Month: June 2022

It’s fair to say that Sony’s Spider-Man Universe has had some fun with its characters to varying effect at the box office. First, they made Venom without Spider-Man, and people still flocked to see Tom Hardy and the tongue. Then came that Jared Leto-starring Morbius, which somehow flopped twice (after someone believed that the “Morbin’ Time” meme would somehow help — it did not). And now there’s a Kraven The Hunter movie on the way, which refers to the Marvel character who has famously worn a lion pelt and has very much been (as his name indicates) a hunter.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is starring in the title role, and while speaking about Sony’s Bullet Train (co-starring Brad Pitt) over the weekend, he chatted about the Kraven project. Although it’s cool that the movie’s being shot on location (still novel in 2022), Variety quotes Taylor-Johnson as describing the Spidey nemesis as kind-of a granola guy:

Taylor Johnson also spoke about his experience shooting “Kraven the Hunter,” who he described as “one of Marvel’s most iconic, notorious anti-heroes — Spider Man’s number one rival.” He said he found exciting the fact that this character is “not an alien, or a wizard. He’s just a hunter, a human with conviction. An animal lover and a protector of the natural world. He’s a very, very cool character.” He added that unlike other Marvel movies, “this one is shot entirely on location.”

Naturally, this is a slightly confusing development for some fans, as this response to The Direct’s tweet indicated.

Yet it’s worth backing up for a moment to look at an argument (from THR‘s Richard Newby) about how Kraven departed from hunting game (for the sake of sport). Also, Taylor-Johnson’s quote has been published without much context.

There is, however, the question of whether this movie will be memed like Morbius: “i’m Kravin’ some Action!!”

And then there’s just a general “wtf” response, which is a fair one.

Kraven The Hunter‘s currently sporting a January 13, 2023 release date.

(Via Variety)

Is Better Call Saul a better series than Breaking Bad?

That’s an argument for another day (preferably over a bottle of Zafiro Añejo), but the show’s worlds will continue to collide when Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul reprise their roles as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman on Saul. TV’s worst-kept secret was confirmed in April by co-creator Peter Gould, who said, “I don’t want to spoil things for the audience, but I will say the first question we had when we started the show was, ‘Are we gonna see Walt and Jesse on the show?’ Instead of evading, I’ll just say yeah.”

Gould didn’t reveal when Walt and Jesse would appear (although there’s only six more chances), but star Bob Odenkirk made an interesting comment to Metro about the cameos at the Saul mid-season premiere during the Tribeca Film Festival this weekend.

When asked how it was having Bryan and Aaron back in front of the camera for a “full-circle moment,” he said: “[It was] so good. Seeing Bryan and Aaron playing Walt and Jesse… It’s not just one time… And it was great.”

Does that mean Walt and Jesse are in more than one episode of Saul? It sure sounds like it, based on Odenkirk’s comment. Now we know where Jesse was driving to at the end of El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie: Omaha (Alaska was a detour).

Better Call Saul returns on July 11.

(Via Metro)

Last week, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and members of The Late Show crew were arrested while filming sketches on the Capitol premises. According to initial reports, the group had permission to be there on Wednesday and Thursday, but they reportedly stayed too late on Thursday resulting in them being detained by the Capitol police for “unlawful entry.”

Obviously, this made for some pretty sensational headlines, and Fox News in particular immediately latched on to the opportunity to attack the liberal-leaning show. Tucker Carlson went so far to say The Late Show crew deserved over a year in “solitary confinement,” and host Stephen Colbert wasn’t having it.

After explaining the whole mix-up, which The Late Show host chalked up to the Capitol police being understandably “cautious” these days, Colbert tore into Fox News for equating the arrest with the January 6 insurrectionists who tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

“First of all: what? Second of all: huh? Third of all, they weren’t in the Capitol building!”

Noting that he was “shocked” he had to offer up this explanation, Colbert said, “An insurrection involves disrupting the lawful actions of Congress and howling for the blood of elected leaders, all to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. This was first-degree puppetry. This was high jinks with intent to goof. Misappropriation of an old Conan bit.”

Colbert took things even further by accusing Fox News of doing a disservice to the severity of the January 6 attack. “Drawing any equivalence between rioters storming our Capitol to prevent the counting of electoral ballots and a cigar-chomping toy dog is a shameful and grotesque insult to the memory of everyone who died,” Colbert said.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Ahead of her upcoming appearance at Glastonbury, Billie Eilish stopped by Apple Music 1 to chat with Matt Wilkinson. On the special Glastonbury edition of his show, Eilish revealed that she was able to make her way around Coachella this year and watch other performances by way of deception.

