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Over the span of 12 months following her feature film debut in early 2016, Anya Taylor-Joy went from living deliciously in "The Witch" to raising hell as an artificial being in "Morgan" and matching wits with 23 shades of James McAvoy in "Split." She has only further cemented herself as one of the more fascinating actors of her age bracket since then, starring in pitch-dark satires, lively Jane Austen movies, and even Viking epics. But it's not just their subject matter that makes Taylor-Joy's projects so intriguing.

Every film or TV show she's worked on has called for a very different type of screen acting. For example, Taylor-Joy's highly physical turn in Edgar Wright's stylish Giallo love letter "Last Night in Soho" stands in sharp contrast to her far more internal performance as a troubled chess prodigy in the miniseries "The Queen's Gambit." Then there are her collaborations with M. Night Shyamalan on "Split" and its sequel "Glass," both of which see Taylor-Joy adapt her acting to fit the auteur's uniquely formalist thrillers.

Her latest movie "The Menu" brings Taylor-Joy back into dark satire territory, this time for a tale about an enigmatic, twisted celebrity chef (Ralph Fiennes) who operates out of a remote high-end restaurant. Speaking in a joint interview with her co-star from the film, Nicholas Hoult, Taylor-Joy recalled how she ended up changing her entire perspective on acting thanks to a piece of direction Shyamalan gave her during the production of "Split."

'Give The Character Her Own Tears'

Anya Taylor-Joy stars in "Split" as Casey Cooke, a traumatized teenager who is kidnapped with two other girls her age by Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), a man with dissociative identity disorder (although portrayed inaccurately) who has developed 23 distinct personalities. The three teens are meant to be sacrificed in a bizarre ritual that will bring out a new personality in the form of a cannibalistic, superhuman entity dubbed "The Beast." Complications arise when Casey — whose disturbing backstory is slowly revealed over the course of the film — finds a way to engage with Kevin's many personalities, giving her and the others a chance at escaping their grim fate.

"I got told once, I think it was one of my first really big emotional scenes [in 'Split'], and M. Night Shyamalan was like, 'I've seen you cry, and these are your own tears. Don't be selfish. Give the character her own tears,'" Taylor-Joy told BBC Radio 1. She said that this "completely changed" the way she thinks about acting, "because before then I'd always thought that it was about mining yourself for experiences, and in that moment it was like, 'Oh. This is a person that I take care of, and I have to feel their feelings through empathy.'"

The Art Of Crying

The art of acting (be it film, TV, or theater-based) tends to be incredibly personal and esoteric. No two actors seem to take the same exact approach to immerse themselves in their roles, and even those who describe themselves as "method actors" may resort to dramatically different "methods" to get into character. In Anya Taylor-Joy's case, treating the person she's playing as an individual separate from herself appears to afford her a great deal more endurance as a performer when it comes to tackling emotionally draining material. As she told BBC Radio 1:

"And that actually means that you can cry, or at least I can cry, all day long. Because it's like your sister or your mum or your best friend. Literally just like, 'Don't be selfish, give the character her own tears.' And I was like, 'Whoa.' That, really, boom."

Say what you will about Taylor-Joy's (and, by extension, M. Night Shyamalan's) way of thinking, but it has served her extremely well as an actor so far, allowing her to completely embody characters as unalike Casey in "Split," Emma Woodhouse in "Emma.," and Beth Harmon in "The Queen's Gambit." Just remember: When you hear Taylor-Joy crying as the voice of Peach in "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," those tears are for the Princess Toadstool.

"The Menu" is now playing in theaters.

Read this next: Horror Roles That Changed Actors Forever

The post M. Night Shyamalan Gave Anya Taylor-Joy A Piece Of Direction That Changed Her Entire Perspective On Acting appeared first on /Film.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" has completed its first season, and production on season 2 is currently underway. In the Prime Video series, we meet the Harfoots, the precursors to the Hobbits from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. The Harfoots are the heart and soul of the show and of Middle-earth. Unlike the Hobbits we meet thousands of years later in the Third Age, the Harfoots are travelers who are constantly on the move. Despite this, they still stick with their small communities. 

One Harfoot, however — Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) — has an adventurous spirit, much like her future counterpart Frodo Baggins. In season 1, she and her friend Poppy (Megan Richards) come upon a mysterious Stranger (Daniel Weyman) who has shot to the earth in what appears to be a comet. Nori strikes up a relationship with the Stranger, and by the end of the season, the two have more of an understanding of each other and — without getting into spoilers yet — clearly have more adventures ahead of them. 

I recently spoke to Kavenagh at an event in Los Angeles, where she talked about playing a character who is new to the franchise, whether or not the Stranger could have ended up bad if Nori wasn't there, what it's like to wear those feet, and who she'd like to see join the cast in the future of the series.

This interview contains major spoilers for "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" and was lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

'It's Her Wanting To Help The Harfoot Community And Wanting To Help Them Find A Home'

How has it been playing a role that's not in the books?

It's been incredible because it's a great balance between having a lot of creative freedom and then also respecting the lore and having that context as well. It was a great kind of middle ground and a great balance to have. I was just really grateful to be a part of it.

The finale made me sob like a baby. But now that Nori's gone off — well not by herself, but without her family, without her support system — how do you feel? I mean, I know you can't spoil things, but how is that going to change things for her?

Well, I think she's, in a way, been preparing for it the whole time. She just needed that final bit of support from her family. I think she might have done it anyway, but to have that kind of little final shove was what she needed to have confirmation she was doing the right thing.

It's incredible because I really do think for her, it's not just her doing it out of a selfish interest in the unknown — it's her wanting to help the Harfoot community and wanting to help them find a home.

It's funny, I was talking to [season 1 finale writer] Gennifer Hutchison, and I asked her about whether or not the Stranger could have gone bad without Nori. And she said it's certainly something to speculate on. So I'm curious — do you think he would have gone a different way?

It's so difficult to say, but I do love that question. I think that it just might have taken him longer to get there. But I do think that he, at this point at least, has good intentions and a good heart. I trust that.

Everything is shaken up going into the new season, in terms of who's going off with whom. How is that going to affect you all as actors? Who is somebody that you would want to work with that you haven't?

We were all in New Zealand together, and also we couldn't go home [because of the pandemic lockdown], and so we all got to know each other so well. I was saying earlier that Rob Aramayo and I never interact in the season, but we're really good friends because we got to know each other.

And same with Morfydd [Clark] and Charlie Vickers, and everyone in the cast. I would just love — I remember one day on set, I was filming in the same studio as Númenor. The actors were so lovely, and the showrunners let me go onto the set as a Harfoot. And I was like, I would love to be a Harfoot in Númenor. Put me in Númenor. 

I'd watch that show.

Yeah. I would love to meet them. I would love to interact with Ismael [Cruz Códova]. I would love to be with all of them.

'I Think They Are On A Journey To Find Their Own Home'

It's always interesting to me to see what people think about other sets. Because the Harfoots have wagons and snails?

We do, we do.

And trees.

We do.

But Númenor, what was it like walking on that set?

The work of the crew just completely blew me away. They were so detailed, and everything was so intricate, and the imagery was so alive. It really took a village of amazing, passionate, dedicated creatives — to witness that in real life was beyond.

I talked to Cynthia [Addai-Robinson] and she was saying there was a bird poop wrangler on the set. 

There literally was? Wait, I didn't know that! Wow. Cynthia!

I also am curious  — the Harfoots are travelers, but when they become Hobbits, they have Hobbiton. And people are speculating if that's a thing that we'll see in this series. Is that something you'd want to see? That transformation into a settled people?

Yeah, because obviously the Harfoots do become Hobbits and have the Shire and have that home. I would love to see that happen. I think they are on a journey to find their own home. We'll see where that takes us.

I read that you said Tom Bombadil is your favorite character.

Yeah!

Now, I also love Tom Bombadil. People are obsessed with Tom Bombadil, and obviously, he was not in the films. Is that a character you would like to see show up?

I would love to see Tom Bombadil realized on screen. He genuinely — that would make me so happy. I would love that.

Who would you want to see cast?

Oh my goodness, what a question ... gosh, it could be so many. I actually can't even think of someone right now. I do know that I want Charlotte Rampling in the show. I really, really want her to be in the show.

Who would you want her to play?

I feel like she would be amazing in Númenor. Or one of the Elves? Or maybe someone evil? I don't know. She would just be brilliant, I think. And I just love her work so much.

'We Had Slippers To Help Get Into Character'

I am curious about wearing the feet and what it's like — how long does it take, how do you deal with the whole thing?

It's like a big flipper that comes up to just above your knee.

Really, that high?

Yeah. The prosthetics team was amazing — at the end of the day, you'd have 300 sets, pairs of feet just hanging in the prosthetic tent, just dangling at the end of the day. I felt so bad for the prosthetic team as well because you'd sweat in them, and then they'd have to clean them. But they took maybe 20 minutes to get on, and they were fun. They are such an important part of the character, so I couldn't imagine doing it without them.

They definitely affect the walk. Just the moment in the trailer when we could see all of you walking, you could really see the difference. Does that bring you into the character? 

Yeah, absolutely. Earlier on, before we had them, we had slippers to help get into character, these big long slippers. It was so helpful.

The first season of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" is currently streaming on Prime Video. 

Read this next: The 7 Best And 7 Worst Moments In The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power

The post The Rings of Power's Markella Kavenagh On Harfoot Feet, Tom Bombadil, and Visiting Númenor [Exclusive Interview] appeared first on /Film.

If you regularly follow anime at all, you've almost certainly seen something about "Chainsaw Man." Whether it's the 18 million copies of the manga in circulation, cosplayers in simple black suits, or viral art of cute chainsaw dogs, the series has been a runaway train of popularity since it debuted in December 2018. 

"Chainsaw Man" follows Denji, a young man saddled with debt whose only friend is a tiny chainsaw-faced devil named Pochita. When Denji is marked more profitable dead than alive by his debtors, Pochita willingly becomes his new heart, and Denji is reborn as the human-devil hybrid Chainsaw Man. That makes him a valuable asset to the Public Safety Devil Hunters, who give Denji a choice: join them and help keep the populace safe from devils or be put down like one.

Now that the anime is finally here, new audiences are getting a chance to find out what all the hype's about. But with only 12 confirmed episodes so far, anime fans will likely have some time to fill once the show wraps up in December 2022. To help, we've put together a list of other anime series to try in the meantime across a variety of genres.

Jujutsu Kaisen

There's a good chance that if you're a fan of shounen anime, you've already heard of this one. "Jujutsu Kaisen 0," the feature film prequel to the mega-popular anime, made roughly $30 billion at the American box office alone. It's both currently running and the closest in premise to "Chainsaw Man," so it's a nice baby step for people looking to branch out. In "Jujutsu Kaisen," Yuji Itadori becomes the host of a powerful demon (here called a "Curse") when he swallows a cursed finger talisman to protect his friends. Since Yuji maintains his sense of self post-possession — scary voice in his head notwithstanding — he gets taken in for training by the sorcerers dispatched to kill him. If he can collect the other fingers, then his curse will supposedly be lifted.

"Jujutsu Kaisen" is a good fit for audiences who want a more openly kind-hearted protagonist and a warmer vibe between the main cast. "Chainsaw Man" is marked by a prickly fear and distrust of others, especially in its early going, but "Jujutsu Kaisen" leans a little more into the genre's traditional "power of friendship" camaraderie, which gives it a good sense of empathy when it decides to touch on the suffering that drives many of its characters.

Yu Yu Hakusho

Younger anime fans likely know Yoshihiro Togashi for "Hunter X Hunter," a series that faces frequent hiatuses because the punishing expectations put on manga artists ruined Togashi's health. But in the early '90s, "Yu Yu Hakusho" was his claim to fame, and it's held up better than most of its contemporaries over the last 30 years.

"Yu Yu Hakusho" begins with the death of its protagonist, Yusuke Urameshi, when he pushes a young child out of the way of a speeding car. Yusuke's delinquent life and unexpectedly heroic death leave him fit neither for paradise nor Hell, so instead he's offered the chance to take on tasks as a "spirit detective" in order to earn a second chance at life.

Denji owes a lot to the punk protagonists of the '80s and '90s, beaten down by a society that has nothing for them (like "Chainsaw Man," "Yu Yu Hakusho" started publishing during the fallout of major economic recession) who find comradery in unexpected places and often end up pitted against malevolent established power structures. It's probably the most direct, if slightly more young teen-appropriate analog to "Chainsaw Man" from a previous generation.

Berserk

It's difficult to overstate the importance of "Berserk," from its place as one of the best-selling manga of all time to its influence on other big-name creators like "Dark Souls" director Hidetaka Miyazaki. It begins with the story of a lone warrior, Guts, wandering a demon-infested hellscape on a mission to kill a man named Griffith. The story then flashes back to Guts as a young man, recruited by an idealistic Griffith into the Band of the Hawk. The beloved 1997 adaptation in particular is an agonizing tragedy.

"Berserk" is, not unlike "Chainsaw Man," the story of a group of deeply scarred misfits who grasp onto each other in an unforgiving world, and despite the initial growth and care they find together it isn't long before political machinations and plain hubris dissolve their found family. And while it has the trappings of fantasy, its most memorable moments are when it shades into horror. If you're looking for more memorably upsetting demon designs, this is not one to be missed.

Megalo Box

Want another anime about a protagonist beaten down by a bleak capitalist hellscape fighting for a life that would allow him a scrap of human dignity, but also there are cool action scenes? Like another title on this list, "Megalo Box" is actually a modern take on a classic franchise; in this case, the beloved boxing series "Tomorrow's Joe." While the late '60s manga loosely followed the structure of a talented newcomer working his way up the ladder, "Megalo Box" starts at a different kind of rock bottom.

Megalo boxing is similar to classic boxing, but the boxers are equipped with powered exoskeletons known as "Gears." It's a hugely popular sport in the Administrative Area, a glittering metropolis for those with registered citizenship. Those not considered citizens are banished to the slums of the Restricted Area, which is where a boxer known only as "Junk Dog" spends his days throwing fights at a shady underground boxing ring. Junk Dog's world is changed when he loses in a real match with Megalo Box champion Yuri and must work his way up the tournament rankings to face the man again. But without a backer or resources, Junk Dog takes on a different gimmick: facing his opponents with no Gear of his own.

While the first series is a thrilling sports series, the unexpected sequel takes the opportunity to dig deep into its themes of social inequality, pushing it from a creative reinterpretation of a classic to a remake that can truly justify being brought back for a modern audience. 

Golden Kamuy

If only all action anime could be as bold and weird as "Golden Kamuy." The premise has echoes of "Treasure Island," as an enormous quantity of gold was amassed by a group of Ainu miners, one of whom killed the rest and hid it away. When he was captured, he tattooed pieces of a map on the skin of many of his fellow inmates, or so the tall tale goes. War veteran Saichi Sugimoto happens to uncover a piece of the map, and to find the treasure he teams up with a young Ainu girl named Asirpa, whose father was one of the murdered miners.

That alone is a great setup for an adventure story, but "Golden Kamuy" is more. It's set in early 1900s Hokkaido, and it's rare in prominently discussing the often overlooked and historically oppressed Indigenous Ainu people, such that activists have credited the series with helping to promote interest in Ainu culture overall. It's also funny as hell. Asirpa rivals beloved "Spy X Family" gremlin Anya for reaction-image-worthy faces, and the manga author has been known to do things like rank the main cast by their penis size. 

Sometimes the anime is strained in the visual department — a particularly jarring CGI bear comes to mind — but if anything, that adds to the experience. It's a series that loves the weird and tongue-in-cheek, and then turns into scenes of nail-biting tension or discussions of torture without ever breaking eye contact. If the mashup of gore and unexpected tension-breaking jokes draws you to "Chainsaw Man," please give this series more love. The manga even finished in early 2022.

