Month: June 2023

Republicans sure are in a pickle these days. On one hand, it would be good for the Grand Old Party if twice-indicted former president Donald Trump is blocked from ever stepping inside the White House again. On the other, he’s crushing any 2024 rivals, so they can’t say anything mean. A few brave souls have dared acknowledge the truth: that his second indictment is far more damaging than the first. That includes at least one former employee.

Bill Barr, who served as Attorney General under Trump till almost the very end, went on Fox News Sunday. Unlike many in the GOP, he didn’t even try to spin doctor Trump’s crimes.

“If even half of it is true, he is toast,” Barr theorized. “I mean, it’s a very detailed indictment, and it’s very, very damning.”

While the likes of Lindsey Graham and Jim Jordan were tying themselves up into pretzels with their lack of logic, Barr argued that there’s no politicization going on when it comes to Trump’s mishandling of classified government documents.

“This idea of presenting Trump as a victim here or a victim of a witch hunt is ridiculous,” Barr declared. “Yes, he’s been a victim in the past. His adversaries have obsessively pursued him with phony claims. And I’ve been at his side defending against them when he is a victim. But this is much different. He’s not a victim here. He was totally wrong that he had the right to have those documents. Those documents are among the most sensitive secrets that the country has. They have to be in the custody of the archivist. He had no right to maintain them and retain them.”

Barr also laid out his track record when it comes to Trump, for good and ill.

“He’s been angry with me for a while,” Barr explaiend. “But you know, I defended the president on on Russia-gate. I stood up and called out [Manhattan District Attorney] Alvin Bragg’s politicized hit job. And I have spoken out for 30 years about the abuse of the criminal justice process to influence politics. But this is simply not true. This particular episode of trying to retrieve those documents, the government acted responsibly. and it was Donald Trump who acted irresponsibly.”

Of course, will this keep Barr from voting for Trump should he clinch the nomination yet again? Oh, probably not.

In the days since Trump was indicted, again, the big guy has ranted and raved. But he hasn’t let it keep him from delivering public speeches, including one where he let slip that he’s only slamming transgender people because he knows it riles his base up.

(Via Mediaite)

Nicki Minaj sent the internet into a frenzy last week when she announced her highly-anticipated album, NM5, would be released in October. However, the “Princess Diana (Remix)” rapper isn’t the only one spending the public into a panic. According to TMZ, an overzealous troll sent local authorities into high alert after a series of anonymous calls.

The outlet has reported that Los Angeles-area law enforcement were sent out to Minaj’s home earlier this month after receiving reports that her son and her home was on fire. However, the hoax calls didn’t stop there. Another caller claimed that Minaj’s son, affectionately known as Papa Bear, was being abused.

Allegedly after the sheriff’s deputies spoke with Minaj and her husband, Kenneth Petty, they were cleared of any supposed wrongdoing. A source told the site that local law enforcement is enraged about the wasted time and resources that went into investigating the claims. Minaj is reportedly furious over the incident. The “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” rapper is considering pursuing legal actions against the anonymous callers for ‘swatting’ which is considered a criminal harassment tactic.

This wouldn’t be the first time Minaj took a troll to court over harassment. In February, Minaj filed a lawsuit against a YouTuber for defamation.

Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are buds now. They even did a couple action movies together. The Reagan ‘80s were very different. Back then the two duked it out as the best of the best when it came to what the academic Susan Jeffords coined the era of “Hard Bodies” — action movies starring ripped, hulking behemoths who spent way too much time at the gym. Now, decades later, Sly is admitting Ah-nuld was king.

“The ’80s was a very interesting time because the definitive ‘action guy’ had not really been formed yet,” Stallone explained in the new Netflix doc Arnold. “Up until that time, action was a car chase like Bullitt or The French Connection, and a film all about intellect and innuendo and verbal this and verbal that.”

Movies like First Blood and Conan the Barbarian — both released in 1982 — changed that. No longer was an actor hero a slim stud like Steve McQueen or an Average Joe like Gene Hackman. John Rambo and Conan were towering he-men.

“You actually relied upon your body to tell the story. Dialogue was not necessary,” Stallone explained. “I saw that there was an opportunity, ’cause no one else was doing this… except some other guy from Austria, who doesn’t need to say much.”

