Month: August 2020

Ryan Coogler’s latest project is a look at another kind of Black Panther: the controversial death of influential activist Fred Hampton. Thursday brought the trailer for Judas And The Black Messiah, a Coogler-produced drama about the assasination of Black Panther organizer Fred Hampton in the late 60s that remains a point of anger in the Black community in the present day.

The trailer showed us a first look at Get Out‘s Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton as well as Lakeith Stanfield of Sorry To Bother You fame, who will serve as the movie’s main characters. The film is directed by Shaka King, who wrote it with Will Berson. According to the trailer’s YouTube page, the duo pitched Coogler, of Marvel’s Black Panther fame, who will produce the film.

The trailer shows the heightened tensions of the Black Panther movement in Chicago, where Hampton rose in leadership ranks with his energetic speeches and enigmatic organizational skills to make the party a force in the community. The refrain of “I am a revolutionary” punctuates the trailer, which sets the scene: an agent played by Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad) puts pressure on Stanfield’s character, who will ultimately betray Hampton and lead to his death.

Historical spoilers here, perhaps, but Hampton was later killed at age 21 in a predawn raid of his Chicago apartment by Chicago police and the FBI. That incident is largely considered to be an assassination, and a lawsuit later awarded his family and others millions due to the nature of the deaths. The subject matter is compelling and tragic, but the cast assembled is perhaps the most exciting thing revealed. Kaluuya is firey and charismatic, while Stanfield visibly struggles with his predicament while Plemons’ presence at the rally looms heavy on screen.

The trailer hints at something the movie is sure to explore: while the FBI considered the Black Panthers a paramilitary threat to safety, Hampton’s work in the community was viewed very differently by those living and working in it. That nuance and the tragedy that resulted from it won’t be in theaters until 2021, but it will certainly be just as relevant when it debuts as it did when the story played out in 1969.

Without Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic both out, the Miami Heat were seen as significant underdogs to topple the Milwaukee Bucks in Orlando on Thursday afternoon. The Heat put together quite a fight, however, and Erik Spoelstra’s team led for the majority of the contest. In the end, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and the Bucks flipped the script in the second half, overcoming a double-digit deficit and securing a 130-116 victory.

Miami blitzed Milwaukee out of the gate, putting on an offensive clinic against the best defense in the NBA. Not only did the Heat knock down 13 three-pointers in the first half, but Miami also generated easy buckets along the way.

The Heat led by as many as 23 points and, even after Milwaukee found life late in the first half, a Bam Adebayo buzzer-beater gave Miami a 17-point edge at the break.

In predictable fashion, the Bucks awakened in the third quarter, providing a reminder that they were the best team in the NBA prior to the hiatus. Milwaukee created six turnovers, converted all 15 of their free throw attempts, and generally dominated the proceedings.

Still, the Heat were in the driver’s seat, at least to some extent, until Milwaukee put together another run. After trailing for a (very) long time, the Bucks scored 13 straight points to claim a 107-103 lead with seven minutes remaining.

From there, Miami did briefly stop the bleeding, but the damage was largely done. The Bucks then finished things off with a mind-blowing 20-0 run to take a 130-111 lead, and Antetokounmpo was in the middle of it all.

Though the Heat did provide a worthy challenge, Milwaukee flashed their considerable upside after halftime. In the second half, the Bucks shot 56 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three-point range, outscoring the Heat by a 74-43 margin while clamping down on the defensive end. Antetokounmpo and Middleton finished with 33 points each and, even with the slow start, each member of Milwaukee’s starting unit finished with a +15 or better.

The Bucks haven’t been consistently dominant in the bubble, as evidenced by the first half on Thursday and a bizarre loss to the Brooklyn Nets. Still, Milwaukee sent a bit of a message in the second half, and they don’t appear to be “struggling” anymore.

