• The second season of Netflix's hit crime drama "Ozark" is now available.
• The show's new season has earned more positive reviews than its first, which was divisive among critics but had a strong following of viewers. 

Netflix's hit crime drama "Ozark" returned with its anticipated second season on Friday.

The series stars Jason Bateman and Laura Linney as Marty and Wendy Byrde, a married couple who move to the Missouri Ozarks after a money-laundering scheme with a drug cartel goes sideways.

Critical reaction to the first season of "Ozark" was divided, but it garnered a strong following among audiences, notably including the rapper Drake, who called the series one of his favorite shows in an interview last year.

While the show's first season earned a 68% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it got a 92% rating among audience members on the site.

Most critics are calling the new season of "Ozark" an improvement on the first, and season two had at a 73% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of Friday afternoon.

Season two follows the Byrdes as they "struggle to balance their family interests amid the escalating dangers presented by their partnerships with the power-hungry Snells, the cartel and their new deputy, Ruth Langmore," per Netflix's description.

"In season two, 'Ozark' dramatically quickens its pace, as if it's brought a gun to a chess match," Michael Haigis wrote in a review for Slant magazine.

"A definite page-turner (we'll have to come up with a boxset equivalent term for this, I refuse to use 'binge' any longer) and one that goes to some incredibly dark places you might have thought impossible for two characters named Marty and Wendy," Christopher Hooton wrote in a review for The Independent.

Season two of "Ozark" is now available on Netflix.

Watch a trailer for the new season below:

SEE ALSO: The 5 most anticipated TV shows returning in September

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NOW WATCH: How a black cop infiltrated the KKK — the true story behind Spike Lee's 'BlacKkKlansman'

• MoviePass and its parent company, Helios and Matheson Analytics, have covered massive losses by selling new shares of stock to a passionate base of retail shareholders.
• While seeking support for measures he needed passed at a special shareholders meeting in July, Helios CEO Ted Farnsworth characterized them as an "army" and stressed that he had their best interests in mind.
• Within days, several assurances Farnsworth made at the meeting started to unwind.
• Many Helios shareholders have seen their stakes fall over 99% in value, with some losing over $100,000.

It didn't take long for Ted Farnsworth's assurances to begin to unravel.

Less than 24 hours, to be exact.

At a special shareholders meeting on July 23, Farnsworth, the CEO of MoviePass' owner Helios and Matheson Analytics, told a room of nervous but supportive investors that everything was going to be OK. He described Helios shareholders as an army that loved the MoviePass movie-ticket subscription service and stressed that he was looking out for them.

"The institutions on Wall Street, they're big boys, they make money, they lose money," Farnsworth said, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by Business Insider. "But to me, it's always the shareholder. And, to me, that's why I think [MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe] and myself are constantly fighting for the $9.95 [subscription price] and building that army of the people to really go out there."

The retail-investor army is real, with 99.91% of Helios stock held by noninstitutional investors, according to Nasdaq. And though the no-fee trading platform Robinhood has suspended trading of Helios shares, about 68,000 of its users still hold the stock.

At that July meeting, Farnsworth needed a couple of things from his army. Farnsworth sought approval for two measures: a reverse stock split, which could range from 1-for-2 to 1-for-250, and the authorization to raise the number of outstanding shares to 5 billion from 500 million.

When asked at the meeting why Helios needed authorization for 5 billion shares, Farnsworth first said it was "just in the authorized, not in the issue." The implication seemed to be that the company might not end up selling all of the shares.

Later Farnsworth elaborated, describing the 5 billion shares, a tenfold increase, as an "insurance policy" for a situation in which the reverse split didn't pass.

But that measure was also a subject of confusion at the meeting. A reverse split involves reducing the number of outstanding shares; if the company's market cap goes unchanged, the company's share price will increase. Farnsworth's stated range meant every two shares would become one on the low end, or every 250 shares would become one on the high end. A shareholder asked Farnsworth for clarity on which end it would be.

Farnsworth said the company hadn't disclosed "exact numbers" and was "still going through that." He added that the reverse split would happen "sooner rather than later, but we don't have a time frame." The reverse split happened the next day, less than 24 hours after the meeting, at the very upper end at 1-for-250.

That wasn't the only statement from Farnsworth at the meeting that didn't stand the test of time.

"Absolutely I'm not worried about cash for the company," Farnsworth assured attendees later. Less than a week later, Helios took an emergency multimillion-dollar loan after the MoviePass app stopped working.

Helios did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

1.7 million shares to 637 million and counting

Shareholders approved both measures at the July meeting, with less than 17% voting against each.

The next day, on July 24, Helios enacted the reverse split. For every 250 shares an investor had, the investor got back one in return, though the percentage of the company the investor owned was preserved. The reverse split temporarily boosted the share price to $22.50 from $0.09.

But that share price, and the preservation of the investors' stakes, did not last. Helios immediately began to take advantage of the new shares ceiling and introduced hundreds of millions of new shares into the market. That helped the company raise money, but it pushed the stock price down again.

By August 14, Helios had increased its number of outstanding shares from about 1.7 million immediately after the reverse split to 637 million, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. And the company has not indicated that it plans to stop selling.

"I don't think any of them thought [the dilution] would happen so fast," a shareholder who attended the meeting told Business Insider. Farnsworth had described it as an insurance policy, but Helios began to use it immediately, and to great effect.

Farnsworth's assurances at the meeting about Helios' cash flow also proved illusory.

Just a few days after the meeting, on July 26, the MoviePass app stopped working because the company temporarily ran out of money. Helios had to take an emergency loan of $5 million in cash to turn the service back on, it disclosed in a filing with the SEC.

Helios, whose primary business is owning MoviePass, lost an estimated $45 million in July, a figure that had been ramping up as 2018 progressed. The primary way Helios has covered these losses is by selling new shares in the public market and diluting its previous investors.

