Month: April 2021

Zachary Levi’s antagonists in the next Shazam! movie are certainly set to be formidable foes. The DC superhero will reportedly face off against a pair of mythological sisters in Shazam: Fury Of The Gods, with two delightfully sinister choices for the main villains in the sequel to the 2019 hit.

According to Variety, Lucy Liu has landed a role in the Shazam! sequel alongside Helen Mirren, as the two will team up to take down Levi.

The “Elementary” and “Why Women Kill” star has joined the DC Comics adaptation “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” as the villain Kalypso, the sister of Helen Mirren’s villainous character Hespera.

Along with Liu and Mirren, the core filmmaking team from 2019’s “Shazam!” is returning for the sequel, including Zachary Levi as the eponymous superhero Shazam!, and Asher Angel as his teenage alter ego Billy Batson. David F. Sandberg is returning to direct the film, from a screenplay by Henry Gayden. Peter Safran is producing with his shingle the Safran Company.

As Variety noted, Liu’s character doesn’t really have much to do with the DC Comics universe. Instead, she’s derived more directly from the Greek gods that Shazam bases his powers on. That would give the movie a bit more wiggle room to make the baddie what they want it to be, of course, while also getting people who earned a Classics minor in college something to look forward to.

As word broke on Monday, Shazam: Fury Of The Gods director David Sandberg shared a photoshop of Liu’s Kill Bill character holding the severed head of Levi.

That’s about as official as it gets for casting confirmations, honestly.

[via Variety]

Welcome to our weekly streetwear roundup! President Joe Biden — weird way to start an article about streetwear, we know, but just bear with us for a second — announced a few weeks back that by mid-April every adult in the U.S. would be eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine and it looks like we’re on track for that. Which means we will actually have a summer this year. We’re psyched for the parties and to see all of our friends again, but if we’re going to be re-entering public life, we better be coming out of quarantine dressed to impress.

We spent way too much time last year not being seen! This year, let’s make up for it in a big way.

Luckily, the big apparel brands are now comfortably unloading their spring and summer 2021 collections, so we’ve got options on the table. This week, we’ve got new looks from Supreme, Nike, and Cactus Plant Flea Market, Melody Ehsani, Levi’s, and Daniëlle Cathari. After diving into this week’s apparel, be sure to hit up our weekly sneaker article to complete your fit.

Supreme Spring/Summer 2021 Clayton Patterson Collection

The latest notable collection out of this week’s Supreme Spring/Summer drop is this collaboration with NYC artist Clayton Patterson, aka the father of streetwear embroidery. Patterson made a name for himself in the late ‘80s streetwear scene thanks to his Clayton Caps, which used traditional embroidery techniques to customize baseball caps.

This collaboration with Supreme includes, unsurprisingly, embroidered caps, as well as tops, bottoms, bomber jackets, and long sleeves, all decked out with unique embroidered designs, which extends into Supreme’s minimal branding.

The Supreme Spring/Summer 2021 Clayton Patterson collection is out now. Shop the full collection at the Supreme webstore.

Daniëlle Cathari A Summer State of Mind Collection

Amsterdam streetwear label Daniëlle Cathari has just dropped a spring and summer collection at online retailer HBX that features casual warm-weather staples like loose cardigans, shorts, and activewear. A Summer State of Mind works off a color palette centered around purples, reds, and blue, with light and loose silhouettes that will fit along nicely in your late spring wardrobe. Rounding out the collection is a selection of bags as well as the label’s first bikini, ensuring you’re all geared up for our rapidly approaching summer.

The Daniëlle Cathari A Summer State Of Mind collection is set to drop on April 9th exclusively at HBX.

Levi’s x Disney x Keith Haring Mickey Mouse Collection

We’re not one for beating the drum for Disney’s dabbling in the streetwear space, but this triple brand collaboration between Levi’s, Disney, and Keith Haring is actually pretty damn fresh. Disney’s involvement is more of a technicality here, and that’s a good thing. The collection utilizes Haring’s take on Mickey Mouse, which is a lot more angular and rat-like than the way Disney depicts the famous mouse.

