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Homebrew - The Missing Package Manager

TweakWin7 - Sun, 03/03/2024 - 01:00
Software packages on Linux or Unix are typically distributed and installed from repositories using a special utility called a package manager. This utility simplifies the installation of a package and makes sure all the dependencies of the software are also met and installed. In addition, the package manager makes it easy to install updates or remove the software package. While macOS is a descendant...

The people love 'Dune: Part Two'

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 20:30

Anticipation for Dune: Part Two ran high here at Mashable, where my fellow staff members spent significant time traipsing around New York City in search of the film's NSFW popcorn bucket. Now we know much of North America is obsessed with the film too, to the tune of $32 million. That's how much the film earned on its opening day domestically, with Deadline estimating it could earn as much as $170 million across 71 additional international markets over the weekend.

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Folks who have already seen the film are heading to X (formerly Twitter) to share their first impressions of the sequel, which are coming in as hot as the sun on the sands of Arrakis.

SEE ALSO: 'Dune: Part Two' stars Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya discuss their physical transformations and learning the Fremen language Leaving the theatre... gimme a sec Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Time to update my Letterboxd. Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted

Still thinking about Stilgar Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted

Yeah, that was ✨ cinema ✨ Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted
Categories: IT General, Technology

Regulators approve more self-driving Waymo taxis in LA and San Francisco

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 17:18

Waymo's robotaxis has been approved for expansion by the California Public Utilities Commission. The driverless taxis already operate in parts of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. Now they'll be allowed to drive further outside the city centers into neighboring counties, including the heart of Silicon Valley.

SEE ALSO: TikTokker shares her creepy ‘driverless Uber’ experience. Here’s how it works step-by-step.

Driverless cars have become a contentious issue in San Francisco, where officials report that they interfere with public safety and labor advocates say they will put taxi drivers out of work. In October 2023, competitor Cruise was suspended by California's Department of Motor Vehicles after a September 2023 report from the San Francisco Fire Department that claimed two Cruise robotaxis had blocked an ambulance that was carrying a patient who later died. After the incident, Cruise halted all driverless projects across the 15 US cities and remains inoperative today.

Waymo, an Alphabet subsidiary, is one of the more prominent robotaxi services still in operation. Just this week, Apple announced it was abandoning its attempts to develop driverless car technology. Tesla is reportedly attempting to develop its own electric driverless taxi system but has yet to present prototypes to the public.

In a report from November, local CNBC reporter Deirdre Bosa likened being driven by one of Cruise's driverless taxis to being "driven by a student driver," and described several close calls and multiple instances of being honked at during a 20-minute ride. Her Waymo ride was, by comparison, "unremarkable."

Categories: IT General, Technology

NYT's The Mini crossword answers for March 2

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 15:34

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for March 2 SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for March 2

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Saturday, March 2, 2024:

AcrossAlgebra, calculus, etc.
  • The answer is Math.

College reunion attendees
  • The answer is Alumni.

Broadway's "The Book of ____"
  • The answer is Mormon.

Author Patchett
  • The answer is Ann.

Nickname for a longtime Supreme Court justice
  • The answer is RBG.

Heat on low
  • The answer is Simmer.

Drug such as morphine or codeine
  • The answer is Opiate.

Feature of a leopard or lobster
  • The answer is Claw.

DownWord belted out by Freddie Mercury in the first verse of "Bohemian Rhapsody"
  • The answer is Mama.

Pete ___, All-Star slugger for the New York Mets
  • The answer is Alonso.

Rounded root vegetable
  • The answer is Turnip.

"Let me think ..."
  • The answer is Hmm.

Standard
  • The answer is Normal.

Still being tested, as an app
  • The answer is In Beta.

Got bigger
  • The answer is Grew.

Piece of podcasting equipment
  • The answer is Mic.

Categories: IT General, Technology

How to watch the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix online for free

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 13:04

TL;DR: Watch the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix for free on ORF, ServusTV, RTBF, or RTL ZWEE. Access these free streaming platforms from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

A lot of F1 fans are expecting another season of Max Verstappen dominance, which would be a shame for everyone except Christian Horner, Max Verstappen, and everyone who supports Red Bull. What most people desperately want is a more competitive season.

Will we get that this year? Will we see Mercedes close the gap to Red Bull? Will we see McLaren's talented young drivers become stars? Will Ferrari stop making horrible mistakes every weekend? There's only one way to find out, and it starts in Bahrain.

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

When is the Bahrain Grand Prix?

The 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix takes place over 57 laps of the 5,412-kilometre Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. The full schedule can be found here:

  • Practice 1 — 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. GMT on Feb. 29

  • Practice 2 — 3 to 4 p.m. GMT on Feb. 29

  • Practice 3 — 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. GMT on March 1

  • Qualifying — 4 to 5 p.m. GMT on March 1

  • Race — 3 p.m. GMT on March 2

Sky Sports is broadcasting live coverage of every race weekend this season, with race highlights available on Channel 4 after the race on March 2. But there's an alternative, and it's free.

How to watch the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix for free

It is possible to stream F1 for free in 2024. The following platforms are offering free coverage of this season:

These free streaming platforms are geo-restricted, meaning you'll be blocked if you attempt to connect from outside the country of origin. Fortunately, you can bypass these restrictions with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure servers in other countries, meaning you can access these streaming services from anywhere in the world.

Unblock these free streaming services by following these simple steps:

  1. Sign up for a VPN (like ExpressVPN)

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

  3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Austria, Belgium, or Luxembourg

  4. Connect to ORF, ServusTV, RTBF, or RTL ZWEE

  5. Watch the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix for free

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

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, so how is this method any better value than subscribing to Sky Sports? Importantly, the best VPNs for streaming tend to offer free trials or money-back guarantees. By taking advantage of these offers, you can watch Formula 1 live streams for free. This is not a long-term solution, but it does mean you can stream the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for F1?

There are a number of streaming-friendly VPNs out there, but ExpressVPN remains the best service for streaming sport:

  • Servers in 94 countries including Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg

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

  • Strict no-logging policy so your data is protected

  • Fast streaming speeds free from throttling

  • Up to five simultaneous connections

  • 30-day money-back guarantee

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

Watch the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix for free with ExpressVPN.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Broken moon lander beams back a final poignant photo — of Earth

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 12:00

A spacecraft on the moon is lying on its side. It snapped a leg while landing. And now it's lost power.

But before the freezing, two-week lunar night swept over Intuitive Machines' Odysseus moon lander, the robotic craft beamed back one final transmission from space. It shows the cratered grey surface spreading to the lunar horizon. And if you look closely, near top-left you can spot a crescent of shadowed Earth in the distance.

"Before its power was depleted, Odysseus completed a fitting farewell transmission," Houston-based Intuitive Machines posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Feb. 29.

SEE ALSO: Why landing a spaceship on the moon is still so challenging

"Received today, this image from February 22nd showcases the crescent Earth in the backdrop, a subtle reminder of humanity’s presence in the universe," the company, which became the first to land a commercial mission on the moon, added. "Goodnight, Odie. We hope to hear from you again."

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Indeed, Odysseus may awake from its slumber in mid-March when solar rays hit the lander's solar panels. Japan's space agency, JAXA, has a lander (SLIM, which landed upside-down in January) that recently awoke from a similar lunar night. But plummeting temperatures, dropping to some minus 250 degrees Fahrenheit, can damage essential components.

While Odysseus' landing wasn't perfect, NASA, which provided $118 million for the mission, hailed the challenging Feb. 22 touchdown as a success. Even in a compromised state, the lander beamed back scientific data from all of NASA's equipment, which included research into space weather and interactions between the spacecraft's plume and the moon's chalky surface.

"We hope to hear from you again."

The mission is part of the space agency's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which picks companies to deliver NASA missions to the moon. This frees the agency, already burdened with an ambitious timeline to return astronauts to the moon under the Artemis program, from having to completely plan and fund missions leading up to human landings. Such a crewed mission won't happen before 2026.

The completed Intuitive Machines lander before launching to the moon. Credit: Intuitive Machines

"This landing marked the United States’ first lunar landing since Apollo 17, as well as the first landing as part of our Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, which aims to expand the lunar economy to support future crewed Artemis missions," NASA said in a statement.

Odysseus landed near the lunar south pole, a coveted region for future exploration, and potentially moon bases. The south pole's permanently-shadowed craters are believed to preserve bounties of water ice, an invaluable resource for extended lunar missions — and for journeys to worlds beyond.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Scientists zoom in on distant solar system. It's teeming with water.

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 11:30

Astronomers are excited about this one.

Using a sprawling astronomical array in the lofty Chilean desert — the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) — scientists found huge volumes of water around a young, developing solar system (technically still in its "protoplanetary disk" phase). The star, HL Tauri, is located 450 light-years away in space. Yet in the disk around HL Tauri, the powerful observatory was able to spot at least three times the amount of water contained in Earth's oceans.

"It is truly remarkable that we can not only detect but also capture detailed images and spatially resolve water vapour at a distance of 450 light-years from us," Leonardo Testi, an astronomer at the University of Bologna who worked on the observation, said in a statement.

SEE ALSO: NASA found a super-Earth. It's in a tantalizing place.

But that's not all.

In the inner disk of material churning around the young star is a visible gap — an indication of where a planet could be forming. That's where the water is.

"I had never imagined that we could capture an image of oceans of water vapour in the same region where a planet is likely forming," Stefano Facchini, an astronomer at the University of Milan who led the research, explained. The research was recently published in the science journal Nature Astronomy.

"I had never imagined that we could capture an image of oceans of water vapour in the same region where a planet is likely forming."

In the image below, the blue-colored regions show where the water molecules exist. The red-colored areas are rings of dust orbiting the star (HL Tauri) that resembles our sun (when it was much younger).

The ALMA telescope array, located at 16,597 feet (5,058 meters) in the profoundly dry Atacama, is an array of 66 telescopes that work in unison to effectively create a sprawling radio telescope. Radio waves, which are a type of energy or light naturally produced by objects all over the cosmos (like visible light or X-rays), are captured by ALMA's large antennae.

Water in the inner disk around the developing star HL Tauri. Credit: ALMA (ESO / NAOJ / NRAO) / S. Facchini et al. The dust-filled region of space, in the constellation Taurus, where the developing star HL Tauri is located. Credit: ESO / Digitized Sky Survey 2

Over the coming millions of years, a likely forming planet may incorporate this water as the molecules freeze onto dust particles, which can amass into the bigger objects that form planets.

It's much too early to say if a water world may one day exist around the star HL Tauri. But astronomers have found evidence of ocean-covered planets in the cosmos. And it's possible that watery worlds and moons, like Enceladus and Europa in our solar system, are common objects in our Milky Way galaxy.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Explore 'X-Files' creator Chris Carter's mind with this curious art exhibit

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 11:00

With The X-Files, Chris Carter became a living legend of science fiction. Not only did he give television audiences the ultimate odd couple in pragmatic Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and spooky believer Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), but week after week the show creator unleashed a new and scary paranormal mystery for audiences to obsess over. The show ran for 11 seasons, won 16 Emmys, spawned two feature films, made global celebrities of its stars, and spurred a generation to want to believe. And with a reboot in the works through Ryan Coogler, there's fresh reason to revisit the classic series. 

