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TL;DR: Watch the 2024 MotoGP Grand Prix of Portugal for free on ITVX. Access this free streaming platforms from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Can anyone stop Francesco Bagnaia from retaining his MotoGP title this season? It's too early for predictions, but the reigning champion kicked off his campaign with a win in Qatar, and he'll be looking to do the same in Portugal this weekend. It's going to be an exciting weekend of racing, and you can watch all the action without spending anything.

If you're interested in watching the 2024 MotoGP Grand Prix of Portugal, we've got all the information you need.

When is the 2024 MotoGP Grand Prix of Portugal?

The Portuguese MotoGP Grand Prix takes place on the Algarve International Circuit in Portimão, Portugal. The 2024 Portuguese MotoGP race starts at 2 p.m. GMT on March 24.

How to watch the 2024 MotoGP Grand Prix of Portugal for free

The MotoGP Grand Prix of Portugal will be broadcast on ITV, with free live streaming available on ITVX. The full broadcast schedule can be found here:

• MotoGP Sprint Race — 2:30 p.m. GMT on March 23 (ITV3 or ITVX)

• Moto3, Moto2, and MotoGP Races — from 10 a.m. GMT on March 24 (ITV4 or ITVX)

ITVX is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can access ITVX from anywhere in the world.

Unblock ITVX by following this simple process:

1. Sign up for a VPN (like ExpressVPN)

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

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Connect to ITVX

5. Watch the 2024 MotoGP Grand Prix of Portugal from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) £82.82 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer money-back guarantees. By using these money-back guarantees, you can watch MotoGP live streams without fully committing with your cash. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does mean you can watch the 2024 MotoGP Grand Prix of Portugal without actually spending anything.

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

What is the best VPN for MotoGP?

There are a number of streaming-friendly VPNs, but ExpressVPN is the top choice for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

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

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is protected

• Fast streaming speeds free from throttling

• Up to five simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for £82.82 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Watch the 2024 MotoGP Grand Prix of Portugal for free with ExpressVPN.

Apple Watch only works with iPhones, but there was a point in which Apple tried to make it compatible with Android phones, too. Unfortunately, it didn't work out.

The long-rumored news was revealed in Apple's response to the Department of Justice's lawsuit against the company, 9to5Mac reported Thursday.

The DOJ's lawsuit explicitly mentions Apple Watch in its antitrust suit against Apple.

"Apple’s smartwatch—Apple Watch—is only compatible with the iPhone. So, if Apple can steer a user towards buying an Apple Watch, it becomes more costly for that user to purchase a different kind of smartphone because doing so requires the user to abandon their costly Apple Watch and purchase a new, Android-compatible smartwatch. (...) Apple also recognizes that making Apple Watch compatible with Android would 'remove[an] iPhone differentiator'," the lawsuit states.

SEE ALSO: The DOJ accuses Apple of a 'green bubble' problem. Here's why they're right.

But 9to5Mac says Apple has confirmed it considered adding Android support for the Apple Watch. The company looked into the idea for three years, after which it determined that it could not be done due to technical limitations.

A Bloomberg report on this matter dating November 2023, however, does not shed a very positive light on Apple's intentions regarding the Android-compatible Apple Watch. According to the report, the effort to bring Android support to Apple Watch was partially scrapped as it would "dilute the value of the watch to the iPhone."

It's worth noting that many popular smartwatches that aren't made by Apple, including Google's own Pixel Watch, aren't compatible with Apple's iOS, either.

TL;DR: Watch England vs. Brazil for free on Channel 4. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

We know it's just an international friendly match, but this is England vs. Brazil. That's an absolutely massive matchup, whatever the conditions. So sit back, relax, and get ready to watch two famous nations compete for absolutely nothing.

If you want to watch England vs. Brazil for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is England vs. Brazil?

England vs. Brazil kicks off at 7 p.m. GMT on March 23 at Wembley Stadium in London, UK.

How to watch England vs. Brazil for free

Fans can watch England vs. Brazil live on Channel 4, with free live streaming also available online.

Channel 4 is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK. This process makes it look like you're connecting from the UK, so you can access Channel 4 from anywhere in the world.

Unblock Channel 4 by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

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

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Visit Channel 4

5. Stream England vs. Brazil for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) £82.82 only at ExpressVPN Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to Channel 4 without committing with your cash. This is not a long-term solution, but it gives you plenty of time to stream England vs. Brazil before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Channel 4?

ExpressVPN is the best service for unblocking Channel 4, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 94 countries including the UK

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

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to five simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for £82.82 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Stream England vs. Brazil for free with ExpressVPN.

A horror movie set during a late night show gone wrong is a concept so good you wonder why it hasn't been done already. That's the premise for Cameron and Colin Cairnes' Late Night with the Devil, a found footage/possession mystery that gained positive attention last year at SXSW before recently becoming embroiled in an AI controversy over the use of three interstitial images.

The movie itself is a twisty one that revolves around a supposedly possessed little girl called Lilly (Ingrid Torelli), the doctor who's been treating her (Laura Gordon), and troubled late night host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian), whose quest for ratings has made him willing to push the boundaries like he's never pushed them before.

SEE ALSO: The 'Late Night with the Devil' AI controversy, explained

But what exactly happens, and what are the implications behind the disturbing (and slightly mind-bending) end of the film? Let's dig in.

What's Late Night with the Devil about?

The movie revolves around the recently discovered "master tape" of an infamous Halloween broadcast of Night Owls with Jack Delroy, a fictional 1970s late night show living in the permanent shadow of Johnny Carson. Delroy's wife recently died from cancer, there have long been rumours about his involvement with a Bohemian Grove-style organisation of elites that meet out in the woods, and his second place ratings bring with them the ever-present threat of sponsorship dropout or cancellation.

The good news? Delroy has a plan to fix it all. Enter the author of Conversations with the Devil, a "para-psychologist" called Dr June Ross-Mitchell, who has been treating a little girl called Lilly. Lilly is the sole survivor of a cult that worshipped a demon known as Abraxas, and the word on the street is that she's been possessed. Delroy is hoping a late night demonstration might be the answer to his ratings issue. But things start to go wrong when Lilly seems strangely obsessed with Jack, the psychic first guest on the show Christou (Fayssal Bazzi) dies offstage, and the demonstrations grow increasingly out of control.

A possession demonstration that quickly gets out of control. Credit: IFC Films/Shudder How does Late Night with the Devil End?

Instead of wrapping up the broadcast, Delroy decides to play back the tape of Lilly's demonstration – which saw her speaking directly to Jack as if she knew him from somewhere before levitating in her chair – to try and prove to sceptic Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss) that it wasn't all a trick. During the playback he discovers that by slowing down the frames, he can see a haunting image of his dead wife standing directly behind him on the stage. Shortly after that, all hell breaks loose.

Lilly transforms once again into her possessed form, but this time it isn't just her face and voice that change. She levitates into the air, blurs with static like a television image, and her head splits in two while being consumed by fire. As she begins to murder the various guests and anyone who gets in her way, Delroy tries to make his escape — only to find himself trapped in a montage of different memories. In the final two he drinks from a cup while surrounded by cultists, then goes to stand beside the bed of his dying wife.

"They told you you could have it all, didn't they?" she whispers. "Be number one. Well you finally made it, darling. But you had to pay a price. Exit Millie, stage left."

His wife asks Delroy to kill her and he stabs her in the stomach, only to wake to discover he's stabbed Lilly. He's standing on stage, alone, and everyone around him is dead. We hear sirens in the background.

Jack Delroy spends the final scenes of the film trapped in his own mind. Credit: IFC Films/Shudder What really happened to Jack Delroy's wife?

From the very start of Late Night with the Devil, the idea of sacrifice lurks in the background. It's only brief, but during the stock footage we see of Delroy signing his five-year TV deal, a reporter in the background calls out, "What did you have to sacrifice to get here tonight?" The question, at least then, goes unanswered — but the real answer lies in Delroy's secretive cult-like club The Grove, described early on as "a men-only club located in the Redwoods of California". "Speculation swirls around its taste for arcane ceremony and its power to make and break careers," reads the voice-over, and this turns out to be true in the most horrifying way.

