The official trailer for the Snyder Cut of Justice League finally shows off a new look for Jared Leto’s Joker. And that the titular superhero group is in for one hell of a fight int he HBO Max event that has DC fans buzzing. Sunday gave us a look at a retooled version of the 2017 film.
The trailer has lots of drama, and a look at the new Darkseid up close and personal. But the final moments of the trailer, after title card for the film appears, are probably the most interesting to most fans. A voice begins to speak as Batman, on top of a building at what appears to be golden hour, listens.
“We lie in a society where honor is a distant memory,” a voice says as Batman turns to see a figure, revealed to be Leto’s new joker, comes into focus. “Isn’t that right, Batman?”
YouTube
It appears that fans were right in Leto’s new look is much more Heath Ledger-inspired than the one that showed up in Suicide Squad, with smeared lip makeup and much more ragged hair. But we might have to wait for a better look at the Joker in action in a few weeks to know for sure. Zack Snyder’s Justice League starts streaming on HBO Max on March 18.
Valentine’s Day is quite possibly one of the most annoying holidays of the year. There, I said it. Not to be a sourpuss, but do we really need an annual calendar date to remind us to recognize and appreciate the ones we hold most dear? Shouldn’t that be, like, an everyday thing? And what about those weird Sweetheart candies they’ve been pushing on us since elementary school?
If dusty, heart-shaped, sugar cubes inscribed with uninspired phrases like “Be Mine” is the best way to show affection for your significant other, then romance truly is dead.
Of course, there is some good that comes with Valentine’s Day. I may be a cynic, but I do believe the holiday marks an excellent time to step outside of the mundane relationship routine, spice things up, and do something truly special for a partner, a friend, or even yourself (after all, self-love is the best love). I’m not talking flowers and balloons. I mean an act of kindness that is uniquely meaningful like, say, preparing an extravagant dinner for your overworked and underpaid bae, helping your main-squeeze relax with an at-home spa day, performing a selection of John Keats poems by candlelight for your amore.
Hither, hither, love!
If those activities or any other creative means for firing up the passion are on your Valentine’s Day to-do list, you’re going to need to set the mood. That’s where the wine comes in—pretty and pink rosé, to be specific. Rosé is not only a style of wine that looks good in the bottle (perfect for gifting!) but it’s easy to drink and easy to pair, making it a winner for sharing with a lover and sipping with a box of chocolates.
To help you spread the fuzzy feelings this Valentine’s Day, I’ve rounded up 10 rosés that land high in quality and pleasure. And since proving your love shouldn’t mean emptying your pockets, all the bottles listed are under $25. The wines are also all widely available in retail shops across the country as well as online, which I’ve linked in the price points below.
This salmon-colored wine is made from pinot noir grapes grown in vineyards below the Santa Lucia Highland within the Arroyo Seco appellation of Monterey County, California. Hand-picked and whole-cluster-pressed, the juice is aged in 100 percent stainless steel resulting in a full-fledged fresh fruit flavor.
Tasting Notes:
Have you ever twirled in a strawberry field?
That’s what this wine smells like—fresh, ripe and juicy strawberries ready for picking and eating. Those strawberry aromatics are present in the sip too, along with notes of raspberries and cherry. There’s some noticeable minerality and acidity that tempers the wine’s viscosity on the palate, but it doesn’t overpower the overall fruit flavor.
Bottom Line:
This is an easy-drinking rosé to start off the night. It’s certainly light enough to drink on its own but beware: that high-for-a-rosé ABV may have your drunken tongue confessing sober feelings before the bottle’s done.
This not-so-pale pink wine hails from Portugal. Made of shiraz and the country’s native baga and outras grapes, this is is a dry rosé. Although there’s only about four grams of sugar in the wine, it somehow manages to maintain a touch of sweetness at first sip.
Tasting Notes:
You can’t miss the floral aromas when you open a bottle of this wine. Sure, it smells delicate but this is a rosé with personality and structure. On the sip, there’s the teensy-tiniest hint of sweetness that’s ambushed with lush, tart red berries and a wave of acidity. The finish is quick and clean.
Bottom Line:
Drink this wine ice cold while you feed your Valentine shrimp cocktail and calamari.
Here’s a vibrant blend of malbec and merlot from the North Fork region of New York’s Long Island. This is a dry and crisp rosé that displays an unexpected yet totally enjoyable citrus vibe that will likely have you pouring glass after glass.
