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TL;DR: Save 50% on a Sam’s Club 1-year membership for a limited time, making it just $25 this month.

TikTok tried to convince us that Erewhon Market is the most luxurious place to get groceries, but we’d argue that Sam’s Club takes the cake. It might not have ridiculously expensive berries, but you can get multiple errands done under one roof and skip the checkout line if you download their app.

The only downside is that, like a real club, you have to be a member to get inside the door. If you want in, save 50% here with our Sam’s Club membership deal and get one year for $25 (reg. $50) this month only.

VIP savings and shopping perks inside

Sam’s Club members usually have a hard time leaving without the entire store in their carts since they can shop for everything from fresh and frozen groceries to electronics and furniture in one place. You won’t have to hop between multiple stores to get everything on your list anymore.

Plus, with bulk-sized goods, you probably won’t have to make as many trips to Sam’s Club as you would with your regular store—that is if you can handle staying away.

If your cart is full to the brim and the line looks long, there’s no need to stand and wait. With Scan and Go™ on the Sam’s Club app, you can scan your items, show your digital receipt on your way out (everyone has to do this), and be on your way.

Members of Sam’s Club also rave about savings on gas, so don’t forget to fill up your tank on the way home. The club also has a tire and battery center if your car needs more than fuel.

Speaking of members-only, you’ll get even more discounts on hotels, car rentals, live events, movies, and more. We think you’ll earn back that $25 membership fee in no time with how much you’re saving on, well, everything.

Don’t miss out on this Sam’s Club membership offer—get one year for $25 (reg. $50) this month only.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Sam's Club Sam's Club 1-Year Membership with Auto-Renew! $25.00 at The Mashable Shop
$50.00 Save $25.00 Get Deal

TL;DR: Pay only $35.99 for a whole year of documentary streaming from MagellanTV.

For those who love to dig into cool facts and stories, MagellanTV is your go-to for a whole year of streaming captivating documentaries. With over 3,000 series and titles, this service is perfect for anyone who can't get enough of history, science, and more.

Whether you want to explore ancient empires or get lost in the mysteries of space, MagellanTV has you covered with a fresh lineup that regular streaming platforms don't offer. A year-long subscription is on sale for $35.99 for a limited time.

What makes MagellanTV so awesome is its focus on telling stories that cater to unique interests. Whether you're into the wonders of nature or the twists and turns of human history, there's always something here that'll grab your attention. With such a diverse library, there's never a dull moment, making it the perfect pick if you're tired of the same old TV shows.

On top of that, MagellanTV gives you an ad-free experience, so you can dive into stories without any interruptions. Plus, it's accessible on a variety of devices (iOS devices, Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast, or smart TV), so you can catch a great documentary wherever you are.

Dive into a world of discovery and let these epic documentaries spark your imagination. Whether you're just curious or a full-on documentary addict, MagellanTV is your ticket to the best stories around.

Normally $59, you can get a one-year subscription to the MagellanTV Documentary Streaming Service on sale for $35.99.

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Opens in a new window Credit: MagellanTV MagellanTV Documentary Streaming Service: 1-Year Subscription $35.99 at The Mashable Shop
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Industry's cocktail of business dealings, sex, and drugs has earned it comparisons to Succession, Billions, Euphoria, and Skins. But in its third season, it's never been clearer that Industry is doing its own thing.

SEE ALSO: The 13 best TV shows of 2024 (so far)

That's because Season 3 of Industry is the show in experimentation mode. Flashbacks are on the table now, supporting characters get more of a spotlight, and the scope has never been larger. Co-creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay pull references from everywhere from Uncut Gems and the films of Michael Mann to Barry Lyndon and A Room with a View, creating episodes that vary in tone but never lose the frenetic energy that makes Industry tick. The risks of constantly playing with a show's formula may not always pay off (looking at you, The Bear Season 3), but for Industry, whose characters live on risky choices and shifting alliances, this approach proves absolutely perfect.

What's Industry Season 3 about? Myha'la, Harry Lawtey, and Marisa Abela in "Industry." Credit: Nick Strasburg / HBO

Of course, the risks Industry characters take often end them up in hot water. Take Harper Stern (Myha'la, Leave the World Behind), whose forged college transcript in Season 1 led to her firing from fictional investment bank Pierpoint & Co. at the end of Season 2. Hungry to stay in the game by whatever means possible, Harper's now taken an assistant role at investment fund FutureDawn. And while she finds the job — and FutureDawn's focus on ethical investment — mind-numbing, she also discovers a potential new ally in cutthroat portfolio manager Petra Koenig (Sarah Goldberg, Barry).

