© Tassanee Vejpongsa / AP
Bowflex isn't the only option when it comes to adjustable dumbbell sets. PowerBlock is another trusted brand at a much lower price point. For a limited time, Woot is offering a pair of PowerBlock EXP Stage 1 Adjustable Dumbbells (5-50lbs) for just $239.99, or 50% cheaper than the Bowflex SelectTech 552. There's a $5 shipping fee, which is reasonable when you consider the fact that the package is going to weigh over 100 pounds. Amazon Prime members get free shipping.
For those who need more than 50 pounds of weight per dumbbell, Woot is also selling PowerBlock expansion kits (50-70 pounds and 70-90 pounds) for just $119.99 each. The Bowflex SelectTech 552, on the other hand, is not expandable and you would have to pay $800 for the upgraded 1090 model.
Each dumbbell in the PowerBlock EXP Stage 1 starter set is adjustable from 5 pounds all the way to 50 pounds. You can adjust the weight in 2.5 to 5-pound increments with just a turn of a dial, and the plates are all neatly contained and take up significantly less floor space than an entire rack of individual dumbbells.
One great feature of these PowerBlocks is that once you're ready to move beyond 50 pounds, you don't have to go out and buy an entirely new set of adjustable dumbbells. The expansion kits allow you to seamlessly add even more weight to your existing PowerBlocks - all the way up to 90 pounds - at a very reasonable cost.
The quality of these PowerBlock dumbbells are great. I've tried them myself and they are every bit as solid and well built as the Bowflex SelectTech. Just about every piece that matters - like the plates and frame - is made out of metal. The handles are rubber coated so your grip won't slip, and the weight adjustment dial is smooth and intuitive. PowerBlock backs these dumbbells with a five-year warranty.
Free weights are a great choice for anyone who wants to work out at home but is limited on space. A pair of dumbbells is all the equipment you need to get access to a wide range of exercises that can target just about every muscle in your upper and lower body. Supplement your free weight exercises with cardio and other workouts that use your own body weight as resistance (like pushups, burpees, or squats) and you may never need to purchase more equipment.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Kathleen Kennedy may officially be stepping down as President of Lucasfilm, but has given one parting gift to Star Wars fans eager to see the cancelled The Hunt for Ben Solo movie: Hope.
When asked in an interview with Deadline about the progress on films currently in development in the Star Wars universe, Kennedy confirms that the script for the standalone Ben Solo film was very promising, despite it seemingly no longer being in active production.
“And as you have read, Steve Soderbergh and Adam Driver turned in a script written by Scott Burns”, says Kennedy. “It was just great. Anything’s a possibility if somebody’s willing to take a risk”.
That risk may well now be in the hands of the incoming leadership at Lucasfilm. Replacing Kennedy will be Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan. Filoni will be the creative lead as Lucasfilm’s President and Chief Creative Officer, while Brennan will be Co-President of Lucasfilm. Both have long histories with Star Wars, so it will be exciting to see how they see the future for the almost 50-year-old series.
The revelation that a Ben Solo movie starring Adam Driver was once in production first took place in October 2025, when the Kylo Ren actor stated that the project had been in the works for over two years. Ocean’s Eleven and Magic Mike director Steven Soderbergh, who would be helming the film, then stated that he had handed in a version of the plot to Kathleen Kennedy, but was then told that it was the only completed script to date that Disney has turned down for a Lucasfilm project.
Ever since the movie’s death has come to light, superfans of the Star Wars sequels have come out in full force, desperate to see the story of Han and Leia’s son come to life, even going as far as to fly “Save The Hunt for Ben Solo” banners over Walt Disney Studios in California.
Soderbergh’s movie is not the only script to have been submitted to Lucasfilm of late, though, with Kennedy going on to confirm that many other Star Wars projects are on hold. “I’ve got to tread a bit carefully here”, the former Lucasfilm President prefaces. “Jim Mangold and Beau Willimon wrote an incredible script, but it is definitely breaking the mold and it’s on hold. Taika has turned in a script that I think is hilarious and great. It’s not just my decision, especially when I’ve got a foot out the door. Donald Glover has turned in a script.”
“Everything I just reeled off to you is taking a bit of a chance because none of those filmmakers are just walking in trying to do same old, same old”, she continues. “I’m excited by that, but the studio’s nervous about that, and that’s kind of where it sits at the moment.”
The waiting game looks set to continue as Lucasfilm, and in turn, Star Wars, enters a new era. Which dormant Star Wars project would you want to watch the most? Let us know in the comments!
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.
© PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP
The Rip debuts on Netflix on January 16.
Netflix’s The Rip is a deceptively good film, but its compelling premise about cartel stash houses and corrupt law enforcement is nearly undone by an impractical script. And in terms of action, the mostly by-the-numbers approach to gunfights doesn't win it any favors. That said, solid performances from the cast, especially that of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and a last-minute twist save The Rip from mediocrity.
