The Los Angeles Lakers don’t technically have the best record in the NBA but, at 20-6 and with an active six-game winning streak, the reigning champions are also the favorites to repeat in 2020-21. To that end, the regular season isn’t necessarily the overriding focus for the Lakers and, with that in mind, star big man Anthony Davis has missed the last two games with what the team is calling right Achilles tendonosis.
Davis has appeared in 21 of 26 games this season but, unlike other injuries that he may attempt to play through at this juncture in the season, he told the media Thursday that the Achilles is a different story.
“This is just a different circumstance with it being an Achilles. If it was a quad or finger, anything like that, I wouldn’t mind playing,” Davis said. “But I just don’t really want to play around with an Achilles. Today was the first day we were able to practice, get some run-in with some guys to really test it out.”
Quite honestly, this makes a lot of sense. There is absolutely no reason to push anything for Davis, and that would be true in the regular season even if the Lakers weren’t dominating the competition. The All-NBA big man is a fixture at the highest level of the NBA but, in addition to common sense surrounding any player, Davis is 27 years old and signed long-term, meaning the Lakers have even more incentive to be careful.
“I just don’t want to play a game where I still feel it and then get hurt and now I’m out for the playoffs or whatever or for multiple weeks, where it’s something I can’t control and maintain right now where you miss two games or three games early on in the season or midseason and be ready to go for the rest of the season,” Davis said.
The Lakers host the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday before hitting the road for a quick, two-game trip to Denver and Minnesota. Lakers head coach Frank Vogel shared that Davis did “no-contact drill work” on Thursday, with his status up in the air for Friday until they see how Davis feels.
“He’s going to see how he feels with it today, but more importantly how it responds overnight and see how he feels tomorrow before making any decisions on the game,” Vogel told reporters.
Davis and his team will seemingly take this day-by-day until otherwise noted. Even if he can’t play on Friday, though, Davis is intent on taking a cautious approach and that seems like the best way to operate.
In addition to being America’s most trusted source of Succession episodes, HBO has a lovely collection of movies available ranging from trashy action thrills to elegant period pieces to star-studded comedies. With all the recent changes to HBO’s streaming services, though, it can be confusing to know what the heck is on which app. Here is a ranking of the 25 best movies on HBO (previously known as HBO Now) that you could and should be watching right now. We also rounded up the best movies on HBO Max in another guide.
With just a few bars on the piano and an oversized mechanical shark, Steven Spielberg terrorized generations of moviegoers with Jaws. The film follows a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer who team up to hunt a great white shark who has a worrisome bloodlust and seems to be targeting a small beach town during the busiest time of the year. Spielberg’s camera work — the lingering, underwater shots, the quick cuts of flesh being torn from bone and rows of teeth flashing to the surface — make this exercise in inciting aquaphobia even more chilling. You’ll never look at a carefree day at the beach the same way again.
Jordan Peele’s nightmarish follow-up to Get Out cements the director’s status as a master of horror. This twisted tale follows an African-American family on vacation who encounter evil doppelgangers of themselves that hint at an even darker conspiracy. Lupita Nyong’o, and Winston Duke play a married couple, Adelaide and Gabe Wilson, who must protect their family from beings known as the “Tethered,” clones of themselves who have been trapped underground for decades and who are ready to take over on the surface. Peele takes fans on a thrilling ride, causing us to constantly question what’s real and who’s who but you probably won’t get a good night’s sleep after watching this thing.
A film noir set in the Ozarks of Missouri, Winter’s Bone was the breakthrough role for Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Ree Dolly, a 17-year-old who looks after her family since her father disappeared. With the looming threat of losing her home, Ree goes in search of her missing father, ending up in a world of distrust and violence. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and though it didn’t take any Oscars home, it did win the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.
HBO managed to pull off the seemingly impossible with this follow-up movie based on a series that left us too soon. Ian McShane, Timothy Olyphant, and the rest of the residents of the camp are back to celebrate the South Dakota’s statehood in the only way this dusty drama knows how — with reignited rivalries, betrayals, bloodshed, and lots of swearin.’ The show became a fan favorite thanks to its gritty performances and nuanced storytelling, and the movie continues the tradition, investigating the lives of these pioneers who’ve endured plenty of hardship for their piece of the American dream.
In case you didn’t catch it in theaters, or you just want to revisit the chaos and mayhem of Joaquin Phoenix’s troubled clown, Todd Phillips’ Joker is now on HBO Max. This gritty origin story imagines the DC supervillain as a mentally-ill clown-for-hire named Arthur, who spirals when his stand-up career turns sour, and he discovers some details about his lineage. Really, it doesn’t take much to put this guy over the edge.
Ridley Scott basically invented sci-fi horror with this alien thriller about a crew on a commercial space tug who must battle a violent extraterrestrial being that’s infiltrated their ship. Sigourney Weaver plays Ripley, an officer aboard the Nostromo, who’s forced to face down the titular Alien, an aggressive lifeform intent on killing the ship’s human crew. Most of the action revolves around Weaver’s attempts to destroy the creature and save her shipmates but it’s Scott’s direction behind the camera that creates the suspense and terror this film has become known for.
Visionary director Taika Waititi gives us this World War II-set satirical masterpiece (and Oscar screenplay winner) that follows a young German boy, whose imaginary friend is Adolf Hitler. The kicker is that Waititi plays the genocidal maniac, making him a weak, comedic caricature of the infamous mass murderer, and as Jo Jo (a terrific Roman Griffin Davis) begins to bond with a Jewish girl hiding in his house, his worship of the dictator wanes in hilarious ways. Scarlett Johansson does some of her best work here as Jo Jo’s mother, a woman fighting to help the Jews, and Sam Rockwell steals every scene he’s in, playing a queer Nazi commander. Yet the joy and humor in this belongs to Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, and Archie Yates — the kids who give the film some much needed heart.
There are timeless classics and then there’s David Fincher’s exercise in understanding modern masculinity (a.k.a. Fight Club). The film has managed to remain relevant over the decades, with fans finding new themes and messages to dig into when it comes to Edward Norton’s depressed, unfulfilled office worker and his machismo friend, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). The two start an underground fight club — with a now-famous set of rules — and wreak havoc on the city as they let loose their aggression and search for the meaning in life. But it’s the film’s surprise, introspective ending that really elevates this bloody drama.
Bruce Willis stars in this action classic that gave birth to a genre-defining franchise. Willis plays John McClane, an NYPD officer tasked with rescuing his wife and children from a group of German terrorists who hold a Christmas gathering hostage at an LA hotel. Alan Rickman plays the group’s leader, and it’s his bad guy that makes this thing so enjoyable to watch. That, and Willis’ iconic one-liners.
