The trailer for HBO’s Mountainhead shows art imitating life, with tech billionaires partying while the world crumbles because of AI technology. It’s not until the outside world directly impacts their opulent vacation that they bother to care.
The premise strikes so close to reality that audiences are either going to avoid it like the plague or check it out just to see if the high and mighty fall off their golden perches. Working in its favor is the talent in front of and behind the screen. The four tech giants are played by Steve Carell as Randall, Jason Schwartzman as Souper (Hugo Van Yalk), Cory Michael Smith as Venis, and Ramy Youssef as Jeff. The film is written and directed by seven-time Emmy winner and creator of Succession Jesse Armstrong.
Armstrong’s Succession was a brilliant portrayal of the ultra-rich, and it’s certain his feature directorial debut won’t shy away from biting satire at the expense of the 1%. Hopefully, it serves up a healthy dish of poetic justice.
Executive producers include Armstrong, Frank Rich, Lucy Prebble, Jon Brown, Tony Roche, Will Tracy, Mark Mylod, and Jill Footlick.
Mountainhead premieres on Saturday, May 31, 2025 at 8pm ET/PT on HBO.
Poster for ‘Mountainhead’ (Photograph by Courtesy of HBO)
Shameik Moore in ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ (Photo Credit: Starz)
Starz’s Power franchise finally revealed the identity of Branford ‘Breeze’ Frady. The character’s been talked about since the franchise first launched back in 2014, but it wasn’t until Power Book III: Raising Kanan season four’s finale that Breeze appeared on screen, played by Shameik Moore (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse).
Shameik Moore will continue playing Breeze as a new series regular in the upcoming fifth and final season. Per Starz: “Known as a drug kingpin from Jamaica, Queens, Breeze employed a young Kanan Stark, as well as James St. Patrick and Tommy Egan, with James and Tommy as his corner boys.”
The finale, which aired on May 15, 2025, showed Snaps (Wendell Pierce) and Pop (Erika Woods) introducing Kanan (MeKai Curtis) to Breeze. The introduction is a “lasting tie” between the original series and the prequel.
“It was always my intention that Raising Kanan would run for five seasons, and thanks to my friends and partners at STARZ and Lionsgate, as well as the incredible cast, crew, and writing staff, I’ve been able to tell the entirety of the story I set out to tell way back in 2019. Having said that, with the table we’ve set in this season finale and the inevitable introduction of Breeze, there is still an exceptionally intense and action-packed season left for the viewers to experience, and I assure you that the stakes for Kanan and the entire Thomas family have never been higher,” said executive producer, writer, and showrunner Sascha Penn.
Penn added, “I’m very proud of this series and grateful that we’ve been able to see it through to what is an incredibly explosive and satisfying conclusion for the unbelievably loyal fans of the Power Universe.”
Power Book III: Raising Kanan also stars Patina Miller, Joey Bada$$, London Brown, Malcolm Mays, Hailey Kilgore, and Tony Danza. Executive producers include original Power creator and showrunner Courtney A. Kemp, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Mark Canton, Chris Selak, and Kevin Fox.
“The Power Universe fans have been patiently anticipating this moment and I’m honored to step into the iconic role of Breeze,” said Shameik Moore. “I jumped into a story that is already alive with such strong characters, but it was a fun challenge to find Breeze’s unique identity, and I can’t wait for fans to see how Breeze will shift dynamics in the story. It’s gonna be a wild ride.”
The teaser for CBS’s FBI season seven episode 22, the season finale, shows Isobel accusing someone of being a traitor to “this office and to our country.” And series star Zeeko Zaki warns fans should be prepared for a life-or-death cliffhanger.
Speaking with TV Insider, Zaki added, “We’re kind of calling it our little Fast and Furious episode where we have to find a new location, a new place, and kind of work off the grid and solve a crime. It’s really fun that we kind of get to do these new things in our show now with our new writers. Hopefully, the audience buys it, loves it, and wants to see more of it.”
Directed by Alex Chapple and written by Mitch Kampf and Mike Weiss, the season finale will air on Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at 8pm ET/PT.
