Entertainment
Netflix's Very R-Rated King Arthur Epic Is A Sexy, Bloody Road Trip
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published

Do you ever long for a film that smashes together several very different genres, effectively creating something new? The Green Knight (2021) is currently streaming on Netflix, and what I like best about this film is that it blends together two of my favorite genres: high fantasy and bonkers road trip. That is, it has all the magic and mystical adventure you’d expect from a Lord of the Rings movie and all the wacky supporting characters and inexplicable side quests you’d expect from a National Lampoon’s Vacation movie.
The result is something oddly hypnotic, and this film transforms a dusty text from the 14th century into something provocative and unapologetically sexy. You can enjoy it as a poignant deconstruction of one of the most famous works in literary history, or you can simply enjoy it as a beautiful road trip full of sex, violence, and monsters. With more than a few drops of horror movie blood in its DNA, The Green Knight remains one of the most memorable weird films of the last decade.
Working On His Knight Moves

The premise of The Green Knight is that a young warrior, Sir Gawain, is eager to prove himself by landing a blow on the titular Green Knight, ignoring the warning that, in one year’s time, he’ll need to receive a similar blow from his foe. He doesn’t think that will be a problem after he decapitates his foe. However, the Green Knight calmly picks up his head and reminds the young man of the bargain he made. One year later, Sir Gawain gathers his courage and his honor as he embarks on a road trip that can only end one way: with his own decapitation.
The Green Knight doesn’t have too many big names: the titular villain is played by Ralph Ineson (best known for The Witch), and Barry Keoghan (best known for Saltburn) has a small role as a scavenger. Sean Harris (best known for Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation) plays King Arthur, while Alicia Vikander (best known for Ex Machina) plays Sir Gawain’s love interest. As for Gawain, he is played by Dev Patel (best known for Slumdog Millionaire), who is mesmerizing as our lead. He sells the initial cockiness of his hot-blooded knight as well as the humbling transformation of his quest, ultimately making one of literature’s most famous characters flawed and compellingly down-to-Earth.
Questions, Axed And Answered

If some of this sounds familiar, that means you haven’t entirely drunk away the memories of your college Literature courses. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was a 14th-century verse poem written by an unknown scribe, and it’s considered one of the most popular and influential stories about King Arthur and his court. The original poem inspired Lord of the Rings creator J.R.R. Tolkien, and in a bit of inspired irony, the beautiful picaresque production of the movie clearly takes some visual inspiration from the LOTR adaptations directed by Peter Jackson.
Despite its lush visuals and impeccable casting, The Green Knight didn’t have enough “green nights” at the box office. The movie ultimately earned $20 million against a budget of $15 million, making it far less of a breakout pop culture success than other A24 productions like Hereditary and Midsommar. Nonetheless, this medieval mashup was a huge hit with the critics and with anyone who loves losing themselves in an impossibly detailed fantasy world.
A Scary Good Time

When The Green Knight came out, it was one of those films that delighted critics and baffled general audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 89 percent critical score, with reviewers praising the film for being such a fascinating deconstruction of its medieval source material. They also commended the movie as a spectacle, one that successfully cast a spell on the audience. Not everyone who watched felt that way, though: The Green Knight notably has a 50 percent audience score, with general moviegoers complaining that the film deviates too much from the original tale and frustratingly leaves major aspects of the story up to interpretation.
So, with critics loving it and casual audiences hating it, that brings us to the big question: why should you watch The Green Knight? The first, most obvious reason is that this film is a visual feast. From beginning to end, everything feels mesmerizingly dreamlike, and each scene will bring you deeper and deeper into this film’s fantastic spell. While they are very different types of movies, the visuals in The Green Knight often reminded me of the surreal visual landscape of Mandy, which turned every frame into the nightmare fuel of a fever dream.
Dungeons And Dreamers

Plus, at the risk of glazing the picture a little too much, The Green Knight may be the best fantasy movie since the original Fellowship of the Ring. That’s partially because of the amazing worldbuilding. Like the Hobbits in Peter Jackson’s seminal film, those watching this modern medieval masterpiece never know what fantastic vision will greet them next. For better or for worse, The Green Knight also cribs from the original Lord of the Rings texts in focusing less on fantastic battles and more on exploration and introspection. That’s bad news for those expecting endless duels, but great news for those wanting a fantasy movie that makes them really think.
It may not seem like it from the outside looking in, but The Green Knight is also perfectly aimed at men because this tale of knights, fights, and medieval tights is secretly all about exploring masculine ideas. What does it mean to be honorable, this movie asks, and why is it important to put your life on the line for what you believe? What does it mean to dedicate your life to a higher cause, and how is such a decision as confining as it is liberating?
Your Sexy Adventure Awaits

I get that you might have stayed away from The Green Knight because it looks like a frilly, frou-frou fantasy, but trust me: this movie is steeped in the chivalric code of the medieval world, and its exploration of what it means to be a real man almost shockingly echoes the concerns of the modern world. Plus, this exploration of masculine ideals is wrapped in such stunning visuals that you won’t want to miss a single frame. A film about manly men, served up with some serious eye candy. Honestly, what more could you want?
Are you ready to dive into the trippiest literary adaptation ever filmed, or would you rather just read the Cliff’s Notes rather than finish The Green Knight? The only way to find out is to undertake your own epic quest (from the bathroom to the living room) and retrieve the most enchanted object in your home: the remote control. It might not help you cut the head off an immortal warrior, but it will help transport you to the most ambitiously weird blockbuster of the last decade.