A master assassin (Uma Thurman) is betrayed by her former associates and left for dead, only for her to awaken from her coma and vow to take uncompromising vengeance. Possible issues with director Quentin Tarantino aside, it’s impossible to say that watching his movies isn’t a distinct experience. Each piece of the Bride’s journey, while very different, fit together perfectly throughout the two films. Tarantino’s recognizable comedy, music, and slight self-indulgence come through in Kill Bill, which has just the right and an excessive amount of tongue-and-cheek and fake blood, respectively.
Inspirational without being self-congratulatory or condescending, Mick Jackson’s Temple Grandin places Claire Danes in the role of the real-life title character as she develops into a voice in animal science that cannot be ignored. A world that’s unaccommodating to autism and women in the ranching industry does not make things easy for Grandin and Danes portrays her with detail, intelligence and heart. Bonus points awarded for having the courage to include comedy and taking the effort to make something with warmth. You don’t get that too often in movies featuring the inner workings of slaughterhouses.
Laura Dern gives a hauntingly beautiful performance in Jennifer Fox’s autobiographical drama, The Tale. The film recounts Fox’s own history of sexual abuse at the hands of a riding instructor who was three times her age. Dern plays a grown-up version of Fox, a woman struggling to recall illicit memories of her past, to reconcile the relationship she thought she had as a teenager with a man old enough to be her father with what actually happened — years of grooming, mental, and physical abuse at the hands of adults she had put her trust in. It’s a brutal but necessary watch.
Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonard DiCaprio, and Cameron Diaz star in Martin Scorsese’s historical epic that re-imagines the birth of New York City. DiCaprio plays Amsterdam, an Irish immigrant who returns to the Five Points years following his father’s murder, looking for revenge. To get it, he infiltrates Bill the Butcher’s (Lewis) gang, a group of proud natives tired of the influx of foreigners in their city. Diaz plays a prostitute who forms a relationship with Amsterdam as he befriends Bill, then struggles to follow-through with his plan to kill the man who murdered his father and lead the Five Points in a rebellion against the city’s elite.
Nicole Kidman, Lucas Hedges, and Joel Edgerton star in this queer drama directed by Edgerton based off the memoir of author Garrad Conley. The film follows the son of a Baptist preacher (Hedges) who is outed to his strictly religious family and forced to undergo his church’s gay conversion therapy camp. There, he’s abused mentally and physically because of his queerness and his bonds with his family are tested.
Erin Lee Carr’s spellbinding crime doc Mommy Dead and Dearest plunges into the bizarre and absorbing true story surrounding the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard. It’s an absorbing, strange and disturbing watch that doles out enough jaw-dropping moments in 83 minutes to put full seasons of TV to shame. Sundance hopefuls would have a field day with the visuals in this documentary if they were to try and adapt this stranger-than-fiction tale of manipulation, murder, and motherhood.
Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith star in this Bonnie & Clyde remix with a timely narrative twist. Penned by Lena Waithe, the story follows a Black couple whose first date turns deadly after a cop racially profiles Slim. The violent incident forces the two to go on the run, connecting with their pasts in unexpected ways and finding a deeper understanding of each other while fighting the system and trying to make it out alive.
Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, and a handful of other embarrassingly talented actors carry this heartwarming family drama about two kids in search of their father. Josh Hutcherson and Mia Wasikowska play Laser and Joni, siblings conceived by artificial insemination. Their moms Jules (Moore) and Nic (Bening) each used the same sperm donor to have them and now, as the kids have grown up, they’ve become curious about this mystery paternal figure. Enter Ruffalo who plays a hippie restaurant owner named Paul that seems more interested in hooking up with Jules than getting to know his kids. It’s messy and difficult, but it’s a relatable story about unconventional family dynamics that feels refreshingly original.
Baz Luhrmann’s bohemian rhapsody set in 1900s France follows the tale of a struggling writer who falls for a beautiful courtesan. Ewan McGregor plays Christian, a poet with grand ideas on love who move to the Montmarte district to write a novel and truly experience life. A trip to a pleasure theater called the Moulin Rouge introduces him to Satine (Nicole Kidman), a gorgeous performer who’s also caught the eye of a rich duke. Torn between her love for Christian and the trappings of her luxurious life, the pair embark on a forbidden romance that has disastrous consequences for everyone.
Kevin Smith’s slacker comedy has become a cult classic over the years. The premise of the film is pretty straight-forward: a guy working at a convenience store is called in on his day off and ends up having the shift from hell. Dead girlfriends, rooftop hockey games, attempted robberies, a breakup, and maybe even a life epiphany happen before the credits roll, but the real fun is in watching two dead-beats try their damndest to avoid work by getting into some sticky situations.
In Bruges was the movie that revealed Colin Farrell could be funny. A character actor stuck in a leading man’s body, Farrell gives arguably the best performance of his career as Ray, a rookie Irish hitman on the run with his partner and mentor, Ken (Brendan Gleeson), after accidentally killing a kid while executing a priest. While that may not sound much like the premise of a comedy, director Martin McDonagh crafted a truly hilarious movie. Farrell and Gleeson play off each other wonderfully all the way to the film’s dark finale. But as great as they are, they’re overshadowed at times by an incredible performance from Ralph Fiennes as their boss, Harry. Fiennes is at once funny and terrifying as a man steadfast in his principles, even when that involves committing murder.
It’d be rude for a Liberace-focused film not to be showered in sparkly awards upon release, don’t you think? Steven Soderbergh’s HBO Films take on Scott Thorson’s memoir Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace earned Emmys galore for its blend of effective drama and dark comedy. Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, and Scott Bakula all scored well-deserved praise and trophies for their work in this gripping (and appropriately stylish) drama that will have you scrambling down many a Wikipedia rabbit hole after.
Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore star in this HBO remake of the 1975 documentary of the same name. Lange plays “Big Eddie,” aunt to former First Lady Jackie Kennedy, while Barrymore plays “Little Edie,” Kennedy’s first cousin. The two women became famous when it was revealed that their estate, Grey Gardens, was in ruin and they’d been living there in squalor for years. The film chronicles their journey to destitution, following “Little Edie” as she tries and fails to make a name for herself away from her mother while “Big Eddie” tries to prevent the end of her marriage. It’s a gripping, tragic tale, one made more visceral thanks to some stellar performances by Lange and Barrymore.
It’s always surreal when life imitates art but watching Steven Soderbergh’s star-studded thriller during the age of Corona feels more like a warning than anything. That’s because Soderbergh approaches the film’s plot — a deadly virus originating in China ravages the planet forcing regular civilians and CDC workers to do the unthinkable in order to survive — with a methodical, scientific formula. There are real stakes, especially when we watch Matt Damon’s character scramble to save what’s left of his family or Laurence Fishburne fail to manage the crisis as a CDC head, but there’s also so much scientific jargon that this could be taught in schools. It probably should.
