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We were recently treated to the first trailer for Marvel's "Hawkeye" series, which is coming to Disney+ later this year. It will give Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton the spotlight, while also introducing us to Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop. Not to mention Lucky, AKA Pizza Dog. But it also may serve as a perfect time for Marvel fans to dive into the source material a bit. In particular, writer Matt Fraction and artist David Aja's seminal 2012 "Hawkeye" comic book series, which helped to redefine the character for modern audiences.

Hawkeye, Matt Fraction & David Aja's Gift To The Character Of Clint Barton

The character of Hawkeye, aka Clint Barton, was not well known before "The Avengers" hit theaters in 2012. Yes, he had been a mainstay in the Marvel Comics world for decades but your average Joe on the street probably couldn't name the arrow-slinging hero. Save for a brief cameo in 2011's "Thor," "The Avengers" largely served as the character's introduction into mainstream pop culture.

Marvel opted to capitalize on that by releasing a brand new comic series from Fraction and Aja, timed around the release of the movie. Published in August of 2012, "Hawkeye" was a pretty radical departure from what had come before. I won't pretend to be an expert on all things Clint but I had read enough "Avengers" comics and team-up books to know this was different. Even the costume was making a statement that we were leaving old-school Hawkeye behind.

The basic concept of the book is that Clint is going it alone. He's staying in an apartment in New York City, away from his fellow members of the group we call Earth's Mightiest Heroes. It's street-level Hawkeye and largely ends up being a mission-of-the-week sort of thing. Not to say there aren't threads that carry through but this isn't akin to "Civil War" or anything like that. It's issue-to-issue comic book storytelling at its finest. It gives a previously sidelined character the spotlight. And man, do Fraction and Aja make the most of it. Style. Adventure. Humor. Fun. Lots of cameos. If you like comics, or superheroes on any level, this is it. There is a reason it is one of the most acclaimed comics of the last decade.

What's it like when a guy who has saved the world time and time again alongside Thor and Captain America has to worry about day-to-day life? What's it like when that guy has to worry about his neighbors having nowhere to live because their apartment building might be sold? What happens when he gets recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. for a dangerous mission with nothing but his bundle of arrows to save him? Fraction and Aja offer entertaining answers to these questions and others.

For just a little context, here is the synopsis for Volume 1 of the series, "My Life As A Weapon:"

Fraction. Aja. Hawkeye. Kate Bishop. Cars. Guns. And videotape. The breakout star of this summer's blockbuster Avengers film, Clint Barton — a.k.a. the self-made hero Hawkeye — fights for justice...and good rooftop BBQs! And with ex-Young Avenger Kate Bishop by his side, he's out to get some downtime from being one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Matt Fraction and David Aja (IMMORTAL IRON FIST) reunite to tell the ongoing tales of the Arrow-Avenger. Barton and Bishop mean double the Hawkeye and double the trouble! Plus: Relive Kate's first meeting with Clint, as she learns wanting something can be miles away from actually earning it.

An Introduction To Kate Bishop And Lucky The Pizza Dog

Kate Bishop, a member of the Young Avengers and another character who has held the mantle off Hawkeye in the comics, is about to make her way into the MCU. The trailer for "Hawkeye" gave us a look at Hailee Steinfeld's take on the character. She is a major fan-favorite. While Kate didn't debut in the pages of "Hawkeye," she certainly gets the time to shine here alongside Clint. And it is within these pages that the version of the character many fans already know and love truly flourished. As such, this book might be considered essential reading for MCU fans right now.

Also, for those who like really good boys, this is the book where Lucky the Pizza Dog made his way into the Marvel universe. I have no doubt that the internet is going to be obsessed with this doggo once "Hawkeye" drops on Disney+. Why not get the jump on that obsession by seeing him in all of his comic book glory? Seriously, how can you resist this?

The Perfect Primer For Hawkeye On Disney+

Marvel is currently keeping the plot of "Hawkeye" tightly under wraps for the most part right now. We know it takes place at Christmas. The villains are mysterious. The mission is mysterious. It's a big secret. But from the moment the show was officially announced, Marvel Comics fans took note of the choice of logo. It was ripped right from the pages of Fraction and Aja's run. Not to mention the inclusion of Kate teaming up with Clint, as well as Lucky, heavily signals this book is going to inspire the show. Even if it's a loose inspiration, this could serve as a great primer for the show. Plus, the book ran for just 22 issues. That is very digestible and could easily be finished before the show arrives in November.

Hawkeye, A Comic Book With (Almost) No Baggage

I love comics. I really do. I discovered them in my youth but stopped for many years because I had enough things to be bullied about. But when I got back into reading them in my early 20s it was a bit intimidating at first. One of the problems with Marvel Comics, or DC Comics for that matter, is the decades of baggage that comes with the universes. Where do you start? What stories do you need to read in order to understand the story you want to read? It can be a lot.

"Hawkeye" was one of the books I picked up shortly after I got back into comics. What I found so refreshing, beyond the excellence contained within, is that it can be enjoyed on its own without much baggage. It's a pretty fantastic standalone story. Sure, we get cameos from other characters. The wider Marvel universe relationships and implications are there for those who want it. But nothing about this series makes the reader feel alienated.

In an age when comic book properties dominate the movie and TV landscape, it's important to recognize where this stuff comes from. Not only because these artists deserve recognition, but because fans of these movies and TV shows have thousands upon thousands of comics out there to expand the scope of that enjoyment. "Hawkeye" could be the perfect place to start.

"Hawkeye" is available in collected trade paperbacks, or through digital retailers.

Marvel's "Hawkeye" series debuts on Disney+ on November 24.

Read this next: Hawkeye Trailer Breakdown: Christmas Comes With A Bow And Arrow

The post Why Matt Fraction and David Aja's Hawkeye is Essential Reading for Marvel Fans appeared first on /Film.

(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)

The Movie: "Smart House"

Where You Can Stream It: Disney+

The Pitch: Computer nerd Ben Cooper (Ryan Merriman of "The Luck of the Irish," "Final Destination 3") is, in typical Disney fashion, a 13-year-old kid mourning the death of his mother. His widower father Nick (Kevin Kilner) and little sister Angie (Katie Volding) are struggling to keep things afloat, but all of that changes when Ben wins a competition to move the family into a high-tech smart home complete with a virtual assistant named PAT, short for 'Personal Applied Technology.' 

When Nick starts to take a liking to the house's programmer, Sara (Jessica Steen), a heartbroken Ben -- angry at the thought of his mother being replaced so quickly -- reprograms PAT to serve as a maternal figure, with her artificial intelligence quickly learning from 1950s era film and television to create the perfect holographic mother (Katey Sagal). Unfortunately, everything takes a hard turn for the terrifying when PAT becomes jealous of Nick and Sara's relationship and the entire house goes rogue trying to mama bear her new family.

Why It's Essential Viewing

If you've made it this far you're either a millennial feeling extremely vindicated by the title of this column or you're someone who had no idea LeVar Burton directed a Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and are here by sheer morbid curiosity. Either way, welcome! I sincerely think one of the reasons I was put on this earth is to champion the legitimacy of DCOMs and it's a job I take very seriously.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Disney Channel was a certified original made-for-TV content machine. Titles like "Halloweentown" and "High School Musical" were popular enough to become crossover hits, but as plenty of film snobs will have you know, the popularity of a movie does not have a direct correlation to its greatness. The aforementioned titles are absolute classics and pop culture mainstays, but they do not reach the cinematic caliber of "Smart House." Stay with me here.

Released in 1999, "Smart House" debuted during a time of a cultural technological panic. Y2K was a legitimate anxiety in the minds of those old enough to comprehend its seriousness but at the same time, the approaching new millennium sparked a wave of interest in exploring high-tech and near-futuristic ideas. This is the same year that brought us "The Matrix," "The Thirteenth Floor," and "Bicentennial Man." Not one to miss out on a trend, the Disney Channel decided to bring its own version of a hypothetical technological nightmare scenario to the target tween audience.

"Smart House" does a great job of lulling the audience into a sense of safety, as the house is explored with great curiosity and excitement. Spilling a strawberry smoothie on the carpet is no big deal because the house sucks it right up without a human having to spot clean a thing. The desire to watch totally rad music videos from oft-forgotten late 90s bands like 5ive or B*Witched are a breeze when a bedroom wall can be converted into a whole-ass screen at the snap of a finger. Struggling to prepare breakfast in the morning is a thing of the past because PAT will gladly pop up a hideaway shelf fully stocked with delicious treats in the middle of the kitchen counter. 

The world of "Smart House" seemed like something out of a dream, but in 2021, just about every luxury feature has now been invented. "Smart House" may not have predicted refrigerators that let you update Twitter, but they weren't very far off ... which is terrifying.

An Eerily Prescient Disney Channel Gem

When PAT overhears Nick making an offhand comment about how PAT is not needed now that Sara is around, "Smart House" turns into "Black Mirror" for pre-teens. A holographic Katey Sagal adorned in a polka dotted shirtwaist dress grows to gigantic sizes, replicates herself to fill entire rooms, andshuts down the ability to leave the house. "Inspector Gadget" style retractable claw arms come out of the dishwasher and physically throw Sara out of the house, and PAT essentially turns into the lovechild of June Cleaver and HAL 9000 of "2001: A Space Odyssey" -- complete with a response of 'I'm sorry, I can't do that," when asked to unlock the door.

PAT's reasoning for keeping the family inside is not just for her own sentient selfish needs; she's also determined that the world outside of the house is too dangerous for the family after consuming copious amounts of news footage, most of which feature constant violence. Having access to every piece of information in existence has not made PAT smarter -- it's made her scared. And as a sentient holographic virtual helper, that vulnerable feeling causes her to lash out in anger.

At one point PAT's automated food preparation abilities malfunction and she begins projectile-firing comically large oranges at the family, not unlike the soda machine in "Maximum Overdrive." After Ben overrides her system, he throws a party trying to impress all of the kids at school with his fancy new house. But when a bully tries to pick a fight with him, PAT straight up electrocutes a child and projects a violent old cartoon of a barrel chested rooster backhanding a weaker one in front of a crowded room. PAT isn't making threats, she's fulfilling promises.

"Smart House" manages to take the terrifying existential fears surrounding the science-fiction films of this and previous eras, and turns it into something even the youngest of viewers can process and understand. There's a perfect balance at play, due in large part to the direction of LeVar Burton who, between "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Reading Rainbow," is the best possible person to present the idea of a necessary harmony between technology and reality in a way that is digestible for children. It's easy to dismiss DCOMs at face value, but "Smart House" proves that there's genuine substance and cinema hiding beneath the electric outline of mouse ears in the corner of a TV screen.

Read this next: Revisiting 'The Parent Trap,' One Of Few Truly Great Live-Action Disney Films Of The '60s

The post The Daily Stream: LeVar Burton's Smart House is the Greatest Disney Channel Original Movie Ever Made appeared first on /Film.

Nobody likes passwords. They’re inconvenient. They’re a prime target for attacks. Yet for years they’ve been the most important layer of security for everything in our digital lives—from email to bank accounts, shopping carts to video games.

We are expected to create complex and unique passwords, remember them, and change them frequently, but nobody likes doing that either. In a recent Microsoft Twitter poll, one in five people reported they would rather accidentally “reply all”—which can be monumentally embarrassing—than reset a password.

But what alternative do we have?

For the past couple of years, we’ve been saying that the future is passwordless, and today I am excited to announce the next step in that vision. In March 2021, we announced that passwordless sign in was generally available for commercial users, bringing the feature to enterprise organizations around the world.

Beginning today, you can now completely remove the password from your Microsoft account. Use the Microsoft Authenticator app, Windows Hello, a security key, or a verification code sent to your phone or email to sign in to your favorite apps and services, such as Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft OneDrive, Microsoft Family Safety, and more. This feature will be rolled out over the coming weeks.

The problem with passwords

My friend, Bret Arsenault, our Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) here at Microsoft likes to say, “Hackers don’t break in, they log in.” That has stuck with me ever since I first heard him say it because it’s so true.

Weak passwords are the entry point for the majority of attacks across enterprise and consumer accounts. There are a whopping 579 password attacks every second—that’s 18 billion every year.

Why are passwords so vulnerable? There are two big reasons.

Human nature

Except for auto-generated passwords that are nearly impossible to remember, we largely create our own passwords. But, given the vulnerability of passwords, requirements for them have gotten increasingly complex in recent years, including multiple symbols, numbers, case sensitivity, and disallowing previous passwords. Updates are often required on a regular basis, yet to create passwords that are both secure enough and memorable enough is a challenge. Passwords are incredibly inconvenient to create, remember, and manage across all the accounts in our lives.

Forgetting a password can be painful too. I was shocked to learn that nearly a third of people say they completely stop using an account or service rather than dealing with a lost password. That’s not only a problem for the person stuck in the password cycle, but also for businesses losing customers.

To solve these problems and create passwords we can remember, we try and make things easier for ourselves. We often rely on known and personal words and phrases. One of our recent surveys found that 15 percent of people use their pets’ names for password inspiration. Other common answers included family names and important dates like birthdays. We also found 1 in 10 people admitted reusing passwords across sites, and 40 percent say they’ve used a formula for their passwords, like Fall2021, which eventually becomes Winter2021 or Spring2022.

Hacker nature

Unfortunately, while such passwords may be easier to remember, they are also easier for a hacker to guess. A quick look at someone’s social media can give any hacker a head start on logging into their personal accounts. Once that password and email combination has been compromised, it’s often sold on the dark web for use in any number of attacks.

Hackers also have a lot of tools and techniques. They can use automated password spraying to try many possibilities quickly. They can use phishing to trick you into putting your credentials into a fake website. These tactics are relatively unsophisticated and have been in play for decades, but they continue to work because passwords continue to be created by humans.

Go passwordless today with a few quick clicks

First, ensure you have the Microsoft Authenticator app installed and linked to your personal Microsoft account.

Next, visit your Microsoft account, sign in, and choose Advanced Security Options. Under Additional Security Options, you’ll see Passwordless Account. Select Turn on.

Finally, follow the on-screen prompts, and then approve the notification from your Authenticator app. Once you’ve approved, you’re free from your password!

If you decide you prefer using a password, you can always add it back to your account. But I hope you’ll give passwordless a try—I don’t think you’ll want to go back.

Learn more about going passwordless

We’ve heard great feedback from our enterprise customers who have been on the passwordless journey with us. In fact, Microsoft itself is a great test case—nearly 100 percent of our employees use passwordless options to log in to their corporate accounts.

You can read more about our passwordless journey in a blog from Joy Chik, Corporate Vice President of Identity, or hear more about the benefits for people using Edge or Microsoft 365 apps from Liat Ben-Zur. To learn more about how Microsoft solutions, such as Microsoft Azure Active Directory and Microsoft Authenticator, are allowing users in organizations to forget their passwords while staying protected, join our digital event Your Passwordless Future Starts Now on October 13, 2021.

Learn more about enabling passwordless sign-in with the Microsoft Authenticator app here.

To learn more about Microsoft Security solutions, visit our website. Bookmark the Security blog to keep up with our expert coverage on security matters. Also, follow us at @MSFTSecurity for the latest news and updates on cybersecurity.

The post The passwordless future is here for your Microsoft account appeared first on Microsoft Security Blog.

"Last Night in Soho" brings together a handful of different fans at the center of a particularly striking Venn diagram: longtime admirers of Edgar Wright's reliably distinct tone and style, horror aficionados curious to see how Wright handles genuine scares, and Anya Taylor-Joy stans. After premiering at this year's Venice Film Festival to mostly positive reviews (including /Film's, which you can read here), we have only a few more weeks to wait before experiencing the twists and turns of Wright's latest ourselves.

Until then, we're still getting more compelling images and teasing quotes that hint at what lies ahead. Check out all the details below, including an interesting nugget regarding Anya Taylor-Joy's original role in the film.

Last Night In Soho

Anyone who's watched the trailers for "Last Night in Soho" can't miss just how much the idea of mirroring plays a role in the events of the film. Edgar Wright's psychological horror/thriller stars Thomasin McKenzie as Eloise, an aspiring fashion designer with a preoccupation with the past, which somehow leads to her vivid dreams (or is it something more than that?) of embodying Anya Taylor-Joy's 1960s singer Sandie. 

But the moviemaking process can be just as liable to change as our tenuous connections with nostalgia, apparently. In an interview with Total Film, Wright revealed that Joy was originally meant to play the present-day role of Eloise. By the time production began, however, it became clear that Joy had the exact qualities needed to bring Sandie to life.

"Anya is such a chameleon. There's what she's like on film, and then also what she's like when you see her in a fashion spread or on a red carpet."

