Technology

Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer.

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 today: Hints and answers for June 6 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's The Mini crossword answers for June 6, 2025 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

To educate.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter E.

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...

EDIFY.

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 June 6

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.

If you're reading this, you're looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game.

Strands 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 preferrined pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for June 6 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for June 6 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: String's attached

The words are game-related.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words are ways to use a popular toy.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is YoYo Trick

Featured Video For You Strands 101: How to win NYT’s latest word game NYT Strands word list for June 6

• Breakaway

• Sleeper

• YoYo Trick

• Pinwheel

• Elevator

• Seasick

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.

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.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

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's The Mini crossword answers for June 6 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: Journalism roles

• Green: Usual

• Blue: A conference

• Purple: Contain popular animal breeds

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: Newspaper jobs

• Green: Everyday

• Blue: What "Con" might mean

• Purple: Ending with kinds of dogs

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 #726 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Newspaper jobs: COLUMNIST, EDITOR, PHOTOGRAPHER, REPORTER

• Everyday: COMMON, REGULAR, ROUTINE, STANDARD

• What "Con" might mean: CONVENTION, CRIMINAL, DRAWBACK, SWINDLE

• Ending with kinds of dogs: NEWSHOUND, SHADOWBOXER, SNICKERDOODLE, TRENDSETTER

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 June 6

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.

SAVE $50: As of June 6, the Fitbit Versa 4 is on sale for $149.95 at Amazon. That's a 25% saving on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Fitbit Fitbit Versa 4 $149.95 at Amazon
$199.95 Save $50 Get Deal

Fitbit is one of the most recognizable names in the fitness tracker market, and for good reason. They are great watches with a wide range of functions. But if you're looking for an all-rounder tracker with both fitness and lifestyle features, I recommend the Versa 4.

And as of June 6, you can find the Fitbit Versa 4 for just $149.95 at Amazon. This deal can be found in all color options: black, pink sand, and waterfall blue.

SEE ALSO: Every single Fitbit is on sale for up to 25% off

I've tested this Fitbit a lot, and in my opinion, it's an excellent choice afor just about everyone. Whether you're hoping to run a 5K or want to get some insights into your sleeping habits, this watch has a bit of everything.

There are over 40 sports tracking modes that include running, swimming, cycling, and general workout features. However, it's worth noting that the battery life isn't as long-lasting for long-distance activities as the likes of Garmin or Coros. So if you're looking to push into marathon territory, check out the Forerunner range instead.

Other features of the Versa include heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and built-in GPS so you can head outside for activities without your phone. And style-wise, the Versa 4 ticks all the boxes. It has a bright AMOLED display with vibrant colors and images and is touchscreen-controlled, so it's easy to use as well as stylish on your wrist.

Get this Fitbit deal on Amazon.

The best tech deals right now, hand-picked by Mashable's team of experts

• Roku Ultra 4K Ultimate Streaming Player (2024 Release) — $79.99 (List Price $99.99)

• Beats Pill Bluetooth Speaker — $99.95 (List Price $149.95)

• Roborock Qrevo Master Robot Vacuum and Mop — $899.99 (List Price $1599.99)

• Apple AirTag (4-Pack) — $74.99 (List Price $99.00)

• DualSense Edge Wireless Controller — $169.00 (List Price $199.99)

TL;DR: Live stream Musetti vs. Alcaraz in the 2025 French Open for free on 9Now, France TV, or Servus TV. Access these free streaming platforms from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2025 French Open is coming to a dramatic conclusion. Sabalenka is meeting Gauff in the women's final this weekend, and the men's semi finals look set to be pretty special.

Musetti vs. Alcaraz is the first matchup. Musetti has looked great so far, but can he overcome the defending champion? You can follow all the action from Roland-Garros without spending anything.

If you want to watch Musetti vs. Alcaraz in the 2025 French Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Musetti vs. Alcaraz for free

Musetti vs. Alcaraz in the 2025 French Open is available to live stream for free on a number of platforms:

• Australia — 9now

• Austria — ServusTV

• France — France TV

These services are geo-restricted, but anyone can access these free streaming platforms with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in another country, meaning you can stream the 2025 French Open for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2025 French Open for free by following these simple steps:

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

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Australia, Austria, or France

4. Connect to 9Now, Servus TV, France TV

5. Watch the 2025 French Open for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer pretty generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Roland-Garros without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to live stream Musetti vs. Alcaraz (plus the rest of the 2025 French Open) before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming services from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for sport?

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

• Servers in 105 countries

• 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

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $139 and includes an extra four months for free — 61% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month subscription for just $12.95 (including money-back guarantee).

Live stream Musetti vs. Alcaraz in the 2025 French Open for free with ExpressVPN.

SAVE $30: As of June 6, Bose QuietComfort earbuds are on sale for $149 at Amazon. This deal saves you 17% on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Bose Bose QuietComfort Earbuds $149 at Amazon
$179 Save $30 Get Deal

Deals on earbuds are aplenty at Amazon right now, with discounts on Beats, Samsung, and Soundcore. There's something for everyone, and if you're on the hunt for fantastic noise cancellation, look no further than the Bose QuietComfort earbuds.

As of June 6, these earbuds are reduced by $30, down to $149. They come in four colors: black, chilled lilac, twilight blue, and white smoke.

SEE ALSO: Save $50 on the Bose Ultra Open earbuds at Amazon

The noise cancellation is designed to block out any and all distractions, creating an immersive listening experience. These earbuds will block out the annoying chatter, so you don't need to turn up your music.You'll also get up to 8.5 hours of listening time on the go, and with a quick 20-minute top-up charge, you get an extra two hours. Style-wise, like most, these earbuds come with multiple ear tips so they fit comfortably. Not to mention, a secure fit means they are better for sports such as running or gym workouts.

And one of our favorite features is the customizable tap controls. Adjust the volume, skip tracks, or pause your music with ease. And the Bose QCE app offers more personalization options to tweak EQ settings and check battery life.

Find this fantastic audio deal at Amazon.

The best tech deals right now, hand-picked by Mashable's team of experts

• Roku Ultra 4K Ultimate Streaming Player (2024 Release) — $79.99 (List Price $99.99)

• Beats Pill Bluetooth Speaker — $99.95 (List Price $149.95)

• Roborock Qrevo Master Robot Vacuum and Mop — $899.99 (List Price $1599.99)

• Apple AirTag (4-Pack) — $74.99 (List Price $99.00)

• DualSense Edge Wireless Controller — $169.00 (List Price $199.99)

SAVE $75: As of June 6, the Amazon eero 6+ router is on sale for $224.99 at Amazon. That's a 25% saving on list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon eero 6+ $224.99 at Amazon
$299.99 Save $75 Get Deal

Life is too short for a bad connection. So make slow streaming, buffering, and dropped FaceTime calls a thing of the past, and upgrade to a mesh WiFi system.

As of June 6, you can find a great deal on the eero 6+ mesh router system at Amazon. This product is currently reduced to $224.99, saving you 25% on the list price. This discount is specific to the three-pack option, but you can find deals across all bundles.