'No one gets more diluted than I do'

Though many Helios investors have seen their stakes dip by over 99% in value, with some losing more than $100,000, Farnsworth has reminded shareholders on multiple occasions that any dilution happening to them is happening to him as well.

"No one gets more diluted than I do," Farnsworth said at the July shareholders meeting when discussing the reverse split and selling of new shares. While it is true that Farnsworth's stake of common stock was affected by the reverse split, he has made money on Helios and MoviePass despite the stock troubles.

In 2017, besides stock compensation, Farnsworth made $1,575,000 in cash from Helios, including a $1 million bonus for "efforts in bringing capital sources that have been critical to the company's needs during 2017."

Additional reporting by Graham Rapier.

If you are an HMNY investor, or know anything about the company or MoviePass, email the author at nmcalone@businessinsider.com.

SEE ALSO: MoviePass parent company board member resigns and accuses management of withholding material information for months

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NOW WATCH: How a black cop infiltrated the KKK — the true story behind Spike Lee's 'BlacKkKlansman'

• Elon Musk is known for being moody at times.
• Some former employees at SpaceX told The Wall Street Journal they could tell Elon Musk's mood based on the hair color of actress Talulah Riley, when they were married.

Elon Musk has earned a reputation for his humor as well as his outbursts, which are often chronicled in a series of tweets.

But some of his employees learned to look beyond Twitter to gauge the tech billionaire's mood.

In interviews with The Wall Street Journal, former employees at Musk's company SpaceX said they "tried to anticipate his mood by following the news of his personal life, even tracking the hair of actress Talulah Riley when she was his second wife," the Journal reports.

Senior managers told the Journal they avoided pitching new ideas or raising issues when Musk was in a bad mood.

They believed Musk was "happiest when her hair color approached platinum," according to the Journal.

After his first divorce from a Canadian novelist, Musk began dating Riley, a British actress who's best known for her role in "Westworld."

They married in 2010. Two years later, news of their divorce became public when Musk tweeted: "It was an amazing four years. I will love you forever. You will make someone very happy one day" at Riley on Twitter.

The couple remarried in 2013 and divorced again in 2016.

Read more: Inside the turbulent personal life of Elon Musk, who called his estranged father 'a terrible human being' and who says he must be in love to be happy

Musk's stormy personal life has made him a central figure of tech gossip in recent weeks. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO recently stopped following pop musician Grimes— who he's dated since at least spring — on Twitter. The two appear to have unfollowed each other on Instagram, as well. It's unclear whether the couple is still in tact.

For what it's worth, Grimes was last photographed stepping out with Musk at SpaceX event in July — as a brunette.

SEE ALSO: Elon Musk and his girlfriend Grimes could be on the rocks — here's a look inside their relationship and how it all started

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NOW WATCH: What's going on with Elon Musk

• Kylie Jenner's cosmetics line will soon be available in Ulta Beauty stores, the 21-year-old said Friday. 
• Shares of Ulta hit their highest level in more than a year following the announcement, which helped the retailer shrug off an otherwise grim quarterly earnings. 
• Follow Ulta Beauty's stock price in real-time here. 

Shares of Ulta Beauty surged more than 5% — hitting $268.69, their highest price in more than a year — thanks to a partnership with Kylie Jenner, who said the cosmetics chain will carry her eponymous brand in time for the holiday shopping season.

Ultra initially sank in after-hours trading Thursday following the Chicago-based company’s second-quarter earnings that missed Wall Street’s expectations, before the reality-star and entrepreneur’s announcement helped the stock rebound.

"I'm so excited to let you guys know that @KylieCosmetics will be coming to all @ultabeauty stores around the country this holiday!," the 21-year-old tweeted to her 25 million followers late Thursday, adding that there was "more to come…"

The partnership could be the catalyst Wall Street was waiting for.

"Looking forward, we think newness (Too Faced, Kylie Jenner, & others) expected in 2H should help reinvigorate traffic," Michael Goldsmith, an analyst at UBS, told clients Friday.

"Further, ULTA's flywheel continues to turn. As it gains scale, brands increasingly rely on it for growth. This is evident as it will start carrying Kiehl's, a €1 billion brand."

Jenner's wildly popular cosmetics line has propelled the reality star and half-sister of Kim Kardashian to an estimated net worth of $900 million. She graced the cover of Forbes in July, when the magazine heralded her as one of the US' richest "self-made" women, a claim that quickly garnered criticism for her wealthy upbringing.

And it's not the first time Jenner has moved a stock in dramatic fashion. In Febuary, shares of Snap slid 7% — wiping out $136 million of book value — when she tweeted that she doesn't open Snapchat anymore. 

Ulta is up 12% this year.

SEE ALSO: How Kylie Jenner makes her millions and set herself up to be the world's youngest self-made billionaire

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NOW WATCH: How LeBron James makes and spends his millions

Domhnall Gleeson is one of the most versatile actors in the movie business, and you'd be hard pressed to find any performer in higher demand than him.  His latest film is "The Little Stranger," a gothic horror story based on the bestselling novel by Sarah Waters. This marks Gleeson's second collaboration with director Lenny Abrahamson after "Frank" in 2014. The next year, Abrahamson directed "Room," which landed him an Academy Award nomination for Best Director at the 2016 Oscars. 

Abrahamson turned to Gleeson to star in his follow-up, and if you check the actor's IMDb page, it's not hard to see why. Ever since his breakout role in 2010's "Never Let Me Go," Gleeson has become one of the most sought-after actors in the movie industry. His roles span the entire cinematic spectrum, with supporting efforts in blockbuster franchises like "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter," to lead performances in dramas like "Ex Machina" and "Brooklyn," as well as family fare like "Peter Rabbit."

