• Paul Schrader — the 79-year-old writer-director behind Taxi Driver, First Reformed, and The Card Counter — delivered the keynote at the fourth annual AI on the Lot conference at Amazon/MGM Studios in Culver City on Thursday, despite facing backlash from fellow artists when he announced he would speak
• Schrader predicted that AI-generated synthetic performers will eventually become genuine box office draws, arguing that the real commercial future of AI in film is not visual effects but fully artificial protagonists: “The real tip of the spear is when we can create an AI protagonist, not a hybrid, and that movie makes money”
• “You do the new Clint Eastwood via text prompt,” he told the audience — sketching a future in which studios generate star-caliber performances digitally rather than hiring actors
• Schrader warned that Hollywood is “barely keeping a step ahead of the monster” on AI, and used the speech to question whether film schools and extras will remain relevant as the technology matures

Paul Schrader knew the invite was going to cause problems. When he posted on Facebook that he would keynote the AI on the Lot conference, the response from fellow writers and artists was, in his words, swift and hostile. “There was very much of a backlash,” he told the audience Thursday morning on a soundstage at the Amazon/MGM Studios lot in Culver City. “A lot of negative comments. Some of them were in fact insulting.” He went anyway — and laid out a vision of the film industry’s future that did nothing to soften that reception.

His central argument: the AI revolution in Hollywood isn’t really about monsters and spectacle. “I don’t think the real future of AI commercially is in all this flash, all these monsters — that’s just jacked-up special effects on steroids,” he said. “The real tip of the spear is when we can create an AI protagonist, not a hybrid, and that movie makes money.” He predicted audiences will eventually embrace fully synthetic stars the way they’ve embraced any new kind of performer, per The Hollywood Reporter.

‘The New Clint Eastwood Via Text Prompt’

The most quotable moment of the speech came when Schrader described what AI star-making could look like in practice: “You do the new Clint Eastwood via text prompt.” The line crystallized his argument that the end state of AI in entertainment isn’t a tool for filmmakers — it’s a replacement for the star system itself. Schrader also questioned whether studios still need to pay extras at all, and predicted upheaval for film schools as the craft knowledge they teach becomes less essential, per Deadline.

The LA Times reported that Schrader described Hollywood as “barely keeping a step ahead of the monster” — a framing that positions AI not as a tool the industry controls but as a force it is running from. Schrader, who has previously said he “procured an online AI girlfriend” (who he says dumped him), is an unusual advocate: an old-school auteur genuinely engaged with the technology rather than dismissing it, per the Los Angeles Times.

The post Paul Schrader Says AI Protagonists Will Be Box Office Draws: ‘You Do the New Clint Eastwood Via Text Prompt’ appeared first on Cream.

• Obsession, directed by Curry Barker and rated R, follows Bear (Michael Johnston), a shy young man who uses a supernatural novelty item called the One Wish Willow to make his longtime crush Nikki (Inde Navarrette) fall in love with him — with increasingly disturbing results
• Critics have praised the film for grounding its horror in emotional realism, with Collider calling it better than most recent dating-horror thrillers at weaponizing “blurred boundaries, emotional entitlement” — Barker executes the story “with restraint” as the romance curdles into something “uglier, sadder, and genuinely disturbing”
• Inde Navarrette, previously known for a supporting role in The CW’s Superman & Lois, has been singled out for what one reviewer called a “tour de force performance” — and Michael Johnston’s work as Bear has been called a potential breakout moment
• The film has become a box office success; the director had to cut its most brutal scene to avoid an NC-17 rating, landing the film at R

Curry Barker’s Obsession understands something that most horror films about bad romantic fixations don’t: the truly terrifying part comes before the violence does. The premise is deceptively simple. Bear (Michael Johnston) — a shy, infatuated young man working at a small music store alongside his friend group — uses a supernatural novelty item called the One Wish Willow to make his longtime crush Nikki (Inde Navarrette) fall in love with him. What follows, per Collider, is “something uglier, sadder, and genuinely disturbing” as Nikki’s affection spirals into emotional instability and dangerous obsession.

Collider’s review frames the film as the rare modern dating-horror entry that “weaponizes” fears around emotional entitlement and the moment intimacy becomes control — and does it better than most. Barker grounds the story in emotional realism first: the film opens with the familiar rhythms of a rom-com, making Bear’s awkward affection feel almost endearing before the turn. “Forced love is horrifying before bloodshed ever begins” is how Collider summarizes Barker’s thesis — and critics appear to agree he’s made that case effectively.

