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Spider-Man Review

14 Jun 2002

121 minutes

With a $100 million-plus budget and a comic book legend comes great responsibility, and Sam Raimi has not fumbled. A perfect melding of director and subject, this supremely entertaining take on the worldwide web-slinger pulls off the nifty trick of satisfying the fanboy geeks, the Raimi freaks, and the movie thrill-seeker in one sublime swoop.

Outstripping last summer’s blockbusters, what’s great about Spider-Man is its ability to hold onto seemingly obsolete values — characters you can root for, plotting that makes sense — while still delivering maximum bang for the buck.

In a leisurely opening more reminiscent of Superman than anything by Simon West, Raimi sketches Peter Parker’s geek credentials with telling character beats. Once the spider skills have been acquired — Maguire brings an endearing goofiness to his first attempts at web-slinging — the script (although lacking trademark Spidey oneliners) strikes a streamlined simplicity: it’s Spidey vs. Green Goblin. No masterplans to freeze the city, just showdown after beautiful showdown.

Amid all the comic book action, however, Raimi preserves Spider-Man ’s (both character and movie) humanity. Maguire effortlessly makes the transition from alpha-nerd to action man with skill and aplomb; playing niftily on his indie film persona, he invests Peter with a winning warmth while remaining believable as someone uneasy in the confines of his own skin.

His relationship with small town love Mary Jane (Dunst, appealing in a poorly-conceived role) is sweet and endearing, adding an emotional element missing from many blockbusters. Staying the right side of hammy, Dafoe is brooding with intensity as mad scientist Norman Osborn, and brimming with evil glee as his alter-ego, Green Goblin.

If occasionally a dodgy CGI shot slips through the net, the realisation of Spider-Man cavorting through a bustling metropolis, barely in control of his own trajectory, is a spandex ballet so exuberant and damn-right cool that it doesn’t matter.

Be it the sight of Spidey swinging round flagpoles or landing on balconies, exhilaration outstrips execution to make neck hairs stand to attention.

For all Spider-Man ’s reputation as the gaudy, sunny side of superherodom, Raimi manages to syringe some darkness into the mix. There’s the genuinely unnerving moment when Norman, taunted by the Goblin’s cackles, goes searching for the source, only to be confronted by his own face in the mirror.

Or the fantastic image of Parker’s face glimpsed through the ripped Spider-Man ’s mask, capturing the warped duality of the character. And the final Spidey/ Goblin showdown has a stylised brutality that’s more punishing than any cert. 12 has the right to be.

Despite a below-par Danny Elfman score, Raimi’s direction is marked by a craftsmanship that befits blockbuster prestige but still retains his unique sensibility. When the genetically-modified spider bites into Parker, the camera is total Raimi with its twists and spirals.

Even more impressive, an impressionistic montage depicting Parker dreaming up the Spidey suit and the Matrix -esque portrayal of his emerging spider-sense rank among cinema’s greatest renderings of purely comic book conceits. Much like the movie itself.

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Empire (2002) Stream and Watch Online

Watch 'empire' online.

Fancy watching ' Empire ' on your TV, phone, or tablet? Finding a streaming service to buy, rent, download, or watch the Franc. Reyes-directed movie via subscription can be challenging, so we here at Moviefone want to do the work for you. Below, you'll find a number of top-tier streaming and cable services - including rental, purchase, and subscription alternatives - along with the availability of 'Empire' on each platform when they are available. Now, before we get into all the details of how you can watch 'Empire' right now, here are some finer points about the Universal Pictures Bigel Mailer Films crime flick. Released January 16th, 2002, 'Empire' stars John Leguizamo , Peter Sarsgaard , Denise Richards , Vincent Laresca The R movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 30 min, and received a user score of 59 (out of 100) on TMDb, which collated reviews from 97 experienced users. What, so now you want to know what the movie's about? Here's the plot: "A big time drug dealer Victor Rosa is looking to get out of the game and sees his chance with a big deal with a new friend who happens to be a Wall St stockbroker Thinking this will be his chance to go out on top Victor soon finds out that he has been double crossed and his last option is to get revenge" 'Empire' is currently available to rent, purchase, or stream via subscription on Starz Roku Premium Channel, Starz, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple iTunes, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Vudu, Microsoft Store, and Amazon Video .

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The Idea Of You Review

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Few films understand as well as this one how online hate shapeshifts depending on the perspective.

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The film asks a lot of thorny, compelling questions about desire in the digital age: identifying that a nostalgic crush is different to a brand-new one, and that those feelings are wildly different at 17, 27 or 37. Equally, few films understand as well as this one how online hate (and the complexity of stans — extremely devoted fans) shapeshifts depending on the perspective, as fast as celebrity culture and the internet itself keeps changing.

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Here’s how to watch Empire online, including whether the show is on major streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Featuring a cast headed by Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, hip hop drama Empire debuted its first season on Fox back in 2015. A loose interpretation of the Shakespeare tragedy King Lear , the show stars Howard as music mogul Lucious Lyon – the head of the record label Empire Entertainment – and follows the many dramas that ensue as his family and foes grapple for control over the company.

