Final Fantasy XIV is the most popular MMO out there right now. It’s hard to not see why that’s the case thanks to the sheer amount of content that’s in the game — much of it can be added for free — and a storyline that fans of the game rave about. Fans have talked up the plot of the game and how each expansion seems to be better than the last. The most recent one, Endwalker, is receiving praise in the community and it’s helping draw in both old and new players. In fact, so many people are trying to play the game right now that, despite the expansion being released almost a month ago, the servers are still struggling to keep up.
Typically, when a game launches a huge expansion, the servers take a hit those first few weeks before eventually settling down as players stop trying to all play at once. The problem is that isn’t happening right now with Final Fantasy XIV. People are still showing up, which led to the developers of the game making a surprising decision. To keep servers in a more stable place, players that are currently in the free trial can only play the game during late night and early morning hours. Also, any new players trying to register or purchase the game will temporarily not be able to do so. Basically, the game is at capacity and nobody new can get in for a little.
We’d like to share an update from #FFXIV Producer & Director Naoki Yoshida on the ongoing congestion, additional game time compensation, suspension of sales, error codes, and our upcoming plans. https://t.co/3WcXX6eVkf
“Players are currently experiencing extremely long wait times due to the dense concentration of play hours which far exceed our server capacity, especially during the peak times, and so we have decided to temporarily suspend the sale and delivery of FINAL FANTASY XIV Starter Edition and Complete Edition,” Naoki Yoshida, the game’s producer and director, said in a statement. “Additionally, although those with an active subscription are prioritized to log in, Free Trial players are unable to log in outside of late night and early morning hours, and so we will also temporarily suspend new registrations for the Free Trial.”
This is shocking, because games never deny new players, especially ones that are actively trying to spend money on the game. But when nobody can get into the game, we understand why a decision like this has to be made. We figure the temporary pause on new registrations and sales will not last too long, but when that will be wasn’t listed in the blog post.
This just goes to show how popular Final Fantasy XIV is right now. We recently talked about how it was one of the best free to play games of 2021, because of the absurd amount of content that you can get without paying anything, but obviously that option isn’t going to be viable to anyone for a brief period of time.
This is obvious, but Bruce Springsteen has built himself quite the body of work. He’s released 20 albums, nine of which topped the charts in the US. The New Jersey icon is also behind favorites like “Born To Run,” “Dancing In The Dark,” “Hungry Heart,” and so many others. He’s even had Broadway success in recent years with Springsteen On Broadway. Now, in terms of owning his storied catalog, he’s moving on, and he was given a substantial amount of money to do so.
Billboard reports that “in what may be the biggest deal in music for an individual body of work,” Springsteen sold his masters to Sony Music and his music publishing to Sony Music Publishing in a combined deal for about $500 million. Yes, that’s half a billion dollars.
While Springsteen has been actively making music since the ’70s, there’s still a lot of value to his catalog today. Billboard notes that Springsteen’s music has “generated 2.25 million album consumption units” in the US since the start of 2018, and that over the past three years, his master recording catalog has averaged around $12 million in sales, according to estimates. Furthermore, his publishing catalog earns an estimated $7.5 million annually.
This deal sees Springsteen keeping things in the family, as he has recorded for Sony’s Columbia Records for his entire career.
Although Doja Cat has had a huge breakout in the last two years, her success has come with increased scrutiny — especially when it comes to the stratospheric single that launched her to her current level of fame, “Say So.” The disco-pop hit became Doja’s first No. 1, but some fans have criticized the rapper-singer for collaborating with formerly disgraced producer Dr. Luke on the song. In 2014, Luke was accused of sexual assault and abuse by his protege Kesha, and some fans viewed “Say So” helping to relaunch his popularity as a betrayal of another woman on Doja’s part — despite Doja signing with Luke’s Kemosabe label before the accusations were made public.
In a new profile in Rolling Stone, a reluctant Doja Cat addressed the criticism, saying, “I haven’t worked with him in a very long time. A lot of those songs were . . . There’s shit that he’s credited for, where I’m like, ‘Hmm, I don’t know, I don’t know if you did anything on that.’ ” Although she declines to elaborate on which songs she means, she does offer insight into their future working relationship.
