Street Fighter focuses on the second World Warrior Tournament, following Ryu and Ken’s personal journeys and M. Bison’s plans. Ryu’s story is the highlight, especially in the animated flashbacks about Gouken, Akuma, Ryu, and Ken, which add real drama. By contrast, Bison’s plot is so exaggerated that it doesn’t feel like it’s part of the same movie. The movie also has awkward dialogue, a few bad jokes, and sudden edits that make it jump between characters and stories without a steady flow.

The main cast stands out. Andrew Koji captures Ryu’s calm intensity, Noah Centineo is convincing as the hot-headed Ken, and Callina Liang brings confidence to Chun-Li. Roman Reigns is a strong Akuma, with the right presence and voice, and Andrew Schulz plays Dan with just the right amount of silliness. David Dastmalchian’s M. Bison doesn’t quite work, caught between a new version and trying to match Julia’s classic role. Meanwhile, Cody Rhodes as Guile and Vidyut Jammwal as Dhalsim show promise, but they and other supporting characters don’t get much screen time. Jason Momoa’s Blanka adds some quirky fun. Zangief, E. Honda, Balrog, and Vega look the part, but they feel more like quick cameos than full characters.

Street Fighter embraces campy fan service and faithful characters, but uneven pacing, cheesy dialogue, and too few fights weaken its knockout.

For a movie called Street Fighter, there’s less fighting than you’d expect. Some tournament matches happen offscreen, so you only hear about the results instead of seeing the action. The fights that are shown are well choreographed and match each character’s style. Still, the action doesn’t have the speed or energy of Mortal Kombat II. As a result, seeing only a few signature moves makes the missing fights feel even more disappointing.

The costumes and character designs look great and stay true to the games. Composers Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson deliver a strong version of Guile’s Theme, but it’s disappointing that other classic Capcom songs don’t get the same treatment. Easter eggs throughout the movie give fans plenty to enjoy, but all the fan service might make newcomers feel left out.

Overall, Street Fighter is made for its fans, and that is its biggest strength. Its focus on the series’ history and lore makes it especially enjoyable for longtime followers. However, casual viewers might find the pacing, cheesy dialogue, and lack of fights to be drawbacks. It is not perfect, but for devoted fans, there is enough here to keep playing.

Rating: 3/5 atoms

Street Fighter hits theaters on October 16th.

The post Street Fighter Review – Here Comes a New Challenger, but Not Quite a Champion appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

In Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, the film follows Kapoor’s story of how a private doctor got thrown into the limelight. Kal Penn (Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle) portrays Kapoor, who had to put his life in the public eye to try to clear his name. Abbie Cornish, who can be seen in Prime Video’s Jack Ryan and Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch, portrays Anna Nicole Smith.

“But then the crazy thing in getting to know [Sandeep] was, he still has an office here in LA,” Penn tells Nerd Reactor. “And I remember going in and being like, ‘Wow, it’s a small office.’ He has a very small patient list. … It would not have been uncommon, especially in those days, because he had a small client or patient list to get invited to his patients’ bar mitzvahs or sweet 16s or birthday parties.

“So I didn’t recognize that he was running and still is running this 1950s-style, very human medical operation. And once I understood that, I was like, oh, so it wouldn’t be weird for even your celebrity patient to be like, ‘Oh, what are you doing this weekend? Do you want to come to this parade or this party?’ And I think that was one of the first things that really unlocked who he was and the decisions that he was making.”

Kal Penn discusses the mistakes Kapoor made, and how as a viewer, he would be perplexed as someone looking in from the outside.

“He makes a lot of mistakes, as you know from the film,” the actor said. “And I think we depict that pretty well, where he’s making bad decision after bad decision, which he did in real life. You’re just kind of watching this going, ‘Why would you do this? Why would you omit key information from your own defense lawyer in the service of you being innocent?'”

Defending Kapoor is Ellyn Garofalo, portrayed by Linda Hamilton (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Stranger Things). The trial attorney has represented many high-profile defendants, and in Kapoor’s case, she wanted to defend him both in the court and in the court of public opinion.

“But she is the one that’s trying to parcel out the truth and also create an image for him to sort of help with the case,” Hamilton tells Nerd Reactor. “I mean, it really is an interesting study in the underworkings of what people do before they have to go to trial.”

Director Thane Economou wanted to focus on how a person can get sucked into the whirlwind of Hollywood.

