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Amazon deals of the day at a glance: OUR TOP PICK Samsung Galaxy Tab S9+ (64GB, WiFi) $159.99 at Amazon (save $60) Get Deal BEST SMARTHOME DEAL Amazon Echo Pop with TP-Link Kasa smart color bulb $22.99 at Amazon (save $39.99) Get Deal BEST FITNESS DEAL Sunny Health & Fitness magnetic rowing machine $205.70 at Amazon (save $194.29) Get Deal BEST KIDS DEAL Garmin Vivofit Jr. 3 $69.99 at Amazon (save $20) Get Deal

Whether you're hoping to use your tax return to do some retail therapy or you're simply a sucker for a sweet discount, we've handpicked some of the most impressive deals we could find at Amazon today. It's not a big shopping holiday or anything, but that doesn't mean there aren't all-time low prices on big-name products — like Samsung Galaxy or Amazon Echo.

Here are the best Amazon deals of the day for April 16, handpicked by us. And don't miss out on our picks from Monday, April 15, as many of those deals are still live.

Our top pick Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Amazon deal of the day: Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ (64GB, WiFi) $159.99 at Amazon
$219.99 Save $60.00 Get Deal

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ may not be as fancy or impressive as the brand's new Galaxy Tab S9 lineup, but not everyone is looking for a tablet that practically doubles as a computer. Some shoppers just want a reliable tablet that can handle basic tasks proficiently without breaking the bank — and that's exactly what you'll get with the A9+. Our friends at PCMag (which is owned by Mashable's publisher, Ziff Davis) called it the "best low-cost Android tablet you can buy," noting that it "succeeds at everything a low-cost tablet should." The A9+ sports an 11-inch screen, quad speakers powered by Dolby Atmos, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 processor, and expandable storage up to 1TB. It's typically pretty affordable at $219.99, but as of April 16, you can keep an extra $60 in your wallet and snag it for only $159.99. That's 27% in savings and the lowest price on record.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon / TP-Link Echo Pop with TP-Link Kasa smart color bulb $22.99 at Amazon
$62.98 Save $39.99 Get Deal

Yesterday, April 15, we featured the Echo Pop as one of our top Amazon deals of the day at $22.99. Today, April 16, you can snag that same deal and pick up a free TP-Link Kasa smart color bulb. Who doesn't love free stuff? The Echo Pop is the cheapest way to add Alexa to your home via smart speaker. "For people who like to keep music playing, and who also use Alexa as a home assistant, the Echo Pop is a perfect addition to any room in the house," Mashable's reviewer wrote.

Opens in a new window Credit: Sunny Heath & Fitness Sunny Health & Fitness magnetic rowing machine $205.70 at Amazon
$399.99 Save $194.29 Get Deal

If you're looking for the best bang for your buck in a rowing machine, check out the Sunny Health & Fitness magnetic rowing machine. On any given day, it's relatively affordable at $399.99, but as of April 16, it's practically a steal at $205.70 — that's 48% in savings and just $5 away from its lowest price in a year. With eight levels of adjustable magnetic resistance, an extra-long 48-inch slide rail, and an LCD panel that displays time, count, calories, and more, this rower is basically customizable for any type of rower.

Opens in a new window Credit: Garmin Garmin Vivofit Jr. 3 $69.99 at Amazon
$89.99 Save $20.00 Get Deal

The Garmin Vivofit Jr. 3 is sure to get your little ones excited about moving their bodies. The swim-friendly tracker offers fun rewards via a parent-controlled app, which can help keep your kiddo both intrigued and safe. And as a bonus, the battery lasts up to a year, so you don't have to constantly throw it on a charger. As of April 16, it's on sale for just $69.99 — that's a savings of 22% and matches its lowest price to date.

None of these deals catching your eye? Check out Amazon's daily deals for even more savings.

YouTube is ramping up its enforcement against ad-blockers, by blocking certain third-party apps. On a totally unrelated note, did you know YouTube offers a paid ad-free subscription?

SEE ALSO: YouTube Premium might let you automatically jump to the most interesting part of a video

On Monday, YouTube posted an update saying people who use third-party ad-blockers "may experience buffering" or get a playback error. YouTube's terms of service bans ad-blockers and now the video streaming giant is getting serious about enforcing this. [An ad-blocker] prevents the creator from being rewarded for viewership, and Ads on YouTube help support creators and let billions of people around the world use the streaming service," said the announcement.

Last October, YouTube announced a "global effort" to crack down on ad-blocking services on the platform, per The Verge. Previously, this was rolled out to smaller groups and targeted specific ad-blockers. Users could still find a workaround by downloading a third-party app via YouTube's API. But now YouTube is closing off all ways of ad-blocking by prohibiting third-party apps that do this as well.

This is undoubtedly a good thing for creators who make money from YouTube content, but a bummer for casual viewers, although we kinda get it. YouTube is in the delicate position of having to keep creators happy in addition to its advertisers and users. But this time, users are losing out. On the surface it's a classic case of enshittification, or locking in users by offering a free service then gradually making it worse to force users to sign up for the premium version, but on the other hand, you could just sit through the ads.

By making YouTube videos unplayable, viewers are forced to turn off their ad-blockers or sign up for a YouTube Premium account which is $14 a month. Revenue from subscription fees is shared with creators in the YouTube Partner Program.

All right, you want the best of the best? Then we're gonna give it to you.

After scouring Netflix for the best thrillers, best action flicks, best romantic comedies, best horror movies, best family films, and more, it's finally time for us to narrow down our streaming suggestions to the best movies, period. That's right — it's superhero sagas vs. biopics vs. war dramas vs. musicals vs. comedies vs. so much more. This is the ultimate film list for when you have no idea what you want to watch outside of the general concept of an excellent movie that delivers top-tier performances, a killer script, and an engaging world.

Without further ado and in no particular order, here are the 25 best movies now on Netflix.

1. My Best Friend's Wedding Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock

Few '90s rom-coms are better than this one directed by P.J. Hogan, in which a messy love triangle finds Jules (Julia Roberts) trying to sabotage her best friend Michael's (Dermot Mulroney) wedding when she realizes she's in love with him. The whole thing hinges on a pact the two friends made years ago, promising they'd marry each other if they were both still single by 28, an absolutely wild age to agree to such a thing. With only days before the wedding, Jules pushes her way into Michael and Kimmy's (Cameron Diaz) life to try and break them up. This movie's got Rupert Everett as gay BFF icon of the '90s George, an entire restaurant breaking into a sing-along of "I Say a Little Prayer," and Julia Roberts stealing a bread truck. My Best Friend's Wedding is perfect, always satisfying comfort food. — Oliver Whitney, Contributing Writer

How to watch: My Best Friend’s Wedding is streaming on Netflix.

2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Five years ago we got what remains one of the best superhero movies of all time with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. That's an incredibly hard act to follow, and yet the sequel to Miles Morales's journey, Across the Spider-Verse, is absolutely fantastic. 

SEE ALSO: 'Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse' is full of glorious Easter eggs. Here are 13 of the best.

In the second part of the Spider-Verse saga, Miles is grown up, but he's struggling to balance his life as Brooklyn's web-slinger with his studies and being a good son to his parents. After a visit from Gwen (Spider-Woman in her universe), Miles becomes tangled up with a daunting new villain, a whole new team of Spider-Peoples, and a mission that could change the fate of the multiverse. I know, I know, we're all a little burnt out by the overabundance of multiverse narratives these days, but Across the Spider-Verse manages to inject its story with some truly clever world-building. The newest characters are a blast, with a killer voice cast that includes Issa Rae, Oscar Isaac, Daniel Kaluuya, Karan Soni, and Greta Lee, among other fun cameos. The action set pieces are exhilarating and funny, and the animation is somehow more dazzling than the first film. We can only hope the third Spider-Verse film is half as good as the first two. — O.W.

How to watch: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is streaming on Netflix.

3. Paddington Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock

The truth is, you haven't known joy until you've experienced Paddington, one of the most charming movies imaginable. It's well agreed upon that the titular Peruvian-British bear, voiced oh-so-sweetly by Ben Whishaw, is the epitome of cuteness. You could watch Paddington on mute and, by the laws of nature, melt into a puddle over his marmalade-smeared little face. This isn't just a movie about gushing over cute animals, though, but one that gently tells a story about British colonialism, immigration, and xenophobia through the wacky adventures of a bear on the run. 

