IT General

Being caught empty-handed on the side of the road is a situation no one wants to experience. I'm the type of person who likes to be prepared, so I keep a little travel toolkit in my truck. Additionally, two Ryobi tools are usually in my vehicle and come along for every ride.

Brad Bird makes the case that animation can be for adults with Ray Gunn. The big-budget film noir comes not from Pixar, where Bird helmed such hits as The Incredibles and Ratatouille, but from Netflix, which won the Best Animated Feature Oscar last winter for KPop Demon Hunters.

To be clear, Bird's latest isn't inappropriate for kids. Like Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, this animated movie with a film noir core could play to children and grown-ups alike. But it'll be older audience members who can best appreciate the influences Bird is bringing into play in Ray Gunn.

SEE ALSO: Wake Up, Oscars: Animation isn't just for kids What's Ray Gunn about? Credit: Netflix

The film, written by Bird and Matthew Robbins, is named for Raymond "Ray" Gunn (voiced by Sam Rockwell), a former police officer who has quit the force to start his own private investigation firm. But the going is tough, in part because Ray is a shamus so determined to do the right thing that he rejects dirty money.

This high-mindedness is not great news for his partner, an alien named Eye-Ra (Tom Waits). For one thing, if Ray's not making money, neither is Eye-Ra. For another, these sleuths live in a futuristic urban landscape where aliens are treated like second-class citizens. So, Eye-Ra's options aren't as plentiful as his human partner's.

Bird swiftly establishes the hierarchy of Ray Gunn's world with a near wordless introduction, where Eye-Ra slips into an office building with a cleaning crew entirely made up of unusual-looking creatures. Sure, some aliens can get ahead, like a badass businesswoman voiced with raspy and passionate aplomb by Kathryn Hunter. But even in her brief role, she speaks to the social pressure to cover her ample limbs to appease the humans. Elsewhere, aliens get ahead through organized crime, mirroring the mafia's history in the U.S.

Into this stratified city, with its underbelly of gambling and violence, pop star Venus Nova (Scarlett Johansson) is a shining light. With her long blonde hair, whiskey-smooth voice, and undisputed beauty, she's got everything it takes to be a star. But she's also got a reputation for self-sabotage, the kind that makes tabloid publishers salivate. So, when her management needs someone to keep an eye on Venus ahead of the debut of her new album, they call on Ray Gunn (and Eye-Ra). However, romance, betrayal, and a bit of murder make this supposedly easy job a very hard day at work.

But don't fret, parents. Bird is careful to keep the violence offscreen or comical, so the darkness of the film noir genre won't leave your kiddos with nightmares.

Ray Gunn is visually enthralling, with a great cast. Credit: Netflix

With The Incredibles and Tomorrowland, Bird showed his love of retro-futurism. That's on full display in Ray Gunn, where yellow cabs and glossy convertibles hover through the air in a sky-high city that's like The Jetsons meets Chinatown. The design of his characters is varied and refreshing. For the humans, the slick noir style of the 1940s gets a colorful re-imagining through animation; structured suits, silky gowns, and impossibly coiffed hairdos all look resplendent. Alongside that, Bird curls this concept into sci-fi with a bevy of intriguing aliens.

In this world, Rockwell is smartly cast. He's an Academy Award–winning actor known for wild, live-action films like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; Confessions of a Dangerous Mind; and Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die. Yet as dynamic as he is on camera, Rockwell is just as strong doing voice work, as he's shown in the animated Bad Guys movies.

Here, the comic sharpness of his delivery is well-employed to keep Ray from coming off too stiff. Rather than channeling noir legend Humphrey Bogart, Rockwell leans closer to Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys. Ray is serious about justice and doing the right thing, but he's also a bit of a clown. (This is most thrillingly explored in a sequence involving a teleportation gun with some light Cronenberg slapstick as a result.) There are shades of Galaxy Quest in his turn, though Ray will never lose his cool as zanily as Guy, a background actor certain he's doomed to be a real-life red-shirt, did.

Opposite Rockwell, Waits proves a perfect foil. His low, ragged tone, forged from decades of acting and singing, brings the world-weariness that's expected of a noir detective. But Waits brings a cutting sense of humor to his exceptionally dry punchline deliveries. Together, they are a terrifically paired odd couple. The pairings in Ray Gunn are less successful when Johansson comes into the mix.

Ray Gunn gets frustratingly predictable.

Kids who've never seen a film noir might not see the clichés coming. However, grown-ups will likely be able to predict the movie's big twists pretty early on. Part of it is that in his homage to this genre, Bird is perhaps too loyal to its tropes. So, reveals for a string of secrets across the second and third act lose their impact as they feel like inevitabilities. But kids who liked KPop Demon Hunters might be drawn in by the colorful aesthetic and Johansson's pop star, even if her songs aren't as up, up, upbeat.

There are also some spoilers laced into the voice casting, as some actors are so easy to identify that a double role is not as hidden as Ray Gunn seems to think. Elsewhere, a character actor who's regularly played a baddie in Disney movies is hard to miss when he pops up in a bit part, tipping a climactic reveal.

