Entertainment
The Extremely Graphic, R-Rated Sci-Fi That The 1990s Forgot
By Robert Scucci
| Updated
If you have memories of watching 1992’s Fortress, can’t remember the name, and try describing it to your friends, they’ll probably assume you imagined the whole thing during a fever dream while home sick from school on a random Tuesday. Fortunately, you’re not insane, and what you’re remembering is a real B-movie blockbuster starring Christopher Lambert, Loryn Locklin, Kurtwood Smith, and a whole slew of colorful inmates that look and act the part. It’s a gritty cyberpunk prison break, chock-full of explosions, government surveillance drones, intense staredowns, and intestinators. More on those later.
Fortress was a financial success, earning $65 million against its reported $15 million production budget. It was enough to spawn an equally ill-fated sequel in 2000, but that’s chump change compared to The Fugitive, which pulled in nearly six times the box office during the same month. Financials aside, Fortress wasn’t exactly a critical darling upon release, and still sits in the trenches with a punishing 38 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
While Fortress is very much a real movie that exists and is readily available for streaming, its reputation may deter you from hitting play, which is a shame. It’s one of the strangest movies of the 90s to try and capture a mainstream audience, and for that reason alone makes it worth your time.
A Retro-Futuristic Jailbreak Plot
Set in the year 2017, Fortress introduces us to our hero, John Henry Brennick (Christopher Lambert), and his wife, Karen (Loryn Locklin). While attempting to cross the US border into Canada, the couple is apprehended when it’s revealed that Karen is pregnant, something that’s strictly forbidden in this dystopian hellscape. Under no circumstances is a couple allowed to have a second baby, even if their first one dies, which is exactly the situation John and Karen find themselves in. They’re not technically contributing to the overpopulation problem when you look at the numbers, but the law is the law, and they’re living in a tyrannical police state that doesn’t mess around.
In the future, according to 1992 logic, prisons are run by the Men-Tel corporation, and inmates are subjected to slave labor to keep the prison-industrial complex alive and well. John is thrown into one such facility, known as the Fortress, where he’s introduced to a ragtag group of inmates, including by-the-books longtimer Abraham (Lincoln Kilpatrick), disgraced technical wizard D-Day, young cutup Nino Gomez (Clifton Collins Jr.), resident bully Maddox (Vernon Wells), and his mean-mugging right-hand man Stiggs (Tom Towles).
Each inmate in the Fortress is fitted with a stomach-annihilating implant known as an intestinator, which will blow out their insides if they step out of line. Literally. Controlling the entire operation behind closed doors is Poe, the forever scowling and morally bankrupt prison director portrayed by Kurtwood Smith.
Unbeknownst to John, though he won’t stay in the dark for long, Poe also has Karen in custody in another section of the prison, with plans to incinerate her unborn child once it’s brought to term. He’d terminate the pregnancy sooner, but in this future abortion is illegal, and child murder is the workaround. Determined to reunite with his wife and become a father again, John Henry Brennick rounds up the troops and starts plotting his escape, despite pushback from Abraham, who is a little close to parole for comfort.
There are brawls, mind-wiping gyrospheres, laser cages, and moving platforms in the Fortress, all monitored and controlled through the Zed-10 computer system. Poe, who has disturbing intentions toward Karen, stands as the immovable link between salvation and certain death, and John Henry Brennick is up for the challenge, consequences be damned.
Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die
Fortress always felt destined to be a forgotten relic, but it might have had a different fate with more star power attached. The script was reportedly written with a more traditionally jacked action star in mind, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but director Stuart Gordon wanted an everyman, which brought Christopher Lambert into the equation. And when it comes to a singular lead role, there can be only one!
While a megastar like Schwarzenegger might have put more asses in seats, it’s hard to imagine Fortress with anyone else leading the charge. Lambert’s intense gaze doesn’t just look into your soul, it looks through it. For what is essentially a B-movie with a disproportionately large budget, it feels right just the way it is.
Fortress is dystopian, campy, and incredibly violent, striking a strange balance between too weird for mainstream audiences and not weird enough to fully cement itself as a cult classic. It also embodies all of the tried-and-true action tropes that critics had by 1992 grown tired of, becoming just one of hundreds of action thrillers making their rounds, all trying to do the same thing.
Still, it deserves a second look because its ambition outweighs its reputation, and it’s a solid popcorn flick whether you remember it or not. As of this writing, Fortress is streaming for free on Tubi.
Entertainment
Nicole Kidman's R-Rated Netflix Thriller Is 50 First Dates Meets Memento
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Have you ever watched Memento and thought to yourself, “I wish there was a crappier version of this film that makes no sense?” Well, your search is over, because 2014’s Before I Go to Sleep is streaming on Netflix. It’s billed as a psychological thriller, and technically it is, but it completely falls apart under scrutiny if you watch it for more than five seconds and have an IQ higher than the average goldfish.
