Technology

SAVE $20: As of Oct. 10, the Amazon Fire Stick 4K is on sale for $29.99 at Amazon. That's a 40% savings on the list price.

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Prime Day sales are a great excuse to upgrade your tech and save some money in the process. Whether you need a new laptop, your TV is kaput, or a pair of new earbuds is the perfect treat, you'll find just about everything discounted. My tech of choice this year was the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, and two days after Prime Day ended, it's still on sale.

As of Oct. 10, the Fire TV Stick 4K is on sale for $29.99, a $20 savings. This is slightly higher than its Prime Day low of $24.99, but only just.

So, why the Fire TV Stick? Well, the TV I've carted through the last 10 years of my life is still going strong, so I find no need to throw it out just yet. However, smart TVs were far less common back then, so to watch Netflix, Prime Video, or any streaming service, I had to hook up my laptop with various cables and control it from there. Not so easy. This is where the Fire TV Stick comes in.

It's incredibly easy to use, and the setup takes less than five minutes. Just take the Fire TV Stick and plug it into your TV's HDMI port. The device also comes with a wall plug to power it with electricity, and that's it, you're good to go. It also comes with a remote with Alexa functions, so you can use it just like a smart TV and ask it to search for your favorite movie, browse the web for a question, or even speak to other smart devices in your home.

As the name suggests, the 4K model of this device gives you better quality, ideal for 4K TVs. And, of course, you get access to the Amazon Fire operating system, which is another plus. All your apps are in one place, and you can pick up your favorite Prime shows right where you left off, straight from the home screen.

Get this Fire TV Stick deal from the Amazon website now.

Happy Friday and welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, the Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you're stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move onto the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you've ever played dominoes, you'll have a passing familiarity for how Pips is played. As we've shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don't necessarily have to match.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for October 10, 2025

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible – and common – for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you'll run into across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

• Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

• Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

• Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for October 10, 2025 Easy difficulty hints, answers for Oct. 10 Pips

Number (3): Everything in this red space must add to 3. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally; 1-4, placed horizontally.

Equal (4): Everything in this red space must be equal to 4. The answer is 1-4, placed horizontally; 4-4, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this red space must add to 3. The answer is 3-3, placed vertically.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for Oct. 10 Pips

Less Than (4): Everything in this space must be less than 4. The answer is 3-6, placed vertically.

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 4-1, placed horizontally; 4-5, placed horizontally.

Less Than (4): Everything in this space must be less than 4. The answer is 4-1, placed horizontally.

Less Than (4): Everything in this space must be less than 4. The answer is 2-5, placed vertically.

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 3-6, placed vertically; 6-6, placed vertically; 6-4, placed horizontally.

Not Equal: Everything in this space must be different. The answer is 6-4, placed horizontally; 3-0, placed vertically; 3-2, placed horizontally.

Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally; 2-5, placed vertically; 5-5, placed vertically; 5-0, placed vertically.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add to 0. The answer is 3-0, placed vertically; 5-0, placed vertically.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for Oct. 10 Pips

Number (18): Everything in this space must add to 18. The answer is 6-6, placed vertically; 6-5, placed vertically.

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 6-2, placed vertically; 2-3, placed vertically.

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 4-1, placed vertically; 4-4, placed horizontally; 4-0, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add to 5. The answer is 4-1, placed vertically; 4-3, placed vertically.

Number (10): Everything in this space must add to 10. The answer is 5-4, placed vertically; 6-5, placed vertically.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add to 0. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically; 0-0, placed vertically; 5-0, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add to 5. The answer is 5-4, placed vertically.

Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 1-3, placed vertically; 3-3, placed vertically; 2-3, placed vertically; 3-5, placed vertically.

Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 4-3, placed vertically; 3-6, placed vertically.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add to 0. The answer is 1-0, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add to 5. The answer is 3-5, placed vertically.

Number (11): Everything in this space must add to 11. The answer is 3-6, placed vertically; 5-0, placed horizontally.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

The NYT Connections puzzle today shouldn't be hard to solve if you're a gamer.

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for October 10, 2025 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Opposite of minor

• Green: Number-specific

• Blue: Same first word, related to a deck

• Purple: Same second word

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Significant

• Green: One in a septet

• Blue: Tarot cards, with "the"

• Purple: ___ Eye

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #852 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Significant: BIG, IMPORTANT, MAJOR, SERIOUS

• One in a septet: CONTINENT, DEADLY SIN, SISTER, WONDER

• Tarot cards, with "the": DEVIL, LOVERS, MAGICIAN, STAR

• ____ eye: EVIL, MAGIC, NAKED, THIRD

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for October 10, 2025

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.

Today's NYT Strands hints are great in autumn.

Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for October 10, 2025 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for October 10, 2025 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: I'm a ladle hungry

The words are related to food.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe things eaten from a bowl.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is One Pot.

Featured Video For You Strands 101: How to win NYT’s latest word game NYT Strands word list for October 10

• Stew

• Goulash

• One Pot

• Gumbo

• Ragout

• Jambalaya

• Chili

• Tagine

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer has one tricky letter wedged right in the middle.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for October 10, 2025 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for October 10, 2025 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

A useful tool.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There is 1 recurring letters.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter L.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

LEVER

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for October 10, 2025

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Wordle.

Walking my dog in Miami the other day, I spotted something both funny and unsettling: A robot cruising down the sidewalk delivering food — and it had my name on it. The sight immediately took me back to a few years ago when I was behind the wheel with my pup in the back seat, delivering meals as my side gig. 

At the time, I had just quit a toxic job with very little financial cushion and no clear next step. To say I was burned out was an understatement. My soul and my career needed a total reset. Thanks to the gig economy, I was able to make it work: Covering my basic living expenses, giving myself much-needed breathing room, and wearing out my then two-year-old dog. 

SEE ALSO: DoorDash unveils new delivery robots that yawn, wink, and travel 20 mph

That leap — leaving a job without another lined up — became a turning point. It taught me how critical it is to create sustainable, flexible options in your career, and it's one of the reasons I’m so passionate now about helping professionals build strategies that allow them to pivot with confidence. 

But what if I hadn't had that option to fall back on? That was the question that struck me when the delivery robot glided right on by. 

Gig work as a lifeline 

Think about this for a second: You, or someone you know, loses a job, can't make ends meet, or simply falls on hard financial times. Where can you turn for a bit of extra cash flow fast these days? Gig platforms like Uber, DoorDash, or Amazon delivery could be a great holdover, and you may not even need a license or car to make it happen. We're not talking about students or someone looking to fill some extra time signing up for this work. According to a study by MyPerfectResume, 71 percent of U.S. workers rely on secondary income sources. And per a recent report by Zety, 55 percent of workers rely on gig work for more than half their total earnings (Disclosure: I am a career expert for Zety). This proves that gig work isn't just a bridge or cushion for moments of transition, but a necessity when one paycheck isn't enough to live on. 

What happens when the bots take over? 

It isn't on the horizon anymore. We are seeing self-driving cars and sidewalk robots as a part of normal life, not The Jetsons. They’re being tested, deployed, and replacing labor that once relied on humans. If these jobs vanish, it’s not just side hustles we’re losing. We're talking about removing one of the few easy-to-get-into and easy-to-manage cash flow opportunities left. And we're doing it in a job market that's already brutal, where, according to a Zety report, laid-off workers routinely send out 50 or even 100 applications just to land something new. We’re not just talking about people like me, looking for a break while applying for new roles. Think about the single parents piecing together income, or the workers trying to stay afloat while their next job is still months away.

