Chances are, you haven’t used a video game strategy guide in years. I, too, am guilty of a strategy guide dry spell. I haven’t bought a strategy guide in years until recently. During my Pokémon sessions, I found myself needing a Pokédex that I can easily flip through. Thanks to the internet, gamers won’t waste the time or money on strategy guides anymore. However, does that mean strategy guides aren’t worth buying at all?...
Buying TVs isn’t as complicated as it used to be, mainly because the overall baseline quality of televisions in general has gone way up in the last five to ten years. Even budget TVs can be absolutely fantastic now. That said, buying a TV for gaming isn’t as simple as buying a TV for streaming from Netflix. When you’re buying a TV mainly for gaming, the usual standards by which we measure TVs don’t matter as much as others that we don’t often consider....
Dungeons & Dragons can be played in any number of ways. One way that a lot of dungeon masters elect to play is with a battle board and miniatures. These small plastic figures help give D&D combat a bit more tactical feel than using just your imagination. The problem with miniatures is that they can be expensive, especially if you want the good ones that are licensed by Wizards of the Coast....
Over the years, Pixar has made a name for themselves as one of the single greatest cinema studios in the history of the art form. The people behind Pixar’s most memorable films have generated worlds and produced magic for millions of fans all over the world. However, in more recent times, Pixar has started to slip. Their projects have lost that special spark that made them stand out in years past....
The popularity of the anti-hero has spurred television to becoming a deeper and more cinematic narrative medium. Complex moralities and motivations have given us characters who are darkly unique and captivating to watch. Sadly, most notable anti-heroes are men—with figures like Walter White, Tony Soprano, and Don Draper dominating discussions. While women anti-heroes do exist on TV, they’re often overlooked. But times are changing. As male anti-heroes become more tragic, female anti-heroes become fiercer and more intriguing....
While there are countless polls on the best Disney princesses, little attention is given to the men of Disney. Who are the best gentlemen, the best knights, the best scoundrels of the Disney-verse? Across hundreds of Disney movies, only a select few male characters have made a splash significant enough to keep them around in the public consciousness—and mainly for being funny or charming. But there’s a lot more to Disney’s characters than that....
It takes hundreds of heads working together to make a single movie, and they’re all collaborating to bring to life the vision of one singular mastermind: the director. When it comes to cinema, the director is involved in every creative decision that affects the film—the tone, the cast, the production, the editing, among others. So, what happens when a director dips? A lot of times, the film is simply canned altogether....
While films like Harry Potter , The Lord of the Rings , and Hocus Pocus have introduced us to some incredible witches and wizards, the small screen also has its fair share of iconic magical characters. Witches and wizards have been the focus of several popular TV shows since the 1960s, starting with Bewitched putting a spell on audiences and becoming one of TV’s most popular shows. To celebrate the magical legacy these characters have had on television, here are my picks for the best witches and wizards in TV history....
Most TV shows rely more on archetypes than intricately developed characters. Whereas movies can be subtle, slow-building, and realistic, cartoons and sitcoms need to be overt and easy to understand. One recurring character type is the dumb friend. Rarely the protagonist, these intellect-impaired characters end up being sidekicks who help cause all kinds of crazy situations that normal people don’t get into. But they rarely have malicious intent, so we can never be too mad at them—especially if they manage to make us laugh all the time....
And they all lived happily ever after! Or “To the end of his days,” as Bilbo Baggins would say. That’s how most stories often end. But in real life? There isn’t always a happy ending. People die. Relationships break down. Mental illnesses take control. Disasters occur and wreak all sorts of havoc. Friends can betray you, lovers can reveal devastating secrets, and villains might just get their way. Sometimes, though, it’s good to have a cry or be shocked by a plot twist....
With spring fast approaching, we’re finally seeing an end to all the shoveling of snow and scraping of ice from car windows. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy an excellent TV series set in snow and ice! We’re not just talking winter. We’re talking frigid mountains, Arctic wastelands, icy tundras, glacial waters, and more—and maybe a dash of frozen bodies thrown into the mix for good measure. Here are my picks for the best TV shows that take place in snowy regions and ice-capped towns....
Over the years, despite numerous missteps, Netflix has proven itself a force to be reckoned with when it comes to quality programming, giving us several surprisingly acclaimed films. From romantic comedies to Oscar baits, from American family movies to foreign indie films, Netflix has something for everyone—but if you ask me, Netflix’s drama films are their best efforts. Here are my picks for the best drama movies on Netflix that are actually originals by Netflix and worth watching!...
Nothing makes a film more shocking, tragic, or inspiring than the truth. Tons of war movies have been made over the years, but the most hard-hitting ones are usually based on true stories. These heroic—and oftentimes horrific—tales celebrate the lives of real people who suffered at the hands of war, whether while behind enemy lines, navigating the skies, or even sat at a desk. Risks were taken, sacrifices were made, and a few people managed to get out on the other side alive....
Most people classify characters into two buckets: the good guys and the bad guys, the heroes and the villains, the protagonists and the antagonists. But within each bucket, there’s plenty of variation. Each character plays their own role and brings something different to an anime series. When numerous anime series have similar characters that play similar roles, an archetype forms. Archetypes exist in all kinds of media, but anime character archetypes can be quite unique compared to those you find in movies or TV shows....
Do you like shooting stuff? Do you like shooting stuff in the hopes of earning gear that’ll help you shoot stuff better? Then you’re in luck! Because in this article, we’re looking at several loot shooters that aren’t Destiny 2 , the game you’ve been sucked into for the last few years. Here are the best loot shooter games still worth trying! 5. Risk of Rain 2 This roguelike shooter shares a lot in common with loot shooters, including a massive loot treadmill that has you chasing after better and better boosts and items....
But considering how many comics there are out there, comiXology Unlimited is one that makes a lot of sense. comiXology Unlimited is always adding new titles and they’re easily read in digital format. If you aren’t sure if the cost is worth it for you, here are some awesome comic series you can find on the platform that are great entry points if you’re just starting your comics journey. Special Offer Start a 30-day free trial of comiXology Unlimited and gain access to over 45,000 comics, graphic novels, and manga:...
People can be difficult in life—that’s just part of the human experience. But when it comes to people who work in the most exposed industry of the world, their stories become much more interesting to the public. You’d think that working on a major motion picture as leading actor would make you feel some sense of humility and humanity, given that you’re in a position most would envy. Sadly, it doesn’t always work that way....
Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest, most influential, and most renowned directors in cinema history. He’s best known for his gangster movies, but has touched multiple genres—from controversial films like The Last Temptation of Christ to whimsical movies like Hugo . Due to my personal tastes, most of my favorite Martin Scorsese movies belong to the crime and thriller genres, where Scorsese’s talents truly shine. The intense and extreme subject matters allow for themes and performances that just aren’t possible in many other genres....
Like many people my age, I was obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a kid. I had all the toys I could get my hands on, and I watched my VHS copy of the cartoon until it wore out. Thanks to the inexplicably popular cartoon and its extremely catchy theme songs—one of the catchiest of all time—the Turtles were already household names by their live-action movie’s debut in 1990....
As video games change and evolve, we see new genres pop up all the time. Some of these new gaming genres spawn from technological innovations as developers take advantage of new capabilities to create unique experiences. For example, open-world games were immensely difficult to create before hardware improved. Other gaming genres come from spinning a popular genre and approaching it from a new perspective. This is the type of genre shift that twisted RTSes into MOBAs, and it’s this same evolution that gave us the boomer shooter : a modern take on retro first-person shooters....