Unfortunately for Empire fans, the show recently ended its six-season run in April 2020. Production was halted prematurely by the coronavirus outbreak too, meaning fans only got 18 episodes in Empire’s final season rather than the 20 that were originally planned. While the series finale was patched together from what footage the crew already had, Empire co-creators Lee Daniels and Danny Strong and showrunner Brett Mahoney are hopeful they’ll be able to give the show the finale it deserves once it’s safe to start filming again.

Related: Empire Season 3 Episode 14 Saw Angelo's Proposal Go Very, Very Wrong

Whether Daniels, Strong and Mahoney will be able to pull that off remains to be seen but in the meantime, fans can always rewatch the Lyon family saga online. While the show isn’t currently available in the Netflix library, all six seasons and 120 episodes of Empire are on Hulu. Prime has all six seasons of Empire too, but unfortunately, they’re not currently free to watch with Prime membership. Individual episodes of the show are, however, available to purchase from $1.99 and full seasons are priced from $9.99.

If Hulu or Prime aren’t an option, there are still other ways to watch Empire without shelling out for a Blu-ray. The Microsoft Store has full seasons priced between $19.99 and $24.99 to purchase, with individual episodes costing $2.99. The iTunes Store offers a slightly cheaper deal with some seasons available to download for just $9.99, while others are priced at $24.99. iTunes also offers seasons 1 to 5 of Empire as a bundle for $64.99.

There could be other ways to watch Empire online in the not-too-distant future too. A couple of months ago Fox acquired the San Francisco-based, ad-supported streaming service Tubi in a $440 million deal. Fox recently added its reality TV hit The Masked Singer to the Tubi library also, so there’s a good chance that Empire could be available via the streaming service as Fox adds more of its own content down the line.

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Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, go inland, young woman.

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Put on the watch. Light the cigarette, fold back the silk, and use the cigarette to burn a hole in the silk. Then put your eye up to the hole and look through, all the way through, until you find yourself falling through the hole and into the shifting patterns you see on the other side.

That's a metaphor for watching and making movies, and it's one way to watch "Inland Empire" -- a way that is, in fact, specifically recommended in the movie itself. This is David Lynch 's film -- the one he's been making since "Eraserhead" -- and it offers you multiple ways to view it as it uncoils over nearly three hours, encouraging you to see it from all of them at once. It is, after all, overtly about the relationship between the movie and the observer, the actor and the performance, the watcher and the watched (and the watch).

In this sense, you might say, "Inland Empire" is a digital film, through and through. Not because Lynch shot it with the relatively small Sony PD-150 digicam and fell in love with the smeary, malleable and unstable texture of digital video (where the brightest Los Angeles sunlight can be as void and terrifying as the darkest shadow), or because the first pieces of the movie were digital shorts he made for his Web site before they grew and crystallized into a narrative idea. "Inland Empire" unfolds in a digital world (a replication of consciousness itself -- hence the title), where events really do transpire in multiple locations at the same time (or multiple times at the same place), observers are anywhere and everywhere at once, and realities are endlessly duplicable, repeatable and tweakable. This is a digital dimension where, to paraphrase Jean-Luc Godard , there's no difference between ketchup and paint and light and blood: On the screen, it's red.

"Inland Empire" presents itself as a Hollywood movie (and a movie about Hollywood) in the guise of an avant-garde mega-meta art movie. When people say "Inland Empire" is Lynch's " Sunset Boulevard ," Lynch's " Persona ," or Lynch's " 8 1/2 ," they're quite right, but it also explicitly invokes connections to Stanley Kubrick's " The Shining ," Jean-Luc Godard's " Pierrot le Fou ," Bunuel and Dali's " Un Chien Andalou ," Maya Deren's LA-experimental "Meshes of the Afternoon" (a Lynch favorite), and others.

Of course, it's also a tour-de-Lynch, in which we virtually revisit spaces and images and faces ( Laura Dern , Justin Theroux , Grace Zabriskie , Harry Dean Stanton ... ) that resonate with memories of "Eraserhead," " Blue Velvet ," "Twin Peaks," " Wild at Heart ," " Lost Highway ," " Mulholland Drive ," "Inland Empire" itself -- and some perpetually unfinished Lynch movie of the future. Because, in the Inland Empire, nobody can quite remember if it's today or two days from now, because yesterday and the day after tomorrow are all transpiring in the present tense. Or, as one character puts it so memorably, "I suppose if it was 9:45, I would think it is after midnight."

You probably already know by now if you're inclined to want to see "Inland Empire," which is a good thing because it's practically impossible to review in a newspaper. It has a story -- multiple stories, all intertwined and interconnected at various nodes -- but it's structured more like a web than a yarn. Synopsis is futile, but the tag line states its elemental appeal as succinctly as possible: "A Woman in Trouble."

