Entertainment
Netflix's Certified Fresh, R-Rated Action Thriller Will Make You Think Twice About Travel Plans
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Maybe I’ve grown cynical, but I’m starting to wonder how many more Die Hard ripoffs we really need to endure before somebody figures out a different way to structure an action thriller. I can see why the 2024 Netflix Original Carry-On was well received by critics for reliably hitting all of the expected beats, with the right talent to pull its premise along, but what I’m always most curious about is the reception gap you see on Rotten Tomatoes. On the critical front, Carry-On boasts an 88 percent, Certified Fresh rating across more than 100 reviews.
Take a look at the Popcornmeter, though, and the 52 percent approval rating tells a very different story. What I’ve gathered from audience reviews is that we’ve all seen this kind of story play out before, and usually better. Carry-On is supposed to be grounded in reality, but its plot is so implausible that suspending disbelief becomes a real challenge. What’s left is a run-of-the-mill, by-the-numbers Die Hard carbon copy that went straight to streaming.
I find myself sitting squarely in the middle of both camps. Taron Egerton is a likable, serviceable lead, and Jason Bateman is a perfectly cast, straight-faced antagonist who runs the show through influence and intimidation. The complaints about realism don’t really track for me because Die Hard rules, but let’s call a spade a spade while we’re talking about it. None of us are watching Die Hard for its realism either. We’re watching it because it kicks ass, and most people are watching Carry-On because it’s chasing the same audience.
Die Hard At An Airport
Carry-On centers on Taron Egerton’s Ethan Kopek, a directionless TSA agent working at LAX during the holidays. He has just learned that his girlfriend Nora (Sofia Carson) is pregnant, prompting him to reevaluate his stalled career. Ethan was previously rejected from the police academy, leaving him with two options. He can apply again now that some time has passed, or he can take his TSA job more seriously and earn a promotion that keeps him in law enforcement while allowing him to support his growing family.
Ethan chooses the latter on his Christmas Eve shift, another Die Hard pull, when he asks his supervisor Phil (Dean Norris) for more responsibility. That decision backfires almost immediately. The baggage scan lane he’s assigned to becomes ground zero for chaos when a traveler points out a missing earbud and hands it to Ethan. Moments later, he receives a text from a restricted number instructing him to place the device in his ear.
On the other end of the line is The Traveler (Jason Bateman), who calmly informs Ethan that he needs to let a specific bag pass through security or Nora will be killed. Ethan attempts to call 911, but it quickly becomes clear that he’s being watched by a man known only as The Watcher (Theo Rossi). Every detail of Ethan’s life is already known. Address, employment history, Nora’s location, everything. The Traveler uses that information as leverage, forcing Ethan to comply.
Completely under The Traveler’s control, Ethan follows orders while subtly trying to alert his superiors that something is wrong. The stakes escalate further when it’s revealed that the bag contains large quantities of Novichok, a deadly nerve agent capable of killing hundreds, if not thousands, of people if the plan succeeds.
Meanwhile, Detective Elena Cole (Danielle Deadwyler), who has coincidentally been investigating a double murder tied to a supply of Novichok, realizes that Ethan is at the center of the operation. After tracing an aborted 911 call back to him, she races toward the airport as Ethan struggles to stop the bag from boarding a plane while keeping his loved ones alive.
A Little Too Convenient
Here’s the problem with Carry-On. It’s well-acted, competently shot, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. We’ve all seen this movie countless times under different titles, you know the drill. Egerton works because he’s a sympathetic lead being pushed into actions he can’t ethically justify. The tension reads clearly on his face, and it’s effective. Bateman is a legitimate menace, and his commitment to carrying out an act of domestic terrorism feels believable within the genre’s familiar framework.
The issue is suspense. We all know how these movies work. The reluctant hero finds the bomb, disarms it with two seconds left on the clock, saves the day, and everyone claps. That predictability is where the audience divide comes from. On one hand, Carry-On does exactly what you expect, and some viewers find comfort in that. On the other hand, Carry-On does exactly what you expect, which drains the premise of any real tension.