Throughout the decade, Stallone and Schwarzenegger duking it out for the same audience. “We became incredibly competitive,” Stallone said. “Like [Muhammad] Ali and [Joe] Frazier, or great warriors that are traveling the same course: There was only room for one of us.”

Stallone acknowledged that despite going up for similar roles, the two actors had “different styles of acting”: While Stallone spent the ‘70s doing character-driven work like Rocky (which, to be fair, still required him to look like a heavyweight champ), Schwarzenegger was all about body-building. The latter’s big cinematic hit of the ‘70s was the muscleman doc Pumping Iron.

That said, far as the “hard bodies” style of ‘80s style of movie star goes, Stallone can now admit Schwarzenegger trumped him. “He was superior. He just had all the answers,” he explained. “He had the body. He had the strength. That was his character.”

Stallone even broke down the biggest difference between the roles they played. He was often cast as “the guy that’s not overly gifted,” who has to fight for his survival. “I had to get my ass kicked constantly, whereas Arnold, he never got hurt much,” he explained. “And I’m going, ‘Arnold, you could go out and fight a dragon and you’d come back with a Band-Aid.’”

But again, now the two are good friends, well past the era when one of them would trick the other into making one of his worst movies.

Arnold now streams on Netflix.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

It’s almost like an episode — nay, an entire season — of Curb Your Enthusiasm: Larry David’s longtime co-star and former on-screen spouse is married to an anti-vax presidential candidate. (Who frequently chats with Breitbart goons.) A new profile by The New York Times tries — and sort of fails — to get Cheryl Hines to open about her controversial husband (whom even she’s attacked, once), Robert F. Kennedy Jr., aiming for the Democratic ticket in 2024. But one thing’s clear: Larry David doesn’t seem happy about it.

In the piece, Hines discusses how her husband’s candidacy has impacted her career. She claims she hasn’t lost work over it, though she admits she feels wary in social circles that her friends will give her hell — and happy that so far they haven’t. “I feel a lot of support and love from most of her friends, including Larry,” she said.

David, though, was a bit more clear in a text to NYT reporter Caitlin Moscatello, writing, “Yes love and support, but I’m not ‘supporting’ him.” (David is famously and vocally anti-MAGA, even once trashing Trump bud Alan Dershowitz in public on Martha’s Vineyard.)

Thing is, Hynes and Kennedy are together partly because of him. Despite their differences — and David’s current distaste for his candidacy — he and Kennedy are longtime friends. David introduced Hynes to him during a ski-weekend fundraiser in 2006, even inviting her to hit the slopes with him.

That said, Hynes noted that David wasn’t actually trying to get them together romantically. She even joked that he said her their union was a bad idea, though when discussing their marriage, she said, “Poor Larry,” while “looking up at the ceiling.”

So what will happen if Cheryl Hines becomes First Lady? Kennedy is a long shot candidate, whose fringe opinions and conspiracy theory-heavy books about vaccines and such may not get him very far with today’s ostentatiously sane Democratic party.

In the piece, Hines, known for her philanthropic work (and social media posts of her wearing masks at the height of the pandemic), is mostly cagey about which issues her and her husband don’t agree. But whatever kooky ideas her husband has, even he’s smart enough to know she won’t tolerate him talking to Steve Bannon. Perhaps some of this will even wind up in a future season of Curb.

(Via NYT)

Every now and then Donald Trump lets slip the truth. There was that time he accidentally admitted he lost in 2020. And on Saturday, during a speech at the North Carolina Republican party convention in Greensboro — his second address of the day —he all but admitted he’ll just tell his base whatever reprehensible things they want to hear, just to rile them up and make them more exploitable.

Amidst the usual 2020 voter fraud nonsense and digs at Ron DeSantis — plus a detour about a “big fat dump” at 3:02am on election night three years back — Trump pivoted to the latest group Republicans hate: He said it he was re-elected he would go after “transgender insanity.” He also said he’d target “inappropriate racially, political, and sexual content” being taught to children.

