Ronald.phillips

Today AMD launched their latest lineup of RX 6000-series graphics cards, but that isn’t all they had to announce – they also provided a release date and list of games that will support their new FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 tech. As we’ve heard, FSR 2.0 promises high-quality temporal upscaling without the need for machine learning. That means the tech will work on a wider range of GPUs, although you will need a fairly powerful graphics card to run FSR 2.0 at higher resolutions. Here’s AMD’s official description of the new upscaling tech…

The next-generation of the widely adopted AMD open-source, cross-platform upscaling technology, FSR 2.0 helps boost framerates in supported games by using previous frame data to provide similar or better than native image quality at all resolutions. It supports a wide range of graphics products and platforms, including AMD and select competitor solutions, without requiring dedicated machine learning hardware. The first game to add support for AMD FSR 2.0 is Deathloop by Arkane Studios and Bethesda, which is expected to be available via an update this week.

In addition to Deathloop, here are the other games that have pledged to use FSR 2.0:

• Asterigos
• Delysium
• EVE Online
• Farming Simulator 22
• Forspoken
• Grounded
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• NiShuiHan
• Perfect World Remake
• Swordsman Remake
• Unknown 9: Awakening

This is likely only the beginning. In addition to coming to other PC titles, FSR 2.0 will also be included in the Xbox Series X/S development kit, making it easy to implement in games on those consoles. Sony has not pledged official support for the PS5, but there’s no reason devs won't be able to implement it with a little extra elbow grease.

AMD FSR 2.0 officially launches on May 12. Excited to see the results of the new tech?

The post AMD FSR 2.0 Arrives this Week, Deathloop, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and More to Support by Nathan Birch appeared first on Wccftech.

Make your kitchen and pantry functional again without going broke in the process.

The start-up has had a meteoric rise, thanks to its charismatic co-founder, Ryan Breslow. But he sometimes stretched the truth to get there. From a report: In just over three years, Bolt has soared in valuation to $11 billion from $250 million, making it a Valley success story. But Bolt's meteoric rise has been fueled at least in part by a pattern of stretching the truth, according to interviews with over 50 former and current employees, clients, investors and others with whom Bolt discussed partnerships and fund-raising, as well as a lawsuit filed recently by a big customer. Most of them sought anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. In a rush to show growth, Bolt often overstated its technological capability and misrepresented the number of merchants using its service, some of the people said. In presentations to investors, it included the names of customers before verifying whether those merchants were able to use its technology. For a time, a fraud detection product it was pitching to merchants was more dependent on manual review than Mr. Breslow implied, according to a former employee. Mr. Breslow, 27, abruptly stepped down as chief executive in January, blindsiding some investors who, just weeks earlier, had put money into Bolt at an $11 billion valuation. Now, Bolt's troubles are mounting. Some investors are looking to sell their stakes, while customers are questioning Bolt's technology. One of Bolt's biggest customers, Authentic Brands Group, which owns and licenses brands like Brooks Brothers, is suing the company for having "utterly failed to deliver on the technological capabilities that it held itself out as possessing." At an all-hands staff meeting last month, Bolt -- which has around 800 employees -- announced a three-month hiring freeze. Although it has cash to keep operating for a while, Bolt has talked to prospective investors about raising more funds, according to people with knowledge of the outreach. The implosion last month of Fast, a direct competitor, has only heightened investor scrutiny. [...] The race to add merchants often meant that Bolt's sales team signed deals without always verifying that the merchant's payments technology would be able to integrate with Bolt. Ms. Neve said it was standard industry practice to include both prospective clients and those who had signed, even if they weren't using the service. Guess, for instance, was listed on Bolt's website as a "won" customer but never went live and was later removed, she said. An internal document viewed by The Times laid out what to do if a merchant asked whether Bolt's technology could integrate with its e-commerce platform. "If it's a big merchant, you probably want to act like our integration is already underway, not lie about it being done, but act as if it's close," the document said. "If it's a smaller merchant, gauge how much we want them vs how excited they are. If we want them a lot and they're not absolutely ecstatic, then act as if we'll build it." Ms. Neve said the company couldn't locate the document, but that it does not reflect "the practices or policies of Bolt." Bolt's business tactics raised questions from at least one big potential investor. As part of its due diligence, Tiger Global, a fund known for investing in hundreds of young start-ups, had talked to clients that Bolt said it had signed on. Based on those conversations, Tiger executives weren't so sure those merchants would use Bolt beyond a trial, according to two people involved in the conversations. To Tiger, Bolt's revenue projections seemed overly bullish and exaggerated, the people said. Tiger passed.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Last month, we expressed how it’s long overdue for Apple to kill the iPod lineup. Ultimately, the company first released it over two decades ago, and its concept no longer fits in our modern world. For music streaming on the go, people can use iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods. As for those seeking an affordable device for gaming or watching online content, the iPad is both affordable and has a larger display that better suits these use cases. It’s now official — the Cupertino tech giant has just announced that it is killing the iPod lineup. The iPod Touch 7 (2019) will be the last model to go on sale.

In a Newsroom post, Apple has just shared that the iPod Touch 7 will remain on sale while supplies last. The company won’t be restocking or releasing upgraded models afterwards. Greg Joswiak — Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing — states:

Music has always been part of our core at Apple, and bringing it to hundreds of millions of users in the way iPod did impacted more than just the music industry — it also redefined how music is discovered, listened to, and shared. Today, the spirit of iPod lives on. We’ve integrated an incredible music experience across all of our products, from the iPhone to the Apple Watch to HomePod mini, and across Mac, iPad, and Apple TV. And Apple Music delivers industry-leading sound quality with support for spatial audio — there’s no better way to enjoy, discover, and experience music.

The Cupertino tech giant mentions how the music will still live on — through the other devices it sells today. After all, Apple Music and other streaming services are available on iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, HomePods, etc. So a low-end device created specifically for music consumption no longer makes sense today.

How do you feel about Apple killing the iPod lineup? Let us know in the comments section below.

---

Source: Apple Newsroom

The post After over 20 years, Apple is finally discontinuing the iPod appeared first on XDA.

Fedora 36 is releasing this morning as what is yet another release in recent times of being a very robust and bleeding-edge yet stable and reliable Linux distribution. I've already been running Fedora Workstation 36 and Fedora Server 36 snapshots on various systems in my benchmarking lab and this release has proven to be quite solid while adding new features and polish on top of the excellent Fedora 35...

Bruce Lee was my first hero. I saw Enter the Dragon for the first time when I was either five or six, and I immediately became enthralled with Lee's thrilling physical abilities. I didn't think there was anything or anyone that could beat him. — Read the rest

Once upon a time, the Marvel Cinematic Universe could have been very different, with Zooey Deschanel almost playing The Wasp in "The Avengers," Asa Butterfield as Spider-Man, and an Avengers team led by none other than Tom Cruise as Iron Man. 

Cruise, of course, actually got approached to play the lead role in "Iron Man," but he ultimately turned down the role as he didn't feel it was something worth committing to.

Though none of those came to pass, the introduction of the multiverse in the MCU has allowed for all kinds of previously unthinkable possibilities to become certainties. Even if it ended up being a joke, we did get Evan Peters in "WandaVision" while "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" delivered crazy cameos. But there was one big cameo that had been rumored for months yet never made it to the film: the return of Tom Cruise as Tony Stark.

Heavy spoilers ahead for "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."

'I Just Don't Think It Was Ever An Option'

In the new "Doctor Strange," Benedict Cumberbatch's Stephen travels to many, many universes (not all of them great), and encounters plenty of characters from all corners of the multiverse. This culminates in the introduction of The Illuminati in the MCU, an Avengers-like team of heroes who ultimately die gruesome deaths. 

But while a lot of people, Patrick Stewart included, had correctly guessed that Charles Xavier would appear in the film, the internet was rather wrong about Cruise. Speaking to Rolling Stone, screenwriter Michael Waldron dismissed any rumors that Cruise shot scenes as Superior Iron Man.

"Yeah, that was totally made up. I mean, there's no cut footage of Tom Cruise! But I love Tom Cruise, and I said to [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] at one point, I was like, Could we get Tom Cruise's Iron Man? I remember reading about that in Ain't It Cool News back in the day, that Tom Cruise was going to be Iron Man."

At least it seems like Waldron did try to sneak Cruise into the movie, but as he points out, Cruise is a pretty busy guy. Sadly, it doesn't seem like anyone even tried reaching out to Thomas, as Waldron continued: 

"I don't believe so. I just don't think it was ever an option, because of availability."

At least we have the comfort of knowing Cruise didn't die a gnarly death like Patrick Stewart's Xavier did in the film.

"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" is currently in theaters.

Read this next: Every MCU Post-Credits Sequence Ranked From Worst To Best

The post There Was No Way Tom Cruise Was Ever Going to Be in Doctor Strange 2 appeared first on /Film.

Large data sets provide intriguing—and dismaying—insights into who we're drawn to and how much that matters for our romantic happiness.

The wine world is famously mystifying. Legs? Tannins? Why is everyone slurping? So it makes sense that when it comes to caring for your wine glasses, a lot of people have a lot of different opinions. In fact, when you look up the best methods to clean wine glasses, you might find more questions than answers. Different…

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This post contains major spoilers.

So you've just watched "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" and found yourself won-over by its overt horror slant. You can mostly thank director Sam Raimi for that, as he's been one of the genre's eminent filmmakers ever since he burst onto the scene with his breakout feature "The Evil Dead" in 1981. Like any genre-obsessed director worth their salt, Raimi stuffed his "Doctor Strange" sequel with a ton of callbacks to some of horror's gnarliest kills and thrills. While the film is far from the best Marvel Studios has churned out in its 28-film run (honestly, it's not even the best multiverse movie currently out in theaters), it is certainly the most horror-oriented.

Let's celebrate Raimi's horror-helming hand and delve into some of the influences behind the latest Marvel flick. If you liked the new "Doctor Strange" movie, you simply have to check these classics out.

Drag Me To Hell

Sure, we could have put any Sam Raimi horror movie on this list — "The Evil Dead," "Army of Darkness," "The Gift" — but the woman-oriented witchcraft of "Drag Me to Hell" feels particularly close to the story of the "Doctor Strange" sequel. Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), channels Sylvia Ganush (Lorna Raver), the evil witch in "Drag Me to Hell" whose sole intention is to condemn the soul of Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) to hell when she's refused a mortgage extension. As such, she traverses the dimension of life and death to seal Christine's fate in hell. Similarly, Wanda pursues America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) with dogged supernatural intention, wishing to strip her of her dimension-hopping powers by killing her.