Haring’s art is featured on jackets, hoodies, t-shirts, and jeans, and the collection even allows some light customer customization. Those shopping the collection via Levi’s Tailor Shop will be able to choose one of Haring’s designs and rearrange the location and size of the printing on Levi’s Classic Trucker Jacket, letting your Haring-infused look be as subtle or loud as you want them to be.

Levi’s didn’t need to go the extra mile and make this collaboration this fun, but they did and we appreciate that, especially because generally Levi’s is a tad boring. (Sorry, Levi’s.)

The Levi’s x Disney x Keith Haring Mickey Mouse collection is available now at the Levi’s webstore.

Cactus Plant Flea Market x Nike Go Flea Collection

Cynthia Lu’s Cactus Plant Flea Market and Nike have just dropped a small six-piece capsule collection consisting of some wild reimaginings of a few of Nike’s sportswear staples. The collection features long sleeve polo shirts, hoodies, shorts, reflective rave pants, and jerseys in Cactus Plant Flea Market’s loud graphic-heavy aesthetic, with boxier modern silhouettes, and playful interpretations of Nike’s famous iconography and branding.

The Cactus Plant Flea Market x Nike Go Flea collection is out now with a retail range of $100-$400. Shop the collection via the Nike SNKRS app.

Patta x Tommy Hilfiger

Taking inspiration from the Pan-African flag, this collaboration between streetwear label Patta and Tommy Hilfiger sees the Amsterdam-based label remixing Tommy Hilfiger’s classic flag iconography across a collection of streetwear staples like hoodies, t-shirts, sweats, jeans, and accessories. The collection consists of unisex silhouettes with boxy loose fitting cuts that utilize some of Tommy Hilfiger’s more racing-centric designs, which explains all the flags and workwear-inspired logos.

It’s a dope remixed collection from Patta, who have been consistently killing it. The Patta x Tommy Hilfiger collection is set to drop on April 9th, shoe the collection at the Patta webstore.

Melody Ehsani Casanova Set

Los Angeles-based label Melody Ehsani (from the designer of the same name) just keeps dropping fire this season, and this elegant Casanova set is the label’s best yet. Featuring embroidered floral graphics throughout this spring-friendly matching vest and trouser set, the Casanova was inspired by power suits and “red carpet rule-breakers.” The Melody Ehsani shop Instagram has a cool post that outlines the direct inspirations behind the look, which include vintage Julia Roberts, AOC, and the suffragettes. The vest is fully lined and the pants feature straight-leg construction, but the whole thing is 100% polyester, so this is definitely a mid-to-late spring look and not fit for the hottest days of summer.

…Unless you like sweating all over yourself.

The Melody Ehsani Casanova set is available now at the Melody Ehsani webstore.

Pray, Obey, Kill (HBO, 9:00 & 10:00pm) — Tonight will see a double-dose installment of a five-part documentary series from investigative journalists Anton Berg and Martin Johnson in a project directed by The Bridge‘s Henrik Georgsson. Follow along while Berg and Johnson retrace what happened on a frigid night when a small Swedish village saw a woman murdered and a neighbor shot before a nanny confessed to the acts of violence while citing a strange motivation. This led to a scandalous tale of a love triangle and a link to a prior suspicious death. Yet is the whole mess tied to the local tight-knit Pentecostal congregation and its charismatic leader, who referred to herself as “The Bride of Christ”? Get ready for an unpredictable true-crime ride.

Running Wild With Bear Grylls (Nat Geo, 9:00pm) — Bear Grylls is still doing his daredevil-in-nature thing, and this week’s he’s with Danica Patrick in the Moab Desert.

Black Lightning (CW, 9:00pm) — Painkiller is on the scene, and he’s a super-enhanced killing machine that’s actually Khalil Payne, who’s a guilt-ridden young man who’s troubled over the past.

Debris (NBC, 10:00pm) — Maddox is onto Anson’s secrets while Bryan and Finola head to Maine to follow a lead, but they walk into a volatile situation.

Breeders (FX, 10:00pm) — Martin Freeman’s starring turn in this comedy enters the sophomore season with new parenting challenges. This week, Ally receives new information while mulling over her pregnancy, and Ava’s attempting to help her mom.

