Andy Reid has a delightful sense of humor.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has finally gotten into the hands of players, and the results aren’t pretty – in more ways than one. Not only is this the worst-reviewed game of 2023, the final release has drawn some hilariously unflattering comparisons to its pre-release screenshots.

On Metacritic, the PC version of Gollum has an aggregate score of 43, while the PS5 version sits at 40. (No reviews of the Xbox versions are tracked on the site.) For comparison, the maligned Redfall sits at a 54 on PC, and the absolutely inexplicable Crime Boss: Rockay City has a 52. In fairness to Gollum, a pretty limited number of games released every year generate enough critic reviews to even be ranked on Metacritic, and I’m sure you could find even worse if you trawl the bottom of Steam releases. But that’s still a bad set of scores.

In our own Gollum review, Alex Avard calls the game “compromised, inelegant, and a bit of an eyesore,” awarding it two stars out of five, smack in the middle of the game’s review curve. Separately, Alex also tweeted a comparison of one of the game’s pre-release screenshots to something from the shipping version, and the difference is astounding.

Morning. Gollum is one of the worst games I’ve played in a while. If you can’t be bothered to read the full review, the difference between this promotional screenshot and the actual game gives you a decent summation of why.https://t.co/RW0556ov2v pic.twitter.com/3g2Cf9nR9LMay 25, 2023

Games shift in development all the time and the pre-release screen does note that it’s in a “pre-alpha state” and subject to change, but this puts the deeply stupid Puddlegate controversy to shame. Never mind how much doofier and dead-eyed Gollum looks here – look at those fonts! Even Ice T would be appalled.

While these comparisons are funny, it’s sad to see a project that so many developers spent so many years working on be released in such a state. Here’s hoping whatever developer Daedalic Entertainment works on next earns a reputation more akin to the studio’s well-regarded adventure games of years past.

Our guide to the best Lord of the Rings games has some alternatives for you to enjoy.

Blake Lively was spotted while filming a scene for the upcoming romance film It Ends With Us in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Thursday.

The 35-year-old actress flashed a wide smile and waved to her adoring fans as she worked on the project, and she was also joined by her costar, Justin Baldoni.

The performer, who recently showed off her post-baby body during a star-studded event, stood out while wearing a light brown zip-up jacket on top of a black crop top during her time on set.

Lively also wore a multi-patterned pair of trousers that featured a blue top portion and beige pant legs.

The actress finished off her look for the day with a pair of high-heeled shoes and her lengthy blonde hair fell onto her chest.

Hard at work: Blake Lively was spotted while filming a scene for the upcoming romance feature It Ends With Us in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Thursday

Nothing but a good time: The 35-year-old actress flashed a wide smile and waved to her adoring fans as she worked on the project, and she was also joined by her costar, Justin Baldoni

Fashion statement: Lively also wore a multi-patterned pair of trousers that featured a blue top portion and beige pant legs

Baldoni, 39, opted for a gray hoodie worn underneath black coat, slim-fitting cargo pants and high-top Nike sneakers.

It Ends With Us is based on Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name, which was published in 2016.

The book follows a woman who returns to her hometown and rekindles an old romance while dealing with a toxic relationship.

The novel garnered positive reviews and has sold over a million copies worldwide.

Hoover’s book was followed by a sequel, It Starts With Us, which was released in October.

Development on It Ends With Us’ film adaptation began in 2019, when Baldoni optioned the book through his Wayfarer Entertainment label.

In addition to starring as Ryle Kincaid, he is also directing the film.

It was previously announced that Lively would star as Lily Bloom in January.

Starting off strong: Development on It Ends With Us’ film adaptation began in 2019, when Baldoni optioned the book through his Wayfarer Entertainment label

Signing on: It was previously announced that Lively would star as Lily Bloom this past January

Return to the screen: The role of Bloom’s childhood flame, Atlas Corrigan, will be filled by Brandon Sklenar

Star-studded cast: Jenny Slate and Hasan Minhaj are set to appear in supporting roles

Just getting started: Production on the upcoming movie commenced in Hoboken earlier this month

Coming soon: It Ends with Us’ release date has not beenannounced yet

The role of Bloom’s childhood flame, Atlas Corrigan, will be filled by Brandon Sklenar.

Performers including as Jenny Slate and Hasan Minhaj are set to appear in supporting roles.

Production on the upcoming movie commenced in Hoboken earlier this month. 

It Ends With Us’ release date has not been announced yet. 

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Blake Lively flashes a wide smile while filming a scene for It Ends With Us in New Jersey

John Cleese refused to bend the knee to the outrage mob who called for a joke to be removed from an upcoming stage version of Monty Python’s “Life Of Brian.” The controversial scene features a man claiming that he is a woman and he can have a baby.

