Blogroll

With ever-rising disapproval ratings and despite the fact that he cannot run for office again, Donald Trump sent a weird fundraising email to MAGA supporters on Tuesday with the subject line "Will I hear from you before Valentine’s Day?"

Stephen Colbert absolutely noticed, especially the fact that the email ends with a button demanding, "Take poll."

"Just what everyone wants on Valentine's Day, a 79-year-old man begging you to 'take poll,'" the Late Show host quipped during his monologue on Thursday. "The spam email, which in this case was addressed to some supporter named Chris, continues: 'I hope you still love me, Chris. I didn't think you'd leave me hanging this close to Valentine's Day.' It's kind of creepy."

Colbert brought up another fundraising email Trump had reportedly sent to supporters reading "Tick, tick, tick. That's the sound of your Trump membership on its last leg."

"Why would your leg be ticking?" asked Colbert, moving into his Trump impression. "Chris, I've strapped a bomb to your thigh, if you ever want to see your shins again, take poll."

SAVE $350: As of Feb. 6, the Roborock Qrevo S5V is on sale for $549.99 at Amazon. That's a 39% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: roborock Roborock Qrevo S5V $549.99 at Amazon
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If you like the idea of clean floors without lifting a finger, this Amazon deal on the roborock Qrevo S5V is for you. Reducing the need to vacuum and mop manually, this robot vacuum could be your new best friend. And as of Feb. 6, you can save $350 with the new sale price, now down to $549.99. You can even get it in black or white, so you can choose what blends in to your home better.

This robot vacuum is a seriously powerful unit. It has a 12,000Pa HyperForce suction powered by a brushless motor, so it can easily pick up stubborn dirt, pet hair, and debris from carpets, rugs, and hard floors. It also has a FlexiArm design with dual spinning mops which helps you reach edges and corners, scrubbing at 200 RPM.

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And you don't even need to take care of any maintenance, the smart dock does that for you. Here it will automatically empty dust into a 10-week storage bin, wash and dry the mops, and refill the water tank. It is self navigated too, thanks to the PreciSense LiDAR feature that creates detailed maps, allowing the robot to avoid obstacles like cables, toys, and furniture.

Get this robot vacuum deal from Amazon without delay.

Since its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last spring, Pillion has won praise as a "crowd-pleaser" that's boldly sexy, queer, and sweet.

Harry Melling stars as a timid young man who falls hard for a leatherdaddy biker (Alexander Skarsgård), who invites him into a master-slave BDSM bond.

This film is rich with longing and centers on an often earnest and uncool protagonist, who dares to swing big for what he desires. That means there are some notable similarities between Pillion and the world's current TV obsession: Heated Rivalry.

SEE ALSO: 'Heated Rivalry' fans, we've got your next must-see MLM romance

For Say More, when Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko sat down with Skarsgård and Melling in A24's NY offices to discuss Pillion, she asked not only about shooting those buzzed-about sex scenes, but also the challenge of allowing yourself to be not just vulnerable onscreen but uncool.

She began their conversation by asking what was more of a challenge, the wrestling sequence that involved an intimacy coordinator and some painful-looking choreography, or the scenes that asked Melling and Skarsgård to shed leather and harnesses and be vulnerable in song.

From there, Puchko pointed to Heated Rivalry as a tentpole on the ongoing discourse over who can tell queer stories and who the audience is for them. Melling and Skarsgård tied that back to their goals as actors in Pillion.

Skarsgård also noted that writer/director Harry Lighton researched the kink subculture depicted in the film with the help of London's Gay Bikers Motorcycle Club. Beyond getting to know some of the men in that scene, Lighton took several on as consultants and supporting cast in Pillion, giving greater representation to the queer subculture.

And on top of all this, the interview ends with the Pillion stars each revealing the first romantic movie to make them swoon.

For more Say More interviews, check out our YouTube channel.

Pillion is now playing in theaters.

There are two kinds of Super Bowl watchers: the ones that watch for the game and the ones that watch for the halftime show.

But, every now and then, a halftime show comes along that is so electrifying, it definitively overshadows the actual sporting event. A good halftime show has the power to transcend barriers, unite viewers all over the world, and make, break, or revitalize a career. These shows also light up the internet with memes and takes (see: left shark).

SEE ALSO: The 8 songs Rihanna should perform at the Super Bowl halftime show

This is by no means a comprehensive list. But below, in no particular order, are some of the most memorable performances to grace the football field. Actual football performances not included.

Kendrick Lamar's hater's delight halftime show (2025)

Super Bowl LIX between the Chiefs and Eagles was not much of a football game. Philly was up by as many as 34 points before you could blink, and most casual viewers moved onto the chips and dip before halftime. However, halftime brought everyone's attention back to the TV because Kendrick Lamar unleashed incredible hater energy for one of the best halftime shows in recent memory.

Sure, that's not all there was to the show. You had guest appearances by people like Serena Williams and not every Kendrick song is a world-famous diss track. But the one thing everyone wanted from his halftime show was a performance of "Not Like Us," and he gave us that in a big way.

Prince (2007)

For Super Bowl XLI, the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears braved the pouring rain and driving winds (Colts won 29-17). But Prince fought those same elements while playing a live electric guitar, a pretty metal move considering water and electricity are a dangerous combination. 

SEE ALSO: How to stream Super Bowl LVII for free, without cable

Unfazed, Prince set a high bar for halftime shows. He started with Queen's "We Will Rock You," and transitioned into his own "Let's Go Crazy," eventually bringing the stadium down with "Purple Rain." Watching him shred on his signature Prince symbol guitar in the pouring rain instantly became an iconic sight and solidified Prince's status as one of the best performers of all time. 

Coldplay, Bruno Mars, and Beyoncé but really just Beyoncé (2016)

Wait, the 2016 halftime show was headlined by Coldplay? We forgot because Beyoncé's special guest appearance completely stole the show. First Bruno Mars crashed the stage with "Uptown Funk," to which Beyoncé responded by storming the field with her perfectly synchronized backup dancers, performing "Formation." 

Wearing a military-style getup, a nod to Michael Jackson's halftime show outfit, Bey strutted to the stage and slayed (sorry) in a dance-off with Bruno Mars. By the time Coldplay's Chris Martin came back to the front, even he seemed to realize this was Beyoncé's moment.

Katy Perry (2015)

(Stefon voice) This show had everything: a giant lion puppet, a historic viral moment, inspired guest appearances, ample costume changes, and a shooting star. The 2015 halftime show may be best remembered for the left shark, but Katy Perry also put on a hell of a show. Perry came riding in the lion, then passed it off to Lenny Kravitz singing "I Kissed a Girl."

Then the left shark captivated the internet with its blasé dance moves. Through it all, Perry brought strong energy and impressively sang live. By the time Perry brought on Missy Elliot who performed "Work It" and "Lose Control," we knew this halftime show was one for the record books. Perry capped it all off by singing "Firework" as she was lifted up onto a shooting star. Bravo.

Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent (2022)

In the comments of the official recording, one YouTuber said, "This is not just a concert, this is also a history class," which sums it up pretty well. Rapper and producer Dr. Dre's influence on hip hop can't be overstated. He's credited with launching the careers of Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, Anderson .Paak, Kendrick Lamar, and many others. And during the 2022 halftime show he brought his famous friends to the stage for a legendary performance. 

The "history lesson" started with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg performing "The Next Episode" and "California Love." The show played off the West Coast vs. East Coast rivalry with New York native 50 Cent rapping "In Da Club," while hanging upside down. Then Mary J. Blige belted out "Family Affair" and "No More Pain," followed by Kendrick Lamar delivering powerful renditions of "m.A.A.d City" and "Alright," and Eminem giving everyone goosebumps with "Lose Yourself." Dre even fit in a tribute to 2Pac. The show closed out with everyone on stage performing "Still D.R.E." A perfect close to a celebration of Dre and historic hip hop moments.

