Month: January 2024

It’s hard to think of a time before big-budget superhero movies became so common, but over 20 years ago, it was still a pretty risky genre to be involved in. At the time, rising actor Paul Walker was starring in the Fast & Furious franchise (which is…still going….) and he was approached to be the man of steel himself, Superman.

The doc I Am Paul Walker, which was first released in 2018 and recently aired on The CW, includes conversations with the late actor’s manager, Matt Luber, who said that it would have been a major deal for the star. “I think it was a $10 million deal, and he was the frontrunner,” Luber, who had known Walker since childhood, said in the doc. Despite going in for an audition, Lehman didn’t think Walker was right for the role. “I knew he did not want to do three or four Superman [films] and be Superman for the rest of his life,” Lehman continued.

Luber then recalled when Walker’s response to his Superman audition, which was not pleasant: “‘I’ve got an ‘S’ on, I got a cape, boots, tights … this is not me. I’m getting the f*** out of here. Gotta go. F*** you.’ And he was gone,” Luber said. Maybe that was part of his audition? To prove he is faster than a speeding bullet? But maybe not.

In 2003, the actor confirmed to The Chicago Sun-Times that he “could have made a gazillion dollars on that franchise” but he didn’t “need” that kind of money. “My favorite brand of running shoes costs $23. I rarely pay more than $40 for my jeans,” the actor said at the time.”Throw in a T-shirt and that costs me $20 or $10 if I buy it on the beach. I don’t need a gazillion dollars to manage that kind of lifestyle.”

Walker passed away in 2013, and while he was never a superhero, he did his fair share of action-packed movies. Just without tights.

(Via Deadline)

In the aftermath of OG Anunoby’s trade to the New York Knicks, all eyes north of the border were on what the Toronto Raptors would do with Pascal Siakam. An unrestricted free agent at the end the this season and someone who reportedly wants to test the market, Siakam is the latest player who the Raptors risked losing for nothing.

The rumor mill around a potential Siakam trade began really churning in recent weeks, with talks between the Raptors and the Sacramento Kings apparently getting off the ground before eventually falling apart. But on Tuesday, we got some clarity on the Siakam situation, as Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that a deal was taking shape between the Raptors and the Indiana Pacers. And one day later the trade finally happened, as Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Toronto and Indiana came to terms on a trade that would send Bruce Brown and a trio of first-round picks to the Raptors. Additionally, the New Orleans Pelicans got pulled in on the deal.

The news was confirmed by Charania.

It’s a steep price to pay for Siakam in the event he leaves in free agency, but it’s not hard to see how he’s a hand-in-glove fit in Indiana alongside Tyrese Haliburton. At the time of the trade, the Pacers sat at 23-17, good for sixth place in the Eastern Conference and only one game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 4-seed.

Yes, 2023 was a big year for cinematic sex scenes, from Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo in Poor Things to Ben Whishaw and Franz Rogowski in Passages to the discourse-causing “now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds” scene between Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh in Oppenheimer. But none of those made the list of the most searched movie sex scenes of the past year.

Sexual wellness brand LELO used Google data to “determine which movie sex scenes captivated audiences the most, leading to repeated searches over the past year.” Number one on the list with 849,000 searches is Eyes Wide Shut, director Stanley Kubrick’s final masterpiece before his death. Anyone expecting a sex scene between then-married couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman will be let down (and the famous orgy scene isn’t exactly titillating).

In second place is Blue Is the Warmest Color (both of the film’s stars, Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux, have spoken out against the “horrible” filming conditions) followed by Mulholland Drive and Titanic, and later on, Atonement and The Handmaiden. If that leads to people watching Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden, one of the best movies of the 2010s, I’ll take it.

Here’s the top 10:

1. Eyes Wide Shut (849,000 searches)

2. Blue Is the Warmest Color (458,000 searches)

3. Mulholland Drive (113,000 searches)

4. Titanic (74,000 searches)

5. Last Tango in Paris (39,000 searches)

6. Atonement (37,000 searches)

7. Monster’s Ball (27,000 searches)

8. Original Sin (24,000 searches)

9. The Handmaiden (23,9000 searches)

10. American Pie (20,000)

Some people want to see Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet have sex in a car. Others want to watch Jason Biggs hump a pie. No judgement.

