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UPDATE: May. 10, 2024, 10:05 a.m. EDT This story has been updated with new preorder listings from mobile carriers AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

PRE-ORDER NOW: The new Apple iPad Air (2024) is available for preorder through the Apple Store as of May 7. The 11-inch model starts at $599 and the 13-inch model starts at $799. Both will ship as soon as May 15.

Where to preorder the new iPad Air: The Apple Store Apple iPad Air 2024 Starting at $599 Pre-order Now B&H Photo Apple iPad Air 2024 Starting at $599 Pre-order Now Best Buy Apple iPad Air 2024 Starting at $599 Pre-order now Target Apple iPad Air 2024 Starting at $599 Pre-order Now Walmart Apple iPad Air 2024 Starting at $599 Pre-order Now Verizon iPad Air 2024 Starting at $749 (Save up to $279.99 with trade-in or purchase of iPhone) Pre-order Now AT&T iPad Air 2024 Starting at $749 (Save $100 when paying with monthly installments) Pre-order Now T-Mobile iPad Air 2024 Starting at $749 (Save $230 when paying with monthly installments) Pre-order Now

The hotly anticipated iPad Air has arrived in two sizes with some shiny new features to power AI features. Previously available in just the 10.9-inch size, the iPad Air now comes in 11- and 13-inch models outfitted with the M2 chip, an upgrade from the M1.

SEE ALSO: New iPad Air announced — here's everything you need to know

Announced at Apple's "Let Loose" event on May 7, the updated iPad Air debuted alongside a new iPad Pro, Magic Keyboard, and Apple Pencil Pro. In addition to the new sizes, the tablets are getting upgraded storage. The models now start with 128 GB of storage with 256 GB, 516 GB, and 1 TB options also available.

As we suspected, the front-facing camera on the new iPad Air moved to the landscape view and pairs with landscape stereo speakers for heightened sound quality. The new M2 chip gives the upgraded iPad Air faster CPU, GPU, and neural engine speed. The M2 also powers the iPad Air with machine learning. Now users can enjoy split view screens, subject lift, and live text features on the device.

Credit: Apple

The iPad Air comes in four different colors: Purple, blue, starlight, and space gray. The 11-inch model starts at $599 while the 13-inch model starts at $799.

The new iPad Air is available with cellular connection from three major carriers. Additionally, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon are all offering promotions alongside the launch:

• AT&T customers get $100 off (in the form of bill credits) by paying for their tablet in monthly installments and adding a data plan.

• T-Mobile customers get $230 off (via bill credits) by paying on an installment plan and adding a new tablet line.

• Verizon customers can save up to $180 with a trade-in and get $279.99 off by bundling their tablet with a 5G iPhone (new line and service plan required).

The new Apple iPad Air is available for preorder now ahead of its May 15 release.

Apple iPad 2024: Price and preorder details Opens in a new window Credit: Apple iPad Air 2024 $599.00 at Apple
The new iPad Air 11-inch model starts at $599. Pre-Order Here Opens in a new window Credit: Apple iPad Air 2024 $799.00 at Apple
The new iPad Air 13-inch model starts at $799. Pre-Order Here

From the Met Gala to the Apple Event that could have been an email, host Josh Burstein takes us on a comedic journey through the week's top stories.

A "horror-comedy with bite and heart", Ariane Louis-Seize's film follows a teen vampire who refuses to feast on humans.

Josh Margolin's feature debut "Thelma" sees June Squibb and Richard Roundtree tracking down a phone scammer in LA. Trailer.

Brazil floods: Drone footage shows the deadly scale of destruction

"Exploding Kittens" — the popular, crowdfunded card game — is coming to streaming with a new Netflix series.

House of the Dragon Season 2 is fast approaching, and what better way to get in the mood for it than by reminding ourselves just how gory Season 1 was?

The Game of Thrones' prequel's body count hasn't caught up with that of its eight-season origin show quite yet, but it's certainly on track. As we prepare for another outing in George R.R. Martin's brutal continent of Westeros, here's a breakdown of all the key deaths so far in House of the Dragon — from least to most gruesome.

SEE ALSO: Everything we know about 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Lord Lyman Beesbury Credit: HBO

Cause of death: Murdered with marble of office

Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) doesn't quite rival Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith)'s body count in Season 1, but he makes a good go at it. Lord Lyman Beesbury (Bill Paterson) becomes one of his victims when he makes the terrible mistake of protesting about Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) sitting on the Iron Throne instead of Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy). Ser Criston's response? Smashing his head down onto Beesbury's marble of office, a little round stone that kills him instantly on impact.

Lady Rhea Royce Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO

Cause of death: Murdered with a rock

Being in close proximity to Daemon Targaryen is a perilous situation. In episode 5 we get a (brief) introduction to Lady Rhea Royce (Rachel Redford), Daemon's wife, shortly before he knocks her off her horse in broad daylight and then – presumably – murders her with a rock offscreen. Pretty shocking and gruesome, sure, but this one is low on the list because we don't see the actual death itself.

Harwin Strong Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO

Cause of death: Murdered by house fire

We also don't see Harwin Strong's (Ryan Corr) death, which is due to a fire at Harrenhal, but we do see the build-up. What makes this one more unpleasant is the fact that Harwin's father, Lord Lyonel Strong (Gavin Spokes), dies along with him — and what makes it even worse is the fact that Harwin's own brother Larys (Matthew Needham) arranges for the building to be burned down.

Lucerys Velaryon Credit: HBO

Cause of death: Chomped mid-air by a dragon

You've got to feel a bit sorry for Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault). The minute he steps into Storm's End and sees Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), you know things aren't going to end well. Exactly how not well is made clear once he tries to flee on his dragon Arrax, only for Aemond to give chase on his significantly larger dragon Vhagar. Arrax goes rogue and breathes fire on the chasing dragon, only for Vhagar to decide enough is enough: He goes against his master's wishes and basically chomps both Arrax and Lucerys in two. One of the major moments of the Season 1 finale, it's not the most gruesome death in the series – you don't really see much gore – but it's certainly a shocking one.

Crabfeeder Credit: Ollie Upton/HBO

Cause of death: Cut in half

Craghas Draghar (Daniel Scott-Smith), or Crabfeeder to his friends, initially appears to be one of the main villains in the first season — at least until he comes face-to-mask with Daemon. During a memorable dragon-assisted battle in episode 3, Daemon takes the fight to the Crabfeeder's beach and pursues him into a cave. When Daemon comes back out, he's dragging approximately 50 percent of Craghas behind him.

Ser Vaemond Velaryon Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO

Cause of death: Head sliced in half

That's right, it's yet another death caused by Daemon, who racks up the body count in Season 1 faster than you can say "Valar Morghulis". This time the victim is Ser Vaemond Velaryon (Wil Johnson), who makes the bad mistake of calling Rhaenyra's son Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) a bastard in front of the king himself. Vaemond's head is quickly sliced in half, but the really gruesome bit is the close-up of what's left of him, including his tongue hanging out of what remains of his head. Ick.

King Viserys Targaryen Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO

Cause of death: A painfully slow infection of wounds

King Viserys (Paddy Considine) gets not one but two death scenes in House of the Dragon, but he is essentially killed by the Iron Throne itself. What starts with an infected cut in episode 1 quickly leads to parts of his body literally rotting away, with the fifth Targaryen king eventually having to wear a mask to conceal the damage his condition has done to him. Is it as abrupt and bloody as some of the deaths in the show? No. But slowly losing body parts to rot is not something we'd wish on anyone.

Ser Joffrey Lonmouth Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO

Cause of death: Beaten to death

Turns out a House of the Dragon wedding is almost as terrible as a Game of Thrones one. The victim in episode 5's marriage is Ser Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod), who makes the very bad mistake of goading Ser Criston Cole about his fling with bride Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock). The result? A brutal beating-to-death at Cole's hands, and a very unpleasant close-up of Joffrey's bloodied, caved-in face.

Queen Aemma Arryn Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO

Cause of death: Childbirth

The first key death in the show sets the tone for what's to come. Queen Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke) goes into labor at the end of episode 1, but there are complications. Her husband, King Viserys, is called into the room and told that the maesters may be able to save his son by carrying out a caesarean section, but the procedure will result in the death of his wife. Forced to choose, he tells them to go ahead. It's a truly horrifying sequence made even more upsetting by the fact that the child dies anyway shortly after the Queen passes.

