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Get Over Here—Because Mortal Kombat 2 Is Worth Watching! : Coastal House Media

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Get Over Here—Because Mortal Kombat 2 Is Worth Watching! : Coastal House Media

In a movie called Mercy, you’d expect compassion — instead, you get cold algorithms, hard deadlines, and a justice system that wouldn’t know a second chance if it filed an appeal. This near-future sci-fi thriller throws Chris Pratt into a courtroom where the judge isn’t just stern — it’s silicon. And from there, the film makes one thing clear: in this world, “processing your feelings” is less important than processing your data.

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The premise is easily the movie’s biggest strength. A justice system run by AI, a detective who helped build it, and a race against time to prove innocence — it’s the kind of idea that instantly pulls you in. The story unfolds with a constant ticking-clock energy that keeps things tense, and the tech-driven way events are revealed — through screens, surveillance, and digital trails — gives the film a sleek, modern edge. It feels like a cinematic cousin to a long Black Mirror episode, built around the fear that technology might be efficient… but not exactly fair.

Chris Pratt as Detective Chris Raven in Mercy (Justin Lubin/Justin Lubin – © 2025 Amazon Content Services LLC)

Chris Pratt delivers a solid, restrained performance. This isn’t his usual wise-cracking, action-heavy role; instead, he carries the movie through urgency, frustration, and quiet desperation. He does what he can with the material, even though the character is often limited by the film’s structure. Much of the story unfolds in confined or static situations, which fits the concept but sometimes makes the movie feel smaller than its big idea deserves.

Rebecca Ferguson plays the AI judge, a character that’s less about emotional nuance and more about what the movie’s central idea looks like in human form. She isn’t a warm or sympathetic presence — she is the embodiment of the system Chris Pratt’s character is up against. That immediately gives her role a kind of gravity: she represents the cold logic of a world where justice is measured in algorithms and milliseconds instead of human deliberation.

Rebecca Ferguson as Judge Maddox in Mercy (Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios – © 2025 Amazon Content Services LLC)

Ferguson doesn’t have to carry the emotional weight in the way a traditional judge character might. Instead, her performance leans into stillness and precision — every word, every pause feels deliberate. It’s like she’s calibrated to deliver the law exactly as programmed, without the messy complications of empathy or second chances. That fits the film’s premise really well, because you never forget she’s not just another character — she’s the machine that decides life or death.

Her impact goes beyond just being the antagonist figure. Ferguson’s presence raises the stakes. Every time she speaks, you feel the system’s power in a way that simple exposition couldn’t achieve. She makes you feel the rules of this world — not through anger or theatrics, but through a kind of unemotional certainty that’s almost more unsettling. It’s one thing for a judge to be strict; it’s another for them to be literally incapable of bending or understanding emotion.

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The movie doesn’t give her a deep backstory, and it doesn’t turn her into a cliché villain. Her role is functional, but in a smart way: she is the mechanism that keeps the clock ticking. Because of that, Ferguson’s performance becomes an anchor for the entire film — not by stealing scenes, but by giving the audience a clear sense of what the protagonist is fighting against. She sets the tone for the courtroom drama, and her steady, almost robotic delivery makes the tension feel real even when the visuals are just screens and data panels.

In short: Ferguson’s character isn’t there for charm or emotional beats. She’s there to be the system, and she does that with a cool, controlled performance that elevates the movie’s central conflict. If the film had a weaker presence in that role, the whole thing might have felt much less urgent. But because she’s so effective at what she represents, you feel the pressure in every scene she’s in — even if the story around her doesn’t always dig as deep as it could.

Visually, Mercy looks polished. The futuristic design leans more toward believable near-future than flashy sci-fi spectacle, which helps ground the story. The heavy use of screens and digital interfaces adds to the atmosphere, though it can occasionally make the film feel more like you’re watching a very intense system interface than a fully cinematic experience. It’s stylish, just not always immersive in the way you might hope.

Where the movie loses a bit of momentum is in its depth. It raises huge questions about AI, surveillance, and who we trust to decide guilt — but it never digs as deeply into those themes as the setup promises. Some story turns feel familiar, and while the tension keeps things watchable, the emotional and philosophical impact doesn’t hit as hard as it could have. You’re engaged in the moment, but you’re not necessarily haunted afterward.

