If you’ve been having issues with your print server clients after installing Windows 11 on your PC, you’re not alone. Microsoft has acknowledged various bugs that prevent Windows 11 machines from installing printers in enterprise networks. (via Bleeping Computer). The ... Read more
The shift to clean energy is sending the oil industry into decline. But the world needs a much more ambitious plan to save the climate and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. From a report: That's according to the International Energy Agency, which said in its global energy outlook published Wednesday that more aggressive climate action is needed as world leaders prepare for the crucial COP26 summit in Glasgow in November. "The world's hugely encouraging clean energy momentum is running up against the stubborn incumbency of fossil fuels in our energy systems," Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement. "Governments need to resolve this at COP26 by giving a clear and unmistakeable signal that they are committed to rapidly scaling up the clean and resilient technologies of the future."
More than 50 countries and the European Union have pledged to meet net zero emissions targets. If they live up to those commitments, demand for fossil fuels will peak by 2025, but global CO2 emissions would only fall 40% by 2050, far short of net zero. In that scenario, the world would still be consuming 75 million barrels of oil per day by 2050 -- only 25 million barrels per day less than today. The energy sector has been bolstered in recent weeks by a sharp increase in prices.
The headline here is optimistic. If you tell someone who has feelings for you that you don’t want to date them, but you do want to sleep with them, you probably will sound like an asshole. But we have a few tips on how to sound less like one. You’re not actually a bad person, but when feelings are involved, it’s easy…
GTA Forums member alloc8or has leaked the first graphics details for Grand Theft Auto Trilogy: The Definitive Edition. Not only that, but alloc8or has also leaked the official PC requirements for this upcoming trilogy. According to a snippet – from what appears to be a press release – GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition will feature high-resolution … Continue reading GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition PC Requirements & first graphics details leaked →
Researchers have disclosed the details of new timing and power-based side-channel attacks that affect all CPUs made by AMD, but the chipmaker says no new mitigations are necessary.
Blizzard has peeled back the curtain on the technical side of Diablo 2: Resurrected's server issues, which have plagued the new PC game since launch. Community manager Adam Fletcher has posted a lengthy explainer on Diablo 2's blog sharing what's happened, why it's happened, and what the team is doing to tackle these issues going forward.
Alongside surges of popularity overwhelming the servers, Fletcher says that part of the issue comes down to legacy code. In staying "true to the original game", the team kept a lot of the old code, with one legacy service in particular "struggling to keep up with modern player behaviour".
"We mention 'modern player behaviour' because it's an interesting point to think about," Fletcher says. "In 2001, there wasn't nearly as much content on the internet around how to play Diablo II 'correctly' (Baal runs for XP, Pindleskin/Ancient Sewers/etc for magic find, etc). Today, however, a new player can look up any number of amazing content creators who can teach them how to play the game in different ways, many of them including lots of database load in the form of creating, loading, and destroying games in quick succession. Though we did foresee this - with players making fresh characters on fresh servers, working hard to get their magic-finding items - we vastly underestimated the scope we derived from beta testing."
From green bean casserole on the Thanksgiving dinner table to the dutiful reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance by American school children, many of our cherished traditions and beliefs are actually based—at least in part—on good old-fashioned marketing and advertising. It’s part of what makes Capitalism fun!
After the rousing success of The CW's "Riverdale," and its subsequent fanbase growth once the seasons popped up on Netflix, fans were elated at the announcement of the Netflix original series, "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina." Inspired by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's popular comic book series of the same name (which itself is a spin-off of Aguirre-Sacasa's "Afterlife with Archie" series), the Netflix series is broken up into parts, and Netflix canceled the show after only four parts. Fans were devastated at the announcement, especially considering how popular the series was. Unfortunately, if "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" is to see another day, it more than likely won't be with Netflix. Here's why "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" was canceled.
Another Show Ruined By The Pandemic
If you're upset about the cancellation of "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina," you have the COVID-19 pandemic to blame. In July of 2020, shows like "The Society" and "GLOW" that Netflix had already renewed for more seasons, were shut down due to the pandemic. "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" was unfortunately also one of them. Production on part 4 of the series wrapped in March of 2020, and despite the plans for a fifth part, Netflix wrapped the show before the creatives had a chance to complete the story. Ross Lynch, the actor who plays Sabrina's ex-boyfriend Harvey Kinkle, revealed to NME that there were at least 10 more episodes planned out pre-COVID.
Shortly after news of the cancellation broke, showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa took to Twitter confirming that part 5 was already in the works, and that the story would have centered on a war between the witches.
Aguirre-Sacasa's tweet features an image in the style of the comic series featuring Sabrina, Harvey Kinkle, Nicolas Scratch, Theo Putnam, and Roz Walker, and the "Riverdale" group of Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper and Cheryl Blossom. The image reads, "The Witches of Riverdale are Coming," definitely implying a crossover between "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" and "Riverdale."
The Riverdale Crossover
While "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" was canceled before the show had a chance to end on its own terms, we learned last week that Sabrina Spellman was finally going to make her debut on Riverdale During a Q&A on The Dipp after the "Riverdale" season 5 finale, writer Evan Kyle revealed that Sabrina would be making an appearance in season 6, which was then confirmed by Aguirre-Sacasa with Entertainment Weekly. Sabrina is due to show up on "Riverdale" season 6, episode 4 titled "The Witching Hour(s)." The appearance was also confirmed on the Warner Bros. official Twitter.
Read below for Entertainment Weekly's description of the episode.
Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) is performing a dangerous spell, one that may mean the difference between life and death for a beloved member of the Blossom family, according to a logline description of the episode. Luckily, she's getting a much needed assist from everybody's favorite 20-something witch, the iconic Sabrina Spellman (Shipka), visiting from Greendale in this years-in-the-making crossover.
Over two dozen nations resolved Thursday to battle collectively against the global and escalating threat posed by cyber-extortionists, following a Washington-led anti-ransomware summit.
Between my work/writing schedule and my partner's returning to school, cooking dinner is no longer a daily occurrence. We're all about pan meals, roasts, Instant Pot oatmeal and sandwiches. As we haven't been able to drop down to Texas for the past two winters—nor will we now, as the culture has become, at least for us, untenable—I've been missing out on a lot of the foods that I love. — Read the rest
This week, kids and teens are watching the trailer for upcoming horror flick The Black Phone, opining about Willy Wonka’s outfit, and signaling with red flags. What does it all mean? You decide.
"Halloween Kills" is sensational. As our own Marshall Shaffer remarked in his review, the movie "manages to put a playful but petrifying spin on mythology without resorting to cheap self-referentiality," and he is absolutely right. "Halloween Kills" is stacked to the rafters with gory kills, franchise callbacks, and familiar faces, including Nancy Stephens and Kyle Richards as older versions of the same characters they played in John Carpenter's original.
Available to watch now both in theaters and streaming on Peacock, "Halloween Kills" is the perfect way to ease into the Halloween spirit. Those of us here at /Film are liable to watch the movie dozens of times, but for audiences looking for something similar that hits some of the same beats, here are 12 movies to watch if you loved "Halloween Kills" (other than both John Carpenter's "Halloween" and David Gordon Green's 2018 reboot, to which "Halloween Kills" is a direct sequel). Let's begin.
12. Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers
"Halloween Kills" makes some compelling allusions to the sixth entry in the original "Halloween" canon, "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers." According to the book "Halloween: 25 Years Of Terror" (per ScreenRant), the sixth "Halloween" movie underwent several rewrites and reshoots, infamously resulting in two veritably distinct versions of the same movie: a standard theatrical cut and the cult-favorite Producer's Cut. Whichever version audiences choose to watch, "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" remains a curious yet nonetheless engaging entry in the original franchise timeline (in which Jamie Lee Curtis' Laure Strode is killed off-screen between the second and fourth entry).
Michael looks the best he ever has since the original, and it features some of the franchise's grisliest deaths. Though maligned by both critics and audiences at the time, it's worth revisiting, in no small part because of how it influences Green's trajectory in his new trilogy. It's one of the oddest entries in the entire franchise, but for fans with patience, it's sure to reward.
11. Terrifier
"Terrifier" is a cult hit, a movie so deliciously deranged and abounding with gonzo gore, a sequel was swiftly greenlit for release in 2022. Directed by Damien Leone, David Howard Thornton stars as Art the Clown, a masked maniac who stalks a nondescript town one Halloween evening, violently killing anyone unfortunate enough to encounter him. The gore is so outrageously violent, "Terrifier" remains unrated. Additionally, Art the Clown has ascended toward something of a modern horror icon, a silent yet sensationally engaging masked killer.
Produced on a meager, partially crowdfunded budget, "Terrifier" never fails to entertain. While the gore can occasionally push boundaries -- it certainly isn't for the squeamish -- the final product belies its modest origins. /Film's own Chris Evangelista remarked that "Terrifier" is "one of the goriest movies I've ever seen" (he isn't a fan), yet he too concedes that there's a certain oddity that has attracted a cult following. Though it won't work for everyone, fans of unrated, unhinged, and totally unpredictable slasher horror should look no further than "Terrifier."
10. Hatchet II
"Hatchet," like "Terrifier," has modest roots, gonzo gore, a stacked cast of genre veterans, and is concerned principally with carnage. An early template for "Halloween Kills," this sequel to Adam Green's original has the likes of Danielle Harris, Tony Todd, and AJ Bowen returning to the site of the first film's massacre to track down and kill Victor Crowley, the Bayou Butcher, once and for all.
"Hatchet II" ups the ante of the first, nearly doubling the number of on-screen kills from the first, the likes of which include giant chainsaws, skinning, and boat motors. It's ludicrous in the best way as returning director Adam Green bounces from one over the top death to the next, all splendidly realized on-screen with stellar FX work. Infamous for its unrated release -- AMC agreed to show the film unrated in 68 theaters across the country, only to back out day of (per Entertainment Weekly) -- the movie is a love letter to the genre. Not all of it lands; the humor, as horror comedies are wont to do, is often juvenile. But the gore and cast more than make up for its shortcomings.
9. Scream 2
The horror community has long been divided on whether "Scream" or "Scream 2" is the best in Wes Craven's long-running meta slasher series (which is poised for a fifth film next January). Wherever one lands (personally, I think they're both perfect in their own distinct ways that renders comparison moot), "Scream 2" is one of the genre's definitive sequels. Like "Halloween Kills," it ups the ante, broadening its scope, accelerating the violence, and focusing preeminently on the roots of trauma and its capacity to infect an entire community.
Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returns, this time as a college student once again embroiled in the middle of a masked massacre. Stronger, more resolved, and resolute about surviving, she's one of the genre's best final girls, one now concerned not only with herself, but the lives of those closest to her. Laurie Strode, is that you? It's a fantastic sequel and a worthwhile slasher in its own right. Get ready to scream again.
