A New Film Explores Houdini’s Quest To Debunk The World of Mysticism

When you hear the name Houdini, you probably get a very specific image in your head. That of a man in a straight jacket escaping something. But a new movie will explore a side of the legend many people don’t know existed: The skeptic. STX Entertainment just bought the rights to make a film based…

Happy Life Day Eve! Let’s Bask in the Spectacular Awfulness of the Star Wars Holiday Special

Tomorrow is Life Day, and as you’re steering your starship to Kashyyyk to celebrate with your Wookiee relatives, take a moment to reflect on the best possible way to commemorate this intergalactic holiday: By watching the Star Wars Holiday Special. This week, Mental Floss published a comprehensive oral history of the 1978 special. Well, let’s…

Kylo Ren Is Everything That Anakin Skywalker Should Have Been

Kylo Ren had a huge legacy to live up to in the new Star Wars, because Darth Vader is one of cinema’s all-time great villains. But Vader’s legacy is also a huge part of what makes Kylo Ren so fascinating—because he’s everything that Anakin Skywalker should have been in the prequels. A warning: there will…

10 Brand New Characters Who Joined Our Favorite Series, And We Didn’t Hate Them

The biggest challenge for the new Star Wars was to make us love Rey and Finn as much as Luke and Han. Mission accomplished! But most of the time, when a venerable franchise introduces new characters, it’s a horrendous failure. Here are 10 long-running series that actually made us care about new characters. There are…

Sleazy Serial Killer Drama Wicked City‘s Cancelled Episodes Are Now on Hulu

Wicked City was a serial killer show on ABC that relied heavily on 1980s Los Angeles nostalgia—including, but not limited to, setting crucial scenes on the Sunset Strip. It was also filled with unlikable characters and a cops-n-killers parallel storyline that never found its stride, and viewers tuned out in droves. https://gizmodo.com/wicked-city-offers-cheesy-1980s-nostalgia-with-a-serial-1738979354 Don’t recall it?…

A Modern Day Myth Explaining the Color of the Oceans

Vincent Peone’s “The Sea Is Blue” is a lovely tale about a girl’s journey, with the requisite voiceover telling the tale. As it should be, when you’re dealing with fairy tale mixed with myth. With his writing/directing partner Josh Ruben, Peone is better known for his comedic work. Ruben and Peone were founding members of…

There’s A Very Different Man In Red For Deadpool‘s Festive Trailer Tease

While it might be Christmas Eve, for Deadpool, today is Trailer Eve—and ahead of the full event, Fox have released a suitably festive teaser to celebrate. Seems like Santa’s got some new competition in the “Jolly guy in a red suit” department. While the festive trappings—the music, the rhyming narration, and the snow-strewn title cards—are…

What The Force Awakens Borrowed From the Old Star Wars Expanded Universe

Whether intentional, by coincidence, or because the plot points are obvious continuations of the established characters, there are a number of things in The Force Awakens that tread over ground the old Expanded Universe also walked. Major spoilers ahead. The New Republic and the Remainder of the Empire As in the original-now-Legends Expanded Universe, the…

J.J. Abrams’ Greatest Regret About Star Wars

Lawrence Kasdan talks about how the Han Solo spinoff movie will approach the character. Peter Capaldi ponders his future on Doctor Who. Stefan Kapicic talks playing Colossus in Deadpool. Mark Ruffalo teases a new characterization for the Hulk. Plus, what’s to come on Galavant and iZombie. Spoilers! Han Solo Anthology Lawrence Kasdan says the spinoff…

Tenacious D’s Potty-Mouthed Acoustic Cover Version of Queen’s Flash Gordon Rules

Watching this video might make you want to go back to Jack Black’s school of rock. Here’s Black, and Tenacious D bandmate Kyle Gass, performing one of the greatest movie themes of all time: Queen’s “Flash Gordon.” Aaaaaaaa! [Thanks, Tim!] Contact the author at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @CharlieJane

This Short Film About Memories Is Both Stunningly Gorgeous and Strangely Hypnotic

Raymond McCarthy Bergeron’s candy-colored short film re÷belief has won a huge array of festival awards, and it’s not hard to see why—it’s inventive and pulses with an unusual rhythm. This is due to the process he used to make it: 3D printed zoetropes. Here’s how the filmmaker, who created the film for his graduate thesis…

This Short Story About Death and Bees Is the Strangest, Most Beautiful Thing in Ages

I was blown away by “Telling the Bees” by T. Kingfisher, newly published in Strange Horizons. To the point where I was kind of amazed that I’d never heard of the author before, until I realized it was a pseudonym for Ursula Vernon. We already praised Vernon’s “Jackalope Wives,” and her comics work is also…

Christmas Twister Is the Most Hilariously Awful Movie About Climate Change Ever

Christmas Twister, also known as F6: Twister, is a 2012 action thriller that’s awfully light on action and thrills, but positively dripping with terrible acting and even worse special effects. But it does have one huge thing going for it: the (unintentionally) funniest script about bad weather ever written. We can forgive its low-rent CG,…

Pro-Tip: Never Ask Darth Vader to Dance

Darth Vader is many things—tragic villain, almighty horror, dab hand with a lightsaber—but he is not a dancer. Thanks the the Darth Vader Annual, we now know that this is what happens when you’re stupid enough to insist that the Dark Lord of the Sith take you for a twirl on the dance floor. Minor…

How to Make People Fall in Love With Your Ridiculously Competent Hero

We all love characters who are good at what they’re doing. Nobody wants to root for someone who screws up constantly or walks into traps we can see a mile away. But at the same time, it can be hard to love someone who’s too perfect. So how do you make us believe in, and…

Fancy spending Christmas with a Dalek? The newest Humble Bundle collection is just for you. The Doctor Who humble audiobook bundle features 4 series of classic audio dramas from Big Finish: Dalek War 1 and 2, Dalek Empire and The Sixth Doctor: The Lost Stories. Pay what you want, get great stuff to listen to!

It Came Up From the Water, Black and Spiked

When it emerged, no one knew what it was and where it came from. And when people started to disappear, all anyone wished for was that it went back to where it came from. This is one of two versions of the same art done by Shannon Ekundayo Reddy (AKA Shields Up). See the full…

Extraordinary X-Men Throws Another Wrench Into The Cyclops Mystery

Scott Summers has not been in Marvel’s new X-Men books. Okay, well, his time-displaced teen self has, but that’s a long story for another time. But while Cyclops has been absent, he’s had a very strong presence in the X-Men’s current adventure—for very bad reasons. And his latest moment is no exception. Spoilers ahead for…

The Abandoned Trailer Showcases a Strong Contender for Scariest Basement Ever

In first-time feature director Eytan Rockaway’s spooky thriller, a mentally fragile woman ventures down a career path that’s probably not what the doctor ordered. She’s a security guard at a decaying apartment building that may or may not be haunted, but it is definitely rippling with bad juju. Here’s the synopsis: Take a terrifying plunge…

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Was Way Better The Second Time Around

Has any movie every had more pre-release baggage than Star Wars The Force Awakens? Expectations, rumors, hype—it felt like the fate of the universe was resting on this movie. So maybe it’s no wonder that I enjoyed Episode VII a lot more the second time I saw it. Warning: Some spoilers ahead. Every day since…