Latest news with #WaroftheWorlds
Tom's Guide
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
I got fed up with regular Bluetooth speakers, so I'm using one shaped like a sci-fi Martian robot instead — here's why you should too
If you were to stack all the best Bluetooth speakers together in one big pile, you'd very quickly realise that they all look very similar. Some are tubes of different colors, some are boxes with handles, and some are supposed to look like amplifiers from classic rock brands. If you're anything like me, that can mean things feel a little boring. Well, along came Gravastar and this ridiculous thing. It's the Mars Pro, a mono Bluetooth speaker which is designed to look like a robot war machine thing from, I presume, Mars, and I love every single thing about it. I think you might too., Despite its bizarre styling, the Gravastar Mars Pro is actually a really good Bluetooth speaker. Its mono sound is powerful, and if you get two, you can connect them together for extra stereo sound. It's not the cheapest, but those looks have to count for something, right? I'd hesitate to call it a work of art, but the Gravastar Mars Pro brings the fun unlike just about any other Bluetooth speaker. It's a weird ball thing on mechanical legs, covered with bits and greeblies likes something from a budget sci-fi film in the 90s. Is it up everyone's street? Almost certainly not. I can't imagine there are millions of people clamoring for a Martian walker from War of the Worlds that plays Britney at top volume, but there are some. And I am one. Those legs are articulated to some degree, so you can kind of pose the speaker. For the most part, it's going to be fairly static, though. It's a statement piece, something that draws the eye of visitors and makes them ask, "What on earth is that thing in the corner of your room, and why does its eye thing follow me around the room — please turn it around." Everything is topped off by those RGB lights. I'd say this is the first time I've seen a Bluetooth speaker where I've appreciated the lights. Generally, they feel a bit like a gimmick — they're never going to actually power a party. Here they're an accent to increase the Sci-Fi looks, and I'm a massive fan. My mom was not — one look at the speaker and she asked me to put it back in the box. And, like every person who is still 13 years old at heart, I simply moved it closer. It's also built like a tank. There's metal in them there legs, and the whole thing feels reassuringly hefty. It goes some way to justifying that slightly loftier price. "Oooh, stereo this, stereo that..." I'm guilty of it — if it's not at least two channels, I don't want to know. Except I found that when listening to the Gravastar Mars Pro, I didn't really care. It sounds excellent, not just for a weird Bluetooth speaker with a single audio channel, but for a Bluetooth speaker in general. That "plays audio out of the front, glowing eye" thing does mean that the audio is fairly directional. You have to be sitting in front of the speaker for it to sound its best, but given you're unlikely to make it face the wall (unless your guest demands it), you're generally going to be in the cone of sonic influence. And when you are, you're in for a bit of a treat. I'd never call it 'HiFi' — it's not, and it's not intended to be. But it is big, loud, and very much in charge. There's some decent detail to proceedings, good mid-range representation, and then some fairly powerful bass that we're fed through the passive bass radiator on the back. Fit for an Autopsy's The Sea of Tragic Beasts brings the slam, and the little bass radiator on the back of the Mars Pro gets moving. That characteristic sub-tone from the band is very well represented, shaking the table the speaker sits on. The drums are impactful and full, while the crunchy guitar distortion shows plenty of edge to keep things heavy. The cymbals can get a little lost amongst the rest of the din, but for a small speaker, things are very tasty indeed. Loads of fun. Given it's style, there's no way you can't try out The Eve of the War from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version Of The War of the Worlds. Those string swells are deep and wide, giving plenty of presense. The synth line is well seperated from the rest of the ensemble, while the shaker cuts through. Richard Burton's dulcet tones rumble, as the Martians launch their way to Earth. I presume they look something like this speaker. What lots of speaker manufacturers forget is that audio is supposed to be fun. Making everything into austere grey boxes or colored tubes that look like every other waterproof speaker around isn't fun. Making your speaker look like a three-legged death machine that's going to melt down your mom to feed the alien war machine is fun. And that's something that Gravastar seem to have gotten so right with the Mars Pro. It sounds good yes, and it's very well made, but it's the sense of fun that the speaker exudes that sets it apart from just about everything else. I spent a good hour posing various different action figures with the speaker before I'd even started listening to music — and I think that speaks volumes.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
