The latest Real Madrid transfer rumour roundup includes news on the club's fight with Barcelona for Arda Guler, Carlo Ancelotti's frustrations, Federico Valverde's future and more.

If you’ve sat your kids down to discuss Roth IRAs and compound interest, you might have been going about things the wrong way

Ismael Díaz blasted a hat trick in the space of nine second-half minutes as Panama marched into the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a...

A new update has finally enabled Xbox One discs to be playable offline on the Xbox Series X

SANTA CRUZ, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 2, 2023--

More Americans are tapping their 401(k) accounts because of financial distress, according to Bank of America data released Tuesday.

Spider-Man: Lotus is one of the most talked-about films of the year, but not necessarily for the right reasons. The fan film with a budget of $100,000 has proven to be hugely controversial in the months leading up to its release. The trailer generated a lot of buzz back in 2021, but it took until June 2022 for the first of the controversies to be unearthed. Back then, an anonymous twitter user shared screenshots of messages from Warden Wayne, the man cast to play Peter Parker in the movie, using racial slurs. Wayne was quick to post a lengthy apology to Twitter blaming his past behaviour on being “raised in a homeschool conservative environment in a small town in Arkansas.” Writer and director of the film Gavin J. Konop also came in for criticism after Twitter user @Berkmanboom shared screenshots of Konop using racial and homophobia slurs In a YouTube video that addressed the controversies facing the film titled “Addressing Everything”, Konop attempted to explain his past actions as well as claiming some of the screenshots were fake. “In my first couple years of high school, I’m gonna be honest I was pretty much a giant loser. I was online way too much, I was part of these group chats and communities where I very often said the most offensive things I could think of to get attention from people.” He also said that he takes “full responsibility” for his actions and admits that he knew “I was wrong, I wasn't raised knowing these things were not okay to say.” Spider-Man: Lotus (Fan-Film) www.youtube.com In the few days since it was made available to watch on YouTube it has been viewed more than 2 million times – but there are some who will have been put off by details behind the scenes clouding the film’s production. Lotus takes place in the aftermath of Gwen Stacy’s death and focuses on Peter Parker as he deals with the fallout. Many will be wondering how it stacks up - these are the biggest talking points about the film itself, aside from the controversy behind the scenes, and some of the biggest criticisms aimed at it over recent days. Overall length and long establishing shots One of the most common points made about the film is that it’s just too long. It’s close to an hour and 45 minutes in length and there is too much padding – a lot of it coming in the form of generic shots of New York. Turning Peter Parker into a completely unsympathetic character Parker deals with the death of Gwen Stacy by lashing out at others a lot of the time. That in itself wouldn’t be an issue, as many people might do the same in such a stark situation. However, some social media users have claimed that Parker in Lotus is a fundamentally unsympathetic character. Ultimately, any film would be close to unwatchable when the superhero himself is an insufferable character who continuously puts others down. This moment early on in the film which shows Mary Jane coming to check on him in a show of support, only for him to unload a character assassination her way, is one that shows exactly the point they’re making. Parker's conversation with a terminally ill child is all about himself There’s one extended sequence people have focused on in social media discourse, and that’s the moment Spider-Man “trauma dumps” on a young boy with terminal cancer. After receiving a letter explaining a super fan of his is unwell, Parker goes to see him twice. The first scene had the potential to be quite a sweet moment in the film, but instead, Peter Parker seems to reject the child’s love of Spider-Man and questions why the kid is a fan of his and not Captain America, before talking about Gwen Stacy’s death. “It’s my fault…” he says. “I can’t do anything about it, no matter how hard you try. I’m not the hero you think I am. All of this, it’s not me.” He then dismisses the young boy's feelings and tells him he doesn’t understand because he’s “just a kid”, before leaving. It feels a little strange tonally and again shows Parker's lack of self-awareness to consider the feelings of a terminally ill child before his own. He later returns and apologises, looking back at a load of his old adventures and sparking a series of flashbacks, giving him fresh determination to wear the suit, but the sequence has attracted some criticism online. Parker’s dress sense It’s a minor gripe one, for sure, but some people have pointed out that the fact Parker dresses like a trust fund kid at a yacht club dinner goes against the key principles of the character familiar to many from the comics. The CGI The opening few minutes feature some of the strongest moments of the entire film – and it’s pretty impressive to see this version of Spider-Man navigate New York. But while it’s unfair to criticise a fan film that costs relatively little to make for its CGI, it is true that some moments look great while others, less so. Even CGI in multi-million dollar films can look cheap at times, though, so it’s not surprising that fans used to the biggest productions would pick faults with some moments from Lotus. Others, however, did defend it. One viewer wrote: “No way people are complaining about the CGI in #SpiderManLotus. It’s literally a fan-made film. Hate all you want on it, but pointing out bad CGI in a fan-made film is just dumb.” A lack of action The film is very much a character piece, focusing on the personal relationships of Peter Parker, Mary Jane and Harry Osborne with lots of long, dialogue-heavy scenes, and some have pointed out that film is lacking in action sequences. The opening few minutes feature a short fight with the Shocker, and there’s a brief scuffle with the Green Goblin in a flashback sequence. However, some were left feeling that they expected more action from a Spider-Man film – even a fan-made one. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

From the record-breaking Eras Tour to the re-recording release, it has been an exciting year to be a Taylor Swift fan - and now Swifties set sail on a themed cruise next year all about the singer. The aptly named "In My Cruise Era," trip from travel agency Marvellous Mouse Travels promises an unforgettable celebration of "all things Taylor," where fellow Swifties can "make new friends, dress up in our favourite eras, trade friendship bracelets, and enjoy everything this amazing ship has to offer." It added: "This cruise is for all fans, so bring your besties, your moms and dads, your baby fans, and if you need someone to room with, post on our page and ask.” (The cruise is not affiliated with Swift nor Taylor Alison Swift Rights Management Publishing (TASRM)). The five-night cruise sets sail on Oct 21, 2024 from Miami, Florida to Coco Cay — a private island owned by Royal Caribbean, Nassau in the Bahamas, then there's a day at sea as the cruise ship returns to Miami. Some of the events on the trip include a welcome cocktail party, friendship bracelet swapping (a tradition that began among Swifties at Eras Tour shows), themed dance and karaoke parties, Taylor Trivia and eras outfit themes for each night. A place onboard is pricey as the double occupancy rooms that remain available start at $1573 while an Oceanview will set you back $1967 (but this includes the room itself along with the refreshments and activities in the price). For more details, check out the website. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

PGA Championship picks and best bets for the 2023 tournament at Oak Hill as we have outrights, Top 10s and more PGA Tour expert picks for the second major.The second major championship of the year is here as the 2023 PGA Championship takes to Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY, a course with...

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is poised to allow the first exchange-traded funds based on Ether futures,

Fiji kept their Rugby World Cup quarter-final hopes alive with a thrilling and deserved 22-15 win over Australia in Saint Etienne on Sunday, their first success...

Denver is hosting a conference this week that's being put on by a psychedelic advocacy group