Angels Of Death

Must an anime be good? Is it not enough for it to be grimdark and hilarious? "Angels of Death" is the little title that could, starting out as a freeware RPG Maker game and becoming so beloved that it grew into a polished paid release, several manga, a prequel, some novel adaptations, and an anime. Its plot will probably sound familiar to fans of indie horror, given that it involves an amnesiac protagonist having to puzzle her way through a mysterious building to remember memories she is certainly not repressing for guilt-related reasons. This is 13-year-old Rachel, who is joined in her exploration by Beetlejuice-esque one-time serial killer Zack.

"Angels of Death" is pure camp horror, going down a 2005 Hot Topic teen's checklist of edgy content in hopes of shocking the audience out of their socks. It has a sense of utter sincerity about it all. That's a big difference from "Chainsaw Man" and its knowing grotesque absurdity, but they still make a good pair. "Angels of Death" is the clumsier, unshackled version of unhinged demon companions and murderous excess. Its audience is a small and specific one, but their delight in finding it will be 10 times stronger for it.

Golden Boy

If you are the sort of viewer who came to "Chainsaw Man" in order to bask in the "please step on me" vibes of several of its female characters, there is only one other place you can go. There's no shortage of horny anime that exists across a whole spectrum of taste, skill, and respect for women, but no title has staked out a niche for its good-hearted excess quite like "Golden Boy."

The six-episode OVA (original video animation, meaning it went straight to tape rather than airing on TV) stars Kintaro Oe, a student of life who bikes from town to town hoping to learn all he can. Inevitably his choice of studies have to do with pursuing a beautiful woman, and he'll generally end up lending a hand (but not like that) before biking off into the sunset. These days, the series is probably best known for the minute-long "swimming" clip that went viral some years ago, with many unaware of where it came from. I can assure you that all six episodes hold to that level of well-timed slapstick absurdity, along with a truly genius English dub that holds up a lot better than the much-remembered "Ghost Stories" dub.

And yes, Kintaro's type is overwhelmingly adult women who treat him like he's scum, all while he begs for more. They're drawn for sex appeal, but they're also adult professionals, something that can be frustratingly difficult to find in anime sex comedies. The final episode, where every character reappears to help a tiny animation studio, ties the whole experience together with a bow and emphasizes how unexpectedly sweet the show about a toilet-worshiping temp turned out to be.

Space Dandy

Space Dandy: he's a dandy guy, in space. So goes the logline of the space comedy by revered "Cowboy Bebop" director Shinichiro Watanabe. That name alone might be enough to sell a good chunk of people. His collaborator, "One-Punch Man" Season 1 director Shingo Natsume, will snag another swath. In fact, "Space Dandy" is an outright creative showcase with a long list of well-respected names. Because it's an anthology, where every episode exists independently as an alternate universe take on the characters, it can take its hodgepodge sci-fi setting in wild directions each week and still feel like part of the whole. It's as if those beautiful bespoke "Chainsaw Man" ending themes were an entire show philosophy.

The constant of each universe is Dandy, an alien hunter with a pompadour and less charm than he thinks he has, whose favorite pastime is hanging out at space Hooters. His crew includes a cat alien named Meow and a tiny anxious robot named QT, and the trio is endlessly pursued by a mad scientist (and giant gorilla) named Dr. Gel. Those commonalities provide the building blocks for everything from zombie horror to school shenanigans to quiet musings on life's transience. Like all anthologies, not every episode is a hit, but the best ones will stick with you for years.

Akiba Maid War

A particular kind of yakuza story has gotten popular over the past decade or so, arguably beginning with the beloved "Yakuza" game franchise and extending out to titles like "Hinamatsuri," "The Way of the House Husband," and "The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting." To some degree or other, they're all offering a cuter, cuddlier take on the organized crime syndicate. It's a state of affairs ripe for satire, and "Akiba Maid War" strode in to offer its pitch: "What if we made a straightforward yakuza story, except we replace the gangsters with the aesthetics of the late '90s maid craze?"

The answer is, "It would be brilliant." The show pulls no punches in its contrast of a cute outer veneer and ultraviolence but also walks a fine line of not being creepy to its almost entirely female cast. The outfits might be ridiculous, but there are no panty shots in the middle of a territory battle. It also crucially treats its archetypal gang story with utter sincerity. Nagomi comes to the bottom-of-the-ladder Oinky Doink Café with big dreams of life as a maid, only to be quickly plunged into the deep end of debt and blood feuds. Veteran maid Ranko, back on the scene after a long stint in prison, takes Nagomi under her wing, but her competence at protecting the sacrificial café shakes up major rivalries across Akiba. It's absurd. It's deadly serious. It's ridiculous and the characters are completely worth investing in. If over-the-top violence and unexpectedly sharp satire are your jam, this is your next stop.

Black Lagoon

If the dazzling spectacle of Denji carving up demons appeals but you're looking for something with a little less viscera, "Black Lagoon" has action in spades. It might not have the supernatural bent of "Chainsaw Man," but this story about international smugglers is just as over-the-top. It begins when average salaryman Rokuro "Rock" Okajima is taken hostage by the pirate smugglers of the Lagoon Company, only for his company to abandon him and have him declared dead. With nowhere else to go, Rock joins the crew of the "Black Lagoon" and becomes the group's PR and negotiator.

The real star of the show is Revy, the blunt and grumpy gunwoman who provides a "shoot first, ask questions later" contrast to Rock's peacekeeping approach. She's magnetic to watch, the gateway to many of the show's best action scenes, and her growing protectiveness of Rock is surprisingly sweet. Since it's based on a still-unfinished manga series, the anime is left to find the best stopping point it can for the characters' emotional journeys, but a sense of continuing adventure suits the genre. It ends satisfying, but with a sense that there's more to see. And any story that involves killing Nazis has to be chalked up as a winner.

Soul Eater

"Soul Eater" is Halloween distilled into an anime. If "Chainsaw Man" is horrifying, then "Soul Eater" is spooky, with a slightly more PG-13 vibe that wraps its most disturbing story beats in visual metaphor. Its premise is solidly in the "supernatural training school" genre: Death Weapon Meister Academy trains humans who can turn into weapons and the partners who wield them. If a duo can slay 99 evil souls and one witch, the weapon will become a Death Scythe and be wielded by Death himself.

It's always a breath of fresh air to see a shonen action series with a female protagonist, and Maka Albarn is an especially fun one. She's backed up by a strong ensemble cast, and every frame oozes with aesthetic — up to and including an homage to the Red Room in "Twin Peaks." Writing-wise, it matches the expected notes of training and friendship overcoming all with a "Pacific Rim"-esque system of emotional resonance between meisters and weapons, which opens the door to an enormous playing field of visual metaphor for character conflict. 

At a trim 51 episodes, it's a great watch for those looking for a slightly shorter commitment from a shonen battle anime ... if they can grit their teeth through the first few episodes, which were based on ecchi one-shots and have a much raunchier tone than the series overall.

Akudama Drive

This, right here, is the best cyberpunk anime to come out in the last decade. It had the misfortune of airing in late 2020 when people were somewhat otherwise occupied for some reason, but that hasn't stopped its devotees from yelling very loudly about it to anyone in range. With character designs by "Danganronpa" artist Rui Komatsuzaki and a color palette soaked in rich blacks and vivid neon, "Akudama Drive" is worth the price of entry just to look at it. 

A young woman is branded a "swindler" after a misunderstanding with a food stall. Trying to avoid more, she inadvertently falls in with a group of Akudama (skilled criminals with high sentences named for their expertise) who have been summoned to take on a mysterious delivery job with a huge payday. Pretending to be equally infamous, the young woman now known as Swindler ends up along for the very dangerous ride.

Initially, it seems like a no-brain all-explosions experience, right up until the commentary about police brutality, the dehumanization of those branded criminals, and transhumanism sneak up and hit you in the head. That's not to say it stops being action-packed. The show hits the ground running and never stops, weaving in its deeper themes right alongside heart-pounding fights and chase sequences. It's smart, skilled, and doesn't back away from the implications of its story in the name of crafting a more palatable feel-good ending. It makes a harmonious pair with the story about a teenager forced to work until death for the right to life's most basic amenities.

Paranoia Agent

Satoshi Kon, best known to American audiences for "Perfect Blue," completed only four films before his tragic death at the age of 46. His one other project is arguably his opus: the 12-episode 2004 anime "Paranoia Agent." Told predominantly through a series of loosely connected vignettes, "Paranoia Agent" begins with Tsukiko Sagi, the creator of a popular Hello Kitty-like mascot named Maromi. Under immense pressure to create a follow-up to her success, Tsukiko is attacked on her way home by an unknown assailant. It seems self-inflicted, until a second similar attack crops up. Soon, Tokyo is awash with tales of Lil' Slugger, a grade schooler known only by his roller blades and the bent metal bat he wields. And each time, he seems to appear to people on the verge of a breakdown.

"Chainsaw Man" has a cast full of wounded people drawn to devil hunting by a trauma that haunts them. "Paranoia Agent" springs from a similar well, focusing on trauma that's both ever-present and yet contemporary to the time when the anime was made, such as suicide, academic pressure, child abuse, and mental illness. Stigmatized issues, with no socially acceptable solution, become sublimated in surrealism and stories about a magical mystery assailant. It's an often dark, uncomfortable watch, but one whose central subjects retain a saddening amount of resonance almost 20 years later.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Devilman Crybaby

The original "Devilman" manga started in 1972 and while it only ran for a year, it was the start of a huge franchise that influenced major names from Kentaro Miura to CLAMP. While Tatsuki Fujimoto hasn't spoken publicly about Go Nagai's work, it's hard not to see "Chainsaw Man" as a child of the horror classic. "Devilman" is also the story of a young man, Akira Fudo, who fuses with a demon and uses his new powers to become a demon hunter, supported by a confidant who's much more sinister than he initially appears. To go into further similarities would be to tread into heavy spoiler territory, but the bones are similar.

While there are multiple "Devilman" anime adaptations to choose from — a 1972 anime that was licensed by Discotek, multiple films, and two OVAs from '87 and '90 respectively — but for modern viewers, the best choice is likely Masaaki Yuasa's 2018 update. "Devilman Crybaby" (stylized as "DEVILMAN crybaby") updates the setting from the 1970s to the modern day, but its apocalyptic anxiety feels just as relevant across the 50-year difference. Yuasa's adaptation also puts a lot of work into reflecting the diversity of real-world Japan, something that's become a highlight of his home studio Science SARU. Also, in particular, attempting to grapple with the queerness of the original work in a more nuanced way (though it still falls on its face in a few areas). "Crybaby" is a work about finding small moments of connection in a seemingly endless ocean of hopelessness, a visual feast, and an absolute bloodbath.

Read this next: 14 Anime Shows To Watch If You Love My Hero Academia

The post 14 anime series like Chainsaw Man you need to see appeared first on /Film.

Batteries vary, from regular alkaline and carbon-zinc batteries to single-use or rechargeable lithium-ion batteries to small sealed lead-acid. They serve nearly endless purposes as well. However, like everything else artificial, they eventually turn into trash.

At some point since I played Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, a switch has flipped in me; I have gone from having stepped off the MCU train, content to watch it chug off into the distance with its remaining passengers, to actively wishing for its violent derailment. I'm saying this to emphasise that I loathe singiing the praises of anything even tangentially related to Marvel, without also revealing that I have stashed a steel chair and bag of thumbtacks under the ring as a surprise attack against Kevin Feige.

Spider-Man is about as Marvel-related as you can get. I said back when the remaster of Insomniac's first Spider-Man game came to PC that the reason to not buy it was that Miles Morales was coming to PC in a few months. A few months has become now. And I must own that Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a good game. It's a big, bold action adventure full of heroics and quips, and it's still the better Spider-Man game. I think a large part of that is because it's shorter.

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This year's Best Narrative nominees have fans buzzing

It's that time of year again -- the Game Awards nominations are finally out. As expected, the year's biggest AAA titles like God of War Ragnarok, Elden Ring, and Horizon Forbidden West dominate in a lot of the major categories, and while it's not controversial to assume that one of those is going to take home the grand prize of Game of the Year, it's the Best Narrative nominations that are stirring up the Discourse this time around.

The full list of Best Narrative nominees includes Ragnarok, Elden Ring, Forbidden West, A Plague Tale: Requiem, and Immortality. It's a reasonable-yet-predictable list, but regardless, fans are up in arms about Elden Ring and God of War in particular. There are a lot of different takes going on here, so I'll do my best to try and break it down.

Bring on the discourse

A lot of FromSoft fans are really excited to see Elden Ring getting praise for its nonlinear, worldbuilding-focused storytelling. Many are citing that they're used to only seeing games that are very on-rails and cutscene heavy in the Best Narrative category, so they're glad to see some variety in the category for once. I also get the impression that a lot of the long-time Soulsborne fans see this as vindication for FromSoft's narrative design as a whole, because while their games have become increasingly known for the quality of their lore, this would be the first time it's being acknowledged on a large scale.

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Naturally, we have the reverse side, where many gamers are upset that Elden Ring was nominated for Best Narrative because its storyline -- at least in a traditional sense -- is so sparse within the experience of the game itself. There's an argument floating around that if you need YouTube lore dump videos to understand the story, then maybe that's not the best representation of the storytelling potential of the medium.

Then there's God of War Ragnarok, the least surprising nominee for the Best Narrative category I might have ever seen. The two sides of this debate harken back to the same two sides of the narrative game debate we have every year, like some kind of age-old blood feud: either linear, cinematic games have merit as game stories, or they don't. Some see Ragnarok as a clear example of how far video game storytelling has come, while others see it as another mindless series of cutscenes without any sort of narrative innovation.

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Snubs, snubs everywhere

Most of the conversation is consists of gamers giving their hot takes on the two biggest nominees in the category, but I'm honestly more concerned with the Best Narrative nominees, or more specifically, the titles that were overlooked despite being some of the best story-driven experiences of the year.

The fact that The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe Edition isn't mentioned at all is honestly criminal. The original version of the game came out in 2013, and it's still cited as one of the best narrative games ever created. It was way ahead of its time as a biting, thoughtful commentary on games, games as art, and art in general. The Ultra Deluxe Edition was just as good -- I ended up giving it a 10 in my review, and it really did feel like the next evolution of The Stanley Parable's pitch perfect satire of the games industry, brought forward into 2022.

NORCO, a southern gothic point-and-click adventure set in the lowlands of Louisiana, was easily one of my favorite games of the year. It's a surreal, gorgeous romp based in tons of real-life research, and I genuinely can't think of another game I've played that captures the same vibe. NORCO did get a shout-out from the Game Awards as a Best Indie Debut nominee, but I thought for sure it was going to be a contender for Best Narrative as well.

Stray is another title that's gotten lots of love both from fans and at the Awards this year, but I think it deserved a spot in Best Narrative, too. Sure, it's a cute little game where you play as a cat and make friends with robots, but I think it's also one of the most hopeful and sweet stories about the end of the world that I've seen in a long time -- and I love apocalypse fiction.

Signalis' absence from the Best Narrative category -- or any category at the Game Awards, really -- is the most heinous to me this year. It has some truly creepy, compelling worldbuilding, and uses everything from its visuals/environments, sound design, and gameplay systems to make that story all the more effective. Horror games are usually a tough pill for me to swallow, but when it came to Signalis, I absolutely did not want to put it down.

There are plenty of others that were equally as deserving of a nomination as well, I hear, that I just haven't gotten around to playing yet, like Pentiment, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and Citizen Sleeper.