Still, even when I was certain I'd cracked the case ahead of its titular detective, I was enjoying the ride of Bird's Ray Gunn. However, the casting of Johansson feels a fateful misstep. Sure, the American actress has loaned her voice to a slew of movies, including Sing, Isle of Dogs, The Jungle Book, Her, and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. However, Johansson doesn't match Rockwell or Waits when it comes to voice work.

Within Ray Gunn, she's called upon to be both the streetwise dame and the femme fatale, with a flourish of pop star glamor that feels more Lady Gaga than Barbara Stanwyck. Even with her signature rasp, Johansson doesn't plumb the depths of the noir character she's given. Her voice is always pretty, whether playful or furious. But there's a lack of texture or perhaps uninhibitedness that makes Venus feel a shallow echo of the noir dames who've come before.

By contrast, You're The Worst's Kether Donohue has a much smaller role in Ray Gunn. Yet her voice work — which can also be heard in Star Trek: Lower Decks — stands out. She has moxie, bringing an instant definition to her character. Johansson, as the female lead, falls short of this. Despite a script and animators who aim to mold Venus into a complicated character, Johansson's performance feels too stiff to make her really come alive.

Overall, however, Ray Gunn is a compelling mash-up of influences that make for a terrifically fun movie sure to entertain kids and parents alike.

Following its World Premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, Ray Gunn will debut on Netflix on Dec. 18.

Filmmaker Mike Flanagan's Carrie remake just dropped, but his next project is already coming soon: The Exorcist: Martyrs. Rather than a remake of the classic 1973 film, this is the next installment in the Exorcist franchise, and it's produced by horror titan Jason Blum (Obsession).

Marytrs follows detective Julie Miller (Scarlett Johansson), an expert in serial killers, who becomes involved in a murder mystery involving the killing of an altar boy in a church crypt. As one can expect from an Exorcist film, something supernatural is afoot.

The film also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Laurence Fishburne, and John Leguizamo, all of whom have glimpses in the trailer.

The Exorcist: Martyrs hits theaters March 12.

In the early days of Android, it seemed like every other week we'd see a completely brand-new phone from an established tech giant. Everyone was taking a stab at it.

Cloud-connected robot vacuums can be convenient, but they aren't always great for your privacy. They can collect detailed information about your home, including floor plans, cleaning habits, and even camera footage, and send it to third-party servers. The good news is that open-source projects can help you use your robot vacuum without relying on the cloud.

TL;DR: Physical preorders for Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake are already $10 off at Amazon. Preorder for $59.88 and get a preorder price guarantee.

Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo 'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time' (Digital) $59.99 at Amazon
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We're edging closer and closer to the Nintendo Switch 2 remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The official release date is Nov. 5, but Zelda fans are already buzzing thanks to the first-look gameplay footage.

Preorders for both the digital and physical copies are already available at Amazon. The digital version costs $59.99, while the physical edition was initially priced at $69.99 but has been reduced to $59.88 — great news for those of us who prefer to have the actual game in our hands.

There's another good reason to order from Amazon, as the retailer is offering a preorder price guarantee. That means if the preorder changes between now and when you're charged, you'll pay the lowest price point between when you order and when you receive the game.

If you're a serious Zelda fan, it's worth getting that preorder in soon.

Nintendo has revealed that the first print run of the physical edition will come with "special packaging that features textured foil cover art." That's one for the collectors, who will also love the Legend of Zelda-themed hardware coming this fall to mark the franchise's 40th anniversary. That will include a special-edition Switch 2 console, a Pro Controller, and a carrying case, all out Oct. 29.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box is available for $159.99 at Amazon. That's close to market price, but does require shoppers to request an invite to buy.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box $159.99 at Amazon
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Amazon’s $89.99 deal on the Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box sold out fast, but the retailer still offers one of the most reasonable routes to securing this high-demand set — if you're willing to join the waitlist.

The Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box is currently listed at $159.99 on Amazon, with shipping and sale handled directly by the retailer. Because inventory remains extremely tight right now, Amazon is routing orders through its "request invite" lottery system. Submitting an invite request reserves your spot in line to purchase the box at list price, without paying inflated secondary-market rates.

At $159.99, Amazon’s price sits fairly close to TCGplayer’s market price. It's also cheaper than Walmart, so even though it hurts to miss out on the $89.99 deal that Amazon was offering a couple of weeks ago, this is still a strong option for collectors.

The 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box is the premier display piece for this milestone expansion. Each ETB comes packed with nine 30th Celebration booster packs, an exclusive full-art foil Nidorina promo card, 16 foil Basic Energy cards, 65 custom card sleeves, damage-counter dice, a condition marker, card dividers, a collector’s player guide, and a code card for Pokémon TCG Live.

If you're trying to revive an old laptop, the standard advice is "install Linux." Usually, that means you'll install Linux Mint first. In some cases, that works. However, on really old or low-power devices, even Mint is too demanding.

Mesh Wi-Fi systems are fantastic, and they beat Wi-Fi extenders by a mile. Each node scatters Wi-Fi throughout your house, giving you a stable connection that you don't have to worry about. It's one of the best ways to get rid of dead zones, at least.

