"A shrinking number of kids are reading widely and voraciously for fun," writes a New York-based children's book author in the Atlantic. But why?
The ubiquity and allure of screens surely play a large part in this — most American children have smartphones by the age of 11 — as does learning loss during the pandemic. But this isn't the whole story. A survey just before the pandemic by the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that the percentages of 9- and 13-year-olds who said they read daily for fun had dropped by double digits since 1984. I recently spoke with educators and librarians about this trend, and they gave many explanations, but one of the most compelling — and depressing — is rooted in how our education system teaches kids to relate to books....
In New York, where I was in public elementary school in the early '80s, we did have state assessments that tested reading level and comprehension, but the focus was on reading as many books as possible and engaging emotionally with them as a way to develop the requisite skills. Now the focus on reading analytically seems to be squashing that organic enjoyment. Critical reading is an important skill, especially for a generation bombarded with information, much of it unreliable or deceptive. But this hyperfocus on analysis comes at a steep price: The love of books and storytelling is being lost. This disregard for story starts as early as elementary school. Take this requirement from the third-grade English-language-arts Common Core standard, used widely across the U.S.: "Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language...."
[A]s several educators explained to me, the advent of accountability laws and policies, starting with No Child Left Behind in 2001, and accompanying high-stakes assessments based on standards, be they Common Core or similar state alternatives, has put enormous pressure on instructors to teach to these tests at the expense of best practices.... [W]e need to get to the root of the problem, which is not about book lengths but the larger educational system. We can't let tests control how teachers teach: Close reading may be easy to measure, but it's not the way to get kids to fall in love with storytelling. Teachers need to be given the freedom to teach in developmentally appropriate ways, using books they know will excite and challenge kids.
"There's a whole generation of kids who associate reading with assessment now," librarian/public school teacher Jennifer LaGarde tells the Atlantic. And their article notes the problem doesn't end after grade school.
"By middle school, not only is there even less time for activities such as class read-alouds, but instruction also continues to center heavily on passage analysis, said LaGarde, who taught that age group."
If you were around in the 1990s and of the age to watch comedy films, you've probably come across the films "Tommy Boy" and "Black Sheep" starring comedians David Space and the late Chris Farley. The two were a dynamic duo on "Saturday Night Live," with Spade often playing the straight man to Farley's wild and goofy antics. Farley died of a combination of a drug overdose and heart disease in December 1997, but while they were together, they were fabulously funny.
/Film's own Joe Garza did a list of Farley's top sketches from SNL, including Lunch Lady Land, the Chippendale's sketch with Patrick Swayze, and of course, Matt Foley, motivational speaker. That final one is one of the most ridiculously weird things I've seen on TV, and watching Spade try not to break as Farley's Foley talks about living in a van down by the river and throwing himself onto a table is pure joy.
Farley's untimely passing was devastating for comedy fans, and he and Spade were close. On top of mourning his friend, he had to deal with the talk that said his career was going to suffer without his comedy partner. Spade appeared on Howard Stern in 2013, where he recalled how it made him feel to hear that, and what it was like working with one of the best of all time.
'I Do Think That It Was A Big Waste'
In the interview, Spade spoke about how SNL creator Lorne Michaels hooked them up with their first film by telling writers to "write a movie about these guys, the way they act around the office." I highly recommend watching the clip for some of the stories he tells about them, but they're definitely NSFW.
Stern mentioned the talking point about Spade's career. He said, "I remember early in your career after Chris Farley died, the rap always was, 'Well, Spade's not gonna be able to do anything without Chris Farley; he needs Farley.'" Spade responded that he still hears that on Twitter. When Stern asked if he still thinks about what a great team they were, Spade said:
"Overall, I do think that it was a big waste, of course. I mean, I could've — we could've done ... At least I had a career doing horrible movies with him when we were both done, you know? I mean, we just keep coming back like, 'Hey, we gotta get together again.'"
Excuse me a moment while I go wipe my eyes.
In the end, Spade's career didn't suffer. He went on to do projects like the sitcoms "Just Shoot Me!" and "8 Simple Rules" and films like "The Emperor's New Groove" and "Joe Dirt." He also did a few talk shows like "The Showbiz Show with David Spade" and "Lights Out with David Spade. Of course, it's best not to linger on what could have been, but ah, it would likely have been a whole lot of fun.
If you're a fan of "Community," you might often find yourself disheartened by how there are only 110 episodes of the show. That might sound like a lot, but 13 of those episodes were part of the Gas Leak Season (otherwise known as season 4), and the final 20 episodes or so don't include Troy. On the same note, the final 13 episodes don't include Shirley, and Pierce is gone for most of the final 30. Add on the fact that the show didn't truly find its footing until about 10 episodes in, and the number of golden era "Community" episodes is depressingly slim.
Luckily, there are some bonus episodes you might not have known about it. They're not as long as a typical 22-minute sitcom episode, but they're still fun little additions to the show that you'd never get to see if you only binged "Community" on Netflix. They vary a ton in terms of tone, content, and structure, but the one thing they have in common is that they all serve as callbacks to a time where NBC truly seemed to care about the show. Most of these bonus clips are back in the first two seasons, when "Community" had its best ratings, and the network seemed to have the time and budget to do more than just the bare minimum with the show.
The 5 As Of Greendale
Before the pilot of "Community" even aired, showrunner Dan Harmon starred in his own fake ad for Greendale Community College. He plays Dr. Pat Isakson, an awkward man trying his best to make the deeply mediocre school sound appealing. The video is intentionally low-budget and weirdly paced, making fun of college ads in a way that should be deeply familiar to anyone who's watched "Documentary Filmmaking: Redux," the season 3 episode where we get to see the Greendale ad from the '90s.
Although there are no familiar characters in this video, it's still a fun first glimpse at the sensibilities that would make up the show. The video is a sarcastic (yet sincere?) celebration of the mundane and mediocre. Dan Harmon himself went to community college when he was young, and you can certainly tell from this video. Also, Randall Park is one of the Greendale students for some reason.
Season 1's In-Universe Episodes
Do you remember all those mini-films Abed used to make back in season 1? It turns out that the show actually went and made an actual video of each of them. Above is the first episode of "The Community College Chronicles," where we get to see Abed's interpretation of the other study group members in action. You can watch the second episode, where the alternate-universe study group has to study for a Spanish quiz, here. One noticeable detail is the way Abed himself is the only character in these videos without a distinct personality, something that would also be a factor in Abed's later pitch for season 7 of "Community" in the series finale.
You can also find the mini-movie Abed made to convince his father to let him take film studies here, although there's not a whole lot of new content in there. Where you can find a ton of new content, however, is with the clip of Abed and Starburn's special presentation for their Spanish class, which is wild in the best way possible. What's better is the unexpected sequel to Abed and Starburn's video, in which Chang (Ken Jeong) forces his way into their presentation, for better and for worse. It's the perfect example of a show going the extra mile: Nobody expected them to make an entire bonus video about Abed's Spanish presentation, but they went ahead and did it anyway.
The Study Break Mini-Episodes
If you're looking for clips that truly capture the feel of the regular show, these study break mini-episodes are the best. The first one's shown above, and you can find the second study break episode here, and the third one here.
The best moments of regular "Community," regardless of the quality of the episode as a whole, are those scenes where all seven members of the study group are in the room with each other. None of them have a plot, exactly; they're just 2 minutes or so in the lives of the study group, where all the characters simply get to exist and bounce off each other. These are fun, low-stakes videos that focus on perhaps the show's biggest strengths: the chemistry of the cast, and the sheer sharpness of the dialogue.
The mini-episodes are also just a fun callback to the season 1 dynamics: There's still all that sexual tension between Jeff and Britta, Troy still has some of those jockish qualities and he's still being paired up as a comedic foil to Pierce, as the writers originally intended him to be. They provide a nice nostalgic glimpse of a simpler time within the show.
Road To The Emmys
Okay, so admittedly these are just commercials, but they still provide a fun look at the study group's dynamics back in season 2. The first commercial (shown above) features Britta in full season 2 mode, as she delivers a self-important rant against the Emmys as the rest of the group drowns her out with the car's radio. (A commercial made halfway through season 1 probably wouldn't have done this.)
The second commercial (seen here) features Chang scaring everyone by waking up in the back seat of the car, a joke that also wouldn't have made much sense back when Chang was a Spanish teacher who didn't care much about joining the study group. The third and final one (seen here) concludes the saga with the reveal that Abed lied about the Emmy party so he could spend more time with the group, which has become a typical move of his by this point of the show — think his behavior in the "Dinner With Andre" episode.
If you're looking for another car-related commercial from "Community," there's also the season 6-era Honda ad, starring Abed and the Dean. These two characters rarely get to interact one-on-one together — and when they do, we get to see the Dean in his rarely-seen straight man role — so this is a delight to watch.
Dean Pelton's Office Hours
As the show went on, Dean Pelton slowly became an honorary member of the study group. He wasn't constantly trying to force his way in like Chang did, but it became clear he had a soft spot for the group (Jeffrey in particular), and that the writers really wanted to keep him around as much as possible. That's why it felt particular fitting when, starting in November of 2010, the show released a trilogy of mini-episodes focused entirely on the Dean as he talked to people in his office.
The first episode focuses on him interacting with extremely-minor side character Angela. The second one (seen here) features a rare extended interaction between Dean and long-time recurring character Leonard, and the third (seen here) ends up revealing the identity of Greendale's mascot, the Human Being. The mysterious identity of the unsettling school mascot is a long-running gag in the series, so there's something kind of charming about the idea that the show decided to reveal it in a mini-episode that 95% of viewers would probably never know about.
Abed's Master Key
A spiritual sequel of sorts to "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas," this mini-episode features the study group existing as cartoon characters. All the characters are aware they're in cartoon form, but this time around, nobody thinks Abed's mentally unstable for it. The story focuses on the Dean giving Abed access to a master key to the school, which results in everyone he knows asking him for favors. The story's got twists and turns, resulting in a nice 5-minute story that could've easily functioned as a B-plot in a normal season 3 episode. The episode was released in March 2012, and feels like a test-run of sorts for the animated video game-themed episode that would air just two months later.
These are the last of the "Community" web episodes that we're aware of, likely as a result of all the behind-the-scenes drama that hampered the show past this point. Not long after "Abed's Master Key," showrunner Dan Harmon would be fired and the season 4 length would be cut down to just 13 episodes, which would be come the norm from that point forward. Still, this bonus content serves as a nice reminder of what we could've had if "Community" had managed to develop a massive audience in its time, not just six years after it ended. Who knows what it would've looked like if we'd gotten more study break minisodes in seasons 2 or 3, or some Jeff Office Hours minisodes in season 5. Most of the little we got is gold though, so as we patiently wait for more details on the "Community" movie, all this bonus content is definitely worth checking out.
Having transformed his body to play superhero Kingo in Marvel's "Eternals," then reinventing himself for Hulu's "Welcome To Chippendales" series, Kumail Nanjiani has truly ascended to star status. Since his 2017 autobiographical rom-com "The Big Sick" became a hit, Nanjiani has proven himself a versatile actor, capable of much more than the stereotypical roles he was previously offered. As he told GQ, "With brown people, there are very specific roles that we used to get. Either we're terrified or we're causing terror." Now, having become Marvel's first South Asian superhero and having consistently subverted Hollywood stereotypes, Nanjiani has come a long way.
But before he ascended in such spectacular fashion, Nanjiani spent many years as a standup comedian trying to break into the industry upon which he'd eventually have such an impact. Having moved to the states from his native Pakistan in the late '90s, the aspiring comedian eventually found himself in New York City, where he would perform gigs and take on the odd acting job.
