Year: 2024

We are a month into the college football season, which means we are fully into conference play. As much fun as some of the big non-con matchups can be, the full slate of games tends to be lacking, as there are lots of tune-up games and buy games on the schedule. Now, we start to get Saturdays full of intriguing matchups, with more traditional showdowns and some new conference rivalries.

The headliner of Week 5 is a top-5 matchup between Georgia and Alabama, but the primetime showdown in Tuscaloosa isn’t the only important game on the schedule this week. There are some fascinating games across the country, from the expanded SEC and Big Ten, to the Sun Belt and Mountain West, as teams in those conferences are vying not only for a chance at a conference title, but the lone Playoff spot held open for a Group of 5 team. Here, we’ll dive into what we have an eye on for the Week 5 slate as well as a best bet and look back at last week’s top individual performance.

The Game Of The Year (Of The Week): No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 4 Alabama (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

The first major test (and the first SEC game) of the Kalen DeBoer era in Tuscaloosa is the program that has battled with the Crimson Tide for superiority at the top of the conference in recent years — and really, we wouldn’t have wanted it to be any other way. This game is the sort of heavyweight fight that this new era of superconferences should produce more frequently, and I, for one, cannot think of a better way to ring in that new era than the Dawgs and the Tide throwing haymakers at one another for 60 minutes.

Georgia’s offense has had a week off to lick its wounds after Kentucky dragged them into the mud in their SEC opener — the Bulldogs won, 13-12, but they just did not have a way to consistently move the ball. Alabama’s defense has been awesome this year, but teams have been able to move the ball a little bit on the ground. Not much, mind you, but it’s been a much better bet than throwing it. Now, Carson Beck is the best signal-caller they’ll have gone against, but Kirby Smart likes taking the air out of games like these, especially on the road. I expect tons of Trevor Etienne and Nate Frazier, but if Beck has to throw, he needs to be the potential top-10 pick we know he can be and keep tabs of Keon Sabb, the Michigan safety transfer who is a monster.

Unsurprisingly, DeBoer has the Tide’s offense absolutely rolling. Jalen Milroe looks unbelievable throwing the ball, and he’s always going to be dangerous with his legs. Jam Miller and Justice Haynes have combined for 48 carries for 430 yards, which is a tidy 8.95 yards per carry. Ryan Williams is one of the most dynamic receivers in America, and he doesn’t turn 18 until February. Having said this, Georgia’s defense is a different animal than what they’ve faced this season, and even though they’re not the clear-cut best defense in America, it’s a unit with NFL guys all over the place. Plus when you give Smart a few weeks to gameplan, good things tend to happen.

We might be able to drop (Of The Week) on the title of this section. This has a legitimate chance of being game of the year in college football. I can’t wait.

Lock Into This One: No. 19 Illinois vs. No. 9 Penn State (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)

Your remote might be pretty busy flipping back and forth between the above game and what should be a really fun one in Happy Valley, as the Nittany Lions are hosting the Illini under the lights in Beaver Stadium. Illinois is one of the biggest surprises in America to start the year, as Bret Bielema’s bunch have gutted out one-possession wins over Kansas and Nebraska, the latter of which happened in overtime in front of the fans in Lincoln. Their secondary is nasty, while Luke Altmyer looks like a completely different quarterback than he was last year and his top-2 targets in the passing game — Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin — have been very productive. If they can run the ball, play keep away, and not ask Altmyer to do too much against a stout Nittany Lion defense, they’re going to have a shot.

Speaking of QBs who look completely different: Drew Allar has gotten off to an incredible start for the Nittany Lions this year, as the team has found big plays in bunches on the offensive side of the football. The chess match between that Illini secondary and Allar’s favorite target, standout tight end Tyler Warren, is going to be a blast, and their top running back, Nick Singleton, is as good as anyone in the country. Their defense didn’t look great against the best passing offense they’ve played so far this year (Bowling Green), but if that was just a weird game against a MAC team and they are one of the best defenses in America, Illinois could be in for a long day.

Under-The-Radar Banger: Maryland at Indiana (12:00 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

The Hoosiers should probably be ranked, but since the polls haven’t quite caught up to the Curt Cignetti wagon, I want to make sure people are aware of what’s happening out in Bloomington. Indiana isn’t just winning games, they’re beating the brakes off teams, and while the level of competition hasn’t been super high, they’re doing what they’re supposed to with lesser competition. This week they get a little test in the form of Maryland, as the Terps can put points on the board in a way none of Indiana’s opponents to this point have been able to. This will be a nice litmus test, because if Indiana mashes Maryland, we might have to start considering them part of the second tier of the Big Ten.