Perhaps the reason that  Gleeson might still be able to walk down the street without being deservedly mobbed by fans and paparazzi is that the 35-year-old Irishman exudes a chameleon-like ability to disappear into his characters. Much of this is rooted in his uncanny mastery of different accents. 

We asked Gleeson to reveal how he learns different accents for his roles. In the case of his most recent work in "The Little Stranger," Gleeson says it was his most difficult assignment to date. "The Little Strangers" arrives in movie theaters on August 31. Following is a transcript of the video. 

General Hux: We'll remember this, as the last day of the Republic!

Moon: I always try to help out the law.

Jim Farrell: We don't really know anything of the rest of the world.

Thomas McGregor: It was my fault, I take full responsibility.

Caleb: So, let's have a conversation.

Ava: What would you like to know?

Domhnall Gleeson: If it's the right filmmaker, I'm willing to do anything. I'll do two lines, or I'll do the lead, or I'll do something which isn't flattering. Good filmmakers are the reason that I'm an actor at all. It's because I love good films. So I think I'm also just willing to throw myself into whatever they need me to be for their movie.

Faraday: Caroline, you mustn't let this business get inside you.

Gleeson: The film is a kind of a gothic ghost story. My character grew up very poor. Always looked up to the upper classes, wanted to be from the upper classes. It was a very long process actually getting the accent. I worked with a great dialect coach, we kind of invented a new accent for him because he was from the working class and yet he aspires to be from a higher class, and yet he can't lose the accent completely.

So we kind of invented that. We also listened to Philip Larkin reading his own poems.

Philip Larkin: I work all day and get half drunk at night.

Gleeson: He grew up not wealthy and yet when he read his poems, the accent he had was very posh and then something weird happens when you realize that somebody has changed themselves in some way through their accent.

General Hux: Who do you think you're talking to? All remaining systems will bow to the First Order!

Gleeson: Hux is full on fascist, English upper class, rolls his R's sometime and it's very aspirational and strong.

Bill Weasley: Hello Harry, Bill Weasley.

Gleeson: I thought I had done a really good job at my accent on "Harry Potter," until I turned up on set and went Australian.

Bill Weasley: True enough, owe it all to a werewolf, name of Greyback.

Gleeson: And I couldn't stop being Australian for a whole day, my first day in front of everybody. So that was the worst thing in the world. What you wanna do is forget about it when you're doing it and just be able to be the character.

Oldest Son: It's not my fault, it's not my fault. They never really loved me. They always loved him more. They were leaving me behind.

Moon: I don't know those boys. I always try to help out the law.

Gleeson: It's funny, southern American is definitely easier than a more general American or something from either coast. The southern thing, I don't know I think because of the way that the sentences work and the up and down of the tonality of it, you can hear it and you can grab on to it. It's an accent you can grab onto. South African or Welsh, like they're the nightmare ones, they're the ones that you just like wake up sweating about having to do someday.

I mean, I didn't go to drama school or anything like that so it's my own little system which has developed, but yeah, a lot of exercises in the mornings then I tend to keep the accent up during the day, just so it settles into my mouth and I'm not doing an accent when we start doing a scene. Oftentimes I'll find a poem that I think suits the character and that will be my mantra that I go to because it puts you in a good state of mind and it gets your mouth in shape for what you're about to do.

Caleb: So my only function was to be someone she could use to escape.

Gleeson: I'll keep it up on set, but then when they say, "cut" on the last take of the day, I go back to Irish and then I can go home and talk to my friends and not have them hate me. You know? So I can try and be myself again.

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• Critics are calling "Gravity" director Alfonso Cuarón's new movie "Roma" one of the best Netflix original releases of all time. 
• The film premiered to standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival this week, and it currently has a 93% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 
• "Roma" will debut on Netflix and in theaters later this year.

"Roma," the latest film from Alfonso Cuarón, the Oscar-winning director of 2013's "Gravity," premiered to a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival this week.

With 15 reviews from the film critics who saw it in Venice, "Roma" currently has a 93% "fresh" rating on the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The score places it behind 2017's "Mudbound" as the second-highest rated Netflix original film of all time. 

Here's how Netflix described the film in a release:

"'ROMA' follows Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), a young domestic worker for a family in the middle-class neighborhood of Roma in Mexico City. Delivering an artful love letter to the women who raised him, Cuarón draws on his own childhood to create a vivid and emotional portrait of domestic strife and social hierarchy amidst political turmoil of the 1970s."

In a laudatory review for The Hollywood Reporter, critic Tom McCarthy called the film "an immersive bath in some of the most luxuriantly beautiful black-and-white images you've ever seen," and labeled Cuarón's direction "the work of a great filmmaker who exhibits absolute control and confidence in what he's doing."

Cuarón said in an interview with Variety this week that he worked out a "very harmonious" distribution model with Netflix that would allow "Roma" to debut on the streaming platform and in theaters later this year. 

Variety reported that Participation Media sold the film to Netflix under "a new type of hybrid distribution agreement," the details of which are "being kept under wraps."

Previous Netflix original films like "Roma" that the company has seen to have Oscar potential, including "Mudbound" (which earned four Oscar nominations this year), have received a limited run in select theaters to meet the Academy's requirement that nominated films appear for at least a consecutive week in "a commercial theater." 

It's unclear how extensive the theatrical release for "Roma" will be compared to past releases, and Netflix has yet to announce a release for the film. 

Watch the trailer for "Roma" below:

SEE ALSO: The 32 worst Netflix original movies of all time, according to critics

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NOW WATCH: How a black cop infiltrated the KKK — the true story behind Spike Lee's 'BlacKkKlansman'

• The Livraria Lello bookstore in Porto is one of the world's oldest bookstores, frequently ranked as one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, and a top place to visit in Portugal.
• Opened in 1906, the bookstore was once a haunt of the city's literary scene, and many say it was a direct inspiration for J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter books. Rowling lived in the city from 1991 to 1993 and was a frequent customer.
• Today, the bookstore sees 4,000 to 5,000 visitors a day, which can make the cramped bookstore feel like a tourist trap. Despite the crowds, I still enjoyed my visit.

