Category: News

2023 is shaping up to be the year of the big-budget video game adaptation. Between The Last Of Us and the upcoming Fallout series, there will be something for everyone this year — unless that something is the next season of House of the Dragon. But, if you were a child at any point between 1985 and now, you are in for a real treat with a familiar face. The world’s most famous Italian-American plumber is heading to the big screen in The Super Mario Bros Movie.

Despite the general distress at Chris Pratt offering his voice to the character, the rest of the cast is pretty well-rounded, and Nintendo has been working hard to keep their precious IP intact, so the movie can’t be awful, right? Here is everything we know about the upcoming film.

Release Date

The movie is set to hit theaters on April 7th, 2023, just weeks after Mario’s American theme park debut. What a year for the little guy!

Cast

Mario will be portrayed by Chris Pratt, whether you want it or not, so we might as well just embrace it.

As for the rest of the cast, there is an all-star team of voices coming out of the woodwork for the movie, including Jack Black as the protagonist turtle Bowser, Anya Taylor-Joy as the delightful Princess Peach and Charlie Day as Mario’s cooler and arguably better plumbing professional brother, Luigi. Also starring is Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong.

Plot

The plot details are under wraps, though but from the over-the-top trailer, we can assume that Mario is doing some damsel-saving, though it might be Luigi instead of Princess Peach. It’s about time Peach gets her own adventure, honestly. The inclusion of Donkey Kong might imply that we get a little more backstory and worldbuilding. Or it means that Seth Rogen just really wanted a cameo. We shall see!

Trailer

With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever having spent two months in theaters, the big question is when can Marvel fans expect to stream the highly-anticipated sequel on Disney+. For a brief while, Marvel was toying with 45-day theatrical windows, but that gap immediately started to widen with Thor: Love and Thunder. Considering Wakanda Forever has been a box office juggernaut, it only makes sense that Marvel would want to capitalize on its time in theaters and wait a little longer before making it available for streaming.

According to reports, Wakanda Forever could have a Disney+ release date of January 20. However, we should caution that at the time of this writing, we could not find any official confirmation. There is no listing on Disney+ or Marvel’s official website, and the film’s social media accounts have not verified a release date. In fact, Polygon is reporting that Wakanda Forever may not hit Disney+ until February 1. In short, the situation appears to be fluid, but the film is most likely heading to streaming sometime near the end of January and before the film’s Blu-ray release, which also has no official street date.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with Nakia and Everett Ross to forge a new path for their beloved kingdom.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently playing in theaters.

(Via Collider)

As the holiday season comes to a close, music continues to be the gift that keeps on giving. While Mariah Carey fans may be thrilled that “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is the first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 of the year for the fourth year in a row, another music icon achieved a remarkable feat.

Nat King Cole, who is known for first recording “The Christmas Song,” posthumously reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated January 7, marking his first top 10 hit in nearly 60 years.

To be precise, Cole, who died in 1965, returns to the top 10 after 59 years, six months, and a week, which marks the longest break between top-10 hits. This breaks the record previously broken last year by The Ronettes, whose Christmas classic “Sleigh Ride” returned to the top 10 after 58 years and two months.

Cole last hit the top 10 in 1963 with one of his signature songs, “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days Of Summer,” which reached No. 6 on the Hot 100.

“The Christmas Song” is one of seven holiday-themed songs occupying the top 10. You can check out this week’s Hot 100 chart top 10 below.

Some of the artists mentioned are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Mark your calendars: A name and date has been set for TWICE’s second English single.

Following the successful release of “The Feels” in 2021, the leading K-pop girl group ended 2022 with the announcement of releasing a new English single in January and a new EP in March 2023.

Earlier today (January 3), TWICE updated their social media accounts with a teaser image that revealed the title and release date for their second English single. Titled “Moonlight Sunrise,” the single will drop on Friday, January 20 at midnight ET.

Though no further details were provided on the English release, fans suspected members have spoiled part of the choreography at a recent concert guesting and on fan messaging platform Bubble. Performing as a surprise guest for Psy’s year-end concert, members Chaeyoung, Nayeon (the group’s Spoiler Queen), and Sana were caught doing a different dance move during a part of their Christmas track “Heart Shaker.” On the other hand, Nayeon apparently changed her name on Bubble to the crescent moon emoji that would hint to the English song’s title.

TWICE is a nine-member girl group composed of members Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu, that debuted under JYP Entertainment in 2015. The group completed the US leg of their world tour last year, with a two-night sold out encore show in the first half of last year. The tour was then followed by the release of their eleventh EP, Between 1&2, and the news of the group renewing their contracts with JYP Entertainment.

While information on “Moonlight Sunrise” are incoming, you can pre-save the English single here.