Diana Ross (1996) 

Pyrotechnics, mass-coordinated dance routines, and costume changes are de rigeur for halftime shows these days. But not only was Diana Ross the first to do it, her performance still holds up today. Ross performed a medley of some of her biggest hits including "Baby Love" and "Stop in the Name of Love" with her signature smile. Then, in the middle of singing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," her gold cape spread across the entire stage as she rose on a scarily high platform. Then, the platform descended and she covered a banger version of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive." 

Up until this point, Ross's performance was solid, but what happened next proves she is the ultimate diva queen. Ross casually said "Oh, here comes my ride," as a helicopter literally came to pick up. She sat on the edge of the chopper and waved to the crowd as it ferried her away, legs still dangling from the open helicopter door. That's how you make an exit.

Apple is about to turn 50, and the company is throwing a party to mark the occasion.

The company was founded on Apr. 1, 1976 (yes, right April Fools' day), and will celebrate its 50th birthday on Apr. 1, 2026. While the company isn't exactly known for lavish parties, this anniversary is too big to pass up.

SEE ALSO: Everything coming to Apple TV in 2026

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that something will be happening on the date at an internal Apple meeting, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported on Thursday.

“When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart sing. It really does. I promise some celebration," he said.

Featured Video For You Is U.S. TikTok censoring its users?

OK, we admit it: The details are scarce. It could very well be an internal party for Apple employees with free pizza and canapés in the hallway. But Cook reportedly did sound quite enthusiastic about marking the date.

"I’ve been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook said.

Apple sometimes launches accessories that mark special occasions, including thematic Apple Watch Bands (check out the new Black Unity band, for example) and iPhone cases that mark the Lunar New Year. Perhaps something like that is in store for the company's 50th, though we wouldn't mind if it were something bigger, like a new (gasp!) iPhone color.

TL;DR: Live stream the 2026 winter sports alpine skiing for free on streaming platforms like 9Now, CBC Gem, and BBC iPlayer. Access these free streaming services from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

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There are so many fascinating winter sports to follow right now, so clear your schedule, shut the doors, and gather necessary refreshments. You're sorted for the next few weeks.

We know that's not realistic. We're aware that not everyone is going to be able to completely dedicate themselves to this spectable. Most fans will need to be selective. If you're picking and choosing from the busy schedule, we strongly suggest you make some time for alpine skiing.

Do you like seeing brave individuals throw themselves down a mountain at incredible speed, aiming to shave off fractions of seconds in a desperate attempt to secure glory? Of course you do. This level of skiing is absolutely electric, and the best of the best are competing on this grand stage.

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If you want to watch the 2026 winter sports alpine skiing for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is the 2026 winter sports alpine skiing?

The international alpine skiing schedule is absolutely stacked right now. The full schedule of events is as follows:

• Men's Downhill — 5:30 a.m. ET on Feb. 7

• Women's Downhill — 5:30 a.m. ET on Feb. 8

• Men's Team Combined Downhill — 4:30 a.m. ET on Feb. 9

• Men's Team Combined Slalom — 8 a.m. ET on Feb. 9

• Women's Team Combined Downhill — 4:30 a.m. ET on Feb. 10

• Women's Team Combined Slalom — 8 a.m. ET on Feb. 10

• Men's Super-G — 5:30 a.m. ET on Feb. 11

• Women's Super-G — 5:30 a.m. ET on Feb. 12

• Men's Giant Slalom Run 1 — 4 a.m. ET on Feb. 14

• Men's Giant Slalom Run 2 — 7:30 a.m. ET on Feb. 14

The great news for fans is that it's possible to follow events live without spending anything.

How to watch 2026 winter sports alpine skiing for free

The 2026 winter sports alpine skiing is available to live stream for free on a number of services:

• Australia — 9Now

• Austria — ORF

• Canada — CBC Gem

• France — France TV

• Germany — ARD

• Ireland — RTÉ Player

• Italy — RAI

• Spain — RTVE

• UK — BBC iPlayer

These free live streams are geo-restricted, but anyone can bypass these restrictions with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in another location, meaning you can access free live streams of the 2026 winter sports alpine skiing from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 winter sports alpine skiing by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to 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 a location with free access

4. Watch the 2026 winter sports alpine skiing for free from anywhere in the world

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch the alpine skiing before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for live sport?

ExpressVPN is the best service 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 always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

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

Live stream the 2026 winter sports alpine skiing for free with ExpressVPN.

The Benito Bowl is only a few days away, and the hype is real.

As Bad Bunny prepares to headline the Super Bowl halftime show, fans are already speculating about possible surprise guests.

SEE ALSO: Bad Bunny slams ICE during Grammys speech

When the Puerto Rican superstar headlined Coachella in 2023, he filled his set with collaborators tied directly to his biggest songs — from Jhayco and Ñengo Flow to Jowell & Randy, Post Malone, and José Feliciano. And he's seen firsthand how powerful the Super Bowl stage can be: In 2020, he appeared as a guest during the Super Bowl LIV halftime show, joining headliners Jennifer Lopez and Shakira at a pivotal moment in his global rise.

Now, in position to offer that same spotlight to others, his guest list is likely to be just as intentional. From Cardi B to Young Miko and longtime collaborators like Jhayco, several artists stand out as realistic contenders.

Here's who might appear alongside him.

Cardi B

If there's one guest who feels most likely, it's Cardi B. Their 2018 smash "I Like It" remains one of Bad Bunny’s biggest U.S. crossovers (and his first no. 1 in the U.S.), and her arrival would instantly electrify the stadium and social feeds. A Cardi cameo would underline the moment he fully broke into American pop and add undeniable star power to an already massive set.

As for fellow "I Like It" collaborator J Balvin, their rift has been well documented. Balvin has said that while they no longer talk, there's no bad blood between him and Benito — leaving the door technically open, if emotionally complicated.

That said, there’s also a strong case for Bad Bunny keeping English entirely out of his set. In doing so, he could turn the halftime show into a rare, unapologetic showcase of Spanish-language dominance.

Jhayco

Jhayco is one of Bad Bunny's most consistent creative partners and a major part of his biggest hits, including "DÁKITI," "Tarot," and "No Me Conoce." He also appeared both weekends for Bad Bunny's Coachella set.

That loyalty matters. If "DÁKITI" makes the setlist, Jhayco is the natural co-star (though recent legal issues could complicate a potential appearance).

Young Miko

Bringing out Young Miko would signal investment in Puerto Rico's next generation. As one of the most visible queer voices in Latin pop right now, she represents the future of the scene Bad Bunny has consistently supported. A cameo from Young Miko would position him as both superstar in the know and cultural bridge.

Los Pleneros de la Cresta

If Bad Bunny wants to make his strongest cultural statement, this is it. The group's appearance on "CAFé CON RON" brings plena — Afro–Puerto Rican street music rooted in protest and community — to the mainstream.

On the Super Bowl stage, their presence would highlight the people of Puerto Rico and the island's rich culture.

Jowell & Randy

"Safaera" doesn’t work without Jowell & Randy. As veterans of reggaetón's golden era, they bring history, credibility, and pure chaos. Their return — like at Coachella — would reinforce Bad Bunny’s connection to the genre's foundations.

Ricky Martin

A Ricky Martin appearance would connect Bad Bunny's generation to Puerto Rico's first wave of global pop exports: the late-'90s and early-2000s Latin artists who first dominated U.S. charts and mainstream media. If paired with "Caro," the collaboration could double as a statement about self-expression across generations.

