
Canada wildfire: Car 'began melting' as family evacuated north
A blaze is threatening to reach Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, by the weekend.
1970-01-01 08:00

Multiple Fights Break Out During Cowboys Practice
A number of fights broke out during Dallas Cowboys practice.
1970-01-01 08:00

Deshaun Watson calls out Eagles reporter for so-called poor joint practice
Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson called out an Eagles reporter who claimed he had a rough joint practice in training camp.Deshaun Watson is tired of the noise. Watson through several interceptions in a joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles this week. Elliot Shorr-Parks, who ...
1970-01-01 08:00

How Much is Dark and Darker?
Dark and Darker Early Access is now playable. Check out the different prices for each edition.
1970-01-01 08:00

Wagner cements Belarus presence as 'educational organisation'
The Russian mercenary group registered earlier this month as a limited company, it has been revealed.
1970-01-01 08:00

How to Update Google Chrome
Google Chrome has been praised for its clean interface and strong security features. And while
1970-01-01 08:00

Cleveland Browns: Will Deshaun Watson return to form this season?
Deshaun Watson is third in NFL history in standard passer rating. Will he return to his Pro Bowl form with the Browns this season?It's an easy enough narrative, isn't it? It's simple: Deshaun Watson's first full season back, he 'returns to form' as an elite quarterb...
1970-01-01 08:00

Canada excluded as China loosens group travel bans
China recently lifted restrictions on group tours to over 70 countries - Canada is not on the list.
1970-01-01 08:00

MLB Prospects Rumors: Cubs star walkoff, Jackson Holliday's brother, nasty Paul Skenes
MLB Prospects Rumors: Cubs Pete Crow-Armstrong continues to dominatePete Crow-Armstrong, the Cubs top prospect according to MLB Pipeline, has been quite dominant all season long, even after his promotion to Triple-A. So far, the top prospect has played just over 10 games and amassed a slash line o...
1970-01-01 08:00

How to Get Bloodset in Escape from Tarkov
To get Bloodset in Escape from Tarkov, players can either craft one or find one in a medcase, ground cache, sport bag, or medical supply crate.
1970-01-01 08:00

Spider-Man: Lotus: The 6 biggest talking points from controversial fan film
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.
1970-01-01 08:00

Millie Bobby Brown is ready for 'Stranger Things' to end
Millie Bobby Brown is ready for "Stranger Things" to wrap up.
1970-01-01 08:00