Message Board Meltdown Game Of The Week: No. 21 Oklahoma vs. Auburn (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

Hugh Freeze is morally opposed to, like, having a job where things go normally and no one gets mad at him. He cannot get enough of people getting mad at him. This time, he threw his QBs under the bus after a loss to Arkansas, which led to a former QB of his coming to their defense. It’s a tenuous time on the plains, especially with road trips to Georgia and Mizzou on the horizon. As for the Sooners, well, their offense was just flat-out non-competitive against Tennessee last week and if they can’t win this week, it’s very easy to see this season play out with them missing a bowl game. I do not want to be the team that loses this game, is the point.

Who Won The Heisman Last Week?: Alonza Barnett III, QB, James Madison

THE DUKES. My god, did they firebomb UNC last week. Their signal caller, Barnett, was at the center of it all, as the leaky Tar Heel defense had absolutely nothing for him. Barnett was 22-for-34 for 388 yards and five touchdowns, with 13 carries for 99 yards and a pair of scores on the ground. All of the attention after the game was on how UNC was a catastrophe — and, let’s be clear, understandably so — but let’s give Barnett a little love for a monster game.

Best Bet (2-2): Georgia vs. Alabama 1H UNDER 24.5

Georgia has not gone over the first half total yet this season, and I’m pretty sure that’s by design. Since Kirby Smart took over in Athens, the Dawgs tend to ease into the game and lean on the running game and their defense, wearing down opponents before pouring it on late. As such, Georgia first half unders are a principle of mine and now that this has crept up over a key number at 24.5, I like it even more. Alabama certainly can score in bunches, but this isn’t Western Kentucky rolling into Tuscaloosa. I like both teams to start the biggest game of the year out leaning on their excellent defenses and trying not to make a catastrophic mistake early on offense, and if that plays out I like us to go into the locker rooms at half under this total.

Metro Boomin’s musical contributions to the Spider-Verse have sparked another creative project: The “Like That” producer’s comic book series, The Metroverse, has come a hit among fans.

Today (September 27), Metro Boomin shared the second issue of his The Metroverse series, “Metro Boomin: The Rise #2.” The visual team behind the edition (which includes artists by Vasilis Lolos, Fred Stresing, and Micah Meyers, as well as writer Ryan Cady) continues the high-stakes adventure.

Without giving too much away, the issue’s synopsis is surely enough to spark your interest. The issue is described:

“Metro is at the front of danger when he gains an unlikely alliance with the Nightshade Trio – three mysterious and powerful femme fatales. The Nightshade Trio arrives on the scene changing the entire Metroverse world. The foursome work together to fight against some of the city’s largest threats.

Though, not everything is as it seems. Secrets are lingering in the shadows while a threatening romance sparks. Metro must make the tough decision if the Nightshade Trio are his greatest partners or a menacing force he could have never anticipated. This action-packed second issue is filled with relationships being tested, love growing, and Metro’s beliefs being tested more than ever before.”

The second issue of Metro Boomin’s The Metroverse comic book is out now. But if you want to get your hands on a physical copy, you are going to want to beeline for his website, as only 4,000 copies are available. Find more information here.

The signature sneaker is the ultimate status symbol in the world of professional basketball. Having a shoe line with your name on it from one of the major brands is reserved, typically, for the biggest names in the sport. That said, the space has gotten a bit crowded, as the race to sign young talent has meant companies are giving out more signature sneakers, placing bets on young hopeful stars to emerge as household names.

Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t, but with some of the biggest names in the sport getting older and headed towards legacy sneaker status like the Jordan and Kobe lines — LeBron, KD, Curry, etc. — I don’t think we’ll see brands slowing down in terms of giving out sneakers. There are already a handful of shoes announced for this upcoming season, with De’Aaron Fox getting his first shoe with Curry Brand and A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark signatures on the way from Nike. They won’t be alone, though, as the next generation of NBA and WNBA stars commanding their own sneaker line is either already in the league or on its way.

