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WWDC isn't for another week, but Apple has a tiny new iOS update to tide us over until then.

Yes, iOS 26.5.1 is officially here, per 9to5Mac. You can download it to your iPhone by opening Settings, then going to General, and then Software Update. Don't expect too much, though, as these patches are usually pretty small. Apple's official release notes paint a pretty good picture of what to expect from this update:

"This update addresses an issue for a small number of users that may prevent wired charging on iPhone Air and iPhone 17 models when the battery is nearly drained," Apple said.

Are you an Apple superfan? Enter Mashable’s Big Guessing Game to win prizes.

SEE ALSO: Apple's smart glasses aren't coming very soon, new report claims

And that's it. There may be smaller bug fixes in this update that Apple didn't see a need to address, but the star of the show here is a fix to a battery charging issue on iPhone 17 and iPhone Air models. There was a known issue where those particular phones would be stubborn about turning back on if plugged into a wired charger after running out of battery. Putting them on a wireless charger for 10 to 15 minutes would fix it, but obviously, not everyone has one of those lying around. If Apple is to be believed, this isn't a problem anymore.

Just in case, you might want to plug your phone in before its screen goes black. And if you want to hear about actual substantive new iOS features, just wait a week.

Movie night has always been a staple in my household, especially with all the streaming services we subscribe to. We pop the popcorn, everyone picks their favorite seat in the room, and then we start the film.

SAVE $90.25: As of June 2, get a pair of Sony WH-CH720N Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones for $89.74 at Amazon, down from their usual price of $179.99. That's a discount of 50% and the lowest price we've seen.

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$179.99 Save $90.25   Get Deal

A great pair of headphones is a must if you're going to be spending any time out and about. While earbuds get the job done nicely, sometimes you get even more out of a pair of over-ear headphones. We've found a pair that both sound fantastic and can save you some serious cash if you head over to Amazon right now.

As of June 2, get a pair of Sony WH-CH720N Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones for $89.74 at Amazon, down from their usual price of $179.99. That's $90.25 off and a discount of 50%. It's also the lowest price we've seen.

SEE ALSO: We tested the 9 best headphones and earbuds for working out

These are Sony's most lightweight headphones ever at just 192g. They offer both noise cancellation and access to Alexa built right in, so you don't need a second device to use Alexa with. Thanks to their Adaptive Sound and adjustable Ambient sound options, you can customize your own profile so your audio is tailored to your liking accordingly. And with a 35-hour battery life, you can listen for quite some time.

Mashable's Alex Bracetti took the headphones for a spin and praised their "near-flagship sound quality" as well as their "impressive active noise cancellation" and "light and comfy" build.

If a new pair of headphones is calling you, this might be the right one for you. The discount likely won't last long, so you'll want to get them while you can.

The Android ecosystem is lucky to have a wide selection of excellent, free, open-source apps. These apps are so good that they could easily charge a fee. I started by listing 7 of these apps, then 4 more—now here are another 3 I currently have installed on my phone. They're free of cost, don't show any ads, or sell subscriptions.

There's an easy solution if you want to watch Spider-Man: Brand New Day before your friends and avoid spoilers: sign up for Amazon Prime. Sony Pictures and Amazon are offering U.S. Prime members access to early screenings for the Marvel superhero movie on July 29, two days ahead of its official July 31 premiere.

If you ask Nvidia, its RTX Spark chip represents a fundamental shift in computing: we'll soon rely on AI agents to get most of our work done, and enjoy a powerhouse for creativity and gaming in the meantime. And the ingredients are certainly there between a wildly fast integrated GPU, a solid CPU, and talk of "all-day" battery life.

Originally designed for summer campers in need of a screen-free camera to bring to sleep-away camp, the Camp Snap has reached a much bigger audience of people looking to go analog. As a 20-something far removed from my summer camp years, even I was interested in the Camp Snap and bought one last summer. Now the company is introducing the second generation of its original design, the Camp Snap 2, in an array of vintage-inspired colors and with a helpful new feature.

The new Camp Snap 2 comes in "jelly" colors including strawberry splash, blue rush, twisted lime, and tangerine drift. Credit: Camp Snap

The Camp Snap 2 still comes in its classic faux leather stylings, but now it comes in four new jelly colors that channel the '90s with their vibrant, transparent design. But the new shades of pink, blue, green, and orange aren't the only upgrades coming to the Camp Snap 2. Now the camera has six built-in filters: Standard, Vintage 1–3, Analog, and Black & White. The filters can be toggled on through a button on the back of the camera.