Let it suffice to say that the actress Laura Dern plays a Hollywood actress named Nikki Grace who is hired to play the character of Sue Blue in a movie called "On High in Blue Tomorrows," directed by Kingsley ( Jeremy Irons ) and co-starring Devon (Justin Theroux) as Billy Side. Turns out their movie may be some kind of shadow remake of a film that was never finished because of something that went wrong -- "something inside the story," as Kinglsey describes it.

There you have it. Something inside the story goes awry, the watch spring snaps and the works go flying in all directions, from the intersection of Hollywood and Vine to Poland to Pomona. Gypsies and gangsters and whores and animals appear. Blood and circuses! "Inland Empire" works -- and works spectacularly -- as a kind of fractal telenovela. Take any moment -- any shot or sequence or motif -- and you'll find it repeated throughout the film at greater and lesser degrees of magnification. Like a fractal image, any single fragment contains within it a representation of the whole picture.

As they pass before you, you recognize the familiar stock images, characters and dramatic templates -- often employed to build suspense, deliver a shock, jerk tears -- from a million other movies, especially the climactic moments in noir thrillers (like the one on TV at the start of "Blue Velvet"), melodramatic serials and soapy romances. There's the dark hallway, the shadowy stairway, the gun in the drawer, the seduction scene, the portentious expositional dialogue, the bedroom/sex scene, the ominous foreshadowing.... But here they're deliberately disjointed because the usual connective tissue has been moved, removed or replaced.

Lynch knows all stories are all in our heads; we make them up and then inhabit them. "Inland Empire" plays with our movie-fed storytelling expectations line by line, shot by shot, scene by scene, even reel by reel (pay attention to those changeover marks in the upper right). He toys with the building blocks -- establishing shots, reaction shots, POV, and especially closeups -- to get us to look at them in unfamiliar ways. It's poetry: We recognize the individual units of meaning, but the grammar and syntax have been altered.

And "Inland Empire" is very much a movie about acting, built around a towering performance by Dern that is itself about giving (and watching) a towering performance. There's a moment, when Dern's distorted, clown-like face is actually projected onto someone else's head, which has got to be the ultimate actor's nightmare: "This is what I do: I make big, grotesque clown-faces to parrot human behavior." You'll want to scream; you probably will. Lynch has actively campaigned (with a cow, on Sunset Boulevard) for an Academy Award nomination for Dern, and for very good reasons. Not only is Dern mind-blowingly terrific, but a nomination itself would be a meta-expansion/continuation of "Inland Empire," and the performance(s) she gives in it.

"Inland Empire" opens and contracts in your imagination while you watch it -- and you're still watching it well after it's left the screen. It's a long but thoroughly absorbing three hours (perhaps necessary for a movie that continually readjusts perceptions of time), but I feel like it's not over yet. It's still playing in my head, like a downloaded compressed file that's expanding and installing itself in my brain. This David Lynch, he put his digital virus in me.

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Film credits.

Inland Empire (2007)

Rated R for language, some violence and sexuality/nudity.

172 minutes

Harry Dean Stanton as Freddie

Peter J. Lucas as Piotrek Krol

Jeremy Irons as Kingsley

Laura Dern as Nikki/Sue

Justin Theroux as Devon/Billy

Written and directed by

• David Lynch

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• Variety Joe Leydon A yawningly familiar melodrama about an enterprising hustler who's undone by his own ambitions.
• San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle A gangster movie with the capacity to surprise.
• Newsday Gene Seymour Another excuse to trot out the usual ghetto-melodramatic bromides: What Happens When You Leave the Old Neighborhood Behind and Remembering Who Your Real Posse Is and, most of all, Respecting the Woman Who Loves You Best.
• Houston Chronicle Eric Harrison The characters ... are paper-thin, and their personalities undergo radical changes when it suits the script.
• Detroit News Susan Stark A standard crime drama enlivened by its sense of time, place and character.
• Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert It has the right approach and the right opening premise, but it lacks the zest and it goes for a plot twist instead of trusting the material.
• New York Times Elvis Mitchell Leaves no clich unturned; it's Old Jack City.
• New York Post Lou Lumenick A predictable and stereotypical little B-movie.
• Denver Rocky Mountain News Robert Denerstein It winds up moving in many directions as it searches (vainly, I think) for something fresh to say.
• Detroit Free Press John Monaghan You never believe for a minute that the character actor and comedian from Moulin Rouge and Summer of Sam is actually a once-ruthless drug dealer trying to go straight.
• Boston Globe Wesley Morris [Reyes] pushes his shopping cart through the ghetto-drug-flick warehouse, where all the merchandise has been picked over like a Filene's sale rack on the day after Thanksgiving.
• Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov Like its protagonist, the movie tries to rise above convention, flails about a bit, and slides back into self-parody.
• Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com Scott Von Doviak Reyes has obviously seen Goodfellas 50 or 60 times.
• Ebert & Roeper Richard Roeper This is the most predictable plot twist since The Greatest Story Ever Told. You really know this one is coming and it just ruins the whole movie.
• Washington Post Desson Thomson This movie ... doesn't deserve the energy it takes to describe how bad it is.
• Washington Post Ann Hornaday A retread of material already thoroughly plumbed by Martin Scorsese.
• Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen Tries to pass off a scattered, cliched approximation of the real deal.
• Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek The movie's action unfolds laboriously before us, dragged along, bumpety-bumpety, by the plodding voiceover that Leguizamo has the misfortune of delivering.
• Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas Leguizamo ... gives one of the best performances of the year in a lead role in an American movie.
• USA Today Claudia Puig Stereotypical, banally written bloodbath.

