Category Archives: Immortality

Pirates of the Caribbean has some of the most notable and cunning villains. They are usually associated with evil acts and morbid plans, and will certainly do everything in their power to get what they want. But, villains in Pirates of the Caribbean are not just pirates; some people are as contemptible as the sea bandits.

In this list, we have rounded up the most popular and most wicked of all villains in the franchise. They had significant roles within the story, and each of them delivered an exceptional performance portraying their respective character.

Lord Beckett does not seem attractive to the audience as a villain. Certainly, he has done a lot of bad things to which he never redeemed himself. Although his plans were not as worse as the other pirates evildoings, many fans would rather choose Barbossa or Blackbeard over him.

His worse trait is apathy, and he is always concerned with business no matter the cost. Lord Becketts job as a pirate hunter allows him to conduct operations that are deemed inhumane and inconsiderate, making him the worst person of all.

Barbossa is undoubtedly the most popular among the pirate villains in the story. He has appeared in several installments and has a strong influence in the development of the plot as well as Jack Sparrows character. Hector is a very relatable character, and he is the only villain that can feel sympathy.

Because of this touch of humanity, the audience sometimes forgets that he is first and foremost an antagonist. Barbossa is no angel; evilness still resides in his heart and he is willing to double-cross and trick anyone to accomplish his plans.

Blackbeard is one of the most threatening pirates to encounter in the middle of the sea. He has a large ship, an entire army of the undead, and his beautiful yet cunning daughter to deal with. Above all that, Blackbeard is a man of great passion.

It means that he seeks eternal life and will stop at nothing to gain immortality. He will do everything to clear his path, including killing his own child.

The Spanish pirate hunter was introduced in the 2017 movie Dead Men Tell No Tales, where his soul is trapped in the Devils Triangle. He wanted revenge against Jack Sparrow for luring them into a cave that transformed him and his crew into the undead.

This is why he has been seeking the Trident of Poseidon, and Salazar will cause havoc in his wake just to get a taste of vengeance.

Davy Jones is not like other pirates. He once used to be a pirate, but after a great deal of pain that he experienced with his relationship with Calypso, he grew cold. Davy Jones carved out his heart, kept it in a locker, and turned into a horrible octopus monster.

He helms the Flying Dutchman and sails the seven seas while luring people to become food for his pet, the Kraken.

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Pirates Of The Caribbean: 5 Most Evil Villains - FandomWire

If theres one God of War character that deserves his own spin-off game, its Baldur.

Kratos unmitigated quest to obliterate every divine pantheon in the history of mankind goes on alive and well with his new foray into the cold Nordic lands (after killing all the Greek gods). The God of Wars battle against the deities of Asgard has seen the inclusion of some of the most nuanced characters in the franchises history so far, with each new Asgardian having some fascinating backstory thats worth looking into.

When it comes to tragic characters featured in this epic franchise, one that stands out even more than Kratos himself is Baldur, from 2018s God of War (developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment). A woeful Aesir with a complicated past, Baldur (son of Odin) serves as the main antagonist in Kratos latest Asgardian escapade.

The story of a god destined to die and the overbearing protection of love that deprived him of everything in his immortal life is truly the stuff of legends. A character with the level of emotional development and narrative potential that Baldur has would indeed be wasted appearing in just one video game even if that game is one of the most narratively shocking games of the last generation.

The concept of immortality is nothing new for the God of War series after all, these are games that deal with killing individuals that people always conceived as unkillable. While most gods use their immortality for morally questionable deeds, their actions usually have to do with satiating their base impulses. However, Baldurs immortality leads him to an eternity of numbness.

Baldurs mother Freya (the witch of the woods and Queen of the Valkyries in the God of War games) knew that the Aesir would die a needless death, so she cast a spell on him that made him invulnerable to any threats. A side effect of the spell was that Baldur also couldnt experience any pain or satisfaction he wasnt even able to tell that the snow was cold.

In Norse mythology, Baldur (who boasts a large collection of tattoos in the video game) is also a very tragic character, mostly due to his interactions with his half-brother Thor and Loki, the god of mischief. A game that focuses solely on Baldur could draw some inspiration from Norse legends, and could also serve as a great expansion to the new God of War mythos.