SEE ALSO: Waymo partners with Toyota to bring robotaxis to everyone A broader conversation is needed 

So far, the conversation around AI has focused on traditional 9-to-5 jobs and how white-collar professionals will adapt. Those concerns matter. But so do the questions at the street level. When AI takes over a delivery job, it's not just about how a robot navigates foot traffic. It's about someone's rent money, their grocery bill, their stopgap until the next job comes along. 

We need to broaden the conversation to include the impact on all of us and the safety nets that keep people afloat. And we need to have it now, before AI takes away the very work that once gave me the breathing room and lifeline I desperately needed.

This article reflects the opinion of the writer.

Jasmine Escalera, PhD, serves as the career expert for Zety and brings extensive experience in hiring, management, and leadership roles.

Astronomers say they've captured the clearest look yet of a star on the brink of supernova.

An international team used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to backtrack and find the original star that suffered a cataclysmic explosion on June 29. The discovery is an unprecedented accomplishment for the observatory.

Identifying the original star was harder to achieve than it sounds. Supernovas happen suddenly, and no one knows which star in the sky will explode next. Scientists must pore over older, pre-explosion photos of the same swath of space, hoping to spot the single bright point of light that has since vanished. Webb has only been operating for three years, so this is the first time one of its previous images has overlapped with the site of a new supernova. 

The result is a rare before-and-after look at a dying star. The supernova, called SN 2025pht, came from a red supergiant, one of the largest types of stars in the universe. It was roughly 40 million light-years away in the galaxy NGC 1637. 

"For multiple decades, we have been trying to determine exactly what the explosions of red supergiant stars look like," said Charlie Kilpatrick, a research assistant professor at Northwestern University, in a statement. "Only now, with [Webb], do we finally have the quality of data and infrared observations that allow us to say precisely the exact type of red supergiant that exploded and what its immediate environment looked like." 

SEE ALSO: NASA astronaut class appears to be first without Black recruits in 40 years A James Webb Space Telescope image of the galaxy NGC 1637, with a highlighted box around the location where the supernova occurred; the top four grayscale images on the right were taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, and the bottom four were taken by Webb. Credit: Charles D. Kilpatrick et al. / https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ae04de

What made the original star, about 15 times more massive than the sun, remarkable was the thick blanket of dust that surrounded it. That shell hid much of the star’s brightness and made it appear much fainter and redder than it really was. With Webb’s powerful infrared vision, astronomers were able to see through that dust.

The researchers matched the explosion’s location to a single red, bright source. They used Hubble Space Telescope and Webb images to confirm it. The star was roughly 100,000 times brighter than the sun, yet appeared more than 100 times less luminous than it should have because of the dust around it. 

This discovery may help solve a long-standing mystery: Astronomers have known many massive red supergiants should explode, but far fewer have been spotted doing so. The new finding suggests maybe they've been there all along, just hidden behind heavy dust clouds that blocked their light from previous telescopes. 

The James Webb Space Telescope has identified its first progenitor star of a recently discovered supernova explosion. Credit: NASA GSFC / CIL / Adriana Manrique Gutierrez illustration

"I’ve been arguing in favor of that interpretation, but even I didn’t expect to see such an extreme example as SN2025pht," said Kilpatrick, first author on the research published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. "It would explain why these more massive supergiants are missing because they tend to be dustier."

The dust was keeping secrets about the star's chemistry, too. Most red supergiants are surrounded by dust made from oxygen-rich minerals, but this one’s dust was mostly graphite, a carbon-based chemical more often associated with other types of stars. That may mean some red supergiants go through unexpected changes late in life, perhaps shedding material or mixing elements in ways that alter the grains they produced.

Scientists look forward to using Webb to study more dusty environments around dying stars. Future telescopes, such as NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, will help by monitoring dusty red supergiants and, with any luck, catching them in their final death throes.

"With the launch of JWST and upcoming Roman launch, this is an exciting time to study massive stars and supernova progenitors," Kilpatrick said. "The quality of data and new findings we will make will exceed anything observed in the past 30 years."

TL;DR: Internxt’s lifetime cloud plan has dropped to a new low price of $999.99 (MSRP: $9,900), providing 100TB of encrypted, private storage that you’ll own forever.

Our digital lives generate an endless stream of files, ranging from photos and videos to work documents and backups. Instead of renting space through monthly subscriptions, Internxt’s 100TB lifetime plan allows you to pay once and store everything securely for life.

This massive amount of storage is ideal for creators, businesses, or anyone who wants long-term peace of mind. You can back up large projects, protect client data, or save years of photos and videos without worrying about space.

Privacy and transparency are at the core of Internxt’s platform. Files are protected with post-quantum encryption and a zero-knowledge architecture, ensuring only you can access your data. It is also open-source, GDPR-compliant, and independently audited, so its security promises are verifiable.

You can access and sync your files across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, or any modern browser, giving you flexibility without recurring costs.

If you have been waiting for the right time to invest in secure, high-capacity storage, this is it. Internxt’s 100TB lifetime plan is now available at its lowest price of $999.99 (MSRP: $9,900).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Internxt Internxt Cloud Storage Lifetime Subscription: 100TB $999.99
$9,900 Save $8,900.01 Get Deal

TL;DR: The Grade A refurbished 13-inch MacBook Pro (2017) is on sale for $279.97 through Nov. 2 — Get the Apple experience for a fraction of the original cost.

It’s rare to see a MacBook Pro under $300, but this refurbished 2017 model still delivers the same build quality and dependability that made Apple’s laptops famous. With a 3.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD, it has the speed and storage most people need for everyday work, streaming, or creative projects.

At just over 3 pounds, this 13-inch model is lightweight and travel-ready. The Retina display remains crisp and bright, while the Touch Bar and Force Touch trackpad make navigation and shortcuts feel intuitive.

What to expect from the 13-inch MacBook Pro (2017)

• Four Thunderbolt 3 ports for charging and accessories

• Backlit keyboard for typing in low light

• Grade A refurbished, meaning it arrives in near-mint condition and has been tested for quality

If you’re looking for an everyday-use MacBook Pro without the premium price tag, this deal offers strong performance paired with classic features.

Get the 13-inch MacBook Pro (2017) for $279.97 (MSRP $1,499) through Nov. 2.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple MacBook Pro 13" Touchbar (2017) 3.1GHz i5 8GB RAM 512GB SSD Space Gray (Refurbished) $279.97
$1,499 Save $1,219.03 Get Deal

In If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You, Rose Byrne's face becomes the close-up canvas for a wildly unsettling comedy-drama. Written and directed by Mary Bronstein — her first feature in 17 years following Yeast — the film follows Byrne as Linda, a mother hanging on by a thread during what appears to be a prolonged nervous spiral. Mirroring her experience, it's a deeply anxiety-inducing work, whose high-strung energy is owed to a daring audio-visual approach that ought not to be sustainable, but ends up hair-raising and hilarious in the long run. The result, in a word, is excellent.

Through their deft command of drama, Byrne and Bronstein make a formidable pair, as they present the slow demolition of one the most alluringly unpleasant protagonists in modern cinema (alongside Marianne Jean-Baptiste's Pansy in Mike Leigh's recent Hard Truths).

SEE ALSO: The 10 best movies of 2025 (so far), and where to watch them

The film is as illuminating as it is upsetting, presenting new cinematic dimensions to facets of motherhood rarely touched upon in Hollywood (prior to Nightbitch last year, the most prominent example was arguably Tully back in 2018). At a glance, If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You is Uncut Gems for postpartum depression (it was notably produced by Josh Safdie and longtime Safdie brothers writer/editor Ronald Bronstein). However, its narrative and aesthetic language is entirely its own, from its occasional hypnotic flourishes, to its distressing psychological portrait of a mother on the verge of a nervous breakdown, told almost entirely in close up.