Laena Velaryon Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO

Cause of death: Burned to death by her own dragon during childbirth

Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell), daughter of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen and Lord Corlys Velaryon (Eve Best and Steve Toussaint), and Daemon's wife, endures the most gruesome, harrowing death of House of the Dragon.

In yet another horrifying childbirth sequence in episode 6, we once again see a maester giving a father unimaginable news after complications arise in labor: a fatal c-section is the only way to potentially save the baby. Daemon asks if Laena will survive the procedure, and when the answer is "no", it's clear Laena hears the exchange. She decides to take her fate into her own hands. Laena staggers outside and gives her dragon Vhagar one last order, "Dracarys," which the dragon visibly struggles with, before burning her and her unborn child to death. A truly upsetting scene.

How to watch: House of the Dragon Season 1 is streaming on Max.

WhatsApp is rolling out a pretty substantial design update for both its iOS and Android apps, but we bet the company hoped for a slightly warmer welcome of the new design on X.

The new layout, which is similar on iOS and Android, isn't a radical departure. The search is more prominent on top of the app, below it, tabs let you quickly access unread messages and groups, and on the bottom, a row of icons lets you access Chats, Updates, Communities and other features (to be fair, this is a bigger change on Android, which didn't have the bottom row of icons until now).

SEE ALSO: Apple forced to pull Meta's WhatsApp, Threads from China’s App Store. Here’s why.

But WhatsApp users on iOS have noticed a big visual change: The predominant color accent on everything is now green instead of blue (on Android, the app was already predominantly green).

Tweet may have been deleted

It makes sense to have the same visual identity across the same app on two mobile platforms, but as it so often happens, the change irked some commenters on X, which balked at the freshly green WhatsApp experience.

"I seriously freaked out when that green came into my face. We need the blue back," wrote one commenter. "I still have the blue and I hope it stays like this forever," wrote another.

"BRING THE BLUE BACK," one person on X cried in horror.

Tweet may have been deleted

I didn't get the new design yet, my WhatsApp iOS app is still blue, and it's hard to say just how traumatic this greenification of WhatsApp will be for me. I do like the blue, too, though.

Notably, a number of commenters below WhatsApp's announcement on X noted that the company keeps updating its iPhone app very frequently, but still hasn't got an iPad app. What's up with that, WhatsApp?

TL;DR: Through May 12, get this Microsoft Office and Windows 11 Pro bundle for £55.87 and save 84% — a £7.99 price drop since it last went on sale.

Is your laptop equipped with all the tools and software you need to do your best work? If you need to upgrade your computer, this All-in-One Microsoft Office Pro 2021 lifetime license and Windows 11 Pro Bundle is on sale for £55.87, which is hundreds less than the combined regular prices.

This bundle can give lagging computers a much-needed upgrade. Windows 11 Pro and Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2021 were made to work together seamlessly, which means the flow should be optimal. Plus, Office doesn't come with recurring fees or monthly payments like Microsoft 365 does. You pay once, and you don't have to pay again.

Windows 11 Pro is the latest OS from Windows, and it arrived with fresh updates. It has updated security enhancements like BitLocker encryption, Microsoft Information Protection integration, biometrics login, and more. There have also been updates to Windows Studio Effects, as well as new touchscreen capabilities. You also get access to updates going forward.

Microsoft Office Professional Plus for Windows is a lifetime license for one PC with instant delivery and download. It allows you to utilise Microsoft's most popular apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and more.

Transform the way you work, create, and collaborate with this powerful combination of essential productivity tools and the latest operating system.

Grab the Microsoft Office Pro 2021 for Windows and Windows 11 Pro bundle for a one-time payment of £55.87 when you order by May 12 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft The All-in-One Microsoft Office Pro 2021 for Windows: Lifetime License + Windows 11 Pro Bundle £55.87 at the Mashable Shop
£349.76 Save £293.89 Get Deal

TL;DR: Through May 12, hurry and grab a lifetime subscription to Winxvideo AI on sale for $29.99 (reg. $69.95), with no coupon necessary.

AI technology has accelerated at a blistering pace in the past two years. And while a lot of creative professionals are nervous about this revolution, others are learning how AI can automate tedious tasks and maximize their productivity. When it comes to creative work like video editing, why not let AI do the boring grunt work?

Winxvideo is an AI-powered software that can perform a wide range of video editing tasks, from compressing large videos to modernizing vintage footage, and May 12 is your last chance to score it on sale for $40 off (okay, $39.96, to be exact).

Winxvideo packs a mix of traditional and state-of-the-art editing tools to upgrade your projects. You can record screens and perform minor edits in a single click, but it can also do near-miraculous editing like upgrading low-quality video to 4K/8K, stabilizing videos you've recorded, and converting 24fps to 60/120fps.

If you're looking to do some heavy editing, this AI-powered program is also capable of reducing disruptive background noise, forcing A/V sync, setting audio delay, removing fisheye lens distortion, and even changing video speed from 1x to 16x for dynamic action. Winxvideo also promises that its integrated Unique CineAI tech will enhance video quality, making your output 5x smoother and 4x crisper.

Check it out in action:

Whether you want to put together a tutorial for your YouTube channel, a day-in-the-life vlog, revive a video from your childhood, or need to edit a short film, Wixvideo can help. While you let the AI handle time-consuming tasks, you can focus on your overall creative vision.

And don't forget, this is your chance score a lifetime subscription to Winxvideo for only $29.99. This deal runs until May 12 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Winxvideo Winxvideo AI Video Editor: Lifetime Subscription $29.99 at the Mashable Shop
$69.95 Save $39.96 Get Deal

TL;DR: Through May 12, you can get your coding journey started with The Premium Python Programming Mega bundle, on sale for only $39.97 (reg. $196).

Technology is an ever-evolving beast and coders are some of the world's most sought-after employees. Whether you’re just getting started or have years of experience, you can learn to code with Python 3 thanks to this affordable bundle.

With 14 courses containing 113 hours of lessons, this bundle — on sale for $39.97 through May 12 — gives you lifetime access to Python coding tools. Courses are taught by various coding experts who will walk you through the basics of programming and web development.

The bundle covers fundamental Python concepts such as data types, loops, and functions, providing a solid foundation for learners new to the language. As you continue, you'll tackle more advanced topics like object-oriented programming, data visualization with Matplotlib, and web scraping with BeautifulSoup. Each course is designed with practicality in mind, offering hands-on projects and real-world examples to reinforce learning and encourage skill development.

You'll have access to specialized courses that explore Python's role in specific fields such as finance, automation, and game development. Whether you aspire to automate tedious tasks, analyze financial data, or develop interactive games (like in the course titled "Create an Escape Room with Python"), these courses can provide a lot of tools and knowledge to help you turn your coding aspirations into reality.

Life is chaotic, and while the thought of setting aside time to learn a new skill can be intimidating, these courses allow you to go at your own pace. And because you have lifetime access to this course bundle, you don't have to worry about a deadline. Access the Python programs from desktop and mobile, and squeeze in a lesson anywhere or anytime.

Get this Python programming course bundle on sale for only $39.97 until May 12 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Python The Premium Python Programming Mega Bundle $39.97 at the Mashable Shop
$196.00 Save $156.03 Get Deal

SAVE $140: Turn your phone into a portable scanner and PDF editor with a lifetime subscription to SwiftScan VIP on sale for $59.99, down from the normal price of $199. That's a discount of 70%.

Opens in a new window Credit: Maple Media SwiftScan VIP: Lifetime Subscription $59.99 at the Mashable Shop
$199.99 Save $140.00 Get Deal

Whether you're organizing receipts for next tax season (way to get ahead of it!), digitizing important contracts, or gathering other vital documents, having the right tools can make all the difference. That’s where the SwiftScan VIP lifetime subscription comes in. This nifty app turns your phone into a portable scanner and PDF editor to make document management easy and convenient without the need to use a standard scanning device. And you can get it for a great deal today.

As of May 10, a lifetime subscription to SwiftScan VIP is on sale for $59.99, down from the normal price of $199. That's a discount of $140, or 70% off.

With SwiftScan VIP, gone are the days of blurry, low-quality scans or racing to the library to send an important document. Now you can create quality scans from your phone starting at 200 dpi, ensuring that every document you capture is crystal clear and professional.

Whether you're scanning a business card, a handwritten note, or a full-page document, SwiftScan VIP delivers exceptional clarity and detail. However, it’s more than just a scanning app — it's a smart way to manage all your documents. With features like automatic scan enhancement, color filters, and blur reduction, your scans will look their best. Plus, with the ability to save scans as high-quality PDFs or JPEGs, you have the flexibility to choose the format that best suits your needs. You can even edit PDFs using the app.