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‘the empire’ review: bruno dumont’s artsy space spoof is beautifully crafted and certifiably insane.

The director of 'Humanity' and 'Li'l Quinquin' returns to Berlin's main competition with a sci-fi satire starring Fabrice Luchini and Camille Cottin.

By Jordan Mintzer

Jordan Mintzer

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Out of the many movies you could imagine emerging from the mind of French auteur Bruno Dumont, a Star Wars parody was probably somewhere at the bottom of the list.

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In the press notes, the director claims The Empire is supposed to be a prequel to The Life of Jesus . That seems like a major stretch, although it does feature some of the same stunning landscapes and impressive widescreen photography, this time courtesy of DP David Chambille (who shot Dumont’s last few features). The difference here is that those landscapes are occasionally interrupted by the arrival of a giant floating ship that looks exactly like the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and houses a powerful interstellar Queen, appearing in the form of a hologram, played by Call My Agent ’s Camille Cottin.

Are you a little thrown off? Well good, because Dumont isn’t trying to make anything real or believable. That’s pretty much been his modus operandi for a decade now, with his recent output consisting of two nutso Joan of Arc biopics , a goofy belle époque murder mystery called Slack Bay and the modern media satire France , which was the tamest of the bunch.

As for the plot, just like in Star Wars it involves forces of good and evil. Good is represented by the church (there’s always been a mystical side to Dumont’s work) and evil by the monarchy, with veteran Fabrice Luchini playing a Darth Vader-like figure called Belzébuth. The latter is dressed in a court jester’s costume that looks like a cast-off from Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland . In one scene, Luchini sits on the throne in his floating castle and watches what looks like a giant, gyrating butt dance around to a three-piece jazz band.

Back on Earth in the seaside city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, the epic battle centers around a child named Freddy, whom both good and evil believe is a future king called the Margat. His father, Jony (Brandon Vlieghe), has been raising him to service Belzébuth, and he’s aided by the very extraterrestrial-like newcomer Line (Lina Khoudri). But their plans are thwarted by Jane (Anamaria Vartolomei from Happening ), a Princess Lea dressed in a bikini and accompanied by a rebel (Julien Manier) who goes around town decapitating people with his light sword.

The Empire is light years away from the works of Lucasfilm, and yet when you take a step back and look past all the weird northern Frenchiness, it can feel pretty close at times. It’s too bad, then, that Dumont couldn’t make something more entertaining so that the satire would go down smoothly.

Like his other recent films, this one isn’t easy to sit through, though it’s definitely original and, per custom, impeccably made. You can accuse Dumont of many things, including testing the viewer’s patience, but at least he hasn’t sold out yet and gone over to the dark side.

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Empire Today , which some may know as simply Empire, is a long-standing flooring company with decades of experience selling and installing various types of floors. The company boasts transparent, all-inclusive pricing estimates, available next-day installation, and unique flooring designed to minimize noise. But is Empire Today a good option for customers looking for a flooring company? This Empire Today review will explore the ins and outs of the flooring installation company so customers searching for “Empire flooring near me” can determine whether it might be the right fit for their needs.

See more of the best carpet installation companies , best flooring companies, and the best hardwood flooring installers.

At a glance

Empire today.

• Service area: Nationwide
• Types of flooring available: Carpet, laminate, vinyl, hardwood, tile
• In-home shopping: Yes
• Estimate scheduling: Online, phone
• Warranty: 1-year installation warranty
• Transparent, all-inclusive price estimate
• Next-day installation available
• Wide selection of flooring styles
• Wide selection of carpet textures and styles
• Highly detailed and realistic room visualizer tool
• Allegedly superior sound reduction and temperature retention with exclusive WhisperHOME wood flooring
• Service plan covers damages beyond warranty coverage
• Relatively limited selection of solid hardwood flooring
• Limited pricing information online
• Installation warranty limited to 1 year

Empire Today Review: Claims

Empire Today offers a wide range of flooring options, free in-home estimates, a nifty room visualizer tool, and several customer service options to help customers meet their flooring goals. But does it live up to its reputation?

About Empire Today

Empire Today was founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1959 as a family-run home furnishing business. The company was originally called Empire Plastic Covers, but changed its name in 1965 to Empire Home Services to better describe its mission. The company kept that name until 2003, when it was rechristened Empire Today after being sold to new owners.

Today, the company operates in more than 70 locations nationwide and is one of the best-known names in the flooring industry. It’s also known for its distinctive Empire Today commercial featuring a catchy jingle and a character known as “Empire Man.” The first TV commercial aired in 1978, and Empire Man was a live-action character; however, today he is portrayed in cartoon form instead. Thanks to the jingle featured in the ads, customers have likely heard of Empire Today even if they have never used the company for their flooring needs.

