<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/29861620.cms" /> Experiments are great if they usher in something new and meaningful. When the <keyword id="303" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Director">director</keyword> is <keyword id="189787" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Devika-Bhagat">Devika Bhagat</keyword> and one of the lead characters is <keyword id="34091" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Abhay-Deol">Abhay Deol</keyword> (hailing from the legendary <keyword id="9281" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Dharmendra">Dharmendra</keyword> clan), one hopes to see a plot as intriguing as <keyword id="30024" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="manorama-six-feet-under">Manorama Six Feet Under</keyword> where Devika was the story &amp; <keyword id="236139" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="screenplay-writer">screenplay writer</keyword> and Abhay was the lead character. So we have expected the actor-director combo to set the screen on fire this time, with a new format of storytelling. Deol has co-produced the rom-com and his real-life girlfriend <keyword id="76307" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Preeti-Desai">Preeti Desai</keyword> has also teamed up with him, but all to no avail. Thanks to an inane plot, the flick has literally crashed at the <keyword id="25892" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="box-office">box office</keyword>. 
 The numbers are quite dismal after Day 4 (February 3) and the flick has grossed a paltry Rs 4.6 crore as per industry estimates. According to <keyword id="255727" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Box-Office-India">Box Office India</keyword>, “<keyword id="1526690" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="One-By-Two">One By Two</keyword> fared poorly at the box office as it collected a little over Rs 1.50 crore nett over the weekend. The collections were around Rs 50 lakh nett on Friday and Saturday each while there was a little jump on Sunday to Rs 55 lakh nett (approx). The film is a disaster all over as some circuits hardly had any contribution.” 
 
The movie has been released on January 31 and has hit about 500 screens across India. But unless it witnesses some miraculous jump in collections, this one may not be able to recover the costs. 
 
Now, let’s have a look at the story itself and what it brings to the audience. One by Two revolves around the <keyword id="2045033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Parallel-lives">parallel lives</keyword> of two people – <keyword id="49316" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Software-engineer">software engineer</keyword> Amit Sharma (Abhay) and <keyword id="2045034" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="aspiring-dancer">aspiring dancer</keyword> Samara Patel (Preeti), born out of wedlock but trying to connect to her rich father. Both Amit and Samara have struggled to cope with their personal hard luck stories and a lot of coincidences bring them together, but not until the last scene. That may hit you hard, especially if you are waiting to watch some bubbly romance, while the surprising twists and turns are not enough to see the movie through. 
 At best, you get to see stereotypes – a jobless Amit dumped by his girlfriend; his loving mom (<keyword id="15316" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rati-Agnihotri">Rati Agnihotri</keyword>) anxious to see her son settled and Samara’s alcoholic mom (<keyword id="12972" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lillete-Dubey">Lillete Dubey</keyword>) helped by her daughter. There’s an extremely weak subplot – that of Amit hacking into a dance reality show to wreck the producer who is now dating his ex – which finally connects the central characters. 
 Serious movie-goers might have expected some Luis Buñuel-type <keyword id="2045045" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Neo-reality">neo-reality</keyword> in a plot where <keyword id="2045053" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Disjointed-storylines">disjointed storylines</keyword> suddenly converge. But the movie doesn’t step beyond the ground reality; nor does the urban sparkle contribute to the freshness of theme or originality of characters. The gags look tired after a time; the plot fails to impress in spite of endless possibilities and the lead duo can’t display the kind of acting prowess that would have broken the traditional mould and taken the flick to a new height of <keyword id="2045050" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Urban-isolation">urban isolation</keyword> and <keyword id="2045051" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Chance-connections">chance connections</keyword>. 
 
Image: Indiatimes

One By Two: Fragmented
Storytelling Fails To Impress, Flops At Box Office

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I visited the movie theater for the first time in five months — and as an avid movie-goer, it felt like an age.</li><li>Now theaters have reopened in the UK, I went as soon as I could to see "<keyword id="321614" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Jurassic-Park">Jurassic Park</keyword>" on the big screen with my mom.</li><li>The theater I visited had a lot of social distancing rules in place, including e-tickets only, and their new practice of leaving a minimum of two empty seats between occupied seats in their screens.</li><li>While the lobby was almost empty, food and drink were served as normal, and people adhered to the "wear a mask" rule until they got in the <keyword id="5491" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cinema">cinema</keyword> screen and took them off.</li><li>Seeing "Jurassic Park" in 4DX and going all out with food, drinks, and popcorn, reminded me and fellow cinema-goers how much we love the experience of going to a cinema — and I've booked my next trip already.</li></ul>The last movie I saw in a theater was an awards screener of "Little Women" way back in February, a few weeks before the Oscars. The last time I paid to see movie in a theater, here in the UK, was on January 1 to see "The Gentlemen."Before that, I used to go to the movies a few times a month, or as much as I could fit in. But the coronavirus-caused <keyword id="91743" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="lockdown">lockdown</keyword> that kicked in, in March put a halt to that habit. While there are far more important things currently happening and far more serious issues that has come with the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>, it has been a full five months since I last sat in a cinema screen to watch a film. And it's sucked.I caught both "The Invisible Woman" and "Scoob" on VoD (one was excellent, one was not) — but it's just not the same. I've missed the intimacy of a theater, which drowns out everything except the story unfolding on the gigantic screen in front as you sit in darkness munching popcorn.That's why I jumped at the opportunity to get back to the cinema the first chance I got. Cineworld in Crawley, a town halfway between London and Brighton in the UK, opened its doors again in late July, and on Friday, July 31, I took my mom to see "Jurassic Park" on the big screen.<div type="image" title="Cineworld screenshot" height="1200" width="1600" msid="77431352" hostid="261"></div><h2>There had to be a minimum of two empty seats next to occupied seats</h2>Firstly, I booked tickets online. Cineworld has said that while they are still selling tickets in theaters, customers are strongly encouraged to pre-book tickets online via their website or app.This is for two reasons. One — so there is as little exchange of materials and contact as possible. Two — so that customers can pick their seats before they arrive at the cinema and get blindsided by the new seating strategy.When it comes to selecting a seat, their website states: "To ensure Social Distancing, we require a minimum of 2 empty seats next to any occupied seats. If you select closer seats, the booking system will return an error on the next page."This means that around half of the seats were unavailable in the cinema screen, and meant that if you didn't book fast enough, you'd be stuck right in the wings of the theater.<div type="image" title="Outside cinema queue" height="1200" width="1600" msid="77431355" hostid="261"></div><h2>Staggered show times kept the lobby quiet, but social distancing signs were ignored</h2>There was a bit of a queue outside the theater, with a masked employee chaperoning people in; telling them the rules of the cinema, and to put masks on. There was also a sign welcoming customers back, laying all of the social distancing rules out.<div type="image" title="Cineworld lobby welcome back sign" height="1200" width="1600" msid="77431359" hostid="261"></div>There was also a hand-sanitizing station, too, with a foot-pump-powered soap dispenser.<div type="image" title="Cineworld lobby hand sanister station" height="1200" width="1600" msid="77431364" hostid="261"></div>Once inside, however, the usually-bristling lobby was empty. The staggered film times purposefully scheduled by Cineworld meant that the lobby would be emptier than usual, but it was still strange to be there on a Friday and be able to hear your own footsteps echo across the room.One protocol that employees pointed out were stickers on the floor indicating where to stand for social distanced queuing — this was almost entirely ignored by customers, partly because people didn't realize they were even there under the lights of the lobby, but mostly because queuing wasn't really necessary at all due to the tiny number of people in the room.<div type="image" title="cinema social distance sticker" height="1200" width="1600" msid="77431366" hostid="261"></div><h2>Food and drink were served normally, apart from the typical British pick 'n' mix</h2>Almost all food and drink were served normally. Popcorn, packets of candy, ice cream, hot food, drinks — all available. They were served through large, transparent plastic screens separating masked-employees from masked-customers.<div type="image" title="Cineworld sweet section cordoned off" height="1200" width="1600" msid="77431367" hostid="261"></div>The only food product not available was the typical British pick 'n' mix candy stand — an assortment of treats that customers can scoop into a paper bag. All candy had been removed, and the section was cordoned off. A pick 'n' mix would be too much trouble to sanitise each lid and each scoop after every use.Pretty much every customer I saw in the cinema bought food and beverages (including me). People were going all out. Most not only bought a drink popcorn, but ice cream, too, a slushie, and a bag of candy. <div type="image" title="Jacob cineworld popcorn and drink" height="1200" width="1600" msid="77431369" hostid="261"></div><h2>Bathrooms were limited to 4 people at a time</h2>Only four people were allowed into the bathrooms at any one time. In the men's bathroom, all cubicles were locked, while every other urinal was also out of use, with signs above asking customers not to use them.<div type="image" title="Cineworld urinals cordoned off" height="1200" width="1600" msid="77431370" hostid="261"></div>Likewise, every other sink was also out of use, with signs on the mirrors above them asking customers not to use them.<div type="image" title="Cineworld toilets coronavirus signs" height="1200" width="1600" msid="77431373" hostid="261"></div>Once you'd got your food and drink, you went to a ticket checker, who would ask for your e-tickets on your phone. They then scanned the tickets and directed you to the right screen. Several customers wondered out loud whether or not Cineworld would bother ever going back to paper tickets.<h2>Everyone wore masks in the lobby, but took them off as soon as they were in the theater</h2>Happily, every customer in the lobby obeyed the mask-wearing protocols of the cinema. There were no people arguing against it or complaining. Everyone kept their masks on as soon as they stepped into the lobby.However, as soon we got into the cinema screen itself, everyone took off their masks. People had food and drink to consume, so they had to take the masks off, but it begged the question as to why enforce it in the lobby if everyone then removes them in the theater?Even when people had finished their products, they kept their masks off for the whole film.<div type="image" title="Jurassic Park T Rex" height="900" width="1600" msid="77431377" hostid="261"></div><h2>Old movies are the way to go</h2>Almost all of the movies shown at Cineworld were old movies brought back in for reshowing. There were a couple of new films — Russel Crowe's "Unhinged," for example — but the majority were old movies. And it was the old movies that, when looking online, seemed to have the most interest.I saw "Jurassic Park" with my mother — both of us have seen the film a billion times before, and as a family we used to watch it constantly when I was growing up, but neither of us had seen it in a cinema screen before. Seeing a movie like this, which had a lot of nostalgic childhood memories attached to it, was actually quite an emotionally-fulfiling experience.My family and I are such huge fans of "Jurassic Park," that we even went to Florida last year to explore Jurassic Park in Universal Studios.<div type="image" title="Jurassic Park Jacob, mother, car" height="900" width="1600" msid="77431381" hostid="261"></div>They were plenty of adults taking their children to see "Jurassic Park" for the first time, excited at the opportunity to show their kids this movie on the big screen when they had previously done so before back in 1993.To finally see this film on the big screen was a very exciting experience — and it proves that every single movie, no matter how many times you've seen it, is always better on a big screen.<h2>Some people put their masks back on after the movie, but not everyone</h2>People should have remained in their seats after the film had finished, then put their masks on and left. This didn't really happen. Instead, most people moseyed out of the theater still pulling their masks on as they spilled out into the lobby. Some had to be reminded by staff.After that, we were chaperoned out of the cinema via a one-way system. Masks were taken off immediately as soon as they were outside. In total, masks were worn for about five minutes before the movie, and about 30 seconds after.<div type="image" title="Jurassic Park Dilophosauras" height="900" width="1600" msid="77431483" hostid="261"></div><h2>I've already booked my next ticket</h2>While streaming services have excelled during the last few months while everyone is stuck at home with nothing to do but binge TV shows and movies on Netflix and Disney Plus and the like, I hope that people felt the same as I did, and remembered how good going to the cinema is.Movies are made for the cinema, and the thrill of sitting in a dark theater waiting for the opening titles to begin on a wall-to-wall screen will always be better than the convenience of streaming sites. In fact, I've already booked my next trip to the cinema.I'm going to see "The Empire Strikes Back," this time by myself, but it could just as easily be "The Cinema Strikes Back."Read more:<a href="https://www.insider.com/paris-floating-movie-theater-boat-cinema-on-water-photos-2020-7">Paris just hosted a floating movie theater where people sat in socially distant boats on the water, and the photos are stunning</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/movies-like-tenet-to-watch-on-netflix-2020-7">10 movies like 'Tenet' you can watch on Netflix if you're worried about going to the cinema</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/amc-cinemas-choose-trailers-over-ads-netflix-disney-plus-threaten-2020-1">AMC theaters opts for trailers over toothpaste ads as Netflix and Disney Plus threaten big-screen audiences</a>