Entertainment
The best early gaming deals to shop ahead of Amazons Big Spring Sale
TL;DR: Ahead of Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, gamers can already score some standout early discounts, including the Samsung 27-inch Odyssey OLED G5 gaming monitor for $349.99, down from $549.99, and NBA 2K26 on PS5, Xbox, and Switch 2 for just $19.93 instead of $69.99.
A quick look at the best Amazon Spring Sale gaming deals:


Amazon’s Big Spring Sale is nearly here, but gamers don’t have to wait for the official kickoff to start saving.
A couple of strong early gaming deals have already landed, and they’re the sort of offers that are great for whether you’re upgrading your setup or you’re just looking to catch up on the big releases of years past without paying full price — with plenty more still to come across PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch 1 & 2, and peripherals like monitors, headsets, mice, and much more.
$349.99
at Amazon
$549.99
Save $200
As of March 17, the standout hardware deal is the Samsung 27-inch Odyssey OLED G5 gaming monitor, which has dropped to $349.99 from its $549.99 list price. That’s a 36% discount, or $200 off, on a QHD QD-OLED display with specs that are a lot more premium than this new price would suggest. This is even the OLED G5’s lowest price ever on Amazon, as confirmed via price tracker camelcamelcamel.
This model packs a 180Hz refresh rate, a 0.03ms response time, Nvidia G-Sync compatibility, and AMD FreeSync support, which is a strong mix for anyone who wants smooth gameplay without moving into the much more expensive OLED monitor tier. Samsung also highlights glare-free tech, HDR10, and Pantone validation, so this one looks particularly appealing if you want your games to pop as much as your frame rates.
Mashable Trend Report
$19.93
at Amazon
$69.99
Save $50.06
Mashable Deals
As for cheaper games, though, NBA 2K26 is down to just $19.93 from $69.99 on PS5 — its lowest price ever, as confirmed with camelcamelcamel, as well. That’s 72% off the full game that includes ProPLAY-enhanced gameplay, MyCAREER, MyTEAM, and MyNBA modes, giving basketball fans plenty to dig into whether they mostly play solo or jump online with friends.
More Amazon Big Spring Sale gaming deals
PlayStation games
Nintendo Switch 2 games
Xbox games
Gaming mice
Gaming headsets
Gaming monitors
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Pokemon
Trading Cards
Entertainment
20 fitness tracker deals to shop ahead of the Amazon Big Spring Sale
Table of Contents
Amazon’s third annual Big Spring Sale kicks off next week (officially running March 25 through 31), but deals are already starting to roll in. You can find deal stamps across Apple products, robot vacuums, speakers, and even high-end fitness trackers, including Garmin, Google, and of course Apple Watches. Whether you need a new watch to track that 5K you’re training for or simply monitor your sleep habits, there will surely be a fitness tracker deal for you during the sale.
Deals are starting slow, with the biggest discounts so far on last-gen Garmin watches, but we’ll be updating this list as new price drops appear. There are a few big names that seem to be holding out until the official sale, like Whoop, Fitbit, and Oura. So we’d hold off on buying those brands until the Big Spring Sale commences.
Below, we’re tracking all the best fitness tracker deals at Amazon leading up to and throughout the official Big Spring Sale 2026.
Best early Amazon Big Spring Sale fitness tracker deal
$174.28
at Amazon
$299.99
Save $125.71
Why we like it
While it’s since been replaced with the newer vívoactive 6, the Garmin vívoactive 5 is still an excellent choice. It’s a perfect all-rounder for someone who wants a fitness tracker with plenty of smartwatch features. It can track everything from long runs and rides to stress, sleep, and body battery, has a bright and responsive AMOLED display, and boasts 11 days of battery power (Apple could literally never). I personally gifted this watch to my boyfriend (he loves it) after snagging an epic Black Friday discount, but it’s now even cheaper. At $174.28, it’s over 40% off and is down to the lowest price we’ve ever seen.
Best Apple Watch deal
$299
at Amazon
$399
Save $100
Why we like it
If you’re looking for a solid Apple Watch deal, this $100 price drop on the Series 11 makes it a pretty stellar value. It’s been chilling at this price for awhile now, so we’re hoping to see the Big Spring Sale drop it down even lower. But even if it doesn’t, $299 for the newest Apple Watch ain’t bad. It brings significant battery improvements over its predecessor, which alone makes it worth the upgrade. It also has a tougher design with more durable glass that’s twice as resistant to scratches, 5G capability for seamless connectivity, and a Sleep Score and hypertension tool for flagging high blood pressure.
Mashable Trend Report
More fitness tracker deals
Apple
Garmin
Google / Fitbit
Nothing
Samsung
Entertainment
Netflix Just Released An Episode So Bad I’m Now Embarrassed I Ever Recommended This Show
By Joshua Tyler
| Published

