#breaking-character

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Film
fromVulture
2 days ago

The Twist in The Drama Is Not the Problem

The film features a controversial plot twist involving a character's past plan for a school shooting, sparking significant online speculation and backlash.
#literature
fromThe Atlantic
2 days ago
Books

Unconventional Novels About Conventional People

Aging revolutionaries and conformists share parallel narratives of disillusionment and the loss of youthful dreams in recent literature.
Books
fromThe Atlantic
2 days ago

Unconventional Novels About Conventional People

Aging revolutionaries and conformists share parallel narratives of disillusionment and the loss of youthful dreams in recent literature.
#imperfect-women
fromDefector
1 week ago
Women in technology

'Imperfect Women' Is The Latest Entry In A Fittingly Flawed Genre | Defector

Television
fromThe Atlantic
4 days ago

TV's Failing Cure For Middle-Aged Malaise

Imperfect Women exemplifies the decline of the 'messy-mom thriller' genre despite initial viewership success.
Women in technology
fromDefector
1 week ago

'Imperfect Women' Is The Latest Entry In A Fittingly Flawed Genre | Defector

Imperfect Women critiques societal expectations of women through the lens of flawed characters and their narratives.
LA Kings
fromEsquire
6 days ago

The 'Paradise' Season 2 Finale Is Bittersweet Chaos

The season 2 finale of Paradise features emotional reunions and significant plot developments, setting the stage for future storylines.
#family-dynamics
fromSlate Magazine
6 days ago
Parenting

My Sister Told Our Sibling a Lie About Her Wedding. The Reveal Is Going to Be Crushing.

Discriminating against a child with Tourette syndrome at a family wedding can lead to significant emotional harm and conflict.
fromHuffPost
1 week ago
US news

'I'm Not A Monster,' My Mom Sobbed On The Phone. I Never Thought We'd Get To This Place.

A mother and daughter navigate a complex relationship, highlighted by a book reflecting on their struggles with body image and expectations.
Parenting
fromSlate Magazine
6 days ago

My Sister Told Our Sibling a Lie About Her Wedding. The Reveal Is Going to Be Crushing.

Discriminating against a child with Tourette syndrome at a family wedding can lead to significant emotional harm and conflict.
fromHuffPost
1 week ago
US news

'I'm Not A Monster,' My Mom Sobbed On The Phone. I Never Thought We'd Get To This Place.

Film
fromMetro
2 days ago

The Drama criticised for 'sick' plot twist after misleading marketing

The marketing for The Drama misleads audiences about its serious themes, particularly regarding a shocking plot twist involving a school shooting.
Board games
fromWGB
1 week ago

The Succession of Changing Kings - Review

The Succession of Changing Kings is a text adventure game where players navigate decisions to become king while managing resources and consequences.
#horror
Independent films
fromVulture
1 week ago

Sure, They Will Kill You, But Can They Get On With It Already?

They Will Kill You satirizes rich Devil worshippers while contrasting them with the mundane lives of actual Satanists, challenging stereotypes and societal fears.
Television
fromVulture
1 week ago

So, About That Something Very Bad That Was Going to Happen ...

The finale of Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen delivers a gruesome conclusion with a high body count, fulfilling its ominous title.
Television
fromVulture
1 week ago

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen Could've Been a Classic

A woman with a mysterious background and a sixth sense navigates family dynamics and impending doom before her wedding.
Podcast
fromABC7 Los Angeles
1 week ago

ABC takes true crime storytelling to new levels with 'Betrayal: Secrets and Lies'

The series 'Betrayal: Secrets and Lies' showcases true stories of deception, including paternity fraud and domestic abuse.
Writing
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 week ago

Permanence by Sophie Mackintosh review high-concept adultery fable

Sophie Mackintosh's novel Permanence explores desire and infidelity through a surreal narrative of a couple trapped in a fantasy world.
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 week ago

The Writer and the Traitor by Robert Verkaik review divided loyalties

Graham Greene announced that he was resigning from MI6. Kim Philby, his chief in Section V, MI6's counterespionage arm, blinked. Greene had played his part in tending the illusion.
London politics
#romantic-comedy
fromVulture
1 day ago
Film