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That’s why this lands at a comfortable 3 out of 5 stars. It’s entertaining, well-paced, and built on a strong concept, but it plays things a little too safely to be truly memorable. Worth a watch if you enjoy technological thrillers and high-stakes tension — just don’t expect a verdict that blows your mind.

By the end, Mercy proves one thing: the movie may be about justice without emotion, but as a film experience, it could’ve used just a little more heart… and maybe a mistrial on some of those missed opportunities.

Mercy Official Trailer (Amazon MGM Studios)
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Rocki Irish Mayers Is Giving Mini Rihanna Energy In New Photos

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Rihanna Seemingly Addresses Baby Rumors, Talks "Little Pouch"

Aww, Roomies! Rocki Irish Mayers is quickly becoming one of the internet’s favorite celebrity kids. She recently popped out with Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, and her new fans have fans melting all over the timeline.

RELATED: Lil’ Fashion Killa! Rihanna’s Daughter Rocki Serves Next Level Cuteness During Pop Out In Paris (PHOTOS)

Baby Rocki’s Latest Appearance Has The Timeline Going “Awww!”

Rocki Irish Mayers is already giving “That Girl” energy and lil’ mama isn’t even one yet! A$AP Rocky and Rihanna recently took over New York City with all of their kiddos, including RZA and Riot. The couple previously celebrated their eldest son’s RZA’s fourth birthday and have been outside in the Big Apple ever since. Rocki tagged along with her big brothers too with new photos showing her getting some daddy-daughter time with A$AP. Even though A$AP popped out looking fly for the night, baby Rocki stole ALL the attention looking extra cute in her carrier wrapped in a pink blanket. See the adorable pics below.

The Internet Says Baby Rocki Is Giving Full Mini-Rihanna Vibes

Folks over in The Shade Room’s comment section couldn’t get enough of baby Rocki’s cuteness. Plenty of fans swore she’s Rihanna’s twin. Peep some of the reactions below.

Instagram user @missmoneybagg87 wrote, She’s so cute 😍” 

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Instagram user @khaliahjanea wrote,look just like Riri as a baby 😍” 

While Instagram user @rihismygf wrote,She looks like both of them 😍” 

Then Instagram user @bonitabillionaire wrote, She gave birth to the same baby 3 times 😍😍” 

Another Instagram user @officialtonipayne wrote,Did his genes even try? All 3 babies look like her. Sisterhood is so proud. 🥹” 

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Instagram user @babydaddy_snatcher wrote, Riri twinzyyyy 😍” 

Then another Instagram user @_therealmonroe1 wrote,She’s beautiful ❤️ so happy they didn’t stop at two.” 

While another Instagram user @jstewww__ wrote, Boyyyyy them GENES are perf 😭😭” 

Lastly, Instagram user @lb_gibbons411 wrote,She is a doll baby ❤️” 

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Baby Rocki Is Already A Lil’ Fashion Killa

Rocki Irish has been melting hearts ever since she made an appearance on the cover of W Magazine with her mom back in April. Since then, new photos of her have continued to hit the internet, and the cuteness stays on another level every single time. Photos from Paris showed her outside with Rihanna giving full fashion killa vibes in a vintage Dior green-and-black John Galliano beanie from 2002. She paired the look with a gray pleated Dior dress layered over jeans and sneakers.

 

RELATED: Rihanna Or A$AP Rocky’s Twin? Baby Rocki’s First Magazine Cover With Mom Hypes Fans (PHOTOS) 

What Do You Think Roomies?

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The Worst Director’s Cut Ever Made Is Now Streaming For Free

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The Worst Director’s Cut Ever Made Is Now Streaming For Free

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published

As a movie lover, there’s one phrase that always gets my blood pumping: “director’s cut.” We all know that studios often make changes that can absolutely ruin a movie, like when they added those awful voiceover narrations to Blade Runner. As soon as he could, Ridley Scott released a version without those voice-overs that is infinitely better.

While Scott might have gone a bit overboard in releasing so many different edits over the years, the point stands: a director’s cut is usually a way of improving a movie. Every now and then, though, a director comes along and does his best to ruin a classic. 