8. Initiation
"Initiation" is one of the newest entries on this list. John Berardo directed, wrote, and produced a feature-length adaptation of his own short film, "Dembanger." A contemporary slasher, "Initiation" stars Lindsay LaVanch as Ellery (just accept the name), a college student investigating the deaths of both her brother and several others at the hands of a masked assailant.
"Initiation" sports some stellar practical gore, fantastic chase scenes, and a narrative rooted in college culture -- namely, allegations of sexual assault and how little support there is for survivors. With a masked killer, a trauma-centered narrative, and almost prescient relevancy, "Initiation" is what "Halloween Kills" might look like on a smaller scale with indie roots. It's fun, unpredictable, and one of 2020's most unsung gems. While it's unlikely to inspire new genre initiates, those eager for something new yet familiar will find a lot to love here, even if it's not (unfortunately) a remake of the 1984 slasher of (nearly) the same name.
7. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
The original "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" from 1974 is a classic for good reason. Little, perhaps nothing, has matched co-writer-director Tobe Hooper's grounded intensity and verisimilar thrills. Though only a movie, so much of it feels real, raw in acting and execution. Its remake, conversely, is unequivocally a movie. It's a very, very good movie, though. Directed by Marcus Nispel and produced by Platinum Dunes, 2003's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" undoubtedly ignited the horror remake craze, and -- as is true with most trends -- the first is usually the best. Slicker, more expensive, and veritably more violent (Hooper's original features next to no on-screen blood and gore), "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remake is very much a movie of its time.
Post 9/11 anxiety, contemporary demands for more violence, and a caustic interrogation of American mythos, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is "Halloween Kills" set in Texas. It's violent, intense, and unrelenting in its slaughter. It's a refraction of the modern world and never shies away from showing just how ugly things have gotten. It's unpleasant, uncomfortable, and absolutely deserving of a watch.
6. Terror Train
"Terror Train" has all the hallmarks of an eighties slasher. It's got a masked killer, hedonistic teens, and a "Prom Night" mystery riff at its center. Additionally, like "Prom Night" and Carpenter's original "Halloween," it's got Jamie Lee Curtis in the starring role. She stars as Alana Maxwell, one of several college students celebrating the new year aboard a moving train. The party is themed, and Alana -- along with the dozens of other guests -- are all dressed in costume.
Director Roger Spottiswoode makes great use of the central conceit, having his killer -- originally seen in a Groucho Marx mask -- don the mask of every new victim (a gimmick Netflix's forthcoming "There's Someone Inside Your House" seems to spin in a new way). It conceals his identity from both the audience and characters. Though it stretches credulity -- it's hard to imagine the killer could whack so many coeds aboard a moving train without anyone noticing -- it's an exciting, violent slasher and a welcome glimpse into "Halloween Kills" star Jamie Lee Curtis' early horror career.
5. The Final Girls
Todd Strauss-Schulson's "The Final Girls" is criminally overlooked. Relegated to VOD when it absolutely deserved a wide-release, it's one of the genre's most inventive outputs this century. Genre icon Taissa Farmiga stars as Max Cartwright, the daughter of actress Amanda (Malin Åkerman), whose most famous role was in the (fictional) eighties slasher "Camp Bloodbath." Amanda is killed in an auto accident, and to assist Max in processing her grief, her friends drag her to a local midnight screening of the film, hoping that seeing her mother on-screen will accelerate the bereavement cycle.
A fire breaks out, and Max and her friends (including Alia Shawkat and Nina Dobrev among a familiar cast) find themselves transported into the world of the movie. Strauss-Schulson plays with the slasher template similarly to how Green and Co. do in "Halloween Kills," though notably without the excessive gore ("The Final Girls" is a solid PG-13). Don't let the rating discourage you, though. With a preeminent focus on grief, trauma, and community healing -- the cast of characters in "Camp Bloodbath" are more than just slaughter -- it's got one of the biggest horror hearts I've seen. Here's hoping the slasher renaissance, courtesy of Green and the likes of Jordan Peele, can help accelerate a sequel.
4. Fear Street Part 2: 1978
The "Fear Street" trilogy was an absolute treat, the best of what horror cinema had to offer in the summer of 2021. Gloriously queer and sensationally violent, it wears its inspiration on its tattered, grungy, bloody sleeves. The second entry in the inverted "Fear Street" trilogy, "Fear Street Part 2: 1978" is the most violent and frenzied of the three. "Part 2" explores the Camp Nightwing massacre, one of several Shadyside massacres over the decades attributed to witch Sarah Fier. Where "1994," the first entry, riffed on "Scream" and other small ensemble '90s slashers, "1978" is restricted only by its own ambitions.
Seriously, this entry is violent. Heads splatter and split, bodies are crushed, and throats are slashed. Like "Halloween Kills," it's the second in a slasher trilogy, one content to move the plot forward toward its conclusion while delivering ample carnage along the way. It's sick, ghastly, and wickedly awesome. For fans of the unfettered kills and buckets of blood in "Halloween Kills," are few movies streaming that can satisfy that itch more than "Fear Street."
3. You're Next
"You're Next" has an ingenious premise. In the years since "Scream," and, to be honest, Carpenter's original "Halloween," there was little room to radically rework the slasher formula. There was only so much work to be done recalibrating weapons, motives, and origins. Instead, "You're Next" confidently took a familiar sandbox -- namely, a group of masked killers invading a rural country home -- and opted instead to rework something different: the final girl.