Tasting Notes:
Fragrances of strawberry and raspberry are strong on the nose, while the palate is washed out with notes of nearly-ripened watermelon, a hit of kiwi and even a splash of grapefruit. The acidity of the wine gives it a crisp texture in the mouth that lingers long after the sip is finished.
Bottom Line:
This is a uniquely flavorful rosé that you won’t soon forget. Best paired with whispers of sweet nothings.
Here’s another stunner from Monterey. This wine is made of 100 percent pinot noir that is fermented in stainless steel tanks and displays a ton of fruit.
Tasting Notes:
This wine smells of strawberry, golden and white raspberries, and a spray of mandarin juice. The taste evolves into a dynamic, juicy melody of cranberry, red raspberries, and blood orange. The palate is booming with minerality—a nod to the flinty soil the grapes are grown on—but the finish is delicate and mouthwatering with acidity.
Bottom Line:
If you’re thirsty, this rosé is the fruit-forward quencher of your dreams.
This peony pink wine is made of 100 percent cinsault. It’s a lively little sipper, comprised of grapes grown in South Africa’s Western Cape.
Tasting Notes:
Aromas of strawberries and cream get a lift from hints of lime zest that extends throughout the sip. On the palate, the wine is dashingly bright with a light body and fresh acidity that seems to hype all up the fruit. The finish introduces subtle notes of savory herbs and a sprinkle of spice that rounds everything out.
Bottom Line:
This sprightly rosé has just the right type of fresh acidity to balance out the milky decadence of chocolate-covered fruits.
Now here’s a delectable rosé that’s as refreshing as a tall glass of cold water. One of the many labels under Gerard Bertrand’s wine estate, this soft pink wine is comprised of a blend of grenache, syrah, and cinsault grown in the Languedoc appellation in the South of France.
Tasting Notes:
Aromas of red fruits, cassis, and floral arrangements fill the nose while the palate is smacked with hints of rose petals, fresh red berries, and grapefruit. There’s an earthy, herbaceous quality of this wine that balances the fruit and gives the juice some much-appreciated complexity.
Bottom Line:
This rosé is great for drinking with foods. It has the body and acidity to bring out the best of briny shellfish and seafood and the splashiness to wash down grilled white meats and cheesy pasta.
This rose petal pink wine is a blend of cinsault, grenache, syrah, and rolle from the Provence region of France. The vineyard where the grapes grow features soils speckled with clay and limestone that add to the wine’s subtle saline and mineral qualities.
Fun fact: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie co-own this winery, along with the Perrin family — one of France’s most renowned winemaking families.
Tasting Notes:
Opulent is the best word to describe this wine.
The nose is elegant with aromas of white fruits, currants, and a bit of lime zest. The sip is long and lively with notes of strawberry and roses sprinkled with sea salt. The finish is long with a hint of lemon that lingers well after the glass is empty.
Bottom Line:
Drink this wine when you’re looking for luxury without a sky-high price tag.
The winemakers of Mionetto have been producing sparkling wine in Italy’s Prosecco region since 1887, so they know a thing or two about quality rosé. This peach-blossom-pink sparkling is made of mostly glera—a grape native to Italy—and pinot nero, which originates from France.
Tasting Notes:
The aroma of this wine is quite fruity, with notes of berries and citrus, but there’s a trace of honey in the smell too. On the palate, the wine is racing with acidity and notes of raspberry, pink grapefruit, and a touch of bread crumbs. Although the bubbles are refined, they’re mouth-filling and long-lasting throughout the sip.
Bottom Line:
No one would ever guess you paid so little for a bubbly this good. Keep this on deck in your fridge for Valentine’s Day and beyond.
Made of glera and pinot noir grapes, this wine hails from the Veneto region of Italy. The bottle alone is a beauty but it’s what’s inside that’s the true stand out. If you’re looking for fresh fruit effervescence that will pair well with your Valentine’s Day cheese boards and hors d’oeuvres, this is the one.
Tasting Notes:
For a blush pink rosé, this sparkling wine sure does smell like apples and white flowers. The palate, however, is lush with notes of strawberries and red currants. The piny little bubbles are elegant and light in the mouth while the finish is delicate but memorable.
Bottom Line:
Look at that dazzling bejeweled wine bottle! How could you not gift something so pretty (and tasty) to the one that you love?
