurs on the big screen again. For what it’s worth, it’s one of the best Jurassic Park movies we’ve seen."

The Golden Globes were announced yesterday and as could be predicted, they were a hot mess. While most of the nominations were not surprising, there were several that made no sense, and there was an entire separate awards show worth of movies that got snubbed. One of those that was completely ignored was the biopic about the early days of rap group N.W.A, Straight Outta Compton. The movie was a hit with both critics and audiences and has seen some recognition in other year-end awards lists, so seeing it get entirely ignored by the Globes seems like a crime. So what does producer Ice Cube think of his movie being treated like that? As his name would imply, he’s keeping his cool about it.

Ice Cube was really the driving force behind getting the movie made so any injury to the movie’s credibility would be as much a shot against him as anybody else. Still, Cube seems to be taking the whole thing in stride. TMZ caught up with actor/rapper/producer and asked him how he felt about the whole situation. For him, the awards don’t seem to hold much sway.

Those "other levels" Ice Cube is referring to probably have more to do with the film’s overall critical reception and it’s impressive box office tally. The movie currently sits with an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and that’s just among critics. Its audience rating sits even higher. Add to that the fact that the movie doubled its production budget at the box office on opening weekend and then went on to become a certified blockbuster, and it’s easy to see why Cube may not be worrying about awards. He knows he helped make one of the biggest and best movies of the year. If The Golden Globes don't know that, that’s their problem. Check out the video of the exchange below. Ice Cube really doesn’t look like he’s just trying to cover disappointment. He truly doesn’t seem to give a damn.

There were absolutely some great nominees by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, so the competition was certainly tough. This goes for both the drama and musical categories. (If The Martian is a comedy then we’re really not sure whether a biopic about a rap group is a drama or a musical). Regardless, we’re still a little shocked that Straight Outta Compton saw no love at all. Even if Ice Cube couldn’t care less.

While Straight Outta Compton was one of the surprise box office hits of the summer, taking in over $200 million at the box office, it wasn’t without its controversy. Numerous musicians and individuals that were depicted in F. Gary Gray’s N.W.A. biopic have insisted that it fuses both reality and fantasy, and now Ice Cube has come out and staunchly defended the final film.

Ice Cube, who was one of the original members of the rap sensation and worked tirelessly to get Straight Outta Compton made in his role as producer, insists that it wasn’t just his version of events that was depicted up on screen. Speaking to Variety, the rapper/actor/producer/filmmaker noted that Straight Outta Compton was a merging of research, interviews, and other people's memories.

When all is said and done, it was always going to be impossible for an honest retelling of N.W.A’s story to be blazoned up on the big screen. Even now, just under four months after Straight Outta Compton was released into cinemas, the backlash over its content still rages on, with Jerry Heller, who was portrayed by Paul Giamatti, having already started legal proceedings against the film.

Meanwhile, the first weeks of Straight Outta Compton’s release were shrouded in controversy as it became clear that the film hadn't addressed Dr Dre’s history of domestic violence. This even eventually led to Dr. Dre releasing a statement apologizing for his past and to all the women that he’d hurt.

This fevered debate over Straight Outta Compton’s authenticity somewhat overshadows just how entertaining and enthralling the film actually was. Especially for the first half, F Gary Gray brought us into the Compton of the late 1980s in an authentic, raw, and brutal fashion, making it crystal clear why N.W.A’s music was able to resonate so powerfully. Sure, it became a tad cheesy and melodramatic by the end, but Straight Outta Compton was a fine tribute to one of the most important groups in the history of music. Even if it did mess with history just a tad.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards revealed their nominations for the Best of 2015 on Wednesday morning, throwing the group’s considerable weight behind a few surprise awards contenders and potentially dashing the dreams of movies that thought they had the annual Oscar race in the bag.  

Trumbo, the delightful, informative and entertaining politi-comedy from director Jay Roach, nabbed a number of high-profile SAG Award nominations this morning, including one for Male Actor in a Leading Role (Bryan Cranston), Female Actor in a Supporting Role (Helen Mirren), and Outstanding Performance By A Cast. It’s understandable why the industry embraces Trumbo, as it celebrates an important slice of Hollywood history by telling the true tale of blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Cranston) and his struggles to write in a business that viewed him as a Communist sympathizer.

Beasts of No Nation, Cary Fukunaga’s harrowing and intense snapshot of war-torn Africa, also picked up key nominations, keeping both the film and Idris Elba in top Oscar races.

