Ronald.phillips

Unlike Meta, Microsoft doesn't need to change its name to prove it's committed to an entirely new tech platform: It's doing so through action. After debuting its AI-infused Bing search engine earlier this year, the company unveiled the Microsoft 365 Copilot for Office apps. And even before those consumer reveals, Microsoft delivered an AI tool for developers in 2021 with GitHub Copilot. Today at its Build developer conference, Microsoft is making the inevitable next step: It's making AI an integral part of Windows 11.

The new Windows Copilot tool lives in the Windows sidebar and, just like Bing's AI chat, you can use it as a super-powered search engine by typing in general questions. But true to its name, it's also deeply integrated with Windows. You can ask it to accomplish tasks within the OS — like turning on the night light mode, or changing your desktop background — without fishing around for specific settings. Windows Copilot can also function as a genuine virtual assistant by summarizing documents, or launching a photo app to accomplish a few edits before sending it off to a group of your coworkers. Cortana would never.

Lucas Jackson / reuters

"I think about Windows and the role of AI as such an opportunity," said Panos Panay, Microsoft Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer, in an interview with Engadget ahead of Tuesday’s launch. "We have hundreds of millions of people [using Windows], bringing the power of AI to Windows 11 gives you the opportunity to not only get more creative and get more productive, but ultimately just let every Windows user become a power user."

Windows Copilot, which will be available to preview in June, also has the potential to reach far more users than the revamped Bing. The company's search engine clearly received plenty of buzz thanks to AI — Microsoft said it hit 100 million daily active users a month after the AI chat feature launched — but according to StatCounter, Bing has also lost market share over the past few months. It hit 7.2 percent in April, down from a recent high of 9.92 percent last October.

That's not entirely surprising, though. Microsoft's battle against Google has always seemed like a hopeless endeavor. The company launched its first attempt, MSN Search, in 1998 soon after Google arrived, and amid Yahoo's dominance as the go-to web portal. MSN Search turned into Live Search, which ultimately evolved into Bing in 2009.

Microsoft has always been a company that's dabbled in search, but it's not a search company. But Windows is another matter entirely. It's a product with a devoted user base, many of whom have decades of experience with the OS. According to Microsoft, there are over 1.4 billion monthly active devices running Windows 10 or 11. (And of course, that doesn't include the PCs running older Windows versions.) Microsoft previously tried to bring Bing's AI capabilities into the Windows taskbar in February, but that ultimately just amounted to a shortcut that launched Bing's AI chat in the Edge browser. Windows Copilot actually weaves AI into the core Windows 11 experience.

"There's so much depth in this product from the '90s on," said Panay. "Our job is to responsibly, of course, push it forward to users that need both the past and need to get to the future [...] We have so many kinds of users that use Windows in its simplest form, like browsing, Mail, and Office [...] And then we've got the hardcore devs who get right down to the depth of the product. And I think both are so vital to the platform. But now I think every developer can move forward as an AI developer and every user can be a power user on Windows. I think it just makes Windows that much better."

Windows Copilot is currently a text-only tool, but Panay envisions it evolving into something you can interact with on your own terms. It has the potential to be the powerful voice assistant that Cortana, the Siri competitor Microsoft pushed for years, never amounted to. (And to be fair, pretty much every virtual assistant ended up being a disappointment. Siri remains confounding and inaccurate, while Google's Assistant is mainly useful for preemptively delivering information, rather than dealing with voice commands.)

Microsoft

The simple, text-based approach to AI also makes sense for Microsoft. For many users, Windows Copilot will be the first time they've interacted with any sort of generative AI product. Better to let general users warm up with a few text strings before overwhelming people with voice commands. And hopefully by the time Microsoft adds voice support, it'll be closer to the Star Trek computer than the frustrating assistants of yore. (I'm dreaming of the day when I can shout at my computer to look up information as I'm writing feverishly on deadline, or ask it to transcribe and summarize a meeting.)

Windows Copilot, just like Bing Chat, will also support the same third-party plugins that OpenAI's ChaptGPT uses. That means any developer will be able to easily connect their apps to AI, an essential move to make these products more useful. Every software platform needs a thriving third-party ecosystem to survive — just think of what iOS or Android would be like if you were stuck using only Apple or Google's apps.

"AI is going to be the single largest driver of innovation for Windows in the years to come," said Panay. "It's going to change the way you work, change your interaction models to make it easier. It's going to understand so much about what you need."

Microsoft

Panay stressed that Microsoft is also focused on making your AI interactions secure and private. Windows Copilot could end up juggling some sensitive information if you start asking questions about specific health questions, for example. A potentially bigger concern is misinformation: Windows Copilot and Bing Chat can answer your questions confidently, but it may not always be accurate. And it's a bigger problem than standard web searches since it's unclear where AI chatbots are pulling information from.

"We have to approach AI with innovation but also optimism," Panay said when I asked about how Microsoft is planning to deal with AI misinformation. "To your point, we have to prioritize both people’s safety and privacy. Also, at the end of the day, if you do it in a frame of humility, where we're always learning, this is going to be vital to your point."

It's clear that Microsoft still has plenty to learn from Windows Copilot. The preview period, which kicks off next month, is a chance for the company to see how it's used in the wild, and to make adjustments before it's officially released. Panay says that the Bing team is already working to make sure its results come from grounded references, and that they're also holding to Microsoft's responsible AI standards.

Microsoft

According to Shilpa Ranganathan, a Microsoft Corporate Vice President leading the Windows team, the company has been talking a lot about how Copilot results are displayed, as well as communicating the uncertainty of some answers to customers. “We're going to build it into the experience as a learning experience for us as well […] I don't want to take a path that allows us to lose trust with customers,” she said. “We believe that's most important. I'd rather say, hey, we're not 100 percent sure. Help us make this better or if this didn't help you, I would like feedback now so that we never show this to another customer again.”

Panay hopes to get to a point where "as a product maker, I have the confidence that what we're handing to our customers is exactly what they need when we launch into the full availability [of Windows Copilot]." He added, "It's about humility. If you give it time and the right innovation, then we can get to that point of creating the guardrails needed to keep it safe and remove the misinformation."

Given the state of the web today, where less reputable websites employ a variety of SEO tricks to rank higher in search results, it’s unclear if we’ll ever be truly rid of AI misinformation. The next content war will be entirely focused on websites vying for placement within AI search results. The problem for users is that it’ll be harder to tell if bad information is coming from a seemingly reputable source, rather than an obviously scammy website filled with junk content.

Windows Copilot has the potential to fundamentally reshape the way we use Windows. But hopefully, it won’t erode user trust in the process.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-windows-copilot-ai-panos-panay-interview-150044298.html?src=rss

Nightdive Studios recently sat down with GOG for a System Shock remake interview about the upcoming sci-fi FPS game, and it seems that they have a lot planned. There are definitely a lot of fan expectations for the game as the 1994 original stands as one of the most iconic influences in the industry, as there's no shortage of well-known contemporary games out there that were somehow inspired by System Shock, from titles like BioShock to Dishonored.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best old games , System Shock system requirements, Best space games

I’ve been lately trying to understand and improve the idling behavior of DOS programs and one of my guinea pigs has been the Open Watcom vi editor.

While the 16-bit real-mode DOS variant of the editor idles nicely, the 32-bit DOS extended version that’s actually shipped with the Open Watcom tools just refuses to idle. What’s notable is that it won’t idle with DOS POWER.EXE, with DOSIDLE, and it also won’t idle when run under Windows 9x or XP. And it doesn’t idle with my DR-DOS $IDLE$ driver either.

So I decided to track down what’s going on in the DR-DOS case. What I could see was that the DRIDLE.SYS driver never went into idle mode because every time it decremented the INT 16h idle counter, it was already reset to the initial (maximum) value by a timer tick.

In other words, as far as the DRIDLE.SYS was concerned, the editor wasn’t idle because it was only calling INT 16h very rarely. But I know that the editor polls INT 16h in a tight loop!

While trying to characterize the problem, I also found another oddity: The refusal to idle happens with the (default) DOS/4GW extender. But when the same vi.exe program is run using the CauseWay or DOS/32A DOS extenders (both also shipped with Open Watcom), the editor idles just fine!

Initially I thought there could be some problem specific to the protected-mode version of the editor, since the code is necessarily slightly different from the real-mode variant. But if it were the editor itself, it would behave the same with all DOS extenders, wouldn’t it?

The only option was to step through the code and see what actually happens. With a profiler I could see that yes, INT 16h does get invoked many, many times per second. So I put a breakpoint on the protected-mode INT 16h entry point, which is what gets executed when a protected-mode program executes the INT 16h instruction.

What I found was… unexpected. DOS/4GW, like all DOS extenders, installs its own INT 16h handler which calls down to the real-mode handler, and provides whatever input and output parameter conversion is necessary.

Only the INT 16h handler in DOS/4GW does a little bit more than that. It has special handling for INT 16h functions 00h and 10h (read keystroke), plus functions 01h and 11h (check if keystroke available). It is the latter pair that’s used by applications polling the keyboard.

The logic is roughly as follows. When INT 16h function 01h or 11h (polling) is called, DOS/4GW checks if the timer has ticked (by examining whether the byte at 40:6C is different from its last saved value) or if an internal flag is set. When neither is true, the INT 16h handler returns to the caller without passing down to the real-mode INT 16h handler and without checking the BDA to see if a keystroke is available.

When INT 16h function 00h or 10h is called, DOS/4G decrements the internal copy of the timer tick low byte at 40:6c, and passes down to the real-mode handler.

As far as I can see, this is some sort of optimization which avoids frequent transitions between 32-bit and 16-bit code, and depending on host configuration, also avoids frequent switching between protected and real mode. Especially in cases where switching between real and protected mode is required, this optimization likely greatly reduces interrupt latency (by significantly reducing the periods of time where the CPU is unable to take interrupts).

The optimization has a minor side effect in that a newly arriving keystroke won’t be seen until the next timer tick. However, if keystrokes arrive quickly, they will also be processed quickly (because every time a keystroke is read, the next poll will call into the BIOS). I can’t say I ever noticed this delay which can be up to about 1/18th of a second.

Unfortunately, the DOS/4G logic also has another side effect in that it completely defeats idle detection based on frequent INT 16h polling. Because the real-mode INT 16h handler is almost never executed when polling, idle detection fails because the program does not appear very idle at all.

This of course also explains why other DOS extenders behave differently: Their protected-mode INT 16h handler does not avoid calling into real mode, and therefore idle detection does not get bypassed.

Is There a Workaround?

Remember how I mentioned that there’s some kind of internal flag that controls whether INT 16h functions 00h/10h should be skipped or not? Presumably there must be some way to set it…

And sure enough, there is. It is in fact documented in a file called DOS4GW.DOC, which is conveniently shipped with the Open Watcom tools. Except the explanation, frankly, does not make a lot of sense.

To disable the optimized INT 16h polling behavior in DOS/4G(W), one has to set the DOS16M environment variable as follows:

SET DOS16M=^0x04

Yes, that’s a caret, which may have a special meaning in some command processors like 4DOS. With this setting, the Open Watcom protected-mode vi.exe magically idles just fine!

But the explanation for this setting is rater strange. According to DOS4GW.DOC, the flag does this:

0x04  directly pass down keyboard status calls -- When this option is
      set, status requests are passed down immediately and
      unconditionally.  When disabled, pass-downs are limited so the
      8042 auxiliary processor does not become overloaded by keyboard
      polling loops.

What’s strange about that? In a standard PC/XT/AT BIOS, INT 16h function 01h/11h normally does not touch any keyboard hardware at all. It only checks whether the keyboard buffer head and tail pointers in the BDA are the same or not. And besides, if the 8042 keyboard controller really were overloaded by frequent polling, why would it not happen in real mode as well?

The explanation in DOS4GW.DOC has all the hallmarks of a desperate fix for a problem that is not fully understood. There’s no doubt that skipping the INT 16h polling call-downs to real-mode BIOS did something, on some machine, at some point in time. But I rather doubt that it worked for the reasons the authors imagined it did.

The fix was almost certainly implemented at a time before POWER.EXE was common, and the power save disabling side effect was not noticed. Even on an old laptop with power management, the problem could well have gone undetected, given the absence of a loud fan that aggressively kicks up. However, the fact that the behavior could be overridden using an environment variable suggests that the implementors strongly suspected that skipping calls to the BIOS might cause trouble.

I’m not entirely sure when this fix was implemented. A quick survey reveals that it was already there in DOS/4GW version 1.8, shipped with Watcom C 8.5 (1992). The behavior remains unchanged at least up to and including DOS/4G version 2.60 (1997). In all cases, the workaround using the DOS16M environment variable also applies.

All in all, another curious mystery solved.

Update: In Windows XP, the caret is a special character. To set the environment variable correctly, one must type:

SET DOS16M=^^0x04

If only a single caret is used, it will be left out entirely and the environment variable will have no effect.

In today’s economic climate, cost cutting is on everyone’s mind, and businesses are doing everything they can to save money. But, it’s equally important that they can’t afford to compromise the integrity of their infrastructure or the quality of the customer experience. As a startup, taking advantage of free cloud credits from cloud providers like Amazon AWS, especially at a time like this, seems enticing. 

Using those credits can make sense, but it takes more planning than you might think to use them in a way that allows you to continue managing cloud costs once the credits run out. 

In this blog post, I’ll walk through common use cases for credit programs, the risks of using credits, and alternatives that help you balance growth and cloud costs.

The Shift to Cloud 3.0

As we see it, there have been three stages of “The Cloud” in its history:

Phase 1: What is the Cloud?

Starting around when Backblaze was founded in 2007, the public cloud was in its infancy. Most people weren’t clear on what cloud computing was or if it was going to take root. Businesses were asking themselves, “What is the cloud and how will it work with my business?”

Phase 2: Cloud = Amazon Web Services

Fast forward to 10 years later, and AWS and “The Cloud” started to become synonymous. Amazon had nearly 50% of market share of public cloud services, more than Microsoft, Google, and IBM combined. “The Cloud” was well-established, and for most folks, the cloud was AWS.

Phase 3: Multi-Cloud

Today, we’re in Phase 3 of the cloud. “The Cloud” of today is defined by the open, multi-cloud internet. Traditional cloud vendors are expensive, complicated, and seek to lock customers into their walled gardens. Customers have come to realize that (see below) and to value the benefits they can get from moving away from a model that demands exclusivity in cloud infrastructure.

In Cloud Phase 3.0, companies are looking to reign in spending, and are increasingly seeking specialized cloud providers offering affordable, best-of-breed services without sacrificing speed and performance. How do you balance that with the draw of free credits? I’ll get into that next, and the two are far from mutually exclusive.

Getting Hooked on Credits: Common Use Cases

So, you have $100k in free cloud credits from AWS. What do you do with them? Well, in our experience, there are a wide range of use cases for credits, including:

• App development and testing: Teams may leverage credits to run an app development proof of concept (PoC) utilizing Amazon EC2, RDS, and S3 for compute, database, and storage needs, for example, but without understanding how these will scale in the longer term, there may be risks involved. Spinning up EC2 instances can quickly lead to burning through your credits and getting hit with an unexpected bill.
• Machine learning (ML): Machine learning models require huge amounts of computing power and storage. Free cloud credits might be a good way to start, but you can expect them to quickly run out if you’re using them for this use case. 
• Data analytics: While free cloud credits may cover storage and computing resources, data transfer costs might still apply. Analyzing large volumes of data or frequently transferring data in and out of the cloud can lead to unexpected expenses.
• Website hosting: Hosting your website with free cloud credits can eliminate the up front infrastructure spend and provide an entry point into the cloud, but remember that when the credits expire, traffic spikes you should be celebrating can crater your bottom line.
• Backup and disaster recovery: Free cloud credits may have restrictions on data retention, limiting the duration for which backups can be stored. This can pose challenges for organizations requiring long-term data retention for compliance or disaster recovery purposes.

All of this is to say: Proper configuration, long-term management and upkeep, and cost optimization all play a role on how you scale on monolith platforms. It is important to note that the risks and benefits mentioned above are general considerations, and specific terms and conditions may vary depending on the cloud service provider and the details of their free credit offerings. It’s crucial to thoroughly review the terms and plan accordingly to maximize the benefits and mitigate the risks associated with free cloud credits for each specific use case. (And, given the complicated pricing structures we mentioned before, that might take some effort.)

The Risks of AWS Credits: Lessons from Founders

If you’re handed $100,000 in credits, it’s crucial to be aware of the risks and implications that come along with it. While it may seem like an exciting opportunity to explore the capabilities of the cloud without immediate financial constraints, there are several factors to consider:

1. The temptation to overspend: With a credit balance at your disposal just waiting to be spent, there is a possibility of underestimating the actual costs of your cloud usage. This can lead to a scenario where you inadvertently exhaust the credits sooner than anticipated, leaving you with unexpected expenses that may strain your budget.
2. The shock of high bills once credits expire: Without proper planning and monitoring of your cloud usage, the transition from “free” to paying for services can result in high bills that catch you off guard. It is essential to closely track your cloud usage throughout the credit period and have a clear understanding of the costs associated with the services you’re utilizing. Or better yet, use those credits for a discrete project to test your PoC or develop your minimum viable product, and plan to build your long-term infrastructure elsewhere.
3. The risk of vendor lock-in: As you build and deploy your infrastructure within a specific cloud provider’s ecosystem, the process of migrating to an alternative provider can seem complex and can definitely be costly (shameless plug: at Backblaze, we’ll cover your migration over 50TB). Vendor lock-in can limit your flexibility, making it challenging to adapt to changing business needs or take advantage of cost-saving opportunities in the future.

The problems are nothing new for founders, as the online conversation bears out.

First, there’s the old surprise bill:

Even with some optimization, AWS cloud spend can still be pretty “obscene” as this user vividly shows:

There’s the founder raising rounds just to pay AWS bills:

Some use the surprise bill as motivation to get paying customers.

Lastly, there’s the comic relief:

Strategies for Balancing Growth and Cloud Costs

Where does that leave you today? Here are some best practices startups and early founders can implement to balance growth and cloud costs:

1. Establishing a cloud cost management plan early on.
2. Monitoring and optimizing cloud usage to avoid wasted resources.
3. Leveraging multiple cloud providers.
4. Moving to a new cloud provider altogether.
5. Setting aside some of your credits for the migration.