Two of the NBA bubble’s hottest teams met on Thursday afternoon in Orlando. No, not the Bucks and Heat. Not the Lakers and Rockets either. I’m talking about the Suns and Pacers, a pair of 3-0 teams that have been shockingly impressive to open their restarts, behind sensational play from Devin Booker and T.J. Warren, respectively.

On Thursday, it was the Suns, once the afterthought of the West playoff race, who managed to take control of the game in the second half en route to a 114-99 win, moving them to 4-0 in the bubble, tied with the Spurs just one game back of Portland for ninth and two back of Memphis in eighth. How the Suns have gotten to that point was further evidenced on Thursday, as it was more stellar play from their core duo of Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, combining for 43 points in the win on strong efficiency — a combined 17-for-30 from the field — and each notching double doubles.

However, what is different for the Bubble Suns compared to what we saw in the regular season is the play of the supporting cast. Even with Kelly Oubre Jr. out, the Suns have gotten terrific contributions from the rest of their roster. Ricky Rubio continues to be a steady hand on offense and providing excellent point of attack defense. Mikal Bridges, now tasked with playing major minutes with Oubre out (he played 35 on Thursday), is not only playing spectacular defense but has emerged as a better, more reliable offensive weapon in the bubble.

Cam Johnson is thriving at the 4-spot as a shooter but also a capable rebounder and functional defensive presence, with Dario Saric taking well to a sixth-man role. However, what may be most surprising is the play of Cameron Payne, signed just ahead of the restart to provide some needed backcourt depth. Payne has not only given them decent minutes, he’s looked pretty good, averaging 10.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in the restart after some brutal years in the league early in his career with the Thunder and Bulls. On Thursday, Payne had another strong outing, giving Phoenix a needed lift in the third quarter with an offensive spark that saw him do a little bit of everything.

Payne finished the afternoon with 15 points, three boards, and three assists in 22 minutes off the bench on great efficiency, going 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range. Even if that kind of production isn’t to be expected from Payne every night, it’s notable that the Suns are now a team where a player can come in, find themselves a role to play, and thrive in it. That hasn’t been the case in Phoenix for years, but it appears Monty Williams, Booker, and Ayton have honestly created a culture in the locker room that allows it and have a real system in place that pieces can slot into.

The efforts of Booker, in particular, should be noted in doing this. Prior to the season he said he was taking it upon himself to start shifting the perception of the Suns, and he’s put that to practice on the floor. Take this sequence from Deandre Ayton that is, truly, preposterous and shows the best of what the big fella can do on both ends of the floor.

However, also note that Booker, recognizing the effort put in from his young star center on defense, doesn’t dart up the floor looking for his shot after Ayton gets him the rock off the block. Instead he directs Ayton to run a pick-and-roll and dive hard to the rim, rewarding him with a great pocket pass and an easy dunk for all that work defensively. It’s that kind of maturation from Booker, those kinds of strides from Ayton defensively, that lead the charge for this Suns transformation. There is buy-in on both ends, and whether they make the playoffs or not, there is a ton of good to build off of for Phoenix going into next season.

The John Wick universe is expanding at an alarmingly exciting rate. Not only is a fourth Wick movie bringing Keanu Reeves back as the assassin with a love of dogs, a Lionsgate earnings call apparently revealed that a fifth movie in the series will be on the way as well.

According to Deadline, John Wick 5 was essentially confirmed well before the fourth movie, currently still slated for a Memorial Day release. On the earnings call, it was revealed that filming for both John Wick 4 and John Wick 5 will start once the actor is freed from filming the latest in the Matrix series:

On today’s Lionsgate earnings call, the studio’s CEO John Feltheimer said, “We’re also busy preparing scripts for the next two installments of our John Wick action franchise, with John Wick 4 slated to hit theatres Memorial Day weekend 2022. We hope to shoot both John Wick 4 & 5 back to back when Keanu becomes available early next year.”