Camp Snap 2 standard filter My dog, Milly, captured in the Camp Snap 2's standard filter. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable Camp Snap 2 black and white filter My dog, Milly, captured in the Camp Snap 2's black and white filter. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

Other new features in the Camp Snap 2 include a Camp Lock, a kid-friendly lock that prevents the filter function. Plus, the shutter button has a better response, it has better battery life (about 500 photos per charge), a slimmer design, a tripod mount, and the ability to use screw-on photo filters.

Ahead of the camera's launch, I got to try out the Camp Snap 2 and found it was just as great as the original. I like its slightly smaller design and found that the shutter button was much improved, capturing photos faster. The filters require some playing around with to get a sense of their shading, but I do like the black and white filter, which my dog, Milly, modeled for.

The new camera maintains plenty from the previous generation, including the signature scree-free design, 4GB of storage pre-installed, JPEG formatting, and easy transfer to iOS, Android, and Mac via USB-C cables.

The Camp Snap 2 is available as of June 2, 2026, and is available at the same price as the original Camp Snap, $69.95.

Opens in a new window Credit: Camp Snap Camp Snap 2 $69.95 at Camp Snap
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Shop the 2026 Dyson cordless stick vacuums Dyson V8 Cyclone $399 at Dyson Shop Now Dyson V10 Konical $499 at Dyson Shop Now Dyson V16 Piston Animal $979 at Dyson Shop Now

It's been almost eight months since Dyson announced the Dyson V16 Piston Animal, Dyson V10 Konical, and Dyson V8 Cyclone cordless vacuums at its Dyson Unveiled event. As of June 2, they're finally available for purchase. Every list of the best cordless vacuums on the internet is about to get turned upside down.

While all three vacuums went live in Australia and the UK, U.S. consumers were left with a vague "sometime in 2026" placeholder for release and pricing. Now, we know everything: The new Dyson stick vacuums are Dyson's most affordable yet (compared to their counterparts from previous years), ranging from $399 to $979. If you were thinking about buying a Dyson during Prime Day, you might want to read about the new ones before buying an old one on sale. Let's get into it.

SEE ALSO: The Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones weighs nothing and fits everywhere. Don't get me started on the double lasers. Dyson V16 Piston Animal Credit: Dyson Credit: Dyson

In terms of cleaning precision, the V16 Piston Animal is the new best cordless Dyson vacuum model. The V16 Piston dishes out up to 315 AW (Air Watts) of suction power, beating the reigning Dyson Gen5outsize Absolute's 250 AW. The V16 automatically adjusts that oomph based on floor type. And, for the first time ever, the wand bends for easier cleaning under furniture.

The V16 Piston Animal's new cleaning head is a force to be reckoned with in itself. The All Floor Cones Sense head incorporates two ultra-soft conical brush bars like the ones seen on the Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones, replacing the singular fluffy roll that spanned the older Fluffy Optic head. I've hyped the Dyson laser and fluffy head combo for pet hair pickup on hardwood floors for years — this is that, but more powerful than ever before.

In the box, Dyson also includes a carpet-forward Motorbar cleaning head, mini motorized pet tool, and crevice tool. The Dyson V16 Piston Animal costs $979 and is available for purchase now. For $1,099, wet-dry cleaning is also possible with the revamped Submarine 2.0 cleaning head. Impressively, both versions of the V16 Piston are more affordable upon release than the 2023 Gen5outsize vacuums, which debuted at $1,049 and are not compatible with the Submarine head.

Opens in a new window Credit: Dyson Dyson V16 Piston Animal $979 at Dyson
  Shop Now Dyson V10 Konical Credit: Dyson Credit: Dyson

The Dyson V10 Konical is the most dynamic Dyson under $500 that we've ever seen. Cleaning performance is boosted compared to the current V10 and V11 models, thanks to a new de-tangling conical head and a green LED for dust illumination. That makes it the most affordable Dyson with a laser upon debut, beating the Dyson V12 Detect Slim that originally launched at $649.99.

The new V10 dust bin has reverted to the horizontal design that we're used to seeing from the V7 and V8 models, which don't point and empty into the trash as straightforwardly as the vertical design that the V16 has. However, emptying the V10 by hand won't be a pain when the self-emptying dock station comes to the market in August — yes, Dyson finally went there.

Opens in a new window Credit: Dyson Dyson V10 Konical $499 at Dyson
  Shop Now Dyson V8 Cyclone Credit: Dyson Credit: Dyson

There were two paths Dyson could take with the V8 series: Retire it or revive it. Dyson decided on the latter, and the redesigned Dyson V8 is a better value than its predecessors by far.