Although it doesn't get much of a mention for a while after, Delroy's forest cult is hinted at again the first time Lilly becomes possessed. After saying, "He's here, isn't he," Lilly/the demon turns to Delroy and implies they've met before. When Delroy denies this, Lilly tells him not to be a fool.

"We go way back," she snarls. "We met amongst the tall trees."

When we start to piece these moments together, the final scene where Delroy speaks to his dying wife suddenly makes a lot more sense. The implication is that Delroy made a monkey's paw-style wish in the forest to become the number one late night host. The same demon that's taken over Lilly answered his prayers, but in return it took his wife's life. Delroy ended up getting his wish to become number one on the ratings, but he had to sacrifice everything to get there.

How to watch: Late Night with the Devil premieres in theaters March 22, and heads to Shudder April 19.

Fellow iPhone users: Picture the scene. You've just received someone's phone number, and it's an important someone. A new business partner, a potential romantic partner, a long-lost relative, whatever. You're inaugurating what you hope is a long and happy texting relationship, so you fire up Messages and enter the number.

What's the last thing you want to see when you, or the object of your interest, is done typing in that "To" field? Be honest. You don't want the number to turn green, right?

Because green numbers, as even the most casual iPhone user will notice over time, mean all sorts of annoyances compared with the cool blue chats with fellow iPhone users. In chats with non-iPhone numbers, links don't show a preview of the website in question. Pictures and videos are more likely to hang when they send. If you're also using Messages on an iPad or a Mac, green conversations take longer to update, often as much as 24 hours, making it pointless to converse on any device other than the iPhone. You won't be able to see when the other person is typing.

And you won't be able to send what has become, for many of us, highly efficient nonverbal responses — the heart, the thumbs-up, the "ha ha," the "!!!" — with a single tap. Well, you can, but you'll soon discover Apple sends a terse robotic text instead of an emoji, which is annoying as hell to your new friend.

SEE ALSO: Apple sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for antitrust violations

None of these are insurmountable problems to communication. Together, along with the lack of end-to-end encryption in green chats, they clearly add up to a degraded experience, and I'm not the only iPhone user to find myself texting friends with green numbers less over time. But in isolation, it seems dumb to complain about any single issue.

So when the U.S. Department of Justice did complain this week, as part of a larger lawsuit accusing Apple of anticompetitive practices, it wasn't surprising that many social media commentators pulled two words out of context. What, the DOJ is going after green bubbles now? Did we run out of real criminals?

Beyond the bubbles

If you're a Mac-using, iPad-weilding, iPhone-toting, Watch-wearing Apple history fanatic like me, then yes, no doubt you'll spot some issues with the full 88-page complaint. DOJ lawyers certainly didn't do themselves any favors by opening with outdated anticompetitive quotes from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs — now 12 years gone — or penning a groan-worthy line about Apple not wanting smartphone users to "think different" by leaving its walled garden.

But when it comes to Messages, at least, the DOJ has Apple bang to rights. Even the most fanatic Apple partisan has to wince when reading these very specific accusations in the complaint, green bubbles not included:

Apple could have made a better cross-platform messaging experience itself by creating iMessage for Android but concluded that doing so “will hurt us more than help us” [a direct quote from emails sent to CEO Tim Cook.] Apple therefore continues to impede innovation in smartphone messaging, even though doing so sacrifices the profits Apple would earn from increasing the value of the iPhone to users, because it helps build and maintain its monopoly power.

Apple recognizes that its conduct harms users and makes it more difficult to switch smartphones ... Recently, Apple blocked a third-party developer from fixing the broken cross- platform messaging experience in Apple Messages and providing end-to-end encryption for messages between Apple Messages and Android users.

Featured Video For You CES 2024: Control your Apple devices with the wave of your hand

Apple designates the APIs needed [for regular texting] as “private,” meaning third-party developers have no means of accessing them and are prohibited from doing so ... If a user wants to send a message in a third-party messaging app, they must first confirm whether the person they want to talk to has the same messaging app and, if not, convince that person to download and use a new messaging app. By contrast, if an Apple Messages user wants to send somebody a message, they just type their phone number ...

Third-party messaging apps cannot continue operating in the background when the app is closed, which impairs functionality like message delivery confirmation. When users receive video calls, third-party messaging apps cannot access the iPhone camera to allow users to preview their appearance on video before answering a call. Apple Messages incorporates these features.

Many non-iPhone users experience social stigma, exclusion, and blame for “breaking” chats where other participants own iPhones. This effect is particularly powerful for certain demographics, like teenagers—where the iPhone’s share is 85 percent ... This social pressure reinforces switching costs and drives users to continue buying iPhones—solidifying Apple’s smartphone dominance not because Apple has made its smartphone better, but because it has made communicating with other smartphones worse. [Emphasis mine]

Make it easy to be green

What jumps out at you from all that? For me, it's Apple's point-blank refusal to make a Messages for Android app, which would allow those degrading communication issues to disappear (assuming your Android friends download the app, of course).

This is not a technical issue. It's not even a "we don't do that kind of thing at Apple" issue. The company has no problem making versions of its Apple TV experience for rivals like Samsung, even though that cuts into potential sales of Apple TVs. And as the DOJ rightly points out elsewhere in the complaint, the iPod would not have become a company-saving hit product without a key piece of cross-platform software: iTunes for Windows PCs.

It's not that Apple is making Android users look like second-class citizens in its walled garden, exactly. But it's not doing anything to help users avoid that impression either.

But the smartphone market is allegedly too important, too massive a chunk of revenue for Apple, to allow users to communicate freely. So instead of making Messages for Android, Apple reinforces all the fun things you can do in blue chats, drawing an ever-greater contrast with the green.

It's not that Apple is making Android users look like second-class citizens in its walled garden, exactly. But it's not doing anything to help users avoid that impression either. We can laugh at the "blame for breaking chats" line, and yet we all know the way stigma can spring from dozens of tiny interactions.

We know this in part because we've all been teenagers, and the 85 percent iPhone share among teens is somewhat chilling for this reason. (The DOJ's figure is actually somewhat low; a recent survey put teen iPhone ownership at 87 percent, with 88 percent of teens expecting to have an iPhone after their next purchase.) You don't have to retain many memories of high school to imagine what digital life is like for the other 15 percent. It's a subtle form of social isolation that has sprung up in the last decade (in 2012, just 40 percent of teens reported owning an iPhone).

We've been here before. In 1997, Microsoft thought it had the perfect right to push its Internet Explorer as hard as it wanted on its monopoly platform, Windows, while squeezing out the rival web browser Netscape Navigator. It took three years of fighting with the government, which had assembled an Avengers-like squad of rival companies including Apple, before the tech titan was forced to give its customers more choice.

Tim Cook doesn't have to be Bill Gates; he could turn this around at any time. Announcing Messages for Android wouldn't necessarily make the DOJ's entire antitrust lawsuit go away, but it would reduce the public appetite for it. And it would improve the day to day experience of Cook's customers, who may suddenly find they have something to talk about with their green-numbered friends after all.

"Has the universe ever winked at you?"

It's the cryptic question alien-worshipper and Earth-Trisolaris Organization member Tatiana (Marlo Kelly) poses to Auggie (Eiza González) in Netflix's 3 Body Problem. And it's the one in the back of the nanotechnologist's mind when she and fellow "Oxford Five" member, physicist Saul (Jovan Adepo), find themselves staring at a sky full of stars blinking across the world.

SEE ALSO: What exactly is the three-body problem in '3 Body Problem'?

In episode 1 of David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo's sci-fi epic, based on Liu Cixin's books, the world sees the night sky flickering simultaneously, prompting widespread news coverage and watercooler chats the next day. As it's happening, Saul decodes the stars using a strange breakfast cereal toy code-cracker Tatiana gave to Auggie, finding it matches the numbers in Auggie's countdown.

But what exactly happened here, and how did the stars suddenly flicker?