SwiftScan's auto-capture feature allows you to quickly capture a single document with just a tap, saving you time and effort. With multi-page scans, you can automatically scan multiple pages and save them as a single file, making it simple to combine lengthy documents.

An impressive feature of this intuitive scanning app is its integration with popular cloud services. With support for iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, OneDrive, and many others apps, you can save and share your scans across all of your devices. Plus, with the ability to fax documents right from the app, this game-changing app truly is a one-stop shop for all of your document management needs.

Get a lifetime subscription for SwiftScan VIP while it’s on sale for only $59.99 for a limited time.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

SAVE $71: Upgrade your workspace with a refurbished Lenovo ThinkCentre M92 SFF desktop for $139.99, down from its regular price of $210. That's a discount of 33%.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lenovo Lenovo ThinkCentre M92 SFF desktop (refurbished) $139.99 at the Mashable Shop
$210.99 Save $71.00 Get Deal

If you're looking to upgrade your gear, a desktop might just be the game-changer you need. Perhaps it's more aligned with your lifestyle and line of work compared to a laptop, especially if you're quite the multitasker. In that case, a desktop makes for a worthy investment — and you can make that investment with less of a sticker shock with a deal from Lenovo today.

As of May 10, a refurbished Lenovo ThinkCentre M92 SFF desktop is on sale for $139.99, down from its regular price of $210. That's a discount of 33%.

This desktop is powerful, with an Intel Core i5-3470 processor running at 3.2GHz, 16GB RAM, and 256GB SSD. That means you get speedy, smooth performance even as you do some serious multitasking.

If you're on the fence about buying something refurbished, this item boasts a grade-A rating, meaning it's near-mint condition and may have minimal amounts of scuffing, and it's more than capable of tackling any task you throw its way.

Windows 10 Home is already pre-installed, ensuring compatibility with your favorite apps right out of the box. Plus, its compact form means it's portable, fitting into any workspace without hogging precious real estate.

With this deal, you'll already get the entire package. Aside from the ThinkCentre, you also get a keyboard and a mouse, so all that's left to do is connect it to a display, and you're good to go.

Upgrade your work setup with the refurbished Lenovo ThinkCentre M92 SFF. It normally retails for $210, but you can grab it on sale for $139.99 for a limited time.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Find a wide range of free online courses from MIT on edX.

edX hosts so many free online courses that it's difficult to know where to start. With so much on offer, it's easy to feel lost.

We recommend taking some time to check everything out, but if that sounds like too much work, the selection of free online courses from MIT is probably a good place to start. You can find lessons on sustainable energy, modern finance, Python programming, and so much more. And you don't need to pay anything to enroll.

These are the best free online courses from MIT this month:

• Becoming an Entrepreneur

• Biochemistry: Biomolecules, Methods, and Mechanisms

• Cell Biology: Cell-Cell Interactions

• Cell Biology: Transport and Signaling

• Circuits and Electronics 1: Basic Circuit Analysis

• Circuits and Electronics 2: Amplification, Speed, and Delay

• Circuits and Electronics 3: Applications

• Collaborative Data Science for Healthcare

• Data Analysis: Statistical Modeling and Computation in Applications

• Derivatives Markets: Advanced Modeling and Strategies

• Energy Economics and Policy

• Financial Accounting

• Foundations of Modern Finance

• Foundations of Modern Finance II

• Fundamentals of Statistics

• Genetics: Analysis and Applications

• Genetics: Population Genetics and Human Traits

• Genetics: The Fundamentals

• Introduction to Biology: The Secret of Life

• Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science

• Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python

• Machine Learning with Python: From Linear Models to Deep Learning

• Management in Engineering: Accounting and Planning

• Mathematical Methods for Quantitative Finance

• Supply Chain Analytics

• Supply Chain Dynamics

• Supply Chain Fundamentals

• Sustainable Building Design

• Sustainable Energy

• Understanding the World Through Data

• World Music: Global Rhythms

These free courses do not come with a certificate of completion, but that's the only catch. You can still learn at your own pace with unrestricted access to all the course materials.

Find the best free online courses from MIT on edX.

Opens in a new window Credit: MIT MIT Online Courses Free at Udemy Get Deal

Right from its opening seconds, you know Interview with the Vampire Season 2 is for the theater kids.

A red title card pops up against a black background, informing us that "the role of Claudia will now be played by Delainey Hayles." The message here is twofold: First and foremost, the card is a clever device to address Claudia's recasting, as Hayles takes over the role from Season 1 Claudia actor Bailey Bass. But it also sets the stage (literally) for the season's theatrical leanings, reading like a new casting insert you'd see in a show program.

SEE ALSO: Summer TV Preview: Every show you must see

Just as Hayles steps into Claudia's shoes and makes the role her own, so too does Interview with the Vampire lean into its own theatricality this season, thanks to the arrival of the Théâtre des Vampires. Not only does this new coven treat us to some gloriously staged set pieces and laugh-out-loud theater kid drama, it also provides an outlet for Interview with the Vampire to delve deeper into its themes of performance and deception. What follows is a bloody good time — with sides of twisted romance and tragedy, of course.

Interview with the Vampire takes a theatrical turn in Season 2. Delainey Hayles in "Interview with the Vampire." Credit: Larry Horricks / AMC

Interview with the Vampire continues to remix the story of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, picking up in the wake of its shattering Season 1 finale. Vampires Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) and Claudia (Haynes) have murdered their maker, the much older Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid). Now, they roam Europe in search of other vampires like them, with every dead-end discouraging the already isolated Claudia more and more.

Their search eventually leads them to the Parisian Théâtre des Vampires, led by the vampire Armand (Assad Zaman). Here, vampires hide in plain sight, masked only by the thin guise of a stage play that is equal parts riveting and horrifying. Every performance is a series of darkly comedic mini plays, where actors interact with carefully planned projected films. It's Georges Méliès meets Rocky Horror Picture Show shadow casts — the latter comparison is particularly apt given the Théâtre des Vampires' cult following. In a delightful bit of world-building, these devotees paint their faces white, wear fake vampire teeth, and bring special umbrellas to avoid being sprayed with the company's fake blood.

The highlight of each show comes at the very end of the play, when lead actor Santiago (Ben Daniels, devouring his every scene) chows down on a member of the public. The ensuing feeding frenzy makes the rapt audience unknowingly complicit in every death, adding a perverse layer of satisfaction for the vampiric performers.

SEE ALSO: New 'Interview with the Vampire' teaser reveals the laws of being a vampire Jacob Anderson and Delainey Hayles in "Interview with the Vampire." Credit: Larry Horricks / AMC

Claudia is instantly smitten with the Théâtre, its rituals, and the sense of belonging that comes with being part of a coven. Louis, on the other hand, does not wish to be bound by the coven's rules. While he strikes up a romantic relationship with Armand, his detachment from the Théâtre as an entity causes friction — especially with Santiago.

The scenes within the Théâtre des Vampires are among the highlights of Interview with the Vampire Season 2, offering up laughs alongside the enchantingly executed play. Take Armand giving an annoyed Santiago notes on his performance, or the morbid backstage cleanup required for shows where someone get murdered every night.

But aside from these much appreciated theatrical gags, there's a deeper kind of performance afoot this season. Louis and Claudia must pretend not to know Lestat, as the truth could risk endangering their lives. Their web of lies strains their relationship, just as Claudia's efforts to join the coven push against Louis's fraternization with humans at artists' soirées. Is he performing the idea of humanity in an effort to get close to it, or is he merely an observer?

Interview with the Vampire Season 2 dives deep into memory. Eric Bogosian in "Interview with the Vampire." Credit: Larry Horricks / AMC

The art of performance is very much on display in Interview with the Vampire's present-day storyline as well. Journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) continues his interview with Louis, now with Armand at his side. But while the two claim to be the loves of each other's lives (much to Daniel's annoyance), their partnership balances precariously on its own share of deceit. Daniel pokes and prods at their accounts, making for one of the show's most delicious — and dangerous — new dynamics.

There is so much to love in the trio of Daniel, Louis, and Armand, especially in Daniel's many cutting remarks aimed at Armand or at Louis's occasionally more melodramatic storytelling. But Interview with the Vampire rises to a new level of intrigue when Daniel interacts one on one with Louis, or one on one with Armand. In these bouts of verbal sparring (or sometimes even collaboration), astonishing secrets and repressed memories come to light, re-coloring everything we thought we knew about Armand and Louis's relationship.