One of the best things about Microsoft 365 is how its apps can work together. Loop can talk to Teams, Lists can talk to Power Automate, and Word can talk to Outlook. But when I thought about the cross-app connections I use most—and the ones that save me the most time—I noticed something: they all involve Excel.

Smartphone keyboards introduced us to a brand new way to type: swiping. Why tap every letter when you can just slide your finger over them? It's become a standard feature in nearly every Android keyboard app, and it's my preferred method. I wanted to know if it's actually faster.

After four months of letting a robot lawn mower manage my grass through crazy weather, hot summer months, objects in the yard, and daily wear, was it worth it? Is the grass really greener on the other side? The convenience is fantastic, but it's not without its quirks. While I absolutely love it, and it saves my weekend, I have thoughts.

A split-second flash of radio waves traveled through space for more than 10 billion years to reach Earth, making it the farthest fast radio burst anyone has detected and confirmed.

Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, last only a few thousandths of a second but release enormous amounts of energy. Scientists spotted the first one in 2007, and they still don't know what causes them. Most flash only once, which makes them extremely hard to chase.

South Africa's MeerKAT radio telescope caught this one, dubbed FRB 20240304B, on March 4, 2024. After failing to find its origin with the world's largest ground-based telescopes, the team, led by Manisha Caleb and Themiya Nanayakkara of the University of Sydney in Australia, turned to NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. Finally, it came into focus: a faint galaxy from when the universe was only about 3 billion years old — more than double the distance of the prior record. 

Until now, astronomers mostly managed to find and measure the sources of bursts much closer to home. This one shows researchers can trace bursts much farther back in time, turning them into tools for exploring the early universe.

SEE ALSO: Mars' weird 1,100-mile cloud runs on physics no one has ever seen before

The galaxy itself surprised the team. Most bursts come from big galaxies, but this one has about 1,000 times less mass than expected. The researchers have published their findings in the journal Science.

"We thought it would be a big, nicely formed galaxy with lots of stars, and instead it was a little dwarf galaxy, although it was actively forming stars," Caleb said. 

The MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa detected the fast radio burst on March 4, 2024. The James Webb Space Telescope later confirmed its host galaxy. Credit: South African Radio Astronomy Observatory

This galaxy existed during a period known as "cosmic noon," an era when the universe as a whole made stars much faster than at any other time. That youth seems to offer a clue about what causes these bursts, according to the research. 

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Scientists have had two leading ideas for what causes the bursts, both involving neutron stars — the crushed, ultra-dense cores left behind by giant dying stars when they explode. One hypothesis says bursts happen when two neutron stars circle each other and eventually collide. But that slow merger takes billions of years, so they would likely show up in mature galaxies.

The other hypothesis points to magnetars — young neutron stars with powerful magnetic fields. That magnetism puts a huge strain on the star's solid outer crust. If the crust suddenly fractures, like Earth's crust in an earthquake, the "starquake" could release a burst of radio waves. 

A magnetar's solid iron crust cracks during a starquake. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / S. Wiessinger / Fermi illustration

In this scenario, bursts from magnetars could happen in young, star-forming galaxies like this source galaxy. The host for FRB 20240304B also contains few heavy elements, another sign of its early age that fits with a magnetar. For this reason, the team argues that magnetars are a likely explanation for at least some fast radio bursts, especially this one. 

Catching these flashes takes a special kind of telescope. Radio waves are a form of light that our eyes can't see. Many objects in space give off radio waves, too, and giant dishes like MeerKAT can collect them, revealing activity that other telescopes miss.

This particular burst did double duty. As it crossed space, it carried an imprint of the matter it passed through. The signal revealed a previously unknown galaxy cluster, about 3.5 billion light-years away. It also picked up the much closer Virgo cluster.

"A fast radio burst is almost like a cosmic flashlight," said co-author J. Xavier Prochaska of the University of California, Santa Cruz, in a statement. "It lights up everything along the path."

There likely isn't anyone left on earth who doesn't know who Elon Musk is. Yet, the new documentary titled Musk from filmmaker Alex Gibney is able to take this man, who has his tentacles in seemingly everything, and brutally break him down in a revealing four-hour-long extravaganza.

Yes, that's right. The Musk documentary clocks in at close to four hours, including a 10-minute intermission at the halfway point of the film. But there's so much packed into the film, you may just leave wanting even more.

While Gibney is clearly a critic of Musk, and I did just describe the doc as brutal, I want to be clear: The film is very fair to Musk, regardless of the fact that he called out Gibney for pursuing the movie, which Musk has previously described as a "hit piece" before production was even wrapped. It's brutal in the sense that it features Musk, via his own actions and words, punching himself in the face over and over again.

Musk is brutal and accurate.

The film starts off with Musk's belief that we are living in a simulation. He has mentioned this through his life, time and time again. Gibney takes this simulation idea and uses it to give an overall theme to the documentary to tie things together. 

Remember, Musk isn't in the movie. He called Gibney a "douche" on X for even making the film, which the filmmaker includes in the film. So, Gibney employs lots of archival footage, including quite a few clips I've never even seen before.