1. Establishing a Cloud Cost Management Plan

Put some time into creating a well-thought-out cloud cost management strategy from the beginning. This includes closely monitoring your usage, optimizing resource allocation, and planning for the expiration of credits to ensure a smooth transition. By understanding the risks involved and proactively managing your cloud usage, you can maximize the benefits of the credits while minimizing potential financial setbacks and vendor lock-in concerns.

2. Monitoring and Optimizing Cloud Usage

Monitoring and optimizing cloud usage plays a vital role in avoiding wasted resources and controlling costs. By regularly analyzing usage patterns, organizations can identify opportunities to right-size resources, adopt automation to reduce idle time, and leverage cost-effective pricing options. Effective monitoring and optimization ensure that businesses are only paying for the resources they truly need, maximizing cost efficiency while maintaining the necessary levels of performance and scalability.

3. Leveraging Multiple Cloud Providers

By adopting a multi-cloud strategy, businesses can diversify their cloud infrastructure and services across different providers. This allows them to benefit from each provider’s unique offerings, such as specialized services, geographical coverage, or pricing models. Additionally, it provides a layer of protection against potential service disruptions or price increases from a single provider. Adopting a multi-cloud approach requires careful planning and management to ensure compatibility, data integration, and consistent security measures across multiple platforms. However, it offers the flexibility to choose the best-fit cloud services from different providers, reducing dependency on a single vendor and enabling businesses to optimize costs while harnessing the capabilities of various cloud platforms.

4. Moving to a New Cloud Provider Altogether

If you’re already deeply invested in a major cloud platform, shifting away can seem cumbersome, but there may be long-term benefits that outweigh the short term “pains” (this leads into the shift to Cloud 3.0). The process could involve re-architecting applications, migrating data, and retraining personnel on the new platform. However, factors such as pricing models, performance, scalability, or access to specialized services may win out in the end. It’s worth noting that many specialized providers have taken measures to “ease the pain” and make the transition away from AWS more seamless without overhauling code. For example, at Backblaze, we developed an S3 compatible API so switching providers is as simple as dropping in a new storage target.

5. Setting Aside Credits for the Migration

By setting aside credits for future migration, businesses can ensure they have the necessary resources to transition to a different provider without incurring significant up front expenses like egress fees to transfer large data sets. This strategic allocation of credits allows organizations to explore alternative cloud platforms, evaluate their pricing models, and assess the cost-effectiveness of migrating their infrastructure and services without worrying about being able to afford the migration.

Welcome to Cloud 3.0: Alternatives to AWS

In 2022, David Heinemeier Hansson, the creator of Basecamp and Hey, announced that he was moving Hey’s infrastructure from AWS to on-premises. Hansson cited the high cost of AWS as one of the reasons for the move. His estimate? “We stand to save $7m over five years from our cloud exit,” he said.  

Going back to on-premises solutions is certainly one answer to the problem of AWS bills. In fact, when we started designing Backblaze’s Personal Backup solution, we were faced with the same problem. Hosting data storage for our computer backup product on AWS was a non-starter—it was going to be too expensive, and our business wouldn’t be able to deliver a reasonable consumer price point and be solvent. So, we didn’t just invest in on-premises resources: We built our own Storage Pods, the first evolution of the Backblaze Storage Cloud. 

But, moving back to on-premises solutions isn’t the only answer—it’s just the only answer if it’s 2007 and your two options are AWS and on-premises solutions. The cloud environment as it exists today has better choices. We’ve now grown that collection of Storage Pods into the Backblaze B2 Storage Cloud, which delivers performant, interoperable storage at one-fifth the cost of AWS. And, we offer free egress to our content delivery network (CDN) and compute partners. Backblaze may provide an even more cost-effective solution for mid-sized SaaS startups looking to save on cloud costs while maintaining speed and performance.

As we transition to Cloud 3.0 in 2023 and beyond, companies are expected to undergo a shift, reevaluating their cloud spending to ensure long-term sustainability and directing saved funds into other critical areas of their businesses. The age of limited choices is over. The age of customizable cloud integration is here. 

So, shout out to David Heinemeier Hansson: We’d love to chat about your storage bills some time.

FAQs About Cloud Spend

If you’re thinking about moving to Backblaze B2 after taking AWS credits, but you’re not sure if it’s right for you, we’ve put together some frequently asked questions that folks have shared with us before their migrations:

My cloud credits are running out. What should I do?

Backblaze’s Universal Data Migration service can help you off-load some of your data to Backblaze B2 for free. Speak with a migration expert today.

AWS has all of the services I need, and Backblaze only offers storage. What about the other services I need?

Shifting away from AWS doesn’t mean ditching the workflows you have already set up. You can migrate some of your data storage while keeping some on AWS or continuing to use other AWS services. Moreover, AWS may be overkill for small to midsize SaaS businesses with limited resources.

How should I approach a migration?

Identify the specific services and functionalities that your applications and systems require, such as CDN for content delivery or compute resources for processing tasks. Check out our partner ecosystem to identify other independent cloud providers that offer the services you need at a lower cost than AWS.

What CDN partners does Backblaze have?

With the ease of use, predictable pricing, zero egress, our joint solutions are perfect for businesses looking to reduce their IT costs, improve their operational efficiency, and increase their competitive advantage in the market. Our CDN partners include Fastly, bunny.net, and Cloudflare. And, we extend free egress to joint customers.

What compute partners does Backblaze have?

Our compute partners include Vultr and Equinix Metal. You can connect Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage with Vultr’s global compute network to access, store, and scale application data on-demand, at a fraction of the cost of the hyperscalers.

The post The Free Credit Trap: Building SaaS Infrastructure for Long-Term Sustainability appeared first on Backblaze Blog | Cloud Storage & Cloud Backup.

At this point, it might not surprise you to know that I love a good casserole. A lineup of my favorite ingredients amassed into a sliceable savory cake of sorts–what’s not to like? Monotony, that’s what. It’s important to keep it interesting, and my latest finding does exactly that. Give your casserole a makeover with…

Read more...

by Cláudio Alves

Back in April, Nathaniel wrote about Sigourney Weaver, arguing that her legendary career more than deserves Oscar gold. Maybe it's time for the Academy to give her an Honorary award since they don't seem especially keen on recognizing her recent output. Regardless, you can't argue that Weaver has significantly faltered in her craft, for the thespian's excellence is as apparent today as it was in her 1980s heyday. Indeed, both that article and its comment section were full of recommendations for those eager to explore the star's filmography. Inspired by them and the release of Paul Schrader's Master Gardener in theaters, I decided to do just that, enjoying a SigWeavie marathon that doubled as research for this actress-y top ten.

Continuing the tradition established with the Nicolas Cage top ten, I shall exclude Weaver's Oscar-anointed work because there's plenty written about them already. In each case, she delivered superior work to the Academy's chosen victor, showcasing the sheer range of her talents as she did so...

schwit1 shares a report from The Daily Beast: U.C. Berkeley has failed to disclose to the U.S. government massive Chinese state funding for a highly sensitive $240 million joint tech venture in China that has been running for the last eight years. The Californian university has not registered with the U.S. government that it received huge financial support from the city of Shenzhen for a tech project inside China, which also included partnerships with Chinese companies that have since been sanctioned by the U.S. or accused of complicity in human rights abuses. The university has failed to declare a $220 million investment from the municipal government of Shenzhen to build a research campus in China. A Berkeley spokesperson told The Daily Beast that the university had yet to declare the investment -- announced in 2018 -- because the campus is still under construction. However, a former Department of Education official who used to help manage the department's foreign gifts and contracts disclosure program said that investment agreements must be disclosed within six months of signing, not when they are fully executed. Berkeley admitted that it had also failed to disclose to the U.S. government a $19 million contract in 2016 with Tsinghua University, which is controlled by the Chinese government's Ministry of Education. The project's Chinese backers promised lavish funding, state-of-the-art equipment, and smart Ph.D. students for Berkeley academics researching national security-sensitive technologies, according to contract documents exclusively obtained by The Daily Beast. After the project got underway, Berkeley researchers granted Chinese officials private tours of their cutting-edge U.S. semiconductor facilities and gave "priority commercialization rights" for intellectual properties (IP) they produced to Chinese government-backed funds. A Berkeley spokesman said that Berkeley only pursued fundamental research through TBSI, meaning that all research projects were eventually publicly published and accessible to all; it did not conduct any proprietary research that exclusively benefited a Chinese entity. Still, Berkeley's ties to the Chinese government and sanctioned Chinese companies are sure to raise eyebrows in Washington, where U.S. policymakers are increasingly concerned about the outflow of U.S. technology to China, especially those with military applications.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

With the launch of the latest iPhone 14 lineup and the Apple Watch Series 8, Apple debuted a new feature called Emergency SOS that works via Satellite. We have heard numerous times before how the feature came into action and saved the lives of many stranded people in distress. Now, the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature sprung into action as it helped save the lives of ten hikers who were lost in the "Last Chance" canyon in California. Scroll down to read more details on the scene and how did the entire endeavor end.

Apple's Emergency SOS via Satellite feature assisted in rescuing ten hikers from Santa Paula Canyon

On May 12, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office Upper Ojai Search and Rescue Team received the SOS distress signal from ten lost hikers in Santa Paula Canyon's "Last Chance". The message sent by the hikers through Apple's Emergency SOS feature detailed that they were lost and could not find a way back from the Canyon. Since cellular data was not an option in the remote region, the only source of communication with the emergency services was through Apple's Emergency SOS feature via Satellite.

The hikers provided all the required information to the Venture County Sheriff's Dispatch, along with the location and if anyone required immediate medical attention. The guardians of the hikers also reported them as missing in Ventura County, suggesting that the team might need assistance. In less than an hour, the Search and Rescue Team was dispatched to find the lost hikers. After four hours of hiking in low visibility and rough terrain, the hikers located the lost hikers.

The rescue team made it in time, as some of the hikers were not equipped with food and water supplies for the expedition. The rescue team assisted in this regard and escorted the lost hikers back to the mainland. Luckily, one of the hikers possessed an Apple device which he used to contact emergency services through Emergency SOS via Satellite. As mentioned earlier, this is not the first time an Apple device has aided in the rescue operation.

We are glad that Apple introduced the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature in the iPhone 14 lineup and the Apple Watch Series 8. Apple is keen to introduce helpful features to the mix. The Apple Watch is a very capable device when it comes to detecting health-related issues and accidents. Now, the new Emergency SOS feature via Satellite can be added to the list as well. Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

Making a list of the 100 greatest movies of all time is the definition of "damned if you do, damned if you don't." You're always going to leave something off. It's never going to feel complete. A particular genre, era, or filmmaker will be neglected. People are going to be mad at you no matter what, so why do such a thing?

Well, why climb Mount Everest? Because it is there. Because we must. 

This isn't your list of the 100 best movies ever made. This is /Film's list of the 100 best movies ever made, as voted by a selection of writers and editors, with the final list determined via several hours of impassioned arguments and debates (which we recorded and you can listen to here and here). Those who participated were given simple instructions: Nominated films needed to be movies they truly love. Established canon should be thrown to the wayside, and obliterated if necessary. The movies you expect to be on a list like this shouldn't just waltz right in. Select, you know, your actual favorite movies. 

The result is a list that we think is as exciting as it is maddening, a list composed of old and new masterpieces alike. We're proud that it covers areas lists like this often neglect (animation and horror, baby!) and annoyed by what it sidesteps (yes, it does skew a bit too Hollywood, we know). But one thing remains true above all else: This list was made honestly, and every movie on it is one the /Film team considers vital.

And now, in alphabetical order, here are the 100 best movies ever made. According to us. Your favorite movie is number 101. We promise. 

12 Angry Men (1957)

Taking place essentially in real time, almost entirely in one room, and with a cast of characters who are almost all unnamed except for their juror numbers, Sidney Lumet's "12 Angry Men" is a masterclass in the push and pull of dialogue. As the jury gathers to convict an accused teenage murderer in what seems like an open-and-shut case, Henry Fonda's lone holdout -- Juror #8 -- suggests that they simply take an hour to talk things out. Tensions rise, prejudices are revealed, and human nature itself is put on trial. "12 Angry Men" is as gripping as any action film, set in an arena where words are the weapons that make the difference between life and death.

It's also a film that has only grown more relevant with time -- particularly now, when opinion seems so deeply divided and factional that good faith debate seems impossible, and people changing their minds even more so. "12 Angry Men" delves deep into how opinions are formed, whether it's simply by following the crowd, or innermost resentments rising to the surface. And though the crime in question can't be solved in a jury room, there's a tinge of murder mystery to it that draws the viewer in, inviting them to become a thirteenth angry man.

The Alternate Take: In 2022, Sarah Polley delivered an answer to "12 Angry Men" with "Women Talking," the story of a group of Mennonite women who have only a day to resolve through the debate about what they should do in response to their colony's serial sexual assaults: do nothing, stay and fight, or leave. (Hannah Shaw-Williams)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

In his wry 1978 sci-fi comedy novel, author Douglas Adams tried to communicate the infinity of the cosmos: "Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space." 

What Stanley Kubrick's 1968 science fiction film "2001: A Space Odyssey" communicates best is the vastness of space and time. This is a film that begins millions of years ago when humans were still primates and ends in a heady space "Beyond the Infinite" where human consciousness and the fabric of spacetime begin to merge into one. "2001" is about the enormity of all things, and how the human race is only, just now, beginning to wrap our heads around it. 

It's worth remembering that when Kubrick and his collaborator Arthur C. Clarke were constructing "A Space Odyssey," Earth was preoccupied with looking up. The United States and Russia were embroiled in a space race, and it seemed like the next step of human evolution -- our movement into the stars -- was immediately nigh. Traveling into space wasn't merely a feat of engineering, but a positive sign of humanity's ultimate fate as denizens of the cosmos. Our tools can kill, of course -- whether it be a bone or a hyperintelligent computer named HAL -- but they will lead us into the stars to meet beings we cannot understand. Only then will we be ready to be born.

The Alternate Take: If thinking of time as an enormous, interconnected fabric of human consciousness is your jam, then definitely try out Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" (2011). (Witney Seibold)

Alien (1979)

Depending on how you choose to look at it, "Alien" is either a ruthless statement on the gears of corporate capitalism chewing up and spitting out blue collar workers without remorse, an incisive commentary on sexual violence inflicted on a primarily male-dominated crew, or a straightforward sci-fi/horror flick that can be thoroughly enjoyed when taken exactly at face value. The true magic of this unparalleled movie isn't the wealth of fascinating concepts and provocative ideas present in Dan O'Bannon's screenplay, or the immediate influx of world-building provided by H.R. Giger's profoundly disturbing designs, or even how far director Ridley Scott elevated the production despite a minor budget. Instead, it's that all-too-rare feeling of a picture somehow exceeding the already-formidable sum of its parts.

As perhaps the peak example of "Less is more," this classic hails from a long-gone era when we were forced to reckon with the unknown hanging just on the edges of the frame. A derelict ship and a dead pilot carrying a mysterious alien cargo with no other explanation; a refreshingly practical crew of protagonists given no backstory or tragic origins to make them any more relatable than they already are; and a singularly terrifying villain that would provide nightmare fuel for entire generations of moviegoers for decades to come. "Alien" stands the test of time as the kind of horror that redefines a genre -- a perfect organism.

The Alternate Take: After the stripped-down, functional brutality of "Alien," yet another Ridley Scott movie inspired a sequel exploring the extreme other end of the sci-fi spectrum. Where "Alien" embraced minimalism, "Blade Runner" and especially its follow-up set decades later, "Blade Runner 2049," leaned into their gaudy, noir, neon-lit trappings for all they were worth to delve into even more heady, existentialist themes -- the fact that both franchises may or may not share continuity is only the cherry on top. (Jeremy Mathai)

All The President's Men (1976)

"The truth is these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand." This blunt assessment of the men behind the Watergate break-in, spoken by Hal Holbrook's Deep Throat, will be the epitaph of the United States. We didn't know this when Alan J. Pakula's spellbinding dramatization of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's pivotal role in hastening President Richard M. Nixon's resignation hit theaters in 1976. Pakula transforms recent history into a gripping paranoid thriller, while crafting a paean to the power of dogged journalism. It holds that when would-be despots take the White House, the country's fourth estate will instinctively hold these cretin's accountable.

Pakula wrings maximum suspense from Woodward and Bernstein's relentless digging. These men are so hellbent on piecing together the architecture of an inexplicable own-goal that they don't realize their lives are in jeopardy. Pakula wisely refuses to explicate the multitudinous conspiracy theories swirling around this incident and American politics in general. The story is getting the story, and getting it right. Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards, and Jack Warden inhabit their roles like they've been working the D.C. beat their entire lives. The victory is hard won, and the film ends as it began -- with the gunshot blast of a typewriter hammer hitting paper. Democracy survives. At least, it did 49 years ago. Alas, the not-very-bright-guys run every institution of consequence today, including our free press. Pakula's film now resonates with the ache of a high-school yearbook. What a time that was.

The Alternate Take: The darkly manipulative power of the press is on full, cynical display in Billy Wilder's arsenic-laced "Ace in the Hole." Kirk Douglas' slimy journo is the anti-Woodward & Bernstein; rather than report the truth, he contorts it for his own professional/financial benefit. (Jeremy Smith)

Anchorman: The Legend Of Run Burgundy (2004)

Mainstream comedy was searching for an identity in the early 2000s in a post-"Scary Movie" world. One could argue that identity was found with 2004's "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," which served as the first mighty feature collaboration between "SNL" star Will Ferrell and director Adam McKay. Their first trip up to bat was a home run, even if critics of the day didn't see it that way. The absolute absurdist humor centered on Ferrel's Ron Burgundy as a newsman in the '70s struggling to get with the times, filled with non-sequitur gags and endlessly quotable lines such as "I'm in a glass case of emotion" or "60% of the time, it works every time."