“The point is he’s gotten some credit for sh*t,” she says. “And, you know, it’s whatever. I don’t think I need to work with him again. I don’t think I need to work with him in the future. I know that. I think it was definitely nice of me to work with him.”
In a follow-up statement to Rolling Stone, Doja clarified that, “When asked about Luke I may have said something that someone could interpret as me saying that he had taken credit on things he didn’t deserve to. I just want to be clear that I have no firsthand knowledge of that being the case and I don’t want to participate in the rumor mill. The credits on my music are accurate, and I don’t want to imply anything else.” She attributes the earlier quote to defensiveness about men getting credit for women’s work. “As a young woman I think it is always important to fight for the credit that we are all due, and that was the point I was trying to make there,” she says.
Elsewhere in the rather comprehensive profile, she clears up why she looked bored performing her signature hit toward the end of its run, confirms her viral breakout hit “Mooo!” was an “obvious joke,” and addresses Nas’ throwaway criticism of her on “Ultra Black.”
In a move that, frankly, more people should have seen coming, Melania Trump‘s first post-White House venture is selling NFTs. The former First Lady announced the endeavor on Thursday morning, which she touted as a combination of “my passion for art and commitment to helping our Nation’s children fulfill their own unique American Dream.” As part of her questionable Be Best campaign, an undisclosed portion of the proceeds from the sale of Melania’s first NFT “will assist children aging out of the foster care system,” according to an official statement:
“I am proud to announce my new NFT endeavor, which embodies my passion for the arts, and will support my ongoing commitment to children through my Be Best initiative. Through this new technology-based platform, we will provide children computer science skills, including programming and software development, to thrive after they age out of the foster community.”
The first NFT is already available for sale, and you’ll never who’s guess the subject of this work of art: Melania Trump. The NFT is a painting of her “cobalt blue eyes” (as they’re referred to in a press release) along with an audio recording of her voice because of course.
Social media is already having a field day with Melania’s new “charitable” endeavor that coincidentally also happens to be a vanity project. Also, how any of this is supposed to stop bullying, Be Best’s original mission statement, is anybody’s guess.
Christmas did indeed come early this year. Both for “Ted Lasso” fans and for those who just like some good old-fashioned wholesome fun (said in Ted’s voice).
If you haven’t yet familiarized yourself with Apple TV’s show about a lovable, folksy football coach and his underdog team, just know this: The story, like the characters themselves, is well loved for its charm, humor and most of all, for its humanity.
Lasso had already delivered some holiday cheer with its cheesy (as in yummy, warm and comforting) Christmas episode titled “Carol of the Bells.” I mean, Hannah Waddingham showed off her Broadway chops. What more could you want?
Because “Ted Lasso” is the gift that keeps on giving, Apple TV released another episode, this time as a claymation short, like those beloved and classically Christmas Rudolf movies.
The short features a bare-face Ted Lasso, who simply must retrieve his signature Tom Selleck lip foliage before a holiday FaceTime with his son Henry. The title, of course, is “The Missing Christmas Mustache.”
In the cartoon, Ted has to enlist the help of the crew including Keeley, Roy Kent, Jamie Tartt, Rebecca, Higgins, Coach Beard and pre-evil Nate. All voiced by the original cast. Yay.
Sticking to true “Ted Lasso” form, the cartoon at first leans into the wacky zany comedy bits (always angry Roy Kent giving his eyebrows for Ted to use as an interim stache, for example) before diving into a heartwarming message:
“It’s not about making Christmas perfect for the people you love. It’s the people you love that make Christmas perfect.”
That’s right. With “Ted Lasso,” you come for the laughs, but stay for the wisdom. Now more than ever, this holiday season is a time to turn our minds away from the chaos, confusion and even longing for something better. And instead focus on what, and who, gives us a reason to smile in the present moment.
As Ted Lasso put it so elegantly, “Have an imperfect Christmas everyone.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a massive shake-up in the American labor market and for many, the change has been positive. Many Americans quit their job this year because they feel optimistic that after enduring some of the harshest working conditions during the pandemic, they can find better work that pays more elsewhere.
This sea change in the labor market comes on the heels of the nation’s collective dedication to the idea that people should be paid a living wage and it should be somewhere around $15 an hour.