Harper may roll her eyes at ethical investing, but over at Pierpoint, it's all the rage. Yasmin Kara-Hanani (Marisa Abela, Back to Black), taking over Harper's old role, is working alongside Eric Tao (Ken Leung, Lost) and Robert Spearing (Harry Lawtey, Joker: Folie À Deux) on the IPO of buzzy green energy company Lumi, headed by untested (yet very rich) Lumi CEO Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington, Game of Thrones). Whether anyone at Pierpoint actually believes in Lumi's mission or the "ethical" aspect of ethical investing is something Industry takes razor-sharp delight in skewering, just as the show tackled COVID-19 profiteers in Season 2.

SEE ALSO: 'The Umbrella Academy' Season 4 review: A bonkers victory lap

This being Industry, it's not long before the personal and professional clash in spectacular fashion. Lumi's IPO comes at a fraught time for almost every member of Pierpoint. Yasmin has become tabloid fodder following her father Charles' (Adam Levy, The Witcher) embezzlement scandal; Robert is reeling following an unexpected loss; and Eric's recent separation has led him down a road of sex, drugs, and poor managerial decisions. Honestly, Harper should be thanking her lucky stars she's not at Pierpoint anymore — although that certainly won't stop her from re-entering the fray in unexpected ways.

Industry embraces the chaos in Season 3, with thrilling results. Sagar Radia and Ken Leung in "Industry." Credit: Nick Strasburg / HBO

Industry's new focus on ethical investing and the addition of characters like Petra and Henry prove its commitment to expanding season by season. That commitment is evident on a formal level, too. Yes, you'll still get juicy personal drama and high-speed trading-floor chatter. But you'll often be served these Industry staples in new ways. Flashbacks to Yasmin's time on a boat with her father add an intriguing mystery element to the season, and an episode focused entirely on Rishi Ramdani (Sagar Radia) adds necessary depth to an oft-sidelined character, all while raising the bar on just how stressful Industry can be. (Seriously, you've seen nothing yet.)

As Industry kicks itself into higher gear, so too does its ensemble cast. Myha'la, Abela, and Lawtey remain three anchor-solid leads, playing the complicated feelings of friendship and competitiveness between this trio with as much pathos as cutthroat instinct. Goldberg and Harington are fun additions, too: Goldberg's sharpness as Petra perfectly complements Myha'la's as Harper, while Harington's Muck hides layers of sleaze and manipulation under the guise of "being vulnerable."

But it's Leung's Eric who feels the most like Industry's rotten core in Season 3. Separated from his wife but newly made partner, Eric's whole identity is Pierpoint, Pierpoint, Pierpoint — with a side of midlife crisis. As he gets back into drugs — "I haven't done blow since 9/11," he reveals in the premiere — and casual sex, it's almost as if we're watching him return to his early days at the bank. He would have fit right in with the hard-partying grads in Season 1, with the small caveat that he's still their boss. It's fascinating to watch Eric try to recapture that youth and the "relentlessness" he ties to his masculinity, with Leung often playing him like a just barely contained explosion.

Yet even as Eric and every other member of Industry's cast throw their entire beings into their work, there's always the chance that it could chew them up and spit them out at the slightest wrong move. Of course, there's also the chance that it could reward them and make them richer than rich. That atmosphere of high-risk, high-reward decision-making, complemented by high-risk, high-reward television-making, makes watching Industry a high of its own. It's brutal, it's intoxicating, and it's never been better.

Industry Season 3 premieres Aug. 11 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max, with new episodes weekly.

In 2024, dating app fatigue is real, and frankly, who can blame folks? Popular apps are starting to look (and function) more and more like copies of each other, and people have even sued the apps for being more concerned with getting users addicted to swiping than helping them find love.

With the current state of things, it may feel like the "best dating apps for serious relationships" is an oxymoron, but hear us out — Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge aren't your only options (even though we think they still have their merits!). Even if you're dealing with serious dating app burnout, using the app that's the best fit for you might just help you along your journey to find your person.

So, are dating apps worth it?

Even using the right app for you still may bring moments of uncertainty and frustration — you're dating after all — but finding the app with the features that most align with your style of dating, and what type of partnership you're looking for can absolutely still make online dating worth it.