This film would tee up the ball, not only for other Ferrell/McKay hits such as "Step-Brothers," but also comedies such as "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" that would further help give this era of studio comedy an identity it sorely needed. Well beyond its importance though, "Anchorman" plays like gangbusters as a laugh-a-minute, tight, singular motion picture experience. From all-time great names like Wes Mantooth (Vince Vaughn) to an all-timer of a silly performance from Steve Carell as Brick Tamland, this movie has aged like a big, tall glass of scotchy, scotch, scotch, cementing itself as not only one of the best comedies of all time, but one of the most important as well.

The Alternate Take: "Anchorman" owes a lot to "Caddyshack," a 1980 comedy about a different, very specific form of employment (caddying at a golf course) with a diverse cast of wacky characters featuring the who's who of comedy at the time. It's not a stretch to say that the Adam McKays or Judd Apatows of the world wouldn't exist without director Harold Ramis' seminal classic. (Ryan Scott)

Back To The Future (1985)

"Back to the Future" is perfect. Full stop. Director Robert Zemeckis gave audiences a crowd-pleasing motion picture that has a little bit of everything: a high concept sci-fi premise, some zany comedy, a dose of action and adventure, and even a bit of romance. With a brilliant, high strung, career-defining lead performance from Michael J. Fox as teen Marty McFly, a hilariously eccentric supporting turn from Christopher Lloyd as inventor Doc Brown, the adorable charm of Lea Thompson in an admittedly awkward family situation as Marty's mother, the social ineptitude of Crispin Glover as the clueless George McFly, and the unrivaled meathead douchebaggery of Tom F. Wilson as Biff, "Back to the Future" is filled with unforgettable characters, memorable quotes, and pure entertainment. We haven't even mentioned the fact that the DeLorean time machine is one of the most iconic props in cinema history. 

How has "Back to the Future" endured after nearly 40 years? It's a flawless screenplay by Zemeckis and co-writer Bob Gale, one that stands as a sterling example of how to craft a rousing blockbuster. The structure of the story doesn't have a single set-up that doesn't pay off in a significant way. It's the cornerstone against which every other time travel movie is judged. Movies like this aren't often nominated for Academy Awards these days, but "Back to the Future" landed a nod for Best Original Screenplay, and honestly, it should have been nominated for Best Picture. 

The Alternate Take: If you're looking for another example of a finely tuned screenplay turning into a masterful movie, look no further than "Tootsie," a comedy starring Dustin Hoffman as a struggling actor who finally finds gainful employment on a soap opera by pretending to be a woman. Funny and irresistibly charming, "Tootsie" is just a delight. (Ethan Anderton)

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

"In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found." So begins "The Blair Witch Project," the 1999 found footage horror film that became a cultural phenomenon. Thanks to some clever marketing that sold this tale of terror as 100% real — complete with "MISSING" posters for its three lead actors — "The Blair Witch Project" was a massive box office success, scaring up $248.6 million against a shoestring budget. Filmmakers Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez came up with a simple but effective concept: a faux documentary about three film students — Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard, all using their real names — who venture into the Maryland woods to make a doc about the legend of a local witch. Sure enough, these three hapless kids get lost in the woods and quickly learn that the so-called Blair Witch is more than a legend.

There was so much hype surrounding the film that a backlash was inevitable, and sure enough, many viewers took issue with the film's shaky camera work and the fact that you never really see anything in the film, although that's not quite true — you see plenty, it's just done in a subtle way that doesn't quite announce itself, which makes things all the more frightening. But it's a testament to how effective this film is that even after its release, many still thought it was completely real and that the three leads were really missing and presumed dead.

Dread hangs over the film from the start, and the grainy footage only adds to the unsettling vibe. This feels real, and when the supernatural stuff starts happening, that feels real, too. By the time the film reaches its terrifying climax, all hope is lost, and only the legend remains.

The Alternate Take: "The Blair Witch Project" ushered in a new era of found-footage horror films, many of which just don't cut it. But one of the best of the best is Joel Anderson's "Lake Mungo," a faux documentary about a family that swears their dead daughter is haunting their house. Thick with ominous dread, "Lake Mungo" ends up being a treatise on death itself, and how it's coming for all of us sooner or later. (Chris Evangelista)

Blow Out (1981)

The paranoid style transmogrified into personal tragedy. Brian De Palma blends the buckshot satire of his early comedies with his precision-crafted suspense films and comes away with a work that's as brutally cynical as it is heartbreaking. John Travolta stars as a bored sound man whose work leads him to witness and record a fatal car crash involving a top presidential candidate. When he pieces his sound together with a Zapruder-like presentation of the accident, he becomes convinced that the blown tire was shot out by a hidden gunman.

De Palma tones down the eroticism of "Dressed to Kill" to vent his frustration with the house-wins rules of political cover-ups, particularly the JFK assassination. Travolta's character, desperate to atone for a lethal mistake from his past, believes he can expose the plot, and he's capable enough to get us believing in him. De Palma hooks us with dense technical details, and gets first-rate performances out of his leads. Karen Allen works an adorable riff on Shirley MacLaine's perky "Some Came Running" wastrel, while John Lithgow horrifies as a hitman turned serial killer. De Palma expertly tightens the screws before walloping us with a corker of an ending. It's his finest hour as a filmmaker.

The Alternate take: Rebecca Romijn sizzles as a diamond thief who double-crosses her accomplices in De Palma's wildly underrated "Femme Fatale." It's an erotic fever dream, and, like "Blow Out," the purest of pure cinema. (Jeremy Smith)

Brazil (1985)

Director Terry Gilliam's "Brazil," a portrait of a sci-fi dystopia dominated by cruel and casual fascism, infuriating bureaucracy, and a population too comfortable to do a damn thing about it, has aged like a wine you wish didn't taste so familiar. The film's grim comedy is matched only by its sweeping eye for romance and beauty in the face of oppression -- what can save us from a nightmare if not a beautiful dream?

With a cast of game actors leading the charge (including Michael Palin playing against type as a disturbing family man with a successful career as a government torturer), Gilliam's film borrows the rib-jabbing satire of his Monty Python days but instills it with an anger that resonates, all brought to life with a camera whose mobility reflects the chaos and confusion of the world it depicts. And that world, cluttered and ugly and gray and utilitarian to the point of suffocation, remains one of the great cinematic landscapes, one that fascinates and sickens in equal measure.

Gilliam famously fought the studio to preserve his vision, pessimistic ending and all. But the real miracle of "Brazil" is that the movie itself is better than the story of its making. And that's one of the most interesting stories in Hollywood history, so that's saying something.

The Alternate Take: For a less intentionally idiotic and more beautiful and haunting vision of a science fiction dystopia that hits far too close to home, you can't go wrong with Ridley Scott's immortal "Blade Runner." (Jacob Hall)

The Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)

James Whale's brilliant, groundbreaking, haunting "Frankenstein" feels almost quaint compared to his energized and subversive follow-up. "The Bride of Frankenstein" finds the Monster, played from living corpse to childlike naiveté to tortured adulthood by the iconic Boris Karloff, growing beyond his creator's horrified dreams, and longing for a creature just like him to ease his lonely, man-made soul. Meanwhile, the guilt-ridden Doctor Frankenstein (Colin Clive) finds himself goaded into recreating his ill-fated experiment by an old college... friend... named Doctor Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), who laughs in the face of conventional and toasts "a new world of gods and monsters."

"The Bride of Frankenstein" abounds with innovative visual effects, eerie makeup, stunning cinematography. It takes Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's literary masterpiece and adapts it into ecstatic cinema, keeping all the horror, but adding new layers of camp, and all the while needling at social convention. Religion, sexuality, and morbidity of the weirdest kind. To watch "The Bride of Frankenstein" today is to wonder at how Whale ever got away with it amidst the constrictive morals of the Hayes Codes, and to marvel at just how fresh and bizarre it all still is. The early horror films from Whale — two "Frankensteins," the ingenious "The Invisible Man," and the wonderfully bizarre "The Old Dark House" — make up one of the genre's great oeuvres, and "Bride" is the masterpiece.

The Alternate Take: Did somebody say "religion, sexuality, and morbidity of the weirdest kind?" Ken Russell's endlessly controversial and deliriously fascinating "The Devils" (1971) couldn't be described better. The film's perverse yet pointed exploration of nuns claiming to be possessed by sexually-depraved demons in the 17th century has the power to get under anyone's skin, and it loves to squirm around in there. (William Bibbiani)

Casablanca (1942)

The astonishing thing about Michael Curtiz's "Casablanca" is that, despite being removed from modern sensibilities by 81 years, it still plays like the Devil. Curtiz, a Hungarian-born director who had made hundreds of films all over the world prior to "Casablanca," was known in America for making action pictures like "Captain Blood" and "The Adventures of Robin Hood." His propensity for action and pacing allowed "Casablanca" to emerge as a feisty, energetic romance, full of intrigue and melodrama, without ever feeling artificial or contrived. Humphrey Bogart's embittered WWII bar owner Rick has become something of a Jungian archetype, while Claude Rains' Renault, comfortable with his corruption, remains one of cinema's great scoundrels. 

"Casablanca," despite its status as a classic, was constructed as "just another studio film" by Warner Bros. It had some contract stars, and was tapping into popular trends at the time: romance, exotic locations, spy-type intrigue, and concerns about World War II. It seems that sometimes, through strange ineffable alchemy, the studio system can produce an indelible and timeless classic kind of by accident. Just this once, everything fell into place. The drama is beautiful, the romance is moving, the politics are assertive, the characters sublime. Even "As Time Goes By," written for the movie to sound like an old standard has, in itself, become an old standard.

The Alternate Take: If Curtiz's career as a genre filmmaker interests you, one would do well to check his 1932 horror mystery "Doctor X," a film shot in then-new color techniques and featuring a murder mystery wherein all the suspects are mad scientists. It's dynamic, fast-paced, and exciting. It's like a sci-fi noir version of the play-within-a-play segment of "Hamlet." (Witney Seibold)

Children Of Men (2006)

"Children of Men" is a harrowing experience that lets its audience know that nothing is safe from its first scene, when former activist Theo (Clive Owen) narrowly escapes a terrorist bombing in a coffee shop. Alfonso Cuarón's brutal-but-hopeful dystopian masterpiece has it all: Christian virgin birth allegory, harsh commentary on nationalism and racism, and some of the most heart-pounding action sequences ever put to film. The film is a carefully orchestrated symphony that uses silence like a weapon, where even moments that might feel like a reprieve in other films are still menacing and tense. 

The movie takes place in a world where no babies have been born for 18 years, but a young refugee woman named Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) is trying to find asylum in London, and she's miraculously pregnant. The problem is that refugees are treated as less than human, and there's a good chance her baby would be taken away from her (and possibly even killed). Theo, along with his ex-wife Julian (Julianne Moore), and their allies from their activism days, are tasked with getting Kee to the coast and on a boat, where she will be taken to safety. Cuarón and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki utilize an always-moving camera, even inventing a masterful rig specifically for an intense one-take sequence during a violent car chase that feels more intimate than even documentary filmmaking. "Children of Men" is incredibly made, and sadly only grows more relevant as time goes on. 

The Alternate Take: For another thought-provoking dystopian story with bold cinematography, look no further than Terry Gilliam's 1996 film "12 Monkeys," starring Bruce Willis as a prisoner tasked with time-traveling to prevent an apocalyptic plague unleashed by terrorists. (Danielle Ryan)

Citizen Kane (1941)

The greatest of Orson Welles's directorial debut has been so widely accepted, and for so long, that putting it on a list of the greatest movies ever made might seem like a cliché. But "Citizen Kane" is no stuffy art house venture. Indeed, Welles's youthful enthusiasm, his eagerness to push boundaries, and his desperate desire to entertain keeps this classic timeless. The 25-year-old wunderkind throws everything at his audience to keep our attention rapt, injecting a serious indictment of American capitalism — in which a young impoverished boy gets raised by a corporate tycoon, and tries to fill the void in his soul with a lifetime of empty acquisitions and superficial victories — with humor, music and Shakespearean melodrama.

"Citizen Kane" is such a lively and impassioned affair that its many subtleties aren't visible without multiple viewings, they're too buried under exciting camerawork and crackling dialogue. Even the film's famous ending — there's no sense in spoiling it here — takes on new dimensions, when you realize only in retrospect how close "Rosebud" was to Charles Foster Kane all along, what distracted him from his pursuit of it, and what it ultimately meant to him beyond the obvious, yet no less tragic interpretation offered by the film's stunning final moments.

The Alternate Take: Orson Welles rewrote the cinematic language when he was 25, with a film that's been called the best ever made. How fitting, then, that the most recent film to grab that title — Chantal Akerman's "Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles" (1975) — was also the work of a 25-year-old genius, challenging cinematic norms as she took the seemingly mundane life of a stay-at-home mom and sex worker and transformed it into the audience's whole universe, to the extent that even subtlest changes in routine become gigantic and powerful. (William Bibbiani)

Clueless (1995)

The pantheon of teen cinema exists in two timelines: Before "Clueless," and after. Amy Heckerling's updated adaptation of Jane Austen's "Emma" impacted fashion, language, pop culture, and cinema forever. This "way existential" piece is a slice-of-life comedy centered on ultra-rich Beverly Hills teenagers, but beneath the seemingly vapid and shallow exterior is a deeply layered story not just about growing up, but embracing a life of self-aware maturity. Alicia Silverstone's Cher Horowitz is an all-time feminist protagonist, banishing the misogynistic idea that being a smart and respectable woman requires disavowing stereotypical feminine behaviors or expressions.

At the same time, "Clueless" is a brilliant satire on white, wealthy elites. Heckerling embraces the smart rom-com beats of Austen's literary work, and uses Cher and her friends as a vehicle to point out the ways folks who already "have it made" still have a lot of growing up to do.

Cher may be the central focus, but "Clueless" is ultimately a story about the power and necessity of female friendships, and how women are at their best and brightest when working together and learning from one another, rather than trying to teach each other down the way society wishes we would. It's only when Cher, Dionne (Stacey Dash), and Tai (Brittany Murphy) stop trying to fall in line with the arbitrary societal requirements of high school and instead do what truly makes them happy that they're able to feel less clueless about what comes next.

The Alternate Take: "Heathers" (1988) completely changed the landscape of teen cinema, a pitch-black comedic satire unafraid to acknowledge the mortifying realities of teenage existence with just as many quotable lines. How very, indeed. (BJ Colangelo)

Coraline (2009)

Leave it to the twisted mind of Henry Selick to do justice to Neil Gaiman's writing on the big screen. Selick's "Coraline" is the rare movie to fully capture the delicate mixture of terror, whimsy, and poignancy that characterizes Gaiman's literature. It also suggests that animation might be the ideal medium for adapting the multihyphenate's work. Gaiman's stories tend to morph from one genre to another in the blink of an eye and "Coraline" is no exception. But Selick's film never struggles to maintain the pace, its ever-moldable and gorgeous stop-motion animation shifting through a spellbinding array of colors and shapes to match every twist and turn in its narrative.

Speaking of, there are few modern animated movies quite as tightly-structured as "Coraline." Nary a scene nor interaction fails to move the story forward or develop its characters in some meaningful way, even when it's simply Coraline herself (Dakota Fanning channeling her inner moody tween to perfection) moping about her family's new apartment. At its core, though, Selick's film is more than just an extra-scary coming-of-age fantasy in the style of "The Wizard of Oz." It's a movie that teaches kids that adulthood is not actually something to be afraid of, while at the same time reminding grown-ups what the world looks like through the eyes of a child. And what better way to impart those lessons than a movie that will mildly traumatize the kiddos of the world?

The Alternate Take: 30 years (and counting) after its release, Selick's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" remains a fiendish holiday delight. But beneath Danny Elfman's cheerfully macabre tunes and the movie's gorgeously warped stop-motion visuals is a timeless reminder: Even the Pumpkin King struggles with ennui and creative burnout every now and then. (Sandy Schaefer)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is more than just the best Ang Lee film, it's also the most Ang Lee film. Thematically, Lee's Wuxia epic cuts to the heart of the director's electric filmography, exploring the ways repressed desires and emotional subjugation -- most of which is imposed by social practices -- wreak havoc on people's lives. It's what makes "Crouching Tiger" so deeply romantic yet at the same time melancholic. So much of the movie's conflict and eventual tragedy might have been avoided, had its characters not been forced into the boxes deemed appropriate for them by society (be it because of their gender, class, or lifestyle).

The other defining quality of Lee's artistry is his knack for pushing the envelope technically -- and in that regard, "Crouching Tiger" soars higher than two martial artists clashing swords over the treetops of a bamboo forest. Working in tandem with cinematographer Peter Pau, legendary Hong Kong fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, and the rest of his cast and crew, Lee crafts some of the most breathtaking martial arts brawls in cinema history. Decades later, the film's gorgeous real-world locations and awe-inspiring practical effects retain their power, and yet it's the combination of spectacle and its unique perspective on the Wuxia genre's motifs that give the movie its true staying power.

The Alternate Take: Substitute the martial arts sequences in "Crouching Tiger" with delectable foodie porn and the action-adventure story with a plot involving a widower and his daughters, and what do you get? Ang Lee's thoroughly captivating 1994 romantic dramedy "Eat Drink Man Woman," a must-see for anyone who enjoys the filmmaker's work. (Sandy Schaefer)

The Dark Knight (2008)

If any popular filmmaker of the 2000s has a shot at making their way onto the eventual Mount Rushmore of cinema, it is almost certainly Christopher Nolan. Much of that has to do with his originals such as "The Prestige" and "Inception," yes, but it's the man's work with one of the biggest pop culture icons of all-time that cements his status as a legend behind the camera. "The Dark Knight" picked up where "Batman Begins" left off, but that first film only teed up the ball for something far greater -- one of the greatest comic book movies ever made. Period.

With a great deal in common with expert crime dramas such as "Heat," Christian Bale's second solo "Batman" film feels so grounded and real (especially compared to the camp of "Batman & Robin," released just over a decade earlier) that it hardly feels like a superhero movie in the traditional sense at all. From the opening frames of the bank robbery to the film's superheroic closing moments where Batman becomes the hero we all understand him to be, this is what all summer blockbusters wish they could be. The entire thing is elevated by the late Heath Ledger as The Joker, which easily ranks as one of the most memorable performances ever committed to film. If there's ever been a case that comic book movies can and should be taken seriously, this is it.