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Snopp Dogg, H.E.R

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — John Boehner, Shelley FKA DRAM

The Late Late Show With James Corden — Rainn Wilson, Tom Odell

Late Night With Seth Meyers — John Oliver, Chloé Zhao

In case you missed these picks from the weekend:

The Nevers (HBO series streaming on HBO Max) — This Joss Whedon-created show offers an intriguing setup about a group of “orphans” (almost exclusively women) who find themselves “gifted” with supernaturally-powered abilities. Although there’s far too many plot lines (and some plot holes), there’s also a fair amount of butt-kicking, and the atmosphere is killer. The embattled Buffy and Firefly creator officially exited the series last year, but you won’t be able to forget his presence. Whether that hurts or helps the show remains to be seen.

Them (Amazon Prime limited series) — This story’s sure to remind horror fans of Jordan Peele’s Us in more ways than a few, and for good reason. This show promises to explore American-bred terror with an anthologized approach, so the first season is all about the 1950s. Allison Pill’s reliably frightening, and here, she’s terrorizing a Black family, who moves into an all-white LA neighborhood and the welcome committee isn’t there for them, that’s for sure. Soon enough, the horror show begins; and both from a reality-based and a supernatural standpoint, this is pure nightmare fuel.

Weronika Jachimowicz, 17, is getting a lot of attention for subverting people’s expectations of who excels in high school. And that’s exactly what she wants.

Jachimowicz was named New York’s Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free School District’s 2021 salutatorian. Her yearbook photo next to valedictorian Luke Altman is going viral because of her dramatic Goth makeup and attire.

It all started when assistant professor and writer Dr. Jules Lipoff tweeted out a photo of the valedictorian and salutatorian he saw in a newspaper and it went viral. How many salutatorians have you seen that wear pentagram hoop earrings, a choker, and black devil horns?

The juxtaposition of her next to the bowtie-wearing Altman, makes the photo even more amusing.

Jachimowicz wants the world to know that just because a high school kid looks like an outsider, doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in academics or sports.

In fact, it’s completely normal for kids who are interested in the Goth subculture to be good students.

“The scene has quiet middle-class values — education, highbrow culture, theatre, museums, romantic literature, poetry, philosophy, Gothic architecture,” Dr. Dunja Bril, who studies Goth culture in England, told The Independent.

“Many Goths like classical music. It’s a status symbol to have a good collection of classical pieces — mostly requiems and darker pieces,” she added.

“Going to do a university degree is encouraged,” Bril continued. “It doesn’t encourage people to drop out of school. Whereas in the Punk scene you turn down the normal educational values, in Goth you gain status if you’re perceived as being educated. You get people who are in it for the shock value, but they are usually the ones who grow out of it.”

Since her photo went viral, Jachimowicz has received countless messages of thanks from young people who say she’s inspired them to express themselves.

“In all honesty, that’s all I wanted. I wanted to help anyone I could who is struggling with expressing themselves because I’ve been in the exact same position,” Jachimowicz told Yahoo. “When people message me telling me how I have given them the confidence to be who they truly are, I almost cry from happiness.”

Jachimowicz says that she was able to be herself because she was encouraged by others, so this is her chance to pay it forward.

“I was always trying to please others and be like what everyone else wanted me to be, or at least try to fit into what was ‘normal.’ However, I did slowly start to realize that it’s OK to be different,” she said.

“I’ve met people in my life who gave me the confidence to fully be myself,” she added.

In addition to having an unweighted GPA of 97.27%, Jachimowicz was on the fencing, ping pong, and winter track teams. She was also a member of the National Honor Society, Students Against Drunk Driving, and the Unity Club.

She plans to major in biology/forensics in college.

Jachimowicz’s accomplishments are another reason to never judge someone for how they look or their interests. Just because someone is wearing satanic earrings doesn’t mean they aren’t highly intelligent or athletic.

She believes the most important thing is to be yourself, regardless of what anyone else thinks.

“Even if others don’t really like my style, it’s what makes me happy and I’ve worked hard to finally come to that conclusion,” she said.

In all sports, competition can get fierce, especially at the professional level. But two young baseball fans showed us this weekend that sports are really all about fun and connection first with a beautiful show of sportsmanship, kindness, and gratitude.