The change in attitudes toward work has many younger people feeling empowered to ask for better compensation and treatment in their young careers. This was perfectly evidenced by a mother on Reddit who praised her 19-year-old daughter for refusing to accept $9 an hour.
In the post’s title, the mother wrote: “I’m really proud of my 19 year old daughter. She was offered $9/hr at a second interview today and declined telling them she couldn’t feed herself with that.”
“She told me she was polite about it, which she always is, but I was still a bit taken back initially that she would say this directly to the shop owner. It was somewhere she really wanted to work and has been going to since she was a kid,” the mom continued.
The employer admitted that they weren’t paying “a living wage” and apologized for not being able to offer more. The daughter also had some leverage because she was making $10.50 an hour at another job.
The 41-year-old mother was impressed because when she was in her teens, younger workers were forced to accept any deal they were offered and had little leverage or confidence to ask for anything more than substandard.
“I’m 41 and when I was her age I would’ve taken any s*** pay they offered me just for the experience and so I could work at my favorite shop. And I would’ve been grateful for the opportunity for them to take full advantage of me,” she explained. “I would’ve never had the confidence to stand up to an older adult in a position of power like that,” she added. “I told her I was so proud of her for knowing her worth and not accepting anything less.”
Reddit user jakeyeah111 had the best response to the post. “Yup. The amount of older people who are mad that the younger generation isn’t letting themselves get stepped all over anymore is… off-putting,” they wrote.
The mother’s post mirrors trends that people are seeing across income levels in America. The average reservation wage, or the minimum annual wage consumers said they needed before they would even consider accepting a job offer, has risen more than $14,000 over the past six years to $68,954.
On ZipRecruiter, the number of jobs offering $15 an hour has more than doubled over the past two years.
The changes in the labor market and public opinion are a wonderful development for the U.S. economy. Instead of cultivating a market where people are forced to accept less than they believe they’re worth, employers and employees are working to create mutually beneficial relationships that uplift everyone.
Some people were just born to entertain. Taye Diggs is one of those people.
Diggs has graced Broadway stages, the silver screen and our television sets. Now he’s found a new platform: TikTok. And let me tell you, this man has got it, whatever “it” is.
You want pure comedy? He delivers. You want weird? He’s got that too. Diggs is already serving up plenty of entertaining content, ranging from driving selfies to dance clips to songs about putting fish in the microwave. Yup, it’s a one-stop TikTok shop.
Having only joined the app this week, Diggs hasn’t quite figured everything out, like how to use TikTok sound effects. But who needs it when you can just make your own? You could say the actor is going for a no-frills approach—his videos are without transitions, effects, filters … or planning, apparently.
As one person wrote on Twitter, the entire account is “pure chaos and comedy.”
Diggs is most famous for playing calm, cool, collected (and utterly smooth) roles like Benny in “Rent” and Harper in “The Best Man.” Which is in part why fans are eating up his goofy schtick and silly TikTok antics.
Case in point: his “ICON trying….” video where he attempts—and fails—to recreate some of those influencer-worthy flashy transitions. What we get instead is a roller-coaster ride of clumsy shots (at one point he’s upside down and putting on a hat?), some gibberish lyrics, and all the while Diggs sporting a highly appropriate “DAD” sweatshirt. It’s nothing short of hilarious.
Though most just wanted to praise him and get a taste of that secret sauce.
Taye Diggs hasn’t figured out how to add music to his TikTok’s yet, but I’ll take two of whatever he’s sipping 😭 Good morning #clique! ☀️ pic.twitter.com/GOiHpuvr8k
Feel like I would get along with Taye Diggs cuz he really don’t be giving a damn just expressing himself without a care in the world lol. Love it https://t.co/aubsq1I9P2
Now that you’ve made it this far down the Taye-Diggs-TikTok-rabbit hole, you might be feeling like you just can’t get enough of the online discord. Don’t fret, you’re in luck!
Diggs will be hosting the 27th Annual Critic’s Choice Awards on Jan 9, 2022 alongside the equally hilarious Nicole Byer. It’s sure to be a riot.
And then of course, you can always follow @theofficialtayediggs on TikTok. If you’re brave enough.