However, Empire Today is more than a jingle and a fun cartoon character. The company offers numerous types of flooring, at-home consultations, all-inclusive pricing quotes, and in some cases, next-day installation.

How It Works

Empire Today keeps costs down by not maintaining showrooms for customers. However, it services 70 “locations” across the country that serve as bases for salespeople, representatives, and employees to operate out of. Rather than customers visiting a showroom to shop for their new flood, the company offers a “Shop-at-Home” model where consultants will visit a customer’s home to discuss the flooring project and show examples of materials that might work best. This also benefits the customer, as they will be able to fit their flooring consultation around their schedule more easily and can plan the project from the comfort of their own home (as well as see how different flooring options look next to their furniture and decor).

Customers can make a Shop-at-Home appointment by visiting Empire Today’s website or by calling 800-588-2300. Appointments are often available as soon as the next day. During the appointment, an Empire Today flooring professional will ask the customer questions about what they want from their flooring project, including their needs, preferences, and budget, and offer suggestions that fit the bill. By bringing flooring samples to the home, representatives can help customers see how each option would look against their decor and in different lights without the guesswork that would be involved when visiting a flooring showroom. The convenience of the Shop-at-Home model means that potential customers can save the time and hassle of leaving their home to see their flooring options and better fit their consultation into their schedule.

After the customer has decided which type of flooring they want to go with, they will receive a same-day all-inclusive price estimate so they can see exactly what the project will cost. In addition to the cost of the flooring and installation, the quote includes moving furniture, removing old flooring, installing padding or underlayment, installing threshold and trim, and cleanup. Empire Today strives for transparency when it comes to pricing, though there may be unforeseen issues (such as subfloor repair or replacement) that could come into play once the project is underway, and these can increase the overall cost. However, barring these additional issues, the customer’s final price should match the initial estimate, allowing them to budget accordingly without worrying about any last-minute surprises.

Services Offered

Empire Today flooring installation services are designed to suit the needs of homeowners and businesses around the country. Since Empire Today is a full-service flooring company, customers will be able to choose their desired flooring and have it installed by the same company within a reasonable time frame—sometimes as soon as the day after they sign a contract. However, that does mean that customers are limited to the flooring choices offered by Empire Today; there is no option to buy flooring independently and have Empire Today install it, nor to buy flooring from Empire Today and have it installed by a different company or as a DIY project. That might be a deal-breaker for some customers, but most will appreciate being able to complete their entire flooring project through one company. Empire Today also strives to complete installation as soon as possible after the customer has signed a contract, whereas the flooring project may take longer for a homeowner who tackles installation themselves or hires a separate company for installation.

Business owners can also have their flooring replaced by Empire Today. The company offers several high-durability wall-to-wall commercial carpet options designed to help reduce noise and cover large spaces. As part of commercial carpet installation, Empire Today will move furniture and other office items so the business owner doesn’t need to worry about taking care of any preparation work.

Flooring Materials Selection

Empire Today has a large selection of flooring materials designed to suit a wide range of tastes. This includes carpet, laminate, hardwood, vinyl, and tile. Customers will find products in a variety of finishes at different price points, so they likely won’t have trouble finding something to fit their home’s aesthetics. For each type of flooring, customers will find information on the pros of choosing that material and who would best benefit from it. This way, customers can get a better idea of what options may best suit their needs if they aren’t sure where to start.

Empire Today’s extensive flooring selection includes the following:

• Carpet: HOME Fresh, plush, frieze, berber, indoor-outdoor, pattern, commercial
• Laminate: Wood laminate
• Hardwood: WhisperHOME, engineered hardwood, solid hardwood
• Vinyl: Vinyl plank, luxury vinyl tile, sheet vinyl, commercial vinyl plank
• Tile: Porcelain, ceramic

Empire Today carpet options include plush, frieze, berber, indoor-outdoor, and pattern.

• Plush carpet has a soft texture and a timeless feel, and is generally soft to walk or lie on.
• Frieze carpet features tightly twisted fibers that are ideal for high-traffic areas such as living rooms and hallways.
• Berber carpet is among the most durable as it’s dense and tightly woven. In addition, berber carpet is more resistant to stains since spills tend to stay on the surface of the carpet rather than soaking in, which makes them easier to keep clean and ideal for homes with young children or pets.
• Indoor-outdoor carpet is weather resistant and can be installed either in the home or in an outdoor living space, such as a patio, porch, or sunroom.
• Pattern carpet, also called cut and loop carpet, has a low profile that makes it easy to keep clean. This makes it an ideal choice for high-traffic areas such as hallways.

Empire Today also offers a hypoallergenic and odor-neutralizing carpet called HOME Fresh . This type of carpet is designed to repel dirt, allergens, and moisture, making it easy to keep clean and ideal for allergy sufferers. It’s also resistant to mold and mildew and made with 90 percent post-consumer recycled material.