What is If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You about? Credit: Photo by Logan White / Courtesy of A24

You can trace the film's fantastic dramatic setup across its first four scenes — three of which are therapy sessions of different kinds. Normally, it isn't worth breaking down a festival release so numerically, but If I Had Legs is so dramatically fine-tuned that each moment feels like an escalation. It begins on a tight close-up of Byrne's Linda, and stays there for longer than is comfortable. In fact, it gets increasingly claustrophobic, as an off-screen doctor (Bronstein herself) discusses Linda's care options for her preschool-aged daughter (Delaney Quinn), who eats partially through a feeding tube in her stomach, which Linda insists is unnecessary.

Right from the word go, Linda's judgement as a mother is in question. However, it's hard to keep casting aspersions on the character (or at least, to keep them at the forefront of one's mind) when Byrne delivers such a captivatingly troubled, melancholy, exhausted performance — and from which Bronstein refuses to avert the camera's gaze. However, when Linda leaves the appointment — a moment that might usually portend a calming interlude — the camera remains fixed on her at an uncomfortable proximity, as her daughter remains beyond the frame, asking repetitive questions, as children do. When they arrive home, there's still no peace for Linda, with her ongoing domestic cacophony crowned with the chaotic collapse of her bedroom ceiling, forcing her to relocate everyone to a cheap motel.

Featured Video For You Amy Adams on how she transformed into a dog in 'Nightbitch'

Linda's second session, held with her amusingly stone-faced therapist (Conan O'Brien) the next day, clues us into some of her self-destructive tendencies. However, her third and most surprising session is the most revealing. She walks right out of her therapist's office and down the hall to her own; she's also a therapist, setting up cycles of advice and therapy-speak that she either gives, or is given, but never adheres to herself. She has the right language, and the right emotional tools in theory, to thrive, but between a traveling husband who berates her over the phone, a doctor who thinks she’s a bad mother, and a daughter who she loves but who needs constant care, she doesn't have a moment to implement these changes or methods for self-care. 

This desperation is something Bronstein deftly aestheticizes, in ways that feel both prolonged and hyper-active, making Linda's anguish downright difficult to watch. The movie confronts a woman's unspoken uncertainties of motherhood in ways that are sometimes repulsive, but deftly navigated, with tremendous empathy for the movie's irascible subject.

If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You is an audio-visual gut punch. Credit: Courtesy of A24

In a strange but considered flourish, we almost never see Linda's daughter throughout the film, even though she exists off-screen. Anyone who enters Linda's orbit onscreen becomes the immediate object of her ire and fed-up tirades: her doctor, her therapist, a nagging hospital parking attendant, and even the motel's kindly superintendent, James (a rare screen role for A$AP Rocky). Some of Linda's rants are even laced with subtle racial animus; this is hardly an angel to whom Bronstein is trying to endear us.

By not seeing her young daughter quite as completely as these other characters (even the ones she despises), and by speaking to her dismissively, Linda creates a coping mechanism of sorts — a disconnected, passive façade that prevents her from placing her vulnerable child in the same category as these other irritants. She enacts motherhood — as the fulfilment of a social contract — on autopilot, conversing with her kid with the same repetitiveness with which she changes her mechanical feeding bag overnight (a process accompanied by drone-like beeping that weighs Linda down).

It's hard to shake the sense that not fully engaging with motherhood might not just be a need for Linda, or a survival mechanism, but a secret want she represses. In society’s eyes, the worst thing a mother can do is fail at the Sisyphean trials of parenthood. Perhaps this is something Linda has internalized. It certainly goes hand-in-hand with the guilt she does fully express, over her child's physical condition and sickness, which only adds to her reasons for not meeting her daughter's gaze.

SEE ALSO: How 6 generations of iPhone captured 20 years of motherhood in 'Motherboard'

However, actually observing other people around her doesn't mean Linda fully connects with them either. At one point, when she picks up a baby that isn't hers, the infant's close-up is accompanied by shrill and piercing sound design (by Filipe Messeder) that lasts an eternity. Everyone is, to some degree, an annoying abstraction to her, whether by intent or by the mere happenstance of her state of mind. This also applies to one of her unstable patients, Caroline (Danielle Macdonald), a new mother who seems on the verge of psychosis, and yet lucidly expresses the same feelings of postpartum doubt with which Linda has been living for so long — but refuses to see (or accept).

As Linda visits her apartment each night to check on the hole in her ceiling, it takes on unexpected physical properties that yield strange visions. This turns the literal and symbolic chasm into something practically metaphysical. Maybe it's caused by Linda's lack of sleep, or maybe it's something deep within her subconscious lashing against the walls of her mind. Either way, the resultant drama is thrilling, hilarious, and upsetting all at once, and it's largely owed to Byrne’s fearless, fully embodied commitment to the part.

Rose Byrne delivers a monumental performance. Credit: Photo by Logan White / Courtesy of A24

Bronstein knows exactly how to capture Byrne's nervous energy. The constant close-ups keep the character on edge, as though her motherhood (and her womanhood) were being interrogated, à la Carl Theodor Dreyer's close up-heavy silent classic The Passion of Joan of Arc.

Just when the camera starts to pull back from Linda's close-ups, promising the briefest of respite, it becomes just as stressful in other ways, with Byrne's fidgety body language conveying a burgeoning unease. Before long, relentless tight shots become a more desirable alternative, as if the best that we — and that Linda — could hope for is a moment of familiar discomfort, rather than a novel one with unexpected results. 

Where Byrne begins her journey is the kind of fragile emotional place most great screen performances have to carefully build toward. But in If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You, the precipice of total breakdown is the character's baseline. Touch her and she might shatter, cutting you in the process.

Things never stop getting worse for Linda, and Byrne's depiction only grows more frayed. The character's difficulties build in completely absurd ways, resulting in moments that are as jaw-droppingly funny as they are physically cringe-worthy. It's the kind of film that'll make you squirm in your seat while laughing till you almost break a rib. But it'll also make you want to call your mom, owing to the depths of agony Byrne reaches into, playing a woman who speaks over everyone, and yet, wants desperately to be heard. 

Whether or not she deserves this particular hell is the kind of moral judgement the film practically never allows you to consider. The plot leaps forward with reckless abandon, just as mounting absurdities reach fever pitch, but the movie never breaks away from Byrne's gradual self-immolation. Her conception of Linda — as a person doing her best, driven to short-tempered cruelty and selfishness by her circumstances — is too multidimensional, and too lifelike, to ever truly be disliked. 

Just like Jean-Baptiste in Hard Truths, there isn't a single moment during which the torment driving Byrne's character to lash out isn't visible behind her eyes, begging to be recognized. It's a plea made all the more urgent by the fact that If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You feels in a constant state of hair-raising climax. And so, it grabs you by the collar and pulls you along for its harrowing plunge, forcing you to witness — and to understand — the worst yet most deeply human impulses a mother can have.

If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You was reviewed out of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. It opens in limited release on Oct. 10, before going nationwide Oct. 24.

UPDATE: Oct. 8, 2025, 4:16 p.m. EDT This review was first published on Jan. 28, 2025, as part of Mashable's Sundance festival coverage. It has been updated to reflect viewing options.

Tron: Ares has arrived to smother a confounding sci-fi franchise in star power, sex appeal, and nostalgia, hoping for fresh relevance. But right out the gate, it already feels behind the times. 

