The wheel world 🏎️

USA Today

27-06-2025

Brad Pitt and I don't have a ton in common – we both like "Mindhunter"! – but there is one key difference: I am not a fast driver, and he likes to put the pedal to the metal.
The A-lister embraces his inner Ricky Bobby and drives real fast in the new racing thriller "F1: The Movie," which taps into the extreme love for Formula 1 these days around the world. That's something you should get to the movie theaters and check out – if you have a 4DX theater near you, go for that! In addition, there's a new Spielberg film out now (from Destry Allyn, not her famous papa Steven), plus the latest Marvel TV series is streaming, with Dominique Thorne reprising her "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" role in "Ironheart."
Now on to the good stuff:
See Brad Pitt hit the gas in race car extravaganza 'F1: The Movie'
Brad Pitt has been on a nice run of guy's guy roles, and like a really good parallel-parking maneuver, he fits in the driver's seat of "F1." He plays a hired gun recruited by an old friend (Javier Bardem) to help save his Formula 1 race team, proves to be a speed demon on the track and also has to deal with a hotshot rookie (Damson Idris). It's what you want from a "Top Gun" on wheels. (Peep my ★★★ review.)
Our resident car guy, Marco della Cava, interviewed Pitt, and the actor looked back fondly on the four months he spent learning to drive real F1 cars up to 180 mph. 'It was just such a high that I've never experienced before,' Pitt says. 'I can put myself back in that car on certain tracks and I'm instantly happy.' Marco also did a piece about why people are obsessed with F1 as well as a primer on what you need to know about the motorsport.
Catch Destry Allyn Spielberg's directorial debut 'Please Don't Feed the Children'
Last week was all about Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" turning 50, and this week it's his 28-year-old daughter unleashing some scares. Destry Allyn Spielberg's directorial debut, "Please Don't Feed the Children" (streaming now on Tubi), imagines a bleak America where a pandemic affects adults instead of kids, and a group of teens on the run is taken in by a woman (Michelle Dockery) more sinister than sweet. I talked with Spielberg about growing up with a legendary dad and her lifelong obsession with "The Shining." (She wanted to watch it when she was 8, but Dad said no.) "It was the first film that really got me intrigued with just the history of cinema and specific directors," Spielberg says.
Her new movie is one of several new streaming flicks to watch this week. I rounded a bunch up for our weekly guide, which also includes the great new documentary "My Mom Jayne" and "The Woman in the Yard."
Stream Marvel's 'Ironheart' starring Dominique Thorne
In the Disney+ show "Ironheart," Dominique Thorne plays one of Marvel's newest heroes, Riri Williams, a young genius in the Tony Stark mold who's designed her own flying armor suit. Thorne stopped by our New York City studio to chat with my bud Ralphie Aversa about what Riri has to deal with this season, from villainous frenemy The Hood (Anthony Ramos) to her own personal issues. "It's very difficult to go out and rescue a world when you yourself have your own battles that you haven't yet fought," Thorne says. (Also check out a video Ralphie did with Thorne explaining a nagging injury she suffered during a fight scene.)
TV critic Kelly Lawler doesn't love the latest Marvel show, writing in her ★★ review that it's "full of feeling but starkly lacking in coherence and intrigue." She's not wrong, and it's a weird continuation of both the "Iron Man" movies and, of all things, "Doctor Strange." (Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer would have been the perfect foe for Riri, just sayin'.)
Even more goodness to check out!
Got thoughts, questions, ideas, concerns, compliments or maybe even some recs for me? Email [e-mail] and follow me on the socials: I'm @briantruitt on Bluesky, Instagram and Threads.