Ronald.phillips

The 1990s was a decade rich in cinematic quality. It may have run with the action and science fiction fare of the '80s, but the period distinguished itself with a new class of independent filmmakers, including Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Richard Linklater, and Paul Thomas Anderson.

Cinephiles, critics, and historians have pored over the decade. Peter Biskind wrote, "They lacked the cohesiveness of the movie brat generation of the 1970s... [but] it's clear that the generation of the 1990s was a movement." Still, even with books, retrospectives, and the ease of streaming, many titles from this period elude audiences both casual and committed. 

The films below represent a fairly severe cross-section of '90s cinema. Pathologies and nihilism can be found in about half of them. But there is levity, action, and existentialist spectacle here, too. What links them all together is that they are underrated '90s movies that you need to see.

I Stand Alone

Those approaching Gaspar Noe's short, potent canon are likely to start with his notorious second film, "Irreversible," rather than his 1998 debut feature, "I Stand Alone," a similarly jaded piece of work that inhabits, to quote the poster, the "bowels of France."

Deep within these bowels is a man known only as the Butcher (Philippe Nahon), a sixty-something ex-con with a dead-end job, a belligerent partner (Frankye Pain), and a worldview of festering nihilism. The Butcher drifts through life with few feelings beyond anger that remains dormant until a brutal argument leaves his partner beaten and their unborn child likely dead. With his life in tatters, the Butcher flees to the industrial fringes of Paris, where he roams the streets looking for work.

The film pins us down in this miserable scenario with the novel use of film grammar. First-person narration is a common cinematic device, but "I Stand Alone" uses it almost constantly, submerging us in the Butcher's stream of consciousness that's punctuated by jarring camera movements, crashing drum beats, and almost comically dour observations such as "It's all useless. Even children. Children don't care. Filial love doesn't exist. It's a myth ... human relations are nothing but cheap business."

It may be too unremitting for some, but "I Stand Alone" is a compelling vision of angst and misery.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

Clean, Shaven

"Clean, Shaven" is a film that experiments with the medium to depict the terrible (un)realities of schizophrenia, a condition that dogs Peter (Peter Greene), a young man caught in neuroticism, paranoia, and psychosis.

Director Lodge Kerrigan uses a range of audiovisual tics and quirks to depict Peter's condition. We hear buzzing, voices, screams, barks, and a litany of other ambient noises (real or imagined) that are derived from Peter's memory. They begin as distractions but soon mount into auditory hallucinations that cut through Peter's skull. All he can do is fall to the ground with his head in his hands or mutilate his body in search of "transmitters," which he believes to be embedded under his skin.

Peter may not be the only victim, though. As he drives in search of his daughter, it is suggested that Peter may have killed someone. However, we cannot know if he is guilty or if the crime even took place because "Clean, Shaven" is a first-person feature with the most unreliable of narrators.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

Nil By Mouth

"Trainspotting" is a grim film. It's a story of dirty needles, drug overdoses, and a dead baby. But through some combination of music and visual energy, the 1996 indie classic is also cool enough for its poster to adorn student accommodation. It did when I was at university, anyway.

"Nil by Mouth" channels similar themes from the same period, but it has never been fashionable. There is no "Cool Britannia" here, just addiction, dysfunction, and ferocious anger in the streets and council estates of South East London. It's a "kitchen sink" drama with all the trappings of Ken Loach or Mike Leigh, but "Nil by Mouth" was written and directed by Gary Oldman, who grew up in the same ends of London as characters Ray (Ray Winstone), a violent alcoholic, and Val (Kathy Burke), his long-suffering wife. Both performances are at the very peak of naturalism, and so are those of the wider cast. Ray and Val share their lives with Billy (Charlie Creed-Miles), Val's heroin-addicted brother; Janet (Laila Morse), Val and Billy's mother; and Mark (Jamie Foreman), Ray's best mate and loyal "yes man."

Harmony is possible in this dysfunctional unit, but it depends on Ray's temper, which explodes with intense violence. Honestly, you have never seen anger like this on screen, and the worst thing about Ray's behavior is that it's not isolated. It has happened before, and it will happen again. "Nil by Mouth" depicts just the latest cycle of it

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Croupier

"Croupier" has a cool after-hours ambiance that takes you through a noirish London nightscape of alleys, car parks, and the basement flat of Jack Manfred (played by Clive Owen at his insouciant best).

Jack is a struggling writer who is coolly reticent but never lost for words. His smooth and often cutting narration steers the film, putting you in the perspective of not only an observant writer but also that most inscrutable of service workers, the croupier. Challenged by writer's block and commercial publishing executives, Jack takes a job at the Golden Lion casino to lift the financial burden on his girlfriend Marion (Gina McKee). He has casual contempt for the place and the people in it, especially his boss, David (Alexander Morton), but Jack is deft at the job, and he doesn't mind the women, either.

With its mirrored walls and royal blue carpets, the casino is a gaudy contrast to the streets of London. Yet, this chintzy domain is inhabited by the same breed of night crawlers, people of vice and dubious occupation.

Soon, Jack attracts the attention of femme fatale Jani (Alex Kingston), and a heist plot unravels, but genre conventions are not what makes this film great. Rather, it is its offbeat and immersive sense of place, character, and mood.

A Shock To The System

There are "better" films I could recommend than "A Shock to the System." "One False Move" and "A Simple Plan" spring to mind. But what happened to this corporate comedy from 1990, a film with just 5.3k user votes on IMDb?

The film's premise and themes place it somewhere between "Wall Street" and "American Psycho." Graham Marshall (Michael Caine) is an advertising executive and company lifer who is about to head his division, replacing his old friend, George (John McMartin). However, with the deal all but done, Graham is passed over in favor of Bob Benham (Peter Rigert), a snide careerist who is about 10 years Graham's junior.

Dejected, Graham leaves the office early and begins his commute home to Connecticut, where he lives with his wife, Leslie (Swoosie Kurtz), the proverbial materialist. Before Graham boards the metro, he has an altercation with an aggressive homeless person, who falls onto the tracks and is killed by an arriving train.

Graham is not just relieved when he gets away with the quasi-accident — he's inspired. From now on, there will be no compromises. If someone gets in his way, Graham will kill them. Not with a gun or knife, though. That's vulgar. Instead, the executive gets creative, engineering the deaths to look like accidents. This Machiavellianism unfolds with brisk plotting, gallows humor, and satirical observations about career, money, and suburban life. It could be sharper in dialogue and bite, but "A Shock to the System" is an engaging 90-minute power trip.

Breakdown

"Breakdown" is a great American action thriller, although it doesn't quite fit the conventions of one. Jeff Taylor (Kurt Russell) is not a muscle-bound hero. He's a middle-class guy with a Ralph Lauren polo tucked into his slacks. But when his wife, Amy (Kathleen Quinlan), is kidnapped by a mysterious truck driver in the Utah desert, Jeff must do everything it takes to get her back.

The film's tagline, "It could happen to you," suggests that this is a "Straw Dogs" story with serious notions of "might is right," but "Breakdown" is more fun than that. It is a white-knuckle thriller with bad guys, adrenaline, and reversals of fortune. Admittedly, the "everyman" quality gets lost in all the explosions and gunfire, but you will gladly suspend your disbelief for an actioner of this craft, character, and sheer energy.

Aside from the peerless script and direction, "Breakdown" benefits from a great antagonist in J. T. Walsh, who is callous, shadowy, and yet disarming when he has to be. 

In The Company Of Men

Do you want to become a jaded husk of a person? If so, then please let me introduce you to Neil LaBute, the filmmaker and playwright once dubbed "American theatre's reigning misanthrope." LaBute's dim view of humanity can be found in several of his works. However, it is best represented by "In The Company of Men," a film of almost unwatchable psychological cruelty.

Middle managers Chad (Aaron Eckhart) and Howard (Matt Malloy) are in a nameless airport lounge when they get talking. Howard doesn't have strong opinions, but he's impressed by Chad's strident indignation about work and women.

Later, over drinks, Chad suggests a remedy for their bruised egos: Find a vulnerable woman, court her with as much credible romance as they can, and then cut off all contact without warning. Howard squirms at the idea but can't offer any objection beyond, "It's funny. it is. It's just way out there!" Before returning to their hotel rooms, Howard agrees to Chad's evil game. It doesn't take them long to find Christine (Stacy Edwards), a deaf colleague. Chad and Howard launch their ambushes, but the latter gets cold feet. Then, as the game reaches the final stage, Chad reveals that his psychopathic deceit is even more layered and repulsive than we realized.

"In the Company of Men" is another film that's hard to recommend in the conventional sense, but with writing and performances this queasily observant, it's required viewing for anyone interested in '90s cinema.

Killer: A Journal Of Murder

You may not have heard of him, but Charles "Carl" Panzram was one of America's worst criminals. Born in 1891, Panzram confessed to thousands of crimes, including theft, assault, rape, and murder. It may be only a matter of time before Ryan Murphy depicts Panzram's life, but he won't be the first. That distinction belongs to Tim Metcalfe, the writer and director of "Killer: A Journal of Murder."

Very few people saw "Killer" back in the autumn of 1996. Box Office Mojo shows that it earned just $82,029 worldwide. Viewership remains low to this day, with only 2.3K user votes on IMDb. That's a pity because "Killer" is an interesting true-crime film despite its modest production values.

James Woods embodies Panzram with steely menace. He's a smart man with an active mind, but he's also pathological in the extreme. Panzram was able to form positive relationships, though, and the most consequential one was with Henry Lesser (Robert Sean Leonard), an idealistic prison guard who helped Panzram write the titular journal, which was released in 1970.

The main concern of this short film is the degree of sympathy it has for its subject. In one scene, Lesser actually hugs Panzram, a man who beat a prison guard — his colleague — to death. This softness gets even worse when you skim through the actual journal, which details a scale of theft, rape, and murder that beggars belief.

Baraka

Does life ever seem small? Does it ever feel rote or banal? Well, remind yourself of the world's grandeur with "Baraka," one of the most arresting and sobering documentaries ever made.