More than nostalgia, it would read as a recognition of shared history: one artist who helped open the door, and another who blew it wide open.

Marc Anthony

If Bad Bunny wants to tap into an even deeper well of Latin music history, Marc Anthony would be a powerful choice. As one of the most influential salsa artists of the past three decades, Anthony represents a lineage that predates reggaetón's global takeover and helped establish Latin music as a commercial force in the U.S.

Last year, Bad Bunny wrapped his history-making residency at Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot, better known as El Choli, alongside the salsa legend. A Super Bowl cameo from Anthony would bridge generations and genres: salsa and reggaetón, old-school romanticism and modern swagger, tradition and reinvention. Together, they'd carry the spirit of the island from San Juan to the U.S.'s biggest broadcast.

Rosalía

Bad Bunny and Spanish artist Rosalía have risen on parallel, seismic trajectories. As two of the most influential Spanish-language artists of the past decade, they've grown alongside each other. When Bad Bunny made his Saturday Night Live debut in 2021, he invited Rosalía to share the moment with him with a sultry, atmosheric rendition of "La Noche de Anoche."

Together, they occupy a creative space where Spanish-language pop, art-pop, and experimental sounds overlap, and their chemistry makes that overlap feel effortless.

Karol G

Karol G and Bad Bunny share a history that predates their current superstar status, dating back to early collaborations like "Ahora Me Llama." Since then, both have grown into global forces — she as one of Latin pop's most dominant crossover stars, he as its most influential architect.

A Karol G appearance would also reinforce Bad Bunny's long-standing commitment to elevating women in a genre that has often sidelined them. On the Super Bowl stage, the pairing would feel less like a throwback and more like a full-circle moment: two artists who came up together, now meeting again at the peak of their reach.

TL;DR: Live stream the 2026 winter sports curling for free on streaming platforms like 9Now, CBC Gem, and BBC iPlayer. Access these free streaming services from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

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There are so many incredible sports on offer right now that we wouldn't usually get the opportunity to watch. We're circling our calendar for the alpine skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, and luge. In fact, we're making time to watch it all.

The busy schedule starts with curling. You know, that strategic sport where players gracefully slide granite stones towards a circular target. The battle on the ice is going to be intense. In the men's event, Sweden are defending champions but Great Britain and Canada will be confident of taking gold. In the women's event, Great Britain will be looking to defend their crown against the likes of Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, and South Korea.

If you want to watch the 2026 winter sports curling for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is the 2026 winter sports curling?

Curling is scheduled for Feb. 4-22 and takes place in Cortina D’Ampezzo.

How to watch 2026 winter sports curling for free

International curling is available to live stream for free on a number of services:

• Australia — 9Now

• Austria — ORF

• Canada — CBC Gem

• France — France TV

• Germany — ARD

• Ireland — RTÉ Player

• Italy — RAI

• Spain — RTVE

• UK — BBC iPlayer

These free live streams are geo-restricted, but anyone can bypass these restrictions with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in another location, meaning you can access free live streams of the 2026 winter sports curling from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 winter sports curling by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to 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 a location with free access

4. Watch the 2026 winter sports curling for free from anywhere in the world

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch the curling before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for live sport?

ExpressVPN is the best service 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 always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

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

Live stream the 2026 winter sports curling for free with ExpressVPN.

Donald Trump's appearances with the press seem to be going from bad to worse, with the president sitting down recently for an NBC interview in which he spoke about the deadly ICE shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti — saying "he was not an angel and she was not an angel."

"First of all, you don't know anything about those people," says Jimmy Kimmel in the clip above. "How dare you weigh in on what they were or what they weren't? Keep your stupid thoughts in your diaper, where they belong on this subject."

Kimmel goes on to break down all the lowlights of Trump's interview, starting with the president saying ICE feels "worse about it than anybody."

"Right, right. A lot of people would think it'd be the parents, or the spouses, or the children of the victims, but then there are a lot of people who don't have a brain that's shrunken down smaller than one of an oompa-loompa's balls," says Kimmel. "It's like what John Wayne Gacy told the cops when they found all the bodies in his basement: 'Nobody's more tore up about this than me.'

Finally, Kimmel plays a clip of Trump moaning about "bad publicity" the shootings have caused.

"That's the real tragedy, the impact on the publicity," says Kimmel. "Nobody ever talks about the tens of thousands of people we don't murder at these protests. Trump said so many dumb and embarrassing things during this interview he may have to sue himself for another $10 billion."

TL;DR: Live stream the 2026 winter sports figure skating for free on streaming platforms like 9Now, CBC Gem, and BBC iPlayer. Access these free streaming services from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

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Has Heated Rivalry got you all worked up? Do not fear, because your figure skating fix is on the way.

We've already seen some incredible winter sports action over the last few days, but fans of the Canadian romance will only have eyes for the Forum di Milano as the best figure skaters take to the ice to battle it out. Expect the likes of Ilia Malinin, Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Kaori Sakamoto, and Alysa Liu to steal the spotlight.

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If you want to watch the 2026 winter sports figure skating for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is the 2026 winter sports figure skating?

International figure skating takes place from Feb. 6-19 at the Forum di Milano. Here's the full schedule of events:

• Team Event Ice Dance (Rhythm Dance) — 3:55 a.m. ET on Feb. 6

• Team Event Pair Skating (Short Program) — 5:35 a.m. ET on Feb. 6

• Team Event Women Single Skating (Short Program) — 7:35 a.m. ET on Feb. 6

• Team Event Men Single Skating (Short Program) — 1:45 p.m. ET on Feb. 7

• Team Event Ice Dance (Free Dance) — 4:05 p.m. ET on Feb. 7

• Team Event Pair Skating (Free Skating) — 1:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 8

• Team Event Women Single Skating (Free Skating) — 2:45 p.m. ET on Feb. 8

• Team Event Men Single Skating (Free Skating) — 3:55 p.m. ET on Feb. 8

• Ice Dance (Rhythm Dance) — 1:20 p.m. ET on Feb. 9

• Men Single Skating (Short Program) — 12:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 10

• Ice Dance (Free Dance) — 1:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 11

• Men Single Skating (Free Skating) — 1 p.m. ET on Feb. 13

• Pair Skating (Short Program) — 1:45 p.m. ET on Feb. 15

• Pair Skating (Free Skating) — 2 p.m. ET on Feb. 16

• Women Single Skating (Short Program) — 12:45 p.m. ET on Feb. 17

• Women Single Skating (Free Skating) — 1 p.m. ET on Feb. 19

You can follow international figure skating without spending anything.

How to watch 2026 winter sports figure skating for free

International figure skating is available to live stream for free on a number of services:

• Australia — 9Now

• Austria — ORF

• Canada — CBC Gem

• France — France TV

• Germany — ARD

• Ireland — RTÉ Player

• Italy — RAI

• Spain — RTVE

• UK — BBC iPlayer

These free live streams are geo-restricted, but anyone can bypass these restrictions with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in another location, meaning you can access free live streams of the 2026 winter sports figure skating from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 winter sports figure skating by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to 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 a location with free access

4. Watch the 2026 winter sports figure skating for free from anywhere in the world

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch the figure skating before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for live sport?

ExpressVPN is the best service 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 always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

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

Live stream the 2026 winter sports figure skating for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream the 2026 winter sports ice hockey for free on CBC Gem. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

There are so many sports being showcased right now that you wouldn't usually get the opportunity to watch. Of course we're making time to watch speed skating, bobsleigh, figure skating, and ski mountaineering taking place over the next couple of weeks.

It's not like we don't get regular opportunities to watch ice hockey. Ever heard of the NHL? But international ice hockey is a different animal.

