After spending this much time in the wilderness, it’s about time we imagined how the characters’ lives would be if they hadn’t boarded that plane. (Lost did an entire season contemplating it via the “flash sideways” device, though their version was eventually revealed to speak to the afterlife, rather than a “what if” scenario.) On Yellowjackets, Coach Ben (Steven Krueger), who decidedly chose not to participate in the feast of Jackie at the end of the second episode, is regretting all of his life decisions—especially the one where he chose the Yellowjackets coaching job over his relationship.
Coach Ben’s sexuality was mentioned in season 1, but it’s really explored in season 2 episode 3, “Digestif.” He’s gay and closeted and afraid of what could happen if his truth comes to the light. When his secret boyfriend Paul asks him to move in with him and take their relationship to the next level—which would require him to come out and potentially lose his coaching job—he chafes against the request and Paul promptly breaks up with him. In Ben’s daydream, which is presented as a factual memory until the very end, he decides to really give their relationship a chance by making a last-second detour away from the airport on the day of the fateful flight. As they embrace, the TV’s chyron reports the news about the flight gone missing.
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We haven’t seen Coach Ben and his amputated limb in the present, and his resistance to the new food source feels like he has a target painted on his back. In a pre-season interview, Sophie Nélisse (teen Shauna) and Krueger dished that Ben was one to watch and worry about, and his actions thus far have certainly played into my suspicion that he’s about to make a scene or stage a rebellion in the near future.
Steven Krueger as Coach Ben Scott.
Kailey Schwerman / Showtime
While Ben is contemplating his next move, Natalie disposes of Jackie’s remains near the plane in an effort to make her demise look like part of the wreckage in case they are rescued. She sees a white elk near the plane, but shoots and misses, causing the elk to storm toward her. As she braces for cover, the elk suddenly disappears as quickly as it had appeared. The elk seems like a figment of Natalie’s imagination (perhaps a human-flesh-fueled hallucination or a signal of the group’s ongoing hunger), or a manifestation of the forest’s supernatural powers trying to make contact.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team decides to throw Shauna a baby shower to lift her spirits after she admits to feeling scared and out of control post-Jackie-feast. She still harbors guilt from eating her best friend—and so does Taissa, who seems to have dissociated during the binge and is mortified to realize that they chowed down on their teammate the previous night. (In a great bit of dialogue, Van enlightens her matter-of-factly, saying, “Tai, you ate her face”).
The baby shower is Lottie’s idea to “welcome him,” ostensibly referring to the baby Shauna is carrying. Technically we don’t know the gender (Callie is too young to be the wilderness child), so this detail could reveal a lot about Lottie’s powers in the future when the baby is finally delivered. With the help of Crystal (Nuha Jes Izman), Misty leans into her love of theater and performs a monologue from Steel Magnolias about a dead child, but more sinister foreshadowing follows. Lottie gifts Shauna’s baby a blanket with the mysterious symbol drawn on it, causing a stir among the team. When Shauna gets a nosebleed and blood drops onto the symbol, a flock of dead birds fall on the cottage shortly after. Blood is an ongoing motif of sacrifice that summons the wilderness’s powers, whether it’s given voluntarily or not. The dead birds, which Lottie seeks blessings from, typically signify bad omens like the death of a family member in Indigenous cultures—in this case, that could be referring to Jackie or worse: Shauna’s child.
Taissa’s memory issues continue to be a throughline: in the wilderness timeline, her sleepwalking self allows Van to accompany her deep into the forest, where she leads Van to trees marked with the symbol and mumbles about being chosen by the “one with no eyes”—a reference to the creepy figure we saw intermittently in Tai’s season 1 storylines. But when she awakens, she has no recollection or knowledge of who that figure is.
Her life in the present is no better: in the wake of the car accident, Tai is losing it. She finds the hanged person symbol drawn on Simone’s palm and later dissociates in the bathroom as her reflection takes on their own consciousness and covers parts of her face with her hands, encircling one eye (my initial thought is that this gesture is the symbol personified, but it only seems to cover half of it). We’re no closer to understanding what is haunting her, but the reappearance of the man with no eyes is ominous and could be a specter of death and/or violence. To add salt to the wound, Tai is a deeply proud woman and an apparently terrible boss: despite being in no shape to drive, she demands her assistant’s car keys and leaves the hospital.
Tawny Cypress as Shauna.
Colin Bentley / Showtime
Speaking of violence, Adult Shauna is going off the deep end. The brief run-in with the cops last week seems to have shaken both her and Jeff, and they act out in completely different ways. Jeff takes the macho route by confronting Kevyn at the gym and later inexplicably suggesting a spontaneous road trip to Colonial Williamsburg after being butthurt about strawberry lube (I love the writers’ commitment to painting Jeff as a huge dweeb). Things go awry on their rendezvous when they almost hit a pedestrian in an alleyway who turns out to be an amateur carjacker. Held at gunpoint, Jeff is useless but Shauna takes matters into her own hands by shoving him and gaining control of the weapon. Jeff is either feeling emasculated by his wife’s skills or is truly just bewildered by what is happening because he fumbles Shauna’s plan and allows the guy to steal their minivan.
But Shauna won’t quit. She pockets the gun and later Ubers to a random junkyard where she threatens the thieves. It’s not just that she’s willing to go to such lengths to get her family’s “piece of shit minivan” back, but it’s the extent to which she relishes having the power and the control. “My hand wasn’t shaking because I was nervous,” she tells the scared carjacker. “It was shaking because of how badly I wanted to do this.” Four words: Melanie. Lynskey. Emmy. Reel. Shauna’s reliance on violence, or at least the threat of it, throughout both timelines is all about her obsession with control and she isn’t afraid to lean on her softer facade to get what she wants. She’ll do anything to hold onto the power, to feel the rush of being atop the food chain for once, and she no longer seems afraid of the consequences.
Melanie Lynskey as Shauna.
Colin Bentley / Showtime
The adult versions of Lottie and Natalie continue to be as at odds with one another as their teenage selves were. As part of the “intentional community,” as Lottie calls it, Natalie is asked to look inward and share something she wants to process with the group. She declines, obviously, and is forced into an exercise with the follower, Lisa (Nicole Maines), that Natalie attacked. Lottie arms Lisa with a fork against an unarmed Natalie, telling Lisa that she’s allowed to “hurt Natalie back,” clearly showing Natalie that her fate is in Lottie’s hands. Instead, Lisa chooses to hug Natalie and forgive her.
We get to see more of the community’s grounds, including Lottie’s quarters, which are marked by the same deer head that we’ve seen in the opening credits and the season 1 rituals that gave her the name “Antler Queen.” Lottie is also a beekeeper, explaining the way that bees swarm around their queen to keep them safe as an analog to the way she has her followers under her finger. But by episode’s end, Lottie seems threatened by Natalie’s presence as she imagines that someone has massacred the entire bee hive community. Her break with reality is a surprise given how she’s been positioned as the Yellowjacket with all of the answers—but this makes me question how much of Lottie’s beliefs we should be buying into. After all, her powers came to light only after she ran out of her psychiatric meds in season 1.
In one of the weaker asides in the episode, Misty finally meets the Reddit detective, Walter, played by Elijah Wood. On his boat, they pose as the FBI and stage an interrogation of Randy, one of Walter’s leads about Natalie’s disappearance and Jeff’s best friend whom Misty has known since elementary school, to learn more about Natalie’s disappearance. Misty hides in the bathroom and feeds questions to Walter, and the only useful piece to come out is that Natalie was abducted by people wearing purple. Of course, we know that that’s the wardrobe of Lottie’s cult, but Misty and Walter initially brush it aside as a nonsensical detail. Still, they decide to look into the group’s credit card history and find that it’s tied to an address in upstate New York. Next week, I expect Misty and Walter to converge on Lottie. And who knows, maybe Misty knew about her cult all along.
Starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis, Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, Chris Messina, Marlon Wayans, Matthew Maher and Julius Tennon. Directed by Ben Affleck. Opens Wednesday in Toronto theatres. 112 minutes. 14A
To say that actor/director Ben Affleck’s docudrama “Air” is about a pair of basketball shoes is like saying “Cinderella” is about a glass slipper.
It’s really the triumphant telling of the sweat, salesmanship and bravado behind the creation and marketing of these shoes, the Air Jordan model worn by hoops legend Michael Jordan, and of the groundbreaking deal that changed sports sponsorships forever.
From director Ben Affleck comes AIR. Exclusively in theatres April 5, 2023. #AIRMovie
“Air” is that most familiar and satisfying of movie stories: believing in yourself and persuading other people to accept your quest, despite long odds and questionable methods. It’s the art of the deal, to quote a certain orange-haired scoundrel.
Set in 1984 at the dawn of the Air Jordan phenomenon, the film is also highly entertaining, returning longtime friends Affleck and Matt Damon to the screen and foregrounding Viola Davis as Deloris, the mother of Michael Jordan. She’s the canny woman who — as this telling of the tale goes — really got the deal done, which included an unprecedented cash percentage for her son of every Air Jordan shoe sold, a benefit that reportedly, as of 2020, has earned him $1.3 billion (U.S.) and counting.
Creating what will become the Air Jordan line certainly motivates the characters: “I need the greatest basketball shoe that’s ever been made,” Damon’s hustling sponsorship scout Sonny Vaccaro tells Nike designer Peter Moore (a droll Matthew Maher), who duly takes up the challenge.
What really energizes the excellent ensemble cast, which also includes Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker and Marlon Wayans, is convincing the shoes’ namesake — basketball great Jordan — to put them on and play in them as his personal brand.
First-time screenwriter Alex Convery manages to turn what could have been a business magazine article into gripping cinematic storytelling. He achieves this even though “Air” veers dangerously close at times to being a PSA for Nike, the upstart Oregon shoe company co-founded by ex-sports reporter Phil Knight, who later became a billionaire businessman.
Affleck shrewdly casts himself as Knight, playing the Nike CEO not as corporate genius but rather as comic relief, a peacock philosopher who is almost clownishly indifferent to how business is normally done. He drives a grape-coloured Porsche, jogs in magenta-hued shorts and is fond of quoting the New Age maxims that litter his firm’s walls and ads.
“You’re remembered for the rules you break,” he says at one point, although he’s nervous at first about blowing $250,000 on one player. That’s the entire amount Knight’s running-shoe company earmarks annually for marketing its lower-priority and underperforming basketball shoe line.
But his friend and employee Sonny insists it’s going to take that sum, and a whole lot more, to woo rookie basketball star Jordan who, although just 21 and having not yet played an NBA game, has already started to show signs of the brilliance that will soon make him an international superstar.
Jordan is more inclined to sign a sponsorship deal with either of Nike’s main rivals, Adidas or Converse. These companies have an undeniable coolness factor. Basketball player turned Nike executive Howard White (an acerbic Tucker) explains to Sonny: “Black people don’t wear Nike,” full stop.
Sonny isn’t listening. He’s out to prove the doubters wrong, but he’s not an obvious Midas with the golden touch. Middle-aged Sonny is paunchy, out of shape and inclined to make risky bets in Las Vegas. His position at Nike is so low profile the sign on his office door reads “Tape Archive.”
Damon plays Sonny like a corporate version of his “Jason Bourne” action hero character, making daring moves like going to the Jordan home to directly pitch Michael’s parents, Deloris and James Jordan (played by Davis’s real-life husband, Julius Tennon), about what Nike can offer their son. Later he’ll make a boardroom pitch to the whole family, with the fist-pumping theme “Who are you, Michael?” that seems like a ready-made clip for the Oscars ceremony this film could conceivably shoot for.
Such ballsy bravado just isn’t done in the sports business world of 1984, as Jordan’s outraged agent David Falk (a hilariously profane Chris Messina), will later thunder down the telephone to an amused Sonny.
Something else that isn’t done, especially in films about sports heroes, is hiding the hero. The real Michael Jordan is glimpsed in game reels, but the actor playing him in “Air,” Damian Young, is barely seen and usually from behind. It’s another smart move by Affleck, who wisely intuits that Michael Jordan plays better as a symbol in a film like this.
And kudos to Affleck for getting the 1980s right in look and tone. The film opens with a montage of images and songs that are era specific, including the Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun,” which has the appropriate line, “When I’m out walking, I strut my stuff.”
Another 1980s memory comes near the end of the movie, when we finally get to see designer Moore’s prototype of his Air Jordan shoes, which defy NBA rules with their bright red colour.
The score turns majestic and light shines in the eyes of the dazzled beholders, much like the moment in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” when the title artifact is unboxed. Faces don’t melt, but it almost feels like they could.
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As fans wait for details on the MCU‘s upcoming Fantastic Four movie, a new rumor appears to tease who Marvel’s First Family will fight as their first Marvel Studios villain.
Insider Jeff Sneider revealed on The Hot Mic podcast that Marvel Studios will utilize both Galactus and his herald, the Silver Surfer, as the villains in the MCU’s upcoming Fantastic Four movie, coming out in 2025.
Sneider heard that director Matt Shakman has plans to “go very cosmic” with this film, using “both Galactus and the Silver Surfer” in the film:
“I’m told that Matt Shakman is planning to go very cosmic with his ‘Fantastic Four’ movie. Lots of 1960s elements, and that the film will feature both Galactus and the Silver Surfer.”
“Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer’s draft of ‘Fantastic Four’ was fine, but they brought in that new writer to get it to the level that Kevin Feige and Matt Shakman wanted. Marvel is still open to working with Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer again.”
Will Galactus and Silver Surfer Shine in Fantastic Four?
It’s no surprise that the MCU has big plans for the Galactus and the Silver Surfer. Not only are they two of the Fantastic Four’s most iconic adversaries, but fans are looking for them to be redeemed after they were so underwhelming in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
That movie only utilized Galactus as a giant cloud in the sky that didn’t even do anything before the Silver Surfer stopped him, giving the MCU a golden opportunity to put him on screen in a way that will satisfy fans.
The only hope with this move is that Galactus will last longer than one solo movie, as he has the chance to be a villain that’s on the same level as past MCU big bads like Thanos or Kang the Conqueror.
Fans have been clamoring for a new solo Superman outing for years, and Gunn is set to deliver that with his upcoming DCU reboot.
While some might not have expected Henry Cavill to be ousted, it seems that the filmmaker’s vision focuses on a much younger Superman—who Gunn has yet to cast.
A fresh take on the Man of Steel has a lot of potential to succeed. But, to realize that to its fullest, Gunn will need to avoid one key pitfall.
Avoiding a Superman Rehash
DC
In a new interview with Variety, Superman: Legacy writer and director James Gunn spoke about what he feels his upcoming reboot needs to avoid.
Gunn pointed out how the project wouldn’t be worth making if “it was just a redo of any other Superman adaptation:”
“I don’t think the movie would be worth making if it was just a redo of any other Superman adaptation… For us to truly thrive as a studio, we need to honor the past of these characters while simultaneously seeing them in a new light.”
Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav also elaborated, making it clear that “[they] have a real opportunity to breathe life into these characters.”
Many Possibilities for James Gunn’s Superman
All fans really know about Superman: Legacy, besides it focusing on a younger version of the hero, is that the plot will see the Kryptonian “reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent.”
Aside from that, everything else is up in the air. But, given how eccentric and crazy James Gunn’s projects can be (see The Suicide Squador Peacemaker), fans should have no reason to worry about the reboot retreading old ground.
Square Enix and Luminous Productions have revealed the story expansion In Tanta We Trust will be released for Forspoken on May 26.
The DLC expansion takes place 25 years before the events of Forspoken, with Frey continuing on her quest to eradicate the Break from Athia permanently. She follows a mysterious voice and ends up being transported into the past during the Purge of the Rheddig, the battle that destroyed Athia and led to its current state in the present.
Frey will team up with Tanta Cinta as well as unlock brand-new magical abilities to fight off the invading Rheddig forces and save Athia again.
Forspoken: In Tanta We Trust launches May 26th for PS5 and PC.
The DLC shows that Square Enix is still supporting Forspoken despite its underwhelming sales and the fact Luminous Productions is being folded back into Square Enix on May 1. The studio was made up of developers at Square Enix who worked on Final Fantasy 15 and was responsible for creating new projects using the Luminous Engine, the same engine utilized for Forspoken.
In IGN’s Forspoken review, we said: “Forspoken’s flashy combat and parkour can be fun, but they aren’t enough to make its cliche story and barebones open world very interesting to explore.”
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He’s been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.
When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey
The Sydney Film Festival, which this year will celebrate its 70th edition, has unveiled its first dozen selections. Seven are feature films, five are documentaries.
“The 2023 program will expand on this legacy, promising to ignite stimulating dialogues and present powerful ideas that will broaden audience perspectives,” said festival director Nashen Moodley. He noted that over the previous 69 editions the Sydney festival has showcased more than 10,000 films.
Highlights among the documentaries are two Australian titles. “Rachel’s Farm” follows actor-director Rachel Ward as she revitalizes her beef farm using sustainable farming practices. In “The Last Daughter” Wiradjuri woman Brenda Matthews documents her search to uncover the truth about her government-ordered abduction as a child and to find her white foster family. Both Matthews and Ward will attend the festival in person.