Here, we take a look at nine players who figure to be in the conversation for their own sneaker, whether with the brand they currently represent or someone else whenever their deal is up.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Converse)

SGA’s new deal with Converse includes a signature sneaker, we just don’t know exactly when it’s coming in 2025 — perhaps it will arrive midseason, but it also could be for the 2025-26 campaign. His rise from intriguing young player to a legit MVP threat meant it was only a matter of time before he got his own shoe. He is also one of the leading NBA players in the fashion space, so he figures to create a unique sneaker that will be welcome in a world where we see an awful lot of copycat looks in hoops shoes.

Victor Wembanyama (Nike)

The next NBA superstar is a no-doubter to get a shoe from Nike. The question is just what it looks like and when it arrives. Nike created some truly wild footwear prototypes ahead of the Olympics, including one for Wemby, but I have a hard time believing they’ll go fully in that direction for his first shoe. That said, they should steer into him being one of the most unique players in NBA history to give him a shoe to match, and if nothing else he has one of the best logos in the NBA already. Big men don’t typically sell tons of sneakers, but Wemby is such a unique player I think whatever shoe they release for him will do numbers.

Paige Bueckers (Nike)

Bueckers is already getting her own PEs for her senior year at UConn, and a signature shoe may be on the horizon. What’s interesting for Nike is they’ve already committed to making signature sneakers for Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson, and one wonders how many signatures they’re willing to make in the women’s space. Other brands like adidas and Under Armour/Curry Brand are aggressively pursuing women’s hoops stars to be the face of a sneaker line, and will be chasing Bueckers and others hard if Nike balks on offering a signature shoe initially.

Cooper Flagg (New Balance)

The expected No. 1 pick in 2025 has all the tools to be a massive star and command his own sneaker. He also opted to sign with New Balance despite going to a Nike school in Duke, which provides a much clearer pathway to a signature shoe as he won’t be stuck behind a long list of other stars. New Balance, at this point, only has a Kawhi Leonard signature. Flagg certainly figures to fit the bill for a second, even if it’s become increasingly rare for brands to give out signatures to rookies upon entering the league.

Joel Embiid (Skechers)

I can’t imagine Skechers signed Embiid just to have him be the face of their regular basketball line. That said, his first signature sneaker with Under Armour wasn’t exactly a huge hit on the market and he faces the uphill battle that all traditional centers do in selling sneakers to the general public. Few have cracked the code on how to do that, and it’ll be interesting to see if Skechers can figure out how to create a shoe that stands up to the physical demands of Embiid while being something the public wants to wear.

Paolo Banchero (Jordan)

Already an All-Star in Year 2, I think he has a chance to be a huge star, and if the Magic continue their ascent in the East, his next shoe deal might include his own line. The question is whether he can get that with Jordan or if he’d need to look elsewhere, as Jordan Brand already has three young stars — Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, and Zion Williamson — with their own sneaker lines.

Tyrese Maxey (New Balance)

The Sixers young star guard keeps getting better and, like Banchero, another leap might put him in line for his own sneaker. As noted, New Balance currently just has the Kawhi line and even if there’s a Flagg line on the way, that would still leave room to give Maxey a shoe made for a guard.

Angel Reese (Reebok)

She’s already designed her own line of lifestyle apparel, and helped Reebok debut their first performance shoe. A signature is the next step as Reebok has clearly embraced the Chicago Sky star as the face of their women’s line. After a record-setting rookie season, Reese is in prime position to continue building her brand on and off the court and helping Reebok burst back on the scene in the hoops space.

Juju Watkins (Nike)

Watkins is still a few years away from being in the W, but she projects as a mega-star at the next level. I think she’s a no-brainer for a signature sneaker when she makes the leap to the WNBA, but the real question is who that’s with. Currently she is a Nike athlete, but as mentioned earlier, if Nike were to give Bueckers a signature shoe, it’s not a guarantee they’d want to hand out a fourth women’s signature. I could see adidas, now led by Candace Parker, New Balance, and Curry Brand both making big runs at Watkins — as they did for Caitlin Clark — in each of those brand’s quest for a face of their women’s division.

Rauw Alejandro has become one of Latin music’s biggest stars over the past half-decade, and part of the reason is productivity: He’s released an album a year every year since 2020. He’s not about to let that streak end, either: Today (September 27), Alejandro announced Cosa Nuestra, his fifth album.

That’s set to drop on November 15, but today, he’s shared a new single, “Pasaporte.” The song, a collaboration with Mr.NaisGai, is a catchy banger that would have been great for the summer, but it’s still more than welcome here in fall. The video was filmed in Ibiza and it includes cameos from David Guetta and The Martinez Brothers.