The Performances

Inde Navarrette carries a psychologically demanding role. Her Nikki goes from relatable crush to someone who bursts into violent episodes, lies to manufacture sympathy, and refuses to leave Bear’s side at social gatherings — her laugh, in one scene described by reviewers, is “too forced and too unnatural” in exactly the right way. Falls Church News-Press called it a “tour de force performance” and noted that Navarrette, of Mexican and Australian descent, handles the complexity “with dazzling believability.”

Michael Johnston’s Bear works as the moral center of a story in which neither the wish-granter nor the wish-giver comes out clean. The role has been described as a potential breakout for Johnston, who has spent years in television and voice work. Cooper Tomlinson co-stars as Ian, with Megan Lawless as Sarah, per Falls Church News-Press. The film is rated R — the director cut its most brutal scene to avoid an NC-17. That the film lands as hard as it does while staying within those parameters is part of what critics are responding to, per Tooele Online.

The post ‘Obsession’ Is a Horror Movie About Forced Love — and Critics Say Inde Navarrette Is a Revelation appeared first on Cream.

• Lionsgate announced Thursday that John Rambo — the origin story prequel to the Sylvester Stallone franchise — will open in theaters on June 4, 2027
• Noah Centineo stars in the title role, taking over the character Stallone originated in 1982’s First Blood; James Franco co-stars, and the film is directed by Jalmari Helander, who broke out internationally with the Finnish action film Sisu
• The film will open the weekend after Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Starfighter, the Ryan Gosling-led Star Wars film directed by Shawn Levy, making for a high-stakes early summer frame
• The story is set before the events of First Blood, exploring the formative backstory of the iconic soldier character

The new John Rambo has a date. Lionsgate announced Thursday that John Rambo — the prequel origin story starring Noah Centineo in the title role — will hit theaters on June 4, 2027, per Deadline.

The film is directed by Jalmari Helander, the Finnish filmmaker who generated serious action-movie buzz with Sisu, his 2022 WWII revenge thriller. His sensibility — brutalist, kinetic, unsparing — makes him an interesting choice for a franchise that has historically traded in the same qualities. Centineo, best known for his rom-com work in the To All the Boys franchise, takes on the physically and tonally demanding task of playing a young John Rambo before the events of Stallone’s First Blood. James Franco co-stars.

The June 4 date positions the film in the week after Star Wars: Starfighter — the Ryan Gosling-led Lucasfilm project directed by Shawn Levy — which is tracking as one of the biggest releases of 2027. Opening in its wake is a calculated play: let the Star Wars audience clear the multiplexes, then capture the action crowd looking for something next, per Collider.

The Franchise Math

The Rambo series has spanned five films since 1982, with Stallone appearing in all of them through 2019’s Rambo: Last Blood. A prequel with a new lead is a different kind of bet — Lionsgate is essentially asking audiences to accept a recast of one of action cinema’s most recognizable faces. Centineo’s casting has drawn varying reactions since it was announced, per Just Jared. The June 2027 date gives the film roughly a year of runway to build its case.

The post Noah Centineo’s ‘John Rambo’ Prequel Has a Release Date: June 4, 2027 appeared first on Cream.

• The Breadwinner, Nate Bargatze’s feature film debut, opens in theaters Friday via Sony; he plays Nate Wilcox, a Nashville Toyota salesman forced to manage his three daughters while his wife (Mandy Moore) travels to South Korea for a business opportunity she pitched on Shark Tank
• The supporting cast includes Kumail Nanjiani, Colin Jost, Will Forte, Zach Cherry, Martin Herlihy, and Kate Berlant; the real Shark Tank investors appear as themselves in a cameo sequence
• Critical reception has been mixed-to-lukewarm: Hollywood Reporter calls it “inoffensive to the point of total boredom,” while ComingSoon gives it a 6/10 and calls it “surprisingly watchable” with the Shark Tank scene as a standout
• Bargatze co-wrote the script with Dan Lagana; it is adapted from material in his own stand-up, and he confirmed the film’s end credits include clips of the actual stand-up routines the movie scenes are based on
• Bargatze personally suggested to theater owners that they offer discounted tickets under what he’s calling the “Nate Rate” — and says they were immediately on board; he also gave an update on his planned Nashville theme park Nateland, saying it is “far along” with land secured

Nate Bargatze has spent years selling out arenas with stand-up. Starting Friday, he’s trying to sell tickets to a movie. The Breadwinner, his first feature film, opens in theaters via Sony with a premise that’s very much in his wheelhouse: a good-natured dad, out of his depth, trying to hold things together while his wife gets a shot at something bigger.