Missy Peregrym stars as Special Agent Maggie Bell, Zeeko Zaki plays Special Agent Omar Adom “OA” Zidan, Jeremy Sisto is Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine, and Alana De La Garza is Special Agent in Charge Isobel Castille. John Boyd plays Special Agent Stuart Scola and Emily Alabi is Agent Dani Rhodes.
“A New Day” Plot: After Jubal narrowly escapes a calculated assault on a secret FBI office, the team discovers an anti-government group has infiltrated the FBI. Unsure of whom to trust, the team must work in the shadows to unmask the culprits threatening the sanctity of the New York field office, on the seventh season finale. The Big Bang Theory‘s Kevin Sussman guest stars.
FBI is a fast-paced drama about the inner workings of the New York office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This elite unit brings to bear all their talents, intellect, and technical expertise on major cases in order to keep New York and the country safe. Born into a multigenerational law enforcement family, Special Agent Maggie Bell commits deeply to the people she works with as well as those she protects. Her partner is Special Agent Omar Adom “OA” Zidan, a West Point graduate via Bushwick who spent two years undercover for the DEA before being cherry-picked by the FBI.
Overseeing them is Special Agent in Charge Isobel Castille, who operates under intense pressure and has undeniable command authority. The team also includes Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine, the nerve center of the office whose ability to easily relate to and engage with both superiors and subordinates makes him a master motivator. Special Agent Stuart Scola is an Ivy League-educated Wall Streeter-turned-FBI agent. These first-class agents tenaciously investigate cases of tremendous magnitude, including terrorism, organized crime, and counterintelligence.
Thony’s caught up in a potentially explosive situation on Fox’s The Cleaning Lady season four episode nine. “Hearts on Fire” will air on Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at 8pm ET/PT.
“Hearts on Fire” Plot: A hospital under lockdown. A patient with a deadly secret. As Thony fights to save a life, she finds herself caught between two men and the ghosts of their pasts. Jorge’s relentless pursuit of vengeance blinds him to the truth, while Fiona, pushed to her breaking point, makes a decision that will change everything. Thony steps into the operating room—and into the fight of her life.
Elodie Yung leads the cast as Thony, Santiago Cabrera plays Jorge, Kate del Castillo is Ramona Sanchez, Martha Millan plays Fiona, Faith Bryant is Jaz, and Sean Lew plays Chris. Recurring season four guest stars include Danny Pardo as El Don, Daniel Bonjour as Dr. Sean Dupont, Alain Uy as Feng, and Brian Norris as Cowboy Hat.
The Cleaning Lady returns for an action-packed season four, with the series’ beloved characters in ever-changing and increasingly dangerous situations. After three seasons of being a pawn caught between the FBI and the world of organized crime, THONY (Yung) makes the bold decision to take charge of her own destiny — by exchanging her cleaning lady uniform for the scrubs of a surgical intern at a small community hospital.
Thony’s return to the medical career she sacrificed for her son, LUCA (Sanchez), opens a new path to citizenship for them both. But to make this happen, she must continue her service to the Sin Cara cartel — not as a cleaning lady, but as the new mob doctor — bringing her ever closer to JORGE (Cabrera), the cartel’s brooding new leader. Under the watchful eye of the hospital’s brusque yet handsome chief resident, DR. SEAN DUPONT (Bonjour), Thony straddles the line between two worlds until they inevitably come crashing into each other.
Newly enthroned as the head of Sin Cara, Jorge has ambitious plans to take the cartel in a surprising, yet lucrative, direction. He’s invested Sin Cara’s assets into a rare earth mine worth billions. It’s easy, legitimate money that will result in generational wealth for them all. But the old dogs of the cartel are unwilling to learn new tricks from their upstart leader, which results in a fracture within the organization. Flanked by his lieutenants, the veteran EL DON (Pardo) and quirky newcomer FENG (Uy), Jorge must fend off a mutiny within Sin Cara, which threatens the lives of everyone he loves.