In a recent Billboard interview, Alejandro said of the album:

“I like to visualize my plans long term. I’ll sit in my house, read a book, smoke a joint with a little cafecito, look at the sky and try to make a mental map of what’s coming up. I don’t like to repeat projects, so planning helps me achieve that. Saturno is an album inspired by the ’90s with more uptempo, electronic music, so don’t expect my next project to be more of the same. Obviously, my essence comes from R&B, and that can fit in any kind of rhythm. It’s not just about the music, but the eras overall.”

Watch the “Pasaporte” video above.

Cosa Nuestra is out 11/15 via Sony Music. Find more information here.

Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez is a name you’ve probably heard a lot in recent months. Alien: Romulus just released to critical and fan acclaim and has made over a staggering $315 million at the box office. Many are celebrating this as a return to form for the franchise and for all intents and purposes, it absolutely is. The Alien franchise’s previous entry, Covenant, failed to make an impact with audiences and critics. With future a follow-up canceled, Alvarez saw it as an opportunity to inject some life into a series he loved and he had the resume to prove he could do it.

Let’s rewind a bit to Alvarez’s origins. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Alvarez found a passion for film and exploring the sci-fi and horror genres early on. From 2001 to 2005 he made a trio of short films but in 2009 he hit the genre jackpot. Ataque de pánico! Was made for the 2009 Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre, a genre film festival with a focus on sci-fi, horror, and fantasy. The five minute short film depicts an attack on the city of Montevideo by giant robots of unknown origin. What sets Ataque de pánico! Apart from other contemporaries is how it builds a bleak tone of hopelessness ultimately ending with the entire destruction of the city and everyone in it.

Alvarez uploaded the $300 short film on YouTube thinking not much more would come of it. What he didn’t expect was rapper Kanye West’s blog to post a direct link to the short. By the following Monday, Alvarez was receiving offers from major Hollywood studios hoping to work with the aspiring director. One of those studios that reached out to him was none other than Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert’s production company Ghost House Pictures with an offer that would alter his life and career forever.

Ghost House Pictures was looking to revive the long dormant Evil Dead franchise, a series that had not seen a new entry since 1992’s Army of Darkness and even that particular entry had grown away from the original 1981 film’s original concept. Fede Alvarez and his screenwriting partner Rodo Sayagues from his short film days pitched a reboot that would return the franchise to its gory and horrifying roots while telling an original story in the process. With Evil Dead being such a beloved franchise in horror fandom the reboot (especially one with leading man Bruce Campbell) seemed like a monumental risk, after all negative fan backlash is what killed a previous remake attempt back in 2009.

Alvarez and Sayagues’ gamble paid off and Evil Dead hit theaters in 2013 to critical and fan acclaim. The film was a brutal as hell gorefest that celebrated everything fans loved about the series while doing new things with established lore from previous entries. The film follows Mia (Jane Levy) and her friends as they travel to a desolate cabin in the woods in an effort to get her clean from drug use. During their stay they discover the “Naturom Demonto”, which summons demonic forces and turns the rehabilitation trip into a fight for their lives.

Evil Dead stood out from other horror releases at the time by having a focus on practical effects and only using CGI to touch up the visuals rather than have it be the main source. Fede Alvarez came from a visual effects background from working on his own short films and applied his sensibilities to a larger budget project. Some noteworthy effects include limbs being ripped apart, skin being boiled, and a literal rainstorm of blood. Fans were satisfied and hungry for more but Alvarez soon had his sights set on another dormant franchise.

After taking detours to make Don’t Breathe (which would become a franchise itself) and The Girl In The Spider’s Web (an attempt to revive the Millenium franchise), Alvarez and Sayagues were recruited by Legendary Pictures to produce and develop a sequel to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. After the success that Blumhouse saw with revitalizing the Halloween franchise, surely Leatherface could end up in the spotlight once again. The duo came up with a “requel” of sorts, a sequel to the original set of films that ignored films like the 2003 remake and the Lionsgate duo of Texas Chainsaw 3D and Leatherface. Though Alvarez was handing off directing duties to David Blue Garcia, he would still produce and oversee the story.