Elisabeth Moss stars in this terrifying tale of the consequences of a toxic relationship. Moss plays Cecilia, a woman haunted by the specter of her abusive ex. Everyone believes the guy took his own life, except Cecilia, who he left his immense fortune to with the caveat that she remain of sound mind. The whole film centers on his goal of driving her insane, torturing her in invisible form as her friends and family slowly question her sense of reality. It’s horrifying simply because it could easily be true. And well, he’s invisible, so the jump scares are also strong here.
Living up to the immense hype it earned at Sundance that year, Real Women Have Curves is a coming-of-age tale that balances drama and comedy while shining a spotlight on the acting skills of future Superstore star America Ferrera. (The film marked the actress’s cinematic debut.) Ferrera plays Ana García, a young Mexican-American woman navigating cultural, societal and familial expectations in Los Angeles as she works toward her goal of heading to college. Smart, dignified and occasionally bittersweet, Real Women Have Curves is a movie unafraid of its warmth and humanity.
While there are still two hearings left in Britney Spears’ pending conservatorship case, a judge delivered a ruling on Thursday that pretty much solidified the nature of the singer’s estate for the foreseeable future. According to Variety, Judge Brenda Penny denied Jamie Spears’, Britney’s father, objections to the decision to appoint Bessemer Trust Co. as co-conservator of the singer’s estate.
Back in November, Penny named Bessemer as a co-conservator after denying Britney’s request to completely remove her father from the conservatorship. As a result, the singer’s attorney, Samuel Ingham, proposed for the new co-conservatorship, but Jamie Spears’ lawyer objected to it and claimed it inappropriately reduced his powers within the estate.
In court on Thursday, Ingham responded to the objections and said it would give Jamie and Bessemer “an equal division of responsibility, in the hopes that they would sit down and figure out together the best way to handle this complex estate for the benefit of my client.” He added, “It’s no secret that my client does not want her father as co-conservator, but we recognize that removal is a separate issue.”
The ruling comes after New York Times released their Framing Britney Spears documentary on Hulu and FX. The film criticizes the singer’s conservatorship and has helped amplify a second wave of the #FreeBrintey movement online with many of its supporters appearing outside the courthouse for the ruling on Thursday.
Disney announced on Thursday that, as of January 2, the company had passed more than 90 million subscribers in the month of December, another indicator of the huge growth the streaming platform has seen that’s surprised even Disney.
The streaming service notched 94.9 million customers worldwide as of Jan. 2, 2021, the company announced.
That’s up more than 8 million in just one month, from 86.8 million paid subscribers as of Dec. 2. It also now tops Disney’s original projections of landing up to 90 million subs for Disney Plus within four years.
Perhaps it’s a coincidence, but the news of the big December (and 2020 overall) for Disney+ comes just hours after social media movement toward a Disney+ boycott after news of Carano’s departure from The Mandalorian was made official. That came on the heels of yet another cycle of social media backlash about insensitive posts Carano has made on social media about a number of topics, including gender and mask usage to stop the spread of COVID-19.
We’ll see how big an impact any potential boycott of Disney+ actually has on Disney’s subscriber base, but it’s unlikely there will be an immediate 1:1 comparison possible to make in this case. Pricing for the platform will go up in March, which may scare some people away. Though as WandaVision‘s first season continues and other Disney+ shows grow closer to release on the platform it certainly would have to be a significant movement to counteract the increased interest Disney has seen in the platform’s first two years, and the growth it saw in 2020 has already put it on a pace well ahead what the company predicted it could see ahead of its launch.
It’s difficult to imagine any modern film ever topping the off-the-wall weirdness of 1997’s Face/Off, but bringing in the guy who just directed King Kong punching Godzilla in the face to work on the reboot is as good an idea as any other.
Deadline reported Thursday that Godzilla Vs. Kong director Adam Wingard will be in charge of the “re-imagining” of the action movie classic where John Travolta and Nicholas Cage swapped faces. According to the report, Wingard and Simon Barrett will write the script, which will feature a new cast of folks changing places. And faces.
Oren Uziel had been part of the equation when Paramount set up the remake last fall, but the understanding is Wingard and Barrett are starting from scratch. Despite a fairly preposterous-sounding premise, the original film was a wild ride that became the top grossing U.S. film of its Hong Kong director John Woo as it did $246 million in global ticket sales. It is easy to imagine this taking shape as a two-hander with a couple of strong male or female stars.
Wednesday’s nationally televised game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks ended in controversial fashion. The Mavericks escaped with a one-point win after Danilo Gallinari’s last-second attempt went begging for Atlanta but, as the final buzzer arrived, Trae Young expressed his displeasure with the officials. Young ended the play on the ground after a collision with Willie Cauley-Stein and (badly) wanted a foul call.
While that play was only one of many that decided the ultimate outcome of the game, much of the postgame activity focused on what transpired, with Young, Lloyd Pierce and others on the Atlanta side showing frustration about the no-call. In fact, Young apparently went far enough in the confrontation with the official after the game that the NBA announced a $20,000 fine for the third-year guard on Thursday for “directing inappropriate language toward a game official.”
Within the announcement of his fine, the NBA ruled that the play in question “was correctly ruled a no-call.” That backed up comments from referee Josh Tiven to a pool reporter on Wednesday, including the assertion that the contact was “incidental” in nature. From there, the league indicated that “under the playing rules, Dallas’ Willie Cauley-Stein was entitled to a normal step on a screen from behind, which he took, and which led to incidental and legal contact between Cauley-Stein and Young.”
It isn’t a shock to see the league stand behind the call on the floor, but before the league’s Two-Minute Report even emerged, they made sure to issue this public ruling in concert with the fine itself. Observers on the Atlanta side may continue to lament the officiating decision and/or the failure of the final play that led to a defeat, but what’s done is now done, and the centerpiece of the Hawks will now be writing a check to back up his outrage.
In countries throughout Asia, people ring in the Lunar New Year with cultural traditions as diverse as Asian people themselves. From China to Vietnam to Malaysia to South Korea—and in communities of people of Asian descent around the world—families gather to celebrate, pay homage to ancestors, and welcome in the blessings of a new year.
This year, however, such celebrations in the U.S. are impacted not only by the upheaval of the ongoing pandemic, but by fear in the wake of skyrocketing violence against people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent.
Hate crimes against Asian-Americans and Pacific-Islanders (AAPI) have been highlighted by advocacy groups since early in the pandemic, but have not received the broad media coverage they deserve. Unfortunately, it’s taken vicious attacks on elders in the AAPI community to get the nation’s attention.