“I had a body double, one of my dancers,” Eilish said (as Metro notes). “We got a black wig and we put buns in and we gave her a mask and sunglasses. Everybody thought it was me. I put on a big black coat and a traffic vest, hood, and glasses.”

She didn’t say whether she plans to utilize this same strategy at Glastonbury this weekend. However, she revealed that she is feeling elated by the opportunity to headline the festival this week, along with Kendrick Lamar and Paul McCartney.

“It’s a serious once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be asked to go to and to do,” Eilish said. “And I’m constantly feeling like I’m undeserving of everything, and I think that’s a good thing. I would say that that’s a good thing for the most part.”

At 20 years old, Eilish is Glastonbury’s youngest headliner, and she is “excited for the future” as more women have been given headlining slots at music festivals in recent years.

Check out the full interview here.

This summer will mark the seven-year anniversary of Lil Dicky’s debut (and so far only) album, 2015’s Professional Rapper. Dicky (aka Dave Burd) hasn’t just been doing nothing since then, though, as most notably, he’s starred in his FX series Dave. Now, he’s trying his best to get back into album mode and on The Late Late Show last night, he described his recording process and how work on his second album is coming along.

In an interview alongside Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul‘s Giancarlo Esposito, Dicky said of how his studio days go, “It’s incredibly anticlimactic. I wake up around 9 a.m.; That’s when I do my best rapping, like 9 to like 11 a.m. It really is a coin flip: If I have too stuffed of a nose on any given day, then I have to address the stuffiness. I have, like, different sprays.” Then, gesturing to Esposito, he added, “By the way, I could use you on a song,” which got an enthusiastic response from both Esposito and James Corden.

As for when the album is set to come out, Dicky said, “Honestly, I can’t even answer that question. It’s just not done yet, and at this point, I might as well really make it ideal, because it’s been, like, truly seven years. And I’m sorry to all my fans. I’m working as hard as I can every day. It might seem like I’m not working hard on it, but I really am. It’s just hard to multitask with the show. Every day, if I’m working 16 hours on the show, it’s hard to come home… you have eight hours of sleep and somehow figure out how to write a song.”

He added, “I’m really excited, I’ve been doing my best work the last six months and I feel really good right now.”

Watch clips from Dicky’s Corden interview above and below.

To call a Jeopardy! contestant “lucky” is not an insult. It doesn’t take away anything from their undeniable intelligence, because to make it onto the game show, you obviously have to be smart. But luck is an undeniable factor in advancing to a second episode, let alone a 23rd episode — in that sense, Megan Wachspress is a little luckier than most.

During last Friday’s episode of Jeopardy!, contestant Sadie Goldberger went into Final Jeopardy with a $600 lead over then three-day champ Wachspress. The category was “19th Century Contemporaries,” and the clue read, “Congratulating her on the 1869 release of her biography, Frederick Douglass wrote, ‘I have wrought in the day- you in the night.’” Wachspress correctly guessed “who is Harriet Tubman?” as did Goldberger…

…kind of. As host Mayim Bialik explained, “It looks like you were going for Harriet Tubman, but you did not finish. So, unfortunately, that is not going to be acceptable.” This is what was considered unacceptable:

Tough break for Goldberger, but Wachspress advanced to her fifth episode on Monday — and proved that she might be the luckiest contestant in Jeopardy! history.

Wachspress entered Final Jeopardy with $10,000, ahead of fellow contestants Ketty Pan ($200) and Tory Leviton ($10,200). The category: “British History.” The clue: “From the Greek for ‘alone,’ it was nixed by Parliamant in 1649 after being deemed ‘unnecessary, burdensome, & dangerous.’” Pan wasn’t able to come up with a guess, but she didn’t wager anything, so her final total stayed at $200. Wachspress answered wrong and with a hefty $9,599 wager, she sunk to $401. Leviton had an easy lane to win, but he, too, couldn’t come up with the correct answer — “What is the monarchy?” is what Bialik was looking for — and the poor guy plummeted to $200.

Wachspress won with $401, giving her a five-day total of $52,002, which is “less than half as much as any other five-day champion this year,” according to Yahoo! Entertainment. She looked embarrassed by her achievement.