People Are Sharing The Movie Endings That Were So Bad They Ruined An Otherwise Good Film, And I'm Curious To Know If You Agree
Reddit user @world_citizen7 recently asked: "What movie had such a bad ending that it ruined an otherwise good movie?" Here are some of the best answers, and FYI, some posts have been edited for clarity! Oh, and you should probably know that there are some spoilers ahead! 1.'Hancock. The first 2/3 was a not bad look at the idea of a being with superpowers who had no interest in being a superhero or villain. Then the movie took a 136 degree turn into some really weird tacked-on plot twists.' — The1Ylrebmik 2.'Signs. I mean, those aliens came billions of miles, conquered the whole planet in a blink of an eye, and didn't realize they couldn't handle water, one of the most common things on the planet? Same with War of the Worlds and a virus, both were nonsensical.' — bevymartbc 3.'I remember at the end of Kingsman: The Secret Service, they make a big deal about this dude fucking a girl in the ass as his reward for saving her. It's so awkward and they put so much focus on it. Totally unnecessary and yet I guess the writers, producers, and director fought for it to be in the final cut for some goddamn reason. Did they have a raunchy joke quota that they needed to fulfill?' — JacobStills 4.'Grease. Why does the car fly?' — DependentSelect6973 5.'Unpopular opinion regarding a classic Hollywood film: My Fair Lady. I absolutely detested Henry Higgins, and when Eliza came back after he admits (only to himself) how important she is to him, he puts on his condescending act and demands she finds his slippers as she smiles at him. Yuck.' — GrouchyBear_99 6.'Now You See Me, it was great fun until the reveal, which makes even less sense the more you think about it.' — shemjaza 7.'As a kid, I loved all the Oz books, where Oz was real. I never forgave the movie The Wizard of Oz for having it all turn out to be a dream. What was the point of it all then?' — Garbage-Bear 8.'X-Men Origins: Wolverine. First two acts were good, the third act and the screwed up version of 'Deadpool' ruined the overall film.' — Bigtony7877 9.'Personally, for me it was Longlegs. I was so looking forward to it, and thought it was really good until the very ending.' — streetxtrash 10.'Glass, dud ending to a decent trilogy. You can defeat Bruce Willis with a… puddle? There's a secret organization that gets rid of people with powers? What?' — GrumpyOldMan59 11.'The Lilo & Stitch remake going against the message of Ohana.' — MattWolf96 12.'Joker: Folie à Deux. I was enjoying it (yes, even the musical parts) and wondering why everyone was hating on it. Then it got to the final act, and I understood.' — Maxhousen 13.'Ocean's 8. All these awesome, capable women, and you get a dude to come in at the end and do the actual stealing? And to top it off, you only get away with it because James Corden decides to look the other way? No thank you.' — dumblesmurf 14.'Yesterday. Not well known because the ending sucked so much it didn't end up being popular, but it was that movie about the guy who wakes up one day and is the only one who remembers the Beatles. Such a creative premise, and it built a really interesting narrative, that then has the most boring, poorly-written, unsatisfying ending. Ruins the whole thing.' — NoButThanksAnyway 15.'Interstellar totally flummoxed me on the romantic relationship at the end. They hated each other for the whole movie, and now they're together because they are the highest-paid actor and actress on call, and the producers said the flick needs a romance or something?' — PublicCraft3114 16.'Life of Pi. 'Did it actually happen? Idk but it made for a cool story' wtf no, don't make me watch a whole movie then end it as if everything was made up.' — peanut6547 17.'Sinister's ending and final act was so bad that it removed every ounce of rewatchability for me. It took away the unsettling tone of the tapes and it was just cringey seeing the kids in bad makeup dance around the house. Such a shame. It was a really good horror movie up until the reveal.' — Queef-Elizabeth 18.'Source Code. Overturned the whole conceit of the movie for the sake of a happy ending.' — third-time-charmed 19.'Gravity. I was buying the whole movie, all the way, even as she splash landed in the lake. But after all she went through, to just get up and walk away ruined the whole thing. IMO