Entertainment
Endlessly Entertaining Time Travel Flick Is The Ultimate Do Over
By Robert Scucci
| Updated
Low-budget sci-fi is the ultimate proving ground for filmmakers because if they don’t lean into their limitations, they’re dead in the water. When done right, we get films like Primer (2004), Coherence (2013), Empathy, Inc. (2018), and my new favorite comedy in this wheelhouse, 2014’s The Infinite Man. With a cast of three, no special effects to speak of, and what appears to be an abandoned motel serving as the film’s primary location, The Infinite Man is about as bare bones as it gets.
It’s a time travel story, but really about how a man’s insecurities catch up with him in the most unhinged way possible. He builds a device that he thinks will save his relationship and, through his own doing, makes everything infinitely worse for himself. It’s almost poetic how badly he screws everything up, and if you love a good comedy of errors that’s both low-budget and high-concept, The Infinite Man is exactly what you’re looking for.
You Can’t Control Everybody, Not Even Your Past Self
The plot of The Infinite Man is simple at first, but snowballs in complexity as it barrels through its second and third acts. Dean (Josh McConville) is on the verge of a nervous breakdown after his anniversary with Lana (Hanna Marshall) doesn’t exactly go as planned. The motel they stayed at the previous year is now abandoned, and all the activities Dean had in mind to woo his unenthusiastic partner never materialize.
Like clockwork, almost as if planned, Lana’s ex-boyfriend, Terry (Alex Dimitriades), shows up, shocks Dean with a cattle prod, and leaves with Lana. Dean is distressed about this for a number of reasons. Most importantly, his desire to control every minor detail is so intense that he doesn’t realize how unhappy Lana is. But what’s really grinding his gears is the fact that Lana only dated Terry, a self-proclaimed pole-vaulting legend, for two weeks several years earlier.
Broken by this turn of events, Dean locks himself in the motel for a year and builds a time machine that allows him to travel back to the day Lana left him, effectively giving himself a do-over. The machine works, and he’s able to interact with both his past self and the past version of Lana. His attempts to influence their behavior without being detected backfire immediately when he’s discovered, setting off a chain of events that results in multiple duplicates of himself, Lana, and even Terry, all of whom vaguely recall Dean’s meddling.
It gets to the point where present-day Dean forces one of the Lanas to wear an earpiece while speaking with another version of himself so he can tell her exactly what to say, convinced his influence will lead everybody toward the correct outcome. But every time Dean interferes, things continue to get worse, not only for him, but for everybody around him.
Sometimes It’s Just Best To Let It Go
Dean’s character in The Infinite Man is a fascinating study. He’s a brilliant inventor and clever as hell, but his personality is so grating that it’s hard to root for him. He makes too many assumptions about people, is far too insecure for his own good, and every motivation he has is fundamentally selfish. He got dumped for being a control freak, and his solution is to become an even bigger control freak.
As annoying as Dean is, that’s where all the humor comes from, so it’s a fair tradeoff. He constantly gets his ass handed to him by his own miscalculations, and when he finally has to interact with alternate versions of himself, he starts to realize that he’s the problem. His evolution across the film’s brief 85-minute runtime is beyond impressive because you start out hating the guy, but gradually grow to like him as he becomes more self-aware.
The Infinite Man is a brilliant example of what filmmakers like Hugh Sullivan can do with virtually no budget, a tight screenplay, and the right characters to bring a concept like this to life. If you’re a creator in any capacity, it should always be inspiring when somebody gets out there and makes something, limitations be damned.
As of this writing, you can stream The Infinite Man for free on Tubi.
Entertainment
The Underrated Dark Thriller With The Best Action Star Ever Is Streaming For Free
By Steven Nelson
| Published
Step into a world where action meets drama as you queue up 2017’s The Foreigner, featuring none other than the martial arts maestro, Jackie Chan. In this intense thriller, Chan sheds his typically cheerful on-screen persona to deliver a performance that’s riddled with depth, showcasing a grieving father’s relentless pursuit of justice.
Directed by Martin Campbell, the man behind iconic James Bond films, The Foreigner is a gripping tale that unfolds against a backdrop of political intrigue and explosive action sequences. If you’re ready for a side of Jackie Chan you’ve rarely seen, this film promises an exhilarating ride.
A Chilling Revenge Arc
The Foreigner, starring the legendary Jackie Chan, is a riveting action thriller that revolves around the character of Ngoc Minh Quan, a humble London-based businessman with a haunting past. Quan’s world is turned upside down when his teenage daughter, Fan, is killed in a politically-motivated terrorist bombing. Devastated by his loss, Quan embarks on a relentless pursuit of justice, vowing to bring those responsible to account.
As Quan digs deeper, he discovers that the bombing is linked to a group of rogue Irish terrorists. He targets Liam Hennessy (played by Pierce Brosnan), a government official with former ties to the terrorists, believing him to hold the key to the identities of the bombers. Quan’s quest for vengeance takes him into a shadowy world of political conspiracy, power struggles, and hidden agendas.
Quan employs his skills, honed during his time as a special forces operative in the Vietnam War, to uncover the truth. He faces numerous obstacles and challenges as he unravels a complex web of intrigue involving British and Northern Irish politics, all while Hennessy struggles to manage political tensions and maintain his own grip on power.
The film’s narrative is imbued with themes of revenge, redemption, and the moral complexities of justice. Jackie Chan delivers a poignant and compelling performance, portraying a man driven by grief, grappling with loss, and seeking closure, while Pierce Brosnan excellently embodies the role of a conflicted and morally ambiguous politician.
