Month: October 2021

Each week our staff of film and TV experts surveys the entertainment landscape to select the ten best new/newish movies available for you to stream at home. We put a lot of thought into our selections, and our debates on what to include and what not to include can sometimes get a little heated and feelings may get hurt, but so be it, this is an important service for you, our readers. With that said, here are our selections for this week.

10. (tie) Cinderella (Amazon Prime)

It is time, apparently, once again, time for a new take on Cinderella, the classic story of a girl and her evil family and how magic and some rodents make her a star. This time around, we have Camilia Cabello in the lead role and Billy Porter as her fairy godparent and Idina Menzel as the evil stepmother and, look at that, Pierce Brosnan as the king. The whole thing basically puts a series of small twists on a story you’ve seen a few dozen times, but sometimes that’s okay. The cast is strong enough to make it all worth a shot. Watch it on Amazon.

10. (tie) Diana: The Musical (Netflix)

Here’s your reminder that yes, a musical based on Princess Diana’s life does, in fact, exist. And yes, there’s a song in it titled “Here Comes James Hewitt.” Filmed in an empty theater with the original Broadway cast before its official run kicks off, this show has it all: mechanical bulls, Spanish-language ballads, that fantasy trope where Diana crowd surfs during a cellist concert. The story’s not revelatory, and we can’t say it’s the best Diana re-telling we’ve ever seen, but it is the most … musical. Watch it on Netflix.

9. Cry Macho (HBO Max)

Clint Eastwood is back as an actor and director in Cry Macho. A movie with a razor-thin plot, where nothing much at all happens, but is still strangely enjoyable. There’s something irresistibly pleasant about the whole thing – which is just an excuse for Clint to star in a movie that could loosely be described as an “action” role. (Though, Clint does make sure he gets to throw a punch. With the assistance of a rooster named Macho.) Watch it on HBO Max.

8. The Guilty (Netflix)

Based on the Oscar-nominated short film of the same name, The Guilty is a single-location thriller shot during the pandemic that stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a disgraced cop who’s been demoted from patrolling the streets to answering 911 calls. Riley Keough, Paul Dano, Bill Burr, and Ethan Hawke lend their voices, but this is Gyllenhaal’s film; he fills nearly every frame of the 90-minute runtime. It’s his best showcase as an actor since Nightcrawler. Watch it on Netflix.

7. The Voyeurs (Amazon Prime)

What we have here is an old-school erotic thriller — think Basic Instinct or Fatal Attraction — with White Lotus star Sydney Sweeney as one half of a curious couple who spends a not-insignificant amount of time spying on their exhibitionist-type neighbors. Things get weird and twisted and steamy, as they do in these kinds of movies, which were super popular in the 1980s and 1990s and have since just about disappeared. Might be worth it to give it a try, but think about closing your own blinds first. Watch it on Amazon Prime.

6. Black Widow (Disney+)

Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff finally gets a proper send-off in this actioner that aims to go back-to-basics but succeeds more on a personal level. The film fills in plenty of blanks following the events of Captain America: Civil War, but more importantly, we receive butt-kicking ladies in well-choreographed fight scenes and an emotionally resonant story that introduces us to the inner Natasha, as witnessed by Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova. She’s perhaps the only person in the world who’s allowed to tease Natasha, and their dynamic (and the chemistry between Scarlett and Florence) rules. The film also allows David Harbour to perform grunt-filled face work with a wild accent while the ladies swirl around him in hand-to-hand combat. It’s a winner. And it’s now available to subscribers with no extra fee. Watch it on Disney+.

5. The Velvet Underground (Apple TV+)

The Velvet Underground is one of the most influential bands of all-time. But unlike other iconic 1960s groups like, say, the Beatles, there’s not a ton of footage of Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Moe Tucker performing. To get around this, director Todd Haynes has made a documentary that captures the “idea” of the VU rather than a Wikipedia summary. Don’t walk, but “run run run” to watch The Velvet Underground! Watch it on Apple TV+.

4. Malignant (HBO Max)

James Wan, he of the Saw and Insidious and Conjuring movies, is back with a new horror film. This one focuses on a woman who has terrifying visions of brutal murders, which are ruining her life a little (as terrifying visions of brutal murders will do) and are also –surprise — actually happening in the real world (which is bad). None of it sounds like a good time for her. For you, though? Maybe. Watch it on Netflix.

