The fourth episode of CBS All Access’ miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s epic novel The Stand, titled “The House of the Dead,” contains two scenes that are surprising to say the least. Neither one of them turned up in the 1994 ABC miniseries based on King’s post-apocalyptic tale; one of them is taken from — or at least inspired by — the unexpurgated edition of the book that King published in 1990, from which very little was used in the 1994 TV event, while the other is wholly original to this adaptation....

Offering better observability into an application is a big challenge for any developer because they need to capture telemetry data of the application. The Cambridge dictionary defines telemetry as the science or process of collecting information about objects that are far away and sending the information somewhere electronically. For example, a user’s single click or session on a website generates a lot of requests and tracing flowing between networks, microservices, databases, etc....

Everyone has their favorite Bond, and everyone has their favorite reading of the character. When producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman insisted that 007 is bigger than any single actor, they meant it and have convinced multiple generations to insist that theirs is the best James Bond who ever donned a tux. So we’ll freely admit picking a “best” 007 actor is purely subjective—an attempt to answer an impossible question....

Which is why this weekend’s Malignant is such an inviting proposition. Five years after walking away from personally helming Ed and Lorraine Warren’s on-screen adventures, Wan’s returned to his roots with an original horror movie that’s not part of any franchise. What a novel concept. To celebrate this change of fortune, the editors at Den of Geek have put their heads together and voted, coming up with a definitive ranking of Wan’s horror movies....

In 2021 alone, the respected 66-year-old actor appeared in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, voiced characters in animated fare such as Invincible, Infinity Train, and The Great North, and still has blockbusters The Tomorrow War and Spider-Man: No Way Home on tap. And while it’s easy to single out his Oscar-winning performance in 2014’s Whiplash as a crowning achievement, Simmons still maintains a certain fondness for his portrayal of J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi’s previous Spider-Man trilogy....

We don’t even see it happen. Like Deborah Johnson (Dominique Fishback) and the other seven Black Panther Party members fortunate enough to survive an all-out assault on a Chicago apartment, we only experience the sound of it. Off-screen and out of focus, police officers glibly taunt Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), who is still incapacitated in his bed despite all hell having just broken loose in his home. Then there’s that sickening noise: two shots are fired into Hampton’s head....

In short, there isn’t a whole lot separating the receptions garnered by Disney/Touchstone’s King Arthur in 2004 and Warner Brothers’ King Arthur: Legend of the Sword in 2017. Both received lukewarm reviews, and both bowed under $20 million during opening weekends (though the ’04 vintage was able to drift above $15 million even without inflation). In a century where Hollywood success is dictated by a frontloaded debut, neither are going to be the subject of songs or ballads....

The result was the wildest spy film in ages, one that’s best described as if Roger Moore had been dropped into a total slaughterfest. A delightfully depraved diversion, it was also a surprise hit that proved blockbusters could open in February and paved the way for Kingsman: The Golden Circle, a sequel that arrives two years later and into a world where the Cold War is also on the rebound....

Starting Cyber Monday (November 30th), Wizards of the Coast is releasing one of its periodic Secret Lair drops. These are exclusive, limited availability collections of cards with alternate art or styles that are only sometimes playable in competitive formats. In this case, it’s likely that at least the Bob Ross cards will be legal everywhere. The collections include: Happy Little Gathering – $29.99/$39.99 (Foil and Non-Foil) · 2x Different Plains cards with art by Bob Ross · 2x Different Island cards with art by Bob Ross · 2x Different Swamp cards with art by Bob Ross · 2x Different Mountain cards with art by Bob Ross · 2x Different Forest cards with art by Bob Ross · MTG Arena Redemption: One (1) single-use code for one MTG Arena “Happy Little Gathering” Themed Sleeve (may be available later for separate purchase in MTG Arena)....

Lethal Weapon Season 2 Episode 22 Against all odds, Lethal Weapon season 2 has not only been an overall improvement on the show’s first year, but it’s turned into one of the most entertaining procedural cop shows on television and it’s a ratings hit, at that. “One Day More” is an exceptional season (series?) finale that expertly wraps up all of the season’s lingering plot threads in an impressive way. The consistent source of drama that comes from Riggs’ relationship with his father gets to be put to rest, but all of this progress can’t help but feel a little bittersweet....

