Ronald.phillips

NASA developed LunaNet, an ‘internet’ network for the Moon and the Artemis missions. Artemis is NASA’s program to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon. The international moon program is the tip-of-the-sword of the US in the new space race, however, Artemis II has been delayed due to a legal lawsuit over a lunar landing module awarded to SpaceX by NASA and questioned by Blue Origin.

Artemis I is set to launch in November, sending a crew-less Orion spacecraft to our natural satellite. The following Artemis missions will land the first woman and first person of color on the surface of the Moon. The Artemis Base Camp in the south pole of the Moon is also considered a stepping stone to Mars and beyond. With all these moving parts, a reliable communications network would sure make things easier.

NASA created LunaNet to end disruptions and delays in communications and data transfer in space. Missions in space today depend on pre-scheduled links with space satellites or ground-based antennas, making communications and data transfer limited. LunaNet is designed to provide sustainable communications, navigation, weather monitoring, and will also be used for scientific purposes.

Like the internet, the LunaNet allows users to maintain connections with a larger network made up of nodes but in space. The LunaNet is a Delay-Disruption Tolerant Network DTN, using multiple nodes on the Moon, on satellites, and ground stations, ultimately creating a robust network. Each node can store and re-route data to find the best optimal path for it to reach destinations. Astronauts and rovers on the Moon will not have to wait for information to be processed and passed around from ground stations.

Academics, ground control, spacecraft, astronauts, and other users will be able to access the network no matter where they are. On the Moon, using LunaNet navigation, rovers and astronauts will be able to know their location, plot out routes, enable autonomous traveling, and set quick returns to base. Astronauts will also get real-time space weather information. In the event of dangerous solar storm activity, astronauts will receive an alert to seek shelter. LunaNet will also contribute to search and rescue programs, scientific experiments, and astronomical observations using radio astronomy. NASA will use LunaNet to research advanced space communications for future missions. "LunaNet is the first step in creating a Solar System internet," NASA says.

Next: Mercury Looks Stunning In These 

Source: NASA

Judy Greer, one of the stars of the upcoming Halloween Kills, reveals the scene she found the most terrifying to film. The film follows-up David Gordon Green's Halloween, which retconned every film in the franchise to act as a direct sequel to John Carpenter's 1978 original. The 2018 reboot-quel saw the return of Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, the franchise's original final girl. Greer played Karen, Laurie's daughter, alongside fellow castmates Will Patton, Andi Matichak, Nick Castle, and Toby Huss.

Halloween Kills sees the return of Curtis, Greer, and a few others, with Green once again behind the camera. The film is set to pick up moments after Halloween ended, continuing the same night of Michael Myers' murderous reign of terror. The significant shift for Greer's Karen comes from not believing in her mother's paranoia in the previous film to now having experienced Myers' return, changing the estranged dynamic between the two. That newly heightened bond will only deepen the terror in which they find themselves, both for the characters and the Halloween Kills audience.

While speaking with Bloody Disgusting, Greer mentions a scene in Halloween Kills that sees Karen accompany Laurie to the hospital. Eventually, the hospital erupts into chaos, with a mob of people running and bumping into Karen and Laurie, who are pinned down in a hallway. As Greer put it, "the scariest part was for real," since even when the bedlam is choreographed, it can still be a tumultuous ordeal. Even with what she knew before filming, Greer couldn't help but feel terrified while being inches away from being trampled:

I think the scariest part was for real when we were stuck in the hallway, me and Jamie, and the mob was running after us, and they were running past us and bumping into us and shoving us and not even noticing or listening to us. It was really overwhelming and really scary. I was like, God, this is terrifying! It’s a movie, and people are acting; I can’t even imagine being in the middle of that kind of thing for real.



While the scene Greer mentions is full of chaos, it may not be what fans would've guessed as the most terrifying for her to film. It was clearly intense, but most would've likely expected Michael to play a more direct part in the moment. However, horror films can be just as terrifying for actors to film, and often more so in some scenes that may not be as frightening for audiences. As Greer said herself, "I can't even imagine being in the middle of that kind of thing for real."

Halloween Kills is set to have plenty of harrowing moments. A petition was even launched recently asking for the removal of a scene in Halloween Kills that features the slaughter of firefighters. While it's unlikely that the scene in question will be removed from the film, it shows that the sequel is already making waves for its intense content. It also won't be the last time audiences see Michael, as another sequel, Halloween Ends, is already planned for next year. For audiences eager to see the next horrifying chapter, Halloween Kills premieres on October 15, both in theaters and streaming on Peacock.

Source: Bloody Disgusting

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for No Time To Die

Several key elements of Safin's plan in No Time To Die simply don't make sense without the presence of the previous major Bond villain, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Although Blofeld does feature prominently in the narrative, it's clear that he is playing second fiddle to Rami Malek's Lyutsifer Safin. However, as a result of this reduced role, the film as a whole suffers and, ultimately, raises serious questions about the efficacy of Safin's supposed master plan.

After occupying center stage in 2015's Spectre, No Time To Die sees Blofeld very much behind the scenes in a British prison. Although he is still running operations at the criminal organization, courtesy of a computerized eye carried around by colleagues, his power and influence has been reduced as a result of his incarceration. This is made clear when an attempt to use stolen nanobots to kill James Bond at a Spectre party inadvertently results in the death of Spectre's entire leadership. It later becomes clear that Safin is behind the mix-up as part of his plan to exact revenge on Spectre for the death of his family. Eventually, Safin manages to successfully assassinate Blofeld via James Bond, after Madeleine Swann infects him with nanobots programmed to match Blofeld's DNA.

After executing his convoluted plan to kill Blofeld, Safin then focuses on finding a buyer for his stolen nanobot technology. This brings him into further conflict with Bond, who recognizes the potentially devastating impact of the so-called Heracles project. However, while programmable nanobots with the potential to kill anyone they come into contact with in seconds are undoubtedly scary, under closer inspection, the rationale for Safin's supposed masterplan doesn't hold up. Not only is it unclear why he hopes to eradicate so many people, but also what motivates him once he successfully kills the head of Spectre. Here's why, ultimately, Safin's plan in No Time To Die needed Blofeld to stand up to scrutiny.

Initially, Safin's plan to kill Spectre as an act of revenge makes a certain amount of narrative sense. After all, avenging the deaths of your family is a perfectly compelling reason to seek potentially world-ending technology. However, not only does the continuation of his plan make little emotional sense after he has succeeded in his earlier goal, but the coherence of the entire project quickly falls apart after even a minimal amount of examination.

For example, it seems highly unlikely that an individual such as Safin, no matter what his resources or his level of influence, would be able to match the tools of a global criminal enterprise such as Spectre. After all, throughout the early story arc of the Craig era, Spectre was responsible for pulling the strings behind everyone from Le Chiffre to Raoul Silva – highlighting the extent of its power. The idea that a hitherto unknown villain with a mysterious backstory would be able to defeat the entire organization singlehandedly by persuading a single scientist to switch sides, therefore, seems extremely unlikely.

What's even more unusual is that Blofeld and Spectre, despite the clear and present danger that he poses to them, seem largely unaware of Safin's true motivations. Despite working for Spectre as an assassin, Safin's revenge plot seems to take everybody by surprise. The idea that such an individual would be able to operate in the criminal underworld, amassing the resources to build his own poison base, without Spectre discovering his real plan and the potential threat he poses to the entire operation seems to stretch credulity to the limit.

Given the fact that Safin is both a new character to the franchise and seemingly lacks strong motivation once his revenge mission is completed, it seems that he may have worked more effectively as a supporting henchman, rather than a central villain. For instance, the idea of Spectre's chief poisoner on the trail of James Bond at the behest of an incarcerated Blofeld may have helped the audience to overlook the obvious problems with incentive that emerge during the film's second and third acts. This would have placed Safin alongside the likes of Jaws, Oddjob and Red Grant as iconic Spectre associates, rather than saddling him with the undue burden of carrying the whole movie.

As it is, the film arguably begins to fall flat once the shadow of Spectre, which had previously defined so much of the Daniel Craig Bond era, completely disappears from the scene. Although Safin's desire for revenge offers an interesting shade to his character, his early success actually undermines the groundwork laid for the organization by previous movies. As a result, turning Safin into a henchman would have been an effective way for No Time To Die to underscore the danger posed by Spectre, rather than reducing them to a sideshow easily eliminated by a single defecting scientist.

By contrast, an alternative plot in which Blofeld was the real mastermind behind the nanobot plot would not only have served Safin's character better, but would have been a far more compelling way to bring the entire Craig-era story arc to a close. Given the conflict between the two characters in previous movies, No Time To Die could have provided greater scope for exploring this compelling relationship. It's easy to imagine, for instance, an alternative story arc in which Blofeld – with Safin's help – attempts to exact revenge on James Bond from prison, perhaps with equally tragic results. This would have built on existing emotional tensions from the rest of the saga, rather than shoehorning in a new villain and starting again from scratch.

Placing Safin as a secondary villain would also have allowed the film to continue a trend that has defined Daniel Craig's Bond movies – namely, defying convention and pushing boundaries. Throughout the Bond era, henchmen have typically been two-dimensional caricatures that, despite iconic characteristics, have lacked proper development. Placing an actor such as Malek in this role would have allowed the film to do something genuinely radical with its supporting baddie, giving him his own compelling motivations. Placing him in the heart of the action without a genuinely compelling story behind his actions ultimately satisfies no one and represents a serious mistake for No Time To Die.

One way in which the film could have incorporated both Safin and Blofeld would have been to alter Safin's loyalties. It's not inconceivable, for instance, that in a world where Blofeld is behind bars, a power struggle might break out at the top of the organization. In a bid to keep control of the group, Blofeld could therefore have recruited Safin to assassinate his rivals on his behalf.

Ironically, this approach may also have tied in with Safin's plan for revenge. Given Blofeld's age, it's extremely unlikely that he would have been in charge of Spectre when Safin's family were killed at the request of the group. However, other high-ups within the organization may well have had a hand in the murders, providing Safin a compelling reason to team up with Blofeld. In this world, Safin as the liberated expert poisoner could have operated on the outside with Blofeld still holding the reins of power in jail. This would have helped alleviate one of the central problems with No Time To Die by providing two villains with competing and equally compelling motives, while also giving a villain as iconic as Blofeld his due.

There's no doubt that aspects of the movie provide a fitting swansong for Daniel Craig's time as James Bond. However, for all of the exciting onscreen action, including Bond's heartbreaking final sacrifice, it's undeniable that Bond's adversaries often fail to live up the rest of the film. With a few tweaks to the story, it's easy to see how this problem could have been avoided. As it is, No Time To Die represents a missed opportunity – both for Rami Malek's Safin and the re-imagined Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

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CHUCKY is the newest entry into the Child’s Play franchise that has been produced as a television series rather than a film this time around. I saw the pilot episode as part of Beyond Fest and, while I had faith that creator Don Mancini would do well, the episode exceeded my expectations.

I’ll just say it upfront, dolls don’t scare me.

But, Mancini has created a very interesting and beautiful-looking show. He’s made the characters in the show and the Chucky doll itself appealing to the viewer in a way that absorbs you. He’s also brought the sly and idiosyncratic style of the films to television. It’s funny, murderous, and weird. The kills are really good and one that might be too upsetting is left off-camera but, and this is important, this particular character was not spared. The show has a leading cast of children. It’s set mostly in a high school with a young lead, and doesn’t suffer from HELLO FELLOW KIDS syndrome. The cast members are all memorable. Even the look of the Chucky doll is perfect. It’s friendly, but just creepy enough.