Characters like Thor and Odin will have an expanded role in the upcoming God of War: Ragnark and Baldurs story could serve as a proper bridge to better understand the relationship between the Aesir and the Vanir not to mention that it would be the first game in the series that doesnt have Kratos as the main character.

Side Note: A God of War camera hack reveals a hilariousEaster Egg, whereinBaldurflips Kratos off during their first big battle. Theres no doubt that the final fight and the opening battle will go down in gaming and boss fights history.

Not counting any compilations or cellphone games, Kratos has starred in seven God of War games. While that might be understandable from a marketing point of view, some could argue that there was no need for the Spartan to even set foot on the gelid lands of Norse mythology in the first place.

Baldur (the Norse Aesir god of light) would have been a great character to start the new era of God of War in the Asgardian saga. While it might be a bit late to do so now especially since hes now deceased (Kratos broke Baldurs neck using Spartan Rage) that doesnt mean that Baldur couldnt be the protagonist of his own spin-off series of God of War games. In fact, the game could lead up to the death of Baldur.

Spin-offs like this keep the interest in the series alive, and its not like there are not so many stories involving Baldur in the Norse pantheon either. A complex character like Baldur, with a sympathetic and tragic story like his not to mention his awesome powers would definitely garner some fans.

Perhaps Ragnark could signal the end of an era for the franchise (give Kratos and his son Atreus a break), allowing more characters like Baldur to earn their time under the spotlight from time to time. If it worked well for Devil May Cry and Vergil, it will work for God of War and Baldur. The Norse god of light will be a really fun character to play with.

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Baldur Deserves A God of War Spin-Off Game - Fortress of Solitude

I want to begin by thanking the Manchester Survivors Choir for their absolutely beautiful singing, and the spirit in which they communicated their sense of resilience with us this morning.

Thats what I want to talk about, because in his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul tells us that:

when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:

Death is swallowed up in victory.

O death, where is thy sting?

O grave, where is thy victory?

And so today, five years on from this tragedy that touched so many, I join you not to mourn. Nor to add more tears to those already shed.

Instead I am here to celebrate the lives of Andreea, Aysha, Kurt and Leslie. They were each taken from us far too soon.

But they each live on in all our hearts and in the memories of those they loved, and those who loved them around the world. Because as the Lord Mayor was just saying, the diversity of their origins shows the truth that an attack on London, like an attack on Manchester, is an attack on the world.

I am here to celebrate the extraordinary heroism of PC Keith Palmer.

A man whose actions that bright spring day showed him to be truly the best among us, and whose courage and sacrifice remain an inspiration to us all.

I am here to celebrate the skill and bravery of PC Palmers colleagues who risked themselves to save countless lives, and who, in many cases, are even today still putting themselves between the innocent and those who would do us harm.

I am here to celebrate the selflessness and compassion of everyone who rushed to the aid of strangers that day.

Paramedics, commuters, tourists, MPs who didnt cross over the road but put themselves in harms way to help others in their moment of need.

And I am here to celebrate our capital London. This unique city. This fantastic city. Which over so many centuries has taken whatever anyone cares to throw at it, and has emerged ever stronger, brighter and greater.

And that is thanks to the incomparable spirit of the people within it, and that is the spirit that we remember as we celebrate today.

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PM words at a service commemorating the 5th anniversary of the terror attacks on Westminster Bridge and New Palace Yard - GOV.UK

Several years ago, I started publicly deconstructing the topic of hell and received the most vehement pushback. Good Christian people sent me death threats (the only issue Ive received such threats about). Others attacked my character for even bothering to suggest that eternal conscience torture wasnt real.

I brought up the topic again this last week, and many Christians were true to form. Someone close to our family cavalierly declared that you simply couldnt be a Christian and doubt the existence of eternal suffering. Another Christian woman proclaimed that I would soon discover for myself that hell was real.

When talking to some Christians about the judgment, it becomes apparent that they legitimately think that belief in the gospel and belief in eternal conscious torment (ECT) are the same thing. And I hate to say it, but the idea that you cant be a Christian and doubt the existence of hell seem to be inversely proportional to ones understanding of Scripturemeaning that the less you know about the Bible, the more likely and firmly you are to believe that to deny hell is to deny God.

