Entertainment
Unfairly Forgotten, 70s Crime Thriller Is A Movie You Won't Be Able To Stop Thinking About
By Robert Scucci
| Published
I’ve grown super cynical about modern murder mysteries. I think it’s because franchises like Law & Order and NCIS are cozy watches, but also catnip for boomers. I’ve gotten to the point where I can size up the week’s mystery seconds after the suspects are introduced, then spend the rest of the episode waiting to be proven right, which isn’t exactly a satisfying experience. But every so often, I stumble upon a movie like End Play, an Australian thriller that starts with a murder and then gets so weird you have no idea who you’re supposed to be rooting for.
Seriously, this movie is baffling in the best kind of way, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I watched it over the weekend. It’s about two brothers: one who seems dead to rights after killing a young female hitchhiker, and his wheelchair-bound brother, who’s also an archery expert living in solitude. They both have the hots for their half-cousin, and their relationship is adversarial to say the least. Both act like they know something the other doesn’t, and then the police get involved, acting like they know something the brothers don’t.
If there’s one takeaway I have after watching End Play, it’s that it’s a beyond-solid whodunit that will make you feel incredibly stupid by the time it concludes.
It’s Gotta Be Mark, Right? … Right?!
End Play kicks off with Mark Gifford (John Waters, but not THAT one) picking up an attractive hitchhiker named Janine Talbot (Delvene Delaney) on the way to visit his wheelchair-bound brother Robert (George Mallaby). The next time we see Janine, she’s dead, sitting on Robert’s couch while Robert is out for the day, and Mark is scrambling to cover it up. He accidentally spills her perfume on the floor, leaving behind an obvious cleaning mark and lingering odor, and does such a sloppy job that anybody would assume he’s the killer, including Robert.
Using one of Robert’s spare wheelchairs, Mark sits Janine upright and wheels her across town to a movie theater, propping her head up with a neck brace. He’s also wearing a ridiculous wig so nobody notices it’s him wheeling around a corpse. He leaves her body at the theater and heads back home, ready to move on with his life.
Robert is immediately suspicious, and we quickly learn how the two brothers operate. There’s some sort of deep-seated animosity they’ve been carrying around for years, and things only get worse when Superintendent Cheadle (Ken Goodlet) and Sergeant Robinson (Robert Hewett) begin to suspect foul play. The language Robert and Mark use with each other carries the assumption of the other brother’s guilt, and both tiptoe around the fact that Janine was alive just hours earlier before turning up dead in Robert’s house. Nobody talks straight to each other, but rather in code, as if it were some form of psychological warfare.
They go about their lives as normal, playing cards and drinking with their half-cousin Margaret (Belinda Giblin), whom they’re both romantically fixated on. The officers find it suspicious that a string of disappearances coincides with Mark’s visits to Robert, but they don’t really have any hard evidence to go on. What they do know, however, is that Janine was last seen at a movie theater with somebody using a wheelchair, and Robert happens to own two of them.
You’ll Be Surprised Whodunit
End Play does an excellent job messing with your perception because we get such a fractured view of events. We see Mark pick up a hitchhiker and then clean up the scene before disposing of her body. We see Mark, in so many words, confess guilt to Robert, whose stone-faced expression never stops sizing him up. We see Robert remain tight-lipped about Mark’s whereabouts to the police, as if he knows something nobody else does. And we have the police, who seem completely certain they know the culprit, but are simply waiting for one of the brothers to confess because they’re only working with circumstantial evidence.
But we only see what Mark sees when he sees it, and the same could be said for everybody else. It’s up to you to figure out what really happened to Janine and the alleged victims who came before her, all of whom disappeared around the same time Mark and Robert reunited. Nothing makes sense until it suddenly does, and even then, the motives are never 100 percent clear. You’ll be thinking about this one for a while. At least, I know I will be.
As of this writing, you can stream End Play for free on Tubi.
Entertainment
Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 31, 2026
Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you’re a musician.
If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
Where did Wordle come from?
Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.
What’s the best Wordle starting word?
The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
What happened to the Wordle archive?
The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.
Is Wordle getting harder?
It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.
Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:
A piece of music.
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Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?
The letter E appears twice.
Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…
Today’s Wordle starts with the letter E.
The Wordle answer today is…
Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today’s Wordle is…
ETUDE
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle 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? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
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 Wordle.
Entertainment
Hurdle hints and answers for May 31, 2026
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it’ll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
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If you find yourself stuck at any step of today’s Hurdle, don’t worry! We have you covered.
Hurdle Word 1 hint
To postpone.
Hurdle Word 1 answer
DELAY
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Hurdle Word 2 hint
A seat.
Hurdle Word 2 Answer
STOOL
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Hurdle Word 3 hint
Fragile.
Hurdle Word 3 answer
FRAIL
Hurdle Word 4 hint
To assume.
Hurdle Word 4 answer
POSIT
Final Hurdle hint
Transit line.
Hurdle Word 5 answer
METRO
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
Moon phase today: What the Moon will look like on May 31
It’s the Full Moon tonight, and the second this month. This means it is a monthly Blue Moon, which occurs roughly every two or three years.
What is today’s Moon phase?
As of Sunday, May 31, the Moon phase is Full Moon. Tonight, 100% of the moon will be be lit up, according to NASA’s Daily Moon Guide.
Tonight, with just your naked eye, you’ll be able to spot the Mare Vaporum, Copernicus Crater, and the Tycho Crater. If you have binoculars you’ll also be able to catch a glimpse of the Grimaldi Basin, Posidonus Crater, and the Alphonsus Crater. Finally, if you really want to see more, a telescope will help you see the Apollo 14 landing spot, the Linne Crater, and the Caucasus Mountains.
When is the next Full Moon?
The next Full Moon will take place on June 29.
What are Moon phases?
According to NASA, the Moon takes around 29.5 days to orbit Earth, passing through a repeating pattern of eight distinct phases. Although the same side of the Moon always faces Earth, the portion illuminated by the Sun changes as it moves around the planet. This is what creates the different shapes we see in the night sky, from thin crescents to half Moons and the full Moon. Together, these phases form the lunar cycle:
New Moon – The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it’s invisible to the eye).
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Waxing Crescent – A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).
First Quarter – Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.
Waxing Gibbous – More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.
Full Moon – The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.
Waning Gibbous – The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)
Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) – Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.
Waning Crescent – A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.
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Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 31, 2026