SEE ALSO: The dating app glossary: The A to Z of terms you need to know

According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, nearly 44 percent of adults say they use dating apps to find a long-term partner rather than just casual dating or hookups. This survey also found that one in 10 partnered adults met their current partner through a dating app. So, even if you've yet to find that magical, swoon-worthy connection, the statistics show that it's definitely possible to find true love through online dating. Some of our own writers and editors have even found lasting love on these apps.

With that said, if you've been on the apps for a while and find yourself dealing with some serious burnout, it's always fair to take some time off, and come back to it when you feel ready — our guide will be here for you then. Even the best app can feel exceptionally tedious when you simply don't have the energy.

Which dating app is best for serious relationships?

There are so many dating apps, but not all of them are created equal when it comes to finding a serious, committed relationship.

SEE ALSO: How to use Bumble, and is it better than Tinder?

Some free dating apps are better suited for casual flings or hookups (e.g., Tinder, Grindr, etc.), while others have matching algorithms and profile features specifically designed to help users find meaningful connections (e.g., eharmony, OkCupid, Hinge, and Coffee Meets Bagel).

The good news is that we've done the research (and hands-on testing) to figure out which apps work best for long-term relationships, and Match Group isn't the only player in the game. Plus, all of these platforms are available via Google Play and the App Store, so having an Android or iPhone won't limit your options. Some of the old-school dating sites still maintain a desktop version as well.

To find your match, here are the best dating apps for serious relationships in 2024:

Apple is working on a new version of Mac mini, and this one will truly live up to its name.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the company is planning a thoroughly redesigned Mac mini that would be far smaller than the current edition, "approaching the size of an Apple TV set-top box."

Here's what this means, exactly. The current version of Mac mini is 1.41 inches tall, 7.75 inches wide, and 7.75 inches deep. The version with the M2 chip weighs 2.6 pounds, while the version with the M2 Pro weighs 2.8 pounds.

Apple TV 4K is roughly half the size of that. It's 1.2 inches tall, 3.66 inches wide, and 3.66 inches deep. The Wi-Fi model weighs just 0.46 pounds.

SEE ALSO: Apple Intelligence: We already told you it won’t be free. But here’s how much it may cost.

According to the report, however, the Mac mini will be more cube-like in appearance, as it might actually be taller than the current version. Its enclosure will once again be made of aluminum, just like on the previous version.

Gurman recently predicted that Apple would put its new M4 processor into all of its Macs, including the Mac mini. The current version of Mac mini is available with either an M2 or M2 Pro chip.

But what about the performance? According to Gurman's sources, the new Mac mini is "essentially an iPad Pro in a small box" (the iPad Pro was the first Apple device to get the new M4 chip). Two versions will be available, one sporting the M4 chip, and the other powered by the M4 Pro chip, which hasn't been announced yet.

The new Mac mini should become available for purchase later this year, likely in October or later.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for August 9 SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Here's the answer hints for August 9

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Friday, August 9, 2024:

AcrossMove like a kangaroo

• The answer is hop.

Purple soda flavor

• The answer is grape.

Bird used for sending messages on "House of the Dragon"

• The answer is raven.

Oak tree-to-be

• The answer is acorn.

What half-life measures, in nuclear physics

• The answer is decay.

DownPandemonium

• The answer is havoc.

Performance for a prima donna

• The answer is opera.

Take a ___, leave a ___

• The answer is penny.

Mortarboard wearer

• The answer is grad.

A dash is a short one

• The answer is race.

Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're reading this, you're looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game.

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for August 9 SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Here's the answer hints for August 9

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Back to nature

The hint for the theme is that scouts are great at each of these things.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

The answers are related to outdoor activities.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Outdoorsy.

NYT Strands word list for August 9

• Fish

• Swim

• Camp

• Outdoorsy

• Birdwatch

• Forage

• Stargaze

• Hike

Looking for other daily online games? Find one you might like – or hints for another game you're already playing – on Mashable's Games page.

Stressing science education, China is outpacing other countries in research fields like battery chemistry, crucial to its lead in electric vehicles.

TL;DR: Discover BitMar, the all-in-one streaming platform that offers access to movies, TV shows, live channels, music, and more entertainment from around the world. Get a lifetime subscription on sale for £15.69 (reg. £117.73).