The Rip starts well enough. Hours after the violent death of their captain, Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Matt Damon) and Detective Sergeant JD Byrne (Ben Affleck) are grilled regarding their potential involvement in the incident. Questions about their whereabouts during the crime, personal relationship with the deceased, and notions of stolen drug money are met with aggressive body language and hesitant responses. Subtle shifts in lighting color the interrogations, where a darker room hints at someone being dishonest. Essentially, director Joe Carnahan (Narc, Smokin' Aces, The Grey) does a great job of sowing seeds of doubt early on.
The Rip’s uneasy vibe slowly develops over time. As new information is revealed, it becomes increasingly difficult to pin down who might’ve done what and why. The tension truly ramps up, however, after an “anonymous” tip comes in about a stash house holding a sizable amount of cash. When Dane and his fellow detectives head over to investigate, they end up finding more than they bargained for. The result: a nerve-wracking yet entertaining stand-off between the cops, a drug cartel, and everyone in between.
What makes The Rip work as an action thriller, at least initially, is the interactions between these morally ambiguous characters. The idea that longtime friends/co-workers could be swayed to murder one another over large sums of money is compelling. And that’s before witnessing any secret text messages or ominous phone calls threatening violence. Unfortunately, the film’s uneven script often betrays the tension-filled premise. While there are a few good verbal exchanges, some of the dialogue fails to convey the seriousness of the situation. When a person is confronted over their questionable actions and their response is basically a shrug, it makes it seem like they don't care about the potential consequences. Worst of all are the film's transparent attempts at misdirection which only wind up leading to an outcome we've been expecting all along. Of course this guy who seems absurdly guilty isn't the real villain.
That’s not to say that The Rip’s ending is predictable. Key moments still play out in interesting ways, despite how inevitable they may feel. The issue is in how unrealistic some of its characters can be. When a seemingly pragmatic person says something unreasonable, damning even, it’s hard not to see their incriminating banter as anything other than a red herring. This sort of thing sucks all of the tension out of the film as the real culprits become readily apparent; at that point, all of the suspense that has been built up completely vanishes. And so The Rip begins to lose some of its spark. This feeling doesn't change when the bullets start flying either; even if the shootouts were exciting, they don’t last long enough to be impactful.
Thankfully, The Rip is saved by its talented cast and exciting final moments. Steven Yeun is convincing as the apprehensive and seemingly straight-laced Detective Mike Ro. The same can be said of Catalina Moreno and Teyana Taylor, who play Detectives Lolo Salazar and Numa Baptiste respectively. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are the standouts though. Damon’s calm yet commanding demeanor reflects Lieutenant Dumars’ desire to safeguard his team while Affleck’s Byrne is more aggressive by nature. Eager to figure out what side of the law everyone stands on, he’s less likely to mince words – as evidenced by Affleck’s sharp line delivery.
Damon and Affleck are great whenever they're on screen. But they excel when playing opposite one another. Their clashing personalities keep things interesting whether they’re fighting or sharing a heartfelt moment. This is true even to the point of making The Rip’s last-minute twist, which does a good job of addressing the film’s ongoing mystery, feel exhilarating. Being so thoroughly invested in Dumars and Byrne’s plight, I was on the edge of my seat by the time the smoke actually cleared.
After months of rumors, Kathleen Kennedy is officially stepping down as the President of Lucasfilm after 14 years and will be replaced by Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan, Walt Disney Studios announced Thursday. Filoni will be the creative lead as Lucasfilm’s President and Chief Creative Officer, Lucasfilm, while Brennan will be Co-President, Lucasfilm. Both execs are longtime Lucasfilm veterans. Lucasfilm’s new leadership split seems reminiscent of how DC Studios is co-led by James Gunn overseeing creative decisions and Peter Safran in charge of the studio’s business side.
“When George Lucas asked me to take over Lucasfilm upon his retirement, I couldn’t have imagined what lay ahead,” said Kennedy in a statement. “It has been a true privilege to spend more than a decade working alongside the extraordinary talent at Lucasfilm. Their creativity and dedication have been an inspiration, and I’m deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished together. I’m excited to continue developing films and television with both longtime collaborators and fresh voices who represent the future of storytelling.”
“My love of storytelling was shaped by the films of Kathleen Kennedy and George Lucas,” said Filoni. “I never dreamed I would be privileged to learn the craft of filmmaking from both of them. From Rey to Grogu, Kathy has overseen the greatest expansion in Star Wars storytelling onscreen that we have ever seen. I am incredibly grateful to Kathy, George, Bob Iger, and Alan Bergman for their trust and the opportunity to lead Lucasfilm in this new role, doing a job I truly love. May the Force be with you.”
