Having a bad day? Whether it’s due to unfortunate news, gloomy weather, or just general sickness and malaise, it can be hard to kick yourself out of a negative funk. There are several things you can try—eating your worries away, retail therapy with online shopping, slipping away into video games—but most options are unhealthy and lead to more troubles. Watching happy Netflix shows? Now that’s an option that’s not only super effective, but comes with very few side effects!...
Manga has grown into a huge medium, not only in Japan but also in other countries. It features all kinds of creative illustrations and storytelling devices that make it unique compared to other mediums. Nowadays, manga authors (called mangaka ) are innovating in new ways when it comes to art styles and techniques, elevating the format to exciting new heights. The diversity in art styles makes each manga unique from the rest, from different inking techniques to different shading patterns to different color palettes, which all affect their stories in different ways....
For years, I had a dilemma.I knew people that loved sports, and I could see why they loved them, but I just couldn’t get excited about them myself. I wanted that experience, but try as I might, I just couldn’t find a sport I cared about. Then I found Formula 1 racing. It had everything I’d ever wanted out of sports, but also aspects that appealed to my nerdier side. Here was something that I could finally truly get into....
Not everyone shares the same love for board games. You might have a friend or two who always lets out a groan whenever you start to bring out a board game for game night. When someone “hates” board games, it’s usually because they’ve been playing the wrong ones. If we only knew about Monopoly and Catan , we’d hate board games too! Related: How to know you’ve outgrown Settlers of Catan...
It’s hard to believe that Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is already 20 years old. The excitement around that first film in the trilogy saw movie theater queues out the front doors, with eager fans waiting to see their beloved book series brought to life. Movie fandoms seldom last two decades and beyond, but the Lord of the Rings films are just as loved now (if not more) than they were when they first released....
At the turn of the millennium, down in the Oceanic country of New Zealand, a cinematic interpretation of some of the best-loved fantasy novels of all time was underway. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy became critically acclaimed and set records at the Academy Awards with a total of 30 nominations across three films, with Return of the King equaling the all-time number of Oscars won by a film in a single night (11 wins)....
Borderlands 3 has been met with unrelenting praise from fans, and yet, I still can’t figure out why. After putting a couple dozen hours into the game, I’ve realized that it’s the worst in the series. The content itself, plus the graphics and characters make it chore to play. These are the reasons why I’m highly disappointed in Borderlands 3 . 1. Dry, Humorless Script I haven’t found myself laughing at Borderlands 3 like I did with the previous games in the series....
For them, the answer is a resounding No! because coffee beans should always be bought directly from a respectable roastery—or better yet, roasted at home by your own hand. Is life even worth living if you aren’t roasting your own beans? Since “coffee” can mean several different things, I’ll tackle this question from five different angles: Instant coffee Coffee grounds Coffee beans Coffee concentrate (cold brew) Coffee-based beverages Even the best-made instant coffee tastes tolerable at best....
Jack Nicholson was—and, for many, still is—the coolest man in the world. He’s one of the most gifted actors of his generation and has honored the world with brilliant performance after brilliant performance. Indeed, he’s contributed so much to cinema and pop culture. We simply can’t count the number of times we’ve heard somebody shout “Heeeeere’s Johnny!” or “You can’t handle the truth!” Here are our picks for Jack Nicholson’s best movie performances of all time that remain memorable, impressive, and heart-wrenching to this day....
The existence of aliens has long been debated, and Hollywood has only catered to our extraterrestrial fantasies. It’s no surprise that there are so many movies about aliens out there. Yet, we still love them! Whether the aliens are portrayed as good or evil, it’s always interesting to see creative depictions of otherworldly life forms on film, especially when they keep putting new twists. If you’re in the mood for a movie that’s out of this world, check out these worthwhile alien movies you can stream on Netflix....
Before they became synonymous with “higher quality films,” independent films were first known as cinema rule-breakers. That reputation really burgeoned in the 1970s when outsiders started creating their own films—with little or no budget—outside the Hollywood studio system. This is most obviously seen in the horror genre, which branched away from the spectacles of creature features and started leaning into more blood and gore. Similarly, the indie films of the 1970s often challenged the sexual and violent taboos of the time....
As kids, most of us dreamed of making it as superstars. Singers, dancers, football players, actors, rock stars, astronauts—take your pick! The trouble is, how do you get there? Getting your foot in the door is the biggest challenge for any talented wannabe artist. How do you make yourself known and forge opportunity when you’re a nobody? One way is to win a competition! Here are the best movies about singing competitions, featuring characters who want to get ahead and make their dreams come true by entering and winning contests....
With modern cinema’s reliance on CGI, films can often feel samey. But there are plenty of different animation techniques, and we think stop-motion animation is one of the most creative. It’s also highly labor-intensive. The process of stop-motion animation involves manipulating clay or plastic characters on a stage, snapping a photo, manipulating them some more, snapping another photo, etc. This is done for every single frame of a scene until completion, and it can take many hours to capture a single minute of footage....
Unlike Nintendo’s past few consoles, the Switch is packed to the gills with games, and not just Nintendo’s own offerings. Name the genre, and there are probably a few great examples on the system. Racing games are no exception to this rule. Whether you love kart racers, real world-inspired racers, or vehicles that just aren’t realistic at all, here are my picks for the best Nintendo Switch racing games to play!...
There used to be a hard delineation between console games and PC games. Ports that bridged the two were uncommon, and the few that existed were often clumsy with poor performance. We’re long past those days now, and simulation games—which were once very much in the realm of PC-only territory—are now available on gaming consoles. Not only that, but they’re quite well-loved! From classic staples to oddball entries, here are my picks for the best simulation games on Xbox Game Pass worth playing!...
No matter the movie’s genre, dumb movie characters pretty much serve a single purpose: they’re funny and therefore fun. Whether that humor is needed for comic relief amidst heavy drama or simply to keep the entire film lighthearted while providing a bumbling sidekick for the protagonist, dumb characters are effective. Over many decades, we’ve seen numerous empty-headed characters whom we can’t help but love—and they often don’t even realize they’re stupid!...
Lately, there’s a growing trend in cinema of female rage movies , which involve unusually explosive depictions of women. Throughout history, women have been viewed as—and forced to be—passive, sensitive, fragile, and submissive. Back in the day, feisty women were locked up for mental illness and hysteria. Today, it comes in the form of “Is it that time of the month?” But movies about feminine rage tell a different story. These characters scream, shout, plead, hurt, scheme, and fight against oppression, against betrayal, against pain, or against men in general....
When you think of board games, you probably think of games that are mainly played by moving pieces on a board, managing cards in your hand, and maybe even rolling dice for results. But in recent years, there’s been an explosion in popularity of board games that play in a totally different way: with paper and pencil. (Or, more recently, with dry erase markers and boards.) Sometimes called roll-and-write games or flip-and-write games , these paper-and-pencil games often involve being presented with some information (dice results, card flips, etc....
Trains are a surprisingly big topic in the board game hobby. It’s an entire genre unto itself, with several subgenres within it. The term train game comes with a lot of baggage, widely used to describe a very specific type of game with lots of route-building and economic strategy, often involving stock markets, auctions, and more. This article takes a broader view. You may see a few such “train games” on this list, but you’ll also see several that are very different....
Anime is no stranger to spin-offs. Even a single throwaway character who shows up in a specific story arc can pave the way for their own series, conjuring whole new storylines out of nothing and providing die-hard fans with more lore and content to dig into. While some anime spin-offs are just more of the same (e.g., new plots with the same characters), others are more creative in how they stay true to the main series while shifting different aspects or retelling different parts in ways that build on the original....
