In recent years, the 1980s has been the go-to decade to look for intellectual property to revive. Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, Tron, and Rocky have all gotten the “legacyquel” treatment, while other property like Super Mario Bros. and even He-Man are now the subject of blockbuster films.

One of the most recent 1980s masterpieces to get this treatment is Escape From New York, a dystopian action thriller following criminal Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) as he tries to get the President out of Manhattan, which is now a gigantic maximum-security prison. Now, the project has found the perfect director: a filmmaker with just as strong of a following as John Carpenter, even if he is a little polarizing.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 300 and Watchmen director Zack Snyder will helm the Escape from New York remake, and according to the report, the movie will get a theatrical release. There’s not much that can be gleaned from this choice and casting hasn’t been announced yet, but Zack Snyder has a distinctive style that this film will probably follow: over-the-top, epic, and gritty.

Snyder is perhaps best known for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the much-demanded “Snyder Cut” that was released in four parts on HBO Max. Since then, he’s made a couple zombie heist movies for Netflix and even tried (with questionable success) to make his own Star Wars with Rebel Moon.

Snyder is no stranger to remakes, as his feature directorial debut was the 2004 remake of the 1978 zombie movie Dawn of the Dead. Like that film, it’s likely his take on Escape from New York will be updated. The story is set in a dystopian future, but the vision of the future in the ‘80s is much different than it is today.

With a director on board, this project is taking another big step toward actually happening. Remakes for Escape from New York have been announced before, and directors have even signed on, but nothing ever materialized. But Zack Snyder isn’t just your average movie director. Thanks to his work with the DC Universe, he’s amassed a cult following, and such a beloved story like this is sure to draw audiences.

Things are still early, but hopefully we’ll start to see casting announcements soon. Anyone’s on the table to play Snake Plissken — at least, almost everyone. Kurt Russell’s son, Wayne Russell, may be used to playing the same character as his dad on Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, but he’s made it very clear he has no desire to take on that role. In a 2021 interview with Esquire, he specifically said playing Snake in a reboot would be “career suicide 101,” apparently. “That's like what not to do,” he said.

But regardless of who is the face in front of the camera, Zack Snyder being behind it is exciting enough.

In the mid-to-late 1980s, any frequent visitors to their local arcade would be greeted by a few examples of a specific type of game: the side-scrolling beat-em-up. First introduced by 1984’s Kung-Fu Master, it was a subgenre of arcade action game iconic for its playstyle, which featured a two-dimensional horizontally-moving plane that either one or two players would navigate (exclusively from left-to-right or vertically as well in the belt-scroll variety) while engaging in hand-to-hand combat with various enemy combatants. That initial debut was inspired by Hong Kong martial arts cinema (particularly Meals on Wheels and Game of Death, starring Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee respectively), as were many of the earlier examples, including the incredibly influential 1987 game Double Dragon (which itself owes a debt to Enter the Dragon and the Mad Max series).

While the genre’s origins in East Asia meant that it drew significantly from films and manga coming out of the region, as the beat-em-up grew in popularity in the West, developers started to imbue new games with different cultural touchstones. Classics like Golden Axe received a heavy coat of fantasy painting and laid the foundation for what would become the hack-and-slash genre in the modern day, while releases such as the X-Men and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade games drew obvious inspiration from comic books and cartoons. But another popular beat-em-up aesthetic was the urban, borderline apocalyptic crime setting, and perhaps the best known example of this style was the Streets of Rage series. And now, almost as if closing a loop of cinematic influence, those games are officially getting their own film adaptation.

On Monday, The Hollywood Reporter revealed the director and writer team that would be bringing Streets of Rage to the big screen, 35 years after the original game debuted in arcades. There were brief talks of a film or television adaptation as far back as 2016, along with several other Sega classics (including Golden Axe and House of the Dead), but those plans stalled out and the rights eventually reverted back to Sega. This new attempt is coming from Lionsgate, with a creative team of Jeymes Samuel (the director of the 2021 Black revisionist Western The Harder They Fall) and writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller.

Beat-em-up games were never particularly noteworthy for their stories, and Streets of Rage isn't an exception. The threadbare narrative follows a group of ex-police officers who have turned to vigilantism in order to take their neon-lit city back from the clutches of the gang lord Mr. X. Based in part on the exploits of TV cops like Starsky and Hutch, the original three playable characters were pastiches of the no-nonsense action cop archetype named Adam Hunter, Axel Stone, and Blaze Fielding.

Back when the project was first announced, the attached writer was none other than Derek Kolstad, the architect of the first three John Wick films, which would have been a perfect fit considering the heavy martial arts influence across that franchise. However, considering that Casey and Miller wrote the scripts for the Sonic the Hedgehog films (another classic Sega franchise), perhaps the rights holders felt more comfortable handing off another ‘80s game adaptation to a familiar team. With the exception of the recently released Mortal Kombat 2, none of the video game movies that have hit it off big recently have been of the action-adventure variety — but hopefully an accomplished genre director, two writers familiar with the workings of game adaptations, and a beloved vintage IP are enough to change that trend.

Not everything Adam Wingard directs can be a stealthy sequel to The Guest, but fans have been not-so-quietly hoping for a follow-up to the director’s 2014 thriller all the same. Their enthusiasm is warranted: Wingard created an instant cult classic by casting Dan Stevens as an unstoppable murdering machine, using elements of government conspiracy and psychological tension to elevate a simple home invasion premise. The films he’s made since have banked on increasingly heightened extremes, from Netflix’s maligned Death Note remake to Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla x Kong. But after over a decade on that trajectory, Wingard is finally circling back to the eerie, grounded vibes that made The Guest so intoxicating.

Onslaught is not a direct sequel to The Guest — at least, according to Dan Stevens, who reunites with Wingard for a third time in the film. But its status as a spiritual sequel cannot be ignored, as it’s technically building on the same theme of super soldiers unleashed... this time with even more devastating effects.

Where The Guest follows one charismatic stranger as he goes Terminator on an average family, Onslaught will sic a small army of brainwashed combatants on the unsuspecting populace. The government syndicate has created “the human equivalent of a heat-seeking missile” half a dozen times over; now, this shady group (led by a spook played by Godzilla x Kong’s Rebecca Hall) is testing it on the civilians of an unnamed desert town.

There’s no telling what role Stevens will play in this chaos, or if he’s just hiding the possibility that this is an actual Onslaught sequel and not just a spiritual one (fans are already abuzz over this theory). But Onslaught on the whole really belongs to Andor star Adria Arjona. Here, she plays a retired Army sniper running from her past and struggling to stay in the present for her young daughter. But her expertise will come in handy when this squad of enhanced soldiers descends on the trailer park she calls home.

It’s here that Wingard seems to be calling on zanier influences: it’s impossible not to think of Evil Dead or Escape from New York when Arjona’s heroine, bloodied and maybe missing an eye, whips out a chainsaw to even the playing field. That heightened violence will clash spectacularly with the chilly conspiracy bubbling beneath the surface, which should make this mash-up another must-see.

Onslaught opens in theaters September 4.

Silo is unlike all the (many) other sci-fi shows on Apple TV. While other post-apocalyptic shows make it very clear how the end of the world went down, the true reason for the Silo bunker system is a mystery even to those in the Silo itself. Across the first two seasons, Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) has toiled away as a mechanic, a sheriff, and now, mayor, all without any memory of the history of her people.

But in a new trailer for Season 3 of Silo, she’s got another problem: she’s lost memory of the last three months. So just what is behind this memory mystery? We may not know the answer now, but we could learn starting on July 3. Check out the trailer below:

This trailer mainly focuses on Juliette’s tenure as mayor, where she’s slowly piecing together the memories of the last three months. She may be the only person to leave the Silo and come back, but she has no memory of it, making her reliant on the others in the Silo, others who may not have the best intentions. We see her taking a number of pills — and getting a note warning her not to — which probably has something to do with this amnesia.

But Season 3 of Silo is only partially about Juliette’s struggles leading her people. Unlike the previous seasons, this one has another storyline set an indeterminate number of years ago, before the still-mysterious event that led to the development of the Silos in the first place. This was teased in the last scene of Season 2, which revealed a congressman on a date with a journalist. It seems completely unrelated at first, but then the congressmen gives her a gift — a duck PEZ dispenser, which would go on to become an important “artifact” in the Silo.

With all this in mind, it seems like the theme of this season will be memory: how it works, how it’s controlled, why it was seemingly erased in Juliette and the Silo as a whole, and just what everyone had to forget in the first place. As the tagline for the season says, the key to the future lies in the past, particularly with this one congressman in Washington, D.C.

This is the penultimate season of Silo — the series as a whole will end after Season 4. So while we may learn the answers to these mysteries in this season, they could also be saved for the final episodes. But the important thing is we will get all the answers we’ve been looking for. For now, we may be as clueless as Juliette, but that will all change eventually.

Silo Season 3 premieres July 3 on Apple TV.

While the concept of the multiverse might be partially responsible for exacerbating “superhero fatigue” on the big screen, in the comics, the idea has been one of the driving forces behind some of the most interesting developments in the superhero genre. Originating with DC’s seminal 1961 comic issue Flash of Two Worlds, the concept of alternate universes would go on to form the backbone of some of DC and Marvel’s most celebrated storylines: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Final Crisis, the Ultimate Universe, and 2015’s Secret Wars (which Avengers: Doomsday and its sequel will partially be based on). Sixty-plus years after that Flash issue, it feels like multiverse stories are as baked into the DNA of the genre as capes and supervillains.

Along with the high stakes that come from stories about two worlds violently colliding, the multiverse has also given plenty of comic book writers the chance to experiment with reimagining iconic characters in totally unexpected, new circumstances. Superman if he were raised by Joseph Stalin, Doctor Doom if he became the Sorcerer Supreme instead of Stephen Strange — both DC and Marvel have leaned hard into alternative depictions of their beloved characters, and one of the most interesting of the last few decades has been Spider-Man Noir, a hard-boiled version of Peter Parker inspired by classic film noir. After making his cinematic debut in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the character just received a live-action TV series (as a separate version also played by Nicolas Cage), and although the show bears some similarities to his debut comic, it also differs in quite a few key ways.

Spider-Man Noir On The Page

The character first appeared in two back-to-back four issue miniseries in 2009 and 2010: Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face, both part of a company-wide series called Marvel Noir that reimagined characters such as Daredevil, the X-Men, Luke Cage and a few others in an alternate universe designated Earth-90214. In that original series, which takes place during the height of the Great Depression in 1932, Peter Parker is an aspiring photojournalist working under the mentorship of Ben Urich. Inspired by the work Urich has done as an investigator into New York’s criminal underworld (earning him the nickname “the Spider”), Peter decides to follow in his footsteps, seeking justice for the murder of Uncle Ben (in this universe a WWI airman and social reformist cannibalized by the Vulture).

In service of uncovering the secrets of wealthy industrialist and crime boss Norman Osborn, Peter breaks into a warehouse filled with smuggled artifacts, and is accidentally bitten by a spider that crawls out of a carved idol of an ancient Mesopotamian spider-god. That god, Ereshkigal, bestows upon him supernatural powers and weaponizes him as an instrument of vengeance, a role he takes almost immediately upon discovering that his mentor has also been murdered at the behest of Norman Osborn. Peter creates a costume using pieces of Uncle Ben’s pilot uniform, and teams up with Urich’s ex-lover, Felicia Hardy (owner of the Black Cat Club) to wage battle against Osborn.

Initially, Spider-Man Noir (referred to in-story as “the Spider-Man”) is a far more hardened and callous version of the character, willing to use firearms and outright end criminals he felt were deserving. His violent edge was responsible for Aunt May (an anti-establishment working class activist in this version) growing to hate the vigilante for what she felt like were ruthless methods that made him no better than the criminals he hunted, which prompted a change of heart that prevented him from murdering Norman Osborn. Eventually the character met his demise in 2018’s Spider-Geddon crossover event only to be resurrected in an ongoing series in 2020, with his characterization subtly altered to more closely resemble Nicolas Cage’s animated counterpart in Into the Spider-Verse.

How Does Spider-Noir Compare?

Unlike the brutal agent of retribution created by David Hine, Fabrice Sapolsky, and Marko Djurdjević, Nicolas Cage’s live-action version of “the Spider” is comparatively more akin to traditional depictions of Spider-Man: fairly restrained and more on the side of “superhero” than “vigilante,” making the kinds of quips and wisecracks most would expect from the character. When we meet him in the show’s first episode, his alter-ego is Ben Reilly (a name lifted from Peter Parker’s heroic clone Scarlet Spider in true Marvel Comics canon) and he’s a private investigator mostly investigating marital indecency like Jack Nicholson in Chinatown. The change allows Cage to lean into one of the most recognizable established tropes of film noir, the world-weary PI (think Phillip Marlowe or Sam Spade), and it also allows the show to engage with the narratives of criminal and political corruption so inherent to the genre.

His day job isn’t the only major change though, this version of Spider-Man Noir’s entire origin is radically different. In Episode 5 we discover that Ben Reilly is actually an alias, adopted by Sergeant Peter Parker shortly after the end of his service in WWI. During the liberation of a German camp of American POW’s, Parker discovers that the soldiers had been genetically experimented upon, developing grotesque and preternatural mutations as a result. While attempting to free them, Peter/Ben is bitten by one of those mutated soldiers (who bears a striking resemblance to Peter’s uncontrollable Man-Spider transformation in the comics), and inevitably develops the superpowers that turn him into the Spider.

For the most part, the Spider-Noir TV show is a pretty radical reimagining of what is already a pretty radical reimagining of Spider-Man, but it mostly works in the show’s favor. While it would have been interesting to see an actor with a style as unhinged as Cage’s play a much more ruthless depiction of the character, the alterations allow the show to strike a balance between the Spider-Man that pop culture knows and loves as well as the identifiable signifiers of film noir’s impact on that same pop culture. If the show gets a second season, it would be the perfect opportunity to sift through the source material and adapt some of the comic’s wilder variations of Spider-Man lore and introduce more people to the eccentricities of one of superhero comics’ most fascinating alternate universes.

Spider-Noir is now streaming on Prime Video

If you were to take a time-traveling child from 1985 and show them the 1987 film Masters of the Universe after said hypothetical child watched the new 2026 Masters of the Universe, said child would have to conclude that the 1987 movie was made later, and as an attempt to reboot the franchise as a darker and grittier fantasy epic. Because, as much as director Travis Knight makes sure that the new Masters film winks and jokes about the colorful and hyperbolic cartoon roots of the 1980s He-Man phenomenon, the truth is, a child with no knowledge of nostalgia or the nature of visual effects would view the new film as a straight-up, big-kid movie version of the 1983 cartoon. This is a tonal paradox that shouldn’t work at all, but somehow holds together. Just like a broken magical object can, for some reason, reconstitute itself, the triumph of the new Masters of the Universe is that its magic simply works through sheer force of will, rather than any logic or reason.

Then again, trying to make sense of the fantasy world of Eternia has never really been the right approach when rebooting He-Man. As much as one might appreciate the lore and world-building of the 2002 reboot animated series, or Kevin Smith’s more recent earnest attempts with the Netflix series Masters of the Universe: Revelation, one of the key things that Knight’s film seems to understand is that you have to make the silliness the entire point. At the same time, Masters of the Universe has a ton of heart, and might be one of the best feel-good summer blockbusters in years. It also provides a counterpoint to the notion that sword-and-sorcery fantasy has to seem realistic to be compelling. The beauty of Masters of the Universe isn’t just that it captures the tone and feeling of the Filmation cartoon, but that it also brings to life the lush fantasy art, originally from William George and Rudy Obrero, that adorned the toy boxes. Masters of the Universe is a colorful romp that puts even the wildest Guardians of the Galaxy film to shame.

Without spoiling the bigger twists, the basic premise of Masters of the Universe is already in the trailers: Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine), a child of the planet Eternia, is sent to Earth by his parents, King Randor (James Purefoy) and Queen Marlena (Charlotte Riley) — the latter of whom, we’re reminded briefly, is originally from Earth. (She was an Earth astronaut who found her way to Eternia in the cartoon! Canon points already!)

Once he’s sent to Earth, the movie takes its biggest swing, which is trying to convince us that somebody who looks like Nicholas Galitzine is a big dork who has a hard time fitting into the humdrum life of office work. Galitzine does a bit of what Christopher Reeve did in the classic 1978 Superman, but also, in a sense, seems aligned with what David Corenswet pulled off last year with his Man of Steel: Play the character as sweet and likable in all guises. In one early scene, after Galitzine steals the lost power sword from a nerdy collectible shop, an employee of the store calls after him: “Are you single?” This is the power of Galitzine’s turn as Adam; you want to be more like him, or have someone like him in your life.

There are four credited screenwriters on Masters of the Universe: Chris Butler, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, and David Callaham, as well as story credits for Alex Litvak and Michael Finch, so we may never know whose idea of this bunch it was to make the exiled Prince Adam a human resources supervisor on Earth. But as superhero day jobs go, this has got to be one of the funnier ideas in the film. You may ask yourself, why would I want He-Man to be an HR person in real life, and the answer is, it just works. If there’s a deeper message to the movie, it's that He-Man can kick a lot of ass, but as he puts it so well in the climax, “I just prefer not to.”

Unlike the 1987 film, which also made an extended jaunt to Earth for pretty much the entire movie, this Masters knows that we have to get Adam and the power sword back to Eternia as soon as possible. The plotting of the film becomes a bit wonky at times, as the initial transformation that Adam has into He-Man is played for laughs for a bit, until he suddenly finds his footing. Does it hurt Adam to punch something really hard when he’s in his He-Man guise? Depends on what kind of joke the movie feels like making at any given moment. How does the transformation work? Why do his clothes come back when he’s “Adam” again? The cartoon never bothered to explain things like that, and this film is content to lampshade anything and everything that doesn’t make sense, and then make a quick joke. Or sometimes, a very long joke. Seriously, this movie never met a self-referential joke it didn’t love, and honestly, with a character like He-Man, this was probably the best approach.

You might say that all this joking around distracts from the fun, childlike adventure feeling that this movie should capture, right? Is this just He-Man with a bunch of raunchy jokes and innuendos? Yes and no. At the risk of taking the time-traveling 1980s child idea too far, the thing about all the jokes in Masters of the Universe is that they wouldn’t be understood by contemporary kids right away. How long did it take many of us, who saw Ghostbusters as children, to understand that it was a comedy? This is the kind of trick that Masters pulls off in nearly every scene: It has it both ways. Skeletor (played by an annoyingly good Jared Leto) is both ruthless and terrifying and also really, really silly. Adam is super-powerful and brave and hot, and also a total dork. The contradiction is the point of the movie, which it pushes to the breaking point, very, very often. The bravery of the movie is that it simply doesn’t care if you think it's going too far. It’s going to keep going.

If there’s one weakness that Masters of the Universe has is that it perhaps has too many emotional arcs happening at the same time, two of which deal with disappointing father figures: Adam struggles with his father’s judgment of him as a child, and Teela (Camila Mendes) struggles with the heroic, badass Man-At Arms (Idris Elba) turning into a depressed drunkard. Do both of these nearly identical storylines work in this movie? If you throw Skeletor in the mix as a really irresponsible surrogate parent to his various minions, suddenly, Masters of the Universe has a lot of daddy issues.

But the idea of navigating your childhood hopes and fears, and incorporating those things into your adult life, is also — somewhat appropriately for a movie based on an old cartoon — at the heart of the film. Not everyone who goes to see Masters of the Universe will have grown up with He-Man, but this film will make you wish that you did. And, at the same time, it’ll make you feel grateful that he’s back and quite literally, better than ever.

Masters of the Universe opens in theaters June 5.

When X-Files writers Glen Morgan and James Wong created a science fiction show in the middle of the 1990s, the expectations for said show were, at least among sci-fi fans, very, very high. In the summer of 1995, leading up to its debut, ads for Space: Above and Beyond were everywhere, from TV Guide to the inside and backs of DC Comics. Launched the same year as Star Trek: Voyager, well into the run of Babylon 5, and in the midst of a seaQuest rebrand, Space: Above and Beyond launched during what was, in retrospect, a golden age of big, epic sci-fi shows with close-knit ensembles and narratives that posed big questions. Blending the sensibilities of the novel version of Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers (the movie wasn’t out until 1997) as well as Joe Haldeman’s iconic military sci-fi novel from 1974, Morgan and Wong gave the world an unironic military sci-fi epic with a conscience.

But by 1996, the ambitious first season of the show would end up being its last. And in its Season 1 finale — which became the series finale — Space: Above and Beyond dropped an excellent twist which proved that this underrated show was playing a very long game. Today, the finale is highly watchable, along with some prescient themes. Here’s why it's worth tracking down on DVD or digging out your old VHS tapes from the ‘90s.

Space: Above and Beyond began with what seemed like a simple premise: In 2063, Earth colonies outside of our solar system are attacked and destroyed by aliens known as “the Chigs.” This event plunges Earth into a full-scale interstellar conflict with the Chigs, but with one caveat: The humans don’t know what the Chigs actually look like. Which, after 23 episodes, sets up the Season 1 finale, “... Tell Our Moms We Done Our Best,” for a very big twist.

By most metrics, Space: Above and Beyond was the rebooted Battlestar Galactica, but a decade earlier. Unlike most sci-fi shows until that point, Space: Above and Beyond felt revolutionary for simply depicting the military the way it exists in real life, but slightly into the future. The main characters aren’t part of some kooky space military; they’re members of the United States Marine Corps, which now operates on land, air, sea, and in space. This aesthetic and narrative choice was then somewhat revolutionary. The show followed a group of untested cadets, “The Wild Cards,” into several battles and plotlines, some of which played out like sci-fi stories of the week, while others advanced the larger military campaigns of the series. Perhaps the closest contemporary to Space: Above and Beyond wasn’t a TV show or a film at all, but instead, a game: The Wing Commander games of the 1990s. 1994’s Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (starring Mark Hamill), specifically, had a dark, grim feeling, and also followed fighter pilots waging battle from an outer space aircraft carrier.

But, the true secret weapon of Space: Above and Beyond is that this show was crafted by X-Files veterans, meaning there were several slow-burning mysteries playing out throughout the entire season. In addition to humans and Chigs, Above and Beyond also gave us intelligent AIs who had revolted, called “Silicates” (think the Cylon “skin jobs for Battlestar), as well as several characters who were artificially grown humans called In Vitroes, who were very often treated as second-class citizens. Layered into this was a corporate conspiracy plotline about a tech company called “Aero-Tech,” which was like the most evil version of SpaceX and Blue Origin, with a touch of Lex Luthor.

That said, the battle with the alien Chigs became the focus of the show’s finale, and with its last moments, Above and Beyond dropped a huge bomb: The Chigs claim to also be from Earth, originally. Not only did Aero-Tech probably know this all along, but this plot twist also made it clear that the basic question of the show — what does it mean to be human? — was taken to extremes. Not only did the Silicates, In Vitros, and humans all originate on Earth, but the show also suggests that the entire massive conflict with aliens was, in the final analysis, not technically a battle with extraterrestrials.

If you’ve never watched Space: Above and Beyond, this detail is a pretty big spoiler. But how the show actually finds its way to that point is worth the ride. The series was never able to fully explain all of its storylines, but in a sense, the fact that what we got ends with such huge upheavals proves that the twist wasn’t exactly the point. Space: Above and Beyond proved that a serious, gritty military sci-fi drama could work on TV, and it deserves to sit alongside some of the greatest dramas ever created.

Space: Above and Beyond is not streaming anywhere currently, though some episodes have been uploaded by fans to YouTube. The best way to watch the whole series as intended is to track down the DVDs.

For the better half of the century, Disney movies have been synonymous with box office dominance. Whether it’s the latest Pixar project, a Marvel blockbuster, or a new adventure in the Star Wars galaxy, Disney is known for event pictures: they’re seen on the biggest screen possible, driven less by word-of-mouth than blind compulsion or FOMO. You see the company’s movies because that’s just what you do — and until recently, most of said movies honored that loyalty with quality storytelling, justifying a bonkers box office return. But things haven’t been right at the House of Mouse for some time now. While a few “bad apples,” like 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, were expected every once in a while, Disney’s entire harvest now feels rotted to the core.

2023 was Disney’s no-good, very-bad year, with most of its biggest swings failing to make their customary splash or recoup their exorbitant production costs. Though the studio has delivered some fine movies since, from Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot to Pixar’s Hoppers, the Disney brand doesn’t carry the same weight as it once did. Not even the first Star Wars film in seven years is getting the same reception as the billion-dollar-grossing projects that came before, resulting in a shocking theatrical shake-up.

The Mandalorian and Grogu debuted to a tepid critical reception, which begot an equally middling opening weekend. It earned just around $163 million worldwide in its first week in theaters, a record low for the Disney Star Wars era. Its second week also failed to pick up the slack: the film came in third at the box office after two surprising horror juggernauts, Backrooms and Obsession. After taking in $246 million globally, its time in theaters (or, at least, in IMAX theaters) is already waning.

IMAX recently announced that Masters of the Universe — Amazon’s reboot of the He-Man property — would get a handful of IMAX showings for its opening weekend. Tickets went on sale just a week before its June 5th premiere, much to fans’ surprise. Masters of the Universe was previously slated to debut without a boost from IMAX: Mando had a stake on IMAX showings for the first several weeks of its run, leaving Masters with standard, Dolby, 4DX, and ScreenX formats. But that status quo has suddenly changed, and though IMAX HQ hasn’t disclosed why, it’s impossible to rule out Mando’s lackluster second week.

To be clear, The Mandalorian and Grogu hasn’t been pulled from IMAX completely. The film is still scheduled for multiple IMAX showings in the coming weeks, but it will now have to share those screens (in select theaters, anyway) with Masters of the Universe. It’s not a great sign for Star Wars, as this was meant to be the franchise’s big comeback after nearly a decade away from the big screen.

This last-minute switch-up also doesn’t bode well for Disney on the whole, as this is the second kerfuffle the company has faced with IMAX recently. We can’t forget the studio’s choice to push another comeback vehicle, Avengers: Doomsday, from its scheduled premiere in May — which, granted, would have forced it to compete with Mando — to a new date this December. Avengers: Doomsday is now slated for the exact same weekend as Dune: Part Three, which secured an exclusive three-week IMAX engagement. That means that the biggest Marvel film in years will premiere without any IMAX screens in the US.

Marvel is pioneering a “new” certification, Infinity Vision, to pick up the slack and “help audiences identify the best theatrical experience” — but that tactic is really just a way to redress premium formats and, most likely, sell tickets at a higher price. Whether that will offset the loss of IMAX screens, or audiences will see right through Disney’s tactics, remains to be seen. The fact that the studio has to resort to said tactics at all seems to affirm an unspoken truth: the days of Disney’s uncontested reign are over, and it’ll have to work a lot harder if it wants to stay at the top.

Masters of the Universe opens in theaters on June 5.

Star Wars is often solely credited to George Lucas, but, like every movie, it was a massive group project with hundreds of credited cast and crew each providing their own talents. One of those hundreds of people was Marcia Lucas, George Lucas’ then-wife, who won an Academy Award for her efforts in editing the original 1977 movie, then, just called Star Wars, later retitled in 1981 to Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope.

Marcia Lucas passed away on May 27, at the age of 80, and Star Wars fans may not realize just how influential she was to the franchise, single-handedly fighting for so many of the most memorable elements of what has become a massive phenomenon.

Marcia Lucas’s Ticking Death Star Clock

Marcia Lucas wasn’t initially going to edit Star Wars. George Lucas initially hired John Jympson, who previously directed A Hard Day’s Night, but his work left him (and film executives) unimpressed. Jympson was fired, and Marcia Lucas jumped in halfway, editing the most important part of the entire movie — the Battle of Yavin, where Luke Skywalker makes an impossible shot to destroy the Death Star. What did she change here? What was so important? Well, the idea that the Death Star had a set amount of time — 30 minutes to be cleared to fire on the Rebel Base. This ticking clock was not in the script, nor was anything filmed to reflect the idea that the Imperials had to wait to fire the superlaser at the Yavin base. What Marcia Lucas’ editing did was create a clever voiceover, along with well-placed close-ups of characters reacting to the ticking clock (Leia, Tarkin, et al.), to give the battle and Luke’s eventual trench run much higher, nail-biting stakes.

She left the project in 1976 to work on Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York, but her work and advice ring through the memory of countless people who worked on the movie.

There were other light touches that the late Marcia Lucas added to the first film:

“I know for a fact that Marcia Lucas was responsible for convincing [George Lucas] to keep that little ‘kiss for luck’ before Carrie [Fisher] and I swing across the chasm in the first film,” Mark Hamill told Film Freak Central. “‘Oh, I don't like it, people laugh in the previews,’ and she said, ‘George, they're laughing because it's so sweet and unexpected’ — and her influence was such that if she wanted to keep it, it was in.”

Back in 2022, Marcia Lucas appeared in Icons Unearthed: Star Wars, a docuseries that now stands as her last filmed interview. In this documentary, now streaming on Tubi, she reveals all kinds of secrets from production, including how George Lucas got the idea to make Luke and Vader related from a joke at a dinner party.

But Lucas’ influence wasn’t just limited to Star Wars. After viewing a rough cut of Raiders of the Lost Ark, she questioned why Marion didn’t appear again at the end, leading Steven Spielberg to film a final scene featuring her. Much like Carrie Fisher’s work as a script doctor, Marcia Lucas’ work on these movies often goes unrecognized, but she’s a crucial part of Star Wars history. Without her, this series just wouldn’t be the same.

Icons Unearthed: Star Wars streams on Tubi. The original 1977 Star Wars streams on Disney+.

For most of the time that the concept of video game film adaptations has existed, a widely beloved and successful game being turned into a movie would frequently translate to one of the worst releases ever. The original Super Mario Bros. Movie from 1993, The Rock’s ill-advised attempt at a live-action Doom adaptation, the Tekken film from 2010, up until the last five or 10 years, the scale of your achievement in gaming was inversely related to how well it would do at the box office. Of course, now that video games have become a mainstream pastime across the globe, we’re seeing more and more that they’re becoming a reliable box office draw.

In recent memory, one of the biggest winners of Hollywood’s video game gold rush is also one of the biggest video games of all-time: Minecraft. Since originally releasing back in 2011, the immersive sandbox has gone on to sell 350 million copies worldwide, not counting the spinoff games that have come since – and last year’s adaptation, A Minecraft Movie, was one of 2025’s biggest hits, grossing nearly $1 billion at the box office on a budget of $150 million. It was clear from the moment the film became a financial triumph that more Minecraft would be coming to the big screen, and a full year later, we now know exactly what the film’s sequel will be called.

What is The Minecraft Movie sequel called?

At this year’s Minecraft Live celebration, fans were treated to an exclusive behind-the-scenes video from the production of the follow-up film, which is now officially titled A Minecraft Movie Squared. It’s a title that plays into the tongue-in-cheek nature of the series, and it speaks to what will probably be a serious expansion of the scale of the sequel in terms of how much it pulls from the source material.

Alongside an official title announcement, the clip gives fans a glimpse at the ensemble for the sequel, which includes many of the returning stars of the previous film as well as a few new additions. Naturally, Jack Black will be returning as Steve, alongside Jason Momoa’s wannabe-cool burnout video game champion Garrett and Danielle Brooks as real estate agent and mobile petting zoo owner Dawn. However, joining them this time around is Kirsten Dunst as Alex (the second default skin to be introduced in the original game after Steve), as well as Matt Berry in an undisclosed role (which many fans of the game believe to be Herobrine, a character who has never officially appeared in-game and is instead a Creepypasta-adjacent urban legend).

It was unexpected when the first film blew the doors off the box office last year, but A Minecraft Movie Squared is already a highly anticipated follow-up and further proof that Hollywood now sees video games as fertile ground for franchise storytelling. If this year’s big video game sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, is any indication, the second Minecraft movie will be another massive success for studios, audiences, and gamers, and we only have to wait another year for it to arrive.

A Minecraft Movie Squared releases in theaters on July 23rd, 2027. The Minecraft Movie currently streams on HBO Max.

Superhero fatigue is something that every big franchise will eventually have to contend with, but that threat has not yet reached the shores of the new DC Universe. It’s not only because the new superhero saga is still in its infancy, with only one major film and a few shows to make up its continuity. James Gunn and Peter Safran are also giving the fans what they’ve wanted to see in a DC picture for a long time — and at a clip that would even make Marvel Studios blush.

Last year, the DCU began with a bang with Superman; his saga continues (in a way) with this year’s Supergirl, the first of three DC projects slated to premiere in 2026. Then, in 2027, Gunn delivers a truer sequel to Superman with Man of Tomorrow. With the new Green Lantern, John Stewart, scheduled to appear, and rumors of a Wonder Woman cameo, the upcoming film could lay the foundation for a super-team that fans are desperate to see done right in live-action: the Justice League. Gunn is staying mum on the future of that group in the DCU — but with production for Man of Tomorrow finally underway in Atlanta, the director has given us our first look at another exciting aspect of the film.

Gunn’s Man of Steel (David Corenswet) faced a classic threat in Superman, going head-to-head with his most infamous villain, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). Man of Tomorrow will flip that script in a major way: with a new threat rising in Brainiac (Lars Eidinger), Superman will be forced to team up with Lex to save the world. And though the only thing “super” about Lex is his intellect, he’s leveling the playing field with an armored green suit.

The warsuit might be one of Lex’s most iconic costumes. First introduced 43 years ago in Action Comics #544, it frequently comes out when Lex plans to battle Superman. We’ll likely see a bit of that in Man of Tomorrow — Lex will surely want a rematch after Kal-El destroyed the empire he spent years building. Responding to some questions on Threads, Gunn confirmed that Lex’s suit is “100% practical” and “unbelievably mobile.” That means we might actually see Hoult throw some punches in it — not only against Superman, but also when he eventually faces off against Brainiac’s forces. Oddly enough, we’ve sort of known that Lex would be rocking the warsuit for quite some time. Early teaser art for Man of Tomorrow teased Lex in the warsuit, and toys released for Superman in 2025 had Lex in this iconic green suit, despite the fact he didn’t wear it in the first movie.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about Man of Tomorrow, but this brief glimpse at the film is more than enough to keep the excitement high for it.

Man of Tomorrow flies into theaters on July 9, 2027.

You know what you’re going to get with a dinosaur movie. If there are humans and dinosaurs involved together, it’s probably going to be action-packed and full of peril, like in Jurassic Park or the 2023 Adam Driver thriller 65. If it’s animated and family-friendly, then it’s probably going to involve talking creatures and a feel-good story, like The Good Dinosaur or the Land Before Time movies.

But an upcoming dinosaur movie, The End of Oak Street, is keeping its cards close to its chest. While a new trailer finally gives us a look at its prehistoric creatures, it still is one of the most mysterious movies of the year — and fans are wondering if it’s secretly part of a sci-fi franchise. Check out the trailer below.

The End of Oak Street, directed by Under the Silver Lake and It Follows director David Robert Mitchell, follows the parents of a suburban family (Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway) as they realize their entire neighborhood has been transported to the Prehistoric era, with dinosaurs roaming the streets and, in a shocking moment, snapping up their neighbors like it’s nothing. But despite the detailed look at the creatures this family is up against, some fans still think there’s something being kept from the audience.

From the moment The End of Oak Street was announced, there’s been a fan theory that it could secretly be a Cloverfield movie. The clues were there before a single frame of footage was released: the movie comes from J.J. Abrams’ production company Bad Robot, which was behind the previous movies in the franchise, and the original title was “Flowervale Street.” Clover is a kind of flower, and “vale” means valley, or, in other words, field.