After Paddington's jungle home in "Darkest Peru" is destroyed by an earthquake, the young bear arrives in London on a cargo ship. A British family takes pity on the lost little orphan and invites him to stay for a night. But things turn complicated for the red-hatted bear when Nicole Kidman's evil taxidermist sets out to hunt him down and stuff him. Dark, silly, and visually inventive, Paddington is there whenever you’re having a rough day and need a joyous pick-me-up. — O.W.

How to watch: Paddington is streaming on Netflix.

4. May December

On its surface, the latest from Todd Haynes (Carol, Velvet Goldmine) may seem like a thinly veiled reexamination of a true crime tale that had '90s tabloids absolutely obsessed. Screenwriter Samy Burch uses this familiar framework to construct a story that not only delivers a dishy parody of a melodrama, down to a string-zinging score and comically banal dialogue about hot dogs. She's also built a keen device to evaluate our obsession with true crime, for better or for ghoulish.

In May December, Julianne Moore plays a wife and mother who has a shameful (and criminal) past, which involves how she met her current husband (Charles Melton). When a TV actress (Natalie Portman) wants to turn their lives into a movie, old wounds are reopened. Beneath the blistering domestic drama, Haynes and Burch weave in a sharp and sophisticated humor that invites audiences to bark with laughter, even as their jaws drop in shock.* — Kristy Puchko, Film Deputy Editor

How to watch: May December is streaming on Netflix.

5. Everything Everywhere All at Once Michelle Yeoh kicks butt in "Everything Everywhere All at Once." Credit: A24

Want a movie with a little bit of everything? Then you can't beat the 2023 Oscar winner for Best Picture. Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh stars as a disgruntled laundromat owner who's at her wit's end between her obligations as a boss, wife, mother, and daughter. And just as she's braced to deal with a tax auditor with a surly attitude (Academy Award winner Jamie Lee Curtis), a dashing version of her husband (Academy Award winner Ke Huy Quan) bursts onto the scene from a parallel universe to loop her into a quest to save all existence. Packed with absolutely bonkers action, outrageous jokes, dizzying style, and performances as silly as they are deeply poignant, The Daniels' Everything Everywhere All at Once is the kind of movie that'll have you laughing, crying, gasping, and maybe even reconsidering your life up to now. — K.P.

How to watch: Everything Everywhere All at Once is now streaming on Netflix.

6. Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park is never a bad decision for a movie night when you’re itching for suspense and action. There’s nothing quite like the first installment of the franchise, which perfectly weaves the wonder of witnessing live, giant dinosaurs right in front of your face...with the utter horror of witnessing live, giant dinos right in front of your face. Spielberg whips us from the awestruck wonder of walking among these ancient monsters to total action-packed chaos as everything goes haywire on Isla Nublar. Every set piece is pounding with adrenaline, from the iconic T-Rex Jeep chase to the kitchen sequence to Laura Dern fighting off a raptor. Ultimately, it’s Spielberg’s fine attention to detail that makes Jurassic Park such a masterwork, forever etching those sequences into our mind. You will never look at a glass of water or a spoonful of Jell-O the same after Jurassic Park.* — O.W.

How to Watch: Jurassic Park is now streaming on Netflix.

7. The Woman King Credit: Sony

The Oscars might have missed the boat on Gina Prince-Bythewood's relentless action thriller about a real-life group of female warriors (led by a remarkably buff Viola Davis) fighting slavers in 1800s Africa, but that doesn't mean you should do the same. Looking like no other action movie ever made, this collective of kick-ass women (including a stellar Lashana Lynch and Thuso Mbedu among their ranks) will have you leaping off your sofa and cheering as they slice their way through jungle and clay and mankind alike. — J.A.

How to watch: The Woman King is streaming on Netflix.

8. Phantom Thread 

If Daniel Day-Lewis is really and truly permanently retired from acting (and let's hope he's not, for acting's sake), then he went out on a darn high note with this profoundly romantic anti-romance from director Paul Thomas Anderson. DDL's persnickety couture bastard Reynolds Woodcock (a name the director and his star came up with as a gag, which stuck) and his right-hand sis Cyril (Lesley Manville, who will go right through you) have the disgustingly wealthy eating out of their satin-lined gloves when the film begins.

SEE ALSO: Why has 'Phantom Thread' given us so many great memes?

So, how does a stumbling bumbling nobody waitress named Alma (Vicky Krieps in a blow-the-doors-off performance) flip their entire pristine world upside down with nothing but a well-calculated blush and a basket of mushrooms? That's the stuff of romance, in all of its violent, push-pull swirl. And Phantom Thread captures the dunderheaded swoon of that first blush, plus all of the fallout that necessarily falls after in order to keep that flame forever burning. — J.A.

How to watch: Phantom Thread is streaming on Netflix.

9. Hunt for the Wilderpeople

This 2016 adventure about bad egg Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison) and his curmudgeonly foster father Hec (Sam Neill) is the kind of eccentric delight that writer/director Taika Waititi specializes in (this time co-writing with Barry Crump, who wrote the book it's based on). 

After losing his foster mother, Ricky flees into the forests of New Zealand, pursued by Hec, only to learn that the older man also feels no need to return to civilization. Together they become the wilderpeople, living off the land and evading capture from authorities, including Thor: Ragnarok's Rachel House. Wilderpeople is equal parts stirring, hilarious, and absurd — a story of found family and adventure that can be loved by all.* — Proma Khosla, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Hunt for the Wilderpeople is streaming on Netflix.

10. Da 5 Bloods

Mashable's Adam Rosenberg reviewed Da 5 Bloods in summer 2020, writing: "In the midst of widespread IRL social upheaval that many hope will finally start to undo the trauma wrought by centuries of deeply embedded prejudice, this new movie delivers a powerful sense of perspective." Spike Lee's war film, a keenly impactful meditation on systemic racism, stars Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, the late Chadwick Boseman, and more. — Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Da 5 Bloods is streaming on Netflix.

11. The Mitchells vs. The Machines Credit: 2021 SPAI

Take your typical family road trip comedy, toss in a robot apocalypse, and top it all off with a heavy smattering of meme-worthy filters, doodles, and GIFs, and you might end up with something like The Mitchells vs. The Machines: a truly fun-for-the-whole-family feature that hinges on whether an artsy teen (voiced by Abbi Jacobson) and her luddite dad (voiced by Danny McBride) can set aside their differences long enough to save all of humanity from being launched into space by Siri Pal.

Come for the jokes about our impending AI-led dystopia, stay for the heart-tugging moments of Mitchell family bonding. Seriously, we might never hear T.I. and Rihanna's "Live Your Life" without tearing up ever again.* — Angie Han, Deputy Entertainment Editor

How to watch: The Mitchells vs. The Machines is streaming on Netflix.

12. The Power of the Dog Credit: Kirsty Griffin / Courtesy of Netflix

The Power of the Dog is a masterful Western from director Jane Campion, who made history as the third woman to win the award for Best Director. Benedict Cumberbatch dazzles with quiet menace as cowboy Phil Burbank, while his co-stars Jesse Plemons, Kirsten Dunst, and Kodi Smit-McPhee also deliver award-worthy performances. A gorgeous film layered with subtle dangers, The Power of the Dog is proof that it's Campion's world. We're all just living in it.* — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: The Power of the Dog is streaming on Netflix.

13. Crimson Peak 

Justice for Crimson Peak! Those of us who love Guillermo del Toro’s camp gothic romance really love it, and we will defend it with our last heaving guttural ghostly gasp. From those balloon-sized, puffy-shouldered nightgowns that Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) sports while running up and down hallways and staircases and staircases and hallways while clutching candelabras, to Tom Hiddleston's heaving buttocks, to fresh and inventive ways of smashing a dude's face in, Crimson Peak is peak del Toro. Total goth nirvana. Make like Jessica Chastain, and stab, stab, stab this beauty into your heart today! — J.A.

How to watch: Crimson Peak is streaming on Netflix.

14. Okja Credit: Jae Hyuk Lee / Netflix / Kobal / Shutterstock

Fall under the spell of Parasite director Bong Joon-ho once more with Netflix's Okja. When a terrible fate befalls a genetically modified kind of "super pig" named Okja thanks to the evil Mirando corporation, Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun) will stop at nothing to save her friend and take down Mirando's CEO Lucy (Tilda Swinton). — A.F.

How to watch: Okja is streaming on Netflix.