It's oddly fitting that the close dynamic between Eloise and Sandie in the body-swap narrative would also be represented in the actual casting process itself, but it's hard to argue with Wright's description of Joy when considering just how naturally she fits in as a singer who commands attention with ease. That's not to say McKenzie didn't put in the work when it came to portraying Eloise, however; McKenzie herself takes note of the amount of research she put into the role.

"I was constantly listening to the film's playlist, and when I was still in Wellington, I spent a lot of time with one of the head teachers at the fashion school. She taught me how to sew, and how to sketch different designs. I made a couple of clothing items, and did a lot of drawing in my Ellie notebook."

Total Film has more exclusive images from the film, but in the meantime you can read the five main takeaways that /Film's Chris Evangelista had from watching a screening at the recent Toronto International Film Festival. The rest of us have to wait until "Last Night in Soho" releases on October 29, 2021.

Read this next: Last Night In Soho: Release Date, Trailer And More

The post Anya Taylor-Joy Literally Swapped Roles For Edgar Wright's Last Night In Soho appeared first on /Film.

Security researchers with Intezer have identified a reimplementation of the infamous Cobalt Strike Beacon payload, which features completely new code.

read more

Three former U.S. intelligence and military officials have admitted providing sophisticated computer hacking technology to the United Arab Emirates and agreed to pay nearly $1.7 million to resolve criminal charges in an agreement that the Justice Department described Tuesday as the first of its kind.

read more

The Alien movies are some of my favorite movies of all time (especially Alien and Aliens). Unfortunately, the games based on that franchise have been a mixed bag. Some were good and some were awful. With the announcement of Aliens Fireteam Elite though, I was a bit hopeful. On paper, a horde mode shooter combined … Continue reading Aliens Fireteam Elite PC Review →

The post Aliens Fireteam Elite PC Review appeared first on DSOGaming.

This is no unpleasant dream, my darlings, you read the title correctly. The Mistress of the Dark is returning to the world of horror hosting for a one-night movie marathon event on Shudder to celebrate her 40th anniversary.

"Elvira's 40th Anniversary, Very Scary, Very Special Special," will be featured as part of Shudder's annual "61 Days of Halloween" lineup featuring four all-time great horror films and, of course, Elvira's sharp-tongued wit and campy commentary.

"It's always tough turning 40, but what better way to mark the occasion than a one-night stand with Shudder, the spookiest of streamers? It's going to be the ultimate Hallow-anniversa-ween bash, and you don't want to miss it," said Elvira in the official press release.

Who Is Elvira?

The alter-ego of actress Cassandra Peterson, Elvira first appeared as the hostess of the horror movie television program "Movie Macabre" that originally aired from 1981 to 1986. She started off as just another regional horror hostess, but after the release of the 1988 feature film "Elvira: Mistress of the Dark," Elvira was solidified as a global horror treasure.

In the years that followed, Elvira evolved from a cult icon to a mainstream brand. Throughout the '80s and '90s, Elvira was marketed and merchandised as heavily as the band KISS, with costumes, comic books, action figures, trading cards, Halloween decor, calendars, perfume, dolls, magazine covers, her own pinball machine, a live stage production, and even a motion-controlled 3D experience theme park ride all centered around the "the sassy lassy with the classy chassy."

To put it simply ... Elvira is the Queen of Horror.

How To Watch Elvira's 40th Anniversary Special

Unlike most channels that only celebrate Halloween once the witching hour is at hand, Shudder kicks things off early and their annual "61 Days of Halloween" is already underway. 

"Elvira's 40th Anniversary, Very Scary, Very Special Special" will premiere on Saturday, September 25 at 8pm ET in the US and Canada via the Shudder TV feed. The special will also be released on demand to all Shudder platforms (US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand) beginning Monday, September 27.

What Movies Will Be Featured?

In a similar vein to "Movie Macabre," Elvira's special includes a must-see lineup of forgotten favorites. Movies include "Elvira: Mistress of the Dark," "House On Haunted Hill (1959)," "The City of the Dead," and "Messiah of Evil." The selection is sure to pull on the nostalgia strings of anyone who grew up watching Elvira introduce classic and public domain horror films with her clever critique and alluring anecdotes.

Hearing Elvira comment on her own film, "Elvira: Mistress of the Dark," is an absolute must-see.

Why Is Elvira's Return Important?

Elvira has remained omnipresent over the years, appearing everywhere from "Scooby-Doo" specials to judging "RuPaul's Drag Race," and even her own limited release fashion line, but it's been seven years since Elvira draped across her red fainting couch and guided an audience through a horror film. Not since Hulu's "13 Nights of Elvira" have horror fans had access to the most recognizable horror host in history (Sorry, Svengoolie, she's got you beat) and her absence has been missed.

What separates Elvira from the rest of her contemporaries is that she was able to successfully bring the art of horror hosting to the masses. Her brand is so powerful that she even nabbed a commercial deal with Coors Light, allowing non-horror fans a peek behind the curtain of a beloved albeit dismissed genre of film. If Joe Bob Briggs can have a resurgence on Shudder, why not Elvira? After all, there have been multiple Change.com petitions from fans trying to drum up enough attention to warrant her return.

Elvira's brand of humor has always been sardonic or self-deprecating, ensuring that she never punched down. Horror is supposed to be frightening, yes, but it's also okay to have fun with it, and Elvira consistently serves as a reminder of that fact. She's also become a horror convention mainstay and her social media presence has made her super accessible to her fanbase. Many have likened her to being the dark and spooky Dolly Parton, with her continued calls for social justice offering a great deal of solace to horror fans of marginalized identities. 

No matter how tough things get, we know Elvira loves and supports us. She's horror's hot goth mommy, and we're so blessed to share a timeline with her. 

September 25 can't get here fast enough.

Read this next: Now Scream This: The Best Horror Movies Streaming Right Now

The post Elvira to Celebrate Her 40th Anniversary With Special Horror Marathon on Shudder appeared first on /Film.

In recent years, director Mike Flanagan has emerged as the heir apparent to Frank Darabont, just in terms of his propensity for executing solid film adaptations of Stephen King stories. Though we won't be seeing "Revival," his third planned adaptation, he's got two more under his belt already, and King is still keeping his eye on Flanagan's other projects.

It's possible we'll see them team up again in the future, but in the meantime, there's "Midnight Mass," Flanagan's upcoming Netflix series, which looks to the Bible as horror literature. King has already seen "Midnight Mass," and he had some high praise for it, as you can see in the tweet below.

On Twitter, King called "Midnight Mass" a "dense, beautifully photographed terror tale that climbs to a high pitch of horror by the 7th and last episode." In the latest "Midnight Mass" trailer, "X-Files" alum Annabeth Gish asks, "What's a little crazy between friends?" She might just as well have asked, "What's a little praise between mutual admirers?"

The answer: nothing at all, not if you're the master of the macabre and you hold the power to save or condemn horror titles like a Roman emperor exercising his pollice verso thumb. "Midnight Mass" now has a thumbs up from King, his official social media stamp of approval, so keep that in mind when you're weighing your many streaming entertainment options this month. The series offers a communion wafer (of evil?) to the viewer. Will you accept?

The Right Guy To Adapt King

Stephen King adaptations can be hit-or-miss, but "Gerald's Game" and "Doctor Sleep," both directed by Flanagan, were generally well-regarded. "Gerald's Game" came from a novel that was considered un-filmable since most of it revolves around a woman being handcuffed to a bed in a remote lake house with no other living characters around to provide dialogue or conflict (beyond, you know, the conflict of needing to extract oneself from those cuffs by whatever means necessary). Yet Flanagan was able to deliver something with his Netflix adaptation of "Gerald's Game" that pleased both fans and King himself.

This may be why King entrusted "Doctor Sleep" to Flanagan. "Doctor Sleep" faced the daunting task of serving as a sequel to "The Shining," both King's 1977 novel and the 1980 Stanley Kubrick adaptation starring Jack Nicholson. Though "The Shining" is one of the greatest horror films of all time (just yesterday, we just revisited its ending), King was never a fan of Kubrick's vision, which somewhat clashed with his own. "Doctor Sleep" made him retroactively appreciate the film more.

This week, I found myself doing the same thing with "Doctor Sleep" while randomly thinking about Rose the Hat, Rebecca Ferguson's chilling vampire villain, who is not above shotgunning hits of children's life energy with her True Knot pals. It made me want to rewatch the film, and I will definitely be watching "Midnight Mass" when it hits Netflix on September 24, 2021.

Here's the official synopsis for "Midnight Mass":

This little island, so sleepy it might be dead. The isolated community on Crockett Island experiences miraculous events - and frightening omens – following the arrival of a charismatic, mysterious young priest. An original series from Mike Flanagan come to Netflix on September 24th.

Read this next: Mike Flanagan's Midnight Mass Is About How The Bible Is Really A Horror Story

The post Mike Flanagan's Midnight Mass Already Has a Fan in Stephen King appeared first on /Film.

"Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge – Last Call" brings the adventures on Batuu to an end with an update to the virtual reality experience that began last year. Picking up after the first installment of the VR video game, the next chapter puts you at the center of a new quest, this time brought on by one of the familiar faces from Black Spire Outpost in Disney's theme park world of Galaxy's Edge. Dok-Ondar takes a break from running his Den of Antiquities to hire your droid repair technician character to track down a lost artifact for him, but that's just the beginning of the new VR adventures that await in this satisfying, immersive journey back into a galaxy far, far away.

Fundamental Improvements

First of all, "Last Call" has improved on some fundamental basics to make the experience feel a little more smooth. When teleport jumping or rotating incrementally within any given environment, you no longer have a quick "blink" that briefly fades to black. There's now smooth turning and less jarring shift-teleporting. Also adding to the improved mobility is a hoverpack upgrade that not only allows you to fly even higher in levels, but it also gives you the ability to move forward, backward and side-to-side while in the air. This all makes player movement infinitely less clunky and allows for more efficient exploration and interaction with environments.

There's still no jumping for the character (that's what the hoverpack is for), and movement with the tool known as the All-Kit Tool can be a little frustrating when using it in your left hand (which also controls your body's going forward/backward and left/right), but the aforementioned updates are welcome improvements for basic functionality, and they'll make the replayability of the first part of the game that much more fun.

New Weapons And Gear

Before you embark on a new quest, you'll want to stop by Mubo's Workshop to pick up the latest weapons and gear with in-game credits (which doesn't require any real money to be spent). Everything from the first round of "Tales from the Galaxy's Edge" is still there, but there are some new weapons that you'll want to add to your arsenal too, such as the Blade Remote and the Elite Remote. The Blade Training Remote attacks with sharp blades while the Elite Training Remote not only features blades, but also shoots enemies and shields itself from blasts.

Then there are two new holsters to help beef up the arsenal that you can carry with you. Shoulder holsters allow you to double up on the weapons you carry, which will be helpful when you encounter new enemies with a much different array of weapons to pick up. There's also a holster that will charge your weapons so you don't have to keep picking up new ones from fallen enemies. Plus, shooting enemies gets a little easier with the new targeting visor. 

Then there's a new collection of tactical gloves, each offering their own special features. For example, the Medic Gloves will automatically inject bacta cartridges into your system when you're low on health, saving you from scrambling for them in the middle of battle (though you will have to restock the cartridges on your wrists). There are also gloves that help with the recoil of weapons, add armor, and allow for more blasting before overheating.

Mubo's Workshop is also where you'll also want to grab the modestly priced hoverpack upgrade, the aforementioned update that allows you to jetpack a bit higher in each level and move around freely in the air. 

Fun tip: When you're walking around Seezelslak's cantina, you might want to pick up any spare sporks you see lying around. Inspired by the real metal sporks that fans started swiping from the real Galaxy's Edge in Disney theme parks, these sporks will earn you the most amount of credits out of anything that you can sell at Mubo's Workshop. Plus, if you're a little low on health after an adventure, pick up a nice Ronto Wrap, inspired by the real menu item at Galaxy's Edge, and bring it towards your face to have a quick meal and give yourself a health boost.

The Next Adventure

All right, let's get into the story. Dok-Ondar's quest is broken up into three parts, with the hunt for a Jedi artifact eventually leading you right into an encounter with the First Order. But we'll get to that. The adventure delivers more of the same excitement from the first installment, which was a VR shooter with some mini-puzzles and exploring involved. However, this time around it feels like there's a lot more blasting action with fewer and more simple puzzles.

The first part of the adventure feels like a way to easily get reacquainted with the gameplay. You're having shootouts with the same Guavian Death Gang members and flying droids and using the same old blasters. Thankfully, a bit of variety and more of a challenge is just around the corner after you finish the first leg in this quest.

Before we move on, it should be known that the best improvement in "Tales from the Galaxy's Edge" overall is how quickly and easily you can engage in the two new tales (more specifics on those later) that are available alongside the primary quest. In the first chapter released last year, the only way you could access the tale involving Jedi apprentice Ady Sun'Zee from the High Republic era was by collecting assorted ingredients in the wild in order to have Seezelslak make you a special drink and tell the story. This time, you can access the next part of Ady Sun'Zee's tale immediately after Dok-Ondar sends you on this new job. You don't even have to complete the first part of the hunt before you can jump into the tale, though you will have to take note of a certain item sitting inconspicuously around the bar in order to experience it. Meanwhile, the second tale involving bounty hunter IG-88 becomes easily available after the first section of Dok-Ondar's job, and you'll know how when you see another specific item in the cantina.

Back on the main adventure, the second installment is where things really heat up. As you make your way through Jedi Temple ruins, deadly droids are your latest adversaries, and they come equipped with much more lethal weapons. That's both bad news and good news because it makes the shootouts more challenging, but it also gives you several new weapons to play with, ranging from a pulse blaster that you can charge for a more lethal blow to a bolt launcher that fires a projectile explosive that sticks to surfaces and enemies. Both of these weapons are just as plentiful as the first assembly of blasters from the original game, because your enemies are always dropping them after they've been blasted to bits (and don't forget to pick up the spare parts they leave behind so you can cash them in at Mubo's Workshop). 

Changing up the formula a bit, the third part of the adventure brings an "Indiana Jones" vibe. You're forced to work with Lens Kamo (voiced by Karla Crome), who has penchant for hunting down treasures and keeping them out of the hands of destructive collectors. She's not too keen on working with a partner, so it's a reluctant collaboration that takes you through a maze of a Jedi Temple, complete with security systems that you need to deactivate or carefully avoid, not to mention more challenging waves of varied security droids. Thankfully, you're also given trip mines as a new weapon, which can be a lot of fun to take into other parts of the game once the adventure is over. 

The Jedi Tale Continues

The first tale outside the primary quest puts us back in the Jedi boots of Ady Sun'Zee, but it's been several years since her deadly encounter with the dark side of the Force, which we experienced first hand as the introductory tale in the first part of "Tales from the Galaxy's Edge." She's a Jedi Knight now, which means you're only imparting wisdom to a young Padawan named Nooa (Meredith Bull), who is described as spunky and unafraid to ask the tough questions, thanks to a sense of curiosity about the universe.

In this tale, you show your apprentice how to master skills with a lightsaber and the Force. Though it feels like a tutorial, you're meant to show your expertise to your apprentice (some clever dialogue covers up your mistakes so your apprentice doesn't second guess your skills as a Jedi). First up, you'll find yourself slicing patterns of remote training droids to illustrate precision with the slice of a lightsaber, and swinging this elegant weapon in VR is still one of the most satisfying parts of the game.

Another lesson has players using the Force to stack various stones in different formations. This was easily the most challenging part of the entire game, requiring plenty of patience and careful movement. This lesson really makes you feel like a Jedi Knight trying to hone your skills and teach your apprentice at the same time.

Finally, the third lesson also requires use of the Force and even more careful precision as you try to feed large, fragile seeds to help plants blossom. But some of them are situated behind elegant iron window grates, requiring a slow and steady hand.

All of this leads to the completion of a character arc that helps Ady Sun'Zee come to terms with losing Jedi Master Sylwin, making for a touching tale that brings peace to a troubled Jedi mind.

Bounty Acquired

The second tale takes you back to laser-blasting territory, but in a super-charged fashion. That's because you'll be playing as notorious bounty hunter IG-88, voiced impeccably by Rhys Darby ("Flight of the Conchords"). In this tale, you'll be tasked with taking down Boggs Triff (Darin DePaul), a gangster who has risen to the top rung of power by being ruthless, paranoid, and smart enough to turn his base of operations into an impregnable fortress.

The heads-up display for this deadly droid makes you feel like a Terminator, and even the score sounds like it calls back to James Cameron's classic sci-fi action movie. Armed with two blasters, each with their own targeting system, you'll find yourself taking on waves of henchman much more efficiently than in the primary adventures, simply because IG-88 is such an efficient killing machine. He's also got deadpan dialogue delivery when it comes to confronting enemies and obstacles, making him surprisingly funny, especially when Boba Fett is mentioned. He's also staggeringly strong, allowing you to smash down metal doors by charging up your robot arms.