But there's much more to the now 67-year-old Chris Carter than simply being the fascinating mind behind The X-Files, and fans can get a glimpse into his depths with his new art show, "The Chris Carter Collection." Now running at Legacy Media West in Los Angeles, the exhibition not only includes memorabilia from his X-Files days, but also an ode to Hello Kitty, some personal mementos, and a curious set of hate plates. 

Mashable spoke with Carter about his collection, beginning with a large banner that you can't miss as you enter. It reads "My Crowning Achievement" in gold letters over a backdrop made up of prints of Hello Kitty. 

Why would the creator of one of the most iconic sci-fi shows include Sanrio's iconic cat in his show? As Chris Carter himself told us as we toured the exhibit, "It's up for interpretation." 

SEE ALSO: Watching 'True Detective: Night Country'? Chase it with this 'X-Files' episode.

Perhaps it shouldn't come as a shock that Carter's creative mind would incorporate into his own show a plethora of art — including photos, paintings, murals, and even surfboards — that will have you standing, staring, and questioning every intricate detail of not only the art itself, but also the person behind it. 

The collection as a whole doesn't solely transport you back to The X-Files universe, Carter warned. While there is memorabilia and UFO imagery, it's not predominantly X-Files-centric. 

But don't you worry, X-philes, Carter's show has enough sci-fi goodies to keep you satisfied. We wager Mulder and Scully would be pleased. 

The X-Files memorabilia doesn't disappoint. Credit: Legacy Media West

As you walk through the exhibit, you’ll see a director's chair from the set of the show, first-edition magazine covers featuring Duchovny and Anderson, and a real deep-cut: a how-to guide on taking care of William the Rabbit, a bunny plushie named after Mulder and Scully's son that fans transported around the world before presenting him as a gift to Carter as a thank you for the show's 10th season. As Carter said, "He’s been literally touched by fans all over the world."  

But for even the most die-hard fans, there is one piece in the X-Files section of the exhibit that might have you scratching your head. It's a framed photo of former president Ronald Reagan. Carter explained the movie star-turned-commander-in-chief was a fan of the show, and had personally written Carter a note saying, "The truth is out there." 

Credit: Legacy Media West

In a career full of big moments, it's one of Carter's most treasured. For us as fans, how does it feel to know the 40th president had such love for extraterrestrials? What did he know?

The presidential influence on Carter's collection doesn’t end with Ronald Reagan. In another room, you'll be intrigued by a variety of dinner plates intended as a dubious tribute to a president of whom Carter is less fond. 

What’s up with dinner plates and Donald Trump? Credit: Legacy Media West

Carter was particularly passionate about his so-called "Hate Plates," six dinner plates he hand-painted with words describing former President Donald Trump. Or at least, we think they’re about Trump. 

When asked about the origin of the hate plates, Carter said each plate describes "he who shall not be named but is often referred to as 'Orange.'" The words on the plates — some of which include curse-laden insults — reflect labels Carter heard, read, or enjoyed over cocktail-hour conversations about the unnamed inspiration. 

"All the words you didn't see on the news about Orange, that weren’t allowed to be said on TV," Carter teased, "but that people felt about him, like 'fuck face,' and 'asshole' …. These are the words I heard used the most and decided needed to be on the plates."

But why dinner plates? Could this all be an indication of family dinners gone wrong? Just like most of the art here, "it's up for interpretation," said Carter. 

"Manic and Xanax" are muses. Credit: Legacy Media West

Central to the exhibit is a ceiling-tall collection of photographs named "Manic and Xanax," all of which were taken by Carter himself. Each picture contains the same tree located in the same desert plain, but each print has its own unique color scheme from purple to yellow to green and more. Each offers a different perspective of the tree — some up close, some far away — but all are of the same tree in the same desert. So, what’s with the name? And why all the different colors and depths? 

These pieces are representative of how you see when you take a Xanax, with the colors swirling around, altering perceptions, explained Carter.  

Everyone’s reaction to prescription drugs can be different, but, from the pop of the colors to the depth perception of each picture, if you look at "Manic and Xanax" long enough, it takes you to a relaxing meditative state where your mind is artistically sedated.

Carter welcomes a new generation of X-Files fans. Credit: Legacy Media West

Thirty years since the program first made its debut, Carter still is close with its stars. "I talk to David and Gillian often, David almost daily," he said.

Although Carter has since moved on from his X-Files writing and continues to craft more art, he said, "I miss the collective energy of a crew and a cast who are working to make something great."  

He has high hopes for the new cast and crew that are set to be a part of the newly announced X-Files reboot. Carter is not involved in the production, but he believes that Ryan Coogler, who is set to helm the new series, will satisfy not only fans of old but also attract a new generation of X-Files devotees. "I'll be watching and enjoying it from home," Carter said, "as a fan."

The Chris Carter Collection is on display at Legacy West Media until March 10. Visits are available on Saturday by appointment only.

Categories: IT General, Technology

With the arrival of K-pop stars, fans turn their attention to Fashion Week metrics

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 11:00

The newest front-row fixture at Fashion Week? Fanwars.

As luxury brands learn to leverage the star power of K-pop idols, their social media accounts have become a battleground for fandoms looking for new ways to quantify their influence. During Paris Fashion Week, fans created multiple Instagram accounts to boost engagement on posts by their favorite idol. Their goal? To drive up the star's media value and increase their desirability in the eyes of luxury fashion houses.

SEE ALSO: A Eulogy for V Live, K-Pop's Library of Alexandria

If you spend any time online, you're likely familiar with the basic competitive tenants of stan culture. For years, the fandoms of Western artists — from Beyonce's Beyhive and Ariana Grande's Arianators to Taylor Swift's Swifties and Justin Bieber's Beliebers — gathered in digital spaces on Tumblr and Twitter (now X) to debate the superiority of their favorite pop star.

But the global rise of K-pop has propelled new forms of comparison. One of the easiest ways to quantify success was touting album sales and chart positions. Then fans began taking note of the YouTube view counts of music videos, like the 24-hour feats achieved by top K-pop acts like BTS and Blackpink. By the time music awards shows realized they could get in on the action and created new categories that pandered to K-pop groups and their fandoms in 2022 and 2023, fans were sharp enough to see through the conceit.

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By comparison, fashion partnerships feel fresh and authentic. The industry is a natural fit for K-pop, an art form which prioritizes aesthetic mystique above all else. 

The undoubted leaders in relationship building between K-pop bands and brands has been girl group Blackpink, who have aligned themselves with high fashion labels for years, to great effect. "No one loved Blackpink more in 2021 than the fashion industry," wrote Vogue that year. It's surprising, then, that the fashion industry has been so slow to embrace other K-pop artists.

In 2024, they finally seem to be finding the right rhythm. Instead of adopting entire groups as ambassadors, most brands prefer to pick off individual members that best align with their ethos, choosing to seat one member at a runway show instead of half a dozen. There are exceptions, of course. The seven-member group Enhypen, for example, attended Prada's Milan Fashion Week show in fall 2023 and now serve as official ambassadors for the brand.

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And as fashion has turned its focus to K-pop, fans have turned their focus to fashion.

When YouTube records were en vogue, fans stayed up into the night replaying a music video to increase its view count. Now they're making similar efforts during Fashion Week, creating multiple Instagram accounts to boost the engagement on posts about their favorite idol. They are also teaching others to do the same by publishing step-by-step guides. One such post for Blackpink fans instructed them to comment on, like, and share member Jisoo's Instagram posts when Dior is mentioned, with a goal of achieving between 2 and 5 million likes per post and 100,000 shares.

Tweet may have been deleted

The goal for fans is to increase an idol's Media Value Impact (MIV) and Earned Media Value (EMV), two metrics tracked and reported by the influencer industry. The metrics help show fashion houses how important it is to invite certain idols, and, perhaps more importantly to fans, they serve as cold, hard proof that their star has star power.

Online, fans have been reporting these metrics with pride. A photo of Stray Kids member Hyunjin with actress Anne Hathaway garnered more than 114,000 like on X. Reports shared by fans appeared to show that he had achieved the top MIV ranking at Milan Fashion Week (Feb. 20 through Feb. 26). Other Korean stars held slots two through four. Hathaway was number five.

SEE ALSO: A guide to K-pop fan apps
Categories: IT General, Technology

Jaw-dropping Webb photo reveals how the universe turned its lights on

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 11:00

The universe was once stuck in the Dark Ages.

It was time when, even after the first stars formed, thick gases suffocated their light. Space was dark.

Now, astronomers have used the powerful James Webb Space Telescope — an observatory orbiting 1 million miles from Earth — to reveal what may have ended the dark times and created the clear, observable universe we see today. They pointed the Webb telescope at a region of the cosmos called Pandora's Cluster, a group of galaxies so massive that they warp space, like a bowling ball sitting on a mattress. This creates a curved cosmic lens, magnifying the objects beyond. "Light follows that bend instead of traveling in a straight line, distorting and brightening what’s behind the object," NASA explains.

Using the combined power of this natural lens and the giant Webb telescope, scientists observed some of the faintest, and oldest, galaxies in space. Crucially, they saw these small galaxies (viewed as they were billions of years ago, as this light has taken that long to reach us) were generating huge amounts of ultraviolet light — enough to break down the dense clouds of gas that had saturated space. Ultimately, brilliant starlight was no longer hidden; the light was finally revealed, about 1 billion years after the universe began.

"These cosmic powerhouses collectively emit more than enough energy to get the job done," Hakim Atek, an astronomer at the Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris who led the research, said in a European Space Agency statement. "Despite their tiny size, these low-mass galaxies are prolific producers of energetic radiation, and their abundance during this period is so substantial that their collective influence can transform the entire state of the universe."

SEE ALSO: Webb telescope makes unexpected find in outskirts of our solar system

The research was recently published in the journal Nature. (The end of Dark Ages occurred at a time scientists formally call the era of "reionization." That's because this ultraviolet light, produced by giant stars inside galaxies, changed or "ionized" the thick fog of primordial atoms in the universe.)

"These cosmic powerhouses collectively emit more than enough energy to get the job done."

The Webb image below reveals how astronomers were able to peer so deep into the early cosmos. Here's what you're seeing:

- Pandora's Cluster: This group of massive galaxies are composed of the hazy white objects in the foreground. They create the natural magnification, called a "gravitational lens."

- The red objects: These are the galaxies well beyond Pandora's Cluster. "These lensed sources appear red in the image, and often as elongated arcs distorted by the gravitational lens," the European Space Agency explains. "Many of these are galaxies from the early universe, with their contents magnified and stretched out for astronomers to study."

- A vivid six-pointed object: This conspicuous object is a much closer star in the foreground. Its light has been diffracted by Webb's six-sided mirrors.

Pandora's Cluster producing a lens, called a "gravitational lens," in front of distant galaxies. Credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / I. Labbe (Swinburne University of Technology) / R. Bezanson (University of Pittsburgh) / A. Pagan (STScI) Tweet may have been deleted

Once the Webb telescope viewed such distant, faint galaxies through the cosmic lens, astronomers used an instrument called the Near-InfraRed Spectrograph, or NIRSpec, which separates the light coming from these far-off objects, similar to a prism. This allowed them to measure the ultraviolet radiation emanating from these early galaxies.

It was a whopping four times more radiation than previously thought; enough to end the Dark Ages.