A new year has begun. And, as expected, the Korean music industry isn’t holding back.

As 2022 claimed itself the year of girl groups, music insiders are predicting 2023 will be the year for boy groups to redeem themselves. However, it is obviously too early to side with the claim.

With that being said, here are some of the hottest K-pop releases that fans are highly anticipating in the month of January.

NewJeans – 1st Single ‘OMG’

Already taking the K-pop world by storm in 2022, NewJeans follows their debut self-titled EP with their single-album OMG set to release on January 2. The two-track project will include the ADOR girl group’s lead single of the same name and the chart-topping pre-release single “Ditto.”

YUGYEOM – Ponytail

On January 2, GOT7’s youngest member is set to release his first solo single of the year. Titled “Ponytail,” the Korean artist taps rapper Sik-K for a feature on the chill-sounding and guitar-heavy track.

VIXX – ‘Gonna Be Alright’

Returning as a trio, VIXX’s Leo, Ken, and Hyuk will release their digital single “Gonna Be Alright” on January 3 at 6 p.m. KST. The release will be followed by a fan concert held by the trio on January 6.

MOONBIN & SANHA – 3rd Mini Album – Incense

ASTRO’s sub-unit composed of members Moonbin and Sanha are set to make their return on January 4 with their third EP Incense. The six-track album will include the dynamic duo’s lead single “Madness” that was co-written by Moonbin.

ILY:1 – 1ST MINI ALBUM

Rookie girl group ILY:1 (pronounced as “eye-li-one”) will make their first comeback of the year with their first EP on January 5.

MONSTA X – Mini Album ‘REASON’

Making their first comeback since contract discussions, Starship Entertainment’s leading boy group is set to return with their newest EP, REASON, on January 9. The release marks member I.M.’s first project with Monsta X since his departure from his former label.

SF9 – 12TH MINI ALBUM [THE PIECE OF9]

Fresh off their US tour last month, FNC Entertainment is already gearing SF9 for a January comeback set for the 9th. The group will release their twelfth EP with its lead single “Puzzle.”

GOT the beat – Stamp On It

GOT the beat will make their first comeback on January 16 but will do a pre-performance at SM Entertainment’s annual New Year concert, SMTOWN LIVE 2023. The super girl group is SM Entertainment’s project girl group (similar to SM’s boy group SuperM) that debuted at the top of 2022 with “Step Back.”

TXT – The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION

With the news already making waves in the last quarter of the 2022, TXT (short for TOMORROW X TOGETHER) will release their newest EP titled The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION on January 27. The EP is already up for pre-order and comes in three different versions.

NCT 127 – Fourth Album Repackage: Ay-Yo

Following the successful release of their fourth album 2 Baddies, NCT 127 returns with a repackaged album titled Ay-Yo that contains three additional tracks including the new lead single of the same name. Fans can expect the album to drop on January 30.

On Tuesday morning, both new and old co-hosts of The View paid tribute to the late Barbara Walters who famously created the iconic daytime talk show all the way back in 1997. While the mood was definitely reverent as original hosts like Meredith Vieria and Debbie Matenopoulos stopped by to share their experiences learning from the veteran newscaster, there were also very on-brand moments of hilarity as the co-hosts recalled unforgettable moments of Walters’ raucous humor.

One such moment came from former co-host Sherri Shepherd, who will never forget the advice that Walters gave her. The two were particularly close and often met for dinners, which led to Walters personally planning Shepherd’s bridal shower where her trademark wit was on full display. Via The Wrap:

“She said, ‘You always get with these men who take your money! All the time! Stop getting married to men that take your money. You need to be a lesbian,’” Shepherd recalled. “‘But with your luck, they’d take your money, too.’”

The story got huge laughs from both the audience and the women at the table, as the hosts all agreed that Walters was known to be honest like that.

The scene was definitely better than the treatment that Walkers received from Megyn Kelly. While the former Fox News host was sure to credit the late Walters for blazing the trail that made her career possible, Kelly launched into an odd and seemingly random attack on Walters’ parenting. While citing passages from her memoir, Kelly decided now was a good time to criticize Walters for being an absent mother.

Needless to say, The View did not go that route, and even one of its more grating former co-hosts had the wherewithal to pay proper respect to Walters:

(Via The Wrap)

James Blake made a recent appearance on comedian Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast, where he interestingly opened up about his thoughts regarding musicians not being the greatest people to talk to.

“When it comes to musicians, we’re not… we don’t tend to be the most articulate people, for some reason,” Blake said at 6:39 into the episode. “I think we’re not the best people to have conversations with. So, I had to branch out. Not because I’m such a great conversationalist, but because I noticed a lot of my conversations with musicians tended to be more one-dimensional.”