In the internet age, parents have to talk to their kids about pornography. If parents don’t, someone else will, and that someone else will more than likely be a peer or peers who don’t really know what they’re talking about.
But talking to kids about porn can be tricky. The when, how and how much questions are hard to navigate. Parents might worry about saying too much, too soon or too little, too late. Research shows that it’s not uncommon for kids to see pornography online, either intentionally or unintentionally, and the age at which some kids are first exposed is far younger than parents might think. However uncomfortable parents might be about it, the conversation needs to start early.
Thanks to singer Billie Eilish’s openness about her own porn experiences, parents now have an especially opportune “in” to bring up the subject with their kids. She recently shared with Howard Stern that consuming porn at a young age “destroyed” her brain, and that as a woman, she finds porn “a disgrace.”
“I used to watch a lot of porn, to be honest,” she told Stern. “I started watching porn when I was like 11. I think it really destroyed my brain, and I feel incredibly devastated that I was exposed to so much porn.”
Part of the problem with porn is that so much of it depicts violence and aggression and the objectification of women. Eilish told Stern that she frequently watched violent porn, and the first few times she had sex, she didn’t say “no” to things that were “not good” because she thought that’s what she was supposed to find attractive.
Another problem with porn is that is gives kids unrealistic portrayals of what sex is like as well as unrealistic images of people’s bodies.
“I’m so angry that porn is so loved, and I’m so angry at myself for thinking that it was okay,” she said. “The way that vaginas look in porn is f—king crazy. No vaginas look like that. Women’s bodies don’t look like that. We don’t come like that.”
Hearing someone like Billie Eilish say things like this is refreshing. Eilish, 19, came onto the music scene at 14 and made it big at 17. She’s attracted fans of all ages, but much of her fanbase is young, which makes her an ideal bridge between generation smartphone and the parents who didn’t grow up with pornography constantly accessible at their fingertips.
If parents aren’t sure where to start the conversation about porn, start here. “Hey, you know the singer Billie Eilish? Here’s what she says about her experiences with porn.” It’s a good opportunity to ask kids what they hear in their social life, what they think, what questions they have. For kids who might think their parents are old or out of touch, hearing a young, hip celebrity drop such wisdom from a place of experience may lend some credibility to the “why you should avoid porn” lessons parents are trying to teach.
And again, it is vital that parents teach it. Dr. Michael Flood of Queensland University of Technology shared research on the negative impact of porn use on young people, including:
– shifting sexual interests, behaviors and expectations, which can impact relationships
– lowering men’s relationship satisfaction and leading to coercion in sexual acts
– teaching sexist and sexually objectifying understandings of gender and sexuality
– increased violent behavior, sexually aggressive behavior and sexual harrassment, especially from men toward women
Ideally, discussions about porn are a part of larger, ongoing conversations about sex kids start having with parents at a young age. Children are curious, and answering their questions matter-of-factly (and without embarrassment, which for some parents might take some practice) provides a solid foundation for frank conversations about sex as kids get older.
Kids may not always want to talk to their parents about sex as they go through adolescence and puberty, but if they don’t learn from you, they’re going to learn from somewhere. It may never dawn on kids that their parents have a lot more experience with sex than their peers do, so the more we normalize talking with them about sex in healthy ways, the less (hopefully) they’ll seek out answers from unreliable sources like peers and pornography.
This was a tough one. It was weird. It wasn’t like 2020 when there were, like, no movies. But it was still weird. Some movies were released on streaming services but not theaters; some were released in theaters and on streaming services at the same time; some have only been released in theaters so far. There are movies on this list that only some of us have seen. Our number one wasn’t number one on many individual lists, but was a movie that all of us watched and had ranked anywhere between two and seven. Again, weird.
And then there were the other complicating factors. Two of the biggest blockbusters of the year — Spider-man: No Way Home and Matrix: Resurrection — didn’t come out in time to make the list. Same with Stephen Spielberg’s critically beloved West Side Story remake. Licorice Pizza has been out in theaters in select markets for weeks now but the majority of our crew here live in cities where it’s not available yet. So that’s not ideal, either.
The point here is that we tried. It’s still a good list. All of these movies are triumphs, especially considering all the obstacles they had to navigate just to exist. That’s not nothing. Here, just look.