This version offers 30 percent more suction power, an enhanced filtration system, and up to 60 minutes of battery life, nearly doubling the typical 30 to 40 minutes of older V8 models. At $399, the 2026 V8 is the cheapest Dyson vacuum (without a discount) that we've ever seen. A self-emptying docking station will also be available in August.

Opens in a new window Credit: Dyson Dyson V8 Cyclone $399 at Dyson
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When Lincoln introduced the Navigator in 1997, it took the bones of a pickup truck and wrapped them in the kind of interior luxury that buyers had previously associated with European brands. Nearly three decades later, the Navigator has evolved into something no one saw coming from Ford, or perhaps any other automaker for that matter: a rolling wellness retreat.

SAVE $35:97: Get 3 months of free access to Kindle Unlimited as part of Amazon's early Prime Day special offers. In total, that's a savings of $35.97 for the 3-month duration. Current and past Kindle Unlimited members aren't eligible for this deal.

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$35.97 Save $35.97 get 3 months for free Get Deal

Prime Day is officially on the calendar. Instead of July, Amazon is hosting Prime Day between June 23 and 26 this year, but the deals have already started. One of the best offerings applies to those who plan to spend the summer reading. Here are all the details.

For a limited time, Amazon is offering a free 3-month subscription to Kindle Unlimited, which usually come with a bill of $11.99 per month. In total, that works out to a savings of $35.97. You'll need to be new to Kindle Unlimited to be eligible for this deal, and it'll auto renew at $11.99 per month until cancelled.

You have the Kindle but you've been waiting in a Libby line for your titles to become available. We've all been there. Instead of waiting, consider upgrading for the summer by snagging this free deal from Amazon that'll give you three months of access to nearly unlimited book titles.

SEE ALSO: Prime members can get a free e-book every month with Amazon First Reads: See the thrilling June 2026 picks

Kindle Unlimited has over five million digital titles, audiobooks, and magazines. The Kindle Unlimited subscription is a bit like a library hosted by Amazon. Members can borrow up to 20 titles at a time, and magazines don't count in this title total.

If you have a Kindle, that'll be great for reading your Kindle Unlimited books, but it's not a requirement. You can use Kindle Unlimited on any device with the Kindle app. That includes still like your phone, tablet, computer, or any web browser. But if you're wondering, the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is Mashable's favorite Kindle.

If you've never tried out Kindle Unlimited, but you're interested in reading more for the next three months, hop on this free deal.

Excel is built for working with data, but large tables of numbers can be difficult to scan quickly. Fortunately, you don't need advanced design skills to make your spreadsheets more informative. Whether you're building quick reports or more advanced dashboards, these simple visualization techniques can help you spot trends, summarize data, and present information more clearly in minutes.

I have a lot of Zigbee smart home devices in my home. The low-power mesh network offers several benefits over Wi-Fi, but it's not perfect. When one device kept dropping off the network, the fix was cheap and effective.

After 22 months of paying for Tesla Premium Connectivity on my 2021 Model 3 Performance, I'd had enough. The connection was unreliable, dropping at the worst times, and I couldn't justify the monthly fee for a service that consistently let me down.

If you thought living at home was negatively affecting your sex life, you’re not wrong.

LELO, the luxe sex toy brand, just released its 2026 “Economics of Orgasm” report, and the data confirms our collective reality check: There’s an undeniable correlation between a lack of residential independence, intimacy barriers, and the psychological strain of feeling like you've failed at adulting. (My heart goes out to all the eldest daughters out there.)

SEE ALSO: Millennials prioritize sex more than Gen Z does, survey says

But according to this very same survey, which included 7,000 people across seven countries, having an orgasm could help. (You know what I always say: An orgasm a day keeps the doctor away and your skin looking ahhmazing.) In fact, LELO has gone as far as to say that having more orgasms could lead to a 10 percent increase in productivity, which could translate to a $11.72 trillion increase in global GDP — imagine that!

Here are the highlights of the study and my two cents.

Your parents' house is cockblocking your good time

LELO's report breaks down how the current economic climate is essentially acting as a global cockblock. The company calls it "erotic inequity."

What's the one thing most Millennials view as peak success? Owning a home. According to LELO's survey, 44 percent of respondents said they're still living at home to save enough money to buy their first house. The other 31 percent said that sky-high rents and housing costs were keeping them from moving forward and out.