That’s another film guaranteed in the assassin-filled Wick universe, where coins are bartered for a hilariously wide variety of services and everyone is trying to kill someone else for one reason or another. There’s also a Continental TV show in the works for Starz, which apparently will hit TVs in this universe sometime after the fourth movie. Here’s hoping we get a TV show specifically about the coin economy as the Wick entertainment options continue to multiply.

As the report noted, Reeves has shot action films back-to-back in the past, finishing the Matrix trilogy in a grueling marathon filming session that hopefully isn’t repeated in the Wick cinematic universe. For fans of the series, though, the more Wick the better.

(Via Deadline)

Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz are currently battling it out for seeding in the Western Conference during the NBA’s bubble restart in Orlando. But the next few weeks are also big for Mitchell off the court, as the second edition of his signature sneaker line with adidas, the D.O.N. Issue #2, is set to release later this month.

The first release of the Issue #2 will be the bright green “Spidey-Sense” colorway hitting stores August 28. The sneaker features a BOUNCE midsole with a mesh upper, and will retail for $100. Along with the “Spidey-Sense” colorway, nine Team colorways will be available on the August 28 release date.

The bright colorways of the Issue #2 will only continue from there, as the second release will be the Crayola pack, in partnership with the crayon giant to bring three colors — Sky Blue, Banana Mania and Jazzberry Jam (because, you know, the Jazz) — to his sneaker line. The three bright yellow, blue, and purple colorways certainly stand out and make the sneaker pop on the court.

The Crayola pack will hit retailers on October 2, with other planned colorways releasing throughout October and November. As part of the sneaker launch, Mitchell and adidas also partnered on a brief video where he discusses the hiatus and how the past few months have only furthered his desire to impact change in the community.

Welcome to Wednesday Night’s Alright, my new Uproxx Sports recap of the big events from Wrestling’s biggest night, when AEW Dynamite on TNT goes up against WWE NXT on USA. I’m still finding the shape of this column, but I’m glad to be here with you and writing about two of the best wrestling shows on TV.

Exciting Arrival: Ridge Holland

Ridge Holland’s at Full Sail, which is particularly exciting for those of us who saw him in NXT UK (remember that show?), and know how impressive he is. Even though he lost to Damien Priest, he should be an impressive addition to the roster going forward, and could even make it to the top. The flat cap/nightstick/overcoat gimmick may seem dated at first, but he’s good enough to overcome it. And once you see how he’s built under than coat, and how he can move that body in the ring, it’s hard to deny that he’s got the stuff.

Runners Up

Matt Cardona, the former Zack Ryder, is in AEW now, and tagged with Cody against the Dark Order’s own Beaver Boys. I can’t say I find Matt all that exciting, but I know WWE did him wrong so I’m trying to keep an open mind. Of course, he may not stick around. Backstage reports say he’s currently only signed for five appearances. Cynically, it seems convenient that he’s appearing on Dynamite right when AEW has action figures to introduce. Is that far-fetched? I don’t know, we’ll see if Cardona goes anywhere in AEW.

Nefarious Heel Behavior: El Legado del Fantasma Beat Up Breezango

This was a close one, but Santos Escobar’s faction maliciously taking down the fun-loving cosplay guys really demonstrated what a serious threat they are to the NXT roster. Breezango were the perfect victims, because they’re the most good-natured and fun-loving team NXT has, so attacking them proves that you’re evil and hate fun. Also nobody mentioned Fandango’s blatant appropriation of Hispanic culture, but I suspect it was an unspoken factor. But ultimately, the beating was a message to Isiah “Swerve” Scott, because there’s no stronger message in wrestling than beating up some guys you don’t care about to prove something to a guy you hate.

Runners Up

Santana and Ortiz destroying Trent’s mom Sue’s van was a close runner up in this category, but I feel like heels destroying cars is something we’ve seen a lot of, as much fun as that minivan is. Still, the sheer malice of writing Sue’s name on the hood and then X-ing it out… that’s just mean. Mercedes Martinez and MJF also deserve a mention for interfering in the night’s top two matches (but we’ll get to those).

