Month: August 2024

The Emirates NBA Cup (formerly the In-Season Tournament) will be returning for its second year starting in November, as the league’s effort to give some regular season games a bit extra juice will begin group play on November 12 and end on December 3, with the quarterfinals on December 10-11, semifinals on December 14, and championship on December 17 (with the last two rounds being in Las Vegas).

Last year, the In-Season Tournament provided us with some good fun, with the Lakers beating the Pacers in the inaugural championship game, resulting in the Lakers hanging the first NBA Cup banner — to the dismay of some. On Tuesday, the league announced who will make up the six groups of five teams and when they’ll play their Cup games, as we continue to get details about the schedule ahead of the full release, likely later this week.

EAST A: Knicks, Magic, Sixers, Nets, Hornets

East A features three playoff teams from a year ago, as the Knicks and Sixers will be the favorites, while the Magic figure to be a contender as well. The Nets, now actively tanking, shouldn’t be a factor and the Hornets will be underdogs in every game but against Brooklyn.

Knicks: at Sixers (11/12), vs. Nets (11/15), at Hornets (11/29), vs. Magic (12/3)

Magic: vs. Hornets (11/12), vs. Sixers (11/15), at Nets (11/29), at Knicks (12/3)

Sixers: vs. Knicks (11/12), at Magic (11/15), vs. Nets (11/22), at Hornets (12/3)

Nets: at Knicks (11/12), vs. Hornets (11/19), at Sixers (11/22), vs. Magic (12/3)

Hornets: at Magic (11/12), at Nets (11/19), vs. Knicks (11/29), vs. Sixers (12/3)

EAST B: Bucks, Pacers, Heat, Raptors, Pistons

East B also features a trio of playoff teams, as the Bucks, Heat, and surprise conference finalist Pacers figure to be the top contenders in this group. Toronto and Detroit will be longshots in this group, but both teams are hoping to take some strides this season led by young cores, and we’ll see if they can make a little noise in this group.

Bucks: vs. Raptors (11/12), vs. Pacers (11/22), at Heat (11/26), at Pistons (12/3)

Pacers: vs. Heat (11/15), at Bucks (11/22), vs. Pistons (11/29), at Raptors (12/3)

Heat: at Pistons (11/12), at Pacers (11/15), Bucks (11/26), vs. Raptors (11/29)

Raptors: at Bucks (11/12), vs. Pistons (11/15), at Heat (11/29), vs. Pacers (12/3)

Pistons: vs. Heat (11/12), at Raptors (11/15), at Pacers (11/29), vs. Bucks (12/3)

EAST C: Celtics, Cavs, Bulls, Hawks, Wizards

The defending NBA champion Celtics will be heavy favorites in this group, with the Cavs as the clear top contender to them. The Bulls and Hawks met in the Play-In a year ago, while the Wizards are still figuring things out in their rebuild.

Celtics: vs. Hawks (11/12), vs. Cavs (11/19), at Wizards (11/22), at Bulls (11/29)

Cavs: vs. Bulls (11/15), at Celtics (11/19), at Hawks (11/29), vs. Wizards (12/3)

Bulls: at Cavs (11/15), vs. Hawks (11/22), at Wizards (11/26), vs. Celtics (11/29)

Hawks: at Celtics (11/12), vs. Wizards (11/15), at Bulls (11/22), vs. Cavs (11/29)

Wizards: at Hawks (11/15), vs. Celtics (11/22), vs. Bulls (11/29), at Cavs (12/3)

WEST A: Timberwolves, Clippers, Kings, Rockets, Blazers

Just about all of the West groups are tough, but the A group is the one that features a clear favorite. The Timberwolves, fresh off a conference finals appearance, should be a good bit better than the other four teams, but in a four-game round-robin, anything can happen. The Clippers will be dealing with life post-Paul George, while the Kings are hoping to get back in the playoff mix and the Rockets have an eye on actually crashing the Play-In party this year. The Blazers, meanwhile, are one of two teams in the West (along with Utah) clearly vying for the best odds to land the No. 1 pick.