“Red, White and Brass” – presented as a feature, rather than a documentary – is a fact-based tale of a group of rugby fans from Tonga who trick their way to the Rugby World Cup by pretending to be musicians in a brass band. The film is executive produced by Taika Waititi and directed by Damon Fepulea’i.
Other early picks include a selection from other international festivals. They include Jafar Panahi’s “No Bears,” which premiered in Venice, and Christian Petzold’s “Afire,” which showed recently in Berlin.
The other documentary selections are: “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” “Subject” and Vinay Shukla’s “While We Watched,” which chronicles a reporter attempting to stand up to misinformation despite powerful government forces, populism and declining advertising.
The feature selections include “A Couple,” a narrative examination of the relationship between Leo and Sophia Tolstoy by noted documentarian Frederick Wiseman, animation “Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman,” Emmanuele Crialese’s “L’Immensita” and Lav Diaz’s “When the Waves are Gone.”
The 2023 festival will run June 7-18. The bulk of its 200-title selection will be announced on May 10.
“He goes, ‘I watch your show, so I pay your f**king salary. You are a piece of meat to me,'” the “One Tree Hill” alum recalled.
Sophia Bush is opening up about a fan encounter that made her feel like a “zoo animal.”
The “One Tree Hill” alum detailed a cringe experience with a male fan on St. Patrick’s Day at a bar in Chicago. Bush stars in procedural series “Chicago P.D.”
“I had a beer and there was a guy at the table next to me and all my friends, who walked right up to me and stuck his camera right in my face to take a picture, almost hit me right in the face, with his phone,” Bush said during Penn Badgley’s “Podcrushed” podcast. “He keeps going and he’s getting rowdy and I can hear him swearing.”
Bush continued, “I say, ‘Hi, I’m a person. I’d like to shake your hand. My name is Sophia. You’re making me really uncomfortable, man. I’ve asked you to stop. I’m a girl in a bar. You are a man I do not know. I don’t wanna be videoed on your phone. And my friends don’t either. Can you please stop?’”
The fan replied, “I don’t have to stop. You’re in public,” to which Bush said, “OK, but is there no world in which you can understand that you are making me feel like a piece of meat, like I’m not human?”
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Bush added, “And he goes, ‘I watch your show, so I pay your fucking salary. You are a piece of meat to me.’ And I just went, ‘What?’ ‘You’re just a TV prostitute.’”
She noted that “one of the guys on our crew like flipped out and it started to get physical between these guys” in her defense.
Bush said it was an “insane” experience and that the fan identified himself as a lawyer who “knows his rights.”
“It’s very strange because in one sentence people will say, ‘Well you signed up for this’ and the other sentence they’ll say, ‘We’re entitled to this,’” Bush said. “I don’t think anyone is entitled to anything.”
“Now I’d much rather be at home. I used to love to go out and be in the world, so I think that’s obviously a wild example, but it’s not the first time that I’ve experienced that,” Bush said.
Oscar nominee Paul Mescal revealed a “creepy” fan experience where a woman “put her hand on my ass” following a West End performance of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Penn Badgley also claimed he was “molested” by “Gossip Girl” fans in 2018, and Channing Tatum said a dental assistant made an inappropriate joke about him stripping down like “Magic Mike.”
Women’s survival shows are certainly having a moment right now. While most people are tuning intoYellowjackets each week, there’s another, far more lighthearted show that you need to be watching as well: Class of ’07. In this Australian comedy on Amazon Prime Video, a group of women find themselves stranded at their all-girls high school after an apocalyptic tsunami hits the night of their reunion. Sucker Punch actress Emily Browning leads the cast of quirky, and sometimes gross, women as they deal with their high school drama, changed personalities, and the end of the world. But this isn’t your average post-apocalyptic narrative; the show and its characters will take you to unexpected places, making it a delightful and refreshing watch. Just give the first episode a shot – it starts with a cold open that perfectly sets the tone for the rest of this bizarre show.
Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger and other industry executives are meeting privately this week with members of Congress to discuss how to respond to China’s strong-arm tactics to stifle and censor filmmakers.
Several members of the House Select Committee On the Chinese Communist Party attended two meetings with filmmaker groups Wednesday, and plan to meet Friday with Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook.
Recently lawmakers placed a provision in a new defense bill that restricts cooperation between the U.S. government and any American film studio that allows the Chinese government to demand edits on a project.
The concern about China is not just a matter of big-money international business, but goes right to the core of freedom of expression in the world, Hollywood producer and committee adviser Chris Fenton told TheWrap. He said Hollywood and congress need to be united in dealing with the communist Chinese government and its efforts to control the industry.
“We need to rebalance the playing field, and show a unified front to China,” Fenton told TheWrap. “The only leverage we have is to present ourselves as a unified industry, if we want to get China to compromise on a few issues, which will not be easy.”
Fenton said Wednesday’s meetings were private to allow relaxed and honest discussion in the groups, which included committee members, filmmakers, industry executives and college professors knowledgeable about U.S.-China relations.
“It was a good start. We didn’t solve the problem, but we certainly set a path forward to take it to the next level, to have a strategy to address China with unified leverage,” Fenton said.
Select Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., made the California trip with nine other committee members. They met with Iger and other Disney executives, since Disney does so much business in China, including its Disneyland park in Shanghai. Disney came under fire from human rights groups for the 2020 movie “Mulan,” which was filmed in a province where the Chinese government reportedly brutally oppressed millions of Muslims.
Fenton, author of “Feeding the Dragon,” about doing business with China, and a trustee of the U.S.-Asia Institute, organized another private meeting in Los Angeles with filmmakers and committee members. He said Gallagher and the committee are gathering knowledge on industry dealings with China, and invited him to advise the committee.
One of Fenton’s concerns is that China uses the leverage of its massive market and deep pockets to pressure filmmakers to produce movies that only “portray China in a positive light.”
That goes beyond forced edits, he said, and has a preemptive chilling effect of inhibiting filmmakers from using any storyline that might offend Chinese officials.
“They might not even pursue an idea, if they think it will make the Chinese government mad. Because that can get everyone involved with the film banned in China,” Fenton said. “That gets us to a point where filmmakers might pretend that Taiwan does not exist, and there can never ever be a Chinese villain in a movie. We need to get rid of that kind of premeditated censorship by Hollywood itself.”
So can the problem be solved? Fenton says yes, if Hollywood studios can get on the same page, work with the US government and use that leverage to exact more artistic freedom when dealing with China.
“We are still one of the few industries that China needs, and that they do open their market for,” Fenton said. “We need to use that leverage and be united, so that one studio knows that if it does the right thing, another studio will as well. We are one of the bastions of creative freedom, and we need to remember that.”
When perusing your company benefits page to tally your number of vacation days, sick days, and personal days (use them all guilt-free, baby—you’ve earned them), you’ll likely notice another type of time off: volunteer days. Paid time off to volunteer is one of the few employee benefits that’s increased in recent years, according to the Harvard Business Review, with two-thirds of companies offering PTO in exchange for doing good. Just like your vacation days, this is your time—and, more importantly, this is time your company is paying you to put towards something outside the office you’re really passionate about. What’s not to love?
Depending on your company’s policy, you might look for day-long volunteer events where you can ditch the office to work for a good cause or you might able to break paid volunteer days up into hourly increments, meaning you could spend one morning a week volunteering your time as a girls running coach or working in a community garden instead of at your desk.
Not sure where to start? Here are nine organizations where you can use your volunteer days in ways you’ll actually look forward to.
1. Girls on the Run
There is no surer way to feel excited about the future of women and girls than by spending a season coaching with Girls on the Run, a non-profit after-school program for 3rd through 5th graders that teaches empowerment through running. (Or, Heart & Sole is Girls on the Run’s sister program for 6th to 8th graders.) If you can split your volunteer days into hourly increments, consider spending a season as a coach helping girls train for a 5k (no running experience necessary). If you’re looking for a smaller time commitment, sign up to cheer girls on or run with a buddy at their big season-ending race.
2. Equal Justice Initiative
The Equal Justice Initiative works to address criminal justice reform, racial justice, and poverty across the country—a big mission with lots of creative ways to get involved. You can host an educational event with your friends or community (think: a screening of the film Just Mercy followed by a guided discussion on the criminal justice system, or hosting a EJI sponsored book club), join the effort to memorialize sites of racial violence in your area as part of EJI’s Community Remembrance Project, or sign up to work with one of EJI’s local community partners to help with hands-on criminal justice reform in your community.
3. Americorps
Americorps is one of the OGs of volunteer opportunities, and it has staying power for good reason: This organization has everything. Virtual volunteer opportunities, human rights causes, animal therapy, elder care, academic interests, homelessness, work with veterans, legal aid. Simply type in your ZIP code and filter by your interests and skills to find the perfect way to donate your time.
4. Project Glimmer
Project Glimmer’s mission is all about fostering confidence in adolescent girls, including those in foster care and experiencing houselessness. They’ve served over 1 million girls nationally—86 percent of whom are girls of color—with programs that focus on giving girls access to role models, career coaching, and support to close the success gap. You can show up with as little as an hour of your time.
5. The Nature Conservancy
There is no better antidote to excessive screen time than some good old-fashioned gardening. Seriously, how good does that sound after your 10th Zoom of the day? The Nature Conservancy offers tons of national volunteer opportunities which range from advocating for environmentally friendly policies at your state legislature, to cleaning up local beaches, to planting trees.
6. Girls Write Now
Mentorship programs are one of the most rewarding ways to use your volunteer hours that will have impacts long after your hours are over. At Girls Write Now, you’ll join a diverse community of mentors and mentees where you’ll get just as much as you give. The writing- and multimedia-based mentor program for high school girls and gender-expansive youth is designed to help the next generation of leaders find their voices. You can also join public events and add your voice to discussions on everything from the power of fan fiction to expressing yourself through songwriting.
7. Red Cross
If you’re the friend people come to in a crisis, put your skills to use with the Red Cross, which offers a huge range of community volunteer opportunities. You can jump in for boots-on-the-ground opportunities as part of a disaster action team, serve in a “client-facing” role, which can include things like helping a family relocate after a natural disaster, or even volunteer your social media skills to help tell Red Cross stories.
8. National Park Service
If you’ve ever dreamt about throwing it all away to live your life off the grid in harmony with nature, consider starting with a volunteer gig for the National Park Service. That could be as simple as a day spent staffing a local visitors’ center and teaching junior rangers about the park, as hands-on as restoring trails in a park that’s been on your bucket list, or as dreamy as serving as a national park’s artist-in-residence. (Yes, that’s a thing.)
9. Step Up
Step Up works with 14- to 23-year-olds who identify as girls and women to help them meet their goals, whether they’re first-generation students applying to college, want help landing an internship, or simply want to build confidence. If you don’t have time to go all-in as a mentor, there are still several ways to use your volunteer hours, including creating a video mentoring session or writing an encouraging letter.
Macaela MacKenzie is a writer and editor specializing in wellness. She writes about self-care, mental health, fertility, and women’s equality with a focus on breaking down stigmas in women’s health.
100 YEARS OF WARNER BROTHERS FILM REVIEW! “…In a hundred years, when you and I are both long gone, any time someone threads a frame of yours through a sprocket, you will be alive again.’ – Elinor St. John (Babylon). Superstar James Dean left the land of the living way too soon at the ripe age of twenty-four, but he achieved silver-screen immortality, starting with East of Eden.
The story is an updated take on the Bible tale of Cain and Abel (two opposite personalities brothers who cannot get along for the life of them), written in novel format by the great John Steinbeck and for the screen by Paul Osborn. Director Elia Kazan’s film is beautifully shot in CinemaScope, with the setting of northern California providing gorgeous, colorful scenery from the get-go.
Dean plays a rebellious, trouble-making young man named Cal, who competes with his strait-laced brother Aron (Richard Davalos) for the love and attention of their Bible-thumping father, Adam (Raymond Massey).
The film starts out with Cal finding out that his mother Kate (Jo Van Fleet, who made her screen debut here and amazingly won an Oscar for it) is alive in a nearby town after having grown up believing that she was dead. As an audience, we do not find out the information about his mom until later on. All we know is that Cal is stalking an older woman, which makes an off-putting introduction. The scene ends with a stunning shot of Dean riding solemnly on top of a train to go back home.
“…updated take on the Bible tale of Cain and Abel…”
We are then introduced to Aron’s girlfriend Abra (Julie Harris), who says that the girls in town call Cal “the prowler,” further confirmation that there’s something wrong with this guy. Some girls love troubled men, though, and it’s apparent in the way she talks about him that Abra has a thing for Cal, which plays out as another source of conflict for the two brothers down the road.
East of Eden takes place in 1917, and Adam gets the idea from reading a story about a frozen mastodon that he should start a refrigeration business with ice stored on train cars. The train with his livelihood gets delayed, causing the ice to melt, which throws Adam’s business and savings down the drain. Cal makes it his mission in life to make the money back for his father (which feels a bit off because he carelessly destroyed a bunch of his father’s ice earlier on in a fit of jealous rage), and he even enlists his mother’s help to do it by asking her for money to invest in beans.
Frankly, the story of this movie is not outstanding. Cal’s longing for parental approval and his sibling rivalry did not strike any chords for me because of the cheesy way in which it played out, but James Dean’s style of method acting and sheer charisma jumps off the screen (along with artful cinematography). He’s a star from the start, even in the beginning when I was trying to figure out if his character was a creepy stalker. He’s got that “it” factor, where your eyes are glued to his every move. When Abra eventually leaves Aron for Cal, as an audience, you say well, of course, it’s James Dean.
Jimmy Dean, as they called him, will stand the test of time due to his powerful on-screen presence because once a star is born on celluloid, they live on forever.
Generative AI continues taking over Microsoft’s platforms as the tech giant has recently added the ChatGPT-powered Bing to its SwiftKey beta app for Android.
For those unaware, SwiftKey (opens in new tab) is a virtual keyboard for mobile devices that can learn your writing style to provide more accurate autocorrect and text predictions. This new integration adds direct access to the Bing chatbot with the ability to choose a “conversation style” (opens in new tab), exactly like the browser version. There is, however, an exclusive Tone feature that will analyze what you just entered and then rewrite your text to match a certain voice.
You can try out Bing on SwiftKey by downloading the beta app (opens in new tab) from the Google Play Store. However, there’s a chance it may not be available to you. Pedram Rezaei (opens in new tab), who is Microsoft’s CTO for its Mobile and Commerce Division, said on Twitter the update is “slowly rolling out” to users. If the update isn’t on your version of the SwiftKey Beta, check back at a later time.
Fortunately, we were able to get our hands on SwiftKey’s Bing feature so we decided to take it for a test drive.
Setting the right tone
Upon installing the app, you will have to follow the on-screen prompts to enable SwiftKey. Access to Bing sits right above the keyboard where it can do one of three things. In addition to the chatbot, there is a built-in Search function where you can look up a search term either by web post or image.
But the main attraction is the aforementioned Tone which, admittedly, is pretty interesting. When you run some text through Tone, it’ll provide four different rewrites based on certain voices: Professional, Casual, Polite, and Social Post. Both Professional and Polite are pretty similar as they take emotionally charged texts and tone them down. Casual, as the name suggests, gives text a more easy-going attitude plus it often starts messages by calling the other person “Dude”?♂️. With Social Post, messages basically become Tweets complete with hashtags and emojis at the bottom.
Tone does have a small restriction as text must be “between three and 200 characters” before SwiftKey will rewrite anything. Also, it refuses to work with swear words, so keep it clean.
At the time of this writing, it’s unknown whether or not there will be an iOS version. SwiftKey has had a tumultuous history on iOS as it was discontinued on Apple devices back in October 2022 only for Microsoft to restore support a month later (opens in new tab). We asked the company if there are plans for SwiftKey on iOS to get Bing AI support. This story will be updated if we hear back.
In a statement Thursday night, the attorney representing the family of actor Lance Reddick disputed a report earlier in the day that the actor died from undiagnosed heart problems, a ruling he says is “wholly inconsistent with his lifestyle.”
“I have represented Lance Reddick for many years and continue to represent his wife Stephanie. The coroner statement on the death certificate is not a result of an autopsy. No autopsy was performed on Lance. To my knowledge, no medical examination of Lance during his lifetime ever indicated such conditions,” attorney James Hornstein said.
Hornstein added, “Lance was the most physically fit person I’ve ever known. He exercised daily at his home gym, including extensive cardio work, and the availability of gym facilities was a contractual requirement for his work away from home. He ate as if a dietician was monitoring his every meal. The information appearing on the death certificate is wholly inconsistent with his lifestyle.”
“On behalf of Stephanie Reddick, the death certificate information is not corroborated and is inconsistent with the facts known to the family,” Hornstein said.
TMZ first reported Thursday it had obtained Reddick’s death certificate, which listed his cause of death as ischemic heart disease and atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. The “John Wick,” “The Wire,” “Bosch,” “Fringe” and “Horizon Forbidden West” star died a little less than a month ago, having been found in his Studio City home.