We get to see the best of the best from the NHL plus a bunch of athletes we've never heard of compete for their countries. There's something uniquely fun about international ice hockey. You get an amplified version of the game we all love, as teams do everything and anything to secure a medal.

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If you want to watch the 2026 winter sports ice hockey for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is the 2026 winter sports ice hockey?

The women's ice hockey schedule runs from Feb. 5-19. The men's ice hockey competition takes place from Feb. 11-22.

How to watch 2026 winter sports ice hockey for free

International ice hockey is available to live stream for free on CBC Gem.

CBC Gem is geo-restricted to Canada, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Canada, meaning you can access free live streams of the 2026 winter sports ice hockey from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 winter sports ice hockey by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to 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 Canada

4. Visit CBC Gem

5. Watch the 2026 winter sports ice hockey for free from anywhere in the world

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch the ice hockey before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for live sport?

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

• Servers in 105 countries including Canada

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

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

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

Live stream the 2026 winter sports ice hockey for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream Pakistan vs. Netherlands in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 for free on ICC.TV. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2026 T20 World Cup is set to deliver weeks of electric action between the best international T20 sides. We're expecting big performances from the likes of India, Australia, South Africa, and England. But what about Pakistan?

Pakistan are probably the best of the rest. Most fans expect Pakistan to progress comfortably from Group A, but anything could happen in the knockout rounds. They did just beat Australia 3-0 in a T20 series, winning the last match by a comfortable 111-run margin. So maybe we should be expecting more from this team.

Most of the conversation around Pakistan has centered on the boycott of the India clash scheduled for Feb. 15, so they'll be looking to start strongly against the Netherlands and make some positive headlines. If you want to watch Pakistan vs. Netherlands in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Pakistan vs. Netherlands?

Pakistan vs. Netherlands in the 2026 T20 World Cup starts at 12:30 a.m. ET on Feb. 7. This game takes place at the Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground.

How to watch Pakistan vs. Netherlands for free

Pakistan vs. Netherlands in the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup is available to live stream for free on ICC.TV.

This free live stream on ICC.TV is only available in select regions (see full list of territories here), but anyone can live stream the T20 Cricket World Cup for free with a VPN. These helpful tools can hide your IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in a location with free access. This simple process bypasses geo-restrictions so you can live stream on ICC.TV from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Pakistan vs. Netherlands in the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to 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 a location with access

4. Visit ICC.TV

5. Watch the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch every game from the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup (plus the Winter Olympics) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for ICC.TV?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on ICC.TV, 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 always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

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

Watch the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup 2026 for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: If you want to speak a new language, Babbel focuses on practical, real-life conversations you’ll actually use abroad — and it’s just $159 for lifetime access to all languages.

Opens in a new window Credit: Babbel Babbel Language Learning: Lifetime Subscription (All Languages) $159
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If you’ve got international travel plans on the calendar this summer (or anytime), learning at least the basics of a new language can completely change the experience.

Instead of relying on translation apps or awkward hand gestures, you can communicate more naturally and confidently before you even arrive when you lean on the Babbel Language Learning app.

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Babbel is designed around how people actually speak in the real world. Lessons focus on everyday situations travelers care about: navigating airports, ordering food, asking for directions, making small talk, and handling common social interactions. It’s not about memorizing random vocabulary — it’s about building usable conversation skills.

With a lifetime subscription, learners get access to 14 languages and more than 10,000 hours of expert-developed content. Lessons are broken into manageable 10- to 15-minute sessions, making it easy to fit learning into a busy schedule.

You can study on your phone, tablet, or desktop, and your progress syncs across devices. Headed somewhere without Wi-Fi? Download lessons ahead of time and keep going offline.

Babbel’s courses were developed by over 100 professional linguists and informed by academic research. The platform also uses speech recognition technology to help refine pronunciation and reduce common travel-language mistakes. Whether you’re starting from scratch or brushing up before a trip, Babbel makes it easier to arrive prepared, and actually enjoy using the language once you’re there.

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In Harry Lighton's feature-length directorial debut Pillion, a gay introvert's delayed coming-of-age — catalyzed by the advances of a suave, reclusive biker — kicks off a raucous tale of physical and emotional exploration. Although initially sketched in broad strokes, the movie gradually digs into its sexual complications, centering on a dominant-submissive dynamic that lives in the gray area of consent.

Like its 1970s-set source material — Adam Mars-Jones' 2020 leather subculture novel Box Hill — Lighton's electric, modern-day British drama explores a master-slave relationship that's as upsetting as it is invigorating. Led by a pair of fine-tuned performances from Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling, the movie walks a fragile tonal tightrope with remarkable flair, resulting in one of the finest (and most crowd-pleasing) experiences at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

What is Pillion about?

Named for the backseat of a motorcycle, Pillion is as much about function as it is companionship, and what happens when those wires are crossed. Worrywart parking attendant Colin (Harry Melling) and secretive motorcycle club leader Ray (Alexander Skarsgård) ought to be ships in the night, as evidenced by the movie's dreamlike, tongue-in-cheek opening.

SEE ALSO: The best LGBTQ films to stream right now

Colin sits quietly in the backseat of his parents' car as they drive him to a pub performance by his barbershop quartet — of which his father (Douglas Hodge) is also a member — which also happens to be a blind date organized by his mum (Lesley Sharp). Colin is gay, and his parents are politely supportive to the point of overcompensating. In a fleeting tryst with destiny, Colin's vacant gaze out the car window falls upon a mysterious biker as he zips by, his face obscured by his helmet visor, and his slender, toned body clad in leather gear. For a moment, it seems like they lock eyes, but Colin can't be sure.

After his uptight, old-school a cappella performance — complete with pinstripe suit and bowtie — his eyes fall once again on the very same biker, sitting across the room: Ray, a dashing American keeping to himself. The timid crooner extends his boater hat for a tip. Ray ignores him. However, as the night wears on, Ray eventually makes his approach and buys Colin a few bags of crisps — like an adult humoring a child — before slipping him a note, asking him to meet him the following evening.

The inexperienced, scraggly-haired Colin is immediately taken. His parents are enthusiastic too, since their son is finally leaving the house for a social engagement. It's funny and sweet, but the movie soon swerves headfirst into the awkward comedy-drama of wildly differing expectations. What Colin figured would be a romantic evening dovetails quickly into a skeevy, back-alley blowjob. As the cruising, cocksure Ray bosses him around, Colin realizes he likes being told what to do.

Before long, Ray conscripts Colin into a dynamic that the young virgin doesn't understand at first (though Ray assumes he does). What Colin thinks is a booty call turns out to be a demand to clean Ray's house and make him dinner. A request to spend the night at Ray's apartment gives way to orders to sleep on Ray's bedroom carpet, alongside his black Labrador. Their sexual encounters involve humiliation rituals and wrestling, which Colin isn't fully prepared for, though he takes a liking to it.

The rest of Ray's biker club — subs and doms of all stripes, played by real members of the leather scene — are a delightful bunch, and they welcome Colin with open arms, but Ray is a closed book who won't so much as reveal his occupation. The more Colin tries to push Ray to open up, the more he shuts him out, insisting their dynamic is not, and cannot be, one of emotions.

Pillion is an impressive tonal balancing act.

As the film goes on, it centers the questions of how far Ray will push Colin on the presumption of enthusiastic consent, and to what degree Colin will let himself be dominated if it means being desired for the very first time. These combine to create a prolonged and riveting tension, which isn't so much cut by humor as it is enhanced by it.