The crowd went wild — so wild that Trump broke character and remarked about how strange it is that his fanbase today has found a new group of people to be bigoted towards.

“It’s amazing how strongly people feel about that. You see, I’m talking about cutting taxes, people go like that,” Trump told the crowd, referring to the muted response that issue receives these days. “I talk about transgender, everyone goes crazy. Who would have thought? Five years ago, you didn’t know what the hell it was.”

To his credit (sort of), Trump has slammed the anti-woke ramblings of some of his rivals, such as DeSantis. “I don’t like the term ‘woke’ because I hear ‘woke woke woke.’ It’s just a term they use, half the people can’t even define it, they don’t know what it is,” he said earlier this month.

But Trump is also shameless and free of an ideological foundation, so he’ll go where the GOP fury is. And the GOP fury these days is all about slamming LGBTQIA+ people. Indeed, Trump’s aside — in which he all but admits he’s just telling his base what they want to hear — is incredibly revealing.

In short, today’s MAGA crowd loves a guy who’s not only a twice-indicted possible criminal who may be going to the slammer, but also a guy who basically tells them to their faces that he’s using them to re-amass power.

Charles Oliveira (34-9) knocked out Beneil Dariush (22-5-1) in the first round of their co-main event bout at UFC 289 from Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Oliveira’s 2022 was a rough one. He was stripped of the lightweight championship in May and dropped the title to Islam Makhachev just a few months later in a submission loss. Eight months later, and Oliveira put on one of his best performances to date.

Facing Dariush, who came into Saturday night having won eight fights in a row and knocking on the door of a championship opportunity, Oliveira ended up on his back early in the bout and almost caught his opponent in a heel hook. Dariush escaped out and ended up back on top again, but opted to stand and trade blows. With about a minute remaining in the round, Oliveira caught Dariush with a high kick that wobbled him, then sent him sprawling. On the ground, Oliveira continued to keep the pressure on, originally looking like he’d go for a rear-naked choke before dropping hammer fists to his back and eventually landing blows in what appeared to be between streams of consciousness before the ref called it.

The win gives Oliveira the third-most wins in UFC history at 22, just three short of the record of 25, and a clear path back into title contention.

Every single 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) 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 Flash (CW series streaming on Netflix)

With word on the street that the upcoming The Flash movie, starring Michael Keaton and two Ezra Millers, is actually quite good, DC fans are naturally in the mood for this speedy superhero, so they’re binging one of the better CW superhero shows in existence. As well, the series recently ended its ninth and final season, so people know that they can digest it all without waiting for more. There’s some satisfaction in knowing that one can do so, and in about a week, we’ll see if the box office checks out, too.

TIE: 10. The Crowded Room (Apple TV+ series)

This project has gone through some phases, to put it mildly. Many years ago, Leonardo DiCaprio was reportedly set to star in a different version in which which he would have played a defendant who invoked a legal defense that had never been successfully used on a previous occasion. The crimes in question included a 1970s robbery and worse, all based on a real-life criminal. Apple TV+ has now tweaked things for an inspired-by-real-life series, and Tom Holland now portrays “Danny Sullivan,” who is arrested in connection with a shooting, and the situation spirals in many directions from there. It certainly takes Holland out of the Marvel mindset.

9. FUBAR (Netflix series)

This show doesn’t seem likely to evaporate anytime soon with Father’s Day on the horizon, and Netflix must have known that Arnold Schwarzenegger is still plenty bankable even while in Dad Jokes mode. He’s not exactly slaughtering an entire army without reloading anymore, but he’s doing alright and can probably kick butt better than you and I combined. This series is sort-of like Mr. And Mrs. Smith but with a father-daughter dynamic, and don’t deprive dudes of dad shows, especially when Yellowstone remains on hiatus with no signs of imminent return.

8. Reality (HBO movie streaming on Max)

At one point in time, “Reality Winner” felt like a fake name that the Internet made up as a Twitter trend, but the story was all too real. Sydney Sweeney portrays the portrays Air Force vet and former NSA translator who returns home one day to find FBI agents having descended upon the premises. So much for a nice, quiet life as a yoga/CrossFit instructor, and she soon finds out that she is S.O.L. after being accused of presenting information about 2016 election interference by Russia to the press. Sweeney’s skills are showcased here in a more textured manner than you’ve seen before now, as a seemingly ordinary 20-something whose life will soon forever be transformed.

