Month: October 2023

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. Totally Killer (MGM movie streaming on Amazon Prime)

I get it: time travel movies can be annoying and nonsensical and overdone and paint their way into an ending. However, this time-traveling spin on a slasher movie actually feels inventive. It helps that Kiernan Shipka has the chops for spookiness (The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina and Mad Men, if you remember those jokes about Sally Draper turning into a serial killer). In this film, Shipka must help uncover the identity of a notorious serial killer after totally pooh-poohing her mom over being too concerned about such a trifling subject. Well, that serial killer showed her who is still around.

TIE: 10. No One Will Save You (20th Century Studios film streaming on Hulu)

Kaitlyn Dever cannot be stopped, even when there are aliens involved. The Justified, Booksmart, Unbelievable, and Dopesick actress stars in a nearly dialogue-less movie in which her performance still manages to speak volumes. This film ended up (surprisingly) streaming instead of landing in theaters, where it likely would have made a box-office killing in October. However, streaming subscribers can really get their money’s worth because this home-invasion horror story will have you stressing in a welcome way.

9. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (Paramount Pictures film streaming on VOD and Amazon Prime)

Tom Cruise fought like hell to get this movie finished amid the pandemic, and although it didn’t fly as high as Top Gun: Maverick, this was still as solid of a Cruise movie as they come. In other words, he did crazy things like ride off a cliff on a motorcycle and perch atop a speeding train, and also, this manages to be a very complicated movie that revolves around keys, but the action makes the intricacy worth it with more of this story to come.

8. Chucky (SyFy series streaming on Peacock)

Although this little scamp could never survive a fight with M3GAN, he’s still somehow kicking after several ridiculous movies and now the third season of this series. This year, Chucky will go to the White House, which should surely turn out well, and one episode is called “Jennifer’s Body,” which definitely has nothing to do with the Hole song or the Megan Fox movie. Or does it? Chucky isn’t telling yet.

7. Lupin (Netflix series)

France is not making the most glamorous real-life headlines at the moment, so there’s no better reason for some heist-laden escapism. Could this also be the season for one last job? The Gentleman Thief returns with Assane in hiding but not for long. He comes back to Paris and proposes a new plan for his family, but of course, Assane’s enemies and the police make this much easier said than done. At least he’ll look stylish as hell while dealing with past ghosts.

6. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (AMC series streaming on AMC+)

Hold onto your tushes because AMC has revealed that Season 2 of the Norman Reedus spinoff will be subtitled as The Book Of Carol. This means that everyone’s (sacrilegious) prayers have been answered, and Melissa McCarthy will be back in sync with her platonic soulmate. No, we don’t know how Carol will get to France, but Daryl Dixon will still be there, so presumably, she will find a way to join him. Before that happens, the season finale will enlighten us on why Daryl doesn’t head back towards The Commonwealth as planned.

5. Loki (Disney+ series)

This week, the MCU’s gloriously burdened ice giant finally reuinited with someone near and dear to his trickster heart. And then there’s the whole Sophie matter to contend with, but in the meantime, there is pie and wonderful conversation, which is one of the more appealing parts of this whole show. Leave it to Tom Hiddleston to make exposition fascinating rather than how it’s usually used in a utilitarian way. Here, it’s part of the pleasure of the series, along with all of those dramatic hair flips and Hiddleston reminding us with every move that he is a classically trained theater actor who happened to stumble into a comic book franchise.

4. Lessons In Chemistry ( Apple TV+ series)

The book clubs will be tuning in this week after devouring Bonnie Garmus’ debut novel that made her a “a literary rock star.” This will be a hard act to follow upon, but in the meantime, Brie Larson swallows this gig whole in her most complex role since ROOM, for which she won an Oscar. Larson surely relished portraying a brilliant female chemist who is vastly underestimated but finds her success elsewhere and with a rabid following involved.

3. Gen V (Amazon Prime series)

This week’s episode was full of the customary stunts for this series and was so jam-packed that it felt like a five-minute runtime. Actually, the runtime was around 35 minutes, which was arguably too short for many viewers’ tastes, but that goes to show how much people are already attached to these characters. The series has also teased a return for Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy, and although it’s doubtful that this character will join in on drop-kicking Johnny Depp, it’s still worth fun visualizing.

2. The Fall Of The House Of Usher (Netflix series)

Mike Flanagan and Edgar Allan Poe fans, unite. The streaming horror maestro is back in fine form with a project that rivals the appeal of Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass. Flanagan favorite Carla Gugino is likewise back with multiple shape-shifting forms, and the Usher family is not ready for her “consequential” appearances. Do not expect a literal adaptation of the Edgar Allen Poe short story. The series focuses on the hell created by ruthless siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher, who built Fortunato Pharmaceuticals into an empire of wealth, privilege, and power. Oh, how the mighty will fall.