The story feels like you're in a scenario like "The Raid" or "Dredd," making your way up the floors of a skyscraper as Boggs Triff tries to keep you from tracking him down. This tale is non-stop action with a character that borders on being over-powered, and it makes for one of the most entertaining elements of the entirety of "Tales from the Galaxy's Edge." Plus, the ending will bring a smile to the face of every "Star Wars" fan. 

Fighting The First Order

After you've completed Dok-Ondar's primary quest, the story takes a surprising turn. We won't spoil the plot of this part of the game, because it's a lot more satisfying to experience yourself. But it's not a spoiler to say that the final adventure of the game requires you to infiltrate a First Order facility, taking on Stormtroopers and trying to make it out alive. 

Don't get your hopes up for an encounter with Kylo Ren. But you will encounter Stormtroopers with three new weapons for you to wield. In addition to a standard Stormtrooper blaster rifle, there's also a blaster with a built-in shield (requiring two hands to wield), and a projectile launcher that's not unlike a rocket launcher. Regardless of what the movies have led you to believe, these Stormtroopers are pretty good with a blaster, though they're not as hard to take down as some of the other enemies you've encountered before. The only curveball is the sudden appearance of Stormtroopers with jetpacks, blasting from the air. 

Though blasting through a First Order facility is a lot of fun, troop leader Lieutenant Gauge (Daman Mills) doesn't really turn out to be a formidable threat, though there are a couple instances where you end up being totally caught off guard by his troops. Honestly, I was more satisfied with the sound of a mouse droid echoing in the hallways than with the final confrontation of the game. It's one of two boss confrontations in the game that feel like they totally fizzle out rather than delivering a challenging and satisfying finale. I'm not sure if it's because of the limitations of VR or what. But at least the rest of the primary gameplay is satisfying enough to make up for it. 

The Tales Are Over, But Hopefully There's More To Come

"Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge" overall is an entertaining and exciting VR journey into the "Star Wars" universe. Though it mostly offers rudimentary gameplay, the immersive nature of virtual reality does offer something that traditional video games can't. Part of me wishes there was a little more evolution from chapter-to-chapter rather than only a slight variation in weapons and enemies, but since the medium is still growing and becoming more advanced, having limited capabilities is understandable. 

Though "Tales from the Galaxy's Edge" offers some originality as far as stories and characters are concerned, I couldn't help but wish that we could dig more into familiar territory rather than lingering on the outskirts of it. Clearly there's appeal in doing something original and adding to the "Star Wars" canon, but for fans, there's also so much satisfaction that can come from experiencing familiar "Star Wars" characters and environments in a new medium. In the future, I hope ILMxLAB can simultaneously do something with original ideas combined with established "Star Wars" mythology. But for now, "Tales from the Galaxy's Edge" is a good place to start. 

"Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge" and the "Last Call" update are available for Oculus devices now.

Read this next: Star Wars: Tales From The Galaxy's Edge - Last Call Trailer Brings New Adventures And Characters To VR

The post Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge — Last Call Review: New Adventures and Gear Make for an Enjoyable Follow-Up appeared first on /Film.

So you’ve got a little extra cash, but it’s sitting in your bank account doing absolutely nothing. You haven’t the time or, to be honest, the interest to dabble in the complicated world of stocks and shares. But with inflation rising, you feel like you should do something.

In today’s Daily Dose, esteemed reader, we’re sharing the surprising new places for you to invest your stash of cash and make a pretty penny while you’re at it. From parking spots to hurricane betting, here are 12 alternative homes for your nest egg.

low risk, high reward

Music Royalty Funds

Not long ago, the profitability of music royalties was bleak: Pirated tracks plagued the industry, and the power of the album has been in decline for years. That’s changing. Music royalty funds, pioneered by investment companies like the U.K.-based Hipgnosis, are joining together the music and finance worlds in a way never seen before. These companies are turning music into a reliable and profitable asset class. How does it work? Funds buy the rights to music catalogs, which in turn give investors a royalty every time a song gets streamed, bought or performed. Most of the revenue is generated in the three to 12 months following the release of a song, and though the number of streams tends to decline over five to 10 years, they then level out, becoming a stable stream of revenue for investors.

Parking Spots

City dwellers with an extra parking space, this one’s for you. As urban areas grow denser and parking becomes ever scarcer, those coveted rectangles of asphalt now come at a premium. In some of America’s biggest cities, they can generate hundreds of dollars in monthly revenue for parking spot landlords. Is it worth it? For those with built-in parking facilities that can be rented out, sure. But for people hoping to get in on the opportunity by purchasing a parking space, maybe not. Spaces in New York City can cost up to six figures. And with many metro areas planning to make their cities more walkable, combined with increased ride-sharing services and a future where self-driving cars are expected to take center stage, parking dollars here may not be the optimal move for everyone.

Piggy Bank

Pork is the most-consumed protein on the planet. Over 100 million metric tons of lean hogs — the name for pork as a traded commodity — get eaten every year. With countries such as China and others in Southeast Asia developing new middle classes that in turn are fueling the demand for pork, money makers are now looking at pigs as a new way to bring home the bacon. Although feed prices, weather, disease and the value of other meat products can impact costs, experts are optimistic that growing populations in Asia and Mexico will keep lean hogs high. What’s more, it’s not just pork for eating that’s exciting traders and speculators. Pig parts are instrumental in manufacturing pharmaceutical and industrial products, from heart valve replacements to plywood adhesives.

Moon and Mars

While some aerospace companies like SpaceX have yet to go public on the stock exchange, others ready to accept new investors and their cash are following a trend of doing so through a new, alternative route once shunned by Wall Street: Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs). Also known as “blank check companies,” these entities go public and sell shares with no clearly defined purpose, allowing private firms to merge with them and sell stock without an actual IPO. Astra and Rocket Lab, both launch vehicle companies, have both gone public by merging with SPACs. And because the SPAC craze has faded compared to earlier this year, it’s a great time for companies to seek sweet deals with them. But before launching your cash into the stratosphere, remember that while the space sector seems to orbit apart from the terrestrial economy, a crowded market and conspicuous launch failures can quickly bring share prices back to Earth.

Stamps

In an era when snail mail is almost entirely dead, why would anyone want to invest in stamps — which many regard as ancient artifacts? Well, that’s precisely the point: A growing interest in philately (the study of postage stamps and postage history) makes hard-to-source stamps highly valuable. The 1856 British Guiana One-Cent Magenta, a limited-edition stamp from 1856, was bought in 2014 for $9.5 million. In June, the 1847 Mauritius 1d Ball Cover stamp and envelope sold for $9.6 million. Stamps have soared in popularity, so much so that they have become among the most expensive commodities on eBay, and estimates suggest there are more than 30 million active stamp collectors. Investing in this area is more than a hobby. Identifying and acquiring rare stamps, often those featuring printing errors, requires careful research and an eye for oddities.

 

big bets

Brewin’ Storm Bets

Forget wagering on sports. How about its sinister cousin, hurricane betting? On sites such as Weather Risk Solutions, traders can buy and sell Hurricane Risk Landfall Options (HuRLOs) and place bets on where storms will make landfall on America’s Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Even mainstream organizations like Sports Insider are getting in on the act, further promoting the idea that predicting where disaster will strike is a money-making scheme. Like sports, hurricane betting is less about plain luck and more about spending hours tracking complicated weather patterns and statistics. Nevertheless, as hurricanes continue to increase in power and frequency due to climate change, the forecast for turning high winds and heavy rain into cash looks promising. If you bet on your own vulnerable area, HuRLOs can also be a disaster insurance policy.

Water

Investor Michael Burry is focusing all of his efforts on water. And considering that he’s the ace investor who gained national attention after betting against the U.S. housing market prior to the 2008 recession — depicted in the film The Big Short — you might want to listen up. Accessible, clean water is becoming scarce as the demands of a rocketing global population increase. That, in turn, is leading to a growth in the demand for innovative water-shortage solutions. Burry, for his part, is setting his sights on investing in food that can be grown in water-rich areas and transported and sold in places where water is hard to come by. It’s a method of water redistribution that, he insists, “will ensure that this redistribution is sustainable.”

Aquaculture

The breeding and farming of fish, shellfish and aquatic plants, aquaculture is the fastest-growing sector in the food animal industry. With the looming challenges of overfishing and providing 30 million tons of seafood for the world to consume by the end of the decade, all eyes are turning to aquaculture to fill our plates. But the $150 billion industry still faces significant obstacles, namely vaulting ahead in areas of technological innovation. Disease and parasites such as sea lice are plaguing aquaculture fish populations, and existing treatment options have been called into question for their effectiveness. So while aquaculture’s emerging startups and innovations in technology may be risky, they also stand to be highly valuable someday.

 

hot commodities

Fine Art Activism

A new wave of “activist collectors” is making it cooler than ever to invest in contemporary work by artists of color. Companies like Masterworks and Artsy are making it easy to share in the excitement of art dealing, with the latter seeing significant results: Contemporary street art, African diaspora art and Black figurative art all soared in popularity on the company’s online marketplace during 2020, with activist collectors helping Artsy record its best year since it launched 10 years earlier. Since contemporary art is already one of the most popular investments for millennials, watch for this trend to keep growing.

150-Million-Year-Old Antiques

But wealthy investors are buying up more than fine art. The latest trend? Dinosaur bones. The fossils aren’t for the faint of wallet, with two dinosaur skeletons sold together at a 2018 Paris auction for roughly $3.5 million, more than double their pre-sale estimates. Though European and American museums are frequent buyers, scientists and academics have clashed with the small community of wealthy collectors who acquire them for decoration — jacking up the price of fossils and risking damage if the precious bones are improperly stored or moved.

Moutai Madness

This brand of baijiu booze is ubiquitous among China’s business and government elites. But Kweichow Moutai’s vintage bottles have also become intoxicating to wealthy investors. Not because of their alcohol content, though (ranging from 35% to 53%). In fact, collectors of the classic bottles practically never crack them open to sip the fiery spirits. Instead, buyers hold onto them in hopes of turning a profit. Consider this: Newly produced bottles sell for $200 to $250, but 24 vintage bottles recently fetched a record-breaking $1.4 million. And with pandemic-fueled economic uncertainty, more and more collectors regard precious Moutai bottles as sober investments.

Vintage Tech?

If you’re the type who’s always looking to trade up to the latest model smartphone or laptop, you may want to keep hold of your existing one — in time it could be surprisingly valuable. Old electronics are an emerging market that could one day see outdated gadgets turn a major profit. First-of-their-kind models are among the most prized, like the original 1976 Apple 1, a version of which is listed for sale on eBay for $1.5 million. But newer models are worth a good chunk of change too, as long as they come with their original packaging. A second-generation Apple iPod from 2008, still in its factory-sealed box, was listed on eBay for nearly $30,000 while a “vintage” 2002 iPod can be yours for a cool $5,600.

The post 12 Surprising Places to Put Your Money appeared first on OZY.

Morgan Freeman is one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood, with credits in over 100 films. Despite his extensive filmography, Freeman actually got his start in film relatively late in his career. A frequent stage performer and star of the PBS children's show "The Electric Company," Freeman landed key breakout roles throughout the '80s that launched him into stardom.

Freeman works consistently and is very reliable. Even in weaker films, Freeman rarely gives a bad performance, and is usually a highlight -- sometimes, the only one. He's a very generous actor; Freeman isn't opposed to taking on smaller parts, and is often able to elevate his co-stars. Although he has collaborated with many of the industry's leading directors and participated in highly successful franchises, Freeman frequently works with emerging and independent filmmakers, too.

Although he's known for playing both authority figures and warm fatherly characters, Freeman is quite versatile and often tackles roles that subvert his on-screen image. Freeman has shown his comedic side with lighter performances, and takes on antagonist roles that weaponize his commanding presence. His voice is one of his most distinctive qualities, and he's frequently called on to narrate documentaries and voiceovers. The respect that he generates translates to real life; Freeman often speaks out about social causes, and has fought injustice within the film industry.

Given the depth of his career, narrowing down Freeman's finest work is no easy task, but these 20 performances are his best to date.

Hoke Colburn — Driving Miss Daisy

1989's "Driving Miss Daisy" is a very flawed film. While it attempts to address racial prejudice through a charming friendship, the central relationship simplifies the realities of discrimination and ignores the uglier details. Most problematic is that the film primarily comes from a white creative team and does not spend enough time developing the Black perspective. However, through his involvement, Freeman was able to redeem some of the film's weaker elements, and his performance is easily the best part of the movie.

The film tells the true story of the retired wealthy widow Daisy Werthan (Jessica Tandy), whose son Boolie (Dan Aykroyd) hires African-American chauffeur Hoke Colburn (Freeman) to transport her. Initially irritated by her new driver's upbeat attitude, Daisy gradually grows to care for Colburn. Although the film is often emotionally manipulative, Tandy and Freeman have terrific chemistry. Freeman imbues the character with optimism; he knows the realities of racism, but chooses to focus on how he can open up his employer's worldview.

The best picture winner earned Freeman a nomination for best actor.

Allan Trumbull — Olympus Has Fallen

Amidst the plethora of modern action franchises, the "Fallen" series is unique. A throwback to '90s action movies, the films ditch the campy, self-referential tone of the current action landscape for grittier, R-Rated set pieces inspired by the classics of 30 years ago. While the series got campier as it went along, the original "Olympus Has Fallen" is a terrific version of "Die Hard" set in the White House. After terrorists conquer the Oval Office and take the President of the United States Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) hostage, a lone Secret Service Agent, Mike Banning (Gerald Butler), is forced to find a way to save the President and his staff.

In the wake of the President's kidnapping, the U.S. Speaker of the House Allan Trumbull (Freeman) is forced to take command. Freeman expertly plays an assertive leader who attempts to make sense out of the unprecedented situation. He's largely out of the action, but helps to guide Banning as they develop a plan of action. When Trumbull is placed under duress when competing governmental figures pressure Asher to sacrifice innocent lives, Freeman's outrage is evident.

"Olympus Has Fallen" is the best of the series, but the sequels expanded Trumbull's role. 2016's "London Has Fallen" saw him promoted to Asher's Vice President and once again forced him to navigate a crisis situation. 2019's "Angel Has Fallen" saw him ascend further to become the President, who helps unravel a conspiracy to frame Banning.

Thaddeus Bradley — Now You See Me

The "Now You See Me" franchise may have a confusing continuity thanks to the constant plot twists and nonlinear storytelling, but the charisma of its stars makes the films thoroughly entertaining anyway. The 2013 original follows stage magicians Danny (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt (Woody Harrelson), Henley (Isla Fisher), and Jack (Dave Franco) as they conduct elaborate performances that expose corrupt corporations through high-stakes robberies. The performance troupe known as "The Four Horsemen" are pursued by FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo), who out of desperation seeks out ex-magician Thaddeus Bradley (Freeman). Bradley now works to expose magicians by revealing their tricks, but even he is flustered by the Horsemen.

Freeman has a good sense of humor, remarking on Ruffalo's incompetence as the FBI are embarrassed during the magicians' routines. While no longer a performer, Bradley still respects the craft and possesses a childlike wonder at the impressive young group. He's an effective gateway into the magical world and makes even the most heavy-handed exposition compelling. While the first film ends with a shocking twist that changes the viewers' perception of both Bradley and Rhodes, the 2016 follow up "Now You See Me 2" develops both characters even further, forcing them to make a shaky alliance.

Bill Cabot — The Sum Of All Fears

Tom Clancy's literary hero Jack Ryan has been portrayed by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Chris Pine, and John Krasinski, and Ben Affleck interprets the CIA analyst as a self-assured womanizer made cocky by his intelligence. Giving his less authoritative performance, "The Sum of All Fears" required an actor of gravity to play Ryan's mentor and supervisor, CIA Director Bill Cabot. Freeman fills the requirements perfectly; he communicates the imminent danger that a Russian military coup presents, yet also grows exasperated by Affleck's adolescent antics.

"The Sum of All Fears" isn't an origin story, and Affleck and Freeman depict a believable onscreen friendship between two men who have experience working with each other. Cabot adds appropriate humor, mocking Ryan's inability to secure a relationship and his flustered communication in professional settings. However, Freeman never diminishes the seriousness of the situation. Cabot is also more active than Ryan's other screen mentors, working to evacuate the President from a threatened football stadium.

Malcolm Beech — Oblivion

"Oblivion" is among the most underrated science fiction films of the past decade, an introspective mystery that explores the lengths humanity takes in order to survive the aftermath of a devastating extraterrestrial invasion. A majority of humanity has relocated to galactic colonies, but a few surviving technicians patrol the remains of Earth repairing robotic drones. Among them is Jack Harper (Tom Cruise), whose isolated outpost is threatened by enigmatic scavengers.

