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Accusing Avatar of not being culturally relevant is kind of like saying those cicadas that appear once every 13 years are gone for good and no one cares about them anymore – that is until you spend all summer being drowned out and driven mad by their mating sound. At least that’s the best theory I can come up with why Avatar is often accused of not having a cultural impact. Then again, a good case can be made hardly any movie in this era has a cultural impact unless those movies keep churning themselves out. Yes, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a cultural impact as a whole because, in part, they just keep coming.

But does, say, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 still have a cultural impact? The team certainly does because we keep seeing them – they just appeared in a Thor movie and a new holiday special – but does that particular movie? Avatar director James Cameron is a lot of things, but he’s certainly not a director who “churns stuff out.” In the last 25 years before this week, there have been a grand total of two James Cameron movies.

The Avatar movies are basically made to self-destruct once their theatrical runs are over. Yes, Avatar producer Jon Landau was quick to point out how well the original Avatar did on home media, but the movie isn’t the same. When I first saw the first Avatar at a press screening in 2009, it was unlike anything I had ever seen. It felt fully immersive. When I tried to watch it at home, it felt like I was watching a cartoon. In fact, I hadn’t seen Avatar from start to finish since that 2009 screening until just recently for a much-needed refresher before watching Avatar: The Way of Water. (If you, like me, had not seen Avatar in a while, I was very happy I watched the original again before returning to Pandora.) The way Avatar, and now Avatar: The Way of Water, are presented in theaters with such technical marvel, it’s basically a singular event. It cannot be recreated at home. So these movies basically only exist for their theatrical run. So when they are gone, they are just kind of gone, waiting 13 years for their return. Anyway, at least that’s my theory. Because there’s something going on with these movies that is unusual. Avatar obviously has a cultural impact, it just goes dormant.

James Cameron tried to warn us. In 2009 he would tell anyone who listened that bad 3-D was coming. Oh and it did, riding the wave of Avatar‘s up-charged ticket price success, all of a sudden everything was in 3-D. The problem was, movies like Clash of the Titans weren’t filmed in 3-D, it was upconverted later, with less than great results. Most 3-D movies today are upconverted. The process has gotten better, but it’s still underwhelming. To the point media screenings are never done in 3-D anymore. In fact, before Avatar: The Way of Water, I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw a movie in 3-D. Seeing Cameron’s version of 3-D again, with every last Pandora fish meticulously rendered, is overwhelming. Maybe too overwhelming. I saw this with 3-D and the higher frame rate, which I disliked very much on The Hobbit and Ang Lee’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. But in Avatar: The Way of Water, Pandora pops into life. And it’s very easy to get distracted because it is truly immersive. There were times I caught myself just staring at those aforementioned Pandora fish.

It’s been a few years since the events of the first movie. Life on Pandora has been peaceful and Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) have a family that consists of two sons and a daughter. They also have an adoptive daughter (Sigourney Weaver, going full-on awkward teen through the use of movie magic) that was mysteriously born from the lifeless Avatar of Dr. Grace Augustine (also Sigourney Weaver). The sky people return, and so has Stephen Lang’s Colonel Miles Quaritch, only this time his memories have been uploaded to his own Avatar, so he now has the body of a Na’vi. And he and his team specifically want revenge against Jake Sully for betraying them in the first movie.

Jake realizes he’s a danger to the Na’vi so he and his family flee, seeking refuge with the Metkayina – led by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis), a group native to Pandora who live on the water and have close bonds with creatures who live in the water. Jake tells his family they must adapt to the way of the Metkayina and a lot of (very pretty) ocean-based hijinks ensue. But eventually, Colonel Miles Quaritch and his team are catching up to Jake, destroying everything in their wake to find him. And now Jake has to reckon with the fact that in an effort to save his family has caused even more death and destruction. There are emotional beats in this squeal that weren’t really there for me in the first film. Most notably, Jake and Neytiri’s younger son, Lo’ak, forms an emotional bond with a giant Pandora whale and I found myself getting truly invested in this whale’s story.