Inevitably, discussions about the topic become a game of proof-texting. Proponents of hell begin throwing out Bible verses and then gaze triumphantly at you because theyve clearly proven their point.

This is frustrating because the topic is so much deeper and richer than playing Whac-A-Mole with prepackaged Bible verses. It requires thoughtful engagement with Jesus teaching style, the intersection of first-century beliefs on the afterlife, and a nuanced discussion of language. Typically, the person who is ticked that youre questioning their pet doctrine doesnt have the patience or interest to sit through a thoughtful discussion about this (or any) topic. They want the CliffsNotes.

What I always find interesting is that many of the same people who believe the Bible teaches that hell exists for eternal punishment also soften the idea with a form of belief that hell is just being cut off from God and wandering alone for all eternity. Naturally, there is no basis for believing any such thing.

I want to talk about some traditional viewpoints counter to the ECT narrative. The first is the conditionalism/annihilationism position, which suggests that what God cannot redeem through the cross will be wiped from existence.

Lets take a closer look at what this means.

One of the legs that ECT rests on is the idea that God created humans to be immortal, and theres nothing that God or anyone else can do about it. This is why its one of the arguments occasionally presented for eternal damnation, Well, people exist forever, and bad people have to go somewhere. . . right?

And, I guess, since sitting in a cosmic waiting room with expired copies of Highlights and People Magazine is too good for bad people, they needed to suffer torture forever.

Scripturally speaking, the significance of Adam and Eves lost access to the Tree of Life is not just a loss of earthly life but a loss of any collective immortality. As Paul tells Timothy, He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. (1 Tim. 6:1516)

Conditionalists believe that eternal life rests entirely upon a right relationship with God. This is why its called conditionalism. God gifts eternal life on the condition that redemption has occurred. Paul seemed to agree when he told the Romans, God will repay each person according to what they have done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. (Rom. 2:67)

Notice that Gods wrath and anger contrast with a willingness to extend eternal life. This suggests that eternal life is a gift given to those who align themselves to the Lord and isnt simply humankinds natural state.

(Also see verses like John 3:1516, John 10:28, John 17:2, Gal. 6:8, 1 John 5:11, and 1 Cor. 15:5354.)

While conditionalism considers the nature of immortality, annihilationism considers the fate of those who find themselves outside of a redeemed relationship with God through the cross. The two beliefs support each other and are usually seen together.

One of the most beautiful images in Revelation is seeing the tree of life standing once again in humanitys midst (Rev. 22:12). Having God again plant life at the center of humankind tells me that the benefit of being found in Christ is eternal life. So the tree does represent life after all, and its reintroduction suggests to me that this life is given to us as a gift.

For many, Scripture suggests that, apart from Christ, humanity ceases to exist. People who support ECT get caught up in words like eternal punishment, but this doesnt need to be interpreted as torment without end. Annihilation is precisely thateternal punishment. Nothings more eternal than ceasing to exist. I mean, we dont think of the eternal redemption of Hebrews 5:9 or 9:12 as an ongoing process of redemption, but rather a redemption that goes on forever.

You cant ignore 75% of the Bible when you talk about what happens to people after death. But whenever I get into this conversation with a traditionalist, they inevitably tell me that the writers of the Old Testament were not interested in what happens to people after they die. My response is always a resounding, Give me a break!

Throughout the Old Testament, God often threatens the wicked with complete extermination.

Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.Isaiah 5:24

Notice the imagery of fire that gets transferred over to the New Testament? These tongues of fire may burn forever, but whats thrown in them is burned up (see also Malachi 4:13). God warns that those trapped within his wrath will have their names blotted out under heaven (Deut. 29:20).

The Psalms frequently speak of the wickeds final judgment with verses like:

These are not the only Old Testament references to an end for the enemies of God. You can find this imagery spoken by Daniel (Dan. 2:35), Nahum (Nahum 1:10), Proverbs (Prov. 10:25), and so many more.

Before you say that there wasnt clarity in the Old Testament concerning these issues, Peter goes back to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to give us a picture of the unredeemeds fate (2 Peter 2:6). Sodom and Gomorrah didnt burn forever. They were blotted out. This mirrors Old Testament language about a final, definitive judgment while contributing to and confirming its position.