15. Marriage Story

Yes, interpretations of Noah Baumbach's Academy Award-winning film have varied substantially among audiences. But, for the most part, critics agree that the character-driven divorce film saga represents a resonant and important viewpoint in modern relationships. Career-best performances from Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver will turn you into a sobbing puddle while Baumbach's artful narrative-building slowly makes you whole again. — A.F.

How to watch: Marriage Story is streaming on Netflix.

16. tick, tick... Boom!

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s feature directorial debut packs a potent musical theater punch from every angle. He brings to life the selective reality and theatrical phantasmagoria of Rent writer Jonathan Larson’s life and career, based on an autobiographical show from 1992.

Miranda, whose In the Heights was spectacularly adapted for film by Jon M. Chu, proves as adept at moving from stage to screen as he does sucking the marrow of his medium. Andrew Garfield fully inhabits Larson, from voice to body to towering, buzzing hair and a frenetic urgency to create — to write, to sing, to matter, as Larson so clearly did to legions of dreamers who followed.* — P.K.

How to watch: tick, tick...Boom! is streaming on Netflix.

17. Monty Python and the Holy Grail Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock

There are tons of great Monty Python films to pick from (including Life of Brian, which is also streaming on Netflix), but The Holy Grail holds a special place in our hearts. It's endlessly quotable, stupidly funny, and captures everything that made this comedy team spectacular. Not to mention it forever changed how we see coconuts, swallows, hamsters, and elderberries. — A.F.

How to watch: Monty Python and the Holy Grail is streaming on Netflix.

18. Frances Ha 

When Frances Ha (a never-better Greta Gerwig), during an ill-planned jaunt to Paris, gives a speech to a group of strangers over dinner about that thing, you know, where you see somebody who perfectly understands you across a room during a party? That’s when the movie gets its hook into me. And when what Frances described plays itself out perfectly at the end of Noah Baumbach’s black-and-white 2012 masterpiece, with her forever bestie Sophie (Mickey Sumner) spotting her across a room and smiling with all the communication in all the world passing between them? That’s when I am dragged into this perfect movie’s loving embrace all over again. And again. And again. 

It's been about a decade since its release, and Frances Ha was already a bit of a time capsule of a precise moment and place in time when it came out. Still, the low-fi indie timelessly transcends those specifics, capturing something ineffable about friendship and self-actualization in the smallest, sweetest, clumsiest of increments. — J.A.

How to watch: Frances Ha is streaming on Netflix.

19. Roma Credit: Netflix

The first foreign-language film to win an Oscar for Best Director, Alfonso Cuarón's Roma greets viewers at the intersection of personal reflection and cinematic excellence. The black-and-white film follows live-in housekeeper Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), an Indigenous woman who works for an affluent family in Mexico City, finding a sense of humanity that is uniquely memorable. — A.F.

How to watch: Roma is now streaming on Netflix.

20. Farha

Based on a real Palestinian girl's story, Darin J. Sallam's debut feature film follows 14-year-old Farha (Karam Taher), who dreams of moving from her Palestinian village into the city so she can go to school instead of getting married. But it's 1948 in Palestine, just as the first Nakba, or "catastrophe" in Arabic, was taking place, and far more horrifying things are about to interrupt Farha's hopes.

Instead of trying to show the expansive historical details of the Nakba, Sallam’s Farha presents everything through the eyes of its young protagonist. We follow Farha as she's forced to separate from her family and best friend as Israel's militia arrives to wreak havoc in her village. Though an incredibly difficult film to watch, it's also a powerful film that tells a rare story of Palestinian history and perseverance through the vantage point of an innocent child. — O.W.

How to watch: Farha is streaming on Netflix.

21. I'm Thinking of Ending Things Credit: Mary Cybulski / Netflix

Emotional demolitions expert/filmmaker Charlie Kaufman destroys audiences once more in the mind-boggling I'm Thinking of Ending Things. Adapted from Iain Reid's novel of the same name, this cryptically titled psychological thriller follows a woman, played by Jessie Buckley, and her boyfriend, played by Jesse Plemons, on a disturbing visit to his parents' remote farmhouse. What follows? Well, that depends on who you ask.

A transfixing meditation on art, existence, value, authorship, isolation, and more, I'm Thinking of Ending Things is a truly one-of-a-kind experience as profound as it is disquieting. You may not have a great time in this house of abstract horrors (especially when Toni Collette is on-screen doing those classically terrifying Toni Collette things), but it will be a lasting one.* — A.F.

How to watch: I'm Thinking of Ending Things is streaming on Netflix.

22. RRR 

Put on your dancing shoes and prepare to punch a tiger in the face, because S. S. Rajamouli's three-plus-hour action epic is here to pound you into submission, and you'll be smiling for every second of it. Making Zack Snyder's grandiosity look like a flea circus, RRR (which stands for "Rise Roar Revolt") tells the simple and modest tale of two revolutionaries (played by human supermen N. T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan) in 1920 who become friends, enemies, friends again, and on and so forth, until they storm and spin and punch and slash their way across half of the British army.

RRR features about a dozen action scenes that should rank among the most phenomenal spectacles ever put on screen (I'm particular to the fight that nearly burns down an entire jungle, myself), but we all know it's the "Naatu Naatu" dance competition that keeps the boys and girls coming back for more. — J.A.

How to watch: RRR is streaming on Netflix.

23. Catfight

If you loved Killing Eve, you gotta watch Catfight, a movie where two women spend the entire film trying to kill one another. Sandra Oh stars alongside the late Anne Heche in this deliciously nasty black comedy about two former college friends who hate each other and reunite by chance. 

Veronica (Oh) is a miserable trophy wife; Ashley (Heche) is a pissed-off, struggling artist, and both women are raging, toxic jerks. When they meet in a stairwell at a party, years of bottled-up rage explodes, and the two viciously punch, kick, and strangle the hell out of each other. Cut to two years later, when one of them wakes up from a coma. Yes, Catfight is incredibly dark, bubbling with crude humor and gnarly violence, and may not be for everyone. Yet there's something exhilarating about watching female characters — especially with the tremendous duo of Oh and Heche, who fight, yell, and insult with such ferocity — get a chance to unleash their rage in ways male characters have done for decades. — O.W.

How to watch: Catfight is streaming on Netflix.

24. It Follows

Sex kills in It Follows, literally. In David Robert Mitchell's fantastic indie horror film, Maika Monroe's Jay becomes the latest target of a mysterious and invisible entity after she has sex with her boyfriend (Jake Weary). Now she has to have sex with someone else to pass on the curse; until then, she'll be stalked by random strangers who are trying to kill her. A minimalist horror premise, It Follows works so well because it refrains from explaining too much and instead relies on creating a total atmosphere of paranoia. It's a masterclass in suspenseful, style-soaked filmmaking, using creeping zooms and 360-degree POV pans to ratchet up the psychological anxiety, plus a synth-heavy score that evokes the dread of vintage John Carpenter. Beware, you will leave this movie doing a double take at every shadowy corner. — O.W.

How to watch: It Follows is streaming on Netflix.

25. Nimona Credit: Netflix

Nimona transports audiences to a futuristic medieval world where knight Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed) is on the run for a crime he did not commit. However, it's his label as a "villain" that brings shapeshifter Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz) into his life. More comfortable as a shark than a human girl, Nimona is a delightfully deviant fiend who wants nothing more than to stick it to the all-powerful Institute. She and Ballister make quite the odd pair — she wants to wreak havoc, he just wants to clear his name — but together, they may just defeat an evil lurking in their kingdom.

Between some electrifying fight scenes and its graphic animation style, Nimona is a blast of a viewing experience. But its message and LGBTQ visibility is what truly sets it apart. Not only is Ballister's relationship with knight Ambrosius Goldenloin (Eugene Lee Yang) a key element of the film, but Nimona's own fluidity and negotiation of her identity calls to mind transness in a meaningful, important way.* — B.E.

How to watch: Nimona is now streaming on Netflix.

Need even more streaming recommendations? Mashable Streaming Guides can help. You can find:

• Best thrillers on Netflix

• Best action flicks on Netflix

• Best romantic comedies on Netflix

• Best horror movies on Netflix

• Best family films on Netflix

• And even the most ridiculous teen dramas. Seriously, we have ALL the streaming advice.

Asterisks (*) indicate the entry comes from a previous Mashable list.

