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SAVE $30: As of Oct. 17, the Lego DREAMZzz The Never Witch’s Midnight Raven set is on sale for $69.99 at Amazon. This is 30% off its list price of $99.99 and marks its lowest price yet.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego DREAMZzz The Never Witch’s Midnight Raven Building Toys $69.99 at Amazon
$99.99 Save $30   Get Deal

Even with Black Friday a month out, Amazon has been dropping some exciting Lego deals for shoppers to pick up. Now is a great time to stock up on sets, what with the weather getting a little bit colder and everyone spending some more time inside. If you're on the hunt for a good deal, and looking to find something a little spooky for Halloween, the Lego DREAMZzz The Never Witch’s Midnight Raven set is down to its best price at Amazon.

As of Oct. 17, the Lego DREAMZzz The Never Witch’s Midnight Raven set has dropped to $69.99 at Amazon for a limited time. This is a 30% discount from its list price of $99.99. No better time to get your hands on it, if it's caught your attention.

SEE ALSO: Lego is giving away free Witch models for Halloween — here’s how to get yours on Oct. 26

The Lego DREAMZzz The Never Witch’s Midnight Raven set is a build fit for those aged nine and up. It comes with 1,203 pieces that create a very cool looking raven, but that's not all. It can also be rebuilt as a raven-hut combination or even as a collection of three creatures: a walking house, a cauldron spider, or a giant raven. On top of the build, you'll also get minifigures of Mateo, Astrid, the Never Witch, Dizzy, and Dogan alongside a Z-Blob figure.

No better time than now to scoop up the Lego DREAMZzz The Never Witch’s Midnight Raven set for spooky season and save 30%.

Looking for even more seasonally appropriate Lego sets to build? Check out our roundup of the best Halloween-themed Lego sets to see even more options worth building this month.

Sabrina Carpenter is both the host and the musical guest on Saturday Night Live this week, but that doesn't mean she didn't have time to record a few silly promo skits too.

In the clip above, Carpenter teams up with Marcello Hernández to motivate viewers who may be watching them while washing the dishes, flirts with the camera operator, and finally reveals that she isn't nervous to return and host SNL, but there is one thing that terrifies her deeply — and it just so happens to be the same exact fear that Hernández has.

"My dentist grows a really long beard and it tickles my chest," say the pair in perfect unison. In fairness that does sound uncomfortable.

On The Late Show Thursday, Nick Offerman took Stephen Colbert through the real community events coming up in his hometown of Minooka, Illinois, and honestly, sign us up for everything.

"As we like to say in Minooka: 'When you're a Minookan, there's nothing you Minoo-can't do,'" says Offerman in The Late Show's regular and delightful "Community Calendar" segment above.

Running through actual events coming up in Minooka and the greater Grundy County regional area in October, including chair yoga at the Minooka Branch Library, the Viking Strength Challenge, Minooka’s annual Halloween parade, a haunted birdhouse-making day, and a Conspiracy Scavenger Hunt happening in Joliet — "or at least that's what they want you to believe," says Offerman.

If you want to experience events in the greater Grundy County regional area, your plans await in the video above. But as Offerman says, "If you are experiencing events in your Grundy area, consult a physician."

SAVE $7.95: As of Oct. 17, the Pokémon TCG Black Bolt Elite Trainer Box is $84.99 at TCGPlayer, compared to $92.94 at Amazon.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Black Bolt Elite Trainer Box $84.99 at TCGPlayer
$92.74 Save $7.75   Get Deal

Whilst everyone has their eyes on Mega Evolution / Phantasmal Flames and paying over the odds for new sealed product, I'm hunting down Black Bolt and White Flare deals on both sealed and single cards. Why? Because it's a fantastic set that brings a satisfying close to the Scarlet and Violet era of Pokémon TCG.

Every Unovan Pokémon from Black and White 1 and 2 either has an Illustration Rare, Special Illustration Rare, or an ever-illusive Black White Rare. This is such a lovely set to collect and build decks with, and it makes me wish there was more Illustration Rares in every set. Just imagine taking your 10 year old-self from the Wizards of the Coast days, battling in Pokémon Leagues in Warner Brothers stores and showed them any of the modern cards. They'd blow your fragile mind.

SEE ALSO: Where to buy Pokémon cards in 2025 — avoid overpaying or missing out on new sets

Elite Trainer Boxes are awesome for their extras as well as booster packs. In this one, you'll get a Thundurus 209 Illustration Rare promo card, 65 Black Bolt-Themed sleeves, themed dice, eight booster packs, and the ETB box complete with dividers to keep on top of your collection.

Most valuable Black Bolt and White Flare Pokémon cards Credit: Mashable Photo Composite / The Pokémon Company

This is still an expensive set, so the chances of actually pulling a hefty chase card is very low when you think about all of the Illustration Rare cards. It's often cheaper to grab the chase card you want as a single card rather than spending endless amounts on sealed product hoping for the best. Here's the top chase cards in Black Bolt and White Flare you can buy right now:

1. Victini – 171/086 – SV: Black Bolt
   Near Mint Holofoil: $431.98
   Market price: $446.04
   Most recent sale: $549.99

2. Victini – 172/086 – SV: White Flare
   Near Mint Holofoil: $390
   Market price: $432.16
   Most recent sale: $400

3. Zekrom ex – 172/086 – SV: Black Bolt
   Near Mint Holofoil: $378.27
   Market price: $398.49
   Most recent sale: $377

4. Reshiram ex – 173/086 – SV: White Flare
   Near Mint Holofoil: $367.95
   Market price: $369.17
   Most recent sale: $353.21

5. Zekrom ex – 166/086 – SV: Black Bolt
   Near Mint Holofoil: $210.99
   Market price: $208.89
   Most recent sale: $200

6. Reshiram ex – 166/086 – SV: White Flare
   Near Mint Holofoil: $180
   Market price: $178.19
   Most recent sale: $175

SAVE OVER $300: As of Oct. 17, the iRobot Roomba Plus 504 robot vacuum is on sale for $398.99 at Amazon (its lowest-ever price). This is $351 off its list price of $749.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: iRobot iRobot Roomba Plus 504 Vac Robot Vacuum $398.99 at Amazon
$749.99 Save $351   Get Deal

A little extra cleaning help around the house is always appreciated, especially during the fall and winter months. A robot vacuum is a great way to help keep your floors a bit tidier, and the good news is you don't have to wait for Black Friday to score a deal. Amazon already has some excellent discounts live, including on the iRobot Roomba Plus 504 robot vacuum.

The iRobot Roomba Plus 504 robot vacuum is currently sitting at $398.99 at Amazon, its lowest price yet. At the moment, Amazon has a typical list price of $574.95, though we previously saw its list price at $749.99. For this piece, we've chosen to go with the list price so there isn't any confusion.

SEE ALSO: What is the best robot vacuum? I test new ones every month and trust these the most.

If you're looking for a robot vacuum that can tackle any pet hair, dirt, or crumbs that have dropped onto your floor, the iRobot Roomba Plus 504 robot vacuum can get the job done with its powerful suction, anti-tangle dual rubber brushes, edge-sweeping brush, and carpet boost technology. On top of that, it'll avoid any obstacles in its way with the help of PrecisionVision AI technology, and it can even go up to 75 days without its docking station needing to be emptied.

Hurry to grab the iRobot Roomba Plus 504 robot vacuum at its lowest-ever price before the offer is gone for good.

Amazon has more robot vacuum deals worth checking out alongside this one. Another great deal to check out is on the Ecovacs Deebot X9 Pro Omni robot vacuum, which has dropped to its lowest-ever price.

Google Meet has a new AI-powered makeup filter that lets you apply lipstick without opening a real tube.

Launched on Oct. 13, the tool is an expansion of the video call platform's "Touch Up" feature added in 2023. Similar to the AR beauty and makeup lenses on social media sites like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, and the myriad virtual try-on platforms around, Google Meet's new feature allows users to add basic makeup filters that mimic foundation, blush, lipstick, mascara, and eyeshadow.

SEE ALSO: TikTok beauty filters can be super realistic—unless you're a person of color

In a blog post, Google demonstrated the tool in the GIFs below, and from testing it myself, I have to say the facial mapping is impressively sticky.