The Livraria Lello bookstore in Porto, Portugal, is one of the world's oldest bookstores and frequently ranked as one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world.

An age-old coastal city in northwestern Portugal with cobblestone streets and a historic medieval center, Porto is one of the country's premier tourism destinations. And Livraria Lello is one of the top attractions in the city.

Opened in 1906 by the brothers José and António Lello on Rua das Carmelitas, the bookstore is a stunning architectural landmark and was once a frequent hangout for Portugal's literary scene. The neo-Gothic building features a stained-glass ceiling, gorgeous wood carvings, ladders, and rails to move the books around, and a special room to protect the bookstore's oldest and rarest books.

If all this sounds like a scene from a "Harry Potter" story, you'd be forgiven for thinking so. J.K. Rowling lived and taught English in Porto from 1991 to 1993 and was a loyal customer of Livraria Lello at the time.

Many have suggested that the bookstore's ornate neo-Gothic architecture bears a striking resemblance to depictions of both Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the central setting of the books, and the Flourish and Blotts bookshop, where characters in the books purchase their books on magic.

As a writer and someone of the age for whom Harry Potter was a formative cultural experience, I knew upon arriving in Porto that a pilgrimage to Livraria Lello was a necessity.

Here's what it was like:

SEE ALSO: I ate at the most beautiful McDonald's in the world, with crystal chandeliers, stained-glass windows, and outrageously delicious pastries

I had heard it best to head to Livraria Lello as early as possible because it gets crowded. I thought I was doing OK when I got there at 11 a.m. (it opens at 10 a.m.), but when I saw the line that stretched down several blocks, I knew I was in trouble.

To get in, you have to buy tickets for 5 euros a pop (applicable toward a book purchase) from a separate storefront. My girlfriend, Annie, went and got the tickets while I held our place in line. There were some nice brochures to browse through.

The line was scalding in the summer sun, but, thankfully, Livraria Lello employees were handing out umbrellas to shade people from the sun. It was a nice gesture when you are feeling like tourist cattle.

Over the past 32 years, Burning Man has evolved from a bonfire among friends in San Francisco to an international phenomenon attended by modern-day hippies and tech moguls alike.

Roughly 70,000 "burners" descended on the playa in Black Rock City, Nevada, last weekend for the annual counterculture gathering. The festival is offering its fare of surreal art installations, 130 musical acts, celebrity sightings, and out-of-this-world fashion. This year's Burning Man kicked off on August 26.

Some say you have to experience the world of Burning Man to understand its magic. In the meantime, these photos of Burning Man 2017 offer a glimpse of what it's like to attend.

SEE ALSO: Photos of tech workers having the time of their lives at Burning Man

Each year, a city rises on a remote swath of desert in Nevada. Burners call this temporary metropolis "Black Rock City."

The festival forms in the same shape every year: a giant semi-circle.

Nearly 70,000 people, known as "burners," come for the nine-day event.

There are a lot of movies to choose from on Netflix these days — but honestly, they aren't all great. So we have highlighted the ones worth your time.

In September, there's a handful of old and new titles that will keep you entertained. From Disney's hugely successful release from earlier this year, "Black Panther," to classics "The Breakfast Club," "Scarface," and "Groundhog Day."

And then there's "The Hurricane Heist," which why the heck would you not watch?

•  "Black Panther" (Available September 4). Now you can watch for countless days to decide once and for all if Killmonger was right.

•  "The Breakfast Club" (September 1). John Hughes' iconic high school drama will never not be cool.

• "Groundhog Day" (September 1). Bill Murray repeats the same day. Kind of like your work week ... but less groundhogs (we hope).

•  "The Hurricane Heist" (September 26). I mean, a heist movie set when a hurricane is about to hit — you're not going to see this movie?

•  "The River Wild" (September 1). Nothing beats evil Kevin Bacon, but then throw him up against Meryl Streep and you have the perfect thriller.

•  "Scarface" (1983) (September 1). Al Pacino in one of his most legendary roles and director Brian De Palma delivering a visual masterpiece.

•  "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (September 16). Fall in love with Michael Cera all over again, in Edgar Wright's geeky hit.

•  "Unforgiven" (September 1). Yes, an Oscar-winning Clint Eastwood Western, but more it's the latest reminder that Gene Hackman hasn't starred in a movie in 14 years.

SEE ALSO: The 17 most iconic female movie characters of all time, according to critics

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NOW WATCH: How a black cop infiltrated the KKK — the true story behind Spike Lee's 'BlacKkKlansman'

It might be over 90 degrees outside, but the fall TV shows are approaching. And there are a lot of them. 

We put together a list of all the notable new and returning shows coming in this fall and let you know whether you should watch them — or skip them.

The lineup for fall 2018 is promising, thanks to a slew of returning shows that had solid seasons last year, and quite a few new shows to look forward to. That's especially true for Netflix, which has "Big Mouth" returning in October, two Marvel shows returning with new seasons, and an exciting original teen rom-com "Sierra Burgess Is a Loser," starring Shannon Purser who played Barb on "Stranger Things."

There are also a few Amazon originals that are worth checking out, including "The Romanoffs" from "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner, and a modern interpretation of Shakespeare's "King Lear" starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. 

Here are all of the notable TV shows and TV movies premiering in fall 2018, and whether or not you should watch them:

SEE ALSO: The 5 most anticipated TV shows returning in September

NEW SHOWS:

"Mayans MC" — FX

Series premiere date: September 4

Should you watch it? You can skip. It's fine, but the spin-off is nowhere near as good as "Sons of Anarchy."