Opens in a new window Credit: Netflix Sign up for a Netflix subscription! Shop Now

SAVE $50: As of April 16, get the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro tablet for just $99.99. That's $50 off its normal price and a discount of 33%.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro $99.99 at Amazon
$149.99 Save $50.00 Get Deal

Tablets are great options for keeping little minds entertained. Stuff them with educational software, kid-appropriate entertainment, and books, and your brood will have plenty to do. This is all even easier with Amazon Fire Kids tablets, which come packed with kid-friendly content in a frame that'll withstand drops so you don't have to worry about cracked screens or grimy cases. Today's a great day to grab an affordable kids' tablet that works for younger and older members of the family.

As of April 16, you can get the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro tablet for just $99.99. That's $50 off its normal price of $149.99 and a discount of 33%. This price applies to three different colors: Rainbow Universe, Hello Teal, and Cyber Blue.

This budget-friendly tablet has a 13-hour battery life, a hexa-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, and 1 TB of expandable storage. It also boasts Dolby Atmos sound. It's all housed in a slim case that protects it from drops to make it last a little longer even when in little hands.

The tablet also comes with a year of Amazon Kids+ content for free, which contains hundreds of books, games, videos, apps, and Alexa skills to use. It's priced at $4.99 a month after your free year, so be sure to cancel if you don't want to pay.

If you need an affordable tablet for your young ones that does everything they want (with peace of mind for you), this is an excellent place to start.

SAVE $50.01: Costco members can score a $500 Southwest Airlines gift card for just $449.99. That's a 10% discount. Non-members can grab the gift card for a sale price of $472.49, which is a 5% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: Southwest Airlines $500 Southwest Airlines gift card $449.99 at Costco
$500.00 Save $50.01 sale price extends to Costco members Get Deal

Summer is just a few months away. Do you have your travel plans booked? If you haven't booked flights because they cost too much, today's deal could help with making summer travel more affordable.

As of April 16, Costco members can score a $500 Southwest Airlines gift card for just $449.99. That's a savings of $50.01. If you're not a Costco member, you can still grab the gift card on sale for $472.94 which works out to a savings of $27.51.

Travel can come with a shocking price tag these days. If you're looking to score a good deal, this gift card will reduce the price of your flights. Southwest Airlines is one of the best U.S. carriers to book affordable flights, flying to over 100 destinations. The Southwest network covers the U.S. and also includes destinations in Central and South America like Mexico and Aruba.

SEE ALSO: The 5 best Bluetooth trackers for travel and lost luggage

In addition to affordable prices, flying Southwest also comes with some perks. The airline allows you to check two bags for free, which is a joy for over packers. Southwest also doesn't charge a change fee should you need to alter your travel dates.

Grab this gift card deal and hurry to book your summer travel with Southwest Airline's Wanna Get Away sale that drops flight prices to as low as $49 each way.

Even if you're not a Costco member, score a discounted price on a $500 Southwest Airlines gift card and make your next trip a bit more affordable.

From its opening sequence you could be forgiven for thinking Baby Reindeer was a comedy.

Set in a London police station, we watch as Donny Dunn (creator Richard Gadd, playing a version of himself), shuffles into reception to tell a disinterested officer he's being stalked. A woman Donny met in the pub where he works has been following him and sending him hundreds of emails a day.

"Are any threatening towards you?" asks the officer of the emails.

"Yeah," says Donny, holding up his smartphone to show a message that reads, "I jusst had an egg."

"I wouldn't say that's...particularly threatening," comes the confused response.

It sounds light-hearted enough, but there's a current running beneath the scene. A mixture of awkwardness and fear. The comedy in Baby Reindeer, in this way, is like a thin sheet of ice. It masks something darker and more dangerous churning just below the surface.

SEE ALSO: 38 best dramas on Netflix for when you want to feel something What's Baby Reindeer about?

Adapted from his one-man play of the same name, Gadd's limited series is based on his own life. We first meet his protagonist, Donny, when he's in something of a rut, working shifts in a London pub while struggling to make a name for himself as a standup comic.

Donny's private life is more complicated than his professional one. He's living with the mother of his ex-girlfriend and dating a trans woman, Teri (Nava Mau), a relationship he's trying to keep secret due to his own confusion about his sexuality. To make things worse, Donny randomly shows kindness to a stranger called Martha (Jessica Gunning), only for her to latch on to him in a way that goes from endearing to terrifying in the blink of an eye.

Dunn first meets Martha when he gives her a free cup of tea. Credit: Ed Miller / Netflix

"I have a sneaky feeling you might be the death of me," whispers Martha at the end of the first episode, shortly after asking Donny if he ever wishes he could unzip people and climb inside them. Like many of their early interactions, it's a comment that would be amusing if it wasn't so unnerving.

Baby Reindeer is often hard to watch.

Gadd's series is by turns hilarious, harrowing, tense, uplifting, and upsetting. It's difficult to categorise. Perhaps the only thread running throughout the seven episodes is just how uncomfortable things are. The viewing experience is painful, for multiple reasons. For the most part it's the show's honesty. Donny's standup performances are exactly what you'd expect from a struggling comedian: awkward to watch. He's often met with silence, sometimes heckles. More than once the person shouting from the audience is Martha herself, and the resulting exchanges — which, like the script as a whole, feel horribly realistic — make you want to curl up into a ball.

Martha is a character that's so well drawn, and so brilliantly acted by Gunning, that she's difficult to look away from. At times she's like Kathy Bates in Stephen King's Misery, exploding with an anger and violence that makes you recoil; at other times she merely seems like an odd and slightly pitiful figure, making us feel the same sympathy for her that Donny himself struggles with. There's a scene early on where Donny, while trying to get to the bottom of who Martha really is, follows her home to her messy one-bedroom flat and peers in at her through the window. Of course he makes a noise and she spots him before he can fully duck down, and there's another misspelled email waiting for him when he gets home: "babyr ein i saw you looking, ickle wickle peeping tom." Like many instances in the show, whenever Donny tries to take some sort of action to help himself, it ends up backfiring horribly.

Dunn's standup performances make for painful viewing. Credit: Ed Miller/Netflix

But the storyline with Martha, however troubling it is to watch, is only one disturbing facet in the show. Affecting Donny's interactions with his stalker and the way he feels about himself is an incident that happened to him years before, which is told over the course of a longer flashback episode midway through the season. It's very uncomfortable viewing, reminiscent of Michaela Coel's brilliant I May Destroy You, but it serves to reveal more about Dunn's psychology. Gadd, once again basing the story on his own experiences (this time something eluded to in another of his shows, Monkey See Monkey Do), gives a phenomenally raw performance.

Baby Reindeer has some moments that will stay with you.

It's difficult to find fault with Baby Reindeer. The acting is brilliant across the board, Gadd's writing is excellent, and the only thing that might put some people off is the darkness of the subject matter. The show is raw and honest, and the characters don't always make the decisions we want them to make.

The show has moments that will stay with you; little awkward vignettes, some real-life horror, and a few sequences that are powerful enough to hurt. There's one particular scene near the end of the series that takes place on the standup stage, a soul-bearing monologue that's about as heart-wrenching as it's possible for TV to get.

In the end, though, nothing is neat. This isn't the type of show with a clear resolution. It's messy, thought-provoking, and — like a dream that's difficult to shake — you'll find your mind going back to it long after the credits have rolled.

How to watch: Baby Reindeer is now streaming on Netflix.

TL;DR: Stream Barcelona vs. PSG in the Champions League for free on RTÉ Player. Access this free streaming service from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Barcelona secured an impressive win over PSG in the first leg of their quarter-final matchup, but the job is not done yet. Any team with Kylian Mbappé is dangerous, so PSG will still believe they can turn things around in Barcelona.

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

When is Barcelona vs. PSG?

Barcelona vs. PSG kicks off at 8 p.m. BST on April 16. This fixture takes place at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Spain.

How to watch Barcelona vs. PSG for free

Barcelona vs. PSG is available to live stream for free on RTÉ Player.

RTÉ Player is geo-restricted to Ireland, 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 Ireland. This process makes it look like you're connecting from Ireland, so you can access RTÉ Player from anywhere in the world.

Unblock RTÉ Player 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 RTÉ Player

5. Stream Barcelona vs. PSG 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 (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs are not free, but leading services do tend to offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By taking advantage of these offers, you can gain access to RTÉ Player without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it gives you time to stream Barcelona vs. PSG before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for RTÉ Player?

ExpressVPN is the best service for streaming live sport on free platforms like RTÉ Player, 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 secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight 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.

Watch Barcelona vs. PSG for free with ExpressVPN.

