Entertainment
Sam Rockwell’s R-Rated, Hard Sci-Fi Thriller Is The Ultimate Ego Death In Space
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Just last week, I stumbled upon 2018’s Mute, not realizing that it was a spiritual sequel to a far superior film, 2009’s Moon. I’ll be reviewing that one soon, but I found it underwhelming, and everything I’ve read about Moon suggested that it’s a perfect hard sci-fi thriller, on par with classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Though both movies technically occupy the same cinematic universe, they’re standalone stories, but I still wanted the context. Turns out, you don’t need to see Moon to enjoy, or not enjoy, Mute.
In my mind, though, Moon is a modern classic with clear themes and stakes, while Mute, despite not being a total waste of time, struggles to find its identity and comes off as disjointed.
If You Believed, They Put A Man On The Moon
When Moon introduces us to Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), we get a full crash course in the nature of his work. He’s a lone employee working for Lunar Industries on the Sarang Station, located on the dark side of the moon, and he’s about to complete his three-year contract. He works as an operations technician specializing in mining an alternative fuel known as helium-3. On Earth, an oil crisis made mining for resources on the moon inevitable, but with the foundation already in place, it’s a pretty turnkey operation.
With constant reminders that external communications are down, Sam can only communicate with Earth through occasional video exchanges, but there is no live feed. He gets updates from his wife, Tess (Dominique McElligott), and his young daughter Eve (Rosie Shaw), but it’s not enough to fight off the intense loneliness he feels every single day. He finds companionship in a mobile AI named GERTY (Kevin Spacey), but the fact that his only tangible relationship is with a computer program doesn’t do his mental state any favors.
Sam begins to hallucinate, which eventually leads him to a crashed rover where he finds another unconscious astronaut. Here’s the kicker: the unconscious man appears to be Sam’s identical twin, and GERTY isn’t telling the full truth. Both Sams come to blows, accusing each other of being clones before it dawns on them that they’re both clones of the original Sam. Neither man knows how long they’ve been living like this, or how many other clones there are, either in hiding or actively working in secret on the space station.
As the Sams work together, alongside GERTY, to uncover the true nature of their work and identities, they experience ego death, crash out, and regroup on multiple occasions, wondering how much of their lives are actually real, and how much of it is a lie made possible through false memory implants created by Lunar Industries.
Ego Death … IN SPACEEE!!!
While it goes without saying that Sam Rockwell does a stellar job playing off himself in Moon, I feel like that’s the obvious thing to talk about, so I’m not really going to get into it here. What I found most fascinating about Moon is the very system in which the Sams operate. They make this startling discovery, go through their respective grieving processes, and then come up with an escape plan.
They search the entire space station looking for clues about additional clones, and they venture out on unsanctioned discovery missions in search of what they suspect is a signal jammer. GERTY is designed to be helpful to the Sams, but his primary objective is ultimately to keep the helium-3 train moving at full capacity so everybody on Earth can enjoy the fruits of their labor. What really stuck with me is how easily the Sams are able to learn the true nature of their situation. It gets to the point where they straight up ask GERTY why they’re able to roam around without consequence.
To me, that’s where the true terror lies in Moon. It’s a subtle idea that gets casually brought up throughout the film, but it hints at a much larger systemic issue taking place. Both men, who are clones of the same astronaut and have no clue how long they’ve been living as clones, or how many clones came before them, are able to crack the conspiracy with little to no resistance. This tells me that Lunar Industries has been playing this game long enough that it no longer cares what each individual Sam does because it doesn’t matter. GERTY is tasked with keeping them in check, sure, but it’s such an isolated mission in such a remote place that even if they escape successfully, then what?
The fact that these men are fighting for their lives, and it’s completely hopeless because the system in place that made this all possible in the first place is so much larger than them that their lives don’t even matter one bit, is probably the most subtly terrifying thing about this film. This is just a line in the books. Their lives are literally a writeoff.
The entire system in which Moon operates is an unthinkably oppressive one. The machine will keep running, and the resources will keep getting mined. It doesn’t matter if one clone crosses paths with another clone and devises a plan to escape back to Earth to be with his family. The system is designed so nobody makes it far enough to expose what’s actually happening on the dark side of the moon.
Time will continue to march forward, and there will be more Sams showing up to work and wondering why it’s getting harder and harder to communicate with their families back on Earth. It’s a truly horrifying look at just how much individuality we stand to lose when the powers that be decide that resources are more important than the humanity they’re supposedly trying to save.
As of this writing, Moon is streaming for free on Tubi.
Entertainment
How to watch Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt online for free
TL;DR: Live stream Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
After some incredibly tense Champions League action this week, the focus returns to domestic action over the weekend. There are a number of fascinating matchups in the Bundesliga over the next few days, starting with Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt.
The hosts are looking to secure second spot in the standings. They’ll face a tough test against Eintracht Frankfurt, a team that is gunning for European qualification. It should be an exciting contest in front of a passionate support at the Signal Iduna Park.
If you want to watch Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt?
Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga kicks off at 2:30 p.m. ET on May 8. This fixture takes place at the Signal Iduna Park.
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How to watch Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt for free
Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga is available to live stream for free on BBC iPlayer.
BBC iPlayer is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt for free by following these simple steps:
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Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
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Live stream Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt for free from anywhere in the world
$12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt without committing with your cash. This isn’t a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to live stream select fixtures from the Bundesliga before recovering your investment.