This theory does in fact square with Cloverfield lore: The Cloverfield Paradox established that a scientific experiment caused anomalies all over space and time, exactly the kind of thing that would cause an entire neighborhood to be transported back millions of years.

And while the new trailer doesn’t show any alien incursions like the ones seen in 2008’s Cloverfield, it could be a reveal that the movie saves for the very end, like in 2016’s 10 Cloverfield Lane — which was largely a claustrophobic thriller set in a bunker — or 2018’s Cloverfield Paradox — which dealt with parallel-universe travel aboard an isolated spaceship.

But if this movie manages to pull off a bait-and-switch and succeed on the merits of an original film while secretly being part of the franchise, this could be more than just a shocking dinosaur epic. It could go down in history as one of the greatest cinematic surprises ever.

The End of Oak Street premieres in theaters on August 14.

Say what you want about Johnny Knoxville and the rest of the Jackass crew: That they’re crude, that they’re juvenile, that they’ve made careers out of pulling down their pants on national TV (and in five feature films, thank you very much). But one thing you can never say is that they don’t care about the integrity of their creation.

This was recently proven on the streaming service Paramount+, where at the end of 2025 all three seasons of the original Jackass TV series were removed and replaced with a message: “Warning: Per me, the jackass tv shows have been temporarily taken down from Paramount+ to restore them to the way they originally aired. That way, you and your dumb little buddies can watch them as they were presented 25 fucking years ago. So, hold tight and the shows will be right back, as painful and dumb as you remember them. Wahoo and sincerely, Johnny Knoxville.”

Now they’re back, and the dignity of the show has been restored. (The performers will never regain theirs, but they knew that when they signed up.) As Knoxville tells Variety in a statement, over the past couple of decades, “the television episodes had been re-edited, re-sequenced, and re-scored to the point they were unrecognizable,” which he “[found] out the hard way last year when attempting to watch them.” The new versions, which debuted on the platform this week, have been fixed, and are exactly the same as what aired on MTV between 2000 and 2002.

A Jackass digital restoration has been a long time coming — even the show’s original DVD release from the mid-’00s reshuffled the pranks into a different running order, and the episodes have gotten even more garbled since making the transition to streaming. VHS bootlegs taped from the original MTV airings of the show still circulate among Jackass purists, and multiple fan edits restoring the original music cues and original sequencing of the TV series currently exist online.

Noble endeavors all, but unnecessary now that Knoxville has convinced Paramount to “[give] us the $$ to restore the shows to how they initially aired in the first place,” as he says in his statement. And bless him for it. Now we can all rest easy, knowing that we are watching “The Beekini” the way it was meant to be seen.

It should go without saying, but don’t try this at home. But now, you can watch it — and the rest of the Jackass series — in all its original glory in the safety of your home.

Jackass: The Series is now streaming on Paramount+.

Life is already complicated enough, so when something simplifies my day or calms me down rather than making it more chaotic, I consider it a mini miracle. Cue these clever things you probably didn’t know existed, but they still have the potential to make your life way less stressful. Through brilliant designs that work smarter (not harder), they aim to minimize mess, ease your nervous system, streamline your daily routine, and reduce the mental load.

A sleek electronics organizer that attaches to your laptop

Beblau Portable Electronic Organizer

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Using elastic straps, this electronics sleeve wraps around your tablet, small laptop, or notebook for compact organization on the go. Its bands and pockets hold your pens, pencils, stylus, mouse, charging cables, phones, and more, ensuring that you have everything you need for a productive work session — wherever you happen to be.

Stretchy laces that turn any shoes into slip-ons

THE ORIGINAL STRETCHLACE Elastic Shoe Laces

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Originally seen on Shark Tank, these elastic shoelaces look and tie like standard laces — but their stretchy design turns almost any shoes into slip-ons. They come in 15 colors and nine lengths, and one reviewer wrote, “Best shoelaces ever! These laces make it easy to put on and remove my sneakers and winter boots without having to untie each time.”

A faux leather vehicle organizer that hangs between the front seats

SunlightXS Car Handbag Holder

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Position this vegan leather holder between your vehicle’s front two seats as a handy spot to stick your sunglasses, purse, important documents, spare tissues, and other items you want in reach. It hangs with adjustable straps — it won’t slide around once secured.

A discreet retractable clothesline that holds a ton

Mustorn Retractable Clothesline

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Line drying your clothes keeps them in top shape for longer. And this retractable clothesline allows you to do this without a big, bulky drying rack. It mounts discreetly on the wall, then extends to over 15 feet to hold up to 44 pounds.

A protective & plush couch cover

ZQFFB Pet Couch Cover

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Keep your couch protected from pet scratches, stains, and other damage with this couch cover. It’s also incredibly thick and plush to bring an extra layer of comfort. The cover is washable and nonslip.

An organizer that lets you file up to 40 food container lids

SWOMMOLY Expandable Food Container Lid Organizer

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Thanks to its extendable design and six movable dividers, this lid organizer offers customizable storage that suits your kitchen and your food container collection. It comes with both pre-printed and blank labels so you can see everything at a glance, and the large size files up to 40 lids in a horizontal fashion that lets you grab one without upsetting the rest.

A hanging trunk organizer that tackles car clutter

Snuopfy Car Trunk Organizer (8 Pieces)

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Get your car clutter under control once and for all with this trunk organizer. Using eight roomy pockets that hang from your back-seat headrests, it holds tools, travel supplies, emergency items, sports equipment, shopping bags, and more. “This organizer has truly transformed my car into a clutter-free zone, and I no longer have to worry about things rolling around,” one reviewer wrote.

• Available sizes: XL — XXL
• Available styles: 3

A retractable car charger with amazing ratings

LISEN Retractable Car Charger

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Compatible with any 12V port, this car charger has two cords with USB-C and Lightning plugs to charge both Android and iPhone devices — and the wires are retractable to keep your car neat when they’re not in use. It also has USB-C and USB-A ports so you can plug in your own cables. No wonder it has an overall 4.6-star rating from more than 10,000 reviewers.

A password notebook that safely records your login info

Clever Fox Password Book

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Since storing your passwords digitally leaves them vulnerable to hackers, this password notebook offers a safe, practical solution that keeps track of your login info for up to 440 accounts. Categorized by alphabetical tabs on spiral-bound pages, each entry has a spot to jot down the website, your username, your password, a hint, and even some notes.

A device that scans rooms for hidden cameras

Aroeally Hidden Camera Detector

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If you’ve heard those horror stories about hidden cameras in hotel rooms or vacation rentals, you can bring this hidden camera detector with you on your next trip. It’s designed to suss out potential hidden cameras using signal detection, infrared laser scanning, and magnetic field detection — and it’s made to even work in the dark.

A smart hydration reminder equipped with a daylight sensor

ULLA Smart Hydration Reminder

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Water is beneficial for a ton of reasons, and this hydration reminder will ensure you’ll always be ahead of the game. With the ability to move from bottle to bottle thanks to its silicone strap, this light-up gadget can detect when you drink, and will blink with a reminder after 30 to 40 minutes of inactivity. Equipped with a daylight sensor, it also knows not to blink in a dark room, serving as a great companion for your bedside table.

A before-bed lotion that helps you fall asleep

Dr Teal's Sleep Blend Body Lotion (3-Pack)

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Hydrate your skin while preparing your body and mind for deep, restorative rest. Dr Teal's Sleep Blend is a body lotion with shea and cocoa butter for moisture, but it also has melatonin to encourage sleepiness and a blend of lavender and chamomile essential oils for relaxing aromatherapy. “Smells wonderful and knocks you out!” one reviewer said.

A portable charger keychain so your devices stay powered on the go

RORRY Portable Charger

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“I never have to worry about running out of power on the go,” said one reviewer who has been using this portable power bank “every day” since they got it. It provides a 5000mAh battery in a compact, lightweight key chain, and it can charge up to four devices simultaneously with its wireless charging face, USB-C port, and two retractable cables (one Lightning and one USB-C).

A 3-in-1 timer board that keeps you on task

YOOLANSA 3-in-1 Visual Timer With Planning Board

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Make time management easy with this three-in-one planning board has an average 4.7-star rating for a reason: It’s designed to keep you productive, on task, and on time. The visual timer lets you set countdowns for each task, the digital clock displays the current time, and the white board chart helps you check off chores, goals, and assignments as you finish them.

A fan-blade duster that doubles as a mop

Qaestfy Ceiling Fan Cleaner Duster with Extendable Pole

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These sheet organizer bands keep your bedding neatly folded in your cabinet or linen closet — and they let you see at a glance which size you’re grabbing, so you don’t have to unfold them to check. This set includes four bands made from durable elastic with strong seams and repeating size labels.

A cute, easy way to label all of your wires

Wrap-It Multi-Color Storage Cable Labels (36-Pack)

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Never again unplug the wrong device by accident. These cable labels from Wrap-It come in your choice of several shapes, including speech bubbles, circles, ovals, and rectangles. The exterior features a material that’s easy to write on with a ballpoint pen, while the interior has velcro so you can easily secure them to wires of almost any thickness.

Soothing fidgets that double as aromatherapy diffusers

Lifelines Scent-Infused Grounding Stones (2-Pack)

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Since they double as aromatherapy diffusers, these grounding stones have earned the title of the “best fidget toys for adults,” according to one reviewer. Put a few drops of the included essential oil blend on the stone inside and fidget with one of the six available patterns on the surface. They’re quiet and compact with a wrist lanyard for portability.

Luxe sheets that give your bedding a hotel-worthy upgrade

1500 Supreme Collection Queen Sheet Sets Navy Blue - Luxury Hotel Bed Sheets and Pillowcase Set for Queen Mattress - Extra Soft, Elastic Corner Straps, Deep Pocket Sheets, Queen Navy Blue

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Upgrade your linens with this hotel-worthy bed sheets set. The soft microfiber fabric gives a luxe feel to your bedding, and the set includes one flat sheet, one fitted sheet, and two pillowcases. You can get the sheets in nearly every bed size and dozens of colors to best match your home.

• Available sizes: 13
• Available colors: 42

Silencer cushions that help your doors close quietly

WARMTONE Door Silencer Cushions (3-Pack)

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Wrap these door silencer cushions around your doorknobs to reduce slamming and stop children (or anyone else) from accidentally locking themselves in rooms. The elastic bands are stretchy and compatible with most types of doors, while the linen-like fabric is thick enough for durability, yet thin enough to allow the door to close without noise.

Dry-erase magnetic sticky notes you can reuse

X-bet MAGNET Dry Erase Magnetic Labels 25 pcs 2x4.5 - Reusable Sticky Notes - Magnetic Notepads for Refrigerator - Dry Erase Magnetic Sheets - Blank Magnet Stickers - Used for Whiteboard, Classroom

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Make it easy to write notes, reminders, and shopping lists. These reusable sticky notes have a magnetic backing and a waterproof dry-erase top, so you can stick them to any metal surface (including refrigerators, lockers, whiteboards, and other appliances) and use them over and over again. This pack of 25 includes a magnetic marker with a built-in eraser cap.

A compact pill dispenser with compartments for each tablet

AMOOS Pill Dispenser

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Keep your supplements separate in this compact pill dispenser. The container has seven compartments for different pills, and each one can hold up to 18 large tablets. The dispenser has a handy swivel lid and it comes with labels to help you easily identify your capsules. It’s perfect for traveling or anywhere else you don’t eant to bring seven different pill bottles.

An orthopedic foam pillow designed to reduce stiffness

Emircey Dream Orthopedic Neck Pillow

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“This is the one,” said one reviewer who has “had neck pain and stiffness for decades,” but this orthopedic pillow helped them wake up “with no pain and almost no stiffness.” The memory foam is molded into a butterfly-like shape that supports the neck, cradles the head, and gives you a spot to rest your arms, no matter which position you sleep in.

A tracker set that helps you find lost items fast

Esky Key Finder (6-Pack)

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“This is the one,” said one reviewer who has “had neck pain and stiffness for decades,” but this orthopedic pillow helped them wake up “with no pain and almost no stiffness.” The memory foam is molded into a butterfly-like shape that supports the neck, cradles the head, and gives you a spot to rest your arms, no matter which position you sleep in.

A memory foam headrest that boosts comfort in the car

SPRFUFLY Headrest Pillow

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Made from dense memory foam, this headrest pillow is designed to cradle the curvature of your neck, improving your posture and better supporting your spine while you’re driving. It has an adjustable strap that’s compatible with most cars and a breathable mesh cover that you can remove and toss in the washing machine.

Leak-resistant bottle covers that are a travel must-have

NELSHP Silicone Bottle Covers (8-Pack)

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Prevent leaks on the go with these genius bottle covers. Made from ultra-stretchy silicone, they adapt to the size and shape of most containers, creating a leak-resistant seal over your skin care, makeup, mouthwash, shampoo, conditioner, and other toiletries.

Dishwasher-safe air fryer liners that make cleanup a breeze

Boribim Reusable Square Silicone Air Fryer Liners

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Air fryers are a game-changer in the kitchen, but cleanup is a huge headache. These air fryer liners are made from non-stick, BPA-free, and dishwasher-safe silicone that can withstand temperatures up to 464 degrees Fahrenheit, so they’re reusable and easy to clean. They’re also textured with raised ridges to promote air circulation, so your food still cooks evenly with a crispy finish.

A glove box wallet for your important car documents

LumiMokki Registration & Insurance Card Holder

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If your car’s glove compartment is a bit chaotic, this glovebox wallet holds your most important documents in one place. The interior has clear slots for your registration, insurance, and ID cards, while the exterior is made from vegan leather in your choice of 10 colors and patterns. Plus, it secures shut with a magnetic clasp.

The best weighted eye mask reviewers have ever used

FACEMOON Weighted Eye Mask

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“I'm a side sleeper and highly sensitive to light, and this is hands down the BEST I've ever used,” one reviewer raved about this weighted eye mask. Using a contoured memory foam design with glass beads, it applies gentle pressure for relaxation and blocks out almost all light without pushing on your eyes. The strap is also wide and adjustable to comfortably fit most people.

A “game changer” for sleep, stress & muscle recovery

Pure Magnesium Oil Sleep Spray

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Magnesium is a vital mineral that supports sleep quality, muscle recovery, stress relief, mental health, and nerve function — and roughly half of all Americans are deficient in it. This magnesium oil is a topical solution that absorbs fast through the skin to replenish your body’s levels, and according to reviewers, it’s a “game-changer” for sleep quality, stress, and muscle cramps.

A wearable caddy for transporting everything in a single trip

FifthStart Wearable Cleaning Caddy, A Cleaning Supplies Organizer With 4 Corner Shoulder Strap & Removable Waist Strap. Professional Cleaning Caddy Organizer With Handle: (Blue Check, Large)

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This wearable caddy has earned an average 4.6-star rating after 3,000+ reviews because it’s durable, versatile, and so convenient when it comes to transporting everything you need in one trip. It has multiple compartments and pockets that you can use for tools, cleaning supplies, baby essentials, or gardening items, plus a padded shoulder strap for comfortable wear.

An extendable duster that gets into all the crevices of your home

AURUZA Retractable Gap Dust Cleaner

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This retractable duster can reach both high and low to clean all the tiny, missed areas of your home. Using the included microfiber pads (wet or dry), you can slide next to cabinets, into window sills, and under furniture to get your house extra clean. The pole extends to 61 inches to reduce pressure on your knees or back as you clean, and the pads are washable and reusable.

Zipper clips that keep your bag (or your dog’s crate) closed

OXT Anti-Theft Zipper Clips

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These zipper clips make it significantly harder for pickpockets to open your bag while you’re on the move — but I also use them as carabiner clips for keychains and to keep my escape-artist dog from nuzzling out of his crate with his nose. They’re made from zinc with dual steel springs on either side, and this set includes three black and three silver.

A back-of-the-door organizer for blankets, pillows & stuffed toys

Honeyera Stuffed Animal Storage

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Get stuffed animals, blankets, and other things off the floor while displaying them with this toy organizer that’s woven from fabric and hands over the back of a door. It has four roomy pockets and can be put in place in 30 seconds.

A spinning ring for quiet, discreet fidgeting

OreilleStar Anxiety Ring for Women Spinner Ring Stainless Steel Fidget Ring Fidget Toys Adults Spinner Rings Fidgit Ring Men Silver Size 8

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Designed for adults who need a quiet, discreet way to feel calmer, this fidget ring will also help boost your focus. It’s made from stainless steel and boasts a 4.5-star overall rating on Amazon after more than 2,000 reviews.

Hangers that hold bras, tank tops, belts & more

Resovo Bra Hanger

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Create more closet space with these bra and tank top hangers. Each one has 20 swiveling hooks that are made from sturdy metal to hold virtually anything with a strap — or you can use them for belts, scarves, ties, and other accessories.

Self-heating eye masks that smell like soothing lavender

BeHoomi Self-Heating Steam Eye Masks (10-Pack)

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As soon as you open one of these steam eye masks, they self-heat to temperatures up to 114 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 minutes. The warmth aims to replenish moisture, soothe tired eyes, and boost relaxation — especially since the cotton fabric is infused with a lavender scent to minimize stress.

Backseat organizers with tablet sleeves

ULEEKA Car Backseat Organizer (2-Pack)

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“These things hold so much stuff!” raved one reviewer who listed all the things the backseat organizer housed, including: “a snack bag, a round container of tissues, medical grade vomit bags [...], a few packets of individual Wet Wipes, sun glasses, an umbrella, umbrella storage bag for after they are wet, and a bag of small toys for boring rides.” In addition to the pocket storage, there’s also a sleeve for tablet viewing. You get two organizers in a budget-friendly pack.

Heavy-duty picture hangers that leave no damage behind

LZC Claw Drywall Picture Hanger (20-Pack)

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Made from hardened steel with a locking design, these heavy-duty wall hangers can each support up to 40 pounds (20 come in this set) of pictures, artwork, or mirrors. And best yet, upon removal, they leave behind a hole that’s pin-sized so you don’t have to do any patching.

A cotton rope basket that hides clutter in plain sight

INDRESSME Large Storage Basket

Turn your household clutter into decor that actually elevates your space. This giant storage basket looks so chic with its two-tone design and cotton rope construction, and it’s big enough to fit blankets, pillows, toys, clothing, and more. It also has two handles for portability and folds flat when it’s not in use.

Labeled bands that keep your sheets organized

Siaomo Bed Sheet Organizer Bands (4-Pack)

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These sheet organizer bands keep your bedding neatly folded in your cabinet or linen closet — and they let you see at a glance which size you’re grabbing, so you don’t have to unfold them to check. This set includes four stretch-to-fit bands made with strong seams and repeating size labels.

A desktop water bottle dispenser that works automatically

Keweis Desktop Water Bottle Dispenser

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Refill your water bottle without even leaving your workspace, thanks to this desktop dispenser. It’s compatible with almost any-sized water bottle, and it can be set to seven levels to dispense the correct amount automatically.

A cordless keyhole light with motion sensors

Deeirao Keyhole Light

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Stick this keyhole light above your lock using the included double-sided adhesive, and its motion-sensing LEDs will light up as you approach, so you can easily unlock your door in the dark. It’s powered with AA batteries (not included) for cord-free use, and one reviewer said that it’s “easy to apply and works like a charm [...] No more scratches all over my door trying to fit the key in the lock.”

A space-saving organizer for tumbler lids

ELYPRO Tumbler Lid Organizer

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Reusable bottles and tumblers can create a messy pile of lids in your cabinet. This lid organizer holds up to 10 lids from most popular brands in a compact, space-savvy tower. It’s made from durable steel with a secure base, and one reviewer said, “I normally don’t do reviews but this is a product I didn’t even know I needed.”

Light-blocking stickers that reduce LED brightness

FLANCCI Light Blocking Stickers, Light Dimming Filters, (2 Sheets) Dimming Sheets for Blackout Routers, LED Covers Blackout, Dimming 80% ~ 100% of LED Lights (2Sheets = 1 Cut Out + 1 Uncut)

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Your house is probably filled with tech devices that all have those little LED lights that let you know they’re on or charging. If all that light noise is irritating you, these light-blocking stickers can help. They come in precut as well as customizable sheets, and they’re designed to reduce the light brightness by 80% to 100%, and you can even double the stickers up if a light is particularly vivid.

A seat cushion that boosts comfort & support while you drive

ComfiLife Car Seat Cushion

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Made from medium-density memory foam, this seat cushion is designed to boost comfort and support while you drive. Its tapered triangle shape elevates your hips for better posture, while its coccyx cutout aligns your spine to reduce back pain. The cover is also removable, and the adjustable strap fits most vehicles (or office chairs).

A rechargeable spin brush that does the scrubbing for you

Dovety Electric Spin Scrubber Brush

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Thoroughly scrub every inch of your home without the elbow grease — and without having to bend down. This electric spin brush is rechargeable with a powerful motor and eight interchangeable brushes and scrub pads for all types of jobs, including floors, appliances, shower walls, tubs, grills, sinks, windows, corners, and more. It also has two adjustable speeds and an extendable handle.

Versatile storage cases with a hard, protective exterior

3 Pack Clear Hard Shell Zipper Case

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Whether you use them for office supplies, electronic cords, makeup, or something else, these storage cases will come in handy. The versatile pick features a clear, hard exterior to protect the contents inside (this makes them stackable, too) and a strong zippered closure.

A silicone sink mat for extra counter space in your bathroom

Sink Topper Foldable Sink Cover

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Give yourself instant extra counter space with this silicone sink cover. It’s heat resistant, so it’s perfect for resting your hot hair tools, and it’s made to fit most sinks. The cover can support up to 7 pounds, and when you’re done using it, just fold the mat up to store it.

A handled cleaning brush you’ll reach for constantly

Koksi Cleaning Brush

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According to some reviewers, you don’t realize how often you’ll reach for this cleaning brush until you have it. With a comfortable handle, it’ll help you thoroughly scrub grout, tile, porcelain, and more. It has a hole for hanging and is made to last through countless cleaning sessions.

Elastic straps that keep your bed sheets in place

5 STARS UNITED Bed Sheet Straps (4-Pack)

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It’s so frustrating when your sheets keep popping off the bed in the middle of the night, but thankfully these sheet straps can fix the issue. The four-pack can tack down a whole mattress, and the straps are adjustable from 6 to 25 inches to accommodate twin beds up to California king mattresses.

• Available colors: 2

Dried eucalyptus stems for a maintenance-free natural touch

Oning Dried Eucalyptus Stems

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Since they’re cut from genuine eucalyptus trees, these dried stems have a fresh scent and a soft green color for a maintenance-free natural touch that lasts for up to two years. Some reviewers arrange them in vases, while others form them into wreaths for a welcoming entryway or hang them in their showers for a spa-like atmosphere.

Silicone drain covers that catch hair before it clogs your shower

Bovinde Drain Hair Catcher (2-Pack)

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Prevent shower clogs with these suction-cup hair catchers. The devices are made from silicone and gather hair while still allowing water to drain through. To clean, you can just wipe the collected hair off. The large size can accommodate most shower and tub drains as long as the surface is flat enough for the suction cups to stick.

A car scratch eraser kit that works alongside your electric drill

Meguiar's Quik Scratch Eraser Kit (4 Pieces)

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Attach the included pad to any standard electric drill and squeeze some ScratchX blemish eraser onto the pad before buffing out the damage and polishing the area with the included microfiber towel. The drill does the hard work so you don’t have to, removing light scratches, scuff marks, and paint transfers to help your car look like new again — and the kit is safe to use on most glossy and clear paints.

Sensory stickers you can put just about anywhere

Gersoniel Anxiety Sensory Stickers (18-Pack)

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Arrange these sensory stickers however you want on your desk, phone, laptop, or gaming controllers. They come in ombre-colored hexagon shapes for a honeycomb-like design, and they have a rough texture for a tactile feel that aims to ease anxiety, stop you from picking at your skin, and give you a portable way to fidget.

A compact toiletry bag that’s built to be hung up

PAVILIA Travel Hanging Toiletry Bag

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When you’re on the go, this toiletry bag zips and clips into a compact pouch, which fits easily in a backpack or suitcase. When you arrive at your destination, however, the hook clips over a doorknob or towel bar while the accordion-style pockets hang downward, giving you access to various compartments that hold your grooming accessories.

A mold remover gel that couldn’t be easier to use

Sugelary Mold Remover Gel

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Tackle moldy spots (like in your shower, around your sinks, on window frames, etc.) with this mold remover gel that works without any scrubbing. Simply squeeze it in place, then five to eight hours later, wipe it all away to reveal pristine results.

A simple yet effective door bar to keep out intruders

DIIG Sliding Door Security Bar

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Simple by design — yet highly effective — this door bar creates an extra level of safety for your home. Position it in a sliding door or window (and adjust the tension as needed) and it’ll make them practically impossible to open.

An in-drain hair catcher that’s easy to clean

TubShroom Revolutionary Hair Catcher

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Keep your hair from clogging your shower drain with the nifty TubShroom. The silicone devices goes inside the drain to stop hair in its tracks, while still allowing water to flow. When you need to clean it, you can just take the catcher out, remove the hair, and pop it back in. It’s designed to fit standard tub drains.

A shark plush that’s bigger than IKEA’s

Ryttir XXL Stress-Relief Shark Stuffed Animal

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Designed to mimic the viral shark plush from IKEA, this giant shark pillow comes in three color options and five sizes. It’s filled with dense cotton and covered in soft velvet for soothing support — and other than its much larger size, it’s “impossible to tell the difference from this and the actual IKEA shark,” according to one reviewer.

A pants hanger that’s “such a smart storage solution”

Volnamal Legging Organizers (2-Pack)

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“Completely transformed my limited closet space,” said one reviewer who called these leggings hangers “efficient, compact, and such a smart storage solution.” The rubber-coated metal clips securely grasp up to 10 pairs of pants (or skirts), while the curved shape creates a cascading effect so you can see all your items at a glance.

Adhesive Velcro straps that organize all your wires

Wrap-It Storage Cable Clamps (24-Pack)

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Stick these cable wraps to your devices and appliances using the adhesive strip and secure the wire in place with the hook-and-loop strap. They’ll help you minimize cord clutter on your countertops, redirect wires behind furniture, and ensure that your chargers are always within reach. This set includes 24 wraps, which you can cut to size as needed.

A felt pocket organizer for your tote

OPPOSHE Purse Organizer Insert

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Easily organize your purse with this felt insert. It has 14 compartments to stash everything from your phone and sunglasses to your wallet, pens, and more. It even has a zipper pocket and key leash for extra security. The insert is designed for all kinds of tote-style bags like those from Goyard, Longchamp, Kate Spade, and more.

A silicone stove cover that boosts safety & space

YUHFERA Stovetop Cover

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Compatible with most flat glass cooktops, this stove cover is made from heat-resistant silicone that can handle temperatures up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Its raised edges and textured surface let you use it as giant trivet or a dish-drying mat to expand your usable countertop space. You can also use it to protect kids and pets from hot burners.

Shoe-cleaning sponges that work “like magic”

SneakERASERS Instant Sole and Sneaker Cleaner (10-Pack)

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“These are amazingly effective and work like magic,” said one reviewer who raved that these shoe-cleaning sponges made their sneakers look “almost brand new.” Infused with a cleaning solution that activates with water, the white side disintegrates alongside dirt, scuffs, and smudges, while the orange side polishes the sole to a spotless finish.

An easy kit that fixes small holes fast

3M Small Hole Repair Goop (2-Pack)

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Forget messy joint compound and difficult taping knives. This hole repair formula uses high-strength primer-enhanced spackle that dries fast and resists shrinking, cracking, or sagging, so you can fix small holes three times faster. The bottle also has a tapered putty knife on the end and the cap has a built-in sanding pad, so you have all the tools you need on hand.

A tiered organizer that adds storage to existing wire shelves

Jsskeeim Foldable Laundry Basket

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Designed to attach to existing wire shelving or racks, this three-tier organizer ups the storage potential of these spaces. The organizer hangs with hooks, and once in place, it’s durable enough to hold a good amount of weight, like bulky derergent containers.

A memory foam pillow for body support as you sleep

vamorry Lumbar Support Pillow

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This supportive pillow is filled with high-density memory foam for all-night comfort. Position it under your back, in between your legs, and in other areas for support and to get your body properly aligned. The pillow’s cover is removable for washing.

Hydrating eye masks that help you look refreshed

Dermora 24K Gold Eye Mask Puffy Eyes and Dark Circles Treatments (15-Pack)

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These gel eye masks are designed to make it look like you got a full night of rest — even if you didn’t. Formulated with plant extracts and hydrating ingredients, the patches are made to de-puff eyes and reduce dark circles. There are 15 pairs in the pack, and they’re perfect for traveling or late nights to help you feel refreshed.

An acupressure mat & pillow designed to relieve muscle tension

ProsourceFit Acupressure Mat & Pillow Set

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This acupressure mat comes with a head pillow, and they are filled with plastic spikes designed to relieve muscle tension, back pain, and even headaches. There are nearly 9,000 acupressure points available, but they don’t puncture your skin — they just apply pressure to help with relaxation. You can even use the tool on your feet.

Squeezable pocket cases to keep small items secure

GMS Squeezable Pocket Pill Case (2-Pack)

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Give these pocket cases a squeeze to open them up, then let go to secure them closed — it’s very simple to do. The small cases are ideal for pills/supplements, jewelry pieces, or other small items that you need to keep track of.

A swiveling electric racket that instantly zaps bugs

GeckoMan Electric Fly Swatter

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Tiny but mighty, this rechargeable bug zapper turns pest control into instant satisfaction. The handheld racket packs 3,500 volts of power to zap mosquitoes, flies, and gnats instantly. What sets it apart from similar products is the swiveling racket head, which allows you to vanquish flies from any angle.

A long garbage disposal brush to eliminate caked-on debris

Mr. Scrappy Universal Garbage Disposal Brush

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The garbage disposal brush is a whopping 11 inches long, allowing it to reach deep into a garbage disposal (it has a universal design) to clean out caked-on food, debris, and other gross stuff that’s likely hidden in there. The bristles are stiff for a thorough scrub down. It’s dishwasher safe, too.

Bedsheet organizers to get your linen closet in check

SpaceAid Bed Sheet Organizers (4-Pack)

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Get your linen closet in order: Each of these bedsheet organizers can corral an entire sheet set (including pillowcases, the flat and fitted sheet, and even the duvet cover) to keep it contained. Then, you can stack the organizers or position them side-by-side — whatever makes the most sense for your setup.

Food block makers to freeze soups, leftovers & more

YouCopia FreezeUp Freezer Food Block (2-Pack)

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Each of these food block makers holds a quart-sized plastic storage bag — fill it with soups, broth, smoothies, leftovers, or whatever else, then stick it in the freezer to make uniform blocks of food. They’ll stack much better this way to save space.

A heat-resistant stove shelf to keep spices in reach

Linda's Essentials Over the Stove Shelf

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Utilize the top of your stove for storage with this magnetic shelf; it’s ideal for often-used items like spices, oils, cooking spray, and more. The shelf features various compartments to organize everything, and it’s made from heat-resistant silicone that won’t warp or melt.

A shower & tub cleaner that works without any scrubbing

Wet & Forget Shower Cleaner Spray

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Apply this cleaner spray to your shower or bathtub using the attached sprayer, let it sit for eight to 12 hours, then rinse it off with warm water. It’s designed to remove soap scum, stains, and grime without any scrubbing.

A customizable kitchen sink caddy with drainage

Cisily Sink Caddy

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Organize all of your dishwashing essentials (like a sponge, cleaning brush, soap, and more) by your kitchen sink using this sleek caddy. It boasts adjustable compartments to accommodate everything, and the base is sloped, allowing water to flow right back into the sink.

A window insulation kit to keep out chilly drafts

Duck Max Strength Window Insulation Kit (4-Pack)

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Keep out chilly temps all winter long, thanks to this insulation kit. It’s designed to create an airtight seal on windows — simply stick it on, cut it to size (with scissors), and use a blow dryer to create this effect. Four come in the set.

Self-closing toothpaste caps so you don’t have to remember

Tilcare Self-Closing Toothpaste Caps (6-Pack)

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Don’t forget to close your toothpaste tube: These silicone self-closing caps do it for you. Each one has an X-shaped opening that allows toothpaste to come through, then it closes on its own afterward. Six come in the set, making each one just over a dollar.

A powerful heated steam cleaner that’s surprisingly versatile

Handheld Steam Cleaner with Safety Lock, 500mL Large Tank & 19PCS Accessories - Multi-Surface Deep Cleaning for Kitchen, Bathroom, Car, Sofa - Removes Stubborn Grime, Sanitizes Surfaces (White)

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This steam cleaner will come in handy all over your house — use it to thoroughly clean kitchen grease, bathroom grime, dirty grout, car interiors, and much more. The tool puts out a powerful, heated steam stream, lasting up to 15 minutes.

I remember the exact moment that The Handmaid’s Tale lost me.

In Season 2, June (Elisabeth Moss) works tirelessly to get herself and her newborn daughter out of the repressive religious dystopia known as Gilead. It takes a lot of trials and some truly shocking scenes to get there, but in the finale, it seemed like everything was finally going to come together: June had arranged safe passage to Canada and even managed to include her friend Emily (Alexis Bledel).

But in the final moments, June realizes she can’t leave her older daughter, Hannah, in Gilead, so she hands over the baby and lets Emily escape without her. It’s in that moment that I realized this series would continue to put June through hell until it ended. Luckily, it did, and another series took its place: The Testaments, a sequel series following Hannah (Chase Infiniti), now known as Agnes, as she comes of age in Gilead and becomes a wife. As the show began, I was so worried it would become yet another gauntlet of terrors — but The Testaments didn’t just shift the perspective, it made me look at the entire franchise differently.

I’m not alone in my realizations about The Handmaid’s Tale. Across six seasons and eight years, critics have reported suffering anxiety attacks and admitted to fast-forwarding through scenes, and I was among them — I had to stop covering Season 4 because watching the show was simply too mentally exhausting.

But The Testaments eschewed all of this by showing something completely different: girlhood joy. The Plums — Agnes, Becka, Shunammite, and Hulda — are perfectly content in their lives, waiting for their periods to start so they can become Greens, eligible for marriage. On the surface, there’s almost a Bridgerton-like quality to it of women trying to stay happy in a regimented, opulent social structure.

There’s still rebellion, though. “Pearl Girl” Daisy (Lucy Halliday) presents herself as a convert found on the streets of Toronto, but she’s actually a Mayday spy planted by June. She can’t make any big moves, so her main mission is to make friends and observe movements of higher-ups.

The issues the Plums face aren’t the outright torture (not an exaggeration) that June and the other handmaids had to go through. Instead, they deal with issues that are completely normal for girls their age, just in a much more restrictive environment. Agnes is plagued by a crush and suspects an older man may have assaulted her. Becka isn’t sure if she wants to get married at all. Shunammite is frustrated that she’s not a Green yet, like the rest of her friends. It’s impossible not to empathize with them — even the prequel episode, “Stadium,” made me feel for Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), a well-meaning teacher just trying to make the best of a fascist uprising.

At its core, The Handmaid’s Tale was the story of an unhappy woman trying to escape Gilead over and over. But she was doomed by the narrative: if she escaped, the show would have to end. So instead, the story found a way to keep her in her personal hell, over and over again.

The Testaments fixes this with one simple change: Agnes isn’t unhappy in her life. Instead, her story is one of a young woman realizing she is cut out for more than just life in Gilead. She’s the daughter of June Osbourne and thus destined for greatness, but first she has to accept that keeping sweet and smiling through ceremonies and prayers isn’t the path to fulfillment.

