If you don’t normally file a tax return and haven’t received your child tax benefit yet, it’s not too late to receive a lump sum advance payment of $1,800 per child in December. However, you’ll have to act fast to get that money before the holidays, as the deadline for the advanced payment expires in one week. After…
This article contains major spoilers for "Squid Game."
The South Korean drama "Squid Game" has taken the world by storm. It's a twisting, turning tale about the lengths people will go in order to survive. Over the course of the series, hundreds of contestants are whittled down to just a handful as the players of Squid Game try to win the grand prize: enough money to change their life forever. The big problem is that in order for that person to win, everyone else in the competition has to die.
There's plenty of betrayal and heartbreak along the way, but one of the biggest shocks comes near the end of the series and it involves Player 001, an old man named Oh Il-nam (O Yeong-su). While his twist could come as a huge surprise, the creators littered hints about Il-nam's true identity throughout the series. Let's break down the clues that showed us the sinister secret behind Player 001.
In the season finale for "Squid Game," we learn that Player 001, the man who befriended main protagonist and eventual winner Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), was the one who set up the entire game, the grandmaster behind all of this mayhem. While he lied about his identity and hid his involvement in the games from Gi-hun, he also told some truths about himself. Sometimes Il-nam is telling the truth, but everyone brushes off what he's saying as a sign of his increasing dementia. If only they knew.
Il-nam has watched the game for many years as The Host, but decided to join in when he realized he was dying. When Gi-hun discovers the truth, revealed to him by Il-nam himself from a hospital bed, he is horrified. Viewers were shocked too, because the character everyone thought was just a sweet old man was actually an evil game-master responsible for so many deaths. The clues were there if you looked, however, though some were very sneaky.
One of the very first clues that Il-nam is playing by different rules than the rest of the contestants is during the first game: Red Light, Green Light. When the giant creepy doll spins her head around to check for movement during the "red light" part of the game, the contestants are highlighted green. Il-nam is never highlighted, and often the player nearest to him avoids her gaze as well. He's occasionally scanned, but the light doesn't linger on him the way it does the other players. He's safe.
Not only does Il-nam make it through unscathed, he also seems pretty excited about the game. He's running towards the finish line with a carefree smile while others die around him. Of course the guy in charge would rig the game in his own favor, so it makes sense that he's not in any danger of getting shot during the first group game.
In the second group game, the players must pick a shape. They will eventually have to use a pin to free the shape from a disc of cooked sugar without breaking the shape. Il-nam chooses the star because he already knows the rules of the game ahead, and knows that the star is the easiest shape for him to cut out. When Gi-Hun asks him to switch before the rules are even announced, Il-nam refuses because he couldn't possibly cut out the more difficult shaped umbrella.
Each of the games are based on something that Il-nam is nostalgic for, and the sugar game is no different. He's downright excited to cut out the star, seemingly oblivious to everyone freaking out around him as they race to release their own shapes. It doesn't matter what kind of horror happens around him, Il-nam keeps on smiling. On a first watch, it looks like dementia, but when you know the truth, it's so much more sinister.
The players who survived the sugar game get to go on to play a deadly game of tug-of-war. Things aren't looking good for Il-nam's team: he's an old man, plus they have two smaller women on their team. When they go up against a team full of strong, healthy men, Il-nam tells his team a perfect strategy. He explains that he did it all the time as a child, but it's entirely possible he learned the technique as a spectator in other Squid Games. He's downright giggly about the whole thing too, even though he's at the front of the line and could easily be pulled to his death.
Then again, eagle-eyed viewers noticed that while everyone else's handcuffs are padlocked to the rope, Il-nam's are not. Even if his team loses, he could still unhitch himself and get to safety at the last moment.
In episode four, there is a terrible riot that breaks out among the players after lights out. Some of the more violent people decide to try to kill their weaker opponents in the dark, and it's terrifying. It's one of the rare moments where Il-nam isn't in control, and he begs the guards to stop the carnage. He pleads with them through the night-vision camera, his voice trembling: "I'm so scared."
The guards end up going in, stopping the ongoing violence. Why would they listen to Il-nam if he was just a player in the game? After all, the rules don't say anything about murdering your opponents while they sleep. His life is genuinely in danger, however, so they are willing to break general protocol to protect him..
In the next game, the players are told to split into pairs. Il-nam and Gi-hun team up, only to "discover" that they will be playing against one another. It gives Il-nam a chance to test his friend. He wanders around the fake city streets, telling player 456 how much it reminds him of home. That's because he helped design it, and it's based on his childhood streets. He feigns a bad bout of dementia, acting foolish while Gi-hun plays the game to win. He then turns deadly serious when his friend tricks him in order to survive. After all, Il-nam has told everyone he's dying from a tumor, so Gi-hun doesn't want to throw his life away for a dying man.
Il-nam asks him how he could betray his friend, before going right back to feigning dementia. It breaks Gi-hun's heart, but he has dreams of reuniting with his daughter and helping pay for his mother's medical care in his mind.
After the heartbreaking decision is made, the guards take Il-nam into another room to execute him. Unlike the man brutal executions we've seen before, his happens offscreen. "Squid Game" is never shy about showing the horrific violence of the games, so why was the audience spared from this one? Obviously we now know it's because Il-nam was never executed, and lives beyond the games. When Gi-hun tracks him down after the games are over, the old man is on his hospital deathbed. We do see him die this time, but by then we already know exactly who he is.
It's likely that Il-nam thought that he would be the odd one out from the marble game and would be taken away by the guards. Everyone would assume he had been killed elsewhere for being the odd numbered player, and he would simply avoid the more difficult games ahead and be able to observe. After all, the marble game is followed by a game where the players hop from one glass pane to another — something the elderly Il-nam wouldn't be able to do. He knew he had to be out before that game, and being "executed" in another room served that purpose just fine.
There's one hidden clue that's easier to figure out if you speak Korean. Player 001's real name is Oh Il-nam, which he tells Gi-hun before his faked death. He confirms this again in the final episode. The character's name literally translates to "first man" in English: "Il" (일) means one, and "nam" (남) means man.
Not only is Il-nam player 001 and the first "player" in the Squid Game, but he's also the creator of the game. He's the top ranked person among the guards, the Front Man, and the VIPs. He is The Host, the number one man in every way.
Everyone who isn't a competitor in "Squid Game" wears some kind of mask, and The Host is no exception. The employees and guards all wear masks with simple geometric shapes on them, but the VIPS and Host get to wear something special. The VIPs all wear different elaborate golden animal masks, and The Host follows this theme. He wears an owl mask made of gold and crystals that is as beautiful as it is terrifying. In the seventh episode, we briefly see a pair of hands picking up the Host mask and putting it on. Those hands look exactly like the gnarled old hands that we also watch cut out a star and play marble games, because they belong to Il-nam.
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The post Sinister Details About Squid Game Player 001 appeared first on /Film.
(Welcome to ...And More, our no-frills, zero B.S. guide to when and where you can watch upcoming movies and shows, and everything else you could possibly stand to know.)
When COVID-19 began, people turned to Steven Soderbergh's 2011 thriller "Contagion" for, one assumes, pointers on how to navigate the terrifying real-world outbreak. Nearly two years later and everyone seems to have understandably tired of movies and TV shows dealing with devastating pandemics. However, they might want to make an exception for "Station Eleven," an upcoming HBO Max miniseries based on Emily St. John Mandel's novel.