Since Musk himself isn't interviewed, Gibney created an animated video game version of Musk to act as his onscreen avatar. This Musk simulation character is voiced by Musk, using the archival footage, and chimes in throughout the film in order to give Musk's "perspective" and tie all the different pieces of his life together.

From there, Gibney runs through Musk's business history, and most of it is there: his start with Zip2, his X/Paypal merger, how he got involved with Tesla, the founding of SpaceX, the acquisition of Twitter, his Starlink satellites, xAI, and Grok. Neuralink even gets a mention, although it mostly serves as a vehicle to introduce Shivon Zilis, the mother of four of Elon's children. There is a glaring omission in the film when it comes to Musk's companies, which I'll get to later.

Credit: Gregg Segal

Like I said, the film is fair to Musk, and there is no better example of this than the segment on SpaceX. Gibney includes clips of Musk, clearly emotional, in the early days of SpaceX during the first three failed rocket launches. It's probably the most human-like that Musk has ever seemed. There was a moment where I forgot this was Elon Musk and nearly empathized with him. And when SpaceX succeeds in launching reusable rockets? This specific scene in the film was so celebratory of Musk that one could imagine Elon sharing the clip on his own X account if it was sent to him... and if he didn't know that Gibney's film was the source.

But that also just reflects reality. Up until recently, SpaceX was the least problematic of Musk's companies. Once the film moves to Tesla, things take a real turn. As someone who has covered both Musk and Tesla, I knew these stories. However, the way Gibney assembles the Tesla footage is particularly damning. Gibney uses real footage of the fatal crashes that came as a result of Musk's overselling the car's self-driving capabilities, alongside the promo videos created to misrepresent what the cars could do, followed by Tesla claiming not to have access to crash data in a specific case — a claim which later turns out to be false. It seems hard for even the biggest Musk fan to walk away not thinking that it's Elon Musk who is the "douche" in this situation.

Gibney also delves into Musk's personal life, his early childhood and his "legion" of children. It culminates with his entrance into right-wing politics and the pro-Trump world, the Nazi salute, and his government takeover with DOGE, which further empowered the most powerful unelected man in the world.

The film's intermission comes at the halfway point, and the two halves really feel like they're about two different Elon Musks. The first half focuses on Musk as an unscrupulous businessman, doing whatever necessary to find success with SpaceX and Tesla, even if it means he's a bad father and a terrible partner. There's a number of wealthy figures who fit that mold. However, the Elon Musk of the second half is much more nefarious, as Gibney accurately covers the acquisition and dismantling of Twitter, then shows how Musk used the same playbook to basically acquire and dismantle the federal U.S. government (via DOGE and other projects) in search of total power.

Credit: Ken Cedenoupi - UPI Alamy News

Going back to the four-hour running time, I wonder if this film would've been better served as a TV series, splitting up each of Musk's companies or projects into their own episode. There's just so much, and Gibney still couldn't get to it all.

While the documentary wasn't able to nab interviews with Musk, it does have an impressive list of interviewees such as Elon Musk's father Errol; Musk's first wife, Justine Musk; the actual founder of Tesla, Martin Eberhard; and the mother of Musk's most recent(?) child, Ashley St. Clair. The interviews with engineers who left their job after the DOGE takeover and Twitter employees who were laid off after the acquisition really helped add human faces to the stories we've read over the past few years.

St. Claire has been making the media rounds recently. She's a former right-wing influencer who, in her own words, fell for Musk before discovering he wasn't the person he presented himself as after their child was born. Regardless of what your personal feelings about her are, she's one of the few interviews in the film who really shares her firsthand account of Musk in private life, including private messages between the two regarding the 2024 presidential election. (The story of Musk listening to a podcast about Kublai Khan while they were laying in bed together was certainly a bizarre factoid.)

I'm personally so entrenched in Musk's world as I cover it, so I don't believe there was any breaking news in the doc itself, but there were definitely details I hadn't previously been familiar with. For example, St. Clair also provides Gibney with audio recordings, which includes a shocking phone call with Jared Birchall, who is described as Musk's "fixer." In the call, Birchall describes the mother of three of Musk's children, Claire Boucher aka Grimes, as "a drug-addled musician" who he doesn't believe is "capable of finding true happiness."

Even if I was familiar with these stories, others watching the film were audibly surprised at numerous parts of the film. Going back to how this would've perhaps been better served as a series, it would be unfortunate if the four-hour run time was information overload to some, obscuring some of these revelatory nuggets about Musk.

Where I wanted more Musk.

As someone who has covered Musk extensively, I do not want to nitpick with my criticisms of the film. But there are some areas where I felt the film dropped the ball.

Even in a four-hour movie, you still can't fit it all in. Unfortunately, Gibney leaves one of Musk's companies entirely out of the documentary. The Boring Company may not be Musk's most famous or successful endeavor, but it's central to Musk's story and really helps define him too. Musk used the Boring Company to launder his vision for traffic-solving tunnel systems, raised billions, and in turn helped destroy investment into high-speed rail. His underground tunnels, his Hyperloop, none of this ended up coming to fruition. Musk's one tunnel that's open to the public exists in Las Vegas, connecting a few hotels and the convention center with a single lane of human-driven Tesla vehicles. Yes, one of the company's products, the "Not-a-Flamethrower" flamethrower certainly makes an appearance in clips, but if Gibney referenced The Boring Company any further, I must've missed it — and it's a fairly big omission.