On desktop:

Credit: Google Meet

On mobile:

Credit: Google Meet

There are 12 studio makeup options to choose from, titled things like "rosy pink," "cat eye," "goth chic," and "dewy fresh." But how do you find the makeup tool? Here's a step-by-step guide.

How to use Google Meet's new AI makeup tool Total Time

• 2 min

What You Need

• Google Meet on desktop
• laptop
• or smartphone

Step 1: Open Google Meet calendar event.

Don't join yet. Instead, click the icon showing a person in a frame with a small star in the right corner.

Credit: Google Meet

Step 2: Click "Appearance."

It's sitting beside "Background" and "Filters."

Credit: Google Meet

Step 3: Scroll down to the "Makeup" section and click on each face icon to try on each style.

Here, you can pick from 12 options, which vary from heavy to light.

Credit: Google Meet

Step 4: Click your choice of makeup, and make sure your camera is on to see it applied.

Tap the camera icon on the screen beside the microphone/mute button to turn it on and off.

Step 5: If you want to remove the makeup filter, simply tap the highlighted option again.

Step 6: Press the X in the top right corner of the window to return to the Google Meet lobby and click "Join now."

Step 7: If you want to turn the makeup tool on or off during the meeting, tap the three dots beside the red phone button.

Credit: Google Meet

Step 8: Then, click "Backgrounds and effects" and repeat the above process.

Credit: Google Meet

For more hacks on how to tinker with your Google Meet settings, Mashable's got you covered.

Featured Video For You Google's Pixel 10 Pro Fold Is Here

SAVE $300: As of Oct. 17, the Samsung 75-Inch Class QLED Q8F is on sale for $997.99 at Amazon. That's a 23% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung 75-Inch Class QLED Q8F $997.99 at Amazon
$1,297.99 Save $300   Get Deal

If you're in the market for a new TV this fall, look no further than Amazon's Daily Deals.

October's Prime Day may be over and Black Friday still weeks away, but there's discounts to be found in this no-mans land. Like this latest discount on the Samsung 75-Inch Class QLED Q8F TV. As of Oct. 17, this TV is reduced to $997.99, saving you $300. If 75-inch sounds a little too big (or small) for your space, all other size options are reduced too. However, its worth noting that this model is at its lowest-ever price.

SEE ALSO: The Hisense U8 Mini-LED ULED 4K TV has dropped to an all-time low price at Amazon

You're saving a lot, but this TV has still got a hefty price tag, and definitely won't be an impulse buy. But if you're already looking for an impressive, high quality TV, this one won't disappoint. It benefits from 4K resolution and it even uses AI to optimize colors and audio based on the type of content you're watching.

It also uses nano-sized Quantum Dots to make sure all the colors show accurately. And it sits neatly in your space, whether it's on the wall or a TV stand, the slim design is aesthetic and tidy. For streaming and watching you'll get access to over 2,700 free channels, including more than 400 Samsung TV Plus premium channels, as well as your usual streaming apps. For gaming and sports, it supports VRR at up to 4K 144Hz for smooth motion.

Head to Amazon to pick up this TV for its best-ever price.

It had to happen eventually, and happen it has — Jeremy Allen White has taken on First We Feast's Hot Ones.

In the clip above The Bear star devours increasingly spicy wings while speaking about everything from the hardest scenes he's had to shoot to the reason he's always buying flowers.

The highlight? A story he tells about attending a fancy restaurant at the age of 23 and getting told off by the staff.

When he's not been busy ranting on Truth Social about things like his Time magazine cover photo, Donald Trump is busy flogging watches to his supporters.

In the clip above Jimmy Kimmel plays footage of one of the president's ads, in which Trump encourages people to buy one of his watches because "Christmas is coming."

"I'd like you to just close your eyes right now and try to imagine Lincoln in front of a flag, selling top hats," says Kimmel. "And at least he wore top hats, Trump doesn't even wear a watch. I mean seriously."

The late night show host goes on to pull up a review from a customer alleging they'd ordered a watch that still hadn't arrived five months later, adding that it was a shame the company wasn't "holding to President Trumps [sic] high standards."

"I have bad news for you honey, they're holding exactly to Trump's high standards," Kimmel says. "Mr made-in-America and his partners claim the watches feature premium, Swiss-made materials, but most of the experts seem to agree they are likely made in China. I hope he gets hit by his own tariffs."

SAVE $200: As of Oct. 17, the Asus ROG Strix G16 is on sale for $1,699 at Amazon. That's an 11% saving on the list price and its lowest-ever price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Asus Asus ROG Strix G16 $1,699 at Amazon
$1,899.99 Save $200.99   Get Deal

October Prime Day treated us to a whole host of discounts on top products. MacBooks, earbuds, and so much more were heavily discounted, some to record lows. And while most of these prices have returned to normal, some are still hanging around, like this great deal on the Asus ROG Strix G16. As of Oct. 17, this laptop is down to $1,699. This is its lowest-ever price according to camelcamelcamel. This price is for the Ultra 9, 16GB, RTX5060 model.

This impressive model runs on Windows 11 Home and has an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop GPU, so games, apps, and streaming all run smoothly. You'll get 16GB of DDR5 memory and a 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD, giving you plenty of speed and storage.

SEE ALSO: Save over $100 on this 45-inch LG Ultragear curved gaming monitor

The display is as sharp as you'd expect from a gaming laptop, with its 240Hz, ROG Nebula display. It boasts an enhanced contrast, reduced glare, and Dolby Vision HDR. And don't worry about things overheating, the vapor chamber cooling system with tri-fan tech and liquid metal keeps things cool even during heavy gaming sessions.

The customizable RGB Aura Light Bar is worth shouting out too, giving the whole thing a premium look. This deal has a limited-time stamp, so don't miss out. Get it from Amazon now.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition requires expertise in women's tennis.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Yellow: Quit

• Green: Scoring moves

• Blue: Headwear components

• Purple: Same second word

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

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

• Yellow: Give up

• Green: Shots in basketball

• Blue: Parts of a hat

• Purple: ____ hill

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

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

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections: Sports Edition #389 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Give up - ALLOW, CONCEDE, SURRENDER, YIELD

• Shots in basketball - DUNK, FINGER ROLL, HOOK, JUMPER

• Parts of a hat - BILL, BUTTON, CLOSURE, EYELET

• ____ hill - CHAPEL, CHESTNUT, GRANT, RICH

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

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

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

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

Strange, narrow channels threading through some of Mars' sand dunes have intrigued scientists for years. 

These Martian features don't look like anything on Earth. Early theories proposed that flowing water created these gullies, perhaps when the Red Planet had a warmer, wetter climate billions of years ago. That idea thrilled scientists because it meant Mars might once have supported life. 

But newer space images have revealed that these gullies aren't relics of the past but forming and changing with the seasons now, making them all the more perplexing. Though Lonneke Roelofs is an Earth scientist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, she was determined to solve the extraterrestrial mystery. She describes herself as "broadly interested," and that curiosity has led her to study surface processes far beyond our own planet. 

"Mars is currently the only planet on which we have observed these types of gullies," she told Mashable, "so they are a pretty special and exciting landform."

Rather than rely on computer simulations as other planetary studies so often do, Roelofs and a graduate student went to a lab at The Open University in the United Kingdom and recreated Mars-like conditions, complete with very low air pressure and fine sand. In the end, their experiments were able to reproduce the gullies — in a surprising way. 

SEE ALSO: A giant black hole is lost in space. Here's how it's shocking astronomers.

These Martian ditches, called linear dune gullies, often run parallel and end with small pits. They range from about three to 30 feet wide and 65 to hundreds of feet long, Roelofs said, depending on the size of the dune.

Despite the name, many of the ditches squiggle instead of forming straight lines. With the help of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter images, scientists have observed these surface features changing during the Martian spring. 

A closer view of the linear dune gullies at Hellas Planitia, taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and shown at the top of this story, reveals how these channels twist and curve through the sand. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UArizona

"How quickly they are eroded is dependent on how quickly the dunes move," Roelofs said. "Over the time span of 10 years, we have seen gullies fade. But some exist for longer."

Since the Red Planet has no running water on its surface today, scientists have considered other possible explanations. One idea has pointed to chunks of frozen carbon dioxide, aka dry ice. 