The New Testament does kick off with John the Baptists promise that the ax is already at the root of that every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire (Matt. 3:10). Jesus echoes this imagery (Matt. 7:19). But I believe that everywhere that it talks about fires (whether unquenchable or not), the fire represents Gods hatred of sin . . . it isnt going to be extinguished before it consumes whats thrown into it.

By and large, destruction is the imagery used to communicate the fate of those outside of the cross (James 4:12, 2 Peter 2:3, 2 Peter 3:7, 1 Tim. 6:9, Phil. 3:1819, 1 Cor. 3:17, 1 Thess. 5:3). Its verses like these that seem to indicate that the fate of the wicked is destruction and not perpetual torment.

This point of view is also communicated in the way the New Testament talks about death as the final end for the wicked, typically contrasted against the gift of life for the redeemed:

That covers a tiny bit of the Scriptural argument for a final, terminal judgment. As you can see, this position isnt one taken to avoid dealing with Scripture. It seeks to encapsulate and sift through the entirety of the scriptural witness, and not just a handful of proof texts for one position.

I intend to look at the universalism discussion and wade through some common arguments for eternal torment in future discussions.

If you havent already read it, check out my philosophical look at the Absolute Monstrous Absurdity of Believing in Hell.

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Rethinking Hell: a Beginner's Guide to Conditionalism and Annihilationism - Patheos

The Future Games Show: Spring Showcase presented by GamesRadar+ will feature more than 40 games that are coming this year. The event takes place on March 24.

The showcase will have dozens of game trailers, including eight world premieres. The show will last an hour and will be hosted by Horizon Forbidden West voice actors Ashly Burch (Aloy) and John Macmillan (Varl).

Fans can expect game trailers, announcements, and a glimpse of whats to come in 2022. The games will be a varied selection of those releasing on consoles, as well as those releasing on PC. There will be announcements for games big and small, as some will be titles from major companies, while others will be from independent development teams.

Some games that Future has told gamers will be appearing on the show are Sengoku Dynasty, IMMORTALITY, and LEGO: Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, among many others. To watch, fans can head to Twitch, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, or GamesRadar at 5pm CT on March 24.

Join us as we reveal some incredible new games, chat to the developers behind the scenes, and take a first look at new exclusive gameplay from some of 2022s most hotly anticipated new releases, said Futures content director for games and film Daniel Dawkins.

This will be one of three shows that Future will have in 2022. The other two shows will broadcast during the summer and fall months.

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Everything to know about the Future Games Show: Spring 2022 Showcase - Dot Esports

Its the centenary of the cinema premiere of the German horror film Nosferatu. Now recognised as a classic of the silent era and one of the first examples of cinematic horror, it used elements of Gothic style to present a dark dreamworld. Ripe with undertones that link it not only to contemporary troubles, it also offers prescient warnings of horrors to come with the rise of Hitlers Nazi regime.

The film is now considered one of the key films of German expressionism, a film movement from the 1920s that rejected realism in favour of creating imaginary worlds where stylised and distorted set design expressed psychological states of fear and despair.

Such tortured creation can be linked to external factors, with these films coming out of a Germany still reeling from its defeat in the first world war, plunging the country into a time of turmoil with rising inflation and political unrest. Added to this was the devastation caused by the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-20, which killed more people than the war.

The film remains a sensation of the horror genre and 100 years since its release its influence can still be seen within cinema today.

At the centre of the film is the vampire, Count Orlok. Orlok is unlike the dashing caped figures of Bela Lugosi in the 1931 Dracula and Christopher Lee in the series of Dracula films made at Britains Hammer Studios.

Actor Max Schrecks Orlok is strikingly inhuman and repulsive. With his bald head, hooked nose, clawed fingers and pointed ears. He is often surrounded by swarms of rats rather than harems of women. This representation has been compared to hateful anti-Semitic images used in Nazi propaganda. It is unlikely that this was intentional as many of the writers and actors were Jewish. However, the notion of an invading threat coming to take over the land and comparisons between Jewish people and vampires were narratives that were used to justify state-sanctioned persecution and murder.

However, a narrative that is inherent in the story of Nosferatu and other expressionist films is the threat of authoritarian and aristocratic figures seeking to take control. The films made in this period foreshadowed a future full of death and terror, tyranny and murder.