One such job saw him visit the hallowed Studio 8H, home of NBC's long-running comedy institution, "Saturday Night Live." Back in 2008, he was invited by a writer to play a small part in a sketch during the show's 34th season. He accepted, and some nine years before the comedian himself would host the legendary sketch show, he wound up playing a small, two-line role alongside then-host, James Franco. And thanks to Jason Sudeikis, who also appeared in his sketch, that part was even smaller than it would have been otherwise.
Jason Sudeikis Threw Kumail Nanjiani Off His Lines
On September 20, 2008, James Franco hosted the second episode of "Saturday Night Live" season 34. In a sketch in which Franco plays a New York Times editor preparing his staff for a six-week investigative trip to Alaska, Kumail Nanjiani appears as one of the journalists gathered in the meeting room. In the skit, Jason Sudeikis basically plays Jason Sudeikis but ostensibly he's Ted Boucher, a Times staffer who in 1988, "spent the summer as a reporter with the Anchorage Daily News," thereby establishing himself as the person who knows, "more about Alaska than anyone the Times has ever heard of." The sketch consists of journalists asking ridiculously uninformed questions about Alaska, while Sudeikis tries to field them.
Nanjiani spoke about his experience with "SNL" alums Dana Carvey and David Spade for their "Fly on the Wall" podcast, where he revealed that his two-line part actually started as a three-line part:
"I have three lines, and at dress [rehearsal] [...] Sudeikis messed up his line, and it threw me so much in dress that I messed up my line. I just literally stumbled my words. So then suddenly when I get the script for air, now I have two lines instead of three lines."
Clearly having taken note of his own mistake, the "Ted Lasso" star actually apologized to Nanjiani prior to performing the sketch live. As Nanjiani explained:
"I remember it was really cool, we're starting the sketch, I don't know Sudeikis at all, he's there while we're about to do the live [show], and he looks at me and he says, 'I'm sorry.' He apologized to me. It meant a lot to me."
'I Want To Be Great At The Stuff That I Love'
Appearing on "Saturday Night Live" had to be nerve-wracking even before Jason Sudeikis' mistake. The show is notorious for making even established cast members perpetually nervous, with former repertory player Melissa Villaseñor revealing how she left the show after experiencing panic attacks. "Barry" star Bill Hader also told The Hollywood Reporter how he, too experienced panic attacks during his time at 30 Rock.
And although Nanjiani didn't have the pressure of being a cast member, it must have been an intimidating experience all the same. Thankfully, he told David Spade and Dana Carvey that he also had pleasant experiences with Will Forte, Darrell Hammond, and Kristen Wiig during his brief stint as an "SNL" extra. "I was just touched that they went out of their way to make me feel confident, comfortable, and welcome," said the "Big Sick" star.
Interestingly enough, he actually turned down an "SNL" writing job some years later, telling comedian Bert Kreischer that he was hired for a week trial before being offered the chance to stay for the rest of the season. Ultimately, he turned the job down, telling Kreischer, "I'm not good at sketch [comedy]. It's also not something that I want to break my back being good at. I want to be great at the stuff that I love." That's a philosophy that's served him well ever since, as it seems neither Jason Sudeikis' botched line reading nor turning down an "SNL" writing gig hurt Nanjiani in the long run. The comedian eventually hosted "SNL" in 2017, fronting an episode that tackled racism, sexual assault, and "It." Since then, things have only improved for Nanjiani, as his evolution from "SNL" extra to movie star continues.
This post contains spoilers for "John Wick: Chapter 4."
The label "direct-to-video" used to be a death knell for filmmakers and movie fans alike. In the early days of home video, the term typically referred to features that weren't good enough to get theatrical distribution, causing studios to subsequently dump them onto the shelves of Blockbusters and Hollywood Videos, where — via gaudy box art, ridiculous taglines and/or highlighting the name of a slumming movie star or a legit celebrity (who would likely only have a cameo role) — they would try to entice naïve renters to check it out.
It can be exceedingly difficult for a subgenre to change a poor reputation, but everything started to change once theatrical distribution was no longer the only game in Hollywood as video, cable, and streaming services became more ubiquitous. One of the people who has been dragging the name of direct-to-video B-movies out of the gutter is the pride of England's Sutton Coldfield, Scott Adkins. Adkins' bonafides as an action star are second to none — handsomeness, charisma, rippling muscles, grace, prowess, and power are all qualities he possesses, and then some.
While Adkins' name has been well known to action fans for over 20 years, he's not been granted the opportunity to really break out in a big way for general audiences. Until now, that is: His turn as the German gangster Killa in "John Wick: Chapter 4" is such a consummate demonstration of his particular talents that the Age of Adkins may finally be upon us all.
A Hollywood Second Banana Becomes A DTV Leading Man
Scott Adkins' screen career began in the early 2000s when he turned up in a number of Hong Kong martial arts films. Much like Jackie Chan did for Bruce Lee in "Enter the Dragon" back in the '70s, Adkins found himself completing the stunt ensembles for the likes of Chan and Jet Li in films like "The Medallion" and "Unleashed."
When Hollywood came calling, Adkins' status as a background player was unfortunately left intact, leading to appearances in "The Pink Panther" and "The Bourne Ultimatum" that didn't allow him to take center stage. The most insulting of these Hollywood efforts came with "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," in which Adkins portrayed Weapon XI. However, Adkins only played the character in the long shots and stunt moments, with Ryan Reynolds getting the close-ups instead.
Fortunately, the more robust world of DTV action cinema came calling, and finally gave Adkins the opportunities he deserves. After appearing with his idol Jean-Claude Van Damme in several films, Adkins was given the opportunity to star in 2012's "Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning." The film is still a high point for its franchise as well as for action cinema in general, combining elements of David Lynch, Gaspar Noe, and Michael Haneke with bone-crunching punches and lots of gunfire. Adkins, who's in every scene, carries the entire movie with panache.
The "John Wick" features have only increased in size, budget, and reputation over the course of four films, and their popularity has fully permeated pop culture. As such, it seems Scott Adkins did not take his opportunity to be in the movie lightly; rather than appearing as yet another suave assassin in a franchise chock-full of them, Adkins (along with director Chad Stahelski) makes his character, Killa, arguably the most distinct villain Wick has ever faced.
Naysayers will probably compare Adkins' look as Killa — a large bodysuit with particularly jowly makeup and a thick accent not his own — to Colin Farrell's similar transformation in last year's "The Batman." There's ample room, however, for both performances. While Farrell's Penguin is a Noo Yawk style gangster in the style of Robert De Niro or Edward G. Robinson, Adkins and Stahelski were after a character with the vibe of Sydney Greenstreet in "Casablanca." As Adkins explains in the film's official production notes, "Killa was once a feared and revered assassin, but obviously he's let himself go."
Adkins' initial appearance in the film, grotesquely lording over his nightclub headquarters and challenging John Wick (Keanu Reeves), Caine (Donnie Yen), and Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson) to an incredibly tense game of cards, recalls not just "Casablanca" but similar moments in a number of James Bond and Sergio Leone films. Adkins' imposing presence and sickly gleeful demeanor make him a memorable threat before he even lifts a finger. The choice to portray Killa this way is certainly a gamble, but Adkins' skills make it work.
Killa Thrilla
At first, there appears to be an extra layer of perversity to Scott Adkins' performance in "John Wick: Chapter 4" — as Killa happily perches behind his card table, it seems that perhaps the action star will not be actually performing any action in the film. Sure enough, though, all hell breaks loose and Adkins is unleashed along with it.
What makes the Killa fight especially thrilling for Adkins fans and newbies alike is the fact that Killa's unique physicality led to the martial artist developing a new fighting style for himself. As Adkins explains in the film's press kit, "We landed upon a style that's a bit of the MMA version of Mike Tyson," referring to Killa's moves being grounded in both mixed martial arts as well as boxer-like brutality.
One of the most joyously over-the-top aspects of Adkins' already out-there performance is in the way Killa seemingly refuses to die. It's no mean feat, especially given the way most characters in the "John Wick" universe seem to have nine lives and be able to function after being hit with 70 bullets. Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves have always made sure to showcase their fellow action performers in the series, a technique that allows Wick himself to feel vulnerable where he otherwise might come off as too invincible. Adkins' performance as Killa is the epitome of this approach: In every way, from his extreme personality to his resilience and skill as a fighter, the fight credibly feels like Wick may not survive this time.
Unlike Killa (RIP), Adkins himself will hopefully emerge from "John Wick: Chapter 4" victorious. Showing off his range as an actor and a fighter, he's really going for it, and it's about damn time the film industry and cinephiles at large reward him for that.
On Friday evening, Microsoft began rolling out public updates for Windows 11’s Snipping Tool as well as Windows 10’s Snip & Sketch app. You can manually prompt Windows to patch the app you use by opening the Microsoft Store and clicking on “Library,” followed by “Get Updates.” Microsoft recommends all users install the updates.
The aCropalypse flaw was first discovered on Pixel devices, and subsequently addressed by Google in Android’s recent March security update. In the case of Windows 11’s Snipping Tool, it turned out the utility wasn’t properly overwriting cropped PNG data. The issue did not affect all PNG files, but the concern was that bad actors could exploit the vulnerability to partially recover edited images, particularly those that had been cropped to omit sensitive information. As with Google's March Android update, Microsoft's patches won't protect images that were previously created with its screenshot tools.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-releases-fix-for-windows-11-screenshot-privacy-bug-195412172.html?src=rss
Church bells are ringing, the choir's singing, and your true love is walking down the aisle. One of the happiest — but most stressful — days of every couple's lives has been great fodder for filmmakers for decades. Whether they're watching Audrey Hepburn's charm and beauty threaten William Holden's nuptials, Andi MacDowell and Hugh Grant attend multiple weddings (and one funeral), or Andy Samberg relive the same ceremony over and over again, viewers young and old alike love to laugh and cry at wedding movies.
These movies' success comes down to flexibility; there are countless narrative possibilities associated with a momentous occasion like a wedding. While we watch a couple commit to until-death-do-us-part, the screen can radiate immense love and joy, or immediate dread and regret. Laughter can fill a banquet hall just as easily as the sound of a jilted lover's tears. So, dust off that tuxedo and puff up that bridesmaid dress, because here are our picks for the 20 best wedding movies.
27 Dresses
I'll be honest: Objectively speaking, Anne Fletcher's "27 Dresses" isn't a great film. However, it perfectly represents a significant era of rom-coms, for both better and for worse. The film stars Katherine Heigl as 27-time bridesmaid (hence the title) Jane Nichols, who meets Kevin Doyle (the forever underrated and under-used James Marsden), a journalist who comes across Jane's day planner and endeavors to return it to her. As Kevin begins using Jane to write an article (unbeknownst to her) about her forever-a-bridesmaid status, the two slowly fall in love.
"27 Dresses" is as predictable as it is schmaltzy. The film follows all of the clichéd rom-com tropes, even if they're executed with a slight eye roll. The reason that "27 Dresses" makes this list, then? Because of its undying commitment to the formula, the film perfectly embodies an early '00s wedding movie: corny dialog, the most convenient of circumstances, Katherine Heigl, and New York City. It may not be the most memorable film on this list, but it sure is a perfect snapshot in time of an era defined by Big Rom-Com.
Bride Wars
Another film that could only be made during the '00s! "Bride Wars" stars Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway, who show us the lowest lows of female friendships and a woman's seemingly singular obsession over having the "perfect" wedding. As Olivia Lerner and Emma Allan, Hudson and Hathaway play two life-long best friends who become engaged a day apart and, because of an error, schedule their weddings for the same day at New York City's famed Plaza Hotel. Before long, Liv and Emma declare nuptial war on one another.
"Bride Wars" wasn't received well when it was released in 200, and it hasn't aged any better in the last decade-plus. Personally, though, while I wouldn't put "Bride Wars" on my all-time best-of list, I respect it for unashamedly depicting the nonsensical chaos that arises from such an auspicious event. While the film naturally plays everything to an extreme, "Bride Wars" has a (however misguided) pulse on how weddings have evolved from loving celebrations to days of superficial one-upmanship.