Yes, the whole Colonel Miles Quaritch being back thing is a little weird. The explanation feels like a retcon (we get a scene set during the events of the first movie to explain all this), but the end result does offer more gravitas to the proceedings than if it was just another random military person from Earth who is mad at Jake. But there’s also an emotional (and, to be honest, also somewhat weird) subplot involving Miles having a human infant son, also named Miles but goes by Spider, from the first movie who couldn’t return to Earth because he was too young, so he was raised by Jake and the Na’vi. And even though this new Avatar of his father isn’t technically the real Miles Quaritch, there’s some sort of bond there for both of them that I assume will play an even larger role in the next many chapters of this Avatar saga.

Going into Avatar: The Way of Water, I’d say I was Avatar-neutral. I was looking somewhat forward to this new movie because I love James Cameron movies and they are so far and few between, but on the other hand I don’t have strong feelings about Avatar one way or another and probably would have been even more excited if this were True Lies 2 instead. But, like the first movie, the technical wizardry won me over and (again, having just rewatched the first movie) the story is deeper and richer. If Cameron is really going to make, what, six or seven of these (the number seems to change every time), well yeah these movies have to be deeper. It can’t just rely on its technical breakthroughs for that many movies. Or, you know what? We are talking about James Cameron here. Maybe it could. Thankfully, at least with Avatar: The Way of Water, it doesn’t have to just rely on that.

(For anyone wondering, those cicadas I brought up earlier come back in 2024, just in time for Avatar 3)

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Warning: spoilers for The White Lotus season two are ahead.

Sometimes, it’s really hard to be right. During the last few episodes of The White Lotus, it became increasingly clear that Tanya would not make it out of Sicily alive. And while a lot of the fan theories were correct, there was one good surprise: she wasn’t murdered! But her husband sure did try to kill her for money, as many fans suspected. Again- being right is tough!

Even though Tanya’s husband Greg hired Quentin to have her killed, Tanya was able to figure it out before they could get to her first. After a dramatic shoot-out, Tanya almost escaped before she ultimately hit her head and drowned in the water. But she went out on he own terms, and that’s what matters here.

While we don’t know exactly how much of this story will make its way into season three, there are a lot of unanswered questions. Will Greg get away with trying to kill his wife? What happened to Quentin’s friend who was able to flee the boat? Is Greg really a cowboy? These are all very important questions for the upcoming season, should Mike White choose to explore those themes.

Obviously, Greg could also disappear off the map and start a new life at a Holiday Inn somewhere, but he doesn’t seem like the type to let things go, so it seems like we might get more of Greg in season three.

It’s also important to keep in mind that at the end of the season, Jack warns Portia that he works for “powerful people” who may or may not be associated with Greg. While the right thing would be for Portia to keep her head down and pretend nothing happened, we know that she is a millennial, so maybe she will have a true-crime phase and start a podcast aimed at trying to figure out what happened to her former boss. You never know!

Less than six months ago, Vince McMahon stepped away from his post as Chairman and CEO of the WWE, signaling the end to his 40-year run at the top of the worldwide leader in sports entertainment. According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, McMahon intends to make a comeback to the WWE, blaming his prior departure on getting “bad advice from people close to him” and that he now believes the allegations and investigations would have blown over had he stayed.

On the heels of allegations of misconduct, millions of dollars in reported settlements, and investigations into other nondisclosure agreements, the 77-year-old McMahon retired from WWE, handing the reigns to the company to his daughter, interim chairwoman, and chief executive, Stephanie McMahon and co-executive Nick Khan, the company’s former president and chief revenue officer.

The news of McMahon’s impending WWE return comes on the heels of new legal demands, per the WSJ report, from two women who allege that he sexually assaulted them. According to the report, a former wrestling referee who accused him of rape three decades ago is also seeking $11.75 million in damages.