Blake goes on to compare musicians’ way of speaking to Pavlov’s conditioning psychology, as he notes that while singers and songwriters are capable of communicating their emotions through music, they tend to be more anxious and struggle with other forms of conversation. He also admitted to having the same problem.

“I’m just saying as a general rule, musicians… I had to find my words, really,” he continued later in the video (at 12:36). “If you’d met me maybe seven or eight years ago, I probably wouldn’t have sustained a friendship, for starters. I think I would have been intimidated or not socially comfortable enough.”

While the conversation between Blake and Von lasts for over two hours, fans of both performers were entertained in the comments section by the crossover and their friendship.

Find the full This Past Weekend episode above.

While we might never see the day when Radiohead performs an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, we will happily “settle” for the next best thing from The Smile. After recently completing a month-long tour of North America in support of their debut album, A Light For Attracting Attention, The Smile’s live performance from NPR’s offices in Washington D.C. came out today.

The band presumably stopped off for a session behind Bob Boilen’s desk on their tour stop in the nation’s capital in November, because they were clearly in top touring form. Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner were also joined by saxophonist Robert Stillman as they coursed through a three-song set of “Pana-vision,” “The Smoke,” and “Skrting On the Surface.”

Donning a purple skullcap a la the dude in the “Paranoid Android” music video, Yorke was in especially shape-shifting form during the performance. He moved from piano to bass to guitar in each of the songs, while singing blissfully through it all. The set’s greatest moment was easily the closer, “Skrting On the Surface,” when Yorke and Greenwood both just went crazy on their guitars as Skinner tapped away hypnotically on his drum set.

Watch The Smile perform their NPR Tiny Desk Concert above.

The Bills and Bengals met on Monday night in what was supposed to be the game of the week in the NFL, but after Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin collapsed, going into cardiac arrest after making a tackle in the first quarter and needing CPR on the field, the game was ultimately postponed due to the emotional toll on players on both sides.

At that point, football became secondary to the health of Hamlin, who remains sedated and in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center as of Tuesday afternoon when his family released its first statement. The Bills flew back to Buffalo (with some players staying back to be with Damar), indicating there would not be a quick resumption of play. On Tuesday the league confirmed the game will not be resumed this week, with no determination on whether it would be continued at a later date or cancelled completely.

The NFL also noted that there are no changes to the Week 18 schedule as of now, with the playoffs set to begin on Saturday Jan. 14. The need for time off between games means rescheduling games is nearly impossible, and the league will have to eventually make a decision on whether to adjust the playoff schedule or cancel the game outright. As the NFL’s statement notes, that all is of far less importance than Hamlin’s health and one would expect the league to hold off on scheduling decisions as long as possible in hopes that there will be a positive update on Hamlin’s condition on the horizon.

The league also sent a longer memo to teams that provided the option for additional mental health resources and counseling as players around the NFL try to deal with the terrifying visual of seeing a player collapse and go into cardiac arrest on the field.

Even though Yellowstone is one of the biggest shows among your midwest relatives (and the whole country for that matter), but the stars still seem pretty shocked at the impact the series has. What other show has a spinoff starring Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford, a bunch of cute cows, and some pesky republican accusations?

The mid-season finale aired this week, and while there were some cliffhangers that won’t be resolved until the series returns this summer, one mystery from the finale has been solved, and that’s who the heck Clara, Dutton’s new ally played by Lilli Kay, was smooching.

Kay spoke with Deadline to reveal the mystery person behind the kiss, and the story is actually quite amusing. The actors were under strict Covid-related precautions while filming, which inspired a last-minute change: “It was written that Clara is making out with someone in the background behind John and Summer. And we were trying to figure out who was easy and comfortable [to cast] who was also in the testing cycle,” Kay explained. The series was filmed over the summer in Missoula.

“My partner, Juli Kocemba, was there with me in Montana so they said, ‘oh, let’s just have you guys make out in the background.’ My partner’s non-binary, se were like, ‘well it’s a gender fluid make out in the background.’” Kay explained, adding that they didn’t think much of it. “We thought, nobody’s gonna make a big a big deal about it. And then a lot of people made a very big deal about it.” As it turns out, some people did notice, and they weren’t happy with the (single, quick, and harmless) kiss.

Kay continued, “It was very funny because I did not expect anyone to even really catch it. And then people were like, lesbians on the range! It was very, very funny. But it was a fun little evening.” Despite the backlash from various unnamed Twitter users, Kay and her partner weren’t fazed. “We got to listen to some really good music and hang out and quietly make out in the background. Lesbians on the ranch!” Lesbians on the ranch! Let’s go lesbians on the ranch!

(Via Deadline)