I went to the movies for the first time post-lockdown, and even though most people took their masks off in the theater, I'd go back

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/30228376.cms" /> When love is in the air and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> is bound to come up with a <keyword id="24069" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="romantic-comedy">romantic comedy</keyword>. But when ad film-maker <keyword id="1612592" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vinil-Mathew">Vinil Mathew</keyword>’s directorial debut <keyword id="1520199" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Hasee-Toh-Phasee">Hasee Toh Phasee</keyword> hit the screen a week before <keyword id="4167782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="V-day">V-Day</keyword> (February 7), it turned out to be a better love feast than the run-of-the-mill romances. Much of the credit goes to the lead duo – <keyword id="562349" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Parineeti-Chopra">Parineeti Chopra</keyword> and <keyword id="1320874" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sidharth-Malhotra">Sidharth Malhotra</keyword> – and the <keyword id="303" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Director">director</keyword>, of course, who tweaked all the usual Bollywood masala into an earthy and sharp reality without stripping the flick of its dream elements. And going by the <keyword id="2034852" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Box-office-numbers">box office numbers</keyword>, we dare say that the audience loves those experiments garbed in the feel-good raiment. In other words, this Parineeti-Sidharth starrer has different offerings at different levels – whether you take it as an arty-commercial experiment or just another love story, with some nuances that can push you out of your comfort zone. 
 So how has the film fared at the box office so far? The Rs 25 crore <keyword id="1636016" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="rom-com">rom-com</keyword>, jointly produced by <keyword id="3778" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Karan-Johar">Karan Johar</keyword>’s <keyword id="62161" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dharma-Productions">Dharma Productions</keyword> and <keyword id="7929" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anurag-Kashyap">Anurag Kashyap</keyword>’s <keyword id="1352720" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Phantom-Productions">Phantom Productions</keyword>, hit about 2,000 screens across the country and grossed around Rs 17-18 crore at home during the first weekend, according to industry estimates. <keyword id="1861689" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="overseas-collection">Overseas collection</keyword>s stood at a little over $1 million. The <keyword id="2014761" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Occupancy-rate">occupancy rate</keyword> was 50-80% during the opening weekend and stayed at 50% on the crucial Day 4 (February 10) in the domestic market, bringing in around Rs 6 crore. Overseas collection on the 4th day was around Rs 1.5 crore. However, the movie is expected to do much better at the box office during the <keyword id="2054858" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="V-Day-week">V-Day week</keyword>. 
 
Karan Johar is also happy with the way things are going. “Thank you for the immense love and appreciation for Hasee Toh Phasee, a film I am extremely proud of,” he tweeted on Sunday. 
 
The rom-com is expected to ride on critical acclaim and we feel that is justified to some extent. For one, director Vinil Mathew (best known for his Cadbury: Kuch meetha ho jaye commercials) knows how to tell a good story, blending reality with cinematic magic. And writer <keyword id="1989065" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Harshvardhan-Kulkarni">Harshvardhan Kulkarni</keyword> has aptly supported him. The film is essentially a quirky love story between <keyword id="19563" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="meeta">Meeta</keyword> (Parineeti) and Nikhil (Sidharth) – a modern-day take about life, love and relationships. Consequently, you see a runaway professional and a turbulent soul in Meeta, who has brains but takes drugs, steals money from her family and tries to whisk off her sister <keyword id="5405" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Karishma">Karishma</keyword>’s (<keyword id="16234" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Adah-Sharma">Adah Sharma</keyword>) fiancé who is also a long-time friend of Meeta. Sidharth, on the other hand, is a more staid character with his commitments firmly in place. The resulting story weaves the chemistry between the odd pair while <keyword id="6362839" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Manoj-Joshi">Manoj Joshi</keyword> does some good work as Meeta and Karishma’s father. 
 
But one still wonders why all the soul-searching and putting life into order need to happen immediately before a crucial marriage, à la Mere Brother Ki Dulhan? Only this time, we have a runaway bridegroom, instead of the bride walking away from the mandap as is the Bollywood wont. But Parineeti is the real star cast here – bright, gorgeous, self-willed and passionate – and wins hearts in spite of her over-the-top acting. Sidharth, too, is out on a self-quest and looks laudable. But it’s the cliché plot that mars the good efforts. There are nice elements, but they come in bits and pieces, and finally, Hasee Toh Phasee remains a commercial candyfloss. 
 
One just wonders what would have happened if Parineeti and Sidharth went through the same experiences post the marriage between Adah and Sidharth. But that might have been too much off the track for Bollywood and the Indian audience who did not receive the offbeat theme of Nishabd well. Let us see if Hasee Toh Phasee can join the 100 crore club. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/30228389.cms" /> 
 
<keyword id="805778" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Heartless">Heartless</keyword>: Commendable efforts lose steam, again Medical thrillers are pretty rare in Bollywood and we pinned our hopes on <keyword id="17186" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shekhar-Suman">Shekhar Suman</keyword>’s directorial debut Heartless, starring his son <keyword id="20393" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Adhyayan">Adhyayan</keyword>, along with <keyword id="20398" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="deepti-naval">Deepti Naval</keyword>, <keyword id="6381489" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Om-puri">Om Puri</keyword> and newcomer <keyword id="1935232" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ariana-Ayam">Ariana Ayam</keyword> (she hails from New York). The movie also released on February 7 and hit about 800 screens all over the country. But unlike Hasee Toh Phasee, this one had a poor start in spite of a great storyline – essentially borrowed from the American crime/supernatural/conspiracy thriller <keyword id="106100" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Awake">Awake</keyword>. Surprisingly, the box office numbers are not officially available yet but according to one estimate, Heartless has grossed a little over Rs 1 crore in the opening weekend. That is, indeed, shocking. 
 A close look at the movie, however, confirms our fear that it could be a box office flop. Rich boy <keyword id="138003" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Aditya-Singh">Aditya Singh</keyword> (<keyword id="6354939" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Adhyayan-Suman">Adhyayan Suman</keyword>), who needs a <keyword id="6397601" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="heart-transplant">heart transplant</keyword>, falls in love with fortune-hunter <keyword id="80068" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ria">Ria</keyword> (Ariana Ayam) and secretly marries her before the surgery. But once he is under the knife, all hell breaks loose. There is conspiracy going on to kill him with a <keyword id="2054863" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Poisoned-transplant">poisoned transplant</keyword>, so that the wife can pocket the insurance money. Adhyayan’s friend and <keyword id="6382875" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="surgeon">surgeon</keyword> <keyword id="2054864" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dr-Sameer-Saxena">Dr Sameer Saxena</keyword> (Shekhar Suman) is also in cahoots. 
 During the surgery, the truth dawns upon the hero as he goes into <keyword id="2054865" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anaesthesia-awareness">anaesthesia awareness</keyword>, a medical condition where the patient is conscious enough to understand everything, but cannot move. Finally, his mother <keyword id="489622" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gayatri-Singh">Gayatri Singh</keyword> (Deepti Naval) commits suicide to make the transplant happen; Om Puri, as <keyword id="2054866" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dr-Sanjay-Trehan">Dr Sanjay Trehan</keyword>, manages to save him and all the baddies are arrested at the end. There’s nothing wrong with the story except for the fact that medical thrill becomes hilarious comedy during the second half and Adhyayan still looks pretty stiff although the mother-son relation has been played out well. Maybe the BO numbers will pick up as soon as the audience gets used to the comical activities that take place in the OT. But can it still be touted as Adhyayan’s comeback movie? 
 