During the Martian winter, frost and dry ice accumulate on top of desert dunes in the southern hemisphere, sometimes forming a layer over two-feet thick. But when spring sunlight returns, the ice begins to warm and break. Pieces then slide down the slopes. 

In short, some scientists have wondered if the gullies are caused by avalanches. But it was unclear how an avalanche of dry ice under the thin Martian air would differ from how it works with snow on Earth. 

In the lab's Mars chamber, the team released blocks of dry ice onto slopes of different angles and watched how they moved. The experiment yielded two distinct behaviors. Their findings appear in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

On steep slopes, the dry ice just slid, creating thin, shallow etches. But on gradual slopes, the blocks did something wild: The bottom of the ice touching the dune converted directly into gas, skipping the liquid phase, and blasted surrounding sand away, due to its high pressure. The ice burrowed downward like a mole, digging deeper and more twisted trenches. 

Suddenly, a simple chunk of ice seemed to move more like an animal. That process caused ridges, called levees, to pile up on either side. Video recordings of the experiments, shared above, demonstrate how it works. Roelofs likens the strange behavior to sandworms in Dune.

The tests also revealed that the ditches only develop on dunes with very fine, evenly sized sand grains. Coarser or more jagged material prevents the burrowing motion, which could explain why the gullies only appear in certain Martian regions, according to the paper.

Many planetary scientists have assumed that undulating channels always indicate a past presence of liquid water, streams rushing over and carving out the surface. But, when it comes to Mars at least, that's not necessarily true.

TL;DR: Bring home a MacBook Air for only $179.97 (reg. $999) through Nov. 2.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple MacBook Air 13.3-Inch 2017 (Refurbished) $179.97
$999 Save $819.03   Get Deal

A MacBook Air for under $200? It may sound like a pricing error, but it’s a reality when it comes to this 13.3-inch model. This MacBook Air proves top-quality tech doesn’t always have to come with top-tier pricing, because you can currently snag this laptop for just $179.97 (reg. $999) through Nov. 2, while supplies last.

Whether you’re in the market for a new laptop or you just can’t pass up this kind of deal, this MacBook Air can be your new on-the-go device. Weighing in at just under three pounds, it’s easy to bring along anywhere — but don’t assume its lightweight status means it skimps on power.

SEE ALSO: Everything Apple announced today: Meet the new M5 MacBook, iPad

This MacBook Air packs an impressive 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 processor so you’ll enjoy power and performance in this portable device. The 13.3-inch widescreen display offers a 1440 x 900 resolution and Intel HD Graphics 6000, providing vibrant visuals, and you can tackle both work and play thanks to an impressive 12 hours of battery life.

If you like to keep your important files easy to access, you’ll appreciate the 128GB of built-in storage. It also features Bluetooth and WiFi to make connectivity easy.

If you’re wondering how you’re getting this MacBook Air for over $800 off, it’s thanks to the grade A/B refurbished rating. This means it will arrive on your doorstep with light to normal wear and tear, while you enjoy the deep discount.

Act fast to secure your MacBook Air for only $179.97 (reg. $999) through Nov. 2.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Create whatever images you can dream up with this lifetime subscription to Imagiyo AI Image Generator, on sale now for just $39.97 (reg. $495).

Opens in a new window Credit: Imagiyo Imagiyo AI Image Generator: Lifetime Subscription (Standard Plan) $39.97
$495 Save $455.03   Get Deal

Whether you’re new to the world of AI or you’re a veteran who knows the ropes, creating AI-generated images is endlessly entertaining. Imagiyo AI Image Generator makes it easy to do, and you don’t need any artistic abilities or a background in graphic design.

Right now, you can snag a lifetime subscription to this limitless image generator for only $39.97 (reg. $495).

SEE ALSO: How to filter out AI on Pinterest

Thanks to the power of artificial intelligence, you can turn words into stunning art with Imagiyo AI Image Generator. There’s no art or tech knowledge required — just put in your prompt and watch it come to life.

Imagiyo lets you create images for commercial use or personal, so you can design social media content, brand logos, or make special gifts for loved ones. The images will be high-quality and ready to print, so they make great gifts. And multiple image generation sizes are available as Modelslab LLMs.

There are no watermarks or ads to deal with, and unlike other image generators, Imagiyo doesn’t have any limitations. You can even have it generate NSFW images if you’d like. Just make sure your privacy settings are set to private for that type of content.

The Imagiyo AI Image Generator standard plan lets you make 500 images a month, and also includes two images per request.

Generate images forever with this lifetime subscription to Imagiyo AI Image Generator, on sale now for just $39.97 (reg. $495).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

If you took a shot for every corporate euphemism in No Other Choice, you'd be circling back, going in a different direction, finding your services no longer required, rightsized, downsized, and as plastered as one of the characters.

The very title itself evades responsibility, a phrase used by big companies to hide behind intentional, cold decision-making. In this superb dark comedy-thriller, legendary South Korean director Park Chan-wook delivers a biting social commentary on the brutal job market and its associated hyper-competitiveness that sees candidates out for blood, literally.

SEE ALSO: 'No Other Choice' trailer: Park Chan-wook's latest is a black comedy about capitalism and murder

Based on Donald E. Westlake's 1997 novel The Ax and written by Park, Lee Kyoung-mi, Jahye Lee, and Don McKellar, the film presents an anti-capitalist fable about workplace politics, where merciless company restructuring drives a desperate family man (Squid Game's Lee Byung-hun) to violence — despite his lack of skills in that department. While not as ultraviolent as Park's lauded Vengeance Trilogy or as seductive as his recent Hitchockian film Decision to Leave, the director hypothesises the fallout of corporate redundancies through this bumbling self-made assassin — one whose inept, maddening decisions will make you consider the morality of it all.

Under pressure to provide, is murdering his way into a job the only option in this economy? 

No Other Choice sees a family man scorned in a hyper-competitive, capitalist reality. Son Ye-jin and Lee Byung-hun in "No Other Choice." Credit: BFI London Film Festival

In an unhinged, uncomfortably empathetic performance by Lee, the nucleus of the film is Yoo Man-soo, a hardworking, proud, and long-serving employee at specialist paper company Solar Paper. He's saved enough to buy his father's stunning house and provide his wife Mi-ri (Crash Landing on You's Son Ye-jin) and two kids a comfortable, upper-middle-class life, full of cello lessons, outdoor barbecues, and designer goods. It's all captured in a saturated golden light and dynamic cinematography from Kim Woo-hyung — with whom Park worked on The Little Drummer Girl series. But when Man-soo is suddenly fired after decades of company loyalty, bills stack up and pragmatic Mi-ri declares their need to adjust — and it's not just creature comforts that are sent packing but actual creatures too, including their pair of adorable, obedient golden retrievers.

No corporate mindfulness workshop could assuage Man-soo's fears of eternal unemployment and the societal shame of it all. Meanwhile, Mi-ri gets her own job at a dentist's office, where the handsomeness of her new boss fuels Man-soo's jealousy and determination to reclaim his breadwinning pride.

Featured Video For You Spike Lee reveals how Denzel Washington's performance changed a key element in 'Highest 2 Lowest'

Suddenly, the perfect opportunity (or any opportunity at all) appears on the horizon at the rival Moon Paper, with Man-soo facing an intimidating ocean of potential candidates and AI-powered replacements. Not seeing a snowball's chance in hell of getting the position, he writes a shortlist of candidates (Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min) that could beat him to the job, intending to eliminate them — for good. That means luring them into applying for jobs at his fake company and killing his way back into employability, one by one.

Park Chan-wook subverts his signature vengeance mode to scrutinise morality and responsibility. Lee Byung-hun and Lee Sung-min in "No Other Choice." Credit: BFI London Film Festival

The quest for vengeance and self-satisfaction runs rivers of blood throughout Park's work, with revenge fueling his lauded 2000s triptych Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance. But where the protagonists of the Vengeance Trilogy had a particular set of skills and life-defining scores to settle, Man-soo of No Other Choice embodies both amateur killer-to-be and believer of himself as a Good Person. 

