Daily Archives: March 26, 2022

The entire 1.9-mile length was closed "out of an abundance of caution" after steel strands became loose from their anchor.

TAMPA, Fla. It's early 2021 all over again for drivers in South Tampa.

Traffic remains blocked from entering the Selmon Extention on Monday since engineers found two steel strands that had come loose from their anchor. The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority says the discovery was made over the weekend during a routine inspection.

While crews could replace the wires with traffic on the extension, its entire length was closed "in an abundance of caution," THEA said in an earlier statement.

The 1.9-mile tolled roadway that stretches from the Gandy Bridge to the Selmon Expressway has been well-welcomed since its opening on April 19, 2021. Officials have said the extension cuts what's normally a 15-30 minute commute on Gandy Boulevard which lies in its shadow down to about two minutes during peak congestion.

With the extension remaining closed, drivers are again feeling what it was like prior to its grand opening. Traffic cameras showed backups on eastbound and westbound Gandy Boulevard for much of the morning.

It remains unclear when exactly the extension will reopen to traffic. In the meantime, drivers can consider taking several routes when needing to get to St. Petersburg:

Drivers can also consider heading north from Gandy Boulevard at any of these above-mentioned roads to get to Tampa.

Originally posted here:

Remember life without the Selmon Extension? Here's how to get around its closure - WTSP.com

March 25th, 2022

Bucs GM Jason Licht

Yes, Tom Brady is playing for the Bucs this season. But will Brady desire his NFL freedom after the 2022 campaign?

Thats a major unknown. And Joe suspects that was part of the discussion when Brady went to England two weeks ago, assuming he actually met with Team Glazer there.Bradys unretirement does not mean hes playing only one more season, so his 2023 rights are a legitimate question.

Listening to Bucs general manager Jason Licht on SiriusXM NFL Radio this week, it sure seems like it wont be long before Brady has a new contract.

We may need to create some more cap space, or what have you, and thats one well take a look at and well talk to his representatives, Licht said while answering a question about a new contract for Brady.

Sowhether its an extension or an adjustment, well see where that goes.

Of course, the Bucs would prefer an extension to Bradys contract that expires after this season. And Joe confidently states the Bucs would give Brady anything he wants, including Aaron Rodgers money (plus an extra million, of course) in 2023 and beyond.

Team Glazer could always pay Brady a monstrous signing bonus as part of a Buccaneers-for-life contract. If he retires, then the Bucs can spread the cap hit over the life of the deal. And who could really cry foul if Brady signed a six-year contract and only played one year? The notion of Brady playing at 50 years old isnt ludicrous.

Joe suspects Team Glazer already has a massive offer to Brady on the table. And as was discussed on the Ira Kaufman Podcast, perhaps an unnamed party also will place an order for 500,000 units of The Big Tom water bottle.

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"Whether It's An Extension Or An Adjustment, We'll See Where That Goes" - JoeBucsFan.com

Loveland, also released as Expired in some countries, is Australian independent filmmaker Ivan Sens take on a futuristic cosmopolitan Asian city which really has no place for love. Visually akin to Hong Kong in real life and Los Angeles in Blade Runner, Sens futuristic city is gradually losing everything real and replacing it with fabrications, which include the residents and even their emotions. Despite having a particular and likable visual style with the use of lights and colors, a haphazard narrative, an unnecessarily poetic script, and an overall sense of pretension bring the film down to a tedious watch.

Jack is a middle-aged man with tough looks and a demeanor, but he is clearly burdened and worn out by his life in the city. In a world full of enough professional and personal rivalries, Jack works as a hired assassin, going around the dark and shady corners of the metropolis to finish off his targets. While traveling one day on the subway, he comes across a woman who he finds of attractive interest. Being someone very experienced in sneakily following people around without their knowledge, Jack goes around following this woman and reaches a club. Going in as a potential customer, he realizes that the woman is one of the many performers at the club; she sings for paying customers from behind a glass chamber, where the customer can see her, but she cannot see them.

