Will Smith Cosplays Mid-2000s Tom Cruise in 'Bad Boys 4,' 'The Judge's Ironic Netflix Success and Neverending Pixar Slump Talk

A flashback to when Robert Downey Jr. tried and failed to use a theoretical 'Iron Man 4' to promote his passion project, and thoughts on a controversial Pixar article.

In tonight’s nerve-scrapingly raw newsletter…!

• Robert Downey Jr.’s The Judge became briefly hot on Netflix, like a slew of box office bombs and forgotten programmers before it, a decade after its release.

• Bad Boys Ride or Die is agreeable, but significant character beats seem like Will Smith doing damage control akin to Tom Cruise’s third Mission: Impossible flick.

• Is Pixar abandoning culturally specific originals in favor of endless I.P., or is this another variation on the now-13-year-old “Pixar slump” narrative?