(Via LELO)

Early January is just a bleak time for movies. It’s that part of the year when things are light on new offerings – though both Mean Girls and The Beekeeper (which is way more fun than it needs to be) did really well – but mostly it’s that time where we are still bogged down by the same handful of 2023 awards movies that we are all kind of sick of hearing about already and we still have a couple more months to go, somehow. And you can see it on social media, people are starting to get ornery about their individual awards favorite. I decided to take a unique approach this year: I do not have a favorite. People do ask, some version of, “I know you’re sick of being asked, but what’s your favorite?” To which I reply, “Oh I don’t have one.” I honestly don’t and, strangely, I’ve been much happier this year about the whole thing. I really do like movies like The Holdovers and American Fiction. Should they win Oscars? Sure, but maybe other movies should to? Who’s to say? I digress.

But whatever, here comes Sundance. It’s like going on a juice cleanse. At least for a while we can stop talking about movies we’ve been talking about since September and, instead, talk about brand-new movies. And like the last few recent years, a good number of offerings will be available online for you through the Sundance Film Festival. Let’s take a look at a few movies that, from their descriptions, look pretty good!

Freaky Tales

Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s most successful movie to date is, of course, Captain Marvel. It’s weird to sit back and think, wait, the directors of Half Nelson made a movie that grossed over a billion dollars? Regardless, I will watch anything that the directors of Mississippi Grind make. (For me, that movie is a lifetime pass. Also, they re-team with Ben Mendelsohn here.) In Freaky Tales – the duo’s first movie since Captain Marvel – we get four interconnected stories set in Oakland featuring teens fighting Nazis, a rap duo, an NBA all-star, and a henchmen. With Captain Marvel, though, again, very successful, it did kind of feel like some of what makes the duo’s films special and unique was held back. Whatever this winds up being, at least that does not seem the case here.

Love Lies Bleeding

Rose Glass’s Saint Maud was a 2019 sleeper hit that did get critical accolades, but in retrospect should have gotten more and has only grown in stature since. Glass is back with Love Lies Bleeding about a gym manager (Kristen Stewart) who falls for a bodybuilder (Katy O’Brien, who you probably know from The Mandalorian). This would make the second Sundance in a row where one of the hottest titles is about the world of bodybuilding (you’ll probably never see last year’s), though as opposed to last year, since the official Sundance synopsis calls it “bombastic,” this doesn’t sound near as intense. But then again, it later offers a description of “the darkest ilk.” Whatever, this sounds great.

The American Society of Magical Negroes

Director Kobi Libii’s satire has Justice Smith (who was great in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) being recruited by David Alan Grier (I do not know his character’s name, but I’ll assume he’s not playing himself) to join a mystical society that’s stated goal is to make white people feel comfortable. Because, as it says in the trailer, bad things sure seem to happen when white people get uncomfortable. Speaking of the trailer, the tone seems biting, but light and does seem to center on a love story. I am curious if the tone will be as light in the actual film.

A Different Man

Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man, on paper, sounds like a pretty great concept. Sebastian Stan plays an actor who goes through, according to the Sundance official synopsis, “a radical medical procedure,” for a role … that he does not get. Reading between the lines, this sounds way more like a movie that is going to be disturbing and bizarre, as opposed to the laugh riot that the premise could easily be. Disturbing and bizarre can go a lot of different directions, but still sounds pretty intriguing.

Devo

How has there not been a defining documentary about Devo before? This is a band that seems to have its own unique fanbase and niche, but also had their cover of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” featured prominently in Martin Scorsese’s Casino and have had a top 20 hit with “Whip it,” with a video that played on MTV on a constant loop. Everyone knows Devo, but I suspect most people can’t name three of their songs. Especially three songs that aren’t covers. Everything about Devo is fascinating. Or, maybe the documentary will tell me this is not true. Maybe I will learn they are boring! I am looking forward to finding out.

The Greatest Night in Pop

Bao Nguyen has made a documentary about the making of the song “We are the World” by USA for Africa (which, if you somehow don’t know, was a collection of nearly every single popular recording artist at the time, plus Dan Aykroyd, who was a Blues Brother so, sure, why not?) that, if you were around at the time, was played on a never-ending loop for what I can only guess was “eternity.” I never once even considered I’d want to see a documentary about the making of this song and video, but now it’s all I want to see.