What does "Best Narrative" really mean, anyway?

As some have pointed out, it's hard to discern what "Best Narrative" is really supposed to entail in the first place. With categories like Best Art Design or Best Performance, it's pretty clear what they're awarding, even though those disciplines take just as much hard work and expertise to perfect. The thing about storytelling in games is that it can be implemented in a million different, equally valid ways, so its harder to have a baseline of comparison sometimes.

It's not really clear whether the award is supposed to be commending the game's story itself in terms of the quality of the narrative that is being told in the first place, or commending how that story is part of the game through its narrative design and innovations in storytelling-focused game mechanics. Stories are already so subjective to begin with, having what makes a good interactive narrative be a moving target only muddles the consensus even more.

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We don't take the Game Awards seriously, but we also do

Regardless of the criteria, I'm of the mind that most of the categories at the Game Awards specifically are going to be dominated by the shiniest-looking AAA release of the year anyway. I feel like the Game Awards sit in this weird paradoxical space every year. No one really takes it seriously because one, it's a meme, but two, the nominations and winners often don't feel like a true reflection of which titles were deserving of recognition. At the same time, it's one of the biggest gaming events of the year somehow, because I guess Geoff Keighley had enough cash and star-powered friends to throw at it that it seems to have the most legitimacy of any other game awards show? It's bizarre if you ask me.

The current system is a mix of fan and industry votes, and the nominations are made by a "voting jury of over 100 video game media and influencer outlets." I guess it would make sense that the most-played games of the year would make the list over some that might be more deserving just by sheer numbers alone, but if you ask me, the whole thing could be revised to better reflect players' true feelings. I have no idea how that might be done, but I'm sure someone out there who's smarter than me could easily figure it out.

You like what you like

It feels like a messy situation on pretty much every front, because if there's one thing I know for certain about gamers, it's that we can never seem to agree on anything. I frankly never took the Game Awards all that seriously to begin with, but it's hard to deny their hold on the industry. I think for now I'll just stick to my usual plan -- watch the Game Awards out of morbid curiosity, and look to other institutions to hear about the best games of the year, like the BAFTAs, DICE Awards, or GDC Awards, for example, or even just some of the online gaming publications that I know and trust.

It's easy to fall into the trap of taking awards too seriously, either as validation or insult, but it's important to remind myself every so often that my enjoyment of a game is not defined by what anyone else has to say about it except for me.

The post What’s up with the Game Awards’ Best Narrative category? appeared first on Destructoid.

The post Crysis 3 Remastered-FLT appeared first on SceneSource.

"These observations just make your head explode," said one of the researchers who helped discover two utterly ancient galaxies.

In 2016, the Oxford English Dictionary named "post-truth" its word of the year. The hyphened unit of language rose in popularity due to misinformation spread in and around the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election and Brexit reform, but "post-truth" was already the state of many film Reddits and message boards. That's what fan theories are — post-truth.That isn't meant judgmentally. Engaging with art means piquing your curiosity as a viewer, and the desire to unpack a movie beyond its offered pale is valid. That said, it's also often an exercise in labyrinthine overthinking and self-projection. People want to see themselves in the art they love. So often, that's one reason they do love it. But the fan theories surrounding many films, including James Cameron's massive blockbuster "Avatar," contradict the movie itself. It's worth debunking the fan theories that fly in the face of the artists that made it, to get back to the truth of what they intended. Here are some of the most popular theories about James Cameron's "Avatar," debunked.

Theory: Jake Was Brainwashed By Pandora

It's been 13 years since James Cameron's "Avatar" released in theaters, which means fans have had more than a decade to craft their theories about it. A popular one covered by the web compendium Mental Floss dates back to 2012. Reddit user scottmale24 claimed that Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) didn't actually fall in love with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). The user stated that "Pandora functions as a giant and incredibly neural network, and essentially rewrites Jake Sully's mind to protect one of it's primary networking hubs." Put another way: it brainwashes him. One could interpolate that Jake's desire to have "a single thing worth fighting for" in life is evidence he's been highly susceptible to brainwashing. The issue with this theory is that "Avatar" agrees with it up to a point. Jake is highly susceptible to brainwashing and groupthink programming — that's partly why he joined the Marines. 

Jake Sully has, in his own words, wanted something worth fighting for. He believed that was the Marines and their cause. Once Jake falls in love, however, that perspective shifts. He feels awake for the first time, and his value system changes. Sully realizes he's been a proponent of spreading bigotry and fascism across the known universe, made abundantly clear when Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) claims they're going to "blast a crater in their racial memory so deep, that they won't come within 1,000 klicks of this place ever again." "Avatar" only works as a treatise on programming if Jake has agency, and it absolutely wants to deliver a cautionary message through its battle scenes and imagery.

Theory: Pandora Drives Human Visitors Insane

A fascinating trend among "Avatar" fan theories is a distrust of the way humans act within the movie. To be fair, the film's non-Na'vi leads — from Colonel Quaritch to Dr. Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) to Norm (Joel David Moore) — are a broadly drawn bunch. Searching for or trying to explain their motivations is understandable. That's the catalyst for Reddit user Scotscin's "Avatar" fan theory that Pandora actually drives humans insane. 

Scotscin observes that Dr. Augustine describes Pandora as "the most hostile environment known to man." And to Scotscin's credit, this line is incredibly suspect. Pandora seems almost entirely plague-free and can be traversed with a basic filtration mask. The ocean depths of James Cameron's own "The Abyss" seem more fraught with peril than Pandora. Could there be another reason the alien planet is so dangerous? Scotscin's explanation is that the planet's environment mentally grinds humans down. 

Take Quaritch as a primary example. The man is a decorated soldier with an impressive resume but, by the time fans meet him, seems prone to erratic behavior and poorly calculated military maneuvers. He's been on Pandora longer than any other human. Add to that Norm's recommendation that Jake make a video log lest he go insane and the fact that Pandora's primary resource, unobtanium, causes severe reactions in humans and Scotscin's theory gets more and more compelling. So, rather than debunk it entirely, it's time to examine the way humans behave in "Avatar," specifically through the lens of other James Cameron movies.

James Cameron Movies Are About Surviving Pressure

In the works of James Cameron, men crumble or thrive in the face of world-shifting pressures. The sinking of the Titanic brings out the best in Jack and the worst in Cal. The events of "The Abyss" leave Hiram Coffey (Michael Biehn) suffering from high-pressure nervous syndrome and making increasingly paranoid, unadvisable decisions (like arming a warhead to attack an animated and intelligent column of water — "The Abyss" is wild). 

In both these films, it is the way men of character face unimaginable circumstances that determines their heroism. True heroes, Cameron postulates, remain mentally strong against all odds. James Cameron himself has had to survive shooting his own movies. Lesser individuals or soon-to-be villains can't hold it together. 

So Scotscin isn't exactly wrong. It could very well be that Pandora is driving people crazy. Cameron's oeuvre, though, suggests that the point isn't whether it is or isn't. It's how the characters react to the pressure Pandora causes. Labeling Quaritch crazy softens the decisions he makes because he can, effectively, plead insanity where they're concerned. Insanity can't explain his pervasive bigotry or his vile thirst for power. Pandora, like The Abyss and the Titanic and the surface of LV-426, reveals Quaritch for who he really is. That's more important to Cameron than the "why."

Theory: The Na'vi Aren't Native To Pandora

To understate the obvious, "Avatar" shares a lot in common with "Dances with Wolves." Both moves are about bruised and disillusioned military lifers rediscovering their humanity while in the care of Indigenous people. James Cameron has even admitted this is the case. In an interview for the L.A. Times, Cameron was bluntly asked if Kevin Costner's Academy Award-winning epic was a reference point for him and Cameron didn't mince words: 

"Yes, exactly, it is very much like that ... There was some beautiful stuff in that film. I just gathered all this stuff in and then you look at it through the lens of science fiction and it comes out looking very different but is still recognizable in a universal story way. It's almost comfortable for the audience — 'I know what kind of tale this is.' They're not just sitting there scratching their heads, they're enjoying it and being taken along. And we still have turns and surprises in it, too, things you don't see coming. But the idea that you feel like you are in a classic story, a story that could have been shaped by Rudyard Kipling or Edgar Rice Burroughs." 

Filmmakers aren't always that transparent about their intentions, so credit to Cameron where it's due here. This is less about proving one long-standing "Avatar" fan theory, however, than it is about debunking another, one that hinges on the idea the Na'vi aren't native to Pandora. Let's dive in.

Thematically, The Na'vi Must Be Native To Pandora

According to Reddit user ParameciaAntic, it's entirely possible the Na'vi aren't native to Pandora: "All of the other large animals shown on Pandora display a hexapodal body plan, more than two eyes, multiple breathing apertures along their necks, four digits, and have two nerve stalks." Whereas the Na'vi "only have four limbs, two eyes, apparently only breathe through their mouth and nose, three digits, and only have one ponytail nerve stalk." 

This is, to be fair, a legitimate observation. The Na'vi have evolved in different ways than their animal counterparts. To be blunt, though, this is also how evolution works. The Na'vi have changed at a fundamental physical level and don't require the same resources to navigate Pandora as many of the lifeforms there. This is far more likely than what ParameciaAntic goes on to suggest, which is that the Na'vi were genetically engineered and raised by another race before being deposited on Pandora. 

This development would directly fly in the face of plot points and film references that James Cameron has specifically acknowledged. It flies in the face of the film's core critique of militaristically demolishing the natural world for the sake of might. If the Na'vi aren't native to Pandora, "Avatar" isn't "Avatar." Film theories can be well and good, but when they transform the very heart of a movie, they should be debunked with haste. Such is the case here.

Theory: Humans Are Juggernauts On Pandora

It's clear to anyone that's seen "Avatar" (or any movie in which humans visit a planet other than Earth) that alien planets affect homo sapien bodies. The rules of the environment are different, and physiological systems react accordingly. This is all very dry and blasé, but it's worth establishing because of a fan theory from Reddit user MegaTreeSeed that explores how and why humans should be stronger on Pandora than the Na'vi. MegaTreeSeed argues that "Avatar" establishes that Pandora's gravity is much lower than Earth's. That's supported, in turn, by the size of visible flora and fauna on the planet. 

Okay, fair enough! MegaTreeSeed goes on to theorize that "humans on Pandora would actually have a much lower terminal velocity than they do on Earth, maybe to the point of making falls pretty much non-lethal, or at least less dangerous. The atmosphere on Pandora is at least as thick as Earth's, given by the fact no pressure suits are needed." All in all, this would make humans juggernauts on Pandora and an even more credible threat to the Na'vi than they appear to be in the movie. So what keeps this theory from holding water? Simple: the other rules of Pandora.

Physiology And The Environment

According to an article published in the National Library of Medicine by scientific researchers Frank Seebacher and Craig E. Franklin, physiology acts as a filter between environmental changes, and ecology and biodiversity. Put more simply: the entire environment affects human existence. Even if Pandora has a lower gravity than Earth and even if that massive change would give human bodies a lower terminal velocity than they have on Earth, there are other established rules to life on Pandora that might affect those factors adversely. 

How would air and oxygen flow function in the Hallelujah Mountains (which were inspired by Zhangjiajie National Forest Park)?  What of the mental stresses Pandora puts on homo sapiens? These factors alone might contribute to the ways gravity and terminal velocity function for humans venturing into Pandora's wilds.

As fun as it is to parse apart the world James Cameron built, "Avatar" also asks audiences to trust its world-building makes sense. To think too hard about human physiology on the planet is to mistake the forest for the trees and, in the case of Pandora, some parts of that forest are floating and are awesome. That's where attention should be paid. 

Theory: Pandora Is An Ancient Alien Resort

There's a long and proud tradition of giving rich folks what they deserve in high-tech amusement centers. "The Lost World" is a good example. "Ready or Not," in which a family of one-percenters plays a game and meets their comeuppance, is a more recent addition. Beyond that, there are shows like HBO's "The White Lotus" and Peacock's "The Retreat," both of which examine the class warfare that can be an undercurrent at high-end resorts. 

James Cameron's "Avatar" doesn't look like an addition to this canon on paper, but Reddit user devilsbard thinks it might be. His theory is that Pandora "was engineered as a getaway for ... a bunch of rich alien tourists [who] got stranded in the 'Westworld' type place and over many generations ... became the Na'vi we see in the movie." He cites the difference between the Na'vi and other native animals on Pandora, plus unobtanium's unnatural function within Pandora's ecosystem. Perhaps someone placed it there as part of a larger project?

Admittedly, this theory is fascinating. That said, it undercuts one of the key themes of "Avatar." James Cameron's movie is profoundly interested in whether humans and the most hard-nosed among them are able to evolve. Jake seems like the last person who would turn from colonizing a planet to rising up and fighting for the Na'vi. When he does, other humans follow. If the Na'vi are native to Pandora and don't evolve out of the planet's ecosystem, their presence on Pandora is less thematically profound. That alone is enough to debunk the idea that Pandora was once a theme park. (On the plus side, Pandora is a theme park now.)

Theory: Avatar And The Fast & Furious Movies Take Place In The Same Universe

"Avatar" is about found family. "The Fast and the Furious" franchise is all about family, found or not. Over the course of nine insane movies, the Toretto's and their brethren have gone from DVD player thieves to astronauts without ever forgetting that family trumps all. It isn't silly to want to link "Avatar" and the "Fast & Furious" universe together, however disparate they might be. They're both blockbuster works of entertainment with solid values. So Reddit user arbitrary_human gave it a shot several years ago.

Their theory: it all runs through Letty (Michelle Rodriguez). Rodriguez plays Trudy Chacón in "Avatar" and, according to arbitrary_human, "Letty enlists with the paramilitary force and becomes the pilot known as Trudy Chacon ... On Earth, we miss Letty for the 5-8 years (depending on what chronology you endorse) between the events of "FF1" and "FF4," which conveniently aligns with the 5 year, 10 month travel time it takes the 'real' Letty to arrive on Pandora." 

This theory rules. If the additional "Fast & Furious" movies hadn't confirmed Letty's continued existence on Earth, this theory would technically be impossible to debunk. Fortunately and unfortunately, Letty is on Earth raising her son and fending off the attacks of Dom's little brother and Cipher (Charlize Theron). Maybe heading to Pandora would be beneficial. 

Read this next: Everything You Need To Remember About Avatar

The post Popular Avatar Fan Theories Debunked appeared first on /Film.

Don’t hold your breath for a Thanksgiving miracle this year—at least, not if you’re hoping to find an inflation-proof turkey. According to TODAY.com, this year’s meal will no doubt cost you more than any other, with rising prices and supply chain issues hitting nearly every ingredient necessary to create a successful…

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When "Stranger Things" launched in 2016, most of its cast were virtual unknowns. Aside from veteran stars like Winona Ryder, the show was the first leading role for many of its cast members, especially the younger kids. Part of what made the show work so well was the fact that all those young kids were supremely-talented. The Netflix hit asks a lot from its stars — lots of action, lots of emotion — and every member of the ever-growing ensemble is up to the task, which makes for a fun watch.

It's also a useful launching pad for further stardom. The series tends to take breaks between seasons — three years passed between Seasons 3 and 4 — leaving the cast free to pursue other acting opportunities. This raises their profiles, providing them a solid base from which to hopefully continue their careers after "Stranger Things" comes to an end with its fifth season. Unsurprisingly, a lot of cast members have done excellent work outside of the show, suggesting good things are on the horizon. These are the best movies starring the "Stranger Things" cast that you need to see.