CHUCKY stars Zackary Arthur (The 5th Wave, Mom and Dad) as Jake Webber, Brad Dourif (One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, The Child’s Play franchise) returns as the voice of Chucky, Teo Briones as Junior Webber, Bjorgvin Arnarson (The Seventh Day) as Devon Lopez, Alyvia Alyn Lind (Coat of Many Colors) as Lexy Taylor,  Devon Sawa (Final Destination, Casper) as Logan Wheeler, and Jennifer Tilly (Liar Liar, Bride of Chucky) as Tiffany Valentine.

Jake Webber is a burgeoning artist with a critical and alcoholic father. His work as an artist is using found doll parts to make sculptures. His father does not approve. At school, he is bullied and mocked and seeks solace in a podcast about murder. When he finds the Chucky doll at a yard sale, he can’t believe his good luck, but things soon start to take a turn for the odd and frightening.

The show, at least in its first episode, sets up the lead as a misunderstood artist who is struggling with life and its cruelties. The subject of bullying is becoming a very popular topic in horror right now and I think that Mancini and his writing and directing team have approached the topic well. Mancini uses humor in a lot of his work and I think that helps. The mordant tone is harmonious with the basic themes of the episode and the issue of bullying. It keeps the tone of the show light while dealing with heavier subjects and, well, a killer doll. From what Mancini said at the Q & A, television is giving him the time to explore the characters in the show more fully than the format of a film would allow and I already see some of that. Even bad people, usually, have their reasons for doing the things that they do. It will be interesting to see how Mancini and his writers room, Kim Garland, Sarah Acosta, and Nick Zigler, and directors, Dermot Downs and Samir Rehem, will work with this idea. Most importantly, they make the character of Chucky believable as a sentient being and as a character that is imperative for the show to work.

If no one believes that Chucky is real, the show would sink. They have succeeded at this task. Based on the first episode, I think that the show is definitely a show to watch and I enjoyed it. I’m interested in seeing more and to me, that is a success.

CHUCKY premieres on October 12th at 10 pm on USA & SYFY. To learn more about the series, check out what we learned at the show’s recent TCA Panel.

The post [Beyond Fest Review] CHUCKY appeared first on Nightmarish Conjurings.

Relaunching a franchise, especially one that is treasured by so many, is not an easy task. When a relaunch of Ghostbusters was first done in 2016, it was met with a lot of [unnecessary] hate. When it was announced in 2019 that another relaunch was in the works to be directed by Jason Reitman, son of Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, most fans seemed content with having the film in his hands. Now, with the arrival of the film next month, fans are wondering if GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE will live up to the hype and further carry on the franchise.

For a revitalization of a classic horror/comedy franchise, GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE does a great job of combining heavy nostalgia with a new storyline that harkens back to the original film and will help usher in a new fanbase. The film starts off by introducing us to Callie (Carrie Coon) and her two kids as they are being evicted from their home and forced to move to Summerville, Oklahoma. When they arrive, they find a dilapidated farmhouse and a large land of dirt. As Phoebe and Trevor begin to learn more about their new town, they start to uncover secrets of who their grandfather was and the horror that he tried to keep at bay.

When it comes to the acting, the cast was rather strong. Mckenna Grace as Phoebe, Egon Spengler‘s granddaughter, was perfect for her role. Not only did she resemble the genius ghostbuster but she also embodied his persona to a T. She navigates the world with a scientific mind, something that her mom can’t really grasp. She’s initially an outsider of her family but finds a friendship with Podcast (Logan Kim) while attending summer school (for fun). As for Logan Kim, be prepared for him to be the breakout star of the film. Conspiracy theorist and lover of the supernatural, Podcast has a… well, podcast, and he makes sure to never let you forget that.

Rounding out the rest of the cast is Finn Wolfhard as Trevor, Phoebe’s older brother. He’s a typical male teenager trying to acclimate himself to this new unexciting town until he strikes up a friendship and a hopeful chance at romance with the confident, badass Lucky, played by Celeste O’Connor. Warming the hearts of many is the age-less Paul Rudd who takes on the role of the science teacher, Mr. Grooberson, who strikes up a nerdy friendship with Phoebe and Podcast, especially when explaining to them who the Ghostbusters were; as well as a little romantic fling with Callie. Speaking of which, Carrie Coon gives a rather realistic yet funny performance as a single mom who is struggling to understand her kids and confront the pain of her relationship with her now-deceased father.

For fans of the original film, they will quickly pick up the parallels between that and GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE. What’s great about that is it honors the original films but still provides a fresh new way to tell the story to an unfamiliar audience. One of my favorite ways in which they did this was through the creation of one of the new ghosts, Muncher. Just like with Slimer, he has a gelatinous figure and loves eating… except Muncher loves eating metal. To those of us who grew up on the Ghostbusters movies, it’s a nice nod to one of the most famous ghosts in the franchise. Furthermore, can a Ghostbuster movie be a Ghostbuster movie without the addition of the Stay Puft Marshmallow? Though nowhere close to the size of the OG, the marshmallows may make a much smaller appearance but believe me, they are no less threatening.

Director Jason Reitman has picked up the torch and brought this franchise back to life. That being said it’s not all smooth sailing. The first two-thirds of the film are incredibly strong as they set the premise of the movie and introduce us to the characters and ghosts. However, the third act loses its stride and feels very rushed, which is unfortunate because there are some amazing moments leading up to some of the big reveals, and it just doesn’t land as well as it could have. That being said, I did love how Reitman and co-writer Gil Kenan wrote the younger cast of characters and how their stories intertwine for the climax of the film.

Nevertheless, GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE is a refreshing relaunch of a beloved franchise and one that pays ample amounts of respect to the original. Though it stumbles in the third act, it makes up for that with a lot of heart and a slew of fun, new ghouls. It’s never going to be the original and I think holding it up to that standard is unfair. Go into this with an open mind. Because, at the end of the day, who else are you gonna call when there’s something strange in your neighborhood?

GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE arrives exclusively in theaters on November 19th. A word of advice, make sure to stay for the mid-credit scene and post-credit scene. You do NOT want to miss those.

The post [Movie Review] GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE appeared first on Nightmarish Conjurings.

A lot has changed since 2011; for instance the only Star Trek cast member to make it to space at that time was James Doohan and even then only posthumously.  Along the…

Child’s Play is one of the most iconic slasher film franchises of this generation. One look at that scar-faced, red-haired doll with a knife in one hand, and people already know who it is. For those who don’t know our little villain, Chucky is a notorious killer who escapes death by transferring his soul into a “Good Guys” doll. The franchise’s success comes from its 8 films, tie-in merch, and a video game. Now, fans can get even more of it from the  Chucky TV series this week on Syfy and USA Network. So if you’re still a little iffy about checking it out, here are some of the top reasons why we’re looking forward to it!

A New Twitter Emoji Dedicated To It

Yes, you read that right! Twitter users can now have fun using the Chucky emoji on the social media platform. Sadly, it can’t be used anywhere else. But check out a tweet by the series’ official Twitter account at the New York Comic-Con. It seems our favorite killer doll is already on the loose. Follow its official account here!

Don Mancini Is Back

The fact that they got the guy who created all 7 films (excluding the 2019 reboot which flopped) in the Child’s Play franchise to create the series is practically enough to justify why you should be excited to watch the TV series. His other notable works include writing for Hannibal, Channel Zero, and Tales From the Crypt which are all within the horror genre, so it’s safe to say the series is in great hands.

Jennifer Tilly Is Returning As Tiffany

Fans of the films will also be glad to know that Jennifer Tilly is back to reprise her iconic role as the human version of Tiffany, Chucky’s equally sadistic love interest. The actress starred in 4 Child’s Play films including Bride of Chucky, Seed of Chucky, Curse of Chucky, and Cult of Chucky. Given this, it’s pretty obvious that there’s no one else that can play Tiffany better than her.

The Premise

Viewers will be pleased to know that the plot of the TV series will be a sequel to Cult of Chucky. If you haven’t seen it, you may want to. However, as long as you are familiar with the story, you’ll be fine following the series. In particular, the plot will follow Jake Wheeler, a socially awkward kid whose father won’t accept that he’s gay. When Jake finds Chucky at a yard sale, the two form an unlikely bond and alliance. Consequently, Chucky unleashes hell on the people around Jake, exposing deep hypocrisies and hidden secrets in the town.

Child’s Play 2 Fans Are In For A Treat

Child’s Play 2 was one of the more popular films of the franchise. It has some of the best kills, the darkest tones, and the creepiest Chucky look. Don Mancini confirmed in his Comic-Con International panel for Chucky that the series will steer back to the tone and design of Child’s Play 2.

An Exciting New Cast

It’s one thing to look forward to past cast members reprising their roles for a nostalgic feel. But it’s also another thing to see fresh faces joining Chucky the TV series to give it an exciting, contemporary vibe. Some of the new cast include: Devon Sawa, Alex Vincent, and Christine Elise.

Brad Dourif Reprises His Role

Fans of the films (sans the 2019 reboot) will also be excited to watch (or hear) Brad Dourif reprise his role. As the original, iconic voice of Chucky reunites with Mancini, things are bound to get interesting.

We’ll See More of Charles Lee Ray’s Origin Story

Nowadays, we all seem to have a fascination towards the origin stories of villains. We’ve had films telling the origin stories of the Joker, Cruella de Vil, Revenge of the Sith, and Maleficent. Now, the same will happen for Chucky, which will give fans a better understanding of how the man inside the doll came to be the serial killer that he is.

It Will Attract (Slightly) Older Audiences

In the past films, Chucky was always attached to kids. This time, however, the series is casting young adults to play a bunch of teens. This move makes plenty of sense, given that the film itself is violent and dark. Plus, this widens the show’s audience to fans of the films who are now adults AND younger generations who are yet to be introduced to the franchise.

Awesome (And Gorey) Kills

Last but not the least, teasers of the series promise to give viewers a thrilling and horrific experience. Anyone familiar with the franchise already know Mancini’s brilliance for the genre, so expectations are definitely high when it comes to the killing scenes. Let’s just hope that the series lives up to them!

Movies To Watch After (or Before) You See Child’s Play 2019

Devil’s Due announces new ‘Child’s Play’ comic

The Dwayne Johnson vs. Vin Diesel saga continues. If you're a fan of the "Fast & Furious" movies, you've probably heard by now that Johnson and Diesel didn't get along on the set. They've had a feud going, but now it sounds like Johnson regrets his part in making that feud public.

A new profile on Johnson in Vanity Fair recaps some of the basics of what went down between him and his costar. Johnson was absent altogether from "F9" this year, and he only agreed to appear in the previous franchise entry, "The Fate of the Furious," on the condition that he and Diesel share no scenes. A week before production wrapped, Johnson made an Instagram post (since deleted) where he slagged some of his "male co-stars" for being "candy asses."

