Ambition

Thanks to the success of Bryan Singer’s X-Men and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, virtually every recognizable comic book property was plunged into active development and brought to the screen as quickly as possible to capitalize on the boom, with Ang Lee’s Hulk just one of many to fall by the wayside. A sequel was tentatively planned for a May 2005 release before the opener had even made its way to theaters, only for an underwhelming box office haul of $245 million to end any hopes of a franchise. A 62 percent Rotten Tomatoes…

As day breaks over the heads of the clubbers on a Kampala rooftop, arms are raised in unison as they dance on to the bass-heavy tracks. Florence Lugemwa has only been Dj-ing for a few weeks but had the party going until after sunrise. By lunchtime, Lugemwa is still bright-eyed as she clambers down from a truck in Ggaba, one of Kampala’s most deprived communities, with the battered trombones, trumpets and drums to hand out to an eager crowd of children.Even when she’s sleep deprived from a night on the decks, Lugemwa makes…

The borders between prog and metal have always been porous, as Massachusetts-formed (and now Berlin-based) quartet Elder clearly understand. They began their own migration from craggy, red-eyed stoner-rock to proggy nirvana with 2015’s latently sophisticated Lore. Their sixth album, Innate Passage, strikes their most polished and satisfying balance yet between ground-shaking heaviness and lofty ambition.The magic of Innate Passage lies in how lightly the group wear their instrumental mastery. There’s precious little…

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A desire to succeed despite adversity motivates people to pursue a legal career, but barriers caused by finances and careers advice are obstacles, a new study suggests. Those who have become solicitors and barristers said experiencing difficult circumstances in their lives and their personal qualities…

This review contains spoilers for Below Ambition, and pretty much every other Megahex book (and the Crisis Zone 2022 Action Calendar). In Below Ambition, the relationship between Megg the witch and Werewolf Jones takes the main stage, framed through their participation in their band Horse Mania. Devoted readers of the work of Simon Hanselmann will already be familiar with the band, but not to the degree or depth that this deceptively slim volume digs in. Crisis Zone As comparisons are inevitable, let’s get it out of the…

Gov. Gavin Newsom is as frustrated and exhausted as the rest of us when it comes to homelessness in the Golden State. But as much as we’re fed up with suffering on the streets, he knows we’re also fed up with promises. “We’re demoralized by our own lack of performance,” he told me Wednesday from the top floor of his office in Sacramento, overlooking a city as overrun with tents and despair as any in California. “We’re at a point of moral crisis and a crisis of confidence in our leadership, as Democrats, as progressives,”…

Image: Adult SwimWe’ve seen Rick and Morty in Claymation form before, but never in a standalone Claymation short—until now. That’s all thanks to Lee Hardcastle, the animator who created a string of sci-fi parodies for the smash-hit series before Adult Swim tapped him to create this year’s Halloween special.While fans wait for Rick and Morty proper to return from hiatus—the rest of season six begins November 20—they can enjoy Hardcastle’s creepy, surreal “Summer’s Sleepover” as a little holiday treat. io9 got a chance to…

Final Fantasy 16 has received a lengthy new trailer that sheds insight into the factions vying for control in Square Enix‘s upcoming role-playing game. Published today (October 20), the Ambition trailer runs at four and a half minutes and provides an overview of each faction in Final Fantasy 16. From the Iron Kingdom – “forged in faith and fear” – to the holy empire of Sanbreque, “where ambition is divine”, the trailer explores the world of Valisthea and shows that peace between each civilisation is unlikely to last. You…

Xi Jinping laid out ambitious plans two years ago to expand China’s wealth and double the size of the nation’s economy by 2035.The target would require China’s economy to grow an average of nearly 5% annually over 15 years, according to estimates by officials involved in policy-making. Many economists inside and outside of China now believe 5% won’t be achievable, not just for this year, but also for the longer term. A major challenge is Mr. Xi’s political agenda. Since he…

Tencent, the biggest social networking and video games company in China, hasn’t really managed to scale its popular products in the Western mainstream. The behemoth’s international expansion for the most part has been achieved by investing in companies outside China, but now it’s upping its on-the-ground presence abroad through its most lucrative business — video games. In the past two years, Tencent has significantly expanded the footprint of two of its most successful gaming studios, TiMi Studios and Lightspeed…