“This is not someone who was at the center of the whirlwind,” the filmmaker tells Nerd Reactor. “This is not someone who was heavily implicated. This was to me the story of what if a mild-mannered quiet man has just a tangential brush with the whirlwind of fame and excess and Hollywood and just gets sucked into it.”

Economou told Kapoor that he wanted to show the mistakes, and the doctor was open to it.

“I said, ‘Listen, every single mistake that you made, I’m gonna put it in the film. I’m not gonna sugarcoat things,'” Economou said. “And he said, ‘Yes, I’m down for that; I’m open to that. I want people to kind of see the full breadth and three-dimensionality of the stories.'”

As for working with Cornish, Economou was amazed at how she captured Smith.

“With Kal, it was always him and I joking around on set and reworking dialogue with Abbie,” Economou explained. “Because she was in hair and makeup, we’d always have the set ready for her. And we’d be working on something else and we’d hear Abbie coming. And then she’d walk on the set, and I swear to God, it was like Anna walked on the set. And we would just jump right into the scene.”

The film opens in theaters Friday, October 16, 2026.

About Trust Me, I’m a Doctor

Synopsis: Trust Me, I’m a Doctor follows Dr. Sandeep Kapoor after his life is turned upside down when he is implicated in the death of his former patient, model and reality television star Anna Nicole Smith. Set against the height of the early 2000s tabloid era, the film chronicles Kapoor’s fight to clear his name as paparazzi descend on his office, police raid his home, private journals are leaked, and every aspect of his personal life becomes public. With the guidance of respected attorney Ellyn Garofalo, Kapoor must navigate a high-stakes drug conspiracy trial while confronting the intersection of celebrity, justice, politics and personal redemption.

The film is directed and written by Thane Economou and stars Kal Penn, Linda Hamilton, and Abbie Cornish.

The post ‘Trust Me, I’m a Doctor’: Kal Penn on Playing Anna Nicole Smith’s Doctor appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

The trailer also features a cinematic rendition of Paramore’s “Ain’t It Fun.”

Disney’s Hexed releases in theaters on November 25, 2026.

About Hexed

Synopsis: In “Disney’s Hexed,” an impulsive and unconventional teenage girl named Billie Doe (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) discovers secret magical abilities which, once unleashed, hurtle her out of suburbia and into a spectacle-filled journey through a vast witch realm called Hexe. Forced to team up with her cautious mother, Alice (voiced by Rashida Jones), they uncover family mysteries that could change the world of witches forever.

Joining Steinfeld are Rashida Jones, Jodie Foster, Walton Goggins, Tracey Ullman, Stephen Fry, Henry Winkler, Dan Stevens, Brett Gelman, Samson Kayo, Jimmy O. Yang, Ron Funches, Drew (McIntyre) Galloway, Cheri Oteri, Kathy Najimy, Wayne Knight, Alan Tudyk, Randall Park, Bill Farmer, Pat McAfee, Chris Parnell, Sarah-Nicole Robles, Rachel Dratch, Ariana Madix, Kellie Gerardi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Abraham Benrubi and Josh Dallas.

Directed by Fawn Veerasunthorn and Jason Hand; co-directed by Josie Trinidad; produced by Roy Conli and Yvett Merino; and written by Walt Disney Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller,

The post Disney’s Hexed Trailer Released from Walt Disney Animation Studios appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

Tenzing yearns to reach the top of Mount Everest, and he had many doubters. Phuntsok explains that the Sherpa way of life is about survival.

“It’s honestly for survival,” Phuntsok tells Nerd Reactor. “The Sherpa people keep climbing, keep working as porters, just to survive and help their families. Even though they risk their lives every day, they keep doing this, pushing themselves to do that. And if they don’t do that, maybe it’s hard to find another job. Of course, it’s also part of the dream, but it’s more than a dream. It’s survival.”

The movie shines a light on who Tenzing is and his origin story. Phuntsok wants more people to know about him.

“I hope all the people around the world will pay attention to the Sherpa people and give them more love,” the Tibetan actor said. “There aren’t many stories from this perspective. This movie explains what the Sherpa people are doing in the valley.”

Willem Dafoe, known for playing the Green Goblin in Spider-Man, portrays Hunt as someone who wants the British to be the first to reach the summit. There are some clashes between John Hunt and Tenzing and Edmund. However, circumstances forced Hunt to change his approach in the expedition.

“He’s a guy that was born in India during the Raj,” Dafoe said. “He’s a mountain guy and military man, but his relationship to the Sherpas is not necessarily racist, but he sees them as apart. There’s the British over here; they’re always apart. That’s expressed very early in the movie. And it’s not a personal expression of how he feels. It’s a given feeling of the time, an accepted position at the time. And you see through experience how that shifts in the course of the expedition.”