<keyword id="1977299" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Babloo-Happy-Hai">Babloo Happy Hai</keyword>, <keyword id="828628" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ya-Rab">Ya Rab</keyword> fail to make the cut The other two releases of the week also failed to make the cut at the box office in spite of some serious themes. Directed by <keyword id="475774" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nila-Madhab-Panda">Nila Madhab Panda</keyword> (of Jalpari and I am Kalam fame), Babloo Happy Hai has a meaningful message about <keyword id="19472" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="aids">AIDS</keyword> and how people can still live a full life. But the movie has a <keyword id="110559" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Limited-release">limited release</keyword> and hit only about 350-plus screens. It has grossed a little over Rs 15 lakh on the opening day, according to TalkingMoviez.com. 
 
Hasnain Hyderabadwala-directed Ya Rab depicts the eternal conflict between <keyword id="70629" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Humanity">humanity</keyword> and <keyword id="2054867" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Parochial-attitude">parochial attitude</keyword>, and how <keyword id="1013184" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="religious-fundamentalism">religious fundamentalism</keyword> can lead to <keyword id="6358165" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="terrorism">terrorism</keyword>. But once again, lack of promotion has failed to create buzz for this movie, co-produced by <keyword id="6370367" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mahesh-Bhatt">Mahesh Bhatt</keyword>. Made on a budget of Rs 2.5 crore, the movie has been released in 300-plus theatres and the Friday collections stood in the range of Rs 20 lakh-plus. Overall, <keyword id="434916" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood-box-office">Bollywood box office</keyword> hasn’t witnessed too many ripples even now but movie-goers are having a gala time, sampling different genres. That’s definitely a big plus and we are waiting for more. 
 
Images: Indiatimes

Box Office: Hasee Toh
Phasee Wins Hearts; Heartless Fails To Retain The Thrill

<div class="image-container float_right click-to-enlarge" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><a title_source="Disney / Marvel" title_caption="School children seen in the China-only version of " Iron="" Man="" class="zoomin" href="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/51827a4c6bb3f71b74000006-960/iron-man-3-china-1.jpg"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/51827a4c6bb3f71b74000006-509-381/iron-man-3-china-1.jpg?maxX=400" border="0" alt="iron man 3 china" width="400" style="float: right;" /></a></div>Disney / MarvelSchool children seen in the China-only version of "<keyword id="745513" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Iron-Man-3">Iron Man 3</keyword>."</div>When "Iron Man 3" debuted in <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> Wednesday the film had <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/there-will-be-two-versions-of-iron-man-3-2013-3" target="_blank">extra bonus footage</a> you won't see outside the country. 
But, don't worry. 
When the film hits U.S. theaters Fridays, you'll be missing four extra minutes of <a href="http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/02/in-china-iron-mans-muscle-is-fed-by-inner-mongolian-milk/" target="_blank">added product placement</a>. 
In March, Marvel announced it would <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/there-will-be-two-versions-of-iron-man-3-2013-3" target="_blank">release a version of the movie exclusively in China</a> that would feature extra scenes with more Chinese actors. 
Marvel and Chinese distributor DMG entertainment collaborated to produce the film. 
The additional scenes revolve around two Chinese actors, Xueqi Wang and Bingbing Fan. Wang is seen in all other versions of the film as Dr. Wu briefly. 
Here's what's in the added scenes via <a href="http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/02/in-china-iron-mans-muscle-is-fed-by-inner-mongolian-milk/">The New York Times</a>: 
1. The film opens with the question: “What does Iron Man rely on to revitalize his energy?” Movie goers are then blasted with the words "Gu Li Duo," a milk drink in the country. 
Last year, Yili, the manufacturer of the drink <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-18456795">withdrew baby formula tainted with mercury</a>. Since then, the New York Times reports the Chinese government has been trying to <a href="http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/02/in-china-iron-mans-muscle-is-fed-by-inner-mongolian-milk/">calm parents about the safety of its milk products</a>. 
Wang is seen drinking a carton of Gu Li Duo on screen. 
2. Fan appears as a nameless assistant to Dr. Wu while using Chinese medicine to aid Iron Man. 
3. Chinese electronics maker <a href="http://www.tcl.com/en.php" target="_blank">TCL</a> and industry giant <a href="http://zoomlion.imexbb.com/" target="_blank">Zoomlion</a> make appearances. 
4. Happy, cheering Chinese schoolchildren on a television with Iron Man. 
The Hollywood Reporter says the response from China bloggers has been <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/iron-man-3-china-scenes-450184">mixed with criticism aimed at the blatant use of advertisements</a> in the film. 
"The appearance of Yili [the manufacturers of the Gu Li Duo drink] is really shocking. And I don’t know what that Zoomlion [a brand name which appears in a China-only scene] was – and after an online search I realized it’s a heavy industry enterprise in China." 
Kotaku's Eric Jou told <a href="http://shanghaiist.com/2013/05/02/chinese_cut_of_iron_man_3_padded_out_with_pointless_chinese_scenes.php" target="_blank">Shanghaiist.com</a> the version added nothing to the film: 
"The Chinese version is a hot mess of poor planning. The addition of Fan Bingbing and Wang Xueqi does absolutely nothing to advance the flow and plot points of the movie, I mean, seriously who the f--- comes to China for heart surgery?" 
"Iron Man 3" debuted in China Wednesday to a record-breaking $2 million midnight premiere. 
The film opens Friday in the U.S. Boxoffice.com projects it to earn <a href="http://www.boxoffice.com/statistics/movies/iron-man-3-2013">$157 million</a> opening weekend.