During their session, the woman tells Jack that her name is April, and she has moved to the city in search of a living from her small native village in South Vietnam. After the session ends, Jack continues following April around on multiple occasions. He seems to feel an intense attraction towards her, something that is very new to his experience. But along with that, he is also going through bouts of ill health, sometimes pain in his chest, and sometimes something else, for which he is seen taking medicines, but the reason for which is unknown. One day, while following April, he goes into narrow and empty lanes and suddenly realizes that a dark-skinned man seems to be following him. This face is known to him, as the man was also present in a restaurant on the first night, when Jack was on a mission to kill. Jack goes back to the club, and as April recognizes him by his voice, he asks her out to dinner.

That very night, after their date is over, while walking on the streets alone, Jack once again sees his stalker and tries to approach him. But the man carelessly walks onto the main road and is violently hit by a speeding bus. As Jack goes to check on him, he sees that the man is not a human but a humanoid robot that has been destroyed by the accident. He picks up a memory chip from the scene of the accident and tracks it down to Masuka corporation, a biotech company headed by scientist Dr. Bergman who has been missing for a year. Jack tries to track down this scientist while his health grows worse, and he has to consult a doctor about it. The doctor, too, is confused by his ill-health despite having clean DNA. Jack tries to ask Bergman for help, but he refuses to trust him.

After another date with April, Jack confronts another man who seems to have been following him, and the latter explains that Jack had killed his brother, and he wanted to get some sort of revenge. Taking complete control of the situation, Jack is about to shoot the man dead, but falters at the last minute as he loses control over his own body and throws up and falls to the ground.

Spoilers Ahead

Jack is quickly helped back to his feet by Bergman, who had been tailing him the entire day. He takes the ailing assassin to his small apartment and checks on his vitals. Jack reveals that he has been feeling sick since around the same time that he met with April, and the scientist suggests that the two might be somehow linked. After he leaves, Dr. Bergman starts to look into this curious case, trying to read up on his old research documents on life extension and also secretly visiting his old laboratory at Masuka. He realizes that a stranger is also stalking him and trying to get into his well-guarded apartment.

Meanwhile, Jack and April spend a lot of time with each other, growing closer and confiding secrets about their past. April reveals that she once had a daughter who she lost in the world and that she regularly prays for her well-being. Jack, too tells her about his fazed past, about his mother, who abandoned him at a young age, and his father, with whom he does not keep in touch. Although April wants Jack to spend the night at her place, he insists on leaving, saying that it is not safe for her to be near him.

The next day, Jack visits the last address of his father that he had and is informed that the old man had died a year ago. Jack, once completely unaffected by any of these emotions till one point in his life, now almost breaks down after hearing of his fathers demise. Bergman also visits Aprils club and tries to convince her to stay away from the hitman. Then, meeting with Jack, he reveals that in his early childhood, the man was subject to an experimental program in which street children were taken to test trials to extend life. In it, some hormones were restricted from being produced in their bodies, which essentially made them devoid of any deep emotional feelings. Jack had been a part of this and therefore could be a cold-blooded killer, and the corporation was now sending men, or humanoids, to bring him in and conclude the research. However, these hormones now caused a resurgence in Jacks body, which made him feel so strangely attached to things, and also, this was causing an imbalance in his body which was making him so sick.

Bergman also reveals that he was the one heading all such experiments, but is now terribly remorseful of them, and also that Jack is sure to die if his body keeps producing the hormones. For some time, Jack tries to stay away from April, still looking at her from a distance, but then ultimately gives himself in as the two spend a romantic night together.

Despite the character of Jack being framed as a source-less drifter, enough information has been provided about him. He remembers his mother, and tries to very twistedly grow closer to her memory by paying for a night with an elderly sex-bot and then only sleeping with her hand over his head. He remembers his father, and remembers not to meet him. He recalls the sounds and experiences of his childhood, presented in black and white by the film.