Opens in a new window Credit: Bitmar BitMar All-in-One Streaming Platform: Lifetime Subscription £15.69 at the Mashable Shop
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If you're tired of paying insane prices for all your subscriptions, there's a better option to streamline your streaming experience with just one platform.

BitMar is your one-stop destination for everything entertainment, and a lifetime subscription is on sale for £15.69 (reg. £117.73). You'll have endless access to movies, TV shows, live channels, and music from around the world — all from a single platform.

BitMar has more than 200,000 on-demand channels, letting you explore thousands of titles from different genres and languages, so there's something for everyone. Whether you're a movie buff, a TV series binge-watcher, or a music enthusiast, BitMar has got you covered. Plus, with live channels, you can stay updated with news, sports, and events in real time.

Not only does BitMar give you access to movies and TV shows from around the world in one convenient platform, but it also offers a user-friendly experience that can be used by kids and adults alike. No more switching apps or searching endlessly for what you want to watch.

The best part? It's a lifetime deal, so you won't have to worry about recurring monthly fees. Enjoy seamless access to a vast library of entertainment without the hassle of multiple subscriptions. 

Regularly £117.73, get a lifetime subscription to the BitMar all-in-one streaming platform on sale for £15.69.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for August 9'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.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Wordle.

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 used to be available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it. Unfortunately, it has since been taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times.

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.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for August 9 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for August 9 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

A unit of measurement.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no reoccurring letters.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter O.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. 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...

OUNCE.

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 Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

Connections is the latest New York Times word game 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 August 9'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.

Tweet may have been deleted

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.

Tweet may have been deleted

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.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for August 7 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Missing

• Green: #1 fan

• Blue: Rock music

• Purple: Ways to shock someone

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Not Present

• Green: Supporter

• Blue: Rock Genres

• Purple: Shock___

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 #425 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Not Present: ABSENT, ELSEWHERE, GONE, MIA

• Supporter: ADVOCATE, CHAMPION, CHEERLEADER, EXPONENT

• Rock Genres: GLAM, GOTH, METAL, PUNK

• Shock___: HORROR, JOCK, VALUE, WAVE

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.

Is this not the Connections game you were looking for? Here are the hints and answers to yesterday's Connections.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Just earlier this week, Elon Musk's X announced that it was suing the constituent members of an initiative known as the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM).

On Thursday, just days after X's federal antitrust lawsuit was filed, the organization behind GARM, the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), announced that it was dissolving GARM. The WFA and several corporations were the suit's named defendants, not GARM itself.

X claimed in its lawsuit that WFA and a number of its major advertising members "conspired" to “collectively withhold billions of dollars in advertising revenue”

After the news was announced, X CEO Linda Yaccarino took to X to celebrate GARM's end. However, at least one adtech watchdog is claiming that this might actually backfire for X.

GARM shuts down

According to a letter from the WFA that was sent to its members, as first reported by Business Insider, the group was "discontinuing" GARM as a result of X's lawsuit as the initiative was a non-profit with limited resources. The GARM initiative, which helped members avoid advertising on harmful websites, was staffed by only two full-time employees.

However, the WFA will continue on and challenge X's lawsuit, saying they committed no wrongdoing.

The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, whose report was used by X in its lawsuit, deemed GARM's closure a "big win for the first amendment."

Tweet may have been deleted

X CEO Linda Yaccarino quoted the House Judiciary Committee post in her own reply.

"No small group should be able to monopolize what gets monetized," Yaccarino said. "This is an important acknowledgement and a necessary step in the right direction. I am hopeful that it means ecosystem-wide reform is coming."

Mashable reached out to X for comment. In a reply, X emailed a link to Linda Yaccarino's statement above.

Not so fast, X

However, Check My Ads, an adtech watchdog that has successfully taken on hateful websites and ad platforms that serve advertising on them, says that X's celebration is premature.

"Advertisers know a bad ad placement when they see one," said Claire Atkin, co-founder of Check My Ads, in a statement provided to Mashable. "The reality is today’s decision means even more advertisers will flee X, and quickly so they’re not targeted in the future." 

In an analysis of GARM's closure on its own website, Check My Ads' founders say that the more likely outcome is that advertisers will now be less likely to advertise on X as they won't base advertising decisions on GARM's recommendation. Check My Ads points out that X was just touting how it was reinstated into GARM just last month.

X posted that the reinstatement was part of its "deep commitment to brand safety."