Even from within the walls of a maximum-security prison, former head of Sin Cara, RAMONA (Del Castillo) remains a threat. She continues to exert influence through her unpredictable proxy on the outside, the loner only known as COWBOY HAT (Norris). But she’s vulnerable on the inside. When a tough prison gang puts Ramona in their crosshairs, she must dig deep into her devious bag of tricks to find a way to survive.
Meanwhile, FIONA (Millan) struggles to keep her cleaning business afloat, leading her into the world of identity theft. CHRIS (Lew) learns the painful truth about first love and channels his raw emotions into an unexplored passion — dance. And JAZ (Bryant) deals with the difficulties of being the perfect child in a decidedly imperfect family.
The Cleaning Lady continues its exploration of the experience of undocumented immigrants and the hurdles they face in this country. The series tells their stories of resourcefulness in the face of institutional adversity and the sacrifices they must make to achieve their American dream.
CBS’s SWAT closes out its eight-season run with back-to-back episodes airing on May 16, 2025. Episode 21, “Ride or Die,” will air at 9pm ET/PT, followed by episode 22, the series finale, at 10pm ET/PT.
Season eight stars Shemar Moore as Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson, Jay Harrington as David “Deacon” Kay, David Lim as Victor Tan, Patrick St. Esprit as Commander Robert Hicks, and Anna Enger Ritch as Zoe Powell. Annie Ilonzeh is Devin Gamble and Niko Pepaj plays Miguel “Miko” Alfaro.
“Ride or Die” Plot: When an auto carrier truck gets hijacked by a high-speed crew, Hondo encounters a ghost from his past—a violent car thief thought to be long-dead. As the brutal road warriors tear across L.A. in pursuit of a mysterious $60 million car, Hondo’s old rivalry reignites, and he’s forced to confront a long-held fear. Also, Gamble is thrust into a personal crisis when her brother, Leon, becomes tangled in the investigation, putting Gamble’s SWAT future in jeopardy. Episode 21 was directed by Maja Vrvilo from a script by Kent Rotherham.
“Return to Base” Plot: The SWAT team undertakes its final mission when a violent crew of ex-pat Russian mercenaries holds Los Angeles hostage after planting hundreds of hidden explosives across the city in a bid to extort the release of their brutal leader, Dmitri Rykov. When Rykov is brought to SWAT for safekeeping, SWAT HQ comes under attack, forcing Hondo and 20-Squad to fight for their very survival. Episode 22, the series finale, was directed by Billy Gierhart and written by Matthew Brown and Daniela Labi.
S.W.A.T. stars Shemar Moore as a former Marine and locally born and raised SWAT sergeant tasked to run a specialized tactical unit that is the last stop in law enforcement in Los Angeles. Torn between loyalty to where he was raised and allegiance to his brothers in blue, Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson strives to bridge the divide between his two worlds.
Committed to the job, Hondo is equally devoted to his marriage and fatherhood. The other members of Hondo’s elite S.W.A.T. unit include David “Deacon” Kay, an experienced S.W.A.T. officer and dedicated family man who always puts the team first; Victor Tan, who started in the LAPD Hollywood Division and uses his confidential informants in the community to help the team; Zoe Powell, a tough and loyal team member trying to reconnect with the son she gave up for adoption as a teen; and Miguel “Miko” Alfaro, a headstrong officer who overcame a troubled childhood, and is now a trusted 20-Squad addition following a rocky transfer to Los Angeles S.W.A.T.
Responsible for the management of all Metro Division S.W.A.T. units is Commander Robert Hicks, a senior LAPD official with the Special Operations Bureau. With Hondo leading the charge, these dedicated men and women bravely put themselves at risk to protect their community and save lives.
The Ghost Adventures team travels to Hollywood, CA for the season finale airing Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 10pm ET/PT on Discovery Channel. The teaser clip shows Zak and the team attempting to make contact with a little girl and then being warned by a psychic to be careful of an angry man. The site was formerly a children’s school, and the team was called to investigate after a gardener found a shallow grave containing bones.
Discovery Channel offers this synopsis of the series and the season finale: “The crew’s mission to document the afterlife takes them to iconic haunted locations this season alongside special guest investigators. As they embark on groundbreaking investigations shrouded in paranormal legends, the team uncovers frightening accounts of ghostly activity that invoke chills at every turn. Conducting immersive lockdown investigations using the latest scientific gadgets and technology, they seek to capture physical evidence of the paranormal and a deeper understanding of these supernatural mysteries.