The Webb telescope's powerful abilities

The Webb telescope — a scientific collaboration between NASA, the ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency — is designed to peer into the deepest cosmos and reveal new insights about the early universe. But it's also peering at intriguing planets in our galaxy, along with the planets and moons in our solar system.

Here's how Webb is achieving unparalleled feats, and likely will for decades:

- Giant mirror: Webb's mirror, which captures light, is over 21 feet across. That's over two-and-a-half times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope's mirror. Capturing more light allows Webb to see more distant, ancient objects. As described above, the telescope is peering at stars and galaxies that formed over 13 billion years ago, just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.

"We're going to see the very first stars and galaxies that ever formed," Jean Creighton, an astronomer and the director of the Manfred Olson Planetarium at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, told Mashable in 2021.

- Infrared view: Unlike Hubble, which largely views light that's visible to us, Webb is primarily an infrared telescope, meaning it views light in the infrared spectrum. This allows us to see far more of the universe. Infrared has longer wavelengths than visible light, so the light waves more efficiently slip through cosmic clouds; the light doesn't as often collide with and get scattered by these densely packed particles. Ultimately, Webb's infrared eyesight can penetrate places Hubble can't.

"It lifts the veil," said Creighton.

- Peering into distant exoplanets: The Webb telescope carries specialized equipment called spectrographs that will revolutionize our understanding of these far-off worlds. The instruments can decipher what molecules (such as water, carbon dioxide, and methane) exist in the atmospheres of distant exoplanets — be they gas giants or smaller rocky worlds. Webb will look at exoplanets in the Milky Way galaxy. Who knows what we'll find?

"We might learn things we never thought about," Mercedes López-Morales, an exoplanet researcher and astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics-Harvard & Smithsonian, told Mashable in 2021.

Already, astronomers have successfully found intriguing chemical reactions on a planet 700 light-years away, and as described above, the observatory has started looking at one of the most anticipated places in the cosmos: the rocky, Earth-sized planets of the TRAPPIST solar system.

Engineers working on the Webb telescope's mirrors in 2017. Credit: NASA / Desiree Stover
Categories: IT General, Technology

Study electrical circuits and systems with this $30 learning bundle

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 11:00

TL;DR: As of March 2, save 78% on these electric circuit courses, making them less than $5 each.

While you might know that potatoes can power light bulbs, you may not realize that self-paced, online learning can be the foundation of a successful career. Take this electric circuits bundle as an example — it’s an excellent way to explore a career in electrical engineering without taking out a loan, since it’s only $29.99 (reg. $140).

These courses might also be invaluable for anyone who wants to do home renovations, make electrical repairs, or build DIY projects involving electricity. 

Study engineering with an industry expert

Meet your instructor, Admed Mahdy. He’s an electrical power engineer who’s taught more than 70,000 students around the globe. Potentially the greatest part about his package of courses is you can take them in any order and at your convenience with full lifetime access.

Study, practice, and achieve success

You might begin with the Basic Concepts and Basic Laws of Electric Circuits course to gain an understanding of current, voltage, power, energy, and Ohm’s law. Then, you might take First Order Circuits and AC Circuits for Beginners to learn how capacitors and AC circuits operate.

From there, you can dive into even more complex subjects like operational amplifiers, methods of analysis and theorems of circuits, and series and parallel resonant circuits. There’s even a course on running simulations in MATLAB to get you hands-on experience with electrical systems. Here, you can construct simple circuits, apply essential laws and electrical relationships, and solve problems, all in a safe, digital environment. 

After completing all seven courses, you could feel confident in applying to a true electrical engineering program. Plus, you’ll be starting at a higher level than most other students. Or, you could be equipped for at-home electrical repairs and renovations.

Spark your career or DIY projects with this electric circuits online learning bundle for $29.99 (reg. $140).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Mahdy Academy The 2024 Ultimate Electric Circuits Engineer Course Bundle $29.99 at the Mashable Shop
$140.00 Save $110.01 Get Deal
Categories: IT General, Technology

This documentary streaming platform is $179.97 for life

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 11:00

TL;DR: Satisfy your curiosity with Curiosity Stream, the documentary streaming platform that's always growing. A lifetime subscription is on sale for just $179.97 through March 3 — that's 55% in savings.

Reading is great, but there's something special about sitting back and letting your interests fall over you in a stunning visual display, whether it's images of natural beauty, stories of historical significance, or cool technology poised to change the world. If you can't get enough quality documentaries, try a platform dedicated to them. 

Curiosity Stream has a huge library of educational content, and it's yours to watch for life when you get a lifetime subscription for only $179.97 through March 3.

Explore your every interest

Time to dial up the documentary quality and quantity with a platform dedicated entirely to educational content. Curiosity Stream unlocks a world of fascinating content on a huge range of subjects from history to science to technology to grisly true crime stories you can't look away from. Explore the massive Curiosity Stream library through content collections, curated playlists, or even by searching for your favorite narrator. There are even celebrity narrators, so keep your ears out for voices you recognize. 

Curiosity Steam specializes in educational content, and they've got it down with docs that have won major awards like Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places, which won an Emmy. Plus, you can stream all this fun content across multiple devices, so you're never far from your next new fixation. 

Satisfy your curiosities

There's always something new, interesting, and educational to watch when you have Curiosity Stream at your fingertips. 

Until March 3 at 11:59 p.m. PT, you can get the best price online for a Curiosity Stream lifetime subscription at just $179.97. No coupon needed. 

StackSocial prices subject to change.

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Categories: IT General, Technology

Stream on the big screen with this Bluetooth projector for only $170

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 11:00

TL;DR: As of March 2, the AAXA L500 Bluetooth Projector is on sale for $169.97 instead of $199.99 — that's 15% in savings for a limited time.

Movie night at home in front of the tv may be cozy, but there's a way to add a little authenticity and bring home that theater ambiance, and it might be cheaper than you think. Home theaters aren't just for people who can afford a dedicated screening room anymore. 

With the AAXa L500 WiFi Smart Projector, you can put your movies and shows on a big screen for just $169.97. 

Take movie night almost anywhere

The AAXA L500 Projector is an immersive movie experience you don't need to leave the house for. You bring the popcorn, and the AAXA brings the cinematic experience with full 1080p resolution and a 16:9 aspect ratio for stunning images on your big screen. This little projector even has built-in 10W speakers and Bluetooth connectivity, so you could hook it up to your own heavy-duty sound system for an even more immersive experience. 

It may be small, but this projector is compatible with 120-inch displays and also has a variety of options for how you get your movie on the screen. Connect via HDMI, AV, or USB. You could even mirror your Android device onto the projector, great for easy movie watching or intense gaming. 

Your home theater can travel

It's time to take your movie-watching to the next level. Or, you can take it camping. When the projector is portable, it's totally up to you.

Until March 3 at 11:59 p.m. PT, get this portable Bluetooth smart projector on sale for only $169.97. No coupon code needed. 

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: AAXA Technologies AAXA L500 Bluetooth Smart Projector $169.97 at The Mashable Shop
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Categories: IT General, Technology

Score a portable handheld pocket LCD microscope for $82

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 11:00

TL;DR: For a limited time, get the Portable Handheld Pocket 4-inch Screen LCD Microscope for only $82 — that's an 18% discount.

This isn't the average microscope you used in science class. The Portable Handheld Pocket LCD Microscope with a 4-inch Screen is designed to provide a clear display of the micro-world so you can easily view your subject.

At the heart of this microscope, its impressive 4-inch LCD screen provides a clear display of the micro-world directly at your fingertips. Say goodbye to squinting through traditional eyepieces — this microscope offers a viewing experience that is both comfortable and immersive.

Equipped with a powerful 2,000mAh rechargeable battery, this handheld microscope allows you to take your exploration on the go. Another great feature is its jaw-dropping detail, thanks to its high resolution and magnification capabilities. Featuring a 2MP camera and 1080FHD picture quality, this microscope brings the smallest specimens to life with impressive clarity. Plus, with 80x more magnification and built-in 8 adjustable LED lights, you can delve deeper into the micro-world than ever before.

Designed for ultimate portability, this 7-inch x 5-inch microscope weighs less than half a pound and comes with a convenient wrist strap and carrying bag. Whether you're hiking through nature or conducting experiments in the lab, this microscope is always ready to take with you on your adventures or assignments.

With the included microSD card, you can take snapshots or record videos of whatever you observe, and easily transfer them to your computer for further analysis as it's compatible with both PC and Mac. Simply connect it to your computer via USB and download the necessary software. 

The great aspect about this microscope is, it’s ideal for both children and adults. Children can go on exciting adventures in nature, and adults can use it for certain tasks such as coin inspection or soldering.

Get the Portable Handheld Pocket LCD Microscope with 4-inch Screen at its discounted price of $81.99 (reg. $100) for a limited time.

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Categories: IT General, Technology

Get 1TB of cloud storage with no recurring fees for $140

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 11:00

TL;DR: This lifetime cloud storage plan is only $139.97 with coupon KOOFR until March 3.

Keeping all your files in order is practically a job of its own, whether you're actually at work or just keeping up your files from school or managing your house. Important text documents, pictures, and videos all have to go somewhere, and if you don't have a large enough central file storage, that means spreading them out and potentially losing some of them. 

If you want to keep all your important files in one place, get some cloud storage that actually has room for all of them and doesn't depend on another monthly bill. Koofr has a 1TB lifetime cloud storage plan that you can use to keep all your important files together in one secure location, and you can get it for only $139.97 for just a little while longer. 

1TB cloud storage for life

This cloud storage gives you 1TB to use as you please. Access it across devices, including your mobile, PC, or even WebDav platform. Koofr doesn't just give you tools to store all your files. When you have that much storage space, managing your files is important too. That's why Koofr comes with tools like the Duplicate Finder and a customizable link appearance to keep your files easy to navigate and always accessible. You can even set up encrypted file transfers and storage for that extra layer of protection.

Some cloud storage services cost every month. With Koofr, you pay for it once and it's yours. There aren't any hidden fees or recurring costs. You can even share access to files with others who don't have a Koofr account. 

Keep your important files safe

Time to give your files a forever home. 

Grab a Koofr Cloiud Storage 1TB lifetime plan for $139.97 with coupon code KOOFR until March 3 at 11:59 p.m. PT. 

StackSocial prices subject to change. 

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Categories: IT General, Technology

'A Different Man' review: Sebastian Stan leads a stunning, self-reflexive drama on representation

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 11:00

A film that's as much about its own gimmick as what that gimmick represents, Aaron Schimberg's A Different Man casts Sebastian Stan as Edward, a man with pronounced facial differences that he eventually sheds through a miracle cure. However, when a now traditionally handsome Edward is cast in a play about his own life, the thorny question of artistic representation is broached in discomforting and hilarious ways.

However, the film doesn't just draw attention to its decision to cast a pretty Hollywood face as a man with neurofibromatosis. That would be too easy an escape hatch, and too superficial a character study. Instead, it further complicates its questions of optics and politics by having a real actor with the same condition as Edward play a significant role in the film: Adam Pearson, who is known for appearing in Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin, after which he became a public advocate against "disfigurement stigma." Pearson also starred in Schimberg's 2018 film Chained For Life.