As the title suggests, Park's film is a hard lesson in individualist finger-pointing and evasive corporate euphemisms that sees its protagonist deflect any form of responsibility for his actions. Man-soo believes he has, after all, exhausted all options. Here, as in Park's line of retaliatory narratives, No Other Choice explores moral and ethical boundaries; Man-soo believes his behaviour is justified for the benefit of his family and his own sense of pride as provider.

With a spectacularly physical performance of pure desperation from Lee, Yoo Man-soo flails his way through violent encounters, one of which is darkly comedic (and stolen by the hilarious Yeom Hye-ran as a target candidate's wife), another gruesome and calculated. It's these scenes that see Park in glorious contained chaos mode, the master of escalating, brutal pandemonium within one set-piece. Park consistently shows Man-soo on the precipice of violence: The family man standing on the edge of an apartment roof holding a heavy pot plant above a competitor perfectly encapsulates the film's ongoing "Will he actually do it?" tension. Here, Park deploys Kim's stylised cinematography and bold editing by Kim Sang-bum to heighten the more operatic elements of the story. 

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As a viewer, we're simultaneously rooting for Man-soo and unnerved by his capacity for calculated manipulation and murder. No Other Choice poses the question: Would you kill for the life you want? In fact, the film doesn't even ask it, instead presenting a man believing himself forced into making such a decision due to cold, hard corporate strategy. It's out of his hands. It's a top-down decision. When you really consider it, Man-soo's simply delivering on blue sky thinking.

No Other Choice was reviewed out of BFI London Film Festival. The film will hit select cinemas in late December before a broad release in January.

Ever wandered through an established art gallery and thought about prying those valuable masterpieces from the wall and running out the door, all in broad daylight? That's what Josh O'Connor's character cooks up in The Mastermind. But it's not the entire story of Kelly Reichardt's latest, with the writer/director leaning on the art heist genre to take a deeper look into the reasons behind such a decision — and follow a family man on the run during social and political upheaval in America.

Set in '70s Massachusetts and loosely based on the high-profile Worcester Art Museum robbery, The Mastermind plays out such a scenario with charming realism, wholesome comedy, and a rich, seductive score. But its most valuable asset is O'Connor, whose magnetic performance is as hilariously deadpan as it is moving.

The Mastermind plans a highly cosy crime. Josh O'Connor in "The Mastermind." Credit: Mastermind Movie Inc. All Rights Reserved

With a clear pivot in the film's centre, The Mastermind is essentially a story in two acts: the first involving a farcical art heist frankly best left to professional thieves, the second a rambling road trip through American towns, all tainted by the inescapable but subtle presence of the Vietnam War.

As for the heist, Reichardt keeps things characteristically minimalist and as far away from Ocean's 11 flamboyance as possible. We're talking no surveillance tech, limited security staff, and small-town cops on their lunch break. There are no nail-biter safe-cracking scenes, no lasers to avoid, no bait and switch. Instead of a motley crew of specialists pulling "one last job," it's a trio of regular guys led by middle-class family man and unemployed carpenter JB (O'Connor). With his chic and cool-headed wife Terri (Alana Haim) and adorable young sons (Jasper and Sterling Thompson) in tow, he cases the fictitious Framingham Art Museum in order to steal four works by American modernist Arthur Dove. 

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Everything about this relatively cosy crime feels soft and overtly autumnal, from Rob Mazurek's mellow jazz score to costume designer Amy Roth's array of plush sweaters and cardigans, to the homemade pillowcases Terri sews to transport the stolen works. JB uses paper maps to brief his co-conspirators and hands out beautifully hand-drawn flashcards of the works they need to steal. Cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt captures each scene with a nostalgic, low-contrast glow akin to the classic '70s movie aesthetic of The Holdovers, and Anthony Gasparro's production design is a crunchy-leafed suburban landscape of American modernist architecture — and all the wood panelling that goes with it.

Those flash cards. Credit: Mastermind Movie Inc. All Rights Reserved

That being said, there are some sharp edges here once reality hits. Quietly confident he can pull off such a daring crime with ample preparation, JB unwisely puts his faith in his skittish collaborators (Eli Gelb, Cole Doman, and Javion Allen), leading to a bungled execution that is both stressful and comical to watch. Reichardt deploys slapstick comedy sparingly but effectively. At times, The Mastermind even veers into Buster Keaton territory, especially in one of the film's best scenes involving O'Connor's dalliance with a barn ladder and the valiant aim of loft storage. Reader, I cackled. In fact, O'Connor's ability to channel a Keaton-worthy deadpan stare continues throughout the film, one of the many subtle skills the History of Sound actor wields.

Josh O'Connor is a master of deadpan comedy in The Mastermind. Eli Gelb, Javion Allen, and Josh O'Connor in "The Mastermind." Credit: Mastermind Movie Inc. All Rights Reserved

Though The Mastermind precedes the technology by a few decades, O'Connor's JB feels like personification of the deluded shrug guy emoticon, assuring the people around him (especially his exasperated parents, played by Hope Davis and Bill Camp) that everything's going to work out. Despite the title of the film, JB is far from a criminal mastermind, despite one or two Frank Abagnale Jr. moments. However, Reichardt is less interested in following the flashy finesse of a master thief, more in the string of life decisions JB makes to try and provide financial stability for his family (and yes, a sense of personal accomplishment for himself). 

As much as The Mastermind gives O'Connor to play with, it sadly does not bestow the same opportunity on his co-star, Alana Haim, whose role as JB's wife seems bizarrely restricted. Aside from a brief spell of camaraderie during the planning of the heist, Terri is given little to do but glare and seethe at her bumbling husband, though Haim miraculously finds nuance and expression within her allotted silence. JB quite literally pleads with his wife to "say something" and express her feelings. And while women onscreen shouldn't always be required to flip tables to speak their minds, Terri deserves more characterisation than an alarm clock thrown offscreen.

Alana Haim in "The Mastermind." Credit: Mastermind Movie Inc. All Rights Reserved

Where The Mastermind does extrapolate a truly marvellous character is in JB's old friend Fred, an absolute highlight of the film played by John Magaro who is jubilant at having his "mind blown" by his friend's extraordinary actions. The Past Lives actor brings a brilliant sense of levity and warmth to the film (and JB himself) when it's needed, offset by the bristling disdain exuded by Fred's partner Maude (Gaby Hoffmann). We're not privy to every detail of the relationship between these three, with Reichardt leaving the audience to fill in more than a few gaps for themselves. And that's half the magic of The Mastermind.

Featured Video For You 'Challengers' Zendaya, Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist on the significance of the 'I Told Ya' shirt Kelly Reichardt leaves the audience to piece together The Mastermind. Vietnam War-era America is omnipresent. Credit: Mastermind Movie Inc. All Rights Reserved

Showing no intention of tying The Mastermind up in a neat bow, Reichardt doesn't overexplain in her film. Relationships between characters emerge slowly through dialogue; historical context isn't shoved down our throats. But the omnipresence of the Vietnam War is impossible to miss.

The advent of television broadcasting sees JB's father glued to the nightly news while our protagonist sweats about the details of his hometown heist. Anti-war protests and demonstrations pepper the media and the streets on differing scales. This crucial moment of political turbulence in America comes into sharper focus once JB hits the road, where he notices a naval officer on the Greyhound bus shipping out and sees young student activists lambasted by older nationalists. The social and cultural shifts of the '70s seep into the central narrative through offhand comments; a conversation between JB and Fred mentions Canadian communes full of "draft dodgers, radical feminists, dope fiends — nice people."

It's Reichardt's ability to thread such tempestuous historical context through comedy and the heist genre that makes The Mastermind such a unique and endearing film. And it's O'Connor's magnetic performance that makes the film a masterpiece of subtlety and deadpan humour. There are no heist movie archetypes here, only crunchy leaves, modernist art, and bumbling realism. It's a combination worth the steal.

The Mastermind hits U.S. cinemas Oct. 17 and UK and Ireland Oct. 24, after showing at the New York Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival.

With Challengers, Queer, and now After The Hunt, director Luca Guadagnino is on a streak of exploring the wild ways desire and love can warp our views of the world and each other.

