The Great League is the perfect place to start dabbling in Go Battle League if you havent tried competitive battling yet in Pokmon Go.While the other leagues have their thrills, they can get bogged down with rare Legendary Pokmon, XL Candy requirements, and a lot of Community Day exclusive moves.Great League is the nearest thing Pokmon Go has to a level playing field, and while it still has its quibbles, it is a great place to learn the competitive ropes, try out some Pokmon, and enjoy some battles with friends.We explain the best Great League team to get you started in Pokmon Go, and where the Great League meta is right now.What is the Great League meta right now?While the Ultra League and Master League have not had much in the way of new Pokmon for quite some time, the lower ceiling of the Great League means that any new addition has a shot. And boy, a few new Pokmon have really made an impact.Despite only being added recently, Galarian Corsola is taking the Great League by storm, ending up as a mainstay in the recent Toronto Regionals. Plus, another new addition Morpeko was originally so powerful it had to be banned from competitive play, though it has now returned after some tweaks.Finally, Starmie learned Psywave and Surf, rounding out the Pokmons movepool and adding to the Pokmons already impressive resume.While Great League is all about Pokmon below 1,500 CP and is something of a pint-sized free for all, there are also several different takes on the Great League in the upcoming calendar. For the sake of brevity, this guide is just a general Great League guide for the standard format in the foreseeable future.Finally, when it comes to move for both the Great League and Go Battle League as a whole, Season 20 and Season 21 saw some major changes for competitive Pokmon Go, especially some move buffs with increased damage for Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, and Fire Punch. Meanwhile, some move additions have made a large impact such as Bibarel learning Rollout and Gliscor learning Sand Attack, if either of those are in your team preference.Great League best team suggestionsWith the lower CP limit of 1,500, you should be able to get most of these Pokmon with little problem. Heres our best team suggestions for the Great League:Clodsire, Galarian Corsola, PangoroMandibuzz, Diggersby, and PrimeapeLets go through them separately.Clodsire, Galarian Corsola, PangoroOh Clodsire, first in most of the rankings, and first in our hearts. While the new evolution of Paldean Wooper has an unassuming look in its eyes, its actually a huge threat. This is mostly down fantastic defensive typing and stats, as well as access to some pretty handy moves. The dual Poison and Ground-type makes Clodsire a menace for a lot of common threats like Azumarill and Drapion.You want to run Poison Sting as a Fast Move to generate energy quickly, then follow up with Charged moves Sludge Bomb and Earthquake. Just like in the mainline games, Earthquake is just one of the best offensive moves across the board, only furthered by STAB bonus here. However, if you are running into problems with Pokmon like Talonflame, you can run Clodsire with Stone Edge instead of Sludge Bomb, but Earthquake has to stay.The introduction of the regional form in Pokmon Sun and Moon has firmly rooted itself as a favorite feature among the community, and maybe no other Pokmon has utilized this feature as cleverly as Galarian Corsola. Taking inspiration from the bleached coral on the shores of Australia and other real world location, Galarian Corsola takes on a ghostly white complexion and the Ghost-type.Also, yes, you may be wondering why Galarian Corsola is here instead of its evolution Cursola, and its to do with the way the stats are spread out. Because Galarian Corsola has high Defense and Stamina but low Attack, it can level up pretty far before hitting the 1,500 CP cap. However, Cursola swaps its bulk for Attack, ultimately making it much more frail.Galarian Corsola is pure Ghost-type, sadly leaving it some glaring weaknesses to Ghost and Dark-type Pokmon, which is where counters like Mandibuzz, Morpeko, and Pangoro come in. But, STAB moves such as Astonish and Night Shade take out some opponents like Gallade, and the second Charged Move Power Gem is here for Flying-type threats such as Jumpluff, Talonflame, and Mandibuzz.Finally, like a lot of teams, Pangoro is here to deal with a teammate, as it will help you take down any opposing Galarian Corsola. The Mighty Pangoro is dual Fighting and Dark-type, giving it resistances to Ghost, Psychic, Dark, and Rock-type Pokmon. STAB boosted Fast Move Karate Chop quickly builds energy and causes problems for other Dark-type Pokmon like Malamar.Then, a mixture of Charged Moves with Close Combat and Night Slash put pressure on common foes such as Diggersby, Dunsparce, and Bibarel. Your main problem is going to be finding a Pancham with the ideal IV spread of 0/15/15, as it currently only hatches from Eggs.This teams best moves, IVs, and alternative suggestions:PokmonTypeFast MoveCharged MovesIVsClodsirePoison/GroundPoison StingSludge Bomb/Earthquake0/15/15Galarian CorsolaGhostAstonishNight Shade/Power Gem0/15/15PangoroFighting/DarkKarate ChopClose Combat/Night Slash0/15/15Clodsire alternatives: Drapion (Shadow), Toxapex, and NidoqueenGalarian Corsola alternatives: Decidueye, Drifblim, and DragapultPangoro alternatives: Machamp (Shadow), Primeape (Shadow), and GreninjaMandibuzz, Diggersby, and PrimeapeDark And Flying-type competitor Mandibuzz has some great coverage, and solid Attack stats to back it up. STAB Snarl and Dark Pulse are a huge problem for Galarian Corsola, while Aerial Ace helps to catch some Grass-type threats like Jumpluff.A lot of people may be tempted to swap Mandibuzz for Pangoro, and they do fill very similar roles, so its mostly up to you how you want to pick. For this team, Primeape makes a good teammate to fill that offensive Fighting-type role left by Pangoro, helping to take out bulky Normal-type threats like Dunsparce and Diggersby.Speaking of Diggersby, the Normal and Ground-type rabbit Pokmon has risen up the ranks recently thanks to the increased power of moves like Fire Punch. Use Quick Attack to gain energy quickly, then thankfully Diggersby has a pretty impressive Attack stat to take care of some of the bulkier opponents.Charged Move Fire Punch helps with some of the Great League Steel and Grass-type threats such as Steelix and Jumpluff, while Scorching Steps is a fantastic pick for the second Charged Move. This Ground-type move is fantastic, and helps Diggersby get some key wins over Pokmon like Drapion, Clodsire, and Morpeko. Just be careful as it has a whopping four weaknesses.Finally, rounding out this team is the humble Primeape. Another pick where you want the lesser form rather than an evolution, the reason for Primeape over Annihilape is because while the former can learn Karate Chop, the latter can not. This powerful move Fast Move generates energy quickly, and really helps to take down bulky Normal-type threats, but if you dont already have a Primeape with this move its going to cost you an Elite TM.Rounding out this package, Primeape also has the Charged Moves Rage Fist and Close Combat, which are likely the best picks. But, if you want to catch your opponent out, Ice Punch can occasionally be a viable option. Still, the STAB Fighting-type power of Close Combat is phenomenal at taking out opponents like Mandibuzz, Dunsparce, and Diggersby.This teams best moves, IVs, and alternative suggestions:PokmonTypeFast MoveCharged MovesIVsMandibuzzDark/FlyingSnarlDark Pulese/Aerial Ace0/15/15DiggersbyNormal/GroundQuick AttackFire Punch/Scorching Sands0/15/15PrimeapeFightingKarate ChopRage Fist/Close Combat0/15/15Mandibuzz alternatives:Umbreon, Galarian Moltres. and Honchkrow (Shadow)Diggersby alternatives:Clodsire, Lickitung, and Hippowdon (Shadow)Primeape alternatives:Pangoro, Machamp (Shadow), and Gallade (Shadow)In summary 0ne of the most exciting things about Great League is that there are just so many viable options. Weve picked a select few here, but there are still some massive threats such as Malamar, Bibarel, Starmie, and even Miltank. It means you can experiment, and all without spending too much Candy to get them up as close as possible to that ceiling of 1,500 CP.Meanwhile, as mentioned, while Master League demands as close to perfect IVs as possible, here you want to find Pokmon with 0 Attack IVs and high Defence and Stamina to get your Pokmon as high level as possible before hitting the CP limit.Finally, keep an eye on new additions to the Pokdex, as this league is the most malleable of the bunch, and each new addition has a chance of shaking up the rankings even more. If you want some more Go Battle League tips, we also have some Ultra League best team recommendations.

The Ultra League in Pokmon Gos Go Battle League and its 2,500 CP limit is where more regular Pokmon have their time in the spotlight, compared to the almost Legendary-dominated Master League and lower levels of the Great League.In this League, every Pokmon has a chance to make a splash but thats not to say there are some strong team recommendations to make, and some genuine strategy to be had.Heres our picks for the best Ultra League team, and where the meta is right now.What is the Ultra League meta right now?The Pokmon Go Ultra League is filled with a mixture of great Legendary Pokmon and some more unassuming entries, like starter evolutions and some other surprising picks. Its a great melting pot, but the amount of Pokmon eligible for it mean that the rankings are actually pretty susceptible to fast changes.Just recently at the Toronto Regionals, the new Pokmon Cursola made its way to the very end of the Go Tournament (in the Tournament standard Great League, mind), while some familiar favorites seem to have fallen out of favour.Some of the biggest recent changes to moves include the damage reduction of Body Slam, which meant that Swift has come out ahead as the better Fast Move for many Pokmon. Meanwhile, some popular picks got access to new moves, such as Lickilicky now being able to learn Rollout (which lets face it, it should have known all along), and Clefable now having access to Draining Kiss.Meanwhile, the huge shake up as part of Season 20 was almost more infamous for nerfs than buffs, with huge changes to moves like Counter, Body Slam, and Wing Attack, all having far reaching consequences for some particular favorites like Gliscor and Annihilape.While Ultra League is very different to Master League, the two cups do share a lot of the same threats, and most Ultra League teams will need to be prepared for Zygarde (Complete Forme) in one way or another. The need for a sturdy Water-type Pokmon with high attack is the reason for the prevalence of Shadow Feraligatr and to a lesser extent Azumarill. But whichever way you go about it, make sure you have something that can switch into Zygarde.One of the best things about Ultra League is that some favorite Legendary Pokmon who maybe cannot drop their CP below 1,500 for Great League have found a niche for themselves among more powerful picks. Youll see sturdy Pokmon like Registeel, Cobalion, and Cresselia all over this cup if you decide to dip your toes. And with that let us guide you through the top picks.Ultra League best team suggestionsWith the caveat that you may struggle to get a couple of the Legendary Pokmon on offer here, these Pokmon our the top picks for the Pokmon Go Ultra League:Feraligatr (Shadow), Drapion, ElectivireGastrodon, Clefable, SteelixLets go through them separately.Feraligatr, Drapion, and ElectivireIf youre wondering why you are seeing Feraligatr everywhere in competitive Pokmon Go battles, its because it gained Shadow Claw earlier in 2024. This fantastic Fast Move helps Feraligatr to gain energy quickly, while hitting some consistent Ultra League threats like Giratina and Cresselia.It also uses Charged Moves like Hydro Cannon and Ice Beam to take care of some other huge threats like Skeledirge and Talonflame. While having Shadow Feraligatr is preferable, the regular old version still has enough attack power and access to the same moves, so will fill a similar role in your team with little problems.A surprising pick for the top tiers, but Drapion including the Shadow version - is helping to round out a lot of teams in the Ultra League meta right now. It has access to Poison Sting, a decent STAB powered Fast Move, as well as the recently buffed Ice Fang if you want to catch your opponent out.Then, charged moves Crunch and Aqua Tail have fantastic coverage across some of the Ultra League regulars. The reason it works well alongside Feraligatr is because it resists Grass-type moves, as well as Ghost, and Psychic threats like the omnipresent Giratina. Feraligatr is a great lead to get some damage in, and then Drapion can often soak up the remaining picks.Finally, rounding out the team is Electivire, who is here to deal with your opponents Feraligatr or Azumarill. Ideally, you want to be using Shadow Electivire, to get that extra Attack boost. Either way, Electivire can use the Fast Move Thunder Shock for some great quick damage, while Charged Moves Wild Charge and Ice Punch round out the package.Naturally, Electivire is mostly aiming at Water-type Pokmon, but a well-timed Wild Charge can also ruin the prospects of an opposing Talonflame. Plus, Ice Punch means it can stand a chance against Pokmon like Zygarde or Gliscor if it gets backed into a corner. A bulky Pokmon that can still hit hard, dont count Electivire out.This teams best moves, IVs, and alternative suggestions:PokemonTypeFast MoveCharged MovesIVsFeraligatrWaterShadow ClawHydro Cannon/Ice Beam0/15/15DrapionPoison/DarkPosion StingCrunch/Aqua Tail0/15/15ElectivireElectricThunder ShockWild Charge/Ice Punch0/15/15Shadow Feraligatr alternatives: Feraligatr, Azumarill, and TentacruelDrapion alternatives: Galarian Weezing, Dragalge, and NidoqueenElectivire Alternatives: Bellibolt, Zapdos (Shadow), and Magnezone (Shadow)Gastrodon, Clefable, SteelixA cute little slug you wouldnt want to hug, Gastrodon has made a huge dent in the Ultra League thanks to its great movepool and lack of weaknesses. It is only weak to Grass-type moves (though it is very weak to Grass), and it has some key advantages, such as STAB Ground-type moves which will hit Poison-type Pokmon like Drapion extremely hard.In fact, its rare for players to even run a Water-type move on Gastrodon, because thats not really what its aiming for. Usually, run this Pokmon with Mud Slap, Earth Power, and Body Slam, and it is a powerhouse. It even gets the jump on some of its Water-type contemporaries, like Tentacruel. It may not look like much, but Gastrodon has carved out a very good niche for itself.While Ultra League isnt quite dominated by Dragon-type Pokmon in the same way that the Master League is, they are still a constant threat, and thats where a powerful Fairy-type like Clefable comes in. It doesnt have the best Attack, it has a respectable 216 Stamina to keep it on the field for longer.The power of a STAB-boosted Fairy Wind or Moonblast are definitely scary stuff, but luckily Clefable was one of many Pokmon to enjoy the recent boost to Swift, helping to round out its offensive capabilities. Clefable is a menace for some Dragon-type Pokmon like Guzzlord, Giratina, and more.Finally, Steelix helps to add some more bulk to this team and act as a wall for the more offensive foes. It has access to Thunder Fang and Dragon Tail as effective Fast Moves, while it can utilize Breaking Swipe and Psychic Fangs as its Charged Move.This very defensive-focused creature is a good pick against Clefable, Drapion, and Tentacruel, meaning it can soak in a few attacks from some of the most common picks in this tier. Its also relatively easy to get hold of, making it a fantastic pick for anyone who is hoping to finally break into the Ultra League.This teams best moves, IVs, and alternative suggestions:PokemonTypeFast MoveCharged MovesIVsGastrodonWater/GroundMud SlapEarth Power/Body Slam0/15/15ClefableFairyFairy WindSwift/Moonblast0/15/15SteelixSteel/GroundThunder FangPsychic Fangs/Breaking Swipe0/15/15Gastrodon alternatives:Quagsire, Whiscash, and GolurkClefable alternatives:Florges, Whimsicott, and Galarian WheezingSteelix alternatives:Registeel, Ferrothorn, and ExcadrillIn summary, the main thing to remember with the Ultra League is that it has probably the widest pool of possible Pokmon, so while the rankings are important, dont get boxed in. Try out different teams, swap moves around, and try your best to surprise your opponent more than anything.While the Master League is all about that max 15/15/15 IV spread, that generally wont get you far here. For any Pokmon with a max CP above 2,500, you instead want a 0/15/15 IV spread (use the search string 0-1attack&3-4defense&3-4hp) for a very specific reason.A low Attack stat allows you to get the highest IV spread before you hit the CP cap, as a higher Attack will instead bump up the CP. So yes, it may seem counter intuitive, but low Attack works great as long as those other two stats are pumped to the max.Good luck, and happy battling. If you want some more Go Battle League tips, we also have some Great League best team recommendations.

YouTube is packed with How do I and How did they channels. SEO masterminds chase Google glory on basic questions like How to change a tire. Lifestyle gurus explain how to change your life. Documentarians lay out series on how specific products are made. Comedians mix straight-faced how-tos with pointed irony. Entire channels are dedicated to how to pronounce things (or how not to pronounce them). If you want to learn more about practically any form of creative work, someone on YouTube has your back.But the only channel I return to consistently for my Howd they do that? fix is @HowardHoMusic, the channel where composer/playwright/journalist Howard Ho unpacks songs from stage and movie musicals in micro detail, but in terms that music amateurs like me can actually understand.I first ran across Hos channel after Disneys animated movie Encanto put the frustratingly catchy number We Dont Talk About Bruno on nonstop rotation in the constantly running jukebox of my brain. I couldnt figure out why I couldnt get it out of my head, so when YouTube suggested a video explaining the phenomenon, I bit.Hos video not only got me to hear the song differently, it let me see some of the movie differently. He doesnt just explain home keys and relative majors, and how the songs keys and chords fit together: He picks apart elements of Encantos visual and storytelling symbolism to explain why certain colors and visuals are relevant to the characters involved. The insight about the notes used in Brunos name and the concept of blocking the way home in this song blew my mind, but the breakdown of Mirabels skirt embroidery was even more exciting. Its like an Easter eggs you missed video without the condescension.Still, that video doesnt hold a (magical, symbolic, straight-out-of-Encanto) candle to the breakdown of Surface Pressure from the same musical, which just about made my brain explode. This look at how a song about emotional stress uses syllabic stress to make and break rhythms and convey different emotions is fascinating one part structural analysis, two parts composition education.Ho has a degree in musicology and a clear fandom for Lin-Manuel Mirandas work: His series breaking down theory, process, rhymes, and symbols in Hamilton has a longer run time than Hamilton itself. He clearly follows his own fascinations as hes programming the channel he isnt just opportunistically diving into whatevers popular at the moment, hes exploring things he himself finds interesting, whether hes picking apart a particularly involved and clever bit of lyrical play in Into the Woods or spending nearly an hour on how the 2022 Broadway show & Juliet fixes the fundamental problems with jukebox musicals.Hos videos are brisk but not frantic they dont have that rushing to keep the attention of an impatient crowd sense of overcutting that bugs me in other analysis channels, but they dont drag or belabor any given point, either. For me, his shifting focus between lyrical, musical, symbolic, narrative, and rhythmic analysis also means a steady shift between analytical languages I already understand and can take in easily, and ideas that push the limits of my comprehension in exciting ways. If youre anything like me, his videos exploring media that most fans will already feel they know a lot about are informative and insightful enough to pull you toward watching videos about lesser-known projects and maybe, hopefully, to actually check out those projects in turn. (Schmigadoon! is terrific, yall.)But my favorite thing about Howard Hos channel is that he answers questions I wouldnt even have thought to ask about media Ive already watched. Why does a B-flat note kick Sinister Stranges ass in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness? How does it connect to Danny Elfman and Beethoven? Why does Solo play the Empires theme from Star Wars in a major key, and how does that theme relate to the happiest type of melody you can write? Next time youre looking for a diversion on YouTube, you know where to answer those questions.