it would have been a better movie if she would have died at the bottom of the lake cuz she couldn't get out of her suit in time. At least that ending I could have respected.' — IndependentFalse4270 20.'I loved Conclave up until the end, it just seemed so unnecessary to add that to the story I guess. Like it served no real purpose to the story or anything. Just came out of nowhere.' — mrlurker666 And finally: 21.'I've never been more pissed off at the ending of a movie than I was when I watched Promising Young Woman. That movie was super interesting and then it decided to end in the shittiest, most anticlimactic way possible, and before the credits even rolled all I could think was: 'Well, this is the worst thing I've seen in years and I'll never watch this shitty ass movie again.' It was and I haven't. Fuck that movie.' — NikonShooter_PJS Do you agree with these choices? Let me know the movies that you think were ruined by their ending in the comments below! More on this From 'Forrest Gump' To 'Pretty Woman,' Here Are 18 Movies That Make People Seriously MadStephanie Soteriou · June 2, 2025 People Are Sharing The Totally Harmless Movies That Disturbed Them So Much They'll Never Watch Them Again, And I'm Curious To Know Your ThoughtsStephanie Soteriou · May 29, 2025 The "Lilo & Stitch" Remake Director Broke His Silence On The Backlash About The Film's EndingLarry Fitzmaurice · June 8, 2025
Buzz Feed
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
21 Movie Endings That Ruined A Good Film
Reddit user @world_citizen7 recently asked: "What movie had such a bad ending that it ruined an otherwise good movie?" Here are some of the best answers, and FYI, some posts have been edited for clarity! 'Hancock. The first 2/3 was a not bad look at the idea of a being with superpowers who had no interest in being a superhero or villain. Then the movie took a 136 degree turn into some really weird tacked-on plot twists.' — The1Ylrebmik 'Signs. I mean, those aliens came billions of miles, conquered the whole planet in a blink of an eye, and didn't realize they couldn't handle water, one of the most common things on the planet? Same with War of the Worlds and a virus, both were nonsensical.' — bevymartbc 'I remember at the end of Kingsman: The Secret Service, they make a big deal about this dude fucking a girl in the ass as his reward for saving her. It's so awkward and they put so much focus on it. Totally unnecessary and yet I guess the writers, producers, and director fought for it to be in the final cut for some goddamn reason. Did they have a raunchy joke quota that they needed to fulfill?' — JacobStills 'Grease. Why does the car fly?' — DependentSelect6973 'Unpopular opinion regarding a classic Hollywood film: My Fair Lady. I absolutely detested Henry Higgins, and when Eliza came back after he admits (only to himself) how important she is to him, he puts on his condescending act and demands she finds his slippers as she smiles at him. Yuck.' — GrouchyBear_99 'Now You See Me, it was great fun until the reveal, which makes even less sense the more you think about it.' — shemjaza 'As a kid, I loved all the Oz books, where Oz was real. I never forgave the movie The Wizard of Oz for having it all turn out to be a dream. What was the point of it all then?' — Garbage-Bear 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine. First two acts were good, the third act and the screwed up version of 'Deadpool' ruined the overall film.' — Bigtony7877 'Personally, for me it was Longlegs. I was so looking forward to it, and thought it was really good until the very ending.' — streetxtrash 'Glass, dud ending to a decent trilogy. You can defeat Bruce Willis with a… puddle? There's a secret organization that gets rid of people with powers? What?' — GrumpyOldMan59 'The Lilo & Stitch remake going against the message of Ohana.' — MattWolf96 'Joker: Folie à Deux. I was enjoying it (yes, even the musical parts) and wondering why everyone was hating on it. Then it got to the final act, and I understood.' — Maxhousen 'Ocean's 8. All these awesome, capable women, and you get a dude to come in at the end and do the actual stealing? And to top it off, you only get away with it because James Corden decides to look the other way? No thank you.' — dumblesmurf 'Yesterday. Not well known because the ending sucked so much it didn't end up being popular, but it was that movie about the guy who wakes up one day and is the only one who remembers the Beatles. Such a creative premise, and it built a really interesting narrative, that then has the most boring, poorly-written, unsatisfying ending. Ruins the whole thing.' — NoButThanksAnyway 'Interstellar totally flummoxed me on the romantic relationship at the end. They hated each other for the whole movie, and now they're together because they are the highest-paid actor and actress on call, and the producers said the flick needs a romance or something?' — PublicCraft3114 'Life of Pi. 