But he also has this ever-growing doubt about the actuality of these memorieswhether they were really memories or just a dream. This fixation with what is real and what is not continues, as there is enough reason to be doubtful in the world he lives in, where fake plastic-like strawberries are served at clubs. It is perhaps Jacks gradual realization about the fabric of his life, along with his growing ability to feel, that the director wants to talk about throughout the film. But overall, there seems to be a shroud of almost forced inexplicability and depth to the film.

All three characters are assigned poetic and lyrical monologues, which do not add anything, but instead become dull very quickly. The backdrop of science-fiction also does not play much of a role other than Jacks condition and the ever-present flashing neon lights. There are one or two scenes where civilian protests on the streets are shown in news programs, quite like the recent conditions in Hong Kong, but nothing more of that is explored either.

The next morning, Jack wakes up alone in the apartment, and there is no sign of April anywhere. Coming down to the street, he sees two men (one of whom was earlier seen outside Bergmans apartment) and a black van waiting to abduct him. He starts limping towards the other side of the street, with the two men following him, and then suddenly sees the young man he had not been able to kill earlier in the film. The man now yields a gun and shoots at the two perpetrators. A gunfight follows, which kills all three men, but Jack remains unharmed in the middle; he limps into a corner alley and possibly passes out. With a slow fade, the scene changes to a tall skyscraper where Jack is seen working as a construction laborer. He used to work in this profession earlier, and is now seemingly back to it. He goes back to the club and asks for April, but is told that she has returned to Vietnam. Looking at the plate of fake strawberries, he walks out of the club with a disheartened spirit and walks into the crowd.

Jack does survive physically, but he is definitely lost spiritually. His growing feelings were already making his life more difficult, and now without even his beloved April, Jacks life is nothing but hollow. In a short sequence of fleeting scenes played in slow-motion, Aprils perspective is shown as she walked away from the apartment the previous morning. She had removed Jacks gun and thrown it away, which had rendered him defenseless and could have led to his death. She is also seen meeting with her young daughter, but by now, we really do not know what is real and what is fake. By the end, viewers are left with more confusion, as Jack promises to keep waiting for April in his seemingly unending expanded life. It would be really difficult for even the most enthusiastic viewers of the science-fiction genre to take Loveland with any seriousness.

Loveland (or Expired) is a 2022 Australian Science Fiction film written and directed by Ivan Sen.

Read more from the original source:

'Loveland' Ending, Explained: What Is The Cause Of Jack Falling Sick? Is He Dead or Alive? | DMT - DMT

As warmer weather approaches and the Appalachian region defrosts, exploring local trails is a great way to get outside.

In Cambria County, Pennsylvania, theres no shortage of opportunities to do just that at any skill level, Conservation and Recreation Authority Executive Director Cliff Kitner said

The cool thing about the trails is you can go out there every day and itll be different every day, he said. From a recreation standpoint to a connection standpoint, to the shear beauty of them, the opportunities are endless.

That includes the authority-owned 48-mile total Ghost Town Trail, with trailheads in Ebensburg, Nanty Glo, Twin Rocks, Wehrum and out-of-county access in Dilltown, Heshbon and John P. Saylor Park, as well as several extension locations; Path of the Flood Trail, which has parking areas at Stineman, Bealtown/Stineman, Ehrenfeld Ball Park, Mainline Memorial Park, Fifficktown, Staple Bend Tunnel Park and Franklin Park; and Jim Mayer Riverswalk Trail that has access at Cleavland Street, Riverside, Bridge Street, Messenger Street and Hickory Street in the City of Johnstown.

More information on those paths can be found at http://www.cambriaconservationrecreation.com.