SAG can be a good indicator for Oscar success, as actors make up the largest voting branch of the Academy, so strong support for a film or performance from the Screen Actors Guild often can translate into Academy love when the Oscars roll around. To give you an example, last year, SAG winners Birdman, Patricia Arquette, J.K. Simmons, Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore all went on to win the Oscar in their respective categories. It doesn’t always line up. But a SAG win bodes well for an Oscar nomination, at the very least.

Here’s a complete run down of this year’s nominees in the Movies category.

The 22nd Annual SAG Awards will be handed out on Saturday, January 30.

Now that November has rolled into December, and the threat of a new year lingers on the horizon, it’s time for critics, Guilds, and boards to band together and figure out what exactly were the best films of 2015. Even though December is just a few hours old, The National Board Of Review hasn’t missed a beat in honouring the finest cinematic achievements of the past 12 months. And, for a change, they’ve actually named, arguably, the best film of year as the best film of the year.

That’s because Mad Max: Fury Road was named as The National Board Of Review’s best film of 2015 on Tuesday, via The Hollywood Reporter. While picking out and highlighting the rousing cinematic achievement that is Mad Max: Fury Road as the cream of the crop, the NBR also decided to round off the top 10 in no particular order. Want to see what they called the best movies of the year? Of course you do.

There is one outstanding omission from this list that NBR wasn’t able to consider, and that is Star Wars: The Force Awakens, though they reportedly saw everything else in contention. However, it’s safe to say that those involved in the latest instalment to the sci-fi franchise won’t be losing any sleep over their decision not to screen the blockbuster for critics. Instead, they’re only allowing them to see it just a couple of days before its wide December 18 release date.

Looking at the list, there’s an argument to be made that while both Creed and Straight Outta Compton are entertaining and generally impressive films their inclusions on this list is a little surprising. Especially since the likes of Joy, Carol, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, and Brooklyn were overlooked. But, in all honesty, it’s good to see more ethnically diverse films included in such honors, especially since the Academy inexplicably, and regularly, still fails to recognise their talents.

You won’t find many people arguing about the fact that Mad Max: Fury Road came out on top though. Sure, personally, I can’t look beyond Inside Out as the best film of the year, and, on repeated viewings, I’ve found that Mad Max: Fury Road’s ferocity and relentlessness is actually a detriment. But its overwhelming artistry and its stunning execution of its vast array of actions scenes means that it has pumped new blood into the genre. So much so that I won’t argue its status too loudly.

You can expect to see Mad Max: Fury Road topping plenty more Best Of lists before the end of December. Which will, in turn, hopefully convince Warner Bros. to finance its much touted sequel.

Straight Outta Compton has made friends and enemies with its successful box office run, and now it's about to make history. With the current international grosses estimated to hit $38.9 million as of the end of today, it's officially become the highest grossing film directed by an African American director.

The $161.1 million domestic total for the F. Gary Gray directed biopic went a long way towards breaking the previous record of Scary Movie, which grossed $157 million domestically. Telling the story of the formation, and eventual break up, of N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton has had a hell of a run at the box office ever since its premiere this past August. Racking up the fifth highest August opening, as well as an impressive three weekends at the top of the box office, are also huge feathers in the cap of the film's director – especially considering the path he's taken to get there.

For this honor to belong to F. Gary Gray is a pretty fitting achievement, further enriching a career as one of the most influential – as well as one of the most successful – African American directors to work in Hollywood. To his credit, Gray made his debut in feature film directing with Friday back in 1995, and went on to direct such hits as The Negotiator, The Italian Job, and most recently Law Abiding Citizen. With Straight Outta Compton landing him his biggest success yet, and The Hollywood Reporter reminding us of Furious 7's brilliant billion dollar run, Gray won't be celebrating for long as he's setting himself up to break the record yet again.

Thanks to Straight Outta Compton's runaway success, F. Gary Gray landed himself the prestigious gig of directing Furious 8, and just in time for the film to stay on schedule to meet its April 14, 2017 release date. With Furious 7 becoming Universal's first film to cross the $1 billion mark, Furious 8 is on a trajectory to meet, if not beat, that benchmark. Should the seventh sequel in the Fast And Furious franchise live up to its ever escalating history, then Gray will find himself making history yet again.

While Straight Outta Compton's success doesn't mean that Hollywood's problems with better representation of African Americans, as well as all other ethnic and gender groups, are automatically solved – it could be seen as a sign that the market's diversity is starting to pay off. If you'd released this film a decade ago, it might not have hit as well as it did in the current era. With F. Gary Gray paving the way with his successful career, let's hope that more directors of diverse ethnic backgrounds will follow in his footsteps sooner, as opposed to later.