Customers who prefer a wood finish have several options, including wood laminate, hardwood, and engineered hardwood.

• Wood laminate flooring is typically the most affordable and is available in a variety of colors. Laminate is also durable and resistant to scratches and fading, which makes it a good option for busy households or those with pets.
• Solid hardwood flooring offers a classic, high-end look and can be refinished to change up the look. While Empire Today’s hardwood flooring selection is relatively limited, it still features a variety of colors and wood types to fit a range of preferences.
• Engineered hardwood has a similar look and feel to solid hardwood, but it comes in at a more affordable price and often has better durability.

Empire Today also offers a line of wood flooring called WhisperHOME , which is designed to be quieter than traditional wood flooring.

Vinyl options include plank, tile, and sheet vinyl. Vinyl is typically a more cost-effective option than real wood or tile floors.

• Vinyl plank has a similar look and feel to natural hardwood, but it’s waterproof and durable enough to install in high-traffic areas.
• Vinyl tile mimics the look of real tile and can be installed with or without grout lines for a more realistic look.
• Sheet vinyl is designed to resemble stone, tile, or hardwood, and it’s highly resistant to stains, scratches, moisture, and mildew.

Finally, Empire Today offers a selection of porcelain and ceramic tiles that are ideal for high-moisture areas of the home such as kitchens, bathrooms, and mudrooms. Customers can choose between wood-look and natural stone to suit their home’s decor.

Room Visualizer

For customers who want to get a better idea of their options before scheduling a Shop-at-Home appointment, Empire Today offers a room visualizer. This tool allows customers to upload a photo of their room and choose from a selection of Empire flooring types to see how they would look in their space.

The room visualizer is extremely simple to use: Once the customer has uploaded a photo of their space, they can toggle between various different flooring options, from hardwood and tile to carpet and vinyl. On top of that, the visuals are high quality and hyper-realistic, so customers will be able to see exactly what each type of flooring will look like in their home.

They can also choose different color variations of each flooring choice to see which will look best in their room. Customers can upload several photos of different rooms in their home to compare how their flooring choice will look in each area, or to choose a different floor for each room. They can even save photos of their favorite flooring choices by taking a screenshot to show other residents of the home and get their opinion. This gives customers the confidence ahead of their Shop-at-Home appointment to know the types of floors they are most interested in, which can help the appointment go more smoothly.

If the customer doesn’t have access to a photo of their space, they can choose from a variety of demo rooms to see how each flooring option will look. Demo rooms include living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms. Once the customer has chosen their demo room, they can change the flooring options just like they would with a photo of their own home. This can give them a better idea of how the flooring will look once laid in their chosen location.

Empire Today also has several photo galleries that feature the company’s floors installed in real customers’ homes. The photos are organized by room, so the homeowner can easily see what a variety of flooring options look like when installed in various locations around the home. In addition to the flooring samples the customer will see at their consultation and the room visualizer, this will give them an even better idea of what their favorite floors look like as a finished product.

Estimates and Scheduling

Empire Today offers free in-home estimates for customers interested in redoing their floors. Scheduling is easy, with customers having the choice to book their appointment online or call to schedule. Empire Today says that customers can get appointments as soon as the next day, which is ideal for those who want to get the ball rolling quickly on their new flooring project. Customers will receive an email from Empire Today confirming their appointment, which is made for a 2-hour window in which the representative will arrive. If the customer needs to reschedule, they can do so by calling Empire Today—there is no option to reschedule appointments online.

While there are no showrooms for a customer to visit, searching for “Empire carpet near me” can let potential buyers know if there are Empire Today salespeople and representatives who are within a reasonable distance and can travel to their home. If so, customers and flooring experts will meet in the client’s home. The professional will bring the samples and offer a same-day estimate once they have narrowed down their flooring choices. Empire Today asks that all decision-makers be present at the appointment since the company is unable to leave flooring samples at the customer’s home for them to peruse at their leisure. Estimates include transparent pricing, and Empire Today strives to quote the same price the customer will pay once the flooring has been installed so they can more easily budget for the project. That includes moving furniture or other items.

However, the company stresses that its estimates don’t take into account any unforeseen issues that may arise once the project gets underway, such as subflooring repairs or replacements. Customers who live in older homes where the floor hasn’t been updated in some time may want to budget a little extra over the Empire Today quote just in case there are any unexpected repairs needed during the flooring installation. To do this, customers can familiarize themselves with the cost to replace subfloor or any other related projects that might come into play

Cost, Offers, and Financing

With so many flooring options to choose from, the final cost of flooring installation with Empire Today can vary depending on the size of the installation space and the type of floor chosen. Empire Today provides customers with free quotes after they meet with a representative who will help them find a flooring option that will work for their needs and budget. However, the company doesn’t list any prices on its website, which can make it hard for customers to estimate the total cost before scheduling an in-home estimate. This may be off-putting for some customers, but it will result in a more accurate estimate based on the customer’s precise requirements.