"Sierra Burgess Is a Loser" — Netflix

Premiere date: September 7

Should you watch it? Yes! This is another promising, light-hearted Netflix original movie that stars Barb from "Stranger Things," who is the star of this film and will not disappear after five minutes of screen time. 

• "Crazy Rich Asians" wins the domestic box office for a third-straight weekend, earning around $30 million by Labor Day, once again outperforming industry projections.
• It's the best Labor Day weekend performance in 11 years.
• It also marks the fourth straight weekend Warner Bros. has topped the domestic box office, going back to when it won the weekend in early August with "The Meg."

The Labor Day holiday weekend has traditionally been slow at the multiplex, as all the big summer hits have come and gone and none of the fall award season titles have come out yet.

But like everything that's happened in theaters this year, even Labor Day is performing above expectations.

Warner Bros.' hit "Crazy Rich Asians" won the domestic weekend box office for a third-straight weekend, with $22.2 million earned over the weekend (just a minuscule 10% drop compared to last weekend) and around $30 million by Labor Day.

That's the best Labor Day weekend performance in 11 years. The only other movie to hit $30 million over the four-day Labor Day holiday weekend was 2007's "Halloween."

"Crazy Rich Asians" now has a domestic total of $111 million, exceeding the expectations of Warner Bros., which has already greenlit a sequel from the Kevin Kwan series of books.

The end of the summer has been great for Warner Bros. This marks the fourth-straight weekend the studio has won the domestic box office, going back to early August when its Jason Statham shark movie, "The Meg," won the weekend.

That title has also kept a nice pace domestically, coming in second place this weekend with $10.5 million and now totaling $112 million domestically (over $450 million worldwide).

This performance by Warner Bros. titles to close the summer proved that sequels weren't the only thing that fueled the season, which had a $4.8 billion total in 2018 — a far cry from last summer's awful 11-year low 3.86 billion.

SEE ALSO: Netflix's hit crime drama series "Ozark" is back with its anticipated season 2

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• Before they appeared on "Shark Tank," the founders of Cousins Maine Lobster rehearsed their pitch over and over again.
• To make sure they had it down, they tried to distract each other, by blowing a hair dryer in each other's faces, reciting their lines while running, or even punching each other in the face.
• Ultimately, cofounder Jim Tselikis said, their actual pitch was easier than the rehearsals — and they landed a $55,000 deal with Barbara Corcoran.

In the months leading up to their appearance on "Shark Tank," in 2012, Jim Tselikis and Sabin Lomac watched every episode of the show.

The founders of Cousins Maine Lobster made index cards with commonly asked questions and answers, and jotted down which types of comments from contestants seemed to make the Sharks angry.

"We always say, if you're prepared, you've got nothing to worry about," Tselikis told Business Insider.

But Tselikis and Lomac also devised other, somewhat unusual techniques to make sure their pitch went perfectly.

"We would practice our pitch while we were running," Tselikis said. In an effort to simulate their anxiety on the day of the show, they'd get their heart rate up, rehearsing their lines while they were exercising and breathing heavily.

They'd also try to distract each other during rehearsals. "We'd literally be in our rooms turning on a blow dryer while somebody else was doing his pitch," Tselikis said.

Some rehearsals got a bit... violent. "Punches, strangling [each other], and as many inappropriate gestures as possible," Lomac said in an email.

The goal was that "when we're in the spotlight, we wouldn't lose a beat," Tselikis added.

When they finally walked through those double doors to the "Shark Tank" stage, Tselikis said, they were still nervous. But their offbeat preparation strategies paid off. Cousins Maine Lobster landed a $55,000 deal with Barbara Corcoran, in exchange for 15% of their company. The company is now one of Corcoran's most successful investments.

"It wasn't any harder than having Sabin punch me in the face for distraction purposes while I was giving my pitch," Tselikis said. "That was harder than sitting there and talking to the people right in front of us."

SEE ALSO: Startup founders who convinced 'Shark Tank' sharks like Mark Cuban to invest say too many entrepreneurs overlook a crucial element of a winning pitch

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NOW WATCH: 'Shark Tank' star Barbara Corcoran: How I went from a 10-kid household and more than 20 jobs to become a real estate mogul

There were more good movies than bad in theaters this summer, and that's exemplified in the diverse range of movies that were available to audiences from May to August.

The best-reviewed movies of the summer are short on the typical summer blockbuster fare, save for Pixar and Tom Cruise-starring sequels. But there were plenty of smaller films that captured the attention of audiences and critics alike, whether they be a Spike Lee joint or a touching documentary.

We rounded up the best movies of summer 2018 according to critic scores, and ranked them based on this list from review-aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.

Below are the 13 best movies of the summer, according to critics:

SEE ALSO: The 10 worst movies of the summer, according to critics

13. "Blindspotting"

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 93%

Release date: July 27

What critics said: "Carlos López Estrada’s directorial debut 'Blindspotting' is a lot of things—it’s an anarchic buddy comedy, a sly satire of gentrification, and a sober drama about an African American man trying to carve out a life after being released from prison. But more than anything, it’s a deeply earnest work, written by its two stars Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal as both a love letter to their hometown of Oakland and as an anguished cry over the state of race relations there." — David Sims, The Atlantic

12. "First Reformed"

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 93%

Release date: May 18

What critics said: "At once ruminative and shocking, godwardly inclined and repellently graphic, 'First Reformed' is indisputably the finest film [Paul] Schrader has directed since his sensitive adaptation of Russell Banks’s novel 'Affliction,' the summa of a career spent dwelling on the most hidden dualities of an essential human character that the filmmaker sees as continually torn between its loftiest aspirations and earthiest impulses." — Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

11. "Incredibles 2"

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 93%

Release date: June 15

What critics said: "'Incredibles 2,' which continues the story of the first film quite literally, does not — and realistically cannot — feel as bracing, as miraculous, as exquisitely wrought as the first film. But all of that film's charming particulars are on hand — the design, the music, the characters." — Glen Weldon, NPR

How does sound help Drogon and Toothless come to life?  Sound designers for "Game of Thrones" and "How to Train Your Dragon" have to get creative in order to invent the sound of a dragon. By layering the sounds of many animals they can create the sound of a whole new creature. Sound designers can also take inspiration from humans and animals. Following is a transcript of the video.