Furious 8 will be released on April 14, 2017; with Straight Outta Compton still waiting for a home video release date.

Universal’s Straight Outta Compton proved arguably the surprise hit of the summer. The biopic chronicling the rise of legendary rap group N.W.A drew in audiences with its gripping tale of brotherhood and the effects – both good as well as bad – that money and fame can have on such bonds. However, despite critical and financial success, not everyone is pleased with the film. Gerald Heller – portrayed by actor Paul Giamatti in Straight Outta Compton – has served a lawsuit that calls for the filmmakers to fork over some serious money.

According to Deadline, the former N.W.A manager is suing Universal and the Straight Outta Compton crew for defamation, copyright infringement and contract violation. In total – between monetary damages and punitive damages – Heller’s suit is calling for a payout of roughly $110 million dollars. Heller bases his suit on the grounds that the meteoric rise of the film has personally and professionally affected him in an adverse way – and that he never authorized such a portrayal of himself in the first place. The suit also alleges that much of the film derived its content from his own memoir titled Ruthless: A Memoir as well as a screenplay owned by the businessman.

The filing for Heller’s case elaborated further on the nature of the lawsuit:

Straight Outta Compton revolves heavily on Heller’s relationship with the rappers, and how his influence affected each member. Although initially portrayed as an integral part of their rise to fame, Heller’s characterization eventually reveals him as a ruthless businessman with little regard or care for the young artists he represents – making him out as the clear antagonist of the film.

This lawsuit does possess some degree of underlying realism that should be readily apparent to anyone who has seen Straight Outta Compton. Heller’s character is portrayed in the film as an aggressive businessman unafraid to threaten legal action and settle disputes in court if he has to. Whether or not this is an example of life imitating art or the other way around remains to be seen.

Only time will tell how the lawsuit plays out. If nothing else, Heller’s lawsuit certainly got one thing right: Straight Outta Compton has experienced immense success. The film has garnered $200 million at the worldwide box office against a $28 million budget, making it one of the most successful biopics in recent memory.

There has been a biopic sitting in development hell for a few years about the life of rapper Tupac Shakur. Directors have come and gone and the movie remains unmade. Recently, things appeared to be moving forward, but now Morgan Creek is being sued for $10 million because of some of that movement. What, specifically? Well, the other half of the production team says Morgan Creek has been making decisions without their approval.

The production company Emmett Furla Oasis signed a deal in September of 2013 to co-produce the Tupac film with Morgan Creek. The deal called for pretty standard things, including co-approval on the production schedule and distribution, and setting a limit on budget, no more than $30 million. However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Morgan Creek has been making moves on their own without the approval of Emmett/Furla, which has lead to the lawsuit.

According to the complaint, Morgan Creek set a production budget of $34 million dollars, signed film distribution deals without the approval of their production partners, and, the strangest part, have engaged an actor to play the title role without disclosing his identity. Morgan Creek EVP Greg Mielcarz has responded simply by stating that Emmett/Furla's responsibility was to pay half the budget, which they have not done. It sounds like they rejecting the other claims outright.

All of this appears to have been a result of this summer’s success of the N.W.A. biopic, Straight Outta Compton. The plaintiff’s claim that the new budget, and the request from Morgan Creek that they prove they could cover their half immediately, occurred a month after that film’s release. The implication is that Morgan Creek saw the film’s box office, and then decided they needed to kick their production into gear. Compton actually includes Tupac Shakur as a character, as played by Marcc Rose.

The lawsuit is just another in a long line of problems the production has been having. The film has moved through multiple directors, including both Antoine Fuqua and John Singleton. The latter reportedly left because of an expectation that the movie would not turn out well. The THR story does say that Carl Franklin is now on board to direct. This isn’t even Morgan Creek’s first lawsuit for this film. Back in 2009 (yes this movie has been in production that long), Tupac Shakur’s mother sued Morgan Creek, claiming the company had gone back on a previous agreement.

The film is supposedly set for a production start date in December, though this lawsuit may slow things down. After six plus years, if this movie actually gets made it may be a miracle. Tupac Shakur lead a controversial life and it appears controversy will follow wherever the story goes.

When it comes to news about the Fast and Furious franchise, Vin Diesel’s Facebook page has proven to be a (pretty) reliable source. The actor, who plays Dominic Toretto in the films, previously revealed release dates, movie stills, and titles on his social media. Now, Diesel might have just revealed who will follow James Wan in the director’s chair for Fast and Furious 8, though we’ll still want to hold our excitement for an official confirmation. Check out his update below.