Guy Ritchie making a World War II movie is pretty much what you'd expect of Guy Ritchie making a World War II movie. Cast aside is the standard stern drama or rugged realism that's standard for "historical" war films. In its place is a giddy celebration of violent action sequences, macho determination, and flourishes of pop-flavored sex appeal. Even the cheeky title feels so in the vein of Ritchie's irreverently raucous yet deeply English early action-comedies, that it plays like a bit of a self-aware gag on its own. Like who else would direct a movie called The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare?

Look no further than the poster that boasts men's men — with superhero proportions and fabulous facial hair — alongside a barrage of flashy weaponry, and a hot dame sporting victory curls, her bold red lip pointed at the barrels of a pair of pistols. Where Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds drew inspiration from exploitation movies, Ritchie seems to be pulling his from the covers of pulp novels, where men were strapping and brave and women were full of curves and fatal instincts. 

SEE ALSO: Henry Cavill assembles 'The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare' in new trailer

The result is a movie that bursts with sensational slaughter scenes, chaotic charisma, and charged suspense. Still, Ritchie's strategizing is far from flawless.

What's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare about?  Credit: Dan Smith for Lionsgate

Inspired by war journalist Damien Lewis' book Churchill's Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII, Ritchie's latest film unfurls a stranger-than-fiction tale of sexy spies, tough guys, and enthusiastic Nazi-killers. Whereas his last war movie, Guy Ritchie's The Covenant, was a somber tale of soldiers and their unjustly discarded allies, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare looks at its true story of World War II history through a lens that's spirited and sleek. It brandishes snappy dialogue, violence by everything from fists to grenades to arrows, and even a sultry lounge-singing musical number of "Mack The Knife," — notably a song about a blade-wielding London gangster, who sounds like he'd be well-suited to Ritchie's cinematic undergrounds.

Adapted by Ritchie, Paul Tamasy, Arash Amel, and Eric Johnson, the movie plays like the United Kingdom's answer to Suicide Squad. In 1940, England is under siege as Adolf Hitler's German U-boats cut the supply lines in the Atlantic Ocean. Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Men's Rory Kinnear in respectful grumble mode) is under pressure from his cabinet to surrender to the Nazis. Instead, he concocts a covert mission, bringing in a rogues gallery of eccentric rebels to blow up the German U-boats' supply ships, forcing Jerry into retreat.

Credit: Dan Smith for Lionsgate

A broad-shouldered and gloriously mustachioed Henry Cavill leads this motley crew of muscly misfits, playing Gus March-Phillipps, a British soldier currently imprisoned for insubordination — though you wouldn't know it from his swagger. With a crooked grin, Cavill struts into the war room with the bravado he brought to Ritchie's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. with a spiciness that's more Cavill in Mission: Impossible: Fallout, when he thrilled audiences by cocking his biceps as if they were actual guns. The result is a WWII soldier who doesn't just shoot down Nazis, but does so with his tongue swinging out and wild as if he were auditioning for KISS. And yeah, that's exactly as fun as it sounds. And while March-Phillipps' real-life exploits are believed to be Ian Fleming's basis for James Bond, this is not a one-man show.

Rounding out his rowdy crew are Alex Pettyfer as steely (read: bit boring) British strategist Geoffrey Appleyard, Hero Fiennes Tiffin as vengeance-seeking Irish sailor, Henry Golding (also sporting fantastically debonair facial hair) as explosion-setting frogman Freddy Alvarez, and Fast X's Alan Ritchson as Anders Lassen, a Swedish soldier with a flare for showmanship when it comes to making Nazis uncomfortable or flat-out slaughtering them with whatever weapon is handy. While this crew sails to West Africa for an explosive rendezvous, on the ground in their target port are undercover spies Heron (Babs Olusanmokun) and Marjorie Stewart (Baby Driver's Eiza González), the latter of whom is an actress working the honeypot angle with top Nazi brass Heinrich Luhr (Inglorious Basterds' Til Schweiger). 

Alan Ritchson slyly steals this movie from Henry Cavill. Credit: Dan Smith for Lionsgate

Make no mistake. Cavill is a blast here. Freed from the demanded stiffness of heroes like the DCEU's Superman and The Witcher's Geralt, he clearly relishes the devil-may-care attitude of the ungentlemanly spy, exuding a mischievous allure. Ritchson, who've played his fair share of steely toughs in Fast X and Reacher, likewise lets loose, boasting an effervescence that's unexpected considering his mountainous frame. Indeed, he's even burlier than the former superhero star. The sheer beefiness of the pair make the well-fit Golding and Tiffin seem like Victorian wastrels by comparison. All together, they have a kinetic energy that's intoxicating, and fuels scenes of strategizing, spying, and onslaught alike. 

While Cavill's is the meatier role — more scenes, a budding romance, and scads of zippy one-liners — Ritchson's mix of silly Swedish meatball and jolly killing machine is so unexpected that it's mesmerizingly madcap. You can't guess what Lasse will do next, so even if he's in the background of a scene, your eyes may drift away from Cavill — and his sublime mustache and mugging — to Ritchson. Though a supporting role, Lasse reveals this brawny actor's terrific comedy chops, which has me hoping for a Ritchie reteam or Ritchson taking a cue from former pro-wrestler John Cena and diving into comedies. With his debonair and guileless yet goofy air, he'd be a secret weapon in a raunchy romp. 

SEE ALSO: John Cena has found his post-WWE niche as a raunchy comedy king Guy Ritchie pulls his punches in bizarre places.  Credit: Dan Smith for Lionsgate

While there is plenty of Nazi killing in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, it can feel bizarrely tame when compared to Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds, which also focused on a quirky crew hell-bent on Nazi annihilation. Hell, with German movie star Sweiger in both films, it's hard not to think of the former while watching the latter. The issue is not one of bodycount, as Ritchie offers numerous sequences where Nazis are mowed down. It's more a confoundingly conservative amount of bloodshed. 

Watching the film, I began to wonder if the flashing red lights over a submarine slaughter scene was meant to imply blood without showing it. Perhaps a trick to get around the MPAA and secure a PG-13 rating that would open up the movie's demographic to teenagers as well? But The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is rated R. So why shy away from blood spray?

Yet even more jarring is how Ritchie folds nudity into the film. When not embedded with March-Phillipps and his sailing crew, the movie follows the unflappable Heron and Marjorie in their undercover mission. Where he is an unflappable source for exposition dumps, she is the chiefly eye candy, sauntering around in slinky, glamorous gowns to distract the movie's main antagonist. Yet it's not this female character whose body will be exposed. Instead, in a scene that is troubling not only for its violence but also its abruptness, Ritchie illustrates just how vicious a bastard Schweiger's Nazi is by displaying the body of his latest victim.

Here, Ritchie makes a spectacle of a nude Black woman, who hangs limp, bloodied, and shackled in a shed. Her face is out of view. She's not even given a name. Where violence against the Nazis is treated with cinematic fanfare, here the focused violence against this woman is more horrific, revealed in only the silent aftermath. And yet, she is dehumanized by only existing in this movie for this shocking shot. (One might argue introducing Luhr with literal blood on his hands could have gotten the same point across without objectifying a Black body.)

Credit: Dan Smith for Lionsgate

Ritchie struggles with tone throughout the film, perhaps unsure how playful to be in a movie where genocide is inherently a backdrop. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare offers slight perspective by noting several of the titular heroes are specifically joining the fight because Nazis have murdered their loved ones. This brings a very American sense of cinematic justice as the heroes gun down these bigoted villains, while sporting big smiles.

Featured Video For You 'The Gentlemen' cast on what makes the TV series.

Historical underpinnings aside, Ritchie's movie wobbles when it leans away from its pulp bravado to more Casablanca moments. Tense conversations over coffee begin stirring but become a slog as Ritchie can't get a handle on the proper pacing. As such, when the focus shifts from the brawny boatsmen, the movie often sinks a bit — despite the earnest efforts of a snarling Schweiger, a poised Olusanmokun, a gusto-fueled González, and Danny Sapani, who is utterly compelling as a devilishly charming pirate king. 

In the end, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare has its moments, harkening back to the winsome rogues and madcap mayhem of Ritchie's early gems, like Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. Overall though, this is a rickety ride, disrupted by dramatic tonal shifts that can make some bits boring, and one scene that is so haunting that it's hard to swing back into the ferocious fun of this mirthfully menacing ministry. 

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare opens in theaters April 19.