It's flickering all over the world. Credit: Netflix The blinking stars are a worldwide deepfake

In episode 2 after the phenomenon, Saul tells Dr Ye Wenjie (Rosalind Chao) his theory about the blinking stars: "It's bullshit. It never happened." When Wenjie questions this, noting that the entire world witnessed the blinking lights, Saul doubles down. "Sure, everyone on Earth. But you know who didn't see it? Webb, Hubble, CHEOPS. None of the satellites saw it. You know why? Because it never happened. It was a deepfake."

Saul's bang on the money, though he hasn't figured out who created such an illusion. So, who did? It all comes down to the sophon, the technology deployed by the impending alien race, the San-Ti, who responded to Wenjie's transmission sent in 1968. In episode 5, when Jin and Thomas Wade (Liam Cunningham) speak to the San-Ti AI warrior through the VR headsets, they tell them the aliens have created a sentient supercomputer by focusing energies on a single proton, then creating "a mind as large as a world".

In episode 5, the San-Ti demonstrate the sheer power of the sophon, reflecting the world upon itself and fashioning a giant eye in the middle of it all, informing the "bugs" of Earth they're under constant surveillance by an alien race. It's Christopher Nolan's Inception meets George Orwell's 1984 and it scares the shit out of the human race, as intended. The flickering stars seem like mere party tricks, a glimmer of the San-Ti's sinister intention to make humanity "learn how to fear again."

"In place of truth, we give you miracles," the San-Ti warrior explains. "We wrap your world in illusions. We make you see what we want you to see."

What's with the Toasty-O-Sters code-cracker?

This item, given to Auggie by Tatiana on their first meeting for the purposes of looking at the stars, is a strange one. Right out of a box of Toasty-O-Sters breakfast cereal, the code-cracker allows Saul to figure out the stars are flashing numbers that correspond with Auggie's countdown. It's not Morse code, as Saul explains, but instead he cracks an alien code using this tiny piece of plastic. Auggie mentions the cereal Toasty-O-Sters hasn't been made since 1963, which is five years before Wenjie sent her first message to the San-Ti.

So why on Earth are the San-Ti, a technologically advanced alien race, using an out-of-production 1960s cereal toy as their chief means of communication with one scientist on Earth?

But ANYWAY, now you and the world knows the blinking stars aren't just a cosmic phenomenon. They're a direct threat.

How to watch: 3 Body Problem is now streaming on Netflix.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for March 22 SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for March 22

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Friday, March 22, 2024:

AcrossWhen doubled, a mild reprimand

• The answer is now.

Hawaiian dance

• The answer is hula.

When doubled, very friendly

• The answer is buddy.

Partner of rules, informally

• The answer is regs.

When doubled, sailor's assent

• The answer is aye.

DownWhen doubled, "Get my innuendo?"

• The answer is nudge.

Onetime lead-in to "mobile" in the auto world

• The answer is olds.

Route

• The answer is way.

Pop's ___ Lewis and the News

• The answer is Huey.

Top half of a bikini

• The answer is bra.

Part of the excitement of becoming a parent is going on that necessary spending splurge — all the stuff you need to keep your baby happy, healthy, and most importantly, safe. Toys, nappies, muslin towels, baby proofing equipment… You need a whole world of stuff. But the biggest buy is the pushchair. 

Here’s a first-time parenting tip: You need a pushchair to suit your lifestyle needs — one that’s easy to manoeuvre through a bustling city, for instance, or one that’s lightweight if you’re a frequent traveller. Plus, you want a pushchair that will go the distance, from newborn to toddler.

If you’re already up to your elbows in milk formula and teensy-weensy babygrows, you might not have the time to research the best model. But we can help steer you towards the best choice for you and your baby. 

How much does a pushchair cost?

When you’re on a budget — and parents-to-be are always on a budget — it’s important to know how much you’ll spend. Like many things, you can find a pushchair at various prices, from around the £100 mark to well over £1,000. It’s a case of getting what you pay for. There are good pushchairs available for a lower price (you’ll find some below, in fact) but buying too cheap can be a false economy. It’s worth paying for a good quality model that will withstand all the bumps, adventures, and miles.

What’s better, a pram or pushchair?

The simple answer is, well, both. A pram is for newborn babies, essentially a bassinet on wheels, while a pushchair is for growing babies and toddlers. The beauty of modern prams and pushchairs is that they’re not mutually exclusive. Most models will convert between the two styles, with the option to attach and detach a bassinet/carry cot. The kicker is that not all pushchairs come with the carry cot attachment, so you may have to pay extra. 

How long will a pushchair last?

A good quality pushchair should last from newborn to toddler. In fact, it should be hardy enough to do it all over again if you have more kids. Hey, if you mums and dads can manage to do it all again, why not the pushchair? If you want to be sure that the pushchair will continue to support your baby as they grown into a toddler, check out how much weight it supports. Most will support up to around 20-22kg. The average weight of a two-year-old is about 12kg. That should give you some idea.

What are the most important pushchair features?

There are plenty of other features to think about before making a purchase. For starters, the look of your pushchair is important. We're not saying you should sacrifice safety for style, but nobody wants to show off their newborn in an ugly chair. Fortunately, there are now lots of trendy brands with pushchairs that look great. 

You also need to consider how a pushchair actually moves, because you will actually have to push the thing from time to time. Will you be taking your pushchair off-road, or keeping to the pavements? Is it lightweight enough to navigate shops and busy areas?

All of this is important, but nothing comes above keeping your little one safe and comfortable. If a pushchair can't offer safety in abundance, then it's really not worth your time. A good idea is to thoroughly check out the reviews of any product, to see what other parents think. If any product is lacking in this department, the reviews will be damning.

What is the best pushchair?

The great news for anyone looking to invest in a pushchair is that there is loads of choice. The bad news is that this makes picking one product particularly tough. We know how hard it can be, so we’ve helped you out with a selection of the best pushchairs from across the internet.

There are the best pushchairs, prams, and buggies for 2024.

This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.

If there's anything better than changing into pajamas, squeezing yourself between the crisp, slightly cold sheets of your bed, and plowing through an entire season of 90 Day Fiancé after a busy day, we have yet to experience it.

This gloriously trashy reality series is a guilty pleasure for a lot of people out there, and it's just one of literally thousands of TV shows and movies available on Hulu, the bright green-branded streaming service founded in 2007. 

Hulu provides on-demand access to a stacked lineup that includes hit movies like Annihilation and Sorry to Bother You; cult-favourite shows like Rick and Morty and This Is Us; and exclusive originals like Shrill and The Handmaid's Tale.

Unlike Netflix, that has expanded internationally, Hulu's library is strictly limited to viewers in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and U.S. military bases. That's because Hulu doesn't own international streaming rights for any of its shows and movies; it only holds the U.S. distribution licenses. If Hulu were to expand the availability of its content abroad, it would have to make new deals with distributors to acquire streaming rights in other regions — and that requires a lot of negotiating and money-spending.

There's still a chance Hulu will go global. But until then, those attempting to watch Hulu from outside the U.S. will have to circumvent Hulu's geo-restrictions with the help of something called a virtual private network, or VPN.

Do you need a VPN to watch Hulu?

To prevent users outside the U.S. from accessing its shows and movies, Hulu requires two things of its accountholders: a U.S.-issued form of payment and a U.S. IP (internet protocol) address — that's the numerical ID containing information about your location and web activity that gets assigned to your device by your internet search provider, or ISP, when you connect to a local network. It's like a house's physical address, but for your computer/smartphone/tablet.

That IP address part is where a VPN comes into play. For the uninitiated, a VPN is a service that creates a safe, secure connection over the internet by routing your device's traffic through its own private servers. Known as encryption, this process shields your personal information and online activities from the prying eyes of your ISP and — this is key — creates a temporary IP address that hides your true location.

You can probably guess where we're going with this: If you're trying to watch Hulu from outside the U.S., you can have a VPN spoof your IP address and trick Hulu into thinking you're based in the U.S. Simple, right?

Actually, not so much. Because here's the thing: Hulu isn't dumb.

