Saturday, November 29, 2025 |
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Black Friday prices can be deceiving. This week, our style director, Jonathan Evans, reminded me of that when he pointed out that for the first time in a long time, watch brands and retailers are finally hosting big sales—ones where consumers actually save real money. It's easy to say something is on sale for a quick $20 discount, but we all know that's not cutting it. Jonathan dug deep into the Internet and found a handful of watches we'd actually recommend buying, for up to 45 percent off. Here you can shop his list of approved pieces. Whether you're looking for yourself or someone else, this is the one sale you shouldn't miss this weekend. —Krista Jones, commerce director |
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Don't miss out on some seriously well-priced timepieces. |
Black Friday is a fantastic time to score an enviable deal on a great watch. There's just one problem: Black Friday is also a fantastic time to believe that you scored an enviable deal on a great watch when, in fact, you either paid the same you would have in October or got duped into buying something from a brand that values flash over substance (in other words, a shitty watch). When every retailer is shouting about low prices and shoving a bunch of shiny objects into your shopping feed, it's only reasonable to worry about winding up in the latter camp. That's where we come in. We've scoured the internet for Black Friday watch deals that don't just look great but actually are great. We're talking about legit discounts on watches that we'd endorse buying even if they weren't on sale. Now, the watch world being what it is, that means you need to temper your expectations if you're in the market for a grail like a Daytona or a Speedmaster. The big guys simply don't play this game; same for most of the microbrands that bewitch bloggers and buyers alike. |
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Over the past couple of months, I've been on a moviegoing marathon. I took in as much as I could out of the fall festivals, new releases, and, of course, some spooky season classics. But it wasn't until seeing Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another that I got the movie high I'm always chasing. The film—which I've now seen multiple times, in multiple formats (apologies for being that guy!)—is a reminder of what big blockbusters are capable of. Once Battle After Another has several exhilarating chase sequences and stellar movie-star performances, sure. It's also a story about complicated people that doesn't shy away from the horrors happening outside the movie theater. I laughed, I cried, I gasped, and I prayed that AMC would recut the Nicole Kidman ad to include clips of this amazing film. |
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I'm drifting off to sleep when I hear what sounds like a couple of African bush elephants headed straight for my tent. Hours earlier, when our group checked into our luxury camp on the banks of Botswana's Okavango Delta, we were each handed an air horn for emergencies. Yes, this feels like an emergency. After blasting the horn twice, I wait in the dark, suddenly worried that I've made a deadly mistake. Would the siren keep the elephants away, or provoke them? Soon a stranger climbs through the flaps of my tent, sidestepping the pair of lingering pachyderms. She tucks a blanket over me and hands me a half-empty Botswanan beer. Soon both the elephants and I are calm and ready to settle down for the night. (I learn the next morning that my beer-bearing visitor was not a vigilant camp hand but a gregarious bush pilot named Tammy, a fellow guest at Machaba Gomoti Camp.) If the question is How did I get here? the answer is Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a billionaire British businessman I had never met, and his nearly $2 billion gamble on shepherding his dream car from an idea on a beer coaster into reality. |
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 Friday, November 28, 2025 |
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Stranger Things is back. I'd forgive you for thinking that the fifth and final season—which was marred by production delays—wouldn't live up to our Game of Thrones-sized expectations. I had doubts myself! Rest assured, this week's first drop of episodes (Netflix will treat us to more on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve) are pretty damn impressive. Many of the kiddos have grown into impressive dramatic actors (looking at you, Gaten Matarazzo), the villainous Vecna remains the show's best late-game addition, and the visual effects are the best I've ever seen on TV. If you read one piece about the Volume 1 finale, make it Anthony Breznican's breakdown of its three cliff-hangers. – Brady Langmann, senior entertainment editor Plus: |
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After a three-year wait, the Netflix juggernaut gave us three cliff-hangers, a movie-scale battle sequence, and so much more. |
"I was looking for answers in somebody else, but I had all the answers. I just needed to stop being so goddamn scared." That's Maya Hawke's Robin talking, but the phrase is repeating in the head of Will Byers in the climax of episode four of Stranger Things. Curiously, it runs counter to what so much of this show has been about for five seasons. The recurring themes throughout are friendship, teamwork and family, both those that are found and those you are born with. And yet, what good are you as a part of any of those groups if you don't stand on your own two feet? |
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Given that it's the holiday season, I want you to imagine a scenario where, on Christmas morning, you unwrap a shiny-looking present. Turns out, it's the bike that you've been asking for all year. Yay! But ... wait. Shit. the Tag says it's from your mom's weird new boyfriend who you keep hoping will just go away. And now you understand how I feel about the news that I'm finally getting Rush Hour 4. On Tuesday, official word came that, 18 years after Rush Hour 3, a new installment in the Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan franchise is on the way, courtesy of the freshly-arrived Paramount regime … and President Donald Trump?! In addition, the original director, who has helmed all of the films in the series, is also set to return. It would be a welcome relief—if it wasn't Brett Ratner, who essentially was kicked out of Hollywood in 2017 due to numerous accusations of sexual assault. Even before the Trump meddling, the questions around whether a Rush Hour 4 could work were valid. Almost 30 years after the original, could you getaway with the same riffs on racial stereotypes? Considering how expensive 3 was, what's the likelihood that a revival two decades later could be financially profitable? And are Chan and Tucker, who has only starred in three films since Rush Hour 3, past their prime? |
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Black Friday is here, so it's officially time to pounce on all the great deals—from big scores on TVs and mattresses to the small‑but‑mighty wins like gifts, grooming upgrades, and accessories. Consider this your annual permission slip to upgrade your dopp kit, stock the gift closet, and snag that clever little gadget you've been side-eyeing since summer, all without scaring your bank account. Under-$50 finds are where the fun lives: smart stocking stuffers, editor-beloved basics, and everyday luxuries that feel deluxe, not discounted. So skip the doorbuster chaos and click online with confidence. These picks are vetted for value, quality, and vibes. Without further ado, here are some of the most exciting Black Friday deals you can score for under $50 today. |
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