Month: March 2023

Just when you thought the drama surrounding the film Don’t Worry Darling was over, leave it to television host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel to weasel it back into pop culture. Just last week, actor Chris Pine finally addressed the online chatter that his co-star, pop superstar Harry Styles accidentally spit on him.

During an appearance on Esquire’s video segment Explain This, Pine puts it plainly, “Harry did not spit on me,” before adding, “Harry is a very kind guy. I think Harry leaned down and said, ‘It’s just words isn’t it?’ We had this little joke. We were all jet-lagged and trying to answer questions, and sometimes when you’re doing these press things, your brain goes befuddled, and you start speaking gibberish, so we had a joke: ‘It’s just words.”

However, during a question and answer segment with in-person attendees, Jimmy Kimmel asked Nobel Peace Prize holder, Malala Yousafzai the user-submitted question, “As the youngest Nobel Prize winner in history, I was wondering, do you think Harry Styles spit on Chris Pine?”

Ever so graciously, the humanitarian did not take the bait, swiftly replying, “I only talk about peace.”

Watch the full interaction between Jimmy Kimmel and Malala Yousafzai below.

At the 95th Academy Awards, good news fell upon two Encino Man alumni. First, Ke Huy Quan won for his comeback role in Everything Everywhere All at Once. Some hours later, a trophy went to that film’s star: Brendan Fraser won for The Whale, therefore kicking the Fraseraissance into new heights.

Fraser has won numerous awards this awards season, and each speech has been emotional. He’s been frank about the peaks and valleys of his career, which is now in the process of being righted. This speech was only slightly more tearful.

“My goodness,” Fraser said as he took the stage, already a blubbery mess. Along with thanking people like director Darren Aronofsky and A24 for greenlighting it. He also thanked his fellow nominees: Austin Butler, Colin Farrell, Bill Nighy, and Paul Mescal.

“Gentlemen, you laid your whale-sized hearts bare so we could see into your souls like no one else could do,” he said. He also praised his fellow Whale Oscar-nominee Hong Chau, whose so talented, he said, that “only whales can swim at the depth of [her] talent.”

Fraser also reflected on his life. “When I started in this business 30 years ago, it didn’t go easily for me,” he said. “There was a facility that I didn’t appreciate at the time — until it stopped.” That surely makes him appreciate winning an Oscar even more.

You can watch Fraser’s speech in the tweet above.

For a moment there, it seemed like All Quiet on the Western Front might pull an upset. The Netflix war film won multiple awards, including Best International Feature Film (as expected), Best Original Score, and Best Cinematography. But when it came time to present the biggest award of the 2023 Oscars, the frontrunner prevailed: Everywhere Everywhere All at Once won Best Picture.

The best multiverse movie of 2022 became the second A24 film to win Best Picture, following Moonlight. This time, there was no envelope drama. Everything Everywhere All at Once also won Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. As noted by Kyle Buchanan of the New York Times, “With 3 acting wins, plus Best Director and Best Picture, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE has won more above-the-line Oscars than any movie ever in the 95 years they’ve thrown this show.” Pretty good for an indie movie with a raccoon chef.

You can watch the history-making moment below.

“I was so happy,” Daniel Kwan, one-half of the Daniels directing duo, told Uproxx about the reaction to Everywhere Everything All at Once. “Because they didn’t understand how we could have made it, which is kind of what we want to do. We kind of want to constantly to be showing people that the way things are isn’t always how they should be.”

For the complete list of winners at the 2023 Oscars, head here.

The 2023 Oscars were bound to be a mostly civilized affair because, and this is sheer speculation, that’s the natural bounce-back reaction the year after an Oscar nominee-about-to-be-turned-winner hauls off and Slaps the host. This year, the emphasis was on the awards with a few sparse moments raising eyebrows. Surely, the actual Slap jokes could have gone a lot further.

One (unrelated) joke may have gone too far, according to some people, although other people couldn’t help but snort-laugh. That would be Jimmy Kimmel’s nearly offhanded mention of a phone-in poll to ask viewers if Beretta and In Cold Blood star Robert Blake should be included in the customary “In Memoriam” section of the broadcast. Blake, of course, remained a controversial figure — due to being criminally acquitted but held civilly liable in his wife’s 2001 death — up until his death late last week at age 89.

Andrew Garfield’s instant meme face (from earlier in the broadcast) became a handy social media reaction when Kimmel offered his most incendiary joke of the evening.

Very quickly, people reacted. Blake passed only a few days ago, so perhaps it’s too soon? A vocal contingent, however, enjoyed the morbid nature of the joke, both despite and in spite of its savageness.

Still, others were not fans of the joke and did feel that it should have been skipped and/or Blake should have been included in the segment.