Freeman appears as the scavenger's leader Malcolm Beech, who reveals to Jack that the mysterious forces are actually surviving humans who are hunted by his drones. The drones actually serve a destructive artificial intelligence syndicate that staged the war. Freeman is appropriately cold and calculating; Beech is a combat veteran who's been hardened by the deceitful conspiracy, but sees the importance in converting Jack to their cause. Freeman and Cruise form a compelling bond as isolated loners who work together out of necessity, yet grow a friendship that reminds them of all that Earth has lost.

Master Builder Vitruvius — The LEGO Movie

One of the best animated films of the decade, "The LEGO Movie" satirizes oversaturated product placement, genre clichés, and overused character archetypes. The traditional "chosen one" narrative is lambasted when the savior of the LEGO universe turns out to be the goofy, hapless construction worker named Emmet (Chris Pratt) who has never had an original thought. Emmet learns of his destiny from the Master Builder Vitruvius (Freeman), a blind wizard who explains that he's destined to build wondrous creations without following the instructions.

Freeman parodies his normal narrator role; Vitruvius is deadpan in his seriousness, but weaves in insults as he mocks Emmet's lack of originality and his disastrous early creations. Freeman has great comic timing. Though he's convinced that Emmet is their savior, he's exasperated by the wacky oddball. "The LEGO Movie" cleverly parodies the reappearing mentor trope, too, when Vitruvius is brought back as a ghost.

Billy Ford — Outbreak

The paranoia of "Outbreak" is more terrifying today, in the wake of an actual pandemic. Wolfgang Petersen's 1995 thriller follows the rapid spread of a deadly virus after leading medical Colonel Sam Daniels (Dustin Hoffman) and Dr. Roberta Keough (Rene Russo) discover a lethal strain in Africa. Daniels and Keough are constantly at odds with the overbearing government officials that hold back their research, as the military-minded Major General Donald McClintock (Donald Sutherland) is willing to make any sacrifices to human life along the way.

Freeman has a sympathetic role as Daniels' supervisor Brigadier General Billy Ford, who is aware that McClintock's covered up an earlier outbreak. Although he's part of the military, Ford supports the scientists and is put in an uncomfortable position when Daniels isn't given the resources he's needed. Freeman shows this strain, particularly during the gripping finale in which Ford is forced to go up against his commanding officers.

Joe — Red

The DC graphic novel adaptation "Red" gives its cast of renowned actors a chance to flex their comedic chops with self-aware roles. The film follows a group of retired hitmen who are called back into their former professions after a conspiracy involving the U.S. government and the mafia threatens to draw them out. Frank (Bruce Willis) is discovered trying to live a normal life by former colleague Marvin (John Malkovich), and the pair recruits Victoria (Helen Mirren) and Joe (Freeman).

Freeman gives the film its heart. While Willis brings his signature smart aleck attitude, and Malkovich and Mirren challenge perceptions with wild, eccentric performances, Freeman reminds his friends of the stakes. Joe is terminally ill, and despite years of training, the debilitating sickness has depleted his abilities. "Red" avoids being an outright parody by grounding the emotional center; while these assassins are comically adept at combat, they're unable to live with any sense of normalcy.

The Boss — Lucky Number Slevin

Although he's often an inviting presence, Freeman can also subvert his persona to play intimidating villains. He's an actor that commands respect, and thus is perfectly cast in the neo-noir thriller "Lucky Number Slevin" as the feared kingpin known only as the Boss. The Boss is caught in a gang war with rival mobster the Rabbi (Ben Kingsley) and each plot to execute each other's sons. The Boss's information proves bad when he accidentally kidnaps Slevin (Josh Hartnett), mistaking him for his debt-stricken neighbor Nick. The Boss recruits him in his scheme to take vengeance on the Rabbi.

"Lucky Number Slevin" is constantly adding twists, with frequent reveals forcing the viewer to reassess their perceptions of prior scenes. Freeman delivers necessary exposition without making it dull, and his presence amplifies the tension as Slevin tries to piece together the clues. Hartnett may not be the most charismatic actor, but he's elevated by the veterans that surround him. The climactic showdown in which Kingsley and Freeman finally meet face-to-face is a satisfying union of screen titans.

Azeem Edin Bashir Al Bakir — Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves

Kevin Costner may have generated derision for his unconvincing British accent, but thankfully he's surrounded by a great ensemble that elevates his performance. Alan Rickman's over-the-top depiction of the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham is certainly entertaining, but Freeman has an equally important role as the Moor Azeem Edin Bashir Al Bakir. Azeem swears Robin a life debt and becomes his trusted ally during the early stages of his rebellion against the English crown.

In a film that often veers into melodrama, Freeman takes the material seriously and helps ground it with actual stakes. His warm appreciation for Robin reinforces the importance of their mission; each life is important. Freeman also adds touches of humor as the two banter about the infeasibility of their task at hand. While action films generally tend to sideline Freeman, "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" gives him a chance to showcase his physicality and get in on the fighting himself.

Theodore Johnson — Amistad

"Amistad" is a gripping historical epic from Steven Spielberg that benefits from Freeman's authenticity within the historical setting. Few actors share Freeman's ability to be believable in any time period and to convincingly capture the dialect and behavioral differences of various eras. "Amistad" allows Freeman to spotlight an unsung historical hero often left out of textbooks.

"Amistad" follows the 1839 slave revolt led by Joseph Cinqué (Djimon Honsu) and the defense effort by former U.S. President John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins) and criminal defense attorney Roger Sherman Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey). The situation is put under spotlight by abolitionist Theodore Johnson (Freeman), who assists Baldwin in investigating the wreckage of the ship and preparing his defense. Freeman eloquently explains the importance of the cause to Baldwin, and his words' impact is evident as Baldwin argues the case. Freeman expresses his horror as they uncover the survivors of the vessel and explains the prisoners' experiences to Baldwin; his gentleness makes Cinqué more comfortable, and Freeman gives the former slave the chance to tell his story.

"Amistad" is unique among films that cover the sensitive topic of slavery, as while Baldwin's victory allows Cinqué to return to his homeland, it's only one painful story among countless others. Any film detailing slavery requires a respectful, yet unflinching approach, and the ensemble succeeds in the difficult task of turning real horror into a compelling dramatic narrative. Freeman's work is a standout.

Lucius Fox — The Dark Knight

Among the stacked ensemble in Christopher Nolan's game-changing Batman trilogy, Freeman once again proved he could stand out even alongside other great performers. First introduced in "Batman Begins," Freeman plays the critical role of Lucius Fox, a friend of Thomas Wayne's who develops advanced gear and technology for Wayne Enterprises. Fox plays a more significant role in "The Dark Knight," where he's tasked with developing an advanced Batsuit that allows Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) to operate overseas, and develops radar technology that Batman uses to track down the Joker (Heath Ledger).

Freeman's intelligence helps to ground Batman's gadgets in reality. He meticulously describes the process of testing and developing the new features, and raises moral questions about the consequences of relying on this technology. The surveillance technology he's developed is immersive, and Fox fears that anyone with that power could easily be corrupted. Having seen the descent of Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and how the Joker has pushed Bruce to embrace his darker impulses, Fox's cautious words are a necessary reminder that all characters have their flaws.

Freeman also adds much needed humor to the intense story, teasing his boss about his alternate identity when he falls asleep during company meetings. However, he's also tasked with keeping his secret away from prying eyes, even defending Bruce's innocence when the scheming accountant Coleman Reese (Joshua Harto) threatens to expose him.

John Rawlins — Glory

Freeman often chooses projects that speak to his interest in progressive social causes, and "Glory" was a breakthrough in Hollywood's representation of African-American history. With a mostly black ensemble, "Glory" elevated its characters beyond token supporting roles and explored a variety of Black perspectives. Spotlighting the Union Army's first all-Black battalion during critical battles throughout the Civil War, "Glory" tells an inspirational story of Black heroism without shying away from the horrors of racism and slavery.

After a critical wartime injury, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick) is assigned to lead an African-American brigade and searches for recruits, including John Rawlins (Freeman), Thomas Searles (Andre Braugher), and Trip (Denzel Washington). Shaw recognizes Rawlins' leadership skills and promotes him to sergeant major, but he quarrels with Trip. This sparks a fascinating debate between Rawlins and Trip throughout the film. Trip doesn't see value in fighting for a country that denigrates him; Rawlins recognizes the nation's systemic issues, but sees the opportunity to enact change through moments of heroism.

The sensitive discussions are delivered with appropriate gravity by Freeman and Washington. Freeman does an excellent job at showing Rawlins's restraint; while he's just as angered as Trip by the prejudice within the Union Army, he uses the opportunity to create a productive relationship with Shaw. Freeman delivers rousing calls to arms as the Black soldiers march into battle. "Glory" succeeds by focusing on the accomplishment of these men without trivializing their experience.

Nelson Mandela — Invictus

It takes courage for any actor to take on a historical figure as important as Nelson Mandela, but Clint Eastwood knew what he was doing when casting Freeman. As an inspirational leader who can delicately discuss troubling topics, Freeman easily slips into the role of the South African anti-apartheid activist and future president. "Invictus" does not seek to summarize all of Mandela's achievements; instead, it focuses on the year after he was elected to office after being imprisoned.

Facing skepticism from global leaders, Mandela sees an opportunity to inspire hope by winning the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Mandela calls a meeting with the national rugby team's captain François Pienaar (Matt Damon) and communicates the importance of their success: The mixed-race team could show the world stage that South Africa has moved on from apartheid and united while racial tension is still running high. The friendship between the two men is fascinating, as while the freedom fighter and the athlete have little in common, they share an optimism about their prospects. François has even greater respect for Mandela after visiting the prisons where he was held captive.

Freeman does a great job at humanizing Mandela by imbuing him with personality, and even humor. An intimate moment in which Mandela reveals to François how the poem "Invictus" inspired him during the revolution pays off. The words are brought back as a voiceover during the film's conclusion, when Mandela sees the country in celebration.

Eddie Dupris — Million Dollar Baby

Freeman finally won an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his performance in Clint Eastwood's best-picture winner "Million Dollar Baby." Eastwood and Freeman work together frequently and have many similar strengths, as they both know the power of patient storytelling and can break down the tough sensitivities behind close- off characters. Freeman's inherent friendliness often compliments the grizzled Eastwood, and "Million Dollar Baby" features one of their strongest onscreen friendships. Eastwood wisely chose to feature Freeman as the film's narrator, and his presence makes the emotional boxing drama even more impactful.

Eastwood stars as former boxer Frankie Dunn, who operates a training facility in Los Angeles alongside his long-time assistant Eddie Dupris (Freeman). Blinded in a fight early in his career, Dupris was once known as "Scarp-Iron" for his savagery, but now takes comfort in passing on his knowledge to a new generation. Dupris worries that Dunn doesn't find the same pleasures in teaching, and that his strained relationship with his daughter has forced him to give up hope. He sees a window of opportunity when the outgoing waitress Maggie Fitzgerald (Hillary Swank) requests training; although Dunn promises that he "doesn't train girls," Dupris thinks she could provide him with hope.

Dupris' honesty is integral to Dunn's healing, and Freeman provides a voice of support after Fitzgerald is critically injured and hospitalized. A subplot featuring Dupris' training of the intellectually-disabled boxer Danger (Jay Baruchel) is a compelling simultaneous storyline that shows his humility.

Leo Smalls — Street Smart

Although he got his start within children's television and became the embodiment of warm, sensitive characters, Freeman's breakout role was as a terrifying villain. Ahead of his involvement in slick studio productions, Freeman proved he could bring his excellence to a low-budget project from Cannon Films. "Street Smart" is a pulpy crime thriller filled with morally ambiguous characters, and the nasty window into the criminal underworld makes for a unique entry in Freeman's filmography.

The film follows New York City journalist Jonathan Fisher (Christopher Reeve), who is worried about being fired by his editor when he's unable to produce any compelling story pitches. After a disastrous night with a prostitute, Fisher is threatened by the pimp Leo Smalls (Freeman). While humiliated by the experience, Fisher decides to invent the story of a fictional pimp named Tyrone that murders one of his clients. The story becomes an unexpected sensation and Fisher reaches local celebrity status, but his newfound success puts pressure on Smalls. Only just released from prison on a murder charge himself, Smalls is now being mistaken for Fisher's creation and aims to track down the deceitful writer.

"Street Smart" is fascinating for casting actors against type; Reeve gave his last superhero performance in "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" the same year, so it was surprising to see him as a shady character. Freeman showed his versatility and elevated the project to prestige; he received his first Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor.

Captain Jack Doyle — Gone Baby Gone

Freeman is so often associated with warm characters that his untrustworthy roles become even more shocking. Freeman subverts his general persona in "Gone Baby Gone," where he's cast as Captain Jack Doyle. Doyle is investigating the death of the four-year-old girl Amanda. He's first seen as an ally to private investigators Patrick McKenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan), who are flustered by the barriers set by Amanda's mother Helene (Amy Ryan), a drug addict. Patrick has seen the ugly side of the city and turns to Doyle.

Patrick's reliance on Doyle grows as he uncovers criminal conspiracies in the police department; Sergeant Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) is involved with a money laundering scheme that profits off of the kidnapping. However, Patrick discovers that the seemingly kind police captain is not all that he appears. Doyle was involved in the kidnapping from the beginning and worked to frame a local drug lord by leading Patrick to him. Doyle's intentions for Amanda aren't malicious; he knows about her troubled home life and doesn't want her to fall down the same path of addiction that Helene did. By "rescuing" Amanda and secretly raising her as his own child, he believes he's doing the right thing.

The situation presents an interesting moral quandary, and Freeman is able to make Doyle's case compelling. His steadfast belief in his own principals makes the decision even more difficult for McKenzie, who must decide whether or not to turn him in.

Ned Logan — Unforgiven

Clint Eastwood's deconstruction of the gunslinger is a heartbreaking commentary on the western genre and allowed Eastwood to reflect on the types of characters he'd played throughout his career. "Unforgiven" features one of Eastwood's most sensitive performances as retired hitman Will Munny, as he shows a vulnerability he isn't always known for, but it also marks his greatest achievement yet in directing an ensemble. "Unforgiven" features a terrific cast, including Gene Hackman's Academy-Award winning performance as the cruel Sheriff Little Bill Daggett, but Freeman is equally as important. He co-stars as Munny's lifelong friend Ned Logan, who is roped back into a life he'd all but abandoned.

Munny has set aside gunslinging in order to raise two young children on a farmstead, but he's called back into action when the up-and-coming bounty hunter the Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvett) asks for his help tracking down two cowboys that brutalized local girls. Munny sees this as an opportunity to save his farm and recruits Logan to join him, but his former companion is reluctant. Not only has Logan seen his fair share of killing, but he knows how quickly Munny can transform into a violent person. Eastwood and Freeman are completely believable as lifelong friends who know each other better than they know themselves.

Logan's death is absolutely devastating, as unlike Munny he actually sought redemption. His brutal hanging by Little Bill inspires Munny's wrath during the grizzly conclusion.

William Somerset — Se7en

"Se7en" saw Freeman as a weathered, experienced character whose worldly experience gives him great insights. Freeman slipped into the role of Detective Lieutenant William Somerset, whose cynical approach to law enforcement's failures put him at odds with his new partner David Mills (Brad Pitt). Mills is idealistic and sees an opportunity to distinguish himself by tracking down a deadly killer who conducts murders inspired by the seven deadly sins. Somerset knows from years hunting down criminals that they'll find little satisfaction at the end of their mission.

Freeman is terrific at matching Somerset's steeliness with empathy; while he scolds Mills for being impulsive, he also passes on his knowledge through gentle reminders. Somerset's conversations with Mills' wife Tracy (Gwenyth Paltrow) are particularly heartfelt, as she confides in him that she's expecting a child. While supportive, Somerset has his own experiences raising kids amid their dangerous profession and warns her to be cautious. Their tender connection makes Tracy's grizzly death during the film's climax even more emotional.

The murders in "Se7en" are often terrifying, and watching someone who has seen as much violence as Somerset show genuine shock communicates the gravity of the situation. Somerset feels helpless, particularly during the final moments, when Mills succumbs to his own violent impulses. Freeman's gravelly voice delivers one of the darkest closing lines in cinematic history: "Ernest Hemingway once wrote 'The world is a fine place and worth fighting for,'" he says mournfully. "I agree with the second part."

Red — The Shawshank Redemption

"The Shawshank Redemption" features one of the great cinematic friendships. Kindness is scarce among inmates of the Shawshank State Prison, yet wrongfully convicted Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) still endures. His only source of friendship is the cynical Red (Freeman), who has been detained on a smuggling charge since he was young. Although Red has a hardened outlook as a result of the cruel prison staff and miserable conditions, he's transfixed by Andy's positive attitude.