The Drama Is Too Cowardly to Commit to Its Provocative Premise

The film presents a dark romantic comedy featuring complex characters and a central premise that challenges audience expectations.
fromThe New Yorker
3 days ago
Film

"The Drama" Struggles to Justify Its Combustible Premise

Charlie and Emma navigate their relationship's challenges through humor and the concept of starting over.
Film
fromVulture
1 day ago

The Drama Is Too Cowardly to Commit to Its Provocative Premise

The film presents a dark romantic comedy featuring complex characters and a central premise that challenges audience expectations.
Film
fromThe New Yorker
3 days ago

"The Drama" Struggles to Justify Its Combustible Premise

Charlie and Emma navigate their relationship's challenges through humor and the concept of starting over.
Books
fromAnOther
4 days ago

Djamel White's Novel Is Irish Fiction's Gangland Answer to Heated Rivalry

Djamel White's debut novel, All Them Dogs, blends crime fiction, romance, and tragedy, featuring a complex protagonist navigating the criminal underworld.
Film
fromConsequence
1 day ago

Here's the Wild Twist of The Drama, and Why It Doesn't Work

The Drama reveals dark secrets before a wedding, leading to emotional turmoil and questioning of relationships.
Books
fromThe New Yorker
4 days ago

The Sci-Fi Novelist Who Disappeared for Decades

Cameron Reed's science fiction explores cognitive estrangement, revealing alien worlds that reflect and challenge our own societal norms and moral dilemmas.
#film-vs-literature
Film
fromBustle
2 days ago

Is Alana Haim's Character The True Villain In 'The Drama'?

Emma's past revelation spirals the wedding into chaos, with bridesmaid Rachel as the comedic yet irritating villain of the story.
Independent films
fromInverse
2 weeks ago

'Project Hail Mary' Author Reveals Why That Twist Ending Is So Essential

Project Hail Mary succeeds through its relatable protagonist Ryland Grace, whose character arc includes a late-film revelation that recontextualizes his heroism and ends with him teaching science to young Eridians on an alien planet.
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
3 weeks ago

The Shift That Happens When You Write a Non-Fiction Book

Writing a book transforms tacit knowledge into explicit frameworks, forcing experts to articulate intuitions they've developed through experience into clear, communicable ideas.
Independent films
fromInverse
2 weeks ago

'Normal' Is An Above-Average Action Thriller Saved By Bob Odenkirk

Bob Odenkirk stars as a temporary sheriff in a Minnesota town that harbors a criminal conspiracy involving billions in gold, forcing him into unexpected action against the entire community.
fromSlate Magazine
3 days ago

Why Have Zendaya and Robert Pattinson Been Hiding the Twist of Their New A24 Movie? Because It's a Disaster.

During a private tasting dinner, a game prompts guests to confess their worst actions, revealing hidden insecurities and creating tension between Charlie and Emma.
Film
Books
fromPsychology Today
1 week ago

Fiction Is Indispensable to Life's Journey

Fiction is essential for emotional connection, learning, and social cognition, allowing us to escape reality and engage deeply with narratives.
Television
fromBustle
2 weeks ago

Kerry Washington's New Thriller May Have A Shocking Twist

Apple TV's Imperfect Women follows three women navigating an affair and murder, exemplifying the 'good for her' genre where morally gray female characters make questionable choices in response to difficult circumstances.
Books
fromBustle
1 week ago

The 10 Best New Books About Women Breaking The Mold

Successful women often defy expectations, and quieter forms of rebellion deserve recognition alongside visible rule-breakers.
Boston
fromSilicon Canals
1 month ago

I was the sibling who left and my brother was the sibling who stayed - and 30 years later we finally had the conversation about which one of us actually escaped and the answer wasn't what either of us expected - Silicon Canals

The narratives we construct about life choices—leaving or staying—often obscure the validity and value of paths different from our own.
DC food
fromVulture
1 month ago

Dark Winds Is Finally Getting a Little Weird With It

Dark Winds season four allows Joe Leaphorn to break from his composed heroic archetype through a cat-and-mouse dynamic with a German assassin, enabling actor Zahn McClarnon to showcase comedic and vulnerable dimensions previously unexplored.
fromMedium
1 month ago

