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The big game is coming up soon. That’s right, it is almost Super Bowl season. While I personally watch sports and I am ready to see the Patriots and the Seahawks go head to head, many people are into Super Bowl Sunday for other reasons. There’s a swath of good food and drinks as well as some pretty awesome commercials and TV spots. While many of them are funny ads from big companies, nerds can also get more looks at movies that are coming up. One ad that we saw during the AFC championship game and will likely see again during the Super Bowl is a TV spot for The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s major epic coming this summer.

The film boasts a super stacked cast, including Matt Damon, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, and Anne Hathaway. But, there’s also rapper Travis Scott. Yes, you read that right. Somehow, Kylie Jenner’s ex is among this crowd, and he appears in The Odyssey TV spot. His character comes in during a scene between Jon Bernthal’s Menelaus and Tom Holland’s Telemachus with warnings about an impending war. 

“A war, a man, a trick — a trick to break the walls of Troy,” he announces boldly as images of the Trojan War flash onscreen. “It’s burning, screaming to the ground.”

Very ominous, indeed. The Odyssey will hit theaters on July 17.

The post THE ODYSSEY’s New Clip Showcases an Epic War and Travis Scott appeared first on Nerdist.

The 2026 Sundance Film Festival selection Frank & Louis is not your typical prison inmate redemption story. While audiences have seen countless variations of this narrative over the years, so many that the trope arguably deserves its own genre classification, this film manages to carve out a space that feels both intimate and distinct. Rather than relying on familiar beats of guilt, repentance, and absolution, Frank & Louis grounds its story in quiet observation and human connection, offering a more restrained and emotionally resonant take on what redemption can look like behind bars.

Frank, played with remarkable restraint by Kingsley Ben-Adir, is incarcerated for murder. Although the crime was not a calculated homicide committed, (he was at the wrong place at the wrong time), Frank accepts full responsibility for his actions. A fact that subtly shapes how he moves through the world and how others perceive him. As part of a bid for parole, Frank takes on a job that requires caring for elderly inmates suffering from dementia. It is through this assignment that he meets Louis, portrayed by Rob Morgan in one of the most quietly devastating performances of his career.

Louis was once a feared shot caller who ran things inside the prison walls. Now he is grappling with early onset dementia, a cruel twist that strips him of the power and authority he once wielded. His mind is betraying him in real time, leaving him confused, volatile, and increasingly vulnerable. As Frank assumes the role of Louis’ caretaker, the job proves to be far more emotionally and physically taxing than anticipated. Louis does not make things easy. As his cognitive health deteriorates, he experiences violent mood swings, fits of rage, and moments of paranoia, often directing his misaligned anger at Frank, the very person tasked with helping him.

Complicating matters further is the presence of another inmate who seeks revenge on Louis for harm he caused years earlier, when he held influence and control within the prison. This fellow prisoner sees Louis’ deteriorating mental state as an opportunity, a chance to settle an old score while Louis is no longer capable of defending himself. In this environment, Frank becomes more than just a caretaker. He evolves into a protector, standing between Louis and the dangers that surround him, even when doing so puts his own safety and parole prospects at risk.

Ben-Adir and Morgan serve as the emotional anchors of the film, delivering performances that are understated yet deeply commanding. Together, they capture the duality of life behind bars, the hardened exterior shaped by survival and violence, and the softer, more fragile humanity that emerges in moments of care, fear, and remembrance. Frank is shown communicating regularly with his sister, gathering letters of recommendation and preparing to convince the parole board that he deserves a second chance at freedom. In contrast, Louis is fighting a more internal battle, struggling to piece together fragments of his identity as memories slip through his grasp. Watching these parallel journeys unfold adds a quiet tension to the film, one rooted not in spectacle but in emotional stakes.

Director Petra Biondina Volpe approaches the material with remarkable subtlety. The film does not ask the audience to choose sides or issue moral judgments. It does not push for sympathy, nor does it attempt to excuse the crimes these men have committed. Instead, Volpe presents their lives as they are now, shaped by confinement, regret, illness, and unexpected companionship. Frank and Louis are tethered to one another by circumstance rather than choice. Over time, as their relationship deepens, a mutual understanding and respect begins to form. This bond grows quietly, built on small gestures and shared moments rather than grand declarations.