SEE ALSO: Get the Nintendo Switch 2 online at Target

A mesh WiFi system is the perfect way to eliminate dead spots in your home, and is ideal for when you need the WiFi to reach a long way from the router, or through very thick walls. The setup includes a main router and extra nodes (satellites) placed around your home. They work together to provide reliable WiFi coverage all over your home.

The eero 6+ is an exceptional router system that offers gigabit WiFi speeds at an affordable price. It is backward-compatible with older eero devices, making it flexible for all home setups. It boasts WiFi 6 technology and an extra boost from the 160 MHz radio channel, so the eero 6+ ensures fast and reliable connectivity for the entire household. The TrueMesh technology reduces dead spots and dropped signals, keeping your smart home running smoothly even when you’re away.

And the setup is super easy, taking just minutes by using the eero app.

Get this impressive WiFi setup from Amazon now.

The best tech deals right now, hand-picked by Mashable's team of experts

• Roku Ultra 4K Ultimate Streaming Player (2024 Release) — $79.99 (List Price $99.99)

• Beats Pill Bluetooth Speaker — $99.95 (List Price $149.95)

• Roborock Qrevo Master Robot Vacuum and Mop — $899.99 (List Price $1599.99)

• Apple AirTag (4-Pack) — $74.99 (List Price $99.00)

• DualSense Edge Wireless Controller — $169.00 (List Price $199.99)

SAVE $50: As of June 6, Bose Ultra Open earbuds are on sale for $249 at Amazon. That's a saving of 17% on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Bose Bose Ultra Open Earbuds $249 at Amazon
$299 Save $50 Get Deal

Open earbuds are the latest technology to take the audio market by storm. Allowing you to listen to your music and podcasts while also remaining aware of your surroundings is a big safety plus, and they're growing in popularity.

As of June 6, the Bose Ultra Open earbuds are reduced to $249, saving you $50 on list price. There are seven colors to choose from, all at the same reduced price.

SEE ALSO: I tested sleep earbuds for over a month: Here are the 3 best pairs

They work by resting just outside your ears rather than fitting inside the ear canal like standard designs. This positioning uses Bose’s open-ear audio technology to direct sound precisely toward your ears, allowing you to hear music clearly without blocking external noise. This type of earbud is fantastic for running, walking, and any outdoor activity where you need to remain aware of your surroundings. They're also water resistant, so there won't be any issues on rainy days.

This design doesn't mean you'll be scrimping on sound quality; in fact, it's quite the opposite. Sound quality is second to none, as is the battery life. Enjoy up to seven hours of play time, and an extra 2.5 hours with the charging case.

Get this deal at Amazon.

The best tech deals right now, hand-picked by Mashable's team of experts

• Roku Ultra 4K Ultimate Streaming Player (2024 Release) — $79.99 (List Price $99.99)

• Beats Pill Bluetooth Speaker — $99.95 (List Price $149.95)

• Roborock Qrevo Master Robot Vacuum and Mop — $899.99 (List Price $1599.99)

• Apple AirTag (4-Pack) — $74.99 (List Price $99.00)

• DualSense Edge Wireless Controller — $169.00 (List Price $199.99)

Samsung launched its One UI 8 beta late last week to the Galaxy S25 series late last week. It’s an open beta, so anyone can try it, and that’s exactly what I did. As you’ve no doubt ascertained from the headline, my goal here is to show you all the fun new stuff that One UI 8 is bringing to the table for Galaxy users.

If you want to try the beta yourself, simply download and install the Samsung Members app (assuming you have a Galaxy S25 phone). In the app, you’ll be able to enroll in the open beta. Once enrolled, simply check for a software update — which you can do right from the app — and install the One UI 8 beta. After the phone is updated, reboot, and you’ll be met with One UI 8.

Unlike One UI 7, the beta doesn’t have any massive new design changes, like we expect to see with iOS 26 and Android 16. In fact, I let my wife mess around with my phone a few times over the weekend and didn’t tell her that I was on One UI 8. She never noticed, and I’d wager most folks wouldn’t either. So, if you want a one-line review of One UI 8, I would tell you that it’s all about iterative refinements rather than something new. 

With that said, there are plenty of changes under the hood, and you’re probably curious what they look like. So, without further delay, here are all the new features and updates that come with One UI 8.

Quick Share overhaul Credit: Joe Hindy / Mashable

Samsung's Quick Share function has received a full overhaul. In place of the old version, the new UI includes two screens. One is dedicated to sharing and the other is dedicated to receiving. To it see it, pick a file out of your phone and share it to Quick Share to open the UI and get started.

On the Receive side, your phone will immediately start looking for another phone that has engaged in Quick Share to share a file to your phone. The screen is super basic and easy to use, with a quick link to the Settings so you can change who can and can’t share with you.

For the Send side, the file you want to share is shown and your phone lists nearby devices that can receive the file. Alternatively, you can generate a QR code that briefly uploads the file to Samsung’s cloud servers. Then, the other device can scan the QR code and download the file. In all, it works easily and without much fuss in our testing.

My Files gets per-app filters Credit: Joe Hindy / Mashable

Have you ever downloaded a file and then immediately forgotten where it was or what its name was? This change might help you find it. In the My Files app, you can now filter your files based on which app downloaded them. This works in the Recent files and Download views. Once there, select the app to see all the files — including documents, images, and videos — downloaded by that one app.

Split screen can now split apps 90:10 Credit: Joe Hindy / Mashable

Split screen has always been a polarizing feature. Some folks use it all the time, and some hardly ever do. One UI 8 adds a new trick to the mix that may make it more palatable for the latter folks. The new 90:10 split allows you to mostly hide the second app and give one app most of the attention. You can then flip back and forth between the two by tapping on whichever app is mostly hidden.

To use the feature, put two apps in split-screen mode as normal. The fastest way is long pressing an app in the recent apps menu and then selecting the second app from there. Once done, drag the divider bar until one of the apps is 90 percent showing and the other is 10 percent showing.

The Reminder app has been redesigned Credit: Joe Hindy / Mashable

Reminders are a big deal for people, and Samsung is trying to make its Reminders app the one you pick. The redesign now puts a bunch of categories at the top of the app that functionally serve as organizers for your various types of notes and reminders. Thus, you can quickly see what’s there for today, scheduled for later, or even look over completed reminders.

The app also now houses new types of sample reminders for users to try out as a tutorial for the various things the app can do. Finally, there’s an Add Reminder box at the bottom of the screen that lets you quickly add a reminder. The box will populate with suggestions as you type to help you save time.

Samsung also integrated Reminders with the Calendar app and vice versa. You can use the Calendar app to create or view reminders without needing to open the Reminders app.

A big list of small improvements

For the most part, One UI 8 is an improvement over One UI 7, and a lot of the changes reflect this philosophy. Most of the new stuff I saw in One UI 8 was more or less an iteration over what was there previously. Let’s briefly go through all of those changes as well.