With Challengers, Guadagnino presented a love triangle so twisted that leading lady Zendaya insisted audiences needed to see the movie twice to get a proper feel for all the character dynamics. With Queer, Daniel Craig wound himself up into a frantic and sometimes pathetic obsessive, pining for a rather unremarkable younger man who couldn't handle such intensity or devotion. Now, with After the Hunt, there's no need for the rush of a tennis championship or the frenzy of an ayahuasca trip to crank up the pressure on the central characters, who are less a love triangle and more a pyramid of longing, etched with resentment. 

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

And yet After The Hunt was met with mixed to negative reviews out of its world premiere at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival in August. The film currently sits with a 49% on Rotten Tomatoes, the lowest score for a Guadagnino-directed film. So, what about his latest is not clicking with critics?

Well, the screenplay by Nora Garrett explores the he-said-she-said drama of a rape accusation within a prestigious university's philosophy department. In that setting, what is "truth" becomes a headier thing, folding in dialogues about race, gender, sexual orientation, generational divides, and how all of this impacts the views of the characters within After the Hunt. 

Some critics have felt Guadagnino's approach to the material is didactic and intellectually hollow. But I found the film's heavy-handed intellectualizing is wisely employed as a shield against emotional truths that risk tearing its characters to shreds. Basically, this is a movie about people — specifically white people — who believe they can out-think their problems, even when they can't. 

After The Hunt is a tale of desire and betrayal.  Julia Roberts, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Chloë Sevigny co-star in "After The Hunt." Credit: Amazon MGM Studios

Julia Roberts stars as Alma Olsson, a philosophy professor at Yale who's poised for tenure. The film begins in her sophisticated home, where an elegant cocktail party is the perfect stage for Alma to espouse the freedom and impenetrability that tenure status grants an educator. Her close colleague Hank Gibson (Andrew Garfield) shares her desire for such elevation, and from their public displays of affection — flaunted even in front of Alma's adoring husband Frederik (Michael Stuhlbarg) — it seems that they've shared much more than a tenure track. 

When not fawning over each other with an undeniable sexual chemistry, Hank and Alma talk up their protege, Maggie (The Bear's Ayo Edebiri), who is currently working on her dissertation with the guidance of both philosophy professors. Where Hank seems almost outrageously at ease in Alma's world, curled up on her couch, taunting her husband and his homemade tarts for the party, Maggie is ill at ease in this predominantly white space. She stares down the African artifacts that sit casually on Alma's shelves. She speaks with an almost apologetic tone, with Hank all too eager to interrupt her. Yet, it's clear she admires Alma, and urgently wants to be as close to her — as respected by her — as Hank. In fact, Alma's husband Frederik is all too ready to whisper this gossipy epiphany while the others are in the next room. 

Within this opening, Garrett's script sets up the power dynamics at play, where Alma is at the top, not only of the department but also in the estimation of all around her. Hank, Maggie, and Frederik regard her as a queen who is hard to impress but worthy of almost pathetic devotion. Yet these three vying for Alma's heart — or if not her heart, then at least her attention — are coming from different playing fields.

Frederik is on her level in terms of age and respectability; he's a Gen Xer who works in mental health, he's dapper and educated, and he has the socially acceptable hobby of gourmet cooking. Hank is a swaggering millennial man with a sharp wit and an oozing sex appeal, which he flings about as cavalierly as his opinions of Friedrich Nietzsche. Maggie is more reserved, a Gen Z student who is clearly self-conscious about being the lone Black woman in this gathering of white intellectuals. But she's trying to blend in. Her clothes mimic Alma's tailored but soft business attire, often in a brilliant white that suggests a gracefulness that would never spill a drop of red white in an inconvenient spot. Yet where Alma looks comfortable, Maggie looks like she's ready to run.

This party proves to be the "before" for all four. That night after the party, Hank will walk Maggie home, and what happens then will be the focus of the rest of the film. 

After the Hunt doesn't give audiences easy answers.  Julia Roberts stars in "After The Hunt." Credit: Amazon MGM Studios

The next evening, Maggie turns up on Alma's doorstep, rattled, soaking wet, and insisting that Hank raped her the night before. Like Asghar Farhadi's A Separation or Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall, After the Hunt won't show audiences the event that is its inciting incident. It's up to us to probe the perspectives of Alma, Hank, and Maggie to understand not only what happened, but what's next. Alma's resistant to Maggie's story because of her feelings for Hank. However, Hank's side of the story is far from vindicating. Unlike many legal dramas on sexual misconduct, After the Hunt moves quickly in cause and effect. 

After Hank is swiftly fired, Maggie is pressured by a Yale journalism student to make her story public. Both turn to Alma for help. Far from a warm or maternal figure, Alma is brusque, pushing for what she sees as pragmatism and coming off as "unfeeling." Yet there's something from her past that begs for her attention. Introduced ambiguously in the first act, this secret thumps like the eponymous Tell-Tale Heart, demanding Alma confront her past. 

Yet while Alma is the film's central protagonist, Garrett's script is mindful to give richness to Maggie. Scenes in Maggie's apartment with her non-binary partner (Lío Mehiel) give a sense of who she is outside of Yale, where she's striving to live up not only to Alma's precise standards but also those of her wealthy parents, who are major patrons of the university. Within her queerness and youth, Maggie has a space to be vocal about her truth and her pain in a way that absolutely baffles her older professors. At one point, Alma challenges Maggie, declaring, "Not everything is supposed to be make you comfortable." And herein lies a crucial divide between these women, who have shared experiences but taken different paths in the aftermath. 

Throughout the movie, Alma and her peers — including Hank — eye-roll over the perceived oversensitivity of their Gen Z students. Phrases like "trigger warnings" are slung with disdain. Yet, After the Hunt explores how this may be a sign of defensive cynicism masquerading as intellectualism.

Alma is pushing away feelings by talking about philosophy and politics, as if arguing for practicality can wall out pain. Her own body is testament to such an approach being a failure. Throughout the film, she's plagued by a recurring pain problem that she refuses to talk about with her friends — including her colleague Kim (Chloë Sevigny) — and goes to criminal lengths to cope on her own twisted terms. All of this makes for a movie that treats the intellectual arguments as a diving board, from which we're urged to jump into the emotional depths hidden beneath them. 

Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, and Michael Stuhlbarg are perfect in After the Hunt.  Ayo Edebiri character poster for "After the Hunt." Credit: Amazon MGM Studios Andrew Garfield character poster for "After the Hunt." Credit: Amazon MGM Studios

Let's begin with Andrew Garfield, who has been a thinking woman's sex symbol since playing Spider-Man. He's funny, handsome, and radiates good man energy with his broad smile and his love of RuPaul's Drag Race. In After the Hunt, Garfield's charisma makes Hank instantly alluring. Then, Guadagnino urges Garfield to lean into his sensuality, starting by unbuttoning his shirt to tease a bit of chest hair. Hank is hot and popular. It's not a subjective question; even Frederik, who loathes the younger man, recognizes his allure. And so when Maggie comes forward, there's a desire to wish she got it wrong, because Hank is so initially appealing. From there, however, Garfield pulls in less beguiling elements, a short fuse and a snarling defensiveness among them. In this role, he blooms and then festers. It's masterful, exposing an ugly underbelly that will and should make audiences uneasy.

Opposite him, Edebiri shows once more how she can do drama with the same ease as comedy. Where Alma expresses herself chiefly through stinging dialogue, Maggie becomes clear in silent moments alone, regarding a piece of paper or a jarring interaction with quiet yet vivid reflection. In Maggie's journey, Edebiri must shrink then rise, developing an arc of ache and resilience that is electrically charged. Not just any actor can stand up to the star power of Julia Roberts, but both Garfield and Edebiri do, which makes this movie absolutely riveting. 

Michael Stuhlbarg character poster for "After the Hunt." Credit: Amazon MGM Studios Julia Roberts character poster for "After the Hunt." Credit: Amazon MGM Studios

Roberts is measured excellence here. Playing a character who is devoted to keep her psychological mess to herself, she begins a gorgeous, glamorous goddess of light, surrounded by her devout followers. But as Alma is pushed out of this comfortable pose, Roberts' physicality tightens. Her ease ebbs away and bursts of anger erupt, destabilizing her chill persona and her academic reputation. Where Maggie sheds her Yale facade at home, Alma maintains hers rigidly, keeping all of this drama away from her husband, who dances around her like a satyr, desperate to please. 