Bargatze plays Nate Wilcox — the character shares his first name, which is either charmingly self-aware or exactly what you’d expect — a Toyota salesman in Nashville whose wife Katie (Mandy Moore) gets the chance to take her organizational business system overseas after a Shark Tank appearance. Nate agrees to stay home and care for their three daughters (Stella Grace Fitzgerald, Birdie Borria, Charlotte Ann Tucker) for two weeks. Chaos, in the PG-rated sense, ensues.

The director is Eric Appel, who co-wrote the script with Bargatze and Dan Lagana. The supporting cast includes Kumail Nanjiani as a preening rival colleague, Colin Jost as a fellow stay-at-home dad, Will Forte as a useless roofer who basically moves in, and Kate Berlant in what critics describe as a criminally underused role.

What the Critics Are Saying

The reviews are in, and they’re mostly polite about their reservations. Hollywood Reporter called it “inoffensive to the point of total boredom” and “thoroughly bland,” noting that Bargatze’s deadpan stand-up persona works on stage but “onscreen he seems mostly on the verge of a coma.” The review acknowledged the film wastes a talented supporting cast on one-note roles.

ComingSoon was warmer, giving it a 6/10 and calling it “surprisingly watchable” for a film with low expectations. The review praised a Shark Tank sequence where Nate is summoned from backstage mid-doughnut bite and single-handedly tanks the pitch — “sharp, well-timed” — as the kind of joke the movie needed more of. The film’s heavy product placement for Toyota, Walmart, and KFC also got called out as one of its stranger quirks: ComingSoon described it as “Product Placement: The Movie.”

UPI’s review filed via Yahoo News landed somewhere in the middle: nostalgic for the kind of inoffensive mid-budget comedy that used to come out every week but noted the film bends over backwards to avoid any real conflict. “The Breadwinner would never go there,” the review noted of a missed opportunity for sharper domestic comedy, “lest it broach a method with which an audience member might disagree.”

Bargatze on the Film — and What Comes Next

Bargatze, speaking to Hollywood Reporter ahead of the release, described the project as closely tied to his real-life material. His actual daughter’s personality is spread across all three fictional daughters in the film. “Charlotte — the youngest [in the movie] that’s very outgoing and can start dancing and was very funny — we see a lot of that in my daughter when she’s at home with us,” he said. A horse that walks through the front door in one sequence — and really did have to be brought into a real family’s house — also made an impression. “The horse could act better than I could,” he said.

On the ticket pricing front, Bargatze said he came up with what he’s calling the “Nate Rate” — a suggestion that theaters offer discounted tickets for families — and that the response was immediate. “I want The Breadwinner to be a movie everybody can come see. Families, grandparents, kids — everybody,” he told Hollywood Reporter. “Theaters were very supportive right away. They’ve been just as excited about it as I have.”

He also gave an update on Nateland, his planned Nashville theme park, which he’s been teasing for a while. “We’re narrowing down on a site, and we’ve got some land,” he said. “I’m hoping we can announce a lot more stuff later in the year. We’re even now creating what the park is going to be looking like and the rides and just the experience.” As for what kind of movies he wants to make next: “I want to really live in that PG, PG-13 range and just really continue to build that trust with the audience.”

The Breadwinner is in theaters now.

The post Nate Bargatze’s Feature Debut ‘The Breadwinner’ Opens in Theaters — Here’s What the Reviews Say appeared first on Cream.

• Five critically acclaimed films landed on Prime Video on May 1, 2026, all scoring 90% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes.
• The lineup spans six decades — from Woody Allen’s 1977 Best Picture winner to Jim Cummings’ 2020 horror-comedy.
• Hot Fuzz and Babe lead the pack on pure fun, while Dallas Buyers Club brings the prestige drama.
• Prime Video’s May 1 drop also included Goodfellas, Scarface, and Do the Right Thing — one of the biggest single-day library additions in recent memory.
• All five films are available to stream now with a Prime membership.

Prime Video quietly dropped one of its biggest single-day movie hauls of the year on May 1, adding dozens of titles to its library. But if you’re looking for a place to start — specifically, films that critics have already done the hard work of vetting — five of those new arrivals carry a Rotten Tomatoes score of 90% or higher. That’s a pretty reliable shortcut to a good night in.