2022’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre follows Lila (Elsie Fisher) and her friends as they buy a ghost town in Texas in hopes of turning it into an influencer’s paradise. After a run-in with one of the locals they inadvertently awaken Leatherface (Mark Burnham) which draws the attention of Texas Ranger Sally Hardesty (Olwen Fouéré), lone survivor of the original film. While this entry served as a direct sequel to the original film, it updated its themes and commentary to match the changed times. Whereas the original film commented on hippie culture this entry serves as a gory send up of influencer and cancel culture, mixing in sentiments on gun rights and mass shootings to very mixed results. Regardless, Leatherface was back in the spotlight and was the most streamed film on Netflix in its release. Since then numerous pieces of merchandise and haunted houses based on this particular film have been made.

This brings us to the present day and how Alvarez’ deep love of the genre and lengthy track record have allowed him to make the right moves in the latest entry in the Alien franchise. Alien: Romulus is not only a love letter and return to the aesthetics of the original two films or an extension of the lore Ridley Scott set up with Prometheus. It’s not purely an homage, Alvarez and Sayagues are able to distill what works about a franchise into its purest form and then they lean on their passion, craft, and vision to bring new experiences to the screen that remain true to their franchise roots in ways that bring fans and old and new to the theater. It’s what makes Alvarez something like a horror revival king, spurring curiosity about what he’s going to turn his attentions to next.

To be frank, living in delusion is fun, but the bliss brought forth by a delusional fallacy is only ever short-lived. Wet sings all about that on their new single, “Rosy.”

As the follow-up to “Double,” Wet is back to their airy reflective sound heard throughout their album Letter Blue, including single “Far Cry.”

On “Rosy,” Wet ditches their rose-colored glasses to see their past romance as it truly was, singing, “So this is how it goes, I wish I would’ve known / And someone could’ve told me so / I would’ve turned that car around / I woulda put my arms around you / Turned that car around / Put my arms around you / So this is how it goes / I wish I would’ve known / And someone could’ve told me so.”

That yearning continues in the chorus as Wet sings, “‘Cause there’s something that keeps me turning ’round / Won’t let me get my feet on the ground / And it’s pulling me in pieces / Telling me I need you, need you / Running ’til I reach you / And I’m running ’til I’m see through.”

Listen to “Wet” above. Continue below to view Wet’s 2024 European tour schedule.

Wet’s 2024 Tour Dates: European Tour 2024

08/09 – Queens, NY @ The Rockaway Hotel
10/22 – London, UK @ The Garage*
10/25 – Paris, FR @ Trabendo*
10/26 – Amsterdam, NL @ London Calling
10/28 – Berlin, DE @ Hole 44
10/29 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA
10/30 – Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan
10/31 – Helsinki, FI @ Korjaamo

* with Jam City

Wet’s 2024 European Tour Poster

In 2020, South Park co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone ranked their 15 favorite episodes of the Comedy Central animated series. Their picks included only one episode between seasons 1 and 7 (season 2’s trolling “Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus”), three classic episodes from season 8 (“Good Times with Weapons,” “AWESOM-O,” and “Woodland Critter Christmas”), and a single episode beyond season 13 (season 15’s meaningful “You’re Getting Old”).

Could there be an instant classic episode in season 27 that Trey and Matt would put on an updated list? We won’t know for a bit, but hey, crazier things have happened, like South Park lasting 27 seasons.

Here’s everything we know about season 27 of South Park, including the delayed premiere date.

Plot

It’s a fool’s errand to predict what South Park will cover in season 27, considering the topical nature of the show. But it seems like Trey and Matt are burned out by keeping up with politics (can you blame them?).

“It’s just way more fun to be like, Cartman’s going to dress up like a robot,” Stone said in an interview with Vanity Fair. He also discussed the state of comedy in 2024. “The stuff I’m jealous of is TikTok — like, ‘That’s a great joke, that looks like they had fun doing it,’ and then you move on,” the voice of Kyle, Kenny, Butters, Tweek, Craig, Jimbo, Gerald, Big Gay Al, etc. said. “We both just have endless respect for that.” However, Stone still prefers “writing a story and building a frame so that you can do more complicated stuff.”

If that “complicated stuff” involves a Mexican restaurant, even better.

Cast

There’s Matt Stone and Trey Parker as most everyone, of course, but there’s a few other voice actors, including Mona Marshall, April Stewart, and Kimberly Brooks as a majority of the female characters, and Adrien Beard as Token.