The Wedding Planner
I could insert an obvious joke about Jennifer Lopez and weddings here, but her dominance in the early 2000s was so impressive that I'd hate to diminish her success. Rather, let's celebrate one of Lopez's great achievements, a feat that very few entertainers have accomplished. The same week that "The Wedding Planner" opened at number one at the domestic box office, her sophomore album, "J.Lo," debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. And while "The Wedding Planner" may not have a place in the pantheon of great cinema, it's an enjoyable film, thanks in large part to Lopez's chemistry with Matthew McConaughey.
As far as meet-cutes go, "The Wedding Planner" has one of the more dramatic ones, with Steve (McConaughey) saving the titular wedding planner, Mary (Lopez), from a runaway dumpster when her high heel becomes caught in a manhole cover. However, the budding romance between the two is cut short when Mary learns that Steve is one-half of her newest client couple. At its heart, "The Wedding Planner" is a simple story about star-crossed lovers whose timing is just a bit off. It has some wonderful wedding scenes, too, including the fantastical opening sequence that sees Mary use a utility belt like a wedding day first-aid kit.
The Proposal
"The Proposal" puts a spin on the traditional "green card bride" trope. Sandra Bullock's Margaret Tate, a high-powered Canadian working at a New York publishing company, faces deportation and forces her assistant Andrew Paxton (the ever-quippy Ryan Reynolds) to marry her. Sensing that their marriage is a fraud, the immigration agent assigned to Margaret tells them that they will be interviewed separately, and will need to provide matching answers to prove their marriage is the real deal. (I can only assume that all U.S. immigration issues are resolved via "The Newlywed Game.")
As Margaret and Andrew get to know each other better in order to evade permanent deportation and imprisonment, they inevitably fall in love. "The Proposal" doesn't stretch the formula much, if at all, but the chemistry between Bullock and Reynolds is palpable. While that's not surprising given both actors' inherent charm, their pairing is as goofy and lovable as you'd expect. Admittedly, the script doesn't give them much to work with, but it's a testament to Reynolds and Bullock's comedic chops that they're able to create entertaining moments and anchor the film even when it's a bit rudderless.
I Love You, Man
From a rudderless movie to a Rudd-full one. "I Love You, Man" is a bromantic comedy about how Paul Rudd and Jason Segel find friendship amidst the emotional roller coaster that is wedding planning. After proposing to his girlfriend, Zooey Rice (Rashida Jones), Peter Klaven (Rudd) realizes that he lacks male friends, leaving him without a clear candidate for best man. After a chance meeting with Sydney Fife (Segel) at an open house, where they bond over the Canadian band Rush, the two become fast friends, although Zooey is suspicious of Sydney's intentions.
Building off their previous collaborations in "Knocked Up" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," Rudd and Segel make for a hilarious odd couple, flipping their straight guy-goofball dynamic from the latter movie. The camaraderie between the two actors is magnetic; Rudd in particular delivers a heartfelt performance that balances his natural comedic sensibilities with the charming leading man qualities we've loved since "Clueless." The wedding aspect of "I Love You, Man" takes a backseat for much of the film to make way for Rudd and Segel's musings, but Jones' steady performance as the bride-to-be rounds out the movie well and, thankfully, never veers into wet blanket territory.
Crazy Rich Asians
In addition to being a cultural moment for Asian-American cinema and a big reason why Academy Award winner Ke Huy Quan returned to acting, "Crazy Rich Asians" includes one of the most breathtaking wedding scenes in recent memory. When Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) travels to Singapore for her boyfriend Nick's (Henry Golding) best friend's wedding, she faces both culture shock and an intimidating family, led by the matriarch Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh). However, perhaps the most surprising discovery of her trip is that Nick comes from an extremely wealthy family.
As such, Nick's social circle runs on the affluent side, resulting in one of the most over-the-top, yet somehow elegant, wedding ceremonies ever put to film. As Kina Grannis sings Elvis Presley's timeless "Can't Help Falling In Love," three adorable children begin the procession, serving as the flower girls and page boy. As the lyrics "Like a river flows..." sound out, a stream of water slowly fills the aisle, lined with lush foliage. The bride makes her way towards her betrothed, and the guests gently wave ornamental fireflies, enveloping her in a twilight-like glow. Considering that the happy couple aren't even the film's main characters, the amount of detail put into this scene is extraordinary.
Sabrina (1954)
Although the 1995 remake of "Sabrina" starring Harrison Ford is a solid adaptation, I'm going with the 1954 classic led by all-stars Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and William Holden. Even today, the love triangle between Sabrina and the Larrabee brothers is one of Golden Age Hollywood's finest.
The daughter of the Larrabee's chauffeur, Sabrina (Hepburn), is a young girl who's infatuated with the family's resident playboy, David (Holden). Although she's initially dismissed as a child, after Sabrina returns from a two-year stay in Paris, she catches both David's eye and that of his brother, Linus (Bogart), who immediately recognizes how Sabrina's presence may complicate David's impending nuptials (and the associated business deal). As Linus attempts to keep the two apart, he and Sabrina fall for each other in spite of their best efforts to hide their feelings.
It's notable that Bogie appears in "Sabrina" as a romantic lead. While he was best known for gruff and hardened characters, Bogart plays against type here as a suave and charming businessman. And while "Sabrina" proved to be an enduring film, Bogart notoriously disliked making the movie — and he ensured that Hepburn and Holden shared in his misery.
The Wedding Singer
Count me as one of those '90s kids who wasn't that into Adam Sandler. His humor wasn't my cup of tea, and preteen me just didn't see the appeal. Leave it to Drew Barrymore to bring out a side of Sandler we hadn't seen yet, one that I found far less grating. "The Wedding Singer" did away with Sandler's usual daft screen persona and replaced it with the more mature, softer, and romantic Robbie Hart, a New Jersey-based wedding singer.
After being jilted at the altar, Robbie combats his growing depression — and his feelings for his engaged friend Julia (Barrymore) — by only pursuing superficial relationships with women. After realizing that discontentment comes along with these hookups, Robbie throws caution to the wind and declares his love to Julia. "The Wedding Singer" set Sander on a new path, one that would ultimately result in the sort of critical acclaim and awards season consideration that seemed out of reach at the beginning of his career. As Robbie, Sandler revealed a range and vulnerability that he continued to finesse in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Punch-Drunk Love" and later projects.
Royal Wedding
Taking inspiration from Queen (then Princess) Elizabeth's wedding to Philip Mountbatten, "Royal Wedding" sees a brother and sister performing team fall in love in 1947 London, England — he with a fellow dancer, and she with an impoverished nobleman. Set during the lead up to the royal wedding, the two blossoming romances encounter unique challenges, but the characters remain emboldened by their unmistakable love for one another.
With Fred Astaire and Jane Powell as the brother and sister, "Royal Wedding" soars with a sense of whimsy and a light-hearted humor that befits the film's resounding song and dance numbers. Notably, "Royal Wedding" features one of Astaire's greatest dance solos. It comes during "You're All the World to Me," when he famously displays his newfound love by dancing on the walls and ceiling. A combination of director Stanley Donen's prowess behind the camera and Astaire's effortless skills, the sequence is an astonishing showcase for the famed dancer's abilities and creativity.
Wedding Crashers
No list of wedding movies is complete without a visit from John (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy (Vince Vaughn). A film that has only grown in popularity since its 2005 release, "Wedding Crashers" is an R-rated comedy led by the two aforementioned funny men, with a terrific supporting cast that includes Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Bradley Cooper, Jane Seymour, and the always remarkable Christopher Walken.
John and Jeremy are divorce mediators who moonlight as professional wedding crashers in order to hook up with women. McAdams and Fisher play the sisters-of-the-bride who John and Jeremy set their sights on, only to end up with more than they bargained for as the two develop genuine feelings. The film is filled with the type of debauchery you normally associate with a raunchy comedy, but it's balanced with some truly heartfelt moments. Vaughn delivers a great performance, bringing heart and soul to an otherwise bawdy film. As is typical of comedies from this time, some of the jokes haven't aged well, but the bromantic sentiments continue to entertain.
Bridesmaids
One of the best comedies of the '10s, "Bridesmaids" put to bed the dated notion that ladies can't be as hilariously lewd and perverse as their male counterparts. Directed by Paul Feig and written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, "Bridesmaids" tells the story of best friends Annie (Wiig) and bride-to-be Lillian (Maya Rudolph). As Lillian's special day approaches, she enlists Annie as her maid of honor. However, Annie's financial situation makes it difficult for her to keep up with her expensive duties.
To frustrate matters more, Annie becomes jealous of one of Lillian's bridesmaids, Helen (Rose Byrne), who has a close bond with Lillian and both the means and ability to plan the wedding and bridal shower to Lillian's satisfaction. The events leading up to the wedding, not to mention the event itself, fill "Bridesmaids" with eye-watering laughter, as do the supporting performances by Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Ellie Kemper. Who could possibly forget Rudolph relieving herself in the middle of the street in a big poofy wedding gown?
Palm Springs
Just when you thought time loops couldn't get any better, director Max Barbakow and writer Andy Siara give us a fresh take. Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti play Nyles and Sarah, respectively, two guests who get caught in a time loop while attending a wedding. "Palm Springs" follows the duo's attempts to make the best of a bad situation and their eventual efforts to escape the cycle.
Samberg has continued to impress since his "Saturday Night Live" days. He's a comedic actor with a good dramatic range, lending his boyish and earnest looks to touching performances. "Palm Springs" explores the existential dread that comes with perpetually living the same day, as Nyles and Sarah have very different responses to their shared predicament. The film has plenty of humor, too, especially with the introduction of J.K. Simmons' character, who Nyles accidentally brought into the loop and who takes every opportunity to murder him by way of thanks. But even with Roy's psychopathic bent, a heartfelt moment grounds the film, making it a well-rounded comedy with a heart of gold.
Father Of The Bride (1991)
Unlike "Sabrina," where I chose the 1954 original, for "Father of the Bride" I'm going with the 1991 remake. While Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, and Elizabeth Taylor dazzle in the 1950 film, it's Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, and Kimberly Williams who won my heart as a kid (not to mention Martin Short's hilarious turn as the wedding coordinator, Franck). The film follows George Banks (Martin) as he navigates the turmoil of his daughter Annie's (Williams) upcoming wedding to Bryan (George Newbern), a man she has only known for a few months. While he's ultimately happy for his daughter, George begins to act in an increasingly erratic manner as the expenses and the sadness of "losing" his baby daughter start to pile up.
"Father of the Bride" is a feel-good movie that delivers laughs and plenty of nostalgia. Fathers of daughters should relate to George's conflicting emotions, wives everywhere can identify with Nina's (Keaton) steady nature, and Annie's choice to wear wedding sneakers in lieu of heels is a fashion statement for all the sporty girls in the audience. Fun for the whole family, "Father of the Bride" inspires others to this day.
The Best Man
As far as dramatic wedding films go, "The Best Man" is right up there with the best of them. When Harper's (Taye Diggs) friends read his debut novel — which is based on them — his best friend Lance (Morris Chestnut) discovers that Harper and Lance's soon-to-be wife had a one-night stand in college. That's already enough drama to go around, but it's compounded by the fact that the discovery is made at Lance's bachelor party, the night before his wedding. Throw in a tense confrontation during which Lance almost throws Harper off a balcony, and we've got a show.
Where "The Best Man" excels, though, isn't in its drama, but rather its humor and heartfelt displays of love. Chestnut and Diggs both offer solid turns along with breakout performances from Regina Hall and Terrence Howard. Really, the film's entire ensemble delivers a tightly-knit and layered story that delves into fidelity and friendship and their complexities. The movie also happens to have an incredible soundtrack that includes the vastly underrated song "The Best Man I Can Be" by Ginuwine, RL, Tyrese, and Case.
