Childish Gambino and the Search for the Summer Anthem
The summer anthem yields to ritual. An untiring breed of musical ambrosia, its genealogy extends from slowburners like Janet Jackson’s “That’s The Way Love Goes” (1993) to the arena-scale decadence of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” (2007) and Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” (2010). But while the end result differs each time, the summer anthem commonly and above all…
Westworld Recap, Season 2 Episode 7: Decoding da Vinci
In the show Westworld, Anthony Hopkins plays the master architect Robert Ford. He designed the sentient robots that populate Delos Inc.'s sumptuous parks. He has an artist's discerning eye, the life-breathing gift of an inventor, and the calculating menace of a sociopath. And he has continued to loom over Westworld's happenings, despite having been killed…
Ralph Breaks the Internet Wrecked It at the Box Office
It's time once again to turn on The Monitor, WIRED's roundup of the latest in the world of culture, from box-office news to release-date announcements. In today's installment: A new Ralph and a new Rocky dominate the holiday; Disney's Lion King trailer feels the love; and a premiere date for The Walking Dead comes alive.…
Review: Just Wait 'Til You Get Your Eyes on Blade Runner 2049
Before a recent press screening of Blade Runner 2049, a representative from Warner Bros. read a note from Denis Villeneuve, in which the director politely asked those assembled to preserve the film's many secrets. It's a reasonable request, but a difficult one, as any discussion of 2049 is bound to involve spoiler-spilling queries, many of…
Mr. Know-It-All: Should I Feel Guilty For Watching Pirated TV?
My sister watches pirated TV. I do too, but she won’t admit she’s breaking a rule. Why does this bug me so much? “I’m going to bury this auditor in paperwork,” Norm brags, shuffling phony receipts and faked mileage logs around his corner of the bar. It’s halfway through Cheers’ 11th season, and after years…
The Story of Arc Symphony, a Game About a Game That Doesn’t Exist
Every story bends the world, however slightly. All the people who hear it, and all the people who share it, create a tiny impression. That impression draws people together, and under the right circumstances, creates a community. A tiny culture of shared values, beliefs, and passions. Through these tiny acts, stories create connections. Even a…
Roger Moore Had the Greatest Gadgets in the History of Bond
Next to Vesper martinis, James Bond is best-known for gadgets. Throughout the years, MI6 kept him outfitted in nothing but the best cars, wristwatches, and weapons. Today, Roger Moore, the actor who played Bond through seven films from 1973 to 1985, passed away at the age of 89. To honor his iconic turn as the…
Virtuoso Action Director Lexi Alexander Fights Back Against Hollywood
Click:2 ATA Hyperbaric Chamber For Sale Lexi Alexander is easy enough to spot on a set: She’s the one in the middle of the huddle, surrounded on all sides by men—cameramen, stuntmen, sound guys, lighting guys, even a Guy Holding a Fake But Very Real-Looking Gun—and throwing punches around. Alexander is a film and television…
Annihilation Is a Thrilling, Terrifying Surrealist Trip
Something strange is happening in science fiction. Mutating flowers. People with eels for intestines. Crocodile-shark hybrids, part-plant deer, and moaning skull-faced boar-bears. (Oh my.) Such are the flora and fauna of what's now being called, rather neatly, the New Weird, the genre's version of the grotesque—though it's only "new" in the sense that it's finally…
The Internet Defines 'Covfefe'
Leave it to Donald Trump to keep Twitter guessing. Just after midnight Eastern this morning, the president did what the president often does at odd hours: He sent out a tweet. But this one, rather than attacking a political opponent or offering up a 140-character policy position, just plain made no sense: "Despite the constant…