Millennials and Gen Z are constantly made fun of as the generations who “ruined everything,” and yet we’re the ones who have to deal with a dystopian housing crisis. The U.S. median sale price for a house in Q1 of 2026 was over $400,000, compared to $137,000 in Q1 1996, 30 years ago.

The job market isn't helping either; according to Deloitte's 2026 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, nearly 20 percent of young workers report that their companies are making fewer entry-level hires and replacing actual roles with internships or apprenticeships. Between a shrinking job market and stagnant wages, it's no wonder 47 percent of both Gen Zs and Millennials report living paycheck to paycheck, according to Deloitte. (That number is technically down from 52 percent last year, but it still leaves over half of Gen Zs and 40 percent of Millennials unable to afford a house.)

Rent, among other things, is astronomical. According to the Federal Reserve (which LELO cites in its report), young adults who aren't living at home spend an estimated $13,000 more per year on housing, food, and transportation — an annual premium that's out of reach for many people right now. It's impossible to save up that kind of cash when everyday inflation is constantly bleeding your bank account dry (Have you seen gas prices?! The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded is $4.32; that's a 37.5 percent increase over the $3.14 average from 2025).

Independent living has become so financially untenable that some adults are forced to move back in with their folks, and it’s affecting their sex lives — because of course it is. Data collected by LELO shows that 18 to 23 percent of young adults ages 25 to 34 live with their parents, and over half of 18- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. are still living at home.

Unsurprisingly, staying in your childhood home impacts your mental health, too

Four out of five people LELO surveyed said that they felt a "sense of failure," while over half reported feeling constantly stressed and/or "stuck." Of course, these numbers fluctuate by age group: 82 percent of 30-40-year-olds felt like a failure compared to 78 percent of 18-29-year-olds.

A little over half (57 percent) of respondents said that living at home has directly affected their sex life, including how often they do it (38 percent) and the actual quality of the act itself (30 percent). You can't really have animal sex in a twin bed that's butted up to your parents' bedroom wall, can you? I mean, you could, but like, I wouldn't recommend it.

When LELO asked study participants why their love lives were suffering, 40 percent blamed it on a total lack of privacy. As I just mentioned, they were worried that a family member might hear them "gasping with pleasure." For some, the thought of getting caught may be a turn-on, but I can't imagine the excitement would hold up night after night.

There's way more info in the full report, but we'll use these quick stats as proof enough for now that we all need to be getting laid more.

Orgasms are literally an economic necessity

When you orgasm, your brain gets flooded with chemicals like dopamine (the "feel-good" hormone) and endorphins (the body's natural painkillers/mood elevators), followed by a rush of oxytocin (the "love hormone") and prolactin, according to the report. It’s a chemical cocktail that lowers your stress levels. Eight in 10 people in the survey said they "felt relaxed and less stressed" after the big O, with two in 10 saying those feelings lasted for up to 24 hours, and one in 20 saying the benefits lasted for up to two days (that must have been some orgasm!).

And guess what happens when you aren't completely stressed out? A ZipHealth study cited in the report found that people who have sex before work in the morning report the highest levels of productivity (71 percent), task completion (70 percent), and focus (58 percent). Almost one in three people even said a fulfilling sex life had a positive impact on their income or career progression.

SEE ALSO: Inflation has hit spicy content hard

This leaves us in a pretty twisted catch-22 loop: You need to perform well at work to finally make enough money to move out of your parents' house, but according to the data, an active sex life from living independently may lead to that income boost you need. It doesn't help that salaries are stuck in place while everyday bills keep climbing, leaving even people with full-time jobs struggling to catch a break. Orgasming before work might help your performance on paper, but if you're living at home under your parents' roof, a morning quickie probably isn't happening.

The system might be rigged, but hey — at least the next time you're trying to figure out the quietest logistics for some basic self-care, you can tell yourself it’s technically career development.

For years, the Raspberry Pi was the name in DIY, tinker, and maker space. If you wanted to build anything with a network connection or that involved a ton of GPIO, the Pi was the default choice. However, as hobbyist smart home and IoT projects have become more popular, the amount of hardware to support them has grown significantly. While the Pi lineup is still valuable and versatile, the ESP32 has evolved from a niche curiosity into a serious contender for most DIY projects.

All the popular power tool brands make a ton of excellent tools and accessories, giving us more choices than ever. Big names like Ryobi and Milwaukee are often compared because of their offerings, not to mention they're owned by the same company, but make no mistake: they're very different. And what gives Ryobi an advantage isn't what you think.