The Philadelphia Story
Directed by George Cukor and with a cast composed of heavyweights like Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and Jimmy Stewart, "The Philadelphia Story" is a classic romantic comedy, not just of its era but of the entire genre. Hepburn plays Tracy, a woman torn between her fiancé (John Howard), her ex-husband (Grant), and the reporter (Stewart, with the performance for which he won his only Academy Award) assigned to cover her upcoming wedding.
While the film is well acted, written, directed, and produced, the real story is the one behind "The Philadelphia Story." In 1940, Hepburn had developed a reputation as "box office poison," with her last few pictures failing to sell tickets. After Hepburn performed "The Philadelphia Story" on Broadway, her then-partner, Howard Hughes, purchased the film rights; in turn, she sold those to MGM on condition she be cast in the lead role. Hepburn took an active role in the film's development, which paid dividends. "The Philadelphia Story" was a critical and box office hit and the turning point in Hepburn's career, helping cement her legacy in Hollywood history.
The Graduate
"The Graduate" was Dustin Hoffman's breakout film, earned him his first Academy Award nomination, and kicked off his legendary career. Hoffman stars in the film as Benjamin Braddock, a recent college graduate who begins a tryst Mrs. Robinson (the undeniable Anne Bancroft), he wife of his father's law partner. A love triangle soon develops as Mrs. Robinson's daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross), becomes involved with Benjamin, unaware of his affair with her mother. The complicated and torrid love affairs come to a head at Elaine's wedding, and the film concludes with one of cinema's most memorable final shots.
Part of the enduring appeal of "The Graduate" is how the film has aged. Initially a movie that spotlighted youthful indiscretion and the wide-eyed possibilities of life post-college, Mrs. Robinson has been examined through a feminist lens in the years since the movie's release, lending more sympathy to her plight. "The Graduate" continues to be a solid piece of filmmaking with excellent performances that defies generations — a true American classic.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
What began as a one-woman show became its own franchise, bringing in over $360 million at the worldwide box office against a $5 million budget and spawning multiple sequels and a TV show. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is both a remarkable story about Nia Vardalos' perseverance and her dedication to remaining authentic to her and her family's story, as well as a feel-good film that stole the hearts of viewers around the globe.
Vardalos' script strikes the perfect balance between specificity and universality in how it tells the story of Toula (Vardalos) and Ian (John Corbett). It's a tale of two (seemingly) opposing forces — Ian is from a conservative Anglo family that's small in size and low in decibels, while Toula's Greek family isn't shy about offering up unsolicited advice, potential suitors, and, of course, Windex. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" gave every little Greek girl who was forced to give up her Saturday morning for Greek school their due in one of the most heartwarming films of the 2000s. Yia mas!
Four Weddings And A Funeral
A classic of British cinema and the first collaboration between Richard Curtis and Hugh Grant, "Four Weddings and a Funeral" is an ensemble film following a group of friends over the course of just over a year as they attend wedding after wedding and, unfortunately, one funeral. Hearts are broken, friendships are challenged, and love is found throughout the film, which has all the hallmarks of Curtis' magic on full display.
There's a lot to love about "Four Weddings and a Funeral." It's irresistibly charming and humorous in the most British way possible. What has endured for almost 30 years, though, is Grant's floppy, awkward, and entirely endearing performance, which would carry his success through the decades. His chemistry with Andi MacDowell is a casting director's dream, and their banter flows like balletic choreography — in fact, the entire cast comes together like lightning in a bottle. Considered one of the very best rom-coms, British films, and '90s movies, "Four Weddings and a Funeral" earns its reputation on every re-watch.
The Princess Bride
Few movies have captured imaginations across multiple generations like "The Princess Bride." Written by William Goldman and directed by Rob Reiner, the film's mix of camp and the fantastical creates a fresh and intelligent take on the typical fairy tale. While saving Buttercup (Robin Wright) from a forced marriage to Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), farmhand-turned-swashbuckling-savior Westley (Cary Elwes) encounters a variety of comical obstacles and whimsical characters. A classic comedy, romance, and fantasy film all rolled up in one, "The Princess Bride" has developed a devoted following and remains one of the most quotable movies in cinematic history.
A few years ago, there were rumors that a remake of "The Princess Bride" was being considered by Hollywood. Amidst a flurry of dissent across social media, Elwes responded simply on Twitter: "There's a shortage of perfect movies in this world. It would be a pity to damage this one." As you wish, Mr. Elwes. (Hopefully, anyways.)
My Best Friend's Wedding
Often imitated, never duplicated, "My Best Friend's Wedding" didn't originate the idea of an envious ex trying to ruin a wedding, but it certainly refined it. As Julianne, Julia Roberts uses her irrepressible charm to win back her former lover Michael (Dermot Mulroney) as he prepares to marry Kimmy (an infectiously delightful Cameron Diaz). It's a relatively simple concept, but the chemistry among the ensemble (which also includes the ever-so-suave Rupert Everett) elevates what could have been another pedestrian rom-com.
"My Best Friend's Wedding" gives us the best a wedding-oriented rom-com has to offer – ironically, without showing an actual wedding. From the opening musical number to the joyous singalong of "Say a Little Prayer," P.J. Hogan's '90s classic isn't short on memorable moments. The film also beautifully shows off Chicago, taking us on a trip to Comiskey Park (as it was then known) and through the city's romantic canals. It would've been easy for the film to turn into a superficial catfight between Julianne and Kimmy. Instead, thanks to Ronald Bass' solid script, "My Best Friend's Wedding" is a joyous, funny, and sentimental movie that celebrates why we love love.
Very often we'll see mention in open reporting of a threat actor's tactics, be they "new" or just what's being observed, and while we may consider how our technology stack might be used to detect these tactics, or maybe how we'd respond to an incident where we saw these tactics used, how often to do we consider why the tactic was used?
To see the "why", we have to take a peek behind the curtain of detection and response, if you will.
If you so much as dip your toe into "news" within the cyber security arena, you've likely seen mention that Emotet has returned after a brief hiatus [here, here]. New tactics observed associated with the deployment of this malware include the fact that the lure document is an old-style MS Word .doc file, which presents a warning message to the user to copy the file to a 'safe' location and reopen it. The lure document itself is in excess of 500MB in size (padded with zeros), and when the macros are executed, a DLL that is similarly zero-padded to over 500MB is downloaded.
Okay, why was this approach taken? Why pad out two files to such a size, albeit with zeros?
Well, consider this...SOC analysts are usually front-line when responding to incident alerts, and they may have a lot of ground to cover while meeting SLAs during their shift, so they aren't going to have a lot of time to invest in investigations. Their approach to dealing with the .doc or even the DLL file will be to first download them from the endpoint...if they can. That's right...does the technology they're using have limits on file sizes for download, and if so, what does it take to change that limit? Can the change be made in a timely manner such that the analyst can simply reissue the request to download the file, or does the change take some additional action. If additional action is required, it likely won't be followed up on.
Once they have the file, what are they going to do? Parse it? Not likely. Do they have the tools available, and skills for parsing and analyzing old-style/OLE format .doc files? Maybe. But it's easier to just upload the file to an automated analysis framework...if that framework doesn't have a file size limit of it's own.
Oh, and remember, all of that space full of zeros means the threat actor can change the padding contents (flip a single "0" to a "1") and change the hash without impacting the functionality of the file. So...yeah.
So, what's happening here is that whether or not it's specifically intended, these tactics are targeting analysts, relying on their lacking in experience, and targeting response processes within the security stack. Okay, "targeting" implies intent...let's say, "impacting" instead. You have to admit that when looking at these tactics and comparing them to your security stack, in some cases, these are the effects we're seeing, this is what we see happening when we peek behind the curtain.
Consider this report from Sentinel Labs, which mentions the use of the "C:\MS_DATA\" folder by threat actors. Now, consider the approach taken by a SOC analyst who sees this for the first time; given that some SOC analysts are remote, they'll likely turn to Google to learn about this folder, and find that the folder is used by the Microsoft Troubleshooting tool (TSSv2), and at that point, perhaps deem it "safe" or "benign". After all, how many SOCs maintain a central, searchable repository of curated, documented intrusion intel? For those that do, how many analysts on those teams turn to that repository first, every time?
How about DFIR consulting teams? How many DFIR consulting teams have an automated process for parsing acquired data, and automatically tagging and decorating it based on intrusion intel developed from previous engagements?
In this case, an automated process could parse the MFT and automatically tag the folder with a note for analysts, with tips regarding how to validate the use of TSSv2, and maybe even tag any files found within the folder.
When seeing tactics listed in open reporting, it's not just a good idea to consider, "does my security stack detect this?", but to also think about, "what happens if we do?"
The newcomer Dr. Garondet is summoned by professor Orloff but people in his village is afraid to go to his castle. The insistent Dr. Garondet reaches the castle and the servants send him to talk to Cécile Orloff, who is the daughter of the professor and is worried about the mental health of her father. Dr. Garondet meets professor Orloff and he tells what happened to Cécile sometime ago and his experiment with an invisible man, and he explains that his daughter is deranged due to the reported incident. Dr. Garondet has to spend the night in the castle and soon he learns who is the insane.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
(Welcome to Best Actor Ever, an ongoing series where we explore the careers and performances of the greatest performers to ever grace the screen.)
There is not an actor in the history of moving pictures who has been more egregiously taken for granted by her industry than Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Critics have always had her back. The New York Times' Janet Maslin got it from the jump when she singled Leigh out as "the only thing worth seeing" in her film debut "Eyes of a Stranger." The better-than-average 1981 slasher film set the tone for Leigh's career in that she plays a victim. Her character is a blind-deaf mute whose condition was brought on by being kidnapped and raped at an early age. The 19-year-old Leigh projects sweetness and innocence, but this young woman is all serrated edges. Because she isn't just a victim. She's a survivor.
Roger Ebert was also an early admirer of Leigh, to the extent that he turned his one-star review of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" into a wildly indignant scolding of Amy Heckerling and Cameron Crowe. He was outraged that they would subject this guileless creature to the virginity-shredding cruelties of a U.S. high school. Ebert's ire was unwarranted, but I understand this defensive impulse on behalf of Ms. Leigh. Her Stacy Hamilton is a meekly curious high-schooler who's surprised to discover she's become desirable, and it's only natural that she wants to take this newfound attractiveness out for a spin. That it all goes horribly wrong isn't Heckerling and Crowe's fault. It's society's. "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" signaled a shake-up in studio filmmaking, and Leigh is a huge reason why.
Leigh's 42-year career is a harrowing road map of mistakes and mistreatment. She's played characters who have it all together, but those feel like exhales, a break from her dogged exploration of miserables. She's good in everything, but she's vital for her dissonance. People like to call this bravery, but it's really an act of unvarnished honesty.
The Breakout
We're just getting to know Jennifer Jason Leigh's Stacy Hamilton in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" when she's hit on by an older man while waiting tables at Perry's Pizza. She's flattered and nervous. He asks her out, and she shyly acquiesces. Stacy seeks the counsel of her more experienced coworker Linda (Phoebe Cates), who encourages her to follow through and, if it comes to this, lose her virginity. Of course it comes to this, in hideously unglamorous fashion at "The Point," a baseball field dugout; as Stacy's date thrusts away, she grimaces and stares at the random graffiti scrawled on the ceiling. "Surf Nazis." "Disco F**s." Stacy will never unsee these spray-painted missives.
This is the cheapness of innocence writ painfully small, and Leigh gets the worst of it at every turn. She's receptive to the puppy-dog crush of Brian Backer's Mark Ratner, but he lacks confidence. Stacy's made her move; when is he going to make his? An impatient Stacy settles for clumsy sex with Mark's ticket-scalping friend Damone (Robert Romanus) and winds up pregnant. He bails on her abortion, but she follows through with unintended assistance from her brother Brad (Judge Reinhold).