A Hard-Hitting Blend Of Action And Drama
The Foreigner succeeds because it balances explosive action with a surprisingly emotional story. The film keeps the tension high throughout, blending political intrigue, revenge, and suspense while giving its lead character far more depth than audiences might expect from a traditional action thriller.
Critics gave the film a mixed-to-positive reception, and it currently holds a 66 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Much of the praise centered on the lead performance, which traded familiar action-comedy beats for a more restrained and dramatic approach. While some reviewers felt the political plotlines occasionally became overly complicated, many appreciated the film’s willingness to pair hard-hitting action with genuine emotional weight.
Fans were even more receptive, embracing the combination of intense set pieces, gripping drama, and a darker, more mature tone than viewers were expecting. The result is an underrated thriller that delivers both as an action movie and as a story about grief, vengeance, and the personal cost of pursuing justice.
For anybody looking for a tense, well-crafted thriller with strong performances and plenty of action, The Foreigner remains an easy recommendation.
As of this writing, The Foreigner is streaming for free on Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, and The CW.
Entertainment
‘Don’t make this a thing:’ Elmo picks Team USA for World Cup, still loves everyone
With the FIFA World Cup 2026 in full swing, and fans from all over the world traveling across the United States to cheer on their home teams, beloved Sesame Street character Elmo took to X in a Team USA jersey to declare his support for the American squad.
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The explicit partisanship isn’t an accident but an inside joke. Earlier this month, as the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks battled for a championship, Elmo expressed hope for both teams to have fun.
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The social media world wasn’t having it. Knicks fans, already riled up by the intensity of the series, weren’t pleased.
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Other brands got in on the joke. The roasting continued after the Knicks won, with at least one fan dressing in an Elmo suit to hold up an apology sign at the victory parade in New York.
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Even Cookie Monster didn’t hold back, saying he would teach Elmo how to pick a team.
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As a public figure with an international audience, Elmo is definitely in a tough spot, but declaring that you love everyone while wearing your nation’s soccer uniform is probably your best shot at minimizing the fallout.
Topics
Sesame Street
FIFA World Cup
Entertainment
The Sci-Fi Action Movie On Netflix Continues An Epic Franchise
By Steven Nelson
| Published
Prepare for an intergalactic showdown unlike any other. Skylines, the exhilarating third installment in the much-talked-about Skylines franchise, is now soaring its way into Netflix’s streaming galaxy. The saga continues as humanity and extraterrestrial life collide in a fight for survival, intertwining past legacies with futuristic ambitions.
Whether you’ve been a fan since the first ship landed or are just embarking on this cosmic journey, brace yourself for a sci-fi adventure that promises to be a spectacle of thrilling confrontations, otherworldly landscapes, and mind-bending twists. Let the battle for Earth’s destiny begin!
In Search Of A Vital Artifact
In Skylines, the story picks up after the events of the previous movies, catapulting viewers into an intensified interstellar conflict. When a virus threatens to turn Earth’s now peaceful hybrid alien population against humans, Captain Rose Corley (Lindsey Morgan), a human-alien hybrid with extraordinary abilities, is summoned.
Having proved herself in the previous encounters, Rose is the linchpin in humanity’s desperate plan to prevent the impending alien attack.
Drawing from her lineage’s strengths, she assembles an elite team of soldiers to join her on a mission into the extraterrestrial world. Their objective? To retrieve an artifact from the aliens‘ home planet that is key to saving both their species. However, as they journey through space, they encounter challenges and adversaries that put their skills, determination, and alliance to the ultimate test.
While the goal is clear, the path is fraught with battles, betrayals, and unexpected alliances. The mission becomes a race against time as they navigate through the alien world, battling enhanced creatures and trying to secure the vital artifact.
With the fate of both species hanging in the balance, Skylines is an adrenaline-pumping roller-coaster that pushes the boundaries of friendship, duty, and survival.
There Are Plans For Another Skyline Movie
The Skylines saga may not be over just yet. A fourth installment, Skyline: Warpath, was originally slated for an October 2025 release, but as of 2026, the film remains unreleased and no new launch date has been announced.
While updates have been scarce, interest in the franchise remains strong among fans who have followed the series from its beginnings. Frank Grillo has previously expressed interest in returning, and the ending of Skylines leaves plenty of room for the story to continue expanding into new corners of its universe.
That said, if Skyline: Warpath never materializes, Skylines still serves as a fitting conclusion to the trilogy, bringing its central conflicts to a satisfying close while leaving the door open for future adventures.
Speculating about the next Skyline movie is exciting, given the universe’s potential to expand and evolve. With the Earth somewhat stabilized after the events of Skylines, the story could further delve into the expansive universe. New planets, teeming with unknown life forms, could be discovered, presenting both opportunities and threats. As the survivors of Earth venture into the cosmos, they might seek alliances with other civilizations to fortify against shared adversaries.
Another angle could be the discovery of remnants of the alien race that had previously wreaked havoc on Earth. The survivors might unearth secrets about their adversaries, leading to potential reconciliations or fresh conflicts. Delving deeper into the origins and motivations of the aliens could add layers of complexity and empathy to the narrative.
On a more personal note, characters that survived the past ordeals might face internal struggles. The trauma of previous battles, combined with the challenges of navigating an expansive universe, could take a toll on their mental well-being. New characters, potentially from other civilizations, could be introduced, bringing with them unique skill sets, philosophies, and technologies.
With a universe as expansive and intricate as that of Skyline, there’s no telling where the story might lead next, especially with potential future sequels on the horizon.For now, fans can immerse themselves in the spectacle and drama of Skylines on Netflix, savoring the evolution of a story that promises to remain a mainstay in contemporary sci-fi cinema. Dive in and let the celestial odyssey unfold.
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