One such man is Richard Kelly, best known as the director of Donnie Darko. The original film stalled out at the box office, but it’s now considered a cult hit due to its heady mixture of violence, time travel, and coming-of-age teen hijinks, complete with the creepiest bunny ever put on film.

The most compelling thing about the movie is that it refuses to explain most of its craziest events, forcing you to think about what the heck you just watched long after the credits roll. Unfortunately, Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut ruins everything cool and mysterious about the original by painfully explaining everything in excruciating detail.

Not All Director’s Cuts Are Created Equal

If you loved Donnie Darko in 2001, then the arrival of the Director’s Cut in 2004 probably seemed like a big deal. This new cut promised over 20 minutes of new footage, new special effects, and improved sound quality. Sounds great, right?

Unfortunately, the new footage mostly comes from deleted scenes awkwardly shoehorned back into the movie, without any concern for pacing or characterization. The result is an overly lengthy film; while the original Donnie Darko was a comparatively svelte 113 minutes, the Director’s Cut’s 134 minutes makes it feel like a bloated, plodding mess.

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There are some other unnecessary changes here, including tweaks to the soundtrack. For another film, such changes might not be a big deal. However, Donnie Darko had an absolutely perfect soundtrack, one which used a series of quirky bangers to set the scene for the surreal events of the film.

The original needle drops made everything feel hazy and dreamlike, so any changes to them (even minor changes, like replacing “The Killing Moon” with “Never Tear Us Apart”) feel like cinematic blasphemy that is as offensive as it is completely unnecessary.

A Frank Examination

richard-kelly-donnie-darko

The main reason the Donnie Darko director’s cut sucks, though, is that director Richard Kelly forgot the quintessential rule of sci-fi storytelling: less is more. The original movie presented plenty of time-tripping mysteries, including how (spoilers, sweetie!) the title character traveled into his own past, ensuring that he’d die when a jet engine inexplicably fell into his bedroom.

Donnie laughs right before he dies, secure in the knowledge that he is fixing a doomed timeline and saving someone he loves. As the credits roll, first-time viewers are always struck by the same question: “What the heck just happened?”

Unfortunately, the Director’s Cut answers that question in the most literal and boring way. You see, in the original cut, Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) takes an interest in time travel and receives a book, The Philosophy of Time Travel, written by a now-retired science teacher. But we don’t get much actual wisdom from the book and must figure out the timey-wimey narrative on our own.

In the Director’s Cut, we get pages from this book literally superimposed on the screen. Thanks to all this dreadfully boring exposition, we finally know what happened in the movie, and it’s pretty wild!

Ruining The Greatest Trip In Cinema

Apparently, the moment the jet engine landed in Donnie’s bedroom, it created a Tangent Universe. The young man is a Living Receiver who gains bizarre superpowers, including telekinesis and premonition, and has a seemingly impossible job: to return the jet engine to the Primary Universe, the only way to prevent the destruction of the entire universe.

By the end of the film, a traumatized Donnie creates a time portal and rips a jet engine off the plane that his mother and younger sister are in. He sends that engine and himself into the past, killing himself and closing the tangent universe while he laughs, knowing his sacrifice will save those he loved.

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Is it a neat explanation? Maybe. But the one that you came up with in your head was probably way, way cooler. Unfortunately, this is the nature of science fiction: being handed the truth (like what the Smoke Monster is in Lost and what the Upside Down is in Stranger Things) is never as satisfying as trying to figure everything out on your own.

Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut hands you every boring explanation on a plate, sapping the mystery from a movie it already ruined with new scenes and a botched soundtrack. If you want to watch the worst director’s cut ever made, though, it’s now streaming for free on Tubi.

Trust me, though: after seeing it, you’ll want to escape your new Tangent Universe and return to the timeline where you never watched this cinematic abomination!


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The Dumb-But-Fun Alien Invasion Flop Starring A Pop Icon, That You Don’t Need Netflix To Watch

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Alien Invasion sci-fi movie on streaming

Edit a lot of idiotic and stolen together into two hours of film, and you end up with a big, silly summer blockbuster in which legless men can be heroes, and the elderly can be useful.