Gods bless Michael Stuhlbarg. The award-winning actor awed audiences in Call Me By Your Name as Elio's dad, who delivers an unforgettable monologue about daring to love. Here, he's once more a merry fool for love — but not a fool in life.

From that first scene it's clear that everyone, Frederik included, thinks that he's married out of his league. And so, Frederik does everything to amuse and please his much-coveted wife. He cooks for her every night and even for her snooty colleagues. He dances about, flinging a towel with enchanting whimsy. He hears her out while giving her a foot rub. And yet, she regards him as a bit of an idiot, oblivious because he is joyful. However, in the final act, After the Hunt offers a scene of heart-wrenching revelations and breathtaking vulnerability. While Edebiri and Garfield are excellent opposite Roberts, this movie is at its most exciting when it's just her and Stuhlbarg, because there is finally a space where Alma will let go. It's incredible and yet… it's not the end. 

What is going on with the end of After the Hunt? 

Sadly, this is a question I can't get into without major spoilers. So, let me say this. While much of the film is bound up in intellectual debate and emotional arguments, the final sequence feels like it's plucked from a different movie altogether. The tone shifts radically and bizarrely to feel like the jaunty conclusion of a comedy. It feels almost like recompense for all the darkness and drama. Chatty diner dialogue is efficient in wrapping up loose ends, but this is frustrating in its suggestion that such a thing can be so easily done after all the tears and hurtful words that have been spilled. Maybe that's the point. Maybe, despite the cheery tone, the end is supposed to suggest these characters are finding new ways to cover up rather than cope? But that might be me giving Guadagnino too much credit. Frankly, the end had me bewildered as I walked out of the theater, and it still does. 

Aside from this baffling conclusion, After the Hunt is a captivating drama, thanks in large part to impeccable performances from Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, and Michael Stuhlbarg. Garrett's script indulges in overeager intellectual debate at every opportunity. But these debates aren't the driving force of the film. That would be the heart, the secrets, and the gnarly self-reflection that each of the four characters must grapple with in the face of consequences they can't shirk. While this movie isn't saying anything radical or groundbreaking, it is an engaging exploration of the labels we apply to unite, divide, and protect ourselves. In the end, After the Hunt is stellar drama with a cast to match. 

After The Hunt was reviewed out of the New York Film Festival. The movie opens in New York and LA on Oct. 10, before expanding on Oct. 17.

Few things in cinema are as wonderful as Keanu Reeves playing a “dum-dum,” to use a term uttered by the angel he plays in Aziz Ansari’s feature directorial debut, Good Fortune.

For more than 30 years, going back to films like Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, Reeves has offered a breezy surfer bro appeal that makes his dum-dums funny and deeply lovable. Even when playing smarter characters in Bram Stoker’s Dracula or The Matrix, Reeves permeates lines like “I know kung fu” with his authentic, child-like awe. And sure, we might laugh at him in the moment. But his characters are full of passion and goodwill, so while they are bewildered by the world around them, we are invited to share in that sense of surprise and wonder.

SEE ALSO: 'Good Fortune' trailer: Keanu Reeves is a literal angel in Aziz Ansari's directorial debut

And Good Fortune’s Gabriel the Angel, who Reeves plays with rich sincerity, is the actor at top form, in comedy and absurd authenticity. 

Be warned: Good Fortune could use more Keanu.  Credit: Eddy Chen / Lionsgate

It should be noted, however, that this is just true of most movies. But if you watched Good Fortune’s trailer and thought the handsome angel in the trench coat was giving City of Angels main character vibes, you’re only half-right. The earnest guardian angel Gabriel does carry the film as if he’s its star, which is perhaps the unavoidable effect of casting Reeves. But the film itself is a two-hander following the life-swap comedy model of movies like Freakier Friday or Trading Places. And neither swapper is Gabriel. 

Instead, Ansari and Seth Rogen star as two men living very different lives in Los Angeles, all because of their income level. Educated but underemployed, Arj (Ansari) is subject to the whims of the gig economy, where he’s essentially DoorDashing and doing TaskRabbit chores to make ends meet. That’s going so well that he’s living out of his car.

Meanwhile, Rogen plays Jeff, a tech bro living the good life in the Hollywood Hills complete with his own sauna and pool. The two cross paths and very nearly become friends, but an unexpected incident instead tosses Arj back on the street and worse off than before. Like It’s a Wonderful Life, our hero is on the brink of giving up when an angel appears.

The thing is, Gabriel is not the kind of high-ranking angel who’s supposed to deal with lost souls. His low-level job (reflected by his small wing span) is to prevent people from texting while driving. In a well-meaning but decidedly dum-dum move, he decides to swap Arj and Jeff's lives to prove money wouldn’t solve all of Arj’s problems. But as Gabriel confesses to his annoyed high-angel manager Martha (Sandra Oh), money does solve most of Arj’s problems! 

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From there, Good Fortune pivots to Jeff, who is having A Christmas Carol–style awakening as supernatural intervention shows him what a rich, selfish Scrooge he’s become. Through this, Good Fortune digs into class politics, not going full “eat the rich,” but certainly calling out privilege and societal disadvantages that can get glossed over in talk of the American dream. 

Keanu Reeves outshines Aziz Ansari and Seth Rogen.  Credit: Eddy Chen / Lionsgate

As in The Studio, recent winner of 13 Emmys, Rogen plays a specific brand of L.A. doofus — the deluded rich kind. And there’s a schadenfreude in watching Jeff get his comeuppance, forced to live hand-to-mouth like those he previously employed. Rogen smartly calibrates his signature freak-outs for this section, mirroring Ansari’s stressed-out energy in the film’s first act. Once the tables are turned, Ansari gets to play it suave, digging into a romantic subplot with Keke Palmer, who, while well cast as a compassionate and enchanting union advocate, is not given very much to do. 

While these human dudes are learning what really matters in life, Gabriel gains life lessons of his own. Demoted by heaven to being human, he must find a job, and swiftly picks up bad habits like chain smoking. But as a man, he enjoys non-angel experiences, like dancing and tacos. Reeves is absolutely sensational in these moments of discovery. When waxing poetic about the glory of a milkshake, Reeves plays it straight and is both convincing and sensationally silly. But even when he’s not saying anything, this true movie star knows how to position himself in such a way that is inherently hilarious. Watching a fallen angel take a smoke break, for instance, becomes a simple moment of side-splitting humor. 

It’s no question that Reeves outshines his costars, but that’s not really a problem. This is a role perfectly suited to his powerful, even otherworldly screen presence. Ansari is definitely in on the joke, pitting his and Rogen‘s deeply flawed mortals against this kind and smoking, hot angel, which results in them only looking like bigger clowns. 

Undoubtedly, Keanu Reeves as a dopey angel is the film’s hook Good Fortune uses to lure us all in. And it’s an effective one, for as much as I wish there were more in this movie, it’s not a bait and switch. Maybe a better analogy is that Reeves as an angel is the sugar that helps the medicine go down, sugarcoating a political comedy with his divine presence. 

Overall, the film feels a bit clunky, lacking a sense of flow, but there is a charm to that as well. This is effectively a funny fable asking us to consider what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes. There are consistent laughs and heartwarming moments. As a director, Ansari will probably grow in style. But for a first-time effort, the brilliance he brings to pulling together a cast can’t be denied. Good Fortune is a good time, and Keanu Reeves in Good Fortune should not be missed.

Good Fortune was reviewed out of its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film opens in theaters Oct. 17.

It's a love story as only Guillermo del Toro can tell it. For ages, the Mexican filmmaker, who has awed audiences with wondrous films like The Devil's Backbone, Pan's Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, and the Academy Award–winning The Shape of Water, has dreamed of turning Mary Shelley's Frankenstein into a movie of his own. And what he has accomplished here — notably with some of Hollywood's most beautiful men in the lead roles — is absolutely astonishing. 

Ahead of the North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, del Toro explained to the audience how for him, Frankenstein is a story of fathers and sons, exploring his relationship to his own father and his own children. But audiences won't need a curtain speech to understand this inspiration point, as del Toro's script is unabashedly about the ties that bind and sometimes suffocate. 