Unfortunately, the only parts of the film that didn't work are scenes that are core to the narrative of the documentary, and they're scattered through the movie. I'm speaking of the "simulation Musk," an animated version of Musk that's used throughout the film to provide a visual to words Musk previously spoke. 

Credit: AP

The idea to tie the whole film together using Musk's own belief that we are living in a simulation is certainly clever. The device itself didn't hurt the film, but the Musk animation just did not work. Even though the filmmaker says that they utilized an animation studio, the simulation Musk just comes off looking AI-generated, so it's a bit jarring. They were going for a video game aesthetic to really hone in on the idea that Musk views himself as living in a Ready Player One-type world. However, the end product doesn't come off that way to me. It just has an uncanny valley, generative AI presence, which is sort of counterintuitive to the film's messaging.

Finally, I have to add that it was disappointing to see renowned tech journalist Kara Swisher provide little substance in her onscreen contributions to the film. She is one of, if not the first people interviewed, and she appears throughout the film, up until the very end. Swisher is someone who has covered Musk for years and helped launder the reputations of Musk and many other wealthy tech billionaires in the media. Yet, all those interactions with Musk and her knowing the man seem completely moot for the purpose of the film. She provides little more than color commentary that, while accurate, could've been provided just the same by individuals without the personal Musk connection. 

With that said, Gibney's Musk is a fantastic portrayal of Elon Musk and should be considered required viewing material for anyone interested in understanding more about the most powerful man in the world, who is only amassing even more power. The film will leave you truly wondering what exactly Musk's endgame is and just how much power he truly has being at the helm of things like Starlink.

Musk opens in select theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Oct. 9 and will open nationwide on Oct. 16.

You might have seen the Wicker trailer, heard the plot from your friends behind giggling hands, or experienced the collective internet reaction to a 4DX screening. We're getting another sexy straw man movie, when we thought such a thing was done For Good?

Based on Ursula Wills-Jones' short story "The Wicker Husband," the tale is what it says on the tin: a fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) requests a local basket weaver (Peter Dinklage) to make her a husband to get the bitches in town (led by Elizabeth Debicki) off her goddamn back. And it works, with Alexander Skarsgård brought to life as the world's most dashing straw man — apologies to Jonathan Bailey's Scarecrow in Wicked.

It's a deeply silly, fairy tale concept. But what directors Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson have up their sleeve is a hilarious and heartfelt script, an incredibly talented cast, and magical production design that landed actual gasps (and cackles) from the BFI London Film Festival audience.

It's an artisanal Frankenstein tale, and one that will melt that brittle basket-woven heart of yours — or simply have you thinking about Taylor Swift's "Wood" differently.

Wicker is Frankenstein for craft lovers. Credit: BFI London Film Festival

The very concept of building a life partner from things around the house has intrigued writers from Mary Shelley to that time Sabrina the Teenage Witch's aunts played with "Man Dough." And in Wicker, a exceptionally talented basket weaver (a positively Shakespearean Dinklage) is the one to play God.

Set in a medieval village where patriarchy is divine and marriage means literally putting a collar on the bride, Wicker follows a gleeful social outsider known as the Fisherwoman (an impeccable Colman), happily living out her days in her crumbling cottage as a spinster. Covered in the stench of her occupation, she has no desire to marry as expected. However, such independence sparks the ire of the townspeople, especially the Tailor's Wife (a diabolical Debicki), a woman oppressed in her own man-child marriage to the Tailor (a superb Nabhaan Rizwan). To shut them all up, the fisherwoman commissions another recluse, the Basket Weaver, to literally make her a husband. One magic moment later, Fisherwoman has her Wicker Husband (a stoically sweet Skarsgård) — and the entire town can hear their marital bliss, echoing across the meadows. 

Featured Video For You Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling reveal the hardest part of making the hot, queer romance 'Pillion'

It's a sexual awakening indeed for Colman's Fisherwoman, and one that will have you cackling with glee as she does. But their bond becomes about more than planking sessions. Though literally fabricated, Fisherwoman and her Wicker Husband's exploration of love and intimacy feels deeply genuine, thanks to Coleman's gleeful humour and vulnerability and Skarsgård's awkward romanticism. And it's all within a safe distance from fires; one of them is "very flammable," after all.

However, as the Wicker Husband tries to understand his "purpose" and the logic behind treating women as equal (imagine!), his charms begin to affect the townspeople. Essentially, he's making the other men look absolutely useless.

Wicker makes a hilarious mockery of traditional gender roles. Credit: BFI London Film Festival

One of the most compelling elements of Wicker, beyond its plethora of gloriously dirty jokes, frankly hilarious foley effects, and Colman's outstanding performance is its skewering of traditional gender roles within marriage.