Colin, for instance, is so hung up on the idea of a traditional romance that he meets even Ray's distinctly untraditional treatment with naïve requests, like asking Ray to dinner with his parents. These scenes are downright side-splitting thanks to Melling's straight-faced delivery and Ray's silent bewilderment in response. However, Lighton isn't satisfied with letting these instances slip away. They are, after all, some of the movie's most dramatically interesting moments too, and some of its most thematically lucid.

While neither man comes right out and lists their desires, they fight to express their wants and expectations in the only ways they know how, jogging right up to the line of explicitness before walking back. The film probes ever deeper into what this relationship — or any relationship — becomes when there's a breakdown of communication, and both parties start acting out. It just so happens that Colin and Ray exist at an extreme end of the spectrum when it comes to socially acceptable taste, though the movie never calls their desires into question.

SEE ALSO: 'Babygirl' finally shows us what subspace feels like

If anything, the fact that Colin does not (and perhaps, cannot) explain their relationship to his parents is about the only thing that leads to incredulity, when their sweet boy suddenly shows up with a shaven head and a bike lock around his neck. The film derives its humor not from condescension, but from the unease of transformation. However, it also uses this as a source for some of its most affirming moments too — often shot in slow-motion, with a gentle hand — both when Colin finds unexpected self-confidence, and when Ray realizes he might just enjoy something more intimate in return.

Harry Melling and Aleksander Skarsgård deliver career-best work in Pillion.

 In a film so dependent on neither lead character speaking their mind, you need actors who can do the heavy lifting in silence. You also need actors who can meet Lighton on his complicated tonal wavelength, and who neither get bogged down by the story's slowly rupturing emotions, nor swept up in its energetic humor.

Melling and Skarsgård are more than up to the task. Lighton uses their respective "types" from their mainstream genre success — as Harry Potter's oafish cousin Dudley and True Blood's sexy vampire antihero Eric Northman — as jumping-off points to launch an investigation into how being seen a certain way can mold your outlook on the world, and your sense of self. This is especially true when sex and relationships are involved, and neither actor is afraid to access the vulnerability required for its many sexual moments, verging on pornographically explicit.

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If anything, that's the easy part. What's more challenging is the way Melling navigates the gestures, the body language, and the all-permeating uncertainty of the kind of character whose embarrassment in social situations is generally the root of comedic scorn. Pillion is the kind of movie that knows full well what people find funny, and it doesn't begrudge them that. But it also forces them to confront the reasons why in the long run, using Melling's moving, captivating performance as a prism, and eventually, a mirror to lifelong anxiety and self-loathing. As a young man in search of himself through the demands of another person, he compliments each broad comedic stroke with a tremendously nuanced look at its effects, whether they gradually break him down, build him up, or some combination of the two.

It also helps to be paired opposite an exceptionally attractive Skarsgård, who's always had a magnetic presence but whose build and poise are practically otherworldly in this film. As Ray, he runs so hot and cold as to sear your flesh and give you frostbite in alternating strokes. After a while, his behavior becomes its own form of mystery, assisted by Lighton's lingering medium shots that capture both his body language and expressions at once — his naked torso and his obfuscated sense of self. However, Pillion doesn't seek to present answers that Ray doesn't want to give, or that Colin cannot find. Because in a film about the complexities of being pushed away — how it devastates and allures in equal measure — being presented with something concrete would mean losing out on the abstract mysteries Ray represents for Colin's mutating sense of self.

To call a queer performance involving nudity "brave" is an age-old cliché, but Skarsgård and Melling's bravery is revealed not through performing queerness. Rather, it's a result of accessing male vulnerability, to such a riveting degree that you perfectly understand the emotional deadlock of what one character desperately wants and the other deeply needs. The slow collision of these two forces is the heart and soul of Pillion, and it makes for some of the most entertaining drama and comedy you're likely to see this year.

Pillion is now in theaters.

UPDATE: Feb. 2, 2026, 5:19 p.m. EST "Pillion" was reviewed out of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. This article, originally published on May 24, 2025, has been updated to include information about the film's theatrical release.

Valentine's Day remains a divisive topic. Some criticize it as a capitalistic subsumption of love and religion, while others dislike it for personal reasons, like being single at a time when you're "expected" to be in love.

Despite some cynical opinions, the holiday results in a flurry of dating app activity. Tinder cites its "Peak Season" as the time between New Year's Day and February 14. Internal Tinder data reveals over 298 million more Likes are exchanged, and over 2.1 million more daily messages are sent during this time than the rest of the year. 

SEE ALSO: 30 Valentine's Day gifts for all the sweethearts in your life

Hinge revealed to Mashable that in the two weeks leading to Valentine's Day 2024, Likes sent grew by 28 percent, and matches increased by 17 percent compared to the same period in 2023.

On Bumble, matches increased in the U.S. in January 2026 compared to December 2025, the app told Mashable, hinting that singles want a V-Day date.

Even if you are in the spirit, many feel the effect of price gouging in restaurants and generally increased costs, limiting and impacting how celebrations take place and sending us to search other avenues.

As we increasingly rely on the digital world, it's only logical that we integrate our offline holidays into our digital existence. And if we take romance online, what will our Valentine's Day begin to look like?

Romance through the screen

With so much of our dating lives influenced by the internet, as dating apps move courtship online and COVID restrictions caused multiple remote Valentine's Day celebrations, our relationship with Valentine's Day has been impacted.

"We did a virtual dinner and he sent me some LEGO flowers through the post, as he wasn't sure if real flowers would keep for very long!" says Emily, 25, York, on celebrating Valentine's Day away from her long-distance partner before moving in together.  

"For our dinner, we each bought steaks and made our virtual backgrounds look like a fancy restaurant. Definitely one of our most memorable. We laugh about it a lot," she says.

"Sometimes distance can actually make couples more intentional about how they express their love, which can be a beautiful silver lining," according to Amber Robinson, relationship therapist and owner of A Road Through Practice.

Regarding long-distance relationships, Robinson sees couples utilising various apps to maintain their connection. "They're sending good morning selfies, sharing Spotify playlists, [and] watching movies in sync on FaceTime."

Sometimes distance can actually make couples more intentional about how they express their love, which can be a beautiful silver lining. - relationship therapist Amber Robinson

With Valentine's Day, she's seen an interesting blend of physical and digital realities: "Some couples coordinate to open their gifts together on a video call, others sync up a movie night and order in, and I even had one creative pair who set up identical romantic settings in their homes — same candles, same music, same everything! It was like they were both in the same space despite being thousands of miles apart."

"It still takes an emotional investment, creativity, and intention to make a day like Valentine's Day special," Robinson believes.

A new frontier of digital intimacy

Digital romance and intimacy aren't just for those unable to spend time together due to location, nor limited to Valentine's Day. Couples can invite the digital world into their relationship in various ways.

"In many ways, the distinction between digital intimacy and physical, in-person intimacy has become blurred thanks to the ubiquity of technology use in relationships," according to Dr. Ellen Kaufman, senior research associate at the Kinsey Institute.

"We are also seeing a significant increase in use and interest in emerging forms of sex tech — sexual technologies — that promote emotional connection in addition to (remote) physical closeness. Our research demonstrates that people who use erotic webcam modeling sites, for example, want to feel close to the models both physically and emotionally. The underlying technology of these sites — including the integration of WiFi- and Bluetooth-enabled sex toys, which are also helping couples reclaim physical intimacy when they're not in the same place — are increasingly helping people meet those needs," Kaufman continues.

Engagement with sex tech has risen among American adults, suggesting a noticeable shift in our views on intimacy, as well as weakening stigmatisation of digital intimacy. 

"You can buy your loved one a touch bracelet, have a date night together in the VR world, or FaceTime each other. You can watch a movie together on Netflix or play video games together to help deepen your bond," says relationship and break-up expert at LGBTQ dating app Taimi, Angelika Koch.