Last week, the death of an 84-year-old Thai man who was violently tackled in his driveway shone a spotlight on the issue in the Bay Area, where a spate of attacks has erupted in recent months. A video of a 91-year-old man being violently shoved to the ground in Oakland prompted actors Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu to offer a reward of $25,000 to anyone who could help identify the attacker. (It turned out police already had him in custody as a suspect for other similar attacks.) A 64-year-old Vietnamese grandmother was assaulted and robbed of $1000 while walking to her car in San Jose last week as well, and Chinatown businesses have been hit by an alarming increase in robberies.
Amanda Nguyễn, CEO and founder of the civil rights organization Rise, shared a plea on Instagram for people to raise awareness about the increase in anti-AAPI violence.
The heinous attacks in the Bay Area are making headlines, but violence and harassment are not just happening there, not just happening to the elderly, and not just happening now.
According to NYPD data reported in the Queens Chronicle in September, anti-Asain hate crimes had already increased 1900% from 2019 to 2020 before fall even hit. (In the same time period, anti-Jewish and anti-Black hate crimes in New York had decreased.) The Anti-Defamation League reported in June that there had been a “significant” number of reports of harassment and attacks against people in the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community, and the United Nations stated in October that hate crimes against Asian-Americans were happening at “alarming levels,” citing 1800 incidents just from March to May of 2020.
Throughout the pandemic, there has been an alarming rise in anti-Asian sentiment resulting in violent hate crimes b… https://t.co/DCqL6O5suQ
Reading people’s individual stories, it’s clear that the vast majority of incidents include references to the COVID-19 pandemic. People blame Asian-Americans for the coronavirus—a xenophobic idea that has been inflamed by politicians who insist on calling it the “China virus” or “Kung flu.” (That’s not merely conjecture; Manjusha Kulkarni, executive director of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council said that their data showed that the increase in racist and xenophobic attacks was “catalyzed by rhetoric from the president and other government leadership.”)
The AAPI community needs every American of goodwill to step up, speak up, and act to put an end to these attacks. Here are some things everyone can do to help:
– Personally: If you see or hear someone using anti-AAPI language, say something. Don’t let phrases like “China virus” or comments blaming AAPI for the pandemic go unchallenged. Commit to not being a passive bystander, but rather an active disrupter, of harassment when you see it. If you witness an incident, report it at stopaapihate.org.
– Socially: Get to know AAPI members of your community and listen to their concerns. Raise awareness by following and sharing the hashtag #StopAAPIHate on social media. Speak out about AAPI hate crimes and share positive stories about people from the AAPI community as well.
– Educationally: Seek out information about the kinds of discrimination people in the AAPI community face. Click on the links from this article or simply Google terms like “Anti-Asian” and “AAPI hate crimes.” If you’re a parent, teach your kids how to recognize when their peers are engaging in anti-Asian jokes or behavior and how to be an ally.
– Organizationally: Make sure your workplace and organizations you’re a part of are committed to protecting AAPI members of your community from harassment. This PDF from the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance put together has specific action items employers and organizations can use as a guide.
– Monetarily: Buy from AAPI-owned businesses, many of which have suffered during the pandemic both from economic loss and discriminatory attacks. Support AAPI advocacy and anti-discrimination organizations such as iHollaback! (an anti-harassment organization that provides free bystander intervention training) or the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (a coalition of more than 100 organizations advocating for AAPI communities). Keep an eye out for crowdfunding efforts for individual victims of hate crimes.
– Democratically: Reach out to your local, state, and national government representatives to voice your support for the AAPI community and ask them to denounce xenophobic rhetoric in politics. Learn about the president’s plan for the AAPI community and push him to take action on those commitments. Elevate the voices of elected officials from the AAPI community and those who speak up against anti-AAPI discrimination.
Let’s all commit to creating a society in which everyone is uplifted and where all people can feel safe no matter who we are or where we come from.
Comedies can be difficult to compare. Sometimes you’re in the mood for something cerebral, and other times you just want to watch people get punched in the nuts. While there are definitely some gems in Netflix’s movie sections, you have to dig through a lot of straight-to-DVD sequels and bad indie flicks to find the best comedies to watch. While people have cracked the code for finding the best comedies on Netflix right now, we’ve put together a list of some of the funniest movies as a starting point in your quest for the perfect Friday night in.
Even if you’ve never seen any of the Monty Python films, you most certainly know of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It’s been quoted, memed, gif-ed, and idolized by comedy fans for generations. At its core, it’s a parody of the legends of King Arthur and his knights. It’s stocked with an impressive cast — John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, etc — and its full of eccentric characters, bizarre adventures, and gut-bustingly funny jokes. Think failed Trojan Rabbits, modern-day murder investigations, animated monsters, and musical numbers. Intellectual midgets everywhere will love it.
Comedian John Mulaney delivers another brilliantly off-kilter comedy special for Netflix, this time paying tribute to children’s programming of the past with Mulaney and some friends palling around with kids for most of the 70-minute runtime. Jake Gyllenhaal gets deliciously weird as Mr. Music, and there’s a tween talk show with Richard Kind, but it’s Mulaney — who foregoes a script in favor of honest, insightful, darkly comedic convos with these kids — who really shines here.
Jonah Hill and Michael Cera play a couple of best friends in search of a good time in this raunchy high school comedy from pals Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Seth (Hill) and Evan (Cera) hope to close out their senior year by getting wasted and getting laid with a blow-out to end all blow-outs. Their mission to get booze for the party, impress their crushes, and have a memorable night is derailed rather quickly thanks to fake IDs, a couple of incompetent cops, bar fights, and their own bickering. It’s a gross, over-the-top, and surprisingly poignant look at friendship and what happens when we outgrow people.
Zach Galifianakis brings back his beloved comedy talk show, this time in movie form. The viral internet series that saw the funny-man sit down for awkward interviews with celebs and presidents was picked up by Funny or Die, and it seems that Will Ferrell wants the final ten episodes he’s owed, so Zach and his crew go on the road to have some rather hostile chats with people like Bradley Cooper, Keanu Reeves, and David Letterman.
Sandra Bullock helps lighten the mood in this dramedy about a young woman struggling to confront her addictions. Bullock plays Gwen, a newspaper columnist who drunkenly crashes a limo during her sister’s wedding and is forced to choose between jail time or rehab. She chooses to get sober, but not before meeting a handful of colorful characters at the rehab facility she’s staying in and breaking her ankle after falling three stories in search of pills. The subject matter is heavy but Bullock is so damn likable and funny — especially paired with Steve Buscemi — that it doesn’t ever feel like a drag.