And even tweeted about how “unbelievably lucky” she is:

One of Wachspress’ friends should go 50/50 on a lottery ticket with her. You might only win $20, but luck is clearly on her side.

(Via Yahoo! Entertainment)

We are truly in the midst of surprise release season. First Drake came through with Honestly, Nevermind and now Beyoncé arrives with “Break My Soul,” which, like the Drake album, is also a fresh dose of dance music. Beyoncé got some help on this one, as the track samples Big Freedia’s “Explode,” about which Freedia is pleased.

Freedia wrote on Instagram last night, “It feels surreal to be on the track with the Queen Beyonce once again I’m so honored to be apart of this special moment I’m forever grateful lord. someone please catch me. [Blaqnmild] my brother and I been working along time congratulations fam. [Beyonce] love you so much.” Freedia also added in an Instagram Story, “Overwhelmed with tears of joy. my God is so real the things he can do in your life. only if y’all know where I come from and how hard this journey has been I’m forever grateful thanks so much for loving me for who l am. this for all of y’all.”

The release of “Break My Soul” has parallels to that of Beyoncé’s “Formation,” which was also a surprise release back in 2016 and also features Freedia, who provides ad libs on the track.

Multiple times per week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts and ratings) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.

TIE: 10. The Old Man (FX series on Hulu)

This show’s off to a fine beginning with Jeff Bridges heading into one-last-job mode as Dan Chase, an ex-CIA operative, who gets roped back into action. This is partially the fault of John Lithgow’s government agent character, and surprise, surprise, Dan’s skills don’t need too terribly much rust knocked off when he springs back into action. The show adapts Thomas Perry’s bestselling thriller novel, and people are already loving the dynamics at hand

TIE: 10.Hacks (HBO Max series)

This marvelous comedy got renewed for a third season, which means that more curmudgeonly Jean Smart is on the way, hopefully with that chainsaw in tow. Presumably, Hannah Einbinder’s Ava will be back, too, although that season ending left the idea of a continued partnership dangling. These two are incredible together, proving that generation-spanning comedy can find a happy medium while still being funny and occasionally outrageous.

9. Top Gun (Paramount movie streaming on Paramount+)

Head into the danger zone while feeling the need for speed. And simply accept that Tom Cruise’s movies with crazy stunts are the best escapism and fast jets are cool. And naturally, you won’t be able to resist watching the movie that started it all. It’ll take your breath away to see Maverick and Iceman’s rivalry in action again before beholding shirtless volleyball and a certain Tarantino monologue that sheds some light on it all.

8. Dark Winds (AMC+ series)

(Mostly) Native American writers are doing the thing here as based upon Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn & Chee book series and the two 1970s Navajo cops (at a remote area near Monument Valley) who embark upon apparently unrelated crimes including a double murder case. In the process, they see things that make them think twice about their spiritual beliefs. The forces of evil swirl while the cops’ personal demons could actually be the key to emerging back into salvation territory. George R.R. Martin also produces. Are you intrigued? Good.

7. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney+ series)

This show kicked off with an adorable surprise before getting into the nitty gritty of what went down about a ten years after Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith saw Anakin Skywalker cut and run to the dark side. Speaking of which, yes, Hayden Christiansen returns to this world with Ewan McGregor unable to resist the lure of “a galaxy far, far away.” Disney+ is really fleshing out more of the Star Wars universe and the MCU on a weekly basis, so catch up why don’t you?

6. Stranger Things (Netflix series)

The first half of this season was another raging hit for Netflix, and while everyone waits for the next part of the Upside Down story to arrive, settle in and begin appreciating Kate Bush again. If you forgot what happened years ago on this show, we’ve got you covered there, and Millie Bobby Brown is hoping for some Game of Thrones-style character deaths to really go down. Can’t say we blame her.

5. Ms. Marvel (HBO Max series)

The Marvels are coming, and this show’s laying the foundation/origin story for Iman Vallani’s Kamala Khan. She takes a Peter Parker-like route to superherodom, as a high schooler who acquires powers, but Iman’s path is decidedly more cosmic. This show is so much fun and revamps the character’s comic book history in both a modern and contextually wonderful way. Get ready for Kamala to team up with Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Paris) for that 2023 movie, but for now, take the cosmic plunge.