Throughout the county theres also the nearly 300-acre Stackhouse Park off Luzerne Street; Inclined Plane trails for hiking and downhill mountain biking; Lorain/Stonycreek Hiking Trails; Honan Avenue Trail; 70-mile Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail that stretches from Seward to Ohiopyle in Fayette County; Nathans Divide outside of Ebensburg Borough; the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site that includes part of the 6-to-10 Trail; and Prince Gallitzin State Park.

For more information on these trails, visit http://www.visitjohnstownpa.com.

In addition to those locations, theres the state DCNR Gallitzin State Forests, such as the Charles F. Lewis Natural Area off state Route 403 and Babcock Division off state Route 56 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.

Kitner also pointed to the various benefits of getting outside.

How can you go out on trail and go by one of the streams or waterfalls and not soak it in and be happy, he said.

According to the United States National Park Service, hiking is one of the best ways to get exercise.

No matter what type of trail you find yourself on, hiking is a great whole-body workout from head to toe and everything in between, the NPS website says.

Hitting a trail can improve heart health and sense of balance and can build stronger muscles and bones.

There are mental health benefits, as well, ranging from boosts to mood to calming anxiety and lower risk of depression, according to the National Parks Service.

In addition to having mental health benefits, being outdoors opens up your senses to your surroundings and improves your sensory perception, the website says. Taking in the sights, smells and feelings of nature has so many health benefits it can even be prescribed by a doctor.

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

Joshua Byers is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5054. Follow him on Twitter @Journo_Josh.

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Family Life | 'Different every day': Spring season provides ample opportunity to experience region's many trails - TribDem.com

Environmental activist Sue Nissen wears a teaspoon on a string around her neck, which she likes to hand out to lawmakers during hearings in the Minnesota state legislature. Thats because one teaspoon of salt is enough to pollute five gallons of water, making it inhospitable for life.

Road crews dump more than 20 million metric tons of salt on U.S. roads each winter to keep them free of ice and snow an almost unfathomable number of teaspoons. Now, Nissens organization, Stop Over Salting, is pushing for Minnesota to pass a bill to reduce that figure by helping applicators learn how to use less of it a technique called smart salting.

The reason, she said, is because the states freshwater bodies are in a crisis: 54 lakes and streams are impaired by high salt concentrations, meaning they fail to meet federal water quality standards, while dozens of others are drawing closer to that tipping point, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. But environmental activists and scientists argue that its possible to maintain winter safety while reducing the amount of salt spread on streets and highways.

There are solutions, Nissen told Grist. We can still have our winter mobility and be safe with less salt.

Road salt, which works by lowering the melting point of ice, is cheap and effective, reducing car accidents by up to 85 percent. But aside from corroding metal and concrete leading to an estimated $5 billion worth of damages each year it also ends up in rivers and lakes, where it has toxic effects on aquatic life. In January, researchers from the United States and Canada found that even salt concentrations below the threshold considered safe by governments were causing severe damage to organisms.

Warnings about the effects of road salt on freshwater bodies and ecosystems first started in the 1970s, said Bill Hintz, the studys lead author and an environmental scientist at the University of Toledo in Ohio. But salt use has tripled since then. Now, with climate change encouraging excessive salting by making winter storms more unpredictable, officials in states like Minnesota are starting to realize the magnitude of the problem.

The Minnesota bill, if it passes, would be one of the first state laws to encourage smart salting, a way to reduce road salt use while still maintaining winter safety. New Hampshire passed a similar law in 2013, while Wisconsin also has a salt wise training program. In New York, the Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force launched a three-year pilot program this month to reduce freshwater salt contamination.

The concept of smart salting encompasses a range of technologies and techniques. Brining involves laying down a liquid mixture of salt before a storm, which prevents ice from sticking and reduces the need for repetitive salting. It also includes applicators learning how to calibrate their equipment to know how much salt theyre using in the first place, as well as when to stop salting (below 15 degrees Fahrenheit, for example, salt is much less effective). Minnesota has been training applicators in these techniques since 2005, but under the new bill, certified smart salters would be protected from liability, preventing them from being sued for slip-and-fall accidents.