Narrator:Most of us know what a dragon sounds like, but they don't actually exist. And none can stop me! So, how does Hollywood know how to make them sound?

Daenerys: Dracarys!

Narrator: Just like visual artists, sound designers take inspiration from the world around them. The sounds for creatures like dragons, dinosaurs, and even Chewbacca are based on real-world animals. A sound designer may use sounds from lions, elephants, cats, and even tortoises to create the sound for just one dragon. They'll layer sounds together to create the sound of a nonexistent creature.

Paula Fairfield: So, my dogs are in the second episode of season five. There's a scene that's very intimate and you hear these like beautiful little nasal whistles. Okay, that was my dog, Angel. She's in a lot of Drogon's stuff and obviously in the wolves. So, I took that sound and put it in there.

Narrator: Paula Fairfield is a sound designer for "Game of Thrones." Over the last five seasons, Paula has carefully crafted the sounds of Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. She even used the vocal screams of fans to create the sound generated by Viserion's icy breath in the season seven finale. The final sound design of a scene is complex. It masks the individual sound effects so the viewer can't identify the sources. But, we can build our own simplified version of a dragon's sound. Combine some alligator, a little elephant, horse, add a pig and you've got the sound of a dragon. But, these are complex creatures. Dragons do more than just roar and breathe fire. Sound designers also use sound to craft a performance for the dragon. Just like Daenerys, Drogon needs to act and perform. Sound designers take emotional cues from animals to influence the sounds they create.

Paula Fairfield: I was really proud of the fact that you can always hear from the time he was, you know, a toddler to now you can hear the essence of him in his voice. You recognize him as Drogon. And I see them as like your puppy dog. I mean, we have grown up with these puppy dragons in our world, right? And, I think that's why there is so much love for them. I've tried to bring my love of that into the show.

Narrator: Each dragon is unique and sound designers are always trying something new. In "The Hobbit," director Peter Jackson used Benedict Cumberbatch's original performance as Smaug to influence the sound design of the dragon. Many of the pauses, hisses, and vocal affectations came from Cumberbatch.

Smaug: So, tell me, thief, how do you choose to die?

Narrator: These details help make Smaug incredibly impactful and memorable. And, in the "How to Train Your Dragon" series, sound designer Randy Thom used different types of sounds for each species of dragon giving each type of creature their own unique sound. Dragons and other fantastical creatures add a larger-than-life element to stories. The most memorable dragons leave space for the sound to have an emotional effect on the viewer. Without the incredible sound design, "Game of Thrones" and "How To Train Your Dragon" may not be as memorable.

Daenerys: They're beautiful aren't they?

Jon: Wasn't the word I was thinking of, but, but yes, they are.

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• Movies like "Star Wars," "Ghostbusters," and "Clueless" are celebrated as classics.
• They also have made some surprising contributions to our vocabularies.
• Common words popularized by movies include "catfish," "my bad," and even "toast."

Movies have long influenced the way people talk, and sometimes, it's in ways we don't even realize.

Movies from "Star Wars" to "Clueless" have contributed words and phrases to our vocabularies that we use every day. Linguists are always keeping tabs on the subtle ways cinema has crept into our lexicons.

Take the word "toast" as a synonym for "dead," like when someone says, "I'm toast." Surprisingly, the first known use of "toast" in that way came from Bill Murray in "Ghostbusters" — and he came up with the line on the spot.

Read on to learn about some popular and words and phrases for which we can thank the movies.

SEE ALSO: 8 common words you probably didn't know came from TV shows

DON'T MISS: 27 fascinating maps that show how Americans speak English differently across the US

Toast

When Bill Murray uttered "All right, this chick is toast!" in 1984's "Ghostbusters," few knew he was making linguistic history.

But believe it or not, Murray's line — delivered right before the film's climactic showdown — is the first known instance of the word "toast" being used to mean dead, finished, or doomed.

That's according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which directly cited the film as the source of the slang term. Green's Dictionary of Slang also pegs the origins of "toast" to the 1980s.

Funnily enough, Murray's famous line wasn't even in the "Ghostbusters" script, which originally called for him to say, "I’m gonna turn this guy into toast." Murray was said to have ad-libbed the line that eventually appeared in the film, and the change was significant:

"In our opinion, Murray’s alteration made all the difference. There's a huge semantic gulf between 'I'm gonna turn you into toast' and 'You're toast,'" wrote the editors of the blog Grammarphobia.

Murray's coinage spread like wildfire, and is so widespread today that it's hard to believe it's less than 35 years old.

My bad

"Clueless" introduced millions of viewers to Valley Girl slang, including gems like "As if!" and "Whatever."

While both of those slang expressions enjoyed decades of documented use before "Clueless" came out in 1995, there's another popular phrase whose popularity is even more closely tied to the film: "My bad."

Despite its widespread popularity today, "my bad" was largely still a niche expression pre-"Clueless." The earliest print citations for "My bad" are from as recently as 1985, according to linguist Ben Zimmer, and it was used primarily in the world of playground basketball. By the end of the decade, the phrase was still uncommon enough that sportswriters felt the need to explain its meaning in newspaper columns.