The Baltimore native was a Yale University drama school graduate and had success early in his career getting recurring roles on “CSI: Miami” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” However, the actor is best known for his regular role as Cedric Daniels, who rose through the ranks of the Baltimore Police Department through all five seasons of David Simon’s “The Wire.”
The trade of art through intriguing movies and series changes colors and languages as we move from one place to another. However, there are a few things that remain the same. Once in a while, a star emerges with the power to leave the world stunned. Some see it in the blue eyes of Brad Pitt, the open arms of Shahrukh Khan, or the sleek moves of Jackie Chan. But as the stars that served us for decades seem to be getting a bit long in the tooth, fans are counting on Sydney Sweeney to follow in their legacy and get the city of stars by the jugular. While mostly confident, there is one thing the starlet fears.
Sweeney, despite looking serene, is grounded and candid about her thoughts on the industry and life whenever asked to convey them. Her fear is one that most Hollywood stars carry in their hearts despite seemingly having everything. The actress appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden as she turned twenty-three and got real about how age is, in fact, not a number if you are a Hollywood star.
“Terrifying” Sydney Sweeney says as Daveed Diggs revealed his age
Often synonymous with the future of Hollywood, Sydney Sweeney once had a very interesting remark to make regarding age. Still basking in the success of her hit HBO series Euphoria, the now 24-year-old actress shared the couch with Hamilton star Daveed Diggs on The Late Late Show with James Corden as he regarded it as one of his ‘arguably most talented couch‘ in 2021.
As the trio got talking, Diggs revealed how he had spent his 40th birthday eating red velvet cupcakes. While he may have been the birthday boy, the highlight was Sydney Sweeney’s response to James Corden’s question about finding ’40’ very old. “It’s a little terrifying,” she said, earning cackles from all around.
The Euphoria actress’ answer was far from brazen and rude. Sweeney, being almost two decades younger than Diggs, only reflected the fear of getting old. She later clarified that it is not too old. And even complimented her couch mate, ” You look good… for your age,” the actress remarked, making Diggs blush. There have been countless actresses in Hollywood who have opened up about not being cast as they get older.
While the standards have improved in recent years, it is only natural for Sweeney to find aging terrifying.
How old was the Euphoria actress when she started acting?
The talented actress may have gotten her claim to fame with HBO’s hit series Euphoria. However, she has been showcasing her talent on screen for a long while. Sydney Sweeney stepped into her 20s with the tags of the shining sun of Hollywood, and a promising starlet, among others.
Credits-Imago
However, she has been acting since 2009 when she was only twelve years old. It has been years of tireless work for Sydney Sweeney. In her teenage years as well, the actress kept on making appearances in Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds, and Pretty Little Liars, among others.
What did you think about Sweeney’s remark about age? Let us know in the comments below.
At Kanye West’s Donda Academy, the performer’s Christian K-12 school, students were subjected to unsafe, unregulated and unsanitary conditions, two former teachers allege in a lawsuit against West and others filed this week in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers, the only two Black female teachers at the school, were fired after they voiced concerns over the conditions to administrators, according to the complaint.
The school, named for West’s mother, operated in Simi Valley before moving to its current location in Chatsworth, according to California Department of Education records.
The women are suing West for retaliation, wrongful termination, discrimination and withheld wages.
West’s attorney, Gregory K. Nelson, declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying he had not seen it as of Thursday afternoon.
Hailey, in an interview Thursday with The Times, said she was “very, very disturbed” by what she saw in her time at the school.
“We are responsible to make sure that we’re giving children a quality education, and when you don’t, you are really disturbing the life of that child,” Hailey said. “That’s just not right.”
According to the complaint, Hailey was hired as a substitute teacher at Donda Academy in the fall, around the time West made a series of antisemitic comments on social media and in televised interviews.
In the wake of the comments, West was dropped by his talent agency, CAA, and Adidas ended its partnership with the rapper. The sportswear company stated that it expected to lose nearly $250 million because of the move.
Hailey said she had seen interviews West had done prior to her hiring but said, “I didn’t go into the school because it was Kanye West’s school. I went into the school because I was asked to go, and I got there and I saw a need.”
Hailey said students were not exposed to anything antisemitic or politically charged in the curriculum but noted that there were restrictions placed on what could be covered in classrooms.
“They definitely wanted to suppress a lot of information in reference to history,” Hailey said. “They didn’t want the kids to know really about African American history or Asian American history.”
The Holocaust was also omitted from Donda Academy curriculum.
On at least three occasions, Hailey said, she voiced concerns to the principal, identified in the complaint as Moira Love, that the school was not complying with health and safety or educational regulations.
Hailey also attempted to discuss her concerns with West but “was threatened not to reach out to him.”
Byers also complained to Love about the the school’s conditions.
Teachers at the school were not required to have first-aid or mandated child-abuse reporter training, and state regulations regarding educational services and individualized learning plans were not being followed, the complaint says.
The school did not have janitorial services, with West barring the use of cleaning products with chemicals, or proper trash cans, according to the complaint. Teachers were only allowed to clean with “acid water and microfiber cloths.”
The school also lacked a school nurse and medical supplies, and medications were stored improperly.
One student’s EpiPen to treat allergic reactions was stowed above a microwave, the plaintiffs allege.
The school also allegedly failed to implement protocols related to bullying.
“In one incident, a student assaulted an eighth-grade student by slapping her, then attempted to assault another teacher,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys wrote in the complaint.
The student “went without discipline.”
As for nutrition, Donda Academy students were fed sushi — and only sushi — every school day and were made to eat lunch on the floor, as the school did not have tables, the plaintiffs alleged.
“Students were not allowed to bring any outside food or anything other than water,” attorneys wrote in the complaint.
Although the plaintiffs described the day-to-day operations of the school as lacking structure, West demanded that certain rules be strictly enforced.
He required students to dress entirely in black, and they were restricted to the first floor of the building because, the complaint alleges, West is afraid of stairs.
Students were not allowed to use utensils, and neither students nor staff could wear jewelry, according to the complaint.
After Hailey and Byers lodged their concerns, no action was taken by school administrators. Love allegedly told Hailey and Byers they were “aggressive.” The pair were also shorted up to $2,700 per paycheck, they allege.
Last month, as the two teachers arrived for work, they were met in the parking lot and told that they had been terminated.
Hailey said she believes there are others working at the school who are afraid to speak out about the conditions.
“They are afraid to speak up because they are afraid of being fired or ostracized” or losing out on money, Hailey said. “But that is not what we get in this business for. We get in this business, if we get into it properly, to educate kids.”
Brooklyn’s one and only Spider-Man returns — Miles Morales swings back into action in the latest trailer for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.
The film is directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, from a screenplay by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, and David Callaham. The film is produced by Avi Arad. Amy Pascal, Phil Lord. Christopher Miller, and Christina Steinberg, with executive producers Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Aditya Sood, Rebecca Karch, and Brian Bendis.
The cast includes Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae, Daniel Kaluuya, Karan Soni, Jason Schwartzman, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Greta Lee, Rachel Dratch, Jorma Taccone, Shea Whigham, and Oscar Isaac
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse swings into theaters (and the Multiverse) on June 2, 2023.
Sashaying across the screen February 2024 is a sequel to the 1987 box office hit Dirty Dancing, and truth be told, if there was ever a time for our favorite love story to dance its way back into our lives, it’s now.
Starring the original Jennifer Grey as Frances “Baby” Houseman, the film will be based in the 90s, three decades after the story between Baby and Johnny began.
Will the Dirty Dancing Sequel Be Similar to the Original?
Vestron Pictures
The memory of the original Dirty Dancing scenes will be brought to life by including the iconic soundtrack and Oscar-winning song, The Time of My Life. Baby will also be going back to Kellerman’s Resort in a story full of young love and dance. Could we be seeing a walk down memory lane, or a lesson for the younger generation on how to defy the odds by flying through the air? It is unknown.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAYSCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
However, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer described the remake by saying, “It will be exactly the kind of romantic, nostalgic movie that the franchise’s fans have been waiting for, and that has made it the biggest-selling library title in the company’s history”.
In the film’s first 1987 release, 17-year-old Baby visits the Kellerman’s Resort for a fun, rather easy, summer vacation. To her surprise, after stumbling upon a secret “dirty dancing” party for the resort staff, the fun would begin. Baby hides behind the cracked door to their perspiring party and spies on the staff and Johnny, played by Patrick Swayze. The two are soon introduced and Baby falls head over heels for the dance instructor, but not without some tears along the way.
Though her dancing skill was minimal, Baby volunteers to take Johnny’s partner Penny’s place when she when had to step away from the resort talent show due to an abortion. Her feelings got the best of her, but Baby quickly learned from Johnny, and soon those feelings would grow into not only an epic dance routine but love between the both of them. Her father may not have agreed with Johnny’s assumed reputation, but by the end of the summer, he realizes what is right.
In opening up to Women’s Day on her feelings about the overall concept of the film, Grey shares what she believes Dirty Dancing represents, saying, “It’s the idea that transformation is possible with the synergy that happens when somebody else sees something in you that you don’t see, or that you wish someone else could see, and that they don’t change you, but the connection creates an opening, a possibility that we are all more than we thought we would be in that limited idea.”
Grey continued to share her thoughts on the upcoming remake and its production once it was confirmed in 2020 that a sequel was on its way, adding, “But I do know that it’s very important to me that certain things are represented, that life is not over and sexuality and pleasure and satisfaction and feeling very alive and excited about what’s coming has got to continue. It cannot be just for the young. It’s about how many times can we recognize that we’ve given up again on ourselves and that there’s more to be excited about, to discover about ourselves, and it’s not over until it’s over.”
Who Will Produce the Sequel?
Vestron Pictures
The original Dirty Dancing grossed $214 million at the box office and was the first film to sell more than a million home copies. Fans loved the sparks between Baby and Johnny in their steamy dance scenes, and how could you not when a 6’ man catches you in midair during a romantic dance? It’s the fantasy neither of the sexes knows they crave!
The long-awaited sequel isn’t only keeping viewers on their toes. Grey, who is also co-producing the film, is just as in awe of its existence as fans are. What’s more, she got excitedly candid with Peoplein 2022 about the upcoming film saying, “It was lightning in a bottle, it’s like this thing happened, and it’s so beautiful, and I can’t explain it. No one can explain it. We’re working on this sequel, I’m working on it with Lionsgate and working on the script. We’ve been working on it for a couple of years.”
How Will the Sequel Honor Patrick Swayze?
Vestron Pictures
It is unknown who the cast will comprise. We do unfortunately know that beloved Patrick Swayze will not be in a leading role due to his 2009 passing; however, director Jonathan Levine told Deadline that there may likely be a tribute to him.
Although we won’t be seeing a blossoming love between Baby and Johnny again, it is clear that the film’s remake will be just as inspiring and enchanting as its first, as Grey tells EW, “I’m just super committed and invested in making it a fresh [take]. What happened happened, and that will never happen again. There will never be another ‘Johnny.’ There will never be another Patrick. This sequel has got to be its own standalone piece. It’s very tricky”.
The loss of Swayze will inevitably leave viewers in an overflow of emotions, as will the remake in its entirety. However, while the cast and directors aim to meet the success of the original Dirty Dancing, we might as well lace up our ballet slippers, because Baby is ready to dance.
Season 3 of Call of Duty: Warzone 2 arrives on April 12, and the big update will add a new battle royale feature, which offers rewards for convincing someone else to try the game.
The upcoming Recruit-a-Friend program will reward existing Warzone 2 players for recruiting new players to the battle royale. This program gives a total of eight cosmetic rewards that can be earned. However, there are some requirements a player must meet to be eligible to earn the rewards.
Players must have at least three hours played on the game and have an account older than 60 days to be eligible. This eligibility will allow them to invite up to three eligible friends per season. To be considered an eligible friend, these newcomers must have an Activision account that is either less than seven days old or they must not have played Warzone 2 in the last 60 days. Basically, anyone who hasn’t hopped into the battle royale since launch is now considered eligible.
Both the recruited players and their recruiters can earn some great rewards for completing a few simple challenges together, such as playing games or completing contracts in matches. These rewards include up to two weapon blueprints, double XP tokens, calling cards, and more. The official Call of Duty Twitter account tweeted an image to showcase all of Season 3’s program rewards.
While this program starts with Season 3, players can already sign up on the Recruit-a-Friend website to receive a double XP bonus reward. Then when Season 3 is live, they can go back to the site, log in to their Activision account, and select the three friends they want to recruit.
Activision says this recruitment program is not available in Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, or the Philippines.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors.
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Almost everyone remembers where they were when they watched Christopher Nolan’s Interstellarfor the first time. I was on the couch of my parent’s new home, sitting quietly with my dad as we processed the scope of the film. Although, admittedly, the film’s pacing did make me zone out a few times throughout the almost three-hour-long runtime (a problem I have with many of Nolan’s films), I did appreciate the sensationalism and emotional depth of the universe Nolan desperately wants to make sense of.
There is a lot to appreciate about this sci-fi epic. Throughout Interstellar, Nolan argues for sentimentality throughout the film in the push and pull between the scientific and the emotional. Whether or not Interstellar is Nolan trying to balance his own obsessions with time and space through his love for cinema and his family, there is something profound about this film, and filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino have praised it.
‘Interstellar’Credit: Paramount Pictures
During a 2014 interview with The Guardian, Tarantino likens the film to two filmmakers who bring something very different and specific to cinema.
After his first viewing of Interstellar, Tarantino said:
“We’re waiting for the movie to start and it hit me. I realized that it hadn’t been since The Matrix that I was actually that interested in seeing a movie even though I didn’t know what I was going to see. It’s been a while since somebody has come out with such a big vision to things. Even the elements, the fact that dust is everywhere, and they’re living in this dust bowl that is just completely enveloping this area of the world. That’s almost something you expect from [Andrei] Tarkovsky or [Terrence] Malick, not a science fiction adventure movie.”
Films like Solarisor Badlandsare undoubtedly masterpieces, but those films are more internal and cerebral than the work of the filmmaker who made The Dark Knight, Inception, and Tenet.
Nolan doesn’t make films that are just for film lovers. Instead, he makes films that are equal parts artistic and difficult that have those popcorn effects and action that bring everyone to the theater to witness the scope of the world he has created.
It seems that Tarantino believes that this is what makes modern-day cinema work.
“Christopher Nolan would be just as good of a filmmaker as he is, just as a potent filmmaker as he is if he was making movies in 1975,” Tarantino said in the same interview. “Or, if he was making movies in 1965. I’d like to see Chris Nolan’s version of The Battle of Bulge. That would be fucking awesome.”
The current filmmaking landscape is a bit stressful, I know. But being reminded of the praise Nolan received for Interstellar reminds us that we have to make the stories that we want to tell, even if everyone doubts us along the way. Stick to your truth, and people will watch and praise you for your achievements.
Have you rewatched Interstellar lately? Let us know your thoughts on the film in the comments below!
The Mandalorianseason 3 has come under fire for a story that features a whole lot of nothing and doesn’t really push the plot forward in any meaningful way. Now, with the latest episode drawing even more criticism for its unfocused gaze and pointless cameos, Star Wars fans are wondering if Jon Favreau has finally lost his mojo.
In other news, a consistently-panned movie franchise that somehow spawned six sequels and a television reboot is allegedly swinging for another unwanted resurrection, making its fans genuinely wonder if the studio even understands what they want from the story.
Meanwhile, a forgotten Alien sequel finds new success on streaming, even despite the fact that the movie’s own writer shunned it in every possible way.
Speaking of sequels with questionable prospects, Warner Bros. has seen fit to delay Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom by a few days, and though this move is inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, fans have somehow interpreted it as the movie being in big trouble.
Check out all of these beats in today’s sci-fi roundup.
The fandom clearly doesn’t want another Resident Evil reboot, but that has never stopped Hollywood before
Image via Capcom
With the release of the Resident Evil 4 remake rekindling the hype for this long-standing Japanese horror franchise, rumors are circulating online about yet another live-action reboot after the disastrous Netflix series. Resident Evil has never been particularly successful on this front, spawning seven terrible movies that all got panned by the critics and barely thrived at the box office, but if this rumor about another resurrection turns out to be true, then Hollywood truly doesn’t understand when it’s time to stop.
According to the scuttlebutt, this new project is going ahead under the title of Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, which once again alludes to the nefarious pharmaceutical organization behind the deadly virus that turns people into monsters.
Is Jon Favreau to blame for the middling Mandalorian season 3? The community certainly seems to think so based on little to no evidence
Marvel
Star Wars fans hailed Jon Favreau as the ultimate savior of the galaxy far, far away with the premiere of The Mandalorian a few years ago, but as has been proven time and again, all it takes for this community to turn its back on you is a single terrible outing. In that sense, Favreau has more than overstayed his welcome with the middling Book of Boba Fett miniseries, which is now being followed by the divisive third season of The Mandalorian.