Sharni Vinson stars as Erin, the girlfriend to Crispin ("Hatchet 2's" AJ Bowen) en route to his parents' anniversary celebration at an isolated New York estate. There, they're joined by his siblings and their partners, a menagerie of mumblecore faces including Amy Seimetz and Joe Swanberg, for a weekend of bickering and buried resentment. That is, of course, until a group of armed maniacs lay siege to the house, killing everyone and anyone in their way.
Vinson's Erin, however, is the variable they didn't account for. See, she isn't simply Crispin's girlfriend. Unbeknownst to him and everyone else, she's grown up on a survivalist compound, making this the exact kind of scenario she's prepared for. She's a force to be reckoned with, conveying both vulnerability and resolute intelligence as she endeavors to survive the night. Without Vinson's Erin, it's hard to imagine that Green's recalibrated vision of Laurie Strode would have worked.
2. The Toolbox Murders
David Gordon Green has cited "The Toolbox Murders" as an enduring inspiration for the vision of his "Halloween" trilogy, of which "Halloween Kills" is the second entry. Outside of the more obvious ones -- Green has cited "Black Christmas" and "Friday the 13" among other slashers -- "The Toolbox Murders" is a curious reference, though one that becomes clearer after you watch "Halloween Kills." Dennis Donnelly's 1978 slasher was an ugly, exploitative piece of video-nasty filmmaking. Tracking a murder spree at a Los Angeles apartment, it abounds in gonzo grindhouse gore before the subgenre even had a name. The women are stripped and killed, and the killer remains mostly faceless, a lurking menace in the shadows ready to strike at any point.
Still, even maestro Stephen King himself has cited it as a favorite, and in the years since (likely on account of how widely banned its distribution was) it has attracted a cult following, the kind of movie horror fans dare their friends to see. The unkempt carnage, though, is easily linked to Green's vision for "Halloween Kills." While Green is less inclined to get really nasty -- "Halloween Kills" has none of the excessive, gratuitous nudity that appears on "The Toolbox Murders" -- it's easy to see how this little gem has had a more profound impact than audiences might realize.
1. Ready Or Not
"Ready or Not" is "You're Next" without the survivalist roots. Still, Samara Weaving's Grace is conceived in the mold of both Erin and Laurie Strode. Beyond the thematic similarity of all three having to survive the night when pursued by masked maniacs, there are gritty undertones of trauma and grief (Grace, for instance, is a foster child) that drive these women forward.
Grace specifically has found herself embroiled in a longstanding family tradition. Her husband, Alex (Mark O'Brien), is a member of the Le Domas family, proprietors of the Le Domas Family Games Company. The family, however, is cursed, and every newcomer must draw a card from a puzzle box. Most are innocuous; though Grace, unfortunately, draws hide and seek, a card that mandates Grace hide and the family track her down to kill. What follows is a tense, yet lighthearted when necessary, cat and mouse game as Grace realizes the truth and endeavors to outsmart her pursuers. Like "Halloween Kills," the deaths are quick and brutal, and the resonance is rooted in overcoming adversity. With directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett directing the forthcoming fifth "Scream" entry, slashers are back, baby.
As the weather cools off, our daily gatherings and activities tend to move inside. And once we’ve hunkered down for winter, we tend to stay hunkered down for winter. That means now is the time to tackle those last little home improvement projects to spruce up the exterior of your house and prep it for winter. That…
The U.S. Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) on Thursday warned of continued ransomware attacks aimed at disrupting water and wastewater facilities (WWS), highlighting five incidents that occurred between March 2019 and August 2021.
"This activity—which includes attempts to compromise system integrity via unauthorized access—threatens the ability of WWS facilities to provide
Crysis Remastered Trilogy includes:
Crysis Remastered:
What begins as a simple rescue mission becomes the battleground of a new war as alien invaders swarm over a chain of North Korean islands. Playing as super-soldier Prophet, you are armed with a powerful Nanosuit equipped with Speed, Strength, Armor, and Cloaking abilities. Use a vast arsenal of modular weaponry and adapt your tactics and gear to dominate enemies in an enormous sandbox world.
Crysis 2 Remastered:
Aliens have returned to a world ravaged by climate disasters. As the invaders lay waste to New York and begin an assault that threatens the total annihilation of humankind, only you have the technology to lead the fightback. Equipped with the upgraded Nanosuit 2.0, customize your suit and weapons in real-time and unlock powerful new abilities in the battle for humanity's survival.
Crysis 3 Remastered:
Returning to the fight as super-soldier Prophet, the search for the alien Alpha Ceph continues, but now you must also expose the truth behind the C.E.L.L. corporation, which has turned New York City into a sprawling urban rainforest sheltered by a giant nanodome. Fight through seven distinct districts and decimate your opponents in a blaze of brute force using the Nanosuit's superior technology, or use stealth to achieve your goals and become humanity's silent savior. Equipped with your powerful and deadly new Predator Bow, there's no wrong way to save the world.
The Crysis games are also available for purchase individually here:
In Crysis 3 Remastered, the fate of the world is once again in your hands. Returning to the fight as super-soldier Prophet, wielding a powerful auto-loading Predator Bow that fires electric, explosive, and carbon arrows, take on new and old enemies that threaten the peace you worked so hard to achieve. The search for the alien Alpha Ceph continues, but now you must also expose the truth behind the C.E.L.L. corporation, which has turned New York City into a sprawling urban rainforest sheltered by a giant nanodome. Equipped with your legendary Nanosuit, you must assess, adapt, and attack as you choose your path and fight through seven distinct districts. Decimate your opponents in a blaze of brute force using the Nanosuit's superior technology, or use stealth to achieve your goals and become humanity's silent savior. There's no wrong way to save the world.