Cloud of Darkness (Chaotic) is a high-end duty in Final Fantasy 14, added as part of patch 7.15. This 24-man raid is a hard boss fight that will require lots of coordination to clear, but the rewards are worthwhile.Fans of The Crystal Tower raid series, the Cloud of Darkness Eden raid fight, and of Final Fantasy 3 will likely want to get in on it, since theres two mounts you can get from clearing this fight.Below, we explain where to unlock Cloud of Darkness and where to exchange the loot from the raid in FFXIV.Where to unlock Cloud of Darkness (Chaotic)To unlock Cloud of Darkness (Chaotic), youll need to talk to the Wandering Minstrel in Tuliyollal as a level 100 combat class. (This is the same place you unlock Dawntrail extreme trials from.) You will also need to have completed the base Dawntrail main scenario quest.You can find the Wandering Minstrel in the location below:Once you unlock it, you can register for the duty in the high-end duty finder. Youll need an item level of at least 710 to participate. Youll need to make a party via party finder or some other means to take on this fight.Where to trade in Cloud of Darkness (Chaotic) lootFor each clear of Cloud of Darkness, youll get Clouddark Demimateria. You can trade in the demimateria you get to Uahshepya in Solution Nine, at the location below.The loot costs as follows:Dai of Darkness mount: 75 Clouddark Demimateria IIShroud of Darkness mount: 99 Clouddark Demimateria IA Half Times Two hairstyle: 49 Clouddark Demimateria IIClouddark top and leg armor: Three Clouddark Demimateria IClouddark head, gloves, and boots: Two Clouddark Demimateria IThe Dais of Darkness mount and hairstyle can both be sold on the marketboard as well, so if youre hankering for those, you can spend a hefty chunk of gil instead of doing this tough content. The other items (the armor and Shroud of Darkness mount) are market prohibited.

Count Orlok looms over Nosferatu like the Cloverfield monster. While he is among the first voices we hear, and the first faces we see, the full reveal of Orloks form comes much later. When we see him in all his glory with all the sores, sylphlike limbs, and ponderous movements he looks like a reanimated corpse. Bill Skarsgrds mannerisms mark a striking difference from the comparatively youthful (and alive) Ellen, played by Lily-Rose Depp.This was exactly as director Robert Eggers hoped. I enjoy the fact that he is represented like a folk vampire, Eggers told Polygon ahead of the films premiere. These early folk vampires look like corpses, and theyre in this state of putrefaction.Eggers said the goal for Orloks look wasnt really to be a flip of the bird (or the bat, as the case may be) to noted resplendent vamp like Twilights Edward Cullen or True Bloods Bill Compton. Rather, it was yet another expression of Eggers constant aim: historical accuracy and immersion. His directive was What does a dead Transylvanian nobleman look like? which led him to Skarsgrds look, long sleeves, where ample fabric would communicate his wealth and eerie movement.Still theres a distinct sense of evolution as an audience member. If horror really is an expression of the anxieties of the time, Orloks decrepit form signifies something very different than the rash of undead that arrived in the 2010s. To Eggers and certainly in Nosferatu theres something powerful in what a more folkloric vampire represents; not a gleaming beauty or impossible love, but something corrupted, unnatural, and maybe even disturbingly familiar, if you were one of the townsfolk whose loved one emerges from a grave.Like most Nosferatu stories, Orlok is represented in Eggers film as more of a horror than a hunk; he also represents a sort of forbidden desire for Ellen. To have the attraction to this figure I think he was probably a beautiful man at some point, but now hes covered in maggots, the director said. Thats interesting to me.Eggers, for his part, was eager to bring out the sexual subtext of Nosferatu, calling his version a clear demon lover story and likening it to Wuthering Heights (which he reread while trying to crack the script). Depps Ellen is both a catalyst for Orloks awakening and her own pull to something darker, while also being a victim to 19th-century society.As much as she is a victim of the vampire, she can see into another realm, and has a certain kind of understanding that she doesnt have the language for, Eggers said. But people are calling her melancholic and hysteric and all of these things. And tragically, the only person that she can kind of connect with is this demonic force, this vampire, this demon lover. [And] Orlok is also alone.Its notable that in Eggers Nosferatu its her connection with Orlok that awakens him, ensnaring her and those around her into his game. Its the pull between the two that is constantly teased apart in the film, a thing she runs from as much as it sends her into a trance. Nosferatus power lies in not trying to make that repression legible with a drop-dead gorgeous vampire. Instead, Orloks pull is both rejoinder and repulsion, amorous and grotesque in equal measure. That connection between Ellen and Orlok, between 2024s Nosferatu and past iterations of this story, between folk vampires and their more modern kin is what makes it go so hard.Something thats great about the Max Schreck performance [from the 1922 Nosferatu] is how hes so slow, Eggers said. Obviously theres some sped-up camera stuff, but in general: Theres a way in which Nosferatu is like the Terminator. Hes not getting anywhere fast, but hes going to get you, and theres no fucking way hes not.Nosferatu arrives in theaters on Dec. 25.

If youve ever complained about the dominance of digital special effects in modern Hollywood movies, Werewolves was made for you. The new action-horror movie, now available for digital rental or purchase, has a delicious premise a year ago, a supermoon turned a billion people into werewolves for one night. Now, its about to happen again, and its up to the most jacked molecular biologist in the world (Frank Grillo) to stop it. It also relies almost entirely on practical werewolf effects, crafted with great care.Director Steven C. Miller tells Polygon that he knew from the start that he wanted his pulpy thriller to have as many practical werewolves as possible. He painstakingly worked with effects maestro Alec Gillis and an experienced team with a background at The Jim Henson Company to create an army of hulking 8-foot-tall beasts that could lay siege to the world.Miller, who calls the movie a crazy one to make, has relevant experience making action films (Marauders, Escape Plan 2: Hades) and horror films (Automaton Transfusion, Silent Night), and he was able to combine these experiences for a ludicrously fun midnight movie. (Next up for him: an action-comedy called Under Fire with Dylan Sprouse and Mason Gooding, with an eye on a 2025 release.)Polygon spoke with Miller about his philosophy on practical effects, the details on how Werewolves creatures were put together, and the challenges that come with such an ambitious project.This interview has been edited for concision and clarity.Polygon: I wanted to talk specifically about the werewolf design, which is a lot of fun and very different from what were seeing from most modern creature designs in movies. When you first joined the project, what were your immediate priorities on how you wanted the werewolves to look?Steven C. Miller: Look, my immediate priority was practical, right? How many practical werewolves can I put on screen? That was important. And then it became about how I could make them look as menacing as I can. Because I felt like [cinema] kind of went away from that for a while, where they became either humanoid wolves or they became sparkly wolves, or they were just wolves, literal wolves in the wild. So for me, it was about trying to get back to that classic 80s sort of man in a suit vibe, and still give them some bulk and make them as menacing as possible.Were there any smaller decisions you were particularly happy about in evoking that kind of feeling? Im thinking specifically about how the heads are designed.I mean, the heads were a big deal, right? Especially the elongated snout, and making that snout feel like it was even a little bit more raptor than wolf. That gave it a little bit more of a menacing tone, with the teeth and how long it was. And then the head being bigger almost than the body, than the shoulders, made it feel also a little bit more heavy. And it really was more heavy for the guys in the suits.And then all of the animatronics that were built inside the head those guys did such a fantastic job of maneuvering. Every detail of that face was maneuverable, even down to the snout, to the teeth, to the drool, to the tongue. It could do anything I needed it to do on cue. So having all of that freedom really allowed me to play with the wolves and give them emotion and a sort of vibe that I hadnt seen in a while.Whats the breakdown of how the animatronics fit together?You have the basic suit that the performer would put on, which was about 50 pounds, 60 pounds. These guys in these suits are probably 7-foot-ish, and then the head is about another foot. Once it goes on, the head attaches so the performers actually looking out the neck hole. So all of the animatronics inside are maneuvering the head completely. Whatever motion that head is doing is being controlled by animatronics. The performer is really only moving the body.So you can imagine, when he actually puts his head down to get into wolf form, hes almost completely blind. Hes just basically looking at the ground. So everything was choreographed really without their heads on, almost like a dance. And then they had to memorize it and go into all of these fight sequences almost in the dark, trying to do them as memorization. So if you do that on top of having the animatronic guys running all of the gizmos in the head and all of that, having to match synchronicity-wise, it was just a huge undertaking. But the crew was just so great at figuring it out. It was a lot of fun.Who handled the animatronics?Its a specific team that [werewolf designer/effects creator] Alec Gillis brought on. It was his team of puppeteers. I know a lot of them worked really heavily with Muppets and Fraggle Rock. They were really, really gifted individuals who understood how to move, animatronic-wise. And they have to be really good listeners, because theyre hearing me shout out all different kinds of movements, and theyre having to do that instantaneously or try to make that work with whatever the wolf performer is doing inside the body.We had so much fun whenever the wolf performer would come up and talk to me, I asked the performers if they would move the wolf mouth while he was talking.It mustve felt like a blessing to be able to have people whove worked with The Jim Henson Company on a project like this youre bringing in the best.And that, to me, was important when youre doing a werewolf movie. When youre doing a movie called Werewolves, if the werewolves dont work, the movie doesnt work. And so from day one, all of the money we had really went toward Alec Gillis and his team creating the wolves. It went toward the animatronics.We shot all this in Puerto Rico, so you have to bring this whole team to Puerto Rico. A lot of people dont really understand that on a small budget like this, bringing anyone from the States to a location and having to house them, and everything that takes, is a huge expense on a small movie like this. So we really made it a point that we were going to take on that, because we felt like they were really the most important pieces of the movie. We dove in headfirst.Sometimes these kinds of practical effects get augmented in post with VFX; sometimes they dont. What was your approach on Werewolves?My approach was, I didnt want to touch them after I shot em. If there was a werewolf on screen that wasnt digitally created from the beginning, it was not touched. The suit is what the suit is. We didnt clean up anything. We didnt touch it digitally. Obviously theres color correction going, but as far as touching up or cleaning up, I really refuse to do it, because I really wanted the movie to stand on its own and give Alec and them I just trusted them that much. I felt like [the werewolves] looked good enough on screen that I wanted the art to show. I didnt want to touch that.I wanted to let them be what they were. And if it was a tad clunky, I felt like that was the vibe, and that gave it the flavor I was looking for anyway, that 80s material that they had. They didnt have ways to touch [effects] up later back then. So you live with it, and I liked it.You suggested there are other werewolves on screen that werent practical Im guessing some were digital effects in the background for scale?In the background, we had digital guys that were giving us some effects more of the werewolves running through the town square. I think theres like three of em. But the cool thing about that is, even the visual effects supervisor was on from day one. So I had him in there with our practical creators, hands on, scanning everything from the beginning, so the digital effects were matching my practical effects, and not the other way around. It tends to happen sometimes when you get to post-production, youre like, Oh no, we need to create these things, and theyre creating it based on not being there. So with the visual effects and practical [teams] being there together, I was able to make calls of saying, Hey, these guys are going to look a certain way. I need the visual effects to also feel just as, for lack of a better word, clunky as the original, and not have this overly overt smoothness that these guys couldnt do. So yeah, they all were working as one, and it came together really well.This is an ongoing discussion, both in Hollywood and outside of it, about the dichotomy between practical and visual effects. Is that something you felt particularly strongly about just for this movie? Or is that a philosophy you hold in general?I am a fan of artists, and I was pretty adamant in my first posts when the trailer came out that people understood the movie is 90% practical, but the 10% that are visual effects are really fucking strong. And that I was going to stand behind the visual effects artists that did a lot of work on this movie, and made sure they got their due, because they did do some really great work. They created some really great wolves that, in my opinion, its hard to tell if theyre there or not.I mean, theres visual effects in this movie that you wouldnt know [were there]. The roof opening, for instance, is all visual effects. Those guys did a really fantastic job themselves. Im just a big fan of artists I think all of that [digital work] can be done well and can be done together, and people wouldnt have any idea. So its tough for me when people are like, Oh no, it can only be practical. I disagree. I like the idea of having new school and old school married together. Its all about uplifting the work of artists.These kinds of practical suits and animatronic rigs, and the experts to make them work, can be very expensive which may be one reason a lot of movies go for digital effects, which have gotten cheaper. But another reason is that complicated practical effects can create limitations in terms of what you can shoot and how you can shoot. How did that come up for you on this movie? How did you work around your barriers?The biggest limitations are when you want [the werewolves] to get into gigantic fights. We have a whole sequence where wolves are fighting each other at the end in rain, and theyre on wires. So at those points, you start to really feel their limitations, and you have to really start tapping into that creative gene if youre going to stick with the idea of it being practical. My DP was really great at figuring out how to light them and shoot them. And then its just about coming up with really creative, clever solutions. You almost feel like youre like a kid again in the backyard with your friends, trying to find out Whats the best way we could make this character do this without some fancy equipment? We did one where we would set the wolf on the bed of a truck, and we would shoot off the bed of the truck. So it looks like hes running, but hes just sitting on a truck. You know what I mean? So you just start getting really creative. Things start flowing out of this kind of stuff. And to me, thats when the best ideas come out.I also felt like there was some creativity from a storytelling perspective too. One of my favorite elements of this movie is it feels like, Forget even making a first movie, were just going to make a movie that feels like a sequel. Thats so much fun especially because I would imagine trying to make the first movie, where a billion people turn into werewolves, was not going to be a practical possibility.Yeah, exactly. And I also felt like the audience has seen that movie. Creating it in your brain, even though were only giving you little bits and pieces here, you can imagine what that other world could be, even if we couldnt get there yet. I feel like thats a lost art in a lot of movies, where they feel like they have to tell you every single thing, because they think younger audiences wont get it. Well, I disagree. I think younger audiences are really smart, and I think theyre also enjoying the ride, and they want to have some fun thinking about it as they go. So thats what we were trying to do.This movie really harkens back to a certain era of pulpy midnight thriller, with the werewolves designs and the plot. One of my favorite details is ripped-as-hell Frank Grillo being one of the worlds premier molecular biologists. I love that. That feels like such a throwback to 80s action characters. Did you grow up watching and loving those kinds of movies?I grew up watching those for sure. I feel like Im an 80s kid at heart when it comes to movies, and I like cinema as far as where you were able to suspend your disbelief and just watch the movie and have fun. Thats what I did growing up, and thats what those movies were. They didnt care if the character looked the part, as far as being a biologist, but he was the guy that was going to save the day.That harkens back to movies like Terminator, the kind of movies I grew up loving and enjoying Alien, Aliens, those kinds of movies. Your everyday character was going to take control and save the day. Pulp and cheese. You just want to throw it all at the screen and let the audience just have a blast.Werewolves is available for digital rental/purchase on Amazon and Apple TV.

Over the last 20 years, Peter Jacksons Lord of the Rings trilogy has been enshrined as a wintertime favorite by those craving spectacle and a cozy time on the couch. We can (and have!) debated if the films are best served by one holiday or another, but every fantasy nut seems to agree: The mix of Misty Mountains snow and an undying flicker of hope for a brighter future is a cure for the winter blues.But I have a new suggestion for Rings fans who might want to shake things up, or put an all-ages-friendly spin on the tradition: 1977s The Hobbit.Produced by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, the duo behind stop-motion Christmas classics like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus Is Comin to Town, as well as the hand-drawn Frosty the Snowman, The Hobbit TV movies reputation is poor. Critics of the time saw it as slow and overly whimsical. But after a recent reread of J.R.R. Tolkiens novel, and a rewatch of the film (its streaming now on Max), those negatives feel like an important part of the Rankin/Bass formula that has keptthe companys holiday shorts so indelible 60 years later. In fact, The Hobbit might feel right at home alongside Rudolph in a Christmas rewatch slate.Animated for Rankin/Bass by Topcraft, the anime studio that Hayao Miyazaki would eventually call home, the 1977 film was adapted by Romeo Muller (the writer behind all the Christmas specials) with the utmost faithfulness. Much like Tolkiens book, the film wastes no time in introducing Bilbo Baggins to Gandalf, Thorin Oakenshield, and Thorins band of dwarves, who require Bilbos help to infiltrate and recapture the Lonely Mountain from the gold-hoarding dragon Smaug.The party ventures off and hits all the familiar beats, from an encounter with trolls to a showdown with the Goblin King, a fateful meeting with Gollum, and a barrel ride on the way out from the elven kingdom. Anyone familiar with Jacksons nearly nine-hour take on The Hobbit will be thrilled to see Muller gracefully thread Tolkiens tale into a 78-minute TV movie package. The only victim of cuts is Bilbo and companys stint with Beorn the shape-shifter, whose side adventure even feels like trimmable fat in the book (hot take?).Topcrafts animation is particularly lush throughout the film, building on production design by Rankin, who was heavily inspired by illustrator Arthur Rackhams watercolors. The hard lines, shadow work, and earthy color palette feel more like concept art than cel animation. Compared to the studios work on Frosty, Topcraft outdoes itself with the character performances. The dwarves worn faces create a history to Middle-earth and every monster is complete nightmare fuel (but in a kid-friendly way). I could watch Bilbo and Gandalf puff hand-drawn smoke rings all day.Similar to their Christmas movies, Rankin and Bass lean heavily on songs to stitch the action together. In the absence of traditional carols, their go-to composer, Maury Laws, wrote some of the most 1970s folk bops imaginable, including The Greatest Adventure (The Ballad of the Hobbit), performed by Glenn Yarbrough, who went on to make a decent living touring with Christmas music. The soundtrack gives Bilbo and the dwarves perilous journey a certain fancifulness that isnt present in Tolkien, but its leveled out by the casting: You dont cast John Huston as Gandalf to make things gooey. Everyone in this movie is barking and constantly at each others throats, true to the source material.In rewatching The Hobbit around the Christmas season, I couldnt help but see the dedication to Tolkiens plotting as downright theological, a kind of spiritual reverence that was present in the Christian-leaning Christmas specials. Some believe that Tolkiens time writing letters in the voice of Father Christmas led him to create Gandalf in the first place watching a bearded dude and a bunch of dwarves could certainly conjure the image of Santa at his factory. But even beyond the surface, theres a certain Yuletide glow to Rankin/Bass Hobbit, the idea that this great myth must be committed to screen in all of its impossible glory. The tales of Middle-earth feel like scripture as Muller pieces together the key set-pieces. If Tolkien didnt write it, its not really in this version of The Hobbit.Case in point: Jackson dedicated an entire movie to the Battle of the Five Armies, whereas Rankin and Bass take a more Tolkien-esque approach of announcing the impending battle, sprinkling in a few spurts of action, then cutting to black when Bilbo gets knocked out. The hobbit wakes up as the dust of war settles. Everyone hugs it out and goes home. Thats what happened, thats what we get, and thats all we really need.That brevity is in the name of being downright religious about the text. Bilbos riddle-filled face-off with Gollum takes the form of a biblical parable. Smaug growls with fire before going full Old Testament on Lake Town. A final burst of greed from Middle-earths warring factions is met with a pure heart by Bilbo, who convinces man, elf, and dwarf to put differences aside and create a new future for the continent.Its epic, and full of joy. And if you spend your Christmas at the church of Lord of the Rings, 1977s The Hobbit might be an unexpected treat.The Hobbit is streaming now on Max.