Calendar

On top of the integration with Reminders, Calendar also has some new suggestions while creating events to help make events more quickly. You’ll also be able to drag and drop reminders around on your calendar to reschedule them.

Samsung Internet

Samsung’s built-in browser continues to improve. In One UI 8, the browser now lets you reconfigure your quick menu to get access to features you use most often. It’s very similar to how Microsoft’s Edge browser does it where you can add, subtract, and move options around.

The weather app looks nicer

Functionality remains the same, but the graphics now feature more transparent elements and more realistic-looking imagery.

AI Select

The screenshot feature is now faster to use. You can immediately select an area of the screen when engaging with AI Select instead of having to wait for it.

Enhanced DeX support

Samsung has improved DeX a little bit. When you connect to a device, you can rotate the display 90, 180, or 270 degrees and there are more resolution options for better monitor support.

Samsung Health

The Health app has been revised a little bit as well. You can now set reminders to record your food intake and challenge your friends to distance running challenges. For the running, you can set a distance and then the first friend to hit that distance wins.

Camera

Samsung has added a new option to swipe up or down on the camera viewfinder to access quick controls in Camera faster. You have to enable this in the settings menu before it’ll work. Look for the Swipe Up/down option.

New modes and routines

New preset routines are now available for weather. They can also be customized to meet your specific needs. There are also new actions and integrations for Clock, Calendar, and Samsung Notes.

Profile cards

You can further design and configure your profile card and then send it to other users. Other users will see your profile card when you call them.

Contact history now includes recorded calls

When viewing a contact’s history, any recorded calls are now readily visible and accessible, making it easier to listen on old phone calls.

Secure Folder gets some enhancements

Secure Folder can not prevent hidden apps from sending notifications when you lock them away. The Secure Folder can also now be completely hidden and encrypted for maximum protection.

Accessibility

Samsung has enhanced its accessibility features. There’s nothing too big here, but there are some helpful changes. The Assistant menu has more ways for users to zoom in on their screen, including a pinch-to-zoom and buttons to increase or decrease zoom.

In addition, you can now set your mouse to your keyboard. By pressing the keys on the keyboard, you can move the mouse pointer around. Your keyboard can also be magnified for easier typing, and Bluetooth hearing aids are now easier to pair.

Auracast broadcasts are now easier

The feature allows you to broadcast audio to multiple devices at once. This is now easier to do in One UI 8 with the inclusion of QR codes. You can generate one for other people to scan or scan one yourself to become a part of the broadcast.

Group alarms get a little better

You can now add existing alarms to an alarm group. In addition, you can add alarm groups to widgets on your home screen, which allows you to turn them all on or off with a single tap.

Quicker support at service centers

Going to a Samsung service center is now easier. You can scan a QR code or NFC scan prompts at the service center to quickly share basic information like your name and phone number. Samsung says the data is encrypted and can only be accessed by support staff.

My final thoughts

So, as previously stated, One UI 8 is more of a refinement than a big departure from what you already know.

Overall, the beta seems pretty stable. I haven’t run into any notable bugs, which makes sense since most of the stuff here is the same. For now, I recommend leaving One UI 8 for the official release unless you really want to try out one of these improvements or new features. 

From The Royal Tenenbaums and Fantastic Mr. Fox to The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Asteroid City, Wes Anderson has been fascinated with flawed fathers. These disappointing dads aim to reconnect to their children through cockamamie ploys, be it an odd road trip, a dangerous sea mission, a reckless heist, or a faked cancer diagnosis. Anderson's latest film is actually named for his protagonist's paternal ploy: The Phoenician Scheme. 

SEE ALSO: 'The Phoenician Scheme' review: Wes Anderson does espionage thriller as only he can

Benicio del Toro stars as Zsa-zsa Korda, an unscrupulous robber baron dedicated to building his wealth over all else. That is, until he reunites with his estranged daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton), who is readying to take her vows and become a nun. Ushering her into his home and his motley crew of young sons, Korda asks her to become his assistant in pulling together a complicated business scheme — and to be his heir. However, her principles clash with his utter lack thereof, creating a wall he tries to overcome with opulent gifts. But could her faith and advocacy have a bigger impact than his showering her in luxury?

In Mashable's interview with Anderson, he revealed the personal inspirations of this story, how del Toro's influence honed the shape of Korda, and what it means to accept a "secular rosary." 

Wes Anderson's mother inspired elements of The Phoenician Scheme.  Credit: Roger Do Minh / TPS Productions / Focus Features

Sitting down with Anderson in Manhattan, I confessed that I was personally moved by The Phoenician Scheme, as it offers a hopeful look at parent-child relationships that are challenged by a dramatic difference in values. Anderson described Korda as "a brutal, ruthless, unkillable guy, who has no real compunction about double-crossing anybody. He's also happy to lie, or [do] whatever is needed [to get what he wants]." 

This leads to a string of assassination attempts that don't seem to change him one bit. But then Liesl, in her stark white novitiate uniform, denounces his use of slave labor and his scheme to induce a famine in order to lower construction costs. Slowly but surely, Korda begins to shift, confronted by his daughter and a series of religious visions in which she has a key role. Anderson recalled, "There's one line where he says something to the effect of, 'I've just decided to go on her side. I'll be religious, if that's what's right.'"

SEE ALSO: Every single Wes Anderson movie ranked, worst to best

"And I have to say, not to get overly personal," Anderson continued, "but my mother, when it came to the politics of the last 14 years or something like that, she went so far away from everybody else in the family. And I did at one point say to her, 'I think it's better if you just go on our side. Because otherwise, we're just — you're annoyed at us. And we don't even talk about politics, right?' But, um, she didn't do it, though." 

How does Wes Anderson's own father (and father figures) connect to The Phoenician Scheme? Credit: Courtesy of TPS Productions / Focus Features

Anderson's father also provided inspiration for the father-child relationship in The Phoenician Scheme, and more broadly in his filmography, which is peppered with failed fathers (and failed father figures) facing their own mortality. 

"I love my father," he said, "But it's probably — he moved out of the house at a certain point. And I'm sure that if we really trace it back to, why do I get drawn to that? What's my personal investment in this kind of story? I guess it must start there. It's something about when he got in his car and moved to another place." 

Anderson continued, "I've always been close to my father, but I've always had a lot of father figures who I guess I've sought out. I've been drawn to them, and I mean, a lot of them have died. My father died. Most of the father figures died. But you know, that's what happens when you become 56 years old." 

How Benicio del Toro shaped Zsa-zsa Korda.  Credit: Courtesy of TPS Productions / Focus Features

Anderson wanted to make a movie about a robber baron, a man whose wealth depended on his immorality. And he wanted del Toro, who'd previously appeared in Anderson's vignette-filled film The French Dispatch. 

In a Q&A this author moderated in New York City on The Phoenician Scheme's opening weekend, del Toro revealed he was pleased to work with Anderson again, but he was warned he'd have a lot more lines than he did in The French Dispatch. Receiving 20 pages of the script at a time as it was being developed, del Toro was surprised not only by how many lines he had in the film, but also that he was the lead. He'd initially assumed The Phoenician Scheme would be like The French Dispatch, made up of interwoven shorts. He didn't initially realize he was its leading man.  