Sure, back in 1982 when Tron hit theaters, it was groundbreaking with its flashy visual effects and delving into the AI discourse well before it was part of our everyday news cycle. But now, 43 years later, Tron: Ares has nothing all that intriguing to say about technology. Instead, this third entry in a franchise that's always centered on corporate intrigue suggests that technology can be a tool or a weapon, depending on who wields it. 

Sure, plenty of media has said as much. But this movie boasts impossibly attractive stars like Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, Gillian Anderson, and Jeff Bridges. Plus, it's got a soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails that absolutely rocks. So, while Tron: Ares might have all the depth of a kiddie pool, it still bests Tron and the awful 2010 sequel, Tron: Legacy. (I'm not over what CG de-aging did to Jeff Bridges, and I'm not alone.)

What do you need to remember about Tron and Tron: Legacy to watch Tron: Ares?  Welcome back to The Grid. Credit: Leah Gallo / Disney Enterprises

The new film begins with a montage of news reports to catch audiences up on how Tron: Ares connects to where Tron: Legacy left off. But in case you need a bit more or a refresher: The first two films established that game designer (and eventual ENCOM CEO) Kevin Flynn (Bridges) got sucked into "The Grid," a virtual world where computer programs appear as people and hacking computer systems resembles hand-to-hand combat. 

By the end of the second film, Flynn was trapped in The Grid, but his son, Sam (Garrett Hedlund), and their AI buddy Quorra (Olivia Wilde) escaped, planning to lead ENCOM into a new age of excellence. However, at the start of Tron: Ares, Sam is long gone with his "mystery woman," and tech genius Eve Kim (Lee) is running ENCOM. 

What is Tron: Ares about?  Jared Leto as Ares in "Tron: Ares." Credit: Leah Gallo / Disney Enterprises

The short answer is corporate espionage. Reverse engineering the laser from Tron — which for whatever reason transports oranges and humans into The Grid — Eve is looking to bring things designed in the computer to the real world. However, this is also the goal of her business rival Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), CEO of Dillinger Systems and grandson of Ed Dillinger, the bad guy from Tron. 

They have different aims for these lasers that can 3D print anything from plants to vehicles to super soldiers in minutes. There's just one problem: Neither ENCOM nor Dillinger Systems can get these Grid-based things to last beyond 29 minutes. That's bad news for Ares, Dillinger's Master Control security system, because every time he's printed to complete a mission for Julian, he has 29 minutes in the real world and then dies, turning into pixelated ash. And for reasons I didn't understand in Tron or Tron: Legacy, programs feel pain. So, repeatedly, Tron: Ares shows Ares and his second-in-command, Athena (Turner-Smith), screaming in agony as they turn into dust in the wind. 

That repeated pain might be enough to prompt Ares to shift into self-preservation mode. But he's seeking Flynn's long-lost "Permanence Code" because Julian wants it for his warmongering. However, Ares hopes to pull a Quorra and speed off into the real world for good. Then, while cyberstalking Eve for the code's location, Ares goes all Eros and falls in love. He wants to live and for Eve not to be killed by Julian's merciless quest to be the best tech CEO, even if that means having her murdered by a rampaging Athena.

Tron: Ares is preachy and sometimes fun.  Greta Lee runs for her life in Disney's "Tron: Ares." Credit: Leah Gallo / Disney Enterprises

To the credit of screenwriter Jesse Witgutow, Tron: Ares has more real-world stakes than the previous two films, which were basically about a copyright dispute and who'd run ENCOM. In this film, the 3D printing capability could change the world for better or worse. To Julian, it's the perfect way to wage wars, printing off massive battle vehicles with an endless supply of Ares and Athena, who he tells his board are "100% expendable." Meanwhile, Eve is looking to solve world hunger by trying to create an orange tree in the Arctic. 

Don't think about how, even if she could, there's no logical reason that tree would then survive, Permanence Code or not. Tron movies are not for thinking. That's clear by how Witgutow spoon-feeds audiences the thesis, not only through a charming (albeit requisite) cameo from a sage classic Tron character, but also by having Ares say, "The thing about life…" before literally just explaining what he — and by extension us — should have learned from his journey.

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And yet, about an hour into this two-hour movie, I was enjoying myself. It wasn't so much the action, which director Joachim Rønning sprawls across The Grid and a real-world metropolis with an expected array of neon-red flare. It was a weird blend of cool nostalgia and dad-joke-level humor that warmed my cold, Tron-averse heart. For instance, Eve and Ares are fleeing an on-mission Athena, and Ares makes a goofy accidental pun by talking about his love for Depeche Mode. How did he get into Depeche Mode? Again, shut up. That's not what Tron: Ares is here for. The point is, he likes it. And in a very Jordan Catalano way, it's charming that Leto's once again got long hair (which for some reason is always in "wet look" mode) and a dim rocker-boy allure. 

Props to Greta Lee, because while the programs (Ares and Athena) are mostly stoic (when not turning to ash), she's got to carry the emotional weight of the movie as the human caught up in the center of all this mayhem. Peters brings plenty of tech bro energy, of course, but mostly of the megalomaniac man-baby kind. Arturo Castro, who stole scenes in the Road House reboot, makes for some of the biggest laughs as Eve's helper/comic relief. Turner-Smith is exciting as a full-metal badass (with great eye makeup), and Gillian Anderson takes on the thankless role of an underwritten female character, which has been part of the Tron franchise since its inception. Hey, you need someone to be shocked when the bad guy does something bad! 

Truly, the Nine Inch Nails soundtrack is reason enough to see Tron: Ares in IMAX.  Jodie Turner-Smith as Athena in Disney's "Tron: Ares." Credit: Leah Gallo / Disney Enterprises

If you're more into the Tron aesthetic than I am (which is very likely), then the IMAX presentation will surely thrill. The blend of CG and practical effects is seamless when it's meant to be. And when things take on an '80s look, it can be amusing in a nostalgic way. But that score will rattle your bones and raise goosebumps. 

On some level, Nine Inch Nails is an odd choice for a movie that has a character championing the songs of Depeche Mode (which does make a soundtrack appearance). But band members Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have been making scorching scores for movies like Challengers, Gone Girl, and The Social Network, winning an Oscar for the last. So there's also a level of "no duh" to this choice. And man, if you get nostalgic about The Crow soundtrack (on which Nine Inch Nails appeared), you'll resonate with Tron: Ares' score. 

The throbbing electronic music gives a darkness to the throwback vision of futuristic sci-fi. The score's driving sex appeal bolsters the growing yearning between Ares and Eve, even though they don't really have time — in this life or deletion battle — to explore it. And seeing Tron: Ares in IMAX means that score will pump right through you, past your pores and into your bloodstream. In that sense, it pulls you into the movie by allowing you to feel swallowed by something, like The Grid, and excited by its possibilities. Where the movie is beholden to IP and a placid message about great tech power meaning great tech responsibility, this soundtrack feels as ruthlessly savage and rebellious as "Closer."

All in all, Tron: Ares is heavy-handed, dunderheaded, and over earnest, but also occasionally funny, charming, sexy, and thrilling.

Tron: Ares opens in theaters on Oct. 10. 

What if you had 19 minutes before nuclear war kicked off? What could you possibly do to stop it? Or failing that, what unfinished business would you want to tackle? This is the nauseating question at the center of A House of Dynamite. Academy Award–winning director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) teams with Zero Day writer Noah Oppenheim — and an all-star cast — to show what it might look like if one of the United States' enemies launched a missile at one of our nation's major cities. 