McMahon is the subject of a new VICE docuseries slated to air Tuesday night titled “The 9 Lives of Vince McMahon.”

Attention all sad, introverted people across North America, it is time to charge your social battery and stock up on a hefty supply of Vitamin D supplements. Why? The Queen of Moody bops, SZA, is hitting the road this winter.

Fresh out of the release of her sophomore album, S.O.S., which brought Lizzo to tears, the “PSA” singer is preparing to share the album’s raw vulnerability with fans across the United States and Canada beginning in February 2023. The songwriter took to Instagram to announce the tour with the caption, “Time to take this sh*t on the road.”

Based on online chatter, we can guess that tracks “Nobody Gets Me,” “Creep,” and “Ghost In The Machine” are sure to be crowd favorites.

Joining her on the road is none other than Grammy-award nominee Omar Apollo. The “Evergreen (You Didn’t Deserve Me At All)” singer shared his excitement to hit the road with SZA while uploading the tour date poster.

After being moved by Lizzo’s tour this year, we wonder if SZA will pull any inspiration from that into her show.

View the full tour schedule below.

02/21/2023 — Columbus, OH @ The Jerome Schottenstein Center
02/22/2023 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
02/24/2023 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
02/25/2023 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
02/27/2023 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
02/28/2023 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
03/02/2023 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
03/04/2023 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
03/07/2023 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
03/09/2023 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center
03/10/2023 — Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
03/13/2023 — San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
03/14/2023 — Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
03/16/2023 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
03/18/2023 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center
03/19/2023 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
03/22/2023 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Kia Forum

Public tickets for the tour will go on sale this Friday, December 16. To purchase tickets to any of the dates listed above, click here.

If you’re a rapper from North Carolina, there is probably no one better to have as a mentor than J. Cole, who is pretty much the state’s most successful hip-hop artist. Just look at the boost signing to Dreamville gave Lute, while appearing on Dreamville’s Revenge Of The Dreamers III compilation almost certainly helped DaBaby become one of the most recognizable Carolinians in 2019 (although he also blew that shot, going from famous to infamous almost overnight thanks to his refusal to apologize for his Rolling Loud comments).

But, looking up to J. Cole can also be pretty demanding. Just ask Morray, who appeared with Cole on The Off-Season track “My Life” and toured with him last year. Since then, it’s clear the two have kept in touch, with the younger artist looking for advice on his upcoming debut album. However, it’s apparently difficult to meet his exacting standards; as Morray told HipHopDX, Cole’s encouraged him to scrap “hella” albums in the search for the perfect introductory project (at least, for those who missed 2021’s solid Street Sermons).

“I’ve presented hella albums,” he said. “I’ve been ready for an album, don’t get me wrong, I’ve been ready. I’ve presented to Cole, he told me, ‘N****, you’re not ready.’ Do you know how hard it is to take that from somebody you look up to? I think I’m done and you’re telling me I’m not? Back to the drawing board? But I appreciate him because this album is staying.” Hopefully, all that hard work pays off soon. You can watch Morray’s interview with HipHopDX below.

While the year might be coming to a close, this week has marked some significant release drops and announcements from everyone’s fave pop artists. SZA dropped her first new album in five years, and Lana Del Rey announced she’s returning with a record next year as well. There are also some rising stars you don’t want to miss, as each artist really came out swinging.

Here is Uproxx’s roundup of this week’s Best New Pop music.

Dove Cameron — “Girl Like Me”

Dove Cameron has distanced herself from her Disney roots to become one of the most exciting rising pop stars. “Girl Like Me” is a sleek and sultry single from her forthcoming debut album, as she interpolates a surprise choice from the Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle soundtrack.

Lana Del Rey — “Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd”

Del Rey ushered in her new era this week with the lengthy-titled but brilliant, “Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.” (We didn’t.) In typical Lana fashion, the breezy ballad is extremely California-core, including her love for Ventura. There are also a ton of musical references, from The Eagles’ “Hotel California” and Harry Nilsson’s “Don’t Forget Me” to John Lennon.