It’s not the talent involved either. Before I Go to Sleep is adequately acted, and it looks fine. There are even some pretty neat flashback sequences. There’s nothing wrong with the cinematography, but the cast and crew alone can’t save a screenplay like this. You can’t act your way out of a premise so profoundly stupid that it requires four ibuprofen and a cool, dark room to recover from. The movie’s about amnesia, but unfortunately, I remember watching it, so I might as well talk about it.
Like Memento But Without The Drama, Mystery, Tension, Or Smart Hooks
Here’s the story that Before I Go to Sleep tries to tell. Christine Lucas (Nicole Kidman) has amnesia. Every day, her husband Ben (Colin Firth) gives her a 50 First Dates crash course on her identity, their relationship, her injury, and her memory loss. Meanwhile, another man named Mike Nasch (Mark Strong), who claims to be her psychologist, calls her daily to remind her that she’s keeping a record of her thoughts on a camera hidden in a shoebox in her closet. Every day, Christine wakes up, forgets what happened the day before, and repeats the cycle.
Christine has been living like this for 14 years. It’s only when the movie begins that all of this suddenly becomes a problem. She starts remembering her old friend Claire (Ann-Marie Duff), who gives her a crash course on what her life has been like since the accident. Through these increasingly preposterous encounters, Christine learns that she had a son with Ben. She also learns that Ben divorced her at some point, yet she’s still living with him. On top of that, Mike may not be entirely truthful, even though he’s the one who encouraged her to document everything in the first place. Smells like red herring to me.
Falls Apart During The First Act
What’s most perplexing about Before I Go to Sleep is how long Christine has been living like this without any meaningful intervention. She has no recollection of anything before her accident each time she wakes up. She should never be left alone to her own devices because she has a severe cognitive disability. The friends she reconnects with are way too casual about everything, as if hearing from someone out of the blue years after their traumatic brain injury is totally normal.
I understand that someone like Claire may have had repeated encounters with Christine and is playing along to avoid upsetting her, but that’s not what’s being implied here. Everything is far too convenient, with all signs pointing to the fact that somebody is up to something, which we learn through Christine’s flashbacks. The problem is that these flashbacks aren’t reliable, and they’re clearly being influenced by manipulative sources.
If you’re wondering who the manipulative source is, try the one living with her who has clearly been controlling the narrative from the opening scene onward. I’d say spoiler alert, but if you’ve seen even a couple psychological thrillers, you’ll know exactly how this ends before the opening credits finish rolling.
Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, and Mark Strong do about as well as they can with what they’re given. But if I’m being honest, you’re better off huffing paint, watching 50 First Dates and Memento on two separate screens, and trying to piece them together every time you regain consciousness. It’s basically the same experience.
As of this writing, Before I Go to Sleep is streaming on Netflix.
Entertainment
Here’s a budget-friendly way to own a MacBook Pro that saves you over $1,500
TL;DR: Enjoy all the bells and whistles from Apple at a fraction of the price with this Macbook Pro, on sale now for $429.97 (reg. $1,999) through April 19.
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How much time do you lose waiting on your current laptop? If you’re looking for a device that won’t slow you down, look no further than the MacBook Pro. Apple’s most powerful laptop usually comes with a pretty hefty price tag, but if you act fast, you can bring one home for just $429.97 until April 19.
You need a laptop that can keep up with your life, and the MacBook Pro is up for the challenge. This model is powered by a 10th Gen Intel Core i5 processor that has a 2GHz base speed and a Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz, so it’s ready to multitask. It also offers 16GB of RAM so it can handle video editing, coding, and other demanding tasks.
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If you’re tired of lugging around clunky external hard drives, you’ll be delighted by this MacBook Pro’s 1TB of SSD storage. Save important files locally, while still enjoying enough space for your favorite apps. It’s also equipped with a Magic Keyboard with a Touch Bar, so you can type comfortably and enjoy easy access to shortcuts.
Finish a full work day without having to charge thanks to this model’s 10 hour battery life. And when it comes time to connect, you can take advantage of four Thunderbolt 3 ports.
If you’re wondering why you’re saving over $1,500 on this MacBook Pro, it’s due to this model’s grade A refurbished status. That means it will arrive on your doorstep in near-mint condition, with no dents, cracks, scratches, or missing parts, while you enjoy a deep discount.
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Entertainment
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 5, 2026
The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you love old-school detectives.
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:
Here are today’s Connections categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
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Yellow: Atomic structure terms
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Green: Parts of a Sherlock Holmes costume
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Blue: Things to flip
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Purple: Starting with synonyms for “Slush”
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 #1029 is…
What is the answer to Connections today
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Atomic structure terms: ELECTRON, NUCLEUS, ORBIT, SHELL
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Parts of a Sherlock Holmes costume: DEERSTALKER, MAGNIFYING GLASS, PIPE, VIOLIN
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Things to flip: COIN, LIGHT SWITCH, PANCAKE, THE BIRD
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Starting with synonyms for “Slush”: GOOGOL, MUSHROOM, PASTEURIZE, PULPIT
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.
Nicole Kidman's R-Rated Netflix Thriller Is 50 First Dates Meets Memento
William Sawalich gets breakthrough victory at Rockingham