Within this answer, both the audience and I got a sense of del Toro's humility and gentleness, the latter of which informed Anderson and co-writer Roman Coppola's approach to Korda. 

Speaking of the notorious schemer, Anderson said, "There's violence around him. And this character is bleeding for half of the movie, one way or another. But when we started working on the script and I started talking with Benicio about it, there's something in Benicio. There was a lighter side of him, a more hopeful side of him that just seemed to kind of want to come out. It was because of our collaboration with Benicio that we started to see this other thing in the character."

Conversely, there's a complexity to stoic nun Liesl too, even before she's under her father's influence. "I mean, as soon as she walks in the door, she's devout and presents herself that way," Anderson said. "But she's a little more stylish than a nun normally would be, even before he offers her a 'secular rosary,' [as] he calls it; it's not like she bounces it back to him. That's already in her, the potential for that. And I think it's already in him, the potential to change his path." 

Anderson continued, "And I even think at a certain point, he realizes that actually his giant business plan is a ritual, a scheme to get her." Anderson added, "Consciously, [Korda is saying], 'If I'm not able to handle this, you [Liesl] need to do this. You're the one I choose. But unconsciously, it might be that he's just saying, 'Can we please do something together? Let's play this game.'"

In that way, even if the scheme isn't going to plan, it's not that bad. Or, as Anderson put it, "So, it's more successful than he might think. You know, his venture is actually not the failure that we would think it is."

The Phoenician Scheme is now playing in theaters everywhere. 

IGN is stepping up this weekend with a major entertainment showcase packed with high-profile reveals and appearances. The two-day event, IGN Live, will stream online, but if you're in Los Angeles, you can catch it live at the Magic Box @ The Reef. Expect panels, giveaways, demos, meet-and-greets, and plenty of hands-on time with upcoming games. (Yes, there's still time to get tickets.)

SEE ALSO: IGN Live 2025 is this weekend: How to buy tickets

With E3 effectively gone, IGN and Summer Game Fest have been working to fill the gap. So, if you're planning to drop by or tune in virtually, here's a look at some of the key names and titles set to take the stage. IGN’s got a running lineup live on its site, but here are a few standouts.

Xbox and Outer Worlds 2 Take the Stage

Xbox is hosting an official watch party at IGN Live, featuring the full Xbox Showcase and a special stream for Outer Worlds 2. Expect first looks and surprise drops.

Squid Game Season 3: First Look

Netflix is dropping an exclusive clip from Squid Game Season 3. Fans attending live get it first.

RAIDOU Remastered Hands-On at Lenovo Booth

Japanese developer Atlus will have RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army playable on-site at the Lenovo booth. This will be a perfect time for fans a chance to experience the Persona 5 developers' 2006 occult cult classic with a modern upgrade.

Norse: Oath of Blood Developer Commentary

A special session will break down the brutal combat and myth-driven design behind Norse: Oath of Blood, complete with dev Q&A.

Animalkind Makes Its Cozy Debut

The upcoming cozy game from Uncommon Games, Animalkind, will show off a new reveal at IGN Live, offering a gentler alternative on a floor filled with high-octane titles.

FBC: Firebreak Live Dev Panel

Developer Mike Kayatta will walk fans through the upcoming FBC: Firebreak, a new entry tied to the Control universe.

Disclosure: IGN Entertainment is a subsidiary of ZiffDavis Inc., which is the parent company of Mashable.

TL;DR: Get one of Apple’s most powerful laptops, a refurbished Apple MacBook Pro (2.6GHz Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD), for just $479.99 (reg. $2,399) while supplies last.

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See what this $480 MacBook Pro has to offer

It can be tough to find laptops that are as portable as they are powerful, but this MacBook Pro offers it all. A 2.4GHz Quad-Core i5 processor and 8GB of RAM help you multitask and conquer even the lengthiest to-do lists, and it weighs just 3.02 pounds, making it easy to bring anywhere.

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Looking for a weather forecast that can actually prevent you from getting caught in the rain? No judgment if you like piña coladas and that sort of thing, but if you’re hoping to stay dry and on top of your local weather info, Weather Hi-Def Radar is up to the task.

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Rain, storms, or sunshine — this weather app keeps you ready

Knowing an accurate weather forecast can make a big difference in your day. If you like to be prepared, Weather Hi-Def Radar is the app for you. It doesn’t just give you the current weather, but also offers real-time animated weather radar images.

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Turn your summer downtime into language-learning wins

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Memes are few and far between in 2025, but there are still some good ones.

Why are memes so rare? Simply put: TikTok. The heart of digital culture has migrated to TikTok, which is a short-form video platform. So there remain memes of a sort — they're mostly called TikTok trends — but the text-and-image-based memes of years past? Those are harder to come by.

Another reason for that? Twitter (RIP). When Elon Musk bought the app and then reimagined it as X, well, that fractured the central text-based social platform. Previously, a meme was born on Twitter, then worked its way to Reddit, then Instagram, then, weeks later, Facebook. With X becoming increasingly difficult to use and less popular, that lifecycle has mostly disappeared.

But memes, to some extent, persist. On TikTok, Bluesky, Instagram, and, yes, even X. We've tracked them closely and collected seven of the best memes of 2025, so far.

1. Trump take egg

Just before President Donald Trump's extreme tariffs sent the U.S. economy into a tailspin, the internet had jokes...jokes about egg. It was a bit of classic internet absurdism, poking fun at people who voted for Trump for lower egg prices...as egg prices skyrocketed.

Trump take egg

[image or embed]

— Sean T. Collins (@seantcollins.com) March 2, 2025 at 3:38 PM

Trump take egg

[image or embed]

— Thor Benson (@thorbenson.bsky.social) March 2, 2025 at 12:11 AM SEE ALSO: The 'Trump take egg' meme is an absurdly layered joke 2. The Duke-White Lotus debacle

It was the (missed) shot heard round the world: Duke crashed out of 2025's March Madness in a stunning chokejob. It was kismet: In this year's season of HBO's The White Lotus, Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs) spirals out of control, often in a Duke t-shirt. The memes practically made themselves.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. 3. Get me to God's country

Morgan Wallen inspired one of the best memes of 2025 after he stormed off the stage at Saturday Night Live as the credits rolled. He later, hilariously, posted an image of a private jet to his Instagram stories, captioning it, "Get me to God's country."

It was assumed that country star Wallen, who had a previous SNL appearance cancelled for violating COVID protocols and, soon after, faced major ire when footage of him saying the N-word surfaced, was signaling to his fans he was ready to leave the liberal big city. People mostly poked fun at the idea, since, you know, the super-rich guy was leaving NYC in a private jet.

Get me to God's country

[image or embed]

— Hayden Clarkin (@thetransitguy.com) March 30, 2025 at 9:22 PM This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. 4. The little French fish

There was a period of time in 2025 when FYPs everywhere were dominated by a little French fish. It was just a little orange fish named Steve. That was really it. But it ruled.

