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Geek Tyrant
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Director Matt Shakman Reveals How John Malkovich Would Have Been Used — GeekTyrant
It was a bit of a surprise when the group went to confront Galactus, and the only thing he was willing to accept as payment for not destroying and ingesting the world was Franklin Richards, the baby of Reed Richards and Sue Storm. Of course, the superheroes can't have this, and they start to brainstorm a plan to defeat the Devourer of Worlds that keeps baby Franklin safe. Actor John Malkovich was originally in the film as an additional villain, but his scene(s) was scrapped at the last minute. A writer for CBR was able to visit the set of the film last year, and they said that Malkovich was originally part of the scene in which Reed Richards is working with other cities to activate the 'bridges' they built to transport Earth to another location undetectable to Galactus. Malkovich's Red Ghost would have been the character to intervene in the first draft, but director Matt Shakman confirmed the reason his character was removed. When asked at the film's press day if Red Ghost was originally supposed to take out the bridges in this pivotal scene, Shakman shared: 'There was, yeah, we had a different idea of how those bridges could go awry early on. And then, when we were putting the film together, it just made more sense to have the Surfer come back. It stayed more on story with the antagonist we knew, and were spending the most time with.' I think this seems like the more streamlined way to go, but it's too bad that an actor as great Malkovich was the one to get the boot. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is playing everywhere in theaters now.
Time of India
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Top 10 anime series that predicted the future right
Anime has long served as a mirror for our hopes, fears, and wildest technological dreams. While many futuristic storylines lean into fantasy, some shows have astonishingly predicted real-world developments decades before they became mainstream. From wearable tech to AI-driven cars and virtual idols, these series imagined a future that turned out to be eerily accurate. Whether intentionally prophetic or coincidentally brilliant, these anime offer more than entertainment. They offer glimpses into the world we live in today. 10 anime series that foresaw the future, according to CBR Cowboy Bebop In the 1998 episode 'Speak Like a Child,' a package arrives at the Bebop via drone, a concept that seemed like pure sci-fi at the time. Fast forward to today, and drone deliveries are an emerging reality, especially in logistics and e-commerce. Cowboy Bebop also imagined a world of gig-economy bounty hunters and digitized culture, making its predictions even more impressive. Ghost in the Shell This iconic cyberpunk series delved deep into cybercrime, AI consciousness, and body augmentation. Major Kusanagi and her team tackled crimes involving hacked minds and digital espionage, concepts that mirror today's cybersecurity threats. With real-world tech now dabbling in neural implants and AI surveillance, Ghost in the Shell feels less like fiction and more like a warning. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Is it legal? How to get Internet without paying a subscription? Techno Mag Learn More Undo Chobits Aired in 2002, Chobits presented a society where humanoid computers called Persocoms serve as personal companions. Though today's androids lack human-like emotions, Japan and other countries are actively developing AI-driven robots that offer companionship, customer service, and elder care. Chii's journey eerily parallels modern ethical debates around artificial intimacy and robot consciousness. Neo-Human Casshern Back in the 1970s, this series envisioned a robot uprising and introduced Friender, a shape-shifting robot dog. While we haven't built dog-bots that turn into tanks yet, companies like Boston Dynamics have created eerily lifelike robotic canines now used in defense and search operations. Casshern's vision of animal-like AI is closer than ever. Serial Experiments Lain Released in 1998, this psychological sci-fi drama predicted how deeply the internet would alter human identity. The 'Wired' network in Lain resembles the modern-day internet, and the way people construct alternate personas online echoes today's social media behavior. It was ahead of its time in examining digital detachment and psychological dependence on tech. Sailor Moon Sailor Mercury's 'Super Computer,' introduced in the early '90s, looked like a clamshell laptop with real-time analytics capabilities. Fast forward to today, and her device resembles modern smartphones or high-end tablets. The idea of instant data analysis, facial recognition, and wearable tech was pure fantasy then but it's everyday reality now. Megazone 23 Released in 1985, this OVA featured Eve, a virtual idol controlled by a secret AI system. Before Hatsune Miku or K-pop holograms, Megazone 23 explored how digital celebrities could influence the public. With today's virtual influencers and AI-generated pop stars, this anime was uncannily prescient. éX-Driver Set in a future where all cars are AI-controlled, this early-2000s anime revolved around 'éX-Drivers' who took the wheel when tech failed. In the real world, self-driving cars are being tested on public roads, and the series' questions about overreliance on automation feel more relevant than ever. Dragon Ball Z The scouter, a wearable device used to read opponents' power levels, first appeared in DBZ in the late '80s. Decades later, Google Glass and augmented reality headsets look remarkably similar. While scouters were made for battle, modern AR tech aims to enhance real-world data access in education, medicine, and industry. .hack//Sign This 2002 series imagined players trapped inside a full-dive virtual MMORPG. Today's VR games may not go that far, but with headsets like Meta Quest and immersive platforms growing in popularity, .hack//Sign predicted the rise of virtual gaming worlds and the blurred line between reality and simulation.