Nissen hopes that this protection will encourage more private applicators to be certified in smart salting practices, which are not only better for the environment but help save money on salt. But convincing them is a challenge, she said, because people have come to associate the sight of salt with winter safety. If anybody calls in and says, I dont see enough salt, she said, they call the applicator and say get out there and put more salt down.

This overreliance on road salt has severe environmental consequences. The most common kind used for de-icing is sodium chloride rock salt but calcium and magnesium chlorides are sometimes used for colder weather. Once it enters a body of water, salt is almost impossible to remove, requiring expensive and energy-intensive processes like reverse osmosis. Chloride, in particular, binds tightly to water molecules, and can be highly toxic to organisms like fish, amphibians, and microscopic zooplankton, which form the basis of the food chain in a lake or river.

If the zooplankton die off, Hintz said, it can trigger a chain reaction that allows algae to flourish, causing toxic blooms and affecting native fish species that cant survive in murky waters. That should trouble recreational fishers everywhere, he said, but salt contamination has also made it into drinking water, particularly in areas where people rely on deep wells to reach groundwater. In the Adirondacks in upstate New York, a 2019 study found that 64 percent of wells tested for sodium exceeded federal limits which can be particularly dangerous for people with high blood pressure or others on sodium-restricted diets.

This makes salt-reduction programs like Minnesotas crucial, Hintz said, to flatten the curve of freshwater salt concentrations. Best management practices are critically important right now, Hintz said.

But reducing salt use will only slow down the crisis, not stop it, Hintz warned. Salt thats already been deposited might take years to show up in groundwater, and how much can be safely added without permanently damaging an ecosystem is an open question, he said. And non-salt alternatives, like sand or even beet juice, can come with their own problems, silting up rivers or introducing nutrients into ecosystems that can lead to algal blooms.

Some cities have opted for proactive solutions preventing snow and ice from building up in the first place, rather than melting it with salt once its already a problem. Since 1988, the town of Holland, Michigan, has invested in a snowmelt system, which uses pre-heated water from a nearby power plant to warm sidewalks and roads through a network of pipes underneath the surface, eliminating the need for salting. But solutions like this one are expensive and labor-intensive, said Amy Sasamoto, an official with the citys downtown development district. The town spent over $1 million to install the first 250,000 square feet of underground tubing, and the system still only encompasses a few streets in Hollands main downtown shopping area, although Sasamoto said it could expand along with future development.

These solutions may not be scalable to something like a four-lane highway, said Xianming Shi, an engineer and the director of the National Center for Transportation Infrastructure Durability & Life-Extension at Washington State University. Shi studies how connected infrastructure, such as cars tapped into an information-sharing network, can increase winter road safety. For example, sharing real-time information about road conditions can help road maintenance crews know how much salt to use, reducing oversalting.

But even improved technology and data-sharing wont be enough, Shi said, to stop the flow of salt. Instead, its going to be crucial to encourage safer winter driving habits like asking people to stay home during storms whenever possible, or to drive more slowly even on a highway.

Peoples mindset is more of this moment, like I want to drive fast through the winter, Shi said. They dont realize that this has a hidden consequence.

Read more:

Road salt is terrible for lakes and streams. Minnesota may have a solution - Grist

THE government officials say Cabinet has not made any decision yet, to shorten the life of parliament or increase it to five years.

Chief of Staff Robson Djokovic and Special Secretary to the Prime Minister (SSPM) Albert Kabui both rejected claims that the government had already made a decision on the parliament extension.

Speaking during the government press conference on Wednesday, Kabui said the Cabinet has not agreed to the suggestion to hold election earlier or to extend the term of the current Parliament.

Mr Djokovic in addition also echoed the same sentiments stating that no decision has been made as to the extension.

It is still in a consultation process. But, yes, it is definitely under consideration and nobody denies that but that process is ongoing, Djokovic said.