The Alternate Take: 2008, as it turns out, is the most significant year in the history of making superhero movies an ongoing, cinematic concern. Case in point, "Iron Man" was also released that year, which launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe by turning a B-list hero into an A-class comic book movie. Remarkable that these movies were released within mere weeks of one another. (Ryan Scott)

Die Hard (1988)

There is a convincing argument that great cinema does not require perfection. So many of the best movies ever made (many of them on this list) have their flaws. But every so often, a movie does come our way that is downright perfect no matter how one slices it. One of those movies is "Die Hard," the action classic to top all action classics, not to mention one hell of a Christmas movie. This is Bruce Willis at his finest, working under the direction of the brilliant John McTiernan. It's deceptively simple yet brilliantly executed, centered on a bunch of vaguely European criminals who just want a bunch of money with one rogue cop standing in their way. That's cinema, baby.

When the greatest movie villains of all time list is put together -- be it on this site or elsewhere -- "Die Hard" belongs in the conversation. But part of what makes this movie stand out is the sheer perfection of Alan Rickman as Gruber. From the moment he enters Nakatomi Plaza to the moment he falls from the top of that glorious building, it's everything we popcorn-loving moviegoers yearn for. Endlessly quotable lines, relentless re-watchability, and unabashed entertainment of the highest order, "Die Hard" is what all action movies aspire to be.

The Alternate Take: For those who love this brand of action, McTiernan had arguably the greatest three-movie run in history, following up "Die Hard" with "The Hunt for Red October." But that run started with another all-timer in the form of 1987's "Predator," which helped cement Arnold Schwarzenegger as an action star who had more than one trick up his sleeve. Another beautiful marriage of the right star with a brilliant premise that is just as deserving of immortal status. (Ryan Scott)

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Watching Sidney Lumet's beautiful and blistering 1975 film about a bank robbery gone wrong feels a bit like stepping on a live wire for 125 minutes straight. This is a film that jolts audiences from our stupor as well now as it did upon release, thanks to a stunning performance by a young Al Pacino, a funny, dark, and melancholy script from "Cool Hand Luke" scribe Frank Pierson, and a ripped-from-the-headlines true story.

"Dog Day Afternoon" pulls from the real life of John Wojtowicz, a man who, according to the Life magazine piece on which the script was based, held up a bank in 1972 in order to help pay for his transgender girlfriend's gender-affirming surgery. The film's subjects would eventually sue the project for its inaccuracies, but there's certainly an emotional truth to "Dog Day Afternoon" that transcends its true story moniker. Pacino's volatile yet charming performance as Sonny Wortzik is countered perfectly by a rare appearance from John Cazale, whose robbery accomplice Salvatore Naturile may be the most tragic character in a film that's full of them. With sympathetic criminals and overtly queer characters at its core, "Dog Day Afternoon" is a transgressive and unforgettable anti-authority shout of a film.

The Alternate Take: 1976's "Network" is the other half of Lumet's mid-'70s cinematic one-two punch, and it's just as classic as "Dog Day Afternoon." "Network" features another American man on the brink, only this time around, it's Peter Finch's fed-up TV news anchor Howard Beale. (Valerie Ettenhofer)

Do The Right Thing (1989)

It's well established that Spike Lee's sizzling-day-in-the-life of a block in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood is the definitive cinematic depiction of race relations in this busted country, but people often overlook how entertaining and downright joyous it is for most of its runtime. For some urban dwellers, this was a rare opportunity to see themselves on screen in all their festive, loving, good-naturedly quarreling glory. Every community has a Da Mayor (Ossie Davis) or a Mother Sister (Ruby Dee), and there's always some middle-aged men hanging out, sucking down suds and talking trash on a hot summer day. Lee's Bed-Stuy isn't a paradise, but it's a place where people who've grown up knowing each other tend to take care of each other when s*** goes down.

At the center of the drama is Sal's Famous Pizzeria, and the conflict that explodes out of this establishment is depicted without a clear slant. Lee wisely leaves his audience to draw their own conclusions about the dispute between Sal (Danny Aiello), Buggin' Out (Giancarlo Esposito) and Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn), but he makes it plain that the most intrusive, destabilizing force in the neighborhood is the police. The conclusion is tragic and infuriatingly unnecessary, and a reminder that cops who patrol an area where they do not live take an antagonistic approach to the people they are supposed to protect. This element of Lee's film feels more searingly palpable in 2023, and makes his masterpiece more essential than ever.

The Alternative Take: Lee's "Malcolm X" is, like "Do the Right Thing," as entertaining as it is provocative. He gets an all-time great performance out of Denzel Washington as the slain religious leader, and humanizes a man who, for too long, was viewed as a fire-breathing demagogue. (Jeremy Smith)

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

"Star Wars" changed American movies forever, but "The Empire Strikes Back" is the reason the franchise is still thriving today. Lawrence Kasdan's crackerjack screenplay supplies Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) with lively banter that would be right at home in a screwball comedy. It also, miraculously, downshifts to imbue the Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Yoda relationship with a Buddhist spirituality. The stakes are gently raised as we invest in Han and Leia's blossoming romance and the deeper meaning of The Force. Who knew that a giggly, green, 2'2" puppet would get a generation of young moviegoers considering their life's purpose?

Of course, when it comes to action, "The Empire Strikes Back" has it where it counts. The Hoth battle, with T-47 airspeeders buzzing AT-AT walkers is thrilling stuff, as is the Millennium Falcon's frantic flight through a dense asteroid belt. It all builds to a masterfully orchestrated feat of parallel action on Cloud City, where Leia and company scramble to escape the clutches of the Empire, while Luke takes his first crack at Darth Vader (and learns something awfully disquieting about his heritage in the process). Audiences freaked out over the cliffhanger finale, but that didn't stop them from lining up time and again to compile intel on where the concluding installment might be headed. This is the apex of the franchise, and it still hasn't been topped (though Rian Johnson got awfully close).

The Alternate take: George Lucas handed Irvin Kershner the reins on "The Empire Strikes Back" based on the director's spooky thriller "Eyes of Laura Mars." Written by John Carpenter, it's a nifty, high-style American giallo wherein fashion photographer Faye Dunaway envisions a killer's acts as they happen. (Jeremy Smith)

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Over a long career spent assembling deeply personal stories in crowd-pleasing packages, "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" is still Steven Spielberg's most emotionally naked work. It's a film that taps deeply (even painfully) into the universal experience of being a lonely child who's hurt and confused to learn that life doesn't always go the way we would like. It might be an other-worldly visitor with a magic touch who teaches Elliott the power of empathy and compassion for others, yet it's the film's fantastical elements that free up Spielberg and writer Melissa Mathison to deal with harder emotional truths as authentically as they do.

Framing is also key to the power of the movie's story. Spielberg meticulously films "E.T." from the perspective of a child, presenting most of the adult characters as blurry figures or, during a particularly harrowing moment, as faceless beings invading Elliott's home. This emboldens "E.T." to run the gamut in terms of its tone, shifting effortlessly from scenes of terror and heartbreak to whimsical comedy and the ebullient wonder of the iconic flying bicycle rides (fueled by John Williams' stirring and wondrous score). It's the type of pure, unrestrained cinematic magic that the very term "Spielbergian" has come to encompass.

The Alternate Take: Who could've predicted Spielberg would see so much of his own life in the true(-ish) tale of a runaway teen con artist? "Catch Me If You Can" is brisk and amusingly risqué for a Spielberg film, but it's the affecting story of a kid yearning to repair their broken family that makes this one of the director's essential offerings. (Sandy Schaefer)

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)

Director Michel Gondry brings his makeshift moviemaking mind to this lo-fi sci-fi romance starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet as two star-crossed lovers. Well, maybe. It depends on how you look at it this magnificent motion picture. Either the melancholy Joel (Carrey) and the impulsive Clementine (Winslet) are doomed to repeat a failed romance for the rest of their lives, even after they have any memory of each other erased from their minds, or they're destined to be together, no matter how many times they screw it up. That's part of the undeniable beauty of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Either it's a tragic reminder of the relationships that fall apart or an encouraging reminder that true love will endure. 

What makes "Eternal Sunshine" even more special is the practical camera tricks and visual effects used to bring the story to life. Our story cuts back and forth between present day and memories of the past in reverse chronological order as two technicians erase the memory of Clementine from Joel's memory. As each memory is erased, Joel realizes he doesn't want to forget about Clem, and we watch him desperately try to hold onto as much as he can, even as the memories crumble around him. The way Gondry brings such a grand concept to life in a deceptively simple way is just good old fashioned creative filmmaking, and everything comes together to make this movie a masterpiece. 

The Alternate Take: Much of the same grounded, surreal filmmaking style and quirky storytelling that makes "Eternal Sunshine" so great can also be seen in "Being John Malkovich," which makes sense since both were written by acclaimed writer Charlie Kaufman. It's more of a dark comedy than "Eternal Sunshine," but it's a stellar, original piece of cinema. (Ethan Anderton)

The Exorcist (1973)

Just five years after the Hays Code and its strict rules of self-censorship lost its grip on film industry, Regan MacNeil was bloodily masturbating with a crucifix as the demon possessing her screamed "Let Jesus f*** you!" and her mother watched in horror. You could say it was quite a transformative time for Hollywood.

That sheer, unrestrained depravity and malevolence are a big part of what makes "The Exorcist" such a terrifying film: once it smashes through those boundaries, the audience has no idea where the guardrails are -- or if they even exist at all. Fear is often dismissed as a cheap emotion that's easy to wring from audiences, but it takes a lot of skill to make a film as relentlessly terrifying as this one. The initial slow build of dread lulls you into expecting a slow burn suspense, until "The Exorcist" starts to hit you with stings of chaos, monstrosity, and blasphemy extreme enough to shock even the staunchest atheist.

There is a lot of depth to "The Exorcist," underpinning the green projectile vomit and those sneak-attack glimpses of Captain Howdy. Ultimately, though, its place in the top 100 is earned simply because few films have ever scared so many pants off so many people.

The Alternate Take: If another movie were to make it into this list by sheer virtue of leaving audiences too frightened to move, it would have to be "Ju-On: The Grudge." There really isn't much of a plot -- it's a movie where a series of people go to the same house and see a horrible thing -- and yet with the simplest of set-ups director Takashi Shimizu delivers a masterclass in crafting horror. (Hannah Shaw-Williams)

Get Out (2017)

With some movies, it can take years of reevaluation and evolving mindsets to finally recognize what a certain filmmaker -- typically considered to be "ahead of their time" -- was trying to accomplish. With others, you just know an instant classic the minute you see it. Jordan Peele's feature debut "Get Out" belongs to a highly specific class of movie that stands out because of how precisely and unapologetically it remains of its time. Releasing in theaters barely a month after Donald Trump's inauguration, the circumstances of the movie's timing clearly enhanced the power of its themes -- although even that would mean little if it weren't for the technical precision Peele demonstrates behind the camera, too.

Every choice in "Get Out" is made in service of putting audiences in the perspective of a Black man living in America, under systemic racism both insidiously subtle and obviously violent. For much of the story, the film's main antagonist is embodied by Bradley Whitford's Dean Armitage, a well-meaning white liberal father lacking in self-awareness. After the big reveal, Daniel Kaluuya's Chris Washington must reckon with the lingering effects of the oldest and most deep-rooted example of racial bigotry in American history. "Get Out" starts with a Black man lost and kidnapped in a wealthy white neighborhood. It ends by successfully convincing even its white viewers to share the same dread that its Black main character feels when flashing police lights arrive at the most inopportune moment. That's movie magic, baby.

The Alternate Take: From one modern horror movie acting as a feature-length metaphor for complex social realities to another, Leigh Whannell's "The Invisible Man" bears the distinction of somehow managing to remix a familiar property into something shockingly relevant, turning a classic Universal monster story into a parable about abusive relationships and gaslighting. Like "Get Out," its potent themes are matched by the razor-sharp script and filmmaking acumen that combine to make each scare land, squeeze every ounce of tension out of the story, and leave viewers thrilled and horrified by the carnage left in its wake. (Jeremy Mathai)

Ghostbusters (1984)

Who ya gonna call? Immediately knowing the answer to that question may be enough to solidify "Ghostbusters" as one of the greatest movies of all time. Powered by one of the most famous movie theme songs of all time, "Ghosbusters" is more than your average comedy. Director Ivan Reitman delivered a gamechanger by combining the sarcastic wit of comedy legends Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis with a blockbuster premise, making for a new kind of cinematic experience back in 1984. 

Rarely had this level of laugh out loud humor been paired with earnest genre filmmaking on this large of a scale. While the buddy cop subgenre had achieved a similar feat in the blending of gunfire and car chases with big laughs, the VFX-driven paranormal spooks, specters, and ghosts at the center of "Ghostbusters" turn it into something else entirely, giving us a wry, blue collar approach to an apocalyptic threat in the heart of New York City. The film goes from sliming Bill Murray and calling an EPA agent d***less to fending off a destructive god and a massive marshmallow man. It doesn't get much better than this. In fact, many movies have tried to capture the undeniable magic of "Ghostbusters," but even the franchise itself couldn't capture lightning in a ghost trap again with "Ghostbusters II."

The Alternate Take: If there's one movie that manages to capture the same comedic spirit of "Ghostbusters" while also maintaining the blockbuster scale, it's "Men in Black," featuring the unlikely fantastic teaming of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones and the unparalleled movie magic of special effects master Rick Baker. (Ethan Anderton)

The Godfather (1972)

"That's my family, Kay. It's not me." Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) means this at the outset of Francis Ford Coppola's mafia epic, but their blood is the thickest of thick. Marlon Brando's disappearing act as Don Vito Corleone was the hook that had moviegoers circling blocks on opening weekend, but the central tragedy of "The Godfather" is Michael's transformation from war hero to cold-hearted kingpin. He surrenders his future to avenge an attempt on his father's life, and, after a grave personal tragedy, returns from Sicily a man of unrepentantly corrupt industry. He is the apotheosis of a corporate operator in that the family business condones murder as a means to a perpetuating end. This is how Vito gained a foothold in America, and Michael, having killed for his country, is shockingly comfortable with the bloodletting aspect of his chosen profession.

This was a make-or-break movie for Coppola, and he did himself no favors by hiring Gordon Willis to shoot the film in shadowy earth tones. But this dimly lit gambit, abetted by Nino Rota's mournful main theme, imbued Mario Puzo's pulpy narrative with a dark soul. The casting is top-to-bottom perfection, and Coppola's mise-en-scène is a literal master class (his staging is taught in film schools all over the world). "The Godfather" is every bit as captivating as it was 51 years ago. It is as timeless as "The Wizard of Oz" and "Casablanca." You're throwing it on right now, aren't you?

The Alternate Take: "The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II" are masterpieces in their own right, but the ideal version of Coppola's first two installments might be found in "The Godfather Saga." The chronological telling of the Corleones' story threads both movies together, and sticks that Lake Tahoe ending like a knife through the heart. (Jeremy Smith)

Goodfellas (1990)

Martin Scorsese's masterpiece, "Goodfellas" is an endlessly rewatchable look at three decades of life in the mafia as viewed through the eyes of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta). Based on a true story, we follow Hill as he grows up around and eventually becomes a gangster, guided by local hoodlum Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro, who has never been cooler than he is in this movie) and pal Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci in an Oscar-winning role).

Scorsese weaves a rich tapestry here, focusing on tiny details that burn themselves into our minds — the pinky rings, the silk suits, the bad jokes, the dimly lit nightclubs, the bursts of violence, and of course, the food. So much food. (Don't forget to stir the sauce!)

Slick, stylish, and hilarious, Scorsese's film looks like it's glorifying a life of crime — until it all comes crashing down in a coke-fueled, murder-filled haze. Henry is not a big name in the mafia, he's a low-level crook who just happens to be our Dante, guiding us through several circles of hell. Using a showstopping one-take, brutal violence, a darkly comedic script, a soundtrack full of wall-to-wall pop music, and an energy that absolutely no one has ever been able to recreate (except for Scorsese), "Goodfellas" is brilliant, nasty, and one of a kind. The fact that it lost Best Picture at the Oscars to Kevin Costner's hum-drum "Dances With Wolves" should be considered a crime against cinema.

The Alternate Take: "Goodfellas" is a young man's look at a life of crime. Decades later, Scorsese created a much different gangster movie with "The Irishman," bringing back "Goodfellas" stars De Niro and Pesci and adding Al Pacino to tell a winter's tale — a story of violent men who slowly watch the world pass them by until they're irrelevant bones in a box. A massive, staggering work, this is one of Scorsese's best pictures, and the fact that he made it so late in his career is a testament to his power. (Chris Evangelista)

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly (1966)

It's almost funny that Sergio Leone considered "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" a satire of Hollywood westerns because, in hindsight, the film is more of a reconstruction than a deconstruction. Just a year before the similarly transgressive "Bonnie and Clyde" kicked off the New Hollywood era in earnest, the sheer power of Leone's filmmaking reconfigured the cinematic west into a landscape that's, to use Leone's own words, just as "violent and uncomplicated" as the people who live there. When people heard the word "gunslinger," they used to picture John Wayne. Now, they think of Clint Eastwood.

"The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" didn't do this alone, of course. Not by a long shot. Sam Peckinpah had something to do with it, as did a number of other great spaghetti westerns, including many from Leone's filmography. But "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" is the best of the bunch, and its influence transcends genre boundaries. You'll see its imprint in "Star Wars," "Logan," Stephen King's "The Dark Tower," and every film Quentin Tarantino has ever made.

That's the level of craft we're talking about. Eastwood, Wallach, and Van Cleef's trio of treasure-hunting outlaws are the perfect guides to the horrors of the Civil War, and while the film's long and languidly paced, it never drags. And then there's Ennio Morricone's score, which might as well be the film's fourth main character. Close your eyes and listen; even without the visuals, the music tells you everything you need to know.