What makes Frank & Louis so compelling is its refusal to conform to the emotional manipulation often found in prison dramas. There are no sweeping monologues or neatly packaged revelations. The film trusts its audience to sit with discomfort, ambiguity, and silence. In doing so, it offers one of the most uniquely told prison stories in recent memory, one that feels honest and deeply human.

The film premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Additional screenings are scheduled throughout the festival for audiences eager to experience this poignant and thoughtfully crafted drama.

The post Sundance 2026 Review: ‘Frank & Louis’ Finds Humanity in the Quiet Corners of Prison Life appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

There is something distinctly intentional about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms that signals this series is determined to carve out an identity separate from other George R. R. Martin adaptations. While nudity is a familiar fixture in this universe, full-frontal male nudity is far less common. The opening scene featuring a fully exposed and notably well-endowed Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb), casually relieving himself outside his cabin, may give Hodor or Podrick Payne a run for their money. It also makes one thing abundantly clear: this show has a curious fixation on bodily fluids.

Our protagonist, Dunk (Peter Claffey), reflects on his past with the now-deceased knight Ser Arlan, a man who had no children, no lands, and no lasting legacy, yet shared an unmistakably close bond with Dunk. Though Dunk humbly describes his own abilities as “unsung,” the evidence suggests otherwise. This tension between Dunk’s version of events and the truth lingers heavily over the episode, reinforcing the central question: is he truly a knight?

While wandering the grounds, Dunk notices a lord dressed in unmistakable Targaryen colors. When approached, the man curtly orders Dunk to stop staring and tend to his horse. Dunk protests that he is no stable boy and not clever enough for horses, only to be told instead to fetch wine and a “pretty wench.” Dunk apologizes again, insisting he is neither servant nor errand boy but a knight. The claim is met with dry skepticism, a remark that knighthood has fallen on hard days, and a suggestion that too many people sleep too easily beneath borrowed titles.

This ongoing dismissal becomes something of a running gag, as disrespect toward Dunk’s claimed knighthood follows him at every turn.

Later, Dunk is caught spying and apologizes for interrupting a court led by Prince Baelor Targaryen (Bertie Carvel). He explains that he asked Ser Manfred Dondarrion to vouch for him so he could enter the tourney lists, only to be refused. Tensions rise as accusations of intrusion are thrown about and identities are questioned. Dunk swears he served Ser Arlan of Pennytree and offers the knight’s sword and shield as proof, though he is reminded that such items alone do not make a knight. Pressed for stronger evidence, Dunk appeals to memory, recalling Ser Arlan’s honor, his refusal to shame himself, and his victory over Lord Stokeworth in the King’s Landing melee. It is enough. Dunk is added to the list and granted his chance.

Dunk later attends another puppet show led by Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford) and is once again immediately smitten. Socially awkward and utterly out of his depth, he even relies on Egg to help him find the right words. At Baelor’s instruction, Dunk asks Tanselle to repaint his shield, since he can no longer bear Ser Arlan’s sigil. Struggling to ask for her help, he mutters that she must think him a fool. Her reply is sharp and memorable: “All men are fools. All men are knights.”

During a tug-of-war contest, Dunk and Egg team up with Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings). Lyonel’s playful pat on Dunk’s backside once again hints that he may have more than a passing fondness for the hedge knight. They win the contest, but victory does little to ease Dunk’s growing doubts.

As the episode draws to a close, Dunk and Egg sit together by the campfire, mirroring the quiet ending of the first episode. Dunk is visibly defeated, questioning not only his abilities but his very identity as a hedge knight. He wonders why none of the noble lords seem to remember Ser Arlan’s name at all.

Perhaps Dunk has more to prove than he ever imagined.

The post ‘A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms’ Recap – Episode 2 “Hard Salt Beef” appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

You may just have been eating Raising Cane’s wrong your whole life. Stay with me.

Have you ever been craving Raising Cane’s all day, finally picked up your order from the drive-thru after a long shift, and opened up the food at home in mouth-watering anticipation—only to realize it got soggy over the course of the car ride?