Caroline Polachek — “Welcome To My Island”

After Polachek’s previous singles, “Bunny Is A Rider” and “Sunset,” her latest song, “Welcome To My Island,” served as a proper introduction for fans to her sophomore album. While the hyperpop track eases in with beach-themed descriptions, it takes a darker turn on the bridge as she warns that “nothing’s gonna be the same again.”

Maude Latour — “Reality Television”

A bonus track on Maude Latour’s deluxe version of her EP, 001, “Reality Television” is driven forward by the overarching drum beat. Compared to her previous music, Latour’s vocals are just as capable of shining through on a lower, pop-punk-influenced style. “I killed all my idols,” she notes. One thing is for sure — she killed it.

Upsahl — “Kickflip”

Upsahl’s “Kickflip” opens her new EP, Sagittarius, with a carefree (and a little reckless) attitude. Inspired by Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” she describes the song as “​​high energy, dancey, and fun” in a recent interview with Uproxx. “Now that I sort of have this stability in my life, this EP is very much building off of that power and confidence I found,” Upsahl added.

SZA — “Ghost In The Machine” feat. Phoebe Bridgers

After five years, SZA dropped her anticipated sophomore album, SOS, and the world — if only for a moment, feels right again. The fan-favorite for myself included is her surprise collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers, “Ghost In The Machine.” While the duo might’ve seemed like a shock, they work extremely well as a vocal duo. Bridgers fits right into SZA’s emotional realm, as she details fighting with someone at an NYC hotel.

Rebecca Black — “Look At You”

“People see you on the screen, and think you’re make-believe / But I tell them, you’re better in person,” Black sings in the opening lines of her latest song, “Look At You.” The slow-paced ballad serves as her finding inspiration in another person, before the second verse introduces a beat change that keeps listeners on their toes. “Everybody’s got someone that f*cks them up” — an easy standout line.

Emeryld — “Bloodline”

Emeryld’s soulful voice shines on “Bloodline” as she disses a man who can’t seem to shut up. “It’s a shame, it’s in your bloodline,” she drags as the punchline that inspired the title.

Bree Runway — “Pick Your Poison” feat.Stormzy

Bree Runway also returned with new music this week: her EP, Whoa, What A Blur!. “Pick Your Poison” is the singer’s collaboration with rapper Stormzy — who opens the first verse by showing off his range. The romantic duet is prime for pop radio, with party-influenced references and Runway chalking it up to “if it’s meant to be.”

Ethan Bortnick — “Happy F*cking Birthday”

Opening with a piano instrumental layered with a sample of someone singing “Happy Birthday,” Bortnick puts an emotional spin on getting older as he reminisces on a past relationship that once attended his party.

BTS member Kim Seok-jin (aka “Jin”) has officially enlisted in the South Korean military as part of the country’s requirement. “Time for the curtain call,” the singer shared as a temporary goodbye for the band’s fans today. He is expected to serve until 2024 before the band reunites the following year.

In another member, RM’s recent Instagram stories, all of BTS came to say goodbye and support Jin ahead of his journey. “I love you Jin, see you soon,” the translation reads. Despite the emotional nature, BTS also joked around, finding time to pose by touching Jin’s buzzcut.

Over the weekend, Jin made an appearance on the social media app WeVerse, where he showed off his new hairstyle in preparation for the military. “Cuter than I expected,” he captioned the photo.

BigHit also made a statement last week. “We want to thank you for your continued support of BTS and would like to update you on Jin’s upcoming enlistment into the military,” they wrote. “Jin will fulfill his required time with the military by enlisting in the army. Please note that we will not be holding any kind of official event on the day of his recruitment.”

“The entrance ceremony is a time to be observed by military personnel and their families only. In order to prevent any issues that might occur from crowding, we ask fans to please refrain from visiting the site,” it continued. “Instead, we ask you to keep your heartwarming words of support and farewell in your hearts.”