Tweet may have been deleted

So to recap, X had just regained GARM as an ally, and then it filed a lawsuit, apparently causing its ally to disband, leaving — assuming it really was a monopoly — no comparable initiative in existence to recommend that advertisers make deals with X.

"Everyone can see that advertising on X is a treacherous business relationship for advertisers," Atkin's said in Check My Ads' statement to Mashable. "And we know, based on public reporting, X doesn’t have all that many to lose."

Everything about Eli Roth's Borderlands feels at least a decade out of time. From a sense of humor plucked straight out of Reddit circa 2011 to a cast made up of actors who are inexplicably decades older than the characters they portray, every second left me — a fan of the first two games in this franchise — wondering how and why the hell it exists in 2024.

With an ensemble cast featuring Academy Award–winners Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis, along with comedy stars Kevin Hart and Jack Black, plus a director whose name is recognizable (if nothing else), Borderlands theoretically brings a level of prestige that many other video game adaptations haven't had. But theory and practice are two different things, and when it comes to the latter, Borderlands is an adaptation that's equal parts miserable and unnecessary.

SEE ALSO: No thanks, Chris Pratt. The perfect 'Super Mario Bros.' movie already exists.

Put a different way: Sometimes a video game should stay a video game.

What is Borderlands about? We saw you from across the bar, etc. Credit: Lionsgate

Our journey begins with the generic, straight-man soldier Roland (Hart) joining forces with the unstable juggernaut Krieg (Florian Munteanu, a German boxer who I just learned also goes by "Big Nasty") to rescue a very special young woman named Tina (Barbie's Ariana Greenblatt) from a prison cell on an exploding space station. The trio makes their way down to the rough desert planet of Pandora, known for its lawless wastes full of would-be treasure hunters searching for a rumored ancient alien vault that has a special connection to Tina.

It turns out that Tina is the daughter of the villainous corporate overlord Atlas (Édgar Ramírez), whose elite Crimson Lance paramilitary squad previously employed Roland. Atlas employs the merciless bounty hunter Lilith (Blanchett) to track down Tina and bring her back into his clutches. But maybe 15 minutes of screen time later, Lilith teams up with Roland, Krieg, and Tina to find the vault, hoping to use what is inside to stop Atlas' plan for dominance.

Oh, and Jack Black is here lending his voice as Claptrap, the "lovable" robot who more or less acts as the franchise's mascot. He is very annoying, which is accurate to the games, I suppose.

Please just shut up for two minutes. I don't really understand why she wears rabbit ears, either. Credit: Lionsgate

Narratively speaking, Borderlands is a bit of an odd amalgamation of the first two games. Roland and Lilith hail from the first game, while Krieg and Tina debuted in its sequel. Atlas is an original character for the film who sort of fills the same "evil murder CEO" role as Handsome Jack from Borderlands 2, but with all the charisma of a guy hosting an airline safety video. I'd estimate that he's on screen for a total of 10 minutes, at most.

The measly bits of plot and character development that do exist in Borderlands are only in service of justifying aggravating, banter-filled exchanges in between action sequences. In this respect, Borderlands is accurate to the source material; the big joke among every gamer I know is that you should play the games with the dialogue muted. 

Its mercifully short 102-minute runtime somehow puts Borderlands at a disadvantage, because absolutely nothing is given time to breathe. Nearly every joke consists of hastily farted-out one-liners that are shockingly easy to miss at times, though I would argue you're not really missing anything. One of the only gags that’s given any time to shine is an uncomfortably long shot of Claptrap pooping bullets.

This is a movie that thinks "badonkadonk," a term that has been in the pop culture lexicon for at least 22 years, is a really funny thing to say in 2024. According to Borderlands, the most hilarious and twisted thing in the world is a teenage girl who uses curse words and shoots people with guns. That was kind of funny when I was 14 and Kick-Ass was in theaters, but not anymore.

I can tell you that I chuckled precisely once during the entire film, when the nearly mute Krieg belts out a spirited "THANK YOU!" after being called handsome. It's one of the only lines delivered with sincere enthusiasm, and I appreciated that.

Borderlands suffers, above all else, from an extreme lack of silence. Every moment of it is jacked up to 11 without so much as a brief pause, almost as if Roth knew that letting audiences think for a second or two about what they just heard might prompt them to get up and do anything else with their lives. By the end, I badly wished everyone would just shut the hell up.

