Month: June 2023

Oliver Stone, who has made films about war (Platoon), assassinations (JFK), and natural born killers (Natural Born Killers), has something to say about the “disgusting” violence in John Wick: Chapter 4.

“I saw John Wick 4 on the plane. Talk about volume. I think the film is disgusting beyond belief. Disgusting. I don’t know what people are thinking,” he told Variety. “Maybe I was watching G.I. Joe when I was a kid. But [Keanu Reeves] kills, what, three, four hundred people in the fucking movie. And as a combat veteran, I gotta tell you, not one of them is believable. I realize it’s a movie, but it’s become a video game more than a movie.”

That’s not the insult he thinks it is: the stairs sequence in Chapter 4 would make a great video game level.

The Oscar-winning director of Born on the Fourth of July continued, “It’s lost touch with reality. The audience perhaps likes the video game. But I get bored by it. How many cars can crash? How many stunts can you do? What’s the difference between Fast and Furious and some other film? It’s just one thing after another. Whether it’s a super-human Marvel character or just a human being like John Wick, it doesn’t make any difference. It’s not believable.”

Stone, as frustrating as he is, makes some good points… but his overall message is lost by picking on John Wick 4, one of the best action movies in years. I don’t want to know what he thinks about Mad Max: Fury Road…

(Via Variety)

Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.

Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week we got new music from Julia Jacklin, Sparklehorse, Kennyhoopla, Vagabon, and more.

While we’re at it, sign up for our newsletter to get the best new indie music delivered directly to your inbox, every Monday.

Knocked Loose — “Deep In The Willow” & “Everything Is Quiet Now”

Knocked Loose continue to cultivate one of the craziest followings ever with their unhinged metal anthems with big, barking breakdowns. “Deep In The Willow” and “Everything Is Quiet Now” give their energetic fans more music to fling their bodies around to in pits. Both are brutally, inconceivably fast; they put everything they had into these rippers.

Sparklehorse — “Evening Star Supercharger”

In 2010, Mark Linkous tragically took his own life and left fans of his band Sparklehorse with an eviscerating, exquisite discography of emotional albums. It was just announced that a posthumous one is coming, called “Bird Machine.” The single “Evening Star Supercharger” captures their specifically beautifully agony: “Peace without pill, gun or needle or prayer appear / Never found sometimes near but too fleet to be clear,” he sings.

Clearbody — Bend In A Blur

Clearbody’s Bend In A Blur is fittingly titled like most shoegaze works often are; the music is hazy and moves with a mesmerizing elasticity, dreamy guitars blending with airy vocals and creating a whirlpool of hypnotic sound. To make it more immersive, the tracks bleed into each other seamlessly.

Vagabon — “Can I Talk My Sh*t”

Vagabon just announced her new album Sorry I Haven’t Called arriving this fall. “Can I Talk My Sh*t” is her glimmering new single that tracks her self-exploration: “Can I talk my sh*t? / I don’t think I’m escaping / I’m going to a place I know / Never saw myself getting so caught up,” she sings against an enchanting atmosphere.

Julia Jacklin — “Shivers”

Julia Jacklin’s Pre Pleasure was one of the most stunning records of last year. Now, the Australian singer/songwriter is back with a cover of Rowland S. Howard’s “Shivers” as a tribute to the late Tony Cohen. “It was one of the first songs I ever learnt to play,” she said, and that sense of familiarity and comfort shines through in this meditative rendition.

Girl Scout — “Boy In Blue”

Swedish group Girl Scout just announced their new EP Granny Music coming in September. “‘Boy in Blue’ embodies the feeling of being stuck in a relationship,” vocalist Emma Jansson said about their new song, and it’s an earworm with a memorable hook: “I’m just the ghost of you / I do whatever you want me to.”

Slaughter Beach, Dog — “Strange Weather”

Slaughter Beach, Dog’s new song “Strange Weather” is an upbeat, twangy ballad that encapsulates their visceral vulnerability: “Oh my word / How am I still unsure / I don’t wanna think about you anymore,” Jake Ewald lulls against lively acoustic guitar.

Strange Ranger — “Way Out”

“I wrote this one while going through my memories of being a teenager in Montana and then it got all biblical for some reason,” Strange Ranger’s Isaac Eiger said about the band’s new single “Way Out.” Sticking to their off-kilter, building sound, the song drifts purposefully, leading into a powerful mess of instrumentation at the end that does feel spiritual.

Thick — “Doomer”

Brooklyn punks Thick always have infectious melodies that meld perfectly with vivacious guitars and an exuberant rhythm. Their new anthem “Doomer” exemplifies this best: “I could kiss you hard right now / Close your eyes and open up your mouth / I could hold you close and tight / Make you feel alive,” they sing, before adding cleverly, “But I don’t want to.”

