Month: April 2024

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.

10. Godzilla Vs. Kong (Warner Bros. Pictures film streaming on Max)

With Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire giving a piggyback ride and an adorable nap to viewers in theaters, you might want to brush up on this predecessor picture, in which Godzilla and Kong definitely were not working together. How times change! Once you catch up on these monsters’ historical dynamic, then it will be cool to move onto the “slobberknocker” of a current popcorn movie.

9. A Gentleman In Moscow (Showtime series streaming on Paramount+)

Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who are married IRL, have been upfront about their use of an intimacy coordinator for their racy activity in this series. McGregor, of course, portrays the titular gentlemen, the Russian aristocrat Count Alexander Rostov, in this adaptation of Amor Towles’ same-named novel. Rostov finds himself sequestered in a hotel in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, which has deemed him an outlaw. However, he is not immediately executed but, instead, imprisoned within the attic of a luxurious hotel. For a story that is set in such limited surroundings, the happenings are surprisingly voluminous.

8. The Gentlemen (Netflix series)

Again, there are perhaps too many “gentlemen” to go around these days on TV, but with people tuning in, how can you expect Guy Ritchie to slow down on one of his favorite qualifiers? Exactly — he will not. Soon enough, Ritchie will bring us The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare, starring Henry Cavill and Alan Ritchson, who is wearing glasses so that you don’t automatically view him as Reacher. In this series, Theo James portrays the heir to a weed empire, which does trace back to The Gentlemen, the 2019 movie starring Matthew McConaughey, but this series is not a remake.

7. Shōgun (FX series streaming on Hulu)

This show is so over that “Christian nonsense,” and those meme-able moments will last long after FX probably puts this epic story to bed. That’s likely what shall happen regarding future seasons, even though the ratings have been pouring in since this show began. Even with none of John Blackthorne’s famous dong, the masses have flocked to see this new adaptation, and FX’s epic rendering of the lushly layered character and story will be regarded fondly for many years to come. A second season is up to FX.

6. 3 Body Problem (Netflix series)

The Game of Thrones creators, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, have a multi-season plan for their new sci-fi series, and they are publicly pushing hard to see their dream come true. Will Netflix pull that trigger? We shall see. This certainly isn’t what the creators are used to, given the massive guaranteed success of the HBO show, but Netflix is keeping its cards hidden until full viewership numbers roll through. If those wishes are granted, then we will see how humanity continues to prepare for the arrival of space aliens after people couldn’t resist the curiosity of poking that space bear.

5. Sugar (Apple TV+ series)

Colin Farrell is gearing up to appear in Max’s Penguin series, but for the moment, he’s starring as private detective John Sugar, who must track the disappearance of a powerful Hollywood producer’s granddaughter. In the process, Sugar also digs up family secrets that were buried for damn good reasons. Yes, this is a modern spin on film noir, but how could you resist a member of the the Irish renaissance portraying the newest gumshoe on streaming TV?

4 We Were The Lucky Ones (Hulu series)

Historical drama fans must be in heaven these days with Masters of the Air, Shōgun, and Manhunt ongoing. The series does, however, run somewhat parallel to Masters of the Air in that it revolves around the WWII-era experiences of the Polish-Jewish Kurc family. Joey King and Logan Lehman lead the cast as the siblings go into hiding, some unsuccessfully, as Hitler’s troops swirl around them. The series adapts Georgia Hunter’s same-named 2017 book.

3. Ripley (Netflix series)

Everybody remembers Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Andrew Scott is fully shaking off his “Hot Priest” days to don Tom Ripley’s grifter duds, this time in a more visually-striking medium, from the looks of this trailer. This series is, of course, based upon Patricia Highsmith’s series of novels, and the title character takes a job in the 1960s that sets him on the deceit-filled path to murder. Whether this debut will lead to adapting more books in further seasons, we shall have to wait for that news.

