Don’t believe me? Take any scene, change its music, and see how drastically different it feels. The soundtrack can turn horror into parody, comedy into thriller. Music makes all the difference. Over the past few decades, countless composers and musicians have stepped up to the challenge and scored all kinds of brilliant movie soundtracks—but how many of them do you know by name? Sadly, even the greatest film composers don’t get the recognition they deserve....

Our memories are what make us who we are as people, so losing our memories is akin to losing who we are, where we’ve come from, what we’ve learned, and who we were on the path to becoming. Here are some of the best movies that dive into the disturbed psyches of unreliable protagonists who have lost their memories in all kinds of ways to all kinds of effects....

Here are some of the best TV show intros we’ve ever seen. We’re covering a wide variety of TV shows, but they all have visually striking intros that look absolutely fantastic. 17. Game of Thrones In the Game of Thrones intro, the camera moves over a 3D mechanical moving map of the world. The locations that are shown change in relation to the events of a particular episode, so it even offers a bit of foreshadowing and anticipation!...

However, one of the central principles of DMing has always been to adapt the rules and make the game work best for your table. That’s where D&D house rules come in! The “Rules as Written” (often shortened to RAW) are merely a starting point for any DM looking to craft the perfect tabletop experience for their specific group of players. And that’s why, over the years, many dungeon masters have come up with their own house rules to customize the D&D experience for their own tables with their own needs and wants....

So, when Oscar night comes and everybody’s waiting to hear the winner of Best Picture, we know it’s going to be either Movie A or Movie B. But what happens when it’s Movie C, Movie D, or Movie E? On numerous occasions, Hollywood has pulled a fast one and given the Best Picture award to a film that nobody expected to win. Sometimes, the pick is so far out of left field that we question how it was even nominated....

From wristwatches to briefcases, James Bond has utilized whatever you can think of during his missions. However, Bond isn’t the only one with techy tricks up his sleeve, as many of his enemies also have various gizmos that have made his days into nightmares. The world of James Bond is littered with incredible features that make each film that much more exciting to watch. Here are our favorite James Bond gadgets from the movies!...

The story of Lord Morpheus (aka Dream) came to life with a narrative that made us feel every ounce of a god’s journey, one that depicted him literally going to Hell and back to recover the items stolen from him. Dream’s century-long imprisonment and struggles with immortality could have resulted in a show that was cold and depressing, but the creators smartly guided the show in a different direction. Of course, some parts were ultimately better than others....

Some of the coolest anime characters have the ability to use words as their weapon, and among them, some have creative twists to their verbal powers that make them uniquely interesting. From characters who can shape reality to those who can forbid entire words from being spoken without penalty, here are the best anime characters who use verbal powers of the spoken word. 9. Yuu Kaito (Yu Yu Hakusho) In Yu Yu Hakusho, Kaito has the ability to create rules within his “territory,” including restrictions on “taboo words....

Mecha is a subgenre within science fiction that focuses on mechanical robots, bio machines, high-tech weapons, and futuristic settings. The mecha genre’s reputation for badass sequences started with Go Nagai’s Mazinger Z, which originated many of the genre’s traits. There are different types of mecha anime, including machines that are self-conscious, piloted, remote controlled, etc. Mecha anime series also tend to overlap heavily with themes of war and rebellion. From classic alien-fighting robots to psychologically devastating plots, here are our picks for the best mecha anime series of all time....

Grand Theft Auto III was the big one that really revolutionized the way people looked at video games, all the while causing untold controversy with its depictions of sex, drugs, violence, and murder. Just a year later, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City arrived—and it also caused an uproar with how it depicted the unseemly and criminal aspects of life, plus its stereotypical look at Italian-Americans. Two years after Vice City came Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas....

Zombies have been the subject of many horror films since the early 1930s, allegedly rooted in a Haitian belief involving voodoo superstition. In the years since, zombie movies have waxed and waned in popularity, simultaneously played out yet still interesting in a way. To keep zombies fresh, filmmakers have been putting all kinds of spins on the zombie movie subgenre, leading to new concepts, unique takes, and subverted tropes. But in doing so, modern zombie movies have drifted away from the heart of traditional zombie movies....

Casting isn’t easy. Even a skilled actor can be a bad fit for a given role, and bad castings can result in bad movies (at best) or forever tarnish the careers of the actors/actresses in question (at worst). But when a casting director knocks it out of the park, they pave the way for a cinematic experience above and beyond—a character who’s so iconically portrayed that fans will never accept another portrayal by anyone else....

In recent years, Apple has positioned itself as a company that cares about the user’s data and privacy. Still, how private are iPhones really? Apple’s Face ID system doesn’t store any actual photos of your face on Apple’s servers, instead using a mathematical representation of it. Apple has also famously refused to provide authorities with backdoors into their iOS platform, claiming it would set a terrible precedent. The iPhone is overall excellent at keeping you safe from metadata collection, and Apple has even introduced a dot that appears at the top of the screen when an app is using either microphone or camera....

Well, of course there’s a reason: for the benefit of another character—usually the main protagonist—so they can emerge victorious. But as far as a valid in-world reason? There’s usually none. To be fair, we understand why it’s done. When a previously powerful character is suddenly weak by comparison, it really emphasizes how much a character has grown. The thing is, it needs to be done well. If the change is too sudden, it’s jarring and hard to believe....

Where previously they had been too focused on flavor at the expense of combat options, D&D 5e gives them a chance to shine like they’ve never shined before. There’s a subtle balance to Druids that wasn’t there before, and this balance allows players to build their characters in almost any direction they want to go. In D&D 5e, Druids can excel as healers, damage dealers, or support characters; it’s all in how you build them....

He’s also known for his disciplinarian methods for scheduling, which makes him able to direct one or two films every year without affecting their quality. But most of all, his projects are celebrated for their strong female characters. Here are our picks for the best Ridley Scott movies from his entire filmmaking career of many decades. 10. The Duellists (1977) Ridley Scott’s directorial debut The Duellists is the tale of the lifelong duel between the kind-hearted Lieutenant Armand d’Hubert (played by Keith Carradine) and the disgruntled Gabriel Feraud (played by Harvey Keitel)....

For me, the main difference between Korean variety shows and Western reality shows is that the Korean cast members tend to be more vulnerable. They can make fun of themselves, they’re willing to be the butts of jokes, and their personalities are on full display. By contrast, Western reality shows often feel contrived, manufactured, and overly professional. The jokes are timid, the banter is weak, and the producers seem more interested in drama than entertainment....

Hundreds of documentary films are released every year, but only a handful of them really gain any recognition. The ones that do are the ones that say something noteworthy about a subject or situation. It takes a special skillset to excel at documentary filmmaking, and many have dedicated their lives to this pursuit of cinematic documentation. They work to communicate the true nature of things by packaging things to fit our—the viewers—ways of absorbing information....

Among the elements found in horror films, haunted and cursed items bring the same kind of thrill as demons and ghosts, even without further description or development in the plot. Haunted and cursed items have a terror-inducing presence unlike any other plot device, able to instill fear just by appearing on camera—especially when shown from disturbing angles. They can also be used alongside demonic figures and paranormal happenings for the perfect jump scare....

Pixar was a strong contender between 1995 and 2006, and Disney knew it. That’s why Disney went ahead and acquired Pixar Studios altogether, making them into a subsidiary of the global conglomerate. Under Disney, Pixar continues to put out some of the best animated movies in the entire industry—not just ones that are kid-friendly, but ones that are deep, meaningful, and beloved by adults. As of this writing, Pixar Studios has 23 feature films under their belt....