Yes, God, Yes (2019) — Natalia Dyer

In "Stranger Things," Natalia Dyer plays Nancy Wheeler, a headstrong girl willing to battle demons to save her family and friends. However, in Karen Maine's "Yes, God, Yes,"  her character is far meeker. Dyer plays Alice, an innocent girl at a Catholic school in the early 2000s. She tries to be as good as her family and community expect, but the allure of the then-new Internet proves difficult to resist. Soon, Alice discovers the world of thrilling sexuality that awaits her in online chat rooms. To focus on the church, Alice attends a spiritual retreat, but she discovers that temptation awaits her at camp, too ... mostly in the form of Chris (Wolfgang Novogratz), a handsome older boy.

This is a real zinger of a movie. The film's period setting provides a ton of laughs for those of us who were there. There's a "Pen15"-like delight in the ultra-specific milieu of that era, skewering everything from cell phones that play "Snake" to that specific feeling of not quite understanding what a cooler person's txt-speak meant on AIM. During one memorable sequence, Alice fantasizes about running her fingers through Chris' comically-long arm hair as a sultry cover of Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle" plays.

Dyer is excellent in the role. She's game to look dorky and awkward — a valuable trait in an actor — and "Yes, God, Yes" proves she has a future to look forward to after "Stranger Things" ends.

Spree (2020) — Joe Keery

We live in a world that is oversaturated with screens. At this point, most of us are constantly switching between apps, flipping from Twitter to Instagram to TikTok to Google Maps and back again, depending on what we're up to. "Spree" is a found-footage horror movie that recognizes this. Its frame is constantly chopped into smaller frames, showing us a GoPro live stream view of rideshare driver Kurt (Joe Keery) and his text messages and a live view of where he is on a map. It's an onslaught of ever-changing visual information that is impressively kinetic in a way that matches the narrative's forward momentum. 

Kurt is a driver and content creator. He wants to gamify the mind-numbing experience of offering rides, turning memorable customers into content that draws clicks. The possibility of online fame has gone to his head, though, and despite being on screen for nearly every second of "Spree," Kurt is not the hero. He's the villain. He's decided the best way to get eyes on his videos is to do shocking, unforgivable things to his passengers, and he's determined to go out in a blaze of glory.

Keery puts every ounce of the magnetism that has made him a "Stranger Things" breakout into his role in "Spree." Kurt is like an evil funhouse-mirror version of Steve Harrington. In Keery's hands, Kurt is desperately pitiful but also someone you can't stop watching. He's a broken man, a man who is doing awful things, and yet ... he's funny!

Better Watch Out (2020) — Dacre Montgomery

Australian actor Dacre Montgomery had a busy 2017. In addition to joining the cast of "Stranger Things" as Billy Hargrove, he also played the Red Ranger in the big-screen "Power Rangers" film. Fans of Montgomery's performance as bad-boy Billy will especially want to check out "Better Watch Out," a holiday-themed home invasion horror film from that same year.

Filmmaker Chris Peckover's movie is about a babysitter named Ashley (Olivia DeJonge), who finds herself in a difficult situation while watching her charge, Luke (Levi Miller). Someone is lurking around the house, and when a brick crashes through the window, they find a message reading, "U LEAVE, U DIE." Luke, who has a major crush on his babysitter, is all too happy to huddle together with her while the intruder draws closer. Ashley, meanwhile, is laser-focused on figuring out how to survive the night. It's part "When a Stranger Calls" and part "Home Alone," full of madcap energy and lit by Christmas lights.

Montgomery has a relatively small but memorable role as Jeremy, Ashley's ex-boyfriend, who still desperately wants her to take him back. This is a movie about men who feel entitled to the attention of women, and Montgomery is pitch-perfect as a swaggering jackass who can't believe his ex is enforcing consequences for his bad behavior. It's a solid film and a solid supporting turn from the "Stranger Things" actor that's very much worth watching.

Overlord (2018) — Joseph Quinn

Joseph Quinn's role as Eddie Munson in the fourth season of "Stranger Things" made him an instant fan favorite. Within weeks of the season dropping on Netflix, he was making sold-out appearances at fan conventions around the world. At one stop in London, the actor even broke down in tears while a fan told him how much his work meant to them.

Fans who are looking for more from their newest "Stranger Things" fave should check out "Overlord," a 2018 horror film produced by J.J. Abrams. Quinn has a small role and only a handful of lines, but the movie around him is excellent. He plays a member of a military unit airdropped behind enemy lines in advance of D-Day to take out a Nazi communications tower so that the invasion can go ahead. To their horror, they find that the town is under siege by Nazis who are performing deeply-unethical, deeply-disturbing experiments on human beings.

Without giving too much away, this isn't just a war movie. It's a monster movie. "Overlord" starts with an unbelievably claustrophobic and chaotic battle sequence, and the thrills never stop coming. As the plot slowly unfolds and the Americans learn more about what's going on, it becomes a grotesque splatterfest of a movie that leans heavily into creature effects and gore. Quinn's career is just getting started. "Overlord" is essential viewing to catch up with this star on the rise.

Godzilla Vs. Kong (2021) — Millie Bobby Brown

From the moment Eleven ate her first Eggo, Millie Bobby Brown has been the breakout star of "Stranger Things," and she's proven herself to be quite a talent. She's always compelling, even when "Stranger Things" seems unsure what to do with her character, and she's the glue that holds the ensemble together. Outside of "Stranger Things," Brown has had a few opportunities to prove her star power. She stars in the "Enola Holmes" franchise for Netflix, and while the movies themselves are fine, she's a ton of fun in them.

Fans looking for more Millie Bobby Brown will want to check out her appearances in the Warner Bros. MonsterVerse movies. In 2019's "Godzilla: King of Monsters," she plays Madison, the daughter of a scientist who is involved with a project to study monsters like Godzilla and Mothra. "Godzilla vs. Kong" is the better movie, though, because it's significantly sillier. Instead of focusing on the science of it all, "Godzilla vs. Kong" mostly just lets the giant monsters destroy a bunch of stuff. Thanks to some stunning, neon-drenched cinematography from Ben Seresin, they even look cool while doing so. 

Brown's character is more adventurous this time around. She and her friend Josh (Julian Dennison) team up with conspiracy podcaster Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry) to get to the truth about what's going on with the apex monsters, and Madison's spunk is enjoyable for fans who like seeing Eleven and her friends work together.

Do Revenge (2022) — Maya Hawke

When Maya Hawke joined the cast of "Stranger Things" in the show's third season, her character, Robin, became an instant fan favorite. Unlike the show's occasionally frustrating slow-burn storyline about the closeted Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), Robin is a lesbian and is open about her sexuality to her friends.

Fans who enjoy watching Hawke play a queer character should check out her role in "Do Revenge," a Netflix thriller that updates Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train." Hawke's character, Eleanor, can be glimpsed reading the original Patricia Highsmith novel early in the film before she and Drea (Camila Mendes) agree to swap revenge plots so that no one will suspect a connection. Eleanor is still hurting because a student named Carissa (Ava Capri) outed her at camp when she was younger, while Drea has become a social pariah after her popular ex-boyfriend Max (Austin Abrams) leaked a nude video of her.

"Do Revenge" is a fun film that positions itself as the successor to fashion-forward mean-teen faves like "Heathers," "Jawbreaker," and "Clueless." It isn't quite as successful as those classics. It's a bit overlong, and the violation of Drea's privacy is never treated with the gravity it deserves. Still, it's a valiant effort, and Hawke is particularly fun as Eleanor. She starts "Do Revenge" dressed down, but after a winking makeover scene, Eleanor spends the film looking increasingly fabulous as the revenge plot spirals out of control. Fans of Robin won't be disappointed.

Concrete Cowboy (2020) — Caleb McLaughlin

Like several of his "Stranger Things" co-stars, Caleb McLaughlin stayed in the Netflix family for one of his biggest films. In "Concrete Cowboy," he plays Cole, a troubled kid sent to live with his father (Idris Elba) for the summer. His father runs a horse stable out of a warehouse, where the horses live among the dilapidated houses and rundown people of North Philly. At first, Cole is resistant to his father's lessons, preferring instead to spend time with his friend Smush (Jharrel Jerome) despite his father's warnings. Slowly but surely, as Cole gets to know the horses and learns the value of hard work at the stable, he and his father begin to connect.

Movies for fans of horses are a tried-and-true genre, but they tend to be about girls, and they're almost always about white people. "Concrete Cowboy" aims to upend the genre. As neighborhood resident and horse enthusiast Nessie (Lorraine Toussaint) notes, "Hollywood has whitewashed us. They just deleted us right out of the history books." She goes on to explain that Black people understood that the way to break a horse wasn't to crush its spirit but to show it love.

Of course, that is a metaphor for what happens to Cole. Amid some gorgeously-photographed horse riding sequences (and some harrowing, action-packed scenes of life in the streets), McLaughlin gets a chance to shine in a way he rarely does on "Stranger Things."

Bridge Of Spies (2015) — Noah Schnapp

"Stranger Things" rocketed Noah Schnapp to instant fame, but the young star had been working in Hollywood for a few years before he played Hawkins, Indiana's Will Byers. Completionist fans of his work should be sure to check out his first-ever screen credit. In Steven Spielberg's "Bridge of Spies," a young Schnapp plays Roger Donovan, the son of Tom Hanks' character, James B. Donovan.

"Bridge of Spies" is a tense Cold War drama about a lawyer (Hanks) who finds himself involved in prisoner swap negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union. The script by the Coen Brothers and Matt Charman features a lot of talking, but it's never boring. Instead, the film's setting — taking place just as the Berlin Wall is being built — provides a thrilling energy, with the world teetering on the edge of nuclear disaster. Roger is a paranoid kid, obsessive about all of the ways that nuclear war might destroy their lives, and Schnapp does an excellent job portraying the little guy's fears. He's not the main character, but he puts in a solid turn that hints at the talent he would soon show off on "Stranger Things."

Brokeback Mountain (2005) — David Harbour

David Harbour has enjoyed considerable success since getting cast as Sheriff Hopper in "Stranger Things." He's part of the MCU now as Alexei Shostakov, the Red Guardian, in "Black Widow." He starred as Hellboy in the 2019 "Hellboy" reboot (although that one wasn't great), and he even plays Santa in the 2022 holiday thriller "Violent Night." David Harbour's best movie, however, (and, for my money, the best movie any "Stranger Things" alum has been involved in) is "Brokeback Mountain."

Ang Lee's sweeping Western is about the relationship between two ranch hands, Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal). They meet one summer herding sheep on Brokeback Mountain. There in the wilderness, away from the confines of a disapproving society, they are free to explore their attraction to one another. What happens that summer reverberates through the rest of their lives. The movie follows Jack and Ennis as they age, get married, have kids, and continue to meet up with one another several times a year to return to Brokeback Mountain.

Ennis and Jack's love for one another is all-consuming, but while Ennis wallows in his repression, Jack occasionally has dalliances with other men. David Harbour shows up late in the film as one such man, Randall Malone. While their wives (Anna Faris and Anne Hathaway) chatter away, Randall propositions Jack. This was one of Harbour's first roles, and this sweet scene provides an intriguing glimpse at the actor who would become Hopper.

It: Chapter One (2017) — Finn Wolfhard

Aside from Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard is the "Stranger Things" star who has had the most opportunities outside of the show. He's appeared in films like "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" and "The Turning," but fans of his work on "Stranger Things" will want to make sure to watch his performance in "It: Chapter One."

Like "Stranger Things," Andy Muschietti's Stephen King adaptation is about a group of kids who team up to battle an unimaginable evil that has overtaken their small town. (After all, "Stranger Things" creators the Duffer brothers have admitted to The Hollywood Reporter that "It" was a major influence on the hit Netflix show. Having Wolfhard star in both just highlights the thematic connection between the two stories). In this case, evil comes in the form of a clown named Pennywise, a sewer-dwelling monster who preys on the deepest, darkest fears of the town's inhabitants. Wolfhard plays Richie Tozier, a wise-cracking youngster who wears thick glasses that make him look adorably bug-eyed. The movie is also legitimately frightening. There's a reason it's the highest-grossing horror film of all time.

Wolfhard also appears in the sequel, "It: Chapter Two," but by that point he had started to grow up. The second film makes use of some clunky de-aging technology to keep him looking the same as he did in the first movie, to unfortunate results. Still, we'll always have "It: Chapter One."

Fear Street: Part Two - 1978 (Sadie Sink)

Sadie Sink joined "Stranger Things" in the show's second season, and she quickly became such an integral part of the ensemble that it's surprising to remember she hasn't been around since the beginning. Her projects outside of the show have positioned her as one of the show's biggest breakouts. She starred in Taylor Swift's music video for "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)(Taylor's Version)[From the Vault]," and she is also a lead in Darren Aronofsky's drama "The Whale." However, fans who are looking for more spooky mayhem starring Sink will want to check out her part in "Fear Street: Part Two — 1978."

Netflix released a trilogy of "Fear Street" films in 2021, inspired by the book series by "Goosebumps" author R.L. Stine. In the middle film of the trilogy, Sink plays Ziggy Berman, a troublemaking kid at Camp Nightwing. The towns of Sunnyvale and Shadyside are cursed by a witch named Sarah Fier, and "Fear Street: Part Two — 1978" sees the spirit of the witch turn one of the campers into an axe-wielding murderer. What unfurls is a fun, R-rated slasher film the likes of which we rarely see these days. The gore is impressively nasty, and some of the kills are genuinely shocking.

As on "Stranger Things," Sink anchors the proceedings with an impressive self-assuredness for someone her age. She's sarcastic, witty, and wounded, making Ziggy Berman a perfect character for fans of Max Mayfield.

Marrowbone (2017) — Charlie Heaton

Charlie Heaton plays Jonathan Byers on "Stranger Things," son of Joyce and older brother of Will. He's protective of his family, charging headfirst into danger any time a creature or supernatural bad guy threatens the town of Hawkins. Fans of his performance on the hit Netflix show should check out the spooky chiller "Marrowbone."

The horror film is the debut feature from Spanish director Sergio G. Sánchez, who is probably best known for writing "The Orphanage." Heaton plays Billy, the middle Marrowbone brother. Aside from Heaton, the film features an excellent cast of up-and-coming young actors: The oldest brother is George McKay ("1917"), the sister is Mia Goth ("X" and "Pearl"), and a family friend is played by Anya Taylor-Joy ("The Menu"). In many ways, it's a haunted house movie, and it makes excellent use of setting and sound design to deliver shiver-inducing fright. It's also deeply sad thanks to all of the actors imbuing their relationships with striking emotional cores.

As in "Stranger Things," Heaton is a fiercely protective sibling. It's a role Heaton plays very well. His ferocity in his efforts to keep his family safe occasionally surprises them, but as an audience, we can't help but root for him to succeed.

Black Swan (Winona Ryder)

When "Stranger Things" premiered back in 2016, the biggest name in the cast was Winona Ryder. Early in her career, she starred in numerous classics, including "Beetlejuice," "Heathers," "Little Women," and "Edward Scissorhands." In the early 2000s, however, her career hit a rough patch after she was arrested for shoplifting at a Beverly Hills store. Before "Stranger Things" fully revitalized her star power, Ryder put in a deliciously-campy turn in Darren Aronofsky's 2011 ballet thriller, "Black Swan."

The film is about a dancer named Nina (Natalie Portman), who does everything in her power to succeed in her company's production of "Swan Lake." As Nina finds herself drawn into a psychosexual game of manipulation and deceit, she loses herself in her work, devoting herself entirely to the dance. Part of this means involving herself with the production's director, Thomas (Vincent Cassel). She winds up angering a former ingenue whose career is on the outs. Her name is Beth, and she's played by Winona Ryder.