A paranormal crisis brings the Ghost Adventures crew – Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley and Jay Wasley – to Hollywood, California, to investigate a historic building that once housed a children’s school. After bones were recently uncovered on the property, the staff have become strangely affected, both physically and emotionally, and feel something sinister may have taken up residence. During their investigation, the team captures highly intelligent communication, orbs, and inexplicable voices.”
Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley, Zak Bagans and Jay Wasley outside the Women’s Club of Hollywood (Photo Credit: Discovery Channel)
Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in ‘Friendship’ (Photo Credit: Courtesy of A24)
Writer/director Andrew DeYoung’s dark comedy Friendship explores what happens when a budding bromance suddenly and disastrously comes to an end. Unfortunately, the film’s central bromance involves an incredibly unlikable character.
Craig Waterman (Tim Robinson, I Think You Should Leave) has a decent life. Craig has a lovely wife, Tami (Kate Mara, Class of 09), who has been cancer-free for a year now, a teenage son, Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer, The Spiderwick Chronicles), and a job in technology that makes apps habit-forming. Yes, life is good.
When the mailman accidentally leaves a package for Craig’s new neighbor, Austin Carmichael (Paul Rudd, Death of a Unicorn), on his doorstep, Craig delivers it. This is the beginning of the end of Craig’s melancholy life. Austin befriends Craig unrealistically quickly, inviting him to have a beer the next night and calling him at work to leave early and go play hooky. Craig becomes enamored with Austin and develops a man crush on his neighbor, who happens to be the weatherman for the local television station and in a band.
At first, Austin genuinely likes Craig and enjoys his company. But at a male bonding get-together at Austin’s where Craig meets his friends, Austin begins to see Craig’s quirky behavior and anger issues and realizes he’s made a mistake.
The next day, when Craig tries to smooth things over, things go from bad to worse. Austin tells Craig, “Look, we had a couple of really nice hangs, but I think it’s best if we go our separate ways. I don’t wish to continue this friendship.” To say Craig takes the rejection hard would be a gross understatement. He becomes obsessed with trying to win back Austin’s friendship, no matter the cost or what it takes.
Friendship is a cringe-inducing dark comedy missing any laughs. The film is a misfire mainly because the main character, Craig, is not only unlikable but also truly disturbing. He’s in need of mental help, which makes Friendship uncomfortable to enjoy.
Tim Robinson delivers a strong performance as Craig, a weird, socially awkward, insecure individual who deep down is a narcissistic, passive-aggressive person who lashes out in anger when things don’t go his way. He constantly ignores his wife’s fears about her cancer coming back as well as her desperate need for a bigger van for her home floral business. Craig’s obsession with rekindling his friendship with Austin descends into madness.
Paul Rudd delivers an all too familiar performance as Austin, the cool, likable local weatherman who wants nothing more to do with Craig after realizing just how loony and strange he really is. Kate Mara’s performance as Tami, Craig’s recovering wife, seems as though it belongs in a different film. She plays all her scenes straight and sincere as though she were in a drama. It’s also not believable that Tami would ever be with someone like Craig. It just doesn’t work.
Lacking laughs and having a main character that’s completely unsympathetic, Friendship is a dark comedy that is too dark and uncomfortable for its own good.
GRADE: C-
Rating: R for language and some drug content
Release Date: May 9, 2025 (limited), May 23, 2025 (Nationwide)
Running Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Studio: A24
Xavier Samuel in ‘The Stolen Girl’ (Disney/Matt Squire)
Freeform’s five-part limited series The Stolen Girl wraps the season up with an episode that answers the mystery at the heart of the drama. Episode five reveals the past events that led to the kidnapping, and since the following is a recap, there are spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned.