The Biggest Differences In China's Version Of 'Iron Man 3'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I saw the new "Dungeons &amp; Dragons" film at this year's South by Southwest film and TV festival.</li><li>Even though I was unfamiliar with the popular roleplaying game, I still enjoyed the movie immensely.</li></ul>As anyone who's been to a major festival, conference, or convention can tell you, these types of big events usually involve waiting in long lines — a lot of them, depending on the particular panel or film being presented. So when I initially set out on Friday evening to catch the premiere of "Dungeons &amp; Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" at this year's South by Southwest film &amp; TV festival in Austin, Texas, I was prepared to wait. What I wasn't prepared for was just how long the line would be, over an hour before the screening began, which I (naively) assumed would give me more than a fair shot at getting in. However, by the time I arrived (with an hour and a half to go before the film started), the line of festival-goers stretched around a whole city block, and I quickly became nervous that I wouldn't get in, despite the assurances of a friendly SXSW volunteer stationed near me to help guide people to the back of the line. <div type="image" title="an image of a city street at dusk, with a long line of people stretched down the block, and cars parked on the side of the street." height="2160" width="2880" msid="98586960" hostid="261" sizebytes="616388"></div>Ultimately, I made it in, no worse for the wear (except for some seriously sore feet). And while I ended up waiting in line for over an hour to make it into "Dungeons &amp; Dragons," I'm so glad I did, as the film is one of my favorites I've seen so far at this year's SXSW. Here's what makes the film so great — and why it was definitely worth the wait. <h2>'Dungeons &amp; Dragons: Honor Among Thieves' appeals to diehard fans and unfamiliar viewers alike</h2>I've never played "Dungeons &amp; Dragons," nor am I remotely familiar with any of the game's lore, characters, or rules. The only vague notion I have of the popular roleplaying game is from its portrayal in the 1999 comedy "Freaks and Geeks," which, funnily enough, stars "Dungeons &amp; Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" director John Francis Daley as geek Sam Weir. So I was pleasantly surprised when I was immediately drawn into the world of the game, mostly thanks to the entertaining main characters: Edgin the Bard (Chris Pine), and his faithful companion Holga the Barbarian (<a href="https://www.insider.com/michelle-rodriguez-rege-jean-page-workout-dungeons-and-dragons-sdcc-2022-7">a terrific Michelle Rodriguez</a>). Both Edgin and Holga are serving time for theft, and their wild escape attempt in the film's first few minutes had me absolutely hooked. The script cleverly gives audiences more backstory as to why Edgin and Holga are so eager to escape (spoiler: it involves Edgin's young daughter Kiara) and quickly raises the stakes in a way that feels organic. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ODYz0jkj-cQ" frameborder="0"></iframe>Even though I had no idea what the difference was between a human druid, a mage, and a bard, I was still able to understand the world in which the characters lived. I'm sure diehard "D&amp;D" players would be even more taken with the movie's world-building — Daley and his co-director Jonathan Goldstein assured viewers ahead of the SXSW screening that there were plenty of Easter eggs for fans in the film. For a "D&amp;D" newbie, however, I still felt the stakes were clear, the characters were well-developed, and the stage set for a conflict very early on. <div type="image" title="Michelle Rodriguez and Chris Pine in &quot;Dungeons &amp; Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.&quot;" height="2508" width="3344" msid="98586962" hostid="261" sizebytes="255640"></div><h2>The film is action-packed but has lots of heart, too</h2>One of my favorite things about "Dungeons &amp; Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" was the chemistry between Edgin and Holga. Even though their relationship is strictly platonic in nature (Holga makes it clear throughout the film that Edgin isn't her type, to say the least), Pine and Rodriguez do an excellent job of portraying the duo's deep bond with each other, as well as with Edgin's daughter Kiara (Chloe Coleman). The other cast members are also a delight to watch, too, with Justice Smith's frustrated sorcerer Simon a particular favorite of mine. And <a href="https://www.insider.com/hugh-grant-threw-tantrums-on-set-dungeons-and-dragons-2023-3">Hugh Grant's villain</a> — con artist Forge Fitzwilliam — is every bit as charmingly diabolical as you'd expect from the British actor.The film's action scenes deserve a special shout-out as well. Several of them rely quite heavily on CGI (which makes sense given the subject matter), but one in particular — in which druid Doric (Sophia Lillis) frantically shapeshifts from animal to animal in order to escape Forge's guards and the evil sorcerer Sofina (Daisy Head) — had most of the audience on the edge of our seats. I think almost everyone in the theater applauded at the end of that sequence when Doric (spoiler) manages to return to Edgin and the rest of the crew. But even with the best action scenes, "Dungeons &amp; Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" would be nothing without the story of friendship and fatherly devotion at its core. At the end of the day, all Edgin wants to do is give up petty thievery and live a quiet life with Kiara and Holga, and Pine does an excellent job of capturing Edgin's love for the women in his life. Edgin's constant perseverance in the face of adversity is inspiring rather than trite, and the film suffuses just the right amount of emotion into the final twist to make everything feel earned but not over the top. <div type="image" title="Michelle Rodriguez, Chris Pine, and Justice Smith in &quot;Dungeons &amp; Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.&quot;" height="788" width="1400" msid="98586965" hostid="261" sizebytes="61556"></div><h2>Overall, 'Dungeons &amp; Dragons: Honor Among Thieves' is a must-see for diehard fans and casual viewers alike</h2>I'd never had much interest in playing "Dungeons &amp; Dragons" the board game before now. After watching this charming, action-packed take on the game, however, I'm more than tempted to start a campaign (is that what you call it?) of my own. And even though my feet were killing me at the end of the night, I'm really glad I braved the long lines to watch this on its opening night. The energy in the theater in Austin was incredible, but watching this talented cast bring to life a beloved game is bound to be a delight no matter when or how you watch it.

I waited for over an hour in the Texas heat at SXSW to see 'Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.' Here's why I'd do it all again.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A deadly crowd crush in Seoul led to 156 deaths on Halloween weekend.</li><li>Videos posted online showed people pressed against each other, struggling to breathe.</li></ul>Saurav Bajoria, an Indian expat living in Seoul, arrived at Itaewon at around 10 p.m on October 29. The streets were packed to the brim for Halloween festivities, but Itaewon was always popular on weekends, so Bajoria didn't think much of the crowds.Dressed in a devil's costume and cap, he began his night eating ice cream, chatting with friends, and moving between pubs and eateries along Itaewon's tight alleys."You should come join us," he texted his wife at one point, he told Insider.About an hour into their night, Bajoria and his friends glimpsed a body being carried down a nearby street. They assumed it was part of a Halloween act."Another passed by, then another came. Then 10 came," he said. "That was when I realized something was wrong."<div type="image" title="Emergency services transport a person after a stampede during a Halloween celebration in Seoul, South Korea." height="3516" width="4688" msid="95300473" hostid="261" sizebytes="743666"></div>In the ensuing days, the world watched in horror as reports emerged of how an evening of celebration in Itaewon's narrow streets turned into a deadly human crush that left <a href="https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20221101005000315">156 people dead and at least 151 injured</a>.<h2>The pushing in the crowd felt 'just like ocean waves'</h2>Zara Lily and her fiance Yun Jinhyeong, clad in zombie outfits, arrived at Itaewon early for a coffee. Even at 4 p.m., the streets were buzzing with partygoers dressed to the nines in their Halloween costumes."People would occasionally stop to take pictures," Lily told Insider. "This slowed down the walking traffic, which resulted in the crowd pushing those people to make them move faster."As night fell, the crowd grew.Around 10:25 p.m, Lily and Yun left a club called Runway and stepped into the street. That's when they realized how dangerous the crowding had become."There were many times where there was a wave of pushing which made people fall forwards and then backward, just like ocean waves," Lily said. <blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@yuncouple/video/7160127176195575045" data-video-id="7160127176195575045" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;"> <section> <a target="_blank" title="@yuncouple" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@yuncouple?refer=embed">@yuncouple</a> We were being crushed <a title="itaewon" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/itaewon?refer=embed">#itaewon</a> <a title="halloween2022" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/halloween2022?refer=embed">#Halloween2022</a> <a title="halloweenitaeiwon" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/halloweenitaeiwon?refer=embed">#halloweenitaeiwon</a> <a target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - 진형 and Lily" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7160127208256801541?refer=embed">♬ original sound - 진형 and Lily</a> </section> </blockquote> All the pushing came to a stop when sirens and flashing lights filled the air, Lily said."People were shouting: 'Make way, get out of the way,' so that they can take the injured people to the ambulance vans," Lily said. "It was an absolute nightmare, something you would see in a disaster movie."<div type="image" title="Police cordon off the site of the accident in Itaewon, a district of Seoul, South Korea." height="3508" width="4677" msid="95300475" hostid="261" sizebytes="600158"></div>Minutes earlier, hundreds of people had begun to fall like dominoes two streets away from her on a slope near the Hamilton Hotel. Since it was connected to a street of bars and clubs, the alley had people flowing in from three directions, G. Keith Still, a visiting professor of crowd science at the University of Suffolk in England, told Insider."The problem is that people at the bottom can't get out because of the weight of the people on top of them," Still said. "We know from previous studies that if you lose the ability to breathe, you have four to six minutes until you have major organs shutting down."Tucked away in a noisy side alley, Bajoria was unaware that a crowd collapse was happening less than 100 feet away.He wandered toward the Hamilton Hotel but was stopped by a policeman urging revelers to turn back. Some people didn't take the officer seriously, thinking he was in costume, Bajoria said.<blockquote class="pullquote">Some people didn't take the officer seriously, thinking he was in costume, Bajoria said.</blockquote>It's nearly impossible to get a full picture of what's happening in a high-density crowd when you're in the thick of it, Still said."It happens in crowds all the time. You will not know what's happening three or four meters ahead of you. People will not be aware that there is distress just a few meters in front of them," Still added."You'll not be aware of it until it's too late," he said.<h2>Failure to create a safe environment</h2>It was only when Bajoria meandered out onto the main road around 11:30 p.m. that he saw the extent of the tragedy.Dozens of bodies were splayed out on the asphalt, while party-goers and medics alike frantically administered CPR. Along the road, white and yellow sheets were draped over the bodies."That was when I lost my nerves," he said. He uploaded a <a href="https://twitter.com/saurav_bajoria/status/1586388926553788416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1586388926553788416%7Ctwgr%5Ehb_0_10%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.insider.com%2Fpost%2Fpreview%3Fpost_id%3D6364de96722a6854df5c7aa9mode%3Ddesktop">video</a> of the mass resuscitation effort that night.According to emergency call transcripts released by the police on Tuesday night, calls to the Seoul police force trickled in as early as 6:34 p.m., per Korean daily newspaper <a href="https://www.chosun.com/national/2022/11/01/KRKY4VQ4KRDV3IGFFY5DJJJAYE/">Chosun Ilbo</a>."There are a lot of people going up and down the alley, I'm very nervous," one caller said, according to a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-02/seoul-police-received-pleas-for-help-hours-before-crowd-deaths">Bloomberg</a> translation of the earliest call. "People might be crushed since they cannot come down but people keep coming up. I barely escaped. There are too many people. I think you should take control."By 10:43 p.m., emergency services had received at least 81 calls reporting the crush, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20221101-timeline-of-a-disaster-seoul-s-fatal-crowd-crush">per Agence France-Presse</a>. First responders on the scene were overwhelmed by the number of casualties. Authorities declared a "first-stage emergency response order," which they upgraded to the third stage by midnight.Lily said she didn't see any safety measures in place."There was no security looking after us. There were no officials wearing Hi-Vis jackets making sure we are okay," Lily said. "We were all alone and just trying to survive and save our own lives."After the tragedy, a <a href="https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/area/capital/1065026.html">top public safety official</a> and <a href="https://www.pressian.com/pages/articles/2022103111545938334">a police division head</a> admitted that authorities<a href="https://www.insider.com/south-korea-crowd-crush-officials-say-didnt-have-safety-plan-2022-11"> did not have a safety plan in place</a> for events without an organizer, like the Halloween celebrations.Police <a href="https://www.pressian.com/pages/articles/2022103111545938334">later said</a> there were 137 officers on site that night, but that they were deployed to handle crime and "illegal activities," not to manage crowds.Crowd-science expert Still said that managing a major crowd effectively only takes a few police officers who are well-trained and well-positioned."None of it was the cause of the crowd — this was a failure to create a safe environment," he said.Stunned by the deaths, South Korea has since entered a national period of mourning by order of President Yoon Suk-yeol. An <a href="https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20221031002800315" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">altar has been set up</a> at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall, where thousands have laid flowers for the dead.Through the chaos on the night of October 29, Lily and her fiance waited on a sidewalk for two hours for the crowd to disperse. It was impossible to get a taxi, so they wandered to a convenience store, then a late-night restaurant, before walking to the subway station to wait for the first train home at 5:30 am. Bajoria drove home immediately after he saw the bodies on the main road."I couldn't sleep that night," he said. "Just so many dead. Those scenes still play in my head, every one hour, every few hours."