He clarified that the extension of parliament is not a government policy rather it is a response to the overarching policies of managing Covid-19 and maintaining economic livelihood in support of governments economic policy.

Djokovic further stated that they are still waiting on analysis of what are the impacts of extending parliament, the impacts of maintaining the national general election (NGE) next year and what are the impacts of calling an early election?

On the cost of the elections, Djokovic said it would cost about $100m.

He also pointed out that $300m is still outstanding to host Pacific Gamesadding that it has put a lot of pressure on the government.

SSPM Kabui in explaining why the government proposed to extend the life of parliament said:

In terms of man-power, resources and logistics we cant have both events in one year.

So, the government feels in order to accommodate the Pacific Games we have to move the election.

However, the Opposition Group has already opposed to the extension.

Leader of the Opposition Mathew Wale last week said Solomon Islands can do both with the support of its partners, but to have that with an excuse for an unnecessary amendment on the face of it, is self-serving and not the best option, and called on the government to step-down if it has no idea on how to run it.

Other groups and organisations have also objected to the idea to extend the parliament.

By FOLLET JOHN Newsroom, Honiara

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Govt: Extension of parliament still in process Solomon Star News - Solomon Star

Energy services firm Petrofac has secured a two-year operations and late life asset support contract extension with Spirit Energy.

Building on the pairs decade-long relationship, the deal includes the provision of operations and maintenance support for Spirits York platform in the southern North Sea.

It also covers engineering, project and consultancy services for all of the operators North Sea assets.

Petrofac (LON: PFC) has supported Spirit Energy assets since 2012.

From 2018 to 2019, it took part in preparation work for the decommissioning of the companys Audrey and Ensign platforms.

Nick Shorten, chief operating officer for Petrofacs asset solutions business, said: The renewal of this key contract is demonstrative of the successful working relationship our respective teams have developed over the past ten years and the value Petrofac has been able to add in the late life operations phase. Our support of Spirits recent life extension project on York, which has increased production by three to four years, is a great example of this. We look forward to continuing in this vein.

It was announced last year that the Spirit-owned York gas field had been given another three years of life following a successful extension project.

Located about 20 miles from the Yorkshire coastline, the asset started production in 2013.

Since then it has yielded 45 billion cubic feet of gas a further 18 billion cubic feet is expected as a result of the recent investment.

Initial estimates had York, which is 100% owned by Spirit, producing until 2020, though the extension project has pushed back that timeline until 2023/24.

Spirits other North Sea interests include a 15% stake in Shells Edinburgh well, which was spudded recently.

It has the potential to be one of the largest remaining undrilled structures in the central North Sea.

Excerpt from:

Petrofac awarded two-year contract extension by Spirit Energy - Energy Voice

The idea of the multiverse has been a conundrum for modern physics and a disaster for modern popular culture. Im aware that some of you here in this universe will disagree, but more often than not a conceit that promises ingenuity and narrative abundance has delivered aggressive brand extension and the infinite recombination of clich. Had I but world enough and time, I might work these thoughts up into a thunderous supervillain rant, but instead Im happy to report that my research has uncovered a rare and precious exception.

That would be Everything Everywhere All at Once, an exuberant swirl of genre anarchy directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. The filmmakers who work under the name Daniels and who are best known for the wonderfully unclassifiable Swiss Army Man (starring Daniel Radcliffe as a flatulent corpse) are happy to defy the laws of probability, plausibility and coherence. This movies plot is as full of twists and kinks as the pot of noodles that appears in an early scene. Spoiling it would be impossible. Summarizing it would take forever literally!

But while the hectic action sequences and flights of science-fiction mumbo-jumbo are a big part of the fun (and the marketing), they arent really the point. This whirligig runs on tenderness and charm. As in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Pixars Inside Out, the antic cleverness serves a sincere and generous heart. Yes, the movie is a metaphysical multiverse galaxy-brain head trip, but deep down and also right on the surface its a bittersweet domestic drama, a marital comedy, a story of immigrant striving and a hurt-filled ballad of mother-daughter love.