Now, people are starting to accuse Favreau of losing interest and keeping the story going just to appease shareholders. Frankly, there’s no denying that The Mandalorian season 3 has been lackluster, but to put all the blame on Favreau when he’s doing his best to keep Star Wars alive on television might be a step too far.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is delayed for less than a week and the fandom loses its mind
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
While not every delay is a disaster in the making, cinemagoers have grown conspicuously pessimistic about a movie’s prospects whenever there’s a hurdle in production. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has already faced its fair share of doubters and naysayers due to all the drama surrounding Amber Heard, but now that we’re getting closer to the movie’s release date, fans are reminded of a grim possibility; that it’s entirely plausible for the sequel to be subpar on the merit of its own shortcomings.
When Joss Whedon makes a bad movie, you have to sit through the terrible experience twice. The first is for when you actually watch the flick and realize that it’s a steaming bowl of horse dung. The second is when you spend the next couple of months listening to the man whine about how everyone but himself dropped the ball during production, in between rants explaining why his heaven-sent writing chops aren’t appreciated enough.
Alien: Resurrection is one such movie that got panned by the critics and shunned by Whedon himself on numerous occasions, but the sequel is nevertheless garnering renewed interest on streaming. More and more, it looks like streaming is turning into a playground where Hollywood’s greatest failures are granted a second chance.
There’s no question that finding the best gift for a kid can be daunting. Even if you’re a parent, you’d probably agree that out of everyone on your list, children are likely the hardest to shop for. Unlike sourcing the perfect presents for teens or TikTok-obsessed 10-year-olds who are very vocal about their interests, it can be more difficult to discern what the developing little one in your life wants. Plus, if they’re fortunate enough to be spoiled by their loved ones, then they’ve already got a slew of toys they never touch
So how do you find just the right thing—the thing that makes their eyes open wide with delight—that they’ll actually use? Another set of Legos may be a tempting (and safe) option, but we recommend picking up something a little more inspired. Whether you’re buying a gift for a two-year-old, a present for a one-year-old, something thoughtful (and educational) for a five-year-old, or a small token for a kid nearing adulthood, look for items that are a little outside the box—like a projector that fills their room with all the stars in the galaxy, a balance bike that will help get them outdoors and help with their development, or a DIY neon sign kit for them to flex their creativity.
To help narrow your focus on some of the most unique items out there, we scoured retailers big and small, chatted with children, and asked parents what items their kids can’t get enough of, to find the best gifts for kids of every age—and yes, there are home runs here even for people who have everything they could ever want.
All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
“Cowgirls Don’t Cry” saw Maggie and Winston (Anthony Hill) struggling in couple’s therapy, where Maggie described an amazing opportunity she’d been offered at the Heart Center of Chicago. However, Winston pointed out that he’d already relocated across the country for her. Maggie was ultimately called out of the room for a trauma — a teenage bull rider who the surgeon related to when people kept trying to keep her away from the thing she loved — and her mind seemed to be made up; Maggie was going to Chicago.
She vocalized that decision as she and Winston continued arguing after their long day, as Maggie pointed out that a marriage could survive her taking a job in Chicago, but their issue was how he had given up when working together became difficult. She told him:
Even when you wanted to quit cardio, supposedly to save our marriage, that was you quitting. That was you retreating. That was you giving up your gift so that you could avoid direct conflict, and that is what I don’t respect. It isn’t your heart, Winston, it’s your cowardice. And the pizza in Chicago is the best in the world. So I’m gonna go there. And I’m gonna take my extraordinary passion, and I’m going to use it to build hearts that will save thousands of lives. And you can stay here and you can pretend like it was you who was abandoned, but we both know the truth.
Shout out to Chicago pizza, which is NOT “quantity over quality,” as Winston blasphemed earlier in the episode.
So that sounded pretty cut and dry, and with the way they’ve acted around each other this season, it doesn’t seem like they’re in a strong enough place to survive a big move like that. But not so fast. Next week we’re getting back-to-back episodes (Is Kelly McCreary getting a bigger sendoff than Meredith?), and the preview seems to indicate there might be hope yet for the couple. Check it out below:
Despite their recent troubles, Maggie and Winston have always shared such a passion for their specialty, and it looks like the episodes “Shadow of Your Love” and “Mama Who Bore Me” will see the estranged couple sharing the OR for a big surgery. Maggie presumably tells Winston, “You challenge me, you inspire me,” before asking him to come with her to Chicago. Will he?
We’ll have to tune in to find out. Grey’s Anatomy returns at 9 p.m. ET next Thursday, April 13, for back-to-back episodes on ABC. You can also check out our 2023 TV schedule to see what premieres are coming soon.
The awards show, presented by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, has inked a new two-year deal that will see the program air live on CBS and for premium subscribers on Paramount+. The deal also includes broadcast rights to the 2024 Daytime Emmys.
This year’s ceremony will be broadcast live Friday, June 16, from the Westin Bonaventure Los Angeles.
The Daytime Emmys ceremony has aired on CBS for the past three years, and previously bounced around between networks, with NBC, ABC, CBS, The CW, Pop and HLN having aired the awards at various points over the last 20 years. The show was without a broadcast partner from 2016 to 2019. The 2022 installment averaged 2.8 million viewers on CBS.
The Daytime Emmy Awards, which will mark its 50th anniversary this year, celebrates soap operas, talk shows, game shows, instructional or DIY programming and other genres. NATAS and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which produces the Primetime Emmy Awards, realigned their categories last year (the academies remain separate entities, with NATAS also organizing the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, the Sports Emmy Awards and the Children’s & Family Emmy Awards).
“We are thrilled to be back with our incredible broadcast partner CBS for two years,” said Adam Sharp, president and CEO of NATAS, in a statement. “In commemorating the show’s golden anniversary this year, we look forward to honoring and celebrating the beloved world of daytime television.”
“CBS has a storied history in daytime and we are delighted to continue having the Daytime Emmys on the Network for the next two years,” added Mackenzie Mitchell, vp specials, music and live events at CBS. “We look forward to celebrating the show’s 50th anniversary and highlighting the best that daytime has to offer.”
CBS is home to both The Young the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, soaps that have been perennial winners at the Daytime Emmys.
“Cloudy,” the new single from the South London group Blue Bendy, feels like a panic attack in the park. The art-rock sextet has claimed allegiance to Broadcast, Orange Juice, Iceage—“just anything dark or weird or poppy,” offered their lead vocalist, Arthur Nolan—and their cerebral intensity is palpable in the page-blackening detail of “Cloudy”’s arrangement: Acoustic guitars and pianos are set against one another in opposing pulses, interrupted by startling bursts of distortion. But the song is also filled with air, each element comfortably set off from its surroundings like sheep dotting a field. Nolan, clearly a rising senior in the art-rock School of Wryly Gnomic Asides, is an inscrutable and compelling tour guide: “I’ve got beef with a monkey account/Can I make you proud?”; “Freeze for me, please don’t cry/I made it all the way to the microphone, didn’t I?” The song rolls on for six eventful and fascinating minutes, the breeze blowing back hair from a dark, furrowed brow, a man in a monocle piloting a buggy vehicle over rocky terrain.
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The Guelph Storm are keeping their OHL season alive by the skin of their teeth.
They defeated the Sarnia Sting 5-4 in Game 4 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series Thursday night. The Storm avoided being swept and now trail the best-of-seven 3-1.
It was a great start for the Storm as they opened up a 2-0 first period lead on goal by Valentin Zhugin and Max Namestnikov.
With Guelph up 2-1 in the second, Zhugin scored his second of the game off a pass from Charlie Paquette. Zhugin returned the favour setting up Paquette late in the period to take a 4-1 lead.
“Zhugin found me and I couldn’t really miss that one if I’d tried,” said Paquette of his goal.
Paquette also received a fighting major after a tilt with Ethan Ritchie in that period to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick.
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“In the playoffs, it’s a rough, tough game. Just hit someone then someone came at me,” Paquette said.
Sarnia would put Guelph on their heels early in the third period. Brenden Anderson would score to cut the Storms’ lead down to 4-2, then Cooper Way put one in behind Guelph netminder Patrick Leaver and trail by one goal.
“Stuff happens,” said Leaver after the Sting got back into the game. “The boys stepped up when we needed it the most and we found a way.”
Leaver earlier made some incredible saves, 24 in total. He also had some iron luck as at least four Sarnia shots hit the goal post and stayed out of the net.
Zhugin finished with three points for the Storm, while Cooper Walker had the other Guelph goal.
Benjamin Gaudreau stopped 10 of 14 shots before being replaced by Nicholas Surzycia (3 saves) to the start the third period.
Game 5 of this series is in Sarnia Friday night. You can listen to the game on 1460 CJOY. The pre-game show begins at 6:50 p.m., then Larry Mellott will have the call at 7:05 p.m.
With five seasons of playing Alice in “Good Trouble” under her belt, Sherry Cola says that she is the “most liberated version” of herself thanks to her evolution on the show.
“Now that we’re in season five, I’ve learned so much as an actor, I’ve learned so much as an activist, I’ve learned so much as someone who is queer, and immigrant and Chinese American and woman,” Cola told TheWrap, describing the show as a “creative playground.” “I am the most liberated version of myself today, because I’ve had the honor of evolving through ‘Good Trouble.’ That’s not lost on me … I don’t take it for granted that this show has changed my life in a lot of ways.”
Cola, who stars in Lionsgate’s upcoming “Joy Ride” alongside Ashley Park and Stephanie Hsu, also praised the Freeform drama for practicing what it preaches as it tackles inclusive storylines, pointing to Alice and Sumi’s queer Asian experience or Gael’s co-parenting situation.
“It’s a dream … to be a working actress, and to be on a show that really prioritizes authentic storytelling, and puts people in front of the camera that have not been given opportunities before,” Cola said.
Season 5 picks up as Alice sets her sights on her next gig: conquering Hollywood one writers’ room at a time. As she throws herself into work, hoping to climb up the industry ladder, Alice worries she has neglected her responsibilities as manager of The Coterie after she receives a sticky note complaint from one of her roommates, prompting a spiral that amplifies what Cola calls Alice’s “resting worry face.”
“She just is always anxious about something which is so real,” Cola said. “I do this in my own life, I fixate, I can just like overreact, or obsess over something, when really, it’s another deeper issue that I’m refusing to address.”
Instead of truly feeling concerned by the sticky note, Alice faces frustration as she is reminded that “making it in Hollywood is not overnight,” a lesson Cola knows all too well. “She wants to thrive at what she does and … she’s reminded that she has to pay her dues,” Cola said. “Alice is so new, she’s such a guppy to this universe that she’s realizing, ‘oh, she has to slowly climb the ladder.’”
Alice’s frustrations at her new job mount as her colleagues, three older white men played by Alan Blumenfeld, Garrett M. Brown and Joel Brooks, create the ultimate hassle for Alice as she dodges their constant snack breaks and distractions.
With Alice completely out of her comfort zone both in a new job and as she interacts with the men with whom she has almost nothing in common, and likewise don’t understand her lived experiences, the unlikely pals learn from each other as Alice has conversations about social consciousness with the men while they teach her not to sweat the small stuff.
“The lesson here … is that we simply need to continue having conversations,” Cola said. “What the show is really good at is recognizing differences, acknowledging that people come from different walks of life, but [also] having the patience and the understanding to hear each other out because sometimes people really just don’t know any better because of lack of representation, lack of access [or[ lack of exposure.”
Cola, herself, has seen the progress and connection that can come from these conversations as she added that she has had similar dialogue with her mother involving topics like her queerness or the social unrest that marked 2020.
“2020 was the first time she ever voted — she’s been a citizen since I was in seventh grade, she just never thought her voice mattered and she wasn’t aware of all the issues that require her input,” Cola said. “When it comes to generational gaps, and cultural gaps, a conversation can go a long way.”
This willingness to engage in these conversations is a direct result of Alice’s growth, according to Cola, who notes that Alice is learning to speak up for herself.
“Alice has gone through a lot — every character has in their own individual fight,” Cola said. “I think Alice has learned to speak up for herself, although gradually [and] slowly. I don’t feel like she’s as outspoken as she could be still, but that’s the journey, right? It’s not overnight.”
A month after documents released as part of Dominion’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News revealed that Tucker Carlson once said he hated Donald Trump “passionately,” Carlson has booked the indicted former president for an interview.
Carlson will interview Trump on April 11 episode of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Fox News announced Thursday.
The one-on-one interview will take place at Trump’s Florida home at Mar-a-Lago. Fox noted this will be Trump’s first interview since arrested on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to his alleged role in hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.
Tucker and Trump will talk about various topics including: indictment, the upcoming presidential election and news of the day.
The conservative network is facing a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems. Dominion alleged Fox News “recklessly disregarded the truth” and pushed various pro-Donald Trump conspiracy theories about the election technology company because “the lies were good for Fox’s business.”
In the lawsuit, private text messages came to light from Tucker where he wrote how much he despised Trump.
“We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights,” Carlson wrote on Jan 4, 2021, according to court documents. “I truly can’t wait.”
Tucker then wrote, “I hate him passionately, “I blew up at Peter Navarro today in frustration. I actually like Peter. But I can’t handle much more of this.”
Late last month, Tucker tried to walk back those text messages. While doing an interview on WABC radio, Tucker said he was “enraged” that his private texts were revealed.
Tucker added, “And I think this is in the text, and those were all grabbed completely illegitimately, in my opinion, in this court case, which I guess I’m not allowed to talk about, but I’m enraged that my private texts were pulled.”
Kylie Jenner looked like pinup perfection as she stripped down to a bikini for her latest glamour shots on Instagram.
The cosmetics CEO, 25, flaunted her incredible curves in a tiny gold two-piece from her big sister Khloe Kardashian‘s clothing line, Good American.
It consisted of a classic triangle top that showed off her ample bust as she posed for a close up pouty snap, shielding her eyes with a pair of Chanel sunglasses.
She then perched seductively on the edge of a white lounger just steps away from the pool in the backyard of her $36.5million Holmby Hills mansion.
Kylie flashed bedroom eyes at the camera as she curled up with one knee pressed to her chin while the other hung off the chair.
Bikini babe: Kylie Jenner looked like pinup perfection as she stripped down to a bikini for her latest glamour shots on Instagram
Pose: The cosmetics CEO flaunted her incredible curves in a tiny gold two-piece from her big sister Khloe Kardashian ‘s clothing line, Good American
She flipped her long, raven hair to one side as she soaked up the Southern California sun.
‘golden hour baby,’ captioned the mother-of-two, who boasts 385million followers.
Kylie dropped over 40 pounds last year by sticking to a strict exercise regimen following the February 2022 birth of her son Aire.
She previously opened up about her postpartum journey, admitting that she’d put on 60 pounds over the course of her pregnancy.
To get her figure back, Kylie stuck to a daily workout routine that included long, uphill walks on a treadmill.
Aire is the second child Kylie welcomed with her ex-partner Travis Scott, 31. They also share five-year-old daughter Stormi.
The pair split ahead of the New Year after dating on/off for five years after originally meeting at Coachella in 2017.
They still maintain a close and healthy co-parenting relationship to raise their two children.
Travis recently showed love to Kylie by commenting on a series of stunning shots shared to the Kylie Cosmetics Instagram page earlier this month.
‘A beauty,’ wrote the rapper, who faced cheating allegations last year which he staunchly denied.
A source claimed to Us Weekly that Kylie found the comment to be ‘really sweet’ and loved that he would ‘show his support for her in such a public way.’
Kylie’s latest sizzling slideshow comes just hours after the influencer used her platform to promote Kylie Cosmetics’ first-ever mascara.
Wow! It consisted of a classic triangle top that showed off her ample bust and thong bottoms
Sultry: She then perched seductively on the edge of a white lounger just steps away from the pool in the backyard of her $36.5million Holmby Hills mansion
It was created to help lift lashes for ‘lasting volume’ and ‘definition,’ according to the brand’s main Instagram page.
‘my first mascara launches TOMORROW at 9am pst on KylieCosmetics.com yayyy i can’t wait for you to fall in love,’ wrote Kylie, who posted a video to her YouTube channel demonstrating the product.
She also shared a number of stunning promo pictures.
In the photo series, the reality star donned a sleek, backless black gown that contained gloved sleeves for a stylish flare for the shoot.
Her brunette locks were slicked back into a chic bun to prevent any loose strands from falling onto her face.
A light shimmering bronze shadow was added around her eyes, while a layer of the Kylash volume mascara was worn on her long lashes.
A warm contour was donned to better accentuate her cheekbones, while a nude-colored satin tint was added to her lips and bordered by a darker lipliner.
To accessorize the look, the businesswoman threw on a pair of dainty, silver-hooped earrings along with a flashy, mini ear cuff of the same color.
The beauty mogul uploaded a mix of clear, close-up images as well as blurry photos that offered a unique touch to the post.