Roger Ebert viewed this as gross mistreatment of a fine actor, but outside of Sidney Flanigan's performance in Eliza Hittman's 2020 masterpiece "Never Rarely Sometimes Always," I can't think of a more piercing portrayal of young womanhood in the U.S. It hurts because it's Leigh. Stacy's navigating the choppy waters of her sexual awakening, and receiving advanced advice from a more worldly friend. Leigh's Stacy is adrift in a world that views her as a good girl or a trophy. She can't grasp this, and we're aggrieved on her behalf. It's a bravura coming-of-age portrayal and an indictment of how we raise our kids. Boys will be boys, and girls will be prey.
The Career
Jennifer Jason Leigh was a critical darling coming off "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," but she still had to scrap for roles. She brought uncommon nuance to her portrayals of victims in Paul Verhoeven's "Flesh + Blood," Robert Harmon's "The Hitcher," and Peter Medak's "The Men's Club," but where were the leads? She's superb in Matthew Chapman's little-seen S&M thriller "Heart of Midnight," and adorable as Kevin Bacon's experimental filmmaker buddy in Christopher Guest's "The Big Picture," but we didn't get to see Leigh cut loose until Uli Edel's scathing adaptation of Hubert Selby Jr.'s "Last Exit to Brooklyn." As love-lorn sex worker Tralala, Leigh apotheosized the tragic sexuality of her previous roles. She drives men wild, and this drives her more than a little wild too.
She downshifted to object of psychotic desire in George Armitage's "Miami Blues" as a sex worker who buys into the threadbare lie of Alec Baldwin's straight-up killer because he was the only man who was ever kind to her. Leigh finally got a meaty lead role in Lili Fini Zanuck's "Rush," where she circles the drain as an undercover narcotics officer opposite an equally intense Jason Patric. This became the norm for Leigh. If you wanted her in your movie, you better have a seriously f***ed up character for her to inhabit.
There's been some lightness between now and the present. I love her Rosalind Russell tribute in the Coen Brothers' "The Hudsucker Proxy," but that wound up being a dress rehearsal for her dour take on Dorothy Parker in Alan Parker's "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle." If Leigh's having fun, there's a downer payoff coming down the pike. It's hardly surprising a miserablist like Charlie Kaufman hooked up with her for two deeply depressing films ("Synecdoche, New York" and "Anomalisa").
The Career Part II
It's also not shocking, sadly, that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences didn't get around to nominating her for an Oscar until Quentin Tarantino's 2015 thriller "The Hateful Eight." As condemned woman Daisy Domergue, Jennifer Jason Leigh is a snarling, tooth-spitting force of misanthropic nature. The more violence that's visited on Daisy (and her already rough visage gets pulverized into hamburger by the film's conclusion), the more vicious she becomes. Daisy is the defiant, spiritual entanglement of every character she's ever played. She's been wronged in so many despicable ways that her only recourse is to return the pain tenfold. "Crazy" Daisy has a right to be hostile, and these men deserve to die.
Leigh has turned in superb supporting performances in high-wire cinematic acts like the Safdie's "Good Time" and Alex Garland's "Annihilation," but, like many of her contemporaries, she's found greater challenges on television. She was splendid as a hitwoman opposite Tim Roth in David Lynch's "Twin Peaks: The Return," and formed a refreshingly funny husband-wife duo with Michael Rappaport on Robia Rashid's "Atypical." She's been cast as a lead in the fifth season of "Fargo," and there's every reason to believe she'll dazzle in that deliciously macabre universe.
But Leigh's bedazzlement comes at a high emotional cost. Leigh means to hurt us. She scars our conscience. And she never cut us open like she did in Ulu Grosbard's 1995 triumph "Georgia."
The Defining Performance
Jennifer Jason Leigh had to make "Georgia." Her mother, Barbara Turner, wrote the screenplay, and the role of Sadie Flood was a mess of raw nerves. The title of the movie is a taunt. Georgia is the name of Sadie's sister (Mare Winningham), a successful folk-country singer whose talent is, for Leigh's character, unassailable and unattainable. Sadie is a punk musician who can't hold down a job. She drinks, she uses drugs, but every time she spins out she can find solace at Georgia's house. In the formulaic version of this movie, Sadie would possess unlocked ability; the key to her salvation would be sobriety. Turner's screenplay has no truck for the sentimental. Sadie isn't a good singer. In fact, she's awful. All she has is fleeting conviction. At her core, she is a failure coasting on the name of her sister.
Leigh's Sadie isn't trying to get better. She's out to injure. This is where she evinces true talent. She is a drag on Georgia's family. Sadie believes she is a victim, but she is the author of her pain. Georgia finally throws her a lifeline, which results in an excruciatingly long live performance of Van Morrison's "Take Me Back." It's over seven minutes in length, and it's the kind of rendition that would send most people sprinting for the exits. But having spent time with Sadie, we see this for what it is: a confessional. Ulu Grosbard keeps his distance. He cuts to Winningham once or twice, but favors the master. Leigh speak-sings Sadie's truth, and it's a scouring howl of rage.
You don't walk out of "Georgia" feeling comforted. You ache. You bleed out. Jennifer Jason Leigh is the champion of the unheard, and she roars with a fury that can no longer be ignored.
One of the central complaints about Fallout 4, and perhaps Bethesda RPG games generally, is how it partially forces you to play a certain type of character. Your backstory is given to you. Your objective - rescue Shaun - is pretty rigid, and makes freeform exploration feel like a guilty pleasure. If the goal of Fallout 4 mods is to expand, overhaul, and transform the 2015 original, this new one might be one of the best - and throws in some of that classic Fallout New Vegas story building to boot.
The U.S. government’s cybersecurity agency ships a new tool to help network defenders hunt for signs of compromise in Microsoft’s Azure and M365 cloud deployments.
If you're like me, you've absolutely had enough of winter and you're hoping warm weather is right around the corner. When it's finally more enjoyable to spend time outside, you're likely going to be cooking on the grill, so now is a great time to give everything a deep clean to prepare for your upcoming culinary adventures.
I don’t blame you if you opted to let your grill hibernate during the winter months, but if that’s the case, it’ll probably need a tune-up before spring arrives. If you did keep the grill in working order over the last few months, this is a good time for a scrub and polish before warmer temperatures inspire heavy use. Here are a few tips and tricks that will hopefully make things easier.
Disassemble, scrub, reassemble
Billy Steele for Engadget
A good rule of thumb when it comes to cleaning anything you haven’t used in a while is to take it apart as much as you feel comfortable and give it a thorough wipe down. For grills, this means removing the grates and any bars or burner covers – basically, anything you can take out that’s not the heating element. This gives you a chance to inspect the burners of your gas grill or the fire pot of a pellet model for any unsightly wear and tear. If those components are worn out or overly rusted, most companies offer replacements that you can easily swap out with a few basic tools.
Once all the pieces are out, start by scraping excess debris off all sides of the interior – with the help of some cleaner if needed. For a gas grill, this likely means pushing everything out through the grease trap. On a pellet grill, you’ll want to scrape the grease chute clear and out into the catch can, but you’ll also need to vacuum the interior with a shop vac – just like you would after every few hours of use. And while you’re at it, go ahead and empty the hopper of any old pellets that have been sitting since Labor Day. Fuel that’s been sitting in the grill for months won’t give you the best results when it comes time to cook so you might as well start fresh.
Thankfully, pellet grill companies have made easy cleaning a key part of their designs. Weber’s Searwood, for example, has minimal internal parts that need to be removed to open up the bottom of the chamber. This is also a design feature of the company’s gas grills. Simply vacuum or push the debris out the grease chute. The catch pan where all of the garbage ends up is also easy to access from the front of the grill, and you can remove the aluminum liner and replace it with a new one in seconds.
Traeger’s most recent pellet grills were also redesigned to improve cleaning. Most notably, grease and ash end up in the same “keg” that’s easy to detach from the front of the grill. The company also allows you to quickly remove all of the interior components, though they’re larger than what you find on the SmokeFire. Lastly, Traeger moved the pellet chute to the front of the Timberline and Ironwood, making it a lot more convenient to swap out wood varieties or empty an old supply.
You’ll want to get as much of the food leftovers out of your grill as possible for a few reasons. First, that stuff is old and lots of build-up over time can hinder cooking performance and might impact flavor. The last thing you want is old food or grease burning off right under an expensive ribeye. Second, in the case of pellet grills, not properly clearing out grease and dust can be dangerous. It’s easy for grease fires to start at searing temperatures and if there’s enough pellet dust in the bottom of your grill, it can actually ignite or explode. That’s why companies tell you to vacuum it out after every few hours of use.
All of that dust, grease and debris should be removed before you fire the grill back up.
Billy Steele/Engadget
To actually clean the surfaces, you’ll want to get an all-natural grill cleaner. There are tons of options here, and it may take some time to find one you like. I typically use Traeger’s formula since it’s readily available at the places I buy pellets and I’ve found it works well cutting through stuck-on muck. You want an all-natural grill cleaner over a regular household product as it’s safe to use on surfaces that will touch your food. They’re also safe to use on the exterior of your grill without doing any damage to chrome, stainless steel or any other materials.
Spray down the inside and give things a few minutes to work. Wipe it all clean and go back over any super dirty spots as needed. Ditto for the grates, bars and any other pieces you removed. I like to lay these out on a yard waste trash bag (they’re bigger than kitchen bags) so all the stuff I scrape or clean off doesn’t get all over my deck. You can use shop towels if you want to recycle or paper towels if not, but just know whatever you choose will be covered in nasty black grime so you won’t want to just toss them in the clothes washer when you’re done. A pre-wash in a bucket or sink is needed to make sure you don’t transfer gunk from your grill to your business casuals.
In terms of tools, you don’t need much. I’ve tried that grill robot that claims to do the job for you, but I’ve found sticking to the basics is more efficient. And honestly, when you get the hang of it, it doesn’t take all that long. It’s a good idea to have a wire brush specifically for the grates that you don’t use to clean anything else. After all, this will be touching the same surfaces you put food on. I recommend another, smaller wire brush – the ones that look like big toothbrushes – for cleaning the burners on a gas grill. If you notice the flame isn’t firing through one of the holes, you can use this to clean the pathway. Lastly, plastic is the way to go for a scraper, anything else and you risk scratching the surfaces of your grill. Sure, any damage done would be on the inside, but it’s still not a great feeling to knick up your previous investment.
Check for updates before your first cook
Traeger
If you have a smart grill from the likes of Traeger, Weber or another company, you’ll want to plug it in and check for software updates well in advance of your first grilling session. Chances are you haven’t cooked much since last fall, which means companies have had months to push updates to their devices. Trust me, there’s nothing worse than spending an hour trimming and seasoning a brisket only to walk outside to start the grill and it immediately launches into the update process. This could extend the whole cooking time significantly depending on the extent of the firmware additions and strength of your WiFi.
Thankfully, checking for updates is quick and easy. All you need to do is turn on your grill and open up the company’s app on your phone. If there’s a download ready for your model, the mobile software will let you know and it’s usually quite prominent. If there’s not a pop-up alert that displays immediately, you can check the settings menu just to make sure. Sometimes for smaller updates, a company might not beat you over the head to refresh. However, starting a fresh slate of firmware is always a safe bet and will ensure your grill is running at its best when it comes time to cook.
For a good time every time, clean after each use
Billy Steele for Engadget
I’ll be the first to admit I don’t adhere to my own advice here, but it’s nice to have goals. I will also be the first to tell you every single time I smoke a Boston Butt or some other super fatty cut of meat that I wish I would’ve done at least a quick cleaning right after the meal. Grease buildup is not only highly flammable but it’s much harder to clean once it cools and solidifies. Ditto for stuck-on sauce or cheese that’s left on your grates after chicken or burgers. It’s best to attack these things while the grill is still warm, but cooled down from the cook.