Timberwolves: at Blazers (11/12), at Kings (11/15), vs. Rockets (11/26), vs. Clippers (11/29)

Clippers: at Rockets (11/15), vs. Kings (11/22), at Wolves (11/29), vs. Blazers (12/3)

Kings: vs. Wolves (11/15), at Clippers (11/22), at Blazers (11/29), vs. Rockets (12/3)

Rockets: vs. Clippers (11/15), vs. Blazers (11/22), at Wolves (11/26), at Kings (12/3)

Blazers: vs. Wolves (11/12), at Rockets (11/22), vs. Kings (11/29), at Clippers (12/3)

WEST B: Thunder, Suns, Lakers, Jazz, Spurs

West B is a fascinating group. Oklahoma City is the favorite after earning the West’s top seed a year ago and bolstering their roster with two big additions this summer. That said, we saw last year that LeBron James and the Lakers do take this seriously and the Suns might be looking to make a bit of a statement (if they can) that this season will be different. Beyond that, Victor Wembanyama always brings intrigue, and the Jazz will be the big underdog in this group.

Thunder: vs. Suns (11/15), at Spurs (11/19), at Lakers (11/29), vs. Jazz (12/3)

Suns: at Jazz (11/12), at Thunder (11/15), vs. Lakers (11/26), vs. Spurs (12/3)

Lakers: at Spurs (11/15), vs. Jazz (11/19), at Suns (11/26), vs. Thunder (11/29)

Jazz: vs. Suns (11/12), at Lakers (11/19), vs. Spurs (11/26), at Thunder (12/3)

Spurs: vs. Lakers (11/15), vs. Thunder (11/19), at Jazz (11/26), at Suns (12/3)

WEST C: Nuggets, Mavs, Pelicans, Warriors, Grizzlies

The Group of Death title belongs to West C, which was always going to be the case for whatever group landed the Grizzlies. Memphis was awful last year due to an insane run of injuries, but when healthy they were a top-4 team in the West for two straight years. Add in the defending West champs in Dallas, the NBA champs from two years ago in Denver, a Pelicans team that thinks they’ve upgraded their roster, and it may be the Warriors (who have Steph Curry) who are the underdogs in this group.

Nuggets: at Pelicans (11/15), at Grizzlies (11/19), vs. Mavs (11/22), vs. Warriors (12/3)

Mavs: at Warriors (11/12), vs. Pelicans (11/19), at Nuggets (11/22), vs. Grizzlies (12/3)

Pelicans: vs. Nuggets (11/15), at Mavs (11/19), vs. Warriors (11/22), at Grizzlies (11/29)

Warriors: vs. Mavs (11/12), vs. Grizzlies (11/15), at Pelicans (11/22), at Nuggets (12/3)

Grizzlies: at Warriors (11/15), vs. Nuggets (11/19), vs. Pelicans (11/29), at Mavs (12/3)

Gunna continues to promote his new album, One Of Wun, showing that there’s always work to be done to keep the momentum of a project moving. Two weeks ago, he released the video for the title track, and today, he follows up with the video for “Today I Did Good,” showing off all the hard work it takes to stay on top of his game.

The video follows a day in Gunna’s life, seen from his perspective (complete with a blinking eye effect!) as he breakfasts at a hotel in Rome, takes in a fashion show, boards a plane to Johannesburg in South Africa to shoot a video with Tyla, heads to London, then pulls up to Ohio State University to perform the first show of his Bittersweet Tour, and finally heads to Los Angeles for a photoshoot. And yes, all this is done in the space of a day, once you account for time zones. When exactly he sleeps remains a mystery, and honestly, I hope he’s scheduling enough downtime to ensure that getting enough rest.

Watch Gunna’s “Today I Did Good” video above.