As Vanity Fair observes, "candy ass" was one of Johnson's "trademark wrestling put-downs" from his days in the ring as The Rock. At the time, it almost seemed like his beef with Diesel might just be a Wrestlemania act. Johnson first addressed the fallout:

"It caused a firestorm. Yet interestingly enough ... [it was] as if every single crew member found their way to me and either quietly thanked me or sent me a note. But, yeah, it wasn't my best day, sharing that. I shouldn't have shared that. Because at the end of the day, that goes against my DNA. I don't share things like that. And I take care of that kind of bullshit away from the public. They don't need to know that. That's why I say it wasn't my best day."

No Love Lost

When asked if he would take back what he said, Johnson explained:

"No, I meant what I said. For sure. I mean what I say when I say it. But to express it publicly was not the right thing to do."

If you were hoping to see him and Diesel bury the hatchet, it sounds like that's not going to happen anytime soon, unless maybe they're burying hatchets in each other's faces. Over the summer, we heard Diesel — who doubles as franchise producer — liken himself to Fellini and take credit for Johnson's acting. After that, Johnson confirmed that he was done with the "Fast & Furious" series. 

For his part, Diesel chalked the feud up to him and Johnson both being alpha males. Did the two musclebound muscle car drivers ever have a peace meeting? Johnson said:

"Well, there was a meeting. I wouldn't call it a peaceful meeting. I would call it a meeting of clarity. He and I had a good chat in my trailer, and it was out of that chat that it really became just crystal clear that we are two separate ends of the spectrum. And agreed to leave it there."

As fun as it can be to watch a good wrestling feud play out, and as much as it might sadden "Fast & Furious" fans to see Johnson's character, Hobbs, depart, maybe it's better that he keep working with Emily Blunt instead on the "Jungle Cruise" sequel. That way, everyone involved can put this behind them and get back to making movies.

Read this next: Essential Movies About High School You Need To See

The post Dwayne Johnson Regrets His Public Beef With Vin Diesel: 'That Wasn't My Best Day' appeared first on /Film.

Just in time for Halloween, the official SCREAM 2022 trailer was just released. (Unfortunately, the actual movie doesn't premiere until January.)

Set in the same town of Woodsboro, again with characters Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and Dewey Riley (David Arquette), the trailer for this fifth film in the SCREAM series, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpen and Tyler Gillet, doesn't reveal any fresh surprises. — Read the rest

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation's (SpaceX) Starlink satellite internet constellation is busy fending off criticism from several competitors to its plans to launch second-generation satellites, potentially through the Starship next-generation launch vehicle platform. Starlink is currently in its beta testing phase and expects to exit testing this month, according to statements made by SpaceX chief Mr. Elon Musk.

At the same time, Starlink also plans to launch new spacecraft, and at this front, SpaceX submitted a revised application to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in August this year, adding plans for using Starship to deliver the small satellites to their desired orbit. The application was immediately followed by criticism from Amazon's Kuiper internet service, which argued that the amended application violated FCC rules. Since then, Amazon has been joined by Viasat and Hughes Network Systems, with the trio pressing the Commission to reject SpaceX's request.

Starlink Second Generation Satellite Plans Are "Ill-Defined" Argues Viasat As It Teams Up With Hughes And Amazon

Amazon kicked off the opposition to Starlink's second-generation satellites a handful of days after SpaceX submitted the modified application. In its initial arguments, Amazon, or Kuiper, argued to the FCC that the new plans violated two separate FCC rules. These rules, which are a part of Part 25 of the FCC's Satellite Communications guidelines, lay down the requirements for an application to be accepted for filing and lay down areas that must be addressed for this purpose.

One of the rules that Amazon claimed Starlink violated is Section 25.112a(1) which states that:

The application is defective with respect to completeness of answers to questions, informational showings, internal inconsistencies, execution, or other matters of a formal character;

The other was Section 25.114, which also outlines that an application filed must be a "comprehensive" proposal.

In response to Amazon's argument, SpaceX's director of satellite policy, Mr. David Goldman, stated to the Commission that while the company stated that the Starlink application was incomplete, it failed to outline any areas that lacked information. The executive went on to add that:

Indeed, SpaceX provided technical analyses to demonstrate that neither configuration would cause unacceptable interference to other NGSO and or terrestrial systems operating in the band—including Amazon—and also updated the orbital debris analysis for both configurations. In effect, Amazon makes the odd argument that the application is incomplete because it provides too much information.

Soon afterward, Amazon was joined by Viasat, who outlined more rules that it believed the modified application violated. While agreeing with Amazon that Starlink was violating Sections 25.112 and 25.1144, Viasat went on to add that:

the Commission has separately prohibited a given operator from simultaneously proposing two different NGSO networks—or network configurations—in the same frequency band. More specifically, Section 25.159(b) [LINK ADDED] of the Commission’s rules provides that “[a]pplicants with an application for one NGSO-like satellite system license on file with the Commission in a particular frequency band . . . will not be permitted to apply for another NGSO-like satellite system license in that frequency band.”

Viasat also claimed that Starlink's two mutually exclusive systems would deprive other companies of scarce resources. The Starlink second-generation satellite application submits two scenarios, differentiated by the launch vehicle. In it, SpaceX has outlined that it plans to use either the Falcon 9 or Starship to launch the satellites, and the choice will change satellites' orbital parameters.

In response, Starlink's Goldman countered by stating that since his company plans to operate only one of the two proposals submitted, the modified application does not waste spectrum resources by 'locking' them in.

Viasat responded by calling these arguments spinning the "rhetoric wheel and com[ing] up empty"  and stating that Starlink's response failed to demonstrate how it did not violate Section 25.159(b), which prohibits companies from filing applications for a new satellite system in the same frequency band cannot apply for another system in the same band.

It concluded by adding that "The Commission should not be distracted by the typical SpaceX diversionary tactics."

After this, Hughes Networks entered into the fray and expressed its approval of the arguments submitted by Amazon and Viasat. It then proposed a middle ground, suggesting that SpaceX should have requested a waiver of the FCC rules in question and that the Commission should either reject the filing or ask SpaceX to submit a waiver request if it is to be accepted.

In response, Starlink outlined two scenarios where the FCC approved proposals despite them going against Section 25.159(b). The first was The Boeing Company transferring satellites to OneWeb and the second was OneWeb adding satellites and spectrum to its existing constellation.

Hughes rejected these arguments in a filing made last Friday, arguing that the examples provided by SpaceX did not include "multiple" constellations in the same application and that both Boeing and OneWeb had submitted waivers for FCC rules before the Commission accepted their applications for filing.

The Starlink second-generation (Gen2) application is currently waiting for acceptance, enabling it to solicit comments from members of the public. SpaceX's previous request to modify its current constellation received support from remote areas, with teachers and a non-profit from Alaska voicing strong support for the internet service.

The post Outmanned & Outgunned: Musk’s Starlink Fights 3 Rivals For New Satellites by Ramish Zafar appeared first on Wccftech.

NVIDIA released a new Game Ready driver today, version 496.13, which delivers optimizations for Back 4 Blood and other games that are receiving NVIDIA DLSS support (more on that below).

Interestingly, the new Game Ready driver also adds a Shader Cache Size control option that can be tweaked via the NVIDIA Control Panel. Check out the full changelog here, or our edited highlights in the following quote.

What’s New in Release 495

• NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D Settings

  • Added Shader Cache Size control to set the maximum amount of disk space to use for storing shader compiles.

  • Vertical Sync options for Optimus notebook GPUs are now the same as for desktop GPUs.

Fixed Issues in this Game Ready driver

• [GeForce RTX 3080]: The system does not boot with two Samsung Odyssey G70A 28" monitors are connected to the GPU. [3359697]

• [GeForce GTX 960]: The primary monitor lost after resume from sleep or shutdown. [3340905]

• [Windows 11]: The screen flashes once after switching to the discrete GPU-only mode in the NVIDIA Control Panel. [3330077]

• [Multiple Apps][Ansel/Freestyle]: Depth of field filter shows blurry characters. [200749545]

• [Notebook]: Vulkan test applications run on the integrated graphics processor instead of the discrete GPU. [200770322]

Open Issues in this Game Ready driver

• [Doom Eternal][HDR][FSR]: Eternal]: Texture across the game darkens and is unplayable after enabling HDR + FSR. [200776916]

• [Rise of the Tomb Raider]: Characters and background disappear and corruption is prominent when Anti-Aliasing is set to SSAA 2X and SSAA 4x. [200777463]

• [Deathloop][HDR]: TDR/corruption occurs in the game with Windows HDR enabled.

  • If this issue occurs, toggle the Windows HDR setting.

• [YouTube]: Video playback stutters while scrolling down the YouTube page. [3129705]

• Tom Clancy's The Division 2 may display graphical artifacts. [200754013]

• Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed may crash on courses where players drive through water. [3338967]

• [HDR][G-Sync]: Mouse pointer gets stuck after turning on HDR from the Windows Control Panel or after toggling G-Sync from the NVIDIA control panel. [200762998]

  • To work around, click the mouse (right or left button). The mouse cursor will be sluggish for a few seconds before returning to normal operation.

• [NVIDIA Control Panel]: After setting the display multiplexer type to “dGPU”, the setting is not preserved across a reboot or resume from S4. [200779758

• [Windows 11]: Display goes blank when video is switched to full-screen with G-Sync enabled. [200778687]

Alongside the latest Game Ready driver, NVIDIA also announced several games that are getting DLSS support, bringing the total list to 120 between games and applications.

Back 4 Blood is one of them, its performance improved by 44% when using DLSS Performance Mode at 4K.

Larian's Baldur's Gate 3 will enjoy twice as much of a boost in the same conditions, according to NVIDIA, when the next patch is released by the developers later this week.

Chivalry 2 can run up to 45% faster at 4K with DLSS Performance Mode enabled. The update will go live on October 26th.

The MMORPG Swords of Legends Online will get up to a 60% performance boost with DLSS Performance Mode at 4K once the game's update goes live in two days.

NVIDIA DLSS 2.0 is also coming to Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. In the former game, DLSS will improve the average FPS of up to 75% at 4K with Performance Mode.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider already supported DLSS 1.0, but the new version improves both quality and performance. According to NVIDIA, performance is more than doubled in this case; the game update will be available on October 18th.

Sword and Fairy 7 will be released next week, featuring both ray tracing and DLSS support.

Last but not least, Crysis Remastered Trilogy is set to launch on October 15th with NVIDIA DLSS support, too.

The post Game Ready Driver Released, DLSS Now Available in 120 Games; Baldur’s Gate 3 Gets 88% Boost at 4K by Alessio Palumbo appeared first on Wccftech.

AMD will be issuing a fix to the performance degradation issues encountered with Ryzen CPUs in Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system next week. We have received the specific dates on which the updates will be rolled out.

AMD Fixes Ryzen CPU Windows 11 Performance Degradation Issues Next Week Through Microsoft Updates & Driver Release

Last week, we reported that AMD Ryzen CPUs were facing performance degradation of up to 15% in the Microsoft Windows 11 operating system. The issues were related to the L3 cache latency & the UEFI CPPC2 profiles.

AMD stated that the impact of L3 cache latency increasing the way it did would be that applications sensitive to memory subsystem access time could be impacted negatively, as well as "expected performance impact of 3-5% in affected applications, 10-15% outliers possible in games commonly used for eSports. To fix these issues, AMD and Microsoft said that they will be rolling out updates this month and now we know when.

- The CPPC issue has been resolved. The AMD driver power profile is in the release process and targeted for GA release on 10/21. If it is needed before GA, AMD can share the driver directly with customers upon request.
‒ The L3 cache latency issue has been resolved by Microsoft. Microsoft plans to release the fix in their 10C Windows Update which is targeted for 10/19.

