Star There’s no denying the creative genius of George Lucas and his epic space opera Star Wars. The Star Wars Saga has spanned almost a dozen films, countless animated and live-action television series, not to mention an avalanche of other media like comic books and video games. The heroic journeys of the dynamic characters in his universe have enraptured fans for decades and will continue to do so for future generations....
After so many years of telling stories on the big screen, it’s hard to find a narrative that is 100 percent truly original. Even acclaimed films like Inception will take inspiration from previously produced works to create its own mythos. That’s not inherently a bad thing, however, since when in the right hands an adaptation or a spin on a classic trope can feel fresh and exciting. Then, there are the instances where Hollywood hits rock bottom creatively where two different studios green light movies with extremely similar (or identical) plots around the same time....
Jailbirds is Netflix’s newest behind-the-bars reality series. Over the course of six episodes, Jailbirds documents the lives of various prisoners at Sacramento County Jail, each with a different crime and a different story. True fly-on-the-wall insight makes Jailbirds stand out from other prison documentaries. These women are real inmates in a real prison and the lack of pretense gives an unvarnished look into a seldom-talked-about lifestyle. Between the petty drama, a prison wedding, and serious toilet abuse, watching the inhabitants of the Sacramento County Jail interact is at times fascinating, terrifying, heartwarming, relatable, and even funny....
There is a misconception that comedy is harder than drama. It’s not true. If anything, comedy is substantially harder. The material has to be tight and on point. Jokes must be carefully crafted. Scenarios have to build and build to earn the comic payoff. The delivery of a gag, be it physical or verbal, has to come with precise timing. Think of the least funny comedic performance you’ve ever seen someone give....
As we get ready to see the final chapter in the new X-Men trilogy with the release of X-Men: Apocalypse later this year, we thought we’d take a look at the most dangerous and powerful villains to ever go up against Charles Xavier and his group of superheroes. While there have been a great number of villains to do battle with the X-Men over the years, there are some that are a little more memorable, and powerful, than others....
After years of mockery and derision, The CW has developed into a surprisingly solid network. The CW isn’t just home to one of the most consistent interconnected superhero universes, the Arrowverse, though. a It also has one of the highest average qualities for its original programming, even if the ratings never match some of its broadcast competition. However, most impressively, The CW is the place to find some of the youngest, most talented and attractive up-and-coming stars in Hollywood....
While moviegoers nowadays may be obsessing over the latest comic book movie hitting theaters, there is no question that one of the most successful franchises in history (at least from a consumer’s standpoint) is the Disney Princess franchise. And make no mistake, it is a franchise. With the release of Disney’s Moana, which sees Moana Waialiki travel the high seas alongside the god Maui to save her people, we thought it was time to run down some facts about Disney Princesses casual moviegoers may not know about....
There are different types of scary on Star Trek: there’s jump-out-of-your-skin scary, the kind that comes with aliens who prey on the crew, officers who turn into spiders, or zombie Vulcans with vendettas. Then there’s the more high-concept scary, where evil forces take over one of our favorite characters’ bodies, or an alien invades the crew’s dreams, making them afraid to go to sleep. The original list was so long that we had to remove some good ones, like “Remember Me,” where everyone Beverly Crusher knows starts disappearing from people’s memories, or “Voices,” when Deep Space Nine’s Miles O’Brien discovers there’s a conspiracy against him and everyone he knows appears to be part of it....
1Password passkeys functionality will launch next year, but to help people understand the benefits and prepare for a world without passwords, the company has put together an interactive demo. Although the company used for the demo is fictitious, you will create a real passkey which will be saved to your 1Password account … What are passkeys? Currently, to log in to a website or app, we usually enter a username and a password....
Sponsored by Chargeasap: Get a special preorder deal on the new 25,000 mAh Flash Pro Plus portable charger. Stories discussed in this episode: Gurman: Apple Silicon roadmap includes new Mac Pro, Mac mini, and more by November 2022 Apple continues to dominate tablet industry as iPad sales boom, report says Apple Watch Series 7 appears in regulatory filings ahead of expected September release New Macs spotted in Eurasian regulatory filings, likely the redesigned M1X MacBook Pros Enjoy the podcast?...