Episode five begins with a flashback to five years before Lucia was taken. Marcus (Xavier Samuel) is on his private jet which Elisa (Denise Gough) works for. After handing him champagne, Elisa seductively caresses his shoulder with a smirk on her face. The action moves forward and finds Elisa and Marcus lying in bed together, discussing their baby. (She’s pregnant with Georgie.) Marcus talks about the adventures they will have together with their son and Lucia. But Elisa says she needs to think about Fred. She confesses she still loves him and needs to do right by Fred and Lucia.
Speaking of dads, Marcus wonders if Elisa is going to see her dad since he has six months to live. Elisa confesses that she doesn’t think it would be good for her and reveals she had a really weird childhood. Marcus offers to go with her to see her parents.
Marcus and Elisa sit down for dinner at her parents’ house, and her mother, Deborah (Kerry Fox), compliments Lucia’s name. Marcus wonders how she came up with it, and Elisa explains she named her after a saint who had her eyes pulled out for disobeying her parents. (That’s not morbid or anything!) Tension in the room causes Elisa’s father to leave the table during their meal.
Elisa decides to follow him upstairs and catches him watching Lucia sleeping. Elisa demands that he get away from her daughter. Her father wants things to be better between them, but Elisa admits she came back to make sure he was really dying. She confronts him about the sexual abuse she suffered as a child at his hands and demands he get out of her way. Elisa shoves him down the stairs when he tries to grab her, causing his death.
The story moves forward seven weeks since Lucia was taken. Elisa and Selma (Ambika Mod) are on their way to France via private jet. Elisa promises Selma that if she helps her find Lucia, she will give her the whole story.
Holliday Grainger in ‘The Stolen Girl’ (Disney/Matt Squire)
Nina/Rebecca (Holliday Grainger) tries to get her passports, but no one answers the door. She attempts to bribe a neighbor, but that fails, and she’s forced to return to her car. She thinks back to what happened the day of the accident. As Nina dozed off, Josie felt sick. Nicolas pulled over, and while Nina and Josie were outside the vehicle, there was an awful sound of tires squealing and the smashing of cars. Nina’s car was flipped upside down, and a red car was seen fleeing the scene. Nicolas died, and so did their other daughter, Rose.
Back to current events, Elisa drives while questioning Selma to see if she’s found anything yet. Meanwhile, Fred (Jim Sturgess) discovers that Elisa and her passport are both missing. He informs DI Sinclair (Bronagh Waugh) and DS Walker (Layo-Christina Akinlude) that Elisa has gone and where she went. They also know that she is with Selma.
The police show up to talk to Kaleb (Michael Workeye), Selma’s boss, as he tries to get hold of Selma. She actually answers Kaleb’s calling after ignoring all the others, and he demands to know why she is in France with Elisa. He explains the police are at the office threatening to get a warrant. Kaleb doesn’t care about her job at this point; his and Dash Voice’s reputation are on the line now. Selma urges Elisa to call the police, but Elisa insists they can’t.
Rebecca receives an alert on her phone about a suspect in the disappearance of Lucia. After opening the notification, she sees her own face staring back at her. It’s the photo of her at the press conference after Marcus’ trial. She begins to panic.
Elisa and Selma show up at a school Josie possibly went to, and a man working there explains he can’t give them any information. Selma then discovers the police have released Rebecca’s photo, and now it is Elisa’s turn to panic. She knows Rebecca will run. The man at the school suggests that if Rebecca doesn’t want to be found, she most likely is homeschooling Josie. They need to check with the mayor’s office.
Rebecca tries the man with the passports’ door again. This time, the noisy neighbor offers to help but raises her price. Rebecca pays, and all the woman does is bang on his door. Just then, he shows up, and after securing the passports, sirens are heard heading their way. Rebecca escapes before they arrive.
Ambika Mod in ‘The Stolen Girl’ (Disney/Matt Squire)
Selma manages to get information on Rebecca’s whereabouts. After handing it over to Elisa, Selma tries one more time to get Elisa to let her call the police. Elisa gives in, but when Selma turns her back, she drives off and leaves Selma behind.
Fred meets with DI Sinclair and assures her he has not heard from Elisa. He confesses he’s worried that Lucia is dead. She assures him that if they find her or Elisa, they will let him know.