STARTING AT $44: Save on airfare during JetBlue's Hit Refresh Sale when you book by April 18 for travel from May 7 through June 12. Plus, get $200 off flight and hotel or flight and cruise packages with promo code REFRESH200.

Opens in a new window Credit: JetBlue JetBlue Hit Refresh Sale Save on airfare starting at $44, and get $200 off packages with promo code REFRESH200 Get Deal

Thinking about getting away this spring? Now's the perfect time to lock in some cheap airfare if you're planning on flying the friendly skies with JetBlue.

As of April 16, you can save big during JetBlue's Hit Refresh Sale with fares starting at just $44 when you book a flight by April 18 for travel from May 7 through June 12. There are a wide variety of flights to choose from, including one-way and round-trip options to destinations across the country or around the world. The lowest price we saw was $44 for a one-way fare, but prices vary depending on your departure airport and destination. Plus, you can save $200 on flight and hotel and flight and cruise packages with promo code REFRESH200. Those will set you back a bit more, but you'll still be charged much less than booking everything separately.

SEE ALSO: 9 overlooked and underrated travel essentials

The fares available at these low prices are nonrefundable and nontransferable and are up for grabs on a limited basis. They're for travel on Tuesday and Wednesday, so if flying during the week is out, this deal might not work for you. But if you have somewhere you need to go (or want to get away to) and want to pay less, this could be a great deal for you. Just expect to pay extra for bells and whistles, including additional checked bags.

SAVE $23.90: An annual membership to Whoop is just $215.10, marked down from the normal price of $239. That's a 10% savings. A Whoop 4.0 wearable tracker comes free with the membership.

Opens in a new window Credit: Whoop Annual membership to Whoop + free Whoop 4.0 wearable $215.10 at Whoop
$239.00 Save $23.90 Get Deal

Keeping on track with fitness goals can feel impossible. If you're looking for an accountability partner, today's deal could be a great solution to not only keep track of fitness, but overall wellbeing.

Until April 28, an annal membership to Whoop is just $215.10, marked down from the normal price of $239. That's a 10% discount or a savings of $23.90. This deal includes a free Whoop 4.0 wearable device. Whoop accessories are also on sale for up to 25% off.

Many fitness trackers aim to count your steps and monitor heartrate. Whoop takes these basics but adds in plenty more that can give people a deeper insight into not only fitness, but overall wellness. The Whoop 4.0 wearable is a simple wrist band with a waterproof and wireless battery. Unlike most fitness trackers, the Whoop 4.0 doesn't have a watch face — which might be preferable for some people. Through the Whoop membership, the device tracks metrics like real-time stress levels, fitness trends, and sleep quality, as well as calculating a daily performance score.

Freelance writer Sam Stone's review of the Whoop 4.0 for Mashable explained that the Whoop device and membership is great for people who are committed to a serious workout and wellness schedule. "The Whoop 4.0 purports to be about a more holistic version of fitness, which is why, in addition to tracking how you put your body under stress or strain, also offers a daily habit journal. If you’re consistent with it, the app will offer insights into how your habits affect your sleep and workouts."

While this deal includes the wearable Whoop 4.0 and an Onyx band, the spring sale has marked some Whoop accessories down by as much as 25% so you can choose a colorful or printed band at a discount.

If you're looking for a way to commit to health and wellness, the Whoop wearable device and membership could help keep you on track. Save 10% on a Whoop annual membership through April 28.

We’re beyond the golden age of television. We’re lucky enough to be living in the platinum era, with a slew of incredible shows to spark your conversations. The hard part is finding the right streaming service in a sea of options. 

If conversation-worthy TV at an affordable price point is what you’re after, Hulu should be on your list for one-stop streaming services. Here are just a few reasons why. 

Binge-worthy shows

Hulu is home to the two biggest Emmy award winners in comedy: The Bear and Abbott Elementary — and it’s the perfect time to catch up. There are new episodes of Abbott Elementary dropping right now, and the third season of The Bear is set for release in less than two months. 

Award winners aside, some of the most-talked-about shows of the moment are available to stream on Hulu, like the much-anticipated American Horror Story: Delicate (Part 2). 

Plus, if you have cable favorites, Hulu helps you avoid spoilers. Unlike other streaming platforms, they release most new episodes at midnight the day after they air live. 

Bundles for every budget

As one of the oldest streaming services around (it launched way back in 2007) Hulu has managed to keep costs low for subscribers without sacrificing quality or quantity in the content library. And since Disney acquired Hulu, the bundle deals are better than what it was.  

The starting plan is just $7.99 for ad-supported viewing. With no ads, it’s $17.99 per month. If you want to add on Disney+ and ESPN+, you’re looking at $14.99 a month with ads or $24.99 a month without ads. If you love watching shows or sports live, you can bundle Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+, and Live TV with unlimited DVR for $76.99 per month with ads, or $89.99 per month without. All plans have a 30-day free trial available to new subscribers. 

Diverse streaming for every type of viewer

Outside of TV shows, Hulu has a little bit of everything. 

Cinefiles can get through the catalog of movies like Black Swan and Parasite before exploring the many channel add-ons. As for sports, the live TV bundle has you well and truly covered with CBS Sports, ESPN, ESPN 2, local channels in your zip code, and more. 

If anime is your thing, Hulu is the pick of the major streaming services with new and classic titles like My Hero Academia, Himuto! Umaru-chan and Ghost in the Shell. And when you need to wind down with a documentary, you can choose from celebrity biopics, fashion stories, nature documentaries, and more. 

With Emmy-winning and new shows, a huge back catalog of entertainment spanning multiple genres, and great value bundle plans, Hulu is the best way to consolidate your streaming services and get the most of everything in one affordable plan. 

Sign up for your 30-day free trial here.

Opens in a new window Credit: Hulu Something for every budget at Hulu
Add Disney+, ESPN+ and Live TV Shop Now

A newly released report alleges Big Tech's ad transparency tools are failing across the board — with X scoring the worst at providing meaningful data that can help users, journalists, and advocates keep a watchful eye on scams and disinformation.

If "ad transparency" isn't a familiar term, that's probably because it's a somewhat counterintuitive concept. With TV ads, you generally know the sponsor — it's announced front and center. Digital ads are more slippery. Even when the fact that something is an ad is disclosed, exactly who is advertising what, and why still may not be clear. If a platform fails to provide robust digital ad transparency information to those who request it, it's harder to track hoaxes and scrutinize sketchy or scammy ad practices.

SEE ALSO: The return of political campaign ads to X/Twitter raises important questions for users A report 'stress-testing' tech platforms' ad repositories

The digital survey was conducted by Mozilla and CheckFirst, a software solutions company providing tools to counter and monitor disinformation. It analyzed a dozen ad transparency tools created by tech platforms to aid advertising monitors, including those on X, TikTok, LinkedIn, Alphabet’s Google Search, and Meta and Apple sites. Using guidelines from the European Union’s 2023 Digital Services Act (DSA) and Mozilla's in-house ad library guidelines, the organizations scanned the platforms' ad repositories for things like public availability, the contents of advertisements, payer details, and user targeting details.  

"Ad transparency tools are essential for platform accountability — a first line of defense, like smoke detectors," said Mozilla EU advocacy lead Claire Pershan. "But our research shows most of the world’s largest platforms are not offering up functionally useful ad repositories. The current batch of tools exist, yes — but in some cases, that’s about all that can be said about them.”

Not one of the analyzed advertising repositories tested well, and few if any were easy to find to begin with. Before researchers can even begin testing whether ad transparency measures are accurate, they must wade through incompatible, opaque services, the report explains. 

X stood out as the worst scorer on data accessibility and search capabilities, only providing watchdogs with a single CSV file. "X’s transparency tools are an utter disappointment," explained Pershan. "Its repository offers no filtering and sorting capabilities; ads can only be accessed through a cumbersome CSV export file; the content of ads is not disclosed (only a URL to the ads), and there are gaps in targeting parameters and recipient data. And searching for historical content is nearly impossible. All this may be why the European Commission has included X’s ad repository in its formal proceedings against the platform under the DSA."

The report also found common, glaring gaps in ad transparency tools across the board, including:

• Ads missing from repositories that were visible to users. 

• Inconsistent public access to ad information.

• Poor search functions impeding ad oversight.

Another concerning fact: "Only a handful of the platforms analyzed have a repository for branded or influencer content, even though many allow for influencer content on their services," the researchers report.