You don’t necessarily have to break out the shop vac each time for your pellet grill or empty the grease bin. But you’ll want to make sure that stuff is away from the main cooking area for safety and so any burn off won’t impact the flavor of your food. A few cups of hot water can cleanse the grease run-off while that wire brush I mentioned is best for the grates. It also doesn’t hurt to do a light wipe down with an all-natural cleaner so everything is ready to go when you want to cook again.
New grills for 2026
If you're looking for something brand new this spring, Weber is the only big grill company that has announced its 2026 lineup thus far. That collection of new models includes the Performer Smart Charcoal Grill, the company's first Wi-Fi-enabled charcoal grill, that offers automatic temperature control and remote monitoring via the Weber Connect app. There are twooptions which vary based on how big of a cart/storage space you need. The company will also sell non-smart versions that are more in line with previous Performer offerings.
If you already have a Weber Kettle, the upcoming Kettle Smart Ring adds a touch of Wi-Fi and automation for $280. It too works with the Weber Connect app and supports two food probes. Plus, there's the basic LCD display and knob-based navigation for ease of use. Lastly, both the Genesis and Spirit gas grill lines have been updated with the display from the Weber Slate Griddle and side shelves that accommodate handy Weber Works accessories.
Notable smart grills that debuted late last year include the X-Fire Pro and Flagship 1600 from Recteq. The former is a dual-mode pellet grill with options for smoking and searing. It functions like a traditional pellet grill for low-and-slow cooking and then the controls are more like a gas grill for high-heat grilling. The Flagship 1600 is an updated version of "the grill that built the brand" with 1,667 square inches of cooking space. Both models sync with the Recteq app for monitoring and controls. I should have a full review of the X-Fire Pro in the coming weeks.
Both Kamado Joe and Masterbuilt won't be unveiling any new models this year. Traeger hasn't announced anything new for 2026 yet either, but the company is currently facing both a financial crisis and a class-action lawsuit from former brand ambassadors over employment terms. As part of the so-called Project Gravity restructuring, Traeger no longer hosts its roadshow program at Costco and points would-be buyers to retail partners (Ace Hardware, etc.) rather than facilitating direct sales through its website.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/how-to-clean-your-grill-for-summer-outdoor-season-spring-cleaning-140040826.html?src=rss
International assassin John Wick is one of the fiercest fighters in all of cinema, and that means he needs equally powerful enemies to challenge him. In the latest installment in the franchise, "John Wick: Chapter 4," in theaters now, the titular assassin, played by Keanu Reeves, will face off against his most fearsome foe yet: the Marquis, a vicious bureaucrat who wields red tape like Wick wields his fists.
The Marquis is like the world's most menacing middle manager, a part of the powerful hierarchy of the High Table that control the world of assassins and maintain order in the franchise. Wick hasn't been on good terms with the High Table since "John Wick: Chapter 2," so that means that he and the Marquis have a serious conflict of interest.
That's not the first (or only) time that the Swedish actor has freaked out his co-stars, however, which makes his turn as the malevolent Marquis that much more fun. Skarsgård's various villainous characters over the years have all been pretty wildly different, but the fabulously dressed, French-accented Marquis might truly be the most terrifying of them all.
The Malicious Marquis
If anyone knows villains, it's veteran actor Ian McShane, who stars in the "John Wick" franchise as Winston, the manager of the New York Continental Hotel, a neutral territory where assassins can rest and receive their next assignments. In an interview with Screenrant and fellow co-star, the late Lance Reddick, McShane joked about how some of the Marquis' menace came directly from the man who plays him:
"He's six foot five, he [wears] appalling suits, he's Swedish, and he speaks nineteen languages. And he's one Skarsgård and he's got 1,000 brothers. No, I love Bill. I think Bill is great in the [movie], crazy as a loon."
Easy jokes about the sheer number of Skarsgårds aside, having McShane call your performance "crazy as a loon" is a pretty serious compliment. McShane seems pretty nonplussed about the whole thing, but maybe the star of the action sequel has had enough experience playing pretend in the world of international assassins to not bat an eye at the actor's ability to be seriously scary. Other co-stars who have acted alongside Bill Skarsgård haven't been quite as hardened to his spooky skills, however, because he's managed to freak out more than a few of them.
A Set Full Of Spooked Stars
Pennywise from "It" is one of horror's most frightening villains, and Bill Skarsgård portrayed him perfectly in Andy Muschietti's film adaptations of the novel by Stephen King. He's a shapeshifting extraterrestrial entity who takes the form of people's nightmares, most specifically in the shape of a creepy killer clown. While the actor seems perfectly pleasant in interviews, many of his co-stars in the two films were unsettled just by sharing a set.
On "Good Morning America" (via BloodyDisgusting), "It Chapter Two" co-star James McAvoy shared just how much the actor managed to freak out his fellow thespians:
"He's amazing. [Skarsgård] is terrifying. He's a lovely guy, and yet he really freaked me out. I remember standing there with the rest of the cast, all these adults, and we'd all done weird, freaky stuff. And we are all looking at each other going, 'I don't like being here. I don't like being an actor today.'"
McAvoy went on to admit that he doesn't really like clowns much anyway, but that Skarsgård really freaked him out beyond his old childhood fears. The fact that Hader and McAvoy have starred in all kinds of horrific stuff before, like HBO's "Barry" and the M. Night Shyamalan film "Split," and still found Skarsgård unnerving is genuinely impressive. The Swedish actor's adult co-stars weren't the only ones who found him fearsome, however, as he also terrified the child stars of "It Chapter One."
Making Child Co-Stars Cry
In an interview with his older brother (and fellow actor) Alexander Skarsgård for Interview magazine, Bill Skarsgård revealed that he really upset at least one of his kiddie co-stars on the set of "It Chapter One" when he first appeared on-set to perform with them:
"At one point, they set up this entire scene, and these kids come in, and none of them have seen me yet. Their parents have brought them in, these little extras, right? And then I come out as Pennywise, and these kids — young, normal kids — I saw the reaction that they had. Some of them were really intrigued, but some couldn't look at me, and some were shaking. This one kid started crying. He started to cry and the director yelled, "Action!" And when they say "action," I am completely in character. So some of these kids got terrified and started to cry in the middle of the take, and then I realized, "Holy s***. What am I doing? What is this? This is horrible."
That sounds like a bit from a Nathan Fielder show, but it really happened, and both the actor and children were scarred a bit by the experience. Thankfully, not all of the child actors in the film were bothered by his performance. For example, Jack Dylan Grazer, who plays Loser's Club member Eddie and ends up trapped beneath a screaming, drooling Pennywise, would just compliment Skarsgård on his acting as soon as he heard "cut!"
Playing Pennywise helped launch Skarsgård to serious stardom, but it also had a lingering legacy when he took on other roles, and that meant scaring yet more co-stars.
In an interview with Rian Johnson for Interview Magazine, "The Devil All the Time" director Antonio Campos revealed that young actor Michael Banks Repeta reacted pretty strongly to finding out his co-star had played the dancing clown. Apparently, Campos went over a scary scene with Repeta and his mother when he learned that the only thing Banks was afraid of was — you guessed it — Pennywise. Shocked, Campos told Skarsgård not to say anything to the young actor, who hadn't pieced together the fact without the white clown makeup and creepy grin. Campos explained:
"And Bill is like, 'Oh my god. I'm totally going to tell him.' So the day that we were shooting that scene, Bill was like, 'They don't think you can know this, but I know you're a smart kid. I'm the clown in 'It.'' And Banks was like, 'Whoa, that's crazy. I didn't know that. Alright.' And I don't know if this is connected, but in the middle of that scene Banks just burst into tears way before he was supposed to. I think that somehow really got to him."
Whether he's making children cry or scaring the living daylights out of his adult co-stars, Bill Skarsgård is great at being truly terrifying. Here's hoping the Marquis doesn't end up invading our nightmares too!
Great news, Toxie fans — the upcoming "The Toxic Avenger" remake/reboot is apparently going to deliver exactly what we sickos want! There hasn't been too much news about the film (which is written and helmed by "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore" director Macon Blair) since it finished filming in August of 2021, but thankfully we've gotten confirmation that the film totally maintains the spirit of the original 1984 horror-comedy ... albeit, from a slightly unexpected source.
/Film's Ryan Scott spoke with the sound team behind the fierce action flick "John Wick: Chapter 4," and the conversation eventually turned to "The Toxic Avenger." Sound editor Casey Genton worked on both films and revealed that it's not only going to make fans of the original Troma film very happy, but that even people who have never seen the original will find something to love. The original "Toxic Avenger" is a seriously strange B-movie that intends to offend but manages to still have a soft squishy center, and if anyone can nail that vibe, it's massive movie fan Blair. Throw in a cast that includes Peter Dinklage, Jacob Tremblay, Elijah Wood, and Kevin Bacon as a villain, and it absolutely has the makings of must-see cinema.
Let's Get Gross
The original film followed a shrimpy geek named Winston who gets chucked into toxic waste and becomes a horrifying-looking superhero. Winston and Toxie will be played by Peter Dinklage, which should be a fascinating treat given the actor's dramatic chops, but most Troma fans won't be there for the actors; they'll be there for the gross-outs. Troma is the stuff of blood, guts, puke, and slime, and Casey Genton promised no one will be disappointed on that front:
"It's a really funny movie. Macon Blair, the director, I think did a really good job with it. Everybody was a dream on the film. I'm so surprised -- for me personally, I had not seen the original 'Toxic Avenger' until I had done this film. And it's a huge cult classic, and I know people are really excited about it. When they have tested it, fans of the film have been over the moon with the film. [...] It's pretty out there. I think it's a different crack. They're giving the fans what they want, for sure. There's no lack of -- I know everybody references the little kid's head getting run over and stuff. I think that there was an iteration of the film that didn't have enough of that, so they made a very -- I don't want to ruin it. But it has, it's been nicknamed the 'butt guts' scene, and it's probably the best way to match that 'head getting run over' energy that everybody's looking for. So it's in line with the fan base, and I think it's hilarious."
The scene in which a child gets his head popped like a melon (because they actually used a melon for the effect) is legendary among Toxie fans, but "butt guts" sounds even more amazing.
Excited About Butt Guts
The "Toxic Avenger" movies are notoriously disgusting, so simple reading the words "butt guts" brings me immense joy. Long before I ever became an entertainment writer, I was a weirdo obsessed with Troma founder and director Lloyd Kaufman's book "Make Your Own Damn Movie!," which featured instructions on how to re-create many of the gory effects from "The Toxic Avenger." Kaufman's weird, wild approach to filmmaking not only inspired teens with camcorders to crush produce in their parents' basements, but it also kickstarted the career of co-chairman of DC Studios, James Gunn. It's true: Gunn began his now-illustrious career by writing "Tromeo and Juliet" and now he's one of the most powerful men in moviemaking. And to think it all started with a mutant nerd named Melvin.
There's no word yet on when Macon Blair's "The Toxic Avenger" reboot will hit theaters, but with this positive update, I can't freakin' wait.
A recent campaign undertaken by Earth Preta indicates that nation-state groups aligned with China are getting increasingly proficient at bypassing security solutions.
The threat actor, active since at least 2012, is tracked by the broader cybersecurity community under Bronze President, HoneyMyte, Mustang Panda, RedDelta, and Red Lich.
Attack chains mounted by the group commence with a
To celebrate Deep Rock Galactic’s fifth anniversary, developer Ghost Ship took us back in time to the mystical land of 2018 and let us play Deep Rock Galactic Legacy, a version of the co-op shooter as it was back in 2018, before all of the updates. It was a fun, nostalgic way to let fans reminisce on the game’s infantile days. Ghost Ship had planned to remove Legacy today - March 23rd - but after fan feedback, they’ve decided to keep Legacy edition around indefinitely.