'Did it actually happen? Idk but it made for a cool story' wtf no, don't make me watch a whole movie then end it as if everything was made up.' — peanut6547 'Sinister's ending and final act was so bad that it removed every ounce of rewatchability for me. It took away the unsettling tone of the tapes and it was just cringey seeing the kids in bad makeup dance around the house. Such a shame. It was a really good horror movie up until the reveal.' — Queef-Elizabeth 'Source Code. Overturned the whole conceit of the movie for the sake of a happy ending.' — third-time-charmed 'Gravity. I was buying the whole movie, all the way, even as she splash landed in the lake. But after all she went through, to just get up and walk away ruined the whole thing. IMO it would have been a better movie if she would have died at the bottom of the lake cuz she couldn't get out of her suit in time. At least that ending I could have respected.' — IndependentFalse4270 'I loved Conclave up until the end, it just seemed so unnecessary to add that to the story I guess. Like it served no real purpose to the story or anything. Just came out of nowhere.' — mrlurker666 And finally: 'I've never been more pissed off at the ending of a movie than I was when I watched Promising Young Woman. That movie was super interesting and then it decided to end in the shittiest, most anticlimactic way possible, and before the credits even rolled all I could think was: 'Well, this is the worst thing I've seen in years and I'll never watch this shitty ass movie again.' It was and I haven't. Fuck that movie.' — NikonShooter_PJS Do you agree with these choices? Let me know the movies that you think were ruined by their ending in the comments below!
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Who Is ‘Destination X' Star Josh Martinez? Meet the ‘Big Brother' Alum Competing on NBC's Reality Show
NBC's newest reality show, Destination X, sends 12 contestants around the world — but they never know where they're going. The players must use clues in order to figure out where exactly the 'X' is each week, and the person with the guess farthest away from their location is eliminated from the game. While most of the contestants on Destination X are everyday people, a few players, including Josh Martinez, are familiar with the reality TV world already. In Touch breaks down why viewers might recognize Josh. Contestants on Destination X must live together in a blacked-out bus as they travel the world. Fortunately for Josh, he's no stranger to being sequestered with castmates, although he's used to a much bigger living space. The Miami, Florida, native made his reality TV debut on Big Brother season 19 in 2017. He became known for his 'boisterous and abrasive personality,' according to NBC, and his bold strategies included banging pots and pans together to cause stress for his castmates. However, Josh also formed alliances and managed to get other cast members to turn on each other, which helped him make it all the way to the finale and become the season's winner. After Big Brother, Josh went on to compete on his first season of The Challenge in 2019. He has since competed in seven total seasons of the show, including War of the Worlds, War of the Worlds 2, Total Madness, Double Agents Spies, Lies & Allies, The Challenge: USA 2 and Battle of the Eras. Additionally, Josh competed in the holiday spinoff, Big Brother: Reindeer Games, in 2023. He has yet to win a season of the show. Finally, Josh appeared on Telemundo's Los 50 in 2024, where he and 49 other celebs lived in a house together and competed for the grand prize. "No matter what the game is, I am a people person, I am a social butterfly. I'm extremely extroverted," Josh told NBC. "My personality, either you love me or you hate me, but I'm gonna be genuine and I'm gonna be real and I'm gonna be Josh." Outside of reality TV, Josh guest starred in a 2017 episode of The Bold and the Beautiful. He is also a content creator and shares posts about fitness, travel and more on Instagram. Josh opened up about his experience on Destination X in an interview with Entertainment Weekly ahead of the show. He revealed that he expected more reality stars to be playing alongside him when the game first began. (The Bachelor's Peter Weber and Love Island's JaNa Craig are also part of the cast, but they will enter the game later in the season.) 'Going into it, especially in the beginning, I was expecting for there to be more TV vets, and I was very shocked when I took off my goggles and I was like, 'I don't recognize anyone!' So I was like, 'Damn, I guess it's me right off the start,'' he said. Josh ultimately decided to downplay his reality TV repertoire but not hide it completely. 