There are no talking subjects or narration in this film. Instead, director Ron Fricke shows nature, culture, technology, and history from across the world, capturing them with a 70mm camera to the sound of Michael Stern's evocative ambient score. By the film's end, the viewer has seen Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. However, this isn't a holiday. Fricke's film is darkly thematic, comparing, for instance, the disturbing machinations of a chick factory with the frenzied grind of public transportation. We see the landmarks of human cruelty, too, namely Auschwitz and Tuol Sleng, a site of the Cambodian genocide.

"Baraka" is not the first example of the non-narrative documentary genre. Its main predecessor is "Koyaanisqatsi," which was championed by Francis Ford Coppola back in 1982. Today, it is recognized among the finest documentaries ever made, appearing on numerous "greatest" lists, including our own.

"Koyaanisqatsi" is innovative and often brilliant. (The Pruitt-Igoe sequence is masterfully haunting). But "Baraka" is superior in both pacing ("Koyaanisqatsi" takes too long to fire up) and image quality.

Gridlock'd

Tupac Shakur starred in six features before being murdered in September 1996, just four months before this film's premiere on January 31, 1997. You'd think his death would have boosted ticket sales, but the film, which co-stars Tim Roth at his '90s peak, reached a worldwide gross of just $5,571,205. I suppose that isn't a surprise, Tupac or no Tupac. Films about heroin addiction don't tend to enjoy lucrative box office returns unless that film is "Trainspotting," of course, the ground zero of dope movies.

"Gridlock'd" is similar to Danny Boyle's film in that it finds humor in opioid abuse. However, the problem for jazz musicians "Spoon" Whitmore (Tupac) and "Stretch" Rawland (Tim Roth) isn't so much the brown powder but the byzantine bureaucracy of government rehab. The men are serious about "kicking," but all the clerks have to offer them are stern faces and useless questions. They waste time even when their friend Cookie (Thandiwe Newton) is overdosing, asking for IDs, addresses, and Medicaid numbers.

Desperate, the pair resort to comically drastic measures to get themselves in the hospital so they can be safe — not only from drugs but also from a gang of criminals on their tails. It may be a grungey spectacle, but "Gridlock'd" is a neglected buddy film.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Happiness

This list is already pretty dark, so I might as well end it with "Happiness," perhaps the most transgressive American film of the 1990s. Written and directed by Todd Solondz, "Happiness" focuses on sisters Trish (Cynthia Stevenson), a successful author; Helen (Lara Flynn Boyle), a doting homemaker; and Joy (Jane Adams), a purposeless office worker. Joy may seem to be the "weak link" of her family, but none of these women are fulfilled. Helen is deeply alienated by her success, and Trish is in a sexless marriage with psychiatrist Bill Maplewood (Dylan Baker). 

A comparison to "American Beauty" isn't unreasonable at face value, but Solondz's commentary on suburban life goes deeper and much darker. Philip Seymour Hoffman shines as Allen, a slovenly sad-sack fantasist, but the real nexus is Maplewood, whose temperate demeanor belies a mind addled with mass shootings and 11-year-old boys. Bill never buys a gun, but he does find a boy, and he acts on his urges with disturbing aforethought. Bill is monstrous, but he isn't a monster. Solondz and Baker present a human being, not a bogeyman. "It's a very disturbing film," Baker told Backstage, "[but] the ability to go in and really find the depths of this character was a little releasing and actually invigorating."

The clash of taboo and humanity makes "Happiness" an unsettling experience. Other filmmakers may have tripped and created something grossly flippant, but Solondz's film remains balanced with a deft mix of humor, pathos, and narrative scope.

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

Read this next: The 15 Best '80s Comedies Ranked

The post Underrated '90s Movies That You Need to See appeared first on /Film.

Some media players come with them since their creators realize there's no reason to reinvent the wheel. But you can also download them as a standalone solution and install them yourself.

If you have installed Windows 11 on unsupported hardware, the upgrade process will be a tough task. When you try to look for an update, Windows 11 shows everything as up to date and has no option to install the 22H2 version.

Try out out the demos and livestreams of upcoming RPGs at the Steam Next Fest until February 13.

Rupert Grint is back. Mind you, he never really left, but after a decade of starring in one of the world's largest franchises, anything that follows will naturally receive less press. In fact, the "Harry Potter" actor has been pretty busy. He's spent the past several years trying his hand at a variety of roles, such as voicing Josh in the animated film "Postman Pat: The Movie," appearing as Walter Gilman in the horror anthology series "Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities," and playing a key role in M. Night Shyamalan's thriller "Knock at the Cabin." Grint even found his way to the stage, but we'll get to that a little later.

In 2019, Grint began working on "Servant," an Apple TV+ psychological horror series created by Tony Basgallop and executive produced by Shyamalan (who's also directed a handful of episodes, as has his daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan). As of this writing, "Servant" is airing its fourth and final season, so the cast and crew are actively in the public's mind. To sate some of that fun curiosity, here's why Grint admires M. Night Shyamalan's artistic process, as shared by the actor himself.

M. Night Shyamalan Lets His Actors Set The Tone

In a 2021 interview between M. Night Shyamalan and Rupert Grint, as shared by Interview Magazine, the two artists compared their respective approaches to creating art. Shyamalan described his approach as being a more theatrically centered one, meaning that he focuses on longer takes that allow the show's performers room to breathe, as if they were live onstage. To this, Grint said that:

"I've always done theater. [...] I've done the West End. I've done a bit of Broadway and I do love it. It's a different kind of craft. 'Servant' kind of bridges the gap. It does feel like a lot of the scenes in 'Servant' are very theatrical. The set is this intimate stage, so it feels very familiar."

For the curious, the professional theater credits to which Grint is referring are "Mojo" at the Harold Pinter Theatre (West End) in 2013 and "It's Only a Play" at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (Broadway) in 2014. It might have been some time since he was onstage, but he couldn't have said a more perfect thing to his "Servant" director. Shyamalan took Grint's comment and used it like a springboard to dive into the heart of his vision for their first collaboration, explaining:

"I love what you said, bridging the gap, because that's exactly what my aesthetics are. Somewhere between film and the stage, that's where I want the performances and the actors to be."

Shyamalan went on to say that he cast Lauren Ambrose as Dorothy in "Servant" because of her stage experience, and that he cast Grint as her brother because he could match her "volcano of energy and specificity." You can watch the pair in action for yourself by checking out "Servant" on Apple TV+.

Read this next: The Moments That Defined TV In 2022

The post Rupert Grint Saw Servant 'Bridging The Gap' Between Film And The Stage appeared first on /Film.

Most of us can stand to eat healthier (myself included, as I tally up how many meals I’ve had this week involving Nutella), but we often go about it the wrong way. If you find yourself hungry and tired or just constantly falling off the wagon, you might want to check whether you’re making these common mistakes.

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To succeed as a cybersecurity analyst, you need to understand the traits, values, and thought processes of hackers, along with the tools they use to launch their attacks.  During a webinar called The Hacker Mindset, a Red Team Researcher shared how you can use some of these tools for your own detection and prevention of breaches. He also demonstrated how an attack takes place using the Follina

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: Many people in the United States would like to control the information that companies can learn about them online. Yet when presented with a series of true-or-false questions about how digital devices and services track users, most Americans struggled to answer them, according to a report published (PDF) on Tuesday by the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. The report analyzed the results of a data privacy survey that included more than 2,000 adults in the United States. Very few of the respondents said they trusted the way online services handled their personal data. The survey also tested people's knowledge about how apps, websites and digital devices may amass and disclose information about people's health, TV-viewing habits and doorbell camera videos. Although many understood how companies can track their emails and website visits, a majority seemed unaware that there are only limited federal protections for the kinds of personal data that online services can collect about consumers. Seventy-seven percent of the participants got nine or fewer of the 17 true-or-false questions right, amounting to an F grade, the report said. Only one person received an A grade, for correctly answering 16 of the questions. No one answered all of them correctly. Seventy-nine percent of survey respondents said they had "little control over what marketers" could learn about them online, while 73 percent said they did not have "the time to keep up with ways to control the information that companies" had about them. "The big takeaway here is that consent is broken, totally broken,"Joseph Turow, a media studies professor at the University of Pennsylvania who was the lead author of the report, said in an interview. "The overarching idea that consent, either implicit or explicit, is the solution to this sea of data gathering is totally misguided -- and that's the bottom line." The survey results challenge a data-for-services trade-off argument that the tech industry has long used to justify consumer tracking and to forestall government limits on it: Consumers may freely use a host of convenient digital tools -- as long as they agree to allow apps, sites, ad technology and marketing analytics firms to track their online activities and employ their personal information. But the new report suggests that many Americans aren't buying into the industry bargain. Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they didn't think it was fair that a store could monitor their online activity if they logged into the retailer's Wi-Fi. And 61 percent indicated they thought it was unacceptable for a store to use their personal information to improve the services they received from the store. Only a small minority -- 18 percent -- said they did not care what companies learned about them online. "When faced with technologies that are increasingly critical for navigating modern life, users often lack a real set of alternatives and cannot reasonably forgo using these tools," Lina M. Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission, said in a speech (PDF) last year. In the talk, Ms. Khan proposed a "type of new paradigm" that could impose "substantive limits" on consumer tracking.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

OpenTTD 13.0 been released, which is "one of the largest releases we've done in several years" according to the developers. If you don't know OpenTTD, it's an open source and free fan remake of Transport Tycoon which greatly expands, polishes and modernises the beloved business sim. This latest update improves the interface further, tweaks the world generation, and more.

Read more

At last, after a long tally of staff and community polls, we are ready to proclaim the winners of our Wccftech Awards '22. These include the best games released in 2022 and the most anticipated ones coming in 2023, according to Wccftech editors and readers, respectively. For the first time, we'll provide data on exactly how many votes each nominee received.

Let's begin with the best games of 2022. FromSoftware's Elden Ring won five prizes (including best overall game from both staff and community), more than any other title. Other multi-winners of the Wccftech Awards '22 include God of War Ragnarok, Stray, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, Sifu, Total War: Warhammer III, and Gran Turismo 7; all of these games received two prizes as staff and community agreed on them winning their respective genre categories.