2. Road House (Amazon Prime film)

Jake Gyllenhall is no Patrick Swayze, nor does this movie pretend that he is. This is more like a Road House in a parallel universe but with all the same punching and kicking moves that you would expect to see in a movie with this title. The cast includes Conor McGregor, J.D. Pardo, Jessica Williams, Billy Magnussen, and Lukas Gage, and this movie also cannot take every liberty taken back in the 1980s. That makes the story difficult to smoothly translate for 2024, but this film does well enough as a guilty pleasure, even if Doug Liman was not thrilled to see the project go straight onto streaming.

1. Invincible (Amazon Prime series)

Too quickly, it’s season finale time, but the excellent news is that there was a third-season renewal well in advance, so hopefully, scripts are already close to being locked, and production can happen faster this time around. Fortunately as well, there’s still plenty of Robert Kirkman-created adventures elsewhere on TV, too, including about 80 total seasons of The Walking Dead franchise. Alright, that’s an exaggeration, but once all the spin offs conclude, that figure might not be off the mark. When it comes to Invincible, however, it’s all down to Mark to figure out how to ward off the Vitrumite Empire, so that future seasons of this conflict will bring us more Omni-Man. That father-son dynamic is what it’s all about, but it doesn’t hurt to have many other characters (voiced by everyone from Walton Goggins to Rhea Seehorn) maneuvering around the intergalactic conflict, too.

Even the cast of Stranger Things doesn’t know how the show ends. During a press tour for her dad’s film, Wildcat, actress Maya Hawke (who also stars in the biopic of Flannery O’Connor) told Collider that she hasn’t “gotten to read the final scripts yet. So I haven’t had a reaction and I actually genuinely know nothing about the last two episodes of the show.”

But Hawke, who plays Robin on the Netflix series, has read the scripts for the first six episodes. “It’s extremely exciting,” she said. “It’s always wonderful when the kind of riddle of a world that gets built, starts to get resolved and questions start to be answered. I think it was mind-bogglingly wonderful for me and I think audiences will feel that way too. It’s really an emotional thing to go into filming this last season, so I’m excited.”

Little is known about the final season of Stranger Things, other than Max is in the hospital and everyone wants more bloodshed. Also, now that Millie Bobby Brown is engaged to Bon Jovi’s son, will “You Give Love a Bad Name” be the “Running Up That Hill” of season five? That wedding isn’t going to pay for itself. Bon Jovi needs the Kate Bush bump in streaming royalties.

Stranger Things season five is expected to premiere in 2025.

(Via Collider)

John Calipari is no longer the head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky. After a day of rumors linking Calipari to the coaching vacancy at Arkansas, multiple reports indicate that Calipari is on his way to Fayetteville.

Reports began to circulate on Sunday evening linking Calipari to the Arkansas job, and eventually, Matt Norlander of CBS Sports brought word that Calipari “entered into serious talks” with the school about the position. The job opened earlier in April when Eric Musselman left the Razorbacks to become the next head coach at USC.

Calipari has been the head coach at Kentucky since 2009, and led the program to a national championship in 2012. However, in recent years, his tenure has been defined by his inability to live up to expectations on the court in spite of Calipari’s ability to recruit — the program missed the NCAA Tournament in 2020-21 due to a sub-.500 record, then failed to make it out of the first weekend in each of the last three years. In two of those appearances, they lost to a double-digit seed, as they fell to 15-seed Saint Peter’s in 2022 and 14-seed Oakland in 2024.

There were reports that Calipari’s job could have been in trouble following the Oakland loss, but Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart announced that he would return in 2024-25. That, of course, was before the Arkansas job opened up, and now, Calipari will only return to Lexington next year as the head coach of the Razorbacks for an SEC game.

On February 5, the country music scene was rocked following the announcement of Toby Keith’s death. The “Red Solo Cup” singer’s battle with stomach cancer brought forth a wave of tear-jerking moments of reflection online for supporters.

Tonight (April 7), the late musician’s musical friends came together at the 2024 CMT Awards to deliver a touching tribute through song. Before Brooks & Dune kicked off the medley of Keith’s biggest hits, Roger Clemens reflected on their friendship, which, of course, included an appreciation for college baseball.