One of my favorite things about YouTube is discovering a channel that has this one stellar video unlike anything else theyve done. Bill Wurtzs history of japan is a classic example, the 80 million-view juggernaut from a channel that typically posts bite-sized neon surrealist animations. But Id like to turn your attention to another absurdist video from a creator who doesnt usually do stuff like this, that also has a uniquely colorful visual style. Its about birds.The State Birds are Garbage is a fantastically well-paced 22-minute video that breaks down the strange history, geography, and politics of the state birds of these United States. The video looks great, like a Jon Bois video if it were viewed through a pastel prism. Sometimes charmingly crude polygonal animations are used to highlight certain parts of the story, but most of the time, a crystalline map of the United States is used to guide viewers through the many, many problems with the official state birds. And boy are there lots of problems.Now, its fair to wonder how the topic of state birds could merit a 22-minute video, which is part of what makes it so delightful. Every 30 seconds or so, youll learn something both inconsequential and infuriating: that numerous states are sharing the same boring bird, that a landlocked state chose the seagull, that Canada is absolutely schooling the U.S. in bird recognition. Its also funny and lighthearted, with a gentle, humorous narration by the videos creator, James Dalzell Hodge. Pulling it all together is a downright elegant soundtrack of minimalist piano covers that I wont spoil, but which perfectly match the topics at hand.YouTube as a medium has its faults, but where it undoubtedly excels is in giving videos like The State Birds are Garbage a platform. Theres not many places you can put a 20-minute video about your singular obsession without any expectations beyond that. And I think thats worthy of recognition.

In Brandon Sandersons Mistborn series, some people have the power to metabolize metal to work magic, burning pewter to enhance themselves physically or brass to soothe someone elses emotions. But the most powerful characters in the world are the Mistborn, who can use many types of metals and combine their powers to effectively fly and even see the future.Mistborn: The Deckbuilding Game taps into Sandersons clearly defined magical mechanics to allow players to show off the power of a Mistborn by building complex combos using their metals as efficiently as possible. The goal is to either complete three missions, which provide rewards for reaching milestones along the way, or to eliminate your competition by reducing them to zero health.Characters get more powerful as the game goes on, unlocking the ability to burn more of the games eight metals each turn, which are used to activate cards that can allow them to move up mission tracks, attack other players, or sculpt their deck by buying cards in the center row or eliminating weak starting cards. Many cards have kickers that produce more powerful effects if you can burn more of the same type of metal, which encourages specialization. You can take a broader strategy by flaring metals, effectively putting them on cooldown until you refresh them with a card of the same type on the future turn, and I feel like I didnt use this strategy enough in the early game to ramp up my deck.One novel aspect of the game is its approach to damage. In a three- or four-player game, one person is the target and is the only player who can be attacked. Its not all downside since the target gets to do damage to all their opponents whenever they attack. Whenever the target is damaged, they can choose to pass the token on to another player or keep it. Its clever in that it prevents players from all ganging up on the person whos ahead on the board but it can also be strategically kept by someone whos playing a more aggressive deck.Im eager to test out some more strategies and try the games co-op mode, which feels more faithful to the series plot in that the Mistborn team up to take on the tyrannical Lord Ruler. The game also feels ripe for expansion, introducing more characters from the series and story elements beyond its first book.

Delibird, the delivery Pokmon from Johto, can be found in the wild in Pokmon Go. Yes, Delibird with its holiday ribbon accessory can be shiny in Pokmon Go!Delibird doesnt see any use in PvP or PvE content, but who can say no to a cute little delivery penguin, especially when it has a ribbon on its head?What is the shiny rate for Delibird in Pokmon Go?As per old research by the now-defunct website The Silph Road (via Wayback Machine), the shiny rate for Pokmon on a regular day is approximately one in 500. Delibird is not a confirmed Pokmon that gets a permaboost (meaning that its a rare spawn and thus gets a boosted shiny rate).It is possible that with some events, the holiday ribbon Delibird may have a higher shiny rate depending on how you get it. However, were unable to confirm if its rates are higher for any specific event as of writing this.What can I do to attract more shiny Pokmon?Not much, unfortunately. It appears to be random chance. Shiny Pokmon catch rates are set by developer Niantic, and they are typically only boosted during special events like Community Days or Safari Zones, or in Legendary Raids. There are no consumable items that boost shiny Pokmon rates.Where can I find a list of available shiny Pokmon?LeekDuck keeps a list of currently available shiny Pokmon. Its a helpful visual guide that illustrates what all of the existing shiny Pokmon look like.For more tips, check out Polygons Pokmon Go guides.

At least five games released under the Warner Bros. Discovery publishing label Cartoon Network Games have been delisted from digital stores, including Steam and the Nintendo eShop, seemingly never to return. The mass delisting affects Adventure Time: Finn and Jakes Epic Quest, Adventure Time: Magic Mans Head Games, OK K.O.! Lets Play Heroes, Steven Universe: Save the Light, and Steven Universe: Unleash the Light, which were pulled from sale on Monday, as spotted by Wario64.Additionally, the Adult Swim Games-published Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time has also been removed from sale. That delisting follows similar removals from July, when Adult Swim Games titles Traverser, Zenzizenzic, and Mega Coin Squad were removed from sale.On Steam, each of the new removed games includes a short message announcing the delisting, which says that each game will no longer be available for sale after Dec. 23rd, 2024. The messages are signed by Cartoon Network Games or Adult Swim Games.A handful of titles under the Cartoon Network Games publishing label still exist on Steam, including Cartoon Network Journeys VR and Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake. The soundtrack for OK K.O.! Lets Play Heroes is also still being sold.Cartoon Network Games, Adult Swim Games, and Warner Bros. Discovery have not announced why the games were delisted. Polygon has reached out Warner Bros. Discovery for comment. Weve also reached out to the developers of the delisted games for additional details.Adventure Time: Finn and Jakes Epic Quest is the oldest of the bunch; it was released in April 2014. OK K.O.! Lets Play Heroes was released by Capybara Games (Grindstone, Below) in 2018, the same year Steven Universe: Save the Light from Grumpyface Games launched. Steven Universe: Unleash the Light was the newest release, arriving on Steam in 2021.The move follows a similar planned delisting of many non-licensed, Adult Swim Games-published games from indie developers. Many of those games have since been saved, thanks to public outcry and the publisher transferring ownership to the developers of each title. Earlier this year, Warner Bros. Discovery shut down the Cartoon Network website. The site, which previously hosted Cartoon Network content, now redirects visitors to Max, Warner Bros. Discoverys flagship streaming service.

Just in time for the holidays, Hit Point Press is making its acclaimed Dungeons & Dragons supplements Humblewood and Heckna! pay-what-you-want. Get cozy this winter playing as denizens of the magical forest of Humblewood, or be creepy as you push past the glitz and glamor of a whimsical dark carnival to uncover the secrets of Heckna.Humblewood, which raised over $1 million during its Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, is an award-winning 5e-compatible setting that has players act as birdfolk or other anthropomorphic animals called Humblefolk to save the woods from an all consuming elemental fire. The book is dense and rich with lore, and formatted with art direction that feels cohesive alongside traditional D&D books. While the setting was originally made with the original D&D 5e rulset in mind, this downloadable copy of the text comes with an update to make Humblewood compatible with D&D 2024 rules and its also available to play on D&D Beyond.The strongest features of this setting are the unique species presented in Humblewood. From the range of bird-inspired species that sit at the top of the hierarchy, to all the four legged critters that crawl the forest floor, each species feels lovingly crafted to bring out the real-life animal inspirations folkloric qualities like wisdom or cleverness. And dont let the cozy tag fool you, since the lore of the world feels as comprehensive as any D&D plane with a cosmology and a culture fit for a cartoony animal kingdom. The adventure that comprises the second half of this tome is more complex than one might expect, drawing in themes of ecology and socio-political complications worthy of exploration.Heckna! is a bit of a darker departure from Hit Point Press cozy forest creatures, luring adventures into the darker part of the woods with glittering lights and tantalizing performances of The Revalia. A setting guide and adventure for characters up through level 10, Heckna! draws on inspiration from Victorian sideshows, hiding a darker underside beneath its pun-filled, carnival-esque exterior. Ringleader Heckna craves attention and admiration, and as a disease called Clown Corruption spreads its way throughout the carnival, the players must decide how to fight against this never-ending circus, or become part of Hecknas performance.Whichever path through the forest you choose, cozy or creepy, Hit Point Press is running a fireplace stream to put in the background of game night, or any holiday gathering. Both Humblewood and Heckna! are available digitally on HitPointPress.com

Harbour Masters, the team responsible for the excellent PC ports of N64 classics like Ocarina of Time and Majoras Mask, have returned with an awesome adaptation of Star Fox 64. While the classic arcade flight-sim game has been playable outside of its native hardware for some time, the new port, dubbed Starship, brings a number of enhancements to the original, including support for ultrawide resolutions, unlocked frame rates, and even rumble support for modern Bluetooth controllers.Nintendo has developed a reputation for being a bit touchy when it comes to emulating its hardware or using original code from its ROMs, but Harbour Masters has developed a workaround by converting original ROMs into PC executable code, which technically doesnt use any proprietary Nintendo assets. In addition to making the game more easily digestible for PCs and enabling better performance, porting the original code over also presents the possibility for modding, which opens up a world of potential for new community assets and creations.If youd like to try and get this port running on your own, the crew at Harbor Masters have thankfully made the process relatively simple.First, youll need to download and extract the Starship emulator from Github. Next, youll need to LEGALLY procure a copy of the ROM for Starfox 64, specifically the v 1.1 (Rev A), which needs to use the z64 file format. If your ROM uses the .n64 format, you can convert it using this online tool. Once you have the correct ROM, you can drop it in the same folder as the Starship emulator and run the generate_otr application, which will extract the necessary files. After thats done, you can run the Starship application and press F1 to configure your controller and graphics settings. If the application crashes, try installing the latest C++ redistributable and start over.

Its impossible to talk about Marvel Rivals without talking about Overwatch; the two hero shooters share a lot of the same DNA, and the team at NetEase clearly looked at the wildly popular FPS and cribbed a few notes. Now that Marvel Rivals is a successful game in its own right, attracting its own fan base, some of the old arguments that plagued Overwatch are recurring and many players are hoping that this time, things will turn out differently.Take, for instance, the games three roles. There are the high-damage Duelists, team-defending Vanguards, and supportive Strategists. A common, and admittedly aggravating, issue is to load into a game only to have everyone immediately lock in Duelists. Vanguards and Strategists simply arent as popular, maybe because its harder to get a cool quadra-kill with their abilities.If you played Overwatch back in 2016, this probably sounds very familiar. Players from that era remember watching their teammates lock in as Hanzo and Widowmaker, leaving them to reluctantly play as a tank or healer. I remember playing Mercy for many games in a row, hoping in the next game one of my teammates would recognize my despair and let me finally play Pharah. They never did, because random gamers online are rarely known for their charity.Overwatch solved this problem in 2019 with role queue; players would go into a game knowing each team had to have a certain lineup of tanks, healers, or damage characters. If you played one of the less popular roles, youd even get extra rewards. Blizzard also spent a lot of time tweaking Overwatchs balance to fit into this structure, with characters receiving balance changes or even full reworks to make sure they fit into the squad. With Overwatch 2, Blizzard even removed a person from each team, turning the 6v6 game into a 5v5 instead.Marvel Rivals doesnt have a role queue system, nor is it as stringently balanced as Overwatch. Characters like Jeff the Land Shark, while they are potent healers, are also able to pull off game-changing abilities like pulling the entire enemy team into their maw and spitting them off the edge of the map. This means that while queuing up, you could run into a team full of Strategists, or a team with a heavy Vanguard front line protecting just one or two Duelists.Right now, Marvel Rivals allows for such flexibility and freedom and once upon a time, so did Overwatch. One of the factors that led to the addition of role queue was the GOATS meta, named after the team that popularized the composition of three tanks, three healers. GOATS dominated high-level Overwatch play for a time, including pro games, and it was criticized not just for being frustrating to play against but also boring to watch.But Marvel Rivals isnt beholden to a professional circuit or competitive expectations; its very much a loosey-goosey take on the genre where most heroes are, in the right hands, at least a little bit broken. That is a big part of why some fans like the game so much; if they wanted to play a high-stakes competitive shooter, they would simply go play one of the existing esports-heavy games on the market.Still, the conversation around whether role queue is necessary or should be added continues to be one of the major topics in the Marvel Rivals community, and it has been for months. The Marvel Rivals devs at NetEase told Dot Esports they have no plans to add role queue at this time, and they have the chance to break apart from the Overwatch path and push what makes Marvel Rivals so unique. Until we find a way to convince all the Duelist fans out there to occasionally flex into tanking or healing, its likely the debate will continue to rage on fan forums and social media.

Christopher Nolan has decided to get a bit more literal with his next epic, by taking to the past and adapting Homers The Odyssey, according to a new post on X by Universal Pictures.The reveal came after months of fans speculating about the filmmakers follow-up to Oppenheimer, which won Nolan his first Best Director Oscar along with the prize for Best Picture and five more awards on top of that. Despite guesses that ranged from helicopter movie to period vampire thriller, nothing came close to the truth of Nolan taking on one of the most famous narratives in human history.But while Nolans choice of adaptation may be ambitious, hes certainly already assembled a cast that lives up to the hype. While we dont know what roles anyone is actually playing, we know that Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyongo, and Charlize Theron on are on board, and theres still plenty of time for more stars to join the production.The Odysseys original story follows the mythical hero Odysseus in his arduous, chaotic 10-year journey back from the Trojan war. On the road he meets all kinds of strange and dangerous creatures, only to return home and to be greeted by numerous suitors vying for the hand of his wife. Of course, regular Nolan devotees can probably already find areas of the story to speculate about when it comes to how his non-linear style may make itself felt.According to Universals tweet, we can (unsurprisingly) expect the movie to be shot on state of the art IMAX cameras arguably a Nolan staple at this point and to be shot across the world, in case you somehow thought Nolan was going to forgo his status as a stickler for location shooting on his biggest, oldest epic yet.The Odyssey is set to be released on July 17, 2026.

Predator cores are a new crafting material added in Palworld Feybreak.Predator cores are used to create items like pouches and the Meowmere, a sword from Terraria that meows and fires bullets. However, predator cores can be pretty hard to come by as youll need to find rampaging Predator Pals across the map.Heres how to get predator cores and where to find Predator Pals in Palworld.How to get predator cores in PalworldTo get a predator core, you must defeat one of 33 Predator Pals around the map. Predator Pals are similar to field bosses, except they dont appear on your map and they arent catchable.Predator Pals do respawn, but they dont seem to have a 100% spawn rate. This makes it a little difficult to tell what the exact respawn time is, but your best bet is to check every 30 minutes like the other overworld bosses. However, this time can be changed as it does scale with the day and night length of your world.Predator Pal locations in Palworld33 Predator Pals were added to Palworld as part of the Feybreak update. Weve ordered the Predator Pal list below corresponding to the numbers on the map above using information courtesy of Paldb.Keep in mind, Predator Pals do not seem to have a 100% spawn rate, so there is a chance that you arrive at one of the marked locations and there is nothing there. Weve found that fast traveling to one of the nearby waypoints and refreshing the area by returning to the main menu has assisted with the spawn rates.NumberPredator PalTime of dayLevelNumber of predator cores dropped1GoriratDay and Night3012VanwyrmDay and Night2513DirehowlDay and Night2514LovanderNight2615DogenDay and Night2816MossandaDay and Night301-27RelaxaurusDay and Night301-28TarantrissDay and Night301-29OmasculNight311-210StarryonNight341-211RayhoundDay and Night301-212RagnahawkDay and Night321-213MaraithNight381-214DinossomDay and Night311-215Reptyro CrystDay and Night401-216DigtoiseDay and Night452-317Jormuntide IgnisDay and Night482-318GildaneDay and Night482-319DazemuDay and Night472-320PrixterDay and Night452-321Cryolinx TerraDay and Night482-322KitsunNight472-423Faleris AquaDay and Night502-424Loupmoon CrystDay and Night492-425WumpoDay and Night502-426Blazehowl NoctNight502-427ElphidranDay and Night553-428ShroomerDay and Night553-429SplatterinaNight553-430Helzephyr LuxDay and Night60431Bushi NoctNight60432SootseerNight60433Incineram NoctNight604For more Palworld guides, weve got you covered. If youre just starting out, weve got a beginners guide, a list of all Pals, and a type chart. We also have explainers on breeding, eggs, and a rundown of how multiplayer works.On the hunt for resources? Check out our guides on how to get ore, coal, polymer, leather, sulfur, wheat seeds, pure quartz, Ancient Technology Points, and ancient civilization parts. For advanced players, consult our lists of all tower boss locations, the best base locations, and all flying mounts.

In the days since Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was released, Ive been doing a diligent search for the best Sonic-inspired tabletop games out there. And folks, Ive found them. Surprisingly, there is no official Sonic the Hedgehog tabletop RPG (yet). Thankfully, the fans are here to save the day. Through some diligent dives, Ive found two fan-made Sonic games, for two different kinds of players. Rings and Running Shoes and Sonic Tag-Team Heroes are on opposite ends of the tabletop gaming spectrum, but both will fill the ring-shaped hole in your heart and importantly, theyre both free.For more tactically minded fans of the series, Sonic Tag-Team Heroes is a more traditional tabletop game with crunchy, Dungeons & Dragons-inspired grid-based combat to play through heroic boss battles. Players choose from one of four types for their character that determines their attribute set: Speed, Fly, Power, and Technique each following in the path of the major Sonic protagonists. The game itself uses dice pools comprised on d6s and d10s, with a series of corresponding skills. Among those are the expected Melee, Move, Sneak, Deceive, etc you can expect from most attribute-based systems; but there are a few special skills in there like Spin, which has your character curl into a ball to get through tight spaces or attack an enemy. The details of the game mechanics are not too complex, but certainly are for more experienced gamers looking to scratch that combat itch.If youre looking to play in the world of Sonic, but want to focus more on story over combat, Rings and Running Shoes is a Powered by the Apocalypse game set in the world of anthropomorphic hedgehogs and echidnas. Like all PbtA games (a system designed by Meguey and Vincent Baker) Rings and Running Shoes is designed to get short, two-hour-long sessions in while packing all the emotional punch of your favorite Sonic comics, games, and movies. Rather than a list of skills to pick from and assign points to, PbtA games operate off of playbooks, a collection of moves and skills centered on particular archetypes. The game prioritizes two things: teamwork and doing cool things. One of the basic moves of the game is called Kick Butt, need I say more?More than anything else, I appreciate how Rings and Running Shoes prioritizes teaching new players what tabletop games are and how to play them together to tell the best story possible. While the text is a little dense, largely just black print on a white background with the occasional original character art scattered throughout, theres an accessibility to the language that doesnt feel quite as intimidating as Sonic Tag-Team Heroes.Whether you want to get into the tactical combat of a Sonic battle, or just feel like a cool Hedgehog saving the day from Dr. Eggman, the fan communities surrounding the franchise have you covered. You can get both titles completely free, at sonictth.com and ringsandrunningshoes.itch.io. While these games might not have the same design as professional studio-made tabletop games, they have a lot of heart and enough foundation for you to go, fast.