• Tiny Tina's Wonderlands - 5 votes (WINNER)
• Splatoon 3 - 4 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Evil West - 1 vote
• Metal: Hellsinger - 1 vote
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Extraction - 0 votes

• Tiny Tina's Wonderlands - 26% votes (WINNER)
• Evil West - 20% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Splatoon 3 - 19% votes
• Metal: Hellsinger - 19% votes
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Extraction - 16% votes

• Elden Ring - 6 votes (WINNER)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - 3 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin - 1 vote
• Weird West - 0 votes
• Star Ocean: The Divine Force - 0 votes

• Elden Ring - 81% votes (WINNER)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - 10% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Weird West - 7% votes
• Star Ocean: The Divine Force - 2% votes
• Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin - 1% votes

• God of War Ragnarok - 4 votes (WINNER)
• A Plague Tale: Requiem - 3 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Bayonetta 3 - 2 votes
• Horizon Forbidden West - 0 votes
• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga - 0 votes

• God of War Ragnarok - 54% votes (WINNER)
• Horizon Forbidden West - 21% votes (RUNNER UP)
• A Plague Tale: Requiem - 15% votes
• Bayonetta 3 - 7% votes
• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga 3%

• Martha Is Dead - 4 votes (WINNER)
• The Last of Us Part I - 3 votes (RUNNER UP)
• The Quarry - 1 vote
• Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose - 1 vote
• Dying Light 2 Stay Human - 0 votes

• The Last of Us Part I - 32% votes (WINNER)
• Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose - 27% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Dying Light 2 Stay Human - 22% votes
• The Quarry - 10% votes
• Martha Is Dead - 9% votes

 

• Pentiment - 5 votes (WINNER)
• Immortality - 3 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Return to Monkey Island - 1 vote
• As Dusk Falls - 0 votes
• Syberia: The World Before - 0 votes

• Return to Monkey Island - 36% votes (WINNER)
• As Dusk Falls - 18% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Pentiment - 18% votes
• Syberia: The World Before - 15% votes
• Immortality - 15% votes

• Stray - 5 votes (WINNER)
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land - 3 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Sonic Frontiers - 1 vote
• OlliOlli World - 0 votes
• Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series - 0 votes

• Stray - 50% votes (WINNER)
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land - 23% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Sonic Frontiers - 18% votes
• OlliOlli World - 6% votes
• Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series - 3% votes

• Sifu - 4 votes (WINNER)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge - 3 votes (RUNNER UP)
• The King of Fighters XV - 2 votes
• Persona 4 Arena Ultimax - 0 votes
• DNF Duel - 0 votes

• Sifu - 44% votes (WINNER)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge - 31% votes (RUNNER UP)
• The King of Fighters XV - 14% votes
• Persona 4 Arena Ultimax - 7% votes
• DNF Duel - 4% votes

• Tunic - 5 votes (WINNER)
• Vampire Survivors - 3 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Citizen Sleeper - 1 vote
• Dwarf Fortress - 0 votes
• Neon White - 0 votes

• Vampire Survivors - 37% votes (WINNER)
• Tunic - 23% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Dwarf Fortress - 19% votes
• Neon White - 11% votes
• Citizen Sleeper - 10% votes

• Total War: Warhammer III - 5 votes (WINNER)
• Marvel's Midnight Suns - 3 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Hardspace: Shipbreaker - 1 vote
• Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope - 0 votes
• Two Point Campus - 0 votes

• Total War: Warhammer III - 44% votes (WINNER)
• Marvel's Midnight Suns - 18% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Hardspace: Shipbreaker - 18% votes
• Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope - 1% votes
• Two Point Campus - 6% votes

• Gran Turismo 7 - 4 votes (WINNER)
• Need for Speed Unbound - 3 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Football Manager 2023 - 1 vote
• NBA 2K23 - 1 vote
• Grid Legends - 0 votes

• Gran Turismo 7 - 49% votes (WINNER)
• Need for Speed Unbound - 21% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Football Manager 2023 - 12% votes
• Grid Legends - 11% votes
• NBA 2K23 - 7% votes

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II/Warzone 2.0 & Splatoon 3 at 4 votes (TIED WINNERS)
• Elden Ring - 1 vote
• Lost Ark - 0 votes
• Multiversus - 0 votes

• Elden Ring - 38% votes (WINNER)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II/Warzone 2.0 - 37% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Lost Ark - 11% votes
• Splatoon 3 - 10% votes
• Multiversus - 4% votes

• Elden Ring - 5 votes (WINNER)
• God of War Ragnarok - 2 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Total War: Warhammer III - 1 vote
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - 1 vote
• Horizon Forbidden West - 0 votes
• A Plague Tale: Requiem - 0 votes
• The Last of Us Part I - 0 votes
• Pentiment - 0 votes
• Bayonetta 3 - 0 votes
• Gran Turismo 7 - 0 votes

• Elden Ring - 51% votes (WINNER)
• God of War Ragnarok - 22% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Horizon Forbidden West - 9% votes
• A Plague Tale Requiem - 5% votes
• The Last of Us Part I - 4% votes
• Pentiment - 3% votes
• Gran Turismo 7 - 2% votes
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - 2% votes
• Total War: Warhammer III - 2% votes
• Bayonetta 3 - 1% votes

When it comes to this year's most eagerly awaited releases, the Wccftech Awards '22 registered the Starfield hype above all with its three wins, while STALKER 2, Diablo IV, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, The Wolf Among Us 2, Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, Forza Motorsport, Street Fighter 6, Company of Heroes 3, and Hollow Knight: Silksong all won two times, signaling great synergy between the choices of Wccftech staff and readers.

Congratulations to all the winners, and see you next year for the Wccftech Awards '23!

• STALKER 2 - 6 votes (WINNER)
• Redfall - 3 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Atomic Heart - 0 votes
• Remnant 2 - 0 votes
• Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 - 0 votes

• STALKER 2 - 44% votes (WINNER)
• Atomic Heart - 23% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 - 16% votes
• Redfall - 13% votes
• Remnant 2 - 4% votes

• Starfield & FFXVI - 3 votes (TIED WINNERS)
• Baldur's Gate III - 1 vote
• Hogwarts Legacy - 1 vote
• Diablo IV - 0 votes

• Starfield - 39% votes (WINNER)
• Diablo IV - 19% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Hogwarts Legacy - 18% votes
• Baldur's Gate III - 13% votes
• Final Fantasy XVI - 11% votes

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - 5 votes (WINNER)
• Marvel's Spider-Man 2 - 3 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - 1 vote
• Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon - 0 votes
• Stellar Blade - 0 votes

• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - 31% votes (WINNER)
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - 29% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Marvel's Spider-Man 2 - 18% votes
• Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon - 12% votes
• Stellar Blade - 11% votes

 

• Alan Wake 2 - 5 votes (WINNER)
• Resident Evil 4 - 4 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Dead Space - 0 votes
• Ad Infinitum - 0 votes
• Unholy - 0 votes

• Resident Evil 4 - 36% votes (WINNER)
• Dead Space - 33% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Alan Wake 2 - 27% votes
• Ad Infinitum - 2% votes
• Unholy - 2% votes

• The Wolf Among Us 2 - 5 votes (WINNER)
• The Expanse: A Telltale Series - 2 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Star Trek: Resurgence - 1 vote
• Deliver Us Mars - 1 vote
• Season: A Letter to the Future - 0 votes
• The Wolf Among Us 2 - 33% votes (WINNER)
• Deliver Us Mars - 22% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Star Trek: Resurgence - 22% votes
• The Expanse: A Telltale Series - 20% votes
• Season: A Letter to the future - 4% votes

• Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe - 5 votes (WINNER)
• Bomb Rush Cyberfunk - 3 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Europa - 1 vote
• Convergence: A League of Legends Story - 0 votes
• SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake - 0 votes

• Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe - 38% votes (WINNER)
• SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake - 24% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Europa - 16% votes
• Bomb Rush Cyberfunk - 13% votes
• Convergence: A League of Legends Story - 9% votes

• Street Fighter 6 - 9 votes (WINNER)
• Party Animals - 0 votes
• Dye by the Blade - 0 votes
• Blazing Strike - 0 votes
• God of Rock - 0 votes

• Street Fighter 6 - 77% votes (WINNER)
• Party Animals - 8% votes
• Dye by the Blade - 5% votes
• Blazing Strike - 5% votes
• God of Rock - 5% votes

• Hollow Knight: Silksong - 5 votes (WINNER)
• Oxenfree II: The Lost Signals - 4 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Viewfinder - 0 votes
• Bomb Rush Cyberfunk - 0 votes
• Tchia - 0 votes

• Hollow Knight: Silksong - 59% votes (WINNER)
• Oxenfree II: The Lost Signals - 15% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Viewfinder - 10% votes
• Bomb Rush Cyberfunk - 10% votes
• Tchia - 6% votes

• Company of Heroes 3 - 5 votes (WINNER)
• Homeworld 3 - 3 votes (RUNNER UP)
• The Great War: Western Front - 1 vote
• Stranded: Alien Dawn - 0 votes
• Park Beyond - 0 votes

• Company of Heroes 3 - 45% votes (WINNER)
• Homeworld 3 - 41% votes (RUNNER UP)
• The Great War: Western Front - 6%
• Stranded: Alien Dawn - 5%
• Park Beyond - 3%

• Forza Motorsport - 7 votes (WINNER)
• AEW: Fight Forever - 1 vote
• Football Manager 2024 - 1 vote
• Wreckreation - 0 votes
• Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown - 0 votes

• Forza Motorsport - 66% votes (WINNER)
• Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown - 15% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Wreckreation - 8% votes
• AEW: Fight Forever - 6% votes
• Football Manager 2024 - 5% votes

• Diablo IV - 5 votes (WINNER)
• Street Fighter 6 - 3 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Blue Protocol - 1 vote
• Ark 2 - 0 votes
• Throne and Liberty - 0 votes

• Diablo IV - 61% votes (WINNER)
• Ark 2 - 13% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Street Fighter 6 - 13% votes
• Blue Protocol - 7% votes
• Throne and Liberty - 5% votes

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - 4 votes (WINNER)
• Starfield - 3 votes (RUNNER UP)
• Final Fantasy XVI - 1 vote
• Homeworld 3 - 1 vote
• STALKER 2 - 0 votes
• Marvel's Spider-Man 2 - 0 votes
• Hogwarts Legacy - 0 votes
• Baldur's Gate III - 0 votes
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - 0 votes
• Alan Wake 2 - 0 votes