At the center of it all is Evelyn Wang, played by the great Michelle Yeoh with grace, grit and perfect comic timing. Evelyn, who left China as a young woman, runs a laundromat somewhere in America with her husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan). Her life is its own small universe of stress and frustration. Evelyns father (James Hong), who all but disowned her when she married Waymond, is visiting to celebrate his birthday. An I.R.S. audit looms. Waymond is filing for divorce, which he says is the only way he can get his wifes attention. Their daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu), has self-esteem issues and also a girlfriend named Becky (Tallie Medel), and Evelyn doesnt know how to deal with Joys teenage angst or her sexuality.

The first stretch of Everything Everywhere All At Once is played in a key of almost-realism. There are hints of the cosmic chaos to come, in the form of ominous musical cues (the score is by Son Lux) and swiveling camera movements (the cinematography is by Larkin Seiple) but the mundane chaos of Evelyns existence provides plenty of drama.

To put it another way, the Daniels understand that she and her circumstances are already interesting. The key to Everything is that the proliferating timelines and possibilities, though full of danger and silliness, dont so much represent an alternative to realitys drabness as an extension of its complexity.

Things start to get glitchy as Waymond and Evelyn approach their dreaded meeting with Deirdre, an I.R.S. bureaucrat played with impeccable unpleasantness by Jamie Lee Curtis. Waymond until now a timid, nervous fellow turns into a combat-ready space commando, wielding his fanny pack as a deadly weapon. He hurriedly explains to Evelyn that the stability of the multiverse is threatened by a power-mad fiend named Jobu Tupaki, and that Evelyn must train herself to jump between universes to do battle. The leaps are accomplished by doing something crazy and then pressing a button on an earpiece. The tax office turns into a scene of martial-arts mayhem. Eventually, Jobu Tupaki shows up, and turns out to be

Youll see for yourself. And I hope you do. The Daniels command of modern cinematic tropes is encyclopedic, and also eccentric. As Evelyn zigzags through various universes, she finds herself in a live-action rip-off of Ratatouille; a smoky sendup of Wong Kar-wais In the Mood For Love; a world where humans have hot dogs for fingers and play the piano with their feet; and a childs birthday party where she is a piata. That is a small sampling. The philosophical foundation for this zaniness is the notion that every choice Evelyn (and everyone else) has made in her life was an unwitting act of cosmogenesis. The roads not taken blossom into new universes. World without end.

The metaphysical high jinks turn out to rest on a sturdy moral foundation. The multiverse to say nothing of her own family may lie beyond Evelyns control, but she possesses free will, which means responsibility for her own actions and obligations to the people around her. As her adventures grow more elaborate, she seems at first to be one of those solitary, quasi-messianic movie heroes, the one who has the power to face down absolute evil.

Yeoh certainly has the necessary charisma, but Everything Everywhere is really about something other than the usual heroics. Nobody is alone in the multiverse, which turns out to be a place where families can work on their issues. And while you are likely be tickled and dazzled by the visual variety and whiz-bang effects, you may be surprised to find yourself moved by the performances. Quan, a child star in the 1980s (in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Goonies), has an almost Chaplinesque ability to swerve from clownishness to pathos. Hsu strikes every note in the Gen-Z songbook with perfect poise. And dont sleep on grandpa: Hong nearly steals the show.

Is it perfect? No movie with this kind of premise or that title will ever be a neat, no-loose-ends kind of deal. Maybe it goes on too long. Maybe it drags in places, or spins too frantically in others. But I like my multiverses messy, and if I say that Everything Everywhere All at Once is too much, its a way of acknowledging the Daniels generosity.

Everything Everywhere All at OnceRated R. Fighting and swearing. Running time: 2 hours 12 minutes. In theaters.

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Everything Everywhere All at Once Review: Its Messy, and Glorious - The New York Times