Since its creation in 1959, Segura Viudas has become one of Spain’s premier producers of cava—which is basically Spanish sparkling wine (remember, it’s technically only considered champagne if it comes from Champagne, France no matter how similar the winemaking style). This flirty pink bubbly from Penedes, Spain is comprised of trepat and garnacha—both of which are indigenous to the country.
Tasting Notes:
This bubbly is perfumed with pomegranate, but it’s bursting with cherry and grenadine flavors that are complemented with a rich, mousse-like texture on the palate. The finish is soft and lingering.
Bottom Line:
If you’re not familiar with cava, this is a quality introduction that tastes richer than it actually costs.
Donald Trump’s acquittal at his second impeachment trial was enough to send politics to the forefront of Saturday Night Live‘s cold open in its latest episode. The sketch featured Republicans reacting to the Senate voting 57-43 to convict Trump, historic in some ways but not nearly enough to convict the former president on charges of inciting insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6.
The sketch is framed as a Tucker Carlson episode on Fox News, with Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell and other cast member impressions of Republicans staying at the center of attention.
‘And now everybody is saying he attempted a coup,” Kate McKinnon’s Graham says at one point. “He didn’t attempt a coup he is coup. He is coup. He’s the coolest guy I know.”
With no Trump on camera in the real world, he stayed off it on SNL as well. Instead, Ted Cruz appeared on Fox News and had to deal with a chyron that reminded the world he continues to defend someone who regularly insulted him on the campaign trail.
SNL on YouTube
Pete Davidson also appeared in the sketch to play Michael van der Veen, the Trump lawyer who mispronounced the city where he lives and later had an extremely awkward interview on the real Fox News later on Saturday. You can watch the full sketch above.
Kamaru Usman (18-1) TKO’d Gilbert Burns (19-4) in the main event of UFC 258 to retain the welterweight title Saturday night from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
Burns came out firing, dropping Usman with a big right hand and stinging him again with an overhand right. Burns ended up on his back, challenging Usman to meet him on the ground. Instead, the champ regained his composure and waited for Burns to get back on his feet. The challenger struck with precision early and often, chipping away with little jabs and trading strikes with the champ.
Usman continued to jab away to open the second, finding his range and putting together a handful of combinations. Midway through the second, Usman hurt Burns with a huge right hand, sending him stumbling against the cage. Usman stunned Burns again with a jab-right hand combo, but the challenger kept coming forward. With around a minute remaining in the round, Usman dropped Burns with the jab and allowed the challenger to get back on his feet to close the second.
Usman opened the third, switching southpaw and dropping Burns with a big jab before getting the stoppage for a huge TKO victory.
Usman has steamrolled the welterweight division since earning the title in 2019 in a dominant win over Tyron Woodley. After knocking out Colby Covington and taking a decision victory from Jorge Masvidal in 2020, Usman opened 2021 with his toughest challenge to date against Burns. Following the fight, Usman signaled that he would like a second bout with Masvidal.
Burns came into his title tilt on a three-fight win streak, dominating the former champ, Woodley to a five-round decision victory in May 2020. He was scheduled to fight Usman in July before testing positive for COVID-19, but after more than six months away from the Octagon made his much-anticipated return.
But not every interview Letterman did earns high praise, and we were reminded of that on Saturday when a cringe-worthy interview he did with Lindsay Lohan went viral on Twitter. The video seems to have been passed around in the wake of the Framing Britney Spears documentary on Hulu, which is making a lot of people reexamine the way young women have been treated in the media.
On Saturday, journalist Trey Taylor shared a two minute clip from a 2013 interview Lohan did on Late Night With David Letterman where the titular host pressed Lohan about a number of issues including her time in rehab, making jokes at her expense that were called “horrifying.”
This Lindsay Lohan interview on David Letterman in 2013 is horrifying to watch now. pic.twitter.com/lZxKVvbVB0
You can watch the full interview above, but many people on social media noted how uncomfortable Lohan looked and criticized Letterman’s flippant attitude toward rehab, addiction and sobriety. Letterman consistently went back to Lohan’s time in rehab, and that she was scheduled to head back to rehab shortly after her appearance on the show.
“What are they rehab-ing? What is on their list? What are they going to work on when you walk through the door?” Letterman asked at one point, drawing some laughs from the audience.
Neither Lohan or Letterman had commented on the clip resurfacing by Saturday night, and the video that was on Twitter was just a portion of the total interview, which you can watch in full above. But it’s a reminder of how many young female celebrities were treated in pop culture less than a decade ago, and how poorly much of that footage looks in hindsight.