As the townsfolk witness these moments of sweet romance, simmering sexual chemistry, and actual friendship between the Fisherwoman and Wicker Husband, the local women have questions for their own husbands. What do you mean, this man shares the housework and fishing with his wife? What do you mean, sex can be an act of pleasure, not merely for procreation? They begin to examine their society's gender essentialism, from marital obligations to division of labour and intimacy — and the husbands are annoyed. "All of a sudden I don't say enough words to her!" says one. "The wives, they're all aflutter!" says another. Here, Wicker's supporting cast shine in glorious deadpan, especially Ella Bruccoleri as one-liner queen the Baker's Wife, Ben Ashenden as her husband, Baker, and Kiell Smith-Bynoe as the stubborn Innkeeper.

But while the film's medieval innuendos are show-stoppers in their own right, Wicker's production design will actually cause a shortness of breath.

Wicker's production design team makes spicy magic happen.

It must be said: For Wicker to work, the Fisherwoman's darling "timber knight" has to be magically hot. I don't make the rules. It's part of the narrative or something. Casting Alexander Skarsgård in such a role is a superb step toward achieving such sorcery (Pillion also knew what it was doing), but transforming him into a dashing man made of flexible rods is another challenge. Luckily, Wicker enlisted Wētā Workshop and visual effects supervisor Joe Dunckley to craft an otherworldly wicker suit that's alarmingly ripped, along with facial prosthetics that trace the lines of Skarsgård's face. You can physically see through these wicker biceps, light shining through them. 

Remembering this is a raunchy fantasy comedy, the production team also doesn't waste one opportunity to draw out the properties of a wicker person during intimate scenes. Every creak of the Wicker Husband's basketry serves to emphasise his strength and physical materials. Foley artist and editor Adrian Medhurst and foley recordist Simon Koehn should be applauded for the wicker erection sounds that groan and strain through an early scene, one that had the LFF audience hooting. 

Within this raunchy fairy tale, like all fairy tales, there are lessons hidden between the fantasy and drama. And if you can't learn a thing or two about intimacy, romance, and love while staring at the sheer artistry of basket-woven pectorals, then I don't know what to tell you.

Wicker was reviewed out of BFI London Film Festival. It hits cinemas Oct. 23 in the U.S. and Oct. 30 in the UK.

TL;DR: Amazon officially launched its all-new Amazon Kids Tablets starting at $229.99. Replacing the old Fire Kids line, these full Android tablets come in 8.7-inch and 11-inch sizes, offer parent-managed Google Play Store access, AI-powered tools like Storybuilder, and ship with a protective bumper case plus a free year of Amazon Kids+.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Kids Tablet 8 $229.99
  Shop Now Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Kids Tablet 11 $329.99
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Picking out a tablet for your child usually feels like choosing between an overly restrictive toy or an expensive iPad you pray does not hit the kitchen tile face-down. Amazon is bridging that gap with its all-new line of Amazon Kids Tablets. Ditching the old Fire OS ecosystem, Amazon built these new devices directly on Android — giving kids solid tablet performance while keeping the guardrails parents trust.

Preorders are live now, starting at $229.99 for the 8.7-inch model and $329.99 for the 11-inch version, with official shipping starting Oct. 14. Both models ship with Amazon’s signature protective case, a two-year worry-free guarantee, and a full year of Amazon Kids+.

The 8.7-inch Amazon Kids Tablet is built for small hands and travel

Designed specifically for smaller hands and life on the go, the Amazon Kids Tablet 8 is built as the ultimate travel companion. Instead of handing over your fragile phone during a long car ride, this setup delivers a full-fledged tablet experience in a durable, child-resistant form factor.

This tablet runs on Android software with a bright, clear screen — so drawing apps look sharp and videos stream smoothly. It’s built to stay snappy even as your kid gets older and plays bigger games. The case is soft, easy to hold, and comes in fun designs like Paw Patrol, Barbie, and SpongeBob.

Credit: Amazon Battery life made for long trips

With up to 14 hours of battery life and 64GB of storage, you can download a mountain of movies, games, and books for offline use before leaving the house. It easily lasts through a full flight or a long car ride without dying, and the built-in blue-light filter helps keep screen time easy on young eyes.

1 year of Kids+

The included 1-year subscription gives your child ad-free access to games, shows, and books from characters they love, like Blippi, Peppa Pig, and Hello Kitty. They can learn shapes and numbers through Khan Academy Kids, or make their own drawings and stories with creative tools like Stories with Alexa.

You also don't have to hover over their shoulder to keep tabs on what they're doing. Using the free Amazon Parent Dashboard app on your phone, you can set bedtime limits, require educational goals before playtime, or pause the screen entirely when dinner is ready. Plus, with parent-approved Google Play Store access, you can approve new app downloads with a quick tap.

Credit: Amazon Built for big kids: Amazon Tablet 11

If your child is getting older and needs something for homework, digital drawing, or heavier games, the Amazon Kids Tablet 11 is the big upgrade. It takes everything parents love about the smaller model and bumps up the screen, power, and design so older kids do not feel like they are using a toy.

The biggest change is the massive 11-inch 2.5K display. Videos look super crisp, artwork pops, and text is sharp and easy to read for schoolwork or ebooks. It packs 8GB of RAM (twice the memory of standard budget tablets), so games load faster, apps run more smoothly, and switching between video calls and educational games happens without lag.