Black Sunday

The film all subsequent witch movies have been derived from, Italian director Mario Bava's 1960 gothic horror film "Black Sunday" is an essential watch if you liked the "Doctor Strange" sequel. It features vengeful witches, undead doppelgängers, and seemingly star-crossed lovers who find love in the face of unfathomable evil. There's also a familial element to "Black Sunday," though it's admittedly much more twisted and sexually charged than Wanda's pursuit of a life with her twin sons. Either way, it's a classic that effectively breathed life into the concept of modern-day horror witches — horror history at its finest and most visually sumptuous.

Suspiria (1977)

For another Italian take on witches that feels much more playful, Dario Argento's 1977 color-drenched giallo "Suspiria" makes a great companion to the new Marvel movie. The kills are bloody yet often feature a sense of humor that rivals Sam Raimi's — comically large glass shards, an unexplainable sea of barbed wire — and the witch got a pseudo-nod during one of Wanda's many murders. In typical giallo style, the witch's hands are the only part of her that is ever seen. When Wanda emerges from a red cloud and snaps Dr. X's neck with withered, horrifying hands, it's easy to see where Raimi mined the visual cue from. For a fearsome witch that moves just as erratically and sneakily as Wanda does, "Suspiria" totally delivers (and hey, the 2018 Luca Guadagnino remake isn't half-bad, either).

The New York Ripper

Speaking of specific kills in "Doctor Strange 2," the first one that really makes the audience go "eww" is the giant, one-eyed octopus demon who gets its eye ripped out by a street post. If you've now developed a twisted fascination for eye-gouging kills, look no further than any Lucio Fulci film. Another Italian genre icon, Fulci is renowned for including gory eye details in all his films, and "The New York Ripper" is certainly no exception. Featuring a moment where a beautiful young woman's eye meets a razor blade, it's an anguishing, slow watch. While Fulci's ocular fixation runs a wide gamut, "The New York Ripper" has the distinction of being set in the then-sleazy city that never sleeps, paralleling Doctor Strange's constant defense of the Big Apple.

Scanners

Another one of the film's most insane kills features Wanda sealing Black Bolt's mouth shut, causing him to scream and explode his own head with his booming, destructive voice. Of course, body horror auteur David Cronenberg gave us the head explosion for the ages in his 1981 telepathic horror film "Scanners." I won't spoil the circumstances of the literally mind-blowing moment, but the effect was executed in part through the use of "latex scraps, some wax, and just bits and bobs and a lot of stringy stuff that we figured would fly through the air a little better" in addition to "leftover burgers." Seriously, it's one of the greatest practical effect achievements in horror history.

Coherence

As far as the multidimensional approach of the "Doctor Strange" sequel, the 2013 horror-thriller "Coherence" managed to distill the terror of the cosmic possibility on a comparatively shoestring budget. When an already disastrous dinner party turns deadly after the passing of Miller's comet, an alternate house with doppelgängers of each dinner guest appears. Using the theory of quantum decoherence, the film grapples with scientific concepts while also delving into universal absurdity. It's a thrillingly original watch, an option that might be refreshing for those who found themselves underwhelmed by the uninspired proliferation of the Marvel machine.

Us

If you like your doppelgänger films with an undercurrent of sociopolitical commentary, Jordan Peele's "Us" is exactly what you're searching for. For those unfamiliar with the horror hit from one of the genre's current reigning directors, "Us" follows a woman named Adelaide (Lupita Nyong'o) and her family as they embark on a seaside vacation. When an identical family wearing red jumpsuits and armed with scissors show up on their doorstep, a fight for their lives — and their identities — begins. The plot of "Us" also evokes Wanda's attempt to steal her children from a version of her in an alternate dimension, a single mother who raises her twin boys with gentle adoration. For Wanda, she's simply taking back what she feels was unduly taken for her. For her alternate reality double, however, Scarlet Witch is wreaking havoc on her body, mind, and precious family.

Re-Animator

For those who absolutely loved Doctor Strange's ability to "dreamwalk" using a corpse of himself from an alternate dimension, Stuart Gordon's "Re-Animator" took the concept to new horror heights. When a medical student begins experimenting with a revitalizing serum on cadavers, he effectively plays God by bringing people back to life, beginning with his dead professor. The "zombies" in the film are uncannily strong and recklessly violent, putting a spin on the genre trope that usually portrays the undead as slow-moving frail corpses hungry for brains. While Strange's revived corpse definitely gives off a vibe of Billy Budd from "Hocus Pocus," Sam Raimi was certainly playing with the strength and vitality of the "Re-Animator" ghouls, especially when considering Strange's ultimate victory.

Cube

When it comes to navigating a totally unfamiliar space (and cutting people up in the process), nothing takes the cake like Vincenzo Natali's 1997 horror film "Cube." While it doesn't feature alternate dimensions or supernatural entities, "Cube" is still creepy for a lot of the same reasons the "Doctor Strange" sequel is. Particularly when it comes to a certain character getting bisected by their own shield, Cube conjures similar imagery of bodies getting sliced and diced. Five strangers awake in a strange, cube-shaped room that is surrounded by other variously booby-trapped cube-shaped rooms. As the group attempts to escape their prison, they are gradually picked off — and the reason for their capture is finally revealed. Seriously, if the gory elements in "Doctor Strange 2" enticed you at all, "Cube" is a crazy psychological thriller that isn't unyieldingly stomach-churning.

The Eye (2008)

The Jessica Alba vehicle "The Eye" — a remake of a Hong Kong-Singaporean movie of the same name — is by no means a "good" horror movie. But for those of us who grew up fostering our first fears in the late aughts, it certainly feels like a touchstone of sorts. When a blind woman named Sydney (Alba) undergoes a corneal transplant that finally grants her vision, she begins to see terrifying visions of people dying. If anything, Strange's spontaneous acquisition of a third eye during the film's conclusion is really the only thing connecting the two films. But hey, as we've already covered with Lucio Fulci and "The New York Ripper," even the most middling of eye-based horror is enough to cause audiences to squirm. And for that, we must thank Sam Raimi for imbuing "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" with the most distinct horror streak the MCU has ever — and probably will ever — see.

Read this next: The 20 Best 2000s Horror Movies Ranked

The post 10 Horror Movies to Watch After Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness appeared first on /Film.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: The U.S. Copyright Office has launched a public consultation to evaluate whether it's wise to make certain technical protection measures mandatory under the DMCA. The Office hopes to hear all relevant stakeholders and the public at large in what may become a de facto review of the recently introduced SMART Copyright Act. [...] Following repeated nudges from Senators Thom Tillis and Patrick Leahy, the Copyright Office started looking into automated tools that online services can use to ensure that pirated content can't be easily reuploaded. This "takedown and staydown' approach relies on technical protection tools, which include upload filters. This is a sensitive subject that previously generated quite a bit of pushback when the EU drafted its Copyright Directive. To gauge the various options and viewpoints, the Copyright Office launched a consultation last year, which triggered a wave of objections and opposition. Last week, the Office followed up with yet another consultation, asking for input on shortcomings in the current DMCA legislation and what alternatives could help to improve things. As things stand, online services are allowed to implement their own upload filters, which many do. Scanning uploads for potentially copyright-infringing content isn't mandatory but that could change in the future. The consultation outline mentions several potential changes to the DMCA's Section 512, such as online services losing their safe harbor protection if they fail to implement specific "standard technical measures" (STMs). "Is the loss of the section 512 safe harbors an appropriate remedy for interfering with or failing to accommodate STMs?" the Copyright Office asks. "Are there other obligations concerning STMs that ought to be required of internet service providers?" the list of questions continues. Stakeholders are asked to share their views on these matters. While it is uncertain whether any measures will be made mandatory, the Copyright Office is already looking ahead. For example, who gets to decide what STMs will be mandatory, and how would the rulemaking process work? "What entity or entities would be best positioned to administer such a rulemaking? What should be the frequency of such a rulemaking? What would be the benefits of such a rulemaking? What would be the drawbacks of such a rulemaking?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

This will contain spoilers for "Star Wars: Brotherhood."

Mike Chen came onto the scene of "Star Wars" with a short story in the collection "From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back," celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1980 film. His dream project, though, was a prequel era book. And "Star Wars: Brotherhood" was born. "Brotherhood" tells the tale of a throwaway line in "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith."

"You owe me," Anakin tells Obi-Wan Kenobi, "and not for saving you skin for the 10th time."

"Ninth time," Obi-Wan responds. "That business on Cato Neimoidia doesn't ... doesn't count."

Set shortly after E.K. Johnston's book, "Star Wars: Queen's Hope," "Brotherhood" sees Anakin Skywalker's promotion to Jedi Knight and the relationship between he and Obi-Wan shift. When there's a terrorist attack on Cato Neimoidia, a system neutral between the Republic and the Confederacy, the Republic is accused of committing the crime. Obi-Wan Kenobi is sent on a diplomatic mission to get to the bottom of the plot. As part of the restrictions on his mission, he's allowed to come alone and not contact the Republic until the investigation is complete. Naturally, Anakin has other ideas and gives Obi-Wan a hidden communicator that would allow him to get in contact with his former Padawan in case of an emergency. When evidence points to the Republic being responsible for the destruction, things go from bad to worse.

Despite warnings that it would jeopardize the mission, Anakin launches into action to rescue Obi-Wan and offer him the support he needs. Because that's what Anakin does.

Since Count Dooku's mysterious agent, Asajj Ventress, is in the mix, anything can happen and the fate of the galaxy rests on the shoulders of these two Jedi brothers.

The Relationship Between Anakin And Obi-Wan

For Anakin and Obi-Wan, their time as master and apprentice felt contentious to a degree. As we saw in "Attack of the Clones," Anakin was impetuous and felt like Obi-Wan was holding him back. Mike Chen quite smartly shows us the shift in the relationship that gives us the more brotherly tone that we saw in "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and the opening sequences of "Revenge of the Sith." It's Anakin's status as a Jedi Knight. Once Anakin and Obi-Wan were on more equal footing and not in power positions over each other, the two were able to act in a more jocular manner. That jocularity is really the basis for the parts of their relationship we know and love that make their break on Mustafar all the more heartbreaking.