One Of Wun is out now via Young Stoner Life Records / 300 Entertainment. You can find more info here.

Too often these days, judgment of a music festival’s merits is reduced to the “who’s on the lineup?” question. It feels trivial, now, in our second decade of a peak music festival landscape showing few signs of slowing down, that we don’t consider everything else to be equally as important as the lineup. It’s in that “everything else” department that San Francisco’s Outside Lands has edged past other festivals over time, and demands more attention than a lineup that many thought wasn’t among the strongest in its 16 years when first announced.

The prevalent narratives about Outside Lands 2024 will understandably center on Chappell Roan drawing yet another gargantuan crowd, Grace Jones putting on an unimaginable performance masterclass, Kacey Musgraves joining fill-in headliner Sabrina Carpenter on stage, and Sturgill Simpson’s first live performance in three years. But it also absolutely also needs to be that Outside Lands 2024 was the most well-produced version of the Golden Gate Park megafest yet.

Let’s be honest, if you’re dropping around $500 for 3-day GA passes (double that for VIP) you could reasonably expect a music festival to provide a bit more than just the bare essentials. Unfortunately, the bar is set so low for festivals that if a large-scale production can make it through the weekend without anyone complaining about bathrooms, food lines, crappy cell service, or a headliner dropping out, it’s probably a good enough effort.

Outside Lands took everything a step further for the benefit of attendees this year. There were once again more bathrooms, and I seldom found myself waiting longer than a minute or two to use one; even the handwashing stations were always filled with water, soap, and paper towels at all hours of the weekend. And texting was smooth throughout, making meeting up with friends an actual possibility in every scenario.

This was the first year where I felt like the long food lines didn’t stand in the way of being able to sample all of Outside Lands’ extremely well-curated collection of 101 Bay Area food vendors from a bevy of cultural backgrounds. Hot and juicy quesabirria tacos, the most elite selection of hot dogs and corn dogs I’ve seen outside of a Korean night market, lobster tots and tacos, dumplings from countries I didn’t know much about until this weekend, and a new program designed to allow for people to try smaller versions of items so that they can engage with more of the food stands. This was awesome.

What was new to the 2024 version of Outside Lands legitimately added to the experience and didn’t feel like a frivolous sponsorship cash grab. The Latinx-music focused Casa Bacardi looked delightfully like Scarface’s Cuban getaway house, and it was thumping and vibrant all weekend long. DJ’s perched on a balcony played reggaeton and electrocumbia to a two-level crowd. You could stop and dance, or casually chill and walk through the ornately styled lower bar level. It felt like a really successful case study for organizers who could very well expand the Latinx music offerings next year.

Adjacent to Casa Bacardi was the Cocktail Magic area where six different bars were slinging craft espresso martinis and old fashioneds for anyone to purchase, regardless of ticket tier. Beer Lands was once again an excellent representation of the Bay Area craft beer scene, while a scaled-down Wine Lands area still featured Sonoma pinots and natural wines from 30+ wineries in a more intimate and approachable space than in year’s past — elevated amenities you should have at your disposal at a $200/day festival ticket, but don’t get everywhere.

Now in its second year, Dolores’ is a queer-focused indoor/outdoor dance club at the far end of the Polo Field opposite the main stage. Spirits were crazy high all weekend with drag shows, queer DJs, and even ‘90s disco diva Crystal Waters delivering a downright tour de force to what couldn’t have been more than 1,500 people on Sunday night. Outside Lands partners with local queer entertainment curators and it really comes across like an accurate representation of queer culture in the region. “I used to sneak into this festival and now I’m on stage here!” drag queen Nicki Jizz said to a roaring crowd, driving the point home of the inclusivity and diversity that took years for Outside Lands to achieve.