I didn't know Cate Blanchett could be bad. Cate, no. Credit: Lionsgate

It's not easy for any actor to save a script that might qualify as a war crime, but nobody in Borderlands is trying that hard to do so. Hart is strangely cast as a comedy straight man, only rarely doing the exuberant, exasperated fast-talking that has long been his signature. Curtis, to her credit, brings enjoyable quirky aunt vibes as the crew's archaeologist Tannis, but her character is such an afterthought that it doesn't really matter.

Black's high-pitched wailing as Claptrap is at least faithful to the games, if not very fun to listen to. Munteanu doesn't have to do much other than be burly and occasionally grunt out monosyllabic words as Krieg, who is honestly my favorite character because he barely talks.

Blanchett's turn as Lilith deserves special mention here, though, because it's the first time I've ever seen her phone in such a terrible performance. She probably has the most dialogue in the movie, and almost none of it is delivered in a convincing manner. Acting is more than just line delivery, of course, but all of her reads are so wooden and stilted that it's genuinely distracting from the start.

I get it. If I were an accomplished thespian, I wouldn't feel excited about this material either. It doesn't make for a great viewing experience though. While this doesn’t necessarily impact their performances, I'll also point out that Blanchett, Hart, and especially Curtis are all substantially older than the characters they're playing are in the games. Everyone feels out of place.

The moment when I realized what I was in for was when Borderlands made it clear that Greenblatt's Tiny Tina is the most important character in the story. If you don’t know, Tiny Tina is famously one of the most obnoxious characters in video game history. Her whole schtick in the games is "little girl who loves explosives and speaks in AAVE," and that's kept largely intact here.

To be fair, it isn't really Greenblatt's fault that Tiny Tina is as exasperating as she is. The material demands that she be really brash and abrasive, while also delivering lines that would make Shakespeare regret his contributions to this English language. I don’t hold Tiny Tina's presence in this movie against Greenblatt, but rather against the people who created the character in 2012 in the first place.

Furio-sucks This is a stupendously bad car chase scene. Credit: Lionsgate

The Borderlands games are primarily about shooting guns, so naturally, the Borderlands movie has a bunch of action sequences in it. None of them are the slightest bit novel or interesting. Not one.

Maddeningly, the film is rated PG-13 despite the games very much warranting an R rating. This means any opportunities for the kinds of fun, nonsensical violence you see in the games are neutered before they can even begin. Every gunfight consists of shots of our heroes trying to look cool while shooting guns, interspersed with shots of literally faceless and nameless bandits just sorta bloodlessly falling over.

There's no physicality or kineticism to these scenes, as you might see in a competent action movie like John Wick. The movie's few pathetic attempts at interesting fight choreography are obscured by poor lighting or frantic cuts. There is one single moment where it seems like Lilith might kill a bad guy in the way that would get people to jump out of their seats in a better movie, but you can't actually see it because it's in the middle of a flashing strobe light sequence, for no apparent reason.

Possibly the most confusing decision Roth made was completely leaving out the weird guns that permeate the Borderlands games. One of the big selling points from the first game onward was that you can find guns that turn into throwable grenades when they run out of ammo, or release a human scream when you fire, or coat enemies in acid, or a million other fun variables. Some of the guns in the film look unusual, but they all just fire regular bullets. Come on!

Borderlands' greatest sin as an action movie might be the fact that its setting is extremely reminiscent of Mad Max, and its late-summer release is just a couple of months after the tremendous Furiosa's Cannes premiere. Tossing aside the fact that Furiosa is a prodigious and elegiac meditation on actual themes, it's also a highly accomplished car chase movie that was directed with a deft hand by genre master George Miller.

SEE ALSO: Chris Hemsworth's Dementus is the real scene-stealer in 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga'

Eli Roth is not George Miller, and Borderlands is not Furiosa. There's one major car chase scene in the first half of the film that is so embarrassing in comparison to Furiosa (or Fury Road, or any other Mad Max movie) that I would not have let it see the light of day were I Eli Roth. It's a mess of genuinely awful-looking CGI vomit, with green-screen shots so obviously fake that you could almost convince me they were a bit, if only they appeared in a more clever movie. 

There's no sense of danger in these sequences. Plus, it’s impossible to tell where any vehicles are in relation to other vehicles, and the whole thing ends with the heroes being covered in worm piss. In that moment, the audience can relate.