"Memory is the monster" has been a common refrain in promotional materials for this season, and that is especially true during Louis' scenes of recollection. Claudia hangs between him and Armand like a ghost, while his and Daniel's first interview in 1973 claws at both their psyches like a beast waiting to be set free.

But if memory is a monster, the biggest of them all is Lestat, who lingers in Louis's memory both in the present and in the past. Even in death, he haunts Louis, walking beside him in a dark Parisian park, taunting him during his early flirtations with Armand, coming between him and Claudia. Are these apparitions just Louis's imagination, or is there something more corporeal to this Lestat?

Anderson delivers a wrenching mix of grief and horror in these scenes, while Reid ranges from playfully indignant to raging at the reminder that Louis killed him. Half of the pairing may be dead, but their chemistry makes them one of television's most compelling and dysfunctional couples. This isn't to say Louis and Armand aren't fascinating: They certainly are, especially as Armand becomes slipperier and harder to read. But so much of their dynamic also revolves around Lestat, who intrudes upon their relationship like a splinter lurking just below the skin. The more Louis picks at his own memory, the more Lestat threatens to burst through, undergirding an already exceptional season of TV with an exhilarating throughline of tension. Like the devotees of the Théâtre des Vampires, you'll find yourself lapping up this season's surprises and coming back week after week for more.

Interview with the Vampire Season 2 premieres May 12 on AMC and AMC+.

The 10th film in the Planet of the Apes franchise, Wes Ball's Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, echoes a number of its predecessors — both the Andy Serkis-led trilogy of the 2010s, as well as the pulpy originals from the '60s and '70s — while aiming to build something unique. It often succeeds, functioning as both a series relaunch led by endearing new characters, as well as a sequel set several centuries after 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes, with whose text it promises to wrestle, even though it never fully does so.

Despite a few intriguing setups that go nowhere (and, vice versa, payoffs that would've been more potent had they been better established), Kingdom is a visually and emotionally dynamic movie with momentous action scenes and seamless visual effects in service of stellar mo-cap performances. It grabs the baton from The Batman director Matt Reeves — who helmed War as well as its predecessor, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes — and blazes a path for a brand-new saga while remaining tethered to what came before. As far as big-budget sequels go, it's an effective transitory chapter, telling a self-contained story while keeping both past and future in mind.

It's also not exactly the movie its trailers are selling, but that's a good thing. It has all the makings of the classic Hollywood adventure promised in its marketing, from imaginative world-building to character arcs and relationships that seem entirely straightforward. But it eventually proves anything but simple, thanks to a few surprises up its sleeve that nudge it in the direction of moral complexity. The result may not be as narratively polished as its predecessors — some of the most accomplished engaging popcorn blockbusters in years — but it makes for a worthwhile follow-up, growing pains and all.

What is Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes about? Credit: 20th Century Studios

The 2010s trifecta of Rise, Dawn, and War owes much of its success to the dynamic characters created by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (who penned the first two movies). Ball and screenwriter Josh Friedman pay the duo effective homage, not only by ensuring that the spirit of ape revolutionary Caesar (Serkis) looms large over Kingdom, but by immediately crafting new characters who are just as endearing and intriguing.

The movie, set an indeterminate number of centuries after War (per on-screen text: "Many Generations Later"), introduces us to brand-new chimpanzee protagonist Noa (Owen Teague) through a sweeping opening scene that puts a combination of action, morality, and culture on display. The adolescent ape scales the sides of concrete buildings now overrun with abundant fauna — human civilization seems long gone — along with his two best friends, childhood sweetheart Soona (Lydia Peckham) and lively jokester Anaya (Travis Jeffery), in the hopes of collecting eagle eggs from high-up nests for a bonding ritual the next day.

Noa is a stickler for the rules, and for truth and kindness. When Kingdom begins, those two ideas frequently align — he ensures to leave at least one egg behind for the wild eagle to raise, as is his elders' diktat — but they eventually clash in unexpected ways. Once the trio returns to their isolated tribe, the "eagle clan," in the ruins of a human metropolis, the movie quickly establishes its emotional stakes. Through interactions both spoken and signed, we learn that Noa has a doting mother, Dar (Sara Wiseman), but a domineering father, Koro (Neil Sandilands), a village elder who looks after the tribe's eagle companions, and with whom Noa doesn't get along. The young, wide-eyed ape has enormous shoes to fill, but his coming-of-age journey is interrupted before it can truly begin, sending him on a dangerous rescue mission that will test his mettle as a leader.

In the dead of night, a rogue band of ape warriors armed with taser-spears (and led by a fearsome gorilla general, a series staple we haven't seen in some time) attacks and kidnaps Noa's tribe while yelling a chilling war cry: "For Caesar!" It's a name Noa hasn't heard before, even though the audience has, but it's one he learns about during his journey to retrieve his friends and family when he meets ape companion Raka (Peter Macon), an erudite orangutan. A keeper of ancient knowledge, Raka wears a crest in the shape of Caesar's childhood window from Rise, which eventually became a revolutionary symbol in the trilogy, sparking intrigue (in both Noa and the audience) about what this iconography has come to mean.

Raka teaches Noa about facets of the old world which had long been kept from him, including some mysterious past relationship between apes and humans, who are now referred to as "echoes" by Noa and his tribe. Considered little more than feral pests, the people of this world are mostly extinct, and those who remain can no longer speak. However, as Noa and Raka journey toward the coastal ape kingdom where the eagle clan is being held — ruled by the megalomaniacal bonobo Proximus (Kevin Durand) — they're followed by a hungry young human girl (Freya Allan), upon whom Raka bestows the name "Nova." She challenges Noa's expectations about human intellect, paving the way for an inverted boy-and-his-dog saga.

Notably, Raka frames the name "Nova" as a direct reference to Caesar's nonverbal human companion in War (itself a reference to a character in the 1968 original). And while he doesn't fully know its origins, he can identify its significance to the once-great Caesar, a figure who has slipped into legend. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is many things, from an emotionally-driven adventure romp to a moving character piece, but its success as both is also partially rooted in the way it approaches the text of the recent trilogy: as cultural building blocks for two different ideas of ape society.

How Kingdom echoes War for the Planet of the Apes Credit: 20th Century Studios

What makes Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes especially unique as a sequel is how it approaches the text of its predecessor: as in-world mythology with practically religious significance. The specific details of history have been lost in translation (and through natural decay; practically every human-made object has been reabsorbed by nature), but once Noa is confronted with dueling visions of the past, and of the world outside his village, the loss of this history becomes a character unto itself.

Raka, the last remaining member of his tribe, clings to Caesar as a noble leader and messianic figure. It's a fitting outcome given the Biblical parallels in War for the Planet of the Apes, which framed Caesar as a Moses-like figure freeing the apes from tyrannical enslavement and leading them across a desert to a lush promised land. However, Caesar's refrain of "apes together strong" has since been twisted by the mighty Proximus, as a fascist call to ape superiority.

With his bloodshot eyes and imposing demeanor, Proximus makes for a striking villain on multiple fronts. On one hand, he poses a direct threat to the peace-loving chimps in the present, who he enslaves in pursuit of building a new ape society. On the other hand, he represents a corruption of history. He also clings to the now-ancient window symbol — it's scrawled on the hull of the beached cargo ship that he has made his palace — and while his master plan is better left unspoiled, Durand sells it with a recognizable (if corrupted) sense of ethos. His vision of the world, based on whispers of the human concept of evolution, involves propelling ape-kind forward at any cost, and in order to do so, he twists Caesar's story into an authoritarian dogma.  

Noa has no connection to either version of Caesar, and the movie doesn't quite force him to choose, but they inform an increasingly complicated series of decisions for the young simian in ways that mirror Caesar's trilogy. The throughline of Rise, War, and Dawn was as much about human nature as it was about ape liberation, and the question of whether or not humans could be trusted, a concept Kingdom mirrors in surprising ways when Noa's sheltered, linear sense of morality clashes with other characters' self-serving natures. In that regard, it's not unlike Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which sees the human-raised Caesar learning about the cruelty of the outside world and adapting accordingly.  