10. (tie) F9
Universal
Here’s the thing: Ludacris and Tyrese went to space. Other stuff happened, too. Tons of it. Vin Diesel’s character discovered he had an evil half-brother and that evil half-brother was played by John Cena. Han came back despite having his dramatic death depicted in two of the first eight films in the franchise, which was honestly kind of incredible. Charlize Theron somehow had a stylish bowl cut despite being arrested with braids in the previous film. Again, a lot.
But… come on. Ludacris and Tyrese went to space. In a souped-up Pontiac with NoS-powered rocket boosters. In a franchise that opened with a movie about Vin Diesel stealing DVD players. That neither of them were even in. Please take a few minutes tonight and think about how far this franchise has come from those humble beginnings. Ludacris and Tyrese went to space. It was ambitious and audacious and a little bonkers in the way more massive blockbusters should try to be. Send your characters to space. Who cares? It’s a movie. It’s supposed to be fun. I hope they go to the future in the next movie. — Brian Grubb
10. (tie) Pig
neon
What if John Wick, but his power isn’t shooting people in the face so much as cooking with such care and brilliance that he makes people weep openly? Also, it’s a pig instead of a puppy. An adorable damn pig whose abduction sets Nicolas Cage’s reformed master chef on a quest away from his isolated mountain home to the city he long ago left behind. The result is captivating and it’s all on Cage who turns the volume way down to deliver yet another seemingly out of nowhere stunner, proving once again that we should always follow him to whatever role he thinks is interesting. – Jason Tabrys
That magnificent bastard (John Krasinski, who I’m assuming would love that description) did it again. He managed to sequelize what could have been a one-and-done sleeper hit and an honest-to-god original story that put him on the map as a filmmaker. And let’s get real about the dilemma that Krasinski faced. He needed lightning to strike twice. He needed to get butts into theater seats during a pandemic. And he had previously killed off his own character and managed to pull off a non-intrusive cameo in this second installment. At all three of these tasks, he succeeded, and he kept Emily Blunt in badass mama mode. Ultimately though, Krasinski made this into Millicent Simmonds’ sequel while still making good on representative casting (in this case, regarding the deaf community) in the process. A spooked Cillian Murphy never hurts matters, and god only knows how Part 3 will work out without Krasinski or Blunt on board, but at least we have two near-perfect suspense movies to enjoy forever. — Kimberly Ricci
9. Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
lionsgate
Sure, the plot of Barb and Star sounds like the premise of a parody of a movie, not an actual movie itself. Two single, middle-aged women embark on a Florida vacay, enjoy a threesome with an incredibly attractive secret assassin, and must then prevent an eccentric villain from unleashing a plague of lethal mosquitos on the beachside resort town — this probably isn’t the kind of high-brow fare you’d normally expect on a “Best Of” list. But broaden your damn horizons people because not only are Kristen Wiig and writing partner Annie Mumolo delightfully funny as the titular best friends airing out their culottes for the first time in sunny Vista Del Mar, but the rest of the cast, particularly Jamie Dornan, are game to get just as ridiculous. He’ll probably earn some awards recognition for his turn in Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast, but it’d be a shame if Dornan’s powerhouse pop ballad in which his character both prays to seagulls while frolicking on sandy beaches and deftly climbs up a palm tree while pretending to be a cat, didn’t also get the appreciation it deserves. – Jessica Toomer
8. The Worst Person in the World
OSLO
The Worst Person in the World is the third installment in Joachim Trier’s “Oslo Trilogy.” It’s also the best. The vibrant and charming film follows Julie (played by Renate Reinsve in an Oscar-worthy performance), a millennial hero of mine who goes from job to job, passion to passion, forever determined to figure out what she wants to do in life. Along the way, she meets an older graphic novelist and a barista with an environmental activist girlfriend; goes on a drug trip; and crashes a wedding. It takes place over the course of many years, but it’s grounded by small moments that take on profound meaning to the person going through them. In this case, it’s Julie, but Julie is a stand-in for anyone who feels overwhelmed by [points in every direction at once]. The Worst Person in the World wants you to know there’s nothing wrong with that. It just means you’re human. The Worst Person? More like The Best Movie. – Josh Kurp
7. Titane
NEON
Titane is not only a great movie. It’s also a great movie to recap to your friends. “OK, so it’s about this woman, Alexia, who has sex with a car after killing a dude with her hairpin. Alexia later becomes pregnant with the car’s baby. Also, the murder wasn’t a one-off; she’s a serial killer who goes on the run and pretends to be Adrien, the missing son of a firefighter. She does this by breaking her nose and wrapping her body — which is now leaking oil — in tape.”