Red characterizes Freeman's signature warmness, but he's not instantly friendly. Initially mocking Andy for his profusion of innocence, Red takes pity on his new friend and provides him with hard-to-find objects, including the Rita Hayworth poster and hammer that Andy uses to escape. Freeman often commands authority, and though Red is degraded by the prison staff, he has a leadership role within the community. The other prisoners have their own skepticism about Andy's notions of hope, but Red is able to convince them.

Few actors can deliver a monologue with Freeman's gravity, and the final moments of "The Shawshank Redemption" are even more powerful thanks to his voice. Red is often a cold character who sternly scolds the prison staff for their mistreatments, and following his parole he fears he'll never be able to adjust to normal life. As Freeman reads Andy's letter, moved by the knowledge that he'll see his lifelong companion once more, it's hard not to get teary-eyed.

Read this next: How Clint Eastwood's "Man With No Name" Persona Has Evolved Over 50 Years

The post Ranking Morgan Freeman's 20 best roles appeared first on /Film.

Norm Macdonald has passed away. The beloved and undeniably distinctive comedian was 61 years old and recently lost his quiet battle to cancer. The fact that the man, known for his dry sense of humor and fearless approach to comedy, opted not to disclose his battle with cancer is very much in character. Macdonald once said this of battles with cancer:

A draw for him, a loss for the rest of us here on Earth. There are few people I have ever found to be funnier than Macdonald. That dry delivery. The utter lack of caring what people would think. That knowing smile. That voice. There is nobody quite like him, and there is a reason so many people in comedy respect him dearly. As a means of tribute, it feels appropriate to highlight some of the man's greatest moments, in a career absolutely overflowing with great moments.

Celebrity Jeopardy

Norm Macdonald rose to fame as a cast member on "Saturday Night Live." While the "Celebrity Jeopardy" sketches featuring Will Ferrell as the late Alex Trebek became favorites, it was Macdonald's turn as Burt Reynolds that arguably serves as the crowning moment in the series of sketches. The fact that Macdonald makes very little attempt to impersonate Reynolds only adds to the absurdity. And let us never forget the legendary name, Turd Ferguson.

The Convoluted Joke On Conan

Norm Macdonald was an exceptional talk show guest. It's perhaps one of the things he will be most remembered for. While we could spend a week going over those highlights, this convoluted joke he spent nearly five minutes telling on "Conan" back in 2014 is a shining example of the kind of comedian he was. It's agonizing yet hilarious, and something only he could have gotten away with.

Dirty Work — The Dead Hookers Scene

Before singling out this scene specifically, I cannot recommend "Dirty Work" enough. It is wholesale, a tragically underseen gem of a comedy from the late '90s. Directed by Bob Saget, it gives Macdonald the spotlight alongside Artie Lange, and they really make the most of it. The movie sees two friends start a business where they will do dirty deeds for other people. This bit is just once such deed. The scene, which also features the brilliant David Koechner, sees a used car salesman being foiled by a bunch of planted dead hookers. And if you can't get behind the idea of Macdonald very frankly saying the phrase, "Pal, I know a dead hooker when I see one," we are not the same.

Norm Roasts Courtney Thorne-Smith

Norm Macdonald's sheer fearlessness and carelessness is admirable. Back again as a guest on Conan O'Brien's former NBC talk show back in the '90s on the same night as Courtney Thorne-Smith, known for her work on "Melrose Place," Macdonald full-on hijacks her moment in the spotlight. Not only does he brazenly undercut her leaving the then-popular show, but he also absolutely torches her decision to star in Carrot Top's flop "Chairman of the Board." Though at the time, the movie had yet to come out and Thorne-Smith had high hopes. Macdonald expertly dashed those hopes in front of millions. There is some, shall we say, outdated language in the segment. But the core of the bit is truly something to behold.

Norm Macdonald On Weekend Update

It would be impossible to pick just one single moment from Norm Macdonald's defining three-year run as host of "Weekend Update" on "SNL." The man delivered the news in a way only he could, with a sense of humor that often bordered on insensitive, yet maintained its hilarity. At times uncomfortable but always impressive, Macdonald did this job as no one has before or since. It's actually his unrelenting takedowns of O.J. Simpson that may well have led to his eventual departure from the show. But Norm wasn't willing to stop being himself, even in the face of losing a job most comedians dream of having.

RIP, Norm Macdonald. The world is a lesser place without you in it.

The post The 5 Greatest Norm Macdonald Moments appeared first on /Film.

There's a common misconception that children's cinema, like children's television and children's literature, doesn't have to be good. Sure, kids may not be the most discerning consumers of media -- just ask any parent who has been forced to watch "Caillou" ad nauseum. But although they don't have as much experience as moviegoers, and they might not necessarily be able to articulate why a film is good or bad, children certainly know when they see something that provokes an emotional response. And you'll know too, because they'll watch those movies over and over and over again. 

There's not really a formula for a great kids' movie, but one thing is pretty clear: Kids tend to like films that emotionally challenge them, whether they're scary or sad or simply complex. Good children's films treat their audience with respect. Kids are kids, and they know it, but that doesn't mean they appreciate being talked down to.

Halloweentown

Time to get real for a second: Disney Channel Original Movies are some of the most underrated kids' films around. And sure, they vary wildly in terms of quality, but the ones that are good, are so good. And "Halloweentown" is one of the best, a film made early on in Disney's scheme to produce relatively low-budget kids' films that would air directly on television rather than in theaters. It revolves around a group of siblings who discover, to their astonishment, that their mother and grandmother (played by none other than Debbie Reynolds) are witches from an alternate plane of existence called Halloweentown, where all manner of spooky creatures live together in peace. 

It's a delightfully inventive film, taking on an almost Harry Potter-like sense of wonder as the kids explore this strange new world that is also their birthright. A Halloween classic, "Halloweentown" deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as many more traditional theatrical releases, but always seems to be unfairly relegated to a second tier.

George Of The Jungle

If there's one thing that kids always seem to vibe with, it's an absurdist sense of humor. That's something that "George of the Jungle" has in spades. Between the narrator constantly interjecting with his own personal spin, an erudite talking ape, and Brendan Frasier with his chaotic energy turned up to 11, "George of the Jungle" feels like it's packed with the kinds of jokes and sight gags that a bunch of fourth graders hopped up on Pixy Stix would come up with. 

A play on the classic Tarzan story, "George of the Jungle" revolves around a different hunky jungle man raised by apes who must learn the ways of humankind once he meets a woman and, predictably, falls in love with her. One key difference: Although Tarzan was notably very adept at swinging on vines, George is ... less so. On the face of it, "George of the Jungle" is pretty juvenile, often relying on slapstick comedy as a crutch. But in a strange way, the humor is so obvious and over-the-top that it's almost sophisticated.

Hocus Pocus

Look, we trot this one out every single year at Halloween for a reason. There's just something about "Hocus Pocus" that draws kids in, like a moth to the flame. For one thing, it feels kind of grown-up. It doesn't pull its punches: The Sanderson sisters may be a little goofy, but they're taken seriously as a threat because we've seen the flashbacks and know that they're legitimate child murderers. In a lot of films, you would probably see them attempting to cast their spell back in 1693, get stopped in the nick of time, and now have a chance to finish the job in the present day. No actually gets hurt. 

Not so here: In "Hocus Pocus," these dames have a body count. Omri Katz, Vinessa Shaw, and Thora Birch make a delightful trio of heroes, but let's be real, we know who the star of the show is. Thackeray Binx, the teenage boy from the 1600s who was cursed to become an immortal cat by the Sanderson sisters, is utterly beguiling, and a huge part of why this film has developed such a cult following after it was initially released.

Troop Beverly Hills

Talk about an underrated gem! Shelley Long was done dirty by the industry for the crime of being a woman who thought she had the right to leave a hit television show ("Cheers," in 1987), and her film career never really got off the ground. Which is a shame, because she is lovely in "Troop Beverly Hills," a sweet little film about a group of women and girls who subvert the expectations laid out for them. 

Long stars as Phyllis Nefler, a socialite in the midst of a painful divorce from her wealthy husband who joins up as a troop leader of the Wilderness Girls in an attempt to bond with her daughter. From the very beginning, they are unorthodox, the stereotype of rich girls from Beverly Hills who have no place in the outdoors. But over time, they learn how to use their own unique skill sets to succeed, culminating in their competing in the prestigious Jamboree, a challenging hike through greater Los Angeles wilderness. 

"Troop Beverly Hills" may have been marketed as a silly comedy poking fun at the stereotype of spoiled rich kids and their oblivious parents, but it's actually a remarkably empowering story about being true to yourself and not being afraid to do things your own way. Also: Shelley Long's outfits in this movie? Please. Absolute perfection.

My Girl

It's never too early for kids to learn that everyone's going to die someday, and that sometimes even kids die. That's not emotionally damaging, right? Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky, now best known as Amy on "Veep") is a precocious preteen girl surrounded by death. Her mother died when she was an infant, leaving her hapless but fiercely devoted father (Dan Aykroyd) to raise her alone in a funeral home -- not at all a creepy place to grow up, especially not if you have a traumatic relationship with death. 

The story is really about Vada's coming of age, being introduced ever-so-slowly to a more grown-up world. And part of that, it's sad to say, is experiencing tragedy. Because the one thing we all probably remember about "My Girl" is that Macaulay Culkin plays Vada's best friend who is deathly allergic to bees, yet does very little to avoid them and ends up getting stung to death. It's crushing to watch Vada process the loss of her friend, and the scene at his funeral where she hysterically tries to put on his glasses because "he can't see without his glasses" never fails to bring an audience to its knees, emotionally speaking.

The Parent Trap (1961)

"The Parent Trap": the classic film beloved by every child of divorced parents who secretly wished that somehow, some way, they could bring their parents back together again. Hayley Mills plays a set of twins -- Sharon from Boston and Susan from California -- who meet for the first time at summer camp and are somewhat disconcerted to discover that they are identical. Eventually, a plan is hatched. Mills is utterly charming in both roles, a child actress maturing into a legitimate performer with an endearing screen presence. 

And when you watch "The Parent Trap" as a kid, that's who you're focused on. But upon a re-watch many years later, you may find yourself wondering how on earth they were able to contain Maureen O'Hara's pure sexual energy in what is objectively a children's film. She is utterly vivacious as the twins' mother, and once she arrives in California, she embarks on a one-woman comedy tour, delighting in the chaos she effortlessly causes in her ex-husband's new relationship with a much younger woman. "The Parent Trap" is, put simply, a pure and unadulterated classic.

Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory

The only thing that kids like more than chocolate is being scared out of their minds by a morally ambiguous factory (and slave?) owner who likes to put other children in dangerous situations to prove a point. In that sense, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" is a slam dunk. Based on a novel by Roald Dahl, "Willy Wonka" was originally conceived as a promotional tool to accompany the release of a new chocolate bar. But it has since grown into a fully autonomous media property, and that's largely a result of Gene Wilder's enigmatic performance as Willy Wonka himself. 

From the moment Wilder does his fall-turned-somersault, you never quite know whether he's lying or telling the truth (that was Wilder's intention when he suggested adding that moment -- to purposefully put the audience on the wrong foot). Like most of Dahl's work, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" is endlessly imaginative, and it has a very real dark side to it. It's a shame that Roald Dahl hated the film so much when it first came out, because it's an excellent representation of all the things that make his novels so much fun.

Home Alone

"Home Alone" is a Christmastime classic that brings out the perpetually overlooked, slightly bratty child in all of us. Kevin McCallister is one member of a large, sprawling Chicago family, and in the lead up to a holiday trip to Paris, they are all perhaps not at their best. Sure, Kevin can be a little monster, but the rest of his family are outright cruel to him. The kid is only eight years old, for God's sake. 

So, of course he gets left behind to fend for himself and fight off would-be home invaders with the skill of a grizzled war vet. The whole film really relies on Macauley Culkin's performance as Kevin, and he doesn't disappoint: He is charming, precocious, and legitimately funny. His interactions with Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci are incredible, and the two older character actors are game to pratfall their way through what has to be absolute hell for any prospective robber.

Anastasia

The ultimate in, "Wait, is this a Disney movie?" Despite its focus on a princess, "Anastasia" was actually produced outside of the Disney umbrella, making it a welcome respite from the domination of the Mouse in the mid-'90s. Its subject matter is unabashedly dark, but hopeful: After the assassination of Tsar Nicholas and his entire family in the midst of the Russian Revolutions, there are whispers that the Grand Duchess Anastasia survived. Enter Anya (Meg Ryan), a young woman raised at an orphanage who has few memories of her own past. She is convinced by Dmitri (John Cusack) and Vladimir (Kelsey Grammar) to join in a con to trick Anastasia's grandmother, living in exile in Paris, that Anya is the missing princess. But could she actually be the real deal? 

The voice acting is fantastic, with Ryan and Cusack developing a chemistry that jumps off the screen. And "Anastasia" also benefits from a wonderful villain in the form of a rapidly decomposing Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd), who has one of the all-time great villain musical sequences, complete with dancing bugs and body parts falling off everywhere. It's like Disney, but way grosser (that's a compliment).

Paddington 2

It's rare that a sequel would make enough of an impact to be routinely ranked higher than the original film, but that doesn't mean it never happens. Don't get us wrong, "Paddington," is a sweet, perfectly serviceable family film. But "Paddington 2" is in another league altogether. It expands upon the relationships Paddington has cultivated with the Browns, his adoptive family, while at the same time introducing Phoenix Buchanan, a wily master of disguise played by Hugh Grant in what may unironically be his best role ever. 

When "Paddington" saw our beloved bear hero struggle to find a place in the Brown family, "Paddington 2" raises the stakes, as Paddington is separated from them and must, in his mild-mannered, heartbreakingly earnest way, fight to find his way home. In a cynical world, "Paddington 2" is almost aggressively pleasant, making it a perfect film for the family, adored by kids and parents alike.

The Neverending Story

Out of all the films made for children in the past, "The Neverending Story" is one of the most beautiful and melancholic. When a little boy named Bastian cuts class to avoid the bullies that torment him on a daily basis, he curls up in his school's attic and begins to explore a mysterious fantasy world in a book called "The Neverending Story." Every bookworm among us can relate to the impulse to find an escape from daily life in literature. 

But what's special about Bastian is that he seems to be able to interact in some way with the characters in the story; they need his help to fight off the terrifying Nothing that is eroding their world. "The Neverending Story" features some incredibly memorable and imaginative characters that serve as a primer for kids just getting into fantasy literature. And it's never afraid to be sad, even unbearably so: It teaches us that life is a journey, and the things that we are able to overcome give us strength.

The Parent Trap

No, you're not seeing double: There are two versions of "The Parent Trap" on this list. Why? Because they're both amazing, that's why. 

Whatever anyone has to say about Lindsay Lohan and the way her career unfolded amid early-2000s sexism, she was an incredibly talented child actor. She's in top form here, playing a set of twins who have their own unique personalities and accents (one was raised in London, the other in California). Hayley Mills was great because she had such a distinct screen presence that you liked her characters even though -- or maybe because -- they were essentially modified versions of Hayley Mills. But Lohan succeeds in creating two distinct characters in Annie and Hallie, the twins raised apart without any knowledge of one another's existence until they meet one fateful summer at camp. 

This version of "The Parent Trap" also has an excellent adult cast: Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson are effervescent as the quintessential divorced parents of the late '90s.

Matilda

Every little kid with too many books and not nearly enough friends owes a debt of gratitude to Matilda, the prototypical gifted and talented outcast. "Matilda," based on the novel by Roald Dahl, is the story of an unloved child prodigy who is given no support by her shallow parents (played by Danny DeVito, who also directed the film, and Rhea Perlman), who prefer to abuse her or ignore her entirely. It isn't until Matilda is enrolled in school and forges a connection with kindred spirit Miss Honey (Embeth Davidtz), that she begins to be able to channel her mental energy effectively. 

"Matilda" was a transformational text for kids everywhere who felt alone or misunderstood, and the film adaptation captures much of the same charm and poignancy, with young Mara Wilson putting in the best performance of her career as the precocious child genius.

Toy Story

There's something that's just overwhelmingly comforting about "Toy Story" -- once you set aside the terrifying idea that all of your childhood toys are alive, that is. Woody (Tom Hanks) is pretty much the mayor of Andy's bedroom, a miniature society made up entirely of toys. And he's gotten pretty used to life at the top. So, when Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), a fancy new space toy, turns up and steals Andy's attention, he's threatened. 

What "Toy Story" does exceptionally well is break down social relationships so that kids can understand and identify with what the characters are experiencing. We know what it's like, for example, to feel jealous, to worry that someone is taking our place in the heart of a cherished friend or loved one. Both Woody and Buzz undergo a surprisingly complex identity crisis, and its depiction on screen is notable because it manages to be both funny and poignant while never talking down to its audience. "Toy Story" isn't afraid to be a little, either: some of the scenes with Sid, the malevolent neighbor boy who delights in destroying his toys, are legitimately unsettling.