3. Muppets Haunted Mansion (Disney+)

Good news: The Muppets are back. Everyone’s favorite collection of fuzzy rascals take to Disney+ with a new spooky Halloween story about a haunted mansion. The Haunted Mansion, if we’re being technical. It might be a nice opportunity to fall down a Muppet rabbit hole again. There’s never a bad time to watch The Great Muppet Caper, after all. Watch it on Disney+.

2. The Many Saints of Newark (HBO Max)

The Sopranos are back. Kind of. The Sopranos are kind of back. Series creator David Chase’s long-rumored, long-awaited prequel movie about New Jersey’s most famous fictional crime family is finally here. What do we got? Well, for one, we’ve got Michael Gandolfini filling the role of a Tony Soprano and playing a younger version of the character his father made famous. We’ve also got a bunch more Moltisantis and 1960-70s fashion all against the backdrop of the 1967 riots in Newark. There’s a lot going here. You’ll probably want to check it out, if only to bask in a little nostalgia for a while. Watch it on HBO Max

1. Halloween Kills (Peacock)

Halloween Kills is a direct sequel to 2018’s Halloween, which was a sequel to 1978’s Halloween that ignored all the previous sequels in the franchise. It’s confusing, but really, all you need to know is that it’s a Halloween movie with Jamie Lee Curtis, “The Shape,” and an eerie score from John Carpenter. ’Tis the season (to watch horror movies). Watch it on Peacock

In 2019, Coldplay revealed they wouldn’t be touring in support of Everyday Life for environmental reasons, with Chris Martin saying, “We’re taking time over the next year or two, to work out how our tour can not only be sustainable [but] how can it be actively beneficial. All of us have to work out the best way of doing our job. Our next tour will be the best possible version of a tour like that environmentally.”

Well, it appears the band has made progress on that front, as they feel good enough about the state of things to tour in support of their new album, Music Of The Spheres: Coldplay announced a global trek for 2022, with support from HER and London Grammar, and say it will be “as sustainable as possible.”

The band said in a statement:

“Playing live and finding connection with people is ultimately why we exist as a band. We’ve been planning this tour for years, and we’re super excited to play songs from across our whole time together.

At the same time, we’re very conscious that the planet is facing a climate crisis. So we’ve spent the last two years consulting with environmental experts to make this tour as sustainable as possible, and, just as importantly, to harness the tour’s potential to push things forward. We won’t get everything right, but we’re committed to doing everything we can and sharing what we learn. It’s a work in progress and we’re really grateful for the help we’ve had so far.

If you’d like to come to a show and sing with us, we’re so excited to see you.”

Check out the full list of tour dates below.

03/18/2022 — San Jose, CR @ Estadio Nacional #
03/22/2022 — Santo Domingo, DR @ Estadio Olímpico #
03/25/2022 — Monterrey, MX @ Estadio BBVA *
03/29/2022 — Guadalajara, MX @ Estadio Akron *
04/03/2022 — Mexico City, MX @ Foro Sol *
04/23/2022 — Santa Clara, CA @ Levi’s Stadium *
04/26/2022 — Los Angeles, CA @ SoFi Stadium *
05/03/2022 — Phoenix, AZ @ State Farm Stadium *
05/06/2022 — Dallas, TX @ Cotton Bowl Stadium *
05/08/2022 — Houston, TX @ NRG Stadium *
05/28/2022 — Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field *
06/01/2022 — Washington, DC @ FedExField *
06/04/2022 — East Rutherford, NJ @ Metlife Stadium *
06/08/2022 — Philadelphia, PA @ Lincoln Financial Field *
06/11/2022 — Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium *
06/14/2022 — Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium *
07/02/2022 — Frankfurt, DE @ Deutsche Bank Park *
07/03/2022 — Frankfurt, DE @ Deutsche Bank Park *
07/08/2022 — Warsaw, PL @ PGE Narodowy *
07/10/2022 — Berlin, DE @ Olympiastadion Berlin ^
07/12/2022 — Berlin, DE @ Olympiastadion Berlin *
07/16/2022 — Paris, FR @ Stade de France *
07/17/2022 — Paris, FR @ Stade de France *
08/05/2022 — Brussels, BE @ King Baudouin Stadium *
08/06/2022 — Brussels, BE @ King Baudouin Stadium *
08/12/2022 — London, UK @ Wembley Stadium *
08/13/2022 — London, UK @ Wembley Stadium *
08/16/2022 — London, UK @ Wembley Stadium ^
08/23/2022 — Glasgow, UK @ Hampden Park Stadium *
09/10/2022 — Rio De Janeiro, BR @ Rock In Rio Festival

# with TBA
* with HER
^ with London Grammar

Coldplay is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Now that it’s October we’re getting some of the best events of the year. Halloween season always brings out the best with pumpkin, cooler weather, and spooky stuff everywhere. Video games are no different with many long-running games offering limited-time Halloween events to celebrate the upcoming holiday. Rocket League is always a fun one because it usually means some cool cars that have designs not available at any other time of the year.