Apple celebrates the Best Apps of the Year but Apple Music Unwrapped remains non-existent. Zac and Benjamin discuss Ming Chi Kuo’s proclamation that Apple wants to replace the iPhone with AR within a decade, and discuss some possible improvements to how the iPhone handles mirroring notifications to the Apple Watch. Sponsored by Upstart: Find out how Upstart can lower your monthly payments today when you go to Upstart.com/HAPPYHOUR. Sponsored by Prisoner Wine: Go to ThePrisonerWine....
With season 2 of Agent Carter about to wrap up and the midseason break nearly over, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is gearing up for the second half of its third season. Season 3 has introduced several new characters and concepts – including a huge change to the previous understanding of recurring Marvel Cinematic Universe bad-guy organization HYDRA – that have fans eager to see where the story is headed after the shocking midseason-finale....
When a blockbuster movie is just months away, fans can’t resist dissecting the trailers and TV spots for hints of what to expect. Whether it’s hints of the story beats and plot twists contained within, dissecting single images pulled from an action scene, or deducing the entire future of a movie franchise from the hints offered, it’s hard for rabid fans to resist. The latest trailers for Batman V Superman, Deadpool, Captain America: Civil War and more have given seasoned fans a ton to debate, but even casual moviegoers will want to catch these easter eggs and awesome details in popular trailers....
Harry Potter is a beloved franchise that many millennials grew up with. As with most franchises, a lot of scenes and moments that happened in the books didn’t make it onto the big screen. The Harry Potter series is large, and many of the books are over 400 pages long, so it’s no wonder many things had to be cut when the Harry Potter movies were created. Whether you’re only a book fan, only a movie fan, or a fan of all things Harry Potter, it’s always interesting to see which important scenes, characters, and moments didn’t make it into the movies....
When you think of the Syfy channel, images of cheesy monsters, and unoriginal plots probably come to mind. Or you think of the Sharknado franchise. The network has a major history of airing amazing television programs in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. If there’s one channel that’s not afraid to try adapting a book or a movie into a series, it’s Syfy. On the other hand, since the network is steeped in the speculative categories, budgets can easily skyrocket because many scenes need CGI, unique costumes, or elaborate sets....
Iron Man is one of the most intelligent and high-powered superheroes in the Marvel Universe due to the ever adapting Iron Man suit. Though not always well liked amongst his peers or the world due to his prickly personality and somewhat lax ethical views in the pursuit of knowledge, no one can deny his genius. Tony applies that genius by continuing to alter his Iron Man suits and adapt them to combat the abilities of others in the event that he may fight them....
The biggest movie of the year, arguably the most anticipated movie of all-time going by pre-ticket sales, is now in theaters. Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens not only extends the original saga, picking up the story threads from three decades ago but it relaunches the franchise that’ll continue going forward with annualized releases. And so far, it’s been a smashing success. We’re not here to talk about box office milestones, critical acclaim, and merchandise/licensing records though....
Greatness is often spawned of humble beginnings, and it came as a major shock to fantasy fans the world over when a young, struggling, single mother from the United Kingdom managed to pen one of the most transformative, imaginative series of young adult novels in recent memory. J. K. Rowling is, of course, a world-renown best selling author these days for creating the Harry Potter series. However, not unlike the young orphan boy who’s story made her so famous, she spent many of her formative years in relative turmoil....
Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for A Series of Unfortunate Events season 3 ahead - Who is Beatrice in A Series of Unfortunate Events? Every episode opens with a dedication to the great lost love of Lemony Snicket, yet he’s very tight-lipped over her identity and how she died. Just as season 1 of A Series of Unfortunate Events teased the possibility that the Baudelaire parents might still be alive, season 2 offers more glimpses of Beatrice and hints that she might not be as dead as Lemony thinks....
Avengers: Endgame completed a very deliberate three-movie arc for the Hulk. Since Marvel hasn’t been able to make a Hulk solo movie due to rights issues tangled up with Universal, we got a Hulk trilogy disguised in other people’s movies instead. Thor: Ragnarok gave us a Hulk that struggled to reconcile with Banner, then Avengers: Infinity War gave us a Banner that struggled to reconcile with the Hulk. In Endgame, the two finally reconciled and became “Smart Hulk,” who has the brawn of the Hulk and the brains of Banner....