The echoes between Caesar and Noa extend to the filmmaking, too. A specific cut early on draws a visual parallel between them, and given Noa's physical resemblance to Caesar (and a similar bald spot he bears on his chest), he may as well be Caesar's direct descendant. But that's far too literal a connection for a movie that treats its predecessors less like real events and more like epic poems and scriptures, whose religious meaning can be twisted for personal gain. And while these warring ideas of morality, based on previous films in the series, are only relevant up to a point — they become increasingly sidelined as the movie rushes to set up its final act — they set a high bar for Kingdom by keeping the previous movies on the tip of its tongue. However, despite some disjointed dramatic construction, it's a bar that Ball and Friedman mostly clear.

Wes Ball brings propulsive filmmaking to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Credit: 20th Century Studios

If Kingdom is meant to be a proof of concept for future entries, then 20th Century Studios ought to throw bags of money at Wes Ball, given the adept and often stunning way he brings this world to life. His camera, courtesy of cinematographer Gyula Pados, swings and weaves through trees and other obstacles with aplomb, while Dan Zimmerman's rhythmic editing ensures the action is never lost or obscured. All the while, Ball's focus on character and intensity remains central to every scene.

The minor interactions soar as well. Ball's sincere dramatic presentation, coupled with detailed, idiosyncratic mo-cap performances, create living, breathing histories between each character, which lay the foundation for nail-biting investment once things go off the rails, and Noa and his cohorts are forced into fluid chase scenes, and fights whose physicality is matched by emotional impact.

Unfortunately, some of this impact is robbed during the film's more traditional dramatic moments. The film goes to great lengths to create a nuanced, multifaceted sense of culture for both Proximus's kingdom and the eagle clan, with specific gestures and slang terms appearing in amusing ways that feel descended from contemporary interactions. However, some of the clan's rituals and steadfast beliefs aren't so much dramatized as they are simply mentioned or gestured toward, which leads to a handful of malformed scenes where Noa's evolution as a character is far more inferred than felt.

That said, with the apes' mo-cap technology having been all but perfected in War, rare are the moments when the characters in Kingdom aren't utterly convincing, both physically and emotionally (also: Wet fur has never looked this authentic). Realism may not be the series' key concern — some of the original sequels succeeded despite their flimsy plastic ape masks — but the characters' recognizable nuances and idiosyncrasies go a long way toward connecting us to them. By the time the world and its murky morality forces them to re-evaluate their beliefs, it feels like a palpable sense of innocence has been tragically lost. Few Hollywood blockbusters have ever felt so complete while also demanding a sequel be made.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes undoubtedly has elements that could have (and should have) been better, if only to better emphasize some of its most emotionally and ethically interesting ideas. But despite the flaws in its construction, it proves to be a vibrant action-adventure sequel, with a beating heart constantly under threat, and characters you can't help but either adore or despise — and in some cases, both.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is in theaters now.

With The Iron Claw, writer/director Sean Durkin not only brings to theaters the tragic story of one of pro wrestling's most famous families, but also Zac Efron's career-best work. Centering on the Von Erich wrestling dynasty and the "curse" said to have plagued them through the '70s and '80s, The Iron Claw follows four brothers who fought for their family legacy, yet suffered under the training of their domineering father. 

While Durkin ably captures the era-specific atmosphere of their life in Dallas, he loses sight of how that family element informed the worst moments of the brothers' lives. This is, after all, a tale of fathers, sons, and deep misfortune, brought to life by a powerhouse ensemble. Although brimming with death and loss, The Iron Claw has a strangely mechanical approach that pokes instead of probes.  

Most wrestling fans know the details of this family saga, but others might be shocked by the accumulation of misery, pushing the limits of how much one family can endure. The film is a resounding success in that one regard. However, with few exceptions, the real events end up far more observed than felt, as though Durkin were avoiding the most painful memories of a famous family he reveres. These moments fail to resonate, so The Iron Claw ends up a pretty good movie that could have — and should have — been great.

How does The Iron Claw approach the "Von Erich curse"? Credit: A24

 "Mom tried to protect us with God. Dad tried to protect us with wrestling," explains Kevin Von Erich (Efron), the rising wrestling superstar who is the film's center. The oldest living Von Erich brother, Kevin looks out for up-and-coming wrestler David (Triangle of Sadness's Harris Dickinson), professional discus-thrower Kerry (The Bear's Jeremy Allen White), and musician Mike (Stanley Simons). But, as he warns his love interest Pam May (Lily James), there is a family curse that took his older brother when they were very young. That loss sparked a local superstition that Kevin doesn't fully believe, at least at first. But the more their ruthlessly macho father Fritz (Holt McCallany) pushes his boys toward in-ring glory — and well past their breaking point — the more this "curse" becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

As Kevin explains, the belief in the Dallas wrestling scene is that this curse is tethered to the family's name, which Fritz — born Jack Adkisson — adopted from his mother's maiden name, Erich. This leads to a few poignant dramatic notes that see Kevin wrestling with his lineage and his wrestling moniker, but there's also a key detail left out of this history that softens the blow. 

In reality, Fritz chose the name "Von Erich" to enhance his heel persona as a Nazi villain in the 1950s. The film even opens with an ominous black-and-white flashback to Fritz in his heyday (albeit sans any hint of Nazi insignia). He looms large over the camera, pummeling an opponent into submission with his signature move, "the Iron Claw," a skull-crushing vice grip. As movie titles go, The Iron Claw is both a familiar throwback to this maneuver (which the Von Erich sons would eventually adopt, even as heroes or "babyfaces") and a poetic description of the kind of hold Fritz had over his children's lives. Yet despite wading into uncomfortable territory with Fritz's hyper-masculine approach to fatherhood, The Iron Claw pulls its punches. 

SEE ALSO: 'Dark Side of the Ring' and 'The Iron Claw' make a slammin' doubleheader

The film certainly has a throughline about the self-destructive nature of professional wrestling, which takes its toll physically and mentally. But similar to the avoidance of Fritz's Nazi gimmick, The Iron Claw makes the family patriarch too pleasant by omission. Just as often as McCallany is stern and calculating — like when he openly ranks the boys from his favorite to least over breakfast — he has a warm and welcoming presence, with wide smiles that celebrate his sons' achievements. In theory, this realistically mirrors the nature of toxic parenthood and the way dependency forms through abusers running alternatingly hot and cold. Yet the movie seldom tips Fritz over into territory harsh enough to link his actions to the eventual horrid outcomes of his sons' lives. Something is missing here. The Iron Claw runs over two hours, yet it still feels truncated, as though several scenes threading the needle between his parenting and the boys' psychology and physiology had been ruthlessly snipped.

The "curse," therefore, takes on an ephemeral quality once all the boys join their father's promotion, World Class Championship Wrestling, without necessarily being prepared for the physical and emotional toll. This arguably impacts Kevin the most, straining his relationship with Pam in concerning ways. He spends more and more time away from her, in fear of the curse being communicable. But the more his brothers suffer, the less his parents factor into the movie. When tragedy strikes, their mother Doris (Maura Tierney) takes comfort in religion, dragging Fritz and the boys to church every Sunday. But that's about the only thing we learn about her — other than the fact that she, like Fritz, would rather leave the boys' personal and psychological issues alone, for them to discuss between themselves. 

Fritz, though he has plenty of screen time, exists as though he were a ghost, unable to escape that initial monochrome flashback. While this works to establish the emotional boundaries of the story — a father unable to escape his past, in which he never moved beyond the precipice of glory — he ends up lacking a sense of imposing physicality and emotional brutality for his children in the present. He pushes them, but never demolishes them; they seem to do that all on their own. Fritz's professional disappointments come up plenty in the dialogue, but the moments when the edit connects the family's tragedies to his tough-love training are few and far between. So, when Kevin finally does confront his father during a particularly charged moment late into the film, it doesn't carry the weight and on-screen history that it should, despite the performers working overtime to ensure a sense of lived reality about each interaction. It's as though even the camera was convinced that the Von Erich curse was something evil lurking in the ether, rather than the end result of a father trying to capture his lost glory by living vicariously through his sons. 

The Iron Claw takes big liberties with the Von Erich brothers to build a compelling (if false) tale of brotherhood.  Credit: A24

The movie undoubtedly succeeds in fleshing out the Von Erich sons, both as individuals and as brothers. The first image of Efron's Kevin is him waking up for a morning run, via a close-up of his face and bare chest. There's immediately something off-putting about him. Before Kevin ever speaks, the bulging veins on his discolored torso (hinting, perhaps, at the character's steroid use) consume the entire frame as Kevin lumbers out of his childhood bed. The real Kevin had a leaner physique than most wrestling stars, but the movie's hulking conception of him immediately captures a man uncomfortable in his skin, a transformation that Efron hurls himself toward with fearless commitment.