Promo mode: Kylie’s latest sizzling slideshow comes just hours after the influencer used her platform to promote Kylie Cosmetics’ first-ever mascara
It was created to help lift lashes for ‘lasting volume’ and ‘definition,’ according to the brand’s main Instagram page
In the photo series, the reality star donned a sleek, backless black gown that contained gloved sleeves for a stylish flare for the shoot
Along with the mascara officially launching on Thursday, an assortment of Matte Liquid Eyeshadows are set to also become available and will include a total of five varying shades
Demo: ‘my first mascara launches TOMORROW at 9am pst on KylieCosmetics.com yayyy i can’t wait for you to fall in love,’ wrote Kylie, who posted a video to her YouTube channel demonstrating the product
Along with the mascara officially launching on Thursday, an assortment of Matte Liquid Eyeshadows are set to also become available and will include a total of five varying shades.
Kylie officially started her beauty empire back in 2015 at the age of 17, and recently opened up to Vanity Fair Italia in February about how her company came about.
‘I was 15 years old and I was obsessed with lipstick. I never went out without it. I went to my mother and said, ‘I’d like to create a beauty product line,’ she recalled to the outlet.
‘She didn’t take me seriously right away, however, then she started to believe in it and help me. We made many mistakes, but mistakes are part of projects, they are necessary steps. Maybe it is wrong to call them mistakes,’ the star further added.
Excited! Also on Wednesday, the mother of two jumped to her main TikTok page and shared a reel of herself applying the new Kylash mascara and liquid eyeshadow from Kylie Cosmetics
Counting down the days! The new products are slated to officially launch and become available later this week on Thursday, April 6
Testing out the products: Kylie took her fans through the quick process of applying one of the liquid eyeshadows onto her eyelids
An assortment of shades: Along with the Kylash volume mascara, five shades of liquid matte eyeshadows will also be available to consumers on April 6
Keeping it casual: The reality star could be seen sporting a plain black top while her voluminous locks were parted to the side and flowed down past her shoulders in light curls
Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth can’t stop blushing as they arrive at Jubliee screening together. (Photo: Viral Bhayani)
Rumours of Aditi Rao Hydari and actor Siddharth dating have been creating a buzz for quite some time now.
Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth made their official red carpet debut together as they arrived at the screening of Vikramaditya Motwane’s new series Jubilee in Mumbai on Thursday evening. Rumours of Aditi Rao Hydari and actor Siddharth dating have been creating a buzz for quite some time now. And, it seems the duo has kind of made it red carpet official.
Aditi looked stunning as she opted for a black Anarkali suit, while Siddharth donned an all-white ensemble. The rumoured lovebirds couldn’t stop blushing as they got clicked on the red carpet together. In a video, shared by Viral Bhayani on his Instagram account, the media is also heard telling Aditi and Siddharth ‘sharmaiye mat (don’t be shy)’ as the two laughed while posing next to each other. One of the paparazzo also went on to say “lovely jodi (nice couple)” to them.
Recently, Aditi and Siddharth posted a reel where they grooved to popular song ‘Tum Tum’, which added fuel to the fire. Following this, in an interview with Mid-Day, Aditi reacted to their dating rumours.
“Since I’m working I am not looking at that. People will talk and you can’t stop them from talking. They will do what they find interesting and I am doing what I find interesting, which is going to set. I think it’s ok. And the thing is as long as I have amazing work to do and working with directors I love, and as long as people accept me and watch me, I am really happy,” she said.
She further clarified that her attention and energy should rather be diverted to the work she is doing as opposed to rumours about a supposed relationship. Aditi stated, “If there is something that needs attention, it is my work on the film or show I am doing because that is what you are going to see on screen. I need to put all my heart and love and effort into that and to be present for my director. That’s where I need to concentrate.”
Shrishti Negi, Senior Correspondent, News18.com, reports on the Indian film industry, with a focus on gender. Her areas of expertise are Bollywood, in…Read More
Watch any of the films that made Jackie Chan a legend and you notice that so much of his graceful, goofball charisma comes from simply having one more move up his sleeve. Whether changing position while sliding down a plate-glass skyscraper or falling off a clock face onto a series of awnings or dispatching multiple assailants with his witty brand of bendy, aerobic kung-fu, only to end on a silly eye-poke or a gymnastic semi-levitation, the star-making flourish is so often the extra thing he does when anyone else would be finished.
But what do you do when, nearing 70 and with almost 150 movie performances behind you, there aren’t that many one-more-moves left? Maybe you make something like Larry Yang’s “Ride On,” a sappy but enjoyable slice of family fun that has a nice horse doing wacky tricks for the younger viewers and for parents and older fans, is a gently meta, valedictory canter through the paddock of Chan’s previous achievements.
Chan plays Luo, a once-successful stuntman (which gives Yang the excuse to include always-welcome footage of Chan’s stunt work through the decades) who has fallen — through sheets of sugar glass and scaffolding, no doubt — on hard times. Now, accompanied only by Red Hare, the beloved horse he nursed to health from a sickly foal, Luo is reduced to extra work and to dressing them both up in goofy costumes to lure tourists into photo ops. But even this threadbare dog-and-pony existence is under threat. Luo is in debt. Collector Dami (Andy On) and his henchmen try to take Red Hare as collateral, but video of man and horse cartoonishly humiliating the goons goes viral, which both enrages Dami and rekindles interest in Luo’s stunt expertise.
Still, lawyers come to Luo’s house — more a repurposed, open-air dojo/stable where he used to train his stuntmen “disciples” and which has many a useful exposed beam/loose ladder lying about — and announce their intention to repossess Red Hare. In distress, Luo, who refers to the horse as his son, turns to his estranged human daughter, Bao (Liu Haocun), who is now studying for her law degree and has a just-qualified fiancé Mickey (Kevin Guo). Bao is hesitant, but eventually sees her father for the penitent parent he now is, being especially moved by his bond with her equine “brother.” They reconcile, but she wants him to stop putting himself and Red Hare in danger doing stunt work, just when they are getting back in the game — cue a fun montage of Chan in elaborate costumes, many of them nodding to his previous hits, performing horseback hijinks on the sets of various action epics.
In truth, the emotional landscape of “Ride On” is painted with a brush so broad it’s basically a roller, with Chan’s charm and Liu’s radiant Neutrogena wholesomeness just about compensating for Yang’s screenplay, which keeps having to manufacture new rifts to be magically healed with a change of heart, a hug and couple of close-ups. Lao Zai’s inescapable, saccharine scoring is so thickly slathered on that it makes the actually moving moments feel unnecessarily manipulative, and there really is no earthly reason why Yang and editor Super Zhang couldn’t have reined this thing in at less than 126 minutes long.
But it’s hard to stay mad at a movie where part of the bagginess is a result of the generous impulse to salute the often undervalued contributions of stunt teams and to pay tribute to an unparalleled action legend getting back into the saddle one more time. Because as much as Yang goes for, and sometimes reaches, the emotional jugular in the father/daughter story, that’s not where the heart of “Ride On” really resides. Instead it’s in the fights, which are a little more chopped-up and less fluid than they might once have been but are still defiantly done for real even though, as a CG-happy director tells Luo later on, “no one falls for real these days.”
And in the near-obsolete stuntman “code” that Luo clings to, “Ride On” gets further unexpected resonance. To watch a rapt, gently rueful Chan observing his younger self performing some crazy feat of athleticism and bravado, like the umbrella-bus-chase sequence from “Police Story,” is a perfect portrait of the quandary that is the passage of time for an artist whose youthful, elastic recklessness was always so much part of his appeal. “Jumping down is easy,” Luo tells an ex-student who has gone on to be a star stuntman in his own right, “Stepping down is hard.” For all its four-quadrant family friendliness, “Ride On” also feels like Chan, his legacy intact and unimpeachable, not stepping down so much as gracefully stepping across — to the beginning of a new chapter, perhaps, as the elder statesman of the somersault, the scissor-kick and the death-defying stunt. He isn’t owed anything less, and he doesn’t owe the movies anything more.
This will mark the first time in MCU history that Marvel Studios has decided to give a movie director producing credit on the film they are already directing.
Looking back at the MCU’s recent history, WandaVision director Matt Shakman also served as a producer on his Disney+ show, allowing him to break the initial mold for Marvel Studios directors being producers.
In Gunn’s case, he wasn’t the director of Infinity War, Endgame, or I Am Groot, and the Guardians’ Holiday Special was a Disney+ presentation rather than a movie.
He’s also listed on the projects as an executive producer instead of as a producer, meaning he was likely only involved with smaller aspects of those projects rather than overseeing the entire production. This was different for the Holiday Special, however, with Gunn acting as both an executive producer and the director.
Considering Levy and Reynolds’ history with one another, there is no doubt that Levy is ready to take on the challenge of infusing such a beloved character with the franchise that fans have wanted to see him join for years.
As filming looks to get going over the coming months, fans will likely get more insight into Levy and Reynolds’ work on the threequel soon, especially considering how highly-anticipated this project is.
And with Levy joining such an elite class of MCU directors, it naturally opens the door to him staying with the franchise for more than one solo movie.
It’s often seemed like the impossible dream for comic book movie fans. An honest to goodness cinematic Marvel/DC crossover event. While it may currently seem like a pipe dream, in a recent interview former Marvel creative and current DC Studios head honcho James Gunn admitted “I’d be lying to say we haven’t discussed it.” Yes, it would be years away. But it’s now at least something we can speculate about it. But what would our dream big-screen MCU/DCU projects even be? These are the ones that would be comic book movie nirvana for us.
DC Comics/Marvel Comics
Side note: We’re only talking about characters and not the current actors portraying them here. Simply because by the time this happens, if it ever even happens, who the heck knows who will be playing any of these roles. We’ll probably be on our fifth live-action Spider-Man and our hundredth live-action Batman by that point.
Justice League/Avengers
DC Comics/Marvel Comics
If we could only have one come true, it would be this one. The one that would blow the barn doors off of movie theaters, the Justice League vs. the Avengers. In the comics, this series was literally 20 years in the making. Because the two most iconic teams in their respective universes had to be a bigger-than-life experience and worth the reader’s money. And it was. JLA/Avengers gave us everything; billionaire playboy heroes Iron Man and Batman butting heads, and expert hand-to-hand fighters Captain America and Batman testing each other’s mettle. The God Thor vs. the Goddess Wonder Woman. Hawkeye and Black Widow vs Green Arrow and Black Canary.
DC Comics/Marvel Comics
The 2004 comic book event series, drawn by the legendary George Perez, was ultimately worth the long wait. And we hope any movie version would be the same. We’re not sure who they would fight, however. It would have to be a villain so big, it takes the biggest powerhouses in two universes to stop them. Maybe they literally take on the Gods of Olympus or something? All we know is that if we don’t get an image of Superman using Thor’s hammer and Cap’s shield to make one last stand against the bad guys, we will demand our money back.
X-Men/Teen Titans
DC Comics/Marvel Comics
We don’t know what form either the live-action X-Men or the Teen Titans will take in their respective cinematic universes, once they inevitably show up. But we know that sooner or later, both super teams of angsty young heroes will be a part of the action in the DCU and MCU. In the comics, the best Marvel/DC crossover event was easily 1982’s Uncanny X-Men/New Teen Titans. Not only did it feature both team lineups in arguably their most iconic versions, but they fought off Dark Phoenix and Darkseid together. It was the definition of epic in the comics, and would make for one of the most epic comic book movies of all time.
Batman/Spider-Man
DC Comics/Marvel Comics
On the surface, Batman and Spidey don’t have a ton in common. One has no powers, one does. One lives modestly in Queens, the other in opulence in Gotham City. One barely cracks a smile, the other one cracks jokes constantly. But both heroes were forged in pain and loss. Neither would be who they are if not forged in tragedy, and lost a parental figure (or in Bruce’s case, his actual parents). Because of that loss, their fight will never end. This one thing would form a strong bond between them. Plus, it would be fun to see Batman constantly annoyed at Spider-Man’s constant quipping. Our dream villain team up for this movie? Well, it’s gotta be Joker and the Green Goblin, right? So much villainous cackling, it might be overwhelming.
Batman/Daredevil
DC Comics/Marvel Comics
Another Batman team-up, and one we wouldn’t see in any Justice League/Avengers crossover. Simply because Matt Murdock isn’t traditionally an Avenger. But both heroes are the kind who prowl their cities at night, stalking criminals and striking terror into their hearts. And they both love to brood. It’s just a natural fit for a crossover. Marvel’s Man Without Fear has actual powers, and DC’s Dark Knight doesn’t, but we’re not sure he’d win in a fight against the Batman. Even if they don’t battle, these two together, fighting mad mob bosses and taking on ninja hordes, would be the moodiest superhero movie ever. But we’d be there on day one.
Superman/Captain America
DC Comics/Marvel Comics
Although we imagine a Superman/Captain America meeting would happen in some sort of Justice League/Avengers crossover film, we still want something with just the two of them. Because these two are their respective universe’s idealistic boy scouts, whose unwavering morality defines them. Plus, we want a time travel story where the Man of Steel travels back in time to World War II, where he helps Steve Rogers punch some Nazis. Think of how culturally therapeutic a movie like that could be. Hey, maybe the movie ends with them merging into one being, “Super Soldier.” That’s a thing that actually happened once in the ’90s.
Season 3 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 was officially unveiled, and there is a lot of content to get through for every aspect of the game. Most modes have some kind of changes coming, but it’s the Battle Pass that could garner the most attention.
We all expect a $10 Battle Pass to drop at the start of each season in Call of Duty, and the same applies to Season 3 of MW2. However, there is more than one version of the pass now, and if you want everything in the pass, then the content just got a lot more expensive.
COD MW2 & Warzone 2 – Why is the Battle Pass More Expensive?
The $10 version of the Battle Pass still exists, along with the free tiers that allow for a few cosmetics and the new weapons that players always expect. This time though, there is also an exclusive version labeled as BlackCell, which will replace the standard Battle Pass bundle that allows for extra tier skips. But it’s not just skips. There is exclusive Battle Pass content tied to BlackCell, and it will cost $30. You can find all the details below.
COD MW2 Season 3 BlackCell Details:
Access to the full Season 03 Battle Pass and 20 Tier Skips (25 on PlayStation®).
1,100 COD Points instantly awarded.
Up to 1,400 COD Points awarded throughout the Battle Pass.
A BlackCell Operator, attired in an imposing animated Camo skin.
A Pro-Tuned Weapon Blueprint, Vehicle Skin, and Finishing Move.
An exclusive BlackCell Sector within the Battle Pass AO serves as an alternative starting location.
Immediate unlocking of adjacent Battle Pass Sectors to the BlackCell Sector.
Additional, BlackCell-only Battle Pass content: Every Season 03 Battle Pass Sector with an Operator Skin has a BlackCell variant (12 Skins in total) to unlock.
Not only will the BlackCell Battle Pass have exclusive unique content, but it will also bring exclusive skin variations that players can’t get without paying the full price. Of Course, cosmetics are never required in a live service game, but this is a new precedent set for Battle Passes within Call of Duty or any other game.
SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL OFFERS FIRST GLIMPSE OF 70TH ANNIVERSARY PROGRAM
Celebrating a momentous 70 years in 2023, Sydney Film Festival today released a special preview of 12 films to be featured in this year’s 7–18 June event. The announcement is in advance of the full program launch on Wednesday 10 May.
“Sydney Film Festival is thrilled to continue a 70-year strong tradition of presenting exceptional cinema from across Australia and around the world to Sydney audiences. Today the Festival announces 12 cinematic treasures for a peek of what’s in store, when over 200 feature films, documentaries and shorts are announced with the full program in May,” said Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley.
“Since 1954, Sydney Film Festival has brought more than 10,000 films to Australian audiences. Year after year, the Festival continues to be a pioneer in the world of cinema, screening bold and inspiring works that provoke thought and push boundaries.”
“The 2023 program will expand on this legacy, promising to ignite stimulating dialogues and present powerful ideas that will broaden audience perspectives,” said Moodley.
Included in the Festival’s sneak peek are two new Australian documentaries and a feature film from New Zealand. Rachel’s Farm follows actor-director Rachel Ward (Palm Beach, SFF 2019) as she revitalises her northern NSW beef farm using sustainable farming practices.
In The Last Daughter Wiradjuri woman Brenda Matthews documents her search to uncover the truth about her government-ordered abduction as a child, and find her white foster family.
Both Brenda Matthews and Rachel Ward will attend the Festival to present their documentaries.
New Zealand comedy Red, White & Brass, directed by Damon Fepulea’i and executive produced by Taika Waititi, is based on the true story of Tongan rugby superfans who trick their way to the Rugby World Cup by volunteering to be the marching band, despite having never played.
International award-winning films in this first drop include No Bears by director Jafar Panahi (TehranTaxi, SFF 2015; Three Faces, SFF 2018), who is banned from making films in his home country of Iran. The film won the Venice Film Festival Special Jury Prize. Another notable addition to the line-up is Christian Petzold’s (Undine, SFF 2021; Barbara, SFF 2012) Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear winning feature Afire, about four young people trapped in a holiday house as a wild fire draws near.