With that in mind, I no longer look at The Handmaid’s Tale as a show full of gratuitous assaults against women airing at a time when women’s rights were incredibly at risk. Now, I see it as a prologue for the story of the next generation, those who don’t remember a time before Gilead but fight against it because they deserve better; inventing hope from first principles.

Now that The Testaments is renewed for Season 2, I’m considering rewatching The Handmaid’s Tale once again. I’m still going to fast forward through all those scenes — there’s a moment with a fingernail in Season 2 that to this day pops up in my nightmares — but I think June’s story will carry a new weight knowing that even without any instruction or context, her daughter will still refuse to let the bastards grind her down.

The Testaments Season 1 is now streaming on Hulu.

With a shocking and heartbreaking ending that nobody could have seen coming, For All Mankind has once again moved into the future. But, this time, after the finale of Season 5, the next season will be the concluding season for the entire series.

But what does that mean? Is the series as we know it going to fundamentally change with Season 6? Will Season 6 span more than just the alternate version of the year 2020? With the discovery of alien life, even in microscopic form, on Titan, will For All Mankind Season 6 be full of space aliens?

Here’s what we know, so far, about For All Mankind Season 6, with a few hints from showrunners Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi.

For All Mankind Season 5 spoilers ahead.

For All Mankind Season 6 Release Date

Currently, Season 6 is seemingly in pre-production. This could mean the show releases its final season sometime in 2027, but 2028 is possible, too. Apple TV has not confirmed any release window, only that Season 6 is happening, and that it will be the end of the series.

For All Mankind Season 6 Timeline

Starting in 1969, For All Mankind has taken us through roughly five decades of alternate history. And, with the ending of Season 5, with the 2020 song “Blinding Lights” by the Weeknd, we see that the year is now 2020. This means that the time jump from the end of Season 5 to this teaser is eight years, indicating that For All Mankind Season 6 will take place in 2020, and perhaps beyond.

Will there be the 2020 lockdowns in this timeline? “I think the idea of alternate history is we don't have to revisit the horrors of our actual history,” Nedivi tells Inverse. “So I'm hoping we'll avoid that, but we'll see. We'll see what the For All Mankind version of that is.”

Wolpert also pointed out that although the flash-forward at the end of Season 5 takes us to 2020, it doesn’t mean that the entire season will only stay in 2020. “There's a big span in the 2020s of what that means and where the show will exist,” Wolpert tells Inverse. “Ours is a show that jumps in time often and frequently, and it's driven by the story, but it really captures this concept of what world could we be living in now if things had been a little different. And we do that by catching up with the present in some way.”

For All Mankind Season 6 Plot

Very little is known about the actual storyline in For All Mankind Season 6, but one thing is for certain: the discovery of alien life on Titan will have a major impact on the show’s final season. This will not be something that is introduced and then forgotten; the game-changing moments in the last few episodes of Season 5 will very much set up Season 6.

“Season 6 definitely builds on the discovery that was made on Titan in a big way and is the thrust of that final season,” Wolpert says. “Gene Kranz lays this out in Episode 1 [in Season 1] of the show about what's possible with space travel and what's possible if you don't give up. And so it will go in places that I don't think people will expect.”

Wolpert also pointed out that the reappearance of the Mars 94 craft (from Season 3) at the end of Season 5 will be a “mystery” that will “all loop together in unexpected ways in Season 6.”

For All Mankind Season 6 Cast

Like most seasons of For All Mankind, several new characters are certainly expected to appear. But Season 6 will almost certainly be the first season in which no Season 1 characters will appear in major roles, outside of flashbacks. You never know who the show might bring back, but a good bet is that most of the cast will be folks we know about already, or new characters. Here’s the confirmed cast for Season 6, so far.

• Mireille Enos as Boyd. Check out our interview with her here, teasing Boyd’s future role in Season 6.
• Coral Peña as Aleida. Her character has been around since Season 1, when she was a child. Aleida is a huge part of the show’s arc. Peña has often talked about Aleida’s journey into the future.
• Sean Kaufman as Alex Baldwin. The last living Baldwin! Kaufman is carrying the torch forward from this point onward.
• Costa Ronin as Leonid Polivanov. He’s not the governor of Mars anymore, but Ronin has said he will be back.
• Ruby Cruz as Lily Dale. She’s not been confirmed, but it would be strange if Lily wasn’t in Season 6, considering her crucial role in Season 5.
• Ines Asserson as Avery Stevens. The granddaughter of Gordo and Tracy Stevens, and daughter of Danny Stevens, the final shots of Season 5 found Avery reclaiming her family name and visiting the place where her father was exiled on Mars. Avery was the secret weapon of Season 5. She’s surely back for Season 6.
• Edi Gathegi as Dev Ayesa. He’s still the tech mogul of Helios and the man behind the growth of Mars. Imagining Season 6 without Dev is impossible.

Beyond these outright confirmations or very likely returns, we don’t know who else will join the cast of For All Mankind Season 6. And, because this is the final season, we also don’t know if anyone from the past is joining in a surprising way.

For All Mankind streams on Apple TV.

Just because a home looks expensive doesn’t mean it cost a lot of money. In fact, some of the most impressive home products are surprisingly affordable — and right on Amazon. When these finds are backed by sky-high ratings, you know shoppers found them well worth the buy. From aesthetic storage solutions to easy DIY upgrades, the picks below are inching their way to perfect five-star ratings, and look expensive while keeping your wallet happy.

Sleek stick-on toothbrush holders with 4.6 stars

PARKMANI Wall Mounted Toothbrush Holder (2-Pack)

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Leaving your toothbrushes sitting out on a bathroom countertop is an easy way to wind up with dust or dirt on the bristles. Instead, store them inside of these holders. They keep the bristles covered when not in use, and can easily be mounted onto your bathroom wall using adhesive (which comes included). “They stuck to the wall and didn't fall off,” wrote one reviewer. “Tooth brushes fit great.”

This rolling drawer that makes fridge storage better

YouCopia Roll-Out Fridge Caddy

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Digging all the way into the back of your fridge to grab that one thing can be a real pain. Enter: this drawer. The soft-spinning allow it to effortlessly glide forward, making it easy to grab any items stashed in the back of your fridge with a simple pull. Each order also includes dividers to help keep everything inside of it organized.

Rechargeable picture lights with an elegant effect

EZVALO Magnetic Picture Lights (3-Pack)

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There’s no hardwiring required when installing these picture lights. Each one is powered by a battery that delivers up to 13 hours of light before it needs to be recharged — and you can even switch them between 12 different colors when setting the mood. The best part? You’ll also receive a remote so that you can adjust their settings without getting up from the couch.

A ceramic catchall tray with a personalized initial

COLLECTIVE HOME Jewelry Tray

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Jewelry, bobby pins, loose change — this cute tray is great for holding all those little items that tend to get scattered across your dresser. The sleek ceramic frame makes it seem way more expensive than it is. Plus, the monogrammed letter embossed into the top is a fun personalized touch.

Reviewer-favorite food baggie storage

mHomeBilt Plastic Baggie Storage & Dispenser

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There are more than a few reasons why reviewers are head-over-heels for this organizer. It’s designed to hold sandwich-, quart-, snack-, as well as gallon-sized bags — and you can arrange the compartments inside of your drawers however you like. One reviewer even described it as “a practical and attractive organizer that reduces drawer clutter and improves bag storage.”

A modern bath mat made of ultra-absorbent stone

Veeloim Stone Bath Mat

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Don’t track wet footprints all over your home after getting out of the shower. Instead, let this bath mat dry your feet off. It dries quickly when wet, making it less likely to develop mildew over time — and the nonslip underside works to keep it from shifting around on smooth floors.

A highly rated candle warmer lamp with a small price

Innqoo Candle Warmer Lamp

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Burning a candle in your home always carries at least some risk, making this 4.6-star rated warming lamp a smart buy. The bulb gets hot enough to melt candle wax, allowing you to enjoy scented candles without flame — and you can adjust the height to fit candles up to 6 inches tall. One reviewer wrote, “It melts the wax evenly and releases fragrance quickly without any smoke or soot, which makes the whole space feel cleaner and more comfortable.”

Gallery wall picture frames with a 4.7-star rating

Vittanly Gallery Frame Set (15-Pack)

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Got a blank wall in your home that you don’t know how to decorate? Consider using these picture frames to create a stunning gallery accent wall. Their scratch-resistant finish helps keep them looking good over time — and the plexiglass faces are completely shatterproof.

Chic outdoor stair lights with low-maintenance solar power

NIORSUN Solar Step Lights (6-Pack)

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Dark outdoor stairways can be a recipe for trips and falls. Luckily, these lights are an easy fix. Each one is powered by a built-in solar panel that keeps them lit for up to 10 hours at night — and installation is as easy as simply placing them on either side of your steps. Plus, the waterproof design helps keep them in good working order come rain or shine.

Genius holders to keep bed sheets tidy

SpaceAid Bed Sheet Organizers (4-Pack)

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Stacked bed sheets can take up a ton of closet shelf space, making these organizers a smart buy. They compress your sheets down into a tidy little square to help save space — and a window on the side lets you see what color the sheets inside are. There’s also a label sleeve where you can jot down the size.

A bathroom-elevating bidet that’s easy to install

Shineforu Bidet Toilet Seat Attachment

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Make your bathroom experience so much cleaner by adding this bidet to your toilet. Installation is easy enough that many reviewers were able to get the job done in just 10 minutes or less — and while affordable, don’t be fooled. It still comes with a variety of high-end features, including adjustable water pressure, front/rear wash, retractable spray nozzles, and more.

Breathable bed sheets with over 320,000 5-star reviews

CGK Unlimited Cooling Bed Sheets Set

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Hot sleepers are sure to appreciate these bed sheets. They’re made from breathable microfiber that’s silky-soft to the touch — and the fitted sheet even features an extra-deep pocket that can accommodate mattresses up to 16 inches tall. “They feel soft and comfortable right out of the package and make the bed feel so much more cozy,” raved one reviewer. “I’ve washed them multiple times and they still feel great with no fading or pilling.”

Wood grain border to accent mirrors & frames

DESOMINOR Wood Grain Border Peel-&-Stick

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If your mirror or picture frames are looking a little outdated, consider giving them a cheap refresh using this border. The adhesive backing lets you press it right into place the same way you would with a giant sticker — and the faux wood finish makes it look way more expensive than it costs.

A bold washable area rug that won’t break the bank

FXRHLP Modern Area Rug

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Not only is this area rug resistant to stains, but if it ever gets too dirty to ignore, you can simply toss it into the washing machine for an easy clean. The low pile is unlikely to snag on doors, making it great for any room in your home. Plus, the nonslip backing means you won’t have to worry about it shifting around on smooth floors.

Rolling storage bins that slide under your bed

Yecaye Under Bed Storage (2-Pack)

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I’m a huge fan when it comes to these storage bins — and not just because their castor wheels make it so easy to pull them out whenever you need something. Their low profile allows them to fit underneath most beds, while the transparent tops let you see what’s inside without having to unpack anything. “These are awesome,” raved one reviewer. “You can pretty much put anything you would like in these.”

The motion-sensor closet light called a “game changer”

WhitePoplar Motion Sensor Closet Light

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If your closet doesn’t already have a ceiling light, consider installing this one. It doesn’t require any complicated hardwiring, as it’s powered by a battery that delivers hours of light before it needs to be recharged. The best part? Multiple reviewers even described it as a “game changer,” with one raving about how they’ve “had it for months and I still haven’t had to charge it!”

A glass electric kettle with almost 38,000 5-star ratings

Cosori Electric Kettle

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You’ll be glad you grabbed this electric kettle the next time you’re in a busy morning rush. It can boil water faster than a stovetop, making it great for whipping up coffee, tea, oatmeal, and more within just a few short minutes. Plus, the automatic shut-off helps keep you safe in the event you forget to turn it off manually.

Foldable shoe organizer cubes for neat storage

NestOrganix Shoe Organizer Cube (2-Pack)

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Unlike bulky shoe racks, these cubes take up minimal floor space, making them great for cramped closets, entryways, and more. Each one can hold up to 24 pairs of shoes depending on their size. And if you ever decide you no longer need them? They can also be folded down flat for easy storage.

Stylish, absorbent stone trays ideal for sinktops

Lyxel Water Absorbing Stone Tray (3-Pack)

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Tired of wiping up water rings caused by the bottles sitting on your sink? Then these stone trays are worth a look. They’re made from absorbent diatomite that soaks up moisture, helping keep everything looking clean so that you aren’t stuck having to constantly wipe your sink down. Plus, nonslip feet on the bottom work to keep them from shifting around.

This headphone holder with over 24,000 perfect reviews

EURPMASK Headphone Holder Clamp

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Leaving headphones sitting out on your desk is an easy way to accidentally swipe them onto the ground. Luckily, this holder is a quick fix. It mounts onto your desk using the built-in clamp, holding your headphones underneath so that they’re safely out of harm’s way. “Definitely worth it if you want to keep your desk clutter-free and protect your headset,” raved one reviewer.

Versatile cabinet turntables with a 4.9-star rating

LAMU Lazy Susan Turntable (3-Pack)

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Opening up space inside of crowded cabinets is a total breeze when you have these lazy Susan turntables. A gentle spin is all it takes in order to bring any items sitting in the back around to the front — and they work just as well in cabinet as they do refrigerators. Plus, the lip running around the edge works to keep items from falling off.

Decorative door hinge toppers that magnetize on

WallerTree Sparrow Hinge Heads (3-Pack)

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You won’t need any tools when installing these door hinge toppers, as each sparrow features a magnet embedded in its base that keeps it firmly in place. But if that isn’t enough to convince you that they’re worth a look? Their antique brass finish also makes them look way more expensive than $15.

A 4.7-star rated mat for your washer or dryer

SEIRI Washer & Dryer Protective Mat

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Place this mat on top of your washer or dryer, and the silicone material will help absorb shock, making it less likely that your soap bottles and other laundry materials will get jostled around during a cleaning cycle. “It protects my dryer from scratches, spills, and everyday wear, and I love that it’s super easy to wipe clean,” raved one reviewer.

A genius motion-sensor light for your deadbolt

Deeirao Motion Detector Keyhole Light

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Don’t fumble around trying to fit your key into your door’s deadbolt at night. Instead, grab this light. The built-in motion sensor automatically turns it on when your hand is nearby — and it only needs one AA battery (which is not included) in order to produce hours of light. Each order also includes adhesive for easy mounting.

Silky pillowcases with almost 44,000 perfect ratings

BEDELITE Satin Pillowcase (2-Pack)

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Cotton pillowcases can create friction against hair and skin, resulting in face lines and frizz. The solution? Try swapping them out with these satin pillowcases. Their silky-smooth texture produces minimal friction, while giving your bed-scape a luxurious look. Envelope closures work to keep pillows from sliding out.

The stylish mat that levels up your coffee area

AMOAMI Coffee Mat

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No coffee corner is complete without this mat. It’s made from absorbent diatomite that soaks up drips, drying within just a few short moments to help keep your counters looking clean. The nonslip underside works to keep it firmly in place on smooth counters — and the faux marble pattern is an undeniably stylish touch.

Sleek containers that upgrade egg storage

Utopia Home Egg Container With Lid (2-Pack)

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Ditch that crummy cardboard box your eggs likely came in and upgrade to these sturdy containers. They’re made from tough plastic, with lids on the top that work to help keep your eggs safe from dirt as well as damage. Plus, handles on either side make them easy to carry.

Stick-on remote control holders with 4.7 stars

AMAZYC-US Magnetic Remote Control Holders (6-Pack)

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If you’re always misplacing your remotes, consider taking a look at these holders. The bases feature adhesive backings that let you mount them onto coffee tables, night stands, or even the back of your television set. Once mounted, simply stick the corresponding magnet to your remote, and you’ll instantly be able to attach it to the holder for safekeeping.

This luxe shower curtain that doesn’t require hooks

LXBNI No Hook Shower Curtain

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Unlike some shower curtains, this one features snap-in grommets that can be looped onto your shower curtain rod, eliminating the need for extra hooks. A mesh panel on the top lets air circulate through to help it dry quickly when wet — and each order includes a waterproof liner as an added bonus.

Peel-&-stick wallpaper for maximalist flair

Erfoni Decorative Peel-&-Stick Wallpaper

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I’m a huge fan when it comes to this wallpaper — and not just because the adhesive backing makes installation a total breeze. It’s made from durable vinyl that’s waterproof as well as oilproof, which means you can wipe it down with a damp rag if it ever gets dirty. “The beautiful black and gold pattern is gorgeous [...] a chic and luxurious look,” wrote one reviewer.

An over-the-door organizer that maximizes storage

JARLINK Over The Door Organizer

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Cleaning supplies, toiletries, books — this organizer has room for all sorts of items. Two hooks on the top let you hang it over any standard-sized door, and they’re strong enough that they can easily support up to 44 pounds. Plus, a mesh window on each shelf lets you see what’s inside without having to unpack anything.

A plush cover to help protect furniture from pets

Tiwwie Pet Couch Cover

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Anyone who enjoys having their pet sit with them on their couch is sure to appreciate this cover. It’s just as soft as it is stylish, with a nonslip underside that works to keep it from shifting off your couch when you’re seated on it. And once it’s too dirty to ignore? Simply toss it into the wash for an easy clean.

Bougie shower shelves that don’t require tools to install

Veken Adhesive Shower Caddy Set (6-Pack)

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There’s no denying that these shelves would look so good perched on your shower walls. They’re made from rustproof stainless steel, and come with waterproof adhesive so that you can install them without any drilling or tools. The adhesive is strong enough that it can support up to 40 pounds — and with 10 finishes to choose from, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding one that suits your bathroom.

A power strip with a streamlined flat plug

Olcorife Flat Extension Cord

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Whereas some power strips feature plugs that stick out from the wall, this one is made with a flat plug, allowing you to press furniture right up against it without having to worry about damaging the upholstery. Six outlets as well as three USB ports give you ample room to power all sorts of devices. You also have the choice of three power cable lengths: 3, 5, or 8 feet.

Simple shelf liners that help keep your fridge clean

Linda's Essentials Refrigerator Liners (8-Pack)

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Cleaning up spills inside your fridge can be a real hassle, making these liners a smart buy. Their waterproof surface easily wipes clean with a damp rag, and you can even place produce directly on top of them — no need for a plastic bag.

Solar-powered lanterns called “absolutely gorgeous”

ROSHWEY LED Solar Lanterns (2-Pack)

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Don’t be surprised if guests ask where you found these lanterns. Each one features a solar panel built into the top that keeps them lit for up to 10 hours at night — and the waterproof design helps keep them in good working order come rain or shine. The best part? Dozens of reviewers described them as “gorgeous,” with one writing that “they are the perfect size and I love the crackled glass.”

A clever valet rod that makes the most of your closet

Supforce Closet Valet Rod

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If your closet or mudroom could use a little extra space for hanging up clothes, consider taking a look at this valet rod. It can hold up to 30 pounds, making it great for coats, denim, or even wet clothes that you’d like to hang to dry. Installation is also a total breeze, as you’ll only need a standard hand drill in order to get it set up.

A wall-mounted organizer for toothbrushes, razors, & more

VNYIFAN Wall Mounted Toothbrush Holder

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Don’t have a ton of counter space in your bathroom? Not a problem when you have this organizer. It mounts onto your bathroom wall using adhesive (which comes included), instantly creating storage space for toothbrushes, razors, flossers, and more. Plus, dividers on the inside help you keep your items neatly separated.

Rustic iron candle sconces for a steal

WOLAOJA Candle Sconce Holder (2-Pack)

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There’s no denying that these candle sconces would be an oh-so stylish addition to any blank wall in your home. They’re made from solid iron, with a powder-coated finish that makes them look way more expensive than they are. “They add a nice decorative touch to the wall without looking bulky or overwhelming,” wrote one reviewer.

Tidy fridge organizer bins with 4.7 stars

Sorbus Fridge Organizer Bins (6-Pack)

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With an average rating of 4.7 stars, it’s clear that Amazon shoppers found these fridge organizer bins more than worth the money. They’re great for storing everything from fresh produce to yogurt cups — and handles on either side make them easy to carry around. Plus, their sturdy plastic frames are shatter-resistant as well as BPA-free.

A sleek toilet brush holder that keeps bristles hidden

OSCIOSS Toilet Brush & Holder

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Whereas standard toilet brush holders leave those dirty brush bristles visible, this one keeps them hidden from sight, making it a much more stylish pick compared to the one that’s likely sitting next to your toilet. Each order includes a brush as well as adhesive for wall mounting.

The genius outlet shelf described as a “total steal”

Suptek Wall Outlet Shelf

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Don’t rest your electronics on the ground as they charge. Instead, place them on this outlet shelf. Installation is as easy as removing your existing outlet plate, then screwing this one into its place — and the sturdy frame can easily support up to 20 pounds. “What really impressed me is how well it hides cables, giving everything a clean, clutter-free look,” wrote one reviewer. “For the price, it’s a total steal.”

The outlet that lets you control electronics via remote

HAPYTHDA Remote Control Outlet

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Ever wish you could turn your lights off without getting up from the couch? Then this outlet is a must-have. Simply plug it into a wall outlet, then plug your lights into it — you’ll instantly be able to control them using the included remote. And with a wireless range of up to 300 feet, you don’t even need to be standing nearby in order for the remote to work.

A tray that slides countertop appliances forward

ANBOXIT Bamboo Appliance Slider

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Air fryers, toaster ovens, stand mixers — this sliding tray is designed to help you pull all sorts of countertop appliances forward. It’s made from stylish, durable bamboo, with rubber wheels that allow for a smooth pull. And with three sizes to choose from, you can easily use it with appliances both big and small.

A swiveling towel hook described as “excellent”

Angle Simple Swivel Towel Hook

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Anyone with a cramped bathroom is sure to fall in love with this towel hook. Not only does the swiveling design help save space, but there’s also enough room on it to hang a minimum of three towels. Many reviewers raved about how the quality is “excellent,” with one writing about how it “stands out as a 5-star product for its functionality, good looks, sturdy construction, and easy installation.”

This runner rug with a bold midcentury design

Rugalia Hallway Runner

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I’m a huge fan when it comes to this hallway rug — and not just because its midcentury modern style is so on trend. The low pile makes it unlikely to snag on doors, while its nonslip underside works to keep it firmly in place on your floor. One reviewer affirmed that it “does not look cheap at all.”

This dispenser to neatly store plastic grocery bags

Manterio Grocery Bag Dispenser

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Every kitchen has at least one cabinet that’s devolved into a mess of plastic grocery bags, so why not grab this dispenser? It mounts onto the inside of your cabinet using adhesive (which comes included). Plus, the fingerprint-resistant finish helps keep it looking clean.

The memory foam bath mat with over 19,000 5-star ratings

GORILLA GRIP Memory Foam Bath Mat

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Step off of those hard bathroom floors and onto this plush bath mat. It’s filled with soft memory foam that contours to the shape of your feet for added comfort — and since the color is fade-resistant, there’s no need to worry about how it’ll fare across multiple washes. “It is soft, absorbent and keeps your floor dry when you get out of the shower and your feet warm on cool mornings,” wrote one reviewer.

Weather-resistant house numbers with a modern look

YIPLED Exterior House Numbers

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You’ve got options when it comes to these house numbers. Each order includes all the anchors and bolts you’ll need to install them so that they either float on your wall or sit flush — and the weather-resistant finish helps keep them looking good over time. “Very easy to install,” wrote one reviewer. “Looks modern and easily visible from road.”

A stylish area rug suitable for indoors & outdoors

KOZYFLY Striped Area Rug

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Can’t quite figure out what your entryway is missing? The answer could be as simple as putting down this area rug. It’s suitable for indoor as well as outdoor use, and features a low pile that makes it unlikely to snag on doors. “It’s held up great outside and makes everything look more put-together,” raved one reviewer. “Definitely recommend for that extra curb appeal boost!”

A bathroom caddy that sticks to glass & tile

TOOLETRIES The Henry Silicone Shower Organizer

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No tools are necessary when installing this toiletry organizer, as the grippy backside easily sticks to glass, tile, or nearly any other non-porous surface. You can also peel it off and reposition it as many times as you like without having to worry about it losing its ability to stick.

Modern cabinet pulls with a bougie brass finish

BaiNong Brushed Brass Cabinet Pulls (4-Pack)

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From kitchen cabinets to the drawers on your bedroom dresser, these pulls are an affordable way to give both a quick makeover. They’re made from solid aluminum, with an anodized surface that won’t rust or fade over time — and the sleek brass finish is an undeniably bougie touch.

This glasses organizer that creates a tidy display

Juvale Glasses Case Organizer

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Leaving glasses sitting out on your desk or dresser is an easy way to wind up with scratched lenses. Instead, keep them safe inside of this organizer. The flip-top lid helps keep everything inside safe from dust, and there’s enough room to store up to eight pairs inside. Plus, its faux leather exterior is an oh-so bougie touch.

A clever under-sink caddy that rolls for easy access

YouCopia Under Sink Roll-Out Storage Caddy

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Not only do the handles on both ends of this caddy make it easy to carry around, but it also rolls out so that you can grab any items sitting in the back without having to strain. The dividers in the middle can be adjusted as needed. And since the sturdy frame can support up to 30 pounds, feel free to load it up with everything from toiletries to cleaning supplies.

Anti-fatigue kitchen mats in festive patterns

LuxStep Kitchen Mats (2-Pack)

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Standing at your kitchen counters for long periods of time can leave your legs feeling sore. Luckily, these anti-fatigue mats are an easy fix. Their cushioned surface helps absorb shock, making it less likely that your legs will start to ache when standing on them. Plus, the waterproof surface easily wipes clean with a damp cloth when dirty.

“Warriors! Come out and play-ay!”

At this point, more people probably know that quote than have seen the movie that it comes from, thanks to the outsized influence The Warriors has had on pop culture. References to Walter Hill’s 1979 action hit can be found in everything from Spike Lee movies to anime to hip-hop, and the 2005 Rockstar Games adaptation is beloved in its own right.

The story is simple, but you gotta go with it a little: At the beginning of the film, nine members of The Warriors, a street gang from Coney Island who all wear matching leather vests, are called to a summit at Van Cortlandt park in the Bronx. There, the charismatic Cyrus calls for a citywide peace agreement among the brawlers, pushers, and street-level toughs of New York City, pointing out that they outnumber the cops three to one.

Then Cyrus is struck by an assassin’s bullet, and the Warriors are framed for the crime. From there, the film is a ticking time bomb as the gang tries to cross 30 miles of enemy territory, crossing nearly the entirety of New York by subway and by foot. Along the way, they encounter — and fight — gangs dressed in matching costumes, including the Lizzies (an all-female gang in sport coats and teased hair) the Baseball Furies (dressed in baseball uniforms and colored face paint), and the Hi-Hats (a gang of literal mimes).

How Was The Warriors Received Upon Its Release?

When The Warriors first hit theaters in February 1979, it was dismissed by many critics as shallow and overly stylized. (Roger Ebert described it as “a ballet of stylized male violence,” while The Washington Post’s review simply said it was “a ghastly folly.”) It did have its defenders, like The New Yorker’s Pauline Kael. But the reviews didn’t really matter for director Walter Hill, or for Paramount. They had real-life drama to draw from.

In a 2014 oral history of the movie for Esquire, Hill said that, “The movie was very popular with the street gangs, especially young men, a lot of whom had very strong feelings about each other. And suddenly they all went to the movies together! They looked across the aisle and there were the guys they didn't like, so there were a lot of incidents.” The studio even paused advertising for The Warriors for six days after its opening weekend, when three young men were killed — two in California, and one in Boston — in incidents surrounding screenings of the movie.

Paramount also offered to send extra publicity to theaters showing The Warriors, and news articles about “rowdy” screenings only increased young peoples’ interest in seeing the movie. It was a hit, making a total of $16.4 million (about $75 million today) in its initial box office run.

Why Is The Warriors Important to See Now?

The narrative around The Warriors has changed significantly. Once a dangerous movie hated by critics and beloved by juvenile delinquents, it’s since become a cult classic whose cultural reach is best demonstrated by the continued popularity of Halloween costumes based on the film. Even now, 47 years later, you still see Baseball Furies group costumes from time to time.

It’s also been re-evaluated by contemporary critics, who appreciate it for the same reasons that their forebears hated it. The Warriors is a masterclass in minimalist action storytelling, giving the characters — and the viewers — a straightforward mission that must be accomplished in a limited time frame and then throwing a series of colorful obstacles in their way.

It’s also a glimpse into “Fun City” era New York, a time when the city was far more dangerous than it is now. The movie was filmed on location in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, and its famous gang summit — “Can you dig it?” — was shot with a combination of real street-gang members and off-duty cops in the crowd.

The visuals are gritty, yet flamboyant, and its vision of the city is pulpy and stylized, elevating our heroes’ journey to the status of myth. It’s not based on The Odyssey, but it was inspired in part by a memoir by the Greek soldier and philosopher Xenophon; as a result, the story is full of Greek character names and allusions to Greek mythology, which makes The Warriors fun counter-programming for when Christopher Nolan’s version of the ancient epic comes out in July.

What New Features Does Arrow’s New SteelBook Edition Have?

The Warriors was first released on 4K UHD by Arrow Films in 2023, at which time the company commissioned a new 4K restoration based on the original camera negative of the film. The most recent release of the film is also from Arrow, and features a SteelBook cover with the film’s original poster on the outside and original artwork from artist Laurie Greasley on the inside. It’s a Walmart exclusive, so you’ll have to either head to the company’s website or a store for a copy.

Beyond the cover, this new edition of The Warriors has the same special features as Arrow’s pre-existing The Warriors 4K UHD disc. Those are listed below.

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• 4K remaster of the Theatrical Cut from the original camera negative supervised by Arrow Films and approved by director Walter Hill
• 4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original uncompressed mono, plus stereo 2.0 and Dolby Atmos audio options
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Audio commentary by film critic Walter Chaw, author of A Walter Hill Film
• War Stories, an interview with director Walter Hill
• Whole Lotta Magic, a roundtable discussion in which filmmakers Josh Olson (A History of Violence), Lexi Alexander (Green Street Hooligans), and Robert D. Krzykowski (The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot) discuss their love of The Warriors and the work of director Walter Hill
• Battling Boundaries, an interview with editor Billy Weber
• Gang Style, an interview with costume designer Bobbie Mannix
• Armies of the Night, a look at costume designs and photographs from the archive of designer Bobbie Mannix
• Sound of the Streets, an appreciation of composer Barry De Vorzon and the music of The Warriors by film historian Neil Brand
• Isolated score option
• Come Out to Play, a look at the iconic locations of the Warriors' Coney Island home turf
• The Beginning, an archival extra looking back on how The Warriors came to be, featuring interviews with producer Lawrence Gordon, actor James Remar, editor David Holden, and writer/director Walter Hill
• Battleground, an archival extra in which director Walter Hill and assistant director David O. Sosna look back at the difficulties of shooting on location in New York City
• The Way Home, an archival extra focusing on the look of film with contributions from director of photography Andrew Laszlo
• The Phenomenon, an archival extra featuring director Walter Hill and the cast of The Warriors

Arrow’s 4K SteelBook Exclusive release of The Warriors is now available at Walmart.

The Warriors 4K Blu-ray

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Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of strange that is currently unfolding on Amazon. There are so many oddball finds that are catching eyes and hitting shopping carts right now. From strange miniatures to glow-in-the-dark accessories to animal-shaped everything, these off-the-wall things are selling out and selling fast on Amazon and it’s not hard to see why.

Squishy bread & butter to calm your nerves

Generic Bread & Butter Squishy

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This weird bread and butter squishy fidget delivers doughy comfort, the scent of fresh bread, and a slightly addictive and stress-relieving squishiness. Pull it out whenever you need to squeeze out any frustration. “I love this slow rise sticky squishy,” wrote one reviewer. “It smells like a sweet bread.”

A chandelier for your outlet

L LOHAS LED Plug-In Chandelier Night-Light

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Once you have experienced this chandelier night-light, no other plug-in lighting will do. It brings old-school glam to your soft, after-dark lighting with candle-like lights and crystal prisms that hang from the arms. You can adjust the brightness, and it will turn on when the room is dark and turn off again when the lights are on.

A tiny Taco Bell meal that’s too cute

MGA's Miniverse Make It Mini Taco Bell Series

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Whether you are turning these mini Taco Bell pretend foods into crafts, displays, or using them in imaginative play places, they are fun, realistic, and adorably small. They’re perfect for your mini worlds. “Very cute and fun to create,” wrote one reviewer. “Tiny hot sauces are too cute.”

A jar that makes for the perfect gag gift

KUMLENMO Jar of F*cks

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When you are all out of your own, pull out this jar of f*cks and start handing them out. You will make your point and make everyone laugh. “So funny, cute, and great to hand out to adults who need a smile,” wrote one reviewer. “Very cute bottle and very well-made wood pieces.”

Party lighting for the toilet

Innovibe Toilet Disco Light

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Turn every middle-of-the-night pilgrimage into a rave with this toilet disco light. It lights your way so you don’t have to turn on any lights. Great for parties and for ordinary nights, it makes the entire bathroom experience that much more festive. Select from four color-changing modes that range from soothing to wild. You can just hook it over the bowl to install it.

A weird & funny finger squirrel

AQKILO Squirrel Finger Puppet

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When there is a lull in the conversation, don this squirrel finger puppet and make everyone laugh. It turns your hand into an animated rodent. “Far more entertaining than they should be,” wrote one reviewer. “My husband found it creepy, which just made it more amusing,” wrote another.

Coasters that turn drinks into light

Kensally LED Coaster Stickers (12-Pack)

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Turn the beverages at your next gathering into lights with these LED coaster stickers that cling to the bottom of the glass or bottle and throw light upward through the beverage. You can choose from three light modes — fast flash, slow flash, and mixed color flash. They make every beverage look otherworldly.

Smart glasses for hands-free living

Jacuate Bluetooth Audio Smart Glasses for Women Men,Blue Light Blocking Bluetooth Glasses with Open Ear Speaker,Voice Control, Hands-Free Calls & Built-in Microphone for iPhone Android Music/Work

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Wear these smart glasses and go hands-free. They connect to your phone via Bluetooth and play music right to your ears through the arms. They listen and follow your voice commands, making calls, tapping into your voice assistant, controlling the music, and more. They are also blue light-filtering.

Tiny candles that are strawberries

Nuanchu Strawberry Shaped Mini Candles (Set of 8)

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These strawberry-shaped mini candles are such a cute way to put candles on a cake. Instead of detracting from the tasty look of that baked dessert, they add to it. They look exactly like ripe strawberries. They look pretty on a buffet tucked into a bowl or displayed on a board, too.

Cute animal earrings that bite your ears

choice of all Animal Bite Earrings (6 Pairs)

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These adorable animal bite earrings create the illusion that a tiny animal bit your ear and is hanging on by its teeth. “Such cute earrings that always get a compliment!” wrote one reviewer. “They are lightweight, fit the ear lobe comfortably, and go with just about any outfit!” This comes with six animals in the set, but there are so many options to choose from.

A strange taxidermy bat for your bookshelf or desk

Pokiphip Taxidermy Bat

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If you are trying to create a dark academia, science nerd, or naturalist vibe in your space, you need this taxidermy bat sitting on a shelf or serving as a paperweight. A real bat is set in a cube of clear resin so you can study it without it breaking or changing over time.

