It can be nice to escape modern troubles by leaping back in time and experiencing the opulence of past time periods. That’s the magic afforded to us by period piece drama movies! Stunning wardrobes, idyllic countrysides, war-torn romances, all taking place in worlds far away from our current lifestyle of ubiquitous technology and instant gratification. Of course, that’s not to say life back in the day was any better or easier than how we have it today....

Anime series—particularly shonen anime—often feature “all brawn, no brain” characters who are incredibly strong but excessively stupid. They pretty much only know how to fight. Those characters are often contrasted with other characters who are unreasonably smart or clever, who are there to save the day when brute force can’t solve the issues at hand. Genius characters in anime often stand out for their insane plays and crafty strategies that always go according to plan....

Most older movies are very much products of their time. While there’s always a certain amount of datedness that accompanies any piece of older media, some old films hold up better than others. While it can be tough to tell why some films work so well while others fade away to be forgotten, it doesn’t diminish the fact that many successful movies from decades ago are still really good ....

Assuming you’re new to manga, you may not know which series to start with. Maybe you’ve watched a few anime series and are looking for something to read instead. But reading manga as a beginner can be daunting because you don’t want to spend money on series and volumes only to find out you don’t like the stories, the characters, or the art. That’s where comiXology Unlimited comes in. For a single monthly fee, you can read thousands of manga series whenever you want....

Video games haven’t been around all that long, but they’ve already changed a great deal in that short time. Not that long ago, a game that involved shooting almost by default meant you were playing a shoot ’em up (or “shmup”). It might scroll vertically, horizontally, or even both, it might even take a Smash TV inspired top-down, single room view. While they might have fallen from the spotlight, these games still exist....

One of the most appealing aspects of science fiction is how the genre allows the storyteller to reimagine society and the world in any way they see fit to suit their particular narrative. As human beings, Earth is our home. It’s the only home we’ve ever had. That means when a version of Earth that we’ve never seen before comes along, one that shows it in a vastly different way than what we know it to be, we feel a striking resonance with what could be....

People go nuts for celebrity cameos in films—especially when the cameo isn’t marketed and comes when you least expect it! Athletes, directors, and musicians commonly make cameos in all sorts of genres. But every so often, a well-known non-actor gets cast for a role that goes far beyond a mere cameo. They may even play one of the leads in the film, whether as protagonist or villain or someone else important....

In 2007, game developer Naughty Dog (best known for their Crash Bandicoot series at the time) released Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune . It met with critical acclaim and set the studio on a new path—away from its history of cartoony adventure games. Naughty Dog is known for working on very few games at any given time—usually no more than two—and giving them full attention. That’s part of the reason why Naughty Dog has become one of the world’s most venerated gaming studios....

The 90s gave us some of the coolest sci-fi action movies of all time. That was the decade when action stars were the biggest they would ever get—both in physical size and cultural relevance. Remember Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Bruce Willis, Will Smith? None of these guys ever again reached the prominence they held during that glorious bullet-spewing high-octane decade. Here’s our walk down memory lane as we revisit some of the best sci-fi action movies from the 90s....

People seem to have less time to read than ever. There are a few ways you can remedy this, if you’re one of these people. One option is to simply give up on reading fiction in the first place, but come on, that’s no fun. Another option is to find shorter reading material. The good news on that front is that there are a ton of options for reading short fiction....

Who remembers the silent era of film? Nobody, pretty much. The silent age has, obviously, passed beyond living memory for the most part. Sure, there have been a few motion pictures since the invention of “talkies” that have used the silent technique, such as 2011’s Academy Award-winning film The Artist . But practically speaking, silent films are history—“too artistic” for modern box office viewers. Have you ever wondered what the silent movie era was actually like?...

When it comes to watching movies, most people only consider three options: watch it in theaters, buy the Blu-ray or DVD, or catch it on a streaming platform (if it’s available). But years ago, we’d actually get most of our movie-watching done through video rental stores like Blockbuster, West Coast Video, and Hollywood Video. Or video rental kiosks like Redbox. Nowadays, people don’t rent movies as much. And that’s a shame, because renting movies has never been easier or more convenient!...

Spend enough time in online gaming circles and you’ll eventually run into an utterly cringeworthy term: PC master race . The PCMR crowd asserts that no matter what gaming console you use, you’re doing it wrong—PC gaming is the only way to go. Related: Why I stay away from online gaming communities Though I’ve always despised that term, for many years I was a PC-first gamer. I had a few gaming consoles to play exclusives, but if it was available on PC, that’s usually where I played it....

Netflix, the platform that pioneered the modern behavior of streaming TV and movies at home, is quickly losing touch with its consumer base, with the industry it helped create, and its own identity. Disney+ is poised to overtake Netflix’s long-held position as king of the streaming platforms, while the former DVD rental service loses customers around the world (except in a handful of regions). What’s going on? Why has the former undisputed champion of the streamers fallen so hard and so quickly?...

Despite all its flaws, Naruto is still one of the greatest animes ever created when you look at the sheer emotional resonance of its best story arcs and how wide the epic saga sprawls. But if you watch Naruto start-to-finish, you’ll tear out your hair. That’s because Naruto is notorious for filler arcs—episodes that deviate from the main storyline and, in most cases, fail to offer any meaningful character growth or plot progression....

Revenge is a dish best served cold, and that frigid pursuit is what makes vengeance such a great catalyst for compelling stories. Vengeance sheds light on the best and worst of human nature. There’s absolutely no shortage of enthralling revenge stories out there, with vengeance being a theme that regularly pops up in film, TV, literature—and, of course, anime. And anime deals with the theme of revenge surprisingly well for a medium that’s often (wrongly) considered childish and immature....

The Nintendo Switch doesn’t have the processing power of the other current-gen consoles. It can’t produce high-fidelity 4K graphics like the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X can, but it does support many games that run at 60 frames per second. For many, that’s all that really matters in the end. Smooth gameplay feels good, and 60 FPS is the standard for video games. Unfortunately, while 60 FPS is the goal, not every game on the Nintendo Switch can do it....

The first wave of feminism washed over the Western world at the end of the 19th century. How do we know this? Apart from photographs of women fighting for suffrage, it was also reflected in literature. As with most things at the time, the writing world was predominantly men—if a woman was published, it was usually done via pseudonym. Nobody wanted to read a woman’s thoughts. However, the turn of the century stirred up society, industry, and the arts....

Within the documentary genre, there’s the subgenre of music documentaries—and within that subgenre, concert documentaries. It’s like a Russian doll of guitar solos and old film footage! Following the wildly successful release of Summer of Soul last year (which we’ll touch on later in this article), we thought it’d be a good time to revisit documentaries with footage of music festivals. Here are our picks for the best concert documentaries that have incredible footage of the most legendary live music moments....

In one episode of a popular TV show, a network executive character says that comedians “do not make for good actors.” But today’s various comedy TV shows say otherwise! As we can see from the shows we’re about to cover, great TV can indeed come from the minds and performances of comedians. Sometimes they play fictional versions of themselves, sometimes they go crazy with skits and sketches. Either way, they can make it work....