Mandel's book, her fourth as an author, was a best-selling hit upon its release in 2014, earning praise from critics and taking home such prestigious literary prizes as the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Toronto Book Award, as well as being a National Book Award Finalist. Similar to how "Contagion" suddenly jumped into iTunes' top 10 movie rentals last year, Mandel's "Station Eleven" saw a spike in sales in the early months of 2020 (much to her polite confusion). Interestingly, though, HBO Max's series adaptation was already well in the works by that point.
"Station Eleven" will premiere on HBO Max on December 16, 2021, and looks to cover the entirety of Mandel's source material over the course of a single season. Still, there's always a chance (mind you, a very slim one) the show will return for a second season, should it become a word-of-mouth hit for the streaming service, much like "The White Lotus" did earlier this year. It all depends on whether the critical response is strong enough to convince people to check out yet another pandemic drama, regardless of how much "Station Eleven" differs from other entries in the sub-genre.
As mentioned earlier, "Station Eleven" wasn't greenlit in response to COVID-19. In fact, HBO Max announced it had ordered the series in June 2019, with production starting in January 2020 before temporarily halting and, eventually, wrapping up back in July. And while the show will unavoidably parallel the status quo in certain ways, it's not actually about a pandemic the way "Contagion" is, which should only further help its cause.
The plot of Mindel's "Station Eleven" recalls Stephen King's "The Stand" in more ways than one. Both stories focus on a terrible disease (the Georgia Flu, in the former's case) that wipes out most of the world's population. They also explore what happens after human civilization goes to pot, as some people strive to rebuild a better society while others turn to zealotry — like the members of St. Deborah by the Water, a small town whose citizens form a cult around a mysterious, abusive figure claiming to be a prophet.
Yet, those surface-level similarities aside, "Station Eleven" differs greatly from King's epic post-apocalyptic fantasy (which was only just re-adapted for TV in 2020). Much of its plot takes place 20 years after the pandemic and follows a small troupe of actors and artists as they travel the Great Lakes area, performing classic music and William Shakespeare plays. If anything, Mindel's story about the value of preserving the arts and humanities in times of darkness can only become more topical and relevant in the COVID-19 era.
"Station Eleven" also features a major storyline that starts 14 years before the pandemic, as well as another one that takes place during the horrifying event and its immediate wake. As a result, it's as much about the ways its characters' lives intersect and overlap with one another (not to mention, the effect a seemingly insignificant encounter can have on someone's personal journey and nostalgia for the past) as it is anything else.
Mackenzie Davis ("Happiest Season") stars in "Station Eleven" as Kirsten, a member of the aforementioned troupe who, as a child actor, performed in a staging of "King Lear" in Toronto the night the Georgia Flu hit the city. Himesh Patel ("Yesterday") also stars as Jeevan, an EMT who was present at the performance before getting a tip-off about the pandemic from a doctor friend. Further linking the duo is Gael García Bernal ("Old") as Arthur, the onetime successful film actor who play Lear in the production and had previously crossed paths with Jeevan, albeit under very different circumstances.
Other key cast members include Danielle Deadwyler ("The Harder They Fall") as Arthur's wife Miranda, Nabhaan Rizwan ("Mogul Mowgli") as Jeevan's brother Frank, and David Wilmot ("Barkskins") as Clark, Arthur's best friend. Lori Petty ("Orange is the New Black"), Caitlin FitzGerald ("Masters of Sex"), and Daniel Zovatto ("Penny Dreadful: City of Angels") further fill out the "Station Eleven" ensemble in roles that, for the time being, are best left un-spoiled.
Patrick Somerville is serving as showrunner on "Station Eleven," with Sarah McCarron acting as executive story editor and Hiro Murai directing, as well as being an executive producer. No stranger to tales about the ripple effects of a traumatic global event, Somerville was a writer and producer on HBO's series "The Leftovers." He's since co-created both Netflix's genre-blending miniseries "Maniac" and HBO Max's "Made for Love," another darkly twisted blend of comedy, sci-fi, and satire (one that also featured McCarron as a staff writer).
As for Murai, he got his start as a music video director who collaborated with Donald Glover on multiple Childish Gambino shorts, most famously "This Is America." Murai and Glover continued to deliver stylishly surreal social commentary with their work on "Atlanta," with Murai directing 14 of the 21 episodes from the acclaimed FX's series' first two seasons. Basically, between the talent on both sides of the camera and the source material, "Station Eleven" has the potential to be more than just more fuel for the pandemic streaming content fire.
STATION ELEVEN is a post-apocalyptic saga spanning multiple timelines. This limited drama series tells the stories of survivors of a devastating flu as they attempt to rebuild and reimagine the world anew while holding on to the best of what's been lost.
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The post Station Eleven: Release Date, Cast, and More appeared first on /Film.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Security systems for a home or apartment give peace of mind about loved ones and belongings. Some systems cross over into two categories, such as wireless self-monitored setups, but figuring out what security system you need for your home isn't always clear. So, if you're thinking of installing a new security system in your home or apartment, check out the six most common security systems before making a purchase.
Online privacy and security should not be taken lightly, so you should always do whatever you can to protect yourself from any risks. If you have a Windows 11 system, you can encrypt DNS requests and enhance user privacy. This tutorial will show you how to enable DNS over HTTPS on Windows 11 to enhance online privacy.
To enable DNS over HTTPS, you will have to choose two pairs of DNS servers. One pair for IPv4 and the other for IPv6. Here is a list of available DNS addresses for IPv6 and IPv4:
IPv4:
IPv6:
You will need these details for the section below. So, keep them in front of you when you follow the enabling section below.
Step-1: Click on the Windows icon on the taskbar. Select Settings app. (You can also use shortcut keys Win + I)
Step-2: From the left pane, select Network & Internet.
Step-3: Select your primary internet connection. This is the WiFi option from the left pane in my case. (Don't click on the toggle switch)
Step-4: Select Hardware properties.
Step-5: Locate the DNS Server Assignment option and click on Edit.
Step-6: Select Manual from the drop-down menu.
Step-7: Turn the toggle switch On next to IPv4.
Step-8: Once you turn the toggle switch On, you will see a bunch of new options. In the Preferred DNS and Alternate DNS, pick a primary and secondary pair from the section above. For example, you can add 8.8.8.8 in Preferred and 8.8.4.4 in Alternate DNS.
Step-9: From the drop-down menu under Preferred DNS encryption and Alternate DNS encryption, select Encrypted only (DNS over HTTPS)
Step-10: Now, turn the toggle switch On for IPv6.
Step-11: Follow steps 8 and 9 for IPv6. In step-8, add the DNS server details given for IPv6 in the section above.
Step-12: After you are done with both IPv4 and IPv6, select Save.
Step-13: Close the settings app.
This will encrypt your DNS, and you will have a safe and secure browsing experience from now on.
The post How to Enable DNS Over HTTPS on Windows 11 to Enhance Online Privacy by Zarmeen Shahzad appeared first on Wccftech.