Managing expectations and exposure

For those celebrating Valentine's Day, the digital experience in the lead-up can be intense. There's a looming awareness of social media posts showcasing couples, their relationship, and any Valentine's Day celebration plans. This, amongst a barrage of e-mails and notifications, can impact people both single and in relationships. 

"The internet in February makes it worse as couples tend to feel like they need to measure up to unrealistic standards set by those people," says Sean O'Neill, licensed marriage and family therapist at Maple Moon Recovery. He recommends couples avoid comparison and "focus on and [define] what connection means to them." 

For those not in relationships, the online world can still revolutionise Valentine's Day. 

SEE ALSO: How one tweet led me to meet my partner

"I switched off dating and started using [the internet] to meet new people and strike up new friendships," says Jennifer, 32, London, founder and community manager of Ladies in London Official, a recently founded social club for women.

Initially, she connected with women via Bumble for Friends and MeetUp, creating a space for women to build friendships on and offline. Jennifer now uses WhatsApp to connect the group and encourage sign-ups for events. Both digital and physical ones are planned for February, including a Galentine's Day event (brought into existence by the sitcom Parks and Recreation in 2010).

Valentine's Day, whether you'll be spending it online, offline, single, or happily in a relationship, can be what you make of it. It can offer an opportunity to bring us closer together with those we love, to connect with ourselves, or to explore new frontiers of intimacy unencumbered.

There's a great deal of the internet to explore for those avoiding any reminders of Valentine's Day, and a lot of digital experiences waiting for those planning to celebrate. 

This article was first published in 2025 and republished in 2026.

Directed and co-written by Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’s Sophie Hyde, Jimpa is a tale of wish fulfillment on multiple levels — often to its detriment. The first level is its plot, which follows an Australian filmmaker, Hannah (Olivia Colman), taking her nonbinary teenager Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde) to visit her idiosyncratic gay father, Jim (John Lithgow), in Amsterdam, as she begins work on a movie that idealizes her family's past.

The second level is the film's own making. Hannah is a stand-in for Hyde, whose own child, Mason-Hyde, makes their onscreen debut in what amounts to a semi-autobiographical retelling of Hyde's family history, with some poetic license to depict conversations the family could never have before Hyde’s real father passed. These two meta-textual layers imbue Jimpa with intrigue. However, their interplay is informed by a third level, which ultimately kneecaps the movie both visually and thematically. Its desire to present a kind of utopian queer acceptance, while commendable as a real-world end goal, yields flattened characters who speak in grating proclamations, and whose pasts are rendered mere flashes, which the movie fails to emotionally anchor.

Jimpa turns queerness — as identity, history, and lived experience — into texture, but texture alone. Of course, it's hard to dismiss the film outright, because it's incredibly well-meaning, and because it draws on a painful real-world story. But the way it expresses its intent, and its message about queer acceptance, ends up grasping at authenticity. The film never finds its truth, resulting in a painfully languid work that merely gestures toward real drama.

What is Jimpa about? Credit: Kino Lorber

Jim — lovingly called "Jimpa" by his grandchild — left his wife and daughters several decades ago. Hannah was 13 at the time, and she tells us in the movie's opening voiceover that her parents' split was amicable and mutually supportive. Jim was a gay rights activist who felt constrained in Adelaide, Australia. He abandoned his family for life in the Netherlands at a time of burgeoning metropolitan queer culture and community challenges like the AIDS crisis.

Jim, perpetually single and nonmonogamous, also had a stroke a few years ago, and although he's mostly recovered, Hannah wants to take the opportunity for Frances to get to know him better while they still have time. Frances is 16, nonbinary, and quite sure of their identity, but unbeknownst to Hannah and their easygoing father, Harry (Daniel Henshall), they plan to stay on in Amsterdam with Jim instead of returning to Adelaide for their penultimate school year. They only reveal this to their parents while en route to Europe, setting up a clear dramatic throughline involving them getting to know Jim better (while he guides them towards discovering their own sexuality and interest in polyamory). However, the film's oblique relationship to conflict muddles this picture.

At numerous points in the film, Hannah pitches a conflict-free drama about her father to various producers and actors over Zoom, stemming from her rosy view of the past. Jimpa is not exactly that version of events — Hannah's movie speaks to her avoidance of confrontation — but the real and fictitious films are spiritually aligned. In Jimpa, drama is too easily resolved or hand-waved away; people disagree at first, but come to an understanding without much struggle. Even when the film presents emotional challenges (like the question of Frances staying in Amsterdam, or how to proceed when Jim's health inevitably declines), it also provides clear conclusions, and few possible deviations stemming from emotional impulse.

The resultant performances, however, are largely worthwhile.

Jimpa constrains its impeccable cast. Credit: Kino Lorber

The ever-reliable Colman and Lithgow create a shared history where the movie fails to do so (narratively and aesthetically), owing to their dialed-in wit peppered with hidden vulnerabilities. Mason-Hyde, while unfortunately unremarkable in more demanding scenes, carries themselves with an adolescent mix of hesitance and eagerness. This is especially true in Frances' scenes of sexual discovery with one of Jim's bisexual students (Zoë Love Smith), though the movie is equally hesitant to capture the character's experience, and the flood of complicated feelings in its aftermath. It's all too content with having characters tell us about these emotions, rather than showing us how they might work through them in real time.

Jimpa's dramatic highlight, however, happens to be Australian actress Kate Box. She appears in only a couple of scenes as Hannah's sister, Emily, but her troubled, rankled character provides illuminating contrast to Hannah's non-confrontational nature. Her prickliness is refreshing (and refreshingly human), because no other character seems to have a negative bone in their body. Even Jim, who jests and jabs at Frances' identity (gender-neutral pronouns are a novelty to his generation), is a loving grandfather who's said to be provocative for provocation's sake, albeit without much thought from the movie as to why he might be this way, or if he feels conflicted about it (or how he feels about it at all).  

In addition to being a loving grandparent, Jim also fulfills the role of a queer elder passing down knowledge and experience to Frances who, though they're the president of their school’s LGBTQ club, doesn't have much of a queer community to speak of. This is where Jimpa at least finds some semblance of academic value; Jim is, after all, a university professor, and he collects pins and buttons from various historical queer movements. However, the movie frames even its arguably vital intergenerational conversations as a superficial string of buzzwords — for instance, about gender and sexuality being spectrums, without observing what those spectrums might entail — woven between fleeting historical imagery.

Jimpa is a blinkered tale of queer history.

Some of the most animated scenes in Jimpa come courtesy of Jim’s middle-aged and elderly gay friends. Like Emily, this group — comprising actors Erle De Lanooi, Hans Kesting, and Frank Sanders — appear only in a handful of scenes, but have a lively enough presence to add a sense of queer history to Amsterdam. As a combination of Amsterdam natives and transplants who came up with Jim and lived through communal tumult, they're all part of his story, and thus, they pique Frances' curiosity. 

However, the way the characters' lives and pasts are portrayed robs this friend group of three-dimensional personhood. The film's use of flashback involves quick glimpses of moments while they’re discussed in dialogue, including bittersweet memories during harrowing times, like weaving AIDS memorial quilts. But every high and low of these characters' lives — including Jim's — takes on a Ford car commercial sensibility, with hazy, high-contrast shots (usually of people dancing to no music) that feel disconnected from one another. The same approach applies to Hannah and Frances' flashbacks, with swift bursts of characters catching the camera's gaze (in brief, head-on close ups), but never meeting it for long enough to create a connection.