Eddie Murphy stages a bit of a comeback in this biopic about famed comedian, actor, showman Rudy Ray Moore, better known as Dolemite to fans of his raunchy comedy albums, stand-up tours, and blaxploitation films. Murphy plays Moore at the beginning of his career when he was just a record store clerk looking to break out in the business. He’s joined by a cast that includes Keegan-Michael Key, Ron Cephas Jones, Tituss Burgess, and others, but it’s Murphy who shines here, giving possibly the best performance of his career as a man who will stop at nothing to pursue his dream.
This teen comedy officially put Emma Stone on the map, handing her the lead in a modern-day retelling of The Scarlet Letter — just without most of the Puritanical bullsh*t and witchcraft slander. Stone plays Olive, a fairly clean-cut student who sheds her good-girl image when she pretends to have sex with a friend at a party. She starts trading imaginary sex for clout (and gift cards) but her growing reputation begins to wreak havoc on her friendships and romantic life. Stone has enviable leading-lady status here and she’s supported by a terrific cast.
Edgar Wright’s 2010 action comedy about a hapless boy who must defeat evil ex-boyfriends in order to win the hand of the girl he loves is a fast-paced ride that bombards the senses. Michael Cera plays a loveable goof in the titular hero, a young man enamored with a woman named Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). In order to be with his lady love, Scott must fight her evil exes, six guys, one girl, who challenge him to truly strange contests. The film is a cinematic mash-up of Japanese anime and gamer culture, intended for the crowd who grew up on Nintendo and comic books, but it brings plenty of laughs all the same.
Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence star in this drama that’s equal parts rom-com and a harrowing look at mental illness. Cooper plays Pat Solitano, a former high school teacher who recently completed a stint at a mental institution. Things aren’t going well for Pat. He’s moved back in with his overbearing parents (a wickedly-funny Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver), his now ex-wife cheated on him, he doesn’t get along with his therapist, and he’s operating under the delusion that if he gets fit and gets his sh*t together, he can get his wife back. Lawrence plays Tiffany, a young woman with problems of her own. She’s depressed after the death of her husband and prefers sex with strangers to drown the pain. The two strike up a friendship that pushes both to their mental and emotional limits. It’s a messy, complicated love story, which makes for a nice change of pace if sappy-sweet rom-coms just aren’t doing it for you.
You’ve probably never heard of this rom-com starring Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell, which is a damn shame because the two have great chemistry on screen and the plot’s just quirky enough to feel refreshingly different from anything else on this list. Kendrick plays Martha, a woman reeling from a bad break-up and searching for direction in her life who meets Rockwell’s Francis, a hitman who targets his own employers and is on the run from a nasty government agent (and excellent Tim Roth). It’s weird, but in a fun way, ya know?
The early aughts action-comedy borrows elements from famous Kung Fu films of the ’70s and pairs them with a completely ridiculous plot and some impressive cartoon-style fight sequences to produce a wholly original flick that we guarantee will make you marvel. The film follows the exploits of two friends, Sing and Bone, who impersonate gang members in the hopes of joining a gang themselves, but they inadvertently strike up a gang war that nearly destroys the slums of the city. Of course, the real draw here is the absurdist, over-the-top comedy that takes place during some of the film’s biggest action sequences. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, but only if you check your brain at the door.
The Coen brothers are back with a slick new Western romp, one that serves as an ode to all of the tropes present in Hollywood’s best Wild West adaptations. Split into six parts, each story is loosely connected although thematically and tonally different. Tim Blake Nelson stars as the titular hero, a sharpshooting songster who takes part in the film’s opening musical portion. From there, we get stories of outlaws getting their due, prospectors mining for gold, ghostly hauntings, and wagon trails. Forget trying to follow the thread and simply enjoy the ride with this one.
Aubrey Plaza, Jake Johnson, and Mark Duplass star in this quirky, soulful comedy from director Colin Trevorrow. Johnson plays a disillusioned reporter who, along with two weird interns (Plaza and Karan Soni) travel to do a story on a guy who put a time-travel ad in the local paper. Duplass plays that guy, a paranoid, genuinely kind man who forms a bond with Plaza’s offbeat Darius and invites her to be his partner on his next trip. From there, things just get even more strange.
Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg make a surprisingly perfect comedic duo and the two draw on their Grumpy Old Men-like chemistry for this buddy cop action flick about two mismatched NYPD officers who uncover a plot by a multinational corporation to steal millions from the city’s police retirement fund. Wahlberg plays the brawns, a quick-tempered detective forced to babysit Ferrell’s mild-mannered accountant after he accidentally shot Derek Jeter during the World Series. That right there should tell you all you need to know about this film.
Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams take on the planet’s most-watched singing competition with this campy comedy about an Icelandic duo named Fire Saga, who are set on achieving glory on the world’s biggest stage. Ferrell and McAdams play Lars Erickssong and Sigrit Ericksdottir, artists chosen to represent their nation in the Eurovision Song Contest, a real competition that features musicians from all over the world, who are often performing in wild get-ups. Dan Stevens almost steals the show while Pierce Brosnan and Demi Lovato make appearances. We’re calling it now: “Volcano Man” is going to be a bop for the ages.
Steven Soderbergh gave us one of the slickest heist films of the decade when he delivered this caper about a group of suave criminals with plans to rob a Las Vegas casino. George Clooney plays Danny Ocean, a con-man recently released from prison who gets the gang back together again — the gang is Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Bernie Mac, Scott Caan, and Matt Damon — to rob a casino owner who just happens to be dating his ex (played by Julia Roberts). It sounds like more of a soap opera than it is, and it works because Soderbergh mixes sharp comedy with high emotional stakes.
Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, and Cameron Diaz star in this classic rom-com about a woman set upon preventing her best friend’s marriage. Roberts plays Julianne, a woman who realizes she’s in love with her best friend, Michael (Mulroney), just days before he’s supposed to wed his rich fiance, Kim (Diaz). Roberts attends the festivities, befriending Kim while also trying to split the pair up, using wedding planning mishaps and bar karaoke to prove how wrong they are for one another. It’d be cringeworthy if Roberts wasn’t so damn lovable, and Diaz wasn’t hilariously naive.
Stranger Things star Natalia Dyer stars in this hormonally-charged teenage comedy, playing a young, naive high-schooler at a co-ed Catholic institution who goes through a kind of sexual awakening on a spiritual retreat. Dyer’s Alice is curious about sex, too curious for the priests teaching her morality classes at school and her judgemental classmates. When they all go on a three day retreat, Alice fields nasty rumors about her nonexistent sexual experience while pursuing an older boy and learning the truth about everyone else’s kinks. It’s the kind of buttoned-up, raunchy hornfest that you’d expect from a movie exploring how religion represses sexuality, and Dyer is hilarious in it.