After the entire John Wick franchise began with the death of a dog, a canine is front and center once again in the latest chapter and we answer: does the dog die in John Wick: Chapter 4, alongside confirming everyone who dies in this installment.
Donnie Yen plays a blind assassin in Chapter 4 and some fans wanted to know if the actor was blind in real life, after playing another visually impaired fighter in the Star Wars franchise.
Directed by Chad Stahelski and written by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch, the neo-noir action movie, John Wick: Chapter 4, is a direct sequel to Chapter 3 – Parabellum, and the fourth in the franchise, following Keanu Reeves’ titular hitman and starring Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Lance Reddick, Ian McShane, and more.
**Warning – Major spoilers ahead for John Wick: Chapter 4**
Starting from the beginning, The Elder’s guards on horseback are picked off pretty quickly by Wick as he goes to get back the wedding ring, followed by the death of the Elder whom John shoots in the head.
Chapter 4’s beginning also sees the death of Lance Reddick’s character, Charon, as the New York Continental concierge is shot and killed by High Table leader, Marquis Vincent de Gramont.
The assassins from the Osaka Continental are next on the chopping block while John is in Japan, followed by the death of the manager, Shimazu Koji, who is stabbed by Caine.
A number of adversaries in Berlin are the next ones to be thwarted by the hitman, as well as German High Table leader, Killa, who died after extensive injuries that we’ll leave a secret and a fall from a nightclub.
Next up is a bunch of Paris henchmen who all meet a grisly end, as well as Gramont’s right-hand man, Chidi, who is shot by The Tracker.
Marquis Vincent de Gramont is a major antagonist to be killed towards the end of the chapter, who is shot in the head by John.
Lastly, and the one that hurts the most, is the death of John Wick, who passes away on the church steps after suffering from major blood loss and exhaustion.
Going by the post-credit scene, it is implied that Caine is killed by Akira when he’s going to visit his daughter.
John Wick: Chapter 4 – Cr. Lionsgate Movies/YouTube
A malicious Python package on the Python Package Index (PyPI) repository has been found to use Unicode as a trick to evade detection and deploy an info-stealing malware.
The package in question, named onyxproxy, was uploaded to PyPI on March 15, 2023, and comes with capabilities to harvest and exfiltrate credentials and other valuable data. It has since been taken down, but not before attracting
This piece containsspoilersfor the first episode of "Yellowjackets" season 2.
In "Yellowjackets," no character proved how wrong first impressions can be like Jeff Sadecki (Warren Kole) did. During the first season, he was set up to be a philandering scumbag who didn't love his wife Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) anymore — hence why Shauna felt comfortable cheating on him with the enigmatic artist Adam (Peter Gadiot). When it turned out he was blackmailing Shaun and her friends with the truth of what they did those 19 months in the wilderness, suspicions seemed confirmed.
Then Shauna confronted Jeff, and the truth came out: he wasn't cheating on her, just indebted to loan sharks after trying to keep his business afloat. His dorky dad/milquetoast wife guy persona isn't cover for a dark side -- it's just who he is. While he's charmingly oblivious ("there's no book club?!"), he's also dependable — he volunteered to fall on the sword for Shauna and take the wrap for Adam's murder. It doesn't come to that, however, thanks to some fast crime scene clean-up (courtesy Christina Ricci's strangely relatable character, Misty.).
However, in the angrier, more unhinged season 2 premiere, Shauna discovers Adam had an art studio. She and Jeff go there to destroy any evidence of Shauna's relationship with the deceased; there's a lot of it in the form of portraits. Jeff isn't happy about coming face-to-face with proof of his wife's adultery, but Shauna flips his feelings with some dirty talk — crime and honesty have put the passion back into their relationship — and they do the deed right there.
Still, the following scene indicates Jeff isn't totally over his sadness. Still alone in his car and remembering what just happened, he starts rocking out to Papa Roach's "Last Resort." I burst out laughing at how perfect a needle drop this was.
The Yellowjackets Soundtrack
It'd be a mistake to call "Yellowjackets" a nostalgic story, but the shadow of the 1990s does loom over it. The flashback storylines take place in 1996, meaning the pop culture references are tied to that era. This is also why the series cast '90s starlets Juliette Lewis (Natalie) and Christina Ricci in the present-day segments. The show's soundtrack reflects this era too. The pilot featured "Today" by Smashing Pumpkins, and the season carried on with more '90s top 40 hits, from "Dreams" by The Cranberries to "Kiss From A Rose" by Seal.
Papa Roach formed in 1993 as part of the nascent nu-metal movement. "Last Resort" was part of their second studio album, "Infest," released in 2000. It has become their signature song (and most listened to on Spotify) and a hallmark of musical angst. "Cut my life into pieces," the song opens, "this is my last resort." The opening is the only part we see Jeff listen to, but from there, the song trudges into darker territory.
Why 'Last Resort'?
"Would it be wrong would it be right, if I took my life tonight, chances are that I might," "Last Resort" continues. And then there's the chorus:
"'Cause I'm losing my sight, losing my mindWish somebody would tell me I'm fineLosing my sight, losing my mindWish somebody would tell me I'm fine'"
By now, the meaning of the title is clear; suicide will be the "last resort" for the song's main character in dealing with their pain. Lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix has said the song was inspired by struggles with suicidal thoughts, both ones he'd suffered and those his friends suffered from (thankfully, none of them acted on them).
The sad lyrics of the song don't quite match Shaddix's aggressive vocals, which has contributed to the song's reputation: it's perfect both for getting yourself psyched up and wallowing in your misery. That's what Jeff was using it for, listening to it alone and slamming his hands on the car steering wheel. Based on the show's timeline, "Last Resort" would've come out when Jeff was in college (or at least college-aged), so it makes sense he still turns to it. At the same time, a middle-aged man rocking out to a teenage angst anthem is pretty hilarious. He's also shown scrolling a playlist just before, so we know that "Last Resort" was his conscious choice and not a random selection.
"Last Resort" may have been a silly music choice on Jeff's part, but it was a perfect one by the "Yellowjackets" creative team.
This piece containsspoilersfor the second season of "Yellowjackets."
So, remember back in the first season of "Yellowjackets" where it seemed like queen bee Jackie (Ella Purnell) was going to survive the 19 months the soccer team spent in the woods? One of the seemingly-damning pieces of evidence was her diary, which her former bestie Shauna (Sophie Nélisse and Melanie Lynskey) reads during a visit to her house. As an adult, Shauna sees that the pages of Jackie's notebook are covered in writings about things that couldn't have happened when they were stranded in the Canadian wilderness, like referencing movies that had yet to come out. For a while, it was pretty plausible that Jackie did survive and avoided being eaten by her teammates, but as the final moments of the season finale rolled around, we realized that was far from the case.
However, despite Jackie becoming a sleeping popsicle, one question was likely on everyone's minds. If she is dead, then why was her notebook full of references to the then-future? Well, we don't have to wait long for that answer, because the season two premiere of "Yellowjackets" has got us covered. As it turns out, Shauna was writing in the notebook the entire time in a bizarre but strangely understandable coping mechanism.
Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House
As Smashing Pumpkins' "Drown" plays in the background, we see a sight nobody probably expected in the flashbacks: a clearly alive Jackie playing a game of MASH with Shauna. She gives her a startlingly-accurate reading of her former best friend's future, saying that she will live in a house married to the school's quarterback, Jeff (Jack DePew and Warren Kole). Shauna doesn't believe it at first, so she grabs the notebook from Jackie's hands, only to reveal that Jackie is a hallucination. It's been two months since she froze to death outside of the cabin the survivors are living in, and Shauna has kept her frozen body in the cabin's shack to keep conversation with. The rest of the team thinks it's weird, but at least she has a supporter in Coach Ben (Steven Krueger), who defends her by saying that these "meetings" bring her comfort in an otherwise horrific situation.
That doesn't make it any less weird, though, especially when hallucination-Jackie begins grilling Shauna on what happened between her and Jeff that eventually got her pregnant. When her inner monologue gets to be too much, Shauna pushes Jackie's body against the cabin wall, the force tearing off one of the corpse's ears. Take a wild guess what Shauna decides to do with that ear.
An Effective And Emotional Twist
The "dead friend becomes the main character's conscience" trope can be a bit tiresome. Pardon the pun, but it's been done to death in several movies and television shows by this point. However, Jackie becoming the manifestation of Shauna's guilt makes all the sense in the world. The two were the closest of friends before the accident, growing more distrustful of each other until Shauna kicked Jackie out of the team's cabin out of anger. She knows that she is responsible for her friend's death, and as Ben tells the rest of the Yellowjackets, Shauna needs to pretend to make peace with Jackie lest she not lose her mind.
Her writing in Jackie's diary as she pretends to have conversations with her only solidifies this, especially the pages that reference the supposed "future." This coping mechanism of hers wouldn't just stop after their rescue in 1998. She likely continued this for a long time afterward, wanting to imagine a world where Jackie survived and came home with the rest of the survivors. In order to avoid the real situations she finds herself in, she wants to imagine a reality where she has total control. Even though she eventually stopped writing in the notebook, Shauna's desires to maintain that perfect fantasy manifest in other ways, such as overprotecting her daughter Callie (Sarah Desjardins) and killing her side lover Adam (Peter Gadiot) at the first hint of betrayal. In both the flashbacks and the modern portions of the show, it's only a matter of time before she snaps for good.
This post containsspoilersfor the first episode of "Yellowjackets" season 2.
Comparisons between "Yellowjackets" and "Lost" were always going to be inevitable. Even before "Yellowjackets" proved itself a character-driven thriller capable of doling out mysteries and WTF moments at an impressive pace, the two clearly shared significant narrative DNA. With multiple timelines, a plane crash, and a possibly sentient setting that's at once magical and spooky, "Yellowjackets" is a fantastic heir apparent to the hit 2004 series — one that arrived about a decade after everyone quit looking for its successor.
In its season premiere, though, "Yellowjackets" sets itself apart from "Lost" and most other mystery box shows like it in an intriguing, major way. The contrast comes in the episode's cold open, a tremendous montage set to Sharon Van Etten's "Seventeen." The scene gets viewers up to speed after a time jump, showing us what the stranded teammates' typical winter mornings look like inside the abandoned cabin they now call home.
The Premiere Introduces A Strange Morning Ritual
As the snow falls, the girls sleep by a well-tended fireplace, bundled in their thickest clothes. They've clearly developed some efficient systems since we last saw them; Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown) sleeps tied to Van (Liv Hewson) to prevent sleepwalking, the team catches drops of water in a bucket for later use, and when Travis (Kevin Alves) and Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) bundle up to go search for help (and Javi) they cram papers into the lining of their clothes for added warmth. This group is clearly clever and capable. But the explorers also do something else before they head out: stop to receive a blessing from Lottie (Courtney Eaton), the possibly prophetic or possibly mentally ill girl who managed to inexplicably kill a bear in the first season finale.
Lottie greets the pair with a complex ritual, involving putting ashes on their palms, waving a smokey branch in their faces, and having them drink from a mug of water that includes a drop of her blood. She also draws the mysterious symbol we've seen before on the window after they leave. "It's not like this wicca bulls**t is doing us any good," Natalie says, but she takes the mug anyway. Lottie isn't phased by the comment. "Well, you keep coming back alive, don't you?" she points out.
Mystery Shows Love A Good Faith-Science Dichotomy
The opening sequence sets up a unique dichotomy between the explainable and the inexplicable, one that sets "Yellowjackets" apart from other mystery-driven shows of the past two decades. While series like "Lost," "Dark," "Under the Dome," "From," "Manifest," and so many others hinge their central plots on questions about whether a phenomenon is scientific or supernatural, the "Yellowjackets" premiere finds a surprising middle ground. It's an unexpected albeit enjoyable change-up for the series, which ended its first season by positioning Lottie's occult-like practices as sinister but powerful. Now, they've become a part of everyday life, a superstition equivalent to not stepping on a crack or throwing salt over your shoulder. Unlike its genre contemporaries, there's no need for a big explanation involving a chalkboard or an upside-down game board here.