SEE ALSO: AI might be influencing your vote this election. How to spot and respond to it. The ups and downs of the advertising landscape 

These figures are especially worrisome in a contentious election year, one that is already stoking fear about intentional disinformation campaigns, the role of AI, and the influence of Big Tech leaders on candidate advertising and voter awareness. 

Last year, X CEO Elon Musk announced the site was reversing its previous election policy banning political advertising from campaigns and political parties. Disinformation watch dogs went on alert immediately. Other platforms, like Meta and Google, have added new advertising policies ahead of the election to assuage generative AI threats. 

Advertising across Big Tech platforms has become a hot-button topic in a sporadically regulated industry. On sites like TikTok and X, ads are crowding out user-generated content. 

In June 2023, Google's advertising business came under fire from both the U.S. government and the European Union, accused of violating both unions' antitrust laws. In recent months, Google has amped up its advertising scrutiny, most recently announcing a ban on ads that feature fake endorsements, an apparent response to a Mashable investigation. 

But there's been a positive shift along this bumpy road: In the five years since Mozilla and a panel of independent researchers released its advertising API guidelines in 2019, 11 of the world’s largest tech companies have introduced ad repositories. According to the report, both Google and Facebook have since updated their services with ad targeting criteria, engagement and historical data, and better filtering. 

"Who pays for ads and how they’re targeted is crucial in helping watchdogs look out for the public interest — whether that's fair elections, public health, or social justice," said co-founder and chief technology officer for CheckFirst Amaury Lesplingart. "In short, if you see an ad telling you that climate change is a hoax, you might be interested to know if that ad’s paid for by the fossil fuel industry." 

Arcadian actors Jaeden Martell and Maxwell Jenkins sit down for a game of "Slash or Pass" with Mashable entertainment editor Kristy Puchko. Arcadian hits theaters April 12, 2024.

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 April 16 SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for April 16

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Tuesday, April 16, 2024:

AcrossThere are 10 in this puzzle

• The answer is clues.

Try to sack, as a quarterback

• The answer is runat.

With 8-Across, post-touchdown attempt

• The answer is extra.

See 7-Across

• The answer is point.

Lock of hair

• The answer is tress.

DownMoved stealthily

The answer is crept.

Las Vegas hotel shaped like a pyramid

• The answer is Luxor.

Remove, as a string

• The answer is untie.

Makes on the job

• The answer is earns.

Fodder for a sports wonk

• The answer is stats.

Not only is the orgasm gap between men and women real — so is the research gap. Women's health lacks research funding, according to science journal Nature, and there are many more studies about "male ejaculation" than "female orgasm" on the PubMed database (1,980 pages of results for the former, and 438 pages for the latter). 

Flo Health, a women's health app with over 60 million global users, is hoping to bridge that gap. Today, Flo launches a worldwide study of female orgasms. In partnership with adjunct professor of clinical psychology and health psychology at the University of Utah, Jordan Rullo, Flo will assess anonymized insights from tens of thousands of women, according to the app's press release. Rullo is also Flo's medical expert and cerified sex therapist.

SEE ALSO: Why you can orgasm from masturbation but struggle to come during sex

Flo's study is open to most app users who are 18 and over and use the app in English, according to Flo Health's director of science, Dr. Liudmila Zhaunova. Users can self-report on their sexual behaviors, experiences, lifestyle factors, and their demographic.

"Flo's science team will meticulously analyze the results over a three-month timeframe to better understand women's sexual practices and how these, and their personal circumstances, relate to sexual pleasure, orgasms, and sexual satisfaction," Zhaunova told Mashable.

The current largest orgasm study survey — about the differences in orgasm frequency among different populations, published in 2017 — had around 25,000 female participants, Zhaunova said. Because Flo has over 60 million users, Zhaunova and the Flo team are aiming to recruit a globally representative audience of over 25,000 respondents. If they succeed, this would be the largest global study of female orgasms to date.

This study, and more education about women's pleasure, is sorely needed. Sex education in the U.S. and elsewhere is lacking: As of 2023, only 18 states require sex ed to be medically accurate, according to the Guttmacher Institute. In the UK, LGBTQ sex education is under threat by conservatives.

Previous surveys from Flo indicate the need for more education on the topic. Nearly one-third, 30 percent, of women aged 18 to 55 falsely believe that the more sex one has, the "looser" their vagina becomes (according to a survey of 2,000 women in the U.S.). Fifteen percent wrongly think masturbation can make their period come faster — while 18 percent overall and 30 percent who identify as conservative consider masturbation itself to be shameful or wrong. 

Twelve percent simply assume new information they learn about sex and reproduction is accurate, and don't take extra steps to confirm it's true; 43 percent go to Google or another search engine to confirm if this info is accurate.

We're uneducated and yet we want our sex lives to improve. In another survey, this one of 2,100 U.S. women aged 18 to 45, 30 percent want to improve their sex life. Among those, 60 percent want to improve how they communicate their desires. But, 66 percent don't think their male partner has a good understanding of their reproductive health.

Flo has surveyed men as well. Just above half, 51 percent, think they have a good understanding of the female body — but they haven't heard of the orgasm gap. Nineteen percent go to porn to learn about the female body, while 18 percent learn from YouTube or Reddit. Over half don't think the sex ed they received as teens was sufficient, in a survey of 1,800 U.S. men aged 18 to 50 conducted in August 2023.

SEE ALSO: Top 5 NSFW sites to learn what porn didn't teach you

Results from this new survey are expected this summer, said Flo Health senior research scientist and medical writer, Dr. Yella Hewings-Martin. 

Flo isn't the first app to study women's orgasms. Lioness, a smart vibrator that gathers opt-in data, released Pleasure Wrapped at the end of 2023. Lioness found that orgasms lasted 24.01 seconds on average, and the typical masturbation session was around five minutes. 

Lioness, however, focused on data obtained by usage of its smart sex toy. Flo will rely on self-reported survey data from thousands of women.

"We hope that the results of our study will enhance women's understanding of navigating their sexual experiences and pleasure, supported by real-life data from peers worldwide," said Zhaunova in Flo's press release. "This year, we look forward to helping close this glaring research gap and aim to contribute toward improving the sexual experiences of millions of women around the world."

ChatGPT vs. Gemini is the AI showdown I've been itching to stage – and now I’m finally pitting the most popular chatbots in a head-to-head, nail-biting match.

ChatGPT, a brainchild of AI startup OpenAI, is far from the first AI chatbot to hit mainstream popularity, but I’d argue it was the first in recent years to kick off a fierce AI race. After it launched in November 2022, its traffic peaked at a whopping 1.8 billion users, according to analytics firm Similarweb (via TheWrap).

Soon after, a proliferation of AI began. From Snapchat AI and Meta AI to Samsung Galaxy AI and X’s Grok, it seemed like there was a chatbot launching every day. 

However, only one seems to be a true ChatGPT rival: Google Gemini (formerly Google Bard). Like Microsoft-backed ChatGPT, Gemini is supported by one of the most prominent tech giants — and has plenty of rich data to tap into, including Google Maps, Google Search, Google Translate, and more.

But the question is, does Gemini beat ChatGPT? We put both to the test in a five-round match.

SEE ALSO: I spent a week using AI tools in my daily life. Here's how it went. ChatGPT vs. Gemini: Methodology

I used ChatGPT and Gemini's free tiers for this showdown. I tested both AI chatbots using the same question across the following five topics: food, finance, travel, creativity, and historical information. Ding, ding, ding! Let’s see who wins.

Round 1: Food

Based on what's in my kitchen, let's see which AI chatbot can offer the best recipe suggestion. Here's my prompt:

I have the following in my kitchen: green plantains, whole-grain linguine and rotini, garlic, onion, granulated chicken bouillon, kidney beans, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, soy sauce, brussel sprouts, tomatoes, lime, lemon, tomatoes, spring onions, carrots, butter, milk, oil, garlic powder, salt, cumin, cayenne pepper, and paprika. Name one recipe I can make that uses as much as these ingredients as possible.

ChatGPT's response Credit: Mashable / ChatGPT Gemini's response Credit: Mashable / ChatGPT

I may be biased because I have a Caribbean background, but Gemini's recipe suggestion sounds far tastier. ChatGPT's recommendation, however, seems a bit haphazard. The veggies in my kitchen don't seem ideal for stir fry — at least, not for my picky taste.

Winner: Gemini

Round 2: Finances

Using a fictitious person called "Joe," I used the following financial-focused prompt for ChatGPT and Gemini:

Joe makes $3,000 a month (after taxes) in Brooklyn, New York in 2024. Between housing, transportation, groceries, dining out, savings (retirement), and disposable income, create a monthly budget chart.