4. Mayans M.C. (FX series on Hulu)

The season finale pushed the club further into war with the Sons of Anarchy and cranked into high emotional mode with Angel taking an audience POV stance into what EZ is steadily becoming. Yet even with those intensifying callbacks (including a Tig entrance) to the O.G. series of this franchise, Mayans M.C. is becoming its own entity, and this show’s pulsing heart will keep you coming back to these constantly evolving (and devolving characters). Yes, a fan favorite character lost his life this year (it’ll make you say RIP Opie all over again), but Danny Pino hit the director’s chair in the best episode of the season.

3. The Boys (Amazon Prime series)

A lot can be observed by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s reaction to seeing photos from son, Patrick, as he shot the spinoff, but for now, the principal series is cranking through the midseason mark in a season that’s expertly making the case for weekly streaming releases. Homelander’s steadily losing his Supe mind and terrorizing everyone, especially The Deep. Meanwhile, Jensen Ackles is crushing it as Soldier Boy, who could very well be the key to putting Homelander in his place. It’s gonna get brutal, man.

2. Hustle (Netflix Movie)

Adam Sandler’s taking another break from those Hubie Halloween-type characters, and our own Vince Mancini wrote that this movie will do for the NBA what Tom Gun did for the Navy. Sandler portrays a down-on-his luck scout who discovers what he believes to be the next great basketball star. He takes a long shot to get this player into shape for an NBA run while also fighting against a less than savory set of his own bad behaviors. It’s a little bit like The Blind Side and carries a hefty dose of humor to go with the earnestness of this film’s journey. The Sandman is back, y’all.

1. Peaky Blinders (BBC One/Netflix series)

Cillian Murphy’s frontman tour through kicking ass while tossing Cockney rhyming slang comes to an end with this season, but no worries, there will be some followup stories coming in the form of a spinoff or film. His Tommy Shelby’s gearing up to head toward America in these final half-dozen episodes. Naturally, the passing of Helen McRory is front and center in everyone’s mind, and the show appropriately grieves, but she’d want everyone to enjoy the inherent coolness of this show as it stylishly swaggers to the finish line while pushing Tommy toward a new life.

Last month, it was reported that the Grammy-winner HER, real name Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, was being sued by acapella gospel group Take 6 who claimed that she used an “obvious” sample of the sextet’s song, “Come Unto Me” in her collaboration with Bryson Tiller “Could’ve Been.” Now, she’s doing the suing—against her label.

The Blast have reported that the singer is suing MBK Entertainment for the rights to her music catalog. The lawsuit was filed on June 16, and it says she is suing for declaratory relief and violation of the business and professions code. She signed a recording agreement with MBK Entertainment in 2011, when she was only 14 years old.

The owner of MBK Jeff Robinson, subsequently became her manager, and then fired the law firm that first represented her. “Robinson caused his own lawyers to represent Wilson in the negotiation of subsequent contracts, including publishing and touring agreements,” as per the court documents. She claimed that “those lawyers took 5% of the deals they negotiated, but did not have a written fee agreement or a conflict waiver signed by Wilson, and said that they performed the services ‘as a favor’ to their client Robinson who was paid 20% commission for each of those deals.”

After rebooting her social media profiles and sending fans into a frenzy over something called “Renaissance,” Beyoncé’s has just released a new song “Break My Soul,” which is a single from the forthcoming album of that title. It’s a confident, clubby anthem with inspiring lyrics: “Now I just fell in love / And I just quit my job / I’m gonna find new drive / Damn they work me so damn hard.” It previews a relentlessly catchy LP.

The track is four and a half minutes, giving enough time for fans to fully relish it. Her last full-length record was 2016’s iconic Lemonade, so this is a real treat. She also mentioned that Renaissance will be heavy on both country and dance tunes, and this single definitely proves the latter.

In a 2021 interview, Beyonce hinted at Rennaissance when she said discussed working on new music: “With all the isolation and injustice over the past year, I think we are all ready to escape, travel, love, and laugh again. I feel a renaissance emerging, and I want to be part of nurturing that escape in any way possible. I’ve been in the studio for a year and a half. Sometimes it takes a year for me to personally search through thousands of sounds to find just the right kick or snare. One chorus can have up to 200 stacked harmonies. Still, there’s nothing like the amount of love, passion, and healing that I feel in the recording studio. After 31 years, it feels just as exciting as it did when I was nine years old. Yes, the music is coming!”

Listen to “Break My Soul” above.