By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 1 hour ago

Right now, there’s plenty of buzz for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the new Marvel movie swinging into theaters July 31. But you don’t have to wait that long to watch some superhero shenanigans on the big screen. Supergirl premieres on June 26, and fans are eagerly awaiting the latest film in James Gunn’s growing DCU. Still, skeptics can’t help but wonder if this film will be able to match the epic vibes of Superman (2025) or if DC’s latest girlpower blockbuster will be a dud like Wonder Woman 1984.

Warner Bros. certainly feels confident about the movie. So confident, in fact, that they lifted its social media embargo early, allowing critics and influencers who had watched the film to share their thoughts online. Thus far, the studio’s confidence seems justified: most of the reviewers have been absolutely raving about Supergirl. Unfortunately, that enthusiasm may not be able to save a film that seems doomed to a mediocre box office performance.

Rave Reviews

What are the early impressions of Supergirl looking like? According to Den of Geek, “Supergirl is the superhero movie I’ve missed: a straightforward, poignant story with lots of emotion, especially when we see Kara through little Ruthye’s eyes. Luckily, that’s every action scene. Milly Alcock absolutely owns the role and will change our idea of Supergirl forever.” This sentiment is echoed by Gizmodo, which noted that Supergirl “doesn’t quite have the resonance of Superman…it acts as both a perfect companion and follow-up to that movie with better characters and more complex relationships.” On top of that, “It’s also incredibly emotional, which makes the action hit even harder.” 

The emphasis on emotion makes it sound like the movie is a fitting follow-up to Superman, which proudly wore its heart on its sleeve. Despite similar themes and action scenes, though, it sounds like Supergirl is going to have an identity of its very own. According to Mike Ryan, the movie “is not at all what I was expecting. I, too, assumed ‘superhero space movie with needle drops’ would have a similar tone to [Guardians of the Galaxy] or even Superman. Instead, it looks and plays more like a Mad Max movie, with dirty worlds, gross villains, and a self-destructive hero.”

Killer Performances, Mediocre Box Office

One thing that almost everyone agrees on is that Milly Alcock does an amazing job as Supergirl. The same can be said of Jason Momoa, who is receiving nearly unanimous praise for his portrayal of the charismatic antihero Lobo. While this is a star-making turn for Alcock, not everyone thinks the film is worthy of her talents. This includes Discussion Film, who said that, “the film around her takes far too long to step into gear and never quite matches her energy.” These minor critiques aside, though, it seems like Supergirl is going to be a film with mass market appeal.

Does that mean its box office is going to go up, up and away? Sadly, no. Right now, the movie is projected to earn between $45 to $55 million in its opening weekend. That’s not an extremely low amount, but it’s still much, much lower than Superman’s $125 million, which went on to earn  $618 million worldwide. If Supergirl’s overall box office is correspondingly low, it could be bad news for the DCU. Deadline reports that the movie will need to make $315 million just to break even. Considering how disappointing the box office for Masters of the Universe and The Mandalorian and Grogu (both lighthearted sci-fi blockbusters, like Supergirl), the Woman of Steel’s feature film debut could be doomed.

Should Supergirl disappoint at the box office, Warner Bros. will have the cold comfort of knowing that it was very well-received by critics. These early impressions make the film sound like it will be an action-packed, emotional thrill ride that lets Milly Alcock and Jason Momoa really stretch their acting chops. With any luck, good word of mouth may (Obsession-style) drive the box office higher than anyone could estimate. Otherwise, though, this movie’s failure will be seen as a failure of the DCU as a whole, cementing Marvel as the dominant superhero cinematic universe, once and for all. We’ll find out together when Supergirl premieres on June 26.

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 1 second ago

The X-Files is many things to many fans. For some, the show is a fun way to explore the possibilities of the unknown, probing for truths that have been hidden from us. For others, the show is a chance to bask in some utterly fantastic sci-fi and horror storytelling. Of course, for some people, the show is just a chance to stare at David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, arguably the absolute hottest people to grace ‘90s television. While I enjoy all those things, my favorite aspect of The X-Files is the paranoia at its core. This is a show that constantly reminds us that it’s downright dangerous to trust the government and the military.