Things that don't matter when you write

To deny one's own experiences is to put a lie into the lips of one's own life. It is no less than a denial of the soul. The concept I stick to - my core principle - is simple: I write in plain English, and only when I actually have something to say.
Writing
Music
fromwww.npr.org
1 month ago

Why music has become such a big part of the romance novel reading experience

Romance novel readers increasingly use pop music playlists to enhance their reading experiences, creating a community that bridges book fandom and music fandom, exemplified by Charli XCX's Wuthering Heights album.
Books
fromThe New Yorker
2 weeks ago

Briefly Noted Book Reviews

Two literary works explore complex themes through innovative narrative techniques: Morrison's essays examine challenging craft elements in Toni Morrison's writing, while Nganang's memoir uses the scale as a metaphor connecting personal experience to colonial history.
fromBustle
1 month ago

Exclusive: Leo Woodwall Breaks Down The *Very* Twisted Ending Of 'Vladimir'

There is an allure about him. There's a warmth to him, and something new about him, but also it's the timing. The backlash of her open relationship with John is really starting to take on a new shape, and I think he's a sort of exciting escape from it too.
Television
fromInverse
3 weeks ago

'Undertone' Is Scariest With What It Doesn't Show

The first thing you notice about undertone is how quiet it is; not just in its audio mix, but in how it's shot - primarily steady wide shots that slowly pan across empty rooms, allowing your eyes to frantically scan for something amiss. It's an understated form of filmmaking that allows for the movie's scares to hit all that much harder.
Film
Film
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 weeks ago

Scarlet review Mamoru Hosoda turns Hamlet into tale of prowling knights and deep nothingness'

Mamoru Hosoda's anime adaptation of Hamlet, Scarlet, features stunning visuals but suffers from incoherent storytelling, arbitrary world-building, and heavy-handed philosophical messaging that undermines its narrative impact.
fromThe Atlantic
1 month ago

The Most Sickening Twist in Industry Is Also Its Most Insightful

Whereas other characters are cold and sharklike, Yas feels her way through the world-and uses her vulnerability to manipulate others. Being born into wealth taught her that none of us is in command of our fate, so we had better cheat for whatever control we can. She's the statuesque girlboss for the new gilded age.
Television
US politics
fromPsychology Today
2 months ago

A War of Narratives

Clear, simple narratives improve understanding; truth-focused, superior narratives are necessary to counter disinformation and avoid equating falsehoods with facts.
#video-games
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

The best recent crime and thrillers review roundup

Obnoxious jewellery dealer Rodney Manderson has been killed outside the Bowery auction rooms, stabbed through the eye with the Victorian hatpin that his boss, Rose Bowery, has brandished in front of the nation on Bargain Hunt. As she discussed the pin's virtues as a deadly weapon as well as its millinerial uses, the fiercely loyal Rilke decides while feeling grateful to have skipped lunch and trying not to think of jelly to remove it before calling the police.
LGBT
Mental health
fromSlate Magazine
2 months ago

My Big Family Once Formed the Backbone of My Life. Then, We Discovered My Sister's Horrific Actions. Now Nothing Is the Same.

Grief arises from losing a once-trusted family that protects abusers and punishes truth-tellers, necessitating boundaries, support, and therapy to mourn and rebuild safety.
National Football League
fromDefector
2 months ago

Heartwarming: Miserable Man Frustrated In Ultimately Insignificant Way | Defector

Bill Belichick failed election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first ballot year despite six Super Bowl victories and controversy.
fromHuffPost
1 month ago

The Person They Loved Married Someone Else. But This Was The Worst Part.

When Clara first learned that her college crush was getting married, she was heartbroken - because she wished it were the two of them tying the knot. They were friends in college, and this ex soon became Clara's first queer awakening. "[The crush] was strong enough that I had to admit it, or it would eat me alive," Clara, who asked to use a pseudonym for privacy, told HuffPost.
Relationships
Books
fromThe Atlantic
1 month ago

When Did Literature Get Less Dirty?