You can follow along with our Oscars coverage here.

Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII performance may have sparked quite a few (unjustifiable) compliments to the FCC, there’s no one complaining about her performance during tonight’s (March 12) 2023 Oscars ceremony. Gleaming with immaculately jeweled costuming and pregnancy bliss, performed “Lift Me Up” from Wakanda 2: Wakanda Forever.

The moving tribute track to the late actor Chadwick Boseman brought the entertainer out of musical retirement. With her baby bump on full display, Rihanna took the stage built out to resemble the breathtaking nature shots shown in the film. Backed by a full orchestra and a host of background singers, the singer belted out the emotional lyrics to the song, which was rewarded with a standing ovation after her conclusion.

Watch the full performance of “Lift Me Up” below.

When asked about what went into creating the tribute track, co-writer Tems said, “After speaking with [director Ryan Coogler] and hearing his direction for the film and the song, I wanted to write something that portrays a warm embrace from all the people that I’ve lost in my life. I tried to imagine what it would feel like if I could sing to them now and express how much I miss them. Rihanna has been an inspiration to me so hearing her convey this song is a great honor.”

Lady Gaga sure does know how to make a statement. Whether she’s advocating on behalf of the arts or just penning a deeply moving track, Gaga gives her all. During her performance of “Hold My Hand” during the 95th annual Oscars, the singer did just that.

Initially, the entertainer was not slated to perform, reportedly due to her demanding filming schedule for the Joker sequel, Gaga surprised attendees in more ways than one. After walking the red carpet in a stunning drop-waist Versace gown, however, when she took the stage to perform, Gaga changed into something a bit more comfortable and removed her makeup.

As the singer began the stripped-down performance of the track, she opened with, “I think we all need each other, we need a lot of love to walk through this life. And we all need a hero sometimes. There’s heroes all around us in unassuming places. But you might find that you can be our own hero even if you feel broken inside.”

Watch her full performance below.

As the camera panned out, the background screen revealed an in memoriam message, “In memory of Tony Scott.” Scott was the director of the original Top Gun film, released in 1986. The late director took his own life in August 2012.

Back in the song was released, Gaga took to Instagram to chronicle the creative process, writing, “When I wrote this song for Top Gun: Maverick, I didn’t even realize the multiple layers it spanned across the film’s heart, my own psyche, and the nature of the world we’ve been living in.”

Continuing to add, “I’ve been working on it for years, perfecting it, trying to make it ours. I wanted to make music into a song where we share our deep need to both be understood and try to understand each other — a longing to be close when we feel so far away and an ability to celebrate life’s heroes.”

All hail The Chefs of The Bear.

The Original Beef of Chicagoland will return, and one can expect many aspects of the restaurant to stay the same, although it will also necessary be different. This promise materialized in the season finale following one spectacular spaghetti feast, when Carmy posted a sign to the effect of The Beef closing and reemerging as The Bear. And as revealed during an Oscars commercial break, FX dropped a first teaser for Season 2. We’ve got a premiere window and the emphasis of “a rebirth” and “not a reopening”

So, June is officially the time when Season 2 will make people lust over Jeremy Allen White’s disheveled character again. We’ll possibly find out if Carmy will get some action that doesn’t involve a sandwich or a malfunctioning order system. I still believe that this would ruin his kitchen vibes, but you can’t stop TV writers from doing their thing if they so wish. Will Elan Moss-Bachrach’s Ritchie get stabbed again, in the kitchen or elsewhere? And will Ayo Edebiri eventually rule the world as predestined?

No one would be mad to see Jon Bernthal or Joel McHale make another cameo, and people responded to this teaser with enthusiasm. FX was on top with a “Yes Chef” and a salute.

The Bear is currently streaming on Hulu.

All season long, HBO’s The Last of Us has done an incredible job of recreating the video game’s most memorable scenes. Sarah’s death. Sam and Henry. Ellie and Riley’s date at the mall from the Left Behind DLC. The season finale was no different. “Look for the Light” had maybe the most iconic moment from Naughty Dog’s masterpiece. No, it’s not Joel lying to Ellie, although that was also handled well; our recap has you covered there. It’s the giraffe scene.

It’s a rare moment of joy for Ellie, who, if you’ll recall, recently went feral on a pedophilic religious nut — who was also a cannibal trying to kill her and Joel (“It’s OK, baby girl”). No one needed to play with a cute animal more than her.

In the video game, the pack (herd? flock? murder?) of giraffes were originally going to be deer, but “deer are too mundane. Deer are pretty small and mundane. And giraffe are pretty incredible,” The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann told Kotaku in 2013. “You go to the zoo and you see a giraffe up close… I was in Tampa, Florida, and there was a place where you could see giraffes, and it’s pretty incredible, seeing this majestic animal up close.”