One line Hunt says is: “Failure is not an option.” However, Dafoe believes that failure IS an option.

“After the expedition, I’m sure he would have said failure is an important part of learning, which is an important part of living,” Dafoe said. “It’s inevitable. That expressed his initial approach, which was a very military approach. But in fact, I think that gets adjusted in the course of the expedition.”

The interview has been edited for clarity.

About Tenzing

Synopsis: Based on true events, “Tenzing” chronicles the little-known story of Tenzing Norgay (Genden Phuntsok), a gifted Himalayan climber who, alongside New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston), became the first to summit Mount Everest. Encouraged by his wife Dawa (Thinley Lhamo), Tenzing finds an ally in expedition secretary Jill Henderson (Caitríona Balfe). Together, they persuade Colonel John Hunt (Willem Dafoe) that Tenzing belongs on the British climbing team, rather than merely serving it.

Where Western climbers see “Everest” as something to be conquered, Tenzing reveres “Chomolungma” as the sacred mother goddess. What follows is an ascent defined as much by the tensions between backgrounds, classes and competing ambitions as by the perils of the mountain itself. But high above the world, empire, rank and aspiration fall away, leaving two outsiders bound by mutual respect and trust — and for Tenzing, the fulfillment of both a life-long dream and a spiritual calling.

Directed by Jennifer Peedom from a screenplay by Luke Davies. The film is executive produced by Norbu Tenzing, Simon Gillis, and David Michôd.

The film stars Genden Phuntsok, Tom Hiddleston, Willem Dafoe, Caitríona Balfe, Tenzin Dalha, and Thinley Lhamo.

Tenzing releases in select theaters on October 9, 2026, and on Apple TV on October 16, 2026.

The post Willem Dafoe and Genden Phuntsok Discuss Tenzing and the Historic Mount Everest Expedition appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

Loki recently made a surprise appearance in Avengers: Endgame Encore, visiting Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter in the past. The scene gave fans a taste of things to come for Avengers: Doomsday.

“At the end of Loki season two, he realizes that he can use his power as a demigod for a greater purpose, that the whole journey of Loki has been an exploration of purpose and meaning,” Hiddleston tells Nerd Reactor during the press junket for Apple TV’s Tenzing. “And his purpose exists for others, and that he’s going to use that purpose. So I arrived in Doomsday with all of that experience, with that story having been told, and it created a new starting point.”

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With Loki holding down the timeline in the MCU, it has given rise to a theory about his importance in Avengers: Doomsday. One theory suggests that he is serving as the stand-in for Molecule Man, a powerful Marvel Comics character featured in the Secret Wars storyline who helped Doctor Doom create Battleworld. However, Hiddleston did not confirm the theory during the interview.

You can catch Hiddleston in Tenzing, currently in select theatres and will be available on Apple TV on October 16, 2026.

About Avengers: Doomsday

Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Doomsday” is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo; produced by Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito and Jonathan Schwartz.

The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Pedro Pascal, Paul Rudd, Anthony Mackie, Florence Pugh, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Wyatt Russell, Channing Tatum, Simu Liu, Ian McKellen, Hayley Atwell, Tom Hiddleston, James Marsden, Patrick Stewart, Joseph Quinn, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Letitia Wright, Lewis Pullman, Kelsey Grammer, Kathryn Newton, Danny Ramirez, Winston Duke, Alan Cumming, Hannah John-Kamen, Rebecca Romijn, Mabel Cadena, and Tenoch Huerta Mejia.

Synopsis: In “Avengers: Doomsday,” beloved heroes from three distinct universes will be set on a deadly collision course and face an existential threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered.

“Avengers: Doomsday” releases in theaters on December 18, 2026.

The post Tom Hiddleston Explains How Loki Season 2 Shaped His Return in Avengers: Doomsday appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

Last Chance Motel follows Taylor-Compton and Harris as a newlywed couple whose wedding is turned upside down when a family that runs the venue has other ideas.

Heather Langenkamp is known for playing the final girl, Nancy, in A Nightmare on Elm Street. In Last Chance Motel, she is the antagonist Bobbi Love, a character that is the complete opposite of Nancy.