Philip Roth's Zuckerman Unbound functioned as a response to the controversial reception of Portnoy's Complaint, with Roth's protagonist expressing regret over writing sexually explicit material that drew accusations of anti-Semitism and misogyny.
Television
fromInsideHook
1 month ago

How "The Sopranos" Kept Plot Details Under Wraps

Television productions use strict secrecy—limited scripts, alternate scene shoots, and critic embargoes—to reduce spoilers and protect plot details.
Arts
fromwww.npr.org
2 months ago

'Islands' is a spare and satisfying slow-burn thriller

Islands is a spare, slow-burn drama set on barren Fuerteventura that examines alienation and luxury through a broken tennis pro's interactions with a wealthy family.
Video games
fromGameSpot
2 months ago

Here Are The Best Detective Games To Check Out

Industry layoffs and studio closures coincide with major game updates, gameplay impressions, character trailers, and recommendations including Steam Detective Fest deals and free PC games.
fromJezebel
1 month ago

Turns Out, When You Write a Novel About Killing a Politician, People Tell You How They'd Do It

When the people who are after me get here, they'll arrest me and put me on trial, or they'll disappear me to some black site. Or they won't bother with any of that and they'll just kill me. All of these seem like plausible outcomes, but in the novel's prologue, the narrator seems much more confident of her success: I am a fucking genius, a gorgeous fucking genius, and the only thing left to do is sit down and write.
Books
Film
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

People feel like they're in on the joke': the new wave of pseudo-biopics

Filmmakers increasingly create pseudo-biopics that borrow recognizable elements from real people and events while changing names and details to avoid legal liability and maintain creative freedom.
fromInverse
2 months ago

The Best Character of 2026 Is Totally Unexpected

Trails Beyond the Horizon's new character, Ulrika, is like staring into the abyss of a broken TikTok algorithm, and while my knee-jerk reaction might have been shock and even a little disdain, over the next 100 hours, I grew to find the character's bit surprisingly genuine and, admittedly, hilarious. What first felt like a gimmick grew to become one of my absolute favorite parts of the game, enhancing the already distinct personality of the Trails games.
Video games
Film
fromThe New Yorker
1 month ago

Say It Again: A Treatment

Clara, a spy whose family and friends were repeatedly targeted by Russian gangs, travels to London and infiltrates M.I.6 to find a Russian double agent.
fromThe Independent
1 month ago

17 great movies ruined by terrible endings

10 Cloverfield Lane Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman and John Gallagher Jr are locked in an underground bunker for the majority of this left-field sequel to Cloverfield, with thrilling results. In the film's final throes, Winstead's character exits the bunker, and finds that her captor was telling the truth about an alien invasion above - a twist that completely and ruinously dissipates the hard-earned tension that came before.
Film
Television
fromVulture
1 month ago

Tell Me Lies's Cat Missal Left Bree 'at Her Craziest Point'

Bree leaked Lucy's tape and was publicly exposed by Stephen, who then sabotaged Bree's wedding, revealing Bree's hidden betrayals and complex relationship entanglements.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

The best recent crime and thrillers review roundup

Two contemporary novels probe suburban domesticity, revealing secrets, manipulation, and moral ambiguity through slow-burn suspense and darkly comic plotting.
Television
fromBustle
2 months ago

'Vanished' Starts Sweet, Then Drops You Into A Twist-Heavy Mystery You'll Devour

A woman’s romantic trip turns into a dangerous, twisty thriller as she pursues her mysteriously disappeared boyfriend across Europe, becoming a competent, action-ready heroine.
Television
fromwww.esquire.com
2 months ago

'Landman' Season 2, Episode 9 Twist Ending, Explained

Billy Bob Thornton's character Tommy Norris remains central to Landman despite being fired, and Thornton says he'll star as long as the show wants him.
Television
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

I'm a crime writer. Here's why we make the best Traitors contestants

Crime fiction specialists' observational, empathetic, and deceptive-character skills make them natural contestants and formidable analysts on The Traitors.
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

A Biography Without 'The Boring Bits'

Sophia Stewart poses a choice that many biographers struggle with: "what to do with the boring bits."
Books
Film
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

My Sister's Bones review drab adaptation doesn't deliver the dark punch of the bestselling novel

A drab psychological-thriller film fails to generate intrigue despite a strong cast, weak pacing, and an underpowered twist ending.
Books
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

Curing Zombies in "The Bone Temple"