After dominating the Sundance Film Festival with Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino quickly got to work onto his next project, and arguably, the film that truly put him on the map: Pulp Fiction. While the film would end up having a jam-packed cast full of A-list talent, Tarantino recently revealed that he was very particular about the casting and was willing to go to war with the studio despite being a relatively unknown filmmaker at the time.

During a recent appearance on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast, Tarantino recalled a battle with one executive who was adamant about casting Johnny Depp in Pulp Fiction. According to Tarantino, the exec wanted Depp in the role of Pumpkin, the diner bandit who would share a memorable scene with Samuel L. Jackson to cap off the film.

As Tarantino tells it, Tim Roth was always his first choice followed by Christian Slater as a backup. However, the studio exec wanted to go straight to Depp, and Tarantino wasn’t having it. Via NME:

The director went on to reveal that when he put forward his names, the studio questioned why he wanted Roth over Depp for the role, and would not offer Roth the role until others had turned it down.

In response, Tarantino asked them: “‘Do you think Johnny Depp playing the role of Pumpkin in this movie, which is the opening scene and the closing scene that’s it, do you think that will add that much to the box office?’”

Obviously, Tarantino got his way. The role of Pumpkin went to Roth, and Pulp Fiction went on to rack up a laundry list of Oscar noms including Best Picture and Best Director, so it sure seems like this Quentin guy knows what he’s doing.

(Via NME)

This past weekend, several Bad Bunny fans were denied entry into his Mexico City shows on December 9 and 10. Several customers claimed they purchased tickets through Ticketmaster, but were turned away at entry. Following the fiasco, Ticketmaster issued a statement via social media, denying an oversell of tickets and claiming that the fans had actually purchased counterfeits.

“As has been reported, on Friday an unprecedented number of fake tickets were presented at the entrance of [Estadio Azteca], purchased outside our official channels,” said Ticketmaster. “In addition to causing confusion among entrance officials, this situation generated a malfunction in our system, which for moments at a time, couldn’t properly identify legitimate tickets. It’s important to underscore that there was no oversale of tickets. Ticketmaster took the technological and logistical measures needed to ensure what happened on Friday would not happen on Saturday.”

Over 1,600 fans were turned away on the December 9 show, and 100 fans were turned away the following night. According to a report from Billboard, Mexico’s Federal Attorney’s Office for Consumers (PROFECO) conducted an investigation, which concluded that several of the counterfeit tickets were purchased through legitimate channels.

The events occurred just weeks after Taylor Swift fans filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster after a disastrous presale for her Eras tour.

If only Jack Dawson had Kate Winslet’s breath-holding ability. Then maybe the whole door drama never would have happened.

The Avatar: The Way of Water actress is “very proud” that she broke Tom Cruise’s record for “longest [underwater] breath hold” at 7 minutes and 14 seconds. “I have the video of me surfacing saying, ‘Am I dead, have I died?’ And then going, ‘What was [my time]?’ Straight away I wanted to know my time,” she told Total Film. “I couldn’t believe it. The next thing I say is, ‘We need to radio set. I wanted Jim to know right away.”

“Jim” is, of course, James Cameron, who she previously worked with on Titanic. “He’s just a really different person,” Winslet replied when asked about Cameron then vs. now. “Hopefully, we both are. A huge chunk of time has gone by… You know, people say it was 25 years since Titanic. It’s not! It’s 27 years for us, you know, I turned 21 on that film, I’m 47. It’s a long time ago.” She also revealed the “biggest challenge” while filming Avatar: The Way of Water, y’know, outside of holding her breath for seven minutes.

“The biggest challenge was something people really wouldn’t imagine – it was fitting into this world and yet appearing to have always been there. That was the hardest part. Because these actors, they created these characters in this universe 13 years ago.”

Avatar: The Way of Water opens on December 16.

(Via Total Film)