• Starfield - 35% votes (WINNER)
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - 12% votes (RUNNER UP)
• Marvel's Spider-Man 2 - 9% votes
• Diablo IV - 9% votes
• STALKER 2 - 8% votes
• Hogwarts Legacy - 7% votes
• Baldur's Gate III - 7% votes
• Final Fantasy XVI - 6% votes
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - 4% votes
• Alan Wake 2 - 3% votes

The post Wccftech Awards ’22 – Best Games of 2022 and Most Anticipated of 2023 from Staff and Community by Alessio Palumbo appeared first on Wccftech.

the one by cart00nlion is just beautiful #

The latest Steam Hardware and Software Survey results are now available, showing a significant milestone for Microsoft's operating system. From a report: According to Valve, Windows 11 crossed a 30% share on Steam in January 2023. Windows 11's growth on Steam is directly related to Windows 10's decline. The latter remains the most popular OS among the gaming audience, but its market share lost 1.96 points in January 2023. Windows 10 holds approximately 63.46% of all Steam customers. Windows 11, on the other hand, gained 1.91% points. This allowed the operating system to cross the 30% mark and reach its all-time high of 30.33%. Despite being out of support since 2020 (no paid security updates since January 2023), Windows 7 still has 1.6% of all Steam users. In January 2023, its 64-bit version lost 0.06 points. Overall, 96.02% of all Steam customers use Windows (0.13). macOS is second with 2.61% (+0.13), and Linux is third with 1.38% (no changes last month).

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Science fiction movies have shared a close relationship with their literary counterparts for as long as they've existed. The first sci-fi film ever made, Georges Méliès' 1902 short "A Trip to the Moon," was inspired by two Jules Verne novels, "From the Earth to the Moon" and "Around the Moon," as well as H.G. Wells' serialized novel "The First Men in the Moon." From there, countless movies — including some of the greatest of all time — have been based on sci-fi novels, novellas, and short stories.

Let's put it this way: Without the vast cosmos of sci-fi literature to draw from, we would never have experienced "Metropolis," "Frankenstein," "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," "2001: A Space Odyssey," "A Clockwork Orange," "Solaris," "Planet of the Apes," "Blade Runner," "Total Recall," "Starship Troopers," "The Thing," "Jurassic Park," "Minority Report," "Children of Men," "Arrival," "Annihilation," "Edge of Tomorrow," and a hell of a lot more.

Clearly, books have made an invaluable contribution to the world of cinema over the last 120 years, but there are still many worlds left to explore. Here are some classic sci-fi novels that, despite being ripe for adaptation, have yet to receive their moment on the silver screen.

The Left Hand Of Darkness — Ursula K. Le Guin

"The Left Hand of Darkness" is arguably the most famous of the 19 stories that make up Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Cycle. Published in 1969, the novel is set in a future in which much of the known universe has banded together to form the Ekumen, a loose federation of worlds that provides trade, knowledge, and protection to its members. Genly Ai, a Terran envoy for the Ekumen, is sent to the planet Gethen — known to his people as "Winter" — to convince the native population to take their first steps into the wider universe.

Le Guin's book is particularly well-suited for film because it so deftly strikes so many different chords at once. In one sense, it's a political thriller, as Genly struggles to navigate Gethen's different factions and convince their leaders to join his cause. In another, it is a study of gender; the inhabitants of Gethen are ambisexual, only adopting "male" or "female" traits once a month, and Le Guin uses this quality to shine a light on our own attitudes towards masculinity and femininity. "The Left Hand of Darkness" also features a love story for the ages, as Genly and Estraven, an exiled politician, fall deep into a discordant and passionate romance. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, the back end of the novel explodes into a gripping adventure story, forcing the two lovers to race against time across Winter's northern ice sheets.

A mission for peace; a strange alien civilization; a doomed romance; a stirring third-act escapade — and it's all combined with some of the finest world-building this side of J.R.R. Tolkien. It's a marvel that "The Left Hand of Darkness" hasn't been adapted a dozen times already.

The Blazing World - Margaret Cavendish

Mary Shelley is often (and rightly) considered to be the mother of science fiction, but the genre's foundations were laid long before "Frankenstein." In 1666, English writer Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, published "The Description of a New World, Called the Blazing-World." The story follows an unnamed "Lady" who, after journeying through a passageway near the North Pole, finds herself lost in a utopian world populated by anthropomorphic beasts. Crowned Empress of the Blazing World, the Lady launches a military invasion to rescue her homeland from an existential threat. Cavendish's groundbreaking novel was actually the very loose inspiration behind "The Blazing World," a 2021 thriller about the traumatic homecoming of an American college student. Still, that movie is sorely lacking in talking animals, arctic exploration, and naval warfare, so it's hard to argue that it's a real adaptation of the original story.

It's a real shame that we've never had a proper "Blazing World" film, too. While the book isn't exactly an easy read — it's very obvious that it was written in the mid-17th century — it is a staggeringly imaginative work, one that feels bold and fantastical even by today's standards. It's also surprisingly exciting: The middle of the novel gets a little bogged down in philosophical navel-gazing and meta commentary, but the second section, in which the Empress clothes herself in bejeweled robes and leads her golden submarines to the shores of Europe, is a genuine thrill. Give it to Guillermo Del Toro and watch the awards pile up.

The Sirens Of Titan — Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut's sophomore novel is considered by many (and by "many," I mean "me") to be the finest work of sci-fi comedy ever made. Released in 1959, "The Sirens of Titan" revolves around Malachi Constant, an ultra-wealthy and incredibly fortuitous businessman who is given a bizarre prophecy by an omniscient space explorer. During his fruitless attempt to flee his fate, Constant is caught up in a Martian invasion of Earth, the establishment of a global religion, and a final, devastating journey to Titan itself.

"The Sirens of Titan" tackles a number of heavy themes across its 300-or-so page count, from the nature of free will to the meaning of life itself, but what really strikes you is just how much fun it all is. Vonnegut's ability to balance the hilarious with the heartbreaking is beyond compare, and his uncanny knack for clever dialogue and absurdist humor could, in the hands of a capable screenwriter and director, make for a truly wonderful sci-fi movie.

It does bear mentioning that we've come tantalizingly close to a "Sirens of Titan" adaptation before. Back in 2017, Variety reported that "Community" and "Rick & Morty" creator Dan Harmon had been hired to develop a TV series based on Vonnegut's book. He was still writing scripts for the show during a GQ interview in 2018, but nothing has been said about it since then. For now, it seems, the adventures of Malachi Constant will remain confined to the page. What a shame.

We — Yevgeny Zamyatin

A number of dystopian sci-fi movies have come from books. The most famous, of course, is "Nineteen Eighty-Four," Michael Radford's adaptation of the George Orwell classic, but countless others exist too, including "The Road," "Children of Men," and the "Hunger Games" franchise. "We," the 1921 novel by Yevgeny Zamyatin, might not be as recognizable as some of those names, but the novel's influence on the genre is undeniable: Orwell himself believed that it inspired Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World," and he lifted more than a few of its beats for his own story.

"We" is about D-503, a spacecraft engineer who lives in the One State, an authoritarian dystopia defined by mass surveillance, total subservience, and the worship of logic above all. When D-503 meets I-330, a charming rebel who claims to be part of an underground movement to overthrow the One State's dictator, he finds himself torn between his duty and his growing desire for freedom. If this all seems a little derivative, know that it's only because Zamyatin did it before anyone else — Kurt Vonnegut once said that, in writing his own dystopian novel, "Player Piano," that he "cheerfully ripped off the plot of 'Brave New World,' whose plot had been cheerfully ripped off from Yevgeny Zamyatin's 'We.'"

While we've seen many adaptations of the stories that "We" influenced, Hollywood has yet to breathe new life into the original. (A Russian version was supposed to release in 2021, but seemingly has yet to see the light of day.) As events in the real world become ever more, uh, interesting, works such as "Nineteen Eighty-Four" and "Brave New World" are being brought closer to the fore of the cultural zeitgeist. Why not go back to where it all began?

Kindred — Octavia E. Butler

Thanks to the efforts of creators like Jordan Peele, Nia DaCosta, and Misha Green, Black-led horror movies and shows have experienced something of a boom in recent years. Aside from a few noteworthy projects, however — "Black Panther," maybe, or "Sorry to Bother You" — Black science fiction has yet to find much mainstream success at the movies. This is a particular shame, since Black authors have been producing fantastic sci-fi literature since the advent of the genre.

Take "Kindred," for example. Written by legendary sci-fi author Octavia E. Butler, "Kindred" is rooted firmly in the history of Black America. The story follows Dana, a young writer who begins to inexplicably flit between modern day Los Angeles and a Maryland plantation in the 1800s. Over time, Dana's trips to the past become longer, forcing her to reckon with the brutality of slavery and its impact on her ancestors.

By depicting slavery through the eyes of a contemporary protagonist, "Kindred" offers a unique take on a story that has rarely been done justice on the silver screen, and Butler's complex portrayal of slave communities is remarkable even today. It's fair to say that faithfully adapting Butler's novel into a feature would be difficult (Hulu made a disappointing attempt at a TV series in 2022), but, if someone succeeded, it would almost certainly be a stunning success — and could kick-start the golden age that Black sci-fi cinema deserves.

The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe — Douglas Adams

In 2005, Garth Jennings directed an adaptation of Douglas Adams' iconic sci-fi novel, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Although many critics would disagree, I'm actually a big fan of the "Hitchhiker's Guide" movie — despite making a few key changes to the plot of the book, it's absolutely stuffed with heart and feels Adamsian to its core (probably because he co-wrote the screenplay prior to his death). Sadly, despite ending on a sequel hook, a second installment never materialized; in 2007, Martin Freeman told MTV that the first simply didn't do well enough to warrant another.

It's too bad, too, because "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" is just as funny and irreverent as "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." In the second installment in the five-book series, Zaphod Beeblebrox and Marvin the Paranoid Android set out to meet the Ruler of the Universe, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect journey to prehistoric Earth, and the whole gang visits the eponymous restaurant, where diners are able to witness the destruction of the universe itself. It's all deeply weird — weirder even than "Hitchhiker's Guide," though not nearly as absurd as the subsequent books in the franchise.

