Entertainment
The Strangest Fantasy Movie Ever Made Starred Angelina Jolie, And She Didn't Know She'd Be In It
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Angelina Jolie made waves in the ’90s when she bared it all in multiple movies, a trend that carried over into the early aughts and the height of her popularity. None of those scenes are as strange and inexplicable as the time she played Grendel’s mother in Beowulf.
Jolie admitted that it wasn’t until sitting in the theater and watching the movie that she realized the character wasn’t going to be a scaly lizard monster and, instead, would look exactly like her. It’s the strangest choice made by director Robert Zemeckis in a bizarre movie that would never get made today. It’s so unique that if you haven’t seen it, it’s worth your time.
Bringing The Classic Poem To Life
Beowulf adapted the classic Old English poem that most people know from their high school English class, and by its nature, it doesn’t lend itself well to the structure of a major Hollywood film. Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary wrote the script over the course of 10 years, intending for it to be dark and gritty. That’s fitting as Avary worked on Pulp Fiction with Quentin Tarantino. When Zemeckis took over and decided to make it an animated film instead, he instructed the pair to “go wild” and write scenes that would cost a million dollars a minute in live-action.
The shift to using cutting-edge motion capture and turning Beowulf into a live-action cartoon brought with it a budget increase from an estimated $25 million to $150 million ($228 million when adjusted for inflation today). Unlike some films where you can’t believe that much was spent, the shockingly realistic versions of the cast make it clear exactly where the money went.
Angelina Jolie wasn’t the only star stunned by her appearance in the film, as Ray Winstone, who played Beowulf, couldn’t believe how much the character looked like him if he was a six-foot six-inch Viking with eight-pack abs. Reacher star Alan Ritchson was used as the body model for the character.
Angelina Jolie thought that as Grendel’s mother, she’d more closely resemble the classic monster instead of being depicted as a succubus, but she still loved the role and enjoyed being an evil, powerful woman in a male-dominated society a decade before Maleficient. Grendel, brought to life by Crispin Glover, who worked with Robert Zemeckis for the first time since Back to the Future, looks like a giant gangly corpse. The fight between Beowulf and Grendel is far more exciting on screen than it ever was when being read out loud by bored sophomores and is still the most brutal fight Zemeckis has ever filmed.
Studios Would Never Make Beowulf Today
Beowulf benefited from having perfect timing, arriving just as 3D was taking off in theaters, and studios were willing to take a risk. “Strange” is one way to describe the movie, but “experimental” is another, as Zemeckis took a huge swing with this film, and thankfully, it worked out in the end.
The movie earned $196 million at the box office but ended up becoming profitable thanks to its DVD release. Over the years, it’s become more of a cult classic, and it is still receiving praise for its high-quality animation work, which holds up even decades later.
We’re now in an era where Hollywood studios are risk-averse, and it seems like nothing but remakes, established franchises and superhero movies are receiving huge budgets, which makes Beowulf a delightful breath of fresh air from when directors could be as creative as they wanted. If you’ve never seen Beowulf, or it’s been a while and you forget how groundbreaking it was, it’s available to stream or free on Pluto TV today.
Entertainment
Raunchy, R-Rated 90s Comedy Slasher Will Make You Die Laughing, Stream Without Netflix
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Movies like Dr. Giggles aren’t meant to be taken seriously, and I’ll point out one tell you may not have noticed that drives this point home. The movie is called Dr. Giggles. Comedy slashers of the ’90s are something special because their self-awareness is what often drives the humor, and this film is no exception. From its over-the-top usage of one-liners to its clever kills carried out through the inappropriate use of various medical implements, Dr. Giggles is an absolute riot from start to finish that will have you busting a gut with laughter.