This is only the first half of the movie.
Titane is the second feature from French filmmaker Julia Ducournau, and her second masterpiece after Raw. One movie is about car sex, the other cannibals, but they’re both heartfelt films about family, gender, and trauma that also happen to be sexy, wild, and funny as hell. If the description of Titane makes it sound bizarre, well, it is. And that’s beautiful. – Josh Kurp
6. The Beatles: Get Back
Disney+
There’s a kind of mythos surrounding The Beatles, their meteoric rise, and their complicated break-up. Much of that is fueled by the untimely death of their founding member, John Lennon, but more still stems from the group’s prolific lyrical output — something that’s on full display in Peter Jackson’s biographical epic, Get Back. The three-part, six-hour long documentary is a musical odyssey, one that peels back the veneer of nostalgia and gives us a raw, moving, and at times unbearably intimate look at the four lads whose influence is still being felt, decades after their initial peak of stardom. It’s long and meandering, but never dull; subdued and unstructured but made with purpose. We get a glimpse of these figures who’ve become so famous we refer to them by first name only — John, Paul, Ringo, George — as the men they once were, struggling to keep collaborating and creating despite aging out of their respective sounds and friendships. There are episodes of genius on display — like when Paul riffs on his bass and produces one of the band’s biggest hits in just a few minutes — but the better moments come when Jackson simply lets the camera roll, giving us an unedited look at the strife and suffocating tension and profound connection these musical icons shared. It’s one of the best Beatles documentaries in a long while, and one of the more interesting and memorable films of the year. – Jessica Toomer
5. Red Rocket
A24
Simon Rex, who had his own history with starring in porn (he doesn’t want to talk about it) turns in one of the performances of the year as Mikey Saber, a down-on-his-luck ex-porn star returning to his Texas hometown in Red Rocket, from Florida Project director Sean Baker. What begins as a sort of The Wrestler for porn gradually evolves into a kind of slow-motion, satirically cheerful car crash. It’s hard to remember a character this simultaneously watchable and awful outside of The Sopranos, and as he always seems to do, Sean Baker gets unforgettable performances out of a handful of first-timers and non-actors in supporting roles. It’s rare to find a movie about porn that neither smears nor sugarcoats, but Baker clearly did his homework. It might be his best film. It’s certainly Simon Rex’s greatest performance. – Vince Mancini
4. The Power of the Dog
Netflix
I’ve run into a lot of people who have a similar take on Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog. Namely, being: well, okay, that was not what I was expecting. Through a series of early screening scheduling conflicts I watched The Power of the Dog pretty late in this awards season (i.e. “the first day it actually went up on Netflix”), but, I do wonder if, subconsciously, I just really wasn’t in a hurry to watch it? In that it looked like the kind of movie that always comes out this time of year. Yes, it will be “good,” but from the marketing I thought it would be about a brave man, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, standing up to the societal norms of 1925 Montana. (And, somehow, a dog will be involved.) Perhaps it’s this misconception that makes the actual plot of The Power of the Dog so shocking – watching Cumberbatch’s ornery cuss of a man (in what might be his finest performance), making everyone miserable, and having literally no idea where any of this is going until the rug is pulled out in the film’s final scene. I wish there were a way to convey what this movie actually is without ruining the experience of finding out for yourself. Anyway, that was my best attempt. – Mike Ryan
3. Licorice Pizza
United Artists