Following the events of the groundbreaking original Crysis, aliens have returned to a world ravaged by climate disasters. As the invaders lay waste to New York and begin an assault that threatens the total annihilation of humankind, only you have the technology to lead the fightback. Playing as a super-soldier equipped with the upgraded Nanosuit 2.0, you must adapt to the battlefield using its game-changing Stealth, Armor, and Power abilities. Customize your Nanosuit and weapons in real-time and unlock incredible new powers as you battle for humanity's survival.
The classic first person shooter from Crytek is back with the action-packed gameplay, sandbox world, and thrilling epic battles you loved the first time around – now with remastered graphics optimized for a new generation of hardware.
Suit up: Your Nanosuit’s speed, strength, armor, and cloaking allow creative solutions for every kind of fight.
Adapt: In an ever-changing environment, adapt your tactics to dominate on battlefields ranging from frozen jungle to alien environments.
Customize: A huge arsenal of modular weaponry provides unprecedented control over play style, with options ranging from the experimental to the alien.
Conquer: Life-like enemy AI require a strategic and flexible playstyle, as new challenges – including a zero-g battlefield– require players to take the offensive and be proactive.
Explore: Choose your own path through the open world of Crysis, destroying obstacles, driving vehicles, and using the environment itself against your enemies.
The operators behind the pernicious TrickBot malware have resurfaced with new tricks that aim to increase its foothold by expanding its distribution channels, ultimately leading to the deployment of ransomware such as Conti.
The threat actor, tracked under the monikers ITG23 and Wizard Spider, has been found to partner with other cybercrime gangs known Hive0105, Hive0106 (aka TA551 or Shathak),
"The Matrix: Resurrections" representing one big reunion is an idea that comes built-in to its very title. Obviously, Keanu Reeves' Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss' Trinity are (somehow) coming back from the dead to star in at least one more adventure together, in what's shaping up to be one of the wildest legacy sequels we've encountered yet. But despite the confirmed returns of a few other important figures from the original trilogy, one glaring absence has been the complete and total lack of Laurence Fishburne as the legendary Morpheus. Ironically, he's pretty much the biggest original character who never actually died during the events of "The Matrix: Revolutions" and thus seemed like a shoo-in to come back in the fourth film. That wasn't to be, however, as the casting of rising star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II came with instant assumptions that he would be stepping in to portray a younger version of Morpheus (again, somehow).
I have no idea what Lana Wachowski has in store for us with "The Matrix: Resurrections" and, at this point, I almost don't even want to theorize about it anymore. After all, how can any of our guesses top the mind-melting concepts that the Wachowskis have already introduced in this franchise? At the top of that list has to be Morpheus' apparent transformation from Laurence Fishburne into Yahya Abdul-Mateen II between the events of "Revolutions" and "Resurrections."
Entertainment Weekly managed to get Abdul-Mateen II to spill at least a few details about stepping into the seemingly unfillable shoes of Morpheus for the upcoming fourth film. To start with, the "Watchmen," "Aquaman," and "Candyman" actor makes it abundantly clear that his performance will not erase what Fishburne already accomplished. "Laurence already did what had to be done. I think what the script provided was a new narrative and some new opportunities that did make room within the Matrix universe for a new Morpheus." Abdul-Mateen II proceeds to go out of his way and clarify that rather than playing a younger version of the same Morpheus, "This is definitely a different iteration of the character." But one who, intriguingly, still retains a basic knowledge of what already happened in the previous movies.
"I play a character who's definitely aware of the history of the Matrix [and] the history of Morpheus. This character is on a journey of self-discovery. There's a lot in our story that's about growth, defining your own path. Morpheus isn't exempt from that."
Anything Is Possible In The Matrix
This certainly jives with the "Resurrections" footage of this new Morpheus appearing to reenact the famous training fight with Neo from the original film (elsewhere in the interview, he calls this his "most physically demanding role"). But if you're still confused about how any of this is supposed to work, well, that's kind of the point. Channeling his inner Morpheus during that famous expository monologue from "The Matrix," Abdul-Mateen II remarks:
"What the viewers will come to understand is that there are many rules of the Matrix. Age, appearance, the things we identify as real, can be manipulated in that world. The Matrix is where anything is possible."
Unsurprisingly, that's about as specific as the actor gets. Lana Wachowski and the cast of "Resurrections" are clearly keeping every major secret close to the vest until the film's release on December 22, 2021.
The official Wizard of New Zealand, perhaps the only state-appointed wizard in the world, has been cast from the public payroll, spelling the end to a 23-year legacy. From a report: The Wizard, whose real name is Ian Brackenbury Channell, 88, had been contracted to Christchurch city council for the past two decades to promote the city through "acts of wizardry and other wizard-like services," at a cost of $16,000 a year. He has been paid a total of $368,000.
The Wizard, who was born in England, began performing acts of wizardry and entertainment in public spaces shortly after arriving in New Zealand in 1976. When the council originally tried to stop him, the public protested. In 1982, the New Zealand Art Gallery Directors Association said he had become a living work of art, and then, in 1990, the prime minister at the time, Mike Moore, asked that he consider becoming the Wizard of New Zealand. "I am concerned that your wizardry is not at the disposal of the entire nation," Moore wrote on his official letterhead.