Before Overwatch and Marvel Rivals, there was another zany, character-based hero shooter that gamers adored: Valves Team Fortress 2. Team Fortress 2 is still a relevant game, and has retained a fanbase since its release in 2007. In fact, the surprise release of a Team Fortress 2 comic, a full seven years after the last issue, shocked and delighted fans online.Issue #7 of the ongoing Team Fortress comic is called The Days Have Worn Away and it opens with a tribute to Rick May, the voice actor for the Soldier, who tragically passed in 2020. The art is done by Heather Campbell, an artist at Valve who does an excellent job at humanizing the ridiculous figures that make up the TF2 cast. Theres a Scout with a boisterous family, a newly-married Soldier who refers to his wife as a roommate, and a terrifying body horror scene with the Administrator. Theres truly something for everyone here.If you havent read the comics, Id suggest going and starting from the beginning. The series started in 2013, with Ring of Fired, and delves deep into the backstory of the main cast and side characters like Miss Pauling. As Valve itself puts it on the Comics page of TeamFortress.com, Over the years, the comics have spawned ancillary characters, then assistants to the ancillary characters. Companies mentioned in passing became global empires three generations old. The game that started as a handful of guys in a desert shooting at each other slowly blossomed into the most labyrinthine story in Valve history.Thats actually good news, because it means you dont have to play much of the game itself to understand this new and exciting story. Between the comics and the Meet the Team videos, Team Fortress 2 has managed to stick around in the gaming zeitgeist well past its prime. Its great to see some of these characters get a happy ending after waiting in limbo, and it doesnt seem as though well be getting any more comics.

Its that time of year, when the world falls in love, every song you hear seems to say: Not a lot new on TV! Dont let that get you down; this is, after all, just a list of premieres (and a curated one, at that). Theres plenty to watch, whether youre pulling from our best-of-the-year lists of movies and television, ongoing shows like Skeleton Crew, or even just pulling out some of the holiday season (or holiday season time) staples.But dont let that distract you from the big headlines of the week (non-holiday-related): Were going back in the Squid Game! The Doctor is in over his head just in time for Christmas, once again! Bad Sisters is coming to a close!Heres all the best new TV premieres and finales in this holiday week. New shows on NetflixSquid Game season 2Genre: Dystopian competitionRelease date: Dec. 26, with all seven episodesShowrunner/creator: Hwang Dong-hyukCast: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon, Lee Byung-hun, and moreAt the end of Squid Game season 1, Gi-hun was just about to get out and put his time in the games behind him. And then he stopped. Season 2 picks up with what happens next: He wants to get put back in the game. New shows on Disney PlusDoctor Who Christmas specialGenre: Sci-fi Christmas adventureRelease date: Dec. 25 at 9:10 a.m. PST/12:10 p.m. ESTWriter: Steven Moffat Cast: Ncuti Gatwa, Nicola CoughlanYou know the drill: Its Christmas Day in our world, and in the Doctors (Ncuti Gatwa) only his has some timey-wimey weirdness and we get to watch. Joy to the World is 2024s Who Christmas episode, and it brings with it Derry Girls Nicola Coughlan, a series of very odd happenings (as the trailer can attest), and what appears to be many different worlds. Happy Christmas to all indeed!New shows on Apple TV PlusBad Sisters finaleGenre: Irish black comedyRelease date: Dec. 25Showrunner/creator: Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel, and Brett BaerCast: Sharon Horgan, Eve Hewson, Fiona Shaw, and moreAfter yet another season of misadventures and (unfortunately) murder, the bad sisters of Bad Sisters are rolling into the finale of season 2. With bodies in their wake and betrayals still left to be dealt with, what will this final episode bring for the sisters?

Ill admit, macabre isnt the first word that comes to mind when I think of Sonic ally Big the Cat, but I dont know how else to describe the purple felines unused cameo in the second Sonic the Hedgehog movie as relayed to IGN by trilogy writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller.During the Siberia sequence in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, one draft included a riff on Raiders of the Lost Ark, specifically the moment from the opening where Indiana Jones springs a trap and reveals the corpse of a rival adventurer. Only, instead of a human body, Sonic would have been confronted by the skeleton of a cat. A big cat.Heres the entire conversation:Casey: In one draft of Sonic 2, we actually, when theyre going through the snowy mountains to the cave, we had a bit, because Sonic 2 was sort of an Indiana Jones. Its a trope that at some point a skeleton pops out at you and scares you. So we were going to do that, but with a skeleton of a, I would say, a Big the Cat, not necessarily-Miller: Not necessarily the Big the Cat.Casey: But we ended up cutting it. It didnt make any sense.All three Sonic movies have done a good job of organically introducing new characters from the video games, from sidekick Tails to friendly rival Knuckles and anti-hero Shadow. While the latest installments post-credits scene already revealed where the movies plan to go next, that doesnt prevent Big the Cat from popping his head in for an extended fishing sequence.And hey, a Big the Cat cameo should be even easier now that the writers dont have to explain Sonic coming face-to-face with what may or may not have been his gross, rotting carcass in a previous movie. Win-win!

I would hazard a guess that every anime popular in the 2010s has an AMV (anime music video) set to Thirty Seconds to Mars This Is War. It was the song for fan-edited music videos, and I will never be able to hear it without thinking of how I would edit it to whatever piece of media Im currently obsessing over. (Right now, its the newest Dragon Age game. I can picture it, the second verses the Liar lyric superimposed on Solas)From the moment the song came out in 2009, it was posited to be a hit in fandom culture. It actually debuted with the soundtrack of Dragon Age: Origins, a fact that I, a passionate Dragon Age fan, did not even realize until I started writing this pieceWait, hang on, this is completely warping my mind. Excuse me?!OK, back to business. The official BioWare trailer didnt actually lean into what made so many anime fans particularly obsessed with this song: namely that the lyrics basically just sort and categorize different types of people, warning them all about a nebulous incoming threat, making it perfect to project onto. Its generic enough to be applicable to basically anything (fascism and demons in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, or the epic highs and lows of high school volleyball in Haikyuu!!), but also with just enough specificity that fans can have some fun labeling beloved characters.Jared Leto croons about the Good and the Evil, which is super basic (and usually reserved for group shots of the Good Guys versus the Bad Guys), but as the lyrics go on, we start getting into funky archetypes like the Prophet (usually an older, wiser mentor-figure character) and the Victor (usually a cockier character, sometimes an antihero or minor bad guy turned good). Sometimes, if the piece of media allowed, these labels would be literal, even if they werent exactly fitting. But the best fan experience happened when the labels were incredibly loose and just based on the general vibe of the one-word descriptions, because its actually so fun to see how many people agree on what character traits these sparse archetypes represent.Theres an art to correctly categorizing characters in the This Is War archetypes. I think about it way too much. Every time I get into a new show, game, or movie, I immediately begin to cast the characters in a This Is War fan video. This is no exaggeration. I literally have a Google Doc for this. And it has categories for all the Dragon Age games, so the fact that this song came out with Dragon Age: Origins is really blowing my mind right now, holy shit.OK. Sorry. Ill stop getting distracted.I didnt become an anime fan until later in life, but I still knew about the proliferation of This Is War AMVs. Id always existed in parallel fandom spaces, so my first brush with the phenomenon was a Young Justice AMV in 2012. (If we wanna be technical, only anime fan videos fall under the AMV label, which would exclude Young Justice, but I use the term very loosely.) This Is War may have really taken off in the anime fan space, but as long as a piece of media had a vibrant fan base in the 2010s like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Harry Potter, hell, even Game of Thrones it could very well have a This Is War fan video.From the moment Star Trek fan Kandy Fong busted out a slide projector and a cassette tape at a convention in 1975, video edits have been a vital part of the fandom ecosystem. Nowadays, with TikTok as a primary hub, the trend skews toward short-form videos set to specific lyrics of songs, instead of full music videos. Every form of fan video expression is valid, but I came of age in the time of This Is War, so those AMVs will always have a very special place in my heart.And now I know that my deep connection to this frankly fundamentally OK Thirty Seconds to Mars song goes even deeper, since its not just nostalgically intertwined with my first experiences with online fandom, but also very specifically tied to my favorite video game franchise.

The hipster-traditionalist writer-director Robert Eggers is back, stalking the pages of history as usual. Hes known for digging deep into the language and traditions of the past to excavate his visions: the folkloric superstitions of early American settlers in The Witch, the fevered perversions of the Victorian imagination in The Lighthouse, the elemental mythology of Scandinavia in The Northman. But in his new movie, Nosferatu, the corpse hes exhuming is a cinematic one.In the 1920s and 1930s, filmmakers created two distinct lineages of Draculas. In 1922, German silent film visionary F.W. Murnau released Nosferatu, an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stokers novel Dracula then only 25 years old. He transplanted the action from England to Germany and changed the characters names, but it was otherwise a pretty faithful take on the book, keeping the action in the 19th century. Murnau and lead actor Max Schreck renamed their Dracula Count Orlok and envisioned the vampire as a bald, cadaverous, rat-toothed horror with clawed hands: a specter of Europes barbarous past.In 1931, Tod Brownings Dracula was released, starring Bela Lugosi. This early talkie, working from a stage adaptation of Stokers book, updated the action and shuffled the roles of some characters. Lugosi, who had played Dracula on stage, made his version of the vampire sinister but stately, with courtly manners, formal dress, slicked-back hair, and a batlike cape.Stokers heirs sued Nosferatus producers, and a German court ruled that all copies of the film be destroyed. That didnt quite happen too many prints had made their way overseas by that point but Murnaus vision was almost wiped from the record, and it didnt resurface for several decades. Lugosis version of the character became not just the iconic cinematic Dracula, but the archetypal vampire in pop culture, while Schrecks monster receded into the shadows.Eggers, ever the purist, is out to reset that narrative. His Nosferatu is a tribute to Murnau and through Murnau, to Stoker that bypasses a century of movie Draculas (with one notable exception) and goes straight to the source. Eggers is trying to tap into something primal and terrifying that the sexy urbanity of the post-Lugosi vampire glossed over. Still, hes only half successful, because his reconstruction is too meticulous to be truly raw.Eggers precisely replicates Murnaus setting: the elegant German port city of Wismar in the 1800s. He uses Murnaus German character names, too. Nicholas Hoult plays Thomas Hutter, a real estate agent summoned to visit a mysterious Transylvanian count in his mountain castle and bring him the deeds to a Wismar mansion. Lily-Rose Depp is Thomas wife, Ellen, a sensitive woman who falls under a trance-like spell after he departs. And Bill Skarsgrd fast developing a Lugosi-like career as horror cinemas favorite handsome monster is Count Orlok, the centuries-old vampire who terrorizes Thomas, then leaves his mountain home to descend on Ellen and Wismar, plague and death following in his wake.Eggers painstaking formal compositions, high-contrast lighting, and intensely detailed production design are all steeped in silent-cinema traditions. You cant imagine a director better equipped to recreate Murnaus vision as a modern spectacle, and Nosferatu often has a shivering, shadowy beauty. Eggers and his usual cinematographer, Jarin Blaschke, give the film a color treatment so washed-out, its almost monochrome, referencing the spectral blue, pink, and sepia of tinted prints of the original movie. Its a delicate, ghostly-looking film, less stark than the black-and-white Lighthouse. It looks properly haunted.At the same time, Eggers fleshes out Murnaus stripped-down retelling of Stoker into something more expansive and sturdy, strengthening characters and subplots, sometimes following the novel, sometimes not. The Hardings (Kraven the Hunter star Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Deadpool & Wolverine villain Emma Corrin), a wealthy couple who care for Ellen in Thomas absence, are given a much more substantial role in this version, as is Wismars misguided Dr. Sievers (Ralph Ineson). And Eggers introduces professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz (Willem Dafoe), a scientist and mystic, as a kind of Van Helsing figure something Murnau didnt really bother with. As Sievers and the sceptical Hardings grow progressively more worried for the absent Thomas and the psychically tormented Ellen, they reluctantly call on this eccentric crank for solutions.No actor better understands Eggers project than Dafoe, and he plays Von Franz with relish, investing every line reading with a precise, stylized vigor and his trademark rasp. Nosferatu comes alive when hes on screen, but the other actors are sometimes suffocated, only occasionally finding the intensity needed to break through Eggers archaic phrasing and mannered direction. Another exception is the British character actor Simon McBurney, who is delightfully deranged as Herr Knock, Nosferatus version of Renfield: Thomas boss and Orloks enraptured slave.The key creative pact in any Dracula movie, though, is between the director and his vampire. (E. Elias Merhige playfully explored this topic in his 2000 film Shadow of the Vampire, in which John Malkovich plays a fictionalized Murnau, with Dafoe as a version of Schreck who might actually be a vampire.) This is the one area where Eggers and Skarsgrd diverge sharply from the original film. Skarsgrds Orlok is still ancient, corpse-like, and heavily taloned. But where Schreck was twisted and withered, Skarsgrds version is towering and hairy, swathed in furs, with a long mustache and a barbaric aspect. Even his looming physicality is dwarfed by his voice; Skarsgrd speaks outrageously slowly in a cartoonish Transylvanian accent, rolling his Rs for days, and the sound mix gives his every utterance a booming, subsonic resonance that rattles the theater. Its a choice; it may be too much for some, but it couldnt be any more Gothic.In his previous three films, Eggers vision was striking for its originality and craft. As perfectly matched as Nosferatu is to his taste and talents, its deflating to watch him build a monument to someone elses art, even from a distance of 100 years. Like Werner Herzog before him, who remade Nosferatu in 1979, Eggers cant resist the temptation to recreate some of Murnaus most famous shots, such as the vampires shadow creeping menacingly up the stairs toward Ellens boudoir.But Herzog also invested his version with his distinctively documentarian, anthropological viewpoint, and tinted it with the world-weary cynicism of the 70s. Eggers doesnt allow anything so personal or contemporary to creep into his straightforward reconstruction, beyond putting even more emphasis on the psychosexual connection between Ellen and the Count. (This is the only version of the story Ive seen where the link between the Ellen Hutter/Mina Harker character and the vampire predates the Count meeting Thomas/Jonathan at his castle, as if she had summoned the monster into being with her secret desires.)Theres one other film interpretation of the Dracula story that looms large over Eggers Nosferatu. In 1992, Francis Ford Coppolas Bram Stokers Dracula also sought to cut through the Browning/Lugosi tradition and reframe the legend as an opulent Victorian Gothic tale. But Coppola ignored Murnau, too, instead cooking up his own witches brew of intense eroticism, silky grandeur, and absurd camp. Its a wildly uneven movie, but Gary Oldmans mesmeric performance as Dracula and Eiko Ishiokas ravishing costumes created an all-new and startlingly transgressive iconography for the old vampire.Eggers is gracious enough to pay polite tribute to Coppola, quoting him directly in a couple of shots. But invoking Bram Stokers Dracula is rough on his Nosferatu, which feels staid and sexless by comparison. Eggers has made a visually grand movie, with an impressively doomy atmosphere and one hell of a closing shot. As a finely wrought monument to the ultimate Gothic horror movie, its worth seeing. But as a new reading of one of the most resonant stories of the past 150 years, it rings hollow. It has no fresh blood in its veins.Nosferatu debuts in theaters on Dec. 25.

Marvels Eternals was a DOA franchise wannabe when it arrived in 2021. The cosmic drama didnt click with audiences, and despite post-credits stingers with loads of setup, its no longer part of the studios current unfolding saga. Kevin Feige gave the update this summer that there are no immediate plans for Eternals 2.But in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even a dud makes an impact. At the end of Eternals, the godly superhero team defies its towering space leader Arishem by preventing the birth of a new Celestial, Tiamut, who will pop out of their incubation chamber, aka the Earth. The delay of the Emergence seemed to upend the status quo of the universe (Arishem literally grabbed a few of the Eternals off the planet to prove humanitys worth), but as far as the tangible goes, it left a big stone hand jutting out of Earths ocean.The hand was big enough that Marvel couldnt sweep it under the rug. In 2022, She-Hulk poked fun at the impossible-to-miss plot-dangler. Captain America: Brave New World will directly deal with it next February. What If? season 3 is the latest property to indulge in what Eternals left behind, and in more ways than one. Frankly, its acknowledgement that the movie deserves as it fades further into the annals of Marvel history.In What If Agatha Went to Hollywood? the second of What If?s new batch of episodes, Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) is a Golden Age movie starlet lighting up the screen under director Howard Stark. Shes also still a witch hungry for power, and her next move is to siphon the cosmic abilities of fellow actor Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani). Her plan comes together when Stark Pictures recruits the Bollywood star for a whiz-bang musical number turns out, Agatha can dance as well as she can sing and by the end of the showstopper, the two have brokered a deal to summon and defeat Arishem.Eternals doesnt just grant the Marvel stories the chance to drop a few references and cameos. The big swing writer-director Chlo Zhao took in melding mind-bogglingly epic ideas about gods and creation with multicultural customs and culture from around the globe allows a show like What If? (and hopefully future Marvel movies) to stretch its visuals way beyond the house style of an Avengers movie. A glittering, fire-blasting musical number is right at home in this weird, wonderful MCU tapestry, as well as a fight between two titans in space.When Agatha absorbs Kingos power, she transforms into a deity worthy of punching Arishem square across the jaw. In the grand tradition of characters entering the spirit plane and whupping ass as kaiju, Celestial Agatha eclipses the entire Earth to take on the Judge of the cosmos, and, like in Zhaos film, the camera often swoops down to ground level on Earth to see just how much the two dwarf the planetary battleground. Its big and capital-A Awesome.Episode 2 is not the only Eternals connection in the final run of What If?: An episode later in the season directly deals with the Emergence, this time wondering what would happen if the Eternals failed and Tiamut shattered the Earth on his way out the door. Thats just the beginning no spoilers, but things get way, way, way wackier from there but the entire What if? is predicated yet again on groundwork set by a movie that, based on Feiges comments, is being dealt with rather than appreciated.Zhaos vision for Eternals clearly did not fit the trajectory of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of references, recastings, and Deadpools versus Wolverines. But it did move the needle. What If? may not be canon, but its been a testing ground for ideas that did cross over, from Doctor Stranges multiversal madness to Captain Carter (who may graduate from cameo to full-blown action hero in Avengers: Doomsday). If Eternals is on the minds of those playing in the sandbox, theres still some hope for us defenders of the film that its mythology may trickle throughout the future.If Eternals legacy doesnt manifest in Fantastic Four (is this Galactus a Celestial?) or Secret Wars (something something Harry Styles as Eros?) then Marvel certainly seems content in toying with my emotions. The end of What If Agatha Went to Hollywood? delivers a beat that is basically rude for the final season of a series that, at least by the two-part finale later this week, promises not to pick up any loose ends set by other episodes.This has probably drawn the Celestials attention, Kingo says of Agathas destructive battle with Arishem. The bad kind of attention.Agatha shushes him now is the time to celebrate, not dwell on existential horrors to come.We can save that for the sequel!Eternals isnt getting one of those. Agatha All Along isnt even guaranteed to get a second season (let alone the big-screen treatment that Agathas power set clearly deserves after this episode). So who knows where or how or if this non-canon storyline will ever get a proper sequel. But what seems true is that by playing god in the MCU, Zhao and her film have made Eternals a required consideration for future Marvel stories. And if that means more A-list actors muttering Arishem the Judge across 4,000 summer-weekend screens well, that might be enough to make up for a lack of Eternals 2.