Honestly, I'm not sure how well "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" would translate to the screen. Certain aspects were adapted into the superb "Hitchhiker's Guide" TV show from the early '80s and the radio series that preceded it, but in those cases the story acted more as a middle chapter in a larger narrative. Could anyone actually pull off a straight, standalone adaptation? Maybe, maybe not. All I know is that the original 2005 movie absolutely deserves a sequel.

Downbelow Station — C.J. Cherryh

"Downbelow Station" is part of C.J. Cherryh's epic Alliance-Union universe, a series of 27 novels and seven short story anthologies that detail the conflict between a private corporation called the Earth Company, the trade confederacy known as the Alliance, and the Union, a rebel government based on the distant world of Cyteen. Published in 1981, the first novel in the saga depicts the final days of the war as experienced by the denizens of a space station orbiting Pell's World, which the residents call "Downbelow."

To say that Cherryh's universe is complex would be an understatement. Beneath the dense world-building and politicking that drives "Downbelow Station," however, you'll find a sprawling human drama played out by a compelling cast of characters. That's the novel's brilliance, really: The reality of this cosmic war always feels intimate, and the people affected by it — whether they're soldiers, refugees, or otherwise — are fully-realized and believable. Nevertheless, it all leads towards a spectacular climax filled with betrayal and destruction, one that justifies the slower first half and then some.

It's easy to imagine "Downbelow Station" as a kind of "Game of Thrones"-style streaming series, but it's arguably just as suited to the movies. A film adaptation could easily stand as a tense and claustrophobic one-off about the social trauma wrought by war, or it could play into the space opera angle, kick up the action, and spark a whole franchise. Either way, the best aspects of Cherry's novel would work marvelously in cinema.

The Drowned World — J.G. Ballard

Back in 2016, Ben Wheatley brought J.G. Ballard's most famous sci-fi book, "High Rise," to the big screen. Despite that movie being genuinely pretty great, I would argue that he chose the wrong story. The author's second novel, 1962's "The Drowned World," is a striking and strangely beautiful portrayal of an environmental post-apocalypse, one that might have as much of an impact on a 21st century audience as it would a 20th century reader.

Set in London in the 22nd century, "The Drowned World" takes place long after an array of solar storms have played havoc with the Earth's ionosphere, leading to rapid global warming and flooding most of the planet. Dr. Robert Kerans, a scientist tasked with studying the prehistoric creatures and plants that have emerged in the sunken city, begins to dream of ancient lagoons, giant beasts, and an ever-thrumming sun — and soon finds that his companions are experiencing the same visions. Kerans' regression into his biological roots only becomes more complicated by the arrival of Strangman, the terrifying leader of a band of pirates and, if you ask me, one of the genre's most underrated villains.

In "The Drowned World," Ballard weaves a vision of the future that feels so utterly oppressive that it's almost hypnotic, rife with abandoned skyscrapers and giant lizards; visually, it could give any sci-fi classic a run for its money. That's to say nothing of the story's focus on climate, too, which would no doubt resonate in a world that is, if not quite drowned, certainly getting there. Few literary adaptations would feel more timely.

The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein

Published in 1966, Robert A. Heinlein's "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" tells the tale of a revolutionary war waged against Earth by a lunar colony. Guided by a sentient supercomputer named Mike, the so-called "Loonies" declare independence from their masters after realizing that the wheat tributes they send to Earth will eventually lead to the collapse of their burgeoning civilization. The leaders of the uprising, Mannie, Wyoh, and Prof, subsequently find themselves in a world of intrigue and oppression.

Above all, "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" is a careful examination of the politics of rebellion. Heinlein tackles many subjects in the novel, from gender relations to economics, and spends a good deal of time opining on each. This is not why it would make for such a good film, though — in fact, I would say any movie adaptation would do well to cut most of that out. No, "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" earns its place on this list because the basic premise — moon-people build society, Earth oppresses them, war breaks out — holds so much potential. As such, it really doesn't need to be faithful to the original story; simply hire a bunch of A-listers, throw half the budget into pyrotechnics, and let the good times roll.

That said, this is also another book we can chalk up as a near-miss in Hollywood. Back in 2015, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Bryan Singer had been signed on to direct a movie adaptation of Heinlein's novel, titled "Uprising." Considering Singer's well-deserved fall from grace in recent years, though, this is probably another project that won't be arriving in theaters any time soon.

The Long Tomorrow — Leigh Brackett

Leigh Brackett was no stranger to Hollywood. Once described by Gizmodo as the "Queen of the Space Opera," Brackett's name is best known to cinephiles as an early contributor to the screenplay of "The Empire Strikes Back." She was an author first and foremost, however, and her 1955 novel "The Long Tomorrow" is one of her definitive sci-fi works.

"The Long Tomorrow" takes place in a world ravaged by nuclear war. In the aftermath, the few survivors have developed an innate hatred of technology, and the gap left by the absence of modernity has been filled by religious fundamentalism. The story follows two rebellious teenagers, Len and Esau, who set out to find Bartorstown, a distant community that is said to wield the power of old technology. Aside from the obvious science-versus-religion motif, there's a kind of post-apocalyptic Mark Twain vibe to "The Long Tomorrow," albeit with a healthy dash of "The Road" mixed in for good measure.

It's unlikely that a cinematic adaptation of Brackett's novel would become a smash-hit blockbuster, but the world of "The Long Tomorrow" is so captivating — and the themes so familiar even today — that the opportunity is simply too good to pass up.

Read this next: Sci-Fi Box Office Bombs That Deserve A Second Chance

The post 10 classic sci-fi novels that need to be adapted into movies appeared first on /Film.

The social network's owner Elon Musk says Twitter is tweaking a policy against showing blood in profile pictures.

It was recently discovered that the original DOOM supported multiple monitors, and the way it does it explains why it took so long to figure it out.  The support only exists in…

This piece was first published by TIME Magazine, in their Ideas section, as Amid Musk’s Chaotic Reign at Twitter, Our Digital History Is at Risk. My thanks to the wonderful team at Time for their editorial and other assistance.

As Twitter has entered the Musk era, many people are leaving the platform or rethinking its role in their lives. Whether they join another platform like Mastodon (as I have) or continue on at Twitter, the instability occasioned by Twitter’s change in ownership has revealed an underlying instability in our digital information ecosystem. 

Many have now seen how, when someone deletes their Twitter account, their profile, their tweets, even their direct messages, disappear. According to the MIT Technology Review, around a million people have left so far, and all of this information has left the platform along with them. The mass exodus from Twitter and the accompanying loss of information, while concerning in its own right, shows something fundamental about the construction of our digital information ecosystem:  Information that was once readily available to you—that even seemed to belong to you—can disappear in a moment. 

Losing access to information of private importance is surely concerning, but the situation is more worrying when we consider the role that digital networks play in our world today. Governments make official pronouncements online. Politicians campaign online. Writers and artists find audiences for their work and a place for their voice. Protest movements find traction and fellow travelers.  And, of course, Twitter was a primary publishing platform of a certain U.S. president. 

If Twitter were to fail entirely, all of this information could disappear from their site in an instant. This is an important part of our history. Shouldn’t we be trying to preserve it?

I’ve been working on these kinds of questions, and building solutions to some of them, for a long time. That’s part of why, over 25 years ago, I founded the Internet Archive. You may have heard of our “Wayback Machine,” a free service anyone can use to view archived web pages from the mid-1990’s to the present. This archive of the web has been built in collaboration with over a thousand libraries around the world, and it holds hundreds of billions of archived webpages today–including those presidential tweets (and many others). In addition, we’ve been preserving all kinds of important cultural artifacts in digital form: books, television news, government records, early sound and film collections, and much more. 

The scale and scope of the Internet Archive can give it the appearance of something unique, but we are simply doing the work that libraries and archives have always done: Preserving and providing access to knowledge and cultural heritage. For thousands of years, libraries and archives have provided this important public service. I started the Internet Archive because I strongly believed that this work needed to continue in digital form and into the digital age. 

While we have had many successes, it has not been easy. Like the record labels, many book publishers  didn’t know what to make of the internet at first, but now they see new opportunities for financial gain. Platforms, too, tend to put their commercial interests first. Don’t get me wrong: Publishers and platforms continue to play an important role in bringing the work of creators to market, and sometimes assist in the preservation task. But companies close, and change hands, and their commercial interests can cut against preservation and other important public benefits. 

Traditionally, libraries and archives filled this gap. But in the digital world, law and technology make their job increasingly difficult. For example, while a library could always simply buy a physical book on the open market in order to preserve it on their shelves, many publishers and platforms try to stop libraries from preserving information digitally. They may even use technical and legal measures to prevent libraries from doing so. While we strongly believe that fair use law enables libraries to perform traditional functions like preservation and lending in the digital environment, many publishers disagree, going so far as to sue libraries to stop them from doing so. 

We should not accept this state of affairs. Free societies need access to history, unaltered by changing corporate or political interests. This is the role that libraries have played and need to keep playing. This brings us back to Twitter.

In 2010, Twitter had the tremendous foresight of engaging in a partnership with the Library of Congress to preserve old tweets. At the time, the Library of Congress had been tasked by Congress “to establish a national digital information infrastructure and preservation program.” It appeared that government and private industry were working together in search of a solution to the digital preservation problem, and that Twitter was leading the way.  

It was not long before the situation broke down. In 2011, the Library of Congress issued a report noting the need for “legal and regulatory changes that would recognize the broad public interest in long-term access to digital content,” as well as the fact that “most libraries and archives cannot support under current funding” the necessary digital preservation infrastructure.”  But no legal and regulatory changes have been forthcoming, and even before the 2011 report,  Congress pulled tens of millions of dollars out of the preservation program. In these circumstances, it is perhaps unsurprising that, by 2017, the Library of Congress had ceased preserving most old tweets, and the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) is no longer an active program at the Library of Congress. Furthermore, it is not clear whether Twitter’s new ownership will take further steps of its own to address the situation. 