The IRS announced last week that workers will be able to set aside an extra $1,000 in their 401(k) accounts in 2022. The change was made as part of cost-of-living adjustments to retirement accounts; although, if you have an individual retirement account (IRA), you’re out of luck—contributions will remain unchanged at…
If you hate digging through Windows 11’s menus to find a tool or setting tucked away in the Control Panel or System Settings, try turning on the hidden Master Control Panel feature—or as it’s better known: “God Mode.”
Family: Can't live with 'em and can't live without 'em, am I right?
The "Fast & Furious" spin-off "Hobbs and Shaw" used a needle-drop of War's "Why Can't We Be Friends" as the focal point of its marketing. How quaint! That little clashing of egos simply pales in comparison to the ongoing real-life drama between former co-stars Vin Diesel and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Whether you believe it's a carefully-calculated PR campaign (which, having lasted this long, would almost have to be considered worth all the nonsense) or simply yet another timeless example of Hollywood stars finding themselves unable to play nice with one another, this rivalry stretches back at least to the production of "The Fate of the Furious." The Rock fired the opening volley in this protracted war, referring to certain unnamed male co-stars as "candy asses" in a since-deleted Instagram post with heavy implications. Hilariously enough, Johnson recently circled back to that viral post with some regret, but went on to claim that it was almost "...as if every single crew member found their way to me and either quietly thanked me or sent me a note" for calling out Diesel so publicly.
Possibly in response to this latest attempt to reignite their simmering cold war, Vin Diesel then took to Instagram over the weekend to send out one of the most bizarrely passive aggressive posts you'll ever see from one popular actor to another. Check out the details below, because you really need to see this for yourself to believe it.
As entertaining as the "Fast & Furious" franchise is, I wouldn't blame anyone who thought that the Vin Diesel/Dwayne Johnson feud has officially become more entertaining than the actual movies themselves. This never-ending saga has run the gamut of incredibly petty antics, such as that time Diesel tried to take credit for Johnson's acting or earlier this year when Johnson went on record to say that he was walking away from the franchise. It's that last update that Diesel appears to be referring to in a new Instagram post that is (ostensibly, at least) meant to woo the fiery actor back to reprise his role as Luke Hobbs for the next installment of the "Fast & Furious." As Diesel very melodramatically puts it:
"My little brother Dwayne... the time has come. The world awaits the finale of 'Fast 10.' As you know, my children refer to you as Uncle Dwayne in my house. There is not a holiday that goes by that they and you don't send well wishes... but the time has come. Legacy awaits. I told you years ago that I was going to fulfill my promise to Pablo. I swore that we would reach and manifest the best 'Fast' in the finale that is '10'! I say this out of love... but you must show up, do not leave the franchise idle you have a very important role to play. Hobbs can't be played by no other. I hope that you rise to the occasion and fulfill your destiny."
I don't know about you, but I think it's incredible to imagine that this is just how Diesel talks all the time. Obviously, if the main goal here is to reconcile with Johnson, I'm not sure how well calling him "little brother" and leaving this somewhat patronizing message for the world to see will go over. Confusingly enough, however, Diesel keeps referring to the tenth film as the "finale" in this post, despite previously indicating that there would be at least two more "Fast & Furious" movies before concluding the main franchise. We're assuming that plans haven't radically changed based on some heat-of-the-moment Instagram post, but we'll keep you posted either way. Dwayne Johnson's destiny, after all, hangs in the balance here!
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The post Vin Diesel Asks Dwayne Johnson to Return to Fast and Furious in the Weirdest Way Possible appeared first on /Film.
Taylor Sheridan's new Paramount+ drama series "Mayor of Kingstown" has a star-studded cast, including Jeremy Renner, Dianne Wiest, and Aiden Gillen. One of the show's central characters, however, is newcomer Emma Laird, whose Iris is central to the season's story.
I had the chance to talk with Laird about working on the production, including how she got the role, what it was like filming in an actual prison, and how it was acting against Renner. Read on for /Film's interview with Laird, where she shares details about the show.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
To start us off, how did you come across this project? How did you decide to do it, and how did that happen?
It was such a chaotic start of the year. I got a Netflix film, which I was so excited about, it was my first project. And then this script came in for "Kingstown," and Netflix was saying to my agent, "You've got to sign these contracts." And I'm like, "Do we just drop it? Do we risk it?"
I ended up dropping the film for this, and then two other Amazon series came along, and [show creator Taylor Sheridan] still wouldn't cast me without meeting me, and I was like, "Dude, come on! I just need to confirm this, because I'm taking risks." But it came in, and I got episode one and tow. Reading that first episode, I was just transfixed by the complexity and the amount of characters and how you're really thrown into the middle of this town.
I met Taylor in Texas. He flew me out, and I got all the scripts the night before. I remember being absolutely terrified, because I didn't actually realize the true horrors of what this girl goes through, and I didn't know if I could do it being this would be my first experience on set. I said to him, "I don't know if I can do this, but that's why I want it so much." It just terrified me and I, just as an actor, always want to be terrified of things — I want the challenge. He confirmed me, and here I am, so it all worked out really well.
I actually hold, in the back of my phone case, the plane ticket from when I went to see Taylor. (She pulls out phone and shows the ticket.) That's still there, and it always will be. I could not stop crying. I've not stopped crying since January, I've really not, all I've done is cry. In good ways, and bad ways.
I'm sure your character, from what I can tell from the trailer, probably cries in bad ways.
She cries so much. There was one scene in episode six where the direction was like, "So Iris sat on the bed crying." I was like, "Nope, she's not crying." I was like... "I cry so much." And I really put my foot down, and was like, " I don't want her to cry in this scene." It's a very natural response for what she goes through, but it came to a point where I just felt that she didn't need to do that. We see a lot of tears from Iris.
Based on the trailer, you can see how Iris is being set up for Jeremy Renner's character, Mike. Can you talk a little bit about your character's relationship with Mike and what it was like playing against Jeremy?
Iris is sent to Kingstown to persuade Jeremy's character to do something that my boss wants, who's in one of the prisons. And Jeremy just sees straight through it. He's like, "Get out of my office, I know what you're trying to do. No." And so, the dynamic between those two is a really nice and complicated and flawed one, and we really don't know where it goes. Even at the end of the season, we're still left thinking, "What the f*** is going on with these two people?" I think there's a layer of protectiveness that Mike feels for Iris, and he's running this town, and she's in this town, and she's very vulnerable, and I think he's got a soft spot for her. I'm not sure what Jeremy would say about that, but I would like to think that he has.
And working with Jeremy was just a bloody dream come true. He is so, so talented. It was really hard though, because I think I was in the mindset of Iris, and what Iris was wanting from a scene. And it was really hard, because he's such a good actor to experience Mike McLusky being so off with me. I'd be like, "Oh my God, Jeremy hates me!" and then it'd be like half an hour when we've cut, and he's like, "Yeah, sorry." And I'm like, "What the f***?" But it was so special, he's so talented, and he really supported me through some scenes.
There was one scene on our last week of shooting, where it was just really challenging, and all he did was just squeeze my arm, and I was like, "Oh my God, he's there for me." And he wrote me the best letter at the end of wrap, and it was just so heartfelt. I can't imagine having that first experience with anyone else. He was so supportive and patient with me as a first-timer.
You shot in Canada during Covid. What was that experience like?