Deranged Doctor’s Revenge
Before we get to the blood and guts, I need to quickly establish the premise for Dr Giggles, but it won’t take long. The deranged son of a murderous doctor named Evan Rendell returns to his hometown to exact revenge against those who killed his father after being locked up in an insane asylum for 35 years. Dr. Evan Rendell Jr, or Dr. Giggles as he is more affectionately known, wants to finish his father’s work by cutting the hearts out of his soon-to-be victims.
Dr. Evan Rendell Senior cut out his victims’ hearts before his death so he could find a replacement heart that could help him resurrect his dead wife. Dr. Giggles, on the other hand, just wants to kill his victims for the love of the game. However, Jennifer Campbell (Holly Marie Combs) becomes a victim of interest because she’s wearing a heart monitor, indicating to the deranged doctor that she’s afflicted with an illness not unlike his deceased mother’s.
Punning Psychopath
The above rundown is basically all you need to know about Dr. Giggles, and for me to tell you why this movie is such an effective horror comedy. The titular doctor, portrayed by Larry Drake, is an unhinged psychopath who speaks almost exclusively in puns as if he were a doctor with a questionable bedside manner.
Belting out one-liners like “leave it in for at least a minute” after impaling one of his victim’s heads with a thermometer, and “if you think that’s bad, wait until you get my bill,” it goes without question that Drake thoroughly enjoyed himself while seemingly ad-libbing his way through his HMO-violating rampage.
Everybody Understands The Assignment
Dr. Giggles‘ premise is further elevated by the fact that every other character in this movie pretty much plays it straight. As far as victim behavior goes, you might as well be watching a serious slasher like Halloween, but they’re running from … this guy. Imagine running from a serial killer who you think is going to stab you to death only for him to violently pump your stomach because he thought you ate too much ice cream, and wanted to remind you to cut down on your sugar intake.
The tonal juxtaposition between a slash-happy sociopath and his slaughtered subjects makes for a great watch because the gore is offset by fearless levels of campiness. In other words, Dr Giggles is not a serious slasher, but it plays out like one, which only adds to its entertainment value.
If you want to see a feature length horror comedy that resembles something you’d see in an episode of Tales from the Crypt, then Dr. Giggles should be your next watch. Just make sure you’re up to date on your life insurance policy because you may die of laughter.
As of this writing, Dr. Giggles is streaming for free on Tubi, YouTube, Xumo Play, Pluto TV, Amazon Prime Video, and The Roku Channel.
Entertainment
The Dark R-Rated Sci-Fi Horror Hidden Gem You Can Stream Without Netflix
By Jason Collins
| Published
Here’s an unpopular opinion: there haven’t been that many good horror movies in the past 20 years since the genre was reduced to action scenes combined with jump scares and loud audio mixes. They all follow the same formula and feature nebulous elements, such as demonic nuns or killer dolls (this statement excludes the Child’s Play franchise.) However, there have been a few movies that have been worth revisiting since their release, and Pandorum is definitely one of those movies.
Cannibals, INNNN SPACEEEEE!
Pandorum follows the story of the remnants of the human race who, following the depletion of Earth’s resources due to human overpopulation, board an interstellar ark, which embarks on a 123-year trip to colonize a different Earth-like planet. Its passengers are placed in hypersleep, and a rotating crew of techs and engineers wake up biennially to maintain the ship. However, not everything went according to plan, and sometime later, two members of the flight crew, Bower (Ben Foster) and Payton (Dennis Quaid), awakened.
The improper emergence from hypersleep leaves them with partial amnesia and Pandorum, a space-related disorder that causes psychosis when under stress. They also find the interstellar arc in a horrific condition; their journey still lasts, but the unstable nuclear reactor is causing power surges throughout the spaceship, which Bower sets out to find. But instead of a faulty reactor, he finds cannibalistic space mutants he now has to evade while attempting to reset the reactor and restore normal power to the ship.
A Psychological Thriller Wrapped In Sci-Fi Horror
As it turns out, the cannibalistic space mutants have been on board for quite some time, hunting several crew members who had been awake for some time as well; some of whom have also developed the Pandorum disorder. By the film’s end, several plot twists occur, keeping the viewers at the edge of their seats, as the horrifying facts about the ark, its inhabitants, and the mutants begin to reveal themselves, after which a fight for survival ensues.