"After making a bad pass, instead of saying 'my fault,' Manute Bol says, 'my bad.' Now all the other Warriors say it too," USA Today wrote in 1989.

While "Clueless" didn't invent "my bad," it was instrumental in bringing it into the mainstream, and provided many viewers with their first exposure to the phrase.

Bucket list

In 2007's "The Bucket List," two terminally ill strangers go to great lengths to fulfill each others' greatest wishes before they die, or "kick the bucket."

Many people incorrectly believe the phrase "bucket list" was in use before the film came out, but in reality, it was the film's screenwriter Justin Zackham who invented the term back in 1999, when he wrote up his own bucket list, according to linguist Ben Zimmer.

"The film’s release brought the phrase into common parlance, and, as a testament to how natural and idiomatic it sounds, many people assume the term must have long predated the movie," Zimmer wrote.

Once the phrase entered the English language, its meaning expanded to include a list of things to do before any deadline, such as the last day of school or the end of summer.

• MoviePass parent Helios & Matheson has remained a popular target for short sellers, even as shares of the company trade near two cents.
• It's rare for short sellers to continue piling into bets against a company that's already fallen so far, according to financial-analytics firm S3 Partners.
• Watch Helios & Matheson trade in real time here.

Shares of Helios & Matheson Analytics, the parent company of much-maligned MoviePass, have plummeted more than 99% in recent months.

But that doesn't seem to be enough for ruthless short sellers, who are continuing to load up on bets the company's stock is headed to zero.

It's unusual behavior for investors to continue wagering against a stock once its price has fallen below $1 a share, according to financial-analytics firm S3 Partners. At that point, traders usually close out positions and take profits.

But the high-profile nature of MoviePass — combined with the speed of its decline — has clearly kept the attention of investors, even as shares hover near just two cents. Their insistence upon continuing to short, even at such depressed levels, suggests a high degree of conviction.

The chart below shows notional short interest — a measure of bets against a stock — for Helios & Matheson. As you can see, it's surged in recent months as MoviePass' woes have mounted.

This insatiable desire for short-selling profits stands in stark contrast to the issues faced by the legions of retail shareholders who have taken deep losses. And to make matters worse, as Helios & Matheson's stock has tumbled, the company has covered massive losses by selling new shares to passionate investors.

Meanwhile, the fundamentals of Helios & Matheson are getting shakier by the day. Just last week, a director resigned from the company's board, accusing management of withholding material information for months. A few days earlier, reports began trickling out that MoviePass was making life difficult for annual subscribers who wanted refunds.

And that's just in recent days.

All of the negative turmoil could explain why short sellers have been so adamant about continuing to bet against a company that's already quite beaten down.

"Usually we see a plateauing of shares shorted when we get to such low price levels because traders don’t see much meat on the bone," Ihor Dusaniwsky, S3's managing director of predictive analytics, told Business Insider over email.

"But in HMNY’s case, traders must be thinking that HMNY’s stock price will go to $0.00, otherwise they wouldn’t be initiating new short positions."

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Many of cinema's greatest directors have pursued war and its inherently cinematic drama as a subject.

The Metacritic data we compiled here to track the most critically acclaimed war movies of all time finds contemporary films like Christopher Nolan's WWII thriller "Dunkirk" alongside classics like Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam epic "Apocalypse Now," and Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan."

The list consists of the highest-rated movies on Metacritic's site labeled with a "war" tag, and includes both feature films and documentaries. 

Here are the 45 best war movies of all time, according to critics:

SEE ALSO: The 69 worst science fiction movies of all time, according to critics

45. "City of Life and Death" (2011)

Critic score: 85/100

User score: 7.7/10

What critics said: "'City of Life and Death,' a stunning re-creation of the Japanese army's annihilation of Nanking in 1937, will make you flinch, even as you admire its brilliant black-and-white cinematography, breathtaking art design and unerring direction." — San Francisco Chronicle

44. "The Pianist" (2002)

Critic score: 86/100

User score: 7.7/10

What critics said: "A great movie on a powerful, essential subject -- the Holocaust years in Poland -- directed with such artistry and skill that, as we watch, the barriers of the screen seem to melt away." — Chicago Tribune

43. "City of Ghosts" (2017)

Critic score: 86/100

User score: 6.3/10

What critics said: "What 'City of Ghosts' does best is to humanize those who’ve suffered most from the conflict in Syria, educating us through both outrage and compassion." — Variety

Did you think summer was overwhelming for your binge-watching queue? September is packed with must-watch television on Netflix, so it's time to make room for a slew of new shows and seasons. 

Thankfully, we studied the list of what's to come in September and picked what you should watch or catch up on. This month exclusively features Netflix originals. 

September is a big month for Netflix originals, both new and returning. "BoJack Horseman" returns for its fifth season, and "Marvel's Iron Fist" and "American Vandal" return for season two. "Maniac," a sci-fi limited series starring Jonah Hill and Emma Stone, drops on September 21. "The Good Cop," a goofy cop show from the creator of "Monk" starring Tony Danza and Josh Groban also drops on the 21st. 

Here's the 6 shows (and one original movie) dropping on Netflix in September that we recommend:

• "Marvel's Iron Fist": Season 2 (September 7). Season one got trashed by critics and audiences, but it's worth checking out. It could have turned things around after the criticism, or it could still be a disaster. 
• "Sierra Burgess is a Loser": Netflix original film (September 7). This teen movie stars Barb from "Stranger Things," and she won't die after saying three sentences. 
• "BoJack Horseman": Season 5  (September 14). Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has said that this is his favorite show. Outside of that, it actually is one of Netflix's best original shows and gets better and better with each season. 
• "American Vandal": Season 2 (September 14). Season two is all about a high school that is haunted by a person who is poisoning people with laxatives — so do with that what you will. 
• "Maniac": Limited Series (September 21). This show won't be for everyone, but it looks unlike anything else visually. 
• "The Good Cop": Season 1 (September 21). A father/son cop dramadey starring Tony Danza and soft rock singer Josh Groban? This could be a nightmare but it could also be perfect. 
• "Made in Mexico": Season 1 (September 28). This show is basically Real Housewives but instead follows Mexico's elite. It's gotten some buzz, and it will be interesting how that style of reality series works in a Mexican setting.