It was strange, because I was in England, and the day that England opened up, I flew to Canada and back into a lockdown for two months. The prisons there were why we shot there, I think. And Hugh Dillon, who was a co-creator, who came up with the concept, grew up in Kingston, which is where we shot at a lot of the prisons. It was very confusing, because the show is Kingstown. But yeah, it was nice to actually go there, see where he grew up, and actually be in a real prison. It really made you realize that this is real, and people live in these prisons.
Were you shooting in a working prison? Were there prisoners there when you were shooting?
There weren't prisoners there. I think it had been shut down a couple years ago, and I think there's parts of it that reopened for a museum. But it kept a lot of it the same, and obviously the structure's still there, and they dressed a few cells, and it just was ... you see it on TV, but then when you go to somewhere like that, it's scary to think that's how people live. And of course there's a level of punishment that they need to go through, but I also am a firm believer that this should be some kind of rehabilitation. And you see in Scandinavian countries, with their prison systems, where the rates of committing another crime once you're released are significantly lower, because they have a rehabilitation process. So it's not nice to see, as much as these guys are dangerous people who should be kept away from society, it's kind of raised that question of, "Should it be that way?"
Was there any particular scene that you shot that was memorable for either good or not good reasons?:
For good, I'll say the last episode of the season, for me, is very special, because it was actually the last thing that I shot before I was wrapped, and I also felt so free with the character that I've been building throughout the series. When it got to that point, it felt so authentic. And she a little bit unhinged ... episode six and seven for Iris are really not nice. She goes through the worst things that a girl could possibly go through, and it was hard. It was so hard, but it was so worth it, because I think if it wasn't hard, I wouldn't have been doing it right, but it was hard in the right way. I had the support, and I had people checking in, and it was a safe environment. But yeah, it's been a journey. It's been a lot, but I think I'm going to be proud of it.
I'm excited for the finale, episodes nine and 10. As an audience member, it's the craziest sh*t ever. It's so explosive and crazy, and you're on the edge of your seat for two hours. So that, just for people to watch, I'm excited for.
What do you hope viewers walk away from when they watch it? What do you want them to feel?
I really hope that people stick with Iris, and that they root for her, and really have love for her, because she goes through a lot. And I hope they're engaged with that, and they feel that sympathy for her. But in terms of the show as a whole, there are these themes — there's the prison systems, and there's racism, and there's trafficking with my character. And the idea is not to tell, it's not a documentary in telling facts, but it's an idea that what film and TV does so beautifully, is just give audience members a little bit of an idea, or a light bulb moment in their head where it sparks some kind of conversation, it gets them thinking. Because I think it's something that needs to be talked about, and then we'll inevitably have a chain reaction, I think. I just hope it starts conversations.
"Mayor of Kingstown" premieres on Paramount+ on November 14, 2021.
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The post Mayor of Kingstown Star Emma Laird Shares Details on the Explosive First Season [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
Dozens of online games were unplayable for parts of the weekend due to a Denuvo domain going offline. Service has since been restored, but the downtime angered players in both single-player and multiplayer games that use the anti-piracy and anti-cheat tech, which has routinely been criticised for its impacts on game performance.
VGC reports that players took to social media platforms like Reddit and Twitter Sunday to flag downtimes in their favourite games. These included new releases like Football Manager 2022 and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as older titles like fighting game Mortal Kombat 11 and strategy game Total War: Warhammer.
In a statement provided to PC Gamer, the company stated: "A Denuvo domain was unreachable yesterday afternoon CET. The problem was fixed after we got notified from our automatic system control. After the fix, there was no whatsoever restriction or limitation for the gamer. Denuvo is working to implement further improvements to avoid such downtime in the future."
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At the risk of sounding British (one of my greatest fears), I find myself saying “it’s tea time” no less than eleven times a day. Especially when the leaves change colors–literally or metaphorically, depending on where you are–there’s nothing better than curling up with your warm drink of choice.
Have you ever caught yourself wistfully thinking that they just don't make 'em like "Midnight Run" anymore? Well, somebody in Hollywood must have heard those thoughts because the adored 1988 buddy comedy is being revived with yet another attempt at a very long-delayed sequel. The original film starred Robert de Niro and Charles Grodin flawlessly playing off one another as, respectively, an ex-cop bounty hunter and embezzling mob accountant. The premise of the story involves de Niro's Jack Walsh dodging cops, drug lords, and even fellow bounty hunters in a cross-country attempt to bring Grodin's Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas from New York to Los Angeles to post bail.
Now, this latest news about a sequel would seem to echo the Duke's poignant words to Walsh, though perhaps not quite how he intended it: See ya in the next life!
With a premise as rich as the one in "Midnight Run," it's no surprise that Universal isn't ready to call it quits over a potential sequel just yet. According to THR, actor Regina Hall is attached to star in this decades-later follow-up to the original hit film. Although de Niro is said to be on board as producer on the film, the wording in the report doesn't make it seem as if the legendary actor will be dusting off that musty black leather jacket to reprise his role as Jack Walsh. As the undeniable strength of "Midnight Run" came from the magic between de Niro and Grodin's particular character dynamic, we're curious to see who Hall will be paired with as the casting for this new sequel fills out.
Hall, of course, has remained busy and in-demand since her turn in 2017's "Girls Trip," starring in "Insecure," the excellent "Support the Girls," "The Hate U Give," "Shaft," and most recently "Black Monday" and "Nine Perfect Strangers" in the years since. Little else is known about the project at this stage, except that the script is currently being written by Aeysha Carr ("Brooklyn Nine-Nine").
As mentioned, this isn't the first attempt to move forward with a "Midnight Run" sequel, either. THR mentions a 2010 report (which /Film covered at the time) that would've seen the return of de Niro, but not Grodin. Sadly, Grodin passed away earlier this year and would've enjoyed seeing a fresh round of appreciation for the classic movie -- particularly his delightfully deadpan performance. In 1994, Universal Television greenlit a straight-to-television sequel that was imaginatively titled "Another Midnight Run" that recast de Niro's Jack Walsh and led to another two sequels. We'll bring you more updates on this "Midnight Run" sequel as they come in.
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The post Midnight Run Sequel Will Star Regina Hall, Robert De Niro to Produce appeared first on /Film.
It only took three seasons, but Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor finally clicked for me. Yes, it shouldn't have taken this long, but let's be grateful it happened at all — and in real barn burner of an episode which indicates that the serialized "Doctor Who: Flux" is an experiment that may well pay off by the end. "War of the Sontarans" might actually be showrunner Chris Chibnall's strongest episode yet, an exhilarating hour that keeps up the energy from last week's admittedly messy outing, but narrows the focus: the Doctor leads the charge here and, separated from her companions (who still get plenty to do, especially my fast favorite, Dan Bishop), finally comes into her own.
Every Doctor has their "aha" moment, whether it be when David Tennant wielded a sword atop a spaceship wearing nothing but pajamas and a bathrobe or when Matt Smith crashed into a Scottish girl's backyard and immediately raided her fridge, but until now it had been a real shame that Whittaker hadn't had hers. Sure, she'd had plenty of inspirational speeches and whimsical quirks, but they all felt like texture around the vague outline of a character who hadn't quite gelled off the page. But in "War of the Sontarans," Thirteen gets a few of those "aha" moments: tricking the Sontarans, butting heads with a bigoted British general, and getting two steps ahead of everyone else all while gesturing at goofy doodles with a pointy stick. She feels properly like the Doctor, and "War of the Sontarans" feels properly like that off-the-wall "Doctor Who" we love.
