Entertainment
Extremely R-Rated Sci-Fi Thriller Is The Unhinged Mad Max Movie You Never Heard Of
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Ever since George Miller gave us the first Mad Max movie in 1979, moviegoers have been assaulted with cheap imitations, some of which are actually quite good. 1986’s Dead End Drive-In is a superb example of how a society in decline manages to operate before everything totally collapses. It exists in an early state of decay, showing how the powers that be still struggle to keep the common citizen under their thumbs, while the common citizen tries to navigate a bleak future looming over the horizon. More often, though, we get films like 1985’s Wheels of Fire, which might as well be called The Road Warrior, But Not As Cool.
In this film, we’re already occupying the wasteland, resources are scarce, and it’s every man for himself. There are trucks and explosions, and a rag-tag group of miscreants trying to fight off evil militias, with their only hope being to live another day before figuring out where they’re going to scavenge next. It’s a fun, action thriller B-movie, but most of the excitement I felt while watching it was over how awesome it’s going to be the next time I watch a Mad Max film. I’m way overdue to revisit Fury Road, and I have Wheels of Fire to thank for making me realize that.
The Ownership, True Believers, Rebel Gangs, And Lots Of Stuff Blowing Up
Wheels of Fire follows the adventures of Trace (Gary Watkins), a former member of a militia known as The Ownership. The Ownership’s entire reason for being is to establish stable communities where people can start rebuilding peacefully. Scavenging along with Trace is his sister, Arlie (Lynda Wiesmeier), and her boyfriend, Bo (Steve Parvin), but the group quickly gets broken up by a warlord named Scourge, who captures and enslaves Arlie, while Bo falls in with his gang.
Along the way, Trace befriends a lone mercenary named Stinger (Laura Banks), and the two cross paths with a group of Sand People and a psychic named Spike (Linda Grovenor), only to run into another community known as the True Believers. Scourge, who simply wants to rule over everybody, is hellbent on destroying both The Ownership and the True Believers if it means he gets to be the ruler of the wasteland. Lots of stuff blows up, everybody’s wearing leather in the desert, and you can only imagine just how bad everybody smells in this context.
A Quick And Fun Imitation
While I give credit to Wheels of Fire for having fun with a formula that was already perfected with 1981’s The Road Warrior, it’s also all over the place, and undermines its own adventure by trying to cram so much lore into such a short run time. The entire movie clocks in at 81 minutes, and just when you think things are getting going, the credits are already rolling. It’s one of those “drive off into the sunset” kind of movies, as it’s pretty obvious that nobody’s situation is going to improve overnight, and there’s still a long road ahead. In order for that to work, though, a film like Wheels of Fire has to be good enough to warrant a sequel that allows for that lore to properly build out.
Instead, we have a bunch of wasteland renegades on the adventure of a lifetime, but there’s such a lack of charisma that nobody seems like they want to be there at all. Even when the film was at its most intense, I kept thinking to myself, “Man, if I were there, I’d go out in an epic blaze of glory unlike these clowns.” The most we get here is some yelling and a bunch of marauders sauntering around the desert haphazardly, simply going where the screenplay tells them to walk.
Still, Wheels of Fire is such a low-stakes film that any fan of that dusty and crusty Mad Max flavoring will find enjoyment in its aesthetic because you really can’t go wrong with it, which is why we’re still silently holding out hope for another Mad Max movie that we’ll probably never get. Though there are murmurs of a TV series in development, so never say never.
As of this writing, you can stream Wheels of Fire for free on Tubi.
Entertainment
Durobos Krono e-reader is the perfect palm-sized e-reader — and a great Kindle and Kobo alternative
Table of Contents
In my hunt for the best e-readers, I’ve been determined to find a great alternative to a Kindle or a Kobo. Don’t get me wrong, I love both of these e-readers and generally think they are the best e-readers you can buy, but I know there’s a hunger for variety in the e-reader community beyond the big two. I’ve tried Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Remarkable e-ink tablets, and Boox e-readers, but none of them have impressed me. But the Durobo Krono caught my eye at CES 2026.
I’ve often called an e-reader a library in your pocket, and the Durobo Krono is more than that. It’s a library, bookstore, notebook, and MP3 player all in one. But that’s a lot of promise in a palm-sized device. Luckily, it totally nails it. Here’s what you need to know about the Durobo Krono and why I named it the best open-source Android e-reader.