Whatever Musk does, the preservation of our digital cultural heritage should not have to rely on the beneficence of one man. We need to empower libraries by ensuring that they have the same rights with respect to digital materials that they have in the physical world. Whether that means archiving old tweets, lending books digitally, or even something as exciting (to me!) as 21st century interlibrary loan, what’s important is that we have a nationwide strategy for solving the technical and legal hurdles to getting this done. 

The post Our Digital History Is at Risk appeared first on Internet Archive Blogs.

The Force Engine is a free and open source game engine reimplementation for Star Wars Dark Forces, with upcoming support of Outlaws. The latest release version 1.08 adds Linux support!

A new Fallout 4 mod adds a ton of content to Bethesda's 2015 open world RPG, so much so that it is comparable to a new DLC. Called The Fens Sheriff's Department (FSR), it is a sequel to the NexusMods mod of the month, "The Bleachers: A Diamond City Story".

The developers of this Fallout 4 mod boast over 50 new quests featuring more than 17,500 voiced lines and even a brand-new ending to the vanilla game. You'll need all the released Fallout 4 DLCs to install it.

For more info on The Fens Sheriff's Department Fallout 4 mod, keep reading for the official overview. As a reminder, Amazon is producing a Fallout TV series from Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, starring Walton Goggins, Ella Purnell, Kyle MacLachlan, and Moises Arias, among others.

The story starts right where the prequel left off and is driven by events that happen both during the prequel and before it. Like The Bleachers, the player is no longer the center of attention. You will not be made General on day one or given stewardship of a multigenerational subterranean scientific ethical disaster on day 4. This is not the player's story, this is the player's friends' story.

This mod seeks to add more dimension to the citizens of Diamond City without interrupting their normal goings-on and their vanilla residents. That required new NPCs, which required new places for them to live... So, the bleacher seats of Diamond City are now occupied from center field to right field by two residential districts, a commercial district, two restaurants, and The Fens Sheriff's Department, populated by 15 uniquely named and voiced NPCs.

What is the Fens Sheriff's Department organization? Instead of Diamond City Security nervously patrolling outside the wall, they have been replaced with the Fens Sheriff's Department, a diverse organization, battle-hardened and with the military experience you'd come to expect from a paramilitary group whose job description is 'regular urban gun fights'. They patrol in potent groups now, pushing further out into the Fens as they defeat the enemies populating the area. They have no illusions about what it takes to survive in this world - they are ruthless to their enemies and fiercely loyal to one another. Along with that attitude and skill came the opportunity for this organization to give Diamond City a chance to 'win the faction wars' so-to-speak.

The new ending to the game: The FSD is not particularly concerned with the trial and tribulations of the Sole Survivor - they have much bigger things to worry about. They, and Diamond City, are in an existential fight against The Institute, and the extinction of human life in The Commonwealth, and eventually everywhere as far as they're concerned, is at stake. Their primary concern is Diamond City's security. In line with these priorities, the FSD will, one way or another, remove any vanilla faction hostile to Diamond City's interests.

The post Fallout 4 Mod Adds a DLC Worth of New Content, Including a New Ending by Alessio Palumbo appeared first on Wccftech.

Hitman 3 became Hitman: World of Assassination, and with this new name change came the addition of Freelancer Mode, which allows players to take on a new role in Agent 47's history. This new gameplay mode essentially acts as a whole new game in which players enter a roguelike mode where freedom is the main concept.

For a while, we've had glimpses of what the game mode would look like. Some players were even able to participate in the Closed Technical Test, which allowed the developers at IO Interactive to implement several changes to the mode based on feedback. So, after all is said and done, what does this new Freelancer Mode bring to the table, and is it worth playing? Let's find out.

In Freelancer mode, players will be faced with the task of taking down several criminal Syndicates through a variety of campaigns. The primary objective is to identify each of the Syndicate members and then finish things off by tracking and taking down the Syndicate leader in a Showdown. Each successful mission gives you a payout of this mode's currency, known as Merces, allowing you to purchase weapons and freelancer tools to aid you in your mission.

Oh, yeah, did I forget to mention that Freelancer Mode also completely cleans you out? No longer will you be able to engage in missions with whatever weapons and tools you want. Instead, you have to go and find these weapons and tools inside the maps as you slay your targets or buy them through the newly introduced Suppliers, who will take your hard-earned Merces and give you some nice weapons such as Sniper Rifles or Pistols and SMGs.

This approach, in and of itself, brings a completely new approach to the way players engage with Hitman. You have to pull off successful missions to earn more Merces and, subsequently, completely gather the weapons and tools for your arsenal. However, there's also one more caveat that needs to be noted. If you ever fail the mission (either by the target escaping or dying) you will lose whatever gear you brought alongside a portion of your Merces.

What starts as a rather simple mission structure for Hitman: World of Assassination becomes a test in which players must juggle a risk vs. reward approach. Each campaign gives players a wide variety of missions that have different requirements to be fulfilled. Of course, you will need to pick the missions that suit your current inventory or use your Merces to buy the items you need to accomplish the mission.

The game doesn't leave you completely naked, though. Each of the maps will include a variety of boxes that can home a random assortment of items. You can get useful tools such as noisemakers and some poisons to even weapons of varying rarities. If you're lucky, you might even find some elusive weapons.

If you accomplish each of the campaign's missions, you're also rewarded with one of three random Freelancer Tools, which you can take with you to your next mission. Once you complete the campaign and take down the leader of the Syndicate, you'll be awarded a random weapon that will be available to you permanently (until you lose it by failing a mission, of course).

There is one more aspect that I neglected to mention about this, which might become one of the worst punishments that the game will have to offer. If you end up losing the campaign, you will also lose all your Freelancer Tools. In addition, you will also lose your progress over the other campaigns and will be forced to start from scratch.

There are two ways to reach this failure state. The first occurs if you die during a Showdown mission or the target escapes. The second occurs if you fail a mission in a High Alert stage. When you fail a mission, the Syndicate will go under High Alert, placing more guards and hazards along the way and making your way to the target a whole lot harder.

You don't necessarily have to fail a mission for a High Alert mission to show up, however. As you progress through various campaigns, each stage will become harder as you go along. However, as an offset to this issue, you will also begin to receive better Merces payouts for the trouble.

Suppose all of this, alongside the additional objectives that pop up whenever you pick a mission, isn't enough for you. In that case, you can challenge yourself with the Freelancer Mode's Prestige Objectives, which allow you to pick one of three different missions that reward you with a big payout. While completing these additional objectives is optional, it's satisfying to see all the missions marked down and letting the cash flow in so you can buy much better weapons.

All this is done to increase your Mastery level in the Freelancer mode. As you gain more levels, you will be able to expand your safehouse and gain access to various different places and furniture decorations. Thus, you'll be able to give 47 a place he can call home. I won't mince words here; this is definitely the best part of the whole Freelancer experience, as you can see 47 take on the sights of the beautiful house he lives in while he does various other activities like fishing or maintaining his garden.

As you expand your safehouse, you'll also be able to access various other hidden weapons, which will be refreshed every time you come back from a mission. That way, you will always have access to weapons, fiber wires, and even homemade explosives/poisons regardless of whether or not you fail your current mission and lose all your weapons and Freelancer tools.

The safehouse is a fun area to explore in and of itself. Especially because you get invaded by this sense of loneliness as 47 does these activities. While Diana Burnwood accompanies him, you can only hear her voice whenever she gives you a mission briefing. Other than that, 47 will always be alone, exploring the nice home he lives in and making the most out of it. There's no longer any organization to work for or some plot about one of his brothers. This time, it's all about 47 and his own story in the world of assassination.

From all I've been saying thus far, you'd think I'd be ready to call this mode an excellent way to expand the limits of the World of Assassination. Unfortunately, Freelancer Mode has a myriad of issues that can even turn off some of the game's most hardened veterans. This game mode leaves me questioning, at times, whether or not it was even playtested before it was released.

Let's start with the easy stuff. This game mode is riddled with bugs affecting performance and even the game's stability in general, from framedrops and stutters in areas where the game never struggled for me before (looking at you, Chonqing) to NPCs gaining the ability to walk through the air and summoning enforcers as soon as they are killed as if it were Cyberpunk 2077 all over again.

On one occasion, which I wish I were recording, I was playing through the game like normal in Chonqing, and, out of nowhere, the scooters in the parking lot near the arcade proceeded to spontaneously combust, leaving me dead and losing my precious Collector's Sieker Gun and Striker for no apparent reason. Even the safehouse isn't safe (hehe) from these issues, as one of the places you can redecorate has a spot that entirely softlocks you from doing anything at all, forcing you to restart the whole mode entirely.

Don't get me started on the spawn points, either. Freelancer mode picks a random spawning point whenever you begin a mission. Sometimes they can be the very first spawn point, allowing you to start your mission as you normally would in any other run in the vanilla game, or you could be put in a spawning point where you're surrounded by a bunch of enforcers, leaving you in a spot where you'll be forced to fight off significant opposition before you can even start doing your mission.

I'll grant the mode that this is an issue that extends to the vanilla game as well. But, in the vanilla mode, you were at least able to spawn with a disguise so that you were able to play without the worry of being here. In Freelancer, you have to either wait for the guards to go away, take cover if you are pretty much surrounded by guards and bring heavy weaponry with you, or get escorted out of the building due to trespassing. I know for a fact that some Hitman players wouldn't want to deal with that in the first place.

Another aspect that I neglected to mention about the mission structure of Freelancer is that, after clearing the first set of Syndicates, you'll be able to tackle what's known as Hardcore Mode. If you're going to play Freelancer, for the love of god, don't pick Hardcore Mode. This mode is where the bugs and glitches that this game mode has become the most apparent, no thanks to the fact that maps are set to the hardest possible difficulty (using NPC AI from the vanilla Hitman Master difficulty).

Hardcore also makes sub-missions mandatory, meaning that you have to complete those AND the Prestige Objective of your choice if you want the mission to be successful. On top of this, you will also no longer be able to see lootable boxes or couriers on the map, which means that these resources will become way harder to find unless you rely purely on their specific sound cues.