Hit Man

Richard Linklater’s Hit Man actually premiered back at the Venice Film Festival before Netflix bought it and now it still continues on its festival tour – but who cares, it’s a great movie and is a lot of fun. Glen Powell plays mild-mannered Gary Johnson, a New Orleans college professor who, as a side hustle, works with the local police department as a tech specialist during sting operations to catch people trying to hire contract killers. When the officer who usually poses as the hitman is out of action, Gary steps in and … is pretty great at it. So great he starts to really like the personas he adopts more than he likes the real Gary. Though, Gary gets into some hot water when he starts to date a suspect (Adria Arjona), still in his cool guy hitman persona of Ron. Hit Man is kind of, sort of based on a true story and is a whole heck of a lot of fun.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

After giving Netflix viewers a palpable high with the story of Pablo Escobar, the creators of Narcos are back with another real-life drug tale focused on Griselda Blanco a.k.a. the “Cocaine Godmother.”

Starring Sofia Vergara in the title role, Griselda is already racking up overwhelmingly positive reviews. While there’s some debate over the predictable nature of story, Vergara’s performance is almost unanimously praised as the series highpoint. The actress’ dramatic chops are on full display, and the critics are here for it.

You can see what the early reviews are saying below:

Aramide Tinubu, Variety:

This tale isn’t an account of some distressed damsel who gets swept up in the underworld. Instead, what creator Eric Newman offers is a window into the mind of a highly meticulous and intelligent woman, intent on taking back everything that was ever stolen from her, even if she destroys herself in the process. Fast-paced and well-acted, the show is brutal, fascinating and full of high drama.

Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter:

Vergara keeps it watchable. The hardest-working member of the Modern Family cast — she consistently elevated Gloria from walking stereotype to intricate punchline machine, yet never won an Emmy — Vergara, an executive producer here, deserves full credit for unveiling a whole new set of serious chops. She never makes Griselda quite as frightening as the real woman was — an opening quotation from Pablo Escobar admitting to being afraid of her makes it particularly odd that Escobar isn’t used as even a minor character — but she locates Griselda’s insecurities and her brains even from under the layers of makeup.

Carly Lane, Collider:

There are scenes where she all but prowls through a dimly lit ’80s nightclub, her keen gaze assessing every possible threat — but awareness can just as easily tip the scales into full-blown paranoia. The dangers of this environment are palpably felt at nearly every turn, and the more power that Griselda can claw and scrape her way toward, the harder it becomes for her to maintain a grip on all of it at once. Eventually, as her allies begin to question just how far she’s willing to go to maintain her seat at the top, Griselda’s persecution complex turns inward, and she starts questioning the loyalty of those who have supported her since the beginning. However, this is also the moment when Vergara becomes utterly riveting to watch.

Akos Peterbencze, Paste:

It’s impressive how many of Blanco’s major life events the creators included here despite leaving out much of her early years and the devastating background she came from. Years that distilled a tenacious toughness and resilience in Griselda: a former thief and prostitute, trapped by violence and crime from the moment she was born. Although we don’t see and only hear about her rough upbringing in snippets, Vergara conveys a persona shaped by ferocity with an arresting charisma and domination she rarely got to showcase in her previous roles.

Cristina Escobar, RogerEbert.com:

“Griselda” largely sticks to the beats you’d expect, following its protagonist through a series of snowballing decisions into a life of crime and cruelty. Her eventual fate of being consumed by paranoia and isolation is always waiting—these stories must end in tragedy to upload our social order after all. But “Griselda” also doesn’t ignore that people do drugs for fun. The bacchanal scenes are delightful even as Griselda’s early capacity for violence foreshadows that eventually, these parties will go south.

Priscilla Blossom, The Wrap:

Despite some creative license to make the story more enjoyable, watching Griselda’s complex journey unfold over the Netflix limited series is about as satisfying as it gets. From a killer soundtrack (everything from Boney M. to the Miami Sound Machine) killer wardrobe (shoutout to those next-level jumpsuits), killer makeup job (no, that is not her actual nose) and killer cast (if anyone ever doubted Vergara’s dramatic chops, this will shut them up), this latest show is sure to have streaming audiences talking long after its release.

Griselda starts streaming January 25 on Netflix.