5. The conclave memes

There were few bigger internet moments in 2025 than the conclave to decide the new pope. That seems odd, and it was. But the memes and jokes about the conclave were hilarious and constant. We got Brat edits, fancams, and breathless coverage online. It was great and quite strange.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. 6. Holy airball

To keep things on the holy side, TikTok had lots of memes about holy f-ing airballs in 2025. In essence, posters would use the phrase to subvert people's expectations — often in a braggy way.

7. 100 men vs. 1 gorilla

And, finally, we have perhaps the biggest meme of 2025: 100 men vs. one gorilla. The internet has long loved to imagine silly, man vs. animal fights. And in 2025, we really focused on 100 dudes taking on a gorilla. Real scientists even weighed in, which is fantastic. (In general, if the guys stay organized and selfless, they'd win.) It became a meme for days.

SEE ALSO: The internet can’t stop arguing over 100 men fighting 1 gorilla This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The whole gorilla debate was unserious and funny, just how memes should be. So while there are fewer memes these days, we can certainly look forward to a few more good ones before the year is over.

The promise of Robert De Niro playing not one but two infamous gangsters might enough to tempt fans of Goodfellas or the Godfather trilogy into seeing The Alto Knights. But be warned. While the promise of double De Niro is tempting, the movie itself is inexplicable. 

On paper, The Alto Knights sounds terrific. The real-life story of Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, two childhood friends turned rival Mob bosses, is peppered with the classic elements of gangster movies, including macho face-offs, sharp-tongued wives, vicious betrayals, a criminal conspiracy, and merciless, violent murder. Who better to draft such an adapted screenplay than Nicholas Pileggi, the author and co-screenwriter behind Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas and Casino? And who better to headline than recurring Scorsese collaborator/iconic tough guy Robert De Niro? 

However, director Barry Levinson (Sleepers, Dope Thief) makes some absolutely befuddling choices in The Alto Knights. The potential promised by its talent is squandered in a completely confounding gangster flick. 

Why is Robert De Niro playing two characters in The Alto Knights? 

From the start, Vito Genovese and Frank Costello are depicted as very different kinds of gangsters, though they share a similar origin. These Italian immigrants became friends as young men, hanging around the Alto Knights Social Club in 1910s New York City. Associates of the notorious Lucky Luciano, both made their way in the city through criminal enterprises. However, by the 1930s, it was Genovese who was chosen to run the Family — that is, until a double homicide investigation chased him back to Italy. Before he left, Genovese handed the reins to his trusted friend, Costello, expecting to resume control upon his return.  

However, in the intervening decades, Costello's leadership of the Mob was so successful that on top of him becoming obscenely rich, he'd made enough political connections to achieve a sheen of respectability. In The Alto Knights, Frank is a suave philanthropist who attends glamorous charity balls with his wife, Bobbie (Debra Messing), a chic Jewish socialite, on his arm. Meanwhile, Vito is a more Scorsese kind of gangster — close to the streets, gnawing on a cigar, spitting out threats and curse words with equal ease. His wife is a sultry Italian divorcée (Kathrine Narducci) who runs her nightclub with passion and a big mouth. 

Frank is the kind of smooth criminal De Niro has played before, like in Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, where his affluence and polite veneer hide an ocean of sins. Vito is more mercurial, the kind of primed-for-eruption character De Niro played in Taxi Driver or Goodfellas. So there's a curious experiment in having the octogenarian actor attempt to straddle this range of representation that he's managed across decades, all in one film.

Masterfully applied prosthetics distinguish Frank from Vito, as do the voices De Niro uses for them. Frank is more traditionally De Niro, with a low, husky, alert but world-weary delivery. Vito is higher pitched and sharper in cadence; frankly, it feels like a Joe Pesci impersonation. But there are enough shared physicalities in both stride and facial expressions — especially in a couple of scenes where the characters face off — that this double-casting feels like a stunt that doesn't pay off. It's just obvious it's the same guy, but why is less clear.

Perhaps Levinson couldn't decide which role his Wag the Dog collaborator would be best in and so went for both. Maybe he thought this dual-casting would build a message about these mafiosos, something along the lines of how far they grew apart from their common past — sort of a "there but for the grace of God go I" kind of a thing. However, if that were the case, you'd think Levinson would do the same for the flashbacks, casting the same actor to play both Young Frank and Young Vito. Instead, Luke Stanton Eddy and Antonio Cipriano play these roles, respectively, but even calling them roles feels like a stretch considering their screen time. Astonishingly, The Alto Knights engages less with flashbacks than it does with black-and-white staged photographs intercut with archival B-roll and an egregious voiceover that barrels over everything.

The Alto Knights feels like a gangster movie with zero patience for its own story. 

It is a truth universally accepted that gangster movies are allowed to be long. Goodfellas is two hours and 26 minutes. Casino is two hours and 58 minutes. The Godfather Part II is three hours and 22 minutes. Sure, some might grouse, but overall it's understood: That time is required not only to properly unravel the secretive lives and complicated criminal conspiracies of its anti-heroes, but also to allow audiences to experience the intoxicating confidence of being a mobster. For instance, the Goodfellas' long take winding through the Copacabana on Henry and Karen's first date allows us to walk in the gait of a gangster, experiencing the access, the power, and the thrill. Filmmakers need pace and time to build the intoxicating atmosphere that makes murder feel like an understandable trade-off.

By sharp contrast, The Alto Knights races through its story with a cluttered and haphazard structure that seems to predict audience restlessness, and instead causes it. For instance, the movie opens in medias res, with the 1957 attempted hit on Frank Costello. Then, a voiceover from a calm Frank begins to explain what happened next and why the attempted murder happened at all. While you might be wondering if Frank is telling his story from beyond the grave, Levinson leaps to setting up who Frank and Vito are to each other through boring montages of the aforementioned B-roll and uninspired black-and-white flashbacks. It's a dizzying and dull structure that talks down to the audience instead of welcoming them in.

Voiceover can be compelling in a gangster movie, as Goodfellas proved. But here, it seems De Niro is given a third role — not so much as narrator but as a spackler trying earnestly to patch together the broken bits of this story into something sensible. Levinson's gratuitous use of voiceover papers over decades of important events and grisly homicides with little in the passing visuals to land their gravity.

Worse yet, Levinson — or perhaps Pileggi — becomes fixated on cross-cutting sequences, however unmotivated. Ideally, cutting from one situation to the other and back again would increase tension, showing how one incident will impact the other or paralleling how two characters have a shared point of impending threat. But in The Alto Knights, these crosscuts feel less about their relationships and more like the editor was told to trim 20 minutes from the film, whatever it took. So, gone are breaths, beats, and atmosphere. What's left is a gangster movie that feels forcefully sped up, causing few of its blows to land successfully. Which, considering the failed hit on Frank at the film's start, might be darkly fitting! 