If you grew up with both Lego and Pokémon, this one's for you.

Announced at SXSW London on Tuesday, a new Pokémon range will be the latest addition to the Lego Smart Play ecosystem. The interactive technology was revealed by the toy company at CES in January, with a range of Star Wars sets.

Available for pre-order starting today and set for release in August, the Lego Pokémon Smart Play collection aims to make Pokémon Trainers of a new generation, involving 12 new sets with interactive Pokémon, including Pikachu, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Charmander, and more. And every single Pokémon in the collection can battle each other. Or just sleep and eat sandwiches, whichever you're more into.

The Lego Pokémon range. Credit: Shannon Connellan / Mashable SEE ALSO: I tried to buy my son some Pokémon cards at retail price. It was almost impossible.

Each Pokémon, which must be built from Lego blocks and equipped with a Smart Block, can be trained to battle others by physically connecting them with Smart Tags within each set. The more trained a Pokémon is, the better chance it has at winning a battle.

How do you start a battle? Hold the Pokémon up to the training dummy, and bring two Pokémon close together (you can hear the music change). Then, you essentially air high-five the Pokémon to attack and draw them back to defend, shake the Pokémon for charged strikes, and lights and sounds will indicate which Pokémon won. I do worry children will accidentally smash their Pokémon into each other, but Lego's pretty tough stuff.

The Lego Pokémon range. Credit: Shannon Connellan / Mashable Squirtle from the Lego Pokémon range. Credit: Shannon Connellan / Mashable The Lego Pokémon range. Credit: Shannon Connellan / Mashable

You can also feed the Pokémon Lego sandwiches embedded with Lego Smart Tags, or you can put them to bed for a nap — and with each action, small sounds emit from the Pokémon. Pikachu giggles when you tickle them, Squirtle relishes a good sandwich, and Charizard roars when you zoom them around in the air. It's genuinely delightful.

The new Lego Pokémon Smart Play sets come as 12 "all-in-one" sets (which include one Lego Smart Brick, charger, and Smart Tags) or as "compatible" sets (which come without the Smart Brick and charger, but you can install Smart Bricks with any of the Pokémon in these sets).

Mewtwo from The Lego Pokémon range. Credit: Shannon Connellan / Mashable Lapras from The Lego Pokémon range. Credit: Shannon Connellan / Mashable Bulbasaur from The Lego Pokémon range. Credit: Shannon Connellan / Mashable

There's a Pikachu-inspired tree house set, with a tiny Lego Poké Ball you need to catch Pikachu with by hitting a smart target. There's an impressive Mewtwo lab, a Charizard vs. Jolteon battle arena, a Jigglypuff concert space, a Bulbasaur and Bidoof berry-themed set, a beach buggy for Squirtle, a cavern set with Charmander and Geodude, a spooky house for Cubone and Gengar, and more, all with their own extra features like treasure chests and trophies to uncover.

The Lego Pokémon will launch in the U.S., UK, Australia, Poland, Germany, and France in August. Prices range from $69.99 to $119.99 for the bigger all-in-one sets, and $14.99 to $89.99 for the compatible sets, with pre-orders now open.

My expectations for Masters of the Universe were low for several reasons. Chief among them, 2026 has been absolutely bleak in terms of movies based on intellectual property geared toward male audiences. The Super Mario Brothers Galaxy Movie was so soulless that it left me considering my own mortality, while Mortal Kombat II made me realize the bar for nostalgia-bait is in hell. 

Besides that, it’s not like He-Man and his friends have made for good movies before. 1987's Masters of the Universe — starring with Dolph Lundgren — was considered a flop with critics and audiences. Then the first trailer for this relaunch dropped in January, and while it looked fun, it sparked fury from conservative He-Man fans because of a shot that revealed He-Man has pronouns. I'm going to write that again: Some men were furious on X that He-Man has pronouns. (If you somehow missed that particular internet outrage, I envy you.) 

Basically, I assumed Masters of the Universe would be catering to the same audience that yells about pronouns and cheers lifeless video game movies. And then on top of all that assumption, I knew Jared Leto is playing Skeletor. 

SEE ALSO: 2026 Summer movie preview: Every film you need to know about now

Leto is a notoriously an actor who gives his audience nothing (Tron: Ares, Morbius) or way too much (Suicide Squad, Dallas Buyers Club, The Little Things). Him playing Skeletor seemed guaranteed to be much too much. 

So it is with no small amount of shock that I confess, I really enjoyed Travis Knight’s Masters of the Universe.