7. Cruel Summer (Freeform series streaming on Hulu)

The second season of this soapy thriller series recently premiered after what feels like an extensive wait for fans. Don’t expect the timelines to settle down anytime soon as the show’s mysteries remain impressively resistant to prediction. Yes, there’s a dead body central to the story and characters attempting to get their stories on the same page as lies pile upon lies. Underneath it all, though, there’s an erupting friendship and a love triangle and plenty of intrigue to at least fill this sophomore season.

6. The Idol (HBO series streaming on Max)

For an HBO show, this series didn’t go off like gangbusters, although a certain scene has racked up more YouTube views than the entire first episode did at the source. The show attempts to thrive upon claimed controversy, and we’ll see if it can gain as much momentum as Euphoria creator Sam Levinson and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye desired while setting out to shock the world. No one ever expected subtlety here, although the show needs to start delivering upon its promises and pep up the story to keep people’s attention.

5. Manifest (Netflix series)

Flight 828, which lost five years in the initial episode of this sci-fi soap opera, now comes in for the final leg of its rocky voyage, and thank goodness that Ghost Zeke is along for the landing. The crash landing, even? You be the judge. Creator Jeff Rake was able to pack in the final three seasons of ideas into a fourth, super-sized season once Netflix rescued this beloved show from NBC cancellation. Go find out if that Death Date junk turns out to be a made-up fear, or if Cal can save the world, or both.

4. Platonic (Apple TV+ series)

A movement to resurrect the raunchy comedy is about to arrive in theaters with Jennifer Lawrence doing the honors, and here, Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen will warm up that target audience as two former best friends who (stupidly) decide that they can still party hard despite leading adult lives, too. Rose Byrne remains underrated for her comedic sense, and Seth Rogen’s jolly laugh remains incredibly hard to resist. Come for the hangover and stay for the portrayal of friendship’s ups and downs and more ups.

3. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Sony movie available for rental on Amazon)

Over three years ago, we placed this initial franchise entry at the top of our Favorite Comic Book Movies of last decade. It remains an instant classic, even as Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse proved to be equally fantastic. Before you go see Spot, refresh on this game-changer that proves how Disney and Sony can work harmoniously to shade in infinite facets of Spidey for the masses. You can never have too much of the Peter Parkers or enough of Gwen or Miles Morales or the rest, and if you think I’m wrong, then you clearly could use this adventure. So get in there and refresh yourself.

2. Silo (Apple TV+ series)

This series is a slow burn that’s finally receiving its due as people catch up and realize that Graham Yost has been quietly toiling away on a sci-fi sleeper hit. Those are always the most satisfying hits, aren’t they? Root for the TV underdog, much like you’ll find yourself doing for Rebecca Ferguson’s Juliette, who rises from being the only person why knows how to fix a humanity-sustaining generator to sheriff of the whole, 10,000 people-strong joint. This show’s mysteries never feel like sucker punches once the truth is finally revealed, although if you have read Hugh Howey’s trilogy of applicable novels (starting with Wool and moving into Shift and Dust), then you know that there’s much more to come, even after this season reaches a finale flourish.

1. I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson (Netflix series)

One thing is certain: the fandom for this show is rabid and opinionated, and even though taste in comedy can be highly specific, the people who love this series really love it. Our own Brian Grubb is one of those opinionated fans, and he whipped up a comprehensive ranking of this season’s sketches, so when you are done, mosey on over and see if you agree or disagree, and maybe even construct your own list, too. Sound absurd enough for you? Good, because that vibe fits the spirit of this show.

Amanda Nunes (23-5) earned a unanimous decision victory over Irene Aldana (14-7) to retain her bantamweight championship in the main event of UFC 289 from Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. After the victory, she cut her gloves off and retired from MMA as one of the all-time greats.

https://twitter.com/arielhelwani/status/1667759436826308609

Nunes gave Aldana plenty of respect early in the fight, keeping her distance, but finding her range. Nunes earned a takedown but immediately hopped back to her feet, unwilling to engage on the ground. Aldana was hesitant to exchange, keeping her hands tight and overreacting to every feint. With about a minute remaining in the first round, Aldana caught Nunes with a nice counter right that sent the champ stumbling.