Ryder's scene-stealing performance is all smeared mascara and alcohol. Beth is a far cry from the lovable Joyce Byers, and it's a treat to watch Ryder chew the scenery, devouring every delectable line. Hiring her to play a faded star is a savvy bit of casting, considering many may have thought Ryder past her prime while Portman was a budding superstar. In "Black Swan," she proved she was still around, and thanks to "Stranger Things," she's here to stay.

Save Yourselves! (2020) — John Reynolds

"Search Party" star John Reynolds has appeared in numerous episodes of "Stranger Things" as Officer Callahan. The mustachioed policeman tags along with Chief Hopper (David Harbour) on various investigations, and he's a memorable character who builds out the world of Hawkins, Indiana, outside of the main group of kids.

Anyone looking for more of Reynolds should check out "Save Yourselves!," a sci-fi alien-invasion comedy he led in 2020. The film is about Jack (Reynolds) and his girlfriend Su (Sunita Mani), a couple on the outs who decide to head to an upstate cabin to get away from it all. They've been arguing lately and drifting apart, so a weekend in the woods with no phone service seems like a good way for them to reconnect. Unbeknownst to them, the minute they leave society, aliens attack. The aliens in question: furry little fluff-balls with attitude.

Reynolds shows off the dry sense of humor he hints at on "Stranger Things" and uses so well on "Search Party." The situations get more and more absurd as the couple slowly realizes that the world is under attack, and Reynolds is suitably silly as the hapless Jack. He and "Glow" star Mani have excellent chemistry, making "Save Yourselves!" a must for any fan of "Stranger Things."

Read this next: The Most Powerful Characters In Stranger Things, Ranked

The post The Best Movies Starring the Stranger Things Cast You Need to See appeared first on /Film.

A new estimate of water on early Mars suggests it had enough of the wet stuff to cover the planet in a 1,000-foot-deep ocean.

These are the Christmas movies to watch with your kids this year.

This post contains spoilers for "Smile."

"Smile," the biggest original horror movie of the year, just premiered on Paramount+ after its 45-day exclusive theatrical window. Anyone who happened to miss director Parker Finn's frightening directorial debut now has the chance to catch the curse in the comfort of their own home. That may not protect you from experiencing the same amount of torment that star Sosie Bacon endures as her haunted character Rose Cutter, a hospital psychologist who's forced to confront her own inner demons as she encounters a strange presence that causes people do die by suicide. There's a real sense of dread in "Smile," due mainly to the hopelessness Rose feels as the people she loves begin to abandon her in her darkest time of need. Gifted actor Kyle Gallner plays Rose's ex-boyfriend Joel, a detective who believes something is trying to kill her. By the time the ending rolls around, Joel's fate is still uncertain, even if Rose's fate is sealed. 

Gallner is one of the most electric actors working today, who just delivered his best career performance in the coming-of-age punk rock gem "Dinner in America." His co-star role in "Smile" gives him a good deal of screen time, but a true sequel that picks up right after the events of the first film could give Gallner the spotlight he so rightly deserves. If Paramount is planning to capitalize on the phenomenal success of "Smile," Gallner says he hasn't heard anything yet. "I don't know. Nobody's talked to me. I know nothing about it," Gallner recently told /Film's own Jacob Hall. "It's one of those things, if I was a betting man with how much money it's made and how well it did, I have to imagine people are talking. What that means, if that means Joel's in it or not, I have no idea." 

Really?

What Would Kyle Gallner Like To See In A Sequel?

If a second "Smile" movie continues the story, it would almost be an insult if Gallner wasn't involved. His character Joel is a crucial part of the plot who'd have to be addressed in a sequel. Gallner has a good idea about where and, specifically, when the story could take place. He tells /Film:

"I think there is something interesting to picking up a film like that almost immediately after. Because usually it's something where it's like, you see the curse, it happens, and then it cuts, and it's a whole new group of people. And it does the same thing again. It's kind of cool because there're already rules established with these characters that already know certain things. So it's not like they have to go back and try to relearn all of these things all over again."

Along with Gallner, we can only conjecture about what direction and shape a sequel could take. But starting the story moments after the tragic ending of "Smile" makes sense considering that the sinister force possessing this interconnected group can transfer to someone else instantaneously. That storytelling device is usually effective and can be seen in other horror movies like "Halloween II," which starts immediately after the events of Carpenter's original.

Gallner also makes a good point about not needing pointless exposition that the audience already knows if you start a follow-up with his character, Joel, who is already intimately involved with the curse. "So I think the fact that it could pick up from a new spot where these people have a little bit of a leg up, I don't know, I think you can take that in a whole lot of different directions, but you still have the ticking clock."

Pushing A Potential Sequel Even Further

In "Smile," Rose and Joel discover from another victim named Robert Talley that committing murder can potentially break the curse and keep the smile victims from ultimately dying by suicide. Rose isn't willing or capable of going down that road, but maybe Joel is? He does end up witnessing something terrible that potentially passes the curse onto him, after all. Continuing to talk about the possibilities with /FIlm, Gallner said, "I think it would be just about pushing it further and exploring further. I mean, you have the whole potential murder thing that breaks the curse. Maybe something goes on with that." 

There could be another possible loophole to break the curse that would help to expand on the mythology. Gallner continued:

"Maybe Joel f****** ices somebody and then decides he's going to try to help that person and figure out the curse. I don't know. There's a bunch of different ways it can go. That's why I'm not writing it, because I don't have that skill set to continue this on."

Hopefully, Parker Finn, who also wrote the screenplay, will want to direct a sequel to his smash hit that includes Gallner, just so the actor doesn't have to do it himself. Gallner is up for returning, even if he can't officially say anything definitive. "I think it could be fun to play with," he admits. "And if they want me back as Joel to jump into that sandbox, I'm more than happy to come in and play. How was that for a non-answer?"

Read this next: Horror Movies With Unconventional Monsters

The post Here's What Smile Star Kyle Gallner Would Want to See in a Sequel [Exclusive] appeared first on /Film.

A frustrated owner of an RTX 4090 graphics card, suffering from the infamous melty power connector problem, has filed a class action suit against Nvidia. From a report: Filed in a California court on November 11th, the suit may make for painful reading for Nvidia and includes numerous allegations from fraud to unjust enrichment. The case refers to widely reported instances of the new-style 16-pin power connector used by Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4090 boards overheating and melting under heavy load. Reportedly, the lawsuit claims that Nvidia sold RTX 4090s with, "defective and dangerous power cable plug and socket(s), which has rendered consumers' cards inoperable and poses a serious electrical and fire hazard for each and every purchaser." It's notable that the claimant, one Lucas Genova, describes himself as "experienced in the installation of computer componentry like graphics cards," thereby aiming to head off any implication of user error at the pass.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A group of Democratic senators have asked the FTC to investigate Elon Musk over his handling of users’ privacy and security in the wake of his takeover of Twitter. In a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan, the senators cite Musk’s botched rollout of Twitter Blue’s paid verifications, as well as the departures of Twitter’s top privacy and security executives.

The letter, signed by seven senators, including Elizabeth Warren, Dianne Feinstein and Richard Blumenthal, follows a widely-publicized warning from a lawyer at Twitter that Musk could be exposing the company to billions of dollars in fines from the FTC.

“In recent weeks, Twitter’s new Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk, has taken alarming steps that have undermined the safety and integrity of the platform,” the senators write, noting that his actions “could already represent a violation of the FTC’s consent decree.” Under the terms of a 2011 agreement with the FTC, Twitter is required to review new features for potential privacy issues and regularly send reports to the FTC. The recent departures of top pirivacy and security executives came just ahead of a deadline to send one of those reports, according toThe New York Times.

In their letter, the senators write that the FCC should investigate Musk and other executives’ actions. “We urge the Commission to vigorously oversee its consent decree with Twitter and to bring enforcement actions against any breached or business practices that are unfair or deceptive, including bringing civil penalties and imposing liability on individual Twitter executives where appropriate,” they write.

It’s unclear if the FTC plans to launch such an investigation, but an FTC spokesperson said last week that the agency was “tracking recent developments at Twitter with deep concern,” according toCNBC.

There was once a man named Mamoru Hosada who decided to become an anime director. After a phenomenal career at Toei, where he worked on classic episodes of "Digimon" and "Revolutionary Girl Utena," he was recruited by Studio Ghibli to direct their upcoming film "Howl's Moving Castle." Unfortunately, Hosada's project was cursed from the beginning. Much of Ghibli was already busy crafting "Spirited Away." Hosada worked hard to secure a team of animators, but he could only do so much by himself. The harder he worked to keep "Howl's Moving Castle" alive, the faster it became a time and money sink. Sooner or later, the film collapsed, and Hosada was removed from the project. In an interview with Animestyle, Hosada expressed his feelings of guilt for the animators he was forced to abandon. "I had lied to them," he said. "I had betrayed them. Now nobody would trust me again."

Hosada would take all his confusion, sorrow and rage and put it into a "One Piece" movie. In "Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island," the pirate Luffy and his crew travel to an island of games run by a mysterious Baron. The Baron is jealous of Luffy's friends, and uses powerful magic to divide and conquer them. At the end of the film, after the most harrowing scene in "One Piece" history, the audience is taught the difference between Luffy and Baron Omatsuri. Luffy is able to make new friends after being separated from his old ones. But the Baron cannot move on from the friends he lost long ago, and so he is doomed to be forgotten. "Baron Omatsuri" has never been made officially available in the United States, and yet its story has been told again and again. It is one of the great anime ghost stories.

Our War Game

Mamoru Hosada's bad experience at Ghibli may be infamous, but it was not unique. The director Sunao Katabuchi similarly struggled at Ghibli. According to a recent piece by Animation Obsessive, Katabuchi was chosen to direct "Kiki's Delivery Service" after proving himself in the trenches to studio heads Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. Just like what would happen later with "Howl," the film became increasingly ambitious and expensive in a way that made producers uncomfortable. "Investors weren't interested," says Animation Obsessive, "unless Miyazaki directed [the film] himself." Katabuchi was demoted to assistant director, and Miyazaki took the lead. The resulting film was excellent, but Katabuchi was frustrated at how his chance to prove himself had slipped through his fingers. When Katabuchi was finally given the opportunity to direct his first film, "Princess Arete," it was at Studio 4C rather than Studio Ghibli.

Hiromasa Yonebayashi's time at Ghibli was far more positive but uniquely frustrating in its own way. In his time there he directed two films, "The Secret World of Arietty" and "When Marnie Was There." "Marnie" especially saw Yonebayashi come into his own. "With Marnie," he would say to Little White Lies, "what I was conscious of was purely the enjoyment of the audience." But the studio's output was slowing down; Miyazaki had (briefly) retired after 2013's "The Wind Rises," and Takahata was busy with his final film "The Tale of Princess Kaguya." Yonebayashi, who longed to make the kinds of Ghibli films he grew up watching, realized that he could no longer fulfill his ambitions at the studio. So he quit Ghibli after directing "Marnie" in 2014 and founded Studio Ponoc with producer Yoshiaki Nishimura.

Ghibli Children

Why would anybody want to leave Studio Ghibli? The studio founded by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata is one of the most beloved in Japan. Miyazaki and Takahata founded the studio with producer Toshio Suzuki to make the original anime films they wanted to see. Years of toiling in the TV anime industry had taught them that the demands of television were incompatible with the quality they wanted. As former labor organizers, Miyazaki and Takahata fought to create a work environment where the work of artists was respected. They sought to hire and train in-house staff rather than relying on underpaid freelancers. Ghibli's films were extraordinarily difficult and time-consuming to make; late in production, the best intentions of the founders were thrown out the window. But the studio earned its reputation as a place where talented artists were given the time and money to create lasting work at a scale incomprehensible elsewhere.

It should also be said that the producers at Ghibli were well aware that they needed directors other than Miyazaki and Takahata for the studio to survive. Talented directors like Mamoru Hosada were hired from outside the studio with the hope that they might one day become a box office draw like Miyazaki. Another director, the talented Tomomi Mochizuki, was scouted to direct the TV film "Ocean Waves" In 1993. "Ocean Waves" was intended as a training project for young Ghibli animators to learn on the job in a less intensive environment. Later, 1995 saw the release of "Whisper of the Heart," the directorial debut of longtime Ghibli associate Yoshifumi Kondo. Miyazaki and Takahata hoped for Kondo to be their successor, taking the studio into the future.

Summer Wars

Unfortunately, taking the reins of Ghibli proved to be a near-impossible task. Mochizuki was hospitalized in the process of directing "Ocean Waves." Kondo died of an aneurysm in 1998, just three years after the release of "Whisper of the Heart." Producer Toshio Suzuki would claim in his biography that Kondo was overworked by Isao Takahata, whose films and past television productions were notoriously demanding. Other ex-Ghibli folk later spoke of the challenges posed by Ghibli's unique culture. Former Ghibli producer Hirokatsu Kihara said in an interview with Dazed that "there's a sense that everyone is replaceable ... rather than hire creatives with great ideas, they will hire people who will please the producers." These stories may very well be true, although you should always take the word of powerful anime executives with a grain of salt.

Speaking personally, I believe that the greatest challenge Studio Ghibli faces today is Hayao Miyazaki himself. Miyazaki is a once-in-a-generation artist able to produce better drawings faster than his peers. While working on Takahata's TV project "Heidi, Girl of the Alps," he created the "layout" process that refined storyboards into detailed frames. This provided a great reference for the animators, decreased the number of retakes and swiftly became the standard for the TV anime industry. But Miyazaki was only able to do this because of his skill and speed. He's also a terminal workaholic who lives to draw. Despite his age, he has proven exceptionally difficult to replace.

Unfulfilled Animators

Kihara said an interview with Nanjinsan that "every single frame" in a Miyazaki-directed Ghibli film "has Hayao Miyazaki's detailed input." This resulted in high-quality output, but has also served as a creative limitation. Miyazaki has a reputation for redrawing every single frame that passes through his hands to his own exacting specifications. Only a handful of artists have been spared Miyazaki's pen. Of course, corrections are an essential part of the production process. That Ghibli has such a rigorous standard of quality is a point in its favor. But Miyazaki's tendencies towards micromanagement are also uniquely frustrating for a studio as driven by artists as Ghibli. Animators have their own preferences and don't always take kindly to being subsumed by Miyazaki's style.

One such example is Masashi Ando, one of the most famous animators to pass through Studio Ghibli. Ando handled character design alongside Yoshifumi Kondo on "Princess Mononoke," and served as both character designer and animation director on "Spirited Away." But according to Sakuga Blog, he was driven by his "pursuit of realism in animation" to argue with Miyazaki and eventually leave the studio. He then joined forces with Satoshi Kon, and contributed to Kon's television series "Paranoia Agent" and last film "Paprika" before the director's untimely death in 2010. Artists like Ando are tough to replace. Similarly, a studio like Ghibli offered opportunities to Ando that would be hard to find anywhere else. But Ando decided that in order to do the kind of work he preferred, he had to move on.

The Witch Who Gave Up On Being A Witch

The greatest challenge faced by Miyazaki's successors, then, is that they were not Miyazaki. Mamoru Hosada and Sunao Katabuchi were never offered the support they needed to thrive at Ghibli. They could only find their full potential elsewhere, where they had the freedom to make films their own way. Miyazaki's influence so thoroughly permeates Ghibli that even Takahata was affected. He was a good friend of Miyazaki to the end and is considered by some to be Ghilbi's true master. But Miyazaki's films remain more popular abroad. Ghibli merchandise is dominated by "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Kiki's Delivery Service," rather than "Only Yesterday" or "Pom Poko." Not to mention that "Spirited Away" was the first anime film to win an Oscar in 2003, while Takahata's magisterial "Tale of Princess Kaguya" lost to "Big Hero 6" in 2014.

