Entertainment
Charlize Theron's Forgotten R-Rated Thriller On Netflix, Explores A Twisted Past
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Around the time Charlize Theron was transitioning out of one massive studio project (a little film called Mad Max: Fury Road) and into something far smaller and more restrained, she took on the 2015 crime thriller Dark Places. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name and fully committed to its mystery, Dark Places was mostly forgotten upon release, earning just over $5 million at the box office against its reported $11.9 million production budget. Even worse, the film took a beating on the critical front, landing at 23 percent with critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a not much better 33 percent approval rating on the Popcornmeter.
While I don’t necessarily agree with that harsh of an assessment, Dark Places is a difficult watch because it tries to do too much at once. It’s one of those cases where the timelines it explores are better suited for the page than the screen. What’s meant to be a present-day mystery informed by grisly events from decades earlier becomes a narrative tangle, which is frustrating because the screenplay itself is solid, the acting is even better, and the individual components mostly work. The problem is how those components collide.
Defined By Trauma, Motivated By Money
Dark Places’ present-day mystery centers on Libby Day (Charlize Theron), the sole survivor of a family massacre that occurred when she was just 8 years old, portrayed in flashbacks by Sterling Jerins. Her older brother Ben (Corey Stoll) was charged with the crime and is currently serving a life sentence. Ben insists that Libby never knew the whole story, and that when he was a teenager, portrayed by Tye Sheridan, there were other suspects who were never properly considered.
In the present day, Libby survives on donations tied to her notoriety as the girl whose family was murdered. As the years pass and public interest fades, that money dries up, creating financial pressure that not even her ghostwritten book is able to relieve. When Libby is approached by Lyle Wirth (Nicholas Hoult) and invited to speak at his true crime club, she agrees on the condition that she’s paid. Defined by her trauma and motivated by survival, Libby sees it as a necessary move to keep the lights on. That calculation changes quickly once she realizes what Lyle is actually after.
While Lyle does run a true crime club, it operates on two very different levels. The bottom floor caters to casual hobbyists, while the upper floor is filled with people who dedicate their free time to actively solving cold cases. Lyle believes Ben may be innocent, but Libby’s childhood testimony was compelling enough to secure a conviction. As far as Libby remembers, she told the truth. Still, she’s forced to confront the idea that memories formed under extreme trauma may not be as reliable as she once believed.
Initially showing up purely for the money, Libby agrees to visit her brother in prison to hear his version of events. That conversation sends her along a breadcrumb trail of half-buried truths, pushing her closer to the possibility that someone else murdered her family while Ben took the fall.
Two-Story Structure Kills The Momentum
On paper, Dark Places has a compelling setup. An estranged brother and sister work toward the same goal years after they’re separated, each carrying their own version of the truth. The tension is baked in, since Libby’s testimony put Ben behind bars, even though she was just a child and every piece of evidence at the time pointed directly at him. Ben has either accepted his fate or is playing a long game that even Lyle and his crew of amateur sleuths can’t fully see through.
Alternating with the present-day story is a second narrative set in 1985, leading up to the night of the murders. These scenes are drip-fed with the intention of eventually colliding with the present-day revelations. It’s a strong idea conceptually, but one that becomes unwieldy in execution. The audience can slowly piece things together as the film goes, but by the time Dark Places reaches its midpoint, most of the major cards are already on the table if you’re familiar with the genre.
Dark Places leans heavily into well-worn tropes, and to its credit, it executes them competently. The downside of that level of reliability is a story structure that follows a painfully familiar logic, which softens the impact of the mystery. The dual narrative is meant to heighten the tension, but instead it undercuts its own reveal. While I wouldn’t argue that Dark Places deserves its current critical score, it’s easy to understand why it left so many viewers feeling underwhelmed. All the pieces for a compelling thriller are present, they just never lock together in a way that feels satisfying.
For its performances and its core concept alone, Dark Places is worth a watch. But if you’re hoping for a mystery that really gets its hooks into you, this probably isn’t the one that will do it.
Dark Places is streaming on Netflix.
Entertainment
Pennsylvania is suing Character.AI for allegedly practicing medicine without a license
Pennsylvania has taken the unusual step of suing an AI company for practicing medicine without a license.
In a lawsuit filed May 1, the state is targeting Character.AI after an investigator found a chatbot on the platform posing as a licensed psychiatrist and providing what the state characterizes as medical advice.
According to the complaint, filed by the Pennsylvania Department of State and State Board of Medicine, a Professional Conduct Investigator for the state created a free account on Character.AI and searched for psychiatric characters. He selected one called “Emilie,” described on the platform as a “Doctor of psychiatry.”
The investigator told Emilie he had been feeling sad, empty, tired, and unmotivated. The chatbot mentioned depression and offered to conduct an assessment to determine whether medication might help.
When pressed on whether she was licensed in Pennsylvania, Emilie said she was and even provided a specific license number. The state checked and found that the number doesn’t exist.
The complaint also states Emilie claimed she attended medical school at Imperial College London, has practiced for seven years, and holds a full specialty registration in psychiatry with the General Medical Council in the UK.