By Joshua Tyler
| Updated

Alien Invasion sci-fi movie on streaming



  • Released in 2012 Battleship was a flop on release but may be worth seeing if you missed it.

In theory, director Peter Berg’s Battleship is supposed to be based on the popular guessing game of the same name. In reality, there’s almost no connection between Battleship the movie and its Milton Bradley namesake at all, outside of a single thrilling ten-minute sequence involving buoys, missiles, and a big board. The rest of the movie is a puzzle made up of pieces cribbed from some of history’s most infamously ridiculous summer blockbusters.

Sometimes you want big, silly, and stupid on a random Friday night when you’re not going out.

Battleship is an alien invasion movie, I guess, but it’s also one of many Hollywood movies that only really uses aliens because killing them won’t offend anyone. Like any alien species imagined under such creatively corrupted circumstances, these extraterrestrials aren’t very good at their job.

Scenes from the alien invasion flop Battleship

They land in the middle of a naval exercise, which might not be tactically ridiculous if their ships had some sort of technological superiority that would enable them to crush their human opponents without a thought, but they don’t. Their ships can’t even fly.

Edit a lot of idiotic and stolen together into two hours of film, and you end up with a big, silly summer blockbuster in which legless men can be heroes, and the elderly can be useful.

Instead, they sort of flop about in the water and shoot at the Navy with weapons that, while weirder, aren’t all that much more effective than those used on the deck of a World War II-era battleship. Actually, they’re exactly that effective, as the movie later goes on to demonstrate.

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Scenes from the alien invasion flop Battleship

Eventually, we find out they’ve arrived as some sort of pre-invasion force, we learn this via an out-of-place scene stolen from every alien invasion movie you’ve ever seen in which an ET mind-melds with one of the crew. So they’re here to wipe out humanity and take the planet for themselves, thus it makes sense when they set about blowing up our ships and attacking the Hawaii mainland. What doesn’t make sense is the alien attackers’ hesitance to shoot at anything that isn’t already shooting at them (later abandoned) or their refusal to kill little kids playing baseball (though they’re happy to murder the ones who use our highway system).

Taylor Kitsch is heroic, Rihanna steals scenes running around shooting guns, and Brooklyn Decker’s moves are so hypnotic it doesn’t matter what sort of dreck comes out of her mouth as dialogue.

So the aliens are ineffectual, ill-equipped, and their tactics don’t make a lot of sense. This leaves the film’s human component to carry the day and, well, they sort of do.

Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna save the earth from aliens in Battleship
Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna save the earth from aliens in Battleship

Taylor Kitsch is heroic, Rihanna steals scenes running around shooting guns, and Brooklyn Decker’s moves are so hypnotic it doesn’t matter what sort of dreck comes out of her mouth as dialogue. You won’t even mind that half the script seems like it was written as a PSA for the families of wounded soldiers.

Does it matter if you’re being manipulated if you know you’re being manipulated all along? I say it doesn’t.

Brooklyn Decker in Battleship

Every moment of Battleship is either idiotic or stolen. Edit a lot of idiotic and stolen together into two hours of film, and you end up with a big, silly summer blockbuster in which legless men can be heroes, and the elderly can be useful.

Sometimes you want big, silly, and stupid on a random Friday night when you’re not going out. It’s unlikely anyone will make anything sillier or stupider than Battleship any time soon. Go ahead and watch it; just don’t tell anyone.

Battleship is now widely available on most streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV+, and Google Play.

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Snoop Dogg Turns Up The Heat At Tailgate Beach Club’s Grand Opening

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Tony Hawk

The highly anticipated debut of Tailgate Beach Club at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas kicked off in unforgettable fashion, drawing in a star-studded crowd for a high-energy event. 

Headlined by Snoop Dogg, the event blended dayclub vibes with full-on Vegas spectacle, as celebrities, athletes, and influencers walked the red carpet and fans packed the venue. 

It was a hot day in Sin City, perfect for some pool fun and Tailgate Beach Club was packed with people enjoying the sun, water, drinks, and entertainment. The Blast was on hand for the red carpet arrivals and Snoop’s performance. 

