Latest news with #2000s
Digital Trends
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Check out this great movie before it leaves Amazon Prime Video next week (May 2025)
Few directors went on a more impressive run through the late 1990s and early 2000s than Steven Soderbergh. In addition to winning the Oscar for Best Director and helming Ocean's Eleven, Soderbergh made several smaller movies that have stood the test of time. The greatest example is 1998's Out of Sight, a charming thriller starring George Clooney as a bank robber who finds himself in a hugely flirtatious relationship with Jennifer Lopez's Karen Sisco, a federal marshal looking to arrest him. Here are three reasons Out of Sight still hits more than 25 years later. Recommended Videos Lopez and Clooney have remarkable chemistry Although Out of Sight has elements of a great action movie, it is first and foremost a love story that heavily relies on the chemistry between Clooney and Lopez. Thankfully, both actors are more than up to the task. Clooney is playing exactly the kind of character you'd expect — a charming, slightly sleazy guy who is smarter than he lets on. Meanwhile, Lopez plays Sisco tough, but she's charmed by Clooney's thief long before she's willing to admit that to herself. Every scene they share is electric, the kind of onscreen chemistry that almost leaves the viewer tingling as they watch it. The supporting cast is excellent Although Clooney and Lopez deserve a lot of credit for the work they do here, Soderbergh assembled an incredible supporting cast to surround them. We've got Ving Rhames in his prime, a frazzled Steve Zahn, as well as Dennis Farina, Albert Brooks, and, maybe most importantly, Don Cheadle. On top of feeling like a cast filled with people who you might see on the street, the chemistry between every member of the cast is exceptional. Out of Sight was not the kind of movie that was destined to top the box office, but it's filled with recognizable faces anyway. Soderbergh knows exactly what he's doing In the past decade, Soderbergh has spent most of his time experimenting with different kinds of storytelling, and more power to him. In the 1990s and 2000s, though, there was no one more capable of combining action, comedy, and romance to deliver something utterly satisfying. That's exactly what he does with Out of Sight, a movie that is not about anything particularly complicated or emotional. Nevertheless, it's such an utterly satisfying movie and one that knows exactly how to achieve a perfect tonal balance. After watching, you feel like it's a masterpiece. You can watch Out of Sight on Amazon Prime Video.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
REVEALED: The fake websites including a Star Wars fan page the CIA used to communicate with spies around the world
The CIA reportedly used a fake Star Wars fan site to communicate with its spies around the world. Amateur security researcher Ciro Santilli recently scoured the Internet to find sites the spy agency built in the early 2000s to communicate with its informants in other countries, 404 Media reports. Among the sites he found was which included a stock image of a boy dressed as a Jedi, pictures of R2D2 and C-3P0, along with ads for Star Wars video games and Lego sets of the time. Santilli dug through a mass of historic domain names, analyzed each sites HTML and used bots to bypass the Wayback Machine to determine what they may have looked like at the time. 'The simplest way to put it - yes, the CIA absolutely had a Star Wars fan website with a secretly embedded communication system,' Zach Edwards, an independent cybersecurity researcher confirmed. 'And while I can't account for everything included in the research from Ciro, his findings seem very sound.' The site was shut down more than a decade ago and it now redirects to the CIA's homepage. But it was not the only fake site the Central Intelligence Agency was using to communicate with its informants. Others included a fan site for the late comedian Johnny Carson, a third was about extreme sports and a fourth was for fans of Brazilian music. There were also websites called Rasta Direct, Fitness Dawg, Iranian soccer pages and a Russian wrestling website, Reuters previously revealed. Some of the sites reportedly targeted France, Spain and Brazil based on their language and content. Each fake website was assigned to only one spy in order to limit exposure of the entire network in case any single agent was captured. They simply had to enter a password into the search bar, which would cause a secret