In the second, Nunes looked downstairs, with big leg kicks that started to show damage on the challenger’s lead leg. Aldana got dropped midway through the round with an easy takedown, but Nunes refused to do anything on the ground. Aldana began to let her hands go late, and Nunes responded with a combo and a nasty clinch and knee to the head. Nunes continued to pour it on late, earning a third takedown with 15 seconds remaining in the second.

The third saw Nunes bully Aldana to the ground three times, maintaining top control for most of the round. With less than a minute remaining in the round, Aldana looked exhausted and started letting her hands go. Nunes caught Aldana with another big combination followed by a clinch and knee.

Aldana opened the championship rounds with much more activity, but almost immediately ate a gigantic elbow from Nunes. The champ continued to pick apart Aldana with shot after shot, mixing up takedown attempts with elbows, front kicks, and overhand shots.

The fifth was much of the same for Nunes, who earned a takedown and maintained top position basically the entire round.

Nunes defended the bantamweight crown for the first time since winning the belt back at UFC 277 against Julianna Peña. Nunes came into Saturday night’s main event having lost just twice since 2014. She puts a bow on her career, defeating every notable women’s fighter in the UFC’s history, with wins over Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, Cris Cyborg, Valentina Shevchenko, and Miesha Tate.

Aldana stepped up to fight Nunes when the former champion, Peña, withdrew in May due to a rib injury. Aldana won her last two bouts via knockout heading into her title tilt, last falling in 2020 in a decision loss to Holly Holm.

Friday was not a good night to be affiliated with the Miami Heat.

The team got beaten handily for the second straight game at home by the Nuggets to fall behind 3-1 in the NBA Finals as the series shifts back to Denver for Game 5. During that loss, the team’s mascot Burnie decided it’d be fun to do a bit at midcourt with Conor McGregor, who was sitting courtside for the game.

Burnie came out with big boxing gloves to “fight” McGregor, with the former UFC champ scoring a one punch knockout (and then one more on the ground for good measure).

That punch was apparently a bit more than Burnie had bargained for, as the Athletic reported on Saturday that the man in the costume had to go to the hospital to get checked out and get some pain medication before being discharged — with Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald confirming.

The story notes he is doing well now, which is good, and I feel like the lesson here is to never ask a professional fighter to punch you for a bit, even if you’re in a large, cushioned outfit. Fighters tend to not be the best at pulling punches, and the result might be some injury added to insult.

Warning: This post contains a major spoiler for The White Lotus Season 2.

The White Lotus was supposed to be a one-off. The first season of the HBO show was a limited series whose cast could not reunite because they were tourists from all over the U.S. But creator Mike White found a way to do a Season 2 anyway: He turned it into an anthology series, with only two characters returning for more. There will be more, which means White has to draw up a wish-list of destinations. And he knows of at least one future stop.

“My dream would be to hit every continent, so yeah, this is like its own continent, basically,” White said while attending a festival in Sydney, Australia which the show’s biggest star Jennifer Coolidge, as per Deadline. “We kind of have to come to Australia if we keep going.”

He added, “It would be so fun. Obviously, there’s a huge wealth of talent here and the beauty is inarguable, so it feels like it checks all the boxes.”

Speaking of, Coolidge’s character, the unimaginably wealthy Tanya McQuoid, famously ate it at the end of Season 2. That’s doesn’t mean she can’t return. Indeed, at the festival they discussed the idea of a Tanya prequel series.

“I absolutely think that’s possible, we were just talking about that,” White told the crowd. “It’s a funny idea. And making Jennifer, you know, 20 years younger, that would be fun too. I think Jennifer’s like, ‘Sure, let’s do it!’”

Coolidge even knew where Tanya should wind up. “Austalia gets my vote,” she said.

So you might see Tanya again after all, this time down under. Meanwhile, Coolidge still wants to see one of the show’s characters suffer a fate worse than Tanya did.

(Via Deadline)