The Skywalkers have a habit of taking off, half-cocked, into situations to save their loved ones. Anakin did that in "Attack of the Clones" to try to save his mother. Luke did that in "The Empire Strikes Back" to save Han and Leia. Anakin is given the chance to do that for Obi-Wan Kenobi here in "Brotherhood." Chen wraps up Anakin's motives into a story his mother told him about the Sun-Dragon of Tatooine. This was something that Matthew Stover explored in his excellent novelization of "Revenge of the Sith" and Chen expanded on in his story for "From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back." The Sun-Dragon would fashion itself into a shield, guarding the things it cared about from the might of an exploding star. This is Anakin. It doesn't matter how destructive that shielding is, and it doesn't matter that Cato Neimoidia is a powder keg of diplomacy. When Anakin shows up and is likely to disrupt Obi-Wan's mission, Obi-Wan is still relieved to see his former apprentice.

Chen is able to deepen their relationship and add to it in ways that should make fans smile.

Qui-Gon's Ghost

One thing running through the background of everything that has to do with Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi is the ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn. This book is able to explore some of the haunting legacies and unanswered questions Qui-Gon left for these two. His influence is present in every page of this book as Anakin and Obi-Wan draw on the teachings of their master.

I don't feel like I've read a book or witnessed a Star Wars story that captures so well the impact Qui-Gon had on Anakin and Obi-Wan and in such drastically different ways. Chen also ties the two together in this realization late in the book and really hits it home, about how Qui-Gon really drew them together. Anakin and Obi-Wan struggled through their early days because Qui-Gon had put them together in some ways against their will. But as Anakin steps into the role of Jedi Knight and Obi-Wan steps onto the Jedi Council, free of the duties of mentoring Anakin as a padawan, their relationship blossoms in ways they realize Qui-Gon could see back in the day.

There are also more oblique references to Qui-Gon through Anakin. When Anakin is deep in meditation, it's strongly hinted that he can hear a voice like Qui-Gon's trying to guide him to the light. We heard hints of this in "Attack of the Clones," with Qui-Gon's anguished cries as Yoda senses Anakin killing the sand people, but this is the first acknowledgement we have that Anakin might hear such things. It would open another window into possibilities for how Anakin might have learned the path to immortality that he uses to come back to the light in "Return of the Jedi."

Mill Alibeth And Ahsoka Tano

One central character of the book is a Jedi Youngling named Mill Alibeth. She's a Zabrak (like Darth Maul or Eeth Koth) and is on the way to Ilum to find her first lightsaber crystal. But Mill can't do it. The thought of raising a lightsaber makes her physically ill and instead she refuses to obtain a lightsaber and Anakin brings her along on a mission of mercy in a war-torn land.

It's left to Anakin to guide her and convince her that she can both control the feelings she has in the Force and that she should remain in the Jedi order. It's a humanizing experience and they both learn from it. When Anakin races to Cato Neimoidia to rescue Obi-Wan, she backs him into a corner and outmaneuvers him into taking her, adding a terrific dynamic and point of view to the book.

Mill has a profound influence on Anakin, and Obi-Wan and Yoda are able to see this through the course of the novel. It wouldn't be a stretch to think that Mill might be why Yoda thought to assign Ahsoka Tano to Anakin later in the war as he's embroiled in the Battle of Christophsis.

Neimoidian Monoliths

One thing I particularly enjoyed about this book is the deeper dive into Neimoidian culture. George Lucas suffered from criticism across all the "Star Wars" movies that cultures in his wide galaxy all seemed to be homogenous. It makes a certain sense when you have single biome planets, but it's definitely not the best. Over the years, there has been a lot of work to diversify the alien diversity in "Star Wars" and it's to Mike Chen's credit that he tackles that both obliquely in "Brotherhood" but also head on. There's a speech given by a Neimoidian character where they accuse the galaxy — particularly the Republic — about only knowing the stereotypes about Neimoidians, typecasting them as the greedy villains of the Trade Federation. But the Neimoidian culture is so much more than that, it has art and beauty and a rich history that people just don't even know about.

It's smart writing to reflect the galaxy far, far away, but also hold a mirror up to the world as we see it in real life. It's exactly the kind of stuff "Star Wars" does best when it's paying attention.

What To Watch Out For

Mike Chen packed references and Easter eggs into "Brotherhood" until it was bursting at the seams. For me, this isn't a bad thing.

Some of the big ones to watch out for would include the cameo from Joro Tapal and Cal Kestis as a young Padawan. Cal Kestis is the protagonist of "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order." Dexter Jettster, the four-armed Besalisk in charge of the diner on Coruscant and old friend of Obi-Wan's plays an important part of the narrative and we're given more glimpses into what their friendship is like.

Another character that makes a cameo is Sister, the trans Clone that first appeared in E.K. Johnston's "Queen's Hope." It would have been nice to see Sister on "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," but giving her multiple book appearances in the canon is still making me happy.

Another interesting name drop is the planet Valo, that has become a prominent spot in "The High Republic" series. There is no follow up on how it's doing after the events of "The Rising Star," but it's nice to see it's still in the universe.

This book also includes some firsts we hadn't seen in the canon before. It gives us Anakin's ascension to the role of Jedi Knight and the first meeting between Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Asajj Ventress. These two instances both overwrite the iterations of these things we saw in the Legends "Star Wars: Clone Wars" micro-series.

Perhaps the most surprising reference isn't a "Star Wars" one but "Doctor Who." Chen has the younglings talk of Huyang, the droid that accompanies them to the Gathering and helps them build their first lightsabers, crashing down in a blue box and arriving at the Jedi temple centuries earlier. On "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," Huyang was voiced by David Tennant (who won an Emmy for the role) and might be best known as the Tenth Doctor from "Doctor Who," making that blue box a not so subtle reference to the TARDIS. It put a smile on my face when I read that.

The Verdict

This book was a delight to read and I devoured it. It has everything someone who loves Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker could want. Mike Chen is clearly a fan of the material and relishes the chance to show us the pureness behind the Kenobi/Skywalker brotherhood. It blends equal parts of emotion and pathos with fun adventure serial action, but still manages to capture the lived-in feeling that "Star Wars" is so well known for.

It's fun.

And that's something "Star Wars" should be.

It's also about something — the non-toxic friendship between two equals who truly love each other.

And that's something "Star Wars" should be, too.

"Star Wars: Brotherhood" is available now at bookstores everywhere.

Read this next: The Best Star Wars Books Ever Written

The post Star Wars: Brotherhood Strengthens the Bonds Between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker appeared first on /Film.

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AMD is adding three new GPUs to the Radeon RX 6000 lineup, including the Radeon RX 6950 XT, the most powerful graphics card in the series. For more mid-range gaming, there’s also the Radeon RX 6750 XT and 6650 XT. In addition to the new GPUs, the company also announced the first games that will support the new and improved AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 2.0 technology, which was first announced a couple of months ago.

AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT, 6750 XT, and 6650 XT

Starting with the new GPUs, the Radeon RX 6950 XT is the leader of the group, and it’s a slightly faster version of the existing Radeon RX 6900 XT. It has the same number of compute units and the same 16GB of GDDR6 memory, but it’s clocked slightly faster, with a 2100 MHz “game clock” and a 2310 MHz boost clock, versus 2015 MHz and 2250 MHz on the RX 6900 XT. The memory also has slightly higher memory speeds at 18Gbps as opposed to 16Gbps. It’s not some magical upgrade, though, because this all comes at the expense of an increased TBP of 335W, compared to the 300W of the lower-tier model.

That’s pretty much what all three of the new cards do. You get a slight boost in clock speeds and memory bandwidth at the expense of additional power consumption. Here are the specs for the three new cards:

All three of the new GPUs are available starting today from AMD directly as well as board partners including ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte, and more.

AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 games

Beyond the new hardware, AMD also unveiled today the first few games that will add support for FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 2.0. For those unaware, AMD FSR is the company’s upscaling technology and rival to NVIDIA’s DLSS, but with a more cross-platform and open approach, meaning it works on more GPUs, including ones from NVIDIA. AMD FSR 2.0 was announced a couple of months ago, and it comes with a new capability – the technology can now use information from the previous frame to more accurately determine what the next frame should look like, delivering even better image quality while using fewer system resources.

The first game to add support for AMD FSR 2.0 will be Arkane Studios and Bethesda’s Deathloop, which will receive an update on May 12th to support the new tech. Other games with planned updates for the gaming months are:

• Asterigos
• Delysium
• EVE Online
• Farming Simulator 22
• Forspoken
• Grounded
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• NiShuiHan
• Perfect World Remake
• Swordsman Remake
• Unknown 9: Awakening

That’s a relatively short list, but it’s still very early, and even the original iteration of AMD FSR only debuted last year, so it will take some time for it to be as widely adopted. If you have a PC with a modern discrete AMD GPU, you can always use Radeon Super Resolution, which is a similar upscaling technology built into the AMD drivers themselves. That version does require more specific hardware, but it’s a way to get the benefits of upscaling in almost any game.

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Source: AMD

The post AMD introduces new Radeon RX 6950 XT and two other GPUs, plus games with FSR 2.0 appeared first on XDA.

In the two decades from 2002 to 2022, Daniel Day-Lewis has only appeared in half a dozen films, beginning with "Gangs of New York" and ending with "Phantom Thread," which was preceded by the announcement of his retirement in 2017. Day-Lewis had already gone into semi-retirement once after starring in "The Boxer" in 1997. He was famously off the grid, working as a shoemaker in Italy, when director Martin Scorsese approached him to play Bill "The Butcher" Cutting in "Gangs of New York."

Scorsese and Day-Lewis had worked together on "The Age of Innocence," and Day-Lewis would go the method route with his performance as Bill to the point of making himself sick. Since then, only a select few filmmakers have been able to lure the three-time Academy Award winner (and six-time nominee) back in front of the camera. Two of his Oscars for Best Actor subsequently came for Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood" in 2007 and Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" in 2012.

Accolades like those helped each Day-Lewis film appearance come to feel like an event, but it does raise the question of why his movie roles have been so few and far between in the 21st century compared to his earlier, more prolific filmography in the 1980s and 1990s. While promoting his 2009 musical "Nine," directed by Rob Marshall, Day-Lewis told The Guardian:

"I'm not picky, quite honestly. It's simply that I recognize pretty quickly the stuff that I don't like. And I also recognize the impulse that is dragging me towards a piece of work. And perhaps as you get older, that impulse comes less often."

'I Made A Personal Pledge'

Daniel Day-Lewis talked about identifying the impulse that would attract him to a piece of work, and maybe part of the reason why he has given such powerhouse performances is each one represents a highly concentrated dose of that creative energy. In other words, working less kept him from diluting his creative spirit. This seems to jibe with his view of creative pursuits that have grown habitually rather than from inspiration. In his comments to The Guardian, Day-Lewis continued:

"In all fields of creativity you see the result of work that has become habit. Where the creative impulse has become flaccid or has died out altogether, and yet because it is our work and our life we continue to do it. But I made a personal pledge that I wouldn't work unless I needed to. [...] That's a tremendous privilege. But I've always thought that if [it] was a question of paying bills, simple as that, then I would much rather do any work than this."