When it comes to traditional Valentine’s Day gifts, there are few presents more expected than chocolate. Roses come in a close second. Whiskey probably isn’t in the top ten.
To help you have more fun this weekend than chocolates and flowers can provide, we asked a handful of bartenders to tell us the best whiskeys to give to your Valentine. Check their answers below!
Chivas Regal Mizunara Cask Blended Scotch
Chivas Regal
Pablo Guerrero, food and beverage manager at Azabu in Miami
Chivas Regal Mizunara Cask is the way to go. The special Japanese wood gives this whiskey depth, creamy and smooth texture. Great for a cold winter day for lovers.
Andy Printy, beverage director at Chao Baan in St. Louis
If you want to swap a box of chocolates for whiskey, Journeyman’s Last Feather Rye is the move. Distilled from the chocolate rye strain, this is unlike its more bright and spicy counterparts. It’s rich and woody on the nose, while the palate is dominated by cocoa nib and cherry.
The finish has some heat — perfect to send the right message to your Valentine on a special night.
Rabbit Hole’s Founder’s Collection Boxergrail is a great option with its high proof, enticing nuances, and rich texture. It is the perfect indulgence for all whiskey lovers this Valentine’s Day. The experience begins with citrus and spice heightened by bright floral notes and develops to a creamy, vanilla finish with a hint of nuttiness.
I recommend serving neat or over ice as this whiskey really sings on its own.
Charles Hardwick, former bartender at The Aviary in New York City
Aberlour 12 Year. It has great notes of dried fruit and heather, so delicate and complex and versatile. It’s a truly sexy whisky to share with that special someone.
Woodford Reserve Five Wood. This bottle is finished in sherry and port barrels giving the bourbon a rich taste of dark cherries, dry fruit, and caramel-coated nuts. It is a great gift for someone who wants the flavors of a box of chocolates.
Daniel Burns, bartender at Elixir in San Francisco
Bruichladdich Black Art 1994 Edition 07.1. It’s got the coolest packaging of any whisky I’ve ever seen. It’s also got the coolest story. Bruichladdich refuses to divulge exactly what goes into this blended malt each year, but you know it’s going to be old and delicious.
Much like true love, there is an element of mystery and much to discover. Year after year Black Art surprises and impresses us, and if you wanted to send a message on Valentine’s Day, I’d suppose you couldn’t do any better than that.
Chris Zulueta, bartender at Sylvain in New Orleans
I’d go with Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit. It’s a single barrel selection carefully watched under the longest-tenured master distiller (Jimmy Russel) at over 60 years. It has such great depth of those sweet nutty warm esters. It is also such an easy spirit to drink neat even at a 100+ proof, a true testament to his tenure.
Israel Meléndez Ayala, bartender in San Juan, Puerto Rico
The perfect gift for Valentine’s Day would be Knob Creek Stright Rye with vanilla and nuances in the nose perfect for a hot toddy if it’s cold. In warm weather, as in Puerto Rico, it goes well in a lion’s tail cocktail that matches well with the allspice dram liquor.
Aaron Polsky, former bartender at Harvard & Stone in Los Angeles
Westward Oregon Stout Cask—the notes that the stout cask layers over the single malt really give it some dark chocolate overtones — just like your Valentine might be expecting — and it’s a very gift-worthy bottle.
Isaac Rice, lead bartender at Urban Farmer in Philadelphia
If your love loves whiskey, go for WhistlePig 12 Year Old World Rye. It’s dessert in a glass. They take their signature rye whiskey and finish it in in port, Sauternes, and Madeira casks separately and blend them together to create an extremely unique flavor profile. It’s very rich with dark fruit from the port, butterscotch and honey from the Sauternes, and roasted nuts and toffee from the Madeira, all interwoven in a spicy rye.
Gabriel Benavides, bartender at Bar Abi Maria in Miami
Slane is such an amazing Irish Whiskey to give. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, it leads me to enjoy Slane with chocolate due to the vanilla and butterscotch notes from the three cask styles used in the whiskey. Slane pairs so well with chocolate which is why I’d give your Valentine a bottle of Slane instead of chocolate this year.
Benjamin Pozar, bartender at Fogo de Chao in Philadelphia
My love likes bourbon. Angel’s Envy would be a go-to for us. It’s finished in port wine casks to give it a unique, sweet, caramel flavor. It’s a worthy alternative to chocolate.