Does Hulu block users with a VPN?

Just like Netflix, Hulu prohibits its accountholders from using VPNs in an effort to protect its licensed content, and it'll slap you with an error message if it thinks you're trying to use one to watch its content. Its tactics are threefold:

1. Hulu blocks anonymous IP addresses whose geographical location it can't verify 

2. Hulu checks your IP address against its own blacklist of known VPN servers

3. Hulu keeps a lookout for IP addresses with a large number of users. If there are too many people sharing any given server, Hulu will assume you're all using a VPN and shut that shit down.

If a VPN provider wants to unblock Hulu for its users, it needs to steer clear of Hulu's blacklist while maintaining a sizeable U.S. server network. These are no easy feats, so the list of VPNs that can consistently bypass Hulu's ferocious firewall is pretty short. 

What is the best VPN for watching Hulu?

Need help making sense of all this? Below, we've broken down the pros and cons of VPNs that are currently capable of unblocking Hulu and keeping you anonymous online. That way, you can make an informed decision on how to spend your hard-earned cash.

These are the best VPN for watching Hulu in 2024.

What do you need for a great gaming session? A PC or console. Check. That's an absolute must. A monitor and a comfy chair. Check and check. And last — but certainly not least — a gaming mouse. Not just any old mouse, but a high-quality gaming mouse. If that's not already a check, it's time to start shopping for an upgrade.

All serious gamers know that a good gaming mouse is an absolutely must-have. And this basic computer accessory has become more and more sophisticated over the years. It has evolved to keep up with the needs of gamers and the evolution of gaming tech.

But the question is, how to choose a gaming mouse? With so many different options and specs out there, it's easy to get blinded by jargon or all the options out there. That's why we're here to help. Here's a guide to the need-to-know information.

Do you need a gaming mouse?

If you're serious about gaming, yes. A regular mouse just won't cut it. A dedicated gaming mouse has sensors that are designed to be more responsive and more accurate than your average PC mouse. This means that a good gaming mouse will improve your aim and respond better to your reflexes. They also have programmable buttons that you can customise so you don’t have to ever use your keyboard when you’re chasing that all-important kill-streak. 

The difference between winning and losing in PC gaming can come down to split seconds, so having a gaming mouse that reacts and responds quickly is absolutely vital. Using a gaming mouse ultimately means you're better equipped for success.

What are the most important features in a gaming mouse?

There's a long list of things to keep in mind when shopping for a gaming mouse, but we've tried to highlight the most important features:

• Comfort — Since you’re probably going to spend hours playing your favourite games, you'll want something that’s comfortable in your hand. Gaming mice come in lots of shapes, sizes, widths, and weights. Pick one that feels right for you. What feels comfortable to one gamer might not for another. For example, some are also designed with left-handed gamers in mind. 

• DPI — You’ll also want to pay attention to Dots Per Inch, or DPI. This is how sensitive your mouse is to movements. You can find mice with DPI counts up to 20,000, though most gamers don’t need something quite that sensitive. Anything over 2,000 is considered pretty good. 

• Wired/wireless — Wireless mice used to be less accurate and slower than wired ones, but upgraded techn makes them incredibly competitive. Still, you should know that wireless mice generally cost more. Pay attention to battery life if you opt for a wireless mouse — the last thing you need is to run out of power mid-game. 

Also think about things like brand, style, and price, but this is a good place to start.

What is the best gaming mouse?

We know that this is a lot to think about, so we've tried to make things a little bit easier for you. We have checked out everything on offer and lined up a selection of the best gaming mice from top brands like Logitech and SteelSeries. There should be something for everyone in this list.

These are the best gaming mice in 2024.

TL;DR: Watch Chennai Super Kings vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL for free on JioCinema. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The IPL is back, and it's back with a bang.

The new season starts with a monumental clash between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, meaning we could see MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli go head-to-head in the opening match. It really doesn't get any bigger than that.

If you want to watch Chennai Super Kings vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Chennai Super Kings vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore?

Chennai Super Kings vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore starts at 2:30 p.m. GMT on March 22. This opening fixture takes place at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, India.

How to watch Chennai Super Kings vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore for free

JioCinema is offering free live streams of every IPL cricket match this season in 4K resolution on its app.

JioCinema is geo-restricted to India, but anyone can unblock this free streaming service with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in India, meaning you can access JioCinema from anywhere in the world.

Unblock JioCinema to stream the IPL 2024 by following these simple steps:

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

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

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in India

4. Visit JioCinema (you will need an Indian phone number to subscribe)

5. Watch Chennai Super Kings vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore for free from anywhere in the world

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Most of the best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer free trials or money-back guarantees. By taking advantage of these offers, you can watch IPL live streams without committing with your cash. This is clearly not a long-term solution, but it does mean you can watch select IPL fixtures for free.

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

What is the best VPN for JioCinema?

ExpressVPN is the best service for unblocking JioCinema, for a number of reasons:

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A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for £82.82 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Stream the IPL for free with ExpressVPN.

Theater nerds, rise! New photos from Vanity Fair provide a tantalizing sneak peek into the film adaptation of Wicked, due in theaters on November 27, 2024.

Fans of the stage show will recognize much of the visual iconography adapted from the Broadway musical. But what other hints can we discover hiding within the images? We took a closer look to find out.

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Tweet may have been deleted

Elphaba appears here in full wicked witchy glam standing in front a broken window, a detail we also see multiple times in the film's trailer. The base of a hot air balloon can be seen through the shattered panes, perhaps the same hot air balloon that first brought the Wizard to Oz.

Ariana Grande as Glinda Tweet may have been deleted

Here we see Glinda (née Galinda) in Munchkinland, along the Yellow Brick Road. Now known as "Glinda the Good," she travels by bubble, with a scepter in her hand and crown on her head.

In this image, the bubble has disappeared and left only the plush throne-like platform that supports her in the air. Around Glinda lie bunches of tulips, the kind that populate the fields outside Munchkinland. The thatched roofs behind her match the set pieces we saw in a photo captured by the Daily Mail in April 2023.

Elphaba and Glinda at Shiz University Tweet may have been deleted

In the hallowed halls and vine-draped walls of Shiz University, opposites attract in roommates Elphaba and Glinda.

On one side of the room, Glinda perches on a pile of pink luggage embossed with her initials. Among the luggage are several round hat boxes, perhaps harboring the black, pointy "witch" hat she later gifts to Elphaba out of the "goodness of [her] heart." Glinda also has her impressive collection of dresses and frocks hung up in a neat line, ready at a moment's notice for the next Ozdust Ballroom bash.

Elphaba's side is a little more... academic. Her feet rest on a pile of books, and more tomes line her black trunks in the background. On her rather plain bed sits a tray of Oz-ian stationery: a pen, ink wells, and an hourglass timer. On the wall behind the bed hangs a map, perhaps of Oz, that notes the mistreatment of anthropomorphic Animals throughout the land. "Four legs not wanted" is scrawled at the top and "Animal refugees stampede to border" at the bottom, with drawings of a giraffe and antelope also visible.

Elphaba has also brought 11 glass cloches to Shiz, all with blooming flowers inside. Perhaps her special magical proclivity for the "biological arts" enables them to live once taken from the ground.

Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard Tweet may have been deleted

The Wizard appears here in his workshop, surrounded by blueprints for his inventions. The giant eyes on his desk are replacements for those in the enormous mechanical head he uses to speak to visitors like Dorothy and her crew.

At his feet are extra yellow bricks and a model version of the steam train we see Elphaba boarding in the trailer and, later, rushing towards the Emerald City. While the eponymous Wizard of Oz appeared bumbling and cowardly in the original film, Wicked's Wizard promises to be much more clever and, perhaps, even conniving.

Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero Tweet may have been deleted

Unfortunately, we can't glean much from this image of prince and playboy Fiyero. There's only so much to say about a dude on a horse. But Bailey looks very dashing on horseback, which is all we ask of Fiyero anyways.

Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible Tweet may have been deleted

The formidable headmistress of Shiz University, Madame Morrible, is dressed in stylish school colors in her study. On the cover of the hardcover in her hands is a small hot air balloon, likely a depiction of the Wizard's arrival in Oz. Behind her, a book lies propped open on a pedestal at a convenient height for hands-free spell-casting.

Marissa Bode as Nessarose, Ethan Slater as Boq, Bowen Yang as Pfanee, and Bronwyn James as Shenshen. Tweet may have been deleted

Dear old Shiz, the proudliest sight there is! This quartet of supporting characters is seen here as students, dressed in university best. Boq, a Munchkin pining for Glinda, has added quirky flair to his uniform. Nessarose, Elphaba's sister, is wearing striped socks in what appears to be a subtle nod to her disastrous fate (iykyk). And Pfanee and Shenshen, two completely new characters created for the film, look smart in skirts and suit jackets.

They appear to be hanging out in a classroom, where notes on the "biological arts" and a map of the Shiz campus adorn the walls. Flyers advertising choir auditions and a "Twister Tornado Tournament" are scattered about the classroom.

TL;DR: Through March 24, learn all about coding and more with this Python online course bundle while it's on sale for $19.99 (reg. $84).

Education has changed over the past five or so years. For starters, you no longer have to step foot in a classroom to learn. With online learning booming, it's easier than ever to begin a learning journey in nearly anything. If you are a programmer interested in elevating your Python skills or a newbie just testing out the waters, these online Python courses could be for you.

Python is among the top programming languages in the world, according to Statista. And this bundle has twelve courses totaling 130 hours to start you off on a comprehensive education in the language. It's very popular because of its versatility and is used by everyone from large companies to smaller businesses, and everything in between.

One course, Certified Entry-Level Python Programmer Certification Preparation Course, is taught by Chris Mall and designed to prepare you for the PCEP Certified Entry-Level Python Programmer Certification Exam. You'll do things like create programs and automate coding tasks. Another course covers the foundations of Python to give you the essentials.

You'll go on to cover other in-demand topics like Python Django, Coding with Python Turtle, and using Raspberry Pi. There's even a course called Python Hands-On with 46 Hours, 210 Exercises, 5 Projects, 5 Assignments, 2 Exams, which lets you roll your sleeves up and work on projects. 

Anyone with an interest in learning Python could benefit from this educational source.

For a limited time, the Python bootcamp bundle is on sale for $19.99 (reg. $84).

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TL;DR: Through March 24, get this 6-in-1 CASA Hub Stand Pro USB-C Laptop Stand while it's on sale for just $95.97 (reg. $129).

Many of us work from home, whether full-time or hybrid. But not all of us have a devoted space to do our work, which means you need to optimize the space you do have. With all the cables and adapters, the clutter might finally get to you. Something like this 6-in-1 CASA Hub Stand Pro could help you create a better workstation with minimal effort. It's on sale for just $95.97 (reg. $129) through March 24.

For starters, lifting your laptop off the desk frees up additional space for things like notepads or your lunch during a busy week. The adjustable design can also enhance your ergonomic comfort. Adjust the angles and height for a personalized experience. It even has a 360-degree rotatable base and silicone rubber pads for an anti-slip grip. 

One of the most useful features is the multifunctional six ports that allow you to connect other devices and peripherals via a host USB-C and PD USB-C, two USB-A ports, an HDMI, and an RJ45. And the bonus is that this port hub is detachable.

Don't miss out on this limited-time offer to get your workstation looking its best and most efficient.

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TL;DR: Through March 24, get a refurbished Apple MacBook Pro with 128GB of storage for just $469.99 and save 32% on the usual refurb price.

We all want a great-running laptop for a reasonable price. If you need a computer for everyday work and personal use, a refurbished model may be the best bet. Something like this 2017 Apple MacBook Pro has a lot of modern tech and ample storage but is only $469.99 (reg. $699).

This new-to-you MacBook Pro has an Intel Core i5, a 2.3GHz processor, and 8GB of RAM for speed and efficiency. You should have no problem multitasking with multiple tabs open. Plus, with its 128GB solid-state drive, you'll enjoy quick boot times and plenty of storage space for all your files and apps.

Not just a workhorse, this MacBook Pro also boasts Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 and WiFi capability, allowing you to indulge in your favorite shows on its 13.3-inch Retina display and stay connected wherever there's a network or hotspot. And with Bluetooth 4.2, you'll have no trouble connecting to peripherals.

With a 720p FaceTime camera and a battery that lasts up to ten hours, it's a solid machine that can support you at the office, at home, or when traveling.

It has a grade "B" refurbished rating, which means it could arrive with some light cosmetic blemishes like scratches or scuffing, but it has been inspected to work well.

Whether you're a student, a professional, or a casual user, this laptop offers a nice blend of style, performance, and value — and it's better for the environment since it helps reduce electronic waste in landfills (according to the EPA).

Save 32% when you get this refurbished 128GB Apple MacBook Pro for just $469.99 (reg. $699) for a limited time.

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TL;DR: Through March 24, back up, restore, and save your files when you use AOMEI Backupper, a professional tool on sale for only $28.99 (reg. $49) for life. 

Whether it's a file you need for work, homework you haven't submitted yet, or treasured photos, file loss is a major inconvenience, and you can't always predict when it's going to happen. However, you can still prevent it with a comprehensive backup system like AOMEI Backupper. The Pro Edition of this Lifetime Backup Software. 

The AOMEI Backupper Pro is backup software for Windows devices that lets you protect, restore, and transfer files. It lets you backup your files and system while also offering you tools like system saves, restores, and partitions. Protect your computer against untimely file loss for life when you get a lifetime subscription to AOMEI Backupper Pro edition for $28.99 (reg. $49). 

File sync, system cloning, scheduled backups

A wayward cup of tea could be what annihilates your laptop, but it'd take a lot more to make you lose your files if they're backed up with AOMEI. This backup system uses real-time file synchronization to monitor file changes and update the backup instantly. If something does happen to your computer, your backup can restore your system, disks, individual files, and even your partitions. 

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AOMEI comes with other useful tools like the PXE boot, the ability to merge backups, backup schemes, bootable disc creation, and there's even a command-line interface. 

Keep your files safe for life

For a limited time, save $20 and get a lifetime subscription to AOMEI Backupper Professional Edition on sale for $28.99. 

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At two hours and 43 minutes, Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World (or Nu astepta prea mult de la sfârsitul lumii) is far longer than your average comedy. It's also far more absurd in a way that demands this humongous runtime, coming preloaded with enough ideas for an entire series of satirical films. Its story follows burnt-out millennial production assistant Angela (Ilinca Manolache) across a single day. Through this tale of the modern gig economy, Romanian director Radu Jude explores the entanglement of contemporary image-making with the internet, cinema's past, and corporate capitalism.

SEE ALSO: 11 films you'll want to see out of NYFF 2023

Angela's errands, auditions, and memorable encounters during her exhausting shift make up the movie's overarching structure. However, Jude packs his film to the gills with wild aesthetic detours that — though they seem to depart from Angela's narrative — end up cleverly complimenting it. At times, it feels like three or four different movies packed into one, between its central comedy, an extended montage of headstones, and inserted footage of a Romanian feminist drama from the 1980s — a sister film of sorts, which Do Not Expect Too Much mirrors in surprising ways.

Together, the result of these various ideas and approaches being carefully smashed together is as riotous as it is thoughtful and self-reflexive, harkening back to the French New Wave while keeping one eye on the future of evolving media.

What is Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World about? Credit: Courtesy of Heretic

An immediate stylistic contrast emerges in the movie's opening scenes, when — as if to create a temporal paradox through visual texture — a clear close-up of a smartphone screen is filmed in grainy black-and-white. New and old, hi-tech and lo-fi, collide as Angela's iPhone alarm begins blaring (with that familiar, grating jingle that unsettles when heard out in the wild). Without the time for a shower, she throws on her bra and shiny sequin dress and rushes out the door, laptop and camera equipment in hand.