"Flux" keeps up the intrigue with a mysterious opening scene: a black-and-white vision of a ramshackle house that floats off the ground as the Doctor reaches up to it. A glimpse of the Doctor's past? A hint at what the future holds? No clue — and the Doctor has little time to unpack this mysterious dream, as she, Yaz, and Dan wake up in 1855 Sevastopol at the height of the Crimean War, the three of them having apparently been "thrown out" of the TARDIS. They're mistaken for corpse robbers by Mary Seacole (Sara Powell), a British-Jamaican doctress who reveals that the war isn't being fought against Russia as the Doctor assumes, but against the Sontarans. Cue: a magnificent shot of a masked medieval-looking warrior riding through the fog on a horse, only to take off his helmet to reveal that mutated alien form of a Sontaran (much more sinister-looking than the friendly "Power Rangers" makeover they got in NuWho).
There's a wonderful alchemy at work in this episode, between Chibnall's educational tendencies — with his historical episodes leaning away from the whimsical adventuring of NuWho years and towards the after-school program roots of Classic Who — and the surreal sci-fi mystery at the heart of the serialized "Flux." "War of the Sontarans" is as dark as "Doctor Who" gets: a bloody battle with soldiers' bodies strewn across the gray, torn up fields; bullish British generals who let their ego blind them towards reason; an underappreciated historical figure against whom the odds are stacked. But then you bring in potato-looking aliens on horses (who admit that they really just wanted to ride those horses, in addition to massacring millions) and you've got that unlikely balancing act that is "Doctor Who" — goofy and grim all at once.
It's all brought together by Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor, who finally gets her shine in this episode. Though initially dismissed by Mary Seacole and the British Army General Logan (Gerald Kyd), the Doctor manages to acquit herself quickly to the situation — even as Dan and Yaz are "Back to the Future-ed" (right down to the disappearing hands) to different points in time and space, and her TARDIS somehow loses its doors. And for some reason, Russia no longer exists but is labeled on the map as "Sontar." Time is in flux, the Doctor realizes, and she needs to set things right.
The Doctor is matched well by Powell's Mary Seacole, herself a doctor frequently underestimated by the men she serves, even as she managed to build a whole military hospital herself right on the front lines. Though Mary gets sidelined for the latter half of the episode, the thematic parallels that she serves as well as the pseudo-companion role she serves (Powell making the most of the role with a perpetually perplexed but dignified performance) makes her another strong "celebrity" historical figure of the Chibnall era.
It's really exciting to see the Doctor be as proactive as she is in this episode, and perhaps all she needed was a little more conflict. I've bemoaned the fact that Chibnall's era of "Doctor Who" seemed to tiptoe around Thirteen's gender, only really acknowledging how being a woman might hinder her in season 11's "Witchfinders," but "War of the Sontarans" finally leans into it. Not only in the pushback the Doctor gets from General Logan, whose bigotry feels of the time and never too over-the-top, but from the way she uses her gender to her advantage, tricking the Sontarans into agreeing to parlay in exchange for information on the Doctor's whereabouts. It's a clever little move that adds a missing piece to the puzzle of Whittaker's Doctor.
Without her companions by her side to blandly "yes man" her, the Doctor is besieged on all sides and left to think on her toes, bringing out the best in her. She makes bitter digs at General Logan's stink of rum! She swaggers and gloats in front of the Sontaran commander! She draws up battle plans while drawing up silly doodles of Sontarans! She knocks out a man with Venusian Akido! It all coalesces in the scene of the Doctor coldly demanding a "pointy stick" from a bereaved General Logan, who crawls back to Mary Seacole's hospital after he ignored the Doctor's warnings and got his men slaughtered by the Sontarans. We've seen the Thirteenth Doctor do this chalkboard routine before, but for some reason, this is where her teacherly version of the Doctor gelled for me, with her giving "gold stars" to Mary while coolly scolding Logan. Perhaps it's because with all we've seen leading up to this — the Doctor effortlessly outwitting her foes, the Doctor thinking two steps ahead of others and working out the situation without someone else telling her in a lengthy exposition dump. And best of all, her solution feels appropriately ingenious without requiring the lengthy plot explanations of past Chibnall episodes: simply sabotage the Sontarans' armor. Though her triumph is quickly cut short by General Logan's explosive revenge plot, I do love the cold anger with which Whittaker punctuates her line, "Sometimes men like you make me wonder why I bother with humanity."
Meanwhile, Dan falls through the time vortex and lands right at home in present day — but something's off. The Sontarans have apparently conquered the Earth, and are building time ships to invade all of Earth's history, he discovers. Continuing the "Back to the Future" comparisons, it's "Part II" but with aliens.
But far be it from Dan to sit back to let this alternate dystopian present continue. Proving himself to already be a stalwart member of Team TARDIS, Dan springs into action, breaking into the Sontarans' time shipyard armed with nothing but a wok (which as an image is funnier than Chibnall's entire era has been). Side note: in just a few brief scenes, Dan's hilariously lovable parents — they're fighting an alien invasion with frying pans! — already have the most characterization for a companion's family since the Russell T. Davies era. Dan carries the majority of the episode's comedy, but John Bishop does it with gumption: gamely delivering the cheesy dad puns ("Now I'm going to wok right out of here!") and getting the biggest laughs with his confusion around "temporal" and "tempura" (I shouldn't have found that dumb "obsession with Japanese food" line so funny, but I did). But the greatest gift that Dan gives to this episode is his great buddy-comedy routine that he falls into with Karvanista, who charges in, guns blazing, right into my heart. The gruff, grumpy dog alien (who hilariously even shakes off water just like a dog later) is proving to be the real highlight of the entire season, and the acerbic back-and-forth between Dan and Karvanista is all-too-short.
But in just two short episodes Dan has managed to make more of an impression that Ryan and Yaz did in two seasons, so quickly getting on the Doctor's wavelength (filming footage of the Sontaran shipyard for her, jumping to break into a ship, helping her figure out the Sontarans' "Temporal Offensive" across time after a fun moment where they keep repeating the same questions to each other) that it's no wonder she immediately invites him on board the TARDIS when they reunite. I know that after the "O" twist last season, fans are suspicious that Dan may be more than he seems — and he could very well be, considering how fast he took to the time travel escapades — but I'm hoping that Dan is just a really good dude.
Unfortunately, Yaz continues to be the weakest link in this season for me, perhaps because all of her development to make her a Clara/Rose 2.0-type seems to have happened offscreen. It's hard to figure where she made the leap from borderline background character to that codependent companion who has become too much like the Doctor, but I guess at this point we'll just have to take it at face value, especially when Yaz flashes a little smile at the "WWTDD" written on her hand — "what would the Doctor do?" as our season's Big Bad Swarm mockingly (and obviously) states.