The Alternate Take: "Unforgiven" is a sequel to "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" in all but name, and while William Munny isn't technically an older version of the Man with No Name, the whole enterprise gives Eastwood an opportunity to dissect the films of his early career in the same way that Leone tackled the westerns of Hollywood's golden age. (Christopher Gates)

The Graduate (1967)

Mike Nichols' bright, incisive, endlessly stylish film about post-college malaise is the coming-of-age genre at its best and most emotionally complex. When Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) meets seductive family friend Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), the recent California grad who's prone to spending his days floating in the pool finds his life exploding in vivid color. The pair's memorable tryst is the focal point for many a retrospective on the film (how many times have you heard "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me, aren't you?"), but "The Graduate" has a whole lot more on its mind than the illicit affair at its center.

When Benjamin ends up separately involved in a relationship with Mrs. Robinson's daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross), the film evolves into a surprising and potent exploration of the trappings of the status quo -- the moment in a man's life when "sow your wild oats" turns into "when are you going to get serious?" The film's most famous shot is its last, a stunning oner on the back of a bus that conveys more in silence than the film ever did in words. Still, though, every moment of "The Graduate" feels gorgeously expressive, from those pool shots to a sequence that frames Bancroft as a small, wounded creature in a hallway -- not to mention each moment that brims with the energy of the film's Simon & Garfunkel soundtrack.

The Alternate Take: Hal Ashby's 1971 black comedy "Harold and Maude" takes a softer -- yet ultimately more melancholy -- approach to the May-December romance. In this beautiful and bittersweet classic, death-obsessed teen Harold (Bud Cort) strikes up an unorthodox friendship (and more) with life-loving septuagenarian Maude (Ruth Gordon), and the result is offbeat and indelible. (Valerie Ettenhofer)

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Wes Anderson has only further refined and fine-tuned his so-called dollhouse aesthetic with each new movie, yet it's 2014's "The Grand Budapest Hotel" that continues to reign triumphant in his filmography. The storyteller's magnum opus of pleasing colors and symmetrical compositions is, of course, a feast for the eyes full of candy-colored scenery and the type of droll visual comedy that's rarely found in modern cinema.

There's also a whole lot going on below the decadent surface here. Anderson and his co-writer Hugo Guinness are telling a story that's been passed down by a nostalgic old man and then repackaged by an author within the movie, freeing it up to deal with some heavy subject matter (the spread of fascism in early 20th-century Europe) while retaining a touch as delicate and light as one of Herr Mendl's baked treats. In other words, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is knowingly romanticizing the past by focusing primarily on its fanciful plot and doing its best to keep the sadder moments in the margins -- an act that only serves to make them all the more moving and haunting.

As a whole, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is much like Monsieur Gustave H. (a never-better Ralph Fiennes): enchantingly ridiculous, comically posh, and more than a little bit naughty, but above all else a truly remarkable one-of-a-kind specimen.

The Alternate Take: Anderson's ode to childhood and young love (in all its ungainly glory), "Moonrise Kingdom" is idiosyncratic, pensive, mischievous, and bittersweet, often at the same time. That is to say, it's a Wes Anderson joint through and through, effortlessly marrying classic film homages with Anderson's quirky original ideas to the point where you can't tell where one ends and the other begins. (Sandy Schaefer)

Groundhog Day (1993)

Every single time loop movie that has been made since "Groundhog Day" has been trying to replicate the greatness of this 1993 wonder. The mere existence of this movie is a bit of a miracle when you consider how it tore apart the friendship of director/writer Harold Ramis and his "Ghostbusters" cohort Bill Murray, but the fact that it's actually a perfect and genuinely funny romantic comedy that manages to fit in tinges of darkness and existential crisis makes it even more special. 

Bill Murray has never been better as he slowly loses his mind while living the same Groundhog Day over an over again. Though he may have earned an Oscar nomination for his turn in "Lost in Translation," this is truly the best performance of his career, tapping into everything that makes him a joy to watch. Time loop movies can be especially difficult to crack because they require repeating the same beats over and over again, which means a decent chunk of your movie has to be downright amazing in order for audiences to even tolerate watching scenes over and over again. Witnessing Murray slowly descend into madness, hit rock bottom by killing himself in a variety of creative ways, and then rising up out of the ashes to find meaning in his life never gets tired. "Groundhog Day" finds comedy in the mundane with a little bit of mayhem sprinkled throughout, and it's not just one of the best comedies of all time, it's one of the best films ever made. 

The Alternate Take: "Edge of Tomorrow" (or "Live. Die. Repeat.") is perhaps the only time loop movie that has come close to being as good as "Groundhog Day," and it's all thanks to the meshing of some surprising comedy chops from Tom Cruise and the absolute badass Emily Blunt alongside him in some stunning sci-fi action sequences. (Ethan Anderton)

Halloween (1978)

John Carpenter invented the slasher film as we know it with "Halloween," a so-simple-it's-brilliant story of unspeakable, unstoppable evil. It's Halloween and murderer Michael Myers has escaped from an insane asylum to head back home to Haddonfield, Illinois. There, pursued by his psychiatrist, Dr. Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasence, creating an iconic character by wearing a trench coat and uttering uber-dramatic lines about evil), he begins targeting a group of babysitters who have the misfortune of crossing his path. One of the babysitters, virginal Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), is soon the last girl standing.

Over the years, "Halloween" sequels would expand on the mythology, adding weird new footnotes and caveats. And while those films are entertaining, none of them can match the raw, primal power of the original. What could've easily been a forgotten B-movie became a phenomenon; a film audiences couldn't get enough of, even as they screamed in terror. As the great Roger Ebert wrote in his four-star review of the film, "We see movies for a lot of reasons. Sometimes we want to be amused. Sometimes we want to escape. Sometimes we want to laugh, or cry, or see sunsets. And sometimes we want to be scared."

The Alternate Take: While "Halloween" is perhaps one of the most famous holiday-themed horror titles, it wasn't the first. A few years before Carpenter took us to Haddonfield, Bob Clark gave folks the chills with his creepy slow-burn "Black Christmas," focusing on a group of sorority sisters targeted by a killer. Stylish and scary, it's actually one of two big Christmas movies Clark made. The other? "A Christmas Story." (Chris Evangelista)

Heat (1995)

"Heat" was advertised as the first time legendary actors Al Pacino and Robert De Niro would share the screen (they previously both appeared in "The Godfather Part II," but never occupied the same scene), but the big Pacino/De Niro meet-up is just one scene in a vast, sprawling crime epic. Career criminal De Niro and his crew are planning one big score when they catch the eye of cop Pacino, and director Michael Mann weaves in and out of the lives of these characters and those around them to weave a brilliant tapestry. It's one of the best crime movies ever made because it's about so much more than crime. It's about the lives these characters live and the traps they build for themselves along the way. At any moment, one of these men can walk away and save themselves and the lives of others around them. But they can't. They're both obsessed with their work because their work is all they know, and if that creates collateral damage along the way, so be it.

All of this culminates in one of the greatest shoot-outs ever captured on screen — a loud, brutal blast of bullets on the streets of Los Angeles as De Niro and his crew do battle with Pacino and his guys. Pacino and De Niro's characters respect each other, but they also won't hesitate to put each other down if need be. Such are the lives of violent, driven men. Mann is obsessed with the locations these characters inhabit, from the parking lots, to the restaurants, to the airports, to the balconies overlooking landscapes of twinkling city lights. "The view right here of the underpass is one of the most beautiful underpasses in the world of beautiful freeway underpasses," Mann says at one point during the director's commentary on the Blu-ray. That's poetry, baby.

The Alternate Take: What's better than this, guys being dudes? Michael Mann's "Miami Vice" was not a box office smash or a critical darling, and yet it's one of his best films, a no-nonsense story of two cops (Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell) willing to push things to the limit and beyond in order to get their work done. Nestled in the middle of this, like so many other Mann movies, is a doomed love story that will make a mark even if it doesn't survive. (Chris Evangelista)

Inception (2010)

Christopher Nolan built an entire career on stories about men avoiding their emotions, and it's fitting that his greatest work takes that concept and literalizes it within an inch of its life. "Inception" tells the story of Cobb, a thief played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who steals not from your wallet but from your very subconscious, using technology that allows him and his expert associates to venture inside your dreams. Cobb has been tasked with a nearly impossible mission — to give someone an idea instead of taking it — but his personal baggage is so overwhelming that it follows him into other people's heads, and threatens to destroy him, everyone around him, and everything he's built.

"Inception" takes what could have been merely an exciting sci-fi thrill ride and packs it full of overwhelming portent, a tidal wave of uncontrollable psychic damage that threatens to wash away an already exhilarating heist picture. Nolan borrows heavily from Satoshi Kon's anime masterpiece "Paprika," there's no question, but "Inception" feels like a personal expression anyway. It's a disarmingly populist rendition of the filmmaker's own notorious perfectionism, undone or perhaps only made artistically valid by the subconscious chaos he can't prevent from creeping into the periphery. Blockbuster filmmaking rarely gets more inventive, more thrilling, or more personal.

The Alternate Take: Nolan's cold and calculating attempts to control the subconscious make "Inception" a perfect double feature with David Lynch's "Mulholland Dr.," another film about a traumatic relationship and human frailty endangering a perfectly good fantasy. Lynch's film about a naive ingenue who falls in love with a mysterious amnesiac in a phantasmagorical Los Angeles never pretends to be fully logical, and perhaps that's why it feels so perfect; our dreams are a mess, because so are we. (William Bibbiani)

In The Mood For Love (2000)

Never has a love story set in Hong Kong been so beautiful and devastating as Wong Kar-Wai's "In The Mood For Love," which paints a bittersweet picture of loneliness in the midst of a bustling city. While unrequited love evokes pain, reciprocated, yet unfulfilled love alters the very soul of the ones involved, as they exchange longing glances near rain-drenched street corners or share a hotel room and pine for the other in restrained silence.

Adultery sets the plot of "In The Mood For Love" forward, but the focus is on the victims of such an act — Chow (Tony Leung) and Su (Maggie Cheug) share a love that can never be freely uttered or consummated, but only whispered in subtle gestures of affection, the air between them charged with intense sensuality. Wong uses bold, vibrant shades of red to convey these unspoken emotions while weaving character portraits that are deeply flawed, humane, and unforgettable.

The precious moments spent with the one you desire, but cannot have, feels transient and timeless at the same time, and "In The Mood For Love" captures this unique sentiment in heartbreaking ways, etching a tale about a love that endures, a dramatically distinct stance from "Chungking Express" or "Fallen Angels." Moreover, Wong's highly stylized, charged visuals are always a treat to witness, and there is something special about how he frames the simple act of eating streetside noodles alone after work, capturing a range of un-uttered emotions in a single frame.

The Alternate Take: Wong's "2046" anchors love across space and time, where lovers haplessly look for companionship in the wrong places. The sleek, futuristic aesthetic of "2046" is truly one of a kind, as Wong leans into a masterful, experimental examination of the very fabric of human longing and suffering. (Debopriyaa Dutta)

The Iron Giant (1999)

"The Iron Giant" is the best Superman movie ever made, period. A being with unlimited power crash lands on Earth, learns empathy and kindness from its residents, and decides to use his abilities to save humanity, not destroy it? That's the Superman myth in a nutshell. The Iron Giant's choice of Kal-El as his role model shows why Siegel and Shuster's creation has endured for over eight decades, and if that were all "The Iron Giant" had to offer, it would be enough.

But, of course, there's more. So much more. "The Iron Giant" remains one of the best fusions of hand-drawn art and CGI; while the human characters and the backdrops were animated traditionally, the Giant is a digital creation, and his precise, mechanical movements go a long way towards selling his otherness. The story of a living gun who rejects violence felt remarkably potent in summer 1999, when America was still reeling from the Columbine massacre, and hits even harder in today's firearms-plagued world.

And then there's Hogarth Hughes, one of the rare children in an animated feature who acts like a real kid. While the Giant gets all the attention, Hogarth is the one who provides all the heart. He's an over-active, imaginative, and unwaveringly optimistic little guy searching for the Hobbes to his Calvin, and the bond that results once he finds it is unforgettable. "The Iron Giant" is still the only film that makes me cry every single time I watch it.

The Alternate Take: "Superman: The Movie" doesn't have the pathos or tragic sacrifice of "The Iron Giant," but, in addition to providing the framework for the past 15 years of Hollywood blockbusters, it shares the perspective that everyone — human or otherwise — has the innate capacity for good. These days, that couldn't be more refreshing. (Christopher Gates)

It's A Wonderful Life (1946)

Few American traditions are as pure in spirit as the annual "It's A Wonderful Life" rewatch. Nearly 80 years after its release, it still feels like a miracle that Frank Capra's life-affirming portrait of a man on the brink of suicide has become a holiday season staple. That a two-plus-hour black-and-white emotional epic can become among the most popularly revisited classics is music to movie-lovers ears; that "It's A Wonderful Life" is actually a film deserving of this endless love is even more incredible.

James Stewart gives an earnest, effective performance as George Bailey, the man whose life takes a Charles Dickens-inspired turn when he's pushed to the brink by his circumstances. Here, though, the guardian angel who guides him through the past and present is less moralizing and more realistic, as "It's A Wonderful Life" reckons with surprisingly modern-feeling problems involving money, family, and reputation. Even among the best movies ever made, very few feel like they possess the power to change a life, but "It's A Wonderful Life" has a sort of transformative spirit that can bring a tear to the eye of even the most cynical among us. With each rewatch, George's fresh start feels like it can be ours, too, and we're left, above all else, with a weightless feeling of possibility. "It's A Wonderful Life" is movie magic at its finest.

The Alternate Take: Another Capra classic, "It Happened One Night," is a pre-code gem about love and money that features scintillating turns by Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. A formative rom-com before the term existed, it's clever, bold, and surprisingly sexy. (Valerie Ettenhofer)

Jaws (1975)

The movie that gave birth to the summer blockbuster! What, exactly, can one even say about "Jaws" at this point that hasn't been said a thousand times over? It's the tale of a page-turner morphing into a movie shot by a still relatively green filmmaker (you know who he is), running over budget and overschedule, complete with a robot shark that kept malfunctioning. And yet from that mess rose one of the biggest movies of all time — and one of the best.

Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" is a lean-mean machine of a movie; a man-vs-nature tale where nature just happens to have huge f***ing teeth. Roy Scheider is Martin Brody, the police chief of Amity Island, and he's one of the first people to sound the alarm when a great white shark starts munching on swimmers. But capitalism reigns supreme, and the mayor and other greedy townsfolk want to keep the beaches open for the summer. Big mistake, guys.

When things get too deadly, Brody, marine biologist Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), and local salt Quint (Robert Shaw, who chomps more scenery than the shark) head to sea to stop the beast once and for all. Spielberg stages big, show-stopping set pieces, but he also focuses on little moments — like one of Brody's kids mimicking his father's actions at the dinner table, or the three men bonding over their various scars while they wait to kill the damn shark. It all works, and works perfectly, aided by John Williams' brilliant score full of primal notes that immediately trigger dread every time we start to hear them.

The Alternate Take: If "Jaws" was Spielberg's ascension into blockbuster filmmaker stardom, "Schindler's List" is the film where he finally proved once and for all that he wasn't just a popcorn entertainment guy — he was an artist. Spielberg had been trying his hand at "serious" movies before "Schindler's List," but none of them quite clicked. Then he got his hands on the true story of Oskar Schindler, who used his munitions factory during the war as a cover to save the lives of 1000 Jews. Spielberg uses every populist filmmaker trick he had learned up until that point to tell a harrowing, crushing, ultimately hopeful story that never flinches away from the horrors of the Holocaust. And the end result finally won the filmmaker the Best Director Oscar he so craved. (Chris Evangelista)

Jurassic Park (1993)

Steven Spielberg may well go down as the best to ever do it when all is said and done. That's why you see his name on this list more than once. And when Spielberg is firing on all cylinders, true movie magic happens. Such was the case in 1993 when he made "Jurassic Park," one of the most beloved and enduring blockbusters in the history of blockbusters. We may take it for granted now, but the film makes dinosaurs feel real for the first time ever. To this day, the T-rex breakout sequence is a shockingly convincing bit of filmmaking that allows even the most skeptical of viewer to suspend disbelief for the sake of sheer wonderment.

Perhaps more than the arguably perfect movie experience that the film itself represents, Spielberg also carved a path forward for the next three decades of filmmaking, introducing groundbreaking CGI that allowed for these creations to come alive, while also using equally groundbreaking animatronics to complete the picture. The marriage of the two in this adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel of the same name remains a touchstone for anyone trying to do the same. When we talk about groundbreaking films, this is right near the top of the list. More importantly, when we talk about great blockbuster entertainment that also functions as a pure expression of the art form, "Jurassic Park" is also right near the top of that list. Put simply? It's the definition of greatness.

The Alternate Take: Before Spielberg was making gigantic box office hits, he made what has been called the greatest made for TV movie in history in 1971 with "Duel." With limited resources and a tiny budget, what the director was able to accomplish is nothing shy of a minor miracle and demonstrates that, even then, he was a master of his craft, particularly in making a true edge-of-your-seat thrill ride. (Ryan Scott)

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

For its first half, Hayao Miyazaki's "Kiki's Delivery Service" is exactly what you'd expect from the legendary Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli. Its stunning blend of fantasy and naturalism -- brought to life with hand-drawn animation so perfect and composed that you could happily frame every moment -- immediately draws you into the world of Kiki, a young witch who sets off on her own and starts a delivery service, racing around her new community on broomstick. It's charming. It's funny. It's a world you want to live in and luxuriate in, populated by a sprawling cast of characters who win your heart within moments.

But it's the back half of the film that takes a sledgehammer to your heart, as Kiki learns that turning what you love into a career can have dire emotional consequences. Her magic falters and her ability to fly vanishes -- everything she once loved now feels hopeless, joyless. It's a turn that's brutal but earned, the best-ever depiction of burnout, embedded into a tale of young witches and talking cats. Miyazaki's ultimately a big softie (he gives us the happy ending we want), but this is the greatest example of what the master animator and his team of geniuses at Studio Ghibli could pull off: A brilliantly realized fantasy universe given all the relatable emotional stakes of our own world.