As per the information we have received, the L3 cache latency issue has been resolved by Microsoft and will be rolling out as a part of an update on 19th October. This will be followed by a driver that will resolve the CPPC issue. The AMD driver power profile is currently in the release process & has already been delivered to OEMs but a general rollout of the driver is expected on 21st October. The updates will fix the majority of the issues encountered in Windows 11 when running AMD's Ryzen CPUs on desktops and mobile platforms.

To see the current issues that Windows 11 has experienced, refer to this previous article from Wccftech, as well as Microsoft's continued updated Knowledge Base and AMD's support page for any new workarounds or software/driver updates as needed. It may be possible for other companies to run into similar problems, but with only being a few days into the new OS, users and companies are still discovering issues.

The post AMD Ryzen CPU’s L3 Latency Performance Fix To Be Resolved By Microsoft Through Windows 11 Update on 19th October, CPPC Driver on 21st by Hassan Mujtaba appeared first on Wccftech.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition will break compatibility with a lot of existing mods, according to the developer of one of the game's most popular modding tools.

Extrwi, the developer of the Skyrim Script Extender, revealed on Reddit that the upcoming release, which will launch as a free update for all owners of the game on PC, will break compatibility with a lot of existing mods due to the new version of the game which will use the Visual Studio 2019 compiler over the 2015 version used in the Special Edition.

The native code modding scene around Skyrim SE will have been around for about four years when AE comes out. During that time, code has been developed to make many plugins portable across different versions of the game. Most plugins use the Address Library by meh321. Other plugins use code signature matching, which finds functions that "look like" a specific pattern. SKSE uses an offline tool I developed a long time ago based around position independent code hashing. With the AE update, all of these methods will break, and addresses will need to be found again from scratch.

The reason for this is that as part of the AE update, Bethesda has decided to update the compiler used to build the 64-bit version of Skyrim from Visual Studio 2015 to Visual Studio 2019. This changes the way that the code is generated in a way that forces mod developers to start from scratch finding functions and writing hooks. Class layouts are unlikely to change, luckily. I didn't ask specifically, but the most probable reason for this is that the Xbox Live libraries used for achievements on the Windows Store are only available for 2017 and later. Some games have worked around this limitation by building the code that interacts with Xbox Live in to a secondary DLL that is dynamically loaded by the game, but they didn't choose this option.

According to Extrwi, things have been changed up to a point where pretty much every native plugin will require at the very least some work to become compatible with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition.

Doing this work takes a reasonable amount of time for each plugin. I can probably sit there over a few nights and bang out an updated version of SKSE, but my main concern is for the rest of the plugins out there. The plugin ecosystem has been around long enough that people have moved on, and code is left unmaintained. Effectively everyone who has written a native code plugin will need to do at least some amount of work to support AE. This realistically means that the native code mod scene is going to be broken for an unknown length of time after AE's release.

As The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition will launch as a patch for the existing Special Edition installations, extrwi suggests disabling updates in Steam to retain compatibility with all existing mods.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition launches on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One on November 11th.

The post The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition Will Not Be Compatible With Many Existing Mods by Francesco De Meo appeared first on Wccftech.

NVIDIA has officially discontinued specific game-ready driver support for the Kepler Family of GPUs manufactured since 2012. Today, driver support for the GeForce GTX 600 series, as well as a hefty portion of the GeForce 700 series GPUs, has officially been discontinued.

Farewell Kepler GPUs - NVIDIA Discontinues GeForce GTX 600 and 700 Series Game Ready Driver Support

Today, NVIDIA released the first driver from their 495 branch, which dropped support for any Kepler family graphics processors.

The following list of cards are no longer supported by NVIDIA:

• TITAN family of GPUs: GeForce GTX TITAN, GeForce GTX TITAN Black, GeForce GTX TITAN Z
• GeForce 700 series of GPUs: GeForce GTX 780 Ti, GeForce GTX 780, GeForce GTX 770, GeForce GTX 760, GeForce GTX 760 Ti (OEM), GeForce GT 740, GeForce GT 730, GeForce GT 720, GeForce GT 710
• GeForce 600 series of GPUs: GeForce GTX 690, GeForce GTX 680, GeForce GTX 670, GeForce GTX 660 Ti, GeForce GTX 660, GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST, GeForce GTX 650 Ti, GeForce GTX 650, GeForce GTX 645, GeForce GT 640, GeForce GT 635, GeForce GT 630

The only GeForce 700 series GPUs that will still maintain support are the GeForce GTX 750 Ti, GeForce GTX 750, and GeForce GTX 745. These series are all based on NVIDIA's Maxwell architecture, and not the previous Kepler architecture.

Kepler is the codename for a GPU microarchitecture developed by NVIDIA, first introduced at retail in April 2012, as the successor to the Fermi microarchitecture. Kepler was Nvidia's first microarchitecture to focus on energy efficiency. Most GeForce 600 series, most GeForce 700 series, and some GeForce 800M series GPUs were based on Kepler, all manufactured in 28 nm. Kepler also found use in the GK20A, the GPU component of the Tegra K1 SoC, as well as in the Quadro Kxxx series, the Quadro NVS 510, and Nvidia Tesla computing modules. Kepler was followed by the Maxwell microarchitecture and used alongside Maxwell in the GeForce 700 series and GeForce 800M series.

The architecture is named after Johannes Kepler, a German mathematician and key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution.

— Wikipedia

NVIDIA Kepler series GPUs will still be offered security updates at this time. However, NVIDIA has chosen to continue offering bug fixes, enhancements to performance, any additional feature support in the future, as well as "day-0 game support" for their Maxwell, Pascal, Turing, and Ampere lines of graphics cards.

The post NVIDIA Ends Game Ready Driver Support for Kepler GeForce 600 & 700 Series GPU Family by Jason R. Wilson appeared first on Wccftech.

Windows 11 Update KB5006674 is now available for devices running the latest operating system from Microsoft. Today's Windows 11 cumulative update brings the build number up to 22000.258.

The October 2021 mandatory security update focuses on quality improvements and some security updates. The company said that it also "addresses known compatibility issues between some Intel 'Killer' and “SmartByte” networking software and Windows 11 (original release)."

This security Windows 11 update includes quality improvements. Key changes include:

• Addresses known compatibility issues between some Intel “Killer” and “SmartByte” networking software and Windows 11 (original release). Devices with the affected software might drop User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets under certain conditions. This creates performance and other issues for protocols based on UDP. For example, some websites might load slower than others on the affected devices, which might cause videos to stream slower in certain resolutions. VPN solutions based on UDP might also be slower.

Microsoft is not currently aware of any issues with this update.

Microsoft is also releasing Windows 11 servicing stack update 22000.190, with the following release note:

This update makes quality improvements to the servicing stack, which is the component that installs Windows updates. Servicing stack updates (SSU) ensure that you have a robust and reliable servicing stack so that your devices can receive and install Microsoft updates.

The first Windows 11 cumulative update is available via Windows Update and Microsoft Update, Windows Update for Business, Microsoft Update Catalog, and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).

Windows 11 in news:

• How to Fix Win11 Installation Error Code 0x8007007f
• Global Windows 11 Rollout for Eligible Windows 10 PCs Begins
• Quick Steps to Check If Your PC Can Run the New Operating System
• Direct Download Official Win 11 ISO Files (64-bit Only)
• Who Will Get the Win 11 Update and How to Get It
• Three Ways to Install the New OS and Skip the Line
• How to Roll Back!

The post First Windows 11 Cumulative Update Drops! by Rafia Shaikh appeared first on Wccftech.

As Halloween draws closer, I’m in a constant search for some new horror flicks to mix into my usual lineup of 60s/70s and 80s gore-laden schlock flicks. THE RETALIATORS came across my handheld screen and the poster art alone was enough to draw me in. The synopsis is as follows:  A good boy pastor goes through a hellish underground world of crime to seek vengeance for the death of his teenage daughter. Along the way, he finds that religious pacifism may not be the answer he needs.

The film opens with a relatively brutal scene and imagery that immediately led me to believe I was going to enjoy the ride I was strapped in for. If you’ve read my previous reviews, then you know I’m all about the gore. While sometimes it is necessary to push the plot along, I also enjoy blood-soaked scenes that are… less than necessary. I wasn’t exactly sure where this was going to take me, but I was ready. The premise alone was a hook. I mean we all love a good revenge film i.e. Mandy, Martyrs, or even the John Wick movies. Revenge is an easy plot to follow, but it’s all the better when it’s action-packed and has a few twists and turns.

The cast of THE RETALIATORS is chock-full of familiar faces. From Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee cameo as a DJ, the guitarist (Zoltan Bathory) and singer (Ivan L. Moody) of Five Finger Death Punch, a very familiar Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach (he’s from my hometown, Sacramento), and Spencer Charnas of the popular horror influenced band Ice Nine Kills. It seems that this film keeps rock and metal in its framework. Although, that’s pretty apparent as you watch the film and hear the soundtrack. Our leading role of Bishop played by Michael Lombardi (FX’s Rescued) acts his ass off as a father suffering the loss of his daughter and trying to balance his religious beliefs with the harsh reality he’s living through. We also see an intense performance from the clearly off-the-rails officer Jed played by Marc Menchaca (Ozark).

As the movie takes us into the dark, deep rabbit hole of its premise, I started to notice the insanity and influence of other films. The extreme imagery in some scenes reminds me of Rob Zombie’s films or even scenes from Hobo with a Shotgun. There are even mild levels of extremity that you can find in French New Wave extreme horror films like Among the Living or Haute Tension. It’s clear that THE RETALIATORS is influenced by some dark films, but it pulls it off in a way that is fitting without being so inspired it comes off as a “rip off” to viewers.

Since I’ve mentioned what appeared to be inspirations this movie has drawn from, it’s obvious that there’s on-screen gore. From decapitations to mutilated faces, THE RETALIATORS doesn’t short you on that gooey red stuff. Most of the effects appeared to be practical which, for the most part, is a horror fan’s wet dream. I know I’m all about the practical effects having worked on a yearly family haunt and special effects in the recently released horror flick, Slashlorette Party. I just think there’s something so much more real about using prosthetics even if they do look “cheesy”. The realness of holding the prosthetics in your hand and applying them to an actor is exciting. Especially when we get to see the payoff on film, even just for a brief moment.

The film does move at a steady pace which I felt was necessary for the buildup towards the end of the movie. There were a few wires I felt got crossed and we could have seen a little more of the biker crew seeking vengeance for a lost comrade. These little gripes aside, THE RETALIATORS held my attention through the entire hour and a half duration. There’s a brutal payoff at the end that I feel any horror fan could definitely appreciate.

THE RETALIATORS is a high-intensity, off-the-rails horror/thriller that will keep making your jaw drop and have you clinging to the edge of your seat. Add this flick to your list of horror Christmas flicks because, just like people argue about Die Hard, this too is a Christmas movie.

THE RETALIATORS will have its US Premiere as the Opening Night Film at Screamfest tonight! Let the redemption wash over you. Just maybe not necessarily in a religious sense.

The post [Screamfest 2021 Review] THE RETALIATORS appeared first on Nightmarish Conjurings.

It goes well beyond swapping a model, too Mods can keep a game alive and evolving long after it’s launched,...