Cleese is working on a stage production of Monty Python’s “Life of Brian,” a 1979 movie about a man who is mistaken for Jesus Christ. However, actors allegedly told Cleese that one scene would need to be cut out of the reproduction for it not to be offensive in today’s social environment.

The scene in question features a character named “Stan” – who wants to become a woman and have babies.

“I want to be a woman,” Stan declares. “From now on, I want you all to call me Loretta.”

Cleese’s character Reg bewilderedly asked, “What?”

Stan fires back, “It’s my right as a man.”

When asked why he wants to be a woman, Stan explains, “I want to have babies.”

Reg quizzically replies, “You want to have babies?”

Stan shoots back, “It’s every man’s right to have babies if he wants them.”

When Reg informs Stan that he “can’t have babies,” Stan plays the victim, “Don’t you oppress me.”

Cleese’s character notes, “I’m not oppressing you, Stan, you haven’t got a womb. Where’s the fetus going to gestate? You gonna keep it in a box?”

Other characters agree that Stan can’t have babies, but argue that he should have the “right to have babies.”

Reg responds, “What’s the point of fighting for his right to have babies when he can’t have babies?”

Another character says, “It is symbolic of our struggle against oppression.”

Reg quips that Stan has a “struggle with reality” for thinking he can give birth to a baby.

Monty Python – “Loretta”www.youtube.com

Critics claim the scene in the movie from 44 years ago is “transphobic.”

Despite the controversy, Cleese confirmed that he would not be removing the questionable scene from the upcoming stage show of “Life of Brian.”

Cleese wrote on Twitter, “A few days ago I spoke to an audience outside London. I told them I was adapting the Life of Brian so that we could do it as a stage show ( NOT a musical ). I said that we’d had a table reading of the latest draft in NYC a year ago and that all the actors – several of them Tony winners – had advised me strongly to cut the Loretta scene. I have, of course, no intention of doing so.”

Cleese slammed the media for “misreporting” him about cutting the Loretta scene from the new version, “Amazingly none of the British media called to check.”

Cleese said of the actors in the upcoming production, “These were absolutely top-class Broadway performers and they were adamant that we would not get away with doing the scene in NYC! I asked them, ‘Are Python fans not going to come because we’re doing a scene they’ve been laughing at for 40 years.'”

The Monty Python comedian said, “Producers tend to be scaredy-cats, and they don’t remember that the protests in NYC when ‘Brian’ was released meant we never needed to do publicity!”

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In a video that has since gone viral, a couple walking in downtown Chicago was brutally assaulted by a large group of people Saturday night in the Loop, and they’re sharing the story of how a Good Samaritan may have saved their lives.

The couple, Ashley Knutson and Devontae Garrisson-Johnson, say they had just left Nordstrom and were walking through the Loop looking for a place to eat when they were caught up in a large group of teens and young adults Saturday.

Knutson, visiting the area from South Carolina, and Garrison-Johnsson, of Maywood, tried to make their way through the crowd, but they were quickly overwhelmed.

“We were trying to walk through the crowd, and I was holding his hand and he was walking in front me,” Knutson said. “First they shoved him, and then they ended up shoving me too.”

A now-viral video, originally posted by CWB Chicago, shows a large group of people viciously attacking the couple, punching and kicking both of them while stomping on Garrison-Johnsson’s head.

“I said ‘DJ! I just got pushed,’ and he turned around and said ‘don’t put your hands on her,’” Knutson said. “And as soon as he said that, everything went crazy.”

The video’s audio reveals Knutson yelling for help as the attack took place, and that’s when an unlikely hero emerged.

“I felt like at that moment I needed to take action,” Lenora Dennis said.

Dennis jumped in to help and was able to deescalate the attack.

“By the time he got up, he was bleeding from the mouth, his head, his eyes,” she said. “He couldn’t make straight eye contact. It felt like he might have been concussed.”

Garrisson-Johnson suffered most of the injuries. His eyes are still filled with blood, and other injuries will still require medical attention.

Dennis says what frustrates her the most was that she didn’t receive any help from Chicago police.

“I literally went in front of a police car that I saw coming, like literally stood in front of their car, and I was like ‘stop! There’s people over here getting assaulted,’ and he looked, there were four police officers in the car. The driver looked, and he just cut a path and drove around me,” she said.

“They didn’t stop. Who knows what would have happened if it wasn’t for her,” Garrisson-Johnson added.

The couple was able to find refuge in a nearby department store, and then were driven to a police station.

The group stole the couple’s shoes and phones, along with their credit cards.

It is unclear whether any arrests have been made in the case, and police say at least 15 people were arrested on a variety of charges stemming from the downtown disturbances.