The lesson here is that if George Miller is about to release another masterpiece, maybe get your own crappy desert action movie well out of the way so nobody thinks to compare the two.

A Borderlands movie came 10 years too late.

While developer Gearbox has continued making Borderlands games over the last decade (with great financial success), I and many of my gaming cohorts have long felt that its time to shine ended somewhere around 2014. 

In 2009, the first game stood out because it melded role-playing mechanics with first-person shooting that felt good — something that hadn't really been done before at that scale. It also had a unique art style and a sense of humor, both of which went a long way in an era dominated by bland Call of Duty knock-offs. The 2012 sequel was more of the same, but the formula was still worthwhile, and I had a fun time with it. However, my sense of humor evolved well past the dated pop culture and internet meme references that plagued those games. And plenty of other RPG/shooter hybrids came out in the last decade that negated the uniqueness of Borderlands. 

It's unbelievably vexing, then, that anyone decided to make Borderlands into a movie in the 2020s. Game adaptations always, by necessity, lose the kinds of player-driven interactivity that make video games, well, video games. Sometimes the game in question has enough going for it to cover for that, but Borderlands does not. It is a series that made sense at a specific point in time entirely due to the circumstances surrounding it. 

When you remove the fun co-op gunplay and build the whole thing out of irritating jokes, you get one of the worst movies I've seen in years. Congratulations to all involved for somehow making a movie that feels way too much like Borderlands without being very much like Borderlands in any of the ways that matter at all.

Borderlands is now in theaters.

Delta's problems following the CrowdStrike outage that temporarily bricked millions of Windows PCs around the world just became more of a headache.

Some customers who had their Delta flights canceled due to the outage have filed a class-action lawsuit against the company, per CNN. The lawsuit, filed by Sauder Schelkopf and Webb, Klase & Lemond, accused Delta of failing to properly compensate customers for their troubles, either by refusing refunds outright or making customers sign a waiver to only get a partial refund.

SEE ALSO: 'False, misleading and damaging': Microsoft slams Delta for CrowdStrike outage blame

While many airlines around the world were impacted by the CrowdStrike outage, Delta had a particularly difficult time recovering from it. By the time the next business week started, and most other airlines had sorted the problems out, Delta was still canceling flights. As CNN noted, many customers had to pay out of pocket for expensive flights home on other airlines, not to mention accommodations for those stranded overnight. According to customers, Delta didn't provide vouchers for that either.

Microsoft and Delta have been going back and forth, publicly blaming each other as the primary culprit for what happened. While Microsoft hasn’t faced a lawsuit as for this writing, Delta now has — so put that on the scoreboard.

Next time you watch a TikTok of someone gushing about their favorite TV show, there might be a link in the bottom left corner directing you to even more information.

SEE ALSO: Internet Princess Rayne Fisher-Quann left TikTok in search of something beyond the algorithm

Called TikTok Spotlight, the tool will aid entertainment studios in turning social media hype into streaming numbers and ticket sales. Whether it's a new release or newly discovered, the feature identifies brand-friendly TikToks and adds a link to the landing page of information about the movie or TV show. The hub will feature details about the show or movie, including the plot, cast, official accounts, and other creator content. TikTok Spotlight explicitly turns organic fandom into marketing material.

TikTok previously partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery to promote Dune: Part Two utilizing the same hub approach.

TikTok Spotlight will provide analytics to studios where they "can glean valuable insights into their fandoms, so they can know exactly what their fans want and how to most effectively activate around their title."

The new feature further entrenches TikTok in the ticketing game as users will be directed to both streaming platforms and to purchase movie tickets from TikTok Spotlight. The social media platform recently partnered with Eventbrite to directly link tickets in videos. It first moved into the ticketing space with a nearly identical partnership with Ticketmaster in 2022.

All these partnerships aim to keep you on the app. If all the information about a film or television show is now available in the app, users won't have to leave until they go to watch a show, but even then, in TikTok's ideal world, it plays in the background while you scroll on your phone.

The Global Alliance for Responsible Media will dissolve after Mr. Musk accused the group of orchestrating a boycott.

Elliot Page is joined by Ritu Arya, Robery Sheehan, Justin H. Min, Aidan Gallagher, Tom Hopper and David Castañeda to discuss their characters' relationships to 'sacrifice' in the final season of 'The Umbrella Academy'.