The post New, massive Deus Ex mod lets you play as female JC Denton appeared first on Destructoid.

Squid Game is the blood-splattered South Korean drama series that has held the number one spot on Netflix in 90 countries since its September 17th release.

Its "play to survive" theme is nothing new to popular culture. So what about Squid Game holds the key to international success?  — Read the rest

I’m recovered from surgery, freshly infused with iron, and feeling like myself again. The weather has been ridiculously nice lately and I’m getting some exercise.  If I continue to eat right and get the exercise I need, then maybe I can wring another two or three weeks out of this broken-down old body before I drop dead. All in all, things are going pretty good!

So here’s what I’ve been playing lately…

Filament

I really enjoy these puzzles. You begin with a tether / wire,^[1] and you need to wrap it around all of the pillars in the room. The trick is that some pillars need to touch the wire on a particular side, and you can’t cross over any of the wire you’ve already put down.

People warned me that the game is “really hard”, but I actually find the difficulty to be confusingly uneven. Here is how a typical play session will go.

I faceroll through half a dozen puzzles in under a minute.

“Bah! This is easy. I wish I still had Twitter so I could flex about how awesome I am at this “hard” puzzle game.”

Then I get to the next puzzle and all forward progress just STOPS.

“I don’t get it. There are only five pillars. I’ve been at this long enough to brute force the dang thing, and I still can’t see how to solve it. Is this real? Is this a joke? Is this puzzle actually impossible?”

I start to get embarrassed at how long I’ve been stuck on this particular puzzle. Eventually I’ll blindly stumble into the solution, without really seeing what I was doing wrong. Then I’ll plow through another handful of puzzles and the process will repeat.

I dunno. It’s weird.

Also, there’s some girl^[2] gently negging you over the radio between  puzzles. You’re supposedly here to rescue her or something? I tend to have strong negative reactions to this sort of behavior, so I really want to just flip off the security cameras and walk out. I’m a busy spaceman and if my rescue is not to her liking, then she’s free to wait until someone else comes along.

Death Loop

This rogue-lite has you attempting to break out of a time loop. This is clearly Arkane taking what they learned from making Prey: Mooncrash and making an entire game built around this concept of repeating a single day again and again while learning new things and attempting to “solve” the day once and for all. It’s not an instant classic like Prey, but I’m still having fun with it.

Or I guess I was. I’ve learned enough now that I know what I need to do. I know which zones to visit at which time of day in order to assassinate all of the faction leaders. But now that I’ve seemingly solved the puzzle, I don’t feel a strong urge to enact my solution. So I sort of lost interest in the game and wandered off to play…

New World

As I’ve said on the podcast, this game is a mixed bag for me. I really love how open the gathering / crafting is. You don’t need to pick one profession and stick to that. You can gather everything, refine everything, and craft everything. The various systems feed into each other, so getting better at (say) smelting will give you access to higher tier items at the workshop, which will let you make a better skinning knife. In turn, skinning gives you more resources for tanning, which gives you more materials for armor crafting. And so on.

You may remember my series on Lord of the Rings Online. I know I was merciless in roasting that game, but I actually have a lot of affection for it. One of my favorite features was the way you could equip one item for stats and another for cosmetics. This allows you to stick with a particular look for your character instead of wearing an ever-changing clown suit as you rotate through new equipment.

Sadly, that feature came and went around 2010. Older games didn’t make allowances for cosmetics like this. Newer games got rid of this system because they want to sell you their gaudy overpriced, overdesigned doll clothes. Depending on how you count it, MMOs are roughly 30 years old now. And their “golden age” was just a few years long. The old games thought that wasting your time was part of the game, and the new games think that incessantly badgering you for money is part of the game.

New World is… fine. In terms of microtransactions, it’s not even bad by modern standards. But I still wish the LOTRO system had endured. I can wear the gear I find and end up dressed like a conquistador + pirate + knight + court jester, or I can shell out fifteen bucks and look like a foppish pirate king. But I can’t just run around looking like a peasant / commoner / deck hand. Those clothes are in the game and someone took the time to make them, but you’ll never wear them because they don’t have the stats you need. (Or if you do wear them, you won’t wear them for long, and they probably won’t match the other stuff you’re wearing.)

If we had the LOTRO system that allowed everyone to choose their own look, then we could have a huge variety of styles. But no. Instead we have the clown suit brigade on one side, where everyone is wearing some combination of the same half-dozen armor pieces shuffled together at random. On the other side we have the folks who paid for cosmetics and are thus resplendent in their glittering novelty armor. The first group all starts to blur together after a while. The second group can’t even dye their purchased armor, so if you buy the Golden Pantaloon Set you’ll end up looking exactly like everyone else who paid $15USD for the Golden Pantloons.^[3] So now we have to pay money to have less variety and less individual expression.

Boo.

The PvP meta-game is pretty interesting. It doesn’t embrace the glorious emergent chaos of EVE online, but I do enjoy logging in each day and seeing how the map has changed. I do notice there’s a a positive feedback loop where new players will prefer to join the strongest faction. And I’m willing to bet that PvP players on a losing faction will stop logging in once they get tired of getting overwhelmed every time they leave town. So it seems like this system would lead to runaway feedback where one faction will claim the entire map and bring an end to PvP. Maybe there are systems to counter-balance this tendency and I’m not seeing them. I don’t know.

Above I said that every player has to pick a side, but I’m curious what would happen if you were to pull a Doubleagent and simply refuse to choose? You’ll end up paying higher taxes everywhere you go, and I’m not sure how you could obtain storage bags. But I do wonder how far can you could reasonably get without picking a side.

There are lots of interesting weapons and playstyles, and any character can shift to any role. If you’ve been playing as a tank and you want to see what life is like as a healer, you don’t need to roll a new character and level them up. You just need to collect the required gear and you can switch to the new role.

It’s stable. It’s reasonably interesting. It looks great. The only thing wrong with it is the same thing wrong with its contemporaries. Microtransactions attack the foundations of what makes these games fun. It’s not about the cost, it’s about replacing gameplay systems with a storefront. It’s inherently hostile to the idea of a game, and it makes me sad.

---

So that’s what I’ve been up to. What have you been playing?

One of the most dysfunctional families of recent memory has its dirty laundry aired out in the hypnotic The Apartment with Two Women, an ambitious and surprisingly mature debut from 29-year-old director Kim Se-in. In a barnstorming performance, Yang Mal-bok plays Soo-kyung, a gregarious middle-aged woman with red highlights in her hair who is quick to anger and perpetually needs to be the center of attention. Most of the time, the target of her frequent outbursts is her daughter Yi-jung (Lym Ji-ho), a young office worker who still behaves like a withdrawn teenager. These polar emotional opposites live together in a cramped apartment and have never gotten along. Things suddenly get a lot worse between them when Soo-kyung intentionally knocks her daughter over with a...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]

Reply from rr, 12.10.2021, 20:42:

> OK, please if you will have success with compiling BOCHS for WXP share with
> us.

I'm taking the long road with my limited C/C++ knowledge and ancient MinGW/MSYS toolset. :-D I guess, it would be easier with Visual Studio (Express) <= 2017, but where is the fun then? ;-)

First result is available from: https://www.bttr-software.de/download/bochs/

When "Dazed and Confused" came out in September 1993, it barely made an impact, commercially or critically. It cost about $7 million to make and earned $8 million back -- that's not exactly a bomb, but certainly a disappointment. But over the course of the next few years, it would slowly grow in estimation until it became what it is today, a coming-of-age cult classic and one of the most highly regarded high school films of all time. 

"Dazed and Confused" takes place on the last day of the 1976 school year in Austin, Texas, as the rising seniors prepare to unleash a hazing hell on incoming freshmen. It won over so audiences because of how well it captures the nostalgic feeling of high school, where the social ecosystem is your entire world, for better or worse. "Dazed and Confused" also made stars out of actors like Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Jason London, Parker Posey, and Joey Lauren Adams. But this film is just one of many in the larger coming-of-age subgenre -- if you like "Dazed and Confused", there are plenty more where that came from!

Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead

Nothing says coming-of-age like being forced into the role of breadwinner for a family of four. An intriguingly subversive (and tragically underrated) entry into the early '90s teen movie genre, "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" stars Christina Applegate as a spoiled teenager who, after her mother goes out of town and the family's strict, elderly babysitter unceremoniously dies on her first night with her new charges, steps into the position of family matriarch to provide for her younger siblings. 

"Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" has some delightfully dark humor (the kids drop their babysitter off at the hospital in a trunk with a sign written on it that says, "Nice lady inside -- died of natural causes"), but it's also a refreshingly empowering film for teenage girls. It's the rare movie that features a teen character who is interested in fashion and boys and other girly stuff but that still takes her seriously, reinforcing that she is smart and capable. The incredibly supportive relationship between Applegate's Sue Ellen and her boss Rose is pure magic.

Adventureland

Coming-of-age films generally revolved around one of two things: school, or the bizarre after-school and summer jobs that teens get, and the weird little communities that the kids form in the trenches with their fellow employees. "Adventureland" falls firmly in the latter category, although its coming-of-age story happens a little later than usual: Jesse Eisenberg's James is a recent college graduate who ends up getting a summer job at a local amusement park instead of backpacking through Europe like he had planned. 

Although James is initially disappointed to be stuck in his hometown working a dead-end job, he quickly changes his tune when he meets his coworker Erin (Kristen Stewart), with whom he develops an immediate rapport. "Adventureland" is gentle and funny and strange, perfectly capturing the atmosphere of a rundown amusement park in Pennsylvania in the '80s. Part romance, part offbeat comedy, the film's appealing cast delivers on both charm and nostalgia.

American Graffiti

This is where it all begins. You don't really get filmmakers wistfully looking back on their own high school years before "American Graffiti," George Lucas' love letter to pre-Vietnam teen culture. And when you think about it, it makes sense. The generation of directors that began their careers in the '70s were the first to have really experienced adolescence as we know it today; most people older than them would have lived through the Great Depression and World War II, not the relative peace and prosperity of the early '60s. 

"American Graffiti" is about a group of recent high school graduates who drive around town in their cars for one last night before going away to college. They're all clinging to something, whether it's their childhood friends or the ritual of cruising (yes, young people used to just drive around all night with no particular destination in mind). But perhaps most importantly, "American Graffiti" features the big break of one Harrison Ford, who plays an impossibly young drag racer in a pickup truck.

Plan B

Teenagers may have changed a lot in the nearly 30 years since "Dazed and Confused" was first released, but it's comforting to know that they can still be counted on to be 100% horny all the time. But you know what? That's actually not fair. Because "Plan B" isn't about teenagers screwing around and screwing up, it's about teenagers desperately trying to do the responsible thing and being thwarted by the world that the adults have built. 

After an unexpected first sexual encounter, all that Sunny (Kuhoo Verma) wants to do is track down a Plan B pill to make sure that she won't end up getting pregnant. Easier said than done. Judgmental pharmacists and draconian birth control restrictions in the American Midwest lead Sunny and her best friend Lupe (Victoria Moroles) on a multi-state road trip, which would be fun if it weren't so frustrating; all of this is so much more complicated than it needs to be!