Empire Today does offer two financing options through Wells Fargo Bank and Synchrony to help homeowners pay for their flooring project. Customers who choose 12-month financing may qualify for a 0 percent interest rate, though if the customer does not pay in full by the 12-month mark, they will be charged interest on their balance. Customers on this financing plan can choose to pay in the way that makes the most sense for them, whether that’s in monthly installments or several lump-sum payments. There is also a 48-month financing option that offers interest rates from 11.99 percent with fixed monthly payments. Using this option, a customer financing $2,000 will pay $53 per month for 2 years, with a total amount of $2,528 including interest.

The company often has promotional offers and coupons to help customers save on their flooring project. Coupons are easily viewable on Empire Today’s website, allowing customers to see exactly what options are available for them. They can also ask an Empire Today representative if there are any current offers or coupons during their Shop-at-Home appointment.

Customer Service and Support

If a customer needs to contact Empire Today for service or support, they have three options: phone, live chat, or email. Empire Today has 24/7 customer support via phone; however, customers can also request a callback from the company by entering their phone number in a form on the website. Upon entering their number, the customer will receive an immediate call rather than needing to wait on hold for an available agent.

Customers who choose to contact Empire Today customer support via email will need to fill in a form on the website with their contact information. Empire Today will contact the customer via their preferred method within 1 to 2 business days. Customers who don’t want to wait that long can take advantage of the live chat function via the company website. Upon entering a chat window, customers can choose between booking an appointment, checking the location of their sales representative or installer, or requesting general help. Once the customer has specified their query, they will be directed to a live representative who can assist them.

Empire Today offers a 1-year limited installation warranty for all flooring products. The warranty states that the installation work will be free from defects due to workmanship for the 12 months following purchase and installation. If the customer needs to make a warranty claim, they can contact Empire Today by phone to request service, and the company will send a representative to the home to inspect the flooring. If the representative finds the claim to be valid, Empire Today will repair or replace the affected flooring or give the customer a full refund. The warranty is not transferable and will be voided if the customer sells the home within the warranty period. Empire Today will also void the warranty if anyone but an authorized contractor performs work, such as painting, repair, installation, or removal of the floor.

Each product sold by Empire Today comes with a warranty.

• Carpet may be warranted against soiling, staining, wear, fading, static, and/or texture retention for a certain period of time depending on the style.
• Solid and engineered hardwood floors offer warranties against wear and/or structural issues.
• Laminate flooring products offer coverage against staining, fading, wear, topical moisture, and/or structural damage.
• Tile flooring options have warranties that cover manufacturing defects only.
• Vinyl flooring products offer warranties on wear, staining, fading, mold/mildew, topical moisture, water resistance, structural damage, and/or manufacturing defects.

Customers can find the warranty information for their specific flooring via Empire Today’s website.

While the 1-year installation warranty is on the low end for the industry, customers can purchase the Empire Service Plan to help cover any damage for 5 years after installation. Customers can add the plan up to 5 days after installation, and the plan will last for 5 years from the initial service date. The service plan covers damage to the floor such as scratches, dents, dings, gouges, stains, warping, snags, and unraveling. In some cases where the damage cannot be repaired, Empire Today may replace the affected flooring instead. Customers won’t have to pay a service fee upon making a claim, which helps save them money. Claims can be made via phone, with customer service representatives available 24/7.

Flooring Resources

In addition to information about available flooring options, Empire Today’s website has several resources for customers interested in learning more about flooring, including content on keeping flooring clean and design ideas from real homes. Empire Today’s blog is full of useful information, though at the time of writing it had not been updated in over a year. Regardless, many of the resources are timeless and can help customers learn how to properly care for their floors to ensure they last for many years to come.

Empire Today Reviews by Customers

Before hiring a flooring company, customers will likely want to read reviews from a variety of sources so they can gauge whether the company will fit their requirements. Empire Today’s website has an abundance of positive reviews from customers around the country through ShopperApproved, where the company has a rating of 4.4 out of 5. Positive reviewers mention the company’s professionalism, timeliness, and work quality, though some reviewers report difficulty in contacting customer service and longer-than-expected installation times. It’s perhaps unsurprising that the company promotes the best reviews, and since Empire Today is a national company, it’s possible that customers in different locations may experience discrepancies depending on the contractors.

It’s noteworthy that the ratings seen on the company’s website reflect the Empire flooring reviews on Consumer Affairs , which are also generally positive. These ratings average to be 4.4 out of 5 stars. Customers liked the fact that Empire Today brings the product samples to the customer’s home rather than the customer needing to go to a showroom. They also praised the installation process, saying that it was very professional and that installers worked quickly and often under the estimated project time frame. However, Empire Today’s limited financing options caused some customers to dock points, as did the fact that customers can’t view prices online and must have a consultation to determine price.

Overall, Empire Today reviews are positive and speak to the quality of the company’s flooring installation services.

How Empire Today Stacks Up to the Competition

One of the biggest selling points of Empire Today is its transparent pricing estimates that include all aspects of a flooring installation project, from room preparation to installing new carpet padding or trim. While other companies may offer similar quote processes, Empire Today puts the information in an easy-to-reach place on its website to make sure customers know exactly what they will see in their project quote.

