Month: July 2019

Our favorite ragtag survivors of the zombie apocalypse must battle newly evolved versions of the undead in Zombieland 2: Double Tap, a sequel to 2009's surprise hit black comedy Zombieland.

In the first Zombieland, a particularly virulent form of human adapted mad cow disease sweeps across the United States, transforming most of the nation’s populace into ravenous zombies. The film follows a ragtag group of unlikely survivors—Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), and orphaned sisters Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin)—on a road trip in hopes of finding someplace yet untouched by the disease, ending with a pitched battle against zombie hordes in an abandoned amusement park. Audiences (myself included) loved the mix of horror and dark screwball comedy. In fact, Zombieland beat out the Dawn of the Dead remake as the top-grossing zombie film to date.

While the original cast expressed enthusiasm for a sequel in the wake of Zombieland's success, their enthusiasm waned as the project languished for several years. Along the way, the four main cast members were each nominated for Academy Awards, and Emma Stone actually won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in La La Land (2016). So it's surprising and a bit gratifying that each of them retained sufficient fondness for their Zombieland experience to return for the sequel when it went into production. It's not like any of them really needed the work. "I think they are making this movie because they love these characters," Columbia Pictures President Stanford Panitch said in a June 2018 statement to Hollywood Reporter.

Enlarge / From left to right: the iPhone 8, the iPhone XS, the iPhone XR, and the iPhone XS Max. (credit: Samuel Axon)

Apple today announced that it will acquire the majority of Intel's smartphone modem business for $1 billion. The acquisition will bring 2,200 Intel employees under Apple's umbrella, along with various intellectual properties, leases, and equipment. After the move is complete, Apple will hold more than 17,000 wireless technology patents, and Intel will still be able to develop modems for PCs, vehicles, IoT devices, and other products that aren't smartphones.

The confirmation of the sale comes after a series of on-again-off-again reports and rumors about the deal going back several months. However, a Wall Street Journal report earlier this week made it appear all-but-certain that the finalization of the deal was right around the corner.

Intel built its wireless modem arm out of an acquisition of Infineon's wireless business almost a decade ago. The company aimed to compete directly with industry leader Qualcomm, which today dominates modems in smartphones and many other devices. However, Intel never managed to overcome its rival in the smartphone space. Apple has historically used Qualcomm modems in the iPhone, but it has lately suffered a painful and litigious relationship with Qualcomm.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson)

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is making the leap to the small screen. Hulu is developing a new TV series adaptation of the popular science fiction series penned by Douglas Adams.

So far, the production team includes Carlton Cuse as showrunner and Jason Fuchs as feature writer. Cuse’s television credits include Lost, Bates Motel, The Strain, and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, while Fuchs did story work on Wonder Woman and provided the screenplay for Ice Age: Continental Drift.

For those few who might be unfamiliar with this classic of geekdom, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy tells the tale of Earth’s destruction so that aliens can build a space highway. It centers on a Brit named Arthur Dent and his best friend Ford Prefect, who is writing the travel guide of the title.

Enlarge / Curaleaf products. (credit: Curaleaf)

One CBD company sure has been busy.

The company Curaleaf claims that it has developed products that can treat a slew of the most formidable conditions found in humans, including cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, depression, opioid withdrawal, chronic pain, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It also has products said to treat anxiety, pain, and diabetes in cats and dogs. (The product comes in bacon and salmon flavors.) And just one ingredient in all of its products is responsible for these remarkable medical breakthroughs: the cannabis-derived compound cannabidiol (CBD).

Sadly, those claims are not backed by evidence.