1. Fair Play (Netflix movie)

There are toxic relationships of many varieties, and this story manages to embody several types. Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich portray a couple, Emily and Luke, who also happen to be hedge funders, and troubling motives soon unfold in a cathartic journey for director and writer Chloe Domont. When Emily receives a promotion over Luke, he kind-of loses it, and their already twisted power dynamics fall over a cliff. The relationship rapidly begins to deteriorate once she is promoted, and eventually, the passive aggression turns to real aggression. This film should likely carry a trigger warning, but the ending delivers a cleansing payoff that is well earned.

Ice Spice maintained her momentum during her first ever Saturday Night Live appearance. In her first performance of the night, Ice delivered a killer performance of her hit single, “In Ha Mood.” Later on, she performed her latest single “Pretty Girl” with Afro-fusion star Rema.

Upon her return, Ice was introduced by her friend and her “Karma” collaborator Taylor Swift. Ice and Rema then took to the stage, grooving to the beat of their song, as a kaleidoscopic spotlight displayed colorful patterns upon the pair. While the song was only just released this past Friday, the two displayed a clear musical chemistry as they were on stage.

Over the past few months, Ice has collaborated with Nicki Minaj and Swift, partnered with Dunkin’, and won the Best New Artist award at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. Now, she can add SNL to her resume. In an interview with The Guardian, Ice shared that she feels elated to watch her dreams manifest in real-time.

“I always felt like I could do anything I tried to do, but especially now it feels like anything is possible,” Ice said “Being at award shows, being on magazine covers, getting huge features – all those moments made me feel like: ‘Wow, we’re really doing it big.’”

And this is just the beginning.

You can see the performance above.

Ice Spice is running New York City. With several hits under her belt, like “Munch” and “Deli,” the breakthrough rapper has quickly become the face of New York drill. Earlier this month, she covered Variety‘s New York issue. Tonight (October 14), she accomplished another New York milestone — performing on Saturday Night Live.

In her first performance on the season 49 premiere on SNL — which was hosted by fellow New Yorker, Pete Davidson, Ice took to the stage in a performance of her viral hit, “In Ha Mood.”

Joined by two background dancers, Ice commanded the stage, grooving to the beat as flashing pink lights shined upon them. She and her pretty girl clique wowed a cheering crowd.

Performing on Saturday Night Live is surely a nervewracking experience, especially if it’s an artist’s first time, however, Ice maintained her confidence throughout the set.

As she reps her hometown with pride, performing on SNL is a career milestone for Ice. In her Variety interview, she shared that no amount of fame or notoriety could make her forget her New York roots.

“B*tch, just because I spent $100,000 in Chanel doesn’t mean I’m no longer from New York. Like, hello?,” Ice said.

You can see the performance above.

When it comes to breasts, Americans really have it twisted. We’ve sexualized them to such a point we no longer see them for their main purpose: feeding babies.

This disconnect is so extreme that when women breastfeed their children in public they are often met with scorn or shame.

Florida mom and anti-circumcision advocate, Ashley Kaidel, isn’t having it anymore.

Kaidel was breastfeeding in an unnamed restaurant when another diner gave her the stink-eye, just for feeding her child in public. So Kaidel took a photo of herself staring right back at the shamer and posted it to Facebook. The photo quickly went viral, receiving over 420,000 likes.

In her post, she explained why she had such a stern look on her face.

“In the picture, it appears I’m staring off into the distance. In reality, I’m staring into the eyes of a woman staring at me. She is looking at me with disgust and shaking her head with judgement in an attempt to shame me and indirectly tell me without words that I am wrong and need to cover myself.”

Kaidel says she breastfeeds in public to reduce the stigma surrounding it.

“I do this for the person that has the mentality ‘Boobs are to be covered. They’re for your husbands eyes only. They’re intimate. It’s a personal/private thing to feed your baby. Cover up out of respect. My kids don’t need to see that. Walk out of the room’ and any other derogatory, close-minded comments and sentiments alike.”

Then, she cut through all the nonsense surrounding breasts to explain their real purpose.

“[B]reasts were made to sustain your baby’s life before they were made to bring pleasure to any other man, woman, partner or spouse. Their sole purpose is to make food and dispense it straight into a baby’s mouth. There is nothing weird about this and there’s no difference in me feeding my baby with my breast than you feeding yourself with a spoon.

Finally, Kaidel had some strong words for the next person who attempts to shame her for breastfeeding in public.

“No person should be isolated and shunned because they’re eating, especially when you yourself are eating while ridiculing how someone else is eating. Is it not certainly easier to avert your eyes from a displeasing sight rather than suggest or demand a mother and child remove themselves from your presence? How pompous and selfish is this? Just look away. It’s simple to do so. No harm done at all.”

via GIPHY

This article originally appeared on November 24, 2015

At long last, Madonna has hit the road for her hotly-anticipated Celebration Tour. The tour kicked off today (October 14) in London at The O2 Arena and will continue this leg through early December. The next leg will pick up in North America beginning mid-December, and continuing into April.