House fires are devastating for families. In a matter of minutes, you could lose all of your belongings and a place to live, or worse, you could lose loved ones. A family in Phoenix, Arizona, recently found themselves facing the reality of their own home in flames. Claudia Jimenez told CBS News that she woke up trapped in her burning apartment with her two daughters, with nothing to do but yell for help in the hopes that someone would hear her.

The mom’s screams were answered by Joe Hollins, a homeless man who was camping nearby with his wife. Hollins didn’t hesitate to try to find a way to help. With no way out and the fire department still nowhere on the scene, Jimenez had to trust the stranger who was standing below.

“He was right underneath and he was like ‘Yes, throw your daughters out, I’m going to catch them, I’m going to get them,'” Jimenez told CBS.

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So the terrified mom did what any mom would’ve done to save her babies—she tossed them one at a time out the window. And just as he’d promised, Hollins caught them. Valerie, who is just a year old, was dropped to safety first, then 8-year-old Natalie made the two-story fall into Hollins’ arms. The family dogs were next out the window before it was time for Jimenez to make the jump.

After some coaxing, the mom made the leap, and Hollins again made the catch, saving everyone in the house. When everything was said and done, Hollins saved the entire family and the dogs. Soon after Jimenez jumped to safety, the fire department showed up to put out the blaze.

Multiple families lost their home that night, but thanks to Hollins, the Jimenez family didn’t lose their lives. In an effort to help Hollins after saving this family, a GiveSendGo was created and people can donate here. A GoFundMe was also created for the young mom and her daughters, and people who would like to help can do so by donating here.

If you ask the hero, he’s no hero at all. He told CBS News that anyone in his shoes would’ve done the same thing. Hollins was in the right place at the right time, and because of his willingness to help, he saved an entire family. You can watch the entire interview below.

This article originally appeared on 5.24.23

Keanu Reeves loves a sequel. He loves coming back for more, even after he swears he’s done, because he’s a Virgo who just wants to make people happy.

Reeves and Alex Winter reunited in 2021 for the sci-fi comedy threequel Bill and Ted Face The Music where the two finally used the power of music to heal the world. But we might need more healing, so a fourth movie has been proposed.

Winter was on The Sarah O’Connell Show to discuss his upcoming projects when he revealed that there has been talk of a fourth film in the time-traveling comedy franchise. “We’re tinkering with a fourth movie idea that all of us like, and the guys are going to write, so we’ll see. It takes us time to get these things going, and we never want to do them unless they’re great,” he explained.

Like with other sequels, Winter says he doesn’t want to do it unless everyone else is on board, and it seems like they are. “They feel the same way, it has to be right,” he explained, adding that they mostly just do the sequels because they are fun. “We love [the Bill & Ted movies] because they’re oddball, and they’re not typical mainstream films. They’ve never been cash-grab movies; no one has gotten rich off the Bill and Ted series. We really do make them sincerely from a place of love and interest.”

The first two Bill and Ted films follow the two slacker teens as they try to get their music off the ground in order to save the world (obviously) while the later films explore them as adults doing more or less the same thing, but with longer hair.

As for a fourth film, Winter confirmed that they have an idea on deck. “There’s a really good idea that the writers came up with for a fourth that’s kind of obvious. I don’t want to give it away — I can’t give it away because I would be drawn and quartered — but it is a really great idea, kind of an obvious idea. It will get written, and we’ll see if we can actually get it made. It may be a little while.” Good thing the duo has a time machine…this works out perfectly.

Reacher‘s second season finale is nearly upon us, which means that the bods will stop falling out of airplanes soon. That’s obviously a good thing, but on a less positive note, viewers will miss their weekly dose of the impossibly ripped Alan Ritchson inhaling the grossest junk food before taking out the bad guys by merely flexing. Then, he will leave town and appear somewhere else for Season 3, which will obviously not arrive next week, but hey, there’s still some fine news on this subject.

Season 3 has been filming for over a month already, and Ritchson shared an update from the set. (Faux-spoiler alert: Season 3 looks dirty.)

“Welp… we’re back,” the Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland star wrote on Instagram. “Season 3 of Reacher… crustier than ever.”