This year, Rocket League will be crossing over with Batman to create an awesome series of cars all related to the series. Multiple versions of the Batmobile are of course available, but players will also have the ability to use cars inspired by the Joker, Harley Quinn, and many other Batman villains. Accessories such as wheels can also be customized to be Batman themed as well.

With Rocket League being such a long-running game it’s cool that the developers are always seeking out new ways to keep fans interested in what’s coming. At the end of the day it’s a game about cars with boosters playing soccer. That simple concept has kept fans addicted for years, but giving new unlockables is always a great way to bring people back in who haven’t played in awhile.

The event goes live October 14 and ends on November 1 so use that time to unlock as much as possible and play all the special challenges that come with it such as:

New Event Challenges – Players will complete Haunted Hallows Event Challenges to unlock Batman Super-Villain themed items such as the Joker Dominus Decal and Boost, Gotham’s Finest Merc Decal, Harley Quinn Wheels and Topper, Poison Ivy Boost, and more.

Gotham City Rumble LTM – Rumble mode is being transformed and power-ups are now themed after Batman and his enemies. Players can use Joker’s Boxing Glove, Harley’s Hammer instead of the Boot, Poison Ivy’s vines instead of the Grappling Hook, and more.

Beckwith Park (Gotham Night) Arena Variant – This new limited-time Arena has been transformed by the Super-Villains of Gotham City.

Earlier this year, Spotify announced a collaboration with the iconic New York Studio, Electric Lady. The streaming service has teamed up with the legendary recording space to share a series of Live At Electric Lady EPs from various artists, and today they’re sharing the details on the latest project. Faye Webster is releasing her own seven-track Live At Electric Lady EP, and aside from including new versions of her own songs like “In A Good Way” and “Better Distractions” off her I Know I’m Funny haha album, Webster also opted to do a pretty epic cover. She chose to cover Fleet Foxes’ “If You Need To, Keep Time on Me,” partially because it which was originally recorded at Electric Lady back in 2017 for the band’s Crack-Up album.

As far as the recording experience, Faye said it was incredibly special for her to bring in friends who’ve been with her from the beginning. “Recording at Electric Lady Studios was a rare experience, especially because I was able to bring musicians who have been with me since my early days in Athens and Atlanta,” she said in a press release. “It was special, and I’m still processing it.”

Check out her Fleet Foxes cover below, along with a full tracklist for her new EP.

Faye Webster, Live At Electric Lady EP:
1. “In A Good Way”
2. “I Know I’m Funny haha”
3. “Cheers”
4. “If You Need To, Keep Time On Me” (Fleet Foxes cover)
5. “Kind Of”
6. “Kingston”
7. “Better Distractions”

After the Sky dominated in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, it was on the Mercury to respond and at least get a split at home in Phoenix in Game 2 before the series shifted to Chicago.

There were a few points during Game 2 in which it looked like the game might get away from the Mercury, as Chicago withstood Phoenix’s initial run to make a run of their own in the late first and early second quarter to take an 8-point lead. However, this time the Mercury had an answer, tying the game at 40 by halftime. The second half played out similarly, with the Sky leading by six going to the fourth, but again Phoenix, led by Brittney Griner with some big help from Shey Peddy and Skylar Diggins-Smith, had the answer, taking a four-point lead into the final 30 seconds of the game.

It was at that point that the game got wild, with Kahleah Copper crashing the offensive glass for an and-1 putback to cut the Mercury lead to one.

After Peddy split her free throws on the ensuing possession, Courtney Vandersloot went to work with a filthy crossover, drive, and finish over Griner to send the game to overtime.

In overtime, the sleeping giant that is Diana Taurasi awoke, opening the period with a four-point play to throw Phoenix out in front early.

The Mercury would go up six quickly in overtime, but the Sky reeled them back in to tie the game once again. Naturally, Taurasi again was the one to answer the bell with a big shot to keep Phoenix on top.