As you can see, Vin Diesel posted a photo of himself posing next to F. Gary Gray, who directed Universal’s successful N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton. In the middle is a board covered in images from the Fast and Furious films, so while there’s no caption or any other information to go along with this photo, this level of teasing is akin to what Diesel typically posts. (Note: he even made this his new header image.)

Universal did not immediately respond to Cinema Blend’s request for comment.

Diesel’s post comes a few days after he published a lengthy update stating how Paul Walker always wanted Rob Cohen to direct at least one more movie in the series after he helmed The Fast and The Furious. However, yesterday we learned from insider reports that the director’s shortlist had been narrowed down to four names — Adam Wingard (The Guest), Louis Leterrier (Now You See Me), Will Eubank (The Signal), and, yes, Gray. At the time, Variety stated that the Straight Outta Compton director was at the front of the pack, which makes this latest photo from Diesel additional fuel to the flames.

It all makes perfect sense. F. Gary Gray — who previously directed The Negotiator, The Italian Job, and Law Abiding Citizen — helmed one of Universal’s biggest money makers. In a year that also saw the studio release Fifty Shades of Grey, Jurassic World, Minions, and Furious 7, Straight Outta Compton pushed the studio's revenue past the $2 billion mark at the yearly domestic box office. Furious 7 is currently the fifth highest-grossing film of all time, just behind Marvel’s The Avengers, and with James Wan busy directing The Conjuring 2 and Aquaman later on, Universal needs someone capable.

According to reports, there were some disagreements behind the scenes as to who would direct Furious 8, with some even suggesting Vin Diesel would step up to the plate himself. In yet another Facebook post, he wrote how his mom suggested he helm the feature himself. Though, for the sake of everyone involved, perhaps its a good thing that Gray is looking like the best option.

Specifics on where Furious 8 will take the franchise next is still unclear, but Diesel teased that the action will head to New York City and that the film will be part of a trilogy that will close out the franchise. The film is currently scheduled for release on April 14, 2017.

Since the death of Eazy-E back in 1995, there have been multiple conspiracies surrounding what really caused it. The rapper was diagnosed with AIDS and through complications of the virus, reportedly died. But in the music industry, many believe there’s far more to the story than natural causes. Particularly, Latin rapper Frost, who was signed to Eazy-E’s Ruthless Records back in 1995 has quite the allegations. Frost claims that Eazy-E was actually purposefully infected with HIV needles while attending acupuncture.

With the recent success of the N.W.A. biopic, Straight Outta Compton, the former lives of those involved have been resurfaced. The biopic explores Eazy-E’s diagnosis, and ultimate death, but not in too much detail. There’s an underlying tension between him and Suge Knight, but not in the detail that the music industry legends claim. Eazy-E’s son, Yung Eazy recently took the notions of Suge Knight’s threatening of Eazy-E as far as Knight actually having injected his late father with an AIDS-infected needle. Frost on the other hand claimed in a new interview with Siccness.net that he knows the real way it all went down.

Apparently Eazy-E had hurt himself riding 4-wheelers, so he began going to acupuncture. Frost later goes on to claim that it was someone that the rap fans know ordered the injection of those needles, a name he wouldn’t even say aloud, but everyone knew who it was. He believes that that man (presumably Suge Knight) was behind the AIDS-tainted needles at Eazy-E’s acupuncture therapy.

Whether or not the stories hold any truth is hard to tell. There was a serious competition in the industry during that time, and some major tension on both sides. But most people that were close with Eazy-E, still find it very strange how quickly he got sick. Frost went on to note during his interview:

Even 20 years after his death, rumors are still floating on the cause. This sure is a case we'd like to see closed, though we may never know the real truth, or if there even is one.

Universal’s latest success story, Straight Outta Compton, continues to dominate the box office even after its third week in theaters. So, where should this story go from here? While a recent statement from the studio seemed to squash rumors of a sequel, a new project is being shopped around that features many of the same figures from the hip-hop drama.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Welcome to Death Row is being shopped around for development as a feature film. Some critics (including yours truly) remarked that there was so much content covered in Straight Outta Compton on the rise, fall and aftermath of N.W.A. that it could’ve been split into multiple installments. Well, Welcome to Death Row, which is a 2001 documentary that spawned a book of the same name, centers on the years after N.W.A. formed. Ben Westoff of The Guardian called it "an explosive account of one of the most fascinating and controversial periods of music history." During this time frame, Dr. Dre (played by Corey Hawkins in Straight Outta Compton), Tupac Shakur (Marcc Rose) and Snoop Dogg (Keith Stanfield) were making solo careers for themselves, and Death Row Records’ Suge Knight (R. Marcos Taylor) reigned supreme as one of the most feared music execs in the business.