In the blink of an eye, soldiers, politicians, and government officials go from having a totally run-of-the-mill day to participating in a moment that will define the lives of millions, in the U.S. and abroad. And all their decisions must happen in a 19-minute window. 

Idris Elba stars as the president of the United States, while the rest of his team (and beyond) is brought to life by Rebecca Ferguson, Greta Lee, Anthony Ramos, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Moses Ingram, Jason Clarke, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Kaitlyn Dever, and Tracy Letts. But make no mistake, this is not the kind of American movie that cheers, "Here comes POTUS to save the world."

Bigelow's work, which ranges from the trippy Strange Days and the propulsive Point Break to the intense Zero Dark Thirty and the earnest Detroit, isn't interested in feel-good fantasies. What she delivers with A House of Dynamite is a passionate and powerful call to disarm. But be warned, the movie around this message is nerve-shredding and pretty infuriating. 

A House of Dynamite plays out a nightmare scenario in a tense triptych.  Rebecca Ferguson as Captain Olivia Walker in "A House of Dynamite." Credit: Eros Hoagland / Netflix

Bigelow's latest film begins in Washington, D.C., on a sunny morning in which a flood of government workers casually go through security protocols to take up their positions at monitoring devices and computer screens. They carry baubles of their personal lives: an engagement ring ready to be proposed with, a small toy dinosaur from a flu-ish little boy, a cellphone ablaze with a photo of loved ones. These tokens of the world outside their cold situation rooms illustrate what each person here works for. Beyond the paycheck to cover the costs of apartments and doctors' appointments, their edict to make the world a better place means keeping the U.S. safe for the pregnant wife, sick son, or estranged daughter who has no idea what the sausage of peacemaking looks like. 

In a bustling first act, Oppenheim's script efficiently sketches out an array of characters who collaborate across situation rooms, secured phone lines, and crowded video calls to handle any crisis that hits. Yet the main focus of this section is Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson), a mom who relishes playing with her kid and giving motherly advice to a younger co-worker, but is all business in the White House Situation Room when news of the mysterious missile arrives. Not long after the bomb appears on their tracking screens, a voice over the conference call estimates 19 minutes until impact. 

This 19-minute window plays out in each section, focusing on a different group with a different character taking the lead. So just as A House of Dynamite nears the final countdown in the first act, it leaps back 20 minutes for a chapter called "Hitting a Bullet with a Bullet." The second act focuses on new-to-the-department Deputy National Security Advisor Jake Baerington (Gabriel Basso), who has the comically embarrassing distinction of being late to work on the biggest day of his life.

That means he's taking this world-defining Zoom call from his cellphone while racing to the office. While every other window is black in privacy mode or showing some grave general or another, Baerington's is at an unflattering low angle, shaking as he hustles to his station. In chapter one, that's actually pretty funny. But in chapter two, his frantic running is stressful because we already understand what is at stake. From there, he is our guide into the sweaty calls to foreign diplomats, trying to suss out who launched this missile so that the president might know how to best proceed. Then once again, as we near the end of the countdown, the clock resets.

The third chapter, titled "A House Full of Dynamite" (instead of A House of Dynamite) shifts to the president (Elba). For the first two-thirds of the film, he was only heard over the conference call. Now, what he's been up to is finally revealed. But this chapter is where the film begins to fall apart.

A House of Dynamite is suffocatingly tense, until it's just not.  Gabriel Basso as Deputy National Security Advisor Jake Baerington in "A House of Dynamite." Credit: Eros Hoagland / Netflix

For the first chapter, disembodied voices shout expository lines about the bomb's trajectory, timing, and likely kill count. As the movie progresses and the timeline resets, these voices become on-camera characters whose stories give greater context to their answers. It's an effective approach by Oppenheim, as we — like the characters — experience the first act bewildered by the news and the sheer flood of it. With the second and then the third act, we're not only teased with the catastrophic impact three times, but we're also given space to step back and better understand the possibilities of what comes next. It's a lecture, but exciting — even if all the answers boil down to "nothing good!" 

However, with a 112-minute runtime, A House of Dynamite tries our patience. The third act splits focus, revealing what's been going on with the president and the secretary of defense (Jared Harris). What was character-building in the first two acts feels like filler as we, the audience, grow more and more eager to see how this is going to turn out. The third act picks back up as these men make a move. Though not sharing the screen, Elba and Harris deliver performances that swiftly show the strain of these decisions, coupled with the tenderness that makes them impossible. 

To the credit of a sensational cast, the vexing pace of A House of Dynamite's final act is nearly made bearable because of their performances. The film zips from military installations around the world, grappling with this disaster. Yet Bigelow's clarity of vision keeps clear who is who and what is what. But at a certain point, A House of Dynamite becomes intentionally aggravating. 

You'll hate the ending of A House of Dynamite. Credit: Eros Hoagland / Netflix

I predict audiences will hate this ending, as I hated this ending. But I'll say this: It makes sense. 

With A House of Dynamite, Oppenheim and Bigelow set out to explain in a big, flashy Hollywood fashion exactly what a catastrophe a nuclear war would be. They basically give us plenty of sugar through star power and suspense to help the medicine go down.

Perhaps every generation since the atom bomb's creation has needed such a reminder in compelling art. Watching this movie, I thought a lot about the novel Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank, which I read in high school and still think of, probably too often. A House of Dynamite shows us a noble, handsome collection of soldiers and public servants coming together to protect the nation, its people, and their own families. And all the safeguards that are set up to make sure the worst won't happen are not enough to guarantee it won't happen. 

A House of Dynamite gets finger-waggy in its anti-nuclear arms messaging. But that's not the frustrating bit. Bigelow and Oppenheim set up a feast of big questions. It's not that they've bitten off more than they can chew, but that they've decided it's not for them to chew. With this frustrating finale, they leave us without answers, forced to find our own.

While A House of Dynamite will have a brief theatrical run, as a Netflix original it will chiefly be watched at home. How much time for meditation on the movie's message will at-home audiences have before the streaming service switches over to an algorithm-approved bit of entertainment to distract us?

A House of Dynamite was reviewed out of the New York Film Festival. The movie will open in limited release on Oct. 10, before debuting on Netflix on Oct. 24.

Babygirl and Triangle of Sadness star Harris Dickinson makes his directorial debut with Urchin, a raw, humanising portrait of homelessness and the cycle of addiction, which he also wrote and cameos in.

In the film, we meet a valiantly optimistic young Londoner called Mike (Frank Dillane, Fear the Walking Dead, The Essex Serpent), whose attempts to find and maintain secure housing are undercut by a cycle of self-destructive actions and a relapse into substance abuse. As Dillane embodies Mike's personal journey through an impeccable performance, Dickinson brings the statistics to life — according to Financial Times via The Big Issue, one in every 200 households in the UK is experiencing homelessness — while raising awareness of the issue.

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Drawing on his own experiences growing up around people experiencing addiction, Dickinson rejects a catch-all representation of a person experiencing housing and financial instability, instead focusing on the elements that make his protagonist's situation unique. The result is a powerful, specific, and vulnerable film about difficult circumstances and vicious cycles.

What is Urchin about? Credit: Picturehouse Entertainment

Hinging on a complex performance by excellent lead Frank Dillane, Urchin sees Dickinson reject clichés often used to portray people experiencing housing instability. Mike is a lost but charming young man who takes pains to connect with the community, even in the cold bustle of inner-city London. He has semi-secure spots to stash his belongings during the day, and enjoys a chat with everyone from his old friend (played by Dickinson) to charity shop attendants to The Big Issue vendors.