A new football league kicked off its season on Saturday evening. Fan Controlled Football, a league that is exactly what it sounds like, began what will be a three-week regular season in a bubble in Georgia. The league has created some buzz due to the names involved — Richard Sherman, Quavo, and Mike Tyson are among its owners, Johnny Manziel is one of the players — and in a surprise move prior to his team’s first game, Marshawn Lynch took the field to play.
Lynch is one of the owners of Beasts alongside Tyson, professional wrestler Miro, and WNBA star Renee Montgomery. He turned some heads with his commentary during the first game — Wild Aces beat Glacier Boyz, 33-20 — which could only be described as “hilariously Marshawn.” Well, it’s also a little NSFW, but that’s neither here nor there.
After the game, Uproxx Sports learned, Lynch went into the locker room and threw on his pads, suiting up for a football game for the first time since the 2019-20 NFL season in which he played for the Seattle Seahawks.
The broadcast team later announced he wouldn’t play, but with Marshawn, you never really know for sure.
Lynch has floated a potential return to the NFL, but before that, he has some business to take care of in the FCF. If you’re interested in watching, you can head on over to the league’s Twitch account.
Donald Trump didn’t get convicted on his impeachment charges for a second time on Saturday, this time after a hectic day where Democrats hurriedly decided not to call witnesses to testify in his Senate trial. The resulting vote, 57-43, to convict him wasn’t enough for the measure to pass. That decision will have political fallout for generations to come, but Fox News isn’t exactly staying “fair and balanced” in the aftermath of the vote.
On Saturday afternoon, the right-wing news organization sent out a tweet about the impeachment trial that shared an article about who “turned their backs on Trump” during the trial. As in, who they voted to convict Trump for inciting insurrection on January 6.
Twitter
The tweet was eventually deleted, but it was also sent out in a push notification that got a lot of people talking.
And others made sure to get a screenshot because it was particularly inflammatory considering the rhetoric that led Republicans and Trump to having supporters storm the US Capitol in a deadly riot.
It should be said that the same news could be shared in a much less inflammatory manner. The New York Times, for example, has a similar post titled “Here are the seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump.” But the phrase “turned their backs” on Trump certainly made waves on Saturday. And when the network resent out that tweet, it was much more innocuously written.
Deshaun Watson’s got a lot going on right now. The All-Pro signal caller wants out of Houston, as things have gotten pretty weird with the Texans due to the fact that they’ve hit near-rock bottom over the last year. Their struggles on the field and their turmoil off of it — including a coaching search that reportedly rubbed Watson the wrong way — have all come to a head, and now, Watson wants to join J.J. Watt in moving on from the organization. Houston, meanwhile, has made it pretty clear it wants to keep Watson around, which isn’t a shock, because he is quite good.
Like most athletes, though, Watson has other things to do away from the daily grind that is playing his sport. For example, on Saturday, he met up with legendary music producer Timbaland for lunch, where the pair were joined by Watson’s most recent purchase: A 1994 Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson rookie card from back in his football days.
The card recently sold at auction for just a hair more than $45,000.
Of course, if someone wanted to really read way too far into this, they would probably mention something about how the Miami Dolphins have long been rumored as a potential landing spot for Watson, and Johnson both is from and went to Miami. Or they could just say “oh cool Deshaun and Timbaland got lunch and Deshaun brought a cool card,” which is probably much closer to the truth.
Alaina Castillo has come a long way since her moody, Latin-influenced pop turned her into a rising pop star to watch. After last year’s Voicenotes EP, Castillo had plans to ready her debut album, but with the impact of the pandemic on the music industry, she had to put some of those plans on hold. Luckily, like a lot of other young artists, Castillo is ready to head into 2021 with guns blazing, and her cocky new single “STFU (I Got U)” does just that. While her earlier material was quieter and sometimes reminiscent of church music and hymns, this swaggering new track represents stepping into a new era for Alaina.
“I’ve always been that quiet person that thought it was better to be silent than to put myself out there so “STFU (I Got U)” is the confidence of who i was always too shy to be,” she said of this new single. The song is anything but shy, with Castillo chiding a lover who is insecure about her feelings for them. It’s a more adult sound for the 20-year-old Texan singer, and a track that gets at the complicated push and pull of confidence and self-doubt that comes with new relationships. Check out the video above and look for a lot more new music from Castillo throughout this year.
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