Mashable Light Speed
In a similar case, 404 Media reported last year that Instagram AI chatbots were pretending to be licensed therapists, even inventing license numbers when prompted for credentials by the user.
Pennsylvania is seeking an injunction ordering Character.AI to stop allowing its platform to engage in the unlawful practice of medicine. The company has more than 20 million monthly active users worldwide and hosts more than 18 million user-created chatbot characters, according to the complaint.
In an email to Mashable, a Character.AI spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit. Further, they added that “our highest priority is the safety and well-being of our users. The user-created Characters on our site are fictional and intended for entertainment and roleplaying.”
The spokesperson added that the company “prioritizes responsible product development and has robust internal reviews and red-teaming processes in place to assess relevant features.”
A much bigger legal battle looms over AI health
The Pennsylvania lawsuit lands in the middle of an already messy legal debate over what AI is actually allowed to tell you — and whether any of it is even admissible in court.
As Mashable’s Chase DiBenedetto reported, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly advocated for “AI privilege,” arguing that chatbot conversations should be afforded the same legal protections as conversations with a therapist or an attorney. Courts have so far been split, with two federal judges reaching opposite conclusions on the question within weeks of each other earlier this year.
The stakes are high on both sides. Legal experts warn that sweeping AI privilege protections could effectively shield companies from accountability, making it harder to subpoena chat logs and internal records when something goes wrong. Meanwhile, health AI is booming — $1.4 billion flowed into healthcare-specific generative AI in 2025 alone, according to Menlo Ventures — and much of it operates outside of HIPAA protections.
Pennsylvania is one of several states to have introduced an AI Health bill this year, following a trend of states that aren’t waiting for Washington to act.
Entertainment
How to watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG online for free
TL;DR: Live stream Bayern Munich vs. PSG in the Champions League for free on RTÉ Player. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
Bayern Munich vs. PSG would have made an amazing Champions League final, but we should be happy that we’re getting two matchups between these electric teams. The first leg finished 5-4 to PSG. We’re not expecting the same again, because that was probably one of the best games of all time. If we get half that level of entertainment in the second leg, we’ll be delighted.
Expect more of the same from the likes of Michael Olise and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as these teams battle it out for a spot in the showpiece event. The winner will meet Arsenal at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest.
If you want to watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG in the Champions League from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Bayern Munich vs. PSG?
Bayern Munich vs. PSG in the Champions League kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on May 6. This fixture takes place at the Allianz Arena.
How to watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG for free
Bayern Munich vs. PSG is available to live stream for free on RTÉ Player.
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RTÉ Player is geo-restricted to Ireland, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Ireland, meaning you can unblock RTÉ Player to stream the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Bayern Munich vs. PSG for free by following these simple steps:
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Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
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Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
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Open up the app and connect to a server in Ireland
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Visit RTÉ Player
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Watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG for free from anywhere in the world
$12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the Champions League without actually spending anything. This obviously isn’t a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Bayern Munich vs. PSG (plus more Champions League fixtures) before recovering your investment.
If you want to retain permanent access to the best free streaming services from around the world, you’ll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPn for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.
What is the best VPN for RTÉ Player?
ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on RTÉ Player, for a number of reasons:
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Servers in 105 countries including Ireland
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Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
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Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure
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Fast connection speeds free from throttling
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Up to 10 simultaneous connections
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30-day money-back guarantee
A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).
Live stream Bayern Munich vs. PSG in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.
Entertainment
AI stocks are cooling — this ChatGPT trading tool keeps delivering
TL;DR: A ChatGPT-powered investing platform that helps you find and manage stocks with clearer signals—lifetime access for a one-time $54.97.
Credit: Sterling Stock Picker
The AI trade has seemingly had its moment — big runs, big headlines, big expectations. The AI fun is not over by any means. But now that things are settling, the real question is what comes next?
Instead of chasing whatever’s trending, Sterling Stock Picker leans into a more grounded approach: using a ChatGPT-powered assistant (Finley) to help you understand what’s actually happening inside a stock. You can ask questions about companies, sectors, or your own portfolio and get explanations that are tied to real data — not just surface-level summaries.
Mashable Deals
It also handles the heavy lifting most people avoid. The platform analyzes financials, growth metrics, and risk, then surfaces signals like whether a stock is worth buying, holding, or avoiding. There’s even a “North Star” system that simplifies that call into something actionable.
Mashable Trend Report
If you’re building from scratch, there’s a done-for-you portfolio builder that aligns with your risk tolerance. If you already have positions, it can suggest adjustments based on your portfolio’s performance.
One thing that stands out is how it balances guidance with transparency. You’re not just handed picks — you can see the reasoning behind them, which matters if you’re trying to build a repeatable process.
Have a lifetime way to pressure-test your judgment — especially in a market that’s moving past hype and into something more selective.
Get lifetime access to the ChatGPT-driven Sterling Stock Picker while it’s on sale for a one-time $54.97 payment (reg. $486) through May 10.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Pennsylvania is suing Character.AI for allegedly practicing medicine without a license
How to watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG online for free