With the help of a star-studded cast that includes Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Charles Dance, and Christoph Waltz, this rightly heralded writer/director resurrects a classic horror story with a romantic flair that makes it gruesome, beautiful, and deeply poignant all at once. 

Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein focuses on cycles of behavior and abuse. Charles Dance as Leopold Frankenstein and Christian Convery as young Victor in "Frankenstein." Credit: Ken Woroner / Netflix

This version of Frankenstein begins with a framework that recalls Shelley's 1818 novel. In 1857, in "farthest north," a crew of freezing sailors chips away at their ice-seized ship as their captain hollers about reaching the North Pole. Then, they find a man, bleeding and broken, barely alive on the icy terrain. 

They pull him aboard only to discover he's being pursued by a mighty, bellowing "thing." The man is Victor Frankenstein (Isaac), the thing is his monster (Elordi). After a swarm of sailors beats the latter back in a dynamic and fiery action sequence — taking heavy, grisly losses — they sail on, but Victor warns the Creature will return, and so begins his story to the captain. 

Through this framework, the film flashes back to Victor's youth, where he was in a bitter battle with his cruel father (Dance) over his beautiful mother (Goth). As a boy, Victor sought the love of his mother but the approval of his father, if only to avoid the lashings the latter considered parenting. When Victor's mother dies in childbirth, he blames his surgeon father for failing, and seeks to best them both, though he only articulates his wish to outmatch his father. 

Years later, as a fanatical scientist, Victor experiments with electricity on corpses, seeking to resurrect them into a new living thing. Like James Whale's iconic Frankenstein, there's the fantastical element of a man creating life without the intervention of a woman. Here, because of Victor's pronounced love of his mother, his experiment feels like a backwards way to prove she need not have died. But in a bigger way, it is to defeat death as his father never could. 

His victory comes when he successfully stitches together and electrocutes to life a son. But Victor's failing is falling into the same cycle of abuse his father modeled. At first, Victor is in awe of his towering creation as it toddles in awkward steps and begins to explore its dungeon containment, splashing in puddles of water and reaching curiously for the fire that lights the space. But when his monster's intellectual development doesn't meet Victor's standards, it will be the lash, just as Victor experienced when he flunked his father's lessons. 

Oscar Isaac is great in Frankenstein.  Oscar Issac as Victor Frankenstein in "Frankenstein." Credit: Ken Woroner / Netflix

Isaac brings a frightening fire to the role of Victor Frankenstein. He is not the raving mad scientist of the Universal Monster movies. He is not the egotistical showman of Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Isaac makes the part his own by digging into the paternal determination to mold his "creation" in his own image. 

Furthering the Oedipal thread that began in his childhood, this Victor is given a softer side through a romance subplot and a clever bit of casting. Victor becomes instantly besotted with Elizabeth, a young maiden who loves sciences and insects, and who is also played by Mia Goth.

Her girlish beauty gives an impression of innocence and gentleness, but del Toro's script bolsters Elizabeth with a sharp scientific intelligence, something she shares with Victor though their morals differ intensely. When she sees the monster, she sees someone impressive and pure, despite his scars and lack of academic accomplishment. She sees a soul that Victor cannot grasp. She becomes the foil to Victor's drive, echoing the warmth and joy of his mother. Thereby, the monster becomes a reflection of both his "father" and "mother," an accomplishment the cold, violent Victor failed to achieve.

Jacob Elordi is iconic as Frankenstein's monster.  Jacob Elordi as the Creature in "Frankenstein." Credit: Ken Woroner / Netflix

At six feet, five inches tall, Elordi easily towers over his co-stars. But rather than sporting bolts in his neck or gnarly lumps of sullied flesh, del Toro's monster is lean and muscular, pale to the point of nearly being blue, and precisely constructed. There's a slight resemblance to the Engineers, the tall, robust, alien race from Prometheus. However, the scars along his wrists, limbs, torso, and face will never let us forget his origins. 

Elordi has a difficult role because the Creature's arc is one of pain that often has no voice. Much of the performance is doggedly physical. After his birth, he is a child, though his father cannot see that. Elordi reflects this with a portrait of exploratory physicality so much like a toddler's that it's both wondrous and wretched, as we know what horrors will come next for this innocent.

At Victor's hands, the Creature experiences physical, emotional, and psychological abuse; he's chained, beaten, and insulted. Meeting Elizabeth, however, gives the Creature a greater understanding of the possibilities of the world and people. The second half of the film focuses on the monster telling his own story to the ship's captain, the framework device switching perspectives. While sound effects are employed to give Elordi's voice a harrowing, monstrous echo in these scenes, the delivery of the Creature's words as he finds his voice is bedecked with pain and earnest wonder. 

The Creature's story, where he is cast out by one family and so chooses another, is one that will speak to many, especially as Elordi's crackling voice explains the heartbreaking realization that the world may try to destroy you just for being yourself. This misfit monster becomes a radiant analogy for self-love, as he is both horrid and beautiful, misunderstood and full of potential and love. For this monster, del Toro carves out a different ending from Shelley's — one that is bittersweet and glorious.

None of these risky deviations or romantic embrace of the monster would work were it not for Elordi's performance. He wears a full body of prosthetic scars and putridly pale skin, but he suffuses every movement, every glance with purpose and emotion. Escaping his well-recognized handsomeness and the expectations that come with being a dashing leading man, Elordi is del Toro's perfect monster, wretched and wondrous. 

Del Toro's Frankenstein is a romantic fairy tale and a horror movie.  Mia Goth as Claire Frankenstein and Christian Convery as young Victor in "Frankenstein." Credit: Ken Woroner / Netflix

Like Crimson Peak, perhaps Del Toro's most misunderstood film, Frankenstein embraces a romantic fairy tale tone that urges audiences to indulge in its impressions and emotions. Because the film is told from one perspective then another, there's a suggestion that what we're shown is not what happened but how it felt. 

So, a preposterous tower shoots into the sky like a dark, threatening blade, its insides riddled with rot, overrun with vines, and yet glistening with top-of-the-line tech, funded by an eccentric arms dealer (Waltz). And here, a young woman is both Victor's dream girl in intellect but also wears the face of his mother. Could that be real? Or is Elizabeth as Victor dreams her? Likewise, the violence the monster inflicts on others feels impossibly powerful, as he chucks wolves away with the slash of a forearm and rocks an ice-bound ship loose of its frigid bonds. At times, del Toro's story feels impossible, and that's precisely the point. 

Every element of this film is like a fairy tale, not the kind we tell to children to help them fall asleep but the kind used in dark forests and evil-plagued eras to warn them of a world that won't see them as beautiful but as meat. So, the design of the monster follows this idea, being both splendid and scarred. The experiments of Victor's process are gruesome, but also reveal the natural beauty of human's internal design.

The costumes by Kate Hawley (Crimson Peak) are extraordinary, ranging from dark shrouds, so charred and befouled you can practically smell them, to gossamer gowns and veils that float almost impossibly, draping Goth in vibrant colors. And details along the spine of both the Creature's crusty trench coat and Elizabeth's corseted gowns remind us of the bones that lie beneath, a connection between them and their fortitude against the abuses of the world. 

The score by Alexandre Desplat is sumptuous in its agony. Stringed instruments call out in longing and loss, enveloping the audience and the monster with the same, overwhelming surge of hurt and awe. The sound design as a whole embraces del Toro's signature blend of horror and romance. Sounds of violence snap and squelch, but in a symphony all their own. Across the production design, a vicious, brilliant red ties everything together, from Victor's mother (who drapes herself head to toe in the color) to his leather gloves as he operates, a book here, a funeral wreath there, and of course, in the end, blood. Yet the juxtaposition this sharp color serves against so much high-contrast blacks and whites of cloaks and dead flesh doesn't seem threatening; instead, it's a reminder of life — vibrant, pulsing, and unstoppable. 

As a whole, del Toro's Frankenstein is a marvel. His vision is clear and mesmerizing. His ensemble is electrifying. His adaptation is unique, soulful, and unforgettable. The man who loves monsters has just made his masterpiece: It's rich, rapturous, and ruthlessly interrogates what it means to be human, with all of our glory and our flaws.