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Tony Hawk
Melanie VanDerveer

In Vegas, everything is a party!

Tailgate Beach Club at Mandalay Bay welcomed guests on Saturday for the grand opening celebration in a big way – with red carpet arrivals and a performance by the one and only Snoop Dogg. 

Some of the celebs to walk across the carpet before entering the dayclub include professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, multiple San Francisco 49ers players, social media personality Jena Frumes, some of the cast of “Love Island” and “Love is Blind,” and many others. 

Snoop Dogg Performed For An Energetic Crowd Under The Vegas Sun

Snoop Dogg
Melanie VanDerveer

It’s summer in Vegas so of course, the temps are high and the sun is beating down, but that didn’t stop thousands from going to Tailgate Beach Club for a fun day poolside on Saturday. 

A few hours after the party started, Snoop showed up to perform some of his hit songs for the excited crowd who sang and danced along. 

Ahead of the grand opening celebration, The Blast received a press release that shared Snoop’s thoughts on performing at the new dayclub.

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“Vegas knows how to throw a party, and Tailgate Beach Club sounds like it’s bringing a whole new vibe to the Strip,” Snoop said. “I’m excited to come out, rock with the crowd, and help get things started.”

And he did just that!

Tailgate Beach Club Has A Sports Theme

Tailgate Beach Club
Melanie VanDerveer

Tailgate Beach Club is a brand new dayclub from Clique Hospitality. While there are many dayclubs in Sin City, Tailgate is unique with a sports theme. It’s the perfect spot to catch a sporting event while soaking in some sun, relaxing in the pool, or chilling in one of 25 cabanas. 

With more than 125 feet of LED screens, heated pools and space for up to 2,000 people, Tailgate Beach Club delivers a 360-degree viewing experience. Beyond the sporting events, the venue also offers beer pong, foosball, and PlayStation lounges for some all-day fun. 

Open Thursday through Sunday, Tailgate Beach Club is the place to be for sports, pools, drinks, food, and fun games. 

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BetMGM Partners With Tailgate Beach Club

Tailgate Beach Club
Tailgate Beach Club

BetMGM recently announced that they partnered with Tailgate Beach Club, just ahead of the grand opening celebration.

As part of the partnership, BetMGM will have a presence all around the dayclub, including an on-site activation team to introduce new players to the BetMGM app.

“Tailgate Beach Club’s mission of blending the energy of Las Vegas dayclubs and sports into a signature venue goes straight to the heart of BetMGM’s DNA — creating legendary moments players can’t get anywhere else,” said Matt Prevost, Chief Revenue Officer, BetMGM, according to a press release sent to The Blast. “This opportunity allows us to deliver incredible memories for fans, introduce our product to new audiences, and reinforce our Las Vegas roots.”

Coming Up…

Tailgate Beach Club
Tailgate Beach Club

The events calendar at Tailgate Beach Club is packed with upcoming events.

On May 17, catch the PGA Championship Final Round on the big screens. On May 21, watch NBA and NHL Playoffs. And for Memorial Day Weekend, Fat Joe will be performing on Saturday.

For more information, visit Tailgate Beach Club’s website.

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Pete Davidson's ex Elsie Hewitt says she's parenting on her own after couple split: 'I'm exhausted, okay?'

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Hewitt got emotional shutting down criticism of her appearance after she was photographed with their baby daughter, Scottie, in New York.

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Alex Cooper Is Pregnant, Expecting Baby With Matt Kaplan

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Alex Cooper Is Pregnant, Expecting Baby No. 1 With Husband Matt Kaplan: ‘Our Family’

Alex Cooper and her husband, Matt Kaplan, are expecting their first baby.

“Daddy Gang, there is something I’ve been waiting to share with you ….” Cooper, 31, wrote via her Instagram Story on Sunday, May 17.

Cooper went on to share a series of photos of her cradling her baby bump while looping at Kaplan, 42. She captioned the Instagram post, “Our family 🤍.”

The “Call Her Daddy” podcast host also shared a selfie of her sitting on Kaplan’s lap outside with mountains visible in the distance. His face was covered by her phone.