Dedicated to electronic music in all forms, the SOMA area was redesigned this year to be entirely outdoors and, more importantly, to expand capacity three-fold. Gone were structural and ingress issues, and gone was the dark, seedy rave den of the past. I managed to stop here once each day and it was buzzing with the under-21 crowd who found themselves in an accessible alternative space.

A walk from one stage to the other came with welcome stops along the way. In the eucalyptus groves of McLaren Pass, a wedding venue dubbed City Hall hosted three ceremonies a day. Some friends and I sat in on a wedding on Friday afternoon, with thousands of bubbles floating past a bride and groom who fostered their love for each other at Outside Lands ten years ago. We toasted the pair and left with full hearts, ready to embrace the rest of the festival around us.

It’s these walks through the winding paths of Golden Gate Park that filled me with joy the most. When the sun’s rays found their way into open fields, through trees and onto hillside crowds, it was the single biggest elevator of the festival that finds itself at the mercy of San Francisco’s testy weather systems; truly the most authentic part of the city. Midway through Saturday afternoon, the sun was in full force and the festival was humming. Every single stage I made my way past, from Romy’s arresting and vulnerable vocals at Sutro stage to the loud and proud bounce at Dolores’. It didn’t even matter who was playing on the main stage, because there was SO MUCH to see and do everywhere.

There was Flower Lands, where you can craft an arrangement or simply stop and smell different flowers in the “aroma lounge,” or The Mission, where nonprofits focused on voting and sustainability tabled all weekend. Heck, even activations like the Chase Sapphire Lounge rest stop and interactive bars from Gray Whale Gin and Sierra Nevada — all long-time presences at the festival — felt like they seamlessly belonged to the experience because they’ve grown with it.

Make no mistake about it, there were also a number of defining performances. The aforementioned Chappell Roan and Grace Jones drew the most elated main-stage crowds of the weekend. If there was a set you had to be at, it was those two, with Jones’ unabashed creativity towering (literally and figuratively) higher than everything all weekend. Shaboozey held nothing back on Friday afternoon with a raucous industry-heavy VIP area looking damn near as full as the much bigger GA crowd. Real Estate shined with charisma in an early time slot and Schoolboy Q understood the assignment, delivering emphatically for one of the biggest crowds of the weekend. Meanwhile, Billy Woods’ avant-garde flow, local rockers French Cassettes, and next-big-thing Medium Build marked the intimate Panhandle Stage.

There were also some flops, like Daniel Caesar’s lukewarm and detached Friday nighter. Later, Brandon Flowers introduced The Killers calling themselves “a great rock band!” which felt achingly desperate. They closed with a tired rendition of “Mr. Brightside,” which was eclipsed by a passionate sing-a-long in the exit tunnel from attendees as the band clinged to their classic in the background. Jungle sounded generic in an early evening show, settling for videos of vocalists who weren’t on stage with them — including Channel Tres, who was at the festival. Unless you’re Gorillaz, that shtick is never gonna land and Outside Lands is just really at its best when it isn’t so algorithmically charged. For as well-received as Sabrina Carpenter’s performance was, I couldn’t help but think how much stronger originally-scheduled headliner Tyler, The Creator (before he dropped out) would’ve been following Grace Jones; a 1-2 punch of Black excellence for a festival that seemed focused on maintaining that throughline.

If Post Malone’s country set wasn’t your cup of tea, Sacramento native Victoria Monét was putting on a highly theatrical R&B display across the fest; shrewd counter-programming. Sturgill Simpson’s pure outlaw country with a newfound emotional edge was dynamite, but definitely a soft-landing for a smaller main stage crowd to close out the fest. Adrenaline was still pumping through my veins on the fest’s final night, as I drifted away from Simpson for one final long walk across the festival grounds to see the last hour of Kaytranada’s set at the second biggest stage, Twin Peaks. Kaytra achieved what some SOMA DJs couldn’t, and told a story with intention through a wizardly-mixed set of his original songs. Hearing Gal Costa’s vocal sample on “Lite Spots,” at the same stage where I’d heard him play it at the fest seven years earlier to a crowd a fraction of this size, was beautiful — both a subtle homage to the Brazilian singer who died in 2022 and a hat tip to his history here. His was a beaming, brilliant display all around.