Apple is hosting its 'Unleashed event on Monday, October 18 where it is expected to announce the new M1X MacBook Pro models. The redesigned MacBook Pro model will be available in two sizes - 14-inch and 16-inch. Both models will be powered by the new M1X processors with 10-cores. While performance is a major factor, the new design of the upcoming M1X MacBook Pro models will play a major role if you are looking to upgrade from your current Mac. According to an analyst, almost a third of current MacBook owners will be looking to upgrade to the new models.
A Third of Current MacBook Owners Will be Looking to Upgrade to the Upcoming M1X MacBook Pro Models
Apple's upcoming M1X MacBook Pro models will come with a mini-LED display and it is also a possibility that the screen will feature a 120Hz refresh rate. In addition, Apple will ditch the Touch Bar in favor of standard function keys. To be fair, users are not accustomed to using a touch-based input method instead of physical keys. Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives predicts that almost a third of MacBook owners will be looking to upgrade to Apple's upcoming M1X MacBook Pro models.
With Apple’s new Silicon chips front and center Cupertino continues to refresh its hardware ecosystem across the board with Monday a long anticipated day for Mac Pro power users to finally get the the new Apple chips on board.
The star of the show at the event will be the new M1X- powered MacBook Pros with 14-inch and 16-inch models. The new MacBook Pros are expected to feature a mini-LED display, an HDMI port, MagSafe for charging, among other new feature.
The proprietary M1X processor is the foundational part of this MacBook and ultimately we believe will be a game changer that will convert 30%+ of current MacBook users to upgrade over the next year catalyzing growth on this hardware segment.
The M1X is essentially a new heavy duty engine being put in this new MacBook, and will be music to the ears of core Mac loyalists awaiting this release for the past six months as Cupertino continues to be in the midst of its biggest hardware refresh cycle in roughly a decade.
Take note that these are mere speculations at this point and only time will tell if a third of users are willing to upgrade to the redesigned M1X MacBook Pro. The new MacBook Pro models will start with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage capacity, which will be the major factor for users to upgrade.
We know based on our supply chain checks that the new AirPods 3 have been built, manufactured, and awaiting shipment globally but will Apple ultimately unveil these Monday remains a debatable issue within the Apple tech community.
We continue to believe there is a “high likelihood” that Cupertino officially launches the new AirPods 3 at Monday’s event and although supply chain issues remain, we believe the bulk of these can hit consumers by holiday season.
Apple is expected to launch the new M1X MacBook Pro models on Monday, October 18 and if you are looking to upgrade, you can check out all the major aspects of the launch in our extensive coverage. This is all there is to it, folks. Share your views with us in the comments.
Ridley Scott is back in action with "The Last Duel," his historical epic based on the non-fiction book by Eric Jager. The film follows three specific characters: Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon), Marguerite de Carrouges (Jodie Comer), and Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver), all living in France in the 1300s. Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris entered into the last officially recognized "judicial duel" fought in France. Marguerite, de Carrouges' wife, accused Le Gris of rape, leading to de Carrouges to challenge Le Gris to the duel. The two men would fight to the death — but Marguerite was in danger, too. If de Carrouges' lost the duel, that would mean — in the eyes of the law — the rape accusation was false. And the penalty for a false rape accusation at the time was execution. In other words, if her husband lost the duel, Marguerite would be killed next.
With "The Last Duel" now in theaters, we're going to take a look at the film's dramatic ending. But we can't do that until we look at the film as a whole. So, be warned: massive spoilers follow.
Friends, Enemies, And Perspective
Rather than tell a straightforward story, director Ridley Scott and screenwriters Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon take a page from Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon" and present the film's action from three different perspectives, which also effectively breaks the film into three neat acts. The first act follows Jean de Carrouges, the second act Jacques Le Gris, and the third Marguerite de Carrouges.
We learn that, at first, de Carrouges and Le Gris were friends, fighting side by side in battle. However, de Carrouges isn't the best at playing politics. As a result, he's alienated from the grace of the powerful Count Pierre d'Alençon (Ben Affleck, who steals the entire movie with a surprisingly funny, debauched performance). Le Gris, in sharp contrast, is much better at cozying up to people, and he works his way into the Count's favor, thus enabling him to enrich himself. The Count even gives Le Gris land that was initially promised to de Carrouges as part of the dowery of his new bridge, Marguerite.
These developments make de Carrouges sour on Le Gris, and start to think of him as an enemy. And here is where things get particularly interesting. Since each segment of the film is from a different character's perspective, the characters are always behaving slightly differently when various scenes play out and then replay later. In the de Carrouges' segment, de Carrouges is presented as a noble, brave man who loves his wife. Marguerite, in turn, clearly dotes on her husband. At the same time, this perspective shows Le Gris as a bit of a sneaky, conniving jerk.
The second half of the film replays much of what we've already seen, but now from Le Gris' perspective. And it's here where the audience finally starts catching on to what "The Last Duel" is doing. In the Le Gris segment, it's Le Gris who is presented as a good guy, while de Carrouges is portrayed as an annoying, whining failure. Le Gris continually defends de Carrouges when others disparage him, claiming the man as a friend.