messaging window to popup in which they could covertly speak with their handlers. But when former President Barack Obama announced the discovery of a secret Iranian nuclear enrichment facility in 2009, Iranian officials doubled down on their efforts to find informants who may be speaking with American intelligence agencies, according to a Yahoo News investigation in 2018. They then easily tracked down the fake websites using Google. The sites had sequential IP addresses, as the hosting spaces for these fake sites were often purchased in bulk by the dozens and often from the same internet provider on the same server space. The HTML code for the search bar on the sites also contained the word 'password,' and the website's coding even included the words 'message' and 'compose' - indicating there was a secret messaging system. There was also a website called Rasta Direct (pictured) as well as sites for Iranian soccer fans 'The CIA really failed with this,' said Bill Marczak of the University of Toledo's Citizen Lab, adding that the messaging system 'stuck out like a sore thumb.' By 2011, Iranian authorities successfully dismantled the CIA network in its country, and either executed or imprisoned the informants. Meanwhile, authorities in China also found similar websites being used in their country - and executed more than two dozen CIA sources between 2011 and 2012. But the CIA reportedly was not aware that the system had been compromised until 2013, when it started to notice that many of its agents began to go missing. At that point, the agency was able to extricate some of its agents and resettle them. It also took down the websites. In 2021, the CIA finally admitted to the communications failure with a memo reprimanding spies for poor tradecraft, being overly trusting of sources, underestimating foreign intelligence agencies and 'putting mission over security' by moving too fast and not paying enough attention to potential risks. However, Reuters reports that Langley had known about the security risks involved and only used the mass-produced sites for sources whom it did not consider fully vetted or had limited, albeit potentially valuable, access to state secrets. The top-tier informants instead used custom-made covert communications tools. Still, former officials described the intelligence setback as 'incredibly damaging' as House and Senate intelligence committees held closed-door hearings into the scandal. When asked why Santilli decided to track down the now defunct websites, he said it was because of his interest in Chinese politics, his penchant for TV adaptations of spy novels and 'sticking it up to the CIA for spying on fellow democracies.' 'It reveals a much larger number of websites, it gives a broader understanding of the CIA's interests over time, including more specific democracies which may have been targeted, which were not previously mentioned, and also a statistical understanding of how much importance they were giving to different zones at the time - and unsurprisingly the Middle East comes on top,' he explained. Edwards, meanwhile, said the scandal 'is a reminder that developers make mistakes and sometimes it take years for someone to find those mistakes. 'But this is also not just your average "developer mistake" type of scenario,' he admitted.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Former teen heartthrob from the 2000s now unrecognisable after resurfacing
He was one of the biggest pop heartthrobs of the 2000s with a string of famous girlfriends who kept him in the headlines. Ryan Cabrera was just 21 when his debut single On The Way Down skyrocketed up the charts, turning him into an overnight sensation with teen girls across the country. Now at 42, the married father-of-one has come a long way since his days as a young pop star. During an appearance on The Zach Sang Show, longtime fans were stunned to see the former hitmaker resurface with his same signature blonde quiff from the 2000s. 'His skin actually looks great. If someone fixed that hair for him, I think he'd be a handsome guy,' commented one. 