Kennyhoopla, Travis Barker — “Sabotage //”

Kennyhoopla didn’t hold back on his 2021 debut Survivors Guilt. With Travis Barker on the drums, he made explosive, unrelenting pop-punk anthems with a vibrant personality and sharp edge. His new track “Sabotage //” proves he’s still got it and he’s not gonna stop any time soon.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Rootin’ tootin’ Lauren Boebert might not want to worry too much about lawmakers in other countries after missing out on an incredibly crucial vote for the American people. Boebert also lied about why she showed up late for that event (a “protest”) before footage revealed Boebert running up the U.S. Capitol stairs, only to be told she was too late. However, Boebert still hasn’t admitted to what that video evidence revealed, and she’s been in distraction mode since that time.

These antics included insulting a witness during an Oversight Committee meeting, but now, Boebert is concerning herself with matters in New Zealand. She’s very concerned about “ethnicity” as one of the several criteria for prioritizing patients in line for medical care. Boebert is seeing the worst in this news, which is kind-of beside the point because doctors already do evaluate risk factors based upon ethnicity, age, sex, and so on. Still, Boebert wants everyone to know that she has heard of George Orwell’s Animal Farm.

“That’s right, surgeons in Auckland are now being asked to consider patients’ ethnicity as one of the factors when deciding who needs an operation first,” the congresswoman from Colorado tweeted. “This is an ethical nightmare and New Zealand really is becoming a cesspit of government control. We’ve been saying for years that all of this was a slippery slope, and now New Zealand is already at the ‘Animal Farm’ stage of their decline. And rest assured, the wokeness that starts there comes here a few years after. That’s why we have to resist it at every turn.”

The initial smattering of responses were not flattering to Boebert or her ironically Orwellian leap of logic.

People also asked the obvious: whether she’d ever read Animal Farm. (I’m also wondering if she realized that Orwell was a democratic socialist, beyond the subject matter of the book?)

And of course, people would love to know why she cares so much about New Zealand while she misses votes in the U.S. and spends a lot of time tweeting.

The week is young. Lots of rootin’ and tootin’ to come, no doubt.

Days after Bebe Rexha had to leave her NYC show early after being struck by a phone thrown from the crowd, the person who injured her, reportedly a man named Nicolas Malvagna, has shared his side.

“I was trying to see if I could hit her with the phone at the end of the show because it would be funny,” Malvagna reportedly told the police, according to Rolling Stone. He has since been charged with two counts of third-degree assault, one each of second-degree harassment and aggravated harassment, and one for third-degree attempted assault.

NYC police have also “determined that a 27-year-old male intentionally threw a cell phone” through their initial investigation, which Malvagna confessed to doing.

The video from Rexha’s show has the moment the phone hit her, causing her to have to go to the hospital to get stitches over the weekend. She also showed just how bad it hit her eye in an Instagram post that she captioned, “I’m good.”

In the days since, the internet has rallied behind Rexha, considering her eye injury could have been a lot worse. Others have reacted to Malvagna’s identity being revealed. “He better pray for a life sentence because stan twitter is out for blood,” one user wrote.

Continue scrolling for some additional reactions.

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

Musicians Tyga and Avril Lavigne found love in a hopeless place back in March. Since then, the “Platinum” rapper and his punk rock royalty girlfriend have taken their whirlwind fling around the globe attending fashion shows and more together. Supposedly as a token of his love, Tyga even purchased Lavigne an $80,000 custom pink and black diamond necklace.

However, according to TMZ, their chaos-inducing romance has come to an end: The outlet reported Tyga and Avril Lavigne have broken up. A source close to the pair told the publisher that despite their split, both parties will remain friends.

The entertainer’s coupling devastated Lavigne’s ex-fiance Mod Sun. The musician took to Instagram to write, “In 1 week, my entire life completely changed…I just know there’s a plan for it all. I’ll keep my head up + always listen to my heart, even when it feels broken.” During a show, Mod Sun’s fans chanted, “F*ck Tyga.”

Although Lavigne and Tyga’s fans weren’t necessarily against their partnership, they did verbalize their confusion given that they have both been linked to different members of the Jenner/Kardashian family. Tyga has dated Kylie Jenner. Lavigne’s ex-boyfriend is Kylie’s older brother Brody Jenner. Kylie’s other brother Rob Kardashian has a daughter with Blac Chyna (now known as Angela White), with whom Tyga also shares a son.

Britney Spears’ first post-conservatorship song was a success, as her and Elton John’s “Hold Me Closer” managed a peak at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2022. Now, it appears Spears might have her sights set on reuniting with “Scream & Shout” collaborator will.i.am.

In a recent interview on Good Morning Britain, will.i.am was asked if there’s anything new from him and Britney on the way. Smiling and looking away from the camera, he said, “Yeah, there’s been things in the works, things that we’ve done in the past.” The hosts prodded him to reveal whatever it is he’s thinking about, and he responded with a laugh, “I can’t reveal. I live a very private life.” The hosts asked when he intends to make an announcement and will.i.am coyly answered, “Announcement of what?”

Elsewhere in the conversation (as WRMF notes), will.i.am reflected on his past with Spears and her present, saying, “We’ve done cool things together, and I’m so happy that she’s on this new journey and shining. She’s still got hurdles, but you know what, we’re all there to support her.”