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Alex Cooper Is Pregnant, Expecting Baby No. 1 With Husband Matt Kaplan: ‘Our Family’
Courtesy of Alex Cooper/Instagram

“Honestly happy I can finally stop trying to hide the bump lol,” Cooper wrote in a separate Instagram Story, alongside a photo of a bag of candy.

The news comes amid reports that the couple were experiencing tension in their marriage after the Unwell Network made headlines following allegations of Kaplan’s behavior. (Neither Cooper nor Kaplan have addressed the drama. Us Weekly reached out to representatives for Cooper, Kaplan and the Unwell Network at the time.)

However, sources close to the pair tell Us that the rumors are false. The insiders add that Cooper and Kaplan are so excited for this new chapter and have tried to hold out as long as they could before announcing.

Days prior to the announcement, Cooper and Kaplan attended the YouTube Brandcast event at Lincoln Center in New York City. During the Wednesday, May 13, event, YouTube revealed that they officially expanded their partnership with Cooper and her Unwell Network and announced four new shows.

Kaplan popped the question to Cooper in 2023. While recalling the engagement, Cooper told W Magazine at the time that her “entire house was covered in candles, lit all over, music playing, and a scavenger hunt leading to Matt proposing.”

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“There was a computer and the screen said ‘play me.’ I played the video, and it was Matt wearing the same exact outfit that he wore on our first Zoom meeting together,” she continued. “He talked about our relationship and his love for me, and then he asked me to open the card sitting there and to follow the scavenger hunt around the house.”

Cooper and Kaplan tied the knot in April 2024 in Riviera Maya, Mexico. The couple opted to keep their vows private from each other until their wedding.

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“For our families and closest friends to hear us verbalize our feelings toward one another in the most intimate setting felt electric,” Cooper told Vogue at the time. “As you will see in almost every photo, there were no dry eyes in sight. We will never forget that moment.”

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WHO Declares International Health Emergency Amid Surge

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Rihanna Seemingly Addresses Baby Rumors, Talks "Little Pouch"

Health officials are once again sounding the alarm as a fast-moving outbreak linked to a rare Ebola variant spreads across parts of Central and East Africa. And let’s just say, it’s prompting urgent international concern. The situation has escalated enough for the head of the World Health Organization to step in. Now, they’ve formally classified the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

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Call her Mommy! Alex Cooper announces she's pregnant with first baby

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“Honestly happy I can finally stop trying to hide the bump.”

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Crunchyroll’s Near-Perfect Dark Fantasy Series Just Teased A Much-Needed Change of Pace in Season 4

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Jujutsu Kaisen anime

At this point, Jujutsu Kaisen fans have become so used to constant chaos that even the idea of Yuji Itadori relaxing for five minutes feels genuinely shocking. That is part of why a recent comment from Yuji’s English dub actor, Adam McArthur, immediately caught the attention of manga readers.

Speaking with ScreenRant at LVL UP Expo 2026, McArthur discussed one of the moments he is most excited to see animated in Season 4. Instead of teasing another massive fight or devastating death, he pointed to a much smaller and much stranger scene involving Yuji casually hanging out in a bathrobe while holding a wine glass during the Culling Game arc. Honestly, that excitement says a lot about what the series has become over the last few years.

“I’m excited to see more of the culling game. There’s one scene — so I want to keep this as non-spoilery as possible — but one of the scenes I am absolutely most hyped to see animated is when we come back to Yuji in the Culling Game after we hang out with Megumi for a while. I cannot wait to see Yuji in a bathrobe holding a wine glass in a hotel room.

I think that’s going to be hilarious. I got to see that. I love that with all the craziness that’s happening through all these things, we still get those little tiny moments of levity — with Yuji. So, yeah. I’m looking forward to that.”

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‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ Rarely Lets Its Characters Breathe

Jujutsu Kaisen anime
Jujutsu Kaisen anime
Image via MAPPA

One of the biggest reasons Jujutsu Kaisen exploded into such a massive anime phenomenon is because of how relentlessly energetic it is. Even from its earliest episodes, the series moved with an urgency that made it difficult to stop watching, and that pacing only intensified as the anime continued. By the time the series reached the Shibuya Incident arc, Jujutsu Kaisen had fully embraced emotional devastation as part of its identity. Then Season 3 pushed things even further with the Culling Game. Overall, the series’ characters have been constantly thrown into increasingly brutal confrontations while the story itself becomes more chaotic, more unpredictable, and significantly darker. Yuji, especially, has spent the majority of the series trapped in an almost nonstop cycle of violence, guilt, and psychological exhaustion.