The Alternate Take: You can't go wrong with literally any other Miyazaki movie, but "Spirited Away" is considered by many to be his masterpiece, and for good reason. But really, you can pick any of them. (Jacob Hall)

King Kong (1933)

Only a few years after sound became a mainstay in motion pictures, directors Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack assembled one of the greatest and most influential adventure movies ever made. An incalculable number of creature features came out in its wake, but the original "King Kong" still holds up where many of its imitators do not. A primary reason for its staying power is because Kong's emotions don't ever get lost in the wildly impressive technical wizardry of Willis O'Brien's stop-motion effects. He's more than just a lumbering brute or a gimmicky visual trick — he's an actual character with thoughts and feelings that you can track through facial expressions and body language, adding a layer of sophistication that separates this from its contemporaries. There's no getting around the rampant racism and misogyny on display here, which are indicative of the era in which it was released, but Fay Wray's movie star performance transcends the scream queen sobriquet and gives her the opportunity to convey real, human, relatable reactions to the chaos unfolding around her. More than 40 years before Steven Spielberg would essentially create the blockbuster with "Jaws," "King Kong" was the summer blockbuster to end all summer blockbusters.

The Alternate Take: For the most famous international riff on a giant monster movie, seek out the original 1954 version of "Godzilla," the best film ever made about the existential horror of nuclear war. (Ben Pearson)

Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)

There are "big" movies, and then there's "Lawrence of Arabia," arguably the very personification of epic filmmaking. This is not only the longest movie to win Best Picture at the Oscars, but it remains one of the purest examples of what you can only do with the format of cinema, of telling a story that only works when using the biggest possible screen.

David Lean takes the legendary tale of T.E. Lawrence and his role in the Arab Revolt and interrogates the myth that had been built around the man and the idea of white saviors and messiahs, of the British Empire and its history of colonialism. Even 60 years later, most of the many, many movies influenced by "Lawrence of Arabia" miss this part. And Peter O'Toole is integral to this. Impossibly handsome and enigmatic, O'Toole gives nuance to the character that grounds the grandiose elements of the story. He does not play to the legend, but keeps enough cards close to the chest that the audience doesn't never fully gets to know him. It's a legendary figure imbued with mystery and humanity. 

Of course, "Lawrence of Arabia" is best remembered for having the absolute greatest portrayal of the desert, which no movie has come close to replicating. Lean manages to present a world that is alien yet familiar, blistering hot, vast, and empty, and somehow, beautiful in its own way. There are no movies quite like this one.

The Alternate Take: What "Lawrence of Arabia" does in the desert, Peter Weir's "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" does at sea, presenting a thrilling but also intimate historical epic with one of the best opening texts in cinema. (Rafael Motamayor)

Let The Right One In (2008)

Most vampire films lean into gothic excess and bloody sexuality, but the Swedish horror film "Let the Right One In," based on the novel of the same name by John Ajvide Lindqvist, tackles a different kind of vampiric relationship. Directed by Tomas Alfredson, the film stars Kåre Hedebrant as Oskar, a very lonely 12-year-old boy living in the dreary Stockholm suburb of Blackeburg who strikes up a friendship with another, unusual child tenant, Eli (Lina Leandersson). It turns out that Eli isn't a 12-year-old girl but is actually a centuries-old vampire boy. The two's friendship becomes a bit more intense and romantic, leading to Eli hunting the boys who bully Oskar in an attempt to bring him happiness. 

"Let the Right One In" is a vampire movie like no other, with nuanced child performances and beautiful and haunting imagery that stands out despite the muted color palette. Simply watching it can make the viewer feel the cold isolation that Oskar and Eli both experience without each other, and it becomes a beautiful (if disturbing) love story for the ages. It also features one of the scariest underwater scenes in all of cinema, with a single still camera shot and muted audio that forces the audience to experience Oskar's terror with him. "Let the Right One In" is beautiful, bold, and absolutely brutal.

The Alternate Take: "Byzantium" is Neil Jordan's 2012 vampire romance starring Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan as mother and daughter vampires who have existed on the fringes in a male-dominated vampire society and a human world that doesn't know they exist. It's beautiful and bloody, like "Let the Right One In," and offers another unusual human-vampire romance between Ronan's character and a sickly young man (Caleb Landry Jones). (Danielle Ryan)

The Lion King (1994)

The average runtime of movies has increased significantly since the early 1990s, and now it seems that 2.5 hours is the bare minimum for any movie with even a trace of the epic in its DNA. With that in mind (and particularly after the two-hour "live-action" remake released in 2019), it's even more impressive to look back at what Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff's "The Lion King" achieved in the space of 88 minutes.

The film takes the story of "Hamlet" -- not one of Shakespeare's lighter works -- and retells it in a way that's accessible for young children while also being engaging for their parents. The tone steers deftly from the Busby Berkeley bounciness of "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" to the emotional devastation of Simba witnessing Mustafa's death beneath the hooves of a stampeding herd, and then skips right back across the emotional spectrum to the bug-eating and fart jokes of "Hakuna Matata." That the various ingredients -- catchy songs for kids, a comic relief duo, and a grand operatic story about the harmony of life and death in nature -- hold together without ever feeling incongruent is something of a cinematic miracle. "The Lion King" is the shining jewel in the crown of the Disney Renaissance.

The Alternate Take: But before the Disney Renaissance, there was the Disney slump of the 1970s and '80s. It was during this time that Don Bluth made his feature directorial debut with the gripping, timeless animated adventure "The Secret of NIMH." In many places it's more like a horror-tinged mystery thriller than a typical animated children's film, but like "The Lion King," its boldness is its greatest strength. (Hannah Shaw-Williams)

Little Women (2019)

Louisa May Alcott's classic semi-autobiographical novel,about four sisters growing up in the mid-19th century, with very different personalities and very different dreams, has been made into several classic motion pictures, starring screen icons like Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Winona Ryder. All those versions of "Little Women" are beautiful in their own ways but Greta Gerwig's "Little Women" is more than just an adaptation. It's a profound exploration of everything we can take away from Alcott's classic story, on the page and beyond it.

Gerwig's version faithfully adapts the core of Alcott's story while also liberally fixing it, adding scenes that deepen and justify relationships that most of the other adaptations take for granted, acknowledging historical realities it would be irresponsible to ignore today, and eventually splitting the storyline in two. This "Little Women" lovingly dramatizes the novel's shameless romanticism while acknowledging that, in reality, what happened to Alcott has more power than the simple, albeit cathartic, melodrama of her fictional counterpart. And as performed by one of the most incredible ensemble casts in recent memory — Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, Timotheé Chalamet, the list goes on, all working at the height of their powers — these beloved characters take on rich new life that should carry them far into the future, where it seems they will always be relevant.

The Alternate Take: Alcott's early feminism will always be fascinating, but Lizzie Borden's "Born in Flames" (1983) looks to the future, and a unique dystopian landscape where feminist groups, often at odds with each other, vie to change the world through pirate radio, political activism, and roving the streets as badass bicycle gangs. Renegade filmmaking at its finest, challenging ideas that still feel bold today, and concluding with an image that's uncomfortably familiar. (William Bibbiani)

The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)

In December of 2001, the world was still reeling from the most pivotal historical event of the 21st Century only weeks before. People needed assurances that things could somehow get back to normal. Moviegoers needed a distraction and a slice of escapism to help transport us away to another, more morally simple world. Eerily similar to when author J.R.R. Tolkien first published his novel in the years following World War II, Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" came about right when we needed it most. And, to its credit, time has only been kinder and kinder to the adaptation of one of the most "unfilmable" works of fiction ever put to paper.

Between the tricky rights situation, the financing complications, the technical challenges needed to bring the scale of the story to life, and the sheer enormity of committing wholesale to a trilogy of movies that could've easily flopped upon arrival, it's an actual miracle that this trilogy exists at all -- let alone at the level of quality that they do. While the sequels and "The Hobbit" prequels all strayed further and further towards indulgence and excess, "The Fellowship of the Ring" stands tall as a lean, mean, and practically perfect adaptation and film in its own right. Tasked with catering to longtime fans while introducing casuals to Middle-earth, Jackson did the impossible. Like a certain 1954 Tolkien novel, "Fellowship" changed everything.

The Alternate Take: For those who like their fantasy a little more impressionistic, cautionary, and full of deliciously ambiguous storytelling, writer/director David Lowery took a downright novel approach to adapting the 14th-century Arthurian poem telling the tale of Sir Gawain (which, for the record, Tolkien himself once famously translated, as well) with "The Green Knight." From the shrewd casting of Dev Patel in the lead role to the haunting use of color to the impeccable photography working in perfect tandem with Lowery's script, the brilliant retelling of Gawain's tests of heroism and chivalry is destined to become a new classic. (Jeremy Mathai)

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

How do you even begin to quantify what has to be considered the greatest action blockbuster of modern times? In terms of innovation, "Mad Max: Fury Road" initially came into being as a series of storyboards based on a broadly-sketched concept in George Miller's head -- not unlike George Lucas and "Star Wars" before it. Few others outside of the visionary director's inner circle could possibly wrap their minds around exactly what Miller had in mind, but the final result proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that our greatest storytellers (paired with their most trusted editors, of course) could spin absolute magic out of anything. When it comes to staging such elaborate action sequences, the collective work by the stunt people on location, various VFX artists, and actors alike is nothing short of awe-inspiring. And for a movie that entered production without a traditional script, the fact that every major character goes through their own respective arcs only makes this accomplishment even more impressive.

Despite a middling box office performance at the time, 10 Oscar nominations (with six wins), a rabid fanbase constantly preaching the gospel to anyone who'll listen, and a pop culture legacy that will reverberate for decades to come all help ensure one simple truth. In short, "Fury Road" is destined to be celebrated in the annals of film history for as long as moving pictures remain an artform. In other words, may this instant classic die historic on the Fury Road.

The Alternate Take: To stick with the dystopian theme, Neill Blomkamp's "District 9" also stands tall as another potent work of post-apocalyptic fiction that succeeded wildly on the strength of its socio-political metaphors. Al...

Nagios is an open-source monitoring tool designed to monitor various components of an IT infrastructure, providing real-time alerts and notifications in case of any issues or anomalies. It is aimed to help IT professionals with continuous monitoring of systems, services, logs and applications. Businesses can use Nagios as a powerful monitoring tool to proactively track and manage their IT infrastructure, ensuring system uptime and minimizing downtime for improved operational efficiency. Additionally, Nagios also provides customizable reports and centralized monitoring, allowing businesses to gain insights, streamline operations, and make informed decisions. In this article, we will address the question, “What is

What is Nagios Used For? Is it Any Good? is a post from: WhatSoftware.com

Left 4 Dead has one of the best box art designs in recent gaming history. Simple, eye-catching, and memorable thanks to that neat little joke with the fingers, the bright-green, L4D cover was a staple of everyone’s PC gaming desk, or on the floor near their TV, back in the zombie game’s heyday. Chet Faliszek, however, a Valve developer whose credits also include Portal and Half-Life, says getting the Left 4 Dead art exactly right was a bit of a nightmare, with one particular meeting at the future Steam Deck maker being especially “brutal.”

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Left 4 Dead 3 release date, Left 4 Dead successor, Best co-op games on PC

If you’ve been anywhere near a gaming forum recently, you’ve probably seen something about the state of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on PC. Even in a year that has seen some abysmal PC releases – I’m looking at you, The Last of Us Part 1 — the latest from Respawn Entertainment stands out.

Performance is the big issue everyone is talking about, and it’s easy to see why. If you want to watch a deep dive into the game’s technical woes, check out some of the recent videos Digital Foundry and Daniel Owen have uploaded to their YouTube channels. However, the short version is Jedi: Survivor has all the issues that have plagued many a recent poor PC port.

Each time you launch the game, it puts you through a shader pre-compilation process that, frustratingly, doesn’t prevent stuttering. Jedi: Survivor also suffers from traversal hitching, meaning your frame rate will drop when you enter a new location. Annoyingly, these were issues that were present and never addressed in Jedi: Fallen Order. And unfortunately, there’s no amount of hardware that can fix those problems in Jedi: Survivor.

I’m playing the game on a PC with an AMD Ryzen 5600x and NVIDIA RTX 3070. My system is not bleeding edge but it’s also not a toaster. The thing is, there’s no combination of settings that leads to Jedi: Survivor producing a consistent frame rate due to how the game makes use of your system’s processor and available VRAM. Even players with RTX 4090 GPUs reported poor framerates at launch.

Adding to the performance issues is Jedi: Survivor’s status as an AMD-sponsored title. The game supports AMD’s FSR upscaling technology, but not DLSS and XESS. While it’s true you can use FSR with NVIDIA and Intel GPUs, Jedi: Survivor’s implementation leaves a lot to be desired. Even set to the “Quality” setting, the tech introduces distracting artifacts that take away from the game’s otherwise compelling presentation. FSR also does little to nothing to improve your framerate since the game is so CPU limited.

And then you have Jedi: Survivor’s settings menu. In short, the game features one of the least helpful settings menus I’ve seen in recent memory. It’s not properly coded for mouse navigation; none of the graphical options come with an explanation of what they do; and the game doesn’t even offer a hint of what kind of performance impact you can expect from tweaking specific settings. But the worst offender is Jedi: Survivor’s ray tracing options – or should I say, option, singular. Unlike nearly every other modern PC release, Jedi: Survivor bundles all of its RT features into a single toggle, meaning you can’t use less expensive ones like ray-traced ambient occlusion on their own.

What makes all these issues so frustrating is that things don’t have to be this way. In 2023, it’s not a secret what makes a great PC port, and there are plenty of examples studios can look to for inspiration. For instance, having played God of War 2018 on PlayStation 4 Pro, PS5 and PC, I think there’s an easy argument to be made that the PC version is the definitive way to play that game. In the case of Respawn, the studio doesn’t even need to look that far for an example of how to build a great PC port. In 2016, it released Titanfall 2: to this day, one of the best games you can play on PC.

EA had been somewhat dismissive of player complaints, suggesting that only a “percentage” of PC players are experiencing performance issues, and that some of those issues are due to people using high-end CPUs with Windows 10. In any case, EA said Respawn was doing its best to fix the game.

Sure enough, on the Monday after Jedi: Survivor’s Friday release, Respawn released a patch that promised performance improvements. I found the update increased my average frame rates but did nothing to address the game’s stuttering. The latest patch, released partway through last week, was supposed to address that issue, but I find the game will still slow down when I enter new areas. Respawn has promised additional updates are on the way that will supposedly further improve performance.

So how did we get here, and, who, if anyone, is to blame for the state of PC ports in 2023? Those are questions I’ve been thinking about a lot over the past few days. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers.

From a technical standpoint, there’s a reason PC ports were more competent during the eighth generation of consoles than at almost any other time in the past: it was easy. Or, at least, easier. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One saw the switch to x86 processors that were effectively less-powerful versions of what PC gamers had in their towers. It was also one of the longest generations in recent memory. It’s only in the last year or so that we’ve seen publishers like EA abandon cross-gen releases in favor of current-gen exclusives. On PC, that stability meant you could get away with using your components for longer. I bought an Intel Core i5 6600K in 2015 and only upgraded in 2021 after Red Dead Redemption 2 was too much for that processor’s four-thread architecture.

With the transition to PS5 and Xbox Series X, more care and attention needs to be given to PC ports. Current consoles are laser-focused on gaming, and don’t need to run Windows in the background. Then there’s the fact that, for the first time in a long while, the average gaming PC isn’t as powerful as a current-gen console. If you don’t believe me, look at Steam’s most recent hardware survey. The most popular GPU is the nearly four-year-old GTX 1650. Moreover, six- and four-core processors make up the majority of CPUs in use by Steam players, with eight-core ones represented in less than 20 percent of all systems. Put all this together and it becomes obvious that lazy ports just won’t cut it anymore.

As more current-gen games are released and those titles take advantage of everything the PS5 and Xbox Series X have to offer, I think we’re going to see more shoddy PC ports.

But a technological shift is only one part of it. Publishers are not blameless in this. Two of the worst PC ports released this year, Jedi: Survivor and The Last of Us Part 1, were pushed back to give their developers more time for polish. In the case of Jedi: Survivor, Respawn specifically called out the game’s performance as one of the reasons for the delay. EA decided against further delaying the game, knowing full well the state of the product it was about to release. In fact, EA even warned fans the game was coming in hot, tweeting two days before Jedi: Survivor’s release that a day one patch was the first of many updates it had planned. The publisher said future patches would fix bugs, improve performance and add more accessibility features.

Unfortunately, it is now business as usual for publishers to release an unfinished game and promise to fix it later. And for the most part, they’re rewarded for doing so, because there’s nothing the gaming community loves more than a good redemption story. Think of a game like No Man’s Sky or, better yet, EA’s own Star Wars: Battlefront II and Battlefield 4. All three were poorly received at release, but after months and years of hard work from the studios that created them, they’re now highly regarded.

I wish I could say things will get better soon, but in the short term, I don’t think we’ll see many improvements. It’s not impossible for a studio to release a technically competent PC port, but it takes time, resources and a publisher willing to make a game’s PC fanbase a priority. A fundamental change in how game publishers do business is needed, and that will take time.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/star-wars-jedi-survivor-and-the-year-of-disappointing-pc-ports-141551209.html?src=rss

GAO report underlines the need for federal agencies to fully implement key cloud security practices.

The post GAO Tells Federal Agencies to Fully Implement Key Cloud Security Practices appeared first on SecurityWeek.

I’m always trying to get people to listen to more podcasts. If you listen to five, I want you listening to eight. If you listen eight, I want that number to be 13. This is my literal job, people.

If someone is already a podcast lover, it is fairly easy to convince them to add a new one to their library. But what about…

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The latest versions of the Yuzu Nintendo Switch emulator introduce a variety of changes and improvements that vastly enhance The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom emulation and improve performance on graphics cards that have low amounts of VRAM.