Brooks & Dunn began with Keith’s 1993 track “Should’ve Been A Cowboy.” Mica Roberts also joined the duo. Up next was Sammy Hagar, who stepped out of his rocker persona to embrace his country flair with a joyous rendition of “I Love This Bar.”

After that, Lukas Nelson and Riley Green took to the podium to set the stage for the tribute’s closing performance. Lastly, Lainey Wilson gave her heartful performance of Keith’s 1999 song “How You Like Me Now.”

With his children Krystal Keith, Stelen Keith Covel, and Shelley Covel Rowland present, Clemens delivered a send-off toast for them and Keith’s widow Tricia Lucus. “Raise your Solo cups,” he said. “Whiskey for my men and beer for my horses.”

Watch the performances below.

Fans of Keith showed their supporter following his death by pushing his album, 35 Biggest Hits, to the top of the ‘Billboard 200’ chart.

When Night 1 of WrestleMania ended with The Rock and Roman Reigns defeating Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins to set up a “Bloodline Rules” match between Rhodes and Reigns in the main event on Night 2, the world knew we were in for plenty of run-ins during the Undisputed WWE World Championship match.

Rhodes and Reigns worked 21 minutes of an incredible match by themselves, getting a chance to put their skills in the ring on display before it became a delightful run-in and spot-fest. It started with Jimmy and Jey Uso continuing their brotherly feud and was followed by John Cena appearing to a massive pop, which naturally brought out The Rock.

Cena was a surprise, but given his activity with WrestleMania in recent years, not a complete shock. After Cena took a Rock Bottom, Seth Rollins showed up to the Shield music (making fans briefly wonder if we might get a truly shocking Dean Ambrose appearance) and got rocked by a Superman punch, which seemed to end the run-ins on the Cody side. That was until the lights went out and the bell tolled, sending the Philly crowd into a frenzy.

The Rock, staring at the ramp, awaited the Undertaker’s arrival, but the Dead Man was already in the ring behind him, ready to hit a chokeslam to help clear the ring for Cody’s moment.

The main event was done incredibly well all things considered, with a nice balance of having an actual match for 20 minutes and letting the two main combatants shine before giving the crowd the big pops and shock entrances. The Undertaker certainly wasn’t on most lists of folks who would run-in on The Rock, but it was a delightful surprise and helped Cody finish his story.

Despite Bloodline rules being in effect after WrestleMania 40 Night 1’s result, Cody Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 40 Night 2.

Rhodes and Reigns soaked in the moment to kick off their heavyweight bout before ultimately locking up. Reigns gained the early advantage with a shoulder block as a big “Let’s go Cody” chant broke out. Reigns went for a shoulder block into the corner, but Rhodes moved and he went into the post. Rhodes then grabbed a table and Reigns hit a drive by kick on the apron. Reigns then grabbed the table and tossed it back under the ring.

Rhodes then sent Reigns shoulder first into the stairs. Back in the ring, Reigns slid out the side and grabbed a kendo stick, hitting Rhodes over and again. Rhodes got the stick from Reigns, knocked him down, and locked in a figure four leg lock. Reigns raked his eyes to escape and went back to work. They made their way out into the crowd and Rhodes hit a suplex on a platform in the audience.

Back in the ring, Reigns hit a powerbomb on Rhodes and taunted to the crowd. Reigns toyed with Rhodes until the challenger began to fight back. They exchanged kicks in the middle of the ring and clotheslined each other at the same time. Back on their feet, they tossed big shots at each other as Rhodes developed momentum. He hit a Disaster Kick for two then went for a Cody Cutter, which Reigns reversed into a Cross Rhodes for two.