A hair identifying spray for dermaplaning

SKNBODY Hair Identifier Spray

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This weird hair identifier spray is actually a genius hack for up-skilling your dermaplaning chops. Spray it on your face and it highlights all those nearly invisible hairs so you can see them easily. This makes your attempts at grooming faster, more efficient, and foolproof. It comes with four razors to get you started on this self-care journey.

A squishy hamster fidget toy for cute fun

Handmade Taba Squishy Hamster Toy

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This squishy hamster toy is so cute, and doubles as a fantastic fidget toy. You can indulge the urge to pinch its cheeks, squish it, and pull it because it is designed for this purpose. It comes with a bottle and a cheese snack if you get the urge to feed it. “So vibrant and looks like it has fur,” wrote one reviewer. “I’m obsessed.” There are lots of colors to choose from.

The pin that declares your social battery

AIVOLI My Social Battery Creative Badge (2-Pack)

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If socializing is a big effort for you, wear this social battery creative badge so people know if this is a good time to chat you up — or not. You slide the lightning bolt indicator so it’s up to you how ready you are for conversation. “My daughter loves wearing this at school,” wrote one reviewer. “Especially with her super annoying middle school classmates.”

Science fun in a plasma globe

Discovery™ Touch-Sensitive Plasma Globe Lamp

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Add this plasma globe lamp to your lair and touch it to frighten mere mortals who might wander in there. The electric currents within respond to your touch — and voice — by throwing light at you. It seems like magic, but is actually science. “Not only serves as an excellent educational tool, but also provides endless entertainment with its touch and sound-sensitive lightning feature,” wrote one reviewer.

A patio rug that’s backlit

HAUSHOF 5'X8' Outdoor Rug Waterproof with LED Strip Light

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This outdoor rug not only creates a conversation area on your deck, protecting your feet from what’s under it, but it also lights that space. Plug it in with the included 9-foot USB cord. It’s a great way to turn a piece of garden — or a campsite — into a living room. It comes with stakes so you can secure it to the ground.

A tortilla blanket to burrow (or burrito) into

SeaRoomy Tortilla Blanket

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Wrap up in this tortilla blanket and turn yourself into a hilarious sight gag. The realistic toasted edges will make your mouth water. The soft, fuzzy texture will help you relax, stay warm, and get comfy. “My wife is always cold, so I wrap her up in a burrito tortilla,” wrote one reviewer. “Warm and spicy!”

Glow-in-the-dark stickers for your earbuds

RockMax Glow-in-The-Dark Sticker for AirPods

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Dress up your AirPods or Bluetooth earbuds so they are more unique — and so you can find them in the dark — with these glow-in-the-dark stickers. The ink in the sticker soaks up light all day and glows when there is no light. You can glance around a dark room to locate your earbuds, and you will glow as you walk in the dark. Fun and practical!

Invisible ink for all your spy activities

Daemson Spy Invisible Ink Pens (Set of 3)

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When you need to write down your secrets and don’t want them to fall into the wrong hands, use these invisible ink pens. Your missives will be unreadable to anyone who does not possess the the pocket decoder black light. The three pens each write in a different color. The set comes with three decoders.

An adorable snail planter for your greenery

Creative Co-Op Stoneware Snail Planter

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This adorable snail planter elevates any plant to decor status. The snail is cute but elegant. The reactive glaze has an earthen style that brings a chic look to your interior. And the two-piece design makes it easy to plant into it and to care for that plant. “Must have for plant lovers,” wrote one reviewer.

A welcome mat that’s unwelcoming

Kempf Go Away Doormat

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This “go away” doormat is the antithesis of the overly friendly welcome mat. It is likely that it more accurately reflects your reaction to anyone coming to the door in these hostile times. It is also funny, in a dark way. “If the sound of my shotgun racking isn't a clear message, this doormat will eliminate any doubt that nobody is welcome here,” wrote one reviewer.

Stackable, portable lighting for home or camping

oneleaf Portable Night-Lights (3-Pack)

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These clever, stackable night-lights are so useful all over the house and out on the patio. One serves as a flashlight or soft lighting. Stack them for more light. They create an architectural display as they light your meal or shower. This is a pack of three, and they are rechargeable.

A ridiculously funny desk supply organizer

Butt Supplies Butt Tape Dispenser

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Bring some humor to your everyday activities with this butt tape dispenser. A cute humanoid sits on a throne while holding the tape. There is a place behind the toilet for sticky notes and a pen. “It's cute and funny and comes with all the accessories,” wrote one reviewer. “It's definitely a conversation piece.”

Disco ball earrings that bring the party

PUFIER Color-Changing Disco Ball Earrings

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Bring some flash to your next ensemble by wearing these color-changing disco ball earrings. You will be easy to find in a crowd and have 16 color modes to choose from. It’s easy to change the mode as the night unfolds, too. They are rechargeable and come in several cute shapes. “So fun,” wrote one reviewer. “I got so many compliments at a 70s party. Lit up the room all night!”

A plant trellis that’s gorgeous

Hufopik Plant Trellis (2-Pack)

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This cute plant trellis turns a vine into a heart or circle. Just stick the base into the soil of the pot, and creeping plants will know what to do. It helps the plant reach upwards and makes your greenery into charming decor. This is a pack of two trellises in two shapes.

A canvas tote bag that’s also a tired duck

AWXZOM Duck Canvas Tote Bag

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Every duck fan needs this canvas tote bag with a cute duck on the side and duck feet at the bottom. “The little feet are stuffed and not just flat,” wrote one reviewer. “It just simply makes me smile when I look at it! Nice and fun daily life bag.” It is made from sturdy canvas, has a zippered interior pocket, and comes in two sizes as well as different colors.

A flameless candle that’s basically an art piece

Lavish Home Van Gogh Starry Night Flameless Candle

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Set this flameless candle on a mantle, bedside table, or coffee table, and enjoy romantic, artistic lighting at the touch of a button. A remote controls the light, lets you set timers, and adjusts the brightness. The candle itself is made from paraffin wax with Van Gogh’s Starry Night printed on the side, giving the light a true candle-like vibe.

A putting green for the bathroom

GOODLYSPORTS Toilet Golf Game

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If you have discovered that the only place in your home where you can do nothing, and do it in solitude, is the bathroom, bring some toys in there with you. This toilet golf game is just the thing. The putting green is just the right size for a quick break from it all. It’s a great gift for the golf-obsessed, too.

A squishy stick of butter that bounces back

XQOQO Butter Squishy Fidget

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If you love a squishy toy for the instant stress relief it offers, this butter squishy fidget should be in your tool kit. It looks just like a stick of butter. But when you squeeze it bounces right back instead of making a huge mess on your hands and table. “Great for stress relief or just keeping your hands busy at a desk,” wrote one reviewer.

A cute chenille animal hand towel

Generic Chenille Towel Ball

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Take down the damp hand towel in the bathroom and replace it with this adorable chenille towel ball. The microfiber shag absorbs water quickly. Then it dries quickly so it’s always dry when you need it to be. It also looks so cute. Choose from dogs or rabbits in muted, soft colors.

A campfire wax melter

MOAFINA Campfire Wax Melt Warmer

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Instead of risking a fire by burning scented candles, drop scented wax on this wax melt warmer that looks like a campfire. It glows warmly while it gently heats your scented candle, scented wax, or essential oils, filling the room with scent with no flame. The warming plate lifts off for cleaning and it has a built-in timer for extra safety.

A gold hand that emerges from your wall

XYQXYQ Gold Hand Vase

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This gold hand vase creates the illusion that a golden human exists on the other side of the wall and is offering you flowers. Use it alone or in a collection to create a fascinating art display. “So unique and artsy,” wrote one reviewer. “It’s the same size as my hand and looks very realistic.” It comes in many other colors as well.

Clogs that scent your car

ZJCAHXJ Cute Shoe Car Air Freshener (4-Pack)

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Clip these cute and colorful little crocs to the vent of your car for a bit of kitschy decor, and they will scent your car. The four shoes come with four scent pads that fit into the holder on the sole of the shoes. You can add your own essential oils to that pad when the scent wears out, making these a permanent, customizable car air freshener.

Tiny turtles for all your crafts

TOUCH TOP Glow in the Dark Mini Resin Turtles (200 Pieces)

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These adorable resin turtles make a cute addition to everything from glass flower vases to terrariums to fish tanks. They are tiny, colorful, and cute, and they glow in the dark. Some reviewers even use them for nail art. They are impossibly cute. “A great addition to any terrarium, planter, or garden bed,” wrote one reviewer.

Vases that are so tiny, cute, & magnetic

Renmxj Mini Ceramic Vase Magnets (5-Pack)

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Add some pretty bling to everything from the fridge to the bulletin board at work with these ceramic vase magnets that are just big enough to hold one tiny flower. “Cute and whimsical,” wrote one reviewer. “They came with fake flowers, but I like it even more that you can use small real flowers.” This is a pack of five.

A lighted handle for your Stanley cup

Terficer LED Light-Up Tumbler Handle for Stanley

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This tumbler handle is the upgrade your Stanley tumbler needs. Remove the handle that came on your 40-ounce Stanley tumbler and replace it with this one. Now your tumbler lights up so you can find it in the dark. The handle has six lighting modes and is rechargeable. The kit comes with all the tools you need.

A fireworks display for the garden

GIGALUMI Garden Lights (2-Pack)

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Bring a festive splash of light to your nighttime garden by sticking these spectacular garden lights into the soil amid your blooms. They soak up the sun all day and turn it into a fireworks-like display at night. You can adjust the solar panel to catch the light. This is a pack of two.

Dumpster fire desk accessories

Genuine Fred Desk Dumpster Pencil Holder with Flame Note Cards

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If you spend your days putting out fires, this desk dumpster will fit right into your life. It looks just like a dumpster and holds sticky notes — that look like fire — and other office necessities. “It completely matched the dumpster fire of a mess at work and made people laugh and relate to our shared problems,” wrote one reviewer.

Gorgeous sunflower crystal plant stakes

H&D HYALINE & DORA Crystal Sunflower Suncatcher Trellis (3 Pieces)

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These crystal sunflower stakes are easy to stick into a plant, and the beauty they deliver will make you smile every time you see them. Each one catches light and transforms it into rainbows that dance around the room. So, not only are they pretty to look at, but they also create magic in your home. “A simple, cheerful way to make your plants look more magical—sparkly, eye-catching, and genuinely pretty in the sun,” wrote one reviewer.

Net lighting for creative patio illumination

Eueasy Outdoor LED Net Lights

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These LED net lights are a subtle but stunning lighting element for your garden or deck. Use them as a curtain, to cover a shrub, wrap them around a tree, or install them as a ceiling light. You can choose from eight lighting modes, connect multiple units, and set timers so they turn off automatically.

A banana peel doorstop

HYQO Banana Door Stopper

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A banana on the floor is a classic sight gag. This one will also hold the door. The grippy texture on this door stopper holds firm to tile and other slippery surfaces and, when jammed under the door, won’t let that door swing closed. “Adoorable!” wrote one reviewer. “It works perfectly, keeps my door in place, and always makes me smile when I see it.”

An easy card game anyone can play

Zygomatic Spot It! Classic Card Game

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Bring out this fun card game for your next game night and let everyone test their lightning reflexes. Slap down cards and see who spots the match first. “It's a classic,” wrote one reviewer. “Anybody can play this with anybody. So you can have it be a real all-age-family game with even the littlest kids playing.”

Cute decor for your toilet bolts

WANSHUNLMI Toilet Floor Bolt Caps (2-Pack)

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On the rare occasion that someone other than you notices these toilet floor bolt caps, they will be delighted at the whimsy hiding in an otherwise icky and ignored space. They cover those messy, hard-to-clean bolts and put a cute turtle there instead. Or choose a sea urchin, mushroom cap, or whatever suits your vibe.

A plucking fidget that won’t hurt you

rytopt Skin Picking Fidget Toy

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Don’t yank out your own eyebrows or pick at your own skin. Tame that urge with this skin picking fidget toy. It comes with tweezers and near infinite hair-pulling opportunities. “Very satisfying to use and has helped me when the plucking urge is strong,” wrote one reviewer. “Helped me greatly.”

A wooden man to ride in your car

SnapMorph Shaking Wooden Man Figurine with 12 Magnetic Changeable Faces - Handmade Shaking Feet Wooden Doll, Fun Car Decor for Dashboard and Interior,Car Dashboard Decorations

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This wooden man is the perfect companion for car rides. Set him on the dashboard and he brings personality and a bit of kinetic energy to the journey so you don’t feel lonely. He comes with 12 magnetic facial expressions so you can switch out his responses to the destination or traffic.

An elephant tea mug with smart storage

HAPPINESS APPLY HERE Elephant Green Tea Mug

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Warm your hands on this tea mug that is shaped like an elephant. It’s cute, comforting, and has a spot to stash your tea bag so you don’t over brew. It holds a hefty 15 ounces and will quickly become your favorite. “Cute, sturdy, and practical!” wrote one reviewer. “I love the homemade feel as well!”

A little man to hold your razor

PELEG Shaving Razor Holder

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Turn your razor storage into a moment of mustache humor with this razor holder that sports a beret and an impressive handlebar stash. It suctions to the wall, holding your shaving tool above the fray and keeping clutter off the vanity. “I bought this as a joke,” wrote one reviewer. “[But when] I saw how nice the quality was, I kept it.”

Art that sticks magnetically to the dishwasher

AOHMPT Dishwasher Magnet Sticker

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Turn the blank canvas that is your dishwasher into art with this magnet sticker. It won’t matter if your appliances match, if you like the look of that appliance, or even if it is the right color. This will transform it into a pretty kitchen vignette. And you can change the image as often as you like.

Curtain lights with copper & Edison bulbs

YOLIGHT Wishing Ball Curtain Lights with Remote

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Lighting can also be a design element, especially if you hang these wishing ball curtain lights. The little Edison bulbs are stylish and throw distributed light, which makes for warm illumination. The copper wires they hang from are elegant. Use the remote to choose the brightness and mode. They run on batteries or plug in.

Solar-powered lighting that’s a wind chime

Topspeeder Solar Power Wind Chime

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Hang this solar-powered wind chime and it will do double-duty, bringing some wind-driven energy to your outdoor space during the day and lighting up in the evening. “It has many colors, each sphere changes colors randomly, they move in the wind, and it runs for most of the night!” wrote one reviewer.

Tiny birds to stash on your door hinges

WallerTree Sparrow Hinge Heads (3-Pack)

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It’s so easy to hide these adorable sparrows all over your house. The magnetic hinge heads cling to any metal surface, so you can hide them anywhere and happen upon them as you go about your life. “They are a sweet surprise to all that discover them,” wrote one reviewer. This is a pack of three.

The fairy door to hide your outlets

MaxForJoys Wooden Door Self-Adhesive Outlet Cover

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Open a door to the mysteries in your home by mounting this self-adhesive outlet cover over the power outlets. When closed, it will create questions in the minds of everyone who sees it. What is behind that door? “It’s always funny to see who notices the little door,” wrote one reviewer. “And it’s funny to go watch people open it to see what’s inside.”

A shower liner with pockets to hold your gear

Rubbermaid Pocketed Shower Curtain Liner

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Keep all your personal care items organized and within reach in the shower by making use of the many pockets in this shower curtain liner. The pockets are mesh so your gear dries quickly, and transparent so you can see what’s in them. It comes in clear and frosty.

A pickle fork that attaches right to the jar

Chef'n Fridge Condiment Fork

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Strap this condiment fork to your pickle jar and make it easy to grab a snack. Instead of fishing around in cold pickle juice or using a fork that you will have to wash, you can stab your pickle with the sharp tines of this dedicated tool. It lives in a holster hanging from the side of the jar, so it’s always ready.

A beaded curtain for magical entries

Alpengulen Crystal Beaded Curtain (20 Pieces)

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Create some mystical, magical energy in your space with this crystal beaded curtain that makes it feel like you are living in an exotic palace. Each piece hangs individually, so you can use it in any doorway, arch, or window, and it reflects light, sparkles, and produces rainbows.

Cute cat-shaped measuring spoons

Trendsettings Ceramic Cat Measuring Spoons (4-Piece Set)

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Add a bit of whimsy to your next baking project by measuring flour and sugar in these adorable cat measuring spoons. Or you can hang them as art to create kitchen-appropriate decor. “A purrrrrfect gift for that cat lover,” wrote one reviewer.

A slushy maker for every beverage

Tgosomt Slushy Cup

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You don’t have to drive anywhere or wait in line to indulge that craving for icy deliciousness. Anything you pour into this slushy cup turns into a frozen treat. “I tried it with soda, lemonade, and a couple of adult beverages,” wrote one reviewer. Store it in the freezer so you can slushy whenever the mood strikes.

Cat coasters that are also a diamond painting project

Vcekract Diamond Painting Cat Coasters Kit

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Turn a relaxing crafting session into these adorable cat coasters with this diamond painting kit. “It’s a lot of fun and very relaxing,” wrote one reviewer. “I use my kitty coasters all the time!” It makes six cats, each one different, and comes with a coaster holder to stash them in when they aren’t in use. There are also dogs, mandalas, and other patterns.

A remote cover that glows in the dark

OneBom Glow In The Dark Remote Cover (2-Pack)

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Make it easy to find the remote control when the lights are out for movie time with these glow-in-the-dark remote control covers. Each one slips over your remote, soaks up light, and illuminates when the room is dark. It adds a lanyard to your remote, too, so you can hang it or loop it over your wrist. There are lots of colors to choose from.

Bird art that’s also a lamp & diffuser

VViN 2 in 1 Small Bird Desk Lamp

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This little bird desk lamp is a pretty item to hang overhead or set on a desk or bedside table. Tap the button and it lights your space in one of three colors and at the brightness you choose. Add a few drops of essential oil, and it will also scent the room. It comes with a stand and is USB-rechargeable.

If you’re ready to make your space look and feel so much better, you’ve come to the right place. This list features some of the best home items that are equal parts oddball and amazing. Whether you need help organizing your space, adding decor, or upgrading for cheap, these Amazon finds can improve even the smallest areas of your life in the best ways. And because they’re so life-changing, you’ll probably want to add a few to your cart now that you know they exist.

Magnetic vent covers that help redirect airflow

DIYMAG Magnetic Vent Covers (8-Pack)

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These thick magnetic covers attach to iron floor, wall, or ceiling registers to help seal off airflow, redirect heating and cooling, and make your HVAC setup feel a little more intentional. Designed to fit most standard vents, the covers can also be trimmed for a more custom fit.

Fabric door silencers that prevent slamming sounds & lockouts

WARMTONE Door Silencer Cushions (3-Pack)

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Prevent the noise from slamming doors with one of these fabric silencers. Packaged in a set of three, the door cushions not only silence slams — they can also prevent accidental lockouts because they slip over the knob to cover the latch. You can install them in seconds, and they come in multiple neutral-toned color options to blend right in to your space.

Floral window film that filters light & adds privacy

WBQMUNY Stained Glass Window Film

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Add a layer of privacy while blocking UV rays with this floral window film. Available in multiple designs, the vinyl film uses static cling to stick to the window — no messy glue required. Just spray the window and the film backing with water to apply, and you can remove it just as easily.

A remote-controlled ceiling light with a ton of modes

Matane Dimmable LED Flush-Mount Ceiling Light

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Create the perfect mood lighting in your space with this slim ceiling fixture. The light features adjustable color temperatures and dimming options, and you can use the remote control for extra convenience. You can also use the backlit night-light mode for a soft evening glow that’s gentle on the eyes.

Rolling storage bins that can slide under the bed

Yecaye Under Bed Storage (2-Pack)

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Designed to hold over 60 pounds each, these sturdy storage bins have wheels on the bottom and a handle on the end so you can easily slide them under your bed. They also have transparent, zippered tops and customizable labels, so you’ll always know exactly what’s inside without having to unpack the whole bin.

A stone faucet mat that absorbs puddles around your sink

Eormoe Faucet Mat

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Made from absorbent stone, this faucet mat is built to soak up drips, reduce puddles, and protect counters from the daily mess that tends to collect around the sink. The mat also doubles as a landing spot for hand soap, dish soap, or other sink-side essentials. It’s one of those oddly specific products that turns out to be a total lifesaver.

A cord cover that artfully hides your floor wires

DBHXXMB-HH Floor Cord Cover

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If you have cords running along your floor, you need this flexible cover. It hides the wires, protects them from damage, and can even help prevent accidental trips or falls. The PVC material is available in ton of colors to best blend in with your flooring, and you can install it with the self-adhesive backing.

Water-resistant shower lights that add fun vibes to your bathroom

Bgmonster Waterproof Shower Lights (2-Pack)

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These rechargeable shower lights make your bathroom so much more fun to be in. Each one offers 15 colors, two dynamic modes, dimming options, and timer settings, so your shower can skew moody, glowy, or vaguely nightclub-adjacent depending on your mood. The water-resistant lights install with magnets and adhesive plates, no wiring required, which is delightfully convenient.

A slide-out valet rod for extra garment care

FIRJOY Closet Valet Rod

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Organize your daily outfit, air dry items, or prepare clothes for steaming with this pull-out valet rod. The sturdy alloy steel is available in multiple color finishes to best accent your closet or laundry room, and the smooth ball-end helps prevent snagging clothing. It’s simple to install yourself with the included hardware.

A collapsible cabinet trash bin for kitchen scraps

BanYakong Hanging Trash Can

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Instead of walking your trash across the kitchen to the main garbage can, this mini trash bin sits exactly where you need it. You can hang the container off a cabinet or drawer and drop scraps directly inside. It can also work in bathrooms, bedrooms, or even in cars, and it folds down for more compact storage.

A decorative succulent charger that hides your power bank in plain sight

iHome PowerPlant Charging Station

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If you are tired of ugly charging hubs hogging counter space, this charging station has a much better aesthetic. The faux succulent sits in a sleek white pot with nonslip feet, while three built-in USB ports let you charge multiple devices at once. It’s one of those oddball inventions that somehow solves two problems at once: less visual clutter and more charging spots.

A blow dryer stand for hands-free hairstyling

ERYTLLY Hair Dryer Stand

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Get ready faster with this stand that holds your hair dryer for you. It rotates a full 360 degrees and the neck and height are both adjustable, so you can customize where the heat hits. The holder also has a sturdy 2.2-pound base that’s designed to prevent tipping.

A waterproof lamp for better shower vibes

Funlenry Shower Lamp

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Customize the mood lighting in your bathroom with this compact, waterproof lamp. Designed for use in damp and humid spots, the lamp features multiple color options and adjustable brightness levels. Plus, you can remove the shade to unleash a colorful wave projection. The lamp is rechargeable, too, so you can place it almost anywhere — no electrical sockets required.

A compact humidifier with a stylish volcano design

G-RECREATER Mini Humidifier

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This compact humidifier can make your space more comfortable while also adding a bit of whimsy thanks to the glowing volcano design. Featuring two mist spraying modes (continuous or intermittent) and a 13-ounce water tank, the humidifier can work for up to 12 hours at a time. And the USB power cord means you can plug it into the wall, your computer, a power bank, or even your car.

An adjustable shower caddy with 4 storage tiers

shuang qing 4-Tier Corner Shower Caddy

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Add this adjustable organizer to your shower, and you’ll instantly have multiple shelves to store things like toiletries and loofahs. The organizer uses a tension rod to secure it between the shower ledge and ceiling, and it can be adjusted from 34 to 116 inches to work in almost any space. The caddy is made from durable, rust-resistant metal and plastic for long-lasting use.

A beeswax candle with a self-extinguishing flame

Candle by the Hour 80-Hour Vertical Candle

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You’ve probably never seen a candle like this, but once you experience the quirky design and convenient self-extinguishing wick, you’ll never want to go back. Made from 100% beeswax, the coiled candle is designed with an 80-hour total burning time. But you can use the metal clip to self-extinguish the flame when you only want it to burn for a few hours.

Rechargeable lights that you can install almost anywhere

WILLED Stair Lights (4-Pack)

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We all have those areas in our home that could use a little more light, and these rechargeable fixtures are a great option for easy illumination. Designed for energy efficiency, the lights have a motion-sensor mode and a long-lasting rechargeable battery. They’re also super easy to install with the included adhesive and magnets, so you can put them in stairways, closets, and more.

Cushioned mats that make kitchen work less tiresome

ROTTOGOON Anti Fatigue Kitchen Mats (2-Pack)

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If you’re on your feet in the kitchen a lot, you’ll want these stylish anti-fatigue mats. Packaged in a set of two, the cushioned mats come in four sizes and seven colors, so you can choose the right look for your space. Plus, they’re designed to be waterproof with a nonslip bottom, so the mats can handle dishwashing and cooking messes with ease.

Hard-shelled pouches for organizing small items

YQBRAO Clear Hard-Shell Zipper Case (3-Pack)

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Use these hard-shelled pouches to organize anything from cosmetics to small toys. The clear plastic lets you easily see what’s inside, and the dual zippers keep your items accessible. And because they have a flat surface, you can even stack the pouches on top of one another.

Electrical outlets with a handy on/off switch built in

oviitech Switch Outlets (3-Pack)

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These power switch outlets are a smart way to control energy usage or turn off appliances without unplugging them every time. The outlets come in a pack of three and feature an easy-to-use on/off switch. They work with any standard AC outlet and they’re ETL safety standard-certified for extra peace of mind.

Rolling caddies to easily move around heavy plants

IDZO Wood Plant Caddy (2-Pack)

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Use these rolling caddies to move around potted plants without bending over and carrying the heavy pots. Made from acacia wood, the caddies can be wheeled to sunnier spots, to the sink or outside for watering, and more. Plus, the rolling wheels can be locked, keeping your plants exactly where you want them when you’re done moving them.

A sturdy shower stool designed to fit in the corner

IBosins Corner Shower Stool

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This triangular stool offers a convenient perch for shaving, nail care, or just storing your favorite products. It has nonslip feet to keep it stable and hex screw fastenings that are designed for durability. Plus the compact design helps you to make use of unused spaces like corners inside the shower.

A stone incense burner with a stylish sphere design

SHICANGSHIYE Stone Incense Burner

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Add this travertine stone incense burner to your space, and it’s almost guaranteed that guests will be asking where they can get their own. The burner has multiple brass inserts, so it’s designed to hold a variety of incense types. Take the cover off to place your incense and close the cover to let the smoke drift dreamily out of the pre-drilled stone holes.

Adjustable drawer dividers for instant organization

Utoplike Drawer Dividers (4-Pack)

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These bamboo dividers are a simple way to separate items to create tidier drawers. Available in three colors and three sizes, the dividers can be adjusted to fit different drawer types. The nonslip end pads help keep the dividers in place while also protecting your drawers from scratches. You get four in the set.

A shower water filter that also adds a relaxing citrus scent

VOESH Vitamin C Shower Filter, Citrus Crush, Shower Aromatherapy, Water Purifier, Water Softener, Vegan Probiotics, Spa Shower Head, Water Filter, Shower Self-Care

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If you’ve never considered incorporating aromatherapy into your shower, this easy-to-install filter might be the thing to change your mind. The filter screws onto most standard shower arms, and it’s designed to filter chlorine, heavy metals, and other impurities — all while adding a relaxing citrus scent to the steam.

A nonslip tray that slides over your sofa arm

GEHE Couch Arm Tray Table

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If you want to ditch the side table (or you didn’t have one to begin with), this couch tray is a great option for securely holding your drinks, snacks, and other small items. Made from natural bamboo with a dual-sided nonslip pad, the tray can fit securely over most furniture arms. It can also be rolled up for space-saving storage.

Stylish rope baskets that add convenient hanging storage

OrganiHaus Wall Hanging Baskets

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No one said your storage solutions had to be boring. These stylish rope baskets hang on the back of a door to organize toiletries, toys, snacks, and more. Crafted from durable cotton, the baskets can be arranged in a three-tier system or separated for individual use.

Silicone coasters with a playful apple design

Kokaaee Apple Coasters (5 Pieces)

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Protect surfaces and add some whimsy to your space with these apple-themed drink coasters. Made from heat-resistant silicone, the coasters work with both hot and cold beverages and they have raised edges to keep drinks (and condensation) in place. You get five coasters and a cute apple-shaped holder in the set.

A hanging hamper for a space-saving laundry solution

KEEPJOY Hanging Laundry Hamper Bag

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Toss your dirty clothes in this hanging hamper to keep everything off the floor and ready for the washing machine. The laundry bag is made from washable, tear-resistant Oxford fabric, and it comes with two styles of hook (metal or adhesive) for easy hanging. There’s also a handy bottom zipper that makes it simple to unload the bag.

Clip-on storage drawers that maximize fridge space

URALFA Fridge Drawer Organizer (2-Pack)

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Take advantage of the space underneath fridge shelves with these clever hanging bins. Designed to easily hook on to most standard fridge shelves, the bins slide in and out on a rail for easy access to your food. And everything is made from strong, odorless plastic to help keep your food fresh.

LED strip lights that come with a wireless remote

Power Practical LED Strip Lights

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If you spend a lot of time watching TV or using a computer monitor, you’ll want these LED strip lights to make your viewing experience so much better. The backlit design is made to improve contrast and help relieve eyestrain. Plus, the different color options are just fun. Available in several sizes, the lights are super easy to install with the adhesive backing, and they’re powered with an included remote.

Wall-mounted shoe racks that install with adhesive

Yocice Wall Mounted Shoes Rack (4-Pack)

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These wall-mounted racks give you a simple way to store extra shoes while saving space. The racks come in a pack of four, and each one can fit almost any type of shoe from heels to sneakers. Plus they install with the included adhesive, so you don’t have to drill any holes in your walls or closet shelves.

An adjusable hanging rack for your handbags or hats

IZUS Purse Hook Holder (2-Pack)

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If you have a pile of handbags taking over your room or closet, these hanging organizers can tidy things up. Designed to hang over a door, each organizer has an adjustable nylon strap with 10 hooks to hang bags, hats, and other accessories. Each hook can hold up to 8 pounds.

A chic cable management box that hides your wires

RAMFIYN Cable Management Box

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Discreetly tuck away cords, chargers, and power strips in this decorative box. In addition to the roomy storage area, the container has a lid where you can store desk accessories or place your electronics while they charge. The box also comes with a useful organizational add-ons like self-locking ties, cable clip holders, and cord wraps.

A shower steamer holder that helps tablets dissolve more slowly

SHARLOVY Shower Steamer Tray

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If you’re an avid shower steamer user, you need this tablet holder. Featuring a durable suction-cup mount, the holder is designed to stay put while also helping your steamer dissolve more slowly and efficiently. And if your tablet is made with dried herbs or flowers, the holder can help collect the particles so they don’t clog the drain.

Magnetic spice racks that add bonus storage to your fridge

Aufworld Magnetic Spice Rack (4 Pieces)

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These durable caddies add storage to places like the fridge or other metal surfaces thanks to their strong magnetic backs. Featuring a rust-resistant metal construction, the caddies work well in humid environments like the kitchen or laundry room, and the shelves also come with eight removable hooks for additional hanging storage.

A self-cleaning bidet that you can install yourself

Shikitek Bidet Attachment

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Adding this bidet attachment is a quick way to give your bathroom a huge functional upgrade. Designed for DIY install, the bidet is made to work with most toilets and doesn’t require any plumbing modifications. Once it’s in place, you’ll love the self-cleaning nozzle and pressure-control dial. You can also choose between front or rear spray modes.

An electrical socket with an automatic night-light

SnapPower Outlet Light

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Maximize your electrical outlet’s productivity with this snap-on lighted switch plate. It’s simple to install — no hardware or drilling required — and it operates as an automatic night-light. The dusk-to-dawn sensor turns the light on in dim conditions so you can safely navigate your home at night.

A wedge pillow to prevent items from falling behind your bed

Vekkia Wedge Pillow

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This wedge-shaped pillow is a great addition to your bed, as it offers support while covering up the gap between the mattress and headboard. The pillow is available in multiple sizes, and the high-density foam construction helps it maintain its shape. Don’t miss the convenient pocket on the side; it’s perfect for stashing eyeglasses or your phone.

Fan blade filters that can help purify the air

Barnakl Fan Filters (3-Pack)

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For cleaner air, you can’t beat the convenience of these coconut carbon filters that stick on your ceiling fan blades. The filters have a porous surface that’s designed to trap dust, pollen, and other contaminants as the blades spin. Use the built-in adhesive backing to install the filters on standard ceiling fans. The filters can work for up to three months.

An anti-fog mirror that you can use in the shower

Shave Well Anti-Fog Shaving Mirror

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Hang this mirror in your bathroom, and it’ll stay clear and fog-free no matter how steamy it gets. Designed to help you streamline your shaving and grooming routine in the shower, the mirror is lightweight, shatterproof, and easy to install with the included adhesive wall hook.

A cozy sofa cover that protects against spills & pet fur

Awjcsv Couch Cover

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If you have a pet (or a propensity to spill things), this soft furniture protector works to keep upholstery looking like new. It’s available in eight sizes and seven colors, and you’ll love that it’s machine washable for easy maintenance. This cover also features silicone dots on the bottom to help keep it in place.

A nonslip loofah mat that gently exfoliates your feet while showering

Hargiis Loofah Bath Mat

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This durable bath mat lets you have a spa experience at home. It features a textured surface that’s designed to gently massage and exfoliate the bottoms of your feet, and it comes in several sizes and colors to best match your bathroom aesthetic. The mat also has a nonslip backing that makes it ideal for wet and slippery surfaces, and it can dry super quickly thanks to the built-in drain holes.

Curtain fairy lights that make blank walls look way more magical

HXWEIYE LED Fairy Curtain Lights

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There is something delightfully whimsical about hanging an entire sheet of twinkle lights on your wall. This set includes 300 LEDs along a 16.5-foot lead wire, with adhesive hooks to hang it. You can choose between eight light modes and 10 brightness levels, and the USB cord means you can plug it into a power bank, laptop, or adapter just about anywhere.

Peel-&-stick drawer pulls that make cabinets look customized

Westablize Adhesive Cabinet Handles (2-Pack)

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These peel-and-stick cabinet pulls are a sneaky little home hack for anyone who wants the look of updated hardware without drilling into anything. They come in an array of finishes that look sharp and modern, while the base plate cleverly helps cover old holes on drawers or cabinets. They’re brilliant for renters or anyone who wants a faster path to prettier furniture.

A wooden doorbell cover that turns an eyesore into decor

GRAUES Doorbell Cover

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Some genius out there looked at a plain doorbell box and thought, no, this can be prettier. This wooden cover is designed to hide standard chime boxes while adding a more decorative, crafted look to your entryway. It’s a wonderfully niche home upgrade, but if you hate random plastic fixtures ruining the vibe, it makes immediate sense.

Solar garden lights shaped like colorful flowers

EiGreen Flower Solar Garden

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These solar stake lights add a charming touch to your outdoor space. The set includes six colorful flowers that brighten up a yard during the day, then glow automatically at night for a garden that feels right out of a storybook. They are easy to stake into the ground and designed to be weatherproof for year-round use.

A pocket-sized label maker that makes home organization weirdly satisfying

Nelko Label Maker Machine

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This best-selling label printer makes organizing your home so easy. It connects to your phone, prints crisp monochrome labels with thermal technology (no ink required), and comes loaded with templates for everything from pantry jars to storage bins. The compact, rechargeable design also makes it easy to take on the go.