Weirdly enough, a forgotten episode of The X-Files connects this show to one of the strangest and most famous anti-war movies of all time. In the Season 2 episode “Firewalker,” Mulder encounters a brilliant researcher who has been driven crazy by his horrific surroundings. Writer Howard Gordon later confirmed that Mulder’s relationship with this man was inspired by the relationship between Marlow and Kurtz in the Joseph Conrad novel Heart of Darkness. Meanwhile, that book inspired one of the greatest movies ever made: the Francis Ford Coppola classic Apocalypse Now.

An Errand Boy, Sent By Grocery Clerks

“Firewalker” is a Season 2 X-Files episode about a volcanic research project gone wrong. A robot (the titular Firewalker) discovers evidence of a possible murder, and Mulder and Scully are sent to investigate. As it turns out, researchers on the project had discovered a creepy new form of silicon-based life that can infect and kill humans. Mulder spends some time with project leader Daniel Trepkos, a man who has been driven a little kooky by the horrors he has seen. At the end of the episodes, he chooses to stay behind and face almost certain death rather than return to civilization.

According to The Truth is Out There: The Official Guide to the X-Files, “Firewalker” writer Howard Gordon compared Mulder’s interactions with Trepkos to the Joseph Conrad novel Heart of Darkness. In that book, a man named Marlow is hired by a Belgian trading company to find Kurtz, who has been exporting Ivory from the Congo. Kurtz is reportedly a brilliant man with ideas about how to improve the lives of the natives. But when Marlow finds him, Kurtz has gone completely native and enslaved the locals to his cult-like will. Kurtz is also sick and, while being reluctantly brought back to civilization, dies en route.

The Horror, The Horror

You may or may not have read or even heard of Heart of Darkness. But chances are that you are very familiar with the film it inspired: Apocalypse Now. This Coppola movie changes some of the particulars. Instead of being a hired gun, the Marlow character is Captain Willard, a soldier in the Army. Kurtz is transformed into a Colonel who has gone rogue, sending an army of sycophants who worship him against foes like the Viet Cong. Willard’s mission is to terminate Kurtz’s command “with extreme prejudice.”

Now, X-Files writer Howard Gordon was clear that “Firewalker” was inspired more by Heart of Darkness than Apocalypse Now. Accordingly, Mulder has a more sympathetic relationship with Trepkos, someone who (like Kurtz) was a brilliant man driven mad by the insanity of his surroundings. He intended Trepkos to be a kind of cautionary tale for Mulder, one that explained how “the natural endpoint of this quest for the truth is madness.” Mulder is, of course, characterized by his relentless search for the truth. This episode shows that this crusade, regardless of whether or not it’s successful, might very well drive the FBI agent crazy.

Still, the writer has effectively created a surprise link between The X-Files and Apocalypse Now. While both the show and the movie have offered some strident criticisms of the military and the government, most people have never clocked a real connection between these two very different projects. That connection is very fitting, though. After all, when I think about the X-Files revival, all I can do is utter the same iconic phrase Kurtz speaks in both the novel and the film: “the horror! The horror!”

SAVE 37%: As of June 19, you can get the Aiper Scuba X1 for $949.99, down from $1,499.99 at Amazon. That’s a 37% discount or $550 savings.

$949.99
at Amazon

$1,499.99
Save $550

 

It’s nearly Prime Day, and Amazon’s sneaking in little discounts here and there to keep us interested. From robot vacuums to kitchen appliances to TVs and headphones, we’re already seeing some impressive price cuts, but the outdoor and backyard gear is getting some of the most practical markdowns.

Right now, you can get the Aiper Scuba X1 cordless pool robot for $949.99 at Amazon, down from $1,499.99. That’s a 37% discount or $550 savings. It’s also the lowest price we’ve tracked for this model. But you’d better hurry: Amazon’s got a clock running on this one, and it’s almost over.

This little robot runs for 185 minutes on a single charge. Instead of drifting around aimlessly, it uses smart navigation to map out your pool and dodge obstacles on its own. When it’s done, just pop it onto the included wireless charging dock.

As for the actual cleaning, its dual jets clear out everything from fine sand to stray pebbles, while the filtration system catches the tiny debris you can’t even see. It also scrubs along the horizontal waterline to get rid of scum buildup. Essentially, it handles all the real manual labor so you don’t have to.