Celebrated names of the silver screen include Penélope Cruz (Parallel Mothers, SFF 2021) starring in L’immensità as a mother with marital troubles, alongside her child embracing his gender identity in 1970s Rome. The film is a deeply autobiographical work from director Emanuele Crialese. While legendary documentarian Frederick Wiseman (City Hall, SFF 2021) delivers a rare narrative work about the turbulent relationship between literary giants Leo and Sophia Tolstoy in A Couple.
Highly anticipated documentary Subject explores the impact of documentaries on their onscreen participants – and including those involved in high profile documentaries The Staircase, The Wolfpack, Capturing the Friedmans, Hoop Dreams and The Square. The film also raises important questions about the responsibility documentarians have towards their participants.
The Festival line-up includes powerful stories that chronicle resistance against government systems. Bobi Wine: The People’s President is a documentary that follows the journey of the Ugandan musician turned politician campaigning to end the country’s dictatorship. And in While We Watched, director Vinay Shukla (An Insignificant Man, SFF 2017) documents the struggle of award-winning Indian journalist Ravish Kumar against misinformation and political power as he fights to uphold independent reporting. Shukla will be attending the Festival to present his documentary to Sydney audiences. Lav Diaz (Season of the Devil, SFF 2018) explores another power system in the drama When the Waves Are Gone, about two policemen on a collision course in the Philippines.
Finally, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, a debut film by director Pierre Földes, is an animated adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s short story collection of the same name.
Flexipasses and subscriptions to Sydney Film Festival 2023 are on sale now. Call 1300 733 733 or visit sff.org.au for more information. The full Sydney Film Festival program is announced on Wednesday 10 May 2023, when tickets to specific film sessions will be on-sale.
ABOUT SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL Sydney Film Festival will celebrate its 70th birthday from Wednesday 7 June to Sunday 18 June 2023, offering Sydneysiders another exciting season of cinema amidst a whirlwind of premieres, red-carpet openings, in-depth discussions, film guests and more.
Sydney Film Festival is a major event on the New South Wales cultural calendar and is one of the world’s longest-running film festivals. For more information, visit sff.org.au.
The 70th Sydney Film Festival is supported by the NSW Government through Screen NSW, the Federal Government through Screen Australia, and the City of Sydney.
BOBI WINE: THE PEOPLE’S PRESIDENT The gripping story of a Ugandan pop star turned politician and his determination to end his country’s brutal dictatorship. Premiered at Venice Film Festival. Oozing charisma, style and energy, Bobi Wine, a hero of Kampala’s slums, starts out using his music to protest Uganda’s brutal regime. After successfully winning a seat in parliament, campaigning against corruption, injustice and poverty, Bobi decides to run for president against the 40+ years incumbent Yoweri Museveni. The campaign of intimidation and violence that follows is shocking – the authoritarian Museveni won’t give up power without a fight. Filmmakers Christopher Sharp and Moses Bwayo trailed Bobi and his wife Barbie over eight years, from the ghetto to the campaign trail, all against the soundtrack of Bobi’s pumping sounds and empowering lyrics.
RACHEL’S FARM In this uplifting documentary, actor-director Rachel Ward sets out to regenerate her northern NSW beef farm, with the help of experts and neighbours. For many years, her Nambucca Valley property was a family retreat, conventionally farmed by Rachel’s neighbour Mick. The 2019 Black Summer fires spared the farm, but the near-miss – and a first grandchild – sets Rachel thinking hard about the future. Mick encourages Rachel to challenge established farming practices, and take on a new approach which starts from the soil up. It’s hands-on hard yakka, but she’s determined, and her joy at finding solutions – not to mention dung beetles – is palpable. Rachel’s Farm is about the environmental threats we face, but it’s also the story of one woman’s resolve to tackle them head on, intent on making a difference.
SUBJECT The impact of high-profile documentaries on their onscreen participants, in films including The Staircase and The Wolfpack, is put under the spotlight in this thought-provoking investigation. What happens after the cameras have left and your story is in the public domain? Margie Ratliff (the victim’s daughter from The Staircase), Jesse Friedman (Capturing the Friedmans), Mukunda Angulo (The Wolfpack, SFF 2015), aspiring basketball player Arthur Agee (Hoop Dreams, SFF 1994) and freedom fighter Ahmed Hassan (The Square) discuss the painful, liberating, sometimes life-changing experience of being the subject of a documentary. In the process, Subject raises highly pertinent questions about the duty of care and ethical responsibility documentarians have towards their participants. Essential viewing for filmmakers and non-fiction fans alike.
THE LAST DAUGHTER A poignant documentary co-directed by and featuring Wiradjuri woman Brenda Matthews on a journey to find her white family – and uncover the truth about her abduction. As a child, Brenda was handed over to a white family to be raised, before eventually being returned to the Aboriginal family she no longer knew. She remembers her white parents with fondness, especially their daughter who was around her age. Now an adult, Brenda searches for her foster family and the truth behind her government ordered abduction. In the process she uncovers long-buried secrets and government lies, whilst reconciling her past and the two sides of her family. Co-directors Brenda Matthews and Nathaniel Schmidt won the Audience Documentary Award at the Adelaide Film Festival for this timely documentary.
WHILE WE WATCHED Indian TV journalist Ravish Kumar fights to keep independent reporting alive in the age of misinformation. A prize winner at Toronto and Busan – essential viewing for news watchers everywhere. Kumar, a veteran with India’s NDTV, is committed to accountability and the facts. He asks the most difficult questions of those in power and, in an age of fake news, clashes with India’s political powermongers and populist movement. Facing threats and advertising boycotts, with loyal staff resigning, his network is in deep financial trouble. Despite the grim news, Kumar remains optimistic, inspiring a new generation of reporters. Director Vinay Shukla (An Insignificant Man, SFF 2017) follows Kumar’s increasingly desperate situation, offering perseverance and hope, and mirroring the issues facing independent journalism worldwide.
FEATURES
A COUPLE A rare narrative work from legendary documentarian Frederick Wiseman explores the fractious relationship between the literary couple Leo and Sophia Tolstoy. The Tolstoys were married for 36 years, had 13 children and each kept a diary, alongside constant correspondence with each other through letters – all while living in the same house. Wiseman, the great chronicler of institutions, here looks unflinchingly at the institution of marriage. Through a searing monologue, drawn from the diaries and letters of the Tolstoys, Sophia (played brilliantly by Nathalie Boutefeu) describes a tumultuous marriage to the mercurial War and Peace author – one of great sadness and intense passion. Shot on the beautiful, flower-filled Belle Île, an island off the coast of Brittany, the mesmerising A Couple shows that the 93-year-old maestro still has something exceptional up his sleeve.
AFIRE Silver Bear winner in Berlin, Christian Petzold (Undine, SFF 2021; Barbara, SFF 2012) returns with a tragicomic romp about four young people trapped at a holiday house as a fire draws near. Friends Leon (Thomas Schubert) and Felix (Langston Uibel) head to an idyllic seaside holiday home for the summer. They look forward to relaxation, but also must work on their creative projects. Leon will finish the manuscript of his anticipated second novel, while Felix has to complete a photography portfolio. On arrival they find an unexpected guest Nadja (Paula Beer, Undine), whose loud sex with local lifesaver Devid (Enno Trebs) elicits irritation… among other feelings. Soon Leon is smitten with Nadja, and Felix taken with Devid – and the summer holiday is filled with lust, jealousy, competition and creativity. All the while the forest fires, once distant, encroach and grow, leading to a shocking climax.
BLIND WILLOW, SLEEPING WOMAN Haruki Murakami’s short stories come to life in this fantastical animation about a giant talkative frog, a lost cat, an existential banker and more peculiar characters in Tokyo. It is 2011 and the city has been struck by a tragic earthquake and tsunami. Anxious banker, Katagiri, is enlisted by a gregarious humanoid frog to slay a giant angry worm that is hell-bent on wreaking more havoc. Meanwhile, apathetic Komura is on a mission to hand-deliver a mysterious package, while also undergoing a divorce and losing his job. In a series of enigmatic vignettes, we follow surreal tales where dreams and reality playfully blur into one. Director Pierre Földes’s musing, pastel-rich debut stands strong against other recent award-winning Murakami adaptations like Burning (SFF 2018) and Drive My Car (SFF 2021).
L’IMMENSITÀ Penélope Cruz is dazzling in this family drama – with exquisite song and dance sequences – as a mother facing marital troubles and her child embracing his gender identity in 1970s Rome. The incomparable Cruz (Parallel Mothers, SFF 2021) plays Spanish expat Clara, who has married into a sprawling, affluent Italian family. Her husband, Felice, is unaffectionate and unfaithful but won’t consider divorce. When their 12-year-old (incredible newcomer Luana Giuliani) begins to identify as a boy and takes on the name Andrea, the parents react in very different ways. As Andrea develops his first crush, and Clara struggles under the strain of her relationship turmoil, the two form an increasingly strong bond. A deeply autobiographical work for director Emanuele Crialese, inspired by his own childhood journey, L’immensità embraces the musical and the fantastical in its tender tale of maternal love.
NO BEARS Though banned from making films in Iran, Jafar Panahi won the Venice Special Jury Prize for his bold take on two parallel love stories thwarted by superstition and power. Panahi (Tehran Taxi, SFF 2015; Three Faces, SFF 2018), only recently released from an Iranian prison on bail, both directs and stars in No Bears. What results are two powerful sagas unfolding onscreen. Panahi plays a fictionalised version of himself directing a film remotely from a small border village in Iran. Banned from leaving the country, his assistant director instead oversees the shoot in nearby Türkiye. In the film he’s making, a couple desperately tries to secure fake passports to escape to France. Whilst filming Panahi is swept up in a scandal surrounding another young couple’s forbidden romance. In this searing blend of truth and fiction, Panahi questions the role of an artist in societies only too willing to scapegoat them.
RED, WHITE & BRASS This hilarious true story sees Tongan rugby superfans trick their way to the Rugby World Cup by forming a marching band – despite having never played. Executive produced by Taika Waititi. After failing miserably in his efforts to secure tickets to the much-anticipated Tonga-France match, Maka (John-Paul Foliaki) rushes head-first into his last resort. He offers to provide a Tongan brass band for the pre-match entertainment. The thing is, the band doesn’t exist and Maka and an assortment of friends and family, most with no musical experience, have four weeks to build a credible band and routine. This with no instruments but plastic bottles and tin cans, and Tongan community elders staunchly against this potentially embarrassing stunt. But Maka is nothing if not persistent, and along this remarkable journey he gains a great deal more than tickets to a game.
WHEN THE WAVES ARE GONE Amid the Philippines’ war on drugs, two policemen are on a deadly collision course in this searing drama by master director Lav Diaz (Season of the Devil, SFF 2018). Known for his incisive looks into the issues being faced in the Philippines, Lav Diaz has delivered one of his most thrilling dramas with this study of two policemen. Lieutenant Hermes is renowned as the nation’s best detective. Ex-sergeant Macabantay was Hermes’s mentor and superior until Hermes had him jailed for corruption ten years ago. Now released from prison and fuelled by a religious fervour that manifests in performing bizarre baptisms on strangers, Macabantay is determined to hunt and kill his former protégé. Diaz’s essay on life and death during the Duterte presidency is superbly filmed in 16mm monochrome but there is nothing black and white about this complex and compelling drama.
Suite 2, 4 James Street Waterloo, NSW 2017 Australia
British director Craig Duncan, who worked with James Corden 10 years ago, said in a YouTube video earlier this week that the soon-to-exit host of CBS’ “The Late Late Show” is “the most difficult and obnoxious presenter I’ve ever worked with.”
He recalled that before he took the 2013 gig on Corden’s sports comedy show “A League of Their Own,” producers asked him, “How are you working with difficult presenters?”
On the day of shooting, Duncan said that Corden grew impatient and shouted at him, “It’s obvious what you do. You put a camera there, you put a camera there. It’s so obvious how you shoot it. You’re stupid.”
Duncan told Fox Digital News that he’s glad he no longer works in TV. “I’m very happy to relay my experiences with [celebrities], especially now the TV industry holds less power over us. The industry needs to change.”
The director signed off his video with the message, “Cheers, James. You got your way, well done. I hope I never, ever work with you again.”
Duncan’s critique of the “Into the Woods” star comes after Spice Girl Mel B. called Corden “one of the biggest d—heds in showbiz,” adding that despite his congenial on-air personality, “he isn’t very nice.”
New York restaurant manager Keith McNally also made headlines last year when he revealed he’d banned Corden from Balthazar in Soho, referring to the host as “the most abusive customer to [his] servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.” After a back and forth in the press in which Corden apologized, McNally reversed the ban.
Corden’s last episode of “The Late Late Show” will be on April 27. He’s hosted the CBS talk show since 2015, while also appearing in films including “The Prom” and the Camila Cabello “Cinderella” movie.
Reps for Corden did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
The network has canceled its medical drama after six seasons. The decision comes nearly three months after The Resident, produced by Disney’s 20th Television, finished its 13-episode sixth season.
Speculation about the show’s fate has swirled since the season — the shortest of the show’s six — ended. The Resident had its lowest-rated season to date among adults 18-49, averaging a 0.53 rating in the key ad demographic over seven days of viewing (vs. 0.7 last season). According to Fox, the show’s cross-platform audience of 6.9 million viewers was down 12 percent from the 2021-22 season.
When The Resident premiered in January 2018, 20th TV was still part of the 21st Century Fox family that included the broadcast network. A month earlier, though, Fox and Disney had agreed to a $71 billion sale of the studio and a several cable assets to Disney; that deal closed in 2019.
Since then, Fox has made a push to own or co-own as much of its programming as possible. The Resident and the two 911 shows — whose futures on Fox are yet to be determined — are the only dramas to air on the network this season in which Fox Entertainment doesn’t have a stake. (20th TV also produces the network’s animated comedies The Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers and The Great North.)
Additionally, Fox ordered another medical drama, titled Doc, earlier this week. That series, a co-production between Sony Pictures TV and Fox Entertainment, is based on a hit Italian show that has been adapted in several other countries.
Meanwhile, sources say The Resident star Matt Czuchry will remain in the 20th TV fold and is set to join the next season of FX’s American Horror Story, which the studio produces.
Co-creator Amy Holden Jones executive produces The Resident with showrunner Andrew Chapman, Rob Corn, Oly Obst, Antoine Fuqua, Marc Halsey, Joy Gregory and Czuchry.
Jones is still in business with Fox, writing and executive producing a crime show called Archie & Pete that’s on a script-to-series development track. Matt Nix (CBS’ True Lies, Fox’s The Gifted) is also exec producing.
Keep track of all the broadcast cancellations, renewals and new series orders with The Hollywood Reporter’s network scorecard.
Crystal Dynamics advises those who migrated their saves from PlayStation 4 to PlayStation 5 to go back into the PS4 version and equip the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit and then transfer their save. Once they log into the PS5 version, the skin should be unlocked. It may appear as locked on other platforms for those who deleted their original save and are playing on a new save. The team notes that those players should restart their game.
And as a final footnote, all hero card-related objectives have been removed. The 2.8 update took out hero cards in general, which halted completion of specific mission chains.
The game’s Twitter account noted that this is the last expected patch for the game. But it’s always possible that another bug will pop up or the team will address other issues before September 30.
In the meantime, it has set the date for this year’s milestone ceremony; the 50th annual event will air live on Friday, June 16 (9-11:00 p.m. ET) on CBS and stream live on Paramount+.
This year marks the 17th time CBS has broadcast the Daytime Emmys, more than any other network.
The ceremony will take place at the Westin Bonaventure Los Angeles. Nominations and additional information will be available in the coming weeks.
“We are thrilled to be back with our incredible broadcast partner CBS for two years,” said Adam Sharp, president and CEO of NATAS. “In commemorating the show’s golden anniversary this year, we look forward to honoring and celebrating the beloved world of daytime television.”
“CBS has a storied history in daytime and we are delighted to continue having the Daytime Emmys on the network for the next two years,” added Mackenzie Mitchell, VP specials, music and live events, at CBS. “We look forward to celebrating the show’s 50th anniversary and highlighting the best that daytime has to offer.”
The Daytime Emmy Awards have recognized outstanding achievement in television programming and crafts since 1974, honoring work in a variety of categories, including daytime dramas, talk shows, instructional programming, hosting and legal/courtroom programs. In 2021, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) and the Television Academy jointly announced plans to realign the Daytime and Primetime Emmy Awards to be organized by content genre, as opposed to program airtime.
In addition, in recognition of the marked increase in content and entries for children’s programming, 2022 marked the first annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards, with relevant categories separating from the Daytime Emmys into their own competition and ceremony. All awards are judged by a pool of peer professionals from across the television industry.
The 50th Annual Daytime Emmys is produced by NATAS and Associated Television International (ATI), which produced Daytime Emmy Awards ceremonies on The CW in 2009 and on CBS in 2010, 2011, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Adam Sharp and Lisa Armstrong are executive producers from NATAS, while McKenzie is executive producer from ATI.
Clairo has shared a cover of the Vashti Bunyan ballad “Winter Is Blue.” The original track appears on Bunyan’s beloved 1970 album Just Another Diamond Day. Clairo released a pared-down video in which she sings and accompanies herself on acoustic guitar. Check it out below.