Thing I Could Have Done Without: Pat McAfee vs. Adam Cole

Honestly, I’m at a loss with this one. Is it just pandemic desperation? Now okay, sure, McAfee isn’t the least likable guy WWE ever hired to sit on preshow panels (that’s Sam Roberts), but I don’t love him on commentary and I can’t even begin to contemplate why he’s now feuding with former NXT Champion Adam Cole. This is one of those angles that WWE starts and all I can do is zone out until the next thing that interests me (a bad habit for recapping, I’ll admit).

Runners Up

Nothing else was quite that bad this week. At first I really didn’t like AEW’s “Debate” setup or the decision to bring Bischoff in for it, but ultimately I thought it was entirely justified once Orange Cassidy started talking. And maybe this is stretching the category (but it’s a category I just made up), but i could live without AEW having just one women’s match that lasted like two minutes. I mean, yeah, they did a great job of leaning into Rebel/Reba’s greatest weakness as a wrestler (the fact that she just barely knows how to wrestle) and make it part of the story, but as usual I’m just left wanting more from that whole division.

Best Promo: Jon Moxley

This is where Moxley spelled out his connection to Darby Allin. He made sure we know that he’d kill Darby if he had to, or at least break him in half and end his career, but Mox would feel bad if anything like that happened. Mox has a human conscience, apparently, it just can’t control what he does in the ring. What makes his promos so great is that Jon Moxley is kind of a cartoon character, but he makes you believe that he absolutely is that character in real life. All he cares about is wrestling (and his wife, but he can’t talk about her on AEW TV), and he doesn’t care if he gets hurt, but he does care if you get hurt, but he needs you to accept that he might be the one hurting you. That’s what you get for stepping in the ring with him.

Runners Up

As I said before, Orange Cassidy’s promo redeemed the debate segment. It was funny when he rattled off a bunch of knowledge about ocean levels, but he stepped it up when he finally addressed Jericho, the disingenuousness of the debate, and how much he actually cares about their upcoming match. AEW has done a masterful job of building up Orange Cassidy little by little, with the kind of patience we rarely see in televised wrestling. Debate trappings aside, this was a huge step in that process.

The Best Friends also had a nice moment reacting to the destruction of Sue’s van. I’m really torn about their upcoming match, because I’d rather see Santana and Ortiz win, but now I also want to see them have to apologize to Trent’s mom on speakerphone.

Best Match: Dakota Kai vs Rhea Ripley

NXT has once again proven itself the place to go for top-shelf women’s wrestling. Kai and Ripley are two intense and hard-hitting opponents, plus they have longstanding beef: It was Rhea not initially choosing Dakota for her WarGames team last fall that led to Dakota’s heel turn during that match. Commentary made a point of reminding viewers of that history, but you didn’t really need it to enjoy the story these women are telling in the ring. Obviously Rhea is bigger and stronger, but Dakota’s better at kicks than anybody, and quick enough to apply some of those kicks to Rhea’s head before Rhea had a chance to bring her strength to bear.

Still, even after Kai showed she’d stand a chance of winning this match clean, she got some help from Mercedes Martinez, who kicked Ripley behind the ref’s back. Martinez is working for the Robert Stone Brand, but it looks like they’re just continuing their own feud with Rhea, not acting out of any particular loyalty to Dakota.

Runners Up

Darby Allin versus Jon Moxley was the other standout match of the night. Moxley has made it clear that he sees Allin as a younger version of himself, and that sums up this match pretty well. We’re used to the intensity of Jon Moxley, but things can only get amped up that much further when he’s facing an equally intense younger version of himself. This wasn’t the first match between these two, and it’s certainly not the first time we’ve seen this story about how Darby is fearless and talented and looks great even in a loss (to be fair, he is very good at telling that story).

