Netflix has something of a topsy-turvy relationship with animation; for every travesty it commits in the vein of prematurely canceling shows like Inside Job, the streamer gets a tip of the hat for being the savior of movies like Nimona, which returned the favor by being one of Netflix’s most beloved releases of the year.

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So with Blue Eye Samurai — the incoming animated series that boasts a mouth-watering creative team — on the horizon, one has to wonder just what sort of note its story will end on, which is perhaps just as intriguing as the prospect of the show itself.

And as if Netflix didn’t toy with its animation reputation enough, it wouldn’t be 2023 if the streamer wasn’t gearing up for a live-action adaptation of some of the most lucrative properties in the medium, and with One Piece currently on that particular deck, there’s plenty of time for some explosive discourse.

Elsewhere, Adam Sandler‘s latest has kept an iron grip on the critical acclaim it debuted to, and a biopic that got KO’d by both critics and the box office has found a lifeline on the charts.

An animated Netflix series armed with a legion of creative heavyweights eyes an end-of-year release

From the voice cast to the director to the showrunners — one of whom was responsible for penning the script to Logan and Blade Runner 2049 — Blue Eye Samurai has quite a bit going for it, and it’s hopefully set to make good on its on-paper brilliance in a short few months.

Indeed, nearly three years after it was first announced, Blue Eye Samurai‘s release date has now been confirmed as Nov. 3, so two months and change is all that’s standing in the way of any subscribers waiting to be swept away on some Maya Erskine-led, vengeance-drenched exploits in Edo Japan.

A lackluster look at one of sports’ most remarkable lives finds some semblance of a miraculous story on the charts

Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World was about as good of a film as its title was a good marketing decision; indeed, despite having some top-notch source material in the life of the legendary fighter and some great performances (especially standout Sullivan Jones’ portrayal of one Muhammad Ali), a weak script and an overarching lack of killer instinct left Big George Foreman in the dust at the box office, and the critics weren’t much kinder.

But, you all know the drill by now; weak movies are some of Netflix’s greatest boons, and Big George Foreman has found itself with a winning record on the United States’ charts as the second most-viewed movie at the moment.

It may have been the minnow of a box office weekend that also included Sisu — Finland’s answer to John Wick — and Florida’s worst nightmare Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, but it looks like Big George Foreman is the one lifting the belt now.

One Piece gets compared to Harry Potter, facepalms and riots ensue

If we’re going to start stacking IPs against one another based on nothing more than the fact of their gargantuan fanbases and being pieces of genre fiction, then the age of critical thinking has truly run its course.

Indeed, it’s one thing to have an opinion on what the better franchise is between One Piece and Harry Potter, but regardless of where your loyalties lie, it’s an equally brave and detached move to declare the Grand Line as the new Hogwarts, and we further reckon that One Piece — whose live-action adaptation is due on Netflix later this week — doesn’t want anything to do with the increasingly poor trajectory of the Wizarding World.

Three days on, and You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah has gone from strength to strength.

There’s no more simple or reliable recipe for critical success than Adam Sandler making an effort; just look at Uncut Gems, Hustle, or The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected).

And while we respect Sandler’s process no matter what he’s cooking, he hasn’t always graced his comedic features with his ability to deliver quality work; a tendency he’s since broken with the high-flying You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah.

While his role in the film amounts to a supporting character/producer, the Sandler effect is undeniable, especially with his daughter Sunny Sandler as the leading lady, as well his wife Jackie and other daughter Sadie Sandler joining him in the supporting role space. And with the film having held on to its critical acclaim after debuting to a 100 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (at the time of writing, it boasts a 95 percent after many more reviews), to say nothing of its Top 10 presence on 65 different Netflix charts, Happy Madison’s latest is officially a homerun.