Inside the Seoul Halloween tragedy that left 156 people dead: Witnesses recount the chaos of not knowing what's real — and what's a Halloween stunt

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6358378" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="amc">AMC</keyword> plans to accept <keyword id="6354947" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bitcoin">bitcoin</keyword> as payment for movie tickets at its US theatres by the end of 2021.</li><li>CEO Adam Aron said the cinema-operator is exploring other ways it can participate in <keyword id="2721952" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto">crypto</keyword>.</li><li>AMC beat Q2 analyst estimates by posting a 19% jump in revenue to $444.7 million.</li></ul><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/amc-stock">AMC Entertainment</a>, the world's largest movie-theater operator, plans to accept <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/btc-usd">bitcoin</a> as payment for movie tickets and concessions at its US locations by the end of this year, CEO Adam Aron said in an earnings call on Monday.Aron said he has had to learn more about blockchain and <keyword id="2420795" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="cryptocurrencies">cryptocurrencies</keyword> in the past six months than in the last decade, giving him the confidence to announce AMC's dive into the industry."By year-end, we will have the information technology systems in place to accept bitcoin as payment for movie tickets and concessions if purchased online at all of our US theaters," he said, according to a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fearnings%2Fcall-transcripts%2F2021%2F08%2F10%2Famc-entertainment-holdings-amc-q2-2021-earnings-ca%2F">transcript</a> of the call.He also discussed AMC exploring how else it can participate in the crypto economy as the company is eager to explore new opportunities. "We're quite intrigued by potentially lucrative business opportunity for AMC if we intelligently pursue further serious involvement with cryptocurrency," Aron added.AMC plans to share more information on its crypto-related plans when details are concrete. Several <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/more-companies-accepting-bitcoin-cryptocurrency-paypal-starbucks-2021-4">other companies</a>, including fast-food chains like Burger King and tech players like Xbox, are beginning to accept cryptocurrencies as payment.The CEO was speaking after AMC released <a href="https://mms.businesswire.com/media/20210809005776/en/897710/1/FINAL_-_2Q_Earnings_Press_Release_20210809_1440_v.pdf?download=1">second-quarter earnings</a>, which beat revenue estimates as movie-goers returned to cinemas after the uplifting of COVID-19 restrictions.Revenue for the meme-stock favorite rose 19% to $444.7 million in the quarter that ended June 30 compared with the previous year, smashing the $382.1 million estimate of analysts polled by Refinitiv.AMC said it sold 22 million tickets during the second-quarter, up from just 7 million in the first-quarter. But the company's performance is still lagging behind 2019, when it sold 97 million tickets in the second-quarter.Its shares are up more than 1,500% year-to-date since it became a favorite on Reddit's WallStreetBets, and the company has cashed in on the meme-stock frenzy by selling more shares."We are still losing money. We are still burning cash. We're burning less of it, but we're using cash, not generating cash. So we're not out of the woods yet," Aron said.AMC's stock rose 10% in pre-market trading on Tuesday to $37.33 per share as of 4:15 a.m. ET. Read More: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stocks-to-buy-5-short-squeeze-august-8-candidates-picks-fintel-2021-8">These 5 stocks offer the most short-squeeze potential for retail investors this week, according to Fintel</a>

AMC plans to accept bitcoin by end of the year - and is exploring how else it can participate in the crypto economy