This glancing visual approach is technically in tune with how Hyde approaches her story, wherein characters don't so much exchange ideas as they narrate pre-ordained talking points from the latest round of social media discourse on queerness (for instance, a brief, directionless clash over how the word "queer" has been reclaimed by LGBTQ youth, but still holds painful memories for older gay men). That Jimpa lampshades these conversations as familiar is a meaningless gesture if they’re still the movie’s lingua franca and lead to no real self-reflection. 

Jimpa, in this way, ends up talking through its broad ideas on queer culture without ever making them felt. The characters have a sense of history, but it never feels fully lived-in, or painful, or joyous. It so rarely feels human the way, say, Andrew Haigh's All of Us Strangers does, a work whose generational queer gaps are filled by wistful and painful drama. Moments of Jim handing down advice to Frances are reminiscent of Luca Guadagnino's Call My by Your Name, in which a father doles out life lessons to his queer son, but Jimpa's version of these swap emotional subtext for verbose soap-boxing destined to never click — to never stir the soul.

Like so much of the movie, these exchanges are all text and no subtext — all words and no feelings — which is, ironically, a facet of modern queerness and label-centric queer culture that Jim jokingly decries. Rather than finding complexity or nuance through differing viewpoints and lived experiences, Jimpa simply ends up highlighting its biggest missteps, via meta-textual moments that almost try to justify them.

Queer art deserves to be joyful and multifaceted, whether it's highlighting oppression or simply portraying the existence of queer people in ordinary circumstances. However, Jimpa tries and fails to split the difference, as a film with smoothed edges that portrays self-discovery on autopilot. 

The result is a dramatic void. Jimpa's confrontation of history becomes a sanitized experience worth only a nod of acknowledgement, instead of one that might instill affirmation in the face of prejudice or self-doubt. Rarely has there been a queer movie that, on paper, seems so tender and politically necessary, but ends up so eye roll-inducing in execution, fulfilling the most anti-art demands for representational drama sans conflict or rigor.  

Jimpa opens in limited release Feb. 6.

UPDATE: Feb. 4, 2026, 2:28 p.m. This review was first published on Jan. 28, 2025, as part of Mashable's Sundance Film Festival coverage. It has been updated in anticipation of its theatrical premiere.

Sure, any everyday product that comes in pink or red technically counts as a Valentine's Day gift. But not every pink or red item is automatically a good Valentine's Day gift. When looking for a memorable Valentine's Day gift for your girlfriend, that's rule number one: Don't force the pink, red, or heart-shaped gift just because it's on theme.

But if you are dating a sucker for all things cutesy, corny, and heart-covered, rule number two applies: Don't skip the lovey-dovey gifts in the name of not being cliché. At the end of the day, a truly thoughtful Valentine's Day gift for your girlfriend is really just one that she can tell you put thought into: a gift inspired by a hobby, a daily struggle, or a little joy that she's mentioned in passing.

To kickstart your brainstorm, we gathered intel from the internet and our own personal lives to curate a list of 25+ unique gift ideas for girlfriends this year. Whether it's your first year of dating, your last Valentine's Day before engagement, or somewhere in between, here are our top Valentine's Day gift ideas for your girlfriend in 2026.

Need more inspiration? We have even more spot-on recommendations in our guides of the best Valentine's Day gifts for her and the best Valentine's Day gifts for your wife.

Another Game of Thrones show means another Targaryen family tree to memorize, and HBO's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is no exception.

The prequel series primarily centers on lowborn knight Ser Duncan "Dunk" the Tall (Peter Claffey) and his young squire Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), following their time at a tournament at Ashford Meadow. However, despite A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' focus on Westeros' smallfolk, it's not long before the Targaryens show up to bring drama (and tons of "ae" names) to the tourney.

SEE ALSO: Every time 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' hinted at that big Egg reveal

If you're wondering how all these new members of the House of the Dragon are related to one another, you've come to the right place. Below, we've laid out the Targaryen family tree as it stands heading into A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1. For simplicity's sake, we've pruned some of the branches to show how these family members tie back to House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, and we've focused on the major Targaryen players you'll meet early on. Read on to meet your newest crop of Targaryens — and see how they all connect.

Behold, the Targaryen family tree. Credit: Ian Moore / Mashable King Daeron II Targaryen

The current head honcho of Westeros is King Daeron II Targaryen, the great-grandson of House of the Dragon's Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen. You won't actually meet him in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, but his reign has molded the Westeros you'll see in the series.

By this point, almost 80 years after the events of House of the Dragon, Westeros is experiencing a period of peace, and it's all thanks to King Daeron II. He put an end to the Blackfyre Rebellion, a bloody coup attempt by legitimized Targaryen bastards, and he also managed to bring Dorne peacefully into the Seven Kingdoms. They don't call him "Daeron the Good" for nothing!

SEE ALSO: 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' review: 'Game of Thrones' prequel is a surprising comfort watch Daeron II's sons: Baelor and Maekar Targaryen Bertie Carvel and Sam Spruell in "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms." Credit: Composite: Mashable / Images: Steffon Hill / HBO

King Daeron II has four sons with his wife, Dornish Princess Myriah Martell: Baelor, Aerys, Rhaegal, and Maekar. For the purposes of this show, you really only need to care about the first and fourth sons, Baelor and Maekar.

Prince Baelor "Breakspear" Targaryen (Bertie Carvel) is the eldest of Daeron II's sons. Not only is he heir to the Iron Throne, he's also Hand of the King. Like his father, he's deeply respected and viewed as wise and just. He has two sons with his wife Jena Dondarrion: Prince Valarr (Oscar Morgan) and Prince Matarys, but only Valarr appears in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Notably, Baelor doesn't have the Targaryens' silver hair, but instead favors his Dornish side with darker hair.

Harsher than his brother (but with much more silver hair), Maekar (Sam Spruell) is the Prince of Summerhall. He also has six children compared to Baelor's two, and several of them will play a larger role in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

Maekar's children: Daeron, Aerion, Aemon, Daella, Aegon, and Rhae Finn Bennett in "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms." Credit: Steffon Hill / HBO

Maekar and his wife Dyanna Dayne have six children together: Daeron, Aerion, Aemon, Daella, Aegon, and Rhae. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms primarily focuses on his sons, leaving Daella and Rhae out of the story.

His first son, Daeron (Henry Ashton), is also known as Daeron the Drunken, a quality audiences get to know firsthand in episode 1, when Dunk meets him in the tavern. We don't officially learn the tavern man's identity until episode 4, though, when Daeron arrives at the tourney in Ashford Meadow. Daeron also has the dragon dreaming gift of select Targaryens, which gives him prophetic visions. House of the Dragon's Helaena Targaryen is similarly gifted.

Maekar's second son, Aerion (Finn Bennett), fits the bill of the classic "mad" Targaryen. Thinking he's a dragon in human form, he dubs himself "Aerion Brightflame" and wears a fiery helmet that is, admittedly, pretty sick. Still, his fashion choices can't make up for his cruelty and sadism.

Game of Thrones fans have already met Maekar's third son Aemon: He's none other than Maester Aemon from Castle Black. Don't expect to see him in Season 1 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, though, as he's currently studying to be get his maester chain in Oldtown. However, his existence in the world of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms serves as a reminder of how the show connects to Game of Thrones, whose events are a little under a century away.

Dexter Sol Ansell in "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms." Credit: Steffon Hill / HBO

As episode 3 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms reveals, Maekar's fourth son, Aegon, is none other than Egg himself. He's been journeying with Dunk this whole time, and he's shaved his head bald to hide his trademark Targaryen hair. Based on the show so far, Aegon has missed out on the sadistic streak of his brother Aerion, or of many of his Targaryen ancestors. Instead, he's curious, loyal, and protective of the smallfolk he and Dunk meet at Ashford Meadow. Yes, he's young, and there's certainly time for the world to harden him, but for now, he's a good Egg.