Poor ratings from critics aside, this is one of the defining rom-coms of the 90s. Its story is a bit outdated: a woman with commitment issues strikes up an ill-timed romance with a journalist sent to cover her upcoming nuptials. But it works because Julia Roberts is just so damn likable and her chemistry with Richard Gere is still Pretty-Woman-levels hot.
Greta Gerwig’s love letter to her hometown of Sacramento, California follows Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf as they navigate the often-frustrating relationship between mother and daughter. Ronan plays “Ladybird,” a young woman attending Catholic school who longs for the culture and change of scenery that New York City promises. Her mother, Metcalf, is overbearing and overprotective, and the family’s lack of money and social standing contributes to a rift between the two. Some hard truths are explored in this film, but watching Ronan manage teenage angst, first love, and everything in between will give you all kinds of nostalgia.
Andy Samberg and his Lonely Island crew have given us plenty of comedy gems over the years, but this may be one of their more inventive shorts. The group spoofs notorious baseball stars Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire in this visual rap album that imagines the brothers in their heyday. Think Beyonce’s Lemonade but, you know, sports.
A charming, unconventional story about what it means to be a family, Hunt for the Wilderpeople follows a juvenile delinquent named Ricky (Julian Dennison), who is adopted by a couple living on a farm in a remote region of New Zealand. After Ricky fakes his suicide and escapes into the bush, his (reluctantly) adopted father Hec (Sam Neill) goes looking for him, and after a series of mishaps, the two are forced to survive in the woods together for months.
Gina Rodriguez, Brittany Snow, and DeWanda Wise team up for this romantic comedy about a young woman’s final hurrah before leaving NYC. Rodriguez plays a journalist named Jenny who must pack up her life, leave her friends, and travel to the West Coast for an exciting job opportunity. Unfortunately for her, her boyfriend of nearly 10 years decides to call it quits, which leaves Jenny on the party warpath, determined to have one final night of fun before her big trip. Lakeith Stanfield also stars in this, and with Netflix’s pretty stellar rom-com track record lately, bet on this being a fun watch.
The Coen brothers give fans another ridiculous romp supported by a mind-blowing cast of A-listers — think George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton… really, we could go on. The film follows Brolin’s Eddie Mannix, a Hollywood fixer in the 1950s trying to uncover what happened to a major star who disappeared while filming an upcoming studio blockbuster. Hijinks ensue when nosy reporters and paranoid movie execs get involved.
Anyone who caught Jessica Williams during her tenure on The Daily Show knows that she’s destined for greatness. Despite being so young, she had a confidence, a voice, and a commanding presence that you just can’t fake. The Incredible Jessica James is her first starring vehicle since her time as a correspondent, and it is a true testament to where she’s headed. In a clever look at the life of a struggling playwright who is getting over a breakup, The Incredible Jessica James allows Williams to unleash her fire in the most charming way possible, and she and Chris O’Dowd have an easy chemistry that makes you root for them to make it despite not having a thing in common. Having just come out last year, The Incredible Jessica James is still one of the best comedy movies Netflix has delivered.
Jason Mantzoukas plays the road trip buddy from hell in this adventure comedy from Hannah Fidell. Mantzoukas is an enraged car mechanic (and probably an alcoholic) who invites himself along when college-bound teenager Nat (Tony Revolori) offers him a ride into town. That small gesture of kindness backfires in a big way when Richard (Mantzoukas) hijacks the trip, struggling to manage his past mistakes and bleak outlook while Nat pursues his dream of photographing the original Americana.
Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte are back to celebrate their friend’s engagement, and then console her post breakup in this follow-up film to the hit HBO series. Sarah Jessica Parker plays Carrie, the Vogue columnist with a ridiculously-good closet, who’s finally marrying Mr. Big, but when he leaves her at the altar after months of planning an extravagant New York wedding, it’s up to her girls to get her out of that post-breakup slump. It takes a trip to Mexico, and an ill-timed bout of diarhea to do it.
Radha Blank writes, directs, and stars in this autobiographical comedy about her unconventional career. Once a promising young playwright, Blank’s trajectory to fame has stalled and in this film, she pokes fun at her failures, reinventing herself as a rapper and using the worlds of hip-hop and theater to find her true voice. It’s darkly funny at times but incredibly relatable and inspiring all the same.
Tarsem Singh’s silly take on a storybook classic often gets a bad rap. Yes, it’s ridiculous and over-the-top, but it’s got a handful of great performances from Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, and Armie Hammer. And it’s gorgeous to look at. The story’s what you’d expect: Roberts’ evil queen takes over the kingdom, Collins’ Snow White fights to get it back. Hammer plays the bumbling love interest. There’s a gang of dwarves, who are equal parts badass-and-completely-incompetent. It doesn’t take much to find the funny in this retelling. Not every childhood fable adaptation has to be serious, guys.
Ali Wong and Randall Park star in the latest rom-com from Netflix. This time around, the plot follows two childhood sweethearts who’ve spent the last 15 years apart and try to reconnect when one moves back home. Wong plays a successful chef opening a new restaurant in San Francisco while Park plays her former best friend still living at home and working for his dad. Both have some growing up to do, but the film eschews classic romcom tropes for bits that are funnier and more poignant than your average lighthearted fare.
If you own a PlayStation 5 right now you might be feeling like you wasted your money. The console released back in November and became impossible to buy almost immediately. Yet, despite the incredible amount of hype surrounding the console, early returns for PS5 buyers have been minimal. The list of exclusives has been extremely small with most games releasing on both the PS5 and previous-gen PlayStation 4. If you own a PS4 you might feel like there wasn’t a point in making the effort to get a PS5.
Well, worry not PS5 owners, because an exclusive is on your way and it’s a big one. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart has been given a release date of June 11 and this one isn’t going to be available anywhere else. Rift Apart, for those who remember, was one of the bigger titles showcased during a June event to show off some games along with an unveiling of the new console.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart arrives on PS5 June 11.
Rift Apart finally having a release date is exciting! If there was a single game that showed off what the next generation was capable of it was going to be this one. The way Ratchet seamlessly travels to different worlds, as he traverses through portals, is something that could only be done in the next generation. There’s a very good chance that the game is nothing more than than a tech demo, but Insomniac has been making Ratchet & Clank for a long time. If there’s anyone we can trust to do good by this franchise it’s them.
This is also something that Sony really needed to keep up the excitement around their new console. The grumbling about a lack of exclusives for the PS5 was getting louder by the month and this is a chance to quell those frustrations. Although, this does not mean that games are not still going to be coming out for the PS4. It’s uncertain when games are going to be releasing exclusively next-gen, but it doesn’t feel like it’s going to be anytime soon. For now, PS5 owners will just have to settle for what we all hope is a spectacular game.