Durobo Krono e-reader: Our quick verdict
Have lots of different books on different apps? The Durobo Krono might just be for you.
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable
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Best for: The person with books in multiple apps — Kindle, Kobo, Audible, Libro.fm, and Libby. Plus, great for the person who likes to listen to audiobooks and read at the same time, and people seeking an on-the-go voice notetaker.
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Key tech: 6.13-inch Carta 1200 e-ink display, 128GB of storage, 6GB RAM, 300 ppi resolution, adjustable warmth and brightness, octa-core processor, and Android 15 OS.
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MSRP: $279.99
Your entire digital library on one device
Access your Kindle library from the Durobo Krono.
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable
I find myself in a unique conundrum as an e-reader tester: I have collections of books across many different e-reader platforms. While I could just get used to cycling through different e-readers regularly, that’s a lot to keep track of. The dream is to have them all on one device, and the Durobo Krono is that dream realized.
Running Android 15, the Google Play Store comes preinstalled on the Krono, so any app available in the store is available on the e-ink tablet. Suddenly, all the apps I use regularly from Audible, Kindle, Kobo Books, Libby, and Libro.fm are now on my Durobo Krono.
The apps appear on a separate page from Krono’s built-in library, so you will need to navigate between them. A small price to pay for the convenience of accessing them from one device.
Technically, you could get this convenience from a tablet, too. Except an iPad doesn’t have the matte, easy-on-the-eyes e-ink display that the Krono does.
Since it’s an Android device, Apple apps (like Apple Music and Apple Books) aren’t available, so as an Apple Music listener, I couldn’t use the device as a music player.
It’s fast — until it’s not
In my testing, I find open Android e-readers to be too slow, especially compared to Kindles and Kobos, which are zippy e-readers. The Boox Go and Boox Palma 2, similar devices to the Durobo Krono, have both had disappointing performance, even right out of the box. Yet, the Durobo Krono is brilliantly speedy. Even when moving between different books on different apps, I was impressed by how quickly it sped through them.
Its speed is conditional. Too many apps, or more demanding apps, will slow down the device. After a week of use, I added the Substack app to the Krono, which was too demanding for it. Even when I wasn’t using the app, it slowed down the whole device. Once I deleted the app, it sped back up.
Other demanding apps I found were audiobook players like Audible. I especially noticed this when listening to an audiobook while reading an e-book on a separate app. It’s disappointing that two apps geared toward readers slowed down an e-reader device. For the best performance on the Krono, use one app at a time and avoid high-demanding apps.
A perfect palm-sized e-reader
The Durobo Krono is perfectly palm-sized.
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable
The Durobo Krono has a 6.13-inch screen, slightly bigger than the basic Kindle‘s, but the entire device is narrower than the Kindle. It’s about the same size as my hand and weighs 6.1 ounces. The small size makes it comfortable to hold for hours at a time — especially if you add a PopSockets grip on the back as I did. But that doesn’t make the screen size feel cramped either.
It needs better battery life
When you’re used to the months-long battery life of a Kindle, it’s a hard adjustment to go to an e-reader with significantly less. With a couple of hours of use per day, the Durobo Krono e-readers have about one week of battery life. Compared to a smartphone or tablet, that’s pretty good, but when you’re coming from a Kindle or even a Kobo, the Krono e-reader’s battery life feels too short.
More features to enjoy
Access Durobo AI on the Krono e-reader.
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable
Easily scroll through articles and apps with the Krono’s smart dial.
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable
The features on the Krono Durobo are extensive. It has a smart dial on the side that refreshes the screen, starts recording, and scrolls on the device. It has a built-in AI called Spark, which captures voice recordings and produces transcripts and summaries. It’s a lot more than just a standard e-reader, but in the months of use, I never used the Spark AI. The Smart Dial is a fantastic addition for smooth scrolling.
Is the Durobo Krono worth it?
Looking for an alternative to a Kindle or Kobo? Try the Durobo Krono e-reader.
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable
The Durobo Krono is the best open Android e-reader. If you’re exploring the world of the Boox Palma or the Remarkable Move, the Krono is my preferred pick for its fast processing and support for third-party apps. In a perfect, palm-sized package, it provides access to all your digital libraries. It’s more expensive than other e-readers, but for its extra benefits, it’s worth the extra price.