This pledge not to work unless he needed to was, as Day-Lewis himself acknowledged, a privilege born of his success. Turning down major opportunities like a starring role in "The Lord of the Rings" is not a decision a struggling actor or any creative person starting out in their respective field could probably afford to make.

For comparison's sake, if you go back to his first credited theatrical role in "Gandhi," Day-Lewis appeared in a total of 14 films over the 15-year period from 1982 to 1997, versus the six movies he made from 2002 to 2017. He was averaging almost one movie per year, which is still less than other actors, but Day-Lewis was also juggling a stage career in England. Part of the appeal for him with acting, he said, was the "intoxicating" sense of "losing [himself] in time," but we can probably rest assured that his performances will not soon be lost to time.

Read this next: Every Martin Scorsese Feature Ranked From Worst To Best

The post Daniel Day-Lewis Made This Important Pledge to Himself After His Early Film Career appeared first on /Film.

Russia's alleged cyberattack campaign against Ukraine appears to have continued up to the very minutes before the invasion. Reutersreports the US, UK and European Union have formally blamed Russia for a large-scale cyberattack that disrupted Viasat's satellite internet service an hour ahead of the February 24th assault. The hacking efforts permanently destroyed "tens of thousands" of satellite terminals, Viasat said, while the UK noted that the attack affected central European internet users and wind farms in addition to the Ukranian military and some civilian customers.

The accusations come in response to "new UK and US intelligence" linking Russia to the cyberattack, according to the UK's Foreign Office. Russia hadn't responded to the claims as of this writing, but has historically denied cyberattacks regardless of evidence.

The hack targeting Viasat likely had its intended effect. Ukraine cybersecurity official Victor Zhora disclosed in March that the anti-satellite effort led to a "huge loss" in communications at the very start of the war. With that said, Ukraine has been better-prepared in at least some instances. It claims to have fended off an attack against an energy provider in April, for example. While this latest attribution won't dissuade Russia from conducting more attacks, it might signal that Ukraine and its allies are more aware of how to defend themselves online.

When we first meet Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) at the beginning of "Gran Torino," he isn't a very nice man. We might forgive his crankiness a little because he is mourning the recent loss of his wife of 50 years, but then we also get the sense that the worst aspects of his personality aren't just to do with grief. He hates everybody, and the only bright spots in his life are his dog and beloved vintage Ford Torino. He doesn't get along with his grown up kids, and he takes grim satisfaction from insulting people who try to help him out.

Walt is also a total bigot, and has no hesitation voicing his prejudices with a stream of ethnic slurs every opportunity he gets. In his neighborhood, he gets plenty; it was once mainly populated by blue-collar white people like himself, but has changed a lot since he first moved in. It's now very multi-ethnic and has a problem with gang violence, which directly effects his Asian neighbors, the Vang Lor family. The boy, Thao (Bee Vang), is under pressure to join the Hmong gang run by his villainous cousin, Spider. Thao's unwilling initiation is to steal Walt's pride and joy, which doesn't go down very well with Walt.

To apologize, Thao's mum makes him do chores for Walt. Walt isn't keen on the idea but eventually develops paternal feelings towards the kid, helping him find a job and giving him dating tips. He is also befriended by Thao's sister, Sue (Ahney Her), and by extension the whole family. With Spider's gang still threatening the Vang Lors, must Walt resort to violence to protect his new friends?

Clint Eastwood has helmed around 40 films since his directorial debut with "Play Misty For Me" and starred in many of them. Many of his characters are variations on his distinct persona that he developed in two genres in particular: the western and the crime thriller. His Oscar-winning "Unforgiven" addressed the violence of his laconic western characters, while "Gran Torino" is a conversation with his cop with a very big gun, "Dirty Harry."

So What Happens At The End Of Gran Torino?

On the face of it, the ending to "Gran Torino" is fairly straightforward. Thao comes under increasing pressure to join the gang, and they attack him one day on his way home from work. Walt gets involved and beats up a gang member in retaliation. This escalates the situation even further, with the gang shooting up the Vang Lor's house in a drive-by and beating and sexually assaulting Sue. The family chose not to report either incident to the police, and Walt is furious.

Thao wants to get revenge and asks Walt to help him. As we've seen earlier, Walt has no qualms about waving guns around. Walt really cares for the boy now and is dying anyway, and doesn't want Thao to become a killer. He locks him in the basement and heads out to confront the gang alone on their turf. He draws them out of their house with a lot of yelling and accusations, making sure he also attracts the attention of the neighbors. Calling back to a moment earlier in the film when Walt draws a finger gun on them, he reaches slowly inside his jacket. This time, expecting him to pull out a piece, the gang gun him down. As he dies, it is revealed that he was just taking out his lighter. 

Instead of resorting to violence, Walt has tricked them, laying his life down for his friends so the gang will get sent away for a very long time. It's a profoundly satisfying ending to the movie, far more so because it inverts what we have come to expect from Eastwood's screen characters. "Gran Torino" is perhaps Eastwood's most outright entertaining movie of the 21st century and it works even if you haven't seen any of his previous films. Where this ending really takes off is when considered in relation to Harry Callahan in the "Dirty Harry" movies.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

What Is The Connection With Dirty Harry?

After Eastwood's steely-eyed performances in Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy" catapulted him from TV actor to international fame, the role that cemented his status as a Hollywood superstar came in Don Siegel's seminal action thriller, "Dirty Harry."

Eastwood played Harry Callahan, a maverick San Francisco police detective on the trail of a killer. He's a character we've seen dozens of times since: a ruthless cop who plays by his own rules, treats his superiors with disdain, and prefers to work alone because his partners have a nasty habit of getting shot. He's also the kind of guy who shoots first and asks questions later, as in the famous "Do I feel lucky?" scene where he thwarts a bank hold-up by killing one robber and seriously injuring another.

His unconventional methods are pushed to the limit when the city is held to ransom by a giggling hippie maniac calling himself Scorpio (Andy Robinson). Scorpio has already murdered one woman, and promises to kill more people unless the mayor coughs up $100,000. Callahan goes into full-on loose-cannon mode, rampaging across the city after the psycho with little regard for the suspect's rights.

"Dirty Harry" is a great film — although some critics, including Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert, were quick to write it off its ideas as fascist. It's far more ambivalent than that, with a screenplay that provokes discussion about the effectiveness of the law, and whether it is fit-for-purpose in extreme situations. In one of its more harrowing scenes, it asks if a murder suspect's rights should count for anything while their latest victim is hidden away dying in a hole somewhere. Harry Callahan certainly doesn't think so, skipping due process to torture information out of Scorpio about the missing girl, literally trampling his rights underfoot. It is mean, ugly, and far from a celebration of a fascistic worldview.

One thing we can say about Harry is that he's a violent bigot who uses detective work as an opportunity for a little peeping tom action on the side. As another cop explains to his new Hispanic partner:

"That's one thing about our Harry, doesn't play any favorites! Harry hates everybody: [various ethnic slurs], you name it."

Despite some critics denouncing it for glorifying police brutality, "Dirty Harry" was a big hit and Eastwood reprised the character in four increasingly tired sequels.

Is Gran Torino Eastwood's Apology For Dirty Harry?

Many have taken "Gran Torino" as Eastwood's apology for Harry Callahan, much like his revisionist take on his vengeful western persona in "Unforgiven." At the beginning of the film, Walt is unapologetically racist, takes the law in his own hands, and threatens people's lives with guns. He is explicitly a different character from Harry, but for the purposes of the message Eastwood wants to make, may as well be Callahan in retirement. John Patterson of The Guardian compared Walt to John Wayne's character in his final film, "The Shootist," also directed by Don Siegel:

"Wayne takes all consequences upon himself and refuses to let a boy who idolises him ... kill the bad guys. In the age to come, he suggests, young men must find a way to achieve manhood without the shedding of blood. In like manner, Eastwood in "Gran Torino" disavows the violent, racist core of his movie persona — and violence itself — while simultaneously honoring both his on-screen predecessor and his foremost directorial teacher. That's a neat trick indeed, and a damn fine way to ride into the sunset."

"Gran Torino" is better at addressing the violence issue than the racist one, and it generated controversy for its non-political correctness and use of ethnic slurs. More recently, Bee Vang (who played Thao) denounced the film for mainstreaming Anti-Asian racism (via USA Today). Watching it back, it's easy to see where he is coming from. While one of the movie's goals is to set up Walt as a racist so that outlook can be knocked down, there is an uncomfortable sense that many of his slurs are delivered in a way that seeks laughter. Maybe we're supposed to be laughing at Walt's out-of-touch bigotry, but it's a questionable approach. After all, he isn't the target of the unacceptable language.

While Eastwood is heavy-handed with the material, it's clear that he intends his film to reject racist views and redeem himself for one of his most famous and problematic characters. It's a thorny way to apologize for Dirty Harry, but "Gran Torino" isn't the same story without depicting Walt's racism in the first place.

Read this next: The 20 Best Westerns Of All Time

The post Gran Torino Ending Explained: Clint Eastwood Confronts Dirty Harry appeared first on /Film.

Fresh off winning a BAFTA for "Help" in the Leading Actress category, Jodie Comer is already moving on to her next big project, in which things are about to get extremely apocalyptic. Comer is set to play the role of a mother navigating the end of the world in the upcoming feminist thriller, "The End We Start From," Deadline reports (via The A.V. Club). Here's the current synopsis of the film's plot:

Set amid an environmental crisis that sees London submerged by flood waters, the feminist survival story focuses on a young family torn apart in the chaos. Comer will play a mother who with her newborn child tries to find a way home, navigating the most challenging and apocalyptic start to motherhood.

Sounds pretty metal to me, so bring it on.

The Beginning ... Of The End

"The End We Start From" will be an adaptation of Megan Hunter's novel of the same name, which takes place during an environmental crisis in London, wherein a woman and her newborn must seek safety and shelter while surrounded by apocalyptic threats. This is a story of motherhood through and through, a tale of resilience in the face of acute crisis, and a reimagining (or a prophecy?) of what our futures might hold if we are to consciously ignore the warning signs of our current climate crisis.

Interestingly, Hunter's novel has been compared to Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," in which a father-son duo has to battle a cataclysmic setting against stacked odds.