In the coming months, Bunyan’s recent memoir Wayward, Just Another Life to Live will be revised and issued in paperback, following the hardback edition that was made available in the U.S. earlier this year.
Earlier this month, Clairo released a one-off single called “For Now.” All proceeds from the track went toward For the Gworls and Everytown for Gun Safety. The former organization assists Black transgender people with rent, gender-affirming surgeries, and other necessities, while Everytown for Gun Safety is organization working to prevent gun violence through advocacy.
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It was 2004 when the Los Angeles Times disclosed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had accepted expensive gifts and private plane trips paid for by Harlan Crow, a wealthy Texas real estate investor and a prominent Republican donor.
The gifts included a Bible that once belonged to abolitionist Frederick Douglass — a gift Thomas valued at $19,000 — and a bust of Abraham Lincoln valued at $15,000.
“I just knew he was a fan of Frederick Douglass, and I saw that item come available at an auction and I bought it for him,” Crow explained at the time.
He also flew Thomas on his personal plane to Northern California to be his guest at the Bohemian Grove, which held all-male retreats for government and business leaders.
Thomas refused to comment on the article, but it had an impact: Thomas appears to have continued accepting free trips from his wealthy friend. But he stopped disclosing them.
That’s a stark contrast from the way Thomas often speaks in public about his summer travels, describing driving a blue motor home and staying in campgrounds.
But Pro-Publica reported that his summer trips regularly include stays in private resorts paid for by Crow, including at Crow’s ranch in East Texas and his resort in the Adirondacks in upstate New York.
“The extent and frequency of Crow’s apparent gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court,” ProPublica wrote, adding “these trips appeared nowhere on Thomas’ financial disclosures.
It remains unclear whether Thomas has violated any law or regulation by accepting such gifts and not disclosing them.
Since 1978, the Ethics in Government Act has required judges and justices to report travel costs and other expenses that are provided to them by groups, universities and other such entities. However, it includes an exception for the “personal hospitality of any individual,” so long as the travel does not involve official business.
“Justice Thomas and Ginni never asked for any of this hospitality,” Crow said in a statement to ProPublica. He added that we “never asked about a pending or lower court case, and Justice Thomas has never discussed one.”
Ethics advocates have been frustrated that the court and Congress have failed to enforce stricter rules for the nation’s top judges. They say Thomas and his wife illustrate the need for greater scrutiny.
Ginni Thomas is a longtime conservative activist in Washington who sought to overturn President Trump’s election loss in 2020, including communicating with Trump White House aides and state election officials.
“We have been here before,” said Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court, an advocate for court reform. “Clarence Thomas has been taking these trips for decades and not disclosing them.”
In his recent annual disclosure statements, Thomas has checked a box indicating he had no gifts to report.
Responding to the ProPublica story, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) tweeted “the highest court in the land shouldn’t have the lowest ethical standard. Justice Thomas’ lavish undisclosed trips with a GOP mega-donor undermine the trust that our country places in the Supreme Court. Time for an enforceable code of conduct for justices.”
Last month, the federal court’s policy-making group announced somewhat tighter standards to require the reporting of travel on private jets and lodging at private resorts that operate commercially.
While those rules may prompt further disclosures next year, they would not regulate or prohibit such travel.
Roth said ProPublica’s report makes clear that “the personal hospitality rules the judiciary adopted last month do not go far enough: the Supreme Court and lower courts need the same, if not stricter, gift and travel rules than what members of Congress have. That means a judicial ethics office to preapprove sponsored trips, no matter who — even a ‘friend’ — is footing the bill.”
“I don’t really hate anyone, and yeah, in a way, I do feel sorry for him,” Stormy Daniels told Piers Morgan this week of her opinion of the now indicted Donald Trump. “It wouldn’t surprise me if it would come out that he’s been manipulated a lot more than we think, or that based on the things that have happened to me in the last five years, things I thought would never be possible, there could be something that we don’t know,” she said.
“I’m so torn between being snarky and, you know.. it, also still like just tell the truth,” Daniels went on to offer as advice to the ex-POTUS, who is facing felony charges from the Manhattan D.A., plus probes into election interference in Georgia, his role in the January 6 attack on the Capital and rape claims in a separate civil case.
“Like, you do have a daughter, you do potentially have granddaughters and women, and if you continue to do this you are setting a precedent where people think that they won’t be held accountable and there will be… I’m afraid there’s gonna be a lot of people hurt,” porn star Daniels added in her sit-down with Apprentice alum Morgan that aired online today.
In a back and forth that is likely to be one of the major takeaways from Morgan’s big get, Daniels told the host that she doesn’t think Trump’s “crimes” against her are “worthy of incarceration.” However, in what may over looked by some, Daniels then shifted to larger matters on Trump’s legal horizon and if the 45th president should be jailed. “I feel like the other things he has done, if he is found guilty, absolutely.”
“Those are such more significant crimes,” she added. “I mean January 6th, look how many people got injured or you know what I’m saying? It just seems like that’s a bigger thing but if this is what leads to it – I can’t help but wonder if there’s something we don’t know.”
Filmed yesterday and seen in clips on Fox News today, Morgan’s much hyped interview with Daniels was shown in full starting Thursday on streamer Fox Nation in the U.S., on TalkTV in the UK, and Sky News Australia – all Rupert Murdoch owned outlets. Carved right out the classic sit-downs that Barbra Walters and Oprah perfected, Morgan rightly read the room in this one. To that, the past CNN host toned down his usual bruiser technique and turned up his empathy count. After the interview aired, Daniels took to social media to joke that it was “accurate” the nearly 90-minute chat was the longest time she ever been on camera and not had sex. “I think it was the most extensive one I’ve ever done and it laid to rest a lot of misinformation,” she added of the interview.
Coming two days after the former Celebrity Apprentice host was in court on 34-felony counts steaming in part from a 2016 $130,000 payoff to Daniels over the duo’s 2006 affair, the interview was originally scheduled for last week, but postponed at the last minute over “security reasons,” it was said at the time.
Spawning a series of lawsuits from both sides, the payoff to Daniels by then Trump right hand man Michael Cohen became public in 2018. Though an elaborate process of sleight of hand has gone into seemingly covering up the payment, Trump always has denied any affair with Daniels, though he admits to meeting her – as photographs of the two together make obvious.
In the interview broadcast today, Daniels also told Morgan about how threats against her and her family have taken on a much uglier and more assailing form since the grand jury started clearly moving against once again candidate Trump in past weeks. “They’re a lot more passionate,” Daniels said of the dearth threats and more she has been getting online and otherwise of late. “Enthusiastic with their threats and they’re not hiding.”
“They are way more specific and graphic, and just, instead of some babbling person, like, ‘You’re gonna burn in hell’, that kind of thing, they seem to be more… serious,” Daniels stated of the MAGA crowd. “They’re not hiding. It used to be if they were going to do something, they would do it from a blocked number or from a fake Twitter account. These people are using their actual phone numbers and their actual emails and their actual Twitter accounts, which then makes it worse because they actually have followers.”
In and out of processing in Manhattan Criminal Court and an arraignment in New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan’s courtroom after a few hours on April 4, Trump has attacked D.A. Alvin Bragg and the judge personally and turned the spectacle to his financial and political advantage.
For Daniels, who was set to go before the grand jury at one point and says she will gladly testify if summoned, the whole indictment became a bit of non-event. “When I found out that it was coming or potentially coming, I thought that I would feel excited and vindicated, but it was kind of anti-climactic.”
“Part of me was finally like he had to go in and be under the rules of someone else,” she declared to Morgan. “He has to obey the judge and walk through like… the King has been dethroned. He’s no longer untouchable. And nobody should be untouchable …But the other side of it was like this is someone that our country elected and chose. Was there no better option?”
(Credit – Getty Images)
(Photo by Ed JONES / AFP) (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)
Audible’s hit podcast “Bitter Blood” is back for a second season — and the service has tapped “Succession” star Alan Ruck to narrate a story with as much intrigue and drama as his TV family’s.
“Murdoch v. Murdoch,” out April 6, is an eight-part deep dive into the Murdoch family, unearthing the contention and hostilities among the dynasty and its sprawling international media empire.
“The Roy culture parallels the Murdoch culture in a lot of ways,” Ruck tells Variety exclusively. The actor didn’t use the real-life Murdochs to inspire his portrayal of Connor Roy, but he did note some similarities: “[Rupert] Murdoch had one child by his first wife, just like Logan. That child is Prudence Murdoch, who, like Connor, is not really involved in the family business at all.”
Through interviews with key insiders and significant archival footage, “Murdoch v. Murdoch” tracks the rise, criticism and controversy of a media juggernaut that began more than 70 years ago. Centered around patriarch Rupert Murdoch and his children, the podcast spotlights the deep rifts and rivalries among a family whose power has grown to influence governments and effectively change the course of history.
“Bitter Blood” is produced by AYR Media, with Aliza Rosen and Paulina Williams serving as executive producers. The first season, “Kasem v. Kasem,” revealed the inside story of the lawsuit and elder abuse allegations surrounding the death of radio legend Casey Kasem.
From the Disney acquisition to the ongoing Dominion lawsuit, “Murdoch v. Murdoch” examines the fractured internal relationships, dissent and scrutiny that the Murdochs have endured through international scandals, divorces, litigation and $70 billion business deals.
“Why people love ‘Succession’ and why people want to know about Rupert Murdoch or any of these dynastic families is because, as regular people, it’s comforting to know that the rich are not that happy,” Ruck says. “They all seem to be a bunch of miserable people. I actually think we all get off on that as regular folks.”
In the cases of the Roys and the Murdochs, one may wonder: can money buy happiness? Ruck has a simple answer: “I think you can rent the hell out of it. But you can’t buy it.”
All episodes of “Bitter Blood: Murdoch v. Murdoch” are now available exclusively on Audible.
If you’re looking for the best movies to watch on Netflix, you’ve come to the right place. Below, we’ve put together an expertly curated selection of some of the most exciting, compelling, emotional and funny movies currently streaming right now.
While it can be daunting thumbing through the streamer’s catalogue to find out what to watch, we’ve taken the guesswork and mindless scrolling out of it. This post will be frequently updated with new recommendations, keeping you up to date with all the Netflix movies you should be prioritizing in your queue.
So peruse our list of the best movies on Netflix right now below, and happy watching!
Galaxy Quest
DreamWorks Pictures
Widely regarded by “Star Trek” fans as one of the best “Trek” movies ever made – despite the fact that it is not actually a “Star Trek” movie – “Galaxy Quest” is a hilarious riff on the iconic sci-fi franchise. Tim Allen stars as the washed-up star of a popular sci-fi TV show who now makes appearances at conventions (begrudgingly) with his former co-stars. But when the crew gets whisked away by actual aliens who have mistaken their TV series for “historical documents,” these selfish actors get in way over their heads.
Easy A
Sony Pictures
A delightful romantic comedy with a teen twist, “Easy A” is also a terrific showcase for the charms and talent of Emma Stone. The eventual Oscar winner stars in this 2010 film as a high school student named Olive who, in a bid to help her friend who’s being bullied for being gay, offers to pretend to have sex with him. Olive soon gets a bit of a reputation, all the while boys from her school start paying her in gifts in return for telling people they hooked up. “The Scarlet Letter” serves as a backdrop for this bitingly funny and sharp teen tale, and the swell ensemble cast includes Penn Badgley, Thomas Hayden Church, Lisa Kudrow, Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson.
The Hunger Games Franchise
Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” (Lionsgate)
All four films in the “Hunger Games” franchise are currently streaming on Netflix, so you can get your fill of this YA dystopian saga. While many imitators followed, “The Hunger Games” actually stands as a potent, handsomely crafted and striking screed against fascism. The first film, as directed by Gary Ross, paints a shockingly realistic portrait of a society in which the U.S. has been divided into districts, and “tributes” from each district fight to the death in a televised event. Jennifer Lawrence delivers a towering performance here, and continues to impress in the sequels directed by Francis Lawrence. Pound for pound “Catching Fire” is the best of the bunch – an entertaining blockbuster, emotional love story and political thriller all in one – but this series as a whole remains stirring.
Notting Hill
Universal Pictures
If you’re looking to watch a classic rom-com, you can’t go wrong with “Notting Hill.” The 1999 film stars Julia Roberts as a famous American actress filming a movie in London’s Notting Hill neighborhood, who falls in love with the owner of a small bookstore (played by Hugh Grant). The chemistry between Roberts and Grant is lovely, and the script by Richard Curtis (also of “Love Actually” and “Four Weddings and a Funeral” fame) is open-hearted and sweet.
The Dark Knight
Warner Bros.
After successfully rebooting the Batman franchise, Christopher Nolan refined his approach with the 2008 sequel “The Dark Knight” – quite simply one of the best superhero films ever made. Heath Ledger steals the show in an Oscar-winning performance as the chaotic Joker, bringing an all-new take to the classic Batman villain that is similarly rooted in reality. The film is a direct response to the War on Terror, and in that regard is a thematically meaty affair that furthers Bruce Wayne’s story and internal conflict. That Nolan was able to handle all of this and the story of Two-Face (played by Aaron Eckhart) is still impressive all these years later.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Cate Blanchett in “Lord of the Rings” (New Line Cinema)
If you’re in for a really long binge-watch, “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy will do the trick. Peter Jackson’s epic trio of J.R.R. Tolkein adaptations remain some of the most accomplished achievements in the history of moviemaking, as this fantastical tale of a young hobbit who sets out to save the world as he knows it is crafted with ingenuity and passion to spare. Whether it’s your first or fifth time to Middle-earth, it’s a journey well worth taking.
Glass Onion
Daniel Craig and Janelle Monae in “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” (Netflix)
You simply must, must, must watch “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” if you enjoy things like “fun” and “comedy.” This “Knives Out” sequel (once again written and directed by Rian Johnson) is a brand new mystery, with Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc as the only returning character from the original film. This time, he’s invited to a secluded island by a tech billionaire (played by Edward Norton), who has gathered a group of his closest friends – played by Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr. and Janelle Monae – in Greece to play an elaborate murder mystery game. To say more would spoil the surprises, but suffice it to say this is just as thrilling, hilarious and surprising as the first “Knives Out” and you’ll want to watch it again immediately once it’s over.
Minority Report
20th Century Fox
One of Steven Spielberg’s very best films, 2002’s “Minority Report” offered a more gritty, more dystopian version of a sci-fi future than he had tackled before, as well as finally pairing him with Movie Star with a capital “M” Tom Cruise for the first time. A rip-roaring thriller with some of Janusz Kaminsky’s best cinematography to date, the story concerns a future in which three “pre-cogs” have the ability to predict crimes and police arrest the offenders before the crime has been committed. Cruise plays a dogged detective who finds himself in the crosshairs when a premonition arrives that he is due to commit a murder. Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow, Samantha Morton and Lois Smith round out the impeccable ensemble.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Photo: Universal
Filmmaker Edgar Wright’s 2010 graphic novel adaptation was famously a box office bust upon release, but has become a true cult classic over the last decade – to the point that it was re-released in theaters last year to mark its anniversary. And it’s a really fun movie! Michael Cera wants to date a girl (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead), but first he must defeat her seven evil exes in a series of eye-popping, delightfully over-the-top action battles. This movie is a nerd’s delight, packed with Wright’s signature quick-witted humor and outfitted with a stunning ahead-of-its-time ensemble (Chris Evans, Brie Larson, Aubrey Plaza, and Anna Kendrick all star just to name a few) and rockin’ soundtrack.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Netflix
Guillermo del Toro’s first stop-motion feature film is as emotional as you’d expect, and this is “Pinocchio” like you’ve never seen the story before. Co-written and directed by del Toro, this adaptation features the voices of Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Burn Gorman, Cate Blanchett, Finn Wolfhard, Ron Perlman and Tilda Swinton and offers up a fantastical twist on the Carlo Collodi Italian classic. Emotional and awe-inspiring in equal measure, and set against the backdrop of fascist Italy, this is a gorgeous work of art.
Prisoners
Warner Bros. Pictures
If it’s hard-boiled thrillers you’re looking for, “Prisoners” is a pretty taut (and handsomely crafted) entry in the genre. Directed by Denis Villeneuve of “Arrival” and “Dune” fame, the film stars Hugh Jackman as a man whose daughter is abducted and decides to take matters into his own hands when he identifies a suspicious suspect (played by Paul Dano). Jake Gyllenhaal plays the detective trying to crack the case, but this one’s less about plot and more about the toll the case takes on these individuals, with an all-star cast rounded out by Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard and Melissa Leo. It also features stellar cinematography by Roger Deakins and a haunting score by the late Jóhann Jóhannsson.
The Mask of Zorro
Sony Pictures
Before “The Mummy” or “The Pirates of the Caribbean,” there was “The Mask of Zorro.” The 1998 film is based on the classic TV series of the same name, but director Martin Campbell injects this 19th century-set tale with enough intrigue, adventure and swashbuckling to keep a grin on your face from beginning to end. Anthony Hopkins stars as the original Zorro, who has been in prison for 20 years. When a hapless bandit played by Antonio Banderas breaks him out, he sets about training him in the ways of Zorro to help rescue his daughter, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, from the clutches of the man who first put him in prison.