There's something refreshing about the show's embrace of its spookier elements, especially when they're utilized in conjunction with practical measures and, in the case of some members of the group, a healthy dose of skepticism. Mystery box shows are rife with characters who love to loudly deny whatever is going on around them, whether it's Jack Shepherd (Matthew Fox) refusing to give in to Locke's (Terry O'Quinn) island-based spirituality in "Lost," Agent Scully (Gillian Anderson) rolling her eyes at countless inexplicable situations in "The X-Files," or Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux) crying his way through a world that makes no sense in "The Leftovers." While some mystery box shows end up with a clear-cut "answer" to their own central question about faith and science, others are ultimately able to reckon with the two options and land in a beautiful place of ambiguity. Very few, though, go the "Yellowjackets" route, interweaving both the impossible and the explainable into the fabric of the series.
In Yellowackets, Practicality And Superstition Coexist
Despite the relative lack of precedent for a show like this, it feels right for Lottie's woo-woo nonsense to coexist with the girls' practical, everyday activities. After all, "Yellowjackets" is a story about girlhood and womanhood in a way that few of the aforementioned mysteries are, and women have long since been associated with earth-based magic across cultures. History books are full of references to women witches, healers, goddesses, and mystics. When civilizations build in spaces for the mysteries of the world to flourish, they are, in many cases, women's spaces.
The survivors' casual incorporation of Lottie's magic will likely be viewed as a non-twist in an episode that has plenty of other elements worth talking about (that ear!), but it deserves to be highlighted as a particularly clever writing choice in a show that's always been smart about its character dynamics. By side-stepping, the fraught, prolonged conversations about what is and isn't possible, and allowing Lottie skeptics and Lottie believers to live together under one roof, "Yellowjackets" poses a much more interesting question than "What part of this is actually real?" Instead, the show asks us to think about what it takes to survive; not just strength and smarts, but also intuition and openness. What's more, it asks us to consider the power and necessity of finding something to believe in when enduring the unbelievable.
New episodes of "Yellowjackets" air Sundays on Showtime. The season premiere is available on the Showtime app now.
Bob Odenkirk played the character of Saul Goodman for 13 years, first appearing in the second season of "Breaking Bad" to guide Walter White into the depths of the criminal underworld. Future appearances marked him as a key player within the show's supporting cast, able to function as a comic archetype as well as a moral barometer for just how far White had fallen in his quest for power. Two years after "Breaking Bad" ended, Odenkirk returned to lead "Better Call Saul," a spin-off that arguably surpassed its parent series by the final episodes. Odenkirk received five Golden Globe nominations, five Emmy nominations for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series," and another six Emmy nominations for "Outstanding Drama Series" in his capacity as a producer for "Better Call Saul." Taken separately, Odenkirk's performances in "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" are impressive. Together, they represent a process of long-form character excavation that no longer exists on television in the United States.
In an interview with "The Tonight Show," though, Odenkirk acknowledges that he never expected to play Saul for such a long time. "I was supposed to do 3 to 4 episodes [of Breaking Bad,]" he told host Jimmy Fallon. "Then it turned into my whole life." Odenkirk isn't the only "Breaking Bad" side character to see his role radically expand over the course of the series. But he's the only one whose character attained such a life of his own that he kept the "Breaking Bad" engine humming for a 63-episode spinoff starring himself. As he said earlier to Fallon, "They keep calling me back!"
13 Wonderful Years
A lot can happen in 13 years. The distance between showrunner Bryan Fuller's "Dead Like Me" in 2003 and his 2013 network barnburner "Hannibal" is just 12 years. "The Sopranos," "The Wire" and "Deadwood" all finished airing on HBO within 10 years, from 1999 to 2008, and "Lost" wrapped up three years later in 2011. Netflix has been releasing original programming for just a decade, starting in 2013 with "House of Cards." These are all paradigm shifts that changed the way that people watch television today. Yet it's easy to forget that these transformations happened in a relatively short period of time. The beauty and malevolence of "Breaking Bad" changed the way that TV was made in the late 2000s; by the time "Better Call Saul" wrapped up in 2022, the fracturing of streaming had changed TV yet again.
Odenkirk's career did not begin with "Breaking Bad." The only two Emmys that he's won in his career so far were for "Saturday Night Live" in 1989, and then "The Ben Stiller Show" in 1993. After toiling for years as a writer and actor, he co-starred in the groundbreaking HBO sketch comedy series "Mr. Show" with David Cross ("Arrested Development") from 1995 to 1998. Their work inspired Tim and Eric (of "Awesome Show, Great Job!" fame) as well as Key and Peele. Had this been Odenkirk's legacy, it would have been enough. Yet Vince Gilligan was impressed enough by Odenkirk's performance on "Mr. Show" to hire him years later for "Breaking Bad." Who better to play a two-dimensional sleazeball like Saul Goodman than a sketch comedy master? But then the role grew, and grew, and a job that was meant to be a guest spot changed Odenkirk's life.
The Way Stalactites Grow
This was not out of the ordinary for "Breaking Bad," a series that thrived on chaos. Jesse Pinkman was famously meant to be written out in the first season, only for the staff to keep him once they realized what actor Aaron Paul brought to the series. The 2007-2008 writers' strike gave the staff the chance to retool their plans for future seasons, saving Gilligan from his "self-destructive impulses," per Alan Sepinwall's "The Revolution Was Televised." Odenkirk isn't even the only "Breaking Bad" cast member to transform a bit part into a supporting character role through sheer ability. Jonathan Banks, who played the popular character Mike Ehrmantraut, was himself brought on board to substitute for Odenkirk. Banks stuck around to become not just a highlight of "Breaking Bad," but a key player in "Better Call Saul." "I thought, 'I'll go in here, I'll guest star and I'll be gone,'" Banks told Sepinwall. "It didn't turn out that way."
In "The Revolution Was Televised," Gilligan refers to "Breaking Bad" as "an epic crime drama driven by process." His goal as showrunner was not just to capture the rise and fall of a bad man, but to "show the stuff that nobody else bothers to show." It seems absurd on the surface that a series beloved for its sense of escalation was built to emulate "the way stalactites grow." Yet many of the show's best-loved episodes, like Rian Johnson's bottle episode "The Fly," were just that. The process was also the heart and soul of "Better Call Saul," a series that per critic Sonia Saraiya "knows how to make emptiness staggeringly dramatic."
The Role Of A Lifetime
In an interview between Saraiya and Sepinwall for Salon, the two critics discuss the power of time. "You spend years of your lives watching them," Sepinwall says. "So you want to see them end right." The alternative is to suffer the fate of "Lost" showrunner Damon Lindelof, punished for dropping the ball after six sporadically great years of television produced by his team. As for Saraiya, she writes for Vanity Fair that "television keeps going, year in and year out, pacing its story to match the show unspooling of our lives." Speaking personally, I've caught myself marking time not by my home address or job, but by what TV program was airing at the time. To be an actor on that same TV series, sharing a life with millions of viewers over more than a decade, must be something else entirely.
Bob Odenkirk's career might have gone in a totally different direction had he moved on from "Breaking Bad" as was intended. Instead, he will forever be known as Saul Goodman, a role that snowballed over the course of 13 years into a career-defining performance. Some might be intimidated by the weight of that accomplishment, but Odenkirk doesn't mind. "I'll always be thankful for that role," he told "The Tonight Show." "The role of a lifetime." Saul Goodman became a great character thanks to Odenkirk's talent as an actor, as well as the hard work of the team behind "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul." Yet Goodman is also "the role of a lifetime" because today, TV series are lucky to last a handful of seasons. There may not be another opportunity like Saul Goodman for a lifetime — or at least, a lifetime on television.
It's fairly common for directors to spend years in-between projects, and one would think that finishing Stanley Kubrick's vision for 2001's "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" would call for a much-needed vacation. But in 2002, Steven Spielberg was on a roll. In the same year, he released two distinct films featuring two different, massive A-list stars. In June, Tom Cruise played the leading man in Spielberg's sci-fi blockbuster, "Minority Report." And in December, Leonardo DiCaprio took on the role of Frank Abagnale, Jr. in "Catch Me If You Can," an ambitious semi-biographical drama where DiCaprio played opposite Tom Hanks. Both films were critical and financial successes, becoming the 10th and 11th highest-grossing films of 2002 respectively.
Perhaps most impressively, in 2001, Spielberg was able to accomplish production on these films while writing term papers to earn his Bachelor's Degree from Cal State Long Beach, something he committed himself to doing to honor his parents and set an example for his own children. Despite his accolades and his huge box office successes, Spielberg's children, as it turns out, would be his toughest critics.
In an interview with the late Roger Ebert in 2002, titled "Catching Up With Spielberg," Ebert praised his second theatrical viewing of "Minority Report," to which Spielberg answered:
"l haven't seen it again since it was released. I rarely look back at the movies I've made except when my kids see them for the first time. So I get a chance to see all my own movies again through my kids' eyes, which is always fun, you know, because they tell me whether they like 'em or not right away. Or they walk out. I've had my kids walk out of my pictures."
So, which Spielberg movie left his kids too bored to finish?
'They Were Bored By The Legal Stuff'
There are two kinds of Steven Spielberg films: The genre movies that put him on the map, and the political/historical pieces that Spielberg became passionate about even after his well-earned Academy Awards for "Schindler's List."
Though Spielberg's political/historical dramas are just as valuable to his artistic identity as the more celebrated genre films of his career, it isn't exactly a mystery which side of his filmography would better entertain young children, including his own. "They walked out of 'Amistad,'" Spielberg told Roger Ebert back in 2002. "I lost my whole family. All my young kids, you know. I wouldn't ever show them the middle passage and I didn't let them see the very beginning and they were bored by the legal stuff. They left."
Based on a true story of a 1839 Spanish slave ship, "Amistad" came out in 1997, the same year as "Jurassic Park: The Lost World." Though it received an initial warm critical response and boasts great performances from Morgan Freeman as Theodore Joadson and Anthony Hopkins as John Quincey Adams, with time it has been one of the more mixed historical drama efforts by Spielberg — often criticized for its white savior narrative. Especially since he skipped over some uncomfortable key scenes, leaving behind mostly the political interludes, it's hard to imagine what a kid would gain from that viewing experience.
Ironically, one of Spielberg's best traits as a director is how he approaches each of his films with a genuine sentimentality and child-like wonder that he hasn't lost touch with. His willingness to engage with his movies from the lens of his own children is not only sweet, but is fitting with his artist persona.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Framework has delivered on the promise of its original 13-inch laptop. Three product generations in, the company has made a respectable competitor for the Dell XPS 13 or MacBook Air that can be repaired, modified, and upgraded, and owners of the original laptop can easily give themselves a significant performance boost by upgrading to the new 13th-generation Intel or AMD Ryzen-based boards the company announced today. Framework is now looking to build on that track record with an all-new Framework Laptop 16. It's a larger-screened model that can fit more powerful processors, dedicated GPUs, and a range of different keyboard modules, all with the same commitment to repairability and upgradeability seen in the original Framework Laptop (now retroactively dubbed the Framework Laptop 13).
Framework isn't discussing many details yet; preorders won't open until "this spring," and shipments won't begin until "late 2023." Today, the company provided a preview of the laptop's features, along with developer documentation to encourage the creation of new Input Modules -- components that allow for keyboard customization much like the current Expansion Card system allows for port customization.
Telecommunication providers in the Middle East are the subject of new cyber attacks that commenced in the first quarter of 2023.
The intrusion set has been attributed to a Chinese cyber espionage actor associated with a long-running campaign dubbed Operation Soft Cell based on tooling overlaps.
"The initial attack phase involves infiltrating Internet-facing Microsoft Exchange servers to deploy