Director of "The Long Song" and "Requiem," Mahalia Belo, will be helming this project, while Alice Birch ("Anatomy of a Suicide") will serve as screenwriter. Birch has recently worked as a writer on the acclaimed HBO series, "Succession," along with "Normal People," a romantic psychological drama on Hulu.

Doctor Strange, as in Benedict Cumberbatch himself, will be serving as executive producer for the thriller alongside Comer. Other producers and exec-producers attached to the project include Liza Marshall, Sophie Hunter, Amy Jackson, Eva Yates, Leah Clarke, Adam Ackland, Sébastien Raybaud, and Cecile Gaget.

Comer recently starred in films such as "Free Guy" and "The Last Duel," and also wrapped up the final season of BBC's "Killing Eve," which offered an ending as infuriating and controversial as it can get. Comer will also be leading in an adaptation of Jen Beagin's sex therapy novel, "Big Swiss" which will premiere on HBO. 

"The End We Start From" is expected to begin production by the end of 2022.

Read this next: The 20 Best Dystopian Movies Of All Time

The post Jodie Comer To Star In The End We Start From, an Apocalyptic Feminist Thriller appeared first on /Film.

Netflix could introduce its lower-priced ad-supported tier by the end of the year, a more accelerated timeline than originally indicated, the company told employees in a recent note. From a report: In the note, Netflix executives said that they were aiming to introduce the ad tier in the final three months of the year, according to two people who shared details of the communication, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe internal company discussions. The note also said that they were planning to begin cracking down on password sharing among its subscriber base around the same time, the people said. Last month, Netflix stunned the media industry and Madison Avenue when it revealed that it would begin offering a lower-priced subscription featuring ads, after years of publicly stating that commercials would never be seen on the streaming platform. But Netflix is facing significant business challenges. In announcing first quarter earnings last month, Netflix said that it lost 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of the year -- the first time that has happened in a decade -- and expected to lose two million more in the months to come. Since the subscriber announcement, Netflix's share price has dropped sharply, wiping away roughly $70 billion in the company's market capitalization.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

There's no need to turn in your cinephile card if you haven't seen David Cronenberg's 1970 sci-fi horror film "Crimes of the Future." Most people haven't (myself included), much less even heard of it before they found out the director's next movie has the same title. The former is as bizarre and perturbing as you would expect a 52-year-old Cronenberg joint to be, too, taking place in a version of 1997 where a plague caused by cosmetic products has wiped out every sexually mature cis woman on the planet. Also, there are characters with foot fetishes and pedophiles. Yup, that seems like a thing the maestro of body horror would cook up.

Its genre aside, Cronenberg's "Crimes of the Future" (2022) sounds very different from his 1970 film. The former stars the director's "A History of Violence," "Eastern Promises," and "A Dangerous Method" lead Viggo Mortensen as Saul Tenser, a "celebrity performance artist [who] publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances." Léa Seydoux and Kristen Stewart also co-star in the film, itself based on a script Cronenberg wrote 20 years ago. As Cronenberg explained to Deadline, that necessitated changing the project's original title, "Painkillers:"

"Well, it came about in a very organic way. It doesn't have a lot of significance, actually — the original title was 'Painkillers,' and it was over 20 years ago that I wrote the script. So, when I was discussing reviving the project with the producer Robert Lantos, he suggested that we co-opt the old title because it was more interesting. A lot of movies and books and TV series called 'Painkillers' had come out in the 20 years since I wrote that script."

Not A Sequel Or Remake, But The Title Still Works

"Crimes of the Future" (2022) is not just the first sci-fi horror film Cronenberg has directed since 1999's "Existenz," it's also the first movie he's made at all in eight years since his 2014 satire of the film and TV industry, "Map to the Stars." During the film's panel at the 2022 CinemaCon in Las Vegas, a representative for its distributor, Neon, said it would build upon the themes of his older horror movies and include "key references" to his earlier work. So far as its title goes, however, Cronenberg assured Deadline it fits the story, but holds no deeper significance beyond that:

"So, we thought we needed a new title, and we just thought 'Crimes of the Future,' although it is not a sequel or a remake of my old 1970 underground film. They both are accurately called 'Crimes of the Future' — so why not do it? It was really no more significant than that. Only a few people will know about the existence of that old film. That's the way we thought about it. We just liked the title, and we thought it would be nice to have it on a movie that will probably gather a larger audience than the original."

Keep in mind, just because Cronenberg doesn't see any ties between "Crimes of the Future" (1970) and his new film beyond their shared title and genres, that's no reason for everyone else to avoid looking for them. For sure, there's a whole discussion to be had about the risks of over-analyzing a work of art and trying to suss out its creator's intent, only to learn what you thought was a deliberate creative choice was really a happy accident. That said, I find it best to focus primarily on my own personal interpretation of what a movie is about and how it connects to its director's greater body of work. This being a Cronenberg project, there will no doubt be many different ways to read its subtext, too.

"Crimes of the Future" (2022) opens in theaters on June 3, 2022. If you want to check it out, "Crimes of the Future" (1970) is actually available on YouTube.

Read this next: The Horror Movies We Can't Wait To See In 2022

The post David Cronenberg Reveals Why He Re-Used the Title Crimes of the Future for his New Film appeared first on /Film.

At its annual Ability Summit event this week, Microsoft has announced the latest step in its bid to make technology more inclusive and accessible to all kinds of users. The company introduced the Microsoft Adaptive Accessories lineup, making it easier for users with limited mobility to use their PCs comfortably and effectively.

There are a few products that are part of this line, starting with the Microsoft Adaptive Mouse, which can be customized with the Microsoft Adaptive Mouse Tail and Thumb Support to fit your specific needs. The thumb support accessory can be used on either side of the mouse, so it’s ideal for both left- and right-handed users. If the tail and thumb support from Microsoft doesn’t work well enough for you, the mouse even supports custom 3D-printed tails, so you can build something that’s just right, and Microsoft says the final product should still be light and portable.

The other accessories are more so part of a group, which includes the Microsoft Adaptive Hub and Microsoft Adaptive Button. The Microsoft Adaptive Button actually has eight switches inside, each of which is assigned to a specific input or button combination so it becomes easier to do tasks you need to do repeatedly. The hardware itself can be customized with an array of button toppers, including a D-Pad, joystick, or a dual button so you can get the right degree of customizability and accessibility for your specific needs. Similar to the mouse, the Microsoft Adaptive Button also supports 3D printed button toppers, in case the default ones aren’t right for your needs. These buttons are wireless, so you can more easily create a setup where inputs are well within reach.

To use the Microsoft Adaptive Button, you’ll need the Microsoft Adaptive Hub, which is how these buttons connect to your PC. The Microsoft Adaptive Hub supports up to four Adaptive Buttons connected wirelessly at the same time, which should give you a solid range of controls. Not only that, but the hub also has 3.5mm connectors for wired assistive accessories, similar to how Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller operates.

In fact, this whole concept seems to be building off of that controller, and it shows that Microsoft is increasingly committed to making technology more accessible to everyone. Just last year, the company introduced the Surface Adaptive Kit, a series of labels and small accessories meant to make it easier to do specific actions on a PC, like plugging in cables, opening a laptop, or finding the right key.

What Microsoft didn’t reveal was pricing or availability for any of these adaptive accessories. Hopefully, they’ll come to market sooner rather than later.

The post Microsoft’s new Adaptive Accessories make using a PC easier for everyone appeared first on XDA.

David Fincher has proven time and again he is happy to work on projects that have to do with murder. He seems most happy when they are particularly unique or deranged (think serial killers or wild crimes of passion). He's known for directing the popular Netflix show "Mindhunter," which focuses on the FBI's attempt at classifying serial killers into a usable identification database, and his work on films like "Zodiac," "Gone Girl," and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" all share themes. However, his first big foray into the world of crime came in the form of the movie "Seven" ("Se7ven," if you prefer), which stars a young Brad Pitt alongside Morgan Freeman as they race to catch a serial killer who murders people based on the seven deadly sins. 

"Seven" is a very good film. It still holds up nearly 30 years later with a plot that's fast paced and clever, and it packs a wallop of a punch with its twisted ending. The acting is fantastic, and by the time the movie is over, you are most likely thoroughly creeped out. For those who are new to Fincher's filmography, "Seven" is an excellent place to start. It's perhaps not as well known as some of his other, larger films (i.e. "The Social Network" or "Fight Club" — though who am I kidding? Almost every film Fincher has made is a hit), but it really sets the tone for the rest of Fincher's work. However, one person might disagree with me on that last statement, and that is none other than the man himself because, if he could, Fincher would absolutely change his directorial approach to "Seven." 

Sometimes The Artistic Method Just Changes

To me, even though "Seven" is only David Fincher's second feature, his style is beginning to flourish. While he has definitely changed and improved upon some things during his time as a director, "Seven" still has that Fincher-esque quality of close-ups, high and low shots, and deliberate lighting. Things feel dense and dark, reflecting the subject matter through Fincher's directorial eye. It's interesting then, that Fincher would choose to shoot "Seven" differently now.

He mentioned the desire in an interview for Playboy, where he said, "I'd direct 'Seven' in a different way today. I would have a lot more fun." He elaborated on this a bit in conversation with Little White Lies:

"I think that I have a greater understanding of how to help a story in the telling of it. Whereas, it was probably after 'Panic Room' that I realized I wanted to go in a different direction. I had made two movies in a row that were kind of assaultive in terms of the way they presented the material, and I just sort of felt like, I don't know if I'm that interested in engaging the eye in the same way. I liked the idea of presenting things in a tableaux or a proscenium and watching them. Maybe not cutting as quickly, or shooting as many close-ups. Your taste just evolves. The way you want to see people behave next to each other changes."

This is a statement that feels natural and true. Many artists look back on their past work with the idea that they would do things differently. It's just a part of the creative process. Thankfully, though, regardless of what Fincher may have done today, "Seven" still holds up as a fantastic addition to the world of cinema.

Read this next: Ranking Morgan Freeman's 20 Best Roles

The post David Fincher Would Direct Seven Differently If He Had the Chance appeared first on /Film.

The Xbox Adaptive Controller was Microsoft’s first real attempt at making accessible hardware. And while it was very well-received, it didn’t really impact non-gamers. Today, the company is launching a new product with a much wider audience: a mouse. The Microsoft Adaptive Mouse kit actually consists of a mouse, attachable tail, hub and button. They’re modular and highly customizable, offering a wide variety of ways for people with different needs to interact with their laptops, tablets or phones.