ChatGPT's response ChatGPT will have Joe eating Ramen every month. Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable Gemini's response Gemini's response seems a little more realistic. Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

To be fair, this is a head-scratching conundrum. Even humans struggle with creating a monthly budgets for themselves, particularly those with five-figure yearly incomes in high-cost-of-living cities. As such, it's no wonder that ChatGPT and Gemini botched their responses.

I couldn't help but exclaim "Huh?!" after reading ChatGPT's chart. Why is it carving out a budget for rent that is higher than the allotted $3,000? I'd also argue that $177 for transportation too low, but I'm willing to look the other way if Joe is a remote worker (or owns a bicycle or scooter).

Plus, spending less than $90 a week on groceries would be quite the challenge. I'd probably allocate more dining out and retirement money for supermarket shopping.

Although Gemini's $1,050 monthly rent suggestion is laughable, with a roommate (or two), it's feasible. There's too much in the transportation budget, particularly for someone with access to public transportation. I would cut down some of that and add it to groceries pool. Dining out could use a reduction, but the rest is tolerable.

Winner: Gemini

Round 3: Travel

I used ChatGPT for a trip to Costa Rica — and it failed miserably. I don't have any upcoming vacations, but I asked ChatGPT and Gemini to create a weekend itinerary for my local area.

It's Saturday and I live in Valley Stream. I want to have an active, adventurous day with lots of entertainment. Create an itinerary for me from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Start with breakfast at the best spot in Valley Stream and end with dinner at the best spot in Valley Stream.

ChatGPT's response Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable Gemini's response Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

Save for Valley Stream State Park, all of ChatGPT's suggestions are out of town. I also specifically stated that I did not want lunch included in the itinerary, but it deliberately disobeyed me. Oh well. On the plus side, Frank's Steaks sounds very delicious.

Gemini, on the other hand, listed locations that are actually in town, including Valbrook Diner and Ben's Crab. However, there's a four-hour gap in the itinerary. Am I supposed to just twiddle my thumbs between rock climbing and dinner? Also, it seems like Gemini completely made up "Rockaway Adventure Zone" — I can't seem to find this establishment via Google.

Winner: Draw

Round 4: Creativity

Let's test ChatGPT and Gemini's creativity.

In the voice of Eminem, tell me how TikTok is affecting society.

ChatGPT's response Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable Gemini's response Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

Gemini has the better response. It has a flow that is more reminiscent of the "Lose Yourself" rapper. Plus, the expletives are very on brand.

Winner: Gemini

Round 5: Historical facts

I thought it'd be interesting to test ChatGPT and Gemini's accuracy with fashion history.

Which decade was it fashionable and popular to wear one's name on a chunky statement belt?

ChatGPT's response You finally got it right, ChatGPT. Congratulations. Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable Gemini's response Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

Finally, ChatGPT prevailed over Gemini in this round. The answer I'm looking for is early 2000s.

Winner: ChatGPT

ChatGPT vs. Gemini: Which is the winner?

The clear winner of this five-round match is Gemini. In three rounds, Google AI chatbot provided better answers. However, if you ever need any help with fashion history, ChatGPT's your best bet, I guess.

Oh, you thought the possibilities of generative AI were already terrifying enough? Well, we've got some bad news for you. Adobe has just released a video showcasing its Adobe Firefly video model, and it comes with a whole host of unnerving generative AI tricks.

"Adobe is using the power of generative AI to deliver the most advanced and precise editing tools ever in Premiere Pro," says the cheerful over-the-top narration, before showcasing how AI will soon be used to generate objects that weren't there before, delete unwanted objects, extend scenes and create generated backdrops.

The video stresses that "content credentials" will "always make transparent whether AI was used", but obviously that only goes so far as the Adobe programme itself. With streamers and movies already coming under fire for sneaking AI into their final products, it seems inevitable that advancing technology like this is only going to make it harder and harder to tell what's real on our screens.

Since returning to host The Daily Show on Monday, Jon Stewart has spent quite a bit of time discussing the ongoing war in Gaza.

On Monday, with the situation having escalated over the weekend when Iran launched a drone and missile attack on Israel, Stewart returned to the topic — and during a direct address to the Middle East, he took aim at the West's historical and ongoing interference in the region.

"Listen, I hope this doesn't sound patronising, but when we in the West drew your regions' borders and set you up with perfectly functioning dictatorships, we expected a little better," says Stewart in the clip above.

"See the agreement was, we would make up a whole new bunch of countries, some of which made sense, and in return you would give us your delicious oil. That was the deal. You give us your delicious oil, and we...take it. We certainly didn't expect to get drawn in to all the drama that our actions created.

"And now, these wars have got us all turned around! At one point we're helping Iraq fight Iran, and then we're invading Iraq, and now we're helping Iran fight ISIS, and then we're using ISIS to help fight Houthis who are backed by Iran, and I mean fuck! In Gaza we're actually bombing them and feeding them, how do you think that makes us feel?"

You can see more recent segments from The Daily Show here.

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

Hookup culture is all about keeping things casual, and there's nothing wrong with that. Everyone gets stuck in a sexual rut at some point in their lives, and trying to take strangers home from a bar or constantly texting your ex can be exhausting. If you're struggling to find a match in the real world, it might be time to put your faith in dating sites.

When we think about these sites, it's normal to go straight to the likes of Match, eharmony, EliteSingles, and other marriage-minded options, but not everyone is thinking about something so serious. Sometimes all you want is a little fun, and there's an app for that.

How do you find a hookup?

It's still possible to find a connection in the real world, because meeting in bars, clubs, parks, and other real-life locations still happens on a regular basis. You're simply shortening your odds by subscribing to a dating site. Why not give yourself the best chance of success? You know it makes sense.

Dating sites and sex apps allow you to get your information out there to a massive network of like-minded individuals. Plus, you can save a lot of time, energy, and cash by testing out a potential relationship on an app before meeting up. We know that some dating apps can be expensive, but just think about all those wasted coffees you could avoid by chatting through an app first.

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Lastly, using dating apps and sites is a whole lot less intimidating than meeting someone face to face. If you find the idea of meeting people slightly terrifying, these apps can help you dip your toe into the world of dating from the comfort of your own home.

Should you use free dating apps?

The good news is that there are a lot of free dating sites and apps out there, and the likes of Tinder and Hinge are popular options with massive networks of users. Plus, most of the biggest and best dating sites have free versions with limitations on certain features. So yes, you can easily enter the online dating game without spending anything. However, as with most things in life, you get what you pay for with dating apps. And sometimes free apps just don't cut it.

For the best experience with the greatest possibility of finding exactly what you're looking for, you are going to have to cough up some cash. We're sorry to break it to you, but the best dating sites don't come cheap. It all comes down to access to advanced and premium features. You can still find a hookup with a free app, but if you're looking for compatibility tests, chat rooms, videos, and a greater level of control, we recommend upgrading.

What makes an app good for hooking up?

When it comes to sex apps, you probably don't mind long questionnaires or in-depth profiles, but when you're just looking for a casual hookup, that all seems unnecessary. Sure, you want to gauge that you're at least a little compatible and not hooking up with a complete psychopath. The best hookup apps have quick and easy bios or prompts that give you an insight into who you'd be getting down and dirty with.

Photos are also a huge factor in good hookup apps. Some sex apps and dating sites gatekeep people's pics unless you have a paid subscription, and we don't really love that. Apps that show the full view of someone's profile are the way to go. You definitely want to make sure you're physically attracted to the person you're going to be having sex with.

What is the best sex and dating app for hooking up?

The good news is that there are absolutely loads of dating sites and sex apps out there for every type of dater and dating situation. The problem with this wealth of options is that deciding on the right site for you can be difficult. This is where we can help.

We have tracked down a strong selection of your best options for hooking up, with sites like AdultFriendFinder and iHookup making the cut. There should be something for everyone in this list, so what do you have to lose?

These are the best hookup sites and apps in 2024.

Andy Samberg pretty much makes any late night interview better, and that goes double when it involves gleefully roasting his old SNL pal Seth Meyers.

In the clip above Samberg crashes Meyers' appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to heckle Meyers' new podcast, The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast, which features Samberg himself.

"Here's the thing about podcasts," Samberg relents, eventually pulling up a backpack chair to join Meyers and Kimmel. "Even though they suck, ours is great. You gotta check it out."