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The first season ofTop of the Lakeaired in the U.S. in March of 2013, so the wait for Season 2 has been a long one. Despite all of the many, many hours of TV I have watched (and forgotten) since then,Top of the Lakeremains clearly emblazoned in my mind. It was a strange, beautiful, dark, and deeply atmospheric series that explored the nuances of a remote and rural area of New Zealand, and uncovers a crime ring that has poisoned the whole area with its evil acts....

Turn-based combat is a facet of gaming that has been around since the inception of the medium. FromFinal FantasytoPokemontoPersona, the simple concept of two opponents taking turns to attack and defend has been imagined and re-imagined countless times. As the years wear on, turn-based games have had to come up with a variety of ways to keep players engaged with their combat. A fair number of players will see a game with the tag ‘turn-based combat’ and be immediately turned off, as the genre does have a more deliberate pace than real-time combat systems....

William Jackson Harperis on track to have a very good 2019.The Good Placefavorite landed a roll inAri Aster’s buzzyHereditaryfollowupMidsommar, he’ll be popping up in Season 2 of Amazon’sJack Ryanseries, and he’s set to star alongsideAnne HathawayandMark Ruffaloin the next film fromCarolandFar from HeavenfilmmakerTodd Haynes. Oh, and speaking ofThe Good Place, the extraordinary NBC comedy finally got a long-deserved Emmy nominationfor Best Comedy Series. WithMidsommarnow in theaters, stirring up conversation, interpretation, and probably more than a few fights between couples who should have broken up already, I recently sat down for a chat with Harper to talk about making the film and his exciting year....

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Willow Season 1.The Disney+ seriesWillowhas joined the ranks of fantasy shows that bring back old franchises. The show is a sequel to the1988 film of the same name. Picking up the story a few decades later, the new show reintroduces several familiar faces, including this titular sorcerer, played byWarwick Davis,and the now queen Sorsha (Joanne Whalley). Yet one of the film’s leads is notably missing....

RejoiceDragon Ballfans, for the wait is at long last over,Dragon Ball Daimanow finally has a release date fixed for this fall. Get ready to meetan all-new version of Gokuembark on a brand-new adventure asDragon Ball Daimais set to premiere its first episode on October 11. The premiere date is for Japanese audiences and while there’s been no word yet on when the series will be available for international audiences, that information can be expected to arrive sooner rather than later, as work has now been completed for the entire series....

Quick Links Harlan Coben’sSheltermight have been canceled, but another door opens for the mystery novelist with Netflix’sFool Me Once. The upcoming original series is alsoan adaptation of Coben’s 2016 novelof the same name. The eight-part series is written byDanny Brocklehurst, and directed byDavid MooreandNimer Rashed.Fool Me Oncealso reunites Coben, Netflix, andRichard Armitage, a frequent star of Coben’s series adaptations on the streamer. A twisted murder mystery thriller,Fool Me Oncefollows two murders that shake a family....

Hulu has just teased an exciting sneak peek intoOnly Murders in The BuildingSeason 4 — and it looks like there’s a new trio in town! The exclusive behind-the-scenes picture showsEugene Levy(Schitt’s Creek),Zach Galifianakis(The Hangover),andEva Longoria(Desperate Housewives)dressed up as the show’s main characters Charles(Steve Martin), Oliver(Martin Short),and Mabel(Selena Gomez). According to the official synopsis for Season 4, the main trio will head over to Los Angeles after learning that a Hollywood studio wants to make a movie out of their murder-mystery podcast....

TheHas Fallenfranchise built for itself a reputation for showcasing the destruction of cities with a ting of political intrigue and one man at the center of it,Gerard Butler’s Agent Mike Banning. After three sagas, the franchise decided to try its hands on a television spinoff show withParis Has Fallenin 2024. Created byHoward Overman, the Canal+ original political drama details the journey of a protection officer teaming up with an MI6 operating team in the aftermath of a terrorist attack which only leads down a hole to a larger conspiracy....

Following the recent reveal of theNielsen Streaming Ratingsfor the week of July 3, it has been officially confirmed thatSuitswas the most streamed show of Independence Day week, sitting just behind the newestBeverly Hills Copaddition,Axel F, in the total figures. Across both Netflix and Peacock, the show returned over $1.49 billion in minutes streamed for the week, with theentire top 10 remarkably each surpassing the $1 billion mark. This is the first time this has happened in Nielsen’s recorded history, withSuitsplaying a major part in the week of streaming data collectors will likely never forget....

Audiences are really enjoying some blood with their comedies these days. The Oscar-winning (and losing)The Substanceis as grotesque as it is absurdly funny; the Valentine’s release this year,Heart Eyes,combined a rom-com story with slasher tropes; and one of the best movies of the year so far,Companion, saw scream queenSophie Thatchergive one of her funniest performances to date while getting covered in blood in the process. Following suit is a title that doesn’t nail its execution quite as well as the likes ofThe SubstanceorCompanion, but still has some truly funny moments while spinning a rather dark tale (although it never goes too deep to unveil something that repulsive)....

There is a moment fairly early on inChronicles of a Wandering Saint, the small miracle of a feature debut from writer-directorTomás Gómez Bustillo, where we come to what seems to be the close. The credits begin to roll and the character that we have been following for the opening act meets an end of sorts. What this is precisely is best left to the film, though suffice to say it takes what was an otherwise slow start and kicks it up another gear....

Quick Links The Conjuringfranchise has been captivating and horrifying fans since 2013 and shows no signs of slowing down. The three existing movies of the “core” franchise (Conjuringfilms only, we’ll address the spinoffs later) loosely follow the real-life cases of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.James Wan, who created theConjuringuniverse, is also a co-creator of theInsidiousfranchise, so it can get a little confusing to differentiate the franchises at times, due to the fact thatPatrick Wilsonstars in both....

Winning an Academy Award is probably the most coveted honor in the film industry. For actors in particular, winning an Oscar can be a terrific boost to their career in every sense, from the quality and quantity of roles they get to an increase in pay to just general prestige in the eyes of the public and the industry. However, this achievement has sometimes proved to be less of a blessing and more of a curse....