The worst part about all of this is definitely the way some Prestige Objectives can pop up that completely contradict the objectives set in your main mission. The most egregious of these is when I got assigned a mission in which I had to take down six guards and the target with Perfect Shooter (never miss your shots/only headshots), but then my choice of Prestige Objective was a choice between getting Melee Kills, Silent Assassin - No Firearms, and Open Safe - Explosion in a stage that doesn't even have a safe in it.

I was lucky that the mission took place in Whittleton Creek, a place that essentially provides a lot of Melee weapons. Otherwise, I would've been screwed out of this mission. I also think this is the best time to mention that this review was done in conjunction with my friend and other fellow Hitman enthusiast, Legon Avannor. You probably remember seeing him in Perish. We experienced Hardcore Mode and were exposed to the same degree of pain. Kudos to him for being able to stomach and complete a full run of the mode, though. Not like I'm left without my own highlights, either.

2 of 9

All of this added pain builds up to... Nothing, really, as the payouts you get from clearing the missions aren't any different from the normal mode. In addition, clearing stages in Hardcore doesn't even award you with any other weapons that you wouldn't get in the normal Freelancer mode. Did I mention that Hardcore mode also puts every mission in High Alert, meaning that if you fail it, you have to start all the way over from scratch?

I think the best way I can summarize the number of issues that Hitman Freelancer Mode has is with the second screenshot that you can see above. Look at how in the Instinct mode, you can see two outlines that say there are no enforcers nearby, and then in the minimap, you not only see there are quite a lot more NPCs around 47, but also they are all enforcers except for one, a guy who is a civilian anyway.

I don't buy IO Interactive's reasoning about how they removed the penalty in Freelancer mode due to "accessibility for players who have blackouts." I firmly believe that the reason why there was no penalty introduced in the first place, players would be incredibly mad at them because a lot of hardcore players would have to resort to Alt+F4ing the game to get one chance at getting each campaign done in this mode.

But even then, all of these issues and bugs and glitches extend to the normal mode anyway. The appearance of enforcers, the random spawn points, the horrible NPC and objective placement, which can spawn a target either right next to you or at the other end of the map inside of a hostile area full of enforcers, and everything else I mentioned thus far, and you'll end up losing your weaponry and freelancer tools more often than you might expect.

Hitman Freelancer Mode is great as a concept but has faltered quite a lot in its execution. It's not the worst experience I've had in the world of assassination (hi, Colorado!), but it has left me with quite a sour taste. This is even odder when you consider that they had a Closed Technical Test and made a big deal about picking up feedback from Hitman player data and metrics.

So, why is this game mode the way it is with such a rough level of polish? IO Interactive addressed a few things, such as being able to see which Missions had a safe in them and being able to switch your Prestige Objective so... What gives?

Freelancer Mode is currently available for free for all the owners of Hitman: World of Assassination. As such, I can't be too harsh against the game mode. After all, it does accomplish its objective of bringing a huge degree of liberty for Hitman players alongside a new long-term objective that doesn't miss the point of the original game. This feels like the appropriate evolution for Hitman; it just needs to have a lot more care thrown its way, which might come in future updates.

That isn't to mention that I also had my degree of fun while playing Freelancer. Sometimes, I even had more fun in this mode than in any other main modes in Hitman. Ultimately, it's free, so you can try it out yourself. I'll go back to my safehouse and do some fishing now.

The post Hitman: World of Assassination Freelancer Mode Review – A Flawed New Endeavor by Ule Lopez appeared first on Wccftech.

The first-ever Linux variant of the Clop ransomware has been detected in the wild, but with a faulty encryption algorithm that has made it possible to reverse engineer the process. "The ELF executable contains a flawed encryption algorithm making it possible to decrypt locked files without paying the ransom," SentinelOne researcher Antonis Terefos said in a report shared with The Hacker News.

With cyberattacks around the world escalating rapidly, insurance companies are ramping up the requirements to qualify for a cyber insurance policy. Ransomware attacks were up 80% last year, prompting underwriters to put in place a number of new provisions designed to prevent ransomware and stem the record number of claims. Among these are a mandate to enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA)

Episode 3 of the popular adaptation saw a touching showcase of Bill and Frank’s relationship, which has prompted fans to resurface the old debate asking if Joel is gay or not in the franchise, and we explore the possibilities alongside previewing episode 5.

Episode 4, titled Please Hold My Hand, saw the arrival of Melanie Lynskey’s antagonist, Kathleen, in Kansas City, while she was searching for Henry before Joel and Ellie stumbled into the Hunters’ territory.

Created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for HBO and based on the 2013 video game of the same name by Naughty Dog, The Last of Us series follows smuggler Joel who must escort teenager Ellie across a post-apocalyptic America ridden with infected creatures.

• MEET: Meet Jeffrey Pierce, a veteran in The Last of Us franchise

Exploring if Joel is gay or bisexual in The Last of Us franchise

While Joel has never been referred to as gay or bisexual in the video game, nor confirmed to be by the source material’s director, fans have noticed a few glaring clues that may hint at the protagonist’s preference.

We know that he was married to Sarah’s mother, but the pair separated, and part of the fandom wondered if this had anything to do with Joel coming out.

Joel’s relationship with Tess is an interesting one to navigate. There’s a clear closeness between them but we never see anything romantic happen between them. The pair share a bed in HBO’s adaptation, but that could just be a sign of good friendship or companionship at the end of the world.

Others have pointed out Bill’s remark to Joel, asking “Trouble in paradise?”, which seems to suggest he was in a relationship with Tess.

Tess and Joel were a couple in the game too. When bill asks for Tess and says to Joel "problems in paradise?", That's says it all

— Jonathan (@Jonatokun) February 1, 2023

Some fans also believe that Joel may have traded sexual favors for the loot he got from smugglers in the QZ, however, that could also come from a mindset of surviving rather than anything else.

For now, Joel is considerably shut down after the loss he has suffered, in both the game and the HBO series, which may be the reason behind his lack of intimacy with anybody.

HBO amplified the video game’s diversity

HBO’s adaptation of the source material developed Bill and Frank’s ambiguous relationship from the video game, which blossomed into an emotional third episode for the show.

It was hinted at in Naughty Dog’s first game that Bill was gay, however, a romantic relationship with Frank was never aired.

Ellie, however, is known to be gay in the source material, first sharing a kiss with Riley when she was younger and later forming romantic involvement with Dina in The Last of Us Part II.

Fans learning about the story through the adaptation alone know about Joel’s previous marriage and his connection to Tess, but viewers will have to wait and see if HBO decides to take Joel’s preference in another direction.

• LISTEN: Lotte Kestner serenades viewers at the end of HBO’s The Last of Us episode 4

The Last of Us episode 5 preview

The Last of Us episode 5, which is yet to receive a title, is scheduled to release on Sunday, February 12, 2023, on HBO and HBO Max.

The episode will debut at Midnight PT in the United States, however, fans watching in the UK can watch episode 2 at 2 am GMT on Monday, January 23, 2023.

Episode 5 will see riots break out across Kansas City amidst Kathleen’s search for Henry and Sam, while Joel and Ellie unite with them elsewhere.

The Last of Us episode guide and release schedule lets you know when every episode airs, along with titles as they are announced.

By Jo Craig – jo.craig@grv.media

The Last of Us is now showing on HBO and HBO Max.

The post The Last of Us fans believe Joel's relationship with Tess debunks gay hints appeared first on ForeverGeek.

Fans of the source material were delighted to see HBO’s inclusion of Ellie’s book of puns, ‘No Pun Intended,’ and we explain the scarecrow joke in case anyone needs it, provide a preview for episode 5 and confirm how many episodes are left in season 1. 

Episode 4, titled Please Hold my Hand, ended with Joel and Ellie meeting Henry and Sam, while the four of them hid from Kathleen and the Hunters.

Created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for HBO and based on the 2013 video game of the same name by Naughty Dog, The Last of Us series follows smuggler Joel who must escort teenager Ellie across a post-apocalyptic America ridden with infected creatures.

• MORE: HBO’s The Last of Us replaces Joel and Ellie’s Pittsburgh chapter with Kansas City

Ellie’s scarecrow joke explained

During an early scene of the series in episode 4, Joel and Ellie are sleeping outside, and just as Joel is trying to sleep, Ellie asks:

“Why did the scarecrow get an award?”

To Ellie’s shock, Joel replies to the joke with the right answer: “Because he was outstanding in his field.”

The joke refers to a scarecrow, which is a mannequin placed in farmers’ fields used to stop birds from eating the crops.

In the joke’s case, a “field” can also refer to someone’s area of expertise, combined with the adjective “outstanding” used as a double meaning for “out standing.”

Since the UK’s streaming platform, Sky Go, doesn’t have subtitles, there’s a chance some viewers may have missed Joel’s answer to the joke due to his slight mumbling.

the last of us shows us how bad things have gotten. i asked my friend “why did the scarecrow win an award?” and he just stared at me blankly. u can’t do shit like that anymore no one can take a joke

— lily (@bodhiLily) February 7, 2023

• MORE: HBO’s The Last of Us based Kathleen’s Kansas hostiles on the game’s Hunters

The Last of Us episode 5 preview

The Last of Us episode 5, which is yet to receive a title, is scheduled to release on Sunday, February 12, 2023, on HBO and HBO Max.

The episode will debut at Midnight PT in the United States, however, fans watching in the UK can watch episode 2 at 2 am GMT on Monday, January 23, 2023.

Episode 5 will see riots break out across Kansas City amidst Kathleen’s search for Henry and Sam, while Joel and Ellie unite with them elsewhere.

The Last of Us episode guide and release schedule lets you know when every episode airs, along with titles as they are announced.

By Jo Craig – jo.craig@grv.media

The Last of Us is now showing on HBO and HBO Max.

The post Ellie's scarecrow joke in HBO's The Last of Us has gone over some viewers' heads appeared first on ForeverGeek.

Episode 4 of HBO’s The Last of Us was packed full of pun-tastic humor from Ellie so let’s take a look at all of the puns said in the episode plus all of the puns still to come.

HBO’s The Last of Us is already almost halfway through its first season and so far, it’s been jam-packed with death, love, and survival. There usually isn’t much to laugh about when you’re knee-deep in the post-apocalypse, especially with horrific infected around every corner and humans wanting to kill you. But thankfully, Ellie’s humor brings a much-needed light to the grim and dark world with her pun book.

