Entertainment
Unexpected Conspiracy Theory Uncovered In Ridiculous, Unrated Comedy Thriller
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Putting down a beloved family pet is never an easy thing to do, but sometimes it’s the most humane option when their health is in rapid decline and the suffering is obvious. 2014’s Murder of a Cat explores what could go wrong when a freak accident involving a crossbow and a cat named Mousers spirals into a bizarre web of conspiracy involving the cat’s secret second owner, a big-box retailer, and a trail of receipts that makes no sense until our hero does enough digging that the Sheriff isn’t willing to do himself.
Murder of a Cat borrows noir mystery thriller beats but frames them as a comedy, which makes for an unexpectedly engaging watch as our hero and his unlikely ally try to figure out who murdered their cat, leaving no stone unturned in the process. With every step closer they get to the truth, new complications arise, and nearly everyone they cross paths with becomes a potential suspect in Mousers’ murder.
Clinton, Greta, Mousers, And Horatio
Murder of a Cat opens by establishing Clinton’s (Fran Kranz) family dynamic. He lives with his mother Edie (Blythe Danner), tries to make a living selling figurines he creates while living in her basement, and regularly butts heads with Sheriff Hoyle (J.K. Simmons), who also happens to be romantically involved with his mother. A loner for obvious reasons, Clinton’s best friend is his 17-year-old cat, Mousers. Mousers comes and goes as he pleases and is shamelessly spoiled by Clinton because, in Clinton’s eyes, they’re ride-or-die partners in life.
When Mousers is suddenly killed by an arrow, Clinton refuses to let his death go unresolved. Sheriff Hoyle assures Clinton that he will look into the murder, but seems far more interested in spending time with Edie than actually investigating. Taking matters into his own hands, Clinton retraces Mousers’ steps to a senior living home, where he meets Greta (Nikki Reed), who lives there for the cheap rent. Greta reveals that she had also been caring for the same cat, though she knew him as Horatio.
Sheriff Hoyle eventually deduces that the cat had been living a double life, bouncing between two owners to double his meals and affection. Clinton is left with the unfortunate task of breaking the news to Greta that her beloved Horatio has been murdered.
While attempting to trace the arrow back to its source, Clinton and Greta find themselves at Ford’s Megastore, owned by Al Ford (Greg Kinnear). Al is visibly uneasy about Greta’s presence, as she recently quit working for him under questionable circumstances. This immediately raises Clinton’s suspicions that Greta might be hiding something. Although it’s revealed that Ford’s Megastore carries the specific crossbow model that could have been used in Clinton/Horatio’s murder, there is no paper trail linking the weapon to that particular location. This sends Clinton and Greta on a wild goose chase to uncover who actually killed their beloved cat.
Would Have Worked Better As A Short
Murder of a Cat clearly enjoys its own premise, but it feels stretched thin across its 90-minute runtime. Fran Kranz and Nikki Reed have solid chemistry as reluctant antagonists turned allies, and the mystery is entertaining enough to keep things moving. J.K. Simmons and Blythe Danner make for an amusing older couple whose frustration with Clinton’s arrested development is obvious and consistently funny, especially as his investigation escalates.
The issue is that the mystery itself never fully earns its payoff, which makes much of the investigative buildup feel underwhelming by the end. That said, Murder of a Cat remains worth watching for its performances and off-beat tone. Still, I can’t shake the feeling that this would have worked far better as a single episode of an anthology series rather than a feature-length film.
Murder of a Cat is currently streaming on Tubi.
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.
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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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