Casper

If you're of a certain age, "Casper" likely features your first ever all-consuming crush in Devon Sawa as the human version of the friendliest ghost around. But that's just one reason (of many) why "Casper" is a delightfully endearing, albeit morbid, family movie. Kat (Christina Ricci) is forced to move to a very haunted house in Maine with her father, who has made a living as a ghost therapist in the hopes of communicating with his late wife. But although they've spent years chasing the paranormal, Kat is still a skeptic who has never seen any hard evidence that ghosts even exist. 

Whipstaff Manor changes things. Not only is there Casper, the sweet little ghost of a boy, but also his significantly less-welcoming uncles: Stinkie, Fatso, and Stretch (why this Victorian boy has uncles with such uncouth names, we'll never know). As always, the true villains are human: Cathy Moriarty puts in a shrewish performance as Carrigan, the bereaved daughter of Whipstaff's previous owner who is obsessed with the legend of hidden treasure within. But despite all these hijinks, "Casper" is an unabashedly sentimental coming-of-age story that you can't help being swept up in.

Aladdin

"Aladdin" is one of the most cleverly done of Disney's tried-and-true adaptations of classic literature. Coming off the heels of "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast," both based on European folklore, "Aladdin" represents a change of pace, transitioning to a Middle Eastern setting and centering the story on a loose interpretation of Scheherezade's "One Thousand and One Nights," while at the same time coming across as somehow modern. 

Our hero is Aladdin, a young street boy who dreams of a better life (and a relationship with the princess Jasmine, who's threatened by the evil vizier Jafar). But while all of that's nice, the reason why "Aladdin" has remained such a beloved Disney film is Robin Williams' wildly over-the-top performance as the Genie. Packed full of jokes and impressions that honestly went over the heads of most of the young audience, Williams' Genie is a whirling dervish: part stand-up comedian, part fairy godmother. All of comes together to create a true gem from Disney's Renaissance period.

A Little Princess

What good is a kids' movie if it doesn't traumatize you for life? "A Little Princess" is an adaptation of a children's story by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and it has, conservatively, five separate scenes that reliably produce an ugly cry from the audience. Sara Crewe is a privileged but genuinely kind-hearted and intelligent girl sent away to a strict boarding school in New York City. She is afforded every luxury her father's considerable wealth can provide her until he is reported missing and presumed dead in World War I, and she becomes a pauper at the whims of a cruel and vicious headmistress. 

Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, the cinematography is breathtaking with hues of green and orange, tinged with Indian influences that reflect Sara's upbringing in Southeast Asia. In the current media landscape, where a lot of kids' movies have sort of bland, same-y visual style, it's refreshing to remember how gorgeous and emotionally evocative they can be.

The Goonies

Today's children are sort of limited in the types of adventures they can have with their friends. In a culture where someone calls the cops when they see a kid walking to the park by themselves, the antics of the group in "The Goonies" are almost unthinkable. 

When a bunch of neighborhood kids learn that their houses are going to demolished for a new development and they'll all have to move away from one another, Mikey (Sean Astin) leads his crew on a journey to find a buried treasure in a last-ditch effort to save their homes. It is not a trip for the faint of heart, though: Very real dangers lurk around every corner in Richard Donner's kid-friendly adventure, which borrows substantially in tone from "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Our young heroes are all incredibly likeable, and a talented cadre of child actors help to cultivate an atmosphere that effortlessly blends comedy and action.

E.T. The Extraterrestrial

There are so many reasons why "E.T. the Extraterrestrial" is essential viewing for kids that it's hard to list them all. Henry Thomas is heartbreaking as Elliot, the boy who discovers E.T. and develops a powerful bond that will lead him to face off against the US government to protect his alien buddy. He's so good in the role that his audition had members of the production team getting teary-eyed. 

The practical special effects for E.T. himself are pure visual magic, and they are responsible for making E.T. not just lifelike, but for making the audience have an immediate emotional connection to him. It has a very tiny, very adorable Drew Barrymore as Elliot's little sister in one of her first ever on-screen roles. And if that weren't enough, you've also got John Williams doing his thing, composing yet another iconic score that captures the wonder of Elliot and E.T.'s relationship. It's just ... there are no bad things about this movie. It's all good.

The Secret Garden

"The Secret Garden" is one of the rare children's films that looks like a work of art. It tells the story of Mary Lennox, an ornery, cross young girl who, after her neglectful parents die, is sent to live with her uncle in England. There, she helps a mysterious garden come to life, and in the process, comes to life herself. 

There are few things children love as much as having a secret, and this film is packed full of them. There's not only the garden, which she, Dickon, and her cousin Colin endeavor to keep for themselves, but her knowledge of her cousin Colin's existence in general. Directed by Agnieszka Holland, famous for her previous work "Europa Europa," the beauty and splendor of "The Secret Garden" is unparalleled. Expansive shots of a garden in bloom, with simple and awed choral arrangements accompanying them, create a vision of the secret garden as an entirely separate world. It makes even the most brown-thumbed among us wish we had our own.

Read this next: The Best Animated Kids Movies You've Probably Never Seen

The post The 20 best kids movies of all time appeared first on /Film.

The 15 Best Anthony Hopkins Roles Ranked

Sir Anthony Hopkins isn't a man that requires much introduction. He's one of the finest actors of his generation, breaking into the mainstream with his portrayal of the villainous Hannibal Lecter. However, his talent was noticed decades before "Silence of the Lambs," and he shined in roles like Richard the Lionheart and the paradoxical Captain Bligh. What makes Hopkins special isn't pretension or devotion to his craft, though. He's simply a consummate professional.

Sir Tony is a funny, forthright man who tweets videos of himself playing the piano, and he's not above taking roles for the sheer hell of it. 1992's "Freejack" lets Hopkins chew up the cyberpunk scenery and hang out with Mick Jagger. "The Rite" is a ferociously Catholic horror movie with a slow-motion plot. The film is a dog, but Hopkins has never phoned in a role in his life.

The point is, nearly any performance by Hopkins will be a good one. These are his 15 best, but almost all of them are great places to start watching a master at the top of his game.

Dr. Hannibal Lecter — Hannibal

The Lecter of Ridley Scott's "Hannibal" isn't the man he used to be. The news that author Thomas Harris was writing a sequel to "The Silence of the Lambs" set off a flurry of preparation, and there was no doubt that Jonathan Demme would return to direct. And then the book dropped, causing Demme, Foster, and others to scatter after they got an eyeful of its ending. When the smoke cleared, Hopkins remained, for what is Hannibal Lecter without the man who made him immortal?

There's half a good movie in "Hannibal," and the rest still contains a delicious performance from Hopkins. The book's ending is altered; instead of a grotesque happily-ever-after between a brainwashed Clarice Starling and Lecter himself, Lecter returns to a life on the run, minus a hand. It's not exactly better, but it spares the audience the worst of the novel while giving Hopkins a chance to offer his teeth-chattering best. All told, the movie is about as good as it can be. Magnificent settings and Hopkins given free reign make Lecter as enjoyable as ever, despite some authorial hurdles that didn't need to exist.

Charles Morse — The Edge

Deep down, everyone wants to watch a classically-trained actor go toe to toe with a man-eating bear. It's even a plot point in Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale," with a scene in which a baby-abandoning loyalist exits the stage, pursued by a bear. A shame that Hopkins has never performed in this First Folio comedy, but 1997's "The Edge" more than makes up for it. Bart the Bear is Charles Morse's gruesome foil, a fat and happy Kodiak who'd become something of an industry legend. Together they make an odd couple, terrifying on screen, friendly between takes.

Hopkins gives this cheeseball movie the weight it needs to be more than mere popcorn fodder. His fateful connection with the wild bear feels symbolic, lethal yet fair. Survive its trial and Morse will have learned something valuable about being human and alive. Fail, and he's just another Sunday brunch for the big fella. Alec Baldwin is technically in this movie, another antagonist with greedy motivation, but the real meat is between Hopkins and the brutal, uncaring force of nature.

Abraham Van Helsing — Bram Stoker's Dracula

Francis Ford Coppola can get great performances out of nearly anyone, and his gonzo take on "Dracula" is no different. Some of the casting is all over the place, with an inexplicable Keanu Reeves doing his best. He survived "Dangerous Liaisons," sure, but Hollywood hadn't yet learned to leave him to the Way of the Wick. But it's Anthony Hopkins who, in coordinated opposition to the always-on Gary Oldman, gives "Dracula" the support structure it badly needs. It's not a great film, but in Hopkins it got a terrific Van Helsing.

Hopkins' take on Van Helsing is clearly drawn from the original archetype of a cantankerous yet sage master of the parapsychological arts. But this version adds an eccentricity that Van Helsing rarely shows, an intimation of the accruing psychic damage the vampire hunter must labor under. No one can remain completely sane when there's a strong chance they'll have to slay their own friends and allies, and Hopkins gives Van Helsing that depth while dragging the confused and grieving klatch of suitors into their final confrontation with Dracula.

Odin — Thor

Anthony Hopkins made the role of Odin his own, despite a few hurdles that slow down the film. Helmed by Kenneth Branagh and an early member of the nascent Marvel Cinematic Universe, "Thor" blended the theatrical with some slapstick. It's all silly and a little Shakespearean, and Hopkins understands the assignment.

Odin is an authoritarian presence in golden Asgard, a god-king whose rigidity and power left deep scars behind. His secrets have secrets, and though he loves his family, he's also bogged down by the need to ensure Asgard's future. Hopkins plays off of his on-screen sons like a Wimbledon match. Hemsworth's Thor earns fatherly disappointment and pride in equal measure, and the love and fear Hiddleston's Loki feels for man that raised him is reflected back at him. Odin's sons are the result of his actions; one has his kingly power and pride, the other his secrets and doubts. It all feels like it matters, because Anthony Hopkins makes it matter.

Richard Nixon — Nixon

At some point, Oliver Stone lost the plot. The controversial yet brilliant director was in the first stretch of his downward slide when he chose to make a film about Richard Nixon, and the resultant box office bomb marked his quickening descent. Stone never let go of his conspiratorial obsessions -- here, Nixon ruminates on whether or not the beleaguered president-to-be helped put the assassination of JFK into action. "Nixon" is nonsensical stuff, a fever dream of a movie that survives solely due to its performances.

Hopkins is not going for an accurate portrayal of Nixon here, though his hunched physicality summons the right ghost. There's a sense that the actor privately realized that this film was destined to become pure camp, a platform for Stone's warped notion of Nixon as a man in thrall to the great beast of politics. His portrayal of Nixon is barely to the left of the head-in-a-jar version seen on "Futurama," a capital-C Character, the new-minted archetype of an evil yet honorable politician. Hopkins struggles to ground a movie built on ether and intimation, and despite it all, he succeeds.

Prince Richard The Lionheart — The Lion In Winter

1968's "The Lion in Winter" is one of Sir Hopkins' earliest roles. It's Christmas, 1183, and the strife between Queen Eleanor, King Henry II, and their small family could be a Kardashian-style mess -- except that Henry can push around the Pope when he decides it's time for a divorce. Hopkins plays the eldest of Henry's three sons, the one who will one day be famous for his exploits in the Third Crusade, and the one who usually arrives to aid Robin Hood against Prince John in modern versions of the legend.

"The Lion in Winter" sets up a fraught dynamic between the trio of potential heirs, and Hopkins contains the duality of the lion whose name he shares. He's imposing and powerful, but secretly he's easily moved by his sensitivities. The twist that puts him in Dutch with his father and the Duke of Anjou drives him to anger when the King denounces all three of his children. His role is small compared to Hepburn and O'Toole's titanic struggle, but Hopkins makes himself heard nonetheless.

Dr. Robert Ford — Westworld

HBO's "Westworld" shares very little DNA with its movie predecessor, but that works to its benefit. The premise is similar, but now the ethical and moral depths of the parks are explored. It's all as grotesque and layered as one could want. Hopkins was tapped to play the park's senior story developer, the man who releases a dangerous update to the park's hosts for complex reasons. It's a dense plot with tangled strings, and it compels by the strength of its cast. Sometimes by that strength alone.

It's probably a coincidence that the critical response to the series took a dip in its third season, the first to not feature Hopkins at all. The cast retains its power, but the plot loses its cohesion without the park's creative director at the helm. Hopkins' role in "Westworld" wasn't huge, and it would be grossly unfair to ignore the quality of his co-stars, including Jeffrey Wright and Thandiwe Newton. But Ford added something special to the troublesome parks. A little devilish flair, a little godlike ambition, and a desire to create true free will.

Henry Wilcox — Howard's End

Before we had A24, the Merchant-Ivory logo let movie fans know they were about to get something unique. James Ivory's films are typically small but luscious affairs obsessed with the minutiae of English classism. Three of them are adaptations of E. M. Forster novels, always seeking the human within the rigid structures of England's upper crust, and not always finding it. In "Howard's End," Anthony Hopkins takes the role of the Wilcox family patriarch, the man who embodies the estate itself. He's a stolid and unrelenting figure, but even he can't stand long against the changes of time.

Wilcox tries, though, and it's his brutal dedication to conservative ethics that slowly destroys the family. At every chance to find and show empathy, he shoves the opportunity aside. The stiff upper lip approach leaves Henry isolated, unable to honor the second woman he marries with the truth of what she should have been owed. It's heady, emotional stuff, and Hopkins' callous behavior gives costar Emma Thompson the chance to offer the performance of her life.

John Quincey Adams — Amistad

Anthony Hopkins excels at biography, and his turn as ex-president John Quincey Adams in Spielberg's "Amistad" is some of his best work. It's another small role in a stacked cast that includes Djimon Hounsou, Pete Postlethwaite, and Morgan Freeman, but Hopkins provides the necessary counterweight. As a former president, standing in opposition to Martin Van Buren and his bid for re-election on the back of this case, Adams represents America's glories and its flaws.

Adams doesn't commit to helping the abducted Africans until the Supreme Court appeal, a potent metaphor for how those with privilege only seem to help at the last minute. But when Adams does commit, he goes all in. He ruminates on human nature in a 10-minute showstopper, recognizing that the natural state of humanity is freedom, and that to force a human life into chains will be our downfall. Those chains will always break, says a passionate Hopkins. A person will fight his enemies, all for a chance to go home. It's a speech that demands to be heard. Freedom will win, eventually and inevitably.

Anthony — The Father

It's no fun to watch someone we love go through the fog of old age and become someone that we barely recognize. Dementia is one of the most brutal, heart-wrenching experiences human life has to offer, both for the victim and the victim's family and friends. It strips so much away from all of us. Yet love endures, despite the challenge and the heartbreak. The first trailer for 2020's "The Father" is framed like a horror movie told from the father's perspective, and brings the fear and loss of dementia home in a way that can't be ignored.

"The Father" is a difficult film to watch, because its reality is tangible. For Hopkins fans, the irony is painful, too -- the actor's prodigious memory is one of his greatest strengths. Here he sets aside that gift in favor of expressions that show the depth of Anthony's anger, frustration, and confusion. It's a well-earned Academy Award for Sir Hopkins; few others could master this role so painfully.

Captain William Bligh — The Bounty

The story of the 1789 mutiny aboard the HMS Bounty has become a historical "Rashomon." It's always been unclear what prompted Fletcher Christian to rally the sailors against his former friend, William Bligh. 1984's "The Bounty" is an impressive but standard version of the story, with Mel Gibson as Lieutenant Christian and Hopkins as the increasingly tyrannical Captain Bligh.

The film nests their conflict in classic human emotion. The men of the Bounty grew accustomed to the freedoms of tropical life, and Bligh, the only commissioned officer on the merchant vessel, is happy to return to the formal structure of English society. The film splits its narrative after the mutiny succeeds, and each man's flaws lead them to pyrrhic victories. Fletcher might live free, but Bligh's stoic testimony ensures that his mutineers can never return home. It's a glimpse of Hopkins in the years just before he became a star, and his performance proves that his rise was simply a matter of time.

Pope Benedict XVI — The Two Popes

"The Two Popes" could be a film about two old men shooting the breeze, if it wasn't for the fact that modern Catholicism hung in the balance. Hopkins, as the former Cardinal Ratzinger elected Pope Benedict, grants this embattled retiree a humanity the public rarely saw during his tenure. For non-Catholics, Benedict is known as the face of the sex abuse scandal that rocked the Vatican. The film depicts Benedict's guilt and slow response as key to his coming resignation, and Hopkins gives this weighty issue its due.

"The Two Popes" is a strikingly human character study, although it never ascends past the illusions of fiction. The trappings of faith can't hide their true natures when the two men of God get to jawing the fat. There's a theme that we're all more similar to one another, and flawed, than we want to admit. Guilt weighs down both men, keeping them closer to Earth than they might like, and that's potentially more meaningful than living by faith alone. Hopkins is deft here, dancing with Jonathan Pryce through some remarkable yet rarely dry discussions.