Yaz has found herself at the mysterious gilded Temple of Atropos on the planet "Time," where she's urgently greeted by a floating prism that asks her, "Do you Repair?" Confused but gung-ho, she cheerfully agrees, but finds that she's not the first person to have been brought in for repairs of the austere but ruined temple. She runs into a beleaguered Joseph Williamson (Steve Oram), who ominously declares, "All our fears made true. All is porous," before mysteriously vanishing. But it also seems that Vinder has been similarly transported to the temple, and called to repair the holographic Mouri, gold-skinned priestesses of some kind through whom, the prism claims, all temporal energy must pass. Without their guidance, time will be unleashed. "Time is evil, and it will seek its own," the prism warns.
But as Yaz and Vinder try to repair the damage to the holograms, they're interrupted by the arrival of Swarm and his sister Azure, looking all the world like Bejeweled Voldemorts. And they live up to their appearances, acting positively camp as they gloat over the two humans while a silent bulky bodyguard they call "Passenger" looms in the background. They'd been quantum locked out of the temple "after last time," but the damage has allowed them to re-enter, and Yaz and Vinder's presence allows them to turn the damaged Mouri into dust with a simple touch. But after their brief sinister turns last episode, I'm fully on board with our Big Bads this season — they're the right amount of menacing, omniscient, arch villains that thrive in "Doctor Who." Better yet, they present a real scary threat to the Doctor and her friends.
The Doctor and Dan arrive too late to the temple, where they're greeted by Swarm and Azure, who have replaced the two Mouri they destroyed with Yaz and Vinder, now sporting the same facial writing and head jewels that the Mouri did. The Doctor is helpless as Swarm raises a finger to Yaz's face and prepares to snap his fingers — presumably dooming her to the same dusty existence as all his past victims. It's the most nail-bitingly tense cliffhanger of the Chibnall era yet, and one which communicates the gravity of this season. The Chibnall era had been relatively free of conflict, of danger, of stakes. Death was never looming on the horizon like it did during the Davies or Moffat eras. And while I don't doubt Yaz will somehow get out of this, I feel for the first time like Chibnall is not treating the show with kiddy gloves.
Read this next: Single-Season '80s Sci-Fi And Fantasy Shows That Deserve A Second Shot
The post Doctor Who: Flux Lets Jodie Whittaker Finally Take Charge in the Exciting War of the Sontarans appeared first on /Film.
As cyber threats grow more sophisticated and relentless, the need for Cybersecurity Awareness Month becomes more urgent every year. As part of our year-round commitment to security for all, Microsoft continues to track numerous incidents targeting both digital and physical operations for many organizations. Beyond the usual espionage and data-theft attacks aimed at IT systems, threat actors have increasingly turned their attention toward IoT devices and operational technology (OT) equipment—everything from oil pipelines1 to medical devices.2 Malicious actors have also had success in targeting supply chains, as seen in the insidious Solorigate3 and Kaseya4 attacks.
Earlier this month, we published the 2021 Microsoft Digital Defense Report to help organizations better understand this evolving threat landscape, as well as provide guidance on securing your supply chain and IoT and OT assets. In the spirit of security for all, some highlights of these chapters are presented here for easy reference.
The practice of adopting multiple tools to monitor different tiers of suppliers increases complexity, which in turn increases the odds that a cyberattack can produce a significant return for your adversary. Siloes can create additional problems—different teams have different priorities, which may lead to different risk priorities and practices. This inconsistency can create a duplication of efforts and gaps in risk analysis. Suppliers’ personnel also are a top concern. Organizations want to know who has access to their data; so they can protect themselves from human liability, shadow IT, and other insider threats.
For supplier risk management, an always-on, automated, integrated approach is needed, but current processes aren’t well-suited to the task. To secure your supply chain, it’s important to have a repeatable process that will scale as your organization innovates. At Microsoft, we group our investments into nine secure supply chain (SSC) workstreams to methodically evaluate and mitigate risk in each area:
Figure 1: Nine areas of investment for a secure end-to-end supply chain.
For supply chain risk management, having integrated solutions and greater visibility into who ultimately has access to an organization’s data are top priorities. While there are many places to begin a Zero Trust journey, instituting multifactor authentication (MFA) should be your first step.
On May 12, 2021, the White House issued Executive Order (EO) 14028 on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity outlining steps for federal agencies and their technology providers to enhance supply chain security. For software providers, the EO calls for requirements to enhance resistance to attack, including secure software development practices, software verification and vulnerability checks, a software bill of materials (SBOM), a vulnerability disclosure program, and other secure practices.
For federal agency users of software with privileged access, EO 14028 calls for implementing security measures published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Microsoft has long been invested in developing best practices for secure software development, and we’ve contributed to efforts to define industry-wide practices and consensus standards, including through SAFECode, ISO/IEC, and NIST’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) on the Implementing a Zero Trust Architecture project.
With the prevalence of cloud connectivity, IoT and OT have become another part of your network. And because IoT and OT devices are typically deployed in diverse environments—from inside factories or office buildings to remote worksites or critical infrastructure—they’re exposed in ways that can make them easy targets. When you add in privacy concerns and regulatory compliance, it’s clear that a holistic approach is needed for enabling seamless security and governance across all your devices.
Securing IoT solutions with a Zero Trust security model is built upon five requirements:
Figure 2: How an attacker can get into an enterprise through IoT.
“Attackers will choose the ‘soft targets’ as a point of ingress. Spear phishing or similar attacks allow access to IT systems that can then provide a pathway for attackers to reach OT systems, and the reverse is also possible. In one example, attackers used an aquarium system to access a casino’s high-roller databases, demonstrating that any device with connectivity can present a motivated attacker with an opening.”—2021 Microsoft Digital Defense Report
Microsoft’s sensor network provides us with raw data on more than 280,000 attacks, including password data. Unsurprisingly, we saw that 96 percent of attacks used a password with fewer than 10 characters. Within these password attempts, only 2 percent included a special character and 72 percent didn’t even contain a number. The word “admin” was found more than 20 million times in IoT passwords over a 45 day period.
Figure 3: Prevalence of common passwords in IoT and OT settings.
It’s essential for organizations to assess the security of their IoT and OT systems with the same rigor applied to IT systems. While PCs are routinely required to have updated certificates, IoT devices are often deployed with factory-default passwords. Attackers are also focusing on how IoT and OT interact, which brings real dangers. Industrial control systems (ICS) are often retrofitted with remote capabilities—meaning, virtual attacks can cause physical harm.
Microsoft supported a research study conducted by the Global Cyber Alliance (GCA) to demonstrate the effectiveness of commonly recommended controls in preventing attacks. GCA’s analysis of real attack data shows that default passwords factory-set by device manufacturers, or weak passwords set by users, represent the most exploited security vulnerability for IoT devices. Their findings can be boiled down to four simple takeaways for IoT and OT security:
Learn how Microsoft Defender for IoT can secure your IoT and OT devices.
To find out more about protecting your organization against supply chain and IoT/OT attacks, including the seven properties of highly secured devices, download the 2021 Microsoft Digital Defense Report. Also, see our past blog posts providing information for each themed week of Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2021:
Be sure to visit our Cybersecurity Awareness Month page for more resources and information on protecting your organization year-round. Do your part. #BeCyberSmart
To learn more about Microsoft Security solutions, visit our website. Bookmark the Security blog to keep up with our expert coverage on security matters. Also, follow us at @MSFTSecurity for the latest news and updates on cybersecurity.