'I didn't want to go into a game where there's already so much unknown with a huge lie of my past and my experience,' he continued. 'So I thought even if they did or didn't recognize me, I thought just being honest was best. I wasn't going to say that I've done multiple shows, but I was like, 'I have experience in this.'' Josh concluded, 'But I just thought with my friendly demeanor and my goofy ways, it would be chill. I think some people instantly gravitated towards me and kind of liked my energy and my vibe, and some people saw me as a threat, but I think for me personally, it was the best approach to just be honest because it's such a big part of my life that I don't know how I can hide that.' Josh was the first person to be eliminated from Destination X in the premiere on May 27, 2025. He was one of five players selected by Mack Fitzgerald and Ally Bross to enter the Map Room. There, he and his fellow contestants who were at risk of elimination had to place an X on the map marking what they believed to be their location. Though Josh initially felt confident that he and his castmates were in Rome, Italy, Rick Szabo stopped him on the way to the Map Room and told Josh that he thought they were in Milan, Italy. Josh decided to go with Rick's answer, which placed his X the farthest away from their actual location — Rome. 'I just wanna say, you played that really well. I listened to what you said,' Josh told Rick after he was eliminated from the game. He warned the rest of the players on the bus, "Be careful, trust your gut, whatever you do, do not trust a single word that Rick is saying. Rick is a snake. Watch your back with him." New episodes of Destination X air every Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on NBC and stream the following day on Peacock.
Daily Mirror
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Daisy Edgar-Jones looks totally different in throwback snap as star turns 27
Fans have noticed that Daisy Edgar-Jones, who celebrates her 27th birthday today, is looking completely different these days - and is almost unrecognisable in a throwback snap from January 2020 when she was in her early 20s Daisy Edgar-Jones, best known for her roles in Normal People and Where the Crawdads Sing, turns 27 today (May 24). She first burst onto the scene in Cold Feet and War of the Worlds, and has had an illustrious career since. She has an Instagram following of almost three million fans. The glamorous actress, from London, is no stranger to posting stunning snaps on social media. But in a picture of her from five years ago, she looks totally different, and fans can't get enough. Back in 2020, she posted a photo captioned: "Vanity Fair Bafta Rising Star Party," and Daisy looks like a different person. The photo was posted to her Instagram in January of that year, just before the Covid pandemic. Sporting cropped brunette hair and wearing a silky pink gown with a sweet floral pattern across the bust, she looked youthful and adorable, and received many comments complimenting her at the time she posted it. "I love this photo, you look stunning," one fan penned, with another adding: "Bleeeeedin hell here she is," followed by fire emojis. People even called her "magic" thanks to her natural beauty. Now, Daisy sports a more mature look, opting for longer hair and even more pared-back, fashionable clothing. During a recent trip to Cannes, she sported a black figure-hugging bandeau dress with embellishments all over it as she smiled for the cameras. But what fans were more obsessed with was the fact that she was seen with Normal People co-star Paul Mescal. While the pair have always maintained that they are friends, some fans have always hoped the pair might share a romantic bond. Someone wrote: "The way Paul & Daisy always have the biggest smile when they're together". "He's never going to beat the allegations," another added, but a fan responded: "This is just a picture," suggesting that it didn't actually mean anything that the pair had been photographed together. The pair have spoken about their relationship several times. They have always maintained that they share a close friendship, with Daisy saying Paul is one of her "lifetime best friends," and that she loves him platonically. Paul Mescal is currently dating singer and songwriter Gracie Abrams, who made headlines when she joined Taylor Swift's Eras Tour as an opening act in 2023 and 2024. She then released the song 'That's So True,' which went on to become a viral sound on TikTok thanks to hundreds of thousands of people using it in their videos. Daisy is also in a happy relationship with her partner, photographer Ben Seed. They were first publicly seen together during an outing in London, where they were photographed embracing, kissing, and holding hands in 2023.