Manolache wears Angela's weary irascibility on her sleeve. However, she knows exactly how to modulate it, depending on who she's around and what space she finds herself in, from snapping at the casual, anti-Romani racism of passersby — she has a strong sense of social justice — to stealthily navigating similar sentiments from her workplace superiors, i.e. when she literally can't afford a confrontation. She drives around Bucharest's crowded roads, stopping only for occasional fast food bites and roadside naps, as she travels between the homes of various audition subjects for a video she's helping shoot for a German multinational corp. These subjects are grievously injured or disabled, thanks to workplace accidents at the company's various factories and warehouses. It's Angela's job to record and sift through the victims whose stories might make for the most friendly and least legally troublesome training videos, as they warn their fellow workers to follow company guidelines lest they end up in wheelchairs too.

The irony of Angela's job is all too clear: She's an overworked, underpaid PA making internal "content" for a company hoping to put on a worker-friendly face.

A character comedy first and foremost, Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World beats with a righteous fury of the state of things.

Between each audition, with subjects ranging from highly idiosyncratic to deeply heart-rending, Angela makes content of her own, using her phone's front camera and a caricatured filter that gives her a bald head, a unibrow, and an obnoxious goatee, which the movie presents in color and a vertical aspect ratio. This smug alternate persona she creates — a rich playboy named Bobita, who speaks in racist, sexist, anti-"woke" buzzwords; think Brian Jordan Alvarez by way of Andrew Tate — has been gaining traction on TikTok; another collision of past and future, through technological progress, and the backward moral regress it often grants permission. The more Angela funnels her daily frustrations into this bitter, vulgar satire (shot in plain view of various onlookers), the more ostentatiously funny her vignettes become, both because of what she says and because of the real circumstances in which she says them.

At the same time, these aforementioned stories are frequently interrupted with color scenes from a 1981 Romanian movie by Lucian Bratu, Angela merge mai departe (or Angela Moves On), in which actress Dorina Lazar also plays a character named Angela. The twinning of these namesakes extends to both movies' vibes, which explore the frustrations experienced by Romanian women, especially on the road. The younger Angela, of Jude's film, makes her money by driving between far-flung destinations, and she even mentions how, on her days off from PA work, she spends her time picking up Uber rideshares. The older Angela, of the 1981 film, is a divorced taxi driver at a time when women didn't often work such jobs. The footage Jude employs shows her dealing with various unruly male customers.

These three stories, of Bobita and the two Angelas, unfold side by side with what initially seems like little overlap. But they soon become entangled in intriguing ways, both through Jude's tongue-in-cheek commentary on the meta-textual nature of modern media, as well as through his stylistic exploration (and manipulation) of the images he presents.

Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World is a self-reflexive media satire.

You could draw a straight line between the French New Wave and Radu Jude, a mainstay of the more recent Romanian New Wave. Never has this been more clear than in Do Not Expect Too Much, which all but quotes Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless in certain shots. Godard's early work set the stage for what modern film language would become, between his self-reflexive focus on Hollywood's influence on French cinema culture, to his then-novel use of jump cuts and lengthy takes. Though what Godard could not have foreseen is the way new media, like YouTube, TikTok, and the now-defunct Vine, would inadvertently adopt his conventions too, from the discontinuous and jarring nature of video shitposts, to jump cuts becoming a common fixture of lengthy vlogs.

However, where the jump cuts in Breathless — most noticeable when Godard shoots Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and Patricia (Jean Seberg) driving from behind — broke the conventions of continuity by skipping through time, the modern jump cut in most vlogs serves the opposite function. It often ensures a sense of continuity by cutting out pauses and pasting together fragments of different takes (or the same take), building complete sentences and ideas in defiance of traditional notions of cinematic time, space, and, unfortunately, rhythm.

Jude draws from both these approaches in scenes where Angela drives. At one point, when she picks up her mother for a quick chat between two of her pit stops, Jude recreates the rear angle and breezy feeling of Michel and Patricia cruising through Paris streets. He even employs jump cuts at a similar moment to Godard, only he does so in the middle of sentences, which begin on one side of the cut and end on the other, breaking one kind of continuity — the visual — while creating an aural and intellectual continuity where none would ordinarily exist. It looks wrong but feels right, as though he were reintroducing the sense of rhythm to this technique that's been lost over the years. 

New media hallmarks appear throughout Do Not Expect Too Much, whether on Angela's lengthy, lonely drives, which Jude shoots as though they were intimate car vlogs — an increasingly common backdrop for amateur online content — or via the face-morphing filter she applies to create Bobita, which she forgets to turn off sometimes, leading to some rip-roaring moments. Even the film's aforementioned extended montage, depicting hundreds of gravestones lining a dangerous road, not only denotes the possibility that Angela might also become the victim of a road accident — given her exhaustion — but also seems to emanate from her imagination as a filmmaker in the digital age. 

The idea stems from casual small talk that she exchanges with her domineering German boss (Nina Hoss). And while the form it takes has the appearance of traditional cinema — from its aspect ratio, to its careful composition, to the vibrant colors that interrupt Angela's black-and-white chatter — the way it's edited has an uncanny, almost rhythmic familiarity. Each still shot lasts just long enough for you to absorb the information before another replaces it, as though you were scrolling through these images on Instagram.

The effect of these flourishes ranges from hilarious to introspective, culminating in a forty-something-minute unbroken take that crystallizes the film's themes of labor rights, looming racial animus, and the distressing influence of corporate money in nearly every sector of artistic expression. Jude even makes deviously funny use of the cue card concept in Bob Dylan's music video for "Subterranean Homesick Blues," resulting in a striking satirical streak that grows increasingly surreal.

However, its most overt flourishes and statements tend to surround its use of Bratu's Angela merge mai departe, which are both its occasional undoing (Jude's aesthetic manipulations here don't feel quite as exacting) as well as its most bizarre triumph, as Do Not Expect Too Much becomes so self-reflexive in nature that it circles back around and becomes its own sequel.

Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World is a secret sequel — kind of?!

The footage of Angela merge mai departe used in this film is the first that most non-Romanian viewers will have seen of Bratu's work. There's probably a good half hour of it spliced throughout Jude's narrative, and given the 1981 movie's mere 76-minute runtime, that's a significant chunk. That Do Not Expect Too Much contains this much of Angela merge mai departe automatically raises the question of what exactly makes up Do Not Expect Too Much, and how much of its authorship can really be attributed to Jude alone.

Is the fact that Jude manipulates some of Bratu's scenes enough? On occasion, he slows the footage down significantly, but for the most part, he presents much of the story wholesale for the purpose of thematic cross-pollination. The two Angelas are bound by common circumstances but separated by time; it's as though Do Not Expect Too Much were some niche modern reboot. However, this idea comes full circle with bizarre audacity when Lazar herself (the actress who plays Angela in the 1981 film) shows up in Jude's film, turning Do Not Expect Too Much into a pseudo-sequel of sorts — to Angela merge mai departe. But given the matryoshka doll nature of Do Not Expect Too Much, it also becomes a sequel to itself in a way, as though it were the product of some mad scientist media experiment.

The nature of contemporary "legacy sequels" also enters Jude's crosshairs, making even more explicit his scrutiny of modern media's relationship to the cinematic past. Where Godard's examination in Breathless was about French cinema's relationship to American cinema as an idea — the broad strokes of popular genres, and iconic figures like Humphrey Bogart, whom Michel impersonates — Jude probes the idea of modern image-making as less of a refraction of the past and more as a sanitized reflection of it.

He also does this amidst a bleakly funny exposé of the moral considerations of the modern image as well, from who truly gets to determine the form and meaning of images, to what a radical approach to filmmaking and critique might actually look like in the age of unfettered access to all perspectives at once. (His potential answer, via the tongue-in-cheek on-screen appearance of a notorious filmmaker, rides the lines between irony and sincerity.)