Maybe the lesson here is to look past the optics and look to the filmmaker. As a producer at Laika Studios, Knight has overseen the creation of jaw-droppingly gorgeous and deeply entertaining animated adventures like ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, and Missing Link. As a director, he's helmed Kubo and the Two Strings and the Transformers spinoff Bumblebee, both full of adventure, fun, and heart. Masters of the Universe has much more in common with these movies than the ones catching strays in the previous paragraphs. 

Masters of the Universe refuses to take its IP seriously. And thank the gods for that.  Kristen Wiig, Idris Elba, Nicholas Galitzine, and Camila Mendes in "Masters of the Universe." Credit: Amazon MGM Studios

Written by Chris Butler, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, and David Callaham, Masters of the Universe imagines a scenario in which a young Prince Adam of Eternia is jettisoned from his kingdom after the villainous Skeletor invades. As he grows up on Earth, he speaks endlessly of noble heroes like Ram Man (Jon Xue Zhang), Mekaneck (James Wilkinson), and Fisto (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson) — much to the bewilderment of the humans around him. 

Cut 15 years later, a grown-up Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) believes he is destined to return to Eternia to save his family and friends from the tyrant Skeletor. But for now, he works in human resources, where he has learned how to communicate his feelings and empathize with others. And yes, there’s a sign on his desk that shows his name, Adam Glenn, and his preference for he/him pronouns. 

By refusing to treat this IP as sacred, the filmmakers open the door...

However, once Adam rediscovers the Sword of Power, he finds his way back to Eternia, where the heroes are all baffled by this young man and his foggy memory of a childhood here. It turns out these soldiers were not known as Ram Man and Fisto. But rather that that was how he thought of them, and they are not thrilled when Adam offers the logic for the nicknames, like "because you fist people." 

This silly subversion allows Masters of the Universe to embrace the nostalgia of the toys, the cartoon series, the movies, and the memes that followed, while also recognizing some of them are got pretty ridiculous. By refusing to treat this IP as sacred, the filmmakers open the door for characters to be lively and funny, and not just a stiff recreation of plastic action figures. 

Masters of the Universe embraces '80s nostalgia.  Nicholas Galitzine in "Masters of the Universe." Credit: Amazon MGM Studios

Knight and production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas celebrate the cartoon show and its merch line by painting Eternia in a vivid color palette of reds, greens, oranges, purples, and pinks. Richard Sale's costume designs are reminiscent of the characters' signature looks, including colorful body armor and dramatic silhouettes. Yet even before the movie returns to Eternia, cinematographer Fabian Wagner injects verve into Adam's earthly routine with whip-pans and zooms, enhanced by a "swishing" sound effect to give an echo of cartooniness. 

The soundscape is fleshed out with a soundtrack that pulls from the '80s (Queen's "Princes of the Universe") or evocative of it (The Darkness's "Master of the Universe"). Composer Daniel Pemberton's score likewise screams with synthesizers, electric guitars, and hammering drums, calling back to an era of hair metal and stadium rock n' roll. Even Adam outside his He-Man persona has an '80s theme. Reflecting his softer side, The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry" plays over a montage of him failing to fit in on Earth.

Props to Galitzine, who has thrilled critics with funny turns in three very different comedies: Bottoms, The Idea of You, and The Sheep Detectives. He is a perfectly lovable clown as non-superpowered Adam Glenn. Then, bulked up and loin-clothed is a convincing He-Man, delivering might blows with fist and sword in imaginative battle scenes. Yet, he never loses his wide-eyed sense of wonder or earnest vulnerability. 

Featured Video For You Hugh Jackman and 'Sheep Detectives' co-stars test their movie trivia Why will the Manosphere be mad at Masters of the Universe?  Nicholas Galitzine in "Masters of the Universe." Credit: Amazon MGM Studios

Perhaps unsurprisingly, manhood is a big theme in He-Man's story. As a boy in Eternia, he is introduced as being a head shorter than all the other children training to be warriors (boys and girls alike). He is reluctant to go to weapons training, then"disarms" his opponent by capering and cracking jokes instead of mastering the staff. His father sneers at his lack of fighting prowess, so once they're separated, Adam is fixated on becoming a man his dad would be proud of.

Once he's grown, Adam seeks to bulk up at the gym, asking a familiar face for advice. And instead of tips on how to bench, a certain Swedish action star gives Adam a lesson in building self-assurance rather than seeking outside validation. Still, being his own man is a challenge. Along the way, Adam will flub flirtations, resulting in getting "friend zoned" by his childhood bestie Teela (Camila Mendes), and confound the macho men — including a punchy Idris Elba as a drunkard Man-At-Arms — who don't know what to make of his attempt to host a teamwork seminar instead of a war room speech. 