Daily Mail
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Netflix release panned by critics but loved by audiences flies to number one
A sci-fi thriller slammed by critics as 'shallow' has defied the odds by becoming Netflix 's number one most-watched movie worldwide just days after its release. Brick, a German psychological thriller starring Matthias Schweighofer and Ruby O. Fee, debuted on the platform on July 10 with little advertisement of its release. The film currently holds a low 31 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with outlets like Decider urging audiences to 'skip it,' describing the movie as a 'go-nowhere high-concept thriller.' Tom's Guide also aimed its critiques at the film's 'fundamental flaws' and 'lack of subtlety.' 'It's constructed on a pretty shaky foundation, with hammy dialogue, soap opera-level performances, and such a lack of subtlety that it suggests the filmmakers think the average Netflix subscriber has the media literacy of a middle schooler,' the outlet wrote. It added that, 'despite its many fundamental flaws, I found the need for answers.' However, despite the brutal reviews, Brick is dominating Netflix's global charts and has cracked the Top 10 in the US as well. On the day of its release, it topped the charts in 43 countries, reaching 44 countries on July 12, per CBR. Due to its lack of promotion and that it's a foreign film, it sits in third place on the domestic charts. It is now streaming ahead of high-profile titles like Madea's Destination Wedding and Kpop Demon Hunters. And viewers have been gushing over the movie - and passionately recommending it to others. 'A pretty amazing and exciting contained thriller with a sci-fi twist,' someone wrote. 'The ensemble and the camera work sticks out, with the plot-taken twists you don't see coming. 'Fun and cool with that little German hint of weirdness!' Someone else said: 'This movie was so amazing. Great cast, great acting. I had no clue what was going to happen next. 'It is Escape Room on steroids. Great movie, great story, great cast, great direction.' Set in Hamburg, Germany, the film follows a couple who wake up one morning to find their apartment building suddenly sealed in by mysterious, impenetrable black walls. As panic spreads among their neighbors, they are forced to work together to escape and uncover the secret behind their confinement. Without spoiling too much, the film's final twist reveals the walls are part of a high-tech nanotech defense system gone haywire. Philip Kock wrote and directed the film, which also stars Frederick Lau, Josef Berousek, Alexander Beyer, Sira-Anna Faal, Murathan Muslu, Axel Werner, and Salber Lee Williams.
The Hindu
07-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Polluting cooking fuel users may be at a higher risk of cognitive impairment finds study in Karnataka
A recent study published in The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia has found that polluting cooking fuel users may be at a higher risk for cognitive impairment. Highlighting the need for policies promoting the adoption of clean cooking fuel/technology, the study found that rural females, who tend to be more exposed than males, could have greater vulnerability to household air pollution's (HAP) adverse effects on the brain. A team of researchers from the Centre for Brain Research at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and University of Chicago, United States, used baseline data from participants of the ongoing prospective cohort study, Centre for Brain Research - Srinivaspura Aging, Neuro Senescence, and COGnition (CBR-SANSCOG). Data was collected between January 2018 and December 2023. Under the CBR-SANSCOG cohort, adults aged over 45 years from the villages of Srinivaspura taluk in Kolar district of Karnataka were recruited. Of the sample size of 4,145 adults, as many as 994 participants who passed the MRI quality control were included in the MRI analysis. Household air pollution HAP is a specific type of indoor air pollution, which primarily results from the use of polluting cooking technology - coal stoves, biomass stoves, chullahs (earthen stoves) and polluting fuels such as firewood, cow dung cake, coal, lignite or charcoal, and kerosene, in and around the house, leading to the production of gaseous toxins. While HAP from polluting cooking fuels, a rampant issue in rural India, is suspected to be a significant modifiable risk factor for cognitive impairment, evidence supported by neuroimaging in this population was lacking. 'Our study aimed to explore the relationship between polluting cooking technology, as a proxy for HAP, and cognitive performance, and brain morphology in the Srinivaspura cohort. We hypothesised that HAP exposure is associated with poorer cognitive performance and adverse brain morphology in this population. We also examined how factors such as age and sex affected this association and complemented our findings with insights from structural brain MRI,' one of the authors from the CBR team told The Hindu. Cognitive functions According to the study, only polluting cooking technology users had significantly lower scores in global cognition, visuospatial ability and executive functions, whereas at least one polluting cooking technology user had lower scores in global cognition only, compared to the clean cooking technology users. 'This study noted significantly poorer performance in global and domain-specific cognitive functions among polluting cooking technology users. Moreover, polluting cooking technology use was significantly associated with lower hippocampus volumes in females, the region which is primarily implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology,' the CBR team said. 