Entertainment
James Gunn Finally Answers Superman's Biggest Plot Hole, But Fans Aren’t Convinced
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
When James Gunn’s Superman premiered, it leapt fan expectations in a single bound and did the seemingly impossible: made us care about DC movies again. It was perfectly cast, had plenty of action and humor, and generally felt like a fun, lived-in superhero universe. As a result, most audiences loved this film, but it did leave tights-and-flights fans with a seeming plot hole. Namely, if Lex Luthor created a clone of Superman, how the heck did he not know that Clark Kent was secretly the Man of Steel?
Recently, James Gunn took to Bluesky to answer this question. According to the Superman director, Clark Kent uses “Hypno Glasses” to fool those around him, plus Lex Luthor would never assume that a godlike alien spends his time walking among humans in a secret identity. Finally, he claimed that Luthor, like most brilliant people, still has blind spots even his genius might overcome. While these explanations work on paper, some in the fandom are disappointed because Gunn accidentally made Superman unethical and Luthor downright stupid.
Superman Or Super Creep?
What’s wrong, exactly, with James Gunn’s answers here? Let’s start with the Hypno Glasses. Gunn didn’t invent this concept. It’s actually been part of Superman comic lore since the late ‘70s. The glasses don’t give the Man of Steel broad hypnotism powers or anything. Instead, they simply keep people from making the connection that Clark Kent is actually Superman. This helps explain why the award-winning journalists who work with Clark every day and regularly have contact with Superman (like Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, and even Lois Lane at first) can’t figure something so basic out.
However, some fans find the idea of Hypno Glasses to be a bit icky. Superman is always presented as this moral exemplar, but it seems more than a bit unethical for him to constantly hypnotize the people he cares about by using creepy alien technology. It’s even weirder when you consider that he spent a fair amount of time hypnotizing Lois Lane, basically making her fall in love with the man she sees in the glasses and not the real thing. Also, did Lois simply figure out his secret identity on her own? It’s unclear in the film, but if so, that means these glasses are about as effective as they are unethical.
Super Genius Or Super Stupid?
As for Lex Luthor, James Gunn claims that just because the man is a genius doesn’t mean that he can’t “miss basic things,” and that Lex was so worried about an alien trying “to take over the world” that he never considered a human identity. However, this explanation arguably makes the franchise’s genius supervillain look like something of an idiot. He knows how to fight Superman because he has studied him for years, but he can’t figure out that the guy who keeps disappearing for eight hours a day has a job? Also, he can hack the entire Fortress of Solitude, but he can’t figure out some tricked-out alien glasses?
Of course, I’m being a bit hard on James Gunn here. Superman’s titular character is a kind of modern myth, and his secret identity is part of the mythology. The idea that a guy completely obscures his identity with a pair of glasses has never made much sense in a real-world context, and, if we’re being honest, it never will. Unfortunately, Gunn’s attempt at an explanation makes Superman look like a creep, and Lex Luthor look like an idiot. At the rate the bar is lowering, the booze-swilling, party-hearty Supergirl may end up being the real role model of this entire franchise!
Entertainment
The 9 best waterproof Bluetooth speakers, tested poolside
Anglers, boaters, and all-around water lovers who want a sonically powerful and waterproof speaker that’s built like a submarine.
This third-gen release isn’t just an ideal pick for boaters, beachgoers, pool-dippers, and water sports fanatics. The speaker’s impenetrable shell also makes it a practical wireless audio solution for all outdoor activities. Turtlebox’s industrial design is crushproof, dropproof, dustproof, impactproof, and, of course, waterproof. If that isn’t enough, each unit comes with rubber feet and stability features, such as tie-downs, to firmly secure to moving vehicles (e.g., golf carts, jet skis, scooters).
You’ll enjoy up to 100 watts of deep, emphatic sound. The frequency range is well-balanced. Bass commands most tracks, but mids and highs are transparent. Noise reduction is the speaker’s unsung feature. It does an amazing job minimizing open-air noise, specifically wind. We’ve previously tested this feature in breezy climates and heard music loudly and clearly.
Turtlebox claims the speaker will last up to three days on a single charge, but it doesn’t list specifics. A full charge is rated at 25+ hours. High volume and multi-speaker pairing decrease playtime by 5 to 10 hours. Nonetheless, the speaker can last an entire weekend when listening at moderate volume and recharge mobile devices at the same time.
Sure, it’s not the most portable-friendly or stylish waterproof speaker, but most consumers will prefer the remarkable craftsmanship and sound over aesthetic flair.
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Durobos Krono e-reader is the perfect palm-sized e-reader — and a great Kindle and Kobo alternative