Palworld players have a lot to look forward to Monday as the Pokmon-like receives its next major update, subtitled Feybreak, and the first fruits of an ongoing crossover with 2D sandbox game Terraria.Feybreak adds another massive island reportedly six times larger than the area introduced in the previous Sakuraijima update to the already expansive Palworld playground. The new island includes more Pals to collect, foes to challenge in battle, resources to gather, and realistic weapons like assault rifles, sub-machine guns, and grenades to manufacture.The full Feybreak patch notes can be found here, but a couple standouts include the ability to sit in chairs for the first time and modules for Spheres (Palworlds Pok Ball analogues) that add capture-enhancing curves to their throw trajectories, kind of like Pokmon Go. This seems odd considering the legal trouble Palworld developer Pocketpair has already had with Nintendo, but hey, Im no lawyer. Also, Pokmon games rarely let you sit in chairs, so theres that.Palworld players will also get a chance to wield the Meowmere, a special sword from Terraria that fires projectiles and meows with every swing, as demonstrated in the video below. Pocketpair describes the weapon as only a small taste of the collaboration between Palworld and Terraria, so fans of both games should look forward to further content throughout 2025.Despite having a rough 2024 in terms of litigation, Palworld was nominated for Best Early Access Game at the Golden Joystick Awards, which was ultimately won by horror-comedy extraction game Lethal Company, and is currently in the running for Better With Friends category in the Steam Awards. Pocketpair seems determined to continue expanding its weird, little Pokmon clone, and it should be interesting to see how it develops in the new year.

While Dune: Prophecy is a (very loose) literary adaptation, the HBO series ultimately defines itself by its ties to Denis Villeneuves Dune movies. In and of itself, thats no big deal. 2024 has seen a now-standard flurry of shows released under the Star Wars, DC, and Marvel labels (to name just a few) all of them spinoffs, prequels, sequels, or reboots of franchises that originated on film. Hell, DC Studios relaunched its cinematic universe with a streaming joint!Yet Dune: Prophecy is innately different to these other small-screen offshoots of big-screen blockbusters, because, unlike them, its cinema roots are baked into its very DNA. And now that the dust (or should that be spice?) has settled on Dune: Prophecy season 1, its painfully clear that trying to shrink Dunes inherently filmic nature its sheer bigness is a task not even the Lisan al Gaib himself could accomplish.[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for Dune: Prophecy season 1.]At this point, longtime Dune devotees are probably crying foul. What about the two miniseries, Frank Herberts Dune and Frank Herberts Children of Dune, that aired on Syfy in the 2000s? these fans ask. Werent those successful? And indeed they were, both critically and commercially; these Dune adaptations rank among Syfys most-watched original productions to this day. But heres the thing: Those productions were built from the ground up for the small screen. Sure, they aspired to cinematic sensibilities, but theres no mistaking their made-for-TV origins. The acting is uneven, the scripts are deliberately paced and exposition-heavy, and most of all, the spectacle is hemmed in by a basic cable budget.In that sense, Dune: Prophecy is arguably much closer to cinema than these earlier efforts. Certainly, the HBO series visual effects, costumes, and sets are light-years ahead of anything Syfy mustered. The performances are more consistent, too; the divide between Hollywood veterans and TV regulars is less pronounced. And showrunner Alison Schapker and her team follow the Great Schools of Dune trilogys storyline far less slavishly than the Syfy adaptations blow-by-blow approach to their source text, Frank Herberts first three novels. Even so, Dune: Prophecy season 1 is a claustrophobic, small-scale affair. Valya Harkonnen and her allies and enemies wheel and deal primarily in the backrooms and corridors of the universe. The only major action set-piece we get, a flashback to the Butlerian Jihad, is a handful of shots during the prologue. Even the thematic meat of the piece supposedly a deep dive into power, truth, and systems of control is handled perfunctorily, as if only there to jazz up a relatively inconsequential narrative. It all feels so contained; it feels like TV.Contrast this with Villeneuves Dune: Part One and Part Two. Here we have two of the biggest movies to ever movie. The cast is uniformly excellent. The storytelling (particularly in Part Two) moves at a brisk clip and keeps the expository dialogue to a minimum. The production values are exactly what youd expect from a combined price tag north of $350 million. The scope is mythic. The themes, covering everything from the perils of superhero-type leaders to free will versus determinism, are painted in vivid, operatic strokes. Watching these films especially in oversized IMAX format goes beyond mere immersion and verges on a religious experience. Its a vision of Frank Herberts sci-fi universe thats defiantly geared toward the theatrical experience in an age of smartphones and streaming platforms. Frankly, to watch Dune on a television, the best way I can compare it is to drive a speedboat in your bathtub, Villeneuve told Total Film in 2021. For me, its ridiculous. Its a movie thats made as a tribute for the big screen experience.In short? The Dune franchise under Villeneuve is incompatible with TV which might explain why the Canadian filmmaker bailed on Dune: Prophecy before cameras rolled. (For what its worth, the official reason is that Villeneuve bowed out to focus on Dune: Part Twos sequel, Dune Messiah). The gulf between film and television even prestige television is simply too great. Not that Dune: Prophecy season 1 does itself many favors. To Schapkers credit, Prophecy leans into the strengths of TV as a medium, rightly recognizing that directly mapping a cinematic blueprint onto six hour-long installments is impossible. But the way this is rolled out is so low-stakes (and at times, cheap-feeling) that it diminishes Dunes world, rather than expanding it.Take the Desmond Hart plot thread. This mystery box finally gets (partly) opened in episode 6, but whats inside ocular nerve implants and shadowy Bene Gesserit haters is oddly pedestrian. Theres none of the intellectual and emotional oomph of Dune: Part One and Part Two protagonist Paul Atreides giving the green light to galactic genocide for the greater good. Its more akin to a plot-centric season finale reveal youd expect from, say, Agents of SHIELD or Fringe. No shade on either show; its just that no one would mistake either for a cinema-grade epic. Similarly, episode 5s procedural elements involving Tula Harkonnen, Raquella/Lila, and a generic science lab set are the kinds of scenes that would happen off screen in Villeneuves films, and with good reason; CSI: Wallach IX is decidedly less compelling than the soaring grandeur of Pauls subversive heros journey. And lets not forget season 1s wider, dual-timeline narrative, which makes an already busy story even busier (and slower) all while filling in gaps in the Dune mythos that arguably functioned better left unexplained.These shortcomings would be enough to curdle most shows. But foist them onto the Dune universe and they become twice as glaring. Because they dont merely tarnish the franchises brand they reduce its outsized ambitions. Where Dune: Part One and Part Two paid off a cosmos-wide, multi-millennia master plan, Prophecys first season gave us sub-Game of Thrones intrigue and a vaguely defined threat to the Sisterhoods future (effectively a moot point, thanks to the movies), most of it playing out in the same confined locales. Schapker and co. fuss over the how and the why of it all, failing to grasp that the more granular Dune: Prophecy becomes, the further away from Villeneuves (and Herberts) big ideas so fundamental to this brainy sci-fi saga it gets. For all its spaceships, Shai-Hulud cameos, and funky footwear, Dune: Prophecy just doesnt feel like Dune.Again, the odds of that happening of any TV show sitting comfortably alongside Dune: Part One and Part Two were always stacked against HBO. Even if Dune: Prophecy season 1 had nailed every aspect of its execution, even if it had been one of the best shows of the year, it still wouldnt have been a movie. As a result, the folks behind Prophecy were always going to have to scale back its big-screen counterparts cinematic essence to produce something more TV-friendly. But thats the problem: Shrinking Denis Villeneuves Dune is like trying to preserve a snowflake on the desert world that lends the franchise its name doomed from the start.

Every day, Disney strays further from the wishing stars light. And theres one big reason for that: a staggering lack of animated villains. The studio has only produced a handful of movies with actual villains over the last 15 years, and as Disney fans frequently note, that means weve lost a glorious entertainment staple in the Disney villain song. The big musical number is a vital part of most great villains identities it often lets the audience see all their glorious viciousness in action. Between 2000 and 2023, Disney only gave us five villain songs, and just three of them since 2010 Mother Knows Best in Tangled, The Backson Song in Winnie the Pooh, and Shiny in Moana. (Love Is an Open Door in Frozen is technically a duet with a villain, but it isnt a villain song by any definition.)But hope is not lost: The villain song is on the rise again. Disneys Wish gave us our first true villain song in 13 years with This Is the Thanks I Get?! Moana 2s fiery Get Lost doesnt quite count, since Matangi reveals herself as Moanas ally, but its styled and presented as a villain song. Mufasa: The Lion King also features a full villain song: Bye Bye, sung by Mads Mikkelsen as white lion antagonist Kiros.Unfortunately, though, Bye Bye (much like This Is the Thanks I Get?!) is a pitiful machination of a villain number that manages to make the villain less threatening. Bye Bye is a solid candidate for the worst-ever villain song a remarkable feat when the yodeling song from Home on the Range exists. Its also a valuable reminder of how great Disney villain songs used to be.Since the companys first feature-film villain song, Pinocchios Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee, providing a musical showcase for a films big bad has been one of the best expressions of Disneys musical heritage. Before the Disney Renaissance (1989-1999), they were typically shorter and smaller-scale. The villains themselves didnt even have to sing them see the jazzy classic Cruella De Vil, The Phony King of England in Robin Hood, or The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toads The Headless Horseman. They often felt like more of an afterthought than a centerpiece, though they still established all sorts of delicious villainy, like Captain Hooks penchant for killing in Peter Pans The Elegant Captain Hook or the Queen of Hearts unlimited fury in Whos Been Painting My Roses Red?During the Renaissance, though, they became big, dynamically choreographed Broadway-style numbers, and a vital aspect of Disneys animated features: Memorable examples crop up in The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin (as a reprise), The Lion King, Pocahontas, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.Theres no one way to have a successful villain song, but all the great ones firmly establish antagonists characters and display what makes them truly diabolical. Poor Unfortunate Souls and Friends on the Other Side show how masterful Ursula and Dr. Facilier are at manipulating their prey. Cruella De Vil establishes how detestable Cruella is before we have the pleasure of even seeing her. Hellfire, perhaps the single greatest Disney villain song, is the darkest of them all, as Judge Frollo reveals the unquenchable lust for Esmeralda thats driven him to unimaginable evil, and contrasts it with his strict, austere religious beliefs.These songs dont need to be dark or downtempo: Upbeat numbers like The Headless Horseman, Beauty and the Beasts Gaston, The Sword in the Stones Mad Madam Mim, and The Great Mouse Detectives The Worlds Greatest Criminal Mind (which features a chorus of flunkies joyfully celebrating the idea of Ratigan drowning widows and orphans) all deliver smug portraits of cruelty.While great villain songs help us understand what makes a villain tick, we learn virtually nothing about Kiros through Bye Bye. We get only the vaguest sense of his personality in the lyrics about how the moon doesnt obey / and neither do I. Kiros wants vengeance against Mufasa, who killed his son. But the most menacing thing he can offer is a childish taunt: Im gonna be the last thing you see / before I make you go bye-bye.The Lion King is famously anchored by Mufasas tragic death, so its not like the audience needs to be treated with such a gentle touch. The delivery of bye-bye is painfully indifferent, as if even Kiros doesnt believe in what hes saying. And if Kiros cant offer up his half-baked threats with any conviction, why should we believe he has any chance of killing Mufasa?Songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda makes the mistake of centering Bye Bye not on the villain, but instead on Mufasa. Nothing in the song suggests what makes Kiros himself villainous, dangerous, or unique and compelling as a character. In Bye Bye, it feels more like Kiros is wrapped up in an emotional moment that pushes him toward murder, rather than a character whos proud of his schemes or his villainous roots.The lyrics make no mention of any of Kiros talents: Theres no mention of his ferocious claws, musculature, or sharp, piercing teeth. The obnoxious, childish threat of making Mufasa go bye-bye feels more like a petulant aside than a genuine intention. Since Bye Bye tells us nothing about Kiros or what hes capable of, theres no reason to root against him, or even care about him.Villain songs have been a vital opportunity for Disney storytellers to push the limits and breach taboo subjects: Where else could a Disney character bemoan the fact that his own sexual desires repulse him? Theyve helped Disney grow creatively, while letting audiences revel in some of the darker emotions that Disney movies usually avoid. Bye Bye feels especially disappointing when compared to the classic Lion King song Be Prepared, in which Scar reveals his plans to take down Mufasa and Simba (explicitly saying hell kill them) and how hell take control of Pride Rock, bringing his rapacious hyena followers to the promised land.Mirandas song feels like a spiritual successor to Be Prepared, yet its woefully lacking in spirit. The snarly bye-byes seem as if theyre meant to echo Scars snark, but his 1994 number is full of genuine malice, as well as haunting imagery deliberately recalling Germanys Third Reich. Theres no matching visual creativity or daring in the screen staging of Bye Bye, which reduces the number to a group of lions circling and jumping around.In Be Prepared, we come to understand Scars cunning, seething hatred and manipulative charisma in equal measure. In Bye Bye, we get a lion shouting bye-bye a bunch of times. Thats all the more surprising considering that Miranda wrote a solid villain song in Shiny, which successfully establishes the giant crab Tamatoas obsessions and his menacing qualities. Communicating all that through song is particularly important, given that the number is this minor villains only opportunity to er, shine. But Bye Bye is a pale imitation of what came before it.It feels like Disney villain songs have become a box-ticking exercise, added more out of a sense of obligation than out of inspiration. But these numbers deserve more. Theyre a huge reason why classic Disney villains are so popular and memorable. They break up the parade of protagonist I-want songs and comic relief songs, and serve as playful excursions into kid-safe nastiness in creative ways. If Disneys songwriters arent interested in what makes villain songs such a wonderful part of the studios canon, perhaps were better off without them after all.

Life is stressful. Sometimes its difficult to unwind. For me, a surefire method to improve my mood when Im feeling down has been watching Australian radio station Triple Js Like A Version series, which includes a regular segment where established and up-and-coming artists alike cover classic or new hits.Sometimes the covers are close to the original; sometimes theyre completely different. Most of the time, they bring me a direct dose of joy, either introducing me to new artists and songs or recontextualizing my appreciation for older hits whether I liked the original versions when I first heard them or not.What helps tie it all together is theres something about the environment at the studio that encourages artists to let loose in a way that feels like pure expressions of creativity and artistic delight. Theres nothing quite like the expression of love when an artist picks another artists work and says, Hey, I like this. I want to try my own spin on it.So here are 10 of my favorite Triple J Like A Version covers. Most of these have been playing on repeat in my head all year long. Id love to see some of your favorites in the comments.Denzel Curry, Rage Against the Machines Bulls on ParadeDMAS, Chers BelieveTash Sultana, MGMTs Electric FeelJoey Bada$$, Princes When Doves CryAlex Lahey, My Chemical Romances Welcome to the Black ParadeTriple One, Cyndi Laupers Time After TimeSOFI TUKKER, Snow Patrols Chasing CarsJoey Bada$$, Mos Defs UMI SaysThe Last Dinner Party, Blondies Call MeDune Rats & Friends, The Angels Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face AgainAnd here is a recent one I liked a lot:3%, 5 Seconds of Summers Youngblood