Diggins-Smith then put the game on ice with a tremendous drive and finish, evening the series at 1-1 and making clear that we are in for quite the series from here.

It was once again a really balanced night from the Sky, as Vandersloot was a monster with 20 points, 14 assists and five steals, orchestrating things offensively and taking the lead every time the Sky needed a big bucket. Allie Quigley added 19 points, albeit on 20 shots, Copper had 15 and Candace Parker put up 13 points and nine rebounds in another terrific two-way performance. However, the difference in Game 2 was how Phoenix stepped up offensively to match that output.

Griner was a beast down low, with 29 points and nine boards to lead the Mercury, while Diggins-Smith had 13 points, 12 assists, and seven rebounds. Peddy added 10 points off the bench for a big boost, but it was the GOAT who took them home with 20 points, eight of which came in the overtime period. As the series shifts to Chicago, there aren’t any real surprises left for either team to pull out and we saw how evenly matched they can be when both playing well in this one — and both squads will feel like they left a lot out there as each team missed a number of good looks at the rim and from three.

Netflix hasn’t had a great week. On one hand, one of their newest programs, Dave Chappelle’s latest stand-up special The Closer, is the talk of the town. On the other, a lot of that talk is negative, and it’s even coming from their employees. The beloved comic once again went off on the LGTBQ+ community, especially trans people, on the company’s dime, and the fallout has led to what may turn into an all-out palace revolt. And it seems like one of top brass’ attempts to put out the fire only made it rage more.

In the last few days, Netflix suspended — and then reinstated — a trans employee whose critique of her employers had gone viral. (They claimed it was over a different issue.) Then trans employees announced they would schedule a walk-out protest next week. In the wake of mounting pressure, Ted Sarandos, one of the company’s co-CEOs, sent out a company-wide statement, which was obtained by Variety. In it, the exec tries to mount a different defense of Chappelle than simply asserting that he didn’t actually cross some line.

“We know that a number of you have been left angry, disappointed and hurt by our decision to put Dave Chappelle’s latest special on Netflix,” Sarandos wrote to his staff. He acknowledged that “the concern is not about offensive-to-some content but titles which could increase real world harm (such as further marginalizing already marginalized groups, hate, violence etc.)”

Thing is, Sarandos doesn’t think that’s what’s a problem. “While some employees disagree, we have a strong belief that content on screen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm,” he wrote.

Sarandos then tried to argue that entertainment never impacts the real world:

“The strongest evidence to support this is that violence on screens has grown hugely over the last thirty years, especially with first party shooter games, and yet violent crime has fallen significantly in many countries. Adults can watch violence, assault and abuse – or enjoy shocking stand-up comedy – without it causing them to harm others.”

It’s a curious argument, especially considering there’s a long history of art having real-world impact. (Perhaps Sarandos should read up on The Birth of a Nation or Triumph of the Will, both of which may still be available via Netflix’s by-mail disc service.) Sure enough, some found his defense insufficiently convincing, especially considering that one of their prized documentaries argues the exact opposite position.

Meanwhile, @Most, the streamer’s LGBTQ+ Twitter account, seemed to go rogue.

“Sorry we haven’t been posting, this week f*cking sucks,” they posted. “To be clear: As the queer and trans people who run this account, you can imagine that the last couple of weeks have been hard. We can’t always control what goes on screen. What we can control is what we create here, and the POV we bring to internal conversations.”

“We have been reading all of your comments and using them to continue advocating for bigger and better queer representation,” they added, before ending, “ok you can go back to yelling at us now.”

Anyway, hope it’s all been worth it, Netflix!

(Via Variety)

Toosii has been very active this year. The New York rapper dropped his mixtape Thank You For Believing just seven months after releasing his debut album, Poetic Pain. Less than two months later, he unleashed its deluxe reissue, with ten additional songs and guest appearances from Fivio Foreign and Hotboii. Now he returns with a new video for the track “What I’m On.”

The video captures Toosii lost in thought in what appears to be a hotel room. Throughout, he showcases his unwavering commitment to his longtime partner and begs that she never second-guess his love for him. Toosii’s faithful companion finally makes an appearance towards the end.

The track is the latest off Thank You For Believing to get the video treatment, others being “5’5,” “Spin Music,” “Red Die,” “What It Cost,” and “Shop.” Elsewhere this year, Toosii has been featured in XXL’s Freshman class, alongside names like Flo Milli, Coi Leray, Rubi Rose, DDG, Lakeyah, Morray, and more. He later delivered a cypher with fellow classmate Blxst as part of the publication’s rollout for the new Freshman class.