To Pileggi's credit, he crafts monologues that harken back to the greatness of Goodfellas and Casino, elucidating from Frank and Vito's perspectives the self-preservation aspect of the Italian Mafia in America. Surrounded by bigotry and rejection, the Mob was built to protect their own. However, while this argument's weak points have room to be explored in his previous films, The Alto Knights gives little more than lip service to these ideas, leaning hard on De Niro's performance as the movie's structure crumbles around him. He is bolstered by a strong supporting cast, including Messing as Frank's shrewd wife, Narducci as Vito's volatile lover, The Sopranos' Matt Servitto as a frustrated Mob lawyer, Death to Smoochy's Michael Rispoli as a fired-up Frank loyalist, and Shōgun's Cosmo Jarvis as an easily flustered minion of Vito's. However, these engaging performances can't save The Alto Knights from sinking under the weight of Levinson's confounding direction. 

In the long run, The Alto Knights will likely be remembered fondly as a bold risk for its central casting gambit. But considering the masterful storytellers involved here and the muddle of a Mafia movie that came from them, it's impossible to imagine The Alto Knights will be known for much more than its big swing and a bigger miss. 

UPDATE: Jun. 3, 2025, 3:54 p.m. EDT This review of "The Alto Knights" was originally published on March 19, 2025. It has been updated to include the latest streaming information.

The Alto Knights debuts on Max on June 6.

The Life of Chuck is a perfect marriage of Mike Flanagan and Stephen King's talents, but not in the way you might expect. 

Both are living legends of horror, with the former creating a bevy of absolutely haunting miniseries for Netflix, including The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, and The Fall of the House of Usher, while the latter is a prolific, best-selling author whose horrific work has spawned such iconic scary movies as The Shining, It, and Carrie. This is Flanagan's third King adaptation, having tackled the kinky and nightmarish Gerald's Game for Netflix in 2017 and The Shining sequel, Doctor Sleep. Despite their shared taste for the scary stuff, their latest collaboration has much more in common with mainstream King adaptations like Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption than any of the above gems.

The star-studded cast includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tom Hiddleston, Matthew Lillard, and David Dastmalchian as well as previous Flanagan collaborators like Karen Gillan (Oculus), Mark Hamill (Fall of the House of Usher), Rahul Kohli (Midnight Mass), Samantha Sloyan (Fall of the House of Usher), Jacob Tremblay (Doctor Sleep), and Kate Siegel (Hush). This dazzling ensemble tells a profound yet joyous tale of life and death, but not to worry — there's a bit of spooky stuff in here too. 

What's The Life of Chuck about? 

For those who haven't read King's novella, this movie's story is a mystery for much of its runtime. That's a thrill so rare I won't be ruining the fun with spoilers. So, let's say this: The Life of Chuck begins in a world plagued by catastrophe. Earthquakes are sloshing off chunks of California into the Pacific. Rampant absenteeism has shattered the reliability of society. And the internet is down, even PornHub. 

Incredibly, Flanagan's adapted screenplay paints a world that feels both terrifyingly familiar to our own, yet also speckled with humor. For instance, Dastmalchian, a character actor who is a gift to the horror genre, pops up to deliver a heart-breaking monologue that's gently studded with a great, humane punchline. The witness to these waves of pain and resilient pleasure is Marty Anderson (Ejiofor), a grade-school teacher who is desperately trying to make sense of this new (lack of) order, but is distracted by the widespread advertisement that is the movie's central mystery. 

Charles "Chuck" Krantz (Hiddleston) stares out from billboards and TV commercials, a thin smile on his face. Next to him is a chipper message thanking this seeming pencil-pusher for 39 great years. It seems to be a retirement ad. But why, as the stars themselves begin to flicker out of existence, does Chuck's face appear in suburban windows in a terrible green glow? Flanagan won't answer this swiftly. Instead, he'll unfurl the life of this mysterious ad man in the two following acts. And in this, he and King explore grief with a defiant joy. 

The Life of Chuck is about life in the face of death. 

In the film's opening act, Ejiofor and a cast of characters, including Gillan as his ex-wife, seek meaning and solace in a world ravaged by loss. There's a grim but beautiful sense of community in this shared agony. The latter acts look to the moments before such loss — the day you had a fateful meeting with a stranger; a school dance that changed your heart forever; the childhood curiosity whose impact wouldn't fully hit 'til years later. 

It's a foolhardy endeavor to try to capture a whole life in one movie; look to so many dull and stodgy biopics as evidence. And yet Flanagan manages it by creating a throughline in these moments of meaning. What were the moments that made Chuck's 39 years great? A thread that leads, in one direction, to the end of the world is followed back to a beguiling dance number, in which Hiddleston wows with a buoyant showmanship. This follows back to a childhood tragedy that connects to a moment of grandmotherly bonding, to an after-school activity, and the kind of epic defining moment of hard-won self-assurance that glows bright even decades later. 

Where some films struggle to slip through time to gesture to a complete story (We Live in Time), The Life of Chuck is elegant in its dance from now to then and way back when. The story is rife with tragedy, including natural disasters, death, and even social anxiety. But it's balanced by the undeniable beauty of unexpected human connections through art and conversation. It's a story that weaves about in such an unconventional way that Flanagan demands the audience's trust and patience. But the payoff is wondrous, delivering the kind of soul-emboldening emotional catharsis of King's most heart-felt films, like Stand By Me, The Green Mile, and The Shawshank Redemption. Undoubtedly, The Life of Chuck is not just one of Flanagan's best films yet, but also one of the best adaptations of King's work as well. 

The cast of The Life of Chuck is beyond radiant. 

Ejiofor shoulders the first act with eyes alive with curiosity, hope, and fear. Gillan brings a self-assured grit that grounds this dying world. With a gruff voice and a haunted tone, Hamill plays a grandfather instantly familiar as he is both loving and lost. Dastmalchian, Lillard, and Siegel deliver brief but stirring monologues that hit to the core. Sloyan, who was chilly in Usher, is divinely warm here as a grade-school gym teacher. Hiddleston shines as a common man with an extraordinary life, while Cody Flanagan, Benjamin Pajak, and Jacob Tremblay do a superb job of playing Chuck's younger selves, mimicking Hiddleston's physicality while carving out their own magical moments. 

SEE ALSO: Mark Hamill posts gleeful pic of himself sat next to Stephen King, gets a wholesome response

It's incredible. This is a movie that contains so much that it just shouldn't work. It's easy to imagine an iteration that fell too hard into the darkness, or depended too intensely on treacly sentimentality, or relied on its dashing star power to gloss over some underwritten turns. But The Life of Chuck is masterfully told. Like King's most moving adaptations, it doesn't play by standard rules of structure or audience expectations. It demands we follow the winding road through playful dialogue, painful lows, and rollicking highs, to an unknown beyond. It's surprising and upsetting, funny and profound. I laughed hard, cried 'til my eyes ached, and once gasped so loud that I heard it echo across a theater struck silent by a moment both shocking and tender. 

As I write this, The Life of Chuck has no distributor, meaning we don't know if or when it might come to a theater near you. But following a rousing world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, which I attended, this awesome adaptation won the People's Choice Award. While it seems certain it will be bought, here's hoping that acquisition will lead to a theatrical release. There are some movies that really deserve to be seen in a big theater, surrounded by people — a community – tied to each other in the heady experience of cinematic art, and The Life of Chuck is one of them. It is glorious. 