Monsters evolve to mirror the cultural anxieties and ambitions of their eras, revealing societal fears about race, empire, mental health, and scientific cure.
Television
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

A modern masterpiece': writer Jack Thorne's best TV shows from This Is England to Adolescence

Jack Thorne is a prolific British playwright and screenwriter responsible for many acclaimed TV dramas, stage plays, and films, with several major projects forthcoming.
Film
fromThe New Yorker
2 months ago

"Dead Man's Wire" Is a Tangle of Loose Threads

A DJ's improvised on-air intervention and a TV reporter's determination highlight media influence and legal, law-enforcement complexities, though broader ambitions remain underdeveloped.
Film
fromVulture
2 months ago

Send Help's Twist Is Awfully Similar to a Recent Best Picture Nominee

Send Help is a Sam Raimi desert-island horror that evokes '90s nostalgia while echoing themes and a twist similar to Triangle of Sadness.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Good People by Patmeena Sabit review addictive mystery caters to modern attention spans

A novel uses short testimonies to unravel a teenager's death while exposing immigrant family dynamics, communal gossip, wealth-driven envy, and cultural tensions.
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Uncomfortably relatable': writers on their favourite unlikeable movie characters

In one scene, an adoring fan asks Melvin his secret to writing women. I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability, he says, an epic burn forever seared in my brain. Of course Melvin's anti-charm offensive only goes so far in a James L Brooks project. Before long, the rudeness erodes as Melvin is forced on to a journey of self-discovery with the nextdoor neighbor he can't abide (Greg Kinnear) and the diner waitress he can't live without (Helen Hunt).
Film
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

The Puma by Daniel Wiles review a visceral tale of cyclical violence

After finding this seam of gold, miner Michael dreams that his son will be able to go to school, rather than join the other children who work in the mine, like blind, bald rodents unearthing themselves in search of scraps of candlelight. In the novel, which won the 2023 Betty Trask prize, everything closes in on Michael: lungs clog, tunnels collapse, horse-drawn narrowboats are attacked by robbers in the sooty dusk. It's a vivid reminder of the cost, in bodily suffering, of resource extraction.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Wise by Frank Tallis review how to turn your midlife crisis into a hero's journey

Following some of the arguments in Ernest Becker's 1973 study The Denial of Death, he proposes that such crises are at least partly the result of the western reluctance to face mortality. In Britain, we eschew open coffins, for instance. When our relatives die, as my mother did two years ago, they die in a hospital rather than at home. We can hardly even bring ourselves to say die, preferring euphemisms such as pass away.
Books
Books
fromEngadget
1 month ago

What to read this weekend: The unsettling new horror novel, Persona

A trans woman uncovers non-consensual pornography of herself and is drawn into escalating horrors involving identity, exploitation, internet influence, and economic precarity.
Film
fromIndieWire
2 months ago

'Scarlet' Tells a Classical Revenge Story - Just Don't Call It a Shakespeare Adaptation

Scarlet reimagines Hamlet as a gender-swapped revenge tale that becomes a purgatorial journey questioning whether cycles of vengeance are worth perpetuating.
Books
fromAnOther
2 months ago

Makenna Goodman's New Book Is a Gripping Portrait of a Disgraced Professor

Explores who gets to live the 'good life', interrogating rural idylls, identity, empathy, cancel culture, obsession, and the complexities of love.
Film
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Animol review gritty young offenders drama challenges conventional machismo

A young offender institution forces vulnerable inmates into violent gang hierarchies where phones, drugs, and respect become survival currency amid complicit, underpaid staff.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman review a perfect fairytale for our times

A dislocated professor abandons institutional life and retreats toward neo‑transcendental solitude in nature after losing job, spouse, and social standing.
Film
fromVulture
2 months ago

The Marty Supreme Vampire Alternate Ending Is Real

Josh Safdie planned a supernatural ending for Marty Supreme revealing Milton Rockwell as a literal vampire, ending with Marty bitten at a Tears For Fears concert.
Books
fromThe New Yorker
2 months ago

The Perils of Killing the Already Dead

Fear of the unquiet dead drove communities to mutilate and restrain corpses across cultures long before and beyond nineteenth-century vampire lore.
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