“The genuine answer is we don’t know,” Line of Duty actor Martin Compston told the Shrine of Duty podcast last week about whether or not the BBC One crime drama will return. “But that’s nothing different for us. Jed always takes his time.” As reported by Radio Times, Compston explained, “After a series, [creator Jed Mercurio] always takes a couple of months… I think he likes to take the emotion out of it and sit down and look at all that....

Read more at The Mary Sue From a raunchy animated movie to the MCU, how America the Motion Picture landed a writer the Shang-Chi gig. Read more at Inverse Pokémon is adding another gimmick to their card game, this time V-Union cards with some adorable artwork. “After the last year, in which Pokémon Cards became scarce and severely overpriced amid the pandemic-era renewed interest in collectibles, the Pokémon Company’s responded to and bounced back from the shortage with a production increase that’s made it much easier to find new sets in stores....

“Few actresses have endured relentless online bullying and smear campaigns like Amber Heard. These attacks from a vocal group of staunch Johnny Depp stans have led to a petition (with nearly 2 million signatures) to remove her from Aquaman 2. Luckily, online petitions mean nothing, and Warner Bros. is standing by Heard.” Read more at The Mary Sue Is Space Jam: A New Legacy secretly a body horror movie? Not quite, but it certainly alludes to it....

Intended to highlight and honor the impact of genre TV shows and movies on popular culture, the inaugural Critics Choice Super Awards will feature Kevin Smith and Dani Fernandez as hosts, with an incredible lineup of talents to following, including Mike Colter (Luke Cage), Tom Ellis (Lucifer), Jared Padalecki (Supernatural), Eliza Taylor (The 100) , and more. Read more about the Awards here. Reelgood, one of the most extensive streaming guides in the US and UK, has released their Q4 2020 VOD stats, including the top 10 SVOD movie opening weekends from the past October through December....

“Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was released for the holiday weekend and took home $90 million at the box office, according to Variety. The film ‘had an even bigger debut than expected, collecting $90 million in its first four days of release and setting a new high watermark for the holiday weekend.’ Shang-Chi himself (Simu Liu) took to Twitter to celebrate. With a stock photo. Of… himself?...

“Great news for the five or six people who didn’t end up seeing Spider-Man: No Way Home the first time it was in theaters (we’re estimating here, based on the movie’s ludicrous box office returns): It’s going to get a second run this Labor Day, as part of what Disney is calling the More Fun Stuff release. (Presumably because ‘Nobody watches Blu-Rays anymore so we can just shove the deleted scenes back into the movie and people will eat it up version’ would have been hard to fit on the poster....

Loki Episode 4 First of all, holy shit! Ok, now that’s out of the way I have to calm down enough to review Marvel’s Loki, episode 4, “The Nexus Event,” which had me on the edge of my seat until the post-credits scene. During said post-credits scene I was very much out of my seat. I don’t remember when I stood up, but I guess it must have happened at some point in the 0....

I should not have doubted author Christina Henry, who also successfully added to and commented upon Alice in Wonderland canon with her novels Alice and Red Queen. The characters and world of Peter Pan is in safe hands. The story of Lost Boy. As advertised, Lost Boy tells the story of Jamie, the original Lost Boy and the boy who will become Captain Hook. Through his young eyes, we see Neverland and Peter Pan like never before....

Lucifer Season 3 Episode 9 After a long and somewhat disjointed wait, Lucifer’s mysterious arch nemesis finally reveals himself in the much anticipated episode “The Sinnerman,” and the consequences of their confrontation will have far reaching effects. Though it’s still early in this captivating chapter of Lucifer, the evening’s end brings more questions than answers. The crime-of-the-week functions as an introduction to The Sinnerman (Kevin Carroll) whose capture seems to occur just a bit too easily....

While Harley Quinn will be back on the big screen in the upcoming The Suicide Squad, she won’t be surrounded by her girl gang, but rather a new motley crew. As part of our Den of Geek magazine The Suicide Squad cover story, we asked Margot Robbie if there has been any talk of a Birds of Prey sequel. “I don’t know if that is on the horizon anytime soon,” Robbie tells Den of Geek, when asked if the Birds of Prey sequel conversation is active....