The Platformreally did it for me back when I first saw the Midnight Madness selection for its big debut at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. The Spanish horror thriller is a social allegory that’ll make you think twice about the world’s abysmal distribution of wealth, rampant selfishness and how challenging it can be to spark lasting change for the future. So yeah, a worthwhile message movie for just about any day of the week....

NFC technology is undergoing a major upgrade, with the NFC Forum introducing a new concept known as Multi-Purpose Tap. What is it? NFL Multi Tap lets people perform multiple functions with a single tap of their phone or card. The aim of Multi-Purpose Tap is to seamlessly integrate payments, loyalty programs, and receipts. This technology is set to revolutionize our interactions with the world around us by providing increased convenience, enhanced efficiency, and a more seamless user experience....

In the early 2000s, shameless marketing on classic network shows was not only common but the standard when it came to television programming. Perhaps the most egregious displays of overt product placement came from shows on smaller networks like the WB and its eventual successor, the CW. One show in particular, the hit Superman prequel seriesSmallville, had a single character often at the center of most of these marketing ploys during the show’s earlier years:Sam Jones III’s Pete “the Boss” Ross....

Spoilersahead for anyone who isn’t caught up with the Samurai Jack series finale. In 2001, Cartoon Network debuted the follow-up fromDexter’s Laboratorycreator/director/artist,Genndy Tartakovsky. As different as you could get from the pint-sized boy genius, the new project centered on a simply-drawn samurai who wielded a magical sword and embarked on seemingly endless quest to destroy darkness, as embodied by a powerful demon. Taking inspiration in part from ancient samurai culture and bushido code, the classic sweeping adventure cinema of the 1970s, the films ofAkira Kurosawa, and comic books like writerKazuo Koikeand artistGoseki Kojima’s “Lone Wolf and Cub” andFrank Miller’s “300”, the series also featured Tartakovsky’s particular brand of quirky–and occasionally dark–humor as his samurai traversed the unexpected wasteland of the far-flung future....

PBS long-running anthology series Masterpiece has announced that hit dramaSanditonhas been renewed for both a second and third season. That’s quite the turnaround after the show was initially canceled by original network ITV in December 2019, a month before it even premiered stateside. United Kingdom-based streaming service BritBox has stepped in to partner up with PBS in producing the next two seasons, which will initially run on the aforementioned platforms before circling back around and airing on ITV at a later date....

WhileSpider-Man: Homecominghits theaters in a matter of weeks, Marvel Studios, Sony Pictures, and Disney already have big plans for the franchise going forward. Indeed,Spider-Man: Homecoming 2is set for release on August 17, 2025, and while we don’t have any official word on who’s writing or directing that movie yet, the complex deal that brought together Marvel and Sony has stipulations that clue us into what may be coming down the pike....

Star Trek: Discoveryis hoping to change things up when it comes toStar Trekon television. As we’ve reported in the past,Discoverywill be the first show where the lead character isn’t the highest-ranking officer. Instead, the show will focus on Starfleet First Officer Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), “who was the first human to attend the Vulcan Science Academy.” ShowrunnersAaron HarbertsandGretchen J. Bergexplain toEW: “Burnham [has] spent a lot of time on Vulcan, but she’s human,” Harberts says....

Suicide Squadhad a great weekend at the box office, despite taking it in the teeth from most critics. That’s not entirely surprising. Any movie with the label of DC or Marvel is likely to own the weekend its released on, short of some especial focus on backstage drama, such as withFantastic Four. It’s becoming clearer that there was a tremendous amount of dramatic antics behind the latest DC adaptation but that didn’t really get talked about until the week it was released....

At the CW session today during the Television Critics Press Tour in Pasadena, producers fromThe Flash,Arrow,Supergirl, andLegends of Tomorrowwere on hand to talk about the digital VFX of all of those shows (which really is amazing considering all they accomplish on a weekly basis). Afterwards,FlashandSupergirlexecutive producerAndrew Kreisbergspoke to us and a few other journalists about what we can expect from the rest ofSupergirlthis season, starting with two villains who will be returning:...

Late last year,Binge announcedthat it would be producing a live-action series adaptation of theSystem Shockvideo game series. Now, the streaming platform has announced thatGreg Russowill write and direct the upcoming live-action TV show, as well as serve as executive producer. Russo was the screenwriter of 2021’sMortal Kombatfor New Line Cinema, which was a streaming hit for HBO Max, reportedly reaching 3.6 million households on its opening weekend. In addition to theMortal Kombatreboot, Greg has adapted other game titles such asSpace Invadersfor New Line and Warner Bros....

Looking for something to fill the summer movie season void? We’re still gonna have to wait a while for our return to the MCU and reunion with Dom Torretto’sFastfamily, but for now, there’s a pretty dang good selection of old favorites and new movies onAmazon Prime Videothis month. If you’re looking for something fresh out of the gate, Amazon’s new original thriller7500arrives on the streaming service this month, starringJoseph Gordon-Levittas a First Officer fending off terrorists aboard a Berlin-bound flight in his first major role since 2016’sSnowden....

From show creatorsDavid SimonandGeorge Pelecanos, the HBO seriesThe Deuce, named after the local slang for New York’s 42ndStreet, chronicles the time when the sex industry went from back alleys to a billion dollar business. As twin brothers Vincent (James Franco) and Frankie Martino (also Franco) navigate their way through Times Square in 1971, the earliest pioneers of the flesh trade, including pornographers, hookers, pimps and adult bookstore owners, have to dodge the law while figuring out how to make the most of their situation....

The Golden Globes are pretty much awards season’s most pointless stop. They’re voted on by a mysterious, tiny group of journalists with shady credentials, and they have literally no bearing on the Oscar race whatsoever. They are afunceremony, however, and they can also sometimes clue us into what to expect from films that have yet to be seen. Case in point, we’ve now learned whether directorDavid O. Russell’sAmerican Hustlefollow-upJoywill be competing as a comedy or a drama, giving us an inkling as to what kind of David O....