In his 1947 history of German expressionism, From Caligari to Hitler, the critic Siegfried Kracauer argued that the genre reflects and documents the subconscious of the German peoples fixation with tyranny that would climax in the rise of the Nazi.

In Nosferatu, this plays out in the aristocratic figure of Orlok who exerts his supernatural influence over unsuspecting people, sucking their lifeblood, choosing who dies and who becomes part of his cabal of hateful monsters who enact his will. For Kracauer, the figure of Count Orlock represented the combination of fear and fascination that the spectre of fascism elicited in the German people.

While it is not the first vampire film, or even the first adaptation of Stokers novel (the now-lost Hungarian film Draculas Death was made a year prior), it established many stylistic and narrative tropes of the vampire story still used today. For instance, Nosferatu was the first time a vampire was killed by sunlight, a trope that has now become canon.

It also was the first German expressionist film to shoot on location, instead of entirely on studio sets like the genres first film The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. For Nosferatu, director F.W. Murnau created a Gothic atmosphere in locations such as Orava Castle and the High Tatras mountain range in Slovakia. Such locations allowed audiences to see and sense the history of crumbling ruins and feel the elemental forces present in dark forests and raging storms.

The making of Nosferatu and its cast and crew have been subject to their own mythologising. The 2000 film Shadow of the Vampire posits that Max Schreck really was a vampire, entering into a Faustian pact with director F. W. Murnau to give his film the ultimate authenticity in exchange for the blood of the films leading lady.

The TV series American Horror Story: Hotel has Murnau himself becoming a vampire while researching Nosferatu in the Carpathian Mountains. Once in Hollywood, Murnau turns an actor into a vampire, the immortality of the vampire likened to the immortality of film stardom.

Nosferatus blending of genre tropes and arthouse style even foretells the current rise of elevated horror, personified by films such as Get Out, The Babadook and Hereditary. In fact, one of horrors newest auteurs, Robert Eggers (whose film The Lighthouse owes much to German expressionism), has hinted at a remake of Nosferatu (the second remake after Werner Herzogs 1979 Nosferatu the Vampyre).

So, after 100 years, our fascination with Count Orlok lives on.

Excerpt from:

Nosferatu at 100: how the seminal vampire film shaped the horror genre - The Conversation

Mohamed Salah hobbled out of Liverpool's win over Brighton on Saturday in the Premier League, while Peter Crouch has urged the Reds to be careful over what kind of contract they offer the Egyptian

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Brighton v Liverpool: Match in pictures

Liverpool took another step towards potential football immortality on Saturday, winning 2-0 at Brighton & Hove Albion.

Goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah saw the Reds coast to victory against their toothless hosts, moving to within three points of Premier League leaders Manchester City in the process.

The win also keeps alive the team's hopes of winning what would be an unprecedented quadruple. Jurgen Klopp's side already have the Carabao Cup and are now chasing the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

Here are your latest Liverpool headlines, as they got their weekend off to an ideal start on the south coast.

Should Liverpool break their wage structure to extend Salah's contract? Tell us in the comments section!

Klopp has admitted that he is a little concerned over the fitness of Salah.

The Egyptian netted a penalty to make the game safe for Liverpool, although he did snatch at a number of other chances in the game. He also hobbled out of the action in the second half, prompting some fears among the Liverpool fans.

Afterwards, the Reds boss offered an initial assessment on the knock the 29-year-old accrued.

"We will see," he said. "He thinks it's not serious but we will see when he is sitting down. Something is not 100 per cent right. We think it was the situation before when he hit the ball and got blocked, he went to shoot and got blocked.

"The foot got slightly over-stretched. We'll see."

Read the story in full HERE.

Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has said he would be concerned about the precedent set if the club were to yield to Salah's contract demands.

The forward's deal will expire at Anfield at the end of next season. Ahead of the clash against Brighton, Klopp conceded there had been an impasse in recent talks, with Salah reported to have turned down Liverpool's initial offer.

Crouch said he can see why Liverpool are hesitant about meeting the amount the forward wants, despite his obvious incredible talent.