1Hackers Breached Colonial Pipeline Using Compromised Password, William Turton, Kartikay Mehrotra, Bloomberg. 4 June 2021.
2Microsoft Warns of 25 Critical Vulnerabilities in IoT, Industrial Devices, Elizabeth Montalbano, Threatpost. 30 April 2021.
3Deep dive into the Solorigate second-stage activation: From SUNBURST to TEARDROP and Raindrop, Microsoft 365 Defender Research Team, Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC), Microsoft Cyber Defense Operations Center (CDOC), Microsoft Security. 20 January 2021.
4Kaseya ransomware attack sets off race to hack service providers -researchers, Joseph Menn, Reuters. 3 August 2021.
The post Learn how Microsoft strengthens IoT and OT security with Zero Trust appeared first on Microsoft Security Blog.
November 2021, and Brexit is still on-going. I am trying to refrain from posting wall-to-wall blog essays about how badly the on-going brexit is going, but it's been about 9-10 months since I last gnawed on the weeping sore, so here's an interim update.
(If apocalyptic political clusterfucks bore you, skip this blog entry.)
What has become most apparent this year is that Brexit is a utopian nation-building program that about 25-30% of the nation are really crazily enthusiastic about (emphasis on "crazy"—it's John Rogers' crazification factor at work here), and because they vote Tory, Johnson is shoveling red meat into the gimp cage on a daily basis.
Because Brexit is utopian it can never fail, it can only be failed. So it follows that if some aspect of Brexit goes sideways, traitors or insufficiently-enthusiastic wreckers must be at fault. (See also Bolshevism in the Lenin/early Stalin period.)
Alas, it turns out that the Brexiter politicians neglected to inform themselves of what the EU they were leaving even was, namely a legalistic international treaty framework. So they keep blundering about blindly violating legal agreements that trigger, or will eventually trigger, sanctions by their trading partners.
Now, the current government was elected in 2019 on the back of a "let's get Brexit done" campaign. In general, Conservative MPs fall into two baskets: True Believers and Corrupt Grifters. In normal times (i.e. not this century so far) the True Believers were tolerably useful insofar as they included Burkean small-c conservatives who believed in pragmatic government on behalf of the nation. However, around 1975 one particular wing of the True Believers gained control of the party. They were true believers all right, but Thatcher and her followers weren't pragmatists, they were ideologues. And by divorcing government from measurable outcomes—instead, making loyalty to an abstract program the acid test—they opened the door for the grifters, who could spout doubleplusgood duckspeak with the best of the Thatcherites and meanwhile quietly milk their connections for profit-making opportunities.
Thatcherism waxed and waned, but never really went away. And in Brexit, the grifters found an amazing opportunity: just swear allegience to the flag and gain access to power! Their leader, one Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, made his bones writing politically motivated hit-pieces in the newspapers, with the target most often being the EU: he's a profoundly amoral charlatan and opportunistic grifter who is currently presiding over a massive corruption scandal (the British euphemism is "sleaze": we aren't corrupt, corruption is for Johnny Foreigner). Part of the scandal is misuse of public funds during COVID19: the pandemic turned out to be an amazing profit-making opportunity (nobody mention Dido Harding and the £37Bn English "test and trace" system that, er, didn't work), or her Jockey Club connection to disgraced former Health Minister Matt Hancock). Or most recently, the Owen Paterson scandal, in which a massively corrupt Tory MP was given a slap on the wrist (a one month suspension from parliament) by the Parliamentary Standards Commission ... at which point the Prime Minister's heavy hitters tried to force a vote to abolish the the independent Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. Which move couldn't possibly have anything to do with the Prime Minister himself being under investigation for corruption ...
Circa 1992-97, the final John Major government set a new high water mark for corruption in public office, with more ministerial resignations due to scandals than all previous governments combined going back to 1832. They'd been in power for 13 years in 1992, winning four elections along the way, and the grifting parasites had begun to overwhelm the host. But the Johnson government—in power for 11 years at this point (and also winning four consecutive elections: "four election wins in a row" seems to be some sort of watershed for blatant corruption)—has seen relatively few ministerial resignations due to scandals: because the PM doesn't think corruption is anything to be ashamed of.
When you're a grifter and the marks are about to notice what you're doing, standard procedure is to scream and shout and hork up a massive distraction. (Johnson's own term for this is "throw a dead cat on the table".)
The Tories focus-group tested "culture wars" in the run up to the 2019 election and discovered there was a public appetite for such things among their voter base (who trend elderly and poorly educated). Think MAGA. The transphobia campaign currently running is one such culture war: so is the war on wokeness that cross-infected the UK from you-know-who. It's insane. Turns out that about 80% of the shibboleths that infect the US hard right play well to the UK centre-right. The notable exception is vaccine resistance -- anti-vaxxers are a noisy but tiny fringe.
I note that this is predominantly an English disease. Scotland is mostly going in the opposite direction: Northern Ireland is deeply uneasy over the way Westminster seems to be throwing them under the bus over the NI border protocol, Wales ... not much news about Wales gets heard outside Wales, but they seem to be somewhere between Scotland and England on the political map. (Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, are less successful than the SNP, who have comprehensively beaten Labour in Scotland: in Scotland the Tories are in second place in the polls by a whisker, but don't seem able to break through the 25% barrier.)
Anyway: the latest distraction is that Boris wants a war with France. Especially one he can turn off in an instant by throwing a switch or making a strategic concession (which the Tory-aligned media will spin as "victory" or blame on Labour Wreckers and Remoaner Parasites). The two things propping up his sagging junta are (a) a totally supine media environment and (b) COVID19, which turned up conveniently in time to be blamed for all the ills of Brexit. But COVID19 will go away soon, at which point it's going to be very hard to disguise the source of the economic damage. It turns out the UK's economic losses from brexit outweigh any economic gains by a factor of 178; we're seeing a roughly 4% decline in economic activity so far, and we're less than a year in.
Between the corrupt grifters, the catastrophic fallout from the most self-destructive economic policy of the century, and a ruling party that is selling seats in the House of Lords for £3M a pop to Party donors, we have plenty of reasons to expect many more dead cats to be flung on tables, and culture wars to be kicked off, over the coming months.
So:
Juche Britannia!
Sunlit Uplands!
Brexit means Brexit!
(Welcome to SlashClips, a series where we bring you exclusive clips from hot new Digital, Blu-ray, and theatrical releases you won't see anywhere else!)
In this edition:
In this tense scene, Neal McDonough ("Minority Report") has a confrontation with Lochlyn Munro during a "Most Dangerous Game" scenario. Munro ("The Predator") recently made headlines for getting cast in James Gunn's "Peacemaker" series based on an audition for "Scooby-Doo" 20 years ago. "Apex" co-stars Bruce Willis, Corey Large, Alexis Fast, Nels Lennarson, Megan Peta Hill, Trevor Gretzky, and will be available in theaters, on demand and on digital November 12, 2021.
Here is the official synopsis:
"Serving a life sentence for a crime he didn't commit, ex-cop Thomas Malone is offered a chance at freedom if he can survive a deadly game of Apex. Six hunters pay for the pleasure of hunting another human on a remote island, but once Malone arrives all hell breaks loose. Laying traps and playing mind games, Malone tries to turn the tables and fight for his life and his future."