Magnetic holders so your remotes stop vanishing into the couch void

Magnetic Remote Control Holder - 5 Pcs White Set for TV, Fan, and Air Conditioner Remotes - Wall Mount with Self-Adhesive Back for Easy Installation and with our Powerful and Sleek Magnetic Holders

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These little magnetic holders solve a recurring household problem in a surprisingly elegant way. Stick the holder to a wall, bed frame, side table, or cabinet, attach the magnetic backing to your remote, and suddenly the TV remote has an actual home instead of a mysterious migration pattern.

Plant clips that train vines to crawl exactly where you want

HNHMT Plant Wall Clips (60 Count)

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If your climbing plants aren’t doing what their name implies, these clips are a very clever fix. The self-adhesive holders stick to smooth walls and keep vines upright, guided, and shaped into whatever path you want. Because they are small and leaf-shaped, the clips can blend right into the foliage.

A rechargeable vanity light that sticks to your mirror

Benreom Wireless Vanity Light

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This rechargeable LED vanity light uses adhesive to mount in seconds without drilling or wiring. It gives your mirror adjustable brightness, multiple white-light settings, and a movable angle for more useful everyday lighting. It’s perfect for doing your makeup, skin care, or anything else that requires seeing better.

Wood-grain contact paper for quick surface makeovers

EeeComing Wood Contact Paper

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This peel-and-stick vinyl roll gives cabinets, desks, and countertops a wood-look finish with a waterproof, wipe-clean surface. The removable adhesive backing is designed to be easy to work with, as it has printed grid lines on the back to help with straighter cuts. The realistic grain effect makes plain flat surfaces look warmer, richer, and far more intentional without a full renovation.

Battery-operated candles that glow without smoke or dripping wax

NURADA Flameless Candles (3-Pack)

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Made with scratch-resistant borosilicate glass and realistic wax-covered pillars, these battery-operated candles bring cozy light to mantels, dining tables, and shelves without any smoke or flames. The candles are designed to last more than 500 hours on AA batteries, and they come with a handy remote for setting timers, light modes, and more.

A smart door lock with fingerprint & passcode technology

BIWIBON Fingerprint Door Lock – Fingerprint Door Knob with 5 Unlock Options, Anti-Peep Code, Adjustable Auto-Lock, Inside Lock, for Home, Office, Apartment, Bedroom – Black

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Upgrade your door with this smart lock. Once installed, you can choose between using your fingerprint, a numeric password, unlocking with the app, or using traditional keys. It can store multiple fingerprints and passcodes, so your whole family can use it. You can even generate one-time codes for deliver or repair people. The lock runs on AAA batteries.

A modern tissue holder that’s futuristic

ProfKitSong Napkin Holder

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This sleek tissue or napkin holder is a serious upgrade over the usual cardboard box, and it can instantly make your room look more intentionally styled. The holder features a wide magnetic opening, so it’s simple to refill with your paper product of choice, and it’s weighted so the whole thing won’t move when you pull a tissue out.

The bougiest home isn't necessarily the most expensive one — it's the one in which someone pays attention to every last detail, from the base of the toilet to the spoons in the sugar bowl. Thoughtfulness reads as luxury, even when the price tags say otherwise, and this list is full of finds that prove the point. Everything here is cheap, brilliant, and the kind of quiet upgrade that guests will be sure to notice, compliment, and perhaps even try to imitate.

A stained glass night-light that combines vintage looks with modern features

L LOHAS LED Stained Glass Nightlight

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This plug-in night-light looks like something you'd find at an antique shop. It features a real stained-glass shade and an electroplated copper arm that delivers serious Tiffany-lamp energy for a fraction of the price. Its soft, warm glow is just bright enough to guide you to the bathroom in the middle of the night, but pretty enough to stand out in the hallway. It’s a small detail with a big, colorful payoff.

Under-cabinet rotating hooks that give cooking utensils a home

SHBaizoy Under Cabinet Hooks (2-Pack)

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These rotating hooks are a sleek alternative to cluttered kitchen drawers and bulky utensil crocks. Slide them onto any standard shelf, stick the hooks in place with the included adhesive, and enjoy a more streamlined space. Each rack features six hooks that rotate 360 degrees, so you can angle tools exactly where you want them, and can hold up to 4.4 pounds. You can also use them for mugs, dishrags, keys, or any other lightweight hangables.

A magnetic dishwasher cover that brightens up a boring or worn-out door

AOHMPT Dishwasher Magnet Sticker

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This decorative magnetic cover helps turn an ordinary dishwasher into a focal point. Snap it onto the front door for an instant facelift that hides scratches and scuffs. It comes in more than a dozen designs and removes easily, so you can switch up the look whenever you want. One shopper raved, “[A]bsolutely spectacular, everyone comments on it, and they are very surprised to find out that it’s not actually part of the dishwasher!”

A motion sensor flush-mount light that looks sleek & works automatically

BLNAN Sensor Ceiling Light

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This flush-mount fixture uses a wide-angle motion sensor to light up the moment you walk in, making even the most utilitarian corners of your home feel finished. The low-profile design reads modern and clean rather than bulky or industrial, and three color temperatures and modes let you set just the right vibe. It's the perfect fix for closets, utility rooms, and other spots that could use instant hands-free lighting.

A shower attachment that filters hard water for better hair & skin

Kitsch Shower Head Filter for Hard Water – Shower Water Filter with KDF-55 & Calcium Sulfite, Helps Reduce Chlorine & Impurities, Water Softener- Bathroom Accessories for Healthier Hair & Skin- Chrome

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This shower filter is the fancy fix for hard water, minus the hefty plumbing bill. It screws onto your existing shower head and filters out a laundry list of impurities — such as chlorine and heavy metals — to help skin and hair feel softer and look healthier. It's compatible with fixed, handheld, and rain-style showerheads, and the chrome finish blends in with most existing fixtures for a seamless upgrade.

Elegant floral decals that turn the toilet tank into something decorative

Jowxsx Toilet Seat Lid Stickers

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These unique decals make it easy to turn your toilet tank into a design statement. Simply stick them to the surface for an elegant floral design that resists peeling or fading. They also work for toilet lids, tile, and windows — plus, they peel off cleanly when you want to change up the look.

A floral switch plate that adds instant color to your wall

Yamxbfa Light Switch Covers

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Light switch plates are usually an afterthought, but this floral version makes them part of the design. Made from lightweight, durable thermoplastic, it features an intricate pattern of birds, berries, and leaves that adds quiet visual interest without overwhelming the space. It’s surprisingly versatile, fitting into a modern maximalist room just as easily as a cozy cottage-inspired home. With multiple sizes, configurations, and coordinating nature-inspired designs available, it’s easy to carry the look throughout the room.

Solar petal lights that bathe your walkway in a warm-white glow

Roaming Petal Bury Light (3-Pack)

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This trio of sunflower-shaped lights is a charming twist on standard solar pucks, adding an effortless warm glow to pathways, garden beds, fences, and more. Just charge them in the sun for up to 10 hours of nighttime illumination. The acrylic construction is shatter-resistant for long-term use, while an IP65 waterproof rating means they can handle rain, snow, and frost year-round. Choose between in-ground or wall-mounted installation.

A slim expandable shelf that turns dead space into a mini display

WOCHUANGSI Expandable Window Shelf

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This expandable shelf is the perfect way to turn tight spaces into sleek, practical storage. It's made from mesh iron with a clean white finish, and it’s sturdy enough to hold up to 22 pounds without bowing. It stretches from 15.3 to 25.9 inches, and two pieces can be stacked for a tiered design. Set one up on a sunny windowsill for a miniature plant display, or slide it in the narrow gap behind your faucet to hold skin care essentials or cleaning supplies like soap and sponges.

A wall-mounted toothbrush holder that cleans & dries your brush between uses

SHKI Toothbrush Cleaner & Holder

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This wall-mounted holder keeps your toothbrush off the counter and in a sleek storage unit, making your bathroom feel cleaner and more modern. Once installed, it runs a 24-hour cleaning and air-drying cycle automatically after each use. The LED screen shows battery status, cleaning progress, and drying status at a glance, and a wave sensor opens and closes the door hands-free. Charge it via USB-C for up to 33 days of power per full battery.

A bamboo bread box that keeps loaves fresh & your counter organized

Kitsure Bread Box

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This stylish bread box is the kind of thing that makes your countertop look like a properly-styled kitchen. Made from bamboo, it helps bread stay soft while keeping out dust and moisture. The magnetic door frame opens with a gentle pull, and the semi-transparent, shatter-resistant acrylic window lets you check what's inside without opening it.

A volcano-shaped diffuser that shoots misty flames while scenting the air

YALEDI Essential Oil Diffuser

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This diffuser is made for the person who prefers theatrics to minimalism. Drop your favorite essential oil in, fill it with water, and watch the cool mist explode into colorful, dramatic flames. The tank runs for up to 12 hours on a single fill and features two spray modes (continuous or intermittent), while the ambient flame light has two modes: a steady warm glow or a gradient cycle through seven colors.

Ceramic bunny bolt covers that add unexpected charm to the base of your toilet

PEUTIER Toilet Bolt Covers (2-Pack)

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This pair of bunny-shaped bolt caps is a delightful way to surprise guests and give your bathroom a bougier look. They’re made from sturdy ceramic and sit directly over your toilet’s floor hardware for instant setup. White helps them blend seamlessly with most toilet bowls, and a matte finish gives them a quality look. They’re a thoughtful alternative to rusty metal screws or even standard plastic caps, which tend to crack or yellow over time.

A waterproof shower light that projects dancing patterns onto your ceiling

Funlenry Shower Lamp

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This little lamp adds instant ambiance to everyday showers and relaxing baths. Use it as a regular ambient light, or pop the shade off to cover your ceiling in rippling water projections. Choose from 16 colors and six brightness levels using either touch controls on the base or the included remote. It's cordless and waterproof, so it can sit on the edge of the tub or even on a wall shelf in the shower itself without worry.

A 2-tier adjustable wood shelf that maximizes counter space

UJQSUN Counter Organizer

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This two-tier organizer is an easy, stylish way to minimize clutter on your counter. Made with warm wood boards and sturdy iron supports, it features an adjustable top shelf to suit different needs. Use it in the bathroom to keep skin care and toiletries accessible and neatly displayed, or try it in the kitchen to organize spices, coffee station supplies, or condiments. Assembly is quick, and the neutral finish means it blends into any aesthetic.

A denture case disguised as a decorative faux eucalyptus plant

YCROJBK Denture Bath Plant

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Soaking your dentures or mouth guard is a necessary chore, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be broadcast to everyone who visits your bathroom. This cleaning case is disguised as a faux eucalyptus plant, making it completely convincing as standalone decor. An interior strainer lifts out so you can easily retrieve your oral appliance, and vent holes help odors dissipate while soaking. It also works for discreetly stashing valuables, such as jewelry and cash.

Hanging faux string-of-pearls plants that add life to your space

Der Rose Hanging Plant Holders (2-Pack)

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This pair of faux string-of-pearls planters is a convincing, low-commitment way to add greenery to any space. Each is made of a circular wood frame and filled with decorative rock. The trailing plants spill over the sides, creating a dramatic look when mounted on walls or strung from above. Just give them the occasional dusting for upkeep, and enjoy not worrying about watering, pruning, or light conditions.

A hands-free hair dryer stand for professional salon vibes

Erytlly Hair Dryer Stand

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This hair dryer stand is the next best thing to having a personal stylist. A 2.2-pound base keeps it stable on flat surfaces, while the stand itself extends up to 39.4 inches for use on your vanity or countertop. A flexible gooseneck holds the dryer at whatever angle you want, leaving both of your hands free to actually brush. The result is a better blowout in less time, and with less arm fatigue.

A swivel-head duster that makes baseboard cleaning quicker & easier

Baseboard Buddy Baseboard Cleaner

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A bougie home is about the details, and the Baseboard Buddy is one way to achieve clean, polished trim without scrubbing on your hands and knees. The lightweight aluminum handle extends up to 4 feet, so you can reach everything from baseboards to door moldings without bending, stretching, or dragging out a step stool. The kit includes the tool and three reusable pads, which you can rinse clean and reuse for multiple cleaning sessions.

A wall-mounted soap holder that holds up to 4 bars at once

Yuejihuisimple Soap Holder Shelf

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This damage-free soap holder solves the common problem of bars that go mushy. Made from colorful plastic, it features four rotating tiers for soap, shampoo bars, and other small bath essentials. Each dish self-drains through a central pipeline and releases excess water through holes at the base, so everything air-dries between uses. Plus, it installs with adhesive, making it a great choice for renters or situations where drilling isn’t allowed.

A cat paw-shaped coffee mat that helps keep your counter clean & dry

MGUOXA Coffee Bar Mat

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If you've built out a coffee corner at home, this silicone mat offers a cute way to keep messes contained. It’s shaped like a cat paw, with dedicated spots for your demitasse cup and tamper tools. The nonslip textured bottom grips the counter firmly, and the waterproof top catches spills and stray coffee grounds without staining. When it needs cleaning, just rinse it, wipe it down, or toss it in the dishwasher.

A sleek steel cord holder that keeps cables from slipping behind your desk

Meenova Steel Weighted Cord Holder

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This little stainless steel weight is a sleek fix for cables and cords that constantly slip off your desktop or nightstand. It holds up to three cords in place using its own heft and looks like an industrial-style design object while doing it. A rubber pad on the bottom protects surfaces, and the holder also works as a minimalist paperweight for your office desk.

A toilet bowl night-light that glows upon entering the bathroom

Chunace Toilet Bowl Night Light

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Clip this toilet light to your bowl, and middle-of-the-night bathroom trips will become an event. A motion sensor detects movement within 5 feet and automatically turns the light on, then shuts it off after two minutes of inactivity to preserve battery life. Choose from 16 colors and five brightness levels using the external controls. With a fresh set of three AAA batteries, it provides up to 12 months of light with regular use.

A rotating extension cord that fits in tight spots & powers 8 devices at once

TROND 360° Rotating Outlet Plug

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This rotating extension cord was designed for that spot in your house where the outlet is hard to reach. It sits nearly flush against the wall, spinning 360 degrees to lead the cord in any direction. A 3-foot-long cord means you don’t have to move furniture every time you want to access a plug, and the power cube features four grounded outlets plus four USB ports (two USB-C, two USB-A) to power up to eight devices at once.

A tempered glass stove cover that doubles your kitchen counter space

Moloevio Glass Stove Cover

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If you have a tiny kitchen with limited counter space, this tempered glass cover is an elegant solution. When you're not using the stove, it sits flat across the burners, instantly adding 22 inches of extra prep surface. Chop ingredients on it, set down hot pots, use it as a serving tray, or just park clutter on it while you use the main counter for prep and entertaining.

Pink sequin curtains that make any doorway look more festive & fun

Treknature Sequin Beaded Curtain

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Whether you’re a maximalist or want a single accent that’s completely extra, these sequin curtains are a dazzling option. The set includes 20 strands, each just over 3 feet long, with sequins in a mix of sizes for texture and shine. String them on a tension rod, or use the 20 included adhesive hooks to hang them from walls, door frames, or window frames.

Diatomaceous earth coasters that absorb condensation before it stains surfaces

NUOBISHI Diatomaceous Absorbent Coasters (4-Pack)

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With their organic shapes and absorbent surfaces, these coasters are a chic and effective way to rest drinks between sips. There are four in a set, each made from white diatomaceous. The porous stone actually pulls moisture from the bottom of your glass and absorbs it into the coaster, so your table or countertop stays clean and dry. It also comes with adhesive dots for a nonslip grip, and sandpaper for the occasional refresh.

Wall-mounted holders that give remote controls a dedicated storage spot

XYOFUN Magnetic Remote Control Wall Mount (4-Pieces)

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Not only do these magnetic holders help put an end to missing remotes, but they look great while doing so. The four-pack includes one in black, white, pink, and green, each made from silicone with a strong embedded magnet. A slot design provides a secure hold, and the magnetic pull keeps it locked in place. Just peel and stick to install one on any flat, smooth vertical surface, including walls, glass, tile, or the back of a TV.

A nonslip bath mat that gently exfoliates your heels while you shower

Hargiis Non-Slip Bathtub Mat

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Most bath mats are purely functional, but this one doubles as a mini foot spa every time you step into the shower. Made from PVC, it features a loofah-like texture that massages the bottoms of your feet and gently scrubs away dead skin on your heels while you go about your routine. It includes a nonslip backing for a firm grip, and it can be trimmed to size for smaller areas.

Glass stirring spoons that come in a wide variety of candy colors

GULELAYAR Glass Spoons (5 Pieces)

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These glass spoons are a small way to make daily coffee or tea drinking feel like a fancy ritual. There are five spoons per set, each made of high-borosilicate glass in a unique color. They’re not just for hot drinks, either — a curvy handle reaches comfortably into tall mugs, iced tea glasses, and parfait cups, so you have plenty of excuses to show them off.

Ribbed glass cups that look like vintage finds

Nirvany Ribbed Glass Cups (2-Pack)

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These ribbed glasses are the kind of find that can make an ordinary glass of water feel like a little luxury. They’re made of microwave-safe glass and come as a pair, each in its own unique silhouette: a tall can shape and a curvier gourd shape. Use them for everything from morning coffee to weekend cocktails. One content creator raved, “Love these — and they make my latte videos look so chic.”

A self-draining ceramic soap dish that helps bars from turning mushy

Wovla Draining Soap Dis

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Ceramic construction and a rustic finish suggest this soap dish is a vintage find rather than a utilitarian bathroom accessory, but its ingenious design keeps your sink-side tidier. Your soap sits on a raised strainer while excess water drains straight through into the sink, helping the bar stay dry and firm. You can also use it to air-dry and extend the life of your sponges.

Solid brass screw covers that hide unsightly hardware

kvohlum Screw Covers Caps (20 Pieces)

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These little brass covers are an easy way to disguise the standard screws that come with your furniture and decor. Pop them over exposed fasteners, and suddenly things look more finished. The 20-piece set includes 20 screw covers, 20 matching screws, and 20 washers (or enough to handle multiple mirrors, shelves, signs, and more). Installation is simple — just screw in, then cap on — and the finished product resists corrosion, scratches, and tarnishing.

An over-the-cabinet towel bar that adds hidden storage without tools

KES Over The Cabinet Door Towel Bars (2-Pack)

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This pair of towel holders realizes the untapped potential of your cabinet doors. The front has a sleek matte-black bar for hanging hand towels, while the back has five hooks — each with a weight-bearing capacity of 6.6 pounds — for oven mitts, dish brushes, cleaning gloves, or whatever small tools usually get lost in the back of a drawer. Simply click them over your cabinet doors for instant setup.

Cordless ceiling lights that let you change your bathroom’s color on the fly

Bgmonster Waterproof Shower Lights (2-Pack)

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A basic overhead bathroom fixture will get you through an ordinary grooming routine, but these rechargeable lights set a mood. Stick them to the ceiling of your shower or bathtub, and suddenly you're showering in one of 16 colors. Two dynamic modes, multiple brightness levels, and three timer settings are all adjustable via touch or the included remote, and a waterproof rubber cover protects the charging port from steam and splashes.

Fluted glass flameless candles that flicker like the real thing

Lezonic Glass Flameless Candles (4-Pack)

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These flameless candles give you the warm ambiance of genuine lit wicks, minus the smoke and fire hazard. The fluted glass bodies catch the light beautifully and look way more expensive than they are, while the dancing flame effect gives off a convincing flicker. The set includes four orange glass pillars in mixed heights, each powered by two AA batteries for up to 200 hours of runtime.

Drawer pulls that make ordinary cabinets look custom

Goldenwarm Cabinet Knobs (15-Pack)

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These black-and-gold knobs are the move if you want your space to instantly look more bougie. The 15-pack includes round T-shaped knobs made of stainless steel and zinc alloy, with a brushed finish that’s treated to resist rust and fading, even in humid kitchens and bathrooms. The two-tone combination feels modern and works with both wood and painted surfaces, and two screw lengths are included to fit a wide range of cabinet and drawer thicknesses.

A rolling tray that helps you slide heavy kitchen appliances around

Fxacyem Appliance Slider

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If shuffling appliances around your countertop does a number on your patience, this rolling tray is the answer. Park your coffee maker, espresso machine, air fryer, or stand mixer on top, and suddenly you can glide it out with one finger whenever you want to use it, then push it right back against the wall when you're done. It can hold up to 40 pounds, and its rustic brown finish blends well with most kitchen setups.

Self-adhesive shower curtain clips that help keep water off your bathroom floor

FEATCH Shower Curtain Clips (4 Pieces)

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If a billowing curtain and splashing water are an issue whenever you shower, consider adding these clips to your tub. Stick them to the wall with the adhesive backing, secure your curtain in place, and everything will stay where it should. There are four per set, and they work will all standard curtain styles. One shopper wrote, “It's so nice not to have to always clean up a puddle of water when I would finish my shower.”

Silicone bar mats that catch drips, spills & coffee grounds

ZJWZLG Bar Mats (2-Pack)

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These silicone bar mats are a colorful and useful addition to any home bar, coffee station, or dishwashing area. They’re flexible, durable, and heat-resistant, so you can set hot items directly on top without damaging the counter underneath. Raised prongs on the surface trap spills and coffee grounds while keeping glassware stable, and cleaning is genuinely effortless. Just rinse them under running water or toss them in the dishwasher. Each set includes two mats.

Stick-on fan blade filters that turn your ceiling fan into a low-key air purifier

Barnakl Ceiling Fan Air Purifier Pads (5-Pack)

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These pads install on the top of your existing ceiling fan blades, creating an air filter that requires zero floor space. They’re made from activated coconut-shell carbon and trap dust, pollen, pet dander, smoke, VOCs, and airborne chemicals as air passes through the fan blades. Just peel and stick for instant setup, and replace them every one to three months to keep things fresh.

A pull-out valet rod that turns any closet into a boutique setup

FIRJOY Closet Valet Rod

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There's something luxurious about having a dedicated valet rod to lay out tomorrow's outfit. Slide it from your closet door, and you've got instant extra hanging space for planning a look, air-drying a garment, or letting a dress hang out its wrinkles overnight. When you're done, it slides right back in and disappears. Installation takes minutes, and the brushed gold finish adds an upscale vibe to your dressing area.

Clip-on cabinet hooks that turn unused shelf space into mug storage

xympo Coffee Mug Hangers (2-Pack)

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These clip-on hangers turn a clunky pile of mugs into an organized arrangement. Each is made from thick, powder-coated steel and holds up to 5 pounds (enough for two large mugs or three standard-size cups per hanger). Slide them over any standard shelf edge, and hang your mugs from the hooks. The result is a tidy display that also frees up a ton of cabinet space for other stuff.

A free-standing metal shoe rack that keeps tall boots from slouching

pickpiff Free Standing Shoe Rack

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This shoe rack was designed for those who know the heartbreak of watching boots sag and lose their shape. Made from sturdy coated metal with a stable rectangular base, it features rounded posts that hold up to four pairs of boots. Store them upside down to keep the shafts straight, the shape intact, and the interior clean from debris. One shopper wrote, “Finally, our boots are not just bunched up on the floor collecting dust and looking a mess.”

A plug-in night-light that looks like a tiny aquarium on the wall

PTAHON Artificial Tropical Fish Decorative Moving Aquarium Lamp

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When a plain night-light won’t do, lean into an over-the-top design like this aquarium model. A tiny tropical fish scene glows softly, showing off the ecosystem of faux fish living in your lamp. “This is the perfect throwback to the 90s! Watching the fish “swim” with the gentle motion of the lights brings back so many memories of childhood,” wrote one Amazon reviewer. “The effect is mesmerizing, almost hypnotic, and it adds such a fun, retro vibe to any room.”

Solar house number lights that make your address visible after dark

Mofkirg Solar House Number Light

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If you’re looking for instant curb appeal, add these modern house number lights to your property. They mount to your home’s exterior or on a post and display your address in a warm glow, lit from both above and below for a subtle architectural effect. A solar panel provides up to eight hours of light on a full charge, while an IP65 waterproof rating means it handles rain, snow, and temperature swings year-round without damage.

A magnetic laundry organizer that stores dryer balls, hangers, & lint

Detukna Laundry Room Organization

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This three-piece storage set is the fast track to a tidier laundry room. It includes a small basket for dryer balls, a medium basket that you can line with a trash bag for lint disposal, and a hanger holder to keep loose hangers organized. Each piece is made from metal with a smooth matte black finish that resists rust, and the strong magnetic backing attaches firmly to any metal washer or dryer surface without sliding.

Gold curtain tiebacks that mount to the wall without a drill

Groleca Curtain Holdbacks (2-Pack)

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Curtain tiebacks are one of those small details that elevate a space, and these ones make an impression without damaging your walls. Made from stainless steel with a brushed gold finish, they stick firmly to surfaces with adhesive backing, allowing your curtains to pull back in graceful swags. They hold everything from lightweight sheers to heavier drapes, and they can even be repurposed as towel, bag, and garment hooks.

A wall-mounted bathroom organizer that discreetly stores personal items

Poeland Wall Mounted Storage Box

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This slim wall-mounted storage box is a quick fix for keeping your bathroom cleaner and better organized. Stick it to the wall or the inside of a cabinet door, and it’ll hide tampons, pads, and other toiletries that don’t need to be on full display. Two interior compartments provide plenty of space, its pocket-style opening keeps contents protected, and a plastic body is easy to wipe clean when needed.

Faux wood curtain rods that look like solid oak & dress up your windows

UNCONSIL Wood Curtain Rod

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Guests will never know that this gorgeous curtain rod isn’t real wood. Made from sturdy metal with a convincing wood grain exterior, it adds a warm, organic look to your space. It’s fully adjustable from 48 to 86 inches, and capped on both ends with carved leaf-pattern finials that look straight out of a designer showroom. One fan raved, “The weight on the ornaments is very nice, it feels very expensive. Gorgeous, and a great price too.”

A portable hanger rack that turns any door into instant closet space

TERRA HOME Over The Door Coat Rack

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This foldable rack transforms any door into on-the-fly functional storage. Simply hook it over the top of any standard door, and it provides seven sturdy arms for hanging coats, laundry, towels, or accessories. When not in use, it folds flat for easy storage, making it ideal for travel and small-space living. Sponge pads prevent the hooks from scratching door finishes, and the nonslip design keeps the rack stable even when fully loaded.

A cable pass-through kit that hides your TV cords behind the wall

ECHOGEAR TV Cord Hider (2-Pack)

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When cords from your wall-mounted TV cause an unsightly mess, this kit is the answer. It lets you pass all those cables behind the wall, so your setup looks showroom-worthy. It includes two pass-through grommets with locking brackets that secure to the back of drywall, plus a drywall hole-saw attachment that cuts the perfect-sized opening for a snug fit. The grommets are also paintable if you want a seamless match with your walls.

Adjustable organizer straps that keep folded sheet sets tidy

BROPGOD Bed Sheet Straps (4-Pack)

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A tidy linen closet can sometimes feel impossible to achieve, but these organizer bands help make it happen. Just strap one around your folded sheet set for a neatly labeled, clearly sized stack that stays put. There are four in a set, and each is made with elastic that won’t stretch or lose its shape over time. They’re a small way to save time and spare you from being buried in an avalanche of loose bedding.

Peel-and-stick marble tiles that upgrade your kitchen in an hour

Art3d Backsplash Tiles (10 Pieces)

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When your kitchen or bathroom is feeling dated, these peel-and-stick tiles are a cheap and easy way to give your space a bougie refresh. Each 10-by-10-inch sheet mimics the look of real marble, right down to the subtle veining and slight variation between pieces. They resist heat and moisture, so they're safe behind stoves and sinks, and wipe clean easily when inevitable messes happen. They also have more than 6,000 five-star ratings on Amazon.

Padded door silencers that hook over your knob to prevent slams

WARMTONE Door Silencers (3-Pack)

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Whether you have a door that’s prone to slamming or live with light sleepers, these fabric door silencers help create a calmer atmosphere in the home. They wrap around your door latch with stretchy elastic bands, cushioning the latch so it doesn’t engage, and the door shuts silently. There are three per pack to cover multiple rooms, and they’re available in a range of soft shades.

Candy-colored sink strainers that look cute while catching food scraps

Li&Zhao Kitchen Sink Drain Strainer (4-Pack)

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Pop one of these silicone strainers into your sink, and everyday washing and prepping will feel a little more cheerful. It fits snugly in the drain without scratching the basin, and the drainage hole pattern captures food particles effectively while allowing water to flow freely. A small hook-style handle on the edge makes it easy to lift out for emptying, and it’s dishwasher-safe for deep cleaning. Each set includes four strainers in unique colors.

Gold wall hooks that fold flat when they’re not in use

Macikwon Foldable Wall Hooks (4-Pack)

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These foldable hooks are a chic, space-saving solution for small or minimalist homes. Each set includes four hooks made from durable zinc alloy with a chip- and rust-resistant brushed gold finish that adds a polished touch. Designed to hold up to 55 pounds per piece, they can handle everything from heavy coats to overstuffed bags without strain. When not in use, the hooks fold flat against the wall, keeping your space looking clean and streamlined.

A collapsible hamper that mounts to the wall and folds flat when empty

Goderewild Collapsible Laundry Basket

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When you’re dealing with small space living, pieces like this hamper can make a major difference in how airy (or cluttered) your surroundings feel. Install it right to the wall, and it will keep laundry out of sight and off the floor. When you don't need it, it folds flat to just four inches deep. Ventilation holes along the sides promote airflow to prevent musty odors, and handles make it portable for trips to the washing machine.

A stunning botanical area rug that’s machine washable

Estmy Woodland Forest Rug

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With its whimsical woodland botanical pattern, this area rug adds color, charm, and an entire story to your space. It’s made from faux wool fibers that are soft on your feet, yet slim enough to let a door swing open without bunching. A rubber backing keeps it firmly in place on slick hardwood or tile floors, and the whole thing holds up to repeated washing without shedding, cracking, or peeling.

A warm wood-grain side table with an elegant spindle base

VIMBER Small Side Table

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With its gorgeous curves and compact build, this side table adds instant style and utility to any small space. It's built from sturdy MDF with a water-resistant walnut-grain finish that resists spills, rings, and everyday wear. A double-layer base keeps it stable, and assembly is quick and tool-free. Use it as a drink table, nightstand, plant stand, or any other display in a small, unused corner of your home.

In Shudder and IFC’s recent, surprisingly great update on Faces of Death, the characters talk about the original film with a contradictory combination of dismissal and awe. To them, it’s both “some old horror movie” and a dark talisman that, while it’s not quite supernatural, brings out the worst in everyone who watches it. It certainly inspires the film’s villain, played by Dacre Montgomery, who takes scenes that were faked for the original movie and redoes them “for real” — within the fictional world of this movie, of course. It’s all very meta.

It also serves as an effective advertisement for the original film. If a movie was so controversial that video-store clerks had to keep it under the counter, forcing the morbidly curious to ask for it by name, then surely it must be worth watching, right? Yes and no.

So what is Faces of Death? Put succinctly, it’s a primitive supercut, a “documentary” made up of clips claiming to show “real” animal and human death. (Some scenes are real and some are staged, but we’ll get to that in a minute.) It’s presented with faux-scientific voiceover from a “pathologist” with the amusing name of Dr. Frances B. Gröss, and purports to be a sober-minded exploration into “the mystery — and terror — of death.” Really, it’s just a grossout reel.

How Was Faces of Death Received Upon Its Release?

Faces of Death was originally released in theaters in 1978. It was trashed by critics, who called it tasteless and exploitative (fair enough). But it made big money at the box office, proving that human beings are far more intrigued than they are repelled by graphic evidence of their own mortality. In 1983, it was released on VHS and Betamax (now there’s an old-school format for you), prompting censors in the U.K. and Australia to either demand cuts to the film or ban it outright. In both cases, it only added to the legend.

Almost immediately, debate began over whether what we see in Faces of Death was real. In the nearly 50 years since its release, this question has been revisited over and over again, and the short answer is: Both. The newsreel footage — featuring surgery, skydiving accidents, war, and famine — was all real, but the film’s centerpiece “documentary” scenes, which include a “cannibalistic cult orgy” (led by the director himself, under the fake name 'Conan Le Cilaire') and an “execution by electric chair,” were staged.

Similarly, most of the animal death in the film was real, although a notorious scene where a group of diners “kill” a monkey and “eat its brains” a lá Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was, thankfully, fake. Either way, Faces of Death is definitely not recommended for animal lovers.

Why Is It Important to See Faces of Death Now?

Largely because of the remake, along with nostalgia value for old-school horror fans who remember the days when Faces of Death was the stuff of schoolyard legend. Beyond that, it’s primarily important for its historical context. As the new movie points out, in the age of YouTube death compilations and gore forums, Faces of Death is a relic.

Faces of Death is an example of a “Mondo” movie, a type of film that was invented in Italy in the 1960s, was popular in the grindhouse era of the ‘70s, and was irrelevant by the time YouTube came around in 2005. Ostensibly, they’re documentaries, although much of the footage in them is fake. Either way, they stitch together a series of loosely related scenes that are organized around a theme — usually something provocative, like witchcraft or nudist colonies — and held together by narration from a “scientific”authority figure like good old Dr. Gröss.

They’re very weird movies, and worth looking at for their historical context, if not their entertainment value. Ironically, in some ways, Faces of Death is one of the more palatable examples of the subgenre, compared to some of the racist trash Italian mondo directors were putting out around this time. And it’s not palatable at all!

What New Features Does Vinegar Syndrome’s 4K UHD Disc Have?

Vinegar Syndrome is the perfect label to re-release Faces of Death — it’s a company built on taking obscure cultural artifacts and giving them the deluxe physical-media treatment. That being said, this may be one case where restoring a film actually does it a disservice: If you can’t tell which scenes were faked for the “documentary” on VHS, you certainly will be able to in 4K. (Then again, the crudeness is part of the charm.)

Instead, the main draw here is in 14 minutes of never-before-seen outtakes, as well as a new documentary featuring interviews with filmmakers and genre scholars about their personal relationships with the film and its larger cultural context.

Here’s the full list of special features:

• 2-disc Set: 4K Ultra HD / Region A Blu-ray
• 4K UHD presented in Dolby Vision High-Dynamic-Range
• Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm and 16mm original camera negative
• Commentary with director Conan Le Cilaire, moderated by Michael Felsher
• “Buried Footage” – newly discovered, never-before-seen outtakes
• “Choice Cuts” – an archival featurette with editor Glenn Turner
• “The Death Makers” – an archival featurette with effects creators Allan Apone and Douglas White
• “Many Faces of Death” – scholars and genre experts examine the controversial origins and lasting cultural impact of Faces of Death
• Isolated music track
• Archival outtakes
• Trailer
• Reversible sleeve artwork
• English SDH subtitles

Faces of Death is available on 4K UHD now from Vinegar Syndrome.

Faces of Death 4K UHD Blu-ray

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Sometimes, the best Amazon finds aren’t the things you set out to buy — they’re the weird little products you accidentally discover. You know, the ones that look completely unnecessary until you notice they have thousands of rave reviews. Ahead, a roundup of weird stuff under $25 that shoppers are surprisingly obsessed with and you will be soon, too.

A magnetic goose key holder that holds keys, tools & more

GRAPMKTG Magnetic Goose Key Holder

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Keep your keys in a safe spot so you always know where they are, like under the beak of this magnetic goose figurine. In your day-to-day, you can also use this 7-inch goose as a landing spot for other small metal items that usually disappear into drawers. You can also buy it in an equally cute “Canada” goose version.