Also incredible: the reaction to the giraffe scene.

Each week, we’ll recap the biggest moments of HBO’s The Last of Us before placing bets on the odds of survival for our favorite characters – like the sick, twisted, soulless monsters we are.

After a season that consistently surprised audiences with its ability to top itself, episode after episode, the season finale of The Last of Us was … just okay. (One could argue that’s even worse than being labeled outright “bad.” At least, when something’s “bad” it’s a conversation starter, something worthy of being discussed and disseminated to determine why the thing failed.)

“Look for the Light,” had the impossible job of finishing an already excellent season on an even higher note while also teasing the explosive storylines set to fuel its already-greenlit season two. We don’t envy showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann that task, and we wouldn’t go so far as to say their attempt to deliver fell completely flat. The show’s season finale had some highlights — the performances of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey among them — plus CGI giraffes, but its missteps left us wondering where this show is going, and what it really wants to be.

Bloody Beginnings

A young woman is running for her life through the wilderness but don’t panic, it’s not Ellie. Instead, it’s a flashback of her mom – played by Ashley Johnson, the voice actress for Ellie’s character in the original game. (It’s confusing, we know.) Other than a few sentimental tidbits from Marlene at the beginning of the season, we know next to nothing about who Anna was or how she got involved with the Fireflies, and we don’t really learn any answers here either. Instead, we’re treated to a vague theory on how Ellie developed her immunity.

In the midst of labor, Anna has to outrun a clicker, barricade herself in an abandoned farmhouse, and use her trusty pocketknife to skewer the Infected’s brains while her cervix dilates without the aid of an epidural. What a way to celebrate Women’s History Month!

She eventually gives birth to Ellie but discovers she’s been bitten in the process, a gut-wrenching observation she can’t afford to linger on for too long because she’s got to sever the umbilical cord and make sure the Cordyceps doesn’t reach her brand-new infant. (It does, but the show explains how that fortunate bit of timing creates Ellie’s resistance to the fungus later in the episode.) When Marlene and her group reach Anna, she’s cradling her newborn and holding a knife to her throat, begging Marlene to take the baby and give her to a good family after she puts a bullet in her best friend’s brain.

If you thought The Last of Us was going to give fans a break from the relentless marathon of emotional terrorism in its final episode, boy were you wrong.

On the Road (Again?)

That flashback morphs into a close-up of Bella Ramsey’s tortured, blank stare in the present. Some non-distinct amount of time has passed since the events of the previous episode – one we’ve affectionately nicknamed, “The White Lotus: Cult Edition” – but it hasn’t managed to heal her wounds thus far. She’s quiet and broody and contemplative in the way that someone who’s been through multiple life traumas — and is just now beginning to cope with the psychological fallout from them – can be. Joel on the other hand is uncharacteristically chipper. We’ll take whatever penicillin Ellie dosed him with the next time we need an antibiotic regimen because the man has done a complete 180 – physically and in terms of his stoic, unapproachable demeanor. He’s talking non-stop, he’s offering to teach Ellie to play the guitar, he’s smiling … Who the hell is this and what have they done with Pedro Pascal?

There’s a bit of intentional humor when we first witness this personality swap. Look at Joel actually wanting to hear some puns. Look at Ellie being quiet and annoyed at her walking companion for once. But the more it outlasts its initial shock value, the more it feels unearned … at the very least, confusing. Near-death experiences have the power to induce fundamental shifts in people, we get it, but to jump from the fiery reunion at the end of episode eight to this is just jarring – enough to completely remove one from the story the writers are trying to tell.

There’s an alternate version of how this season ends, one that takes its time – perhaps by allotting itself the same over-an-hour-long runtime that previous episodes have been gifted – sitting with Ellie and Joel after the mayhem at David’s compound. One that stills for them to recover from their wounds – mental and physical – before propelling them back on their fruitless quest. An extra 20 minutes of Ellie raging at the impossibility of her situation or Joel apologizing for failing her yet again would’ve felt more genuine than the identity crisis the two undergo in this episode. Would they have worked everything out? Would they have even talked about the trauma they suffered? Probably not, but even that silence would’ve been more gratifying than whatever this is.

The magical interludes with giraffes, the explosive confession from Joel about his suicide attempt, the equally vulnerable admission from Ellie about Riley’s death – it flows like water down the drain, barely leaving an impression because the clock is ticking and the need for more violence will not be denied.