One of my favorite Steam Deck upgrades costs more than a Steam Deck. Ive been testing out Xreals new $499 One AR glasses, which can serve as an external display for the console by connecting a USB-C cable between the two. The One glasses work with other devices capable of pushing video from a USB-C port, too, such as some phones, tablets, and computers, but sadly, not the Nintendo Switch (fingers crossed that its supported on the Switch 2).At the expense of looking a bit conspicuous wearing shades indoors, its a more comfortable way to play games, letting me look directly ahead, or whichever direction I want, instead of hunching over to look at the Steam Decks screen. Id imagine these would be fantastic, and perhaps more worth the cost, for travelers who want a big-screen experience while theyre on the go. For most others, its a first-class expense thats unnecessary, but incredibly fun to use.Theyre impressive for such a small gadget; like previous Xreal glasses, the One features embedded micro OLED displays along the top edge of the glasses, which are projected and merged to appear as one humongous screen in front of you. The glasses side arms contain speakers (tuned by Bose) that push audio directly toward your ears. In terms of volume, these can definitely reach public nuisance territory, but at a reasonable volume, only the wearer will likely hear them. Then, they fold up into a relatively compact case when youre done.Ive been on a mission to find accessories that can help me play games more comfortably, in part because, as a new dad, my gaming time is currently limited to about 30 minutes at night before bed. I want every second to be fun and feel good. I made strides in that effort when I got the $64 Mechanism Gaming Pillow, which is like a bean bag for your lap with an adjustable stand on its top. Instead of having to hold my Steam Deck in front of me, the pillow supports its weight at the viewing angle thats best for my neck, and at the ideal position for my arms to reach. The pillow alone might be a good enough upgrade for most, but when used alongside the Xreal One, its what I consider to be a pretty ideal couch setup.The Ones screens are slightly boosted in terms of size and field-of-view (FOV) from the Air 2 Pro, the previous version. These 0.68-inch per eye screens can create an image equivalent to a 171-inch screen in front of you, and a 50-degree FOV compared to 46 (if that sounds small, thats because it is!). The glasses are powered by whichever device you plug them into, meaning they might drain your devices battery faster than usual, but the drain seems to be more or less offset if your gadgets screen turns off when the One is plugged in (as the Decks does).In addition to the minor screen improvements, the new X1 chip inside of the Xreal One glasses makes them worth getting over their predecessor, if youre considering this big purchase. Notably, the chip allows for 3 degrees of freedom (3DOF), or in other words, it can track your head movements, whether you look side-to-side, up or down, or tilt your head, adjusting the orientation of the screen as you move, so its comfortable to view at any angle. The Air 2 Pro could do this, too, but only if you also purchased the $200 standalone, phone-like device called the Beam Pro and kept it attached via a separate USB-C cable. Its great that this functionality is available internally in the new One AR glasses.One other improvement is the digital interpupillary distance (IPD) adjustment feature. While its inferior to being able to physically adjust the lenses to achieve more clarity, as the Meta Quest and Valve Index VR headsets offer, its great to have any sort of adjustment option at all with the Xreal One. After realizing that I essentially couldnt use the Air 2 Pro unless I bought prescription lenses, I was thrilled that the Ones IPD settings were enough to let me get by without additional lenses. Although, if you need prescription frames, options are available.Ive enjoyed using the Xreal One, enough to play most of Death Stranding through them, and now, Im continuing an old save file in Cyberpunk 2077. The bold contrast of each game looks phenomenal on these little OLED screens. But even if these AR glasses were faultless, itd still be tough to recommend them at $500 unless youre a hardcore traveler. There are also a few other issues that anyone whos considering buying these should know about.While I appreciate that the displays can reach up to a smooth 120 Hz refresh rate, content looks extra fuzzy if youre looking at low-resolution text and graphics, which is exactly what Im getting from the Steam Deck (it loves to force 720p or 800p in games). The One tops out at 1080p, and for the most part, content is much more legible at that resolution.The way that the Xreal Ones displays are merged to create a whole image is effective, although Im a nitpicker, so I cant ignore how small the FOV is compared to most VR headsets. On the plus side, however, this small FOV lets you easily see around the screens, which may be useful if youre trying to stay somewhat attuned to the happenings around you while you game. Another thing worth knowing is that parts of the full picture appear blurrier than others (especially the edges of the FOV). This is especially noticeable if you toggle off the head-tracking feature for a picture thats locked in place, as you can then selectively focus on each part of the virtual screen to find the faults. That said, if youre in a flow state with a game, you may not notice this as much until you hit an inventory screen with tiny text and icons.Even if you can overlook (or dont really notice) these issues, theres no getting past the Xreal Ones $499 price. So, out of curiosity, I wondered how the $299 Meta Quest 3S or even the older Quest 2 could hang as affordable alternatives to smart AR glasses. Both options are a lot heftier than the Xreal One is (and, for me, they border on being painful to wear for too long, unless you have the Elite strap). I still found either headset to be a solid experience that rivals the Ones quality at a much lower price. That being said, using a VR headset with a Steam Deck is not a plug-and-play affair, and you may need to buy some accessories to make it work.Specifically, youll need to buy an HDMI capture card, and possibly a cable or two. There are numerous ways to connect the Quest to your Steam Deck (or whichever handheld gaming PC you own), but the way I found success was with the $50 Genki Shadowcast 2. It has USB-C-in on one side and HDMI-out on the other, letting me run a USB-C to USB-C cable from the Quest to the Shadowcast 2. From there, I plugged the HDMI-out side of the capture card into a small, affordable USB-C dock I had laying around, which I then plugged into the Steam Deck as the final piece of the puzzle. You could also grab a USB-C to HDMI-out cable that then plugs into a HDMI-in capture card that can plug into a USB-C port. As you can see, this may get a bit messy with cables and dongles, but it gets the job done.From there, youll want to install the Meta Quest HDMI Link app onto your Quest headset. When youre ready to try it out, you wont find this new app in the Quests app library until you click the drop-down bar near the top-right of its screen to change the app source to Prototype. Thats where HDMI Link currently lives. After booting the app, and accepting its hardware permissions, and selecting the highest possible resolution and frame rate, you should be able to see if the video feed is coming through. Then, all there is left to do is maximize the screen, or position it at the ideal size for you in your space, and enjoy gaming on a device that costs hundreds less than the Xreal One. The Quest has numerous other features, to boot, like running standalone VR games like Batman: Arkham Shadow, plus wirelessly connecting to my gaming PC to play Half-Life: Alyx, and more.However, not everyone will be down to clown with the Quests multi-step process despite its smaller price tag. Despite its issues, the Xreal One is a more convenient and simpler-to-use gadget that can display your games on a personal big screen.

[Ed. note: This story contains spoilers for Dune: Prophecy season 1.]Dune: Prophecy has blown it all up. Not literally but in a season that started with careful backroom deals and manipulations, Prophecys finale putting all the maneuvering into the open is a dramatic tone shift for the series. With season 1 ending with Valya (Emily Watson) fleeing to Arrakis alongside Princess Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina) and Keiran Atreides (Chris Mason), the table is certainly set for an epic cross-planet war. (This is Dune, after all.)And with some dramatic introductions and exits (more on that below), the path forward for the Bene Gesserit in Dune: Prophecy is less clear than ever. So what will a second season bring to the Imperium? Heres everything we know about Dune: Prophecys season 2. Is Dune: Prophecy season 2 happening? Dune: Prophecy is coming back for another season. Warner Bros. announced that the show would return for season 2 on Thursday, just a few days before the season 1 finale. It was not announced how many episodes this new season would be. When will Dune: Prophecy season 2 come out? This is something else that Warner Bros. didnt announce, so we have no real idea when this new season might be released. Its technically possible that filming has already begun, but pretty unlikely. If that is how the schedule worked out, then the show could return for another season next year. But its a lot more likely to film next year and be ready for a 2026 release. This pattern would also fit similar recent Warner Bros. shows, including The Last of Us and House of the Dragon.What will Dune: Prophecy season 2 be about? The season 1 finale of the show offers a surprisingly clear blueprint for season 2s plot. For instance, we know that the emperor is dead, and the Bene Gesserit are likely to be blamed for it. We know that Desmond Hart is alive, and that his eye is an infectious disease robot, and that learning his true parentage hasnt seemed to soften his hatred for the Bene Gesserit either. Meanwhile, inside the Sisterhoods home base theres an insurgency being led by a Reverend Mother spirit possessing the body of a young acolyte so who knows where that plots going to go. Nestled into the heart of all of it is the betrayal between Valya and Tula (Olivia Williams), with the latter having finally revealed that her son survived childbirth, and she hid him and now knows that he has become Desmond Hart. Learning such a massive betrayal from a sister she thought was in lockstep with the Sisterhoods vision is, to put it mildly, a pretty big shake-up for the pair running the order. Its blown everything up, but I think Valya is probably still holding I am the chosen one, I have the destiny [that] is still her guide, Watson said at a press conference ahead of the finale. [And] I think Valyas instinct is to run for the shadows.Its certainly a switch for the sisters particularly with Tula being immediately arrested by her own son and his Imperium soldiers. With all that in mind, there are sure to be other plots started up in the shows second season, but thats quite a complicated place to start from, at the very least. Especially since, with Reverend Mother Valyas arrival on Arrakis, its not quite clear if she means to stop a war or start one.After a season of Arrakis kind of exerting its pull from afar [] to actually go and put boots on the ground at this incredibly overdetermined and sort of almost mythic Dune space that we know very well, but we sort of kept it at distance the whole season, showrunner Alison Schapker said at a press conference, its very significant that Valyas back there.All I would say is, I think Valya is there; I think Valya is going to find out a lot more, given that she is sort of back where Desmond sort of emerged as an adversary. And [it will] be interesting to see what she finds out there.Is Dune 3 going to come out before Dune: Prophecys new season? This is a very good question. Dune 3 is currently set for release on Dec. 18, 2026. So if everything goes just right, Prophecy season 2 could hit somewhere around September or October 2026, providing a perfect lead-in to the release of the new film. On the other hand, if the timelines get out of whack, we could get a similar situation to what happened this year, with a new Dune movie arriving in theaters and the TV show following in its wake some nine months later.

Pokmon Gos Dual Destiny season has begun, lasting from Dec. 3 until March 4, 2025. This means that theres a new set of Special Research to complete, though all the steps wont be immediately available. The steps will likely be themed around different events that occur during the season, so while you may only be able to do a few now, the rest will unlock later.To unlock this research, you just need to login during the season. Once its started, youll have an unlimited amount of time to finish it even after the season ends in March.The Dual Destiny season has shifted spawns, added new Pokmon to find in Max Battles, and changed research breakthroughs as well (though, yes, Furfrou is still in the pool).Steps one and two of the Dual Destiny research was added as part of the Not My Cup of Tea event, alongside the release of Sinistea. Steps three and four were added as part of the Holiday Part 2 event.Below, we list the Dual Destiny Special Research steps that are currency available.Dual Destiny step 1 of 10Catch 25 Pokmon (25 Pok Balls)Spin 10 PokStops or gyms (10 Pinap Berries)Explore 3 km (Snorlax encounter)Rewards: 2,500 XP, 2,500 StardustDual Destiny step 2 of 10Catch 50 Pokmon (1 Lure Module)Collect 500 Max Particles (2,500 Stardust)Win a Max Battle (1 Rare Candy)Rewards: 2,500 XP, 2,500 StardustDual Destiny step 3 of 10Catch 25 Pokmon (25 Great Balls)Hatch 3 eggs (2,500 Stardust)Complete 10 Field Research Tasks (1 Silver Pinap Berry)Rewards: Delibird encounter, 2,500 XP, 2,500 StardustDual Destiny step 4 of 10Catch 50 Pokmon (2,500 XP)Earn 25,000 XP (2,500 Stardust)Earn 10,000 Stardust (Sandygast encounter)Rewards: 1 Star Piece, 2,500 XP, 2,500 StardustDual Destiny step 5 of 10This step is coming at a later date. Well update this guide with more information as it becomes available.

In the weeks before the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, comedian and actor Ben Schwartz sat down with Polygon to confront the shadows that lurk in every hedgehog.In this, the third installment of the Polygon x Ben Schwartz Sonic Interview Series, each question has its own, more existentially challenging shadow question. Ben tackles them with a vigor and enthusiasm fitting of a Guy Who Is Sonic Sometimes.Ben talks about aging, hurting, growing as a person, Jeff Fowlers directorial finesse, Final Fantasy dream roles, search engine optimization, and who gets what on their chili dog. He also has some startlingly late revelations about Sonics sidekick Miles Tails Prower.Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which also stars Jim Carrey, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba, Colleen OShaughnessey, Tika Sumpter, and James Marsden hits theaters on Dec. 20. You can check out our full review right here. And if you havent, go watch our previous installments:

For decades, the Star Wars Holiday Special was a misbegotten artifact of a specific era of network TV variety-show thinking, and Lucasfilm seemed content to pretend it never happened. Fans considered it a black mark on George Lucas franchise, and made it the butt of endless fandom jokes. But thats changed over the past decade Lucasfilm has been quietly honoring the holiday special and bringing elements from it into the canon. Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, the best thing Lucasfilm has done in the Star Wars galaxy since Andor, is the latest proof that the company is no longer so embarrassed about the whole thing.The Star Wars Holiday Special aired on CBS on Nov. 17, 1978. It presented a mix of skits, musical numbers featuring Bea Arthur, Jefferson Starship, and Diahann Carroll, and an animated short that introduced the world to bounty hunter Boba Fett. At nearly two hours in length, and full of cringeworthy moments, the Star Wars Holiday Special was a so-bad-its-bad event. Star Wars fans who have seen it often caution those who havent to skip it; its not worth the time investment. (Others think differently.) Even Star Wars actors Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels, and Carrie Fisher were known to trash it.For a long time, the only way to watch the Star Wars Holiday Special was on bootleg VHS tapes. But thanks to uploads on YouTube and the Internet Archive, its easier than ever to subject yourself to it. As its become more accessible, Lucasfilm has seemed increasingly willing to incorporate it into the current Star Wars canon.As Star Wars authority and Lucasfilm Story Group creative executive Pablo Hidalgo wrote in 2023 on StarWars.com, some of the earliest adopters of Star Wars Holiday Special lore were video games. Online games Star Wars Galaxies, Clone Wars Adventures, and Star Wars: The Old Republic incorporated Life Day, the Wookiee celebration of family and togetherness introduced in the holiday special, as in-game events.Life Day became fully entrenched in modern, post-Disney-acquisition Star Wars canon thanks to The Mandalorian. In the first episode of that Disney Plus series, Din Djarins bounty The Fledgling Mythrol announces that he was hoping to be free for Life Day, indicating that the Wookiee holiday is a galaxy-wide celebration not just for folks on Kashyyyk.The concept of Life Day has since appeared in Marvels Star Wars comics and the comedic, non-canon one-off The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special. Star Wars theme parks have also gone all in on Life Day. Since 2022, Disneylands and Disney Worlds Star Wars: Galaxys Edge parks have held Life Day celebrations on Nov. 17 the anniversary of the Star Wars Holiday Special with special food and merchandise offerings. Effectively, Life Day has become a second annual Star Wars-themed holiday, comfortably six months away from May the Fourth.Life Day isnt the only aspect of the Star Wars Holiday Special to resurface in recent years. The animated short that marked Boba Fetts first appearance was officially rereleased by Lucasfilm in 2011 as part of the Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray set the only time a segment from the holiday special was officially released on home video. The original Boba Fett cartoon was added to Disney Plus under the name The Story of the Faithful Wookiee in 2021.Other elements from the Star Wars Holiday Special have crept into modern canon, including the four-armed alien chef Gormaanda. In the holiday special, Chewbaccas wife, Mallatobuck, prepares for Life Day celebrations by watching a cooking show starring Gormaanda (played by Harvey Korman). Gormaanda has since made small but canon-level appearances in short-story collections (Tales from a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens: Volume I) and multiple official cookbooks.Most recently, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew paid homage to the Star Wars Holiday Special, confirming that children across the galaxy love watching hologram circus performances. Chewbaccas son Lumpawaroo (Lumpy) becomes entranced by a holo kids show in the holiday special, and a re-creation of that program appears in episode 2 of Skeleton Crew. Neels brothers Jobo, Jorko, and Tuloo sit around the family room glued to a holo-projection thats lifted straight out of the holiday special. Then, in episode 4, Jod Na Nawood discovers a hologram puck that features a clip of those same circus performers.That level of deep Star Wars reverence isnt unusual for Skeleton Crew, which has also winked and nodded at Lucasfilms Captain EO and the 1985 made-for-TV movie Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. But it is nice to know that kids of all alien species across the Star Wars galaxy are consuming that good hologram circus content and looking forward to holding glowing orbs at the next Life Day.