Pearson’s charismatic arrival, as a man who threatens to usurp the role of Edward from himself, sends Edward down a surreal emotional spiral. This on-screen clash of fiction and reality not only forces a strange, poignant self-reflection — for Edward, and for the film as a whole — but it also creates an fascinating meta-text that tells its own story about the actors in the film. It's as much a tale of outward appearance as it is inner anxieties, a balance Schimberg strikes in careful ways as he crafts a stunning, distinctly New York comedy-drama about seeing oneself.

What is A Different Man about? Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, and Adam Pearson star in "A Different Man." Credit: Berlinale Film Festival

As Edward mopes around his apartment building, avoiding interactions as best he can, neighbors and various handymen alternatingly stare and offer polite but forced nods, as though it takes them special effort to avoid mentioning his differences. Edward is an actor, and not an altogether terrible one, though his roles are limited — not only by his appearance, but by his utter lack of self-confidence. Edward is halfway between invisible and hyper-visible; some don't see him as fully human or as a viable romantic interest, while others stop and stare. He exists in limbo, trudging along day by day in his cramped, dilapidated New York apartment, which Schimberg and cinematographer Wyatt Garfield capture with a sense of grimy texture.

When Ingrid (Renate Reinsve), an attractive wannabe playwright from Europe, moves in next door, Edward's prospects finally seem to change. After an initial skepticism, she takes a curious interest in him, and even offers to write a play for him to star in. However, his lack of conversational skills can't help but create an awkward dynamic whenever they chat, as though he were some pet project for her to foster. Whatever the reality, Edward's hunched-over body language and mousey demeanor hint at a kind of emotional impenetrability, as though he'll read the worst in any situation because it's the treatment he's come to expect.

However, when a radical medical procedure verging on sci-fi body horror promises him a new life, Edward takes advantage of it in a very literal way, using his new face to start a brand new life and "killing off" the old Edward as though he were a fictional character. Time goes by, and he finds professional success in real estate — a forward-facing career — as a handsome man named Guy. But upon discovering Ingrid has written a play about his life, his curiosity gets the better of him, and he auditions with the help of a flimsy prosthetic mask.

Although Ingrid intends to cast someone with facial differences in the role, which she insists she didn't base on any real person, Guy's performance convinces her that he’s a miraculously a perfect fit, despite the fact that he doesn't have any facial differences. He embodies all of Edward's gestures and his physical and emotional  anguish, even in scenes where Ingrid imagines conversations and inner monologues that don't match what we’ve seen unfold between them in previous scenes, back when Guy was still Edward. The play, it seems, is born from Ingrid’s limited, patronizing perspective on Edward. The more this stage production goes on, the more Edward is forced to reckon with the past, and with realizations the film presents through stark, unsettling zooms into his bewildered expression. Despite having a new face, he may still be the same lonely, miserable person on the inside; perhaps now more than ever, since now he has no one with whom he can share the truth about who he once was.

Sebastian Stan delivers an impeccable performance.

As an actor playing two versions of a character, and subsequently playing a third, fictitious version — one he can't play too well, lest he be found out — Stan is shouldered with a monumentally complex task. The prosthetics used to craft his differences allow him to emote within reason, but posture and movement are the tools through which he constructs Edward. 

Not only does Stan perfect the ticks and eccentricities of a decidedly average actor (i.e. the real Edward pre-procedure), but when he's reborn as Guy and cast as Ingrid's conception of Edward, he crafts a sense of metamorphosis and regression. As the traditionally good-looking Guy playing this Edward, he delves deep into the vulnerable anxieties the character had begun to suppress as part of his new life, if only to try and bring some amount of honesty to a role he believes is dishonest. 

These multi-layered complexities yield fascinating scenes of rehearsal and rewriting, bringing to the fore the film's innate question of whether people far outside Edward's physical and emotional experience are capable of telling his story. Ironically, the side the movie seems to come down on is a hesitant "maybe not," at least as far as Ingrid is concerned. But Schimberg is not Ingrid, and he's under no delusions of passing off Edward as a work of pure imagination.

This is largely because to anyone who's seen Pearson before — whether in a movie, a TEDx Talk, or his numerous wrestling game show appearances — it's clear that Edward, played by Stan, is distinctly modeled off Pearson, and the story practically exists so that he can show up in some capacity. The very knowledge that Pearson is involved with the film, and that Schimberg has worked with him before, colors A Different Man in a new light, and brings a wholly external context to Stan's performance. 

Of course, even without this knowledge, this context remains discomforting. Either way, Stan is playing a man he theoretically shouldn't be, the same way Guy wearing prosthetics to play Edward ought to be seen as ill-advised to those around him (due to the problematic nature of "performing" physical disability and of robbing a disabled actor of a rare opportunity). However, Guy's in-world explanation for Ingrid as to why he's able to so deeply tap into the character of Edward is illuminating too. He concocts a lie about having once been best friends with someone with facial differences, which he claims not only gives him license to tell this story but allows him to tell it intimately and empathetically.

This is likely akin to Schimberg's own reasoning too. Having become friends with Pearson after their collaboration on Chained For Life — a film that embodies similar debates — he has made an entire movie "about" him in numerous ways, treating him as both concept and human being... But who does Pearson play in the movie? Well, that's an entirely different delight.

While watching the film, one might be inclined to believe it features the best work of Stan's career; it even won him Berlin Film Festival's Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance. However, even this praise is designed to be second-guessed at the back of one's mind, since his role is one that projects a life of awkwardness and isolation onto Edward from people outside his experience — another idea the movie self-reflexively lampoons through debates between Guy and Ingrid. And just when it seems like this moral conundrum is one the film might avoid, it crafts an explosive alternative.

All of a sudden, Pearson shows up as an eccentric man named Oswald, an equally curious actor who stumbles upon Ingrid's production. From the moment he appears, he delivers a performance so radical in its conception that he fundamentally changes what A Different Man is even about.

Adam Pearson is the film's not-so-secret weapon.

Between films like The Elephant Man and Schimberg's Chained for Life, facial differences on screen have been tied closely to pity and moroseness, an idea with which A Different Man constantly toys via Edward's story. However, for anyone familiar with the real Pearson — as Schimberg no doubt is — he appears to be fairly upbeat and well-adjusted, despite speaking about the bullying in his past. The film's plot is about a character with the same condition as Pearson, but Edward's reality doesn't seem to match Pearson's in the slightest. So, in order to further highlight this disconnect, Schimberg writes Pearson a role that swings toward a completely different extreme that vastly reimagines the type of roles that ought to be available to actors regardless of differences, facial or otherwise.

The moment Oswald appears, he passive aggressively comments on Ingrid's casting choice with his posh enunciation — Oswald, like Pearson, hails from London— a small detail that yanks the film in an even more head-spinning direction. Oswald is everything Edward wishes he could be: a brash playboy who reads people like a book, wears ostentatious shirts, and worms his way into social and professional circles with ease.

Pearson plays the role with slick, effortless panache. Each moment he's on-screen is incredibly exciting; Oswald swallows every scene whole, practically sapping Edward's energy as he's forced to confront an uncanny reflection of himself who represents truths he might not want to face. Is this who Edward could've been all along? And, more importantly, is the lie he's living worth it?

The more these questions torture Edward, the more surreal A Different Man becomes. Its very premise starts to feel like a fever dream, buoyed by escalating interpersonal tensions as Oswald forces his way into a consulting role on the play. Slowly but surely, he begins imposing his own, supposedly more "authentic" vision of Edward’s life on Edward's own story, until the question of whether or not Oswald should simply replace Guy in the play becomes unavoidable. The concept of authenticity is so stretched and contorted by these developments that it becomes thematic taffy, with no distinct or solid form.

However, as A Different Man piles layer upon layer of confounding complication, it remains emotionally true to itself, which is to say, both to Edward's increasingly paranoid self-reflection, and to Schimberg's scrutiny of his own work (both this film, as well as Chained For Life). The film neither shies away from its innate surrealness, nor hesitates to get its hands dirty when it comes to real and vital conversations on whose stories can and should be told (and more importantly, how), even though it reflects each of its thoughts on the subject through a funhouse mirror.

By grounding its story in a character drama first and foremost, A Different Man anchors its many plot zig-zags, and its anxieties about its own existence, to a tangible emotional reality. Schimberg walks a razor-thin line between sincere self-critique and gaudy exploitation, and in the process, practically erases the boundary between them. The end result reveals uncomfortably funny new modes of on-screen representation, expressed in ways both innovative and exciting. 

A Different Man was reviewed out of the Berlin International Film Festival.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Best documentaries streaming now on Prime Video

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 11:00

Sometimes real life is stranger than fiction, and sometimes it's just far more fascinating. If you're in the mood for a documentary that'll get your pulse pumping, your heart aching, or your mind running, you'll want to check out Prime Video.

Now streaming on Prime Video is a wealth of mesmerizing true stories, ranging from personal tales of trials and triumph to harrowing crime investigations to quirky and heart-warming explorations of unique creative vision.

Whether you're in the mood for something educational, emotional, or just downright wild, this list of top-notch documentaries has got you covered.

SEE ALSO: The 25 best documentaries on Disney+ 1. Man on Wire Credit: ©2008 Jean-Louis Blondeau / Polaris Images / Magnolia Pictures

Depicting the high wire artist Philippe Petit's mind-boggling 1974 walk on a wire between the Twin Towers in NYC, this doc from filmmaker James Marsh uses rare video footage of Petit's prep along with recreations of the event and current-day interviews with everyone involved to craft a heart-racing heist film. Winning every award within reach, up to and including the Oscar, the film memorializes not just Petit's stunt but also those buildings, and the legend of their monumental status. — Jason Adams, Contributing Writer

How to watch: Man on Wire is now streaming on Prime Video.

2. Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters

The same man who gave us the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park gave us the holographic chess game in Star Wars, the killer bugs in Starship Troopers, and the terrifying Enforcement Droid in RoboCop. That man's name is Phil Tippett, and those are just four of the special effects wizard's credits that this 2019 documentary on the man features. It's all covered in the run up to the long, long, long-delayed release of his stop-motion surrealist masterpiece Mad God — mostly because Tippett could never bring himself to stop tinkering with it – which also gets a lot of much deserved love here. Anyway, we love it when behind-the-scenes cinematic craftspeople of note get their proper due, and Tippett's one of the most deserving there ever was or will be. A magician. — J.A.

How to watch: Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters is now streaming on Prime Video.

3. Living With Chucky

The Child's Play franchise — meaning the slasher films starring Chucky the murderous doll that began in 1988 right up through the TV series that's currently in its third season — has been in the hands of the same people the entire time, save one spin-off reboot that we will not discuss. Namely, creator Don Mancini and his crew of delightful wackadoos. That's given the franchise not just a thematic throughline that the other '80s slasher franchises have lacked, but an actual personal one, since decades of relationships have bloomed behind the scenes. 

And that's the juice that this 2022 doc thrives on. For example, director Kyra Elise Gardner quite literally grew up with Chucky; her dad Tony has been working on make-up and puppeteering for all things Child's Play for decades. That personal touch gives this doc a sweetness and an intimacy, and maybe those are not the words you'd typically associate with a killer doll, but here we are. — J.A.

How to watch: Living With Chucky is now streaming on Prime Video.

