Entertainment
Neil Breen's New Sci-Fi Thriller Delivers A Message Too Powerful For Film
By Robert Scucci
| Updated
In every single one of his movies, Neil Breen portrays a tragic hero with godlike powers who takes it upon himself to save the world from itself through mystical, inexplicable abilities that more often than not make no sense. 2016’s Pass Thru clings to this formula and makes for an entertaining watch for fans of outsider filmmaking.
While most Breeniacs like myself would point to 2005’s Double Down and 2012’s Fateful Findings as his finest works, Pass Thru is not without its charm. But be warned, because it’s also one of Breen’s most disjointed pieces in his entire filmography, and that’s saying a lot.
“The message is simply too powerful to be captured on film.”
Here, we have an ominous floating red dot that serves no real purpose, a tiger that occasionally shows up in the Nevada desert for reasons never explained, and cans of beans littering the landscape. Corrupt insurance, bank, and media “presidents” openly lay out their plans to be corrupt and immoral, but Neil Breen’s Thgil (light spelled backwards), an extraterrestrial AI lifeform sent to Earth to make it a better place, is here to save the day.
It’s No Double Down, But We’ll Take It
Like most Breen joints, Pass Thru is rife with sprawling desert shots, ramshackle sound design, and preachy monologues about the state of the world, and how Neil Breen, wearing his finest Canadian tuxedo, is the only being in existence who can usher in a new age of enlightenment. Self-satisfaction aside, we get a mess of a story that begins with a group of nameless immigrants packed into the back of a truck and carted off to an undisclosed location by enforcers who are supposed to round them up and send them back to the countries they escaped from.
Through Breen’s narrations, we learn that he’s an AI lifeform from a far-off galaxy sent to Earth specifically to eliminate 300 million “bad people” through a great cleansing. The problem is that in his human form, he becomes a heroin addict who sleeps in garbage when he’s not eating canned food in his trailer home. He befriends Amanda (Kathy Corpus) and her niece, Kim (Chaize Macklin), who are reluctant to stay with him in his trailer even though he claims to be “the future,” after thoroughly rounding up his garbage to make his home more welcoming.
Meanwhile, a boy astronomer (Abraham Rodriguez), two girl astronomers (Taylor Sydney and Taylor Johnson), and their wheelchair-bound professor (James D. Smith) head out to the desert in search of a glowing red dot that looks like a broken pixel on your screen, but appears with purpose despite that purpose never being properly spelled out.
Somehow, all of these separate storylines converge when Thgil takes over a news broadcast to let the entire human race know how primitive they are, and again when he shows up at a mansion to tell various government officials and industry presidents that they’re corrupt. Shortly thereafter, CGI explosions burn in the background as Neil Breen walks away from the wreckage without ever looking back.
Not One Of The Classics, But A Departure Point
While Pass Thru is distinctly a Neil Breen film, it pales in comparison to its predecessor, Fateful Findings. That film is rooted in corporate espionage, government secrets, and dozens of laptops getting destroyed as our hero vows to expose the corruption running rampant in this world.
All the same trappings of self-importance and disgust with the modern world are still there, but Pass Thru fails to stick the landing because there are simply too many moving parts. For a film that people like me actively seek out because it’s so laughably terrible in every conceivable way, there’s a distinct lack of charm here, and I can’t quite put my finger on what’s missing.
If Neil Breen were a musician, Pass Thru would be his departure album. He’s been to the desert and to far-off galaxies by bending space and time as we know it on multiple occasions. This is the last film he shoots primarily on location before becoming a master of the green screen with films like Twisted Pair and Cade: The Tortured Crossing, so what we’re seeing here feels like an artificially intelligent being struggling to reach his final form through conventional means. The message is simply too powerful to be captured on film. At least that’s the narrative I’m going with.
If you’re a fan of Neil Breen’s work, Pass Thru is essential viewing. Just know that it’s not his finest hour. To witness what Breen calls a “visionary, revolutionary film which pushes the human species to the limits of controversial, thought-provoking actions,” you can learn more about it on his website.
Entertainment
Apples excellent AirPods Pro 3 are back on sale for just $200 — a $50 savings
SAVE $49.01: The Apple AirPods Pro 3 are 20% at Amazon and Walmart as of April 22. Snag a pair for just $199.99 (normally $249).
$199.99
at Amazon
$249
Save $49.01
Our very own Stan Schroeder is fresh off reviewing the new AirPods Max 2, Apple’s updated over-ear headphones. While he thought their noise cancellation has improved since the last generation, they still can’t block out sounds as well as the AirPods Pro 3: “Wearing them on a busy street makes the outside noise vanish in a spectacular fashion,” he writes of the earbuds.