A glass dome LED tulip night-light with a warm glow

ONXE Tulips Night Light

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In the style of “Beauty and the Beast,” this tulip night-light preserves the artificial flowers in a glass dome. It sits on a wooden base and uses an LED light to create a warm, cozy glow. You can power it through USB or AAA batteries, and it comes in five color variations in a cute, gift-ready box.

Latex-free earlobe support patches to prevent stretching

Lobe Wonder Ear Lobe Support Patches (60-Pack)

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Give your earrings some extra support with this 60-pack of earlobe support patches. They are small, clear, latex-free adhesive patches that sit behind your earlobe to help distribute the weight of earrings and prevent stretched piercings from drooping. “Super easy to use,” wrote one reviewer. “They are clear. There is no color so you can't even see them.”

An 80-piece 3D jigsaw puzzle planter with a drip tray

PieceRelax 3D Puzzle Planter (80 Pieces)

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You get to assemble this 3D puzzle planter yourself using 80 curved puzzle pieces that lock together without glue, so it feels part craft project, part functional decor. Once built, it forms a sturdy pot with a dual-layer setup: one inner cup with drainage holes for plants like succulents or cactus, and a sealed outer layer that works as a drip tray.

A foldable book-style lamp with 5 color settings

Uniwolk Book Lamp

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When this unique, foldable book-shaped lamp opens, it casts light through a paper-style shade. It offers five color lighting modes, a rechargeable battery, and a magnetic spine that lets it open a full 360 degrees. You get up to six hours per charge. One reviewer exclaimed, “... it gives off this warm, soft glow that makes the whole space feel magical.”

A denture/retainer soaking case disguised as a potted eucalyptus plant

YCROJBK Disguised Denture Case

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Perfect for soaking retainers or dentures, this disguised denture case looks like an artificial potted eucalyptus plant but does so much more. It has a removable lid and strainer, and it’s made from BPA-free materials that can be used with any cleaning solution. It sits on a counter or shelf and blends in as any small potted plant would. You can also use it as a storage space for small accessories.

Glass tumblers that stack into a fish

MDLUU Fish Carafe Set (4 Pieces)

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These aren’t your standard water glasses — they’re decor-ready, stackable fish carafes that come with four lead-free glass tumblers, each featuring a different fish-inspired texture. When stacked, they reach 12.6 inches tall. Available in a blue or amber tint, they’ve earned an impressive score of 4.6 stars overall. One reviewer added that “they feel very nice and thick and come in a really nice box.”

A solar hot air balloon lantern with a warm, flickering light

TERESA'S COLLECTIONS Hot Air Balloon Solar Lantern

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Designed to look like a blue-and-purple hot air balloon, this hanging solar lantern hangs at 18 inches tall and charges in the sun during the day before turning on automatically at night for up to eight hours. Available in multiple color options, the flickering flame effect gives it a warmer, softer glow than a standard garden light.

A cute bear vent clip diffuser with rotating propeller & 2 scents

Tallew Bear Car Air Freshener

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This small car vent clip air freshener attaches directly to your air vents, so airflow helps distribute the scent. It comes with two fragrance tablets — one cologne-style and one ocean scent. The top propeller spins when air comes through, obviously because the bear is flying an airplane, which is a detail that made one reviewer claim it’s “Money well spent.”

A projection alarm clock with 2 charging ports & 11 colors

ZELAM Projection Alarm Clock

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Switch out your average clock with this fun projection alarm clock. It features a 7.4-inch LED screen and a rotating projector that can cast the time onto your wall or ceiling from 1.6 to 11 feet away. It has 11 RGB color options, night light modes, and adjustable brightness levels for both the screen and projection.

Crystal tablecloth weights that double as pretty decor

Pumtus Crystal Tablecloth Weights (16-Pack)

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Use these crystal glass pendants for two purposes: to weigh down your tablecloth to keep it in place and to add some pretty decor to any table. The set comes with 16 teardrop pendants, each weighing 20 grams, and stainless steel clips. And as a bonus, they “come with a case to hold them all in!” one reviewer enthusiastically noted.

A 2-in-1 emergency keychain tool for added security

Resqme Emergency Keychain Car Escape Tool

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This small keychain tool combines a seatbelt cutter and a spring-loaded window breaker that can save lives in a car emergency. It’s designed to clip onto your keys and stay accessible in case you ever need it. A stainless-steel blade slices a jammed seatbelt, and a metal spike breaks tempered side windows. It has a reset mechanism so it can be used more than once.

A cute Apple Watch charging dock with 4.7 stars

LOVE MEI Apple Watch Charger Stand

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This capybara-shaped Apple Watch charger is cute and practical. Made of resin, the little guy is sturdy and heavy enough to stay standing without toppling over. It’s compatible with all Apple Watches, with one reviewer writing that “standard chargers are so awkward and always slipping or falling off [the] nightstand, this guy solved that issue.” It should be no shocked that it’s racked up an overall score of 4.7 out of five stars.

Adorable nonslip duck bookends that hug your collection

JARPSIRY Duck Bookends (2 Pieces)

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Here you have a pair of adorable bookends shaped as two ducks hugging with their cute little faces squished against books. Designed to sit on either side of your books, the ducks do a great job of preventing them from sliding or tipping over. They have a nonslip base for some extra help.

A ceramic mini vase magnet set that holds water for real flowers

Renmxj Refrigerator Magnets (8 Pieces)

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These fridge magnets are miniature ceramic and glass vases that successfully hold up artwork or other important notes. You get eight magnets total at just over an inch tall — six ceramic and two glass — plus eight artificial flowers, so each one comes prepped to look like a tiny bouquet. They can also hold water and are leakproof, making them a smart space for small bouquets or cuttings.

A smiley face planter with drainage holes for convenience

UMESONG Smily Face Planter Pot

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This resin planter is less of a basic flower pot and more of a tiny decor piece that happens to hold a plant. It has a smiley face design and sits on a rocking chair base. It has a drainage hole at the bottom, and it works indoors or outside without fading or cracking in the weather. One reviewer exclaimed, “Every time I look at it, it makes me laugh.”

Decorative knob covers that install easily without tools

Knobēz Knob Covers (12-Pack)

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Change up your kitchen in an instant with these decorative knob covers. Crafted with a silicone exterior, they’re designed to stretch and fit around knobs of most sizes, up to 1.5 inches in diameter. Available in three designs, they install easily without tools and serve as a great way to give your cabinets a makeover on the cheap.

A peel-off nail barrier for cleaner DIY manicures

Makartt Liquid Latex

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If you’ve ever finished painting your nails only to realize half the polish is technically on your fingers, this liquid latex is here to keep things a little cleaner. Backed by an impressive overall score of 4.6 stars, it’s easy to use. Just brush it around your cuticles before painting, let it dry, then peel it off once you’re done. The formula is quick-drying, low-odor, and will last a long time, with one reviewer writing, “a little goes a long way.”

Non-adhesive drawer liners that make your dresser smell better

Linda's Essentials Fresh Linen Scented Drawer Liners

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These scented drawer liners are decorative paper sheets that make the inside of your drawers smell better while feeling more put-together. The pack comes with 10 non-adhesive sheets in six color options that are roomy enough for larger dresser drawers or closet shelves. They’re easy to trim if needed.

A compact car power adapter for charging lots of devices on the road

YSOLX Car Plug Adapter

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This car power adapter plugs into your 12-volt cigarette lighter and converts it into 110-volt AC power, giving you two standard wall-style outlets, plus four USB ports. It’s compact, measuring roughly around the size of a phone, so it doesn’t take up much space in your center console or glove box. The adapter can handle phones, tablets, and even a laptop while you’re on the road.

A ceramic duck soap dish with a self-draining design

Fewile Ceramic Duck Soap Dish

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Soap won’t hold itself, which is why this ceramic duck soap dish is probably exactly what you need. It’s designed to hold a standard bar of soap while letting water drain out through a channel in the beak. It comes with a removable plastic cover underneath that makes it easy to rinse out the inside of the dish.

A magnetic brass shopkeeper's bell with a sweet little chime

Desricy Shopkeepers Bell

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This shopkeeper’s doorbell is one of those small, random items you’ll be happy you purchased. Made from dark walnut wood with a brass bell, it attaches with a magnet or mounts to a wall. Backed by an overall score of 4.6 stars, the sweet, soft chime sounds a lot more pleasant than the average doorbell.

Cute sheer mesh socks made from cotton & nylon

Yomutiur Sheer Socks (5 Pairs)

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The cuteness factor of these sheer mesh socks is big. Five pairs come in the set, each made from a cotton and nylon blend, designed with jacquard-style patterns and a lightweight, stretchy fit. They’re one size fits most, machine washable, and each pack has a variety of designs and colors.

• Available sizes: OS
• Available colors: 4

A rechargeable fabric shaver with a 3-hour battery life

POPCHOSE Fabric Shaver

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This fabric shaver uses six-leaf blades that spin fast enough to tackle fuzz on everything from wool coats to sofa cushions, plus two speed settings so you’re not attacking delicate knits the same way you’d handle upholstery. The rechargeable battery gives up to three hours of use before needing a USB-C charge. One reviewer said, “It strikes a good balance between power, fabric care, and price.”

TSA-approved mini scissors with a tiny spring-loaded handle

CANARY Mini Travel Scissors

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Sure, these mini travel scissors are the most adorable scissors ever to exist, but they’re also functional. They are TSA-approved and meant for quick, little cutting tasks like thread, paper, or clothing tags. The scissors feature a stainless steel blade and a spring-loaded handle that opens automatically with a pinch. “Every crafter or traveler should have a pair of these,” wrote one reviewer. “They are just so handy and so tiny yet sharp and practical.”

A cherry blossom tree lamp with bendable branches

Nakolulu Cherry Blossom Tree Lamp

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Mimicking a small light-up tree, this 18-inch bonsai lamp uses 36 LED lights that look like cherry blossoms with soft pink petals on black branches. You can shape the copper-wire branches however you want, and it runs on either USB or three AA batteries. A simple click button powers it off and on.

A dusk-to-dawn projector night-light with adjustable brightness

Briignite Projector Night Light

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Instead of just throwing a basic glow across the room, this galaxy night light projects warm, starry patterns both up and down the wall. It has three brightness settings so you can keep it barely-there in a bedroom or a little brighter in a bathroom or hallway. The built-in dusk-to-dawn sensor means you can plug it in and forget about it.

Terracotta brown sugar savers that absorb pantry moisture

Brown Sugar Bear Sugar Saver (2-Pack)

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Soak this terracotta brown sugar saver for about 20 minutes and then tuck it into brown sugar to help keep it from hardening for roughly three to six months. The pack comes with two reusable pieces. You can also use it in spices or crackers to control moisture. To reuse it, just soak it in water and pat it dry.

An adhesive razor holder with 4.8 stars

AGMDESIGN Animal Razor Holder

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This silicone razor holder is shaped like a cat, making it a whole lot cuter than the average razor holder. The adhesive backing sticks to tile, glass, mirrors, and even refrigerators if you feel like getting organized beyond the bathroom. As one reviewer points out, the holder “sticks really well to the shower wall.” Backed with an overall score of 4.8 stars, you can also buy it in a sloth version.

A copper charm that keeps stems alive longer

Precious Petal Flower Food Charm

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Instead of reaching for the usual flower food packet, drop this reusable food charm into a vase. It’s made from 100% pure copper and designed to sit in the water to help keep it clearer for longer. The set comes with a micro suede storage bag so you can keep track of it between uses.

A steel rain drum that doesn’t require musical training

harmuhos Rain Drum

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If you’ve ever wanted your backyard to sound like a spa that serves cucumber water, this 6-inch steel tongue drum gets surprisingly close. It has 11 notes in D major, so musical training isn’t required. Made from titanium alloy with a coated finish, the rain drum is built for outdoor use and comes with the full setup: mallets, finger picks, a music book, and a carry bag.

A best-selling metallic paint pen set with over 23,000 5-star reviews

ARTISTRO Medium Point Metallic Markers (12-Pack)

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This best-selling 12-pack of medium-point acrylic metallic markers has earned well over 23,000 five-star reviews, which definitely says something. Filled with opaque ink that lays down a glossy finish once it dries, these markers are so satisfying to use. Each has a 2.5-millimiter bullet tip. One reviewer noted a perk: “The colors are opaque, so you don't typically need multiple coats.”

Best-selling shower lamps that are rechargeable & waterproof

YJHAOTOU Waterproof Shower Lamp

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These best-selling rechargeable shower lamps give your bathroom some mood lighting. They come in a two-pack, and they’re waterproof, so they’re made to handle steam and splashes. In addition to three white light modes, they project ocean-wave patterns in 16 colors. You can adjust brightness, colors, and modes by touch or remote.

A foldable silicone sink cover for extra counter space when you need it

Maplefield Travel Size Bathroom Sink Cover

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This silicone sink cover acts as a temporary countertop for bathrooms. Measuring 19.5 by 15.5 inches, it fits over smaller sinks to create extra surface space while still leaving room to use the faucet. The raised ridges help keep small things like mascara, tweezers, or lip balm from rolling away, and it’s also heat-resistant up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

A tool rescuing sweaters from snags with 4.7 stars

Dritz Snag Nab-It

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For a quick snag repair on sweaters, check out the Snag Nab-It. It’s a 2.5-inch nickel repair tool with a blunt tip, so you’re not poking holes into already fragile fabrics. Instead, you slide the textured shaft through the snag and pull the loose thread to the inside. It works on knits and wovens alike, and has earned an overall score of 4.7 stars.

Novelty sardine clips with a double-sided iridescent finish

Genuine Fred FISH 'N CLIPS Sardine Bag Clips (4-Pack)

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Chip clips don’t have to be boring, and this pack of novelty sardine bag clips proves it. The set comes with four clips, each measuring just under 4 inches long and finished in a shimmery iridescent coating that’s double-sided. If sardines aren’t your thing, they come in a variety of other designs.

A hypoallergenic fidget spinner ring with a rotating outer layer

LuckyAmor Rotating Fidget Ring

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This fidget spinner ring features a rotating outer layer decorated with cutout moon and star shapes. It’s hypoallergenic, makes minimal noise, and is crafted with everyday wear in mind. Crafted from stainless steel, it comes in multiple fixed sizes.

• Available sizes: 5 — 10
• Available colors: 10+

An expressive seat cushion pillow with a velvet exterior

lumogeva Toast Seat Cushion

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This seat cushion is shaped like a slice of toast, complete with different facial expressions like happy, angry, shy, and content, depending on which version you pick. It’s made with a crystal velvet exterior and stuffed with polyester filling. The bottom has a nonslip design, and there’s a small rope to secure it in place.

A stainless steel fridge deodorizer with a 10-year lifespan

Exluvon Refrigerator Deodorizer

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You can go a full decade without having to replace this powerful refrigerator deodorizer. Made of food-grade stainless steel and more effective than the usual baking soda box, it uses a 3D honeycomb filter and catalytic design to eliminate odors. One reviewer raved, “I cannot believe how well this works!”

Squeezable pocket pill cases that are very travel-friendly

GMS Squeezable Pocket Pill Case (2-Pack)

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Designed to hold up to 28 small or medium tablets, this two-pack of pocket pill cases is ideal for travel when you don’t want a bulky pill box in your bag. The case has a squeezable design that opens when you press the sides, making it a great option for independent living.

A wall-mounted UV toothbrush sanitizer with an LED clock

JetFresh UV Toothbrush Sanitizer Holder

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This wall-mounted toothbrush holder uses UV-C light plus warm airflow to sanitize and dry your brush between uses. It fits manual, electric, and kids’ brushes, and it’s made from ABS plastic with a covered design that keeps things out of the open air. It also includes an LED clock on the front and runs on a rechargeable battery.

A fuzzy nonslip couch cover that’s machine-washable

ZQFFB Pet Couch Cover

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Unlike most couch covers, this pet-proof fuzzy sofa cover is actually comfortable. This one is made from a dense, skin-friendly, and breathable fabric that fits over a three-cushion couch and adds a soft layer between your furniture and whatever your dog is tracking in. It uses a nonslip backing to stay in place.

A crystal tree incense holder on an ash-catching tray

AMEQUOISE Incense Holder

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Handmade with natural stones, this incense holder has money tree energy. Crystal stones are mounted on a metal base that stands on an ash-catching tray. Small stones sit at the bottom of the tray, along with the small holder for an incense stick. “Works well, looks super pretty and seems to hold the incense well. I’ve had it a while and it’s still holding up,” raved one reviewer. You can choose from four tree colors.

Portable paper soap sheets that dissolve when you’re ready to use

FOMIN Paper Soap Sheets (300-Pack)

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These paper soap sheets are hand soap flattened into tiny dissolvable sheets. You get 300 unscented sheets in a slim portable case. All you do is grab one, add water, rub your hands together, and it turns into a light lather that rinses clean. They’re especially useful for school, camping, or anywhere without soap.

A foldable magnetic phone mount for iPhones 12 through 17

BOSILLEY Magnetic Car Phone Holder

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Give your phone a spot to land while you’re driving with this magnetic car phone holder. It’s MagSafe-compatible iPhones 12 through 17 and uses a suction cup base that attaches to either your dashboard or windshield. The foldable arm rotates 360 degrees, so you can tilt your phone however you like, whether you prefer portrait or landscape. With an insane overall score of 4.9 stars, one five-star reviewer wrote, “It feels more premium than I expected for the price and has worked perfectly so far.”

A smudge-fixing nail polish that works in 10 seconds

LONDONTOWN Kur Instant Smudge Fix

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The chance of smudging a freshly painted nail is always high, so when that happens, reach for this instant smudge fix to avoid having to redo the nail altogether. The rescue formula comes in a typical nail polish jar, and it fixes smears or dents in about 10 seconds before you seal it with a top coat.

A lay-flat drawstring makeup bag with pockets & travel-ready handles

Narwey Barrel Drawstring Makeup Bag

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This soft-sided makeup bag opens flat so you can see what you packed. The water-resistant bag is the perfect size for skin care bottles, makeup brushes, and the usual assortment of travel-sized products. It has a Velcro front flap, double drawstrings for closure, two handles for carrying, plus an inner zip pocket and mesh pocket for smaller items.

A handmade tealight holder that doubles as a jewelry dish & diffuser

Teppellze Cat Candle Holder

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This little cat candle holder is a handcrafted plaster cat figurine designed to hold a standard tealight candle. Because it's made from porous gypsum, it also works as a mini essential oil diffuser or a small dish for rings and earrings. It comes in a pink gift box with a bonus kitten keychain.

Crystal suncatchers that turns plain windows into a light show

Louxiar Crystal Suncatcher (4-Pack)

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Hang these crystal suncatchers near a window and watch them work their magic by catching direct sunlight and scattering it across your walls and ceiling as rainbow-colored light. You get four pieces per pack, ranging from 14 to 18 inches long, each with its own chain and hook for easy hanging.

A 9-in-1 multitool pen with a flashlight, screwdriver & level

BIIB Multitool Pen

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When you have this nine-in-1 multitool pen on hand, you have access to a ballpoint pen, screwdriver set, ruler, stylus, level, LED light, and bottle opener. “It comes with three extra ink cartridges and two extra batteries, which is extremely nice,” one reviewer said. Choose from four colors, along with one “best dad ever” option.

A cat-shaped toothpick holder that dispenses 1 at a time

PELEG DESIGN Toothpick Holder

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Shaped like a small cat called Pickitty, this toothpick holder doubles as a conversation piece. You flip it upside down and shake to dispense one toothpick at a time. It's made of hard plastic, so it won't easily crack, and it holds a solid supply despite its compact size. If cats aren’t your thing, you can also buy it in a whale or beaver design.

A diffuser necklace with a hidden aromatherapy twist

GFONDINGD Essential Oil Diffuser Necklace

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This stainless steel diffuser necklace has a trick up its sleeve. It consists of a locket-style pendant with a tree of life design, a 23.6-inch chain, and 10 washable and reusable felt pads in different colors so you can swap scents or just match your mood to your outfit. Inside is a sweet Christopher Robin quote from “Winnie the Pooh.”

Hand-painted mushroom toilet bolt covers with cottagecore vibes

YLOVAN Mushroom Toilet Bolt Covers (2-Pack)

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Those plastic caps sitting at the base of your toilet are almost certainly cracked, yellowed, or just sad-looking, and these resin mushroom covers are a low-effort swap. Each red-and-white hand-painted cap fits standard toilet bolts. Just set them over the existing screws for some cute cottagecore energy.

A color-changing fidget keychain with satisfying clicky buttons

COZYMATE Keyboard Fidget Toy

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This tiny fidget toy is essentially four miniature keyboard keys linked together on a keychain. Press any button, and the LED lights inside change colors while producing that soft, satisfying click you get from an actual mechanical keyboard. One reviewer said that it’s “perfect for adults who need stress relief at work, during meetings, or on the go.”

A funny dumpster fire Zen garden that leans into the chaos

Munnygrubbers Dumpster Fire Zen Garden

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This funny 7-by-7-inch sand garden leans into chaos. It comes with fine sand and miniature tools, and the dumpster fire theme means it's designed for the person with a sense of humor. It sits on your desk as a fidget-friendly distraction — the kind you rake when you're on hold or taking a break.

“This is a great morale booster, a hilarious and oddly soothing desk accessory, and a thoughtful way to remind someone they’re not alone in the madness. Highly recommend!” wrote one reviewer.

A fake aquarium lamp with moving fish & ambient LED lighting

Linda’s Essentials Fake Fish Tank Night Light

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This adorable fake fish tank night light mimics the look of a fish tank — complete with animated fish that appear to swim across the display. It runs on a standard 110-volt plug, measures 12 by 10 inches, and uses LED lighting to create that soft, glowing underwater effect. No water, no filter, and no fish food needed.

A waterproof shower light with 16 colors & a remote

Gotopceed Shower Light

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This battery-powered ceiling or wall shower light is made for the inside of your shower or bathtub — not just near it. It comes with a remote and carries an IP65 waterproof rating, meaning steam, splashes, and humidity aren't a problem, though it's not meant to be submerged. It’s programmed with 16 RGB colors plus two color-cycle modes, and the battery runs between eight and 15 hours per charge.

Peel-&-stick wall decals that skip the paint & the commitment

wondever Flower Wall Stickers

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These peel-and-stick wall decals give you a wildflower-and-grass arrangement that isn’t permanent. The set comes with two sheets made of PVC material that’s waterproof and leaves no residue when removed, so you can stick them anywhere. One reviewer gushed that the stickers are a “really inexpensive way to decorate!”

A slim tissue holder for your car’s visor made from synthetic leather

BIPROS Car Tissue Holder

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Clip this tissue holder to your car's sun visor via adhesive magic tape. The holder is made from synthetic leather with a velvet-lined interior, and it works with standard facial tissue boxes, including the lotion variety that’s included. It’s also a great place to hold napkins, which is especially ideal if you drive younger passengers.

A handmade crochet car freshener with a refillable oil bottle

ROFIGL Crochet Car Air Freshener

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Your rearview mirror decor will level up in the cutest way with this handmade crochet car air freshener. It comes with a small glass bottle that can be filled with whatever essential oil or perfume you like. Plus, the leaves can be shaped, so you can angle them however you want. There are 12 total plant-inspired designs to choose from — each just as cute as the next.

A rechargeable toaster lamp with retro charm

QANYI Desk Decor Toaster Lamp

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This little desk lamp is shaped like a retro toaster, complete with a smiling toast face poking out the top, and it runs on a rechargeable battery, so there's no outlet required. It puts out a soft, diffused glow that won't make anyone squint. As one reviewer put it, the lamp is “bright enough to see and low enough for [comfort] of sleep.”

Brass fox hinge toppers that turn boring doors into a tiny gallery

SWNACOR Brass Fox Hinge Heads (3 Pieces)

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These tiny brass fox figurines sit right on top of your door hinges — yes, your door hinges — and honestly, it's a weirder concept than it sounds until you see one perched there looking smug. They attach via magnet, so no tools, no adhesive, and no commitment. One reviewer even called them “Adorable hidden secrets throughout the house.” They’re available in over 15 styles.

A 3-pocket organizer that sticks right to your laptop

AMOZIFY Laptop Sleeve

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This adhesive laptop sleeve attaches directly to the back of your MacBook or PC laptop via 3M industrial adhesive — the kind that holds firm but peels off without leaving a sticky mess behind. You get three elastic fabric compartments that stretch to fit a wireless mouse, an external SSD, USB cables, and a smartphone.

An acacia wood sofa tray that keeps drinks from sliding off the armrest

Danfoxer Sofa Arm Tray

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Set this wooden tray on your sofa armrest to hold drinks, snacks, your phone, or the remote you're always losing. It's made from acacia wood, which has a naturally warm grain, and the roll-up side flaps are meant to conform to the curve of your armrest so it doesn't wobble around.

Peeping cat metal bookends that keep a small row of books in check

Ecqizer Peeping Cat Bookends (2 Pieces)

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These bookends are shaped like black cats peeking around the edge of your books, designed to keep paperbacks and heavier hardcovers from sliding off shelves. They are lightweight but sturdy enough to do their job. They’re crafted from metal, with each side weighing just over half a pound. One reviewer said that the bookends “are a nice touch of whimsy to add to a home.”

The first two episodes of Star City have arrived, and that means an incredible dive back into the early days of the For All Mankind timeline, but from the Soviet point of view. For new viewers, there’s literally nothing you need to know about this show, other than the fact that in this timeline, the USSR’s space agency, Roscosmos, successfully landed humans on the Moon, well before NASA did. From there, the show dives into the men and women who struggled to make this happen, which includes a lot of surveillance. And, while this cold, unforgiving life — lacking in personal freedoms and privacy — is well known to historians, For All Mankind depicted this through very specific characters. And, one character, Irina Morozova (Svetlana Efremova), has been a ruthless enforcer and intelligence operative since Season 4. But, here, in the opening episodes of Star City, back in 1969, the younger Irina, as played by Agnes O'Casey, is...nice?

“Actually, at first, I misunderstood where we were starting Irina from,” O’Casey tells Inverse. “I assumed she'd be much more confident. I assumed she'd be much more at ease with the brutality of the time. But then I sat down with [showrunners] Matt [Wolpert] and Ben [Nedivi], and they were like, ‘No, no, we're starting her right from the beginning.’ You see her at the inception of her journey, which is so fun and dramatically exciting. Everyone knows where she's going. To see this sort of quivering version of her is exciting and more realistic.”

We’ve known since Season 4 of For All Mankind that Irina worked in the titular Star City since the early days of the Soviet space program. And, in the opening two episodes of the new series, we learn that right away, the innocent Irina started learning the hard way as to what counts as truth and justice behind the Iron Curtain.

In the series premiere, she discovers that some intelligence provided by her colleague, which indicated that one cosmonaut was a traitor, was false. But her tough-as-nails supervisor, Lyudmilla Raskova (Anna Maxwell Martin), makes clear, it doesn’t matter. The state does not “arrest innocent people,” meaning even if someone was innocent, the powers-that-be will never admit it.

Interestingly, in Episode 2, Star City also floats a conspiracy theory that the KGB murdered the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, which isn’t something that is generally considered to be provable, one way or another, though in this series, and in this timeline, it feels very likely to be true.

Mixing historical fact with fiction connects to Irina’s story in another way: Her new boss, Lyudmilla Raskova — whose cruel demeanor recalls the way the older Irina behaves in For All Mankind — is based on a real person: Marina Raskova, the first woman to become a professional pilot in the Soviet Union. The reference made in the show to Col. Raskova being one of the “Night Witches” is also a real part of history; the real Raskova convinced Stalin to allow women to fight in WWII and created an all-female squadron known as “the Night Witches.” While Star City’s Lyudmilla Raskova is not strictly the same as the historical Raskova (who passed away as the result of a plane crash in 1943), Martin did use the real history to help craft the character.

“I was sort of dubious at first. I was like, ‘Can this possibly be all true?’” Martin tells Inverse. “But she was real, I really seized the opportunity of playing my first night witch!”

Both Martin and O’Casey point out that the relationship between Lyudmilla and Irina is central to the overall story of Star City; certain brutal qualities from this military stalwart (who at times has shades of the Bond villain Rosa Klebb) will shape Irina into the woman she will become. In a sense, it’s basically like Irina will become Lyudmilla as the story goes on.

“We love that. We fully embrace that,” Martin says. “It's exactly that. It's like, how is she shaped? Is she going to boot the old hag down the stairs in the end?”

“Irina really looks up to Lyudmilla,” O’Casey says. “She's terrified of her, and she judges her very deeply, but she also can't help but idolize her and sort of long for her approval.”

While the fate of Lyudmilla is unknown, we do know what will happen to Irina in the future, and in a bit of franchise synergy, the future (or present-day) Irina (Svetlana Efremova) seems to have softened in the Season 5 finale of For All Mankind, sharing with Aleida (Coral Peña) some of her past idealism, and assisting Aleida with to transmitt certain signals to stop the fighting on Mars. Co-showrunner of both series, Matt Wolpert, tells Inverse this is all part of the plan.

“At the end of For All Mankind Season 5, you really do get the sense that Irina is reengaging with some parts of her younger self,” Wolpert says. “She’s discovering an ability to connect back to that idealism in her youth.”

So, while the stories in Star City are firmly about the events in Star City, there’s a larger novelistic tapestry here, and the lives of some of these characters are bigger and richer than just one single moment in time.

Star City and For All Mankind stream on Apple TV. Star City drops new episodes on Fridays.

When House of the Dragon Season 2 aired in the summer of 2024, fans were excited to see the Dance of Dragons finally kick off, with the simmering resentment in Season 1 finally growing to a fever pitch, resulting in secretive assassinations, dragon dogfights, and some tragic losses. But all throughout Season 2, one event was constantly discussed: the Battle of the Gullet.

The Battle of the Gullet was a massive naval battle that turned the tide in the conflict completely, and it was expected to be the big finale of Season 2. But the last episode of Season 2 ended only moments before the battle began, leaving fans in limbo for almost two years now. But in the final trailer for Season 3, it looks like this battle will finally take center stage. Check out the trailer below:

This trailer focuses on the cost of this conflict, all the casualties, and the vengeful fury caused by the last two seasons. But in between close-ups of various royals looking determined and/or sorrowful, there are a number of shots of the Battle of the Gullet, including one of the show’s recent additions, Triarchy captain Sharako Lohar, taking down her enemies on the deck of her ship.

At this point, the Greens in King’s Landing are trying to keep the peace with the commonfolk, so fortifying their fleets isn’t a high priority. This allows the Blacks, led by Sharako and Corlys Velaryon, to get a decisive victory at sea.

Considering how this battle was just barely cut out of Season 2, it’s likely it will be a major part of the first few episodes of Season 3. But after that, there’s no telling where the story goes. With the series as a whole ending after Season 4, Season 3 has to take us to the beginning of the end. But the real question is, where will that line be? After Season 2’s unsatisfying ending, we hopefully won’t have another cliffhanger, but there are only so many big events between now and a decisive winner.

At this point in the Dance, there’s no going back, as much as Alicent may try to make peace. They will fight on the streets of King’s Landing, on the seas, and in the skies, and only one side can wear the crown in the end.

House of the Dragon premieres June 21 on HBO Max.

You can tell a lot about a person by their favorite Saw movie. Lots of people stick to the original, but there are plenty of interesting options. Maybe you like the team project energy of Saw V, the Dr. Gordon reveal in Saw VII, or the Uno-reverse twist of Saw X. But for me, the answer is clear: Saw II, because I’m a fan of Darren Lynn Bousman.

Bousman wrote a completely separate script called The Desperate that was rejected for being too similar to Saw. But when Saw producers heard wind, he was brought on to direct the hit movie’s sequel. He then went on to direct Saw III and Saw IV. As such a key part of Saw’s history, Inverse spoke with Bousman about the franchise’s recent troubles and what could lie in the future.

2023’s Saw X was supposed to be the start of a new era for Saw. But Saw XI just never seemed to materialize. First, it was scheduled to be released in September 2024, but then it was bumped a full year to September 2025. Then, it was bumped from the 2025 date, but this time, it wasn’t rescheduled, just taken off the schedule altogether.

But that doesn’t mean work hadn’t begun. According to The Hollywood Reporter, screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan turned in a draft of the script in the spring of 2024, but didn’t heard anything back. “It’s stalled at a managerial level,” Melton said. “It has nothing to do with the creative or anything else. There’s higher-level things at play.” Apparently, the script would have dealt with a “very timely story,” much like the games in Saw VI.

For a while, it seemed like that was it for the franchise. But in June 2025, Blumhouse — which recently acquired James Wan’s Atomic Monster — bought the rights for the Saw franchise. That means the original creators of the movie, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, will go back to having creative control.

But what does another big Saw director think of this move? “I think the only way that Saw continues to survive is what they're doing, because I think that the franchise has become so convoluted with timelines and in sub-timelines and meta narratives that it's become increasingly hard for a new person to step in and understand what's going on,” Darren Lynn Bousman tells Inverse ahead of the theatrical re-release of his 2008 musical Repo! The Genetic Opera.

“I think the only way that it does have a life from this point is to hit the reset button,” he says. “There is no one better to do it than James and Leigh, who pioneered it. That said, I hope that it doesn't push aside the canon of the movies that we have made because there is a huge fan base for those 10 films.”

It seems like he was just as shocked about the Saw XI cancellation as the rest of the audience. “I think it was a crazy time, because Saw X ended up coming out and doing gangbusters. It, like, revitalized the franchise. Now they're going to redo it again.”

Though he may not be involved as a creative anymore, as a fan, he’s just as interested to find out what comes next. “I am curious to see what they do and if they can hit that bullseye again,” he says. “We'll see.”

Spider-Noir is a fun addition to Spidey canon, not only because it cribs so heavily from the classic Hollywood noir, but because it reshapes the world of Spider-Man around that same theme. The webslinger’s friendly neighborhood is rendered into a dangerous, post-Depression world, and Spider-Noir casts new characters — even switching out Peter Parker for a different Spidey variant, Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage) — to fit into that world.

The rogues’ gallery surrounding “The Spider” also gets a noir-ish update. Though the names may be familiar to Spidey experts, Spider-Noir favors a deeper cut over the classic villain roster. Rather than figures like the Green Goblin or Kingpin, the series plucks lesser-used characters out of obscurity, elevating them into the kind of threat you’d sooner find in a twisty 1930s pulp novel. It all definitely works to the show’s benefit, even if the parallels aren’t obvious right out of the gate. For anyone still in need of a primer, here’s your guide to the noir-inspired villain variants in Spider-Noir.

Silvermane

While most Spider-Man stories typically tap Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, where a crime boss is required, Spider-Noir swung in a different direction by bringing Silvermane into live-action. In the comics, the villain otherwise known as Silvio Manfredi was first introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #73 in 1969. He was your standard, garden-variety mafia don, running Marvel’s equivalent to the Italian mafia, or the “maggia.” Aside from his obsession with immortality — which led him on various wild goose chases for youth serums and even briefly turned him into a cyborg — there’s nothing all that supernatural about the Silvermane of the comics. And the same could be said for Spider-Noir’s version of Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson). The series has tweaked the character to instead pay tribute to all the Irish crime bosses who’ve graced the silver screen: he may not have any powers, but Gleeson imbues him with all the charisma and authority needed to instill dread where it counts.

Flint Marko

Flint Marko is arguably the most commercial Spidey villain to appear in Spider-Noir. Also known as Sandman, Flint has been a thorn in Spider-Man’s side in comics, animated shows, and live-action movies alike. In the comics, he gains the ability to turn into and control sand after being exposed to dangerous levels of radiation; afterwards, he can manipulate and absorb the material, using it to alter the density of his body and grow or shrink in size. Spider-Noir takes a slightly more grounded approach to its own version of Flint. He’s one of a handful of soldiers was captured behind enemy lines during WWI, gaining his powers after many rounds of painful experiments. Now, he serves as hired muscle for Silvermane, alongside a few of his brothers-in-arms.