“I love being the good guy, I won’t lie,” Langenkamp tells Nerd Reactor. “It’s so special that I was able to play Nancy, who has so many incredibly strong qualities for women and men alike and teenagers as a group. But as you become more mature in this industry, you don’t really have the opportunity to play those characters anymore, and you just need to face reality. So you need to take on characters that are a 180 degrees different to show people that you have range and to show people that you’ll take on any character that comes your way.”

Taylor-Compton and Harris wanted to make Last Chance Motel specifically for hardcore horror fans, embracing the film’s blood, gore, and practical effects.

“We wanted to do this movie and make it gory,” Taylor Compton said. “Because we were inspired by some of the movies coming up, like Terrifier, and everybody speaking, ‘How much fun they had doing it.’ I think Danielle and I just wanted to do something as equally as fun because we’ve done these; I wouldn’t say that they’re tame movies, but there’s a level. So we’re like, ‘Well, let’s ****ing be bloody. Let’s do it.'”

Monica Keena also has a history with the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, having played the final girl Lori Campbell in Freddy vs. Jason. In Last Chance Motel, she plays Sugar, who is in a relationship with Cuervo, played by Zachary Roozen. She mentioned one of her favorite scenes, which was the film’s pool scene.

“And I have to say that the pool scene, I felt the energy that night,” Keena said. There was a lot of action going on and gore and blood and all this stuff. But there’s a really nice collaborative energy leading up to that.”

Roozen, who can also be seen in the horror comedy Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence, talks about how fun the set is, especially with its practical effects.

“It’s fun every day looking at the call sheet and seeing at the bottom all of the things that’ll be used when,” he said. “It starts becoming like an encyclopedia of like tubing and all this different stuff. And you’re like, ‘Wow, this is going to be intense.’ But I think there’s something that’s so true. I’ve always loved horror in general, but I’ve always loved being on sets where everyone gathers around during iconic moments like that or things that you know are coming up. And I just love the collective nature of it.”

About Last Chance Motel

Synopsis: Their dream wedding in the Nevada desert turns into a fight for survival when the newlyweds discover the isolated motel hosting their big day is run by a relentless, bloodthirsty family with dark secrets of their own.

The film is directed by Danielle Harris and Scout Taylor-Compton and written by Harris, Taylor-Compton, and Brandon Slagle.

The film also stars Shane West, Sierra McCormick, and Robert Allen Mukes.

The post Last Chance Motel: Monica Keena, Heather Langenkamp & Cast Talk Bloody Horror and Practical Effects appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

But it wasn’t just Navarrette’s acceptance speech that caught the attention of X-Men fans.

In the video, Navarrette can be seen sporting noticeably longer red hair. While there’s no confirmation that the look is specifically for Rogue, it certainly adds another interesting wrinkle considering the actress is set to portray the iconic Southern Belle powerhouse in Marvel Studios’ upcoming X-Men reboot.

Navarrette was officially announced as Rogue during Disney’s D23 presentation in August, alongside the rest of the reboot’s initial cast. She will star alongside Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Maya Boyd as Storm, Christopher Abbott as Professor X, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, and Adam Driver as Mister Sinister.

Production Weekly, a long-running industry newsletter, reported in early August that principal photography on the Marvel project at London’s legendary Pinewood Studios was already underway. Adam Driver even appeared virtually from Pinewood during the D23 cast announcement in August, joking that he was already waiting on the soundstage for everyone else to show up.

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Of course, fans will have to wait for Marvel to officially reveal Navarrette in character before we know exactly what the studio has planned for her version of Rogue. But if this new look is any indication, the X-Men reboot may already be moving much further along than fans realize.

The post Inde Navarrette’s Appearance at Critics Choice May Tease First Look at Rogue in X-Men Reboot appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

Perseverance is one of the film’s central themes, and it’s something that Pressly has connected with throughout her career.

“I’ve been in this business 30 years,” Pressly tells Nerd Reactor during the Last Shot red carpet premiere in Los Angeles. “If anybody knows what perseverance is, it’s me. It takes a lot. You go through a lot of ups and downs, as Caden does, as my character Lexi does in this film. But perseverance is not giving up. Obviously, in the end, they both went out, and everything works out. But you have to go through the tough stuff to get through the good stuff.”

In the film, Caden also learns the importance of always shooting your shot to achieve your goals. Davis, who plays his coach and is a former Golden State Warriors player, was asked about his biggest “shoot your shot” moment.

“I would say my kids,” Davis says. “Every day you wake up, and you go to sleep, and you have an opportunity to impress them. I would say my greatest shot was making kids.”