Lucia (Beatrice Campbell) goes through Rebecca’s lockbox and finds the unaltered and altered baby photos. She leaves the house and finds the body of Milan. As she runs away, she runs into the neighbor and tells him she needs help. Rebecca comes home and when the neighbor tells her he saw the body too, she pulls Lucia away. The neighbor also reveals that Lucia told him Rebecca isn’t really her mother.
Rebecca gets Lucia back inside the house and orders Josie (Robyn Betteridge) to get the bags and get in the car. Lucia runs off when Josie’s back is turned and Rebecca’s out of the room.
Elisa finds Rebecca’s house and sees Rebecca’s car door ajar. She heads inside and discovers a bloodstain on the floor. Elisa makes her way back outside and sees Josie running. She chases after her and confronts Rebecca, demanding to know where Lucia is. “You’re too late. She’s gone,” says Rebecca.
Rebecca becomes unhinged and physically attacks Elisa. She screams at her for driving off after the accident. Elisa confesses that she killed Nicolas and Rosie. She was driving, not Marcus. Scenes from the day of the tragic accident flash by as Rebecca sobs uncontrollably.
Rebecca accuses Elisa of taking everything from her while she went on with her perfect life. Elisa claims her life is far from perfect. Her father molested her, starting when she was Lucia’s age. Elisa saw him with Lucia, and she snapped. After pushing him down the stairs, she drove off as fast as she could.
Elisa begs Rebecca to give her Lucia’s body so she can take her home. Rebecca replies, “Lucia is so beautiful.” (Present tense). Rebecca then admits Lucia is fine and hiding.
Elisa finds Lucia and has an emotional reunion. Rebecca drives away, telling Josie that Lulu went to live with her other family. It’s just the two of them now.
The season concludes with the story moving 12 weeks forward after Lucia was found. Selma and Kaleb run into each other at the courthouse, and Selma is now a freelancer. There is no news on Nina/Rebecca; she has completely vanished.
Fred meets with Elisa before her trial. The lawyers think they might be sympathetic since there are children involved, but Elisa doesn’t want to fight the case. Fred wonders if he is still Georgie’s dad even though he now knows he isn’t biologically.
Elisa receives a six-year prison sentence.
Fred is out with the kids at the same place where they played mini golf all those months ago. As Lucia reminisces about that time, Elisa is seen one last time in jail.
For 25 years and through five movies, the Final Destination franchise has been making people afraid to drive behind logging trucks and relax in tanning beds. It’s made me personally think twice about laser eye surgery, that’s for sure. And the hits keep coming, all the way up to and including the newest installment, Final Destination Bloodlines.
Final Destination Bloodlines is about a young woman named Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana from The Friendship Game) who is plagued by a recurring nightmare about the collapse of a high-rise restaurant that kills hundreds of people. After a little investigation, Stefani discovers that her dream is actually a premonition that was had by her grandmother, Iris (Stargirl’s Brec Bassinger), that helped Iris save those hundreds of lives.
Final Destination fans see where this is going.
All of the lives saved by Iris wound up “cheating death,” and Death does not like to be cheated. So, one by one, the survivors die in brutal and mysterious ways as Death, an enigmatic supernatural force, tracks them down. Except the sheer number of lives saved by Iris means that it takes Death decades to do its job, so the survivors all start families of their own. And because none of these second- and third-generation survivors should be alive, Death goes after their…Bloodlines.
The Final Destination movies are as formulaic as they come. With the exception of Final Destination 2, which tossed in a secondary life/pregnancy angle, these movies are all the same. But the concept has managed to support, so far, six films. It’s not the story that gets fans coming to see Final Destination movies. The creativity is in how Death, the obvious antagonist of the series, goes about claiming its victims. Fans want unique and gruesome kill scenes. And that’s what they get. These are pretty much slasher movies with the paranormal entity of Death itself as the masked killer.