What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?
ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on BBC iPlayer, for a number of reasons:
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Live stream Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga for free with ExpressVPN.
Entertainment
Nintendo Switch 2 officially gets a $50 price hike in the US
After less than a year on the market, the Nintendo Switch 2 is going up in price.
The company announced in a press release on its website that the device is getting a price increase in every major region, including the United States. Customers in the U.S. will pay $50 more for the console, as its price is going from $449 to $499. Nintendo did not delve into specifics in the press release, citing only “changes in market conditions,” but this is almost certainly a response to the global memory shortage driven by high demand for AI data center construction.
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That same memory shortage was the culprit behind recent price hikes on PlayStation 5 consoles and Motorola phones, among other tech products. Even if the reasoning is understandable, it must be stated that video game consoles rarely rise in price over time in a normal economic environment. The opposite usually occurs, typically after at least a few years on the market. Nintendo having to hike the Switch 2’s price less than a year after its June 2025 launch is fairly unprecedented, at least in recent memory.
Nintendo said the changes go into effect on Sept. 1 of this year, so if you want a Switch 2, that’s your deadline to get one for $450.
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Entertainment
Christopher Nolan’s Latest Odyssey Trailer Looks More TV Drama Than Historical Epic
By Jennifer Asencio
| Published
The latest trailer for Christopher Nolan’s controversial The Odyssey was released on May 5, 2026, and revealed more of the director’s take on Homer’s epic. Like the other trailers and casting announcements, it drew equal parts controversy, criticism, and avid defenders.
This time, most of the action is focused on Ithaca, where Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and Telemachus (Tom Holland) deal with the numerous suitors trying to assume the throne by marrying the queen. Robert Pattinson lurks and smarms as Antinous, trying to woo Penelope, while cutaway footage shows the tribulations of Odysseus (Matt Damon) against Calypso (Charlize Theron), the whirlpool Charybdis, armored giants, and the Trojan War.
Ancient Accuracy Versus Anachronistic Angst
There are a lot of new problems with this trailer that echo issues people already have with Nolan’s vision. Previous complaints include ahistorical armor from a later Grecian period, boats that look more Viking longboat than bireme, and a plethora of miscast characters, such as Jon Bernthal as Menelaus and Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy.
One of the two main problems with the new trailer is Tom Holland. The actor who has been bringing Peter Parker to spectacular life in some of the rare good content from the Marvel Cinematic Universe looks like a lost child as Telemachus, and has been apparently directed to play the Greek hero that way. The parts of the trailer that aren’t Anne Hathaway angsting as Penelope feature Holland having plenty of angst of his own. Sure, Telemachus had some daddy issues, but Holland looks more like a kid looking for his mommy than a prince defending his father’s kingdom against overwhelming odds.
A large part of Holland’s failure in the new trailer is that the dialogue is extremely cringeworthy. At one point, Antonius actually says, “You’re pining for your daddy,” as though this is a CW teen drama and not a serious Homeric epic. “That world is gone!” Penelope cries with the appropriate amount of suffering and phony British accent.
The translation allegedly being used for the movie is based on the work of Emily Wilson, a feminist translator who felt that Homer’s epic didn’t have enough modern sensibilities. She simplified the poet’s gorgeous turns of phrase and literalized his abstract concepts, trying to take the focus away from the male point of view and focus on the women. Her translation has caused controversy among scholars. It is not confirmed that Nolan used this version to base his script on, but the quality of the dialogue is a poor rendition of modern Gen Z slang.
Follies In Formation
Another thing that stands out from this trailer is the battle scenes we are shown.
For one, Odysseus leads the Greeks in a very un-Grecian formation as he charges down a beach. The Greeks were known for their discipline and their deadly phalanx formation, not for charging into battle like a horde of barbarians. The scene looks more like a sword-and-board version of the opening of Saving Private Ryan than anything the Greeks would have actually done. That may sound like a nitpick, but the discipline of the Greek troops and their loyalty to their kings and to Greece is a huge theme of Homer’s duology.
The other is a ridiculous charge by a troupe of giants who are dressed in armor that looks like they salvaged it from the leftovers of a King Arthur movie than a Homerian epic. These silver-clad warriors look out of place and anachronistic in The Odyssey, another example of Nolan using spectacle and visual shorthand rather than something that actually reflects the source material.
Sure, the special effects look cool, with Charybdis a wide, gaping hole in the sea and the battle in Troy looking explosive. But so far, that’s the only thing The Odyssey has shown it has going for it. Between its snarky, modernized dialogue and its attempt to be a visual spectacle, the trailer looks more like Not Another Marvel Movie than it does a tribute to an important ancient epic.
While, I admit that I may be more sensitive to this vandalism of Homer because my family emigrated to America from Sparta, I can’t help but feeling affronted that my heritage as a Greek is being used by Nolan as a cynical Hollywood cash grab. This telling of Homer’s Trojan War sequel is looking more like a pageant of modernized filmmaking meant more to show that it, to paraphrase Ian Malcolm, could be done, regardless of if it should. Plus, the removal of the values Homer wrote about means that it is more like a presentist fanfiction than anything the Greeks may have written.
We will all find out when The Odyssey premiers in theaters on July 17, 2026.
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