At one point, Le Gris finally meets Marguerite. In the Le Gris segment, Le Gris claims he fell instantly in love with Marguerite the moment he laid eyes on her. And Marguerite, in turn, seems openly flirtatious with Le Gris. Things come to a head when Le Gris visits the de Carrouges' castle one day while de Carrouges is away and Marguerite is alone. Le Gris confesses his love to Marguerite, and she rebuffs his advances — but Jodie Comer, who is fantastic in the film overall, plays the scene in a deliberately ambiguous manner. Yes, she turns Le Gris down, but she does so in a way that makes it seem like she's just saying that when what she really wants is to make love to this man. And in Le Gris' eyes, that's exactly what happens. The two have sex — violent sex, but in Le Gris' mind, completely consensual. He even says later that he assumed Marguerite was only saying she didn't want to make love to him out of a sense of honor. But that's not how Marguerite sees things.
Marguerite
While "The Last Duel" could've remained ambiguous, it does take a definitive stand and makes it abundantly clear that Marguerite's segment shows the version of events as they really happened. This ends up changing any preconceived notions we may have had up until this point. While the first half of the movie makes it look like Jean de Carrouges and Marguerite are madly in love, Marguerite's perspective shows us that the marriage is often cold, and Jean is often very cruel to her. When Marguerite confesses the rape to Jean in the first half of the film, Jean is presented as immediately supportive and sympathetic. However, when the same scene plays out from Marguerite's perspective, we see that Jean's first instinct is to immediately think his wife is lying. He even violently grabs her by the throat and demands to know if she's really telling the truth.
The assault scene also plays out again, and, be warned, it's brutal. In fact, the movie as a whole is often shockingly brutal — Scott certainly doesn't skimp on the abundant gore during battle scenes. Here, it's plainly clear that there was nothing consensual about the moment, and that Le Gris really did rape Marguerite — although he certainly does it see it that way, because in his mind, he's the hero of his own personal story.
Jean challenges Jacques to a duel over the rape claim. But first, the three main characters have to submit to a trial first, where Marguerite is mercilessly questioned by powerful men who all think she's lying. She sticks to her story, though — even after she learns that if her husband loses the duel, she will then be immediately executed by being burned alive. Marguerite is pregnant during the trial, and there's some question among the people interrogating her as to whether or not the baby is Jean's or Jacques (the movie never says one way or another; it does make a point to include a scene where, immediately after learning of the rape, Jean demands Marguerite have sex with him so that Jacques isn't the last man she's touched. Although Jean probably doesn't see this as yet another rape, it certainly can be read as one, since Marguerite doesn't want to go through with it but feels powerless to object).
With Marguerite sticking to her story about her rape at the hands of Le Gris, the stage is finally set for the duel, and everyone's fate hangs in the balance. The duel is held off until Marguerite gives birth, and then, the day of battle comes.
The Last Duel
I suppose you could say that "The Last Duel" actually has four acts, with the fourth act being the duel itself. It's a big, gruesome spectacle with Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris going head to head, jousting, smashing each other with swords and axes, and just beating the living hell out of one another as a crowd cheers and Marguerite anxiously awaits her fate. There's a moment where it looks like Le Gris has the upper hand, but things change quickly, and de Carrouges pins Le Gris down with a blade held above his head and demands that he confess to the crime. Le Gris refuses, declaring that there was no rape. With that, de Carrouges jams his blade into Le Gris' mouth (as I said, the movie is brutal), and finally kills him.
Relieved, Marguerite is reunited with de Carrouges, but the reunion is awkward. They embrace each other for the spectators, but then mount separate horses and ride off through a cheering crowd. In the midst of all this, Le Gris' body is stripped and hung upside down for all to see. Following all this, we're treated to an epilogue. We learn that not long after the duel, Jean de Carrouges died in the Crusades. Marguerite inherited his land (although in real life, their son, who was 10 at the time of his father's death, was the actual recipient) and lived out the rest of her days happy. The film also gives us a title card stating that Marguerite "never remarried." Usually, when true stories throw this sort of thing up on the screen it's to imply, wrong or right, that the wife was so in love with her husband that she could never dream of another man. But here, the implication is clear that Marguerite was happy to remain unmarried and free after her cold marriage to Jean.
Ransomware gangs have silently hit three US water and wastewater treatment facilities this year, in 2021, the US government said in a joint cybersecurity advisory published today by the FBI, NSA, CISA, and the EPA. From a report: The attacks -- which had been previously unreported -- took place in March, July, and August and hit facilities in Nevada, Maine, and California, respectively. The attacks led to the threat actors encrypting files, and in one case, even corrupting a computer used to control the SCADA industrial equipment deployed inside the treatment plant. The three new incidents were listed as examples of what could happen when water treatment facilities ignore and fail to secure their computer networks.
The "Indiana Jones" franchise has claimed that somehow, the mythology from multiple religions (featured in "Raiders of the Lost Ark, "Temple of Doom" and "Last Crusade") is real, and so are aliens from other dimensions ("Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"). So what's the next far-out idea the series might have? How about time travel?! A rumor has been making the rounds that "Indiana Jones 5," which is currently filming under director James Mangold, has a story involving some form of time travel. And now, new set pics from Sicily seem to back that theory up. Then again, these images are completely out of context, so we really don't know what's going on here. But it's fun to speculate. I guess you could, in theory, consider this post full of spoilers (although honestly we still don't know any specific details), so be warned!
Indy Back In Time?
Over at The Daily Mail, you can find a slew of images snapped on the set of "Indiana Jones 5," and they seem to be confirming a big, crazy rumor. The pics show Harrison Ford and co-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge on location in Sicily. The scene being shot appears to show Ford's Indiana Jones wearing a parachute and being pulled out of a ditch by Waller-Bridge's character. But here's where it starts to get weird: the images also feature what appear to be Roman gladiators or Roman soldiers of some kind. The men are seen both in an ancient-looking rowboat and also on the shore, clutching swords.