Where the Crawdads Sing
Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kya in “Where the Crawdads Sing” (Sony Pictures)
The highly anticipated Delia Owens adaptation is newly streaming on Netflix this month, in case you didn’t get a chase to see “Where the Crawdads Sing” in theaters when it was initially released this summer. The murder mystery thriller stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kya, a woman who has raised herself to adulthood in the North Carolina marshland. But when a man ends up dead and questions surround Kya’s involvement, she must face her past in traumatic fashion. The film was a box office success, grossing $140 million against a budget of just $24 million, and also stars Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson and Garret Dillahunt. Bonus: There’s an original Taylor Swift song in it too.
The Nice Guys
Warner Bros.
“The Nice Guys” is so good, it will make you mad you didn’t see it in a theater when it first came out. This 1970s-set noir comedy from filmmaker Shane Black stars Ryan Gosling as a private investigator and Russell Crowe as a gruff enforcer who are forced to team up to investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl (played by Margaret Qualley). Gosling and Crowe’s chemistry is absolutely dynamite, and Black demonstrates his knack for two-handers that he previously perfected on “Lethal Weapon” and “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.” And not for nothing, but Gosling delivers one of the best comedic performances of the century here. Seriously, give it a whirl. You won’t regret it.
Skyfall
EON/MGM/Sony
One of the best James Bond movies ever made, 2012’s “Skyfall” deepens the emotional core of Daniel Craig’s 007 without sacrificing spectacle. Director Sam Mendes crafts an explosive and thrilling action film that is deeply personal in nature, as Bond is forced to reckon with a changing world all while going up against an enemy from his past. It culminates in an emotional climax, and is photographed beautifully by cinematography great Roger Deakins.
Road to Perdition
DreamWorks Pictures
After winning the Oscar for Best Picture with “American Beauty,” filmmaker Sam Mendes tackled a film of a very different sort: the neo-noir crime thriller “Road to Perdition.” Set in 1931, the film stars Tom Hanks as a mob enforcer who is forced to go on the run with his son, seeking vengeance against the mobster who murdered the rest of their family. Paul Newman plays the mobster in question, while Jude Law plays a hired hitman hot on their trail. It’s a gorgeously crafted crime drama, featuring Oscar-winning cinematography from Conrad L. Hall.
Paddington
StudioCanal
Truly a perfect film for all ages, 2014’s “Paddington” is far better than it has any right to be. Based on the Paddington Bear doll, the film tells the story of a mild-mannered bear who moves to London where he’s taken in by a kind yet somewhat cautious family. Shenanigans ensue as Paddington seeks out an explorer who once offered his family an invitation to come to London, all while he’s hunted by an evil taxidermist played by Nicole Kidman. This film is full of unbridled compassion and kindness.
Mudbound
Netflix
The first film to ever earn a woman an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography, 2017’s “Mudbound” is a moving and compelling historical drama. Directed by Dee Rees and shot by Rachel Morrison, the film follows two World War II veterans as they return home to Mississippi, one white and one Black. Carey Mulligan, Jason Mitchell, Garrett Hedlund and Mary J. Blige anchor the terrific ensemble cast as the film tackles race relations in the past with a direct line to our present, packed with rich and complex characters.
Phantom Thread
Focus Features
While “The Master” may be filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson at his most serious, “Phantom Thread” is him at his most playful. The acerbic romance stars Daniel Day-Lewis in his final onscreen role before his retirement and is set in 1954 London. Day-Lewis stars as a famous fashion designer who takes his meticulous process seriously. But when he strikes up a relationship with a waitress, his routine starts to get shaken up, and he must consider the impact said relationship will have on his work. This is Paul Thomas Anderson’s version of a twisted romantic drama, and the film is surprisingly funny.
The Power of the Dog
Netflix
Writer/director Jane Campion’s 2021 drama “The Power of the Dog” is a powerful and surprising film about, among other things, family. Set in 1925 Montana, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons play a pair of brothers whose strained relationship is pushed to the limit when Plemons marries a widowed single mother (played by Kirsten Dunst) on a whim, and brings her son (played by Kodi Smit-McPhee) to live with them on their ranch. The performances are top-notch all around, as Campion crafts a complex and tension-filled character-centric drama that’s certainly one of 2021’s best films.
tick, tick… BOOM!
Netflix
“Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda makes his feature directorial debut with the Netflix musical “tick, tick… BOOM!,” based on the autobiographical stage musical by “Rent” creator Jonathan Larson. Andrew Garfield plays Larson, who is on the cusp of turning 30 and has yet to have a masterpiece staged on Broadway. As he puts the finishing touches on his sci-fi rock epic, he grapples with his own anxieties, his crumbling relationship with his girlfriend, and the impending AIDS epidemic that’s taking his friends far too quickly. The songs are incredible and the direction is inspired, but Garfield’s electric and soulful performance makes this a must-watch.
Mank
Netflix
This one might come with a “For Cinephiles Only” warning, but if that describes you there’s much to love in David Fincher’s 2020 film “Mank.” Gary Oldman stars as Hollywood writer Herman J. Mankiewicz as the film chronicles his experience writing the screenplay for “Citizen Kane,” all while flashing back to events from his life that inspired certain characters and themes in what many consider to be the greatest film ever made. Fincher presents the film entirely in black-and-white (it won the Oscar for Best Cinematography), and Amanda Seyfried gives a terrific performance as Marion Davies while Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross compose a surprising original score.
Private Life
Netflix
Kathryn Hahn has made a career out of scene-stealing supporting performances, but she takes center stage in writer/director Tamara Jenkins’ 2018 dramedy “Private Life.” Inspired by Jenkins’ own experience, Hahn and Paul Giamatti star as a middle-aged New York City couple struggling through infertility who decide to try and have a child through IVF. The film follows the ups and downs of infertility in heartbreaking detail, while also finding moments of humor throughout that ring true to life. Hahn and Giamatti are spectacular together, as they also chronicle how their journey strains their marriage.
Hail, Caesar
Universal Pictures
The Coen Brothers are known for their dry sense of humor, but the duo try their hand at screwball comedy (in their own way) with their 2016 film “Hail, Caesar!” The story takes place over the course of one day in the Hollywood film industry in the 1950s, as told through the eyes of a fixer played by Josh Brolin. The film is rooted in historical fact, but as Brolin’s fixer works through his day, various Hollywood-based shenanigans ensue with a robust ensemble cast that includes George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Alden Ehrenreich, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill and Frances McDormand.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Netflix
This Western anthology from the Coen Brothers is a delightful romp that builds to a shockingly emotional conclusion. “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” is made up of six different stories set in the Old West, each featuring different characters. Themes of mortality, morality and justice are prevalent throughout “Buster Scruggs” just as they are through the Coens’ other films, but this time all against a wonderful, slightly exaggerated Western backdrop. The stellar cast includes Tim Blake Nelson, Stephen Root, Zoe Kazan, Bill Heck, Liam Neeson and Brendan Gleeson.
Marriage Story
Netflix
Writer/director Noah Baumbach 2019’s drama “Marriage Story” is, ultimately, a divorce story, but it’s so richly drawn and beautifully acted that you’ll find your own heart breaking as you watch the conscious uncoupling of a pair played by Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver. This is far from a mean-spirited or even depressing film. Instead, while it does indeed chronicle the dissolution of a relationship (inspired by Baumbach’s own life) and how the divorce impacts their young son, “Marriage Story” smartly always keeps an eye on one very important fact: while these two individuals may be splitting up, that doesn’t mean the love they once had for each other wasn’t real. Driver and Johansson are terrific, and Laura Dern is a scene-stealer in her Oscar-winning supporting turn.
It Follows
RADIUS-TWC
One of the more inventive horror films of the last decade, 2014’s “It Follows” is all the more impressive considering the supernatural presence at the heart of the movie isn’t actually seen onscreen. It goes like this – if you have it, it follows you everywhere until you pass it on to another person through a sexual encounter. Then it’s their problem. Writer/director David Robert Mitchell crafts a terrifying and patient horror film, anchored by a swell performance from Maika Monroe as the latest victim of “it” who is trying to figure out how to shake this supernatural follower.
The Sparks Brothers
Focus Features
You don’t need to know anything about the band Sparks to find “The Sparks Brothers” a tremendously entertaining documentary. This marks the first documentary feature from “Shaun of the Dead” and “Baby Driver” filmmaker Edgar Wright, whose passion for Sparks – “your favorite band’s favorite band” as they’re described – bleeds onto the screen. Through interviews with the two Sparks brothers and a number of celebrity fans, as well as archival footage, the film takes a trip through the unique and genuinely stunning five decade (and counting) career. If you like music documentaries, check this one out.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Netflix
If you’re looking for a movie the whole family can enjoy, the 2021 Netflix original “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” is an emotional crowd-pleaser that’s as funny as it is inventive. Directed by Mike Rianda and produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the film follows a family going on a cross-country road trip to send their eldest daughter Katie (Abbi Jacobson) to college, where she hopes to learn how to become a filmmaker. The family isn’t on the best terms when the road trip begins, which makes things even trickier when a robot uprising occurs, leaving the dysfunctional Mitchells as humanity’s last hope. This is a hilarious, colorful and heartfelt story about the importance of communication.
13th
Netflix
Netflix has a wide variety of documentaries to choose from, but Ava DuVernay’s 2016 film “13th” is a must-watch. The doc delves into mass incarceration in the United States, and how race and injustice intersect with the issue, through the prism of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolishes slavery except as punishment for a crime. Through a number of interviews, DuVernay examines why a disproportionate number of Black people are incarcerated in the U.S., and how the current justice system perpetuates this injustice.
Enola Holmes
Netflix
One of the great things about Netflix is how it has a little bit of something for everyone, and in that vein, the YA-skewing “Enola Holmes” is a delight for the teenaged crowd (and beyond). Based on the young adult series of the same name by author Nancy Springer, the film stars Millie Bobby Brown as the younger sister of Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill). When her mother (Helena Bonham Carter) goes missing, Enola leaves the safety of her home compound and ventures into London to try and solve this mystery. Along the way, however, Enola learns that her mother kept many secrets of her own. This is a rollicking mystery-adventure that’s also a sweet and substantial coming-of-age story, all wrapped up in a gorgeous 19th century Victorian package.
Set It Up
Netflix
If you’re into romantic comedies, you simply must check out “Set It Up.” This Netflix original is a throwback in the best way, as Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell have that Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks chemistry in a story about friends turning into lovers. They play overworked assistants to demanding bosses (played by Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs) and hatch a plan to set their bosses up in an effort to earn more free time themselves. But their scheming puts them in frequent close contact, during which sparks fly.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Piki Films
Before Taika Waititi took audiences by storm with “Thor: Ragnarok” and won an Oscar with “Jojo Rabbit,” he crafted a wonderfully whimsical comedy called “Hunt for the Wilderpeople.” The film stars Julian Dennison as a troubled youth who goes on the run with a cantankerous man (played by Sam Neill) when both are being hunted through a remote part of Australia. The film is packed with Waititi’s signature sense of humor and unique style, and Dennison and Neill make for one heck of a dynamic duo.
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Netflix
The Netflix original comedy “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” is not just an incredibly funny film, it’s a surprisingly emotional one too. Based on an original idea by Will Ferrell, the “Elf” actor stars as one half of an Icelandic duo alongside Rachel McAdams, both of whom are thrust into the spotlight when they’re unexpectedly selected to compete in the international singing competition Eurovision. The film is packed with some genuinely great songs, and a sweet story about staying true to your roots in the face of immense growth.
The Fear Street Trilogy
Netflix
Everyone loves a good scare, but the “Fear Street” trilogy gives you three times the thrills for the price of one overarching story. These three interconnected films trace the origins of a witch’s curse on a small town, covering events in 1994 in the “Scream”-inspired first film, then heading back to 1978 for the summer camp slasher sequel, before concluding in the year 1666 for the third and final feature that reveals the origin story of the Shadyside witch. Colorful, fun and genuinely scary, the “Fear Street” trilogy tells a truly epic horror story.
Miss Americana
Netflix
The Taylor Swift documentary “Miss Americana” is full of surprises. While the film begins by chronicling Swift’s career, complete with the ups and downs it encompassed, it soon morphs into the origin story of a feminist as Swift begins to speak out on socio-political issues important to her. It’s a fascinating window into the management of fame, as some around her caution against making any kinds of political statements for fear of alienating her fanbase. Swift is honest throughout – or as honest as a documentary like this can be – and the film doesn’t shy away from tough moments like Kanye West infamously interrupting her at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.
The Irishman
Netflix
Martin Scorsese’s 3-hour-and-40-minute gangster epic “The Irishman” is best viewed in one sitting – trust me. The brilliance of the film is in its construction, as Scorsese charts the career of a hitman for the mob from the 1950s up to the present day. But unlike the bombast of “Goodfellas,” this is a film where regret and grief hang over nearly every frame, subtly building until the mournful third act hits you like a ton of bricks. Robert De Niro’s Frank Sheeran spends his entire life killing people, and what does it all add up to? Scorsese gets downright philosophical with questions of morality and mortality, crafting a self-reflexive film about what it means to come to the end of your life and look back on what you’ve done, why you did it and whether it was all worth it in the end.
Rush
Universal Pictures
Chris Hemsworth has proven himself to be a great comedic talent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but his best dramatic acting chops thus far are exemplified in the 2013 film “Rush.” Directed by Ron Howard, this biographical sports drama stars Hemsworth as British Formula 1 driver James Hunt and chronicles his 1970s rivalry with Austrian driver Niki Lauda (played by Daniel Brühl). The racing scenes are absolutely thrilling, and the story lays bare these drivers’ determination while also delving into what drives each of them to compete.
Crimson Peak
Universal Pictures
“Crimson Peak” is not a horror movie, but it’s a great watch for Spooky Season (or any time of year) regardless. Guillermo del Toro’s original story is a Gothic romance through and through, as Mia Wasikowska stars as a budding author living in 1900s New York who marries a kind yet mysterious man (Tom Hiddleston) and then moves into the decrepit mansion he shares with his sister (Jessica Chastain). When she arrives at the mansion, however, Wasikowska’s character discovers it’s full of secrets and ghosts. While the film is creepy, it’s not a full-on scare-fest – nor is it trying to be one. This is a sorrowful, ghastly story of love and what happens when our past won’t let go.
Da 5 Bloods
Da 5 Bloods
Spike Lee is not known for making bland films, and indeed his 2020 Vietnam veterans drama “Da 5 Bloods” is confrontational in the best way. The story revolves around four aging Vietnam War veterans who return to the Southeast Asian country to search for the remains of their fallen leader — and also a trove of buried treasure. Along the way they confront their own fears and differences, as Lee’s film delves into how America left an entire generation of soldiers behind.
Crip Camp
Netflix
Netflix is host to a ton of great documentaries, including “Crip Camp.” This Oscar-nominated 2020 film begins by showcasing archival footage from a camp in the 1970s that was created for teens with disabilities, before then following various individuals as they fought for disability rights. It’s a moving portrait of activism that shows just how far we’ve come as a country, and how far we have left to go.
21 Jump Street
21 Jump Street
Sony Pictures
A “21 Jump Street” movie has no business being this good, but that’s kind of what filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller do best – turn bad ideas into great movies. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum play two young police officers who are sent undercover at a high school to try and trace the origins of a new drug on the market, but whereas their own high school experience saw Hill being bullied and Tatum as top dog, the duo find the social dynamics have changed since they were teenagers. The story puts a smart spin on your typical high school movie while delivering some truly inspired (and insane) comedy in the process.
Switching up your dye job based on the latest hair color trends is fun and all, but let’s be honest: nobody wants to spend more time or money at the salon than necessary. While there may not be a magic wand for you to wave each time you need a refresh (especially when it comes to red hair and blonde hair colors, which are currently trending), there are certain colors and in-salon techniques that ensure that your hair continues looking great long after you leave your color appointment.
It’s always smart to consult with your colorist about what you’re looking for, but it can also be helpful to go in knowing what you want. A quick Instagram scroll can help provide timely hair color inspo.
To help you save time and money, we spoke to top colorists to get their expert advice about which colors grow out best and will buy you more time between salon visits.
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What is the most low maintenance hair color?
According to Lorena M. Valdes, a colorist at Maxine Salon in Chicago, “anything that leaves your natural hair alone and only adjusts the mids and ends” is best for not needing so many touch-ups. With something harsh like highlights, you would get a band of growth from the roots down, but if you’re not touching the roots and leaving them natural, there won’t be a recognizable “line of demarcation,” she says.
“Balayage is amazing for low maintenance as it starts off as a soft point at the root to a thicker ribbon towards the bottom, which mimics what the sun does to our hair naturally,” says Valdes. Balayage is a highlighting technique where colorists hand paint the highlights strategically, so that the lightened pieces appear more naturally placed.
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