Yuzu's early access 3601 introduces a new setting to recompress ASTC textures, supporting BC1 and BC3 formats. The first one provides lower quality textures, allowing saving more than eight times VRAM, essentially making Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom playable on cards with 2GB VRAM and AMD integrated GPUs. BC3 provides medium-quality textures, making it the recommended option for users with 4GB, and 6GB VRAM. These settings apply to all games that use ASTC textures, so titles like Bayonetta 3, Metroid Prime Remastered, and Fire Emblem Engage will run better on low-end hardware.

Shortly after the release of Early Access 3601, the developer released another version, version 3602, which further improves Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's emulation by fixing the pixelated shadows under objects when using the Ultrahand ability. The new features introduced in the latest Early Access versions have yet to be released to the public, but they should get implemented in the public build of the emulator in the coming days. You can get access to the emulator's latest Early Access builds by subscribing to the developer's Patreon page.

The Yuzu Nintendo Switch emulator can now be downloaded from its official website, where more information on it is also available.

A financially motivated threat actor of Indonesian origin has been observed leveraging Amazon Web Services (AWS) Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances to carry out illicit crypto mining operations. Cloud security company's Permiso P0 Labs, which first detected the group in November 2021, has assigned it the moniker GUI-vil (pronounced Goo-ee-vil). "The group displays a preference for Graphical

Today we released the fourth edition of Cyber Signals highlighting a surge in cybercriminal activity around business email compromise (BEC). Microsoft has observed a 38 percent increase in cybercrime as a service (CaaS) targeting business email between 2019 and 2022.¹

Successful BEC attacks cost organizations hundreds of millions of dollars annually. In 2022, the FBI’s Recovery Asset Team (RAT) initiated the Financial Fraud Kill Chain (FFKC) on 2,838 BEC complaints involving domestic transactions with potential losses of more than USD590 million.²  

BEC attacks stand apart in the cybercrime industry for their emphasis on social engineering and the art of deception. Between April 2022 and April 2023, Microsoft Threat Intelligence detected and investigated 35 million BEC attempts with an adjusted average of 156,000 attempts daily. 

Common BEC tactics

Threat actors’ BEC attempts can take many forms—including via phone calls, text messages, emails, or social media. Spoofing authentication request messages and impersonating individuals and companies are also common tactics. 

Instead of exploiting vulnerabilities in unpatched devices, BEC operators seek to exploit the daily sea of email traffic and other messages to lure victims into providing financial information, or taking direct action like unknowingly sending funds to money mule accounts that help criminals perform fraudulent money transfers.  

Unlike a “noisy” ransomware attack featuring disruptive extortion messages, BEC operators play a quiet confidence game using contrived deadlines and urgency to spur recipients who may be distracted or accustomed to these types of urgent requests. Instead of novel malware, BEC adversaries align their tactics to focus on tools improving the scale, plausibility, and in-box success rate of malicious messages. 

Microsoft observes a significant trend in attackers’ use of platforms like BulletProftLink, a popular service for creating industrial-scale malicious mail campaigns, which sells an end-to-end service including templates, hosting, and automated services for BEC. Adversaries using this CaaS are also provided with IP addresses to help guide BEC targeting.   

BulletProftLink’s decentralized gateway design, which includes Internet Computer blockchain nodes to host phishing and BEC sites, creates an even more sophisticated decentralized web offering that’s much harder to disrupt. Distributing these sites’ infrastructure across the complexity and evolving growth of public blockchains makes identifying them, and aligning takedown actions, more complex.  

While there have been several high-profile attacks that take advantage of residential IP addresses, Microsoft shares law enforcement and other organizations’ concern that this trend can be rapidly scaled, making it difficult to detect activity with traditional alarms or notifications.  

Although, threat actors have created specialized tools to facilitate BEC, including phishing kits and lists of verified email addresses targeting C-suite leaders, accounts payable leads, and other specific roles, there are methods that enterprises can employ to preempt attacks and mitigate risk.  

BEC attacks offer a great example of why cyber risk needs to be addressed in a cross-functional way with IT, compliance, and cyber risk officers at the table alongside executives and leaders, finance employees, human resource managers, and others with access to employee records like social security numbers, tax statements, contact information, and schedules.   

Recommendations to combat BEC

• Use a secure email solution: Today’s cloud platforms for email use AI capabilities like machine learning to enhance defenses, adding advanced phishing protection and suspicious forwarding detection. Cloud apps for email and productivity also offer the advantages of continuous, automatic software updates and centralized management of security policies.  

• Secure Identities to prohibit lateral movement: Protecting identities is a key pillar to combating BEC. Control access to apps and data with Zero Trust and automated identity governance.  

• Adopt a secure payment platform: Consider switching from emailed invoices to a system specifically designed to authenticate payments.  

• Train employees to spot warning signs: Continuously educate employees to spot fraudulent and other malicious emails, such as a mismatch in domain and email addresses, and the risk and cost associated with successful BEC attacks.  

Learn more

Read the fourth edition of Cyber Signals today.

For more threat intelligence insights and guidance including past issues of Cyber Signals, visit Security Insider. 

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

---

End notes

¹Cyber Signals, Microsoft.

²Internet Crime Complaint Center Releases 2022 Statistics, FBI.

The post Cyber Signals: Shifting tactics fuel surge in business email compromise appeared first on Microsoft Security Blog.

Not many actors can claim to have played multiple Marvel characters and Star Wars characters in addition to famous historical figures and the villain in one of the biggest Tollywood hits of all time, but Ray Stevenson is one of them. As first reported by Italian news outlets and latest confirmed by The Wrap and Variety, the actor died today at the age of 58. Born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, Stevenson started acting in film and TV in the 1990s. He would go on to become a bigger name thanks to his roles as Titus Pullo in the HBO series "Rome" and as Dagonet, one of Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, in Antoine Fuqua's 2004 period action-adventure epic "King Arthur."

As someone with a knack for playing hard-edged fighters and antiheroes, Stevenson was a natural fit to portray the Marvel comic book vigilante Frank Castle in Lexi Alexander's absurdly violent 2008 cult film "Punisher: War Zone." He would continue to carve out a niche for himself by playing hardened criminals and goons in "The Book of Eli" and "Kill the Irishman," along with his stint as Isaak Sirko on "Dexter." But Stevenson could also play against type, as he did in his role as one third of Thor's lovable Warriors Three, Volstagg, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's "Thor" films and as Porthos in Paul W.S. Anderson's utterly ludicrous (and ridiculously fun) "The Three Musketeers."

A Villain We Loved To Hate

Baddies were Ray Stevenson's true specialty, and he was responsible for creating some truly wonderful villains (in a love-to-hate-them sort of way). Their ranks include Cobra agent Firefly in "G.I. Joe: Retaliation;" Blackbeard himself, Edward Teach, in "Black Sails;" and Gar Saxon, a Mandalorian commander who served Maul in the animated series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." But of all the despicable antagonists he brought to life, none might be more memorable than the blood-thirsty English governor Scott Buxton in S. S. Rajamouli's anti-colonialist Telugu-language epic "RRR."

In keeping with this trend, Stevenson will appear posthumously in the live-action "Star Wars" series "Ahsoka," playing the dark side user and Thrawn ally Baylan Skoll. The actor's filmography also includes roles in the historical drama series "The Spanish Princess" and "Vikings," as well as the "Divergent" movies (where he played Four's father, Marcus Eaton).

We here at /Film would like to extend our sincere condolences to Stevenson's family, friends, and loved ones in their time of grieving.

Read this next: Every Pre-MCU Marvel Movie Ranked

The post Ray Stevenson, Marvel, Star Wars, and RRR Actor, Has Died at 58 appeared first on /Film.

A proof-of-concept (PoC) has been made available for a security flaw impacting the KeePass password manager that could be exploited to recover a victim's master password in cleartext under specific circumstances. The issue, tracked as CVE-2023-32784, impacts KeePass versions 2.x for Windows, Linux, and macOS, and is expected to be patched in version 2.54, which is likely to be released early

"The first full-sized digital scan of the Titanic, which lies 3,800m (12,500ft) down in the Atlantic, has been created using deep-sea mapping," reports the BBC. Their article includes a one-minute video showing the results. "It provides a unique 3D view of the entire ship, enabling it to be seen as if the water has been drained away. " "There are still questions, basic questions, that need to be answered about the ship," Parks Stephenson, a Titanic analyst, told BBC News. He said the model was "one of the first major steps to driving the Titanic story towards evidence-based research — and not speculation." The Titanic has been extensively explored since the wreck was discovered in 1985. But it's so huge that in the gloom of the deep, cameras can only ever show us tantalizing snapshots of the decaying ship — never the whole thing. The new scan captures the wreck in its entirety, revealing a complete view of the Titanic. It lies in two parts, with the bow and the stern separated by about 800m (2,600ft). A huge debris field surrounds the broken vessel. The scan was carried out in summer 2022 by Magellan Ltd, a deep-sea mapping company, and Atlantic Productions, who are making a documentary about the project. Submersibles, remotely controlled by a team on board a specialist ship, spent more than 200 hours surveying the length and breadth of the wreck. They took more than 700,000 images from every angle, creating an exact 3D reconstruction... In the surrounding debris field, items are scattered, including ornate metalwork from the ship, statues and unopened champagne bottles. There are also personal possessions, including dozens of shoes resting on the sediment.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

"Multiple lines of Android devices came with preinstalled malware," reports Ars Technica, "that couldn't be removed without users taking heroic measures." Their article cites two reports released Thursday — one from Trend Micro and one from TechCrunch: Trend Micro researchers following up on a presentation delivered at the Black Hat security conference in Singapore reported that as many as 8.9 million phones comprising as many as 50 different brands were infected with malware... ["It's highly likely that more devices have been preinfected," the report clarified, "but have not exchanged communication with the Command & Control server, have not been used or activated by the threat actor, or have yet to be distributed to the targeted country or market... The threat actor has spread this malware over the last five years. "] "Guerrilla" opens a backdoor that causes infected devices to regularly communicate with a remote command-and-control server to check if there are any new malicious updates for them to install. These malicious updates collect data about the users that the threat actor, which Trend Micro calls the Lemon Group, can sell to advertisers. Guerrilla then surreptitiously installs aggressive ad platforms that can deplete battery reserves and degrade the user experience... Guerrilla is a massive platform with nearly a dozen plugins that can hijack users' WhatsApp sessions to send unwanted messages, establish a reverse proxy from an infected phone to use the network resources of the affected mobile device, and inject ads into legitimate apps... TechCrunch detailed several lines of Android-based TV boxes sold through Amazon that are laced with malware. The TV boxes, reported to be T95 models with an h616, report to a command-and-control server that, just like the Guerrilla servers, can install any application the malware creators want. The default malware preinstalled on the boxes is known as a clickbot. It generates advertising revenue by surreptitiously tapping on ads in the background... Android devices that come with malware straight out of the factory box are, unfortunately, nothing new. Ars has reported on such incidents at least five times in recent years (here, here, here, here, and here). All the affected models were in the budget tier. People in the market for an Android phone should steer toward known brands like Samsung, Asus, or OnePlus, which generally have much more reliable quality assurance controls on their inventory. To date, there have never been reports of higher-end Android devices coming with malware preinstalled. There are similarly no such reports for iPhones.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The Creative Labs Sound Blaster line of cards became the de facto DOS sound card standard in the early 1990s and carried through that dominance until the last DOS games.  The Sound Blaster offered many useful features in a single card, an FM synthesizer, a gameport, MIDI functionality but most uniquely a digital sound processor designed to process digital audio input and output with minimal CPU intervention.  Gamers saw the value in this "all-in-one" card and bought lots of Sound Blaster cards,  which required game developers to support the card and giving Creative a huge lead in the market.  Creative was naturally very protective of its technology, which was full of quirks and obscure hardware behaviors.  Eventually sound chips from other manufacturers like MediaVision, Crystal Semiconductor, Electronic Speech Systems and Yamaha were available which promised some level of direct Sound Blaster compatibility.  

Not everyone could use a Sound Blaster.  For some PC gamers, the cost of the cards was out of reach to them.  Systems with weird busses like Microchannel have few sound card options and those that are available are rare.  Laptops usually did not come with ISA expansion and PCMCIA sound cards are also rare.  Some systems just do not have enough slots for a sound card once more essential needs, like a hard drive, are added to the system.  In this case a parallel port sound solution may be your only option.  Finally there were people disgusted with Creative's monopolistic practices and refused to support the Sound Blaster ecosystem.  In this article we will give an overview of digital sound solutions which offered no hardware Sound Blaster compatibility.

Read more »

CNN's chief medical correspondent spoke to psychology professor Jean Twenge from San Diego State University who in 2018 published a book which, even before lockdowns, warned that teenagers were missing crucial life experiences. Its title? "iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy — and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood — and What That Means for the Rest of Us." From CNN's report: In her book, Twenge makes the case that Gen Z (or iGen, as she calls them) is growing up in a way that is fundamentally different from previous generations. She told me that some of the biggest behavioral changes ever recorded in human history coincided with the release of the smartphone. Twelfth-graders now are more like eighth-graders from previous generations, waiting longer to take part in activities associated with independence and adulthood, according to Twenge. They are less likely to go out with friends, drive, go to prom or drink alcohol than Gen X 12th-graders were. They are more likely to lie on their beds and scroll through endless social media feeds. They may be physically safer, but the long-term effect on their mental and brain health is a big question mark. Twenge told me that she "saw just a very, very sudden change, especially in mental health but also in optimism and expectations ... between millennials and iGen or Gen Z." CNN's chief medical correspondent ultimately recommends parents talk to teenagers about how they're using social media. But the article also recommends: "don't catastrophize." In all likelihood, you'll find out your kids are on some type of screen or device more often than you would like, but — this is key — not everyone develops a problem. In other words, don't assume the worst about the impact that use of technology will have on your child's brain and development. Most people may not develop catastrophic problems, but it can be challenging to predict who is most vulnerable... And lastly, in the words of author and science journalist Catherine Price, remember that life is what we pay attention to. Think about that for a moment; it is such a simple idea, but it is so true. I find it both deeply inspirational and empowering because it implies that we have it within our control to determine what our lives are like. The next time you go to pick up your phone, Price wants us to remember the three Ws: What for? Why now? What else? Price also wrote a book — titled "How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life.". Here's how CNN ends their article: As Dr. Keneisha Sinclair-McBride, a clinical psychologist at Boston Children's Hospital and an assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, pointed out, we possess something very valuable that Big Tech companies want: our time and attention. We need to be judicious about how we allocate these precious resources — not just because they are important to TikTok, Snap or Instagram but because they are priceless for us, too.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Three of George Miller's four "Mad Max" films have been decidedly post-apocalyptic. 1981's "The Road Warrior" took place in a desert that was peppered by bondage-gear-wearing thugs who sought to infiltrate and loot the fortified bases of those who thought to salvage water and gasoline. 1985's "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome," after an amusing dalliance in the titular fighting arena, found a tribe of children who vaguely remembered the world prior to an unnamed apocalyptic cataclysm. 

It seems that the Earth descended into "we have a Thunderdome" territory in the span of less than a decade. Meanwhile, 2015's "Mad Max: Fury Road" went full-tilt into fable territory, depicting a world as it might look a few generations after the apocalypse. Continuity isn't so much an issue with the "Mad Max" series, however, as Miller finds the world more interesting than any definable story arc. 

There was, however, a definite starting point. The 1979 original, "Mad Max," took place in a mid-apocalyptic world. There were still operational cars, still a working police force, and still remnants of civilization. Whatever cataclysm happened to create the world of "The Road Warrior" was still happening in "Mad Max." The world was merely in decay.

It seems that the decaying world was drawn from Miller's own personal memories of his childhood hometown. He was raised in a suburb of Darling Downs called Chinchilla, located in southern Queensland, and would eventually grow up to work as a medical doctor in the local hospital. It seems that Miller frequently treated victims of local car crashes, an all-too-common occurrence. According to a 2006 video interview with the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, real-world violence inspired Miller to invent a dark world that was falling apart.

Just Kids And Their Cars

The very geography of Chinchilla, Miller said, seemed to encourage speeding. There were a lot of long, flat roads that were ideal for pushing a car's limits. Miller first noticed his town's geography when he was a teenager in the late 1950s and early 1960s when he and his friend had first started driving. He recalled that several people he knew were victims of car-related violence. In his words: 

"There's no question that 'Mad Max' was influenced by my childhood in rural Queensland, which Chinchilla itself is west of the Darling Downs. Completely flat roads, loamy soil, heat haze, burnt land. And with a very intense car culture. I mean, the main street of town and Saturday night with just the kids in their cars. By the time we were out of our teens, several of our peers had already been killed or badly injured in car accidents. And there was just those long, flat roads where there was no speed limit and people would just go." 

George Miller does mention how much the deaths of his peers bothered him, but he did go on to recall his time as a medical doctor, and how seeing the blood firsthand started to deeply affect him. Miller looked at the constant car and motorcycle crashes, and his imagination began to wander into some dark territory. He said: 

"And it obviously had a big ... impact on me. And it wasn't until I ... ended up being a doctor in emergency and seeing the kind of carnage as a result of car accidents or bike accidents that it kind of got into me, kind of disturbed me quite a bit. And I think all of those things were kind of part of the mix of the 'Mad Max' films, particularly the first one."

The Practical Reasons

Miller has said repeatedly that he loves the old-world melodrama of silent films, feeling the format to be a purer form of cinema than talkies. He has said repeatedly that he has been influenced by the works of Buster Keaton. As such, when he conceived of "Mad Max," he wanted it to be just as heightened as over-the-top as the silent films of yore. But Miller felt that maybe it was too over-the-top for the present and conceived of a time jump. He said:

"We set the film in the future mainly because once I basically contrived the story — which was very, very intense in this instance — it felt like there was just too hyperbolic, it was totally exaggerated. So we thought if we settled in the future, it might take on a sort of a fable-like quality. But we didn't have enough money to really set into a far future and degrade it down. So it's set in the near future. By the time we made the second film, 'Mad Max 2,' we're able to do a little bit more."

Of course, Miller admitted that he never intended to make a "Mad Max 2," but, well, inspiration struck. A story idea came to him and he merely followed his heart. In the same interview from 2006, he even admitted that he was already kicking around ideas for a fourth "Mad Max" movie, the film that would eventually become "Mad Max: Fury Road" some nine years hence. 