Watch the trailer for the documentary below.

S. Leigh Savidge, who received a story and co-executive producer credit on Straight Outta Compton, made the documentary. The agency APA is trying to sell a package based on Welcome to Death Row and the book.

A week ago, Dogg Pound rapper Daz Dillinger told TMZ that a sequel to the hit film was already in the works and that it would pick up directly after the events of Straight Outta Compton. He also teased that this follow-up would similarly center on the rise of other hip-hop figures on the West Coast. Shortly afterwards, however, a rep for Universal told Entertainment Weekly that nothing was currently in the works.

A sequel shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering the first film’s massive success. As mentioned earlier, Straight Outta Compton has been the number one film in America for the past three weeks, and, at the time this article went to press, raked in $141.2 million worldwide. The film also helped Universal become the fastest studio to surpass $2 billion at the yearly domestic box office.

O’Shea Jackson Jr. portrayed his father Ice Cube in the film, which also starred Hawkins’ Dre, Jason Mitchell’s Eazy-E, Neil Brown Jr.’s DJ Yella, and Aldis Hodge’s MC Ren. Universal has yet to announce a sequel, but if they pursued Welcome to Death Row, would you see it?

Take a long look outside your window. The seasons are changing, and signs are everywhere. Kids are boarding buses and heading back to school. Temperatures are dipping ever so slightly, suggesting autumn’s arrival. And at the multiplexes, bombastic summer fare is giving away to intelligent, challenging awards fare aimed at mature audiences.

Before we fully turn the calendar’s page to September, though, we want to digest everything that happened these past few months. There have been surprises (both good and bad), and lessons learned by the industry and its patrons. Who are summer’s biggest Winners and Losers? Let’s discuss in depth.

Winner: Universal Studios

Who expected this? Universal DOMINATED Summer 2015, releasing hit after hit and powering its way to an historic box office take (with half of the year still to come). The studio currently holds three of the top 5 slots on the year’s top 10 list for domestic grosses. Universal mined nostalgia with Jurassic World; proved it has non-superhero franchise viability with Furious 7, Pitch Perfect 2 and Minions; and struck late-summer gold in an unexpected market with the music biopic Straight Outta Compton. It’s doubtful that Universal will see a year like this anytime soon, but its decisions also proved that there won’t be significant drop off because it’s investing in the right talent at the right time.

Loser: Josh Trank

Josh Trank likely will want to forget as much of Summer 2015 as possible. Not only did his film, Fantastic Four, underperform ($52.7 million in domestic grosses at press time), his name was dragged through the mud through a series of headline-grabbing stories – some of which he helped trigger on social media – that tried to dissect where studio intervention might have led to his movie’s demise. We may never fully understand what happened between Trank and Fox on Fantastic Four, or if a better cut of the movie exists somewhere on the studio’s lot. But at the end of the day, the Chronicle director’s reputation took a serious hit this summer, and we’re curious to see how he eventually rebounds… or if.

Winner: DC’s Cinematic Universe

It’s strange to think of DC as a "Winner" this summer when they didn’t release a film. But two things happened that greatly helped DC’s case as it prepares for the release of Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in March. First, Marvel stayed even keel, delivering two good but short-of-spectacular features in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man. Given a chance to create real separation from DC, Marvel stayed kind of where it was going into Summer 2015 – holding a sizable lead, but not giving up any real ground. Second, though, is that DC came out of San Diego Comic-Con with serious heat, surprising fans with fantastic trailers for both Dawn of Justice and David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. I think a lot of people gained confidence in DC’s output after SDCC, meaning next year has the potential to be mindblowing.

Loser: Warner Bros.

Outside of DC, Warner Bros. really whiffed. Listen, basically every studio not named Universal or Disney struggled this summer. Sony had a bumpy slate, and Fox probably wishes it had an X-Men movie on its 2015 calendar. But look at Warner’s attempts to entertain this summer. We Are Your Friends, Entourage, The Gallows, Magic Mike XXL, Vacation, Hot Pursuit, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and the dog movie Max all floundered while looking for big payoffs. Even The Rock’s San Andreas struggled to stand apart from the busy summer slate. If not for Mad Max: Fury Road, WB’s summer would be one that Amanda Waller would throw in a hole, then throw away the hole.