Friedman portrays Caden, a young and gifted basketball player who moves to a new school and has to adapt to his new environment. For the actor, the film’s title represents getting another chance.

“Last shot means like, you messed up, it’s a second chance, and you use it to its fullest ability,” Friedman said. “And you did what you were supposed to do when you came back, and that just makes me feel good about myself because it also was with Caden. He messed up, he came back, and he conquered what he needed to do. It’s just a great message.”

Another message in Last Shot is the importance of teamwork. Cameron Gayden, who plays Alex Suarez, knows a thing or two about teamwork since he plays baseball in real life.
“Teamwork means everything to me, honestly,” the actor said. “So many great things about everything in my life involve teamwork.”

The film is written by Todd Friedman and directed by Andy Palmer.

It also stars Laraine Newman, Johnny Simmons, and Anthony B. Jenkins.

The post Jaime Pressly & the Last Shot Cast Talk Perseverance, Teamwork and Taking Your Shot appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

At the center is Tom Cruise as Digger Rockwell, delivering one of the most eccentric and over-the-top performances of his career. He is as ridiculous as the advertisements suggest, but Cruise never lets the character become a caricature. Instead, his natural charisma remains intact, and Digger reminds us that beneath the thrills and stuntwork, Cruise is an exceptional actor.

He’s hardly alone. The supporting cast is fantastic, and Iñárritu gives his ensemble many chances to shine. Rather than existing merely in Cruise’s orbit, characters have substantial moments of their own, including memorable monologues that let performers dig into the material. As a result, everyone brings their finest work, and the performances fuel the film.

What surprised me most about Digger is how funny it is. Its biting satire often reminded me of Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, finding comedy in the ludicrousness of people confronting an increasingly outrageous situation. Iñárritu pushes that ridiculousness far enough that you sometimes wonder exactly what you’re watching—and that is the point.

Tom Cruise delivers an eccentric, charismatic performance in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s sharp and beautifully crafted satire.

That uncertainty may be the movie’s biggest hurdle for some audiences. For a considerable stretch, I had no idea where the story was heading. Still, the film asks you to trust it. Thankfully, once the pieces begin falling into place, earlier choices feel more deliberate, revealing how carefully Iñárritu constructed the story.

Beneath the nonsense is a sharp examination of wealth, power, ego, capitalism, and environmental responsibility. Here, Digger filters these enormous subjects through characters whose confidence in their own importance becomes as ridiculous as the circumstances around them.

Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography is equally deliberate. The movie is beautiful to look at, but its imagery never feels beautiful just for beauty’s sake. In keeping with the rest of the film, framing, composition, and camera placement consistently feel purposeful, working with Iñárritu’s direction and the performances rather than distracting from them.

Overall, Digger is a big, strange swing that just manages to hold everything together, and for me, that is exactly why it works. It’s a fantastic, biting satire driven by strong performances and sharp filmmaking. Go in blind, accept the absurdity, and enjoy the ride.

Rating: 4.5/5 atoms

Digger hits theaters on October 2nd.

The post Digger Review – A Very Serious Movie About Very Unserious People appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

Bassinger is known for her role as Stargirl in the CW superhero series. In Buzzkill, she steps up to become the new sorority leader after the death of the previous one.

“I think a lot of the writing does the heavy lifting when it comes to the comedy, and I find it funny when something chaotic or scary is going on,” Bassinger tells Nerd Reactor. “We just have to believe it a hundred percent, and the more you believe it, a lot of times the funnier it is. That’s my thought process.”

Aliyah’s Interlude is a musician who is making her feature film debut in Buzzkill.

“Honestly, I feel like although yes, the movie is extremely scary, and it’s a horror movie, but I think just the comedic aspects made it so much lighter,” Aliyah said. “If there’s a way to describe it like that, because I do feel like even when we were covered in all blood or the girls were screaming, or there are clowns, there was always just a punchline at the end that kind of lightened the entire mood. So I think it was a good balance, all in all.”

About Buzzkill

When a group of sorority sisters find themselves trapped with a vengeful killer, party-girl Nora (Agudong) knows that the drunker she gets, the more her tipsy memories start revealing clues about who’s murdering her friends. But she’d better hurry, or her next vodka soda might be her last call.

Buzzkill is written by Suzanne Keilly (Slumber Party Massacre) and directed by Jem Garrard (R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead).

The film debuts on September 25, 2026, on Tubi.

The post Brec Bassinger and Aliyah’s Interlude Talk Bloody Horror-Comedy in Tubi’s Buzzkill appeared first on Nerd Reactor.