"You give him what he wants, Van Dijk's almost as important, Alisson, where does it end? It then becomes a problem, Crouch said.

"We all want to keep Mohamed Salah 100 per cent but he has to fall in line with what they're prepared to pay."

Read the story in full HERE.

Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was fortunate not to be red-carded on Saturday, as his reckless challenge took out Diaz as the Colombian opened the scoring.

A VAR review looked at the incident, although after the goal was given it was determined that no action was required.

It was a decision that left many onlookers baffled, including Sky Sports punditry pair Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville.

"Got to be a red card!" wrote Neville on Twitter. "I'm convinced the red card wasn't given because it was a goal," added Carragher. "That header goes past the post and it's a red card. It's almost like, a goal is enough."

Read the story in full HERE.

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Liverpool news: Mohamed Salah injury update as contract warning issued by former Red - The Mirror

As I prepared to teach my module on work this year, I realised that Studs Terkels book Working celebrates its fiftieth anniversary in 2022. Its a book that both reflects and helps to explain working-class life. I first encountered it as a student, and in the passing years Working or to give it its rarely used full title Working: People Talk About What they Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do has shaped profoundly the way I think and teach about work.

First published in January 1972, Working is a baggy collection of over seven-hundred and sixty pages, most devoted to the reflections of ordinary Americans about their economic lives. From the Terkel archive, its clear that his interest in work was long standing and went well beyond the USA.

I know the book well, but in writing this piece I leafed through it again to think about the changing nature of work across that half a century. I thought it might really be showing its age after all, fifty years is a long career. Instead, I was reminded how vital Working is. To my surprize, many of the jobs and occupations Terkel asked about in his interviews still exist: receptionists and police officers, spot welders and carpenters, factory owners to waitresses and so on. For sure, the technology that workers use in their jobs has changed. Few of the people in the pages of Working in 1972 would have seen a computer, less likely used one. But its harder than you might think to see obsolescence here.

Working remains fresh because Terkels humanity and warmth comes through on virtually every page. His character as well as his approach to the art of interviewing are artfully captured in his introduction. Just seventeen pages long, the essay sums up for me what is most important about work people. As he puts it beautifully:

Its about a search, too, for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor; in short, for a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying. Perhaps immortality, too, is part of the quest. To be remembered was the wish, spoken and unspoken, of the heroes and heroines of this book.

Terkel captures the timeless quality of the profound contradictions of work, especially a workers sense of loving and hating work in the same moment. This may be true of all kinds of work, but it seems especially important in working-class labour. In an interview about Working, Terkel described how a meter reader he talked to spoke about the reality and fantasy of his work. While reality demanded that he be constantly vigilant for dogs, he also fantasized about female encounters on his rounds. As Terkel puts it, it makes the day go faster.

Read the rest of this piece at Working-Class Perspectives.

Tim Strangleman, Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent, is a Contributor to Working-Class Perspectives.

Photo credit: Newberry Library, via Wikimedia under CC 4.0 License.

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Studs Terkel's Working, 50 Years On - newgeography.com

Last week, my childhood best friend asked if I wanted to go to the movies. Before COVID-19, our jaunts to the Pekin movie theater were almost a weekly event, and I was eager to restart the tradition.

But when she suggested Jackass Forever, I was a little lost.

I love comedy; its a great genre. That said, I find cheap physical comedy and phallic humor quite distasteful.

Given that the movie started off with a penis Godzilla, I was immediately less than impressed; however, I changed my tune throughout the course of the movie.

Today, prank and comedy YouTube channels make their money by punking random pedestrians and borderline traumatizing their loved ones and significant others. It was a nice change of pace to see a group of friends beating the hell out of each other with consent.

Despite the gut-wrenching nature of many of the stunts, everyone was a willing participant. Most of the stunts were done in remote locations with trained professionals.

It was also wonderful to see how the group has grown over the years. Even though most of the original cast are well beyond the feelings of haphazard teenage immortality, they still retain a boylike charm.

Its also nice to see some new faces, as many of the new cast members were fans who grew up watching Johnny Knoxville and Steve-Os shenanigans.

Jackass Forever is more than just slapstick comedy; its a documentary about family, which is especially true considering that some of the cast members brought their actual family members to the set.