You don’t watch movies like Carry-On to see the hero fail. You watch them struggle, adapt, and eventually do what needs to be done once all the pieces are in place. Carry-On is perfectly adequate, but it doesn’t offer anything new. It’s familiar territory, and if that’s your thing, no judgment here. It’s comfort food. I just don’t get especially excited about Die Hard knockoffs when I can always go watch Die Hard.
Carry-On is a Netflix Original and is available to stream with an active subscription.
Entertainment
NYT Pips hints, answers for February 8, 2026
Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.
Released in August 2025, the 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 onto 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 for 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 Feb. 8 Pips
Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-0, placed horizontally.
Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 3-0, placed horizontally; 0-0, placed vertically.
Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 5-2, placed horizontally.
Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 5-2, placed horizontally; 2-2, placed horizontally.
Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 1-4, placed vertically.
Equal (4): Everything in this dark blue space must be equal to 4. The answer is 1-4, placed vertically; 4-4, placed horizontally.
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Medium difficulty hints, answers for Feb. 8 Pips
Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-2, placed horizontally; 3-3, placed vertically.
Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically; 1-0, placed horizontally.
Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is1-0, placed horizontally.
Less Than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 2-6, placed horizontally.
Greater Than (8): Everything in this space must be greater than 8. The answer is 2-6, placed horizontally; 6-4, placed vertically.
Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically.
Equal (4): Everything in this light blue space must be equal to 4. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically; 4-4, placed horizontally; 2-4, placed horizontally.
Equal (2): Everything in this red space must be equal to 2. The answer is 3-2, placed horizontally; 2-4, placed horizontally.
Hard difficulty hints, answers for Feb. 8 Pips
Equal (2): Everything in this red space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-5, placed vertically; 2-1, placed horizontally.
Number (11): Everything in this space must add up to 11. The answer is 2-5, placed vertically; 6-2, placed horizontally.
Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 2-1, placed horizontally; 0-0, placed vertically; 6-0, placed vertically; 0-1, placed horizontally.
Greater Than (2): Everything in this space must be greater than 2. The answer is 6-4, placed horizontally.
Number (22): Everything in this space must add up to 22. The answer is 6-0, placed vertically; 5-5, placed horizontally; 6-2, placed horizontally.
Number (18): Everything in this space must add up to 18. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally; 6-3, placed vertically.
Equal (3): Everything in this orange space must be equal to 3. The answer is 1-3, placed horizontally; 6-3, placed vertically.
Equal (4): Everything in this dark blue space must be equal to 4. The answer is 4-4, placed vertically; 5-4, placed horizontally.
Equal (5): Everything in this purple space must be equal to 5. The answer is 5-0, placed vertically; 5-4, placed horizontally; 5-3, placed horizontally.
Greater Than (2): Everything in this green space must be greater than 2. The answer is 5-3, placed horizontally.
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
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for February 8, 2026
The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult to solve if you like a strict regimen.
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.
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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:
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Yellow: To stuff down
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Green: Same ole
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Blue: Protected info
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Purple: Not one
Here are today’s Connections categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
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 #973 is…
What is the answer to Connections today
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Suppress: GAG, INHIBIT, MUZZLE, SILENCE
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Same old stuff: DRILL, GRIND, HABIT, ROUTINE
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Features of a strong password: LENGTH, NUMBER, SYMBOL, UPPERCASE
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Words after “Two”: BIT, CENTS, FACED, TIMER
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.
Entertainment
NYT Strands hints, answers for February 8, 2026
Today’s NYT Strands hints are easy if you love an alcoholic beverage.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Make it fancy
The words are related to drinks.
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Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe ways to adorn a drink.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today’s NYT Strands spangram is vertical.
NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today’s spangram is Cocktail Garnish
NYT Strands word list for February 8
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Twist
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Olive
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Sprig
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Celery
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Cocktail Garnish
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Shrimp
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Cherry
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable’s Games page has more hints, and 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 Strands.
NYT Pips hints, answers for February 8, 2026
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for February 8, 2026