A character comedy first and foremost, Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World beats with a righteous fury of the state of things. However, its short-tempered protagonist has nowhere to channel that same fury but into something cheap and crass, albeit something that contains more honesty and is made more ethically than the polished and expensive productions to which she's beholden. What moving images mean is something constantly in flux, and in the information age, each image itself is vulnerable to digital manipulation, creating a fundamental mistrust between movies and the human eye. That this is our new, apocalyptic reality bears a strange sense of tragedy. But if that tragedy is tweaked in just the right way, by the likes of Radu Jude, it becomes darkly funny too.

Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World opens in NYC and Los Angeles on March 22.

UPDATE: Mar. 20, 2024, 3:07 p.m. EDT "Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World" was reviewed out of the 2023 New York Film Festival.

Adventure awaits in even the most mundane of tasks in Riddle of Fire.

The enchanting feature debut from writer/director Weston Razooli celebrates childlike wonder by turning a series of familiar chores into a magical romp through moonlit forests and villains' lairs. With its nostalgic quality and plucky children protagonists, Riddle of Fire feels right at home alongside classic kids' adventure films like The Goonies. However, its dreaminess still sets it apart from its predecessors, making for a fiercely original fantasy tale.

SEE ALSO: 27 films we can't wait to see this fall What's Riddle of Fire about? Credit: TIFF

You can't have a fantasy adventure without a group of heroes, and in Riddle of Fire, our heroes take the form of scrappy kids: brothers Hazel (Charlie Stover) and Jodie (Skyler Peters) and their friend Alice (Phoebe Ferro). They call themselves the Three Immortal Reptiles, and they ride around their hometown of Ribbon, Wyoming, on mini motorcycles, wielding their paintball guns against anyone who stands in their way.

After a particularly daring heist lands them a new video game console, the Three Immortal Reptiles are desperate to test it out. The only problem? Hazel and Jodie's mother Julie (Danielle Hoetmer) has changed the password to the TV. If they want to crack the password, they'll have to bring Julie a blueberry pie from a nearby bakery. But just like in any good legendary quest, the task at hand is no simple feat.

SEE ALSO: 'The Toxic Avenger' review: Gory cult classic reboot is the perfect antidote to superhero fatigue Riddle of Fire is a modern fairy tale. Credit: TIFF

As soon as Julie asks for a blueberry pie, Riddle of Fire fixes itself in the language of fairy tales. The children encounter a baker who demands something "colder than ice" in exchange for her pie recipe, setting them on a small side quest. Later, when the recipe recommends "speckled eggs," the Three Immortal Reptiles refuse to accept anything other than the last box of speckled eggs they find at a local grocery store.

Unfortunately, those eggs are scooped up by the notorious John Redrye (Charles Halford). He's part of the Enchanted Blade Gang, led by the witchy Anna-Freya Hollyhock (Lio Tipton). Riddle of Fire plays with just how much of Anna-Freya's magic is real, blurring the line between our world and a fantastic alternate reality. She and her acolytes pose a real threat to our egg-seeking heroes, especially when they follow the Enchanted Blade Gang on a nighttime hunt in a national forest. Luckily for them, Anna-Freya's young daughter Petal (Lorelei Mote) has snuck along too. And like a benevolent fairy princess, she offers them the help they need.

SEE ALSO: 'The Creator' review: A stunning reminder we need more original sci-fi

Finding one egg for a recipe may not seem like particularly high stakes for a quest, but for the Three Immortal Reptiles, that egg is a matter of life and death. After all, not getting to play video games before summer camp would be deathly disappointing for these youngsters. On top of all that, Julie, ailing from a cold that keeps her in bed, becomes a trapped princess figure herself. The only thing that can cure her is the pie, adding an extra layer of urgency to the gang's efforts.

Razooli accentuates the film's folkloric elements with vibrant visuals and soundscapes. Shot on Kodak 16mm film, the world of Riddle of Fire pops off the screen with larger-than-life colors. Ribbon's forests and mountains are a bright green, complemented by the clear blue of a mostly cloudless sky. These are landscapes that look as if they could come out of a storybook, or out of a great fantasy video game like The Legend of Zelda. Adding to that video game quality is the film's occasional use of gaming sound effects and its looping score, which would sound right at home in a video game or at a Renaissance fair. Even though we're watching a film that is mostly rooted in reality, these choices are more than enough to transport us back to our own childhood fantasies, where every day was an opportunity for adventure.

Riddle of Fire finds humor in its child heroes.

You can't have an ode to childhood without a solid cast of children, and Riddle of Fire delivers with its four young leads. Stover, Peters, Ferro, and Mote all have a raw, unpolished charm to them, which proves especially endearing when paired with their deep commitment to the adventures at the heart of the film.

Each child has a particularly affected way of speaking, hurling out folksy words like "yon" and insults like "woodsy bastards." At times, their dialogue doesn't sound at all like something a child would say, while at others, it seems perfectly natural. One especially funny recurring bit sees Jodie's lines subtitled, as Peters can be a bit hard to understand. Despite being the youngest, Jodie may be the most mannered speaker of the four, with the subtitles lending extra emphasis to his decidedly non-childlike dialogue. It all adds to Riddle of Fire's half-fantastic quality.

Riddle of Fire does overstay its welcome a tad, and its tendency to linger for too long on certain moments can take its more twee sensibilities from adorable to grating. But overall, the film remains a sweet, singular fantasy, as well as a wonderful addition to the children's adventure genre.

Riddle of Fire opens in limited release March 22.

UPDATE: Mar. 20, 2024, 4:34 p.m. EDT "Riddle of Fire" was reviewed out of 2023's Fantastic Fest.

There's a madcap magic to late-night television, where the stars come out to shine before an applauding live audience, and the rules of decorum seem relaxed in a studio setting modeled after a crisp, clean living room. We know that every guest is there to promote themselves and their latest product, but between the practiced smiles and strategized banter, there's the heady possibility that something unsanitized and real — something shocking, even — might slip through as we click closer to the Witching Hour. This is the slippery, surreal space of television celebrated in Late Night with the Devil, a tidy and trembling horror movie where talk shows and terror collide. 

Writers/directors Cameron Cairnes and Colin Cairnes (aka the Cairnes Brothers) precisely position their film in the sweet spot of 1977. On television, Johnny Carson with his broad smile and sharp wit was the king of Late Night, a charming ambassador to all of Hollywood and its fame-chasing shenanigans. As Carson graciously extended his living room into our own, so too did the homespun horrors of '70s cinema. Frightful films like Carrie and The Exorcist terrorized theater-goers with twisted tales of innocent-looking young girls irrevocably bent toward evil and devastation right before our very eyes. 

With Late Night with the Devil, the Cairnes Brothers bring these worlds of fear and fun together into one lean, mean, and sickly satisfying thrill ride. 

What's Late Night with the Devil about?  Credit: Courtesy of IFC Films and Shudder.

Character actor David Dastmalchian (The Suicide Squad, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) strides into the spotlight as talk show host Jack Delroy. A suave talent with the gift of gab, his show might have rivaled Carson's chokehold on late night, if not for a personal tragedy the previous year that broke Jack's heart and derailed the show's popularity. Desperate to revive his falling prospects, he plots a Halloween show that the world will never forget. 

Along with a psychic (who might be a scam artist) and a professional skeptic (who lives to cause trouble), Jack books a controversial interview with a mysterious young girl. Lilly (Ingrid Torelli) was once a part of a Satanic cult devoted to a dangerous demon. Once they went up in smoke, she was the only one to survive. Now, under the care of her guardian/therapist (Laura Gordon), Lilly has come on late night to share her story…and maybe introduce us to her special friend, Mr. Wriggles. 

Late Night with the Devil is a throwback in the best way.  Credit: Courtesy of IFC Films and Shudder.

Planting their plotline as a precursor to the Satanic Panic of the '80s, the Cairnes Brothers swiftly establish a sense of foreboding for their hep audience members, who know all too well the wild rumors of devil worshippers, ghouls, ghosts, and pigs named Jodie that are to follow. The precursor to moral panic and paranoia is naivete punctured by piercing fear. And what better cozy bubble to puncture than the feel-good atmosphere of a celebrity talk show? 