Frankenstein was reviewed out of its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The movie will open in select theaters in Oct. 17 (and this critic suggests you go see it big!). A Netflix release will follow on Nov. 7. 

Andrew Scott is a marvel of a modern actor. From Sherlock to Fleabag to All of Us Strangers and Ripley, he burns onscreen. His dark eyes can reflect a murderous intensity or an unholy longing, or — in the case of Ripley — both. It's little wonder that Scott's performance in Blue Moon earned him the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year. It's just a shame it's for the supporting role in Richard Linklater's latest. 

The star of this insufferable biopic about American lyricist Lorenz Hart is Ethan Hawke, who's previously won praise from critics for his work in Linklater movies like the Before trilogy (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight) and Boyhood. Perhaps Hawke deserves props for taking on the role of Hart, as this depiction is not just miles away from the cool but flawed men Hawke tends toward, but light-years from them. Written by Robert Kaplow, the novelist behind Me and Orson Welles, which Linklater adapted in 2008, Blue Moon oozes with maudlin sentimentality over this lost artist, but lacks depth.

Where Scott's performance as Hart's creative partner, composer Richard Rodgers, is riveting in its intensity and authenticity, Hawke's performance is a clown show, making a mockery of a musical genius who was tragically overwhelmed by his worst impulses. 

Blue Moon feels like a clumsy adaptation of a one-man off-off-off Broadway show.  Credit: Sabrina Lantos / Sony Pictures Classics

Most of this movie is set on March 31, 1943, the opening night of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! on Broadway. Sulking in box seats as cowboys and farm gals sing joyfully is Hart, a middle-aged mope with a comb-over that's long lost the war. As the packed house applauds, he exits early, eager to get to Sardi's, the iconic bar where the afterparty will be held.

There, Larry (as he's generally addressed) hopes to reconnect with Rodgers, with whom he worked for 25 years, creating such beloved songs as "The Lady Is a Tramp," "My Funny Valentine," and of course, "Blue Moon." But Hart can see from the audience's rapture that Oklahoma! ("with an exclamation point," he laments) could be the end of his partnership with Rodgers, as Hammerstein's lyrics are getting a lot of love.

However, before that setup, Kaplow begins the movie with Hart's end. Drunk, drenched, and dying in a dark, rainy alley in New York City, Hart crumbles next to a dumpster, pathetic and alone. This image hangs over the entirety of the film like a storm cloud, making it difficult to find the humor in Hart's desperate attempts at charm and conversation.

For an insufferable first act, he blathers resolutely to a beleaguered bartender (Bobby Cannavale), an eager pianist (Jonah Lees), and a patient patron (Patrick Kennedy). Kaplow dumps biographical backstory into these exchanges, so not knowing much about Hart isn't a hindrance. But for all those details, Blue Moon is most interested in three things: Hart was drunk, gay, and short. 

Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater make a queer clown of Lorenz Hart.  Credit: Sabrina Lantos / Sony Pictures Classics

While historians today regard Hart as queer, he wasn't public about his sexual orientation in life. Yet Kaplow writes him slinging gay jokes that employ slurs and gleefully calling himself a "cocksucker" to the dismayed straight bartender. When pressed on whether he likes boys or girls, Larry expresses that as a lyricist, he's "omnisexual," finding beauty in men, women, and horses because it helps his art. So here we are in 2025, conflating homosexuality and bestiality in a film meant to resurrect a tortured artist, displaying his agony and genius. 

As Linklater did with Jack Black in Bernie, he casts a straight American movie star to play a gay antihero, and the result is a caricature less subtle than anything hanging on the walls of Sardi's. Even before Larry starts drinking, Hawke commits to a bounciness that's buffoonish. His performance is playing the cheap seats, with arched eyebrows and an endlessly winking attitude that's better suited to Hollywood Squares. Making this more ridiculous are the lengths to which Linklater goes to get across that Hart was short, 5 feet tall at most. 

The Sardi's set is built so that Cannavale absolutely towers over Hawke, who, at 5 feet 10 inches tall, is himself dwarfed by the furniture around him. Seated at the bar, he strains to reach the ledge for a shot glass. Wide shots get even sillier, recalling the extent to which Peter Jackson went to make hobbits believably wee next to Gandalf. Perhaps this visual effect was meant to reflect how Hart's physical stature may have fed into his feeling small before others he admired. But it looks ludicrous.

Margaret Qualley exudes old-school elegance in Blue Moon.  Credit: Sabrina Lantos / Sony Pictures Classics

Thankfully, after an aching stretch of Larry clowning around to a nearly empty bar, other characters show up who refuse to be "extras" — as Larry snidely writes off the bartender. Among them is Margaret Qualley, playing a Yale art student named Elizabeth Weiland, who is as free-spirited as she is glamorous. She is Larry's protégé and current fixation. Before her arrival, he rants about her beauty and brilliance as if she not only hung the moon, but created it whole cloth. But this too feeds into a tedious trope, in which a gay man idolizes a gorgeous, bold woman in a way that is objectifying, even if not sexual. 

Despite his loud, earnest pining for Elizabeth, no one — not even she — believes him. Instead, it seems he envies her as he envies Richard — as someone beautiful and talented who is easy to love.

Blue Moon is so steeped in Larry's self-loathing that he denounces its title song, even as others praise it. He lies, sneaks, and steals to achieve even the slightest adoration from others, be they a flower delivery boy or the idolized Elizabeth. And in this desperation, Hawke's performance might evoke Jon Lovitz's dated Harvey Fierstein impersonation, with the screeching catchphrase, "I just wanna be loved, is that so wrong!?"

To Qualley's credit, she shoulders the role of this dream girl well, bringing a deeper inner life to Elizabeth through a cringe-inducing monologue about a sexual exploit gone comically wrong. In this scene, at least, Linklater and Kaplow make Elizabeth more than an ideal for their needy hero to fawn over. As she enters Sardi's, with her comes a different tone, a more grounded performance style that makes Hawke's over-the-top capering all the more jarring.

Andrew Scott is the best part of Blue Moon.  Credit: Sabrina Lantos / Sony Pictures Classics

Finally, at long last, the Oklahoma! contingent arrives, and with their glitz and excitement, they sweep away the maudlin clouds of Larry's monologuing. Sardi's is swinging. Rodgers (Scott) and Oscar Hammerstein (Simon Delaney) are the toast of New York! And Larry is trying and failing to be a good sport.

Sure, when he first arrived at the bar he was spitting bile about how lame this Broadway musical is, but now he's all praise. Yet from the moment Richard locks eyes on Larry, something tender and genuinely tragic takes root in Blue Moon. 

Richard is polite but guarded as Larry begins to chatter at him, speaking of how they ought to do a show together about comedic cannibals. While Larry is essentially hustling for his very livelihood, well-meaning glad-handers interject to shower praise on Richard. To them, Larry is practically invisible.

Scott switches focus from the drowning man to the smiling fans repeatedly with a striking eloquence that suggests Richard has done this dance with Larry many, many times before. Even now, as their partnership seems at its end, he's shielding him from embarrassment, protective and pained by the need to. 

As the afterparty drags on, Larry pushes Richard more and more, provoking him into a confrontation about who they were together as a creative partnership, how far they've come, and what could be next. But where Larry is lost in the past, Richard sees a future that moves beyond him. Amid the frustration and patience Scott brings into these achingly public heart-to-hearts, which grow messier with each reconnection, he also brings in heartbreak. As he's publicly drinking himself to death, Larry might joke that everyone acts like they're eulogizing him prematurely. But Scott plays Richard as if he can see it's not so premature, because the only person who could stop this downward spiral has been sneaking shots of whiskey all night long.

Scenes where Larry's loves — be they platonic or romantic — challenge him are when Blue Moon works. The capering of this clown collides with characters aching and elegant who don't buy his act, and in that Linklater scratches at the profound. All Larry wants is to be seen and loved, not as he is but as he wishes he could be. He spends enormous, exhausting energy trying to convince handsome young men, gorgeous young women, and his closest friend of this facade, and that is perhaps his greatest flaw. There is a bittersweet and beautiful tragedy in that, but with all the buffoonery, Blue Moon won't let this heartbreaking thread shine. 

Blue Moon was reviewed out of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. It opens in limited release on Oct. 17, before going wide Oct. 24.