With an illustrious career and several hit singles and albums under her belt, Madonna fans are dying to know what she’ll be performing.

What is Madonna’s setlist for the Celebration Tour?

According to Billboard, Madonna’s Celebration Tour setlist comprises of some of her biggest songs, ballads, and deep cuts — comprehensively touching on every era of her four-decade-long career.

You can see the setlist below.

1. “Nothing Really Matters”
2. “Everybody”
3. “Into the Groove / Hollywood”
4. “Burning Up”
5. “Open Your Heart”
6. “Holiday”
7. “Live To Tell”
8. “Virgin Mary / Act Of Contrition”
9. “Like A Prayer”
10. “Erotica / You Thrill Me”
11. “Justify My Love”
12. “Hung Up / Hung Up On Tokischa”
13. “Bad Girl”
14. “Up Down Suite / Break My Soul (Queens Remix)”
15. “Vogue”
16. “Human Nature”
17. “Crazy For You”
18. “The Beast Within”
19. “Die Another Day”
20. “Don’t Tell Me”
21. “Mother And Father”
22. “I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor cover)”
23. “La Isla Bonita”
24. “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”
25. “I Don’t Search I Find”
26. “Bedtime Story”
27. “Ray Of Light”
28. “Rain”
29. “Like A Virgin”
30. “Bitch I’m Madonna / Give Me All Your Luvin’”
31. “Celebration / Music”

Kelly Clarkson‘s 10th studio album Chemistry has shown to be one of the buzziest albums of the year. On the album, Clarkson delivers raw, gut-wrenching ballads about her divorce, putting her heartache and trauma on display. Last night (October 14), Clarkson visited The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to perform “Lighthouse” from the Chemistry album.

During the performance, Clarkson and her background singers are seen wearing all black, mourning the end of a once-loving union.

“Like a wave, you’re always crashin’ into me, crashin’ into me / And these days are harder than they used to be, and they used to be / No shootin’ stars can fix what we aren’t, and /What good’s a lighthouse when the light is burnin’ out?,” she sings with pure passion on the song’s chorus.

While the song, and the Chemistry album in general, have shown to be painfully relatable, Clarkson revealed in an interview with Variety that recording the album was very isolating. However, she has hopes that people will connect with the music.

“…I think that’s one of the main reasons for releasing it for me,” Clarkson said. “It’s like, man, if this helps one person relate to something or helps them through the grieving process, it’s worth it.

You can watch the performance above.

Kelly Clarkson is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

It’s been quite a year for St. Louis rapper Sexyy Red. Over the course of the past few months, the breakout star has gone viral with catchy soungs like “Pound Town” and “SkeeYee.” She has also collaborated with the likes of Drake, Nicki Minaj, Summer Walker, and SZA. Now, Sexyy has even more to celebrate. Today (October 14), she took to Instagram, seemingly revealing that she is expecting another baby.

In the post, she is seen showing off her baby bump next to SZA.

The post’s caption simply reads “Team boy or team girl.”

The news arrived after Sexyy and SZA performed their Drake collaboration “Rich Baby Daddy” in St. Louis. The song appears on Drake’s latest album, For All The Dogs.

Sexyy has previously shared that she has a son, in her songs and in her interviews. In an interview with Complex, Sexyy shared that she hopes her career will result in building a better life for her family.

“I want to get on TV,” she said. “I want to have a makeup line. I want to sell clothes, hair. I want some stores. I know I’m going to accomplish all of these. And just get my son out of the hood, so he don’t got to grow up in the kind of environment I did. Money is the main route because I feel like money’s going to take you anywhere.”

She hasn’t shared more details, however, in a follow-up post, Sexyy is seen eating a plate of ribs. The post is captioned “Fat ma.”

You can see the posts above.

Michigan State thought it had its first Power 5 win of the season after taking an 18-point lead at Rutgers into the fourth quarter. Instead, Sparty capped off a series of special teams disasters by mishandling a Rutgers kickoff and turning it over, leading directly to Rutgers’ go-ahead touchdown four minutes later.

The Scarlet Knights had looked bad most of the game, turning it over three times in the first half and struggling to move the ball on offense, to put it mildly. Rutgers managed just 31 rushing yards on 13 attempts. To make it worse, rain began to pour down just before the third quarter began.

Michigan State hasn’t beaten anyone since September 9. But Sparty was in full control against Rutgers for the first three quarters, taking a 24-6 lead over the Scarlet Knights with 3:41 to go in the third quarter. New starter Katin Houser completed 17 of his first 26 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns.