4. Dior and I

While a look behind the scenes at the staging a fashion show can often induce terror, director Frédéric Tcheng's 2014 look at the first haute couture collection of Raf Simons for the legendary house is so awash in beauty that you hardly even notice any of that. Narrated via excerpts of Dior's autobiography, which was unpublished and only discovered at the start of the film's production, Dior and I is as intimate and exquisite as the garments themselves. — J.A.

How to watch: Dior and I is now streaming on Prime Video.

5. Jiro Dreams of Sushi Credit: Magnolia Pictures

David Gelb's 2011 doc trains its eye on sushi chef Jiro Ono, the then-85-year-old owner and sushi master behind Sukiyabashi Jiro. This tiny sushi bar only has ten seats and is based inside a subway station in Tokyo, and yet it's the first sushi restaurant to ever receive three stars from Michelin. (It's since lost its stars due to its reservation policy.) Given the fact that Jiro has been making sushi since he was seven years old, and he opened Sukiyabashi Jiro in 1965, you can assume he knows a thing or two about fish. 

The film also gets to know Jiro's two sons, one of whom started his own sushi restaurant nearby, and the other who still toils under his father, preparing to take over when he passes. This portrait of lifelong obsession manages to capture that ineffable something we all long for — to live the life we were made for, to discover the thing we were destined for, and to find what looks like peace through it every day. — J.A. 

How to watch: Jiro Dreams of Sushi is now streaming on Prime Video.

6. The Queen of Versailles Credit: Photo by Lauren Greenfield / Magnolia Pictures

Movies like Saltburn have proven that the time has definitely arrived for mid-aughts nostalgia. And there might be no better time capsule of that decade than this 2012 doc from Generation Wealth filmmaker Lauren Greenfield. Like one of the decade's celebrity-driven reality series (think The Osbournes or anything involving Paris Hilton) sharpened into a hari-kari sword, The Queen of Versailles wades into the nouveau riche cesspool of Westgate Resorts' owners Jackie and David Siegel's lifestyles of the rich and gaudy. 

Watching them build their obscene Florida mansion in 2008 — which Jackie, with typical understatement, has dubbed "Versailles" — as the economy crashes around them is certainly a metaphor for American excess, as are the piles of feces left behind by their army of toy dogs. A guilty pleasure writ large, magnified by the subjects' total inability to solve their own problems (or keep a pet lizard alive). — J.A.

How to watch: The Queen of Versailles is now streaming on Prime Video.

7. One Child Nation

In China between the years 1979 and 2015, the government had a one-child policy; because of the surging population, families were "encouraged" to only have a single child. In Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang's 2019 documentary, they interviewed both the enforcers of that policy and the enforced-upon, and a picture of genuine horror emerges. 

The propaganda from the era seems downright goofy, but it had a chilling effect. Infanticide and human trafficking ran rampant. But the most moving parts of the doc are the ones seen from the ground level, especially from within Wang's family, where her own mother speaks of the terrible decisions she had to make. — J.A.

How to watch: One Child Nation is now streaming on Prime Video.

8. Nelly and Nadine

Looking for blossoms of hope within tales of the Holocaust can sometimes feel like a fool's errand, but Magnus Gertten's 2022 documentary about a love affair between two women who met in a concentration camp somehow manages that moving feat. Sylvie Bianchi spent most of her life too afraid to look into her grandmother Nelly's letters about her time in the female-only Ravensbrück camp. Once Sylvie does look into Nelly's letters, she discovers a a secret love story between her grandmother and another woman named Nadine. Somehow, these two women managed to find love amid all the horror, and years later they reunited and ran off to Venezuela to be together. It's astonishing stuff, and a reminder of how facing the worst imaginable thing will make the beauty in life shine all the brighter.  — J.A. 

How to watch: Nelly and Nadine is now streaming on Prime Video.

9. Blackfish Credit: Photo by Suzanne Allee / Magnolia Pictures

Blackfish focuses on the awful tale of Tilikum, a male orca whale driven to extremes of aggression by his captivity at SeaWorld. Filmmaker Gabriela Cowperthwaite's incendiary documentary paints a horrifyingly vivid portrait of the reality behind those charming tourist attractions and the cruelty of keeping these intelligent creatures in captivity. Within just three years of the film's release, all such shows were phased out completely, so successful was the film at exposing the truth behind these alluring tourist attractions. — J.A.

How to watch: Blackfish is now streaming on Prime Video.

10. Gimme Danger

Gimme Danger is the definitive document of punk rock's origin point. The Stooges were so far ahead of their time they'd made three records and broken up before anybody could even realize what they'd done. Jim Jarmusch spent about ten years working on the doc, which comes to a head with their 2010 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And everybody still alive to tell the wild tale happily tells their version of it. Of course it's Iggy, who's spent several decades hogging the spotlight, who walks away with the show yet again. — J.A.

How to watch: Gimme Danger is now streaming on Prime Video.

11. Silver Dollar Road

After 2016's I Am Not Your Negro and 2021's Exterminate All the Brutes, it's safe to say that director Raoul Peck is one of the greats working today. 2023's Silver Dollar Road, which is based on the 2019 ProPublica article "Kicked Off The Land" by Lizzie Presser, triple underlines that statement. The film tells the ongoing multi-generational story of the Reels family, whose prime slice of waterfront property in North Carolina became the focus of some greedy real estate developers. In just 100 minutes, it manages to be both a beautiful portrait of a loving family and an infuriating excavation of American institutionalized racism at work. — J.A.

How to watch: Silver Dollar Road is now streaming on Prime Video.

12. Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

Based on the juicy and sordid autobiography of infamous Hollywood hustler Scotty Bowers, this 2017 documentary from director Matt Tyrnauer leaves it up to us the viewers to decide how much of Bowers's fiction is fact and how much is, you know, fiction. However, his gossip is so good that it's a great time either way, whether you truly believe it or not. 

Bowers tells of his post-military sojourn to Los Angeles in the 1940s, where he became a full-service gas station attendant — emphasis on "full service." His story goes that all the guys who worked there were sex workers who fully serviced the rich and famous, both men and women, though it's mostly the former tales he's telling. A lot of Scotty's stories, like all the stuff about super-agent Henry Willson's stable of pretty boy actors like Rock Hudson and Tab Hunter, have been confirmed elsewhere, but we'll probably never know how much is the true true. — J.A.

How to watch: Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood is now streaming on Prime Video.

13. Val Credit: Courtesy of Amazon Studios

Val Kilmer is one of the greats, without question. He's played Batman and The Doors frontman Jim Morrison. His performance in Tombstone as Doc Holliday is a frequently quoted cult hit that's inspired any number of memes. And he's Hollywood's best Moses to date, with his star turn in The Prince of Egypt, an animated retelling of the Passover story from 1998, far exceeding that of Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments.

In Val, the famed actor who largely fell out of public view in the mid-2010s as he battled throat cancer, bares his whole self. Kilmer himself created many of the home movies and behind-the-scenes clips featured in this Amazon Original documentary, and they're weaved together here to paint a picture of his life and career. Featuring narration from Kilmer's son Jack and words written by the actor himself, Val is about as personal as a biographical documentary can get. — Adam Rosenberg, Video Game Reporter

Where to watch: Val is now streaming on Prime Video.

14. Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown Credit: Simon Pietri / Shutterstock

Released in 2014, the same year the late Chadwick Boseman starred as the Godfather of Soul in the biopic Get On Up, Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown plays like a fitting companion piece. But with an accomplished documentarian like Alex Gibney at the helm, Mr. Dynamite more than stands on its own.

Highlighted by a wealth of rare archival materials showing the funk and soul superstar during his early days, the film chronicles Brown's career from his time playing for Black audiences when the American Civil Rights movement was still taking shape, all the way into his mainstreamed blockbuster success. While Mr. Dynamite's largely uncritical look falls short on chronicling Brown's later years, there are more than enough archival materials and fascinating revelations to sustain this two-hour trip through music history. — A.R.

Where to watch: Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown is now streaming on Prime Video.

15. The Imposter

Bart Layton's retelling of the extremely curious 1997 case of the French conman Frédéric Bourdin presents us with one of those true stories that seems too baffling to believe – indeed, when the 2009 horror film Orphan stole this documentary's big revelation, it came to be considered one of the greatest horror movie twists of all time! But the twist is indeed based in truth, as Bourdin was able to impersonate a missing Texan boy and “happily reunite” with the boy’s family, even though he was several years older, had a French accent, and didn’t much look like the boy at all. The power of belief is a powerful force indeed. — J.A.

Where to watch: The Imposter is now streaming on Prime Video.

16. Koyaanisqatsi Credit: Ire Prods / Kobal / Shutterstock

This one is definitely a vibe – Godfrey Reggio's experimental 1983 documentary Koyaanisqatsi (which translates to "life out of balance" in the Hopi language) is 86 minutes of non-narrative, dialogue-free images of the natural world and the technological world interacting, all set to the smooth tunes of Philip Glass. Gorgeous images of the desert meet terrifying footage of atomic bombs detonating. Buildings are collapsed, and crowds of city people pulse in slow motion.

The first and best-known of Reggio's "Qatsi" trilogy of films – followed by Powaqqatsi in 1988 and Naqoyqatsi in 2002 – Koyaanisqatsi was almost impossible to see for a couple of decades, so definitely seize the chance to immerse yourself in this tone poem of cinema distilled to its most basic essence while you've got it. — J.A.

Where to watch: Koyaanisqatsi is now streaming on prime Video.

17. The Howlin' Wolf Story

Chester Burnett, the Howlin' Wolf himself: Hear that voice once, and you'll never forget it. Burnett's raspy, tortured growl is the sound of a freight train moaning at midnight, and it's just one piece of the portrait painted in filmmaker Don McGlynn's The Howlin' Wolf Story.

The legendary Chicago bluesman left an indelible mark on culture and rock music specifically, as the originator of what are now bona fide blues standards, like "Spoonful" and "Smokestack Lightnin'." This documentary recounts Burnett's early days spent learning under Charley Patton, his travels with Robert Johnson, his impact on the Rolling Stones (and music in general), and the larger-than-life energy he brought to every stage he set foot on as the Wolf. — A.R.

Where to watch: The Howlin' Wolf Story is now streaming on Prime Video.

18. No No: A Dockumentary Credit: Ray Stubblebine / AP / Shutterstock

No No: A Dockumentary has one hell of a powerful hook: Dock Ellis, the late Major League Baseball pro who is its subject, once pitched a no-hitter as a Pittsburgh Pirate while tripping his face off on LSD.

Wild as it is, that incident is, of course, just a moment in a much larger and more complex life. Director Jeffrey Radice assembles his picture of Ellis from interviews with friends, family, and former teammates, bolstering the production even further with a generous helping of archival materials — including words from Ellis himself.

No No is a thorough look at the man behind the moment. The documentary anchors itself in that moment only to highlight and heighten the life that led to and followed it. We come away with a deeper understanding of who Ellis was, the various forces that shaped his life, and the highs and lows that characterized his journey. — A.R.

Where to watch: No No: A Dockumentary is now streaming on Prime Video.

19. Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles

Even if you know every word to Broadway bangers like "If I Were a Rich Man" and "Tradition," there's still a good chance you don't know the full history and impact of the play from which they hail: Fiddler on the Roof. Well, Jews and goyim alike should settle in for Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles, because it's a thoroughly enjoyable look at one of Broadway's all-time greats.