Over a six-year span, Beyond and Impossible Burgers have gone from mere eco-conscious curiosities speculated on endlessly but rarely tasted, to fast food menu staples. At the dawn of 2021, the two brands are continuing to fight for dominance of the American fast-food space. Numbers-wise, Beyond Meat holds a considerable edge over Impossible Foods — whether that comes from restaurants liking the product better or a difference in price is tough to say.
From a flavor standpoint, we’re actually a little more convinced of Impossible’s meat-mimicking power. But maybe we need to stop thinking about plant-based meat as something meant solely to imitate meat in the first place. After all, the burgers aren’t just for the meat-averse. People opt for plant-based options for an increasing number of reasons — from health to ecology to flat out flavor preference.
Does Plant-Based Meat Live Up To The Hype?
Many articles touting the health wonders of plant-based meats like to cite a popular study from 2016, which found that plant-based diets were linked to a healthier lifestyle by lowering the risk of heart disease and diabetes. However, the keyword here is “diet.” So unless you’re about to change the way you eat entirely, grabbing that Impossible Whopper (which actually has more sodium than its meaty cousin!) isn’t going to do much to impact your health.
When it comes to lowering your carbon footprint, you’ll be happy to hear that plant-based meats perform pretty well. According to the United Nations Food And Agriculture Organization, livestock accounts for a whopping 14.5 percent of yearly greenhouse gas emissions with cattle alone producing 65 percent of those emissions. In order to have cattle graze worldwide, forests are cleared en masse. Couple that with the methane that cows produce and our fast food burger habit is absolutely exacerbating climate change.
According to the New York Times, a study commissioned by Beyond Meat and conducted by the Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan compared the environmental impact of making a four-ounce Beyond Burger with a similar beef product in the United States found that the production of the Beyond Burger generated 90 percent less greenhouse gas emissions, required 46 percent less energy, and demanded far less water and land use than it would take to raise the cow that would become the burger.
Meanwhile, Our World In Data points out that tofu, beans, peas, and nuts — the protein sources most commonly used in plant-based meat products — all have lower carbon footprints than even the most environmentally responsible meat and dairy producers. If lowering your carbon footprint is important to you, choosing plant-based fast food will help. Though picking a full-on bean patty would be much better.
Whether you’re eating at home or testing the plant-based fast food waters, here’s an updated list of all the grocers, online stores, and nationwide fast-food joints selling both Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. Let’s get out there and eat some plants!
A&W’s Beyond Burger was once a Canadian exclusive but is now available in the states at select locations nationwide. Meaning you can now swig down some quality root beer while you eat a plant-based burger.
Pizza is probably the easiest food to eat while totally avoiding meat. So while we certainly didn’t need a vegan spicy chorizo topping option at Blaze Pizza, we’ll happily take it!
BurgerFi offers the best of both worlds, allowing you to have Beyond Meat in any of their burgers or a BurgerFi Veggie Patty for those looking for a more earthy taste. BurgerFi also offers angus and wagyu beef patties, in case you feel like dipping back over to the dark side for a bit.
Ahh, the Impossible Whopper. Not only have we tasted this thing, but we’ve examined how it stacks up against its meat counterpart, the Original Burger King Whopper. Our verdict was that the burgers were essentially interchangeable. So if you’re looking to reduce your carbon footprint and like BK, this is an easy pick.
Carl’s Jr. was one of the first big chains to embrace Beyond Meat with their Beyond Famous Star and Beyond BBQ Cheeseburger. Since those early days, Carl’s Jr. has also put out a Beyond Sausage Burrito and Beyond Sausage Egg and Cheese — ensuring that all your plant-based needs are covered through breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Just when you thought the Cheesecake Factory menu was overdone, they decided to add yet another item to their “A Song of Ice and Fire”-sized list of offerings. (Are Game of Thrones references officially dated? Not according to recent news.)
The Cheesecake Factory Impossible Burger has been sold nationwide since August of 2018. Why they didn’t take this opportunity to introduce the Impossible Meatcake we’ll never understand, but we’re holding our breath in anticipation!
Chronic Taco has a Beyond Beef Crumble that can be ordered in any one of their tacos, burritos, or bowls. They also serve a potato taco which is a delicious and traditional Mexican-food option that edges out the Beyond flavor-wise.
The Beyond Beef Crumble is vegan-friendly, gluten and soy-free, and packs a whopping 55 grams of protein and only 3 grams of fat. Now you’ll just have to convince your friends to eat at a place called Chronic Taco.
Del Taco now serves Beyond Meat tacos at all 580 of their locations across the country. We’ve tried it. It certainly tastes meat-ish! Order a taco, burrito, or nachos and substitute Beyond Meat for real meat.
Pro-tip: Order a Beyond Meat soft taco, fill that baby up with some crinkle-cut fries and you’ve got yourself a flavor bomb!
After a soft launch in the Los Angeles market, Denny’s new Beyond Burger is now available nationwide. Denny’s Beyond is served on a toasted sesame seed bun with thick pickle chips, red onions, and juicy chunks of tomato.
Now bring on the Beyond Sausage breakfast, Denny’s!
Disney World serves “grilled vegetarian burgers” park-wide and at several restaurants operating on the premises. Whether you’re grabbing an Impossible burger at the House of Blues or a more generic variation somewhere in the Epcot Center, the world of Disney has got us covered in terms of plant-based burgers.
Warning, they’ll probably be the most expensive plant-based burgers you’ll ever buy, which will pair nicely with your expensive churro.
Doghaus saw the plant-based meat wars and decided, “Nah, we ain’t picking sides.” As far as we can tell, Doghaus is the only chain to serve both meat 2.0 brands, thanks to their Impossible Burger and Beyond Sausage Dog.
Originally a Manhattan exclusive, the Dunkin’ Beyond Sausage breakfast sandwich is now available nationwide. It looks almost identical to a regular breakfast sausage sandwich, only the meat is made from plants! Accompanying the Beyond Sausage patty are egg and aged white cheddar cheese, so it’s not vegan — but it is tasty.
If you’re a big Fatburger fan, you probably already know that they’re selling an Impossible Fatburger. The Impossible Fatburger is currently available at every Fatburger location in America with some locations even carrying vegan Daiya cheese.
Bump that Daiya access to all locations and Fatburger may just win the plant-based burger battle!
Fuddruckers is the “Build Your Own Burger” bar, so it’s only natural that you should be able to build a non-meat-based burger here, right? Bingo.
Fuddruckers now has a veggie burger in select locations known as the Fudds Faus. The Fudds Faus uses its own proprietary veggie blend — so while it’s not Beyond or Impossible, it’s also not meat — we’re counting it!