At the wedding I attended on Friday, the officiant explained that the couple chose to get married at Outside Lands because of the “shared values and imaginations here” and how “the intangible magic of it all is so attractive to them.” Finding that zone can take time and the best way to do it at Outside Lands? Wander. Plan less and allow room for discovery in this infinite slate of choices of what to see, do, hear, eat, and drink. Because more than any other shiny name on the lineup, it’s what surrounds the main stages that makes this festival experience a genuinely spectacular one.

In the trailer for her new album, Sugar Honey Iced Tea, Latto shared a snippet of a song sampling hometown hero T.I.’s 2003 breakout hit “24’s,” but when the album actually dropped last Friday (August 9), fans were disappointed to learn that the song wasn’t actually on the album. And while the album as a whole turned out to be delightful, garnering critical praise and impressive streaming numbers, there were still plenty of listeners who wanted to know where Latto’s “24’s” remake actually went.

Well, it sounds like Latto has seen their messages — actually, there’s a guarantee she’s seen at least one — and finally responded with a release date for the song, which is called “Chicken Grease.” It’s actually been added to the album, appearing on the “disc two” segment that contains the street anthems “Put It On Da Floor” and “Sunday Service” and their respective remixes. Fans are rejoicing that the song — which appeared as though it might have been held back for some reason — is finally out.

Some fans, however, are reading into the new lyrics, trying to determine if it contains more shots at Ice Spice, with whom Latto had a short-lived and uneventful feud ahead of their albums’ releases.

You can listen to “Chicken Grease” below.

More than a lot of people in hip-hop, Tyler The Creator is somebody who puts every creative fiber into his work and continues to push boundaries with his music. So, when he sees rappers taking an easy path or disrespecting the work, it bothers him.

In an advance clip from an upcoming episode of SpringHill’s Mavericks With Mav Carter podcast (watch it here), Tyler says:

“I don’t want to seem like a hater — sometimes I have hater energy, because I just think I’m that good. […] I love this art form so much, bro, and there’s so many n****s out right now that aren’t musicians, that are getting treated like musicians because they make meme records. [They will] publicly be like, ‘I don’t give a f*ck about music, I just do this sh*t for money.’ It’s a Spider-Man meme of, like, the next n****. When every publication is like, ‘Hell yeah, let’s put that out,’ you taking up space for n****s like me.”

On a lighter note, Tyler was recently the victim of a Billie Eilish prank. She called him and told him that she had pooped her pants while on a date (she hadn’t, of course), and his immediate response was, “Fire. Honestly? Fire. You deserve it.”

On Monday (August 12) Missy Elliott‘s career-spanning Out Of This World Tour reached Brooklyn, New York’s Barclays Center, and to commemorate her stop in hip-hop’s motherland, Missy surprised fans with one of their hometown heroes, a fellow pioneering woman in hip-hop: Lil Kim. Kim joined Missy onstage to perform a pair of her biggest hits: “The Jumpoff” and “Not Tonight (Ladies Night),” the latter of which featured Missy when it dropped in 1997.

Missy’s got just another 10 days of tour left, including dates in Detroit, Montreal, Toronto, and Chicago, but she’s already left a mark on the fans who’ve attended — and the ones who missed out. While the enterprising Virginia native hasn’t suggested that there’s any new music on the horizon, fans will undoubtedly want to hear more from her after this tour, and after recent releases from Flyana Boss, Brent Faiyaz, and Cardi B either featured or sampled Missy’s futuristic works.

Lil Kim, meanwhile, is currently promoting her upcoming memoir, Queen Bee, boasting late last year that it’s going to generate more sales than the Bible.