UPDATE: Jun. 3, 2025, 4:32 p.m. EDT "The Life of Chuck" was reviewed out of the world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. This review, originally published Sept. 19, 2024, has been updated to include the latest screening information.

The Life of Chuck is now playing in limited release. It opens in theaters everywhere June 13.

There's an earnest thread of hope in Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme, despite its anti-hero being a monument of corruption. Like many of Anderson's movies (The Royal Tenenbaums, Asteroid City, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Fantastic Mr. Fox), his latest film focuses on a deeply flawed father who is determined to better connect to his brood. The biggest obstacle in his mission is always the man himself. But Anderson finds new flair in this film by playing within a new genre: the espionage thriller. 

Anderson has long been condemned by those critics unmoved by the flattened delivery of his ensembles and his cinematic worlds painted in muted hues of pink and yellow, often condescendingly described as twee. Within these pillars of his style, Anderson has been rigorously interrogating toxic masculinity and how it collides with professional ambition and personal relationships. With The Phoenician Scheme, he brings assassins, spies, poisonous gas, gunplay, and explosions into the mix. These pops of blood and violence are more shocking because of how they visually disrupt Anderson's picture-book aesthetic. Yet, the father at the film’s core might be Anderson's most tender yet. 

The Phoenician Scheme is a father-daughter story.  Benicio del Toro as Zsa-zsa Korda and Mia Threapleton as Liesl in director Wes Anderson's "The Phoenician Scheme." Credit: TPS Productions / Focus Features

Benicio del Toro stars as notorious businessman Zsa-zsa Korda; he has no loyalty to nations, an unfettered ambition for wealth, and a reputation for international scheming and rampant corruption. He also has 10 children, including his eldest and only daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton), who is preparing to take her vows as a nun. Well, that is unless the irreligious Korda has his say. 

Hated by world governments, spy agencies, and business rivals, Korda has the peculiar accomplishment of having survived a series of assassination attempts, including six plane crashes. Fearing his time may be running out, he reconnects with his estranged novitiate to compel her to leave the church and become the heiress to his fortune. But first, she has to be the assistant in his latest enterprise, "The Phoenician Scheme." 

In explaining this complicated building project of tunnels, trains, and dams, Korda presents a number of various shoe boxes, harkening to Anderson's adoration for a static shot of personal relics. (Later, a so-called family reliquary will also relish the delicate beauty of treasured objects.) He'll take her on a cross-country trip through 1950 Phoenicia, during which they'll meet an array of colorful characters, played by the likes of recurring collaborators Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, and Benedict Cumberbatch, as well as new-to-the-troupe members Michael Cera and Riz Ahmed. 

Though Liesl insists she wants a life of simplicity and devotion, Korda peppers her with a series of elaborate gifts, like a bejeweled rosary. Despite her protests, his effect on her can be seen in her changing appearance. Over the course of their adventure, Liesl's all-white novice uniform becomes peppered with color: red lipstick, green eye shadow, vibrant green tights, and a golden dagger. Her effect on her father is slower to show, but more profound, as he begins to question whether slave labor and man-made famines are not suitable business practices after all, and indeed may be "damnable — to hell!"

Benicio del Toro and Mia Threapleton are terrific together. Credit: TPS Productions / Focus Features

It’s more than a generation gap that lies between the two, as Liesl harbors deep resentments against a father too emotionally guarded to accept responsibility for his shortcomings. This emotional disconnect grounds Anderson’s style of dialogue, which sprinkles abrupt honesty and intellectual curiosity in dialogue delivered softly yet sternly. When Liesl accuses her father of murdering her mother, her tone is restrained yet resolute. In response, he may bluster. But his bellowing is typically reserved for business partners in negotiations, where figures of traditional masculinity in formal finery or athletic gear roar sharp and fast at each other, much like the growling animals in Fantastic Mr. Fox. 

Del Toro manages both modes, the softly grumbling patriarch and the hollering con man, with aplomb. As in The French Dispatch, he brings a bedraggled, world-weary texture to Anderson’s script, which silently speaks of a vulnerability beneath Korda's invincible persona. 

Credit: TPS Productions / Focus Features

Threapleton proves a perfect scene partner for del Toro. With her big eyes and naturally frowning face, she ripples with tremors of emotion, ranging from annoyance to curiosity to protectiveness and love. Like her father, she speaks flatly. So even when she says of a particularly gaudy gift, “I love it,” her lack of enthusiasm amuses. But her swift action of immediately using the item speaks of her sincerity. 

This conflict between the aural and visual plays out in several wonderfully throwback bits of comedy. Anderson harkens back to the era of the Great Stone Face, Buster Keaton, with characters facing off against deadly threats with comic physicality and pouncing into action with exaggerated poses of attack despite stoic expressions. Whether facing down another assassin or chasing a familial foe, the film’s stars have a winsome hilarity. Cera in particular, as a tutor besotted by Liesl, is laugh-out-loud funny.

Michael Cera was born to be in a Wes Anderson movie.  Michael Cera as Bjorn and Mia Threapleton as Liesl in director Wes Anderson's "The Phoenician Scheme." Credit: TPS Productions / Focus Features

As bug expert Bjorn, Cera is on the sidelines for much of the film, perched in the background with a curly wedge of blonde hair and carrying an array of baggage, a constant reminder Bjorn is but another acquisition of Korda's. Until he is not. 

In his pursuit of Liesl, Bjorn reveals another, more swaggering side to himself. It’s an amusing and surprisingly sexy on-screen makeover. Cera plays both versions of Bjorn masterfully. With his gentle Swedish accent, he has a soft silliness as he earnestly speaks about the wonders of insects or gently tempts Liesl with a cold beer. Later, however, he is the rare truly self-confident Anderson character, an eccentric who owns up to his secrets but refuses to shrink from them. Joining with del Toro and Threapleton, Cera engages in a delicate dance of silliness and sincerity, nailing every step.

Of course, a Wes Anderson movie is always stuffed to the brim with terrific actors in quirky roles. The Phoenician Scheme does not disappoint on this front. It’s a thrill to see longtime collaborators like Bill Murray and Willem Dafoe pop up in a black-and-white series of heavenly visions. Recent collaborators like Bryan Cranston and Tom Hanks pop up for a brief yet splendidly entertaining sequence about bruised egos and competing masculinity. Where some Anderson movies have an actor who can’t quite find the tone and so ends up sticking out like a sore thumb, every piece of The Phoenician Scheme ensemble fits into its peculiar puzzle of corruption and family just right. 

Credit: TPS Productions / Focus Features

Out of the Cannes Film Festival, several critics have condemned this film as one of Anderson’s very worst. Sincerely, I cannot connect to that reading. The Phoenician Scheme employs the pillars of style that have long supported Anderson's stories, while diving more deeply into a tale of a big, powerful man who's trapped by his own stodgy view of what being a man means. It is not Korda’s fleet of sons who might save his soul, but one pushy daughter who can’t resist a bit of shimmer. In that, The Phoenician Scheme becomes a charmingly hopeful tale about how even with our flaws we might find love, family, and salvation. 