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c93a061daa507002109d245-1009/the day after tomorrow 20th century fox.jpg" border="0" alt="the day after tomorrow 20th Century Fox" data-mce-source="20th Century Fox" />20th Century Fox"The Day After Tomorrow" movie exaggerates the possible effects of the Atlantic Ocean circulation coming to halt, but the movie doesn't get everything wrong.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>In the movie "The Day After Tomorrow," the Earth is thrown into an ice age after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-could-shut-down-the-current-that-carries-warm-water-2017-9">ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean grind to a halt</a>. </li><li>That ocean current system, called <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-amoc-day-after-tomorrow-2017-1">the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation</a> (AMOC), is responsible for western Europe's warm temperatures.</li><li>But recent research has found that the AMOC could, in fact, slow significantly if enough fresh water from melting ice enters the ocean current. </li><li>That weakened circulation could bring <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/polar-vortex-hitting-us-might-be-connected-to-global-warming-2019-1">more extreme weather</a> to the Northern Hemisphere and serve as a "warning sign" for an abrupt climate shift in the future. </li></ul>In the 2004 film "The Day After Tomorrow," a climatologist played by Dennis Quaid lectures world leaders about global warming. Human-driven climate change, he warns, could trigger a cataclysmic ice age. Although the concept of global warming driving <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-frozen-midwest-polar-vortex-2019-1">a cooling trend</a> seems counterintuitive, the Hollywood disaster flick didn't necessarily get that wrong.The real star of the show (sorry, Dennis Quaid) is an ocean current called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) that moves warm water from the equatorial tropics up to Europe and the north Atlantic. This influx of warmer water contributes to western Europe's mild, temperate climate. Read More: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-amoc-day-after-tomorrow-2017-1">Scientists might be seriously underestimating the risk of a major freeze in Europe</a>In the movie, that current stops, causing an almost overnight ice age in Europe and North America. Temperatures plummet to negative 150 degrees Fahrenheit, people freeze to death in the streets, helicopters fall out of the sky, and a massive tidal wave engulfs New York City.Those effects (and the speed at which they occur) were hyperbolized in the film for the sake of movie-goers, but the idea that Atlantic water circulation could shut down isn't outside the realm of possibility. In fact, such a shift has already started. According to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0007-4.epdf?author_access_token=fsib90gIobI_Agb9Y6Dv_tRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0MAQC0usmARmECubT0sv_73uaai5H7Fy0aRKV4rH49xk-nG4CZmf52MUw8oGrE-ospQrzV3yPTNbpOmvENmVJ5M7TaTsKJASsuLaOE-wy0tVw%3D%3D">a 2018 study</a>, the circulation is the <a href="https://grist.org/article/relax-the-day-after-tomorrow-isnt-going-to-happen-like-tomorrow/">weakest it's been in at least the past 1,600 years</a>."We are definitely going into a world where AMOC is getting weaker," Francesco Muschitiello, the author of a new study about the AMOC, told Business Insider.<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-09237-3">Muschitiello's research</a>, which was published earlier this month in the journal Nature Communications, suggests a potential cause-and-effect timeline of this slowing current. According to the new study's model, changes in AMOC foretell major climate fluctuations that will happen roughly 400 years in the future.The findings show that changes in the strength of water circulation in the Atlantic do really precede abrupt climate changes - sort of proverbial canary in the climate coal mine.<h2>The Atlantic's 'conveyor belt'</h2>The AMOC moves ocean water north and south in the Atlantic while also circulating it from the surface to the watery depths. Scientists have likened the system to a conveyor belt.Once the warmer water reaches the area around the UK, it cools and sinks to the bottom of the Labrador and Nordic Seas. Then that cold water makes a U-turn and snakes its way along the ocean floor all the way down to Antarctica's Southern Ocean.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c93bd35f73f5c5d1a46c1b8-1200/436189mainatlantic20100325a-full.jpg" border="0" alt="ocean currents" data-mce-source="NASA/JPL" data-mce-caption="The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation carries warm water from the tropics into the North Atlantic (in red), where the water cools and sinks before flowing back south (in blue)." data-link="https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/atlantic20100325.html" /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/atlantic20100325.html">NASA/JPL</a>The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation carries warm water from the tropics into the North Atlantic (in red), where the water cools and sinks before flowing south (in blue).</div></div></div>The strength of this conveyor belt is partially responsible for the climate in the Northern Hemisphere. When the AMOC is flowing quickly, western Europe enjoys a wet and warm climate. But if it is sluggish and weak, warm tropical waters don't get moved up, and the north Atlantic cools. The AMOC's speed depends on a delicate balance of salt and fresh water. Salty water is dense, so it sinks easily. But as Greenland's ice sheet and glaciers continue to melt, more fresh water is joining the AMOC. That <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/greenland-approaching-threshold-of-irreversible-melting-2019-1">melting is happening quickly</a>: In 2012, Greenland lost more than 400 billion tons of ice, almost quadruple the loss in 2003.Read More: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/greenland-approaching-threshold-of-irreversible-melting-2019-1">Greenland is approaching the threshold of an irreversible melt, and the consequences for coastal cities could be dire</a>The addition of that fresh water makes the salty surface water lighter and less likely to sink, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/slow-motion-ocean-atlantics-circulation-is-weakest-in-1-600-years/">clogging up the circulation's flow</a>.<h2>A change in the AMOC can trigger a climate shift 400 years later</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c93e4badaa507082621ef23-2000/greenland.jpg" border="0" alt="Greenland" style="color: #000000;" data-mce-source="Denis Burdin/Shutterstock" />Denis Burdin/ShutterstockGreenland's ice is melting four times faster now than it was 16 years ago.</div></div></div><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-09237-3">The new study</a> gives us a sense of how quickly AMOC-driven cooling occurred during climate shifts in the past - information that could serve as a model for what's ahead. To do their analysis, Muschitiello and his team looked at core samples drilled from the bottom of the Norwegian Sea, a lake in southern Scandinavia, and ice in Greenland. Their results showed that the AMOC started weakening roughly 400 years before a major cold snap 13,000 years ago. The AMOC also began getting stronger about 400 years before an abrupt warming 11,000 years ago (during which temperatures climbed by 14 degrees Fahrenheit).The authors noted that following those 400-year lags, abrupt warming or cooling took place over just a few decades or less."It's insane," Muschitiello said. "If you look at the ice cores, there are some climate indicators that suggest a 2- to 5-year shift."Muschitiello's research is the first to calculate how quickly a change in the AMOC begets a shift in global climate.But he doesn't think today's melting ice is enough to trigger the dramatic AMOC slowdown that the world saw 13,000 years ago."Nevertheless, it's really scary," he said. "You can see that the AMOC has slowed down over last couple centuries."<h2>Could the current ever completely stop?</h2>According to Muschitiello, "there are reconstructions that suggest that the AMOC stopped entirely in the past, and that these major distortions of the AMOC led to the coldest events ever recorded."But such an occurrence would require a significant amount of melt-water. The past distortions Muschitiello is referring to happened after large swarms of icebergs broke off glaciers and floated into the north Atlantic ocean. When the iceberg armadas melted, that added an excess of fresh water into the ocean, wreaking havoc on the AMOC. But this kind of influx of fresh water was several orders of magnitude higher than today's melting rates."If the Greenland ice sheet was to melt over the course of a few days, though, that would probably be bad," Muschitiello said.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c94e8e409b60314e25695f2-1781/gettyimages-463768904.jpg" border="0" alt="Ocean" data-mce-source="Getty/MKnighton/Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing" />Getty/MKnighton/Abu Dhabi Ocean RacingTogether with Antarctica's ice sheet, the Greenland ice sheet contains more than 99% of the world's fresh water.</div></div></div>Other studies over the last few years have also looked into potential effects of a weakening AMOC.<a href="https://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/bibliography/related_files/td0802.pdf">A government report</a> suggested in 2008 that while the AMOC is clearly weakening, there's no evidence that it would abruptly collapse in the 21st century. That report noted, however, that if the AMOC did stop, it would cause almost 3 feet of additional sea-level rise.A <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/1/e1601666">2017 study</a> found that if the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere instantaneously doubled from the 1990 level, the AMOC could <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-could-shut-down-the-current-that-carries-warm-water-2017-9">collapse in 300 years</a>. But it's unlikely that greenhouse-gas emissions would increase that dramatically. <h2>Higher seas and more extreme weather</h2>Even if the AMOC were to stop completely, an ice age would not spring up immediately the way it does in "The Day After Tomorrow."But the weakening that's already underway is still likely to cause changes in our global climate."We'll see more extreme weather patterns for sure," Muschitiello said. "Europe will get colder and drier in the long run. There will be surplus of heat in subtropics, which is important for hurricane formation."When subtropical waters are warmer, that contributes to more frequent and intense hurricanes in the Atlantic, since warm air holds more water vapor - and that additional moisture <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/science-and-impacts/impacts/hurricanes-and-climate-change.html">provides fuel for hurricanes</a>. A weakening in the AMOC would also cause sea levels to rise along the US' eastern seaboard, <a href="https://grist.org/article/relax-the-day-after-tomorrow-isnt-going-to-happen-like-tomorrow/">as Grist has reported</a>. And parts of central and west Africa would experience drought conditions, since those areas also benefit from the AMOC's circulation.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a99c88e487ff94c008b46e2-2000/ap18004740326106.jpg" border="0" alt="nor'easter bomb cyclone" data-mce-source="NOAA via Associated Press" data-mce-caption="This satellite image provided by NOAA shows a powerful nor'easter winter storm moving up the U.S. eastern seaboard on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018." />NOAA via Associated PressA satellite image provided by NOAA shows a powerful nor'easter winter storm moving up the US eastern seaboard on January 4, 2018.</div></div></div>Muschitiello noted that even though the "The Day After Tomorrow" shows an exaggerated scenario, there have been historical tipping points after which the climate system reacted quite swiftly."In the past, it happened really, really quick," he said. "Like, within the span of a lifetime, everything changed." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-are-perfectly-rectangular-icebergs-formed-2018-11">Here's how perfectly rectangular icebergs are formed</a></h3> <div> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/DFcOwlsd-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script> </div> </div>

The film 'The Day After Tomorrow' foretold a real and troubling trend: The ocean's water-circulation system is weakening