Since December of last year, the Hard Rock Cafe has been serving the Impossible Burger at all 40 company-owned locations in the United States. What tastes better than an Impossible Burger with double cheese and a giant fried onion ring inside of it?
Don’t answer that, because the answer is “a beef burger with double cheese and a giant friend onion ring.” But the planet is in trouble, so it might not be a bad idea to make some concessions.
Little Caesars is trying out a Supreme Pizza made in collaboration with Impossible Meats. The Impossible Supreme Pizza consists of caramelized onions, mushrooms, green pepper, and Impossible Sausage, which the meat 2.0 company made especially for Little Caesars.
Blaze Pizza, take note, this is how you go meatless!
This has yet to roll out nationwide, but Little Caesars CEO David Scrivano indicated to Cheddar that a nationwide rollout is likely after the test markets responded well. Currently, this is only available at test markets in Yakima, Washington, Fort Meyers, Florida, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Texas and California Mediterranean chain restaurant Luna Grill has a Beyond Burger served with grilled red onions, shredded kale, diced tomatoes, and a mouth-water spicy feta cheese sauce.
The McPlant is already going strong in Canada and this year the Golden Arches have plans to bring the plant-based patty — which is neither Impossible or Beyond — to the United States. We’ll be sure to update this with a review as soon as it’s available!
At PizzaRev you get to build your own pie. In addition to offering all vegan-friendly sauces, the chain also gives you the option to select Daiya vegan mozzarella and top their pies with a whole host of veggies and Beyond Meat options.
Qdoba now sells Impossible Tacos and Bowls at all 730 of its locations. I’d argue that, generally speaking, the meat 2.0 tacos are actually considerably better than the burgers. So if you’ve been burned by an Impossible or Beyond burger in the past, consider giving the tacos a try.
Red Robin first introduced their Impossible Burger on April Fools’ Day of this year. Why any company does anything on April Fools’ Day is beyond us, but the Red Robin Impossible Burger is no joke. The best part about the chain’s approach is that you could swap the Impossible Burger patty into any of Red Robin’s gourmet burgers. That’s an approach we’d like to see more chains take up with regards to the meat substitute.
The Shake Shack ’Shroom Burger consists of a portobello mushroom cap with Muenster and cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, and Shack Sauce. While it’s not quite an Impossible or Beyond meat, it still deserves some mention. The ‘Shroom Burger is by no means bad — they’re actually pretty tasty — but they don’t exactly satiate that meat craving like an Impossible or Beyond Burger might.
Still, Mushrooms do have a meaty texture with lots of umami, so it’s almost there. Shake Shack also has a Veggie burger that is exclusive through their app but only from limited locations — so we aren’t counting it.
A Beyond Burger at a convenience store? Yup! Sheetz now serves Beyond Burgers at each of its 597 East Coast stores. Sheetz Beyond is completely customizable with a whole host of sauce, cheese, and bun choices that enable you to curate your meal.
Last year Starbucks finally got on the plant-based meat bandwagon with the brand’s Impossible Breakfast Sandwich, which consists of an Impossible brand sausage patty atop fried egg and cheddar cheese on ciabatta bread.
The Beyond Meatball Marinara Sub has everything you love about the classic Subway sandwich only with a ball of plant-based meat at its center. Packed with 24 grams of protein per six inches, the Beyond Meatball Marinara Sub will leave you just as satisfied as its hearty meatball counterpart, all while slightly reducing your carbon footprint.
It’s not out yet, but you can bet on 2021 bringing Taco Bell’s first Beyond taco to the market — sure to be an exciting day for Taco Bell fans everywhere. The chain already has one of the biggest vegetarian-friendly menus in the fast-food space, having a Beyond Taco will seal the deal.
Since January 2018 people have been “thanking God” that TGI Fridays has a Beyond Burger. Bad joke? Just stop your criticism and eat your dang Beyond burger. At over 469 participating locations nationwide, you’ll have the option to substitute the beef patty in any TGI Fridays burger for Beyond Meat.
Umami Burger was one of the first burger spots to offer up an Impossible Burger and the small chain currently has three different iterations of the burger on their menu. With the Impossible Trufflemaker, you get an all-vegan bun, miso mustard sauce, charred green chili salsa, truffle fondue, truffle aioli, port wine, a truffle glaze, curly lettuce, and tomato.
If that doesn’t make your mouth water and fill you with ideas of eating way less meat, we don’t know what will. Unless the Impossible Vegan BBQ is more your speed, with an espresso rub, smokey bbq sauce, and thinly sliced jalapeño with the aforementioned miso mustard and charred green chili salsa. With ingredients like that, the meat hardly matters.
If you’re already living a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, you probably already know all about Veggie Grill. If you’re new or interested in becoming vegan or vegetarian, welcome to your new McDonald’s. Veggie Grill is a fast-casual vegan restaurant, their entire menu is vegan friendly and they have plenty of plant-based meat products on their menu, from Beyond Cheesesteak Sandwiches to chopped Chickin’ salads.
Wahl Burger, the only burger chain partly owned by a member of the Funky Bunch, proudly serves a quarter-pound Impossible Burger with smoked cheddar cheese, lettuce, caramelized onions, Paul’s signature Wahl sauce, and some housemade chili-spiced tomatoes.
It’s such a good vibration, it’s such a sweet sensation. (NOT AT ALL SORRY!)
White Castle has been selling an Impossible version of their 2×2 inch slider at participating locations nationwide for about a year now. Since every stoner’s favorite East Coast burger chain was such an early adopter of Impossible, it has given the company some time to start experimenting.
This past April, White Castle introduced the BBQ Impossible Slider, and though we haven’t had one we imagine it’s now even harder for meat 2.0 skeptics to tell the difference between the Impossible and the real deal.
America’s favorite sports bar chain, Yard House, is home to the unimaginatively named “Beyond Burger,” featuring pickles, vegan mozzarella, red onions, tomato, arugula, smashed avocado, and a slaw made from mixed field greens tossed in balsamic vinaigrette atop a fresh-baked onion bun.
Nice call on the arugula over something like butter lettuce, but we’re still feeling salty over the basic name.
All The Markets Selling Beyond and Impossible Meat
If you love yourself a plant-based burger so much that you’re looking to swap out meat for a Beyond or Impossible product permanently, you’ll be pleased to know that they have this stuff in markets too! With sausage, chicken, and taco meat plant-based products, swapping out meat for something altogether better for the environment is easier than ever.
In terms of availability, Beyond is absolutely mopping the floor with Impossible, with availability at 26 grocery stores chains across the country compared to Impossible’s presence in just three. This is a large disparity that’ll leave Impossible fans vulnerable to being swooped up by Beyond’s convenience. Step it up Impossible Foods!
Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods also have online stores where shoppers can order exclusive products and have them delivered right to their doors.
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