Essentially, Masters of the Universe suggests that real men are not just those who can build muscle or achieve a macho facade, but those who can recognize their own feelings and self-worth, and find victory not through brute strength but team-building. 

And then there's Leto's take on Skeletor, which was also my favorite bit. 

Jared Leto is absolutely magnificent as Skeletor.  Jared Leto is Skeletor. Credit: Amazon MGM Studios

The cartoon villain who has a skull for a face and a body made muscle-bound blue skin is manifested into visual effects marvel in Masters of the Universe. Watching Skeletor strut, snark, and fight, I couldn't be sure what was practical costuming effects and what was computer-generated imagery. And I don't care, because Leto and the VFX team have built an epic villain, who's sure to be a campy icon. 

I surprise myself by admitting Leto is a perfect choice for a cartoon villain with no face. Little red lights in the ocular cavities serve as his eyes. And while his skinless visage cannot smile or frown, Skeletor's jaw makes a lot of dynamic movements to convey attitude. You're never unsure what he's feeling, partially because of Leto's florid physicality, but most because of his truly wild vocalizations. 

This is more Leto in Haunted Mansion mode, where he played the menacing Hatbox Ghost. Far from the nasal Skeletor voice from the cartoon show, Leto has embraced a villain tact that feels inspired by '80s action movies, where the bad guys were often loquacious, erudite, queer-coded, and British. This makes Skeletor not just menacing but also mad fun. Like Tim Curry in practically every villain role he's played from Rocky Horror Picture Show to Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, Leto relishes being the baddie here.

Mark my words: Drag queens will be lip-syncing to this version of Skeletor before Pride month has ended.

His Skeletor practically purrs when threatening minions with violence and growls salaciously when demanding answers from his second-in-command, the sorceress Evil-lyn (Alison Brie in a cunty blonde bob that feels like an intensional White Lotus nod). But this devil is most fun when he's heckling He-Man. There's a campy villainy to the way Skeletor gleefully mocks the hero while unapologetically noting Adam's big sword and thick thighs. But my favorite bit comes when Adam demands a fair fight, "face-to-face" and Skeletor scoffs in response, saying "1) I don't have a face, and 2) I don't want to." 

Mark my words: Drag queens will be lip-syncing to this version of Skeletor before Pride month has ended. And I suspect Knight and Leto expect no less. 

In the end, Masters of the Universe is a wonderfully entertaining adventure that dodges the pitfalls that makes so much IP adaptations tedious. Knight delivers a colorful film with a point of view, not just a sales pitch. The nostalgia delivers thrills without treating its source material as a sacred text above critique or silliness. The cast is terrifically game to embrace Knight's playfulness, especially Elba in bumbling rogue mode. Galitzine shoulders the fight scenes and humor with aplomb, while Leto channels his over-the-top tendencies into a gloriously outrageous villain. 

Essentially, Masters of the Universe is a terrifically good time, and hopefully a sign of where movie adaptations of nostalgia-driven IP could be headed.

Masters of the Universe opens in theaters on June 5.

In 1997, Nintendo made Star Fox 64. In 2011, Nintendo remade Star Fox 64 for the 3DS. And in 2026, Nintendo has re-re-made Star Fox 64, this time for Switch 2.

And you know what? That's fine! A long time ago, a very bad man, in one of his fleeting moments of lucidity, coined the phrase "I'll keep drinking that garbage," and that's how I feel about the second remake of one of my favorite games of all time. I got to play a bit of the new version, simply titled Star Fox, at a preview event and came away caring less about the necessity of another remake and more about the fact that it seems like a pretty good take on a great game, with some fun new bells and whistles that go beyond a fresh visual pass.

My big takeaway? Don't sleep on multiplayer mode.

'Starfox' for Nintendo Switch 2 $49.99 at Amazon
Releate date: June 25 Pre-order Here at Amazon SEE ALSO: 'Yoshi and the Mysterious Book' is a clever, gorgeous Switch 2 adventure for all ages Star Fox for Switch 2 is very much the single-player game you remember

My hands-on time with the new Star Fox was relatively brief, as I only got to play through the entirety of the first two levels of the single-player campaign's easy branch. If you're not familiar with Star Fox 64's whole deal, a playthrough of the campaign takes roughly 30 minutes and always starts at the same level, but will branch in different directions depending on which bonus objectives you complete. Harder objectives lead to harder levels, which in turn lead to a true ending you won't get if you just do the most basic mission in each level.