Someday, there will no doubt be double features of Licorice Pizza and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It’s almost like Paul Thomas Anderson watched Tarantino’s film and decided, oh, yeah, I could also do something like this. They are by no means the same movie, but both kind of skimp on actual plot to, instead, give us characters we just want to hang out with for two-plus hours and, now and then, a famous person from that era will show up and do something exciting and weird. The relationship between the two protagonists in this movie is, well, a little strange. Gary (Cooper Hoffman) is a high school student. Alana (Alana Haim) is a photographer’s assistant and is about 10 years older than Gary. Alana is not interested in Gary, at least not in that kind of way. But she finds him interesting enough to keep hanging out with him. And what forms is one of those strange relationships that can only happen around that age where one person is madly in love with the other, and the other is amused enough to keep hanging out because there’s nothing better to do anyway. This will be one of those kinds of movies I will watch anytime it’s on. This is PTA’s most emotionally welcoming movie since Punch Drunk Love, and for the crowd out there who hasn’t liked one of his movies since Boogie Nights, well, here you go. – Mike Ryan
2. The Green Knight
A24
I’m not usually one for abstract, spooky head trips, but Green Knight was the kind of movie that could change that. Dev Patel plays Sir Gawain, on his quest to fulfill a bargain with the mysterious The Green Knight, represented here as a sort of magical tree man, in director David Lowery’s adaptation of a mysterious 14th-century poem whose true meaning scholars have debated for centuries. In Lowery’s telling, the Green Knight seems to represent mortality in some way. Don’t go in expecting a sword and maidens swashbuckler, but for me Green Knight was near perfect, with the best cinematography of the year and perhaps the best performance: Alicia Vikander, doing double duty as Gawain’s earnest peasant concubine and a flirtatious noblewoman. – Vince Mancini
1. Dune
Warner Bros./HBO Max
Maybe if you’re a giant Dune nerd it might be possible to quibble with some choices in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune adaptation, but for this Dune virgin it was just about perfect. Experiencing this world for the first time, it became immediately apparent that Dune must’ve been what George Lucas was going for in Star Wars — only he took out all the interesting subtext about commodities and colonialism and made it a slightly corny cowboy story about the “light” and the “dark” sides. Denis Villeneuve did a brilliant job adding that nuance back in and giving the whole thing scale and spectacle. And all without losing some of the delightful silliness, like the special dance one has to do to avoid getting eaten by giant sand worms. Come with me! We shall do the worm dance of our people! – Vince Mancini
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.
This is a surprisingly star-studded — Ellie Kemper! Rob Delaney! Kenan Thompson! — addition to the Home Alone franchise, written by SNL veterans Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell. The plot remains the same: A 10-year-old boy gets left behind when his parents head off to Tokyo and he has to defend his house from various bumbling criminals. The reviews so far are… not great, but it might be worth a go if you’re looking for a nostalgia blast to the face or something to watch with younger kids. Order yourself a large cheese pizza first. Watch it on Disney Plus.
You like Turner and Hooch, right? Of course you do. Tom Hanks + a dog = good ’80s movie. OK, well, what if Turner and Hooch was set in the post-apocalyptic future… and instead of working as a cop, Tom Hanks is one of the last people on Earth and he travels the planet with his dog and a robot… and the movie was directed by the guy who did the awesome “Hardhome” and “Battle of the Bastards” episodes of Game of Thrones. It’s Finch time. Watch it on Apple TV+.
Jeymes Samuel’s slick, stylish Netflix Western is a “pick your fighter” lineup of gun-slinging, swag-dripping Black cowboys ready to dust off the history books and give us a more accurate, diverse representation of the Old West. Jonathan Majors is having a hell of a year and here, he imbues the deadly Nat Love with some impressive comedic beats that make it easy to root for the vengeance-minded outlaw – unless, of course, you’re swayed by the prospect of Regina King riding a horse and f*cking sh*t up in every scene. (Who wouldn’t be?) Idris Elba, LaKeith Stanfield, and Zazie Beetz round out the main cast members with the most things to do on screen and all of the shoot-outs and train robberies and saloon fights are timed perfectly to an eclectic mix of Reggae/Dancehall bangers produced by Samuel and collaborator Jay-Z. This ain’t your grandpa’s Western, and really, that’s kind of the point. Watch it on Netflix.