Release Date

With the exception of the Paramount+ “The End of Obesity” special, South Park is taking 2024 off. Why? Blame Canada, I mean, the election.

“We’ve tried to do South Park through four or five presidential elections, and it is such a hard thing to — it’s such a mind scramble, and it seems like it takes outsized importance,” Stone recently explained. “Obviously, it’s f*cking important, but it kind of takes over everything and we just have less fun.” Parker added, “I don’t know what more we could possibly say about Trump.”

Expect season 27 to premiere in 2025.

Trailer

We don’t have a trailer for season 27 yet, so now is a good opportunity to watch the first South Park trailer ever released from nearly 30 years ago. It was a very different show.

Leon Bridges is now a week out from the release of his latest album, titled simply “Leon.” He’s got at least one more pre-album single in him, though, as he just dropped “That’s What I Love” today (September 27). It’s the kind of soulful, slow-burning tune Bridges does well, letting smooth intrumentals and his equally soothing voice do the heavy lifting.

Bridges previously said of the album:

“Leon has been a long-time coming. I started writing pieces of it as far back as Gold-Diggers Sound. They didn’t fit what I was trying to do with that album and I tried moving on. But I couldn’t shake them because they’re part of me. And, if I’m honest, also because I think this is some of my most excellent work yet.

In many ways, Leon has been in the works since my childhood. This record is about simpler days. It’s about time spent in my beloved Fort Worth and the experiences that made me the man I am today. It’s soulful music in the truest sense — it’s imbued with my soul.

I’m excited to share these stories about my home, about nostalgia, about my upbringing, about where I’m from, with all of you. I hope this music brings you back to your roots and your journey.”

Listen to “That’s What I Love” above.

Leon is out 10/4 via Columbia Records. Find more information here.

Three weeks of the 2024 NFL season are in the books, and the results in this space have been poor. On the positive side, things went better in Week 3, and there was genuine optimism going into Sunday. Then, the Cincinnati Bengals managed to lose a game — at home as a touchdown favorite — without punting a single time. The Jaguars were flatly embarrassed, and that was that.

Alas, there is more to hold onto as Week 4 arrives and, before we hand out five picks, let’s check in on the (ugly) season to date.

• Week 3: 2-3
• 2024 Season: 3-12

Come get these winners.

Indianapolis Colts (+2.5) over Pittsburgh Steelers — FanDuel

The Steelers have impressed through three weeks, particularly on defense, but the love-fest has gone a bit too far as a road favorite here. Granted, Indianapolis isn’t exactly a bastion of consistency, but the Colts managed to get us home last week. They’ll do it again.

Jacksonville Jaguars (+6.5) over Houston Texans — FanDuel, DraftKings

Look, I don’t want to talk about it. This is a principle play, and it’s so ugly that I don’t even want to give it out. But we have to do what we do and pride ourselves on digging into the garbage at times.

Atlanta Falcons (-2) over New Orleans Saints — DraftKings

We profited from sharp regression on the Saints side last week, even if it didn’t really happen the way that I envisioned. Candidly, I don’t think this is a huge edge, but my evaluation is that the Falcons are (narrowly) better in the aggregate and this is a good spot for Atlanta at home. Hopefully, the Week 3 Saints offense will show up.

New England Patriots (+10.5) over San Francisco 49ers — Widely Available

The public will be falling over themselves to bet the Niners this week coming off back-to-back losses and seemingly in a “must-win” spot at home. Admittedly, San Francisco is probably going to win this game, but I will happily grab the Patriots at this number. Nabbing +10.5 with a total in the low 40’s is attractive, and Jacoby Brissett can keep things on the rails for us against the banged-up 49ers.

Baltimore Ravens (-2.5) over Buffalo Bills — Widely Available

I’ve had this spot circled from the moment Buffalo blew Jacksonville away on Monday. If the line was -2.5 or better, I was taking Baltimore. And here we are. The Ravens tried to give away their first win and, yes, I’m worried about their apparent inability to close out games. But Baltimore at home is the side and we’ll sell high, at least to some extent, on Buffalo after a 3-0 start.

There is good and there is Oscars good. The Substance is GREAT. Like, disown members of your family if they don’t love it great, but writer/director Coralie Fargeat’s utterly fascinating and shocking film is absolutely not going to win any major Oscars.