This documentary from Max Lewkowicz examines the 1964 musical from Jerry Bock (music), Sheldon Harnick (lyrics), and Joseph Stein (book) and the difficult road it took to reach the stage. Fiddler on the Roof's provocative setting and themes — the story is set against the backdrop of early 20th century Russia, a time when the local Jewish population faced intense persecution — as well as its full-force dive into Jewish culture made it a tough sell initially.

The doubters were ultimately proven wrong, as Lewkowicz's documentary illustrates. With more than 3,000 performances — the first Broadway show to hit this milestone — and an equally captivating 1971 film adaptation from director Norman Jewison, Fiddler on the Roof left its mark and then some. Featuring interviews and insights from luminaries like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Harvey Fierstein, and Jewison himself, Fiddler is must-watch material for any fan of Broadway past and present. — A.R.

Where to watch: Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles is now streaming on Prime Video.

SEE ALSO: The best 90s movies on Prime Video for when you want to get nostalgic 20. Good Night Oppy Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video

No matter how much you thought you wanted the titular star of Pixar's animated masterpiece WALL-E to be real, it's guaranteed to only be a fraction of how badly Good Night Oppy director Ryan White and his cast of NASA nerds wanted WALL-E to be real, because they set out with this movie to anthropomorphize the dickens out of their Mars rover called Opportunity. (Or "Oppy" for cutesy short.)

While it is at times a bit much — like when listening to these serious scientists insist their hunk of metal doo-dads they've shipped 230 million miles away totally has a personality — Good Night Oppy doesn't lack for celestial splendor. And making the little can-do robot at its center the audience stand-in does often result in a true sense of the enormity of this mission, and the odds they all faced, both real and imagined. — J.A.

Where to watch: Good Night Oppy is now streaming on Prime Video.

21. Stories We Tell

Sarah Polley began acting when she was four years old, which is a story she tells with typical intelligence and emotional precision in her 2022 memoir Run Towards the Danger. But a full 10 years earlier, she told us a totally different story with her film Stories We Tell – the one about her parents, the secrets of her own birth (from an affair that her mother had), and about the ways her family processed and didn't process this discovery over the years.

The less said beforehand with regardsto this movie's unfolding mysteries, the better, but just let it be said you absolutely will not see where Polley is taking you. And if we're being absolutely forced to exist without her acting on-screen, this is further proof (alongside her other directorial efforts, Away From Her, Take This Waltz, and Women Talking) that she's got more than enough magic to share from behind the screen. — J.A.

Where to watch: Stories We Tell is now streaming on Prime Video.

22. Judy Blume Forever Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video

We personally have been celebrating "the year of Judy Blume" for decades. But it's hard to not make the case that 2023 – with the delightful adaptation of Blume's book Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and this documentary both hitting screens – is a real big year for Blume-heads. And Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok's film on the author is thankfully attuned to Blume's endurance as much as her legacy, and so we get to hear as much on her thoughts about the world today as we do her career past. Seeing as how she's been on the front-lines of book bans and censorship for decades, there's no better authority. – J.A.

Where to watch: Judy Blume Forever is now streaming on Prime Video.

SEE ALSO: How 'Judy Blume Forever' uses animation to illustrate taboo topics 23. Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World Credit: Jim Wells / AP / Shutterstock

Music is awash with secret histories like the one explored in Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World. The documentary from co-directors Catherine Bainbridge and Alfonso Maiorana takes a look at the impact indigenous populations in America had on popular music.

In fact, that title speaks very directly to one of those impacts: "Rumble" is a 1958 instrumental from Link Wray, the famed Shawnee singer/songwriter and guitarist. You probably know it. Wray's signature electric guitar distortion drives the mellow, meandering track that anyone who has seen Pulp Fiction will recognize in seconds.

We also learn how "Rumble" is essentially the origin story for one of the most potent devices in any rocker's toolbox: the power chord. But Wray isn't the only focus. We meet Jesse Ed Davis, a legendary studio guitarist whose contributions on notable albums from John Lennon, Bob Dylan, and George Harrison forever enshrined him in the highest pantheon of rock godhood. Influential artists like Buffy Sainte-Marie, Mildred Bailey, Redbone, even formative blues legend Charlie Patton, who is believed to have been part-Cherokee, all share the spotlight. — A.R.

Where to watch: Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World is now streaming on Prime Video.

24. Between Me and My Mind (2019)

It's difficult to describe the appeal of a band like Phish. Like all the best examples of art in its many forms: You either get it, or you don't. Director Steven Cantor's "slice of life" look at Phish frontman Trey Anastasio isn't going to turn any doubters into true believers, but it does offer a glimpse into the life of the guitarist and singer who fuels many of the band's creatively playful and often deeply nerdy antics.

While the film centers itself in a particular moment — a busy period in which Anastasio is finishing up the solo album Ghosts in the Forest as he prepares for Phish's 2018 run of New Year's Eve concerts at Madison Square Garden — it's not all about the music. This is a family affair that presents viewers with a glimpse into the subdued rocker's home life and off-stage history. Through that lens, we learn much about the way Anastasio thinks and approaches his work.

Just like Phish itself, you either get Between Me and My Mind, or you don't. For those who get it, the documentary is as thorough a look at the Phish frontman as any fan has ever seen. — A.R.

Where to watch: Between Me and My Mind is now streaming on Prime Video.

25. The Booksellers

If your toes curl during the scene in Beauty and the Beast where the Beast shows Belle his enormous library and she spins around so we can stare at the shelves of books going up, up, up into the rafters, then have we got the documentary for you! D.W. Young's 2019 doc (executive produced and narrated by Party Girl star and librarian icon Parker Posey) takes us into the world of rare and antiquarian book shops and book dealers in New York. Speaking with the people who run famed institutions like the Strand and the Argosy, as well as erudite authors and personalities like Fran Lebowitz and Gay Talese, you can practically smell the bookshop smell — you know, that sweet musty something — wafting off your screen as you watch. It'll make your best Belle fantasies come roaring back. — J.A.

Where to watch: The Booksellers is now streaming on Prime Video.  

26. Welcome to Chechnya Credit: Courtesy of HBO

Focusing on LGBTQ refugees escaping from Chechnya, where they've been subject to government-sanctioned torture and murder, How to Survive a Plague filmmaker David France's harrowing 2020 doc follows its subjects' flight from their homeland using a wealth of modern tech, including cell phones and GoPros.

But it's the film's usage of AI technology, in order to disguise the refugees' faces and preserve their anonymity, that proved revolutionary, showing that AI can actually be used for good in some instances (rather than to just obliterate all artists' well-being, as has been the case as of late). But that tech still never manages to outshine the very human and very scary stories at the film's heart — one which has only felt closer to home with time — and which should shake any decent person to their core. — J.A.

Where to watch: Welcome to Chechnya is now streaming on Prime Video.

SEE ALSO: 67 essential LGBTQ films to stream this Pride Month 27. Time

Documenting Sibil Fox Richardson's 20-year battle to get her husband Rob out of the Louisiana State Penitentiary for a crime that he very much did commit, filmmaker Garrett Bradley pieced together Time using home movies that Richardson herself filmed over the years. What the two summon forth is a devastating critique of the prison industrial complex and the state-sanctioned gears that grind up families. Because, as the film's moving footage attests at every turn, Rob's guilt is not who he is, not as a man or a husband or a father. We are all so much more than the mistakes we make, and the system as it's designed is blind, cruel, and indifferent. Rob was granted clemency in 2018, 21 years after he was convicted as a first-time felony offender to 60 years in jail, with no possibility for parole or probation. — J.A.

Where to watch: Time is now streaming on Prime Video.

UPDATE: Feb. 28, 2024, 11:33 a.m. EST This list was updated to reflect the current streaming options.

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Categories: IT General, Technology

The best sci-fi movies on Netflix to escape reality

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 11:00

The beauty of science fiction is how it can take shape in endless ways on screen. When you look at the types of sci-fi narratives that filmmakers have explored in movies, it's hard to deny the fact that it’s one of the most unique, versatile, and exciting genres of all time

Whether you want to be transported to a world of futuristic innovations, a dystopia where the fate of the planet depends on an intergalactic mission, or a small town where a mysterious outbreak unleashes ghastly monsters, sci-fi has you covered. We've rounded up the very best sci-fi movies you can enjoy on Netflix, from heroic YA thrillers to grounded dramas, political take-downs to wacky spins on superhero tropes, and all with varying degrees of imaginative science fiction.

1. The Platform Credit: Netflix

If you like scathing social commentary and twisted horror with your sci-fi, The Platform is just the thing. This Spanish anti-capitalist parable takes place in a vertical prison facility where inhabitants are staggered across 300 levels. Each day a platform full of decadent food is lowered from top to bottom, allowing prisoners to eat as much as they want. But the food doesn’t get replenished, leaving the middle and lowest rungs of people — some elderly and young children — without any sustenance. Locked up and starving, many are forced into cannibalism to survive. 

SEE ALSO: How eat-the-rich comedies changed during COVID

A horrific and bleak commentary on class, wealth inequality, and the prison industrial complex, The Platform is a testament to the power of sci-fi to reflect the horrors of the realities around us. Also, while the food does look delicious in this movie, definitely avoid eating while watching. — Oliver Whitney, Freelance Contributor

How to watch: The Platform is now streaming on Netflix.

2. The Wandering Earth

Disaster movie fiends, may I introduce you to the ultimate bonkers space disaster film? In this Chinese sci-fi epic, the Earth is in big trouble, so much so that to avoid total climate annihilation from an aging sun about to engulf our planet, a group of astronauts are tasked with flinging the planet into another solar system. Not insane enough? Now the planet is on track to collide with Jupiter.

Take the extreme doomsday chaos of a Roland Emmerich film, the emotional weight of a planet-saving mission and glorious visuals of Interstellar, and the racing suspense of Gravity, and you get one hell of a sci-fi film. It's no wonder The Wandering Earth became one of the highest grossing Chinese films in the country's history. — O.W.

How to watch: The Wandering Earth is now streaming on Netflix.

3. Psychokinesis

In Psychokinesis, Train To Busan director Yeon Sang-ho takes an alternative approach to the superhero narrative — in place of the usual explosive world-saving, he tells an intimate story about a father, his daughter, and a group of business owners fighting corruption. 

Seok-heon (Ryu Seung-ryong from Miracle in Cell No. 7) has been an absent father for years. But just as his estranged daughter Roo-mi (Shim Eun-kyung) hits her absolute lowest, a supernatural force, shot down to Earth via a comet, zaps into the spring water he happens to be sipping. In time, Seok-heon notices he's developed a strange power to control things with his mind. After reconnecting with Roo-mi, whose restaurant has been shuttered by a violent gang of developers, he decides to use his powers to help her and her fellow neighbors fighting to gain their storefronts back. 

Psychokinesis feels so refreshing in the age of superhero glut by grounding the supernatural in small-scale emotional storytelling, and minimizing its use of CG to a handful of set pieces that slowly build in visual grandeur. This is the type of superhero origin story we need more of. — O.W.

How to watch: Psychokinesis is now streaming on Netflix.