However, when our protagonist commits a sudden, desperate act of violence against helping hand Simon (Okezie Morro), he's arrested, released on probation, assigned temporary housing, and must try to hold down a stressful job in a hotel kitchen to keep a roof over his head. Though Mike tries to get back on his feet, listening to mindfulness CDs and meeting new supportive friends, he's also pulled back into a self-destructive path of old habits and substance abuse as his financial and accommodation options dwindle. 

Here, Dickinson dips into the strained UK council system itself through Mike's experiences with government-funded temporary housing. Record numbers of households are living in temporary accommodation in England in 2025, with over 300,000 waiting for requested council support to prevent or relieve homelessness. Mike knows this system of eligibility and priority in and out, and is constantly watching time run out on secure housing, uncertain where he'll be headed next.

But again, it's Dickinson's focus on Mike as a person that humanises such statistics and gives us unique insight into the situation.

Harris Dickinson tells a raw, funny, and humanising story. Harris Dickinson wrote, directed, and acts in "Urchin." Credit: Picturehouse Entertainment

While Dickinson undeniably draws inspiration from iconic British filmmakers like Ken Loach, Mike Leigh, and Shane Meadows, his approach and writing is less heavy than his famously bleak social realist predecessors, especially with Dillane's often comedic performance. Dickinson draws on his own experience not only of growing up around people experiencing addiction but also of working with homelessness charities in London. Having grown up in London, Dickinson has worked with shelter Project Parker and with homelessness charity Under One Sky, establishing its Hackney chapter. (Dillane has also worked with Under One Sky and London's Single Homeless Project.) With this knowledge, Dickinson and Dillane manage to find moments of comedy and vulnerability amid the seriousness, boosting Urchin's sense of authenticity.

There's a strong emphasis on Mike's daily London life. Dickinson often has director of photography Josée Deshaies follow Mike from across the street, an effect that sees our protagonist swallowed in the capital's characteristic commotion, or we locate him in the mayhem through a hypnotic slow zoom. Production designer Anna Rhodes and sound designer Ian Wilson craft an instantly familiar London, with street scenes bolstered by the roar of traffic and the sound of an earnest preacher. Dickinson leans sparingly on Alan Myson's mesmerising electronic score, but when it hits, it hits.

Notably, Dickinson doesn't really let us into Mike's past and the complex reasons why a person may become homeless — all we get from the character is "it's complicated." Instead, the director focuses on Mike's fragile present, his water-treading actions — whether they're the best ideas or not. As he attempts to find his footing, Mike is pulled toward old vices that become overwhelming. And it's this inner tension that draws out an exceptional performance from Dillane.

Frank Dillane gives an impeccable performance in Urchin. Frank Dillane brings levity and rawness to Mike. Credit: Picturehouse Entertainment

Despite being constantly moved along, overlooked, and having to craft his own sense of stability and control, Mike's ability to charm and connect with people even in his darkest days gives Dillane plenty to work with. Mike's emotional and mental state fluctuates throughout the film, but Dillane identifies the moments of levity and humour in Dickinson's script to keep Urchin on its feet.

Where we see Mike at his best is making new friends like Andrea (Megan Northam), whom he meets in a casual litter pickup gig on the South Bank, and his fellow hotel kitchen staff, who deliver the sweetest sequence in the film, involving karaoke, sparklers, and late night hot chips. Dickinson also places emphasis on the disrespect Mike experiences from privileged fellow Londoners, from diners making pompous demands of him to people on the street who are reluctant to acknowledge him at all. In these moments, Dickinson stays with Mike's reaction, fully focused on Dillane conveying Mike's inner turmoil and understandable frustration at forced subservience or invisibility.

Through this complex and distinctive performance from Dillane, captured through Deshaies' exquisite cinematography, Dickinson builds a specific and human portrait of homelessness. The ongoing cost of living crisis and the housing crisis means homelessness is reaching critical levels in the UK, with real people's lives sitting behind each statistic — despite former home secretary Suella Braverman's offensive comments describing rough sleeping as a "lifestyle choice." What Dickinson brilliantly manages to do is simply show one person going through it, attempting to break his cycle of self-destructive behaviour while attempting to find a secure living situation. It's a strong reminder that Mike could be any of us. 

Urchin opens in limited release on Oct. 10, before opening in more cities across the U.S. on Oct. 17.

UPDATE: Oct. 8, 2025, 2:03 p.m. EDT This article was originally published on Sept. 23, 2025. It has been updated to include current viewing information.

Americans love the story of a charming con man. From Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to The Talented Mr. Ripley, Paper Moon to Catch Me If You Can, there's an undeniable appeal to witnessing a man make a fortune by outsmarting others. Underneath the surface of these seductive stories is the sly suggestion that the American Dream is rigged, far easier to achieve if you have money to begin with. And so inherently, the con-man story is one of an underdog who survives by his charm and wits alone. 

What is Derek Cianfrance doing making a con-man comedy? The American writer/director has built his career with daring dramas, like the brutal breakup movie Blue Valentine, the crime drama The Place Beyond the Pines, and the romantic offering The Light Between Oceans, starring serious leading men like Ryan Gosling and Michael Fassbender. Yet his latest is a romantic comedy starring Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst that is inspired by a real-life con man and convicted criminal whose crime spree coverage labeled him "Roofman." 

SEE ALSO: 11 best true crime docs about scammers, con artists, and deadly deceptions

The issue is not that such a switch-up in genre is unexpected from Cianfrance, though it is. It's that Roofman is utterly confounding in its execution. After days of mulling it over following the film's Toronto International Film Festival premiere, I can't decide if Cianfrance has failed in making a con-man comedy that stands up to the greats, or if he's succeeded in creating a shrewd entry in the genre that condemns its core concept. 

Roofman reveals the true story of serial cat burglar Jeffrey Manchester. Credit: Paramount Pictures

Between 1997 and 2005, the former U.S. Army Reservist turned his attention to a spree of robberies of fast food places and big retail stores, breaking in through their roofs. Through voiceover, Jeffrey (Tatum) confesses he'd hit 45 McDonald's before he was arrested. But in the film's opening robbery, he's not just an armed robber; he's a nice armed robber.

Before forcing three McDonald's employees into the walk-in, where they will be held captive until police arrive, he suggests they put on their coats. Hell, he even lends one to the shift manager (Tony Revolori in a nothing role), because the poor guy didn't plan on being held hostage in a fridge that day! 

Through voiceover, Jeffrey pleads his case to the audience — he was doing all this to support his ex-wife and three young kids — coolly glossing over the trauma that even a nice intruder with a gun might cause his victims. From there, Roofman practically races the first act of Jeff's arrest, conviction, and first few years in prison. The inciting incident of the film is when he breaks out of jail in an admittedly amusing escape sequence that involves gumption, cleverness, and some criminal crafting (needle, thread, and spray paint). From there, he's a fugitive, considered armed and dangerous. So naturally he breaks into the roof of a Toys "R" Us to hole up for months.  

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It's a preposterous premise that's mostly true. Also true: While on the lam, Manchester made new friends, including a church-going girlfriend who knew him under the alias John Zorn. Cianfrance, who writes and directs Roofman, therefore channels the second act into firm romantic-comedy territory. An attractive and nonthreatening leading man woos a beautiful and kind woman — in this case, single mother of two Leigh Wainscott (Dunst). They share clumsy but cute flirtations, good sex, and heart-to-hearts about what it means to be a good parent and a good person. But in this story, something sinister slithers. 