At the heart of the new Adaptive Mouse kit is, well, the mouse. Because you can insert this into different attachments, it’s sometimes referred to as the core. It’s a tiny square, approximately two inches (50mm) wide, and about as thick as my finger. There’s a scroll wheel between the left and right buttons, and on the underside you’ll find an optical sensor and triggers for Bluetooth and ejecting the back bumper.

I’ll get to the removable piece in a bit but at this point in the demo I was already enamored with the mouse, which I found really easy to use. As someone who suffers from shoulder and neck pain due to a home office setup that’s not ergonomically ideal, I loved the idea of a low-profile mouse that I didn’t have to strain to use.

At the conference table in Microsoft’s new Inclusive Tech Lab, I placed the mouse under my palm and dragged it around. Since it’s so small, I could move it more easily than a traditional mouse by pushing it with my fingers, instead of using my upper arm or forearm. Being able to lay my fingers mostly flat also felt less strenuous on my nerves. I barely had to lift a finger to use it.

Of course, I’m not a professionally trained ergonomist, and there are other issues like elbow angle and table height to take into consideration. I’ll also need to spend more time using the Adaptive mouse to see its long term effects. But the best part about the new kit isn’t the shape of the core, it’s that you can easily customize it to suit your needs.

The second part of the Adaptive Mouse kit is the tail. You can insert the core to this piece, after removing the bumper, and get a larger, more traditional-looking mouse with a curved shape. There’s not much to explain here, except the fact that the thumb support on the bottom is reversible for left-handed or right-handed use.

This is important. You won’t have to go and buy a separate device if you’re left-handed, which would create an othering experience that often happens with assistive tech.

The Adaptive kit becomes a lot more useful with the Hub and Button. The Hub is a rectangular block that’s basically a dock with ports and buttons on it. Along the back are five 3.5mm jacks, while three USB-C ports sit in front, next to a sync button. On the top are a round Bluetooth key and a square button for toggling through up to three profiles. These are shaped differently for easy recognition by touch, and don’t require much force to press.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

The Hub serves as a bridge between various assistive tech switches, and devices like your laptop and phone. Your PC, tablet or phone will recognize these input methods as it would a typical mouse or keyboard.

Possibly the most intriguing component of the Adaptive Mouse kit is the new Button, which you’ll also need to connect to your device via the Hub. Like the core, it’s a 50mm square, but it has eight buttons laid out in a circle. Using a PC, you can program these to perform any task you want. There’s a wide variety of possibilities here: You can map them to scroll up or down, open apps, or enter keyboard shortcuts.

The Button can also handle sequential tasks, so you can have the first push open an app, then have the second tap of the same button enter a phrase, and a third send an email, for example.

At the demo, director of accessible accessories Gabi Michel showed me how to record a sequence of actions. We decided that the macro I wanted to program is to enter the words “I agree to the embargo, please share more” and hit send. In the (non-final) Windows software, Michel started a new macro, named it “Embargo agreement” and chose to record an action. She entered the sentence, inserted a pause (which tells the system to wait for a subsequent button push), then hit the Control and Enter keys on her keyboard, which would send the email in Outlook.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

Some of the commands you can program require the relevant app to be open first, so in this case I’d have to be on Outlook before starting the macro. You can also set things like Alt-Tab or more complicated Adobe keyboard shortcuts that require several buttons to be pressed at once. As someone who frequently uses Photoshop’s Ctrl-Alt-Shift-S shortcut to save images for the web, I can already see the benefits of mapping this combination to one key.

The beauty of the Adaptive Button, though, lies in its customizability. You can twist off the wheel on the top surface and replace it with a joystick or a setup with two semicircles, which Microsoft calls a dual button. With these, people who have limited mobility can hit bigger targets to trigger their macros. The joystick, for example, can be pushed with an elbow or a head, and the eight buttons underneath can be programmed correspondingly.

With the dual button, for instance, the top four inputs can be mapped to one action, while the bottom four can perform another. This is how lead industrial designer for the Adaptive accessories John Helmes has a Button set up for his daughter, who has cerebral palsy. For her, pushing the top and bottom halves trigger up and down scrolling, which is helpful since she doesn’t have the dexterity for a scroll wheel.

The d-pad, dual button and joystick are toppers that Microsoft will offer at launch, but it’s teamed up with 3D printing service Shapeways to give people additional options. At the demo, I saw various designs, including one that looked like a Dyson bladeless fan.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

The 3D-printed pieces don’t just work with the Button — you can create them for the mouse core, too. Hermes said his daughter, who has involuntary movements and light spasms in her hands, uses one with deeper finger grooves on it and a stiffer, grippier texture. This helps to keep her fingers on the buttons.

Michel also showed me some other pieces, like an extended palm rest for the core, covers for scroll wheels and tails with higher arches. Whatever shape might suit you better, it seems as if there is a way to 3D print an attachment that would make the mouse easier to use.

Microsoft may have created its new Adaptive Mouse kit with the disability community in mind, but as is often the case with inclusive design, products that are made to solve problems for a small community can have benefits for a larger population. The Button can make interacting with a phone or laptop easier for people with limited mobility, but it can also simplify the workflow for so many others. Video editors could map common actions to specific buttons, for example, while I would love to actually have a one-button embargo agreement shortcut.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

I applaud Microsoft’s thoughtfulness here, but I still have lingering questions. The Adaptive Mouse, Hub and Button will be available this fall, but many details – including price – are still unclear. Too often, assistive technology is prohibitively priced, and it would be disappointing if Microsoft charged too much of a premium. With the Xbox Adaptive Controller, which launched for $99, it's more expensive than the Xbox Wireless Controller ($50-$60) but notably cheaper than the premium Elite Controller ($170). 

Without knowing the exact price of the Adaptive Mouse kit and the 3D printed pieces, it’s hard to tell how much of an impact it will have. But I do think Microsoft’s continued development of products for people with disabilities is laudable, and will hopefully spur on the rest of the industry. Because fostering more competition and driving prices down will benefit not only the disability community but all of us as well.

Update (at 12:29pm ET): This article previously misstated that the Hub would support Braille display input. It won't — assistive tech switches that would draw power from the Hub aren't supported. This story has been corrected to remove that reference.

Anne Lister (Suranne Jones) has always been a chaotic force of nature, but in the second season of "Gentleman Jack," it almost feels like she's going out of her way to be as reckless as possible where both love and business are concerned. You would think that starting her life with Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle) would promise some stability but Miss Lister has quite a talent for making the ground beneath her shaky. Every episode brings about some new business venture or investment, and while all this talk of coal, canals, and railways isn't the easiest to follow, all the concern and raised voices translate pretty clearly. As for her marriage? In isolated moments, all seems well with Miss Walker and Miss Lister, who routinely melt hearts with their tenderness. But outside of their sweet bedroom chats, they've got more than a few storms to weather.

SPOILERS for season 2 episode 3 of "Gentleman Jack" are below.

Going Off The Rails

"Tripe All Over The Place, Presumably" sets a few potential disasters in motion. But before things get bad, they actually go pretty damn well. Turns out Anne wasn't kidding about her grand scheme to visit all the Walker relatives and change the narrative surrounding her and Ann — two gal pals who are definitely just roommates and nothing more! They make a whopping 13 house calls in a day and oddly, watching them finish each other's sentences as they tell stories about their trek through the Alps seems to convince the cousins that their friendship is perfectly platonic. At the very least, everyone seems reasonably charmed and happy to see Ann in such good health. They boast about how well she's doing but really, the results speak for themselves. It's ridiculously sweet to watch her talk so animatedly and pause for Anne's interjections — they're delightfully in sync. Unfortunately, that seems to fade a bit when they jump into the carriage between visits. Anne is so distracted that she misses Ann's cute wave. What a fiend.

Here's one of the things on Anne's mind: after buying into the hotel business earlier in the season, she now has an interest in railways. With a new line opening in Yorkshire, the folks of Halifax are getting nervous about their canal shares — Anne included. But could the railway present a new lucrative venture? Marian (Gemma Whelan) doesn't think so. She heard tell of a cow that saw a train pass and in response ... it exploded. The other Listers are varying degrees of mildly perturbed and very amused, but everyone agrees that Marian is probably being pranked. Personally, I hope this insane story is true and that an exploding cow epidemic becomes a major plot point going forward. (Sad for cows, but good for entertainment.)

Anne brings up the railway situation and its potential while chatting with one of the elder Walker men, who says "what we need is a man of vision and energy who can unite us all in one achievable plan ... but where is he?" You can basically see the gears turning in her head and folks, it sounds like Anne is on the verge of bursting into a room full of men, putting them all in their place, and becoming the newest business leader in town. Sure enough, she sets off visiting offices, terrifying locals with her fast walk, and even takes a train ride with Ann, to scope things out up close.

Trouble Just Around The Bend

Mr. Ingham of Blake Hall gets another mention in this episode, lest you forget his name or where he's from. While the wives were out on their visiting tour, he made a house call of his own. While this is barely a blip on Ann's radar, it piques some jealousy and curiosity in Anne — pretty ironic given she spends half the episode zoning out to think about her ex. Mr. Ingham is our hint that the Priestlys won't just let things be. It might even be a point of real concern, if not for Ann's very telling response. This isn't the first time her family has literally thrown a man in her path to bully her into marriage (ah, ye olde conversion therapy). Last time, Ann actually considered it, terrified that she has no other option. But maybe all that time in the mountain air has cleared her head because now she barely registers him.

Beyond the healing of travel, there's the influence of Miss Lister, who's been pushing her to see her strength and self-worth. Ann may get nervous and hesitant, but she isn't the same timid young woman we once met. She speaks up for herself and won't be so easily bullied into a lifestyle she doesn't want. She even stands up to Miss Lister in this episode, pointing out that she felt ignored in the carriage. Where she might have quietly internalized things in the past, Ann is taking major steps forward.

As for the ballad of Thomas Sowden (Tom Lewis), s**t has gotten dark. The ever irritating Uncle Ben has up and left, without a word to anyone. Does that seem unusual? Or maybe a little familiar? Yup, sounds like Thomas has committed his second murder. His mother immediately puts two and two together and when she threatens to turn him into Suzannah, he does a startling impression of his abusive father. Huh. On one hand, this whole Thomas personality swerve feels a little out of left field, but it does create some extremely compelling tension. Perhaps there's a world where timid Thomas murders his abusive father and then lives happily ever after without a second thought, but this reality is so much more loaded. That first murder, which was more reactive than premeditated, has unlocked darkness in Thomas. The softness we once saw in him has entirely disappeared — except with his wife who still speaks pretty highly of him (though we rarely see them together onscreen). How much longer will that last?