Reigns set up for the Superman Punch, which Rhodes reversed into a Dusty Rhodes punching combo. With Reigns laid out, he took apart the announce table and reigns put him through it. Reigns hit the Superman Punch for two back in the ring and then set up for the spear. Rhodes reversed into the Cody Cutter for two. Rhodes set up for the Cross Rhodes, but Reigns fought out and Rhodes hit a spear for two. Rhodes picked up Reigns and hit the Cross Rhodes before Jimmy Uso jumped in the ring and super kicked him. Jimmy Uso then tossed Rhodes into Reigns for a Superman Punch when Jey Uso’s music hit.

Jey Uso then tackled Jimmy Uso off the side of the ramp, Rhodes rolled Reigns up, he kicked out, then hit Rhodes with a spear. Reigns and Rhodes then fought to the outside and Rhodes tackled Reigns through the barricade. Rhodes tossed Reigns into the ring and landed two consecutive Cross Rhodes before Solo Sikoa hit the Samoan Spike out of nowhere. He pulled Reigns on top of Rhodes for the two count. Reigns and Sikoa hit a joint Samoan Spike and Spear for two before Cena made the save, hitting the AA on Reigns, then putting Sikoa through a table.

The Rock then made his way to the ring and faced off against Cena. Rock and Cena did the Hogan/Rock side to side look, then hit a Rock Bottom on Cena.

Rock pulled his belt off, the Shield’s music hit, and Seth Rollins climbed into the ring with a chair before Reing hit a Superman Punch.

Then the Undertaker’s music hit, he appeared up behind Rock and chokeslammed him.

Reigns then hit Rollins in the back with a chair, then went for a spear on Rhodes. Rhodes reversed into three Cross Rhodes for the pinfall and his championship moment.

Rhodes’ path to the top has been well documented, from struggling to find his footing in WWE, leaving for the independent scene, helping launch AEW, and eventually returning to a main event spot in WWE. After Rhodes’ return back to WWE two years ago at WrestleMania 38, the “American Nightmare” has continued to cross new barriers in his superstardom. He tore his pectoral muscle, he recovered in time for the Royal Rumble, and appeared on track to ending Reigns’ historic Undisputed WWE Universal Championship reign at WrestleMania 39 before ultimately losing.

Bayley pinned Iyo Sky to win the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 40 Night 2.

Bayley and Sky went right at it from the opening bell, with the challenger earning an early advantage. Bayley missed a sliding strike in the corner and Sky went after her right knee. She targeted the knee over and again. Bayley began her comeback, made it to the top rope, and Sky knocked her sideways to the outside. Sky then hit a moonsault to the outside, then connected on a springboard dropkick inside the ring.

Bayley slammed Sky’s head into the bottom turnbuckle with a float over powerbomb, then Sky made her way to her feet and connected on two rolling german suplexes. Bayley got her knees up on a moonsault then climbed to the top rope for an elbow drop that was reversed into cross face. Sky then locked in another cross face, and as Bayley tried to roll out, Sky kept her grip.

Bayley hit the Bayley to Belly for a two count. Sky made her way to her feet and hit Bayley in the face. Sky and Bayley exchanged blows in the middle of the ring. Sky landed a backbreaker, then a moonsault for two. Sky hit two consecutive moonsaults and missed her third. Bayley clotheslined Sky, then called for Sky to get to her feet, landing a german suplex and an elbow off the top rope. Bayley then hit the flat liner for the pinfall.

Sunday night was a significant moment for Bayley, who had accomplished just about everything she could in WWE outside of having a singles title match at WrestleMania. That changed in her tilt with former Damage CTRL faction member, Sky, making it one of the biggest nights of her career.

After winning the 2024 Royal Rumble, Bayley’s relationship with Damage CTRL disintegrated until she eventually turned her attention to to Sky, who’d become the de facto leader alongside Asuka, Kairi Sane, and Dakota Kai.

Victor Wembanyama’s rookie season has been nothing short of incredible, as the French star has lived up to the hype in his first year in the NBA. The presumptive Rookie of the Year is averaging 21.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 3.5 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game for the Spurs.