You can see below for the remaining dates on Missy Elliott’s Out Of This World Tour.

8/15 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
8/17 — Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
8/19 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
8/22 — Rosemont, IL @ Allstate Arena

The year was 1988. Rain Man was at the top of the box office, Belinda Carlisle realized heaven is a place on Earth, and a less-young Joe Piscopo was still teaching us how to laugh in Dead Heat. It’s also the last year to not feature a new (full-length) episode of The Simpsons. The animated series premiered on Fox in 1989, and the rest was record-breaking history.

But now that 20th Television Animation, which produces The Simpsons, is owned by Disney, the show’s future on its long-time broadcast home looks murkier than ever.

It was announced during D23 that four new episodes of The Simpsons will debut exclusively on Disney Plus, including a double Christmas-themed episode timed to the 35th anniversary of the first (aired) episode, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.” The other two, “The Past and the Furious” and “Yellow Planet,” will air in the “months ahead,” according to Disney.

These will be the first-ever Simpsons episodes to not have their original broadcast on Fox, although multiple shorts, including “The Force Awakens from Its Nap,” “The Good, the Bart, and the Loki,” and the Billie Eilish-starring “When Billie Met Lisa,” premiered on Disney Plus.

Even if you haven’t watched since that fateful day at Springfield Speedway, The Simpsons not premiering new episodes on Fox matters. It hints at a future where it’s a streaming-only show; friendly rival Family Guy is dipping its toes — all 10 of them — in the water, too. Plus, as noted by TVLine, Fox isn’t lacking in Sunday night animated series, although none are as popular as The Simpsons.

The Simpsons has only (“only”) been renewed on Fox through season 36, which premieres in September, and it will likely continue for years to come. But where? This is one prediction that’s too soon to make.

In June, Bruno Mars said of Lady Gaga, “I’d love to do [a song] with her. I’ve got to at least sing with her, on her [Las Vegas residency].” Lately, it has started to look like Mars has manifested his dream of a Gaga collaboration.

Yesterday (August 12), some observant social media users started noticing that Mars and Gaga now follow each other on Instagram. That followed unverified reports that Gaga and Mars are preparing to drop a new song called “Die With A Smile” this month.

At the moment, it’s not clear how much truth there is to that. But, at the very least, Gaga definitely appears to be teasing something with Mars.

On social media today, Gaga shared a video (here), a 25-second clip of herself playing piano while wearing a Mars shirt, which she seemed intentional about showing off to the camera.

Meanwhile, Gaga is fresh off a major international moment when she performed “Mon Truc En Plumes” by Renée “Zizi” Jeanmaire at the 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony. While in France, she also accidentally let it slip that she is apparently engaged to Michael Polansky. Mars, meanwhile, is days away from his first Los Angeles shows in a good while.

LeBron James is the oldest player in the NBA. Despite that, James is still able to play at an All-NBA level, as he was a Third Team selection this past year. And during the Olympics, James was able to turn back the clock and show that he’s still capable of taking over basketball games for stretches, as he was nothing short of brilliant in leading Team USA to its fifth straight gold medal.

James has gotten to the point that he’s playing against the sons of guys he used to play against — there’s that terrific clip of him talking to Jabari Smith Jr. about playing against his father — and of course, the Lakers just used a second-round pick on his son, Bronny. He’s at this incredible point in his career where he’s calling the guys he influenced teammates, which got hammered home on Tuesday when Tyrese Haliburton posted a pair of pictures of himself in different LeBron jerseys before posting a third picture of the two celebrating their gold medals in Paris, which you can see here.

Unsurprisingly, James thought this was pretty incredible, as he QT’d Haliburton and called this “crazy.”

The Olympics big for James in a number of ways, as this marked the third time that he won a gold medal and he was selected as the male flag bearer for the entire United States contingent.