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5824a447dd0895e3368b46a4-800/california-can-refuse-anti-gay-ballot-initiative-judge-rules-2015-6.jpg" alt="John Lucas stands in front of a rainbow flag at the San Francisco Gay Pride Festival in California June 29, 2014. REUTERS/Noah Berger " data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="John Lucas stands in front of a rainbow flag at the San Francisco Gay Pride Festival in California">Thomson Reuters</img></div></div></div>A lot of horrible things happened in 2016 around the world. Some people are so upset that they have even wondered <a href="http://www.historytoday.com/paul-lay/2016-worst-year-history">whether or not 2016 is the worst year in history</a>.But Tumblr user <a href="http://helthehatter.tumblr.com/">helthehatter</a> is now going viral after writing a list of all the positive things that have happened in 2016. <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/krishrach/people-are-sharing-this-inspiring-list-of-good-things-that-h?utm_term=.giW19NAj6#.emV7mvexj">First spotted by BuzzFeed</a>,&#xa0;the list, titled "<a href="http://helthehatter.tumblr.com/post/152910935316/good-things-that-happened-in-2016">Good Things that happened in 2016</a>" currently has over 180,000 notes and responses.<div><div class="tumblr-post" data-href="https://embed.tumblr.com/embed/post/i8TNZ2T6p0dkZl4__UZndg/152910935316" data-did="2fc3daeb89b81a3b22ee69c0566c136d18ed6f00"><a href="http://helthehatter.tumblr.com/post/152910935316/good-things-that-happened-in-2016">http://helthehatter.tumblr.com/post/152910935316/good-things-that-happened-in-2016</a></div> <script async="" src="https://assets.tumblr.com/post.js"></script></div>Among some of the positive things 2016 brought us, helthehatter mentions everything from <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/21/us/women-currency-treasury-harriet-tubman.html?_r=0">Harriet Tubman replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill</a>&#xa0;and <a href="http://kxan.com/2016/10/11/ut-students-behind-breakthrough-to-minimize-side-effects-of-chemo/">new breakthroughs in chemotherapy</a> to amazing entertainment masterpieces, including "<a href="http://www.thisisinsider.com/horrifying-zootopia-deleted-scene-2016-6">Zootopia</a>" and the "<a href="http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/6897201/hamilton-mixtape-chance-the-rapper-queen-latifah-busta-rhymes">Hamilton Mixtape</a>."The post borrows points from <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/4usimr/what_good_things_happened_in_2016_so_far/">a similar Reddit thread</a>, BuzzFeed points out, but also adds a few other positive things that have happened this year and added people should "#NeverForgetTheGood."Of course, because this is the internet, not everything on this list is 100% accurate. It's also worth noting that pointing out all the good things that happened this year does not take away from how horrible the bad things were, or vice versa.But the post is&#xa0;a reminder&#xa0;to think positively, even in an admittedly garbage year like 2016.&#xa0;And it's resonating with many people, who&#xa0;are even sharing their own positive takes on 2016 in the comments and thanking helthehatter for the post.And as for user helthehatter, they told BuzzFeed that they are "overwhelmed" with the reaction.<a href="http://helthehatter.tumblr.com/post/152910935316/good-things-that-happened-in-2016">You can view the original Tumblr post here</a>, or read the copy and pasted version below:<h3 style="padding-left: 30px;">Good Things that Happened in 2016</h3><div style="padding-left: 30px;">·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; New chemotherapy breakthroughs have increased the 5-year survival for pancreatic cancer from 16% to 27% (and is getting better)·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Scientists figured out how to link robotic limbs with the part of the brain that deals with intent to move so people don't have to think about how they will move the limb, it can just happen.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Child mortality is down everywhere and it keeps going down.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Thanks to the ice bucket challenge the gene responsible for ALS has been found, meaning we are closer to an effective treatment. Let me rephrase that: we are close to getting a treatment for a very bad disease because a lot of people (including really hot celebrities) got wet.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; A solar powered plan circumnavigated the world.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Michael Jordan donates 2mil to try and help bridge connection between police and the community.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Tiger numbers are growing.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; And manatees.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; And pandas.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Pakistan has made strides toward outlawing honor killings.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; 70,000 Muslim clerics declared a fatwa against ISIS.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Pokemon Go players went insane with placing lure modules near hospitals for sick kids.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; California is now powering over 6 million homes with solar power, a record in the US (and that is the tightest shit)·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Volunteers in India planted 50 million trees in 24 hours.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Apparently world crime as a whole has drastically declined as a whole in the last couple of decades.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Coffee consumption has been proved to help curtail cancer and suicide rates.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Speaking of coffee Starbucks figured out how to donate perishable food in a food safe way.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; 500 elephants were relocated to a better, safer and bigger home.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; We made massive strides in Alzheimers' prevention (my grandmother literally told me that scares her more than getting cancer this is very good news)·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; The ozone layer is repairing itself and all the work we did to get rid of those aerosol chemicals was actually worth it.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; A new therapy developed in Israel could cure radiation sickness.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; The Anglican church resolved to solemnize same-sex unions the same as opposite-sex unions which required a super majority of all three orders of the church (lay, clergy, bishop).·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; The Rabbinical Assembly issued a resolution affirming the rights of transgender and non-conforming individuals.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Precision treatments for cancer are hitting clinical trials and WORKING (as someone who's had relatives with cancer this is the best news)·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Dentists are once again providing free care to veterans who need it.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; The Orlando Shakespeare Festival showed up with angel wings to block funeral-goers for the Orlando Pulse victims, view from anti-gay protesters·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; We may have cured MS·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Rise Women's Legal Centre opened·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Death by heart disease has decreased by 70% in the United States·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Two brothers saw color for the first time thanks to specially-designed glasses·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Pope Francis spoke against society's obsession with physical beauty while dedicating Mass to the disabled community (love that dude)·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Portugal ran its entire nation solely on renewable energy for four days straight·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; A retiree is launching a project to transport 80 endangered rhinos to an Australian reservation to save the animals from poaching·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; An Afghan teacher has been delivering books via bicycle to villages that lack schools·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Harriet Tubman is going to replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; 200 strangers attended the funeral of a homeless WW2 veteran with no family·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; A teen battling cancer married his sweetheart·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Bank firm pays for college tuition for the children of employees who died in the 9/11 attacks·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; New medicine has been shown to increase melanoma survival rate to 40%·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Over 800 Boko Harem Hostages were rescued by Nigerian Army·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Toys R Us is Offering Quiet Shopping Hour for kids with autism this holiday season·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Volunteers made special tiny Halloween costumes for NICU babies·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; A 4-year old befriends a lonely man and helped him heal after losing his wife·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Families grew·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; People survived cancer·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; People overcame depression·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Any kind of victory, even if it affects only one person, &#xa0;is a victory·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Now for the pop culture good news·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; LEONARDO DICAPRIO WON AN OSCAR! EVERYONE READING THIS LIVED LONG ENOUGH TO SEE LEO FINALLY GET WHAT HE DESERVED·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; There's a new Harry Potter book·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; And a movie·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Harry Potter has no plans on vanishing with time·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; This sweet father gave candy to passengers on a flight so his little girl could trick or treat on Halloween·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; LET ME TALK ABOUT ALL THE KICK ASS MOVIES WE GOT THIS YEAR OH MY GOD·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Kung Fu Panda 3, this franchise is still going strong despite that its about a panda played by Jack Black·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Jungle Book. The amazing remake none of us saw coming·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Finding Dory. I haven't seen it yet but I've heard good things·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Kubo and the Two Strings. Haven't seen that yet as well but its Laika so I know it's a masterpiece·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Deadpool. The beautiful and super accurate R-rated marvel film·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Captain America: Civil War. Seriously is the best marvel movie yet in my opinion I need more.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Zootopia. Oh don't mind me I'm just a movie that tackled the issue of racism and not only game changed animated films but also made a billion dollars·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; The Hamilton Mixtape is coming out. Which is a bunch of artists singing songs from the musical (Sia, Usher, Regina Spketor, etc.) I'm excited.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; A personal victory for myself, I joined Tumblr and met angels in blog form so…that's uplifting.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; And I met my favorite voice actor at a con which was a bucket list accomplishment.Good Things that have yet to happen this year·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Birthdays·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Thanksgiving·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Black Friday·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Moana·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; ChristmasGood things that have nothing to do with the year but will hopefully make you feel better·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Puppies·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Chocolate·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Rainbows·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Rain (I like listening to rain it's one of the most calming sounds)·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Cartoons·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Kissing·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Music·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Friends·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; FF: If you are a religious person you are an imperfect masterpiece·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; FF: If you are not then you are a splendid coincidence·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; Any year spent with loved ones be they family or friends is a good year. Trust me.·&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; "A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have" -Roger Rabbit#NeverForgetTheGood</div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/disney-will-make-your-cake-dance-2016-10">Disney makes a wedding cake with dancing projections</a></h3> <div> <div> <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="FtdzMwNzE6WzwThsgpqoFiSRWLFXpcWS" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> <script> if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; } RunFunctions.push(function() { var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'FtdzMwNzE6WzwThsgpqoFiSRWLFXpcWS',{ autoplay: 'false' }); }); </script> <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div> </div> <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script> </div>

This giant list of all the good things that happened this year will warm your insides

13. Gangs? At Disneyland?

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/545a717069bedd4f478b457c-1200-924/oculus-rift-ceo-brendan-iribe-palmer-luckey-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Oculus Rift CEO Brendan Iribe Palmer Luckey"><a href="http://www.reiniciado.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/40196cf691dca7ec0b90babd3cd2d621.jpg">reiniciado.com</a></img></div></div></div>"That was mindblowing."
Robin Wauters stumbled out of a small room at Dublin's Web Summit. He had just experienced Oculus' latest virtual reality prototype, Crescent Bay. Wauters, a former TechCrunch reporter, had tried on Oculus years ago. This version, he said, yielded a crisper image and a more convincing virtual world. 
A long-time Oculus employee, Joe Chen, told Wauters his reaction was common. He joked that there needed to be a second "decompression" room, where people could sit and reel after they wore the device. 
Oculus Crescent Bay isn't available for purchase yet. It's made of 3D printed parts that are currently impossible to mass produce, which means building one is extremely expensive. When asked how expensive, Chen declined to say.
Robert Scoble, a tech influencer who's known for his gadget reviews, was sitting beside me when Wauters emerged. In true Scoble fashion, a pair of new, $300 headphones were wrapped around his neck. I tried them on - they felt like subwoofers strapped to my ears; each beat gently shook my head.
"Do you think Oculus is the future of computing, like Mark Zuckerberg does?" I asked him.
It could be, Scoble thought. He believed it could become a big gaming platform that could also change the way movies are shot and directed. Right now, movies are made for watching, not participating, Scoble explained. Oculus turns every onlooker into a fully-immersed character. 
Scoble also thought Oculus could be a strong platform for education and tutorials. Imagine needing to fix your car, putting on Oculus, and visiting a virtual mechanic who shows you how to repair a virtual model. It'd be like diving into a YouTube video and feeling so absorbed in the experience you could reach out, touch it and interact with it.
But could Oculus, a clunky headset that Velcros to your head like a bike helmet, really be better than big-screen TVs and surround-sound movies? Or were Scoble and Wauters geeking out? Scoble was once so obsessed with Google Glass, he wore it in the shower. 
I needed to try it. I signed up on a long wait list to get a 15 minute demo of Crescent Bay. Soon, Chen waved me in.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/545a6ab86bb3f7a8688b456f-3264-2448/img_3514-3.jpg" border="0" alt="oculus">Business Insider</img></div></div></div>He led me behind a hidden wall marked by Oculus' logo. Inside, there was a a dimly lit room with a large tripod and a mounted TV. A squishy, 4x4 mat laid in the room's center. Chen ushered me onto it and told me not to step outside its boundaries.
"We don't want you accidentally walking into the wall during the demo," he said. He was serious.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/545a6acaeab8eaa6468b4569-1200-924/img_3506-4.jpg" border="0" alt="oculus">Business InsiderThis screen on the TV became 3D and surrounded my whole line of vision the second I put on the goggles.</img></div></div></div>
As he strapped the device to my head, I felt nervous. One Web Summit goer said he had felt vertigo during the demo because he almost walked off a virtual cliff. This person said he had to flap his arms backwards to regain balance.
Chen assured me I'd be fine. He tightened one more strap, and my eyes were cloaked in total darkness.
Well, almost total darkness.
When I looked down at my nose, I could see a small glow of the outside world I'd left behind. My nose is small, and Oculus is built for "all types of noggins," Chen said.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/545a6e7beab8ead5588b4567-1200-924/oculus-31.jpg" border="0" alt="oculus">Business Insider</img></div></div></div>
Soon, rows of small, silver globes filled my line of vision. I spun around and found the circles surrounded me on all sides, up and down, left and right. The word "Oculus" appeared in front of me. The simulation was about to begin.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/545aa44feab8ea0a36f999a6-1200-924/oculus-33.jpg" border="0" alt="oculus">Business Insider</img></div></div></div>Suddenly, I was standing in an empty submarine. It looked pretty real, like a movie with such strong visual effects, you almost forget a computer made them. 
Instead of a squishy mat, I was now standing on metal. To my left there were levers and buttons. A chain dangled in front of me. I stretched out my hand to grab it, but no arm appeared in my line of vision. I was a floating, armless thing that could sense the Oculus-created world, but not interact with it. Chen began narrating the scene for me, letting me know what to expect. I was wearing headphones but his voice over-powered the sound effects and acted like a voice of God.
Soon, the room changed and Oculus brought me face to face with a small Tyrannosaurus Rex. Through my headphones, I could hear the dinosaur growling. It seemed ready to pounce.
After my encounter with a dinosaur, Oculus introduced me to cuter, cartoon animals (a fox, a bear and a rabbit) which surrounded a campfire. Square-shaped smoke emerging from the flames. A tall tree stood against my back. 
Another scene put me on a moon-like planet where I encountered an alien. The alien spoke gibberish to me and waved. His eyes followed me as a moved left, right and squatted down. Chen said this world took a 5-person team just one or two months to create.
Oculus whisked me off to another room and I found myself staring in a mirror. Instead of my face, there was a floating white mask that mimicked every nod and turn of my actual head. Behind me a table was set for tea. Again I wanted to reach out and grab a glass, but no hand appeared. Chen says the Oculus team is working on a solution to the armlessness.
Oculus felt most real when I was transported to a high platform in the middle of a city. To my left and right were handrails, but of course I was unable to grab them. I inched forward and peered over the virtual ledge. If I went to far, it seemed I'd plummet to my death. My legs became shaky and my heart rate quickened.
"What happens if I fall?" I asked Chen. He joked that world would open up and swallow me.
I didn't have the guts to move forward and find out.
I zipped to another world where a large T-rex was waiting. Chen told me it was the other T-Rex's mom. The beast ran toward me and then trampled me. While beneath it I looked up and saw its tail whiz by. The final scene was created by animation company Unreal, and I felt like I was in a Michael Bay film.
I was in the middle of a slow-motion street riot, where bullets shot past my face. Bazookas exploded into a nearby wall and debris came flying from the right. A car to my left blew up and twirled in the air above me. I could see a passenger still inside, and I watched the car land and explode in the distance. I could no longer hear Chen's narration; the explosions were too loud.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/545a86d569beddd7268b456e-760-360/3085547654.jpg" border="0" alt="oculus demo">Oculus</img></div></div></div> 
When the final scene ended, Chen helped me take off Crescent Bay. I tried to make sense of what I'd just experienced. I came out and found Scoble still testing out the headphones.
"I have no words," I told him. 
I'm not sure if Oculus will be the next big computing platform, like Mark Zuckerberg believes it will be. All I know is I experienced something that felt very cool, and it's not an experience that words or pictures can replicate. 
Chen joined Oculus two years ago as one of its first employees. He was recruited by its founder, Palmer Luckey, who was then 19. Then, Oculus was barely functioning; Chen says the product was held together with duct tape and paper. 
"Oculus isn't an emerging computing platform yet," Chen said. It's too early. We're not even in the baking period. We're still in the phase of gathering all the ingredients so we can bake something."