James Stevens — The Remains Of The Day

It's Merchant-Ivory again, so we know what that means. This time, "The Remains of the Day" is based on an award-winning novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's a mournful story about emotional distance and sacrifice, framed by the mistakes of war. Hopkins plays Stevens, the butler in charge of overseeing the day-to-day operations of Darlington Hall, and the rarified air of his employer keeps Stevens from entertaining his own thoughts and feelings. Hopkins again has the skills of Emma Thompson to contend with, and it creates a world of deep emotion barely hidden between them.

"The Remains of the Day" is a particular kind of love story, strung like a violin among the guilts Stevens carries as he serves his Nazi-sympathizer boss. Neither Stevens nor Thompson's Miss Kenton are free to be who they wish, only who they must pretend to be within the Hall's structure. Kenton eventually frees herself and finds a life without Stevens, and the loss weighs so clearly on Hopkins that the film transcends the medium. The only reason this lovely film didn't sweep the awards season is a good one: Stevens' poignant lost love couldn't compare with the overwhelming human horror of "Schindler's List," but don't think that makes this a lesser film.

Dr. Frederick Treves — The Elephant Man

"The Elephant Man" is the most sensitive movie in David Lynch's repertoire, mingling his taste for surreal visuals with the relentless humanity and kindness of a young man trapped in his traitorous body. Joseph Merrick lived and died as an example of the best of us, and he lived and died at the mercy of us at our worst. Hopkins, as Dr. Treves, does what he can to build protections around Merrick, but he's burdened by the fear that it's not enough. Unfortunately, he's correct.

Hopkins helps to elevate Merrick's soul throughout the film, never drawing the scene away from its star yet adding a gentle face that we're capable of empathizing with more easily than poor Merrick's. He teaches us to see Merrick as a man, a success despite the betrayals that compound on them both. It's Treves that gives Merrick his last day, the father figure he needed, and an accidental psychopomp as the spirit of Merrick's mother comes to take poor Joseph home.

Dr. Hannibal Lecter — The Silence Of The Lambs

Jonathan Demme's "The Silence of the Lambs" is one of the finest modern crime thrillers and a horror film that delves into the terrifying depths of the human psyche. Hopkins is perfectly cast, of course, but the greatest thing this blockbuster role did was ensure we'd get more performances from Hopkins for decades to come.

Lecter himself is as beautiful a character as possible; meaty, charming, and genteel. It's hard to square the horror of him with his fine bearing, yet that's his most realistic aspect. Hopkins performs the role without pretension, and the noble aspects of Lecter feel natural. His amusement with Clarice Starling grows into a mild respect, a change that shows in his body language and his willingness to delve more deeply into her mind. 

Lecter doesn't waste time with that which doesn't interest him, so his acceptance of Clarice is loaded with implied meaning. The respect she's earned is obvious. It makes the turns of "Hannibal" all the more baffling, but with Hopkins closing the cycle, all of Hannibal Lecter's big screen career remains a joy to watch.

Read this next: 'The Silence Of The Lambs' At 30: How The Influential Thriller Forged Empathy Through Clarice Starling's Eyes

The post The 15 best Anthony Hopkins roles ranked appeared first on /Film.

Anker sells some of the best mobile accessories around, including batteries, chargers, power adapters, and much more. The company’s collection of power adapters alone could fill a book, but one of the smallest models is the PowerPort III Nano, which is now on sale for just $13.59 at Amazon. That’s $3.40 below the usual price, and it matches the previous discount from June.

The Anker PowerPort III Nano can supply up to 20W of power to any devices that support USB Power Delivery, or USB-PD for short. That includes most Android devices, recent iPads and iPhones, the Nintendo Switch, and most other Type-C devices. The main selling point here is the size — the brick just over 1 inch wide. Many mobile devices can charge faster than 20W, but the PowerPort’s super-compact design makes it a great backup charger to keep in a bag or carrying case.

The main downside here is that there’s only a single Type-C port, so you can’t easily charge multiple devices. Plugging in devices with a standard USB Type-A cable (like most smartwatches) will also require a dongle, and there’s no Type-C cable included in the box. If you don’t have enough Type-C cords around, Anker sells those too.

The post Anker’s compact USB Type-C charger drops to just $14 appeared first on xda-developers.

The end of 3G is coming for every carrier, but the way AT&T is handling their 3G shutdown is rubbing some people the wrong way.

AT&T has chosen to go with a specific allowlist of devices that can continue to connect to their network following the 3G shutdown. This effectively means that any device being used on AT&T’s network must be pre-approved. Unfortunately, even devices that are fully compatible with AT&T’s LTE network are being shut out because they aren’t on that list.

Customers across the web are complaining about their fully functional devices being shut out or having difficulties due to the whitelist. AT&T is automatically suspending people’s lines if the device on that line isn’t on the allowlist.

One user with an unlocked Galaxy S8+ was told they were being shipped a new phone without warning, likely via an SMS like the one shown here, only to never receive the device.

Support told them their device is fine and to not worry. However, their Galaxy S8+ eventually stopped working, and their account showed a new device had taken its place. AT&T support allegedly refused to offer them an equivalent replacement device at the time without the user paying for it. Another user says AT&T randomly shipped them a device they don’t want (likely a RADIANT Core) to an old address to replace their one-year-old fully functional device.

One user contacted us via email to say that they had their own Sony Xperia XZ Compact suddenly lose service. According to them, AT&T had sent the plan’s account holder a RADIANT Core for that line. They then had to use an alternate phone to contact AT&T, who told them their old device only supported 3G. A store rep later told them that AT&T is not supporting any unlocked phones at all, which isn’t accurate as far as we can tell. Overall confusion among customers and employees only further muddies the water when it comes to AT&T’s handling of their 3G shutdown.

Verizon and T-Mobile are also sunsetting their 3G networks. They, however, are not using such a strict allowlist system. Both carriers simply require devices to be compatible with their respective Voice over LTE technology, which most devices do. AT&T seems to be the only carrier that is actively rejecting compatible devices.

If you’re unsure if your device will continue working as expected, check out our post here containing AT&T’s allowlist.

Featured image credits: Mike Mozart via Flickr

The post Some customers aren’t happy with how AT&T is handling their 3G shutdown appeared first on xda-developers.

You have probably heard that tomato season is almost over, though my own tomato plants do not seem to have gotten the memo. I have a lot green heirlooms still ripening on the vine, and my cherry tomato plant is thriving. I picked a pint of the things last Saturday, and I suspect I’ll get a couple more before the…

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Summer is waning, which means it’s probably time to bring your hanging outdoor plants indoors. A little extra foliage inside can do a lot to brighten your interior—but indoor plants also take up a fair amount of space. Luckily, installing a reinforced double curtain rod will allow you to hang your plants and upgrade…

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Hello Games has released the Frontiers Update 3.66 for No Man’s Sky. According to the release notes, this patch fixes various crashes and resolves numerous bugs. Going into more details, Patch 3.66 fixes an issue that prevented settlement NPCs from syncing correctly in multiplayer. It also fixes an issue that could cause construction decisions to … Continue reading No Man’s Sky Frontiers Update 3.66 released, full patch notes revealed →

The post No Man’s Sky Frontiers Update 3.66 released, full patch notes revealed appeared first on DSOGaming.

E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin seem to have the market cornered on documentaries about people who do wildly dangerous, potentially deadly things. They helmed the nail-biting documentary "Free Solo," about rock climbing without any ropes or safety device. And now they're back with "The Rescue," a film that's primarily about the Tham Luang cave rescue, but is really about a group the cave divers who came in from around the world to help. Cave diving isn't a casual activity; it's incredibly difficult, and only a handful of individuals in the world are good at it. And they do it for relaxation, believe it or not, even though one cave diver explains the experience is akin to jumping into a "muddy hole."

"The Rescue" ends up being a harrowing, captivating, wonderful documentary that perhaps surpasses "Free Solo," at least in terms of emotion. It's also a somewhat depressing experience because this is ultimately the story of people around the world behaving selflessly to help total strangers. We currently find ourselves in a time where a subset of humanity flat-out refuses to help get the COVID-19 pandemic under control all in the name of "personal freedoms." "The Rescue" never underlines that point, but it's hard to miss.

In June 2018, 12 young players on a junior association football team and their coach became trapped in the flooded Tham Luang Nang Non cave system in Chiang Rai Province in Thailand. As the doc explains, going into the cave was nothing out of the ordinary for these kids. One interview subject even calls it "their playground." We learn that traditionally, the monsoon season causes the cave to flood in July. As it was June when the kids entered, they thought they'd be safe. They were wrong. The cave flooded, and there was a point where no one knew if the children and their coach were alive or dead.

Local Navy SEALS were brought in to assist. But despite all their training and strength, they were unable to get very far into the flooded cave. Few people on Earth could, because so few people know how to cave dive. But there are folks out there who know exactly how to do such a dangerous activity, and two such people are Brits Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, who were called in to assist. Stanton and Volanthen weren't going to be paid for their efforts, and they certainly could've said no. But they hopped on a plane and headed to Thailand to help. Their arrival was both welcomed and slightly scorned. The Navy SEALS didn't quite understand why much older foreigners were so much better at diving into the cave than they were, but such animosity faded fast because lives were at stake.

Early in the efforts, Stanton and Volanthen made a surprise discovery: four pump workers who had also gotten trapped in the cave, unbeknownst to everyone. As the workers were much closer to the entrance, Stanton and Volanthen were able to quickly swim them out – but not without some considerable effort. As the pump workers were untrained for cave diving – which involves swimming around in dangerous tight spots in total darkness – they panicked and flailed around beneath the "chocolate brown water." This made Stanton and Volanthen realize that they might have yet another problem here. The adult workers were ultimately only underwater for about 30 seconds and still panicked – how would kids react if they had to swim much further, and longer? And as it turns out, they would have to swim much further and longer, because when the kids were found, they were approximately two-and-a-half hours deep into the cave system.

The Clock Was Ticking

Stanton and Volanthen came up with a solution. Or at least, an idea for a solution. They turned to cave diver and physician Dr. Richard Harris and asked if he could sedate the kids. The plan: knock the children out with drugs, put them in wet suits and diving gear, and slowly pull their lifeless bodies out to safety. It sounded utterly mad, and Dr. Harris was immediately against the idea, judging it too dangerous. "I could talk for an hour about ways these kids could die," he says of the plan. 

But no one had a better idea, and the clock was ticking. The kids were growing weaker, the air was running thin, and more rain was coming. If the cave flooded even more, the kids would surely drown, and all hope would be lost. The divers needed to act, and act fast. And so the sedation idea was embraced, even though everyone seemed unconvinced it would even work. Even if you're familiar with the details of how this all turned out, "The Rescue" is an edge-of-your-seat experience. Vasarhelyi and Chin shoot this thing like a thriller, combining both actual footage shot during the rescue with recreations featuring the actual divers, blending all this footage together seamlessly to create a wholly cinematic experience.

"The Rescue" is top-notch filmmaking, but not without issues. That recreation angle might bother some – the film doesn't clue us in that there even are recreations during the end credits. Then there's a cloying, poppy song that plays over those credits that has clearly been recorded with the sole goal of landing a Best Original Song Oscar nomination. But these issues are extremely minor, and "The Rescue" ultimately sweeps us up in its story of heroism and survival.

Divers from all over the world flew in to assist with the rescue, even though they were putting their lives in danger (one rescuer, a former SEAL, unfortunately died in the process). Like "Free Solo," this is dangerous stuff. "I was sh**ing myself," one diver states. But unlike "Free Solo," things are a bit more hopeful and uplifting. There are times in "Free Solo" where it seems like free solo climber Alex Honnold is, for lack of a better term, unwell. He's oblivious to others, including his loving girlfriend, and more interested in partaking in a hobby that would surely kill him if he made even a small mistake. 

The divers of "The Rescue" are similarly devoted solely to their dangerous hobby. There's an amusing montage where one by one they tell us that they've always been outcasts and loners, and that cave diving relaxes them because it allows them to shut out the outside world. And yet, when called to action, they didn't hesitate to put life and limb on the line all in the name of helping total strangers from a foreign country. It's undeniably uplifting and emotional. I'd hate to say something as dramatic as, "This is the movie we need right now!" But if more people in the world would behave as selflessly as the individuals in "The Rescue," we'd all be a lot better off.

/Film Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Read this next: Belfast Review: Kenneth Branagh's Drama Is Funny And Sweet And Missing Something [TIFF 2021]

The post The Rescue Review: Free Solo Directors Return With a Nail-Biting Doc About the Thai Cave Rescue [TIFF 2021] appeared first on /Film.

For younger millennials or Gen-Zers who want to live on their own for the first time, it’s not always easy to figure how much money you’ll need to live comfortably. There are all sorts of expenses to consider, and they often vary based on where you want to live. Fortunately, a new tool calculates these costs and…

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In the late 70s, two 8-millimeter horror films titled The Maniac and Return of the Maniac were made by kids in Galion, Ohio. I stumbled across these vintage films on YouYube, and I can't get enough.

I love old homemade horror films and seeing what kids are able to come up with to freak people out. — Read the rest

It's been hard to imagine what a "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" remake would look like with less comedy, a glaringly non-'90s setting, and a distinct lack of Will Smith ever since the project was first announced. But we're this much closer to finding out anyway! Complete with a very serious-sounding title, Peacock's "Bel-Air" is described as a "contemporary reimagining of the beloved and culture defining 90s sitcom" and has formally announced its full main cast. Check out all the details below.

Bel-Air Cast

Out with the old, in with the new! The series regulars for "Bel-Air" will be led by newcomer and West Philadelphia resident Jabari Banks, who plays Will. He will be joined by Adrian Holmes ("At That Age," "V Wars") as Phillip Banks, Cassandra Freeman ("The Enemy Within," "Atlanta") as Vivian Banks, Olly Sholotan as Carlton Banks ("Run Hide Fight," "Evolution of Nate Gibson"), Coco Jones ("Let it Shine," "Vampires vs. The Bronx") as Hilary Banks, Akira Akbar as Ashley Banks ("We Can Be Heroes," "Captain Marvel"), Jimmy Akingbola ("Most Dangerous Game," "In The Long Run") as Geoffrey, Jordan L. Jones ("Rel," "Snowfall") as Jazz, and Simone Joy Jones ("The Chair," "What If") as Lisa.

The path to getting a rebooted "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" series has been an interesting one, to say the least. 25 years after the original series wrapped up its wildly successful run (it still lives on as endless reruns on syndication and is currently streaming on HBO Max), it was announced that this modernized update on "Fresh Prince" would trade in the show's '90s trappings and legendary comedy for something a little more serious and grounded. The idea for this reimagining came from Morgan Cooper's four-minute long "trailer" for a darker and more serious "spec trailer" that he released on YouTube that caught the eye of Will Smith himself. Cooper is now the director, co-writer, and executive producer on "Bel-Air" with T.J. Brady and Rasheed Newson serving as co-showrunners. 

Only last month, we heard that both the original showrunner Chris Collins ("The Wire," "The Sopranos," "Sons of Anarchy," "The Man in the High Castle") and his replacement Dianne Houston ("Empire") had parted ways with the production, but things seem to be running smoothly ever since. It remains a little odd to think that there would be any enthusiasm for "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" as a general property rather than leftover audience goodwill stemming from fondness for the specific cast of the original series (as proven by the reaction towards last year's reunion special), but clearly those involved -- including Will Smith himself, who serves as one of the executive producers -- think otherwise.

"Bel-Air" will presumably release on Peacock's streaming service sometime in 2022. The synopsis for the series is as follows:

Set in modern-day America, Bel-Air is a serialized one-hour dramatic analogue of the 90's sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" that leans into the original premise: Will's complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air. With a reimagined vision, Bel-Air will dive deeper into the inherent conflicts, emotions and biases that were impossible to fully explore in a 30-minute sitcom format, while still delivering swagger and nods to the original show.

Read this next: 'Bel-Air': The 'Fresh Prince' Reboot Gets A Two-Season Order At Peacock

The post Peacock's Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reboot Flips, Turns Things Upside Down With Its Main Cast appeared first on /Film.

The "Star Wars: Visions" anthology is a much-hyped Disney+ release for animation fans who are hungry to experience Star Wars in a different way. George Lucas' galaxy far, far has always paid homage to Japanese cinema, particularly the films of Akira Kurosawa films. Now, under Lucasfilm's guidance, "Visions" opens the door to artists who specialize in Japanese animation, allowing them to tell new stories in the Star Wars universe unbounded by restrictive canon, re-mythologizing the Force and its wielders in the process.