It’s worth noting that the nightmare of the premonition does give Final Destination Bloodlines a fresh take on things. In the hands of co-directors Adam Stein and Zach Lipovsky (the duo behind Freaks), the script and story from Guy Busick (Ready or Not, Abigail), Lori Evans Taylor (Cellar Door, Bed Rest), and Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Cop Car) breathes new life into a premise that, while not at all stale, had been recycled for five movies. And while Final Destination Bloodlines is by no means a departure, it is a new direction that results in killing on a grander scale. And on a more ridiculous one.
Those Death-comes-calling scenes that keep the audiences coming back are more over-the-top and ludicrous this time around. While the domino effect, Rube Goldberg machine way that Death operates provides plenty of suspense and tension, the payoffs here are darkly comedic. In one of the early scenes, for example, the camera shows a piece of broken glass fall into an ice chest, a rake sitting underneath a trampoline that is wearing out, and gas seeping dangerously from a barbeque grill, all while revelers go about their merry way, oblivious to the constant danger. Some of these things are red herrings and some are indirect threats, but everything comes together in a kill that everyone knows is coming, they just don’t know how. And that’s the joy of it.
In true Final Destination fashion, the creative ways that Death kills are also very gory. The effects are clearly CGI, but that seems to work just fine in the context of what is going on. Heads explode, bodies catch on fire, limbs are impaled, and it’s all in the spirit of good old entrails-soaked fun. It’s the kind of stuff that makes horror fans giddy with laughter.
Another aspect of Final Destination Bloodlines that will please fans of the franchise is how it basically ties all of the previous movies together. While it’s always been clear that the series all takes place in the same universe, this latest installment provides rhyme and reason to the events of the previous entries. And while, sure, sometimes it raises more questions than it answers, it’s a Final Destination movie. Just go with it.
And speaking of tying the previous movies together, Final Destination Bloodlines features what would wind up being the last performance from the late, great Tony Todd, best known for both the Final Destination series and for being the original Candyman. Todd returns as the coroner Bludworth to give his usual sagely advice to the impending victims of Death. Todd clearly looks a bit more frail than usual, but it’s great to see him reprise the character that helped define the entire franchise. It somehow seems fitting for his final role to be as Bludworth.
Final Destination movies are kind of review-proof. People essentially know what to expect, and everyone who is interested already knows that they are going to see it. But if anyone is on the fence – see it. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does add a few spokes. And those spokes are splattered in blood.
GRADE: B
Rating: R for violent, grisly accidents and language
Running Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Release Date: May 16, 2025
Studio: Warner Bros Pictures
An incredibly emotional season of ABC’s 9-1-1 comes to a close with episode 18, “Seismic Shifts.” The season finale, which finds the squad dealing with a collapsed building, will air on Thursday, May 15, 2025 at 8pm ET/PT.
“Seismic Shifts” Plot: The 118, still reeling from their recent loss, is dispatched to a mass casualty event after a high-rise apartment building collapses. Then, Athena and Chimney have to work together to save a familiar face.
The season eight cast includes Angela Bassett as Athena Grant-Nash, Jennifer Love Hewitt as Maddie Han, and Oliver Stark as Evan “Buck” Buckley. Kenneth Choi plays Howie “Chimney” Han, Aisha Hinds stars as Henrietta “Hen” Wilson, Ryan Guzman is Eddie Diaz, and Gavin McHugh is Christopher Diaz. Guest stars include Brian Thompson, Constance Marie, Arianna Rivas, and Sam Roach.
Angela Bassett in ‘9-1-1’ season 8 episode 18 (Disney/Christopher Willard)
9-1-1 Synopsis, Courtesy of ABC:
The series explores the high-pressure experiences of first responders — including police officers, firefighters, and dispatchers—who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking, and heart-stopping conditions. These emergency responders must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in their own lives.
The show draws from the real lives of first responders who regularly face situations that are often unpredictable, intense, and uplifting at the same time.
Terri Hoyos and Ryan Guzman in the season 8 finale (Disney/Christopher Willard)Anirudh Pisharody and Oliver Stark in the season 8 finale (Disney/Christopher Willard)Chiquita Fuller and Jennifer Love Hewitt in season 8 episode 18, “Seismic Shift” (Disney/Christopher Willard)Constance Marie and Arianna Rivas in the season 8 finale (Disney/Ray Mickshaw)