A shrewd production design carefully reconstructs this era. Warm but muted hues of browns, yellows, and oranges swirl around the set. Sharp suits and denim overalls place the guests in a time of swinging style and seeming innocence, when a teen girl would do press dressed like a doll instead of a supermodel. 

Meanwhile, the cinematography harkens back to the age of video, complete with analog glitches that could be nothing...or could be a warning that something is going awry. All of these details carefully capture the era so thoroughly that if you don't recognize the actors, you might mistake Late Night with the Devil for a forgotten cult classic, the legit kind once found on coveted VHS tapes. 

Yet the most crucial ode to this era is the tone of the talk show. With a breezy bravado, Dastmalchian swaggers into the role of unflappable host. Whether flashing a false smile for the crowd or bantering with his bickering guests, he feels deeply embedded in this bouncy brand of entertainment and salesmanship. By grounding the first act in the familiar realities of the '70s chat show, the Cairnes Brothers and Dastmalchian creep under our skin to rise goosebumps as they raise hell. 

Late Night with the Devil delivers restrained but ruthless horror.  Credit: Courtesy of IFC Films and Shudder.

Be warned: This movie won't get as splashy in its demonic spectacle as Carrie or The Exorcist, which boasted buckets of pig blood and vociferous vomit, respectively. But that's part of this movie's charm. Like Rosemary's Baby, it's an atmospheric brew that festers with emotional trauma. Fret not; there will be bursts of bile, blood, and some climactic carnage. However, those gory bits wouldn't be as hard-hitting were it not for the dramatic tension going on behind the scenes of Jack's plagued talk show. 

In a sense, Dastmalchian must shoulder two roles: the consummate professional and the personal trainwreck. Beneath his bespoke suit is a trembling heart that yearns for more than big ratings from this devilish publicity stunt. He yearns for proof that there is something more than this life, something beyond. And he'll risk anything, even his soul, in pursuit of this revelation. 

Dastmalchian has frequently played creepy men (see Prisoners) and quirky criminals (Pick an Ant-Man, any Ant-Man). His signature intensity stirs beneath the surface even as Jack plays nice for the studio camera. In his eyes flickers a chaotic fire of grief, hope, and ambition that cannot be squelched. And it is reflected in the unnerving stare of a little girl who claims to house a demonic spirit. They are a match made not in heaven but hell. And witnessing their face-off is nail-biting fun. 

Paying tribute to '70s horror, Late Night with the Devil is steeped in the era's aesthetic and its emerging moral anxiety, as well as the methodical pacing that draws us in, grabs on tight, and won't let go until that final ghoulish moment. Tune in and hang on. Dastmalchian and his demon are coming for you.

Late Night with the Devil opens in theaters March 22.  

UPDATE: Mar. 20, 2024, 4:03 p.m. EDT "Late Night with the Devil" was reviewed out of its World Premiere at SXSW 2023. 

Romantic comedies are built on cliches, from Big City Girl finds love in a small country town to rivals to lovers, tricky love triangles, opposites attract, and climactic kisses (often in bad weather). This isn't a glitch, but a design meant to comfort us with its predictability. To reinvent the wheel of the rom-com would be to miss the point: We want a ride that might be a bit bumpy but promises to roll us into a cozy, happy ending.

To keep things exciting on this journey, little tweaks are all we really want. And thankfully, Molli and Max in the Future gets that, unfurling a familiar rom-com plotline while boldly going for a sci-fi setting that offers fresh fun. 

What's Molli and Max in the Future about?  Zosia Mamet and Aristotle Athari in "Molli and Max in the Future." Credit: Level 33 Entertainment

Written and directed by Michael Lukk Litwak, it's basically When Harry Met Sally... But instead of the titular twosome road-tripping, hitting diners, and strolling around New York City, they're cruising in spaceships, checking out "mega mech fights" where towering robots do battle in a gladiator arena, and bopping around the universe to quirky planets and even a troubling alternate dimension. 

Zosia Mamet stars as Molli, a hopeless romantic pursuing spirituality and space magic. Aristotle Athari plays Max, a career-focused inventor determined to build a bot that'll make him a mega mech megastar. Their meet-cute comes through a spaceship accident where no one is hurt (beyond Max's pride). The spark between the two is immediate. Over a montage of tours around spacey destinations and winding conversations, they forge a powerful friendship. But then fate comes crashing in, pulling the pair apart for years. 

The film's story arches over 12 years, during which Max and Molli chase their dreams and suffer some rude awakenings. But again and again, they collide, depending on each other in a wide galaxy full of frustrations, sex cults, chaotic demi-gods, mind-bending tech, genocidal demon tyrants, and achingly human problems like crushes and self-doubt.

Science fiction brings a unique whimsy to Molli and Max in the Future.  Credit: Level 33 Entertainment

Litwak's world — or worlds — blend the familiar with the futuristic. Rather than a squawking TV screen, hovering taxi cabs project advertisements for Glorp Cola via hologram. An AI girlfriend (a terrifically on-point Erin Darke) looks human enough, but has flashes of metal and a sharp diction as if her code had been snatched from a fast-talking dame in a 1930s screwball comedy. In Megatropolis and Oceanus, humans interact with "fish people" and other interstellar creatures who come alive by applying sparse but effective prosthetics to human faces. 

Like many an MCU movie, much of this film is shot against a greenscreen. But unlike the MCU's blockbusters, Molli and Max in the Future can't compete with the budget or effects that a hulking franchise can. The CGI that builds its settings is more reminiscent of 2004's Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow with a self-aware slathering of Tron.

Neon lights radiate across distant cityscapes and punctuate sportswear for a retro-futuristic flare. Combined with the shrewd use of costumes and prosthetics, the movie brews a low-fi charm reminiscent of a history of scrappy sci-fi films. The spectacle — like robot fights and interactions with a horny space critter — have the guileless verve of Saturday morning cartoons. And frankly, it's fine that these effects aren't extraordinary, as the core focus is the romance that plays as winkingly familiar. 

Molli and Max in the Future has bouncy banter and big ideas, for better and for worse. Credit: Level 33 Entertainment

Litwak clearly relishes showcasing glimpses of his lovestruck galaxy, but he refuses to dillydally. Molli and Max in the Future moves, smartly trusting in the chemistry of its stars and the anticipation of its audiences. Montages jauntily carry us through the getting-to-know-you stage before plunging us into a complicated relationship of repressed lust, commitment fears, and endless possibilities. Employing parallel universes to give their could-be relationship a test run is a particularly clever intersection of sci-fi and rom-com. In this bit, Max and Molli call their alternate selves for a catchup that is as comedic as it is emotionally fraught.

Litwak also works in daffy spins on drama cliches, like a snarling blue-collar father demanding his son abandon his lofty career ambitions and join the family business working at the "rock 'n' roll factory." But the biggest laughs come from the zippy banter, deftly volleyed by Mamet and Atharia, as well as apparently timeless one-liners like the scorching exit line, "Have a nice life — living in Midtown!" (Ouch!)

Where the film fumbles is in a second act that juggles political satire, working in thinly veiled satire about President Trump (a bombastic demon called Turboschmuck, played with churlish moxie by Michael Chernus) and the Climate Change Crisis. While Max and Molli gawp in the face of their interstellar stressors, the lightness of the rom-com suffers under the too-real reminders of actual horror. Storywise, it makes sense, as our heroes — who like Millennials and Gen Z now — grapple with their identity and priorities in the face of political upheaval and overwhelming global catastrophe. But this detour derails the fun and verve Litwak and company had rolling along. A bold third act aims to reconcile this sharp turn, but your mileage may vary. 

Despite its wobbly second half, Molli and Max in the Future is an inventive, endearing, and entertaining movie. Blending sci-fi details with rom-com tropes and a sharp self-awareness, it charts a daring new path that makes it well worth the watching. 

Molli and Max in the Future arrives on video on demand March 22.

UPDATE: Mar. 20, 2024, 12:22 p.m. EDT "Molli and Max in the Future" was reviewed out its World Premiere at SXSW 2023. This review was republished in February 2024 to coincide with its theatrical premiere. It has since been updated to reflect its on-demand availability.