All is well at Terror Camp.The author Julian Sancton has just finished speaking about his book Madhouse at the End of the Earth, which documents the ill-equipped and ill-fated Belgian Antarctic expedition of 1897. The conference attendees are watching via Zoom, and flooding the accompanying Discord chat with hearts and hand-clap emojis when Allegra Rosenberg, the events organizer, reminds everyone to stay on for a special announcement and, apparently, a special guest.Another person joins the Zoom call. Its David Kajganich, a writer and producer of the 2018 TV series The Terror about the even worse-fated 1845 Franklin expedition in the Arctic the show that is the reason over 1,800 people have signed up for the digital conference in early December.Kajganich has a simple but exciting announcement: Hes finally releasing a set of Spotify playlists for the lost men of the Franklin expedition. Initially, Kajganich had planned to release the playlists in the fall, but he was waylaid by something peculiar: the identification of the remains of James Fitzjames, one of the expeditions three captains.The skeleton was first found in the 1990s, but a massive effort was recently made to collect DNA evidence of direct descendants of the Franklin expeditions crew, which enabled the remains to be identified. But knife marks on the skeletons mandible also confirmed that Fitzjames body had been cannibalized.Not the mood in which a thoughtful show creator wants to jump in with a fun, frothy Spotify project.So Kajganich waited. Now, each week, hes releasing a playlist for each character, curated to include songs that Kajganich believes they would listen to if they lived in the present day.(Edward Little Radiohead, a viewer immediately quips in the chat referring to the lieutenant portrayed by Matthew McNulty with the countenance of a wet and chronically depressed sheepdog.)Kajganich cautions the excited crowd that he didnt think about lyrics at all when he was making the playlists. Please as many of you are sort of wont to do do not exhaust yourself looking for coded messages in the lyrics, or connective tissue with events of the show. Ive gone out of my way to not think too much about that.The advice is reasonable. But reveling in the pleasure of thinking is exactly why everyone is here, at a conference built around one season of a television show that aired in 2018.The Terror is an adaptation of the Dan Simmons novel of the same name. It spins a fictionalized tale of the Franklin expedition, a real-life endeavor to find the Northwest Passage that set sail in 1845.In our world, the Franklin expedition disappeared. The first rescue mission was sent in 1848. Subsequent attempts to find the missing men would map more of the Arctic than the Franklin expedition itself ever saw. But the men were long dead explorers found only bodies.In the show, the men are beset by supernatural terrors as well as the grim realities of scurvy, starvation, and cold. It could have been miserable. It could have been misanthropic. Instead, The Terror is a thoughtful, nuanced look at what happens when men are lost where they dont belong, and set adrift from the restrictive norms that defined Victorian England. Who thrives? Who breaks down? Who survives?Kajganich and fellow creator Soo Hugh took a cast of predominantly white (and bearded, and mutton-chopped) men, and used them as a canvas to tell a story that captures viewers imaginations even six years later.According to Fandoms 2024 Year in Review, the show has shot onto the top 100 list of most-talked-about TV shows on Tumblr. Its No. 63. This is certainly due in part to the show finally coming to Netflix in August. But excited new viewers are being welcomed open-armed by a community thats been going strong since 2018 and Terror Camp is its biggest party.Terror Camp, which has been run annually since 2021, bills itself as a fan convention and academic conference. It is absolutely, rigorously both.Its like this thing that originally came out of Terror fandom, says Sarah Pickman, one of this years organizers. But has grown to encompass some people who are in academia, some people who arent, all people who are just united by this amazing love for this history and really thinking deeply about how the Arctic and Antarctica are represented in media, including in The Terror, which just gives you so much to analyze.Im used to online fandoms but not academic conferences, so I was initially intimidated by the idea of Terror Camp, says Goz, a Terror fan who has been attending the conference since its second iteration in 2022. Over Discord, she wrote to me that she overcame the nerves because that years programming featured interviews with two of the actors and a writer, as well as the shows costume designer and like many fans, she was curious about what it was like behind the scenes.The surprise, then, was being thrust into the wide, cold world of polar exploration, and the warm embrace of the fandom. I got to react to and discuss the presentations with other attendees in real time, Goz wrote. I didnt feel like I was out of my depth, but rather an enthusiast among other enthusiasts, even for the presentation topics I was just learning about for the first time.Pickman is one of the fans who came to the show from academia. She was pursuing her doctorate in Yale Universitys History of Science and Medicine Program when she first watched it in 2018.But The Terror has also pushed everyday TV fans to cast themselves as researchers. Pickman tells me this is not atypical for polar history. The field, more so than many others, attracts people from non-academic backgrounds.She points to David C. Woodmans book Unravelling the Franklin Mystery: Inuit Testimony. The book compiles Inuit histories of the Franklin expedition testimonies that were ignored by the British admiralty at the time and then neglected in the century since.And he wasnt a professor. I mean, he was just a guy, Pickman says. I think he worked for the Canadian military, but oh my God, he just spent so much time in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., reading handwritten 19th-century journals and correspondence and transcribing all of this evidence that everybody else had overlooked. And the book that he wrote has become a really serious book that everybody references.Many of Terror Camps presenters do end up coming from the academic world but all approach their topics with the enthusiasm and warmth of fans. It makes for a weekend of programming thats really fun to watch.Were treated to a thorough and deeply sourced presentation from Ted Logun about The Frozen Deep, a very bad play that everyone loved, by Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens. The 1856 play was one of Dickens many efforts to canonize the Franklin expedition as a heroic tragedy. When contemporary reports came in that the lost men had resorted to cannibalism, Dickens was one of the loudest voices refuting them. Dickens greatly exerted himself to ensure that Franklin, and by extention the colonial motivations of the expedition, were never called into question.Logun caps the presentation off with a slide that reads Fuck you, Mr. Dickens.During another panel, the chat absolutely pops off at the mention of John Sacheuse, an early 19th-century Inuk interpreter. Hes received with all the enthusiasm of an actor from the TV show.I think thats one of the cool things about Terror Camp, is that there are various structures in academia and traditional academic conferences that can be gatekeeping mechanisms, Pickman tells me. This one is just like, if youre interested, just show up. [] You dont have to wait to try to break down the doors, to be part of a more traditional academic conversation.That sentiment is echoed by Goz. This year, there were a number of sessions that highlighted marginalized voices in particular, like presentations on Inuit and female perspectives in polar exploration, on queerness in the context of the historical era or transness in the context of present-day fandom, she says. It shows that you dont have to be an armchair dad obsessed with naval warfare to enjoy The Terror and its related subjects. You can be into fashion or food or gender, or just really curious about a single working-class historical figure who might otherwise have been remembered mostly as just another name on a muster roll.Terror Camp has expanded its focus in the four years its been running, but the TV show remains at the heart of many of the panels and demonstrates why its such a powerful entry point into polar obsession.One of the weekends presentations was by Leah Palmer, a Ph.D. student at the University of Galway whose focus is Arctic archival material. Palmer uses one of the shows most beloved characters, the surgeon Harry Goodsir, as a springboard to discuss 19th-century Inuit-language dictionaries.In The Terror, Goodsir is one of the few men who attempts to understand a captured Inuk woman, dubbed Lady Silence by the English crew. Working with Lady Silence, Goodsir begins compiling a simple one-to-one English-to-Inuktut dictionary.Palmer tells an enthralled audience that there were many such dictionaries in circulation in the 19th century and that many were created because of the search for the missing Franklin expedition. Dictionaries taught English sailors useful phrases such as Have you seen any large ships lately? and Have you seen any white men on this coast?In a Q&A afterward, Palmer points out that these dictionaries werent always accurate. For example, James Clark Ross listed the word for nose as Inuk. In fact, in Inuktut, its simply the singular of Inuit. One imagines that whoever Ross was talking to pointed at their own face and Ross took it too literally but its a breathtakingly huge error to confuse a person for a body part.But such is the story of polar exploration. The field is full of stories where survival rested on the blade of a knife. A single bad decision or misunderstanding could spell doom. Pickman says this is part of why survival stories like The Terror resonate with modern viewers.Why do we have people in 2024 who are still obsessed with the Donner Party or the Raft of the Medusa? Pickman asks rhetorically. All these historical episodes, these extreme survival stories what do people do in these kinds of circumstances? Who rises to the occasion? And how did the veneers of civilization and order break down? I think thats really compelling, and it was done so well in the show.The Terror has been a niche enough show that Terror Camp has always been able to get talent to appear in the programming. Dave Kajganich actually did a keynote in the conferences first year and showed eager fans some deleted scenes. This led to a funny moment in this years Saturday keynote, which for the first time featured the legendary actor Jared Harris (who has made TV audiences weep on Chernobyl and Mad Men, and will soon take a turn playing Claudius in Hamlet at the Royal Shakespeare Company), alongside his able scene partner Liam Garrigan.The two play Captain Francis Crozier and his steward, Thomas Jopson, respectively. As Jopson, Garrigan balances both steely darkness and loyalty. In a show full of tragedy, Jopsons particular fate is one of the most striking, and coupled with Garrigans portrayal, its made him a fan favorite. (Although it could be argued that, given how dedicated people are to this show, every character with at least two seconds of screentime is someones favorite.)Garrigan describes one of the deleted scenes that he filmed, shot for shot, from memory. Hes clearly excited about it, he remembers it being brilliant on the page, but isnt sure how it turned out. Apparently, hes never actually seen it but many of the fans have, thanks to Terror Camp. The panels moderator promises to send it to him.Im sure Dave wouldnt mind.To me, Terror Camp is the utopian vision of what fandom should be. A lot of people hear fandom and cringe, imagining an uncritical, single-minded devotion to a celebrity, or show, or what have you. But were not talking stan wars on X, here.What Terror Camp shows is that fandom can be about learning a lot of cool shit and sharing it with people. Its a conference that somehow balances extremely valid criticism of the polar projects and their colonial goals with empathy for the people involved and an appreciation of all the themes that grow out of polar narratives.But mostly, I just like it when smart, funny people tell me things that I didnt know before. And thats what Terror Camp does so, so well.

Movies and video games have always had a somewhat tumultuous relationship. From the famous failings of video game movie adaptations to the even more famous struggle to make good movie versions of games, its rare that the two mediums see eye to eye. Which is why its so funny that there are a few rare examples of games trying to recreate famous movie scenes while giving players control of the action.The latest example of this comes from the surprisingly good new Indiana Jones game, which recreates a playable version of the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but its far from the first game to try this. Sadly, this is a trend thats become less popular in recent years, as game developers have realized how hard it is to pull off. That hasnt stopped us from putting together a list of a few of our favorite examples.As a notable caveat, weve got a few important specifics here. For one thing, we only considered recreated scenes that are actually playable; they couldnt simply be cutscene renders of movie moments. Furthermore, we decided to skip entries that were filtered through a different style than the original movie this is an overly specific way to carve out the Lego games, which do wonderfully goofy re-creations and could have easily filled this list.With that aside, here are some of the best (and silliest) attempts at games recreating movie moments, along with a brief description of how well they do (or dont) work.Ethan Hunt infiltrating the CIAThe game: Mission: Impossible (1998) The movie: Mission: Impossible (1996)How playable is it? Honestly, this one is pretty great. Sure, the descent seems like its about 1,000 feet longer here than it is in the movie, but it captures the tension neatly, and its not afraid of the kind of silliness that makes Mission: Impossible great. Now, I admit that this is grading on a curve in two respects. First of all, this was a game on the N64 and original PlayStation, so Im accounting for that fact that some of it looks downright ridiculous. But second, as console technology has improved, weve gotten fewer and fewer games that let you complete heists through laser grids, and frankly that sucks. So Im just glad this game really went for it. Austen GoslinTony Montanas mansion shootoutThe game: Scarface: The World Is Yours (2006)The movie: Scarface (1983)How playable is it? Objectively, Scarface: The World Is Yours is one of the strangest games ever released. Aside from just having a combat resource called balls, where Tony Montana can enter a blind rage when his balls meter is full, the games oddness is only compounded by the fact that its a sequel to the movie which, by the way, ends with Tony Montana dying in a hail of bullets. In order to amend this, the games first level is a re-creation of the movies ending, where Tony is supposed to die in a firefight. In the video game version, however, Tony shoots his way out of his mansion, mowing down dozens of would-be killers before escaping and continuing his criminal empire with players in control. To be clear, the games not very good, so neither is this level. But as far as playable re-creations of famous movie scenes go, its a success. AGThe Battle of HothThe game: Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (1996), and many other Star Wars gamesThe movie: Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back (1980)How playable is it? The Battle of Hoth is iconic. Its one of the all-time great movie scenes, a truly epic sci-fi battle that rivaled war movies long before CGI made that both easy and less believable. So its not a surprise that its a perfect target for re-creation in just about every Star Wars game it could possibly fit in. Sadly, most of those re-creations have been pretty bad. The best of them come from games like Star Wars: Battlefront, which gives players control of the outcome and lets them use the movies set-piece for whatever combat they like. However, of all the truest re-creations, we think Shadows of the Empire got the closest to the real thing, even if its still a far cry from Lukes in-movie act of daring. AGThe Burly Brawl The game: The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005)The movie: The Matrix (1999) and The Matrix Reloaded (2003)How playable is it? The Matrix: Path of Neo is full of these kinds of re-creations, and frankly none of them quite work, which is less an insult to the game than it is a testament to the Wachowskis original films. Of all the moments that this game digitizes (is that fair to say when the original version took place in the Matrix?), the Burly Brawl is both the most obvious and egregious. One of the weirdest, most spectacular fights from The Matrix Reloaded, Neo facing off against hundreds of clones of Agent Smith seems like an obvious translation to video games. Unfortunately, the original is so goddamn cool that this version can only pale in comparison. On the other hand, this games re-creation of the fight at The Merovingians mansion isnt half bad, mostly because of the mess of weapons it allows Neo to play with at will. AGEllen Ripley initiating the Nostromos self-destruct sequenceThe game: Alien: Isolation (2014)The movie: Alien (1979)How playable is it? Alien: Isolation is widely considered today to be one of the best video games set in the universe of Ridley Scotts sci-fi horror franchise. This reputation is only substantiated by the fact that not only did the game perfectly capture the terrifying unpredictability of the Xenomorph, it also deftly recreated two of the most iconic sequences featuring it in Scotts original movie. Alien: Isolations DLC expansions, Crew Expendable and Last Survivor, take place on USCSS Nostromo and cast players in the role of either Ellen Ripley or one of her crewmates.Crew Expendable recreates the scene immediately following Bretts death, as the remaining crew aboard make a last-ditch effort to expel the creature through the Nostromos airlock. Last Survivor picks up directly after the end of Crew Expendable, with Ripley forced to activate the ships self-destruct sequence and escape before she too becomes the creatures prey. Both DLCs do a terrific job of recreating two of Aliens tensest and most terrifying moments, placing players directly in Ripleys shoes and putting their cavalier Pfff, I could survive that attitudes to the test. Toussaint Egan

The trendsetters online might have moved on from playing Gartic Phone, but my family has not. Developed by Onrizon, Gartic Phone combines the childrens game Telephone with the board game Pictionary. It might sound a bit simple, but this lighthearted game is a genuine delight. More importantly, its the perfect game to share with family and friends throughout the holiday season.What makes it perfect for the family? Well, lots of things. For starters, its free and you can play it on any device with a browser. Ive had family members easily join in and play on phones, computers, and tablets. So even if you have a younger kid without a phone, you can likely find another device that allows them to join. No fancy consoles are needed and up to 16 people can join a single game.The one drawback is that the game does have some ads, but once you watch them the game can get started. Gartic Phone is super easy to learn and navigate. Although drawing might be intimidating to a person who doesnt play video games often, even that can be fun. In my personal experience, the crudest of drawings have a way of leading to some of the funniest rounds.Its also very simple to pick up and play. In the games main mode, you start by typing in a prompt. After that, another player will draw a picture of that prompt. From there, someone will receive your drawing, and then type in what they think the prompt was. The cycle of drawing and guessing continues, letting ridiculous misunderstandings and hilarious accidents get funnier with each new guess. It frequently results in hilarious chains of prompts and drawings as people make sense of the scuffed pictures.At the end of it all, you and the players get to watch the series of drawings and prompts in an endgame recap. I just love to giggle at all the drawings as my family and I scribble on our phone screens scattered around the living room. At the end, we download the funniest drawings as photos, so it even feels like we can get a little keepsake of the night.Easy to learn, adorable, and fun, Gartic Phone is the perfect family activity for this holiday season.

Pokmon Go is having the second half of its holiday event (literally called Holiday Part 2) from Dec. 22-27, adding more festive Pokmon to the already-long list of costumed critters, alongside some pretty good event bonuses.All players will be able to get doubled XP from catching Pokmon and 50% more XP from raiding. All Adventure Incense used from Dec. 25 at 9 a.m. until Jan. 5 at 8 p.m. in your local time will also last for double the usual time, which should hopefully help you find some Galarian birds.There are also some spawns thatll only show up if you use incense, as well as a paid Timed Research ticket, so this event is full of stuff to do. The Dual Destiny Special Research also got an update with this event.Below, we list all the perks of the Pokmon Go Holiday Part 2 event, including the paid Timed Research ticket, incense spawns, and Field Research.Pokmon Go Feeling Sheepish paid Timed Research and rewardIf you complete this $5 research before the event ends, youll get a special reward. Is the paid Holiday Part 2 Timed Research worth it? Only if you really want the Wooloo jacket cosmetic and more Wooloo in holiday gear. The two incense and single Glacial Lure Module you get from this set can be bought for 260 coins (less than $5 worth), so you should really only grab this if you want the jacket or the Wooloo encounters.We list the steps for the research below, but make sure to complete them before the event ends on Dec. 27.Feeling Sheepish step 1 of 2Catch 10 Pokmon (Wooloo [holiday] encounter)Catch 25 Pokmon (1 incense)Spin 5 PokStops or gyms (Wooloo [holiday] encounter)Spin 15 PokStops or gyms (1 incense)Use an incense (Wooloo [holiday] encounter)Rewards: Wooloo (holiday) encounter, 500 Stardust, 1,000 XPFeeling Sheepish step 1 of 2Catch 10 Pokmon (15 Pinap Berries)Spin 10 PokStops or gyms (Wooloo [holiday] encounter)Use an incense (1 Glacial Lure Module)Rewards: Wooloo Jacket, 1,500 Stardust, 2,500 XPPokmon Go Holiday Part 2 event Collection ChallengesThe following Collection Challenges will be live throughout the duration of the event:Holiday Part 2 Collection Challenge: BlackCatch a SnorlaxCatch a BlitzleCatch an Alolan RattataCatch a MurkrowRewards: 1,500 Stardust, Pancham encounterHoliday Part 2 Collection Challenge: WhiteCatch a CetoddleCatch an Alolan VulpixCatch a VnilliteCatch a TynamoRewards: 1,500 Stardust, Furfrou encounterHoliday Part 2 Collection Challenge: MonochromeCatch a WoolooCatch a CetoddleRewards: 10 Great Balls, 10 Ultra BallsPokmon Go Holiday Part 2 event Field Research and rewardsSpinning a PokStop during the event period may yield one of these tasks:Catch 10 Pokmon (Galarian Zigzagoon or Blitzle encounter)Use an incense (Cetoddle encounter)Win 2 raids (Klink encounter)Pokmon Go Holiday Part 2 event boosted spawnsThese Pokmon will spawn more frequently during the event period:Alolan RattataMurkrowGalarian ZigzagoonAbsolBlitzleVanilliteRynamoWooloo (holiday)These Pokmon will also spawn from using incense on the following days.Dec. 22, 24, and 26 incense spawns:SnorlaxBlitzleYamaskLampentWooloo (holiday)Dec. 23, 25, and 27 incense spawns:TogeticGalarian ZigzagoonFoongusFurfrouCetoddlePokmon Go Holiday Part 2 event raid targetsThe following changes to theraid scheduleandMax Battle schedulewill take place as part of the event:One-star raidsThree-star raidsFive-star raidsMega raidsAlolan VulpixSnorlaxGiratina (Altered Forme) (starting Dec. 26)Latias (until Dec. 26)Galarian DarumakaBanetteAbomasnow (starting Dec. 26)LitwickZebstrikaCetoddleToucannon* These Pokmon have an increased chance of being shiny when raided.

A great thriller lives and dies by its complexity. Movies like All the Presidents Men or Blow Out create intricate, detailed worlds of mystery that pull you in before leaving you at the center of the labyrinth to unwind yourself in the days that follow. A solid B-tier thriller, however, is all about simplicity. These are movies like Taken and Phone Booth that you might not necessarily choose to put on, but never say no to if you find them on cable. What makes these movies so fun, and so endlessly rewatchable, is how effectively they wring every last drop of mystery and tension out of a deceptively simple premise. And Carry-On, the new holiday airport thriller from Netflix, is about as solid a B-tier thriller as youre ever going to find.The movie follows Ethan (Taron Egerton), a bored TSA agent with dreams of being a police officer. But as long as hes stuck working at LAX, hes determined to put as little thought into his work as possible, much to the dismay of his newly pregnant girlfriend (Sofia Carson), who would love to see him get a promotion or finally join the LAPD. Unfortunately for Ethans minimal effort streak, during a Christmas Eve shift on the X-ray machine, he receives an earpiece with which a terrorist (Jason Bateman) tells him his girlfriends going to die unless he lets a certain bag through the machine.All this setup takes less than 10 minutes to communicate, and now were off on a duel of wits between Ethan and a terrorist with a massive head start and an eye on every security camera in LAX. Director Jaume Collet-Serra is a master of these cable thrillers with his Blake Lively shark survival movie The Shallows being a particular standout but its these earliest moments where hes at his very best.While the plots of some movies unfold, revealing themselves gradually to the audience, Collet-Serras thrillers feel like watching someone make origami, where every fold of the plot is crucial, precise, and surprisingly intricate. His protagonists start with the easy, obvious moves: Ethan tries calling the cops on his cellphone under the table, and sending a text with his Apple Watch, but each gets stopped instantly; now the folds have to get more delicate and complicated. Suddenly, were knee-deep in secret messages, nerve agents, airport codes, and TSA tricks, and Collet-Serra strings us along beautifully for each new reveal or twist in the story.But for all the talents of Collet-Serra in this particular subgenre, Carry-Ons real strength lies in the performances of its two leads. Egerton and Bateman are either on screen or talking for nearly every moment of the movies two-hour run time, and still each delivery and airport-based chess move crackles with energy until their inevitable, climactic showdown.Egerton has proven himself as a leading man a few times before, between being a spy in Matthew Vaughns Kingsman movies and rocking the piano as Elton John in Rocketman, but Carry-On is the first time the 35-year-old actor has really shown his age and proven he can play an older character doing a slower, less suave kind of action. He gives a quietly determined performance here that cant help but to make you hope hell return for similar roles in all fields of seemingly boring service maybe he and Collet-Serra can team up for a Notary Public thriller next, since Ben Affleck has the Accountant lane covered already?The real treat here, though, is Jason Bateman, who gets to play sinister in a way hes never really been allowed though Ozark lets him dip his toe in the villain pond every now and again. Its a straightforward, uncomplicatedly evil kind of character that weve rarely seen in thrillers over the last decade or so: Hes just a guy whos here to get paid and kills lots of people. But Bateman plays the character with a panache that cleverly hides just how much this guy relishes in his evil work, and being good at it. His terrorist is always a step ahead and more than content to watch people like Ethan play games that Batemans character is already positive hes won.Given how great both leads are, it shouldnt be a surprise that the only real turbulent interruption to Carry-Ons otherwise excellent tension comes when the movie breaks from its central duel to introduce a police detective (Danielle Deadwyler) who finds herself accidentally thrust into the middle of the action. As with so many of these thrillers, the cop character both feels like an unwelcome distraction from the movies main event, and is completely integral to tying together a plot that was more interested in creating a fun premise than a mystery that makes sense. But its hard to blame the movie for a so-so conclusion when the journey to get there was as fun as Carry-Ons.In another era, this is the kind of movie that when you come home for the holidays, youd find out your parents have watched six or seven times, simply because its playing on TNT and they stop channel surfing every time they see it. And who could blame them? Carry-On is tremendous fun. It wont blow you away, it wont replace Die Hard as your dads favorite winking answer to whats your favorite Christmas movie, but it will entertain you and whoever else is watching every single time you turn it on. Its just a shame youll never be able to catch it on cable halfway through.Carry-On is now streaming on Netflix.

