Love movies? Live for TV? USA TODAY's Watch Party newsletter has all the best recommendations, delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now and be one of the cool kids.
Tom Cruise doesn't play things safe. Yes, obviously, I'm referring to him hanging off assorted aircraft and other insane things he does in his cinematic stunt-o-ramas. But in his 45-year history in Hollywood, Cruise has done a lot of different roles and navigated through various reinventions.
"Digger" is one such large swing, where Cruise plays a paunchy and super-powerful oil tycoon in the new disaster movie satire. That's worth a watch this weekend, though if you're down for all things Colleen Hoover, Josh Hartnett gets twisty with Dakota Johnson and Anne Hathaway in "Verity."
Plus, we've got something special: USA TODAY's 100 best animated movies ever list, with plenty of things to see again or for the first time.
Now on to the good stuff:
See Tom Cruise swing for the fences with dark comedy 'Digger'
As much as I like Maverick, Ethan Hunt, Cole Trickle and Lt. Daniel Kaffee, my favorite Tom Cruise character is Les Grossman, his supremely volatile but kinda dance-y "Tropic Thunder" studio executive. It transforms the iconic star into someone completely different, and maybe that's part of why I dig Cruise's new movie "Digger." The disaster movie satire casts Cruise as an oil tycoon responsible for a global catastrophe, and while not all its ambitious aims come together, Cruise keeps the darkly funny, thought-provoking piece watchable. (Peep my ★★★ review.)
I'm a little jealous that my LA colleague Allison Moses chatted him up at the "Digger" Hollywood premiere about his early roles. (He's one of the few folks left on my interview bucket list.) But I did talk with fellow actors and director Alejandro González Iñárritu about how "Digger" is such a bold move for Cruise – and why it's on Oscar's radar. “You want him as a wingman, or you want to be his wingman, because he's got this curiosity about everything," says "Digger" costar John Goodman.
Sit on the edge of your seat in Josh Hartnett's thriller 'Verity'
Feel free to check me on this, but I think the Colleen Hoover adaptation "Verity" marks Anne Hathaway's 63rd movie this year. (Give or take.) It's also part of Josh Hartnett's career resurgence the past few years, starting with "Oppenheimer" and continuing with "Trap," "Fight or Flight" and the upcoming Netflix show "Below." "Verity" casts him as the husband of an incapacitated best-selling author (Hathaway) who hires a writer (Dakota Johnson) to finish his wife's book series.
My bud Patrick Ryan talked with Hartnett about not bringing the darkness of the movie home with him, how he's a bookworm but wasn't a Hoover fan ("I don’t think I’m the market that it’s geared toward exactly"), and why he's focused on playing characters unlike himself. “I haven’t always been allowed to play them," he says, "but I’ve tried very hard to find ones that will push me beyond what people think of me."
Make a watchlist from our ranking of the 100 best animated movies
I do a lot of rankings, from animation studios and massive franchises to A-list filmmakers and niche movie genres. It's pretty fun. But we needed to do something new and different. So that's why we put together a list of the 100 best animated movies of all time. But it's not just my picks: I surveyed Oscar-winning filmmakers, studio executives and some iconic voice actors (hint: both Elsa and Shrek!) for their top five animated flicks of all time and compiled a ranking full of classic mainstream hits and more obscure gems.
A lot of famous folks weighed in on their favorites, and many were formative in their early years. Grammy-winning musician H.E.R., who currently stars in the animated adventure "Forgotten Island," says she "chose the films that comfort me when I watch them," including "Barbie in the Nutcracker." "My cousin and I had this movie on repeat, and we would laugh at some of the very ridiculous but cute scenes."
Even more goodness to check out!
- An HBO Aileen Wuornos documentary uses AI to bring the serial killer to life. The results are controversial.
- Horror movies "Evil Dead Burn" and "Buzzkill" are among the new movies streaming this week. (Plus: If you're into scary films, there's plenty of stuff to get you ready for Halloween.)
- The fabulous Florence Pugh makes Netflix's "East of Eden" series a must-see.
- Are you ready for Super Bowl Night on "Dancing With the Stars"?
- Don't look now, but "Avengers: Endgame" is closing in on getting its all-time box-office crown back from "Avatar."
- Let's pour one out for Dennis Haskins, everybody's favorite TV principal.
- And just when you thought they might have moved on, the "South Park" guys are making fun of the president again.
Got thoughts, questions, ideas, concerns, compliments or maybe even some recs for me? Email btruitt@usatoday.com and follow me on the socials: I'm @briantruitt on Bluesky, Instagram and Threads.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Divisive new 'Digger' is Tom Cruise's latest risky business