It happened at a game between division rivals, the Philadephia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves, at Truist Park in Atlanta Saturday night. Joshua, a young Phillies fan, happened to be sitting near the spot where Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman landed a home run in the top of the ninth. Joshua didn’t quite manage to catch the ball in his glove, and it fell down into the bullpen. When someone grabbed it and tossed it up to him, he missed that catch, too—twice. Cameras caught him and his dad in a funny exchange, as Joshua got some light, good-natured ribbing from his old man.

But that wasn’t the moment that really caught people’s attention. Instead of keeping the home run ball for himself, Joshua took it over to a young Braves fan who was wearing a Freeman jersey and gave it to him. After excitedly showing the prized ball to his dad, the boy went over to thank Joshua and his dad.

Watch:

The whole exchange was just so wholesome, encapsulating how sports can—and should—bring people together. Even though they were rooting for opposite teams, the mutual respect and sportsmanship shown by these two boys is a lesson for all of us.

People loved seeing all of this play out on film, including the Phillies and Braves themselves. In fact, Freddie Freeman surprised Johsua before the following night’s game by personally giving him a baseball signed by him and Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper.

Both teams shared their admiration for Joshua’s generosity on social media.

Many commenters remarked that Joshua’s father is clearly raising his son right, as is the dad of the kid who came over to say think you. Joshua’s dad, James Scott, said that the action of his son was in “the DNA” of the family—to “pay it forward in love,” as he wrote on Twitter. He referred to the exchange as “a great moment of humanity.”

When we are immersed daily in stories of division, and as humanity works through the very real issues of all kinds that we have to fix to get past those divisions, it’s wonderful to be reminded of the beautiful ways people can touch one another’s lives in ways big and small. In this case, a mutual love of baseball, despite the on-field rivalry of the two teams, and the basic act of a kid brightening a stranger’s day reassure us that the ills of society are not all that we are.

It’s so easy to focus on the negative news, and it’s so easy to get bogged down by the vast amount of work to be done to help us get to a place of true unity, equality, and justice. Seeing these small moments, these seemingly minor gestures, these glimpses of human connection help sustain us through that work.

It may have been a simple act, but the impact of it is profound. Thanks to these gentlemen for filling our hearts for a moment and reminding us what the best of us look like.

Unlike fellow Oscar nominees Nomadland and Mank, Promising Young Woman is not available on one of the major streaming services like Netflix or Hulu. It is accessible through on-demand for a worthwhile six bucks, but if you’re a broke college student (which is to say, every college student), there’s a way to see it for free.

Focus Features has partnered with the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN) for a free virtual screening of Promising Young Woman for anyone in college. The dark-comedy thriller is about a woman, played by Carey Mulligan, seeking out vengeance on the “nice guys” of the world after her best friend is raped. “By bringing the film to students, both Focus and RAINN hope to continue the conversation against sexual assault and violence on college campuses,” Variety reports. “Statistically, 13 percent of all students experience sexual assault or rape during their time at school.”

“Sexual violence can affect not only the survivor, but the people and communities around them,” said Heather Drevna, RAINN’s vice president of communications. “Promising Young Woman has sparked important conversations about the cultural response to sexual assault, healing, justice, and bystander accountability. We thank Focus Features for making Promising Young Woman available to college students, who are at increased risk of sexual violence, to continue this critical dialogue.”

Promising Young Woman is nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Emerald Fennell, and Best Actress for Mulligan. For information on how to attend the screening, head here.

(Via Variety)

A lot of people hate Ted Cruz but former Speaker of the House John Boehner has taken to the streets to prove he’s still the most anti-Cruz Republican out here right now.

Okay fine, he’s not actually out in the streets shouting his contempt for the Texas senator, but he has been not holding back of late, today gracing The View to compare our shared national embarrassment to Beelzebub himself. Boehner appeared on the show Monday morning to promote his new tell-all and talk quickly turned to the quagmire on Capitol Hill. After being questioned about the right-wing radicals taking over the Republican party and whether Boehner would’ve given Congressman Matt Gaetz the boot after news broke of his sex trafficking investigation, Cruz eventually came up and, let’s just say John Boehner is still not a fan of the man.

After co-host, Sara Haines noted how Boehner called Cruz a “reckless bleep who thinks he is smarter than everyone else,” the former lawmaker revealed his real feelings towards one of the most disliked members of his party.