Credit: Amazon Stylus support for art and homework

The 11-inch model adds stylus support, turning the screen into a digital notebook and drawing canvas. Kids can use it to practice handwriting, take notes for school projects, or draw detailed digital art in apps like Art Studio.

A slimmer hard case

Instead of the thick foam bumper meant for toddlers, the Tablet 11 ships with a sleek, slim hard case. It gives older kids the "real gadget" feel so they won't feel embarrassed taking it to school or the library, but it still protects against backpack pressure, kitchen counter drops, and daily wear and tear.

What both tablets get right

The biggest upgrade on both new tablets is full Android software with direct access to the Google Play Store. For years, Amazon's kids tablets were stuck with a locked-down app store that missed tons of popular apps. These new models fix that. Your kids get apps and mainstream games without you needing to hunt for weird workarounds.

Every app request appears in the Amazon Parent Dashboard app on your phone (iOS or Android), where you can approve or deny it with one tap. You can also set screen-time limits, require "Learn First" educational time before games unlock, or pause the tablet entirely when it's dinnertime.

SEE ALSO: Uber adds live video streaming so parents can watch their kids' rides

Amazon also added a new tool called Storybuilder inside the included Amazon Kids+ subscription. Instead of just watching videos, kids can use their voices to create characters, plot twists, and imaginative worlds. The tool takes what they say and builds it into illustrated picture books and comic strips.

Between full Google Play access, drop-proof cases, and zero unapproved downloads, Amazon finally made a kids tablet that works just as well for parents as it does for kids.

You can lock in your preorder for the Amazon Kids Tablet 8 or Amazon Kids Tablet 11 before they officially ship on Oct. 14.

The astronauts who swung around the moon aboard NASA's Orion capsule spotted five tiny sparks from space rocks slamming into the lunar surface, likely the faintest impact flashes humans have ever seen. 

The Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman caught the first one during the mission just six months ago. 

"I just saw a flash, 100 percent," he called out, placing it at about the 7 or 8 o'clock position on the moon. Moments later, he and crewmate Jeremy Hansen both saw another. Hansen described a "pinprick" of light on the lower third of the moon.

"It's just like a bloop," Hansen said. 

Those sightings stunned the mission control room back in Houston, literally causing Kelsey Young's jaw to drop. Young, the mission's lunar science operations lead, admitted she hadn't expected the crew to see any micrometeorites at all. Artemis II flew during a quiet stretch of the year, outside any major meteor shower. 

"You probably saw the surprise and shock on my face," she later told reporters, who had watched a broadcast of the space-to-ground communications. "And though I was not in the science evaluation room, I heard that there were audible screams of delight."

Each flash tells scientists something about how often bits of comets and asteroids pummel the moon and where they hit. NASA wants those numbers before it sends astronauts to live and work there. Lori Glaze, a senior NASA official, said the agency will use such data to judge the risk that meteorites, even the tiniest of space rocks, pose to future moon bases. 

SEE ALSO: Mars' weird 1,100-mile cloud runs on physics no one has ever seen before

A flash happens when a speeding space pebble smacks the moon. Because the moon has no oxygen, a strike doesn't create combustion fire. Instead, the burst of light comes from the rock's pure kinetic energy. 

During the crash, the extreme force instantly vaporizes the rock and a small amount of the moon's surface. That causes a split-second plasma cloud to glow just before cooling in the vacuum of space.

The naked-eye observation of impact flashes during the Artemis II mission, published this week in the Artemis II Preliminary Lunar Science Report, lends credibility to earlier astronaut reports. Crews reported three such flashes from lunar orbit a half-century ago — one on Apollo 16 and two on Apollo 17. Telescopes on Earth have since logged over 400. 

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NASA timed the Artemis crew's watch for when the moon blocked the sun from Orion's view. That darkness let the astronauts' eyes adjust enough to catch faint flickers. The moon's surface stayed dark except for a soft glow of sunlight bouncing off Earth.

All five flashes the Artemis astronauts saw happened on the moon's unlit side. None showed any color, and each vanished instantly. Based on how faint they looked, scientists think rocks only a few centimeters across may have caused them, perhaps the size of a grape or a walnut. The crew, which included Victor Glover and Christina Hammock Koch, sketched each location on a tablet while their memories were fresh. 

The Artemis II crew marked up an image of the moon with notes about their impact flash sightings during the lunar flyby. Credit: NASA / CSA

The moonbound crew saw more but said they reported only the ones that clearly differed from look-alikes. Astronauts often see random bright flashes of light in space — even with their eyes closed — because of cosmic rays passing through the spacecraft and directly striking their optic nerves. 

But because some of these flashes were seen by more than one pair of eyes, NASA feels confident in the anecdotal reports. 

"It was not sunglint off of particulate from the thrusters or the purge tanks," Wiseman said. "It was definitely impact flashes on the moon."

Meanwhile, the machines got nothing. A camera on the outside of the capsule filmed about two minutes of the eclipse at 30 frames per second and caught no flashes. NASA also hoped its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a probe that has mapped the moon since 2009, could photograph the sites. The team concluded the craters are probably too small for the camera to see. 