The range here is genuinely impressive. You’ve got a four-time Oscar winner from 1977, a beloved talking-pig movie from 1995, a McConaughey career-defining drama, Edgar Wright’s action-comedy masterpiece, and a scrappy 2020 genre-blender that flew under most people’s radar. Something for every mood.

Annie Hall (1977) — 97% on Rotten Tomatoes

Before Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, romantic comedies were largely slapstick or polished fantasies. This film essentially rewired how cinema approaches relationships, memory, and the fourth wall. It won four Academy Awards at the 1978 ceremony — including Best Picture and Best Director — and it still holds up as one of the sharpest, most charming films ever made about why love falls apart.

Allen stars as Alvy Singer, a New York comedian looking back on his relationship with Annie Hall (Diane Keaton), an aspiring nightclub singer. The story moves freely between flashbacks, arguments, family visits, and trips, with Alvy trying — and mostly failing — to understand how things changed. Co-written with Marshall Brickman, it’s relaxed and free-flowing in a way that still feels slightly ahead of its time.

Stream Annie Hall on Prime Video now.

Babe (1995) — 98% on Rotten Tomatoes

The highest-rated film on this list, and honestly, it’s not hard to see why. Babe looks like a simple children’s movie on the surface, but it earned seven Academy Award nominations and was one of the first films to use digital mouth-replacement technology — meaning real animals appear to speak without looking like a cartoon. It’s a technical achievement wrapped in something genuinely sweet.

The story follows a young piglet won at a county fair by farmer Arthur Hoggett (James Cromwell), who gets taken in by a Border Collie named Fly (voiced by Miriam Margolyes) and slowly discovers he has an unexpected gift for herding sheep. Hugo Weaving voices Fly’s no-nonsense partner Rex. If you’ve been curious about the upcoming talking-animal film The Sheep Detectives, consider this essential homework.

Stream Babe on Prime Video now.

Dallas Buyers Club (2013) — 92% on Rotten Tomatoes

This is the film that completed Matthew McConaughey’s pivot from rom-com lead to serious dramatic actor — and it’s remembered as much for its production backstory as for the film itself. McConaughey underwent a dramatic physical transformation for the role, losing significant weight to play Ron Woodroof, a Texas electrician and rodeo rider diagnosed with HIV in the mid-1980s.

Told he has limited time to live, Woodroof begins researching treatments after struggling to access legal medication in the US. He travels internationally to obtain alternative drugs and eventually forms an underground distribution network — the Dallas Buyers Club — to get them to other patients. It’s a biographical drama that deals in heavy themes of mortality and systemic failure, but it never loses sight of the human being at its center. Jared Leto won a Supporting Actor Oscar alongside McConaughey’s lead win at the 2014 ceremony.

Stream Dallas Buyers Club on Prime Video now.

Hot Fuzz (2007) — 91% on Rotten Tomatoes

The second installment in Edgar Wright’s Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy — sandwiched between Shaun of the Dead and The World’s End — Hot Fuzz is technically a parody of action cinema, but it functions more as a high-octane love letter to the genre. It’s one of the tightest, funniest comedies of the 21st century, and a lot of that comes down to the genuine chemistry between Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

Pegg plays Nicholas Angel, a hyper-competent London police officer reassigned to a sleepy rural village after making his colleagues look bad. He’s partnered with Danny Butterman (Frost), an enthusiastic local cop whose entire understanding of police work comes from action movies. When a series of deaths in the village get ruled as accidents, Angel starts pulling at threads. What unravels is genuinely surprising, extremely violent, and very, very funny.

Stream Hot Fuzz on Prime Video now.

The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020) — 90% on Rotten Tomatoes

The most under-the-radar film on this list, and maybe the most rewatchable. Written, directed by, and starring Jim Cummings, The Wolf of Snow Hollow is a genuine genre-blender — part small-town procedural, part creature feature, part character study — set in a Utah mountain town where brutal killings are occurring during full moons.

Cummings plays John, the local sheriff already buckling under personal and professional pressure, who leads the investigation while desperately trying to convince himself there’s no supernatural explanation for what’s happening. As the body count rises, the community fractures and the case spirals. A lot of the film’s comedy comes from the awkward, exhausted human interactions happening around a genuinely disturbing mystery. It arrived in 2020 without much fanfare, which means most people still haven’t seen it.

Now’s a good time to fix that.

Stream The Wolf of Snow Hollow on Prime Video now.

The post 5 Prime Video Movies in May 2026 With 90%+ on Rotten Tomatoes appeared first on Cream.