Submarine

Life in the English countryside may be a far cry from the American high school experience on display in "Dazed and Confused," but "Submarine" shows that growing up is the same all over. In it, Craig Roberts plays Oliver, an oddball teenager who doesn't have many friends at school. He does, however, have a massive crush on his classmate Jordana (Yasmin Paige), who begins dating him in order to make her ex-boyfriend jealous. 

The two quickly develop actual feelings for one another, feelings that are complicated by Jordana's family turmoil and Oliver's stunted emotional growth. "Submarine," the first feature directed by Richard Ayoade, explores Oliver's maturation process, and how he struggles to understand what a real, healthy romantic relationship looks like. It has a strange, offbeat sense of humor that sneaks up on you, and a breakout performance from Roberts in the lead role.

The Way, Way Back

"The Way, Way Back" speaks to the part of our teen years where we feel small and powerless. The title refers to the very back seat of a station wagon, where, traditionally, one of the kids in a family is forced to sit in what is essentially the trunk of the car. 

Duncan (Liam James) is 14 years old, vacationing in a seaside town with his mother (Toni Collette), his relentlessly bullying stepfather (Steve Carell, in an abrasive departure from his usual roles), and his stepsister. Needless to say, he's miserable. But when Duncan starts going to the local waterpark, a burnt-out employee (Sam Rockwell, of course) takes the boy under his wing, putting him to work and giving him a much-needed confidence boost. It's incredibly gratifying to watch Duncan come out of his shell, stand up for himself, and give his mother the courage to do the same. 

Detroit Rock City

When Richard Linklater wrote "Dazed and Confused," part of his motivation was to create a lower-stakes teen comedy that reflected the actual mundanity of high school life, when the biggest concern was whether or not you'd be able to score Aerosmith tickets. While that's more of an underlying vibe in "Dazed and Confused," "Detroit Rock City" takes the perennial teenage quest for concert tickets and makes it the overriding focus of the film. 

It's 1978, and four teen boys in Cleveland are probably going to die if they can't find a way to see KISS perform live. When Jam's (Sam Huntington) religious mother burns their tickets, they have to take matters into their own hands and find a new way into the show. Their epic journey is full of comic misdeeds and gets out of control absurdly fast, as is only appropriate for fans of KISS, one of the most over-the-top bands ever to put on a full face of stage makeup.

Empire Records

At some point, cinema is going to have to make amends for making us all think that our first retail gig was going to be a fun opportunity to hang out with a tight-knit group of friends and get paid for it. Let the kids of today know that what you see in "Empire Records" is not an accurate reflection of a minimum wage job. 

When a local record store is about to be sold to a soulless chain, its employees band together to save the store's autonomy (not to mention their own ability to do whatever they want, which would not be allowed in a corporate-run store). And, of course, they have to do this all on Rex Manning Day, when a rich, entitled has-been (played by Maxwell Caulfield) visits Empire Records to sign autographs. As far as '90s casts go, you really can't beat "Empire Records": Liv Tyler, Renee Zellweger, Rory Cochrane, Robin Tunney, and Ethan Embry all play key roles.

The To Do List

Teenage girls are just as sex-obsessed as their male counterparts. It's a message that's been seeping into teen comedies more and more over the past decade or so. "The To Do List" is an early pioneer in that regard, one that has never gotten the attention it deserves. 

In "The To Do List," Aubrey Plaza plays Brandy, a high-achieving girl who, worried about going away to college without any sexual experience under her belt, creates a list of risqué activities to engage in before the end of the summer. That's what highly motivated people do, right? They make lists? Brandy is determined to check off boxes, but not everyone is thrilled with being just another item on a to-do list. "The To Do List" is one of those films that was marketed as a raunchy sex comedy, and while it's definitely that, "The To Do List" has a big heart to balance out the bawdiness.

Wet Hot American Summer

"Wet Hot American Summer" has exactly the same frenetic, devil-may-care energy as "Dazed and Confused" (and a comparable number of pranks and hazing). Released a handful of years apart and both eventually developing fervent cult followings, the films are in many ways companion pieces to one another. You can easily imagine the kids from "Dazed and Confused" going off to the camp in "Wet Hot American Summer" after school lets out. 

"Wet Hot American Summer" parodies the rash of films set at camp that came out during the '70s, depicting the lives of a staff of counselors on the last day at camp in summer 1981. They all have unfinished business: Some are trying to build up the nerve to confess their love to their crushes, while others are just trying to make the annual summer show go off without a hitch. A super low-budget comedy, "Wet Hot American Summer" is perhaps most notable for the careers it helped to launch: Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Amy Poehler, and Bradley Cooper (amongst many others) all make appearances here, years before they had any name recognition.

Better Off Dead

After all the John Hughes movies that came out in the mid-'80s, it was time for Savage Steve Holland. "Better Off Dead" uses the same general formula as many other teen comedies: A nice guy (John Cusack) has his heart broken when the high school jock steals his girlfriend, so he puts everything on the line and competes in an extreme athletic competition to win her back. 

But that's just the plot of "Better Off Dead"; the actual movie is so much weirder, and much more delightful. The film is peppered with bizarre little details that make it stand out amongst the other films of its era. When you get the opportunity to hear John Cusack deliver the line, "Gee, I'm real sorry your mom blew up, Ricky," you just feel grateful to be alive. "Better Off Dead" is often overlooked in favor of more conventional '80s teen films, but amongst those of wealth and taste, it will always be a favorite.

Almost Famous

Most teen films necessarily involve the high school experience (after all, that's where most teens spend a lot of their time). But "Almost Famous" is unique in that it stars a precocious young man (Patrick Fugit) entirely separated from his peers, first by his mother's decision to skip him a handful of grades and not tell him that he's years younger than his classmates, and then by his burgeoning career as a teen rock journalist, which sees him hit the road for weeks at a time. 

When William is given the opportunity to write a piece about the band Stillwater for Rolling Stone, he jumps at the chance to tour with them, being informally adopted by both the members of the band and their extensive entourage of groupies, led by Penny Lane (Kate Hudson, in one of the only roles that properly utilizes her talents). His wild ride with Stillwater takes him into the heart of early '70s rock, but the closer he gets to the group, the more difficult it is for William to do his job. "Almost Famous" has great acting, great music, and a great group singalong to Elton John's "Tiny Dancer."

Gregory's Girl

Who could possibly watch "Gregory's Girl" and not be charmed? It's a sweet, gentle romantic comedy about a teen boy's infatuation with his beautiful new classmate, and also the silent, efficient, almost ruthless communication between girls to determine which boys they're going to date. 

"Gregory's Girl" made a huge impact not just in its native Scotland, but across the entire United Kingdom. For those of us not in Great Britain, it's a hidden gem that we've discovered only gradually, but that utterly smites us once we do. It's completely endearing in just how good-natured it is. Even when Gregory or his friends are being legitimately awkward, there aren't hordes of bullies waiting to make them feel ashamed of how uncool they are. Instead, there's a generally pleasant, relaxed undercurrent to "Gregory's Girl," which stands in sharp contrast to other high school dramas, some of which feel as though they exist in a heightened version of reality.

The Edge Of Seventeen

Hailee Steinfeld has been crushing it since she was 14 years old and stole "True Grit" away from Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon, and all signs point to her continuing to crush it as she makes her way through her 20s. Along the way, Steinfeld found time to star in "The Edge of Seventeen," which revolutionized the art of writing teen comedies featuring female protagonists that are weird and awkward in their own right. 

Steinfeld stars in "The Edge of Seventeen" as Nadine, a girl whose one friendship becomes unexpectedly complicated when her best friend (Haley Lu Richardson) begins dating her brother. If that weren't bad enough, she also accidently sends a sexually explicit Facebook message to her crush, a nightmare scenario that she recounts to her English teacher, played at the height of apathy by Woody Harrelson. Wild raunchy shenanigans and comic misunderstandings that cause secondhand embarrassment so bad they'll make you want to sink into the ground --  they're not just for teen boys anymore!

Fast Times At Ridgemont High

Unlike "Dazed and Confused," "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" isn't set in the past. However, it nevertheless has a certain nostalgic glow. With a broad and talented ensemble cast, "Fast Times" captures the daily life of a bunch of high school students in Southern California as they face the joys and pressures of almost-adult life. 

Some of the biggest stars of the '80s (and beyond) had their breakthrough performances in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," including Phoebe Cates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Forest Whitaker, and, of course, Sean Penn as the iconic stoner Jeff Spicoli. Interestingly, Don Philips, the casting director who discovered Sean Penn for "Fast Times," is the same person who brought Matthew McConaughey in for Wooderson, after the young actor approached him in a bar. 

"Fast Times at Ridgemont High" launched the careers of both director Amy Heckerling and also screenwriter Cameron Crowe, but its lasting legacy is its depiction of the poignant vulnerability of teen life; with every ounce of new, intoxicating freedom, there is equally sobering responsibility. Mike and Stacy's arc is a perfect example: They go from the exhilaration of having sex for the very first time to Mike desperately trying to call in favors so that he can afford to pay for Stacy's abortion and, in failing to do so, feeling so ashamed that he doesn't even turn up to give her a ride.

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One of the best things about the "Child's Play/Chucky" franchise is that with the exception of the canonically unrelated remake, writer Don Mancini has been behind every single screenplay in the franchise. And for the latter three films, he also served as the director. The "Chucky" franchise is Don Mancini, and because of that, the consistency in lore and storytelling is unmatched compared to other horror heavyweights like "Halloween," or "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre."

In a recent interview with Comicbook.com, Mancini confirmed that the cliffhanger ending of "Cult of Chucky" was an intentional part of the plan leading to the "Chucky" series:

Oh, I had a fairly solid plan [for the "Chucky" TV series] even when I was writing "Cult of Chucky." That's why I deliberately ended that movie with a series of cliffhangers to [leave] all of the major characters with a question mark. It was very "Empire Strikes Back" that way. But I knew that answering those questions and exploring the implications of where we left all of the characters, television was going to be a better place to explore all of that because it's so dense. There's so much going on. So yeah, I was sort of planning it out as back when I was writing "Cult of Chucky" four or five years ago. I'm just a little amazed that it all worked out because it's so rare, you know.

So rare, in fact, because it's literally never happened before.

How Did Cult Of Chucky End?

If you're one of those people who tuned out of the "Child's Play" franchise after "Bride of Chucky" and "Seed of Chucky" because you felt they were a little too silly (first of all, how dare?), it will help to seek out the latter two films "Curse of Chucky" and "Cult of Chucky" because they will directly connect to the new Syfy "Chucky" series. The last film showed the Charles Lee Ray-possessed Good Guy doll wreaking havoc in a psychiatric hospital, as well as the reintroduction of actor Alex Vincent as Andy Barclay, the first owner of the Chucky doll.

The film's cliffhanger shows the soul of Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) possessing the body of Nica Pierce (Fiona Dourif). Ray is reunited with his girlfriend Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly), Andy is trapped in a hospital cell, and a post-credits scene has Andy's former foster sister, Kyle (Christine Elise), in charge of monitoring the Chucky doll's severed head with Andy now away. Without the continuation of the upcoming "Chucky" series, the film's ending is pretty bleak for such a fun franchise, but knowing the story will continue to play out in the series is even more reason for excitement.

"Chucky" premieres tonight, October 12, 2021 at 10/9c on USA and Syfy.