One of the standout moments of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 sees Jim Carrey pulling double duty as two Doctors Robotnik Ivo and his grandfather Gerald merrily dancing their way through a classic Hollywood trope: the laser security grid. That sequence was not only technically challenging to pull off, Sonic 3 director Jeff Fowler tells Polygon, it was a scene proposed by Carrey himself which sure sounds like a thing Jim Carrey would do.In our early conversations, it was one of Jims requests, Fowler recalls. In the first [Sonic the Hedgehog movie], theres a moment where Robotnik is in his lab, and thinks hes by himself. He puts on some music [Where Evil Grows by the Poppy Family] and he just starts dancing. He has a little dance party, and then he gets interrupted by [his assistant] Stone. And so Jim wanted to dance again. Of course, we had to not just have him dance, we had to go big, and really go for it.Carrey even requested the song that was ultimately used in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, The Chemical Brothers Galvanize.We immediately brought in these amazing choreographers and this dance team, Fowler said. Of course, Jim wanted to do everything he could, but there was no way he could do everything, especially since hes dancing with himself. So theres always going to need to be another human in there dancing with him that would then become a face replacement down the line.Fowler said that making the double Robotnik dancing scene work was a challenge, based on the dozens of lasers bouncing off their laser-resistant-suited bodies. We very quickly learned that the more we threw in there, the harder it became to understand their movement, Fowler said. So it was very much trial and error, just whats the right amount of lasers to create these really fun silhouettes and geometric patterns with the way the lasers were reflecting off their bodies.Fowler called the short but memorable sequence which, surprisingly, does not goof on the infamously leering laser-trap scene featuring Catherine Zeta-Jones in Entrapment a lot of work from a lot of people.But its such a standout thing, the director said. I think weve all seen sequences with laser grids and lattices where people are having to navigate them. But the idea of just dancing right through it it was so Jim Carrey, so perfect, and just really fun to execute.

Years ago, comedy writer Mike McMahan got the opportunity of a lifetime an interview to join the writing staff of a new Star Trek series, the first in over a decade. McMahan was a massive Trekkie and had recently made a splash with a parody Twitter account called TNG Season 8, in which he summarized goofy, imaginary episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Hed even sold the idea to Simon & Schuster and written an entire episode guide for the bogus season. Now, he was getting a chance to work on the real thing and he turned it down.McMahan had been working on a new animated series that had not yet premiered, but that he loved working on and didnt want to walk away from. To hear McMahan tell it, the folks at Secret Hideout, Alex Kurtzmans production company in charge of the new Trek spinoff, thought he was crazy.The show McMahan was working on was Rick and Morty, which went on to be a massive pop culture sensation. More confident than ever in McMahans instincts, Secret Hideout reached out again in 2018, this time to ask him what he wanted to do. McMahan answered with a pitch for an animated sitcom based in the Star Trek universe, a truly wild swing for the typically reverent and cerebral sci-fi franchise.This gamble paid off, too, as his series Star Trek: Lower Decks has become an overwhelming fan favorite with an appeal that has reached beyond the Starfleet faithful. As the series comes to a close after five seasons, Polygon caught up with McMahan about how his wacky passion project made its mark on one of American pop cultures most cherished legacies.This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Polygon: I just saw on Bluesky someone surfaced the preface to your collection of Star Trek Season 8 posts where you said, Im never going to write for Star Trek.Mike McMahan: But even worse than that, I wrote those TNG Season 8 posts, and then I sold the idea to Simon & Schuster and wrote a fake guide to a fake season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. And in the intro to that book, I talked about never having a Star Trek show, so this book is going to be it. And people bring it up and Im just like, Man, 10-years-ago Mike, what were you doing?No, I mean, it all worked out for you! Its very aspirational, Im sure, for a lot of fans thinking, This is something that can and has happened. Right?Yeah. It was cool because when I was becoming a writer in TV and writing my own stuff all the time, I was watching Star Trek with my wife, being like, Man, I wish Star Trek was still around, because it was in the in-between phase. And I remember being like, Im just gonna write Star Trek whether somebody pays me to or not. And, eventually people saw me doing that especially Aaron Baiers, who became the head of Alex Kurtzmans company. He and I were assistants back in the day, and he saw me doing that on my own volition. And then when I worked on Rick and Morty, it became like a natural sort of thing. So, if youre a big fan of stuff, what I would say is: Keep loving that stuff, but also work on all sorts of other stuff you love, and then it might converge. That was the lucky part, was the convergence of it.Sure. I mean, luck is usually something that only works in your favor if youve done a lot of hard work first, right?Yes.Did you ever write a Trek spec script, just like a proper a TNG script for fun?I never did because I always wanted it to be funny. And like, TNG is funny, but I wanted it to be Lower Decks funny. So, I had written things that were kind of like, not really TNG, but were basically like The Orville kind of versions.A thing that I appreciate about this whole new era of Star Trek is that each new series has pushed the boundaries of what Star Trek is, but in a different direction. In the early days, Discovery seemed to be aiming to be a Game of Thrones-y thing. And your project is almost in the exact opposite direction of that.So what Id like to explore with you today is essentially the rules of the Lower Decks writers room, and how they evolved over five seasons. How did you come to define what this was both within and without the bounds of Star Trek?So, season 1, I went into it day one having actually like a bible written up for the shows style guide for the artists and the writers. I knew that the show had to feel like it took place seven years after Star Trek: Nemesis, that we had to fit into the timeline both technologically and with design and with all of the character attributes that that would come with. So that we recognize this as kind of like the last of the TNG-era shows. When it comes to the narratives that were telling, every episode right off the bat had to have a big Star Trek story happening to the ship and the bridge crew that was affecting our Lower Deckers, but that their main storyline was a social, emotional, comedic story pulled from experiences people had at work or dating or in life in their 20s and 30s. So we always had two stories happening at the same time the big sci-fi story and the getting to know who you are in life story.On top of that, the first season was all, Oh, I cant believe I get to make a Star Trek. Im going to play, Im going to do the hits. Were going to see a Klingon in the second episode. Were going to have a trial episode. Were going to have a big bad that has a metaphorical political social commentary at the end of the season. The first season it felt like we were Doing a Star Trek. And then the second season, we understood the characters better. We had spent a lot more time with the actors and finding stories with the characters. And thats when we became Were doing a Lower Decks.Thats when we were like, We want to incrementally move these characters forward. When they learn stuff, we dont want to have them unlearn it the next episode, like a classic sitcom. And the main goal the whole time was that the big surprise of this show should be that its funny, but its also thoughtful Star Trek and that theres different ways to do that.Like, I love the original animated series. I think its fascinating and I grew up watching it too, but I didnt want Lower Decks to become that. I didnt want Lower Decks to be an asterisk show, a show that, like, people probably had never heard of or didnt care about. Our goal was, if youre talking about your favorite Trek shows, you should at least admit that Lower Decks is one of the Trek shows. And I feel like we maybe overshot that a little bit, because a lot of people love Lower Decks.I think that of the crop of new shows, Lower Decks is the predominant favorite.Which is crazy! We must have lucked into that, because I think they did some amazing stuff on those other shows. And weve just been doing, you know, literally what we set out to do from day one. It feels very lucky that we got to do it, and that people respond to it feels lucky, too, because sometimes I feel like Im making the show for me, whether or not other people are going to like it. So when they do, its a very nice surprise.Im curious, when you were working on that first season, what kind of conversations you were having with your fellow storytellers about the accessibility of the show versus Were a bunch of fans and we want to see these things.We werent worried about the accessibility because the only people who think Lower Decks isnt accessible to outside viewers are people who know a lot of Star Trek. And people who dont know a lot of Star Trek are just meeting aliens that are not too complex to figure out for the episode. Like, when you meet a Klingon, you know who they are in the first 30 seconds. In Lower Decks, you dont need to know who Kahless is. If a Klingon is talking about Kahless on Lower Decks, the lines are designed for you to understand the meaning it has to them, even if you dont know all the apocrypha, just like you can watch any episode of Star Trek and not have to have seen them all.In Rick and Morty, we were creating pastiches of other sci-fi characters all the time that felt like it was world-building, but you didnt have to know the backstory of the aliens they were meeting. That was the same way we were treating legacy species in Lower Decks. But luckily, with, say, the Cardassians, there are many episodes that define them for us. We just get to kind of give a slightly broader take on them. So for me, the stuff that a lot of people were railing on and worried about was not going to be a problem for me because all of the little legacy stuff, all of the design choices, the understanding that Mariner has seen the holologs of the things that we call episodes, that all of that stuff is to turn Star Trek into a world so that we can have comedy take place within it. Its kind of like when I worked at Second City in Chicago, there were a lot of sketches where you kind of have to live in the city to get what theyre making fun of here, but they were doing it in a way that even if youre in it from out of town, youre still laughing in the scene. It just has a different kind of resonance for you. That is what the deep-cut stuff in Lower Decks usually plays as. Now, sometimes, just to be little stinkers, well put in, like, an extremely deep cut that makes no fucking sense to you unless youre way in.Like the Spock helmet.Yeah, the Spock helmet, or Mariner referencing Xon. Thats a character who never even ended up on screen. Those moments are for deep, deep fans. But in a way, I always talked about Lower Decks being sort of like a translator for all other Trek. Like, if you watch Lower Decks, you could go pop into any other Trek and you kind of get the gist because the Lower Deckers either encountered somebody or talked about it or we did an episode that sort of honored it. You know, you could pop into Voyager, you could pop into Enterprise or TOS. I mean, our characters literally popped into Strange New Worlds. Like, they should feel kind of like an Every-Trek, in a way.And I think that as a fan, you always worry especially as a Star Trek fan that somebody using the things you liked from before are gonna ruin them, or theyre gonna be the wrong version of them, or theyre gonna lessen the thing you liked about it. But we always talk about Star Trek as being like going to a national park. Like, when were writing and designing stuff, you have to enjoy it, to enjoy being there, but dont change it so that the next person cant enjoy what you liked about it.Right. You always want to be additive to what youre working on.Yeah, additive and celebrating it. And originally, there wasnt even a big drive to have legacy actors reprise their roles on the show. But, I had met Jonathan Frakes when I was shooting a Short Trek that I wrote, and he was directing an episode of Discovery. And I showed him the pitch that we were about to take out for Lower Decks, and he was cracking up and he made me promise him that we would have Riker show up in it. And thats why Riker shows up at the finale of the first season, because I was like, Oh man, I promised Frakes we would do this, and we better get Marina [Sirtis] in there. And then, you know, we had Q show up for a quick bit. But that created the feeling of, like, Oh, I guess part of this show is having these characters come back. How are we going to do that? Weve got to keep them funny. Weve got to honor what they set up before. And everything on Lower Decks is really hard to write because its got to be funny, but also deeply thoughtful.So it sounds like you didnt have to have anybody in the writers room who was just like a casual Star Trek fan who could be your test audience, like you could kind of just trust that it was going to work.You know, it was a mix. In the first season, it was me, Ben Rodgers, Brad Winters, David Wright, M. Willis. Like, the writers room was a mix of comedy writers, animation writers, and deep, deep Star Trek fans, but not somebody who had worked on Star Trek before. Brad Winters, my producer, has a brain that is so deep in Trek. Like, we can have a conversation when we have an episode written where hell be like, You have the characters doing this here, but theres an episode in the middle of Voyager that says this cant happen. So lets talk about why you wanted to do it and how we can fit it in.So everything is always, when it comes to the Trek lore, guiding us to what we wanted to do, and then sometimes we just have to adjust. We also have Dr. Erin [Macdonald], who is our science advisor, and shell get every script, because part of what feels right about Star Trek is that the science actually makes sense, even if were doing something silly. She does a pass on every script to make sure that Im not making stuff up thats crazy. And then we have the Star Trek franchise team, like John Van Citters and Marian Cordry and Dayton Ward. Not only have they worked on so many episodes of Trek, but also on all of the side stuff, the comics and the books and everything. Ill have them look at everything and make sure that it passes the sniff test with them too. So, like, we would have a lot of Star Trek fans, you know, watching the stuff and like, the reviews we always got were, Oh, yeah, a new Lower Decks episode just came in! You know what I mean? It felt like we were doing something right.Like in almost any show, but especially in comedy, theres usually a period early on where the writers and the actors are all kind of figuring out the characters together. Like how it takes a season and a half for TNG to really find Will Riker as he gradually becomes more like Frakes. And Im curious how the animation workflow affects something like this, going back and forth between writer, actor, and animator. It really does feel when you see interviews with Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid and Nol Wells and Eugene Cordero, that theres so much of them in these characters.Yeah.Do you feel like you can pinpoint a moment where you all found your stride, and how did it come about?It kind of came about naturally. It was, you know, I had done a lot of direct, like, voice directing on Rick and Morty and on Solar Opposites. So, when we started recording Lower Decks, I just kind of put them through hell at first. Like, I would have Tawny do, like, 25 takes of each line, and then we found those characters together. And, over time, Brad, my producer, also was able to start voice directing the show primarily because over time, we all started to understand the characters together. Not only from watching the show together and performing the show together, but Tawny and Eugene were going to conventions and having really interesting conversations with fans of the show and with actors on other Star Trek shows.Like, at first there were no wrong answers. And then over time, as you start to learn the characters, its like, Oh, Rutherford wouldnt say that. Whats a Rutherford way to say that? And you dont have that at first because you dont know Rutherford. But I think it just speaks to the patience and the talent of the cast. We really lucked out in some respects in casting, that we made some right choices right off the bat. Jack Quaid didnt know anything about Star Trek coming in, but hes an amazing actor and hes super funny. And he wanted to know about Star Trek. He wanted to know what it means to be in love with Starfleet. Every actor had that desire. There wasnt really any one miracle moment. It was just really loving to work with this cast, really believing in the scripts and the cast thinking theyre funny too. Nobody was at odds with each other and there was tons of communication. Anybody on the cast could call and ask questions beforehand or when were there, and we were never trying to force them into something. We were trying to find the best version all together from the very first episode.Well, now youve got sort of a legacy being built out of that experience. Tawnys in the writers room for one Star Trek show and apparently developing another one, which Im sure you cant tell me anything about.I cant, but Tawnys a genius and everybody shes working with seems amazing. Like, everybody on the show feels like a mega star I got before the rest of everybody else found out. You know what I mean? So, yeah, I would think Tawny can do literally anything that she wants to do in this world.And on top of that, just wrapping up here, can you tell me anything about Starbase 80?Starbase 80 smells really weird; its systems are very old. Its like a mix of Enterprise, TOS, lots of stuff.Are we going to be going there again?I would love to go there again. There are no plans to go there again. I pitched a Starbase 80 spinoff to CBS like, three years ago, which is where a lot of this came from. I would love to go back to Starbase 80, but right now there are no plans to do it.

Were more than halfway through December, which means 2025 is right around the corner with a whole new slate of new movies to look forward to. Before that, though, there are still plenty of decent sci-fi films to watch on Netflix this month to tide you over until the new year!This month, weve got a Michael Bay action thriller about transforming robots that sparked an entire cinematic franchise, a rough and rowdy cyberpunk thriller starring Logan Marshall-Green, and a cult-classic pulp adventure set in an alternate 1930s universe filled with giant flying robots!Lets take a look at what this month has to offer!Editors pick: TransformersDirector: Michael BayCast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh DuhamelDespite the fact that it came out just one year before Iron Man and The Dark Knight, Michael Bays Transformers feels completely disconnected from nearly every CGI-heavy blockbuster that came after it. Where superhero movies tended to be more ironic and sarcastic, Transformers is a shockingly sincere movie, with overwhelming heart and nearly no cynicism despite being a movie based on a toy brand.Im not here to tell you Transformers is good it absolutely is good, but you should know that already. What Im here to do instead is tell you to rewatch Transformers for a brief glimpse into what the blockbuster movies of the 2010s could have looked like. Im not really sure if thats better or worse than what we got, but its fascinating to rewatch this movie now that it looks totally unlike anything that came after it excluding its own sequels, of course. Austen GoslinUpgradeDirector: Leigh WhannellCast: Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison GilbertsonUpgrade might be the best cyberpunk movie of the last decade. The story follows a man who becomes paralyzed after a horrible car accident, which was orchestrated to assassinate his wife. In order to get revenge for her death, he accepts a computer chip that takes control of his body, giving him incredible strength, speed, and agility.Its a recognizable enough concept, but Upgrade manages to make it feel fresh and original, thanks in large part to its extremely funny script and an excellent performance from Logan Marshall-Green, who plays some of the movies funniest moments like a hapless passenger to the violence and mayhem that his body is perpetrating. AGSky Captain and the World of TomorrowDirector: Kerry ConranCast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Giovanni RibisiKerry Conrans 2004 pulp adventure is a labor of love. Conceived with his brother, production designer Kevin Conran, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow stars Jude Law as Joseph Sullivan, a mercenary fighter pilot who goes by the callsign Sky Captain, who teams up with his journalist ex-flame Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) to stop a mad scientist from terrorizing the world with his army of giant flying robots.The film is a unabashed homage to the adventure serials of the 1930s, with dieselpunk designs and towering skyscrapers flanked by floodlight beacons and floating zeppelins. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrows usage of virtual backlot technology would become a major influence, inspiring the look and production of films like 300 and Sin City. Conran hasnt directed a movie since, but if this is the only film he ever makes, it would be a fine legacy for him to leave behind. Toussaint Egan