While Kevin might want the spotlight in the ring, outside of it there's something tragic in how he struggles socially. Pam tries to flirt with him after a show, but he seems lost, as though he's never been exposed to the real world beyond the confines of wrestling. The real Kevin had a deeper voice and came off as much more self-assured. Efron's soft, boyish approach helps externalize lingering insecurities while making him feel awkward in any environment. He's a man trapped in arrested development, and while Efron takes to the wrestling action like a seasoned pro — the air-time he gets on some of Kevin's leaps are mesmerizing — his in-ring appearance, barefoot and in white trunks, makes him seem like some perverse creation, an overgrown, muscular baby, created by a mad wrestling scientist. 

If Kevin's professional life is spent fulfilling his father's pursuit, his personal life is equally stunted, though Efron imbues it with an innocent charm. Kevin wants nothing more than to spend time with his brothers; even his dreams of marriage and settling down involve making room for them on his ranch. Brotherhood is all he knows, and his initial interactions with David and Mike hint at a multifaceted personal history, even though the film has little time to explore this. 

In Dickinson's hands, David might seem, at first, like a cardboard cutout — the nice, straightforward brother, who tries hard and diligently follows his father's orders. But Dickinson navigates this seeming simplicity with a sense of radiance, and it pays off in spades, given his place in the plot. Ranked for a pivotal time as Fritz's favorite, he starts to feel the effects of the bar being set too high for any of them, including himself.

Mike (Simons), meanwhile, is the skinny and meek son; this character is imbued with some qualities and plot points of his real-life brother Chris, the youngest Von Erich who's been strangely excluded from the film. He's a teenager with a musician's soul and an artist's melancholy that Simons lets fester in silence the more that Mike is pushed into a physical sport for which he's hardly prepared. Like Efron's boyish approach to Kevin, Simons's conception of Mike departs from reality in ways that suit the story. Within his artistic interests, a subtle effeminacy silently speaks to how he fails to meet the masculine expectations of the Von Erich patriarch and the wrestling world at large. And yet, Mike's attempt to be the round peg who'll fit the square hole helps evoke a loving sympathy, both from the audience and from Kevin and David, who help Mike sneak out to a musical gig after Doris puts her foot down.

Kerry was the golden boy, until his Olympic dream ends (through no fault of his own). When Kerry returns home, his father immediately thrusts him into the wrestling spotlight, as though he were another opportunity to elevate the Von Erich name. While the real Kerry was considered the most charismatic and movie star-like of the bunch, White's approach is steeped in rage and disappointment after the Olympic boycott. (In reality, Kerry debuted for WCCW long before this happened, but it makes for intriguing drama). If one were recasting the brothers solely on physical appearance, then White and Efron ought to have switched roles, but they each embody their specific versions of Kerry and Kevin in pitch-perfect ways.  

Even Pam's performance becomes a lens to better understand Kevin. James, who plays Pam with an angelic radiance, approaches the part with wide-eyed enthusiasm, to the point that she doesn't seem real. Is her earnest interest "kayfabe," the wrestling tenet of maintaining a character to sell the audience on an illusion? Given his inexperience outside the ring, he has trouble telling whether or not she's being genuine at first — whether she has a real interest in him, or whether she's a climber or groupie — and James's performance guides us through this uncertainty. The more James grows accustomed to the Von Erich family, the more comfortable and realistic her performance becomes.

Durkin's direction gears each scene and character towards an alluring present, resulting not only in some of the year's best performances, but a vivid sense of reality in the moment. However, his specific approach to weaving these scenes and moments together ends up costing the film its emotional impact.

Sean Durkin's filmmaking both helps and hurts the story. Credit: A24

Early into the runtime, a rhythmic long take reminiscent of Goodfellas (and set to Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear The Reaper) gets us in tune with the brothers, and with the ins and outs of their environment as they enter the Sportatorium, the lively wrestling arena owned by their father. As Kevin and Kerry plan their upcoming match with a pair of other wrestlers, they speak in wrestling jargon, quickly establishing for the audience the scripted nature of the sport — which was, at the time, mostly hidden from the public. However, this dialogue also comes off as rehearsed rather than routine, as though these athletes had never before undertaken this task. Despite the accuracy of the terminology, the brothers don't fully feel as though they've grown up in and around this industry. 

Durkin's visual approach, however, works to hide the seams of the actors' in-ring inexperience. The film mimics the up-close-and-personal camera approach innovated by WCCW, which gives the wrestling scenes a sense of chaotic intensity as the camera zips past and around them. Durkin is also adept at blocking and crafting evocative, memorable images outside the ring, but they occasionally work against the story he's telling. There's a mesmerizing series of shots that all fade into each other, starting with a close-up of a syringe one of the brothers injects into his thigh, and followed by close-ups of Kevin, David and Kerry's faces, all overlapping, their sense of identity all blurring together. We never actually learn who was doing the injecting, or even what they were injecting — a steroid? A painkiller? A recreational drug? This is vital information, given the way the tragic results of their lifestyle slowly creep up on each brother one by one, rather than altogether.

This interchangeability bleeds into the way Durkin frames each tragedy in their lives. Take, for instance, a gruesome injury suffered by Kerry, which jeopardizes his wrestling career. Rather than exploring the physical and psychological fallout of this event — whether through Kerry's eyes, or the reactions of anyone in his family — Durkin instead builds a bizarre sense of mystery around Kerry's injury and reveals it like a plot twist, before skipping past any concerns he might have about it, or his family's reactions.  

Most of the plot unfolds this way. Injuries and other life-changing moments are portended by dramatic irony (usually in the dialogue, and even in Mike's song lyrics), but they're seldom built to with a sense of causality, and their ripple effects are rarely felt. Vital decisions simply occur, rather than being arrived at through rigorous drama. The harrowing events that defined the brothers' lives and gave rise to the idea of the "Von Erich curse" in the public consciousness exist largely as isolated moments geared towards shock value. Between this sense of skipping past major events, and Durkin omitting an entire brother to shorten the runtime, it can't help but feel like the story he wants to tell is too big for one movie.

Sean Durkin may love wrestling too much to do this story justice.  Credit: A24

But Durkin is too thoughtful a director for these pacing issues to kneecap the film entirely. The Iron Claw has the look (and more importantly, the aesthetic) of an important drama with historical weight, and while this may feel like a backhanded compliment, it isn't. On the family's ranch, the Texas air always feels warm and thick, offering both a summery glow and sense of nostalgia. In the final act, this crescendos into a particularly moving moment of Kevin imagining a better life for his brothers. Whenever the four of them are together on screen, it feels like a Richard Linklater movie, bursting to life with a camaraderie that Durkin knows exactly how to capture with sincerity and sentimentality. When the brothers line dance at a family wedding — a sparsely attended one, as the Von Erichs are revered but not truly known — the camera focuses not on the brothers' feet or their body movement but on their joyful expressions, tracking across their faces in the close-up. 

Durkin, a lifelong wrestling fan, cares deeply about these characters, but perhaps that's a problem. The film often feels too close to its subject matter to give it an honest appraisal, and the camera frequently turns its gaze away from the story's most painful moments. The blocking helps capture the family's dynamic whenever it starts to shift — when jealousies fly, and when wrestling starts to get in the way rather than bringing them together — but in these scenes, Durkin pulls back, giving The Iron Claw a distant and observational quality when it should feel most intimate. Each time the movie avoids bearing witness to the brothers' suffering and its impact on the family, it avoids the painful question of what led to each tragedy, and how Fritz (and perhaps even Doris) might have avoided such an outcome. The cumulative impact of this is a story that feels incomplete.

For a tale about the way tragic events can define people and families, The Iron Claw sadly ends up with too little interest in those tragedies or their emotional fallout. It's far too eager to get to the end of the story and reach a light at the end of the tunnel. It spends too little time delving into darkness before skipping forward to catharsis. Its highs don't feel earned, so the movie never truly soars. 

The Iron Claw is now streaming on Max.

UPDATE: May. 9, 2024, 1:29 p.m. EDT This review was updated to reflect current streaming options.