That lead held entering the fourth, but Michigan State was preparing to punt on the first play from its own 22-yard line. Then punter Michael O’Shaughnessy fumbled the snap, and Rutgers’ Aaron Young recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.

That cut Michigan State’s lead to 24-13 with plenty of time. Michigan State proceeded to go three and out while Rutgers mounted a 12-play, 73-yard touchdown drive. Rutgers got the ensuing 2-point conversion and suddenly, Sparty’s lead was just three with 8:30 to go and all of the mojo was with Rutgers.

Michigan State still had the lead and a chance to settle down. But Tyrell Henry didn’t decide to attempt to field the kickoff until it was too late, and he ran straight into Rutgers’ Thomas Amankwaa, who was able to secure the ball instead.

Rutgers tailback Kyle Monangai ran it in from 21 yards out on the next play to give the Scarlet Knights the lead for good, 27-24.

Rutgers’ 5’9 tailback was a big reason for the win as he racked up 107 of his 148 rushing yards in the fourth quarter alone on 13 attempts. Monangai was also responsible for all eight of Rutgers’ rushing first downs in the fourth quarter (the Scarlet Knights had just five rushing first downs up to that point).

And that was never more true than on Rutgers’ final drive, when Monangai got the ball every single play and kept his legs churning and the clock burning, picking up four first downs and ensuring Michigan State wouldn’t get another chance.

Rutgers ran just 44 plays in the first three quarters and 25 in the fourth alone, holding the ball for all but four minutes as it outscored Michigan State 21-0. It was the largest fourth-quarter comeback win for the Scarlet Knights since 2015 when they were down 25 at Indiana. And now, Rutgers is a win away from bowl eligibility.

The fourth-quarter stats were bleak enough for Sparty: outscored 21-0, -20 total yards, and zero first downs. And their next opponent? Michigan.

Troye Sivan’s long-awaited album Something To Give Each Other hit streaming platforms yesterday (October 13). The project features the singles “Got Me Started” and now “One Of Your Girls.” In the official video, Siyan had a draglicious transformation to stress the message behind the OZGO-produced record.

Throughout the visual, Sivan switches his appearance from man to woman to combat gendered stigmas. This is emphasized in the stanza, “Give me a call if you ever get lonely / I’ll be like one of your girls or your homies / Say what you want, and I’ll keep it a secret / You get the key to my heart, and I need it / Give me a call if you ever get desperate / I’ll be like one of your girls.”

In a statement shared with People, Troye Sivan discussed the inspiration behind the track. “I repeatedly found myself in this situation. ‘One of Your Girls’ is really me psychoanalyzing myself about, like, why is that something that was interesting to me? A lot of the boys that song is about, I feel like they probably would’ve bullied me in high school, and now here they are paying me attention,” he says. “So, at the sacrifice of my own self-worth, I’m throwing myself at them, and then you’re really just at their beck and call, and that can sometimes not feel so great.”

Watch Troye Sivan’s video for “One Of Your Girls” starring Ross Lynch above.

Something To Give Each Other is out now via Capitol. Find more information here.

The Nightmare Before Christmas wasn’t a monster hit when first released 30 years back, but there was no way a Tim Burton-produced movie with that title wasn’t going to have a long life. Sure enough, it’s become a staple of two holidays. It’s even spawned a concert that’s currently on tour. Given this age of revivals and reboots and belated sequels and prequels, how long will it be until it succumbs to that trend? Maybe a while — or never — but its director is holding out hope that it does.

Per People, Henry Selick — the stop-motion maven who would go on to tackle Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach movie and Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, plus team up with Jordan Peele for last year’s Wendell & Wild — says he’s a little reluctant to go back to something he thinks is already “perfect.” He’s not the only one.

“I think Tim in particular feels like, why mess with that?” Selick said. “He certainly doesn’t need to make more money from a sequel. He has had so many other successes, and so far nobody’s come up with a great idea for a sequel. And I still think that Tim gets to decide. I don’t think there’s any idea that would convince him.”

Not that he hasn’t been thinking about doing another one anyway. “It might be more interesting to do a prequel,” Selick admitted. “There might be a more interesting story there about how Jack became the King of Halloweentown.”

Another person who would be into it? Chris Sarandon, who did the speaking vocals for “Pumpkin King” Jack Skellington. (Danny Elfman, who composed the music and most of the songs, took over for singing duties.) He said he’d “absolutely” be down to reprise his decades-old role.

“To quote Henry, ‘F*ck yeah,’ ” Sarandon told People. “If there were a sequel, I’d be there in a minute.”

Selick has often bristled at the idea that much of the public thinks Burton is the primary maker of The Nightmare Before Christmas. In truth he was a producer and is credited with the story. It’s Selick who lovingly, laboriously directed it, even though Burton’s name has sometimes been included in the title.

The Nightmare Before Christmas now streams on Disney+.

(Via People)