We won’t spoil Pandorum for any of our readers, but we’ll state that the script, which is actually an amalgamation of two separate but similar works, is good, with a good introduction to the story. The screenplay is also masterfully done, while the whole narrative immerses the viewers in exploring the ship and its history along with the protagonists. The downside is that certain characters could have been developed better.
The special effects were impressive, but they weren’t enough to save Pandorum from a disappointing theatrical run. Despite a reported $33 million production budget, the film earned only about $20 million worldwide. We usually argue that the box office says a lot about a movie’s quality, but there are always exceptions. Pandorum is one of them. Its ambitious ideas and gripping premise deserved a much better reception, even if the execution doesn’t always live up to the script’s potential.
Despite its sci-fi setting, Pandorum is first and foremost a psychological survival horror film. It explores isolation, madness, memory, and identity while forcing its characters to confront the collapse of civilization into pure anarchy. It’s a tense, unsettling experience that uses its futuristic backdrop to amplify the horror rather than overshadow it.
Furthermore, its ending promised a sequel, which was most likely scrapped following the film’s poor performance at the box office. Those interested in watching Pandorum can stream the movie for free on Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, and Amazon Prime Video.
Entertainment
Apple could deactivate leased iPhones remotely for non-payment, report says
The iPhone 18 is about to launch, along with the final version of its operating system, iOS 27, most likely in September. But a new report says it may arrive with a feature that lets Apple, and third-party lenders, remotely deactivate phones if customers fall behind on payments.
With the iOS 27 beta now widely available, 9to5Mac found code that would let Apple place delinquent iPhones in “Restricted Mode.” This would limit users to a short list of widgets and apps, including the App Store, Clock, Settings, Wallet, and Passwords, according to the report.
In theory, 9to5Mac says the system could work like this: Authorized financing partners who lease iPhones to customers get to perform regular status checks to see if the contract is still valid. If a customer falls behind, Restricted Mode would be activated.
The feature is “unequivocally present” in the iOS 27 beta, according to 9to5Mac — and a future update to iOS 26 could bring this feature to older iPhones as well.
The era of internet-connected “smart” devices has had plenty of benefits for consumers, but as consumer advocates have long warned, it also allows brands to remotely turn off devices.
Why might Apple be testing a tool like this right now? Let’s dive in.
Mashable Light Speed
Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable
If you’ve bought any new tech products recently, you’ve probably noticed: New devices are getting really expensive. Just this month Apple raised prices on a variety of its products. iPhone prices haven’t risen just yet, but Tim Cook has prepared the ground for an “unavoidable” iPhone price hike.
Thanks to the ongoing global memory chip crisis known as RAMageddon, new phones now require a serious investment. The new foldable phones released by Samsung this week were preceded by a new Galaxy credit card program.
Apple is believed to be readying a new leasing program of its own. Bloomberg’s Apple oracle, Mark Gurman, says Apple will launch the “Apple Upgrade” leasing program later this month.
Gurman calls it “one of the biggest-ever changes to how the company sells” new devices — and says Apple Upgrade will be part of a partnership with the online lender Klarna, giving buyers a lease-to-buy option. iPhone customers who qualify could make monthly payments over two years.
The code discovered by 9to5Mac also reportedly includes another type of locking mechanism called “Partner Finance Lock,” which would stop users from trying to resell a financed device.
Clearly, Apple and Klarna can’t let customers who miss payments continue to use leased iPhones indefinitely. But it’s also an uncomfortable reminder of how much control Big Tech has over our devices.
Mashable reached out to Apple for comment about Restricted Mode; we’ll update this story if this famously taciturn tech giant provides new information.
Raunchy, R-Rated 90s Comedy Slasher Will Make You Die Laughing, Stream Without Netflix
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