In Chris Pine's directorial debut Poolman, Pine himself stars as an amateur sleuth in Los Angeles who is dedicated to uncovering a mind-blowing mystery. The film itself is inherently a curiosity, as Pine has been about as enigmatic a figure as an A-list movie star can be nowadays. In the Best Chris Wars, he has thrived by playing quirky yet undeniably dashing heroes across films like Wonder Woman, A Wrinkle in Time, Star Trek, and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Yet unlike his peers in Chris-ness, he has not courted fandom through social media, and so has not been subject to political backlashes or parasocial relationship-spurred scandals. Instead, he has cultivated a mystique that involves preferring an old-school flip phone and busting out a disposable camera at movie premieres. Even the entrancing whirlpool that was the Don't Worry Darling promotional tour could not bring him down, despite being at the center of Spitgate.

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Chris Pine has managed to float above so many Hollywood pitfalls with impeccable style. And yet Poolman is a comedy-noir that aims to lampoon the excesses and eccentricities of Hollywood (or, more broadly, Los Angeles) but fails to thrill or amuse — or give fans much of an insight into the mystery man behind it. Actually, the most profound mystery at the heart of Poolman is not its convoluted case of corruption, but rather why it doesn't work at all. 

What is the buzz on Poolman?

Ahead of the Toronto International Film Festival, Poolman was a hotly anticipated title, not only because of its star-studded cast but also because the premise was drawing early comparisons to other L.A.-set comedy noirs, such as the Coen Brothers' The Big Lebowski, Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice, and David Robert Mitchell's Under The Silver Lake. 

However, as audiences exited the first screening of the film (of which I was in attendance), there were whispers of confusion and frustration. The bad buzz only built as press screenings concluded. In a packed field of TIFF movies directed by actors, including Taika Waititi's Next Goal Wins, Michael Keaton's Knox Goes Away, and Anna Kendrick's Woman of the Hour, Pine's Poolman stood out as the most critically scorned.

What is Poolman about?

Chris Pine stars as Darren, a middle-aged pool cleaner who values meditation and activism, holding crusader Erin Brockovich as his personal hero. When he’s not writing her daily fan letters, he’s proving to be a thorn in the side of the local government, demanding improvements of bus routes through dramatic speeches, accompanied by personal anecdotes and poster board displays. But in a town where every nobody is striving to be somebody, even the pool guy is susceptible to the lure of fame. 

SEE ALSO: 'Erin Brockovich' chemical found in more than 200 million Americans' tap water

When his quest to bring down a seemingly corrupt politician (Stephen Tobolowsky) leads to a run-in with the sultry June Del Rey (DeWanda Wise), Darren is quick to leap into the fray — stalking, scheming, going on stakeouts, doing origami, and bringing into his clumsy investigation a quirky circle of friends. Could this make him a hero to his hometown of Los Angeles? Or another fool forgotten in this treacherous city of dreams? 

Annette Bening and Danny DeVito outshine Chris Pine in Poolman. 

To his credit, Pine smartly casts his film with celebrated stars and stellar supporting players. Jennifer Jason Leigh brings a beguilingly blasé attitude as a Pilates instructor who is ostensibly Darren's girlfriend. DeWanda Wise, resplendent in fiercely fitted fashion with a Golden Age of Hollywood flare, sinks her dazzling teeth into her comically flirty and ferocious femme fatale. John Ortiz steals moments as Darren's ever-loyal yet endlessly bullied would-be bestie, and Stephen Tobolowsky gives a surprisingly tender turn. 

Best of the bunch, though, are Annette Bening and Danny DeVito, a Jungian analyst and her blustering movie producer husband who make an unlikely but charming duo. Not only do they own the humble motel where Darren works, but this captivating odd couple is also his therapist and collaborator, respectively, and his parents, figuratively. 

In scenes where the two coddle Darren amid his conspiratorial rants, there is something undeniably sweet and satisfying in Poolman. DeVito and Bening are an enticing comedic pair, in part because his chaotic energy clicks with her calm kookiness. Unfortunately, the characters themselves are woefully one-note, which turns the experience of enjoying their company into a stagnant overstay. Perhaps we can blame the script by Pine and Ian Gotler, which doesn't seem to know what else to do with these two beyond being capering sidekicks to the crusty but uncompelling hero. The other supporting characters are similarly promising but thinly realized. 

While he's dazzled under the direction of many other helmers, Pine misjudges his own capabilities here. Even with a grizzle beard and ratty, long hair, he does not have the breezy coolness of Jeff Bridges as The Dude, or the frenetic magnetism of Joaquin Phoenix's Doc Sportello, or the chafing yet captivating cockiness of Andrew Garfield's Under the Silver Lake hero, Sam. Instead, Darren feels like a vague gesture at a harried but optimistic kind of Angeleno that may not read well to the wider world. Far from captivating, Darren is most often annoying. And his quest is often too confusing to invest in. 

Poolman is a joke that never lands. 

The cast is promising. The concept of an everyman taking on Goliath-level corruption is compelling. But as Pine's film references Hollywood-set noirs ranging from Chinatown to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, audiences are forced to recognize how poor a comparison Poolman makes to its inspirations. One particular sequence in a dingy drag bar might urge audiences (especially if this movie lands on streaming) to click away and revisit those instead. Or, heck, even The Golden Girls — in that classic sitcom, the plots made sense, and the punchlines hit hard and often! 

Part of the problem is that Pine's narrative is confounding, not just to his confused hero but to any audience member who dares to follow him. There are occasionally exposition dumps, as well as insert shots to be sure the audience caught a pivotal (and obvious) plot twist. But none of this is put together in a way that allows us to follow Darren's logic or his righteous outrage. As Poolman lumbers into its cacophonic climax, audiences might relish in some silliness, but they likely won't feel sated by the mystery's solution. 

That the plot barely makes sense might’ve been forgivable if Pine could elicit from his performers the kind of exhilarating energy and distinctive wackiness we’ve seen in the works of the Coens and Anderson. Instead, his cast, while charismatic, dances between a blurry line of broad comedy and nuanced parody that can't find its footing. Theirs is a world vaguely interesting but never sharply realized. And as such, we, the audience are always treated as outsiders. 

In the end, Poolman plays an inside joke that never let its audience inside.

Poolman opens nationwide May 10.

UPDATE: May. 9, 2024, 12:52 p.m. EDT "Poolman" was reviewed out of its world premiere at 2023's Toronto International Film Festival.

"Some people, they wanna do the right thing. I like doing the wrong thing."

In 2012, James Franco spoke those words as Alien, an eccentric Florida drug dealer invented by the bizarre mind of transgressive filmmaker Harmony Korine for his film Spring Breakers. In a lot of ways, this character and his brutal ways was, unbeknownst to most, a harbinger of things to come for the creator best known for his work on the provocative and daring 1995 film Kids — and what was to come would be AGGR0 DR1FT, a sweaty and psychedelic assassin tale shot entirely on a thermal camera. 

SEE ALSO: Summer Movie Preview: Every film you oughta know What is AGGR0 DR1FT about?

A spiritual successor to Spring Breakers, Korine’s first film since 2019’s The Beach Bum revisits Florida in an even more violent and terror-stricken way as it follows the self-proclaimed world’s greatest assassin, Bo (played by the once-dubbed "Spanish Tom Cruise" Jordi Mollà). He's on a quest to kill the biggest villain in Miami, a hulking and misogynistic man who calls himself a "devil". He’s proud of his work, telling viewers about his wins in the field in an almost sultry tone. The dialogue, which was improvised based on "ideas, a basic story, and pictures" the director had drawn before shooting, immediately makes you feel thrust back into the greater Harmony Korine universe, and it supports the bombastic visual choices. 

What are the visuals like in AGGR0 DR1FT?

Let’s be real, Korine’s filmography has been building to something akin to the beloved video game franchise, Grand Theft Auto. With his seventh film, he finally presents his version of that kind of urban chaos. In the world of AGGR0 DR1FT, guns and huge asses reign supreme, and characters move through the city like playable protagonists, almost lagging in their movements as they go. Further still, the film's pacing feels like real-time gaming footage, as if you're steering your character through a pulsating pixelated city of devils — and it's something even further amplified through the director's sole use of thermal imaging infrared cameras.

Palpitating point-of-view shots highlight heat and movement, effectively rendering Bo’s world an amalgamation of reds, yellows, blues, and greens through which faces fade into a sick brightness, one that almost transforms characters into a different species entirely. Korine wields a whole host of additional visual production tactics to create this overwhelming aesthetic, including live action, gaming engines, 3D rendering, VFX, and artificial intelligence — according to the film's VFX designer, Joao Rosa, the film uses an allegedly "ethical" version of AI that was trained on internal artwork created for the film, but that's all the info we have on that.