'When solid fuels are burned indoors for cooking, especially in poorly ventilated spaces, air pollutants like oxides of carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, and suspended particulate matter are released. These pollutants have been implicated in adversely affecting brain health via different mechanisms. The primary mechanisms may be related to inflammation and oxidative stress, wherein ultrafine air pollutants affect the brain directly by entering the brain through the olfactory bulb or by crossing the blood–brain barrier (BBB),' the study noted. The impact of household air pollution on health According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 3.2 million premature deaths occurred worldwide from illnesses attributed to HAP as of 2020. These include ischaemic heart disease, stroke and chronic pulmonary conditions. In India, as of 2019, 0.81 million deaths were attributed to HAP. The 2019–21 National Family Health Survey-5 reported that 41.4% of households in India lacked access to clean cooking fuels. This disparity was more pronounced in rural areas, wherein 56.8% of households utilised polluting cooking fuels, compared to 10.3% in urban areas. In Karnataka, 30.7% of rural households relied on unclean cooking fuel in 2019–20. A 2017 nationwide study found that deaths and DALYs (disability-adjusted life years) due to HAP in Karnataka were significantly higher than those caused by ambient particulate matter pollution, contrasting with the trends in most other States. Modifiable risk factor While a large body of evidence exists documenting the effects of air pollution on cardiovascular and pulmonary health, its impact on cognition and brain health is only recently being explored. Besides the well-recognised risk factors for cognitive impairment, such as age, genetic predisposition, and cardiovascular diseases, increasing evidence suggests that air pollution is a modifiable risk factor. 'Our study echoes the findings from a harmonised analysis of ageing studies across India, China and Mexico that revealed poorer cognitive function among polluting cooking fuel users. It is among the first few studies to produce findings specific to a rural Indian setting. Recent findings from cross-sectional data of the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI) showed that HAP was negatively associated with cognitive functioning among rural residents, particularly in older rural women. Another study among rural adults in South India found a higher prevalence of cognitive impairment among polluting cooking fuel users,' the study added.
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Free Fire MAX x Naruto Shippuden Itachi teaser released? Check out launch date, rumoured characters and exclusive rewards
Free Fire MAX x Naruto Shippuden Collaboration was launched in January 2025, and the collab introduced a plethora of new events and exclusive Naruto-themed rewards and bundles to the platform. Moreover, the first collaboration between Free Fire MAX and Naruto Shippuden was quite successful. Apart from this, an Itachi teaser named 'Dark Crows Descend', the Free Fire MAX x Naruto Shippuden collab, has been officially launched by Free Fire MAX. In the first collaboration, players got an opportunity to grab exclusive rewards via some free events based on the unique collab. With the collab, now players can experience Chapter 2 of Free Fire MAX x Naruto Shippuden Collab in the month of August 2025, with a new event that is scheduled to launch for the server along with the Free Fire MAX OB50 Update. Watch the new trailer here: Free Fire MAX x Naruto Shippuden Collab Chapter 2 (expected release date) The Free Fire MAX x Naruto Shippuden Collaboration Chapter 2 is an extension of the same collabo that was launched in January 2025. The new collab is expected to expand the initial success of the first collab and take it to new events, rewards and more. The expected release date of the new collab is on August 1, 2025, and the date has been revealed by the official trailer. Additionally, the official handle of Free Fire MAX says, 'Crows watch over the dusk as the war rises on the horizon. Dare to challenge me... if you have the strength.' Free Fire MAX x Naruto Shippuden Collab Chapter 2 – Rumoured characters The Free Fire MAX x Naruto Shippuden Collab Chapter 2 is set to introduce a new character called Itachi Uchiha. According to a recent post by CBR on Itachi Uchiha, Uchiha is an edgy anti-hero who is leagues ahead of his friends. Well, the character has gained much attention from fans, and that is not because of his looks but because of his willingness to make the 'ultimate sacrifice'. On the other hand, CBR also reveals that Itachi Uchiha has a complicated role in the Naruto series, as most of his decisions and actions make no sense when given a deeper thought on it. Interestingly, while confronted with a difficult choice, Itachi chooses to eliminate his entire clan and also ends up shaping his younger brother's path towards a life of crime, reports PCQuest. Other rumoured characters apart from Itachi Itachi is a confirmed character so far, but some of the rumours have revealed that characters like Hinata Hyuga, Gaara of the Sand, and Madara Uchiha might also be revealed in the new collab. Additionally, all these characters will come with their unique abilities, weapons and power. Free Fire MAX x Naruto Shippuden Collab Chapter 2 – rewards, weapons and more Many of these themed events offer special bundles that hold unique advantages on the battlefield in the Free Fire MAX game. Some of the rumoured avatars, rewards and bundles include: Itachi Uchiha Bundle Madara Uchiha Bundle Obito Uchiha Bundle Minato Namikaze Bundle Orochimaru Bundle As per the official trailer, the Itachi Bundle and the Minato Bundle look like the grand prize for the event. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral, follow Indiatimes Trending.