Think disabling a ticking time bomb is stressful? Now imagine getting shot multiple times while doing it! That's exactly what happens to Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau in this clip from "Shock Wave 2," which is now available on demand.
Here is the official synopsis:
"Starring and produced by award-winning actor Andy Lau ('House of Flying Daggers,' 'Infernal Affairs') , the film chronicles the riveting story of former bomb disposal officer, Poon Shing-Fung. Suffering from amnesia and the loss of his leg in an explosion five years ago, he becomes the top suspect of a terrorist attack. On the run from the police, Poon must stop a terrorist organization from destroying Hong Kong while piecing together his identity. 'Shock Wave 2' debuted No. 1 at the global box office, grossing $63.9 million in its opening weekend, and features lauded action choreography by Li Chung-Chi ('The Legend of Drunken Master,' 'Rush Hour 2')."
Charles Bronson lookalike Robert Bronzi ('Death Kiss,' 'Cry Havoc') stars in the action-packed "Escape from Death Block 13," which is available on demand and on DVD November 23, 2021.
Here is the official synopsis:
"After the death of his brother, Mick Kovacs travels to America to seek justice. Framed for attempted murder, he is sent to the notorious Pleasant Hill Penitentiary where survival is an everyday struggle. Seeking revenge after discovering the truth behind his brother's death, Mick's rage ignites an explosive riot as he makes a daring escape."
Check out GalaxyCon co-founder Sandy Martin in action as she tries desperately to wrangle people waiting in line to enter the Florida fan event in this clip from the new documentary available on demand November 9, 2021.
Here is the official synopsis:
"'Surviving Supercon' is a zany behind the scenes look at how a rag-tag Mom & Pop organization pulls off one the biggest pop culture conventions in the United States. Directed and edited by Steven Shea, 'Surviving Supercon' is an insider look at convention production, following husband and wife owners Mike Broder and Sandy Martin as they attempt to pull off one of the biggest pop culture conventions in the United States. With no sleep and dozens of fires to put out every day of the event, the Supercon crew run themselves ragged, hoping to keep their 60,000 attendees smiling."
Read this next: 13 Box Office Bombs That Are Truly Worth A Watch
The post Clips Round-Up: Neal McDonough Reaches The Apex, Andy Lau Enters Shock Wave & More [Exclusive] appeared first on /Film.
When it comes to digital security, you could either trust that everything is protected or confirm this for yourself. You might even be the person other people go to, to confirm their security for them. Either way, a Linux distribution focused on penetration testing provides the tools you need for the job.
Thanks to pandemic-related delays, "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" has felt like the movie equivalent of Lucy holding a football for Charlie Brown to kick, only to yank it away at the last second. And hey, I get it: the pandemic rightfully made a lot of Hollywood studios hesitant to release their movies into an environment with more complexity than usual, and a studio like Sony needs to make as much as possible on a potential blockbuster like this in order to stay competitive.
But now the movie is finally just a few days away from being released, and the marketing department wants to make darn sure you know that not only is this film coming soon, but it's directly linked to the first two "Ghostbusters" movies and will feature the return of the original cast's surviving members.
It's a good thing this is listed as the "final trailer," because all of those delays necessitated a lengthier marketing campaign than usual, and we now find ourselves in the weird position of feeling as if we've seen three quarters of the movie already thanks to all of the TV spots and trailers that have already been released. We've seen and heard allusions to the original 1984 Ghostbusters squad in previous trailers (largely through the presence of Dan Aykroyd's Ray Stantz), but this trailer makes it explicit that Bill Murray is coming back to portray one of his most famous cinematic roles: Dr. Peter Venkman.
It will mark the first time Murray has played the character since 1989's "Ghostbusters II." Weirdly, the same thing cannot be said for Aykroyd, who reprised the role for this brief and totally bizarre cameo in 1995's "Casper."
Since Harold Ramis's death, Murray, Aykroyd, and fellow Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson have appeared in other "Ghostbusters"-related projects, most notably 2016's "Ghostbusters: Answer the Call," in which they all played new characters as opposed to reprising their classic roles. But they'll be back as Venkman, Ray, and Winston in "Afterlife," and they'll be joined by another pair of familiar faces: Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett and Annie Potts as Janine.
Here's the movie's official synopsis:
From director Jason Reitman and producer Ivan Reitman, comes the next chapter in the original Ghostbusters universe. In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, when a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind. The film is written by Jason Reitman & Gil Kenan.
"Ghostbusters: Afterlife" blasts into theaters on November 19, 2021.
Read this next: The 15 Worst Sci-Fi Movies Of The 21st Century (So Far)
The post Ghostbusters: Afterlife Trailer: Terror Dogs, Dan Aykroyd, and a Familiar Song appeared first on /Film.
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Now here is a pleasant surprise. Electronic Arts and Respawn have just removed the Denuvo anti-tamper tech from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a great third-person action-adventure game. The game came out in 2019, meaning that it took EA and Respawn two years in order to remove Denuvo. As … Continue reading Electronic Arts has removed Denuvo from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order →
The post Electronic Arts has removed Denuvo from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order appeared first on DSOGaming.
The Dutton family drama is timeless, according to our first look at the "Yellowstone" prequel series, "1883." Long before Kevin Costner's gritty patriarch John Dutton, the family was making their way through the Great Plains, and the Dutton ranch was nothing more than a dream. The prequel series is an origin story, following the Dutton ancestors on their trek across the U.S., in search of a better future. With their sights set on Montana, they'll be forced to overcome more than a few deadly obstacles along the way — and we get to watch.
You can check out the new teaser trailer for "1883" below.
"1883" is a retelling of the Western expansion through the lens of the Duttons, a family destined for greatness. Eventually, they'll pioneer one of the largest ranches in the United States, which lasts in their family for generations. But in 1883, their humble beginning sees the family fleeing poverty, ages away from establishing their homestead. With epic music building in the background, we get a glimpse at the tragedy they'll first have to endure — a house set ablaze, soldiers charging into battle, and people digging graves. Anguished cries, faces smeared in dirt and the teaser's narration make devastating promises: "we're in the land of no mercy, now."
Here's how Paramount+ described the series:
From Academy Award nominee Taylor Sheridan, co-creator of Yellowstone, 1883 follows the Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America. It is a stark retelling of Western expansion, and an intense study of one family fleeing poverty to seek a better future in America's promised land - Montana.
The path forward won't be easy, but if it's any consolation, the sweeping Montana landscape is stunning. The sun lies just beyond the horizon, another indication that wealth is in this family's future, however far away it seems.
"1883" is led by yet another tough-as-nails cowboy, Academy Award nominee Sam Elliott's Shea Brennan. Naturally, he has immense sadness in his past, but attempts to leave it all behind as he guides the group from Texas to Montana. He's joined by James and Margaret Dutton, played by real-life couple and country stars, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Their eldest daughter, Elsa Dutton, is played by newcomer Isabel May. The teaser also offers a glimpse of the show's guest stars, like Billy Bob Thorton as Marshal Jim Courtright.
Also unveiled with the trailer was an ominous poster, showing a covered wagon on fire, with smoke rising to the sky. "1883" is streaming December 19, 2021, exclusively on Paramount+. You can check out the poster below.
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