Too Much Temptation

Mariana Lawton (Lydia Leonard) is plagued by a broken heart and it's hard not to feel for her. While it's unfair of her to presume that Anne could spend forever waiting, or continue being her mistress, Mariana's pain is very understandable. As Tib pointed out last week, she didn't have the same options as Anne — Mariana had to marry to secure a future for herself. Being with Anne was a gamble she wasn't willing to take. But then, doesn't Anne deserve someone happy to take such a risk?

The duo continues their trend of exchanging furious, emotional letters, and eventually, it becomes too much for pages to contain. Mariana requests a visit and Anne obliges — after asking Miss Walker's permission. When the time for her departure comes, Ann looks absolutely miserable, despite agreeing to this, and simply requests that she "come back." Heartbreaking as this may feel, it may be for the best. Mariana has been simmering beneath the surface of their relationship for far too long. Anne keeps brushing it off and tells her concerned Aunt Anne, "I don't think I've ever been in less danger as far as Marians's concerned." She's so full of anger at Mariana, that she can almost deceive herself into thinking that all her feelings for her have been flushed out ... but that's a blatant lie. 

The moment they reunite, the energy of the show seems to shift. Though we've only seen small moments, these two have a history and a love so deep that they've both been drastically wounded. For Miss Walker and Miss Lister to truly begin a future together, Anne will have to deal with her past. Painfully, the episode ends — just as they start to dig into things — with Mariana declaring that the worst part of this isn't Anne getting married, but marrying someone she's not even in love with. Her response? Anne doesn't argue. Yikes.

Stray Thoughts

• Pull It Together, Mr. Washington! Mister Police, I gave you all the clues. Seriously. He caught Thomas in a lie, knows that he tied his father up in a pig pen and now a second abusive family member has gone missing. There's no reason he shouldn't have solved this already!

• Keep This In Mind. Ann makes plans with Miss Lister to hire a new lawyer to hash out her estate business. She's afraid that Washington is too close with Sutherland and won't truly help her when it matters. We also learn about the lengths Sutherland went to, in making sure the fortune was inherited by his wife and sister-in-law — which included paying off John's widow. He really wants their money, and wouldn't hesitate to throw Ann under the bus. Since his claim isn't as good as Ann's this wouldn't be so bad if not for that other dangling story thread: Washington's daughter witnessed Ann and Anne kissing. If she shares this aloud, Washington finds out and really does side with Sutherland...

• And They Were Roommates. That entire conversation with Mrs. Rawson is gold. "Could two unmarried ladies do better?"

• Best Dressed. It's a group prize! There are no grand astonishing gowns, but a shout-out is owed to all the elegant comfy clothes woven into this show. Mariana's relationship-mourning red gown, Ann in her pleated dress and shawl, plus the comfy bedtime clothes that the wives wear by the candlelight.

• Do Ladies Do That? An oldie but a goodie: "Miss Lister dissected a baby once, in Paris."

• The Marian Lister Award For Fantastic Facial Expressions. The face that poor Edward Vicar makes when he learns about the dissected baby is rivaled only by the many expressions that pass over Marian's face while describing the railway cow explosion. A carriage with no horses pulling it?! Traveling past at such abominable speed?!

• Of Wit And Wisdom. Aunt Anne never fails to offer necessary wisdom: "Don't make a fool of Miss Walker. She thinks the world of you."

• Words From The Heart. This one hurts. "There are so many times she could've just ... had me. Forever."

• Questions For Next Time: Was letting Anne visit Mariana a mistake? Should we be concerned about Ann's drinking? What exactly do you do when you realize that your daughter's new husband is a murderer? Will we ever meet Mr. Ingham of Blake Hall or will everyone just keep repeating his name until the end of time? And how well will Ms. Walker get along with the Listers when left alone? (Fingers crossed for some Marian and Ann bonding!)

New episodes of "Gentleman Jack" debut Sundays on HBO Max.

Read this next: The Horror Movies We Can't Wait To See In 2022

The post Gentleman Jack Rekindles An Old Flame in 'Tripe All Over The Place, Presumably' appeared first on /Film.

DrunkenTerror shares a report from ExtremeTech: Microsoft is advising Windows 11 users to uninstall a recent update. Reports indicated the optional update KB5012643 is causing various apps to crash. The problem involves an interaction between the update and the .Net Framework that's part of Windows. At this time it's unclear which apps are affected by the issue, leaving uninstallation as the "only" viable solution. "Affected apps are using certain optional components in .NET Framework 3.5, such as Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and Windows Workflow (WWF) components." This update also broke Safe Mode. Microsoft says when users booted into 'Safe Mode without networking' users might see the screen flicker. Per MS, "Components that rely on explorer.exe, such as File Explorer, the Start menu, and the taskbar, can be affected and appear unstable." Microsoft issued a Known Issue Rollback (KiR) for this already so it should be fixed. If you encounter it, you should be able to resolve it by enabling network support in Safe Mode.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Security researchers have noticed a malicious campaign that used Windows event logs to store malware, a technique that has not been previously documented publicly for attacks in the wild. BleepingComputer reports: The method enabled the threat actor behind the attack to plant fileless malware in the file system in an attack filled with techniques and modules designed to keep the activity as stealthy as possible. [...] The dropper copies the legitimate OS error handling file [...] and then drops an encrypted binary resource to the 'wer.dll' (Windows Error Reporting) in the same location, for DLL search order hijacking to load malicious code. DLL hijacking is a hacking technique that exploits legitimate programs with insufficient checks to load into memory a malicious Dynamic Link Library (DLL) from an arbitrary path. [Denis Legezo, lead security researcher at Kaspersky] says that the dropper's purpose is to loader on the disk for the side-loading process and to look for particular records in the event logs (category 0x4142 - 'AB' in ASCII. If no such record is found, it writes 8KB chunks of encrypted shellcode, which are later combined to form the code for the next stager. "The dropped wer.dll is a loader and wouldn't do any harm without the shellcode hidden in Windows event logs," says Legezo. The new technique analyzed by Kaspersky is likely on its way to becoming more popular as Soumyadeep Basu, currently an intern for Mandiant's red team, has created and published on GitHub source code for injecting payloads into Windows event logs.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

(Superhero Bits is a collection of stories, updates, and videos about anything and everything inspired by the comics of Marvel, DC, and more. For comic book movies, TV shows, merchandise, events, and whatever catches our eye, this is the place to find anything that falls through the cracks.)

In this edition of Superhero Bits:

• "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" changed a lot during filming.

• The "Green Lantern: Beware My Power" trailer.

• Charlize Theron [redacted]. 

• DC's "Batman: Unburied" podcast is a gigantic hit.

• All that and more!

DC's New Black Adam Comic Gets A Trailer

With Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's "Black Adam" movie finally set to hit theaters later this year, DC is bringing a brand new comic book series centered on the character to shelves. Writer Christopher Priest discusses his take on the series in the new trailer above, which also gives us a glimpse at some of the art and offers a great indication of what to expect from the new book. The first issue is set to hit stands on June 21, so be on the lookout.

Booster Gold Was Used To Try And Save Legends Of Tomorrow

Many DC fans are still reeling from the cancelation of "Legends of Tomorrow" on The CW, especially since some interesting stuff was introduced in the final season, including Donald Faison's Booster Gold. In responding to a fan on Twitter, co-showrunner Keto Shimizu has revealed that as it turns out, the introduction of the fan-favorite character was an attempt to help save the show.

"DC was in our corner trying to help our chances of renewal. They and WB wanted us to survive. We were asked for a new character to 'excite' the audience, and attract more viewers. We requested Booster and DC agreed. It was all in an attempt to save the show."

A valiant effort but, sadly, it wasn't exciting enough to save the show.

The Rick And Morty Mystery On The Guardians 3 Set Has Been Solved

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" recently wrapped filming, but not before director James Gunn uncovered the biggest mystery surrounding the production. For weeks on end, a mystery figure was leaving figures from "Rick and Morty" for Gunn to discover at his workstation. In the above post from Twitter, Gunn reveals that the tricksters came forward, with the whole thing spearheaded by Ron Underdahl, a VFX artist working on the sequel. Gunn opted to bring the whole collection together to showcase alongside those responsible for the good-natured prank that accompanied filming, and he will eventually be auctioning it all off for charity with a signed certificate of authentication.

Charlize Theron Breaks Silence On Her New, Big Role

I am going to keep this as spoiler-free as possible, but Charlize Theron, one of the biggest stars on the planet, has a big new role to add to her resume. Those who have seen "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" might have something to say about that. In any case, Theron decided to take to Instagram to tease this big new role a little bit, though she opted not to get too spoiler-y about it for those who would like to experience this reveal for themselves. We will surely have much more to say about it in the coming weeks, and it will be interesting to hear what Theron has to say in that regard once the spoiler wall comes down a bit.

Green Lantern: Beware My Power Gets A Trailer

The folks at Warner Bros. have revealed the first trailer for the upcoming animated DC flick "Green Lantern: Beware My Power." The film focuses on John Stewart, voiced by none other than Aldis Hodge, who is playing Hawkman in "Black Adam" this summer. The synopsis for the film reads as follows:

In Green Lantern: Beware My Power, recently discharged Marine sniper John Stewart is at a crossroads in his life, one which is only complicated by receiving an extraterrestrial ring which grants him the powers of the Green Lantern of Earth. Unfortunately, the ring doesn't come with instructions – but it does come with baggage, like a horde of interplanetary killers bent on eliminating every Green Lantern in the universe. Now, with the aid of the light-hearted Green Arrow, Adam Strange and Hawkgirl, this reluctant soldier must journey into the heart of a galactic Rann/Thanagar war and somehow succeed where all other Green Lanterns have failed.

"Green Lantern: Beware My Power" is set to arrive on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and Digital on July 26, 2022.

DC's Batman Unburied Podcast Tops Joe Rogan

DC's latest podcasting venture is going quite well in the early days, as "Batman Unburied" debuted at the top of the charts on Spotify. As reported by Variety, the first two episodes of the scripted series, written by David S. Goyer ("Man of Steel"), came in at number one on Spotify, unseating "The Joe Rogan Experience" in the top spot. This is a limited series so it won't stay that way for long, but this indicates that the show is doing extremely well and will likely pave the way for more scripted podcasting content from DC in the not-too-distant future.