“Lucasfilm has played such a meaningful part in my life,” said Brennan. “It’s a community of inspiring storytellers with a rebel spirit like no other, and I am honored to join Dave Filoni in leading us forward. I have been so fortunate to learn from George Lucas, Kathy Kennedy, and Alan Bergman and have unwavering faith in Dave’s creative vision for the next chapter in this storied studio’s legacy.”
Kennedy will transition back into producing. She’s currently producing the movies The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter. She co-founded Amblin Entertainment with Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall.
In a statement, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger praised Kennedy for her “leadership, her vision, and her stewardship of such an iconic studio and brand.”
“When we acquired Lucasfilm more than a decade ago, we knew we were bringing into the Disney family not only one of the most beloved and enduring storytelling universes ever created, but also a team of extraordinary talent led by a visionary filmmaker – someone who had been handpicked by George Lucas himself, no less,” said Iger. “We’re deeply grateful for Kathleen Kennedy’s leadership, her vision, and her stewardship of such an iconic studio and brand.”
“Kathleen Kennedy has been a tremendous force in the industry for 50 years, and it’s been our privilege to have her here at Disney leading Lucasfilm for nearly 14 of them,” said Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman. “She has steered Star Wars to incredible box office heights and brought a new generation of fans into the fold. We appreciate having her on board to produce our next couple of films, and the studio remains in extraordinarily capable hands with Dave Filoni, who’s a brilliant storyteller, and Lynwen Brennan, an avid innovator and business leader. They are deeply passionate and experienced executives who will continue to drive the studio and Star Wars forward in exciting new directions.”
This May’s The Mandalorian and Grogu will be Lucasfilm’s first theatrical film release since 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, with the studio spending those intervening years developing streaming series of varying quality for Disney+.
Kennedy’s tenure as head of Lucasfilm has not been without its fair share of behind-the-scenes drama – all those director drop-outs, including Phil Lord and Chris Miller getting fired from Solo – and vocal displeasure from segments of fandom, particularly over the handling of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and some of the franchise’s Disney+ series.
In the past, Kennedy criticized fan scrutiny of Star Wars projects in development as “troubling and frustrating” and said that women in front of and behind the camera in Star Wars projects struggle with toxicity due to a “male dominated fanbase.”
Most recently, fan campaigns have been launched to resurrect The Hunt for Ben Solo, Steven Soderbergh’s shelved project with Adam Driver.
Vous connaissez Gemma ? Bon, hé bien Google vient de remettre une pièce dans la machine avec TranslateGemma , une nouvelle collection de modèles ouverts dédiés exclusivement à la traduction.
Si vous utilisez Google Translate ou DeepL au quotidien, c'est super, ça marche bien, mais ça demande quand même une connexion internet et vos données partent dans le cloud. Donc pour ceux qui veulent garder leurs petits secrets de fabrication (ou juste les lettres d'amour de leur vieille prof de théâtre) en local, c'est souvent un peu la galère.
Ça tombe bien puisque Google DeepMind semble avoir entendu vos prières puisqu'ils viennent de lâcher dans la nature cette suite de modèles basés sur Gemma 3. Et apparemment, ils ont mis le paquet sur l'efficacité.
L'idée c'est de faire tourner de la traduction haute fidélité sur votre propre matériel, peu importe sa puissance. C'est pourquoi TranslateGemma est dispo en trois tailles : 4 milliards (4B), 12 milliards (12B) et 27 milliards (27B) de paramètres pour fonctionner sur tous types de matos.
Le modèle 4B est optimisé pour le mobile et l'edge computing (comprenez "sur des petits appareils"), le 12B est taillé pour tourner tranquille sur un laptop grand public, et le 27B, c'est pour ceux qui ont du GPU costaud (H100 ou TPU) et qui veulent la qualité maximale.
Ce qui est foufou, c'est que le modèle 12B surpasse le modèle Gemma 3 de base en version 27B sur les benchmarks de traduction. En gros, vous avez une qualité supérieure avec un modèle deux fois plus léger. Ils l'ont vraiment optimisé aux petits oignons.
Pour réussir ce tour de force, Google explique avoir utilisé un processus de "distillation" en deux étapes. D'abord, ils ont fine-tuné les modèles sur un mélange de données traduites par des humains et de données synthétiques générées par leurs gros modèles Gemini. Ensuite, ils ont appliqué une phase de Reinforcement Learning (RL) guidée par des métriques de qualité comme MetricX-QE. C'est comme si Gemini apprenait à son petit frère comment bien traduire, en lui tapant sur les doigts quand il se trompe.
