Entertainment
Violent, R-Rated Action Thriller On Netflix Is A Neon-Drenched Bloodbath
By Robert Scucci
| Published
2021’s Gunpowder Milkshake gets off on its name alone, but that’s only a hint at what this action thriller is capable of. Playing out like a girl-power version of John Wick, the film follows a secret society of assassins who quickly realize just how in over their heads they are when they mess with the wrong woman. When a job goes sideways, we learn how deep this organization runs and how far they’re willing to go to maintain control. Unfortunately for them, they’ve picked the wrong target this time around.
Gunpowder Milkshake, while a little heavy handed in its messaging, remains a rock solid action thriller with next-level stunt choreography. It’s so much fun that any sense of preachiness quickly takes a back seat to the onslaught of expertly staged carnage delivered by its protagonist and anyone unlucky enough to stand in her way.
It Must Run In The Family
We’re first introduced to a 12-year-old Sam (Freya Allan) in Gunpowder Milkshake when she meets her mother, Scarlet (Lena Headey), at a diner. What Sam doesn’t yet understand is that her mother belongs to a sisterhood of assassins and works for a shadowy organization known as The Firm. Scarlet abruptly leaves Sam behind, prompting The Firm’s HR representative, Nathan (Paul Giamatti), to assume responsibility for her well being.
Fifteen years later, a grown-up Sam (Karen Gillan) is now following in her mother’s footsteps, working as an assassin for The Firm and carrying out hits with ruthless efficiency. She’s clearly good at her job, but cracks begin to form in this working relationship when she’s assigned a mission involving a kidnapped girl named Emily (Chloe Coleman).
Sam is initially tasked with tracking down Emily’s father, who stole a large sum of money from The Firm. What she soon discovers is that the theft was an act of desperation, as he was trying to ransom the money to get his daughter back. Unable to complete the job in good conscience, Sam makes a decision that immediately puts her in direct conflict with The Firm, and one of their most powerful clients.
The organization’s high council meets with Nathan and resolves to eliminate Sam, who not only botched the job intentionally but also destroyed the stolen money before fleeing with Emily. On the run and out of options, Sam turns to Madeleine (Carla Gugino), Florence (Michelle Yeoh), and Anna May (Angela Bassett), members of the sisterhood of assassins who operate out of an armory disguised as a library.
From here, Gunpowder Milkshake becomes a neon-drenched fight to the death between The Firm and the sisterhood. The film makes it clear very quickly that only one side is walking away from this alive.
We Get It, The Firm Is The Patriarchy
Since I’m not a huge fan of heavy-handed messaging, I wasn’t particularly sold on the whole “patriarchy bad” angle the film leans into. The Firm is portrayed as an entrenched power structure that’s controlled things for a very long time and now feels threatened by the sisterhood of assassins. The issue with this framing is that both groups kill an absurd number of people, so claiming moral superiority over an organization that does the exact same thing you do feels a bit disingenuous.
That minor nitpick aside, Gunpowder Milkshake earns serious points for its relentless pacing and inventive fight sequences. I tried counting the body count in real time, but I ran out of fingers and toes fairly quickly and abandoned the idea altogether.
Karen Gillan is an absolute beast once Sam is compromised, and her willingness to fully commit to the physicality of the role deserves praise. Even after being injected with a serum that paralyzes her arms, she tapes guns and knives to her hands and relies on momentum and brute force to take down her targets. Paul Giamatti is reliably excellent as the spineless HR rep who wants to do right by Sam but lacks the courage to stand up to The Firm, adding a welcome layer of dark comedy to the chaos.
All in all, Gunpowder Milkshake is basically a chick John Wick, and I’m completely on board with that. It’s violent, stylish, and knowingly campy at just the right moments, making for a wildly entertaining watch from start to finish. If you’re ready to see what kind of girl power Sam and the rest of her sisterhood are willing to unleash, Gunpowder Milkshake is streaming on Netflix as of this writing.
Entertainment
SNL opens with another Pete Hegseth press conference
Saturday Night Live returned from a brief hiatus Saturday with a cold open depicting a joint press conference between Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel, with “Master of None” creator Aziz Ansari playing the latter.
Colin Jost’s Hegseth hit the familiar beats at the podium — performative machismo, military bravado, and repeated jabs at the secretary’s well-documented drinking habits. This time, Hegseth arrived at the mic hauling an oversized pitcher of scotch, which he assured the room was his one for the day. He then fielded questions from the press about the administration’s handling of U.S. strikes on Iran, dismissing each reporter with the particular brand of smug confidence that has become central to Jost’s portrayal of the character.
Ansari’s Patel proved to be the sketch’s standout, arriving to defend his tenure at the FBI and proceeding to do so poorly. The bit’s centerpiece involved Patel simultaneously denying and admitting that he had locked himself out of his work email for 36 hours after forgetting he had changed his password to “kashmeoutside69.”
Funnily enough, Patel was reportedly locked out of his FBI email in real life and believed, at least momentarily, that he was being fired. As the sketch demonstrated, the distance between SNL’s Cold Open and the actual news cycle has rarely felt smaller.
Entertainment
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 3, 2026
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition will require some knowledge of popular U.S. sports and pop culture.
As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.
Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections: Sports Edition?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
Mashable Top Stories
Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
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Yellow: In Good Shape
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Green: Current NFL Head Coaches
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Blue: Famous Sports “Curses”
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Purple: Starts of Big Ten Names
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #586 is…
What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?
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In Good Shape: AGIL, ATHLETIC, FIT, STRONG
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Current NFL Head Coaches: COEN, GLENN, REID, RYANS
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Famous Sports “Curses”: BAMBINO, BILLY GOAT, MADDEN, SI COVER
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Starts of Big Ten Names: BOIL, BUCK, CORN, HAWK
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.
Entertainment
The DJI Mini 5 Pro drone is $500 off right now at Amazon — save on this content creator favorite
SAVE $500: The DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That’s $500 off the list price of $1,599.
$1,099
at Amazon
$1,599
Save $500
What’s going to happen to the drone market in 2026? Due to legislative pressure on DJI imports in the U.S., there is so much uncertainty at the moment. We expected stock issues by now, but we’re actually seeing strong discounts on some of the best drones in the DJI range.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That’s $500 off and close to the record-low price.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro offers a huge 1-inch CMOS sensor, so whether you’re shooting 50MP stills or 4K/120fps slow-motion, the dynamic range more than delivers. The DJI Mini 5 Pro also makes use of forward-facing LiDAR that powers the new Nightscape Omnidirectional Sensing, meaning it can dodge branches, power lines, and buildings even when you don’t have eyes on your drone.
This popular drone offers 42GB of internal storage, meaning you can actually capture a full session of 4K footage without needing an external card as backup. That can have a massive impact for content creators.
Mashable Deals
Save $500 on the DJI Mini 5 Pro this weekend.
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