So what the heck is going on here? Before these pics even surfaced, a rumor started spreading around Twitter that "Indiana Jones 5" would include time travel. Now, Twitter is not the best source of accurate information. But these images certainly lend some credence to that theory. We've already seen in previous set pics that some scenes in the film would take place during World War II, even though "Indiana Jones 5" appears to be set, at least initially, in the 1960s.
Of course, there could be a less sensational explanation for this. Perhaps the scenes with the Roman soldiers are flashbacks that don't involve Indy at all. Scenes meant to establish whatever ancient artifact Indy is hunting this time, perhaps? That's certainly a possibility. Then again ...
Would Time Travel In Indy 5 Be So Crazy?
I know that the knee-jerk reaction to the "Indy 5 has time travel!" theory will be negative. People will cry that it's too far-fetched, too different for the series. While time travel would certainly be new for the franchise, does it really matter how far-fetched things are in the world of Indiana Jones at this point? By now, the four films have firmly established that all sorts of weird, supernatural, impossible things happen within Indy's world. Why not time travel, too?
While I remain somewhat hesitant about the film because Steven Spielberg is no longer in the director's chair, I can it appreciate if director/co-writer James Mangold and writers Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth are trying something new here. Let Indy be weird! It could yield fun, fresh results. Or it could backfire spectacularly! I guess we'll see. "Indiana Jones 5" time travels into theaters on July 29, 2022.
Millicent Simmonds, the breakout star of "Wonderstruck" and "A Quiet Place," will play Helen Keller opposite Rachel Brosnahan in "Helen & Teacher." Wash Westmoreland, the director of "Still Alice" and Netflix's "Earthquake Bird," will helm the upcoming film about the famed author, educator, and disability rights advocate.
Keller lost her sight and hearing when she was a toddler and spent years after that communicating with home signs, a system of improvised gestures that often take the place of sign language in children who are living in a relative vacuum apart from the Deaf community. When she was 7 years old she met Anne Sullivan, who became her teacher. Brosnahan will play Sullivan, described by The Hollywood Reporter as Keller's "committed yet controlling translator and companion" in "Helen & Teacher."
According to THR, Simmonds is actually related to Keller, being a distant cousin of hers. Simmonds herself is also one of a growing number of actors like Lauren Ridloff ("Eternals") who are bringing increased visibility to deaf performers in Hollywood.
The screenplay for "Helen & Teacher" comes from Westmoreland and Laetitia Mikles, who reportedly wrote it in consultation with the Helen Keller National Center for Youth and Adults. The story is said to be "set during the early 1900s, following Keller's tumultuous time at Radcliffe College of Harvard University, when her rapidly expanding worldview and sexual awakening brings her into direct conflict with the more conservative Sullivan."
Note To TikTok: Helen Keller Was Real
Westmoreland had this to say about "Helen & Teacher:"
"Most people only know of Helen Keller's story from when she was a child. 'Helen & Teacher' will look at her as a young adult when she developed a radical, world-changing political voice. Today, when some TikTok threads dispute Helen Keller's achievements and even her existence, it is time for a film that shows her relevance, her brilliance and her unbreakable spirit."
At the beginning of this year, The Guardian reported on a conspiracy theory that was gaining traction on TikTok, disputing Keller's very existence, despite the fact that she wrote a dozen books and is a well-known lecturer and activist with a museum devoted to her. So that's what Westmoreland is referring to there.
Such denialism is vaguely reminiscent of that scene in "Interstellar" where the schoolteacher sits with a doctored textbook and denies that the moon landing ever happened. It's absurd to think that our post-truth society has gotten this bad, but if the world is averse to trusting sources like Encyclopedia Brittanica and needs reminding that, yes, Helen Keller was a real woman, then a movie starring Millicent Simmonds is a great way to do it.
"Helen & Teacher" doesn't yet have a release date, but stay tuned for more updates on this project.
Ah, Dubai, the sparkling desert miracle of splendiferous opulence! Where else can you get tortured and imprisoned for 25 years for having a bottle of non-psychoactive CBD oil?
That's what happened to Billy Hood (24), a UK man who moved there to coach children's soccer. — Read the rest
Today’s release of the Crysis Remastered Trilogy, which includes newly revamped versions of Crysis 2 and Crysis 3 alongside last year’s Crysis Remastered, begs an age-old question that has become a deep-rooted part of PC gaming culture since the days of the 2007 original: but can it run Crysis? After spending some time with the remasters, we have thoughts and answers.
Before we discuss the Crysis Remastered Trilogy, it’s worth reflecting on why the Crysis series still means so much to so many, almost 14 years after the first game’s release. When it first debuted, Crysis pushed real-time visual fidelity to new heights and offered a level of interactivity that wasn’t commonplace in FPS games at the time, nor since. Understandably, this came at a massive cost to performance. Even now, the game provides a sizable challenge to today’s best graphics cards and best gaming CPUs, struggling to maintain a consistent 60fps at 4K max settings.
It remains a graphical and technological marvel with few games since leaving such a defining mark on PC gaming, which left its sequels - and currently leaves these remasters - with some understandably large nanosuit-styled shoes to fill.
Matt Damon, Jodie Comer, Adam Driver and Ben Affleck star in an action drama, directed by Ridley Scott, now in theaters.