What’s scary is it feels like Wemby is still just scratching the surface, still figuring out exactly all of the things he can do and learning how to harness his outrageous abilities on both ends of the floor. The thing that’s been particularly fun to watch is how the rest of the league has reacted to the preposterous things Wembanyama’s capable of doing on the floor. Opposing players can’t help but watch in awe as he makes insane blocks, massive dunks, and stretches his range out well beyond the three-point arc.

A player that tall with that much length shouldn’t be able to move or handle the ball as well as Wemby does, and even the best basketball players in the world can’t help but shake their heads when he does some stuff on the floor. We got a tremendous example of that on Sunday night in Philly, as the Spurs pushed the Sixers to overtime thanks to another big night from Wembanyama, who hit a sidestepping three in the corner right in front of the Philly bench to the dismay of all the Sixers sitting behind him.

Just look at those faces! I really do love how often top 0.001 percent athletes are just staring at Wemby like he’s an alien. It’s the thing that makes him feel particularly unique, because while us mere mortals are in awe of most anyone in the NBA’s size and athleticism, what he’s doing is so ridiculous even those guys go “oh he’s different.”

Everything’s bigger in Texas, and that includes the award shows. Tonight (April 7), the 2024 CMT Awards went down at the Moody Center in Austin. For the fourth time, Kelsea Ballerini served as the official host.

With country music’s sheer dominance in 2024, the genre’s biggest names, such as Chris Stapleton, Mickey Guyton, Jelly Roll, and more, came together to duke it out for a fan-voted trophy. In addition to the traditional competitive slots, Trisha Yearwood received the inaugural June Carter Cash Humanitarian Award.

This year’s CMT Next Women of Country class included Anne Wilson, Ella Langley, The Castellows, and Tigirlily Gold. During the ceremony, the show paid tribute to the late Toby Keith with a performance medley of his biggest hits.

View the full winners list along with each category’s nominees below.

Video Of The Year

Ashley McBryde – “Light On In The Kitchen”
Brandy Clark feat. Brandi Carlile – “Dear Insecurity”
Brothers Osborne – “Nobody’s Nobody”
Cody Johnson – “The Painter”
Darius Rucker – “Fires Don’t Start Themselves”
HARDY – “Truck Bed”
Jason Aldean – “Let Your Boys Be Country”
Jelly Roll – “Need A Favor”
Jordan Davis – “Next Thing You Know”
Kacey Musgraves – “Deeper Well”
Kelsea Ballerini – “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)”
Lainey Wilson – “Watermelon Moonshine”
Mickey Guyton feat. Kane Brown – “Nothing Compares To You”
Parmalee – “Gonna Love You”
Tyler Childers – “In Your Love”
Zach Bryan – “Nine Ball”

Female Video Of The Year

Ashley McBryde – “Light On In The Kitchen”
Gabby Barrett – “Glory Days”
Kacey Musgraves – “Deeper Well”
Kelsea Ballerini – “Penthouse”
Lainey Wilson – “Watermelon Moonshine”
Megan Moroney – “I’m Not Pretty”
Reba McEntire – “Seven Minutes In Heaven”

Male Video Of The Year

Bailey Zimmerman – “Religiously”
Cody Johnson – “The Painter”
HARDY – “Truck Bed”
Jelly Roll – “Need A Favor”
Jordan Davis – “Next Thing You Know”
Luke Combs – “Fast Car (Official Live Video)”
Morgan Wallen – “Last Night (One Record At A Time Sessions)”

Duo/Group Video Of The Year

Brothers Osborne – “Nobody’s Nobody”
Dan + Shay – “Save Me The Trouble”
Old Dominion – “Memory Lane”
Parmalee – “Girl In Mine”
The War And Treaty – “Have You A Heart”
Tigirlily Gold – “Shoot Tequila”

