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Succession creator Jesse Armstrong continues to skewer the world of the awfully rich (and richly awful) with his new tech bro satire Mountainhead.Skipping theaters, the new movie premiered on Max on Saturday, May 31, with a linear broadcast on HBO that evening. Since release, the film has shot up the Max charts and is currently enjoying the global top spot.And while audiences can’t stream the Succession follow-up quick enough, critics are loving what is fast becoming one of the best Max movies around at the moment, with the film currently sitting at a very respectable 79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.Armstrong’s latest dark comedy follows a group of Musk/Bezos/Zuckerberg types as they meet at one of their number's secluded mountain retreat while the world faces AI-fueled turmoil that they may have played a not-insignificant part in creating.Jason Schwartzman pops his head above the Wes Anderson parapet to play Hugo, the owner of the lodge looking to impress his billionaire buddies. Steve Carell, meanwhile, portrays Randall, the elder statesman of the group and an early tech mogul who has been raking it in since before the rest of the group were born.Cory Michael Smith’s Venis is the wealthiest of the bunch and the owner of the social media platform at the center of the storm of disinformation engulfing the globe, while Ramy Youssef’s Jeff is an AI pioneer on the outs with some of the gang.After four seasons of the critically acclaimed Succession, expectations were high for Armstrong and HBO’s next collaboration, and Francesca Orsi, EVP of Programming at the network is confident their continued partnership will deliver, saying: “We’re ecstatic to be back in business with the singular talent Jesse Armstrong [...].’ Jesse once again raises the bar with a bold examination of modern greed, power and male ambition. That this feature serves as his directorial debut will only elevate what is already thrilling on the page, and we couldn’t be more excited to share this timely film with the world.”What are the critics saying about Mountainhead?As you’d expect with a high Rotten Tomatoes score, critics have plenty of praise for the film, with Globe and Mail commenting on the quality of the "inventively profane” dialogue which is “as enjoyable as Succession’s at its most absurd,” while Empire called it a “darkly funny” film with a “chilling final note.”Some responses weren’t as positive, however, as some critics found the film lacked subtlety. Boston Globe said the movie was “satire as a blunt force object,” and critic Christian Toto criticised the way the film “piles on the hate, not the laughs.”(Image credit: Max)What's the subscriber's verdict?Viewers have been even harsher on Armstrong’s latest, with the film sitting at just a 27% RT Audience Score. Many viewers compared the film unfavorably to Succession, with one saying it was like the show, but with characters that were "annoyingly fake and worse, unfunny.” Another called it “the most obnoxious movie I’ve ever seen” while a third said simply: “just terrible.”Viewers over on Reddit were a little kinder though, with one poster calling the film “hilarious,” stating “Steve Carell was incredible in it.” Another praised the “fun dialogue and good laughs,” with other users saying “I really enjoyed this.”Comment from r/moviesEither way, if you’re a subscriber to one of the best streaming services out there and intrigued by what sounds like Succession meets Glass Onion, the film is available to stream on Max right now.And if that doesn’t quite hit the mark, you can always check out one of the other movies and shows arriving on Max in June.You might also likeFor more Max-based coverage, read our guides on The Last of Us season 2, House of the Dragon season 3, Euphoria season 3, and The White Lotus season 3.

Snapchat has been experimenting with generative AI-powered augmented reality lenses in its app for the last couple years. Now, the company is allowing users to make their own with a new standalone app for making AR effects.

Snap is introducing a new version of its Lens Studio software that allows anyone to create AR lenses through text prompts and other simple editing tools, and publish them directly to Snapchat. Up to now, Lens Studio has only been available as a desktop app meant for developers and AR professionals. And while the new iOS app and web version aren't nearly as powerful, it offers a wide range of face-altering and body-morphing effects thanks to generative AI.

"These are experimental new tools that make it easier than ever to create, publish, and play with Snapchat Lenses made by you," the company explains in a blog post. "Now, you can generate your own AI effects, add your dancing Bitmoji to the fun, and express yourself with Lenses that reflect your mood or an inside joke–whether you’re on the go or near your computer. "

Snap gave me an early look at the Lens Studio iOS app, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much flexibility it offered. There are AI-powered tools for transforming your face, body and background via detailed text prompts (the app also offers suggestions of the kinds of prompts that work well, like "detailed zombie head with big eyes and nose, lots of details.")

There's a bit of a learning curve to figuring out what works well for each type of effect, and some of the generative AI prompts can take up to 20 minutes to render. But the app also offers dozens of templates that you can use as a starting point and remix with your own ideas. You can also make simpler face-altering filters that don't rely as heavily AI but take advantage of popular Snapchat effects like face cutouts or Bitmoji animations. (A few examples of my creations are below, both used AI to create a background I overlaid other effects onto.)

Screenshots via Snap

Snap already has hundreds of thousands of lens creators, some of whom have been making effects for the app for years. But I can easily see this new, simpler version of Lens Studio opening the door for many more. There could also be some upside for creators hoping to take advantage of Snapchat's monetization programs: the company confirmed that users who publish lenses from the new app will be eligible to participate in its Lens Creator Rewards program, which pays creators who make popular AR effects.

A more accessible version of Lens Studio could also help Snap compete with Meta for AR talent. (Meta shut down Spark AR, its platform that allowed creators to make AR for Instagram last year.) In addition to Snapchat's in-app effects, the company is now on its second generation of standalone AR glasses. More recently, Snap has focused on big-name developers to make glasses-ready effects, but the company has previously leaned on Lens Creators to come up with interesting use cases for AR glasses. Those types of integrations will likely require much more than what's currently available in the new pared-down version of Lens Studio, but making AR creation more accessible (with the help of AI) raises some interesting possibilities for what might one day be possible for the company.

Jim Lanzone, the CEO of Engadget’s parent company Yahoo, joined the board of directors at Snap on September 12, 2024. No one outside of Engadget’s editorial team has any say in our coverage of the company.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/snapchat-now-has-a-standalone-app-for-making-gen-ai-augmented-reality-effects-170036214.html?src=rss