Given that Miller, now 78, is currently finishing work on a fifth "Mad Max" film — a spinoff called "Furiosa" starring Anya Taylor-Joy as the character played by Charlize Theron in "Fury Road" — speaks to how much he thinks about those grime car accidents from his youth. Some things, it seems, mark you forever.

Read this next: The 25 Best '80s Action Movies Ranked

The post The Grim Real-World Inspiration Behind The Mad Max Franchise appeared first on /Film.

This article contains spoilers for "Yellowjackets" season 2 episode 8.

While John Carpenter's "The Thing" wasn't a box office smash at the time of its release, it has since been reclaimed as a masterpiece, both in its groundbreaking use of practical effects and the ways Carpenter evaluated the fears of mistrust. While yes, "The Thing" is about an alien invasion and its hostile assimilation takeover of the U.S. Outpost #31 Antarctic research center, it's also an exercise in paranoia and an examination of the hierarchical breakdowns that follow life-threatening intrusions of the status quo. Things at the Outpost aren't perfect before The Thing arrives, but they're functional, and everyone understands their role on the team. But once the mutated, imitated s*** hits the fan, all bets are off and chaos ensues.

Meanwhile, "Yellowjackets" is a series about a high school girls' soccer team who are forced to resort to cannibalism to survive in the wilderness following a plane crash in the Rockies (and the way the experience continues to haunt them 25 years later), but it's also a series that explores the breakdown of a team so well connected they win the state tournament, and how being forced into a (potentially) supernatural survivalist situation causes them to all lose their damn minds.

The parallels between "The Thing" and "Yellowjackets" have been obvious from the start; between the examinations of (almost) exclusively same-gendered groups of people, the constant threat of freezing temperatures, and a lack of logical information about what is causing the weird events plaguing them all. But the most recent episode took it a step further by capturing the same anxious energy of Carpenter's magnum opus — the blood test scene.

'Now I'll Show You What I Already Know'

The now iconic blood test scene in "The Thing" takes place after the Outpost crew has already witnessed the titular Thing effectively imitate some of their own. Realizing that the imitative blood won't "obey" the same way a human being's blood does and that it will try to survive by any means necessary, leader R.J. MacReady (Kurt Russell) decides to take samples of everyone's blood and put a hot needle to the disc containing it, thereby identifying which members of the group are already infected.

The entire scene is filled with dread, as Carpenter utilizes silence and close-ups to keep the audience entranced by the inevitability. We know that someone in the group is going to be revealed as infected, it's only a matter of who and when. As each person is tested and sighs with relief as they're shown to still be human, the anticipation only grows more and more intense. There's no way we're not going to see an alien burst from within one of our beloved characters, and Carpenter keeps the audience in agonizing wait before revealing who it is. Carpenter also manipulates the audience's expectations and weaponizes them against us, constantly lulling us all into a false sense of security before delivering a proverbial kick to the back of the knees and bowling us over with terror.

MacReady is convinced that Garry is the one infected, and therefore, so too does the audience, which makes the swerve that it's Palmer that is actually a Thing in disguise all the more effective. The squealing jump scare of his blood shooting out of the disc feels like an adrenaline injection directly to the heart; an execution of one of the greatest scares in horror history.

'The Wilderness Chose'

As for the surviving Yellowjackets, it's decided that in order for the whole of the group to survive, sacrifices "to the wilderness" (and to their extremely hungry bellies) must be made. Instead of testing blood, the survivors all draw cards, with the queen of hearts the mark of who will be the one to die. The girls, Javi (Luciano Leroux), and Travis (Kevin Alves) all stand in a circle as goalie Van Palmer (a coincidental name?) presents the deck from which each person draws a card before flashing the face to the group like the worst magic show you've ever seen. This simple technique, previously used to determine which chores the girls would fulfill for the day, has become an instrument of death.

Because "Yellowjackets" shows a handful of the survivors as adults, we as the audience already know that Shauna, Lottie, Van, Taissa, Misty, Natalie, and Travis will be spared from the sacrifice, which makes the reveal that Natalie has drawn the queen of hearts all the more terrifying. As Natalie slowly pulls back the card, it completely subverts our expectations that she'll be safe. It's the same horror of realizing Palmer is infected, not Garry, as if someone cut down the safety net we thought was holding Natalie close.

Before we know it, we're anxiously watching Shauna hold a blade to her throat to kill her, but since we know Natalie makes it out of the woods alive, it's a waiting game of, "How the hell is she going to get out of this?" When Travis knocks Shauna to the ground with a full-body spear, it sends Natalie running into the snowy woods, with the rest of the girls chasing after her like a clan of feral beasts.

There isn't an alien for them to fight, only the horrors of what they've become under these desperate circumstances.

'Opinion Is The Wilderness Between Knowledge And Ignorance'

It's one thing to pay homage to a horror film or draw inspiration from real-life events (something "Yellowjackets" does often), but the sacrificial card drawing and the blood test scenes feel more like spiritual siblings because of their unique differences. They both share a universe where chaos doesn't play favorites, but unlike "The Thing" where there is a definitive answer to whether or not the person chosen is bad, the selection process of "Yellowjackets" is seemingly random ... or is it?

After the girls track Natalie to the frozen lake, poor Javi falls through the ice and drowns as the group looks on. They could have, at any moment, intervened and saved him from the icy water filling up his lungs and sending him to an early grave, but they don't. They've elected to believe "the wilderness chose," despite minutes before being fully on board with hacking Natalie to pieces and eating her for sustenance. The card drawing scene isn't paying homage to "The Thing," but it is highlighting the timeless brilliance of Carpenter's paragon and reviving it for an entirely new demographic of viewers. This style of building tension now exists in two worlds; one is coded masculine and adult while the other is unapologetically feminine and youthful. And what this should serve as a reminder to us all is not that "Yellowjackets" seemingly paid homage to "The Thing," but that regardless of our differences, horror comes for us all.Man will always be the warmest place to hide, and while there's no 'I' in team, there is in 'survival.'

Read this next: Every Yellowjackets Main Character, Ranked

The post Yellowjackets Somehow Captures the Anxiety of John Carpenter's The Thing in One of its Best Scenes Ever appeared first on /Film.

Wikipedia describes Freenet as "a peer-to-peer platform for censorship-resistant, anonymous communication," released in the year 2000. "Both Freenet and some of its associated tools were originally designed by Ian Clarke," Wikipedia adds. (And in 2000 Clarke answered questions from Slashdot's readers...) And now Ian Clarke (aka Sanity — Slashdot reader #1,431) returns to share this announcement: Freenet, a familiar name to Slashdot readers for over 23 years, has undergone a radical transformation: Freenet 2023, or "Locutus". While the original Freenet was like a decentralized hard drive, the new Freenet is like a full decentralized computer, allowing the creation of entirely decentralized services like messaging, group chat, search, social networking, among others. The new Freenet is implemented in Rust and designed for efficiency, flexibility, and transparency to the end user. "Designed for simplicity and flexibility, Freenet 2023 can be used seamlessly through your web browser, providing an experience that feels just like using the traditional web," explains the announcement... And in the comments below, Ian points out that "When the new Freenet is up and running, I think it will be the first system of any kind that could host something like Wikipedia, not just the data but the wiki CMS system it's built on. An editable wikipedia, entirely decentralized and very scalable... "We've already had interest from everyone from video game developers who want to build a decentralized MMORPG, to political advocacy groups across the political spectrum. Plenty of people value freedom."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Make the most of the high rates while they last.

This post contains major spoilers for "Fast X."

Even before "Fast X" hit theaters on Friday, headlines had already spoiled the return of a certain actor who seemed done with the franchise forever. The cat is long since out of the bag now, but that doesn't make it any less surprising in the credits scene to see none other than Dwayne Johnson show up as Luke Hobbs again in "Fast X."

What's surprising about it, despite Johnson leading the 2019 spin-off "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw," is that the actor had indicated he was done with "Fast & Furious" back in the summer of 2021 when the last movie, "F9," hit. At the time, he and Vin Diesel were embroiled in a public feud, with Diesel taking credit for Johnson's acting, and Johnson making veiled references to Diesel as a "candy ass" in a since-deleted Instagram post.

Never mind the fact that Johnson had used the same phrase, "candy ass," in his Wrestlemania days. The beef, in this instance, seemed real, and not just a bit of wrestling theater. When asked who, against all odds, brokered the peace treaty with Johnson, enabling his "Fast X" cameo to happen, director Louis Letterier told The Hollywood Reporter:

"I kind of did. We all did. Ultimately, the movie did. I didn't know Dwayne, personally, but we reached out to Dwayne and Dwayne's team. We sort of looked at each other from across the room and winked a few months back, saying, 'We should work together.' And then I had this idea and I presented it to the producers and the studio. And then we reached out to Dwayne and his team and said, 'Just come and watch the movie. You have to love the movie first.'"

'He Came To See The Movie And Really Loved It'

"Fast X" also brings back Gal Gadot in a cameo as Gisele Yashar. Like Dwayne Johnson, John Cena ("Peacemaker"), and "Fast X" newcomer Jason Momoa ("Aquaman"), Gadot has headlined her own DC superhero property outside the "Fast & Furious" franchise. She was last seen making a Wonder Woman cameo in "Shazam: Fury of the Gods," which featured "Fast X" costar Helen Mirren as the villain.

The failure of "Black Adam" to change the hierarchy of profits or power in the DC universe may have helped lead Johnson back to the "Fast & Furious" franchise. Maybe he's jonesing to make "Hobbs & Shaw 2" happen now that his DC days seem to be done. Or maybe he just genuinely had a change of heart, as evidenced by the regret he expressed over his feud with Vin Diesel, even before "Black Adam" hit theaters. Louis Letterier seems to think it was simply a matter of Johnson seeing "Fast X," loving it, and wanting to be a part of the franchise again:

"He came to see the movie and really loved it, and then we started talking. It was very smooth, and frankly, as a fan, I could not conceive continuing the franchise without either Dwayne or Gal Gadot. This franchise was built by actors and characters. The set pieces are wonderful. They keep you entertained and keep you shoving popcorn in your mouth, but the characters make this franchise what it is."

"Fast X" is in theaters now.

Read this next: The 18 Best Action Movie Actors Ranked

The post Here's How Fast X Brought [REDACTED] Back into the Family appeared first on /Film.

This post contains spoilers for "Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462."

Early in its eight-season run, AMC's "Fear the Walking Dead" crossed over into a 16-part web series, "Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462," which followed the breakout of the zombie apocalypse aboard a commercial flight bound for Phoenix, Arizona. In the series, Michelle Ang's character, Alex, is always one step ahead of the other passengers when it comes to dealing with "walkers." She can recognize the signs that a person is infected, knows when to tie them up or lock them in the restroom, and knows where to aim a gun or knitting needle in order to put one down.

In real life, however, Ang was much more in the dark than her character when it came to her place in the "Walking Dead" universe. "Flight 462" premiered in October 2015, the same day that "Fear the Walking Dead" wrapped up its first season. It was the spin-off of a spin-off and would conclude in March 2016 after observing its own mid-season break, by which time "Fear the Walking Dead" would be preparing to return for its second season.

Alex and other "Flight 462" survivors, including Jake Powell (Brendan Meyer), returned on a life raft in "Fear the Walking Dead" season 2, episode 3, "Ouroboros," after their plane went down off the coast. This gave Ang the chance to appear on the aftershow, "Talking Dead," where she revealed how she auditioned for "Flight 462" without any knowledge of its connection to "The Walking Dead."

Fear The Walking Rhino

On "Talking Dead," Michelle Ang told host Chris Hardwick that she only knew "Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462" by its code name at first. Ang said her audition was "super secret," and it inserted her in a zombie-free scenario:

"It was totally shrouded in mystery because 'Flight 462' was its own standalone piece, and when my team got the audition, the project name was hidden. It was, like, 'Rhino.' It was super secret. And I was, like, 'Rhino?' Yeah. 'Rhino' web series? Sounds cool. Actually, the audition sides weren't even, sit on a plane, and didn't have anything to do with any infected people."My character was sitting in a train station, being bothered by an annoying young boy, who, she's just like, 'Please shut up. No, please. Can you shut up?' She was just basically a really staunch, grumpy, badass woman waiting for a train."

This sounds more like the beginning of "Train to Busan" than "Zombies on a Plane." It would be easy enough on the page, perhaps, to transpose Jake and Alex's "Flight 462" dialogue with that of the "annoying young boy" and "badass woman waiting for a train."

In the end, Alex gets the last available Flight 462 seat, while Jake is left to phone his mother and panic as he hears screams in the background and the lights eventually go out on the ground below. Later, Alex takes to stabbing zombies in the head and caring for the burned Jake after their plane crashes in the ocean.

Read this next: The 12 Most Upsetting Deaths In The Walking Dead

The post Michelle Ang Didn't Know She Was Joining the Walking Dead Universe in Flight 462 appeared first on /Film.

"There's no place like home." "May the Force be with you." "The stuff dreams are made of." The greatest lines of dialogue in motion picture history often have one thing in common, and that's no matter what year they came out, no matter what their story is about, when you hear that line you think of that movie. 

Anyone can say something smart or funny -- it's the context that makes a great line memorable. When we believe in the characters and we're immersed in that world, we pay attention to what they're saying and we remember when they say something great. The last line in Billy Wilder's "Sunset Blvd" resonates because "Alright Mr. Demille, I'm ready for my close-up" is creepy and weird after everything we've just been through. If you overheard someone say the exact same thing on the street it would have no power.

I bring this up because while some lines of dialogue have entered into the popular lexicon and others are canonized by film enthusiasts in our little corner, there's at least one line that deserves to be elevated to "all-time" status, which doesn't seem to make most of the lists. It's from an immensely popular blockbuster called "Fast & Furious 6," and it could only ever be uttered aloud in this very specific action movie universe. And even here, in a world where every single thing revolves around car stunts — you probably can't buy milk without popping a wheelie — it's objectively hilarious.

Tanks, But No Thanks

Six films into the series — seven if you include "Better Luck Tomorrow" (you should) — the story went a bit nuts. What started as a modest "Point Break" knockoff about street racers stealing DVD players had gradually evolved into a series of over-the-top spectacles, each more elaborate and stunt-tacular than the last. But even "Fast Five" was just a story about badass thieves doing badass things. With "Fast & Furious 6," the franchise went into gonzo James Bond territory.

In this film, the Toretto family gets enlisted to fight other daredevil vehicular supervillains, and from that moment on, Dom (Vin Diesel) and his associates pretty much become globetrotting superspies who specialize in car stuff (and everything is car stuff). But that's not the only reason why this was a point of no return for the series, where every sense of plausibility flew out the window and landed with a splat. It also marked the return, teased at the end of "Fast Five," of Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), who died two films previously and now has — as if it wasn't already soap operatic enough — amnesia. She thinks she's one of the bad guys.

Dom refuses to fight Letty, and repeatedly risks the whole mission to save her from this life of ... I mean, I guess it was always a "life of crime," but this is less respectable crime, so it's bad? Anyway, this all comes to a head in the film's centerpiece, an elaborate freeway chase between our heroes and a freakin' tank. The scene concludes with the tank getting t-boned and Letty — who was of course on top of it at the time — getting hurled through the air, only for Dom to jump from his own speeding car and fly into her at way too many miles per hour, with both of them landing on the hood of yet another car.

And they're fine.

Car Away, So Close

This raises a lot of questions. For example, "HOW THE @#$% ARE THEY FINE?" Like seriously, we can accept that people in movies emerge unscathed from car accidents that, in the real world, would rip our bodies to shreds. In reality, even a seemingly minor fender bender can leave the people involved with permanent physical damage, but these kinds of movies are power fantasies. We want to see cool people walk away from dangerous situations because, in our dreams, that's what we would do, because we're just that cool.

But there comes a point in every fictional universe where, no matter how weird the story is or how incredible the stunts are, something happens that breaks the rules. We can accept that dinosaurs have been cloned in the "Jurassic Park" movies and are real now. If after six movies they could suddenly also roller skate backward while singing and dancing to Latto's "Big Energy," it'd feel out of place, no matter how much we were willing to accept the weird-ass cloning thing in the first place. It breaks a rule.

And here's where the genius comes into play in "Fast & Furious 6," because the movie resists two very reasonable temptations: To either never comment on what just happened, or make a flippant joke about it. Instead, Letty turns to Dom in the next scene and solemnly asks him one question, a question that forgives every single ridiculous thing that happens in this series from this moment on, and completely redefines the franchise as taking place in a fantasy land.

That line is: "How did you know there'd be a car there to break our fall?"

Let me repeat that in bigger letters...

'How Did You Know There'd Be A Car There To Break Our Fall?'

Take a moment and think about that. Think about the enormous ramifications of what that means.

Because the movie is not just saying a car broke their fall. It's not just saying that a car breaking their fall prevented them from experiencing any injuries whatsoever. It's saying that, in this universe, everyone knows cars break falls.

After all, if Dom had flown through the air, swooped up Letty, and they hadn't landed on a two-ton chunk of metal and glass, they could have been hurt. If they'd hit asphalt they might have even sprained something. But no, thankfully they landed on metal and glass. At incredibly high speeds. So naturally they're fine, because that's just life now.

From that second onward, this one hilarious line of dialogue re-writes the whole series. We knew these people could do cool car stuff, but now we also know that everyone in the "Fast & Furious" movies has "+100 against cars" written on their character sheets. As long as they're in or on cars nothing bad can ever happen to them. You can just casually skim the rest of the films in the series and see how true that is. They fly a car through a satellite in space and nothing bad happens because don't worry ... they're in a car.

For the record, I am not complaining. I think this line is a work of genius, because it manages to be funny while literally rewriting our expectations for the whole series in just thirteen words. The films successfully renegotiated their contract with the audience and now, suddenly, this is very much allowed, and I love it, because it means even wilder and sillier crap could happen in the future. And it did. And for the most part it's been great.

Now that's good writing.

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The post Fast & Furious 6 Has One of the Greatest Lines of Dialogue in Motion Picture History appeared first on /Film.