Collaborative Video Of The Year

Carly Pearce feat. Chris Stapleton – “We Don’t Fight Anymore”
Ella Langley feat. Koe Wetzel – “That’s Why We Fight”
Jon Pardi, Luke Bryan – “Cowboys And Plowboys”
Justin Moore & Priscilla Block – “You, Me And Whiskey”
Lukas Nelson + Promise of The Real feat. Lainey Wilson – “More Than Friends”
Mickey Guyton feat. Kane Brown – “Nothing Compares To You”
Old Dominion & Megan Moroney – “Can’t Break Up Now”

Breakthrough Female Video Of The Year

Anne Wilson – “Rain In The Rearview”
Ashley Cooke – “Your Place”
Brittney Spencer – “Bigger Than The Song”
Tigirlily Gold – “Shoot Tequila”

Breakthrough Male Video Of The Year

Chayce Beckham – “23”
Tyler Childers – “In Your Love”
Warren Zeiders – “Pretty Little Poison”
Zach Bryan – “Oklahoma Smokeshow”

CMT Performance Of The Year

Amber Riley – “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.” (from CMT Smashing Glass)
Bret Michaels & Chris Janson – “Nothing But a Good Time” (from CMT Crossroads)
Carrie Underwood – “Hate My Heart” (from 2023 CMT Music Awards)
Cody Johnson – “Human” (from 2023 CMT Music Awards)
Dierks Bentley – “Drunk On A Plane” (from CMT Storytellers)
Dustin Lynch feat. MacKenzie Porter – “Thinking ‘Bout You” (from CMT Campfire Sessions)
Hozier & Maren Morris – “Take Me To Church” (from CMT Crossroads)
Jelly Roll – “Need a Favor” (from 2023 CMT Music Awards)
Kelsea Ballerini – “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)” (from 2023 CMT Music Awards)
The War And Treaty – “On My Own” (from CMT Smashing Glass)

CMT Digital-First Performance Of The Year

Chase Rice – “Goodnight Nancy” (from CMT Studio Sessions)
Dylan Scott – “Don’t Close Your Eyes (Keith Whitley Cover)” (from CMT Digital Campfire Sessions)
Megan Moroney – “I’m Not Pretty” (from CMT Digital Campfire Sessions)
Nate Smith – “Whiskey On You” (from CMT Studio Sessions)
Stephen Wilson Jr. – “Year to Be Young 1994” (from CMT Studio Sessions)
Scotty McCreery – “It Matters To Her” (from CMT Stages)
The Castellows – “I Know It Will Never End” (from CMT Studio Sessions)

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

A dog owner in New York City named Cathy had a touching reaction after learning that her rescue dog, Wilee, has a brother who looks just like him. Four years ago, she got Wilee’s DNA tested through Embark because he’s a unique-looking rescue and wanted to know his specific mix.

“He is a mix of chow chow, Pomeranian, American Staffordshire terrier and many more,” Cathy told Upworthy. “He is a super mutt!”

A few months later, Embark began sending her profiles of dogs they found to be Wilee’s family members. Since then, Cathy has learned that he has two sisters and a brother, Nic. What’s incredible about the siblings is that the girls are solid-colored, but Nic is the spitting image of Wilee.

When Cathy learned about Wilee’s sisters, she hoped that she might find a brother who was similar to him. “I have a theory that all of the girls in his family are solid colors, and they don’t look like Wilee. So, I was really hoping a boy would match. I was like, maybe the boy will look like Wilee.”

What do i do with all my emotions now? What do i do with this info 😭 i need like 55 more pics of nic…

@wileefam

What do i do with all my emotions now? What do i do with this info 😭 i need like 55 more pics of nic… #newyorkcity #dogmama #dogsoftiktok #embark #mutt #rescuedog #heartwarming

The similarities between the 2 dogs are astonishing. “This is the cutest thing I’ve seen all day. His brother looks just like himmmm!” one commenter wrote on the video.

“This is Nick. Look at this young man. Is this not Wilee? Is this not my dog?” Cathy explained in the video. “I need like 55 more pics of Nic.” Cathy told Upworthy that she’s been in touch with Nic’s owner and he is “very energetic just like Wilee.”