That intensity is part of what makes Jujutsu Kaisen feel so different from a lot of other modern shōnen anime. The series rarely allows audiences to feel comfortable for very long. Fans genuinely believe terrible things can happen at any moment because the story has repeatedly proven that they can, so the audience has been conditioned to literally expect the worst at all timesespecially when things seem happy and comfortable, because it’s just more painful that way. But there is also a reason the smaller, stranger moments stand out so much when they finally appear.

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The 10 Most Rewatchable Anime Shows, Ranked

These anime are so good you must watch it twice, thrice, or ten times!

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‘Jujutsu Kaisen’s Weird Humor Is One of Its Most Important Strengths

Gojo in Jujutsu Kaisen Hidden Inventory arc.
Gojo in Jujutsu Kaisen Hidden Inventory arc.
Image via MAPPA

It is easy to primarily associate Jujutsu Kaisen with trauma and destruction now, especially after the last two seasons, but the series has always had an absurd sense of humor running through it. Some of its most memorable moments are bizarre comedic detours that briefly interrupt the chaos surrounding the characters rather than the visually stunning destruction happening surrounding those moments. Whether it is Gojo acting like an overgrown menace, the pure nonsense energy of the Juju Stroll segments, or characters like Fumihiko Takaba completely derailing the tone of scenes around them, Jujutsu Kaisen has consistently balanced horror and absurdity in ways that keep the world feeling unpredictable. Those moments matter far more than they initially seem to. Without occasional flashes of levity, the nonstop brutality of the series would eventually become emotionally numbing. The humor creates a necessary contrast, because it reminds audiences that these characters are still people underneath all the destruction surrounding them. More importantly, it gives viewers room to breathe before the story inevitably spirals back into chaos again.

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Season 4 of ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ Could Feel Very Different From Recent Arcs

What makes McArthur’s comments especially interesting is that they hint at a side of Jujutsu Kaisen anime only viewers may not fully expect yet. While the upcoming material still includes massive fights and devastating confrontations, the Culling Game also allows the series to become significantly weirder and occasionally much more playful than its recent reputation suggests. That tonal flexibility is one of the biggest reasons Jujutsu Kaisen continues dominating anime conversation: the series understands that constant escalation only works when audiences are occasionally allowed to emotionally reset. Even at its darkest, Jujutsu Kaisen still leaves room for awkward character interactions, visual gags, and moments that feel unexpectedly human amid all the destruction. The bathrobe scene McArthur teased represents exactly that kind of balance.

Of course, manga readers (and honestly, anyone familiar with Jujutsu Kaisen’s approach to emotional stability) already know peace probably will not last very long. That is part of what makes a scene like this one stand out so much in the first place. Jujutsu Kaisen has become fantastic at giving audiences just enough breathing room to remind them what these characters are fighting for before ripping that comfort away all over again. Seeing Yuji relaxed, awkwardly comfortable, and momentarily free from constant suffering feels strange precisely because the series has spent so long convincing audiences those moments rarely survive for very long. Which honestly makes the image of him standing around in a bathrobe with a wine glass feel weirdly powerful by Jujutsu Kaisen standards.


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Release Date

October 3, 2020

Network
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TBS, MBS, CBC, Tulip Television, BSN, tys, NBC, HBC, RKK, i-Television, SBS, IBC, BSS, MRO, OBS, TUF, RSK, TUY, tbc, RKB, SBC, KUTV, RBC, UTY, RCC, MRT, atv, MBC

Directors

Ryohei Takeshita, Masataka Akai, Chie Nishizawa, Daisuke Tsukushi, Tomomi Kamiya, Kakushi Ifuku, Ken Takahashi

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Writers

Hiroshi Seko

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Franchise(s)

Jujutsu Kaisen

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  • Cast Placeholder Image
  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Yuichi Nakamura