This comes shortly after a significant milestone for Spears and will.i.am: In May, the video for “Scream & Shout” surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube. It’s Spears’ first video to reach that benchmark and will.i.am’s second, following Black Eyed Peas and J Balvin’s “RITMO.”

Wes Anderson‘s movies are largely nudity-free affairs, but not Asteroid City (and the pre-The Darjeeling Limited short Hotel Chevalier with Natalie Portman). Scarlett Johansson has a brief nude scene in the 1950s-set film, one that made Anderson deeply “uncomfortable.”

“Wes is probably the worst person to talk to about anything like that. He’s so uncomfortable around that topic,” Johansson told Yahoo! Entertainment, while laughing. When asked how the director was giving directions from behind the camera, she replied, “I’ll leave it up to your imagination. There was a lot of throat clearing and [Wes] sort of hiding his face.”

Anderson has been described as “shy” and that he “needs a deep connection with his actors,” so it’s not surprising that he turned into a red-faced school boy while shooting a nude scene. This would have not have been the case if it involved Johansson’s Asteroid City co-star Willem Dafoe, however. He would have been too distracted by the actor’s “enormous d*ck” to be embarrassed.

Asteroid City, which also stars Jason Schwartzman, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Steve Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan, and Jeff Goldblum (pretty good cast imo), comes out on June 23rd.

(Via Yahoo! Entertainment)

For the upcoming Barbie movie soundtrack, Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice teamed up for “Barbie World,” a new spin on Aqua’s classic “Barbie Girl.” However, Jason Martin (the rapper/songwriter/producer formerly known as Problem who now releases music as JasonMartin) claims that Minaj stole the idea for the track from him.

Last December, Saweetie previewed the Aqua-sampling “Icy Girl, Icy World” during an Instagram Live session. Sharing a clip of that on Twitter on June 18, Martin wrote, “As a writer on this, I can confirm this song and idea was sent to her last year to submit for the Barbie movie. It’s sad to see that the original artist has been pushed off a song that was her idea and was meant for both of them. I have no side in this, but I will be compensated.” He continued in another tweet, “If or when I need to detail the whole way it went down in regards to this Barbie sh*t, you will understand why all writers need to be compensated with day rates and contracts protecting their intellectual properties the day of. Hopefully this gets sorted out quietly. But please no I don’t scare easy.”

He spoke about it on Instagram Live, too, claiming he and Saweetie created the song and sent it to Minaj for Barbie movie consideration. She supposedly said she was going to use the song before making her own version without the two involved.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

So far the MCU has staged resolutely, stubbornly PG-13. That’s going to change with Deadpool 3, which will likely be as gleefully R-rated as the first two. That doesn’t mean other modern Marvel films can’t go hard. Over at the comics line’s Sony wing, they’re going full tilt boogie gory with Kraven the Hunter, which just released its first, super bloody trailer.

The ad offers the first decent look at Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s antihero Sergei Kravinoff, the scion of a tough cookie of a father, played by a Russian-accented Russell Crowe. A drop of animal blood turns him into a kind of beast who can commune with the world’s most fearsome critters. But he appears to be just fine doing his own killing, which he does with big scary knives, bows and arrows, and other weapons that douse the screen in streams of blood. At one point he even bites off a dude’s nose and spits it at the screen.

The trailer also includes a last minute appearance by Alessandro Nivola as Rhino, a baddie briefly teased — without any follow-through — in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, in which he was played by no less than Paul Giamatti.

Not many get to play two characters in the MCU, but Taylor-Johnson is an exception. Once upon a time the British actor played Pietro Maximof, aka Quicksilver (though he wasn’t called that), His version of the character only appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and when they brought Pietro back briefly for WandaVision, it wasn’t him doing the honors. (Instead they did a Marvel in-joke.) Bringing Taylor-Johnson back should make up for that, but it’s not like he’s lacking for work: Heck, there’s been rumors that he could be the next 007.

You can watch the Kraven the Hunter trailer in the video above. The film is due in theaters on October 6.

Yesterday (June 18) was Father’s Day. Naturally, Nick Cannon is the musician that most prominently comes to mind on that occasion. ASAP Rocky, though, is one of music’s biggest power couples alongside Rihanna, so he has plenty to celebrate, too.

He did so with an Instagram post featuring a handful of photos and videos. The gallery starts with a video of Rocky brushing his teeth, followed by a video of him and RZA (his son, not the Wu-Tang Clan rapper) napping in bed and a photo of RZA flashing a big, happy smile. Next is a video of Rocky and Rihanna hanging out in the bathroom, as Rocky prompts RiRi to show off her pregnant belly as she insists, “This is so sad.” She then jokingly moves her belly around before Rocky pats his own stomach and insists he and his wife match, which gets a laugh from Rihanna.

The post ends with a photo of Rocky kissing Rihanna’s pregnant belly, a video of RZA, and Rihanna and RZA laying in bed. It’s a cute look into the couple’s family life and Rihanna seemed to enjoy it, as she commented on the post, “The Mayers boys stole my whole heart! Happy Father’s Day nerd.”

RZA may not be old enough to enjoy Rihanna’s music yet, but he’ll probably be happy with her upcoming role in a Smurfs movie.