Winner: Amy Schumer

The stand-up comedian was everywhere this summer, and has been enjoying an incredible year. Her hit TV show returned to Comedy Central, and crushed with a series of remarkable skits. (The 12 Angry Men spoof is a work of genius.) She’s besties with Jennifer Lawrence. She hosted the MTV Movie Awards in 2015, and toured as a stand-up all summer long. But her biggest win came at the multiplexes with Trainwreck, where her first starring role – in a movie she wrote – banked $105M domestically and an additional $23.8M overseas. The season lacked a real breakout comedy, as Spy and Ted 2 did OK but not great. But Trainwreck showed it had legs, and demonstrated Amy Schumer’s drawing power in this industry.

Loser: Zac Efron

For every "Amy Schumer," there’s a "Zac Efron," better explained as a star whose career is heading in a downward spiral thanks to a recent miss. It’s not just that Efron released a movie that people overlooked. It’s that We Are Your Friends was a passion project for the still-young actor, and it opened to historically bad figures. Efron has been fine when part of an ensemble (see: Neighbors). But Friends follows That Awkward Moment, The Lucky One and 17 Again as examples that prove Efron can’t really carry a movie. Hence, next year’s Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising.

Winner: Animated Films

Only five movies have crossed the $300 million mark at the box office this year, and two of them are animated features. Pixar’s Inside Out earned fantastic reviews, even generating some early Best Picture buzz (which seems to happen every time Pixar cranks out a fresh masterpiece). And the movie quietly has become the studio’s second-highest-grossing domestic earner, behind only Toy Story 3. Across town, Universal unleashed Minions on an eager global audience, and the animated comedy raced past the $1 billion mark globally. Billion! So much for needing Gru (Steve Carell) and his Despicable friends. Both movies will add more to their coffers when they reach home video later this year. Extremely impressive.

Loser: Happy Madison Productions

It was a rough summer for Adam Sandler, though not exactly a disaster. The comedian’s production house, Happy Madison, backed a few critical bombs in Pixels and Paul Blart 2 -- though the latter admittedly was profitable. Off the screen, Sandler had to deal with a lingering controversy over casting on his original Netflix movie The Ridiculous Six… the first in what’s supposed to be a multi-picture deal. While Sandler deflected most of the accusations while promoting Pixels, this is the wrong first step in the partnership.

Winner: Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise needed a hit, and he found one in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. The July blockbuster has been Cruise’s most lucrative hit since… well, since the last Mission: Impossible movie. Still, when a movie as phenomenal as Edge of Tomorrow needs to scratch and claw its way to $100M domestically, people began to question Cruise’s star power. Rogue Nation reaffirmed that audiences are willing to spend on a Tom Cruise thrill ride – which explains why a sixth Mission: Impossible is on its way, sooner rather than later.

Loser: Cameron Crowe

Are we ready to say Aloha to Cameron Crowe’s career? Possibly. The director’s latest picture was his worst yet, without question, and even his staunchest defenders have to wonder if the once-formidable writer-director has anything of interest left to say. The numbers speak for themselves. Even with massive stars like Emma Stone and Bradley Cooper, Aloha only scared up $26 million in global ticket sales. Critics also savaged it, as the movie "enjoys" a 19% Fresh grade on RT. On top of that, the unfortunate Sony hack proved that Sony lost trust in Crowe during the process… and having seen Aloha, I’m not sure he’ll ever earn that trust back from a more important demographic: the audience.

F. Gary Gray’s Straight Outta Compton may not be as big as Jurassic World, but it still marks another major success for Universal this year. The film has helped the studio become the fastest of the Hollywood studios to surpass $2 billion at the yearly North American box office, and it remains in the number one spot at the box office after three straight weeks. Now, it’s broken a major record in becoming the highest-grossing musical biopic in history.

Based on data from Box Office Mojo, the record was previous held by Walk the Line, which starred Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter. That Oscar-winning film has a lifetime box office gross of $119.5 million, while Straight Outta Compton, about the formation and disbanding of the iconic hip-hop group N.W.A, has surpassed that number with a total of $134.1 million — and in just three weeks!

That pushes Jamie Foxx’s Ray Charles biopic Ray, the former second place holder, to number three. Coal Miner’s Daughter starring Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn, and La Bamba starring Lou Diamond Phillips as Ritchie Valens round out the top five.