How many times can you remake the same horror story without it becoming stale? It depends on who you ask, but Michael Meyers would probably say there is no limit. There are some storylines that can only be done so many times before it starts becoming predictable, but that’s why Xenomorphs are the perfect villain: they are never predictable. They just want to kill you! Do the space explorers ever learn? No, but that’s how we ended up with seven Alien installments. Still not as many as Michael Meyers, but impressive.

While diehard fans might be nervous that Alien: Romulus is just a new version of the same formula, early reviews are promising some terrifying twists and turns-particularly in the last act of the film. Romulus takes place between Alien and Aliens and follows a group of young space explorers who stumble upon the wreckage of a space station infested with aliens.

Don’t Speak director Fede Alvarez went into the movie wanting to terrify some people, and he seems to have succeeded. He told The Hollywood Reporter, “Alien has always been the scariest movie ever for me, so to be able to go into that world and bring it to a new generation, and bring it to life in a way it’s never been brought to life before and in such a realistic and almost documentary way, it really was the things that made all my nightmares.”

It seems like Alien: Romulus has made other people’s nightmares, too. After the premiere earlier this week, some lucky movie-goers shared their spoiler-free thoughts on X:

Borys_Kit:

ALIEN: ROMULUS: Has all the great hallmarks of what you would expect in an Alien flick but never feels like it’s pandering to nostalgia or fan service…and even goes into a crazy new direction. Fede Alvarez & the cast just gave birth to summer’s best movie.

BrandonDavisBD

Alien: Romulus is shockingly good. This movie is so inventive with horror, thrills, and visuals while never crossing into gratuitous blood or gore. It emulates the original Alien movies so well.

I had to pick my jaw up off the floor in the third act. That was insane. Wow.

RachelLeishman:

#AlienRomulus is the first time I have been terrified during one of the Alien movies. Cailee Spaeny’s Rain is a perfect character to follow on this journey and through Fede Álvarez’s twists and turns, you never really know where Romulus is headed. The 3rd act is truly WILD. I dig it.

@TheJonathanSim

ALIEN: ROMULUS is the best Alien movie since Aliens. The perfect bridge between the sci-fi horror of Scott’s original with the thrilling action of Cameron’s sequel.

It gets more thrilling with every scene, culminating in a mind-blowing final act that proves Fede Álvarez never holds back. Absolute insanity filled with fresh ideas

Lulamaybelle

Fede Alvarez’s #AlienRomulus is gnarly, gripping & gorgeously bleak (everything from the story to Olivares’ cinematography to Wallfisch’s score). Innovatively delivering smart, savvy stuff, subtly playing the greatest hits. Cailee Spaeny & David Jonsson dominate. This rules!

@GermainLussier

#AlienRomulus is a bonkers roller coaster ride through the previous six Alien movies, using bits of all them, to tell a focused, mostly standalone story filled with glorious gore & scares. It gets better as it goes along, ending with a phenomenal big swing of a third act.

Seantaj

#AlienRomulus is the sci-fi horror masterpiece we’ve been waiting for! @fedalvar has taken the franchise back to its roots in the most terrifying way possible. Every moment is edge-of-your-seat tension and is everything you’d want from an Alien movie and more. Best Alien film in decades! A must watch in IMAX!

NSpake

#AlienRomulus doesn’t revolutionize the formula, but it has two vital secret weapons in Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson. Director Fede Álvarez returns the franchise to its horror roots, delivering one of the most spine-chilling final acts in any Alien movie.

@billbria

For me, #AlienRomulus plays like a Greatest Hits of the franchise; there’s not much new here (except [REDACTED], & I love it!!), but what’s here is done exceptionally well. Great squicky creature work, gorgeous sound + cinematography, Spaeny + Jonsson are rock solid. I’m jazzed!

While they might not be able to fully replicate the horror of Alien, at lease Alien: Romulus has given us one thing the others haven’t: an Alien popcorn bucket.

Alien: Romulus hits theaters on August 16th.