In a world where TikTok stars and so-called famous YouTubers frequently come under fire for disrespecting other cultures and violating laws that protect the public, this film was a much needed breath of fresh air.

Though it certainly isnt my favorite movie, I do recommend giving the movie a try you just might find something you like.

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Review: 'Jackass Forever' is the funniest film I've never wanted to watch The Bradley Scout - The Scout

Pick of the weekTop BoyMicheal Ward as Jamie in Top Boy. Photograph: Chris Harris/Netflix

Im stepping back from the roads now, says Dushane (Ashley Walters) as season four of the London crime drama begins. By next year, I want to be completely legit. Its the hardest gangster move to accomplish can he manage it? And who will step into the vacuum he leaves behind? Might it be Jamie (Micheal Ward) who is out of jail and tentatively exploring a collaboration with Dushane? Possibly, but their truce seems fragile. The biggest strength of this series is its air of melancholy theres rarely any sense of glamour about these gangsters activities. Instead, as we see Jamie primly telling his little brother off for swearing, theyre breadwinners. Its a living; a precarious one. Excellent. Netflix, from Friday 18 March

Hot on the heels of The Dropout and Severance comes another drama about a US business misadventure: this time, the true story of the rise and fall of workspace contractors WeWork. Jared Leto plays co-founder Adam Neumann as infuriating and flaky but wildly ambitious and overflowing with energy. Along with his long-suffering wife Rebekah (Anne Hathaway), they built a global brand worth $47bn in under a decade and then overreached, disastrously. Neither Neumann is quite what they seem WeCrashed is a slick, stylish cautionary tale about the gap between dreams and reality. Apple TV+, from Friday 18 March

Season one was slightly slept-on given its creators pedigree (its the brainchild of The US Offices Greg Daniels) and it probably suffered in comparison with the thematically comparable The Good Place. But Upload offers its own distinct, witty, slightly dystopian vision of the afterlife: Nathan (Robbie Amell) finds himself in an imperfect VR heaven, paid for by his ex Ingrid (Allegra Edwards), but yearning for Andy Allos coding operative Nora. As we rejoin him, Nathan is at a crossroads as Ingrid arrives, Nora departs and bliss remains frustratingly out of reach.Amazon Prime Video, out now

The Texas comedian who might be familiar to you from her turns in TV shows Broad City and Search Party gets a Netflix special, filmed live at Joes Pub in New York. Expect a mixture of straight standup and musical interludes as Cohen explores topics such as relationships and modern feminism. However, her style is nowhere near as dry as that sounds Cohen is a committed performer rather than a simple gag-merchant, and there are no half-measures about her songs, which are performed along with keyboardist Henry Koperski. Netflix, from Tuesday 15 March

If I tell you to take all your money out of the bank and light it on fire do it. Its a decent simulation of the experience of consuming high-end cuisine but, ironically, said by fraudster Anthony Strangis (AKA Shane Fox) to Sarma Melngailis, a celebrated vegan restaurateur who fell under his spell. This latest of Netflixs raft of outlandish documentaries about cons and scams tells the story of a bizarre relationship that began on Twitter (among other things, Strangis promised immortality for Melngailiss dog), spiralled out into real life and ended in jail. Netflix, from Wednesday 16 March

Imagine if you could give your emotions anthropomorphised form? What would shame look like? How about anxiety? This amusingly crude animation a spin-off from coming-of-age cartoon Big Mouth does exactly that, reimagining the workings of the human brain as a sort of office space of psychological entities; competing, falling out, getting drunk and enjoying inopportune one-night stands. Its garrulously entertaining stuff and brought to life by a stellar voice cast that includes Maya Rudolph, David Thewlis and Lupita Nyongo. Netflix, from Friday 18 March

My boyfriend always says I seem like Im 100. Beth (Amy Schumer) is having a midlife crisis. Her boyfriend isnt worth hanging on to and shes hit a confused, forlorn moment, where nights out with the girls and working as a wine distributor just arent cutting it. Cue a voyage of discovery and the possibility of fresh romance with John (Michael Cera), a wispily bearded rabbit breeder. Schumers comedy-drama is full of her trademark near-the-knuckle humour but shes obviously aiming for something more mature and emotionally convincing. Hulu, from Friday 18 March

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