In Straight Outta Compton, O’Shea Jackson Jr. plays his father; Ice Cube, Corey Hawkins plays Dr. Dre; Jason Mitchell plays Eazy-E; Neil Brown Jr. plays DJ Yella; and Aldis Hodge plays MC Ren. Chronically the group’s formation, rise to fame, and eventual split, the film covers a lot of material and could (and probably should) have been made into multiple movies. Since being released earlier this year, it has caused an interesting wave in pop culture. While it has been the source of some controversy, it’s continued to garner attention from celebrities, including Selma director Ava DuVernay. The film’s content even prompted the real Dr. Dre to issue an apology for his treatment of women during this time period — though, as pointed out, Straight Outta Compton doesn’t fully depict the events that occurred.

Combined with the ticket sales from Fifty Shades of Grey, Furious 7, Minions, Jurassic World, Pitch Perfect 2, and Universal’s other releases of 2015, Straight Outta Compton continues to lead the studio towards a ridiculous year. And it’s not even over! Before the year’s end, Universal will release Legend, in which Tom Hardy plays both leads; the Steve Jobs biopic starring Michael Fassbender; Guillermo del Toro’s horror story Crimson Peak, which is being co-financed with Legendary; the adaptation of Jem and the Holograms; the star-studded Mount Everest film; Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s By the Sea; the horror film Krampus; and the Tina Fey-Amy Poehler comedy Sisters.

Straight Outta Compton enjoyed a third weekend as number one movie, earning its three-peat not so much on staying power but a lack of anything better showing up to compete.

Religious drama War Room was the weekend's highest per-theater earner, banking almost $10,000 per screen, but given its limited release, sales only added up to $11 million. That wasn't enough to topple Compton which dropped a normal 50% from last weekend, adding #13 million to its now $134 million total.

No Escape didn't have a built in audience to play to like War Room, or if it did (does Owen Wilson have a fan club?) they didn't show up to help the movie off to a good start. With an $8 million opening it managed a weak fourth place debut.

In a bid to milk as much summer revenue as it can out of its newest and goldeniest cash cow, Universal almost re-doubled the number of screens showing Jurrasic World, boosting sales enough to push the movie back up into the top ten. It had almost slipped into the less-than-a-million club but this new re-expansion brought in $3 million this weekend, adding a touch more to the film's already massive $643 million domestic haul.

Zac Efron's latest offering We Are Your Friends didn't seem to have any friends in return. Despite being in wide release (2,300+ locations) the movie tanked hard, barely scraped together $1.8 million, leaving it well off the top ten chart and putting it in the running for worst per-screen opening of summer 2015.

For the full weekend top ten, check out the chart below:

Straight Outta Compton

$13,240,000Total: $134,126,000LW: 1

THTRS: 3,142

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

$8,300,000Total: $170,387,000LW: 2

THTRS: 3,095

No Escape

$8,288,000Total: $10,349,000LW: N

THTRS: 3,355

The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

$4,410,000Total: $34,122,000LW: 5

THTRS: 2,706

Hitman: Agent 47

$3,850,000Total: $15,271,000LW: 4

THTRS: 3,273

The Gift (2015)

$3,134,000Total: $35,960,000LW: 7

THTRS: 1,934

Jurassic World

$3,120,000Total: $643,088,000LW: -

THTRS: 1,239

Ant-Man

$3,054,000Total: $169,187,000LW: 8

THTRS: 1,690

Rarely does one come out of a two-hour and 30-minute movie thinking that there needed to be more time spent on the story, or – better yet – a second movie expanding on the story that was presented. Yet, that’s exactly how I felt exiting F. Gary Gray’s certifiable blockbuster Straight Outta Compton, a blistering biopic that bites off a little more than it can chew while documenting the rise and fall of the gangster rap group N.W.A.  

Gray’s Straight Outta Compton gets so much right, establishing the political and social unrest in Compton, California in the mid-1980s that led to the creation of N.W.A. We are introduced to teenage artists Andre "Dr. Dre" Young, O’Shea "Ice Cube" Jackson, Eric "Eazy-E" Wright, DJ Yella, Arabian Prince, and Lorenzo "MC Ren" Patterson. As we get to know the men through their music, we understand the passion and anger that went into the creation of such aggressive lyrics in songs like "Fuck the Police," "Dopeman" and "Express Yourself." And for a full 90 minutes, Straight Outta Compton works incredibly well while it retains a focus on the formation of the group… and the predictable reasons why they eventually fell apart.    