Lonnie Lincoln

Not unlike Sandman, Lonnie Lincoln, aka Tombstone (Abraham Popoola), has a storied history in Marvel comics. He’s been a long-running antagonist for Spider-Man — and for Daily Bugle reporter Robbie Robertson — since his introduction in 1987. Ostracized for his albinism, Lonnie primarily worked as an enforcer until he was exposed to the chemical Diox-3, which rendered his skin as hard as cement. Spider-Noir tweaks his origins slightly, but retains his fraught push-and-pull with Robbie (Lamorne Morris). In the series, he’s another POW who gained his indestructible powers through experiments conducted by German scientists. And though he also entertains working for Silverman, his connection to Robbie shows that there’s more good in his heart than he’d lead anyone to believe.

Dirk Leyden

When Dirk Leyden (Andrew Lewis Caldwell) first appears in Spider-Noir, it’s easy to mistake him for Electro, the other Spider-Man villain with the ability to conduct electricity through his body. In truth, he’s a lesser-known antagonist called Megawatt: his first and only comic appearance came in Spider-Man Unlimited #2, making his origins something of a mystery. His live-action debut in Spider-Noir is also the only origin story we really have for the character. Like Flint and Lonnie, he gained his powers via experimentation, and briefly wreaks havoc as a jewel thief before joining Silvermane’s band of enhanced guards.

Though Flint notably tussles with the Spider early in the season, and Silvermane is a looming threat throughout, it’s Dirk who emerges as a surprisingly formidable antagonist as Spider-Noir’s mystery unspools. It’s an interesting use of a character who hasn’t been around in over 30 years, but it’s just one of many smart choices setting Spider-Noir apart from other Spider-Verse stories.

Spider-Noir is now streaming on Prime Video.

The 2000s were an amazing time to be a lover of weird musicals. It was the era of A Very Potter Musical before Darren Criss defected to Glee, and the era of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. But more than anything, it was the era of Repo.

Repo! The Genetic Opera is the kind of movie that shouldn’t have happened, a gothic, over-the-top dystopian musical that managed to star actors from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Goodfellas, and Spy Kids, as well as Paris Hilton. The film, an adaptation of the stage show of the same name, was directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and starred Terrance Zdunich as the GraveRobber, the narrator of this sick little world. It’s been called a feature-length Evanescence video, Succession for goths, and Morbius if it were a musical, but none of these comparisons truly capture the viewing experience.

Now this cult classic is coming to theaters with a new 4K remaster. Inverse spoke to Bousman and Zdunich about the surprising legacy of this movie, and what could come next for it — including a possible return to the stage.

Repo opens with a comic-book-style prologue that establishes the world of this sci-fi hellscape. In a dystopian future, organ failure is taking lives at an alarming rate. The only hope is to lease new organs from the megacorporation GeneCo, but if you default on your payments, then the organ keeping you alive can be repoed by legal assassins. At the center of it all is Rotti Largo, CEO of GeneCo, who chooses that his legacy won’t go to any of his spoiled children but instead to the young, sickly Shilo (Alexa Vega).

But you don’t watch Repo for the plot, you watch it for the vibes. Every image is gorgeously crafted, and the songs are full of the baroque largeness that could only come from a movie created during the peak of My Chemical Romance’s popularity. Every character belts out tales of surgery and secrets, and it’s all taken deathly seriously. It’s no wonder, then, that this movie has become a beloved (to some) cinematic masterpiece.

“We went on the road for on and off probably 90 days touring Repo,” Darren Lynn Bousman tells Inverse. “And one of the things that I found pretty shocking was how it’s become multigenerational. You have parents who are showing it to their kids, and now their kids are showing it to their kids. It’s been this thing that’s been passed down.”

That wasn’t really in the game plan originally. “We were positioned to be a failure,” Bousman says. “We were positioned to come out in two theaters, and that’s not what happened. We’re still here. It’s been 17, going on 18 years later, and we’re still here. We’re still in theaters. We’re still having people come up to us and show us their tattoos or their costumes. We’ve never left, we’ve just gained a bigger army every year.”

And the theatrical rerelease in 4K is sure to make this army larger still. “It has that Alice in Wonderland thing that I always wanted it to have that you feel like when Repo began, you’re transported into another world,” Bousman says. “It just feels more immersive as a viewing experience than it ever has.”

But Bousman isn’t content with just a one-off event, and he’s already preparing for a future physical release. Filmmaker Spooky Dan is currently cutting together a collection of bonus features.

“My wife, Laura, had shot hundreds of hours while we were making it, both in the recording studio, on set, in post, on the road show that’s never been seen,” Bousman says. “So he’s cutting that together as well as new interviews where he just got through interviewing the cast now, everyone.”

After theaters and home video, there’s one last venue Bousman wants to bring Repo back to: the stage.

“We are in the process right now of unwinding the stage show rights from Lionsgate,” he reveals. “So we will get the rights back to the stage show. And I think that as we continue to grow again and basically re-pull in that audience, then the sky is the limit.”

One of the joys of watching Repo all these years later isn’t how well it’s aged but, in a strange way, how accurately it’s aged. “We were making a parody of the future, and it’s real in a way that you would think might date Repo, but in some ways it’s like, that’s the world we live in now,” Terrance Zdunich tells Inverse. Medical debt can ruin lives, and body modifications are everywhere.

But regardless of whether or not we’re living in the dystopia it predicted, we have Repo in all of its messy, of-its-time glory to escape into. “Perhaps some of the mixing styles or the technology that was available at the time might look dated, but I don’t know if that was ever the point of what we were doing,” Zdunich says. “I don’t think it feels dated. I think, actually, right now it feels refreshing. Everything was hand-done. Everything was about people and getting a real reaction from a real audience. I think it still feels fresh now, even perhaps without peer, even though people can do a lot more now.”

What is possible was never the point, though.

“Repo is its own thing,” Zdunich says, “and I think that’s the essence of who we are.”

Repo! The Genetic Opera is playing in theaters now.

When you think about the horror films of the late ‘70s and ‘80s, you’ll instinctively think about some of the greatest genre films ever made. The ‘80s alone gave us Poltergeist, The Shining, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Fog, among countless others. The decade was perhaps the most widely celebrated era of horror filmmaking, piggybacking off the wild influence of films that came before to ultimately define what the next 40 years of horror would look like.

Looking at those films collectively, a pattern emerges. The slasher boom reached its pinnacle in the ‘80s, but even outside of traditional slashers, so many works centered on a fear of the neighborhood, the family, and the tight-knit community being corrupted. With the spectacle surrounding serial murderers in the ‘80s, as well as the media’s sensationalistic emphasis on violent urban crime, there was an idea that the small town was a refuge from the chaos of it all — and the horror genre made it a personal mission to shatter this sense of comfort. Countless movies tackled the idea directly, but one near-masterpiece exposed the monstrousness lurking at the heart of America’s quaint ghost towns, only to be all but forgotten by time.

Released only two years after screenwriter Dan O’Bannon revolutionized horror and science fiction with Alien, his follow-up film, Dead & Buried, is a comparatively subtle affair. Centered on the coastal community of Potter’s Bluff, the film wastes no time destroying the audience’s cozy ideations of small-town living. Photographer George LeMoyne (Christopher Allport) stumbles upon a beautiful local named Lisa (Lisa Blount) and begins photographing her, but just as their session exits the realm of professionalism and enters the realm of mutual lust, George is violently beaten by a group of townspeople and burned at the stake as his subject watches on.

It’s a jarring and unexpectedly brutal cold open that sets the stage for what’s to come, as Sheriff Dan Gillis (James Farentino) and local mortician William Dobbs (Jack Albertson, better known as Grandpa Joe) investigate George’s murder and other ritualistic murders being committed by townspeople. While there’s certainly a mystery at the heart of Dead & Buried, we know from the opening that the citizens of Potter’s Bluff are responsible, leaving viewers to ponder the cause of the divide between the town’s idyllic presentation and the terror perpetrated by its inhabitants.

That juxtaposition is reminiscent of other major works, from the bloodlust of the once-normal citizens in Stephen King’s seminal Salem’s Lot to the perverse suburban secrets that would be revealed in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. Over four decades of 24-hour reporting and the internet’s true-crime fixation have pretty much dispelled America’s collective love affair with the tight-knit town, but at the time, the film’s opening was a shocking repudiation of the belief that bloodshed was committed exclusively by the moral deviants who lurked in metropolitan cities.

Speaking of, Dead & Buried’s brutality is presented with a stark and gruesome directness that still feels visceral all these years later. The special effects were done by Stan Winston (the architect behind classics like Alien, The Thing, and Jurassic Park), and his involvement pays off remarkably. Whether it’s something as harrowing and cringe-inducing as watching a hospital patient be murdered with a syringe to the exposed eyeball, or a time-lapse of Dobbs reconstructing the face of a brutalized corpse, there’s a spellbinding wizardry Winston brings to his craft. It’s impossible to look away, even at its most grotesque.

As the body count starts to rise, a commonality in all the murders appears. Each one is documented by a group taking photographs and videos, almost as if they’re making a horror film of their own. Even if the fantasy of the small town was that they serve as a haven from depravity, there’s still a fixation on those ideas, an ironic desire to preserve them as a reminder of what happens outside Potter’s Bluff. At times, it feels like Dan O’Bannon and director Gary Sherman wanted to turn the tables and interrogate the audience for their eagerness to vicariously participate in brutality.

On the macro scale, Dead & Buried is a movie about uncovering the rotting heart of an idyllic community, but there’s also a tragic intimacy in the relationship between Sheriff Gillis and his wife, whom he suspects may be involved. The mystery of the Potter’s Bluff murders is echoed by the quiet terror of the domestic mystery: who exactly is your spouse when you’re not in the room? So many of the era’s horror films attempted to scare audiences out of their belief in the comforts of a tight-knit neighborhood, but few did it with the same frightening attention to interpersonal relationships. If your friends down the street are capable of murder, what does that mean for the woman sleeping in your bed?

There’s a suffocating dread throughout the film, from the moment poor George meets his end to the shotgun blast of a twist ending. But accompanying that dread is a strange and powerful sense of inevitability, a dawning realization of a horror you've always known but never been able to confront. Dead & Buried challenges our assumptions about where danger lies, because while the film isn’t telling us anything new, it exposes dark truths about the communities we seek refuge in — truths that, deep down, we may have been familiar with all along.

Dead & Buried is streaming on Shudder.

As with previous seasons, For All Mankind Season 5 ends with a time jump. Before the final credits roll, we’re in the year 2020, which means Season 6 will take us, more or less, up to an alternate version of the present. But the final moments of Season 5, “This Land Is Our Land,” also create several questions not just for the impending final season of the show, but also will make you question some of the events of this season, too.

Inverse talked to showrunners Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi to get some definitive answers on what we saw in the final moments of the Season 5 finale. Here’s what the masterminds behind For All Mankind revealed about this surprising ending.

Warning! Spoilers for For All Mankind Season 5, “This Land Is Our Land,” below.

Is Kelly Baldwin Alive?

While Kelly Baldwin (Cynthy Wu) is stranded on Titan, she records a final message to her son Alex (Sean Kaufman), and eventually places the Apollo 11 plaque on Titan, which was given to her by her father, Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman). But, before the curtain falls on Kelly’s story, bioluminescent organisms appear in a pool near her, making her final moments wrapped in wonder and discovery.

We’d know that the Titan mission discovered cellular life on Titan, but this discovery was a little bonus for Kelly.

“It was a very sad moment, but I think we felt it was really interesting and elegant to give her this moment of joy at the end, in this discovery in spite of it being her last moment,” Nedivi tells Inverse. “It was a cool way to end her arc — the idea that what they thought was just a little sample of life ends up being a lake full of it.”

That said, if fans are wondering if this lake of pretty alien life was somehow going to bring Kelly back to life after getting stranded on Titan, the short answer is no. Just as her mother perished in Season 3, and her father passed away earlier this season, these are the final moments for Kelly Baldwin. “That moment is her last moment on the show,” Nedivi said.

Which spaceship is that in 2020?

As with all previous seasons of For All Mankind, the last moments of the Season 5 finale jump ahead in time, this time, moving things into the year 2020. But what do we see here? A new planet? A new frontier? Actually, it’s a spacecraft, which appears to be a derelict, and this specific ship is a callback to Season 3.

The abandoned ship in this final scene is none other than Mars-94, the Roscosmos ship, which, along with Phoenix and Sojourner 1, was part of the race to Mars in 1994. But what is this ship doing floating around in space in 2020? And what is on that screen?

Here’s what the text on the screen says in Russian:

Д:/ Обнаружение ГВ 3.06.0451 // Никулов

Загрузка .

And in English that translates to:

Detection of GV 3.06.0451// Nikulov

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“With every flash-forward we do, there's definitely a mystery to it and a riddle,” Nedivi says. “I will say, this is resolved in Season 6. This one was particularly fun for us because it calls back to the past of the show and the future of the show at the same time.”

But what does this confusing message actually mean? Well, the name “Nikulov” can only refer to Sergei Nikulov, the Soviet aerospace engineer who has been part of the series since Season 2. Played by Piotr Adamczyk, Sergei was murdered in Season 4, after living secretly in the United States. In Star City — which debuts as For All Mankind Season 5 is ending — Josef Davies is playing a younger Sergei Nikulov in 1969 and 1970.

So, is this an Easter egg from Star City as well as the past of For All Mankind? What does Sergei’s work have to do with a derelict spaceship in 2020? We’ll hate to wait until Season 6, the final season of For All Mankind, to find out.

For All Mankind streams on Apple TV.

Doctor Who has been so popular for more than 60 years now because of how versatile it is. Episodes can be musical adventures about the Beatles, space hijinks with weird aliens, or big multiversal sagas full of timey-wimey stuff. One of the most common — and interesting — approaches for a Doctor Who story is to take an original sci-fi story and find a way to insert the Doctor.

As onetime showrunner Steven Moffat said in an episode of Doctor Who Confidential, “You know you’ve got a good idea for a Doctor Who episode if you think ‘Well, I’ve just blown that feature film idea forever, haven’t I?’” 15 years ago, a perfect example of this set up Doctor Who for an epic mid-season finale, taking a classic sci-fi premise and doing it in a way only Doctor Who can.

“The Almost People” is the second part of a two-part episode arc in Season 6 of Doctor Who. It follows the Doctor (Matt Smith), Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) as they explore an acid factory that uses a strange technique to ensure employee safety: synthetic replicas, called “gangers” as in short for “doppelgangers, do the dangerous work, since they are seen as expendable. However, during a solar storm, the gangers are starting to gain some independence and are turning against the original forms.

In this episode, we learn that there’s a Ganger version of The Doctor, even if the synthetic Flesh doesn’t quite know how to handle his vast lifespan, meaning we hear some remnants of past Doctors, including the voices of the Fourth and Tenth Doctors. The Ganger Doctor and the other Gangers seek to get their freedom, while the remaining humans try to escape Ganger Jennifer, who uses the Flesh to morph into a terrifying monster.

The topic of artificial people can be found all over sci-fi media, from Blade Runner to Alien to Star Trek. But Doctor Who does something different: instead of defeating the Ganagers, the Doctor manages to actually affirm their humanity, even turning them stable enough to live as humans forever. The scares of the Flesh monster are still effective, but there’s still a happy ending. At least, there’s a happy ending for the Gangers.

Usually, at this point in a Doctor Who episode, the Doctor and his companions gleefully return to the Tardis, knowing that they solved the issue. However, that’s not the case here. The Doctor reveals that the visit to the acid factory wasn’t accidental. Instead, he wanted to study this artificial Flesh because he’s known for some time that Amy isn’t Amy. She’s a Ganger. Suddenly, she dissolves into the gooey flesh and wakes up on a strange spaceship in active labor.

This is the genius of this episode: it tells a gorgeous, layered story about what it means to be a human, but still finds a way to keep the overarching plot moving, even tying it into the premise of the episode itself. This was Doctor Who at its greatest: in total control of the plot, telling both a singular and bigger story at the same time.

Doctor Who 2005-2022, will stream on AMC+ starting on June 11.

It’s an unspoken rule among fans of animated shows: quality takes some time — multiple years, even — to achieve, and it’s often sacrificed for other priorities. There’s a reason Prime Video can deliver new seasons of Invincible year after year: the adventures of its title hero won’t be the most visually dynamic, but the story is guaranteed to continue at a consistent clip. It’s a schedule that more or less works for the series, and we’ll soon see Marvel’s most promising show adopting a similar strategy.

Two years have passed since Marvel Television revived X-Men: The Animated Series with a fresh look and feel, and fans have been clamoring for more of X-Men ’97 ever since. Though the show was renewed for a second and third season shortly after its triumphant premiere, it’s taken a while for the saga to find a consistent schedule. Season 2 is finally set to debut this June — but the powers that be aren’t content with dropping a new chapter of X-Men ’97 every two years. According to executive producer Larry Houston, the future of the series is going to look a lot like the schedule other animated shows have already adopted.

“They want everyone to know it’s only gonna be a year now between seasons, not two-and-a-quarter years,” Houston recently told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s gonna be a year until the next one and a year until the next one [after that]. They are on schedule now.”

The fact that X-Men ’97 is returning at all is enough cause for celebration, but fans can now look forward to another batch of episodes in 2027 — and, according to Houston, a fourth season the year after that.

“We’ve gone over, given notes on, [and] responded to not only all the scripts for Season 3 [and] all the animatics for Season 3, we are in Season 4 giving script notes,” Houston revealed. “That’s how deep they are into the development.”

X-Men ’97 Season 4 hasn’t gotten the official greenlight yet, but the fact that the team is already tackling its story is a fantastic sign for the series. Unlike the typical Disney+ Original, which rarely evolves beyond two seasons, X-Men ’97 is in it for the long haul. Combined with the update of a live-action X-Men movie in the works, it’s a great time to be a fan of the mutant squad; their future in the MCU is brighter than ever, and their momentum shows no signs of slowing down.

X-Men ’97 Season 2 premieres July 1 on Disney+.

Because the alternate history series For All Mankind initially focused on a new kind of space race between the Soviet Union and the United States, nearly every actor who has played a Russian in that show has been of Russian descent. On top of that, including the most recent episodes in Season 5, when people speak in Russian, we get subtitles. As one easy example, Actress Svetlana Efremova, who plays mastermind Irina Morozova in For All Mankind, is from Novosibirsk, Russia. Ditto Costa Ronin, who was born in Kaliningrad and plays Leonid Polivanov in Season 5. But, as For All Mankind becomes a franchise with multiple series, the new show, Star City, is going back to the USSR in 1969 and 1970, and in this show, the performers are playing Russians, but nobody is speaking Russian, nor are there Russian accents.

For some viewers, this may be jarring at first, but the propulsive and addictive quality of Star City means that you’ll get used to it very quickly. And, as the star of the series, Rhys Ifans, and showrunners Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert tell Inverse, there really was no other way to make this all work.

According to Nedivi, early in the process of developing Star City, there was a consideration to use all Russian actors and to have the show be done in Russian. “It was a thought,” Nedivi tells Inverse. “Because I think you know how important it is for us to make things feel authentic and real. So, of course, we always think, let's aim for that. But early on in the process, we realized, especially with what's going on right now, how impossible that would be.”

The showrunners also explain that they consulted with Craig Mazin, who was behind the powerful 2019 miniseries Chernobyl, because, like Star City, that show uses English-speaking actors playing people from the USSR. “He very quickly told us: ‘This is the only way to do it. Do it this way. Trust me.’ And I think he was right. At the end of the day, if you are able to embrace the world, the setting, the authenticity of it, and I think you quickly forget.”

This fact also means that individual characters aren’t speaking with Russian accents either, but instead, the cast has found a way to distinguish the sonic signature of their characters with specific creative decisions. As the Chief Designer, Rhys Ifans did put some thought into how his character speaks and why he has the accent that he does.

Because the Chief Designer is modeled on a real figure in Russian spaceflight history, Sergei Korolev, Ifans used Korolev’s background as inspiration. “Sergei Korolev was a proud Ukrainian. And I'm using a Welsh accent. So if we were to place the sonic accent landscape of the U.K. onto the Soviet Union, coming from Wales, Ukraine kind of makes geographical, sociopolitical sense — but I wouldn't read too much into that.”

Ifans also points out that because there are so many different varieties of Russian accents, the idea of English-speaking actors all putting on Russian accents could become a problem very quickly.

“I think Russian accents are beautiful,” Ifans says. “But as beautiful as the Russian accents are, when someone who isn’t Russian is doing the Russian accent, it works well for 10 minutes. And then you think, oh, come on, please.”

Wolpert also echoes Ifans’ point that not everyone in the USSR spoke with the same accent in the 1960s and 1970s. “It’s not like everyone sounded the same,” Wolpert says. “I think that’s what we’re trying to capture here. The characters are not all from the same places in the Soviet Union. So, giving them different accents also makes it feel more real, or as real as possible in the long tradition of doing this kind of thing. In the end, it was a difficult decision, but it felt like the right one.”

Star City debuts on Apple TV with two episodes on May 29. New episodes air Fridays.

Despite a long history in relation to alternate universes and different characters picking up the mantle, for decades every cinematic and television depiction of Spider-Man was an adaptation of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s original creation. Peter Parker has gotten the on-screen treatment numerous times: Nicholas Hammond in the ‘70s CBS television series, Christopher Daniel Barnes in the ‘90s animated series, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland in the movies. And much like James Bond, each version brings their own specific quirks and eccentricities to the material.

In the last few years, however, superhero movies have been infected by the multiverse craze, and not only did it start with Spider-Man, but arguably no one has done it better since. Into the Spider-Verse and its sequel opened the floodgates and introduced general audiences to Miles Morales, Peni Parker, Spider-Ham, and Spider-Noir among others. The latter is now the star of his own Amazon Prime TV series (albeit a different version of the character), and along with being its own version of the Spider-Man mythos, it also leans into the conventions of film noir — including offering a black and white version that is genuinely superior to the version offered in color.

Based on the character introduced in the 2009 comic book Spider-Man: Noir, the Spider-Noir TV show takes a few liberties — instead of being a photojournalist named Peter Parker who’s bitten by a spider imbued with the powers of an ancient arachnid god, Nicolas Cage’s take on the character is a private detective named Ben Reilly whose powers come from a decidedly less mystical origin. Unlike the comics, in which Spider-Man Noir wages battle against an organized crime boss version of Norman Osborn, Cage’s hero (named “The Spider”) faces off against the mob boss Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson) as well as a host of mutated former American POWs.

The show is drenched in the tropes of film noir: a private detective immersed in a criminal conspiracy with vast political implications, a morally dubious femme fatale, a depiction of New York City swept up in the desperation of the Great Depression. Of course, all of this is heightened by the optional black-and-white cinematography — classic noir experienced its heyday before the advent of color in film, but eventually the genre’s masterful usage of shadows became shorthand for storytelling that prioritized paranoia and the exploration of moral nuance. It fits perfectly for a show about a superhero who clings to the darkness and hides from the public eye, unlike the traditional idea of Spider-Man as a bold and flashy neighborhood icon.

The color version doesn’t look bad per se, and the show was shot in color during filming, but the costuming and production design were deliberately chosen to emphasize the black-and-white aesthetic, considering that some colors read better in the format. There’s also the reality that B&W obscures the budgetary limitations a bit more: you can see the seams of digital effects more noticeably when watching in full color, and in all honesty Spider-Noir just looks more like a traditional superhero when viewed that way. This isn’t necessarily a problem, but it doesn’t really convey the true film noir experience.

Offering both options is definitely a smart way to maximize the viewing audience, because there will naturally be potential viewers turned off by having to watch something in black-and-white. But the show is aggressively aping the visual language of films like Double Indemnity and The Asphalt Jungle and The Big Sleep, and part of that is the incredibly rich usage of chiaroscuro lighting, which is a technique that employs an extreme contrast between light and dark. In all honesty, Spider-Noir should be watched in black-and-white — it offers a visual distinction from the other half-dozen superhero projects in the zeitgeist at any given time, but it also reinforces the series as a loving homage to a genre that may have fallen out of popularity, but still remains one of the most influential eras of American and international cinema.

Spider-Noir is currently streaming on Prime Video.

Apple TV specializes in shows that, at best, would be considered “high concept.” That can be rewarding for audiences looking for more meat on the bones of their shows — and given that most of these shows would be too narratively dense to survive on traditional networks, it’s a much-needed addition to the TV ecosystem. Apple’s smorgasbord of heady science fiction allows its creators to get well and truly weird. And it doesn’t get any weirder than Sugar, a Los Angeles-based noir that threw a bonkers sci-fi twist into its first season. It’s the kind of spoiler that the show is committed to preserving: even in the new trailer for Sugar Season 2, Colin Farrell’s titular detective demurs when he’s asked about his origins. Just know that he’s from very, very far away — it may or may not inform the latest case he gets embroiled in.

Sugar’s first season saddled its hero with a quintessential missing person’s case, one that established the show’s love for classic Hollywood drama and hard-boiled noir. Its second seems to be taking John Sugar in a darker direction, upping the ante with a much grittier conspiracy.

In Sugar Season 2, another intriguing missing persons case comes across Sugar’s desk. He’s tasked with finding the older brother (Ramond Lee) of a talented local boxer (Jin Ha). This mission is complicated by the fact that he doesn’t want to be found — and not just by Sugar. As he learns from his new right-hand woman, Val (Sasha Calle), his target is “on the run from some dangerous people.”

It doesn’t take long for Sugar to get on their radar, either. The threat of a dangerous gang pulls our hero way out of his comfort zone, but his investigation also faces an even bigger obstacle from Lieutenant Vega (Tony Dalton), a sheriff’s deputy who seems to know a lot more than he’s letting on. It all feeds into a city-wide conspiracy; according to the season synopsis, it will force Sugar to “reckon with himself to answer the question — how far will he go to do what’s right?”

Sugar is poised to deliver another byzantine mystery, but this strange conspiracy will only be the tip of the iceberg in Season 2. Farrell’s private eye also has his own baggage to deal with — part of it feeds into Sugar’s sci-fi twist, but the rest of it is personal, involving the search for a sister he hasn’t seen in years. While the series struggled to reconcile all these themes in its first season, Season 2 has another chance to honor its ambitions. Either way, Sugar will be a wild ride, and just the kind of thriller to kick off the summer.

Sugar returns to Apple TV on June 19.

Since movie theaters began reopening in the wake of the 2020 shutdowns, something unexpected has been happening at arthouses across America. Repertory screenings — older films, basically, often hand-selected and shown on celluloid prints — have become major draws, performing as well (or better than) new-release movies at many theaters.

Studios have started taking notice as well: Earlier this month, Warner Bros.’ newly formed Clockwork sub-label announced that Ken Russell’s infamous 1971 film The Devils would be returning to theaters, prompting major buzz around the film and the studio. Now, the relaunched Hammer Films — a company whose heyday was back in the 1960s and ‘70s — is getting in on the trend.

This week, the studio announced that it is preparing a re-release of its original 1958 Dracula, a.k.a Horror of Dracula, for a Halloween theatrical release. Like The Devils, Dracula returns to theaters in its original uncut form: After newspaper reports claimed that moviegoers were fainting during the film’s more, let’s say, penetrative bloodsucking scenes, British censors insisted that Hammer cut three minutes from the movie to avoid an X rating.

“Hammer’s business was based on the censor. Getting that X-rated certificate was crucial to marketing, but they could only go so far because the censors didn’t like what they saw — all that blood,” current Hammer Films owner John Gore tells Deadline. “It was the fangs that scared them,” he adds. “People were screaming, which was the point.”

According to Gore, the key deleted scene is “a bit that’s so famous...Christopher Lee descends on the woman and is about to bite her...they had to trim that because it just looked like it was nothing to do with vampires,” he says. The film’s ending was also significantly edited, and Gore says that the deleted footage — previously seen only in poor-quality footage sourced from Japanese prints — has been “fully restored” for the new theatrical release.

Beyond its history of censorship, Dracula is significant for a few reasons. It was Christopher Lee’s first film as Count Dracula, a role that would come to define his career: Between 1958 and 1976, Lee played the seductive, but deadly Count a total of 10 times. It also had a lasting effect on vampire mythology in general, introducing blood-red eyes and long canine fangs — the result of a collaboration between Lee and makeup artist Philip Leakey — to the undead makeup kit. (It was also the first full-color vampire film, which greatly enhanced its visceral impact.)

Interestingly, Warner Bros. is part of this story as well. Gore says that the materials for the new uncut 4K were discovered in the same vaults that have housed the The Devils all these years: “So Warner Brothers, they have this massive, massive storage near LAX where everything from the 1920s onwards is there. I mean, there’s like 10 Batmobiles and God knows what. And they found the director’s cut of the original 1958 Dracula,” he says.

Hammer Films has already released a teaser trailer featuring footage from its restoration of the film; the colors are appropriately garish for this pulp classic, and the shadows are as dark as you’d hope from an atmospheric Gothic horror movie like this one. You can see that footage for yourself below.

The 4K restoration of Dracula (a.k.a. Horror of Dracula) sinks its teeth into theaters in October.

Every timeless hero needs a timeless villain. Batman has the Joker, Clarice Starling has Hannibal Lecter, and Luke Skywalker has Darth Vader. But in the world of literature, one villain stands above the rest in terms of cunning, memorability, and unpredictability: Professor James Moriarty, the longtime nemesis of Sherlock Holmes.

Moriarty has appeared onscreen in countless forms, but a new show will give him something he’s never had. For the first time, the Napoleon of Crime will step out of Sherlock Holmes’ shadow and take on a mystery of his own.

According to Deadline, Fremantle and Archery Pictures are collaborating on Moriarty, a new British TV series following the cunning crime lord as he steps to the other side of the law. The series will be written by BBC journalist-turned-screenwriter Chris Cornwell and Oliver Lansey, creator of the German-language series Where’s Wanda?

Moriarty is described as a “modern reinvention of the crime procedural, based on the most famous villain in all of detective fiction.” There’s also a surprisingly detailed plot summary:

“Moriarty is a Professor of Criminal Psychology at Durham University but leads a secret double life as the mastermind behind every crime of sophistication in the North of England. When a rival criminal begins an assault on his underground empire, Moriarty will have only one choice: to join the police as a consultant, using the law as a weapon to dismantle his foe while keeping his true identity hidden from the police. Paired with Detective Imogen Burrows, a stoic Yorkshire detective, they’ll form a fearsome team, but Moriarty will soon realize that the real threat isn’t the rival criminal faction he’s dismantling.”

There’s no word of casting yet, but whoever plays the role will join an esteemed group of actors who have faced off against Sherlock. Nowadays, most viewers probably think of Andrew Scott, who played Moriarty with an eerie creepiness in Steven Moffat’s BBC Sherlock series, but the role has also been memorably played by Jared Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Dónal Finn, and Natalie Dormer, among many others.

Moriarty, often portrayed as the only criminal who can outsmart Sherlock Holmes, has been depicted in countless Sherlock adaptations, including unusual ones like Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Gnomes, and multiple episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. But he rarely takes a lead role by himself. The only recent example has been Moriarty, an Audible original starring Lost and Lord of the Rings’ Dominic Monaghan, which portrays Moriarty as an innocent man. The Moriarty of this new series may still be just as devious as usual, but it sounds like he’ll be no hero... even if viewers find themselves rooting for him.

Before the live-action debut of Ahsoka Tano and Ezra Bridger — or the deepfaked return of Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian — there wasn’t much in the way of Jedi representation in the modern Star Wars era. After the sequels, the saga turned the clock back to the murky years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, years where the Jedi Order was pretty much extinct. It’s from this void that Cal Kestis, the playable hero of Jedi: Fallen Order, was born. At that time, he was just one of maybe a handful of Jedi who’d survived the events of Order 66, forging a new path in a suddenly hostile galaxy. But he became a cult favorite all the same, and his potential has only grown in the years following his debut.

Cal’s adventures in Fallen Order and its sequel, Jedi: Survivor, held the saga down in more ways than one. While The Mandalorian and its loose spinoff explored the fall of the Empire, the Jedi games took the baton from stories like Rebels, retaining the sweeping grandeur that the Disney+ shows lacked. Fallen Order alone proved that this corner of the galaxy was strong enough to stand on its own — but Survivor demonstrated Cal’s crossover appeal by pairing him up with some familiar faces. After Saw Gerrera and Boba Fett made cameos in Cal’s story, fans wondered whether Cal himself would eventually return the favor in a live-action story, or if he’d meet more legacy characters in another Jedi game. It’s been three years since Survivor was released, and there’s no real word on Cal’s future. According to a Disney representative, though, Survivor is far from the end for the Jedi warrior.

In a conversation with GameRant, an unnamed Disney rep confirmed that Cal Kestis is still front of mind when it comes to new stories. “Never say never,” the representative said when asked about Cal’s future. “We’ve got his lightsaber in the park. We’ve got more Cal stories coming.”

One of those “stories” could potentially be Star Wars Jedi 3, the third (and potentially final) game in the Respawn series, which has been in the works for years. In late 2023, Monaghan confirmed that he’d begun work on the game — though the departure of lead director Stig Asmussen that same year might have kneecapped production. Electronic Arts, which co-produces the Jedi games alongside Respawn Entertainment, also put the games in jeopardy after a round of layoffs that culled over 600 employees from the company.

There haven’t been many updates about Star Wars Jedi 3 since; while there’s definitely a chance the game could debut sooner or later, the “stories” Cal could appear next in might not be games at all. The virtue of modeling the character off a flesh-and-blood actor is that the same actor could also appear in live-action. Fans have long theorized that Cal survived to see the Empire fall and the New Republic rise, which would allow him to appear in one of the Mando-verse shows, director Dave Filoni’s upcoming Thrawn-centric film, or in an adventure of his own. If GameRant’s anonymous Disney rep is to be believed, the possibilities for Cal are potentially endless — so long as Lucasfilm doesn’t forget about the character.

In the world of horror movies, Backrooms is something brand new. But on the internet, the Backrooms are well established, with 24 official chapters and thousands of hours of fan-made content backed by a Wiki’s worth of original lore. As Inverse’s Chrishaun Baker explained when the Backrooms movie trailer was first released, Backrooms lore is equal parts community-sourced — the phenomenon originated on a message board devoted to “disquieting images that just feel ‘off’” — and auteur-driven.

21-year-old Kane Parsons is the key architect of that lore, the creator of the Backrooms YouTube series that forms the backbone of the new A24 film. So we asked him: Should viewers who are new to the Backrooms brush up on some explainer videos before seeing the movie? If so, what are the key things to know?

It’s “a thing I’ve long debated and grappled with,” Parsons tells Inverse, noting that he’s spent the “majority of [his] time” over the past several years thinking about the continuity and mythology of the series. “The hope has always been to create a film that works for my audience, as well as people who have no familiarity with the Backrooms whatsoever,” he adds.

That being said, the story “build[s] off of what’s there, so it’s going to be inherently more compelling if you’re a fan of the original works, because you can appreciate some of the structural details behind what appears on screen,” Parsons says, adding that the films is “built to have a little more depth for people who have spent time with [the Backrooms] prior to this” while also being easy to follow for new viewers.