New episodes of Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiere Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

UPDATE: Feb. 6, 2026, 5:18 a.m. EST This story was originally published on Jan. 18. It has been updated to reflect the further information about Daeron Targaryen.

UPDATE: Feb. 1, 2026, 10:47 p.m. EST This story was originally published on Jan. 18. It has been updated to reflect the reveal of Egg's true identity as Aegon Targaryen.

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If the first five minutes of Scarlet had been the entire movie, I would have been happy.

In these opening moments, director Mamoru Hosoda (Belle) transports viewers to a fantastic realm, one where the past and future intertwine. Here, a red-haired young woman wanders a desert wasteland filled with discarded armor and slow-creeping magma flows. The clouds in the sky above ripple like ocean waves. A gargantuan dragon swims through the air, leaving crackles of lightning in its wake.

SEE ALSO: NYFF 2025 preview: 14 films you'll want to see for yourself (and how)

The scene is disorienting and dazzling in equal measure, especially as Hosoda toggles between the desert and a glowing, liminal space where the young woman wears not the cloaked garb of a hardened wasteland survivor, but the brilliant white gown of a princess. It's while wearing this gown that the young woman remembers who she is and why she's in the desert. At that point, Scarlet goes from fascinating fantasy to an absolutely gonzo epic.

That's because the woman's memories reveal that Scarlet isn't solely a surreal fantasy tale. It's also an adaptation of Hamlet. And while a high-concept, animated adaptation of Hamlet can be great — look no further than The Lion King for proof — Scarlet mostly chafes strangely against its source material. The result is a film that's confounding in its adaptation ambitions, yet still manages to be showstopping.

How does Scarlet tie to Hamlet? Credit: Studio Chizu

The young woman we first meet in the wasteland is Scarlet (voiced by Mana Ashida), the princess of Denmark. As a young child, she witnessed her Uncle Claudius (voiced by Kôji Yakusho) commit a violent coup against her father (voiced by Masachika Ichimura), executing him right in front of her. (A far cry from Hamlet's Claudius stealthily slipping poison in the king's ear.)

That Scarlet's take on Claudius has him so obviously and visibly responsible for her father's murder means that Scarlet doesn't have to pull from Hamlet's bag of tricks to assess her uncle's guilt. No pretending to be mad or putting on calculated plays for her! Instead, she jumps straight into battle training to take Claudius down. Unfortunately for her, Claudius is two steps ahead and simply has her killed.

SEE ALSO: 'Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere' review: Jeremy Allen White can't escape 'The Bear' in Bruce Springsteen biopic

But death is not the end for Scarlet like it is for Hamlet. She awakens in the Otherworld, the strange afterlife on display in Scarlet's first scenes. Since the past and future are one in the Otherworld, every dead soul winds up here — including Claudius'. Now, Scarlet has one more chance at vengeance, but even the afterlife comes with peril. Die here, and you vanish into nothingness. And with armies of dead soldiers and Claudius' henchmen standing between her and her goal, Scarlet will have to accomplish the impossible if she is to see her goal through to the end.

Why is Scarlet even an adaptation of Hamlet in the first place? Credit: Studio Chizu

From here, Scarlet essentially becomes several different movies. It's partly a fantasy adventure in which Scarlet must fight hordes of soldiers from various time periods. The action sequences are riveting: just the right amount of brutal, while pushing Scarlet's considerable prowess to its limits.

Scarlet is also partly an anti-war treatise, with heaps of pro-immigration and pro-refugee messaging. The former manifests itself in the arrival of Hijiri (voiced by Masaki Okada), a present-day nurse who wants nothing more than to heal the suffering citizens of the Otherworld. He's staunchly anti-conflict, a counterpoint to Scarlet's bloodthirsty nature.

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Scarlet's nature is echoed in the rest of the war-torn Otherworld, which runs rampant with bandits preying on caravans of innocent souls simply trying to make it to Eternity. That promised heaven lies at the top of a mountain range, but Claudius has set up shop in a nearby fortress and walled off the path to Eternity from the Otherworld's masses. The wall imagery draws a clear parallel to current anti-immigration and anti-refugee policies, echoing Trumpian philosophies of exclusion. Subtlety, thy name isn't Hosoda.

SEE ALSO: 'A House of Dynamite' review: Idris Elba leads an all-star ensemble nuclear-war thriller

The pairing of these big, if simplistic, ideas with Scarlet's Otherworld odyssey is already a lot to take in, and that's without the Hamlet adaptation element. Following Scarlet's death, the story ceases to become the Hamlet you know. Yet Hosoda still puts twists on familiar Hamlet elements. Scarlet must face down minor Hamlet characters like Cornelius (voiced by Yutaka Matsushige) and Voltemand (voiced by Kôtarô Yoshida), with Hosoda turning these bit parts into video game mini-bosses. (Shakespeare's major female characters get far less to do: Ophelia is entirely absent, and Queen Gertrude steals the show in one scene only to disappear otherwise.) Characters regularly speak in lines from the play, prompting me to jolt up and gasp at the screen like a Marvel fan spotting a key Easter egg in an MCU movie.

Then of course, there's the death of it all. As a character, Hamlet is fascinated by death, hence his classic query of "to be, or not to be." Scarlet strands its Hamlet stand-in in death, causing her to fight past the bounds of her own mortality. It's an interesting juxtaposition, yet one Scarlet rarely ponders. Instead, it focuses on Scarlet's choice between vengeance or breaking the cycle of violence. At that point, all the Hamlet references begin to feel more like window dressing than story elements with deeper thematic resonance, and Scarlet's cohesion suffers wildly as a result.

Scarlet is still a gorgeous, unforgettable ride. Credit: Studio Chizu

With all these moving pieces, there's no doubt that Scarlet is as maximalist as can be. And that level of boldness, of throwing everything at the wall and hoping it sticks, makes even Scarlet's most bizarre moments exciting. Sure, "Hamlet, but make it warrior princess" doesn't completely hold together over the course of Scarlet's two-hour runtime, but it is undeniably thrilling to watch something so unexpected play out.

Where Scarlet excels the most is the world-building of the Otherworld, which Hosoda renders in an intriguing blend of 3D and 2D animation. At times, the mixture of 2D facial expressions against a more photorealistic 3D landscape can be jarring, yet the effect only adds to the strangeness of the Otherworld.

The Otherworld offers up a rich background where Scarlet and Hijiri's quest can unfold. Its inhabitants come from a blend of cultures and time periods, creating a wonderful aesthetic clash. Elsewhere, small details in the landscape, like a quarry full of cairns, speak to the many, many dead souls who've passed through.

However, the true standout of the Otherworld is its dragon, a massive beast whose hide is peppered with the weapons of those who have tried to slay it. It roars into view during scenes of carnage, bringing earth-shattering lightning and thunder along with it. The dragon's fearsome appearance, combined with composer Taisei Iwasaki's thrumming score, makes for an unforgettable theatrical viewing experience. Truly, I felt like I was levitating out of my seat.

Now, does Scarlet ever dive deeper into the lore around the dragon, or its role in the Otherworld? Not really. But did I care? Not that much!

That mentality sums up the best way to approach Scarlet as a whole. There's no doubting it's messy, but there's also no doubting its capacity to astonish.

Scarlet begins an exclusive IMAX engagement starting Feb. 6th before opening nationwide on Feb. 13.

UPDATE: Feb. 4, 2026, 3:24 p.m. EST This review was first published on Oct. 7, 2025, out of film's U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival. It has been updated to reflect viewing options.