The last hour of Straight Outta Compton isn’t as tight. It’s no less compelling, and largely consists of plot points that deserved coverage. Except, they deserved more coverage than the snapshot glances that are afforded to bring Compton in at a theatrical-friendly 150-minute run time. F. Gary Gray has said that there exists a much longer director’s cut of his film, and I can only speculate that the bulk of the footage was removed from the film’s final hour, where Straight Outta Compton tries to address the various ways that N.W.A’s music influenced the rap community – and the ways that the founding members floated in and out of each other’s personal and professional universes – but realizes that there’s only so much space to tell far too many stories.

If you had told me going into Straight Outta Compton that the N.W.A biopic needed to be a trilogy, I’d have laughed you out of the theater. Most biopics are one-sided puff pieces meant to deify the chosen artist, and too few have much to say beyond sampling the Greatest Hits that the musician recorded over the course of a short career. To be fair, Compton actually overlooks egregious acts by the lead characters, most notably Dr. Dre’s documented cases of physical abuse. But this isn’t a whitewashing of the rap group’s legacy, even if it stops short of fully diving into the sheer number of people their fame impacted.

It’s a complicated line to walk. There’s no way to address Dre’s post-N.W.A career without digging into Death Row Records, and his association with Suge Knight. But the Death Row portion of Dre’s legacy provides enough material – easily – for its own movie. Instead, because it’s an extended coda to the N.W.A story in Straight Outta Compton, we get glorified cameos for influential artists like Tupac (Marcc Rose), Warren G. (Sheldon A. Smith) and Snoop Dogg (Keith Stanfield). The D.O. Double G only gets two scenes, and they both basically exist so he can rap a few of his most famous lyrics with Dre. You immediately want more of him – and some of Eminem, or 50 Cent, or the story of Dre’s collaborations with Apple on the Beats headphones… but that’s not this movie. This is an N.W.A movie. So the little bits that we get are teases, which will leave you wanting more.

And that’s just Dre. Ice Cube’s life after N.W.A had so many interesting twists and turns, though most are merely glanced over in Straight Outta Compton. Naturally, the saga of Eazy-E also could have used more screen time, from his controversial relationship with Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti) to his battle with HIV and eventual death. These are strong scenes in Compton that needed more time to breathe.

The issues of pacing mainly affect the last hour of Straight Outta Compton, and while they don’t damage the intentions of the film, they clearly suggest that there is a LOT more story to tell here – and not just in a sequel, but in the details of the story that already has been committed to film by F. Gary Gray and his producers. I’m not certain what the future holds for gangster rap projects at Universal or other studios. There’s no doubt the success of Compton will have studios scrambling for similar artists with compelling stories. But I hope one lesson that they take from Straight Outta Compton is that some stories need more time to be told, when you want to tell them properly.   

Have you seen Straight Outta Compton yet? It took me nearly an hour into my screening before I could get over the fact that O’Shea Jackson Jr. wasn’t, in fact, a digital recreation of his father, Ice Cube, from the early 1990s. The kid is a dead ringer for his father, and I assumed that the stark resemblance to a jerry curled Ice Cube is what landed Jackson Jr. the role. Turns out, Cube made his son work harder than most to earn the role, and his training paid off.

F. Gary Gray’s N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton has been crushing it at the box office, adding to what has become a banner year for Universal Studios. But just because Ice Cube was a producer on the movie doesn’t mean he handed his son the plum role of playing one of N.W.A’s founding members. The young actor told PEOPLE that he went through "the wringer" just for the opportunity to play his dad in the movie, explaining:

Ice Cube had to realize how important it was to cast the right person to play himself – and the other vital members of N.W.A – if Straight Outta Compton was going to soar. But he also knew that if he just handed the role to his son, with no competition, he would get crucified. The young actor put his nose to the grindstone, training for months with acting coaches including Aaron Speiser and Susan Batson, whose clients include Will Smith and Nicole Kidman, respectively. Still, O’Shea Jackson Jr. had to beat others out for the role. To that end, the producer/star said that the final round of auditions came down to everyone having to choose between two other possible Ice Cubes and three Dr. Dre’s. The final test was having the actors rap their own versions of the songs on the seminal N.W.A album "Straight Outta Compton." That’s when Jackson Jr.’s skills as a musician came into play. A source close to the production told PEOPLE that Jackson’s skills on the mic ultimately earned him the role.

Once you have seen Straight Outta Compton, you’ll wonder how anyone BUT O’Shea Jackson Jr. could have played young Ice Cube. The kid does a dead-on impersonation of his famous father, but also gives a subtle and powerful performance as an angry, upcoming artist finding his voice amid racial turmoil. I do wonder what other parts O’Shea Jackson Jr. could play in the future. But I also look forward to finding out what this actor will do next.