"Star Wars: Visions" consists of nine short films produced by seven Japanese animation studios, all of which have superb reputations. However, if you're not familiar with anime, or you simply want to know more about the talent involved before watching "Visions," /Film has compiled a list of 15 projects with connections to Kamikaze Douga, Studio Colorido, TRIGGER, Science Saru, and Production I.G, as well as a few other movies, TV shows, and compilations with thematic or creative links. Before turning on "Visions," check them out.

Ghost In The Shell

A 1995 groundbreaking cyberpunk drama directed by Mamoru Oshii and animated by Production I.G, "Ghost in the Shell" engulfs you in its neo-noir landscape from the very first frame. Saturated in grey and neon, its backgrounds are full of details -- every wire, chip, piece of hardware, and toothpick is exquisitely rendered. As far as the story goes, Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cyborg, is on the brink of an existential crisis. Despite her hard-ass professional exterior, Kusanagi finds herself emotionally involved in the pursuit of the elusive Puppet Master, a mysterious figure that can hack into people's brains -- or their "ghosts," as consciousnesses are known in this world. The Puppet Master has designs on Kusanagi, and her personal crisis may just sync with its motives.

Submerged in meditative glances at robotic bodies in repose and extremely introspective, "Ghost in the Shell" ruminates on what it means to be both human and machine. Do mechanical enhancements make you less human? Does a sentient AI have the same the rights as a human being? How much of your identity is still intact when you transform into different entity?

How to Watch: You can rent "Ghost in the Shell" on Amazon Video, YouTube, iTunes, Google Play, and other digital video storefronts.

Haikyu!!

Animated by Production I.G, "Haikyu!!" should transport athletes back to their fondest memories on the court or the field, but will also capture the hearts of non-athletes, too. Yes, an anime about volleyball strategy may sound pedantic, but when the facts are delivered by characters you care about, you can't help but get wrapped up in the action.

Although he's only 5' 4'', high school student Shoyo vies for the ace position on his school volleyball team. He also has his eye set on outscoring Kageyama, his tall and grouchy rival ... only to discover that Kageyama now goes to the same school. At the prompting of the team captain, Shoyo and Kageyama link up and become an unstoppable pair with a quick attack combo that shocks opponents. 

As it goes on, "Haikyu!!" matures into an ensemble piece about slapping volleyballs, staring down your rivals (and, sometimes, your frenemies), losing, winning, and battling your anxieties. This isn't just a story about the underdogs we've been rooting for since the beginning. The deeper we go, the more we see of the lives of the opposing teams, and realize that they're underdogs, too. "Haikyu!!" is a cool breeze periodically injected with adrenaline, especially once it heads to the court. Its drama is tame, yet it's full of sincerity, illuminating each player's motives, their frailties, and the camaraderie they share with their teammates.

How to Watch: The first two seasons of "Haikyu!!" are available on Netflix.

Gurren Lagann

After spending his childhood laboring in an oppressive underground burrow, young Simon discovers a tiny drill that turns out to be the key to a mecha head. That's just the beginning. With help from the manly and rebellious Kamino, Simon escapes his subterranean village following an attack by another mech, leading him to team up with surface humans, hijack more mechas, get into all sorts of misadventures, and grow up along the way.

Director Hiroyuki Imaishi pilots the 2007 "Gurren Lagann" series, drawing on his experience working on "Neon Evangelion Genesis," one of the most popular and beloved mecha anime in existence. Ironically, Imaishi's take on mechas is much sunnier than its predecessor's. Here, youths can pilot mechas without incurring severe psychological trauma. The machines make funny poses, pilots trade humorous quips from their cockpits, and impossible combo moves keep the action moving. With a likable cast, snarky humor, and a full-on celebration of mecha anime's silliest tropes, "Gurren Lagann" embraces the impractical and should thrill mecha lovers.

As for the "Star Wars: Visions" connection? Well, the critical and commercial success of "Gurren Lagann" eventually led Imaishi to co-found Studio Trigger, which provided two of the series' shorts.

How to Watch: "Gurren Lagann" is available on Netflix.

Kill La Kill

Anime already thrives on hyperbole, but "Kill la Kill," Studio Trigger's 2013 debut, dials it up to 11. How much you get out of "Kill La Kill" depends on how much you're willing endure scenes in which the female protagonist fends off perverts, which is an annoying and unfortunately common anime trope.

Looking for answers about her father's murder, Ryuko enrolls in a school run by the dictatorial student council president, Satsuki Kiryuin. There, the students wear special clothing that functions like magical armor, giving the wearer powers related to their position at school. Satsuki, for example, is flanked by other council members who have abilities that pertain to the clubs they run: the marching band, the gardening club, the tennis club, and so on. Ryuko has her own super clothing, of course -- a sentient uniform that gives her advice, but has to extract her blood to function. 

"Kill la Kill" is purposefully parodies the worldbuilding of other anime, often with hyper-sexualization that includes a sado-maschoistic character who charges their powers by absorbing attacks, a military organization called Nudist Beach, and skin-tight clothing that makes fun of other anime's famous transformation sequences. At one point, a villain declares, entirely deadpan, "If it means I'll fulfill my ambitions, I'll bear my breasts for the world to see." The ridiculous story, the kinetic combat, and the slapstick humor makes "Kill la Kill" supremely watchable.

How to Watch: "Kill la Kill" is available to stream on Netflix.

Little Witch Academia

Akko wants nothing more than to be a witch like her idol, Shiny Chariot. But the witch academy she enrolls in isn't very accommodating to a girl who has neither magic skills nor a noble witch name in her lineage. Akko expects things to be handed to her on a silver platter, but she often bites off more than she can chew, leading to shenanigans. "Little Witch Academia" has plenty of mysteries, too. Why does this Professor Ursula take interest in Akko? Why did a mysterious magic rod once wielded by Chariot herself choose Akko, of all people? The series delves into all that and more, showing how Akko's faith ends up being the spark that's needed in a world where magic is dwindling

Produced by Studio Trigger, "Little Witch Academia" began as series of Kickstarter-funded shorts before it was released a two-season series on Netflix. As Akko unlocks the ancient incantations that bring her closer to both answers and her long-lost idol, "Little Witch Academia" teaches its young viewers how to believe in themselves, and to work hard even when your best doesn't seem to be enough. It also has plenty to say about friendship, fandom, and kindness.

Amusingly, "Little Witch Academia" contains two scenes, one comedic and one serious, in which characters brandish lightsabers as part of a deliberate Star Wars homage, foreshadowing Trigger's involvement in "Visions."

How to Watch: You can catch "Little Witch Academia" on Netflix.

Lu Over The Wall

Teenager Kai is insecure about his music and his future in his sleepy little town, a fishing village that's figuring out its place in a world dominated by commercialism and big corporations. But then Kai's tunes attract the attention of a mermaid named Lu who has a Cheshire-cat smile, fins that tap like legs, and pointy teeth that can turn living things into mermaids, and his life regains some of its missing glow. However, the more the townsfolk learn about Lu, the more suspicious they grow, even as Lu goes viral and becomes a major tourist attraction.

Like "Ponyo," Masaaki Yuasa's "Lu over the Wall" is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid," and it's just as fun as Hayao Miyazaki's work. But where Miyazaki aims for operatic elegance, "Lu over the Wall" dances freestyle. The eye-popping color scheme of "Lu" marries hallucinatory hijinks with the capriciousness of a music video, and is an excellent showcase for Science SARU's work.

How to Watch: "Lu Over the Wall" can be streamed on Netflix.

Ride Your Wave

Produced by Science SARU, Masaaki Yuasa's "Ride Your Wave" makes the idea that music can will your loved one back to life astoundingly literal. A college-bound surfer and a firefighter fall in love in a seaside town. A rom-com-style montage follows, accompanied by a duet played on a ukulele. But just when the couple begin talking about marriage, the man tragically drowns trying to save someone's life. The girl mopes, giving up her surfboard and turning away from the sea. However, she discovers that singing their old song makes his spirit appear in water -- any water, from the contents of her water bottle, to the toilet bowl, to local streams, to the spray of nearby firehoses.

Immersed in magical realism and full of glimmering backdrops featuring sunshine-soaked waves, "Ride Your Wave" is sensitive drama about a young woman who learns to move on and while honoring her beloved's memory. Yuasa mines comedy and drama from the whimsical premise, deploying the ingenuity first seen in "Lu over the Wall."

How to Watch: "Ride Your Wave" is streaming on HBO Max, and can be rented via Amazon Video.

Japan Sinks: 2020

"Japan Sinks: 2020" is a terrifying natural disaster story about a tragedy that unfolds in the present day. Its 10 episodes chronicle the resilience of a Filipino-Japanese family forced to move forward and make decisions on the fly when a major earthquake devastates the entire country. They endure losses and gain allies along the way. Unlike Yuasa's other Science SARU projects, this is a realistic story: The public's simultaneous reliance on and distrust of the media, the anxious children cut off from their comfort zones, and the parents who smile in spite of their hidden fears add to this gritty, modern survival tale.

Some viewers found faults with the story, especially the cult arc, which comes off as campy rather than dramatic. Still, at its most sincere "Japan Sinks: 2020" explores the laborious exertion of survival, along with smatterings of social commentary that dress down Japanese nationalism and xenophobia.

How to Watch: "Japan Sinks: 2020" can be found on Netflix.

Eden Of The East

"Eden of the East" is a bold adult work by Kenji Kamiyama, director of the "Star Wars: Visions" short "the Ninth Jedi," for Production I.G. It features many of anime's hallmarks (goofy expressions, romance, silliness), but they take second seat to the show's driving force, which is a political thriller. A 20-something Japanese girl named Saki Morimi has a bizarre meet-cute with a naked Japanese man in front of the White House. He has no memory of his past, but knows he's in a Jason Bourne-type story. Could it also be a rom-com, like Saki hopes? You'll just have to watch and see. 

As it turns out, the man has a special phone with a 10-billion-yen balance, which he's supposed to spend in order to become "the savior of Japan," whatever that means. Disobeying the vaguely-defined rules and spending all the money could get him killed by the "Supporter." Saki and her love interest slowly try figure out if the man was a bad guy or a good guy, and how this relates to a frightening (but relatively harmless) missile strike known as "Careless Monday."

The further you get into "Eden," the more the questions and dread stack up. It also paints a stunning portrait of the disillusioned younger generation, which is tired of its elders and their unrealistic expectations.

How to Watch: All 11 episodes of "Eden of the East" are available on Hulu, while the first movie (of two) can be found on Funimation.

The Animatrix

Years before most western studios began making anime spin-offs of live-action IPs (see "The Lord of the Rings" and "Blade Runner," in addition to "Star Wars"), there was the "The Animatrix," which was set in the "Matrix" movie universe. These nine anime shorts were authored by the Wachowski sisters and animated by bevy of anime artists who re-imagined the Matrix through a prism of different styles and aesthetics.

"The Animatrix" shares a mission statement with "Star Wars: Visions" -- re-interpret a well-known fictional universe using the power of animation and the imaginations of some distinct, singular artists. Some shorts explain the events of the Matrix movies, while others tell little stories set inside the Matrix itself. The tales vary -- there's the blood-splattered origins of the Matrix, a record-breaking track-runner who strains himself so hard that he rips through the simulation, an impressionist chase across a school hallway, street kids who turn a glitching "haunted house" into a playground, a grainy grayscale neo-noir, and more -- but they're all stylish, and all very interesting.

How to Watch: "The Animatrix" is available on HBO Max.

Sturgill Simpson Presents Sound & Fury

Set to Sturgill Simpson's 2019 album "Sound & Fury," this series of short films compliments the album release. It uses a different style for each song, including both live-action and animated segments, while putting together a narrative composed of loose threads, as music videos tend to do.

Animation studio Kamikaze Douga prides itself on blending CG with traditional 2D cell animation. Its visual dreamscape, set to Simpson's music, showcases its dense cell-shading, hewn with coarse textures that feel like sharpened pencils slashed at the screen, an aesthetic that shows up again in the studio's the black-and-white "Star Wars: Visions" short, "The Duel." With a strong "Heavy Metal" vibe, one of the company's musical segments depicts a road warrior, a la Max Mad, wearing a samurai helmet that resembles Darth Vader's as she accelerates toward a battalion of villains on a steampunk craft. The woman also gets to lead a dance sequence. Whatever the story is about, you're in for a fun ride and some beautiful scenery.

How to Watch: Watch "Sturgill Simpson Presents Sound & Fury" on Netflix.

A Whisker Away

Middle-schooler Miyo is known as "Miss Ultra Gaga and Enigmatic" due to her brash and outlandish behavior at school, especially when it comes to her fixation on a quiet classmate. She also has a magic mask that transforms her into a cat, which allows her to wander into her crush's home, where he pampers her with love and tells her about his problems. However, Miyo discovers that she could be stuck in her cat form for good, forcing her to venture into the cat world or risk losing herself forever. Unsurprisingly, she'll have to learn to love herself and her human life to do so.

A Studio Colorido production, "A Whisker Away" is an escapist fantasy for young girls that thrives on cuteness and a dose of adolescent angst. You might want to have a sit-down with younger viewers about respecting their crushes' boundaries after watching, but "A Whisker Away" does nail candid depictions of teen girl's obsessiveness, as well as the problems faced by kids who have trouble communicating their pain. "A Whisker Away" also proves to be full of visual imagination once it arrives at the cat world, where felines walk on invisible bridges and their lives are depicted as snow-globed orbs.

How to Watch: "A Whisker Away" is streaming on Netflix.

Penguin Highway

Penguins suddenly begin appearing in a sunny town, much to the curiosity of the townspeople. A young boy, Aoyama, makes it his mission to investigate the source of the penguins. He turns to his adult friend -- and crush -- for help, only to discover that she may be connected to the mystery. In addition, a friend from school shows Aoyama an oceanic orb floating in the middle of a meadow that might have something to do with the penguins and their odd behavior.

The premise of "Penguin Highway," animated by Studio Colorido, is broadly comparable to "Stranger Things": It's about a town that's besotted with sighting of mysterious entities, and where kids string together theories away from parents' watchful eyes. Yet, "Penguin Highway" is less ominous, embracing the low-key and unfolding broad daylight. This is an enigmatic coming-of-age story about a boy who tries solve the unsolvable. Even though strands of weirdness come together to give Aoyama some answers, he learns that some things are simply incomprehensible.

How to Watch: "Penguin Highway" can be streamed for free with an Amazon Prime subscription.

Astro Boy

Astro Boy, the little robot that fights evil and fends off prejudice, is a clear influence on Abel Góngora's "Star Wars: Visions" short "T0-B1." Like "Astro Boy", Góngora's animation is clearly inspired by Disney, while the title of the short is a nod to Astro Boy himself: You pronounce the title like "Tobi," which is the name of the dead son that Astro Boy's creator designed him to replace.

The first anime to air on TV, "Astro Boy" ushered in the epoch of televised anime, molded by the manga's author and the father of anime himself, Osamu Tezuka. The hallmarks of anime -- big eyes, limited animation, and high drama -- became codified in the 1963 black-and-white series, which was also the first anime series exported overseas for a western audience.

Lightheartedly cartoony yet wrought with a dramatic edge, "Astro Boy" was Tezuka's conduit for commentary about prejudice and humanity. It remains powerful for its humanism and creativity, although its racist depictions of Black and Indigenous people (addressed in the 2002 manga collections released by Dark Horse) have not aged well. Both the 1963 series and its 1980 remake capture the classic corniness of the old "Twilight Zone," and while the cost-cutting animation and the wear and tear of age mark both productions, "Astro Boy" still fuels the imagination like the best of them.

Watch: Amazon Video has the English dub of the '80s series. The original 1963 pilot can be watched on YouTube.

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

Any emerging or experienced artist should relate to Yuasa's first TV series, "Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!" Released in 2020, this 12-episode slice-of-life comedy by Science SARU celebrates creativity and collaboration among inspired geeks who must balance practicality with passion. An anime-obsessed artist and her business-minded pal team up with an artistic heiress to create an anime club, dreaming up death-defying fantasies full of improbable contraptions, mechas, aircrafts, and heroines with swords. And yet, in addition to their overflowing imaginations, they must also negotiate deadlines, budgets, and their limited resources. The earworm of a theme song might call everything "easy breezy," but animation is anything but.

"Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!" shows all the pitfalls of creating anime and manga: working within limitations (too many time crunches!), keeping your audience interested, aligning with your client's interest (the Robotics Club disagrees with the team's takes on mecha), and killing your darlings (sorry, you have to cut that dance party scene you poured you soul into).

"Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!" neatly sums up all of the series on this list, uttered as an artist is enchanted by a Hayao Miyazaki movie: "You take something that's totally implausible but pass it off like it is! You take reality and then exaggerate it in a way that makes sense!"

How to Watch: You'll find "Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!" on HBO Max and Crunchyroll.

Read this next: Star Wars: Visions Characters Revealed, Refresh Your Anime Rankings

The post 15 Anime to Watch Before Watching Star Wars: Visions appeared first on /Film.

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