This did feel like something coming to a head in Darby and Mox’s relationship, however. There have been hints in the past that Mox considers Darby a potential protégé, and judging by the end of this match we’re going to see that develop further. Sounds like a great idea to me. Moxley could use a friend in AEW, and Allin’s the perfect choice to play a skater Robin to his back-alley Batman.

MJF’s involvement (and by extension Wardlow’s) also continues his feud with Moxley, but thankfully it didn’t play a major role in the outcome of this match.

That’s all for this week, let me know what you think in the comments, and feel free to suggest other categories I can include!

While speaking to supporters, President Donald Trump claimed that his Democratic opponent Joe Biden will “hurt God” if elected. The bold accusation that suggests the former vice president somehow possesses the supernatural strength to injure the Almighty Creator of the Universe was made during a campaign stop in Cleveland, Ohio on Thursday.

“He’s going to do things that nobody ever would ever think even possible,” Yahoo! News reports the president as saying. “Because he’s following the radical left agenda– take away your guns, destroy your Second Amendment, no religion, no anything, hurt the Bible, hurt God. He’s against God. He’s against guns. He’s against energy, our kind of energy.”

You can see video of Trump saying Biden will hurt God below:

As usual with the president, Trump’s warning that Joe Biden is capable of punching God in the face wasn’t the only odd statement to come out of the campaign stop. Trump mistakenly referred to Thailand as “Thighland,” which caused the term to immediately start trending on Twitter.

You can see the viral Thighland moment below:

Needless to say, folks immediately went to town reacting to the president’s latest faux pas and wondering where exactly they can find this mythical thigh-based paradise.

Of course, some of the reactions got a little too real.

The Thighland fiasco arrives on the heels of the president’s recent interview with Axios. The president’s unusual answers on the COVID-19 crisis coupled with reporter Jonathan Swan’s very confused facial reactions went instantly viral once the interview became available on Monday. For days, embarrassing clips from the interview were shared across social media, but now, the president can breathe easy because, clearly, Thighland is the new hotness — until Trump’s next public remarks.

(Via Yahoo! News, Slade on Twitter & Timothy Burke on Twitter)

Kevin Parker remains as busy as a bee this summer, following up reminiscent remixes of songs from his Tame Impala album The Slow Rush with the lyric video for album standout “Is It True.” The video accompanies the funky, danceable single with suitably low-fi visuals, screened on an old-school box television set with delay and distortion effects giving it a truly psychedelic vibe. It’s a similar look to that of Tame Impala’s live shows, a sort of consolation for the group not being able to tour this year due to a global pandemic.

Despite the pandemic, though, Tame Impala has remained active, delivering an acoustic live performance of “On Track,” an 18-minute remix of “One More Year,” and a trippy late-night performance of “Is It True” for The Late Show. Outside of promotion for The Slow Rush, Parker also helped 070 Shake remix her Modus Vivendi track “Guilty Conscience” last month and collaborated with British musician The Streets on his new mixtape, None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive, contributing vocals to the single, “Call My Phone Thinking I’m Doing Nothing Better.”

The Slow Rush is out now via Island Records Australia.

Watch Tame Impala’s “Is It True” video above.

A League Of Their Own is officially coming back, this time as a TV series on Amazon Prime. The Hollywood Reporter said on Thursday that Amazon Prime has ordered a series created by Broad City‘s Abby Jacobson based on the beloved movie about women’s baseball during World War II.

Jacobson and Will Graham created the show, described as a “reinterpretation” of the 1992 movie that starred Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna and Rosie O’Donnell among others in one of the most celebrated sports movies of all time. According to Hollywood Reporter, the show will expand on the Penny Marshall film to explore how prejudice and equality have impacted women in sports:

“Twenty-eight years ago, Penny Marshall told us a story about women playing professional baseball that up until then had been largely overlooked. We grew up obsessed with the film, like everyone else. Three years ago, we approached Sony with the idea of telling a new, still overlooked set of those stories. With the help of an enormously talented team of collaborators, an amazing cast, and the devoted support of Amazon to this project, we feel beyond lucky and excited to get to bring these characters to life,” Graham and Jacobson said in a joint statement Thursday. “It took grit, fire, authenticity, wild imagination and a crackling sense of humor for these players to achieve their dreams. We’re hoping to bring audiences a story with all of those qualities.”