The Phoenician Scheme is now in theaters.

UPDATE: Jun. 4, 2025, 2:30 p.m. EDT "The Phoenician Scheme" was reviewed out of the Cannes Film Festival. This article, originally published on May 24, 2025, has been updated with current viewing information.

Dangerous Animals has a killer hook: Jai Courtney stars as a deranged serial killer who uses sharks as his weapon of choice.

It sounds bonkers, like something you'd see in an old Batman comic, in an Austin Powers movie, or on late-night TV, back when the ads were all 1-900 numbers. But props to screenwriter Nick Lepard and director Sean Byrne. They bring blood and bite to this funky premise, delivering a movie that's deep in dread, sweat, thrills, and chills. 

Sure, when sharks swim into horror, things can get pretty gnarly. The all-time classic is Jaws, where the gore of chewed-up human remains is balanced with an engaging character-driven drama. Splashier slaughters came from that seminal film's more vicious offspring, ranging from the shark slasher Deep Blue Sea to more realistic thrillers like The Shallows and 47 Meters Down, with the over-the-top Jason Statham adventure The Meg and the proudly trashy Sharknado film series taking a more gonzo approach to the subgenre.

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Yet, Dangerous Animals isn't of this breed. Instead, sharks in this movie are sort of a bait and switch for something more surprising and far more sinister. 

Dangerous Animals is more serial killer horror than shark creature feature.  Hassie Harrison plays Zephyr in "Dangerous Animals." Credit: IFC Films

Those familiar with Sean Byrne's previous films may not be surprised to discover the sharks aren't the scariest things in Dangerous Animals. No shade to these kings of the ocean. Cinematographer Shelley Farthing-Dawe and editor Kasra Rassoulzadegan masterfully capture and edit shots of sharks swimming with a delicious sense of menace. Some such scenes are so striking in the way they portray the power and size of these creatures that it literally took my breath away. But sharks are not the monsters in this movie. They're just being sharks!

The monster here is Tucker (Courtney), a sun-cooked Aussie who makes a living on the Gold Coast by taking tourists out on his boat to go on shark dives. Sure, many come and go with nothing but a brush with nature and happy memories. But from the film's frightening opening sequence, audiences are made aware of Tucker's dark side. It's not just chum this rugged fellow tosses overboard to the sharks. He feeds them ritualistically, feeling a deep connection to the beasts and taking special pleasure in watching them feast  — on young women, specifically.

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This is in line with Byrne's brand of horror, which tends to center the terrible things mankind does to its own. The Aussie filmmaker made his debut with 2009's The Loved Ones, which centered on a teen girl taking out her most twisted desires on a kidnapped crush. Then in 2015 came The Devil's Candy, starring Ethan Embry as a family man (and metalhead) who strives to protect his teen daughter from the homicidal urges of a mentally ill (or arguably possessed) old man.

Dangerous Animals feels a natural progression for Byrne, containing the heavy-metal energy of his sophomore film with the sadistic glee of his first. And Courtney proves his pitch-perfect collaborator in making a movie that's unrelentingly twisted and rousingly entertaining. 

Jai Courtney is a rip-roaring force of nature in Dangerous Animals.  Jai Courtney plays a serial killer who uses sharks as a weapon in "Dangerous Animals." Credit: IFC Films

The Australian actor has had a fascinating career, having been floated as a possible predecessor for Bruce Willis in the universally panned A Good Day to Die Hard in 2013. He's appeared in several action franchise movies since then, from Divergent to Terminator: Genisys to 2016's Suicide Squad and its odd 2021 pseudo-sequel. But only the last of these — where he played the wild card DC supervillain Captain Boomerang — gave a sense of the unique dichotomy of Courtney's abilities. 

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Broad-shouldered and handsome, he's a natural fit for the action hero mold. But his performance in David Ayer's Suicide Squad showed Courtney could be funny and get weird with it. It was an exhilarating rush to watch him do just that. In Dangerous Animals, he is unleashed. Forget the serious brooding or dashing swagger of bog-standard leading men. Courtney has something more rare and beguiling, a crooked smile that promises trouble and a wild eye that threatens carnage.

In Dangerous Animals, Tucker's sheer brute force makes him scary. But Courtney, finding the fun in playing such a monster, makes the character instantly iconic. He is so undeniably charming in tourist-pleasing mode that it's easy to see how his prey is lured in. For the free-spirited surfer named Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), the heroine at the heart of Dangerous Animals, he disarms her by offering her a favor — no strings attached. But just as quickly as he can flash his teeth in a smile, he can bite. And this makes Byrne's movie more than just a torrid thriller. 

Dangerous Animals is a mesmerizing horror story about toxic masculinity. 

Tucker loves the sound of his own voice. While keeping women locked away in an effectively sound-proofed cell on his boat, he delivers unwelcomed speeches about the nature of animals. Courtney captures the snarling bravado heard on countless macho podcasts, dropping fun facts about sharks, snakes, and marlins, applying a philosophical varnish to his violence against women. But the visual details of Tucker's ritual, which involves vintage VHS tapes and DIY lures, suggest a more psychological motive rooted in misogyny. And this psychology is just as disturbing as the scenes of violence and slaughter by shark. 

In Dangerous Animals, Byrne and Courtney give us a mesmerizing portrait of toxic masculinity. Tucker compares himself to sharks, because as a man he feels insufficient, especially in the face of women like Zephyr. There's even an implication of impotence that evokes Luis Buñuel's The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz, where a man aspires to murder women but never does so by his own hand. Similarly, Tucker uses sharks to commit his crimes.

Terrifying in a real-world sense, Tucker has mastered hiding his rage until he's out on the sea, where there's nowhere to run. The way he can switch from an affable bogan to a snarling beast is riveting, not only for Courtney's quickness but also because this terrible transformation reflects a common fear women have that any random smiling guy on the street might be a monster just beneath the surface. (See the man versus bear debate of 2024.) 

Remarkably, as thematically dark as Dangerous Animals is, watching it is electrifying and wickedly fun. Whether small-talking with a scruffy local, rigging up a victim for feeding time, or dancing around ritualistically to rock music in red underwear, Courtney is a live wire, sparking so intensely that his villain seems capable of anything.

Cheers to Harrison, who matches his energy with a solid disgust as Zephyr. Together, they build a cat-and-mouse tale that is jolting in the way of Byrne's previous films. Just when you think you know where Dangerous Animals is going, it dives even deeper and darker, and you're left catching your breath.

Simply put, Dangerous Animals is a satisfying, sick, and devilishly smart thriller that will excite you in theaters and stalk you on the way home. 

UPDATE: Jun. 3, 2025, 4:19 p.m. EDT "Dangerous Animals" was reviewed out of its World Premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. This review, originally published on May 17, 2025, has been updated to include the latest viewing information.

Dangerous Animals is now in theaters.