Entertainment
Extremely R-Rated Road Thriller You Never Heard Of Will Push Your Loyalty To The Limit
By Robert Scucci
| Updated
I love tight thrillers with even tighter runtimes because sometimes you don’t need any worldbuilding whatsoever to set a story in motion. 2012’s Sun Don’t Shine is one of those films, clocking in at 82 minutes, and it’s an absolute masterclass in showing without telling, which is increasingly difficult to find these days in the streaming era.
By Season 5, the Stranger Things kids basically stared directly into the camera while spelling out crucial plot points to accommodate second-screen viewing. Lesser thrillers feel like we need to know everybody’s backstory before we can get into the conflict. Sometimes it’s necessary. Past is prologue, and we need some sort of character foundation to launch from.
Sun Don’t Shine isn’t that kind of movie, and its thrills come from not knowing where the protagonists are coming from or where they’re going. As a viewer, it’s up to you to put the pieces together and figure out exactly what the conflict is, and whether we should trust, or even like, the people whose lives we’re watching fall apart in real time.
It Starts With A Body And Gets So Much Worse
When we’re first introduced to Crystal (Kate Lyn Sheil), she’s in the middle of nowhere getting roughed up by a man named Leo (Kentucker Audley), who we soon learn is her boyfriend. Right off the rip, it’s reasonable to assume that Crystal is some sort of helpless abuse victim for a number of reasons. She’s very soft-spoken, appears to be in the middle of an ongoing mental health crisis, and we don’t know who, or what, is responsible for her current state of mind.
Leo is also a man of few words, but he seems determined to see his way through whatever nightmare he’s currently navigating. Through their conversations and behavior, we learn that there’s a dead body in the trunk of Leo’s car, but who killed him remains unclear.
Leo has a plan that he thinks will make everything better, which involves dropping Crystal off at a campsite while he spends the night with his ex-girlfriend, Terri (Kit Gwin), as a means of establishing alibis. Crystal, suspecting Leo of cheating on her with an old flame, refuses to stick to the script, and that’s when her rage, and his indifference, begins to surface for everybody to see.
This Movie Will Wreck You
What’s so enthralling about Sun Don’t Shine is how much it accomplishes by making you read between the lines. It actually trusts the viewer to arrive at their own conclusions. On the other side of the coin, by the time you reach the third act, you’ll have witnessed enough traumatizing scenes to fully understand what truly makes this relationship tick, who’s actually in the wrong, and who deserves a shot at redemption.
Not knowing who the body belongs to, or how they died, really makes you wonder why Leo is so on edge while handling the situation with Crystal. It’s during the quiet moments of reflection, when the couple isn’t on the run, that we learn just how messed up their lives are at this moment in time, and how their recent actions are about to blow up in their faces.
Kate Lyn Sheil’s ability to transform Crystal from a sobbing damsel in distress into a full-blown psycho, and Kentucker Audley’s willingness to wear whatever face Crystal needs his character to in the moment to make sure their plan goes off without a hitch, should be studied by filmmakers because I didn’t know who to root for until all the cards were laid out on the table.
Honestly, I still don’t. I’ll be thinking about Sun Don’t Shine for a long time because you only see what you see, and you have to read between the lines. Those lines, though, are crossed frequently and often blurred, making neither lead particularly sympathetic nor worthy of abject condemnation. We’re simply watching two people at their wits’ end after one, or both of them, did something horrible, and they’re trying to process the trauma of it all with very little time to lay low and gather their senses.
Sun Don’t Shine is far from an easy watch, but it’s a powerhouse of a thriller that will keep you up at night. The final lines uttered from Crystal’s mouth will haunt you, and if that’s what you’re looking for in a thriller, you’ll find it here.
As of this writing, Sun Don’t Shine is streaming for free on Tubi.
Entertainment
NYT Pips hints, answers for July 3, 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 July 3 Pips
Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 6-1, placed horizontally.
Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 6-1, placed horizontally; 4-3, placed vertically.
Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 1-3, placed vertically.
Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 4-3, placed vertically; 0-5, placed horizontally.
Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 0-5, placed horizontally; 5-6, placed horizontally.
Greater Than (5): Everything in this space must be greater than 5. The answer is 5-6, placed horizontally.
Medium difficulty hints, answers for July 3 Pips
Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally.
Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally; 4-4, placed vertically.
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically; 6-6, placed horizontally.
Mashable Top Stories
Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically.
Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 0-4, placed horizontally.
Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 0-4, placed horizontally; 4-2, placed vertically.
Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-3, placed vertically.
Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 4-3, placed vertically; 3-6, placed horizontally.
Number (8): Everything in this space must add up to 8. The answer is 4-2, placed vertically; 3-6, placed horizontally.
Hard difficulty hints, answers for July 3 Pips
Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically; 0-6, placed horizontally.
Number (12): Everything in this space must add up to 12. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally; 6-5, placed horizontally.
Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 6-5, placed horizontally; 5-3, placed vertically.
Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 5-3, placed vertically.
Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically; 2-0, placed horizontally.
Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 2-0, placed horizontally; 0-2, placed vertically.
Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 0-1, placed vertically; 1-5, placed vertically.
Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 1-5, placed vertically.
Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-1, placed horizontally.
Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 3-1, placed horizontally.
Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 3-4, placed vertically; 2-3, placed horizontally.
Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 3-2, placed horizontally; 3-6, placed vertically.
Number (12): Everything in this space must add up to 12. The answer is 3-6, placed vertically; 6-4, placed horizontally.
Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 5-5, placed vertically.
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 3-4, placed vertically; 6-4, placed horizontally; 4-4, placed vertically.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Entertainment
The Raunchy R-Rated 80s Teen Comedy On Streaming That Defined A Generation
By Brian Myers
| Published
The 1988 film Heathers not only helped launch the careers of three of its stars but also captured the cynicism and black humor that grew to become two of the defining characteristics of Generation X. The film’s dark subject matter is remarkably lightened with Daniel Waters’ script and director Michael Lehmann’s touches, who both worked to produce a movie that was the polar opposite of the more optimistic teen films of the John Landis/John Hughes era.
Mean Girls Before Mean Girls
Heathers follows high school student Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) who inadvertently falls into the popular girl clique at Westerburg High School. The three girls she runs with are snarky, cruel, and from wealthy families, and seem to revel in making life harder for anyone they believe is beneath their station in life. Heather Chandler (Kim Walker), Heather McNamara (Lisanne Falk), and Heather Duke (Shannen Doherty) are collectively known as “The Heathers,” and serve as a group that Veronica strives to separate from.
Enter a new guy J.D. (Christian Slater), who becomes the object of Veronica’s affection. His zany behavior includes firing a gun (loaded with blanks) at bully football players, and a fascination with explosives. He and Veronica quickly bond and concoct a plan for revenge on Heather Chandler after the snobby girl has a falling out with Veronica at a party.
In true black comedy fashion, Heathers has the worst-case scenario come to life multiple times throughout its 103-minute run. J.D. and Veronica end up killing Heather Chandler, setting off a course of events that lead to insane murder plots that culminate into an explosive ending.
Heathers follows the darkest of plotlines but successfully pulls off becoming a comedy with its quirky one-liners and outrageous plot twists. The film itself is the penultimate definition of irony captured on celluloid, as each action taken by J.D. and Veronica have the most unintended consequences imaginable. Though entirely unbelievable, the writing and the characters are able to make the environment and the vibe of the film familiar and leave you wanting a bit more.
Ryder and Slater Knew The Assignment
Heathers gives a great look at Winona Ryder’s jump from little Lydia Deetz (Beetlejuice) into teen comedy and drama roles that would be her mainstay in the years before her co-starring role on Stranger Things. The movie certainly made her a commodity in Hollywood and elevated her to elite status among Gen X audiences.
The same could be said for Christian Slater, who’s J.D. made it possible for the actor to be cast in offbeat comedy films Kuffs and Pump Up the Volume. He and Ryder play off one another without missing a beat and are truly one of the film’s components that shine the brightest.
Heathers proved to be well ahead of its time, but the cult status it quickly earned made filmmakers pay attention to a new subset within teen audiences who wanted so much more out of films than love stories and happy endings. Its legacy is far reaching, as Slackers, Reality Bites, and Jawbreaker would likely not have been made if not for the example set by this underappreciated 1988 film. Heathers gets 4.0/5.0-stars for its acting, hilarious screenwriting, and the overall vibe that Lehmann was able to capture with the project.
As of this writing, you can stream Heathers for free through Tubi, YouTube, Pluto TV, and Amazon Prime Video.
Entertainment
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for July 3, 2026
The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you’re an old soul.
Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that’s captured the public’s attention. 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 today’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. 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 of 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 until 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.
Here’s a hint for today’s Connections categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Mashable Top Stories
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Yellow: Good vibes
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Green: Old sayings
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Blue: Bad vibes
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Purple: One letter
Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today
Here are today’s Connections categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
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Yellow: Positive feelings
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Green: Retro expressions of approval
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Blue: Bad things to give someone
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Purple: What things pronounced “T” might refer to
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 #1118 is…
What is the answer to Connections today
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Positive feelings: BLISS, FELICITY, HAPPINESS, WARM FUZZIES
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Retro expressions of approval: COOL BEANS, FAR OUT, GROOVY, RIGHT ON
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Bad things to give someone: COLD SHOULDER, DIRTY LOOK, HARD TIME, RUNAROUND
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What things pronounced “T” might refer to: GOLF ACCESSORY, GOSSIP, HOT DRINK, SHIRT
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new 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? Get all the Strands hints you need for today’s puzzle.
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.
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