4. What Happened To Monday Credit: Netflix

If you've ever found yourself craving more ruthless, ass-kicking action from Noomi Rapace — a natural wish after watching Prometheus or the original Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy — then What Happened To Monday is everything you could hope for. It’s a futuristic action extravaganza with B movie sci-fi thrills, and instead of one Rapace, you get seven.

The Swedish actress plays seven identical twin sisters in a dystopian world where having more than one child is outlawed due to overpopulation. To keep his septuplet granddaughters a secret from the fascist government, Willem Dafoe's grandpa names each of the girls after a day of the week, corresponding to the one day they can go out in public under a singular identity. But after Monday goes missing, the sisters must launch their own investigation, which leads them to the evil machinations of Glenn Close's mad scientist politician. What begins as an entertaining display of Rapace in multiple roles, Orphan Black-style, soon catapults into action madness full of energized fight sequences. — O.W.

How to watch: What Happened To Monday is now streaming on Netflix.

5. Oxygen

In this survival thriller, Mélanie Laurent suddenly wakes up inside a cryogenic pod. She has no idea who she is, where she is, why she’s there — and she only has 90 minutes of oxygen left. Struggling to solve all of these mysteries with nothing but the pod's A.I. robot assistant, Laurent's anonymous protagonist begins recalling fragmented memories to piece together her past. The rest of the plot is best left unsaid, but if you're a fan of contained sci-fi thrillers that do a lot with a little, Oxygen will satisfy. It's both a strong acting showcase for Laurent in essentially a one-woman show, and it emphasizes the emotional and suspenseful power of POV cinematography, which French director Alexandre Aja, most known for his horror films like High Tension and Maniac, has utilized well in the past. — O.W.

How to watch: Oxygen is now streaming on Netflix.

6. Sleight

Sleight is just the film for those who prefer a touch of sci-fi in a dramatic story grounded in reality. In this feature debut from J.D. Dillard (Sweetheart, Devotion), Jacob Latimore's Bo is a young man raising his sister (Storm Reid) alone in Los Angeles. His passion is performing street magic, but his main hustle is pushing drugs for a dealer at night. Where the sci-fi comes in is Bo's arm, which has an electromagnetic implant that allows him to pull off his secret tricks, making anything with metal float or fly across the air.

Ultimately, Sleight is a simple story about a young man trying to survive in a dangerous, violent situation — and the film does get quite violent at times. But with a cyborg as our main protagonist, the story gets a more elevated and suspenseful touch. It's a reminder that science fiction can coexist in, and help us manage, the harshness of the world we encounter every day. — O.W.

How to watch: Sleight is now streaming on Netflix.

7. Okja

Few filmmakers have taken on the behemoth of capitalism with as much wit, style, and enthralling storytelling as South Korean master Bong Joon-ho. The Parasite and Snowpiercer filmmaker once again explores the evils of corporate greed and class inequality in Okja, the most heartbreaking film about a giant pig you'll ever see. 

SEE ALSO: Bong Joon-ho's 'The Host' is the perfect companion to 'Parasite'

Part adventure buddy comedy, part sci-fi fantasy, and part a takedown of the meat industry, Okja tells the story of farm girl Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun), her best friend Okja (a genetically modified "superpig" that resembles a cuddly hippo), a CEO supervillain (Tilda Swinton), a kooky zoologist (Jake Gyllenhaal), and a band of anarchists. Okja perfectly blends the comedic histrionics of chase sequences with an incredibly sweet but heartbreaking tale of rebellion, and has a whole lot to say as well. A warning: You may leave this movie a vegetarian. — O.W.

How to watch: Okja is now streaming on Netflix.

8. I Am Mother Credit: Netflix

I Am Mother is another addition to the post-apocalyptic genre where robots reign and humanity is scarce. We meet an A.I. robot named Mother (voiced by Rose Byrne) who, while overseeing a bunker of human embryos, has decided to raise one, a girl named Daughter (Clara Rugaard). Now a teenager, Daughter has learned everything from her robotic caregiver, including the fact that all humans have gone extinct. But suddenly one day a stranger arrives (a delightfully badass Hilary Swank doing her best Sarah Connor) who will soon disprove everything Daughter has come to know.

Though there are dozens of sci-fi films with similar narratives, I Am Mother surpasses genre expectations with a refreshing mix of tautly directed suspense, surprising twists, and a small but mighty all-female cast. — O.W.

How to watch: I Am Mother is now streaming on Netflix.

9. Project Power

In Project Power, a new drug has just been introduced on the streets of New Orleans that gives people superpowers for five minutes; think Limitless meets X-Men. Joseph Gordon-Levitt's local cop teams up with Jamie Foxx's Art, the initial test subject of the Power pill, and a young dealer (Dominique Fishback, easily the film's standout) to track down the military distributor behind the drug. 

While Power Power's story veers into overcomplicated and often silly territory, what's most fun about the sci-fi action hybrid is the uniqueness of the powers on display. Everyone reacts differently to the pill, from getting bulletproof skin to Hulk-like strength, and becoming a human torch to growing bendable rubber bones. Directing duo Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman definitely deliver on the zaniness of all that could happen when superpowers go awry. — O.W.

How to watch: Project Power is now streaming on Netflix.

10. Bird Box

Director Susanne Bier's Bird Box doesn't work particularly well as a horror movie; the protagonists aren’t likable enough to care about, and the scares are decidedly lame. But as a sci-fi concept, the apocalypse arriving as a swarm of invisible monsters, who, when seen, drive their victims to horrible deaths by suicide, is appetizingly intense. (That's what landed this movie on our best monster movies list!)

SEE ALSO: Here's why we didn't see the monsters in 'Bird Box'

Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, and the rest of Bird Box’s stellar cast lead a devastating journey through this demonic, post-apocalyptic world, combining the thriller, action, and sci-fi genres. The result is an adequately complex imagining of how the world would contend with such creatures, and, though its relatively low-tech, manages to keep itself grounded in tense realism. — Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Bird Box is now streaming on Netflix.

11. See You Yesterday

Eden Duncan-Smith is C.J. Walker, a gifted high school science prodigy who ventures to build a time machine after her brother is killed by the police. With the help of her best friend, she tries to save her brother's life — but she'll soon learn that changing the past doesn’t come without consequences. 

Written by Fredrica Bailey and Stefon Bristol, and directed by Bristol, this science-fiction adventure is the perfect combination of teenage hijinks and emotional depth. We're on one hell of a ride, but we never forget the stakes these young characters are facing. It's captivating, fun, and a much-needed fresh take on a classic genre. Science-fiction films that center Black lives and Black stories have long been a rarity, but with more A+ entries like See You Yesterday, they'll hopefully become the norm.*Kristina Grosspietsch, Freelance Contributor

How to watch: See You Yesterday is now streaming on Netflix.

12. Code 8

Code 8 imagines a world where people with superpowers exist, but after spurring on a second industrial revolution they've been replaced by automation and relegated to the bottom rung of society. That's the reality Connor Reed (Robbie Amell) is living as an "Electric" powered individual who just wants to make enough money to help his terminally ill mom (Kari Matchett).

Out of options and presented with an unexpected money-making opportunity, the good-hearted Connor reluctantly turns to crime. This stylish Canadian crowdfunded feature directed by Jeff Chan lands a little on the nose at times, but an intriguing premise and strong central cast — which also includes Stephen Amell and Sung Kang — keeps things moving at an entertaining clip. — Adam Rosenberg, Senior Reporter

How to watch: Code 8 is now streaming on Netflix.

13. Space Sweepers Credit: Netflix

In Space Sweepers' not-terribly-distant future of 2092, Earth has become a polluted wasteland while the wealthiest and most powerful individuals live in a utopian, corporate-owned orbital space station. The story follows a crew of space sweepers, Earth-dwellers who scrape out a living by cleaning up orbital trash and selling it. Their tough but peaceful existence is shattered one day when, mixed in among the trash, they find a little girl named Dorothy (Park Ye-rin) who, it turns out, may be an android fitted with a powerful bomb. But the plan they hatch to ransom Dorothy off to the terrorists who are looking for her goes awry as she spends more time aboard the ship. It's not the most original story in sci-fi history, but gorgeous visuals, a strong cast, and careful plotting combine to make this two-plus hour journey — billed as the first space blockbuster from Korea — breeze by. — A.R.

How to watch: Space Sweepers is now streaming on Netflix.

14. A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

If you've ever wondered what E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial might have been like with more mischievous claymation animals, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon might be for you. The Aardman Animation film drops an adorable baby alien named Lu-La into Mossy Bottom Farm, where she becomes fast friends with the equally playful Shaun — but needs him to grow up just a little bit so she can get back home.

Silly, sweet, and soothing, Farmageddon is a galactic trip the whole family can enjoy. — Angie Han, Deputy Entertainment Editor

How to watch: A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon is now streaming on Netflix.

15. Advantageous

Jennifer Phang's Advantageous may involve some fantastical inventions, but the principles and problems that shape its universe are firmly rooted in our own. Jacqueline Kim stars as Gwen, a single mother who loses her job after her employer decides to replace her with a younger, more racially ambiguous spokesmodel. In desperation, she considers a procedure that would transfer her consciousness into a more acceptable new body — but that comes at great cost.

Combining thoughtful analysis of race, gender, and class with a touching story of a mother's love for her daughter, Advantageous is the kind of low-key sci-fi that may inspire you to look a little deeper at the world already around you. — A.H.

How to watch: Advantageous is now streaming on Netflix.

16. The Mitchells vs. The Machines

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.*A.H.

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

17. Meg 2: The Trench

The amount of actual science in this franchise wouldn't fill up one of those little plastic buckets that we all used as kids to build sand castles on the beach. But no matter – call their genre "fi-sci" instead and just get on with it, because watching Jason Statham fight giant prehistoric sharks is what we've come for, and watching Jason Statham fight giant prehistoric sharks is what we get. And befitting the title, now there's more than one!

SEE ALSO: 'Meg 2: The Trench' review: Ben Wheatley hates you

This, the second riveting chapter in the deeply serious story of Jonas Taylor (Statham), former rescue diver turned ecological avenger, sees him heading back down into the deepest depths of the Mariana Trench for reasons far too stupid to explain. Just know it's all build-up for a bonkers second half where Jonas and his ragtag team of science buds must stop enormous sharks and their new giant octopus bestie from decimating a Pacific resort literally called Fun Island. — Jason Adams, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Meg 2: The Trench is now streaming on Netflix.

18. Pacific Rim Credit: Legendary Pictures / Kobal / Shutterstock

The year is 2020, and the shit has totally hit the fan. But no, this isn't a COVID documentary. It's Guillermo del Toro's 2013 kaiju action epic Pacific Rim, which smashed together everything we love about the genre while giving us Charlie Hunnam and Idris Elba glaring at one another a lot to boot. So, basically, perfection. 

When giant monsters start pouring out of an interdimensional rift deep in the ocean one day without any notice, all of humanity comes together to build a fleet of giant robots, dubbed Jaegers, which we use to whoop their interdimensional asses. And that's about all the set up you need. Cue city-stomping fight after city-stomping fight. — J.A.

How to watch: Pacific Rim is now streaming on Netflix.

19. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters

Considered an official part of the Godzilla canon (as it was produced by Toho), this 2017 animated flick sends us 20,000 years into the future, where a group of human refugees has been trying to find a distant planet to colonize after that pushy jerk Godzilla went and took over all of Earth. Unfortunately, the humans haven't had much luck on that front, so they head back to our little blue dot hoping that enough time has passed that maybe the big lizard's had his fill. One guess as to the answer to that! They find a world radically altered thanks to the big G's radioactive presence, but they attempt to make one last stand for humanity's sake. And shit gets real dark!  — J.A.

How to watch: Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters is now streaming on Netflix.

20. Gravity

Although Alfonso Cuarón's 2013 outer space masterpiece loses some of its impact when watched at home on a smaller screen and not in 3D IMAX where it belongs, there are still plenty of reasons to beam yourself up there from your couch. You don't win seven Oscars (out of ten nominations) without something worth recommending. 

Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is on her very first space mission when she gets stranded 900 miles above Earth, courtesy of space debris ripping apart her ship. Although Bullock's co-star is none other than George Clooney himself, as a veteran astronaut on his last trip before retiring, Gravity works because Bullock makes it work. Her — excuse the pun — star power glides this thing from tense set piece to even tenser set piece as Ryan tries to figure out some way, most of them utterly ridiculous, to get herself safely back onto land. — J.A.

How to watch: Gravity is now streaming on Netflix.

21. Don't Look Up

Director Adam McKay used to only make delightfully goofy movies like the Anchorman franchise and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and we were all the better for it. Then in 2015, he decided he was a serious political satirist so he made The Big Short, followed by Vice in 2018, and we were all the worse. It was only when he let pure goofiness seep back in again with his 2021 apocalypse comedy Don't Look Up that he finally got the balance right. 

Don't Look Up is mostly the story of an astronomy professor (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his best student (Jennifer Lawrence) trying to convince a government run by a Trump-esque egotistical monster (Meryl Streep) that there is a comet headed straight at Earth, to little avail. It's merciless in mocking politics and the media, but it also makes time for Meryl Streep to have a tramp stamp, and for this we are grateful. That's fair and balanced! — J.A.

How to watch: Don't Look Up is now streaming on Netflix.

22. Looper

Before Rian Johnson pissed off a bunch of Star Wars fans with The Last Jedi (which remains the only truly interesting film of the recent trilogy) and was forced to take refuge inside the whodunit machinations of his Benoit Blanc mysteries, he was nerd royalty thanks to his lo-fi 2012 time travel flick Looper. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who'd worked with Johnson previously in Brick) and Bruce Willis as the same guy at different ages, Looper is an enjoyable mind-bender. As per usual with time travel plots, it's sort of pointless to sum up in a sentence or two; the tangled complications are the most fun part of it. So, just sit back and let Looper wash over you. — J.A.

How to watch: Looper is now streaming on Netflix.

23. Cowboys & Aliens

In 2011, in between James Bond, Indiana Jones, and Iron Man movies, Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and director Jon Favreau teamed up to make this hella goofy summer movie spectacle about — you guessed it — cowboys fighting aliens. And damn if it didn't flop really hard. But it's totally harmless as far as big dumb summer movie spectacles go. I mean, at least it's no Wild Wild West. Thirteen years later, it feels almost novel to contemplate a big summer movie spectacle that wasn't based on a previous IP. I feel, dare I say, nostalgic for the days of Cowboys & Aliens? How did we get to this place? If nothing else, Daniel Craig looks wildly hot in those chaps. — J.A.

How to watch: Cowboys & Aliens is now streaming on Netflix

24. Elysium

Following the surprise success of District 9, Neill Blomkamp's 2013 follow-up Elysium could be considered emblematic of "the sophomore slump." Hollywood tossed him tons of money and movie stars (Matt Damon! Jodie Foster!), but the results were decidedly mixed. 

However, Elysium is an interesting mess, and well worth a look back at, as these things usually end up being in retrospect. Set in 2154 (which seems generous given the state of things here in 2024), its narrative about the wealthy escaping into outer space, leaving the poor to rot on an overpopulated and starving planet, sure feels timely. — J.A.

How to watch: Elysium is now streaming on Netflix.

25. They Cloned Tyrone Credit: Netflix

They Cloned Tyrone is a sci-fi comedy from first-time feature director Juel Taylor starring John Boyega as a drug dealer named Fontaine who, along with his pals Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris) and Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx), uncovers a secret underground laboratory beneath the local chicken joint. As Fontaine, Yo-Yo, and Slick Charles discover, scientists have been conducting nefarious experiments on the denizens of The Glen, the primarily Black neighborhood Fontaine et al call home.

A dark satire of race relations à la Get Out, They Cloned Tyrone uses sci-fi tropes and a hefty dose of Blaxploitation to make its points. It's sharp and funny, and it should've gotten far more attention in 2023. – J.A.   

How to watch: They Cloned Tyrone is now streaming on Netflix.

SEE ALSO: We need to talk about 'They Cloned Tyrone's ending 26. Resident Evil

Before Milla Jovovich and director Paul W.S. Anderson made an interminable number of these movies, there was the tremendously entertaining 2002 original, which remains one of the best video game adaptations ever made. Jovovich plays Alice, a woman who wakes up with no memory inside of a decrepit mansion full of zombie-like monsters.

As Alice stumbles upon some other folks, they all manage to fight their way through the mystery of the place and unravel Alice's past, which all involves a diabolical corporate entity called Umbrella. Yadda, yadda, yadda — it's simple and scary, and Jovovich proved herself an immediate action star. Plus, it has a few action scenes that still kill, like the hallway full of lasers. — J.A.

How to watch: Resident Evil is now streaming on Netflix.

27. Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire

Your mileage will certainly vary on this, the first half of Zack Snyder's hyper-massive space opera Rebel Moon. Yes, it rips off Star Wars ten ways from Sunday with its tale of lowly farmers starting a rebellion against a militaristic space regime. Yes, it only starts getting interesting in the last half-hour of its nearly three-hour runtime. Yes, it's bloated and derivative and more concerned with constantly looking "cool" than it is "telling a story" or "developing characters." 

And yet! Having gone in with basement-low expectations, I didn't hate it. It's got a supremely gorgeous cast, and Snyder still knows how to frame beautiful people to their best effect. Truthfully, he can frame most anything to beautiful effect. Plus, it's got Jena Malone as a gigantic spider lady! So, yes, it's basically an extended — way, way extended — series of team-building exercises, ending right when the real story is about to happen. But I'd still rather rewatch this than I would any Transformers movie. Slap that on your poster! – J.A.

How to watch: Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire is now streaming on Netflix.

28. Vivarium

Although he's only made three feature-length films to date, Irish director Lorcan Finnegan has already proven to be an interesting one. This 2019 slow-burn suburban nightmare is the one that really sealed the deal on his status as one to watch. Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots as a childless couple on a real estate hunt that turns into a sort of Talking Heads/M.C. Escher-esque nightmare, Vivarium has a whiff of The Truman Show and a wallop of Cube about it. But it's also its own weird little thing: fascinating, funny, and stylish. — J.A.

How to watch: Vivarium is now streaming on Netflix.

29. Ready Player One

Being a Steven Spielberg movie comes with a lot of expectations, and those expectations quadruple when it's a science-fiction movie he's delivering. When Ready Player One came out in 2018, it kinda hit those expectations like a brick wall. But I suggest a revisit — it's much better than you remember it being, especially now with VR headsets starting to trickle into our daily existence.

Based on Ernest Cline's 2011 novel of the same name, Ready Player One is stuffed to the gills with mind-bending set pieces that only Spielberg could bring to life. In the year 2045, a teen orphan named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) is trying to solve three riddles set within a full immersive virtual reality called OASIS. The prize for doing so is total ownership of OASIS, so he's got some competition. Anyway, it's basically Willy Wonka, just with lots of CG car races and Mark Rylance in a white fright wig. It's truly a ton of fun. – J.A.  

How to watch: Ready Player One is now streaming on Netflix.

30. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2024 Oscars, this beloved sequel to Into the Spider-Verse dives us back into the trippy world of the Brooklyn spider-boy Miles Morales and his many, many, many spider-pals. We head with Miles even deeper into the multiverse and make our way to the Spider Society's HQ, where every iteration of Spider-Man hangs out together. 

SEE ALSO: 'Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse' review: This is what animation was made for

But they've all got the same big problem to face — a dastardly foe named The Spot who has accidentally (then purposefully) started collapsing entire realities one by one. Will Miles save the universe? And more importantly, will he and Spider-Woman Gwen make their whole thing work? And even more importantly, is Oscar Isaac (who voices Miguel O'Hara, leader of the Spider Society) somehow even sexier as a cartoon? — J.A.

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

Asterisks (*) indicate the entry comes from another Mashable streaming list.

UPDATE: Feb. 29, 2024, 3:30 p.m. EST This list has been updated to reflect the latest Netflix offerings.

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Categories: IT General, Technology

How to watch Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics online for free

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 06:00

TL;DR: Stream the Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics in the NBA for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The NBA is coming to the BBC, with some absolutely massive games lined up for everyone to enjoy. And we do mean everyone, because fans from around the world can take advantage of this free coverage with a VPN.

If you want to watch the Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics?

Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics starts at 3:30 p.m. ET on March 3 (8:30 p.m. GMT). This game takes place at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

How to watch Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics for free

Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics will be broadcast live on BBC Three. You can also live stream this game for free on BBC iPlayer.

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

Access BBC iPlayer to stream the NBA 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 BBC iPlayer

  5. Stream Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics 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 for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to BBC iPlayer without committing with your cash. This is not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?

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

  • Servers in 94 countries including the UK

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

  • Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

  • Fast connection speeds

  • Up to five simultaneous connections

  • 30-day money-back guarantee

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

Watch Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Categories: IT General, Technology

A 5-year subscription to this secure VPN is on sale for 86% off

Mashable - Sat, 03/02/2024 - 06:00

TL;DR: A five-year subscription to AdGuard VPN is on sale for £39.57, saving you 86% on list price.

Unless you're living completely off the grid, we all have an online presence. And with that presence, there comes risk and vulnerability. If you don't already have a virtual private network (VPN), it should shoot to the top of your list. Using a VPN helps keep you safer online and less vulnerable to the shady stuff that we all know happens there.

For a limited time, you can get a five-year subscription to AdGuard VPN for just £39.57.

SEE ALSO: The best VPN deals in February 2024

Whether you're browsing, streaming, or working remotely, AdGuard VPN helps ensure that your online activities remain private and secure no matter where you are. AdGuard has over 60 network locations, which means you can travel and still have secure internet access nearly anywhere you want to go.

This data privacy tool uses its own strict security measures to ensure your data stays private — it even has a zero-logging policy. That means AdGuard does not track what you're doing or collect your information or IP address. You will remain totally private while browsing, shopping, creating, or watching.

This offer gets you connected to AdGuard VPN on up to 10 devices at the same time but is only available to new users. With updates included, you'll have access to all of its super-fast servers in every location. It also comes with unlimited data for streaming and downloading. Plus, it's compatible with all platforms, including iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Google Chrome.

Keep yourself and your family safe and protected online while home or away. Get this five-year subscription to AdGuard VPN for just £39.57, with no coupon needed.

Opens in a new window Credit: AdGuard VPN AdGuard VPN (5-Year Subscription) £39.57 at the Mashable Shop Get Deal
Categories: IT General, Technology
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