The best usage of Korine’s visual toolkit comes in the form of a demon guardian angel of sorts, a malevolent horned creature that follows Bo throughout the city as he commits his crimes. It’s clearly the result of a conglomerate of these artificial tools, but it’s nevertheless effective as an aesthetic choice — the demon is pretty badass to look at, not gonna lie — as well as a metaphorical one. Bo, who is a father and a husband on top of being a cold-blooded killer, is forever running from his demons, while also using them as a deadly asset. 

AGGR0 DR1FT’s sound design is a besiegement to the ears.

Speaking of deadly assets, it’s pretty clear that the sound design of AGGR0 DR1FT is meant as a further sensory pummelling. At the Venice Film Festival press screening, the sound was cranked up so high that many attendees plugged their ears, and some even left after a period because of the noise. Between piercing sound effects like a shrill eagle’s cry, and the brooding yet bombastic score by producer AraabMuzik — which would honestly be amazing on a run, for nailing the final boss in your favorite video game, or whenever you need to feel like you’re powerful enough to punch your worst enemy — the audio aspects of Korine’s feature seem designed to aggravate, stimulate, and enrage.

Travis Scott is an unexpected highlight of AGGR0 DR1FT.

When it comes to the acting in this piece, Mollà is certainly the anchor in the neon lunacy of this tale. His performance is calculated, constrained, and somewhat muted, but weirdly, he intrigues enough to make you want to follow his story to the end.

However, rapper Travis Scott, in his feature film debut, gives some of the most natural-sounding dialogue of anyone in the film, even more so than Mollà at times. With roughly five minutes of screen time, his character Zion frankly discusses killing, familial responsibilities, and the Bible (of which he wonders aloud, “Did Julius Caesar write the Bible?” which sounds contrived, but it’s a smart parallel to how many great figures are scorned by the company they keep). 

Alien's aforementioned Spring Breakers quote about doing the wrong thing — and liking it — is the bedrock of Bo’s identity in AGGR0 DR1FT. There's something about this taboo that's fun to watch as he navigates this sense of lawlessness. However, Korine’s latest film is definitely not for everyone; in fact, there's likely to be a lot of hatred for this movie, that much is nearly certain. But if you want a mindless mind-trip filled with nauseating color, fast cars, loud guns, and a whole lot of twerking, AGGR0 DR1FT might just be your cup of deadly tea — especially if you’re willing to bend to its transgressive rules. 

AGGR0 DR1FT opens in theaters May 10.

UPDATE: May. 9, 2024, 1:11 p.m. EDT "AGGR0 DR1FT" was reviewed out of the Venice International Film Festival.

Two best bros plus trouble in a bubble equals good times, as established by the 1996 comedy Bio-Dome.

This year's sci-fi sleeper, Biosphere, holds true to this formula, and though it doesn't boast the daffy '90s whimsicality of the Pauly Shore/Stephen Baldwin classic, it is surprisingly funny. In fact, this slyly hilarious film is surprising in many ways, most of which are beyond the scope of its marketing campaign. Its first trailer has an art-house sci-fi vibe, given gravitas by critically heralded dramatic actors Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass. Adding to the mystique is the promotional campaign's noble efforts to preserve the pivotal plot twist that makes this movie a sensational surprise. 

I know you're tempted, but don't search for spoilers. 

In an age with globe-trekking promotional campaigns, trailers that flaunt the very final moments of a climax, and a social media landscape that is polluted by spoilers for every possible franchise and hotly anticipated title, it is an increasingly rare thing to be truly surprised in the cinema. And props to Mel Eslyn, who makes her feature directorial debut with this gem from a script she co-wrote with Duplass: Biosphere is brilliant in its surprises. 

Wait, what's Biosphere about?  Credit: IFC

Without major spoilers: Biosphere centers on two men, trapped in a bunker, outliving the end of the world as we know it. What's happened to Earth is not directly revealed, and frankly isn't really important. What is important here is who these two are to each other at the end of the world. They are best friends since childhood. 

On the surface, they seem an unlikely band of brothers from other mothers. Ray (Brown) is an intellectual whose contributions to this survival sphere are not only its construction and various life-preserving devices but also a library of science books. Billy (Duplass) is a garrulous goofball who spends his time pondering the metaphorical importance of the Mario Bros and doodling in Ray's books. 

Right off the bat, Billy doesn't fit the mold of what we imagine when we think of humanity's last great hope for survival. While these two converse and bicker in a shorthand that expresses not only long-honed intimacy but also years in this quarantined roommate scenario, we are encouraged to wonder how they came to be here. 

Biosphere will reveal those details, and with them comes a subtle satirical edge about power and politics. 

Biosphere has shades of Swiss Army Man.  Credit: IFC

Don't mistake me. Nothing so outlandish as a farting corpse jet ski will spring from this indie offering. However, like the double-handed fantasy film that launched the Daniels, Biosphere centers on a friendship tested by isolation that's ultimately so close, so committed that it is literally transformative. It all begins with a development that has Billy excitedly exclaim, "Life finds a way!" 

Appreciation for Jurassic Park is a surface-level commonality Swiss Army Man and Biosphere share. The score from Biosphere recalls Swiss Army Man as well, favoring a chorus of quirky voices humming and bah-bah-booping along. It's a detail not immediately noticeable, but the creeping charm of these voices, happily combining to create something bigger than they can alone, becomes a reflection of the movie's moving and hopeful message. Trapped alone at the brink of extinction, Billy and Ray find love in a hopeless place. 

Where Swiss Army Man compared farts and sweded movies, Biosphere talks Mario Bros and offers subtle send-ups of comedy cliches, like dancing in the kitchen (see Practical Magic or The Big Chill). But the best bits are those that are unique to the plotline, including props like a shoe-box coffin, a hand mirror, and a hastily modified bedsheet. Within such sequences, there's a lot of silliness as these friends are confronted with their fears of death, change, and growth. But through it all, Eslyn captures their struggle with humor, heart, and humanity. We're not invited to gawk at these men under glass and laugh at them; we're invited to be embedded with them, sharing in their joys, sorrows, and their evolving, remarkable reality. 

Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass share remarkable chemistry in Biosphere.  Credit: IFC

An odd couple for the post-apocalypse, Brown and Duplass are opposites visually and in attitude. While Billy is constantly rumpled and a bit paunchy despite their shared jogs around the biosphere, Ray is chiseled and chic — even though they both wear similar T-shirts and sweats. It's careful costuming, but it's also an energy. Ray behaves as if the world might pick back up at any moment, and when it does, he'll be ready to run right into it. Billy behaves like they're on an extended spring break, killing time. The unspoken is the annihilation beyond their bubble. That it's unspoken keeps things pleasantly light, which is how they have survived this long. Plus, they seem to really enjoy each other. 

Brown and Duplass share a kinetic chemistry that instantly sells that they've known each other since a long-ago birthday party. It instantly grounds us into Ray and Billy's reality, where the worst has already happened, but at least they have their best friend. And it makes the transformation of this friendship all the more believable, even when things turn from science fact to science fiction. When moments get tense or tender, Brown and Duplass don't flinch. Together, they are deeply committed, and so pull us in to marvel at every moment of its tale of fragile hope. 

More movies should dare to explore like Biosphere. 

Some might snark at the mysterious center of Biosphere, applying to it an agenda or decrying it as a gimmick. Personally, I think such a read is cynical. Biosphere does not succeed or fail based on whether you know what it's actually about or not. It succeeds because it's so much more than that second-act twist. 

Amid a movie scene glutted with huge-budget, wanna-be blockbusters that aim to satisfy with fan service instead of daring, Biosphere is a rebellion. 

It's not flashy. It's not stuffed to the gills with stars or shocking cameos. It's a much lower-budget affair with modest special effects and very little in the way of spectacle, unless you consider fish scales fascinating. Instead, it's about a story that unfolds methodically, reveling in chemistry and human connection rather than sheer star power. It's a sci-fi tale that doesn't jet us into a far-flung future, but one that feels achingly familiar in its crisis and quarantine. It's a comedy that gets silly and outrageous but never makes its heroes into clowns. And it's a drama that bares its teeth as these men bare their hearts, for better or worse. It's heart-warming, heart-wrenching, soul-soothing, and belly-laugh funny. 

So, don't miss out, because Biosphere might be the best movie of the year that you won't hear enough about. 

How to watch: Biosphere is now streaming on Hulu.

UPDATE: May. 9, 2024, 1:17 p.m. EDT This review was updated to reflect current streaming options.