Is Roofman absolving or evaluating Jeffrey Manchester? Credit: Paramount Pictures

With his goofy smile and ease with physical comedy, Tatum is a smart choice to play Manchester. Beloved for roles in everything from Magic Mike to Logan Lucky and 21 Jump Street, he's generally cast as the good guy, who, even when he's doing wrong, has his heart in the right place. For much of Roofman's runtime, an affable Tatum plays that part. As John, Jeffrey easily charms Leigh, her daughters, and her group of church friends, which includes a very out-of-his-niche Ben Mendelsohn as a cheery pastor and Uzo Aduba as his chipper wife. But much of what Jeffrey says to win them over includes outright lies about who he is, what he does for a living, and, naturally, where he lives. 

Of course, plenty of rom-coms dating back to Shakespeare's Twelfth Night have a lie exposed as the low point sure to threaten a happily-ever-after. But few of those rom-com lies involve glossing over a 40+ string of violent criminal offenses.

As Roofman chugged along, I grew increasingly uneasy about Jeffrey's superficial charm and how he'd rationalize away his lies and crimes by insisting he's a good guy at heart. The way his actions impacted others was not something his dialogue or voiceover touched on. Instead, within the film, he tries to create a balance by donating toys (that he stole) to a charity or stealthily changing things around the toy store to help out his oblivious girlfriend. As I watched, I wondered what Cianfrance was trying to tell us about the real Manchester, and by extension, our own American fascination with the con man. Could this Jeffrey be redeemed? Or would he be exposed as a liar so good he fooled even himself? 

Roofman takes a dark turn that fans of the bouncy ad campaign won't see coming.  Credit: Paramount Pictures

For much of the second act, the romance with Leigh suggests that all Jeffrey needs is a second chance to make the right choice. But reconnecting with an old criminal pal (LaKeith Stanfield) and tracking the movements of the cranky Toys "R" Us manager (Peter Dinklage) suggests that Jeffrey might just go on the run again.

The cops are closing in. Time is running out. So Jeffrey makes a decision that can't be so easily written off as nice and is instead vicious and selfish. A prolonged climax fitting Cianfrance's reputation for breath-snatching drama tears down the con-man facade of the "polite" robber. And yet, Roofman's resolution seems to backpedal with something softer as Leigh resurfaces.  

As I left the theater, I wondered if Cianfrance got into an artistic battle with producers about how dark this star-fronted crime comedy could get. Was the end a feel-good compromise that muddled the writer/director's intentions? Or was this weirdly warm resolution meant to excuse the character's crimes in the name of a good time, as so many con-man movies have done before?

After much reflection, I think it might be a third, more complicated option, inspired by the churchgoers represented in Roofman. 

Over the film's end credits, Cianfrance includes footage of the real Leigh and the real pastor, among others, talking about the John Zorn they knew. Within these brief clips, the lines between sin and crime get blurred, and a message not so much about redemption but about forgiveness arises. Perhaps, while Jeffrey is the center of this movie, he's not its hero as much as the focus of its fable.

Credit: Paramount Pictures

If so, Cianfrance uses the con-man conceit much as Jeffrey uses John Zorn, as a ruse to lure people in so he might pursue another agenda. Roofman is not another tale of a crafty and enviable slippery con man who gets off scot-free, generally to the excitement of the audience. Instead, this intriguing filmmaker muddies the narrative by exploring the hopeful perspective of redemption alongside a frank depiction of how such an ideal might be abused.  

In the end, Roofman is not a charming romantic comedy or the winsome crime caper promised by its trailer and sunny yellow posters. It's something darker, more mercurial and dense. What it has to say about con men in general or Jeffrey Manchester specifically is left in the hands of the viewer, as Cianfrance himself rejects giving this twisty tale of crime, love, and big choices a simple conclusion. Which is to say, Roofman is a frustrating watch, refusing to fit into the genre expectations. But that might be precisely the point. 

Roofman was reviewed out of its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The movie will open in theaters Oct. 10.

How do you encapsulate the life of work of John Candy in a single film? The Canadian comedian, who first thrilled TV audiences on SCTV, made a slew of deeply hilarious and heartfelt movies like Splash, Uncle Buck, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, The Great Outdoors, and Cool Runnings. He was a comedy titan beloved on and offscreen.

John Candy: I Like Me attempts to explore all this through a cavalcade of clips from Candy's movies and TV appearances, as well as interviews with his family and famous friends like Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Mel Brooks, Macaulay Culkin, and Tom Hanks. Notably, this documentary is directed by Hanks' son, Colin Hanks (and produced by the very famous Canadian movie star Ryan Reynolds). Yet for all the star power and the presumably personal connection Hanks has to the subject, John Candy: I Like Me lacks depth.

SEE ALSO: TIFF 2025 preview: 20 films you'll want to see for yourself (and how)

Sure, you get Candy's story. But Colin Hanks, who previously helmed the doc Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends), has little vision here. So, the movie feels like a pale reflection of the man who inspired it. 

Still, John Candy: I Like Me might be a must-see for comedy fans.

Candy's death in 1994, at the age of 43, sent shockwaves through Canada and beyond. He was a comedy legend, adored not only for all the laughs he brought us, but also because of the incredible heart he brought to the screen. Speaking for myself, watching Candy made me feel safe.

Whether he was squaring off against an intensely inquisitive Culkin in Uncle Buck, eating an obscenely large steak in The Great Outdoors, or hollering at the Jamaican bobsled team in Cool Runnings, his comedy created a space of comfort and joy. I was a kid when he died, and I remember weeping because I felt like I knew him. I felt like he was mine. That was a gift Candy gave to his audiences. He seemed an open book, and we were ready to read it all.

John Candy: I Like Me shows the pain hidden behind this jovial persona, much of it to do with the comedian's unprocessed grief over the death of his father, who died on Candy's fifth birthday. His widow, Rosemary Hobor, his children, Christopher and Jennifer, and his closest friends speak to how this early loss reverberated throughout Candy's life. But Hanks isn't able to create a flowing thread of this struggle with grief and joy. Instead, the director presents the film in segments that jump back and forth in Candy's life. While informative, this haphazard structure and stiff approach lacks the energy of Candy himself.

Still, comedy fans who want to know more about this giant in the genre will want to see what is offered. But they should manage their expectations.

Colin Hanks lacks focus in John Candy: I Like Me. 

There's plenty of interesting information in this documentary. SCTV alum like Levy, Short, O'Hara, and Dave Thomas happily recount Candy's early days in comedy, a time when he was nicknamed "Johnny Toronto" because of his bravado. Thomas in particular recounts a story about how Candy rented a stretch limo to posture as a big shot, even when he couldn't pay his bills. Murray shares another tale about the comically expensive home decor Candy accidentally committed to in his salad days. These anecdotes are wonderful, enlightening, and reveal a side to Candy his audiences didn't get to see. Sadly, they are too few and far between. 

Too often, the film becomes a barrage of people saying the same general niceties, without giving specific stories. Beyond feeling redundant, this approach also creates the sense of a mournful eulogy. This maudlin attitude is kicked off in the film's start, with footage from Candy's funeral and Aykroyd's actual eulogy playing as solemn voiceover. It's a staunch reminder that all that follows will lead to an early, tragic demise. A pall is cast over the pile-on of compliments. And it left me wishing Hanks had dug deeper. 

For instance, many folks say that Candy sought to make every on-set experience good for everyone involved, cast and crew. Why not share some specifics? Find a crew member who decades later can recount a time Candy connected with them? It's not that I don't believe the claims of these co-stars and colleagues. But too often, Hanks rests on these vague reflections instead of probing further for better storytelling.