Empire Today isn’t the only flooring company that offers in-home consultation: Others in this space who offer a similar service include Luna and National Floors Direct. However, Luna doesn’t list its flooring options on its website, which means customers can’t preview the types of flooring they may be interested in. National Floors Direct does show flooring options on its website, but there is no room visualizer to help customers see what the flooring would look like in their home. By showing flooring options online and offering a visualizer, Empire Today makes it easier for potential customers to see exactly what will and won’t work in their home before they even meet with a representative.

Empire Today is also notable for its wide variety of flooring products, from carpet and hardwood to laminate and tile. Often, flooring companies focus on one material over another, which makes it harder for a customer to choose a company if they’re not sure whether they want carpet or hardwood. LL Flooring, for example, has a wide selection of hardwood flooring options, but no carpet—so customers who aren’t sure which type of flooring they want may feel more limited. In addition, LL Flooring doesn’t offer in-home consultation services, so customers will need to go to a showroom to see flooring options, which can be a deal-breaker for those who prefer the convenience of Empire Today’s Shop-at-Home service. Luna does offer a similar range of flooring to Empire Today, including a wide range of carpeting options, but customers won’t be able to view exact carpet choices on Luna’s website like they can on Empire Today’s website.

While some other companies may have longer warranties on their flooring installation, Empire Today offers an affordable service plan that covers issues like scratches, stains, warping, and snags. There is no service fee for customers who make a claim, and Empire Today will either repair or replace the damaged flooring within 5 years of the installation date. Luna offers a similar service plan, but it’s limited to 50 months, which is equivalent to just over 4 years.

Should You Hire Empire Today?

Empire Today is a leader in the flooring industry for a reason. Customers looking for a one-stop-shop flooring company will likely be happy with Empire Today’s services. The in-home shopping feature makes it accessible to many types of customers, and the large selection of flooring types means it’s easier for customers to find a flooring option that will work in their home. Empire carpet reviews are overwhelmingly positive, and the company has a long history in the flooring industry that makes it a trustworthy name to most customers. Overall, Empire Today is a top choice for most homeowners looking to refresh the flooring in their home quickly and for an affordable price.

We independently reviewed this service by weighing the company’s claims against first-hand experience with its professionals. However, due to factors such as franchising, human error, and more, please note that individual experiences with this company may vary.

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The Empire Reviews

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Where to Stream ‘Star Wars: Tales of the Empire' Online

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, The Hollywood Reporter may receive an affiliate commission.

From movies to gifts , the Star Wars holiday May the 4th (be with you) is a day where you can celebrate everything from "a galaxy far, far away." So it seems fitting that Disney and Lucasfilm have a new Star Wars animated TV series that premieres on Saturday, May 4.

Available to stream on Disney+, Star Wars: Tales of the Empire is an animated anthology from Star Wars producer Dave Filoni, who also created Rebels , Tales of the Jedi , Ahsoka and The Bad Batch .

At a Glance: How to watch  Star Wars: Tales of the Empire season one online

• Release date Saturday, May 4
• Stream online Disney+
• No. of Episodes 6

A Disney+ subscription is required to watch Star Wars: Tales of the Empire . The streaming service is $7.99 per month ($79.99 per year) with ads or $13.99 per month (or $139.99 per year) without ads. It's also home to movies and TV shows under Disney's umbrella, including Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm ( Star Wars ), Pixar Animation, National Geographic and more.

The new series follows Morgan Elsbeth (voiced by Diana Lee Inosanto), a young woman who's on the quest for vengeance after losing her family, as well as Barriss Offee (voiced by Meredith Salenger), a former-Jedi who tries to survive after the Great Jedi Purge of Revenge of the Sith .

Star Wars: Tales of the Empire also features a voice cast with Rya Kihlstedt, Wing T. Chao, Lars Mikkelsen, Jason Isaacs, Matthew Wood and others.

Watch  Star Wars: Tales of the Empire  on Disney+: Best Streaming Deals

One of the best deals to stream Star Wars: Tales of the Empire is with the Disney Duo bundle, which comes with the ad-supported versions of Hulu and Disney+ for $9.99 per month - that's a nearly 40 percent savings altogether. You can go ad-free for $19.99 per month too.

Additionally, the Disney Trio offers Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+, all with ads, for $14.99 per month - about 45 percent off compared to signing up for separate subscriptions. You can even go somewhat commercial-free with Disney Trio Premium . It includes the ad-free versions of Hulu and Disney+ and the ad-supported version of ESPN+ for $24.99 per month.

If you're a cord-cutter, Hulu + Live TV comes with Disney+ and ESPN+ for $76.99 per month for the ad-supported package, or $81.99 per month to get the ad-free versions of Hulu and Disney+.

For Verizon customers, add the Disney Bundle for $10 to your plan and save $8.99 per month on your subscription. Sound good? Learn more about the Disney Bundle and Verizon here .

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