New Characters

Backrooms the movie does this by introducing two new characters: Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), the depressed, recently divorced owner of a struggling furniture store called Cap’n Clark’s Ottoman Empire, and Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve), his therapist. The storyline that follows is pretty simple: Clark discovers the Backrooms through a portal in the basement of his store; he tells Mary about it, making her concerned for his mental health; she follows him into the Backrooms, where scary things happen.

That’s a simplified version, of course. But it does point to some concepts from the series that are important to the film, like...

No-Clipping

First is “no-clipping,” a term taken from video games and repurposed for Backrooms. In a game, it refers to a glitch that allows a player to walk through walls; it means basically the same thing here, as Clark literally stumbles into the alternate world of the Backrooms through a soft spot in the wall of his furniture showroom. It’s a spot that he later marks with electrical tape, allowing others to follow him in (and, crucially, back out) of the eerie alternate reality.

Entities

Backrooms opens with a standalone scene that’s modeled after Parsons’ original “The Backrooms (Found Footage),” a first-person nightmare that begins with an unseen cameraman materializing in the Backrooms and, well, freaking out — as we all would in that scenario. That’s when we spot the first of several “Entities” that appear from behind dark corners and out of deep shadows to terrify wanderers in the Backrooms — which later includes Clark’s employee Kat (Lukita Maxwell) and her boyfriend Bobby (Finn Bennett), followed by Dr. Kline.

The first Entity spotted in the film looks like a giant spider crossed with an AT-AT Walker from Star Wars, but there are hundreds of Entities lurking in the Backrooms, several more of which appear in the film. (No spoilers on which ones.) Where do they come from? What do they want? This is left vague, and that’s part of the horror.

Async

Another crucial piece of lore from Parsons’ Backrooms series is Async, a former biomedical firm that’s gotten into some pretty freaky stuff since it pivoted into exploring the Backrooms through an artificially created interdimensional portal known as “the threshold” at its headquarters in San Jose, California.

Much about Async’s origin and purpose remains mysterious, and without revealing any spoilers, only some of the questions surrounding it are answered in the movie — although it does give a definitive answer to a long-standing fan debate about the nature of the Backrooms, namely whether it’s one big complex or a layered series of infinite complexes, each shaped by the person exploring them.

For his part, Ejiofor has an unconventional approach to the series lore: “I think you can go the reverse as well, seeing the film and then going down the rabbit hole,” he tells Inverse. “I think a lot of people are going to do that.”

From A24, Backrooms opens in theaters on May 29.

Often labeled as a “scream queen,” over the past several years Maika Monroe has really come into her own as a performer. Her turn as clairvoyant FBI agent Lee Harker in Longlegs was a career highlight, and her latest film, Victorian Psycho, is a new high-water mark for the star. Monroe embodies eccentric governess Winifred Notty — if you consider spree murdering “eccentric” — with a hair-trigger twitchiness, tilting her neck and pulling one side of her mouth to indicate her character’s true feelings when propriety demands that she keep silent. And given that the story takes place in an aristocratic English country house circa 1858, there’s a lot of propriety to contend with here.

Winifred has come to the handsome stone residence known as Ensor House in order to take a job as a governess. Her last two sets of upper-class charges perished under mysterious circumstances, but the harrumphing Mr. Pounds (Jason Isaacs) and his casually cruel wife Mrs. Pounds (Ruth Wilson) don’t need to know that. As long as the children can be frightened into behaving, and don’t tell their parents about some of her more unconventional teachings — “all living things are constantly in pain,” she tells young Andrew (Jacobi Jupe) and Drissila (Evie Templeton) after fatally stabbing a baby deer in front of them — everything should be fine, and “it” won’t happen again. Except the darkness inside Winifred is very much alive, and all but assures that “it” will.

Screenwriter Virginia Feito adapts her own novel for the film version of Victorian Psycho, and some of the movie’s most delicious lines are taken straight from the book. Although they have nothing to do with each other in terms of plot, one thing Victorian Psycho does share with Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho is a first-person narrator who’s not just unreliable, she’s psychotic. She’s also very witty, and Monroe narrates much of the film in voiceover as Winifred, delivering the effortlessly wordy bon mots that are the film’s greatest pleasure.

Monroe accompanies these pithy remarks with a performance that’s as controlled as her character is frantic, walking stiff-armed as she zeroes in on a victim and beaming beatifically as the blood starts to flow. Her voice is soft, and her eyes are hard. She keeps dissociating and snapping back to reality. And the camerawork, which is highly mobile from the start, gets increasingly restless as Winifred drifts. The nuances of Monroe’s facial expressions are essential: The moaning of tortured ghosts and occult symbols cracking and popping in a fireplace both clearly telegraph Winifred’s madness, but it's Monroe’s glazed, faraway stare that really sells it.

Not that her reality is something worth hanging on to. “I’m the sanest person I know,” Winifred quips in an opening monologue, and indeed the high-society world she lives in is objectively insane. Mr. Pounds is an avid phrenologist, for example, and Mrs. Pounds sees nothing wrong with cutting off a scullery maid’s hair and using it as a flyswatter. A scene where the lord and lady of the manor host a mummy-viewing party effectively conveys the grotesque callousness of the Victorian upper classes, and although the tossed-off jokes about education affecting women’s fertility and the pointlessness of daughters can get repetitive, they are historically accurate.

Director Zachary Wigon pulls out many of the same tricks in Victorian Psycho as he did in his debut feature, Sanctuary. There, the overhead shots and precise pivots were meant to disguise the fact that the film takes place entirely in one room; here, their purpose is more thematic, conveying the overwhelming chaos inside Winifred’s mind. That being said, the scope of the film is narrow, never straying farther than the doghouse where Winifred sleeps when she displeases Mrs. Pounds or the estate’s pigpen at night. (Pigs will eat anything.) This gives the movie a claustrophobic feel, a real ”I'm not trapped in here with you, you're trapped in here with me” kind of vibe.

There’s only one area where Victorian Psycho could have given us more, and it’s a big one: The film is all talk when it comes to gore, spraying blood from jugulars and spattering it on expensive wallpaper but not really reveling in the gruesome details. (Then again, maybe it’s better not to linger on a baby’s throat being cut.) Here, again, the emphasis is on immersive, flashy camerawork, as Monroe stabs her way through the Pounds household with a body-mounted camera rig attached to the waist of her floor-length dress.

This can all, admittedly, be a bit much, and Victorian Psycho will undoubtedly have its retractors as well as its fans. The overall mood is one of pulpy, delirious excess, and the film is a cheeky entry into the burgeoning “good for her” subgenre that relishes it when women violently lash out against patriarchal oppression. It’s a guilty pleasure, but at least it’s a guilty pleasure for the literate, starring an actor who has just begun to reveal everything that she has to give.

Victorian Psycho premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, and opens in theaters on September 25.

What is confusing is often scary, so it’s no wonder that one of the most confusing stages in a girl’s life — puberty — is often used for horror. In Carrie, the religious shame around a girl becoming a woman manifests as telekinetic powers. In Jennifer’s Body, misogyny and sexualization of women fuel a succubus’ fury. But in 2000, a little-known Canadian movie took sisterly bonds, growing up, and feminine rage, and projected it through a lens that makes perfect sense: lycanthropy.

Ginger Snaps follows morbid teens Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) and Brigitte (Emily Perkins) who draw the ire of a feral dog, drawn to the scent of Ginger’s first period. Over the course of the following days, Brigitte watches as her sister transforms into something otherworldly, including growing a tail and fur. While Ginger copes with her new appetite, Brigitte has to decide if her sister is worth protecting or if she needs to protect the world from her sister.

Ginger Snaps is a cult classic movie combining turn-of-the-millennium grunge aesthetics with the classic supernatural origin story. Now, you can own this coming-of-rage thriller on Blu-ray and 4K, making it more visceral than ever before.

How was Ginger Snaps Received Upon Release?

Ginger Snaps didn’t garner much attention when it premiered on the festival circuit, but those who did see it instantly recognized its potential as a cult classic. “Director John Fawcett bears in mind the snarky attitude of Clueless, not to mention the genre-bending wit of TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Entertainment Weekly’s Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote in 2001. “It deserves a cult following among satire-loving, feminist-minded gore aficionados who appreciate a well-made human tail.”

The New York Times’ Dave Kehr agreed, saying “Ginger Snaps inevitably reflects the influence of Canada's great horror filmmaker, David Cronenberg, particularly in the way this film considers the human body to be the true source of all terror. But where Mr. Cronenberg turns that insight into dark poetry, Mr. Fawcett is fundamentally a sly, dry satirist, with a distinct sensibility and a promising talent of his own.”

Over the next few years, Ginger Snaps garnered enough of a following to spark two separate follow-ups filmed back-to-back and both released in 2004. Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed was a straightforward sequel, while Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning followed Ginger and Brigitte as their own identical ancestors in 19th century Canada.

Why Is Ginger Snaps Important to See Now?

Unfortunately, Ginger Snaps is no less relevant today than it was in 2000. With the rise of social media, it’s harder than ever to be a teenage girl, and the feeling of morphing into an animal you can’t recognize is truly timeless. As Ginger said, “A girl can only be a slut, a b*tch, a tease, or the virgin next door,” and that’s a cinematic trend that won’t go anywhere, from Gone Girl to Barbie to Promising Young Woman.

Its legacy is undeniable: aside from the sequels, this film has cemented itself both in the sphere of Canadian horror and indie horror. Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins were even cast as the step-sisters in the 2008 Disney movie Another Cinderella Story in a clever nod to their previous on-screen sisterhood.

This classic story could even find new life more than a quarter century later. Back in 2020, Deadline reported that a Ginger Snaps TV series was in the works with original director John Fawcett on board as executive producer. There was no update on this project until just a few days ago, when Fawcett told Dread Central that the series “is still very much a hot topic right now.”

“It’s a passion project of mine,” he said. “It’s a work in progress, but it’s been a long and winding road. There is some heat and some creative minds working on this as we speak.” So if you haven’t checked out this hidden gem, now is the time to jump on the bandwagon.

What New Features Does the Ginger Snaps Blu-ray Have?

Vestron’s physical release of Ginger Snaps includes all sorts of special features, including:

• Audio Commentary with Director John Fawcett
• Audio Commentary with Writer Karen Walton
• “Ginger Snaps: Blood, Teeth, and Fur” Featurette
• “Growing Pains: Puberty in Horror Films” Featurette
• “Making of” Featurette
• Cast Auditions and Rehearsals
• Creation of the Beast
• Being John Fawcett
• Production Design Artwork
• Deleted Scenes
• TV Spots
• Theatrical Trailers

Ginger Snaps– VESTRON Collector’s Series 4K

Lionsgate Limited -

For those who are feeling like living under the communist rule of the USSR might have been preferable in hindsight, the new sci-fi thriller series Star City will disabuse you of that notion very quickly. In both real history and this alternate timeline, personal freedom, privacy, and even the freedom to listen to music or read certain books were all nonexistent. And yet, this kind of scrutiny, in which a comrade spies on a comrade, makes for fantastic TV. In Star City, the space race from the point of view of the Soviets is the jumping-off point. But, unlike For All Mankind — the alternate timeline from which the show is spun — the premise is slightly more focused.

With that initial “What if?” the story of For All Mankind became a sprawling intergenerational epic about how various dominoes might have fallen to create an outer-space dynasty. In Star City, the premise is more basic: How does the human spirit endure and take to the stars, when an authoritarian regime is threatening to destroy basic human decency at every turn?

If For All Mankind was Ronald D. Moore’s take on a grounded, alternate universe path to an upbeat Star Trek: The Next Generation future, then Star City is the franchise’s version of the grittier Deep Space Nine. This is a series in which nearly every character has a secret, and not all of those secrets are about blasting off into space.

Star City starts in the same place For All Mankind Season 1 did, in 1969. The USSR is about to put a man on the Moon, which, of course, did not happen in real life. In this timeline, a character known only as “the Chief Designer” (Rhys Ifans) is the driving force behind pushing Roscosmos to the bleeding edge of spaceflight achievement. Like For All Mankind, this series reveals tense moments in which last-minute problems are solved by out-of-the-box ingenuity, all grounded in the real science of what technology existed decades ago, and also of what is realistic within the bounds of what we know about space travel now. For those who have been missing some of the analog, nail-biting space race action of early seasons of For All Mankind, Star City delivers, complete with smoky rooms and a kind of grainy production style that lends the series a kind of cinematic quality its parent series sometimes lacks. The depressing greys of the USSR in 1969 and 1970 never looked so beautiful.

One of the central characters of this series, perhaps the closest thing to an audience surrogate, is Irina Morozova (Agnes O’Casey). She’s part of the surveillance department at Star City, tasked with listening in on the cosmonauts, trying to find any sign of sedition or spying. A leak is present somewhere in Star City, with plans for moonbases and other technology somehow making its way to the West. O’Casey is playing a much younger version of Svetlana Efremova’s conniving spymaster Irina from For All Mankind Seasons 4 and 5. Ditto Josef Davies as the younger Sergei Nikulov, a character who becomes integral to Margo Madison’s life, and who Irina will eventually order to be murdered in For All Mankind Season 4. But in Star City, both of these characters are innocent, naive, and utterly likable. O’Casey deserves a specific shout-out, since under the tutelage of the cruel Lyudmilla Raskova (Anna Maxwell Martin), you can see the seeds of how she will become the tough-as-nails person she is in the future, though here, that journey is surprisingly humanized.

But, and this is crucial, you do not need to have watched any of For All Mankind to get into Star City. And that’s because, although Sergei and Irina connect to the timeline of that series, the rest of the characters — even ones loosely based on historical figures or mentioned in the other show — are basically brand new.

Alice Englert’s cosmonaut, Anastasia Belikova, has a particularly harrowing story; the first woman on the Moon in this timeline, who is then tightly controlled by the state, and the space program in general. Star City also delivers some explosive male testosterone in the form of cosmonauts Sasha (Solly McLeod) and Valya (Adam Nagaitis), both of whom have unexpected paths and shifting allegiances. Ruby Ashbourne Serkis is particularly good as Tanya, the wife of Valya, whose life as a cosmonaut’s spouse is very different from her American counterparts.

What Star City does best is to balance the character’s individual hopes and dreams against the outside scrutiny and pressure from the state. Sometimes, and this is a compliment, you forget that this is a show about space travel, or that this is an alternate timeline. When Star City is at its best, it's a slow-burning spy show with the subject of optimism under extreme pressure. We expect people to be at their worst in situations like these, but when some manage to rise above the cruelty and lack of freedom, the show delivers moments better than any mystery box plot twist.

Star City debuts with two episodes on May 29 on Apple TV.

There’s no telling how long The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will take to tell its story, though showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have insisted that the series has a clear beginning and end. The duo has kept their plans close to the chest, teasing that some storylines won’t pay off until a projected fifth season — but will the show itself end with Season 5? Payne has alluded to plans for “a 50-hour show,” and with each season clocking in at just eight episodes, we could see this version of Middle-earth continuing beyond five seasons.

What’s more, The Rings of Power is all but guaranteed the freedom to finish its story on its own terms. A recent report from The Ankler revealed that the series is safe under the “magical halo” of Amazon MGM boss Jeff Bezos, and could be protected for its entire run. Whether that’ll be fewer or more than five seasons remains one of the most tantalizing mysteries surrounding the show, but with a newfound urgency to shorten the gap between seasons, it won’t take much longer for Payne and McKay’s vision to crystallize.

Season 3 of The Rings of Power is officially slated to premiere in November 2026, and Season 4 won’t be far behind. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series is looking to start developing its fourth season this fall, with plans to shoot new episodes in early 2027. Though a fourth season hasn’t yet gotten the official greenlight, that doesn’t have to stop production from getting its affairs in order. That way, when the season order does come, there won’t be any time wasted. If anything, the Rings of Power team could be striving to shorten the gap between seasons as much as possible.

Depending on when Season 4 finishes shooting, we could see the new season drop sometime in 2027, just a year after Season 3 hits Prime Video. That would be a stark improvement from the current release schedule, which has maintained a two-year gap between seasons. The Rings of Power would join the ranks of other streaming shows, like another Prime Original, Fallout, or HBO’s Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, that have embraced briefer turnarounds. That’s a great development for fans eager to see how this prequel plays out: we may not know exactly how long this battle against the Dark Lord Sauron will last, but at least Amazon is getting serious about reaching that finish line.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power returns to Prime Video on November 11.

Unlike Star Trek: The Original Series — a science-fiction adventure show predicated almost entirely on voluntarily advancing humankind’s exploration of the cosmos in the name of discovery and the pursuit of knowledge — Star Trek: Voyager was a pretty significant departure in the context that the Voyager’s mission wasn’t entirely voluntary, nor was it an exploratory romp through the universe. The fourth live-action Star Trek show overall, following TOS, The Next Generation, and Deep Space Nine, Voyager shook up the formula by revolving around a starship inexplicably transported light-years away from Earth into the fraught and unexplored Delta Quadrant on the far side of the Milky Way galaxy.

While Voyager still retained a great degree of the idealism, levity, and wide-eyed speculative wonder of other Star Trek shows, the initial premise feels like it lends itself so well to something desperate and a little grittier, with Captain Janeway and the rest of her crew’s quest to get back home reminiscent of a Robinson Crusoe story in space. Luckily, the 2026 game Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown allows players to experience just how difficult the 70,000 lightyear return journey to Earth would be for themselves, and a recent update might have just given them a specific tool to make life on the Voyager a little easier.

Across the Unknown’s freshly released 1.7 update introduced (among various quality-of-life changes) the fan-favorite Delta Flyer, a ship created by combining Starfleet and Borg technology. Its first appearance was in the season 5 Voyager episode Extreme Risk, in which Tom Paris, Seven of Nine, and a few other characters work together to build a shuttlecraft that could withstand the volatile conditions of the Delta Quadrant better than traditional Starfleet ships. Created to retrieve a satellite probe from a dense gas giant before the Malon, the Delta Flyer was instrumental in several missions before it was destroyed while approaching a Borg cube spaceship in season 6’s Unimatrix Zero.

Players can build the Delta Flyer in the game’s shuttle bay, which will open up a whole new questline featuring Tom Paris. Building the shuttlecraft also unlocks it as a combat ally, which means it’ll automatically aid you in battle (although, as of right now, there’s no option to pilot it between sectors the same way you can with the Voyager), and there are also multiple new Delta Flyer branches in a few of the game’s pre-existing quests.

Across the Unknown has gone through painstaking lengths to recreate the show while allowing players to captain the Voyager their way, and the introduction of the Delta Flyer is just one of many love letters to the series. Even though it was a bold swing for the franchise to rewrite the formula with Voyager, something like AtU is proof that the show’s idiosyncrasies and original ideas are a strong part of what made it so memorable in the first place.

Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown is available now on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

Of all the villains the X-Men have faced, Apocalypse might be the most formidable. You can’t find a more potent threat than the first-ever mutant, an ancient being who weaponizes his “Survival of the Fittest” mentality against anyone in his path. Introduced in 1986, he’s also one of the X-Men’s longest-running villains, but something always gets lost in translation when he’s brought from page to screen.

Apocalypse, also known as En Sabah Nur, got the live-action treatment with the bizarre, misguided X-Men: Apocalypse, a film that served as his introduction to many fans. It also, unfortunately, bastardized his character, burying a promising Oscar Isaac performance beneath layers of clunky prosthetics. It was a far cry from anything more seasoned fans of the franchise — like, say, fans who tuned into X-Men: The Animated Series — were expecting. The animated show delivered one of the greatest depictions of Apocalypse, setting a standard that has yet to be matched. How fitting, then, that its revival is reminding us what Apocalypse is capable of.

After two long years, X-Men ’97 is finally returning with a new season. The eponymous super-group finds itself scattered across space and time. In the first trailer for Season 2, the time-traveling mutant Bishop explains that some members of the X-Men are stuck in ancient Egypt at “the start of Apocalypse’s reign,” while others find themselves in the future, “at the height of his rule.” With their most powerful warriors distracted, Apocalypse schemes to wipe out the few X-Men left in the 1990s. That forces Bishop into a literal race against time, as novice X-Men like Jubilee and Sunspot join him on a quest to round up all the X-Men for a rematch against Apocalypse.

X-Men ’97 is poised to deliver a major team-up, with the first season’s classic line-up fighting side-by-side with a handful of new faces. Characters like Psylocke, Polaris, Archangel, and Havok will play a major role in Season 2, and we’ll also see the formation of smaller teams like X-Factor and X-Force. The next chapter in this X-Men story is shaping up to be a big one — not only will it massively expand the scope of the series, but it will also deliver a version of Apocalypse worth fighting.

X-Men ’97 Season 2 premieres July 1 on Disney+.

Doctor Who has been a television tradition for over 60 years now. From kids in the ‘60s and ‘70s hiding behind sofas to speculation over who the Doctor will regenerate into next, the sci-fi series has dominated British culture even when it was off the air. For over 20 years now, the series has kept up a new tradition: a Christmas special, an often holiday-themed adventure that the whole family can enjoy. There was a brief stint where these Christmas specials would come a week later during the New Year, but it seemed like an annual tradition you could count on.

But in the midst of a time of upheaval for the show, the 2025 Christmas season came and went without any Doctor Who. Now, it looks like that will be repeated with a completely new tradition to follow.

The Sun claims an insider reports that the 2026 Doctor Who Christmas special may not happen at all. Instead, we could see a special airing at Easter 2027, instead, meaning there will be almost two years without any new Doctor Who episodes. This would contradict the BBC’s previous statement that showrunner Russell T. Davies will write a Christmas special for 2026. It should be noted that The Sun is a tabloid newspaper so there’s no confirmation just yet, but considering we haven’t heard anything about the upcoming special lately, it does seem likely.

Doctor Who has been in limbo recently. Ever since the 60th anniversary specials in 2023, Doctor Who has been produced in conjunction with Disney, which distributed the show outside of the British Isles. However, that partnership has since ended, and Disney+ hasn’t even released the latest Doctor Who spinoff despite the fact it aired on the BBC back in December 2025.

Complicating matters is where the story left off, with the Fifteenth Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, regenerating into Billie Piper, the actress who portrayed Rose Tyler back in the 2000s. That’s quite the cliffhanger, but it seems to be the focus of this hypothetical 2027 Easter Special. According to this insider, finding someone else to take the role after Piper is proving difficult. “The problem is that they have found it difficult to find anyone who’ll take on the part of the 16th Time Lord, partly because it now feels like a role that comes with all the baggage of the most recent series,” the report says. “There are fears that even if they do manage to pull something together, it is going to be a poor cousin to previous Christmas specials, which have always been adored by fans.”

But moving the special to Easter won’t stop comparisons to other episodes. In fact, Easter specials aren’t anything new. There were two different Easter specials, each separate from the Christmas specials, in 2009 and 2025. The comparison will still be there, but hopefully the extra time will make it a little more flattering.

This may just be a rumor for now, but it certainly does explain why we haven’t had any updates about the Doctor Who Christmas special. But if there’s one thing the show has taught us, it’s that time is immaterial when it matters, and for millions, Doctor Who matters.

Doctor Who 2023-2025 is now streaming on Disney+. The 2005-2022

There's a reason why, 64 years after the release of Dr. No, James Bond is still one of the most consistently successful and popular film franchises of all time. Aside from being the ultimate spy power fantasy, filled with over-the-top action spectacle and a protagonist that is charming as hell, there's also the sheer versatility offered by the character – every actor to embody 007 has approached the character in their own way, with their own individual quirks and characterization. Sean Connery set the template, George Lazenby was the lover, Roger Moore was hilarious, Timothy Dalton was closer to Ian Fleming’s brutality, Pierce Brosnan was a blend of the best of Bond, and Daniel Craig was a little more psychologically scarred. But, somehow, all of these men are Bond.

But what the new video game, 007 First Light, asks is: What kind of Bond do you want to be? Sure, certain 007 tropes are required, but the immersion in this new origin story is unprecedented in the franchise. In terms of Bond games, GoldenEye 64 is widely considered one of the superspy's best outings, as well as one of the most influential first-person shooters ever made – but in the decades after that game’s release, James Bond titles became stuck in the rut of familiarity, constantly falling back on FPS gameplay with the aesthetics of either Pierce Brosnan or Daniel Craig. Ten years after the failure of 007 Legends, we finally have another Bond game, one that builds its own distinctive mythos for the character from the ground up – and even with some minor warts, 007 First Light is a remarkable achievement that, for the first time, allows players to embody Bond in their own way.

The key novelty of this Bond game is that the character is not yet the weathered, suave assassin present in the cinematic depictions. The tutorial mission opens by introducing us to a 26-year-old Bond – still an aircrewman in the Royal Navy, he and his team are shot down during a mission by a mysterious criminal syndicate with access to a hijacked MI6 asset. Almost immediately, as if making the best out of a bad situation, James is temporarily enlisted into a new mission by a mysterious voice through an earpiece, and we get to experience firsthand the tenacity, improvisational skills, and courage that eventually lead to him officially joining MI6. It’s an “origin story” for the character that evokes the subtle mythos building of something like Batman Begins, and the best part is that from the moment the game starts, the player is in the driver’s seat, slowly becoming Bond piece by piece just as the character does in-game.

Part of the way the game constructs its own unique version of James Bond is in the dynamic cast, which is filled with familiar faces as well as old ones. Patrick Gibson steps into the role and imbues 007 with certain immediately recognizable traits – the effortless swagger, his level-headedness, the unrestrained charisma – and yet we get to see the unrefined, more youthful edges as well. Bond himself is just one element of an eclectic ensemble, however: the relationship between James and his fellow 00 recruits is a surprisingly high point, as is his tense mentorship under John Greenway, played by Lennie James. The repetition of visiting MI6 headquarters would feel trite and boring in a different game, but it becomes one of First Light’s little joys because it means getting to further develop the budding connection between characters like Moneypenny (Kiera Lester) and Q (Alastair Mackenzie), whose status as crucial figures in the Bond mythos makes getting to see the beginnings of their connection with the superspy immensely meaningful.

Of course, the brunt of the game takes place outside of MI6 headquarters, and for the most part, the gameplay loop truly forces players to consider the variables it takes to wear Bond’s suit. The lessons learned by IO in their work on the Hitman games are repurposed here but the scope of the sandbox is still just as big: whether it be breaking into a lavish hotel for the elite rich, or trying to gain access to a private auction for international arms dealers, you get to approach a situation in any number of ways specifically suited to the kind of 007 you want to be. Bond games no longer have to be trapped in the purgatory of trying to imitate the success of GoldenEye; IO instead understands that part of the power fantasy of the James Bond films is getting to live vicariously through the covert infiltrations and daring escapes, and actively involves you in planning and executing them.

Their approach to gameplay truly complements the staggering cinematic scale the game is aiming for. 007 First Light is fashioned to be indistinguishable from a big-budget Bond blockbuster, complete with a great deal of globe-trotting, dramatic turns, and high-octane spectacle. The story isn’t tertiary to the gameplay but it also doesn’t come at the expense of satisfying interactivity either – just as the mechanics encourage you to inhabit the mind of the character in your own way, so too does the narrative decouple itself from recognizable cinematic depictions of the character in favor of creating a wholly new take on Bond that still honors the tropes and aesthetics of what Bond films have been for over 6 decades now.

If there were any stumbling blocks in First Light, the biggest is still a relatively minor one – at times, the game feels surprisingly railroaded, almost against its better nature. Occasionally, the game’s transition between interactive sequences and cutscenes feels seamless and fluid, but other times it breaks up the flow of what would otherwise be total immersion. Jumping out of a plane and having the game show you Bond’s miraculous escape through a quick-time event is fun to watch, but how much more fun would moments like that be if they were fully guided by the player in the moment?

It’s a small critique for what ultimately amounts to perhaps the best video game adaptation of 007 since the 90s. What IO has done with the IP is arguably an extension of what studios like Rocksteady and MachineGames did for Batman and Indiana Jones – create an interactive experience where the mechanics and narrative are lovingly tailored to the franchises they inhabit. Every stealth takedown, every gadget improvisation, every slick defusal of a tense situation with a bluff – all of it is another notch in the belt of a Bond becoming who he’s destined to be, and it also further immerses the player in the experience of becoming the iconic secret agent from the comfort of their couch.

007 First Light is available now for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.

If you slept on the recent star-studded crime thriller, Fuze, there’s good news. Now is the time to watch the explosive movie at home. Directed by David MacKenzie, best known for Hell or High Water and the underrated thriller Relay, the new film Fuze combines a crime thriller with an incredible cast with super-high stakes.

As of May 26, 2026, Fuze is available for digital purchase on platforms like YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV, and elsewhere. And, to give you a sense of what this movie is all about, Inverse has an exclusive clip from the film, courtesy of Saban Films and Sony. Check it out below.

Fuze: Exclusive Clip

The movie centers on various heists and stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Sam Worthington, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Theo James. In this scene, Karalis (James), the key bank robber of the film, realizes his uncut diamonds are, in fact, not entirely real.

This one scene, full of tension and dread, is just one example of the pulse-pounding nature of Fuze. If you’re looking for a movie with a hugely talented cast and a bit of that Guy Ritchie-meets-The Accountant flavor, then Fuze is the movie you need to see ASAP.

Here’s the official synopsis: Set in contemporary London, Fuze unfolds after an unexploded World War II bomb is unearthed at a busy construction site, forcing a massive citywide evacuation. Amid the escalating tension and chaos, a daring criminal operation is set in motion—one that uses the evacuation as cover for a meticulously planned heist. As authorities race against time to contain the crisis, alliances blur and moral boundaries are crossed, the film deftly propels audiences through a series of calculated twists delivering a wildly entertaining ride

Fuze Blu-ray release details

Fuze is out now on digital, but will hit Blu-ray on July 7, 2026.

After a ton of anticipation and fanfare, The Mandalorian and Grogu has landed, and the reactions are...mixed. In some ways, the less-than-stellar response was to be expected. After three seasons of explosive action, what could this film do that the series hadn’t already fully accomplished? While the opening sequence of Mando and Grogu is thrilling in IMAX, and it's fun to see X-wings swooping down in the final moments of the film, even the most staunch defenders of this new Star Wars film might admit that there’s something off about the vibe of everything. But what is the true flaw of The Mandalorian and Grogu? The list, from fans and pundits online, is already very long; there are no female characters other than Sigourney Weaver’s Col. Ward (a huge problem!), Jeremy Allen White’s performance as Rotta seems phoned-in (it seemingly was!), the stakes felt low (didn’t Mando fight bigger bads than this?), and the action was inconsistent, or at worst, too similar to the kinds of things we’ve seen before.

And yet, the heart of the true problem with The Mandalorian and Grogu is none of these issues. Yes, each of these points is valid, but the overall flow of this movie could have been smoother and smarter, which would have helped us all overlook some of these other, more specific nitpicks. The reason we’re all pulling out specific things — or making generalized arguments that the movie is too much like a TV episode — is that the structure of the movie simply doesn’t work. And that’s because it violates an unspoken rule that nearly every Star Wars movie follows, with the odd exception of The Phantom Menace. In short, the real problem with The Mandalorian and Grogu is in the third act, when it's decided that the action of the film has to return to Nal Hutta.

This is the movie’s biggest blunder. As J. J. Abrams laid out in his now-famous 2007 TED Talk about “the mystery box,” the brilliance of the first 1977 Star Wars was its constant movement. While we tend to focus, or make light of Abrams’ concept here, the thing that is crucial to the success of the first Star Wars, and all the other films, is that each new location moves the story forward. Much like an Indiana Jones or James Bond movie, dashing around to different places is the story, and the exciting adventure is partly defined by what the heroes will encounter next. While it might be fine for Odysseus to (briefly) revisit the island of Circe after leaving earlier in the story of The Odyssey, generally speaking, the way these kinds of stories work is that when it comes to the locations, we don’t look back.

Imagine if the ending of The Empire Strikes Back involved Luke and company returning to Hoth. Or worse yet, if the 1977 Star Wars ended back up on Tatooine? Or even worse, if Return of the Jedi had its final battle on Tatooine after starting the film there? That’s essentially the crime that Mando and Grogu commit. Once it sinks in that we’re headed back to Nal Hutta, the audience starts to lose interest. We’ve already been there. We saw the Hutts, we’re done. Once we realize the entire movie is going to conclude on the Hutt homeworld, the mystery and the excitement is gone, because we essentially now know what is going to happen.

Yes, The Phantom Menace returns to Naboo in its third act, with Jar Jar exclaiming: “Wessa going home!!” This is not one of the better things about The Phantom Menace, and, arguably, one of the reasons why that movie still inspires so much debate. The stakes are fuzzy at the end of that movie (Queen Amidala needs to find a guy, to make him admit...something?), and the stakes are equally fuzzy at the end of Mando and Grogu. They have to rescue Rotta alone? Why? Why not go get help from all of Mando’s contacts in the underworld? Why right now? And at the point at which the New Republic was already on its way, the movie also removes all the tension: Mando had a bail out the whole time, making his and Grogu’s brave assault on the Hutt palace somewhat silly.

Certainly, some grand adventures can circle back to the beginning as part of a great ending. The Hobbit is famously also titled There and Back Again. And of course, The Odyssey is all about returning home, where a final confrontation goes down. But, Nal Hutta doesn’t feel like one of those locations that is worth taking your entire third act to. It feels like a stop on Mando’s journey, not the destination.

In short, the return to Nal Hutta in the final act of the film is what makes The Mandalorian and Grogu feel off-kilter and slow, almost like the mass of several massive space slugs was weighing down the story.

The Mandalorian and Grogu is in theaters now.

Jane Schoenbrun is not a director who does anything by half measures — or without a personal stake — but all that and more makes them such an essential filmmaker for this post-post-modern age. Their feature debut, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, introduced Schoenbrun as a disruptor, and a major name to watch. Their ability to comment on cultural phenomena without beating a dead horse goes unmatched, even if said commentary lives on the margins as underrated (if immaculate) indie darlings.

Now, Schoenbrun is offering up Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, which could be their most ambitious film yet. Where Schoenbrun’s debut crystallized their brush with online liminal spaces, and I Saw the TV Glow spliced the stimulation of the “egg crack moment” with their affinity for cult TV classics, the filmmaker’s third project lays waste to the slasher — but that’s not its only focus. The reclamation of pleasure and sensuality is also top on Camp Miasma’s list of priorities, making for a horror that’s equal parts horny and harrowing.

Camp Miasma follows the misadventures of Kris (Hacks’ Hannah Einbinder), a filmmaker on a quest to direct the next installment of a long-running slasher franchise. Kris has been obsessed with this “problematic classic” — and the lead actress of its first installment, Billy Preston (Gillian Anderson) — since childhood, so her remake of Camp Miasma must naturally feature a return from Billy. Conveniently, the reclusive star has taken up residence at the camp where the original movies were filmed, which makes her return all the more natural.

But getting the reclusive star to appear in her film is just the first of many hurdles for Kris. Reimagining Camp Miasma (a film which is as much about sex as it is about death) dredges up her own complicated relationship to the act, and it only intensifies as she kicks off a fling with Billy. Then there’s the little matter of the hole at the bottom of the camp lake, a kind of portal that brings characters from the Camp Miasma franchise — like the serial killer Little Death (Jack Haven) — into the real world. The latest trailer pits him against Kris and Billy, teasing a Technicolor showdown filled with blood geysers, undulating purple flesh, and at least one sequence where Einbinder evokes the final girls of classic ‘80s horror, running through the forest in skimpy PJs. This might be Schoenbrun’s most commercial project thus far, but don’t expect it to play by the rules: Camp Miasma is poised to slay every slasher that came before it.

Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma opens in theaters on August 7.