I Tried The $2 Billion Contraption That Facebook Is Betting Its Future On - It's Indescribable

<div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/525e231569bedd1e14d61f55-1200-600/nycc-comic-con-cosplay-speed-dating-4.jpg?maxX=800" border="0" alt="nycc comic con cosplay speed dating" width="800" />Business Insider/Melia RobinsonMarceline the Vampire Queen, of "Adventure Time," and Hal Jordan, Green Lantern's alias, find common ground at <keyword id="1899024" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="New-York-Comic-Con">New York Comic Con</keyword>'s Sci-Fi Speed <keyword id="6367193" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Dating">Dating</keyword>.</div></div>With sweaty palms and hearts racing, fanboys and fangirls stood in hour-long lines for autograph signings and panels at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/new-york-comic-con-2013" target="_blank">New York Comic Con</a>, gripped by the chance to meet their favorite actors, comic book authors, and androids.
Others came to the annual convention to fulfill a different fantasy: meeting the geek of their dreams.
In a basement room of the Javits Center, where <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/new-york-comic-con-2013" target="_blank">NYCC</a> was held Oct. 10 - 13, a banner depicted two stick figures holding hands - one dressed as a knight, the other wearing antennae. They're sandwiched between the words <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SciFiSpeedDating" target="_blank">"Sci-Fi Speed Dating"</a> and "Let Your Geek Flag Fly." It sounded promising for the 82 singletons mingling inside.
A costumed Jedi Master standing at the front echoed into the mic, "Three, two, one, aaaand switch."
John Kelleher, a 33-year-old from the Bronx, was there on a whim. He volunteered to go with a friend as "karma payback." His outfit - rectangular glasses, a black button-down shirt, and a pinstripe vest - wasn't a costume, although it was unsafe to assume that in a room filled with Captain America, Snow White, Dr. Who, Poison Ivy, and more obscure, casually dressed heroes and villains. Many Comic Con attendees dress like their favorite comic book, video game, anime, sci-fi, movies, and TV characters to celebrate their fandom - a ritual called <keyword id="1609400" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cosplay">cosplay</keyword>. (<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-cosplay-2013-10" target="_blank">Click here for further explanation.</a>)
<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_left"><div class="image"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/525e21076bb3f7bb76d61f75-1200-900/nycc-comic-con-cosplay-speed-dating-3.jpg" border="0" alt="nycc comic con cosplay speed dating" width="480" style="float: left;" />Business Insider/Melia RobinsonJohn Kelleher, left, chats up a young woman dressed as TARDIS, Doctor Who's time machine and spacecraft.</div></div>An attractive young woman with a wide smile and brown hair cut above the neckline took a seat in front of Kelleher. Her dress's burgundy color, pin over her heart, and black collar suggested that she belonged to the Starfleet Corps of Engineers, of the "Star Trek" universe. Kelleher, who works as an IT engineer at a power plant company, immediately recognized this and saw an opportunity for some flirtatious banter.
"My personal philosophy is those who can make something out of nothing are always rich," Kelleher later told Business Insider. "So I mentioned that she was 'too cute to be expendable'" - the inside joke being that most red shirts on "Star Trek" wind up dead. He joked that they should visit a power plant on their first date.
Part-time Jedi Master, part-time matchmaker Ryan Glitch <a href="http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/Whats-Happening/Events-R-Z/" target="_blank">hosted eight Sci-Fi Speed Dating sessions</a> (two of which were LGBT-only events) at <keyword id="1899022" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="NYCC">NYCC</keyword>. Glitch founded the company four years ago after attending a similar, but poorly run speed dating event. He now travels across the country to comic book and sci-fi conventions to help fans find love.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/525e1f7369bedd580cd61f61-1200-900/nycc-comic-con-cosplay-speed-dating.jpg" border="0" alt="nycc comic con cosplay speed dating" width="480" style="float: right;" />Business Insider/Melia RobinsonRyan Glitch created Sci-Fi Speed Dating four years ago, inspired by his own dating experience.</div></div>Here's how it works. Participants wear numbered badges and carry index cards so they can jot down the IDs of the partners they click with. You chat with someone for three minutes before moving to the next costumed, self-proclaimed geek in the queue. At the end of the session, you write your contact information and an identifier (i.e. "Dressed as Snow White," or, "Bonded over love of 'Star Wars'") on the sheets labeled with the numbers of the <keyword id="6360040" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="people">people</keyword> with whom you'd like to continue the conversation.
These chance encounters get results. Sci-Fi Speed Dating has spawned five marriages, two babies, 19 engagements, and more than 100 couples dating seriously, according to Glitch. He's received invitations to all the weddings and keeps tabs on the success stories via his personal Facebook account.
Glitch's company has a few competitors, including <a href="http://nyc.nerdnite.com/" target="_blank">Nerd Nite NYC</a>, but Sci-Fi Speed Dating's appearance on the 2011 two-part special <a href="http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/geek-love" target="_blank">"Geek Love" on TLC</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL99PCYdTX-vcCIJx4McZceyvt0I1WScfO" target="_blank">spinoff YouTube series</a> launched it as the go-to speed dating service for conventions nationwide.
Glitch credited his success to the unique clientele. The typical Comic Con-goer tends to be a little quirky and maybe a little accustomed to being an outcast. Here, they break out of their shells and find they're not alone, even in a room of single people.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_left"><div class="image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/525e1fd56bb3f73e72d61f59-1200-900/nycc-comic-con-cosplay-speed-dating-2.jpg" border="0" alt="nycc comic con cosplay speed dating" width="480" />Business Insider/Melia RobinsonEighty-two singletons participated in Sci-Fi Speed Dating, representing an array of interests in geek culture.</div></div>
"This works because this community doesn't judge," he explained. "In 'real' speed dating, you can be stuck in a room with 50 people who just don't give a s---. In this speed dating, everyone's like, 'Hey, you're a fan! Wahoo!'"
Many participants noted that it was easy to find people who shared their interests, and the relaxed atmosphere took the pressure off making a strong first impression.
Kelleher added that the costumes are often revealing of partners' personalities.
"People are more than just the characters they dress up as," he said. "You get to see who they are on the inside."
Kelleher was disappointed time ran out before he could speak to all the women, and that the Starfleet engineer gave her digits to his friend instead.
"But I got eight numbers," Kelleher said, waving his sheet in his hands. He smiled. "I guess that's not too bad."

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