Hayao Miyazaki is a finite resource. "How Do You Live" may be his final film, unless his work ethic ensures even his skeleton continues to animate after his death. Producer Toshio Suzuki has pulled every trick in the book to obscure Miyazaki's decreasing presence in the studio's output. Says Jonathathan Clements, later Ghibli films obscure "the precise details of who did what with an entirely alphabetical crew listing, so that when other directors took the reins, only the attentive audience members would even notice." "The Secret World of Arietty" was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, and yet those not paying attention might see Miyazaki's name (as scriptwriter) and imagine the film was his. It's no wonder, then, that Yonebayashi left.

The Future

At the moment, the best place to see the work of ex-Ghibli talent is in their own productions. In 2016, Sunao Katabuchi directed "In This Corner of the World," an obsessively detailed recreation of Japan's home front during World War II that rivals Isao Takahata's brutal "Grave of the Fireflies." Yonebayashi directed the Ghibli-esque "Mary and the Witch's Flower" at Studio Ponoc in 2017, and later contributed a segment to the anthology "Modest Heroes" in 2018. Masashi Ando brought real firepower to Makoto Shinkai's 2016 blockbuster "your name," punching up Shinkai's trademark sentimentality with genuine character acting. Just last year, Ando co-directed his first film, "The Deer King." 

Mamoru Hosada has become a successful director at Studio Chizu. He continues to make films unabashedly inspired by his own life; both "Wolf Children" and "Mirai" riff on his experiences as a parent. Last year's "Belle" combines the technology of "Summer Wars" with  "Beauty and the Beast." A pedant might argue that his modern productions lack the youthful exuberance of his early television work. Certainly, his recent films lack the raw anger of "Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island." But I can't begrudge Hosada the opportunity to make the movies he wants, even if he's changed as an artist over the years.

My personal favorite Hosada film remains "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time." Its production saw Hosada at a crossroads, deciding once and for all if he could make it in the industry as a film director. Studio Ghibli stands at that crossroads today. Will the studio continue to pursue the ideals of Miyazaki and Takahata? Or will it become something else? Just as so many incredible filmmakers came into their own after leaving Ghibli, perhaps Ghibli itself might one day surprise us.

Read this next: 10 Anime Movies That Deserved To Win The Oscar For Best Animated Feature

The post Why Studio Ghibli Has Lost So Many Incredible Filmmakers appeared first on /Film.

The suit. The cape. The "S." The perfectly quaffed hair. The square chin. "Superman: The Animated Series" neatly tucked all of Superman's signature features into a successful framework. The creators of "Batman: The Animated Series" brought their polished pedigree to the Man of Steel mythos — including Batman's darker tone, timeless vibe, and Art Deco design.

We've seen dark versions of Superman before with mixed results. In "Superman: The Animated Series," the darkness works because the story gives us a break from the heavy by mixing in lighthearted, bizarre, and cartoonish storylines and characters — some of which are among the best in the series. That's different from "Batman: The Animated Series," which maintains a mostly serious tone, even when the Joker frolics into frame.

It makes sense that "Superman: The Animated Series" is more out-of-this-world than Batman. Superman is an alien who fights oppression across the cosmos and meets interstellar beings who don't necessarily operate under Earth's standard procedures. Things are going to get a little wild at times — and that's what makes this series stand out. 

Despite being a quarter-century old, "Superman: The Animated Series" is still exceedingly watchable. After revisiting the complete series, here's our picks for the top 14 episodes of "Superman: The Animated Series."

Brave New Metropolis

In every iteration of Superman — be it television, literature, film, or radio — he and Lois Lane have a complicated relationship. There's always mutual attraction and respect. Sometimes they're dating. Sometimes they're married. Sometimes they're just gettin' it on. In "Superman: The Animated Series," the Man of Steel flirts with Lois but keeps her at a distance because of his responsibilities. But you know Superman and Lois have deep feelings for one another.

The episode "Brave New Metropolis" shows us what happens if Superman never makes his feelings clear to Lois. She's pulled into an alternate dimension, where Lex Luthor and an iron-fisted Superman locked down Metropolis. This version of Superman takes no B.S. He beats back rebellion and laser-blasts hope.

Why are Superman's tights in a knot? Because in this world, Lois is dead. She became a victim of the violent crime he couldn't stop. He tells Lois that inspiring people with good acts wasn't enough. More importantly, he says that he didn't fully realize his feelings about Lois until she was gone.

That's when Lois slaps the s**t out of him.

Lois is not upset at this Superman. She's upset at her Superman for making the same mistake. After alt-Superman saves the day (surprise!), Lois says goodbye with a kiss — the kiss she wants from her Superman. After Lois returns to her dimension, her Superman swoops in to carry her away. Of course he does. He wants her to physically be in his arms even though he keeps her emotionally at arm's length. Lois is inspired and decides it's time to make her move. She asks him on a date. Does it happen? Likely not, given what she says and does in a later episode (Bruce u up?).

My Girl

Being super is a lot of pressure — that's why Superman savors his time as Clark Kent. Clark is his release valve. Sometimes Superman needs to bring it down a notch and exist only as a cultured, rich, dashing man-about-town. If Superman loses that pressure valve, the result could be catastrophic.

In the episode "My Girl," Superman runs into Clark's high school girlfriend Lana Lang, who tells him she knows his alter ego. She also tells him she still cares for him. But — and this is a big but — she's dating Lex Luthor. Things could get messy.

Lana is abducted, and engaging action sequences ensue. This series is about more than Superman punching robot, alien, and mutant faces, though — it's about the relationships he cultivates outside the fights. In this case, that relationship is a sticky love triangle between Superman, Lana, and a suspicious Lex.

What the episode does well is it gives us a glimpse at what makes Superman and Lex Luthor so different, powers aside. We see a sympathetic Lex Luthor who cares for Lana, and it softens the lens on him. But as he becomes suspicious Lana is cheating, he can't help but be villainous. In contrast, Superman is respectfully clear to Lana that he cares for another person.

Lana respects Superman's honesty. She keeps his alter ego a secret. She also breaks up with Lex and moves to Paris to escape his toxicity. Superman and Lex Luthor are two powerful beings who have two wildly different approaches to humanity and they're treated differently by those they care for because of their actions. What is Superman's secret to staying level-headed? Glasses, a suit, and a reporter pad. Maybe Luthor needs a hobby as well.

Stolen Memories

Who am I? It's the question that follows Superman even closer than his cape. Of course, it's a difficult question to answer when you don't know from where you came.

In the episode "Stolen Memories," Superman meets Brainiac — who, in "Superman: The Animated Series," originated as an artificial intelligence world-monitoring computer on Krypton. While onboard Brainiac's ship, Superman finds a memory orb that recorded all of Krypton's history and knowledge. At first, the information gleaned from the orb is limited, but as Superman learns more, he discovers Brainiac bailed on Krypton before a chain reaction destroyed it — then traveled to worlds across the universe to collect their knowledge and destroy them. Brainiac tells Superman: "The fewer beings that have the knowledge, the more valuable it becomes." This is in opposition to the ideal that drives Superman — you know, his "truth, justice, and the American way" mantra.

After defeating Brainiac, Superman has to decide what's next. To understand who he is, he needs to learn more from the orb about the people of Krypton, but he won't leave Earth to suffer the same fate as his former home planet. That means finding a place on Earth where he can study in solitude — and he may have found it.

Identity Crisis

Superman is the embodiment of good. He wants to keep others safe and fights to do so. His pursuit of goodness can get a little destructive, but what's a damaged bridge, road, or skyscraper compared to the greater good? Admittedly, Superman appears a little reckless in "Superman: The Animated Series," doing tens of millions of dollars in damages to Metropolis in every episode. But in "Identity Crisis," we see how much worse it could be. 

In the "Superman: The Animated Series" episode, Supes is doing his daily life-saving. He pulls a kid from a construction site. He stops a high-speed chase. He saves Clark Kent. He ... wait, what? He saves Clark Kent?

We find out that Lex Luthor used Superman's blood to develop new — but not improved —clones in a lab. The fake Superman who saved people early in the episode starts to act a little off. He's like a drunk Superman, slurring his words and slouching around. Mercy Graves aptly nicknames him Bizarro.

Bizarro has good intentions, like Superman, and he also has his powers. Unfortunately, Bizarro lacks Superman's ability to successfully integrate his good intentions with his abilities. Bizarro tries to be a hero — he even thinks he's Superman — but causes mass destruction.

Superman could make this ugly. He could destroy this malformed version of himself. Instead, Superman sees the good in Bizarro and decides to help him. Will there be destructive consequences down the road for this decision? Definitely. But that's the kind of hero he is — always doing what's morally right, even if it's not necessarily the wisest course of action. 

In Brightest Day...

Proper superheroism takes a little artistry. Spider-Man has quips. Batman has impeccable timing. Wonder Woman has powerful grace. Superman has ... well, he flies and punches hard. He also takes a punch like a champ.

Enter Kyle Rayner. He has the empathy of an artist with the physical abilities of a low-grade hero — that is until an alien in green tights crashes on Earth. A glowing ring seeks out Rayner, knowing it can amplify his positive characteristics to make him the next Green Lantern.

Rayner quickly learns how to utilize the ring. It's an extension of his thoughts — which makes it an extension of his artistry. Rayner utilizes his creative knack to become a powerful — and entertaining — superhero. Rayner's first test is the powerful former Green Lantern, Sinestro. Superman is, frankly, out of his league in this battle of telekinetic creativity. Still, Superman finds a way to help Green Lantern gain confidence to defeat Sinestro and become the new protector of Sector 2814.

I suppose Superman is not as flashy as his counterparts like Green Lantern, but his stable presence allows others to shine. He has almost no ego and pursues the greater good. Maybe that is Superman's artistry. He's a canvas — an impeccably crafted canvas — that holds others' artistry so well, it makes them feel and perform as super as him.

Knight Time

Superman is accustomed to being a mild-mannered human. He has a lot of practice as Clark Kent. But when Batman disappears, Superman steps into the role of a human whose manners are in no way mild.

In "Knight Time," crime is rampant in Gotham, and Superman investigates this spike in criminal activity with all the subtlety of a punch to the face. Robin informs Superman that Bruce Wayne disappeared, so when the bat signal shows, Superman dons Batman's cape and responds discreetly. The commissioner says Bane is in town and twice as strong. That would be dangerous for Batman — but we know who is really behind the mask tonight.

That's what makes this episode of "Superman: The Animated Series" so gratifying. It's like an episode of "Batman: The Animated Series" but with a hero who couldn't be more different role-playing Batman inside his gray and blue tights. Superman has to learn to lose his temper while keeping his powers in check — and he has to keep that balance while interrogating Penguin, Bane, Riddler, and Mad Hatter.

Super(Bat)man ultimately uncovers a plot by Brainiac — who torches him with a blast that would kill any human. The bat tights are destroyed but (a fully clothed) Superman emerges from the flames.

If Superman investigated Batman's disappearance in his usual flashy, punchy way — this still would have been a serviceable episode. But having Superman take over as Batman opened up creative opportunities that the writers used to tweak us fans. How often do we see Superman raise his voice? How often do we get a Bane-Superman fistfight?

After the episode ended, I started to wonder how Bruce Wayne would handle an otherworldly invasion of Metropolis while wearing Superman's tights. Could he fly? Would he stay out of the shadows? Could he be mild-mannered?

Absolute Power

A black hole is an incredible amount of matter packed into a small space, making it extremely powerful. Sound like anyone we know?

In the episode "Absolute Power," Superman uses his powers (and his Kryptonian spacecraft) to save a ship that's headed into a black hole. He takes the people back to their planet but they're terrified of him because of who he reminds them of. It turns out Kryptonian convicts Jax-Ur and Mara — who he banished to the Phantom Zone in an earlier episode — escaped after a meteoric collision caused by the black hole. People who live on the nearby planet rescued the two Kryptonians who, thanks to the yellow sun, have absolute power on their planet.

Jax-Ur and Mara rule without compassion, killing those who oppose them. When rebels come to Superman for help, he's initially worried about the toll a war between Kryptonians will cause — but he's reminded of an old quote that he appreciates, "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing."

Superman understands the responsibility that his powers place on him. He knows he has to protect those who don't have the power to protect themselves. Why do fans love Superman nearly 90 years after his first appearance? Because he doesn't coast through life with his powers. His happiness is derived through do-gooding. He chooses not to let his power corrupt him — not absolutely — or in any capacity. That may be his greatest strength: his belief that the benefits of his powers should be shared by all.

New Kids In Town

Some of us are a little burned out by origin stories. It's possible the creators of "Superman: The Animated Series" were too. They glossed over Superman's younger years, focusing on 20-something Superman for most of the series. However, once they established who Clark and Superman would become, they took us back to look at how he got there. He sees his powers manifest in a refreshing take on the origin story — especially for the late '90s.

In "New Kids in Town," teenage Clark Kent is in Smallville, struggling to handle the powers he has suddenly gained. For instance, he can dunk a basketball with ease, but in doing so, sends another student flying into a table. When Lana Lang confronts Clark about his lack of humility, Clark is frustrated and confused (isn't every pubescent teen?). Good news for him, clarity is on the way.

Brainiac arrives from the year 2979 to eliminate Clark before he becomes Superman. But Brainiac is not alone. Three members of the Legion of Super-Heroes also arrive. This charismatic super trio (can we get a show for them?) helps Clark defeat Brainiac. They also imbue Clark with a sense of who he will become and what he will accomplish, but then erase his memory to allow him to make that journey organically.

You're reminded in this episode why Clark becomes who he is: The people in his young life have such high character. Lana Lang cares about Clark enough to confront him. The Clarks stand by his side to battle Brainiac. These are lessons in humility, courage, and poise in the face of power — all foundational attributes for who Superman becomes.

The Main Man

Eight episodes into "Superman: The Animated Series," you think you know the dark tone and straight-shooting style that frames the series. Then intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo careens onto your screen in "The Main Man," blasting away your expectations with his space magic weaponry, cartoonish zeal, and college dropout wit.

Lobo's presence is ridiculous — and it works. Lobo brings a new set of crayons to the world's stark palette. He's followed by electric guitar licks that rip through the series' usual strings. He turns the series on its side, pushing Superman and Clark Kent in new directions. At one point, Clark teases Lois over a front-page byline he earned. It's a little playful snark from the usually reserved Clark that we hadn't seen until this point. You realize Superman likes to roleplay as Clark (see my pressure valve comments) because he gets to explore the darker side of his id— even if that side is just a darker shade of pale. 

Lobo's larger-than-life presence does a good job of provoking Superman into showing us what makes him super: his humanity. During this episode, you realize Superman's principles stabilize the framework of the series. Superman has boundaries guided by his principles — either you play inside them or he punches you out of frame.

In the second part of the series, Lobo begins to operate within that framework as the two team up. His cartoonish flair spray-paints the screen, but he never colors outside the lines. Together the divergent duo paints a pulchritudinous picture of a superb superteam. (Lobo leans over my shoulder: "Ya got thesaurus.com at the top of ya favorites, dont'tcha?")

Ghost In The Machine

Evil for the sake of evil is tired.

A tortured soul who does evil things for misguided reasons is wired.

One of the most important things a storyteller can do is make the audience care about the villain. That's one of the strengths of "Superman: The Animated Series." Few of the villains are evil just to be evil — most have a reason they're on a dark path.

Several times while watching the series, I wondered why Mercy Graves remained as Lex Luthor's attendant after he mistreated her. In the episode "Ghost in the Machine," we delve into her motivations. Mercy drives Luthor to an event, meticulously grooms him, and sets up a weapons defense system showcase (Lex, my dude, hire some help). The weapons fail. Mercy suspects sabotage. Luthor blames her.