SEE ALSO: Fall TV preview: We break down the notable shows and whether you should watch or skip them

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• Microsoft and Sony directly compete in the video-game market, where the PlayStation 4 has a commanding lead over the Xbox One in hardware sales numbers.
• Since last year, Microsoft has been pushing the concept of "cross-platform" play: the ability to play games like "Minecraft," "Fortnite," and more with friends on PC, smartphone, and even Nintendo's Switch.
• Sony refuses to allow games on the PlayStation 4 to work with games on Microsoft's Xbox One and the Switch.
• Sony president Kenichiro Yoshida reaffirmed that stance in a recent interview: "On cross-platform, our way of thinking is always that PlayStation is the best place to play. 'Fortnite,' I believe, partnered with PlayStation 4 is the best experience for users, that's our belief."

"Fortnite" is the biggest game in the world, and you can play it on pretty much any device that plays games — from the PlayStation 4 to the Nintendo Switch to the Xbox One, and even on smartphones.

And, on most of those platforms, you can play the game with anyone else. Xbox One "Fortnite" players can play with Nintendo Switch, and iPhone, and PC (and vice versa). 

There's just one exception: Sony's PlayStation 4.

Sony doesn't allow PlayStation 4 "Fortnite" players to interact with players on Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, specifically because Microsoft and Nintendo are Sony's competition in the video game space. And it sounds like that stance isn't going to change, despite repeated calls from PS4 owners and game creators for Sony to open its platform.

"On cross-platform, our way of thinking is always that PlayStation is the best place to play," Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida told the Press Association in an interview last week. "'Fortnite', I believe, partnered with PlayStation 4 is the best experience for users, that's our belief."

In the case of "Fortnite" on PlayStation 4, users are actually locked to Sony's game console. 

If you tie your "Fortnite" account to the PlayStation Network, you're unable to use that account — and anything you've earned in game or, more importantly, purchased in game — anywhere else. That isn't the case on any other platform where "Fortnite" is available.

It's a move that sparked outrage earlier this year, even spawning a hashtag: #BlameSony.

And PlayStation 4 owners weren't the only ones upset — major game makers and publishers have repeatedly, openly criticized Sony's decision to silo the PlayStation 4 multiplayer experience from competing platforms.

"We cannot have a game that works one way across everywhere else except for on this one thing," Pete Hines, a Bethesda Game Studios senior vice president, said in a recent interview with Game Informer regarding the upcoming launch of "The Elder Scrolls: Legends" on game consoles. 

"The Elder Scrolls: Legends" is a competitive card game, similar to Blizzard's "Hearthstone," that's the same across all platforms, visually and gameplay-wise, whether you're playing it on an iPhone or a PC. The game is turn-based, so it doesn't require precise, reaction-based controls.

In so many words: There's no technical reason it couldn't work across competing platforms like the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. 

But it sounds like Sony isn't budging. "We decide based on what is the best user experience," Yoshida said. "That is our way of thinking for cross-platform."

In the case of "The Elder Scrolls: Legends," Sony's thinking may interfere with the PlayStation 4 getting the game at all. "It is our intention in order for the game to come out, it has to be those things on any system," Hines said. 

In other words: If Sony doesn't allow cross-play for this game, Bethesda won't publish it on the PlayStation 4. And that doesn't sound like a great user experience.

SEE ALSO: 'Fortnite' players are furious at Sony for locking accounts to the PlayStation 4 — an exclusionary tactic that’s burning years of goodwill with fans

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• YouTube updated its Apple TV app on August 30.
• The update fixed some issues, but created a new problem.
• Your home screen is now limited to five categories, which you can't choose or change, effectively making discovery more difficult than it was before.

YouTube must have read my recent complaints about its Apple TV app because the newest update, which dropped last week, fixes a handful of issues I brought up.

Unfortunately, the new YouTube update introduces a new problem that wasn't there before.

Some of the problems that were fixed:

— Scrolling is now much better. The YouTube app now uses inertial scrolling, which is one of the best features of the Apple TV remote: It can act like your iPhone's touchscreen, so the faster you flick your finger, the faster you scroll.

— The user interface is slightly better. The toolbar on the left side, which has buttons for Search and Subscriptions, is no longer hidden by default.

But the YouTube app's biggest problem remains even after the update: You can't use voice search unless you navigate to the actual "Search" field in the app, and you can't use your voice to control playback.

The app is also worse than it was before in one crucial way: You're now limited to five categories at the top of your home screen, which includes the "Recommended" and "Latest" categories, and there's no way to customize them.

For example, the categories at the top of my YouTube app, aside from the two defaults, are "Entertainment," "Gaming," and "Music." But I didn't choose these categories, and there's no setting that allows me to change them. And I wish I could switch out "Music" for another category like "Food."

The real issue here is that since you're locked into these predetermined categories, it makes discovery on the app significantly worse than it was before.

Prior to the August 30 update, the YouTube app would present a large number categories at the top of the UI, which usually correlated with the types of videos you'd watch. And those categories would change: If you started watching more videos from "The Ellen Show," the "Entertainment" section would likely appear on your feed. But now, there's no way to add or change your default categories, and so finding new videos, or creators, within those categories is now significantly more difficult on the Apple TV.

YouTube is all about search and discovery, but right now the latter feature is not up to snuff on the Apple TV. Here's hoping that changes soon.

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