Andrew Garfield is giving theater-kids everywhere a musical-thirst-trap performance in this Lin-Manuel Miranda-directed biopic that pays tribute to Jonathan Larson, the artistic genius who changed Broadway with his seminal musical Rent. This film examines Larson’s life before fans were belting out Season of Love though, with Garfield giving an award-worthy turn as a restless visionary who feels the suffocating deadline of turning 30 without having produced a great show. The supporting cast is terrific, Garfield is doing his best work, and Miranda infuses everything with a genuine sense of love and admiration that makes it hard not to root for this one. Watch it on Netflix.
The debut film from writer-director Stephen Karam, based on his Tony-winning play, sounds a little too real for the holidays. Let’s let the official description explain why: “As three generations of Erik Blake’s family gather to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughter’s apartment in Manhattan, darkness falls and eerie things start to go bump in the night, laying bare their deepest fears – and the love that binds them together.” It’s got an interesting cast — Amy Schumer! Beanie Feldstein! Steven Yeun! June Squibb! — and it’s got a great pedigree, so, you know, maybe give it a shot. Watch it on Showtime.
Halle Berry’s MMA movie made a deal with Netflix and now Halle Berry’s MMA movie is on Netflix. Yes, that sentence said “Halle Berry’s MMA movie twice but, to be fair, it’s a phrase it takes a little bit of time to wrap your head around. Berry makes her directorial debut and stars as a disgraced fighter named Jackie Justice (Jackie Justice!) who is back in the cage to deal with various personal demons. It’s Halle Berry’s MMA movie! The reviews are pretty good! Watch it on Netflix.
As odd as it is to have a movie about two of the greatest athletes of all time told centered on, not the women winning Grand Slams and Olympic gold medals, but their determined, driven father – King Richard works. It works because Will Smith exudes charisma and charm but he also brings a believable grit and weary defiance to the role of Richard Williams, the man who gave tennis not one, but two female legends. This is Serena and Venus’ story, told from the perspective of the man who believed in them when no one else did so, yeah, grab a box of tissues before you sit down to watch. Watch it on HBO Max.
You might be wondering, “There are already nine million books and documentaries and academic studies about the Beatles out there. Do we really need The Beatles: Get Back?” I can answer that: yes, we do. The three-part doc comes from Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson and includes never-before-seen footage of John, Paul, George, and Ringo in the studio recording their final masterpiece. I’ve got a feeling you’ll like it. Watch it on Disney Plus.
Oscar-nominee Riz Ahmed likes to make the kind of movies you wouldn’t expect him to. In 2019, he played a rock n roll drummer slowly losing his hearing and having to upend his life because of it. This year, well … he’s surviving an alien invasion. Sort of. Encounter is one of those streaming movies that quietly sneak onto a platform – this time it’s Amazon Prime Video – and usually stay buried under all the other content the algorithm prioritizes. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen here though because Ahmed is a force on screen, playing a disturbed man and desperate father who believes he’s saving his two sons from an extra-terrestrial invasion that no one else knows is happening. It’s a mindf*ck, in the best way possible. Watch it on Amazon Prime.
Academy Award winner Paulo Sorrentino (The Young Pope) returns to HBO with this story of tragedy and unexpected joys, along with how fates intertwine. It’s a story about young Fabietto Schisa and the arrival of a football legend on the scene. Ultimately though, Sorerentino’s telling this story from his own hometown (Naples), so expect a deeply personal (and of course, achingly beautiful) experience. Watch it on Netflix.
Well, it’s Sandra Bullock as a recently released violent felon who is trying to reintegrate into society after a number of years in prison and dealing with the various hurdles and stigmas attached to… all that. It sounds interesting and important, even if it’s not, like, the type of light holiday viewing you might be looking for in mid-December. Still, worth giving it a run at some point. Watch it on Netflix.
Benedict Cumberbatch gives a villainous performance for the ages in The Power of the Dog, the first film in 12 years from director Jane Campion. The western is expected (and deserves) to be an Oscars frontrunner, so hop on the horse-drawn bandwagon now. Watch it on Netflix.
Set in the near future, Swan Song stars two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali as a husband and father who’s dying from a terminal illness. To spare his family from unimaginable grief, he secretly agrees to undergo an experimental treatment where his memories will be transported into an exact healthy duplicate. Swan Song examines how far we’re willing to go to protect the ones we love. It’s science-fiction at its most melancholy. Watch it on Apple TV+.
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