After Luthor disappears while meeting a mysterious caller, a deep fake of Luthor appears on the security monitor outside Luthor's office. It tells Mercy to stay out of his office. Mercy doesn't want to rock the boat. She wants to make him happy. Wait — is she afraid Luthor will fire her? Girl, why?!? This is the perfect opportunity to leave this toxic employer. Your array of bad girl skills would fill a LinkedIn page. Why stay?

We sound find out why Mercy stays: Superman asks Mercy what Luthor has on her, and she talks about how Luthor rescued her from homelessness and gave her purpose. Later, Luthor escapes from an explosion, leaving Mercy to die. Lucky for her, Superman swoops in like OSHA, but guess what — she's still with Luthor, opening doors, by the end of the episode. It's a complicated look into a villain's life decisions — which brings a lot of juice to an episode that was already electric even without being so wired-in to socially charged issues.

Target

Artistic protagonist? Check

Elaborate symbolic attempt to kill that person? Check

Paranormal mystery unfolds? Check

The "Superman: The Animated Series" episode "Target" has all the hallmarks of a Giallo. You'd think Dario Argento directed this one. Nope — veteran Curt Gena directed a story written by the talented Hilary Bader. I don't know if their intent was to honor the Italian horror genre with their stylistic opening of "Target." I do know they delivered a good setup that strings us along for 22 minutes.

This episode is a great reminder of "Superman: The Animated Series'" cinematic approach — using visuals, music, and structured set pieces to lure us into a world far from our cereal-crunching Saturday mornings on the couch. We're abducted by its artistic elements and sped away by its thoughtful action sequences. Here, Superman isn't just punching faces: He's learning about himself and being forced to make narrative-changing decisions.

In "Target," you see just how frantic Clark Kent and Superman are to save Lois as she's repeatedly marked for death by some unknown assailant. His commitment shows how much he cares about her. Lois, on the other hand, uses each attempt on her life to piece together the puzzle — and find out who is trying to kill her. Lois is clever and brave, but she's no final girl. Superman has to save her in the end. When he rushes over to hold her, she asks Clark how he manages to arrive just in time, adding, "You wouldn't be keeping an eye on me or anything?" He responds, "Some people need more watching than others."

Obsession with eyeballs? Check

An Argento homage, for sure — though it's razor-sharp even without the horror references.

Livewire

Some of the scariest villains have no superpowers. They aren't hiding in the shadows. They don't silently plot your demise. Some of the scariest villains are outspoken provocateurs who know how to charge up a crowd. Even after you've quieted them or turned them away, that charge sustains.

In the episode "Livewire," shock jock Leslie Willis gains a substantial following by targeting Superman with her high-voltage rhetoric. Anyone who challenges her is shouted down or threatened. It's a narrative we've seen develop in frightening ways outside the series: Extreme politicians and media personalities use lies and fear to fuel dissent, causing distrust and violence.

Willis eventually becomes the super-powered villain Livewire after she's electrocuted while performing a live show. Livewire terrorizes Metropolis by shutting down its power grid. Even after Superman stops Livewire, her message remains, resonating with her followers. They question Superman's actions and praise Livewire's ability to "shake things up."

Political malaise despite forced power outages? Megalomaniacs praised for shaking things up? It certainly feels prescient for an episode that came out in 1997.

Legacy

This two-part series "Legacy" is an emotional gut punch for us "Superman: The Animated Series" fans. Its climax hit hard. Superman is left shaken. You're left shaken. Unfortunately, it's the series finale. You're not getting closure.

In the episode "Legacy Part 1," Darkseid besieges an alien planet. His forces are led by a masked being who pummels his enemies with relentless violence. The being takes off his mask and reveals Kal-El. It turns out Darkseid has brainwashed Superman into thinking he raised him as Kal-El, and he wants "Kal-El" to attack Earth while carrying the Superman logo as a banner. Superman lays siege, leaving the people of Earth stunned. Their protector has turned on them. The man who could wipe them off the planet but always chose good has now chosen evil. In their minds, they always suspected he might. 

Superman's loved ones save him. He fights back and defeats Darkseid, but the damage is done. Superman battered Earth's infrastructure and shattered the trust he'd worked so hard to establish over a lifetime -– including with some of the people he was closest with. What's worse, doubt creeps in, and Superman admits to Lois that he lost control and it scared him. She kisses him (finally) and says to win them back one at a time.

The series leaves us with so many open compelling questions. How will Superman cope with the hatred? Will he somehow win back Earth's trust? Are he and Lois finally getting together?

It's a shame we'll never know.

World's Finest

The Joker doesn't have any discernible superpowers, but it's clear he's a superior being. Joker understands his enemies' fears — he uses them as traps. Joker knows his enemies' motivations, and he's always one step ahead.

One of Joker's greatest tricks is his ability to change the rules. That's what made "Batman: The Animated Series" so engaging. That's also what Joker brings in his cameo on the three-part series, "World's Finest." He poaches Caesar Carlini's goons; he outsmarts Lex Luthor; he corners a gadget-less Bruce Wayne; he catches Superman off guard. Joker playfully employs a shrewd unpredictability that Superman hasn't seen before battling his usual suspects. Joker, however, seems to know all about Superman — how to kill him and how to torment him.

Superman and Lois talk about how he's always there to save her. While no one else seems to notice, Joker does. It's almost like he's aware that it's a trope frequently employed in "Superman: The Animated Series" — and he's going to exploit it.

That's just one of many cogs in this well-oiled machine. All three episodes move at an incredible pace — no wasted motion and no pause to let you catch your breath. There are several hero and villain "play" styles in use here and all operate in concert. Superman is playing front and center, as he should be. But Joker holds the baton. He is conducting a masterful orchestration.

Warner Brothers released the three-parter "World's Finest" as a standalone VHS (The Batman Superman Movie 1998/2001). It can stand alone if you want a taste of "Superman: The Animated Series," but these three episodes are best watched within the context of the show. Superman's rules are established and Metropolis' framework is in place. That allows the Joker to pull off his greatest trick: making you his victim.

Read this next: Every DC Movie Made Prior To The DCEU Ranked From Worst To Best

The post The 14 Best Superman: The Animated Series Episodes appeared first on /Film.

Snake Plissken hive rise up — the world's coolest cyclops might actually return to the silver screen. Plans for a remake or reboot have been bouncing around Hollywood for decades, with studios, writers, and directors all rotating through without anything sticking. There were talks of "The Invisible Man" director Leigh Whannell tackling the project back in 2019, but reboot rumors have been around since 2007, when "Rush Hour" helmer Brett Ratner was potentially attached to direct. 

The latest is that Radio Silence, the production team behind "Ready or Not," "V/H/S," "Southbound," and "Scream," are looking to reboot the beloved John Carpenter classic. First reported by Giant Freakin Robot, the folks at Bloody Disgusting have confirmed through their own sources that the Radio Silence creative team is "working towards that goal." That means that if an "Escape from New York" reboot is happening, it's still in the earliest stages and absolutely nothing is concrete, but Radio Silence wants the gig and is trying to make it a reality. Then again, since we've been getting a steady drip of potential reboots for decades now, maybe it's finally time to escape from New York once more. 

(Maybe) Exciting News

"Escape from New York" is John Carpenter's gritty 1981 dystopian tale of a criminal named Snake Plissken, played by Kurt Russell, who must go into the penal colony of Manhattan to rescue the President of the United States after his plane goes down. Carpenter also made a sequel, "Escape from L.A.," in 1996, though it is significantly sillier than its predecessor and didn't exactly win the hearts of critics of audiences. The tone of "Escape from New York" is a strange one, taking itself deadly serious while also having ridiculous elements like The Duke, played by Isaac Hayes and driving a limousine with chandelier headlights. If anyone can tackle the setting, tone, and genre-bending weirdness of an "Escape from New York" remake, it might just be the team behind some of the best horror comedies in the past decade. 

Radio Silence is composed of directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villella, and they've done killer work in the horror genre. "Ready or Not" is a total kick in the pants that stars Samara Weaving as a shotgun-toting bride trying to survive a wicked family game, and that kind of survival against the odds narrative would work great with "Escape from New York." Actually, Weaving should play a gender-swapped Plissken in the reboot, saving the President, kicking butt, and taking names. Now that's a reboot worth doing. 

The team has a lot on its plate already with a TV series in the works, but who knows? Keep your eyes on /Film for updates as soon as they happen, and we'll keep you in the loop on all things "Escape from New York." 

Read this next: The 95 Best Horror Movies Ever

The post Escape from New York Remake Could Come From the Directors Behind Scream and Ready or Not appeared first on /Film.

On average, organizations report using 102 business-critical SaaS applications, enabling operations of most departments across an organization, such as IT and Security, Sales, Marketing, R&D, Product Management, HR, Legal, Finance, and Enablement. An attack can come from any app, no matter how robust the app is.Without visibility and control over a critical mass of an organization’s entire SaaS

In addition to the very successful FEX-Emu emulator for enjoying Linux x86/x86_64 games on AArch64 and other x86/x86_64 software on Arm there is also the Box86 and Box64 projects with similar goals. Out today is Box64 v0.2 and Box86 v0.2.8 for running Linux binaries on other architectures...

What's next for Quentin Tarantino? How about a TV series? The filmmaker is out there promoting his excellent new book "Cinema Speculation," and while appearing during an event for the book he dropped the news that he plans to shoot a TV series next year. This won't be Tarantino's first time working in TV — in the past, he helmed episodes of "ER" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," but this will be his first full series (unless you want to count that alternate, multi-part version of "The Hateful Eight" he cut for Netflix). 

As is always the case with news like this, we should probably take this with a grain of salt just for now, or at least tamper our excitement. It's not that Tarantino isn't being honest, it's more that he sometimes gets announced to be involved with projects that never really materialize (remember that "Star Trek" movie he was supposed to make?). Sometimes, life gets in the way of your plans, even if you're Quentin Tarantino. But I'm excited about this, folks. 

Eight Episodes

So what's the Quentin Tarantino TV series about? The filmmaker isn't saying. Speaking at a New York event hosted by Elvis Mitchell (via Variety), the director stated that he plans to shoot an eight-episode TV series sometime in 2023. As mentioned above, this won't be Tarantino's first TV rodeo. And as recently as earlier this year there was a rumor floating around that the filmmaker would helm episodes of a new "Justified" spin-off (although Tarantino's involvement is confirmed to not be happening now). 

Whatever the series turns out to be, it'll surely be worth checking out. I know Tarantino gets a lot of flack, and I know plenty of folks just simply don't care for him. That's fine! Me? I'm all-in on his work. He makes excellent, evocative films that stick with me, and I can't wait to see how he operates with a whole TV series under his belt. I'm going to assume right now that the filmmaker is going to helm the entire series himself because it's hard to picture him handing it off to others after an episode or two. But that's all speculation on my part. We'll hopefully know more soon. 

Read this next: 20 Movies About Time Travel Ranked Worst To Best

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2022 was the year of the little horror film that could. More specifically, it was the year of a few little horror films that could. And by "could" I mean make a profit while providing sufficient nightmare fodder for us all (Have I seen the skin-peeling scene from "Terrifier 2?" No. Is my world bleaker for knowing about it? Absolutely). Whether it was Paramount's surprise hit "Smile" or the uber-violent "Terrifier 2" itself, which made almost $11 million on a $250,000 budget, this past year has further cemented horror as the only other bankable box office genre alongside all that superhero stuff.

But perhaps the most interesting of this year's crop of gruesome cinematic visions is the delightfully refreshing, and genuinely terrifying, "Barbarian." The result of sketch troupe founder and sitcom regular Zach Cregger's first directorial effort in the horror genre, the film raked in a very respectable $44 million at the global box office on a budget of just $4.5 million. No doubt much of its commercial success was down to Disney's (yes, Disney's) novel marketing approach. But more impressively, the movie that A24 must be pretty upset that it ignored reveled in upending the horror tropes we've all grown accustomed to.

All of which has caused a significant buzz around Cregger. Prior to "Barbarian," his standing as a director in Hollywood was pretty much non-existent. Now with his charmingly grim and subversive little movie out in the world, everyone's excited to see what he does next. Whatever it is, if you ask one of the film's stars, Justin Long, it will likely be tinged with the kind of distinctive passion that horror movie legend Sam Raimi brought to his films.

Raimi's Childlike Enthusiasm

Long himself previously worked with Raimi on the similarly subversive "Drag Me To Hell" in 2009, where he evidently gained an appreciation for the legendary director's keenness on-set. Speaking to GQ, the co-star of "Barbarian"

"[Zach] is so passionate and specific. He reminded me a lot of Sam Raimi in that way. Sam's got this childlike enthusiasm for what he's doing, like he's a kid playing in the sandbox. I think he even used that metaphor with me."

Long went on to talk about how he would watch Raimi on the set of "Drag Me To Hell" and see him "mouthing the lines, moving and contorting his body in the way he wanted Alison [Lohman — the film's star] to be moving." He even likened the director to a "puppet master" due to his close connection to the material, before claiming to see those same characteristics in Cregger.

Barbarian Is No Looney Tunes

There's no doubt that Cregger's unorthodox approach in "Barbarian" is reminiscent of Raimi's own distinct style. And it's heartening to hear of an up-and-coming director who feels as connected to, and passionate about his projects as someone of Raimi's caliber.

But while Long obviously sees some similarities between the two directors, he also recognizes the differences. The actor recently spoke to his "Drag Me to Hell" co-star Alison Lohman on his podcast "Life Is Short," where the two reminisced about their time with Raimi. Interestingly, Long says he views "Barbarian" as "a real hardcore horror." In contrast, his recollection of "Drag Me To Hell" is of a movie that's "definitely not true horror" and "more cartoon." He even mentions how Raimi talked about "Looney Tunes" as a reference point for the film.

Considering "Barbarian's" abrupt tonal shift part-way through and its unmistakably humorous moments (most of which are provided by Long's character) it's slightly surprising to hear Long refer to the film as "hardcore horror." The horror elements of the movie are undeniably harrowing, but the aforementioned humor breaks up the "hardcore" stuff enough to provide some respite. Still, it's no "Looney Tunes" episode, which is why Long made sure to tell GQ that whereas Raimi embraced the more fun aspects of his projects, Cregger leaned "more towards the horror, wanting to elicit fear over laughter." That, he did. And he'll no doubt do it again on whatever twisted vision he dreams up next. Let's just hope that if we start seeing more mainstream horror movies like "Terrifier 2," Cregger maintains that sense of humor to give us all a rest between the carnage.

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The post Justin Long Saw A Lot Of Sam Raimi In Barbarian Director Zach Cregger appeared first on /Film.

In the upper echelon of film, Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" remains in the conversation as one of the best movies ever made. The low-budget, ultra-violent affair was no easy task for Robert De Niro and co., but it has stood the test of time as an unwavering piece of game-changing cinema. Of course, success comes with its detractors. It's had countless rip-offs, some good and bad, including the Oscar-winning "Joker" film starring Joaquin Phoenix (which also featured De Niro). But one question has never crossed my mind, nor for many others. What is Travis Bickle, the titular character, up to these days?

Let me be clear: A follow-up to "Taxi Driver" would be the epitome of cinema reaching the end of its existence. I'm being facetious, but there would have to be a beyond-perfect reason to revisit that world. The film is a product of its time, painfully attached to the specific circumstances surrounding it. And would a sequel be even possible? Well, the ending certainly leaves it up for interpretation. However, De Niro, Scorsese, and screenwriter Paul Schrader never got that far on a sequel idea, for a reason.