Après côté langues, c'est du solide puisque ça fonctionne en 55 langues rigoureusement testées et validées, couvrant la plupart des besoins courants (Français, Espagnol, Chinois, Hindi...). Et ils ont aussi poussé le bouchon encore plus loin en entraînant le modèle sur près de 500 paires de langues supplémentaires. C'est expérimental certes, mais ça ouvre la porte à des traductions pour des langues dites "faibles ressources" qui sont souvent oubliées par les géants de la tech...
Autre point cool, comme c'est basé sur Gemma 3, ces modèles gardent des capacités multimodales. Ça veut dire qu'ils peuvent potentiellement traduire du texte à l'intérieur d'images, même si ce n'était pas le but premier de l'entraînement spécifique TranslateGemma.
Voilà, maintenant si vous voulez tester ça, c'est disponible dès maintenant sur Hugging Face , Kaggle et Vertex AI . Y'a même un notebook ici pour mettre un peu les mains dans le cambouis. Pour les devs qui veulent intégrer de la traduction locale dans leurs apps sans dépendre d'une API payante, c'est donc une option qui mérite vraiment d'être explorée.
Et si le sujet des modèles Google vous intéresse, jetez un œil à mon test de Gemini 2.5 ou encore à PocketPal AI pour faire tourner tout ça sur votre smartphone.
Bref, à tester !
With so many exciting sporting events happening year-round, it can be tough to know where to stream each one. Thankfully, Fubo should have all your bases covered, no pun intended. Fubo is a live TV streaming service that features over 200 live channels, including 35 regional sports channels and ESPN Unlimited—more than any other streaming service. So, you can bet that Fubo will probably have the game you're looking for.
Not ready to dive in just yet? No problem! Like many other streaming services, Fubo offers a free trial so you can test it out. Check out our full rundown below, including how to activate the free trial, what channels are included in the service, where to watch Fubo, and more.
Yes, Fubo is currently offering a 30-day free trial period that provides access to over 200 live channels, ESPN Unlimited, and potentially more, depending on your area. It's one of the overall best streaming service free trials out there for live sports.
Click the link below to sign up for the free trial. After your trial period ends, you'll be automatically charged for your subscription if it's not canceled. You can check out the pricing details below or take a look at the Hulu + Live TV free trial for our favorite Fubo alternative.
Fubo is a live TV subscription service offering over 200 channels and unlimited Cloud DVR storage for recording your favorite content. It has the most complete catalog among live TV streaming options, though it comes at a slightly higher price. Most Fubo plans allow you to stream on up to 10 devices simultaneously and watch on up to three devices while on the go. If you're looking to replace your cable subscription, Fubo is an excellent choice. Plus, unlike cable, there are no hidden fees, no cable box charges, and you can cancel anytime.
If you're a sports fan, Fubo stands out as one of the best sports streaming services for live sports and one of the best ways to watch live NFL games this year. With access to over 55,000 sporting events each year, it covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, major soccer leagues, college sports, F1, NASCAR, MMA, boxing, golf, tennis, and much more. You'll catch all of the biggest events like the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs, just to name a few.
Although it's not yet a done deal, Fubo is looking to merge it's service with Disney. The sale is currently expected to be finalized sometime in the first three months of 2026. As of right now the agreement would mean that Fubo would be able to broadcast live events from Disney networks such as ESPN and ABC. Though ahead of that merger, Fubo has already added access to ESPN Unlimited to its service. Hulu + Live TV would still exist as a separate subscription.
Fubo offers two main plans: Pro and Elite, each with a $25 or $30 discount off your first month after the free trial. The Pro plan costs $73.99 per month and includes 236 channels, unlimited Cloud DVR storage, and the ability to watch on up to 10 screens at home and up to three on the go. For an additional $10 per month, Fubo's Elite plan includes everything the Pro plan has to offer, but boosts the channel count to 303 and adds 4K content, bringing the total to $84.99 per month.
If you'd like to expand your plan, Fubo offers a variety of add-ons, including Paramount+ with Showtime, Starz, MGM+, NFL RedZone, NBA League Pass, entertainment and news channels, Latino channels, and more.
Fubo also offers a Latino plan for $14.99 per month (with a $5 savings for the first month after the free trial) that features 50 Spanish language live channels and sporting events, unlimited Cloud DVR storage, and the option to watch on two devices simultaneously.
Fubo is available to stream on a variety of connected devices, including Apple TV (4th generation and newer), most Roku devices, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox, and select Samsung, LG, Vizio, and Hisense smart TVs. You can also watch on mobile devices like iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, or stream online through your web browser.
Matthew Adler is a Commerce, Features, Guides, News, Previews, and Reviews writer for IGN. You can follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.
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Opera confirms it's working on a Linux version of Opera GX, its gaming-focused browser. No release date yet but after years of users asking, it's happening.
You're reading Opera GX Gaming Browser is Coming to Linux, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.
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