There’s a saying in Osaka that every man has three hearts. One in his mouth for the world to know, another in his chest just for his friends, and a secret heart buried deep where no one can find it. Well, regardless of how many hearts we have, each and every one of them loves FX’s epic miniseries Shōgun. The 10-episode historical series on Hulu and Disney+ is undoubtedly one of the best TV experiences of the year. Based on James Clavell’s classic 1975 novel of the same name, Shōgun follows wayward Englishman John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) as he washes ashore in Japan and becomes embroiled wit ..read more

Freud might have once said a cigar is sometimes just a cigar, but the good doctor would never mistake a tennis racket as mere sports equipment when watching Challengers. Those interlaced, titanium-gripped meshworks are extensions and metaphors in the hands of director Luca Guadagnino and his huffing, puffing young cast. What exactly that extension is morphs from scene to scene, but it is always libidinous, unmistakably eager, and ever in search of connection: with the ball, with the other player, or sometimes just with the sweat dripping out their pores. In one sequence, Zendaya’s tight smile ..read more

Official companion podcasts for popular TV series are not a recent phenomenon. Ever since networks realized that they couldn’t leave all the analytical fun to fans, big time TV shows have been accompanied by network-sponsored audio complements. HBO has been a frequent producer with podcasts for its dramas like Watchmen, House of the Dragon, Succession, and more. Other networks have since gotten in on the action like Paramount Network with Yellowstone, Showtime with Dexter: New Blood, and Apple TV+ with For All Mankind. The acclaimed American TV brand FX, however, never seemed too keen on offic ..read more

Although all three of the MCU Spider-Man movies have “home” in the title, Spidey didn’t feel like he really came home until the very end of Spider-Man: No Way Home. That’s when Peter Parker walked into a squalid New York City apartment, knit together a home-made suit, and remembered his late parent-figure’s words about power and responsibility. So why the heck is Marvel unsure about what to do next? From the first stories by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee to the married father of two in Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto’s Ultimate Spider-Man, Spider-Man is almost always a hard-luck hero, a guy w ..read more

When a Dungeons & Dragons adventure clicks, it’s a truly magical thing. This year, as long-time players and newcomers to the hobby are coming together in celebration of the 50th anniversary of rolling dice and sharing stories, it’s a great time to look back at all the adventures we’ve shared over the game’s decades-long history. While everyone has their favorites, and game masters often write their own adventures or change the contents of published ones to fit the players at their table, there are a few undisputed classics from D&D‘s history that everyone should know. Below are seven o ..read more

When it comes to the classics of cinema—and sometimes the dregs—it’s always fun to think about what might’ve been. Casting especially can be a strange alchemy between actor and role, and when the formula is off, it’s easy to ponder whether the spell would work at all. Can you imagine Robert Redford as Michael Corleone? What about Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones? And it’s an interesting challenge to envision what Tim Burton’s Batman might’ve been if it starred Bill Murray versus Robin Williams. The casting of Neo in The Matrix is another legendary “what if?” in movie history. The 1999 classic, whi ..read more

Monsters are everywhere! Godzilla and Kong are going at it once again (this time as a double act) and now Abigail has hit screens, a movie about a heist gone wrong where the loot is an adorable 12-year-old ballerina. Starring Dan Stevens, Melissa Barrera and Kathryn Newton and directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett aka Radio Silence, who made the raucous Ready Or Not (as well as the most recent Scream movies), it’s a gore-soaked genre love letter that at one point had ties to the Universal Monsters canon. Without Abigail spoilers, that’s not entirely evident in the finished produc ..read more

This article contains spoilers through episode 9 of Shogun. The explosive ending to the penultimate episode of FX and Hulu’s Shōgun sets the stage for the epic finale to come. Ishido (Takehiro Hira) is desperate to hold onto his power, and is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that everyone bows down to his will. With the arrival of Yabushige (Tadanobu Asano), Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), and Mariko (Anna Sawai) in Osaka, Ishido’s hold on the other Regents comes into question, and the delicate balance of power in Japan finally begins to topple. Here’s everything you need to know before e ..read more

20 minutes in to Red Eye, a foot chase through Heathrow airport ends with a man making an impassioned plea outside a branch of Leon. He vaults over barriers like the kid in Love Actually and implores the crowd to film his testimony. Rightly wary of flash mob marriage proposals, the British holiday-going public are slow to act but get his message out: vascular surgeon Dr Matthew Nolan is being framed for murder and extradited to Beijing. Is Nolan (Richard Armitage) guilty, or on the level? Is he being sacrificed by the British government to protect a valuable Chinese nuclear power deal, or is t ..read more

HBO and Max’s latest original series, The Sympathizer, has been a critical success since premiering this April, blending dark comedy with historical drama and life-or-death stakes. Like its 2015 source material, by author Viet Thanh Nguyen, the main story begins in 1975, framed against the backdrop of the fall of Saigon, the historical capital of South Vietnam. This real-life event not only opens The Sympathizer, but its fallout and the shadow of the Vietnam has far-reaching consequences for the rest of the series and its main characters. With this in mind, a refresher on the real-world histor ..read more