'It Just Didn't Seem To Work'

De Niro caught up with GQ in 2019 — almost 45 years since the film's release — and discussed the possibility of a sequel to "Taxi Driver" set in today's sociopolitical climate. A sequel idea was floated around a long time ago, but it did not get enough traction:

"No. We talk about it, me and Marty [Scorsese] and Paul Schrader, and Paul took a shot at it, but it just didn't seem to work. It seems in theory that there's something you could come up with that would be interesting, but it just... you know, we'll see. There's no point doing it unless it was special and makes a comment on the times and adds to what that movie was."

On the surface level, a possible "Taxi Driver" sequel set in a different era of political strife seems admirable compared to the alternative. Perhaps Travis reacts in a volatile way to the state of the world once again, pushing him to the edge for good. But it would be impossible to replicate the cultural phenomenon to a comparable degree. I'd argue an imitation of the idea set in a modern world could work, instead of making "Taxi Driver" a *gulp* movie franchise.

If Scorsese and co. are on board with a sequel, I can't argue much there. Otherwise, "Taxi Driver" should stay put as a standalone and continue to serve as inspiration.

Read this next: 14 Sequels That Truly Didn't Need To Happen

The post Why The Taxi Driver Sequel Never Happened, According To Robert De Niro appeared first on /Film.

"Barbarian" is a movie teeming with nasty twists. Zach Cregger's slow-burning tale is one of the best horror movies this year; it induces palpitations and anxiety and fear that is so inherently relatable — because this isn't a movie where characters are making bad decisions just to further the plot. You can understand why they're choosing to do what they're doing. "Barbarian" stars Georgina Campbell as Tess, a woman traveling to Detroit for a job interview, who books a rental home on Airbnb and discovers the house is double booked. 

When you throw in a normal-seeming Bill Skarsgård, a monster who lives in the basement, a hilarious Justin Long, and twist after twist, "Barbarian" truly becomes the stuff of nightmares. Justin Long is the movie's comedic relief. He's a man dealing with a career-ending accusation and is seen desperately measuring the undiscovered basement of his house so he may sell it at a higher price. It's a moment fraught with tension because by now, viewers know what lies in the basement, and he doesn't.

Long's spirited personality had made the actor a perfect fit for comedy films, but his career has often led him to feature in several works of horror — from "Drag Me To Hell," "Jeepers Creepers," to "Barbarian." The Mother, the humanoid monster in "Barbarian," might be Long's biggest movie monster yet, but it appears the actor is interested in tackling a few classic horror villains as well.

'I Love Ari Aster'

In an interview with Vulture, Justin Long was asked if there's a horror film he wished he had been a part of. The actor stated that he doesn't assume his involvement in an existing film would make it more promising — but he does have a few ideas about who he wants to work with in the future.

Justin Long is interested in working with horror veteran Ari Aster; the actor is a big fan of the performances in "Hereditary," and described it as "one of the most unsettling movies" he'd ever seen. And then there are iconic monsters like Freddy Krueger from "Nightmare on Elm Street" and Jason Vorhees from the "Friday the 13th" films, that Long is fascinated by. And then there's Michael Myers, the embodiment of pure evil.

Here's Long's full quote from the interview:

"Usually, when I like a movie, I think it's perfect because of what it already is. My involvement in it would've made it something different. I like being scared. So obviously when you're in something, it's not quite as exciting, because you know what's coming. I love Ari Aster. I don't think I ever would've been able to give the performance that those actors gave in Hereditary, but it's one of the most unsettling movies I've ever seen. I would love to be in one of his movies but not the ones he has already made. Because, like I said, I love them the way they are. If I could, I think it'd be cool to work with an iconic monster like Freddy Krueger or Jason or Michael Myers. It would be a thrill to get a selfie with Freddy."

Justin Long Wants A Monster Transformation

Along with starring alongside some of the horror genre's most iconic villains, the actor is also interested in playing "a more obvious monster." He's curious about special-effects makeup and prosthetics and hopes to work with special effects artist Robert Kurtzman ("The Haunting of Hill House" and "Wishmaster" among others) and Oscar-winning makeup artist Bill Corso ("Foxcatcher" and "A Series of Unfortunate Events"). If Long's horror bucket list wishes are indeed fulfilled, we can expect him to transform into quite a terrifying entity.

With "Barbarian," Justin Long has fully dived into the horror genre — and it'd be a treat to watch him continue his stint in horror movies. I can't imagine him encountering a monster scarier than the one in "Barbarian," but it seems the actor has ideas about where he wants to go from here.

Read this next: The Best Movies Of 2022 So Far

The post Ari Aster And Freddy Krueger Are Both On Justin Long's Horror Bucket List appeared first on /Film.

While everyone's still recovering from that intense season finale, "Severance" has, by the grace of God (well, Apple), begun production on season 2. That means all our questions that remain unanswered will soon be addressed. In the meantime, we're all left to reflect on the deep and unsettling insights writer/creator Dan Erickson has provided on the show's first nine episodes.

The man behind "Severance" came out of relative obscurity to hit us all, world-weary as we were following two years of a global pandemic, with some profound questions. The show tackled everything from our relationship to corporate culture and its relentless focus on productivity to how grief can permeate all facets of our existence and what it means to live with it.

Erickson, who previously worked with digital comedy production house Super Deluxe, has spoken about being inspired by movies such as "The Matrix" and "The Truman Show," and even cited Mike Judge's cult comedy "Office Space" as an influence on his Apple TV+ series. But there was a lot more that went into crafting the eerily familiar tone of Lumon Industries, the monotony faced by its Macrodata Refinement Team, and the enforced fun of the compulsory dance social.

'I Wasn't Important In Any Way'

By the end of "Severance" season 1, the extent of Lumon's exploitation of its staff has become all too clear. The "severed" employees at Lumon — those who have opted in for a procedure that ensures they remember nothing about their work day when they leave and vice versa — are repeatedly subjected to all manner of degrading experience. From the "compunction statement" they're forced to read for hours by Tramell Tillman's Milchick to the flat-out lies being told to Adam Scott's Mark S., it's all beyond sinister.

All of this seems to have been inspired by Erickson's experience working temp office jobs in LA. Speaking to Esquire, the writer/creator said that when he first moved to the city, he was somewhat stunned to go from the nurturing college experience to the bland and uncaring environment of corporate America. "I wasn't important in any way," he said. "Just working temporary office jobs ... In those hours on the job, I was resentful of not being in a grander place in life."

Beyond that experience of office life, Erickson was going through a "really hard breakup of a five year relationship," which seems to have manifested in the show as Mark S. grieving his wife, Gemma. It's this breakup that seems to have made "Severance" more than just a show about skewering corporate life. As Erickson explained, the breakup forced him to confront the fact that his temp jobs were providing him with a way of completely zoning out so as to not think about his personal circumstances: 

"There was a sense of escape to it ... When you're going through a complicated or painful time, sometimes all you want is to shut off your brain for eight hours and input data."

Severance Isn't All That Different From Our Own Lives

With 14 Emmy nods and two wins, Erickson's astute observations seem to have resonated. And in the age where Elon Musk is telling Twitter workers to work "long hours at high intensity" and that "only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade," it's easy to see why. So many have experienced the effect of being at the behest of cult-like corporate conglomerates and the kind of personality-numbing that comes with life in a cubicle. As Erickson put it, we've all watched ourselves "adopt slightly different mannerisms" at work while asking "What is wanted from me here?"

The events of "Severance" are, of course, an exaggerated version of this experience, but what gives the show a truly unsettling undertone is that it doesn't seem all that exaggerated. Erickson maintained that while "Adam is playing such a beautifully, exquisitely different version of the character when he's the innie versus the outie ... I don't think the change is much more marked than what most people do when they're at work." The fact that the show built its whole look around a real-life place –- the Bell Labs Holmdel Complex in New Jersey –- is further testament to it being a little too close to the real-world for comfort. And with Erickson set to continue writing on the second season, there'll be plenty of disturbing reflections of our own lives to "shut off our brains" to as we embrace the sweet severance that comes with the binge-watch.

Read this next: The 14 Best Sci-Fi Shows On Amazon Prime

The post The World Of Severance Was Inspired By A Very Relatable Real-Life Pain appeared first on /Film.

At its core, "Tremors" is a simple movie: a tiny town in the middle of the desert is terrorized by some prehistoric, man-eating worms that attack from under the ground. It's a bit of a throwback to the classic 1950s monster movies like "Them!" and "Tarantula!" Our plucky townsfolk endure with surprisingly few casualties, and in the end, the hero gets the girl. All things considered, it's a pretty run of the mill premise on paper. And yet somehow, it not only worked, but it drew critical acclaim and, amazingly, spawned six sequels and a short-lived TV series.

So how did a modern day B-movie from 1990 not just endure, but become a bona fide cult classic with enough staying power to keep churning out installments in the franchise as recently as 2020? The first answer is that, obviously, it has one heck of a likable cast. Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward star as Val and Earl, two handymen desperate to finally put the small town of Perfection, Nevada behind them and shoot for something bigger. Their chemistry pops off the screen, and the screenplay provides them with plenty of banter that lets you know just about everything you need to about their friendship right from the jump. Michael Gross, best known as the dad from "Family Ties," and Reba McEntire, best known as being Reba freakin' McEntire, help to round out the colorful cast of characters as a married pair of gun (and bomb, and cannon) toting survivalists.

But there's obviously more to the film's staying power than just its likable cast and fun -- and often silly -- action. Just ask director Ron Underwood.

A Monster Movie With Lots Of Humanity

Underwood was interviewed for the documentary "Tremors: Making Perfection," and discussed why he thinks the film has reached cult classic status, and enjoys such a great monster movie legacy. In Underwood's words: 

"I think the film goes to some very basic fears we have of being surprised by something out of our control, and it is about a community coming together and fighting that off. Fighting off the evils that surround us. So I think it goes to something pretty primal, and you can relate to it whether you're young or old."

To his point, much of that is owed to it being a basic premise done right. It could very easily have gone horribly wrong. "Tremors" also taps into larger themes like people banding together and becoming their best when the chips are down. It's a film that's got something for just about everyone. As Underwood put it:

"It has its scares, but it's a little more human. Part of the reason I think it didn't do as well when it came out was the horror films at that time were very dark, very scary, and this film was lighter because it had people that you cared about who had a lightness to them and a sense of humor despite the awful situation they were in."

Tremors was always a long shot to become a hit, let alone spawn a decades-spanning franchise. Not even the people involved were convinced it was going to amount to anything. Kevin Bacon, in particular, was hesitant about even signing on. Times have certainly changed, and Bacon has become keen on trying to revive the franchise with a TV series. As for us, we'll be crossing our fingers that we haven't seen the last of Valentine McKee.

Read this next: Horror Movies With Unconventional Monsters

The post Director Ron Underwood Thinks He Knows Why Tremors Has Had Such Staying Power appeared first on /Film.

Valhalla awaits us all, and based on the latest news about "Furiosa," it's closer than we think. George Miller's much-anticipated follow-up to "Mad Max: Fury Road" has just wrapped production in Australia, meaning it's on track to careen into theaters in 2024. The prequel film is set to follow the titular heroine, war captain Furiosa, who eventually turns against the wasteland tyrant Immortan Joe. But before any of that goes down, Furiosa must live out her origin story: being snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and surviving life with the great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth).

Finding someone to fill a role originated by Charlize Theron could not have been easy, but Miller clearly knocked it out of the park when he set his sights on Anya Taylor-Joy. The young actress has been on the rise since she first appeared in 2015's "The Witch," and has consistently dazzled audiences in every role since. She's certainly got the acting chops to follow in Theron's footsteps and honestly, what more do we need in a Furiosa? Besides, I guess, the ability to drive. In which case it might surprise you to learn that Anya Taylor-Joy can't (legally) drive

While chatting with IndieWire, the actress revealed, "I don't actually have a license." But that minor detail aside, nothing could stop her from getting behind the wheel on a movie set:

"I can't [drive] on a highway and I can't parallel park, but if you need me to do a juicy 180 in a truck, I can do that and not hit the camera people, which is great. Eventually, I will be in a place long enough to get a driver's license, and then I'll be really happy, because then I can play."

Furiosa Vs The DMV

Imagine thinking that you've climbed into a car driven by award-winning actress Anya Taylor-Joy only to realize that the person behind the wheel is the battle-hardened apocalypse survivor, Furiosa? This is the bleak fate that awaits one unlucky (or extremely lucky) DMV worker. "That's the other thing," Joy said in the same interview. "If a driving instructor gets in a car with me, all I know how to do is crazy stunt driving." Valhalla awaits absolutely anyone who happens to be on site that day because there's no way that Furiosa can be contained by traffic laws.

Despite those plans to get a license, Joy added that she can't imagine finding a car that lives up to the expectations set by "Furiosa": "In terms of first cars, I think I'm quite spoiled in the fact that they were built by the 'Mad Max' art department." Do you think anyone would notice if she snagged a car as an end-of-production present? 

Whether or not she leaves with a car, Joy has big plans to continue her stunt driving days elsewhere — which is great news for movies, and terrifying news for whoever gets tasked with testing her. Joy said:

"I'm planning on getting my stunt driver's certificate...so then I'll be able to do all of my driving in all films, which would be great. But I fear for the poor man or woman that is taking the test with me, because gentle, I am not."

"Furiosa" is currently slated to hit theaters on May 24, 2024.

Read this next: The 14 Greatest Action Movies Of The 21st Century

The post Anya Taylor-Joy Isn't Letting Her Lack of a Driver's License Stop Her From Playing Mad Max's Furiosa appeared first on /Film.

Meta has fired or disciplined more than two dozen employees and contractors over the last year whom it accused of improperly taking over user accounts, in some cases allegedly for bribes, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter and documents. From the report: Some of those fired were contractors who worked as security guards stationed at Meta facilities and were given access to the Facebook parent's internal mechanism for employees to help users having trouble with their accounts, according to the documents and people familiar with the matter. The mechanism, known internally as "Oops," has existed since Facebook's early years as a means for employees to help users they know who have forgotten their passwords or emails, or had their accounts taken over by hackers. As part of the alleged abuse of the system, Meta says that in some cases workers accepted thousands of dollars in bribes from outside hackers to access user accounts, the people and documents say. The disciplinary actions are part of a lengthy internal probe led by Meta executives, according to the documents and one of the people. "Individuals selling fraudulent services are always targeting online platforms, including ours, and adapting their tactics in response to the detection methods that are commonly used across the industry," said Meta spokesman Andy Stone. He added that the company "will keep taking appropriate action against those involved in these kinds of schemes."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Mozilla today released its annual "State of Mozilla" report and for the most part, the news here is positive. From a report: Mozilla Corporation, the for-profit side of the overall Mozilla organization, generated $585 million from its search partnerships, subscriptions and ad revenue in 2021 -- up 25% from the year before. And while Mozilla continues to mostly rely on its search partnerships, revenue from its new products like the Mozilla VPN, Mozilla Developer Network (MDN) Plus, Pocket and others now accounts for $57 million of its revenue, up 125% compared to the previous year. For the most part, that's driven by ads on the New Tab in Firefox and in Pocket, but the security products now also have an annual revenue of $4 million. With the launch of this year's report, the Mozilla leadership team is also taking some time to look ahead, because in many ways, this is an inflection point for Mozilla. When Mozilla was founded, the internet was essentially the web and the browser was the way to access it. Since then, the way we experience the internet has changed dramatically and while the browser is still one of the most important tools around, it's not the only one. With that, Mozilla, too, has to change. Its Firefox browser has gone from dominating the space to being something of a niche product, but the organization's mission ("to ensure the internet is a global public resource, open and accessible to all") is just as important today -- and maybe more so -- as it was almost 25 years ago when Mozilla was founded.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.