Previously, Ritchson made a Season 3 video announcement from the set. He probably pulled a telephone pole out of the ground after filming this and maybe beat up Godzilla, too:

There’s no clues yet on which of Lee Childs’ Jack Reacher books will be adapted for Season 3, but we shouldn’t have to wait too long to find out. Reacher has handily smashed every other Amazon Original series in the past year. They will wanna push out the next installment in a virtual jiffy.

No Doubt announced earlier yesterday (January 16) that they would be reuniting for a show. Shortly after, it was revealed that the band was actually getting back together to perform at Coachella this year.

However, since not everyone can make it to the California desert to catch the band, there have been questions if No Doubt will tour at all too. Here’s what to know.

Will No Doubt Go On Tour In 2024?

Right now, it’s unclear if No Doubt will do a full tour this year. Save for Coachella, they have no other announced dates scheduled. The band’s last public show together was back in 2015 for the KAABOO Festival. Yet, considering they did several festivals that year, like Riot Fest and Rock In Rio, it is possible that they could follow a similar pattern for their 2024 return.

“What are the odds of anything?” lead singer Gwen Stefani shared with The Wall Street Journal about the reunion possibilities in 2022. “I was just on The Drew Barrymore Show. She was one of my favorite celebrities when I was a little girl, and now I was just on the show with her. Anything can happen.”

“I have no idea what’s going to happen with No Doubt,” she added. “We haven’t really talked about doing anything, but it feels like everyone is, right? All the ’90s people — Blink-182 did an eight-month tour that sold out in like five minutes.”

Here’s hoping they follow Blink’s lead.

Adrianne Lenker is gearing up to release her new solo album. Today (January 17), the Big Thief vocalist announced Bright Future, which is set to arrive this spring. Ahead of the album’s release, Lenker has shared a new single, “Sadness As A Gift.”

On “Sadness As A Gift,” Lenker seeks to find peace amid a period of emotional turmoil

“Leaning on the windowsill / You could write me someday, and I think you will / We could see the sadness as a gift and still / Feel too heavy to hold,” she sings.

Bright Future was recorded with contributions by Nick Hakim, Mat Davidson, and Josefin Runsteen, with production by Philip Weinrobe. Lenker began recording the album in the fall of 2022, with her collaborators, not having any intention to make a full-length album.

“I had no idea what the outcome would be,” said Lenker in a statement. The result? “It was magical.” In addition to the album announcement, Lenker revealed a set of US tour dates, which will kick off in June. The Spotify pre-sale begins this Thursday (January 18) at 10 a.m. ET and general on-sale beginning Friday (January 19) at 10 a.m. ET. Fans can purchase tickets here.

You can listen to “Sadness As A Gift” above and see the Bright Future cover art and tracklist, as well as Lenker’s tour dates, below.

Adrianne Lenker’s Bright Future album cover art

Adrianne Lenker’s Bright Future tracklist

1. “Real House”
2. “Sadness As A Gift”
3. “Fool”
4. “No Machine”
5. “Free Treasure”
6. “Vampire Empire”
7. “Evol”
8. “Candleflame”
9. “Already Lost”
10. “Cell Phone Says”
11. “Donut Seam”
12. “Ruined”

Adrianne Lenker’s 2024 tour dates

06/09 — Austin, TX @ The Paramount Theatre %
06/10 — Austin, TX @ The Paramount Theatre %
06/12 — Albuquerque, NM @ KiMO Theatre %
06/13 — Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre %
06/15 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel =
06/16 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel +
06/17 — Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater =
06/20 — Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall =
06/21 — Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall +
06/22 — Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre +
06/25 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot =
06/26 — Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom =
06/28 — Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre =
06/29 — Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre =
11/11 — Northampton, MA @ Academy Of Music Theatre ^
11/12 — Boston, MA @ Boch Center Shubert Theatre ^
11/13 — Boston, MA @ Boch Center Shubert Theatre ^
11/15 — Montreal, QC @ L’Olympia ^
11/16 — Toronto, ON @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre ^
11/19 — Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre ^
11/21 — Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern ^
11/22 — Durham, NC @ TBA ^
11/23 — Washington, DC @ The Anthem ^
11/25 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer ^
11/26 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer ^

* with Ellie O’Neill
+ with Nick Hakim
= with Twain
% with Steve Fisher
^ with Suzanne Vallie

Bright Future is out 3/22 via 4AD. Find more information here.