'He needs to leave that hairstyle back in 2004,' joked another. Another fan said that he looked more like a country music star, writing, 'He looks like the third Rascal Flatts member.' Many fans will remember Cabrera from his relationship with Ashlee Simpson and his appearances on her MTV reality show. The two dates for about a year from 2004 to 2005, before Cabrera rebounded with The Veronicas singer Jess Origliasso. He then dated model and actress Riley Keough, before moving on to reality star Audrina Patridge. During his time with Patridge, the singer-songwriter appeared on season six of MTV's The Hills. After that, Cabrera was rumored to be dating Avril Lavigne, but the pair never confirmed the speculation. He's now happily married to WWE superstar Alexa Bliss (real name Alexis Kaufman). Bliss, 33, and Cabrera, 42, met in 2019 and married each other in April 2022 at a luxury location in Palm Desert, California in front of hundreds of family members and friends. They described the event as 'non-traditional' and 'rockstar'. The happy couple welcomed their first child together in 2023, a baby daughter named Hendrix Rouge Cabrera. Meanwhile, Cabrera continues to tour the country as a singer-songwriter, while Bliss recently made her return to WWE following a hiatus. Cabrera burst onto the music scene in 2004 with his pop-rock hit On The Way Down. He followed it up with another hit, True, which reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. His debut album, Take It All Away, reached the top ten on the Billboard 200 and was eventually certified platinum for sales of one million copies in the US. He had another minor hit in 2005, Shine On, before fading from the charts. In the following years he became best known for his many reality TV appearances, which included The Hills, Pretty Wild, and Miz & Mrs.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
People Are Sharing The '00s Pop Culture Moments That Make Them Want To Die From Cringe And Honestly, Same
No matter how nostalgic you feel, it's hard not to admit that the 2000s were a decade of cringe. Recently, the BuzzFeed Community shared the pop culture moments from the '00s that they shudder the most thinking about, and it's low-key impossible to make it through the list without going into full body cringe... 1."Christina Aguilera's style choices " —Anonymous 2."Britney and Justin. 2001 VMAs. All that denim." —Anonymous, 40, New Orleans 3."The Superbowl where Justin Timberlake ripped off Janet Jackson's bra. Unexpected and cringey. Why would they invite him back to do the 2018 halftime show?!" —Anonymous, California 4."Britney being chased by paparazzi constantly. Truly awful." —discostudio 5."Literally any time a teenage girl was asked about her virginity." —Ceinwen Related: 9 Celebrities Who Have Endorsed Donald Trump In The Past Month 6."How certain female celebrities were body shamed. Jessica Simpson, Nicole Richie, Anna Nicole Smith among others. They were all beautiful and they didn't deserve that." —Anonymous, 38, Tennessee 7."Ashley Simpson being caught lip-syncing on SNL." NBC / NBCUniversal via Getty Images, NBC —Anonymous, 49, Pennsylvania 8."Everything about Jersey Shore and the Kardashians." —poeticmoon912 Related: "It Was Not Right": Shailene Woodley Broke Her Silence About The Aaron Rodgers Breakup 9."[The Office episode] 'Scott's Tots.' Full stop" —Matt, Colorado 10."It crosses over into the 2010s, but How I Met Your Mother has aged terribly." "Barney was a sexual predator and his behavior was played for laughs. But I think the thing people came around to more slowly is that Ted may actually be worse because we're supposed to think he's nice and romantic when really his behavior is awful in its own way. The classic 'man slowly wears down woman he's crushing on' trope." —Anonymous 11."Flavor of Love." "Women signed up for a Bachelor-esque style show and the prize was Flava Flav. He gave them all nicknames, and it was peak reality TV. The moment that I will never forget? When Pumpkin SPIT in New York's face during the elimination ceremony and in retaliation, New York shoved Pumpkin into the camera that was filming. These women were really fighting over Flava Flav! " —Anonymous, 33, NC 12."The Team Aniston vs Team Angelina stuff. In hindsight, it's really gross." —Anonymous 13."Australians Next Top Model — Sarah Murdoch announcing the wrong winner — awks!" —Anonymous 14."Australian Big Brother's 'turkey slap' — a female contestant was assaulted and it was broadcast on the 24-hour livestream." —Caitlin 15."So many movies that haven't aged well, but the one that comes to mind most is Shallow Hal. Can't believe I thought it was funny at the time." —Anonymous finally, "Definitely Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's couch. Everything about that relationship with Katie Holmes, really." —Anonymous What pop culture moment from the 2000s makes you cringe the most? Also in Celebrity: If You Think You're Smarter Than The Average Celebrity, Prove It By Correctly Answering These Questions They Got Wrong On "Jeopardy" Also in Celebrity: 12 Celebs Who Came Out At A Young Age, And 13 Who Came Out Way Later In Life Also in Celebrity: Sophie Turner Opened Up About Her "Incredibly Sad" Split From Joe Jonas
