Entertainment
The Sci-Fi Disaster Epic That's So Dumb It's Wonderful
By Robert Scucci
| Published
It’s not uncommon for your typical disaster movie to have a non-human antagonist in the form of a hostile alien takeover, or even a comet hurtling toward Earth. The drama that we so desperately crave often presents itself as a conflict between overreaching government agencies and civilians who find themselves at odds with one another in their efforts to battle some unknown force of nature. In the case of 2022’s Moonfall, we don’t get much aside from “the moon is up to something, and we have to kill it.”
This Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) directed film could be described as a B-movie with a $150 million budget. The special effects and cinematography are quite impressive, but the screenplay leaves a lot to be desired. Despite Moonfall’s shortcomings, it’s incredibly fun to watch, and leans into all of the science-fiction disaster movie beats that we all know and love.
We Have To Kill The Moon!
Moonfall’s story starts in 2011, when Brian Harper’s (Patrick Wilson) Space Shuttle, the Endeavor, gets attacked by some unknown anomaly that kills one of his crew members, and leaves the other unconscious. Upon his return to Earth, Harper is immediately disgraced by NASA because there were no other witnesses to the disaster, leading everybody to believe that he was responsible for the incident.
The rest of Moonfall takes place 10 years after the incident, and we learn that everybody should have taken Harper a little more seriously. Harper, who can barely make rent, but still somehow has disposable income to work on classic cars and motorcycles in his garage, makes a modest living through public speaking as a former astronaut.
We learn that Harper is estranged from his teenage son, Sonny (Charlie Plummer), who is serving time in jail and awaiting trial after getting in a highly publicized high-speed chase with the cops. Though Moonfall very much needs this secondary plot to make the story relatable, it spends too much time trying to establish drama on Earth, and it feels more like an afterthought rather than a primary source of tension.
At the same time, the bickering between Harper, his ex-wife Brenda (Carolina Bartczak), and her new husband Tom (Michael Pena), provides a healthy amount of comic relief. Meanwhile, conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman (John Bradley), is conducting his own research, and makes a shocking discovery about the moon that corroborates Harper’s initial claims.
Houseman has reason to believe that the moon is a man made mega-structure that is powered by a white dwarf star, and suspects the moon has been knocked out of orbit, causing irregular seismic and gravitational activity on Earth.
NASA makes a similar discovery, and wants to keep the issue under wraps. But Houseman already posted his findings on social media, and immediately causes a global panic, which carries Moonfall into its third act.
Harper suits up with Jocinda Fowler (Halle Berry), the other surviving member from the 2011 incident, and Houseman. They defy logic in every conceivable way as they board a rocket with severely damaged engines, and their goal is to blow up whatever it is inside the moon that’s causing the disturbances.
At this point Moonfall is operating on two fronts: outer space, and Earth. Having reason to believe that the moon can detect the presence of electronics, the crew relies on Houseman’s on-the-fly hand-calculated flight paths without the guidance of an onboard navigation system. Luckily, Houseman is quite good at math, and they’re able to continue their mission as intended.
Back on Earth, Sonny gets himself into another high-speed chase, but this time he’s speeding away from looters who want his oxygen tanks. The chase sequences also defy logic, as the moon’s gravity seems to pick and choose what objects (and people) get thrown around.
In a classic “race against the clock” kind of scenario, Moonfall haphazardly jumps between these two settings for the remainder of the film, tries to put a neat bow on the narrative, while also trying to leave the ending open for a sequel.
What Critics Say About Moonfall
The unfortunate reality is that Moonfall will likely not get a sequel because of how badly it bombed at the box office. Boasting a budget of $150 million, Moonfall only earned $67 million upon its release. In fact, Moonfall lost a reported $139 million once you factor in the marketing and distribution costs.
Not only did the film perform poorly at the box office, it was critically panned upon its release, receiving a 35 percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Moonfall may very well have been a failed attempt at recreating the glory Independence Day, but it’s still a highly entertaining disaster movie that deserves your attention. Though the premise is highly flawed, it still delivers a satisfying amount of action and comedic relief between otherwise highly predictable beats.
As of this writing, Moonfall is not available for streaming, but could be viewed on-demand through YouTube, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, and Fandango at Home.
Entertainment
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Entertainment
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 2, 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: A Pittsburgh Athlete
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Green: Seen on an MLB Scorebug
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Blue: Teams in the PWHL Playoffs
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Purple: Horse Racing Triple Crowns
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 #585 is…
What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?
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A Pittsburgh Athlete: PANTHER, PENGUIN, PIRATE, STEELER
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Seen on an MLB Scorebug: COUNT, INNING, OUTS, SCORE
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Teams in the PWHL Playoffs: CHARGE, FLEET, FROST, VICTORIE
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Horse Racing Triple Crowns: AFFIRMED, CITATION, JUSTIFY, WHIRLAWAY
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 today’s Connections.
Entertainment
NYT Pips hints, answers for May 2, 2026
Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.
Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.
Currently, if you’re stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move on to the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.
How to play Pips
If you’ve ever played dominoes, you’ll have a passing familiarity with how Pips is played. As we’ve shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don’t necessarily have to match.
The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible — and common — for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.
Here are common examples you’ll run into across the difficulty levels:
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Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.
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Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.
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Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.
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Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.
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Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.
If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.
Easy difficulty hints, answers for May 2 Pips
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally; 6-3, placed horizontally.
Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 6-3, placed horizontally; 3-4, placed horizontally.
Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally; 4-4, placed horizontally.
Less Than (6): Everything in this space must be less than 6. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically.
Medium difficulty hints, answers for May 2 Pips
Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 0-3, placed vertically.
Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 5-5, placed horizontally.
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Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 5-4, placed horizontally
Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 5-4, placed horizontally; 4-4, placed vertically.
Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally; 2-6, placed vertically.
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically; 5-6, placed vertically.
Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 5-6, placed vertically.
Hard difficulty hints, answers for May 2 Pips
Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically; 2-5, placed vertically.
Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-3, placed vertically.
Number (15): Everything in this space must add up to 15. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally.
Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally; 6-3, placed vertically.
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally.
Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically.
Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically; 1-3, placed horizontally.
Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally; 3-3, placed horizontally; 3-4, placed horizontally; 1-3, placed horizontally; 0-3, placed horizontally.
Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally.
Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally; 0-3, placed horizontally; 0-1, placed horizontally.
Less Than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 0-1, placed horizontally.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
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