The Things We Do For Sheep Farms

Why the pair is even still searching for the Fireflies at this point is a question we’re constantly asking in this episode. Joel seems content to pack it up and make a home with Tommy’s commune but Ellie insists all of the lives lost and bad memories can’t be for nothing. It’s a central crux of the story The Last of Us is trying to tell. Save just one, or save everyone? When the world goes to shit and humanity is all but extinct, when cities have crumbled and invasive fungi have toppled our very fragile ecosystem, isn’t every life precious? Isn’t saving one girl enough?

Joel thinks so and honestly, as the parental figure here, he should’ve recognized the post-traumatic stress-induced coping mechanisms Ellie is deploying to explain her reasoning for pushing on. That’s survivor’s guilt talking, not common sense. But because Joel is in overprotective dad mode to a debilitating degree he gives in and they make it to the Fireflies – who proceed to knock Joel unconscious, capture them both, and launch a nasty science experiment on a drugged-out Ellie. Marlene pops up again, explaining to a groggy Joel what the procedure to replicate Ellie’s immunity entails. The short version? Her, dead. The more complicated one: enough of the Cordyceps fungus traveled down the umbilical cord before Anna could sever it, growing with Ellie instead of from her, convincing the mature fungus in the Infected that she’s one of them. Essentially, she’s got an unbeatable form of camouflage that Marlene wants to mass manufacture but to do that they need to cut up her brain.

Joel’s clearly against this and we’re treated to a slo-mo montage of him gunning down the resistance, the only noise the blaring of the show’s theme song. It’s supposed to be a bloodbath that leaves us shocked, our stomachs queasy and our morality tested, but it just falls flat – perhaps because the vengeance on display in last week’s episode was much more gratifying. Ellie struggled to earn her freedom, she clawed her way out of a terrible situation and took some bruises and blows in the process. Joel, by comparison, seems to float through the building, easily dispatching gunmen with just one or two perfectly placed shots, never outmatched or in danger of harm. It’s the kind of badass machismo that inflates the male ego like a bad Viagra commercial – look at this alpha male murdering in the name of a young damsel in distress. That’s masculinity, people.

Joel kills nearly everyone, save for a couple of lucky nurses, executing Marlene on his way out. When Ellie wakes up on the car ride home she questions what happens. This is likely the “divisive” moment Ramsey warned fans about because Joel lies to her about the bloodshed and body count he left behind. Instead, he pacifies her with a story about dozens of immune individuals being tested, Ellie just one of many, and the results being disappointing. The doctors couldn’t replicate her immunity or any of the others, and raiders stormed the building soon after that fact was made clear. He saved Ellie and got the hell out of dodge. It’s a weak story, which is probably why Ellie makes him promise he’s telling her the truth before the episode ends. Instead of taking the out – coming clean about the whole affair, explaining it’s a moot point anyway since all the doctors are dead, and dealing with the blowback of taking that choice from her – he lies, again. And she accepts the lie, again. And so, we’re left to wait for the retribution to come in season two.

Was this the finale we hoped for? In comparison with how excellent the rest of the season has been, no. This episode felt like a hastily applied swath of duct tape on a leaking dam, just enough to wrap one storyline before the next bursts through in a year (or two, or three, knowing HBO). It doesn’t diminish the work done all season, or negate the fact that this is still the best video game adaptation we’ve seen in a long time, but it does make us wonder: Is the show’s method of delivering a play-by-play parallel of its source material so unyielding, it’s starting to cripple its potential to be something more than just an adaptation? It’s damning its chances to become its own thing?

Survival Odds

We’ll take a break from ranking the likelihood of impending death for the show’s main characters to instead acknowledge the basic philosophical premise of this show. It’s not, could we survive the fungal apocalypse? It’s, would we even want to?

Everything Everywhere All At Once is already one of the biggest winners at the 2023 Oscars. With Jamie Lee Curtis won Best Supporting Actress, and Ke Huy Quan won Best Supporting Actor for their respective roles. Also, a featured assemble member of the film, actress Stephanie Hsu joined David Byrne onstage for a performance of the film’s breakout song, “This Is A Life.”

Co-written by Ryan Lott with featured vocal contributions from Mitski, the song perfectly reflects what the film is all about. Despite Mitski’s absence, David Byrne, Stephanie Hsu, and trio Son Lux’s performance on the Oscars stage continued in the abstract reality at the core of the film.

Dressed in all white, beautifully backed with halo lighting, the performance transports the audience into the film’s sci-fi reality as Byrne waves around prop hot dog fingers (a fan favorite from the project).

Watch the full performance of “This Is A Life” below.

When asked about the inspiration behind the full soundtrack in which the song appears, Son Lux said, “Even though we knew from the moment Daniels asked us to score this film that it would push us in new and unexpected directions, we couldn’t have predicted how much we’d learn from the project.”