John Candy: I Like Me works best when Candy is front and center.

The most revealing moments of the documentary end up being archival interviews where Candy speaks for himself. Insensitive reporters ask him fatphobic questions about his weight, and you can see the sting in his eyes. Candy's wife then shares insight that his doctors urged him to lose weight, but Hollywood agents suggested if he did, it'd hurt his career. 

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That's an intriguing area: how show business held up and hurt this star. But Hanks only brushes on it, pivoting back to Candy's paternal grief and coping mechanisms of overeating, drinking, and smoking. Rather than create a complex tapestry of the comedian, these segments feel strangely patchwork, stitched together clumsily. Then, Hanks — as suggested by the title — refers to Candy's movies for a summation of his legacy.

Quoting Del Griffith, the character Candy memorably played in Planes, Trains and Automobiles, "I like me" suggests Candy was comfortable in his own skin, when much of the movie suggests he carried great pain and fear his whole life. That is not a tragedy. That is not something to be glossed over. Because Candy didn't let that pain make him a cynic. Instead, he used it as fuel to make the world laugh, to ease our pain, to feel a fatherly warmth he himself lost at such an early age. That's incredibly brave, inspiring, and human in the best way. But this doc loses that amid its flurry of half-baked segments.

Hanks has great elements in John Candy: I Like Me. But how he pulls them together lacks showmanship, elegance, and a personal connection. If I didn't know going in who the director was, I'd assume it was someone who never knew Candy, because the film has that tiresome veneer of fawning that often happens when a director idlizes their subject. The impact of such a lens is that it flattens not only the lows of a subject's life, but also its highs. The contrast is lost amid the eagerness to keep things admirable. (Props again to Robbie Williams with Better Man, who literally allowed himself to be made a dancing ape to better communicate his wild rise and falls.) 

In the end, I value learning more about Candy's life, welcoming a greater context to his onscreen persona and even his signature chuckle. But walking away from John Candy: I Like Me, I couldn't help but wish for more.

John Candy: I Like Me debuts on Prime Video on Oct. 10.

UPDATE: Oct. 8, 2025, 4:49 p.m. EDT "John Candy: I Like Me" was reviewed out of its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. This article was originally published on Sept. 8, 2025, and has been updated to include the latest viewing options.

SAVE $20: As of Oct. 10, the Sonos Era 100 speaker is on sale at Amazon for $179. This is 10% off its list price of $199.

Opens in a new window Credit: Sonos Sonos Era 100 $179 at Amazon
$199 Save $20 Get Deal

Prime Big Deal Days may be over - and so begins the wait until Black Friday — but the time between isn't completely without discounts. Even after Amazon's October Prime Day sale, we're still finding some nice deals at the retailer. The Sonos Era 100 speaker is one item that's still at its Prime Day price, so there's no better time than now to make your move on it.

Usually the Sonos Era 100 is listed for $199, but it's received a $20 discount that's dropped it down to $179. This is the same price that it was over the October Prime Day shopping event, but it may not stay there for long. If you've been looking to add it to your sound system at home, you'll want to act fast to grab it at this price. Both the black and white speakers are discounted to this price as well.

SEE ALSO: Mashable readers know best — here's what our readers bought during October Prime Day

Whether you want it for playing music or to turn your living room into a surround sound setup for when you're watching on TV, the Sonos Era 100 boasts excellent sound quality thanks to its next-gen dual-tweeter acoustic architecture and 25% larger midwoofer. Its compact size can fit in a variety of places around your home as well, from a bookshelf to the side of a table. Its size is especially helpful if you want to pick up two speakers and pair them up to create a compact surround sound system in a room.

It may be at its Prime Day price right now, but it might not stay there for much longer. Don't miss out on this deal on the Sonos Era 100 at Amazon.

There are plenty more deals still available at Amazon after October Prime Day alongside this one. Check out our breakdown of 200+ October Prime Day deals still live to see if anything else that's caught your eye is still available.

SAVE $200: As of Oct. 10, the Apple 2025 MacBook Air 15-inch is on sale for $999 at Amazon. That's a 17% savings and the lowest-ever price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple 2025 MacBook Air 15-inch $999 at Amazon
$1,119 Save $120 Get Deal

Prime Day was truly a treat this year, with two days of incredible discounts across anything you can think of. Apple products saw some great discounts, especially across iPads, AirPods, and AirTags. But it's the MacBooks that stole the show. And as of Oct. 10, there is still an impressive discount on the 2025 MacBook Air 15-inch, priced at just $999. That's only $30 more than the lowest price it reached during Prime Day.

This price applies to all available colors: starlight, sky blue, midnight, and silver. This is also for the 256GB SSD storage option, without AppleCare+. Need more storage? All size options are $200 below their normal prices.

If you’re after a lightweight, reliable laptop for everyday use, this one’s hard to beat. It’s thin, powerful, and has a battery life that can last up to 18 hours. The screen is great quality too, thanks to the 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display that makes everything look bright and colorful. It even has an impressive 12MP front camera with built-in Spatial Audio, meaning video calls sound as good as they look. And let's not forget Center Stage, the Apple feature that keeps you perfectly centered during video calls.

You’ll also find all the ports you need: Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe, and a headphone jack. It even has support for two external displays, so if you prefer a bigger work setup, you're all set with this MacBook.

Get this MacBook deal from the Amazon website now.

SAVE $90: As of Oct. 10, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is on sale for $189.99 on Amazon. That's a 32% savings on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 $189.99 at Amazon
$279.99 Save $90 Get Deal

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 was recently replaced as the latest model in the lineup with the release of the Galaxy Watch 8, so you know what this means? Big savings on the 7. The 7 has been a beloved smartwatch for a long time, and if you don't need the newest model in the lineup, you really can't go wrong with this one. Not to mention, it's still sitting at its Prime Day price.

As of Oct. 10, the Galaxy Watch 7 is just $189.99, its lowest-ever price. This is a savings of $90. For this price, you can choose between the white and green colored bands, and you'll get the 44mm screen.

This smartwatch does a bit of everything, and as a fitness tracker, it's top-notch. For exercise tracking, it compares your latest run or bike ride to your previous one, so you can see how you’re progressing. And each morning, you get an Energy Score that shows how ready you are for the day based on your recent activity and rest.

It also features improved heart rate tracking that filters out movement for more accurate readings, plus sleep tracking that helps you build better habits and can detect signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea. And it helps you to improve your health too. Wellness Tips uses your watch data to give simple, useful suggestions to help you stay on track with your goals.

Get the Galaxy Watch 7 from Amazon.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition features athletes with talented feet.

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. Here's a hint for today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Pitch type

• Green: Important for receptions

• Blue: Winter sports techniques

• Purple: Sports stars and TV personalities

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Fastball

• Green: Football passing routes

• Blue: Alpine skiing disciplines

• Purple: Athletes to win "Dancing with the Stars"

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections: Sports Edition #382 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Fastball - CHEESE, FOUR-SEAMER, GAS, HEAT

• Football passing routes - DRAG, POST, SLANT, WHEEL

• Alpine skiing disciplines - COMBINED, DOWNHILL, SLALOM, SUPER-G

• Athletes to win "Dancing with the Stars" - DRIVER, OHNO, SHUMPERT, YAMAGUCHI

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.

What I love most about HBO Max is that even though I've been watching its shows and movies for more than 25 years, when I start digging back into its library, I'm amazed to uncover things I've never heard of or had nearly forgotten about. Of course, it also continues to crank out excellent new shows, but the breadth of options it provides is still impressive.