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A woman allegedly hacked into the systems of a flight training school in Florida to delete and tamper with information related to the school's airplanes. In some cases, planes that previously had maintenance issues had been "cleared" to fly, according to a police report. The hack, according to the school's CEO, could have put pilots in danger. From a report: Lauren Lide, a 26-year-old who used to work for the Melbourne Flight Training school, resigned from her position of Flight Operations Manager at the end of November of 2019, after the company fired her father. Months later, she allegedly hacked into the systems of her former company, deleting and changing records, in an apparent attempt to get back at her former employer, according to court records obtained by Motherboard. The news of her arrest was first reported by local TV station News Channel 8. Derek Fallon, the CEO of Melbourne Flight Training called the police on January 17, 2020, and reported that five days before, he logged onto his account for Flight Circle, an app his company uses to manage and keep track of its airplanes, and found that there was missing information. Fallon found that someone had removed records related to planes with maintenance issues and reminders of inspections had all been deleted, "meaning aircraft which may have been unsafe to fly were purposely made 'airworthy,'" according to a document written by a Melbourne Airport Police officer.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

In case you weren’t aware of, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition will release on November 11th. This new version of Skyrim will be available on PC as a free update to all owners of Skyrim Special Edition. And, according to the developer of SKSE, it will break compatibility with a lot of existing … Continue reading The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition will break compatibility with lots of existing mods →

The post The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition will break compatibility with lots of existing mods appeared first on DSOGaming.

I've had a lot of absolutely bananas things on my 2021 Bingo Card be proven correct but David Arquette resurrecting "Bozo the Clown" was not one of them. Bozo is known as "The World's Most Famous Clown" and outside of Ronald McDonald, he's probably right. Bozo has been played by a multitude of different performers all across the globe, and starred on television from 1946 until 2001. As a child who grew up in the greater Chicagoland area, many of my classmates were fortunate enough (or cursed depending on who you ask) to attend live recordings of "The Bozo Super Sunday Show." It may totally shock you to hear this, but the results were pretty universally positive. I wish I were kidding, but growing up, I was so immeasurably jealous of my peers who were able to see the giant red-haired clown who gave prizes to kids who could successfully throw balls into buckets in person. 

Bozo was not just a source of nightmare fuel for generations, he was also a genuinely beloved icon. Hell, he's the inspiration for Krusty the Clown on "The Simpsons." Now, Bozo has a new owner for the first time in 65 years, and it's actor David Arquette. An acquisition 15 years in the making, Arquette recently spoke on Chicago's WGN-TV, saying "I fell in love with Bozo when I was a kid living in Evanston, Illinois." 

He continued, "Bob Bell's portrayal of Bozo was always my favorite. It just lit my heart up, and I want to bring that kind of joy to the people of the world."

Should, Should We Be Scared?

As the new owner of Bozo, Arquette spoke of plans to open a museum in Chicago dedicated to the character and legacy, possibly launch new shows/films, and try to resurrect the international popularity of the character. He said, "At one point there were 200 Bozos throughout America and Mexico and Brazil, so we really want to sort of replicate that. You have to kind of think of it as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse." A Bozo multiverse isn't the most outrageous pitch I've heard this year, but it's close.

He also knows full well that people are terrified of clowns, and has made it a mission to try and revamp the culture. "There's a lot of rebuilding we need to do for the love of clowns in general," he said. "We're being really sensitive about it — there's going to be a lot of charity involved."

David Arquette has been used as a Hollywood punching bag for far too long and it is frankly undeserved. If you haven't seen the brilliant documentary "You Can't Kill David Arquette," you have homework because it is impossible to watch that film and not fall in love with such a fascinating man. Arquette isn't afraid to do things outside of the box, and reviving the image of Bozo the Clown feels both simultaneously out of left field and yet completely on brand for someone who once trained with Mexican luchadores and participated in stoplight street wrestling in Mexico to prove his love and respect for the art of wrestling. If anyone has the right combination of unstoppable passion and unpredictable special interest to achieve revitalizing the reputation of one of society's greatest fears, it's David Arquette. Check out the full interview below.

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The post David Arquette Will Defy the Will of God and Man to Resurrect Bozo the Clown appeared first on /Film.

You've heard of Batfleck and Bennifer, but what about Mattfleck? Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are set to reunite onscreen this Friday in Ridley Scott's "The Last Duel," and in another life, it seems we could have seen their characters kissing.

Affleck and Damon go back a long way, having first met and studied drama together back in high school. Though they appeared in other films together pre-1997, they had their big breakout that year in "Good Will Hunting," which they starred in and co-wrote and which earned them both an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. They also co-starred as the fallen angels Bartleby and Loki in Kevin Smith's "Dogma" in 1999, years before Damon ever cameoed as an Asgardian actor playing Loki in "Thor: Ragnarok.

Over the years, they've remained friends and collaborated on other projects, most notably HBO's "Project Greenlight" documentary series. In "The Last Duel," they share screenwriting credits again (this time, with Nicole Holofcener) and are acting opposite each other again, with mullets and bowl cuts. Affleck plays Count Pierre d'Alençon in the movie, while Damon plays Jean de Carrouges, the husband of Marguerite de Carrouges (Jodie Comer), who accuses Adam Driver's character, Jacques Le Gris, of raping her. This instigates the last sanctioned duel to the death in French history.

Entertainment Weekly reports that there was a scene in the movie where Damon's character greets Affleck with a ceremonial kiss on the mouth. According to Affleck, Scott "thought it would be distracting, and his instincts are pretty good," so the scene was excised before they ever filmed it.

Damon's 'F-Slur For Homosexual' Controversy

As EW notes, Damon landed himself in hot water over the summer when he appeared to admit that he had only recent stopped using the "f-slur for homosexual." In an interview with the Sunday Times (by way of Variety), he recalled hearing it on the streets of Boston when he was young before he knew what it meant. He was quoted as saying:

"The word that my daughter calls the 'f-slur for a homosexual' was commonly used when I was a kid, with a different application. I made a joke, months ago, and got a treatise from my daughter. She left the table. I said, 'Come on, that's a joke! I say it in the movie 'Stuck on You!' '"

Needless to say, people didn't like them apples. As Damon's comments began trending on social media, he issued a statement clarifying, "I have never called anyone 'f****t' in my personal life and this conversation with my daughter was not a personal awakening. I do not use slurs of any kind." His statement ended with the words, "I stand with the LGBTQ+ community," but if you're looking for him to lock lips with Affleck and prove that, you won't see it in "The Last Duel."

"The Last Duel" comes exclusively to theaters on October 15, 2021.

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The post The Last Duel Could've Featured a Matt Damon/Ben Affleck Kiss, But Ridley Scott Cut It appeared first on /Film.

Horror franchises come and go, but Chucky is forever. The tiny ginger killing machine has survived over the years because his franchise is so fluid. Rather than stick rigidly to familiar beats, series creator and driving force Don Mancini has kept the "Child's Play" franchise fresh by changing it as it went along. Changing things up so drastically from film to film could've backfired, but Mancini and company managed to make it all feel perfectly natural. So much so that we could easily believe that a franchise that started with a serial killer using voodoo to jump into a doll would eventually turn into a slapstick comedy. Chucky has gone from real menace to comic figure back to menace again. He's whatever we need him to be. 

Now, after a reboot that's come and gone and mostly been forgotten about already, Chucky jumps to the small screen with the SYFY series "Chucky." Mancini is running the show (and directing several episodes), and he's brought along a bunch of folks who have remained steadfast with the series. Brad Dourif is once again back to voice Chucky, and the series also includes "Child's Play" franchise cast members Jennifer Tilly, Fiona Dourif, Alex Vincent, and Christine Elise (although none of them save Dourif actually show up in the four episodes made available to the press). The TV series remains firmly within the continuity of the movies, which is no small feat since that continuity is always changing. After the one-two comedic punch of "Bride of Chucky" and "Seed of Chucky," Mancini attempted to make Chucky scary again with the smaller-scale "Curse of Chucky," which was followed by the rather messy "Cult of Chucky." As a result of all this, the Chucky we meet here is a kind of amalgamation of all we've seen before. He's still cracking jokes, but he's also as bloodthirsty as ever. 

"I'm Not A Monster"

But Chucky also feels like a supporting player here. That's not exactly out of character – he remained elusive in the first movie. But he also feels a bit directionless here. It's hard to get a read on the character in the show because the first four episodes are designed to set things up. As a result, there are long stretches where Chucky is literally sitting around, waiting until he's needed to start slicing and dicing. Along the way, "Chucky" also tries to fill in the backstory of Chucky's human form, serial killer Charles Lee Ray, going all the way back to his childhood. More background into Ray's character was presented in "Curse of Chucky," but to continually fill in that backstory often feels like a mistake, and homages to "Halloween" that present the young Charles Lee Ray as a force of evil even in childhood don't add much. If anything, giving Chucky more of a history robs him of some of his power. 

Before Chucky starts doing his thing, the series introduces us to Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur), a gay teen who seems to be the biggest outcast in his school (the kids here are all supposed to be in middle school, but they all look and act a lot older, which is often a distraction). His home life isn't much better, as his widowed father (Devon Sawa) is an abusive drunk who doesn't accept his son's sexuality. Wheeler spends his days constructing sculptures and other works of art (another thing his dad doesn't accept) and pining over Devon (Björgvin Arnarson), a classmate who operates his own true-crime podcast. Jake is also relentlessly bullied, especially by ultra mean girl Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind). 

Jake is a surprisingly complex lead, particularly in the way the show approaches his moral grayness. Jake is so tormented by others that he has no qualms about wishing some of his classmates (and family members) dead. Whether or not Jake is a budding sociopath or a mixed-up kid is one of the themes "Chucky" plays around with, and one gets the sense that Mancini is partially sending up the "Child's Play" remake, which focused on a young character who was constantly being blamed for the bad deeds committed by that film's version of Chucky. It's risky to make such a troubled character your lead, and Mancini deserves credit for taking that risk and running with it, turning Jake into someone we're not quite sure we can trust. 

As Jake grows more and more disgruntled, Chucky goads him on. He even tries to sympathize with the teenager. "You know I have a queer kid...gender fluid," Chucky says, referring to his child Glen from "Seed of Chucky." "And you're cool with it?" Jake asks. "I'm not a monster," Chucky replies.

Chucky Is Forever

Chucky, who mysteriously arrives on the scene in Jake's hometown of Hackensack, New Jersey and is acquired by Jake at a yard sale, sees the turmoil raging inside Jake and realizes he can exploit it. It's not entirely clear what Chucky's endgame is here. Why is he suddenly in town? Why is he spending so much time hanging around with Jake? Just what is Chucky up to here? It's a mystery, and "Chucky" doesn't want to show you all its cards right away. That's fine, in theory, but the elusive nature of what's going on starts to drag "Chucky" down a bit, and the episodes start to grow repetitive – Jake is tormented, Chucky says he'll kill Jake's tormenters, Chucky gets interrupted before he can really kill anyone. Mancini does throw in a wonderfully gruesome death-by-dishwasher scene, but he mostly has Chucky constantly foiled in his murderous attempts. 

To make up for this Chucky waiting period, the first episode, directed by Mancini, turns up the style. There are multiple split diopter shots here that will make any Brian De Palma fan nod knowingly, and the series is often vibrant and colorful in ways so many modern TV shows aren't. Adding to this is the show's insistence on keeping things practical; Chucky is a puppet here, not a CGI creation, and that continues to lend the character a real personality. And Dourif continues to be the lifeblood coursing through the killer doll's veins. His voice work as Chucky remains as enjoyable as ever, and while Mark Hamill did an admittedly good job making his own version of Chucky for the mostly forgettable remake, it feels good to have the O.G. back. 