Benedict Cumberbatch Reveals How Much Changed With Doctor Strange 2 During Filming

It shouldn't be a big secret to fans who have followed the development of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," but it turns out an awful lot changed with Marvel's latest during the course of production. In the above video from LADbible, Cumberbatch is going over the film with his co-star Elizabeth Olsen, who reprises her role as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch. At one point, Cumberbatch goes so far as to say, "The only thing that didn't change during the filming of this film was the title." With that being the case, one can't help but wonder what original director Scott Derrickson's version might have looked like when compared to what Sam Raimi gave us in the end.

Bruce Campbell Has Fun With The Mysterio Cameo That Never Was

In a different timeline within the larger multiverse, we would have seen Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 4." While much remains mysterious about what the filmmaker had planned, we know it would have included another cameo from his close friend and collaborator Bruce Campbell. One thing that has come to light over the years is that Campbell was going to apparently cameo as the villain Mysterio, who would ultimately go on to eventually be played by Jake Gyllenhaal in "Spider-Man: Far From Home." With "Multiverse of Madness" in theaters, Campbell had a little fun with this by Photoshopping his head onto Mysterio's body, offering a little glimpse at what might have been.

Read this next: Batman Movies Ranked From Worst To Best

The post Superhero Bits: Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness Changes, Batman Unburied Is A Hit & More appeared first on /Film.

With "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," the conceit of multiple Marvel universes has well and truly arrived. It seemed like a red herring in "Spider-Man: Far From Home." It was the plot engine of "Loki" and last year's Peter Parker-filled smash, "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Now, in the hands of director Sam Raimi, it's a playground of horrors that catalyzes heavily-advertised cameos, magic sheet-music battles, and heroes fighting Darkhold-possessed versions of themselves. It's a lot. It's meant to be. Above all else, the MCU's multiverse is a means to access wild storytelling possibilities. There's a reason the next "Ant-Man & The Wasp" movie, which brings back Jonathan Majors' time-conquering Kang, is subtitled "Quantumania."

That said, the multiverse isn't particularly easy to understand, especially if you've stopped keeping up with the MCU for any one of many justifiable reasons. If the latest "Doctor Strange" is any indication, Marvel movies will be less and less interested in holding their audience's hand and explaining the differences between Earths 616 and 838 or why dream-walking is a forbidden act. The multiverse is now to Marvel movies what the 808 is to hip-hop and rap music — you don't have to understand what it is to appreciate the joy, sound, and fury artists are conjuring through it, but it helps.

This is the Doctor Strange multiverse explained.

Previously, On Doctor Strange And Spider-Man...

Before the multiverse became mad, it was a vague and ominous threat. In 2016's "Doctor Strange,"' the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) offered this humbling thought and warning to Stephen: "This universe is only one of an infinite number. Worlds without end. Some benevolent and life-giving. Others filled with malice and hunger. Dark places where powers older than time lie ravenous ... and waiting." It doesn't humble Stephen whatsoever, but it does prove prescient. The multiverse is real and filled with the sorts of worlds the Ancient One warned of. This is notable for two reasons: For one, it makes "Doctor Strange," as a movie, the foundation of Marvel's multiversal exploits. Almost any story involving parallel worlds will pass through him in some way, shape, or form. More importantly, the Ancient One's caution offers "Multiverse of Madness" writer Michael Waldron a blueprint for the worlds his film will visit. Earth 838 is life-giving. The incursion-ruined Earth? That's the malice and hunger one.

Doctor Strange's dealings with the multiverse inadvertently drag Peter Parker into the fold in 2021's "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Parker (who's been told of the multiverse by Quentin Beck) wants Strange to make the world forget he's Spider-Man. Strange agrees out of hubris. When Peter tampers with the spell out of fear and affection for MJ, he accidentally opens the door to other worlds. This adventure inadvertently prepares Strange for the inter-dimensional arrival of America Chavez. Colloquially put, it's not his first rodeo.

But there is one other show teaching audiences how the MCU multiverse functions, and it shares a writer with "Multiverse of Madness."

...And Also Loki.

In many ways, "Multiverse of Madness" is a thematic continuation of 2021's "Loki." 

That show, created and largely written by "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" scribe Michael Waldron, was concerned with and introduced the concept of "variants." They are deviations from the Sacred Timeline, policed by the Time Variance Authority, that create alternate timelines through their actions. Loki (Tom Hiddleston), as it turns out, has many variants, all of whom cause chaos. Loki's attempts to change his stripes and amend his character stem from the discovery of these variants and mirror a major plot point of "Multiverse of Madness." Stephen Strange is similarly deemed a threat to the multiverse by Earth 838's Illuminati, and Strange's efforts to challenge their conclusion drive the film towards its bonkers third act. Both projects focus on a governing body policing a character's nature (in "Loki" it's the TVA, in "Multiverse of Madness," the Illuminati), and the ensuing refutation having massive (and even violent) consequences.It's also worth noting that "Loki" ends with the dissolution of the Sacred Timeline, an act that causes unknown numbers of branches to grow almost instantly. Are any of these worlds audiences visit in "Multiverse of Madness?" That's not clear at the moment. Time will tell.

Enter America Chavez

All of this brings us to "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" proper, where we are immediately introduced to America Chavez.

Initially known in Marvel comics as Miss America, Chavez has the power to create portals that connect parallel universes. The catch? She can't control her powers. When Sam Raimi's film opens, she and a ponytailed "other" Doctor Strange are battling a demon while pursuing the Vishanti. Other Strange tries to take Chavez's powers from her since she cannot wield them and almost ends her life. Thankfully, the attempt fails, but the rule it establishes is clear: America is the only known person in the multiverse with this power and in her hands, it's a wild card.

Upon arriving on Earth-616, Chavez (seemingly unable to catch a break) is attacked by a one-eyed octopus demon. This brings her into contact with Doctor Strange and Wong. The duo saves her, but Chavez bristles at their help. Strange pieces together why. He'd dreamt of her and Ponytail Strange's bout the night before, and Chavez promptly informs him that dreams aren't fiction. They're glimpses into alternate realities. This would also mean that any time a character has been dreaming in an MCU movie before now, they've been glimpsing the multiverse. That is massive food for thought. 

This is the concept that will rear its head in more chilling ways when Doctor Strange goes to visit Wanda Maximoff.

Wanda Maximoff And Dream-Walking

Let's rip the spoiler band-aid off: Wanda Maximoff is the major villain of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." Wanda, now truly the Scarlet Witch, has discovered her children exist on a parallel plane. She will stop at nothing to be with them. This leads her to attack the mystic fortress of Kamar-Taj and attempt a dream-walk into Earth-838 Wanda.

Yes, "into." Dream-walking is, for all intents and purposes, a fancy way of saying "possessing." An individual who dream-walks has access to their parallel version's life and whatever skill sets they do or do not possess. As we learn in the third act of "Multiverse of Madness," they don't even need to be alive. What's most interesting about this action is that the multiverse itself frowns on it. It's not just that dream-walking is a skill learned through the Darkhold (again, a book that corrupts its reader). It's that act that begins an "incursion," the cataclysmic collision of two Earths that can only end with one being obliterated.

If that concept sounds familiar to viewers, it might be because it was established in Marvel's "What If...?" series in the episode "What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?" That installment finds the Sorcerer Supreme (not unlike Wanda) traversing timelines to save his loved ones through evil, corrupting means. The multiverse has rules. If they're not followed, consequences are suffered.

 However, some of these rules are useful.

America Chavez's Rules For The Multiverse

It's not clear how long America Chavez has traversed the multiverse. Her powers manifested when she was young and inadvertently sent her parents to an unknown dimension. She's been searching for them for a long time, but the exact start date of her quest is unknown. What is clear is that America's a seasoned verse jumper. When she and Doctor Strange careen through multiple timelines in a sequence recalling "Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse," America recognizes many of them (including the one where everything is two-dimensional). She's traveled enough to develop some multiverse rules.

The first is "find food." That's incredibly sensible. In a hysterical twist, the food that's easiest to find, regardless of what geometric shape it's in, is pizza. On Earth-838, pizza is ball-shaped (given that there are pizza cupcakes now, this isn't so difficult to imagine). While that pizza is a bit tricky to acquire thanks to a bristly encounter with the self-proclaimed Pizza Poppa (Bruce Campbell), the meal helps settle Doctor Strange and America's heads and stomachs.

The second rule is: "You don't know what you don't know," which becomes immediately useful when Strange and America encounter Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor). On Earth-616, Mordo was Strange's brother-in-arms turned enemy. Here, he appears to be kind. Mordo embraces Strange the moment he sees him and invites America and Strange in for tea. Minutes later, Strange and America are nearly comatose because of the tea that Mordo poisoned. You don't know what you don't know.

Multiversal Theories

As our own Rafael Motamayor put it, the magic in "Doctor Strange 2" is ridiculous and that's why it rules. There are, however, actual rules to the magic and how it functions multiversally. 

The most important of these involves counterparts. Every person and object appears to have a parallel counterpart in any given universe, which proves immediately useful to Strange and America's pursuit of the Book of Vishanti, a tome that is the Darkhold's antithesis and the key to stopping Wanda safely. This theory also complicates affairs immensely. Strange is brought before the Illuminati, a committee consisting of Mordo, Reed Richards (John Krasinski), Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell), Black Bolt (Anson Mount), Captain Marvel (Lashana Lynch), and Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart). The group informs him that 838 Strange used the Darkhold in an attempt to thwart Thanos, causing an incursion that almost destroyed their universe. The Illuminati killed 838 Strange and have deemed that any Doctor Strange poses the greatest threat to the multiverse. That's a lot to unpack, but there winds up being little time to do so as Wanda attacks the compound. 

This leaves Doctor Strange and 838 Christine (Rachel McAdams) to their own devices ... and a major discovery. 

The Dream-Walking Dead

In the third act of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," rules are made to be tested — and broken. 

Let's start with the theory that Strange is the greatest threat to the multiverse. Having felled his Darkhold-corrupted counterpart (also played by Benedict Cumberbatch), 616 Strange turns to the Darkhold to stop Wanda. He swears to 838 Christine (Rachel McAdams) that he is different than every other Strange. His attempt would seem to confirm that. Strange shatters multiversal rules to stop Wanda or, at the very least, bends them irrevocably. He cannot dream-walk into his 616 self, currently on another world, but he can take over a Doctor Strange on that world. Pursued by demons attempting to punish him for his rule-bending, Strange dream-walks into the corpse of Ponytail Strange, who is buried atop a roof on Earth 616. He then wields those demons as a coat of armor. 

Suffice to say, this is one of the most gnarly and metal moments in the entire movie. It also proves that Strange — and the audience — have much more to learn about the multiverse. 

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

The post The Doctor Strange Multiverse Explained appeared first on /Film.