“This guy was not even a member of the U.S. House,” Boehner told the hosts during the virtual interview. “He’s a member of the Senate. He’s coming over to the House side of the Capitol stirring up some of my knuckleheads and pushing them to do things that were the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. He was not even a member of our caucus. You know, I don’t really beat up too many people in this book, except one: Ted Cruz, Lucifer in the flesh.”

Ted Cruz doing dumb stuff and sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong? You don’t say?

Over the past year, lists of tour dates that hadn’t been canceled have seemed like relics. Live shows are slowly starting to come back, though, and now, Arlo Parks (who is fresh off a Late Late Show performance) has announced a string of North American concerts for this fall. This will be her first North American tour.

Sharing the list of dates, Parks wrote, “I’m coming to North America!!! This has been a little dream of mine for a while now and I’m so excited to hop the pond and share space with you all in a real way.”

Find Parks’ upcoming tour dates below.

09/21 — Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
09/22 — Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg
09/25 — Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
09/26 — Montreal, QC @ Le Petit Campus
09/28 — Toronto, ON @ Mod Club Theatre
09/29 — Detroit, MI @ El Club
10/01 — Columbus, OH @ The Basement
10/02 — Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
10/03 — Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
10/05 — Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
10/06 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
10/08 — Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
10/09 — Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore Cabaret
10/10 — Seattle, WA @ The Croc’s Second Stage
10/12 — San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
10/14 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Moroccan Lounge
10/15 — Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
10/16 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
10/18 — Austin, TX @ The Parish
10/19 — Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
10/20 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
10/24 — Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
10/26 — Washington, DC @ Union Stage
10/27 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry at The Fillmore Philadelphia

On Sunday, 20-year-old Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota during a traffic stop, sparking further protests and demonstrations in Minnesota as the latest instance of a Black man being killed by police took place not far from where Derek Chauvin is on trial for killing George Floyd last summer.

The Brooklyn Center police chief claimed on Monday that the officer who shot Wright accidentally fired her handgun when she meant to shoot her taser, but that is at best negligence and doesn’t change the fact that Wright was shot and killed, whether it was purposeful or accidental. Shortly after the press conference from the Brooklyn Center police chief, the Minnesota Twins released a statement announcing they were postponing their game on Monday night against the Red Sox at Target Field “out of respect for the tragic events” and offered their sympathies to Wright’s family.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were likewise scheduled to play on Monday night, with the Brooklyn Nets coming into town, and had the same conversations about postponing with the NBA. On Monday afternoon, the word emerged that they would indeed be postponing the game, with the league and Timberwolves each releasing statements.

The likely replacement date would be Tuesday due to the NBA’s current schedule crunch, pushing the game back one day.

Karl-Anthony Towns and many others on the Timberwolves were among the most prominent voices calling for reform and justice following the police killing of George Floyd. The killing of Wright further illustrated the continued need for changes in policing, particularly when it comes to how often officers look to using force and weapons (including a taser) as a first option.

As of this post, Usher is the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter in the US, but not for a good reason: He stands accused of giving a stripper fake dollar bills with his face on them (as opposed to real money).

A Las Vegas-based dancer who performs under the name Pisces shared an image of three distinct Usher-themed dollar bills, in denominations of $1, $20, and $100. The bills promote Usher: The Vegas Experience, his upcoming residency that is set to launch in July, and were clearly designed to look like real money. Pisces asked a question on her Instagram Story, writing, “Ladies what would you do if you danced all night for usher and he threw this??” She added in another post (a screenshot from her private personal account), “& the money does not have a trade in value what so ever! Lmao don’t y’all think he should be blasted on social media for this sh*t?”

A friend of Pisces shared Pisces’ personal page posts and added, “My GF posted this !!! I’ve never seen this level of f*ckery!!!! exactly why we stay away from celebs most of the time they suck!!!!!!!! cheap asf. So disrespectful, this is foul! Working so hard to get nothing in return! This is a joke!! Their job is to entertain, take your cheap ass back home!!!!!”

Usher has offered what may be a response to the controversy (or at least shared a post that seems relevant to the situation): Last night, he shared a photo of himself wearing a bucket hat made of actual $1 bills.

Usher has indeed been getting “blasted on social media,” as Pisces attested he should. Check out some Twitter reactions to Usher’s alleged antics below, along with screenshots of the posts from Pisces and her friend.