Tapping into that Chucky nostalgia is a big part of "Chucky." The TV series feels both different enough to seem like a fresh start while remaining referential to what came before. Still, I can't shake the feeling that there just isn't enough here for a full season of TV. I'm hoping future episodes will prove me wrong, but there are multiple occasions where it feels as if Mancini had an idea for a new Chucky movie and stretched it into a TV show instead. 

But I'm not too worried. Chucky is forever, after all. And if the "Chucky" series is a disappointment, in the end, I'm sure Chucky himself will bounce right back, good as new, ready for his next slaughter-filled adventure. Chucky always comes back. 

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"Mass" is a new drama marking the feature directorial debut of "Cabin in the Woods" actor Fran Kranz. The film played at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and arrived in select theaters in New York and Los Angeles this past weekend before it expands to more locations in the coming weeks. I cannot implore you enough to seek out this movie as soon as it's playing anywhere near you. 

To coincide with the film's release, we spoke with actor Jason Isaacs ("Harry Potter," "Sex Education") about his role in the powerful drama as Jay, a father who lost his son in a school shooting some time ago. Jay and his wife Gail (Martha Plimpton) are meeting with Linda (Ann Dowd) and Richard (Reed Birney), the parents of the shooter, and the conversation they have inside of a quiet church's meeting room is full of tension, heartbreak, and immense pain. 

During our interview, Isaacs discusses how the small ensemble cast prepared for the shoot and tapped into the lives of these characters who couldn't feel more tragically real despite not being directly based on any actual people who have suffered such a nightmare. The actor also talks about how his process of acting in a movie like "Mass" isn't much different from his role as Lucius Malfoy in the "Harry Potter" franchise. Then, unfortunately for us, he refuses to answer any questions about a possible future in "Star Wars," but he loves hearing that he's one of only two actors to ever voice both Superman and Lex Luthor.

"I Left Thinking, 'Well, That's Never Going To Be A Film.'"

I saw first saw "Mass" during the virtual Sundance Film Festival and wanted to see it again just for good measure before I talked to you and Fran Kranz. I absolutely loved it. And I just wanted to start off by finding out how you came to be involved with the movie.

Jason Isaacs: Well, Fran thinks that he got an email from my agent saying that I'd read the script and loved it. I think I got an email from my agent saying, "Fran would really like to meet you." I think somebody arranged it. I got involved. I read it and thought it was both magnificent and a fool's errand, because, clearly, no one was ever going to make a film like this. And it was an impossible task to make something watchable about four people in a room, but I couldn't take my eyes off it. I couldn't stop turning the pages. I read it in Starbucks. I was sobbing and heaving at the end. I felt both drained and smelling the flowers. I felt like the world was a better place and the possibility of change was in the air. And I looked up, and they were on the edge of calling the police, I think. I thought, well, I don't know what this is going to be like. This seems like an insane adventure, but I'm in. 

We made this thing, and it was an insane adventure. It was incredibly emotional and very intense and never ending. We kind of stayed in this bubble for two weeks. When I left, and I don't mind saying it now because the film is such a huge success critically, but I left thinking, well, that's never going to be a film. We had such an extraordinary experience making it. We all went to places we never had gone to before. I didn't know what just happened. It felt like it was some kind of blackout, but I didn't think, I didn't dare hope, that it would end up being as powerful an experience for audience members as it had been for us making it. And it turns out that it is.

I think that's a testament to all four of you putting in these incredible performances. What was the process like preparing with your co-stars for such an intimate movie? What was the preparation like before you started shooting to really get into such an emotionally trying place?

I know that Martha insisted to Fran that there were some rehearsals, and then I had to screw that up, because I needed to go to Australia to make "Streamline." So we only had two days in New York. The plan was, I suppose, to go through the script, and I don't know what it was, because the plan just got kicked into touch, because we got there and we needed to know each other. In order to do what's required in this film, we needed not to bring any of our normal bulls**t, no actor's shtick. It just needed to be honest, and to do that, you've got to trust each other. So we just started instantly peeling the layers away and, I think, Ann got the ball rolling and told us what was happening in her life, which was quite trying at the time.

We all did that, and we just needed to really see each other and feel safe so that we could go to such extreme places. We did a little bit of work on the script, not really much. When I say work, it was Fran saying, "Is there anything you're not comfortable with? Is there anything that you don't buy? You just don't think it's truthful?" Which is a very generous thing for a man who had lived with the script for three years to do, to give agency to strangers who have just come in contact with it. But we all said, "Yeah, actually." And I said, "I don't think Jay would let any of this stuff happen here. It just shut them up. And I think he would want to talk about that." And Martha went, "Well, I'd want him to shut the f**k up if he said that."

"The Cameras Can See When You're Lying, And He Wanted Us To Believe What We Were Doing."

All this stuff ends up being in the script, because Fran is such a smart director. It wasn't that he thought we had great ideas. It was less relevant than that. We were taking ownership. The cameras can see when you're lying, and he wanted us to believe what we were doing. So that's what we did. Then, when we were in Idaho, I landed from Australia, and we went straight into filming. Martha and I spent every minute that we weren't on screen trying to build the offscreen life that is referred to, the offscreen life that's gone so badly wrong.

Right.

To work out when we stopped talking to each other, or what we argued about when we had separate bedrooms, and what we did or didn't agree on about our daughter who had been so badly messed up. The fact that I'm away working all the time and campaigning. Could we bother to spend any time together anymore? Did we have sex anymore? I mean, it's just really building the details of our life. Then, specifically, when she had started going to the therapist that made this meeting happen, what that therapist had told her to say, and whether I been dragged into therapy, or whether I volunteered for therapy, or whether I forced myself to go.

So when we built that world, and the hot topics, the things that we weren't allowed to say to each other, and the subjects that we weren't allowed to touch, and things we were meant to say, then the scenes themselves could unfold. We had such a rich history and texture. We could look at each other, and we both knew what the other one was thinking. We could make a gesture to each other, and it means, "Shut up, you're not meant to say that." We even did things like all the moments we had at home. The one point I raised with Ann and Reed's character, the notion that maybe their son, genetically, there was something wrong with him and stuff. That stuff I've run by Martha. My character tried at home and she screamed it down. She shut it down. She wasn't interested. So I'm looking for an ally the way couples do when they're out with other couples.

Yeah, absolutely.

So everything we did was about building that history and then not planning. Letting everything go, all of our many collective hundreds of years of acting, just leaving it all at the door and letting the scene take us wherever they wanted to and just really not planning anything.

"The Best Tribute I Can Pay To Fran's Direction Is That I Don't Remember It."

You can feel that and in the way that Fran shot this movie, because there are so many instances where just a simple expression on each of your faces, how you react to something that's said, it all got caught on camera, and they found it in the editing room. Is that something that you're conscious of, that you plan for part of the performance, or is that something that organically comes about just because you're so ingrained in the character in that moment?

Well, the best tribute I can pay to Fran's direction is that I don't remember it. I don't remember it, any cameras being in the room. I don't remember Fran being in the room.

That's great.

Of course, he was there. And, of course, he did come in and give notes, but my memory is of trying to manage my wife and her fury, and the fact that I thought she was going to do all the talking and she won't do it. My memory is of what I'm trying to persuade these two people on the other side of the table to say, or think, and how when they're not doing it, how upset I got. None of us were really aware of what the camera was or wasn't picking up. We were just living it, trying as best we can to live it and feel it as truthfully as we can. It was up to Fran what he picked up.

How does making a movie that's as intimate as "Mass" compare to something like working on a major movie, like the "Harry Potter" franchise? Do you prefer one over the other? Is the process any different?

"No, it's exactly the same. It's just, in "Harry Potter," sometimes you're working five minutes or two hours a day or something, and this one you're on camera, essentially, from the second the sun comes up in the morning 'til it's too dark to shoot. But they're both about telling stories. Oddly, although I've been in things which required one or two dimensions from me, in "Harry Potter," Lucius Malfoy is a very complicated character. He's an old-fashioned racist. He's the guy that thinks things were better when people like him ruled the world and that naive, meddling, progressive fools are upending the natural order of things, because he's scared he's going to be left behind. He's trying to make Hogwarts great again. This is a guy who thinks he's a savior.

So I'm playing a complex character. The difficulty on a set like "Harry Potter" is that there's an awful lot of waiting around. When you finally get to go down and shoot for a little bit of time, those few moments will be in the film, and you've had four hours sitting in a trailer. With "Mass" it's morning 'til night. But, really, they're the same job. Try and tell your story truthfully.

"I Can't Even Acknowledge The Existence Of Lucasfilm As A Real Entity."

Speaking of the villains that you've played before, you played The Inquisitor in "Star Wars Rebels," so have there been any conversations with Lucasfilm about that character potentially coming into live action?

I can't even acknowledge the existence of Lucasfilm as a real entity. I've signed so many NDAs. Even having this conversation with you now I have to come round and cut your tongue out while you're sleeping. I apologize.

I mean, hypothetically, if that were to happen, have you thought about what —

There are no hypotheticals. This conversation is to be entirely avoided.

[Note: Jason Isaacs was being very playful in his tone when answering in this way]

[laughs, pees pants] Fair enough! Well, let me ask you something else then. Did you know that you're one of the only two actors to voice both Lex Luther and Superman?

I did not know that. I love that. I love the whole DC Universe. I've been Ra's al Ghul. I think I've been the Green Lantern. I think I've been, jeez, who else have I been? A whole bunch of stuff. I've loved all the things I've done in the DC Universe.

So you've loved playing in the DC Universe. Do you have any interest in crossing over into Marvel territory at all?

You know what I don't have is a plan for anything. I know where I'm going tomorrow. I'm going back to England to promote Mass for a couple of days then I'm going to Toronto to make "Good Sam" for six months. Then I have no idea what's happening. Of course, I love and I grew up on, Marvel. I had Marvel and DC Comics lining my bedroom, and the more obscure the better. In fact, I got them on Sundays. We would go and get fish and chips, obviously, the English national dish, and next goal was a candy store that sold secondhand Marvel and DC comics. So they weren't in order. My dad let me go and buy a bunch every week for like 10p, but they were never sequential. So I pieced together, jigsaw-like, the stories of all the different characters with huge gaps and the wrong chronology.

I tell you now, in my adult life, I realized how badly wrong I got the stories. But I absolutely love that world, and I love watching the films as well. I'm thrilled that there is room for films, the opposite kind of films, small, powerful, emotional adult dramas to be made as well. It would be a shame for the world if there were only giant special effects, superhero movies, but I absolutely lap them up. I adore them. I think Marvel, particularly, with Kevin Feige at the helm, have done a fantastic job of making them continually entertaining and relevant and watchable.

Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for your time, Jason. I appreciate it. I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing you getting some major awards attention for this performance, because it's outstanding.

That's very kind, but I hope that the film keeps getting watched by lots of people. If it takes awards to do that, that'll be a great thing.

For more from "Mass," check out our interview with writer/director Fran Kranz over here.

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The post Jason Isaacs Thought Mass Was 'Never Going to Be a Film' Despite an 'Extraordinary Experience' Making It [Interview] appeared first on /Film.