It's not possible to see every single level in one go, so a big part of the fun is trying to find different paths through the galaxy. That aspect of Star Fox 64 made the game exceedingly replayable, and I was assured by Nintendo reps on site that the remake maintains that design philosophy.

In solo play, Star Fox for Switch 2 handles pretty much exactly how I, a seasoned veteran who has completed the original game dozens of times, would want it to handle. Level layouts, enemy placements, and power-ups are all exactly how they were in 1997, just with swanky new visuals that do a great job of showing off how powerful Nintendo's new console is. While I certainly have a fondness for the simpler look of the 1997 original, I would not call this new version "ugly" by any stretch of the imagination. The opening level, Corneria, has a distinctly apocalyptic feel that the original lacked, while the second level, set in an asteroid belt, feels appropriately mysterious and menacing.

Peppy yelling "do a barrel roll" in Star Fox for Switch 2. Of course they kept this line in the game. Credit: Nintendo

To the remake's credit, Nintendo has done more than just slap new visuals onto an old game. There are new cutscenes before, after, and between every mission that add some new flavor to what was otherwise a pretty barebones story in the original game. While these cutscenes threaten to slow down the game's nearly flawless pacing a bit, I liked the ones I saw for a couple of reasons.

First, I'm pretty into the idea of seeing Fox, Slippy, Peppy, and Falco actually hanging out with each other outside of combat, which never happens in the original game. The cutscenes I was shown dug a little deeper into their characterizations than anything in the original did, as Falco in particular is repeatedly shown to be kind of a cocky nuisance in a way that felt right to me. What I saw did a nice job of making these characters feel a bit more three-dimensional without flooding the zone with a bunch of needless lore nonsense.

Beyond that, the game's branching structure also means you'll see different cutscenes every time you play the game. Star Fox doesn't necessarily need even more incentives to explore every branch of the story, but I'll welcome new ones anyway. And while the initial reveal of the new character designs was met with some hostility online, I think they work once you actually sit down to play the game. I dig how much more animalistic each character looks, personally. Falco has nasty-looking bird talons instead of regular legs now, and I think that's awesome.

But the new Star Fox multiplayer might be the reason to get this remake It's a cold world. Credit: Nintendo

Star Fox for Switch 2's solo mode was more or less exactly what I expected it to be during the demo session, but the new online battle mode stole the show for me. Up to eight players can participate in these objective-based 4v4 dogfights across a handful of maps, each one having a different central objective.

We got to play a couple of rounds on Sector Y, a new multiplayer take on one of the game's classic single-player levels. In battle mode, Sector Y is basically airborne capture the flag, with dozens of AI-controlled enemy ships flying around to feed on if you need to get some more points for your team between objective spawns. The space cargo you're fighting over initially belongs to NPC space pirates who will mess you the hell up if you take their cargo without killing them, adding a fun layer of danger on top of the fact that four other humans are also gunning for you.

The surprisingly large map had portals placed around it for easy and sometimes strategically crucial quick traversal, while Mario Kart-style bonus weapon pickups ended up being the star of the show here. You can get cluster missiles, a one-time-use healing item, a quick teleport tool, and even a giant Dragon Ball-style beam attack that does pretty nasty things to enemy aircraft. In general, I was pleased with how busy and chaotic these matches felt, and with how satisfying it was to successfully complete objectives without getting horribly murdered by my fellow video game journalists.

This guy rocks. Credit: Nintendo

I was fairly happy with what I played of Star Fox prior to its release later this month, but there are a couple of points of concern. The voice acting has been entirely re-recorded, and while the quality of the acting itself seemed fine, a good amount of the dialogue has been rewritten, and some classic quips like Peppy's "it's quiet...too quiet" from the start of the asteroid belt level have been removed or replaced. First-time players won't notice that, but people like me will, and it is a little jarring if you have all of those lines seared into your memory.

On the multiplayer side of things, I worry about a seemingly small rotation of maps putting a cap on how long the game remains interesting. I don't need a forever-game to hold my attention for months or years, but the competitive side of this game seemed fun enough that I hope it's compelling enough to be fun for a few weeks, at least. Still, those are pretty small warts on what was otherwise a highly enjoyable demo experience. We'll have a full review of the final release when the time is right.

Star Fox launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2 on June 25. You can pre-order the digital edition for $49.99 or get the physical edition for $59.99 via Amazon, the Nintendo online store, and other retailers.

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