One of the funnier scenes ever to make it into a movie happens in the classic Chevy Chase/Dan Aykroyd comedy Spies Like Us. The duo, playing inept spies, arrives at a Doctors Without Borders camp, and all it takes for them to convince the people there that they belong is to call everyone “Doctor” over and over and over again. It’s a fun, silly way of poking fun at pretentious PhDs and also the limited intelligence of our heroes.
Now imagine that sixty-second scene stretched over sixty minutes, played seriously instead of as a joke, and with Chevy Chase’s character replaced by a badly rendered miniature reindeer in a top hat. That’s what happens in season 2 episode 7 of Netflix’s pirate adventure show One Piece. Aptly titled “Reindeer Shames,” it may be the single worst hour of programming ever released on streaming, and somehow it’s the penultimate episode of the streamer’s new flagship show.

Having not seen episode 7 yet, and having previously enjoyed season one and all six previous episodes of season 2, I’d been recklessly recommending One Piece to everyone I know. Now, not only am I rescinding that recommendation, I’m not sure I have the strength to continue on and watch the second season’s final episode.
One Piece Fans Waited More Than Two Years For Time Wasting Filler

A quick positioning statement: I love anime and watch a lot of it. Like 99% of the people watching the Netflix show, though, I’ve never watched the anime version of One Piece. I’ve avoided it largely because there are thousands of episodes, and that seems daunting, but also because even its most ardent defenders often admit that many of those episodes are actually time-wasting filler.
The One Piece anime’s predilection towards time-wasting filler episodes may explain the presence of “Reindeer Shames” on the Netflix version, the plot of which involves none of the show’s actual cast. The story also has basically nothing to do with any of the narratives being developed in the rest of the season.
That might be an acceptable side trip in a series with thousands of episodes, but in the modern era of lazy streaming production, we only get eight episodes every two or three years instead of an annual two-dozen. Wasting one of those precious episodes on anything not directly relevant to what’s happening on the show would be a bad idea, even if it were somehow good. When it’s this bad, it feels almost criminal.
A Blatant Cost-Cutting Measure From Netflix

“Reindeer Shames” tells the story of a Doctor on the run in a country where Doctors are being rounded up for weird anime doctor-hoarding reasons. The Doctor encounters a tiny, talking reindeer who looks like he just fell off a Toys R Us plushy shelf during the Christmas holiday rush of 1997. Or he would look like that if the CGI used to animate him didn’t also look like it came from 1997.
It seems clear that at least part of Netflix’s motivation in making this episode was as a cost-cutting measure. The show’s other episodes look fantastic, with high-level special effects and large-scale action sequences. However, “Reindeer Shames” largely takes place in either an unremarkable bush or a single hut and offers only a few, half-hearted seconds of action at the end. And again, it doesn’t involve any of the show’s actual cast, which probably means Netflix only paid them for seven episodes while still producing eight.
Netflix Has Opened Its Own Learing Center

This has all the earmarks of a scam. Making your subscription-paying audience wait two and a half years for eight episodes and then cheaping out on one of them is the streaming version of a Minnesota Learning Center.
The talking reindeer is named Chopper, and I’m told by Jonathan Klotz, who I consider an expert in all One Piece matters, that this character is a beloved figure in the animated version of this tale. Maybe he’ll grow into that over the course of Netflix’s live-action series, assuming the awfulness of this outing doesn’t cause the show to be canceled. Still, he’s garbage in this episode, and plays out like a clumsy, half-baked attempt to create the next Baby Yoda in a world where everyone’s sick to death of Baby Yodas.
Stop Watching One Piece Unless Supervised By A Doctor

Instead of delivering the kind of pirate adventure One Piece viewers are tuned in for, the episode meanders around, fixating on endless speeches about how amazing and important Doctors are. Doctor this and Doctor that, and oh, aren’t Doctors incredible angels who totally aren’t doing this job just because they like buying Corvettes and hanging out at country clubs.
Sitting through “Reindeer Shames” made me wish One Piece was on YouTube instead of Netflix, so it could be interrupted by an Incogni ad. In that worse-than-streaming-sponsorships environment, I guess Chopper, since he isn’t a Doctor and only wants to be one, is the least worst thing about it. That’s a hopeful point for his continued Doctor presence on the show, which seems like something I’ll have to endure if I ever again work up the doctor-like courage to watch another One Piece episode. I probably won’t, at least not without the supervision of a Doctor.

“REINDEER SHAMES” REVIEW SCORE