You can watch the video for “What I’m On” above.

Thank You For Believing (The Manifestation) is out now via South Coast Music Group/Capital Records. Get it here.

This Friday marks a bit moment for the music world: the release of a new Young Thug album. The Atlanta rapper is gearing up to share P*NK, which fans have spent the better part of two months waiting for after he announced it during an NPR Tiny Desk performance over the summer. Thug sat down with Complex for an interview, where he spoke about Kanye West and how he ended up on his tenth album, Donda.

“I just hit Kanye like, ‘Bro, if I ain’t on the album, we are not speaking,’” he said to Complex’s Erik Skelton. He explained his take on the legendary superstar. “What n****s don’t know about Kanye West is he’s a real n***a,” Thug said. “He’s a billionaire, and all that sh*t is cool, but in real life, he could survive in the trenches. If he go to the trenches, the jungle, he could survive. He a real n***a.”

So far, Thug has only shared one single from the album, namely “Tick Tock.”

You can read the full interview with Complex here.

Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

P*NK is out 10/15 via 300 Entertainment/Atlantic Records.

No Time to Die has only been open for about two weeks in parts of Europe and less than a week in the U.S., but it’s already grossed over $300 million. Does that sound impressive? It might not be. In a new piece by Variety (in a bit sussed out by /Film) examining its slight underperformance in America, they’ve concluded that the 25th Bond film will need to make about thrice that just to turn a profit.

The franchise’s latest, which is also longtime star Daniel Craig’s swan song as the character, cost $250 million, which it’s already surpassed globally. But there’s also another price tag: the extra $100 million spent on promotion. They conclude that the movie will need to gross at least $800 million to get out of the red — although it will really need to be closer to $900 million.

Right now, box office prognosticators are predicting Die’s final North American haul will be in the neighborhood of $150 million — far shorter than the previous two Bonds, Spectre ($200 million) and Skyfall ($300 million). Still, it’s not as though the franchise has ever needed to rely on American audiences. It’s a worldwide franchise, and it’s yet to open in one of the most Bond-friendly markets, China.

There are some other factors against it. It runs some three hours, including previews and ads. It still finds Craig’s Bond (still!) brooding over an ex 15 years later. Oh, and there’s still a pandemic afoot, and older audiences — the bulk of the series’ fanbase — have so far proven reluctant to get back into theaters, vaccine or not.

But should Die fail to get into the black, there are other options. Variety says one option is to scale back a bit budget-wise. But they can’t go indie. As one expert points out, “audiences expect a certain level of production value from James Bond.”

The future, though, is still open. The Bond franchise was a major component of Amazon’s $8.45 billion acquisition of MGM, which has long owned the series. And Bond producers claim to have yet to even think about who will replace Daniel Craig, who [redacted] in his final outing. So don’t worry: You’ll be hearing from James Bond again, and we don’t mean a postcard.

(Via /Film and Variety)

The NHL regular season began on Tuesday night as we got our first look at ESPN’s return to hockey broadcasts — as well as the debut of the expansion Seattle Kraken. On Wednesday, the other new broadcast partner of the NHL made its regular season debut, as the NHL on TNT got its start with Rangers-Capitals.

Headlining TNT’s NHL coverage in studio is the presence of the Great One, Wayne Gretzky, and for their opening night, Turner brought out their biggest star from Inside the NBA to join the crew, as avid hockey lover Charles Barkley joined the guys at the desk. Barkley immediately brought his usual jovial energy to the desk, helping the new NHL on TNT crew set a much lighter tone than fans were used to from NBC’s hockey coverage despite some crossover.

The brought out some old clips of their analysts, including a rare lowlight for Gretzky, with Barkley ragging on the Great One for getting beat up in a fight by “a guy with a perm.”

However, Gretzky would get his revenge on Chuck later in the show during the intermission report, as they gave Barkley some goalie gear and made him try and stop five shots from Wayne, which went as well as you’d think.

I’m honestly not sure Barkley ever saw any of the pucks, with the only “stop” being a puck that dropped behind him but didn’t cross the goal line. In case Chuck had any wonder if he picked the wrong career going into basketball instead of hockey, this helps put that notion to rest and when the NBA gets started next week, he’ll be back on a more comfortable set where hockey goals will be swapped out for basketball hoops.