What were you doing on May 10, 1996? Some of you weren’t even born yet, while others may not remember your day-to-day activities 28 years ago. I recall exactly what I was doing that one hot summer day in Texas: sitting in a packed air-conditioned theater watching a much-hyped movie with quarreling lovers, digital storms, and one famous flying cow.
Twister was the year’s must-see event, a movie that didn’t have much of a story but made up for it with its still-impressive visual effects. Jan de Bont’s weather thriller left an impression on the audiences that saw it, and nearly 30 years later, we’re finally getting a follow-up (not a sequel!) in the form of Twisters, which is directed by Minari filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung and starring Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Anthony Ramos. That movie is sure to be one of the season’s biggest hits, and fans old and new are sure to be looking to own a copy of the original.
Fortunately, they won’t have to pay too much for it as a new 4K edition of Twister is out now to capitalize on the hype for Twisters. The Warner Bros. film can now be seen in all of its high-definition glory from the comfort of your own home. For those who care about the lowest price possible, stick with 4K UHD version, which is $24.96, 27% off the list price of $33.99.
For collector enthusiasts and/or rich people, I’d recommend the 4K Ultra Steelbook + Digital version, which gives you the movie in the best physical and digital formats possible, and protects the disc in a nifty steelbook case that has a cool graphic design.
Yes. It’s no classic, but it’s fun summer movie that’s as breezy and ephemeral as a twister itself. The movie understands that the VFX is the main attraction, and doesn’t dwell too much on the melodrama surrounding its two lead characters, who are estranged but still love each other.
The cast is great too, with Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton as the likable leads, and a stellar supporting cast that includes Cary Elwes, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jamie Gertz, a pre-Succession Alan Ruck, Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp, Lois Smith, Lost actor Jeremy Davies, and future Tár director Todd Field. Twister isn’t great cinema, but it’s efficient popcorn entertainment in all its mid ’90s glory.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.