For anyone in need of a refresher, The Substance is about a faded star (Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle) fighting a full-scale war against age-aided irrelevancy. When a mysterious solution is presented, she buys in and unleashes the most monstrous creation imaginable: a vibrant, perfect younger version of herself who isn’t great at sharing (Margaret Qualley as Sue). The film is a penetrating satire about toxic male-gaze-defined beauty standards in Hollywood and youth obsession. It’s also a body horror story that evokes comparisons to the works of Sam Raimi and John Carpenter.

Were it not for that last part, you might think the film would have better odds for gold, but horror almost always has to deal with a respect deficit and the truly berserk back half of the film – a 25-minute blitz of blood and mayhem – puts a definitive end to any Oscar dreams. This fact calls into question (for, perhaps, the one millionth time) the relevance of these awards.

If your celebration of cinematic excellence runs through narrow channels defined by decrepit ideas about what is and isn’t award worthy, you’re not really in the business of celebrating excellence, you’re in the business of jerking off. And that business has a cooling effect on innovation at a time when white noise and focus-group tested templates for success fill the space – a deluge of ephemera or content, nothing classic or worthy of discussion or remembrance.

Fargeat is two full length films into defining a specific style that is allergic to that kind of movie. Instead, she uses shock to say something. In 2017s Revenge, a story about a woman violently assaulted who goes on a rampage in pursuit of justice, the volume of blood turns a house into a slip and slide, and extreme closeups of wounds prove jarring. The film is raw, but the message is crystal clear about the distrubing way women are treated (on screen and off) as disposable sex objects as you root for Matilda Lutz’ Jen to keep fighting and keep surviving, displaying an almost supernatural resilience.

In The Substance, Fargeat deploys some of the same methods – tanker trucks full of blood, slow motion hyper-focus on things like rotting flesh and Dennis Quaid shoving prawns into his maw. But it shifts from a literal desert to a moral one in Hollywood – brighter, bolder, and causative of the psychological torment and physical devastation wrought by the aforementioned unrealistic beauty standards that twist people inside out.

The horror comes from a spine split the length of Demi Moore’s torso (and all that comes next), but also from a scene where Qualley’s character becomes paranoid while exposed during the shooting of a fitness video.

Both actors are so often exposed that they have to deeply trust Fargeat’s vision and methods. Moore is relentless in her portrayal of a character’s descent into madness and rot. Qualley (who we rightly labeled as “our most adventurous young star” recently), like Moore, puts her body on full display, sometimes in scenes that push up to the boundaries of actual objectification, but it’s all in pursuit of the larger point about how the character is viewed.

Men, lacking all awareness of self and surroundings, project their grubby lust onto her without consideration for her wants or needs. Sue is made into a doll, posed and placed where they want her. Elizabeth Sparkle, on the other hand, is 50, and so they look right past and dehumanize her. These sins are all committed by a band of indistinguishable old white dudes led by a lizardly Quaid, who it seemed we had lost to movies about miracles and baseball, but who has just enough twinkle in his eyes to sell the vision of this slovenly monster.

Fargeat is using a broad canvas here, pulling a massive slice of culture under the microscope. And it works so well, grabbing hold of and shocking the audience. Seriously, see it with as many people as you possibly can (as fast as you can as it seems to be falling out of theaters fast). Let the cascade of unusual audience noises – audible cringes, shrieks, wildly inappropriate giggles, and shouts at the screen – enhance the experience.

The Substance is bold and confrontational while also being highly stylized (the sparse packaging of the literal Substance, the Kubrickian hallways, the boldly colored jackets and spandex, UK composer Raffertie’s entrancing and thumping EDM score). It wants to be remembered in such a way that you leave the theater a zealot who is excited to tell people about what you’ve just seen. You want them to see it too so you can talk about it. That buzz is the mark of a truly special film. Hardware or no.

At some point in the process, many specific moments in The Substance could have been sanded down to create a horror story for Oscar voters who seem to only occasionally elevate psychological horror, but who get squeamish when gore and shock enter the chat. Thank goodness and thank Fargeat for being uncompromising. This is a visionary who is exciting for her sensibilities and disregard for our discomfort. If I read people saying she should direct a Marvel movie next, I’m going to put my head through a mirror.

The Substance is a film that wanted to bury a message within the juicy entrails of a sicko symphony, indifferent to if it got the gold star that too many people think represents the only pathway to cinematic immortality. It isn’t, and The Substance‘s run as an influential cult classic is about to prove that.

‘The Substance’ is in theaters now.