Washington Post
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
The latest generational divide: How to hold a phone
Young people hold their phones upright to do everything: texting, making video calls, scrolling on social media. Most egregiously, they record videos vertically — an act that causes consternation among Gen Xers and boomers when these generations are forced to squint at the resulting strip of video on their TVs or computers, the picture flanked by huge swaths of squandered screen space. The plague of vertical videos is likely to get worse. Some 56 percent of Gen Zers and 43 percent of millennials find social media content more relevant than traditional TV shows and movies, according to a Deloitte survey. Even Netflix recently announced that it will pilot a 'TikTok-like' feed of virtual video on its mobile app. Still, passions run deep when it comes to our screen real estate. In fact, we've seen this movie before. In the 1950s, the film industry began to shoot movies in wider aspect ratios to distinguish themselves from conventional 'full screen' televisions with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Frustration ensued over the incompatibly shaped screens, lasting until Americans largely transitioned to high-definition wide-screen TVs in the early 2000s. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement Theatrical films couldn't fit 4:3 TV screens without using a crude cropping technique called 'pan and scan.' Discarding part of the original picture violated the director's vision, some argued, and led to unseen actors speaking from the void. An alternative method, called 'letterboxing,' could be deployed to preserve the entire image. But showing the full width of the movie meant inserting large black bars above and below the image — it was like watching a movie through a mail slot. Fast forward to today's smartphone-dominated culture, and something I call 'picket-fencing' now irks viewers. This technique involves displaying columns of nothingness to the left and right of a vertically shot video on a wide-screen TV — like viewing a picture through a slot in a picket fence. (Ironically, vertical videos would have been a much better fit on 4:3 screens.) Story continues below advertisement Advertisement I understand the younger generation's reluctance to turn their phones sideways. Social media platforms are designed for vertical scrolling; holding a phone horizontally may feel awkward and unnatural. However, as a member of the elder generations, I empathize with the aversion to this new-age vertical eyesore: If God intended for us to shoot vertically, he would have created man with one eye above the other. To hold a phone vertically or horizontally? I've created an accessible table to break down this generational clash over smartphone orientation. 11 of 11 Thoughts on a chain of vertical-screen movie theaters called 'Profile Cinemas'? 😃 Yay! 🙃 Meh. 10 of 11 The solution I prefer for ill-fitting video 📱 Turning my phone 90 degrees 🖥️ Reinstalling my TV on a pivoting stand and praying the software flips the screen 90 degrees 9 of 11 Which types of scenes are more annoying to watch? 🚩 Scenes with horizontal shots of human pyramids or flags getting lowered 🎭 Scenes with vertical shots of actors conversing from opposite sides of frame 8 of 11 I'd swap my TV for an even wider model if given the opportunity. 🙃 Meh. 😃 Yay! 7 of 11 What are your sources of solace? 📱 TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat 🎞️ The Criterion Collection 6 of 11 Do you walk down the street looking at your phone? 📱 Yes 🌎 Never! 5 of 11 Which sport do you prefer to watch? 🧗♀️ Rock climbing 🎾 Tennis 4 of 11 What's your retort in the debate? 🧒 These old farts may as well be screaming: 'Kids, get off my lawn!' 😇 'If the director meant for us to watch 'Charlie's Angels' in 9:16, they'd have given us just one angel.' 3 of 11 What makes you grumpier? 📱 Being criticized for not holding your phone correctly 📺 Being forced to watch vertical videos on your widescreen TV 2 of 11 My natural-born aspect ratio is ... 📱 9:16 🖥️ 16:9 1 of 11 Which lifestyle would feel most comfortable for you? ✨ Influencing 🥔 Being a couch potato ← Drag left or click Drag right → or click Congrats! You are in Team Horizontal! You see the full picture, and think wide. left right Story continues below advertisement Advertisement