Let’s look at all the puns from episode 4 of HBO’s The Last of Us and other puns and jokes from the game that could be making an appearance.

All puns from episode 4 of The Last of Us

Although initially an annoyance to Joel who really didn’t find the humor in Ellie’s constant jokes and puns from her ‘No Pun Intended Vol. 2’ book, viewers lapped them up as it brought a glimpse of comedy to the otherwise somber series. Players of The Last of Us will have already heard many of these puns and jokes already but let’s look at all of Ellie’s witticisms throughout episode 4.

• “It doesn’t matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationary.”
• “What did the mermaid wear to her math class? An algae bra.”
• “I stayed up all night wondering where the sun went, and then it dawned on me.”
• “Why did the scarecrow get an award? Because he was outstanding in his field.”
• “Did you know diarrhea is hereditary? It runs in your genes.”

It’s coming.

Stream episode 5 of #TheLastOfUs early, this Friday at 9PM on @HBOMax. pic.twitter.com/JpuRUST8O5

— The Last of Us (@TheLastofUsHBO) February 6, 2023

All puns and jokes from The Last of Us game

Throughout the game, Ellie comes out with some crackers that usually sees Joel rolling his eyes and Ellie finding herself hilarious. As we’ve seen in episode 4, HBO is implementing quite a few of Ellie’s joke book banters into the series, and if that keeps going, here are some more we can expect to see as viewers journey through the rest of season one.

• “What did the Confederate soldiers use to eat off of? Civil ware.”
• “What did they use to drink with? Cups. Dixie Cups.”
• “I walked into my sister’s room and tripped on a bra. It was a booby-trap.”
• “A book just fell on my head, I only have my shelf to blame.”
• “What is the leading cause of divorce in long-term marriages? A stalemate.”
• “3.14% of sailors are Pi Rates.”
• “People are making apocalypse jokes like there’s no tomorrow…”
• “I tried to catch some fog earlier. I mist.”
• “You wanna hear a joke about pizza? Never mind, it was too cheesy.”
• “What did the green grape say to the purple grape? Breathe, you idiot!”

The post Every Pun from Ellie's book in HBO's The Last of Us episode 4 and beyond appeared first on ForeverGeek.

 As a normal human being and not an action movie character, you probably don’t spend much time thinking about how to survive life-or-death scenarios. But it’s worth knowing what to do if you’re pulled offshore by a rip current, your car stalls on the train tracks, or you need to file a missing persons report when…

Read more...

When it comes to books, my policy is generally to make a point to seek out the ones people try to ban; they’re almost always worthwhile, at least to understand why their ideas are being suppressed.

That’s true with movies too, but the calculus is a little different. Some banned movies are essential films, full stop; …

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Google is introducing a new online safety feature to help users avoid inadvertently seeing graphically violent or pornographic images while using its search engine. From a report: Announced as part of the company's Safer Internet Day event on Tuesday, the new default setting enabled for everyone will automatically blur explicit images that appear in search results, even for users that don't have SafeSearch enabled. Google has confirmed to The Verge that, should they wish, signed-in users over 18 will be able to disable the blur setting entirely after it launches in "the coming months."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

There are a lot of cloud based providers for backup and archiving, just check your email and you probably have at least on provider sending you offers right now.  The question is…

Dogs have always been an important part of the "John Wick" franchise. The murder of John's (Keanu Reeves) beloved Beagle puppy kicked off the events of the first film, which in turn led to everything that happened in the sequels, and each sequel has had at least one cool onscreen canine companion. In "John Wick 2," the titular hitman adopted a pit bull that he eventually named Bubba, but he left dear Bubba at The Continental with Charon (Lance Reddick) at the end of the third film, "John Wick: Parabellum." "Parabellum" also introduced Halle Berry's Sofia and her two Belgian Malinois, who are veritable warriors in their own right. In the upcoming "John Wick: Chapter 4," there's going to be a new fabulous four-legged furry buddy who continues the franchises' long love affair with man's best friend. 

In an interview with Collider, franchise director Chad Stahelski shared a bit more background information on the newest doggo in the "John Wick" family and revealed the work that goes into performing with non-human actors, though it really doesn't sound like work to me. 

Required Playtime Sounds Great Actually

The dog character is apparently a girl, and is a different pup than we've seen before. The only dog in the "John Wick: Chapter 4" trailers so far looks a whole lot like one of Sofia's Malinois (pictured above), but it's possibly a new dog that just looks similar. After all, I cannot imagine Sofia giving up one of her babies, no matter what. Just like when stunt performers practice with one another, they also have to practice with their canine co-stars, and the way Stahelski describes it sounds amazing: 

"Well, the character of the dog is a her, but we had, let's see, three females and two male dogs to comp all one dog together, depending on what the stunt, or the gag, or the acting bit was. This time we learned a lot from last time, but we wanted a little bit more out of this one in specialty stuff. We had the dog, I think it was just over five months, to work with cast and on stunts. It's just when you're bringing in the stunt teams, and we have different stunt teams on this one because it's so much bigger, the dog is just like friends. You have to get to know your friends. So in order for the dog to be very playful, and safe, and have the confidence just like a human would, they have to spend time with each individual stunt guy."

This meant that the stunt team had to work on rotation with the dogs, with a different stuntman playing for an hour at a time. They had five months together to train, get tackled, and play Frisbee with the dogs, bonding with them so that they were able to communicate properly in front of the camera. 

A Franchise Full Of Perfect Puppers

One can imagine that sometimes people get a little attached to the animals they work with, but Stahelski explained that the dogs go home with their trainers once filming is over. (Occasionally this is not the case, like with Sophie Turner and her "dire wolf" on "Game of Thrones," but more often than not stunt dogs already have loving homes with their trainers). The end of filming on a "John Wick" film has got to be pretty bittersweet then since people have to say goodbye to not only their human co-stars, but their canine ones as well. Honestly, it's probably even harder to say goodbye to your pup pals after five months of working together. 

Given the nature of the stunt work in the "John Wick" movies, it's a darn good thing that the teams practice together as much and for as long as they do. There's an old Hollywood adage about never working with dogs or children, but the truth is that both are pretty reasonable as long as you know how to approach them on their level. In the case of "John Wick," that means learning how to wrestle, puppy style. I don't know if I could ever cut it as a stuntperson, but if playing with dogs is part of the gig, it might be worth the pain.

Check out John Wick and the newest doggo in the dynasty when "John Wick: Chapter 4" releases in theaters March 24, 2023.

Read this next: The 14 Greatest Action Movies Of The 21st Century

The post John Wick: Chapter 4 Had Its Stunt Team On A Dog Rotation appeared first on /Film.

The hilarious and heartwarming crime film "True Romance" would not be the same without Patricia Arquette playing the ditzy and lovable Alabama Worley. Arquette went on to earn an Academy Award decades later, but when "True Romance" was released in 1993, it was a major breakout role for the actress, still in the early stages of her career.

The film gained a lot of critical and audience acclaim, but it also attracted a lot of controversy. Some of the edgier moments of the movie actually made Arquette highly uncomfortable at the time. Arquette thoroughly sympathized with her "True Romance" character, but she had trouble relating to Alabama.

"I struggled with playing her," the actress admitted to The Independent. "She's so supportive, even of things that are kind of shocking. Her boyfriend murders someone and she's still like... yeah!"

On screen it might have seemed like Alabama was thoroughly impressed by Clarence's violence, but Arquette saw things differently. Her acting coach helped her to incorporate her own point of view into ther performance.

"My acting coach told me, well, what are you going to say? 'Don't do that?' 'How dare you?'" Arquette recalled. "So I treated it like it was a survival mechanism. I think [Alabama's] capacity to totally love without judgment is what people respond to. But it was really difficult to play that."

Alabama Was A Little Racist

The "True Romance" star found it difficult to connect to Alabama's reactions, but she struggled even more to adjust to the very particular sense of humor in the script, which was penned by Quentin Tarantino. From the moment Arquette first read the screenplay, she was repelled by some of the off-color lines that were written for her character.

"My agent told me about this script for a Tony Scott movie," the actress recounted to Maxim. "There was a lot I liked about it, but I didn't like when Alabama was sort of racist. By now we've all gotten used to Quentin's tone, but at the time I was somewhat shocked by it. I was asking myself, 'What is this? Whoa!'"

She was particularly offended by a line early on in the film when Alabama and Clarence grab pie at a diner, just after their first meeting. Alabama says she's turned off by Persians, but Arquette says that the original line may have been slightly different.

"I don't know if the line about being turned off by Persians was in the script," she admitted. "Actually, every time we shot that scene, I would say a different ethnic group — I wanted to be equally offensive to all people."

So She Tweaked The Script

Arquette tried to steer clear of racist dialogue in "True Romance," but that doesn't mean she was hyper-sensitive. In fact, the actress asked director Tony Scott to slap her when she needed to get into character. The director slapped her before her highly emotional scene with co-star Christian Slater sitting on a billboard, the actress said.

"I was really frustrated about getting emotionally to where I wanted in that scene," Arquette recalled to Buzzfeed. "[Scott] was like, 'Do you want me to smack you?' I said, 'Yeah, maybe you should smack me!'"

Despite their strange dynamic — and Arquette's qualms about her character — she and the director had a lot of mutual respect for one another.

"Oh my god, the guy loved me to death," the "Boyhood" star gushed. "The guy was the most supportive director I've ever had. Every single idea I had on that movie, he'd say, 'That is brilliant!'"

However, Scott didn't always extend the same level of creative control to all his actors. In fact, Arquette remembers Slater complaining about the filmmaker's favoritism on set. "And every time Christian would have an idea, he would go, 'That's a terrible idea, Christian," Arquette added. "And Christian was, like, 'What the f***? Every time Patricia has an idea you say it's great!'"

"True Romance" is an undeniably great film, but Arquette's reservations about the script were understandable. Still, fans of the film can rest peacefully knowing that she overcame her doubts and was given the creative freedom to play Alabama the way she wanted to. Everybody wins!

Read this next: 13 Tarantino Projects We Never Saw But Wish We Could've

The post Patricia Arquette Had One Problem With Quentin Tarantino's True Romance Script appeared first on /Film.