So, if you’re an Apple user looking for best-in-class ANC, stick with the AirPods Pro 3. Right now, they happen to be on sale for just $199.99 at Amazon and Walmart — that’s a savings of nearly $50 and one of their best deals to date. They briefly hit $184 on Amazon back in February, but never since. (And they were $219.99 everywhere last Black Friday.)
For comparison’s sake, the AirPods Max 2 are up to $350 pricier depending on the color.
The AirPods Pro 3 actually have the same H2 chip as the AirPods Max 2, so they support the same suite of smart features like Adaptive Audio and Live Translation. On top of that, they come with a built-in heart rate monitor that “worked perfectly,” per Mashable contributor Adam Doud. (Read his full review.)
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On their own, the AirPods Pro 3 will net you up to eight hours of battery life per charge with their ANC enabled. Their included charging case adds an extra 24 hours of use.
I can personally assure you that you won’t find the AirPods Pro 3 on sale for anywhere cheaper — even if you go for a used pair. In new condition, they’re $239.99 at B&H Photo and full price at Best Buy and Target. Then there’s Best Buy’s open-box AirPods Pro 3, which are are $204.99 in fair condition. Pass.
Entertainment
LA public schools pass screen time limits for students in a first
Los Angeles public school students may be returning to the age of college-ruled notebooks and Scantrons, following a Tuesday school board vote that will limit the use of computers, laptops, and tablets in classrooms.
Titled “Using Technology with Intention,” the new resolution mandates the creation of grade-level and subject-specific screen time limits across Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) schools, including a complete ban on device usage for kindergarten and first grade. The use of one-to-one devices, like individual Chromebooks, will be discouraged for second through fifth grades, as well.
Revised guidelines will also address video-aided lesson plans, access to video streaming platforms like YouTube, and expanded restrictions on gaming and social media platforms.
District staff must present the revised tech use policy by June, which will go into effect for all LAUSD students beginning with the 2026-2027 school year. Guidelines will be reevaluated every year, and schools are tasked with tracking and sharing student screen time numbers with parents.
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The resolution cites increasing concern about the effect of screen time on young minds and alleged screen addiction, including recent Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) studies that show a correlation between high screen time and adverse health effects. The board was unanimously in favor of the tech restrictions, with one recusal.
“We know that tech is not going away and can be a powerful tool in the classroom. This is not about going backwards. This is about rethinking school time and screen time in schools to ensure we are doing what actually helps students learn best,” board member Nick Melvoin said during Tuesday’s meeting.
“This is not about going backwards. This is about rethinking school time…”
Advocates, parents, and even students have spent the last year lobbying for greater tech restrictions following the passing of a 2025 bell-to-bell cellphone ban restricting the use of personal devices during school hours. Schools Beyond Screens, a national classroom tech safety coalition founded by LAUSD parents and teachers, helped craft the resolution in collaboration with board members and co-sponsors Melvoin, Karla Griego, Tanya Ortiz Franklin, Jerry Yang, Kelly Gonez, and Rocío Rivas.
“Now is the time for a safe and science-backed approach to classroom technology, one that is not guided by Big Tech talking points like screen value over screen time,” the organization wrote in a press release following the decision.
“There is much work to be done, and this is only the beginning, but today, we are proud, grateful, and – for the first time in a long time – hopeful. Our kids may yet have the kind of public education that they deserve — one that is proven effective and free of undue digital distraction, harmful content, and corporate exploitation.”
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Entertainment
The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is at the lowest price weve seen all year
SAVE $75: The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is on sale for $224 at Amazon, down from the standard price of $299. That’s a 25% discount.
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at Amazon
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Save $75
Packing up for an adventure means figuring out how to bring along a soundtrack. A trip to the cabin or a lakeside campground all deserve to be experienced with a great playlist. If you could use an upgrade before summer to get a waterproof Bluetooth speaker, check out this deal at Amazon.
As of April 22, the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is on sale for $224 at Amazon, marked down from the normal price of $299. That’s a 25% discount that takes $75 off the price. It’s also the lowest price we’ve seen at Amazon so far this year.
A compact speaker with a scratch-resistant aluminum shell is exactly what we should be packing on adventures. With an attached carabiner, the B&O Explore speaker is designed to clip onto your backpack when you hit the trail. Or you can utilize the rubber base to set it on a rock or even in the sand. It’s both waterproof and dustproof, adding to the durability.
Bang & Olufsen notes this model gets up to 27 hours of playtime before it needs to recharge. It weighs under 1.5 pounds, so it won’t add much bulk to your gear. It takes about two hours to recharge the Beosound Explore.
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Before summer kicks into high gear, add the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore speaker to your pack. It’s ready for any adventure you have planned.
Apples excellent AirPods Pro 3 are back on sale for just $200 — a $50 savings
Red Bulls' struggling defense clashes with woeful D.C. offense