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    Satoru Gojo

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Star Trek Is Releasing New DS9 And Voyager Stories In The Worst Possible Way

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Star Trek Is Releasing New DS9 And Voyager Stories In The Worst Possible Way

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published

You remember that old short story, “The Monkey’s Paw”? It’s a creepy tale with a classic conceit: after a family receives the titular monkey mitten, they realize that they can make wishes on it. Those wishes come true, but in the worst possible way. Like, if you ask for money, you’ll get it, but only when your kid dies, and you receive their life insurance. At any rate, I had this story firmly in mind as I learned about the latest Star Trek project, one that is guaranteed to piss off everyone who hated Starfleet Academy.

Fans are getting the new Star Trek series we begged for, but not on Paramount+. Instead, they are online comics that will premiere on WEBTOON, a platform featuring vertical comics. One of these comics is Stargazers, a slice-of-life story about a young man finishing up school aboard Deep Space Nine. The other comic is Recollection, a more mature adult mystery about an amnesiac woman who wakes up on a mysterious starship. The most interesting thing about these comics is that they offer a canonical look at life after the Dominion War. Unfortunately, this move is one that is guaranteed to annoy older fans while failing to bring any younger fans into the fold.

Star Trek Goes… Vertical?

If you grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation or even The Original Series, you probably have a simple question right now: what the heck’s a webtoon? Webtoons themselves are vertical comics that are designed to be read on your phone rather than a tablet or desktop monitor. While often referred to as “episodes,” most webtoons are designed as static, scrollable panels rather than motion comics or other types of animation. Incidentally, WEBTOON is also the name of the popular webtoon platform that Paramount will be using to launch Stargazers and Recollection.

As you might imagine, webtoons are typically aimed at younger audiences, and that’s exactly who Paramount is targeting with these new comics. Stargazers is particularly youth-coded as it focuses on a young human (Leon) and his faithful canine companion as he tries to make friends and find love with a peer group that includes a Bajoran and a Changeling. It’s designed as a Boys’ Love comic, which means you can expect plenty of same-sex romance and quirky dating escapades with Leon and the boy of his dreams.

Star Trek Forgets All About It

Comparatively, Recollection is a more adult tale focusing on an amnesiac woman who wakes up on a weird Federation vessel with six other people and a holopilot who is seemingly lying to her. Eventually, she meets a Vulcan who seems to know who she is, and this logic-loving alien gives our hero a device that allows her to see fragments of her old life. By the time it’s over, she’ll need to solve puzzles old and new to fully unpack the mystery that her life has become.

On paper, these webtoons have a few things going for them. Paramount is clearly throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, and dropping new Star Trek stories on the most popular webtoon platform may win over younger audiences in a way that Starfleet Academy couldn’t. Plus, making these stories canonical is a downright diabolical way to get older audiences to read them. We’re apparently never going to get a Star Trek: Legacy series, so Stargazers and Recollection just became the only real way to find out more about what happened in the 25th century after the Dominion War ended and after Voyager made it home.

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Can Star Trek Fans Live With It?

However, my inner cynic can’t help but think that these webtoons will fizzle out to very little fanfare. Star Trek has had three animated series (gout if you count those awful YouTube shorts), but none of them managed to win over young fans. Meanwhile, Starfleet Academy was designed from the ground up as a romance-driven teen drama in space, but it never found the young audience it was desperately searching for. If smart, brightly-colored cartoons and an insanely flashy show filled with hot actors weren’t enough to recruit young fans, I don’t think a cheap web comic with the art design of a mobile game is really going to move the needle.

At the very least, while Starfleet Academy was hidden behind a streaming subscription, fans of all ages can check out these web comics for free. Stargazers: A Star Trek Story will be releasing its first three episodes on the WEBTOON app for free on May 17. Meanwhile, Recollection: A Star Trek Story will launch on the same platform later this year. With no new Star Trek shows in production, these may be the closest we’ll get to a new series in a good, long time, but maybe that’s for the best.

After all, we older fans have spent decades wanting new stories to explore what happened after Deep Space Nine and Voyager. If these comics bomb, we may collectively learn the major lesson of “The Monkey’s Paw”: be careful what you wish for!


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