The jaw of Kelsey Young, NASA's Artemis II lunar science lead, drops as the Artemis II crew reports impact flashes on the moon during the flyby. Credit: NASA

NASA's lunar science team recruited stargazing groups to film the moon through tracking telescopes during the flyby and upload the video to a shared database. But the moon's phase seemed to work against them. Earth-based observers need a dark slice of moon to record flashes. So far, no one on the ground has confirmed one of the flashes from the flyby.

The sightings paid off a bet NASA's science team placed long before launch. Planners carved out dedicated time for the crew to watch for flashes, and the team trained the astronauts to report any they might see at any point in the mission. 

"This is absolutely everything we hoped for by integrating science into flight operations," Young said.

TL;DR: Watch Real Madrid vs. Villarreal in La Liga for free on CazéTV. Access this free livestream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

We're barely two months into the La Liga season, and it already looks like the mighty Barcelona are running away with it, with seven straight wins and a five-point lead at the top of the league table.

Real Madrid, a team that placed runner-up behind Barcelona for the past two seasons, needs every win they can get — while hoping that Barca slips up — if they have any chance of winning the league this season. They have a chance to secure three more points today in a game against Villarreal — but it won't be easy. Villarreal have won their last two and will want to come back from the international break in style.

If you're interested in watching Real Madrid vs. Villarreal in La Liga from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

When is Real Madrid vs. Villarreal?

Real Madrid vs. Villarreal in La Liga kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on Oct. 10. This fixture takes place at the Bernabéu.

How to watch Real Madrid vs. Villarreal for free

Real Madrid vs. Villarreal in La Liga is available to live stream for free on CazéTV.

CazéTV is geo-restricted to Brazil, but anyone can secure access with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Brazil, meaning you can live stream Real Madrid vs. Villarreal for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Real Madrid vs. Villarreal for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Brazil

4. Visit CazéTV

5. Watch Real Madrid vs. Villarreal for free from anywhere in the world

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The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Real Madrid vs. Villarreal without committing your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream this fixture (plus more La Liga action) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for La Liga?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on CazéTV, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries, including Brazil

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices, including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and usually offers a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99.

Live stream Real Madrid vs. Villarreal for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Get AdGuard’s Family Plan for life for a one-time $14.97 (reg. $169.99) through Oct. 11, covering up to nine devices with ad blocking, privacy protection, malware protection, and parental controls.

Opens in a new window Credit: AdGuard AdGuard Family Plan: Lifetime Subscription $14.97
$169.99 Save $155.02   Get Deal

Tired of dodging pop-ups, dealing with slow-loading websites, and feeling like your every move online might be tracked? You’re not alone. The internet should be a safe, smooth, and private space. The AdGuard Family Plan can help you smooth things out, digitally speaking.

For just $14.97, you’ll get lifetime protection for up to 9 devices when you order through Oct. 11 as part of this Deal Days sale. Whether it’s your phone, tablet, or laptop, AdGuard blocks intrusive ads, prevents trackers from snooping on your data, and shields your family from possible malicious websites.

Ads aren’t just annoying; they slow down your browsing, eat up your data, and sometimes even carry malware. And if you’ve got kids online, you want to make sure they’re safe from inappropriate content. The AdGuard Family Plan does all that and more. 

With built-in parental controls, you can filter out harmful sites and ensure your family’s online experience is both secure and enjoyable.

With up to 9 devices covered, the AdGuard Family Plan is ideal for households where everyone’s connected. And because it’s a one-time payment for lifetime access, you’ll never have to worry about recurring fees or annoying subscription renewals.

So, whether you’re protecting your own devices or your whole family’s, AdGuard makes it easy to have a more peaceful online experience. Say goodbye to annoying ads and hello to a safer, faster internet.

Don’t miss the opportunity to save on a lifetime of AdGuard Family Plan protection while it’s just $14.97 (reg. $169.99) through Oct. 11 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Click here to view more of the Deal Days collection.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows is just $29.97 (reg. $219.99) through Oct. 11 during this Prime Day alternative sales event.

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime License $29.97
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This is your last chance to ditch Microsoft 365’s subscription fees for good. Until October 11 at 11:59 p.m. PT, you can grab a lifetime license to Microsoft Office 2021 for just $29.97 (reg. $219.99), thanks to this Deal Days sale (a Prime Day alternative). Simply pay once, download the full software suite, and never worry about renewals again.

We know what you’re thinking, but rest assured, this isn’t some stripped-down lite version either. It’s the real deal. Whether you’re writing reports, crunching numbers, building presentations, managing emails, or wrangling databases, the lifetime version of Microsoft Office has you covered.

It’s a one-time download for one Windows PC, so once it’s yours, it’s yours. The full pro-level toolkit, minus the stress of a subscription. Plus, with instant license delivery and free customer support, getting started is as painless as your new spreadsheet workflow.

No more “trial expired” pop-ups. No more surprise charges. Just the latest versions of Microsoft’s best apps, ready to support all of your work and personal needs.

Download Microsoft Office for Windows while it’s on sale for Deal Days for just $29.97 until Oct. 11 at 11:59 p.m. PT (reg. $219.99). No coupon is needed.

Click here to view more of the Deal Days collection.

StackSocial prices subject to change.