The film’s reworking for Amazon has been in the works since 2018, and last year word was that D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place) would join the cast as well. She is, indeed, part of the team, featured in art that Amazon shared and cited as part of the cast. The project also apparently got Marshall’s approval before her death in 2018:

Sources say Graham and Jacobson reached out to both Penny Marshall (before her passing in December 2018) and Davis ahead of time to get their blessing for the Amazon take, which will — like the film — explore themes including prejudice and equality, among others. (The original movie included one short but important moment during which a Black woman throws a ball back to Dottie in a scene that briefly illustrated the segregation that existed at the time.)

The experiences people of color had in baseball is largely ignored by the film, save for that moment. So there’s plenty of material to work with there and a much more diverse cast will explore those themes in the new adaptation. THR also reported that surviving members of the AAGPBL — which were featured in the original film — consulted on the series’ creation and will continue as the show is made.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

If nothing below suits your sensibilities, check out our guide to What You Should Watch On Streaming Right Now.

The Rain: Season 3 (Netflix series) — This sleeper apocalyptic series comes to an end with a deluge of hope, years after deadly rain decimated Scandinavia’s population. Simone and Rasmus are at odds on how to put the virus to bed, and now, there are amped-up special affects and superpowers on the table. This fantastic series might feel too timely (in 2020) if you’re starting from the beginning, but if you’re been watching all along, you’ll find a wonderful end to a series that transcends most apocalyptic fiction today.

An American Pickle (HBO Max) — Seth Rogen‘s dual roles have arrived, and the end product is both touching and hilarious to witness. Rogen plays a 1920s Jewish immigrant who falls into a vat of pickle juice and is perfectly “brined” for 100 years, so suspend your disbelief and enjoy the surprising amount of nuance here. It’s both an interesting match-up and a truly inspired Jewish version of Encino Man.

HBO Max Summer Comedy Specials (HBO Max) — The hottest new premium streaming service is digging deeper into the stand-up comedy game with specials dropping every Thursday. Today will see the first batch of specials, including a multi-act special from the HA Comedy Festival hosted by Latinx comedian Anjelah Johnson, who welcomes special guests Danny Trejo, Eva Longoria, and Eugenio Derbez. Solo sets from Rose Matafeo, Beth Stelling, James Veitch are also dropping.

The Oprah Conversation: How To Be An Antiracist (Apple TV+) — This brand new episode will present a discussion with bestselling author Professor Ibram X. Kendi (about his book, How To Be An Antiracist) on how white readers can confront and dismantle their own racist beliefs.

World’s Most Wanted (Netflix series) — This docuseries’ first season will profile five of the most wanted criminals on the globe, who have managed to avoid capture despite world wide investigations and massive rewards hanging over their heads.

The Speed Cubers (Netflix documentary) — If you’re looking for competition without the squeaking shoes, look no further than this true story of the rivalry/friendship of the two reigning Rubik’s Cubers (Max Park, age 17, and Feliks Zemdegs, age 23) on the planet.

Killer Camp (CW, 8:00 p.m.) — More fiendish group activities are afoot, which sound truly harrowing. I don’t think it sounds like much fun for people to toss wet dodgeballs at their opponents and retaliate with blood-filled buckets, but hey, people can enjoy this hot mess vicariously.

Cake (FXX, 10:00 p.m.) — A showcase featuring both live-action and animated comedy programs of varied length that are equal parts thought-provoking, laugh-inducing, artistic, authentic and raw.

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon (NBC 10:00 p.m.) — Matthew McConaughey, Jaden Smith