Elon Musk has often touted that X is a place for news since acquiring the company then known as Twitter. Regardless of studies and reports showing misinformation on his social media platform are running rampant, Musk has repeatedly claimed that X is the best online destination for truth.

On Thursday, Musk seemingly fell for a photoshopped fake news headline from a far-right user on X — and shared it with his more than 293 million followers.

Tweet may have been deleted Musk's tweet-and-delete post

"Detainment camps…" Musk posted alongside a quoted post from X user Ashlea Simon, who posted a fake image that was created to look like a headline from The Daily Telegraph's website. The fake headline read "Keir Starmer considering building 'emergency detainment camps' on the Falkland Islands." 

Simon is one of the leaders of the far-right UK party known as Britain First. The fake headline was referencing the far-right's anti-immigration riots that have been unfolding throughout the UK and appeared to claim that the UK Prime Minister and Labor Party leader was building "detainment camps" to hold the arrested rioters.

Musk appeared to have deleted his post roughly 30 minutes after publishing it. It received more than two million impressions on the platform before Musk removed it. Musk has yet to acknowledge its deletion or issue a correction for his followers who were deceived by the fake news.

As previously mentioned, Musk has pushed hard for X to be seen as a news media application — not just a social media platform. However, Musk and X have repeatedly posted fake news. In fact, at times, the platform itself has created fake news. 

Earlier this year, the platform's own AI chatbot Grok created a fake news story falsely claiming that Iran was striking Tel Aviv with missiles. X then promoted Grok's story to users via the Explore feature on the website.

Just a few weeks ago, Musk shared a manipulated political campaign video featuring a deepfake, AI-generated voice impersonating U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. While the original poster of the video labeled the clip as a parody, Musk removed any reference to the video being a parody and shared it without any context to his hundreds of millions of followers.

Goodbye photo dumps, hello Facebook albums. Instagram is no longer restricting carousels to 10 photos or videos. Now, you can post up to 20.

SEE ALSO: Instagram now lets you create an AI version of yourself

The art of an Instagram post has gone through many phases. What began as heavily filtered low-stakes shots morphed into pristine "aesthetic" photos and finally into the highly curated photo dump that started out fun and turned into a series of seemingly mandatory life updates — Mashable's Christianna Silva even called them cringe back in March. Now, with 20-slide posts, photo dumps might go the way of the Facebook album, which is extinct. Social media is nothing if not cyclical.

Instagram feeds are overwhelmed with sponsored posts and creators, making them practically un-scrollable. Instead of fixing the fact that you don't see the people you know's posts anymore and making the platform more usable, it's still chasing after TikTok's success.

SEE ALSO: Is posting a photo dump on Instagram cringe now?

The update makes carousel posts on Instagram even more closely resemble TikTok's photo mode, which allows users to post up to 35 photos in a slideshow set to music. Last year, Instagram added the option for users to soundtrack their dumps, and now the length of dumps is more in line with photo mode.

What will Instagram's next nail in the coffin be?

We already know that the more advanced Apple Intelligence features might come with a price. Now Apple analysts are predicting what that price might be.

Neil Shah, a partner at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC that premium AI features could cost between $10 and $20 for a monthly subscription. "Software and services makes it more lucrative for Apple to pass it on with the Apple One subscription model," Shah told the outlet.

SEE ALSO: Apple Intelligence: A ‘pep talk’ is given to the AI to prevent hallucination, according to secret code

So certain Apple Intelligence access could be bundled into the Apple One subscription as a higher subscription tier. Apple One starts at $19.95 a month and includes Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, and Apple Fitness+, which are premium versions of free Apple services. From this standpoint, a paid Apple Intelligence subscription would fit the freemium model it uses with others. "Apple is one of the few connected devices companies that has successfully monetized the value-added services it offers," told CCS Insight chief researcher Ben Wood to CNBC.

According to previous reports, Apple is exploring Apple Intelligence+ in order to get a cut of subscription revenue with its AI partners like OpenAI. It would also be a way to offset the costs of AI investment, which isn't cheap.

The timing of this is uncertain. Even some of the Apple Intelligence features announced at this year's WWDC won't be available until next year. That includes features related to Siri's AI revamp like understanding personal context and on-screen awareness.

However, there are some Apple Intelligence features you can try now through the iOS 18.1 developer beta. Writing Tools, Call Recording, and some new AI-powered Siri features are available to test out. And they're free — for now.